Tag Archive | God

Magic, Miracles and the Truth of Abundance

Feb8

Today’s blog explores the truth of an abundant Universe and the magic and miracles that happen when we believe this to be true.

The First Spiritual Fear

In my book, Authentic Freedom – Claiming a Life of Contentment and Joy, I reveal the Seven Spiritual Fears that prevent us from living a life of contentment and joy.  The first fear that I reveal is the fear that there is not enough. This fear arises out of our survival needs for food, clothing and shelter, but becomes distorted and irrational, causing us to constantly live in a state of anxiety over money, food, clothing, time, material possessions, money, money, money.  The truth that is the remedy to this fear and also revealed in my book is that the Divine meets all of our needs in abundance.  For most of us, it is a significant leap of faith to even consider the possibility that there is a Divine Source, let alone one who cares enough about us to make sure our needs are being met.  Then when faced with the reality of unemployment, a declining economy, world hunger and poverty, we really doubt this truth.  What we learn, however, is at the highest and deepest levels, this truth ultimately has nothing to do with our material world and has everything to do with our inner terrain.  Our original nature is peaceful and content and that inner state of peacefulness is independent of our external life circumstances.  In other words, even if we are dying of starvation and exposure in a Nazi prison camp, we can still know peace.  A tough pill to swallow to be sure, but this is the peace that God invites us into, invites us to remember and cultivate.  And, it is this deep well of inner peace that will give us comfort no matter what life throws at us.

Practicing What I Preach

Two years ago when it became obvious that divorce was inevitable, one of my teachers prophetically stated, “Well, now you will have an opportunity to practice what you preach.  You will be living the words written in your book.”  As the past 24 months unfolded, I can tell you there were many times I wish I had never written this dang book as I found myself choking on my own words.  Every fear that I teach about in Authentic Freedom came to bite me in the butt and I had to return again and again and again to what I had written.  The fear there is not enough was most certainly the most frequent visitor….and I still struggle with that fear from time to time and sometimes on a daily basis.  I guess the adage is true that we teach what we need to learn!

Proof in the Pudding

I do have to say, however, that everything I wrote in my book proved to be true.  In the face of all of my fears, through adherence to the principles of Authentic Freedom and engagement of the spiritual practices outlined in my book, I have found abundance, my own unique giftedness, empowerment, love, the freedom to generously share my gifts, insight and direction and most importantly the peace of remembering my Oneness with God and with all the Universe.  Specific to the fear there is not enough, the past week has been a glorious reminder of how truly abundant our God is and how our needs are abundantly met when we have faith and believe.  I want to share with you a few examples:

  • When I began this journey 24 months ago, a vision of a house appeared in my prayers – the house that would meet all the needs of myself and my children and my fledgling business.  I found what I thought was “the house” and lost it in a bidding war.  Later, I had a dream of a friend “giving” me a house.  This served as a reminder that the house that was in our highest good would come in some magical and miraculous way.  A month or so later, this is exactly what happened.  My children and I now live in a magical, amazing home that also houses my business and I am head over heels in love with this house!
  • When struggling with the fear there is not enough  last week, I brought it to prayer and in my prayer, I saw a vision of two fish and five loaves of bread.  Duh…..loaves and fishes.  God was giving me a message.  I was smart enough to hear the message and believe it.  I then paid my bills and found I had more than enough money to cover the bills and may have even discovered a $300 error, in my favor, in my bank account.  (still waiting for verification of that error)
  • I have a suggested fee that is in the reach of many of my clients, but out of the reach for some.  My commitment to God has been to offer my gifts without regard to people’s ability (or lack thereof) to pay.  As a result, I have worked out discounts, trades and barters with several clients.  One of my standing “jokes” around my trade and bartering is “Now I just need to find a farmer who will give me food in exchange for Reiki.”  Yesterday it showed up in an even bigger package than what I had asked for.  One client brought produce from her own garden and venison that her husband had hunted.  Another client brought a bag of organic groceries from my favorite Co-op in Madison.  When it rains it pours!
  • In an effort to meet my client goal for the week, I posted a message on Facebook, inviting past and current clients and friends to send people my way.  That very day, I got three new clients….completely unrelated to the Facebook request.

So, I guess the moral of the story is that God really does meet our needs when we have faith and believe.  And in those moments when I find I am unable to believe or trust in an abundant God, this is the prayer that gives me comfort:

Lord, Help me in my unbelief.

Because I have also found that all the praying in the world sometimes doesn’t calm our fears….and in those moments I know that only God can help me to believe.

Where do you struggle with the fear “there is not enough?”

What tools do you have for moving through that fear into belief in abundance?

Where do you turn to God for help when you are afraid?

Lauri Lumby

Authentic Freedom Ministries

http://yourspiritualtruth.com

What if God isn’t?

Feb6

Today’s post explores the unexplorable, the unanswerable, the unponderable….in the mind of some people – the unforgivable. What if God isn’t?

Facebook Dangers :)

The image above was found floating around Facebook this weekend.  I read it and LOVED it! I immediately shared it on my wall, thereby inviting a firestorm of comments.  None of the comments were negative, in fact, most were either a “like” or something like, “YAY.”  One comment, however, struck me right between the eyes.  The comment was, What if god isn’t?  HMMMMM   I had never even considered that possibility.  This comment made me think, it made me reflect and  it made me sad.

The Unanswerable Question

Of course, there is NO answer to that question, “What if god isn’t” because, there is also no answer to the question,  “What if God is?”  At the end of the day, we do not know, we have no proof, we have no evidence.  And, unfortunately, unless God steps out of “the sky” and plants his or her feet on this earth (and THAT is a topic for a whole other blog!), or is spotted playing Skeeball at Coney Island (let me know if you get that reference :) ), or unless we die and go to “heaven” and meet God face-to-face….we will never know.   So until any of those events transpire, we have nothing to go on but FAITH in a God that may or may not exist.  I for one, choose faith.

Being a Fool for God

So, to the enlightened, the educated, the scholarly, I may appear the fool because I CHOOSE to believe in a benevolent God.  I choose to believe that there is a Higher Power, a Creative Source that is beyond me, that made me, that can be a source of guidance, support, nourishment, mercy, healing, love, insight, understanding, wisdom and empowerment.  I choose this belief because I have found that when I believe in God, my life is better.  And when it is not, I know that there is a loving God carrying me through the struggles, the pain, the loneliness, the loss, the betrayal and the tragedies…and when I surrender to this God, believe in this God, the doors open where I before thought they were closed, a light shines in the darkness and I am able to find HOPE where perhaps there had only been despair.  Believing in God keeps me going through the ups and downs of the human condition and allows me to seek beauty in ugliness, peace in the face of fear, clarity in the midst of confusion and strength in times of struggle.  And when I think about this really hard, I guess it doesn’t really matter if there is a God or not because it might just be the belief that gets us through and it might just be belief that helps us find meaning in a life that would otherwise seem meaningless.  But even if God doesn’t exist, and this is all there is, I still choose to BELIEVE because after what I have experienced, why would I choose otherwise?  And if I chose to not believe in God, then it would clearly be a matter of “Life sucks and then you die,” and that would just be sad.  So instead of sadness or despair, I choose God, and if that makes me the fool…..then so be it!

And here are a few God songs ….just for fun!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USR3bX_PtU4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7Qpp1QJpxc

How has belief in a benevolent God helped you in your life?

Lauri Lumby

Authentic Freedom Ministries

http://yourspiritualtruth.com

Can I Get an AMEN!?

Jan29

Today’s blog explores the much used, abused and in truth, neglected word, “AMEN.”  What do we mean when we say this and what can it really mean? 

Exposing my Geekdom

I have a confession to make.  I am a geek!  I pretty much meet all of the qualifications for certifiable “Geekdom.”  And maybe this isn’t a surprise, but  one thing I bet you didn’t know about my Geekdom is my complete fascination with ancient and dead languages – in particular, Sanskrit, Aramaic, Hebrew and Latin.  I have said if I had all the money and time in the world, I would go back to school and study these languages.  But here’s the real Geek confession….it is not the languages per se that fascinates me, it is the letters, the root sounds and their magical, mystical, healing, transformative powers.  Because in case you didn’t know this…..these languages ARE MAGIC!  And that goes back to my first true fantasy and first touch of geekdom - to be able to wiggle my nose, ala Samantha Stevens,  and poof make things happen.  And in case you didn’t know this….Samantha Stevens is QUEEN of the geeks!

Magical Hebrew Letters

So my dream to be able to study ancient and dead languages has begun taking root.  On a recent Amazon.com search, I found this fabulous book, The Wisdom in the Hebrew Alphabet by Rabbi Michael L. Munk.  In this book, he takes each letter of the Aleph-Beis (Hebrew Alphabet) and explores the hidden, mystical, magical, spiritual significance of each letter and their connection to Jewish deed and thought.  It is a beautiful book and it is quenching my thirst for a deeper comprehension of ancient languages and their spiritual roots.

Can I Get an Amen?

Now….to the point of today’s blog!  Rabbi Munk shares his thoughts on a tiny little word that is common among the prayers of both the Hebrew and Christian traditions, and that word is AMEN.  Having been raised Catholic, I was quite familiar with this little word – it acted as a period at the end of every uttered prayer.  Whether a rote, memorized prayer like the Lord’s Prayer or the Hail Mary, sung at the end of the Doxology, or at the end of the intercessory prayers, Amen was the word that marked the end of our prayer intentions.  I recall being told in religious ed that “Amen” meant something like, “So be it.”  Rabbi Munk reveals a deeper, more expansive understanding of the word AMEN that has totally altered the way I will use this word in the future:

The word Amen, stems from faith or belief.  When responding, ”Amen,” we must bear in mind that we are acknowledging our belief in the manifestation of God described in the blessing we have just heard.”

(The Wisdom of the Hebrew Alphabet pg 152)

When we say, “Amen” we are saying that we BELIEVE that God is doing what the words say God is doing!  We are saying that we BELIEVE that God is answering and taking action on our prayers.   We are saying that we BELIEVE the words we are saying or the words that God is saying to us.  Amen = I BELIEVE.  To me, this is HUGE!  It is one thing to put a period or an exclamation at the end of a blessing or a prayer, but to say, “Yep, I believe this,” is not just HUGE…it is EARTH SHATTERING!   Now…let me give you some examples.

God’s Words to Me

Throughout the past year and a half of blogging, I have shared with you several mantras and words of comfort that God has given me in my prayer and in my yoga practice.  Here are some of those words:

  • You are my beloved daughter and with you I am well pleased
  • You are precious and glorious in my eyes and I love you
  • I know well the plans I have for you, plans for prosperity and not for woe
  • Say yes to what God gives you
  • You are a vessel through which love is known in this place
  • You are worthy of love and belonging
  • The word is CHOOSE
  • Grow up
  • You know who you are, you know what you want
  • Be open to receive all the love the universe wants to give you 

I have taken these words to heart…..and they have been a profound source of comfort and help when I needed them.  But upon reading Rabbi Munk’s words, these words take on a whole new meaning.  To all of the above……I now add a big, huge AMEN!  In other words, I don’t just hear these words, I am being invited to BELIEVE them……to believe in prosperity, in love, in abundance, in openness, to belonging, to knowing, to receiving, etc. etc. etc. and to know that God is actually DOING what all of these words of comfort and support suggest.   So to prosperity…I say AMEN!  To knowing all my needs are abundantly met….I say AMEN!  To all the love of the universe, I say Amen…..You get the idea! And indulging my geek fantasies, when I say AMEN, I imagine God as Samantha Stevens, wiggling her nose and making it so!  Now it is your turn:

To what are you being invited to say AMEN?

Lauri Lumby

Authentic Freedom Ministries

http://yourspiritualtruth.com

You Are Loved

Jan23

In today’s blog I share with you the words that came to me during my yoga practice yesterday morning.  I believe these are words for all of us!

Worthiness and Love

Of late, I have been reflecting on worthiness – specifically worthiness of being loved.  This love is of course about our intimate human relationships, AND I know at the deepest core of my being, that this worthiness is ultimately about Divine Love and our ability to believe we are loved unconditionally, infinitely and beyond measure.  As in worthiness of human love, we might hear that God loves us, but do we actually believe it?  Most of the time and for most human beings, I would say the answer is “NO.”  And what I have learned is that until we not only hear this love, but believe in it….with our whole hearts and souls, we are without peace, joy, compassion, mercy and fulfillment.  In other words, it is in REMEMBERING the LOVE that WE ARE…..that we find peace, contentment and joy.

God Speaks

So I showed up for yoga class yesterday morning with these thoughts wrapped around my aura.  Before beginning class, our instructor usually invites us to state within ourselves an intention for our practice.  I didn’t have a specific intention for the morning, so I simply sat in silence, waiting.  Then, clear as a bell, I hear God speak.  And this is what God said to me, “You are my beloved daughter, and with you I am well pleased.”  Yeah, Yeah….I know this is scriptural….and that it comes from the scriptural narratives about Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan by John.  And…..I also believe these are not only God’s words for Jesus….but are God’s words for us as well.  And…..hearing these words yesterday made me wonder, “Is this the truth Jesus had to hear, know, embrace and embody before he could embark upon his own healing ministry?”  I think perhaps it is!  So I used these words as a mantra during my yoga practice and allowed myself to not only hear these words, but begin to believe them.   And in being present to these words, I felt peaceful, joyful, grounded and secure.

My Prayer for You

So, here is my prayer/invitation for you today – that you take these words, You Are my Beloved Daughter/Son, and with You I am Well Pleased – imagine that God is saying these words directly to and about you……and believe that God is addressing you in this way.  Then, let your heart be open to hearing, believing, embracing and embodying this truth…..BECAUSE…….YOU ARE LOVE…..YOU ARE LOVED…..YOU ARE WORTHY….And the quicker you know this….the quicker you will know peace, contentment, fulfillment and joy!

Lauri Lumby

Authentic Freedom Ministries

http://yourspiritualtruth.com

Writing as a Spiritual Practice

Jan18

Today’s blog explores writing as a spiritual practice.  And, offers resources in support of this practice. 

My Journey with Writing

Writing has been part of my personal spiritual practice for nearly 20 years, if not longer.  I remember first being encouraged to write as part of my prayer in a high school theology class (I attended parochial schools).  My writing practice at that time consisted of writing my prayer requests to God and writing what might be construed as psalms – poems of praise and worship.  My writing practice took a back seat during my fun-filled college years and my early foray into corporate America.  Writing re-surfaced as a spiritual practice through one of the required classes of the Ministerial Formation program I attended through the Catholic Diocese of Green Bay, Wisconsin.  The class, Integrative Spirituality, was taught by Sr. Marie Schwan and focused on Ignatian spirituality.  We learned various Christian spiritual practices including Imagination/Contemplation, Mantra Prayer, Lectio-Divina, and Centering Prayer.  We were encouraged to make writing part of our daily spiritual practice, and to keep a spiritual journal.  Keeping a journal later became a requirement of the program itself and a pre-requisite to graduation.  Not yet realizing I was born to be a writer, I was surprised to find that the writing part of the spiritual practice eventually became one of my most helpful and supportive tools.

The Gifts of a Writing Practice

What I discovered through spiritual writing and journalling, was that it was often through my pen that God would speak.  Somehow, writing allowed me to get out of my own head and simply allow a higher wisdom and source of creative expression to speak through me (I call that higher wisdom “God”).  Through writing I found answers to difficult questions, insights into higher laws, creative inspiration, spiritual comfort and healing, direction along life’s path, release of pain and woundedness and a place to write my deepest, darkest, most vulnerable feelings and thoughts….things I would be reluctant to share with anyone.  Today, I rarely enter into my spiritual practice without my journal by my side and pen ready.  Writing has become an integral part of my spiritual practice and has become the roadmap of my life.  As a professional Spiritual Director, I often invite my clients to add writing to their existing spiritual practice and for those that have said yes, they have experienced amazing results.

Starting a Spiritual Writing Practice

If you have not yet integrated writing into your spiritual practice, I highly recommend it.  And, there are several great resources out there for beginning that practice.  One of my favorite is Spiritual Journaling – Writing Your Way to Independence by writer and teacher, Julie Tallard Johnson.  In this book Julie provides tools for beginning a spiritual practice centered in writing, writing prompts and exercises and all the support you need along the way.  It is a terrific book for beginners as well as well-seasoned writers and I highly recommend it.  And……just so you know, the book has just been released in Kindle format and from January 22 – February 4, will be available for just 99 cents!!!!!   So, check out the book, get your copy today and START WRITING!

Lauri Lumby

Authentic Freedom Ministries

http://yourspiritualtruth.com

What god Are You Serving?

Jan17

Today’s blog is in the form of a music video from one of my favorites:  Trent Reznor in his incarnation - Nine Inch Nails.  Click on the link below, then reflect on the questions that follow:

Head Like a Hole:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ao-Sahfy7Hg&ob=av2e

(Here’s a link to the lyrics in case you need help:  http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/nineinchnails/headlikeahole.html)

How much time and energy do you give to “god-money?”

What is the focus, center, pivot on which your life unfolds?  (money, acquisitions, status, power, love, joy, peace, fame, etc.?)

How are you being called to shift your attention from the external “gods” to the Source of love, peace and joy that resides within you?

Lauri Lumby

Authentic Freedom Ministries

http://yourspiritualtruth.com

Saying Yes To God

Jan8

http://www.ishalerner.com

Dear Readers,

I want to thank you for being a loving and supportive witness as I have moved through this past year of listening and attempting to discern God’s call for me in my life – specifically in this year of dramatic change (divorce, etc.).  Today is the day I step into what I can best discern as God’s invitation for me to step more fully into my call/role of “priest.”  I hesitate to even use that word because of the negative connotations this word brings up for many, and for fear of being caught up in my own compulsion of pride.  When I use the word “priest” here, what I really mean is VESSEL – specifically, a vessel through which other people are empowered to:

REMEMBER the Love that they Are

And I do this through the sharing of my own gifts and the tools that I have gathered along the way that help us to come to know ourselves more fully, to come to know God more fully and to identify, name, claim, cultivate and eventually share our own unique gifts in the world.

So, as the Authentic Freedom Ministry team launches our Sunday services, I thank you.  I thank you for listening, for holding space, for accompanying us on this journey….and I thank you for your thoughts and prayers of support.   And today, I have a special request – I ask that as we create a space of contempative worship, that you hold us in your prayers…..and more importantly, that you hold in prayer those who feel called to join us for contemplative worship this evening and in the days and weeks ahead.  For twenty years I have observed the dramatic transformation and healing that takes place in people when they allow themselves to be open to the contemplative journey, and I expect the same to take place in the minds and hearts of those who will find their way to our Sunday gatherings.  So I too, will hold them in prayer.

Blessings to you as we celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany…..the day when three dudes from the East recognized the miraculous Presence of the Divine in a star, had the faith to follow that star to destinations unknown and who discovered the love of God in the heart of a child.

In love and light,

Lauri Lumby

Authentic Freedom Ministries

http://yourspiritualtruth.com

Resolutions, Intentions and Vows

Jan5

As a rule, I do not make New Year’s resolutions.  Resolutions can be broken and are too easily bargained away.  I do, however set intentions and goals for the coming year and this year, in addition to my intentions and goals, I felt called to make a Spiritual Vow.  A vow, is a promise that we make to ourselves and to that which is beyond us, what I call “God.”  A vow is like an intention, but in my mind, is more binding, more permanent, has more bang for the buck.  Through our Spiritual Vow, we enter into a covenant relationship in regards to our life’s vocation which is related to the unique way we are called to reveal Love in the world, to be a source of healing and comfort for others and to be of service to the world for the betterment of humankind.  This is my vow for 2012 (and beyond):

Under the blessing and guidance of my teachers,

Jesus, called Christ and Miriam, called Magdalene,

I, Lauri Ann Lumby, allow myself through my own

unique giftedness to freely, humbly and generously

be a vessel through which Divine Love (Agape’)

is known in this world.  

What spiritual vow are you feeling called to make for the coming year?

Lauri Lumby

Authentic Freedom Ministries

http://yourspiritualtruth.com

Questions About Forgiveness

Dec16

Today’s blog focuses on the question posed by a reader:  “I understand the concept of forgiveness but have a hard time practicing it.  Any suggestions?” 

Seven Times Seventy Times

Being a firmly entrenched and committed Irish grudge-holder, I certainly have no idea how to answer the question about the practice of forgiveness.  The good news is that my guru and teacher, Jesus of Nazareth, had something to say about it.  When asked how often we should forgive, Jesus replied, “Seven times Seventy times.”  I don’t believe that this was offered as a commandment but simply as an observation as to how difficult and challenging the whole journey to forgiveness really is for us pea-brained humans.  In my own journey, I have found this to be true.  The journey toward forgiveness is hard work, challenging, requires sincere intention and discipline.  If we really want to forgive and to be freed from the hurts we perceive ourselves to have received from another, we have to want it.  In my own practice (and that is exactly what it is….practice, practice, practice) with forgiveness, there are a few tools that I have found to be helpful:

1) Grieve the loss – Allow yourself to FEEL the pain of the loss, the hurt, the betrayal.  Be present to all the faces of grief that might show up – sadness, depression, anger, denial, bargaining.  Feel it and be present to it.  Give yourself permission to wallow in your victimhood…to be the martyr, to be the scorned lover or forgotten friend.  But….DON’T STAY THERE!

2) What unhealed fears of your own were triggered in the hurt?  Take time to identify the unhealed fears in yourself that were triggered in the loss, hurt or betrayal:  The fear that there is not enough, that you have nothing to contribute to the world, that you cannot be your most authentic self, that you are not loved, that you are not free to express your truth, that your needs will not be met, that you do not know your truth or your path, that you are alone.

3) Take time to be present to allowing the unhealed fears/wounds within yourself to be healed….. Seek support through a Spiritual Director, Counselor, bring these unhealed wounds into your meditation and prayer, ask for Divine assistance.

4) Place yourself in the shoes of “the other.”  This is the hard part:  explore what unhealed fears/wounds in “the other” might have caused them to act in a way that you perceived as being hurtful.  Once you think you have identified the unhealed wound or fear, pray for their healing, hold them in loving kindness, circle them with the idea of love.

5) NOW WAIT Another challenging stage…..because this is the stage that reminds us that we ARE NOT in control.  The moment in which true forgiveness takes place is God’s alone.  It is not something that we can make happen.  It is a moment of pure and unmerited GRACE.  This is the place where miracles happen, where we suddenly realize we are free of the burden of resentment, grudge-holding, hurt, etc.  It is in this place where we can move forward in our journey, freed of the past wounds that would otherwise hold us back or simply repeat the same patterns.

Two Supportive Spiritual Practices for Forgiveness

All that being said, there are two additional tools that I have found to be incredibly helpful in being open to and moving through the practice of forgiveness.  One from the Buddhist tradition and the other from the Aramaic Jesus.

1) Tonglen – is a spiritual practice that comes out of Tibetan Buddhism.  I have adapted this practice and applied it to the spiritual practice of forgiveness and experienced miraculous results.  (for more on this practice, see The Wheel of Initiation by Julie Tallard Johnson pgs 248-250)  In regards to forgiveness, we acknowledge the negative feeling we hold against “the other”‘ (anger, hurt, anxiety, resentment) and we breathe that feeling into our heart.  Then, we breathe out love toward the person we perceive to have caused us harm.  Breathe in pain, breathe out love.  It is as simple as that.

2) The Aramaic Lord’s Prayer  In the English translation of the Lord’s Prayer, we have a phrase about forgiveness, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”  This incomplete translation implies our need for Divine forgiveness. In the Aramaic, the language that Jesus spoke, this phrase takes on whole new meaning.  It reminds us that the need to be freed of our trespasses is ours alone and that God can help us find that inner freedom.  From this perspective, it is no longer about sin and retribution, but about our human need for harmony within our intimate relationships and our inherent limitations to achieving this on our own.  The phrase in Aramaic is:

Washboqlan khaubayn(wakhtahayn) aykanna daph khnan shbwoqan l’khayyabayn

And can be understood to mean:

I invite the Divine to loose the cords of mistakes binding me, as I release the strands I hold of others’ guilt.

When I really get caught in the journey of forgiveness, I invoke the Aramaic words of this phrase as a mantra and let God do the rest.

One Final Thought:

And one final thought as it applies to forgiveness (my apologies because I cannot remember the source of this quote), a definition that I have found to be helpful:

Forgiveness is releasing our judgment of another’s actions. 

Humbling to be sure, as this whole process of forgiveness.  In the end, my advice to all of us…..just keep practicing!

Lauri Lumby

Authentic Freedom Ministries

http://yourspiritualtruth.com

The Path of Our Highest Good

Dec9

Today’s blog invites us to believe that the Divine has our highest good in mind and wants us to know it….and the tools for receiving that information.

I, the Lord, your God,

teach you what is for your good,

and lead you on the way you should go.

If you would hearken to my commandments,

your prosperity would be like a river.

Isaiah 48: 17

 The Path of Our Highest Good

Finally, the scripture passage that supports my theory…the theory I intend and attempt to live by every day of my life.  God knows the path that is in our highest good and wants to reveal that path to us.  And when we take the time to discern the knowledge of God regarding the path of our highest good, we are guaranteed “prosperity.”  And before we jump on the pop-culture theology of prosperity bandwagon….God’s prosperity is measured differently than ours.  God’s prosperity is about abundance and fruitfulness….it is a path that feels free, expansive and is that which leads us toward inner fulfillment, peace, contentment, love, joy, compassion, mercy and justice.  It is the path that allows us to name, claim, cultivate and generously share our own unique giftedness in service to humankind.  Let me put it plainly, the “prosperity” spoken of in this reading is an interior quality and is independent of our external life experiences.  Might God’s path lead us to financial abundance…perhaps, but only if that is in our highest good and we deem to share that abundance in service to humankind.

But How Do We Know?

The reading above tells us that God will teach us the path and we will know that path if we follow God’s commandments.  I don’t think that Isaiah is specifically speaking about “The 10 Commandments” here, but the commandments that God would reveal in our hearts as to the path that we are invited to walk.  The vehicle through which we receive these “commandments” is our spiritual practice.  God reveals God’s self to us in the quiet of our hearts when we go to God in prayer, meditation, contemplation, mindfulness, etc.  If we want to know the path that God would teach us to be in our highest good, this is where we will learn that path.  (In my book, Authetic Freedom, you are given specific tools for learning and practicing these spiritual practices as well as some elementary tools for discernment….determining the difference between the guidance that comes from our False-Self or Ego and the guidance that comes from God.)

What Are You Waiting For?

Do you want to know the path that is in your highest good?  Do you desire a life of peace, contentment, fulfillment, expansiveness, joy, compassion, love, mercy and justice?  Do you want to know what your gifts are and how you are called to use them in the world for your own fulfillment and in service to the betterment of the world?  If the answer is yes, I ask you, “What are you waiting for?”  Embrace a spiritual practice.  Deepen your existing practice.  Employ the tools of spiritual discernment.  Accept the support of outside resources to help you in your discernment process.  Then….LIVE A LIFE OF JOY!!!!!

Lauri Lumby

Authentic Freedom Ministries

http://yourspiritualtruth.com