To know God is to live with him and him within you. That is,daily living with the conciousness of the Holy Spirit thriving within you. Nothing profound…..no monumental blast of enlightenment….just living ,breathing and being as is….but in center, in balance and in the balance oflove. This love extends to self and to others in a uniform fashion of non-seperation. 

Looking at the Old Testament in Hebrew, we see various rolesfor the Spirit, including the Spirit’s involvement in creation (Genesis 1:2),in giving and taking life (Genesis 2:7 and Isaiah 40:7), in giving wisdom(Proverbs 8), in empowering people for special tasks (Judges 6:24) and withspecial skills (Exodus 31:1-7), and in bringing righteousness (Psalm 143:10). In Aramaic, (Jesus’s origanal language) the word translated as “Spirit” (i.e.Ruah) and is considered feminine. In Hebrew, however, which comprises the largest part of the Old Testament, the word Ruah can be either masculine orfeminine - the Yin and Yang.

I wonder why Jesus and Buddha never wrote anything down themselves? Perhaps they were to busy living that  they knew to be true.

The Shen (Holy Spirit) lives in our Blood. It is profoundly holy as it was transposed from heaven at the time of your conception. The Shen translates as the Spirit in Taoist Chinese Medicine. This Shen courses throughour veins as much as oxygen does and in the same way we are not aware of the oxygen in our blood - within moments of its departure, we will surely die.

In the Nei Jing, an ancient Chinese Medical text, it speaks that all diseases are of the Spirit first. In this way, to truly become ahealer or to be healed, one must address the Spirit (Shen) flowing within you.To truly heal is to start from the Spirit and finish at the flesh but returnagain to the Spirit- a top down schematical orbit if you will.

One can come to know or to “feel” their own Spirit through anenormous variety of intentional practices. This may include going to mass,praying sofly in the forest or near a lake, singing praise, meditation on thesutras or Proverbs, contemplating the works of Blake or by doing QiGong. Formany people though, illumination comes from trials and tribulations oflife…..being pressured like coal into a fine diamond over time and withincreasing pressure. 

Lao-Tsu said,” There are manypaths to enlightenment. Be sure to take the one with a heart.”

Once the Spirit is felt, it can then begin to be talkedabout – but not before. Even after one feels their Spirit (Shen) it is difficult to speak of it accurately and completly.  In reality, one can only speak of their own truth, not someone elses. To speak someone elses truth is false, but to speak to what you know to be true through your life experiences is true. One does not have to go to seminary school to know and speak of it – one just has to study themselves.  After all, as a child of God, you have his wisdom and blessing coursing through your blood.

The Budda said, “ Better your own truth, however, weak, than the truth of another, however, noble.”

Mahatma Ghandi:

            Yourbeliefs become your thoughts

            Yourthoughts become your words

            Yourwords become your actions

            Youractions become your habits

            Yourhabits become your values

            Yourvalues become your destiny

To find out more, please go to www.inner-strength.org for a series of ongoing seminars illuminated by Dr. Ted Cibik held monthly at Inner Strength.