Every time we have a shocking event, which unfortunately is far too often, the media inundates us with an unending flood of experts from all known fields of human behavior. Always the one overriding, compelling question that each inquiring mind seeks to answer is “Why?”  It seems there is some secret agreement that if we only understood why this person did what they did, it would somehow lessen the terrible pain we all feel.

The sad thing, to me, is that no matter how many hours of conjecture we subject ourselves to, there is no way to comprehend the mind of a person, so lost, so confused, or so detached that it could be capable of horrific, mindless, unconscionable action.

While I do not believe we will ever fully understand the “why” of an individual deranged enough to wantonly kill some targeted group of people, I do believe we can safely assume that the said perpetrator had no grasp of the Truth of his being. Consider these words:

“I believe that people who get to know themselves won’t create wars; people won’t have a need to kill people. When people get to know and understand themselves, they will be more loving. There won’t be a need to perpetuate violence and hatred. When people go within and connect with themselves, they realize they are connected to the universe and they are connected to all living beings.” – Armand Dimele*

*Spirituality, intimacy, and creating real relationships. (2005). In Sorah Dubitsky (Ed.), A chorus of wisdom: Notes on spiritual living from Gerald G. Jampolsky [and others] (p. 84). Berkeley, CA: Ulysses Press : Written by Armand Dimele

When I taught young teenagers in Sunday School and later convicted felons in Federal Prison, my primary focus was always on helping individuals learn how to know themselves with a deeper level of understanding than they had previously attained. My mission, in such settings, was always very clear to me because I knew, as Dimele wrote, that once we discover who and what we are, our lives are forever changed.

When one sets out on a spiritual journey they soon realize that it is absolutely imperative to develop unfailing honesty. And while this level of integrity is ultimately essential in all of their relationships, in-depth self-discovery cannot occur without it.

This concept seems pretty simple, even straightforward, right? Yet, I frequently encounter people who have, over the years, lost touch with what is real and what is fabrication.  I think we all do this, to a certain degree, until we get to know our true selves and the need to pretend disappears.

It is remarkable, to me, that we must “learn” how to be honest with ourselves. Yet, most people who have ever begun a spiritual quest soon found out that self-honesty was significantly more difficult than it seemed it should have been While most parents teach their children the importance of honesty, it is often only the significance of being truthful with others which is stressed. The idea of self-honesty is often unaddressed or simply taken for granted. Unfortunately, often these same parents are better at talking about integrity than they are at demonstrating it, especially when it comes to stories they tell about themselves. Because most of us have grown up with such concern over the opinions of others, it is not surprising that we have developed habits of embellishing our personal stories, both in positive and negative ways. Once we begin, in earnest, the reflection necessary for self-discovery, we can find it really difficult to release old ideas about our identity, many of which we have accepted as truth, sometimes for decades.

When I taught, I felt my most important task was to help individuals learn how to find the Truth of their nature. Every mystic, I have ever studied, found their way to wisdom by looking inside and learning that the Truth of their Being was much greater than at first imagined.

I agree with Armand and know that when people truly know who and what they are, they find very difficult, if not impossible, to harm others. The first thing one realizes, when they have any type of True Self-Identity epiphany, is that we are all connected to each other. The Truth is that there is no separate self which exists to hurt some other separate self. When we discover who we are and learn to forgive ourselves we only want to help our brothers and sisters. We cannot love ourselves and long to hurt our family or our planet. These two ideas are mutually exclusive.

I used to shutter when I would read some mystic insisting that the greatest good we could do for humanity was to learn to heal ourselves, but now I agree totally. The bottom line is that there is no separate self to heal. All healing affects the whole of humanity, also known as the Self.

Every ounce of love we learn to give ourselves is a gift to the entire planet. Loving myself is the natural result of learning the Truth of who and what I AM. There is no greater lesson to learn, no course of study as important.

A little while back, I read a story about a blogger who had been sued for using a photograph which she had downloaded from Google images. It was the second such story I had read, in the last couple of months on the same topic. As any of you know, if you have read me for any time, I pay attention to such coincidences, thinking that they are significant if I notice them repeatedly.

While I have always been careful to get my images from sites which gave permission for their use, it is possible that even with such due diligence; I could be deceived by someone who shared the picture without being the owner of said photo.

So, I decided that on all future photographs, I would request permission from the reported owner, before posting in order to have some proof of my effort. It would be far easier to just buy the photos, but since I do not generate any income with my blog or with my Facebook page, I can hardly afford to purchase a dozen or so pictures a week to fill all my needs.

I am giving you all this background data so that the following will make sense. 

Recently I wrote to an individual who had posted some pictures on Flickr with a creative commons license, requesting permission to use a few of his photographs on my Facebook page. He promptly wrote back giving me permission to use his prints in accordance with the creative commons license.

He also wrote me a second email and told me that he was an atheist and that he felt compelled to tell me this in an effort to dispel the myth that being an atheist was synonymous with having immoral behavior. After telling me that he was a loving father, was faithful to his woman, and was ‘very giving, almost to a fault, he added, “The reason I feel it so important to inform good people like you that I am an atheist is to help stop the belief that atheist’s and agnostic’s stray from morals.”

I had sent this man a link to my Facebook page, where I post pictures with quotes from my readings ( facebook.com/one1now ) so I was surprised when he quoted something I had written on my Secrets to Peace blog. What surprised me most, however, was this idea that being atheist or agnostic somehow meant that one would be lacking in morals. I wonder who would choose to believe such a faulty myth. 

After considering it, for some time, I decided that one would have to be very confident, in the validity of their own beliefs, to apply such stereotypes to these groups of individuals. While the number of religious people has been steadily declining in the last ten years, the number of atheist and agnostic individuals has grown, according to the Pew Research Center.

When you consider that “Spiritual but not Religious” is now the third leading response, when people in the world are questioned about their faith (after Christianity and Islam) it seems far more realistic to assume that there are people who make kind and unkind choices within the group which identifies itself as atheists and agnostics, just as there are moral and immoral individuals in all of the worlds religions. No one organization could possibly have a monopoly on either extreme of human behavior.

My point is this: Why would anyone believe that a person’s religious beliefs dictated their ethical behavior? We have all known reported Christians who were very immoral and those who sought to live as Jesus taught. Obviously, we know the vast majority of those who follow the teachings of Muhammad are peace-loving individuals and that only small percentages live their lives without regard for the rest of humanity. So how could anyone lump all self-professed atheists or agnostics into a sub-category of human behavior which is without moral fiber?

I believe it was a philosophy class, when I was much younger, which taught me to avoid all use of never or always when speaking of humans because neither extreme is usually true when speaking of any condition of the human psyche. It would have never occurred to me to classify all atheists as having low moral character. There are many famous atheists, currently and throughout history, who have been scientists and other individuals who contributed amazing things to society and there have been many famous religious people who have sought death and destruction in the name of their God. The choice of whether or not an individual believes in the existence of God could never be the sole indication of their moral character. The latter can only be determined by the choices this individual makes and demonstrates when coexisting with his/her fellow humans and with the planet, as a whole.

I really like this quote by Anne Lamott, someone who is quite spiritual. She said: “You can safely assume that you have created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people that you do.” We see people, supposed Christians from right here in Topeka, Kansas on the news all the time carrying signs proclaiming the things and the people whom the God of their creation hates. I would consider myself an atheist before I would ever follow a God of hate.

Consider these five facts about atheists from Pew Research:

1. The number of people who identify themselves as atheists in the United States has been rising, modestly but steadily, in recent years. Our aggregated data from 2012 show that 4% of American adults say they are atheists when asked about their religious identity, up from 1.6% in 2007.
2. Atheists, in general, are more likely to be male and younger than the overall population;67% are men, and 38% are ages 18-29(compared with 22% of all U.S. adults). About four-in-ten atheists (43%) have a college degree, compared with 29% of the general public.
3. Although the literal definition of “atheist” is “a person who believes that God does not exist,”according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, 14% of those who call themselves atheists also say they believe in God or a universal spirit. That includes 5% who say they are “absolutely certain” about the existence of God or a universal spirit. Alternatively, there are many people who fit the dictionary definition of “atheist” but do not call themselves atheists. More Americans say they do not believe in God or a universal spirit (7%) than say they are atheists (2.4%).
4. Not all atheists see a contradiction between atheism and spirituality.A quarter (26%) say they think of themselves as spiritual people, and 3% consider themselves religious  Four-in-ten atheists (41%) say they often think about the meaning and purpose of life.
5. Among atheists,82% say they either often (52%) or sometimes (30%) feel a deep connection with nature and the earth; among all American adults, 85% either often (58%) or sometimes (26%) feel such a connection.

(Source: http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/10/23/5-facts-about-atheists/ )

Personally, due to my experience of life, I know, with no uncertainty, that there is a unifying force which animates all of life. Oftentimes, I identify this One Power as God. Mostly I call it Love. Frequently, I refer to it as Source. This Oneness, which exists, in me, as me, is not real similar to the idea of God I was taught as a child growing up in a Southern Baptist Church. While such teachings were a part of my spiritual foundation, everything I insist I know, today, has come to me as a result of my meditation, my time spent in the quiet. There I found answers to all of my questions, and in-fact, had all of my questions erased. 

Knowing what I know, I still consider myself agnostic, which is why I find “facts” three and four of the Pew Research so interesting. I call myself agnostic, because I do not believe we can ever know what this One Power is, fully. It is so far beyond the mind’s ability to comprehend, any attempt to identify or quantify its existence is, as Anne Lamott suggested, creating God in our own image. It cannot be done, not with any integrity. Any attempt to do so only proves that such definition is coming from the ego and not from Awareness.

The man I met on flickr was clearly a beautiful soul. In the end, being a loving being is far more important to humanity than believing in some religion. My religion is Love. Everyone who truly loves honors the same God I strive to emulate.

Peace is ours when we acknowledge the Light (another term I use for the One Power) in one another. This Life Force thrives in every rock, tree, plant, animal, and human. When we look at the world through awakened eyes we can see that everything vibrates with this Energy: (Even the individual, who has turned away from the Light, still carries within his/her being a flicker of this Truth.) When we are able to see this Light, glowing, within another, Love is the only prudent choice we can make. This does not depend upon religion. This is a choice, just as loving your wife and family and showing up to love your neighbor as yourself.

The choices we make in honoring one another are far more important than the labels we use to identify our religious beliefs. Choosing Love is choosing Life, regardless of whether or not one professes a belief in someone else’s God.

My family and I have lived in our current home for almost sixteen years. We moved in on my birthday in 1999. When we moved here it was for the convenience. I was selling Real Estate,  at the time, and had an exclusive listing on a brand new subdivision which was ready to begin, a block from this house.

Prior to moving in, I knew a couple of people in the neighborhood; such is the nature of living in what is, in actuality, a small town, despite over a hundred thousand people living here. While we have always enjoyed our home, what has been and remains the most wonderful blessing of our move here are our neighbors. We have found really good friends here; loving, kind people who make our lives richer by their actions and their spirits.

This is why when I read this writing from Robert Heinlein, it really spoke to me. Undoubtedly, some of you will have read this, but I encourage you to reread it with an open heart. I think it is very wise.

This I Believe

I am not going to talk about religious beliefs but about matters so obvious that it has gone out of style to mention them. I believe in my neighbors. I know their faults, and I know that their virtues far outweigh their faults.

Take Father Michael down our road a piece. I’m not of his creed, but I know that goodness and charity and loving kindness shine in his daily actions. I believe in Father Mike. If I’m in trouble, I’ll go to him.

My next-door neighbor is a veterinary doctor. Doc will get out of bed after a hard day to help a stray cat. No fee — no prospect of a fee — I believe in Doc.

I believe in my townspeople. You can knock on any door in our town saying, “I’m hungry,” and you will be fed. Our town is no exception. I’ve found the same ready charity everywhere. But for the one who says, “To heck with you — I got mine,” there are a hundred, a thousand who will say, “Sure, pal, sit down.”

I know that despite all warnings against hitchhikers I can step up to the highway, thumb for a ride and in a few minutes a car or a truck will stop and someone will say, “Climb in Mac — how far you going?”

I believe in my fellow citizens. Our headlines are splashed with crime yet for every criminal there are 10,000 honest, decent, kindly men. If it were not so, no child would live to grow up. Business could not go on from day to day. Decency is not news. It is buried in the obituaries, but is a force stronger than crime. I believe in the patient gallantry of nurses and the tedious sacrifices of teachers. I believe in the unseen and unending fight against desperate odds that goes on quietly in almost every home in the land.

I believe in the honest craft of workmen. Take a look around you. There never were enough bosses to check up on all that work. From Independence Hall to the Grand Coulee Dam, these things were built level and square by craftsmen who were honest in their bones.

I believe that almost all politicians are honest … there are hundreds of politicians, low paid or not paid at all, doing their level best without thanks or glory to make our system work. If this were not true we would never have gotten past the 13 colonies.

And finally, I believe in my whole race. Yellow, white, black, red, brown. In the honesty, courage, intelligence, durability, and goodness of the overwhelming majority of my brothers and sisters everywhere on this planet. I am proud to be a human being. I believe that we have come this far by the skin of our teeth. That we always make it just by the skin of our teeth, but that we will always make it. Survive. Endure. I believe that this hairless embryo with the aching, oversize brain case and the opposable thumb, this animal barely up from the apes will endure. Will endure longer than his home planet — will spread out to the stars and beyond, carrying with him his honesty and his insatiable curiosity, his unlimited courage and his noble essential decency.

This I believe.

• Robert A. Heinlein

I share Heinlein’s love of and belief in humanity. I believe the goodness in people far outweighs the challenging few who are reported upon in the news. I do not care what religion another person is or if they are atheist, agnostic, humanist, or any of the other faith or philosophic traditions about which I know nothing. People are inherently good because they are LOVE. Even the ones who actively reject or resist this Truth are still LOVE at their core. This is the stuff of which we are all made. It is the Life Force itself. 

Humans are now and will always be filled with Light; otherwise they could not inhabit these earthly bodies. Yes, we may always do battle with one another, at least until we learn to rise above our ego-based belief in separateness, but, one by one, we are learning the Truth of who and what we are. Each one of us, upon obtaining this Awareness, realizes we no longer entertain any thoughts of harming another.

I truly believe that this is the direction in which the human race is evolving. I know, at the very least, that I and most of my friends have dedicated our lives to helping us all move in that direction. In the meantime, I would like to suggest that we each spend more energy looking for the Light in one another instead of focusing on the lower energies. Together we will call a kinder and gentler humanity into existence.