THE EXPERIENTIAL AWARENESS OF GOD

Contemplation and mysticism . . . both mean loving experiential awareness of God: not ideas in the head or on the lips, but personal living experience.  - Fr Richard Rohr, "Daily Meditation," April 21, 2020

Meditation gradually * * * releases tremendous resources to solve our problems. - Eknath Easwaran, "Words to Live By," April 22

It is not necessarily that we are slow to learn, it is that we are slow to believe that which we are learning; namely, that all of our problems have already been solved for our benefit...just seldom in the way we held dear.

We tend to believe because we agree, or want to agree, with the writings of the likes of Rohr and Easwaran that represents gut-bucket belief. So why hasn't my problem(s) been solved to my satisfaction?

The inability to believe lies squarely in our refusal to let go of our reliance on that which our reasoning mind holds dear...self in a word.

Agreeing with the Sermon even does not represent gut-bucket belief, it represents our want-to. When we come to the realization that we must needs experience that which is written, we begin to fulfill the hardest of all things...the exchanging of our mind. Swapping the reasoning mind for the spiritual mind in fact.

When we experience a heavy-duty loss...of a dear one or of an eye or a limb or even of the "perfect" job...and we know to pray our thank you with a sincere heart, we are heading in the right direction. There. That is our bare beginning.

Our awakening is born in our experiential awareness of God that our personal living experience
delivered. It comes with our acceptance of that exchanged mind and the different kind of joy it brings. There it is. Our proof the belief we seek is ours...and by God and by grace we will grow with it. 

Thank you.