July/August 2000
Articles on the theme "Exploring and Adventure"
The Way of the Adventurer
by Bob Gonzalez
The inspiration of the classical Greek
adventurer, Odysseus -- whom the Romans called Ulysses -- as portrayed in
Tennyson's poem "Ulysses."
Exploring with Wonder
by Kathy Houston
The adventure of life. Exploring it
with the wonder and imaginings of a child.
A Spiritual Adventure
by Rev. Pat Cross
Making a new start at any age -- an
exploration and adventure in consciousness... the ultimate eternal adventure.
Exploring the Adventure Within
by Ron Graham
The adventure of becoming One with
the universal mind of God.
Life's Adventures
by Linda Bothwell
From birth to falling in love, to Self-realization
Exploring Body/Mind Healing
by Ernesto J. Fernandez
An approach to healing that helps define
the best 'road map' and the best forms of treatment.
Exploring God as Process
by Rev. Pat Palmer
God as not only the source of everything
that is but also as the unfolding of every event that occurs.
Why Explore?
by Patrick Plaskett
How exploration helps us see the world
and ourselves differently -- and get more out of life.
Exploring the Self
by Edwina H. Holloway
The greatest adventure of all, the
excavation of our true Self.
A Learning Adventure
by Rev. Cydné Battreall
The story of a mother and daughter
in the adventure of a lifetime.
The Lure of Adventure
by Charles Larsen
What exploration and adventure consist
of. Achieving a state of mind to experience them.
Other Feature Articles
Natural Health Q & A
by Kim Gillespie
Concerning cocaine and drug abuse.
2000 & Beyond!
by David Findlay
What is... Sustainable/Organic Agriculture?
by Robert Roman
What sustainable/organic agriculture
is and why it is superior to commercial agriculture.
Minerals from Mother Earth
by Judy Power
Features stones for July and August:
jade and charoite.
Exploring God in Process
By Rev. Pat Palmer
I am in the middle of the greatest adventure I've ever had exploring God as Process - with a capital P that is!
I used to think of God as that which created and creates everything. Of course HE (in those days it was a HE) also was in charge of it all and I prayed to HIM to help me when I needed it.
Then I evolved to the recognition that Spirit is also everything that exists. It creates by becoming that which It creates. This realization was a tremendous breakthrough, allowing me no longer to feel so separate; I know that I am one of the infinite number of ways that the Creative Impulse shows up in the world. That makes me pretty special. That makes everyone pretty special!
My concept of God has now expanded to include an idea so complex that it sometimes eludes me. The fact that it is so unlike popular belief probably contributes to its elusiveness; even those who believe it are challenged in accumulating evidence!
Are you ready? I have come to also see Spirit as the Unfolding of every event that occurs. So, while God is the source of fields, flowers and people, It is also every blade of grass in the field, each petal on the flower and every cell in the person. I now accept God as the process of the person reaching down and picking the flower out of the grass in the field.
This concept could be compared to viewing objects through seeing the space around them, rather than looking at the objects themselves. A different perception, another reference point, becomes available for understanding life.
There is a corollary to this thesis. Since God is the epitome of perfection, the implication is that everything that occurs, all process, is perfect! Now that is a challenge!
I evolved this point of view from two things I learned as I did spiritual counseling over the years.
First: I came to know that the particular form of our challenges is not relevant; it is the growing and changing we do that counts. We can get very wrapped up in the form in our story. The problem might be in our finances, or our job, or in our marriage, and the particular details provide endless opportunity for telling the story and manipulating events and people. However, every situation is best handled by paying attention to our thoughts and beliefs about it. Our greatest point of power is in our inner space. Growth in self-love, and the development of a spiritual foundation, lead one to freedom from the details of life.
Inferior benefit is derived from focus on people, places and things of the situation. Our primary power lies in focus on our thought, attitudes, intuition and beliefs. A shift in perception, in expectation, always leads to a corresponding shift in the story. One can conclude, therefore, that the All-Powerful - i.e. God - lies in the realm of Process.
Second: I have come to accept that the reason that things happen is not what it seems to be. The apparent cause is only secondary. The real cause will only become evident from the results of what ever is going on.
For example, if I gain a lot of weight, it might seem to come from my eating so much and exercising so little. In truth, those causes are secondary; I unconsciously behaved in ways that would generate results in line with some decision I had made. The particular decision is unique to every individual and situation. In this case, it could be from discouragement or fear - a decision to retreat from the world. Being overweight might give me the justification I sought.
Here's where the adventure comes in! In order to have the closest relationship with my spiritual self, I must continually refuse to get caught up in my own story, choosing instead to be aware of my consciousness. In this I can delight in the perfection of the universe unfolding through me. I can enjoy the forms without having to resist anything, knowing they will change themselves automatically as I attend to my Process.
I refuse to get caught up in why something happened. The Process of life unfolding as God, can only be perfect. The knowledge that every event is designed for my personal evolution allows me to evolve. The cause for anything is the potential or actual growth that emerged out of it.
The adventure comes by refusing to get tangled in the forms of life. The exploring is an exploration of our inner territory. Want to go on that ride? Are you ready?
Rev. Pat Palmer is director of the Center for Conscious Living and pastor
of the Religious Science Center. Largo FL, (727) 538-0900. www.consciousliving.org
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