Good God, Bad World?

By Carl Pantejo, Pantejo@ynvurcepublishing.com

(A conversation between Juan Carlos “J.C.” and a billionaire named Yu)

Excerpt from: “My Friend Yu – The Prosperity Mentor,” copyright Carl Pantejo 2007 – Y.N. Vurce Publishing.

Note: Throughout this article The Original Substance is the name used for: GOD, The One, Gaya, Infinite Intelligence, The Universe, etc. Please substitute this name with whatever name/word you are comfortable with.

…I asked Yu about something that didn’t make sense to me; a nagging issue in the back of my mind. “Yu, I gotta ask you this question. If the Original Substance (GOD) is so benevolent and wants a win/win for everyone, why are there so many bad things (e.g., sadness, cruelty, murders, wars, disease, psychopathic serial killers, etc.) in our world? Is it merely our free-will, our ability to make our own life decisions?” I asked.

As a child, I spent most of my Sundays sitting in the congregation while my father delivered his sermons. In spite of this early religious training, the conflict between what I heard in church and what I actually saw became a lifelong puzzling and nagging issue for me. This issue (the concept of a watchful, benevolent God in a world where bad things happened) was one of the main reasons I never became a “religious” man. Coupled with some pretty nasty, shocking, heartbreaking, and soul wrenching experiences in the military; I concluded early in life that almost everything was a series of random events; especially when I would witness death (among patients, the enemy, many of my fellow soldiers, and even my father) that could not be attributed to anything else except “bad luck.”

Frequently, especially when a life event happened that I couldn’t understand, I would remember the comical little prayer that my first operational Gunnery Sergeant would say before we went on a mission. The prayer reflected his simplistic view of the World and God. After we completed all the final checks and before we started the operational phase of every mission, the Gunnery Sergeant insisted that all of us bow our heads in prayer. Of course, we all complied, mainly because we respected him, or feared him (or both). Then he would say, “Dear Lord, thanks for always rooting for the home team. And please forgive the enemy for being on the wrong side, Amen!” He was perfectly comfortable with his dichotomous beliefs. To him, things were simply right or wrong; black or white with no shades of gray. And in his little world, you were either a friendly force to support, or you were the enemy – someone to terminate before being terminated by him!

I could never fully accept this kind of view. I saw too many things in my life that couldn’t be neatly categorized into the “good camp” or the “bad camp.” Unlike the Gunnery Sergeant, I couldn’t blindly accept the “God is always on our side and everything can be put into the big box labeled GOOD, or the big box labeled BAD” philosophy of life. Sometimes I wish I could, but I always had lingering questions.

Yu finished his beer, wiped his chin with the back of his hand, and started speaking slowly and deliberately. “J.C., I was wondering when you would ask that question. It’s very relevant to all that we have discussed today. I’ll try and explain as best I can.

First of all, nothing is good or bad until we say it is. In other words, until we ascribe a positive or negative connotation to something; that something “just is.” There’s a story that the Taoists tell about two farmers. One farmer’s horse runs away. The neighboring farmer tells the horse’s owner that he’s sorry such a terrible thing has happened and that now the farmer has to do his work without the aid of a strong animal. The owner just says, “Who’s to say what’s terrible and what is not?” The next day, the horse returns with a herd of horses he befriended while away. The neighbor tells the farmer that it’s great that such a good thing has happened and that now his harvesting can be tripled. The owner simply says, “Who’s to say what is good and what is not?” A few days later, the owner’s son tries to ride one of the wild horses, falls from the horse, and breaks his leg. Again, the neighbor tells the owner that he’s sad to see such a horrible thing happen to the son and that now the workload will be doubled. The owner just says, “Who’s to say what is horrible and what is not?” The next day, government soldiers ride up to the farms. They are forcibly enlisting young men into the army to fight a war. They have been taking all able-bodied young men from the neighboring farms, but leave the owner’s son because he has a broken leg. You see, J.C., nothing is good or bad until we say it is. It can all be good; or it can all be bad. It’s your choice. Never forget that the Original Substance (GOD) is everywhere and knows everything; things that we will never come close to understanding.

If you must deem something “bad” just remember that in every bad situation there is always some good to be gained from it; and that in every so-called problem or obstacle there is the seed for its solution; from which something greater can be obtained. You just have to look for it!

As far as the freedom of choice issue goes, yes, we do have free-will. The Original Substance (GOD) does not and will not dictate our personal choices in life; IT just supports them. And remember the Law of Cause and Effect goes hand in hand with the Law of Attraction. Call it what you will: Sowing and reaping, karma, or “what goes around comes around,” etc., but you literally get back and attract what you dish out. It is true that no bad deed goes unpunished. If you live by the sword, you die by the sword. Of course, the inverse is also true. Good deeds always result in some form of goodness coming back to you. In fact, in both scenarios, the result that “rebounds” back from the universe will often be many times larger than what was initially “thrown” out there.

Here’s a simplified explanation for this “multiplied rebound” phenomena. When you act or think, the effects of your actions and thoughts spread out through the universe like the ripples made when a pebble is thrown into calm water. As your effects travel outward into the universe, they touch everything in its path. In turn, those affected - from the furthest to the nearest – respond with their own “ripples” back towards you. Each response is added to the group of “returning ripples;” eventually growing into a “returning wave.” Depending on how far in the universe and how many were affected by your thoughts or actions, the accumulated return from the universe could be the size of a small wave; or the size of a good surfing wave; or the size of an enormous tsunami!

So, J.C., to say that the Original Substance (GOD) is benevolent to everyone is a true statement. Things are things; events are events; they just “are.” We make them “good or bad” by our thinking. For example, one person might enjoy sky diving and think it’s the most exhilarating experience on Earth; while another person might be terrified of parachuting and instantly gets queasy from the mere thought of “jumping out of a perfectly good airplane.” We ascribe our own “goodness and badness” to things we see and experience; even though we will never know the big picture; nor will we ever understand a sliver of what the Original Substance (GOD) knows. And the bad guys in the world? Rest assured that the Original Substance (GOD) has already set down Universal Laws that guarantee such people will always get what they deserve in the form of a huge payback! The Original Substance (GOD) ensures that its Universal Laws are carried out perfectly, without prejudice, all the time.

My personal philosophy is that “IT’S ALL GOOD.” If something appears to be “bad” that simply means I need to look harder. I also accept the fact that I will never know all there is to know about Life and the Universe. That’s the Original Substance’s (GOD’s) job. My job is to do things in the Certain Way; creating instead of competing. This enables me to be, do, and have all that I can possibly be, do, and have. In the end, I get more joy; the Original Substance (GOD) gets more joy; and others are inspired to do the same.”

Until now, I had never heard any rationale that came close to resolving my personal “Good God, Bad World” issues. Yu’s concise disclosure of the way the Universe worked made a hell of a lot more sense than all the sermons and theological dissertations I’d listened to in the past. A giant light switch turned on in my head. I had the power to make life experiences “good” or “bad” simply by my thoughts!

And, as if he’d waived a mysterious wand and cast a magic spell, something miraculous happened to me. Suddenly, all the apparently “bad” experiences from my past didn’t seem to bother me anymore. I didn’t realize I’d been carrying around so much excess baggage; like an invisible sixty-five pound backpack full of bad memories. I didn’t forget those memories; they were still there. They were just weightless now; neutral, neither good, nor bad. Maybe in the future I would take the time to sift through them and find the good? Listening to and understanding Yu’s explanation made me feel weightless too; happy - almost euphoric. The feeling was delicious. It was like waking up in the morning from a long sleep and seeing the first sun’s rays on my girlfriend’s lovely face...

(Excerpt from: “My Friend Yu – The Prosperity Mentor,” copyright Carl Pantejo 2007 –Y.N. Vurce Publishing. )

Carl Pantejo, Pantejo@ynvurcepublishing.com