Those who know God in their hearts also know that there is a dimension to existence that cannot be rationally expressed. There is a knowing that cannot be defined by words. A truth to every experience that is undeniably self evident; a consciousness in the world that pervades and connects everything.

Why are some blind, and why do some see? What stops a person from fully submitting to the experience of God? And what makes a prophet -- simply one who is overly moved by the Spirit, or is there more, is there a greater level of spiritual knowing than what is evident in the lives of so many believers?

There is a difference between belief and knowing.

There is a difference between analyzing and accepting.

The mind is our greatest tool, and our greatest deceiver. It is not by our thoughts that we come to know God, but through our actions. If we could know God by thought alone, it would imply that God exists in our thoughts alone. But that is not true. God exists far less in our minds, and far more in our physical reality, but we do not see it because we are too limited. We are trapped by our concept of man as "master of nature," but man is master of nothing. Man is blind. Seeing God requires that we look past what our minds perceive, and experience God's presence in the deepest chambers of ourselves.

You can't tell me there is no God when we are sitting inside an ocean of it. You can't tell me that God does not answer prayers when everything I have ever asked for has been given to me. You can't make God into a "half there, half not there" presence, who structures the universe but does not involve itself in the drama of man. God is nature. God is man. God is life. God is our source, and God is love.

When believing in God, people focus too much on prayer. They think answered prayers are evidence of God. When someone prays for something very specific and then receives it, that means God is "real." When someone prays and does not receive it, that means God is "not real." People see God in terms of what they can get.

But to know God, one must only be focused on serving and giving; when one serves and gives generously, their prayers are answered by default. It is just as easy to forget our answered prayers as it is to have never received them. Faith should not be based on answered or unanswered prayers, because in the long run, that is a very small part of our relationship with God. Belief must be based on the internal state of one's heart.

Healing

Healing is hard, but it is not something we need to be afraid of.

I think the reason why a lot of people hide from their problems or suppress emotions is because facing them can be a very painful experience. In some cases, it can be downright excruciating, to the point where we end up carrying our baggage for our entire life. We need to get out of the habit of running from ourselves, or looking the other way. If we have deep emotional pain, it needs to be recognized and given an outlet.

This is where God comes in. It is far easier to face down our worst experiences if we have God to hold onto. Trusting that God is with us, that God is aware of our pain and helping us heal, gives us the strength to face our deepest fears and actively begin healing ourselves. When we believe that God is helping us on a road to recovery, we begin to believe that the whole world is arranged to heal us. When we believe we are being healed, we become healed.

It's not a question of whether or not healing comes from you or God. Everything is God. Trust God to bring you to a place where you can heal.

3 Steps to an Awesome Life

How to live an awesome life:

1) Want what you have.

2) Always apologize first.

3) Walk on the grass.

Listening

When we sing in praise, when we ask and pray, we give our yearning heart to God. Yet sometimes, we are so caught up in praise and yearning, in asking and wondering and looking, that we overlook what is right in front of us. It is easy to forget that to really feel God's presence, and to hear God's words, we must be silent.

Turn off the music and listen.