August, 2021
It appears that I’ve been taking some time off from the blog lately! I’ve been healing from some surgeries, taking a summer break, and generally not doing the blog. So here it is again.
Remember that you can read this blog in meditation or out. If you’re in meditation, you can look at things as you go through.
Even though we all thought perhaps we could go back to a normal life post-covid, it doesn’t look like that’s the case. Given some of the renewed limitations, our meditations become more valuable than ever. We can clean out any stress, anxiety and distractions, and stay within ourselves.
I’ve been teaching a graduate class on neutrality, compassion and love. It’s all about that, staying within ourselves, re-defining how we see ourselves and our perspective on the world.
This afternoon I was talking with a student, and she was telling me that her life used to be like being on a crowded freeway, not knowing how she was going to move forward; since learning about the meditation and healing tools she’s learned here so far, the freeway is now open and she can move ahead. A lot of that has to do with being within, and realizing that our lives happen from within outwards, not from outwards within.
According to an old Hindu legend there was a time when all humans were gods, but they so abused their divinity that Brahma, the chief god, decided to take it away from humans and hide it where they would never again find it. Where to hide it became the big question.
When the lesser gods were called in council to consider this question, they said, “We will bury human divinity deep in the earth.” But Brahma said, “No, that will not do, for humans will dig deep down into the earth and find it.” Then they said, “Well, we will sink their divinity into the deepest ocean.” But again Brahma replied, “No, not there, for humans will learn to dive into the deepest waters, will search out the ocean bed, and will find it.”
Then the lesser gods said, “We will take it to the top of the highest mountain and there hide it.” But again Brahma replied, “No, for humans will eventually climb every high mountain on earth. They will be sure some day to find it and take it up again for themselves.” Then the lesser gods gave up and concluded, “We do not know where to hide it, for it seems there is no place on earth or in the sea that humans will not eventually reach.”
Then Brahma said, “Here is what we will do with human divinity. We will hide it deep down in humans themselves, for the they will never think to look for it there.” Ever since then, the legend concludes, humans have been going up and down the earth, climbing, digging, diving, exploring, searching for something that is already in themselves.
This is a wonderful reminder for today, given the external difficulties in the world.
The word “spirit” comes from the Latin “spiritus”, which comes from the root that means “to breathe, to blow, to live.” Who we are as spirit is our Life Principle, the God within us, the God of our Heart. We can ground ourselves through this concept.
Paul Tillich, who was a progressive theologian, referred to God as the “Ground of our very being.” In one of his books, he said:
The name of this infinite and inexhaustible depth and ground of all being is GOD. That depth is what the word God means. And if that word has not much meaning for you, translate it, and speak of the depths of your life, of the source of your being, of your ultimate concern, of what you take seriously without reservation. Perhaps, in order to do so, you must forget everything traditional that you have learned about God, perhaps even that word itself. For if you know that God means depth, you know much about God. You cannot then call yourself an atheist or unbeliever. For you cannot think or say: Life has no depth! Life is shallow. Being itself is surface only. If you could say this in complete seriousness, you would be an atheist; but otherwise you are not. If you know about depth, you know about God.
I was reading a blog in a newsletter I get from “Progressive Christianity”, which is an interesting newsletter, as the authors have a very broad definition of God. I love some of the blogs, because they help me to see things from a different perspective. This is from a blog by David Garshaw:
The New Testament testifies over and over again the concept of “God Within”. The English word “enthusiasm” is translated from the Greek, God with enthousiasmos “divine inspiration”; as well as enthousiaszein “be inspired or possessed by a god.”
We have access to that “divine inspiration” at any time, especially through our meditations.
He quotes a Franciscan Roman Catholic priest named Richard Rohr in his blog. This priest says:
An authentic encounter with God will feel like true knowing, not just in our heads but in our hearts and bodies and well. I call this way of knowing contemplation, nondualistic thinking, or even “third-eye” seeing. It is quite unlike the intellectual “knowing” most of us have been taught to rely on. This kind of prayer and “seeing” takes away our anxiety about figuring it all out fully for ourselves or needing to be right about our formulations. At this point, God becomes more a verb than a noun, more a process than a conclusion, more an experience than a dogma, more a personal relationship than an idea. There is Someone dancing with us, and we are not afraid of making mistakes.
You can see how valuable your meditations can be with these kinds of concepts! Stay within yourself in your life, realize that your God is within you, and you can ground through that. Use your meditation practice regularly, for it is there that you find your own depth of being, your own centeredness, and your own intrinsic value.
(Some of these concepts were taken from a book called “Discover the Power Within You,” by Eric Butterworth, a really wonderful book).
As always, thanks for supporting Psychic Horizons & the Church of Natural Grace with your sustainable giving! It truly makes a difference, both for us and for you.
Best regards,
Rev. Laura Hopper