Tuesday, October 16, 2007

The Importance Of Creating A Tangible Higher Power


The use of a ‘higher power’ is essential in living a peaceful and meaningful life. Societies’ measure of success is the opposite of what spiritual, religious and self-help groups convey. In our society we measure our success by our possessions rather than our deeds and behavior. We learn early on that ‘things’ will make us feel better. The newness of a relationship, spending money and other stuff, briefly gratify the ego and take away the restlessness. We have become an impatient and cranky society dependant upon external things to keep us distracted from feeling our feelings. The newness has worn off and left us feeling empty. Gratifying the soul lasts longer than feeding the ego. So how do we get off the hamster wheel?

In creating a tangible form of a ‘God,’ I am able to maintain some sort of serenity during emotional and physical turmoil. Someone gave me the bookmark with ‘Footprints in the sand’ while I was going through my divorce. It was a time of uncertainty and chaos. I read that bookmark several times a day to get a reprieve from the horror movie that was running through my head. I had to discipline myself in order to block the fears that crept in. I began to visualize a higher power in human form so I had an actual being carry me and walk with me throughout each day. Slowly I began to have peace for longer periods of time. Eventually I replaced the fearful mental movies with pictures of God beside me. With the dependence of God – I have more freedom.

When I am in a panic, I make choices out of fear. When I am calm I make better choices. My life is so much better because my decisions are about being true to myself rather than keeping the peace by pleasing others.
When I apply a higher power in my decisions, I live a spiritually grounded life.