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    God for Grown Ups
    God for Grown Ups
    God for Grown Ups
    Ebook103 pages1 hour

    God for Grown Ups

    By Bob Garrity

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    About this ebook

    God for Grown Ups is a modern take on the age old questions we all ponder - Does God exist? What is the nature of God? Our relationship to God? and the big one - Why are we here?

    Bob Garrity was blessed with a profound transcendental experience as a young man which put him on a 40 year path of searching, meditating and studying many of the world's great religions, philosophies and even modern physics.

    He has distilled what he has learned on this journey into straight forward explanations which show us all that there are in fact answers to these big questions. Answers that are simple yet profound and when fully understood will transform your life.

    "This is an important new work for any spiritual seeker and for those with big questions. Highly recommended!"
    Eva Gregory, author, Life Lessons for Mastering the Law of Attraction & 2006 International Coach of the Year

    "Bob lays out his ideas in a straight foward, concise and logical way. I highly recommend this for anyone seeking answers to these Big Questions."
    Alan Woontner - President - Relevant Learning

    "The warmth, love and compassion comes through in Bob’s ideas and presentation. This is an eye opening book."
    Gus Ozag - Founder - WestEnd Capital Management

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBob Garrity
    Release dateApr 15, 2011
    ISBN9781452453675
    God for Grown Ups

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      Book preview

      God for Grown Ups - Bob Garrity

      God for Grown Ups

      NEW ways to think

      about the BIG questions

      Bob Garrity

      Published by Aware Village Press at Smashwords

      Copyright 2011 by Bob Garrity

      Smashwords Edition License Statement

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      www.AwareVillagePress.com

      press@awarevillage.com

      Cover Design by Bob Garrity

      Dedication

      To my many teachers, family and friends who have helped me along my path and filled my life with love. Especially to Oscar Ichazo, Iqbal Lewis, my Arica Men’s Group (David Downey, Alan Woontner, Mark Johnson, Dieter Gloeckler, Gary Karp, Bob Lucas) Larry Stentzel, Jessica Jones and the Arica School; my Saginaw buddies (Dean Baumann, Pat Shawl, Dave Waddell, Jim Picard, John Hanley, John Wells, Mike Hanley), my dear friends Robin Retallick and Eva Gregory, my Mom and Dad; my brother – Bill, my sister and niece – Leslie and Kelsey; and my darling wife (and editor) April, the love of my life.

      CONTENTS

      Chapter 1 – The Big Questions

      Chapter 2 – Beyond the Finite

      Chapter 3 – My Early Years

      Chapter 4 – My Awakening

      Chapter 5 – On the Path

      Chapter 6 – The Eternal Creation

      Chapter 7 – Our Divine Connection

      Chapter 8 – All You Need is Love

      Chapter 9 – God Does Not Make Rules

      Chapter 10 – Our Freedom to Create

      Chapter 11 – The Human Condition

      Chapter 12 – Our True Nature

      Chapter 13 – Divine Self

      Chapter 14 – Is That You God?

      Chapter 15 – Finding Your Path

      Chapter 16 – Practicing Compassion

      Chapter 17 – The Importance of Meditation

      Chapter 18 – Big Questions -Final Thoughts

      About the Author

      Chapter 1: The Big Questions

      We all have life defining moments – marriage, the birth of a child, getting that dream job, etc. For me a life defining moment came in August 1972 on the top of a mountain in Colorado when I was 19 years old and on a camping trip with some friends. It was a beautiful day and I was right on the continental divide with mountains stretching in every direction.

      I decided this was a good place to do a little meditation. At that time I was a beginner, I had just started meditating a few months earlier and I was not a regular practitioner. As I sat down and began to meditate I had my usual results – a mind full of chatter, I was not able to quiet it all. And then I was blessed with an amazing experience.

      I went into a deep state and my mind became very quiet – I was totally present and aware of all around me and yet I felt almost outside my body. And then I moved into an even deeper state and I felt an overwhelming joy and it felt like the universe had opened up.

      It was all clear to me – that we live in an amazing creation and that everything in the universe is absolutely connected to everything else. All of this was to me clearly vibrational, it seemed like everything was patterns and waves of energy connecting all. It also felt clear that there was an overriding intelligence to it all.

      This amazing state lasted probably a total of five minutes, and yet it was so profound I can still feel it clearly 40 years later and I will talk about the experience more later in the book.

      Since that powerful event I have been on a journey to understand those deeper questions many of us ponder – Does God exist? If so what is the nature of God? What is my true spiritual nature, my connection to God? And the big one – Why am I here? After 40 years of study, meditation and spiritual pursuit I believe I have some of the answers.

      The title of the book is God for Grown Ups, and the central idea is that a concept of God as a father figure, or some being out there, is comfortable to children but it doesn’t really answer our questions of the nature of reality, and it doesn’t really show us what our true reality is.

      This book contains my thoughts, understanding, and beliefs on these questions. My hope is that this book can be of interest and help to people who are looking for answers to those questions posed above, those who feel those questions have not been answered by their current religious teachings, and those who see themselves as agnostic and perhaps even atheistic.

      A belief in God or some form of a higher power is almost universal. A Baylor University study done in 2005 found that 92% of Americans said they believed in God or some form of a higher power.

      Thee percentages are as high or even higher in most of the rest of the world, the exception being Western Europe. But even in France, which has the lowest percentage of believers of all European countries, according to a 2005 Eurobarometer report, 61% of the population believes in God or a higher power.

      The Baylor University study also looked at what people thought was the basic nature of God or this higher power and how much they felt God engaged in human affairs. The study was then able to break these belief systems into four basic types:

      Authoritarian – This group sees God as judging everyone, makes rules that must be followed, God can be angry at those who do not follow his rules and can be very involved in the world’s affairs. This is a view of God that demands strict adherence to the rules and punishment of those rules are broken. 31% of people fell into this category.

      Benevolent – This group believes God sets rules on how we should live but is forgiving of anyone who repents their sins. God can intervene in human affairs on occasion. Overall God is seen as loving and can be described as a Father figure. 23% fall into this group.

      Critical – God does set rules and is judgmental but does not interfere at all in human affairs; judgment happens after you die. 16% believe in this way.

      Distant – This group sees God as a cosmic force and not as a being. They tend to believe that God created the world but then allows it to be left to its own. Some believe we can tie into the energy of God. 24% of the people fall into this category.

      But what if all of the above ideas about God were wrong in some ways? What if the way we were taught, as children, to think of God had some fundamental flaws and no one ever taught us anything differently as we grew up?

      If the way we think about God were to change dramatically how would that affect our lives in a personal manner and in the way we interact with each other? How does organized religion, despite good intentions, actually get in the way of people getting in touch with their true nature?

      Those subjects, and the big questions posed earlier in the chapter, are the ideas that will be tackled in this book.

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