The word God in Heavenletters
We received an email from a new Dutch subscriber by the name of Rana Dieleman which reads as follows:
There are really no words to express my thanks for this beautiful heartwarming heavenly letters which are always sent at the right time. It makes me so happy when I read them. On my massage-cards it already said: "A piece of Heaven on earth". I am in the flow of love in my life and give out abundantly after the love for myself has been opened. In a way I regret that the word God is mentioned. I think that if you replace it for Source it will be more widely read, because there is rather a soul trauma on religion ... we must see it much more universal .... Source is all comprising. It comes down to the same, but it seems less blasphemous.
Anyway, I read past it with my consciousness, but not everyone will be able to do that.
Again thank you for these written gifts with soul food. I pass them on abundantly and wish that the light will be kindled again in everyone.
From heart to heart,
Rana Dieleman
Gloria asked Rana to post it on the forum, but in turn Rana requested me to do that on her behalf, since she is not familiar with this kind of thing.
Here is Gloria's reply:
Beloved Rana, thank you so much for writing and for your dear words. I love that your cards say "A piece of Heaven on earth." Just right!
When it came to finding a name for these letters, I wasn't going to use God in the title, and I didn't. Not only did I understand other people's reticence, I had my own. And I had had no religious upbringing, and I never had that soul trauma, and yet I was aware then that the word God might make some people uncomfortable. And I was not altogether comfortable with it. I never dreamed that one day I would ever say God bless you to anyone.
As time went on and I gave introductions to Godwriting workshops etc., I saw that soul trauma you speak of. I saw a woman who literally could not say the word God. She couldn't even say it, so traumatized she was from her childhood. I have seen others who, on a more intellectual level, veered away from the word God.
Where God was once a stranger to me, where he was for other people but not for me, I grew to a closeness that I cannot deny.
God is the name that feels right to me. I can say Dear God with all my heart. With the name God, I know Who I am listening to or speaking to. I am unable to talk to or feel intimate with Spirit, Source, Higher Consciousness, Inner Being and all the many words that mean the same. I do not know how to relate to them. Perhaps they are too abstract for me. I don't really know why. Maybe they are just not humanized enough for me. I feel intimacy with God, and I don't with Source etc.
Dear Rana,
I believe it's a very good thing to bring this up again (it is not the first time as you might imagine).
I myself had and still have difficulties with the word "God" and concept of God. But after almost three years of reading Heavenletters, using the word makes more and more sense when I find that my ideas of "much more universal" are just that: ideas. Ideas consist of appraisal and judgement and bias which don't help at all when it comes to Heavenletters. It is not criticism but more of a good-natured self-mockery when I say: Heavenletters are certainly soul food but by no means fast food. For some of us, "God" is the word that is leading us back into childlike, unknowing wonder.
Beloved Jochen, you gave an
Beloved Jochen, you gave an answer far better than mine.
And, beloved Luus, thank you so much for going the extra mile and posting this and thank Rana for her question and willingness to share. And, of course, we would love to hear back from her again.
How timing! This morning I
How timing! This morning I had to realize how much resistence I still have with the word God. I confess I am not at ease when I use it with others, that's why I rarely speak God or Love, almost never. With myself I do not make any difference, it is just a word, the essence doesn't change. I am a little bewildered, I wonder if there is some block in me I am not aware of or if this is just irrelevant. Maybe I feel others discomfort and make it my own.