Dear Friends,
What does higher power mean to you? I know people that if you shared with them that you believe in a higher power or have a higher self they would positively roll their eyes and you would probably diminish in their esteem.
There are others who get the concept of a higher self but don’t feel the need to go down that tunnel because it’s illogical or too based on primitive beliefs. They appreciate that it’s how I navigate the world but they have a better understanding of how the world works.
There are others yet, who believe in a higher power or God but it’s a long-distance relationship. They like the idea of it but don’t necessarily engage with it fully. For example, they might pray or meditate and follow all the rituals to check the boxes. Go to church/temple on Sunday. Check.
There are others still for whom the way to connect with the divine is through the guidance of a priest by following rituals and scripture to the T. And by so doing some form of redemption, relief, or grace/goodness/ease is guaranteed
What about these fellows for whom the devotion through prayer or acts of worship brings them illumination and peace. They are drawn to explore, learn and grow their relationship to their higher selves believing that they are an expression of that higher power.
And some, separate out from the traditional approaches and instead forge their own path. They look to within or to nature or plant medicine and say, we are all one and anyone can be connected to God or the higher power.
If I look back at my life, I have been in each of these categories at one time or another. I have rolled my eyes at believers. I have worshipped so deeply and begged for God’s grace. I have connected to my higher self and felt incredible wisdom within me. I have communed with nature and felt the magic of wonder from plant medicines.
All of these perspectives were real and I was steadfast in my belief in them during the times I held those frames of reference. I couldn’t have imagined myself any other way. And yet, my beliefs and practices changed.
My evolution has not been a straight line to selfhood. Instead, it’s been a curvy, bumpy road and continues to be so.
It is through these shifts in perspective that I learned about my closed-minded, judgmental, sanctimonious, self-righteous, and arrogant self. And I discovered the necessity of surrender, to accept my shortcomings, to recognize my wrongdoings, to stand up for my truth, to trust my voice, and follow my intuition.
All of this to say, we change, our relationship with ourselves is constantly transforming. What may have been our truth yesterday may not be our truth today and by tomorrow today’s truth may be infantile.
However, we translate the truth we exist in a reality that pervades beyond our beliefs and ideas. This reality we touch, feel, smell through our senses and consciousness is for me the higher power. It is limitless, unborn, undying, and self-sustaining. It has been and will always be.
This is my current truth and relationship to a higher power. What is yours?