Spiritual Growth

My intuitive sense is that it is now time for me to expand what I do, say and believe as far as spiritual matters. I am doing that by going past my intellect which deals with logic, reason and knowledge, very limiting and limited. I then venture, largely through meditation, into the realm of simple knowing and intuition using my listening skills and allowing myself to feel lost which sounds simple but it is certainly not easy. I have to shut down my intellect in order to proceed. "To understand better the value of silence in daily life, and its relation to this spiritual transformation for which we yearn, it is useful first to consider the limitation of language, of words. It is next useful to contemplate the limitations of logical reasoning." (Daniel A. Seeger)

My Role

I understand that anyone and everyone can feel and live within God’s kingdom, the feeling of Love, power, peace and presence, to the degree that they commit themselves to being in it. In my case I spend time each day in worship and am consciously aware of the kingdom 24/7. Most people do not have that level of commitment, which seems to be OK (though not in my case). I encounter many people who admire my commitment and the results — but are also unwilling to commit themselves to that degree. I will do everything I can to help them feel and live within the Love regardless. I gather that is my role.

Distraction

Tonight I was doing my "daily devotion" as described yesterday and focusing on the positive or loving aspects of the grief process when I got distracted and temporarily lost my connection. I am struck by how easy it is to become distracted. I could feel the Loving presence and strong connection as I recalled the deep, loving, sadness I felt after various losses in my life and a recognition of their eternal nature. It felt sad but in a very positive, forward moving way. Then I turned on my computer and began looking at some current events with the result that my connection evaporated — temporarily. Distraction is very easy to do!

Practice

As a part of my "daily devotion", I get out of bed around midnight for a period of prayer and meditation during which I spend about an hour broadcasting the power and healing love I believe originates with God. In addition to broadcasting, I turn that feeling on myself for my own health and healing. Tonight, while doing that, I also turned that feeling toward the spirits around me who received it like an energetic spiritual cleansing shower. In sending that feeling out into the night around me I believe it has a positive impact on the universe.

Abiding

The topic for our reading group which met yesterday was abiding or living within God’s love. Most of the members had experienced the feeling of living within God’s love for a period of time and then stopped doing the necessary footwork to maintain the connection. One woman when speaking of a time when she felt the presence of God commented that "unfortunately the connection required daily devotion". I suspect she was correct though I have not risked finding out. Personally I benefit greatly from abiding and hope I will not stop. "A mystical touch is a deep, intimate contact-union-experience of God in one of His attributes such as power, light, goodness, beauty, or joy." (Thomas Dubay, S. M.)

Love

My understanding of love has certainly evolved over time beginning with what I now call "country song" love and ending with my understanding of God’s Love. When I was much younger love meant a deep longing for the other person, a feeling that I now realize was dependency which put pressure on the other person and that it tended to result in emotional pain. Then love meant always wanting "sunshine and roses" for the other person which was unrealistic and hollow. Finally the Love I have learned from God is to devote myself to everyone’s mental and spiritual growth, especially people close to me. I find this to be a deeply fulfilling experience for everyone which recognizes and respects their need to work through and overcome the challenges of life, including unpleasant feelings.