He is the origin of all
things...there is nothing outside or beyond Him, and with Him is the power of
life, of death. The source of all thought, reflection, and memories: There is
nothing outside His jurisdiction, all things are His. The Great Spirit may be
more than personal. He cannot be less.
To-Te-Pukenga
Maori
One
night, when confined in a hospital, he was approached by an alcoholic who had
known a spiritual experience. Our friend's gorge rose as he bitterly cried out:
"If there is a God, He certainly hasn't done anything for me!" But
later, alone in his room, he asked himself this question: "Is it possible
that all the religious people I have known are wrong?" While pondering the
answer he felt as though he lived in hell. Then, like a thunderbolt, a great
thought came. It crowded out all else: "Who
are you to say there is no God?"
This
man recounts that he tumbled out of bed to his knees. In a few seconds he was
overwhelmed by a conviction of the Presence of God. It poured over and through
him with the certainty and majesty of a great tide at flood. The barriers
he had built through the years were swept away. He stood in the Presence of
Infinite Power and Love. He had stepped from the bridge to shore. For the first
time, he lived in conscious companionship with his Creator.
Big
Book pg. 56