“To make God a reality is the real object of worship. ~ Bowl of Saki, April 27, by Hazrat Inayat Khan

Happy Sunday!

I’ve been singing the title line of George Harrison’s song for a couple of days now.  Yesterday morning I stood in the sunshine coming through the back door window and raised my hands in praise and sang “I’ve got my mind set on you!”
What’s been happening this week?
I’ve been aware of God.
Last Sunday I wrote about my reflections of Good Friday and the lesson given me about Resurrection Power within us all.  What I intended to imply, but didn’t speak directly about as it would be off the subject of my writing, was the significance of my guides directly answering my question on why Jesus chose to suffer on the cross.  I asked the question and was given a response that just moved and amazed me.  I was in awe for a couple of days following this thinking to my self “this is really real, I am connected to my Source!”
For a couple of days I reflected on the realization of my ability to connect to Source.  I thought of the book ‘Conversations with God’ by Neale Donald Walsch and how I enjoyed those books but still had my doubts about channeling and having a conversation with God.  I no longer held these doubts as I have routinely done this myself now.
Intuitive hits and guidance have been coming to me for a while, I know my journey is guided and my Sunday writings are too – new to me is just a greater acceptance that this is true.  I am reminded of a saying that I first heard Deepak Chopra say, we move through three stage in any learning process; first we hope we can learn, we move into faith that we are learning, finally we know we have learned it.  Have I moved into the knowing that this is real?  My doubts seemed to have greatly diminished.
Trust in my intuition is becoming very strong.  Last Sunday I had a nice Easter with family and from conversations we had on spirituality and religion I could just see the path for my brothers, very different ones that I want to support; different paths are great, as we are told – they all lead to the same place.
I have been sharing spiritual books and films with family based on the intuition I receive.  When I have done this I have been fearful that I have overstepped boundaries, moved into areas that are too personal. I know that I am to take action on my intuitive hits so I choose to act boldly and follow what the intuition tells me. It is fear that nearly stops me from taking action; I don’t know what I am afraid of, if it is a fear of rejection or just past conditioning of having to remain separate from others.
I like it when I hear back that the person I shared with gained some awareness or insights, it makes my ego happy.  I must remember that what they gained is between God and them; my part is about what I am learning from this journey of listening.
Peter finished his internship this week; leading up to this he has said to me that he wanted to donate money to the charity that he was working at.  Last week when we were out to dinner he brought it up say he would make the donation this week.  A number came into my head so when he said how much he was thinking of and it was the same amount that came to my mind I said “I know.”  He asked me how I knew and I responded that his guide told my guide who told me.  I got a smile from him for that.
This week he made the donation but it was only half of what we had discussed.  It’s been on my mind since then, I’ve been wondering why he chose to do half.
This morning I watched Joel Osteen, and yes, as always, he spoke about what’s been on my mind; he spoke about listening to God.  Listening to that still small voice that is always there giving us direction.  The voice is there to listen to, to guide us down the path of our learning the lessons we are in need of or the path of being God’s hands here on earth and helping someone else.
So Joel made me think about if I am acting on all the intuitive hits I had this week.  The one that I hadn’t followed up on was the donation amount that Peter gave to the charity.  After Joel was finished I asked Peter why he hadn’t given the full amount to know if there was a reason.  His reason seemed to be one of doubt, his holding back, so I told him to send the rest of the money to them.  I know God has a purpose for that money that we will probably never know of; I know it will be used well and make a difference in a human life.
So where are all these thoughts on listening and acting leading me?
After speaking with Peter, as I approached my IPad to check my email and start writing, I knew my “bowl of saki” daily email would be significant.  The message would take me past my thoughts of listening and intuition to a bigger realization.
The email message brought together what my awareness this week has been telling me.  I’ve been listening and asking. I’ve been quick to act on intuition. I’ve been pausing to appreciate nature around me.  I’ve have even had moments of heart felt love for another person.
Hazrat Khan spoke of inner life beginning with making God real.  The following two paragraphs emphasized this for me:

“The first and principle thing in the inner life is to establish a relationship with God, making God the object with which we relate ourselves, such as the Creator, Sustainer, Forgiver, Judge, Friend, Father, Mother, and Beloved. In every relationship we must place God before us, and become conscious of that relationship so that it will no more remain an imagination. …”

“One might say, ‘How can one love God, God whom one does not know, does not see?’ But the one who says this wants to take the second step instead of the first. He must first make God a reality, and then God will make him the truth. This stage is so beautiful. It makes the personality so tender and gentle. It gives such patience to the worshipper of God; and together with this gentleness and patience he becomes so powerful and strong that there is nothing that he will not face courageously: illness, difficulties, loss of money, opposition — there is nothing that he is afraid of. With all his gentleness and tenderness, inwardly he becomes strong. … If a friend comes to meet him, to the Sufi it is God who is coming to meet him. If a beggar is asking for a penny, it is God whom the Sufi recognizes in that form. If a wretched man is suffering misery, he sees also in this the existence of God. Only, the difference is that in some he sees God unconscious, in others he sees God conscious. All those who love him, who hate him, who like or dislike him, who look upon him with admiration or contempt, he looks at with the eyes of the worshipper of God, who sees his Beloved in all aspects.”

I understood from reading today’s message that I am moving from thinking God might just be in my imagination and living in faith that he is really there to knowing that God is real and I, we, everything, is immersed in him.
I thought of an analogy of a fish becoming aware of water.  The fish lived fearfully feeling isolated until it realized it was fully supported in an environment that nurtured and nourished it; the water flowing in and around him.  How loved and support he felt, fear of isolation was gone replaced with appreciation for all that surrounded him.
People who have experienced near death experiences and out of body experiences speak of feeling like they are immersed in Love.  It just surrounds them and that when we come to be human’s on earth the loss of that sense of Love all around is painful.
God is Love – to be able to realize that I am surrounded by and connected to that Love in the forms that I see as well as the formlessness that I can not see is so peaceful as well as freeing – freedom from fear.
I think I am at the cusp of this new reality.  I find myself accepting of these new traits I find in myself and in the world around me.  All of things I thought were impossible years ago have fallen away to a new reality where I know anything is possible.  We can all tap into the Source which is the Christ Consciousness ‘in whom all things are possible’.
On Friday I flagged the closing quote from Hazrat Khan because it spoke of how I am aware of my recognizing the spiritual message in so many areas that people use as creative outlets for the messages they hold within themselves.
Namaste’
“The moment the soul has awakened, music makes an appeal to it, poetry touches it, words move it, art has an influence upon it. It no longer is a sleeping soul, it is awake and it begins to enjoy life to a fuller extent. It is this awakening of the soul which is mentioned in the Bible, ‘Unless the soul is born again it will not enter the kingdom of heaven’. Being born again means that the soul is awakened after having come on earth, and entering the kingdom of heaven means that this world, the same kingdom in which we are standing just now, turns into heaven as soon as the point of view has changed.” ~ Hazrat Inayat Khan