“Deep within us all there is an amazing inner sanctuary, … a holy place, a Divine Center, a speaking Voice… calling us home unto Itself.” (Thomas R. Kelly, A Testament of Devotion, HarperCollins Publishers, 1996, p. 3)

Thomas Kelly’s words remind us that God is within, inside our breath, calling us home. Christianity calls this inner presence the “indwelling of God.” The essence of the Christian journey is coming to know this inner presence. As we awaken to God who dwells within, we discover we are made of Love, and Love changes our lives forever.

Why is this journey so powerful?

Most Christian teaching emphasizes that God is everywhere, all around us, but stops short of teaching “God within.” Instead, followers hear a heavy dose of “you are sinful”, “praise God”, and “work hard to be better.” Such is the Christian program for “right living” and making God happy.

Awakening to the indwelling God is a different program. We discover our essential goodness, that God’s love is the fabric of our bodies and our lives. The journey toward the indwelling God is learning to see through God’s eyes. We come to know God’s deep caring for us, to experience His vision that sees us as precious. 

We see others as we are seen. God sees us as precious, we will see others as precious. This happens because we humans are social animals, we do not live in isolation. Rather, our relationships with one another shape us emotionally and physically. Neuroscience calls this process “attunement.” Attunement is a physiological process, an energetic resonance between people, that creates a sense of safety. We are like human tuning forks.

Attunement happens between mothers (and other caregivers) and their babies. Meeting a baby’s needs for touch and connection, as well as for food and clothing, allows the baby to be content and sleep peacefully. But when an infant is in distress, as any parent knows, the baby screams for attention. For the baby, screaming is the only way to communicate that his/her needs are not being met. In these moments, the baby feels in danger. This is a bio-physical process that moves through the whole nervous system. In effect, the whole body is screaming. When we meet the baby’s needs, we replace the threat of danger with a sense of safety, and the baby calms down.

As adults, we too need a sense of safety in our relationships. Relational safety is enormously important for human thriving, in adults, as well as infants and children. Neuroscientist Stephen Porges writes: 

“When we feel safe…, our nervous systems and entire bodies undergo a massive physiological shift that primes us to be healthier, happier, and smarter; to be better learners and problem solvers; to have more fun; to heal faster; and generally to feel more alive…. When we feel safe, we are capable of generosity, empathy, altruism, growth, and compassion… But when we don’t feel safe, our capacity for trust is diminished. Our ability to live, learn, and think critically evaporates in favor of an immediate need for survival.” (Our Polyvagal World: How Safety and Trauma Change Us by Stephen W. Porges and Seth Porges, Norton & Company, 2023, pages viii, xviii-xix.)

Christianity proclaims that our relationship with God is primary, our ultimate relationship of safety. God attunes to each of us, creating an inner zone of safety that is available to each of us. Our spiritual journey is growing in awareness of God’s attunement and our capacity to attune to God. The indwelling of God is Christianity’s language for naming this inner attunement, in scripture called “the refuge of God.” Psalm 57:1 puts it this way: “…in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by.”

Mary, the mother of God, plays a central role in the Christian story. This mother child relationship expresses the essential love (at its best) between mother and child. Mary’s presence is a profound echo of God’s indwelling presence, rooted in love. When we experience the indwelling God, we enter a relationship of love that seeps into every nook and corner of our being.

The great promise of Christianity is that the indwelling presence of God is available to all. My frustration with much Christian teaching and practice is its focus solely on the presence of God “out there”, with little attention to God who is “in here”. When we connect to God “in here,” everything changes.  

Readers of this blog know that I actively pursue forms of Buddhist meditation. For me, Buddhist meditation is, for me, a stepping stone to the experience of the indwelling Presence of God. Buddhist practice emphasizes naming and caring for our inner experience with kindness. Our inner experience — what scripture calls “the heart” — includes feelings, dreams, longings, needs, and desires. Becoming more intimate with my inner experience helps me see myself through God’s eyes, the eyes of unconditional love. 

Knowing the indwelling presence of God grounds us in love. As we see ourselves through God’s eyes, we see others in the same way. We become more loving. This enables us to live into what Jesus proclaimed as the most essential command: “Love each other as I have loved you….” (John 15:12)

We define a church community through the shared experience of liturgy, scripture, and prayer. Exploring the indwelling God through liturgy, scripture, and prayer transforms us. Faith becomes vibrant. We awaken, or re-awaken, to the aliveness of life. Thomas Keating: “Each level of life from the most physical to the most spiritual is sustained by the divine presence… The fundamental theological principle of the spiritual journey is the divine indwelling…” (Thomas Keating, et al., The Divine Indwelling, Lantern Books, NY, 2001, p.3)

We transform Christianity as we awaken to the power and beauty of God’s unconditional love for us all. 

May we grow in our love for one another as we grow in our awareness of God’s love for us.  

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION

How do you see yourself through God’s eyes? Who do you see? How has your vision of how God sees you changed over the years? 

What hinders you from connecting with the indwelling presence of God? What helps you connect with the indwelling presence of God?