Beyond thought and into experience
It's tempting for us to stay in the realm of thought and idea.
Our intellect loves to grasp concepts and build them like legos into complex theories that we become attached to.
But something incredibly freeing happens when we see that
all of those beliefs that we held/hold on to so tightly for the (sensation) of comfort and security
are just thoughts.
Like cloud formations - they form, connect, and (can) dissolve.
True spirituality invites us to transcend nice and tidy theology (God logic)
and expand into theophany (God experience ["appearance" literally]).
When we move beyond concepts about the Divine
and allow our life (and concepts) to be informed by direct experience with / in the Divine
we step into pure, Ultimate Reality.
We then begin to experience life for the truth of what it is
instead of the limiting thoughts and ideas of what we think it should be.
And the more we step into and trust our direct experience,
the more we begin to see beyond the illusion of separation;
We awaken to see the union of God, self, and other for the Truth of who we are: Love.
There are two key practices for seeing through complex thought and theory about God and enable direct experience & embodiment with God:
1. Meditation / Prayer
2. Selfless service
First, in mediation we drop in the Essence of our Being
deep into the core of our identity beyond the surface level of Ego.
The Ego is busy trying to protect and project itself
to maintain a sense of control and authority,
hence becoming a tyrant to our holistic Self,
and manipulating our life in terms of reaction and posturing to virtually everyone and everything.
Most people in spiritual circles claim that the answer to this is to "kill your ego"...
Well, sorry, you can't!
Your Ego is a part of you.
It is your vehicle for interfacing and engaging on this plane of existence.
You can't kill it.
You must learn to extend love, grace, and compassion to this part of you
that is simply acting out because of an unmet (and often unnamed) deep inner need.
Most of us are acting out from our Ego; out of fragmentation and brokenness
and we wonder why we seem to constantly feel in the rut of not being "enough" for ourself or others;
let alone God.
It's because of this unconscious, habitual way of living that we fall into self sabotage, rejection,
and become accustomed to existing in this illusory state of Egoic separation.
Meditation mends the concept of brokenness and invites us deeper into our innate wholeness.
Through this practice and process we begin to heal those cracks and chasms from within
and stop the viscous cycle of trying to get anything from external sources
and see the the Source of our healing has been inside the whole time...
simply waiting for us to drop in.
The Spirit of Truth lives within you and, when you tune in, the Spirit is always faithful to continue to guide you into all Truth.
What you seek is not found in concept or theory:
It is found in the transcendence of experience that is here and now
if you have ears to hear, eyes to see, and a heart to participate.
Secondly, we then operate from selfless service.
I believe it's ideal to begin our inner work before moving to external service work or we can fall prey to the Ego's desire to try to find its identity in the activity of doing opposed to the Presence of Being.
Because, in my experience, we have a tendency to do great things...
BUT
at the expense of knowing who we are beyond what we do.
Service can become a hamster wheel of accomplishment to try and continue to justify ourself to God, ourself, and those around us.
Once we begin to function from a place of wholeness we no longer need anything from our service,
we can give freely, abundantly without expectation or assumption.
Which liberates us to express exactly who we are without fear and give to others unconditionally.
This also frees us from getting offended when things don't go according to plan; whether relationally or operationally.
Selfless service from the space of inner wholeness dissolves the assumptions from the realm of thought, idea, expectation and assumption
and keeps us open to the direct experience of Ultimate Reality,
happening here in the eternal Now.
To live in true balance, both individual and communal practices must be cultivated.
Many of us tend to stay in the corners of extremes: personal spirituality or community service.
But the truth is that one informs (or, I'd say purifies) the other.
It's the Yin and Yang of experiencing the Abundant Life.
- Luke
P.S. I am really inspired for our partnership distributing food in Tijuana every week. Please keep us in prayer and good vibes as we deliver food to the impoverished every Thursday.
If you'd like to learn more about this initiative and partnership, you can click here to read a post I made on my personal Facebook page or send me an email to learn more.
P.P.S. This initiative is in addition to our weekly Wednesday outreach in Oceanside.
We welcome you to contribute (click here) and/or volunteer :)