Today's topic - "A Higher Power?!", follows last week's talk about Theology. Kris begins with a question: "Do you conceive of a higher power than yourself ...higher than your own ego!?"
Kris borrows 12 "virtues" developed by one of the Alcoholics Anonymous groups from the AA founder, Bill Wilson's 12 steps to addiction recovery. These 12 virtues may light the paths you take towards that "Highest Power" that some call God.
Expanding Horizons
"A Higher Power?!"
Today's topic - "A Higher Power?!", follows last week's talk about Theology. Kris begins with a question: "Do you conceive of a higher power than yourself ...higher than your own ego!?"Kris borrows 12 "virtues" developed by one of the Alcoholics Anonymous groups from the AA founder, Bill Wilson's 12 steps to addiction recovery. These 12 virtues may light the paths you take towards that "Highest Power" that some call God.
- Broadcast on:
- 06 Oct 2024
- Audio Format:
- other
[Music] You're listening to Expanding Horizons. The podcast of the Unitarian Church of South Australia. A home of progressive spirituality and free religious thought and action since 1854. The views expressed in these podcasts are those of the speaker and are not intended to represent the position of the church itself or of the worldwide Unitarian Universalist Movement. For more information visit unitariansa.org.au [Music] It is a traditional part of our service that a candle is lit on this chalice. We come together around this flame as a community and one of the Unitarian principles is an assurance that each individual has the right to search for truth and meaning in their lives and that search for truth and meaning leads some to sense that there is a higher power. It leads some to be certain that there is a higher power but this flame is not the destination, it is only to light the way. [Music] According to Vedanta there are only two symptoms of enlightenment. Just two indications that a transformation is taking place within you toward higher consciousness. The first symptom is that you stop worrying. Things don't bother you anymore, you become light-hearted and full of joy. The second symptom is that you encounter more and more meaningful coincidences in your life, more and more synchronicities and this accelerates to the point where you actually experience the miraculous. There is much to be concerned about in the world all manner of injustice and inequity. Let us have the courage to change what we can and the peace in relation to those things which we cannot change and let us take joy in the many good things of life. We're grateful for living in a time and place where there is easy access to human comforts and even luxury. Let us be grateful for our relationships, for our family, especially new life and our other companions. Let us be grateful, let us be at peace, may it be so. The other gods by H.P. Lovecraft. Atop the tallest of earth's peaks dwell the gods of earth and they will allow no one to tell about it if they are ever looked upon. Lesser peaks they once inhabited but the men from the plains would scale the slopes of rock and snow driving the gods to higher and higher mountains until now only the last remains. When they left their older peaks they took with them all signs of themselves except once it is said when they left a carving image on the face of the mountain. But now they have taken themselves to unknown cadath in the cold wasteland where no one treads and they have grown stern having no higher peak to flee to if humans come. It is just as well for people that they do not know of cadath in the cold wasteland else they would in judiciously seek to scale it. Sometimes when earth's gods are homesick they visit in the still night the peaks where they once dwelt and weep softly as they play in the olden way unremembered slopes. People have felt the tears of the gods on white-capped mountains though they have thought it rain and they have heard the size of the gods in the plaintive dawn winds. In cloud ships the gods travel and wise farmers have legends that keep them from certain high peaks at night when it is cloudy. Once there was an old man avid to behold the gods of earth a man deeply learned in the seven cryptic books and familiar with the ancient manuscripts. His name was Barzai the Wise. Barzai knew so much of the gods that he could tell of their comings and goings and guessed so many of their secrets that he was deemed half a god himself. He believed that his great secret knowledge of gods could shield him from their wrath so he resolved to go up one of the high and rocky summits on a night when he knew the gods would be there. The mountain rises above the stony desert like a rock statue in a silent temple. Around its peak the mists play always mournfully for mists are the memories of the gods and the gods loved it when they dwelt there in the old days. Often the gods of earth visit it in their ships of cloud casting pale vapors over the slope as they dance reminiscently on the summit under a clear moon. The villagers say it is ill to climb the mountain at any time and deadly to climb it by night when pale vapors hide the summit and the moon but Barzai heeded them not. He came with the young priest Atal, his disciple. Atal was sometimes afraid but Barzai had no common superstition and only laughed at the fearful farmers. Barzai and Atal went across the stony desert despite the warnings and talked of earth's gods by their campfires at night. On the thirteenth day they reached the mountain's lonely base and Atal spoke of his fears but Barzai was old and learned and had no fears so led the way boldly up the slope that no one had scaled for ages. The way was rocky made perilous by chasms, cliffs and falling stones. Later it grew cold and snowy and Barzai and Atal often slipped and fell as they hewed and plotted upwards with staves and axes. Finally the air grew thin and the sky lost its color and the climbers found it hard to breathe but still they toiled up and up marveling at the strangeness of the scene and thrilling at the thought of what would happen on the summit when the moon was out and the pale vapors spread around. For three days they climbed higher higher and higher towards the roof of the world then they camped to wait for the clouding of the moon. On the fifth night the night of the full moon Barzai saw some dense clouds far to the north and stayed up with Atal to watch them draw near. Thick and majestic they sailed ranging themselves around the peak high above the watchers hiding the moon in the summit from view. For a long hour the watchers gazed whilst vapors swirled and the screen of clouds grew thicker and more restless Atal felt the chill of the vapors in the awe of the night and feared much. Barzai began to climb higher and beckon eagerly. So thick were the vapors that the way was hard and although Atal followed on you could scarcely see the grey shape of Barzai and the dim slope above in the clouded moonlight. Barzai forged very far ahead and seemed despite his age to climb more easily than Atal and so they went up wildly over rocks and gulfs slipping and stumbling. Very suddenly Barzai went out of Atal's sight scaling a hideous cliff that seemed to bulge outward and block the path for any climber not inspired by the earth's gods. Atal was far below and planning what he should do when he reached the place when he noticed that the light had curiously grown strong and as he scrambled on towards the bulging cliff he felt fears more shocking than any he had known before. Then through the high mist he heard the voice of unseen Barzai shouting wildly in delight. "I have heard the gods! I have heard the earth's gods singing. I shall see the gods dancing wildly. The wisdom of Barzai has made him greater than the earth's gods. Barzai will behold the gods, the proud gods, the secret gods, the gods of earth who spurned the sight of men." Atal could not hear the voices, Barzai heard, but he was now close to the bulging cliff and scanning it for footholds. While Barzai was shouting these things Atal felt a change in the air as if the laws of earth were bowing to grade her laws. For though the way was steeper than ever the upward path had now grown fiercimally easy and the bulging cliff scarcely proved an obstacle when he reached it. The light of the moon had strangely failed and as Atal plunged upward through the mists he heard Barzai the wise shrieking in the shadows. "Hey! Hey! At last! In the dim light I behold the gods of earth!" And now Atal moving dizzily up over inconceivable steepness heard in the dark a loathsome laughing mixed with such a cry as no one ever heard except in nightmares the horror and anguish of a haunted lifetime. "The other gods! The other gods! The gods that guard the feeble gods of earth! Look away! Go back! Do not look! Merciful gods of earth! I am falling into the sky!" As Atal shut his eyes and stopped his ears and tried to jump downwards against a frightful pull from unknown heights they resounded a terrible peel of thunder which woke the good farmers of the plains and they saw through the clouds a strange eclipse of the moon. When the moon came out at last Atal was safe on the lower snows of the mountain without sight of earth's gods or the other gods. The next day when the men of the plains crushed their fears and scaled the heights in search of Barzai the wise they never found him. As we contemplate the fate of Barzai let's hear some more music. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] Today I'm talking about this topic of a higher power. Do you conceive of a higher power than yourself? Or perhaps the better question is do you conceive of a power higher than your own ego? These reflections today follow naturally from last week's talk about theology. People can view God, gods, goddesses, and godness in different ways. There were two impressions I had which led me to reflect on the topic of a higher power. For one thing I read the original 12-step plan used for alcoholics anonymous and the second step requires an acknowledgement quote to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. Now without deconstructing it it would be hard for a lot of people here to digest or let alone concede that sort of acknowledgement and yet it's part of a scheme which has successfully helped millions of people overcome addiction to alcohol and subsequently narcotics gambling and so on. So I was struck between the contrast between the evident religious basis of the 12 steps and its continuing success in what is a very and increasingly secular society today. The other impression that led me to consider a higher power was the fact that I keep hearing it in people's speech whether people were brought up as Christians or have never been religious it's not uncommon to hear people say that oh there must be a higher power at work or I believe in a higher power even if they're not able to articulate what that is. I'm not talking about a humanoid god there in common parlance not so many people except that these days but there is a common sense that there is something more than the individual person whether it's the spirit of life some guidance available to us beyond which we can prove and rationally comprehend that's what I wanted to explore today. But first I'll say something about the curious story that we heard. For one thing isn't it fascinating that in many stories, many fables, many stories of religious encounters and spiritual searching there is the imagery of the mountains of climbing the mountain meeting the guru at the top of the mountain Moses going up the mountain to receive the word of God and so on. And there is something in that because if we are to make spiritual progress it's hard work it's not a stroll by the riverbank it's actually an application and a discipline if you want to get to the top not that I'm sure there is an actual destination point there but it certainly feels like it's uphill but of course the other thing about mountains is that if you do climb a mountain you have a much more wonderful perspective and this also applies as description of spiritual life. So that story of course was a fable and I'm not suggesting that we should start believing in God's dancing on mountains and flying around in cloudships and so on but it is a story that is perhaps typical of the founding of some of the world's religions that people start with wanting to understand the reasons why inexplicable events happen. I mean there was science tens of thousands of years ago but much more rudimentary compared to what we've developed in the last few hundred years and so there was so much that was unexplained even about the simple workings of the solar system and also about human diseases so naturally people looked to some sort of higher power to explain these things. In the story what are we to make of Basa either wise who has an encounter with the gods and he's never seen again are we to feel sorry for him for the end of his mortal life or despite a sense of terror did he find fulfillment in witnessing that which no one had witnessed before and what about the young priest was he right to be afraid and flee should he have gone on? Is the reaction of coming down from the mountain in fear and then giving instruction to the villagers on the plains a representation of what the old priest did in many of the world's religions? I wonder who you identify most with in the story is it Barzai who was determined to scale a mountain to see the gods or the priest who goes up to the point where it's not sensible to go any further or perhaps the villagers who issue warnings about messing with that sort of thing and just get on with their lives and then there's that lovely twist in the story whereby there are far distant gods for whom the gods of the earth are but playful children wherever we are on the spiritual path there are always those more advanced than us and there are always those who were struggling to get to where we are. I'm a fan of HP Lovecraft's stories because he doesn't hesitate to construct alternative realities alternative universes to our everyday existence and there are things we can draw from that. Maybe getting more serious but if you want to read a comprehensive and deep examination of the religious impulse I can recommend the classic series of lectures given by psychiatrist William James in 1901 to 1902 collectively entitled The Varieties of Religious Experience a Study in Human Nature. His third lecture titled The Reality of the Unseen begins this way "were one asked to characterise the life of religion in the broadest and most general terms possible one might say that it consists of the belief that there is an unseen order and that our supreme good lies in harmoniously adjusting ourselves there too. Personally I'm willing to sign up to that but each to their own. Alfred Tennyson some call him Lord Alfred Tennyson I usually just call him Alf but he he eluded to this sense of harmony and unseen order in his poem The Two Voices. Now most of the poems are long poem but most of it recounts a person dueling with a devilish little voice that stresses the gloom and harshness of human existence and suggests to the poet that it might as well all be ended but towards the end of the long poem the poet observes a lovely innocent family going off to church and the site is so touching that the poet writes my frozen heart began to beat. In other words his compassion his sense of a common bond with humanity banishes the negative voice and the poet then starts hearing an encouraging voice I'll read the last part of the poem. What is it you know sweet voice I cried a hidden hope the voice replied so heavenly toned that in that hour from out my cell and heart a power broke like the rainbow from the shower to feel although no tongue can prove that every cloud that spreads above and vowels love itself is love and through the fields I went and nature's living motion lent the pulse of hope to discontent. I wondered at the bounteous hours the slow result of winter showers you scarce could see the grass for flowers I wondered while I paced along the woods were filled so full with song there seemed no room for sense of wrong so variously seemed all things brought I marveled how the mind was brought to anchor by one gloomy thought and therefore rather I made a choice to commune with that barren voice then one that said rejoice rejoice returning to the topic of the 12-step recovery process used by alcoholics anonymous at least that was the first group that used those steps it was in 1938 that an American by the name of Bill Wilson developed the 12 steps to be used as part of group encounters where the individuals would share their stories and support each other through the process there are always people ahead of us on the path and always people striving to get to where we are. Bill Wilson certainly had his inspiration from his Christian background in formulating the 12 steps at that time the emphasis on help from God is quite strong and I can see how that would be alienating or challenging to many people today. It's often stressed to people joining these groups today that the higher power the greater power can be anything it can be a person significant in their lives it can be the person running the recovery group it may be some specific or general concept of the divine. One group I came across researching for today had distilled the essence of each of the steps in terms of the stages one goes through to achieve recovery and freedom from addiction characterized one could say in virtues first honesty beginning by acknowledging the suffering in our lives that we have harmed ourselves and others hope accepting that help and support is available to help us overcome whatever suffering we face whether you say it's from a higher power the spirit of life or the kindness of others surrender being less willful being open to guidance by those who care about us courage it takes courage to commit ourselves to spiritual growth or freedom from addiction knowing that there will be inconvenience embarrassment and great challenges to overcome on this path integrity where we have hurt others where possible one should seek forgiveness and rectify the situation something's done of course can't be undone willingness being open to correction and improvement at the suggestion of others humility when one has been honest about past shortcomings and sought forgiveness from others and where possible with rectified problems that we might have caused it's also necessary to forgive one's past self and let go love practicing empathy and compassion an extension of making amends with people responsibility being honest about the impact of our actions and taking action to bring peace and resolve situations where we can discipline consistently practicing these virtues and behaviors awareness this is mindfulness paying attention to our behavior and our interactions possibly assisted with meditation service as we free ourselves from past hurts and commit ourselves to living the right way let us take every opportunity to be of service to others now I had a curious thought about the 12 steps of addiction recovery especially when cast in terms of those 12 virtues I just recited this group here comes together regularly as we work on our spiritual growth or at least self-improvement and we embrace a common set of principles and we share our stories with each other we all have our addictions whether it be sugar television or monitoring our share portfolio now what if we think of our experience of this life on earth the entire range of our sensory impressions as a kind of addiction in the Hindu Buddhist and Gnostic philosophy this is all a temporary illusion called Maya in Hindi there is a reality beyond it that is joyous and awesome and if you think that sounds ridiculous maybe it's because you haven't started step one of the recovery process consider this your first addiction recovery meeting we hope you've enjoyed this expanding horizons podcast these podcasts are the intellectual property of the presenter they can be used only with the express permission and appropriate acknowledgement of the presenter this permission can be obtained by emailing admin@unitariansa.org.au please feel free to leave a comment or visit us on Facebook or Twitter by searching sa unitarians or by visiting our website at unitariansa.org.au you