Thanks, Anita, for asking!
Friday, March 13, 2015
A DAUGHTER'S
QUESTIONNAIRE
By
Francis William Bessler
Laramie, Wyoming
3/13/2015
Note:
This essay is in response to the following letter that I received from my oldest daughter, Anita, age of 44, just a day or two ago. She wants me to address her request immediately - keeping my answers from 3 to 5 pages. So, here goes. Thanks, Anita! I hope my answers are sufficient for your needs.
Hi Dad! I am taking online courses and I have to interview someone, one with views and you definitely have views. If you don't mind, here are the questions. I know you like to be lengthy. So go ahead. I have to write 3 to 5 pages, also adding in what I think. Go for it, Dad! Thanks!
Anita's Questions /
My Answers:
1. What is your belief about God or ultimate reality? My view of God is that It (not He or She) is equivalent to Infinity. I believe that because when I speculate about all existence, the term that comes to mind is "Infinity" - which could be interpreted as simply "all that is." It could also be interpreted as "Existence Without End." In any case, it cannot be defined as a "person" because persons have limits - and God cannot be limited.
That means there can be NO PERSONAL GOD. That translates as there can be no alleged "authority" outside of any individual - from which that individual can claim authority. All must be In God and God must be In All.
Ultimate Reality - or ultimately, Reality - must be Sacred, then. There can be no division between an All Present God and all that exists. Down through the ages, people have concluded - and falsely so - that there can be division between God and various individuals because God has been defined as a "Person," not a "Presence." But if God is truly Infinite, God can't be a "Person" - and division or separation from God must be impossible.
2. What is your view of humanity? Basically good? Bad? Flawed? Without question, humanity must be "good" - for reasons already stated in question # 1. How can humanity - or anything within existence - be "bad" if an Infinite God must be IN it?
Once again, down through history, many people have assumed that something can be "bad" or "evil" by virtue of believing that God and reality can be separated. That notion of "being bad" has derived from a false sense of "separation from God" - which, as I have stated, is simply not possible - given that God is Infinity.
3. What is humanity's primary problem? In my opinion, humanity's primary problem is that it does not see itself as Sacred. When we perceive ourselves as other than Sacred - or Holy - then we simply act like we believe. Many of us, if not most of us, have been told from birth that we are somehow less than what we should be - and so we have acted like we are less than what we should be. It is as simple as that.
What can we do about it? I will be answering that question next because it is one of Anita's questions. Standby!
4. What can be done to work on or solve this problem? What is your idea of Salvation? My idea of "Salvation" is doing what one needs to do in order to attain a sense of security. But if one realizes that he - or she - is already Sacred, then one should not have to "go anywhere" to find security. Security should be "automatic" if one realizes there can be no future more secure than the present - simply because if you do not have to go anywhere - or do anything - to find Holiness, then you should be satisfied with what you are; and that spells SECURITY. Does it not?
5. What is your idea of the afterlife? Does it exist? What is it like? Who gets to go? etc. My idea of the afterlife is that it can only be a continuation of this life - Sacred Wise. Who knows the particulars of the afterlife? I do not; but I don't think the particulars will matter much as long as I have a sense of security when I am there.
Does it exist? Of course, I believe it does - as something, at least. I say that because I think it follows that if I am into this life, I must have arrived in someway. Right? I must have "chosen" to be here - simply because I have no sense at all that someone else "chose" me to be here. But it follows that if I came here in the first place - as a soul in search of a body - then it stands to reason that when I leave this life, I will simply "choose" to go somewhere else to continue being the me that is me.
What's it like? Probably more of the same - Sacred Wise. There can be no more of God one place than another because God must equal Infinity. Again, I do not know the particulars - and no one in this life does - but I can know that it is as likely that I will go to another "Sacred Place" as it was likely that I came to this one.
It is, of course, quite possible - and I think, probable - that I will "choose" to live another life on Earth. Why did I come here in the first place if I did not consider it "acceptable"? And it stands to reason that if I considered it acceptable to come here this time, it is reasonable to assume that I will consider it acceptable again. Right?
Who gets to go? How about - Everyone? Keep in mind it is not about finding God someplace else more than one can find God here. No matter where one might go, then, be it here on Earth or to the far reaches of some imagined galaxy a billion miles away, God can be no more present one place than another. Where is Heaven? Right where you are, my friend! Why? Because God is right where you are.
6. Are there any unique practices or beliefs in your religion you would like to add? I think everyone should be aware of their own Divinity - and simply act accordingly. For me, that is going natural as much as I can because that allows me to see myself as equal to all that is. When people insist on going unnatural, they divide themselves from all that is otherwise natural. I do not think that is healthy. So I would recommend that we find a way to go natural as much as we can and cease believing that some in Nature are better than others in Nature.
Well, Anita, I have answered your questions. I hope you have found my answers sufficient; but if not, you know where to find me. OK? Thanks so much for asking them.
Gently,
Your Bella Vita Dad,
Francis William Bessler