Hello everyone, and welcome back to Awakening the Divine Within. In our last episode, we talked about The Great Forgetting—how humanity has forgotten its divine nature. Today I want to look at one of the consequences of that forgetting.
When we lose awareness of the divine presence within ourselves, we begin searching everywhere else for what we think will make us whole. And that brings us to today’s topic: Why People Search Everywhere Except Within.
Think about how much of our lives are spent searching. We search for happiness. We search for love. We search for success. We search for security. We search for recognition. We search for someone who will finally understand us.
And increasingly, we search for answers. We search the Internet. We search social media. We listen to podcasts. We watch videos. We read books. And there is certainly nothing wrong with learning from other people. In fact, good teaching can change our lives.
But there comes a point on the spiritual path when we have to stop asking everyone else who we are and begin discovering the answer within ourselves. Because there is one place modern society rarely teaches us to look: within.
From the time we’re very young, we’re trained to pay attention to the outer world. How am I doing? What do other people think of me? Am I successful? Am I attractive? Do I have enough money? Do people approve of me? Am I keeping up with everyone else?
And today social media has magnified this tremendously. We can compare our lives with hundreds or even thousands of other people every day. And the problem is that we are often comparing our private struggles with someone else’s public image.
Then we wonder why we don’t feel good enough. But there is an even deeper spiritual problem. When our attention is constantly directed outward, we lose contact with the quiet voice within.
God is not merely a distant being somewhere outside of you. There is a divine presence within you. Jesus said it very simply: “The kingdom of God is within you.”
Think about what that means. The kingdom is not merely something we hope to enter after we die. Jesus was pointing to a spiritual reality that can be discovered within consciousness. And yet how often do we actually go there?
Many people are uncomfortable with silence. The moment things become quiet, we reach for the phone. We turn on the television. We play music. We check messages. We find something to do. We fill every empty space with noise.
And sometimes I wonder whether we are afraid of what we might discover if everything became quiet. Because in silence, we begin meeting ourselves. We encounter thoughts we’ve been avoiding. Feelings we’ve pushed aside. Questions we’ve been too busy to ask.
And sometimes, underneath all of that, we begin to sense something else. A presence. An inner knowing. A quiet sense that there is something greater within us.
The spiritual path requires us to develop a relationship with that inner reality. Prayer is part of that. Meditation is part of that. Contemplation is part of that. But even simply becoming quiet for a few minutes can begin changing our relationship with ourselves.
And I want to make an important distinction here. Going within does not mean that every thought or feeling that comes into our mind is automatically divine guidance.
We all have fears. We all have desires. We all have emotional reactions. That is why spiritual discernment is so important. We learn gradually to recognize the difference between the voice of fear and the voice of wisdom.
Fear usually feels urgent. The ego often demands. Anger reacts. But the higher self has a different quality. It may correct us, sometimes very firmly, but there is clarity in it.
There is wisdom. There is a sense of inner knowing. And learning to recognize that guidance takes practice. I sometimes think of it like tuning a radio. If there is too much static, you can’t hear the station clearly.
And many of us have tremendous static in our consciousness. Worry. Busyness. Resentment. Fear. Constant information. Other people’s opinions. All of that creates noise. Spiritual practice helps us reduce the noise so that we can hear something higher.
This is why prayer, quiet meditation, decrees and understanding the power of the spoken word is so important. We call it the science of the spoken word and it has been practiced for centuries in various traditions by those on the spiritual path. And there is much modern scientific experiments that demonstrate this. These practices help us turn our attention away from the constant pull of the outer world and reconnect with the divine.
But here’s something else I think is important. Going within does not mean withdrawing from life. It doesn’t mean ignoring responsibilities. It doesn’t mean becoming passive. In fact, the opposite should happen.
When we become more connected with our higher self, we should become more effective in the world. More loving. More discerning. More purposeful. More courageous. More capable of making wise decisions.
The purpose of going within is not to escape life. It is to discover how to live life from a higher level of consciousness. And I think that is something our world desperately needs.
People who are not simply reacting to everything around them. People who have an inner center. People who can become quiet enough to ask: “What is the right thing to do?” “What is the loving thing to do?” “What is the wise thing to do?” “What is my higher self trying to teach me?”
Imagine how different our relationships would be if we did that before reacting. Imagine how different our families would be. Our workplaces. Our communities. And even our world.
So I want to give you a very simple practice today. Find five minutes. That’s all. Five minutes without your phone. Without television. Without music. Without doing anything else.
Sit quietly. Take a few slow, deep breaths. And then simply say inwardly: “God, help me become aware of your presence within me.” And then be quiet. Don’t demand an answer. Don’t try to manufacture an experience. Just be, just listen.
You may feel something. You may feel nothing. That’s okay. The important thing is that you are beginning to create space for a relationship that modern life rarely encourages us to develop: a relationship with the divine presence within.
Because ultimately, the spiritual journey is not about endlessly searching outside ourselves for someone who can tell us who we are.
Good teachers can point the way. Jesus can show us the path. The ascended masters can teach us. But eventually, we have to walk that path ourselves. And that path leads inward before it leads upward.
So I’ll leave you with this question: How much of your life have you spent searching outside yourself for something your soul has been quietly waiting for you to discover within?
Thank you for joining me for this episode of Awakening the Divine Within. Until next time, remember: You don’t have to leave your life to find God. You just have to learn to recognize the divine presence that has been with you all along.
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Click here to learn more about the science of the spoken word and the power your words have.
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