That Smelly Sunday!

We were up in the crowded balcony at church and my son let out a big fart. He then screamed, "Oh, mom stop it.” That was the last time we attended mass.

Through the years we attended many churches, synagogues and temples and Sunday school was short lived due to spitballs or some other attention getting behavior.

After the passing gas experience I decided church was going to be G.O.D. (The Great OutDoors). We hiked every Sunday since that smelly Sunday!

I’ve always been more spiritual than religious and taught my son that we were non denominational and that all rivers lead to the same ocean. So we sought out various forms of worship and I taught him to look at the similarities, rather than the differences in all religions.

I also love what the Dalai Lama says, “My religion is kindness.”

Seeking the great parts of every religion is one of my favorite things to do.

The Ten Commandments are like railings over the Golden Gate Bridge. They create safety, guidance, morals, ethics, values and character. I take what I like and leave the rest. I’m grateful for my experience in Catholic schools during my youth.

So, I pray softly on my couch, rather than in a pew.

I’ve always loved the Sufi saying,”If you don't have a temple in your heart you will never find your heart in the temple .”

Most days I’m praying and meditating on my couch or out in the Santa Monica mountains with my family!

To be honest, my life is one long prayer. I pray all day long giving thanks for everything!

So, when one of my clients posted this (below) on Facebook and I had to shre it in my blog. I couldn’t agree more with Einstein and Spinoza.

Here it is:

When Einstein gave lectures at U.S. universities, the recurring question that students asked him most was:

- Do you believe in God?

And he always answered:

- I believe in Spinoza’s idea of God:

Baruch de Spinoza was a Dutch philosopher considered one of the great rationalists of 17th century philosophy, along with Descartes.

(Spinoza) : God would say:

Stop praying.

What I want you to do is go out into the world and enjoy your life. I want you to sing, have fun and enjoy everything I've made for you.

Stop going into those dark, cold temples that you built yourself and saying they are my house. My house is in the mountains, in the woods, rivers, lakes, beaches. That's where I live and there I express my love for you.

Stop blaming me for your miserable life; I never told you there was anything wrong with you or that you were a sinner, or that your sexuality was a bad thing. Sex is a gift I have given you and with which you can express your love, your ecstasy, your joy. So don't blame me for everything they made you believe.

Stop reading alleged sacred scriptures that have nothing to do with me. If you can't read me in a sunrise, in a landscape, in the look of your friends, in your son's eyes...

? you will find me in no book!

Stop asking me "will you tell me how to do my job?" Stop being so scared of me. I do not judge you or criticize you, nor get angry, or bothered. I am pure love.

Stop asking for forgiveness, there's nothing to forgive. If I made you... I filled you with passions, limitations, pleasures, feelings, needs, inconsistencies... free will. How can I blame you if you respond to something I put in you? How can I punish you for being the way you are, if I'm the one who made you? Do you think I could create a place to burn all my children who behave badly for the rest of eternity? What kind of god would do that?

Respect your peers and don't do what you don't want for yourself. All I ask is that you pay attention in your life, that alertness is your guide.

My beloved, this life is not a test, not a step on the way, not a rehearsal, nor a prelude to paradise. This life is the only thing here and now and it is all you need.

I have set you absolutely free, no prizes or punishments, no sins or virtues, no one carries a marker, no one keeps a record.

You are absolutely free to create in your life. Heaven or hell.

? I can't tell you if there's anything after this life but I can give you a tip. Live as if there is not. As if this is your only chance to enjoy, to love, to exist.

So, if there's nothing after, then you will have enjoyed the opportunity I gave you. And if there is, rest assured that I won't ask if you behaved right or wrong, I'll ask. Did you like it? Did you have fun? What did you enjoy the most? What did you learn?...

Stop believing in me; believing is assuming, guessing, imagining. I don't want you to believe in me, I want you to believe in you. I want you to feel me in you when you kiss your beloved, when you tuck in your little girl, when you caress your dog, when you bathe in the sea.

Stop praising me, what kind of egomaniac God do you think I am?

I'm bored being praised. I'm tired of being thanked. Feeling grateful? Prove it by taking care of yourself, your health, your relationships, the world. Express your joy! That's the way to praise me.

Stop complicating things and repeating as a parakeet what you've been taught about me.

What do you need more miracles for? So many explanations?

The only thing for sure is that you are here, that you are alive, that this world is full of wonders.

- Spinoza

Now that I have given you food for thought on this topic.

what is your God?

We all have different palates. Some prefer Thai food, some people like American and others Italian. 

No judgement on your taste about your beliefs and opinions.

So grateful for variety of all the ways of worship in this precious life!

Hopefully you’re not stuck in a crowded church smelling farts from your rebellious tween every Sunday. Lol.

P.S. I bet God has a great sense of humor. 

P.S.S. Go dance, hike, gaze at a sunrise or a sunset or simply gaze in another’s eyes.

For more insightful writings, books, blogs and workshops visit SusanFoxley.com today!