| "Know Ye Not that Ye
are Gods?" by Karen Brewer When I was a child, one of my favorite activities was attending Sunday School in my small Methodist church and listening to Bible stories about Moses and the children of Israel. I especially liked the story about Moses striking the rock and crying out to God for water for the Children of Israel. The crystalline waters soon bubbled up from the ground in answer to Moses' prayer. It seemed like Moses' entreaties were answered on a regular basis. I thought the relationship he had with his Creator was not only inspiring, but was an admirable benchmark for how to contact the Divine. Feeling impelled by a force beyond my years, I decided to "try the waters" in the manner of Moses and talk directly to God. One night I began my evening prayers as my mother had taught me, but then went my own way. This night -- desiring proof that my prayers were heard and would be answered -- I spoke a command directly to the Divine: "If there is a God, make the angels come to me now!" I followed a soul directive and proceeded to sing to my Higher Power in honor of the angels' imminent arrival. The song was a child's heart-filled note of love, a vowel-filled chant meant to connect to the Infinite. The next thing I knew, I looked up at the sky and begin to see pearly-white luminescent angels gracefully descending into my bedroom through the window and assembling before me as a group on my bed. They did not speak, but had faces that conveyed a presence of holiness, serenity and love. They came as a group of 12 and were made of luminous white light about 12 inches in height. Each angel carried a glowing rod similar to the light sabers depicted in Star Wars. One of the angels, who seemed to be the leader, laid his rod down in front of me. Not knowing what to say to an angel, but being grateful they had come, I asked them if my aunt Mena, who had recently died, was with them. They didn't respond. Then, desiring to show the angels to my sister sleeping in the same bedroom, I attempted to wake her saying: "Linda, Linda, I made the angels come!" With these words the angels quietly ascended out of the open window and disappeared into the evening sky. My sister often recounts my excitement and joy at seeing the angels. In my heart, I knew Spirit had revealed to me my divine nature and that my prayers were heard and answered. This experience guided me in my future search to seek out a religious path that encouraged the direct contact of each soul with the Divine Self as found in both Christian and Eastern mystical traditions. The overall intent of organized religion is to bind the soul back to God. The Latin word religi means "bond between man and the gods" and relig re mean "to bind back." So religion in its highest expression helps us attune with our native spiritual reality. Religion is an outer system. Our spirituality is our inner reality. The former needs to reflect and enhance the latter. Our inner reality is the part of us that must find expression in all that we do if we are to integrate with our divine nature. Love for others, grace, goodwill and joy are all qualities of an individual who has found union with the living Spirit. These qualities embody the spirit of truth as found in all religions. The Higher Power receives all forms of prayer, no matter what religion, when given with sincerity, purity and devotion. The Sanskrit mantra, the Hail Mary, Buddhist chants or any plainspoken words originating from one's own soul are all equal pathways to connect with the Divine. How much more of a unified world we could achieve if we acknowledged this one simple fact and set aside our seeming religious differences. Identification and communion with the living Spirit transcends all religious doctrine. In the words of the Psalmist, "Ye are gods, and all of you are children of the most High." I intuitively knew this as a child when I called to the angels and strive to hold this quote as my touchstone of belief today. Let us contemplate the essence of our spirituality with the words of the Eastern adept and Ascended Master El Morya from the book The Chela and the Path: "You have the gift of consciousness. Consciousness centered in the flame of Life anchored in the heart knows itself as God -- as limitless potential, as a being that is infinite though tethered to a matrix that is finite. The flame that you are is the flowing stream of consciousness that ever was, that ever shall be, that even now is the fulfillment of the law of your being. The flame is your consciousness of continuity; it is the portion of the Spirit that is deathless, birthless, eternal. In the flame is the merging of your soul and your Spirit in eternity. In the flame you affirm and exalt the absolute perfection of your being." It is 45 years later and my soul still delights in contacting the Divine. Through daily prayer, meditation and service, I have learned not only to contact the Divine, but have accepted the message of the eternal that, in truth, I AM Divine. Karen F. Brewer can be contacted at The Summit Lighthouse, 6035 Nicollet Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN. Call (952) 926-4385 or visit www.summitlh.com/minneapolis Copyright © 2004 Karen F. Brewer |
||
|
Sept 2004 |
|
