Photo Credit: Davide Cantelli

This training was given at the Boundless Love Project’s weekly group meditation (now virtual due to the pandemic) on 3.24.2020. We make it available here in audio, video, or article format for your convenience. This talk is part of The Wisdom of Peace Pilgrim training series.

BEFORE YOU START: Please grab a piece of paper and pen or pencil. If you have the book, Peace Pilgrim: Her Life and Times in Her Own Words, get that as well. (If you don’t have her book, please order a free copy of it here). Thank you.

Audio Version

We invite you to listen to the Feel the Love Meditation that was presented before the talk.

Video Version

Fast forward the video to 8:40 for the start of the virtual meeting.

Article Version: Understanding God (Love)

"God never guides us to break divine law, and if such a negative guidance comes to us we can be sure it is not from God" (p. 11). These words come from Peace Pilgrim and our found in her book Peace Pilgrim: Her Life and Work in Her Own Words. This book was created by her friends after she passed to "a freer life" in 1981. They gathered her writings and transcripts of her talks and put them in a book form. In today's talk, I hope to introduce you to what Peace Pilgrim's means when she says God.

Her understanding of God is that God is love, truth, wisdom, beauty, joy, compassion, and life. God is the intelligence that created all things, and is in all things, and brings all things to life. God also created the physical and spiritual laws that govern the universe. God animates your body, and is your deepest and truest self. God wants all life to be happy and peaceful.

Corrupted Wisdom Traditions Do Great Harm

But before we go any further, I want to acknowledge a painful reality. Wisdom traditions exist to inspire us to unite, uplift, and serve each other and all life. But if corrupted, wisdom traditions are used to divide, judge, discriminate, devalue, and harm one another.

Many of us have been burned by corrupted forms of wisdom traditions. Wisdom traditions have been, and still are, weaponized to belittle, demean, degrade, and justify harming and killing people of color; women; members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community; people who belong to other wisdom traditions; or people who are considered to be heathens by the tradition.

In addition to these broad groups that have been persecuted, some of us grew up in a wisdom tradition that was judgmental and punitive. Some of us have been victimized by teachers or members of wisdom traditions. Out of self-preservation, or self-respect, we may have had to flee from the religious wisdom tradition we grew up in.

As a result, talking about God can be very uncomfortable for those of us who have experienced trauma and persecution from religious wisdom traditions and their practitioners. Such persecution led to the creation of the ironic prayer: "Dear Jesus, please save me from your followers."

Because God-talk can be so off-putting and trauma-inducing for people, at the Boundless Love Project, we generally avoid it in an effort to make our teachings welcoming and inclusive to all people. To this end, we have created several nonsectarian trainings where God is never mentioned.

However, we want to honor, celebrate, and teach the wisdom of Peace Pilgrim. Peace Pilgrim was a U.S.-born, advocate for peace. Owning only a few possession that she carried with her, she walked penniless for 28 years in an effort to promote peace between nations, peace between people, peace between people and animals, and peace between people and the environment. She walked until given shelter. She fasted until given food. She was fearless, intelligent, and most likely fully enlightened.

Although she was nonsectarian, she does mention God a lot. So in this talk, I want to explore what she means when she says God. By doing this, I hope that those of us who cringe at God-talk may be pleasantly surprised by her definition and understanding of God. But if that is not the case, then please, please, please whenever "God" is mentioned, substitute it with another word or phrase that is more to your liking, such as: love, life, truth, universe, source, conscience, inner wisdom, true self, great mystery, and so on.

Peace Pilgrim has so much knowledge and wisdom to share with us, and we can really benefit from it. So I invite you to please do what you have to do to make her teachings more accessible for yourself. Also, as with everything we teach, please use the info that helps, serves, and benefits you, and ignore that info which does not.

How do You Understand God?

Let's start by taking out a piece of paper. Draw a line down the middle creating two columns. In the first column, I want you to list the qualities and characteristics of God, as you understand them to be.

List as many aspects of God that you can think of. They can be positive or negative aspects. That is fine. You may find some aspects to be in conflict with each other. No problem. Just write what you think. Let's take a few minutes to do this now.

* * *

Great. Now that we have done that, in the second column, for each aspect, I want you to gently remember where you got that idea about God from, and write that down? Was it from a person like your mom or dad? Was is from reading the Bible or another book? Was it from some other source. Calmly reflect on this for a few minutes and write it down.

* * *

Thank you for doing that. We will come back to your list later.

Peace Pilgrim's Understanding of God

Now that you are clear on your understanding of God, and where that understanding came from, I want to share with you Peace Pilgrim's answers to these questions. (If you have a book, you can join me in reading on page 140, about three-quarters down the page.) Here is how Peace Pilgrim responded to someone who asked her "What is God?"

We lump together all things that are beyond the capacity of all of us collectively to understand--and one name we give to all those things together is God. Therefore, God is the creative force, the sustaining power, that which motivates toward constant change, the overall intelligence which governs the universe by physical and spiritual law, truth, love, goodness, kindness, beauty, the ever-present, all-pervading essence or spirit, which binds everything in the universe together and gives life to everything in the universe (p. 140).

Wow! She packs a lot into her definition of God. Don't worry if you didn't catch it all, as we will go over it all again later.

What often strikes me by her definition, is what was not said. She did not say God is an angry, jealous, vengeful God. She did not say God is a punitive, judging, condemning God. Nor did she say God was an old white man in the clouds. These ideas exist and are promoted by some, but not by her. If you had these kinds of definitions of God in your list, notice what the source of that information was.

In contrast, she says God is love, truth, beauty, kindness, and the essence which animates all life and binds us all together. This is why we can substitute the words love, truth, and life when we hear the word God, and be entirely accurate. And because the source of our being is God, we can also substitute the word "conscience," "inner wisdom" or "true self" for God as well.

She also mentions that God is the intelligence that drives all creation, all physical laws, and all spiritual laws. We will go into this deeper a little later.

For now, of what you do remember of her definition, how does it compare to your own? What are the similarities? What are the differences? Spend a moment peacefully reflecting on this.

* * *

Peace Pilgrim Understands God from Personal Experience

Now that we have heard Peace Pilgrim's definition, let's figure out where she got that definition from. What's amazing to me, is that she got her understanding of God directly through investigation and personal experience, not from books and teachers. If you have her book handy, you can join me on page 1 of your book, to read her story of how she learned about God.

I HAD A VERY FAVORABLE BEGINNING, although many of you might not think so. I was born poor on a small farm on the outskirts of a small town, and I'm thankful for that. I was happy in my childhood. I had a woods to play in and a creek to swim in and room to grow. I wish that every child could have growing space because I think children are a little like plants. If they grow too close together they become thin and sickly and never obtain maximum growth. We need room to grow.

We begin to prepare for the work that we have to do and customarily we have no idea what we are preparing for. So as a child I had no idea what I was preparing for. And yet, of course, I was in many respects preparing. I was preparing for the pilgrimage when I chose my rule of 'first things first' and began to set priorities in my life. It led to a very orderly life and it taught me self discipline - a very valuable lesson, without which I could never have walked a pilgrimage. I carried it right into my adult life.

I received no formal religious training as a child. (It would be less that I would have to undo from my mind later on!) My first view inside a church was when I was twelve years old and I looked through the doorway of a Catholic church to watch janitors clean the cathedral. When I was sixteen I entered a church for the first time to attend a wedding.

When I was a senior in high school I began to make my search for God, but all my efforts were in an outward direction. I went about inquiring, "What is God? What is God?" I was most inquisitive and I asked many questions of many people, but I never received any answers! However, I was not about to give up. Intellectually I could not find God on the outside, so I tried another approach. I took a long walk with my dog and pondered deeply upon the question. Then I went to bed and slept over it. And in the morning I had my answer from the inside, through a still small voice.

Now my high school answer was a very simple answer -- that we human beings just lump together everything in the universe which is beyond the capacity of all of us, and to all those things together some of us give the name God. Well, that set me on a search. And the first thing I did was to look at a tree, and I said, there's one. All of us working together couldn't create that one tree, and even if it looked like a tree it wouldn't grow. There is a creative force beyond us. And then I looked at my beloved stars at night and there's another. There's a sustaining power that keeps planets in their orbit.

I watched all the changes taking place in the universe. At that time they were trying to keep a lighthouse from washing into the sea. They finally moved it inland and said they had saved it. But I noticed all these changes and I said, there's another. There is something motivating towards constant change in the universe.

When I reached confirmation from within I knew beyond all doubt that I had touched my highest light.

Intellectually I touched God many times as truth and emotionally I touched God as love. I touched God as goodness. I touched God as kindness. It came to me that God is a creative force, a motivating power, an over-all intelligence, an ever-present, all pervading spirit -- which binds everything in the universe together and gives life to everything. That brought God close. I could not be where God is not. You are within God. God is within you (pp. 1-2).

How wonderful is that? Peace Pilgrim, with no formal religious training, used mindful investigation and listening to her inner wisdom, to discover the properties of God.

Trust Direct Experience and Intuitive Insights

Referring to you list, and without any judgment or blame, gently notice how much of your understanding of God comes from personal experience or intuitive insight?

* * *

Following Peace Pilgrim, and many other wisdom teachers’ leads, we need to prioritize our direct experience and intuitive insights as the best source of information for a true and accurate understanding of God.

To help you with this, I want you to do the following: if your intuition, inner wisdom, or conscience feels uncomfortable with, or at odds with, any of the aspects of God on your list, I want you to cross those aspects off of your list. Furthermore, let this crossing-off action coincide with a firm and conscience decision to free yourself from these false and harmful understandings of God.

This, Too, Shall Pass

Now from Peace Pilgrim’s investigation, she discovers that God is the intelligence behind, and creator of, the physical laws that govern how planets move, trees grow, and that causes everything to always change.

In previous trainings, we have noted this fact that all forms constantly change, and called it the law of impermanence. We use the slogan, "This, too, will pass," to remind us to not seek happiness from external forms, which constantly change, but to find our happiness from within. To come into harmony with this law, we need mindfully accept the transitory nature of all forms. Accepting this reality, we practice appreciating forms as they enter our life and while they are with us. Then, when they change, die, or in some other way become separated from us, we let them go with love. In this way, we cause ourselves no unnecessary suffering, and we come into harmony with the truth of reality as it is.

Spiritual Laws Govern Human Conduct as Rigidly as the Law of Gravity

In addition to the physical laws that God set up, Peace Pilgrim says God also created the spiritual laws which govern human interaction. Let's flesh those out a little more by looking at other parts of her book. Join me on page 26, near the middle of the page. She says:

These are laws governing human conduct, which apply as rigidly as the law of gravity. When we disregard these laws in any walk of life, chaos results. Through obedience to these laws this world of ours will enter a period of peace and richness of life beyond our fondest dreams (p. 26).

Overcome Evil with Good, Falsehood with Truth, and Hatred with Love

And on page ten, third paragraph, she starts to flesh out those laws a little more:

I recognized that there are some well-known, little understood, and seldom practiced laws that we must live by if we wish to find peace within or without. Included are the laws that evil can only be overcome by good; that only good means can attain a good end; that those who do unloving things hurt themselves spiritually.

These laws are the same for all human beings and must be obeyed before harmony can prevail (p. 10).

Evil can only be overcome by good.

Only good means can attain a good end.

Those who do unloving things hurt themselves spiritually.

These are the spiritual laws of the universe that we must obey to find inner peace and joy.

And on page 17, paragraph three, she mentions another spiritual law: that we must use our skills and talents to serve others, and that our motives to serve must be loving and kind. She says:

I talk to groups studying the most advanced spiritual teachings and sometimes these people wonder why nothing is happening in their lives. Their motive is the attainment of inner peace for themselves--which of course is a selfish motive. You will not find it with this motive. The motive, if you are to find inner peace, must be an outgoing motive. Service, of course, service. Giving, not getting. Your motive must be good if your work is to have good effect. The secret of life is being of service (p. 17).

To summarize, according to Peace Pilgrim, God created the spiritual laws that govern human conduct, and these laws apply as forcefully as the law of gravity. The laws are:

• Only goodness can overcome evil.

• Only skillful means can create skillful ends.

• Unskillful actions not only hurt others, but harm ourselves.

• To be joyful, our motives must be loving and kind, and we must serve all life around us.

She says that when we obey these laws, we find peace and joy. When we ignore them, we find misery.

This is why mindfulness works so well to help us become more loving, peaceful, compassionate, and joyful. Through mindfulness we start to see these laws at work in our own experience. And seeing them, we start to trust them. And trusting them, we start to have more confidence in them. And having confidence in them, we joyfully reshape our life to conform to these laws.

God Never Encourages Us to Harm Others

Finally, there is something absolutely vital we must understand about God and these laws. Join me on page 11, starting at the third paragraph, to find out what it is. Peace Pilgrim says:

God never guides us to break divine law, and if such a negative guidance comes to us we can be sure it is not from God. It is up to us to keep our lives steadfastly in harmony with divine law, which is the same for all of us. Only insofar as we remain in harmony with divine law do good things come to us (p. 11).

This is crucial to understand. A lot of people cause a lot of harm in the name of God. But if they are doing harmful things, at that moment, they are lost and entangled by falsehood, judgment, and greed. They are not doing God's will. This is why Jesus said you will know false teachers "by their fruits" (Matthew 7:15-20). People who live in harmony with God's will work to heal, support, and help all life. They never kill or harm others.

Of course, we may find ourselves tempted to take harmful actions for the sake of worthy causes. Peace Pilgrim tells us, that this is contrary to God's will. ALWAYS! “God never guides us to break divine law, and if such a negative guidance comes to us we can be sure it is not from God.” God does not command us to kill, hurt, hate, or discriminate against other people, beings, or life forms. That is the opposite of God's will. When we see people exhibiting violent, harmful, or hateful fruits, we can know those behaviors are not from God.

To Know God is to Love All Creation

Yet this may lead us to wonder, what are the fruits of those who do know God? Peace Pilgrim addresses this as well. Join me on page 38, right after the leaf that creates a page break to see what she says.

Another man once said to me, "I'm surprised at the kind of person you are. After reading your very serious message on the way of peace I expected you to be a very solemn person, but instead I find you bubbling over with joy." I said to him, "Who could know God and not be joyous?"

If you have a long face and a chip on your shoulder, if you are not radiant with joy and friendliness, if you are not filled to overflowing with love and goodwill for all beings and all creatures and all creation, one thing is certain: you do not know God (p. 38)!

The fruits of living in harmony with divine law, is a boundless and unconditional love for all life. We feel it as a beautiful sense of love, peace, compassion, and joy.

Of course, it makes sense that this creative, loving, intelligent force Peace Pilgrim calls "God" loves everything. God created everything out of God, so it makes sense that God loves all creation. It makes sense that we are closer to God when we love everything too.

This understanding that God is the primary ingredient in all forms also explains the foundation of various animist wisdom traditions that celebrates the life and spirit of God in all forms.

Elsewhere, she described in detail what it is like to have a personal relationship with God. Join me on page 139, to read the answer to the first question, which was, "How can I feel close to God?"

God is love, and whenever you reach out in loving kindness you are expressing God. God is truth, and whenever you seek truth you are seeking God. God is beauty, and whenever you touch the beauty of a flower or a sunset you are touching God. God is the intelligence that creates all and sustains all and binds all together and gives life to all. Yes, God is the essence of all--so you are within God and God in within you--you could not be where God is not. Permeating all is the law of God--physical law and spiritual law. Disobey it and you feel unhappiness: you feel separated from God. Obey it and you feel harmony: you feel closer to God. As you live in harmony with divine law you will feel closer to and develop more love for God (p. 139).

Again, Peace Pilgrim emphasizes that by being kind and loving to yourself and others, by appreciating beauty, by living in accordance with the truth, you are connecting with God, and you can know you are connecting with God, because your body feels that connection as love, peace, compassion, and joy.

Use Your Body as a Compass

In previous trainings, we have encouraged you to "use your body as a compass." If your body and mind feel open, spacious, peaceful, and pleasant, then you're thoughts and attitudes are in alignment with truth and love. If they feel tight, stressed, rigid, or you experience emotions like anger, frustration, hatred, depression, sadness, then use those sensations to warn you that you have strayed from the safety of truth and love.

The further we stray from truth and love, the more we suffer emotionally. In this way, we can use our body as a compass, to help us determine which stories that we tell ourselves are untrue or unkind. Such stories inevitably end up being one or more of the falsehoods we have studied: futuring, pasting, self-view, fixed-view, aversion, or greed.

With mindful investigation, experimentation, and patience, we can replace those false stories with truthful and kind stories. This allows us to let go of our suffering, and live in harmony with love and truth, or what Peace Pilgrim calls “divine law.”

God Loves You and Is You and Is Greater Than You

To those of us who have been burned by God in the past, I hope this talk has helped you better understand and appreciate God in a new, more kind and loving way. I hope it helps you realize that God would never harm us or those we love. Nor would God command God's followers to harm or hurt others on God's behalf. God loves all life because God is all life. God loves all life because God is love. God is within us, and God speaks to us as our conscience, and as the intuitive insights that arise when we are calm, peaceful, and still.

Thus, we can truthfully call God by many names: love, truth, life, wisdom, source, creator, conscience, inner wisdom, universe, true self, and so on. Use whatever words or phrases speak to you.

We Are All Called to Know God (Love)

I close this talk by reading a passage from Peace Pilgrim's book that summarizes what we've said, and emphasizes that all of us are called to know God. Or -- to put it another way -- that all of us are called to know our deepest, most true self. Join me on page 87, right after the leaf that creates a page break.

Do you know God? Do you know there is a power greater than ourselves which manifests itself within us as well as everywhere else in the universe? This I call God. Do you know what it is to know God, to have God's constant guidance, a constant awareness of God's presence? To know God is to reflect love toward all people and all creations. To know God is to feel peace within -- a calmness, a serenity, an unshakeableness which enables you to face any situation. To know God is to be so filled with joy that it bubbles over and goes forth to bless the world.

I have only one desire now: to do God's will for me. There is no conflict. When God guides me to walk a pilgrimage I do it gladly.

When God guides me to do other things I do them just as gladly. If what I do brings criticism upon me I take it with head unbowed. If what I do brings me praise I pass it immediately along to God, for I am only the instrument through which God does the work. When God guides me to do something I am given strength, I am given supply, I am shown the way. I am given the words to speak. Whether the path is easy or hard I walk in the Light of God's love and peace and joy, and I turn to God with psalms of thanksgiving and praise. This it is to know God. And knowing God is not reserved for the great ones. It is for little folks like you and me. God is always seeking you -- every one of you.

You can find God if you will only seek -- by obeying divine laws, by loving people, by relinquishing self-will, attachments, negative thoughts and feelings. And when you find God it will be in the stillness. You will find God within (pp. 87-88).

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Thank you for reading this article. Please join us at our virtual meetings every Tuesday at 6:15 pm (Central Standard Time) on our Facebook page as we continue with this series: The Wisdom of Peace Pilgrim. And, if you haven’t already, be sure to order a free copy of Peace Pilgrim’s book, Peace Pilgrim: Her Life and Times in Her Own Words, and bring it with you to our virtual meeting. Thank you.

Wishing you boundless love, peace, wisdom, and joy! Understanding God (Love)