It's Never Been More Personal
In such a Divine place I have never felt more human.
I think it's safe to say that we all have our own ideas of what the divine is. Some see it as a sentient being watching over us and others see it as an energy that is within all things. A common and widely accepted belief is that it is an omnipresence: Something that is just as much within us as it is all around us and because of this we are a part of the essence known as God.
The word God itself has many different connotations for everyone who uses it. The word originates from the Germanic languages and somewhat replaced the Greek word Theos and also the word Deus in Latin. Over time it became a concept of its own and in other religions that don't have a Judaic or Christian root such as Islam, you may know it as Allah, and in a faith such as the Hindu religion it may be referred to as Brahman. The point is that the ideology of a supreme, sentient being varies in its nature but holds major similarities as to what the presence of such a being can mean to us humans. Perhaps the point is that even though our ideas have differences and even though the creeds, dogmas and scriptures appear to separate us, the fact that we hold a belief in an all powerful and all loving presence is what can bring us together.
The idea of prayer as a form of worship has been around forever. There are many thoughts and theories on how people can and should pray and what the process and outcomes of those prayers should be.
I cannot remember a time where I didn't pray. To me faith has been a gift and has gotten me through many difficult times and so often my way of prayer is just to have a conversation with my idea of God which is an omnipresent, omnipowerful, compassionate and loving being that is the origin and the destination of all progression (Yes, that is indeed a mouthful - Say it 10 times fast :P). Sometimes I feel that I receive a great deal of answers in prayer and other times it feels like I am talking to a psychiatrist who has fallen asleep in the chair while I'm laying on the couch. But regardless of this it is an outlet for both sadness and gratitude, exploration and inner stillness.
I used to think God was entirely objective in holding the moon next to the stars and the earth in rotation around the sun. That the idea of balance in what we desire and truly getting what we need and somehow fitting that in completely with every other being and experience happening in the progression of the universe. I felt that I may not be able to attain something because it just wouldn't work that way and that it was okay because it's 'Objective'.
Recently I went into a place of prayer because of a lot of life transitions. I was talking to God and said 'God, I know that you have to be objective in helping me. That you can see the struggles I have but that you will do what is right overall for my life and those around me.' and in that moment I had even felt as though God was at more of a distance. Now, if you're on my blog you most likely know that I am a medium who has clairaudient, clairvoyant and clairsentient (clear hearing, seeing, feeling) abilities and at the time of this prayer I hadn't received a lot of direct signs or messages from the universe for a while. The moment that prayer came into my consciousness and was processed I heard something that changed the way I view divinity. 'Matthew, I am a part of everything I create and when you suffer I feel it. When you are joyous I feel it. You are loved by me in all parts of you and even in the parts of you that you cannot yet love, there is me and I love you in all ways. Your struggle has never been more personal.'
My hope for everyone is that you will feel God or Allah or Brahman or Divinity in whatever way you understand it in your life. Even if you are atheist and see empowerment within yourself I pray that you will see, feel, hear, know, sense, taste and breathe love. You don't have to conform to an idea of Divinity. Love, compassion, mercy, hope, empowerment and life is in all parts of you. It is understanding, patient and kind. It is not only within you when you struggle but it is beside you and around you. The divine is not only an idea that can get you through hard times or an unconditional friend but it is an action in whatever way and with whatever depth you perceive it.
The photo above was from a short day trip I took with a very good friend of mine to Rigaud, Quebec at the Sanctuaire Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes. The grounds have a church and above it a chapel where miracles have taken place in addition to a grotto and several gardens with beautiful statues and energy. It was an amazing experience to be there and in a place that was revered for its divinity I felt entirely within my human experiences. It was in visiting that chapel and in a deep state of prayer that I realized and accepted that God was in my life acting as many forms of divinity in many different ways. That our experiences come into our lives right on time to teach us what we have to learn. That what we desire and what we need can be the same thing but not always in the way we expect it. That even paradoxical experiences and experiences where we attract opposition rather than flow are to our highest benefit always and that God is all things. We are acts of divinity in the lessons that we learn just as much as those that we teach. Nothing is tried in vain because there is always a next step and a new day. We may have a week or months or years of a similar pattern or a cycle that can't seem to break but like a winding staircase even though we seem to be passing the same steps over and over again we are still always moving upwards.
Never underestimate the power of your divine presence within your human experiences and never forget that for all of us and at all times and whether or not we are in a place where we feel lack or abundance or sadness or joy - For this universe and the omnipresence that we are, it has never been more personal.
