From The Restory - Conversations On The Journey (15)

God Is Love

God is not a sky king who heads an empire;
God is the love that gives itself away for the sake of more love.

Cynthia Bourgeault

The Conversation

Elements From The Conversation

God protects me from nothing….

So, let's say you have the Scriptures, you have your quiet time with God, and you hear a word. Let's say the text is Jesus saying, "Fear not. Fear not." And in faith, you know that the deathless presence of Jesus, who said that to the disciples, is now saying it to you, telling you not to be afraid. And your heart immediately recognizes it's beautiful, even before you think about it.

Prior to reflecting on it, the heart immediately recognizes the beauty of it. And it intuits that it's beautiful because it's true. That I am to fear not, why? "Fear not, because I am with you always. I am with you always, that's why you are not to be afraid."

And you take it in; you take that in; and you're kind of touched by that.

And then God says, "Now it's your turn, what do you think? Like, talk to me."

You say,

"Well, I know this is true. I know it's true. But it's hard for me to take in this presence in my life I know is always there, because it's more like you're a presence who protects me from nothing, even as you unexplainably sustain me in all things. Whatever it means that you love me, means you prevent the scary, unfair things from happening. If that's what it means, you love me, then you don't love me because where in the hell have you been? Seriously. By the way, I got some things going on now that are unresolved. And I'm not so sure I can count on you to get this fixed up, on my terms, because you tend not to operate that way.

But if I don't panic, if I don't panic and I look deeper, you draw me unexplainably to yourself and you inspire my heart to act in ways that follow the promptings of your will for me through humility, through love, through courage, through patience, and so on. You fashion my heart and lead me onward like this. And in this sense, I know that you're with me."

And that's the meditation, the meditatio. It's like a dialogue with God.

Center for Action and Contemplation
INTERIOR CASTLE with James Finley and Mirabai Starr
Week Four Course Teaching
Mansions 3 and 4 with James Finley

Music

Much love. As always.

George and Matilda

Vanuit Die Restory - Gesprekke Tussen Reisgenote (110)

Die Week Na 'n Dood Sebastien op sy gelukkigste - by water, besig om vis te vang Die Gesprek Elemente Uit Die Gesprek Musiek Sebastien het altyd gesê, "I like old music.' Hy het. Billy Joel se Piano Man was vir baie lank die ringtone op sy foon. Dat ons só gelukkig kan wees, dankie Sebas. George & Matilda

Vanuit Die Restory / From The Restory (135)

Onlangse Oorsig / Recent Summary Foto's Van Onlangse Gebeure / Pictures Of Recent Events 'n Huis opgeknap en geverf met 'n nuwe badkamer, die koms van lente en reën, retreats, die CMR se breimarathon, aanbied en afsluiting van die Verfrissingskursus in geestelike begeleiding, bywoon van ons kleindogter Ariana se gradeplegtigheid ("Nee Oupa, dis 'n gradige plegtigheid!") voordat sy volgende jaar grootskool toe gaan. A house renovated and painted with a new bathroom, the arrival of spring and rain, retreats, the CMR's knitting marathon, presenting and finishing the Refresher course in spiritual guidance, attending our granddaughter Ariana's graduation before she goes to big school next year. Klank / Sound Die klank van sagte reën na die storm is op baie vlakke nou gepas. The sound of gentle rain after the storm is now appropriate on many levels. Met ons liefde, soos altyd. With our love, as always. George & Matilda

Vanuit Die Restory - Gesprekke Tussen Reisgenote (120)

Skuld as Motivering Die Gesprek Elemente Uit Die Gesprek ~ ❖ ~ "I am convinced that guilt and shame are never from God. They are merely the defenses of the False Self as it is shocked at its own poverty — the defenses of a little man who wants to be a big man. God leads by compassion toward the soul, never by condemnation. If God would relate to us by severity and punitiveness, God would only be giving us permission to do the same (which is tragically, due to our mistaken images of God, exactly what has happened!)." Richard Rohr ~ ❖ ~ "It is about as hard to absolve yourself of your own guilt as it is to sit in your own lap. Wrongdoing sparks guilt sparks wrongdoing ad nauseam, and we all try to disguise the grim process from both ourselves and everybody else. In order to break the circuit we need friends before whom we can put aside the disguise, trusting that when they see us for what we fully are, they won't run away screaming w...

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