Here in Brazil there’s a common expression – “Vai com Deus”, translates to “Go with god”. People will use it when they are saying goodbye. A “have a great day” or “take care of yourself” kinda thing. Generally only used by more the more religious, but all the same you hear it from time to time.
At first it can be off putting – many people don’t like it because it’s got that religious undertone and they could be making it as a statement of showing off/forcing their religion kinda thing.
Personally? I’ve always liked it. Go with God. Leave with god by your side – It’s nice imagery to hold in mind.
The other day I was with some friends and overheard someone say it, and I made a comment that I like the phrase.
This led to him asking, “what are your thoughts on the Bible?” And this led us on the tangent I would like to go on today.
First when we say the “bible”, I’m going to focus on the New Testament and the story of Jesus Christ, the stories of heaven and hell and angels and demons and the such. Not going to dive into the Old Testament, but it applies all the same.
I’ve always looked at the Bible as a work of historical fiction. An analogy. Not to be taken as actual fact, but a story based on real events that then becomes a framework for how to live a good life and be a good person.
So when we look at the story or narrative of Jesus Christ, I like to look at it as a story of human morality. Developing an internal compass of what is right and wrong, and doing what you believe to be right. Not just blindly accept the rules imposed upon you by society and culture, but to have an intuitive sense of the right thing and how to treat people.
I like to look at Jesus as an analogy for all of us of becoming our “highest self”. Reaching our full potential. Becoming the best versions of ourselves that we can be.
Jesus is a story of intuition. Communicating with god is communicating with yourself. Listening to your feelings and doing what you feel to be is the right thing, based on a set of principles and values you have pre-defined.
All of us have this sense of intuition. All of us have an internal sense of right and wrong. Good habits and bad habits. Things that we want to improve in our live or bad habits we want to break.
To me – this is god. God is that intuitive sense of right and wrong. Of what we know we should be doing and whether or not we actually follow through and do it.
Decisions we make are the angels and demons. The angels are the things we know will be good for us. The path of our higher self. The demons lead us in the opposite direction. The destructive behaviors that we know we shouldn’t do.
We all know exactly what we should do on a daily basis to be our best self – but therein the question lies – do you actually follow through? Do you actually live to your full potential on a daily basis?
Ok maybe you don’t know EXACTLY what you should do every day and you need some help. But do you show up for yourself in that way? Do you seek to the help you need?
Jesus is the analogy for the epitome “higher self”, god self, reaching your full potential, whatever you want to call it. Jesus is the dude who listened to god aka listened to his intuition, who consistently followed through every single day on being the best version of himself that he could be. He’s our example to follow of the connection with god and how to embody it.
Moses, Buddha, Mohammed – all of them share a similar tale. Time and time again in our religious texts we see stories of people who rose above and did incredible things – all through taking personal ownership over their lives, developing a set of values and moral principles, and following through on those.
So really the Bible is a fictional tale about creating a sense of personal responsibility for your morality and being the best person that you can be – and doing it.
So to return to this narrative of “vai com Deus”, To go with god is to walk that path of being your best self. Paying attention to the angels and demons that arrive on a daily basis and how you deal with them. To make decisions with god in mind.
Religious context aside – This is a powerful way to live. To walk the path of light, god, reaching your full potential, whatever you want to call it – this is the path of the human journey. The meaning of life. To create your own meaning and live it. To walk with god in your presence.
Things will get also difficult along the way, but that’s also why we need the faith in god. The faith in our angels. The faith that the universe is working for us. The faith in ourselves.
How this applies in my own life?
When I checked in with myself, when I asked myself what my angels and demons were – I had an intuitive feel that I need to stop smoking pot. I need a break and I want to get off of using my inhaler. Focus more on breath work and breathing practices.
So, I did. I took a break for a little over a month (36 days to be exact!), but then before returning to smoking I created a set of rules for myself. Things like only sundown Friday to Sunday and can’t smoke more than 3 times in a day and mandatory weeks off every now and then. Things like this to find a healthier balance.
My writing too. Dropped off an inconsistent. My angels are screaming at me to put more time into this and find the rhythm again.
For me this was walking my path of god. Checking in with myself and my intuition and asking myself “What do I need to be doing that I’m not? What do I feel guilty about” – and doing it.
No one is perfect, nor do I claim to be, but I like this analogy of vai com Deus as a framework and an approach to life, whether or not you believe in god or are spiritual in any way.
Nowwwww to shift gears a bit though – if you do in fact believe in god, are spiritual, believe that these forces and energies exist – this is all the more interesting of a tool and approach to life.
To dive into the woo a bit 😉 All of my Ayahuasca journeys seem to be very well aligned with this life philosophy. In all of my ceremonies (15 or so at this point), they have always been about reconnecting with myself. Discovering the things I need to work on or the things I forgot or need to appreciate more, the things that I need to heal and let go of, and leaving me with an internal sense of healing what has happened in the past with clear direction of what to work on in the future.
It’s like if I went in well aligned and ready pre-ceremony I was embraced by the angels and allowed to enter the infinite, whereas if I had a bunch of shit I was dealing with and needed to work through I got the healthy cleaning/reset/surgery I needed. It’s as if demons and angels are potentially very real things that we battle in these ceremonies.
These ceremonies have also left me with a deep sense of interconnectedness. That our environment has an affect on us and vice verse. That we have an energetic effect on each other. That we really need more love for each other, to treat each other kindly, be more grateful for this life and beautiful planet that we have. To cultivate this positive energy and know how that positive energy can cure and heal others.
That’s why I’ve also seen that the path of god really does involve a fuck ton of meditation and breath and movement practices if you want to be able to hang in the infinite. That these are practices that cultivate the positive energy you need to stay focused and battle the day to day battles of the world without sacrificing your good energy – but in fact on the contrary building and harnessing a more powerful and potent internal energy!
I’ve also seen some pretty weird/strange/bizarre “synchronicities” in life. While the “law of attraction” is something that’s very hard to disprove but has very little scientific evidence and the skeptic in me wants to cry out – I’ve had more experiences than I can count that would fall into the category of “miracle coincidence”. Many of the people that have come into my life, and when they have come in to my life along with the challenges and milestones I’ve overcome in my journey. All leaves me feeling very “huh, maybe there is something larger out there working in my favor.”
So to walk the path of god is to be aware that maybe, just maybe, the when you align with god and walk the path of god – when you set out a clear path of your values and principles, your goals and vision, and then how that applies to how you structure your day, and then how your actions and habits throughout the day get you to the bigger goal of where you want to be in life, and when you follow those actions honestly and treat people well along the way and have faith through the struggle it will all work out – maybe just maybe, the universe conspires in your favor and god/the universe lend a helping hand!
Even if there’s no spiritual intervention whatsoever it’s still a great plan to follow. But I think it’s a little bit more fun to hold the idea that there could be larger forces at work rewarding me for my hard work and steadfast commitment to becoming my best self and living my best life.
At the end of the day remember – placebo is a well documented scientific fact – we just don’t fully understand the mechanisms quite yet 😉
So to wrap up this long meandering spiritual discussion, I just wanted to share this idea of “vai com Deus” – to live throughout the day in a way that you feel is aligned with your intuition. To keep god in mind as you move throughout the day and be your god self. To walk with the angels and not give into the demons. To have some faith that maybe, just maybe, the universe is conspiring in your favor when you walk with god.
Vai com Deus 🙂
