Tag: ground of being

God Without Belief

A curious statement arises: God is an atheist. Not as denial, but as a revelation of what cannot be confined to belief. Belief requires distance; someone who believes, and something believed in. That distance dissolves at the level of the Absolute.

God, understood as the ground of all being, does not stand apart from existence. No position can be taken outside of what already is. Theism proclaims devotion toward a divine presence. Pantheism recognizes divinity within all forms. Panentheism holds both transcendence and immanence. Agnosticism suspends certainty. Atheism rejects the claim altogether. Each appears to oppose the other, yet all emerge from the same source.

A wave arguing with another wave about the existence of the ocean misses the quiet truth beneath the motion. The ocean never needs to assert itself. No defense is required. No belief is necessary. Presence alone is sufficient.

God, in this sense, cannot be a theist, because there is nothing separate to believe in. God cannot be an atheist either, in the conventional sense, because nothing exists outside of that totality to deny. Yet from the human vantage point, the Absolute appears as both belief and disbelief, devotion and rejection, clarity and doubt.

Atheism becomes one expression of the divine refusing to objectify itself. The refusal to project an external deity is not always a rejection of truth; sometimes it is an unconscious recognition that truth cannot be turned into an object at all. What is rejected is often a concept, not the living reality prior to concepts.

The ground of being remains untouched by every conclusion formed about it. Arguments unfold within it, philosophies rise and fall within it, identities shape themselves and dissolve within it. Nothing stands outside to validate or invalidate what already includes everything.

Silence reveals more than assertion here. That silence does not belong to any religion or ideology. It is the same stillness present before belief forms and after it fades.

What, then, is left?

A direct knowing without position. A presence without identity. A reality that does not require agreement to be what it is.

God, as the Absolute, holds space for the believer kneeling in prayer and the skeptic dismantling every claim. Both movements are gestures within the same indivisible whole. Neither completes it. Neither threatens it.

Seeing this does not demand adopting a new belief. It invites the collapse of the need to hold one at all.

And what remains cannot be called belief or disbelief; only what is, prior to both.

Morgan O. Smith

The Illusion of Spiritual Identity

Beyond Stories We Tell Ourselves

Spirituality, at its core, is a profound journey toward understanding one’s place in the vast expanse of existence. However, in our attempt to grasp this elusive understanding, we often pigeonhole ourselves into labels: spiritual, materialistic, moral, and the like. But what if I were to suggest that these labels, these stories, are mere illusions? And that by clinging to them, we might be limiting our true potential.

#### **The Stories We Tell Ourselves**

Every culture, every religion, and every individual has a narrative. These narratives shape our beliefs, our actions, and the way we perceive the world. They are the tapestries upon which our identities are woven. But what happens when we deconstruct these tapestries? Beneath the intricate designs and patterns, what remains?

The reality is that these stories are our creations, shaped by societal norms, personal experiences, and myriad other factors. To say one is ‘spiritual’ or ‘materialistic’ is to adopt a particular perspective, a specific lens through which we view the world.

#### **The Ground of All Being**

But let’s delve deeper. Beneath these self-imposed labels and narratives, there lies a fundamental essence – often referred to as the ‘ground of all being’. This essence is the raw, unfiltered state of existence. It is what you are before the stories, before the labels, and before the definitions. It is the canvas upon which all our narratives are painted.

This ground of being is paradoxical. While it exists beyond all descriptors, it simultaneously encompasses them. Think of it as an ocean. The waves, currents, and whirlpools may differ in their nature and intensity, but they all arise from and subside back into the same vast expanse of water.

#### **Embracing the Beyond**

Realizing this fundamental truth can be liberating. When we understand that our spiritual or materialistic labels are mere waves upon the ocean of existence, we can learn to see beyond them. We can experience the world without the confines of our self-imposed narratives.

This doesn’t mean that one should abandon their spiritual practices or beliefs. Rather, it’s about recognizing them for what they are – beautiful expressions of the infinite variations of existence.

#### **Conclusion**

In the end, whether you consider yourself spiritual, materialistic, or anything in between, it’s crucial to remember that these are just facets of the grander jewel that is existence. By stepping back and seeing beyond our self-crafted stories, we can come closer to experiencing the profound depth of what we truly are.

Morgan O. Smith

Yinnergy Meditation & My Book, Bodhi in the Brain…Available Now!

https://linktr.ee/morganosmith