Category: inspiration

Posted on

Sharing Pain

An important question surfaced recently that I wanted to share with you.

It’s really more of a confession of sorts because I don’t feel it casts me in the greatest light. But I’m committed to telling my story as is, rather than what I want others to think it is. At least, that’s what I try to do.

My question is this…why do I feel a need to share about my physical pains with others?

Surely, they have their own. Do they really need to hear about mine? And I wonder, will it turn into a contest of whose pains are worse, a game that seeks to constantly up the ante?

Telling another about my pains and suffering might be okay if someone specifically asked me and wanted to know. Or if I was at a medical office, and they needed to understand my story in order to provide helpful solutions.

But ordinarily, do others need to be bothered by my list of aches and pains? I’m pretty sure they don’t.

If I’m paying close enough attention though, I hear my words and recognize I’m sharing my pains and sorrows and most of the time it’s unsolicited.

I encourage myself to sit back and open to what fills the silence. I allow myself to let everything come in, no matter how it feels.

Here’s what happens.

A series of answers march forth, one after the other, trying to educate me.

First to appear is a sense that I am asking for others sympathy, as if that will provide me with some useful energy. I’ve discovered, it doesn’t.

Next is a feeling that some part of me needs to complain, to say how hard I have it and how unfair it all is, in an attempt to elicit empathy or sympathy. Occasionally it works, but seriously, how often do others want to have to provide this to me. Afterall, they have their own issues and concerns and probably need the same thing from me.

Other times, I have a desire to be released from my pains and sorrows and am looking for legitimate opinions and suggestions from others on how to accomplish this. I need relief. But one thing I’ve noticed about myself is that I don’t always listen to what they have to say, or I listen and yet fail to do the things that might make my situation better.

This seems ridiculous to me. To receive great advice then disregard it…what sense does that make? Not much.

I wonder to myself, could there be something valuable in divulging my conditions? Might it open a door to a worthwhile conversation with someone, something beyond ‘misery loves company’?

It struck me that if I was open and sensitive to others, I might find some common ground, some territory to have a meaningful discussion, one that might go beyond physical issues. It might transcend the usual dialogue and delve into areas of commonality. We might be able to talk about our genuine feelings about our physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual lives.

That felt very different to me. Beautiful, in fact.

Maybe it’s not about what I share, but how I share. Perhaps it’s about coming from a place of compassion and love, rather than a place of need and fear. I think that next time I’m going to try to keep this in mind and rather than coming from fear I will seek to come from love, the source of all good things in life

Posted on

Unintended Outcomes

I wanted to provide you with an opportunity to explore something with me if you’d like.

Let’s suppose that the following happens…EVERYTHING you think you want, actually comes true. Not just some things, but EVERYTHING. You don’t have to work for it or negotiate or trade, whatever you want, it’s yours.

What would you choose?

I invite you to take a minute or two, if you have the time right now, or save this exercise for when you have a couple minutes. Sit back with a pen or pencil and pad/notebook and brainstorm, recording what comes to you.

Would you choose things that provide you with fame or fortune or popularity or trophies? Or would you choose things that would increase your bank accounts or investment portfolio or your compensation package?

Would you opt to live longer or healthier or pain and disease free? Or perhaps you’d decide to make things better for others, so you might give away tons of money, or medicines to the poor or education to those who don’t have access.

Maybe you’d bypass the monetary or health things and go straight to the choices that would provide you with happiness and joy and dynamic relationships and overall contentment.

If you were free to choose anything and made a set of decisions, what do you think the ramifications would be? Might there be some unintended outcomes that would occur?

I wanted to dive into this myself, because I felt there was so much room to learn something important, something I might not access any other way. I sensed it could take me a little time to discover, but the journey would be well worth it.

Here’s the first thing that happened to me.

I thought to myself, if I got everything I wanted, no mess, no fuss, just immediately there for me…a feeling of dissatisfaction would come over me. I would feel it was too easy and I would take everything for granted. Things would lose a lot of their meaning and value to me.

If I hadn’t had to work for them, hadn’t traded any of my time or spent any energy in exchange for them, I think that whatever value they initially provided me with would be lost quickly.

The next thing I felt was a sense that not having to work for things would take away or sap my resourcefulness. I wouldn’t have to think or plan or interact with things. And I would shy away from anything that was difficult or challenging.

And then I thought, what will all these easily obtained things mean to me over time? Would they grow and expand in meaning and become favored things I treasure? My answer was ‘no, they would not’. For things to mean something to me, I need to exchange something for them. Some time, energy, skill, money, effort, something.

Although my initial list contained items like, best-selling author, wealthy donor, healthy beyond expectations, well respected, I felt I needed to take a second look.

There were unintended outcomes involved. I discovered each one of these attractive items to me wasn’t anything I would ever be in control of. They are the choices others make.

And finally, the primary outcome of having everything given to me is that my drive, my personal mission, and my desire to experience the world would be drained from me.

I’ve come to realize that it might be nice to occasionally have some things come easily to me, but for the important stuff, I want to be directly involved. I want to work hard, give of myself, connect directly with others in meaningful ways and reap a sense of personal satisfaction from what I choose to do with my life.

I want to see what it’s like to make all of my own decisions and experience all of the natural outcomes, no matter what they are.

Posted on

Try Something New

Here’s an idea for you, an invitation, now that we’re about to change seasons. Maybe the folks that manage the calendar don’t agree, but it always seems to me that as soon as the leaves start turning and kids go back to school, it’s a season change.

Anyway, here’s my idea.

Try something new. Maybe even several new things.

It’s one of the most beneficial things you can do for yourself. It sparks your sense of wonder, offers intellectual stimulation, creates interest, tests your powers, and invites exploration and excitement.

It doesn’t matter what it is as long as it catches your fancy. It doesn’t have to be expensive or time consuming or require lots of planning. It can be spur of the moment or a new ritual that attracts your interest.

My wife and I just returned from three days in Boston, Massachusetts. It was a fabulous spot to engage our sense of adventure and try new things.

We went for a harbor cruise and learned a lot of interesting facts about Boston, especially about the development of the city as an important seaport. We walked a lot and had dinner in the North End at a couple of nice Italian restaurants.

I am one of the least adventurous eaters around. Plain is the name of my game, but I challenge myself to try new foods while on vacation. This time it was artichoke hearts and cannoli. And no, I don’t mean together. I consider myself one for two, since the cannoli was good.

We also visited two art museums, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Palace, and the Museum of Fine Arts. The first museum had an interior courtyard that rose from the ground floor to a glass ceiling six stories straight up. The flowers in the courtyard were gorgeous and the overlooking windows provided great views from each of the three floors we checked out. The MFA had art from many different periods, including one contemporary exhibit where the canvases were made from various grasses. Yes, actual grass grew on the canvas, covering a photo of a person’s face. Pretty cool.

I’m offering these as examples, but feel free to choose your own ideas to pursue. That’s how this whole thing works.

Besides eating new foods, seeing new sites, and learning interesting facts, there are lots of ways to try something new.

If you’re looking for some suggestions, I came prepared.

Is there a skill you’ve been thinking about but haven’t gotten around to trying, like pickle ball, painting, gardening, building with Legos or photography?

Is now the right time for exploring a new interest, perhaps yoga, meditation, Pilates, or starting a collection, maybe stamps or coins?

And just maybe, now is the time to make a change in the way you’re managing your life.

Could it be simpler? Could you release some tension in your life? What would happen if you started a smiling practice, where instead of allowing frustrating moments to rule your life, you chose to smile.

Would your life be more interesting if you stopped once in a while to count your blessings and offer gratitude for all that you do have. That one appeals to me because I know what a difference it makes in my life when I shift my focus.

What kind of a change would happen inside you if the new thing you tried was to give yourself and others love every chance you could? When the car in front of you is moving at a snail’s pace or you pick the wrong check-out lane again could you step back, let go and think of a wonderful memory in your life to fill the open space.

Whatever you choose, I wish you well and I hope it rewards you in many ways.

Posted on

Wall of Fame

An interesting thought came to me in the form of a question. If I chose people from my life to place on a ‘wall of fame’, so that I could honor them and their place in my life, who would they be?

I imagined this as a tribute to acknowledge their supportive or encouraging or inspiring connection to me. And I discovered that a deep sense of gratitude grew inside me as soon as I began making my choices.

I imagined a large outdoor wall with plenty of room for me to create using whatever materials I wanted.

If you joined me in this project and had your own wall of fame to build and decorate, who would appear there for you?

I decided to look outside my family for the names of those I would place on my wall, even though they were my first choices. I think I wanted to explore what outside influences have served to shape my life and so I allowed my mind to drift, inviting memories to flood in.

At first, some traditional groups came forward, starting with my fourth-grade teacher, Mrs. Hosey. I knew from the moment I met her that she would be one of my all-time favorites. There was something extra to her and I could tell she really liked me. This had to have been true because seventeen years after I left fourth grade, she made a special trip to open an account at a branch of a bank I worked for, just to see me. What a treasure!

Curiously, no other teacher made my list until I got to college. Elementary, Junior High (yes, I’m that old) and Senior High teachers are all a kind of blur in my mind.

College produced several ‘inductees’, Dr Keiter and Dr Setzer, both religion professors, and Dr Bocher, a science professor offered me freedom and form and demonstrated their belief in me as a student and as a person. In fact, I believe Dr Keiter saved my life, because had it not been for his courses, I probably would have failed out, been drafted and gone to Vietnam.

A solid string of others entered my mind, Mrs. Ruling, who gave me a job at Central Stores at college (where professors got their supplies) and referred me for my first job after graduating. And Bill Stropes, my supervisor at Holiday Inn, for promoting me to maintenance from my janitor position. What separated him from so many others though was that he treated me fairly, despite my incredibly long hair and goatee. He looked beyond his first impression and saw me for who I was. He was a very special man.

Others who I raised up onto my wall came from the ministry. They answered as many of my questions as they could, then watched over me as I steered my own course, even though it veered away from them. Later Jim and Crystal entered my life and enriched it beyond what I thought possible.

And there was a host of coworkers, bosses and customers who made my list. To have folks who love and support you, who challenge and engage you, who push and pull you, makes all of the difference. Several coworkers became my best friends: Doug, Dan, and Marty. Others endeared themselves to me through their efforts and deep connections: Sue, JoAnn, Cindy, Amy, Lyne, Carla, Lynn and San. And a few of my bosses opened their arms and hearts to me and treated me with respect and admiration; Gary, Margaret, Rita.

I’ve found over my life that special people can come from anywhere and appear at any time. They may be there for one special moment or stay throughout my life.

Name after name came to me from my present life, especially folks from Unity Church, Kripalu, and my spirit families. My wall filled up so quickly that I had to add more space. So many have walked next to me and touched my heart. More than I can name here.

I wonder, who would make it onto your wall? What criteria would you use? What sort of designs or decorations would you place next to their names?

I marvel at the wonderful sense of gratitude this created in me and I hope it does the same for you.

Posted on

Completion

A while ago I mentioned to you that I had chosen a task which would significantly challenge me. My son, Tommy, had told me about something called a Misogi.

Research informed me that it is an ancient Japanese Shinto practice where monks and their student would embark on a long journey high up into the mountains in search of a waterfall. The students, wearing thin short robes, would stand under the cold streaming water performing a ritual intended to purify their bodies and their minds.

An updated version is practiced by folks desiring to challenge and perhaps in some way, purify themselves. Those interested must choose something which they believe has a fifty percent or better chance of failure, and which will not harm themself or others.

I spent a bit of time wondering about this. It felt necessary. Important. Vital to me, especially because I wanted to perform it prior to my birthday.

I cast about for a difficult task and chose to walk from one end to the other and back on a Rail Trail close to my home. I speculated the distance would be somewhere between 18 and 19 miles.

The longest distance I’d ever walked in my life was a little over 16 miles and that was many years ago when I was in far better physical shape. Nothing much hurt in my body and I felt relatively fit.

I wondered, was it even possible for me to complete this journey?

Despite understanding how challenging it would be, I knew deep inside me that it was important. I could not have told you why, I just knew.

And so, I began to figure things out. I’d need to go on some ‘practice walks’, distances that would offer me a sense of what I might experience on my Misogi and prepare my body and my mind.

My first long walk was a little over 8 miles and my second just shy of 10 miles. Each of them provided keen insights I felt would ultimately benefit me.

Tommy asked if he could join me, which I immediately jumped at, knowing the shared experience would last a lifetime.

Today is my 71st birthday and I wanted to let you know that we completed the full distance (19.5 miles) last Saturday, August 19, 2023.

The significance of this adventure is still dawning on me.

We had a wonderful time catching up and sharing our lives, further bonding us. I am so grateful that we could do this together and know it would have been so much more difficult had I done this solo. We compared notes about our physical aches and pains and often checked our mileage to the finish line. When we made it, we celebrated with orange bubble gum cigars.

During the days that followed, I wondered whether there was anything in my life that was purified? Were some ‘contaminants’ removed? Did I feel cleansed in some way?

What was the purpose of my Misogi? Did I prove something to myself? Would I do it again?

If you thought about it, what Misogi would you choose for yourself? How demanding would it be? Can you tolerate the thought of failure? Are you driven by the allure of success?

In the end, I believe I wanted to test my sense of resolve. Could I, would I complete my chosen task, or would I give in? This task became less about success or failure and more about connecting to my inner strength. A strength that could overcome obstacles and challenges, regardless of the difficulties.

I freely admit I hit a physical pain wall at about 14 miles, and there was a moment of temptation to stop and give up. But something inside me refused to seriously consider the idea. I tapped into a reserve. I willed my body to continue moving for the next 5.5 miles, one stride at a time, knowing I could do it.

I think this is why I did this. To prove to myself that I could if I willed it.

I hope you can tap into your own inner reserve and accomplish whatever you set out to achieve in your life.

Posted on

Following Your Heart

Have you heard the expression, ‘follow your heart’?

What does it mean to you? How would you go about explaining it to someone else?

If you were asked whether you follow your heart or not, what would you say?

Since we can’t have a two-way dialogue at the moment, I’ll share what it means to me and then ask you another few questions.

A defining idea surfaces.

Is there a practical way to tell the difference between what your mind wants and what your heart wants? That feels like a tricky question for sure.

To me, the things that satisfy my mind bring me happiness, while those things that nourish my heart bring me joy. These two sensations feel entirely different. And while I like the ones that offer happiness, I love the ones that bring me joy.

Following my head (mind) prompts me to accomplish things by way of meeting or exceeding my objectives. I admit I have a tendency to grade or rate each of my experiences and I spend time evaluating them, wondering if I could have done better.

Unfortunately, when I don’t achieve what I set out to accomplish, I am often unhappy and can at times question my worth. While this is happening, I do recognize what a poor choice I’m making, so I try to create triggers within the experience. The triggers are sort of like check points, where I can shift away from my head and view things from my heart and my spirit.

But what does this mean and how can one shift?

A way that works for me is to stop once I recognize a trigger and observe how I am feeling. Is an experience making me angry, anxious, afraid, irritated? Is it providing me with a sense of temporary pleasure or a fleeting glimpse of happiness which I know will not last? If so, these signal me that I am focused on my mind and it’s time to adjust, to shift toward something more real.

When I follow my heart, I notice I set up aims, which are looser than goals. They flex and adapt, and I can experience life, finding what feels like open, free, flavorful experiences. Ones that I can savor and not lose. They last. They become ‘keepers’.

Recently I’ve been struggling with a set of decisions regarding which projects from my list I want to move forward with. Every time I begin the process I’m faced with a series of obstacles. They block my path, and I cannot see over, around or beyond them.

Fortunately, a knowing part of me realizes that obstacles represent triggers too, so I allow myself to move deeper into my heart, knowing it is my mind that is having the problem.

As so often happens, I call out for help from Lia, a divine feminine voice that lives within me. She awaits me at all times and is ever present in my life. I believe she is awaiting each of us, ready to share once we ask for her assistance.

Although I ordinarily gain valuable insights quickly, I discovered that I needed a series of conversations over several days to reach far enough below the surface to unveil what I needed to hear. Lia is always patient with me, giving me time to uncover for myself what I so desperately feel I need. In this case, she led me forward until I could see with crystal clarity. She offered me an image I could hold on to and use whenever I felt at a crossroad.

It was a bracelet with two charms hanging from it. One was labeled, ‘fear’ and the other, ‘love’. She said that no matter what I encountered in my life, my experience would be guided by the choice I made between fear and love.

I wanted to know more. I wanted to feel what kind of difference this choice would make, particularly when I reimagined the projects I’d been considering. So, I found my list and asked myself what would be the outcome if in each case I chose to look at them with love.

I know this sounds simple. I also know simple things are often profound.

When I reviewed my list, everything fell into place. Rather than feeling confused, everything was clear to me, and I now know what to do.

So here are my follow up questions for you.

Is there a way for you to imagine wearing a bracelet with two charms, one ‘fear’ and the other ‘love’? Can you use love to find a way forward, no matter what the situation is? Can you use your heart (and your spirit) to lead your way forward?

I hope you can.

Posted on

What’s Your Mission

Something happened the other day and it really shocked me.

I listened to what I was saying and heard it in an entirely new way, and it made me wonder whether you’ve ever heard these words coming out of your own mouth…”I’m not doing this for the money.”

Or perhaps you may have said, “I didn’t take this job to become rich.”

Or maybe, “Somebody has to do this, so it might as well be me.”

It made me very curious, and I wanted to know what perspective would account for any one of these statements.

I repeated, “I’m not doing this for the money,” again and couldn’t help asking myself, “then why are you doing it?”

This seemed like an important question for me to answer. After all, isn’t it essential to know why you and I do things? What value is there in making a statement about why you or I are NOT doing something?

Isn’t it much better to spend our time exploring the reasons for our actions?

So, I shifted my mindset, and embraced the idea of affirming my positive reason(s) for taking specific actions in my life.

My statement, “I’m not doing this for the money”, in this case referred to my writing. I just finished my seventh book (Little Buddha Book Five), a feat I never in my wildest imagination thought was possible and felt I needed to declare what my motives were for these acts of creation.

I thought about this and focused my attention on what I WAS trying to accomplish and answered the following: ‘writing brings me alive, and through this process I give birth to characters and situations that inspires readers and invites them to explore and transform their lives.’

So, I ask you, if you’ve allowed yourself to focus on any statements that center on the negative, like the ones that began this post, is there a way for you to reframe them? Can you find a way to shift and discover or reveal the affirmative reason(s) why you ARE doing them?

I believe there are clear benefits to doing this.

For me, I could instantly feel a sense of power and connection arrive inside of me.

I believe each of us have many purposes for being here on earth. I guess I could even call them ‘missions’. And I don’t mean SOME of us do, I mean ALL of us. I believe you have specific talents that make you and your contributions unique in this world. And from where I sit, the world needs you and all of what you have to offer.

Imagine for a moment what wonderful things could happen in your life if you spent even a small amount of time dedicated to unveiling the reason(s) why you are here. And once they’re uncovered, you embrace them and show them off to your family, friends, coworkers…to the world.

Imagine how much this one act of revelation could change the direction of your life. My hope is that you feel drawn to this exploration.

Need a little nudge?

If so, sit back and relax. Breathe in and out slowly, extending the length of each breath. Intentionally open your mind and heart and ask for some inner guidance to show you a direction to travel. Ask to have an image displayed that feels like a part of your mission here. And once something comes into view, accept it, and embrace it. It doesn’t have to be extraordinary; it could be one small step in an important direction. If it calls to you, give yourself permission to follow and see what happens. It may just be exactly why you came here.

May it be so.

Posted on

Limitless

My friend, Cheri Warren and I, created a Four Word Question Deck for Self-Discovery. It’s based on an Instagram series of four-word questions I created and beautiful background pictures Cheri designed. We created a 52-card deck that asks questions with the intention of serving as a springboard for going deeper into your inner awareness. They act as a kind of prompt for your intuitive side to tune into knowledge and wisdom you don’t normally experience. If they sound like something you’d be interested in purchasing, information is available at the end of this post.

The reason I’m mentioning this at the beginning of the post is that I recently shuffled through the deck and randomly selected one card to focus on. It read; “is your life limitless”.

I’ve pulled several cards in the past for review since we made the deck and each time it starts out as a mystery why the card appeared. I began with an assumption that they would always make immediate sense to me, but they don’t. And now that I’ve had a chance to reflect on it, I’m glad they don’t, because it encourages me to engage more deeply with them.

In this case, my first reaction to the card, “is your life limitless” was that it depends on what I choose to believe about the whole concept of limitlessness.

I could defer my choice and allow my cultural training to govern my answer and my life path, or I could make an entirely different decision. It was difficult for me to get beyond the idea that my answer has to be, ‘no, my life is not limitless’, regardless of how much I want it to be otherwise.

There are in fact plenty of limits for me to contend with. I have obvious physical, emotional, and mental limits. I cannot defy gravity and fly on my own. I cannot imagine being able to emotionally handle losing family and friends because of a war or other tragedy. And I cannot understand calculus or quantum physics. There also happens to be other significant things I feel limited in performing, which makes me wonder how the answer could be anything but, ‘no’.

And yet I want my answer to be ‘yes, my life is limitless.’

How can I justify this outrageous claim?

I thought about this for quite a while and asked myself, what are my life limits? Can I become a millionaire, walk on the moon, travel around the world, be kind to everyone I meet, sit under a waterfall in the mountains?

It occurred to me that one of the values of considering this question is because it assists me in determining what’s important enough to me to push my limits. Sure, it’s easy to see I have defined limits, but am I allowing my assumptions about them to control the outcomes I experience in my life?

The answer to that for me is ‘yes, I am’. So, I have to wonder, why is this my choice? Am I afraid to push beyond what I believe is possible? How is that worthwhile for me?

So, despite my initial reaction to the appearance of this card, that of course my life is not limitless, I want to shift my awareness and make a conscious choice to test my limits to see which of them are real. I want to collect up all of my assumptions, place them in a bag and tie a tight knot at the top so they can’t escape.

I want to explore the magnitude of my capabilities. How else will I ever know what my actual limits are? If I answer too quickly, I know I will feel smaller than I am. If I listen to everyone else around me, I will fall prey to those who don’t want me to experience too much success. And, if I resist trying to grow, I fail before I even begin.

The value of this card has shown itself to me. Within these four words there lies the promise of expansion outward into the greater world. My life may not be entirely limitless but there is still so much beauty, magic, and radiance for me to experience.

In my heart, I believe the same is true for you.

Should you be interested in purchasing your own Four Word Question Deck for Self-Discovery, please visit my website:

www.messagesforinspiration.com and click on the Four Word Question tab, then click on the picture of the box. From here you can place your order directly.

Posted on

Grace

Are you familiar with the idea of grace?

Perhaps the most common usage, would be the ‘saying of grace’ before meals, especially dinner.

I wondered where the practice came from. It wasn’t hard to discover. It appears in most Christian traditions and is a short prayer said before a meal. Saying grace comes from the Latin phrase ‘gratiarum actio’, which means an act of thanks.

Some traditions believe that grace and thanksgiving impart a blessing which sanctifies (makes holy) the meal, while other traditions focus on the belief that humans should thank God for the food and other blessings they receive.

I’ve never really been entirely comfortable with either of these concepts. I am very grateful that there is food in the world for me and I want it to create health for my body, but there’s something underneath the idea of saying grace that is bothersome to me.

I feel as though I need to take a big step backwards and perhaps ask myself several questions. I use questions as prompts. They challenge me to think deeper and delve into new territory.

Does saying grace change the flavor of the food? Does it change the power of the food to create better health in me? If I don’t say grace, do I lose some of the value of the food?

And then there is another side to this. When I say grace, who am I saying it to?  Is God the granter of grace? If so, does God speak everyone’s language and grant everyone’s wishes?

If you are with a group of people and grace is said, do all of those present have to think, feel, and believe the same thing for grace to work?

Maybe I tend to think too deeply into issues, but it feels like something important is waiting here for me to discover.

As I lean into this whole idea, I sense the word ‘grace’ has more far-reaching implications for me.

In the religious culture I was raised, ‘grace’ has a very specific meaning. God offers us grace as a free gift because God is willing to forgive us and bless us, even though we all fall short of living righteously (a good life). Further, grace is viewed as the love of God shown those who do not merit love.

These statements, and the concept of grace as it’s used, touches a nerve in me.

Who does not merit love?

In my world, there is no one who does not merit love. Some may act from places of hurt so deep that they appear cruel and heartless. But there is a place within them that is human and lovable. Every one of us comes from love and returns to love.

In my view, we all came from heaven and return to heaven. We are all parts of the whole, the holy, the one. We all deserve love and no one is excluded.

The way grace is used implies that we are missing something and need to be supplemented from outside of ourselves. This makes us dependent on someone or something else to be whole.

This is the part that challenges me because I believe that god lives inside of me (and inside of each of you), therefore I am not dependent on an external force to grant me grace.

I believe that each of us is connected to each other and to the world. We extend love because inherently, we are love. None of us is ‘less than’ or unlovable and so none of us needs grace from the outside. It is always within our power to offer love to ourselves and to remind each other that ultimately, love is who we are.

Posted on

What If god Is Bigger Than We Think

I grew up Protestant, first Presbyterian, then Dutch Reformed. In college I majored in Religion and was set to go to seminary and afterwards into the ministry. That is until my whole world broadened and exploded in college.

I discovered the enlightening fundamentals of Buddhism, the inner strength of yoga, experienced the raw, untamed beauty of nature, explored the psychic world, and embraced the essence of love. Overwhelmed with these experiences, the constraints of specific religious dogmas felt too limiting to me. More than that, it felt far too small to be applied to the world at large.

During my life I’d been taught that ministers, priests, and rabbis and all the other religious teachers were somehow closer to god. They’d studied and learned things ‘regular people’ hadn’t and were experts who could help us make sense of what god wanted.

For the most part they appeared to care for their congregations and did their best to help interpret religion so that it could assist others with living their lives.

The difficulty is that ministers, priests, rabbis, and other religious leaders are also human. Despite their best intentions, they fall, just like the rest of us. Sometimes, they fall harder, buried under the weight of needing to be shining examples and god’s emissaries.

Since we’re taught to defer to their religious wisdom we often don’t grow on our own and we’re tempted to take the easy way out and let them stand between ourselves and god.

For me, I couldn’t do this. I still can’t do it.

I’ve always felt that, as a part of god’s creation, I have a bigger part to play in the grand scheme and I always wanted my own direct, personal relationship with god, not one where anyone else was filtering the flow of divine information.

Growing up I was trained to accept what others told me, but what I wanted to know was, how did they know what to teach me?

The instructions I received sounded very limiting, as if god could only behave in prescribed ways and that our relationship was based on master/servant rules. If I did not act in certain ways, god would be unhappy and would punish me.

I was taught that, by myself, I would never be good enough, after all I was born a ‘sinner’. No matter how good I was, I would always fall short of what god expected of me.

The underlying message was that god was to be feared and the ultimate threat of going to hell hung in the balance.

It took many years for me to see the real truth that god is all about love. It was not until I began having my own intimate, direct conversations with god that I began to understand the importance of our relationship.

Rather than feeling confined to the previously understood set of rules I’d been taught, god shared with me that god loves me no matter what and always will.

God then reminded me what ‘free will’ means. God told me I was open to explore and move in any direction I chose, without any risk of separation. Of course, some of my choices might lead to frustration, suffering or pain, and yet in every situation there would be teachings for me to learn from, to spur my spiritual growth and help me become the person I want to be in this world.

Because god and I have had thousands of conversations, I’ve come to realize that god is far bigger than I was taught and far bigger that I could ever have imagined.

I ask that you not accept anything I have to say at face value, because for you to know your truth, it’s important for you to explore your own divine relationship. It’s only then that it becomes a part of you.

NOTE:

If you need some help establishing your own personal, intimate connection to god, I’ve written a book, talking with (god), that shares a way that has worked for me, and it may also work for you. talking with god is available on Amazon (books) in both print and eBook versions.