To Google, or to Doodle? That Is the Question

It had been a long trip traveling throughout South Africa to various cities including Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth, Durban and now Cape Town. I would be leaving on the afternoon flight to Athens.

I wanted to go somewhere just to relax, and my local friends suggested Kirstenbosch Garden, one of the largest and, as I realized later, one of the most beautiful gardens not only in Africa but in the world. The garden stretched over many acres and the huge mountain behind it, called Table Mountain, provided a soaring backdrop.

As I wandered about, the many flowers and trees beamed their colors onto me. It seemed as if the Roman goddess Flora had come for a visit and helped paint them in multiple shades of green and other colors. The mountain connected the gleaming vegetation, to the vault of African sky, which, like a giant star sapphire, dazzled in iridescent blue.

While there I felt I was strolling through a painting.

When we first arrived in the garden, I explained to my friends I wanted to unwind, which meant no talking, photographing but simply strolling, lolling, meandering, gazing, pausing, listening, sitting, and just slouching about, that is, to use the Doodle side of my brain. I had done a lot of Googling lately... analyzing, evaluating, processing, investigating, directing, teaching, organizing, codifying, classifying, experimenting etc. I felt deeply that the relentlessness to discover new facts must stop for a few hours.

I stood quietly by a gurgling, bouncy stream; its water babbled into and through my ears. In this dell of shade, water giggled everywhere. I ambled on. Suddenly trees arranged in an amphitheater rose like emerald emperors in green silence. Open armed centenarians heaving their solid brown trunks against the iris blue of the sky. These cycads stood as if in a royal court. I felt from their primeval forms that they may have even known a dinosaur or two or, at least, their ancestors certainly would have.

Often when I went to a botanical garden of a country I would seek, ask and scout for information about everything. Before, during and after I would Google for information. I had been educated to create in my mind this search engine to access more understanding. So I never allowed myself the freedom to comprehend or perceive in a different way. With meditation I had started learning to give space to other ways of interacting and gaining insight.

Meditation showed me not to grab and tackle my outside world, quickly creating my personal convenient meaning of it all. Instead, in silence, to let myself be still and observe without drawing any conclusions. Just to be still, to be present and allow the trees, the animals, the waters, the earth, the sky, the mountains, whatever to speak to me without interference from the mania for filtering and categorizing everything.

So, today no grabbing and no tackling the Facts. I wished to do none of that. I wanted to do nothing: NOTHING. Just saunter in quiet solitude absorbing scents, admiring the wings of tenacious bees, of carousing birds, of a kaleidoscope of butterflies gulp the petaled nectar, and sail around the turquoise sky.

I had to stop myself as the Googling side of my brain unexpectedly jumped in to categorize, compare, scrutinize whenever I saw something catch my attention. "STOP," I said to my defiant jumping mind. The monkey in my mind had to be tamed!

A friend once advised me:

"Now do nothing, slowly."

I stumbled on a wooden walkway umbrelled by the arms of many trees. As I gazed a blackbird flew overhead, half of its wings a bright, glowing yellow. Maybe a piece of sun had hit it in mid-flight, I thought. His companions were the same color so maybe the same thing happened to all of them? Quickly I said to my mind, "Do not think," just watch.

Suddenly a huge tree blazed in front of me with flowers of crimson, dripping nectar. Actually it had been there for a long, long time but I only noticed it now. Tiny, tiny birds bobbing, hopping, sipped the sweet wine... ruby red splashing on their minute beaks.

Just gazing, beyond any thinking, I felt the wonder of this moment in Nature. I gasped as the miracle of Harmony revealed itself to me slowly. Suddenly a realization wandered into my mind: Harmony is when Differences complement, thus keeping the Equilibrium and, in consequence, perpetually sustain the Whole. This is Nature's code, the primary principle of her being.

Temptation came again... read! Read the sign, how old is the tree, what is it, is it native, which birds come to it... note it down and file it. File it for later Googling.

No I said to myself, once again. Do not be tempted by the thrills of thinking and storing and knowing. Keep Doodling and savor this Now. Surrender to the Flow. Feel the rhythm of existing in this Moment.

With this determined thought I just allowed myself to let the images impact me. I felt again that I was in an impressionist painting similar to Van Gogh's "The Starry Night"... swirls of color and swirls of feelings. I was flowing into the scene and feeling the ancient breath of the tree, holding its jade luminosity in my eyes; the ruby redness pulsing in my every vein.

However, occasionally still had to pay attention not to be conditioned by regimented thinking. Let it be. Let it happen I reminded myself.

For these few hours stop the info-hunting, this deadly habit of the mind. Be still and remain uncluttered. Reality is not a set of facts, conveniently structured and controlled. Feel safe with not knowing everything, feel secure without holding onto any thread. Let go and let it happen.

Soon my attention was distracted by Googlers. Japanese tourists fervently snapping and storing their souvenir photos. Spanish tongues, Las Googlers, also with their machines and locomotive words. Also a variety of Anglo-Saxon flocks intellectually watching and analyzing.

Anyway today during these hours I had made a great decision to embrace Doodling totally... pause and allow. Pause and let silence create space for new feelings and new perceptions to come at their own speed and will, if they wish to come.

From today I was given the revelation of Great Doodling so in the future I would invite my friends for an exciting time to experience Doodling. With them set an aim to introduce breaks for doodling at our work place, at our home. Quite understandably some of my Googler friends would later shriek "heretic" and say this great waste of time is a sacrilege and especially to encouraging others to follow such a doctrine. I am anathema to some of the Googling community.

Nonetheless I am adamant that "Doodle Time" is the true source of creative regeneration because nothing is done. For only then fresh space is created. In other words just to stop and be thinkless for a moment or an hour or even a day is the innovative way forward.

Why? It bursts open the ossified mind.

Want to join this innovative Doodlers Club?

Googlers welcomed as long as all antiquated minds and modes are left outside at the Door

of Adventure.

You can Doodle through this website of the beautiful Garden, where I experienced my humbling epiphany.

The link for the garden: www.sanbi.org.za

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The Renaissance of Thought

Reality begins with a thought. Thought in turn creates feeling and attitude, which is called consciousness. This inner, subtle world of consciousness manifests externally and it is called living, which includes expressing, interacting, relating and creating. It is the fabric of our human life.

At this time of severe crises and chaotic upheavals the movement towards any kind of stabilization and well-being can only come from the inner world of each individual. The way we see, think, feel and ultimately behave needs a drastic overhaul. The first step is a change in thinking. Without a revision of thinking there cannot be a rejuvenation of living.

We need to connect to our original blueprints, which are deeply embedded in the human consciousness, in the soul of each one of us. This emergence of original qualities will facilitate newness and meaningfulness. How can we reach these inner, subtle blueprints of the self?

It begins with thought, and finalizes itself in behavior. Positive behavior is always the mirror that proves a real restructuring of thinking has happened.

Thought these days needs to be more contemplative. This does not mean becoming nuns and monks (and there is nothing wrong with that), however, the "everyday-aware" person wishes to remain in society but seeks inner quietness. The quietness of a creative space within the mind fulfills and refreshes the self and eventually positively impacts his or her societal existence. All begins with the way we think. We will look at three types of thinking.

1. Formula Thinking 

This type of thinking is deceitful and hollow and includes a variety of slogans, ideas, quotes, catchphrases, guidelines, precepts and maxims. The formulas are all very true in themselves, and sound tremendously impressive, but are rarely and systemically practiced. To all intents and purposes they are "dead letters."

The latent truths of these "dead letters" deceive both listeners and speakers into believing that they doing what they are talking about. Propaganda, whether political, religious or emotional functions on such self-deception. Such formulas include "treat all with equality," "God is love," "act with integrity," "truth, justice, freedom," "respect all living things," "share," "democratic rights," etc.

The evidence of such "dead letter" or formula thinking is the growing fragmentation, fragility, collapses, prejudices and sorrow that perpetuate in systems both personal and societal. Crises are the direct progeny of this formula thinking. We think we know these values but nothing is known until it is lived. There is a complacent blindness that we know and what goes wrong is the fault of something or someone else. Formula thinkers and speakers are all about clever words, presenting impressing facts and arguments which are not the reality. Such thinkers and speakers create mirages that crumble and disintegrate with time.

2. Reflective Thinking

This type of thinking is constructive and progressive. The thinker is able to step back from self-centered "I-ness" and creates a clear space of research and inquiry within the self that generates authenticity. The intellect and mind focus, go deep into a question or idea and try to see, find and experiment with possibilities. Doors open that once did not even exist.

People such as Edison, Florence Nightingale, Archimedes and Maria Montessori are among such thinkers. They found insights and these insights offered benefits to others. When such thought is strongly married to action then benevolence is experienced by many.

On the other hand, reflective thinking can be counter-productive if it is not aligned to some kind of benefit for self and others. There will be too much analysis, too much intellectual scrutinizing, criticizing and over-thinking and over-discussing. Consequently, the original creative result or discovery can be dissipated or misused.

This type of thought (although effective) can go off track, and without a higher, benevolent purpose can become useless and (as has happened in the world of science) can become unethical when there is selfish motivation.

3. Contemplative Thinking

To keep reflective thought on track and for the best to emerge, the thinker must also learn how to be silent and still. To hold silence within reflection creates contemplative thinking. A leap of unprecedented insight spontaneously happens.

When we hear about Archimedes we read that he had reflected and analyzed for a long time a mathematical problem. One day, whilst relaxing quietly in the bath, he suddenly got the solution and shouted, "Eureka!" (I have found it!) He found the solution he sought whilst relaxing. In a more contemplative, silent state, having let go of his intellect's grabbing and grasping, he was open to realize. Archimedes needed to engage in analytical reflection first as preparation, but when he let go of his intellectual activity a new door of knowing opened.

Fritjof Capra in his book Tao of Physics describes a similar state. After a period of researching and analyzing aspects of physics he went for a holiday. As he was relaxing near the ocean away from experiments and scientific thinking, listening to the rhythm of the waves he had a vision. Suddenly and most unexpectedly he saw the dance of atom particles. They were cascading, turning, swirling in a rhythmic dance and he felt himself a part of this dance. He felt this all around him and felt it as the eternal dance of the cosmos.

The rhythmic dance of atoms reminded him of the statue of Nataraj, the cosmic dance of Lord Shiva. In 2004 at CERN Geneva a two-meter statue of Nataraj, the dancing Shiva was unveiled. A plaque with a quote from Capra was at its base:

In our time physicists have used the most advanced technology to portray the patterns of cosmic dance. The metaphor of the cosmic dance unifies ancient mythology, religious art and modern physics.

Nataraj in Hindu mythology symbolizes the divine cosmic dance of destruction and creation. A weary, damaged corrupt world is destroyed and preparations are made for the deity Brahma to begin a new creation. The cosmic dance of Shiva, Nataraj, is a perpetual cycle of birth, death and renewal. Nataraj is surrounded by an aureole of flames, as he dances in perfect balance over a devilish creature which symbolizes ignorance or illusion. Capra believed this image of Nataraj captured perfectly what he experienced. He said"Shiva's dance is the dance of subatomic matter" as well as the dance of nature's and humanity's constant cycle of birth, bloom, decay, death and regeneration.

When I looked at the face of Nataraj, it reminded me of the face of the Charioteer statue in Delphi. Both are very composed, very neutral , calm, in balance, fully focused on the task with an easy mastery of movement.

The contemplative thinkers all stopped their intellectual activity and became quiet. Many innovators also speak of revelations received in this quietness of contemplation. It dramatically changed their perception and way of being.

For us as individuals living in this 21 century how can contemplative thinking be relevant? How can it facilitate the destruction of useless patterns and return us to an original, harmonious rhythm of being?

Contemplative thought rejuvenates consciousness enabling the self to be more perceptive and balanced. The self is no longer dragged into the spinning, stressed and routine wheel of being but actually is able to create a new space for more meaningful ways of behaving and interacting.

Eight tips for contemplative practice:

1. Slow down. Slow right down. Consciously decide not to think, analyze, label, categorize.
2. Become quiet, feel the inner stillness. Be still.
3. Take one thought such as peace, kindness, serene. Just hold it silently in your mind for just a moment. Just hold it gently, no force, no rush.
4. Gently repeat your thought ... slowly ... for example: serenity ... serenity. Contemplate that chosen thought slowly.
5. As you hold the thought you will gradually feel the thought transcends into feeling.
6. In contemplative thought we are absorbed in awareness. In awareness we transcend thinking.
7. Whatever thought I choose I become that: I am serene. I am serene. Serene.
8. Now let go, let go of all thought. Only Serene Stillness. A Serene Silence. Embrace it. Hold that complete silence and whatever is beneficial to come will come.

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Is Mindfulness Enough?

Mindfulness, an awareness of everyday living, creates the capacity to see how one's thoughts, words, feelings and actions impact and create our reality. One of the aims of mindfulness is to create new possibilities for betterment and new horizons of understanding. Mindfulness cherishes the value of being and enhances its respect.

However, is mindfulness enough in order to increase personal and collective well-being? It is certainly a huge step and to be esteemed, however, when it is aligned to "heartfulness," the quality of our living is far more complete.

We can look more closely at mindless versus mindful and heartless versus heartful. These types of consciousness could include a number of the following characteristics.

Mindless: Blaming, complaining ,comparing, competing, criticizing, blinkered thinking, irresponsible, routine existing, living in the past, fearful of the future and thus forgetting the opportunity of the now.

Mindful: Awake, checks and adjusts, discerns, responsible, aware of choice and its consequence, sees connectedness, takes care, new and refined perspectives, values each moment.

Ultimately, in true mindfulness one does not keep thinking, but reaches a point where he or she remains in a state of awareness -- peaceful, stable, detached.

Possible traps of only being mindful include being over-detached, too much the observer, subtly critical, often over-analytical, clinical, or self-absorbed, with few reference points outside one's own perception of what is appropriate.

Heartless: Too intellectual or too emotional -- that is, dogmatic and/or impulsive, violent, callous, mechanical, deceitful, hypocritical, compassionless, exclusive, narcissistic, nationalistic and possessive, in other words, a parochial heart.

Heartful: Involved, open, humble, appreciative, adventurous, inclusive benevolence, generous, selfless, spontaneous, sense of serving, renewal, heals.

The heartful naturally generates the heartfelt, that is, the intuition beyond logical knowing. In the heartfelt state, the truth of something comes to you. It is received, like a blessing. You feel it rather than think it out. This may not happen if one is only mindful because in heartfulness one taps into a higher source. There is surrender to a trusted presence greater than you.

Mindfulness and heartfulness catalyze a partnership of opposites. They integrate together meaningfully to effect a more functional quality to daily living. For example, one steps back and observes but also steps in and participates fully; one detaches and acquires perspective but also, at the right moment, becomes involved in necessary detail; one needs to focus with concentration to access deeper understanding but also to flow generously into life and offer. 

Such integrations require the flexibility and ability to move from mindfulness into heartfulness at the appropriate moment. It is a matter of feeling the right timing.

Integrated mindful/heartful people go beyond themselves as sole reference points. They acknowledge and tap into a higher source that is beyond this world of action, sound, time and especially human logic.

The heartful consciousness uses the heart, in other words, the feeling of linking to that source and so there is a personal experience of the divine. Such experience cannot solely be facilitated by the mind.

The mindful consciousness moves inward and outward, creating clarity and realization.

The heartful consciousness also moves inward and outward but incorporates an extra move, the movement upward away from one's mind, one's thinking and connects to the timeless, subtle, non-physical source. The source is the pure "energy socket" to which the mind and heart connect and are revitalized, recharged. Plugged into the divine source, grace is bestowed upon the individual. It is a communication with the sacred that allows the flow of transformative silence to inundate the person's whole being thus facilitating wonders to happen. Wonders are facilitated, they do not just happen.

Ultimately, real knowing is with the heart, not with the mind, because it is feeling. It is an experience.

It is like the many seeds of mother nature and sunlight. The seeds are many, all have their uniqueness; but no matter how much one marvels at their uniqueness, without the energy coming from the source of light, the sun, they cannot express. Light facilitates their uniqueness to manifest. Manifestation cannot be facilitated by another seed, no matter how great. This can be accomplished only by light.

We human beings are the same -- no matter what good things we learn from others, no matter the inspiration we receive from others, no matter how much our mind can be successfully mindful, in the final analysis, it is the connection with the divine source that manifests our unique purpose and being. That source is the eternal wellspring of any renaissance, whether personal or global. Some traditions have put off many people from approaching the source because so many crooked and opportunistic things have been proclaimed. However, simply to understand that the source is universal, benevolent and accessible to anyone whose intention is clean.

Direct knowing is actual experience, which comes through heartfelt, personal experience combined with mindful, silent awareness.

Indirect knowledge is the description of what is possible. We inhabit a world deluged by indirect knowing: We know about love, about truth, about peace, about integrity, aboutequality, etc. Yes, it is all possible. However, the fact that there is so much violence, corruption and brutal selfishness reflects that many do not really know. It appears that they do not experience that genuine state of love, of truth, of peace, of integrity, of equality. For we never act contrary to what we experience, since what we experience creates who we are.

At this time, there is a dire need for direct knowing. Only when there is a direct experience can there be real, genuine empowering, which shifts consciousness into an authentic state of respectful relationship -- whether with the self, persons, society, nature, time, money, resources.

The following video is a mindful and heartful meditation commentary on the integrated state of focus and flow.

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Pole Vaulting and Spiritual Knowing

The first step into experience, particularly the meditation experience, is knowledge. What does it mean to "know"? Knowing involves four steps, which ultimately give the meditator the experience of realization:

The first step of knowing is information. With information, our intellect opens to new ideas and opinions. To be properly informed, we need to listen carefully.

The second step of knowing is knowledge, when we begin to reflect and think on the ideas and views that we have listened to. At this point, we often have to select only a few of the ideas we have heard, as it is not always feasible to reflect on all the information that is fed to us. In order to deepen our understanding, we reflect on the information and sometimes discuss our findings and thoughts with others.

The third step of knowing is when we move from thinking to doing -- that is, from knowledge to wisdom. Wisdom is gained when we commit ourselves to "doing." Knowledge translated into our everyday behavior is called wisdom, which, in turn, is called a quality life. A life of quality is where personal values are not only realized but also lived and experienced through our practical actions.

Doing, or practice, naturally brings us to the fourth and final step of knowing, which is called truth.

Truth is "to be": the pure state of being where nothing needs to be added, where nothing can be subtracted.

For a human being, this takes a long time and a variety of processes. It is the ultimate state of consciousness that yogis and meditators aspire to. (This is often referred to as the consciousness of "Om.") It is said that God is eternally in this state of truth. "Om" is the consciousness of "I am," the consciousness that denotes both an uncreated selfhood and a pure state of being. The human soul originally had this consciousness of "Om," but gradually forgot it. Therefore, the aim of "knowing" (at least, spiritual knowing) is to return to this original state. The way of return is called "remembrance" -- that is, to pay attention and keep remembering the eternity of the self, otherwise referred to as the soul, the atma.

On a spiritual path, we always need these four steps, but there is the great temptation for the majority of people to stay on the first two, which involve listening and thinking. Without a systematic and consistent commitment to personal action, we just develop the art of conceptualizing, philosophizing and discussing. Moreover, without practice and silence, we cannot develop the inner strength that is so vital for everyday life.

One aim of meditation is to develop inner strength through attention to practice. Practice is to observe and to take the opportunity to transform knowledge into an experience that helps us in our daily life.

One aspect is the practice of values such as tolerance, patience and flexibility. Another is for the meditator actually to experience the highest level of consciousness. It is said that when this highest level of consciousness is experienced, there is the strength to practice those values that create well-being.

How can we go beyond these stages of information, knowledge and even wisdom to experience the original state of being -- that is, truth?

One way to describe the process is to compare it to the game of the pole vaulter. The pole vaulter has a long pole to help jump over the barrier. The athlete runs for a short distance, and then quickly fixes the pole into the ground, enabling the body to be lifted up. When the athlete reaches a certain point in the air, the very pole that was used to get to that point is discarded; if the athlete fails to let go of the pole, then the body will be propelled backward, and it will be impossible to accomplish the task of jumping over the barrier.

The same mechanism is involved when a person wishes to attain realization of the self and an experience of a higher state of consciousness. To experience realization, we have to run some distance, collecting the necessary information. Then we use the pole of knowledge and wisdom to lift us off the ground of ordinary consciousness. But we must then let go of the very knowledge that we used to elevate our minds and take a jump of faith, flying over the barrier of "ordinary consciousness" to experience a new and higher level of consciousness. If there is no faith, then there is not enough trust to let go and jump.

Many people do not let go of the pole of knowledge and, as a result, fall into the spinning of speculation and the habit of analysis and discussion -- the experience of spiritual consciousness eludes them. The pull of the ego draws the consciousness back to the ground. The irony is that they think they have jumped over the barrier and regard themselves as being in the privileged position of knowing. Then they think that from this privileged position they have the prerogative of judging and being better than those who "know" in a different way.

The ones who have let go of the pole can be characterized by their wider, creative perspective and their benevolent strength.

Ultimately, true knowing is a state of positive being, and its most powerful experience and expression is in silence.

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Meditation and Motivation

Meditation, in the form of reflection and examination, helps me to create and maintain my motivation. For newness and clarity of perception, ideals and aims, we need to relax our grip on old habits, on old ways of thinking and seeing and thus create a space for something new and inspirational.

Motivation is an inner positive energy, a combination of enthusiasm and clear perception that enables us to accomplish a task. Motivation keeps us determined and on course, otherwise it is so easy to be distracted by problems, novelties and laziness. What does motivation do? It moves us from one reality to another, from where I am to where I wish to be. Motivation is sustained when a sense of purpose, identity and contribution is being fulfilled.

When we want to reactivate our motivation, we need to examine the following:

• What do I want?
• What do I wish for?
• What do I value?
• What do I need?
• What do I enjoy?
• What do I understand?
• What do I love?

When we sit down and reflect on the answers to these questions, they become the basis for activating new insights and tasks and for reactivating those insights and tasks, which I have forgotten to pay proper attention to and have not developed properly. Throughout life it is necessary, from time to time, to stand back, become silent and redefine, reevaluate, and experiment, over and over again, with what we know or what we think we know. It is a simple exercise, which, if done sincerely, stimulates in our thoughts and in our motivational pattern.

Therefore, to change or widen my pattern, I need to:

• redefine


• re-examine


• reorientate


• relearn

Then newness, creativity and quality are generated.

Successful motivation depends on having a clear aim. How much do I believe in my aim? Faith in my aim determines the quality of effort and willingness to meet challenges. There will be successful renewal of motivation when I realize that there is always the opportunity to exercise the power of choice.

Another question that helps us in sustaining motivation is: "What is really most important to me: product or process?" Process entails growth, development and learning -- cultivation of the awareness and resources of the self and others. To be product-orientated tends to over-focus on result with not enough care or attention to the underlying processes needed to arrive at that result. The quick-fix method, the "success in seven days" formula, does not really work, at least not permanently. If we look at nature, we see that her beauty and her strength are the combined result of time and process. For example, a huge oak tree, the roses in the garden, the changing of the seasons do not happen instantly. There is always space and time given for particular processes to function.

For a process to happen effectively, I need to prioritize, that is, to make the best use of my time, energy and resources.

To prioritize, I also need to recognize and refuse clever excuses (for example, "there is no time") and create a timetable that is realistic and functional. As I prioritize my values, then the type of motivation I have becomes clearer. Is my motivation materialistic or spiritual? The results of one and the other are very different.

Materialistic motivation is based on ambition, competition and a desire for position. Often, we believe we cannot succeed without these and so think and act on the basis of these values. Often the results include conflict, fear, attachment, jealousy, possessiveness and over-identification of the self with a role, a position that makes us feel threatened by anyone who is more talented or more praised. For example, when motivation is materialistic, there is always the fear of loss that, in turn, creates uneasiness, stress and worry.

Spiritual motivation is based on enthusiasm for a task, rather than blind ambition, and cooperation with the uniqueness of others, rather than being in competition with those differences. Finally, the feeling to serve through whatever talent, position, or role I have -- to serve a need rather than exploit a need is quality service.

The results of spiritual motivation are respect, harmony individual and collective well-being, a sense of purpose and the feeling of a deep fulfilment in one's being.

Spiritual motives such as cooperation, sharing, caring integrity and respect create quality in the aim, the task and the methodology used. Meditation, in the form of reflection, always helps me to reexamine and redefine my aims, my processes and the reasons why I am doing what I am doing.

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Is God Relevant Today?

As people are faced with crises from every angle, tossed into the midst of human-made tragedies and natural calamities, they ask, "Where is God?" As traditional securities crumble then do we agree with the famous quote of Nietzsche, "God is dead"?

Religion as a human panacea to comfort, explain and redeem has, in practice, dissipated lately. Theoretically many positive claims for religion are made but practically speaking, when all is said and done, there is an enormous void as evidenced by the great increase in desperation and fear. Even more surprising is the fact that for multitudes, who express belief in God, they do not necessarily find comfort or confidence when confronted with crises, big or small. Some find consolation and support from their faith but the majority becomes hopeless as I see in Greece at the moment. Most have not found the hope at the bottom of Pandora's Box.

Actually in Greece the people's deep gripe is much more with the hypocritical government and the sanctimonious church not really with the Godhead! The economic Epiphany of the Greek state has shocked its people. No enhancement of faith instead a great mistrust and despair is thriving. A Greek friend of mine when describing the religious and political systems of his country uttered,

Greece has become the land of heretics and lunatics. Heresy in the Church: hypocritical adherence to spiritual principles. Lunacy in the state: no vision and no care.

From politics I never did expect much but from a rich spiritual tradition I did. Why is it that religion appears so ineffectual at the time it is most needed?

Belief that does not create more trust and support could suggest a defunct God or, much more to the point, a defunct believer and a defunct system. Belief without coherent positive behaviour makes a belief in God irrelevant. There is so often a disconnection between peoples' stated belief and their "lived" life that many doubt the relevance of God in everyday life.

Did structured religion really become "the opium of the people" as Marx declared? It is an old statement, as is Nietzsche's, but nonetheless such statements trigger speculation. Although not an atheist I can understand how people might conclude that belief in God is rather nonsensical. Who can believe in a close-minded, parochial God, who threatens hell or some kind of punishment when a person does not comply? With time one realizes that maybe God is not like that but rather groups are projecting their own prejudices and mindsets onto their conjectured God. Often the term "God" can be manipulated and fabricated politically and socially to assert ascendency over others. The need to be dominant and control others is the greatest opium in the human character.

However opium is not only found in religion but in any system or lifestyle that atrophies the capacity to create and recreate, to think and rethink. Espousal of dogmatic, nepotistic creeds corrupts the integrity and esteem of both individual and society, fossilizing systems as we see in present-day southern Europe. History demonstrates this repeating phenomenon.

It seems only "awakened" people break though blind conformity and choose something far more authentic. These people are motivated by higher ideals, whether it is an honest love of God, selfless service of some kind or personal alignment to truth.

When one goes back in history and reads, for example, about the cruelty of the Spanish Inquisition and other inquisitions, such as that against the Cathars in France, one asks: is this really connected with God? When one reads about Constantine the Great, who killed thousands of people and even his wife and son, one is baffled as to how he could have been canonized as spiritually great!

Isn't living the non-violent codes such as tolerance, acceptance, kindness the "true religion"? God's relevance is there isn't it? It is not really found in any particular labels. Each one will explain his or her own beliefs in their own terms and all are free and have the right to do so but humane behaviour is the ultimate measure of God's love and presence. Unfortunately since religion is often socialized and politicized, inevitably its spirituality is forgotten or made impotent by redundant formulas and practices that do not nourish the human spirit. Within such a necrotizing atmosphere obviously some people would feel God is dead. Labels cannot provide support any more, which is possibly why things, especially religion, are crumbling.

Of course no matter what we observe and know about religion still we cannot throw out the baby with the bathwater as they say. The original spirit of religion has always had a profound relevancy.

Most religions affirm the dignity of the person by demonstrating the unique spirit within and a trusting, direct relationship with God. However when the original spiritual teachings gradually devolve into jumbled creeds, the respect for the individual and spiritual principles fade.

Structure and system, moving away from its basic purpose to facilitate the soul's well-being, became a mechanistic apparatus with rigid rules, superstitious rituals and routines that efface the uniqueness and freedom of the person. We see this in many institutionalized systems. In spite of the best of intentions institutions are made up of very different people so it is inevitable that the quality of understanding is very, very uneven.

At its best organized religion provides an assured space and a caring guidance to express and experience God on a deep level, both personally and collectively. At its worst it becomes a profane machine that controls or destroys anyone outside its orthodoxy because its beliefs are prescriptive. Any deviation by the individual automatically makes him or her enemy of the true faith; this mindset is the basis of persecution.

The Church in Greece names and shames anyone or anything that is not orthodox as a heretic. Actually anyone practising yoga or a different spirituality is openly branded a heretic. This was quite an amusing experience for me after having grown up in liberal Australia.

What is the emotional lack where difference cannot be embraced? If one really believes in God, then why not leave "being true" up to Him ? Meantime and more importantly, just let one keep peace, respect and happily coexist. Some religious communities did this as in Spain where Jews, Christians and Muslims coexisted amicably for many centuries till Queen Isabella, King Ferdinand and the zealous Dominican monk Tomas de Torquemada wanted a pure Catholicism, thus justifying the introduction of the Spanish Inquisition. Can something pure be so violent? 

What is pure? Often people connect it to truth. However can truth be encapsulated in a doctrine that ostracises all sense of humaneness? Truth comes from one's way of living: the visible coherence between spiritual belief and humane behaviour. A book, although it can be greatly valuable and certainly useful, gives one a compass, but it is not the destination in itself. It is not a matter of quoting the book but living it.

One does not need to fight, downgrade nor exclude anyone on the journey. Of course in certain parts of the world there is much more tolerance about this, but in other parts far, far less. Sometimes even within a tolerant country there are the fanatics. Fanatics are so self-obsessed with an idea of being right that they have obliterated love from their interactions with fellow human beings. Actually they will even justify the use of violence, verbal or physical or both, as holy, necessary and God-inspired!

The need to be more humane started with the Renaissance .It sliced open the clogged arteries of Human Thought. It was an urgently-needed gasp of air. Renaissance Europe created its new breath from the minds of mainly the ancient Greek thinkers and, to a far lesser extent, the ancient Romans. Here in Athens seeing the chaos escalates one feels that Greece but also Europe definitely needs a second Renaissance. Maybe take a renewed look at Plato, dialogue like Socrates or imbibe the teachings of Christ in their original spirit.

In medieval Italy those rejuvenators of thought had to be very careful because the ecclesiastical establishment of that time barbarously condemned them as heretics, which happened to the Italian monk Giordano Bruno. Influenced by Renaissance thought his creative freshness and questioning made him the target of the Inquisition. Accused of heresy he was burnt at the stake. His statue, located on the site of his execution, stands in Campo di Fiori in Rome. I saw it this spring and noticed how the sculptor poignantly captured the recalcitrant spirit of this philosopher. The statue stands opposite the Vatican and you can feel how Bruno epitomizes the eternal and open defiance of any institution that tries to nullify an individual's right to think differently.

I am told there is an annual commemoration on his execution day 17 February for atheists and freethinkers. His final words were, "In me was what was possible that no future century will be able to deny to me ... that I did not fear death, that I did not submit, my face firm to anyone of my breed; that I preferred a courageous death to a fearful life."

However, with time Renaissance thought tended to go to the other extreme in making everything human-centered. For some reason people tend to swing from one extreme to another rather than maintain an integrated balance.

Simone Weil, French socialist and mystic who died in 1942 wrote: "Humanism was not wrong in thinking that truth, beauty, liberty and equality are of infinitive value, but in thinking that man can get them for himself without grace."

Grace, abstract as it may sound, is relevant in human life. Grace is an unconditional energy from an Unconditional Source of Being (God) that enters human consciousness releasing the creative uniqueness of the individual. The person soars beyond personal and societal limitations and pioneers new horizons. All have access to this grace; it is not the prerogative of a group. It's a democratic energy. Receiving it primarily depends on the honesty of intention not on a privileged label.

Grace is God's loving energy. The evidence of truly being a recipient of grace is the feeling of inclusivity, of connectedness; no brutal eliminations. Usually when anyone has deviated from the norm they are ostracised, not just socially but also existentially. For example, we are told certain types of people go to hell eternally. Hell is a convenient place where non-conforming individuals are disposed of. It is a method to spook people into compliance. The uglier and more agonizing it is depicted the more fear-driven compliance is assured. These days many people could not care less either about hell or heaven. They quite rightly reject this set of rewards and punishments as a kind of "divine nepotism" that at times cajole, at other times, harass them.

Those who think they have superior positions because of revelations, become exclusive about their status and feel the right to convert or condemn. Revelations are very real. They certainly do happen but the proof of any genuine revelation is the feeling of equality and acceptance that such an individual or group feels towards others. When we know who we are, when that uniqueness is expressed, then we can complement our differences to make up the whole. No need to compete.

Not all plants in a garden are roses no matter how beautiful roses are. All plants have their specialness, all are valued and all contribute. The truth of whether God has a sustainable relevance in our life is certainly expressed by a behaviour where the codes of civility and inclusivity are lived. It has nothing to do with parading a pack of sanctimonious beliefs. All beliefs need to be revised and re-examined otherwise they lose their freshness but most importantly, they lose their relevance to daily life.

To hear the challenges of others, to filter and see if there is any truth in what they say is the genesis of knowledge. The trap is to easily brand a person, an idea, a group as the "enemy" simply because they challenge us to examine where we stand and because they challenge us to rethink what we vehemently adhere to as an "infallible belief". All things are open to enquiry, adjustment and enrichment.

Socrates' final words to those who condemned him convey a timeless truth:

"For if you think that by killing men you can avoid the rebuker censoring your lives, you are mistaken, that is not a way of escape which is neither possible nor honourable; the easiest and noblest way is not to be crushing others but to be improving yourselves".

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Divine Friendship

Friendship is probably the most valued of all relationships because a friend is totally our own choice. Parents and relatives are not chosen but given to us. That also has its own inherent value. However, a friend is someone who speaks to our heart, someone with whom we feel a magnetic affinity. When there is a mutual response between two people who are becoming friends, then a relationship can last a lifetime, or even beyond a lifetime!

Friendship is the coming together of equals. Even if there is a difference in abilities, roles or positions, there is a vision of equality that does not allow any feeling of either superiority or inferiority. This equality of vision permits a complete acceptance of one another.

This creates closeness. There is such a respectful closeness that neither intrudes on the personality of the other, nor does either one harbor distaste for any weakness seen. Since the vision is unlimited, the true goodness of the other is always held as the measure of their reality. Weaknesses are seen as something foreign which, at the appropriate time, will make their exit.

Real friends can never divorce. There is a love that not only accommodates any shortcoming but actively transforms it with a word of encouragement, a smiling patience, an act of kindness. With a friend you do not have to prove yourself, for you are loved and accepted for what you are, and what you are is enough. There is no need for any special achievements. All that a friend asks is that you be yourself. A friend is a friend for all time, when there is a need for support or a moment of joy to share. Good times or bad, a friend is ever present, ready to share, to serve, to listen or just to be there.

Friends always have a deep closeness to each other even if physically they are apart. This companionship conquers distance, time, and in fact any kind of separation. Their mutual empathy is the basis of their communication. This communication is something more than just speaking; it is the ability to listen to the other's feelings, to tune one's self to the other's being. Such true communication allows for the purest interaction because there is a mirror of clarity where nothing can remain obscure. Nothing can be twisted or misunderstood.

Friendship means availability. A friend is available at all times and never says "I don't have time," "wait," "later," or "don't bother me now." When there is need, a friend rushes to be there.

Every confidential word entrusted to a friend is sacred and sealed from the eyes and ears of others. 

Absolutely nothing would induce him or her to betray the friend's trust. Trust is an alliance between two hearts which have learnt through experience that this alliance can never be broken or betrayed. Trust dispels all fear of being misused or being abandoned.

God is the most trustworthy of friends. Unfortunately, this experience of God's friendship has been lost. Too often we are presented with the picture of God only as the Father and Judge. This is not a balanced or true picture at all, for God is also the Mother, the Beloved, the Teacher and the Guide, but especially He is our personal Friend and this friendship permeates all our other relationships with Him.

With God as a friend we can be open and know that in that openness there is a loyalty and an understanding of everything that is within our hearts. Though we have many other relationships with Him, He is always our Friend. This brings lightness and easiness to all our relationships with God.

It is said that a friend of God is a friend of all. Friendship with God teaches us and inspires us to be a true friend to others.

In true friendship there is respect and co-operation. This creates a unity essential for peaceful coexistence. A true friendship, but especially God's, is a blessing for eternity.

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