D1

When I say “Oh my God!” ─I am talking to you, dear reader.

The Kingdom is within you. Your Divinity is your soul essence. Divinity is you as an individual expression of God— a divine spark. Divinity (i.e. you) is the pearl in the mud. Divinity (i.e. you) transcends space, time and the earthly body. Divinity is you as a unique thread of a greater, infinite, divine fabric. You are the thread— and you are the fabric.

Divinity is pure Energy and Light. It is peaceful, courageous, true, and full of Bliss. It is wise. It breathes Love and compassion. It seeks no gain, fame or recognition. It seeks to just be. You, in your truest state, are all these things as well.

It does not hate. It does not judge.

It is the first and foremost spiritual element from which all others are derived. Without this element, we are just machines of desire. We are lost.

Divinity is the purest and most stable element. It is the most plentiful, and yet, it can be the hardest to discover.

The Divinity within you can become veiled and forgotten. It is the secret treasure hidden right beneath your nose, your neighbor’s nose and your enemy’s nose.

It sits within a sea of distraction that can take you away from it.

Divinity allows you to always be loved and to never be lonely. It allows you to be love. It is constant Communion and belonging. It is the one true certainty in a swirling barrage of uncertainties. It is safe. It is home.

Your Divinity is not separate from you. It is not external. This concept crosses across many cultures and belief systems.

“The Kingdom is within you.” -Gospel of Luke

“The Way is not in the sky. The Way is in the heart.” -Buddha

“It is within you that the Son of Man (Christ) wells.” -Gospel of Mary Magdalene

“Those who seek oneness ceaselessly find the Lord dwelling in their own hearts.” -The Bagavad Gita

“We are here to awaken the illusion of separateness.” -Thich Nhat Hanh

“I looked in temples, churches and mosques, but I found the Divine in my heart.” -Rumi

“Jesus said: If your leaders say to you “Look! The Kingdom is in the sky! Then the birds will be there before you. If they say the Kingdom is in the sea, the fish will be there before you. Rather the Kingdom is within you and outside of you.” -Gospel of Thomas

“Self-realization is the knowing in all parts of body, mind, and soul that you are now in possession of the kingdom of God.” -Paramahansa Yogananda

“The first peace, which is the most important, is that which comes within the souls of people when they realize their relationship, their oneness, with the Universe and all its powers, and when they realize that at the center of the Universe dwells The Great Spirit, and that this center is really everywhere, it is within each of us.” -Black Elk

“It pains me to speak of God in the third person.” -Joseph Campbell

“To find yourself is to find God, and to find God is to find yourself.” -Anandamayi Ma

“The Great Tao pervades all things” -Lao Tzu

All of the above quotes by great teachers of our time point out the primary basis for the entire Periodic Table of Spiritual elements and for this book. The Table is meant to be a “Divinity Model” for humanity; the fact that Divinity is at the top of the Table signifies that we have it as our core spiritual element. This mode of thinking contrasts directly with teachings from the other perspective─ what I call the “Disease Model.” The Disease Model states that human beings are broken, defective sinners who behave out of shame or fear and who are constantly seeking forgiveness and reward from some external Divine source.

We as human beings certainly do commit “sin,” i.e. acts construed as selfish, harmful to others or disrespectful of God. The issue at hand is whether sin is our natural state or whether to sin is a symptom of simply having forgotten our true nature (Divinity). I personally only need witness the Divine and innocent energy of newborns and very young children to see examples of our true nature. Many of us have known adults who have made the connection to their true Divine nature as well. They have shed their old ways of being to become a completely new personThis transformation occurred from within.

I believe our spiritual work in this life is to do whatever is necessary in order to uncover, discover, and remember the Divine being that lives at our core. The specific work will vary for each person, but those who do it will be heavily rewarded with a Divine sense of being and outlook towards life. Those who don’t “do the work” or who get lost on false trails that steer them away from Divinity will remain unconscious of their own Divine nature.

“They know not what they do,” the mainstream Bible teaches us.

There is another famous phrase that sounds like it’s from the mainstream Bible even though its origin is more secular: “God helps those who help themselves.” For me, this well-known saying is about doing the work necessary to uncover, discover and remember one’s own inherent Divinity. If we help ourselves through the often hard work necessary to unveil our Divine source within, we tap into the abundance of God.

Indeed, when we recognize our Divine nature, the spiritual “pay-offs” are many. When we recognize our internal Divinity, the following seemingly miraculous experiences─ or manifestations of spiritual prosperity─ are bound to happen within us:

  • Nothing but absolute Self-Love makes sense, since we have God at our core.
  • We do not need any type of external validation, as the “Kingdom” and Wisdom is within.
  • We are never alone; God is always with us!
  • We can be loving and compassionate towards others; Divnity is within them as well.
  • We feel as if each person is sincerely special, yet at the same time no one person is better than another.
  • We feel humble and grateful by the mere knowledge of the presence of Divinity.
  • We allow Divinity to guide us in our daily actions and naturally create acts of goodness as a result.
  • We have Courage, Equanimity and Wisdom; We feel Infinitude at the deepest level.

Lifting the Veil

There are other possible names for the element of Divinity: God, Soul, I AM, and Christ Consciousness are just a few. I personally am partial to the phrase “Sacred Remembrance.” With that label, I imagine a scene where a veil is being lifted or a curtain is being drawn. Once this happens, the light emitted from within shines through and I am pleasantly surprised, since I expect the light to come from outside. Then I recall my own Divinity and it all makes sense again.

In my opinion, the opposite of Divinity is not evil; it is the not knowing or the not remembering about Divinity. For me, evil is to be unconscious of the Divine presence within and, in turn, to feel separate from God. Certainly, evil acts can come out of this unconsciousness, but evil is more of a symptom than anything else. Other contrasting forces working against Divinity, such as loneliness, seeking external validation, lack of Humility or ingratitude are, in my opinion, also symptoms of unconsciousness to the Divinity within. In working with all the elements of the Table, we can regain consciousness of the Divine force that is within all life.

Feeling Unworthy of Divinity

I would like to make a special caution here on allowing oneself to feel unworthy of Divinity because of something supposedly lacking within. Although we all may feel like this at one time or another, the truth is that whenever we think this way, we have adopted the Disease Model. We may believe this because we have been unconscious, because we have “sinned,” or because other people or circumstances in general tell us so.

Feeling unworthy of the Divine is a false trail that leads to a dead end. Believing that we are unworthy of God’s love in some way can only create a life of guilt, shame and fear. When we recognize our Divinity, we concurrently recognize our unconscious past and the elements of Healing and Forgiveness can be engaged in moving forward passed them.

At the same time, we can never claim to be equal to or above God. We are of God; we are an expression of the whole and yet we can still honor the greater Divinity as we practice Humility within our own Divine nature.

Divinity is experiential. The best way to define it is to be it, since Divinity is who you really are. Divinity is a connection with ourselves and, in turn, to the greater Universe with which we, as souls, are constantly attempting to engage. We are constantly attempting to reach Communion. Again, Divinity is something we experience. Once we do, there is no disproving it. Others may call what we have experienced a delusion based upon their own lack of experience and ego-centered belief system, but it would be a selective delusion if we who experienced it are rational in all other aspects of our lives. In fact, it may very well be the element of Reason that would tell us that our experience is so unique that it must be Divine.

I like the famous quote of the preeminent psychiatrist Carl Jung who, when asked if he believed in God, answered, “I have had the experience of being gripped by something that is stronger than myself, something that people call God. So, I will never say that I believe that God exists. I must say I know God exists!”

ALCHEMY

Divinity, the first element, is what the entire Table of Spiritual Elements is all about. Your Divinity by itself is your essential soul. It survives outside of your body in direct connection and communion with God at all times. It “knows” and “remembers” who and what it is at all times too. It beams the Soul Caliber Elements of Truth, Love, Equanimity and Bliss. Within Equanimity, it has the Wisdom of all ages, even though it does not really need this kind of Wisdom in its pure state of being.

There are variations of Divinity that are experienced within embodied souls. For example, “Old Souls” are quicker to remember their Divine nature when in bodily form. Souls are similar, however, in that all souls do not hate nor do they discriminate. They are genderless. They do not know how to lie.

When the soul is gifted with a human body, the overall Alchemy represented by the Periodic Table of Spiritual Elements becomes necessary. The goal in its usage is to try to bring forth any and all other elements necessary to elevate the Divinity element in the context of one’s own Humanity, i.e., to achieve a Sacred Remembrance and reconcile that with one’s Humanity.

Bringing up Divinity from within the Human Body is often best initiated by alchemy with: Stillness, Solitude, Gratitude, Meditation, Mindfulness, Self-Awareness, Healing, Devotion, Communion, Humility, Equanimity and Love, Love, Love.

A very basic way to elevate Divinity is to simply quiet the mind from the distractions of the daily hustle-bustle so that Divinity can begin to be recognized. Stillness, Solitude, Meditation and Mindfulness start to calm the mind so that a certain level of Equanimity can be achieved. Self-Awareness and Healing can begin to remove any contrasting forces. When Equanimity is present and contrasting forces are gone, Devotion, Communion, Gratitude and Love start to open the heart, which is a portal to one’s Divinity. At the same time, these elements will also help with Healing processes (it’s a two-way street).

Devotion (i.e. a commitment to and love of the Divine) is what will keep you working the Table. This is what makes you care about growing spiritually and communing with God. Devotion will be demonstrated by your actions, thoughts and intentions. It will open a powerful two-way stream of energy. Devotion is directly reciprocated tenfold when Divinity is present.

Humility will keep us in check so that we can avoid self-importance and always recognize the greater power of the entire connected Universe of which we are all a part.

PRACTICES

The first recommended overall practice is to do the table (see Introduction). From that overall practice, specific practices will unfold that will resonate with you and will allow you feel that you are Communing with God.

Beyond working with the entire Table, to initiate a practice of connecting with your Divinity, you can do one or all of the following:

  • Integrate Devotion into your entire day with each human contact, each task, each connection with Nature, and each moment. With each person you encounter, whether that encounter is positive or negative, necessary or superfluous, enjoyable or stressful, remind yourself that you and that other person are both expressions of the Divine. You hold the Divine within you throughout the interaction. When you are engaged in something mundane, remember that this is just a passing moment necessary due to your Humanity, and the Divine shines on within you even as you wash the dishes and take out the trash.
  • Start each day with a brief Gratitude prayer— and I mean the moment you wake up! Your prayer can be something as simple as saying, “Thank you for this day.” The thoughts you think and the attitude you put forward in how you start your day are important.
  • Do the Snooze Alarm Gratitude Prayer. Set your alarm for a 7-minute “snooze” time period. For the first alarm, actually snooze. For the second round, remain awake. Contemplate/meditate on your humble gratitude to the Universe and for your own life’s blessings and lessons. This will start your day on a very positive track. You may even find yourself appreciative and accepting of whatever occurs instead of trying to control outcomes as we so often do, to our detriment.
  • . Practice the Golden Rule: Do onto others as you would have done unto you.
  • Slow down the pace of your overall life as best you can. Drive more slowly, walk more slowly, and eat more slowly. When engaging in something very pleasurable, such as a good meal or a pleasant walk, try to minimize less-lovely distractions. Avoid working while you eat, or texting while you’re on a walk. Live in the moment, and be mindful of the Divinity you are experiencing. Give it the Devotion it deserves by giving it your full attention.
  • Practice Deep Belly Breathing and integrate it into your day: Inhale through the nose and allow the belly and ribcage to expand slowly. Then, even more slowly, exhale through the mouth. The longer the exhale, the better.
  • Take 7-10 minutes for pure, unplugged Stillness each day. The intention of this time is to calm the mind— not to problem-solve, worry or even to sleep (which just shuts the mind down rather than enabling it to experience relaxation). This would be an excellent time to do some Deep Belly Breathing. My hope would be that this time would develop into a meditation time for you, but in the beginning, simply take this time each day to “just be.”
  • Step into Nature at least once a week. See what is around you as a reflection of Divine creation. If you live in the city, you can go to a park, a lake, the beach or even a patch of grass. Remind yourself of the world and cosmos that live outside of the buildings you so often inhabit— your house or apartment, your office building, the grocery store, the post, and so forth.
  • Engage in at least one act of pure self-care per week. This is an action of Nurturance and an acknowledgment of your own Divinity. It could mean physical care, such as getting an acupuncture treatment, taking a nap or a hot bath, or getting a massage; or it could be psychological or spiritual in nature, such as a counseling session, an art class or a mini meditation retreat.
  • Throughout your day, take note of all thoughts that feel like Judgments or acts of labeling yourself or others. Just notice these thoughts with interest at first, taking a slow breath and moving on. Most judgments will disappear while others may require greater examination.

MANTRA/PRAYER

I am pure energy, peace at this moment, courageous and willfully present.

I recognize the Divinity within me and others.

I am not alone. God is with me.

Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Praise God. I honor the Divine within me.

Below is Prayer I developed called “The Brief Comprehensive Prayer.” It is designed to open up our Divinity.

You may find that one line of the Prayer sticks out or resonates with you more than the others. If so, use that stanza throughout the day as a Mantra.

I know who I am. I know my true essence, Divine.

I know who I am. I am humble and grateful before the Universe (God).

I know who I am. I wish happiness for all others.

I know who I am. I am open to the guidance and healing powers of The Universe/God.

I know who I am. I am Bliss.

(Note: Please see the elements of Prayer & Mantra to learn about them)