Jack,
Yet the very basic social problem is that if you don’t have any definition of God, other than the “Divine,” you are giving a very powerful tool to those opportunistic enough to grab hold of it and bend it to their own ends. Even the Nazis proclaimed that; “God is with us.” (Forgot my German)
As such it has always been a political tool, as in; “The divine right of kings,” as validation of monarchy.
If there is an all powerful deity, invariably those with the terrestrial power are going to argue it must favor them, since they have the earthly power. When church and state, civics and culture agree, those of us posing questions don’t stand much of a chance to argue.
Maybe you can say, well it isn’t really that eye in the sky, but when even our money has a picture of an eye over a pyramid and the words, “In God We Trust,” on it, it really isn’t much of an argument to insist, well, it’s “more” divine than that.
That’s why I think it is useful to point out that ideal and absolute are different concepts. Your divine being is still an ideal of whatever it is you seek to idealize, be it nature, humanity, spirituality, or whatever you are exploring.
I’ve certainly had a fair number of what might be described as mystical experiences, in today’s reality, but I grew up raising and training race horses, so my life would be difficult to shoehorn into a conventional, processed, atomized, assembly line experience. There definitely is something bubbling up through life and taking any number of forms, some scarier than others. I see it as raw essence of sentience. Something that needs some degree of negotiation, by those willing to address it, or it will simply crush them.
More of Nietzsche’s; “I was staring into the abyss, when I realized it was staring back.” sort of spiritual essence, than any ‘Jesus loves you’ sort of happy talk. Not that I’m un-Christian, but I see Christianity as having been turned from a revolutionary movement, to more of a placebo.
If people thought in those terms, they would be much more careful who they assign power to and police them much more closely. We are all expressions of this divine essence, but each of us is still the center of their/our view of the entire universe and prone to fits of megalomania and narcissism, when given too much room. We are all driven by our appetites, be it for pleasure, power, knowledge, or simply the affection and love of our fellow beings. It is the appetite that gives the banquet of life meaning. The fire within, seeking fuel. The desire, more so than the objects of desire.
All of which should be appreciated in moderation, because it does become addictive, otherwise.
So my religion is more the cycling of the yin and yang, desire and judgement, than kneeling in the shadow of God Almighty, no matter how abstract, benevolent, or universal.
