You Don't Have to Call It God

In my first few classes in graduate theology school, professors asked, “What do you believe?” The emphasis was not on accepting a particular belief, understanding, or words, but rather, “What do you believe in and why?”

I found this question so freeing. Having been raised Lutheran, I’d felt like I had to unquestionably embrace the creeds and confessions that were part of Sunday services. Now academic theology professors were giving me permission to explore all the facets of “faith.” I was allowed to explore what beliefs and ideas resonated with me as I delved into the history of ancient civilizations and the roots of why and how religious and spiritual traditions came into form. 

I see my soul as grounded in oneness with something larger than myself. I most often call it God or the Divine. Yet there’s a whole range of other words that fit too—like Source, Oneness, the Infinite Field, energy, higher power, the quantum field. 

I think all of these terms speak to particular understandings of that “something larger.” The vast range of religious and spiritual traditions across the world all have different names for this something larger. (If you find discord with this last thought, look up the term, religious pluralism, another eye-opening concept I learned about in graduate theology school.) 

Each of these terms might be accurate, but each is also limited. It reflects just one perspective, one aspect, or one kind of experience of the larger something. The more I walk with people who are exploring their faith, meaning, and purpose, the more I think our words can only begin to touch on what that “something larger” is like. The whole of it is, ultimately, unnamable. 

If you’re just getting used to the idea of being part of something larger or greater than yourself, don’t worry about what to call it. Don’t get hung up on what others call it, either. Language is limiting. 

What is important is to be open to the feeling and let the words drop away. Where, when, and how have you felt a sense of aliveness, a sense of something more, a sense of meaning? 

If you can, recall a time you felt this way. Maybe you were on an evening walk, watching the sun set over the water. Or watching a flock of geese fly over, or feeling a warm breeze gently pass over your cheek, or noticing the late afternoon hues of sunlight glimmer in and through a lilac tree. 

Can you open again to what the feeling tone is in your body, where you feel a resonance with something more?

What does it feel like? A sense of energy? A deep knowing? A glimmer of something beyond? A sense that there’s a presence with you? Again, don’t worry about the language. Just feel it. 

Maybe you experience a deep pulling of ahh. Maybe you feel a sense of something bigger and maybe an expanded, fuller breath comes in. Maybe you feel like you’re settling into a deeper, fuller space within yourself. And, you just know that, in this moment, all is okay. 

Perhaps any held fear drops away, and you breathe in the preciousness of just this moment. A wonderment comes through you, and a pulsing aliveness moves through your body. There is a feeling of oneness, and warmth fills your body. Your heart expands. 

Or maybe a feeling of coming home surfaces, the mirror is clear, and you understand why you are here. 

These are all examples of what “something larger” could feel like to you. 

The feelings or experience of something larger can arise spontaneously or under certain conditions, such as when you’re spending time in nature. You can also create space for them. Here is a short breathing exercise to help you move into your body, heart, and soul, and experience what is already present.

Relax your body, perhaps sitting in a chair or comfortably standing. Notice your breath coming in and out through your nostrils. Let the air flow in and out. 

Open. Let there be room for silence and stillness. Be present in this moment. Slowly let go of all external and internal distractions and just breathe. 

Breathing in, feel your belly expand. And breathing out, feel your belly recede. Can you feel the cool air flow over your nostrils as you breathe in, and the warm air as you breathe out? On your breath in, can you feel the air turn and go down into your chest? 

As thoughts come into your mind, let them pass, like white clouds moving across the blue sky. Come back to your breath, breathing in and breathing out, one breath at a time.

In this moment, just notice what is. Spend a minute noticing what you see. Then the next moment, notice what you hear. And, the next moment, notice what you feel. 

Continue breathing in and breathing out. 

Gently bring yourself back to your breath when your mind wanders.

Continue this practice, and your fast-chattering mind will slow and eventually stop. Your spirit will have room to expand and just be.

Breathing exercises such as this help you start stepping out of your mind and in to your body, which is always in the present moment.

As you come into your body, and your mind calms, you open the door to feeling your soul and experiencing a sense of something larger. You don’t have to call it God. Just be open to the experience.