Huna Article

Huna International

God Is A Pile Of Dung
by Jim Brinkley

Years ago, shortly after I began my Huna studies, I was invited to speak to a small group of students of spirituality at a church in the California desert. I don't really like the desert, nor do I enjoy long drives, but I went because the minister was (and still is) a friend of mine. When I arrived at the church, I parked in front. The church was a quaint little wooden one, painted white, and set back from the road about a hundred feet. There was a lovely green lawn in front of the church, bisected by a walkway that led to a porch that fronted the entrance. The porch was elevated about four steps and on either side of it, along the front wall of the church building, was a row of rose bushes. It was during the cool of evening, with still enough light to see clearly. The roses were in full bloom and very beautiful. Just as I began to walk from my car down the path to the church, a little dog trotted around the left side of the church, squatted in front of the rose bushes, and deposited a large pile of steaming you-know-what.

Imagine now that you are walking up to this pile. Bend or squat down so that you can get very close to it and study it carefully. See its every detail, including the steam rising from it. Inhale deeply and smell its very pungent and distinctive odor. If you dare, touch it and feel its sliminess. Experience it in as much detail and with as much realism as you can without making yourself physically ill. When you are finished, you will find a hot water tap, a basin, plenty of soap, and a fresh towel around the corner alongside the church, if you need them.

Now return to the front of the church but this time, walk to the other side of the path. Go up to the rose bushes and pick out the most beautiful rose. See it in all its lovely detail. Become aware of all its subtle nuances of color and shape. Inhale its wonderful fragrance. Feel the softness of its petals. When you are ready, open your eyes and return to the present.

Compare these two experiences. Which was the good one and which was the bad? The answer is obvious, is it not? The rose was good and the dog you-know-what was bad. Well, from our point of view, that is correct. But from the point of view of the universe . . . it ain't necessarily so!

This brings us to the Seventh Principle of Huna: "Effectiveness is the Measure of Truth" and to its corollary, "Everything is Relative." (Serge puts this corollary with the Fourth Principle but to me it fits equally well with the Seventh.) Albert Einstein, through his famous Law of Relativity, taught us that in the physical universe, certain things previously considered to be absolutes, such as mass, speed, and location, are actually relative to the point of view of the observer. The same law is equally valid in the spiritual universe.

From our point of view as human beings, feces of any kind looks bad, smells bad, feels bad, and (presumably) tastes bad; and with good reason. Feces contains poisonous wastes that could be very harmful to our bodies and so we are gifted with sensors that detect the danger and alert us to it. But think about feces objectively for a moment. It contains many nutrients that are a blessing to the lawn and to the rose bush. In fact, the bush under which it is deposited will probably grow larger, greener, and have more abundant blooms next year than its fellows. Not only that, but the feces contains millions, if not billions, of bacteria. These of course can be very harmful to us but each and every one of them is one of God's creatures. Therefore God loves each and every one of them!

Let's explore another example of spiritual relativity. When a lioness kills a baby antelope, is that good or bad? Well, from the point of view of the baby antelope, it's bad; its life has been lost. From the point of view of the lioness, it's good; she eats. From the point of view of the mother antelope it's bad; she grieves. From the point of view of the lion cubs and the pride, it's good; they thrive because the lioness can make milk for the cubs and be a strong hunter for the pride. And from the point of view of the antelope herd, it's good; when the weak are culled the herd will not grow to the point where it outstrips its food supply. However, from the point of view of a disinterested universe, this event would be neither good nor bad, it would simply be.

But the universe is not disinterested. If we agree that God is all knowing, all loving, all wise, and all powerful, then God must be in everything. Otherwise, one part of God might have more knowledge, love, wisdom, or power than another part, which would violate the very definition of God. If God is good and if God is in everything, then everything and everyone is good. "Wait just a minute!" you say. "What about the rapist? What about the serial killer, the thief, and the earthquake? Are they not bad?" Yes, they are bad . . . from our point of view! They are bad from our point of view because they are harmful to us. But from the point of view of the universe, they exist; therefore they are good. From God"s point of view, everyone and everything that is, is good. That is why God loves everyone and everything.

Many people have a problem with this idea. They do not understand how God can love a murderer. That is because they define the murderer by his (or her) actions. Consider, however, the Huna concept that life is a dream, albeit more focused and therefore seemingly more "real" than other dreams. Being grounded in our culture, it may be easier for you to view life as a play or a movie. Each of us is, in our true essence, a spiritual being. We have each elected to put on a costume (physical body) in order to take a role in this grand play that we call life. Each character in the play is being portrayed by a spiritual actor. Just as we may hate the character in a play but love the actor who plays that character, so in life each spiritual being (actor) is to be loved, even while we may despise the physical being (character) that (s)he plays.

One of the great gifts of Huna is the knowledge that we each not only act in our play but that we also direct it and even can rewrite the script as we go along! Therefore we each have the ability to create our own reality. We need only to learn how. One way to learn how is to study the ancient wisdom of the Kahuna Kalakupua.

So it is the spiritual essence of everyone and everything that God loves. As many great spiritual teachers have taught, the place to find God is within. Everything is good because God is good and God is in everything. Even in that pile of dog dung. Even in you!

Copyright Huna International 2000