Dr. Jay Forrest

Zen Deism is a rational spiritual worldview that updates Deism through the insights of Eastern wisdom, Western philosophy, and contemporary science.

Zen Deism now has a new home on the Internet at ZenDeism.org. Here you will find more in-depth articles, The Eight Affirmations of Zen Deism, Meditation Instructions, as well as a free monthly newsletter.

The Zen Deism podcast explores a rational spirituality shaped by Eastern wisdom, Western philosophy, and contemporary science. Through open inquiry, spiritual practice, and mystical experience, we reflect on God, the cosmos, karma, liberation, and compassionate living while holding our beliefs lightly and remaining open to change. You can find it on Spotify and iTunes.

The present moment is the only place where life actually happens. The past exists only as memory, and the future exists only as expectation. When we dwell on regret or worry, we leave reality and miss what is right in front of us.

Mindfulness brings us back to now. It teaches us to give full attention to whatever is happening in this moment: breathing, walking, listening, speaking, or simply being still. Instead of living in old hurts or imagined fears, we learn to meet life directly and clearly.

This does not mean ignoring the past or future. It means not being trapped by them. The past can be remembered, but not relived. The future can be planned for, but not inhabited. Right now is where freedom begins.

To live in the present is to live with awareness, gratitude, and peace. It is to forgive, let go, and wake up to the reality of this moment. The only life we can truly live is the one happening now.

Mindful eating is a simple but powerful way to bring awareness into daily life. It transforms eating from an automatic habit into a practice of attention, gratitude, and balance.

The first step is intention. Pausing before a meal—through a brief reflection or moment of gratitude—reminds us to be present and aware. This shifts eating from unconscious consumption to deliberate experience.

Slowing down is essential. Eating quickly dulls awareness, while a slower pace allows us to taste, notice, and respond to the body’s signals. Chewing thoroughly and pausing between bites supports both digestion and mindfulness.

Mindful eating also involves the senses. Seeing the colors of food, noticing textures, smells, and even sounds deepens engagement. Eating becomes a full experience rather than a distracted routine.

Equally important is reconnecting with the body. Hunger and fullness are natural signals, but they are often overridden by habit or emotion. Paying attention helps distinguish physical need from impulse.

Finally, mindfulness encourages moderation and wise choices. Rather than rigid diets, it supports a balanced relationship with food.

In this way, eating becomes more than nourishment—it becomes a practice of awareness, gratitude, and care.

Life is busy. Between work, errands, appointments, and constant distractions, it is easy to feel overwhelmed. Meditation offers a simple but powerful way to step back and reconnect with what matters.

First, meditation gives you new eyes. Changing beliefs alone does not change life. Meditation helps you see more clearly, beyond opinions and mental habits, so you can meet reality as it is.

Second, meditation helps you understand your own mind. When life feels confusing or directionless, outside answers are not always enough. Meditation teaches you to observe your thoughts, notice your patterns, and discover meaning through direct experience.

Third, meditation quiets the noise. The world is loud, and the mind can be even louder. Meditation creates inner stillness, allowing truth to emerge more clearly, like water settling after being stirred.

Meditation is not always easy, but it is deeply worthwhile. It can bring clarity, purpose, and peace into daily life, one breath at a time.

Anyone who meditates will quickly meet the wandering mind. Thoughts jump from one thing to another, and at first this can feel frustrating. But it is completely normal.

The first step is to focus on the breath. You can notice the breath at the nostrils or the rise and fall of the abdomen. To help steady attention, silently note “in” and “out,” or “rising” and “falling.” When thoughts, feelings, or sounds pull you away, gently note what has appeared—“thinking,” “feeling,” or “hearing”—and then return to the breath.

If you simply zone out, that is not mindfulness. Meditation is not about drifting into blankness, but about staying awake and aware. If the mind remains restless, try counting the breath from one to ten and begin again whenever you lose track.

The goal is not to fight the mind, but to train it. Each time you return to the breath, you strengthen concentration and mindfulness. Be patient. Progress comes slowly, but with steady practice, the wandering mind becomes easier to work with.

Deism, as defined by Dr. Michael Arnheim, is the “Belief in an impersonal creator God who does not get involved in the day-to-day affairs of the world” (1).

I describe my spiritual path as Zen Deism. For me, it’s a natural blending of contemplative practice with the Deist commitment to reason, observation, and a non-personal understanding of the divine. Instead of following a revealed deity or a fixed religious system, I orient myself toward what I call the Transpersonal Rational Ground of Being. This is not a god who speaks through scriptures or institutions.

I am not drawn to rigid dogma or religious authority. I know how much I don’t know. Zen Deism gives me room to breathe. It lets me explore spirituality without surrendering my intellect or my direct experience. My practice centers on personal transformation, ethical living, and a mindful connection to God—not on creeds or rituals.

General Perspective

At the heart of my path are a few general thoughts:

• Rational Spirituality: My authority is reason, science, and personal experience.
• No Bible: I don’t accept any scripture as exclusive truth. I treat them as human books by human authors, containing truth, error, and ignorance – like all other human works.
• Contemplative Practice: I daily practice mindfulness meditation, cultivating mindfulness and a direct sense of connection with God.
• The Ground of Being: I experience the divine not as a person but as the Impersonal Rational Ground of Being. I don’t worship it; I encounter it within.
• Ethical Living: Benevolence, compassion, and integrity are my ethical goals. Living mindfully is how I awaken to deeper wisdom.
• Spiritual but Not Religious: I draw inspiration from many traditions – Buddhism, Stoicism, Daoism, and certain mystics, as well as philosophy and psychology – without belonging to any institution. My spirituality is lived, not inherited.

Learn, Don’t Cling

Zen Deism also helps me understand what my path is not. It isn’t traditional religion; there’s no clergy, no temple, no dogma. My personal motto is: Learn from all, but cling to none.

Zen Deism isn’t pure Deism, because I don’t stop at intellectual belief. I also cultivate a spirituality that includes a sense of cosmic consciousness, a feeling of awe in nature, and a deep connection to the present moment. I freely acknowledge the Divine in the various religious traditions.

In the end, Zen Deism feels like a form of rational mysticism. It’s a way for me to explore who I am, what reality is, and how I relate to God and the universe. Through disciplined awareness and mindful presence, I walk a contemplative path that feels honest, grounded, and deeply alive.

Albert Einstein Quote

“I am not an atheist. I do not know if I can define myself as a pantheist. The problem involved is too vast for our limited minds. We are in the position of a little child entering a huge library whose walls are covered to the ceiling with books in many different tongues. The child knows that someone must have written those books. It does not know who or how. It does not understand the languages in which they are written. The child notes a definite plan in the arrangement of the books—a mysterious order, which it does not comprehend, but only dimly suspects. That, it seems to me, is the attitude of even the most intelligent human being toward God. We see a universe marvelously arranged, obeying certain laws, but only dimly understand these laws. Our limited minds grasp the mysterious force that sways the constellations” (2).

Charles Darwin Quote

“There seems to me too much misery in the world. I cannot persuade myself that a beneficent and omnipotent God would have designedly created the Ichneumonidae with the express intention of their feeding within the living bodies of Caterpillars, or that a cat should play with mice. Not believing this, I see no necessity in the belief that the eye was expressly designed. On the other hand, I cannot anyhow be contented to view this wonderful universe, and especially the state of man, and to conclude that everything is the result of brute force. I am inclined to look at everything as resulting from designed laws, with the details, whether good or bad, left to the working out of what we may call Chance. Not that this notion at all satisfies me. I feel most deeply that the whole subject is too profound for the human intellect. A dog might as well speculate on the mind of Newton” (3).

Endnotes

1. Michael Arnheim, Is Christianity True? (Buffalo, NY: Prometheus Books, 1984), 20.
2. Albert Einstein, interview with George Sylvester Viereck, Glimpses of the Great (New York: Macaulay, 1930). Emphasis added.
3. Charles Darwin, letter to Asa Gray, May 22, 1860, in The Life and Letters of Charles Darwin, ed. Francis Darwin (London: John Murray, 1887), 312. Emphasis added.