Many of us torture ourselves with ‘if onlys’ when the world comes crashing down around us. When we begin to accept that what’s done is done, we may turn to religion for solace or rage at God for ‘allowing’ the unthinkable to happen. Either way, for many of us God is the one we call on in our darkest hours and religion is a word that seems to accompany him.
When the proverbial excrement hits the fan, we are given a moment to stop and consider what it is that we truly believe – what rings true for us and what we subscribe to in the way of religion.
It is flat out nightmarish to be stuck in a loop replaying the lead-up to disaster over and over again in your mind. Many torture themselves in this way until they believe that the accident, break up, fire, loss or death may not have occurred if only they had woken up 5 minutes later, caught another bus, said different words, stopped to smell a rose or stayed an hour later.
When life brings us to our knees, we are offered a choice: jump down the spiralling rabbit hole of ‘if onlys’ or connect to who we truly are and what we know is a Truth about a situation or feeling, without any doubt.
For what if true religion is actually the lived understanding of your own divine essence? What if every breath you take has the ability to remind you who you truly are? What if each and every moment of your life is divinely constellated to remind you who you truly are?
“If you understand what religion truly is, then everything is religion.”
Serge Benhayon, Esoteric Teachings & Revelations, p 46
True religion is living the truth that you know with every last cell of your being. It is knowing that each and every moment you experience is a gift, no matter how horrifying or unfair it may seem at first glance. When you know true religion, there are no more ‘if onlys’.
Leonne Sharkey
Related Reading:
From Religious Confusion to Religious Truth
What is true religion?
My Relationship with Religion
The Truth about Universal Medicine 
True religion asks you to surrender.
“What if every breath you take has the ability to remind you who you truly are? What if each and every moment of your life is divinely constellated to remind you who you truly are?”
I think I may have wasted a few of these :- But the beauty of them is that they never stop coming, so I have a another choice in every breath and in every moment.
Powerful. A message for us all that we have made excuses that do not let us feel the truth of what initially is there. An understanding we can get from the above shared.
If you understand what religion truly is, then everything is religion.” Our inner heart knows exactly what religion is.
The biggest ‘if only’ is ‘if only I hadn’t chosen to separate from the Divine and had held to true purpose to live in Co-creation with God. Then all the other ‘if onlys’ would never have arisen.
Thank you for including this very pertinent quote from Serge Benhayon in your inspiring blog Leonne. To live from the quality of the re-connection to our Divine Essence, innate stillness, harmony and joy to express truth in our every movement is living true religion.
“If you understand what religion truly is, then everything is religion.”
Serge Benhayon, Esoteric Teachings & Revelations, p 46
Understanding religion is actually quite simple, it is not meant to be complicated and it is something we all know how to live. Through our connection to our essence, our relationship with our Soul is one and the same as our relationship with God, through which we are guided to move with the love we are, as such our every move from this point is a religious one. And so, it is possible to live religiously in all that we do, not needing to find or seek connecting to God in a church as the true house of God is our bodies, with us 24/7.
If we take the lesson offered when disaster strikes, it serves its purpose. Saying ‘if only’ and wallowing in wishing something didn’t happen means you miss out on the healing and learning. I am sure that nothing is random and nothing happens because God is a vengeful being. There is an order to the universe and corrections are a way of bringing us wayward humans back into order, back to the Godliness we are.
When we go into the if onlys, there is always an issue with not being able to accept life as it is and the consequences of not living the truth of who we truly are.
When we think about the ‘if Only’s’ we are forgetting that for every choice there is a consequence and that we are responsible for our own choices.
Yes agree Sally. It does feel like the ‘if only’ approach is an avoidance of the responsibility we hold as to what we are aligning to, and instead wishing that things could be different. Completely disempowering via the avoidance of the truth of offer being reflected in every situation we are in.
The ‘if only’ trap stops us from looking at the truth of a situation, it stops our ability to read what is truly at play and see the bigger picture.
I have come to the understanding that how we live matters to the smallest detail. If for example I am feeling frustrated with work and send out emails written in that frustration, then everyone gets affected, not just the people receiving the emails, everyone else in the world too.
When we don’t go into the ‘if only’, we can become aware that we are offered a space to learn and grow from our mistakes. Whatever is happening in our lives, evolution is always being offered for us to be more of who we truly are.
‘What if each and every moment of your life is divinely constellated to remind you of who you truly are?’ This is a great reminder of what is on offer from the hierarchy if we surrender to the support that is consistently there for us
We can’t change what we did or didn’t do in the past but what we can take charge of is our choices in the present and the quality that we make them from. It’s great to reflect on past choices to simply learn and appreciate the consequences of our actions but to get lost in regret just keeps us stuck.
It is definitely time for us to understand what True Religion really is.
This blog has supported me to look at all the subtle ‘if onlys’ I allow in my life. While it can be helpful to look at what went awry in the past, regret is never healing or supportive. As soon as I examine my life from a starting point of responsibility I can let go of regret and rejoice in seeing exactly what it is I need to change.
“For what if true religion is actually the lived understanding of your own divine essence?” Could it really be that simple? Yes is the answer. http://www.unimedliving.com/the-way-of-the-livingness/what-is-religion/what-is-true-religion.html
Humanity has been so conditioned not to believe in God, I feel we have been hoodwinked by so many Religions which one truly represents God? I am coming back to my understanding and belief that God is everywhere in the smallest of details to the magnificence we see all around us. Somehow in this constant drive to succeed at any cost to ourselves we do not stop to smell the roses so to say and deeply appreciate what we have been given. As one of those people that was blindly driven constantly chasing the carrot on a stick that was dangling just out of reach. I have decided I don’t like carrots anyway instead I have stopped to smell the roses and in that stop moment reconnected back to the simplicity that is God all around me. This is true religion a coming back to God and a reunion with me.
I feel we take breathing for granted it’s just something that we do, like eating without ever considering what we are putting into our bodies, I know from my own experience that this is considered ‘normal’. However things have changed, I now have an understanding that every in breath and out breath I am breathing God, as God is the space in between everything, as we are breathing space and the space is God. So all these years of feeling that somehow I had lost my connection to God is an illusion, a lie, because God is everywhere he is the space and the universe, so I can never not be in connection to God. Just writing these words it feels as though a veil has been lifted from my eyes.
When we understand who we are when connected to our inner-most our honesty starts the ball rolling towards the point of absolute honesty before we can move onto Truth!
‘It is knowing that each and every moment you experience is a gift, no matter how horrifying or unfair it may seem at first glance.’ When we really get this we can look to the bigger picture and understand that everything has it’s place. We are in Earth School and this is yet another lesson to heed and learn from.
““If you understand what religion truly is, then everything is religion.” I could say – if only I had woken up to this fact earlier in my life….. But I feel blessed to know the truth now. A beautiful sharing and quotes – thankyou Leonne.
Religion is simply our connection with our inner heart, our Soul, the universe, the all. It connects us to a grandness we are from, and with that also the awareness that we are equally part of this grandness. So to me living religiously is not just a belief as many people have from their relationship with the man made religion, but it is a way of living that it is not a fixture but constantly expanding to a greater awareness simply because of the expansive nature of the universe I am connected to.
Amen to that Leonne. When we live in connection to the truth of who we are, true religion is our everyday through which our every breath, our every move is a magnification of the love we know we are in essence… wherever we are and whatever we do.
That very notion of ‘if only’ seems to tell us that we do know otherwise, that we do know we are capable of being truer. What you say here makes me really appreciate the potential and power we are being endowed with at every segment and fragment of what we call life. Thank you, Leonne.
‘“If you understand what religion truly is, then everything is religion.” True religion a movement of true purpose that is lived and expressed in our everyday. This is a very different approach to the man pictures and religions we here today and yet it makes such sense and feels amazing living from the body in this way. Our true intelligence is found within the vessels we call our bodies and the wisdom they possess.
If only is actually a way of disempowering yourself of knowing the truth and stand for it.. As we are in truth dishonest when we say ‘if only’, because that simply did not exist..
At the end of a person’s life the thing that disturbs people the most are the “if only’s”, e.g if only I loved more, spent more time with people etc. We have to learn to live in a way where there are no regrets.
Agreed Elizabeth, most people want to complete their bucket list, but pay no attention to completing each relationship without any regret.
There are no “if only”s” in our heart – our heart is made to be open, and if we shut it down, there is that not much flow that will be able to flow through us – hence we are stopped – until we see that the if only”s used from the closed heart are simple results.. But the root we can change – by opening our hearts… Yes.
” For what if true religion is actually the lived understanding of your own divine essence? What if every breath you take has the ability to remind you who you truly are? What if each and every moment of your life is divinely constellated to remind you who you truly are? ” This is so beautiful Leonne the best description of religion I have ever heard thank you.
I loved reading your article Leonne. I have been reading quiet a few articles this morning around religion, and what is absolutely crystal clear is how amazingingly blessed we are to be a part of a true religion The Way of The Livingness, and to walk beside so many that are also choosing to live this truth and love consistently.
In each ‘if only’, there is a will to escape to the truth that is revealed with the situation that is judged as unfair, avoidable, wrong,… Only by accepting the things as they are in the first place and surrendering to the message that comes with them, we are able to understand and receive the gift that has been offered everytime
Beautifully said Amapro. I agree that ‘if only’ exposes every moment we resisted surrendering to truth and every occasion that we said ‘no’ to evolution. As such offering us yet another opportunity to heal and renounce the loveless momentum that keeps us from being moved by the vibration of love.
Each and every moment to remind us who we truly are, amazing. The divineness from within and being reflected to that which out there. The thing is we can’t get it wrong, or fail – we only choose to move in a way that allows this divines to be in and with us or we move against it – and hence hold off the divine love that is always holding and Impulsing us.
Thank you Leonne, this is gold! as in truth we are being offered opportunities to be more all of the time so it is our responsibility to question life and the quality of our experiences as they are a mere reflection of the choices we are making that support or are detriment to our own evolution.
Bang on Leonne! The ‘if only’ game is taxing and destructive. It serves no purpose other than to feed a lack of responsibility and desire to blame.
We willingly enter the wormhole of ‘if onlys’ when we are not willing to accept the evolution on offer in the current situation we find ourselves in. However ‘bad’ this may appear to us on the surface, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel when we realise that the tunnel is itself the self-created space we hide in to not live our true potential.
If only’s only give away the immense power that is in one and that is actually to be lived and brought to life in full by its very own choice. That is – yes to love or yes to not love (evil).
How we live is key to what happens to us. If we do not honor ourselves we invite energies to play up with us and this is what happens. We can make up stories and reduce what happens to the temporal world, but in truth, there is us, our alignments and choices that truly account for what happens next
The ‘if only’ thing is just an excuse for not being and doing everything we already are and can then do.
True religion is living our every choice knowing there is love. It is our free will if we choose it or not.
When we connect with our inner hearts and start to feel and trust the innately beautiful flow of the universe and the interconnectedness of all things… the ‘if only’s’ really start to let go.
There are no if onlys, all that happens happens for a reason and a purpose, an opportunity to feel and accept responsibility for our choices.
I hadn’t really acknowledged the fact that I have actually renounced nearly all the “if onlys” in my life thanks to the support that Universal Medicine offers in understanding the true purpose of life. It is not about perfection or having a “great” life, “doing good” or “providing for your family”. Sure these are things we all do but its not the reason we are here. If you stop and feel, you can feel strongly that we are here to grow, evolve and learn from each other. We are here to return and relearn how to bring more of our God given natural light through and to reawaken to the fact that we are actually all made of the same love that God is. .
“If you understand what religion truly is, then everything is religion.”
Serge Benhayon, Esoteric Teachings & Revelations, p 46
This saying says it all and makes sense of what religion is really about.
Our if only”s are only justifications of telling ourselves and others that what happend is by mistake and that we are not responsibile or could have been responsible for this situation.. An interesting trick to avoid the responsiblity we have and in fact – that we do have a choice. So our way out of the “if only”s ” is simply accepting our choices and taking responsibility for the next.
Could it be these things are teaching us something? ‘It is flat out nightmarish to be stuck in a loop replaying the lead-up to disaster over and over again in your mind. Many torture themselves in this way until they believe that the accident, break up, fire, loss or death may not have occurred if only they had woken up 5 minutes later, caught another bus, said different words, stopped to smell a rose or stayed an hour later’ But instead of being willing to honesty read what it means and exactly why it has happened to us we go into ‘victim’ mode. And it says a lot if we don’t believe in God/The Divine but when something not so good happens in our life we then turn to God … for me that says we know the truth but are constantly ignoring it and pretending it doesn’t exist because it if did then we would have to face the fact currently life is so very very wrong.
Thank you Leonne, you share such good point !
About the breath and breathing is very valuable. We live in a world where we have made it more so about our mind figures, goals, actions than ever attention is given to our way of being : our breath, our movements, our way of speaking, our way of choices etc. Interestingly enough these points are actually very valuable and important in order to establish connection. When we life in a dullness (unawareness) of all of the above points and we have a body that we move forth every day, we can ask ourselves the question: how are we living? In what quality are we living? Connection or no connection? What does connection actually mean? And how is it then to be connected to our body in all that we do?
When we start recognizing those questions, even though we don’t know the answers yet, it is a very freeing thing to start getting out of the mental prison that life is just life. And that we have a whole different aspect of life to re-discover. In that ‘connection’ will be key, and we need to re-discover all for ourselves what this connection means to us and how much we are willing to choose our path of bodily (heavenly) connection again.
“True religion is living the truth that you know with every last cell of your being.” and the more consistently we can live this way, the easier it is to live in the flow of that which is divine.
Every choice and occurrence in life show us a way to deepen our own love, it may be deepening in our connection and communication, a deeper humbleness and acceptance with ourselves and the world. Every single choice and movement we have in life, is so deeply precious, just as we reveal deeper this preciousness of us.
It is interesting that it is only when life brings us to our knees that we are willing to consider the possibility of there being a God, for if we would live in a way that allows that connection consistently on a daily basis that would not exist, only the confirmation of living as sons of God.
Thank you Leonne, this takes away the whole interity of excuses that we might use to sabbotage living our true way,
It’s interesting how many of us will ‘dig deep’ or call on God in our darkest hours or when we’re really feeling challenged but what are we aligning with in all the other hours of our life..?
These ‘if onlys’ come from a place where something I have done is bad and rather regrettable. Staying stuck in this view stops me from truly seeing what’s I am being shown. For there’s a clear reason everything occurs, and not one ounce of vengeance or punishment exists in any of it. Every last act and circumstance is divinely designed to point us back to Love. When I see this how can I be upset Leonne? Or forget as you have shown here, that in our everyday, lives the medicine we need – and that is true religion indeed.
When life brings us to our knees it is a great opportunity to learn, expand, evolve and ‘do things differently’ next time; the choice and responsibility is ours. Beautiful blog Leonne, thank you.
Are they are darkest moments? For me its when I’m asked to dig deep that I find the treasure that is always there within me, and that can happen when I’m supporting someone who is dying, or falling into love. Having plumbed those depths, I now start to notice the same vastness inside in the more common and everday – nature and the big, blue sky being just one avenue.
It’s funny how in our darkest hour we reach out to God and ask his for support; when we consider our life is going well we don’t even acknowledge him.
The more I connect to my essence the more assured I feel and accepting of the choices I have made. For example at the time of writing this the UK general election has been on. Weeks before I connected to what vote I felt to choose, listening to others felt disturbing but my essence felt steady. Choices from the feelings in my body are the most steadfast and supportive choices I can ever make about any part of life.
I agree Leigh our body has all our answers, we simply need to stay connected and be willing to listen to its wisdom the same way we would a friend we trust deeply.
“What if each and every moment of your life is divinely constellated to remind you who you truly are?” Yes and the more aware I am aware of this the more I know it to be true, every moment is a there waiting for me to either confirm who I am or to expose what I am not. The more I am open to this the more I am able to be all that I truly am. It is a beautiful way to live and offers me a constant reminder of the evolutionary path I am on.
It is often not until we have a major life event and all the difficulty and trauma that it brings we will say it is time to find another way. That way is through the inner connection, and if embraced it will change everything.
Thank you Leonne for sharing “True religion is living the truth that you know with every last cell of your being”, when allowing ourselves to feel and connect to this we can feel the truth in what has been shared. Our every cell in our body knows the living truth of religion.
‘What if every breath you take has the ability to remind you who you truly are?’
Today I went for a swim because I knew I was in reaction to being asked to do something extra. Why had I wanted to stop and cry when given what I felt to be a difficult case and asked to support? What was the hurt being triggered and why had I gone into feeling small and powerless?
As a child there were things I was told that were beyond my remit but, because I was told them by a distraught adult in charge of my care I tried to fix the issues but abandoned myself in the process. I couldn’t fix the sometimes serious relationship issues or counsel those that felt the racial prejudice of society so they were less depressed/suicidal. In all of this, I felt invisible unless I was rescuing them and received gratitude. So I went for this form of recognition. In my disconnection, I saw people as victims or perpetrators and I wanted to be the rescuer. I didn’t know how to deal with all the emotions – wanting to help, being so upset at what people were doing to each other, furious for not being loved for simply being me – so I decided to not have any emotions or feelings and used food as a comfort/nurture/best friend etc.
But in the pool, breathing each breath at a time I reconnected with me. Rescuing aides no-one but keeps them locked into the harm they are engaging with. Much as society currently demands it (society doesn’t want to see what is going on within it), someone going in and solving all the issues that certain families are exposing are going on in society, doesn’t allow the parties involved to realise the consequences of their choices and make different choices to reflect back what responsibility is to society. Fixing creates dependency and need so a person never gets to know themselves or receive the true reflection of responsibility. The true support I can offer is healing my hurts and reconnecting with how amazing I am and reflecting this love for others to see in themselves. They then have the choice to live this amazingness too. All the arguments then dissolve because they no longer make any sense. People are free to choose and I do not have to continue to invest in people making ‘positive choices’ so I look like I’m doing a good job to secure my wages for another day. I care deeply about people and if there is any speck of investment then what I bring is corrupted.
Thank you Leonne for your insight. I have always felt God was in my life but in a very different way to the truth as presented by Serge Benhayon in The Way of The Livingness.
For many God is in many ways the travel companion when things do not go as planned/wished for. When the unexpected happens, we turn to God emotionally. The truth is that things do not just happen. They happen for a reason. We do not like the fact that even that what happened is always a religious experience; a gift in your way back to Soul.
It’s an amazing quote about religion from Serge Benhayon. Living in Australia I feel that the official religion in Australia is sport. All jokes aside to an extent it is true. When we consider that a lot of us have a stronger relationship with our sporting teams or favourite games than we do with our partners and families and each other. In fact it’s one of the ways we use to separate ourselves from one another under the guise of competition.The same could be said with our needs for alcohol and coffee. There can be a real ritual in consuming the first of these for the day, but the fact that these substances are consistent in our lives and bring us something of what we need. It’s a deeper relationship that many of us care to say. The question is, Is it true? Do these things support us to see, feel and re-connect to who we are and where we are from and then assist us to develop a consistent approach to life where we know that how we live either supports our return to this knowing or not. So we can have a religious approach to anything in life, but we do need to ask what does it bring?
Mmm and we can also see it differently, whatever has happened is a lesson, if we choose to see that we may actually appreciate what’s happened to us and learn from it 🙂
Beautiful Leonne, It is a huge thing to think in if only’s and not taking the responsibility true religion presents to us. I feel religion is our way of living every part of life connected to who we truly are.
“For what if true religion is actually the lived understanding of your own divine essence?” A life lived from our essence is one of deep understanding and clarity lived in each expression and move made everyday. That is true religion speaking in full volume from every step of our daily lives. A very cool way to be, live and move with God everyday. Thank you Leonne.
To simply consider this point alone – ‘What if each and every moment of your life is divinely constellated to remind you who you truly are? – for me delivers an invitation to be inspired by and in awe of the magnificence of the universe that we are intrinsically part of, with all. To consider that nothing happens by chance brings a greater purpose to every moment we live, every move we make and every breath we take, as then we are willing to explore what is behind our movements, how did we get to a situation we are in, and where our choices are coming from.
‘For what if true religion is actually the lived understanding of your own divine essence?’ Living in communion with our deepest essence, feeling our way, allowing the wisdom of our bodies to teach us who we truly are.
Bring our focus to our breaths so important to stay with our connection.
For more about breath go to;
http://www.unimedliving.com/search?keyword=gentle+breath+meditation
And I find myself back here again! Life reincarnation there is clearly more to be connected to! “For what if true religion is actually the lived understanding of your own divine essence? What if every breath you take has the ability to remind you who you truly are? What if each and every moment of your life is divinely constellated to remind you who you truly are?” What if – who we think we are is a version of who we are, in our essence, that has learnt how to cope with and to be in the world. Therefore, what if we were to consider turning that round and building ourselves from our inside out to relate to the world from our essence and not the other way round which seems to be debilitating both physically and emotionally.
It is quite interesting to comsider that every moment is religion, that every moment is about connection and a relationship with yourself, God, everyone and everything. Interesting and confronting to consider everything we therefore do, say and think has an effect on everyone else. It brings responsibility front and centre. Perhaps that is why we see religion the way we do, why there are so many versions of it – we check out and subscribe to the one that most fits what we feel we can live up to or the one that will allow us to live the life we want to live. Your blog has left me feeling there is more for me to consider when it comes to my historical relationship with religion.
‘If you understand what religion truly is, then everything is religion.’ I love this Serge Benhayon quote. Connecting intimately with self, everyone and everything – a natural way of being and living – true religion.
Yes is it only in the worsts moments in our life we stop and consider that there is a God and religion? If we do so we really miss out on the beauty of a connection with God and religion lived every day.
Yes it’s interesting how often only when the chips are down ( life is a catastrophe) that even so-called non-religious people will then turn to God. As you say Lieke, we miss out on so much if that is the case.
Religion and God are two things many people go to when the world is crashing down around them; prayers are used as a call out for help and forgiveness is asked of when we feel we’ve done something very wrong.. But what if instead of engaging with religion when we’re down, we saw it as a means to connect with the universe and big picture, and thus something to evolve/expand us rather than ‘save us’ from troubles?
When we learn from our mistakes, and heed the lesson so that when we come back around and experience a similar situation, we handle it masterfully – That is pure evolution.
The Ageless wisdom has stood the test of time – True Religion that today we know as The Way of The Livingness …an age-old, true living way we each deeply know.
Absolutely – True Religion begins at home… the relationship we have with ourselves and thereafter our connection with all other life and how we relate to others.
You’ve used the phrase, ‘lived understanding’ a lot in your blog, and I love this because it transforms how we perceive religion. It’s not something mental or idealistic, but a very practical thing to develop a relationship with!
A healthy form of ‘regret’ is learning from past choices how to make true choices today and thus letting go of the past as it is fully dealt with in the present.
indeed religion is living the truth that you know, some people know academia and are religious about that, some sports, some food, some know different versions of god. its until we find the one unified way of being religious that we begin to develop a way of being together, as opposed to simply a way that works for us.
‘If only’ has no place when you let yourself live with purpose. Purpose that has nothing to do with drive or specific outcomes. When we live in the knowing that we are so much more than flesh and blood and that all of us equally are in essence no less than divine, you cannot but live with the purpose of reflecting this universal truth to all. And when we live like this ‘if only’ doesn’t come into play.
The Livingness as presented by Serge Benhayon or The Way of The Livingness is a true religion and I feel it will pass the test of time as the truth has never been presented in such away that brings so much awareness.
It is a great thing to recognise that even in the midst of the horrors that we experience they are still a part of the one life that is lived day after day as we continue to orbit the sun.
I have found that in those moments when things come crashing down that this is when I realise what is of true importance and come back to religion – it’s all about choices to stay connected to the essence.
True religion is a very intimate relationship with everything in life, intimate as in connection from and with the essence of everything and everyone.
The more I allow myself to feel it the more I see that there are so many ‘if only’ moments within every day. I’m inspired to pay attention to this. When I wake up it’s an ‘if only’ I could sleep longer, when I get up it’s ‘if only’ the washing was already done… not to mention regular fantasies about winning the lotto etc. I can feel that ‘if onlys’ are synonymous with irresponsibility no matter how big or small they may be.
‘For what if true religion is actually the lived understanding of your own divine essence?’ What if indeed. This is truly lovely what you have shared here and one I know to be of truth. Gosh, what would the world be like if all religions were put to one side and true religion of each and every one person was lived instead by understanding, knowing, reconnecting and living from the divine essence we all hold within? Much would change 💕
‘For what if true religion is actually the lived understanding of your own divine essence? What if every breath you take has the ability to remind you who you truly are? What if each and every moment of your life is divinely constellated to remind you who you truly are?’ Beautifully said Leonne. We have everything already, all we need to open our eyes and hearts to who we truly are.
True religion leaves no gap for anything else hence it is the way to seal the cracks for anything to enter that is not of our true making.
Now you mention it, Leonne, there are so many ‘if only’ moments in the day if we do not take responsibility for how our life is. Even to think ‘if only the sun would shine’ gives power to external circumstances and negates the inner joy and divine connection we have access to in every moment.
Beautiful Leonne. “True religion is living the truth that you know with every last cell of your being. ” When we stop and realise this and start taking responsibility for our own lives, our livingness and our connection to God becomes one and the same with our true purpose guiding our way. And the ” if only” no longer can exist.
If everything is religion then everything is from God so when we question religion we question God and this has to come from being in self-doubt and a judgement on self this is a detractor within which causes us great harm. When we accept we are the Son of God then we lose all self judgement and we become empowered to live in a way that shares the truth in a loving way. No preaching just Livingness that feels the connection to God in all we do. “If you understand what religion truly is, then everything is religion.” Thank you Leonne and Serge Benhayon for deepening the truth as do these comments that are deepening our expression of truth.
When we stop doubting or dismissing who we truly are, we are in effect living true religion and subsequently no more ‘if only’s’.
Spot on Eva, true religion is simple when we live who we truly are.
Breath check! And I totally second “What if each and every moment of your life is divinely constellated to remind you who you truly are?”
When we know true religion we also know and accept responsibility, which leaves no room for ‘if only’ thoughts.
Super beautiful Leonne. ‘What if each and every moment of your life is divinely constellated to remind you who you truly are?’ When we see and feel that we play an equal and important part within our amazing universe we cannot deny who we are.
Quite right, Leonne. When we play the ‘if only’ game, we reduce ourselves to becoming victims of circumstance rather than claiming what we know and are a part of.
If only If only – I have played this game myself over the years and the forced game of regret and judge – regret and judge leaves you completely crushed. Feeling the truth of all situations as they arise allows a freedom within to truly explore what is being presented. The latter always asks for a deeper responsibility.
So true Lee and Leonne, the what if or if only game takes us away from conscious presence and into that never ending down would spiral of self judgement and self condemnation. I also know this game to well as it is so simple to be distracted by not first connecting to our essence.
So much happens in our everyday life, how traditional it is to see it as a whole heap of trouble and strife? Your words and presentation of ‘no more if onlys’ Leonne, makes me stop and reconsider how everything that comes up is here to help and support us in incredible ways ‘if only’ we stop fighting it and trying to walk the other way. Time to surrender to what we are being given the chance to feel.
Yes, how beautiful to surrender to being in the school of life and appreciate all its lessons.
“When you know true religion, there are no more ‘if onlys’.”One knows that everything one has experienced is a consequence of one’s own choices. Daunting to accept that amount of responsibility BUT so liberating and empowering.
Everything is religion as we are in relationship with everything and nothing happens randomly so there can be no ‘If onlys’ for, as you say Leaonne, every moment of our life is divinely constellated to remind us who we truly are.
Absolutely knowing that every moment is a gift and that life is about the awareness of returning to a deeper love is a beautiful process of reunion with our Soul, this is the true meaning of religion.
‘If onlys’ are a trick of the human spirit to keep you in individuality and to keep you obsessing about one thing. It also takes you away from seeing the truth of the situation as you are in the rabbit hole, going over and over the ‘if only’s’. It can also stop you from accepting the situation for what it was, any possible learnings and then moving on. They keep us stuck.
So beautiful Leonne. To embrace true religion one must also embrace true responsibility and open up to the truth of their choices. At least that is what I am realising. Everything in life is a message from God simply showing you the truth of your choices and in that the truth of who you really are.
If each and every moment is designed to remind us of how divine we are it means that we were already divine and have chosen to walk away, so we are walking back to what we have done before.
Seeing every experience as a gift and a golden opportunity to learn, is a principle that can turn your life around rather than being disempowered and merely a victim of circumstance.
True religion is the absolute knowing that we are all interconnected as One and that our every thought, word and action has an effect on every other human being walking this earth no matter what religious creed or school of thought they belong to. Thus, those that are truly religious understand and adhere to the huge responsibility we each have for not polluting the greater Whole that we are a part of. If we get snagged by a moment of ‘if only’ then rather than spiral down the wormhole of regret, we are afforded an opportunity to honestly reflect on our past choices and subsequent movements and discern whether these we made in truth and in honour of the love we are, or whether we went against this.
The embracement of the teaching that “everything is religion” is something I am working with, to allow, to be humble, to understand and to evolve with deep honesty. All of these things bring a life well lived.
‘When life brings us to our knees, we are offered a choice: jump down the spiralling rabbit hole of ‘if onlys’ or connect to who we truly are and what we know is a Truth about a situation or feeling, without any doubt’ The truth of any situation or difficulty is always there always ready to support us, guide us to take new steps or make new choices, to support letting go of the old and what is not working in our lives for perhaps already a very long time.
Totally understanding the fact that everything that happens to me is directly a result of all of my choices, I know the buck stops here; there’s no use trying to blame anyone else or go into ‘if only’s’.Taking full responsibility for one actions is religion too.
True religion is a connection to your cells, a connection to your body, a connection to everybody.
A beautiful reminder that that there is no such thing as perfection, or a perfect life and when we are in situations that are difficult it is an opportunity to make a choice.
Why do we make religion our companion for the darkest hours and not for the brightest ones? What is behind this?
‘If you understand what religion truly is, then everything is religion.’ Serge Benhayon. This is huge – and puts paid to the separation that has occurred in the name of religion – the ‘religious wars’, the us and them mentality between the priests and the people etc. Our so-called current orthodox religions have a lot to answer for – all manmade of course and thus the bastardisation of true religion has occurred.
There is a greater plan – and we are part of it. No point going over the ‘if only’s’.
Many years ago, in a moment of doubt, I allowed myself to ponder deeply on the origins of our existence, and in order to do so, I imagined what came before the universe. I tried to imagine “nothing”, a big empty space. But even space is something, and so I truly tried to imagine nothing. And what I concluded was that there is no such thing as nothing. There cannot be. It is impossible, for it is within itself nothing more than a comparative term that requires something to compare it against for it to even make sense. In other words, you cannot create something from nothing – absolutely impossible – and nothing cannot exist without their being something. To ponder deeply on such a thing is nearly beyond the human mind to comprehend. It was at that point when I realised that the universe, or life, was eternal in nature. It may transform, but it can never be undone. This lead me to conclude that there is no such thing as death, only transformation, and so the only thing left for me to discover after that point was to ponder on the nature of that transformation, and so at that point I became religious in the true sense of the word. Such philosophical rendering can only be arrived at by the true religious student, who relies not so much on faith or dogma, but on true pondering and a lived observation of life and all its interactions to draw their own conclusions about the true nature of things.
We can get caught up in the angst and anguish of life events but in doing so miss the true learning that is on offer for us – a gift to accelerate our awareness and evolution. Understanding our Divinity first, and the rest of life takes on a whole different perspective.
When we live and know true religion, everything in life is a learning and every day is an opportunity to reconnect to God.
“True religion is living the truth that you know with every last cell of your being” An amazing realisation and so beautiful to feel especially with all the religious beliefs and dogmas out there in the world that confuse and separate us all.
if we give power to the self-torture and if only’s we are guaranteeing ourselves to be kept in the imprisonment of emotion and anguish, but to understand that this is fed to us, and we are swallowing it, ie a choice we make, it opens up the possibility of returning to the awareness of the truth we do know inside and the freedom to live it once more.
And my relationship with religion deepens the more I surrender and relinquish the chattering of my mind, so full of ‘if onlys’.
I so get this! The ‘if-only’ is such an old pattern, it kept me in a pattern of beating myself up for everything that happened and actually, looking back on it now, it stopped me moving forward and understanding the gift of why those things had to happen. I know I am exactly where I should be now, perhaps a little behind due to indulging along the way, if-only…..! A great blog to have in our awareness as we choose to let go of old patterns.
After reading this I’m noticing all the if onlys in my day. I use them to ignore the amazing opportunities to connect and learn because I’m wishing for life to be other than it is. I’m using them not to be honest about how I feel about how things actually are, I’m even using them to get annoyed – life isn’t how I think it should be!!! How very arrogant. And to knock this arrogance out because it separates me from God and humanity comes the wake up calls, the forget the if onlys here is something you can either deal with or the other option is die trying to ignore. And this is love no matter how much I may protest. God’s love will never leave me behind in illusion and comfort. There will always be wake up calls calling me back to my essence. I love the line that each moment is divinely constellated to remind us of who we truly are. Amazing.
I have done the ‘If only’ dance so often in my life, especially in financial matters, so understanding that each of these times is a reflection of how I am living and what there is to learn and that nothing ever happens by chance is a great wake up call to responsibility.
I rarely have “if only’s”any more, I was plagued by them in the past, second guessing, doubt, procrastinating, and then regretting, our life can be full of it, if we let it…the reason it has changed is that I more more willing to be present in every moment and through this, I am clearer in my decisions and I know that I have a relationship with something bigger than just me, my decisions are not always based on self but the big picture, more flow and so much less regret.
If only I had read this earlier… no, just kidding! I know what you are talking about, and the if only is one so many of us can get caught up in. I quit a job recently when I was in reaction and went through a lot of if only… but now I love where I am and what is unfolding. Couldn’t have planned it better!
Love your sense of humour Rosie. When I read your comment I laughed out loud. Whatever choice we make there is always an opportunity to learn and grow. When we go into the ‘if only’ it blocks us from appreciating this.
Today what is super clear in reading your blog Leonne, is the way frustration, anger, injustice and rage make us blind to understanding, clarity and true wisdom. For if we appreciate what you present here, it is that everything is superbly designed to illustrate to us something important. When we skip the fact that we are constantly been offered learning, that is where life becomes troublesome tiresome and hard.
This phrase is really important, ‘lived understanding’. It is one thing to have a mental understanding of what things like religion might look like or how to do something, but to actually live this and embody/found a relationship to it is the best way to cast out possible interfering ideals, beliefs and images that could obstruct our true understanding.
So to turn around the separatist governance from our head, this is about putting our knowledge into practise so it becomes ‘lived understanding’…
Religion is in every aspect of my life so that I can be in a forever deepening connection with God. This relationship shall allow me to pass-over and get to heaven. Not the mythical, holier than thou and selected few, but the true heaven which has always been available for everyone once the choice of what energy or vibration we decide to align to.
Being a Student of The Way of The Livingness as a true religion brings so much focus on being responsible in all that I express, which is after all how I feel that truly being religious expands our relationship with God and humanity. So my expression in every aspect is a crucial part of my evolution before passing-over.
“This relationship shall allow me to pass-over and get to heaven. Not the mythical, holier than thou and selected few, but the true heaven which has always been available for everyone once the choice of what energy or vibration we decide to align to.” Beautifully expressed gregbarnes888, our relationship with God is deeply personal, it is not intellectual and there are no rules. We all have a choice to step toward God or away from him in any given moment.
Claiming my true Son-ship as a Son of God and the relationship that has developed is so simple and something that I will always hold within my essence.
“When life brings us to our knees, we are offered a choice: jump down the spiralling rabbit hole of ‘if onlys’ or connect to who we truly are and what we know is a Truth about a situation or feeling, without any doubt.” This is so true Leonne. We really do have a choice to stay connected to what we know is true or not in every moment, regardless of how difficult the situation is that we are faced with. Living a life of regrets or ‘if onlys’ will literally lead us down a blind alley with no where to go.
Guilt and regret are not our natural vibrations, they are what we have chosen to align to and as such we will subscribe to their hold.
‘For what if true religion is actually the lived understanding of your own divine essence? What if every breath you take has the ability to remind you who you truly are? What if each and every moment of your life is divinely constellated to remind you who you truly are?’ Stunning. Every time I read this paragraph it is like I drop a little bit deeper into who I truly am.
Self-flagellation is a rite in some religions which makes torturing ourselves in the ‘if onlys’ situations, is a bit ironic!
A marvelous reminder that we are forever supported to return to the truths of our essence, nudged and assisted along the way. Knowing this every moment and every incident is seen as in its true light, a gift and an opportunity.
For a long time I dismissed religion for what was done in its name. I knew deep within that the divine was truth, but that the institution of religion had tried to poison the well of connection with God, and bastardised the teachings of the divine for mankind. Thus, I felt we were left to find our own connection to God by wandering from belief system to belief system, gathering what we could to apply to our own lives. By reclaiming the word religion in its truth and fullness has allowed me to connect deeply to myself and therefore to others in my life. True Religion is a well that cannot be poisoned.
Yes, it’s so true that when life becomes challenging we have the choice to stay in denial of the truth by fantasising the multitude of “if onlys”; or we can reconnect and feel what is being presented to us and know, no matter how challenging, that here is an opportunity for love and taking responsibility. With my health I often want to bury my head in the sand and I hadn’t realised it before; if only I’d have looked after myself previously. But staying caught in these thoughts which base themselves on the situation being irreconcilable doesn’t bring living choices, only ones that seek to deny and defend. Definitely ones to watch out for because what if we are always presented with being able to choose love no matter what; God never forsakes us.
All pictures of God and images of religion disappear when we connect with ourselves through the Gentle Breath Meditation, and through that connection with mind and body we feel both in every cell, with the vibrations and aliveness, warmth and presence. God is inside us, every cell, and religion is living that in every moment. I love it, brilliant, succinct and so understandable. Thank you.
‘For what if true religion is actually the lived understanding of your own divine essence?’ Beautiful and true, bringing us back from the search outside ourselves to the truth we hold within.
Playing the record of ‘if onlys’ is such a great way to stay stuck in the misery rather than seeing the divine opportunity to connect to truth and evolve.
I appreciate the authority with which you have used the word ‘torture’ – for the mental struggle and turmoil we experience when we are caught in the world of beliefs, ideal, shoulds, dogma, rules etc is exactly that – and worse still it keeps us in disconnect to our bodies and their natural ability to guide and signal us in life.
Leonne I used to think relationship was some intellectual mind thing, something that was unobtainable, however, what I’ve also come to understand is that it’s not that at all. In fact, it’s the complete opposite and as something that I feel more and more at ease with I am understanding this is because religion is so natural and it part of our everyday relationship with ourselves and God.
It has been life changing for me to truly understand what religion means. I certainly have less and less ‘if only’ thoughts now than ever before because of my willingness to embrace/live true religion.
Understanding the cycle of misery we create for ourselves when we live life based on ‘if only’s’ is actually quite empowering, because in order to stop a behaviour or pattern we first have to open our eyes to see it and then understand why we have chosen that in the first place.
When in connection with our bodies and who we are, we walk with the knowingness of what true religion is, that which reflects the absoluteness of our interconnection with the divine no matter how to plays out in life, there is the constant appreciation of what it is offered as part of our evolution.
“Many of us torture ourselves with ‘if onlys when the world comes crashing down around us. ” I know what this feels like I use to do it a lot, and get myself into such a mess, causing depression and all sorts. But now I Know that every movement, every breath, every connection makes a difference. So my experience are through my own choices, so I always have a choice to choose what is love or not.
I agree ‘every moment of our life is divinely constellated to remind us of who we truly are?’ The problem is that we do not take up this opportunity and make the most of what we are gifted by God. If we were to we would all be living heaven on earth.
“If only’s” have certainly delayed me somewhat…..spent a lot of time in my head going oh why didn’t I do that or think of that….I say let it go for sure. I am learning that it is about what we learn, not about getting it all right.
” If only’s” are a wishful thinking which only happens in the head but has nothing to do with being present in life.
Not only bury it in our bodies we take it to the grave and then live that reinterpretation of love into our next life. It is so amazing to have the ability to see clearly or be able to read this situation and not take on more emotional garbage. As I learn to be more transparent by being open to discuss these situations I feel how we all evolve. It has been to easy in the past to bury things that should have been transparent and open for all to discuss so they get buried.
The choice that we make will always affect how a day will unfold and as we make more choices to be in a divine connection the path that unfolds in front of us becomes a loving one that is so profoundly different. This to me is the fire hitting the fan so that love is spread forth. Thank you Leonne for making the fan available.
‘What if each and every moment of your life is divinely constellated to remind you who you truly are?’
Wow, so inspired to allow this understanding to come through.
How many slides down the rabbit hole, slips past the ‘if onlys’ and hit the ‘this is the only’ choice if God will not help? Have you ever looked really hard for something and it was not till you stopped to find you already possessed what you were looking for?
There is so much more that happens in life that we know but often choose to be ignorant of as we often don’t want to see what is truly going on. For example, sometimes when an accident happens you can feel it has been coming and you have been asked to change but you didn’t listen to what was being communicated to you and then when the accident happens you are stopped- but when truly honest there can often be a feeling that had been there prior.
‘If only’s’ are designed to delay our evolution.
It is beautiful to read these words by Serge Benhayon about everything being religion, once we re-connect to its true meaning and live in a way that honours our relationship with God within whose body we reside.
‘True religion is living the truth that you know with every last cell of your being .’ This is such a powerful statement Leonne. Living my truth all of the time with consistency is still a work in progress, but with inspiring role models like Serge Benhayon it is becoming more doable…..
This is the most beautiful blog offering us the simplicity and knowing of True Religion and who and what we are with the everything-ness. “For what if true religion is actually the lived understanding of your own divine essence? What if every breath you take has the ability to remind you who you truly are? What if each and every moment of your life is divinely constellated to remind you who you truly are?”
If onlys can sneak in to everyday occurrences like ‘if only I chose another colour tshirt’ etc. When I find myself feeling this way I know I’m not connected to myself because when I am connected I know what is true and I choose accordingly.
“True religion is living the truth that you know with every last cell of your being. It is knowing that each and every moment you experience is a gift, no matter how horrifying or unfair it may seem at first glance.” For many this may seem incomprehensible, but when true religion is lived there is an acceptance of life and everything that happens in it, however hard it may appear to be.
“If you understand what religion truly is, then everything is religion.” Serge Benhayon. Reading this
I realize how I avoid to truly want to understand religion as it is calling me to deeply see and feel what kind of relationship I have to everything and everyone. Everything and everyone then becomes very meaningful to the extent that there is no more room to avoid and check out, but every action, thought or situation is felt down to the bones.
This is a beautiful and true definition of what religion is and when it is lived it changes our lives forever – “For what if true religion is actually the lived understanding of your own divine essence? What if every breath you take has the ability to remind you who you truly are? What if each and every moment of your life is divinely constellated to remind you who you truly are?
It is funny but people generally become more religious when faced with a challenging or intense situation in their life. How many people start asking for God on their death bed? However why wait for this situation? We can be religious everyday, not in the sense of joining an organised religious group, but exploring and deepening our connection with our own soul and with God and the universe.
Great question andrewmooney26. I can imagine that it would be quite challenging to call out to God on your deathbed. When we do this we are faced with the reality that we had loving support all along (and ignored it). I can imagine this would bring up lifetimes of regret and sadness at having ignored a precious relationship.
Re-building a connection with our body and deepening our awareness offers the true knowing that there always IS a choice to choose inner connection rather than an emotional morass of confusion and doubt. “When life brings us to our knees, we are offered a choice: jump down the spiralling rabbit hole of ‘if onlys’ or connect to who we truly are and what we know is a Truth about a situation or feeling, without any doubt”.
Very true that we always try to figure out what we could have done to avoid something, but what if instead of trying to see what we could have done to prevent it, we actually dig deeper and understand why it happened? This would save a lot of energy, and be very useful in the long run.
True religion for me, has made me realise that every moment, as you say, is a gift from God. Every moment is an opportunity for us to read, reflect and truly ponder on what it is we need to learn from others and/or situations and sometimes it’s just about learning to accept the magic of God!
True religion is as you say Belinda, is a gift from God, so we can all return to the true brotherhood that unites us all.
The simplicity of true religion is divine and very easy to live every day, it just requires us to say yes to living it in full consistently.
Accepting the blessing, learning and responsibility in every moment – this feels like a way of living that is religious.
The “if only’s” are a way of wishful thinking which keeps us in a world whic is not real but only happens in our heads. True religion for me is real, is present and bringing me back to experiencing truth in my body and openess for people, even when I got hurt.
If everything is religion, then we are religion. So in knowing ourselves we know religion, God and the divine – and know that we are correspondingly not only religious, but God-like and divine.
I know that when I fully embrace life and live ‘the truth that you know with every last cell of my being’ then there is no what if because I have given my all in that moment and so whatever happens is out of my control and I know there is not more I could have given. Whereas when I only give a part or a but of myself to something then there is always room for more and room for the what if I had done this or that etc.. It is very freeing knowing that you can leave each moment complete when you have given your all.
True religion shows us that nothing happens randomly in life, we are constantly being offered the magic of God – whether we are willing to see it or not, we are all part of the bigger picture and a divine design around the clock.
“What if each and every moment of your life is divinely constellated to remind you who you truly are?”
If we were to accept this as a fact, we would live life very differently on this planet.
I had an occasion in the last few weeks where I had an “if only” and it was torture! “If only” is a horrible way to live, when you connect to the truth of why you made a decision and claim it there is no “if only”, only a firm absolute decision to commit to the truth of the situation and a steadiness in walking forward from there.
“True religion is living the truth that you know with every last cell of your being. It is knowing that each and every moment you experience is a gift, no matter how horrifying or unfair it may seem at first glance. When you know true religion, there are no more ‘if onlys.”
“What if every breath you take has the ability to remind you who you truly are?
I love your words here Leonne, deepening, re-exploring and appreciating our true awareness confirms who we naturally are and simply becomes the way forth.
The more responsibility we choose to take for our every thought, movment and choice, the fewer ‘if only’s’ we create for our selves.
Indeed Rowena – ‘if only’s’ are quite commonly being used as an excuse to not have to take responsibility.
I can still catch myself in the deceiving energy that brings a thought in my head and tries to continually control my process of thinking by tuning a loop of a word, song or phrase. Thank you Leonne and also Serge Benhayon for bringing light to this distraction, so I can explore how to eliminated needless chatter from my head.
I love how truth is so simple, such a delight to read Leonne in how you have captured so clearly and shared so simply the word religion.
Religion is something that I was brought up to ‘believe in’ rather than something I knew. Now religion is something I know rather than believe in.
Brilliant. I love this Leonne… clarity about the difference between believing and knowing. And this knowing being a quiet sureness in our bodies not the ‘rightness’ of our intellect.
When we regret and despair, sadly talk down past experiences that we have, it simply means we have not yet seen that we actually have been offered a massive gift. These presents can stay standing, right under our noses for months, sometimes years, in our lives whilst we hold onto ideas that we are a victim of ‘misfortune’. But one day, sooner or later we will see, we were in the perfect place, with the perfect person to see what we needed to see. They talk about Lady Luck but she doesn’t exist. The truth is, in everything we are always supported by Miss Fortune. Thanks Leonne for clearing up this lady’s true spelling.
How many people live their lives by setting mouse traps in a room with us in the corner barefoot then shut our eyes and try and not set off any of the traps we have set. Is it possible, we set traps for our self so we can always have a full bucket of ‘if only’ to ensure we don’t evolve? There are no traps in true religion.
In my experience, there is only room for doubt when we know we have not been ourselves (in essence), and therefore giving life our all.
True Doug. When we see the greater wisdom on offer, the birds eye view of life we may grow in appreciation of the awe of daily life and the ultimate learning that is presented to us always.
Yes, ‘Everything is Religion ‘ and Life is a symphony of Love
When we rage at God, we are blaming God and not taking full responsibility for the choices we have made in our lives that have brought the current situation.
“It is knowing that each and every moment you experience is a gift…” an inspiring, revelatory and honest way of living life.
Yes, and accepting this and practising it in our daily lives changes everything – putting appreciation and inspiration firmly back on the map.
“True religion is living the truth that you know with every last cell of your being.” Thank you Leonne.
‘What if each and every moment of your life is divinely constellated to remind you who you truly are?’ – And often our darkest moment brings the most divine richness and humility. We observe the arrogance of the spirit and allow the truth and beauty that lays beyond to be truly felt.
“It is knowing that each and every moment you experience is a gift, no matter how horrifying or unfair it may seem at first glance.” – even though I know this, it sometimes takes me a while to get to this point, to be able to see the full picture and reflect on what it is that has happened, and the learning that is there.
‘Each moment is a gift’ stays a cerebral notion of the body from which it espouses, if it is not in line with the Divine. There are so many truths in life that remain mere ‘sayings’ as they are said from bodies that are not in alignment to the Divine. There is no judgement in this, simply the knowing that if my son died today then I would not be able to see it as a gift, however I do also know that I and the rest of humanity will one day be living in such a way that the death of a child will be known in our bodies to be the gift that it is.
I’m with you Sandra. I often find myself having a tantrum and railing against life when it feels unfair. The difference is that now I know that I am choosing to avoid responsibility in these moments and it isn’t too long before I’m willing to see the part I have played in my own woes.
I love this Leonne as it is freeing of any expectations and imaginations, and that every moment is a gift of God.
‘When life brings us to our knees, we are offered a choice: jump down the spiralling rabbit hole of ‘if onlys’ or connect to who we truly are and what we know is a Truth about a situation or feeling, without any doubt.’ The light of truth shines on even the darkest moments.
True religion need not be, in fact, should not be divorced from science or our practical understanding of the real world. It should as such be not something that requires faith nor is a theological exploration of the mind, but rather a lived exploration of life.
When connected to, True Religion provides an amazing understanding for the situations we find ourselves in, even though they may be challenging and tough. Knowing that there is something to learn and we have had our part to play in the situation happening in the first place it can be easier to heal and move on. We don’t get stuck in the ‘victimhood’.
Such a great blog Leonne, I love the clarity and you make it so clear and obvious to understand. Of course religion is a constant relationship with our inner essence that originates from God, everything we do and say has this potential it is whether we choice to be responsible in all that we do and be all of us or not.
“… we may turn to religion for solace or rage at God for ‘allowing’ the unthinkable to happen” and avoid all responsibility in the process! Appreciating the real meaning of true religion has for me restored the bigger picture, enabled me to see the deeper reasons behind the event, disaster or tragedy that I have lived through and yet still may encounter, including the power of my choices and responsibilities. No need to rage at God anymore, just have to feel and respond to my inner wisdom every step of the way.
There can be no greater confidence than the being-ness, the knowing-ness that we are everything already.
Addressing the energy behind any situation is the key for me to having true religion in my life. Thank you Susan and Viktoria, I understand also that there are no accidents in life and a learning curve is so much a part of my religious experience.
I am definitely working on being religious in every aspect of my life so that I can be in a deeper connection with God. Then I may be able to get to heaven when I pass-over. Being a Student of The Way of The Livingness as a true religion brings so much focus on being responsible in all that I express, which is after all how I feel that true religion expands our relationship with God and humanity. So my expression in every aspect is a crucial part of my evolution before passover. In Loving Brotherhood,
I know Susan, sometimes we just want it to go away, and so to put it ‘right’ again seems like a good solution. But it doesn’t ‘go away’ energetically, we are still carrying it around with us (but pretending it’s not there) until we let ourselves feel it, and our part in it, fully.
When you know true religion you understand and become aware of true responsibility and there are no ‘if onlys’ only the choices we make.
There are no coincidences in life, only perfect constellations… and I find if I look at situations in this way, knowing whatever is happening is happening for a reason which may not yet be clear, then it supports me to be aware of a bigger picture of life… and to settle in that knowing – and that allows the magic and revelation to come.
“if onlys” are forgotten landmines! They are buried and forgotten but until they are dug up and disarmed… they can be crippling when tread upon!
It can be despairing to hear of religions we know, like Catholicism that are poisoned with corruption, cruelty and suffering, and how this example of what we think is religion must turn people away from the thought of being religious. Then I read your blog Leonne, and see this is where we need to go. Reflections that reclaim what religion is, which is a simple connection to self, to others, to universal life, that we all have access to, all the time.
I have found it incredibly valuable to find the true cause of things. Once I understood the true cause and have the understanding the main change is basically effortless.
Finding out in full our part of what has happened is one of the most valuable things we can do. Beating ourselves up stops us finding out in full.
Most of life I have no doubt is a gift, this is not a hope but a natural way of thinking–of seeing beyond what is superficial and locating first the gift, and that is always a deepening of awareness–before believing in anything else. What I find is I am touched to the depth of how life constellates for everyone of us to express back to the deep love that we are. Every time when I feel life is difficult and I can’t see the gift, it is of my own choice to resist the opportunity of evolution presented with so much love to me.
“For what if true religion is actually the lived understanding of your own divine essence?” – yes, what if religion is you being the true-you, connected to everyone else being the same as this? If so would they be any fight, war, bloodshed, separation, division in religion’s name…no, and the absurdity of which it has and does continue to occur, exposes the falsity behind what the religions of today profess as religion, when in truth it is so far from religion’s core truth of oneness, unity, harmlessness and interconnected equalness of all life and all peoples.
The degree of horror, shock, regrets etc. at what is presented in life is matched by the degree of responsibility I am willing to accept for my part in the situation/s.
If only I had read this blog in my twenties.
Oh and understood it then as well
Dito, Kevin!
The truth of what you share Leonne is something that we all need to keep in mind. I agree if we can see all as leaning and a “gift” how much less pain we will carry around with us in our everyday lives.
‘It is knowing that each and every moment you experience is a gift, no matter how horrifying or unfair it may seem at first glance.’ We can feel deeply entrenched in a problem or an emotional situation and not know how to deal with it, but it is all part of our learning, the cycles of life we experience over and over until we once again remember the beauty of who we truly are and the joy and magnificence that is there for us to live.
‘What if every breath you take has the ability to remind you who you truly are?’ Our breath is with us wherever we go and is an incredible marker for how we are feeling and yet how often do we stop and connect to the way we are breathing? How often do we observe how our breath is and what would happen if we lived our lives breathing our own breath?
Your bog was so beautiful for me to read today, thank you Leonne, “For what if true religion is actually the lived understanding of your own divine essence? What if every breath you take has the ability to remind you who you truly are? What if each and every moment of your life is divinely constellated to remind you who you truly are?” Gorgeous words.
“It is knowing that each and every moment you experience is a gift, no matter how horrifying or unfair it may seem at first glance”, could it be possible that one day we will be able to stand back from the death of a child and feel the grace and beauty in it? I get the feeling that once everything is known then our entire understanding of life will shift, including our so called ‘human reactions’. As the fog of illusion gradually clears we will begin to see life clearly again for what it truly is.
The more I learn about life by allowing me to feel life, the more I understand how much I am actually the primary player in my life and that I’m actually the one who’s creating my entire life. Life is not a random ‘thing’ or a God that creates my life including all the accidents and incidents. He’s offering me continuous opportunities to learn to live in rhythm with his love and his cycles. There are still enough ‘if onlys’, but I do accept (more and more) that I can’t blame God or anyone else, but always am to look inside. Joyfully so.
Have you ever had one of those groundhog moments where ‘if only’ you could do it differently? Years ago I was late for work one night by a minute. The next night was a repeat performance for why I was late and I was determined to beat the clock and shaved every second I could, as I reached for my time card and as I was inserting in the clock it ticked over to one minute late. Late is late, if you don’t change the choice that made you late, why would you be surprised by the outcome? Is religion not the same when we try and blame it for our choices?
‘True religion is living the truth that you know with every last cell of your being.’ – So simple and yet, gigantic.
Living the Truth of who we are reflects to all others the true meaning of Religion and therein restores trust in Humanity.
It is beautiful to consider that true religion could come from living from our inner-most hearts, and not from any outer source.
There is something to learn from every experience. When we learn from an experience it becomes easier to accept no matter how tough it was to get through.
Yes, it is important that we see each and every experience as an opportunity to learn and to grow.
‘True religion is living the truth that you know with every last cell of your being.’ Power-full words Leonne, something for us all to feel.
You hit the nail on the head here with the word ‘knowing’. Knowing is a whole body experience, more powerful than any thought.
There is never a way that circumstance can be viewed afterwards with an ‘if only I’d…’. Yes we can learn from it, but wasn’t that the reason it happened, so that we can embrace what’s there to be learned rather than wish it to have been different?
Love what you share Leonne, was great timing as my husband and I have in recent months been caught in the ‘If onlys”, what you share “True religion is living the truth that you know with every last cell of your being. It is knowing that each and every moment you experience is a gift, no matter how horrifying or unfair it may seem at first glance. When you know true religion, there are no more ‘if onlys’.” Absolutely each moment is a gift.
When I allow myself to surrender to the fact that we are all living within the body of God, I can feel that every breath and movement is true religion.
By accepting that everything that happens to us is a result of previous choices we have made, either in our present life or a past one, it becomes much easier for us to understand why anything happens, whether it is good or bad.
‘If only’ means to me that I am keen to avoid the responsibility for getting myself out of whatever situation or predicament I am in. It is far more empowering to say… ‘what is needed here’ knowing I am equipped to deal with everything in front of me.
We always know truth, it’s our choice as to whether or not we honour this knowing, the more we do, the less ‘if only’s” we need to endure.
Many people will tell you that when life is dishing up lemons and they find themselves in dire straights they often find themselves praying, whether they believe in God or not – I know I have. But it seems that the word religion has tainted our perception of what God truly is, and what it means to have a relationship with God, and for many their only perception of a relationship to God would be via the church, but unfortunately in these moments the church can only deliver short term.
If onlys are so debilitating. I’ve had them from everything like ‘if only I was born in another country’, ‘if only I had straight hair my life would be easier’ etc. When I wish life to be anything other than it is I ignore the golden opportunity that is presenting itself: the learning from my choices that have got me there and the ability to love and accept responsibility and myself so that my next step is not just a repetition of old habits but a truer reflection of who I truly am.
Life is continually reflecting back to us everything we need to learn and it is up to us to pay attention or continue in ignorance. Feeling the energy of our expression can bring us up short when we realise how much we impose on others and conversely, understanding that our way of living when we choose wisely can inspire many others too.
“When you know true religion, there are no more ‘if onlys’.” I would also add that there is surrender, obedience and acceptance.
Well said Leonne, true Religion offers a way of life that leaves no stone unturned, with the complete understanding of who we truly are, and in this understanding we know that there are no ‘if only’ moments.
‘If only’ is a means to avoid facing the choices that have led to a moment we would like to avoid.
When we experience something truly awful it is very difficult to see it as a gift. We live in a world where ‘victimhood’ is lauded in a way. When I apply this truth to extremes it still holds up ie – if someone precious to me was murdered, if I was assaulted, if my house was burned down etc. I would still know that these occurrences happened in order to correct karma I (and others) had incurred and reflect back to me a change I need to make in order to return to living soulfully.
“It is knowing that each and every moment you experience is a gift” – LS
For every moment to become a knowing we’re to allow ourselves to feel life, or all the different moments in life. For me personally I’m experiencing that it requires me to be vulnerable and at times raw and real. At first I tend to blame either myself or others when something ‘bad’ or ‘sad’ happens. I’ve learnt that there’s always a personal responsibility in it. Allowing myself to be not perfect and to be really honest has shown me how I can be in true religion with life, which includes the relationship with myself (first and foremost) and others. Thank God for all the amazing opportunities to heal and get in touch with the Divine being I am.
All events that precede ‘if onlys’ have been set in motion by us much further back than the actual moments leading up to the event. In fact we may have set them in motion in a previous life.
Leonne reading the title again today, I was struck by the truth of it. Life, aka ‘religion’, is the most ordered and precise system imaginable. There is no-thing at all that is random, not even so much as a single hair that has not been organised and overseen by God and so for us to say ‘if only’ or ‘I was unlucky’ is purely an indication of our lack of understanding.
I agree Leonne, when we understand, know, and live true religion there are no ‘if only’ moments and as you’ve shared, each moment, whatever that may be, is always an opportunity for us to learn and grow.
Leonne, you’ve drawn our attention to a very real difficulty that many of us have. If we find ourselves getting caught in ‘if onlys’ it helps to look and see if we have taken things personally and made it about ourselves rather than seeing the event in the context of the whole. If we pan out and look at it from a broader perspective we may be able to see the choices we made to get us there and if we can accept what happened rather than replay the ‘should have-could haves’ we may then be able extract the learning from the situation and move on with purpose. As you say, if we ‘connect to who we truly are’ we will know the truth of the situation, ‘without any doubt’.
‘True religion is living the truth that you know with every last cell of your being…’ This is true, but if in the moment you have lost sense of it and of yourself there is the real beauty of turning to another who lives the same truth as you…there is nothing like it to set you back on track again.
“What if true religion is actually the lived understanding of your own divine essence?” Leonne, this question stood out for me, particularly the word “lived”. True religion is not preached, it is lived so deeply that it is understood, not by the mind but by a whole body experience which just knows and expresses from our divine essence. We each have an essence which has its own fragrance but it is not really our ‘own’ because it is not separate from the whole. Therefore when we understand our ‘own divine essence’ we also understand that divinity is always there in all of us – if we can claim it and walk in the authority of it, we reflect a religious way of being to others.
If you absolutely cherish your life and every moment of it – there is no room for “if onlys” – why look backwards, forwards or sideways when you have everything right here right now?
Awesome blog Leonne, no more what ifs indeed. I find it is so easy to go into thinking what if I did this or that but that doesn’t change anything. All it does is take me away from the moment and myself. The more I just live the love I know the more everything is taken care of.
Moving on and accepting life is essential. I am so glad I am more and more able to do this. I do appreciate that life isn’t about ‘if only’s’ but far more about the “what is’ and that is all I need to be with – the truth of what is playing out is incredibly fascinating.
True religion is so much more than just a choice we make. It encompassess everything just as you have shared.
Constantly looking back only serves if we learn the consequences of our choices
‘When you know true religion, there are no more ‘if onlys’.’ – So true Leonne, knowing true religion is waking up to reality and true responsibility.
Regret is a huge issue and it is self perpetuating as in it, brings a sense of failure that often means we doubt ourselves more. Life can be more present, deep and connected and yes a knowing of our breath, and how it feels so supports this.
“What if every breath you take has the ability to remind you who you truly are?” a beautiful reminder that its every moment that counts and that in every moment we can live who we truly are by breathing our own breath.
I knew God as a child. Not just the Christian version of God that I grew up with either. I had a sense that there was a being of great love that I could communicate with at any time and I could also feel that I too was a part of this being and not a lowly servant to him. I knew God held me in equalness. The thing is it is only now that I am beginning to feel the responsibility inherent in this truth. If we are God’s sons we are capable (and responsible for) living heaven on earth.
The life we live is designed to remind us who we truly are and that actually we don’t belong here. This is something that I am still coming to grips with. Often in my days I can get lost in the life itself rather than staying connected to the true purpose of the life.
We can replay the nightmare…or change our movements to ensure that it doesn’t happen again. The later requires a responsibility that I sometimes don’t want to take, so therefore I build up excuses by indulging in the negative.
“It is knowing that each and every moment you experience is a gift, no matter how horrifying or unfair it may seem at first glance.” The more truly religious I become, the more I see that everything in my life, all the tragedies and successes enable me to grow, evolve, become more of the me I already am.
A great reminder that these situations which offer this choice are gifts for us to learn from lovingly and to further understand the choices we have taken.
In the livingness of religion – we find our true selves again
Yes, it is a great imprisonment to be stuck in the ‘if onlys’. I have seen clients not move on from something that happened years ago, to the point where it is ruining their lives…sad but true.
It is amazing how much ‘what ifs’ hold us in the past. The more we can simply accept what has happened, take responsibility and if there are any, embrace the consequences and learn from them. Only then does true healing take place and then we can move on and fully embrace the love we are.
It’s crazy how much there is to clear from one word, and how much can be drawn from its divine meaning. Now we know why we have bastardised it so….
“When life brings us to our knees, we are offered a choice: jump down the spiralling rabbit hole of ‘if onlys’ or connect to who we truly are and what we know is a Truth about a situation or feeling, without any doubt”
I have learnt this week that it is not only when we are brought to our knees, that we can choose. I have seen so clearly how many rabbit holes there are when we don’t connect to the truth and spend time chasing other avenues. I spent a bit of time in these holes this week, but fortunately popped out at the end of the week 🙂
I love the really clear choice you present: we can feel why a situation has happened and if we can live in another way or we can get lost in ‘if only’s’ that ultimately are a beating up of ourselves, not accepting nor taking responsibility for it.
“What if every breath you take has the ability to remind you who you truly are?”
This is a ‘what if’ very worth embracing to the fullest until fully integrated and re-connected to the fact that it is a “What Is”!
Beautiful Leonne, sharing that is very pure and true. Knowing that there is so much more to life than we could imagine, so is our religion. Never ever to separate mankind but only to bring us back to where we come from.
Danna I agree whole heartedly with what you have shared here ‘Knowing that there is so much more to life than we could imagine’ and yet our utter arrogance causes us to think that we know the most we’be ever known. We swan around in the middle of chaos, the belief that we’re an intelligent species gripped tightly in our belief system and yet it’s these very beliefs that prevent us from being open to the fact that we have lived a life of such brilliant intelligence before that it really makes what we’ve created here on Earth look very neanderthal.
Replaying situations in our head, blaming God and others,and commiserating ourselves on how unfair life is, keeps us at a very superficial level of self development and shows our unwillingness to take responsibility for the way we are living our life.
Simple and to the point is what I love about this blog, thank you Leonne, what you have written I feel is so master-full and a piece on truth.
Oh I could read this again and again, it is a reminder for me of the divinity that is around us all the time. The support that is there from that relationship with religion, the responsibility, the level of truth and love, that is a gift to reconnect to.
I agree Lucy, true religion is the greatest gift we can reconnect to.
I love the beautiful simplicity with which you remind us about what true religion is – “For what if true religion is the lived understanding of your own divine essence.”
Love this blog Leonne – thank you for de-mystifying what true religion is about, simply to live the truth that we all innately know.
When I tried to make life complicated the simple answers alluded me – and now it’s such a joy to find a way of life that offers simplicity and recognise the deeper meaning of all that life is. When you let go of all the seeking you realise that all that you require is within – your true essence.
I am learning that life is constantly teaching us. There are things that happen that can be really challenging and that make us question everything and it is timely to do just that. The key for me has been about learning to do, ponder with a genuine enquiry, to move forward, take responsibility and heal rather than regret, to seek out the comfort of what was once known.
I find there is a still a difference at times between knowing that every experience/event is a gift uniquely delivered for me to return to my divinity and really embracing it when it is raw. I know when I do embrace it, it brings a wonderful humbleness that I miss deeply. This confirms to me that it is true.
There is a stark contrast between the choice to go round and round in the ‘if onlys’ and the knowing of truth. There is no indulging in any emotion in the latter, as it is like being read an unarguable fact. There is no time wasting in regret, just the clarity to know how to move forward differently this time.
I was on the verge of dispelling “If onlys” forever from my vocabulary and this has really helped me go over that verge into no “If only” land. I know that every choice I make in every moment maps the next so if everything went smoothly, even when we keep making bad choices, how would we learn? We really are like little children really, God’s little children.
Absolutely – and the consequences that life delivers us are a loving gift to get our attention back on track to our divine evolution. A big hypocrisy that I have noticed in myself is how I can happily deliver consequences to my children but then let myself get away with all kinds of shocking behaviours. Through having kids I have learnt (and had lots of fun with) how to re-parent myself.
Understanding that life offers us constant constellations I realise that we are forever being offered evolution. Our relationship with this, is a religious one.
‘Many of us torture ourselves with ‘if onlys’ when the world comes crashing down around us.’ Very true and this has certainly been the case for me in the past. However learning to accept that there is purpose in everything, even if at first we can’t see it, and that we are offered opportunities to evolve, especially in those more challenging times, I have come to appreciate these challenging moments for what they offer. Time and again I have come to realise sooner or later what lessons they were offering and haven’t looked back on them in resentment and frustration but a deep appreciation of how through them I have evolved and become more aware and loving as a result.
Getting into ‘if only’s’ is such a self-crippling and destructive pattern for all the reasons you’ve described Leonne, and from experience there is actually A LOT we can learn from the times when life brings us to our knees because no situation happens for the sake of it – there is always a way to grow from it. A few months ago I had one of these moments at work, and it has really transformed the way I think about my role and responsibility in that environment.
There is no judgement from God, it is only us that indulges in beating ourselves up. Crazy..when God is just standing by our side lovingly waiting for us to get back up and have another go.
‘It is knowing that each and every moment you experience is a gift, no matter how horrifying or unfair it may seem at first glance. When you know true religion, there are no more ‘if onlys’. Wouldn’t life be very different if we all lived and approached life with this knowing?
“Many of us torture ourselves with ‘if onlys’” – there’s already a lot said in these words. Up until now I had a picture in my mind about ‘torture’. That it is something outside of me, that it is done to me by someone else or others, that there’s no responsibility in it for me, that it is very bad and something to be afraid of. Now I’m realising that torture is much more. That it includes our inner fights too. There’s not a lot of people talking openly about their inner fight that is going on on a daily basis. Could it be that because of ignoring the inner fight we’re actually losing our own religious way of living and the connection with the precious love that lives inside of us? No wonder we then have to rely on the outer world for meaning and connection. True religion for me starts with a true connection to the inner-world. No matter how much fight there’s going on, it’s never too late to re-establish and to re-connect to the love within. How beautiful and unconditional is this?
“It is knowing that each and every moment you experience is a gift, no matter how horrifying or unfair it may seem at first glance. ” that is quite confronting to read, that even the things that challenge us most are in fact a gift. When I reflect on this I can see that this could very much be the case if we make life first and foremost about evolution.
When we live in communion to our inner truth, which is also a universal Truth, there cannot be ‘if onlys’. Incidents and experiences make up the lessons needed for our evolution back to soul.
Is ‘if only’ just regret of bad choices and not taking responsibility for our actions?
“If only’s” are an indulgence to stop us feeling the irresponsibility that got us there in the first place. But God doesn’t judge – he just lovingly waits for us to get back up and have another go. Every second the window is there for us to walk in his/our absolute light.
Absolutely Otto, and as that old saying goes where the foot prints in the sand become one set from two; those foot prints in the sand that were by themselves were Gods when he was carrying us, he has never abandoned us he has always been with us. What I love so much about reading these comments and blogs is the way in, which there is always a reminder in what has been presented of the fact it is my choice to be in a rhythm so that I am with god.
Great point Otto, God never judges us.
True religion is to hold dear your relationship with life, and to be forever deepening your understanding of what that relationship entails.
You delivered this blog to me at the perfect time, on the perfect day. How did this happen? Luck or true religion?!
So simple when you add it up Otto, I also feel the magic timing of the revelations from this blog.
“…What if every breath you take has the ability to remind you who you truly are? …” The ability for the breath to reconnect you back to a reassurance, a foundation and knowing of something more is a life line in moments that cause disturbance and anxiousness.
It’s an awesome moment when we can turn some of the ‘if only’ moments into ‘ah ha!’ moments instead, as a consequence of listening to our inner voice instead of ignoring it!
Perhaps the most honest “if only’ statement that any of us can make is ‘ if only I’d chosen something else’.
Many people have dragged and continue to drag themselves through life carrying the burdensome weight of the words ‘if only’ across their shoulders.
I love the way life is full of constellations, where we turn up to a place at just the right moment to see a beautiful creature from Nature, or to meet someone who can help us with our next step. When we live in the present moment we can feel where to be and what to do.
Leonne after reading your wonderful blog about true religion it is very hard to believe that there is a punishing god at all.
When I go into the ‘if onlys’ I know I am not taking responsibility for my choices and certain situations. I agree it is torturous to allow my mind to take hold and spiral out of control with ‘if only’ thoughts. They are pretty demeaning, self-bashing and critical thoughts, whereas choosing to take responsibility and feeling empowered by my choices, this allows a whole different way of looking at life and what is actually offered, true evolution.
True religion is so simple – and what’s more it is not something we need to learn, study or bring in from outside of us. It is already known and so to surrender is the only request that comes and to trust that whatever unfolds is the guiding principle that governs our return home.
True religion is actually who we are.
‘True religion is living the truth that you know with every last cell of your being’ – for me, The Way of The Livingness is true religion. Its teachings have shown me how to re-connect to my inner-heart, to understand the truth of what is really going on in life, to trust in my innate wisdom, to know that we are all connected, that we are all, equally, a part of the divine Universal order we currently know as life, but it’s so much more. It’s my choice what I bring to myself, to others and to the whole, there are no coincidences, everything affects everything. I feel the responsibility in this which brings me so much joy and purpose. It’s up to me to live this truth in full, to honour all that I know to be true.
True what you say Leonne, about connecting to God in our darkest hours, like in the advent of death, personal loss, tragedy or receiving a terminally ill diagnosis… which means that in all of us there is a cellular knowing and understanding of God even though this may not be something being actively lived enough to warrant ‘one’s religiousness’, which, in itself proves or confirms to me that ‘to be religious’ is not about faith or denomination, but about inner-knowing and connection to something divinely universal, or grander than physicality.
‘When the proverbial excrement hits the fan, we are given a moment to stop and consider what it is that we truly believe’ – very true, Leonne. One of the many gifts I have received from choosing to study The Way of The Livingness, is to know and accept that ultimately, I am responsible for everything that happens to me in my life ….. it’s a game changer.
When we say ‘if only’ we tend to refer to a very small portion of time and yet as each moment rests entirely on the whole of life up until the preceding moment then it’a only really true if we say ‘if only the whole of life for everyone had been different at that particular moment in time’
You make a very good point – the ‘if only I had woken up earlier’ is not a single moment in time, it is connected to and the product of every moment before
The moment there are no ‘if only’ moments, there are also no more co-incidents, ‘accidents’ and unforeseeables – life takes on a deeper meaning and we learn to understand why what is happening, is indeed happening.
The divine order of the Universe runs through our every cell and whilst we choose to keep making choices in opposition of this fact, life is forever supporting us to return to the truth of our essence. When we recognise this then when we are shown our errors, we are not pulled to sit in the woe of “if only” but to rise up to the empowered joy of “Oh I see I am much more”.
With traditional religion I always got the sense that everything you experienced was ‘meant to be’ this way – as if it was preordained and set in stone by God. And so our job in life was just to ‘accept our lot’. This way of thinking stopped me from seeing that we each have a choice in every moment of every day over the quality and way we are going to be. And it is this choice that leads to all else in our life. It’s irrefutable to me today that we are super powerful in a divine way, and we should never accept giving this power away to any other person, organisation or deity. Thank you Leonne for this sermon today.
It is crazy no… That we let things go until we have something occur that brings us to a halt. And only then do we consider God, rather abusive relationship we have with him ! Makes more sense to know God in the magic of a flower opening, the heart felt laugher of a child, the connection between strangers.
“If only” are a fantastic form of self torture.
What l love about this piece of writing is the incredible power, lightness, truth and clarity this is written in. I became aware that I’ve got a strong pattern of thinking that I live my life for others and in aligning to this thought (consciousness), I’m actually giving my power away. Or in fact not taking responsibility for the beauty, grace and possibilities to evolve that is offered by life.
True religion necessitates that you value you, and the essence that you are. Through that presence in your daily life, true religion is a movement that is all encompassing.
Yep, this is great Leonne. I can easily say that I rarely play the ‘if only’ game with myself any more, because I realised some years ago that I am responsible for all my choices, so when I slip up, I don’t bother over analysing what might have been, because it’s done, I chose it, and I can, to the best of my ability, move on without sitting in regret, which is so counter productive and just creates dis-ease. I’m not perfect at it, but I know that what is done is done, so just choose differently moving forward.
Absolutely – when we understand True Religion, we are encompassing the all.
True religion is us encompassing the all and the all encompassing us.
Religion, to me, is living responsibly – and by responsibly I mean to live in connection with all and knowing that everything we do affects everyone else.
“What if every breath has the ability to remind you who you truly are?” In reading this I was reminded of a very wise woman who shared how the simplicity of that in and out breath is available to us all the time, and it is our choice whether we connect to it or not. Life can be very different when we make that gentle breath the foundation from which we live.
We can spend a lot of energy fighting things rather than understanding them. I spent many years fighting religion rather than wanting to understand true religion. And now that I know it, I see every moment as an oportunity and learning.
“For what if true religion is actually the lived understanding of your own divine essence?” so gorgeous to read this and to be reminded of this. It is the religion that feels true to me.
My experience of religion has been up until this point a haggle with what is true or not, an endless debate of the mind. Feeling the fact that God is absolute leaves no doubt that true religion is about embracing truth. And that means the true and whole truth not just a part of it or a story from our heads.
I love that true religion is living the truth that we know in every cell of our body. It’s undeniable we know this truth and our bodies are what bring this to us. What an inspiration to live in a way that supports this connection.
“What if each and every moment of your life is divinely constellated to remind you who you truly are?” Great question Leonne. If we were to really stop and consider everything that happens to us is a message from God, reminding us that we are from heaven regardless of what we do or the circumstances that we find ourselves in, we would understand and live life in a totally different way than most people currently do.
To be able to truly move forward we must be able to look back with clarity and contentment, as is described in your blog Leonne.
Gosh how I know this spiralling rabbit hole of “if only’s”, it feels like a definite choice to avoid and distract ourselves from what we truly feel and know. Taking responsibility can be uncomfortable and it’s amazing the lengths we’ll go to to avoid it. So often I hear children say, “but it was his fault”, it occurs to me how young we are when we learn this behaviour, perhaps by watching the adults around us.
Or perhaps because we have all lived lives of irresponsibility and thus lying comes frighteningly easily to us? Serge Benhayon and the teachings of The Way of The Livingness have shown me the truth of my responsibility. To start with I didn’t take it seriously because I thought I could play a game of half/half, of juggling my responsibility as and when it suited me. Slowly (and sometimes painfully) I am seeing that responsibility is a 24/7, every nook-and-cranny, religion.
Thank you Leonne, this is very poignant for me at the moment. “True religion is living the truth that you know with every last cell of your being.” When we have a stop moment, it is an opportunity to surrender and appreciate the space being given to us. Then we can feel the truth of true religion being a part of our every moment, every breath and everyday movements.
“If only” comes with a ring of regret and neediness and longing. It keeps us less and in a helpless state of wanting something different to what we have. If I have learned anything, it is that acceptance and appreciation of what we have is so important in order to consolidate and expand, rather than look elsewhere and miss the message and lesson that is staring us in the face.
This is what Religion is to me, summed up simply and beautifully, its not something outside that guides you, or brings you home, or shows you the way, its just reconnecting and knowing your own importance, knowing that you matter and everyone around you matters, for we are all gods sons.
No moment is an accident, every single thing has a purpose in life, no matter what we think on the surface. We just need to really see them all for what they are, a blessing and an opportunity.
When we get a stop moment through a life event, illness or accident, we have two choices – 1) surrender to what it is that is being shown to us and the healing that it brings or 2) react or deny our part in it and blame something outside of ourselves (or blame ourselves, quite different to seeing our part in it from a point of responsibility and a consequence of our past choices).
All day long we run a show, it could be a well organised business, a hectic medical practice, an easy day of walking, relaxing and cooking, and all day long there are opportunities to evolve – I am finding that there are always two ways to go about these, with a level of loved love and delivering that, or in reaction to what is presenting itself- the unknown.
‘When the proverbial excrement hits the fan, we are given a moment to stop and consider what it is that we truly believe – what rings true for us and what we subscribe to in the way of religion.’
We have a tendency to label things that make us stop as ‘bad’, things like death, illness, relationship breakdowns etc.. every stop event brings an enormous amount of grace to understand and bring any needed corrections into our lives.
It is true, when life offers us a stop moment we can go into the’if only’s’ that keep us in the never ending spiral of regret and negative thoughts, or we can choose to connect to ourselves and see each stop moment as a learning process of life and an opportunity to move on and evolve,. By seeing each stop moment as an opportunity to learn, the if only’s do not have the hold that can keep us locked up for years, if not life times.
Great question, Leonne – “What if every breath you take has the ability to remind you who you truly are?” Life can really be that simple when we realise there is only one choice to keep making – to connect to the love that is in and around us, or not.
Yes – Truth returns us to a lived level of clarity and simplicity.
I love this Leonne . . . true religion . . .“ . . is knowing that each and every moment you experience is a gift, no matter how horrifying or unfair it may seem at first glance.” . . . with no ‘if only I hadn’t reacted so badly’ thoughts after. I so needed to read this yesterday but as it is all one day, today is perfect timing also, thank you.
We can spend a lifetime regretting, mulling over what could have or should have been and what life would be like if we had make just one choice differently – or the biggest killer, what we would do if we could only go back in time and change it! So much actual time can be spent thinking about it, but in doing so we lose sight of what might be offered by a seeming disaster or problem, and that in these dark hours we have a choice if we turn on the light.
Brilliant Leonne, God is love, and life on earth is our journey back to reconnect to his divine spark within us all. How you have written this make this process feel light to embrace in that whatever is happening is spot on for my evolution back to my divine essence.
A beautiful and powerfully claimed insight into how as human beings we ignore responsibility and reduce ourselves as a result, and of the divinity we can reconnect to at any time with religion in truth. Thank you Leonne.
It feels like ‘if only’s’ are actually our resistance to even considering that there could be a reason for the things that happen. We are closing ourselves off from the opportunity to see things differently, to learn and prevent the same thing from happening again. ‘If only’s’ are a sure path to plenty more ‘if only’s.’
It’s interesting what you’ve presented here that religion is something we can live rather than just an idea or concept to follow. The relationship we have and what it means to us is very personal because as you’ve shared ‘true religion is actually the lived understanding of your own divine essence’.
A long way away from doing thousands of prostrations, giving alms, sitting in silence on a stone floor, drinking wine or walking to an ancient city!
“True religion is living the truth that you know with every last cell of your being.” I love this Leonne, it is deeply confirming of what is true and our choice to not only keep that truth as a known but make it something that is actually lived. Through that living that is where the magic happens.
‘What if each and every moment of your life is divinely constellated to remind you who you truly are?’ …. there would certainly be no room at all for any ‘if only’s’ as we would also know with absolute certainty that everything thing that happens to us is never a coincidence or just ‘bad luck’, every moment, when we are living in connection to our soul, is divinely constellated to bring to us exactly what we need. Even the ‘bad’ things that happen are for a reason, because there is learning there for us, which we ignored the previous times we had the same opportunity to learn. With this understanding, we can always learn from every situation and, in turn evolve.
Awesome Leonne, great blog in that you have demystified the word religion and instead shown us what it truly means in its simplicity and in a way that everyone can relate. True Religion is for all of us at all times.
How simple and truly exquisite truth is. Thank you for the clarity in which you express here Leonne
“True religion is living the truth that you know with every last cell of your being”.
‘For what if true religion is actually the lived understanding of your own divine essence?’ Beautifully expressed Leonne. Learning to connect to, appreciate and accept everything that is divine about oneself (because it is there) changes our whole approach to life, and so when things seemingly go wrong we understand that we are being given opportunities to evolve and make corrections in behaviours, ie make them more loving.
I know I still find it difficult to see every event in my life as a blessing (even the bad stuff!) and a reflection to support me to discover more of myself, but I can feel that this is in fact the truth of how life is and it is the only explanation about life that has made sense to me.
Getting lost in If Onlys exposes our lack of willingness to accept the truth of how we are living and what is being reflected back to us.
yes – a quick exit from what we have just felt and lived …
‘What if every breath you take has the ability to remind you who you truly are? What if each and every moment of your life is divinely constellated to remind you who you truly are?’ I am currently under considerable pressure along with the team I work with for a number of reasons – this is a great reminder of how practically we/I can easily reconnect through our quality of breath or coming back to feeling our body. This is where all the support required can be found and yet none is needed.
Simply and clearly expressed, Leone, and encapsulated in the quote from Serge Benhayon, “If you understand what religion truly is, then everything is religion.” Appreciating this then brings a whole new perspective which is a paradigm shift to perceive, question and understand why the world is the way it is.
Beautiful Leonne Sharkey, ‘if only’ in those dark and bleak moments we could see that they are truly blessings sent from God; our soul communicating to us with the utmost of love to support us on our way yet if we are truly honest we know this to be true for in those moments leading up to what seems like our world is fallen apart we are desperately crying out for help.
Our ‘if only’ moments so often occur because we disregarded an inner knowing, a feeling however fleeting, that informed of us the key action, essential words to say or the correct choice to make, which we chose to dismiss. And then the subsequent disaster that unfolds exposes this arrogant decision to ignore our inner wisdom and the real ‘if only’ is: “if only I had listened to myself”.
So true Rowena, it is at times when we are not connected to our inner knowing, our essence, that we start to engage in the ‘if only’ moments because of the energy we choose to align to takes us further away from truth.
To have regrets is a sure sign we’re living in the past and not able to deal with the present. With True Religion we can find new purpose and re-configure our lives in every movement. Nothing is fixed, but ever moving and evolving if we are open to it.
When you are doing dishes and get to the pans than need a soak, you fill them with warm water and add a bit of soap… have you watched as the first drop hits the surface and expands instantly to the edge? When we have chosen to make one of those ‘if only’ moments, is it not have the same instant, far-reaching effect as that single drop of soap?
I read so many of your comments Steve and they are so divine. You have a beautiful and utterly unique view on the world. When I read your words I feel you and that is a real treat to me. Thank you for everything that you are.
Leonne, I feel a lightness and joy reading this, ‘accept that what’s done is done’. This feels so simple and true. I spent years grieving over the loss of a family member rather than simply accepting what had happened. I would think about how it could have been avoided – all such a waste of time and energy. Things happen for a reason and are all there for us to learn and evolve from, it is great to remember this and makes life about learning, not regretting and staying in ‘if onlys’.
Sometimes some of these moments in life definitely don’t feel like gifts’ especially at the time, but without these moment how would we learn the ill’s of our ways as life would be one big comfort zone and we would never evolve.
‘What if each and every moment of your life is divinely constellated to remind you who you truly are?’ The wonder of God is that we have so much support to help us remember, in that everything and everyone around us is constantly reflecting back to us the lessons we need to learn, and that we live in constant cycles repeating over and over again until we let go of our ideals and beliefs and surrender to the Truth of who we are.
‘…What if true religion is actually the lived understanding of your own divine essence?’ This throws a much wider perspective on the daily trappings of life we can get so caught up and embroiled in. Knowing our own divine essence, what the bigger picture is supports enormously in day- to-day living.
The if only’s we tend to use come from thinking we have control over our lives but in reality we never have. There is a flow to life and we either can live with that or go against it, that is the only choice we can make in life, which is given to us by free will.
What if we were to consider our relationship with God, the divine, meaning and purpose in life at times other than a personal crisis? Would this not offer us, and our societies as a whole, a far more considered approach to all aspects of our lives – to the quality of our work, our relationships and more?
Might we consider the greater impacts that we have upon each other, and bring deeper honesty to just what is going on for ourselves in our own lives – that we may even have the potential to avert some crises, through listening with far more honesty to what is going on for us within?
If I but pause for a moment to consider God and the ceaseless, enduring and embracing Love that He holds me in, I am asked to look at where in my life I hold myself in the same love, and where I do not… and from there, why do I not? When I am His very child…
Thank-you Leonne, there is a lot said here. A lot said about our relationship with God and all of life, which I would essentially equate to being ‘religion’.
I recall moments earlier in my life where I called on God – moments of crisis and/or despair, where I sought support. In truth, I always held a knowing that He was there and that we are all held in His Love. The thing was, back then, I hadn’t fostered a way of living where connection with Him was more of a constant – and so although the knowing was there, accompanying this was an acute sense of living separated from Him, rather than fully embraced…
Coming to the work of Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine, and now considering myself an eternal student of The Way of The Livingness, I am learning that it is indeed possible to live in a way where connection with the divine needn’t be lost. The changes have been profound – most significantly in regards to no longer feeling that God’s there ‘at a distance’. His presence and expression of His Love in my everyday life has become and continues to become all the deeper, as I come to embody the Love of my own soul, God’s Love, and realise that we were never separate at all…
I really love this ‘For what if true religion is actually the lived understanding of your own divine essence? What if every breath you take has the ability to remind you who you truly are? What if each and every moment of your life is divinely constellated to remind you who you truly are?’ For me just in a few short sentences you have explained what religion truly is.
‘What if each and every moment of your life is divinely constellated to remind you who you truly are?’ – This is quite something to behold Leonne and a great question – could it be that the Universe is divinely designed to bring us all back to what we sense/feel is our essence?
“True religion is living the truth that you know with every last cell of your being.” This line resonates with me .. I have a pain in my digestion that has not gone away for a few days, actually I can say it has been there for some time just not so intense as it is now. What feels great is taking a moment to pause and really feel into why it is there – a time to reflect in honesty the relationship I have with myself and my body. Deeply take note and care for myself. A relationship with me that is my religion.
When something happens I don’t like, I need to deal with the immediate crisis, if any but equally important is to understand why it has happened – what past action(s) or intention(s) of ours have been instrumental in this event and this understanding goes beyond – ‘well, I stopped off the curb…’ and needs to ask ‘why did I step off the curb the way I did at that time so that I didn’t see or hear or feel or notice …’
“What if true religion is actually the lived understanding of your own divine essence?”- Thank you Leonne
I just got a deeper understanding of what that means. To reconnect within and surrender to the love that is all there, and let it out for all to see and feel, in its true beauty.
“If only” I had read this article yesterday or last year haha. What this is saying is true though we often look back and wonder how things happened and get to a point where we wish we had taken a different road or listened more carefully. We are given guides or support at every point we walk or move and if we considered this, “True religion is living the truth that you know with every last cell of your being. It is knowing that each and every moment you experience is a gift, no matter how horrifying or unfair it may seem at first glance.” it would free life up.
What a great read Leonne, this has made my day, from the ‘proverbial excrement hits the fan’, I hardly had time to catch my breath to be present before every cell of my body was vibrating with joy from what you have shared.
Stunning Leonne, this spoke to me deeply today to remind me that no matter what is going on around me I can connect to me in it ‘What if each and every moment of your life is divinely constellated to remind you who you truly are?’ and reading this I feel reminded to bring it wider that there is a purpose in who I am, and where I am, and that each moment offers me and opportunity to connect to and express from that purpose. And there is no room for if onlys in that.
Everything… I am more and more connected to the magnificence of life, that nobody is to be rescued, that truth and love is to be communicated and lived, but first and foremost, each and every one of us is making choices that either deepens the relationship with themselves, others and life or not. Regret is not needed. I’m developing a relationship with God as my equal brother who’s able to teach me ‘life’ in ways that are magnificent, yet very simple. Sometimes I learn a lesson fast, but there are also many lessons I need to re-exam over and over again. Which is fine to God (and I’m learning to myself as well). Life’s wonderful and offering learnings that are phenomenal. Thank you Leonne for sharing this!
True religion=total surrender to whatever’s going on, knowing that it has been hand crafted by God to bring you evolution and never is it anything less.
I love this, Alexis. When we surrender we can feel the intimacy of God’s love in reflecting what is the exact next step of our evolution.
True religion is the whole of life in its entirety. There is no-thing that is not religion. However because we are trapped in our human thinking we are also trapped in the belief of good and bad and therefore struggle with the age old question ‘if there was a God why would he let children suffer?’. But as you so rightly say Leonne ‘What if each and every moment of your life is divinely constellated to remind you who you truly are?’ Then that would change our whole understanding and therefore relationship with life .
This is true Religion, living the truth that we know in every movement we make. It is an all encompassing living way in every respect. Beautiful blog Leonne.
Beautifully written and insightful Leonne.
So true Leonne that many turn to god in either blame or hope, looking for salvation or answers to why me, why this. But maybe we look for god in all the wrong places, maybe god is to be found inside, within our very essence, and with deep reflection things we thought afflicted us are instead just part of the universal order that lovingly must occur to stop us straying too far, stop our bodies becoming too out of order.
A great reminder Leonne to trust in our own Inner most knowing and being in the moment.
It is perhaps always worth reflecting on what has happened in life, from the perspective that there is always something to be learned – but regret seems rather self-destructive to me. It feels like indulging in emotions and self-pity. When we accept the opportunities to learn and evolve, then life becomes abundantly rich – for it seems these opportunities are consistently present.
Leonne life definitely throws curve balls at us, and what I am learning is that the essence of who I am remains untouched, yet it’s still a challenge not to react and remain in connection to myself. I see the essence like the eye of the storm, it’s very still whilst life whirls around it. It’s more that stepping out of the essence is the true issue not what’s going on around us.
Religion is a loud and sounding yes to life, understanding that nothing that happens and nothing that is is without meaning, sense and purpose. ‘If onlys’ are unreal and basically a denial of that which is, it is the unwillingness to see everything in life for what it is and deal with it accordingly.
This blog is clear, claimed and powerfull. It cut through the fog for me today as I was travelling down a rabbit hole (not from being brought to my knees but I was there) and I realised it was my choice to do so. And that I have the choice to connect to who I truly am and know the Truth about a situation or feeling. Thank you for this timely reminder.
Regrets only arise when we cannot accept that the way things are, are like that due to the choices we have made. Thus, the ‘if only’s’ and their cousins the ‘what if’s’ are a sign that we are not yet willing to take responsibility for these choices for when we do, we initiate a deeper understanding of the part we play in it all and also what needs to be done to avoid such outcomes in the future. No moment is wasted if there is learning within it. However, if we choose to not receive the healing on offer from any adverse situation then we simply invite more calamity into our lives as a way to delay returning to the expression of who we in-truth are.
I find your contribution quite breathtaking and deeply sobering at the same time; it deftly does away with any glamourising, conceptualising or complications of religion and brings it back to its roots and the deep knowingness in our bodies – pure and simple.
Gorgeous Leonne, it is simple really – just claim the divine love we are and live it everyday.
Well worth pondering on Leonne…”What if every breath you take has the ability to remind you who you truly are? What if each and every moment of your life is divinely constellated to remind you who you truly are?” This takes away the angst and brings such a beautiful settlement in the body, knowing everything about our lives happens for a reason, for a learning, and is actually there to support us all to evolve… how inspiring, and how lovingly supported are we all?!
It’s the “what ifs” that can have my thoughts running the show if I choose to allow it, yet the same understanding applies. Thanks for offering this great insight Leonne.
“When you know true religion, there are no more ‘if onlys’.” It is in that knowing of what true religion is that we come to an understanding of life, and in that understanding there is no blame, no doubt, only the realisation of what is and how to hold ourselves in that… and to move lovingly forward from there.
This is amazing to read, so confirming of the love we can connect to no matter what is going on in life. I have lived in ‘what if’s’ unable to accept the responsibility of the situation. There are no accidents but everything is constellated as a result of energy. So when a branch landed on my car I initially thought I should have got the train into town instead but actually there was a reflection here I could learn from that needed to happen.
“If you understand what religion truly is, then everything is religion.” – we can say we are not religious and yet what this quote by Serge Benhayon says to me is that we are connected and in relationship with everything, all of the time.
So deeply beautiful Leonne – what you have shared is truly a gift. When we are willing to understand that who we are within is in fact Divine, and that we are all here to live who we are, we then come to know the truth is with us at every moment and as such we come to know God. Through our connection to who we are within, we live our Soulfulness, through which we understand that every moment we are met with is constellated to offer us the opportunity to deepen our connection to the Divine.
“True religion is living the truth that you know with every last cell of your being.”
Living with every cell in my body – all my cells invited and included to be in harmony with each other. Considering this I can feel my body saying yes and surrender to this with a huge appreciation. What I can also feel is when I don’t choose this it’s a tug –of-war between the thoughts and the truth, with my body being pulled like the rope!
Wow, the simplicity with which you share “For what if true religion is actually the lived understanding of your own divine essence? What if every breath you take has the ability to remind you who you truly are? What if each and every moment of your life is divinely constellated to remind you who you truly are?” tells me you know this from your body, from living this way yourself and is inspirational. Thank you.
What a beautiful definition Leonne, thank you.
What a gorgeous expression of true religion and the divine intelligence we are part of.
Everything is forever constellated to support us to know who we are and return to living the grandness of that love.
True religion is a great treasure, it is connecting to knowing not doubting.
A beautoful reminder – in our darkest hours we are offered an oppotunity to turn away from the turmoil and suffering, the ‘what if’s’ and the ‘whys’ and seek out our own truth, our own connection to God. For me religion has become that simple, where every part of life is an oppotunity for communion with God, and therefor with everyone.
Leonne – you bring such a simplicity and clarity here. I really appreciate this sharing and how we can spend so much time in the if only when really – everything happens for a reason. There is a message in everything and it is up to us to keep on reading things. Everything is a lesson. We are forever students.
This is important HM, that we understand that we are forever students of our own lives and that in everything that is presented to us is a lesson for us to read and learn from.
Thinking, hoping and wishing things were another way to how they actually are is a great way to distract ourselves away from living and embracing – or at the very least, accepting, the moment we’re in, and taking responsibility for how we got there.
Great blog Leonne! If God is love which is undeniably is then He certainly is not one to have us live in regret and “if only” about the past especially if He is offering a new opportunity every moment of our day to learn and embrace more of who we truly are.
This is a big one Leonne for me, especially when it comes to something happening to my children, and I am sure it is for others as well. I know now more then any other time in my life their is an opportunity for learning and healing in every situation. I was recently talking with my husband about how we can get disappointed when something doesn’t come through as we hoped or getting caught in a picture of how a planned event should be like, only to have it change at the last minute… and how when we get caught up in this way of thinking it takes away the blessing or learning of why it did change and what it truly offered as a reflection.
The choice to connect with who we truly are is something we have in every moment – we can either move in union with our essence or choose the opposite. If we stay stuck in mulling over our past actions or inactions then we miss out on the choice we have now, in the present, to bring our way of living back to connection first and foremost.
This is true Fiona how when we stay stuck and mull over the past we miss what choices can be made now. What is right in front of us but we are missing? Life is a constant movement and choosing and indulging in the stuckness is a sure way to cause delay which hinders both our own and everybody elses evolution.
“If only…” is something I turn to when I do not want to connect with the all and focus on only that situation with no consideration of the bigger picture. It is then easier to blame and steer away from my part and the responsibility of my choices. However if I am aligned with the all and living in religion (in connection) with myself naturally I sense everything else and there is no blame or ‘if onlys’. Living in a Way that is True religion is much more of a freeing place to live from as then, as you say, “every moment of your life is divinely constellated to remind you who you truly are”.
Very true, Julie, and also it is very empowering to ‘Live in a Way that is True Religion’. This is so because by not blaming someone or something else for our life we are also not a victim but a co-creator of our life.
A beautifully sweet, and to the point blog Leonne. This stood out for me ‘For what if true religion is actually the lived understanding of your own divine essence?’ – it makes it all sound quite simple really, and indeed it is, no need to go anywhere to find God, all we have to do is look within with religious dedication and commitment to ourselves and voila, we are once again RE-connected to that something we disconnected to aeons ago, our Soul.
Today I was walking into my house after work contemplating how it will be and how I felt, then I stopped, my complete being in that instance felt the complete presence of God, it was a huge confirmation, a big ahhhhh. Then I knew all that was needed was to love love love and just express this feeling.
How gorgeous Harry… a beauty-full confirmation.
Love the simplicity of simply taking a stop moment, and the power and inspiration that can come from this one moment.
Harry that’s extraordinary and leads me to wonder how it will feel when the whole of humanity returns to that same understanding and that is that all that there is to do is to ‘love love love and just express that feeling’. How simple and how divinely sublime.
In a recent Well-Being for Women group hosted by Esoteric Women’s Health we explored a similar topic being how could our morning before the event have been ‘better’ I feel that all the focus on how previous moments could of been – or how they could of met our expectations completely blind us to the situation now before us and what we can be aware of in this moment. “What if each and every moment of your life is divinely constellated to remind you who you truly are?” It makes me wonder if this focus on the ‘better’ or ‘if only’s’ distracts us from this very point.
‘True Religion = No More ‘If Onlys’’ That takes away all the frustration, resentment, sadness and so on.
This is very clear ‘True religion is living the truth that you know with every last cell of your being’.
“True religion is living the truth that you know with every last cell of your being.” This is true commitment to life – embracing what we are here for. When we give up, check out, walk away from the truth, we are not really living life. But when we commit to life in full, then this is when divinity is more easily accessible and religion becomes a way of being that we live and breath, as you have shared, with every last cell of our being. Something so beautiful to feel, and for me to remind myself of and to practice more and more.
When we give up and check out there’s a numbness in everything we do that confirms the choice we made to disconnect. What supports me to feel connected again is the willingness and honesty to admit that I’m feeling ‘out’ and then committing to reestablishing a connection with my body.
Thank you Leonne, there are several parts to this short and simple blog that I really loved and this is one of them: “If you understand what religion truly is, then everything is religion.” – I had never considered it this way before, but it totally makes sense, but not only does it make sense it is something that makes me realise that I am indeed deeply religious in so many ways….To me what this asks or says is – do you have a relationship with the people and things and activities around you, do you see God in all that you do and everyone you encounter including yourself? I feel sadness as I write this for I notice there are moments upon moments when I have missed these opportunities of embracing the divinity in self and others, yet it is there every minute simply waiting to be captured. Just like now…another moment of divinity to be here with you, with the readers, with me.
This is a great point, Leonne, that brings into a more conscious relationship with the unavoidable law of cause and affect, and the grace of God’s love for us in giving us free will to choose how we live and what we align to. In simple terms, we are constantly learning from our choices – this is such a gift and nothing to recoil from.
This is so very true, once we do take the time to stop, we do know it all. It is just that we don’t want to know what we know, for we are then responsible for where we are in our lives. We then have some clear choices we can make. Ignore what we know and continue on the ‘spiral down the rabbit hole’ or allow ourselves the gift of humility and the grace of understanding, which is the precursor to the change that is needed.
Thanks Leonne, the “if only’s” only takes us away from being present with what we are currently doing. I know this one and it’s a trick we play out. We worry about what has happened and that makes us not present with what we are doing and hence creates further problems for us.
“What if each and every moment of your life is divinely constellated to remind you who you truly are?” Then in every moment we have an opportunity to deepen our awareness, our understanding and our connection to ourselves. This is my religion.
If that is the case, then life becomes a long string of opportunities.
True Leonne, we can turn inwards to the love we are, rather than look outwards to blame or wish ‘if only’. Great links you’ve set up for us to ponder religion more deeply, and found this gem, “Honouring the love you are in full and bringing that into full human life forms the basis of a new worldly religious way known as The Way of The Livingness.” by Serge Benhayon.
It is true, often in those moments of absolute despair having hit rock bottom we call on God for understanding of the bigger picture – it is in those moments that we know there is more to life but are calling out for a helping hand. We may not get the helping hand in the way we picture it, but something happens in that moment which is pivotal to change because we know deep down that life as we know it is not working.
Funny how we call on God when there is a problem. I have discovered that I can connect to God when things are absolutely amazing and from there discover that there is no limit to the awesomeness and expansion on offer. Why do we focus so much on the misery when joy is our true way?
Yes there is so much to appreciate as you say Nicola, we are surrounded everyday by magic of God moments and the more we see the more there is to see. So joyful.
Beautiful Leonne, “When you know true religion, there are no more ‘if onlys’.” This is true, whilst challenging situations may still occur in life and emotional responses inevitable, with true religion there are no more ‘if onlys’… just an openness to look at what is being shown and what needs to be learnt.
Yes, the moment I’ve gone into ‘if only’ I am a million miles from myself. And where I’ve landed ain’t very pretty…
Superb blog! Nothing happens without true reason and nobody or nothing can be blamed when the proverbial does hit the fan and the sooner we get to the understanding of this the more at one with religion we will be with ever cell of our body.
I love how solidly you have expressed true religion Leonie.
Leonne I love this quote from Serge “If you understand what religion truly is, then everything is religion.” It is so expansive. I used to live in the world of “if only” but today choosing to read and understand what goes on and why changes my entire relationship with life.
Everything is constellated perfectly to bring about opportunity for growth and evolution. If we need to experience something in order to evolve then we are given the opportunity to experience it. We can embrace it that way or we can go into wishing that the situation hadn’t occurred. The latter one wastes a great deal of energy and keeps us in misery. Why indulge in ‘if only’s’?.
“True religion is living the truth that you know with every last cell of your being.” Beautifully put, Leonne. For me, the emphasis is on ‘living’ that truth, not knowing it. That is religion!
yes, it is deeply felt in this blog isn’t it Naren? It took me to a deeper level of understanding in my body and I feel the pull to bring it into my day to day from this moment. This is religion.
If only I’d read this blog post yesterday 😉 A great write up on a reaction that many of us have when life deals us a card we don’t want or don’t expect, but require for a grander learning experience. Perspective helps, but a knowing, an understanding or an acceptance of why a situation takes place allows for a response rather than a reaction.
That is a beautiful quote from Serge Benhayon, Leonne. We have mastered confining religion to hats and ceremonies in places of worship, what Serge offers in this quote is the reconnection back to the fundamental truth of our origins and that religion is in everything we do as God is everywhere and in everything.
I love this, but why does it so often take a situation such as this for us to look at our divinity which is in truth constant and always there. I have often had this feeling when I feel all is going wrong and I fall back on what I know and can feel to be constant – this has led to the realisation of just how much I have attached to or how many images of life I hold which are in the way of this constant appreciation for my connection to the truth of all things and therefore religion.
When something terrible happens to us we blame God and go into a massive reaction against religion and God Himself. As much as we hate this bit, there is something called the law of Karma over which we have no control. We do not know the bills anybody has to pay in this life and when and how the bill will be paid at all. Karma, however, is a divine gift for all of us that allows us to harmonise what was left in plain disharmony. We withdraw from God because we refuse to see the big picture. From there, it is not hard to convince us that a small picture is a big one. Yet, in truth it is not. This is what we discover when we return to God, so to speak.
Well said Leonne Sharkey. It is one thing to reflect on our experiences and learn from them but quite another to go into the depths of regret and wishing it could have been different. What if there is always an opportunity in life, always another choice to be made, always a gift to be rediscovered? The apparently mundane in life may not be so mundane but filled with such opportunity.
There is always a choice we make to spiral into the ‘if only’s’, stay stuck in a period of regret, self bashing and turmoil trying to change a situation which is unchangeable. Or we can choose to move on, open up to the fact that it is our perception of the situation that is amplifying the turmoil and see the truth. It is the choice we take which then determines the quality of our living from there and nothing else.
“What if every breath you take has the ability to remind you who you truly are? ” I love this line, it reminds me how incredibly life is designed to support us to be true to who we are in every single moment, and with every single breath.
“There are no more ‘if only’s'” – only responsibility.
Everything that happens happens for a reason and therefor it is not giving us anything (except exhaustion) to wonder if we had only done… this or that.
“When you know true religion, there are no more ‘if onlys’.” Thank you Leonne, it is an awesome realisation to come to, the true knowing that all we experience is an opportunity for us to discover and connect to who we truly are, and hence the absolute truth of Serge Benhayon’s quote “If you understand what religion truly is, then everything is religion.”
This is a very profound blog Leonne. One that I will definitely read again because it offers much to ponder on. ‘What if every breath you take has the ability to remind you who you truly are? ‘ This is a really great question and its something that I have been focusing on lately that really brings me a steadiness – focusing in my breath.
“True religion is living the truth that you know with every last cell of your being. It is knowing that each and every moment you experience is a gift, no matter how horrifying or unfair it may seem at first glance.” How liberating this is Leonne, to know that there is so much more going on than simply what is before us in any situation that brings us to a complete stop, and that there is a much bigger purpose to life and death than we are led to believe. If we were all able to fully understand this, it would dramatically change the way we dealt with the more challenging situations that happen to us in our lives.
It is true Leonne, how often do we turn to God when all else fails when we are on our knees and desperate. How often do people say they have found God and turned to religion in their darkest hour. . I know I have done this not knowing that God was there all along, waiting for me to connect. Knowing that everything is religion, was at first not so easy for me to grasp, but to know God is in everything, he is beside me, around me, in front of me, behind me and in everything I touch is something I am learning to accept and build on.
When we connect to our essence we banish the ‘if only’ and have an innate understanding that does not allow for any doubt. Choosing to live in this way is true religion and does not need any dogma or rules because it comes from how we are with our bodies and the intelligence we can access from there. The mystery is why we ever choose to deny this?
When “each and every moment you experience is a gift, no matter how horrifying or unfair it may seem at first glance” there are no more ‘if onlys’.
Torturing ourselves with ‘if only’ – I hadn’t thought about it like that, but it’s so true. It’s an avoidance technique that keeps us indulging in the un-truth we think we are being subjected to. We are constantly being offered an opportunity to be with God and it’s a choice away.
Learning to live without ‘if only’ is to appreciate that every choice we make has consequences and true religion is to develop a way of living that brings us lovingly back to the Divine being we are.
Wow, this is a short and poignant description of life, simple and sobering, no long explanations needed. Beautiful Leonne.
Understanding there is divine order to all things good, bad or ugly, supports us to respond more responsibly and wisely to all that life presents.
Indeed Leonne, life is as it presents itself any moment of the day and it is up to us to appreciate that what it brings to us and eventually to understand that life is religion, reconnecting us to our divine origin with every step we make.
I shed some tears reading my own blog today. These words I remind me that we are always being supported, even when the opposite seems true. There is no point looking backwards or forwards – we can connect to the divine source we are from when we choose to be present.
Getting stuck in “if only” is indeed a nightmare. It affects our health and wellbeing and makes us miserable. Life is as it is through our choices and the more we accept our choices and bring understanding to them then the less we will live in regret.
It’s like all we get is a continual stream of gifts – its just our unwillingness to see the healing that they offer, that converts them to horrible things. If we just knew how connected and interlinked the work truly is, wow, how then would we choose to live? God is so much kinder than we ever consider. Thank you Leonne.
I am sure that there are many of us who can relate so easily to jumping “down the spiralling rabbit hole of ‘if onlys’” many times in our lives, often remaining there beating ourselves up for quite some time. And as for the cries of ‘help me God’ in my moments of despair, yes there were many of those too. But to come to know that I don’t need to call for God in these darkest of times, or in fact any time, as now I know that God is always with me and that despite what I used to think, he always has been; I had simply forgotten.
“When life brings us to our knees, we are offered a choice” – so true Leonne, and I can see how we – with entertainment and glamour – try to become more and more unaware of how far we are already on our knees. We use medicine, pills, we use TV, food and games to not feel what we can not not feel in the end – and that we have been on our knees since ages. But every now and then we become aware of it, be it with an illness or emotional pain (what a blessing!). But why wait for these extremes? To come back to try religion we do not have to suffer. It is just a choice away and we are connected again.
“…What if every breath you take has the ability to remind you who you truly are? …” Gosh … How can we then forget!…
True religion is so inspiring and what you’ve shared Leonne is brilliant and very relatable. I am learning to stop torturing myself with ‘if only’ thoughts and choose to live life with purpose and no regrets or self-bashing but a deep love and knowing that God is always with me.
Leonne, this is an inspiring and powerful blog to read. Appreciation of constellations in this way and the simplicity of being with oneself in full, breathing one’s own breath, is to have a true knowing of God – something solid in foundation with nothing nebulous about it in any way.
“What if every breath you take has the ability to remind you who you truly are? What if each and every moment of your life is divinely constellated to remind you who you truly are?”