Springtime Gardening

First, something takes place in the imagination. From that seed thought, something can take root and turn into a manifestation. So, when it is said that we are created in God’s image, perhaps it’s better to say we are created in God’s imagination. And that’s a reciprocal process, also, as God is created in our imagination.

Let’s consider the quality of beauty, of Jamil, for example.  As we witness a fantastic sunset, which is a representation of beauty, our imagination can expand to an Ideal of Beauty. When sitting in such a setting, our experience informs us of the Reality of Beauty. We can see that beauty in complete fullness is a divine quality, an aspect, a facet, of God, one of many divine qualities – such as compassion, insight, love, forgiveness – which together in our imagination forms a divine unifying reality we call God.

In certain situations, we may choose to focus on one or another of these qualities (such as Jamil) through their names. With attunement and concentration practices, these names can be used as spiritual medicine to further align to the quality inherent in the name. These qualities, fully awakened to their Divine Ideal in our imagination, make up the reality we call God. Through attunement and grace, these are the divine qualities that we seek not to believe in, but to integrate and incorporate further into our own lives.

So, God begins in our imagination as an Ideal.  Then, beyond belief and ideology, begins a process of being and becoming, of moving toward that which we have made as an Ideal. As these qualities that are of the divine are integrated in us, we cultivate an inner understanding of Divine Unity.

Alhamdulillah!  Alhamdulillah!  Alhamdulillah!

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