“‘The Kingdom of Heaven is within you’ is not an empty cliche`, it is a reality”
~Wayne Dyer
When I read these words this morning I recognized their Truth, but I also remembered a scene from my childhood when I was about 8 years old. My Mother, an avid reader herself, had given me a book on mythology and I was devouring the book and its fabulous stories. Of course I was immediately drawn to the tale of the goddess Diana, since her name was about as close as I was ever going to get to my own name, Diantha. At the time I was having troubles fitting into my own name which was too big for a young girl and seemed to dismay everyone I met. “Where on earth did that come from?” “Is that a combination of two names?” “What is wrong with just Diane?” and those are just some of the publishable comments!
At any rate, here I was, so excited to see my almost name of Diana in this book I was loving. One night, my precious Grandmother who lived with us was left alone with we three girls. I was the only possible fly in the ointment as my younger sister was only 3 and she went right to bed easily. My older sister was 15 and able to put herself to bed, so I was the only challenge of the evening.
So there I was, having read all about Diana, Goddess of the Hunt, that afternoon and excited as can be to have seen my almost name in print! Exuberant child that I was, I was jumping on the bed and singing all about how I was a goddess when suddenly out of nowhere my Grandmother yanked me off the bed and told me in no uncertain terms that that was definitely blasphemy and thoughts like that would lead me to the gates of hell.
I really didn’t see anything wrong with what I was saying as there was something in me even then that believed that God lives in each of us, and that yes, the Kingdom of Heaven does too. But at that moment I realized it would be wise and certainly easier on my arm to go underground for a bit with my beliefs.
It actually took many years to come out again as a goddess! Still, it’s always been in there bubbling, and reconnecting to that certainty has been a big part of my life’s path. My sisters and I have occasionally had the discussion entitled “Who we would have been if anyone had encouraged us” which leads to some interesting thoughts, but wouldn’t this be a fabulous world if we were all taught the truth of Dr. Dyer’s quote above? Imagine a world full of people living out their potential!
I suppose the lack of this happening is because we all have to come to this knowing in our own time and certainly our challenges can be guideposts to being one with Truth. But it’s just a thought I had this morning as the sun rose over the lake, and this old memory came bobbing up to the surface of my consciousness. I find myself chuckling over this memory and the absurdity of it but I can tell you that at age 8 I was shocked that my Grandmother did not believe in my divinity. Not that I thought I was all that special, because I believed EVERYONE was divine in their own souls. How I knew this I don’t know. I just did.
I hope each one of you reading this today will pause a minute and remember that within YOU lies the Kingdom of Heaven. And within you, everything is possible. Have a great day!