Month: November 2016

Today’s entry is a little strange in that although it’s November 9^th, 2016, the day after the Presidential Election, I actually wrote this on October 30^th. I did this for a specific reason, because at the moment, I have no idea what’s going to happen once we all have figured out who our next President is.

I’ve heard of plenty who say they are going to move to Canada if Clinton wins and I’ve heard the same said for Trump as well. There also has been great talk in the news about potential riots and other civil unrest that may occur based upon the possibility of either candidate winning.

The fact remains that I’ve never been more concerned about any presidential election in my entire life until now. And it seems as if everyone else is on edge too, not just in our country, but in the rest of the world as well.

I used to love living in the United States and was extremely grateful for being born into a family here. The freedoms I have had since that day are ones that many others in this world have never experienced. Yet I’ve silently wondered what the next four years are going to be like seeing that half the country will be against whomever is elected.

I’ve also thought a lot about what’s going to occur if this new president begins to make mistakes that cause major problems for our country. Will the half that didn’t vote for them become angry and resentful at the other half who did? Will there be a lot of “I told you so’s” taking place because of it and in turn, will violence then erupt because of it?

In addition, many have talked about the possibility of our country entering a new war with our next Commander-In-Chief, but has anyone considered the idea that it could be another civil war? The reality is our country is so divided right now and will be even more so with our new president. We haven’t seen the likes of this in well over a century as far as I’m concerned.

That’s why I’m pretty scared right now to be an American citizen. Scared that some of my current rights and freedoms could evaporate over the next four years. Scared that I might see greater bloodshed taking place on our own soil in the coming years. Scared that other countries could take advantage of our present divisions and instability. And scared that our economy could take a serious tank because of it all.

While I have no premonitions of what is going to happen under our new president’s government, I can only pray that God will protect us all no matter what. Yet I agree with what my friend Karen always says to me in that the real work is not done by our President or the government for that matter, it’s done by us.

We are the ones who make the difference. We are the ones who must foster peace and love between each other. But the more we focus on how much we don’t like who was elected, the more we miss that point altogether and the more we will remain divided.

So the best I can say for the day after election is this. Do your best to be kind to each other and to love each other no matter who our new President is. Because in doing so, we’ll all win in the long run. But know this, in doing the opposite, the only thing we’ll be doing is giving power and creation to all those fears we’ve each been harboring throughout this entire presidential election. And I’m sure that’s at least one thing all of us can agree on we don’t want to happen…

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson

Today’s entry could end up being the most controversial article I’ve written since I began this blog three and a half years ago, but it’s something I’ve thought about quite a bit since then and felt it was time to finally discuss it openly with all of you.

It’s widely known in the Christian faith that the only way into Heaven is by proclaiming Jesus Christ as one’s Lord and Savior. Yet at the same time, I’ve often wondered what that means for the billions of other people on this planet who either have never been exposed to the Christian faith, or have found some other Higher Path of living that works for them. Does that mean that each of them will never enter Heaven if they don’t find and accept Christ into their lives before they die?

I know in asking these questions that it may sound preposterous to some and even blasphemous to others, yet I’m truly bothered by this Christian principle. While I myself may accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior and wish to be more like Christ in this life, I’ve met plenty of individuals who are good people, who do their best to unconditionally love everyone, and have strong spiritual practices in their lives, yet they aren’t Christian. So what does that mean for them? Sadly, I know there are far too many on this planet who would probably say that they aren’t going to be able to enter Heaven and could possibly even go to Hell if they don’t find Christ before they die, and for that alone, I struggle with much of the Christian faith.

I love the Bible and I treasure the teachings of Christ, but I don’t hold the Bible as a perfect book. I believe much of it has been tainted over the years, being interpreted and reinterpreted over and over and over again. And what we have today is a watered down version of what originally transpired thousands of years ago. So is what we read as Jesus’s words in the Bible these days the exact and only truth, especially when it comes to how one enters Heaven? How can we really say we know when none of us where there when any of it was said?

Regardless, it’s my belief that God has had many different ways of helping people to communicate to Him throughout time. What if Jesus was just one way that God intended for people to connect to their Higher Selves? Maybe Jesus showed up in a time and spoke in a way that was specifically meant to help a sect of people grow closer to God. And maybe God used Muhammad for the Muslim faith and Siddhartha for the Buddhist faith in similar ways? Could it be that every major type of faith on this planet simply began because God led certain individuals to help others find Him in a way they would understand Him?

I wish I had the answers to these questions. Unfortunately, I don’t like none of us really do. Yet there are plenty of Christians who say they have the only answer and that’s through Christ and Christ only. This bothers me because in saying a statement such as that, it essentially says that God created tons of other people erroneously.

Frankly, I think the only thing that matters to God is that we do our best to unconditionally love each other. If that happens through the Buddhist faith, or in studying Judaism, or by practicing Wiccan, or by following Hinduism, or even in becoming a Christian, what does it matter? Why should any of us proclaim our way is the only way into Heaven?

I love Christ and I love the teachings of Christ, but I refuse to believe that someone like my friend Steve from Washington D.C., who once helped me long ago to practice Nichiren Buddhism, and who is an incredibly loving and caring individual, will simply die at the end of this life and either remain in a grave or go to Hell.

That’s why I don’t think it’s my place to ever try to convert anyone’s faith into following the teachings of Christ. Ultimately, I feel that if I’m living to my Highest Potential and acting as an extension of God’s love, that God will use me to bring those into the Christian faith who are meant to be a part of it. Just as much as I feel that my friend Steve is doing the same with Nichiren Buddhism.

Today, the walk of Christ is what beckons me the most and why I pursue the Christian faith as much as I do. But I don’t think I can ever believe that God will sacrifice the many billions of his other children who have found a different path to enlightenment.

Heaven to me is a place where everyone will be welcomed, whether they accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior or not. Whether that’s blasphemous for me to say or not, I don’t know, but I often believe it’s just our ego and fear that leads people to say the only path to Heaven is one specific way.

Are there many doors into Heaven? Who knows? I sure don’t. But to say there’s only one puts God in a box and while I may seek Christ with all my heart, mind, and soul, I truly believe that as long as one does their best to unconditionally love everyone else, that they too will one day enter the gates of Heaven.

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson