Reaching Beyond Yourself!

     It seems to me that there is something beyond most of our reach.  It is the knowing that there is more to us and the almost certainty that there is more beyond us.  I mean, after all, who really thinks they are little more than an inanimate object?  I am more than a stone or a flower or a tree or an animal for that matter.  There is a basic intrinsic knowing deep inside each of us that what we see with the eye or hear with the ear is only a shallow rendition of a greater reality beyond us.
     It is this knowing and discerning what is beyond that keeps the human spirit alive and thriving.  It is our connection to the "beyond" that keeps us enthralled with life and its mysteries.  As awesome as our physical universe is, I think life might be pretty boring if I really believed that the physical was all there was to life.  True mystics are those of us who keep our spirit pointed into the wind, who keep our focus beyond what is seen and who thrill at the deep inner knowing that what we see is only a part of the larger whole.
     Paul, in the Book of First Corinthians in the New Testament seems to be pointing to this greater reality and deeper knowing when he said:

"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him...But God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.  (I Cor. 2:9-10) 

Wow!  There is so much more.   Our eyes can't see it.  Our ears can't hear it.  Our minds can't even perceive it.  But, we can be gripped by it by the Spirit whom God has made to dwell in us.  We have an onboard, built in ability to know something about what is beyond us!  The Spirit who dwells in us reveals to us everything that the eye can't see and the ear can't hear and what the mind can't perceive.  I guess it comes down to are we listening to his promptings?  Are we dialing down and are we looking to see what he would reveal to us?
     Let the inner compass of the Spirit begin to give you what is beyond yourself!

• Quiet yourself.  Distractions and sensory overload pull us away from our conscious connection with what is beyond us, our being in touch with the God who is and who wants to be with us.
• Breath.  Settle yourself down, slow down your thinking and racing to keep up with all the demands around you.
• Listen.  The silence can be your best friend after you have detoxified yourself from all the mind and heart pollutants that come with busyness.
• Watch for what is beyond yourself.  Look for the clues all around you of God's outrageous love trying to break into your mind through your inner spirit.

Sometimes we are tossed around so much by the times we live in, the tensions around us and the demands upon us that we can't see or hear what is actually right before us.  Tune in to the eternal realm; the life of the kingdom beyond.