Why ‘God’ Is Actually *Necessary* to Realize Your True Potential
You don't even need to believe in 'God' or be religious to experience this innate power!
Growing up, I hated religion.
Mocking idol worship, I’d refuse to fold my hands in prayer. I’d vulgarize chants and hymns. Sneering at rituals, I’d call devout people “ignorant fools.”
Little did I know I was the ignorant fool.
“Why should I bow down to outdated texts and invisible Gods?” I raged like a rebellious teenager.
Stoicism. Epistemology. Deism. Evolutionary psychology — I swam through the “isms” and “logies” of science and philosophy…
Only to wash ashore onto the divine banks of spirituality — and discover gems of timeless wisdom…
Profound insights that could be experientially verified. Intellectuality that outshone lofty philosophies. Knowledge that science was only beginning to grasp.
Turns out, ‘God’ and ‘Divinity’ go far beyond religious rituals and beliefs.
The True Origin and Meaning of ‘God’
“The beginning of wisdom is the definition of terms.”
— Socrates, 2500 BC
Armed with the Socratic method, let’s define the term ‘God’.
‘God’ stems from the Proto-Germanic word Gudan, a derivative of the Proto-Indo-European Gheu meaning “to invoke” — aka “call upon someone or something, usually higher”
Might this mean calling upon our own higher self?
Our conscience? Our inner voice? Our ethics? Or a higher power? Dharma? Nature? Love? Causality?
Whatever this “invocation”, its power has baffled and inspired us for eons.
Priest Kolbe’s self-sacrifice to save a fellow inmate at Auschwitz. Trader Crowther’s demise while firefighting during 9/11. Nikki Carpenter’s death as she shielded her 3 sons from a tornado…
Monk Thích Quảng Đức’s self-immolation to protest against the Vietnam government.
P.S. I’m not supporting self-immolation (or suicide/self-harm by any other means) here. I’m only illustrating “going beyond yourself”— for others, a cause, or a calling. Always seek immediate help if thoughts of suicide/self-harm arise.
What is it that makes us g(r)o(w) beyond ourselves?