Finding God in all things

Most of the confusing and overwhelming times, a swindling thought always exists in my consciousness: a question I cannot seem to have a certain response. Where will my reality meet my spirituality? How can I make sense physically the mysteries of the universe? Is there really a practical way of living a spiritual life? In what way can I integrate the ancient wisdom, in today’s modern challenged life? Where is spirituality in my daily living? How can I be more real in this existence, both human and spirit?

Opening the circle gently with the thought in mind, that there might be questions not meant to be answered, some might not even lead or arrive at an absolute answer, rather an invitation to fully experience the moments of authentic questioning and disbelief, and to appreciate the desire to know without certainty. To embrace the overwhelming confusion as it is, to see it as it is. Not having an answer as the answer, and to let the question be the answer itself.

As they say that spirituality meets us where we are. Currently going through a period of my spiritual journey, hoping and praying to the Great Spirit that my spirituality will evolve to be practical, realistic and functional. And to intend and see spirituality in the faces of people both old and young in their day to day lives: in my own home, community that I belong, the career I am working with and today’s world I am existing. To find God in all things, to find the ordinary in the extraordinary, the magick in the mundane.

We often find our methods of spirituality to be very different and unique, to be challenging to established religious doctrines, to be non-conforming, to be more often enigmatic and paradoxical, even magical, superstitious, out of this world or miraculous. We may come from different spiritualities and beliefs, yet we all deal with the same reality of our polarized world we are in now: facing with so much humanitarian divide and political challenges. And our individual lives are also impacted by the greater collective. In all of these, where is our spirituality standing? How can ancient spirituality makes sense in today’s reality?

We begin to pose the question, what is the reality in today’s world? Pedram Shojai described “as not very quiet and seldom peaceful. We have mortgages, leases, tuition, and cars to keep gassing up. We need a different set of guiding principles to help us navigate a world with money, with stress, with compressed time, and with lots of other people vying for our attention. So how are we to find our serenity and keep our things together down here where we live? Stress, time, poverty, lack of energy, sleep issues, stagnant lifestyles, poor diets, disconnection with nature, loneliness, money issues, and lack of meaning and purpose. Divorces happen. People die. Kids get into trouble with drugs. Couples have trouble getting pregnant. This is life down here in the cities, and this is where we need help. Let’s forget the lofty spiritual stuff for a minute and get down to earth. Once we’ve gotten our shit together here at home, then yes, there’s an amazing realm of mysticism to explore, but let’s start where we stand, where we suffer. Let’s learn how to get out of our own way and be the people we’re destined to be right here from our homes, offices, and even during our long commutes.”

The foundation of my way of proceeding in this life was greatly influenced with my six years Jesuit formation in Ateneo, moved by the life and writings of Saint Ignatius de Loyola, the saint of spiritual practicality who founded the Society of Jesus. Ignatius was born in the Basque region of Spain in 1491, the youngest son of a minor nobleman. A soldier and courtier in Spain, he was driven by a desire for fame, honor and nobility. While defending a castle in Pamplona against a French siege, however, he was struck by a cannonball that shattered his leg and left him bedridden for months. Out of boredom during his recovery, he turned to the only books available in the castle’s limited library — the life of Christ and the lives of the saints. This resulted in a deep desire to serve God. Ignatius began to travel widely — begging, preaching and caring for the poor and the sick. Along the way, he recorded his spiritual insights and methods of prayer in a manual that later became the Spiritual Exercises. This handbook provides the paradigm for a spirituality and pedagogy that Jesuits and their lay colleagues continue to use to this day. The same religious order owns and administers Jesuits schools all over the world, and in the Philippines, all of the Ateneo’s. Pope Francis is the first ever elected Jesuit Pope in history, bringing religious reformation to the Roman Catholic Church.

Jesuits can be described simply by this religious joke:

Jesuits believe that the way of Ignatius means there is nothing in our lives that is not part of our spiritual lives. The way of Ignatius is about finding freedom: the freedom to become the person you’re meant to be, to love and to accept love, to make good decisions, and to experience the beauty of creation. It considers everything an important element of your life. That includes religious services, sacred scriptures, prayer, and charitable works, to be sure, but it also includes friends, family, work, relationships, sex, suffering, and joy, as well as nature, music, and pop culture. One insight of Ignatian spirituality is that while peace and quiet are essential to nourish our spiritual lives, most of us aren’t going to quit our jobs and join a monastery to spend our days in constant prayer. Most of us lead busy lives with little time for prayer and meditation. But by being aware of the world around us — in the midst of our activity — we can allow a contemplative stance to inform our actions. Instead of seeing spiritual life as one that can exist only if it is enclosed by the walls of a monastery, Ignatius asks you to see the world as your monastery.

This is where I am coming from, in my own truth that to be spiritual is not going out of reality but to be more rooted to it. As early Christians taught us the very essence of Christ becoming man. Christ met us where we were. He taught us how to dine with the sinner, to preach the gospel to the gentiles, showing compassion to the sick, forgiving those who hurt us, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. He taught how it is to live life in love.

How do I know what I’m supposed to do in life?
How do I know who I’m supposed to be?
How do I make good decisions?
How can I live a simple life?
How can I be a good friend?
How can I face suffering?
How can I be happy?
How can I find God?
How do I pray?
How do I love?

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