The Engraved Ring

Reclaiming Aliveness

Nov 30, 2005

Saying For Today: We are socialized into forgetting this Original Wholeness, and much of this socialization comes from theology that, at least partly, arose from feelings of a lack of wholeness and a fear of being judged by an otherworldly deity.

An engagement ring fell into the sea off the west coast of Sweden in 1994. The ring miraculously found its way back to its owner. The ring had been consumed by a mussel, which later was caught in a load of shellfish by a fisherperson, Peder Carlsson. Carlsson returned the ring to the woman who lost it, for her name, Agneta Wingstedt, was engraved on the inside.

Our spiritual restoration is possible because that which we are to become is already embedded in the totality of our being as Offspring of Spirit. Our essential identity as participants in the Universal Spirit, as Spirit-bearers, is engraved on our whole being. Look at yourself, now, looking more deeply than what other persons or you esteem as your shortcomings or flaws, and you will see the Aliveness that arises from Life Itself. We are socialized into forgetting this Original Wholeness, and much of this socialization comes from theology that, at least partly, arose from feelings of a lack of wholeness and a fear of being judged by an otherworldly deity. It is time to come Home and reclaim that of the Spirit, Who is Aliveness Itself seeking you in your seeking It. Religions, belief, and rite can only be a bridge to take us back to this Purity. This is before all these. Therefore, no matter how lost from God one becomes, there is always that of God within that is the gravitational pull, so to speak, making being found a real possibility.

Question: How might our loss of the Aliveness be fully or partly a result of socialization by a society itself that has lost its connection to that Aliveness? How might religion assist in reclaiming the awareness and joy of the Aliveness? How might religion hinder the reclaiming of such celebration and living of Aliveness?

OneLife Ministries is a pastoral outreach and nurture ministry of the First United Methodist Church, Fort Meade, FL. For Spiritual Direction, Pastoral Counseling, spiritual formation workshops, Christian meditation retreats, or more information about OneLife, write Rev. Dr. Brian K. Wilcox at briankwilcox@comcast.net.