A great read from off the web …. Please take the time.

SPIRITUAL WISDOM: Recognizing the Sacred in Our World by Christopher Chase

“To love another person is to see the face of God.”  ~Victor Hugo

Every religion, at its core, is based on the idea that our world is a sacred and mystical place, and that each of us is on a spiritual journey, that all life is sacred, and that our entire Universe is a mystical creation.

Below is some of the wisdom common to most of the world’s mystical schools and spiritual traditions. Mystical teachings are at the core of all the great religions. They provide an alternative to hate and fear, to our illusions of separateness, reminding us instead of the beauty, interdependence and sacredness of all life.

21 Core Ideas of the World’s Spiritual Traditions – 18 – 21

18. THE CONTINUOUS NATURE OF CREATIVITY~ The Universe is a creative event, always changing and in progress. Chaos comes out of order, and order out of chaos. Nothing every stays the same because everything keeps growing and developing further. Violence and death are a part of this endless creative dance, the Unbroken Chain of Being. This is the way Spirit expresses itself in our Universe. The world was not created in seven days, it is continuously being recreated every day, and as children of God we have the opportunity to celebrate and participate in that creative process.

“An epiphany enables you to sense creation not as something completed, but as constantly becoming, evolving, ascending. This transports you from a place where there is nothing new to a place where there is nothing old, where everything renews itself, where heaven and earth rejoice as at the moment of creation.”   ~Abraham Isaac Kook, Jewish Mystic

19. THE PRESENT MOMENT IS SACRED AND ETERNAL~ While most of our human experiences are focused on limited tasks, the past or the future, on problems or expectations, the present moment is where Spirit dances and touches our lives. This is why the Sabbath is considered holy, and so much emphasis is placed in most traditions on seeking God in our present lives and surroundings. The past and future do not exist, actually. We live only in the present moment, the Universal “Now.” In the continuous NOW, we perceive the ever-changing physical expressions of Eternity, the movement, evolution and unfolding of the Sacred in our world.

“As a child, I understood how to give. I have forgotten that grace since I became civilized. I lived the natural life, whereas I now live the artificial. Any pretty pebble was valuable to me then, every growing tree an object of reverence.”  ~Ohiyesa , American Indian

20. THE PREVALENCE OF BEAUTY~  Our Universe is fundamentally an extremely well organized and harmonious place, especially when creative forces are in balance with one another. When one looks at the world from the perspective of the Divine Soul one is overwhelmed by the intense beauty of everyone and all things. Our greatest musicians, artists and poets have captured something of this dynamic harmony that surrounds us at all moments, the spiritual and mystical beauty present in cloud patterns, in children’s smiling faces, flowers, animals, friends and what we commonly call “reality.”

“The beauty which the knower knows and the lover appreciates, the mystic worships. His God is Reality. To every question that arises in the heart of the mystic, he finds the answer in the life before him.”     ~Hazarat Inayat Khan, Sufi mystic

“See simplicity in the complicated, seek greatness in small things. In the Universe, the difficult things are done as if they were easy.”    ~Lao Tsu

21. SPIRITUAL REALIZATION AND PEACE ARE IMMINENT~ If the great masters and teachers of humanity are right, that life is a spiritual journey being undertaken by spiritual beings, then peace and harmony on our planet is our unavoidable destiny. We can fight and fear all we like, but sooner or later humans are all going to wake up to remember who we really are at our core, all of us. Our destination is unavoidable because of who we really are. Eventually, a world of peace will be created by each of us, one at a time, in a wave of love and caring that will encircle the entire planet. It happens in our lives as soon as we release ourselves from anger and fear, and cultivate love in our world. It is in fact, already happening.

“Imagine all the people living life in peace. You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. I hope someday you’ll join us, and the world will be as One.”    ~John Lennon

Amen