God's GPS (Global Positioning System)

1. “Global Positioning System: a global system of U.S. navigational satellites developed to provide precise positional and velocity data and global time synchronization for air, sea, and land travel.”

2. An electronic system that uses these satellites to determine the position of a vehicle, person, etc.:

3. A receiver that determines its position by analyzing the satellite signals it receives:”

-Definitions of GPS from Dictionary.com

Yesterday I was thinking about all the messages that I process as I go through my day.  Some are in emails, Facebook postings, websites, store displays, labeling on products, books, or magazines.  Sometimes it is an experience such as viewing a sunset, illness or being in a car accident.  Sometimes it is a presentation, sermon, Bible verse or conversation with someone.    Some messages or experiences I do not give a second thought to, but some give me pause and I think further about them.

In my essay the Butterfly as a Symbol I wrote that the meaning of a symbol changes based on the designer or creator, the viewer, and a point in time.  According to Carl Jung some symbols such as a circle are ancient and are buried deep within our collective unconscious.  Symbols, including words, have changed meanings since their creation.  To understand the full meaning of a symbol, the viewer needs to understand the history of the symbol as well as the context.

Therefore, we can create symbols or an experience with a specific interpretation, but that meaning can change with time.  Our souls, which are eternal and connected to God, often influence the creation of symbols or experiences without us being conscious of it.  At a later point in time we look back at those experiences or symbols with a different interpretation and realize that God was at work in our life.

Interpretations of a symbol or an experience can designate different paths in our lives, but we need to evaluate them prior to making a choice.  This is when God's GPS comes into effect.  Sometimes the Holy Ghost will tell us to "stop" by yelling at us in our head or to wait (a credit card transaction won't go through) or gives us the green light through an spiritual affirmation (lightness within our brain).   Sometimes after prayer, an event or symbol occurs that answers our prayer and we know God is at work in our life and guides our path.  Sometimes a symbol or experience presents it and pauses us to think based on previous experiences or knowledge, and therefore we choose a better path.

Interpretations of a symbol or an experience can designate different paths in our lives, but we need to evaluate them prior to making a choice.  This is when God's GPS comes into effect.  Sometimes the Holy Ghost will tell us to "stop" by yelling at us in our head or to wait (a credit card transaction won't go through) or gives us the green light through an spiritual affirmation (lightness within our brain).   Sometimes after prayer, an event or symbol occurs that answers our prayer and we know God is at work in our life and guides our path.  Sometimes a symbol or experience presents it and pauses us to think based on previous experiences or knowledge, and therefore we choose a better path.

What is remarkable is that as we grow in our trust of God's love and interest in our well being, we see more signs guiding our path.   In addition, God, through the life of Jesus and the Bible is full of promises and guidance on how to pray and live so that we experience his presence.  The combination of God the Father through his creation (the Universe, Earth and all it's inhabitants including our souls), the Bible, and Jesus alive in us as the Holy Spirit, are God's GPS.  What amazing things could God achieve for us if we navigated the symbols and experiences in light of his love and the love of each other in accordance with his GPS?

When we individually and collectively use our free will to follow God and his "GPS", "All things are possible."

Dear Father - Jonathan Livingston Seagull

“You have the freedom to be yourself, your true self, here and now, and nothing can stand in your way".”

― Richard Bach, Jonathan Livingston Seagull

Birds are a symbol of the soul's ability to fly between Heaven and Earth.    As I am listening to Neil Diamond's album Jonathan Livingston Seagull my soul takes flight in joy with the music.  There are so many gifts like music provided to us by God to remind us of our ability to "fly."  What wonders could we achieve if only we believe in that ability.  Our consciousness reflected by our souls transcends space and time and we can network our minds with each other in joy to fulfill God's promise that love will prevail.  As in Psalm 91, the fowler lies to snare our souls preventing us from flying in joy as God intended we should.  But the fowler only has the power we grant it.  As the Psalm 91 says

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High

    will rest in the shadow of the Almighty

I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,

    my God, in whom I trust.

In reference to this psalm, Emily Dickinson with her vision wrote -

The Orchard, when the Sun is on

—The Triumph of the Birds

When they together Victory make—

God has instilled in each of us the soul and love of Christ.  There is no reason to wait for him to come again, he is already here and this Earth does not bind us.  We can fly.  Jesus said to come to him like children.  We just have to believe.  

There is No Place Like Home

“The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky

Are also on the faces of people passing by

I see friends shaking hands

Singing, "How do you do?"

They're really singing, “I love you."

- Lyrics from Over the Rainbow

Yesterday I watched a Ted Talk on what wonders we will discover and see with clarity when a number of telescopes are built or launched into space during the next few years.  It is amazing what we can learn about ourselves as humans, our Earth home, and the Universe through scientific observation. These lessons are great creation gifts from God.  But at the same time, as we observe human behavior and discover physics we are looking outward as physical human beings, we are forgetting that as Jesus said, "all things are possible with God."    

One of my favorite movie scenes is when Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, is told by Glinda the Good Witch that "she has always had the power within her to go home" symbolized in her ruby red slippers (love).  What are the possibilities if we are a human viewing the Universe, but also possessing an inner soul with the ability to transcend space and time?  What if the power to solve our problems has always resided within us if we only believe in love and the power of God?  What amazing things could we achieve on Earth as well as in the Universe through God?  What if Jesus is already here, we just don't know it?

There are no limits.  There is God.  

The Greatest Good

“Benefit or advantage to someone or something.”

- Dictionary definition of good

With God's wonderful timing I joined a Women's Christian Faith group and the topic of our discussion today was "Two Steps to Knowing Gods Will" a topic I have wrestled with for some time now.   The two steps to know God's will were to first admit that you need guidance through prayer and second to ask God in faith for directions.  The discussion sheet written by Rick Warren pointed out that we make many of our decisions without asking God for guidance, but he will always respond to our prayers.  During our discussions, I asked the other women "How does God communicate his will to you?"  I had to laugh when one woman said God shouts "NO" in her head, because two weeks earlier God had done the same thing to me.  Some of the women said that once they prayed, they could make a decision and a peace came over them.  One commented that when she had made decisions not guided by God, they ended in disaster.  She realized that when consulting God and followed his guidance she made decisions that prepared her for events yet to occur in her life.

I asked the faith group what is the end purpose of "God's Will?"  Most answered it was for their own and family's happiness and well being and to prepare for future challenges in their lives.   This week I posed the question to God and he answered me telling me his will is for "the greatest good."  

Because God knows all, following his will and direction will result in the "greatest good" which is impossible for us to see on our own volition.   In the past month when I was ready to move on from a job, God said no and asked me to wait.  I realized when he finally released me, that I had fulfilled his purpose for me and I was at peace.  God often uses us to plant seeds in others or fight spiritual battles that will blossom in the "greatest good" for others and us.  Sometimes fulfilling his will is not always easy, but when we are finished, God says "well done my servant" and will release us to a state of peace and well being.

Chess and the Metaphysical

“I'm a chess piece. A pawn,' she said. 'I can be sacrificed, but I cannot be captured. To be captured would be the end of the game.”

― Paolo Bacigalupi, Ship Breaker

Twenty-five years ago I was "a pawn" caught in a physical and metaphysical "game of chess" at a corporation trying to protect people I loved.  Someone once commented later to me the corporation was a "gilded cage."  I didn't understand how money, prestige combined with fear in the corporation kept each us in a snare unable to fly and fulfill God's purpose for us.  At the time, working at this corporation was considered "the best game in town."  Employees spent their time calculating how to out maneuver others in a political chess game in order to gain power and money to create their "vision" of the corporation.  Years later, the corporation self destructed from an inner moral sickness and was bought out. Thousands of employees lost their jobs in the process.

No metaphysical game which affects our physical environment can be fought like a chess game with some believing they have more power than God, who is love.  Because God is omnipotent and perfectly good, he results in the greatest power.    In God's eyes we all have equal but unique positions.  When we are consistent with God's purpose for each of us and make our choices based on love, we can create the Kingdom of God on Earth.   We can also rest in not knowing "how the pieces fit together," because God always does and he works for the greatest good.