Ouija board...

 On one of these neighborhood forums like NextDoor, someone asked "Do you think Ouija boards are for real?" and then proceeded to tell a story about their experience with one.  I didn't answer it because it's not as simple as yes or no, but here are my thoughts...

I don’t believe in hell or that Satan exists.  I think these are made-up stories BY men to CONTROL the masses.  I won’t say the Bible has no value as there are a lot of stories that are inspiring and can help us navigate issues of morality.  But if you believe in a kind, loving, fatherly God, how can you believe that he would create a being who would torment us, who would tempt us, who would possess us or allow awful things to happen to us?  The answer I often get to that question is that Lucifer was an angel first, who defied God who cast him out.  Which means God created Hell for Lucifer and his followers.  Does a loving God create such a negative place?  If so, why?  He is all-powerful, so why wouldn’t he simply destroy Lucifer and his followers?  A kind and loving God wouldn’t subject his children (us) to the evil that is Satan, right? 

And if you want to be literal, and take the Bible as the truth, then Hell was created to contain and punish Lucifer and his followers, so how would he be able to affect us?  Only if God gave him the power to affect us could he do so, since God is all-powerful.  Would your God do that?  Not mine!  So no, I do not believe  that MY God created a devil to roam Earth and try to lure us into sinning so we could be his minions in Hell.  My God loves every one of his children, none of whom is perfect.  Just as a parent doesn’t stop loving a child who does terrible things, God will love us no matter what.  And when we go home, our “sins” in the physical world will shed with our bodies and God will be there to welcome us home, and probably say something like "I'm so sorry you had to live that terrible life, my child." 

So with no devil, how would a silly man-made board have any power?  The power it has isn’t anything Satanic.  It’s simply the power of the mind of the user(s).  People swear the “planchette” (that little board) moves by itself, and I do believe it can.  But it’s the power of the mind that’s moving it, not the devil.  When you endeavor to use the board, you and your co-user(s) ask questions and expect certain answers, whether it’s truth or what you want to hear or what you fear, your powerful minds, especially when there’s more than one, bring those answers.  You could have two people who expect different answers, and I would suggest that the one with the most powerful desire is the one who controls the answer. 

I just wish that we could evolve enough to quit embracing this idea of a devil.  Do we really need to think that there is an afterlife where some people we deem “evil” will suffer for all of eternity?  I believe we come to earth with nothing but pure, positive energy.  The things that happen to us and around us and the actions of those whose care we rely on is what molds who we become.  What kind of God would send someone here to be raised in circumstances that damage the psyche so bad that they commit what we call “evil acts”, and then punish them with hellfire?  Wouldn’t a gracious kind God give everyone a good home with good people so no one has an “excuse” to do bad things?  In my opinion, God’s plan is simply to let us come here to seek joy in this physical life.  He leaves us alone and if we find our joy, more power to us.  If we don’t and we lose our central purpose and end up hurting ourselves or others, the real hell is living that life, living with guilt, not finding the joy. But when we decide to go home, the slate is wiped clean and we go back into pure, positive energy and once again we are enveloped in God’s love.

And just as an aside, I prefer the word Universe or Source over the word God.  I think “God” conjures up a certain image that has been planted by organized religion.  I think we (our spiritual selves) are all part of Source (or God).  We are all, collectively, the creator.  In my mind, it makes so much more sense than one supreme being playing this big game of “who gets in and who doesn’t”.  Call me defiant, but I don’t want to play that game!