Frenkie visits a mosque (part 2, because of the length of the blog it has been released in two parts)

"I could be a Muslim". 

I felt so strongly that all this would be enough to come to God, to experience God, to be helped to live a devout life, without fuss, without superstition, without distractions. Purely and simply the devotion to God, the worship of God, a life of purity and simplicity.

The Imam also read some sentences in Dutch:

"Do not let a person who is convinced of the existence of Allah and the afterlife, bother his neighbours! 

Let a person who is convinced of the existence of Allah and the afterlife, treat his guests well.  Let a person, who is convinced of Allah and the afterlife, speak something useful or silence. “

Of course, one can only agree with that.

At some point all the men stood, women were sitting separately somewhere in the gallery of the building, in a row and then the impact was so strong, along with the singing, that I felt that everyone was one, only God counted, and all were children of the same God indiscriminately. And it reminded me strongly, actually my feelings did, of communion in a Catholic church and the application of a Bindi on the forehead in a Hindu temple. 

Moving, heart-warming, powerful, devotional, radiating unity.

We stayed behind for a while, because we wanted to speak with the Imam, but it was very pleasant, so afterwards enjoying everything. We also lost a bit a sense of time, did it took half an hour, an hour, two hours, we didn't know.  

For days everything kept vividly and I like that the Imam said that we were always very welcome. He gave us a few booklets that we really weren't allowed to pay for. He actually said "no, no, we're not talking about money here".   

Will You comment on this, please?

You could be a Muslim, it occurred to you. 

My son, you are a Muslim, because you are "a man who surrenders". Haven't you been doing that all your life? 

But you mean in religion to be a Muslim, so leave the Catholic Church and join the Islam. 

Thank you for your openness, for your receptivity and your honesty. That's quite a lot, as a "writer of these ecumenical blogs". But hadn't you asked my son in advance for the spirit of humility and the spirit of Islamic devotion?

And they touched you, obviously. And that's how it should be, because you wanted to listen, experience, understand. And with such openness, I, your God, your YHWH, your Allah, can hear to the maximum.

You described how special you thought it was when everyone stood in a line, all in the same way their hands receptively directed at Allah, the imam sang a Surah and you literally felt as if this was what the Catholics experience during the distribution of communion, and the Hindus when they get the bindi from the Pandit.

It is not the same, even not from a spiritual perspective.

But I deliberately let rest here what the similarities or differences are. Because they are not important in this context.

Importantly, you have experienced a culmination in the mosque, of the prayer of the faithful in their unity. And the Imam was pleasantly surprised that you told him that you were very touched by this and that this seemed to be the highlight of the meeting here.

Of course it is the best that you did not make the comparison with the Catholics and the Hindus because this Orthodox imam could not have confirmed that. However, you could safely express that it was a highlight of the devotion and reverence for Allah and that on that moment all were equal without distinction of person and thus all children of Allah. The imam could only confirm this.

Much more has happened and seen and experienced by you what you now let  rest here because of the length of the blog. That's good, but one thing I want to emphasize.

The gate with Oriental tiles that symbolically refers to Mecca, like all mosques in the world and the imam's explanation of this when you spoke to him afterwards.

This gate contributes enormously to the power and energetic effect of the mosque on the faithful. It has a big impact, because of the imagination and the symbolism, but also literally because the gate says: you are not alone here in this mosque. There are many of you. You are connected to all other Muslims around the world. And in that sense it resembles to the Catholics who are united in one world church under the Pope. One religion all over the world. And the impact of that is big. 

In addition, the imam emphasized that one is focused on Mecca and the Black stone not as superstition but that both refer to Allah alone. And that's how it should be. 

Your niece and you are blessed. 

My blessings to you all

No 536

Frenkie visits a mosque (part 1, because of the length of the blog it has been published in two parts)

A niece of mine has good contacts because of her work on a school with the Imam of the mosque on the Wagenstraat in The Hague. We were welcome for a prayer service.

The mosque is located in a former synagogue, which was used by the Jewish community in The Hague. Until 1975 it was still used as a synagogue, but because the community had been decimated by the war, it had to be closed. In 1981 it was used as a mosque by the Turkish community.

Upon arrival we are immediately welcomed by believers who did not know that we would come, the Imam is not there yet. They offer us tea or water. Everybody is so friendly and welcoming, we feel welcome and are greeted by everyone even though we are clearly two strangers in their midst. The Imam also welcomes us nicely and my niece can sit next to me in the mosque, although the stay for women is upstairs. So you can see everything, said the imam. That was a  nice gesture for her.

We enter and I am immediately touched by the incredible silence and power that prevails there. I know that's because people have been praying there since 1842. The silence, the peace, the refined energy of devotion, literally I feel that here is a gateway to heaven. From the blogs I know that here too there is a temple of energy and a transformation house of energy at the service of many people. It is very nice to be there, and even though we know nothing about the rituals of the Muslims, we sit quietly on a bench in the back and let everything come up as it goes. It's a grace to sit there.

The service starts with a number of Surahs from Ali-Imran, one of the chapters of the Qur'an, we later understand from the Imam, who answers our questions after the "service".  Furthermore, the imam also reads some verses and I found them later on in my Dutch Qur'an, and it reads: "Only in Your hand is the good. And Thou hast power over all things. " (End of verse 27).

I personally find the singing of the Surahs in that typical Arabic timbre overwhelming. It feels so primal, ancient, eternal almost, so magical, so relaxing and what I experienced the most was an all-intoxicating energy that came to me and said: "There is only one God and that is Allah. Only one God, nothing else, the rest is superstition, is secondary, does not matter. Turn only to God, there is nothing else to wish for, to feel, to experience."

I was completely captivated by it. Especially because it was a beautiful male voice and the beautiful atmosphere in this centuries-old house of prayer, the devotion, the silence of the people present, all this made me think at a certain moment:

"I could be a Muslim"   ,

Now the first part of my God's answer, when I asked:  will You comment on this, please?

I like to do so. Now it has come about, after the visits to Protestant services and a Hindu temple. 

You felt welcome, even though you were clearly strange. You have experienced the hospitality of the "eastern" world, in this case the Turkish one, and it is true, sincere and fully expressed. This is what one wants and this is what one can do. Wonderful feature of these peoples. And know that one could never, never, never forget the inner civilization not to act on this.

This House of Prayer has indeed been in function as a place of devotion for longer than the mosque when it was still a synagogue. And the spiritual temple has only grown since then, because the devotion, the love for YHWH/God, the humility, the setting aside of the ego, the prayer, the willingness to let go of everything and to focus on God/YHWH/Allah have continued. From synagogue to mosque. Is that ecumenical or what? After all, God does not practice religion. This is what you have felt and experienced, my son, and it is still truthfully a house of God and a gateway to heaven. How could one not feel this if one is receptive? One is automatically taken into the spiritual energy of heaven.

Singing the Surahs touched you and so you have experienced an energy of centuries and a power and impact of 1500 years of devotion and surrender within Islam. Of course, you were immediately and completely touched by it. Do this more often my son because the power of the sung Surah's and the healing effect of this on your body and mind are available.

But also for the mosques applies, empty mosques and full shopping streets. What a waste of the grace of God and the spiritual world available to the people and ignored by the people except those who come.

And know that these energies also reach out beyond the mosque itself. The neighbourhood around it, the city of The Hague, even an entire region benefit from the spread of this mercy of Allah/God for the people.  

My blessings to you all

No 535

The promise of God to man

My God, would You like to say something about what You think of us, not especially of me, but how does the My God of every human being now considers Its man and Its work for that man? 

I'm happy to go into this subject. The My God of every human being is equally considering this. So I just tell My perception and that is pretty similar to the Others.

First of all, I am focused on your survival. And that means that I guide the process from the birth of your spiritual body and then, not the other way around, the creation of your foetus. But that's basically a cinch. For the rule is that every human being on earth, however undeveloped, with his spiritual body "behind" him, is assured of survival after the physical death of the body. This also happens with the expulsion of a foetus of less than a week, for example with abortion. In that sense, it's a murder, but We're leaving this topic to rest here.

In fact, the rest of human life is an endless series of experiences, choices, fates, and luck or bad luck. In all cases, therefore, man is assured of survival. And that's the whole goal. God wants the former ape, the evolutionary being who otherwise dies on earth, to be saved for eternity, partly by an "indwelling" Spark of God and so to have a place in God's dwellings.

I, as your My God, loves you. I cherish your choices for the good, prepare for your choices for evil, want you to be happy, but do not get off the path if you are unhappy. Even though I look at everything with compassion and of course do everything to support from the perspective of what I can and what I will. I prefer to participate in an extensive series of life experiences of various calibers, so that you arrive in the spiritual world with a good dose of experience. Nice if you have led a happy life but even better if you have led a life rich in experiences and insights. That’s what I prefer. So I'm not necessarily focused to see you happy.  Rather resilient, or flexible or open-minded. Happiness is a bonus. But I'd rather you bump your head horribly and gain great insights with that experience than that you live a calm and sedate life without worries. That does not yield much, something but not much.

But then misfortune, or bad luck, or suffering, or sadness or pain or illness, oh how much they bring to man. More than health, happiness or satisfaction. Even though those positive experiences also bring a lot. But I also know that a person can perish from illness, suffering, sorrow and therefore from despondency. And that is not the intention now. So I save you when it gets too bad, I soften the suffering, when it becomes unbearable to you. I lift you up when you seem to perish from the swamp on earth. I'll give you insights if you seem to get stuck in old grooves, wrong patterns or hopeless addictions.

But above all, My precious son, I love you. I cherish you. I forgive you a thousand times. I forgive your nonchalance, your unsuspectingness, your lovelessness, your selfishness, your self-indulgence. I forgive you for polluting your own nest, poor Mother Nature. I forgive you a thousand times. And I look at your life with a mother's love for her little girl, with a father's love for his son, with a parent's love for ALL the child's shortcomings.

In love I experience your birth, in love you growing up, in love your adult life and in love I look at your old age. And when the day comes when your old body gives up, and your spiritual body arrives in the spiritual world, I welcome it with all the love that God has in Itself, no matter how paltry the state of that spiritual body is. For God heals all wounds, God cares for all pain, God cherishes all sorrow, and God ultimately erases all the suffering of Its human being.

And then comes the beautiful long road to reunification between the My God and Its human being. This can be done in a short time but can also take many thousands of years. God has the time. So every My God takes Its time. Beautiful future, beautiful promise, dear future cherished by Us: helping a former ape with a short earthy life to develop into a spiritual man for eternity with ultimately the beauty of an angel, but the free will of God.   

My blessings to you all 

No. 534

It’s your world, pay attention

It’s your world, pay attention (Hunter S. Thompson)

Would You like to comment on this. This quote works better for me than an assertiveness training.

I like to do so.

All the more so since I am part of that life. 

The My God of men notices it well, when a man is overruled by his fellow man, or hindered by rules, or is scorned or offended in his being. How could it be otherwise. The My God of every human being knows the life of Its human being, his talents and his limitations. And very often, and certainly unconsciously, the life of a human being is ruled, hindered, burdened, enslaved and insulted by his surroundings. And it doesn't matter if it concerns parents, a teacher, a government, a partner or sometimes even children.

 

It’s your world, pay attention (Hunter S. Thompson)

A person has to find his way. Independence, responsibility for one's own life, making your own choices, not finding the opinion of the environment so important, in short, going your own way, making your own choices, being courageous and fearless in this.

To stimulate this is a co-mission of the My God in the life of Its man.

How could it be otherwise.  

My God does not work well with a zombie, with someone who is sacrificed unnecessarily, with someone who is lived. Man can be God's hands on earth. And God needs strong hands on earth to carry out the Will of God. This is it.

Hunter Thompson is blessed. 

My blessings to you all 

No 533

Knowing God is becoming humble

Today marks eleven years since I heard the voice of God. And if these eleven years have brought me one thing, it's humility. 

To be human and realize that your fate is in God's hands.

To be human and to realize that you can be a god in your life if you allow God.

To be human and realize that you are nothing and cannot achieve anything if you hold God back.

To be human and to realize that all those so-called unknown people who seem strange to you and different and unknown, that they are your brothers and sisters.

To be human and to realize that we are all children of God, no matter what we do and no matter what we believe.

To be human and no longer to look around for support, to no longer wish that someone else has to make you happy.

To be human and to realize that you are carried in love, seen in your failure, accepted for who you are, not for what you do or believe or desire.

To be human and to know that eternity is waiting for you, no matter how imperfect or unhappy or small your life was.

To be human and to know that God loves you no matter what, however, however, however. 

My Good God, I thank You, I thank You, I thank You. 

Today is your day, my son, I'll leave it at that. 

My blessings to you all

No 532

If you know of the spiritual world, you should never become a pessimist yourself

Those who are privileged to have a knowledge of spiritual realities should never allow any kind of degree of pessimism to effect a lodgement within their beings. The power of the spirit is greater than any force that humans can command. Man can delay; man can hinder; man can impede. But he cannot prevent the descent of the mighty power of the spirit to fulfil its ordained plan*

My God, would You like to comment on this quote from Silver Birch

It is true My son but pay attention to 'a lodgement within their beings' otherwise it is not realistic. After all, we prefer that man says yes to all negative emotions because they deserve a place in human consciousness and also give a lot of information about man himself, his life and his lessons. But Silver Birch therefore mentions ‘a lodgement within their beings' . You may be pessimistic, but for a moment: do not really believe this emotion, this thought, this state of life, this attitude to life, do not attach yourself to it, do not make it a stayer.  

The basic attitude, the basic belief, the fundamental thought, the perspective is: you are carried in love, you are guided in love and cherished in love, even when the most terrible things happen to you. God is ready to help you immediately, to guide you permanently and to heal you when it’s time. So you may have pessimistic feelings only temporarily, don't let them wrap you up, don’t believe them.

The spirit of Silver Birch is blessed.

My blessings to you all

*Silver Birch “Light from Silver Birch” collected by Pam Riva

No 531

Perfection is being the one God wants you to be

I read this interview*, well You will understand, this quote that did touch me. 

Would You like to comment on this?

I like this quote, My son.

Then we have tackled perfectionism right away, because that is a horrible human trait. Wanting to be perfect in one step, while man needs a thousand steps. It is unloving, unwise and pointless. And that seems contradictory. The perfect God wants you to be imperfect, namely just yourselves. Imperfect beings with shortcomings and faults, blind spots and weaknesses. Very good. If you are this and accept this, then God is a lot more confident about your happiness than if you don't want to be. And the pursuit of perfection is not bad in itself, holding up an ideal as a human being is a beautiful and inspiring guiding guideline for life. But it gets ugly when you confuse one step with a thousand or when you mistake one step too many or when you want to skip one step.

The pastor is blessed. 

My blessings to you all

*Interview in newspaper Trouw with Mariska van Beusichem, pastor

No 530