Let God be true but every man a liar' is the language of true faith. Aiden Wilson Tozer
The Search For Meaning
We are currently facing a mental health crisis, yet why? Throughout history, humanity has searched for meaning and the existence of God, often turning to faith-led religion in times of suffering. Could the need to find purpose in pain have sparked the creation of various faiths?
As a small child, I saw a huge angel in the corner of my room and experienced visions and dreams beyond my young mind's comprehension. One recurring vision as a baby was travelling down a spiral tunnel. I felt connected to something greater than myself and prayed each night to God, as I still do.
Many decades have passed, and I have sought the passage of truth for a long time. I discovered religious organisations do hold many golden truths. I question everything, and each time leaving all religious organisations feeling confused and unaligned, intuitively I always come back to myself. The kingdom of God is within me, as within so without. I am all that I am.
Could the mental health pandemic be due to a lack of faith, and self-belief? Without faith, surely life holds no meaning or greater purpose. What's the point?
Science and God
Today, for many, worship of science is the new religion. However, as someone who searches for knowledge within and without, perhaps scientists are onto something that aligns with my intuition and personal conclusions.
These findings from leading neuroscientists affirm my realization that the Kingdom of God and attaining Christ's consciousness is an inside job.
According to neuroscientist Andrew Newberg and therapist Mark Robert Waldman in their book “How God Changes The Brain” periods of meditation, spiritual practice and prayer, and the contemplation of a loving God, not only slows down the ageing process, reduces anxiety, depression but increases feelings of security, compassion, and love. Their research proves that the more we think about God, the more pathways in the brain are activated, permanently changing numerous structures and functions, thus altering our values and the way we perceive reality.
Similarly, they conclude that fundamentalism can be personally beneficial, but the prejudice generated by extreme beliefs can be damaging to the brain. Hence the reason I have probably never felt aligned with religions. That said, man is imperfect and I believe organisation in society works better than none.
Aligning with scripture
Equipped with a highly sophisticated brain it makes sense to maximize its potential and use it to attain our highest self, using the power of self-belief. The Bible says we are created in the mirror image of God. A belief in God equates to self-belief.
Genesis 1:27: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”
Something I love about this mysterious quantum existence is the endless opportunity to acquire knowledge and grow in this beautiful and sometimes messy human experience. Each week, gleaning a new lesson.
Beginning meditation
Last Tuesday I visited a friend. We had our usual chat about the goings on in the world. Touching on spirituality and meditation, I asked her, “ Do you meditate?” She replied, “No, I can't”.
The words we innocently speak become our beliefs and reality. I took her mind back to being a child. She remembered feeling happy playing for hours at her granny’s house, creating a little garden within the garden using only a pair of scissors, feeling blissful as if time no longer existed. I reminded her that she could indeed meditate, only forgotten over time.
Meditation is like going to the gym; you don’t expect to have a gym body on the first visit. Training takes time, practice, and continued effort. You might not bicep curl twenty pounds on the first visit, but start with one pound and build from there. Meditation works the same way, beginning with one minute of complete stillness until you build up to five minutes, and so on.
Can you think of a time when you were a child immersed for hours in creative play? This connection to self in our modern world is crucial for our mental well-being and health.
“Meditation is the channel to listen to God. Prayer is the channel to speak to God”
Perhaps, it could be that the underlying reason for the current mental health crisis is because we are so disconnected from belief in ourselves and to the God part of the brain.
“Once men turned their thinking over to machines in the hope that this would set them free. But that only permitted other men with machines to enslave them.” ― Frank Herbert, Dune
Conclusion
All the above said I still do not put my faith and trust in imperfect man. Life feels more at ease when subjecting oneself to God, the higher power. Man and scientists will continue to prove, disprove, label, and rationalize people's experiences and inner knowing.
As put to me, it's like taking a spoon from the vast ocean and claiming there's no fish in the sea. Humans operate on their five senses within the vastness of this universe. When we open our hearts to the possibility of God we shall find the divine that exists within and without. I have experienced many synchronicities and miracles, requiring no further proof of existence. The creator everywhere in the trees, flowers, sun, moon, and stars. Like a painting that was painted thousands of years ago, there had to have been an artist- It’s simply all too perfect.
How God Changes Your Brain by Andrew Newburg and Mark Robert Waldman is available to buy on Amazon
Activate the God part of your brain using the divinely guided Smiley Blue meditations and purification library.
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