Whence the wind blows a Sunday Sermon.

The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know whence it comes or whither it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit."

~ Gospel of John, iii, 8  

  The problem is I do know whence the wind blows and wither its goes. It doesn't blow where it wills. Its precisely controlled by events on the macro and micro scale. Subject to gas laws, heat, terrain and atmospheric pressure and even the construction layout of our cities and towns. I spent 20 years forecasting whence the wind blows and getting it right with 90% accuracy, because I had learned the laws of atmospheric physics by which the wind is controlled. Laws, which  of course weren't known to St John when he wrote this "truth". Though observation could have told him much even then; for example this tree affected by prevailing wind. Everything to John was controlled by God, he was right but his definition of God was as limited as his definition of whence the wind blows. Of course "spirit" is not controlled by atmospheric physics, though it may be subject to its own laws and dynamics which we may be just starting to get a handle on.

   Spirit makes up all that is intangible in the world around us, The dreams, hopes and desires, the wants, and the needs of people, These are influenced by both outer and inner circumstances the physical and spiritual working together.  I like to think of God as How the Universe Works (capitalized). This includes the outer universe subject, to the laws of physics. Thermodynamics, Gravity, Quantum theory, Relativity, Chemistry and so on. How the universe works also includes the inner world of, imagination, creativity, spirituality, free will, meditation and prayer, etc. Perhaps this is the whole of How the Universe Works though undoubtedly there are things we don't know. However, as both physical and spiritual beings we are in god and god is in us (panenthism) inescapably.  

 Then I am occasionally asked what about consciousness? Is the universe conscious of itself. My response is that we, every conscious entity anywhere in the universe make up the collective consciousness of the universe at some level in the inner universe we inhabit. I am conscious, I'm not really sure about you, but I assume you are. So is my dog Sam and the animals around my home (I'm not too sure about the kids though). So you see God in in our consciousness as we are in God's consciousness together making up How the Universe Works.

  The same is true of personality. God is both impersonal and personal.

Personal gods are those that respond to individual humans and interfere with the universe. An impersonal God would be one that just sits by the sidelines and observes, but doesn't answer prayers, perform miracles, or interfere in any way.


The universe acts according to laws. The law work regardless of our belief or disbelief, impersonally. But that doesn't mean we cannot influence How the Universe Works by having a personal relationship with a God of our understanding through meditation or prayer. Its been explained to me that prayer and meditation, guided by our consciousness and freewill could possibly work to influence the random nature of subatomic waves and particles. There is so far no experimental proof of this, though there is some proof that an observer either human or instrument influences the actions of sub atomic quanta.  

    My main point with this is to get a way from god as action at a distance and to bring him closer to us by the realization that physically the stuff of god is part us as we are part of the stuff of god. This definition precludes the action of a transcendent god such as the Christian God or the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Though if one wants to continue the traditions and beliefs of the Pastafarians  or Christian tradition, or even Frisbeetarians. I see no harm. I have brought my children up with Christian tradition though I am lately come to Pastafarianism as I see the wisdom of his Noodliness.