Prison and God

My obsession was all-powerful. Summoning all my resources, I could not dislodge it. Then three simple words did the trick: “Came to believe.” - Anonymous
We were prisoners of our obsessions. No more. Three words, “came to believe,” were the key that unlocked the gates of our personal prison.
When we rely on this power, wonderful and unexplainable things happen. Once this power unlocks the prison gates, anything is possible.
- In God’s Care, June 1

There are many ways we can be imprisoned.

One of my spiritual teachers began his spiritual awakening 30+ years ago while incarcerated. He’d run away from home when he was 13, then landed up in reform schools, jails, and the state penitentiary. This last stop was for a crime he’d not committed, but his hope of ever being released was dismal. Then he had a spiritual experience while lying in his bunk one day. It changed his attitude toward his defense lawyer and from there, miracles started happening. He was set free and his life has been about waking up and service ever since.

With all this teacher went through, he is fond of saying that he prefers his prison to have bars.

Yep, it certainly is easier when I can concretely see how I limit myself. When I was in the throes of my eating addiction, I finally was able to see that it was a symptom of something deeper. When I became open to asking for help, it was the beginning of the process of my release from prison.

When this devout atheist heard that she could choose her own conception of God, then “came to believe,” the key was turned and my prison door unlocked. Since then, relying on a Power greater than myself, I’ve been stepping out more and more from the prison of the ego, something I cannot always see as clearly has the bars of a prison cell, but surely quite as dismal.

Cultivating a close relationship with Spirit, my life has been filled with miracle upon miracle, and my soul has rejoiced. Coming to believe was the answer to my prison release and the beginning of my waking up to The Presence and this new earth.

Holy Day - Continued

Here’s another piece of the story of the magical wedding in which Rog and I officiated at April 30th (see blog of May 1st ). It’s a particularly “wow” one.

Rog came across the website of a fellow named John who also is into gardening and sacred space like Rog. It turned out he lives here in Sedona. They corresponded for a while and then made plans to meet for coffee. They did so on Wednesday, April 28th - and hung out for 3 hours! They resonated so well that then and there they made plans to meet the following week.

On Friday, April 30th John decided to bicycle over to the Stupa to videotape sacred space. He remembered from their conversation that Rog lived not that far from the Stupa and thought maybe they’d meet up. John couldn’t find Rog’s contact info but remembered his website address, so went there. He read the blog Rog had posted that morning saying we’d be marrying a couple that day; Rog didn’t say where the ceremony was being held or give the time. So John figured Rog wasn’t going to be available to meet and went about his day.

Lo and behold he bicycles to the Stupa at the very time we are there waiting for the delayed bride and groom (they were traveling from Flagstaff) – and Rog was standing alone in a different area, right where John landed up entering the Stupa. They spoke briefly and Rog mentioned why he was at the Stupa, then Rog invited him to the ceremony. With a “yes,” John became not only a ‘guest’ but the wedding videographer, and another wonderful participant in God’s plan that was slowly being revealed.

Yes, magical... synchronistic. I just love God showing Its Presence. It’s how I came to believe and it’s a way my faith gets strengthens.

The Shift

Contrary to the thoughts of those around me growing up, I believed that if there was a God, He was a loving God, not a punishing God. His love for me couldn’t be dependent on anything I did or didn’t do.

As I came to believe, I have had to unlearn what I thought were “truths.”

For instance, my happiness is not dependent upon another person, place, or toy; it is dependent on keeping in fit spiritual condition and having a strong relationship with Spirit. It means working on my insides instead of seeking from that which is outside of me.

Then there’s the idea that if I were to give of myself and my possessions, I would be losing. Now I know that as I give I receive and that the two are one and the same. It’s win-win.

How about the idea that we’re separate? Nope - I’ve come to know that we are all One.

I like this exercise, inspired by one of this morning’s readings, of digging back and seeing how my philosophy - of people... the world... life - has shifted 180 degrees since I started waking up 20 years ago. How fascinating.

Once I was lost, but now I am found. Thank You, God!

Faith

Today’s Daily Word - Monday, March 1, 2010
Faith
I walk by faith, not by sight.

Today I stand firmly in my faith. I meet life courageously and confidently, seeing beyond appearances to the underlying good. Through faith I overcome every limitation. I know that God's power in me is greater than any situation I may have to meet or overcome; God is greater than any condition or circumstance.

Through faith I am fearless and free. Faith dispels fear, for faith knows the nothingness of fear. Faith reminds me that God is the only presence and power in my life.

Through faith I am steady and strong. I am assured that with God there is always a way, with God there are always right answers.

Through faith I walk in the light. I am shown the way of my highest good. I am healed. I am blessed.

We walk by faith, not by sight. - 2 Corinthians 5:7

Of course after this past weekend of spiritual nourishment and enlightenment, it’s synchronistic that Today’s Daily Word and Daily Guideposts Devotional both had faith as their topic. And, my other usual morning reading from In God’s Care was about the three words “Came to believe” referring to coming to believe in a power greater than ourselves that could restore us to sanity.

For it was in coming to believe and developing faith that I now find my joy in life. Being in community with other spiritual beings having a human experience, I easily have faith in God’s existence – and more.

I have faith in God’s love, compassion, mercy, and wondrous power. I have faith that this power greater than myself that I came to believe in is always with me. “And when we experience that insanity, it isn’t that God has moved, but that our faith has wandered and shaken hands with the craziness of self-sufficiency.” (from In God’s Care).

These past few days my soul has been fueled with faith in part via psycho-spiritual inner work. The other part has been through being with others who are also doing their inner work to awaken. We come together as One in loving, compassionate, faith-filled community.

The Look of God

Although my parents were not religious and I became a devout atheist at a young age, I nevertheless grew up with this visual as God as an anthropomorphic being.

Like many in the predominant Judeo-Christian culture of America, God was this huge man with a long white beard. And, in my mind, He sat on a throne, looking down, passing judgment on humans and instilling fear in them. Even as a young child I never ‘got’ how a Being who I had been told was supposed to be all powerful, all knowing, and all loving, could also be a punishing One. This contributed to my not believing in God.

Thanks to page 12 in the book Alcoholics Anonymous, where the novel idea of choosing one’s own conception of God was proposed, I came to believe. And in choosing my own belief in an all powerful, all knowing, and all loving Being - a God of my understanding -, the face of God changed. And changed... and changed.

These days God is Spirit, Higher Power, The Great Mystery, and known to me by many other names. Its look is usually not anthropomorphic, except perhaps when Spirit takes on human form as an angel in my life. The look of God is fluid for me – but the qualities are not.

So while I may sometimes visualize my Higher Power as this great energy field, a huge wonderful wave washing over me, or all of Nature surrounding me, God remains eternally all powerful, all knowing, and all loving.

I’ve also come to know many other wonderful qualities of Mother Father God: great Comforter, ultimate Listener, peaceful, Helper, Companion, interested only in my highest good, and, of course, always with me.

Since my early days as a child, I’ve sure come a long way in my relationship with God. It’s the ultimate journey of my life and one I’m glad I didn’t miss.

Transformation

Although I was not acquainted with Brugh Joy while he graced this earth, since his passing in December 2009, I’ve been introduced to him and his work in heart centered transformational healing and spiritual enlightenment.

A practice he taught to embrace the changes in one’s life are known as the Three Injunctions:
- Make no comparisons
- Make no judgments
- Delete the need to understand

People often complain about change, but that is the only thing certain about life. And, change makes us know that we are alive, moving forward, and not stagnated. While it seems to be the case that humans need to reach bottom in order to wake up, and that it is often accompanied by suffering, practicing these injunctions help to positively move through changes that are most challenging.

And, speaking from experience, like so many others, I know the more extreme the situation, the greater my spiritual growth has been. For instance, reaching bottom with my eating disorder and finally seeking a solution was a life altering experience. My disorder was not only arrested, but my life was enhanced “beyond my wildest dreams.” It was the beginning of my waking up, and I “came to believe” in a power greater than myself, connecting with a God of my understanding.

In essence, I learned Dr. Joy’s injunctions in my 12 Step work years ago. Practicing them has served me well and continued awareness will hold me in good stead as I move my life forward in this ever-accelerating world of change.

Ways to Understand

“Fear of the unknown is natural, but it lessens as we mature in our spiritual life. “- In God’s Care, January 27, 2010

Since I ‘came to believe’ almost 20 years ago, I no longer feel that awful ache inside that I am alone - God is always with me. Where there is faith, fear cannot dwell. As I mature in my faith and spirituality, fear lessens.

I’ve learned too that there are many other entities with me as well. There is so very much going on in the unseen world, there are so many beings only too glad to help with me with living life and my spiritual growth.

I know quite a few people who are able to hear the messages from God and their other unseen friends and who are able to easily communicate back and forth, piercing the veil. I envy them - I just seem so blocked in being able to hear their guidance despite my yearning to be in conscious contact with them.

So I have developed the practice of greeting them in the morning, and saying goodnight to them when my head hits the pillow at the end of the day (and “acting as if” as much as possible). I have been praying to them - and Spirit - to release any blockages I might have and to provide a clear channel for me to hear them. The issue lays with me, not them.

Last night at the Unity of Sedona Mystic Choir’s rehearsal, we practiced a number of songs by Rickie Byars Beckwith. This morning during meditation I realized that Spirit had provided me with better languaging in my search to more readily ‘hear the voices’ of It and my angels, guides, etc.

“How can I serve today, sweet Spirit?
How can I serve, oh Lord?
Speak in ways that I will understand
Where You lead me, I will follow
Where You lead me, I will go.”
- Lyrics by Rickie Byars Beckwith

Thank You, Spirit! Thanks to all of my other unseen friends!

The Hunt

Hunting God is a great adventure. – Marie De Floris

When I finally “came to believe”, it was through synchronicity, i.e., there is no such thing as coincidence. Since that huge turning point in my life, I have been hunting for God and it is indeed a great adventure. I can never tell what will happen, who I’ll meet, what “ah-ha’s” might come my way, etc.

I’m always tickled when a synchronistic event takes place as it is evidence for me that God does indeed exist and that God is in my life. I love to be on the lookout for these events and for the miracles that say “I am here in your midst. You are not alone.”

For Everyone

I didn’t grow up in a religious household but I was a curious, philosophical child and briefly explored the religion of my parents. However, by the time I was 16 years old, I was a devout atheist. 19 years later I “came to believe” and thus was rekindled my conscious quest to know and be close to the God of my understanding.

In that quest, I have explored an array of ideas and have come to know the Judeo-Christian ideology to some degree. This has been gleaned mostly via the perspective of New Thought thinkers, and has pointed me towards the Bible.

And so it is now, on this particular Christmas Day, that I feel moved to express my belief that The Christ is for everyone. This belief stems not from my becoming an evangelical Christian and trying to proselytize; in fact, I still claim no religion. It just seems to me that the Christ is apart from Jesus from a religious perspective. Jesus was “The Christ” – and so am I and so are you. So what does this mean?

The word Christ is often misunderstood to be the surname of Jesus due to the numerous mentions of Jesus Christ in the Christian Bible; the word is in fact used as a title.

However, it refers to higher consciousness. The term Christ consciousness is similar to other spiritual traditions to denote the consciousness of a human being who has reached a higher level of evolutionary development and who has come to know Reality as it is. It’s called the super consciousness (Yoga), objective consciousness (Gurdjieff), Buddhic consciousness (Theosophy), cosmic consciousness, and God-consciousness (Sufism and Hinduism).

The Christ is a quality, a divine quality, that dwells within each and every one of us. It is not about religion. Christ Consciousness is about being perpetually in unison with Spirit, drawing sustenance from Spirit and operating in the physical world as if God and ‘His’ laws mattered.

As I strive to wake up more and more each day, I get closer to realizing The Christ that I am. The same applies to you.

The Christ is for everyone – it is who we are. So, Merry Christmas to everyone!

Touched

What a delight to start my day (after meditation) reading an interview of Martha Williamson, the Executive Producer and Head Writer of the long-running TV show “Touched By An Angel.”

I loved watching that show and am grateful that I “came to believe” (four years before) in time to do so. It amazed me that such a subject matter would be broadcasted on a major network, and the message repeatedly offered one that resonated with my own philosophy. It did not preach and it was about faith and spirituality, not religion.

Beliefnet.com asked Ms. Williamson “What was the most important message of the show?” Her reply was “: God exists, God loves you, God wants to be part of your life, and He is there to have a personal relationship with if you seek Him.”

The aforementioned is a mighty powerful message, just like the Great Mystery Itself. And, the idea of having a personal relationship with God is one that I hadn’t often hear people talking about. However, it is a cornerstone of 12 Step philosophy, and has proved to be the truth for me.

It is through a personal relationship that I am touched and that I am at peace. It is through this that my soul grows and is strengthened in love, joy, and faith.

It is because of this personal relationship with God that I never need to feel alone. For at any time, I can be touched directly by Spirit, or by one of Its many angels. How cool is that?!

Dependence on God

A comprehended God is no God at all. – Gerhard Tersteegen

“Maybe the only thing we know about God is that dependence on this power greater than us brings remarkable changes to our life, and that ultimately those changes are for the best. That may be all we need to know about God.” - In God’s Care, October 31

There is no question that coming to believe and then depending on a Higher Power transformed my life for the better. Not only did I start having more love in my life via the wonderful people I met in 12 Step Program, but my entire perspective about people, the world, and life changed tremendously for the better.

And, it was no small feat to finally get that I was not alone, and that this power greater than myself not only was with me and on my side, but could be a real guide and help in living life peacefully and richly if I allowed It to.

I may not always, in fact often do not, comprehend God and His ways, but I sure am grateful that I “came to believe” and that I cultivate my relationship with this loving, caring, powerful Being on whom I am so dependent on.