An Apple Tree, not a Buick

The observant reader will note the rather curious web address for this blog and may have wondered, WTF? Well your patience shall now be rewarded. Before I continue, I must express my appreciation for Alan Watts, who provided the nucleus for this idea. In fact, I have probably done little more than to expand upon his ideas and frame them within the context of natural pantheism.

An apple tree, not a Buick refers to my own way of explaining natural pantheism. The word “pantheism” comes from ancient Greek pan meaning “all” and theos meaning “God.” The basic idea of pantheism is that there is no entity that exists outside of and apart from creation. Pantheism is therefore nondualistic in that it does not view “God” or divinity as separate from us (I and the Father are One. –John 10:30). God is a part of everything, not apart from everything.

“Natural” pantheism views existence like an apple tree–it grows. Growth is the natural process of existence expressing itself. The tree already exists within the apple seed. It is self-creating. This is a natural rather than supernatural process.

In contrast, many religions view existence like a Buick. A Buick doesn’t grow–it’s manufactured. Something outside of it must create it. This is dualistic–creator and the creation are separate entities. Without the creator, there is no creation. Therefore, the creation is and always will be subservient to the creator.

Natural pantheism leads to what I call the “Big Namaste.” Namaste is a Sanskrit word that is a common greeting in India and Nepal. It is said while placing the hands together in a “prayer” position in front of the heart and bowing from the waist. It means “the One Spirit in me acknowledges and bows to the One Spirit in you.” Not bad for just one word! Its origin is from the Hindu concept that we are all an expression of the Divine. Pantheism takes this a step further in that we are not only an expression of the Divine, we are all part of it. In fact, EVERYTHING is a part of the Divine.

Once, just before sunset, I was walking alone in a meadow at Tipsoo Lake on Chinook Pass. Walking across the meadow towards me was a lone bull elk. The elk and I stopped when we were about 50 feet apart and looked directly at each other. I brought my hands together in front of my heart, bowed slightly from the waist, and whispered “Namaste.” Immediately afterward the elk and I continued our walk across the meadow, passing about 20 feet from each other. This is an example of “Big Namaste.” Whether it is another person, an animal, or a grain of sand–it’s all God.

Namaste!