How to See the Divine in Your Life

The Divine permeates everything—including the glass of water you’re drinking, the chair you’re sitting in, and every blade of grass in your backyard.

“We’re surrounded by God all the time,” says Rev. Tony Cryer of Unity on Cape Cod in Hyannis, Massachusetts. “The Divine is already in everything. You don’t have to try to see it.”

Rev. Ralph Howe of First United Methodist Church of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, agrees. “Everything is being held together spiritually—similar to quantum physics. Matter is held together by the transcendent,” he says, adding, “God is always trying to communicate with us.” The encounter is always there, he stresses, but to receive it you have to be truly present in the moment. He points out that we often don’t recognize the Divine because our mind is consumed with thinking about things like traffic, laundry, or what happened at work.

“Being present means you receive the moment exactly as it is … or you receive another person just as they are,” Howe explains. You’re not forcing a situation to be different. “It’s being present to what is real, without trying to change or fix anything.”

Quiet the Mind

To do this, Cryer advises, we have to release our perception of what we think the story should be. For instance, he points out that not getting what we want in a particular situation might be the best outcome for our spiritual growth and highest good. By letting go of preconceived notions of what we think should happen, we make room for the Divine and “allow life to reveal itself.” In contrast to doing and having, the goal is just being.

As you’re present with yourself, the external uproar no longer commands you, according to Howe. “When you’re really in the present moment, you’re no longer stressing your body because the body lives in the present,” he says. Being present is about living deeply.

“God is always seeking to encounter us. We are the ones who aren’t paying attention,” he adds. “We’re in the presence of God at all times.”

To receive the transcendent, you have to quiet the mind. Howe recommends taking time daily for stillness and silence so inner guidance and the transcendent can enter.

Be mindful in your actions and thoughts, advises Cryer, “whether cooking, walking, or speaking.” This helps to slow the mind to make room for something larger than you. Quieting the mind and letting the transcendent fill you can also come with concentrating fully on a task at hand. Whether it’s focusing on the next step in a recipe or saying a mantra, genuine concentration means that the activity at this very moment is the most important thing.

“Everything is a mirror of how you’re experiencing yourself,” Cryer says. “When you show up in your divine nature, then everything else shows up in its divine nature also because we’re a part of God, we’re a part of the Divine.”

Practice Gratitude

Howe says that any type of rhythmic activity, such as gardening, reading, chanting, or rubbing a stone, helps to calm the mind and establishes a “monastic rhythm” in the day. He suggests that building such a rhythm into your routine helps to carry you through stormy times because when the mind is calm, you can respond to situations with clarity and compassion instead of reacting out of fear or anxiety.

Feeling gratitude is another way to be present and receive the Divine because when you’re grateful, you are honoring the holiness in life.

“Gratitude is practicing the presence of God,” Howe notes. You don’t have to do anything. “It’s just the place where you practice love—where you receive love and give love. In every encounter, you have the opportunity to see the Divine.” Think of all the gifts you’ve been given throughout the day. “You might see it in the person who smiled at you or the person who helped you at the store,” he says, “or you might see the wounded child in someone rather than the overbearing adult.”

Dance with the Divine

As you feel grateful, you notice more and more things to be grateful for. We can always find something to criticize, but practicing gratitude instead rewires the brain. And as you pay attention to what you’re grateful for, it increases.

Be ready, he adds, because the Divine could come to you in a flash of insight about a situation, through a word someone says, or in an encounter with a neighbor.

“Everything is a mirror of how you’re experiencing yourself,” Cryer says. “When you show up in your divine nature, then everything else shows up in its divine nature also because we’re a part of God, we’re a part of the Divine.” He points out that Albert Einstein is often credited with saying, “There are only two ways to live your life: one is as though nothing is a miracle; the other is as though everything’s a miracle.” It’s a miracle that we’re even here and able to survive, he says.

When you’re open to what’s around you, you see how interdependent and interconnected the universe is. At every moment, Howe notes, “We’re being invited into a great dance with the Divine.”

This article is an online exclusive of Unity Magazine®.