A few thoughts before moving on to ideas about Atonement. As I referred to this quote in Anthony's blog, it occurred to me that one could replace the word "love" with the word "God." I think it stuck out for me because in class today, we were given the question: Do we seek God, or does God seek us? Class discussion seemed to support the mystical answer, which is essentially: yes! What if we reframe the question to be asked in this way: Is it our task to seek God, or does God seek us? Rumi's words give a meaningful answer if we change the quote to: Your task is not to seek God, but to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it. My mom would add "seek and destroy!" By finding the barriers (and destroying them), we inadvertantly seek a greater experience of the Divine- an experience that was always available and attainable. Is God drawing us toward It? I think that the absolute truth of anything has a gravitational pull on the soul. Because the power of the Divine is so pure, true, and the Source of all that is, I think it does draw us near. Is that the same as seeking us? Eh. That blurs the anthropomorphic line a bit much for me. I think a better question could be: Does the Divine desire our awareness of It?
Ah shoot! I asked "a better question." It would probably be really lame of me to not offer a response to that question. I said in my post that included my Theological Essay (second post on this blog I believe) that a metaphor that really speaks to me is that the Divine is like the ocean and our souls are like the waves of the ocean. We appear for a time, never really separate from the ocean nor any other wave, and then return to the source. Breathe that in for a moment- it is such a beautiful metaphor! Yeah, I'm stalling a bit. Ok ok. Given this train of thought, if the natural flow is to return to source...then there must be what can be described as desire. Gravitational pull? Isn't that a desire for balance? What emerges out of the water must return to the water. That "pull" or inclination for balance can be described as desire. Sure, why not? My search for wholeness is my desire to know my true nature- the wave searches for the ocean ignorantly. I think a thing desires to know its wholeness, is inclined toward balance, and requires awareness. (Jeez- for which class am I writing??!!) Even one of the 12 powers is Love- which we call the power of Desire... God IS the power of desire. Back to topic.
The title of this post indicates a topic of Atonement. I think the whole idea of Atonement is rooted in this question of seeking/desiring God. When we judge ourselves to be 'sinners', we look for a path back to the Divine...thus meandering the paradox that we are never truly separate from God, though we often have an experience of separation (in the ego mind, human experience, sin, sickness, helplessness, etc). I offer that a path for Atonement (at-one-ment) is largely required by the human mind in order to navigate our experiences of 'sin' (defined as missing the mark of our Divine nature). We desire God, and when we discover the barriers within ourselves that keep us from fully experiencing our Divine Nature, we often require a path that involves forgiveness, compassion, redemption for the purpose of reconciling the gap created in the experience of separation from God. When the barrier is understood and destroyed, there is a gap that will immediately be filled with God awareness. This is the true Atonement. We take our burdens to the cross, releasing the human constructs of separation and fully immerse our beings in the Divine.
Beautifully written blog Jacquie. I think the idea of free will should also be included in this conversation. In that sense, I think that we add a kind of "start-up" energy, or activation energy to get this process going. In reality, I think it never stops. In the sense that we use our free will, we ourselves are seeking God. But I also think we can add the word grace. To me, the evidence that God is seeking us is when we experience those moments of total grace.
ReplyDeleteIt seems that when we active the energy of our own inner search, and to remove those barriers in our consciousness, God comes rushing in to our hearts to meet us. When we remove the cord of our own ignorance by this start-up energy (our own free will), the ocean rushes in and fills our cup to overflowing!
The question itself is based on the idea that we are somehow separate from Source, and yet we do experience this to some degree do we not? So the idea of us seeking God and God seeking us both seem accurate. I guess for me, progress is more quickly reached if I make the first step using my own free will. It seems that God is infinitely patient, but will sometimes nudge us through grace. I have joyfully experienced, however, that when I make the gentle effort to seek God and remove my barriers as you mentioned, that God comes rushing in to meet me. I think there is a saying that you probably know better than me...if we take one step to God, God takes ten toward us. Something like that:) Both seem true, but it seems that as long as we see ourselves as even slightly separate, we must make some effort, and once made, the results that follow bring supreme bliss. Jai Ma! Peace and Love
Jacquie,
ReplyDeleteI’m unsure if the Divine desires our awareness of it. The divine nature that is available to us, I do not believe, judges one way or the other. Sort of like the idea of being punished for sins as some Christian churches postulate, I don’t think there is a judgment one way or the other outside of our own awareness/desire to be At-one-ment with our higher selves. We are the ones that judge, so therefore I’m in favor of the idea that we search for God, because God’s already there. As you said…like the ocean and wave, we are not really apart we just decide to get into our own minds instead of our hearts sometimes.
Elise
Jacquie,
ReplyDeleteAs you mentioned in your posting, there is a sense of separation from God that can impact us in our emotions. God-awareness assists here because the introduction of other emotions can be contemplated. Instead of just harshness, we can experience the Atonement. This state can be experienced just as the processes of returning water, experienced by the awareness and acceptance of Love.
Ber
Wow what a blog and the responses! IIIII wish we could have a group discussion on this. I responded to your comments on Anthony's blog with the following:
ReplyDeleteIn reference to the Rumi quote, where is the love coming from once one lets down the walls?
Now I ask: What do you experience if you let the barriers down and experience God? Is it love? Is it total acceptance? Is it peace? Is it at one ment with oneself? I have had those moments of grace when I have felt total love and total acceptance from something beyond me. I have also had this urge within to be one with God. For me God is both transcendent and immanent. I have experienced both.
Thanks,
Melody