(God's column appears in this space every Friday.)

Roy Nagin seems to think I'm angry at America. Let's face it, I'd have good reason to be angry with America, but that isn't my nature. Although I will confess that building a major population center on the banks of a big river, below sea level, in the hurricane belt, gets me sort of piqued. Especially when you all start warming the earth's oceans...

...and no one wants a chocolate New Orleans. I might suggest going the original route, a New Orleans gumbo...

Anyway, on to this week's topic.

Where do I belong in your life on a day-to-day basis? That's an important question. Since God is everywhere, I am indeed already inside you, so the best way to find Me is to look within. It continues to vex that the most zealous, self-proclaimed warriors of God are so often the least Godly people. (Here's another clue for you all: God doesn't HAVE warriors. God has Messangers of Love.) Let's focus on Christianity for today. You humans have a habit of personifying things, and when it comes to matters of religion, of deifying things. This school you call Christianity is about thoughts, ideas, a way-- it is fundamentally (pun intended) not about the worship of a book, or even of a man. This whole church that has sprung up in the wake of Christ't time-- you'd all be better off losing it. Because ultimately, there is only the word. And the word is good, unto itself. Take what you need from the word, and lose all the rest. The silly book, all of it...

So where does God fit into your life? Consider a man. Consider a man who has fallen and can't get up, a man who has hit bottom. A man who has fallen prey to drink and drugs, who has lost his family, ended up in prison. This story does not look like it will have a happy ending. But this man finds religion and salvation. He turns his life around, plants roots, marries.

Did I do that? Did his belief in Me do that? Or did he do it himself...

Well, I'm here to tell you, the man did that all by himself. He may have "found God"-- but I was always there. And he could have achieved his salvation without the religious construct; therapy, self-esteem, friends, exercise, yoga, that horse-faced personal coaching guy-- there are many paths, many tools to help you access the inner light. Or he could have done it with no tricks at all save for determination and a little bit of old fashioned luck. Often, I work best in a manner akin to the magic feather in the movie Dumbo. Dumbo doesn't need the feather to fly. But damn if he believes that he does, believes that this mystical thing outside himself gives him the power he needs. So you give him the feather and he flies.

The answer is always inside yourself. No matter where you think you might be looking. But if looking somewhere else allows you ultimately to look inside, even if that isn't the most direct route, it'll do fine.

So next time someone tells you that his life was saved when he gave it over to God, I'll tell you what. Let's just stay mum and let the guy have his magic feather. Because the bottom line is, the more flying elephants, the better.

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To those of you wondering why I did not post last week: I did post. But I did so silently.