Unfolding is exploration, so it’s quite likely there will be surprises along the way. We share in the examples below experiences of being jarred out of a confining mindset and being able to have a little laugh at ourselves.
One never knows how a prayer will be answered...
I had the opportunity this year to help someone I’ve known for many years. Because of poor health, my friend no longer drives, and there are times she needs a friend to take her places. I became that friend. Our travels take us to doctors’ offices, pharmacies, grocery stores and many other places. Even though we always try to fit in lunch or a movie for fun, I have found myself becoming frustrated with her very different lifestyle, one that I see as based on dependency.
A phrase from a teaching has become a mantra for me: “Divine Mother, what should I do?” “Do what is in front of you.” I’ve prayed for patience about the situation with my friend many times, realizing that this phrase is talking to me. I love to be busy, but I want to do things I choose, not necessarily what life presents to me. I understand that by resisting what life is presenting, I am not really seeing the needs in front of me that I can answer. I have the energy, time and resources to meet the needs of a soul. That, indeed, is what I should be doing with love. My prayer for patience has become a prayer for understanding: understanding to open my heart and eyes to the needs of souls.
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In Cafh we practice a three-step meditation, which is like a conversation with the Divine Mother. In the first step we invoke her presence, in the second we remain in silence, and in the third we receive her response. It’s very tempting to pre-judge the situation and try to put our own words into the Divine Mother’s mouth in the response, but she can surprise us!
Once when I was meditating on a difficulty with a member of my family, I poured out all my frustration to the Divine Mother as I invoked her, unconsciously expecting her to take my side and console me. Then I quieted my mind and tried to wait in silence. Her response came as a shock: “Sorry, my Daughter. I love you both equally!”
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Follow the link to The Divine Encounter for a little reminder that what we might consider "divine" is much greater than what our mind can ordinarily conceive. The Divine is there with us in all circumstances—certainly in the pleasant and the mystical, but also in the mundane and sometimes downright annoying experiences of life.