Dear Explorers

I know some of you are following our book study using electronic copies, so the page numbers will be different from those below. To assist these people I will give section titles, and of course I have copies of the book if you want one.

Chap 2 Unveiling your pure essence—or ‘God within us’

P 36  ‘Love creates new forms, changes matter, and holds the cosmos together beyond time and space. It is in every one of us. It’s what God is.’(Dyer)

Philosophy and the meaning of life

P 40  We used this image to discuss the difference between theism, pantheism, panentheism (and atheism). George Stuart declared himself a panentheist, and we think John Humphreys is the same.

Art,creativity and creation

P 41  John reflected ‘In that moment of creativity, we become disembodied spiritual beings, releasing the pure essence within us all’, however we were’t at all sure how we could do this.

 

P 44  We were fascinated by the fact that neurons (brain cells) ‘are essentially the same from the most primitive animal to the most advanced’.

 

P 46  ‘The new physics is another way to express the fundamental truth underlying creation.’ (Cannato)

 

P 46  We liked the idea of God being the ‘lead flute player’. (Keller)

Spirit and soul

P 50  We discussed the difference between ‘soul’ and ‘spirit’—The soul is the animate life, or the seat of the senses, desires, affections, and appetites. The spirit is that part of us that connects, or refuses to connect, to God.’ However we thought you could argue that it was the other way round, with soul in the inner circle.

The divine light within

P 53  I read this translation of Acts 17:28 from The Voice: ‘We live in God; we move in God; we exist in God.’

P 53–54  ‘. . . a mental concept of, and belief in God is a poor substitute for the living reality of God manifesting every moment of your life.’ (Tolle)

P 54  ‘The Divine Presence shines equally upon everyone, yet it is our own personal choice whether or not we reflect that divine light into the world.’ (Khan)

P 56  ‘The world should feel hopeful because you are here. You are the hope because God is in you.’ (Williamson)

P 56  We viewed the Richard Rohr YouTube video Go deep in one place (3.27 min). www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYOmXbNNbpU

P 58  ‘We are not just made by God, we are made of God.’ (Julian of Norwich)

P 60  John’s summary: ‘The idea that God is present as the inner divine light in all humans on this earth is strongly supported by an immense number of spiritual and philosophical insights. . . We are all one. (This idea) also refutes the notion that God is an external being.’

P 60  We finished with the Namaste Prayer:

I honour the place in you

In which the entire universe dwells

I honour the place in you

Which is of love, of truth

Of light and of peace

When you are in that place in you

And I am in that place in me

We are one.

A couple of overall comments on the book so far:

1  There are so many quotes we have a bit of trouble distinguishing them from what John Humphreys himself is saying.

2  While we are discussing the ‘benevolent cosmos’ we have to acknowledge the presence of evil in the world.

 

Next week we finish Chapter 2 p 61–77.

Ken Williamson 

oOo