Final musings on Celebrating Divine Presence: Journeys into God

I have to thank Dolores for suggesting this book, it's been an incredible read. I was amazed as I read this book, that I marked most passages in the Hindu, Buddism, and Veda sections. It reminded me of several other books Dolores and I read together several years ago: Siddartha by Hermann Hesse and Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield.

I've learned so much about different religions and affirmed my belief that: (stated better in the book than I can say it!

"The most important thing in beginning a spiritual path... is to just begin. It is not necessary to have your path mapped out in advance. You could, I suppose, try to Google for directions is you really need to. Maybe have them all mapped out, too. The important thing, however, is to just take that first step with a clear intention that you want to know God or truth whatever you want to call it and that you want to live a good life in the best way possible. You may not consciously know where to start, but there is a part of you that knows just what to do. That part of you is just waiting for you to really begin." This resonates with me in the fact that we have to slow ourselves down sometimes to begin that journey, whatever it may be and also that periodically we have to check in to see where we are! It reminds me of swimming in the first triathlon this summer... every ten stroke or so, I'd have to pause to breast stroke and look up to see if I was heading in the right direction!

I latched on to this idea as all my life I've made myself too busy:

"Don't just do something, sit there!" It's the most important thing we can do ....sitting in silence....patiently.... giving ourselves a chance to listen to the deepest part of ourselves.... getting to know the deepest part of ourselves.

Infinite joy is our birthright. Infinite existence,

Infinite consciousness, Infinite Joy is our true nature.

We can run throughout the Universe searching for happiness,

searching for love, but That Joy, That Love resides in our own

hearts and the hearts of all beings in this world.

Be still and treasure that Joy within yourself.

Be still and honor the Sacred shining in the sky and the sun

and the moon and the stars and the planets the earht and the

rivers and oceans and mountains and trees.

Shining in all the great spiritual traditions of the world, in our

teachers, ancestors, parents, children and animal companions.

Shining brightly within our own hearts.

Be still and follow the sound of the flute, the sound of the holy

mantra into the inner recesses of your heart and claim that

Joy which has always been yours. With every breath you take,

every thought you think, every word you speak and with your

every action embrace that Joy and share it with the world. Let

that Joy wash over you removing all vestiges of fear and anger

and resentment and alienation.

It is time to choose. It is time to choose a world full of goodness

and truth and love and light, a world where all beings,

all nations and our Earth itself are treated with

respect and kindness and love.

More musings on the book: Celebrating Divine Presence: Journeys into God

The Hindu believe:

We can experience the infinite because our real nature is infinite as well. The real nature of all that we see in the world is infinite. Our real nature is beyond words, beyond all mental conceptions.

At the same time we experience ourselves as finite indeed: "I am so tall (short) , I am so fat (skinny) , I am really good at this, I am really bad at that , I really love this... I really hate that... On and on we find infinite ways to put limits on our infinite self.

To the Hindu sages much of what we call spiritual life is just discovering who we really are. As we advance along the path our idea of our self can change dramatically and even when we take our first conscious steps on the path we can get a strong indication that we are by nature something far greater than we ever imagined. The more conscious we are of making decision that will expand our sense of self, the more we take responsibility for our own growth, the more direct and straightforward our path will be.

Vivekananda tells us that every thought we think, every word we speak, our every action is creating an impression on our mind-stuff and that our character is the sum total of all those impressions. Who we are as a human being is just the sum total of all those little impressions we have been putting into our mind , moment to moment all through our lives. The mind understanding the power of thought, chooses to think good thoughts, noble thoughts, thought for the welfare of those around us and the whole world, chooses to listen or play uplifting music, read (or write) uplifting books, watch (or make) uplifting movies, associate with uplifting people; chooses to smile and remain joyful and kind in the face of adversity. We have the power to choose each and every moment to fill our hearts with love, kindness, truth and goodness. What an incredible gift that is to the world. What an incredible gift that is to yourself!