I read an article today online called Four Keys To Hearing From God.
What amazed me were the similarities between hearing from God and the spiritual practices that I have been reading about that have nothing to do with Christianity.
It’s interesting to me that when spiritual people speak of hearing messages from spirits and writing them down, we tend to get this feeling that they are evil. But when I was growing up I learned that the Bible was written in the same manner; certain people heard a voice from what they perceived to be God and they wrote down the message..but we believed them.
And then there’s the matter of the Holy Spirit, it lives within us, guides us and whispers to us during times of need. That reminds me of the ‘Higher Self’ that spiritual teachers write about. They suggest entering into quiet time, or meditation, to hear from God, listening to that inner voice that will guide us. Isn’t this one and the same?
I find more similarities than contradictions when I read The Game Of Life by Florence Scovel Shinn. Her book was Bible based, yet it taught the ideas behind the law of attraction in a way that was easy to understand.
Why do we feel we can trust a book [The Bible] that was recorded so many,many years ago, yet distrust the messages of spiritual leaders today so easily? Isn’t the same God who whispered words of instruction during the days that the Bible was written, the same God who guides us and protects us today? Is it impossible to believe that God can still be speaking to people today? Was Jesus the last messenger of God?
Is the Bible the only true message from God? Why can’t we trust ourselves to hear directly from God?
Are we all battling over defining who God is when the God we seek is actually the same concept? Is the name what is important or the message of love?
I think maybe it has to do with the tradition of religion. If so many others are doing it and it seems to work for them, then why should I step outside of the box and try to think and hear for myself? If I do this then am I merely following the crowd?
I don’t have the answers to any of these questions yet I think they are important to consider. A friend of mine told me, “Curiosity killed the cat.” She mentioned this old age because she will not embrace any teaching that doesn’t directly come from the Bible and she will not consider calling God anything other than God. She’s not into questioning anything because she wants to go to heaven.
What’s wrong with questioning? What’s wrong with seeking? Why do people sigh and shake their heads in dissappointment when they learn that I am defining my spirituality for myself?
I no longer fear Hell. I don’t believe it exists. I don’t look forward to heaven either because I believe that we are with God right now and we don’t need to wait for later. Sometimes I think that those concepts were created in order to pacify the masses.
“We can do whatever we want to them today,” the religious leaders of the past could have said. “And keep them focused on the afterlife. If they listen to us then they’ll get into heaven, but if they disobey they will go to hell.”
The idea of receiving an eternal reward or punishment doesn’t resonate with me anymore. We spend 60 plus odd years on this earth and then for the thoughts we thought or the deeds we did or didnt do, we get to spend an infinite amount of time reaping the reward or consequence of those actions– huh?
This idea of social policing through religion isn’t that bad. It gives us a good guideline of how to treat each other, but is instilling the fear of hell the only way to get someone to behave in the way that you want them to?
Would I want someone’s love or dedication because they fear me?
Why can’t I love others and treat them fairly because that’s what’s in my heart to do without fear or expectation of a reward or punishment?
And furthermore, is this entire journey that I’m on, seeking God’s divine will for my life, just a ruse to disguise the fact that I have certain goals and I want to go after them using God as an excuse instead of taking responsibility for my own choices?
I don’t know. I do know that I heard from God [or what I perceived to be God] back when I asked for Him to come into my life. I heard Him say, and it was a genderless voice, kind of like a ‘knowing’, but it was audible; “I forgive you. I forgive you. I love you.”
Years later I was praying and I heard the same ‘knowing’ say, “I will guide you.”
Was that me, God, Holy Spirit, my Higher Self or even a spirit speaking to me? Does it even matter? Those words made me feel like my life has a purpose and provided comfort.
Yeah..Now I can see why so many people embrace religion, it’s much easier to go by the book than to trust yourself to figure out an answer to life’s questions…