Wouldn’t it be great if God gave everybody a cell phone they could use to dial up and connect with the Creator? We’d each get a direct-dial number for God.

Whenever we felt sad or lonely, we’d type in our magic phone number, and the Creator would remind us we’re loved unconditionally. When we needed guidance on how to deal with life, we’d be able to dial the “God-Hotline” and get some Divine Wisdom. If God was busy talking with someone else, there would be a prerecorded message for standard questions like “Why did you create me?”  “Am I good?” “Am I going to heaven?” At least we’d be able to hear the voice of our loving Creator.

I wrote about the God-Hotline in Chapter 7 of my Finding Flow book. And when and if I get to heaven, I’d still like to suggest to God he create a direct-dial number for each of us.

But until God or Verizon installs the God Hot-Line, we need to remember we already have a divine connection with God. Always.

When we see the presence of love, we know the God-who-is-Love is present. When we hear the silent whisper of wisdom telling us which way to go, we know that inner voice is the voice of God.

In The Life of Union with God—And the Means of Attaining It According to the Great Masters of Spirituality, Reverend Canon Auguste Saudreau compiles the wisdom of the spiritual teachers who’ve written about attaining a “life of union with God, ” which is one in which our hearts are aware of the Creator in every thought. It’s a life filled with loving reflection of how God is present in each moment.

Saudreau identifies the classic stages of our deepening relationship with God: the purgative for beginners; the illuminative for the more advanced; and the unitive for the perfect.

These classic stages are helpful, but I must admit they’re above my paygrade. I get confused trying to figure out whether I’m being purged, illuminated, or united with God.

And when Saudreau writes about St. Theresa and the seven floors in her mystical Interior Castle, I get lost trying to figure out which floor I’m on. Maybe I’m still in the basement.

Union with God for Dummies

I want a fast-track to union with God. I’d like a handbook for dummies like me who want an ever-deepening relationship with God.

If I can’t have God’s direct-dial number, I want the short-hand formula to living a life of union with God—a life filled with knowing I am unconditionally loved by the Source of my Being. I want to seek guidance from the Creator who can show me the way to live with inner peace, balance, and joy.

Letting Go of the Big Lie

Unfortunately, many of us were told the “Big Lie,” which often stops us from trusting God—a lie that compels us to seek the Divine Seal of Approval.

In the book of Genesis, it goes something like this.

Adam and Eve—and you and I—sinned. The serpent came and told us we’re separated from God. Now we’re stuck trying to find our way back to the Garden. And we’d better hide because God’s angry and out to get us.

But when we read the rest of the story, we discover the truth.

God comes to Adam and Eve and says, “The serpent told you a big fat lie. I’m right here. Always. I will never let you be separated from my love. I’ll always guide you. You just need to open your eyes and hearts and remember we are One.”

If that’s the truth—that we can live a life of union with God—then the goal of our lives is to let go of the Big Lie and remember we are One with God. We are loved and guided by a Divine Presence.

Like a child calling out from their bed in the darkness of night, our Divine Parent is always there ready to comfort us, embrace us, and tell us we’re safe.

A Short-Cut Formula to Union With God

So, how do we do it?  How do we remember we are already One with God?

Here’s a short-cut formula I’m working on in my spiritual life:

Name It.

Claim It.

Experience It.

Trust It.

Name It

While there’s lots of things in life we want—a new car, a good job, lots of ice cream—those things can never fully satisfy us.

Even when we get what we want, there’s always a longing for something or someone we can’t quite name. And the longing never seems to go away. It feels like it haunts us. We try to grab that nameless something like trying to clutch the wind.

Our spiritual teachers tell us this longing is part of our human DNA. It’s the whisper in our hearts that longs for the other half of our Being: God. It’s the desire to know and experience Divine Presence, guidance, and affirmation from the One who formed us in our mother’s womb.

And God also has longings—the Creator longs for us.

This mutual longing is called the “Holy Longing.”  And when we name it, we finally know what we’re looking for and what’s looking for us.

Holy Longing becomes our guide.

Claim It

When we want something in life, after we name it, we then must claim it. We must speak it into reality.

By claiming the truth that we are One with God, we replace the words of the Big Lie. We stop playing victim. We allow ourselves to live into the truth of who and what we are—human beings created by and connected to the Divine Being who loves and guides us.

Finding a mantra, a mind protector, to claim that truth for ourselves is the key to claiming it.

The words I’ve been using lately to bring the truth into reality are these:

“Help me remember I am One with you, O God.”

Choose those or your own words, or simply focus on your breath as a gateway to quiet the mind and let truth sink into your heart. Find a life-giving way to claim the reality that you are always connected to the Source of your Being.

Experience It

Sit for 15-30 minutes each day and train your mind to come back to your mantra every time it wanders.

Like an eagle who flaps its wings every so often to maintain its altitude, flap your inner wings with the mantra to maintain connection with your soul whenever your mind wanders. Bring yourself back to your mantra as you stay in your heart space and let the Creator shower you with grace. Let the Divine have its way in you.

The more you come back to your inner place, the more your Inner Self will experience a oneness beyond time and space.

When your heart feels like its gently melting into God’s heart, experience the oneness if only for a moment. Savor it.

Sitting in the quiet with your mantra is the way you care for your soul. It’s the way you tend the garden of love God has placed within your heart so you can experience the flow of Divine Love.

Trust It

Over time, as we sit with our Holy Longing, we come to trust our experience of Oneness with ourselves and God. It becomes familiar. It nourishes us.

The fruit of our practice opens our hearts so God can grace us with deeper truths. We no longer see the world on a one-dimensional, physical level. We see the world and our daily lives as three-dimensional—a combination of the physical, spiritual, and eternal—and we know we are part of the Wholeness of God.

This then leads us to experiencing deeper moments of happiness, even bliss as we come to know and trust we are One with the Divine.

What Are You Longing For?

We each have a choice in our lives.

We can continue the endless chase, longing for things that might give temporary happiness but never fully satisfy our deepest longing.

Or we can name the truth that we are already One with God, claim our Holy Longing as a guide, and take time each day to care for our souls by sitting with a simple mantra that allows the mind to sink into the heart where God waits to embrace us with love and divine guidance.

I’ll keep reading the Life of Union with God to gain insights from the spiritual masters. But I’m also sticking with my Dummy’s Guide for Union With God.  It’s a simple way the Creator invites us to embrace the Holy Longing, claim our Oneness with God, and experience the Divine Flow of  a life in Union with God.

brian j plachta
brianplachta.com

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