About The Art of Grace
Why this site?
The main purpose of this web site is to explore grace. The more I explore this concept, the more convinced I become of the wonderful healing power of grace. Like a kid who has discovered a really cool toy, I want to share what I have learned with others so that we may play together.
It is my hope that this site might help others tap into the power of grace to thrive with abundance, love and awesome relationships.
Harnessing the Power of Grace
Like electricity, grace has power in it. Unlike electricity, grace remains a mystery. The better we understand electricity the better we are able to harness its powers. Grace is a poorly understood power, and we cannot always reliably tap into it. This is why this site is called the Art of Grace and not the Science of Grace. Humans now have the tools, such as MRIs, to investigate the physiological effects of meditation, of friendship and of grace, just as in the past century we explored electricity. Soon, we will better understand the power of grace so that we might harness its power to transform hearts, communities and the world in unimaginable ways.
"We cannot save our planet unless humankind undergoes
a widespread spiritual and religious awakening."
~ Paul Hawken in Blessed Unrest
Today, humanity faces many threats to survival. Like Paul Hawken, I share the belief that most of the problems facing humanity are at their core spiritual problems, and the way to solve them is for people to awaken spiritually and religiously, in other words, to experience grace. It is for each person to know that they are loved, that they are Children of God, and that they are among the many victors of billions of years of evolution.
In the past, people who have experienced grace have led great advances in human culture. Experiencing grace, Moses led his people to freedom. Experiencing grace, Buddha led his followers to enlightenment. Experiencing grace, Jesus led his people to unconditional love. Experiencing grace, Martin Luther led the reformation and led people to directly experience the divine. Experiencing grace, Gandhi led his people to non-violent independence. Experiencing grace, Dr. Martin Luther King led the Civil Rights movement. Today, experiencing grace, millions of people are transforming society yet again, in millions of ways. Some, like Paul Hawken, lead people in the transformation of business, government, and other institutions into forces for social justice, environmental sustainability and spiritual growth.
And more important to each individual is the transformation of each soul.
Love is the alpha and omega. Grace is the experience of this love.
About the Webweaver
The web weaver for this site is Cathy, a mother, wife, scientist, teacher and web designer. Trained as a scientist (Ph.D. in microbiology), I learned to be skeptical of everything. For years, grace was a religious term that had no relevance to me other than as some arcane religious concept.
Now, I discover that it's one of the coolest concepts ever, and I can hardly contain my enthusiasm for it. My life feels so much more joyous. Now, in the light of grace, even the rough patches don't seem so rough.
Many years ago, while hiking in the mountains of southern Colorado, I experienced a profound and magical sense of oneness and bliss. For a long time, I thought that this event was nothing more than some weird, although pleasant, brain glitch. Years later, while nursing my baby, I felt an exquisite sense of gratitude, bliss and deep connection to the cosmos. This profound sense of ecstasy happened again years later while I danced alone in a church sanctuary in preparation for a class I was about to give.
The intensity of feeling I had during these experiences led me to question my sanity. To see if these feelings of ecstasy were normal, I began to pay attention to the extraordinary experiences of other people. I found I was not alone.
Now, after what I have learned, I look back at my experiences and know that they were not brain glitches, but rather, moments of grace where I experienced a deep connection to myself, to others and to all of creation.
Later, I realized that people of all faiths and philosophies have reported similar experiences. For example, Buddhists refer to it as Enlightenment, athletes as being in the "Zone," artists as being in "Flow", Hindus as feeling "Oneness" or Samadhi. Others call it attunement or integration. I realized that my experiences were what some people call the state of grace. I like this term because it is related to the term "gratitude," which to me seems integral to this experience. I began to read about this phenomenon and to listen to other people's stories of grace. Soon after the dancing experience, similar episodes of feeling deep connection and bliss became more frequent. Some have been as intense, although none as startling because I have now become familiar with the experience of profound bliss.
The feelings of grace include a sensation of unconditional love, as if the power that creates the universe loves me and everyone else. This used to be an odd sensation for me, given that my old understanding of science had made the concept of God and Divine Love seem improbable.
It has become more apparent to me that the feeling of grace is not a delusion, (ie a perception that is not based on reality.) To me, the only delusion is thinking that I am separate, unloved or that the power that creates the universe does not support me.
For me, doubt has been the doorway to discovery and my skepticism has led me to realize the power of grace. The more I learn about it, the more wonderfully grace transforms my life. Grace is a truth that goes beyond any single religion or philosophy. What I call grace (and what is known to others by various other names) is universal to all cultures and spiritual traditions, whether they practice religion or not. My goal is to continue exploring grace and to share what I learn with others.
As I create this site, I am sharply aware of the limitations of language. I know that some of the words I use will turn some people off. I know that if I try to be more precise in meaning, my language will become cumbersome. Alas. I also know that I cannot convey the experience of grace to anyone. It must be a personal experience. If you have not experienced grace, all my words about grace probably sound like the ramblings of a mad woman. If you've experienced it, YEAH!
While I was having these grace experiences, I was exploring another seemingly unrelated idea, that of evolution. At first, the science of evolution seemed to suggest that grace was a delusional state of mind since evolution "proved" that there is no God and that everything is the result of a random accident. However, the more I explored the science of evolution, the more apparent it became to me of what I now call the "Divine Direction" and "Survival of the Most Harmonious." I don't know if it's chance or purpose, but growing mountains of evidence show that the universe, (at least in our galaxy) has a direction toward greater cooperation, greater consciousness and greater compassion. It's also apparent that evolution is about survival of those entities that harmonize best with the laws of the universe. These revelations are awesome to me! I cannot convey the sense of serenity it gives me to know that the power that creates the universe conspires on our behalf. Whenever I feel glum, if I can manage to remember the Divine Direction, I immediately realize that "This too will pass." More than this, I realize that "This particular obstacle may be an opportunity" and "if I align with the divine I'll feel fine."
I have heard many, many stories of people who "had it all" including wealth, friends and health, yet they still felt unhappy, unconnected and spiritually impoverished. Then, through an accident they "lost it all": health, friends, and/or wealth. Those who sought answers, for the first time in their lives, found what truly made them happy. It was grace, the experience of divine love and harmony with the whole.
The more stories I hear about grace, the more enthusiastic I become to learn about this magical state of awareness. If you have a story you would like to share with me, I would love to hear from you. My email address is cathy@lightheartmedia.com.