Sometimes I like to joke around with these titles ;)
This article I am writing from a bit more of a personal perspective because I think it will hit home a better that way. Also, because I have had the internal monologue of "Excuuuuse meee?" when hearing some people use phrases like this and I think this reaction is something many of us have shared. No, just me? Well - maybe now I at least have your attention!
We've all probably heard it at some point; someone saying that "God showed me this" or "I've been guided by God to do this." In the past, hearing someone use language like this used to trigger me. Looking back on it I can even recognize emotions like anger and jealousy. And based on the vastly different experience people have with religion or spirituality I'm sure it can evoke every emotion in the book. But the reason I am writing is to help us process the difficult, triggering emotions.
To cut straight to the chase, I think the distaste people have for phrases like this are because a foundational aspect of our society and culture is this elitist sense of being a "chosen" person whether it be for a good job or on a sports team or for some award or recognition. We've really ingrained this into people with the way we handle it in almost every aspect of our lives.
This results in a strong tendency for these phrases to evoke thoughts and images that personify God as impressed with someone and wanting to distinguish and reward them. This is not only due to our society and culture but also an effect (in my opinion) of the way religions portray God. Obviously one could imagine the discomfort that this would cause in someone who has insecurities that lead to seeking the approval of others, or someone that feels like they've never even felt the presence of God. In these cases, when someone says something like "God revealed to me" some people's immediate reaction is just "oh here comes some bullshit" and they'll immediately dismiss it.
So, when it comes to that, I think that one way to help people work through these triggers is to actually gain an understanding of what someone means when they say this. Not only can there be an infinite number of ways to interpret those words, but I'm sure there are some people who would never use the word God but still say something which is meaningfully identical.
I will use my own experience as an example because I am someone who used to be very turned off by these words. But these days, I do feel like I have been and continue to be guided by God; although I wouldn't normally say it that way, I am going to for the purpose of this discussion.
As I have grown and integrated new understandings, I have come to believe that God is outside of realm of what I may "truly know". It is something unmanifest that sets the stage and makes the laws. However, I do believe that God has "fractalized" itself, or extended itself into its creation as consciousness. And, I think that these streams of consciousness extend out into different layers that manifest according to certain laws, and I think that our human experience is one example of this.
As individuals our consciousness extends back up - almost like a lineage or ancestry - to the "edge" of creation, and at that level (which is not God, in my opinion) we have our "higher self" as some call it. To me, this is the part of us that is the first division from God or true Unity itself. And, I think that through developing our own consciousness we can access these higher levels all the way up to the highest level of our higher self, and we can tap into this stream of consciousness. Here we may have experiences we understand as new knowledge, guidance, or intuition, and we can use that to navigate our mundane lives here, as a fractalized extension of God having this living, human experience.
So, if I were to say "God showed me this" it's not because I feel that I am "chosen" or have some type of special advantage over anyone else. It's simply that I feel that if I set aside the attachments to everyday life and this existence and achieve a balanced state of heart and mind that I can tap into this intuitive knowingness, which is just a higher level of my own consciousness - no different than anyone else's. And in this state of clarity I can integrate new understandings to help me make decisions that I feel are in the best interest of all beings.
It's taken years of hard lessons and patient work but today this understanding is why I do not feel triggered when I hear people talk this way. I'm sharing this, because I think as a ministry that wants to involve people of all faiths I feel it can bridge some gaps. And, not only do we want to reach people of all faiths but we want to be welcoming to people who are for the first time starting to get in touch with their own divinity, as I was in the past. Now when I hear "God showed me..." rather than reacting with "Excuuuuse meee?" I can excitedly think "I wonder what they mean." And, for me, making a little more of an effort to understand what people mean when they say similar things helped me get past these stumbling blocks. Ultimately I think through this we can each be lead further on our own path towards divinity howsoever that is meant to happen in the unique ways destined for each of us - which is one of the main missions we have at Unity of Divine Creation Ministry.