Knowledge and Experience

Watching my five-year-old son unfold is like watching a butterfly struggle out of a cocoon. The struggle is heart-rending, but the promise of the beauty to come keeps me riveted. He tries so hard to be "cool", my little human, and all the while he's reminding us of what it's like to be Divine.

Sometimes I wish I could go back to that place where experience is everything and there's no such thing as "over-analyzing". I think this is what Jesus meant when he said that in order to enter the Kingdom we must become like little children.

You see, Knowledge is an illusion of the mind, created by man. What is it that we seek knowledge of? Ultimately what we seek is God, and we can never Know God. We will never understand God - it's just too big! We can only experience God. I say "only" as if it's less than! It's not less than, it's All There Is!

There is a Hindu tradition (excuse me while I paraphrase here) that says that God and his wife were hanging out one day and He said, "Honey (Don't you think God would call his wife "Honey?!), I am All Wise." God's wife said, "Dear One, if you think you're so smart, I have a challenge for you." And with that she cut Him up into 6 billion pieces and said, "If you're so smart, go put yourself back together again!"

The obvious meaning of this story is that we are All little pieces of God, just trying to re-unite with Himself. But I think there's another level to this story: When we place our value on Knowledge alone we create separation.

I love the analogy that we are to God like drops are to the ocean. We can experience the greatness in many different, wonderful ways, but we can never comprehend the magnitude of the whole.

So I'll take my little butterfly to the ocean and witness the joy, the very magnificence, of Experience for the sake of Experience. I'll forget to gather knowledge for a time and I'll just Be, with God, the Ocean, my child and pure, pure Love. What could be better than that?

If you're ready for a challenge, ask yourself these questions :

1. What blocks do I create for myself by saying "I don't understand why!"? Do I use this phrase as an excuse for not moving forward?

2. What is one area of my life where I would like to experience God in a different way? Is it in the area of physical, emotional, financial, spiritual, or creative health? Or is there a way for me to experience God more fully in all of these areas?

3. How can I experience God in a different way?

If you are having trouble with this one, I would suggest lifting your mind in prayer and allowing your Higher Self some space to come through. Be willing to feel the sqeeze as your turn from a grubby catarpillar to a beautiful butterfly!  

 

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