6/21/11—Seeing the Divine

Today's Draw: Ten of Cups from the Tarot of the Sephiroth. Are you seeking happiness? Do you know where to find it? Is there any sort of practice or thought or activity that you can always count on to bring you joy?

The Ten of Cups is always a welcome card, because it means joy, happiness and attainment. Usually the Ten of Cups shows some sort of happy couple or family. In a love reading, this card usually indicates a happy partnership.

While Cups is primarily considered the "love suit" in a tarot deck, it is also indicative of emotions, intuition and spirituality. In the Tarot of the Sephiroth, the cups are placed in the pattern of the Tree of Life. The Tree of Life is a foundational symbol of Kabbalah, or Jewish Mysticism, and illustrates the pathways we take to know or understand God and universal law.

The deck creator goes further to talk about how each of us is a tiny drop of water in the greater sea that is God. As such, we are all one. And we are all God. This is, for many, the essence of Christ Consciousness—that we are all interconnected with each other and the divine. And that the consciousness itself is the Holy Grail—the divine vessel. Universal love. Universal divinity. And it is self replenishing. We feed it and it feeds us in a never-ending stream of joy and happiness. 

I have examined a lot of beliefs throughout my journey. I've adopted certain Buddhist practices and beliefs. Judeo-Christian. Pagan. Native American. Polytheism. All have something of value to offer the "spiritual, but not religious" traveler. And what I keep returning to is that the God energy is the same in every religion. That's what works for ME. That there is one God and that everyone is right in their beliefs. For THEM. 

And the one thread in all of it that brings me the most joy is this concept of all of us being one. That when I look at you, I look at myself. But beyond that, when I look at you, I also see God. If you are open to this notion, try it for a day or two. Look into the eyes of others...the checker at the Safeway, the beggar on the corner, your child...and see them and experience them as though they were God. Regardless of what they say or do. Look into their eyes and past their actions and see God. And look at yourself in a mirror, past all your perceived flaws, and see God there, too. 

Whether it's real or true or not, it is a practice that will change the way you walk through life. And it truly is a practice, in that you have to work at it. Certainly I'm not able to do this 100% of the time. I'm probably weighing in between 20% and 40% in any given week. I don't pretend to be a saint. But when you relax all judgments and look past the outer shell of a person to see the divine essence within, you feel the grace of Christ within yourself....whether you believe he was who they say he was or not. That's the idea of Christ Consciousness. 

You don't even have to believe in Christ. You don't have to believe in God or a higher power, either. Just look in another's eyes and see the beauty and light within and know you are the same...see the beauty and light within yourself. Try it for a day or two and see if it doesn't soften your edges and make you happier. 

This thing that we seek—happiness—is that simple to attain. It happens when we drop the costume of humanity we carry around...that cloak of materialism and the facade of our appearances...and gaze into the bare soul of another through the eyes of love and see ourselves and the divine beauty within.