{"id":16333,"date":"2018-01-04T10:35:55","date_gmt":"2018-01-04T15:35:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/?p=16333"},"modified":"2018-01-04T10:40:51","modified_gmt":"2018-01-04T15:40:51","slug":"growing-and-waking-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/?p=16333","title":{"rendered":"Growing and Waking Up"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/H73vju1eTA8\" frameborder=\"0\" gesture=\"media\" allow=\"encrypted-media\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>In the beginning, in our original unwoundedness (\u201cinnocence\u201d), we lived in an unconscious state of full connection with the divine, like Adam and Eve walking naked in the garden with God. But it didn\u2019t take long for us to think of ourselves as separate, and from that position outside the garden, we grabbed for an autonomous identity. This is the \u201cfalse self.\u201d Many people live most of their lives under this delusion, and confuse this concocted persona as the real deal.<br \/>\nHow do I get back to union and innocence? Objectively I have never left the state of union, but it feels like I have. We already and always have the divine image (imago Dei) within us; but we hopefully grow into the divine likeness (similitude) as we begin to externally resemble the goodness of God. It usually takes us a long time to rediscover what has been true all along as we gradually find our unique way of embodying Love. Finding God and finding our True Self\u2014which is letting go of our false self\u2014are finally the same thing.<br \/>\nIt\u2019s not about being privately correct; it\u2019s about being fully connected. It\u2019s not about fulfilling requirements; it\u2019s about a trusting relationship. It\u2019s not so much about what we do; it\u2019s about what God does. God and life itself eventually destabilize the boundaries of the small self so we can awaken inside of the Large Self. This usually happens through experiences of great love, suffering, or the forms of prayer that allow the private ego to collapse back into the True Self, where we gratefully shout with Jacob, \u201cYou were here all the time, and I never knew it!\u201d (Genesis 28:16).<br \/>\nOur life is a dance between the loneliness and desperation of the false self and the fullness of the True Self, which is re-discovered and experienced anew as an ultimate homecoming. The spiritual journey is a path of deeper realization and transformation; it is never a straight line, but a back and forth journey that ever deepens the conscious choice and assent to God\u2019s work in us. It is growing up, yes, but even more it is waking up. You can see why it will take us a year to even touch on this immense mystery.<\/p>\n<p>Gateway to Presence:<\/p>\n<p>If you want to go deeper with today\u2019s meditation, take note of what word or phrase stands out to you. Come back to that word or phrase throughout the day, being present to its impact and invitation.<br \/>\nWhy Can I Not Follow You Now?<br \/>\n==========================<\/p>\n<p>By Oswald Chambers<\/p>\n<p>Peter said to Him, &#8220;Lord, why can I not follow You now?&#8221; \u2014John 13:37<\/p>\n<p>There are times when you can\u2019t understand why you cannot do what you want to do. When God brings a time of waiting, and appears to be unresponsive, don\u2019t fill it with busyness, just wait. The time of waiting may come to teach you the meaning of sanctification\u2014 to be set apart from sin and made holy\u2014 or it may come after the process of sanctification has begun to teach you what service means. Never run before God gives you His direction. If you have the slightest doubt, then He is not guiding. Whenever there is doubt\u2014 wait.<br \/>\nAt first you may see clearly what God\u2019s will is\u2014 the severance of a friendship, the breaking off of a business relationship, or something else you feel is distinctly God\u2019s will for you to do. But never act on the impulse of that feeling. If you do, you will cause difficult situations to arise which will take years to untangle. Wait for God\u2019s timing and He will do it without any heartache or disappointment. When it is a question of the providential will of God, wait for God to move.<br \/>\nPeter did not wait for God. He predicted in his own mind where the test would come, and it came where he did not expect it. \u201cI will lay down my life for Your sake.\u201d Peter\u2019s statement was honest but ignorant. \u201cJesus answered him, \u2018\u2026the rooster shall not crow till you have denied Me three times\u2019 \u201d (John 13:38). This was said with a deeper knowledge of Peter than Peter had of himself. He could not follow Jesus because he did not know himself or his own capabilities well enough. Natural devotion may be enough to attract us to Jesus, to make us feel His irresistible charm, but it will never make us disciples. Natural devotion will deny Jesus, always falling short of what it means to truly follow Him.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the beginning, in our original unwoundedness (\u201cinnocence\u201d), we lived in an unconscious state of full connection with the divine, like Adam and Eve walking naked in the garden with God. But it didn\u2019t take long for us to think of ourselves as separate, and from that position outside the garden, we grabbed for an [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16333"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16333"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16333\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16336,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16333\/revisions\/16336"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16333"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16333"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16333"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}