"Live first and foremost in My Presence...gradually (becoming) more aware of Me than of people and places around you. This awareness...will increase your ability to give love and encouragement to (others.)" (279)
After reading various research projects on the brain and neurology I've come to think of this "awareness" phenomena as a type of zipper in the mind that brings together two references of awareness - one typically on the right side the other believed to be on the left. One seems more aware of self and the other, more social in nature, being aware of one's self interacting with others.*
I believe the more aware we become of our relationship with God, the more it can actually enhance our lives so that our total awareness is strengthened. Being God-aware can give greater clarity to our awareness of self and our interactions with others; enabling us to BE authentic and to genuinely love and encourage others.
Much like a well functioning zipper; the pull tab is our God Awareness that helps us mesh together these two dimensions, or the two sides of the zipper...Self Awareness and Awareness of Others.
The metaphor "get a grip on yourself" could be better stated, "get a grip on God" to reflect this ability to adequately zip our lives together in God's Presence and from His Perspective.
I have noticed that when I am well-zipped in Him, it not only holds me together well, it helps me engage well with others.
Getting Well Zipped for the Day...dmc
*(V.S. Ramachandran, Neurology of Self-Awareness. Jan. 8, 2007)
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After reading today's devotional, I know that I want to live in His presence. But, I realize that I don't know how to or what that means. I came to your blog in my search. I like what you said about the zipper. When I reach out to God silently or in the midst of a conversation, etc., I picture it (and this is silly) like I'm somehow reaching out from my head to find Him, to see what He's doing or saying. When I think about this, I think it would be difficult to live like this. I'm really intrigued and will pray about this. Thanks for your blog!
ReplyDeleteKatie I love your comment as I think ALL of us would benefit from looking deeper into what common Christian phrases actually mean..like "live in his presence." I love your idea of reaching out to find him, and yes I think it is difficult to live searching while doing a million other things too! But also prob worth the effort! I think also it probably at least partially means to just talk to God and try to stay connected in that way more often, acknowledge his blessings as they come, and to try to get quiet each day to try to listen to anything he might want us to hear. (Some times a guessing game for sure.) But i've found the practice of the above helps me feel at least a bit more "in His presence." But I definitely need reminders to practice all of the above and am a big work in progress....
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