Today is a Sunday. I woke up early, rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, and went to fetch a friend to go bodyboarding. On the way to his house, I drove past a church. I was thinking of all those people sitting stifled inside while I was planning to spend the Sunday morning speeding down waves. Who would be left with a greater sense of wonder and joy after the morning?
Look, I don’t have anything really against churches, or mosques, or temples. I know of good, advanced people who I can see take real benefit from the direction and support offered by attending service or prayers. Just don’t make me sit in there, especially for group worship.
It is silly to say it is God’s House. This entire Universe is made from the substance of God. There is nothing that is not God’s House, or more specifically, made from the Mind of God. So while it may be beneficial to be in a place that is specially built for the Worship of God, it is probably even more beneficial to be in a forest or mountain or by the sea, especially if you are appreciating the Divinity behind it.
Some people thrive on group worship, but for me it always seems to have an element of conformity to it, or even mass hysteria like some of the charismatic movements. Watching someone shake around with their eyes rolling in the name of God seems almost blasphemous to me. Shouldnt worship of the Divine be a bit more refined than that?
I find meditation and prayer, by myself, to be the sincerest form of worship. If a Church is a house of God, what of our own body? In it, we house our Spirit, which is a part of the Divine. The simplest and greatest Spiritual practice possible to a human being, is to spend time coming to know your own Spirit, the spark of Divinity within, your True Self. Once you understand that, everything else starts to fall into context. The strange happenings around you fall into Patterns of Life with meaning and substance. You realise that your own emotions are not the most important things in the world, just ripples on the pond of your mind. A pond which becomes stiller as it becomes deeper.
I suppose the one good thing about weekly devotional service, is that it is a way of setting aside time to try and become closer to God. But that is what should be the thrust of our entire lives. If the regular service with others helps you to progress, then keep it up and become more involved in it. But if it is frustrating you and leaving you no better off, don’t force yourself. Just go for a walk in the mountain or by the sea at sunset, find a quiet place, take a few deep and measured breaths, and then sink into your mind until you find your Self. May be a lot more invigorating for you.
I have been reading about the Spanish capturing parts of South America, and the Christians doing Missionary work in Africa. What strikes me is while they thought that they were saving pagan souls from eternal damnation in hell, in essence it is just one form of dogma bullying another form into conforming with its limited range of thinking.
GOD IS TOO VAST AND INFINITE FOR MAN TO PROPERLY UNDERSTAND. All religions are a very pale reflection of what God is really about. To be a vigorous fundamentalist of any religion, is to deny a large part of Reality. Love your religion because it helps you to understand God, but your real Love and Faith must be in God himself. To love a religion is to love a set of rules made by man, interpreted by followers of a highly advanced messenger whose teachings are mostly lost and misunderstood by those souls who remain.
Pity there was no swell this morning though, so didn’t get that surf. At least I can get on my mountain-bike this afternoon – the mountain is there every day 
Peace everyone