GOD-AWARENESS

Enlightenment is always somehow to see and touch the Big Mystery, the Big Pattern, or the Big Picture. Jesus called it the Kingdom or Reign of God; Buddha called it enlightenment. Both Buddhists and Hindus speak of nirvana. Philosophers might call it Truth. Most of us just call it love. There’s no answer, no problem-solving, simply awareness. You cannot not live in the presence of God. You are totally surrounded by God. St. Patrick said it well:

God beneath you,

God in front of you,

God behind you,

God above you,

God within you.

You cannot earn this God. You cannot prove yourself worthy of this God. Feeling God’s presence is simply a matter of awareness, of fully allowing and enjoying the present moment. There are moments when it happens naturally, when we are out of the way. Then life makes sense. Once I can see the Mystery here, and trust the Mystery even in this little piece of clay that I am, in this moment of time that I am—then I can also see it in you, and eventually in all things. That would be full enlightenment, “when God is all in all” (1 Corinthians 15:28).