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[Loki]

This topic is something I find hugely interesting, I put it here as I feel it discusses people’s traditions, paths and ideology but if it’s in the wrong place I’m sorry! 

When it comes to discussing my path / tradition it’s quite tricky, I am following a pagan path but I guess I’m eclectic in so much as I love to read and discuss religion and tend to incorporate (steal) thoughts and philosophies I like. I have also grown to respect and love the way of drabengro / chovihani- the gypsy healers / witches and practice a fusion of this with my own thoughts. So eclectic pagan / chovihani is the best way to explain my path...

Right I’m straying from the topic do forgive me...

What I’m interested to know is what do others think 'God' is and how do you perceive it??

Personally I feel that there is a force / energy in all things, it is this energy that makes everything exist. I remember one day thinking to my self what makes the tree grow, as a biologist I have the understanding of the mechanisms of growth, I understand where the tree gets ‘scientific energy’ and where that energy is used within the tree but what I didn’t get was why does it bother?

Another example of this confusion happened whilst studying at uni. I watched as a white blood cell sort out and destroyed a bacteria- simples. Only what really baked my noodle was the bacteria tried to escape…  I could not get my head around that concept, that something smaller than a human brain cell had the capacity to not only sense danger but the drive to survive…

It was then that I decided I do believe in some ‘ultimate force’ and it was the roma word dei’alia which means ‘The All’ that help me understand this concept.

So, to the crux of the matter, I believe that dei’alia is the force that drives this existence and that being a ‘mere mortal’ I have constructed a method of communicating with it by means of personification, i.e. I gave dei’alia a face, a name – I made it as close to human as possible and it is this personality I call God or should I say Gods being polytheist!

”One God many faces” – One dei’alia, many personalities with which to commune.

Right I should stop my philosophical ramblings, can’t wait to see what others think! (I’m such a geek!)

[bluefire]

What I’m interested to know is what do others think 'God' is and how do you perceive it??

Personally I feel that there is a force / energy in all things, it is this energy that makes everything exist.

I believe there is a force in all things too.  I also believe that there is a force inbetween all things, an energy that holds them together. 

So, to the crux of the matter, I believe that dei’alia is the force that drives this existence and that being a ‘mere mortal’ I have constructed a method of communicating with it by means of personification,

And I also believe that I sometimes construct a personification that allows me to communicate more easily with the Divine, or more accurately, to an aspect of the Divine that I need to communicate with. 

Strictly intellectually, I do not think that I can even begin to understand the essence of the Divine.  The closest I can come to explaining it to myself is that the Divine is pure energy.  But those thoughts don't really help me to live my life or do any more for me than allow me the pleasure that comes from thinking about something really complex.  And there is joy in that.  But my experience of the Divine is different.  It comes when I feel connected to some aspect of the Divine.  It's like the whole is too much to sink in.  But in pieces?  It's more real.

I'm into another Egyptian phase right now.  The first time I was attracted to the Egytian Dieties, I was somewhat taken aback by the physicality of it, these people-like gods and goddesses who did some pretty strange and horrible stuff.  This time around, it's okay.  There's something about those specific aspects of the Divine that speak to me.

[vordan]

The concepts of divine energy and various gods can be different things. That there is a membrane of energy, a connecting energy shared by all things in the universe is something that even science has begun to wrap it's head around. That individual conscious entities exist that can channel certain types of energy is still in the realm of faith. If the universe is as multi-layered and complex as I suspect, the true nature of divinity may be beyond the ability of our little brains to completely grasp. Science fiction may lead the way as much as religion to understanding divinity in new ways.

[dragonspring]

I believe there is a force in all things too.  I also believe that there is a force inbetween all things, an energy that holds them together...And I also believe that I sometimes construct a personification that allows me to communicate more easily with the Divine, or more accurately, to an aspect of the Divine that I need to communicate with.

...the true nature of divinity may be beyond the ability of our little brains to completely grasp.

I agree with these statements.  I believe it is beyond my ability to fully grasp the nature of the Divine.  Knowing that, I choose to honor the Divine as Lord and Lady.  The different aspects of the Divine can be seen in various Goddesses and Gods in various cultural contexts.  My practice tends to lean towards Celtic deities because I have familial ties to Celtic lands. 

[earthmuffin]

My views are very similar to what has already been stated by everyone else here so far. Prior to a few years ago, I was agnostic tending toward atheism. But then I had a spiritual revelation during which I "felt" that everything is part of everything else and the energy that connects it all is love. Then I started reading outside my normal area of interest and discovered that this has been described by mystics, meditators, and shamans throughout the ages and is supported by recent work in physics as well. For me, personal experience with independent confirmation was necessary to make this mental leap. And that may be as far as I ever get toward understanding divinity. I agree that it is too big for us to grasp in our usual state of consciousness, but I think we may be capable of understanding more if we become "enlightened" and our normal consciousness is expanded thousandsfold.

As far as personifying God in order to commune with the divine, for the most part, I haven't been able to attach specific deities to the concept very well. Of course, just as I decided it was an impossibility for me, I had a strange experience. I was drifting off on the couch one afternoon but wasn't yet asleep and I felt this great loving energy surging toward me and then a voice said "I am Demeter. Feel no fear." The kicker was that I had unknowing been pronouncing Demeter incorrectly all my life, but the voice pronounced the name correctly which of course prompted me to look up the pronunciation. How's that for a whack on the noggin?  Somebody certainly has a sense of humor (or wants me to have one) and understands my need for concrete evidence.

[PaganOne]

Reading all your posts made me think of this quote...

The presence of the divine in the universe doesn't necessarily depend on or argue for the presence of gods. ~ Daniel Quinn, Providence

Of course I have trouble defining divine.   

[Loki]

ooo, nice quote. Very thought provoking *ponders*

[Moonblade]

I agree with Loki, brilliant quote. I have trouble defining the divine as well, and I often wonder if the divine is even meant to be defined or if it even truly can be defined.

In the end, we must each decide our own definition, and all of them are correct, simply because reality is merely the perception of each individual.