This I Believe

I was reared in Southern small towns and rural areas, attending Methodist churches. As an adolescent I began to regard the religious beliefs of my upbringing as accidental, something that happened to me because I was born to a certain family in a certain place and time.

In my early 20s I found Aldous Huxley’s book “The Perennial Philosophy” in the Statesville Public Library. It confirmed my guess that the great religions have certain beliefs in common. This was a powerful opening for me.

Later I did a two-year stint as an Episcopalian—what was I thinking? However, it did bring me a mighty fine husband! Together we joined a Unitarian church in Rochester, New York, but soon had to follow George’s career to the boonies of Pennsylvania.

In 1985 I was initiated as a disciple of a guru from India. I benefited greatly from my connection with the guru and the remarkable people who had chosen to be his disciples.

In 1994 George and I moved to Asheville and became part of this congregation of remarkable people. We are thankful for all of you, and for the Seven UU Principles, the Six Sources of Our Living Tradition, our UUCA Mission Statement, and the fact that we have no creed to limit our “free and responsible search for truth and meaning.”

Now. My beliefs as of February fifth, 2006.

--I believe it is part of human nature to seek truth and meaning, sometimes consciously, more often unconsciously.

--I believe we guide our lives, make the many choices we must make every day, by the answers we come up with as we keep asking ourselves the fundamental philosophical and religious questions:

--Where did I come from before I was born?

--Why am I here? How should I conduct my life?

--What will become of me when my body can no longer support life? And, most fundamental of all,

--Why does anything exist? Why is there something instead of nothing?

--I believe there are no factual answers to these questions. All over the planet there are people with widely divergent, purportedly “factual” answers. I believe they are deluded. Since there are no factual answers, we must accept or invent beliefs.

--I believe that for our own wellbeing and for the wellbeing of those with whom we interact, it is incumbent on us—it is our responsibility and our joy—to choose our beliefs for the effects that they will have on our lives.

--I choose to believe that the universe is founded on, caused by, operates in the service of, love. When I align myself with love I am aligning myself with the power of the universe. When I align myself with fear I disconnect myself from that power, so I am unable to access both courage and love.

--I choose to believe we are immortal spirits having a human experience in a training school. The goal of our training is that we shall have the courage to love perfectly. Perfect love includes helping ourselves and other spirits, as best we can, to get the knack of courage and loving.

--I choose to believe that one lifetime is not enough to complete our training. Therefore we have all been incarnated, disincarnated, and reincarnated.

--I choose to believe most heartily in something a Buddhist teacher recently said in one of our services: “The surest mark of love is joy.” When I have the experience of deep-reaching, long-lasting joy, it is because I am thinking from, acting from, love.

--Finally, I choose to believe, as the Quakers say, “there is that of God in every person.” When I was a disciple of the guru we greeted one another in this way: “Jai bhagwan.” This can be translated as “The light in me greets the light in you.”

Jai bhagwan.