• Premise 11. The Spirit is infinite.
  
• Premise 12. The Spirit is creative, ever seeking new ways in which to manifest.
  

This section is probably the most significant of my pages. Here, I will attempt to explain my spirituality. Please note: this is for my benifit, not yours. If you get something out of this, great. If not, well then, I wish you well as you continue your search.

When I was discussing my spirituality with my brother, a Christian minister, he summed it up saying "Sounds like New Age, but without all the crystals and pyramids." That's rather too simplistic, but it does provide a basis upon which we can agree. And a friend of mine, a self described Messianic Jew, said I'm like a skinny Buddha. That's pretty close, too, even if the mental image is a bit frightening. "NOW! New and Improved, Buddha Lite! With 50% Less Enlightenment!" : )

Since this section is so significant to my belief system, I'd like to address the Premises above indivudally.

Take a minute and think about what that means. What can we KNOW about the "infinite"?

• Whatever this infinite Spirit is, there can be only one of them. Infinity must encompass All, or it isn't infinite.
• It isn't moving or flowing. If it's already everywhere, where else can it go?
• It doesn't have form. To have form, it would have to have limits. With limits, it's not infinite.
• Everything must be made up of it. This includes all matter and energy, including us. Otherwise you are speaking of infinity plus matter / energy / soul / mind / whatever. So again, it wouldn't be infinite.
• It doesn't change. If you can imagine the infinite changing into something else, then it must have already been that something else.
• It not only is everywhere, it is also everywhen. The infinite must exist outside of time, or it wouldn't be infinite.

Since It is already everywhere and It isn't moving, Spirit must be absolute; everywhere at all times. This means that a giant Western Red Cedar has the same Spirituality as a toaster oven. Just for fun, here's a link to BJ Hiorns' Jackie's Fridge, an online comic of which I've grown very fond. Be sure to read the whole archive, or this link won't make much sense.

Now if you've read the rest of the pages on my site, right about now you're saying "Wait a second. What about 'A Place between Places' and all that?" It's a matter of personal "frequency" for want of a better term. It has to do with how we're tuned. We each have a unique personal frequency. When we come across another manifestation of Spirit (be it person, place, thing, energy, mind, whatever) with a compatible frequency we generate a pleasant harmonic. If we're not compatable, the result is dissonance. We are naturally drawn to that which is compatable, so we identify more closely with being in the woods than in traffic jams (or with Giant Trees vs. Kitchen Appliances). But that doesn't mean that the Spirit isn't just as present in the unpleasant places. In fact, next time you're parked on the freeway with some time for introspection, reach out to the "Spirit of Place" (a term from OBOD training) and you'll find the Spirit reaching back to you.

I f you look at the traditional Yin-Yang symbol (represented in knotwork to the left) you see two sides to the whole. The white represents the positive, creative force, the black represents the negative, destructive force. Each is a part of the whole and each contains the "seed" of the other. They are, in effect, the same force, as one cannot exist without the other and each gives meaning to the other.

Now, in simple terms, everything is tending towards disorder. This force is called entropy and is built into the natural laws of the whole system. Spirit is the whole and must counter this disorder by creating order. What is created is not so important as the creative process itself. As such, Spirit is always looking for new ways in which to manifest, to learn what is to be manifest in that way.

This is where we as individuals come in. We are the "Personal Factor" (term from "The Liar's Prayer") and are responsible for creating that which would not otherwise occur on its own. One of the more significant means of honoring this Creative Spirit is through the Arts. I choose to honor the Spirit in many ways, one of which lends itself well to presentation here. My knotwork is essentially created from nothing but inspiration, uses no materials in its development, and is presented in the spirit of creation for any who care to see.

Red Cedars -- At Home This photo was taken by my sister-in-law and good friend, Julia. We were on our way to the Seven Lakes Basin in the Olympic National Park for a few days of photography.

I n closing, I'd like to leave you with this quote from "The Liar's Prayer", used here with permission.

Ultimately, it comes down to this: There is you. And there is a great Presence all around you. And whatever life you can make for yourself is going to be based entirely on your relationship to this Presence. And that relationship is something only you can work out, without external supports. Until we're ready to cast aside our Bibles, crystals, crucifixes, trance-channeling seminars, occult performances, rote prayers and the faith of our fathers, until we're ready, as individuals, to kick over the elaborate scaffolding of imposed belief, until then, we can't stand free and unencumbered before this great enfolding Universality and demand the truth.

From "The Liar's Prayer"
By Gregory Flood
(click on the text image to the left or here for a link)

Well, you've done it. You've waded through an awful lot of my thoughts to get to this point. Could I ask you one last favor? Would you please take a moment to sign my guestbook? It does help me to keep on track.