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You and I were created in the image and likeness of God.  Each of us contains the Spirit of God dwelling within us. Our Spirit originated from the Source of all creation – God. One of the questions to ask ourselves is “have we lit the flame or flipped the switch to connect with our Source of power?”

Each of us contains the same Spirit. We were created of equal value in God’s eyes at birth. Spiritually, you and I are on a level playing field with every other human on the planet. We’ve been given different gifts and different bodies, but the Spirit inside of us is of equal value and comes from the same Source.

I’m writing today on my Mac notebook and working in a coffee shop.  I’m estimating that I have about 3 hours of battery life left. What happens to all of the words that are swirling around in my head after the power in my battery runs out (I’ve left home without my power cord)?  Although there is a tremendous amount of potential inside of my computer, I will not be able to utilize it if it’s disconnected from its source of power.

When a computer is disconnected from its’ source of power – an electrical outlet – for too long, it becomes a useless piece of metal, plastic and silicon. The inside of my shiny metallic Mac still contains 2.26GHz of processing power, it still contains a tremendous amount of potential space on my disk to create information and has 2GB of memory to store data before it’s written to the hard disk.  All of that potential power is still inside the case but, it cannot be used without a connection to its’ source of power.

You and I are much like my Mac.  As long as we remain connected to our Source of power – God – we have plenty of energy, life, power, potential and stamina. It is only when we choose to disconnect from our Source that we begin to become sluggish, lack energy and literally feel disconnected – powerless.

God is the Source who gave the gift of life to each of us.  God created us and wants to stay connected to us as a continuous source of power, love, hope, creativity and life. Our unity with God and with each other provides us with a sense of hope, purpose and belonging. It is a feeling that we are so powerful when connected to this Source of strength, knowledge, wisdom and energy that we have the ability to do anything that is in alignment with God. We are engaging in co-creation along with God.

We feel a tremendous connectedness to God and to all people. We know that the Source of love, knowledge, wisdom and creativity is God.  We know that for God, all things are possible.  When we are united and aligned with God’s consciousness, we become an extension of God’s love, knowledge, wisdom, compassion and creativity.  When connected with and united with our Source, nothing is impossible for us. We can feel this way every day if we stay connected and in alignment!

It is only in our isolation from God and from others that we feel abandoned, alone and disconnected.

If you were never taught that you and I were specially chosen by God and that we are unique, living miracles, that’s okay because now you know. You are a living miracle who has been created with enormous, unlimited potential! Now that you’re aware of this tremendous potential, it’s 100% within your power to tap-into that relationship and Source of all things that are good. You originated from God. You will forever be spiritually connected to God. You’re tremendously powerful when you are united with God and others.

So is connecting to our source of power – God – as easy as plugging  a computer into an outlet? I would say that it’s pretty close.  You know that feeling you get when you plug an appliance into an outlet that you’re not sure works and you see the light come on the appliance to let you know that you’re connected? That same thing happens when you plug  into God. Light bulbs start illuminating but, they’re in our minds. The feelings of serenity and love bring a smile to our faces. I frequently get a tingly feeling that goes up and down my spine and down my limbs when I feel a special connection to my Source.

There are many ways to “plug-in” to our Source.  Depending upon your personality style, some of the ways to connect will be more comfortable than others.  Over time you may feel comfortable trying new ways of developing your relationship.  Here are some easy ways to begin the process:

Talk with God. Close your eyes, take a few deep, cleansing breaths and start talking with God as if you were talking to a friend that you’ve been ignoring for a very long time  or a parent who loves you very much whom you’ve never met.  “Hi  it’s me.  I’m sorry that I haven’t talked to you or listened to you in a while.  I’ve been very busy at home and at work.  How are you? I’ve called you to ask for your love, guidance and assistance.  Would you mind if I told you about a problem that I’m experiencing and then listen to your feedback and suggestions?……………”  Once you get started talking to God and allowing enough time to listen, you’ll become comfortable with the process and begin doing it periodically throughout the day.

Read Scripture. Purchase the Bible and commit to reading for about 20 minutes per day.  I bought a 20-minute Catholic Bible that allows me to read the entire Bible in its entirety every 365 days.

Visit a church or other house of worship. Visit the house of worship when it’s empty and just sit or kneel and absorb God’s presence in the silence.  If you’d prefer, visit when there is a service going on so that you can pray, sing and enjoy the community of other people.

Meditate. Meditation is the art of experiencing God in the silence of your mind.  In Psalms 46:10 we’re told, “Be still, and know that I am God.”  There are several good books and audio CD’s on the art of meditation.  I found experimenting with the different styles of meditation a fascinating experience.  I am now able to meditate while lying in bed, exercising on a stair master or treadmill at the gym, sitting at my office chair or in an airplane seat or sitting on a cushion in the traditional yoga position.

Read works of spiritual authors.  The major bookstores have a tremendous selection of books on spirituality from authors such as Neale Donald Walsch, Dr. Wayne Dyer, Marianne Williamson and Deepak Chopra.

The power that is within each of us is the knowledge that we are children of God.  Our purpose is to love and serve God and each other.  When we stay connected to God and  live God’s Word,  we tap into an unlimited supply of love, compassion, kindness and creativity that brings an unspeakable feeling of joy and appreciation for this tremendous gift called life.  We become present in each moment and experience sincere feelings of gratitude  for the things that we used to take for granted. Our breath. Our sight. The taste of food. The touch of a hand. A kiss. The sound of rain drops.

Stay connected to God each day and you’ll be guaranteed enough battery life to perform miracles for 24 hours.

It seems to me that there have been a lot of people in the world of sports to forgive lately–Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz (possibly), Michael Vick, Rick Pitino just off the top of my head. Joe Posnanski writes in a Sports Illustrated website article “ It’s time to forgive Pete Rose for his sins against baseball.”

Why is it so important that we forgive those who have wronged us and to apologize to those whom we’ve hurt?

Forgive your neighbor the wrong he has done, and then your sins will be
pardoned when you pray.
Sirach 28:2

One  reason to forgive others is that most of us are looking for forgiveness after we’ve done something wrong. When I’ve wronged others, I’ve decided to institute the “do unto others” principle and apologize.  I don’t control whether or not people will accept the apology but, I do control whether or not I offer it.  Whenever I apologize, I feel better. Even if the apology was not accepted. Did you ever try asking someone for forgiveness and have them refuse?  I have.

Maybe people like holding on to their anger because of what Ghandi said: “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.” I liked that quote so much that I turned it into an affirmation:  “I am a strong individual who easily and happily forgives others.”

On the path to becoming enlightened, the Buddhists implement a strategy to free themselves from what they call “afflictive emotions” — anger, hatred, desire, jealousy, etc.  There are great meditations that allow us to promote happiness, peace and freedom from suffering for ourselves and others. When our minds are full of happiness and peaceful thoughts (Spirit), we don’t allow much room for negativity, anger and resentment. It’s so much easier to forgive others when we’re feeling good about ourselves.

I listened to Deepak Chopra’s “Secrets of Enlightenment” CD at the gym this morning for the first time.  Boy did he pack a lot of information into 60 minutes! One of his comments that I really enjoyed is “When we’re in the state of Love, it’s impossible to hurt or be hurt.”  Meditate on that thought for a while!  Can you imagine and visualize being so full of Love that you’re incapable of hurting others or being hurt by someone else?

Lewis B. Smedes tells us that “To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.” When we’re holding on  to a hurt feeling that’s been caused by someone else, we’re the ones who are suffering.  When we’ve hurt another person and don’t apologize, we just don’t feel right.  Once we say those magical words, “I apologize” or “I forgive you”, that huge weight is lifted from our shoulders and souls.

Does a man harbor anger against another, and yet seek for healing from the Lord?
Sirach 28:3

Have you ever tried asking forgiveness from another person or from God when in the back of your mind you remember that you have not forgiven someone else?  Now that’s not going to work out real well is it?

Because I’m looking to forgive myself and to be forgiven by God and others, I’ve decided to become God-like when it comes to forgiveness.

Forgive others when they’ve offended you.  Apologize to people at the first sign that you “might have” possibly hurt them. You’ll feel better and so will they.

Who are the people whom you should forgive today?   Who are the people who are waiting for an apology from you?  Give them a call or go and visit them.

I agree with Joe Posnanski. Let’s forgive Pete Rose.

I say goodbye to you today with a laugh from Oscar Wilde: “Always forgive your enemies- nothing annoys them so much.”