I live at the intersection between the human and the divine, and I love them both. I love the earth plane, the sound of a stream, the feeling of carpet beneath my feet, the taste of healthy food prepared with love, the sound of our laughter as we reveal our ridiculousness, the sight of my dogs playing and the feel of their fur. I love the divine, the feeling of peace, the experience of chi penetrating my head, the transformation into a vibrational energy that has no boundaries, the release from the anguish of emotion, the expansiveness, the guidance and the bliss.
Why do we feel we have to choose? Most of us live our lives as though we exist only on the material plane and that all decisions need to be made by our egos and for our safety. Others of us try to escape the pain of existence by transcending into an ungrounded other world, where our feet hardly touch the ground. These choices are foolish and limiting. They hurt.
Spirituality is not about what we believe. It is the process of living consciously, moment by moment, in the now. It is dedication to being aware of our prejudices and reactivity and getting the support to overcome them. It is replacing judgment with understanding; replacing separation with oneness. It is the way we are with our kids, friends, co-workers, "enemies," even the IRS.
Spirituality also allows us access to the magic that results automatically from our connection with the divine; the magic of teaching, healing and reconciliation. Some of us are aware of our magic. As an intuitive, for example, I am daily amazed at what I can do when I allow my inner guidance to direct my work. But many of us are unaware of our magic, although we express it through music or art, through our ability to bring peace or comfort to the suffering, whether human, plant or animal, or through a special understanding of children or a gift at sewing or gardening.
Take this moment to ask yourself what magic you have, what healing energies are in your hands or what divine inspiration moves you to solve a mechanical or practical problem. What can you see in yourself? What intuition do you have that helps soothe the soul of another or brings them into shocked awareness of something they have denied? What perseverance do you have that brings a project to fruition despite all obstacles? What voice expresses through you when you call on others to overcome their fears and offer their own gifts? What energy courses through you when you dance to the rhythm of the ages?
What stops you from claiming those gifts? What stops you from trusting your instinct and reaching toward others with the wisdom that courses through your mind and soul when you set aside self-interest and fear? What stops you from committing to use your gifts to help others? What are you allowing to keep you blocked from being here fully and totally?
There is no chasm between us and God, and I am willing to say so. I claim my place at the intersection of what we call human and what we call divine, and I call upon us all to explode the myth of their separateness. I invite the divine energy to express through me every moment of every day without hesitation from either side. I simultaneously express my connection to my fellow humans, flawed, suffering and full of love. I express gratitude for all the grace that I have already been granted, and I acknowledge my needs unmet. I acknowledge the help I require to be as completely here on the physical plane as I would wish, and I am grateful to the universe for having sent me a man with whom I am more completely experiencing existence.
Just as we are children of the male and female, we are the product of the intersection of the material and the divine. We can all live in this world, guided by the source, moving effortlessly in concert with the creative energy that not only brought us into being, but which sustains us daily. We can suffer deeply, and we can find peace.
Make every day a holy day. Let us be reminded that we have work to do, and the work is to be here, happy, sad, in pain, joy, anger and peace. We are to be here, always stretching, always reaching toward a place in our hearts that we know exists and from which we will not allow ourselves to be deterred. A place where higher consciousness is as natural as walking, and where we can simultaneously be on the earth, of the earth and of the sky.