Scratching the "faith" itch...

                                                                 Ram Dass, Holy Man Scoundrel


Some people seem to have been born with "extendo arms", perfect for reaching the troublesome spots that seem to always question and object to that which is called "faith"... Meanwhile, there are still others who trip over everything: like, obvious hypocrisy, conflicts with reason and science, and all of the accumulated power and privileges of the "priestly class" ("priestly" covering all of the "professional" religious, regardless of any specific faith)... And then there are some few, like Ram Dass, Andrew Harvey, Matthew Fox, Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan, Amit Goswami, and Bede Griffiths, who combine faith with science, and mysticism with activism...

​At one time,  I admired the folks with "extendo arms" even while I habituated with the folks who are always "tripping" over something... But thirty years in a Soup Kitchen, somewhere along the line, got me to thinking that to keep trying to "scratch the faith itch" was both an abstraction and a distraction, in short, a waste of time... Sort of like approaching one's first-night-of-marriage-bed, with what one has studied as theories of pleasure... when the one thing required is a gentle, passionate, kiss and dive...

​Faith, in this day and age, is stupid. Haven't we all been around the Sun enough times now so as to get our heads adjusted to what really matters? And just exactly what is it that really matters? First off, if you intend to drive a car, you don't jump into the trunk, do you?
​Following after the Celtic insight, one either lives in, or intentionally cultivates, the spiritual perspective of radical amazement! One simply lets "faith" take care of itself: forget it as something of importance. It is enough to practice amazement! 

Science tells us that the Universe is most likely some 13.8 billion years old. The Hubble telescope can pear back in time just about that far! And yet! Here we are! We live on a tiny blue-green planet in the perfect position to orgasm life! Holy Moly! We live with mountains and rivers, oceans and ducks, snails and butterflies! We get to make love! Holy Moly again! We get to gaze upon a naked woman or a naked man: how incredible is that! We get to kiss and talk! We can talk Immanual Kant or Ani Difranco, and peanut butter with jelly or honey! 

​It is amazing this miracle of making babies...  and then to give birth, or to humbly try to help the definitely working mom... It is amazing to teach a child how to pee into a toilet... or out on the lawn when the neighbors aren't home... It is amazing for me to think back and to remember that I had a hand in giving away over two million meals to homeless and hungry folks! It is amazing that I got arrested with Martin Sheen at the Nevada Nuclear Test Site! It is amazing, always, to be able to feel the love in my heart, always greening (as St. Hildegard would say)... 

​Scratching the itch of faith, while there are so many reasons to doubt, just muddies the waters... We are such tiny beings, so fragile, so mortal, and so serious! It's like we've all taken up residence in the Inn of the Rabid Dog and we want to argue about G-d when we should be wondering if there's a rabid dog around... Faith will take care of itself, if you relax and enjoy your meal, the company you are keeping, and you always leave a very generous tip for the wait-staff and cook! 

Radical (to the roots) Amazement is the ticket to a good life! Tell your Lover, everyday, "Baby, I'm Amazed!" Stand in the Holy, holy, Sun, and say, "Baby, I'm Amazed!" Kiss your kids, and say, "Baby, you are Amazing!" Stand up for social justice, peace, equality, and re-generating the Planet: and say to yourself, "Baby, I am Amazing!" Pass it on and on: cultivate opportunies to live and to become radical amazement... 

[I hope you won't be offended or disappointed if I tell you the secret of the Mystics... but, "BOO!" is the Name of God...]