Human and Divine

If you prefer to watch a video, here is an earlier version of the blog, a talk given as an introduction to an online spiritual support group.

There is a space that can be both within ourselves and between us and others that’s open and welcoming, that is our divine selves and welcoming of our very human selves. Human and divine are ultimately no different, it’s all part of the divine as it manifests in us. When we open our hearts to our humanity, there can be a deep appreciation and even celebration of how this manifests so very individually, moment to moment.

Often, in spiritual teachings, what we find is just an emphasis on the divine, on that which isn’t human, which doesn’t come and go, which is not the body, which is not the thoughts, not the emotions. And this pointing has its very important place. It’s very clear, and it’s much easier to talk about just that than to include our humanity. It’s easier because there can then be a very clear distinction between who we are and who we aren’t. As one of the traditional Eastern teachings puts it, we are not our body, not our thoughts, not our emotions.

And this IS true. Who and what we truly are is not to be found in anything that arises and passes. What we are is the awareness of all of that, the space in which all arises and passes. It’s a space that has no judgment, and that meets suffering with compassion and love. In this space, our humanity is welcome.

If it is welcome, though, it can become confusing as to what really happens in this space.

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