Friendships and relationships are a training ground for our relationship with Spirit.
When I use to hold God at arms length away, I was also holding those I loved an arms length away – because those I loved were a child of God, as a wave is upon the ocean. As I rejected God, I rejected those I loved. And vice versa.
Most of us have this internal battle at some point in our lives, because to love is to be vulnerable, and to be vulnerable is to get hurt sometimes.
Yet when we close ourselves to protect from pain, we close ourselves to the deep love, and the Divine love.
Oh, how human it is to want to protect ourselves or others! Yet it’s the protection that keeps us from knowing not only God, but most deeply, ourselves as a manifestation of God.
If you’re like me, and rejected or reject God because of your upbringing in a certain religion that left scars, while on a seekers path to some understanding or knowing of the Great Beyond, then I encourage you to really, really look at this.
Reflect, contemplate, and watch your beliefs and fears around what’s holding you back.
It can be complete terror as it was for me, believing I would be deceived if I truly gave myself to the One.
But what I came to understand is that was my ego’s belief, not the Truth.
The Truth comes from your heart, which never deceives or can be deceived, and the love of the Divine is purity beyond what we can possibly imagine.
St. Theresa of Avila writes, “God does not force our will, God takes what we give God, but God doesn’t give itself completely until we give ourselves completely.”
In this one statement, Theresa reveals a key that must be turned.
If we are to know Spirit in the way that our heart is called, then we must fully surrender, we must open our hearts completely and be willing to give ourselves over to the Great Light.
No protection, no holding back, no armor on.
The ego will be terrified, but your heart and wisdom will lead with a gentle and loving hand toward that light if you listen carefully.
And what’s also important is it’s not black and white to do so. It takes time, so be kind with yourself.
Say an intention daily of opening, of loving, of knowing God, and gradually God will reveal Itself through you and through others more clearly.
The funny thing is though, God is always revealing Itself to us, but little i tricks us into believing it’s not trustworthy or believable or real.
Take time to slow down and forgive, every day, and little by little the Truth will be revealed. As Theresa says, “Within us lies something incomparably more precious than what we see outside ourselves.”
Tell little i to go sit in the corner and play with her lego set. Then dare yourself to experience the Divine within your own heart. IT IS THERE.
Call those you love (not just text), reconnect with old friends, give your partner a hug when you’re feeling mad at them, open, open – it is a daily practice.
Categories: Conflict & Forgiveness, Gratitude, Inner Wisdom & Intuition, Meditation & Mindfulness