Dana Owens

Religious knowledge and worship cannot fulfill their purpose when they are disconnected from a life of goodness and truth. The question is not simply whether we possess the truth, but whether the truth is experientially transforming us, thus our lives become in accordance with the truth.

The Gold Calf describes our inner desire for a god who fulfills our expectations, immediately protects us from suffering, and guarantees a comfortable future. When God does not act according to our desire and expectations, we may reshape our understanding of God until it becomes more reassuring to what we want.

The heart of the Decalogy is nothing but human relationships. In other words, the core of human suffering is relational, and thus liberation from such suffering should be found in relationships.

To consecrate ourselves is to create a space within ourselves and in our daily lives, so that the Divine can be welcomed, present, and feed our spirits. This could be done through a ritual of consecration, but what is more important is an inward willingness to be changed by the truth from the Divine.

We can stand beside water and remain thirsty. Likewise, we can know a great deal about spiritual truth and still remain spiritually thirsty. The decision to drink must be voluntary.