Tonight I told stories from my books and read excerpts from Through God’s Eyes with the able assistance of Lori Anne Yang, a good friend and the founder of (more…)
In the book, The Practice of the Presence of God, Brother Lawrence, a kitchen worker in a seventeenth-century Paris monastery, wrote of the peace that comes from viewing everything in life as a gift from God.
God knoweth best what is needful for us, and all that He does is for our good. If we knew how much He loves us, we should always be ready to receive equally and with indifference from His hand the sweet and the bitter. All would please that came from Him.
Pray remember what I have recommended to you, which is, to think often on God, by day, by night, in your business, and even in your diversions. He is always near you and with you; leave Him not alone. You would think it rude to leave a friend alone who came to visit you; why, then, must God be neglected? Do not, then, forget Him, but (more…)
In the depth of winter, Nicholas Herman, an eighteen-year-old impoverished solider in the French army, stopped to gaze upon a tree. The thoughts that occurred to him in those few moments changed the course of his life and would serve to inspire countless souls in the centuries to come.
Like the tree, stripped of its leaves, Herman felt barren and hopeless. But come spring, he realized, the tree would once again blossom with leaves and fruit. In that instant, the leafless tree “first flashed in upon [his] soul the fact of God” and his soul blossomed with the hope and expectation that the turn of seasons in his own life would bring fullness, and that he too would be renewed through the mercy of God’s grace.
Not long after, a near-fatal injury to his sciatic nerve, which left him crippled and in chronic pain the rest of his life, forced Herman’s retirement from the army. After a stint as a self-described “footman who was clumsy and broke everything,” he entered the Discalced Carmelite monastery in Paris around the year 1635 and took the name (more…)
That all things are possible to him who believes; that they are less difficult to him who hopes; that they are more easy to him who loves, and still more easy to him who perseveres in the practice of these three virtues.
At the core of this teaching is the liberation and joy that come with surrender. And the more you love and trust God the easier it will be for you to surrender, which will generate a virtuous circle: By relinquishing control, you become more trusting, which frees (more…)
So many people resolve to be kinder and more loving, but consistently fall short of that goal. The busier life gets, the further their mind drifts from such lofty intentions. Later, in quieter moments, they chastise themselves for not living up to the promise they made to themselves.
The solution? What works for me is looking at every individual as if they were my own son or daughter. Then it doesn’t matter what they look like or act like. I see nothing but the indescribable beauty of their soul.
However, as you’ve surely already discovered for yourself, setting a general intention is not enough. The missing link that moves me from intending to be more loving to actually following through is the (more…)
Today, I attended a memorial service for a most remarkable man. Gulab Singh, a fellow usher at the Self-Realization Fellowship Temple in Encinitas, California, had been felled by a heart attack on Saturday, January 26, at the age of fifty-nine. I loved serving with Gulab. He was a model of sincerity and devotion, and I’m very glad I told him all that in an e-mail just five days before his passing.
Gulab’s memorial service was heartfelt, moving and poignant. I teared up a number of times, and I know I was not alone in doing so. Gulab was the magnetic center of a large, extended family of more than two dozen people, and was dearly loved, respected and admired by all.
To know Gulab was to be uplifted, for he had undergone a wondrous transformation in the last six months of his life. As his loved ones explained in their eulogies, he had become a pure vessel of divine love, offering love and kindness to all who crossed his path. At the end of the service, a friend of Gulab’s came to the podium to share a story. He had had lunch with Gulab three weeks before Gulab passed away. The friend, who had been out of town for a number of months, told Gulab that he had heard of his spiritual transformation and asked him what the source of it was. He said Gulab got very quiet; he tried to speak but got choked up and needed a few moments to compose himself. Finally, he said, very simply, “I realized that (more…)
Here is a radio interview I did for my book, Through God’s Eyes. I hope you enjoy it!
It was a pleasure talking to Kathy Kirk on her radio show, A New View of Life, on November 6, 2012. Click on the audio player below to hear our 45-minute (more…)
Lots of people are repelled by the idea of surrendering to Divine Will because they believe that doing so means that they will be relinquishing their free will and diminishing their capacity to reason and act. Just the opposite is true. Essentially, surrendering means attuning your will with Divine Will, which strengthens your resolve to live purposefully and reinforces your capacity to do, to achieve, to become. What you are actually surrendering is your self-centeredness and the belief that you are alone and unprotected in an uncaring, unforgiving world. Surrendering is nothing more than a homecoming, a recognition that your will aligns with Divine Will as naturally as a child’s hand fits into its mother’s.
If you subscribe to the ancient wisdom that a supreme, loving intelligence governs all of existence, then it follows that you are being guided with infinite wisdom and inexhaustible love at all times. And that means that life is unfolding in a way that has your best interests in mind. Therefore, every situation you are presented with is a gift, an opportunity for you to learn and grow and move closer to realizing your potential.
Ultimately, surrendering to God, to life, to the Universe, or whatever you wish to call it, puts you on the fast track to living the best life you can possibly live. Of course, implicit in that statement is the expectation that you are (more…)
In church this last Sunday, the minister used a colorful analogy. He noted that you wouldn’t dream of riding a roller-coaster without the safety bar in place. Then, no matter how high or how fast you travel, you will be secure and you won’t fall out.
This story by John Cassidy of Centereach, New York, is a perfect example of an unexplainable glitch suddenly making sense. I’ve experienced a number of similar technical mishaps that made no sense whatsoever . . . until suddenly they did. My experiences may not have been life and death, but the reasons were just as stark and obvious. This story appeared in the July 2012 issue of Guideposts.
A DRIVE-THROUGH MIRACLE A seemingly uncooperative bank machine turns out to be an angelic ATM
The bank I frequent has a drive-through ATM, which is convenient because it saves me from having to get out and wait in a long teller line inside.
For years, I’ve followed the same routine: I pull up to the machine, make my deposits or withdrawals, then drive over and park in a spot about 50 feet away, underneath a big old stately shade tree, while I tuck my money in my wallet and put away my receipts. Quick and easy.
One windy summer morning I had a lot of errands to run and was low on cash. So I drove over to my bank, waited patiently behind another car, then pulled up to the ATM. I put the car in park and slipped my card into the slot as usual. But the machine immediately spat it back out. “Cannot (more…)
One of the most rewarding parts of writing Through God’s Eyes: Finding Peace and Purpose in a Troubled World has been getting so many uplifting e-mails from people all over the world. Receiving such enthusiastic feedback has been both gratifying and humbling. Here are excerpts from the wonderful e-mails and reviews I’ve received. My thanks to everyone who has read and enjoyed the book.
In this work of spiritual artistry, author Phil Bolsta has filtered and sifted the wisdom of the ages both ancient and contemporary, secular and religious, spiritual and scientific into coherent and cohesive collections and then arranged those collections into a clear path for anyone who wishes to walk a deeper, more awakened spiritual journey through life. His commentaries and real-life anecdotes add just the right clarity to bring each area of reflection into the here-and-now. Lori Anne Yang, Edina, Minnesota
Russ and I looked at your book more carefully this morning, and we were both amazed at the scope of it. Just the sheer task of gathering the material from so many sources and then organizing it into the separate themes of the chapter headings boggles my mind. I can see how this must have taken years to put together. It’s not just a compilation of others’ thoughts but your own interwoven one-by-one between theirs.
I’ve been listening to classical music lately through a music-appreciation class I’ve been taking. This book reminds me of a composer writing a symphony—setting down on musical notation paper all the thousands of notes that all the different instruments will play. I can’t begin to understand how such a mind would work to be able to do that, and I feel the same way about your book!
I thought the cover was so inspiring too. I really imagined it was a closeup photo of a human eye until I read inside that it was a nebula! What a great idea.
Russ and I will both appreciate this book for many years to come. We like to read each other inspiring stories regularly as a way to connect and relax in the evenings since we don’t watch television. We can certainly pick this up and just open it at random and find something beautiful to enjoy together. It’s a book to treasure, one paragraph or page at a time. Rita, Encinitas, California
It was so great to meet you last night at your book reading! The reading from your book was absolutely beautiful, and I truly appreciated the great discussion that followed. As I was walking into my apartment last night, with great anticipation to dive into your book, I glanced down at the cover and had a realization. I knew, without a doubt, that the reading of this book is going to change my life. It was a lovely moment, and I’m so grateful. So thank you, thank you for all you’ve already added to my life in such a short time! I began reading your book last night before bed, and I woke up this morning with a new perspective. I have fresh eyes, my heart is more open, my gratitude has expanded, and my faith heightened. Aerica Benson, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Through God’s Eyes is a comprehensive collection of spiritual wisdom from across the ages, and from many different disciplines and philosophies. Phil has done an incredible job of breaking down spiritual issues and principles into categories, and then finding the right quotes from sages, mystics, philosophers, and others to illuminate those categories and provide an answer to virtually any question one could pose. Phil contributes his own insights as well and they are right on, echoing and paraphrasing a collection of wisdom unsurpassed in my reading. So it’s big. And it’s inspired. As a longtime disciple of (more…)
I am honored and grateful that Caroline Myss, one of my spiritual heroes, agreed to write the Foreword for my book, Through God’s Eyes. Here is what she wrote:
FOREWORD
by Caroline Myss
Caroline Myss
I love this book, beginning with the title all the way through to the final word. Rarely have I been as enthralled by a piece of work as I am by Phil Bolsta’s remarkable Through God’s Eyes. Each time I opened it to read a few pages, I found that I could not stop. I told myself, “Just one more page,” but inevitably I kept on reading, even though I had read many of the chapters before. Part of the exquisite beauty of this book is that you will want to read it again and again. Such is the gift of genuine inspiration and grace.
Yet another reason I love this book is that I am enamored with prayer, reflection, contemplation, and wisdom. We live in a society that is starving and indeed suffering from the absence of all four of those sacred practices—and it shows. Through God’s Eyes presents immeasurable opportunities for prayer, reflection, and spiritual inquiry, all threaded together by a continuum of wise teachings in such a way that the reader is brought into a gentle state of contemplation with ease. You will find yourself wanting to reflect on the insightful writings of the numerous mystics, theologians, philosophers, poets, scientists, and writers that Phil has cleverly gathered together. Over two pages, for example, he blends the wisdom of Henry David Thoreau, C. S. Lewis, Deepak Chopra, Rabindranath Tagore, and my personal favorite, Teresa of Avila. I could create a weekend workshop centered around the (more…)
In the depth of winter, Nicholas Herman, an eighteen-year-old impoverished solider in the French army, stopped to gaze upon a tree. The thoughts that occurred to him in those few moments changed the course of his life and would serve to inspire countless souls in the centuries to come. 
So many people resolve to be kinder and more loving, but consistently fall short of that goal. The busier life gets, the further their mind drifts from such lofty intentions. Later, in quieter moments, they chastise themselves for not living up to the promise they made to themselves.
Lots of people are repelled by the idea of surrendering to Divine Will because they believe that doing so means that they will be relinquishing their free will and diminishing their capacity to reason and act. Just the opposite is true. Essentially, surrendering means attuning your will with Divine Will, which strengthens your resolve to live purposefully and reinforces your capacity to do, to achieve, to become. What you are actually surrendering is your self-centeredness and the belief that you are alone and unprotected in an uncaring, unforgiving world. Surrendering is nothing more than a homecoming, a recognition that your will aligns with Divine Will as naturally as a child’s hand fits into its mother’s.
In church this last Sunday, the minister used a colorful analogy. He noted that you wouldn’t dream of riding a roller-coaster without the safety bar in place. Then, no matter how high or how fast you travel, you will be secure and you won’t fall out.
The bank I frequent has a drive-through ATM, which is convenient because it saves me from having to get out and wait in a long teller line inside.
