Each day the disciple would ask the same question: “How shall I find God?”

     And each day he would get the same mysterious answer: “Through desire.”

     “But I desire God with all my heart, don’t I? Then why have I not found him?”

     One day the Master happened to be bathing in the river with the disciple. He pushed the man’s head underwater and held it there while the poor fellow struggled desperately to break loose.

     Next day it was the Master who began the conversation. “Why did you struggle so when I held your head under water?”

     “Because I was gasping for air.”

     “When you are given the grace to gasp for God the way you gasped for air, you will have found him.”

– Anthony de Mello, One Minute Wisdom

Source: http://lazarus.trinityjanesville.org/demello.htm

     It wasn’t until I began reading the Bible that I began to feel God in my life on a daily basis.  Exactly what I mean by this is hard to explain.  It’s been said by many that when you try to share with people what it’s like to experience God that it can’t be fully translated into words.  It’s quite literally an experience, something uniquely personal and subjective to the person experiencing it; one can describe it, but it will never be able to take the place of the experience itself.

     Nonetheless, the first major highlight in my spiritual journey happened on a night as I lay in bed reading the Bible.  Feeling inspired, I began to write a prayer to God on a piece of paper.  I call it a prayer, but it was more like a “mission statement,” expressing my faith and trust in God and asking for guidance in my life.

     Then, as I lay there, something happened to me, something I had never felt before.  I was “in-spirit”—in God.  A wave of euphoria flooded over me, and in that moment I seemed to realize the full extent of God’s love. 

     It was a powerful feeling, so deep and penetrating that it was as if the center of my being had been touched and the peace and joy of God was all that I could feel.  It was a feeling of love so magnificent and consuming that I felt love for all the world and everything in it, an ecstasy so unifying that I felt that I was part of everything and everything was part of me, and together we were one in God.

     I knew then that the love of God was the greatest thing in the world, and to share this love the greatest thing that I could do.  From that moment on, I knew that I could trust in God’s love.

— Excerpted from The Truth as I See It: A Collection of Spiritual Writings by Adam Soto (p. 33-34)

 

Copyright 2018 Golden Rule Independent Publications

     “They live in wisdom who see themselves in all and all in them, who have renounced every selfish desire and sense-craving tormenting the heart.”

– Bhagavad Gita

Source: https://quotabulary.com/noteworthy-quotes-from-bhagavad-gita

     Over time, I began to feel God more and more in my life.  I honestly can’t tell you when I realized that what I was feeling was God.  It wasn’t something I ever thought about.  There was no defining moment, just a gradual awareness of God’s presence that grew as time went on.

     To an extent, I had always felt God in my life, even as a child.  Growing up in a religious background I’m sure had something to do with this, but more than anything, there had always been those moments in life where something truly profound would happen, and I knew without being told that what was happening was beyond coincidence.  These moments always had a great impact on my life because they showed me that there was “something else” out there, something quite real and alive, powerful and present.

— Excerpted from The Truth as I See It: A Collection of Spiritual Writings by Adam Soto (p. 33)

 

Copyright 2018 Golden Rule Independent Publications

     “Love all that has been created by God, both the whole and every grain of sand. Love every leaf and every ray of light. Love the beasts and the birds, love the plants, love every separate fragment. If you love each separate fragment, you will understand the mystery of the whole resting in God.”

– Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Source: https://leoniedawson.com/love-each-and-every-piece/

     Before long, the Golden Rule became an ingrained part of my conscience and the judge of my actions.  It brought me joy and understanding, and it made me feel closer to God.

— Excerpted from The Truth as I See It: A Collection of Spiritual Writings by Adam Soto (p. 32)

 

Copyright 2018 Golden Rule Independent Publications

     As I continued reading the Gospels, I was confused by some of the miracles and the contradicting stories.  For the most part, I blocked out what I didn’t understand and concentrated more on what did make sense to me.  What made sense to me more than anything was the “Golden Rule:”

“Do to others what you would like them to do to you.” 

—Matthew 7:12

     If everyone were to treat others as they wanted to be treated, I figured, the world would be a much better place.  And the idea that if we tried to live like this regardless of how anyone else acted seemed to me like the right way to live.

     This, then, became the religious foundation of my life.  It became my way of judging whether I was doing good or bad in the world.  In anything I did, I would always try to ask myself if what I was doing was the way I would want it done to me.

     It soon became clear to me that when I followed this way of living, I felt good, and when I didn’t, I felt bad.  Also evident was the fact that the more I followed the Golden Rule with others, the more it seemed they would follow it with me.  This was a powerful realization because it showed me that what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount was true; others will treat you as you treat them.

— Excerpted from The Truth as I See It: A Collection of Spiritual Writings by Adam Soto (p. 32)

 

Copyright 2018 Golden Rule Independent Publications

     A Sunday school teacher asked her little children, as they were on the way to church service, “And why is it necessary to be quiet in church?” One bright little girl replied, “Because people are sleeping.”

Source: http://www.enlightened-spirituality.org/Spiritual_Humor.html

“In this world

Hate never yet dispelled hate

Only love can do that.

This is the law,

Ancient and inexhaustible”

–Buddha, The Dhammapada, Thomas Byrom translation

Source: https://openmindplatform.org/love-conquers-hate/

     Once upon a time there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing.  He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.

     One day he was walking along the shore.  As he looked down the beach, he saw a human figure moving like a dancer.  He smiled to himself to think of someone who would dance to the day.  So he began to walk faster to catch up.

     As he got closer, he saw that it was a young man and the man wasn’t dancing, but instead he was reaching down to the shore, picking up something and very gently throwing it into the ocean.

     As he got closer he called out, “Good morning!  What are you doing?”

     The young man paused, looked up and replied, “Throwing starfish in the ocean.”

     “I guess I should have asked, why are you throwing starfish in the ocean?”

     “The sun is up and the tide is going out.  And if I don’t throw them in they’ll die.”

     “But young man, don’t you realize that there are miles and miles of beach and starfish all along it.  You can’t possibly make a difference.”

     The young man listened politely.  Then bent down, picked another starfish and threw it into the sea, past the breaking waves and said, “It made a difference for that one.”

 

I found this story over a decade ago on the internet.  The closest version I found is here:

Source: http://www.graceplaceministries.org/AUGUST_2016_Newsletter.pdf