The Source of Everything

Central Conclusion

Unconditional love is the code through which we perceive the Unity of All Things, recognize our true immortal nature, and experience genuine inner security.

We are born into space and time, forced to perceive the world through the distorted lenses of our senses. We see ourselves as separate from others. This feeling of separation creates insecurity, sadness, fear, anger, and consequently all the illnesses that arise from these negative emotions. In order to release them, we must be initiated into love.

This initiation must occur from the moment of conception until approximately the age of six. If our parents themselves have not been initiated into unconditional love — if they are filled with insecurity, if they constantly argue, if they are emotionally absent, overly strict, or show favoritism among siblings — then the child is not initiated into love. As a result, energy becomes blocked in the heart, the small intestine, the pericardium, and the triple warmer meridian, creating imbalance throughout the nervous system.

The absence of initiation into love throws us into the turbulence of space and time, making us feel disconnected and filled with insecurity, sadness, fear, and anger. These emotions block the flow of energy through the energetic rivers known as meridians and manifest as physical problems:

Insecurity may manifest as stomach disorders, bloating, gynecological problems, and thyroid dysfunction.

Sadness may manifest as large intestine disorders, respiratory conditions, and skin problems.

Fear may manifest as urinary system disorders, spinal problems — especially in the neck and lower back — high blood pressure, kidney dysfunction, insomnia, frequent urination, and incontinence.

Anger may manifest as headaches, hearing problems, neck pain, gallstones, high cholesterol, fatty liver disease, thyroid disorders, knee and hip problems, as well as autoimmune diseases.

The solution is the genuine reduction of the ego, initiation into love, and becoming aligned with the likeness of the Lord. We must move beyond the ego and realize that our joy does not come from what God gives us, but from God Himself — from our relationship with Him.

The true solution comes when we diminish the ego, when we stop placing our own self-interest first and instead serve the well-being of our fellow human beings. Here lies the great secret: the transcendence of space and time, the overcoming of the fall of Adam, which is our tendency to feel separate and disconnected.

We become obsessed with serving the temporary vehicle given to us for earthly existence — the body and the ego — and in doing so we lose the creative power that was given to us: the ability to become beings of light, united with the Divine.

Only when we follow the commandments of the Lord, when we focus on love for our fellow human being — which is true love for the Lord — do we unite with Him and receive everything.

No one can take away our joy when our heart is open and radiates unconditional love. I experience unconditional love when I no longer need to justify myself, when I step out of competition, when my only concern is for the other person to be well, to thrive, to be happy. In the face of another, I see myself. People whose hearts are closed are afraid to expose themselves, afraid of the opinions of others. They live trying to shape themselves in order to be accepted by others.

The Lord presented perfection as our goal: to become perfect as our Heavenly Father is perfect. Our purpose is to become like Christ. The Lord calls us to become like Him. Our mission is to overcome our passions, our sinfulness, and walk toward Theosis — union with the Divine.

Theosis is complete health, blessedness, and fulfillment. To love God means to keep His commandments. A prerequisite for the coming of the Holy Spirit is purity, and to become pure we must follow the commandments of the Father.

Through Divine Grace we are helped to follow the commandments of the Father, to keep our mind close to God, and to resist our passions.

The whole secret is to carry within us the Kingdom of the Holy Spirit. We ask for God to reign within us. When God reigns within us, He gives us everything. God is always within us — in our hearts, in every cell of our being — if only we become aware of Him and receive His Light.

The Uncreated Light of Divine illumination is perceived when we open the windows of our heart, and these windows open through humility, through living according to His divine principles, and through participation in the Mysteries and sacred rites of the Church.

Everything about our true nature and how to attain both the Eternal Paradise and the earthly Paradise is revealed by Saint Nektarios, who, like all Saints, reveals the truth about existence and our true nature:

“Human being, learn that you are made in the image and likeness of God and that you possess an immortal soul, destined by Grace to live eternally. Death reigns only over the bodies of the material world, but the soul, because it is not made from the matter of this world, does not die. Our conscience judges our actions according to the moral law written within our hearts. God inscribed this conscience in the hearts of people so that they might perfect their immortal soul.

“As a rational being, man is destined to become like God, according to whose image he was created. Humanity received authority from God to become a small god upon the earth and a reflection of His image. Sin and separation from God removed this knowledge.

“In order for a person to know God, he must first know himself. Whoever ignores himself ignores God, and whoever ignores God ignores truth and the complete nature of reality. Whoever ignores himself becomes arrogant, commits harmful acts, and turns away from God.”

“Moral freedom is the unwavering commitment of a person to the keeping of God’s commandments. Communication with God is impossible if someone who has sinned remains in sin. Confession, from a moral perspective, is one of the greatest blessings the Church offers to society.

“Whoever does not confess his sin will never find rest, because he will never bring God close to himself. Just as humanity, by disobeying God’s commandments, attracted death, so too by obeying the will of God, humanity can attain Eternal Life.

“Ignorance of the true nature of divine and human things results in countless evils. A person becomes attached to matter when he turns his eyes away from God. Virtue is the observance of the moral law by a morally free individual and the alignment of free will with the Divine Will.

“Virtue is a requirement of the soul. By nature, human beings are friends of virtue and desire goodness because, being creations of God, it is in their nature to become like God. Strive above all to humble your ego. This is the beginning of the triumph of the Divine Will.

“Where humility exists, all virtues exist. Humility is the greatest virtue, the means of moral elevation and perfection, and the way of communion with God.

“Divine love is born in the heart that has been purified, because Divine Grace descends into such a heart.

“Love for God leads to the keeping of His commandments, which guide us toward the knowledge of Him.

“Love is the bond of all humanity. It is the foundation of human happiness and blessedness, and the foundation of all virtues.”

Saint Isaac the Syrian also reveals the true meaning of life, success, and inner peace:

“Whoever submits himself to God is close to having all things submit to him. Whoever desires God to dwell within him must practice His commandments. The more passionately we approach God, the more God approaches us with His gifts.

“No one can draw near to God unless he first distances himself from the things of the material world. God’s protection and providence cover all people, but they are revealed only to those who have purified themselves from sin and whose thoughts are continually centered on God. No one without humility can understand God. People in this world never find true peace until they arrive at hope in God.

“Freedom from attachment to worldly matter precedes union with God. All the commandments of God aim at the creation of a pure heart. As long as the heart remains undisturbed by worldly things, the mind can perceive and marvel at the Divine Mysteries. Love God, so that the love of the world may not enslave you.”

“To the one who has come to know himself is given the knowledge of all things. For self-knowledge is the fullness of the knowledge of everything. Through the submission of your soul, all things will also become subject to you.

“As long as humility reigns in your conduct, your soul remains in harmony, and together with it, all things become aligned with you. For then, the peace that comes from God is born within your heart. But as long as you remain outside of humility, you will be pursued not only by passions, but also by endless troubles.”

The wise Elder Sophrony Sakharov teaches us how to transcend corruption and decay:

“The whole secret was spoken by the Lord before His crucifixion: ‘That they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be one in Us.’

“Our Theosis — our union with the Lord, with the Father — is our only path. God created us in His image with the purpose of complete likeness to Him, and He Himself will grant us this likeness.

“Everything works together so that we may overcome the sinful passions of fallen nature and become capable of receiving life from God Himself. There is nothing greater in all creation than Christ and His teaching. We shall worship the Living God until we ourselves become personhood, true existence, as Christ is. Eternal Life has been promised to this personhood, to this divine existence in Christ.

“Fight against the passion that raises thoughts of judgment against your neighbor. This is the greatest attack of the enemy. Every negative thought creates a fracture within ourselves and within our fellow human beings. The negative energy we generate drives away the presence of God, and then we feel abandoned by Him.

“Yet we ourselves created the problem, because through the negative emotions we embraced, we severed our likeness to God. God and His Divine Grace withdraw from us, and then we remain trapped within the created, earthly realm. We must remain committed to our choice — to love the other person no matter what happens — and then we become pure vessels through which the Grace of God may come and dwell within us.”

Saint Anthony reveals the entire secret of who the truly wise person is:

“Wise is the person who knows God (His commandments) and never ceases to do abundantly all that pleases God. We must not despair or neglect God, but instead focus on the infinite power of our soul.

“According to his rational nature, man is connected to the ineffable and divine power, while according to his bodily nature he is related to the animals.

“Most people, being spiritually foolish, after abandoning that divine and immortal adoption, now incline toward the dead, unfortunate, and short-lived kinship of the body — the bodily kinship with animals — thinking only of fleshly things like irrational beasts, inflamed by pleasures. Thus they separate themselves from God and drag the soul down from Heaven into the abyss through their lower desires.

“The rational person avoids whatever harms the soul, because such things are foreign to him and separate him from immortality.”

Every time a person sins (fails to follow the specifications of the Father), he separates himself from God. Every person can see the resurrected Christ within himself when he humbles himself, repents, and allows the old self to die. We cannot experience resurrection without profound humility.

Saint Porphyrios, in turn, teaches us how to become free from everything through humility:

“Humility is absolute trust in God. The humble person is never disturbed but accepts everything with gratitude. Perfect trust in God is identical to absolute humility. Humility is complete obedience to God without objection or resistance, even when certain things seem difficult or irrational. It is surrendering oneself into the hands of God.

“Excessive sorrow over everything springs from excessive ego. Where humility exists, there is no depression. The egotistical person is troubled by everything. The humble person is free and independent from everyone and everything. This happens only through union with Christ. Let all the senses function according to the law of the Lord. Be ready to empty yourself for anyone. This is freedom.

“Where there is love, there is freedom. Living within the love of God means living within freedom. The humble and loving person becomes truly free. Whoever loves shows that he has been reborn from God and truly knows God.

“Whoever confesses that the man Jesus is the sent Son of God, God dwells within him and he lives united with God. Fear is connected to punishment, and whoever fears punishment shows that he has not yet reached perfect love.”

Love is communion, the union between us that allows us to truly exist; it is not merely an emotion. Love is not simply a feeling, but communion with all things — it is the relationship that gives us existence. “God is Love” essentially means that God is the Holy Trinity, the Communion (Union) of All.

The ego is the absence of love — unconditional love. In essence, when we are not filled with love, we feel separated and live within the world of the ego.

Love for ourselves and for our soul — for our Source, which is our true self — is the feeling of gratitude for everything and everyone around us.

Love is feeling, it is energy, it is a part of God entering into the human being so that the person may live like God. That is why the Lord gave us His greatest commandment, so that we may escape decay and the limitations of space and time, and become miracle-workers:

“This is My commandment: love one another, so that whatever you ask from the Father in My name may be given to you.”

God reveals Himself and grants everything to the humble. The only true problem we have is sin — separation from God — which occurs whenever we do not follow His divine principles. God illuminates us through His Holy Spirit. Without it, we can do nothing. The state of becoming “in His likeness,” which is uncreated and beyond space and time, can only be reached through the Grace of the Holy Spirit.

Ultimately, the union of the mind with the heart brings us into the state of infinite possibilities.

By withdrawing our mind from the routine of daily life, from constant preoccupation with the ego, we become miracle-workers.

We must move beyond the ego and understand that our joy is not found in what God gives us, but in God Himself — in our relationship with Him. The solution is the true reduction of the ego, initiation into love, and becoming like the Lord.

By reducing the ego — by becoming unconcerned with selfish gain — we place the well-being of our fellow human being before our own.

The goal for all of us is to begin the process of purification. If we wish to be saved, we must become saints; otherwise we will remain unhappy both in this life and in the next.

The sin of Adam is the development of the ego — the feeling that we are “separate.” It is our tendency toward selfishness, indulgence, and sinfulness, toward following the desires of the ego instead of the divine principles of the Creator. Only when we focus on love for the Lord do we unite with Him and receive everything.

The key to everything, therefore, is our redemption — the neutralization of all the actions of the past that caused us to feel separated from our Source — and our reconnection with that Source. Miracles happen naturally as an expression of love. The true miracle is the love that inspires them. In this sense, everything that flows from love is a miracle.

Everything is love. Love is the only true presence that exists, the only true essence that exists.

Love is not something we receive from others. It already exists within us. It is our very essence, the realization of our true nature. It is foolish to demand that others love us, because love is communion with all things. When we ask others to love us, we feel “separate,” disconnected from our essence and our true nature. When we seek love from someone else, we remain trapped in the world of the ego — the false world of lack and illness.

Enlightenment, therefore, means realizing that we are not “separate,” and when this realization occurs, all resistance to the flow of life disappears. Along with that resistance disappear pain and illness, which are created by resistance itself.

Our Father sent His Son as our guide. If we wish to rediscover the Father, we must follow the Lord, and we follow Him by conforming ourselves to His commandments, which are the divine principles of the Father. Through the Lord Jesus Christ, we ascend toward the Father and become children of God.

“Glorify God” — this is the secret to having everything.

“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own? Therefore glorify God with your body and with your spirit, which belong to God.” — Apostle Paul

The whole secret is to become deeply moved, to awaken and move the heart. The entire purpose is to awaken God within us. Engage in life with the intention of offering the greatest possible good to your fellow human beings. This is the secret of uniting with God and succeeding in whatever you do.

Focus only on how much you are offering, on how much good you can do for your fellow human beings, and then your soul becomes deeply fulfilled. In that state, a person fulfills the true purpose for which he came into this life: to offer, to unite with others, and through this union to become united with God.

We can live a happy life. We can attain Eternal Life, become saints, and perform miracles without even realizing it — if only we follow what the Lord taught:

“Learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you shall find rest for your souls.”

(Meaning: follow My example — I am meek and humble of heart.)