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Here’s brilliant writing from Richard Rohr and shared in the Daily Meditation, “The Departure and the Return,” for today. I’ve been sensing this for years now:

We are created with an inner drive and necessity that sends all of us looking for our True Self, our true home, whether we know it or not. This journey is a spiral and never a straight line. There is a God-size hole in all of us, waiting to be filled. God creates the very dissatisfaction that only grace and finally divine love can satisfy. We dare not try to fill our souls and minds with numbing addictions, diversionary tactics, or mindless distractions. The disguise of evil is much more superficiality and willful ignorance than the usually listed ‘hot sins.’ God hides, and is found, precisely in the depths of everything… Once we touch upon the Real, there is an inner insistence that the Real, if it is the Real, has to be forever…. In other words, heaven/union/love/home now emerge from within us, much more than from a mere belief system or any belonging system, which largely remain on the outside of the self.

— Richard Rohr

To me, this is also why most churches/religions FAIL to bring people to God even though that’s supposedly why they exist. They become caught up in dogma/belief or socializing or service to the community. Not that those things are necessarily bad. It’s just that they can so easily become distractions from our real goal: a true experience of God which then fuels our existence and service in this world.

We are meant to become love in this world. True spirituality makes us more inclusive, understanding, and compassionate toward all suffering everywhere in the world.

“If there is the slightest feeling of boredom, irritation, or lack in meditation or prayer, it is because we have left the eternal now and followed thought into the past or future.”

— Rupert Spira, The Heart of Prayer, p. 91

I love this quote because it reminds me I already have everything that’s needed in the present moment: There is peace, love, joy, fullness right here when I’m truly paying attention. The mind is never satisfied, is always seeking something other than the present moment – as if happiness could be found “out there” somewhere. But Yoga (“union”) reminds us we’re already One, already complete as is. All we need to do is recognize this Truth and enjoy it. Then live and love!

“There are more fake gurus and false teachers in this world than the number of stars in the visible universe. Don’t confuse power-driven, self-centered people with true mentors. A genuine spiritual master will not direct your attention to himself or herself and will not expect absolute obedience or utter admiration from you, but instead will help you to appreciate and admire your inner self. True mentors are as transparent as glass. They let the light of G-d pass through them.”

— Shams of Tabriz

What books do I want to read? Well, anything with a spiritual bent, especially teachings that have been around for hundreds, or even thousands of years. I mean, what could possibly be better than this for my growth as a human being?

Some of my favorites have been works by Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, Francis of Assisi, and Rumi. I also love The Yoga Sutras and the Bhagavad-Gita. I tend to be more skeptical of newer books, because I wonder what they could possibly have to say that’s better than the tried-and-true spiritual classics.

I’m totally enamored by the book, Jnana Yoga, by Swami Vivekananda. It’s a classic of Advaita Vedanda (non-dualism). It’s a series of lectures he gave in the United States and the United Kingdom in the 1890s. I find that this book answers every question I’ve ever had about life in this world, and gives me the confidence I need to go about doing good in the world. I’ve read the book multiple times and never get tired of it. Jnana Yoga rests on my nightstand so I can read a few pages before going to sleep.

Check it out – and let me know what you think!

#bloganuary