Being God? Well, let's first consider the idea of god. Obviously, the god-idea is universal. Even atheist 'believe' in the word g-o-d. They just claim that it doesn't exist, which is rather ironic in itself. Now, if you asked a chipmunk if god exists you would get an straightforward answer... silence. For the chipmunk, g-o-d doesn't exist. The god-idea is uniquely human. Where did the idea come from?

When I return to silence and notice Nature, I can see how one might view that whole deal as 'god', but that's not what we do. Our god/s stand out against the background of Nature. 'They', 'he', 'she' or 'it' is in charge of things. It is a hierarchical relationship, invariably with a god above and us below.

Hierarchical relationship eh? It looks to me like the god-idea is simply a conceptual derivation of our tribal 'alpha-male' instinct. This becomes more apparent when we see how the god-idea has evolved over time. It is no coincidence that the god-idea evolved from local 'forest spirits' into singular omnipotent beings as civilization became larger and more complex; the larger the group, the bigger the alpha-male (or alpha-female) boss needed to hold everyone together. And when the god-idea becomes too abstract, intermediaries like Christ, Krishna, an Emperor or the Pope, 'show up' to represent it.

Of course any time hierarchic sensibilities, or just plain passion, drives us to show favoritism, we create a god of sorts. Beauty, knowledge, goodness, money, merit, etc., all play a role here. Simply put, god is an idea in the eye of the beholder. Okay, I trust that covers finding and knowing god, eh? (Of course, not for anyone who fervently believes in God.)

Now on to being god. That is not as hard, presumptuous, or weird as it sounds, especially if we think of God in the Taoist sense which nudges the word 'down' a bit. For me, being god hinges on mysterious sameness. 'God' is when everything - consciousness itself - feels mysteriously the same. When we give up the discernment and its distinctions, each 'part' is the 'whole'. Simply put, 'being god' comes naturally through true love - impartiality.

It is helpful to have a self test to ensure that we don't veer off on some by-path. For instance, these two hit the spot:

(1) When your discernment penetrates the four quarters are you capable of not knowing anything?

(2) To know yet to think that one does not know is best; Not to know yet to think that one knows will lead to difficulty

Of course, this whole issue is kind of silly. But, it does help view the god-idea from another angle,... yes? Ok, now back to silence