@Sunstone, what does the term God mean to you, personally?
Personally, I do not think of god as a being or entity, nor even as a horrifyingly poorly defined "ground of all being".
Instead, I think of the term as a sort of placeholder (somewhat in the sense that x in mathematics can be a placeholder for an as yet to be determined number) for a certain
experience. I sometimes call that experience "the mystical experience", and on occasion, I call it "god".
It seems that experience cannot be adequately described to people who have not had it. You can say things like, "the experience can involve a sense or feeling of infinity, a sense or feeling of bliss, a conviction that it is more real than normal experiences, etc, etc, etc". But almost
invariably, people who have not had the experience will think you are describing some experience that they themselves have had -- such as a feeling of general well being tinged with a bit of awe while witnessing the stars on a dark, moonless night. That is normal.
Perhaps the closest the average person ever gets to "god" is when they have
great sex, but that's still like a very weak echo of "god".
I think the very best thing to say to someone who asks what the god experience is, is to say something along these lines: "You want to know what it is? Then go have it! But don't try to bring it about through first trying to understand it. You simply will not get closer to having the experience by becoming more knowledgeable of it. That sort of knowing is a trap. If you try to understand it, you will hinder or prevent your having it. That is, you might have a "god experience", but it will be the "god experience" that you think you should have. No matter how awesome that experience seems to you -- and it might even seem very awesome indeed -- it will only be a construct of your own mind. By that I mean a construct of your expectations, your preconceptions, your memories and interpretations of your previous god experiences, etc. But if you can put aside expectations, preconceptions, memories, and interpretations of what you
should experience, you might at some point have an experience that is not a construct of your own mind. A truly fresh experience. Moreover, the very recognition that you profoundly don't know jack about what the experience should be tends to bring about its own resolution. Follow the discontent you feel not knowing. Do not reject that discontent. Stick with it. A resolution of your discontent
might occur." That's the very best thing to say, in my opinion, for it's almost the only thing you can say that might actually help someone -- provided they have the ears to hear it.
Now when I say "the god experience", I do not mean to imply that the experience is of -- or even that it is caused by -- a deity. So far as I know, the genuine experience is actually beyond such mundane concepts as "god" or "deity". However, those are common interpretations that people make of the experience. "I experienced god." Or, "I experienced my God."
So, what I sometimes mean when using the term "god" is to refer to a mystical experience that has been interpreted as an experience of a deity. That is, interpreted as a divine being, entity, or (horrors!) "ground of all being". But, so far as I know, the actual mystical experience transcends even such "lofty" interpretations of it as that it is of a deity. The actual experience blows away all concepts, all understanding, all interpretations, all thoughts of it. In comparison to the experience itself, our notion that it is an experience of deity is less profound than the act of attentively peeling potatoes.
I apologize for the length of this, but I was unable to shorten it while still being more comprehensive of my silly views than not comprehensive of them. I hope this has been helpful to you in understanding my ridiculous notions of deity.
