by Lawrence Wilson, MD

FEELING CONNECTED TO GOD

It is possible to feel a certain type of love or connectedness with God all or most of the time. Many people are not aware of this. This is the subject of this short article. One can feel a pleasant, rather non-sexual sensation of being loved most of the time, whether one is driving in one’s car, at home, with others or alone.

THE MEANING OF LOVE

Many people wonder about the real meaning of love. Is it about sex, or is it romance, or is it something else? The feeling of connectedness that I am referring to in this article, in my experience, is one meaning of true love. It does not depend on others, on some special place, time or activity. It is just a very comfortable and comforting feeling that all is well, and life is good, no matter what is occurring in the outside world or even inside your body, such as an illness.

This feeling or really this state of mind is described in the bible on numerous occasions. I am reminded of the story of a crippled woman who recognized Jesus for who he was. Suddenly, she did not care that she was deformed and crippled. According to the story, she was content, knew she was loved, and it was a permanent state of being that remained with her always. Clearly, this is not the only kind of love that exists, but it is a type of unconditional love that one can feel. If she felt it, presumably we all can, as well.

HOW TO FEEL CONNECTED AND LOVED BY GOD OR BY THE UNIVERSE

This is not always easy, even for those who want it badly and understand the idea of it. However, I believe there are steps one can take to help make it happen for you. It is certainly worthwhile trying to do so, in my view. I went through these steps myself on a trial and error basis.

1. You must believe, and at some level you must know, that this state or feeling is possible. This is difficult for some people to acknowledge if, for example, one has been raped, perhaps, or otherwise traumatized or abused, especially early in life. Life seems very scary and horrible, so the idea that one can feel loved all or most of the time can seem, at best, a distant fantasy or just plain impossible.

Even if you were not abused or raped, if you become too caught up with the joys and pleasures of everyday life, you may not be able to imagine a simple state of oneness with God, or just relaxing in the arms of Christ, as some call it. This might seem too good, for example, or too relaxed, or boring, or vulnerable.

To strengthen your belief and knowingness about this condition, reread this article a number of times, or print and keep it handy. Also, read and listen to other material that discusses the same idea. The bible is one of these, but there are many stories of people who feel a kind of joy or bliss most of the time. Perhaps you know someone who is like this. You might talk to them and ask them if it is true, and if so, what is their secret of method, if they have one. Some people seem to naturally have this feeling of being connected to God, while others, including myself, definitely needed to work at finding it, so it is okay if a person tells you they were born this way. Just use the experience to know that such a state is possible, and it can be cultivated if you are not one of the lucky ones to have felt it from the time you were born.

Incidentally, most babies do feel this kind of connectedness, much more than most adults. It is one reason we love babies. They often have a blissful stare or look about them that is real. It is due, in part, to better health and that they often have fewer worries and fears. However, many babies also remember God or angels or other beautiful beings that ministered to them in the womb, and that they may still see or hear on occasions. I found it helpful to ask and pray daily that I reconnect with my “inner baby” or early life before I was conditioned by the world to be afraid, lonely, sad, etc. I think this was most helpful for me.

2. You must desire and intend to have this state deeply. Once you are even aware that this state of love is possible, you must decide that you want it, you want it now, and you want it badly. It is a state of longing and almost demanding of the universe that something be true for you, or occur for you. It is a prayerful state, in other words, that puts you in deep communication with forces greater than yourself. That is how I would define what a desire and intention are or mean.

More on desire and intention. I am using both the words desire and intention because a desire can be fleeting and momentary. For example, you may, at times, desire an ice cream cone or to fly to the moon. One does not necessarily pay much attention to such things.

Intention is a strengthening, deepening and extension of a desire so that it grows inside of you, and so that it stays with you throughout every day. That is what I mean by turning your desire into an intention. This is a very important process to obtain anything that you might want in life. If you do not take this step, then your conflicting desires will undo or weaken your intent and usually ruin your chances of feeling this blissful and loving condition.

To strengthen their desire and turn it into a powerful intent, people often put up reminders such as smile buttons, prayers, short sayings or other things around the house and office. This can help to keep the desire alive when they become distracted. A great idea is to set aside a specific time each morning, for example, or while driving to work, or some other time to remind yourself of what you want and pray earnestly for it. Also, cultivate routines, reading habits, friends and other things that move you in the direction of this intention. I found listening to certain lectures very helpful, as well as listening to Christian radio and television very helpful.

Intention versus just learning about something. Note, however, that forming a powerful intent to feel God’s love and bliss most of the time is not the same as just “learning” or studying it. Studying and learning can help one to understand and know it is possible, and can strengthen desire and intention, but it is fundamentally different.

Many people think that if they learn enough about something, they will be able to live it. This is not so. Learning is too easy, in fact. Learning is actually an activity of the reactive mind or ego. Learning is more like becoming a computer that can spit out bits of facts and information to oneself or others.

Desire and especially intention, in contrast, are not done by the computing mind. Instead, they might be called soul qualities that involve yearning or longing deep inside oneself.

For example, many people need to suffer before they decide, at a deep level, that they really want to be happy, even if they have no idea how to achieve it. This is what I mean by an intention or strong desire.

So do not be afraid to suffer with your desires and intentions. The word compassion, from the Latin root, means to suffer with. Do not be afraid to have compassion for yourself, in other words. The word passion is not just about romance or sex. It means a type of suffering, as in the expression, the passion of Christ.

Often, it is the less fortunate ones, the simple ones and those who are seriously ill or deformed who are willing to give up their learning and their ego traits in order to focus on their intention to receive the love of God into their lives.

Some people are also so traumatized that even the thought of wanting to feel truly loved all or most of the time seems distant or impossible.

If you are in either of these groups, know that you can have this feeling of love, that some experience from another person or even from their pet dog or cat, perhaps, but it is also possible to feel it most of the time, even when you are totally alone.

3. Learn to relax. The feeling of love I am describing is that of a flow downward through the body. If the body is very tense, as most people’s bodies are, then it cannot flow through very easily. So be sure to practice relaxing. This means slow down, rest enough, put your feet up often, sit rather than stand whenever possible, talk slower, and perhaps eat slower and chew each bite 20 times or more. All this can relax the mind and the body.

Other ideas are to take a gentle walk each day, or as often as you can, take a warm bath several times a week, get a massage or have other natural therapies that relax the body. One of the best is to rub your feet daily. Read the article entitled Reflexology for more on this wonderful and simple method for healing and relaxation.

4. The Roy Masters meditation practice or a certain type of praying. Another requirement is that one understand how to produce the feeling. This takes some practice. I began with the Roy Masters meditation exercise. This is a simple exercise described in a separate article on this website, entitled Meditation. Then I slowly modified it, as explained in the article, so that I powerfully move energy downward through the body from head to hand, and then from the top of the head all the way down to the feet.

When I did this, I began to notice a slight tingling that Mr. Masters also describes. In fact, this is the loving sensation that you are after, and with practice it grows until it is there all of the time to some extent.

Another way some people induce the flow of energy is with powerful and sincere praying every day to bring Heaven to earth. In other words, you must pray in such a way that you move energy forcefully downward from the top of the head to the hands and eventually all the way to the feet. Doing this every day for months or perhaps longer will induce pleasant, gentle, loving sensation in the hands and feet, and eventually in the entire body.

IS THE FEELING OF CONNECTEDNESS A SEXUAL EXPERIENCE?

The answer is no. Unlike a sexual experience, one just feels like a river is flowing through the body, and one is safe and secure, just experiencing this life-giving energy. In fact, it differs from a sexual feeling in the following ways:

1. Sex is an arousal followed by an intense release. The loving connected feeling is less intense.

2. The loving feeling does not depend on a partner, or hormones, or stimulating any parts of the body.

3. Sex is of short duration, whereas the loving feeling can go on for hours. In fact, one can, in theory, live there all the time. It is like living “in the flow” or “in the zone”. In Christian terms, it might be described as “resting in the Lord”, or “dwelling in House of the Lord” (a phrase from the 23^rd psalm of David). Jesus once said, “Be in the earth, but not of it.” This may also describe the feeling or state of bliss I am speaking about. One somehow feels not quite of the earth, with all of its worries and problems.

4. Sex tends to deplete one’s energy, whereas this state does not deplete one’s energies in any way.

5. The loving state carries no risks, such as pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, etc. It is very pure, in this way.

The state of loving connectedness is sexual only in that it is a blending or connection between of Heaven and earth, or the blending of the heavenly and the earthly realms of life.

PROBLEMS WITH THE STATE OF LOVING CONNECTEDNESS WITH GOD

Some people, especially women, may be a little frightened of the feeling at first. It may feel “floaty” or “spacey” for some people. One may feel less attached to anything. This feeling of detachment is unusual, but necessary to feel and get used to. You are somewhat detached from the material world, but not detached from the Creator or source of all life.

Some people may even feel guilty that they have this wonderful feeling, and that they can have it often and for prolonged periods of time. Please do not feel guilty. It is your birthright, and Jesus stated that “the kingdom of heaven is within”. Maybe this is what he meant, at least in part.

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