This article questions how our reality is shaped by our belief systems. It mainly focuses on our need to kindle a more "verb" based understanding of our world in relationship to our spirituality. Do we worship a transcendent God up there which is top-down in orientation or do we worship a God that is more verb, such as the Tao which is called "the Way". Which gives us more freedom? Which is more likely to foster health?

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Within the Jewish-Christian-Muslim religions, God may be seen as a transcendent being running the show we refer to as the universe.

A Hindu may likewise debate a Jew regarding whose God is real, Brahmin (the Self), or Yahweh (I AM). Potentially this divide could lead to warfare. Yet, they mean the same thing. I AM is who I am, my Self! Whenever we go to war, we war against ourselves. Thus Christ rightly said, "love thy enemy as thyself." Another line that fits this mirroring quality to the world is "judge not lest ye be judged."

Whew, what a whopper that last one is given the self-righteous arrogance of some Christians.

What if I AM is Creativity more so than Creator? Would that make a difference? Many mystics of various traditions have said just that: "God is a verb." Is it odd for a religious man to say God is a verb?

No, David Cooper, a Jew, wrote a book titled, God is a Verb. In more ancient times, Chinese mystic Lao Tzu, author of the Tao Te Ching defined Tao as the Way, which entails the intercourse of "yin" (female) and "yang" (male).

It is by understanding the Verb way of looking at what drives the cosmos and contrasting it with the Noun that we might just get past our divides of this against that.

Could we entice the unfolding of a better world this way, a unity that embraces diversity? I'm not sure. All I'm saying is let's take a look at it.

Think about the ramifications of the Tao's notion of the intercourse of yin and yang: women and men express cosmic process? Sit with that for a minute. And, we are alienated why?

All creatures shout God, says 14^th century mystic Meister Eckhart. The only way to get to this, in my opinion, is again in a line by Meister Eckhart, "we must be as we were when we were not."

In other words, we need to decondition ourselves. This is the deep, non-literal story of Christ's being virgin born. The virgin mind is one that is deconditioned.

Have we become "un-grounded" by "worshipping" and conditioned to believe in some Platonic ideal existing as a man far above the clouds that refuses to get His hands dirty?

How does that relate to our top-down governance, which is bought and sold by corporations and banks? What are the consequences of our living like this?

Is God's rule bottom up (akin to Rob Kall's passion) or trickle down (Reagan's metaphor) a reflection of how we should be living? The God we choose has ramifications for how we live.

Neither, the debate is about how we see ourselves in the world. How we define God is how we define ourselves. Rob's "Bottom Up" way is about self-empowerment. Which one does God choose? Whichever one you choose. The debate should be what are the ramifications of one over the other.

My thumb's up is with Rob, which does not mean he gives his thumbs up to this article. God exists as everything and has to exist in everything since Infinity does not exist independent of anything. Yet, Infinity is limited in its being unlimited. If there were no one except you, how would you see yourself reflected without the mirror of the cosmos?

Remember the commandment, "love thy neighbor as thy self?" Is it time to actually practice what we preach? Can you see your ego in the eyes of the Koch Brothers?

Let's make this verb way of looking at life more personal and less abstract.

This article is and always has been a potential (egg) within me. Its father was a combination of my own desire to write and the words of my wife.

The conception of this article mirrors cosmic process and cosmic process is referred to as the Way. The Way does not entice you to follow it. Whether you believe in it or not doesn't matter. It doesn't care. Why? Because it has no ego that says, "Hey, you need to worship me!" Tao is NOT jealous.

The curse of God in Genesis saying to Eve (Labor) that we give birth in pain is a curse upon all of us. Yet, I become ecstatically happy when writing articles like this. When writing, I am Eve in the Garden. Yet, I growl every time it snows here in Maine and I have to shovel (this is Eve under the rule of Adam, the Ego that says, "I must shovel in order to be a decent human being").

Ah, to be of the labor class. "Work Tramp, Work," saith the Lord of Western Civilization in the disguise of the Koch Brothers.

Our lives as women and men are both verb and noun.

The process of creating this article is a verb. So is its reading. The light (yang) containing information inherent in this article enters the black pupils of your eyes and travel to the back of the brain where you conceive its image (yin).

Believe it or not, this is the Tao, the Way, the dance of Yin (the pupils) and Yang (these words) is always at play. Don't like the name Tao, call it by whatever name your heart desires. There is no jealousy in Tao.

So, does this negate the noun essence of sun and soil or you and me? Absolutely not! Noun and verb embrace each other.

Our becoming enslaved to corporations is evolutionary in terms of it being a potential to our history that has manifest into today's world. Yet, in that suppression, we have devolved. Devolution is simply our going backwards and becoming externally driven more so than internal.

Many are saying the United States is showing signs of becoming a fascist state. Fascist states reflect Dark Age mentalities. In the Dark Age, the landowners controlled peasants, which in this day and age are referred to as banks and corporations controlling politicians, school systems and all of our lives.

"What! We OWN our property!" you scream. Ok, so how many of you either rent or have 30 year mortgages on that property? How many of you will pay that off? And that money you are paying it off with, what is it? Numbers on a check? A swipe of a plastic card? The money we so value is not worth the paper it's printed on. We are living a vicious lie.

Change has to be foundational. The first step is to seriously confront the philosophies we live under. One is the underlying philosophy of government, church and corporation, divide and conquer.

This technique has focused on the battle of the sexes, a war on nature, the suppression of the labor class by the aristocracy and constant warfare between 3 religions that ultimately are grounded in one.

How many reading this have seen real peace in their lifetime? Are you tired of this yet?

To understand and unfold a new potential future pattern, we must look at the old pattern that has been manifesting since the time of the writing of the Old Testament.

Whether you are a devout atheist or not does not matter. You will follow the road of Nature whether you believe in Her or not. You will always follow the same process regardless of the path you choose. The question is: "Are you conscious to it?"

If you are, then the drivers to that pattern need to be discussed and debated in order to facilitate an evolution of drivers that can result in a more sustainable, equitable and just future for all of us.

What do you want for yourself, your children and/or grandchildren?

Remember the motto of the 60's hippy, "make love not war?"

What holds us back? Let's make it happen!

The true manifestation of Love incarnate will come when we let go of our top-down structures and reclaim the intelligence, passion and love that is within us and without.

"If you see the Buddha coming down from the sky, kill him." Now why would a Buddhist say that? Is it because that Buddha is a phony? No, that is not the purpose. Buddha's not seen by our eyes because Buddha is what is looking.

Can you see your eyes without a mirror? Your true mirror is the world you live in. The decimation of the environment is one with the rape of the Soul. Yes, there is a reason soil and soul exist one vowel apart. Knowing that, what do we cultivate within ourselves to bring forth that "New World." Or, do we follow the likes of Bush SR who spoke often about the "New World Order." Is the "New World" going to come at the dictation of men like Bush? Or do we all have a role to play in this unfolding?

I hope we choose the latter. WE are the answer we've been waiting for.

Authors Bio:
Burl Hall is a retired counselor who is living in a Senior Citizen Housing apartment. Burl has one book to his credit, titled "Sophia's Web: A Passionate Call to Heal our Wounded Nature." For more information, search the book on Amazon.

Burl's philosophy entails the idea that "everything effects and causes everything thing else." His spirituality of Sophia i.e., Wisdom is universal as well as within each of us. He also sees the idea of Chaos as not being "all over the place" but as infinite relationships.

The question I present in my articles speak not so much towards the politicians, but how WE the people can empower ourselves within a planet that is healthy, wealthy and wise.