Be Still and Know that I am God

Come, behold the works of the LORD, what desolations he hath made in the earth. He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire. Be still, and know that I [am] God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. The LORD of hosts [is] with us; the God of Jacob [is] our refuge. Serah.

Psalm 46:8-11

In Psalm 46:10 above God demands the believer to be "still," and that he is "exalted in the earth." Taken together with Luke 17:21: "Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you," we confront the fundamental challenge to the consciousness of modern Christians who exist in a swirling world of illusion, contingent realities and monkey brain distractions.


How do we reach that Kingdom of Heaven? Can any of us practice the stillness necessary to transcend our persons and touch the very source of our being? Have you ever felt the godhead of that being within you? 
You must know when beauty, truth or goodness touches you it has nothing to do with you per se. These things all exist outside our selves and those encounters become the transcendent moments of our lives. They are a unique and indispensable part of us. 

Anyone who has practiced mindfulness, who has sat and focussed on their breath, following it in and out, has realized how difficult it is to concentrate solely on the breath for more than 10 or 15 seconds. That incessant monkey brain chatter of our minds takes us away almost instantly. And, if lucky, we begin to realize that this is the egoic self created by the mind chatter that accounts for who we are most of the time. But that is decidedly NOT who we are.

Our discipleship in Jesus Christ comes to consciousness through us and our prayerful efforts to bear witness to his truth. "Be still and know that I am the Lord thy God..." His kingdom lies deep within us.

All the great religious traditions have the same roots. I've learned to listen to Eckhart Tolle as a Catholic and he has taught me more about spirituality than any other person. I don't quite know what his religion is but he makes references to all sorts of traditions: Catholic, Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, Islam. He has traveled the world and listened to many teachers of spirituality. 

Unfortunately I was terribly disappointed when one of my favorite Catholic leaders, Bishop Robert Barron went out of his way to criticize. He claimed that in his books that Tolle was pushing a particular ideology but spirituality is never ideological and is quite different from religion. Religions and Catholicism tell you what to pray, Tolle tells you how to pray and how to find the stillness within you. The two don't intersect at all and a faithful Jew Catholic or Muslim for that matter could all find answers to their questions and help them to achieve their spiritual or faith goals. 

Hymn 

O Christ, the Light of heaven

And of the world true Light,

You come in all your radiance

To cleave the web of night.

May what is false within us

Before your truth give way,

That we may live untroubled,

With quiet hearts this day.

May steadfast faith sustain us,

And hope made firm in you;

The love that we have wasted,
O God of love, renew.

Blest Trinity we praise you

In whom our quest will cease;

Keep us with you for ever

In happiness and peace. 

 Stanbrook Abbey Hymnal