Still looking for a new name for God.

The task of finding a new name for the Almighty is more daunting than I first imagined. Added to that, I realized His image isn’t that much better.

Not only does the name God bring up all the bloody atrocities committed in His Name, it also has too many sharp edges and blunt sides when you say it. The name ‘God’ has been too saturated with blood, cruelty, and rough consonants to conjure up the images of Peace I need when I close my eyes and meditate. That soft-breeze flow across your agitated mind I expect to find when uttering the Name of the Most Divine is totally absent. 


After posting yesterday’s article, I reviewed, once again, alternatives. 


The name, ‘I AM,’ lost it, I’m sad to say. After all, it’s English, and just because it’s the preferred language throughout the world, doesn’t mean it’s the best sound for the Name of the Almighty. Also, before you know it, someone would contract it into “I’M” and started a whole new religion. And, a new belief system is not the purpose of this search. We already have too many of those.


So, once again, the names from yesterday and a few more to boot.


French: "Dieu" is poetic but toodifficult for a lot of people to get the tongues around. 


Spanish: "Dios," sounds kind of cheap, (but I think that has more to do with my programming, as I was raised on the border to Tijuana and was unmercifully bullied as a kid by the Mexican immigrants).  


The Italian "Dio!" starts out just as blunt as the previous two but it remained, nevertheless,  the name of choice a lot longer than the others. Then, I remembered how the Italians use the name of Dio in vain even more than the Americans. Bad enough to use the term, ‘Gawdammit,’ when the toilet overflows, but and often so abstract you can’t even understand the connotation. Two phrases come to mind: ‘Porco Dio!, (Pig-God) or ‘Dio Cane!’ (God-dog) when someone cuts you off in traffic? I just don’t get the connection.


So, I continued my search.


Back in the 90s, "Brahman," was my Name of choice. That stuck until the word ‘yoga’ began leaving a bad taste in my mouth. I mean, when yoga mats started selling at over 100 dollars and yoga pants even more, no matter how pleasant the sound, I realized Brahman no longer served purpose.


I also considered using the word "Om," as a name to conjure up His glory. Then I realized that "Om" is sound, not a name for the Almighty. Same thing with "Peace, Love, and Bliss." Qualitative, but only symbols of the real McCoy. 


Other names for God and their denominations that went through my mind:


As I said earlier, "Yahweh," was a pretty good alternative for a time with it's open vowel sounds and lack of hard consonants. But then I remembered Yahweh was the name of the deity who killed all those first-born sons back in Egypt! That atrocity alone killed the image. 


‘Allah’ was a nice alternative to Yawah, sounding enough alike you’d think They were brothers.  It also has a lot of that "AH" sound, which really tends to open up the heart area. Alas: Allah has gotten such a bad rap ever since 9/11 that it's going to take years to get the dirt cleared off those syllables. Another thing about Allah: He’s never had his portrait done. The closest I’ve is an Arabic scribble that is just a little too abstract for my tastes. I understand the intention behind this, (graven images, etc.),  but, let's face it,  humans need something visual to bow down to. 


 ‘Baha’ from the Baha'I faith. Alas, my Southern California upbringing brought up too many images of Silver Stream trailers and cheap, fish tacos just south of the border.


El, from the Hebrew. Too, too macho, amigo.

Elohim  - Mormon. Too cute and cuddly, somehow. I need a father figure, not a little brother.


So, where does this leave me? 


I need a name, a sound the provokes an image full of love and beauty and no jewelry. This word should conjure up pictures of a clean-shaven, heavenly Father with a countenance that draws me back into His loving arms, not something that pushes me in the other direction. 


Pim? Alois?


I have to admit, I'm stuck. 


Next Week's Topic: We also need a new name for Jesus Christ! Again: it's the sound it makes when it comes out of your mouth,  made even harsher by the yogis who scream it out every time they fail at some new yoga pose.