{"id":239,"date":"2017-07-03T12:08:43","date_gmt":"2017-07-03T16:08:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/dremadeoraich\/?p=239"},"modified":"2017-07-03T12:08:43","modified_gmt":"2017-07-03T16:08:43","slug":"fueling-the-fire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2017\/07\/03\/fueling-the-fire\/","title":{"rendered":"Fueling the Fire"},"content":{"rendered":"

My friend William recently asked me to explain what I meant by \u201cGod\u201d in five minutes or less. After I finished laughing, I said I was pretty sure no one in this reality could explain or describe God at all<\/em>, much less in five minutes. However, to me<\/em>, God is that quintessential Other, who I believe is the basis, the energy, the essence of All That Is. Every galaxy, every planet, every sentient, every living thing, every atom, every quantum particle, every everything<\/em> is made from and filled by and entangled with this Vital Construct. As such, we are all One, and the only thing that isolates us one from the other is this physical realm, these physical bodies. It also means we are individuals, unique unto ourselves, only so long as we are \u201cseparate.\u201d Before our entry here, and after we leave, I believe we are part of that larger Whole.<\/p>\n

To take this further, if God is Divine, and if the energy and substance that is God suffuses us all, that means we are all (at least in part) Divine. I\u2019ve heard religious people say that they are the children of God, or that they have God in their hearts, or that we are made of star stuff. All these statements, worded to fit their culture of origin, resonate with my own understanding of Divine Nature.<\/p>\n

Granted, this is my spirituality in a nutshell. But it summarizes what I\u2019ve believed for years now. Needless to say, time and experience tweaks and nuances my approach to God, but all of it contributes to my Weltanschauung. It\u2019s a very big part of who I am.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve used the word \u201cGod\u201d here, but I could as easily have used Divine, or Universe, or The Is, or Allah, or G_D. I wear no religious label\u2014not Christian, Jew, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Bahai, UU, Wiccan, Druid, or any other\u2014but it doesn\u2019t matter. My point is that my writing is inextricably connected to my life as a human being. I can\u2019t\u2014don\u2019t want<\/em> to\u2014separate them, for without those experiences or feelings or beliefs that make up my life, what would I write about?<\/p>\n

Thus my system of beliefs is part of my writing. I\u2019m not sure I could pen anything\u2014story, novel, poem\u2013without including it in some way, whether in blatant form or not. It certainly informed my manuscript, The Founders Seed<\/em>, where it forms the kernels of faith for an alien race. On occasion, real-life twists of spiritual insight show up in my story plots. For example, in my short non-fiction story Dancing Man<\/em>, the protagonist (me) has forgotten these \u201cTruths\u201d and is reminded after an eye-opening encounter with a homeless person.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not to say that every character in my stories reflects those beliefs; certainly they don\u2019t. In The Founders Seed<\/em>, the antagonist believes personal power or greed will fill his empty soul. In Last Call<\/em>, the protagonist works through a life-altering crisis without any belief in the Divine, and relies on Pragmatic philosophy to support her decisions.<\/p>\n

Sometimes, when I hear God\u2019s whispers (or, sometimes, her shouts\u2014I\u2019m not always listening as closely as I should), the lessons I learn show up in my tales, like Seed<\/em> or Dancing Man<\/em> or Switch<\/em>. In these instances, writing helps me work out the kinks in the message, and it is through this process that the story unfolds. I even keep a blank, lined book with me always where I can jot down story ideas that pop into my head. Most of these stories have yet to see physical form, but they are there, waiting, a great many inspired by these flashes of insight.<\/p>\n

Does your religion\/faith\/spirituality inform your<\/em> writing? If so, how?<\/p>\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My friend William recently asked me to explain what I meant by \u201cGod\u201d in five minutes or less. After I finished laughing, I said I was pretty sure no one in this reality could explain or describe God at all, much less in five minutes. However, to me, God is that quintessential Other, who I…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-239","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog-posts"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8n0kX-3R","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2415,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2021\/10\/30\/dear-god\/","url_meta":{"origin":239,"position":0},"title":"Dear God","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"October 30, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 Hello God, or Goddess, or Universe, or whatever name you wish to be called. I don\u2019t have any requests today. I just wanted to say hello. I just wanted to say that I know you are there, because I am here. I wanted to reiterate that I choose to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog Posts"","block_context":{"text":"Blog Posts","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/category\/blog-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/young-woman-ge404477af_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/young-woman-ge404477af_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/young-woman-ge404477af_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/young-woman-ge404477af_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/young-woman-ge404477af_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":244,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2017\/07\/10\/fingerprints-of-god-the-search-for-the-science-of-spirituality\/","url_meta":{"origin":239,"position":1},"title":"Fingerprints of God: The Search for the Science of Spirituality","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"July 10, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"by Barbara Bradley Hagerty. Riverhead, \u00a9 2009 ISBN 978-1594484629 Paperback, 336 pages. From $14.97 Lifelong Christian Science devotee Barbara Bradley Hagerty, inspired by a spiritual encounter she could not explain, spent years exploring the nature of God. Fingerprints documents her journey through the labyrinth of stories from people who\u2019ve experienced\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","block_context":{"text":"Reviews","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/category\/reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/FingerprintsGod-192x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":592,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2018\/02\/12\/godseed\/","url_meta":{"origin":239,"position":2},"title":"GodSeed","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"February 12, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Last week I gave a presentation on the Pagan\/Wiccan holiday of Imbolg to a small interfaith group whose members are mostly Christian and Jewish. It wasn\u2019t the first time I\u2019ve shared aspects of my faith with this loving group of people. My views are always accepted with open hearts and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog Posts"","block_context":{"text":"Blog Posts","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/category\/blog-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5085,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2024\/11\/07\/are-you-there-god-its-me-margaret\/","url_meta":{"origin":239,"position":3},"title":"Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"November 7, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"By Judy Bume Delacorte Press, \u00a92012 ASIN: B007I5QMK2 Kindle File Size: 1515KB Paperback: 177 pages What a wonderful little book! While it seems simplistic, perhaps written for a middle-grade reader, Margaret's story is deeper than it first appears. Its themes of puberty, menstruation and sexuality, and the exploration of religion\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","block_context":{"text":"Reviews","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/category\/reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Light blue background with young teen girl reaching down to straighten her shoe. Text says \u201cAre you there, God? 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Edward Todd, has settled into an expected post-war role of husband and father, living out his days in small-town mediocrity with enigmatic wife Nancy, unlikeable daughter Viola, volatile grandson Sunny and pragmatic granddaughter Bertie.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","block_context":{"text":"Reviews","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/category\/reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/GodInRuuins-200x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":157,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2017\/04\/09\/prayer\/","url_meta":{"origin":239,"position":5},"title":"Prayer","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"April 9, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Years ago, I visited a Tibetan Buddhist monastery near Woodstock, New York. It was my first visit to a Buddhist temple, and it was glorious \u2014 the designs and decoration on the temple itself, the many essentials in its construction (it must face a specific direction; it must have an\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Archived Writings"","block_context":{"text":"Archived Writings","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/category\/archived-writings\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=239"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":240,"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239\/revisions\/240"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=239"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=239"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=239"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}