Today
I refer to my Higher Power directly and personally. Referring to the God of my
understanding as something impersonal…as It…or The Absolute Truth…is not
fulfilling for me. It feels too vague. (Although to refer to God as the It or
the Absolute is not incorrect; God is everything, therefore God is IT!)
Today,
I continuously work on improving that personal relationship every day, and
every moment I remember to.
I’d
like to ask you: What if you were able to
believe and see that there is only One, and that One is God; to see God in
everything, the plant life, the animal kingdom, the stars, and yes, even in
every human being?
How
would you treat all that you came into contact with, knowing that everything is
part and parcel of God? If we could try to remember that as we walk through our
lives today, trying to see the light of God in everything, wouldn’t we have
more love, respect and honor in all that is.
The
major religions of the East and West each tell us so.
In the
West, the First Commandment says:
“I Am the Lord, thy God, You
shall have no other gods before me.”
I
hear: There is only One, and that One is God. Do not put other false idols
before Me.
What
are those false idols today? Anything that takes the place of God first. Some
of us have put ourselves first by focusing on our jobs or attaining wealth,
health, longevity, popularity, etc. At times, we have put our families first,
before God.
All of
these things will give us some happiness, but none of it will give us the
ever-lasting happiness we find in our relationship with God.
In the
east, they have Yama Niyama, these are
simple ethical guidelines/rules for living right. Yama is the social piece and
Niyama the spiritual piece.
One of
the five Niyamas of Patanjali (Father of Yoga) is “Surrender to God, God comes first.”
Both
the guidelines/rules/commandments of the East and West say the same thing. By
committing ourselves to a higher standard of living for the good of all, life is
more fulfilling and we all experience more harmony.
Commitments
are not always easy, but they will bring about harmony within and without.
Peace
and love,
Michael
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