Reading & Meditation by Rev. Dr. Christine 1/16/22
Today I’ve selected a reading from “...For the Aspiring Mystic” by Helen Brungardt-Pope (with Mark Pope, Karl and Jane Kopp).
The false belief that we are separate from life’s good is at the root of our suffering. The path of the aspiring mystic must be one of dissolving this root false belief...
The first principle and the most fundamental of all the principles is: There is only one God, one Presence. Everything created was created by God. The basic principle of Oneness has been taught by all great teachers as the key to the Truth or Reality of our own being, but it is living in this conscious realization that there is only one Presence that is crucial.
Many years ago, when I was trying to clarify my understanding, a phrase occurred to me that helped me very much. It was “I want to live in the house of total remembrance.” This statement helped me to remember Who I am, not just during meditation, but most of the time. I believe the reason it helped me so much was that it expressed my deepest spiritual desire. I began to become aware more and more frequently of the essential spiritual nature of my children and of the plants surrounding me in my garden room and in the grounds around my house.
On one occasion, as I stood staring at a cottonwood tree, I became conscious of being in the presence of a grand and beautiful manifestation of God. I knew the tree to be an expression of the life of God. As I noticed the veins in the leaves, as I followed with my eyes the upstretched branches, and as I contemplated the deep roots that were barely visible in places, my sense of a separation me and the tree began to dissolve. It was as if my immediate environment was within me while at the same time I was an intimate part of the tree and its environment: I was also in them. I somehow knew that this kind of consciousness was what my soul was longing for, and I had no doubt that what I was experiencing was the truth, whereas my “normal” sense that all things were separate and distinct from one another was an illusion.
There is only one conclusion to be drawn from the principle of One Presence. Regardless of all apparent duality, there really is only One. The presence of your body, mind, and soul, the room where you are right now, the city where you are, are all of this same One Presence.
Meditation “Oneness”
I invite you to get comfortable, relax. Close your eyes, and go within. Bring your attention to your heart center, and begin with some good deep breathing. Breathing in and out from your heart center...
There is only one Presence, the Omnipresence of God, God everywhere present. Pure love, power, joy, all knowledge, abundance, and eternal life; all God, all One, and I am at one with this infinite Presence we call God. As is all people, all life, all creation both visible and invisible.
From the heart center, silently repeat “There is only one Presence!”
This one Presence includes my family, friends, co-workers; all people around the world; and even those I don’t like or fear; they too are of this same one Presence. This very moment I am one with all people everywhere.
This one Presence is every animal big and small; every insect, reptile, fish and bird they too are of this same one Presence. This very moment I am one with all animal life everywhere.
This one Presence is every tree and bush; every flower, herb, all that grows from the ground and sea are of this same one Presence. This very moment I am one with all vegetation.
This one Presence is every mountain, valley and cave; every rock, mineral, and grain of sand; all of air, fire, water and earth are all of this same one Presence. This very moment I am one with all of mother earth.
This one Presence is every star, planet, and cosmic body; black holes, all light and dark matter, all alien life are all of this same one Presence. This very moment I am one with all of the universe. I am one with it all. I am one... (silence)
As I bring my attention back, I give thanks for this realization of oneness.
Thank you God.