Enter Within Yourself

You are in the presence of eternal love, loving you.

The great Spanish Carmelite mystic John of the Cross (1542-1591) may be best known for his luminous poetry and mystical books like The Dark Night of the Soul, but one of the easiest ways to encounter his wisdom is through a series of 175 aphorisms known as The Sayings of Light and Love. This collection of contemplative maxims is reminiscent of mystical classics like the Gospel of Thomas or the Sayings of the Desert Mothers and Fathers.

Here is saying #90:

Enter within yourself and work in the presence of your Bridegroom, who is ever present loving you.

Some readers in our day may recoil at the gendered eroticism embedded in John’s calling God the “bridegroom,” but I think it’s important to remember that John was inspired by the Biblical love poem, the Song of Songs.

God, our bridegroom? You bet: for it means not that God is male, or that we are “brides,” but simply that the abundant love that the Spirit of Life pours into each of our souls is as beautiful and magnificent as the passionate love that newlyweds joyfully give to one another.

John invites us to “go within.” Sink into the silence between every thought and every heartbeat. There you will find the One who is ever present loving you.

These are important words, and deserve our careful attention — and our continual savoring.

The Spirit is ever present. God does not come and go from our hearts, like tourists come and go from the hotels where they are staying while on vacation. God’s presence is stable, and all that changes is the measure of our awareness of that ever-present presence. Meanwhile, in that stable presence, the Spirit is loving you. Not judging you, not condemning you, not nagging you to be better or different. Yes, God continually calls us to compassion, integrity, and authenticity: but this is a call emerging from love, not from wrath.

You are always being loved. Imagine that every heartbeat within you is simply another proclamation of how deeply you are loved, whether you feel it or not. You are loved. Now: go live a life that embodies and shares that love.