Do you Believe in a Higher Power?
Embracing Faith with an Open Heart and an Open Mind
Like the majority of Slovakians during the time when it was a Communist country, I grew up as a “non-believer.” I didn’t have dreams, but I had goals that depended solely upon discipline, willpower, logic, common sense, academic thinking, and “I’ll believe it when I see it.” All these attributes had served me very well thus far: I was excelling in school, learning was easy for me, I was accepted into an excellent and hard-to-get-into college, I graduated with Honors, and I earned my Degree Diploma. But I also looked down upon people who believed in God, and I judged them as being “unsophisticated.” I thought to myself, “Why do I need God if I can figure out everything on my own?”
Then, I came to the USA. However, the plan did not go as it was supposed to, and I ended up walking down Santa Monica Boulevard in California with my two huge suitcases, barely speaking any English, with less than $100 in my wallet…and I didn’t know anyone. I had no idea where I was going to sleep that night.
My diploma and my academic thinking were useless. I didn’t see any way out of my situation other than dropping to my knees and praying. I was still skeptical, but I was also very humble. And sure enough, help came. After that, I started opening my mind a little more: “Maybe there is a God.” Weeks went by, and as I slowly opened the door to the possibility of such a “thing” as God, someone offered me the book A Return to Love by Marianne Williamson. At first, I wanted to say “Thank you, but no thank you.” I was hesitant to even accept the gift, because I would’ve never before touched a book containing the word “God.”
However, one evening, I sat down and opened up the book. And I didn’t stop reading until I finished it. As I began to read, I started experiencing “strange” things. In some parts of the book, the author described personal experiences from her own spiritual awakening — and they felt immediately familiar, as if they were my very own experiences. It was as if I already knew what her next sentence would say. It felt like I already knew which way to turn, left or right, which door to open, which stairs to take. I whispered to myself: “I know this place! I’ve been here! This is my true HOME!” I was returning HOME! There were some parts of the book in which the words and the sentences felt so good that I still cannot find the right words to describe them. I was crying with joy. I didn’t understand this type of crying, and it felt very foreign to me to be crying from happiness–because I typically only cried when someone passed away or because of physical pain (which rarely happened). This was my very first experience, with many more to come, of a blissful cry.
Reading Ms. Williamson’s empowering spiritual words provoked a shift within me. I wanted to shower myself with all the beautiful words, to feel that joy and His divine power. I finally understood why, growing up, we were not allowed to read the Bible or any other spiritual books. I could see how some people were afraid of the unlimited hope which divine power bestows upon the faithful.
But my most significant realization was that, despite all these obstacles, I was still able to re-remember Whose I truly am. I realized that our job here is not to learn (because we already KNOW), but to re-remember WHO we truly are, and who everyone else is as well.
Following my return HOME, my point of view changed dramatically. When I say “dramatically,” I mean that so many things became clear. Thanks to my broader, better “view,” my new perspective, I was able to connect some dots and complete some puzzles which had previously eluded me–including my academic knowledge and understanding of science.
Here’s an example. Last year, I had to refresh my knowledge by dusting off my notes on the Cellular Respiratory System in order to help my son with his science homework. I am a science teacher, so it wasn’t a challenge; I just needed to learn some new terminology, since I attended college years ago in Slovakia where my lessons were obviously not delivered in English. However, when I studied this topic back in college, I had taken in all of the information as a person who didn’t believe in God — and, as I said, who actually looked down upon spiritual people. I had never taken the time to appreciate the enormous complexity of the mitochondria (human and animal cells’ respiratory systems) from glycolysis, the Krebs cycle, and oxidative phosphorylation with electron transportation — for which the final products are energy and carbon dioxide. I had previously taken in all this information as a matter-of-fact. I had never paused to think about Who could have possibly designed such perfection.
If you really think about it (and if you look up “Cellular Respiration” videos on the Khan Academy website), you MUST admit that this incredible system could never, ever have been created by any human engineer. And then, there is the plant cell’s system, in the chloroplast, which houses another complex chain process with oxygen as the final product. How genius is that? If humans’ and plants’ final respiratory products were the same, then we would all be fighting for the same survival tools. Who could ever have thought to create such a complex and detailed “project” as LIFE?
The plants, trees, animals, and humans are all different sizes, shapes, and colors — but we are all connected and dependent upon each other. Humans would not survive without plants, and one person would not survive (in a healthy mental state) without other humans. Therefore, in order to survive, we need two elements: Oxygen, and Love.
Throughout college, I was constantly fascinated by the human body. I wanted to learn about everything from hormones and enzymes to organs and systems, so I could actually understand (and then fully control) my body. However, the more I studied, the more I realized I was missing something — something fundamental and huge. I had never considered (or even thought about) “THE CREATOR” of this complex and beyond-belief design called YOU or ME.
Yes, we are complex beings, but our survival tools are very simple: Breathing, and Love.
I used to think that our strategy for survival is competition; however, now, because of my “higher view,” I KNOW it is cooperation. What an ordinary realization about an extraordinary creation.
KEY WORDS:
Embracing faith
Open heart, open mind
Spirituality for empowerment
Please reach out to me to discuss more about my spiritual journey at: heavenlybodyafter40@gmail.com
