Here I am at the last day of August, my favourite month since I was a school boy and is so still today. I know that fall does not begin for another twenty days, but August is the last full summer month. However, the Fall is a fine season too, though it does herald and bring the colder temps, which in turn keep the insects and crawlers under control!

My stay with Thomas and Gabriella at Dutch Creek was a nice and welcome break from my city dwelling. The weather cooperated, whereas the smoke did not, but that did not slow us by much. We went swimming, visited Invermere, went for some walks and had much to talk about. I made my cold cucumber soup, for which I’d brought all the supplies and a friend - Marlene - added to the menu with lentil soup.

We went swimming, visited Invermere, went for some walks and had much to talk about.

I was to stay until Saturday, but left Friday instead on account of my unsettled digestion and intestine. I suspect the water, but am not sure, thought things are back to normal since yesterday. The smoke haze was so thick around Castle Mountain on Friday, that I had just about passed the Massive before noticing it. I still regret not stopping for a photo, because the scene’s mood was full of doom! Maybe that is why I went by is so quickly:-)!

Yesterday at the Palliser it was Hanna’s turn at the podium with her talk titled “Who am I - Really?”, which she based on the book “The Untethered Soul” by M. Singer. Hanna gave us much to think about and work with, presenting a welcome break from the standard fare of ‘New Thought’ thinker’s claims and admonitions.

I helped out with the music, except that I rushed off to get the coffee, while forgetting my task to man the player for the closing love song. Only at its conclusion did I return belatedly, but with the coffee in tow! It was all taken in good spirits and I was not held to account!

Both, Saturday and Sunday were quiet otherwise, which gave me a chance to settle back in from my visit to my friends at Dutch Creek. On Sunday morning a new awareness arose in me as follows: “It’s time, for a Theology of/for Existence Divine.” This I gave some more thought during the day and made a few relating notes, realising that this is going to be a much bigger project, that I have awaited, but never felt ready for. This has changed now and now I’m ‘good to go’ as a new Canadian political adage has it.
<9:18am and continuing below at 10:34am after a walk and coffee.

A word about the mentioned theology and as well on a realisation from my morning ‘nature meditation’ at Dutch Creek. The latter is that my existence is continuous, albeit that the duration of my life in the human body is temporal. All existence is continuous, taking on different forms, each with relating experience that is unique.

What I realised that Thursday morning the 27th was that I as a human being can and should work on becoming conscious of that [continuous] state of existence.

What I realised that Thursday morning the 27th was that I as a human being can and should work on becoming conscious of that state of existence. It is conscious awareness that enables me to form connections between the experiences, which is impossible to do with out such awareness.

The former idea on a theology is something that goes back many years, starting with my study of the Gnostics and their teachings. I had borrowed Kurt Rudolph’s book “Gnosis” from the Calgary library back in the summer of 2004. He uses the concepts of theology - listed below - to structure the teachings and writings of the Gnostics.

He [Rudolph] uses the concepts of theology - listed below - to structure the teachings and writings of the Gnostics.

Later that summer I bought the book for myself and still refer to it at times. In the chapter ‘Nature and Structure’ Rudolph lists the following subheadings: Main features, Cosmology and Cosmogony, Anthropology and Anthropogony, Doctrine of Redemption, Ascent of the soul and world end, while closing with Community, Cult and Practice (Ethics).

The last five headings constitute the classic categories of theology and are applicable to all religions and I found to secular ideologies - such as capitalism - as well. It is a matter of providing an ordering frame work for the world of experience.

The more common categorical names are: Creation of the Universe (cosmogony), origins of humanity (anthropogeny), salvation and redemption (soteriology), law and community, and finally ‘teachings of the last things’ (eschatology). The last category can also be described as ‘future expectations’, such as in science where it is held that all laws of the universe will be known in the future.

I now have to relate these categories to the concept of ‘Existence Divine’ which includes all there is. This implies that there is a place for the varieties of religious teaching and experience of humanity and the sciences as well, all among other things.

This wide ranging accommodation is necessary in today’s society, where many identities, interests and convictions are confronting one another at various levels of intensity. We must understand our own human situation - predicament possibly - if we are to emerge from this vortex of confluence with our shared heritage enhanced.
<11:22am~