Life is all lessons…ignorance is not a destiny…
Consider me as a person who does not believe in any religion, neither on any depiction that man (with his limited understanding) has constructed upon God. While most people associate Him with their religion, I don’t. I come to understand that He is not in any religion—nor is religion itself. Despite Him being called by many names, depicted in many forms and bestowed with certain prejudicial characteristics, God can only be experienced if we become aware of our own spirituality.
The experience of God manifests whenever we start an inner spiritual journey. Even though we are continually inculcated by collective beliefs regarding His true nature, the truth can only be found within us. The journey to God lies in seeking and seeing deep within one’s self—not on ones’ subservience to the false admonitions impressed by those who call themselves holy. God is not a collective experience but rather a personal one.
Perhaps an experience I had many years ago would elucidate this principle.
I was only in my teens during the time when my father was struggling from emphysema. In an effort to relieve him of his suffering we have gone to prayer meetings from different disciplines of religion in hopes of miracle; but nothing worked.
As time goes by my heart bleeds as I see him deteriorate, like a lit candle slowly melting away. Him being aware as the sole bread-winner of the family I see his worry over our future. In a last attempt for a miracle we’ve attended a huge prayer meeting organized by a world-renowned pastor who happened to visit our country. I have witnessed this pastor perform miracles during the promotion of his prayer rally on television, and I was impressed by his capability to bring a number of people into a holy trance wherein they would fall from their places as they receive the anointing of the Holy Spirit. I think this is it. My father would surely be healed if he received such anointing hand from this prophet.
Since there are huge number of people who attended, my mother and my younger brother put much effort in bringing my father closer to the stage, hoping to receive the full healing power. I was left from afar where I could hardly see the venerated pastor on the stage. Hope and anticipation filled my heart as I await the miraculous event. I did believe that my prayer would be answered and doubt has totally abandoned my mind.
When the moment of healing/anointing has arrived I felt a mysterious energy surround me. I saw my father from afar but I cannot sense his faith. Rather than tuning to his spirituality my father puts his focus outside of himself. The pastor waved his hand to the right then people would collapse from receiving the Holy Spirit. Same thing happened to the people where he waved his hand to. But when it came to our region—the side where my father and I are—a miracle had happened! Though not what I’ve expected.
I was bewildered at what I have experienced. My father was so close to the pastor but he did not experience the mysterious force that had me trembled. While I was very far I could not forget how something numbed my body as I fall on the hard ground. The falling experience was one I’ve not experienced before, as if something is holding my body as I slowly (in my perception) fall to the ground. I felt my head bumped on the feet of another and my back fall on a rock, yet I felt no pain. I am a man of science but what I’ve experienced defied a natural law. Could I have experienced God?
Yes I did.
The pastor had been an instrument to tune me into my inner spiritual self—the only place wherein God can manifest. Now I understand why the woman who was sick for 12 years in the book of Mark has been healed by the mere touching the robe of Jesus; or the case of the centurion in the book of Matthew wherein he put his faith on Jesus’ word in order for his servant to be healed; or the case of the young boy who was able to walk without crutches by merely touching the feet of the crucifix in the movie Leap of Faith. God is a personal experience. God is within us.
I felt very sad about my father. He had not surrendered to his spiritual self, and thus failed to experience the grace of God. However, during his last, he had made peace with God by surrendering to his spirit. Man is stubborn in clinging to the physical until he realizes that it will cease. When the body fails, what remains is the spirit. But what will become of the spirit if it remains an infant—by this I mean ignorant of its own.
The mystery of God will always be an enigma to the limited mind of man. In the realm of the spirit, human reason becomes irrelevant. This is the reason why we must pursue our own spirituality because it is only then that we can find who we are beyond our temporary form.
There’s no reason to argue who God really is or find proof of His existence. God is a personal experience one must pursue within the silent realm of his spirit.
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Well, I wasn’t quite sure where you were going with this. As an editor, I would get rid of the “elucidate and inculcate” – those are thesaurus words that should be simplified for the average reader unless in the Scientology “style” of writing, you’re going to define them at the bottom of the page somewhere. Then, there is your referring to the television evangelist as a “prophet.” No way. A shyster perhaps, but not a prophet in any sense of the word. What you may or may not have experienced was highly emotional, amplified (made larger) by your very stressful personal situation with your father. You were so desperate for some relief – any relief – and you got it. And that’s what your so-called “prophet” wanted. You sadly fell into his trap. But that’s not necessarily a horrible thing, if you didn’t write a check out for $1000 afterwards as a “donation” to cover the “prophets” high production costs for the month or his wife’s new Mercedes. I think your point was that God is inside of all of us. You don’t have to find him at some rally, church, mosque or seek out a evangelist to perform a phony miracle. I appreciate your honesty and your sharing. If you were a student in my university class, I would give you a B – with a red note on top to “develop” the piece further and submit it again.
Marshall J. Gruskin´s last blog ..Kidney stones- dieting- driver killed…
Very interesting how that you can have such different experience from your dad. I guess you need to be receptive to have an experience like this. I wonder if I will ever be receptive enough.
Kelvin Kao´s last blog ..Russian Spy Ring Case Likely a Movie Promotion Stunt
Hi Walter,
As you mention, experiencing God is a personal situation and thus the concept of who or what is God becomes also a personal and different opinion from one person to the next. Obviously the debate in that field can go on forever, and that only proves that, more than ever, it has to be a personal journey of discovery where each one can arrive to his/her own conclusions.
Interesting post to reflect on it, thank you
Raul
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Hi Walter,
This is a beautiful article. Exquisite. Toward the end of my fathers life I saw him give up the anger and mercurial nature that defined his existence. It was like you described, it was his own personal experience of God that enabled him to let go of all his hardened opinions.
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