I felt the presence and call of God in my life at an early age. Yet many of the truths I would not fully understand for forty or more years. I come from a classically dysfunctional family. It was typical for blue-collar middle America in the fifties and sixties. Mostly my childhood was a happy one. I cried too much when I needed attention but was as frequently accused of smiling too much as well. A couple of the most important influences were the love of my Mother, which I lost at her death when I was eleven and to the neighborhood Southern Baptist church to which she gave much of her devotion. It was in that church that I first felt the presence and call of God in my life. Half a mile up the highway was one of the largest and most sacred ancient Native American villages, the Cahokia Mounds. It had been the pinnacle of the Mississippian Indian culture. At that time we lived there, all of the graves had not yet been robbed. They had not discovered the remnants of Woodhenge. The spirit of the First Peoples was and is strong at that place.
In the years since, I’ve experienced all of the spirituality I could find. I’ve done Mid-night Mass, the Sweat Lodge, danced with Sufis, done ceremony and made offerings to the Orisha of the West African Ifa tradition. I’ve welcomed the seasons with pagans. I’ve meditated on mountains, in caves, on beaches, in deserts, and sacred gardens. I have come to know rocks, plants, animals, and spirits as friends. I’ve been baptized in the water and the spirit. I’ve spoken in tongues of angels and received and given hands on healing. I’ve worshiped with people from Asia, Africa, Europe, North, South, and Central America. I’ve drummed, sang and danced into states of ecstasy. I’ve crossed the river Styx to the land of the dead in search of lost souls. I’ve been lifted into heights of heaven. I’ve ministered as a pastor in a mainline and a Spiritualist church. I teach Shamanism, public speaking, team building and the connections between sensuality and spirituality.
The two things I have found constant in all those experience are in my opening lines. I believe they neither have nor will ever change. First and most importantly, God is love. To know God is to know love. It is not conditional on what you do or say. It doesn’t matter what your belief system, background or upbringing is.
You may have thought that you would never have opportunity to use high school algebra, but here is the chance. Remember the first rule of algebra? If A = B, then B = A. If God is love then love is God. It is that simple. As we open to receive and share our love we have opened to God.
That is why John wrote, “Beloved let us love one another. For love is of God and everyone that loves is born of God, and knows God. Those that love not do not know God for God is love.” 1John 4:7-8. Jesus taught us that there are only two commandments: Love God and love your neighbor as yourself. And his commandment was that we love one another.
The second concept is “Focus on the source and everything else will come. “Jesus phrased it as, Seek first the kingdom of heaven and all these things will be added to you.
Need and greed are two forms of the same thing. They focus our attention on the material world. Money, property, security, and comfort can all drive us to distraction from our place in the power and presence of the creation that lives within and surrounds us. If we focus on the love that is our creator all of all that is will flow into our lives. If you don’t have everything you want, perhaps someone is telling you to change your wants.
When you have adopted that attitude one of the first things you will encounter are the but-heads. Those well meaning people that are rehearsed at saying “yes but…” Yes but I need to make a mortgage payment. Yes but I need a new car. In God’s love there are no buts. God’s love and caring are universal, wall-to-wall, complete and without an expiration date. The original renewable energy source.
Spirit does not play games or make us jump through hoops like trained dogs. God knows our needs long before we do. Didn’t Jesus say something about that? Our prayers are not to annoy God until we are given what we want. Even as children we found that tactic wore thin real quick. It makes no difference how often or how long we pray. God has never heard a single one of our prayers. God simply sees the person that prays and pours out love and fans the fire of that sacred passion. In the Sufi tradition there is a poem by Rumi called Moses and the shepherd. In part of the story God tells Moses that he doesn’t hear the words we pray. God looks at our hearts and says further, “I want burning.” Gods responds to the flow of love. The clearer the channel the more of the love that can flow.
From God’s view we are no different when we are praying than when we are driving down the road, making love or watching professional wrestling. (That one should make you pause a moment.) It is all simply an issue of how much love we are able to receive, give, and receive again. Every moment, every action and every thought are expressions of love. All our expressions of love are our experiences of God.
I can talk of many things. Still, the most important advice is to follow your heart. If you listen to it closely, it will always guide you to love. All of the other truths we experience are simply subheading of these. God is love. Focus on the source and everything else will come.