My Connection to God and Finding Real Religion

I read a blog recently about some of the beliefs we are raised with around God and the link between depression and feeling worthless, and it made me consider my own experience growing up.

For me, the God I grew up with was either mean and punishing or worse, powerless and non-existent. Both my parents were brought up by practising Catholics and also Lutherans, and in my family there was either no God, or for some family members if there was, he was to blame for all the woes they believed that beset them.

I looked out as a teenager at the suffering and emptiness around me and thought, maybe they were right. Or, if they weren’t, I didn’t feel I had access to God or love.

Continue reading “My Connection to God and Finding Real Religion”

Experiencing the Magic of God in Daily Life

I’ve recently begun to realise more and more how the magic of God surrounds us every day and that there are messages to behold in the most obvious and unobvious of places. The messages are there for everyone; they are not given to a chosen few or those aligned to certain religious beliefs and you do not have to be special or gifted.

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The Magic of Nature, the Magic of God and Me

A while ago I had a revelation…. about the magic of nature and the magic of God.

I had taken a client to an appointment and was sitting in the waiting room. As I sat there waiting for her, I saw a picture on the wall of willow trees hanging over and into the water on either side of a river. It reminded me of my grandparents’ farm on the Shoalhaven River and how behind the island, which was part of their farm, the willows used to hang over the water. As the water flowed by, the lower leaves would glide across the water and you could see the shingles on the bottom, as the water was so crystal clear. The sunlight used to sparkle on the water and I remembered how much I always wanted to go into the water because it was so beautiful.

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Knowing I am a Son of God: Inspired by the Full Moon

Recently I have been feeling how I don’t often see myself as a Son of God or feel that I have a strong connection to God or to Religion in the true sense of the word.

During the recent August full moon I decided to take a walk. At the start of my walk my mind was full of doubts – is it the full moon tonight or have I got it wrong? But after a while I decided that the number of times I consciously take time out of my day to do something to connect to myself are very few, and even fewer are the times when I connect to the fact I am a son of God, so I wasn’t going to spoil it by spending the whole walk worrying. Continue reading “Knowing I am a Son of God: Inspired by the Full Moon”

Who or What is God?

As a small child I was brought up by a Catholic mum and a Church of England dad; I was sent to Catholic boarding school when I was seven where there was a beautiful chapel with candles and incense and I would spend many hours in there singing in the choir, attending services, praying or simply enjoying the sensory experience.

I grew up believing that God was separate from us. We were taught that he was a giant being who created us, who sat on a big throne in Heaven and judged and punished us. I grew up with ideals and beliefs that said that I must be ‘good’, otherwise I would go straight to Hell when I died… or if I wasn’t completely bad a not-quite-so-hellish place called Purgatory. So I tried to be good and when I failed I’d go to confession and say the Hail Marys that would absolve me from my sins and let me start again.

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God is in the Detail

A beauty-full friend recently said to me “God is in the details.” I laughed and said I’ve only ever heard the idiom “the devil’s in the details,” and never understood it. Detail has always made sense to me, it supports me to feel very centred and still, so how could it be a bad thing?

I realised I had just been presented with the truth… God really is in the details. Continue reading “God is in the Detail”