We are a here-and-now mix of flesh and spirit. The human and divine spark commingles in all of us. This is the mystery: while we are human—with all of our shenanigans—we are also the dwelling place of the divine.
What does it mean to be the dwelling place of the divine?
In Buddhism, there is a mantra called, “Om Mani Padme Hum,” meaning: the jewel of the lotus in your heart. This is the inner–wisdom aspect of you that can be found within, when ego and personality are stripped away. In a psychological sense we call this our core self. Rumi, the great poet, describes it as “the root of the root of your Self.” Energetically, you have your prana, chi, or the life-force energy that flows through all living things, connects us, and gives us a sense of oneness and unity. However, apart from what makes you, you, there is something else that everyone has, that is always there, in full force (unlike your chi) no matter what. What could that be?
The Oxford Dictionary says that in Jewish and Christian theology, the divine presence is conventionally represented as light, or Shekhinah. Your own light. Your divine–ness. The God inside, or the divine spark.
When attuned to it, this spark can feel like the blue flame of the pilot light that’s always on within you—that gives you a glimpse into unity consciousness—the inner knowing that we are all interconnected.
It can also feel like a key to what moves you and turns you on: art, nature, a big love, where your true passion lies, where you find joy, your own sense of inner knowing, or your Call of Self—that urge to do the something you know in your bones you were born to do.
While processing big changes or falling on hard times in our own lives can look and feel quite messy (or even show up like a full-blown crisis), this struggling is a normal part of life.
Some cultures teaches us, in unspoken ways, these aspects of ourselves are not welcome. Yet, these are the very experiences that become our catalysts for immense growth. We can honor and allow our whole self: the shadows, the dark nights of the soul, and the muck, right along with our divine spark, happiness, and passions.
Stirring up the Pool of Peace
The process of moving things from the lower unconsciousness to the superconscious and into our personal field of awareness is always occurring. This is especially important to remember in times like the Pandemic, when we feel everything feels like boiling mud, or we feel we are processing on rapid speed or with no speed, sometimes all at the same time. Everyone, including ourselves, is moving into more and more awareness all the time. Even if we try to keep things simple and light, maintain simplicity, silence, total enlightenment, a life full of fun or peace, life... happens.
Zen master Charlotte Joko Beck says, “Even though we think of the goal as some future state to achieve, the real goal is always the life of this moment, this moment, this moment. There's no way to push the river aside. Even if we have created a dam around ourselves and become a stagnant pool, something will turn up that we have not anticipated. Perhaps a friend invites herself and her four children to visit for a week. Or someone dies; or our work suddenly changes. Life seems to present us with whatever it takes to stir up the pool.”
So, what is it that I want to share with you about this moment?
You are Worthy Now, in This Moment
We are not just deserving when things look perfect from the outside, we are always deserving. We are deserving at our low of lows. Each of us deserves to be adored, and to receive love, compassion, and justice.
When we accept life is full of highs and lows, even within our own internal landscape, we can remember that we are worthy—just the way we are in this moment. When we see that each of us, regardless of how we are living out life’s complexities at any given moment, is the dwelling place of the divine, then we realize each of us is equal and deserving of more good than we can imagine. Each of us deserves that our pilot light within us is allowed, honored, nourished, and supported.
What happens when we embrace our inherent worthiness? When we begin to fully accept this about ourselves, amazing things begin to happen in our personal lives:
We forgive ourselves easily
We can accept our mistakes and those of others because we know we are all learning and growing
We welcome the muck as a gift to expand and grow
Everything becomes a gift:
Washing dishes becomes less dreadful and an opportunity to begin to give thanks for each plate, the food that was on it, the farmers who grew it, each drop of water, and the sun
Difficult conversations become an opportunity to strengthen relationships and sharpen our skills at articulating what we need
Our self-judgement begins to fall away, and is replaced with self-acceptance and self-compassion
Already Worthy
What if we started today, coming to the table, believing we are already worthy, that we are all worthy, and we cut ourselves, and each other, some slack?
What if we fully accept the dark and light in each of us – the way we are, in this moment – including the wild, the unexpected, what we don't like, and what we cannot control?
Even in this present moment, with all of life's crocodiles in the water around us, I can see the light in you, and you can see the light in me.
It is only when we accept our own inherent worthiness that we can begin to truly seek and embody world-transforming qualities: to love fully, to not just rebel against injustice but unite opposing sides toward justice, to invite in a stranger. With that power, we can turn our best intentions into action.
When we do that, we can raise the frequency of, well... everything.
Amie Tyler is a spiritual psychology teacher and owner of The Integrated Spirit, LLC. Her mission is to help those seeking peace in our modern, hurried world, with tools that support awakening to their inner wisdom and spiritual aspects of themselves, incorporating more of what is sacred to them into their daily lives. She is a certified energy healer, a therapeutic hypnotist, and timeline therapy (TM) practitioner. She is currently obtaining a Master’s in Transpersonal Psychology. She lives in San Mateo, California, with her two sons, husband, and dog, Rufus.
To find out more about Amie or to sign up for her meditation classes and workshops, visit: amietyler.com.
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