Where is God?

Ah, the grand old disagreement of whether God lives within, or is on a throne up in the sky. We have all seen through the lens of history, and of our current story unfolding, that people seem to grapple with this question and even go to war over convincing others of their opinion.

Then there is the more private questioning and inner turmoil of the individuals who are like most of you now; those who are seeking the answer to “Where is God?”  Some find it very hard to come to terms with what they were taught as a child and what they’re coming to know as they evolve into adulthood. People are formulating their own spiritual paths at younger and younger ages, and I trust this is exactly how it should be for the planet right now, simply because that is the truth of what is happening. The youth are doing exactly as they have always done: Challenging the status quo, challenging the rhetoric, challenging the structures that no longer fit their sensibilities. Here’s a little secret: You can do that at any age, and when you do it with the experience of adulthood you do it that much more reverently.

I grew up Catholic. I was also very spiritual so I heard a lot from the priests. They were the “speakers;” the nuns were never given leadership roles. But the priest got up there almost every day in front of us and would preach about this king in the sky, with a mighty fortress, where we could hide. And I always questioned: Why do we want to hide? Why is God a sanctuary? And a sanctuary from what – his own creation of the earth? And we come down here just to live outside God’s sanctuary? Granted I’m the ripe old age of 8 at the time, but that sounds so funny to me. I thought this doesn’t make sense. On top of that, the priests would often chide and warn us that “God will be displeased,” and I thought to myself, that’s not the God I know. Why would God be displeased with how we are experiencing the life he gave us to experience outside of his sanctuary? The logic just kept failing me. And yeah, I went to confession. I said my little confessions because that’s what we did. This is how my family did it, this is how my town did it, and at 8, I figured this was how all the families I’d ever seen in my life do it.

But somehow, I always knew deep inside that God knew what kind of person I was. He saw me always, and with love, he knew that any missteps I made- well, these were just little transgressions in my growth. I mean, I remember thinking all of this when I was in grade school and thus, I didn’t really take the whole thing so seriously.

The priest just kind of raised his eyebrows at me, a lot. But I did see love, and I did see God. I did see that force that I could always talk to everywhere I went. One day everything started to come into focus. A kind of a shaman, a friend who was on the journey of a shaman, but had a lot of other stuff mixed into his journey too…Well, he said, “You know, God is within.” I thought, Oh, that’s an interesting feeling. Not out here, but inside me. I felt instantly centered. But then my inner critic barked back: Oh my gosh, that’s blasphemy! Because even as a child I knew reverend and Protestant pastors and priests and who would just— oh my gosh, they’d be up in arms when you say something like that. But my mind kept on it, kept turning it over. Isn’t it funny when someone, even a stranger says something that really reaches you, and you turn it over again and again in your mind? It’s like you’re healing your auto-thoughts, the ones that run automatically from years of conscious or unconscious practice. This is exactly why I am making these episodes for you. I may say the very thing you need to hear and indeed that’s what my intention is, but also in the Soul Manifesto Community there are such warm and welcoming people in our community that they are very likely to say something you need to hear for your breakthrough, and you are equally powerful, you know! Don’t hold your brilliance, your insights, your stories in, share them in the comments. Something you say may very well free a soul from an auto-thought that can be plaguing their decisions for decades and eroding their true purpose in life.

Watch the full episode to learn more about the Shamanic journey that helped me discover my own answer to the question, “Where is God?” And I’ll even give you a link to help you take your own guided Shamanic journey. I hope our talk today has brought you closer to Spirit, by helping you to shed anything that’s holding you down and accepting all of what is lifting you up. I release new videos every Tuesday and Thursday, because my friend, Spirit is Love and Love is Spirit.