I came to this way of being, seeing myself and everyone/everything I encounter as 'God' by simple observation...of myself.
I don't view this as an 'increase' in my personal being-ness, it is more a change in perception. The common quote - "A rising tide lifts all boats", comes immediately to mind. If I come to the discovery that I AM One with all there is, One with creator and creation, then everyone that I encounter and everything I touch is of the same cosmic/esoteric substance as I. This is regardless to what anyone else 'believes', this is regardless of how anything else responds to my touch. My encounters with others and 'things' rises to the sacred, the divine. We may not always get along, or see things eye to eye; all my encounters may not be peaceful and transparent. But, I will look to myself first when those encounters don't reflect peace or feel sacred. What am I not seeing in the antagonism? That instant of Self reflection first has many times been the catalyst to 'let it be' and review my ego/mind attachment and posture in those situations. No, we may not 'agree' on things, but we don't have to either.
You see, the ego/mind says 'I am god' too. But, the ego/mind thinks small and is hierarchical; it sees itself and its allies as confederated 'gods', allied gods, that stand against whatever it deems unacceptable to its beliefs. The ego/mind cannot comprehend 'at Oneness'. There is a level of disrespect, of mockery and dismissal that permeates the ego/mind when it encounters others or ideas that it does not, or will not understand.
This is not to make an 'enemy' of the ego/mind, the ego/mind has a definite purpose. It is our individuation in the world. The ego/mind is a required, viable element of our beings. However, the ego/mind should not be the sole arbiter of our interactions with each other or this world.
The quote - "the mind (and the ego that inhabits the mind) is a beautiful servant, but a dangerous master" is pertinent. The ego/mind is vastly limited perceptually. It rarely exists or perceives in the present instant. The ego/mind is almost completely self-serving.
I find the analogy of the ocean and a bucket of water from the ocean as meaningful. "If God is the water of the ocean, then we are a bucketful of ocean water". The ego/mind will see other buckets as containers of lesser water, not ocean water like itself. Some of us, millions of us have made our buckets transparent, we can see the same primal water in every bucket.
Jesus discovered his divinity alone in the desert. Muhammad discovered his divinity alone in a cave. Moses alone on a mountaintop, and Buddha under a tree. They along with thousands, maybe millions of other mystics have discovered their inner sacred divinity in silence and solitude. They all endeavored to communicate to the world our own divine nature. The world, unable, and many times unwilling to grasp the awe-inspiring, liberating truth of this, tried to intellectualize it. But, this is a truth that the mind cannot wrap itself around. That is because it is not the ego/mind's purpose to hold this truth. This truth is known in the heart. What the mystics call...the ground of being.
Focus on the breath can take us to the ground of being, even just a few minutes. Still silence, or chanting a mantra keeps the mind occupied enough to behold the deeper, inner presence; the ground of being, just under the mentality of the ego/mind. Yoga accomplishes this also. Know that beholding the sacred divinity in you is a practice, a discipline. Personally, the discovery that we are 'God' was not an all the sudden, instant epiphany. It was a slow dawning process that derived from a meditative practice. I don't want to dishonor the sudden epiphanies that others may have experienced. I'm simply relating that has not been my experience. Please know that everyone's experience is unique. This link relates my meditative experience.
So, if you take offense to the idea that I think of you as god. That I see you as I see myself, get over it. Your taking offense will not alter my vision of you. We may disagree and even argue about some idea or another, however I will not see you as anything less than I see myself. 'God' experiencing itself as human in four dimensions.
No, I haven't fully mastered this way of being yet, hell it may take several other lifetimes to master effectively...but I'm working on it dadgummit.
Thank you for reading this Sunday afternoon babble. My intent is to give you something to ponder. With Love.
“You cannot believe in God until you believe in yourself.” ~ Swami Vivekanada
Namaste'
Duane Townsend
Original Article: http://www.duanetownsend.com/1/post/2014/03/you-are-godnow-relax-and-be.html
