The God Experience Return to the Source Ken O’Donnell Debbie Castle Judy Johnson.

Copyright © 2020 Ken O’Donnell, Debbie Castle, Judy Johnson

Original Cover Art Mariana Santos Cover Layout Judi Rich

Editing Teri Crawford All rights reserved

ISBN: 9781673537871 3

DEDICATION To our Beloved Source 4

5 TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION ............................................. 7

AUTHOR’S EXPERIENCE ............................. 15

THE SEED AND THE SOURCE .................... 23

THE OCEAN OF LOVE .................................. 41

THE BENEVOLENT ONE .............................. 53

GOD AS TRUTH ............................................. 65

THE MERCIFUL ONE .................................... 77

THE OCEAN OF PEACE ................................ 89

THE PROTECTOR ........................................ 101

THE LIBERATOR .......................................... 111

SOURCE OF POWER.................................... 123

CONCLUSION .............................................. 135

7 INTRODUCTION The question of God's existence has fascinated human beings ever since they started to ponder and later write down what was happening to them. The ancients depicted our world as one full of traps that take us away from the promise of a better life and any spiritual development. Fear and threats were built into everything. The way around this was to propitiate the gods, remain devout and reverent in the hope that things would become better somehow. Adequate crops, sufficient rain, victory in battle - these were the signs that the gods were smiling. Nowadays, the history of many traditions is in front of us. We can see that most of them try to reach out for something beyond the world of the five senses and its inherent materialism. Even though they believe in something beyond here, many feel that there is no reasonable way to discuss what is loosely called the "spiritual realm". The position of this book is that there is definitely 8 a spiritual reality. If so, it should have the same coherent foundation for its existence as the physical one. This is particularly true related to God. Of course, people say, how can we prove that He exists when we cannot see Him. The modern world is so obsessed with material energy that we can't seem to think about anything beyond it. Interreligious Dialogue Two of the main objectives of the Charter of Association of the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University Association are the following: · To encourage the transformation of individual consciousness, attitude and behavior as the foundation of general progress in the human condition throughout the world · To promote a better understanding of the global human family through understanding of the spiritual connections between the world's religions. Because of these two objectives, we meet with other like-minded people and organizations that promote an understanding between religious and 9 spiritual traditions. We can explore appreciatively all these different beliefs and practices. The very spirit of the ecumenical religious movement is the respect for plurality of beliefs. Under the umbrella of the interreligious movement, all traditions can come together to share experiences and understand similarities and differences without giving up their specific belief systems or philosophies, even if they are contradictory to each other. Even though interreligious dialogue can sometimes be superficial, when it is real and profound it serves as an antidote to many misunderstandings and prejudices. The hatred and killing we constantly witness in the news, has nothing to do with the deeper debate about God and His connection with human souls. More than anything, we need to find common ground. This book is offered in this spirit. Science, Religion and Blind Faith Science has correctly rejected many superstitions 10 inherited from our ancient past. Even so, there is still a lot of what is called blind faith about what God does and does not do. On the other side, science has steered heavily towards pure pragmatism, thereby creating its own form of blind faith. There are two basic premises related to this: 1. Human beings can understand the universe in its entirety and science is the only means that can show the way. We eagerly await new discoveries that will, at some unknown future date, provide us with a full explanation of our existence. 2. The world that we see, hear, touch, smell, feel and measure is the only "real" world. People take birth, die and there is nothing else. Therefore, we think we may as well eat, drink and make merry as much as we can while we're here. This type of thinking has encouraged a general preoccupation with the senses and their objects and indifference to the things beyond them. From Einstein we know that time and space are 11 inseparable, but where does the dimension of consciousness come into the way we see the material world? Everything that happens has a time and a place. But it also has a reason. The Spiritual Dimension It is in this dimension of consciousness, that we can explore the spiritual realm, and everything related to it including, soul, God, our relationship with both God and the material world and our existence beyond here. None of these aspects can be measured by any instrument of science, however sophisticated it may be. We can understand the existence of the soul and God, but we can't really prove it in a way that would satisfy the logic of science. This does not mean that we must give up a rational approach to understanding God and His importance. The major difficulty is that the experience of both the soul and God are completely subjective. We can only check everything in the laboratories of our minds and hearts. 12 This book not only states unashamedly that God exists as the source of all spiritual power and virtues/qualities, but also that we can interact with God in a way that deepens our understanding and experience. If you have acquired this book it is because you believe in God's existence and you want to make sense of your relationship with Him. Moreover, you believe that with His help, you can really improve your life. To explain the background to this book we can use the image of a bicycle wheel, with spokes spreading out from a central hub. At the end of each spoke, there is one or the other religious tradition. Each of them exists in its own right but obviously they are all connected to the same wheel of humanity. If you travel back along any of the spokes, you come to the central hub of spiritual experience, which is common to all traditions. Here we find universal ideas about the spiritual realm including God. It is in this common territory that we share the very best of our humanity. At the 13 end of the spokes are the different languages and beliefs, that certainly generate a lot of confusion when we try to understand what others believe or not. The language in the central common territory is the language of spirituality; silence and a love for the Divine that goes beyond words. Access to God All of the ideas related to God and our interaction with Him are connected with this common spiritual heritage that goes beyond any particular tradition. For the purpose of this book, it is useful to think of God as a Being like us in essence, rather than as some sort of diffused, all-powerful energy field. Even if He is the Supreme in terms of spiritual power and qualities, as a Being like us He is totally accessible. This makes it easy to have a two-way conversation with Him. Though God is neither male nor female, for simplicity's sake, we will use the pronouns He, Him or His to refer to that Being. So please open your minds and consider a new and more direct approach to interacting with God 14 without human intermediaries. If God is the Supreme Parent and we, therefore, are His children, we have a right to claim our spiritual inheritance. 15 AUTHOR’S EXPERIENCE Ken I have been a student of life and a constant world traveler since I was 21 years old. I have been to more than eighty countries and I have made it a point to understand the diversity of traditions on the ground. This love for the celebration of faith in the four corners of the planet began with a trip from Australia where I was born, overland to England and took six months. During this period, I experienced the main religious traditions of the world. I felt very old, but not particularly wise. However, I was inspired to become a more spiritual person. I began to experiment with different kinds of meditation because I really wanted to enter my inner self and make the necessary repairs if possible. Despite the incredible variety of cultural perspectives that I became a witness to, I began to realize that there was something behind what makes us move. I imagined that through meditation, I could somehow come into contact with this common 16 territory where human beings really meet and that it was part of the depth of each one. I was deeply impressed by people everywhere making practically the same devotional gestures, just with different names and forms. Who are we really behind what we do and say? That was my big question. After many great moments interspersed with many disappointing ones I decided, in my naivety, that I could discover these things if I could only get away from everything for a while. After about a year in England, I decided to go to the most exotic place nearby and chose Morocco for my personal research. My idea was to spend six months in peace and silence contemplating the universe and my place in it. I had copies of the New Testament, the Dhammapada (the Buddhists' main scripture), the Bhagwad Gita, the Upanishads (dialogues between Yogic masters and their disciples) and the Koran. I would spend many hours daily meditating and reading these sacred texts. Despite the idyllic conditions, I became more and more confused. I was not as detached as I thought. After five months, I decided that I had had enough, 17 that I would not get any answers to the deepest questions about life by running away from it. If there was any true spirituality, it would be something practical that was part of my work and relationships. I went back to London. Two weeks after I arrived, I made my first contact with the Brahma Kumaris from whom I learnt about the Tree of Humanity and the Source. Debbie I grew up in in rural Canada, in a one-church community where everyone was expected to join as a teenager. For some reasons unknown to me, at 10 years old I decided I did not want to do this. I also said I wasn’t interested in reading the Bible., which was a great surprise to my Dad who was a WWII vet who had read it from cover to cover many times. Later as a young professional in education, I was introduced to values clarification as ways to bring personal enhancement into people’s lives in the workplace. This values-orientation to personal growth brought a very ‘spiritual approach’ to my 18 work in organizational development. In 1999, I moved to Ethiopia to live and work and a friend invited me to a ‘yoga class’. Dressed for a work-out I arrived at the yoga centre to discover that the word ‘yoga’ was being used to describe how, through meditation, one could connect with a higher power. And it happened just that way! As I sat in the mediation centre and had my first class on ‘being a soul’ and ‘connecting with a higher soul power’, I connected! I think of that power now as God and this relationship has been a part of my daily practice and discipline for 20 years. In 2001, I made my first visit the headquarters of the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University in Mt. Abu India to attend the Peace of Mind Retreat with 100 others from around the world. We were immersed in the knowledge of Raja Yoga and the original qualities of the soul – peace, happiness, and love. It all made sense to me and through this introduction to the study, I was becoming more aware of the wealth of knowledge that was within 19 me that awaited discovery. A year later, I returned to Mt. Abu and in a very special gathering, I heard God’s voice in my head, say ‘I remember you’. I have had an intimate connection with this loving Being ever since. I am still happily learning and committed to living a peaceful lifestyle. Every day opens like a fresh blossom, full of beauty and appreciation to be found everywhere. To me the precious relationship with God provides me with moment to moment guidance on how to maneuver myself in the world today and I have an appreciation of all the souls around me being my global brothers and sisters. I have a responsibility to be the best I can be and provide space for others to do the same. In this, God is a constant companion and guide. 20 Judy I have been working to make a better world since I was seventeen when I stayed for several months in a remote village in Asia as part of an international youth exchange. I witnessed first-hand the poverty and injustice of the world which lead me to get involved in social justice, community development and human rights work. As I ‘fought’ for peace and justice, I noticed myself becoming angrier and less peaceful. There was a missing dimension to my approach. On a business conference in Mexico, I had an unexpected experience of bliss beyond anything I had ever experience. I felt like I was beyond the awareness of this world. The experience opened a door in my mind. It was like the sun shining brightly in a place that had been dark, like waking up. It changed my life and brought God as an intimate partner, friend, teacher, guide and loving parent. I have been so fulfilled in this primary relationship, there is nothing more I want. 21 As I stay close to God’s pure energy, my inner world is changing; it is happier, lighter and more discerning. And I bring this energy into my relationships with friends, family and my work for betterment. I think of meditation as ‘inner activism’. 22 23 THE SEED AND THE SOURCE On the cover of this book, there is the image of a tree, which is perhaps the best representation of what has happened over time. It's like a spiritual photograph of world history. God is the seed and the source for the whole tree. Each of the religious traditions is a branch of the tree - each one no better or worse than the other. Just different. There is a trunk of history which represents a time when the population was small and undivided. There was abundance and really no need to search for the Divine. Just as a physical tree grows and branches out, different branches started to appear on the tree of humanity. Just as the tree branched out, each of the main traditions also developed its own branches and twigs. Human beings are the leaves that hang on the branch or twig of whatever they believe in. Truth is not exclusive to any of the branches, rather it is in being able to see the whole tree. The 24 tree shows us that we have a common heritage and explains the reason why we have similar aspirations. If asked to describe the taste of a strawberry, we would probably say that it is sweet, sour, fruity and so on. The problem is that this could equally be a description of a grape, an apple or even a Chinese savoury dish! The same difficulty comes when defining deeper states of consciousness or even qualities such as love, peace and happiness. It seems that words have been invented to describe realities that cannot be adequately described by them. When it comes to defining God as to what He does or doesn’t do, it’s an even greater challenge. We can look at what different traditions believe and what our own internal experience indicates. Even with this much, we can go into the depths of an experience with God. Meditation and communion with God is a purely personal experience. 25 It is the right of every human soul to be able to have that connection with the one who is called the Father, Mother, Master, Guide and Highest Friend. Similarities Amongst the Religions Throughout history, organized religion has been influenced by culture and language as much as by divine inspiration. Yet the many similarities between them are obvious - we are human beings who share this world together, and our trajectory has been similar. We are born in different places without knowing why. We conjecture on the questions of where we came from and where we are going. We seek to be better and avoid suffering and disappointment as much as possible. We have bodies, traditions and languages with superficial differences, but at the internal level and in a very similar way, we appreciate virtues and beauty and we feel uncomfortable with defects and ugliness. An Afghan mother when she loses a child feels 26 the same as an American mother who goes through the same thing. A taxi driver in Buenos Aires is like his counterpart Kuala Lumpur. They swear with different words, but they have the same meaning. We are too alike to make so much of different interpretations of the divine dimension. If we examine the world’s major religions objectively, we can see differences and similarities, but always in the context of celebrating unity in diversity. We can observe the thread of humanity that passes through Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, Taoism and others. The unfolding of these traditions has become the history of humanity itself. They have many aspects in common - persecuted founders, the importance of sacred texts, prayer or meditation - as well as recurring themes such as love thy neighbor, compassion, spiritual development and individual responsibility for actions. The majority believe in one God. 27 How Many People Believe in God (2019) In terms of numbers 1 , 54.4% are either Christians (29.8%) or Muslims (24.6%), both monotheistic traditions. The next biggest group (16%) are those who are not affiliated with any major religion, half of whom believe in God 2 . The fourth biggest group are Hindus (14.3%), who, even though they may worship different representations of the divine, still refer to a Supreme One as Prabhu (Master), Ishwar (Supreme Being) or Paramatma (Supreme Soul). Many Hindus who are religious but do not worship a specific deity, refer to a universal God as Bhagvan. If we include the Sikhs, Jews and Zoroastrians, we have almost 70% of the world population who believe in the existence of God. Buddhists, the next largest (6.5%) do not believe in a God or gods. Their focus is on spiritual 1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_religious_populations 2 https://www.adherents.com/Religions_By_Adherents.html 28 enlightenment and a life beyond the forest of illusion (nirvana). Jains, Taoists and Confucianists also believe in the possibility of improving human behavior without a God figure. Different Beliefs about God The main ideas that cover the spectrum of beliefs about God, the Divine or the Highest in the different traditions are the following: · Some do not believe in an Almighty Creator God but maintain the idea of the possibility of human perfection through spiritual effort and meditation and other practices. · This is so in Buddhism. There is nothing in Buddha's teachings that suggests how to find God or worship the gods (from India). Although the Buddha himself was a theist (believing in gods because he was born a Hindu), his teachings are not theistic. He was more concerned with the human condition: birth, sickness, old age and death. The Buddhist path is about reaching a place 29 of acceptance with these painful aspects of life, and not suffering through them. · Some believe in non-duality, that God, a Divine Energy or a Creative Intelligence is present in every being and particle of matter, that everything is One. · One of the roots of this idea is the Advaita Vedanta School in Hindu philosophy. It postulates that the soul (Atman) is the same as the highest metaphysical reality (Brahman). This idea, which later came to be called omnipresence, states that what created all existence is also present and reflected in all beings and even matter, and that this creative principle was and is everywhere, always. · Some believe that God became manifest through elevated human beings, deities, prophets or religious founders. · This is related to the idea that God incarnates on earth from time to time to eradicate the forces of evil, restore justice and free the 30 worthy or the devout. One example is Vishnu who appears as Krishna to instruct through the Bhagavad Gita. In the same way, Buddha, Christ and others are considered by some as incarnations (avatars) of the Divine. · Some believe in God as the literal Creator, Sustainer and Destroyer of all and everything, but remain separate as a reference for the rest of creation. · This idea of an all-powerful entity is supported by monotheistic traditions such as Islam, Judaism and Christianity. These believe that God's power is Absolute, that He created everything from nothing, that everything moves according to His will. Living beings are born, grow and die as part of that. · Some believe that God the Supreme is separate from souls and matter, with different powers and functions, and thus remains a source of spiritual power for the rest of creation. · The members of the Brahma Kumaris, through the study and practice of the ancient 31 Raja Yoga, adhere to the latter alternative. For us, the role of God is subtle and not literal. He does not create matter or souls, but periodically recreates spiritual power in souls so that our world can renew itself. This spiritual recharging of the battery of the soul sustains creation. The loving connection between the souls and God destroys any negativity or weakness within them. In other words, His presence, knowledge and power are all spiritual. Common Ideas about God Despite the variety of ideas about God, there is a fair amount of agreement, not only among the different traditions, but from the experience of our own hearts, such as: · God is a transcendental being. (This is why members of any tradition close their eyes to go beyond the material world whenever they pray to or meditate on God.) 32 · God is the benefactor for human souls. (We intuitively know that God exists to help us.) · God is a source of spiritual power. (The closest parallel we have to God in this physical world is the sun, a source of light, as remembered in many traditions, especially ancient and indigenous ones.) · God is light. (There has been an unceasing search for illumination in all traditions.) · God is the source of spiritual wisdom and guidance. (This is the theme of so many hymns and prayers. When we have a problem, we expect God to give us the wisdom to sort it out.) · God is the source of unconditional love. (Perhaps this is the reason for which we seek love in all our relationships...) Religare - Reconnect with the Source The word religion comes from religare which means to re-link, usually used in the context of God. No matter whether one has ever accessed God or not, most would acknowledge that the existence of that One is of a more subtle, non-physical nature than 33 that of human beings. There is no scientific instrument or means to prove God’s existence. We can only verify this through personal spiritual experience. Only then can we experience the transformative nature of the connection. In meditation we mentally fly towards this spiritual sun we recognize as God, recharge our battery and begin to comprehend the depth of the relationships that are important for the soul - Parent- child, Teacher-student, Guide-disciple, Friend- friend, etc. This is perfectly feasible because God is seen not as simply the source of highest spiritual energy but as the highest personality. He is a soul or spiritual being like me, and because of his superior qualities is easily loveable, very user-friendly. Raja Yoga Meditation Yoga means union or the loving connection between the individual soul and God, the Supreme Soul, in order to recharge the spiritual battery and overcome negative tendencies that have accumulated. The 34 connection itself implies the dual nature of our existence. In other words, the human soul is not God. The One who is beyond change, therefore remains the Source of spiritual power and indeed is the only hope for a civilization whose systems are rapidly crumbling. The practice of Raja Yoga, at its highest level, is the experience of a natural relationship with the Supreme Being. Therefore, it does not require specific rituals, physical postures or forced endeavours. Using deep points of spiritual knowledge about the spiritual dimension beyond and about the form and attributes of both the soul and God, I can develop this union with a lot of love. It is love and not dry theory that makes this experience work. I gather all my love and concentrate myself on God in His essential form and soon begin to receive the return as an incredible current of bliss. We ask you to be open to consider God as point 35 of spiritual energy like the soul, except that He is unlimited. His presence can be experienced anywhere, which does not mean that He is present everywhere and in everything. He exists in a different dimension to this physical one. To connect with Him, we have to remember Him with love and then we are able to experience His qualities. This is the type of meditation we will be using in the commentaries in this book. How to Use This Book These basic ideas are based on teachings from the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University 3 . The chapters are related to a campaign that we held in our centres throughout the world during 2019, with focus on the general public. Each chapter has five parts: · A brief introduction to each theme · Personal experiences shared by young meditators around the world 3 www.brahmakumaris.org 36 · Personal exercises to take you into the depth of the theme · Typical questions and answers related to the theme · A meditation commentary to help you have your own personal interaction with the Source Five preliminary steps to all meditation commentaries 1. Find a seat in which you can sit comfortably without interruptions. Inform the other members of your household that you are having some quiet time. 2. Sit with your back straight without being too rigid and observe the moment and what is happening around you. 3. Read through the whole commentary once and then begin again. Read each point and reflect on it before going onto the next. 4. Become aware that you are the thinking, spiritual identity influencing your life. You are in the centre of everything happening around you, as well as in the centre of your life. Just feel how beneficial it is to remain in the centre, still and stable, even though many things are happening around you. 37 5. Just as you are sitting on the physical seat, sit mentally on your seat of command, a few centimetres behind the eyes, in the middle of the forehead. Remain as this conscious observer and begin the commentary again. Personal Exploration We have asked that you be open to exploring your relationship with God. We all know that through childhood associations or a seeker’s path, many can relate to a certain divine quality of God, influenced by these formative experiences. We want you to enter the experience of this book form a place that is somewhat familiar to you. We have selected eight qualities commonly used to describe God in the world’s religious traditions. Each one may use a different name in their language or tradition, but the quality is inherently the same. Each quality has a chapter in this book. We would like you to scan this short list and choose a quality as a ‘starting place’ for yourself. 38 And then choose the next one and the next one. Please create your own order for experiencing God, from ‘somewhat familiar’ to ‘less familiar’. For all of us it’s been a journey of forging relationships with God based on our own path and who we are when we begin the journey back to the Source of all divine qualities of the world’s spiritual traditions. Take a few moments now to review the list offered here and create your path from ‘known’ to ‘less known’ · Love · Benevolence · Truth · Mercy · Peace · Protection · Liberation · Power Once you have your list, take a few minutes to anchor your choices. Open a new journal for this journey and record your thoughts as you go ... to help you appreciate your journey in ‘experiencing God’. 39 Look at the order you have created as your reading list for this book: · What are your connections to the qualities of God on the top of your list? · How has God shown up for you with these qualities? · How has God’s invisible presence allowed you to see or feel these qualities? · What do you appreciate about your experiences of God in your life so far? As you continue your journey exploring old and new relationships with God, take time to write and share your experiences with others who are open to these conversations. From our own experiences, this is not a time to debate or defend God’s existence, rather it’s a time to link the best of yourself with God as the unlimited Source of all divine qualities, powers and virtues so as to recharge your own spiritual battery. 40 41 THE OCEAN OF LOVE I experienced God’s loving vision hit the core of me, seeing me as a valuable diamond and accepting me as I am. I felt God seeing me as I really am, through all the impure layers which are covering the real self. Tears of love ran from my eyes and I felt completely safe and secure. Ella Finland Understanding God’s Love Love is one of the misunderstood words that most crops up in our attempts to improve our relationships - with ourselves, with each other, with the world around us and with God. We can even say that it is the most important quality in our existence. We seek it out wherever we can find it and try to make the most of it when we seem to have it. Since it is so central to us, our capacity to love and be loved is extremely vulnerable if we don ́t really understand what it is or where it comes from. Spiritual love has nothing to do with the attached love that makes us vulnerable. Spiritual love is like 42 admiring a flower in nature and attached love is like plucking the flower and putting it into our very own vase. In the context of this book: · Spiritual love is a basic quality of the soul · God is the Ocean of Love, an unlimited source of love, who can activate the love that is inside the soul that has been ignored. God’s love sustains the capacity to experience and give spiritual love. God is a source of spiritual power with whom I can have a connection because of the similarity of spiritual energy. He is also a Being with many attributes. If we can imagine a perfect Father, Mother, Teacher, Guide and Friend, we can come closer through a loving relationship. As the perfect Father, He gives us the sort of love that can help us stand on our own feet. As the Mother, He nurtures us with whatever we need spiritually. As the Teacher, His love is in the teachings that He gives us for our own welfare. As an ever-present Guide, His love is in the concern 43 that He shows us when giving directions related to our spiritual journey. His love as a Friend, is experienced in His consistent company supporting us to always keep our heads high and our feet firm. Through knowledge I can create a link with God, but if it's only intellectual, it will not remain stable. Through understanding, I can build a bridge between the self and the Supreme, but it's only through love that I can cross it. If there is no knowledge, there is no bridge. Having only love leaves me on my side of the bridge, alone and unfulfilled. With both, I can begin to develop the experience of pure love for the One who is the essence of all relationships - the Mother, Father, Teacher, Friend, Guide and so on. Any relationship in which affection can exist, is possible between the soul and the Supreme Soul. Because of the subtle nature of meditation practice a purely intellectual approach is inadequate because both the soul and God are "incorporeal". It's only love that can propel me 44 towards that One and keep me connected in a concentrated way. After all, He is the unlimited Ocean of Love. No matter how much we take, it never ends. My first powerful experience of God’s love was feeling showered with a lot of love and feeling a child belonging to the Ocean of love. No human being can give me that pure unconditional love. This acted as an engine that gave me so much power that I could easily let go of attachment and expectations in my relationships. Muna, Kuwait Personal Exploration 1: Read these quotes about God as Love taken from different religious traditions and reflect on what stands out for you. Take a moment to write or share your thoughts. The Lord is our God; the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. (Judaism) Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 45 (Christian) There is a polish for everything that takes away the rust and the polish for the heart is the remembrance of God. (Islam) Leave your ego and go back to God - God is love. Lose your soul in God's love, I swear there is no other way. (Sufi) The lord of the World is the Mender of the broken. He Himself cherishes all beings. The cares of all are on His Mind; no one is turned away from Him. (Sikh) My love is in thee, know it, that thou mayest find me near unto thee. (Baha’i) We call upon all that we hold most sacred, the presence and the power of the Great Spirit of Love and Truth which flows through all the universe to be with us and to teach us and to show us the way. (Native American, Chinook) 2: Reflective Writing Consider the following words used to describe God’s love: unbroken, constant, unconditional and unlimited, makes me complete, pure, imperishable, true, altruistic On a piece of paper, write in spiral form, starting at the centre of the page and writing towards the 46 outside as you reflect on this question: what is meaningful for you in these words and ideas? 3: Walking Meditation Commentary Read to yourself as you walk around the room. Movement will play an important part in energy flow during this meditation. As I walk, I reflect on my journey through life I have been seeking I have been searching To find Truth To find Love While walking I have wondered about God I have wondered about true love I prepare myself now to experience God’s love I am ready To experience it I stop and stand still for a moment considering what it will be like To experience God’s love directly Slowly, I return to my seat And sit Take a deep breath. And slowly read the following 47 words to yourself: To My sweetest beloved child you are the light of My eyes you are Mine and I am yours Remember this always ~ God Close your eyes, then read again and hold the words in your mind for a few moments in silence. 4: Reflection on the Ocean of love · What was the experience like? The quotes, spiral writing and walking meditation? · Why is it important to experience divine love now? · What will help you remember the true nature of God’s love? 5: Embodying Divine Love Each morning in your meditation, continue to connect to God’s love in your own way. Take note of how the experience of God’s love influences your day. 48 Take a few moments to read and experience the meditation commentary, beginning with the five preliminary steps. When finished, listen to any song that speaks of spiritual love. One sample is: What the World Needs Now by Will Young. Meditation I am aware of the world around me. At the same time, I am aware of the world within me. As I synchronize myself, I become aware of my inner foundation state of love and reflect on that. I remember its importance from my earliest moments in life. As a baby. I was nurtured by it. As a child, I was surrounded by it. As I grew up, I saw how my love expanded to include friends and other loved ones. I see how it comforts those who are at the end of their lives. It seems that my whole life has been a story of loving and being loved, or a search for it when it was absent. Love has been at the core of my best experiences and my deepest yearnings. This is because love is my natural, original state, that I have always referred to, both to give it and also seek it. 49 Of all of the lovable ones in the universe, I remember God, is the ocean of love. I remember how His love is an invisible force, always available to me, there to support me in both my darkest hours and my highest realizations. I turn within, become aware of myself as a soul, a spark of divine light, centered, and still. Using the power of my mind, I visualize a thread of thought energy, extending from the centre of my forehead behind the eyes and upwards. Beyond the place where I am sitting, beyond my neighborhood and city, beyond my country and even this world. I visualize a place beyond the physical universe, which is not only my home but also God’s home. Mentally, I put myself in front of this wondrous source of spiritual light, a subtle sun just radiating His qualities, especially love. I am drenched by that unconditional love, to the extent that I realize how much my experience in the physical world had been conditioned. This is now the true measure of what love can be. Just as the sun shines continuously, without charging for its rays, I appreciate Your relentless love. It shows me how 50 my love could be also. Your love awakens my natural beauty and softens me, inspiring my highest feelings. Your love makes my own heart swell. Your full acceptance of me destroys the distance between us as you remind me of my total importance. You tell me I am good; I am pure, and I am worthy. I realize how much I am yours and You are mine as I bathe in Your love. Just You and me and no one else. Just my exchange of love with You, sitting here with You. I feel the unlimited love that You have for the world. You activate my love to serve humanity. The world is in front of me and with your help, I radiate this love to the world. Imbued with this deep experience of love from the source of love, I slowly come back to my normal surroundings. 51 Frequently Asked Questions Can God’s love really be unconditional? Only a Being who needs nothing from me can offer me unconditional love. Conditions are based on need or expectation. God has no expectations or needs, the way we, as humans do. His love is unconditional because He wants nothing from me. It is a one-way flow. He does not take from me, only gives. My love flowing back to God open my heart and mind to receive more of God’s love. We are together in an eternal relationship of love. If God really loved us all, why do young people die? Young people, like the rest of us, die because things happen to their bodies; disease, disaster, accidents. There are so many manmade difficulties in our world today that people die suddenly and at a young age. When a soul is connected to God, the death experience is an easing out of the body like a hair 52 from butter. This departure is like moving towards the light. If God’s love is equal for all, why are so many people born poor? We are born into circumstances according to our own individual stories. Each of us has a unique part to play in this world drama and God does not determine who plays what part. God’s love is independent of my social or economic status. In fact, for God, the most important thing is the quality of my heart or character. Over time we also see that quality of a person’s character determines the quality of their life. 53 THE BENEVOLENT ONE Comforting light enveloped me for what seemed like an endless period just during the moments when my mom left her body. It gave so much strength that the whole next week I felt very light. It allowed me to share love and joy with all those around. Each time I remember it brings back those tears of love. Annie, USA Benevolent and Benefactor God is like the Sun. Going deeper into this analogy, we see the role of the sun. It shines 24 hours per day. The darkness of night is because the sun is not touching the earth in the place where night has fallen. Like the sun, God continues in His benevolent role of shining to all unconditionally. Many of the ancient traditions likened God to the sun – always shining benevolently, making possible our lives on this planet while providing both light and heat. God of course, is not a physical sun but a spiritual one. He doesn’t radiate light and heat, but 54 he radiates His qualities of love, peace, happiness, purity and truth. If we plant seeds away from the light of the sun, they cannot grow. If we hide ourselves away or distance ourselves from the light of God, we can also do not grow spiritually. The word benevolence literally means the will to do good, just as benefactor means the one who does good. By comparing the basic beliefs about God in the different traditions, the conclusion is that He is pure benevolence, shining out His light unconditionally to everyone and everything. Something recorded in our hearts tells us that when things are not going well and the shadows of sorrow fall on us, we can turn to the One who is our Benefactor. This instinctive turning towards the One, beyond here, from whom we can receive the power and the understanding to overcome our difficulties, is present in all major traditions. Even if we have no clear idea of His form or place of residence, if things are getting tough, we maybe 55 close our eyes, and try to send ourselves to the One or the Divine, from whom we can receive benefit. I experience benevolence from God, when He reminds me that He and I share the same heart. Like a teacher, by guiding me through life with His teachings and His company, I experience His benevolence, and go through whatever difficulties that may come, with flying colors. His beauty is my beauty and His light shines through my day, my light nature and love to all. Roshni, Israel Personal Exploration Benevolence is a word used mostly in relation to God. God’s reputation comes partly from the experience people have of His benevolence. Take a moment to reflect. · What does benevolence mean to you? In times of abundance, people thank God for all that He has given. In stormy times, people ask God for a sign to help them find their way. This is universal. Why? 56 · Why do all religions turn back to the same One? · Why do people pray to God? Even if people don’t believe, there is a recognition of God in our daily language. ‘Oh My God’ is a universal phrase as people call out for help or when we are in awe. Why do we look to God for help? Good- Bye comes for the ancient Scots when they left each other and said God Be wi’yee (with yee) 1: Read this commentary about the Seed of Goodness God as the Benevolent One is the seed of goodness for humanity. God is a seed of goodness. Such goodness always gives. God is only goodness. God is a giver of well-being or wellness only. God gives happiness never sorrow. What is IN the seed is in everything that grows from the seed. When the seed is full of goodness, then its growth is also full of goodness. As the Benevolent One, God is the Bestower who never takes, only gives. Remembering God makes my goodness emerge. 57 2: The core message of each religion is goodness. There are parables and stories in all traditions that remind us of goodness. Fairy tales and pagan fables always have a moral. · What stories or parables of goodness do you know? From what traditions? · Re-tell yourself one of the earliest ‘goodness’ stories you know. 3: Take a moment to consider: · What do these stories tell us about the Seed of Goodness or Benevolence? · What are some characteristics of God’s benevolence? 4: All religions have a core message of goodness, directing humans to be good, to act with virtue and kindness towards their neighbour. There was a seed of goodness in every religion’s beginning. This goodness shone forth in such a way that people who encountered it thought: “This is something I want, I need...this is a message the world needs now.” 58 Read these Golden Rule quotes from a variety of religions. Buddhism Hurt not others in ways that you yourself find harmful (Udana-Varga 5:18) Christianity Therefore, all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets. (Matthew 7:12, King James Version.) Confucianism Do not do to others what you do not what them to do to you (Analects 15:23) Hinduism This is the sum of Dharma (duty): Do naught unto others which would cause you pain if done to you (Mahabharata, 5:1517) Islam None of you truly believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself (Number 13 of Imam Al-Nawawi’s Forty Hadiths) Judaism What is hateful to you, do not to your fellow man. This is the law: all the rest is commentary (Talmud, Shabbat 31a) Native American Live in harmony, for we are all related. 5: Consider: What helps you stay connected to your goodness? 6: Read the meditation commentary slowly to 59 yourself. Then sit in silence for a few moments and experience this meditation about goodness and the Seed of Benevolence. Meditation As I reflect on myself and the state of the world around me, I feel a stirring inside to become the best me that I can be. I imagine myself far away from the world and I can observe this tiny globe is just a beautiful tapestry of greens, blues, browns and whites. A tiny pearl swimming through space. Let me give my best feelings towards it. As I come closer and look at the world directly around me, I am aware of how much help it needs. I reflect on how much I can be an instrument of benefit for it. How can my own goodness be activated in order to help it? This world, once brilliant and clean has gradually become darker. As the light of the souls becomes dimmer, there are some individuals whose light stands out in order to give any guidance that they can. People of goodwill everywhere meditate and pray in order to make the world a better place than it is becoming. I go within and become aware of my core of basic goodness yearning to come out and help in this task. 60 I see myself as a spiritual being, mentally set on my seat of command, caught between these inner stirrings in the world around me that needs help. Stable in this consciousness I remember my connection with the Source of all spiritual power, the one we call God, Allah, Jehovah, Shiva, the Great Spirit and many other names. I become especially aware of His role as the Benefactor for all. Even the founders of the major religions were aware that there was a Source of Benefit beyond this physical world, to whom they also turned their thoughts when in deep need of help. The heroes of the human world are the ones whom we feel have helped most, but Who or What was it that was helping them? I leave the world and its varied stories behind and I send my thoughts to that region of light remembered of old as Heaven, Nirvana, the Land of Peace. It is just my sweet home, where I was before I came onto this physical world, the ultimate reference for silence and stability. It is not just my home, but the home of the One Source, my spiritual Father and Mother. My thoughts fly to that Presence. I do not see any human figure, but a subtle sun-like being, radiating spiritual light and power. 61 I am aware that this One is pure benevolence. The rays of that benevolence flow over and through me, stimulating the core of goodness which is at the centre of my being. Seeing the whole picture of the ups and downs of history, I become aware of how everything that has happened has been the playing out of the laws of balance. Everything and everyone could only do what they had to do. I see the condition of the present world and know deeply that my default position towards everyone and everything is one of benevolence – the same benevolence that my Father emanates. I bring the tiny globe of our world in front of me. Internally I am connected up with the Source of Benevolence, and I become an instrument to shine that benevolence to our world. From a distance I cannot see any individual or collective story. I am just aware that the energy that can best help is pure benevolence. By aligning myself with His Benevolence my true vocation to serve others is ignited. I remain in this awareness for a few moments longer and gradually come back to my surroundings. 62 Listen toa song such as You Raise Me Up by Josh Groban (or any uplifting song in your language that speaks to God’s benevolence making you rise to your best.) Frequently Asked Questions I hear that we are all God’s children and He loves us all equally. If this is true why are we not given the same resources to live this life? Each of us is born into different circumstances. As a Spiritual Parent (Father and Mother), God loves all children equally even if each child has a different story and different capacity. God encourages each child to be resilient, to make best use of the internal and external resources available to them. If a child does not use these resources well, they lose them. God does not give or take material resources from us. We use or misuse the resources we have, then we have less. When we receive something by surprise, that I wasn’t expecting, does this mean it came from God? 63 The sweet spiritual surprise of a sudden unexpected feeling of good will, clarity or power may be a flood of pure energy coming from God. The more I stay close to God’s pure energy, the more I will draw it close to myself. Then in unexpected moments, I will feel God’s presence as a sweet surprise. I want to give back to God for all the blessings He gave to me in this life, how do I give back to God? God needs nothing, so there is nothing I can give to God. However, He loves an honest, pure heart. The best way to express my love and appreciation to God is to spend time in mental conversation with Him, to include God as my companion during my day’s activities and to give my burdens to God. The best thing I can do for God is take care of my mind and heart, so they remain free from the negative aspects that bind me to sorrow. Then I can stay close to God’s loving protection. 64 65 GOD AS TRUTH I experience TRUTH from God like a beam of healing light. This light frees me from comparison, because His Truth reminds me of my unique and humble nature. Then, I don’t compromise myself, or impose my ideas on others. I am free to let go of various arguments and let life take its wise course. Maria, Greece. The Source of Truth One of the greatest paradoxes is that we think, think, think in order to get the clarity we need to not think anymore. We speak, speak, speak with ourselves and others so that when we reach clarity, we don’t need to speak any more. We do, do, do in order to not have to do anything anymore because we have built what we had to build. The search for clarity and a sense of control in our lives indicates the deep need for real truth. We search for it in the remnants of lost civilizations, in the sacred texts of our traditions, in the depths of the ocean and outer space. Is there a satisfactory 66 explanation about why we exist, where we are from and where we are going? If God is a living, conscious Being, as the Seed of the human world tree, He knows, how, what and why everything happens in the way that it does. He understands the full process through which we have passed. At some point in the past, we came onto this physical plane and left our spiritual home where He is the main resident. We came here to play our respective roles through our body-costumes and forgot this original connection. By forgetting our spiritual identity, we also moved away from our innate qualities of peace, love, happiness, purity and truth, which are also God’s essential qualities. What has always been true about who we are and what we are doing, has always been recorded in us. Because of the pressure and chaotic nature of external circumstances, we move away from the central core which contains our spiritual reality and start to look for those qualities outside of us – in Nature, in other people and even in the 67 technological gadgets our cleverness produces for us. God, however, has never moved away from His original state and qualities. He is the only unaltered Being in the universe. In that changeless state, He remains as the mirror in which we not only can see our real selves, but also measure the extent of any quality. The truth of that measure tells me intuitively if someone or some situation has true love, or true peace or true happiness. While the false forms of these qualities dance around us and generate illusions, there is something deep in our core that tells us if something is true or not. By connecting up with God, as the Source of Truth, we can align with what is best in us, and have the strength to move away from what is not. By keeping God’s company, I can also enjoy the truth that is behind every person and circumstance, no matter how difficult or adverse they are. Truth is in the depth of the story of souls and matter. God 68 never forgets that reality. If I remain with Him, I can also see it always. "God sees me the way I truly am, beyond my physical form and the roles I play in life. Whenever I forget my authentic nature, He is there for me with His gentle reminders to advise, warn and explain to me the importance of staying faithful to myself and using my eternal potential for the benefit of myself and others.” Oldoez, The Netherlands Personal Exploration 1: Look at your desktop or kitchen drawer. Select an object randomly. SELECT AN OBJECT BEFORE READING ON Consider for a moment in silence: · What does this object reflect to you about your truth? · What is the connection between your innermost qualities and truth? 2: Reflect on your own experience, how do you 69 know when someone is telling you the truth? · How do you know when they are lying? Or hiding something? 3: Read and consider these ideas. What do you think? Facts: from the Latin facer means ‘to make’ Even indisputable facts have, at some point, been "made" and can be unmade. Facts reside at the level of the sense organs, what someone sees, hears, tastes, etc. These facts are different depending on the perspective of the individual which is why police gather multiple facts (perceptions) to find the ‘truth’. Truth is a vibration that lies deeper than facts or any interpretation of facts. Truth is energy ~ not words on a page. Truth is a deep, subtle vibration that can only be accessed through silence. Although beautiful words or music may act as a catalyst to awaken the feeling, truth is so profound that it can only be accessed when I turn my awareness inwards, away from the sense organs to the still point within. It is here, behind the words and feelings, that I 70 find silence. Here I can also find the Divine. When I access silence, I can access truth. More thoughts about truth: Truth endures over time. The backdrop to everything is truth. There is a truth behind our shared humanity that is crying out to be recognized There is a basic truth in our existence seen in the similarities of the religions. The truth of humanity is not in our differences, it can be found in the similarities. 4: Let’s explore the vibration of truth. Consider these word pairs and select the word with the highest vibration energy. Then explain to yourself why you chose the word you did. (e.g. it felt deeper or more enduring or positive) Beautiful Praising Blunt Determined Pretty Flattering Candid Stubborn 71 Formal Spontaneous Dependent Striving Enabling Civil Impulsive Reliant Driven Allowing Word list taken from Power vs. Force by Dr. David Hawkins 5: Reflect: What did you notice in your experience of discerning the vibration in the words? It can feel a bit like a mental workout. Your intellect has been refined to detect the difference between very subtle vibrations. The most difficult aspect is to explain to yourself why you chose the word you chose. We can discern without knowing how to explain. Most people (in different cultures) select the same words (beautiful (deeper, more enduring), praising (free from selfish motive), candid (honest without aggression), determined (positive), civil (deeper character), spontaneous (positive not reckless), reliant (more powerful), striving (forward positive), enabling (adding power)) Even if you selected another word in some of the pairs, what does it tell us that most people select the 72 same words? 6: What are the qualities of God that make people call God the Truth? The vibration of God is the highest vibration. And it resonates with the highest vibration (truth) in you. God as a Source of truth interacts with your deepest truth. The language of God is not Portuguese or Hindi or English. It is the language of silence. What can you hear when you enter silence? 7: Take a moment to sit in silence and contemplate the highest vibration in the universe – God. Then read this meditation commentary. Meditation I go within as a reflect on the nature of truth. At the surface of everything there are ups and downs, possible misinterpretations and mixed messages. But at the deepest level there are the basic truths upon which all is based. We are spiritual beings going through a human 73 experience. We are all children of the One Source called God. As we play our parts in this physical world, each of us has our own process and story. Physical matter, time and space do what they have to do. We start off in our home of light beyond the physical universe, where we are silent, latent, conscious energies, awaiting our manifestation in this physical world. We start off pure, powerful, loveful, peaceful and happy. We are real and therefore true. As we go through the scenes and situations of our stories here, we become distant from this original truth. I let silence fill my mind and rest for a moment in the truth of my existence and my connection with the Source of Truth. I feel my pulse of peace, my eternal spiritual heartbeat as I enjoy the language of silence, God’s language. This is the portal for me to return to my truth. I become aware of God’s eternal view me. I ask, what do You see? I feel Your highest vision on me, activating the deep spiritual truths which are recorded in me. This allows me to go beyond my present situation and details as You show the breadth and depth of me. 74 As I sit with You, I begin to see the qualities that run deep and true within me, that have always been there, especially in the hard times. My heart swells to see my truth and how beautiful it is. I remember how you are the only One who shines the light on my truth. With Your help, I see beyond the veils of the adversity and privilege, beyond the façades of happiness and sorrow, beyond the guises of love and animosity. In this state of being beyond, I glimpse the unseen secrets that my life’s journey holds for me and affirm the wonder of me. I realize that I have been sometimes consciously and other times deliberately, seeking to return to this perception of truth which is my essence. In silent appreciation of the light of your Truth, I absorb and retransmit vibrations of truth to the world like a tiny lighthouse. I remain in the joy of this experience some moments longer, and gradually come back to my present surroundings. 75 Frequently Asked Questions How can I believe I God’s Truth if I can’t even see Him? God’s truth is a concentrated pulse of pure energy. It comes into the mind and fortifies my will, my focus, my courage, my strength, my peace, my love. Whatever is needed in the moment is fueled by God’s true energy. Then I am able to face, tolerate, support, accommodate, discern and decide with ease. God’s truth enables me to bring benefit to many by making me feel so secure that I can share, growing the generosity of my heart. If God is Truth, why do so many people of science have a difficult time believing in Him? Many scientists attribute their deepest insights and finest inventions to a Divine Source. Science has focused primarily on studying the material world. God cannot be found in the physical. Quantum physicists are beginning to understand the effect of energy on everything in the material world, as the spaces between the particles. This is 76 where we can begin to detect the effect of the human spirit and God. As consciousness is considered an extension of the material brain, we are looking in the wrong place to find the truth of God. How or where do we find God’s truth, when there are so many prophets, priests, preachers saying different things about what God said and did? Truth is a vibration that is recognized. We know when something is false because it doesn’t ‘feel’ right. In the same way we can feel the rightness or wrongness of something if we pay attention to our conscience. Ultimately, no matter what the moral code of the day, it is my conscience that will tell me what is true. 77 THE MERCIFUL ONE I experience mercy from GOD in the form of acceptance of who I am currently; the flaws and mistakes I have done. Despite feeling regretful and sometimes disappointed in myself for the mistakes made, I still experience love and comfort from God that makes me feel hopeful and positive about my future. Vino, USA The Source of Mercy The origin of the word mercy is connected with the pardoning of a debt – probably due to its Latin root merx, which means merchandise. Traditionally, because of the idea that we need to get out of karmic debt which is in the form of what we call sin in many traditions, we ask God for mercy. In other words we asked to be pardoned, because we can’t sort it out for ourselves. The phrase, ‘O God have mercy on the soul’ occurs in the prayers of the faithful of many traditions. There is an implicit feeling that only God knows 78 the full story and therefore, he is the only one that can help us out. The deeper meaning of mercy as pardoning an offender has changed to having compassion for those who are in distressing circumstances. It is the loving concern that we have for others and ourselves, so that we can quickly get out of the difficulties and back on track. The word compassion is even more revealing. It literally means to suffer (pati in Latin) with (com). God’s compassion does not mean that He suffers with us, but that He understands the deep causes of our suffering. We don’t go back to the Source of Mercy to be pardoned, but to take strength and clarity so that we can understand the root causes of any suffering we may have. Complete compassion would require us to have a full understanding of the circumstances surrounding that distress. That means to have a vision of the past, present and future of the 79 distressed person, even when it is myself. Since only God has the full panoramic view of whatever we have been going through, He can be totally compassionate and at the same time absolutely altruistic. His greatest mercy is not to pardon us from any wrongdoing, but to help us to see things so clearly that we don’t fall in their traps again. Indeed, for real mercy, we need to come face-to- face with the One who is the Source of Mercy with courage to deal properly with the consequences of our own ignorance. True mercy is also connected with the selfless service of others. The highest charity is to help someone stand on his or her own feet. (remove Real spiritual service is to help someone sit on their seat of self-respect, to such an extent that they can decide what they want to do with their lives. By staying in connection with the Source of Mercy, we will be able to feel exactly what others’ needs are. 80 God's mercy is that no matter how many times I fail, His love for me stays intact. I have tried every trick in the book to overcome my most difficult bad habits. I have punished myself, tormented myself, been angry, etc. but none of it ever helps. The only thing that seems to work is unconditional love for myself. This is God’s mercy for me that leads to true transformation. Kristoffer, Denmark Personal Exploration God’s mercy is so pure it doesn’t need to be filtered...it is pure compassion. 1: Think of a time or situation when someone had compassion for you. What was the experience? · Take a moment of silence to reflect, remember and write or share the experience. · Based on this experience what do you understand mercy/compassion to be? · Write. 2: People, things and situations mature over time. Just like fruit ripens over time and there comes a 81 moment when it is perfect to eat. This is the same for our life lessons ~ situations occur for us to learn. · Remember a mistake you have made in your life but when looking back now, you can see (with some detachment) that you learned something or that it was for the best. “I know that was bad, but if it hadn’t happened, I would never have learned about ____.” · Write 3 mistakes down. Then look at them and consider what was the lesson that each mistake gave you. The intention is to reveal the perspective and wisdom that comes with distance. Mercy is an expression of the awareness that every situation brings lessons that mature over time. In this way I am spared from reacting prematurely to judge a situation until it has had time to mature. This allows me to have compassion and mercy, allowing someone to grow and learn from their mistakes. 3: The dictionary definition of mercy: 82 · Compassion ~ a feeling of sympathy for someone stricken by misfortune. · Mercy ~ compassion or grace shown towards someone · to show understanding and to be gracious (graceful) in the face of someone’s suffering · an act of kindness, compassion, or favor · leniency (as in a court of law) 4: Consider for a moment: Why would God be attributed with the quality of mercy? · God knows me better than I know myself. Because of this, His love gives me unlimited chances to improve and doesn’t step away from me. God is always a support in my desire to improve. This is God’s mercy. · When I access the Source, I receive power that I can use as courage and strength to become better. · If I really understand myself the way God understands me, I will forgive myself. I will be compassionate to myself. God’s mercy shines a light on the best in me so I can be myself. 83 · In many religions receiving God’s mercy is considered a right. God’s mercy comes in the form of understanding and empowers us so we can steer clear of sorrow in the future. 5: Reflect on any insights you had about mercy and God as the Merciful One. Then read this commentary and sit in silence for a few moments. Meditation I feel the world of people, technologies and systems pulsing around me at its frenetic pace. I know how much I have been caught up in it. In spite of this pace, I know that the answers are within me. As a detached observer, I feel an incredible sense of relief, that I can sit stably within and enjoy my own qualities of peace, love and contentment. From this deep sense of inner truth, I can even distance myself from the games of the ego running after comfort, identity, respect or even fame. I am the master of all the many roles, relationships, responsibilities and routines. I see and understand all this. I remain in this space of my true identity, having respect 84 for what I am, as a soul, child of the Supreme Soul. I am reminded of the power of this connection. As mercy flows from understanding, I can have mercy for the persona that I play out in my daily life. From this inner state, I can send good wishes to the set of personality traits that I have become. I can even love my activities and connections in the physical world and keep the inspiration to become the best me that I can possibly be. I embrace myself for what I am. I am grateful for the abundant life that is my stage here in the great play of time and space that is our world. I know how I’ve been caught up in the intricacies and complications of my parts in the world. I know that the real me is not that, but a spiritual being behind them. Because I know, I love. I can see others in their spiritual identities as souls and send them that love. This is the essence of compassion and mercy. I am reminded of the One Source of mercy. Because He never forgets who and what He is, nor who and what we are, His mercy is unchanging. On the screen of my mind, I see this wonderful, subtle, spiritual sun with the Source of spiritual life. As I connect with that One, I feel His warmth wrapping me in His love and acceptance. 85 He leads me back to my original state of peace, love, contentment, purity and truth. I remain deeply in the significance of this state. I feel my highest potential bursting forth like petals opening to receive light and might. They spread and spread, extending out into the world, to bring wounded hearts and confused intellects into the embrace of the Merciful One. With my vision turned inwards and upwards, I see God. With my vision turned outwards to the world, I see my brother souls in varying states of toil and hope. I connect with the Supreme Source and like a tiny lighthouse, shining through the middle of my forehead, I become an instrument to send His rays of Mercy compassion to everyone and everything. If I could heal the world with one thought, it would be this. With the comfort of knowing that I can come back to this state again and again, I gradually come back into the sweet silent atmosphere of the room. 86 Frequently Asked Questions If God is all merciful, why doesn’t He stop the pain and suffering in the world? It is almost impossible to imagine a loving God not intervening to stop the pain and suffering in today’s world. Pain is of the body and suffering is of the spirit. God gives comfort to the spirit, enabling us to overcome the pain and difficulties we face, but He cannot intervene to stop our pain. If I am not willing to forgive myself, why should God? When the soul is empty, mistakes are made. When I don’t have the power to do the right thing, I do something that causes sorrow to myself or another. This sorrow accumulates over time. I am not to blame for becoming empty, it is a natural result of living. However, I will experience the natural consequences of the mistakes I have made. God cannot undo the mistakes I have made, but CAN give me strength, hope and humility to face all consequences with dignity. 87 I’m the only one who needs to forgive me when I make a mistake. God does not need to forgive me because He never judges me. My job is to discern the root cause or trigger of my mistake. When I make the effort to understand, then God’s power can lift me above the repetition by boosting my discerning power. Then I can shift my behaviour, so I don’t repeat the mistake. How can someone whose loved ones are taken away from them through atrocious acts of violence believe in God’s mercy? Human beings who are involved in violence cause so much harm to others. They also cause themselves to suffer by accumulating the consequences of their negative actions. Everyone in the world has the experience of suffering. Our collective consciousness has fallen through our attachment to the material and we have lost our power to overcome the weaker aspects that control our minds and actions. God’s mercy is to uplift me with spiritual power, so I am no longer susceptible to weaker influences. It takes a critical 88 mass of people to shift the collective consciousness. Under God’s loving guidance, this is happening now. 89 THE OCEAN OF PEACE My mind was full of waste thoughts, anger and criticism. Somehow God’s silent waves, full of patience, gentleness and peace continued to pull me closer and closer, and I felt the calmness of His silent waves, playing peacefully within. Gradually I let go, I let go of the need to be in control and just dove deep into the Ocean, and a deep-rooted feeling of being safe and with an old friend of the past, fear, left. Herdis (Disa), Iceland The Source of Peace Imagine being in a completely stable and changeless state, neither pulled nor pushed by any circumstances in our world but retaining a constancy of perception and being. That is how God is, and that is why he is the unlimited Ocean of Peace. Peace is my own original property. God reminds me of this. The quality of God’s peace and my peace is the same. The quantity may be different, however. As my property, no one and nothing can take 90 peace away from me unless I allow that to happen. What happens is we become dislocated from this state of peace and frantically search for it outside of ourselves. Whereas peace for human beings may mean that there is no conflict, real peace is not the absence of something. It exists in its own right as a positive force for the reconstruction of the best that we have in this world. We go on spiritual pilgrimages. We have so- called Peace Conferences. We may even fight wars in order to protect peace. We may seek peace in nature, ‘away from it all’, and forget that it is not exactly emanating peace. It is just resonating with the peace that is part of our own original nature. An afternoon on a deserted beach. A sunset seen from a majestic mountain. A walk in a virgin forest. Is it peace or just a contrast for those who escape the great urban spreads? When the weekends and vacations in our favorite refuges finish, we are 91 thrown back to our work posts from where we contemplate 'Nature' as something far from the noise and chaos around us. Many of us just remain at this rather wistful and disconnected level, dreaming of the next opportunity to get back to it. We forget that peace is a state of mind. It is not connected with where we are or who we are with, but with how we are internally. Every time that we connect with the Source of Peace, our own peace becomes activated and charged so that it can last for hours on end. Because of a superficial understanding of our lives and the things around us, any peace that we can extract from our circumstances can only be ephemeral. At a surface level our minds may be jumping around here and there, but deep within the soul there is silence and peace waiting to be discovered and brought out into our lives. In connection with God as the Source of Peace, 92 we can guarantee for ourselves a state of peace and equanimity that can help us through any situation. The big waves are on the surface of an ocean. If we go skin diving just a few metres below the surface, we find a still and beautiful world. In the same way, interacting with things at a superficial level will never bring us peace. Going within, connecting with the Source of Peace will bring peace immediately. I work in the medical field as a specialist with children. Parents are always asking me, ‘What did you do?” when children become very quiet and co-operative. I consider myself to be God’s instrument. He is the Ocean of Peace and I see medical patients as peaceful souls. Then I stop worrying what will happen to them. I just play my role helping their bodies. Meanwhile I have deep love, understanding and inner peace while with them. Valentina, Seychelles 93 Personal Exploration 1: For the Brahma Kumaris, the essence of our being and of this organization is ‘Om Shanti’, meaning, “I am a peaceful soul”. As a being of peace, when I am unpeaceful or peaceless, I am experiencing a separation from the peaceful core of who I am. Thich Nhat Hanh once said: “When we can be peace, we drop feelings of us versus them and live from a place that sees no separation from others. We make peace with everyone including ourselves.” 2: Let’s try three experiments with peace. The first one is a Standing Meditation (2 minutes) Stand up for a moment (as the muscle memory will invoke new experiences) and consider what you stand for. Once you have an idea, stand on it as a foundation for a feeling of the secure, stable, and peaceful you to emerge. Hold the experience and remember this feeling. 3: Walking Meditation Now consider a place you like to go that helps you remember your peace ~ 94 where you can experience the most peaceful you. Walk around your physical space for a couple of minutes while imagining this place in the awareness that the peace in this place is activating the peace inside of you. 4: Sitting Meditation As you return to sitting, consider what you know that helps you face all sorts of challenges with some degree of peace. Take a moment to consider the wisdom, knowledge, realizations, or experiences you have acquired in life that help you face situations with peace. Sit contemplating this for the next few minutes and absorb the experience of peace. 5: Is there anyone in your life you need to make peace with? Take a moment and think about how to prepare yourself mentally to make peace. Write down your strategy. 6: Reflection · What stood out from these 3 short experiences? · What do you realize about you as a being peace? 95 · What concrete actions can you take to live from peace? Take a moment to write reflections and insights. 7: God is known as the Ocean of Peace – why? This is based on an understanding that God is an unlimited Source of peace – an Ocean of Peace. Read this meditation commentary and experience the Ocean of Peace. Meditation I focus the energy of my thoughts on the point, which is the seat of my consciousness, a few centimeters behind the middle of the forehead. I am a point of conscious energy, a point of eternal peace. As I become more stable in this consciousness, I send my thoughts to the region of spiritual light beyond this physical dimension to the home of the soul. I become immediately aware of One who is the Supreme Source of life, the One who is eternally benevolent to all things, the one who is the Ocean of Peace. 96 As I come closer, I begin to understand how this Being is so pure and remains constantly positive and true, in His own Peace. Even though He has the knowledge of the universe and how it works, and He knows all of the ups and downs we’ve gone through on the physical stage of the play of our lives. Even so, He remains unalterably peaceful. As the Ocean of Peace, He knows no sorrow, nor gives any pain or sorrow to other beings. With His example in front of me, I realize that I too, must become peaceful like that One. God, You inspire me to become totally free of all selfish desires. Just by being in Your company, I am drawn back to my original quality peace, which I had forgotten. You gently accept me. In this acceptance, I am nurtured and healed. My heart opens to receive Your peace. I begin a heart-to-heart conversation with You. Just by Your influence, I know that I can be what I truly am. In my sweet, silent home and Your elevated company, I really understand the true nature of peace. I know that this has always been my true destination and that I have finally arrived. I absorb Your rays of peace deeply into myself. As I absorb, I am given the courage to change. I receive the 97 faith to believe in myself once again. I feel so much peace from You that my only wish is to allow others to be what they can be with no desire to possess or interfere. From here, in Your company, I can make the contrast between the heartbreak and confusion of the physical world, and the experience of profound peace that You give me. By remembering who You are, I remember who I am and what my true vocation is – to be an instrument of peace in the world. You have gently guided me back to myself. I have awakened and my attitude and consciousness are filled with positivity. On one side I receive this incredible infusion of Your peace, and on the other I spread it out into the world as a beacon of peace. I remain in the joy of this consciousness for some time more, and gradually come back to my place and activities in this world. Frequently Asked Questions My day starts with the news of violence and calamity in the world, how can God bring peace to me or the world? 98 When I draw peaceful energy from God, I am able to stay peaceful and not react to the stress and crisis of the world around me. In this way, I create a sense of calm ~ which is helpful to others. This can rekindle the peace for others. God works through us as we bring His pure, peaceful energy into this world. Peace-less today seems more common that peaceful. Why did God let this happen? God, as a Being of pure peace, cannot cause the violence or peace-lessness of today’s world. Nor can He stop it with a snap of the fingers. As human beings we must rediscover our own peace again and value it so much that we let go of the ego, righteousness and anger that is causing the vengeance and violence in today’s world. God as a beacon of peace, is always there transmitting peace for those who begin to see its value and who wish to connect. Anxiety is a pandemic especially among young people, they seem immune to peace. How can God help? 99 Many people seek the practice of meditation because of the experience of anxiety. When we know we are souls in bodies, we can pull our energy away from worldly concerns and vibrations into a silence space within. It is in this space or experience that I can connect with God. God’s power of peace can make me feel like I am floating in a warm, safe ocean. Then my worries dissolve. 100 101 THE PROTECTOR God protects me from the sorrows of this world by awakening in me the awareness that I am a soul and my original nature is good, true, pure and whole. This planted a seed in my mind that grew strong enough to cut through the sorrows of my past stories of thinking that I was missing something, lacking something or needing something from life to be complete and whole. I realised that my true roots are spiritual, and this has been a healing and a protection. Sarah, UK Real Protection The world we live has become quite dangerous. We live in the times of ‘suddenly’. Anything can happen to anyone, anywhere, anytime. Anxiety due to an almost permanent state of uncertainty is on the rise. If we get to such a tangled state internally, hovering around deep fears and unrequited sorrow, we realize that no one can really help us except God. We turn to Him for protection, even uncertain that we will receive it. 102 Considering God as the protector of humanity has been one of the basic tenets of the 70% of people who believe in God. Exactly what and how that protection is, has relied a lot on blind faith – God will protect us no matter what. All we have to do is believe, praise appropriately and pray and we will be protected. The main questions are: · From what do we need God’s protection? · What can we do to guarantee it? The answer to the first question is related to the extent of our ignorance. Ignorance about the real nature of the soul and its relationship with God, the Supreme Soul, will only guarantee uncertainty and not the protection we require. If out of blind faith, we get some help from God we thank Him and reaffirm that faith. If we don’t get it, we say it was His will, that it is divine providence for us to carry the burden, go through the illness or difficulty, whatever. By grinning and bearing it, we postpone the real understanding of how God’s protection really works. 103 While we remain unaware of the extent of our own responsibility in the creation and sustenance of sorrowful or difficult situations, we cannot act upon the seeds that are generating them. The first step then, is to take responsibility for our thoughts, words and actions. No one else jumps into our heads to create our thoughts, no matter what the provocation. Those thoughts lead to the words and actions that generate sorrow-producing situations. By taking responsibility, we can approach God, not as beggars or supplicants, but as His child, prepared to carry it out. In this case, we hold the responsibility and He carries the burden. This level of closeness is the fruit of an open and clear dialogue with God we can call a heart-to-heart conversation. Instead of a vague sense of God’s presence in our lives, there is a very real sense of His company. In that remembrance, protection is guaranteed. I was walking on one of the New York streets, it was quite late and I was a bit worried and afraid, I started 104 remembering and talking to God as my partner. I immediately got the feeling that someone is beside me and answering me, then I saw a few people were looking at me while walking but I was under the canopy of the protector. I reached the meditation center and I felt empowered and powerful that God is my protector. Jignesh, Sweden Personal Exploration 1: Protection is a reciprocal arrangement, not automatic. People believe that God protects automatically but in fact, it has something to do with the depth of our relationship with God that protects us. It is our relationship with God that protects us. · Remember for a moment what it feels like when you are at your best. 2: Write three words to describe the experience of what it feels like when you are at your best. Take a clean sheet of paper and draw a heart at the center of the page. Write your three words inside the heart. 3: Draw a circle around the heart. Consider this your 105 ‘circle of protection’. Take a moment in silence to honour these three qualities. 4: Consider: What draws you outside of your circle of protection? Write these ‘pulls’ outside the circle you have drawn. 5: What keeps you inside the circle of protection, in touch with your best self? Write inside or around the circle of protection. 6: Reflection · What does this experience suggest to you about protection? · We understand that God helps those who help themselves...what do you do to protect your core self? What can you do more? · How do you experience the relationship of God as protector? 7: My qualities are the same as God’s qualities, although God has these qualities to a Supreme degree. My relationship to God is based on like- attracts-like. The qualities at the centre of me are the same as 106 God’s qualities. Sit with this awareness as you read and experience this meditation commentary. Meditation I become aware of the soul that I am. I mentally sit on my seat of command, a little back from the middle of the forehead. I become aware of the world around me and begin to elevate my mind, and just observing what is going on. Immediately I feel a sense of control over my body and surroundings. I go to the centre of my life and become aware of the constellation of people and objects that I am connected with. Sitting in the centre of my life, I can see how much insecurity people go through, just because they don’t know who they are as spiritual beings. They don’t know from Whom they can experience any sense of security. I know how much I need a connection with the Source of all spiritual power, the one we call God, who can activate the best in me. I know that having these qualities in a more permanent 107 way in my life, will protect me from many things. I know that obstacles will come, but my deep spiritual qualities that flow from my relationship with God, will help me go through them or over them with success. I gently send myself to the region of light that is my spiritual home and that of all my brother souls. On the screen of my mind I am aware of the gentle rays of spiritual light from the Source of spiritual power for all of us, God the Highest One. I see myself in front of You, my supreme Father and Mother and immediately feel a sense of safety away from all confusion. I open up to catch the rays of Your spiritual power as I focus my love on You. As I become more stable and calm, I feel how this actually helps me and beyond to my network of roles relationships and responsibilities. As I become more stable, You help me come in touch with my deep, innate qualities of peace, love, contentment, truth and purity. Your presence helps me to activate these qualities even more, so that they become more present in my life. I become aware that the light that I receive from You becomes like a shield of protection. In this state of loving detachment, I am still aware that 108 there are tasks waiting for me in the many roles that I have. I know that this loving connection with You will protect me from the negative influences that may come up. I know my default reaction will then be one of understanding, acceptance and ease. The clarity of perception that my connection with You brings me, helps me naturally to put things in their place, understand the context and have an attitude of only giving. I feel Your protection deeply, to the extent that I become protected from my own useless thinking. I feel that there is a moving canopy of protection over me that will accompany me wherever I go. In the deeper sense of security and comfort of this consciousness, I gradually come back to my daily affairs. Frequently Asked Questions When I am in my darkest hours, how can God protect me from myself? My darkest moments are a result of old patterns of thought and feeling that get me stuck in heavy energy. When I remember God, I am choosing to 109 look up to the light, beyond my own darkness with the understanding that the dark energy I am experiencing is like a cloud passing in front of the sun. The sun, my own inner light and god’s light, is always there. By focusing on the sun, I ensure that I stay safe from being swallowed by the cloud. In times of war, women and children suffer the most – where is God when they need His protection? The tragedy of human violence is experienced most by those who cannot protect themselves physically or financially. Violence has become such a ‘normal’ part of life now that it is contagious. One act of violence provokes another until a flame of violence engulfs us all. In these times, another energy is needed to put out the fire of violence. Women around the world take care of homes and families with selfless love. This energy of giving is a lifeline to keep connected to God. Those protecting others have God’s eye on them. God protects a pure heart by 110 giving it strength to face the most difficult situations. It seems if I make one mistake, my whole day falls apart. Can God protect me from that one mistake every day? When I know the common mistakes, I make every day, I can present them to God with a clean, honest heart and ask God to give me the strength to overcome them. Slowly, as I draw more and more power from God daily, I begin to notice that I am becoming detached from the mistake, or I see it coming in time to redirect myself to a better response. My part is to maintain my determination to be free from the mistakes and focus on creating new responses. 111 THE LIBERATOR It is because of lack of clarity and understanding that I become confused, unhappy and stressed out. Then there is a lot of overthinking and effort, yet the results do not make me happy. Clarity brings so much freedom and lightness. I experience this from God, and it makes everything easy. Kartikeya, India True Freedom Freedom has two sides. Freedom from and freedom to. I have to be free from any situations and attachments that bring me down or hold me back. I also have to be free to be able to express my true potential. Looking at nature I can get a glimpse into what freedom could mean as totally natural. Looking at seagulls happily playing and gliding around, I could ask, “How is it that I don’t feel as free as they do?” The answer is of course, they are just being themselves. In the same way, grass grows without any effort. Clouds form, rain comes, the sun shines. 112 Nature unfolds in an inexorable symphony of what it is. Generations of people have sought peace and quiet away from the urban sprawls in their attempts to get back to nature, at least for the weekends. It is as if that nature calls to our inner nature to meet and better understand each other. One of the greatest paradoxes is that freedom is part of the original nature of the soul itself. Before we come to this physical dimension, we have no thoughts and even no relationships with anyone or anything. In that sense, we are free originally. That is why there is such a yearning for a sense of spiritual freedom when we don’t have it anymore. Some even think that this world is a place of suffering and that we have to become free from the clutches of an endless wheel of rebirth. To do that, they recommend leading a morally correct life, being mindful, wise and aware in the use of our thoughts, words and actions. Others have said that truth sets us free. It is not 113 freedom itself that is our most precious possession, but it is the understanding of it. Being true to myself, to my deep inner qualities and to my relationship with God, will automatically show me how to remain free while doing things and interacting with others. All of this brings us back to the basic question of ‘who am I?’ – the eternal teaser for questing minds. In the Koran it says that God gave intelligence to angels and appetites to animals. To human beings He gave both, intelligence and appetites. This is probably exactly where we get stuck. We develop what we think is intelligence and get into all sorts of bondages. We obey our appetites and become prisoners of the objects of our senses. Like birds holding onto the branches of trees we pray to God to free us from whatever mess we have succeeded in creating for ourselves. He looks back at us and says the branches are not holding onto us, we are holding onto them. God is seen by many as the ultimate Liberator. He holds the keys to the locks on our intellects. This 114 means that He doesn’t just open the cage and let me out. He explains very clearly who I am, what my qualities are and what I can do. This frees me to be who I really am. I experience freedom because God’s pure energy helps me to experience my true self once again. In my day to day life, I have contact with lots of people with difference personalities, I am exposed to an abundance of information. Those things lead me to some dark moments, and I felt trapped. I would feed my mind with lots of “junk foods” that made chaos and problems in my mental digestion. I became more reactive in facing the situations in my life. This never-ending negative cycle was broken when I experienced God’s pure energy. It filled me with my inner strength and empowered me to come out from the spinning of this cycle by bringing clarity into my mind. This light and lovely feeling of completeness enlarges my inner capacity and open up to the unlimited best of me. Mona, Indonesia. 115 Personal Exploration 1: Take a moment and imagine your complete and perfect self – your aspiration for the soul that is you – having done all the work to be the best you can be. What would be the experience of this completeness, this wholeness? 2: With that image firmly in your mind, think about the barriers or obstacles you are experiencing now that stop you from being your best – e.g. a pattern of thoughts or feelings, a negative behaviour or habit. 3: Take 3-4 strips of paper (2 inches wide) and write each obstacle in big letters on one strip of paper. Staple or tape the first slip of paper to make a circle, then create a chain by looping the other slips of paper (stapled or taped) together. Once all the obstacles are attached as a paper chain and it loops back connecting the first and last loop, call it ‘the chain that limits me from being who I truly am’. 4: Consider: what does the word ‘chain’ suggest to you? What are the positive and negative connotations of the word? Whatever the 116 connotation, a chain can constrain so we lose our freedom. We must loosen or remove these chains in order to be free. HOW? 5: On a piece of paper draw the two cycles: · Vicious Cycle – Negative thoughts lead to feeling bad - to saying negative things - to acting in ways that hurt self or others - to negative thoughts. · Virtuous Cycle – Positive thoughts lead to feeling good - to speaking well of others - to actions that uplift self and others - to positive thoughts. A chain is a vicious cycle. We can break out of the Vicious Cycle anywhere to begin a Virtuous Cycle. This is what liberation is about – breaking the chain of vicious cycles to be free. 6: God’s role is to fill us with the pure energy that gives us the power to break negative cycles. We also learn from God’s example of being all-loving and all-powerful. We can learn to overcome negativity by raising our gaze above the battlefield to access a pure energy that empowers and clarifies. It is my 117 thoughts that create the chains that bind me. By changing my thoughts, I can change the cycle. 7: Look at the ‘chain that limits you’ and consider where you can break into this vicious chain/cycle to create a virtuous cycle for yourself. Break the chain by ripping the paper apart. 8: Reflecting · WHAT was most helpful to you in this exercise? · What do the activities suggest to you about liberation? · What insights do you have about God’s role in liberation? 9: Pick one strategy to use in one area of your life to liberate yourself from a place where you feel caught in a vicious cycle. Enjoy reading and experiencing this meditation. Then listen to a beautiful song (suggestion: Be Who You Were Born to Be by Bliss). 118 Meditation I gently go into the awareness of being the spiritual entity giving life to this physical body. I am a tiny point of conscious energy sitting on my seat of command behind the middle of the forehead. At this moment, I’m in the centre of everything that is going on around me, my life and the lives of others. Since I am calm and stable in the centre, I can feel my peace. Since I am not running after things mentally, I feel my deep contentment. Since I am feeling very still, I am aware of my basic nature of love towards everything and everyone. As a soul, I existed before this physical body and will continue after it dies. Just this consciousness reminds me of a deep sense of freedom. Though I am aware of the world going on around me, I send my thoughts to the dimension of light beyond this physical universe, to my sweet eternal home. On the screen of my mind, I visualize the Divine Source, the one we call by different names as God. I come in front of that One and feel the strength that come in His rays. I begin a loving conversation with Him about freedom. 119 You are eternally free because You know the secrets behind the creation. You lend me Your vision so that I can feel the depth of those secrets also. Sitting mentally with You, I become an observer of the stage where I play my different roles in the physical world. I can now understand how the real and eternal being that I am, had become caught up in the consequences of thoughts, words and actions, that came up in the course of playing my roles. You fill my heart with the deepest love towards the people and objects that are part of my roles in the physical world. Because of that love, I am free from the need to be connected with other individuals and things. I become totally light in both senses – illuminated with the light of understanding and weightless because nothing is holding me down. In Your company I feel totally liberated from even thinking about my roles and activities. You make me feel free from all burden and waste. I feel a wonderful balance between being loving and detached which is the essence of freedom. You fill me with so much spiritual power that I am free to serve selflessly. From this elevated state I can send pure liberating vibrations to everyone and everything 120 that is connected with me. Knowing that I can come back to this loving and liberating connection whenever I want, I gradually come back to my tasks in the physical world. Frequently Asked Questions How can God liberate anyone form the sorrow and darkness of these times? Darkness is an absence of light. I cannot chase away the darkness in my mind or in the world. But I can introduce more and more light. When I turn my attention towards the beauty, purity and peace of God’s light, I find myself becoming lighter. Then, instead of interacting with darkness, I stay focused on the light. When focused on staying light, there is no mental space to get drawn into darkness. I am aware it is there, but I do not get lost in it. Why does God not hear the cries of the innocent ones trapped in horrible situations? Why doesn’t he free them from their misery? 121 There is so much anger and violence in the world today that these distressing vibrations affect us all. Some people will act on this energy and do horrible things. When we go through difficult situations in life, we have the habit of attributing the bad that happens to God. When I think that God has given me the good things in my life, then I will also believe He has given me the negative. What if God does neither? What if my choices and actions bring me both the good and the bad in my life? And God’s role is to constantly give me the energy and support to make good choices and to face the consequences of my bad choices in a dignified way? When horrible things happen, God is always there giving strength, love, courage and hope to help me through. Can God help free people from the addictions and harmful behaviours that plaque them today? Addictions come when I feel empty and the 122 emptiness is more than I can bear. So, I look to fill the emptiness with something else; self-medicating with drugs or alcohol, or simply getting lost in anything that takes my mind away from my inner suffering. The wounds and hurts from the past linger in the soul over time and must be healed. Only God’s pure energy can unearth the deep roots of past pain and dissolve them in the light of love. Healing is liberating. Spending time in God’s love-full light begins to dissolve the wounds that bind me in destructive behaviours. 123 SOURCE OF POWER Sometimes the demands of job and family responsibilities can make me feel powerless. I began to look to God as my source of power and there is nothing I can’t solve if He is responsible. I imagine that I am just His secretary and I am just executing His task on behalf of Him. This gives me freedom from burden and whenever I have doubt, I consult Him, and this makes me easy and light. The lightness from responsibility gives me so much power to execute daily tasks with more efficiency and accuracy. God has given me strength to easily overcome my weaknesses and negative habits. I draw Power from Him and become more stable in the events of my life. Murli, Malaysia The Powers of God There is a lot of confusion about what God does and does not do. Even though human beings, across the spectrum of religions, state that God is unknowable, many say categorically that he is omnipresent, omnipotent and omniscient. For this, he receives the 124 title of Almighty. He is the Supreme soul (albeit Supreme) like us. Because of this, we can interact with Him in the highest form of every relationship He is not a diffused or impersonal energy, but a resident of the home of subtle light beyond the physical universe that people refer to as Heaven, Nirvana, the soul world, the supreme abode and so on. Just as the physical sun is in one place and radiates light to the whole solar system, God remains in that spiritual dimension and can shine His Light on all. Because of this, I can immediately direct my thoughts to him and begin a loving interaction. The feeling, 'O God, wherever I am, You are with me' expresses a poetic closeness. It doesn't mean the God is literally present everywhere, in the pebbles and stones, you, me and everything. He is a spiritual sun of perfect attributes. The sense of closeness that I have with Him is beyond physical dimensions. He is only one thought away 125 from me. If the presence of God is misunderstood, His powers are more so. Because we believe that he is present in every single thing and person, we also believe that he directs Nature and our lives. We forget that Nature has its own physical, chemical and biological laws. They function automatically without need of any divine intervention. Even though everything is threaded together in such a wonderful way, it doesn’t mean that everything is being moved by God. There are natural interactions between souls with each other and with matter. Floods, earthquakes, droughts and volcanic eruptions are part of that interaction. They have nothing to do with what is termed the will of God. They are part of the law of cause and effect between human beings and their environment. The good and the bad things that happen to us are neither God’s blessings, nor a lack of them. They are the returns of our own deeds. 126 The one who my heart tells me is the Ocean of Love would only manifest love. He is not involved in the weakening or death of human beings. He does not make the grass grow or the wind blow or bind the energy of the atoms together. He does not deal out our respective roles. This one will take birth in the streets of Calcutta. This other one will take birth in the royal family of Spain. In spite of the contradiction of not knowing what He is or does, we insist on putting the blame on Him for all of the great things that happen beyond our comprehension, such as an earthquake or a flood. Paradoxically, when something major happens and we say that is to do with God’s power, we seek Him out in the temples, churches and mosques to beg for His favour, while at the same time intoning solemnly the phrase, “It was the will of God.” His greatness is not due to intervening in events on our earth but in using His power for the benefit of world transformation. In the same way that his presence is spiritual, his power is purely spiritual. What can extreme love, extreme peace and extreme 127 happiness NOT achieve? He knows the whole process and the conditions through which things pass. Nature takes care of the details of Nature and the law of cause and effect (karma) takes care of the details of human life. He knows and accepts that everything that happens is part of an eternal drama that He did not create, but in which he finds Himself as the Source of Spiritual Power for all human souls. By absorbing that spiritual power, the souls can transform themselves and thereby help in the transformation of the world. I remind myself that I am the child of God, The Supremely Powerful Almighty Authority. Then everything is possible! (And nothing is impossible). I have experienced that weak thoughts of a powerful soul are also... powerful! Bad thoughts will also come true. I turn myself towards my Almighty Father, whose powerful "hands" take me to a stage of positivity, clearness and extremely benevolent state. Natasha, Ukraine 128 Personal Exploration 1: Take a moment and remember a time when you felt powerful. Reflect on the experience and write about the event or share with another person. After reflecting consider: · What conditions supported this experience of being powerful? · What was the source of this power? (Could be: focus, determination, pure intention, doing something I love, confidence, competence, doing something I am good at, etc.) 2: Explore the meaning of power. The word power is used in many ways in the world. It is also used in a spiritual context. What does power mean to you? Make two columns on a sheet of paper. At the top of one column write the title Worldly Power and at the top of the other write Spiritual Power. · In the first column identify words to describe power as used and understood in the world today. 129 · In the other column identify words to describe spiritual or inner power. 3: Consider: what is the difference between the two forms of power? How do you experience the difference between them? 4: Having considered these two meanings of power take a moment to consider: Where do you get your power from? What is your source of power? 5: God is the Source of ONE kind of power but not the other. Spiritual power is energy to recharge the soul, like a discharged battery that requires a power boost. Read the meditation commentary (see next page) to yourself slowly experiencing each step. Then close your eyes and hold a connection to God, the Power Source. Hold this energy for a few moments in silence. 6: Take a piece of paper and write down 10 aspects of your life (relationships, roles and possessions) that are important to you. Then draw yourself in the middle. 130 Hold the spiritual power you have accumulated from God and visualize giving spiritual power through your eyes to each aspect of your life. This is a method of using God’s energy through your focused thoughts to empower your life. Enjoy this meditation. Meditation I sit quietly and turn my mind inwards. I become aware of my spiritual identity as a soul, a spark of infinitesimal energy, a wondrous being of light, behind the center of the forehead, looking through the eyes. Sitting on this seat of command, I become aware of the things that I have accumulated over my life in terms of relationships, positions and possessions. From this point of stillness, I observe the things of my life, this body and my thoughts and memories. I realize, this is not who I am. All this I have called mine, but it is not me. Just being able to separate myself from everything I have accumulated, gives me a sense of understood responsibility and command. 131 This awareness is the seat of self-sovereignty and power over my life. When I look at my hand, I have control over the movement of each finger. In the same way, I have power over my mind. I am the one who creates my thoughts and feelings, no one else. Silently and gently, I lift my awareness beyond the physical world – the senses, experiences, sounds and actions. I take myself to a region of pure, golden red light, my eternal home. Deep silence embraces me. I gently turn my thoughts to the One we have called the Almighty. I see Him as a subtle sun-like Being, just radiating that might in the form of peace, love, joy, purity, truth. I spend time with each of these qualities as I plug into the Source of Spiritual Power. I feel how His Peace empowers me I feel how His Love empowers me. I feel how His Joy empowers me. I feel how His Purity empowers me. I feel how His Truth empowers me. In this divine union between the soul and the Supreme, falsehood cracks and falls away, and the soul returns to its natural essence. I am connected with the Source of Spiritual Power and now comprehend the real depth of His title of Almighty. 132 He is not just a Source of Powers and Qualities. He is also the essence all relationships. The perfect Mother, Father, Teacher, Guide and Friend. With a feeling of great love and humility. I consider and explore the depth of each of these relationships and how they empower me. I feel how as my Mother, He empowers me. I feel how as my Father, He empowers me. I feel how as my Teacher, He empowers me. I feel how as my Guide, He empowers me. I feel how as my Friend, He empowers me. I remain in the bliss of this connection and relationship and gradually come back to the normality of my surroundings. The connection with the eternal Home of light remains, the companionship with the Powerful One remains, so that I can keep Him with me during my activities. I feel totally empowered to live my life in the best way possible. Frequently Asked Questions What does God’s power look like? How is it different than how people think about power today? We cannot see power (either physical or spiritual) 133 but we can see and feel the effect of power. God’s power creates an energetic shift in the soul. From being stuck or heavy in a negative feeling, a person feels something moving in the spirit, like a weight is lifted. Sometimes God’s power is experienced in the form of an insight or feeling of strength and clarity. For each of us it is different. This is the joy of a relationship with God, to watch for the subtle ways in which God’s power uplifts and strengthens me. Sometimes when I am at my best, I get a surge of enthusiasm and tirelessness. Is this a gift of God’s power? Yes. When I am at my best, I am vibrating at my highest frequency. This puts me directly into the energy field of God’s highest vibration. It is as if we are resonating together which amplifies my highest vibration and I feel an extra surge. So many people live in a constant state of hopelessness in the world today. Can God’s power really touch them and give them hope? It is hard to witness the suffering of others. It can make us feel helpless and afraid. As a caring 134 human being, I want to do something. I can always give good energy. When I hear a siren or read a terrible headline, I can immediately send thoughts of power and peace to the people involved. With this action, I am reaching out with love, I am doing something by sending good vibrations. When I give love and peace, I also protect myself from absorbing the suffering and fear around me. My energy level drops with hopeless thoughts and I become weak. God is always there. My part is to go to God, to get the power I need to shift from hopeless to hopeful. Then I can bring the energy of hope to others. 135 CONCLUSION We hope that you have thoroughly enjoyed the book as much as we have in writing it. After going deeply into the different practices and meditations you are probably feeling that it is not so difficult after all to have a real and meaningful relationship with God. We have surrounded Him with so much mystery and created such a distance between ourselves and this Ultimate Source. The great news is that we can connect and enjoy the power and the qualities that emanate from Him, anytime we want. No one has a right to deprive us of the wonder and experience of having a direct link with God. We have included some very basic steps that are part of the practice of Raja Yoga, which has been the basis of all of the meditations that you have experienced throughout the book. 136 Please enjoy these steps, as well as enjoying the rest of your life. Basic steps in Raja Yoga Meditation You can go through these steps from time to time in order to enhance your capacity to deepen your experience of meditation. Stay with each theme until you feel you have mastered it. 1. Centering in the present Sit with your eyes slightly open. Become aware of the world around you. Listen to the sounds you can hear. Perceive the colors and forms. Feel the air as you breathe in and out. Feel that you are in the center of the 360° of activities around you. The past has finished, and the future hasn't happened yet. You are literally in the present moment. The present is the only real time you have. Enjoy it for five minutes without thinking too much. Just have full attention on what is happening around you. 137 2. Centering in soul consciousness Just as you are sitting on your seat physically, imagine a subtle seat behind the eyes, a few centimeters back from the spot between your brows. This is the seat where the conscious energy or soul sits. All thoughts, feelings, desires and ideas, as well as sensations from the body come to this point to be processed. Sitting on this subtle seat you appreciate and decide about the direction you want to take. Spend a few minutes in this awareness of being the soul working through the physical body. Enjoy the sense of command this gives you. 3. In the center of your life As a spiritual being, you are not only in the center of everything that is happening around you, but you are in the center of your life. There is a network of roles, relationships and responsibilities which spread out from you. You are connected through them to people, objects and situations. Just as the center of a circle 138 doesn't move, you are still and calm in the center of your life and activities. As you become calm, this has an immediate effect on everything that is connected to you. Without moving internally, enjoy serving your whole network with peaceful vibrations. Be aware that you are the creator of the reality of your life. 4. Experiencing your eternity Become centered in the consciousness of being the soul in the body. Observe the physical world around you without thinking too much. Observe the present situations in which you find yourself, as if you are watching the scenes of a film. As a spiritual being going through a human experience, be aware that at some point in the past, you came into this physical body when it was still in the womb of your mother. You were born, grew up and, went through many experiences and now you are meditating on your true nature. At some point in the future, you, the soul will leave your body and continue on your journey. This life then becomes a chapter of a book. 139 You are the energy that gives life to the whole book and not just to this chapter. You are the conscious energy that continues. You have come from forever. You will continue forever. Because you do not have any size or physical dimension, nothing can destroy you. You are eternal. Stay in this consciousness for a few minutes. 5. The inner state of peace, love and happiness When you are in a state of rest as described above, you have a chance to experience the deeper qualities which are innate in the soul. Become the detached observer and experience that when you are still, there is natural peace, love and happiness. These are qualities which have always been in the soul. As we move from one life to the next (or one chapter to the next), many things are recorded on top of these original qualities. With time, you forget them. They become buried by momentary desires and considerations. Since you have gone back to your inner center, you can now appreciate the difference 140 between what you really are deeply and what you have become at this time in your life. Remain a few minutes in this deep state of spiritual enjoyment. 6. Connection with God, the Source of spiritual power As a soul, you are not made of material energy. Your existence is in another dimension as well. There is a dimension of subtle light beyond this physical universe, that the different religious traditions call heaven, nirvana or simply, the home of souls. The one who we call God also resides there. We try to reconnect with that One in prayer. As you become centered in soul consciousness and aware of your innate qualities of peace, love and happiness, you gradually move away from the physical dimension and become a silent observer. Internally, you become aware of this dimension of light and come closer to that One who is like a subtle sun, radiating spiritual power. Mentally, visualize the meeting between the soul and God. Open yourself to receive the rays of that 141 spiritual power. You will feel as if your battery is being recharged, that your love, peace and happiness are really being activated. Stay in that state of deep appreciation of your connection with the Source, for a few more minutes. 7. Relationships with God That One, is not only the Source of spiritual power, but is also the essence of all relationships. Become centered in soul consciousness and mentally connected with God as in the previous exercise. Start a conversation with that One in any one of the relationships that you consider important. He is the Mother, Father, Teacher, Guide, Friend, Beloved and so on. imagine that the connection between you and God revolves around that relationship. Initiate and continue a conversation for as long as you want from your side as the child, student, follower, friend, lover and so on. Leave yourself open for the answers that come to you in the conversation. Remain in this loving interchange for a few 142 minutes and come back recharged and ready to face the situations of your life. Thank you for joining us in this exploration of God. We wish you the best on your continued journey. Visit a Brahma Kumaris meditation centre in your area at: www.brahmakumaris.org 143

Come into the Light

insights

music

meditation

food

Come into the Light

insights

music

meditation

food