Divine Dignity…“Our belief in a limited and impoverished identity is such a strong habit that without it we are afraid we wouldn’t know how to be. If we fully acknowledge our dignity, it could lead to radical life changes.” Jack Kornfield

We learn how to be present by abiding. In the movie, “The Big Lebowski,” Jeff Bridges plays the roll of, “The Dude.” In this character I see someone exploring what it means to abide. Its just a fun metaphor for abiding as we seem to be a society scratching and clawing our way individual and corporately to the top of the pile. This craze runs counter to the writings and concepts I want to highlight for consideration. A friend of mine gave me an old copy of Walt Waldo Emerson’s writings that I have been reading and reflecting on. I wanted to share some of my muses with you and then land on how these truths relate to Jesus and his teachings. Emmerson seems to insist and capitalize on this, that all humans have an innate capacity to encounter their universal source and giver of life. The Divine entrusted to us Spirit and we are all part of God. I know this to be true in my how intuition as well! We all come from Spirit and return to Spirit. We are all animated by the same DNA that God is and all have been given this indwelling power. We are of the same essence; part of God at our core. We all belong to the same life giver. God is reviled through us and in us and we tap into this awareness and being best through times of solitude in nature. No one person is in totally the expression of God, but a dim reflection of the beautiful whole. Sadly many humans’ have delighted to romp in darkness and choose to squander this divine gift. Instead many people exchange the divine presence to chase after personal greed projects, invest in propping up their fragile pride and invest time on personal empire building. However, in spite of this tragedy, God is always ready to deliver a fresh word, to inspire, comfort, and move through us when we make room for Spirit. The divine does not limit action and revelation to one religion, nation, place or special movement. God is infinitely creative, and dynamic looking to move through and with creation. As sons and daughters of the divine, we have access to the universal mind. This universal mind is our life source, animating energy and all that we own our intuition to. I dig this quote by Emmerson.

 

“Everywhere I am hindered of meeting God in my brother, because he has shut his own temple doors and recites fables.” Walt Waldo Emmerson

 

Many of us just take the easy way and let someone else tell us who we are, and trust fables instead of pressing into abiding with in our source. Emmerson again says,

 

“The imitator dooms himself to hopeless mediocrity. The inventor did it because it was natural to him… Cast behind you all conformity and acquaint men at first hand with Deity.”

 

 

So we are invited into deity, we are blessed with it, we are invited to explore the divine within as well as without. I feel so excited to spend the rest of my life seeking to live in tune with my creator, to explore the joy knowing God, to allow the mystery to shape me and revelation to flow through me. Im open, we all are invited to discover what it really means to be receivers. I love this, “Cast behind you all conformity!” There is a unique expression of the divine imbedded in you and its for you to learn to embody in this life. You do not need to emulate popular religion or culture.

 

Jesus

 

The Teaching:

Mystical Oneness

“You, Father, are in Me, and I am in You. May they also be in Us… I have given them the glory You gave …I in them and You in Me…you have loved them just as You have loved Me.” Jesus of Nazareth

 

The Practices:

Silence, take time away from technology, invest yourself with time in nature, and prayer

 

Jesus like many wisdom teachers before him used; time in nature, took time away from society to reflect and connect, and invested himself in solitude. He allowed his forty day walk about in the Galilean desert to reveal his fragility as well to root into his divine power. Jesus rooted into Spirit and was filled with the fullness of divinity and invites us to the same oneness he shared with God, who he proudly calls “Daddy.” This union was expressed in his life, thought his teachings and the power he demonstrated. He claimed that his power to resist evil non-violently, heal the sick, and raising the dead was a result of a deep abiding in his Father. Jesus demonstrated to humanity how to embody oneness with the Divine. As my mentor Richard Rohr says, “Jesus to change humanities mind about God, not God’s mind about humanity.” Jesus did not come to pacify the divine as some have suggested, he came so that we could have faith that this divine connection is present. God isn’t an angry and raging deity but a forgiving, patient and loving father. We no longer need anxious and paranoid religion to guide us, but to trust in our creators divine indwelling and cultivate ears and eyes to hear and see anew. I’m forever changed in practicing his teachings, and seeking to live connected to Spirit in power. Jesus invited us into the process, not new religion, but practicing living in tune with our creator.