Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Hebrews 11:1
This is one of my favorite quotes dealing with the topic of faith. Master its meaning and the feeling this quote invokes and you master inner peace.
It goes straight to the heart of the nature of faith. The comfort and deep wellspring of calm it provides when we have it. When we don’t, lay the flip-side, the doorway to anxiety, doubt and depression .
The first part of this uplifting quote is hinting that, If you have hope, your belief in your ability to manifest what you desire is held in your consciousness as the substance of what you want. Which means what you want already exist as reality in your mind. Your job is to then hold that image with consistency and an attitude of acceptance that what you desire is in fact already in existence until that vision is made manifest in the material realm.
The second part of the quote succinctly addresses the proof of the existence of what we desire. How many of you believe in God, or the wind, or air or music? These things are very real and we can all attest to their existence. But yet, we cannot see any of these things. We do however have a way to verify their existence with at least one of our other senses. Faith in God or The Divine is a bit trickier because the secondary verification in most cases isn’t in one of our other primary physical senses, touch, smell, taste, or auditory. It is in our consciousness and in our hearts.
Do you have faith? What do you have faith in and how much? The answers to these questions may determine how much inner peace you are actually able to create in your life. This is not to say that you have to have faith in God or the Divine to have inner peace. But it does mean you have to have faith to create it consistently on a deep level. Even if that faith is simply in yourself.
When you want something like lunch, to travel across town or to go to the movies, how much faith do you have in yourself to achieve these ends? Probably quite a bit. You set an intention and you take actions that moves you to your goal. You believe that it will happen so you act in accordance with the confidence that you can make these ends materialize, often with ease. Your faith in your ability to achieve inner peace is no different.
What you must also add to this confidence in your own ability is the belief that whatever is causing you stress, anxiety, despair or overwhelm does not have power over your psyche unless you allow it to. Many times it is the fear of losing something we cherish or desire that causes our despair. Several religions include the concept of the impermanence of everything. Nothing last forever. You can be assured that whatever is causing you stress will pass. Remember, “This too, shall pass!” Sometimes, just realizing this fact is enough to cause stress to dissipate. Once you embrace the true nature of change in all things you’ll find comfort in how you approach the potential loss of anything.
Now let’s insert God into the equation.
I’ll start with the mike drop question for everyone who does faithfully believe in God. Do you believe there is a remote possibility that whatever you perceive as a problem or challenge is more powerful than the God in which you believe? Seriously!?
That’s right…Blog Post over!!!
Seriously though…
This should put you completely at ease. Because my concept of God is that of an omnipotent one. If that is the case then this should give all believers great comfort. I personally am somewhat of a religious mutt. What I mean by this is I really do not identify myself exclusively to any one religious group. I believe wholeheartedly in God and that God has created (is in constant creation of) all that exist.
My connection to God is the most important aspect of my life. This belief is central to how I conduct all of my affairs. I also believe that in some cases individual religions do more to separate us than to unify us as one race, the Human Race. Conversely, I also believe that there is a plethora of wisdom in all religions that can help us better understand the nature of life. Having been positively influenced by various religions throughout my life, I am open to taking and assimilating wisdom from whatever source offers it. My inquisitive spiritual nature is to look for and find the truth.
The concept of impermanence comes from Buddhism and others. Once you come to terms with the impermanence of everything, you can more easily let go of people, things and situations that no longer serve your higher purpose.
Hinduism. offers us the following. It is one of its many guiding principles.
“Everything Happens for a Reason”
“Whatever happened was good
Whatever is happening is good
Whatever will happen will also be good”
So, let’s solve the spiritual equation. God is omnipotent and thus is more powerful than any problem or challenge we might have.
God has created everything in the Universe and everything God has created is good.
Therefore, what we are interpreting as a problem of a challenge is either a creation of The Divine that is actually good and we have misinterpreted it or it is in fact a nuisance to us but is incapable of competing with the omnipotent power of God.
If we truly have faith, this has to be so!
There, you win! All day every day!
Your key is to align yourself with The Divine and see things as The Divine sees. It is also helpful to center yourself in the moment and allow yourself to appreciate each moment for what it is. Once you can center yourself in the moment and feel appreciation for what is here right now by default you are forgiving the past and recognizing that this and moment everything that led you to this moment deserves your gratitude as well. This is an incredibly freeing feeling.
In tense moments this becomes a very useful exercise. First, ask yourself if this problem is greater than the God I believe in?
Second, ask yourself is this challenge permanent or temporary?
Third, ask yourself, what action can I take to move me away from or through this challenge? It is helpful to work through this process with a friend, coach or therapist you trust to help you remain centered, honest and objective with your responses.
Faith can be a powerful ally in how much inner peace you are able to create in your day to day life. As with any skill the more you practice the more proficient you will become at keeping things in perspective. Just continue consistently and try and go deeper into yourself for the truth of how powerful you actually are, especially when aligned with Spirit. The more you call on it to handle day to day challenges the stronger you will become in staying calm, peaceful and joyous in every circumstance.
I’ll leave you with this, one of the most widely known Scriptures on faith.
“Jesus said, … Truly I tell you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
Matthew 17:20
Namaste
Eric
