Spirit in the Sky

It’s one of the great one-hit wonders of all time. Norman Greenbaum recorded “Spirit in the Sky” in 1970. It became an instant FM sensation and rose to number three on the top-forty charts as well. Its overtly Christian message captured the ears of believers and non-believers alike.

Forget the mythical geographical references to “up” and “sky.” Do you believe that when you die you will be welcomed by a benevolent Spirit that has some presence with you now, but will be totally present and totally accepting in the next life? You may call it the Holy Spirit, the Great Spirit, Mother Spirit, Father Spirit, the Spirit of Yahweh or Jehovah, the Spirit of Jesus, the Universal Spirit, God, Goddess, or countless other names. All the names point to the same reality.  A vast majority of the world’s people believe there is a Spirit present with us in some kind of positive, protective way in this life and we will live with that Spirit in a new life after death.

If that is the case, why do we have so much pain in this life and fear death and the next life? There is a scientific principle called entropy that says that matter has a tendency to break apart, to disperse. That is also true on a mental and spiritual level. We learn things and them we forget them. We find a genuine closeness of spirit with friends, lovers, and families, and then it seems to slowly evaporate. They or we are drawn in different directions. It is similar to our relationship with the Spirit. The intensity comes and goes more often than we can imagine and when it is most distant, we tend to have the most pain in our life and fears of death.

Interestingly, the more we become influenced with the Spirit, the more connected we become to the spirits of those around us and the spirit of the earth, and the less we become burdened by the terrible fear of death. If you are asking the question, “How do you become more open to the Spirit when you seem to be disconnected for a time?” The answer is to remember the intensity of your feelings when you had peak Spirit experiences: in prayer or meditation, relationships, nature, creativity, and so on.