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Welcome to OneLife Ministries. This site is designed to lead you prayerfully into a heart experience of Divine Presence, Who is Love. While it focuses on Christian teaching, I hope persons of varied faiths will find inspiration here. Indeed, "God" can be whatever image helps us trust in the Sacred, by whatever means Grace touches us each. Please share this ministry with others, and please return soon. There is a new offering daily. And to be placed on the daily OneLife email list, to request notifications of new writings or submit prayer requests, write to briankwilcox@yahoo.com .
Blessings,
Brian Kenneth Wilcox MDiv, MFT, PhD
Interspiritual Pastor-Teacher, Author, Workshop Leader,
Spiritual Counselor, and Chaplain.
Brian encourages support of the 4-Star Christian organization Compassion, which supports children worldwide; see www.compassion.com .
Scripture
He is the one God, hidden in all beings, all-pervading, the Self within all beings, watching over all works, dwelling in all beings, the witness, the perceive, the only one, free from qualities.
*Hinduism. Svetasvatara Upanishad.
There was something undifferentiated and yet complete,
Which existed before heaven and earth.
Soundless and formless, it depends on nothing and does not change.
It operates everywhere and is free from danger.
It may be considered the mother of the universe.
I do not know its name; I call it Tao [the Way].
If forced to give it a name, I shall call it Great.
Now being great means functioning everywhere.
Functioning everywhere means far-reaching.
Being far-reaching means returning to the original point.
*Tao Te Ching.
Spiritual Teaching
And so, humbly trust the blind stirring of love in your heart. Not your physical heart, of course, but your spiritual heart... Be careful that you do not interpret the spiritual things I am saying in literal terms.
I believe that great caution is necessary in interpreting words used in a spiritual sense so as not to be misled by literal meaning. In particular, be careful of the words "in" and "up," for much error and deception in the lives of those who set out to be contemplatives can be traced to a distortion of the meaning of these two words.
*Anonymous. The Cloud of Unknowing. Trans. William Johnston.
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A seeker asked the Sage, "Where is God?" The Sage replied, "Nowhere?" "But don't you believe in God?" asked the seeker. "Yes," replied the Sage. "But," contended the seeker, "you just said God is nowhere." "Yes," spoke the Sage.
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The following Talmudic story from Judaism speaks of the pervasive, lively Presence of the Divine - the Shechinah:
Caesar said to Rabbi Gamaliel, "You say that whenever ten Israelites are assembled, the Shechinah (Divine Presence) is found. How many Shechinahs are there, then?" Rabbi Gamaliel summoned the ruler's servant, hit him on the neck, and asked, "Why did you permit the sun to enter the house of your master?" The ruler replied, "The sun shines over all the earth." Rabbi Gamaliel said, "If the sun, which is only one of the hundred million servants of the Lord, can shine over all the earth, how much more would this be true for the Shechinah of the Lord Himself?"
* * *
The sage Mullah Nasruddin was seen atop his ass, charging through the streets of the village. Onlookers were alarmed, and one called out, "Mullah, where are you going?" He replied, while he whizzed by, "I'm searching for my ass!"
* * *
A seeker went to the spiritual Sage. The Sage asked, "Young man, why have you come here?" The seeker said, "To seek for God." Spoke the Sage, "Well, how interesting. And just when did God get lost?"
* * *
Where is God? The following excerpt is a good statement in response to that question.
When I answer the question of where I live, I see a universe somehow created and sustained by divine activity. I'm in a holy place where God is, and so are the saints of old, along with mud, flowers, snakes, angels, and spiders, cancer and healings from cancer, all in one inexplicable mess. I am trying to understand these mysteries, but that's where I live. I live with pain because I am human. I love as a human who also knows divine love. I love where I am on this earth, but I know there is more than what is earthy and I am a part of that too. And for that knowledge, I am sometimes in pain and longing.
*Jon M. Sweeney. Almost Catholic. Chapter "God is Here."
* * *
The purpose of seeking God is to cease the search, to become exhausted with the search. Not only do we cease seeking for God, we find God is already wherever we go. God, indeed, is in our seeking and its ultimate futility. And, with the end of the seeking, we discover the word "God" - any reference to what we find as already present - can never fit the mystery and inexplicability of this One - or whatever - without a name.
Responding
What might you do to live more aware of the Divine Presence in your daily living?
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*OneLife Ministries is a ministry of Brian Kenneth Wilcox, SW Florida. Brian lives a vowed life and with his two dogs, Bandit Ty and St. Francis, with friends and under a vow of simplicity. Brian is an ecumenical-interspiritual leader, who chooses not to identify with any group, and renounces all titles of sacredness that some would apply to him, but seeks to be open to how Christ manifests in the diversity of Christian denominations and varied religious-spiritual traditions. He affirms that all spiritual paths lead ultimately back to Jesus Christ. He is Senior Chaplain for the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office, Punta Gorda, FL.
*Brian welcomes responses to his writings or submission of prayer requests at briankwilcox@yahoo.com . Also, Brian is on Facebook: search Brian Kenneth Wilcox.
*Contact the above email to book Brian for preaching, Spiritual Direction, retreats, workshops, animal blessing services, house blessings, or other spiritual requests. You can order his book An Ache for Union from major booksellers.
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