Dear God, How Do I Love Thee?

In my post last week, I mentioned the work of Rev. Paul Smith, author of the book, Integral Christianity. He is also the author of the book, Is Your God Big Enough? Close Enough? You Enough? in which he explores an integral approach to understanding and relating to ‘God.’ He delves into the concept of the “three faces of God” which I first read and heard about through the work of philosopher and author, Ken Wilbur.

In a series of articles published on the Integral Life website, Rev. Smith expresses it as follows:

The integral viewpoint gives us a revolutionary new way to speak of God in the “Big Three,” the three basic perspectives from which everything can be viewed. As applied to the Divine, this translates into:

·        the 3rd- person objective “IT” face which I call the Infinite Face of God,

·        the 2nd-prson intersubjective “WE” face which I call the Intimate Face of God, and

·        the 1st-person subjective “I” face which I call the Inner Face of God, our own identification with God as our True Self.

Further, he states that most Unity, as well as other New Thought churches and spiritual centers, have a tendency to focus most, if not solely, upon God in the 1^st-person, and all but ignore the other two.

I can attest that from my Religious Science studies I understood that it was not in alignment with New Thought philosophy to speak of or to an external God, but to only speak from the awareness of God consciousness. I was taught not to begin a prayer with “Dear God” or to end a prayer with “Thank you, God” as either denoted separation from God.

I brought that understanding with me into my Unity studies, and was appalled when I heard others speak of God in the 2^nd or 3^rd person. I was thrilled when I read Rev. Linda Martella-Whitsett’s book, How to Pray without Talking to God. She confirmed that I was correct about everything I believed was right. I just love it when that happens; however, I also love it when I can expand my beliefs.

While I still appreciate the methods of affirmative prayer and spiritual mind treatment, I am happy to say that my perspective of ‘God' has continued to evolve. I am hopeful that I now have a more integral perspective. And I am continuing to contemplate and meditate on it.

I apologize to all whom I may have criticized or judged in my previous classes on prayer. Thankfully, we can all continue to grow in our understanding.

As I contemplate my message on Love for this coming Sunday, I am considering how to live Jesus’ greatest commandment in light of this integral approach to ‘God.’

 

Integral Christianity Network

To love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength¹ is the greatest commandment according to our master teacher and way-shower, Jesus, so it is certainly something one should aspire to, but how do we do it?

In my way of thinking, God is not a being, but is the ground of all Being. God is no thing, yet is the Life that imbues All. God is Light. God is Wisdom. God is not someone or something to love, but is Love itself. Therefore, I questioned, “How do I love God? How do I love Love?”

“To love” implies devotion of time, energy and attention. We devote time, energy and attention to God through prayer, meditation, contemplation, presence, and giving time, talent and energy in service to others and the world.

Prayer opens the mind and connects us with God Mind, the Infinite or 3^rd-person God. Prayer is a practice of intentionally redirecting attention from the effects in the outer manifest world to the cause in the inner spiritual world. It is a conscious activity that moves us from the usual focus on the third dimensional realm to the fourth dimensional realm which Jesus called “The Kingdom of Heaven“ or as Unity cofounder, Charles Fillmore preferred, “the Kingdom of the heavens.”

Charles Fillmore, in The Revealing Word says,

Fourth dimension - A transcendent realm that Jesus called the "kingdom of the heavens." Here one can discern the trend of spiritual forces and see with the spiritual vision of the Christ Mind.

The fourth dimension (which embraces and encompasses the other three dimensions) is also realization, the doing away with time and space and all conditions. The human mind, with its limited reasoning faculties, is bound by time, space, and conditions and can get no farther into the spiritual than reason will take it, but when we go beyond reason into the realm of realization, then we have attained the consciousness of pure being, the fourth-dimension mind.

Charles Fillmore also stated in Keep a True Lent,

Mind is the great meeting ground between God and humankind, and it is only through the most highly accelerated mind action, as in prayer, that we consciously make union.

We love God as we devote time to our prayer practice.

We love God as we meditate and open to the inflow of inspiration. Meditation, going into the Silence, slows the mental activity and provides a space into which Divine Ideas flow.

In his book, Christian Healing, Charles Fillmore said,

A daily half hour of meditation will open up the mind to a consciousness of the inner One and will reveal many things that are hidden from the natural man.

We love God as we focus time and attention in contemplation, such as the one discussed here. Contemplation helps us move beyond our normal way of thinking, let go of our preconceived ideas about what things mean and how things should be, and open to higher knowing and understanding. Contemplating on Divine Ideas and spiritual teaching helps to activate the powers of Wisdom and Understanding and allows us to see ourselves and the world from a different perspective.

We love God, the Intimate or 2^nd- person face of God, as we open and invite the physical awareness of God, by whatever name we call it - Life Energy, Chi, Holy Spirit, or Shekinah – to name a few. Heart-focused breathing, a practice promoted by HeartMath Institute helps to bring awareness into the body. The practice involves focusing attention in the heart while breathing more deeply than normal. It helps to connect, through the breath, with the Life of God that is breathing us. Practices, such as yoga, Tai Chi, and others, also help to connect us with the breath and bring focused attention to the Life Energy that is God moving in and through all creation. These practices, when engaged in consciously and intentionally, are ways to love God through our devoted attention.

We also love God by being present and aware of the activity of God in and through all creation. When we take time to stop and witness the beauty of nature, listen to the song of the birds, sit beside a rushing stream, walk on the beach, gaze in awe at the night sky or simply delight in the taste of strawberry, we are loving God.

Most importantly, we love God through witnessing, appreciating and serving God in others. This is one aspect of Jesus’ second greatest commandment. We love the God in others when we devote time and space to listen deeply with them and share empathic connections. We love the God in others when we show compassion and kindness. We love the God in others when we give from our hearts to help them meet their needs, whether physical, emotional or spiritual. We love the God in others through the gift of our presence.

In addition, and certainly not to be forgotten, we love God, the 1^st – person or Innate face of God, by loving ourselves. We love God by speaking words of kindness and support to ourselves every day. We love God as us by taking care of bodies, getting rest, eating nourishing foods, drinking water.

We love God as us by acknowledging our gifts and talents and giving them authentic expression. We love God as us by receiving from others, whether it be words of praise and gratitude, gifts of their time and presence, or even gifts of a material nature. We love God as us as we recognize and realize the expression of the Christ that we are. We love God as us as we let the Christ Light shine in all we say and do.

Borrowing from Elizabeth Barrett Browning, I ask, “Oh God, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways.” Yes, I do love God. I love God in many different ways, in the formed and the unformed. I love God as the Life living in all, as all. Could I love God more completely and fully? Yes!

So, my contemplation continues and I invite you to join me. Count the ways that you love God in all God’s faces, and then ask yourself, “How can I love God more?” I am eager to hear your insights.

¹ Matthew 12: 30 - 31