Saying For Today: Affirmation of the Divine Grace in the darkness of feeling establishes that faith is in the Divine Life, not in our sense of the Presence.
Welcome to OneLife Ministries, an online, interspiritual-integral ministry of Arem Nahariim-Samadhi and Love Light Fellowship. This site is here to lead you into a heart experience of Divine Presence, Who is Love. We recognize that of the Sacred in each one and celebrate the diversity of expressions of our Oneness in Grace. We are for peace and nonviolence, and equal rights and justice for all. I hope persons of varied wisdom paths will find inspiration here. Welcome!
Blessings, Arem Nahariim-Samadhi, MDiv, MFT, PhD
Vowed Contemplative, Greenbough House of Prayer Interspiritual Teacher, Author, Chaplain, Spiritual Counselor-Healer
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*Jesus, Rasta Jesus, Rastafari Movement
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This fine, pleasant weather will not always last. Sometimes you will find yourself deprived and destitute of all feelings of devotion and your soul will seem like barren, sterile desert where there is no path or road leading to God, nor any water of grace to refresh you because of the aridity that now seems to threaten it with complete and absolute desolation.
*Francis De Sales. Introduction to the Devout Life. Trans. J. K. Ryan.
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Every thought, every word, every act... can be Praise... can be part of our LifeSong... to G-D
Entering the Inner Sanctuary
Enter this sanctuary time by settling down, becoming quiet, and breathing deeply a few breaths. Remind yourself you are in the Presence of Love. This place you are entering, within, is the inner Temple. Here, you are One with Spirit and all persons, and Nature. You may use a mantra, or prayer phrase, follow the breathing in-and-out, or witness the arising and falling of all around you as the manifestation of universal-Grace. Enjoy these moments of Quiet and come out when you are ready. The following video is provided, for those who would like meditative music to accompany your Quiet contemplation:
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A couple had two little boys, ages eight and ten. The boys were excessively mischievous. They were always getting in trouble, and the parents could be assured that if any mischief occurred in the town, their two sons were involved in some way.
Dad and mom were at their wits end as to what to do about their sons' behavior. The mother had heard that a pastor in town had been successful in disciplining children. So, she asked her husband if he thought they should send the boys to the pastor. The husband said, "We might as well. We need to do something before I really lose my temper!" The pastor agreed to speak with the boys. He asked to see them individually.
The eight-year-old went to meet the pastor first. The pastor sat the boy down. He asked him sternly, "Where is God?" The boy gave no response. So, the pastor repeated the question in a sterner tone, "Where is God?" Again, the boy gave no answer. Afterward, the pastor shouted loudly, shaking his finger in the boy's face, "Where is God?!"
The boy bolted from the room and ran directly home, slamming himself in the closet. His older brother followed him into the closet and asked what had happened. The younger brother said, with a trembling voice, "We are in big trouble this time. God is missing, and they think we did it."
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This raises a question of fluctuation in our lives between a sense of the Divine Lover and absence of the Presence of the Holy. Often lack of sense of the Divine Lover is called desolation or spiritual aridity. Often the sense of Presence is termed consolation.
We can always affirm the Presence, even when we do not feel the Presence of Love. Such affirmation is an act of pure faith, and it may be more faithful for it is made in the face of the felt-absence of G-D. Affirmation of the Divine Grace in the darkness of feeling establishes that faith is in the Divine Life, not in our sense of the Presence.
Likewise, we need to remain aware, in consolation and desolation, that the sense of Divine Nearness is secondary to the Presence of G-D. Thomas Merton writes, "We must remember that our experience of union with God, our feeling of His presence, is altogether accidental and secondary" (No Man is an Island). He continues, "It is only a side effect of His actual presence in our souls, and gives no more sure indication of that presence in any case."
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The Essence of LOVE-Mysticism is to look "within," to find there the Light of G-D That is in Everyone...
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The Sacred in Me bows to the Sacred in You
*Arem Nahariim-Samadhi and Love Light Ministries. For contacting Love Light Ministries write 77Ahavah77@gmail.com or message at Arem Nahariim-Samadhi on Facebook :04/25/11
