Human life is a quest for that depth of meaning that originates from Spirit understood as the ultimate divine source, which continually gives birth to the created Cosmos. The myths that have arisen out of the depths of human consciousness down through millennia are a testimony of our capacity to be aware of that awesome ultimate mystery, which is both beyond and within us and every form of life.
When we briefly consider the evolution of human consciousness, a most significant occurrence in human history was the breakthrough of Spirit around 800 BC to 200 BC. At this time around most of the inhabited world there was a rapid development of spiritual and philosophical wisdom probing those ultimate questions of life. The questions that have arisen from our human experience back then are much the same now: Wherein lies true happiness? What is the cause of our sorrows and how can we be free from them? What follows after death? What is that ultimate mystery that embraces our entire existence and which guides us towards its own fullness/blessedness?
I believe that when we consider wherein lies true happiness we need to focus on the lives and teachings of those Enlightened Ones that gave birth to the world’s major religious traditions – Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. From the breakthrough of Spirit they experienced, we are given to understand that it is our birthright to also experience Spirit breaking through to us in our own unique way.
Many people encounter in some form the teachings, rituals, and spiritual practices of the various religious traditions in which they are given an experience of the Spirit. Such experience can then be a springboard for developing a spiritual practice by which they devote themselves to respond to their own unique call from Spirit. The spiritual traditions always emphasize that this is also going to entail becoming aware of whatever subliminal blocks we may have to recognizing the life of the Spirit in us and allowing them to be released.
In my early 20s, when I was experiencing deep inner conflict, I felt touched by the sacred chanting of the Roman Catholic Church. This led to deeper experiences, among which was entering a Christian form of monastic life. After about 25 years of monastic life, I began to experience a lot of grief coming up. It was a gut intuition that made me realize I needed to take leave of monastic life to explore the ways of natural healing.
The writing of my book, Innocent Perception: A New Lens for Healing, expresses my experience of seeking to heal from the trauma of early sexual abuse, which I became aware of after leaving monastic life. When I was exploring healing work I entered into a relationship in which a lot of grief surfaced. I was then guided to a gifted therapist, who herself was sexually abused in childhood. And it was she who made me aware of how much early trauma impacts our life. Until I met this therapist I had no awareness of this.
As I was experiencing grief coming up in a session, she asked me to focus on the person of Jesus and to ask him what he wanted me to be aware of. In doing this, I experienced a profound breakthrough from Spirit. What came up was intense grief stored in my body that needed to be released. It was from this experience that I developed the guidance meditation and the body meditation, which are present throughout my book.
The aim of both of these meditations is to evoke the awareness of communion with our eternal loving source/spiritual family. In meditation we can experience the radiation of the outpouring eternal spirit of love from within the depths of our hearts with all who are devoted to Spirit – both on earth and in heaven, on this side and the other side. It is our experience of this cosmic universal love that embraces us and all our fellow beings, which opens up to us a life of true happiness or blessedness.
In my book this is termed awakening to the “innocent perception” of ourselves, the beloved sacred spirit-person we are created/called to be. In expressing this, I am drawing upon insights from my Christian tradition. What is crucial here is to develop the spiritual practice by which we cultivate and are nourished by the sacred vision of our humanity.
Any individual may draw upon their experience of Spirit and the spiritual tradition that most resonates with them to form meditations to evoke and nourish this sacred vision. It was from the wisdom I learned in natural healing that I saw how crucial it was to include in my spiritual practice a way to discern from Spirit what I needed to be aware of to manifest the qualities of selfless love, which all Enlightened Ones show us.
Why this is so is because it is almost inevitable in our wounded human condition that we are going to be impacted by subliminal negative/limiting perceptions of ourselves. This is especially true in the first five years of life in the family system in which we were raised. We can have experiences of being rejected, abandoned, dominated, controlled, or some form of abuse that affects us far more than we can be aware of.
It is the stored emotional pain of such traumas that above all blocks our being able to experience the inner radiance of Spirit within us in relating to ourselves/others. This is most evident in intimate relationships such as a marriage. Generally couples are not aware of such subliminal blocks within themselves when they marry. And as their marriage progresses these blocks cause grief and suffering in their relationship, which also impacts the lives of their children. This has been borne out in my giving many sessions. A deep insight to be aware of is that when we are not aware of the blocks within us they continue to influence our life.
What my book emphasizes is that no matter what our experience is, it is crucial that we awaken to the intuition of the “truth of who we really are.” It is only our experience of this innermost truth that can free us from any perceptions/feelings of ourselves/others we may have – whether conscious or unconscious – that block the eternal spirit of love from manifesting through us.
As I cultivated awakening to communion with my eternal loving source/spiritual family and made use of intuitive ways of guidance that I learned in natural healing, I experienced deep inner transformation. The following verses I meditated on give a sense of the spiritual practice that brought me through the intense suffering from abuse and opened what I needed for healing.
O Eternal Beloved One, Loving Creator of the Cosmos, our lives, all that is,
with deep gratitude and humility, in communion with my spiritual family
on earth and in heaven, on this side and the other side,
I open to receive your outpouring divine all-permeating light, your eternal spirit of love,
from within the depths of my own heart.
With all that I am, with all that I have experienced from my earliest beginning in the womb, up to and including all that I am experiencing now,
I trust completely that you see me, you know me, you love me
as the beloved sacred spirit-person you create/call me to be,
and that you understand my quest to awaken and embody
your eternal spirit of love in serving the highest good of all,
myself, and everyone, as the beloved sacred spirit-persons you create/call us to be,
indeed who we truly are in your sight.
Verses that I used to open up to accessing guidance from Spirit from the intuitive ways I learned from natural healing are as follows:
O Eternal Beloved One, Loving Creator,
in communion with my spiritual family on earth and in heaven,
on this side and the other side, I pray and listen deeply:
What blessing, healing, illumination, do you now bring forth in my life
that is in harmonious accord with the wholeness of mind and body I truly need,
to respond to the call you have given me?
After this, I made use of intuitive ways of guidance I was drawn to – listening to my yes/no sign of my body, and making use of a pendulum with pendulum charts. As we bring forth those deep questions in our life, we can access guidance from Spirit in the way that most resonates with us. An article on my website, “Transcendent Loving Wisdom Discerns All Things” would be good to read in this regard.
There is an inexhaustible spiritual depth of meaning and nourishment within us that often gets blocked by the continual distractions, fears, and worries that plague our mind. An image for accessing guidance from Spirit is “transcendent loving wisdom” that guides the created Cosmos, and always yearns to guide us.
What my experience over many years has taught me is that when we focus on our eternal loving source/spiritual family seeking only to respond to the call from Spirit, we are given an inner knowing of transcendent truth/love at work in our lives. Much more, we sense that deep down we can trust completely what Spirit gives us through our way of accessing guidance.
There are no rules/taboos when we listen to our most profound yearning to open to Spirit that is our eternal loving source, unfailing guide, and the final goal of all that is. Spirit, transcendent loving wisdom is the source of any human wisdom that has sought to uplift humanity and discerns “all things” that we may live out our divine calling on earth. When we realize this we are able to live with a deep confidence. We have inner peace. We are freed from our insecurities and doubts because of the clarity that comes from being able to access guidance from Spirit.
I am almost 80 and I have experienced painful symptoms over the years that I knew were caused by the impact of early abuse. An approach such as Western medicine was not needed. Spirit showed me through my way of accessing guidance the stored pain that was calling to be released and all healing modalities I needed. This freed me from fear and doubt that would arise at times in the symptoms I was experiencing. It was above all the experience of the Spirit in my meditation practice that was a deep life-giving energy that carried me forward on my path.
As I was aware of the immense blessings that came from my spiritual practice with intuitive guidance, I was guided to give sessions to members of my meditation group and they also experienced profound blessings in their lives. They became aware of their own spiritual practice that opened them to their eternal loving source/spiritual family and their way of accessing guidance. When we would meet to meditate, we were able to access guidance for each other as to what we needed to respond to the call from Spirit. We were able to discern for each other what we could not get by ourselves – releasing effects of trauma in our lives, supplements, nutrition and more.
A crucial insight in my book is that when we ask Spirit what we truly need to embody the eternal spirit of love as we make use of a way of intuitive guidance, Spirit discerns accurately for ourselves, or for someone else we are called to serve, all energies that we may realize the call from Spirit. Having a private session by phone or in person can give you an experience of this. An article on my website “The Benefits of Having a Private Session or Attending a Workshop” would give a sense of what you could expect in a session.
We do not need to be a victim of repressed pain we have experienced. We do not need to die an early death. It is the birthright of every person to open to their deepest yearning from the eternal creative presence within them and experience being unconditionally loved for who they are created/called to be. And herein lies true happiness or blessedness.
One of the beatitudes in the New Testament that expresses this is: Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. In awakening to the innocent perception of ourselves, we are able to see others in this perception. We are freed from doubt, self-loathing, judging ourselves or others. We are freed from fear, pain, and grief that come from ignorance of “who we really are” in the divine vision of love that creates/calls us.
It is also good to mention that any pain, grief, loss we have experienced is transformed into: Blessed are you who mourn, you shall be comforted. No higher blessing can we experience than to be able to manifest divine love and compassion.
If anything in this article resonates with you I have other articles on my website you might be drawn to. I will continue to add to the list of articles on my website that at present are:
1. The Spiritual Practice of Reiki
2. The Benefits of Having a Private Session or Attending a Workshop
3. Transcendent Wisdom vs. Conventional Wisdom
4. The Spiritual and Physical Causes of ill-Health
5. Transcendent Loving Wisdom Discerns All things
6. How Transcendent Loving Wisdom is the Healer of Pain and Grief
7. Human Life is a Call to Respond to Spirit
8. The Body Meditation
9. How You Can Become Free from What is Blocking You from a Life of True Happiness
10. Guided Zoom Presentations 11. Long Distant Healing, Blessings