Time to Meditate

As I commented a few days back, I am aware that I am what has been called a "a spirit person, one of those figures in human history with an experiential awareness of the reality of God". I am also aware of having been gifted to know things like "The particles that comprise the physical world are the plenum [love/God energy] taking form" (Conrow Coelho), meaning that what we know as reality is in fact produced by the loving force I choose to call God. I know that we are all part of that force and that it connects us all. However, I do not know what to do with that knowing. It is time to meditate & sort things out!

Connection

The theme for the upcoming retreat is "connection", the sensing of which adds a tremendous amount of depth and meaning to my life. I feel a very strong, loving connection to everything and everyone, even supposedly inanimate objects. The feeling of connection is stronger with living things but also there with rocks, the earth and other non-living objects. I learned to feel and appreciate my connections through my association and experience with Native cultures.

Understanding is Not Required

The second chapter of my book, "Understanding is not required", kept coming up for me today. It is relatively straightforward to grasp the cause-and-effect, linear or Newtonian nature of the particle portion of physical reality. We can and do design experiments which illuminate that part. According to what we now know from quantum physics, what appears to be solid is actually 99.99% space and as Conrow Coelho points out "The particles that comprise the physical world are the plenum [love/God energy] taking form". That 99.99% follows the laws of quantum physics and we understand it very little.

Remembering

I really like the words of Conrow Coelho ( Recovering Sacred Presence in a Disenchanted World) when she commented that "Panentheism avoids the concept of dualism between God and the natural world. This is consistent with what we know from quantum physics, in which such dualities also break down. There can be no clear division between the two. The particles that comprise the physical world are the plenum [love/God energy] taking form. The generative force can be distinguished from the world of matter and mind but not separated from it." In other words, what we know of as reality is manifested love or God energy, the plenum taking form. Primitive cultures have known this for centuries - we have forgotten.

Knowing God

I have been reading Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time: The Historical Jesus & the Heart of Contemporary Faith, by Marcus J. Borg which I find very enjoyable and informative. He refers to Jesus as "a spirit person, one of those figures in human history with an experiential awareness of the reality of God", which reminds me of myself. I experience daily a force or power that others refer to as God, as do I, for convenience. I have said many times that I would be foolish to deny that presence. Today I have been reflecting on the fact that I actually find it difficult to conceive of a life where that concept was only theoretical.

Love Versus Fear

It has been a busy couple of days, with two new clients, two groups and several individual sessions along with some less intense activities. During the interactions I have been particularly conscious of the potential impacts of love versus fear on my choices of action. If I approach my activities fearing that I will not get a favorable outcome, I am likely to "stumble" and not be open to intuitive guidance. On the other hand, if I approach the same activities with feelings of love, peace and confidence my actions tend to be harmonious and easy. Today, I did pretty well staying on the love side.

I am 2

Acting out of that "I am" part is what Marianne Williamson was talking about when she wrote "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us." Acting out of that part and in harmony with the power I call God feels like "dancing with a 1,000 lb. Gorilla", scary, exhilarating and very right. That dance requires focus and not being attached to things of this world.

I Am

Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj once said "Get to know that ‘I am’ without words which arises in the morning. Knowing the Self, abiding in the Self-knowledge, is not a mere intellectual knowing. You must be that, and you should not move away from it. Remain firm." That "I am" is the part of me that is part of the Source or God and is much more powerful, loving and knowing than my normal walking around self. I find, more and more, that I can be that Self all during the day, especially when doing a healing or working with someone else. This morning I had the privilege of talking about that Self with someone else, which strengthens that part of me and her.

Connection

As often happens in the spring of the year, today I have been very conscious of my vital connection with everything and everyone. In this case the calendar says it is still winter, but the local plants and animals think it is spring and I go along with them. The evening grosbeaks have come back, plants are sprouting and birds are singing the spring song. For the plants and animals this is a very active and sexual time of the year. They are experiencing a lot of growth, flowering, pollinating and friskiness, exciting to observe and be with.

I am

As long as I stay firmly rooted in the "I am" part of myself I can remember and live as if "Nothing matters very much and very few things matter at all", so I place little importance on and do not fret over much of life. The I am portion of myself is very loving, relatively selfless, solid and connected with the force or power that I call God. I encounter that part when I meditate in the morning and carry it with me most of the time.