On Spiritual Encounters: I believe my aunt's vision of what seemed like a dark figure transforming to reveal my grandmother's eyes was likely a genuine experience. I see this as part of a universal human experience of connecting with those who have passed, supported by countless stories across cultures and time.
On the Nature of Good and Evil: I reject the traditional concept of the devil as an evil entity, viewing it instead as a political construct used to marginalize certain groups, particularly women, and to consolidate religious power. I see darkness not as inherently evil, but as the unknown that becomes understandable when brought into the light.
On Creation and Divinity: I believe in a creator or creative force that encompasses both masculine and feminine aspects, arguing that creation always requires combination rather than singularity. I see the emphasis on a single male God as a distortion that necessitated inventing the devil as an opposing force.
On Energy and Connection: Drawing from the scientific principle that energy cannot be created or destroyed, I believe human consciousness or spirit continues after death in some form. I see all matter as recycled stardust, suggesting an underlying unity and continuity in existence.
On Human Nature: I believe people aren't inherently evil but become "broken" when deprived of love and basic needs. Even seemingly destructive forces (like cancer) operate from their own logic, though that logic may be flawed or self-defeating rather than malevolent.
My worldview embraces mystery while finding meaning in both scientific understanding and spiritual experience, seeing them as complementary rather than contradictory ways of understanding existence.
Beyond Angels and Devils: A Different Way to Think About God
I've been thinking a lot about spirituality lately, especially after a conversation with my aunt about a powerful vision she had. It got me reflecting on how we've been taught to understand the divine, and how maybe there's room for a different perspective—one that doesn't require us to choose between science and spirit, or between faith and questioning.
When Darkness Isn't Evil
My aunt described seeing a dark figure that gradually became lighter, eventually revealing familiar blue eyes that transformed to brown—our grandmother's eyes. Her initial fear gave way to recognition and connection. This experience reminded me that darkness doesn't have to mean evil. Sometimes darkness is simply the unknown, waiting for light to reveal its true nature.
We've been conditioned to fear the dark, both literally and metaphorically. But what if darkness is just another state of being? What if the "fallen angel" wasn't a villain in our story, but a catalyst pushing us toward growth? When we stop being afraid of what we don't understand, we create space for genuine spiritual experience.
Consider the original concept of adversary—not as enemy, but as challenger.
In the bible, the devil was once a fallen angel, a helper that god would use to push her (his) subjects. The devil was originally portrayed as an angel—a helper that God used to test and strengthen people.
Like a sparring partner who makes you stronger, or resistance that builds muscle. What if this force we've labeled as evil was actually designed to push us toward our highest potential? The obstacles that force us to dig deeper, the challenges that reveal what we're truly capable of?
When we stop being afraid of what we don't understand, we create space for genuine spiritual experience.
The Politics of the Devil
I've come to believe that the devil, as we commonly understand it, is more politics than spirituality. When you trace the evolution of religious thought, particularly through the Middle Ages, you see how the concept of ultimate evil served very human purposes. It became a tool to marginalize the "other"—women, healers, anyone who didn't fit into an increasingly rigid power structure.
The feminine aspect of the divine got erased, replaced by a singular male God. But creation has never worked that way. Look anywhere in nature, and you'll see that life requires combination, duality, collaboration. Even mushrooms need spores from different sources. Vultures, despite appearing to reproduce alone, require complex biological processes we're still discovering.
When we insist that creation comes from "one" instead of "two becoming one," we create an imbalance that demands an opposing force. Enter the devil—not as a spiritual reality, but as a necessary invention to maintain an incomplete theology.
Energy, Stardust, and Eternal Connection
Science offers us something beautiful: energy cannot be created or destroyed. We are literally made of stardust, composed of the same elements that form distant suns. Our bodies are recycled matter, vibrating at different frequencies, taking on different forms throughout time.
When someone dies, something leaves. When someone is conceived, something enters. We don't know what that "something" is, and maybe that's okay. Maybe that mystery is part of the beauty.
I believe we maintain connections with those who have passed—not because I need to believe it, but because the evidence keeps showing up. Across every culture, in every era, people report meaningful contact with the departed. Whether this is consciousness reaching across dimensions or our minds creating healing connections, does it matter? The comfort is real. The love is real. The continued bond is real.
Brokenness, Not Evil
When I look at human cruelty, I don't see inherent evil. I see brokenness. I believe that if everyone entered this world surrounded by love, with access to what they needed to thrive, we'd have a fundamentally different society. We'd still face natural disasters, disease, and death—these are part of existence. But the deliberate cruelty humans inflict on each other? That comes from wounds, from unmet needs, from systems that pit us against each other.
Even cancer cells, destructive as they are, follow their own logic. It's flawed logic—you can't kill your host and expect to survive—but it's not malicious. It's just... not very smart. There's a difference between harmful and evil, between destructive patterns and deliberate malevolence.
A Creator of Many Faces
So what do I believe about God, or gods or the Goddess? I believe in a creative force that encompasses rather than excludes. A source that contains both feminine and masculine principles, light and shadow, known and unknown. Not a distant judge keeping score, but an ongoing creative process we're all part of.
The truth is we will never know the whole truth.
This doesn't make me less spiritual—if anything, it makes the sacred feel more accessible. When God isn't separate from creation but woven through it, then every star, every person, every moment of connection becomes holy ground.
Energy cannot be created nor destroyed. Science helps us understand we never really go anywhere, but everything is recycled. Where does our soul go when the light leaves our eyes? We can never know. But I find truth in stories of people who say they felt something to show a connection with a lost one.
I don't need to have all the answers. I don't need to prove my beliefs or convert anyone to them. I don’t have the perfect words or names to define it, but I don’t feel I need to. The mystery itself is sacred. The questions are as valuable as any answers. And we are more beautiful, and life is more sweet knowing we won’t remain in this form, forever. A flower blooms for a time, then passes. But that bloom was not for nothing, it was not a waste. Neither is any life.
Even if people leave us, they stay with us, in the very least, as memory. As imprints in accents and behaviors and habits that taught us and helped us become who we are. But it feels there can be more for some who feel a strong connection to those they have lost- whether it is self constructed or not.
What I do know is this: we're here, consciousness exists, love is real, and energy continues beyond our current understanding. That's counts as magic to me.
What's your relationship with the divine? How do you navigate the space between traditional teachings and your own spiritual experience? I'd love to hear your thoughts.