True Grace

Grace strikes us when we are in great pain and restlessness. It strikes us when we walk through the dark valley of a meaningless and empty life. It strikes us when we feel that our separation is deeper than usual, because we have violated another life, a life which we loved, or from which we were estranged. It strikes us when our disgust for our own being, our indifference, our weakness, our hostility, and our lack of direction and composure have become intolerable to us. It strikes us when, year after year, the longed-for perfection of life does not appear, when the old compulsions reign within us as they have for decades, when despair destroys all joy and courage.

-    Paul Tillich

Grace is not some antiquated notion from our pre-modern past.  Nor is it something that we can achieve through hard work and moral behavior.  One the other hand, grace is not denied to us because we are unworthy or unlucky.  Grace is simply an awakening, however momentary, to our true nature.  Spirit momentarily breaks through the fearful illusions of ego and reveals love.

It is wonderful to be in a state of grace.  Life flows joyously.  Worries seem insignificant.  We feel loved and admired.  But sometimes we feel like we are in disgrace where nothing seems to work and we are rejects of the universe.  It seldom occurs to us that it is all in our minds.  There is never a time when we are not connected to our source.

Disgrace is the illusion of separation maintained by the ego.  It is based in our own judgments.  When we judge ourselves and others we reinforce the sense of duality.  We are sucked into the cycle of samsara, conditioned by original sin.  When we ride that cycle we are headed for the territory of anxiety, separation, sickness and death.  Of course there is always rebirth so we can do it all again.

Many people turn to spiritual practice in an attempt to purify themselves.  This is not a bad idea really as long as we are willing to face our arrogance, aggression and ignorance.  Meditation helps us to relax our defenses and open to grace. 

Ultimately, grace is the realization that we are perfect within ourselves.  There is no sin and there is no sinner.  There is neither grace nor disgrace.  There is just pure being-presence. 

Paul Tillich wrote, “You are accepted. You are accepted, accepted by that which is greater than you and the name of which you do not know.”  Grace allows us to let go of the past, resentment and self-condemnation.  In grace we are truly born anew.