Well, Jason the relationship I have with my Gods is going to be necessarily different that yours. But you did ask for it.

I see my relationship with my Gods in a multiplicity of ways. For me it is teacher to student, worshipper to worshiped, friend to friend, questioner to the one being questioned, honorer to honoree and much more.

All of the foregoing are not one way. Well, perhaps worshiped to worshiper is. I don't think my Gods worship me. :) It is also a very personal relationship. I speak to my Gods every day. I listen for their answers. I spend time with Them simply being. I call upon Their Presence in ritual. I don't my Gods as omniscient or omnipotent or omnipresent. I don't see them as creator gods. I am pretty certain They don't have a lot of followers. I have never met anyone else who does follow them. They have never given Themselves their names to me.

I would have to say I liken my relationship to my Gods as being one of friends and as being one where the relationship is mutually rewarding. I am not a spouse, in any sense of the word, to my Gods. In one sense, which I will explain in a moment we are equals. In another sense we are not.

My relationship to the Divine is both different and at one with my Gods. As I said I don't understand my Gods to be creators. They are Gods of this earth. They are part of the Divine as am I. I see the universe as being Divine. I understand myself to be part of the Divine and I understand that a part of Divinity resides within me and everything else in the universe.  That puts me on the same footing, in a way, with my Gods. They too carry the Divine within Them. I do think Their, ummmm, natures may have more of that Divine component than mine does. I have yet to really make a clear understanding of that.

Perhaps it would be possible to liken our relationship as a spouse of the Divine. I can't but that doesn't mean someone else, you for example, couldn't.

I hope this makes sense to you.

Peace to you,
itty

itty,

Thank you for your answer and sharing your different take which I warmly welcome.  It made perfect sense.  I also see my relationship with God in a multiplicity of ways (father-child, mother-child, husband-bride, teacher-student, worshipped-worshipper, friend-friend, and much more), so I'm glad you brought up that point.  Thank you also for making the distinction between having a relationship with your Gods and with the Divine.

One question I would have is why you can't liken your relationship to your Gods as a spouse?  I'm not saying it is wrong to not liken your relationship with your Gods in this way, just wondering what you see in that metaphor that cannot apply in your situation.


peace...jason

(2) Is it possible to liken our relationship with the Divine to being a spouse of God?

For me, no. 

(3) Speaking metaphorically what do you liken your relationship with the Divine, God, god, gods, goddesses, etc.?

Poker night.  We all have our own lives, we all do our own things, and we do most of them without the input of the others.  Every so often we get together and have fun, ask for advice, get drunk and solve the worlds problems, then forget about it the next morning. 

all

Somehow, it seems a fallacy to define relationship with the Divine. As the Buddhist and Taoist tradition states; One cannot define the scent of a rose, it can only be experienced.

Personally, I am a panentheist. That is to say, I recognize that the Divine lives in all things and yet, the Divine is more than the sum of the Universe.

It is the most natural thing for me to actively be in relation with the Divine, because the Divine is in every last single thing I approach, whether it be; my spouse, my dog, my cup of chai, this computer, a tree, whatever... As St. Paul would have said; the Divine is closer to me than my next breath and in the Divine I live, move, breathe and have my being. Therefore, there is no need for me to "externalize" this relationship and say; "it is like a parent to child relationship, or a teacher to student relationship, or like whatever". The Divine is not "out there" somewhere. The Divine is right here. Every moment is an exercise in mindfulness to approach all sentient beings and all of the elements of the earth with reverence. It simply is what it is and it exists to be loved.

There it is, my relationship with the Divine can be expressed in one sentence; I seek to approach all things with gratitude, mindfulness and reverence. This is how I am in active relationship with the Divine.

Was this at all coherent? :o

Chiyo wrote:

Somehow, it seems a fallacy to define relationship with the Divine. As the Buddhist and Taoist tradition states; One cannot define the scent of a rose, it can only be experienced.

Personally, I am a panentheist. That is to say, I recognize that the Divine lives in all things and yet, the Divine is more than the sum of the Universe.

It is the most natural thing for me to actively be in relation with the Divine, because the Divine is in every last single thing I approach, whether it be; my spouse, my dog, my cup of chai, this computer, a tree, whatever... As St. Paul would have said; the Divine is closer to me than my next breath and in the Divine I live, move, breathe and have my being. Therefore, there is no need for me to "externalize" this relationship and say; "it is like a parent to child relationship, or a teacher to student relationship, or like whatever". The Divine is not "out there" somewhere. The Divine is right here. Every moment is an exercise in mindfulness to approach all sentient beings and all of the elements of the earth with reverence. It simply is what it is and it exists to be loved.

There it is, my relationship with the Divine can be expressed in one sentence; I seek to approach all things with gratitude, mindfulness and reverence. This is how I am in active relationship with the Divine.

Namaste.

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Was this at all coherent? :o[/COLOR]

I  thought it was beautious. :)