God is actively present in our lives – all the time –
But we don’t acknowledge it
Because we’re not looking for God –
After all, humans, historically, have specialized in looking only at themselves
Or at objects they desire to possess or manipulate.
The truth is that if we ever did look away from ourselves – even for a moment –
We couldn’t avoid seeing God.
So, look away, little one, look away!
To meet God “directly,” we’ll need a more radical approach:
Assuming that we have to “go up” – i.e., ascend – in order to experience “ecstasy”
Requires, for good balance, for us to also “go low” –
Into “humility,” “modesty,” and “humbleness”
That is, in order to get high, we’ll first have to go low –
And, to meet God, face to face, we might even be required to “disappear” altogether.
In other words, an ego (much less a big ego) will never experience God “directly” –
Everyone knows this – since most male religious leaders
Possess the biggest egos – and look at how empty they’ve turned out to be.
No one talks about this –
Which is fine with God
Who prefers meeting in secret with her most un-famous friends.
If love is the “background reality” of the universe
Then everything else must be fantasy, dreams, or other mental images,
Especially if driven by ambition, desire for fame, or accumulation of power and riches.
If God is love,
Then traditional worship practices, systematic theology, and ancient church structures
Are just so much “straw” out in the fields of spiritual life –
In sum, since love is the only true reality
Why are we talking about anything else?
Of course, when we talk about love –
We’re talking about intelligent love
We’re talking about freedom as a pre-condition to love,
And we’re talking about three-dimensional love –
Not the paper version,
Right?
Enlightenment is momentary – not a permanent state –
Anyone who says differently is either a phony or badly mistaken.
It’s true that an enlightenment experience can be life-changing
Like a road sign pointing in an unexpected direction
That we courageously take –
But it’s not a permanently elevated state of existence.
Real mystics don’t walk around in an “enlightened state”
They’re just people – no different from the rest of us –
Except for having been blessed with a “break-through” spiritual experience.
Brief – yet profound –
Truly, “a gift from God.”
Law and the Political
BUILDING ALTERNATIVES FOR PEOPLE AND PLANET: News and reports from the grassroots on worker and community coops, land trusts, participatory bufgeting and other explorations in mutual aid
Diner Mystic 