Individual Gods, Aspects of a greater being, or something else?

[WarHorse]

According to that logic, there can be no such things as separate cells in your body because they are all part of the greater self that is you. In reality, your cells each have an individual existence yet are simultaneously part of a greater whole.

 
I like this, and in fact have used the same metaphor.

One of my beliefs is that that metaphor (deity or belief system) has to be appropriate for the recipient, i.e. a desert god/dess would be inappropriate in the Arctic or the tropics.  The Sumerians, Babylonians and Hebrews had human-like gods, and the forested lands of Europe and the Americas had animal gods.  (The Egyptians like to mix it up, one of the interesting things about them.)  This opinion does not stand up to intense scrutiny, but there does appear to be a trend.

[Gilbride]

I'm not annoyed because I'm "insisting" on being annoyed, I'm annoyed because that flat statement pretty much says that my stuff isn't mysticism because it's not transcendental

What I meant to say was that it's the core of every established mystical tradition I'm aware of, depending on how you define mysticism, which naturally will vary from person to person. I have no opinion on whether what you do is mysticism or not, and I didn't intend any offense. Let's leave it at that.

[SunflowerP]

every established mystical tradition I'm aware of

 
That works much better.  Thanks.

Sunflower