For some time, I have experienced a feeling of an impending revelation, a far-reaching epiphany about the ultimate nature of human life in the world. I scan the bookshelves of my study, surveying titles across religions, mysticism, science and history sensing something ultimate trying to break through. Then it comes in the following words arising from someplace inside: "When the world of man becomes empty, God becomes the world." What does that even mean? It is something I already know but need to absorb much more deeply.
We build a conceptual world of identity, beliefs, time, calendar, goals, and values. We seek happiness in this imagined world though fame, wealth, achievement, popularity, beliefs, knowledge, power, love, sport or talent. We spend a lifetime in this quest to be somebody special, to be loved, to be safe, to know everything. Not only is our quest doomed, we will not find God either, for when we seek something other than what is, something in the future, we deny that it is already here; we miss the imminent divine which can only be found here and now.
How does the world of man become empty? It empties as we let go of each fictional belief, each rumored talismanic solution. And with aging in particular, we see how fleeting is the world's gold - we cannot hang onto to any of these acquisitions and end up surrendering one after another. When we stop comparing ourselves with others, cease seeking solutions in the endless labyrinth of culture, give up Sisyphus' labor to be good enough, and surrender all external standards of supposed happiness, the whole house of cards collapses. Then everything flips for what's left is God - not the God of the Patriarchs created in their own image, selfish, angry, power hungry and vengeful, but the God of the new Creation Story - the Universe Story. What is, is divinity in process. This, here, now, unfolding miraculously before our eyes, including ourselves, is God busting like an opening rose through infinite space, a Consciousness one with Being that is everything.
The implications of this shift are enormous. Stop thinking, heighten awareness, and everything you touch is divine - friends, family, animals, plants, space, self. Stand still, seek nothing, and bingo, there it is. As the mystics say, God is the breath inside the breath, and as our consciousness ripens, our vision changes and the whole world becomes holy and being shines as Being. We are that. We will not find lasting happiness by chasing the ephemeral promises of popular culture; this is one of the great realizations of aging.
What does it really mean, practically speaking, to stop seeking and become divinity? It means believe no one and nothing. Want nothing. Cease thinking. Open your senses here and now. And SEE. Then merge consciousness with being, your own being, and feel the bliss of existence, this omnipresent love flowing through each of us. We will not find happiness chasing wealth or fame, popularity or power, sex or love; we will find it when we become it.
When the world of man empties for us, God will become the world, including you. Life is this revelation, it is not a problem to be solved.
We build a conceptual world of identity, beliefs, time, calendar, goals, and values. We seek happiness in this imagined world though fame, wealth, achievement, popularity, beliefs, knowledge, power, love, sport or talent. We spend a lifetime in this quest to be somebody special, to be loved, to be safe, to know everything. Not only is our quest doomed, we will not find God either, for when we seek something other than what is, something in the future, we deny that it is already here; we miss the imminent divine which can only be found here and now.
How does the world of man become empty? It empties as we let go of each fictional belief, each rumored talismanic solution. And with aging in particular, we see how fleeting is the world's gold - we cannot hang onto to any of these acquisitions and end up surrendering one after another. When we stop comparing ourselves with others, cease seeking solutions in the endless labyrinth of culture, give up Sisyphus' labor to be good enough, and surrender all external standards of supposed happiness, the whole house of cards collapses. Then everything flips for what's left is God - not the God of the Patriarchs created in their own image, selfish, angry, power hungry and vengeful, but the God of the new Creation Story - the Universe Story. What is, is divinity in process. This, here, now, unfolding miraculously before our eyes, including ourselves, is God busting like an opening rose through infinite space, a Consciousness one with Being that is everything.
The implications of this shift are enormous. Stop thinking, heighten awareness, and everything you touch is divine - friends, family, animals, plants, space, self. Stand still, seek nothing, and bingo, there it is. As the mystics say, God is the breath inside the breath, and as our consciousness ripens, our vision changes and the whole world becomes holy and being shines as Being. We are that. We will not find lasting happiness by chasing the ephemeral promises of popular culture; this is one of the great realizations of aging.
What does it really mean, practically speaking, to stop seeking and become divinity? It means believe no one and nothing. Want nothing. Cease thinking. Open your senses here and now. And SEE. Then merge consciousness with being, your own being, and feel the bliss of existence, this omnipresent love flowing through each of us. We will not find happiness chasing wealth or fame, popularity or power, sex or love; we will find it when we become it.
When the world of man empties for us, God will become the world, including you. Life is this revelation, it is not a problem to be solved.