Namaste

Namaste,

I thought I'd begin my blog with the classic Yoga-buff's greeting.

It's a great lead-in to the kinds of things I'd like to talk about anyway: spirituality and personal growth.

My expertise is in hypnosis & life coaching to help people make major life changes primarily and I have helped a lot of people. But my personal spirituality has always played a big part of that and guided my thoughts and words.

Over the years I've studied a lot of spiritual traditions - Christianity, Kabalah, western magic, Buddhism... all kinds of stuff. I tend to see the similarities rather than differences and believe that God (or "the Universe" or source or whatever you'd like to call it) has connected and continues to connect with us all. I believe every culture has seen God and heard his/her voice in their own language and in ways that make sense to his/her culture. And every spiritual school of though has something to teach.

So, back to Namaste.

Namaste has a lot of meanings, but one particular jumps out at me:

"The divinity in me sees (recognizes or connects with) the divinity in you."

What a wonderful choice: to see others as divine.

Advaita Hinduism believes that we collectively form what we call God. That's an ancient idea also found in pantheists and animists like Shintoism, many African and Native American religions and it has gotten more and more popular with modern "spiritual-but-not-religious" Americans.

A Course in Miracles, a book that has been a touchstone for speakers like Oprah, Dr. Wayne Dyer and Deepak Chopra, teaches that we are all collectively the child of God and a part of him. We are "one" with each other.

Even in fiction we see it... In Robert Heinlen's "Stranger in a Strange Land" the spiritually enlightened characters greeted each other with "thou art God." In Avatar the characters said "I see you," implying a deeper loving understanding of one another. And of course who could forget "the Force" of Star Wars. The idea is one that has seeped into our collective unconsciousness and is growing.

Christians often cringe at the idea thinking it is arrogant or heresy putting "other gods before God." But A Course in Miracles says the opposite is true - that by believing we are separate from God we are declaring we are Gods. The illusion we make and live within is our arrogance. We declare that we choose our destiny; that we are more powerful than God's will; we know more than he and thus at war with him. Only by coming together, seeing each other as one and merging once again with the father do we fulfill his will.

Getting "back to the garden" so to speak...

So we are a part of God? Maybe... why not. Isn't it possible that this whole world is an illusion as it says in the Tibetan Book of the Dead? Isn't it possible that, like modern physics seems to be proving in experiments in intention on the sub-atomic level, we co-make this world around us with our every moment's decision? Isn't it possible that fear and grudges keep us immersed in this illusion and those moments of satori when we get an intuition from the subconscious mind it's really just a momentary letting down of the illusion and hearing the voice of God within us?

And when we have those moments of intuition doesn't it feel like it is both from without us but also a part of us at the same time?

Or maybe we are only acting as conduits for a higher power in those moments. Perhaps we aren't parts of God, but those are moments of fearless love and beauty where we become in tune enough with the universe that we channel those intuitions. Then we are still vessels for divinity... insight... love beyond measure.

So when you see the divinity within another person you are seeing the very best in them. You are seeing their capacity to love. You see their capacity to do great things. You are seeing only their potential in this moment instead of past hurts, grievances or failures. You are seeing the potential for miracles, love, learning... God reaching out and making this moment everything that it can be.

How beautiful.

How powerful?

How loving.

How could a prevalent attitude like that change the world?

In Luke 10:25-28 it says "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself."

Read that last bit again: "...they neighbor as thyself."

We are one.

Thou art God.

I see you.

Namaste.


- Larry Volz