The Divine is where we start. The Divine is beyond any concept we can come up with, which makes it very difficult to talk about it. The Divine must be directly known to truly know It.
The Divine is the origin of everything, including that which exists, that which does not yet exist, that which has never existed, and that which will never exist.
To begin to know the Divine we must align with It, and prepare for Divine Grace to carry us through the various stages of awakening, until we can first glimpse, and eventually know the Divine directly. It is a little misleading to say that you, me, or we are carried through these various stages of awakening, because these awakenings alter or shift our sense of self, our identity, along the way. So it seems we are no longer the you, me, or we that we start as.
But this is necessary transformation on the path to know the Divine.
In the meantime, however, we can open ourselves to the intuition or feeling of the Presence of the Divine. This Presence is everywhere in and around us. By aligning with the Divine, we can experience more and more this Divine Presence, and the radiant peace, love, joy and contentment that results.
And what is this Divine Presence? It is our experience of the presence of the Divine Itself, the radiance of the Divine; radiating Divine silence, light, love and grace ,that penetrates from the Divine Itself through the layers of reality into our Earthly realm. We may feel Divine Presence as profound silence or stillness in the environment around us, or within our own awareness. And we may notice or be aware of the light, love and grace along with that profound silence.
Divine Presence is the omnipresent radiance of the actuality of the Divine as the source of all, and so our recognition of Divine Presence can be discovered anywhere, or in anything.
It is the immanence of transcendental Divine Presence that motivates our seeking awakening. Divine Presence is like a magnet, drawing us closer and closer towards its Divine source.
Divine Presence is a radiance of a reality and a power that precedes everything we know, or think we know, preceding even that which we may know as our self, or who we are, even in awakening into Cosmic Consciousness (Self-Realization), or into Unity Consciousness (“oneness,” non-duality).
The radiant peace, love, joy and contentment of Divine Presence is always here, right now, no matter where we are on our spiritual journey. By aligning with the Divine through its Presence, and through spiritual practice designed to open us more and more to that Presence, we tap into that peace, love, joy and contentment; and we prepare for Divine Grace, that stroke of grace that takes us to the next step in our spiritual evolution. And when we are ready, to the full realization of our Divine Nature and the Divine Itself.
– Joel