God is not Abraham Lincoln
by Dreama Vance, Co-founder of InfiniteBeing.com
Perhaps you remember hearing about the little boy who started the Lord’s Prayer, “Our Father, which art in Heaven, Howard be thy name…” instead of “hallowed be thy name.”
Children often surprise and delight us with their ability to take words and information they don’t understand and “fix it” so that it fits into a construct that makes sense in their world. As a child, I was no exception.
When I was little and went to church and Sunday school, I heard about “the throne of God” and how Jesus “sat at the right hand of God.”
At the same time in elementary school, we learned about Abraham Lincoln, one of our most famous and important American presidents. We were shown pictures of him memorialized by the huge Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC.
Both teachings were larger than life and inspired great awe and respect. Because there was actually a picture of this great person, Lincoln, on a throne (it looked like a throne to me), my mind quite naturally juxtaposed God there also.
So this was my image of God. God was Abraham Lincoln sitting on his throne. For years, when God was mentioned, I automatically saw Abraham Lincoln in that chair.
Now, obviously at some point in time my misunderstanding got straightened out. However, it took decades before I began to understand God is not a Him or a Her or a being or a person, no matter how great a person. The reason this took so long to figure out is because many churches continue to teach the concept of God as being separate from us.
Many of us have expanded our understanding of the concepts of God through metaphysical teachings. We now “know” God by many other names: The Absolute, the Tao, the Creator, All That Is, Consciousness, Energy, The Universe. We also know, to some degree, that God dwells within us.
But a funny thing happens sometimes, particularly when we encounter difficulties or challenges in our lives. We want to run back to our old way of understanding. We want to see God not as within, but “out there.” We want to go back to our view of God as this huge Abraham Lincoln figure on a massive throne. Then, we think, this great being who can “do” anything will, if we plead our case, fix our problem.
One of the core principles of higher spiritual teachings is the realization of Oneness:
“I am in God. God is in me. I am one with God.”
It is the practice of this realization, on a daily, continual basis, that opens higher teachings to us. This principle, that I like to call The Truth of Being, is a foundational principle. Without understanding this foundational teaching, the higher truths hold little meaning for us.
We want to embrace this principle with all of our understanding. We want to bring this into our hearts. It is in the heart that realization happens. Until we move this wisdom into our hearts and experience this as truth, the idea remains only an intellectual concept.
So we practice realizing this Presence of God in our meditations so that we are grounded in this foundational teaching. In this way, we grow strong on our spiritual path.
Then, when we are faced with crises, we know Truth and we do not fall back into the old idea of separation and the sleeping unconsciousness of the unawakened mind.
A Helping Hand
On January 23rd, 2013, Owen and I will provide you with a wonderful new technique which will help you to make this connection to the Presence within you each and every day. Until then…
http://www.infinitebeing.com/1301/lincoln.htm
Evolution in the Milky Way 