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.

Out Of Your Mind

Has anyone ever asked you, “Are you out of your mind”, when you proposed an idea to them? If they discounted or criticized your idea, what was your reaction? Did you let your idea die or go ahead with it anyway?

Releasing my dreams, even if they are a little over the edge for someone else, always makes me feel sad. I’ve experienced this often enough that I rarely give in anymore.

When I was a kid, the phrase ‘are you out of your mind’ was very popular.

My friends and I would come up with stupid ideas and dare each other to do them. The common retort was, ‘are you out of your mind’, which would either end the debate or shift the direction to another dare.

Here’s one example.

“Hey, ride your bike down that path and jump the little creek to the other side…I dare you.”

Mind you the creek was NOT little, and it was really hard to get a bike into the air that far, so the usual response was, you guessed it, ‘are you out of your mind?”

The cleverest among us would figure out a counter-dare like, “I dare you to try to swing across from that tree branch”. They would say it louder to eliminate the energy from the first dare.

Fast forward to school age and more stupid ideas, then to college, where no one was looking over your shoulder and the sky was the limit on foolish and sometimes dangerous notions. One in particular is memorable to me. “I dare you to hop that freight train and jump off while it’s moving.” That’s one I accepted, even though I should have said, “what, are you out of your mind?”

Surprisingly, I made it through my college years without serious injury, got married and entered the work world, only to discover it was full of different kinds of danger. Navigating my way through learning my job, getting along with peers, and pleasing my bosses demanded my full attention.

If you haven’t observed this about me by now, I have some pretty strong opinions, which are based on my personal moral code. This put me at odds occasionally with different bosses. I felt there were better ways to accomplish tasks and said so. My friends looked at me, shook their heads, as if I were crazy and said, “are you out of your mind?”

Over the course of my life, I allowed, then encouraged, then embraced a very spiritual life. I have daily conversations with god. Conversations where I both speak to god and hear god speak to me. They are dialogues really; open, honest, direct, and heart centered. I feel listened to, supported, enlightened, and loved. During the past twenty-six years our conversations have become deeper, more grounding and divine. The best thing about them is I know they are not just for me, they’re available to anyone. I know this to be the truth and have such a deep commitment to this idea that I wrote a book about the process titled, talking with (god) which lays out ways anyone can initiate their own conversations and discover their own answers. (see below for details if you are interested)

Over the years I’ve shared this with many people. Some accept it and have discovered their own path to talk with god. Others have questioned me and asked, “are you out of your mind?”

To each of them I’ve responded, “Yes, I am out of my mind, because I’m fully in my heart.” To me, this is when being out of your mind is a divine thing.

I am unconcerned now whether someone believes me. I choose to let the question fall away and center in on what I feel to be the truth, that the best times in our lives are when we are out of our mind and inside of our hearts.

In case you’re interested in a copy of this book, it is available on Amazon in print and eBook versions. In your search bar enter Talking With God by Rob H Geyer and click on the Amazon site.

NOTE: Please ignore the ‘hardback’ option. Amazon has a few wires crossed because if you click on this option, you’re taken to an entirely different book with the same title.