Verses 16, 31, 36, 39: “Jesus himself came along and walked along with them; but something kept them from seeing who it was….Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight….As they were talking about all this, there he was, standing among them…(he said) ‘Touch me and see; no ghost has flesh and bones as you can see that I have.’”
Seeing the Divine in our life is often a process! We don’t always recognize the Christ/Self’s presence in our day-to-day lives. We act as if we (ego) are all that is, and we don’t see the mysterious workings of the Self/God Within in our thoughts, feelings, and actions. We operate as if our outer and inner selves were disconnected.
The reality (from a Jungian perspective) is every expression of the ego, body, and personality holds a seed of the larger, transcendent Self that is the totality of our psyche/soul. To encounter the treasure we seek, we have only to look at who and how we are. The seed of the Self in our inner and outer actions connects us to the Divine in us. (The Divine in us is connected to the Absolute Divine known by many names—God, Yahweh, Allah, Wakan Tanka.) We can miss this connection when we don’t see what’s right in front of us.
Every aspect of the Divine nature lives in each of us. Spiritual traditions acknowledge the interworking of the forces of Creation, Equilibrium, and Destruction in the Divine Nature. (The Christian tradition honors this in the celebration of crucifixion and resurrection.)
The forces we feel and know are the ones activated by our experiences with others. When our early experiences are painful in a way that blocks our life force, we develop coping strategies that may cloak or hide the essence of the Self/God Within. The filters we unconsciously develop in childhood set in motion patterns of response that may cloud our seeing. It’s especially hard to see what is when it’s ugly, unpleasant, distorted, embarrassing, and/or undesirable.
Early in life, the Spirit shows up in our instinctive and impulsive responses. In the process of being taught how to humanize the instincts, we (influenced by others) often label the Divine Spirit bad and demonize it. We felt (and feel) shame and fear. Without realizing it, we disconnected (and stay disconnected) from the life force that connects us to the Self/God Within.
We may feel frustrated or despairing as we try to know the Divine in our body and mind. People often have a head belief about God that’s not connected with their body sense-perceptions. Jesus was embodied when he appeared to the apostles. He said, “Touch me and see; no ghost has flesh and bones as you can see I have.” We experience the Divine in our body. We feel the energy, the electricity, the fire of God Within.
When we seek to reconnect with the totality of who we are, we get fleeting glimpses of the Divine Essence. Before we see and know fully the truth of who we are, we must hold onto the little bits of knowing that remind us of the bigger truth of who we are. The starting point is our felt body-mind sensations and perceptions—our felt experiences.
Inner Reflection
Take a moment to invite the Inner Divine to help you see its presence as you move through your day. Set sacred intention to open to knowing the seed of the Self/God Within in your choices—thoughts, feelings, and actions.
How does the troublesome emotional and mental (thought, fantasy) state cloak the seed of the Self? Where is your Divine Essence showing up in ways you easily see and know? Be bold in claiming your life force and connecting to the Self/God Within in your impulses, desires, felt sense, etc.