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UNITY WAY

January 2, 2005

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God in the Midst of You

by Andrei Yashurin 

We all want our life to be enriched and changed for 
the better. But the question we often face is, where 
can we get power, wisdom, and love which are necessary 
for such transformation?

Perhaps, one of the greatest revelations we may have in 
our life is that all God's resources are freely available 
to us. We find them within ourselves.

Jesus shared this profound insight in one of His conversations:

And when he was asked by the Pharisees, when the kingdom 
of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom 
of God cometh not with observation. Neither will they say, 
Lo here! or lo there! for behold, the kingdom of God 
is within you. 
Luke 17:20,21 (Webster)

I often say that the promise "seek and you will find" will 
work for us as long as we search at the right place. If we 
are searching somewhere else, it might take a long time for 
us to discover that we were mistaken in our assumptions. This 
is one of the reasons why some people seemingly have no 
benefits from exploring spirituality.  

When we seek for answers to our questions and for help we 
need "here" and "there" - in books, in institutions, in 
rituals and initiations, in "enlightened" teachers and 
"charismatic" leaders - we seek amiss. Sometimes we get 
positive results through all these channels, but they are 
not lasting. With time, we return to our past conditions 
and start looking for another "boost". 

The truth is, books, people, and institutions are good and 
necessary as long as they can strengthen our connection with 
the only Source where our help comes from - "the kingdom of 
God within us". Within! 

Traditional theism insists that God is "up there" - that 
the Creator is transcendent and quite distant from the creation. 
By phrases from people's "religious" vocabulary we may see 
how traditional concepts shaped their understanding of 
God and themselves. "Do not leave me, God", some believers 
pray - as if God comes and goes rather than abides. "I want 
to be closer to God", others say - which implies that there 
is a distance between them and God. The list of such cliches 
could be continued on and on. 

However, there is an alternative concept of God we may embrace. 
It is widely supported by scriptures and by spiritual 
experiences of millions of people throughout the world. 
According to it, God is immanently present in all of 
creation, including ourselves. The distance between us 
and God is illusory, and the moment we realize this, we 
are saved from ignorance which clouded our thinking. 

"I am the light that is over all things. I am all: from 
me all came forth, and to me all attained. Split the piece 
of wood; I am there. Lift up the stone, and you will find me there".

"The Lord your God is mighty in your midst; He will save, 
He will rejoice over you with joy; He is silent in His love; 
He rejoices over you with joyful shout" (Zep. 3:17), exclaimed 
one of the Old Testament prophets, speaking of time when 
this mighty saving Presence will be widely recognized. 
 
As we said before, there is an universal tendency to look 
for "saviour", but the true Saviour is in the midst of us. 
He is mighty to rescue us from everything which is not our 
highest good.

We can never be alienated from the saving Presence within. 
At times of weakness, we should remember that the Power is 
still there - within. At times of unrest, we should remember 
that the Peace is still there - within. At times of unhappiness 
and misery, we should remember that the Bliss is still there - 
within our reach.

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Andrei Yashurin: yashurin@gmail.com

http://pcjournal.ru/talks Talks on Truth

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All messages (c) 2005 by Andrei Yashurin

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