In my 20s I took a world religions class based on Huston Smith’s book "The Religions of Man." I was stunned to learn that all religions are blue prints for unconditional love.

I believe different religions are different languages through which God speaks to the human heart. Wise men and prophets call God by different names but the truth is one.

Unfortunately, the sacred texts of most religions have been used to serve the political needs of humankind.

However, each religion is true as a metaphor for the human and cosmic condition. Each is a voice raised to the divine.

Hinduism’s concept of reincarnation (we have many lives) and karma (we reap what we sow) helped me understand why a loving God would allow suffering in the world.

Hinduism, an ancient religion formed around 2500 B.C. made me ask, "What do I really want?" Is it pleasure, success, service to humankind or God realization (union with God)? After some thought I decided pleasure is great but I felt the need for something more.

The seeking of worldly success like money, a successful career, recognition and a house is also satisfying but it bothered me that I was competing with others and the rewards could be lost. Also, there is always more to be had and wealth, fame and power do not multiply when shared. Like pleasure success is mostly for ourselves.

I found serving humankind especially fulfilling. There is joy in giving and I enjoy the self-respect and praise. But it’s also frustrating—history shows that suffering will always be a part of the human condition.

For me the thought that we can achieve God Realization or union with God and release our limitations is compelling. Hinduism says when we stop expecting the world to be a certain way and no longer need recognition our love flows freely. We become who we really are wise, joyful, strong, free and at peace.

It is self-limiting thoughts and distractions that keep us from realizing that we’re already free. We are like a dust-covered lamp. When it is cleaned the light shines forth.

Hinduism says there are four paths to union with God or Yoga—thought, emotions, actions or experiments.

Knowledge or Jnana Yoga uses exercises to help us identify with the eternal part of ourselves as our personality constantly changes. One example is to watch ourselves as if we are someone else.

When we use Love or Bhakti Yoga we see God as separate from ourselves. When we love God unconditionally (we become like those we love) our attachment to the world weakens.

Work or Karma Yoga is finding God in the everyday work-world. When our work is performed as a service to God, with no expectations (God's will) we become channels for God.

Mental (Raja Yoga) or physical (Hatha Yoga) experiments involve turning our senses inside and exploring our internal world until we become absorbed in God. This is known as "Samadi".

The four paths to God can be combined and that is what I do. Yoga also practices non-injury, honesty, self-control, discipline, cleanliness, contentment, and a desire for union with God.

My favorite teachings from Hinduism are reincarnation and Karma—that we are a soul that lives many times on this earth before we reunite with God and through our choices we get back what we give.

Earth is a school where our souls learn what is important and the movement from desire, worldly success, social dedication to God does not happen in a straight line.

It is helpful to have some kind of "picture" of God that opens our hearts and minds.

Hinduism says the Universe has no beginning or end and is made up of many galaxies each having and earth where souls can work their way to God. There are worlds above and below the earth where souls work, depending on their Karma.

The cosmos periodically collapses over billions and billions of years and all unenlightened beings return to a state of becoming before the cycle begins again.

The earth is a middle world as it has an equal mixture of good and evil, pain and pleasure, knowledge and ignorance. It is a bridge to pass over but not to become attached to. We are in the universe to learn to look beyond the earth so it can never be a paradise.

The universe is an illusion. It looks solid but it is made up of one substance, God. It is a gigantic play and there is no permanent damnation.

Hinduism says that all religions are good and true paths to God. Our choices come through our culture, heritage, history and personality. To say there is only one religion is to say God is only in one room.

Buddhism, founded in 400 BC by Gautama Buddha, helped me develop loving kindness and see how my attachments cause suffering. It also gave me a method to release my attachments.

Buddha was the son of a king, wealthy, handsome and gifted. On his 29th birthday he left his wife, palace and worldly possessions to go into a forest in search of truth and enlightenment.

For six years he wondered alone in the forest where he practiced fasting, self-control and self-denial. When Buddha became so weak he almost died he began teaching the middle way. To give the body the food and rest it requires but no more.

One day while sitting under a fig tree he became enlightened. Enlightenment means "to wake up and know." The bliss kept him there for 49 days. Then for 45 years he counseled and preached.

Buddha was called the "silent sage" because he was peaceful, powerful, compassionate, wise and humble. He was gifted with supernatural insight into people.

Buddha said that life is suffering and that the cause of suffering is attachment. He developed an eight-fold path to set us free. Today we call "attachment" "addiction." I don’t have a chemical addiction but my expectations do cause me pain.

Right knowledge, the first step of the eight-fold, acknowledges that our suffering comes from attachment.

Right aspiration is choosing between enlightenment, worldly success and pleasure.

Right speech is speaking the truth, noticing when we stray and speaking with charity.

Right behavior is acting with more kindliness than self-seeking. To not kill, steal, lie, be unchaste or drink intoxicants.

Right livelihood is an occupation that promotes life, truth and healing instead of destroying it.

Right effort is using our will to develop virtues, curb passions and negative states of mind.

Right mindfulness is developing self-knowledge through alertness and examining ourselves. To witnessing our thoughts so we can trace the source. Several days of silence and solitude for self-analysis are recommended.

Right Absorption is to explore our internal world until we are enlightened.

Buddha stressed that we practice right association for the attitudes and values of those we associate with effect us.

Buddha said we have choices and there is a thread that follows each life depending on how well we have lived.

The goal is "Nirvana" which means to "blowout." This is a state of independence from the body, freedom from passions, peace of mind and deliverance from the wheel of birth and death.

Taoism taught me to cultivate creative quietude and how the way of the Tao is to achieve greatness in little things. How the wise need little, see great in the small and simplicity in the complicated.

I learned that freedom from desire is wise and that knowing others is wisdom and knowing myself is enlightenment.

Lao Tsu wrote the Tao Te Ching in the 6th century BC. He said "The Tao" is the way of power in the universe, it creates order and is the driving force in nature. It is the mother of the world.

Taoism is a way to live so that we are in harmony with the universe. To open to the Tao’s power we must cultivate "stillness" of mind. When we are empty the power of the universe fills us. The Tao flows in and out of us without tension or effort. Like water the Tao flows into our empty spaces and adapts to the surroundings.

Lao Tsu said water gives life to ten thousand things and does not strive. When we stop thrashing against the water, which is like the Tao, it will gently carry us forward. Water, like the Tao, holds the power to turn hard, sharp and brittle stones into pebbles. It can also melt rocks and carry away the proud hills.

When we return to our original purity and stillness we radiate peace and love.

Taoism taught me that life moves not in a straight line, but bends back upon itself until it comes full circle. A life in tune with the universe is active and relaxed at the same time.

I discovered that we can yield and overcome; bend and be straight. To empty and be full. To have little and gain; to have much and be confused.

Lao Tsu said the good are not aware of their goodness and the wise work without recognition. They serve with humility and lead from behind so the people don’t feel dominated. Because the wise don’t compete they don’t meet competition.

The wise are humble and are good to all people—the faithful and the unfaithful. They are like a newborn child.

When we don’t praise the gifted, there is no quarreling. When we collect no treasures there is no stealing.

Be open to all things, give birth, create and nourish but do not possess. Work but take no credit, lead but don’t dominate. Trust so you can be trusted.

The further we go the less we know. We can know the whole world without going outside.

Seeking to learn is to acquire, seeking the Tao is to become empty. In the pursuit of learning, everyday something is acquired. In the pursuit of Tao, everyday something is dropped.

Accept being unimportant. Don’t be concerned with loss or gain.

When we mask our brightness we are unconcerned with friends and enemies, with good and harm, honor and disgrace for we are one with the Tao.

The way is not to wear fine clothes, carry sharp swords or instruments of fear, drink and eat too much or have more possessions than we can use for then we become as robbers and barons. For the way is like an empty vessel, it is to be used but never filled.

Everything complements and balances the other, male-female, good-evil, active-passive, light-dark. They are all part of the circle, the opposites of a revolving wheel.

The more laws and restrictions there are the poorer people become. The sharper people’s weapons the more trouble in the land. When the country is ruled with a light hand the people are simple. When the country is ruled with severity the people are cunning.

We can work without working, persuade without argument, violence or pressure. For a violent person will die a violent death.

A leader is best when the people barely know they exist, the leader talks little and works hard. Humility and meekness are the way, for the "ax falls on the tallest tree." Force is followed by loss of strength.

The way of the soldier who uses resistance does not work, for all people are of the same body.

Weapons are instruments of fear; they are not the wise person’s tools. They are used only when we have no choice. A brave and passionate person will kill or be killed. A brave and calm person will always preserve life.

War is like a funeral. If you rejoice in victory, you rejoice in killing. If you delight in killing, you cannot fulfill yourself.

Mastering others requires force; mastering the self needs strength.

In dwelling be close to the land. In meditation, go deep in the heart. In dealing with others, be gentle and kind. In speech, be true . In ruling be just. In business, be competent. In action, watch the timing. No fight: No blame.

The world is ruled by letting things take their course, not by interfering.

Surrender yourself humbly: then you can be trusted to care for all things. Love the world as your own self: then you can truly care for all things.

The universe is sacred, we cannot improve it. If we change it, we ruin it.

If we hold it, we loose it. Humankind follows the earth, the earth follows heaven, heaven follows what is natural.

From Native American Spirituality I learned we are all the children of one mother, the earth, and one father, the Great Spirit. We are all brothers and sisters and all life is sacred.

Native American Spirituality originated around 15000 BC. The elders taught that we, the two leggeds, share mother earth with the four-leggeds, the green growing ones, the wingeds, the great swimmers, and those that crawl.

We the two leggeds, have an inner nature that is identical with the nature of the universe. We can therefore learn about ourselves from nature.

True freedom is to live in harmony with nature. Problems and destruction arise when we are ignorant of our relation to nature and life. Destroying nature results in an imbalance.

Mother earth, nature, and humankind are sacred because the Great Spirit moves through all things.

To live in harmony with mother earth and the Great Spirit we must learn to love a blade of grass as our family. All life is our family, even the deer, green growing ones, the forests, the trees and the flowers. Also Father sun, mother earth, brother and sister wind, thunder, lightning, water, moon and planets. Even brother and sister alligator, snake and mosquito are part of our family. They are a part of us, a part of all living things and all creation.

When we have a loving heart and see all life as sacred, the animals, plants, and all living things know this and will not fear or harm us.

All living things can talk. They speak to each other and to us and we need to learn to listen. We can learn a lot from trees. They teach us about the weather, about animals, about Great Spirit and ourselves.

Sharing our food, shelter, materials, knowledge and personality is good. How we are on the inside is what is important, not how much we have, our social position or our title. The right time comes when we are ready and we can tell time by the mornings, days, nights, moon and seasons.

A good experience is a gift from the Great Spirit and is good medicine. Bad medicine is a sign of disfavor from Great Spirit. It means we are not in harmony with nature, that we have some lessons to learn.

Good and bad medicines are omens to change our understanding of the world. Nothing is the same once we have experienced an omen. We are given knowledge, wisdom and healing by Great Spirit when we use medicines such as herbs, spirit forces, sweat lodges, pipe ceremonies, sacred dances and vision quests.

All that we do with one another, the earth and its inhabitants is an energy exchange that can help or hurt us. When we blend male and female energy we bring forth new life. This is part of nature's cycle and involves a sharing or merging of energy. Since it takes two, male and female to create life on all levels of existence, the male and female are dependent on one another.

Death is part of life, it is natural and is a changing of worlds.

It is good to set aside time to be alone in nature to dream, for wisdom comes to us in dreams. Many people are afraid to be alone because it is hard to face our inner self. So we busy ourselves with entertainment and trivia. When we are alone, we grow, because there is space to grow. The more we connect with The Great Spirit in mother earth, the more reverence, awe and wonder we will have for all living things and ourselves.

A vision quest can help us go inward to connect with Great Spirit, mother earth, and all living things until we experience that we are all one.

The ancient prophecies of the Hopi Indians tell of a time when the Indians will lie as if dead in the dust, and even the Indian will forget the Great Spirit. They foretell of the coming of a great purification, when the earth will shrug off technology. The sons and daughters of the native and non-native people will turn to the native leaders and say, "Teach us, so that we might survive, for we have almost ruined the earth now."

After the great purification there will be a return to seeing everything in life as good, holy and sacred, as a part of the circle of life, and as a part of the song of Great Spirit.

From Jesus and Christianity I learned about unconditional love and how the truth can set us free. Jesus died at the age of 33 years on a cross as a criminal. He owned nothing, attended no college, never married and wrote no books. Yet his birthday is kept across the world at Christmas. He changed western history to before Christ (BC) and after death (AD).

Jesus’ life and teachings show a love so great that he asked nothing in return. Peter, one of his disciples, summed up his life in five words. "He went about doing good."

Jesus moved among the dregs of society, healing and teaching people. He performed miracles but never used them to convince people of his divinity. He did it quietly as a demonstration of the power of his faith.

Jesus told parables with lessons. What He taught is different from what the people believed.

Jesus said to resist not evil but to turn the other cheek. The world believes evil must be fought.

Jesus said to love our enemies and bless them that curse us. The world says friends are to be loved and enemies hated.

Jesus taught the sun rose on the just and the unjust alike. The world feels the sun ought to rise only on the just and the wicked must be punished.

Jesus said the harlot goes to heaven before many who are outwardly righteous. The world says the good and the respectable will be saved.

Jesus said the path to salvation is narrow. The world tells us to follow the crowd.

Jesus said be as carefree as birds of the air and lilies of the field. The world teaches us to build our security. Jesus said it is difficult for the rich to enter the kingdom as the camel to go through the eye of a needle. The world esteems wealth.

Jesus said that the happy people are those that are meek, who weep, are merciful and pure in heart. The world assumes the rich, the powerful and the well-born are the happy ones.

Jesus said God loves us unconditionally. He said, "Love your neighbor as yourself," and share of yourself, your clothes and your food.

Jesus warned, "Judge not lest you be judged", and talked about those who go around with trees in their eyes looking for splinters in their neighbors eyes. He asked that we not judge others for we will be judged to the same extent we condemn.

Jesus invited all people to come to him, the hard working and the heavy-laden. He said, "The truth will set you free."

He was a man without pride, deceit or falsity. He lived a life completely under the will of God. Those that saw Jesus believed they saw God in human form.

Jesus spoke of a faith as small as a mustard seed that could move mountains. He said this faith comes through prayer and fasting.

He spoke of those with faith becoming as little children, pure at heart.

Three days after Christ was crucified on the cross his body disappeared. He later reappeared to his disciples. Some say Jesus' resurrection showed his followers that he had the power to live on. I believe Jesus showed that we all live on.

Jesus said God dwells in heaven and Satan in hell. He also said, " The Kingdom of God is within you."

Some believe heaven and hell are physical places. I believe they are metaphors for our internal states—the joy of being with God and the agony of separation. Also to achieve unconditional love the earth often acts as a mirror—a loving person lives in a loving world and an angry person lives in an angry world.

Some believe Jesus is the Son of God and that we are separate and different until we accept Jesus as our Savior. I believe we are all the sons and daughters of God. That Jesus came to the earth to remind us of our divinity.

Jesus spoke of being born again before we enter the kingdom of God. Some believe this means we have only one life and must be born again in spirit by accepting Jesus as our Savior. I believe we return to the earth again in flesh for we cannot enter the kingdom of God until we have mastered unconditional love and want to be with God.

The disciples saw a vision in Jesus of what a person might be—to be powerful yet humble, to have great faith and lack pride and deceit.

But most of all, Jesus showed us the way to a deeper love for humankind than anyone had ever known.

My studies show that all religions teach that on our death bed there are only two questions: "How well have we loved—God, ourselves, humankind and the earth?" and "Have we learned to let go?" If we haven’t leaned detachment we get a crash course. If we haven’t mastered unconditional love we’ll train in the spirit world and walk this earth again.