God Rays

 As soon as I saw the image on this week's postcard, my heart lifted. Such beauty. Golden sunlight shining through trees - one of my favourite things to see, always. I felt a rush of happiness at the sight of them.

Then I read the words which accompany the image, "Happiness shines back like the light of heaven", by the American short-story writer, essayist, biographer, historian and diplomat of the first half of the 19th century, Washington Irving. I googled him and discovered that he was responsible for the well-known stories Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Both of which have risen to the level of American folk tales.

"Happiness shines back like the light of heaven." I have experienced this sometimes. When I have been particularly happy, the world seems to come into clearer focus - everything I see around me is illuminated by its own inner light, which I am willing to believe is not objectively true, but a result of my state of mind influencing my vision. I think that for me, that is what makes a place, a memory, sacred. In my memory, it is lit by the rays of God, the light of heaven.

And because memory is faulty and will fade in time, I have sometimes tried to capture the essence of the beauty of what my eyes have seen by using the camera on my phone. My nearest equivalent to this picture happened one Autumn morning in Salcey Forest, when I saw this, and was filled with joy and wonder at the beauty of God's creation:

I am so grateful for eyes to see, ears to hear, a nose to smell, a mouth to taste, skin to touch and a heart and soul to interpret and understand. I believe it is our senses which bring the glory of God into our experience, and our hearts and souls which enable us to be ready to receive it. It is what we perceive through our senses which brings us happiness, which reflects the light of heaven into our lives. And it need not be limited to natural beauty - I have felt the same thing when beholding the face of a friend or family member, when listening to something which speaks to my condition and so on. We are complex creatures and our responses to events and places and people will be unique to each of us. But I do believe that when we are awake to them, they can also point us to the presence of the Divine in our world.

We are the Sunbeams

 Yesterday, I had a session with my spiritual director, which was rich and good. And towards the end of it, we spoke of our relationship with God, and he shared the revelation that there is no separation between us and God, "not even the shadow of a hair's breadth".

In the past, I have felt moments of connection with the Divine, whatever we name Him/Her/It. But the idea that there is *no* separation between us was new to me - or maybe I was not ready to receive it before. My spiritual director said that it would take time for this idea to move from my head to my heart, that I would have to sit with it for a long time before I truly experienced it. And I believe that.

But this morning, I was mulling over what he had said, during my morning sit, and these words came to me (the first image came from my director, the rest from me):

God is the sun, we are the sunbeams,

we are emanations of God.

God is the Light within us all,

reflecting and connecting with the Light around us.

God is the water, we are the ripples,

caught up in the Divine Flow.

God is the air, we are the breath,

each breath in, a breath of Life,

each breath out, a breath of Love.

God is the One Tree, we are the branches,

growing out of the Source of Being.

God is the fire, we are the sparks,

lighting up our universe from within.

God is Love, we are lovers,

sharing, caring, healing, understanding.

There is no separation between us,

"not even the shadow of a hair's breadth."

We are working parts of God.

I believe that sitting with this will give me enough purpose and meaning for a lifetime...

View from the Hill

For the last two days, I have been on an individual guided retreat at Holland House. The poem below was written while I was there ...

“You yourself are what you are seeking”.

A living manifestation of God – She is in all things.

God is in me – I am made in His image –

perfect and complete.

The whole universe is sacred.

Outside my window, a butterfly

browses among the sun-warmed flowers.

She too is a manifestation

of the Divine in creation.

But she regrets not the past,

nor has any care for the future,

She just does her thing,

flitting from flower to flower,

gaining sustenance for her present need.

Because of her, they will germinate

and seed – giving life to a new generation.

All of creation is interdependent.

It is only we, in our human arrogance,

who try to live outside this flow of life,

between God and the rest of creation.

The wise among us will “go with the flow”,

living in present awareness

of our part in the Circle of Life.

We could learn from the animals.

A dog, out for a walk with his master,

is only aware of present pleasures:

the feel of the earth under his paws;

the sights and smells and sounds

around him, and his perfect contentment

in spending time with the one he loves.

If the man is wise, his sensations

will be the same. But probably,

he will be “walking sightless among miracles”,

his mind on other matters.

God is manifest in the world

and in ourselves. If we pay attention,

How could we not love Him

“with all our hearts, souls, mind and strength”?

Wake up and smell the roses!