When do you feel most alive?
Jim December 1st, 2008
Yet another photo by Zoo Gal (Darla). By the way, she has an online shop if you’re interested.
On Saturday I drove about an hour and a half west of Nashville to spend the day with Byrdie and his family at Lobelville, Tennessee. He has a bunch of land there that he eventually plans to use for kids camps whenever he retires from baseball. We did a little four-wheeling and took target practice with rifles and hand guns at his make-shift firing range.Thankfully (for my ego) he couldn’t shoot a gun much straighter than I could. Paul’s wife, Kim, shamed both of us.
It was all good but I confess breaking the speed limit all the way back to Nashville. The place and people I most enjoy is home with Pam and Jessica (and Jack and Spotty). Yesterday we took Jack over to the lake to let him run, while we hiked a wooded trail along the water. It was super cold; right now we have some snow flurries. I’m hoping for a major snow this year. It’s been a while.
Today while Pam was gone, Jessica and I made a carrot cake-both the cake and the icing! It has been so long since I’d had carrot cake that while using the mixer I wasn’t sure if the shredded carrots remained solid of if they were supposed to like dissolve into the batter. I called Pam’s mom and learned they don’t dissolve, which is good because I wondered if had a lame mixer. Anyway, those receipie books really work! We made our grocery list, went and bought everything, and followed every detail of the instructions. It was a bit of an ordeal getting the cake out of the baking pan, but once we slopped the icing all over it none of that mattered anymore. So, each of us tonight had a piece of warm carrot cake. Mmmm…it was sooooo good.
Here’s a shout-out to Andrew and Seth for tomorrow’s grand opening of Halcyon Bike Shop, the only used bike shop in Nashville. I got a sneak peak a few days ago.
Let me ask you something. Does all the mental machinations and concepts we incessantly bat around with respect to spiritual living really all that helpful? I mean, does it actually help you experience the life, love, peace, freedom, and connectedness they were supposedly intended to point us towards? I feel like I’m going through yet another “shedding religion” layer, which seems to involve a total letting go of the need to understand. It’s not even a case of concluding I can’t understand but that understanding isn’t in the end really all that helpful. Rather than constantly seeking to measure reality, what about simply meeting reality in every moment…in all of life…in everybody?
So, I have a question? When is it that you feel most alive-most free, most at peace, most connected, most content, most alive? Please don’t look upon your answer with judgment. It doesn’t have to be any sort of “religious” or “spiritual” answer. Describe a recent moment or experience when you truly felt alive. You don’t even have to understand why it is these deep feelings were stimulated within you. Don’t analyze it. Just tell when you felt it deep inside.
(photo by zoo gal)
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my wife and i live in jackson, ms. i used to be paid to work in a church and serve others. (long story in between), i now manage a 24 hour fitness franchise. we have been able to connect with all kinds of people from various parts of life in the gym. it’s very cool the conversations i am able to have and the invitations into people’s lives that i never encountered will on staff at a church. but to finally answer your question…
last monday night we hosted a thanksgiving dinner. two other couples were able to come. what started as casual conversation at the gym over a year ago, has developed into a yearning to hang out multiple times a month. to sit at dinner with people that we know intimately, and thank God was amazing. each of us are in different journeys with God, but we were able to thank God for his blessing. we were able to make a memory in time together.
one husband leaves this saturday for afghanistan, we are now able to share in his story. we are able to be with him there, and be with his wife here.
after all that i learned in theology classes in college/ all that i experienced on staff in the traditional church/ the growth i have experienced sense then/ relationships such as these is where i am able to see God’s creation in motion. That he is not done. i am so grateful for the people i am able to meet, and the friends that i am able to share life with.
I used to feel it regularly on the baseball field.
Now I feel it when teaching. It’s where I fit.
Now if only I was employed as a teacher!
In Paris. I know that’s a not-so-spiritual answer, but it’s true nonetheless. I used to judge it and think I should find that feeling in something more spiritual or worthwhile, but now I just accept it for what it is. Simply walking around the city or sitting in a garden and people watching makes me feel more free and energized and at peace with the world than I’ve experienced anywhere else. I have no idea why it has this effect on me. Maybe it’s like romance .. there are people that grab your heart for reasons you’ll never know. If a city can be your soul mate, Paris is mine.
Josh, I find more and more that the simplest things stimulate feelings of satisfaction and connectedness within me,like the people we meet and friends we make along the everyday paths of life. It took a while for me with people because the “religious” side of me always wanted to burden life by imposing all these additional issues:
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Should i be influencing change in this new friend?
Am i doing enough?
Have we sufficiently satisfied the “God department” in our time of being together?
Should we talk about God more?
Where is this friendship or relationships going?
Is all this fitting in to my new and improved definition of “church?”
etc…
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The more I let this sort of stuff go, the more I discovered a great joy in just knowing and doing life with people – whoever, whenever whatever.
Redlefty, why on a baseball field? I’m assuming you were a baseball player; forgive me for not knowing this if I should. What specifically about it made you come alive. Can you describe how it felt to play?
Rebecca, you wrote…
“Simply walking around the city or sitting in a garden and people watching makes me feel more free and energized and at peace with the world than I’ve experienced anywhere else.”
I can relate so much to each part of this – exploring different places, walking the streets of a quaint or alive city, people watching – these same experiences also stimulate deep feelings of peace, freedom, and connectedness.
Can you put your finger on the characteristics of Paris that makes it the perfect soul-mate?
there is one moment that remains in me after all these years… in the winter of ‘69/’70 while attending school on monteagle mountain, i walked out onto a field during a heavy snowfall. it was just me in the middle of the night. no noise, just the sound of the falling snowflakes. the beauty of the freshly covered earth in white snow. the simplicity of it all gave me this feeling that nothing i can say or do will ever be as important as the little things that God does. i miss that so often.
I truly feel alive when I am dancing. I don’t get many opportunites for this, so quite often if a good song comes on the radio or CD when I am getting ready for work, I start rockin’ on. Not uncommonly an imaginary mike gets added to the mix. It resonates with the passion that I feel for life and it’s fun.
by far,…….no doubt……
i truly feel alive the moment i take my jogging shoes off and step in the ocean …..
the cold ocean water immediately cools my feet,…
and i feel it move up my whole body ,……there have been many times tears have come down my face the moment i feel this sensation….i hear the ocean waves as if its the first time each time…i taste the salt in my mouth and love it….i love the grinding crunch of sand in my teeth….the beach , ocean, always heals my soul…..
and then to add to this alive moment….
a stranger passes as i walk on the beach ….and we both smile and nod …
its that simple…..
I think when my best friend and I are discussing our journeys the last four years, sharing what we’ve found, experienced and felt. My family does not share my feelings and beliefs. So my friend is my outlet (as well as the blog world). As a former educator, I long to share and learn with others of like searchers.
jim,
i had that same conversation last night here at the gym. a friend who grew up catholic just married a baptist youth minister in the area. our talks have been circled around the issues, and obstacles he finds himself in. i told him how freeing it has been to love my neighbors without motive. i am not trying to get them to come to something or try something. i appreciate your guidance and encouragement.
When my 8 year old crawls up on my lap.
I spent part of my childhood in Michigan (the rest of my life has been in Louisiana), but I also remember the whole “snow falling in the woods with complete silence” experience back in Michigan as a child. Chuck, your story reminded me of the peace I felt—-Thanks.
More recently, I was able to clear some brush and chainsaw fallen trees (from recent hurricanes that knocked them down) into logs. I enjoyed the simplicity of working outdoors and there is something about working in nature that brings me extra peace and pushes me to simplify my life.
We had a lot of carrot cake left over, and we decided to cut several pieces and wrap them on small paper plates to give away. This was Jessie’s intent all along; she wanted to give some of the cake to neighbors. Her and Pam delivered them today; one neighbor stopped by and we gave them their piece. The whole experience – choosing the kind of cake we wanted to make, grocery shopping for the ingredients, making the cake with Jessica, sharing and enjoying the cake together as a family, giving pieces of the cake to neighbors – all these things brought good feelings and made me feel alive.
I’m assistant coaching my 9 year old son’s hockey team. I love hanging out with the parents, coaches, and players. Watching them doing what it takes to function as a team and win the game. It’s still about the love of the game for them.
Jim,
The beauty of your question lies in it’s simplicity. My magical moments happen when my HEART is open! They can happen anytime, anywhere and occur when I just ‘open up’. I’m overcome with gratitude, joy and love. Sometimes it happens when I least expect it and it’s such a treat that I laugh out loud.
I’ve had some unbelievably wonderful moments alone in nature, looking up at falling snow, walking deep inside the rainforest listening for bird songs, or just standing outside in my garden in the rain. IMHO, it’s not so much about the external stimulation for these connections (although that can be powerful and it’s what we tend to focus on), but it’s actually so much MORE. Rather, it’s connecting with something deep inside all of us and it’s available to us anytime because it’s in our nature…we have only to remember that.
Peace!
Jim ~ I think it’s largely the activity – people out and about, talking, laughing, living. It’s such a nice change from the house-car-destination-car-house routine of the burbs. The other factor for me is the beauty that surrounds you. From intricately carved buildings to wrought iron gates to glowing gas lamps, there are small touches of elegance everywhere you look. You get the sense that living well trumps economy and efficiency.
Thinking out loud here..
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What if that feeling when…
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making new friends at the gym
playing on the baseball field
walking in Paris
standing in the field during a heavy snowfall
dancing with your imaginary Mike
wading in the ocean
sharing our journey with like-minded friends
holding our eight-year-old in our lap
clearing brush in the woods
observing and being a part of the love of sport
baking, eating, and giving away cake
feeling the rain fall upon you while in your garden
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What if that feeling is the place where you and God are one. What if that moment of feeling joy or love or peace or freedom or fulfillment or satisfaction or delight or connectedness or purpose or contentment or passion or vitality or compassion or community or exhilaration is experiencing your intimate oneness with God.
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Maybe there is no real value added by analyzing it and conceptualizing it and dissecting it and explaining it. Can it not be enough to simply enjoy it?
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A friend emailed me and wrote the following:
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“I do know I’m growing in my appreciation of every moment, whatever it brings. I’m fascinated by the unity of diversity, repetition and spontaneity, how love seemingly vanishes and appears, how categories, divisions and separation are vanishing before my eyes. My existence is so different from my past. I’ve opinions and judgments and happily explain them although I’m not concerned with beating people over the head with them or defending them at all cost…I’m letting go or maybe I’ve let go of the desire to know. I do enjoy helping those who cross my path physically, electronically or indirectly because it feels good to me. I too, appreciate help and kinds words that come my way. Life is my blessing, freedom is my drug and love sustains me.”
” What if that feeling is the place where you and God are one. What if that moment of feeling joy or love or peace or freedom or fulfillment or satisfaction or delight or connectedness or purpose or contentment or passion or vitality or compassion or community or exhilaration is experiencing your intimate oneness with God. ”
I believe it is jim !
and those moments when i am sitting on the sofa scratching my 11 yr olds son’s back….
and those moments when my 26 yr old daughter and i can not stop laughing at the silliest of the moment…knowing no one but us could understand…..
and those moments i watch my 23 and 21 yr old sons’ banter with one another ,…laughing and loving in their individual way……
and those moments when my 84 yr old neighbor martha hugs us soooooooooo hard because she is so happy we have included her……she doesn’t realize how much she blesses us…..
and those mundane moments of grabbing a coffee at the 7-11,…. and engaging in a short good morning chat with the employee,……..
i have come to feel ALIVE with GOD more in the WORLD with STRANGERS then I ever did with ‘ friends ‘ in the church……
There’s probably more than two times this has happened to me, but these two always come to mind first…when all my senses come together in such a gloriously spiritual way, that is has to be what being with Him will be like!
Once, walking the beach alone (no one as far as the eye could see) north of Monterey (CA), I had my headphones on and was listening to instrumental “smooth” music and as the music soared, so did a flock of seagulls and the waves came crashing in and it was just one of those jaw-dropping moments when everything “came together” and stopped you in your tracks…the sights, sounds, feelings, music, nature…
Then another time, I was driving (no passengers, no cars in front or back of me, alone) on a highway up into the green hills w/ music on my radio and to my right were horses galloping together in a herd across the green open spaces…they ran to the tempo of the music and the sight and colors and music all blended together to make another jaw-dropping moment in time…
Most usually, it is walking the beach and truly seeing what’s transpiring before me…the waves, the birds, the blue sky, white clouds…being in nature is where God always speaks to me…
I live 2 1/2 hours away from the Pacific Ocean, so it’s very special to me when I go there…
the one word or thing that seems to pop out at me in the thread of this post an comments is simplicity. we find ourselves at one with God in the simple things of life. why do we make life so hard?
sex, of course!
This morning, I was still chuckling about the non-dissolving carrots and the questionable mixer regarding Jim and Jessica’s carrot cake adventure. Too cute and very endearing. I had a great chat with a friend last night who knows me deeply , who really gets me and who shares many laughs with me. Then I got to thinking – probably the people I most connect with in my life – my closest friends and would be a “deal breaker” if it was absent regarding any potential mate – are in part, because of our belly laugh sharing – people that get and share my humour. Then I got to thinking that a shared belly laugh – you know that “I cant’ catch my breath, it hurts – help me – i’m laughing so hard” – with another person – is one of the most profound connections for me. Even when I’m the only human around and I’m laughing at myself – it is self-connecting. Humour. Laughter. A universal connection across the globe. What is the “point” of laughter outside of pure Gift. And it can’t be planned, forced or arranged. It reminds me of Mystery. I think there is a lesson, and a reminder for me here.
In all the situations, places and happenings described on this thread there is ONE who was present each time with each of you. You brought this ONE to the moment, you connected to this ONE because you opened your hearts and for an instant you allowed that ONE to be present and FELT. It was a moment you turned from your head to your heart. And because of the FEELING, you have remembered it as special. Why not attribute this to WHOM it belongs? It is not the place or the situation or the activity or indeed the other person you were with, but the SPIRIT within you that gave you that FEELING of connectedness, joy, peace love and fulfillment. Why not give the glory of that special moment to the ONE who is longing that you reach deeper and invite him to more of your moments so we can begin to live and move and have our being entirely IN THAT ONE.
(Audrey, what follows are several questions that multiplied in my mind after reading your comment. I completely appreciate the spirit in which you made the comment, and I completely agree with your explanation of the source of all the good feelings described in previous comments. All the below questions are simply an expression of something I’ve been stewing on lately,which is how many conditions/steps/requirements must I impose on the moments of my life in order for them to be legitimate aspects of living in the real. So, don’t take the questions as opposing what you said but only an expression of the kind of thing I’ve been pondering for myself.)
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Give glory to the ONE; why? Is the experience and feeling incomplete until we attribute it to the ONE? Does the ONE need us to incessantly stop at every good and fulfilling moment and feeling and give proper credit? Does the ONE need us to give the ONE glory? Isn’t the ONE satisfied when we experience the real? Does there always have to be something more that the ONE is forever still trying to get us to experience? Isn’t what we experienced in those moments good enough? Why can’t simply enjoying these feelings – whenever and however we experience them – be enough? Aren’t those moments living and having our being in the real? How many of those moments are enough? Should we be striving for an endless number of such moments? Isn’t the “dullness” of daily life just as much a part of the real? Or should I be in a state of bliss while I take out the trash, and judge myself if I’m not overtaken with feelings of deep contentment when I’m cleaning up my cat’s puke?
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Sure, taking out the trash or cleaning up my cat’s puke doesn’t have to inhibit my peace because of what you said – the ONE always goes with/in/as us. Sure, the good feelings are not dependent upon any particular set of circumstances since the source is never threatened. But why this step of giving glory to the ONE? Is it so we don’t get confused and take credit ourselves? Is that the bad we are trying to avoid by giving the ONE glory? Could it not be that the ONE is “glorified” by our simply feeling or experiencing the peace, contentment, and connectedness?
We as humans worship so many gods and most of the time we do not realise that that’s what we are doing. We admire, we follow, we copy, we attribute, but it’s all to MAN. It’s the way we’ve been taught. We worship anything and everything in this world of ours that we’ve created, we can’t help it, it’s the bias we have because we THINK that way. But we can CHOOSE to live another way. It’s the way of the spirit. All those precious moments shown us on this thread are little glimpses of this life. JC showed us how – he said ‘metanoia and follow me’ We are not there yet, what we are experiencing are little foretastes. We have a lot of unlearning to do, we are still in the dark, wandering around as lost souls but getting a few little lights pointing in the direction of deeper, deeper! And these glimpses are not of our doing or making or being. They are given us, and by now we should be recognising WHO is giving them. It’s the recognition of where these moments come from that glorifies the giver. We CANNOT serve two masters. What is of the world is one master, the spirit is the other, the choice is ours.
Jim,
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I feel that you are misunderstanding what Audrey is trying to explain. Jane has tried to describe the same thing. It’s not so much, they, or you are wrong because everyone here commenting on this thread are all talking about the same thing. It’s a dimension that runs through everyone – in fact every single person living on this planet and many people, like yourself, are becoming aware of this. But the problem is, as I see it, is how our minds interpret this phenomena if we wish to pursue it further. I’m not saying I have it right but I’m going to have an attempt to widen our thinking about it all – for what it is worth?
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You named this topic, “When do you feel most alive?” and there have been some very good comments about this ranging through a whole gambit of activities – walking along the beach, to standing out in the snow, to belly laughing, to making carrot cakes, to having sex, to doing simplistic jobs etc. etc. (My apologies for leaving anyone out!)
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OK is there a common denominator running through all this? In other words what makes these things so good? I think all of us are realistic enough to admit that repeating these activities doesn’t automatically give us a high. For instance Jim, I bet beating up carrot cakes day after day and giving them out to the neighbors will not leave you in an ongoing state of euphoric ecstasy? At the same time we cannot ignore what is happening to you and other people when they point to these events because something occurs that is very real for them.
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So don’t you think we would be wise to focus more on what makes the “reality” of the happening so good for us and we become alive? What is that reality? This would have to be the feelings, or the spirit of the moment coming from within isn’t it? That’s real – and perhaps we should talk more about that? I feel that is what Audrey and Jane are attempting to point out – the living world within us rather than the one without. They are two separate dimensions. Instead of wasting words exalting the associated physical circumstances we perhaps could give more credence to the dimension that we are obviously touching that makes it so good for us. To do this we have to change the way we use our minds and not automatically explain things in the way we have been trained into. Instead we “think” these deeper feelings, which we all have, and try and speak from there. It’s a new type of logic and I think if we pursue this further we may get a wonderful surprise and discover a whole new world opening up for us that could have unlimited possibilities.
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I feel that when we do this one of the first things that will come through to us will be a drawing together of everyone into a common “oneness” whereas if we just carryon about our physical activities it tends to divide us. We become self centered and this tends to fix our minds back into our own insular world.
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So the simple answer to your question Jim, “When do you feel most alive?” could very easily be answered thus. It’s when we turn that way, “feel” it, and speak from it! We all begin to come alive, and speaking the same “language”!
Brian, I agree with you. For some reason, I interpreted what Audrey was saying to be more of a mechanical/religious thing. For some reason I was transported to an imaginary Sunday School Class with the leader wielding a ruler and saying,
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“Now children, have we sufficiently given God the credit for everything we enjoyed today?! Repeat after me children, ‘May God be the glory.’ Again children, I can’t hear you!!”
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I certainly know this is not what Audrey meant but that’s what I felt. I take full responsibility for feeling that way; it’s not any judgment on what Audrey wrote. I love Audrey and am so thankful for her involvement on this blog.
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It’s like whitewater rafting at your place in NZ. Let’s say the folks experience all kinds of wonderful deep feelings during their time there. Sure, you help them see that those deep feelings are produced within them but you don’t make them sing “To God be the Glory” do you?
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Oh well, I don’t mean to be silly or difficult. It just seems like a lot of people just need the permission and space to just experience and enjoy the deep feelings without someone rushing in to deliver a 30-minute sermon on what it all means and how it should be correctly interpreted.
Fishing.
I don’t think about anything. There is a disconnect with reality out there. No cell-phones, no e-mails, just you and the water and the fish (somedays the fish).
Great question Jim, just thinking about it makes me smile
Jim, that horrific flashback to your SS teacher really made me sit up and look back at what I’d written. You asked me some time ago were there parts of my life that I find are not in ‘the light’ (my understanding of what you’d asked me). I’d say this is a prime example of a message coming pure from my heart that has got sullied/contaminated by previous learning in the language I’ve used on it’s way out. I want you to hear it pure, but I am learning a ‘new language’ that comes from the heart and at times I may revert unintentionally to explanations still tainted by taught expressions from the head – BUT – there is no judgement on either of us.We ‘go in and out and find food”
Jim , Brian, Audrey – great food for perculation. I personally resonate with “journey” and “process” and “openness” and “willingness” – terms that help me to feel less threatened or self-conscious about whether or not I have appropriately “arrived” – terms that help me want to keep my face turned toward the Son – (the Son in me, with me, thru me, containing me, etc)…..I think that our language – esp without the nuance of body language in communication will also fall short of articulating that which is ultimately Mystery and transcending any words, thoughts, feelings, ideas etc. But seeking to communicate sure does feel like community and I am so grateful for that.
Sometimes I am aware of my breath, or the amazement of fingers and brain coordinating to type and I am filled with awe. Most times, I am not aware of each breath – but with an overall sense of gratitude for life. Such perhaps is the belly laugh, the walk along the beach etc where there may not be a “linear” – feel an experience – thank God etc. It all might be more fluid than that for many – which may be what Jim was attempting to express with his questions – NOT to remove an acknowledgment of the ONE, but perhaps in a less linear fashion (which perhaps triggered emotionally for him the relgious approach). Laughing my guts out or whatever is in the moment and consuming – it’s not necessarily accompanied by thought. One is perhaps in the moment living the thankfulness and perhaps later in a quiet more reflective time one expresses gratitude to the ONE. Just sort of rambling here as the discussion began to percolate thruout me. Brother Lawrence – known for his Practising the Presence of God was perhaps one who developed such an intimacy of awareness moment by moment thru his feelings – resulting from the togetherness of he and God in ongoing openness and willingness. Great food for feel!!!
Audrey, I can very much relate. I want to live, follow, and speak form the heart and those deep feelings. Thanks for being a voice continually encouraging that way.
Vicki, you wrote…
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“Laughing my guts out or whatever is in the moment and consuming – it’s not necessarily accompanied by thought. One is perhaps in the moment living the thankfulness and perhaps later in a quiet more reflective time one expresses gratitude to the ONE.”
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Vicki, that nailed it exactly for me. Especially your words of how deep feelings are not always accompanied by thought in real-time, in the moment. That resonates because there is still this part of me (the mental, religious, Masters of Divinity degree, writer, ego Jim) who wants to rush in with analysis, verbiage, classification, explanation, comprehension, etc…and then I’m out of the deep feelings and back in my head again. But that’s me. Audrey’s words spoken as pure heart were still grabbed a hold of by that part of Jim, which is why I recoiled because I know where that train goes and I don’t want to ride it – no way, no how, no train
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Anyway, thanks Vicki for speaking the words that I couldn’t seem to find for it.
Jim, I’m glad that some of my words were helpful for you. That is one of the great gifts of community. Why I love ‘process’ and “journey” is that it allows me to be okay with where I’m at – not arrived but hopefully moving. So, I too recognize that I have triggers that take me to dark places. For me, when I feel threatened, vulnerable or confused, I try even harder to be understood, to explain, to analyze, classify. I think it is actually quite human, because my feeling is that utlimately a part of me ( the fear part not yet cast out) wants to be in control, and with that control to ensure 100% love and acceptance. I am learning to be kinder to myself for those parts that work against my deepest desires, to speak them out to God as I become aware, to let Him be in charge of moving me forward in Him.
I also have just loved generally hearing what has moved others, brought them feelings of aliveness. Great question.
You all so much stoke me – I come here every day, and always get a lift and a deeper look into something beyond – thanks to everyone who comments. There’s so many time where I want to join in but don’t have words, or a thought that fits, but I still come away with something from all of you.
Jim I think I kind of agree with Audrey and Brian – in that if we can find where the source of this connectedness comes from we can tap into it ALL the time… not just at those special times. When we feel connected, and then realize it, is where two worlds collide. I think we’re always connected, but just aren’t ‘there’ to know it – an ego thing I think.
So yeah, if I could recognize this source of connectedness and be at a place where I can dial into it when I am cleaning up my cat’s puke, why wouldn’t I? Most of life is the mundane, and I don’t want to have to wait for that special ‘awe’ moment – I want it in the everyday. There’s Divine Nobodies, and then there’s Divine Everyminute.
Peace,
TC
…if we can find where the source of this connectedness comes from we can tap into it ALL the time… not just at those special times. When we feel connected, and then realize it, is where two worlds collide. I think we’re always connected, but just aren’t ‘there’ to know it – an ego thing I think. (TC)
Now, that was written from the heart. Thankyou TC for the courage you’ve had to contribute to the conversation. As I read your post I felt one of those moments we’ve been writing about, and I’m sure others will too. Where did you feel the words came from as you wrote it TC?
Brian wrote about the two dimensions. the ‘two worlds’ as you called them, and he also showed HOW to connect with the REAL one. Here it is again –
To do this we have to change the way we use our minds and not automatically explain things in the way we have been trained into. Instead we “think” these deeper feelings, which we all have, and try and speak from there. It’s a new type of logic and I think if we pursue this further we may get a wonderful surprise and discover a whole new world opening up for us that could have unlimited possibilities. (Brian)
When the ones and twos of us begin to open up to this REAL world and the source of LIFE, there will be no stopping of it. The good news will spread like a prairie fire and the old world will be totally consumed. It will be no loss, it’s all been part of our imagination anyway. It just takes a few to ’see’ the possibilities and desire it more than anything else.
Jim, I was totally with you in the horrid flashback to the Sunday School, “Let us give praise to God, altogether now…” except for me it was a flashback to “worship”. As a former worship leader (you know, the rock band, swaying to tongues, everybody have a spiritual orgasm in public kind) several years ago I WOULD have answered the question “when do I feel most alive” with something about when I am on stage leading people into that “connection with God.” Until I realized that I also got the same high when I played un-Christian music to un-Christians but they were having a great time and enjoying it and the energy was totally there too. Hmmm… Now I don’t know. Maybe when I am being mentally challenged to think outside the box on just about anything, especially if it has to do with horses or God. I love to think. Or when I am having that connection with a being, whether it be human or equine. Most definately I hear Vickie, when I am belly-laughing. Is that any less “worship”, just enjoying the moment? As a parent, isn’t one of your most precious and fulfilling moments when you peek into the backyard and watch your child completely engrossed and enraptured with some imaginary friend? If the goodness of God is meant to bring us closer to him, even if we don’t realize it at the time don’t these wonderful times of feeling alive invariably somehow bring us closer to him, even subconsciously or in people who don’t even call him “Him” yet? And in the reverse, isn’t it perhaps a spit in God’s eye when we fail to stop and notice and savor those wonderful moments of aliveness that he gives us? Great question/blog Jim, from one who badly needs reminding to feel alive way more often.
Music has always been the thing that makes me come alive more than any other, wether listening or playing. Ive been out of the states for the last few months and because of that havnt been able to play any music really at all so i was so excited to make it to the music store the other day. I love playing my jimbay more than anything and they had 4 or 5 there in the store. Getting to sit there and play or even just 5 minutes made me come alive more than anything else the last six months. I feel such a conection to myself and my purpose playing that is hard to describe. That was a moment of feeling alive
After I nurse my daughter to sleep, I take a minute to just hold her and look at her perfect, round little face. The pink cheeks, the perfect little heart-shaped lips, the dark little eyelashes brushing over her eyes. And this, our third child, is the child that was “an accident.” At that moment, I know that I’m seeing the face of God, and that contained in that moment is all that I’ll ever need to know about what matters most, about how the only thing that really and truly matters, the only true reason for being, is our connections- nurturing others and being nurtured by others. The weight of her in my arms, the squeezing of my heart as it aches with a love that’s so big I am still awed by it- that’s all that I need to know about what God’s love is really all about, and how I am supposed to live.