Direct Messaging
Sometimes it's like the Divine is DM'ing us with an important message that can change our lives.
How do we receive information about the world? A first answer might be that all we know comes to us through the five senses. This is what the mindfulness tradition teaches – that everything we know comes to us through our senses. In the Buddhist tradition, of which mindfulness is a part, there is a sixth sense: mind. In this system, it is the mind that senses thoughts, from the mundane thoughts of a ruminating mind to the transcendent communications in which we suddenly know something at a trans-rational level that goes beyond the normal ways of knowing. There are different types of this “direct knowing.” In some cases, it is as if the Divine were sending us a personal message.
“The flyer told me to go.” That’s the only way I can describe it. That is why I attended Br David Steindl-Rast’s lecture, “Who is Jesus Christ for Us Today?” The flyer told me to go and what happened during that lecture utterly changed the course of my life. It was 1987 and I was pursuing a doctorate in biological chemistry at the University of Michigan. Two years earlier, I had come to terms with a drinking problem and now, through AA, I found myself exploring spirituality. Suddenly, in recovery, I found myself interested in prayer and meditation, and old questions about God were coming up. It was a rich time full of the expansive and chaotic energy of new beginnings.
Friends of mine were attending programs at the Wesley Foundation at U of M and I decided to check it out. The Foundation had a small bulletin board where paper flyers for upcoming events were posted. And there it was, a simple flyer announcing a U of M Lecture series on religion and spirituality. I remember reading the title of the upcoming talk, “Who is Jesus for us today?” I didn’t think about it. I had no thoughts. I read the title, and something told me that I needed to go hear it.
On that evening, as I heard Br David speak, it was as if a great Master were pointing out the nature of the Divine. In simple language that reached down deep, he pointed directly to the divine mystery. It was as if he spoke directly to my soul: “Look. Here. Now. This is it.” As he spoke, I felt something move within me. Suddenly I realized that I had known this reality that he was calling “God,” my whole life. Suddenly I realized that this God he was describing lived within me and had been part of my life for as long as I could remember. With this heart recognition, a flood of subtle energy was released. It was as if I had solved a huge koan, and that was how I had held the God question, as a kind of koan. What is God? And suddenly, the answered had welled up from deep within: THIS is God, this experience I knew so well
The next afternoon, after a brief follow-up talk that he gave at the Wesley Foundation, I experienced a spontaneous awakening to the presence of God in all creation, from me to you to trees and the blue sky above. Effortlessly, naturally, without any woo-woo whatsoever, God’s presence and action in my life became a living reality. It was a simple realization, in a way, but the experience led to a period of incredible change and upheaval during which I lost all interest in my doctoral studies and totally reoriented my life. I was no longer interested in studying things “out there,” but in exploring the interior life of the Spirit.
I began reading everything I could about spirituality, especially mystical spirituality. I discovered that Br David was a leading figure in an ongoing dialogue between Christian and Buddhist monks and so I started reading about Buddhism, especially Zen Buddhism. My experience of oneness kept showing up in new ways. I had moments in the lab and on long walks when the self – other distinction melted away into non-separateness. I began to meditate and pray in a new way: resting in a deep, rich, God-filled silence. I had a sense that a whole new life was opening up for me but I had no idea yet what form it would take.
Years later, I can look back at those early days of my journey with some perspective but at the time I was totally immersed in the experience. God, the Great Mystery, had spoken to me through a flyer and my whole life had turned upside down. Though there have been other profound moments in the years that have followed, this one still stands out as the most dramatic turning point of my life. And it all began in a moment of divine communication. Luckily, I trusted my intuition enough to receive the message and respond. May we all be graced with such moments in our lives. May we listen for all the messages, big and small, that are always coming to us as the Divine in all life communicates itself.
Here’s to our journey, and our ongoing awakening!
Bill
More on Br David: Anyone interested in more on Br David Steindl-Rast can find many excellent videos and other resources online. He founded gratefulness.org in 2000 (now grateful.org), a site through which he reaches millions with teachings on gratefulness as a practice. A Ted Talk on gratefulness that he gave has been viewed almost ten million times. Now 97, Br David has retired to a monastery in Austria, where he continues to write and share the teachings of a lifetime.
Hi Bill, Again the writing is gorgeous, evocative of your experience, easily understood by other people, directly relatable to them, and crystal clear. Bravo!
"I was no longer interested in studying things “out there,” but in exploring the interior life of the Spirit."
I find it refreshing that you instinctively turned inward to find your deep connection to the Tao or Spirit. It is the connection of the human body and senses to spirituality that keeps Buddhism and other Eastern philosophies humane and compassionate. Thank you for your compass point for our spiritual journey.