Our Quest for the God Within Awareness Intention Practice

1. Our Quest for the God Within Awareness Intention Practice

2. Intellect vs. Experience Knowledge vs. Deep Knowing

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 "the Atlantic Ocean"

5. rose1 rōz/ noun: rose; plural noun: roses a woody perennial of the genus Rosa, within the family Rosaceae. There are over 100 species. They form a group of plants that can be erect shrubs, climbing or trailing with stems that are often armed with sharp prickles. Scientific name: Rosa Rank: Genus Higher classification: Rosoideae Lower classification: Rosa moschata, Rosa woodsii

7. A Buddhist Master asked his disciples: “Which of you knows the fragrance of a rose?” All of them knew. Then he said: “Put it into words.” All of them were silent.

8. Is explaining what an apple tastes like the same as tasting it?

9. Is describing the sound of a symphony the same as listening to one?

10. Catechism of the Catholic Church: God is the Father Almighty, whose fatherhood and power shed light on one another: God reveals his fatherly omnipotence by the way he takes care of our needs; by the filial adoption that he gives us ("I will be a father to you, and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty") Is knowing about God the same as knowing God?

11. Can we know God without having an experience of God?

12. Harmony between the mind, body, and spirit are necessary in order to root our knowledge in an experience of God. The thrust toward wholeness…

13. If we believe in the “indwelling” – the presence of God in all of creation and in us - then the first place we might experience God is in the beauty of nature.

14. We are a sensate people – experiencing primarily through the five senses…

15. Our intellect helps us process sensory input – but it also can prevent us from being fully present to the experience… As soon as we see, hear, feel, taste, and smell we typically begin to define, judge, compare, analyze, categorize…

16. Hmmm… autumn is nice…but before you know it, it’ll be winter. But that orange and gold tree looks beautiful in front of the house… but then all those leaves have to be raked… I hate raking…maybe I’ll get a lawn service…my neighbors have a lawn service. But they can afford it. I need to get a better job…

17. This isn’t as nice as the dinner we had the night we got engaged… I wonder how much this meal is going to cost…

18. We double-taskmulti-task…

19. We clutter our brains with input and overstimulation…

20. Giving away the present moment…

21. Why do we cram our days with busyness? “I’ll try to squeeze it in…” “The day just got away from me…” “There just aren’t enough hours in the day…” “Where does the time go?” “Once I come up for air…” “I just can’t keep my schedule straight!” “Tick tock, tick tock…” “As soon as things settle down….” “When I finally see my way clear…” “I don’t have a free minute…” “Too much going on…” “The days/weeks/months years fly by…” “My schedule is insane…” “I’ve really got to slow down…” “Once I get through with…”

22. “Time is exactly what we do not have. What decreases in a culture of affluence is precisely and strangely time – along with wisdom and friendship. These are the very things that the human heart was created for, that the human heart feeds on and lives for. No wonder we are producing so many depressed, unhealthy and even violent people, while also leaving a huge carbon footprint on this poor planet.” - Fr. Richard Rohr

23. We strive to compete… achieve… excel… amass… The beach is great… but what I need is a beach house…then I could really enjoy this… always looking for the next best thing.

24. We spend our time DOING, but have trouble simply BEING… Human “doings” rather than human beings…

25. Maybe, without realizing it, we’re continually striving to fill a God-shaped hole in our hearts…

26. It’s Rigged It’s rigged – everything in your favor. So there is nothing to worry about. Is there some position you want. Some office, some acclaim, some award, some con, some lover, Maybe two, maybe three, maybe four all at once, Maybe a relationship with God? I know there is a goldmine in you, when you find it The wonderment of the earth’s gifts you will lay Aside as naturally does a child a doll. But dear, how sweet you look to me kissing the unreal; Comfort, fulfill yourself in any way possible – Do that until you ache, until you ache, then come to me again. --Rumi

27. How to experience the presence of God? To fulfill our nameless longings?

28. “In the attitude of Silence the soul finds the path in a clearer light, and what is elusive and deceptive resolves itself into crystal clearness.” – Mahatma Gandhi “In the silence of the heart God speaks. If you face God in prayer and silence, God will speak to you. Then you will know that you are nothing. It is only when you realize your nothingness, your emptiness, that God can fill you with Himself. Souls of prayer are souls of great silence.” – Mother Teresa “Silence is God's first language; everything else is a poor translation. In order to hear that language, we must learn to be still and to rest in God.” — Fr. Thomas Keating

29. We can begin by practicing being present to the world around us…

30. Carve out a space of solitude… to block out the distractions of the world.

31. To pause…take a breath… practice the art of mindfulness… stay in the present moment… silently observe the beauty in God’s creation.

32. Put your heart, mind, intellect and soul even to your smallest acts. If you are cleaning a countertop, feel the sponge in your hand. Feel the wetness. Feel the texture. Observe how the sponge moves in your hand from the sink to the counter. Sense your movements as you scrub. What do your eyes see? What do you hear as you work? Clean that countertop as if it were the most important thing you could do. Move with fluid motions. Waste no energy. Allow yourself the grace of economy of motion. Be grateful for the countertop, the sponge, the water, the soap. Be grateful for the hand, the arm, the whole body that can move a sponge. Be thankful for the floor you stand on and the roof that protects you. Without letting your mind wander too far, be grateful for all the circumstances that put you where you are at that moment with that sponge and that water and that countertop. - --Swami Sivananda Practice Mindfulness

33. Being present is the prerequisite for loving… and for having an experience of God. Being present requires both a leap of faith and consistent practice. LectioDivina- Empathetic Conversation -Meditation – allowing God to speak to you hearing another’s story removing the clutter to through the Scripture… experience God within

34. solitude surrender silence God/Love simplify sacred life reading

35. Faith is the place where doubt and belief coexist. Faith is the bridge that can lead us from knowing about God toward having an experience of God. In this quest to seek and find God in all things, there is still an area of uncertainty. There must be. If a person says that he met God with total certainty and is not touched by a margin of uncertainty, then this is not good. – Pope Francis

36. Take some small steps: • Acknowledge your openness and desire to recognize God (intention) • Stay in the present moment (mindfulness) • Experience your five senses (awareness) • Spend time alone (solitude) • Carve out some quiet time within you (silence) • Read God’s Word daily (listen) • Practice the art of letting go (surrender)

37. “The beginning of the spiritual journey is the realization; not just the information, but real interior conviction that there is a higher power, or God. Or to make it as easy as possible for everybody, that there is an Other; capital O. The second step is to try and become the Other; still capital O. And finally the realization that there is no other. You and the other are One: always have been, always will be. You just think you aren’t.” --Fr. Thomas Keating