Conversation with Mysterious Visitor while Camping

From conversation with visitor while camping at Tiger Cove Campground

click here to see the story of our travel to Pendleton SC, and our camping at Tiger Grove)

Our mysterious visitor never gave his name, and he never asked for ours. It is a curious fact that I never noticed until after he was gone. Our conversation started after we ate. I am writing the conversation strictly from memory, so I beg the old man's forgiveness in advance for any minor inaccuracies. I am confident, however, that I have recorded the essence of the conversation, and my Bella can attest to this as well. Also, I did not attempt to quote his exact dialect, as it was a bit alien to me.

The old man told us he had no family to speak of, that they had all passed away. He spent his days wondering, always on the move. He said he has never missed a meal and has all he needs in his bag. I didn't ask him why he was without a home, and neither did he volunteer it. Somehow, I felt it would be rude. I think you will see from our conversation that he was intelligent, but not necessarily a scholar. Or, at least, he did not betray himself as such.

This is how it went, after a bit of small talk that is. How it came to this subject I am not quite sure.

He started by saying, “You can only understand God by first understanding God's manifestations, God's creations, in case the term suits you better, and you can only understand God's creations by realizing you are God and you are God's manifestation.”

“I'm not sure I understand. Do you mean to say I am my own God?” I asked.

“You are your own God if that is how you have created your life. It is a precarious position to take to say you are God, with a capital 'G' as in God of all things,” said the old man.

“But how can you be God and not be God of all things? Is there not one God?” Bella asked.

“There is only one God, but there are innumerable manifestations of that one God. Do you agree with that?” said the old man.

“Explain what you mean by manifestations,” Bella said.

“I mean creations, but creations that reflect their creator, creations that are visible expressions of their creator. For example, in the Bible, John 1:1, it says, 'In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God.' Here, 'word' means an expression of a thought. That's what a word is. It is an expression of the thought in your mind, and so you could say that in the beginning was the expression of a thought, and that expression of thought was with God, and that expression of thought was God.

The world you see, the person you are, the air you breathe, is an expression of a thought, and that expression of thought is with God, or it is God's thought, and that expression of thought is God. You are here, you are with God, and you are God. Think about the words I am speaking. They are expressions of my thought. They reflect my thoughts. They ARE my thoughts. And what am 'I' but my thoughts? So, you are God's word. You reflect God's thoughts. You ARE God's thoughts.”

“I will agree that my words ARE my thoughts, and my thoughts make up who I am, I will even say my words are manifestations of me. But my words are not Me. They have no power over Me. They cannot control or influence Me or act on my behalf. So in that sense, to say we are God means nothing. You say we are God, but what influence do we have on God if we are to God what our words are to us?”

I asked.

“But your words do have control over you. Yes, you create the thoughts, express the thoughts, but the thoughts and the expression of those thoughts affect you. Your words affect you. You cannot separate yourself from them. For example, if you pay someone a compliment, you feel good. You feel good about that person and about yourself for making the compliment. Your words have affected you, because they ARE you.

If you say something hurtful to someone, you feel bad, or if you are mean spirited you may feel excited. Either way, your words have affected you, not only your feelings but your physical self as well. Your physiology changes. Your body produces chemicals to cause emotions and feelings. You are your words. Contrary to the old saying, you are not what you eat, but you are what you say. As said in the Bible, Mathew 15:11 'Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.'

So, when you see someone always speaking harshly to others, you'll notice it affects how they look, it affects even their health,” said the old man.

“But do they speak harshly because of their constitution or is their constitution sour because of their words?” asked Bella.

“Yes, which controls? Which causes which? In other words, can someone simply change how they speak and it change who they are? Can someone speak in a way that does not come natural and it change their constitution? Or does the person have to have an inward change first and then as a result the way they speak changes?” I asked.

“But you forget. It is one and the same. We are our words, our words are us. You cannot separate the two. It is only when you believe the two are separate that you are in turmoil. Remember, the suffering of hell does not come from the eternal fires but from the separation of the created from the creator. When we separate ourselves from our creation, our words, when we believe our words are not us, when we do not take responsibility for our words and speak them carelessly, we create our own hell.

When we say to someone 'I hate you', then we are hate. When we say to someone 'I love you', then we are love. And when we look in the mirror and say to ourselves 'I hate you', then God becomes hate. This is another example of the word affecting the speaker of the word. The creation affecting the creator. Look at anyone who hates himself, you'll find that he believes God to be a monster. Or he may even deny the existence of God, which is the separation I mentioned earlier. He is saying God is not responsible for his creation; he is saying that he is not God and God is not him. This is the real hell, not eternal fires,” said the old man.

“Let me see if I have this right. I can change my words and thereby change myself; I can change myself and thereby change God?” Bella asked.

“Yes, where is the thing that initiates the change though? What starts the change? In order to change what words I speak I have to decide to do it, and that would mean I have already changed before the words come out. I can't change my words without changing my mind first. What changes my mind?” I asked.

“Ah, but you just answered your question. All you have to do is accept that your words and your Self are one and the same, accept that you and God are one and the same. As soon as you accept this truth, you have the power to change. But until you believe, until you accept it, you are powerless over your life because you believe you are separate from God. If you believe you cannot change until God decides to change first, you are like the person who believes his words cannot change until he first changes his mind. You are saying the two are separate.

It's simply a matter of accepting the power you already have. That is the difference between sinner and saint, between the joyful man and the sorrowful man. Look at it this way. Everything we think is a prayer. To truly accept God, to become one with God, you have to make a conscious decision on what these prayers are. It's not just when we sit down for the purpose of praying. Think of that as practice.

Remember what Jesus said, 'Seek and you shall find, ask and it shall be given.' What are you seeking in your mind? What are you asking? Because, you will find what you seek. What you ask shall be given. Imagine the man who asks, 'What will I do if I lose my job?' This man will lose his job; because, that is what he is seeking, asking, praying,” said the old man.

There was much more, and perhaps I will post more of it in future post.

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