Who is God for you? God is more than any one of us can imagine.
It is God who gives you life. It is the Spirit that connects you to all people and life on planet earth. It is Holy Oneness that gives you direction in life.
Connecting to God in everyday life is possible. It is possible because God resides right within us and around us. Continue reading
Connecting with the Spirit of God is like falling in love. You have to create space in your life for it to happen.
You will experience the holy in your own unique way. There is no magic recipe to make it happen. You don’t need to be part of a church, mosque or synagogue. You don’t have to believe in a particular dogma. You just need to be open.
Here are eleven ways to help you create space for the spirit of God in your life:
1. Choose a form of meditation that works for you:
I am using the term meditation in its broadest sense. It is any spiritual practice that can help you to quiet the mind.
Prayer is a form of meditation. When you pray you become open to the wisdom of God through listening with all your senses.
With intention, we can turn many life-giving activities into meditation. What do you enjoy doing? Do you love to work with the soil? Do you like to create things with your hands?
Today there are apps out there to help you meditate. The App I like the best is called “Insight Timer” which is available at The App Store or Google Play.
One of my favorite types of meditation is called Centering Prayer. First, you choose a focus word. Just be silent for a few moments and see what word comes to your mind.
Start with a few minutes gradually increasing the length of your meditations to between thirty and sixty minutes every day.
Just allow your thoughts to pass through your head and when you start to focus on an idea go back to your focus word to bring yourself back to the present.
Over time you will look forward to your daily practice and notice the difference when you miss a meditation.
There are many forms of meditation that include chanting, yoga, mindfulness, circle dances and more.
2. Practice:
Learning to meditate takes practice. The more you do it, the easier it will be.
There is no telling when you will experience those holy moments with God. But the more you practice, the more likely you are to notice the sacred moments that happen every day.
Learning to meditate is all about quieting your mind. Learning to meditate is all about becoming freed up to notice the wisdom you have been given through your body, heart, and mind.
You are not only to practice meditating but to improve your observation skills. Spirit is sharing wisdom with you every day. As you strengthen your ability to notice what is going on within you and around you, you will be rewarded with a depth of spiritual wisdom that will change your life.
3. Journal:
Journaling is a great way to observe and name what is going on in your daily life. If you don’t like writing you could do an audio journal recording it on your smartphone.
Take time every day to name what you are learning through the sensations of your body, your emotions, and your thoughts. Write this down whether that be in prose, poetry and/or drawings.
Give yourself time to fully experience the ups and downs of your day to day life.
Honor whatever you come up with. It is all good!
4. Listen to the feelings of your body:
Your body is full of wisdom. The spirit of God often communicates with you through the sensations of your body.
In the beginning, these sensations may feel intense and overwhelming. But the good news is that the more you can be with these feelings the less power they have over you.
Often when trauma is not treated, the energy will get stuck in your body. So every time you get stressed out this physical memory gets activated. But the more you can be with your feelings and release those old memories you become more open to the present.
As you live more and more in the moment, the spirit of God will be able to better communicate with you through your body. God working through your body will help you know if you are on the right path.
When your body is entirely online, you will inwardly know how you need to live your life. You will know without any effort.
5. Checkin with your heart every day:
The spirit of God is within your heart. Meditation and journaling help you to get in touch with your heart. It is a beautiful and vulnerable place.
Are you aware of your emotions? Meditation will help you to name what you are experiencing whether that be sadness or joy.
Meditation will help you see the difference between what you think you feel as compared to what you are experiencing in your heart.
Meditation will unlock in you the truth of the heart. This is God’s desire for you to reflect the love of God back to those you meet every day.
Your own heart connects with the heart of God. Your heart in alignment with God will show you how to live in the world. It will show you where you need to share God’s divine love in helping to build up a world where all can live with joy, hope, respect and good health.
6. Pay attention to your intuition:
You have your intuition. Intuition is that inner knowing of something you need to do. You might think of a friend or family member and know you need to call them. Then you call them, and you discover it was important.
Your intuition might tell you that you need to leave your job. It knows that your job is hurting you and your family. You leave your job and find a happier life.
Your intuition comes from your body wisdom that is able to notice problems well before our mind becomes aware of it. It will know that there is something or someone better out in the world for you.
God speaks to us through our intuition. The more you are present to the moment the more you are attuned to the many subtle ways that God informs your choices.
With practice and experience, you will become more aware of whom is speaking to you. You will notice the difference between your ego speaking and God.
7. Act out of faith:
This is where faith comes in. Your inner-critic will try hard to stop you. It will come up with all sorts of excuses. The inner-critic likes the devil it knows better than the devil it doesn’t know.
The inner-critic wants you to be safe. This was important when you were a child, but now an adult, you are capable of making your own choices; choices that are congruent with your emotional, physical, and spiritual well being.
With practice, you will be able to quiet your inner-critic. As it calms, you will get more and more hungry to risk doing God’s work. Tasks that you once thought you were incapable of doing become possible. Actions that frightened you no longer overwhelm you.
There comes the point where you need to make it happen. It doesn’t have to happen all at once. But take a step forward declaring to the universe that you are ready to make changes in your life.
Listening to your inner wisdom, the spirit of God, you will find a joy in your life that you never dreamed of was possible.
8. Live in the Moment:
As move into faithful living meditation will help you to live in the moment. Too much of your life you have probably spent too much time living in the past or future.
With practice, you will be able to focus your attention on the moment with access to all your internal wisdom. This gives you all the tools you need to make any choice in life no matter how small or significant.
As your life gets busy again, you may be tempted to let go of your daily meditation. You will notice a difference if you give up your spiritual practice. Daily meditation is crucial to staying in touch with the spirit of God.
You will find that you will have a lot more energy when you are living in the moment. You don’t get caught in unnecessary worry. You don’t fear for the future.
The decisions you need to make become clear because you inwardly know what is in your highest interest as an individual and as a community.
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9. Find a community to encourage, support and hold you accountable:
If you are part of a church, mosque, synagogue or temple, you already have a built-in community.
As humans, we are not meant to be alone. You have been given unique gifts to share in the world. We need each other to bring out the best in each of us.
The spirit of God’s wisdom is often revealed where at least two or three people gather. We can help each other to see truths that, maybe, we can not see ourselves.
Each of us reveals the face, heart, and mind of God to each other. We become mirrors of the divine for ourselves and the world we live in.
10.Take care of your Self:
Daily meditation helps you to make room to take care of your physical, emotional, spiritual and intellectual needs.
Taking care of all your needs frees the spirit to work with you. When you have a healthy mind, body, and heart, there is little to get in the way of your relationship with the holy.
11.Manifest the spirit of God in your daily life:
Your body is your spiritual home! When you take care of your body, it becomes a welcome place for the spirit of God to reside.
When the spirit of God lives within us, God will become manifest in all you do.
Practising daily meditation has the potential to help you connect with the spirit of God.
People who meet you will notice it in how you treat other people. People will see it in how you care for others. People will see it in how you care for the earth.
You will experience the holy within you and around you. There will be a joy in your heart that will carry through the many challenges you will face.
With practice, meditation helps us to live intimately with God. When you live intimately with God, everything we do becomes a reflection of God’s love for all of creation.
When you are rooted in God, you naturally help to bring out the best in each other. Be that best for yourself and all you meet.
Roland Legge offers life/executive coaching through REL Consultants for individuals, and organizations to help them to be the best they can be. For more information, please arrange for a free 30-minute discovery call by phoning Roland at 1 306 620-7478 or book your appointment online Please click on “Discovery Call.”
Originally post at REL Consultants Blog
God is in the in-between. Spirit lives within us and around us. Spirit connects us with all of life both animate and inanimate. To communicate with God, we need to stay present and open to the wisdom that is available to us all the time. You don’t need to go to church to open your channels to higher vibrations.
Here are Nine ways to connect with God without going to church.
1. Slow Down:
Your life is precious! You have a limited time on this fantastic planet earth. It is your job to make the most of it. Staying open to this limitless sacred energy helps you to know how to live your life fully. You will discover a natural flow to life that will carry you on like a gentle river.
If you want to stay connected with God, you need to slow down so the Spirit can get your attention. It is hard to remain related to the Holy when your life is so busy that you barely have time to sleep. God’s light will be revealed in our lives whenever we open up space for it to shine.
Make time for God, and you will be blessed.
2. Meditate and or Prayer:
Meditation and prayer are all about creating openings for the Holy to reveal itself in our lives. Meditation can help you to experience God within yourself through your body, emotions, and mind. Prayer is more like an open conversation with Spirit.
There are countless ways to pray and meditate. One method you can use both is Centering Prayer. Father Thomas Keating has brought this practice back into our modern consciousness. I love it because it does not require us to empty your mind. You choose a focus word to help bring you back into presence whenever you get too focused on a thought.
In the end, you need to find a practice that works for you. You can have a conversation with God, but don’t expect instant answers. It may seem like God is not hearing you, but years later you will find that God did respond; not necessarily in the way, you had hoped. Prayer can include a lot of active waiting. It is about living as though your prayer is answered but without any expectation of how God is going to respond.
There are many traditions to explore from a variety of Christian, Jewish, and Muslim traditions. Then there are the Eastern religions/philosophies to explore. There is no wrong or right way to pray. The only condition you should put on prayer and meditation is the holy intention of generosity, love, and respect.
Don’t expect this to be easy at the beginning. You will need to practice this new habit most days of the week, intentionally, before it becomes a regular part of your life.
3. Enjoy the Outdoors:
Most of us feel connected to something higher than us when we are out in God’s fabulous natural world. I love walking along the seashore, lakes, and rivers. I love the grandeur of the mountains! What do you enjoy?
Find where these sacred places are for you whether you live in the country or urban area. Make time for it. Go to these sites and just be. Soak in the beauty, wonder, and energy of the place. Take deep breaths to quiet the mind so you can truly soak in the ambiance of the area. You will come out of these experiences at a higher vibrational level.
4. Stay Open to Finding God within Yourself:
God is within you! God is as close as your breath and the beat of your heart. Going within helps you to find the oneness of God within you. Yes, you are worthy. Yes, you are loveable. Yes, you have a purpose in the world.
You might journal about how God is active in your life. Explore all the small and big things you have done that have made the world a better place whether that be for a person, pet, wild animal or for the whole earth. Everything we do that blesses the earth, and all its inhabitants make a difference.
How do you know if it is God who is speaking to you? It isn’t God if you are feeling shame. It isn’t God if it is destructive or violent. It isn’t God if you are trying to control or manipulate another person.
With practice, you will know the difference.
5. Look for God in each Person You Meet:
You meet all sorts of people every day. Try looking for God in each person you meet. It will change the way you see the world. It is tough to get angry with someone when you are open to the divine in them. Even if you can’t see God in another person, just know that God is there.
It is the holy within you that connects with the sacred in all people you meet, even people you don’t know. You know that you are part of God’s great family which includes every person on this earth.
6. Stay open to Experiencing Spirit in Unexpected Places:
God will surprise you! Think for a moment of an experience of someone encouraging you or helping you, who you never realized cared about you.
Maybe it was the time a stranger stopped to give you directions. Perhaps it was the time when a person you had never met changed your flat tire. Maybe it was all the neighbors who brought you food when you were going through a rough time. Don’t focus just on people. Animals are amazing. Our pet dogs and cats intuitively know when you have a rough time. Even wild animals warn us of wildfires. They let us know what kind of winters are to happen.
The most challenging gift from God is when it comes from a person you don’t like. It could be a sincere apology from a person who hurt you many years ago. An apology doesn’t mean you are required to become buddies with them. It can be enough to free you from the painful experience this person caused you many years ago.
7. Find Music that Touches Your Soul:
What type of music touches your heart? Music can help you to get in touch with the inner part of your soul. I love Celtic music. What do you enjoy?
Music can take us to places in the heart that no words could ever hope to achieve. Music is universal. Everyone can appreciate music no matter where you come from, what you believe or how old you are.
There is spiritual music that is universal because it gets you in touch with the rhythms of life. Take time to listen to music that inspires you. Music is incredible when you are feeling down. Music can re-balance the body, heart, and mind.
Music takes you to your spiritual depths. It returns you to thin places where the holy and ordinary become one. When you find yourself in thin places, you find joy in just being.
8. Honor Your Body as a Sacred Place:
When you acknowledge that the Spirit is within you, it changes the way you see yourself. You begin to see yourself as valuable just for being you.
When you can feel the sacredness within you, you are called to take care of yourself. Imagine your body is your church, shrine, mosque, or any other holy structure. Our bodies need good food, exercise, relaxation, and meaningful work.
Our souls need loving relationships. Our emotional, spiritual and physical health needs attention, time and practice.
9. Practise Radical Gratitude:
Practising radical gratitude opens the heart to the soul. Radical gratitude is the art of giving thanks to everything good in our lives. It can be:
· The Sun that keeps us warm and helps to grow the food we eat
· The Moon that controls the tides
· Water that sustains life
· Food that supports life on our planet
· Friendship
· Our pets
· Animals, fish, insects e.c.t.
What else can you add to this list?
Practising this art of loving the world opens you up to experience the holy in your life. It is an excellent way for you to keep God in your day every day. Our experience of the Spirit will become increasingly aware of the sacred the more you practice living with thanksgiving each day.
As you can see that connecting with God without going to church is achievable every day; but it does take practice.
It takes intentionality through slowing down, meditating, praying, enjoying the outdoors, looking for God within your self, being open to God in each person you meet, being open to experiencing God in an unexpected place, enjoy music that touches your soul, treat your body well and practice radical gratitude.
Staying attuned to God is a lifelong journey. You are required to make these practices a regular part of your life if you want to live life to your best.
The best part is that you know deep within yourself you are never alone; the universe always holds you.
Yes, you don’t need a church to do this, but finding a community of like-minded people to encourage you on your journey is often helpful. But this can be any group. It doesn’t need to be a formal religious organization.
Find what you need to thrive with joy, hope, and purpose. You are worth it!
Roland Legge offers coaching through REL Consultants for individuals, couples, families, and executives to help them to be the best they can be. For more information, please arrange for a free 30-minute discovery call by phoning Roland at 1 306 620-7478, or you can email Roland at rolandlegge@relconsultants.com
This article was first published at REL Consultants
Finding the Truth Within You
Are you feeling alone in the world? When you are amid feelings of despair it can be hard to see your way out. The good news is that there is a way out of hopelessness. Often the answer is right within you. I want to help you to discover the wisdom and strength that is within you. This is what it means to connect with God.
Reconnecting with Source
How many books have you read that promised you peace of mind and happiness and it didn’t help? The problem is that these self-help books are what someone else needs. Not what you need. I invite you to check out that place within you, that knows you best.
As you connect with Spirit, the darkness will gradually begin to fade as you become open to the wisdom of your body, emotions, and mind. It takes time and practice to become present enough to stay aware of the wisdom that comes from your three body centers. But every time you become a little more present it makes a positive difference in your life.
Your body, heart, and mind have been trying to communicate with you since the day you were born. What have you learned from your gut, heart and quiet mind? You have probably had gut feelings leading you in a certain direction. You have most likely felt love. When have you experienced intuition? If you have experienced any of these you are already connecting with spirit!
Listening to your internal source will shine the light on your life. The light will reveal what you need to hold on to and what needs to change.
Your process will be unique to you. Learning to love and honor yourself is a long-term process. The light within you will reveal sensitive places in your psyche that you have been repressed for years. It will be months and possibly years of healing to overcome the pain you experience. Yet, with practice, these parts of ourselves will become lighter and healthier.
Quieting Your Mind Down
Getting in touch with your inner self-sounds great but how do you do it? A good place to start is to quiet the mind. Here is what you can do:
Find a Practice to Help You to Go Deeper into Yourself
There is no one way to get in touch with your inner self. Each of the great religions has practices to help this to happen. If you are part of a church, synagogue, mosque or temple check to see what they can offer you.
If you are a Christian, you might like to check out Centering Prayer. It is a simple practice to get in touch with the Holy within ourselves through saying quietly to yourself a simple mantra to release your mind from being in the past or future. If you are interested, check out this website from Contemplative Outreach http://www.contemplativeoutreach.org).
Learning yoga is one way to get in touch with your inner spirit through breath and bodywork. This is has come out of some of the Eastern Spiritual movements but is not considered a religion. You will find yoga studios in most towns and cities.
Mindfulness and Meditation use breath work to connect with what is going on inside yourself. Using guided meditations can be helpful if you struggle with quieting your mind. There are some great apps available in the App Store and Google Play. One I use is called “Insight Timer” and it available at both App stores.
Check out what is available in your own community. There are many groups to choose from whether you consider yourself religious, spiritual, or secular. You are more likely to make these changes in your life if you do it with others. When you do this in the community you have people to support you and hold you accountable.
Going on The Journey
Enjoy the journey as you learn for yourself what it means to connect with internal source. What it means to connect with God, Spirit or Oneness. Remember the answer is no further than yourself.
Life is full of challenges. You know how easy it is to get caught up in hopelessness and despair. But once you begin the journey to wholeness there is no turning back. While this journey is never easy, it is a journey worth taking.
You have all you need! Go forth and live it!
Roland Legge offers coaching through REL Consultants for individuals, couples, families, and executives to help them to be the best they can be. For more information, please arrange for a free 30-minute discovery call by phoning Roland at 1 (306) 620-7478 or you can email Roland at rolandlegge@relconsultants.com.
This article was first published on REL Consultants https://www.relconsultants.com
Sermon – Lent II
March 16 2014
By Roland Legge
John 3:1-17
Today we have the wonderful story of Jesus having an encounter with Nicodemus. Who was Nicodemus? Nicodemus was a man who had become a convert to Jesus but was not ready to be public about it because of his high profile in the community. He was a Pharisee and a leader of the Jews and had much to lose if he was seen with Jesus. Yet Nicodemus took a great risk and visited Jesus in the night. They were two men from very different worlds. They spoke a different kind of religious language and so Nicodemus had a hard time understanding Jesus.
Jesus’ intention was to invite Nicodemus to be born of water, be baptized, committing publicly to the community of committed followers of Jesus.
(Born to be Wild by Nancy Hastings Sehested found at www.sojo.net) We will never know if he was baptized.
I like Nicodemus’ curiosity and courage to take the risk to get to know. I wonder how Nicodemus’ encounter with Jesus changed his life. The Bible tells us that Nicodemus was one of the people who was with Jesus at his crucifixion. He helped to prepare his body for burial. This too must have taken some courage.
Are we curious to find out who Jesus is, just like Nicodemus? I am always hungry to learn more about Jesus. I am going to share some of my own understandings of Jesus and I hope what I say will help you to name who Jesus is for you.
Jesus was the most God conscious person to live on this planet earth. Many received his gift of love with thanksgiving while many others rejected him because they did not like what he revealed in them. He was so connected to Spirit that he was able to bring healing into many people’s lives by accessing the divine healing energy that is there for all of us. He was able to remove energy blocks in people’s bodies that were causing dis-ease. He was able to help people to see that they are beloved children—men and women of God. He helped people to see the worth in themselves and the worth in each other. He did many acts of healing that today would defy our understandings of science.
But what moves me the most was that Jesus was fully human. He experienced all the challenges and temptations that each of us face. Because of his humanity I can relate to him but Jesus was also in touch with the divine side of himself. The miracles Jesus lived out we all have the capacity to do. If I cannot relate to Jesus I would not find it helpful or meaningful to be a Christian. If what Jesus said could not be lived out by people such as myself I would not bother being a Christian.
So the more I got to know Jesus the more he became a powerful presence in my life. I have found it helpful to learn more about the pre-Easter Jesus. This is the very human Jesus who lived on our earth over 2000 years ago. There are some fine scholars today who have opened this door of understanding for me. Often clergy don’t share such information because we are afraid of offending people. I believe it is very important information to share. One such person is John Dominic Crossan whom I heard in person at Epiphany Explorations in Victoria. Crossan says:
His eating and healing were, in theory and practice, the precise borderline between private and public, covert and overt, secret and open resistance. But it was no less surely resistance for all of that. We know already that he had a magnificent vision of the Kingdom of God here on earth and that by his own actions he already practiced what he preached. The Kingdom of God was not, for Jesus, a divine monopoly exclusively bound to his own person. It began on the level of the body and appeared as a shared community of healing and eating—that is to say, of spiritual and physical resources available to each and all without distinctions, discriminations, or hierarchies.
(Jesus A Revolutionary Biography by John Dominic Crossan Harper Collins SanFrancisco 1994 pages 113 – 114)
Crossan is suggesting that Jesus was calling people to walk their talk. Jesus would never ask his followers to do anything they were not willing to do. He was always practicing change through non-violence which went against the grain of Jesus’ society as much as it does ours.
This is just to give you a little taste of all the material out there to help us understand what Jesus may have been like when he lived long ago.
Jesus is much more than that to us. We also believe in the post Easter Jesus. This is the Jesus of faith. This is the mystical understanding we have given to Jesus after he was killed on the cross. It is the story of people trying to make sense of this Jesus and how a messiah could be killed on a cross. It is the story of how people continue to relate to the risen Jesus and find courage, determination, hope, joy and love where none might have been.
Being a Christian is not to believe the correct things about Jesus but to live in the way of Jesus by trying to imagine how he would want us to live. It is listening to God and Jesus through our hearts and acting on that intuitive mystical wisdom. It is living in community with prayer, worship, study, work and play. Being a Christian is allowing Jesus to work through us individually and corporately in our communities so that we can continue to find the abundant life we have been promised where we can continue to know that God has given us all we need and that God needs every one of us.
