Not long ago I went in for a test (a coronary angiogram). After the test found three serious looking doctors standing over me saying we would like to do a coronary bypass first thing tomorrow morning. I was still sedated so I said, “You told me not to make any important decisions for two days after the test procedure. Isn’t this a important decision.” They didn’t laugh, so I guessed my condition was pretty serious. I had the bypass the next morning.
Shortly after I came home from surgery, I found my self waking up at around 4am every morning and having trouble going back to sleep. I took to writing down whatever was on my mind and then going back to bed. I found what follows on my bedside table when I woke up.
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The Creed of the Gaian Church of God
I am a member of the Gaian Church of God. I am a Christian, a Moslem, a Buddhist, a Hindu, an Animist, a Druid and a Jew. I pray for the followers of all faiths, named or unnamed.
I stand in awe of the mysteries of existence, the vastness of the universe and the complexity of nature. I work to live in comfort with the mystery and a sense that something is going on that is infinitely bigger, more significant and more causative than me. Yet I am a small part of the mystery and am growing to include more of it without needing to understand it all. I seek to do my part.
I am a Gaian in the sense that I live on this planet and care deeply about the vitality of the life system of which I am part. I am a loyal member of life. I commit myself to defending life on Earth from whatever threatens to reduce, degrade or eliminate it.
I am a defender of love against the forces of hate, civilization against barbarity and fighting, humanity against threats to the vitality and happiness of our species.
I believe that humans have a positive role to play in supporting the health and longevity of life on Earth. I work to help us rise to our role as stewards.
I believe that both the vitality of life on Earth and the civility that makes civilization possible are threatened by climate change. I believe our current way of life is a major cause of this threat to all we hold dear. I work to change that way of life in my own life, my work, my community and, should I be so lucky, in our society and our planet. I am deeply grateful to others who do the same.
At the Gaian Church of God we celebrate each other's good works. We make a better party out of supporting Gaia, civilization, and the inhabitants of our planet.
We are all facilitators, reducing conflict and raising the level of the dialog wherever we go. We seek to reduce the fear that comes from believing that we need more to be happy. We meditate and cleave to living in the now, having fun and serving what really matters. We stand for truth, love, health, survival and compassion.
We live with our flaws honestly and yet with an optimism that says I/we can and will do better as we grow in wisdom and awaken to our spiritual essence. We take responsibility for our own growth and evolution to higher levels of consciousness – for moving away from hate, blame and selfishness toward love, responsibility and seeing the world from others' points of view.
We are happy because we are doing what we can together with others we love and trust. We take care of ourselves, our families, our communities and our planet. We seek ways to make sure there is enough for everyone.Together we have accomplished this: We need less and have more of what we really need. To a surprising extent we are living in love right now. It feels good. Feel free to drop by and sample the vibe.
(Credits: Photo composite by Gerod Rody of photos Left to Right: by Sergiu Bacioiu, Asim Bahrwani, Trey Ratcliff, Jim Boud, Christopher Chan using cc-by-nc, )
