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"Have you ever created a god?"

I know I'm in danger of abstracting myself out of the SR universe by posing such a question, but have you ever created a god? - i.e. a subjective super-idol which aids and inspires you to accomplish things in everyday life which you normally might struggle to achieve.
Sounds cuckoo-land I know, but it's not as ridiculous as it may seem. (Well at least I don't think it is :S)

---I've got one foot in the land of tomfoolery here, but I'll carry on.---

Everybody needs an internal helping hand at some stage during life's escapade, and the creation of a chimerical god in the mind's-eye which can be invoked in times of need for whatever purpose is an idea worth considering.

For instance: say you write music, but for whatever reason you've caught a particularly bad case of the Gary Barlows - (i.e. you've dried up)..... then why not create a personal god with all the necessary and subtle attributes of a musical maestro, and then use it, through the practice of visualisation, invocation and prayer, as an "ideal" to inspire your imagination and give your creative wagon a helping push.

Fabricating a god out of thin air is easier than you might think: all you in effect need is a name, but the conception of this name is very important, as it must encapsulate totally and perfectly all the characteristics and qualities of your god's clear purpose. A little time spent mapping-out its quintessential credentials and *abracadabra* - it lives.
There are, of course, loads of ready-made gods out there which you could use - Greek gods are especially abundant in their diversity - but I think it's more interesting and productive to create one of your own.
You'd be surprised just how many artists throughout the centuries who have adopted this concept of a "user-friendly god" in order to kickstart inspiration or take inventiveness to higher, more intense levels.

All that is required is a flurry of mental gymnastics, an imaginative leap of faith and you're there: in the bosom of your personal genie of perfection, able to invoke its invisible superhuman-ness and use its limitless powers to aid your "will" in a kind of non-religious self-hypnotic flight of fancy. And furthermore, the longer you "keep the faith" with your phantom deity, the more quality juice you will be able to drain from its puddings.

Yes it's self-delusion, but there's nothing wrong with "using your illusion" as a creative/productive device - just as long as you keep in check any Messianic delusions of grandeur which may ensue.....

So, using self-created gods as a trampoline for the imagination: the secret of genius, or the feather that tips the crackpot into the bottomless wishing well?

Discuss.

Lil Ginge wrote:
> I already believe in god (christian god) I did not invent him, I
> didn't conjur him up or only use him when im low I know that he is
> there.

I would suggest that you invent God every day in your mind.
I would suggest that ALL gods are self-created. They serve a purpose in the human psyche. They are a "high" vision which we can aspire to.

FOr instance: for many, Jesus Christ is the highest and most perfect vision of a human being. He is fearless, he has limitless compassion, etc. He is a great role model. There's no doubt that if everyone attempted to "imitate Christ" the world would be a better place.

Jesus Christ is a perfect example of what I'm talking about. He is a vision of our higher selves. His virtues are ideal. Whether he existed/exists or not shouldn't be the issue. We can invoke his attributes into our minds and make ourselves more like him. He is a god (a spiritual device) that can be used.

Ask yourself this question: "why do you need to believe something is true in order to believe in it?"

When it comes to improving yourself, illusion is the most potent key.

I amactually the father of Allah, so I believe I did create a God.

You seen Memento? It touches on this in a similar way.

Asher D wrote:
> I once had a lucky Barcardi bottle top.
>
> Then it got ran over.

*Offers sympathy

Timmargh wrote:
> Does anyone else get paranoid when they reply to a thread and no-one
> else does afterwards?
>

Yes I have killed many a thread simply by making an entrance :(

*reads replies*

I guess what I'm trying to say (in a roundabout way) is that self-belief isn't always enough - sometimes doubt and the sensations of irrelevance can overwhelm - and at certain times most of us need to draw on something which seems more perfect and less fragile than we are.
Call it a god, a daemon, a muse, an ideal - whatever. It doesn't matter. Crucially, they serve as stepping stones upon which the feet of our imagination can travel.

I already believe in god (christian god) I did not invent him, I didn't conjur him up or only use him when im low I know that he is there.

I see what you mean but by making the god up arent you bending the idea of faith?

Isn't a faith something you believe in? Well, By trying to believe that something you have made up is real(which you know is a figment of your mind)lying to yourself etc, possibly an unstable thing to fall back on.

I once had a lucky Barcardi bottle top.

Then it got ran over.

Yea I read it to, i just cant think of a productive responce...*thinks*...

Don't worry, I read it, but I couldn't think of a worthwhile reply.
That doesn't usually stop me though, å la now.