And so it is.

Lest I squander your attention, let me just cut to the chase.

As the Santa Ana winds continue picking up speed, threatening to plunge Los Angeles into even greater chaos, as political pundits frolic and pick apart Jack Smith’s egregious final report on Trump’s “unprecedented criminal effort” to overturn the rigged 2020 election, and while the media makes a spectacle of Pete Hegseth, Pam Bondi, and other Trump cabinet confirmations, my mind is a million miles away.

There are ample opportunities to follow these stories, so I’m not going to waste time covering these issues today. I’m also going to sidestep the fact that the global elites are meeting in Davos right now, plotting out the rest of your life. Instead, I want to reach into the recesses of timeless contemplation, digging far beneath the surface of appearance, and stir up a more meaningful, even sacred sort of conversation.

As I write, I am listening to Malte Marten tapping his handpan in a melodic invocation of the Present Moment. The sound is glorious and uplifting.

There’s just something cool about the sound of that instrument.

Leading into the conversation, humans have known since the dawn of time that music can transport us into different states of mind. Music can evoke emotion, energize or calm our nervous system, and enrich our existential experience in a very visceral way.

Music is a timeless sort of magic.

Have you ever thought about how music brings people together?

Through music, we connect with something other than mind. We can feel rhythms and sounds ripple through our bodies, impacting our biology in very profound ways. Music can move us physically, mentally, and spiritually, in an involuntary fashion. It can stir up something inside us, something that transcends words and language, something that draws us into the present moment with a heightened state of being.

It’s no wonder, then, that music has been used as a form of worship in cultures and religions around the world, which is a curious fact that beckons the question:

Where does music come from?

Before answering, I want to frame what follows in practical terms. Music brings people with wildly different beliefs together in a meaningful way. In this sense, music might be thought of as powerful medicine. Beyond that, music helps us get out of our heads and connect with what’s real in the present moment—and all of this helps to reduce stress and make life better in every way.

As I think about the state of the world right now, with all the stress and chaos, my mind is constantly in search of solutions. In order to find solutions, we must first properly identify the problem we intend to solve. Of the myriad problems that are plaguing society, I believe that intentionally sown division is the greatest, by far.

By turning people against each other, We The People are divided in ways that make us easy to manage, thereby rendering us ineffective at opposing and overcoming the globalist agenda. I’ve previously discussed this intentional division, this bifurcation of society, along political lines, honing in on the rural/urban divide and the warring factions within the major political parties.

Today, I want to focus more specifically on the spiritual division that is fracturing American society, turning allies against each other, and I believe, being used to intentionally undermine our national unity. United we stand, divided we fall, right?

Back to the question:

Where does music come from?

Personally, I believe that music comes from the soul—how about you? Naturally, if music comes from the soul, one might wonder: where does the soul come from?

Obviously this question will come with its own set of answers, depending on your personal beliefs, upbringing, and cultural background. Regardless, surely we can all agree on the fact that different people will answer that question differently.

Such deeply spiritual questions about one’s own existence appear hardwired into the human psyche. We have a deep need for spiritual knowledge, as the world’s many religions attest. Throughout history there has been no shortage of creative answers, wrapped up and taught through traditional stories—but, though each of these stories claim to answer these primal questions, I believe the truth is more elusive.

Before proceeding, I want to make two points:

* Different cultures, and therefore different people, believe different stories, and generally speaking, everyone believes their stories hold the exclusive truth.

* The fact that people believe in different stories, that we as Americans hold a vast variety of different beliefs, is being used to divide and conquer our country.

My intention here is to probe this division, gently, to stimulate a search for unifying answers to some of life’s greatest questions. If you already have your answers, that’s fine, all I’d ask is that you proceed with an open mind. You know full well that every human being has their own unique set of beliefs, and that has to be okay.

Personally, I am of the firm belief that no two people believe exactly the same way.

Beyond the fact that some people believe in God and others don’t — and yet people in both camps value liberty and justice for all — I think that the infinite variations of beliefs within each of these camps is perfect evidence that the Truth of Existence actually exceeds any given dogma.

Put differently, I do not believe that God is contained within any given religion.

I state that out loud, well aware this perspective may be an affront to many in the audience… BUT, that said, it must be said, and I believe the case can and should be made in a way that is not offensive to those who hold tight to their faith.

If you’ve got your hackles up, remember, we’re working toward unity, for the purpose of restoring the Republic and preserving the blessing of liberty for future generations.

Don’t put God in a box.

If you know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, I invite you now to take a moment, pray, and put on the full armor of God. Ask the Holy Spirit for wisdom and discernment. You are a child of God, washed in the blood of the Lamb, and nothing that I am about to say is meant to disturb, disrupt, or displace your faith in Christ.

Stand firm, and let’s proceed.

Why do I say that God cannot be contained within any given religion?

First, from an explicitly Christian perspective, I’d offer the comparison between Baptist, Methodist, Lutheran, Pentecostal, Seventh Day Adventist, Jehovah’s Witness, and Latter Day Saint’s perspectives and beliefs as a prime example. Each of these faithful followers are reading the Bible, praying in the name of Jesus, interpreting the scriptures, and coming to their own unique conclusions.

Inevitably, they end up believing different things.

Does the fact they disagree make them wrong?

If so, who decides who’s wrong?

These similar faiths share much of the same story, say the Genesis story of creation, but in the actual understanding of God and God’s will, and in the application of their faith, there are many distinct and strong, if not petty, differences of opinion.

Can you imagine if all these groups started working together to stitch the social fabric and mobilize the political will needed to reconcile our runaway government with proper constitutional restraints? It would be a miracle!

And yet these groups remain divided by their spiritual beliefs.

Which makes my point: God does not fit into any one of these religions, and yet, observation indicates that God manages to fit into each of them in his own unique way. Do you think that God judges these groups based upon the minutia of their beliefs, or does he judge them according to the faith in their hearts?

Are any one of us capable of judging another human being in this way?

Again, I’d ask you to prayerfully consider the implications.

(Atheists hold tight, we’ll get to the strict logic momentarily.)

Now then, back to the original question:

Where does music come from?

I’m curious how a person would answer that question if they do not believe in God?

Honestly, I’d like to know. Regardless, at this point I’d wager that my atheist and agnostic friends — who’ve just stomached more religious jargon than they’d typically be willing to endure — are wondering what the hell I am getting at.

What does music have to do with the current geopolitical chaos? What practical value is there in considering the origins of the creative impulse?

The answer, in a word, is unity.

We don’t have to agree about the origins of music to agree that music is good, and we don’t even have to agree about what type of music is good, to acknowledge it’s many benefits and profound impact on humanity as a whole.

Thus, we can find unity in this aspect of human experience, as different and diverse as our personal preferences may be, because in the end, music moves us all.

Could it not be the same with spirituality?

Being human, I believe, is a fantastically spiritual experience.

Not religious