{"id":6227,"date":"2014-03-18T13:09:37","date_gmt":"2014-03-18T17:09:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/?p=6227"},"modified":"2014-03-18T13:09:37","modified_gmt":"2014-03-18T17:09:37","slug":"where-did-god-come-from","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2014\/03\/where-did-god-come-from.html","title":{"rendered":"Where Did God Come From?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Yesterday I posted an article for another site for which I write, called The Good Men Project<\/a>. The title is: Is God Really An Old White Dude Sitting On A Cloud in Heaven?<\/a>\u00a0I know it sounds controversial and may push some buttons, but the response has been heartening. Most folks have related that even if they grew up in mainstream religion, their perspective has evolved to something more complex in some cases and simpler in others. What they all had in common was that God is about love and unity, rather than fear and divisiveness.<\/p>\n

Today, I was speaking with someone who\u00a0shared a story about her son’s childhood view of God. She would consider herself a deeply spiritual woman whose faith has gotten her through immense trauma and loss. Her son was under 6 years old at the time and she had asked him who created the world, the stars and planets. To each query, he would respond “God.” Her next question was, “Where did God come from?”\u00a0 He got quiet and thought for a moment and then answered definitively, arms wide spread, gazing up “JOY!”<\/p>\n

That sums it up for me too. I know that when I am most aware of the Presence of the Divine, is when I am enwrapped and enraptured with joy…that sense of effervescence and wonder. The word ‘ineffable’ keeps coming up with the idea of the indescribable. For this wordsmith, it is challenging not to be able to paint word pictures, especially about Spirit. You just know it when you feel it.<\/p>\n

Wholly Holy Way- Rickie Byars Beckwith<\/a><\/p>\n

photo credit: chefranden<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  Yesterday I posted an article for another site for which I write, called The Good Men Project. The title is: Is God Really An Old White Dude Sitting On A Cloud in Heaven?\u00a0I know it sounds controversial and may push some buttons, but the response has been heartening. Most folks have related that even…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":233,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,2,13,19,1246,94,50,14,4,54,15,16,179,46,10],"tags":[4897,3708,1383,3707,3706],"class_list":["post-6227","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-attracting-what-you-desire","category-bliss","category-blissfull-thinking","category-empowerment","category-faith","category-family","category-god","category-how-to-invite-bliss","category-inspiration","category-interfaith","category-living-their-bliss","category-my-personal-bliss","category-parenting","category-prayer","category-spirituality","tag-edie-weinstein","tag-is-god-really-an-old-white-dude-sitting-on-a-cloud-in-heaven","tag-rickie-byars-beckwith","tag-the-good-men-project","tag-wholly-holy-way"],"yoast_head":"\nWhere Did God Come From? - The Bliss Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2014\/03\/where-did-god-come-from.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Where Did God Come From? - The Bliss Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"  Yesterday I posted an article for another site for which I write, called The Good Men Project. 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She has also contributed to several anthologies and personal growth books. Edie has interviewed such notables as Ram Dass, Wayne Dyer, Debbie Ford, don Miguel Ruiz, don Miguel Ruiz, Jr. Marianne Williamson, Grover Washington, Jr. Noah Levine, Shirley MacLaine, Dennis Weaver, Ben and Jerry and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. She calls herself an Opti-mystic who sees the world through the eyes of possibility. 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