So I read Tales of Wonder: Adventures Chasing the Divine, an Autobiography by Huston Smith last night. What an incredible life that man has lived. I know that most of you would scratch your heads and think, But Hippy! you are an atheist, what could you possibly like about such a book? Atheist or no, the religions of man fascinate me. There is a part towards the end of the book that perfectly describes the way that I wish believers of all the world’s faiths would act towards each other. (I am only going to paraphrase some so you can go read the book for yourselves and draw your own insights, conclusions, etc. )

The capitalization of the name creates the divinity: The Almighty, God, One etc etc.
In my mind this means that no matter the name you choose it all refers to the same unknowable deity/concept. Too many people are caught up in their own dogma to even consider the possibility that a person of a different faith or background are just as right in their own terminology/concepts. Whether it be God or Allah, or any of the other multitude of names, it is all the same concept of a higher, divine being. Focus a bit more on the teachings of the faith, ie. be good to each other, forgiveness, love in and for all things, etc and less on the dogmatic names and religious piety that your way is the ONLY way.

Just my two cents and I am bound to post more about the divine and enlightenment in the near future. Here is a glimpse of the things I have been reading of late:

1. What the Dormouse Said by John Markoff
2. The Perennial Philosophy by Aldous Huxley
3. Harlot’s Ghost by Norman Mailer
4. Ayahuasca, Sacred Vine of Spirits edited by Ralph Metzner

You can see some more books in my widget below: