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other words, ALL THAT IS, hence, pantheism. According to this concept, God is manifest in
the orderly processes of nature and has a natural, seemingly impersonal aspect. But when you meditate or undergo a mystical experience you become aware of a spiritual, personal aspect of
God, hence, spiritual pantheism. These two aspects are complementary and appear as separate aspects from the perspective of sensory experience. However, from the heightened awareness of mystical experience, all is really one, and we are an interconnected whole. Since God is everywhere, there is no place where God is not, and therefore, God is within each of us. In other words, we all have an inner divine nature that can be tapped into.
The spiritual, personal aspect of God is experienced by mystics as unconditional love.
In many near death experiences one describes a “being of light” who is loving and compassionate.
This type of love is total and unconditional; one feels loved and accepted for who he or she is, regardless of what he or she may have done. One is never condemned for mistakes or for making poor choices, but is seen as undergoing a process of learning and growing. It is like a child learning to walk, who falls down many times while learning to do so, but the child is not punished for falling.
In unconditional love there are no expectations or conditions which must be fulfilled in order to be worthy of being loved. This is the kind of love that is characteristic of God, which means there is no need for a savior to spare us from hell, and no need to follow a specific set of rules or rituals in order to please God. Everyone, without exception, is loved unconditionally by God. When you stop and think about it, an omnipotent and loving God would have no need for our fear, obedience, and worship. A God who does and is jealous and vengeful is an insecure God who needs therapy.
We are all divine sparks, and to begin with, we were in a state of being all there is, but without any contrast we could not appreciate who we really are. As Neale Donald Walsch, author of
Conversations With God puts it, this is like a candle in the sun, which is unable to be aware of its own light because there is light everywhere, and in order to become aware of its own light, it would have to be surrounded by darkness, which provides the contrast needed for this awareness. Likewise, we are all on a spiritual journey to know experientially what we already know conceptually, and this can be accomplished through living in a world full of contrasts and polarities. In the process of assuming a physical body, we “forget” who we really are, as we focus our awareness on the conscious mind and sensory experience. We are spiritual beings undergoing a human experience, but by focusing on sensory experience we come to regard ourselves as nothing more than a person in a physical body.
As a result of this incarnate existence and losing awareness of our true nature, we create the perception of a separation between our personal identities and our inner divine nature. As one focuses awareness in the world of sensory experience, the ego mind is created, which appears separate from the inner divine self, or higher self. The ego mind is the result of programming from childhood experiences and input from significant others. It is subject to negative influence,such as that from critical and demanding parents, or caretakers who instill fear and punishment,as well as abusive situations. And so, as a result of physical life, there is an apparent separation of our identities into the ego mind, and the higher self. But according to A Course In Miracles,such a separation is actually an illusion.
While incarnate, we tend to identify strongly with the ego mind, as if it were our whole identity,and can easily lose sight of our higher self. The degree of this sense of separation is influenced by one's earthly experiences. For example, a lack of nurturing by parents, the experience of abandonment or rejection, or childhood abuse and other traumatic experiences will reinforce the sense of separation. On the other hand, positive, nurturing experiences will tend to lessen the sense of separation and reinforce the awareness of our inner divinity. Many of us are aware on a subliminal level of something greater that is within us.
The nature of God is love, and when you create
a sense of separation from God, you create a
sense of separation from love. God is also omnipotent, our source of empowerment from within. Love and empowerment go hand in hand, coming from our source, God. When we feel connected to our source, we feel love and empowerment, but when we feel separated from our source, we feel unloved and disempowered. The perceived separation also causes a feeling of inner emptiness, an internal void experienced as “something missing” or a feeling of being incomplete.
From this separation arises the emotion of fear, which is the opposite of love. This sense of fear can lead to a feeling of distress, and can be manifest and dealt with in a variety of ways. In an effort to compensate for this distress, one may seek something external to fill the void and gain a sense of being loved and empowered. For example, a woman seeks a fulfilling relationship with a special man who will supposedly make her feel loved and complete. Or a man works very hard to achieve status and wealth with the idea that power and money will bring him happiness.
Unfortunately, we can’t rely on something external to make us happy. When the woman does enter into a relationship she places expectations on the man to make her happy. As long as he fulfills her expectations she may feel content, but then her happiness is superficial and fully dependent on her man. Thus, she is not empowered. If the man doesn’t meet her expectations then she is disappointed and the relationship becomes conflicted. This forms the basis for conditional love, in which one says, “I will love you only if you fulfill certain conditions.” She may leave him and go from man to man trying to find that one special person who will make her happy. When the man who strives for status and wealth does reach his goal, the void is still there and he doesn’t feel satisfied. He then feels compelled to attain even greater wealth. Thus, when you look for something external to bring you happiness you will be in a state of always seeking but never finding.
Fear is the basic emotion from which negative emotions, such as anger, hatred, jealousy, and
mistrust, are derived. Fear is the absence of love, like darkness is the absence of light. The
ultimate fear is that of being truly separated from God, which is never really the case, according to A Course In Miracles. This basic fear becomes translated in various ways. There may be a fear of not being good enough to be accepted by God. One feels he or she has been rejected or abandoned by God, and without any love or power, having been cut off from one’s source, he or she feels helpless, inadequate, and insecure. Or, one might feel a sense of lack, of not having enough of what he or she needs.
Many psychological defense mechanisms are employed in an attempt to cope with this inner fear. First, repression may be used to remove the fear from conscious awareness. One feels that he or she is lacking something or is no good, but will not be consciously aware of it. Instead, the perceived deficiencies are projected onto others, so one attributes certain undesirable traits within oneself to someone else or a group of people. This forms the basis of hatred. One hates someone else or a certain group of people because they mirror certain traits about oneself that he or she despises. For this reason, and because we are an interconnected whole, hatred directed toward someone else is really hatred directed toward oneself. Sometimes this self-hatred is acted out by violence toward others, as well as sometimes toward the self.
Jealousy and mistrust stem from the feeling of insecurity derived from the basic fear. A jealous man, for instance, may become possessive and controlling of his girlfriend. On an unconscious level, this man feels worthless and inadequate, and really hungers for love, but he believes no one will want him. So he imprisons his girlfriend with tight control, and even threats, if she shows any sign of independence, for fear that as soon as he lets go, she will leave him. Many battered women are victims of such men, whose acts of violence are rooted in fear.
Anger stems from a feeling of disempowerment and unworthiness, which is derived from a fear of being unloved and rejected. This feeling is projected onto others where one feels unloved and
rejected by them. The angry person suffers from chronic unhappiness and feels shortchanged, which leads to resentment. Then, as a result of the projected feelings, anger is directed toward
others. But, similar to what I said earlier, anger directed toward others is really anger directed toward oneself.
With this in mind we can see that fear is associated with defensiveness, mistrust, and control. Fear is constricting and holds one back from growth. Conditional love, which is not true love, is based on fear. The fear-based person is defensive, envious, or critical, and tries to hide his or her true feelings. He or she may not be willing to examine inner feelings and change, but stays stuck in old patterns. The fear-based person is not accepting of self and others and loves only conditionally.
In contrast, true love is unconditional, and is associated with expansiveness, openness, and
acceptance. The love-based person is expansive, and encourages others to grow and empower
themselves, rather than restrict them or try to get them to meet certain expectations. He or she
is willing to examine inner feelings and change old patterns that no longer serve him or her, and
seeks to grow personally and spiritually. The love-based person is accepting of self and others, encourages openness in them, and holds back on judgment. In other words, the love-based person practices unconditional love toward the self and extends it to others.
The key to overcoming fear is to recognize our inner divinity and the interconnectedness and oneness to the universe. We must recognize that we are more than just the ego mind and a physical body, we are spiritual beings who are extensions of God. We must realize that the apparent
separation between ego mind and higher self is an illusion. Going within by meditating is one method of dissolving this illusion. Mystical or spiritual experiences also break down the illusion and can result in a major transformation. In many cases, one will need to undergo psychospiritual healing by a holistic healer to help bring this about.
Once we achieve this we will realize that we are all one and that what we do to others we do to
ourselves, in which case, the commandment to “love thy neighbor as thyself,” takes on a more profound meaning. We will see ourselves, others, and the environment as an interconnected whole, and when you love and respect yourself, you will extend that love and respect to others and the
environment. By doing so, you show love and respect for God. And finally, you will become aware of God’s unconditional love for everyone. Consequently, there will be no fear of condemnation by God, and no need for guilt, but
a feeling of joy and peace as we feel the
connection to our source.
Contact me at: Spiritpan@aol.com
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