{"id":26527,"date":"2026-02-12T10:16:04","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T15:16:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/?p=26527"},"modified":"2026-02-12T10:31:20","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T15:31:20","slug":"after-the-fall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/?p=26527","title":{"rendered":"After the Fall"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Be Thou My Vision - Audrey Assad\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Optrm7lF16s?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Contemplation and Paradise<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p>Thursday, February 12, 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>In the writings of contemplative writer and monk Thomas Merton, psychotherapist Fiona Gardner discovers how we might once again experience paradise:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The nostalgia for what has been lost remains long after childhood can impel seekers to search both within themselves and out in the world for this lost place, time and state of mind. For Thomas Merton it is the nostalgia for, or intuition of, paradise, and is a longing for a return or restoration to an original state of being which is Eden. For him it is about a reversal of the fall and the separation from God. It is the journey forward to the beginning, \u201cthe restoration of that primordial unity and harmony of all creation in God,\u201d and it is part of what it means to be authentic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For him the journey begins within the self as the false self \u2026 that leads to division and alienation from reality, and so the paradise life becomes impossible. <strong>It is only through surrendering the false self \u2026 that paradise can be regained. To be in paradise, Merton writes, is to recover one\u2019s true self\u2026.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For Merton, wishing for paradise involved a devotion to the recovery of innocence. He writes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The innocence and purity of heart which belong to paradise are a complete emptiness of self in which all is the work of God, the free and unpredictable expression of [God\u2019s] love, the work of grace. I<strong>n the purity <\/strong>o<strong>f original innocence, all is done in us but without us. [1]<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2026 <strong>The recovery of paradise takes place for the adult in humility and in spiritual nakedness. In other words not self-consciously but as the small child who just&nbsp;<em>is<\/em>&nbsp;present and just&nbsp;<em>is&nbsp;<\/em>vulnerable. <\/strong>Merton realized that the recovery of paradise is always hidden in us as a possibility, and is a difficult struggle involving repeated cycles of deaths and resurrections within the psyche, so that the Christian on their journey is both in the wilderness of the desert and in the garden at the same time. [2]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>Contemplative practice crea<\/strong>t<strong>es opportunities to return to the \u2018enchantment\u2019 of the garden:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Present-moment awareness is about creating a gap in the constant busyness of the mind\u2026. I<\/strong>t is through such a clear space that new and creative possibilities are born\u2026.<strong> There may be an inner prompting in the midst of a busy life to take stock, perhaps to stop and consider<\/strong>\u2026. <strong>The focus is then on the inner desire for that thirst-quenching water of life. In other words to move to a place of renewal and rebirth, where there may be glimpses in adulthood of life beyond the shadow and disguise, and<\/strong> <strong>experiences, even if fleeting, of the spirit of the child<\/strong>. <strong>One way to start to shift out of the obscured false<\/strong> self way of living is to begin to develop awareness, to awaken the sen<strong>ses, to look, listen, feel, and <\/strong>t<strong>ouch as the small child does\u2014to return to one\u2019s senses. [3]<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>__________________________________________________<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sarah Young Jesus Calling <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Jesus Calling: February 12<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>\u00a0\u00a0 <strong>\u00a0I am ever so near you, hovering over your shoulder, reading every thought.<\/strong> People think that thoughts are fleeting and worthless, but yours are precious to Me. <strong>I smile when you think lovingly of Me. <\/strong>My Spirit, who lives within you, helps you to think My Thoughts. <strong>As your thinking goes, so goes your entire being.<\/strong>\u00a0<br>\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Let Me be your positive Focus. <strong>When you look to Me, knowing Me as God with you<\/strong>, <strong>you experience Joy<\/strong>. This is according to My ancient design, when I first crafted man. Modern man seeks his positive focus elsewhere: in sports, sensations, acquiring new possessions. Advertising capitalizes on the longing of people for a positive focus in their lives. I planted that longing in human souls, knowing that only I could fully satisfy it. <strong>Delight yourself in Me; let Me become the Desire of your heart.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>RELATED SCRIPTURE:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Matthew 1:23<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>23 \u201cLook! The virgin will conceive a child!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp; &nbsp; She will give birth to a son,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>and they will call him Immanuel,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp; &nbsp; which means \u2018God is with us.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Psalm 37:4 NLT<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>4 Take delight in the Lord,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp; &nbsp; and he will give you your heart\u2019s desires.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Contemplation and Paradise Thursday, February 12, 2026 In the writings of contemplative writer and monk Thomas Merton, psychotherapist Fiona Gardner discovers how we might once again experience paradise: The nostalgia for what has been lost remains long after childhood can impel seekers to search both within themselves and out in the world for this lost [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"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\/26527"}],"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\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=26527"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26527\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26532,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26527\/revisions\/26532"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=26527"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=26527"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=26527"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}