THE DIVINE PRESENCE

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There are three distinct but related concepts of divine presence:
God's presence in nature
God's presence among all human beings
God's presence in each human being

In theological terms, a god's presence in nature is irrelevant next to his or

 her presence among humanity. Such presence could be in the mind, but

 an unseen being that influences human perception would be perceived by

 human beings as an external, environmental, or natural entity.

The concept is shared by many religious traditions, is found in a number

 of independently-derived conceptualizations, and each of these has

 culturally distinct terminology. Some of the various relevant concepts

 and terms are:
Aum - The Buddhist and Hindu (Indian religions) name that evokes the

 concepts of the Oneness of God and the universal omnipresence of the

 creator deity.
Brahman - Hinduism, the superpresent properties of the creator deity,

 Brahma, understood to manifest itself as "light" within the human

 being.

Divine countenance or the face of God — a metaphor for a
 close encounter with God himself
The Holy Spirit - (See also spirit, holiness) - Christianity
Immanence - related term used in religious mysticism.
Inner light - term used in various religions to refer to the
 presence of God as a "light". The Religious Society of Friends
 regards this concept as a fundamental belief.
Light (theology) - an aspect of divine presence with qualities of
 illumination: thought, intellect, knowledge, insight, wisdom,
 being, divine love.
Numen - Latin term for "presence", used historically to refer to
 a Roman religious concept.
Presence of God (Catholicism) Catholic Christianity
Psychedelics can produce the feeling of the Presence of God.
Shekhinah - Judaism's term for a presence in a holy place
 (Tabernacle), and due to the symbolism of the tabernacle as
 representational of the human body or being, it likewise refers
 to the presence of God in the human being.
Theophany - the overt appearance of God to a person.
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From Wikipedia

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The real meaning of praying without ceasing,
it seems to me, is that the divine presence or eternal values in the present moment begin to become more transparent; they become a kind of fourth dimension to the three-dimensional world. The awareness of God's presence at the subtlest level of all realities begins to be a kind of spontaneous addition to ordinary awareness, not through a thought or through any effort of ours at the time, but simply because it's there, and our capacity to perceive it has awakened through progress in contemplative prayer. Accessing the divine presence within ourselves seems to unlock the capacity to perceive it in all events, however opaque they may seem to the ordinary human perceptions. So to pray without ceasing is to be aware of the divine presence all the time as a spontaneous part of all reality.
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Father Thomas Keating
St. Benedict's Monastery - Snowmass, Colorado

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THE HOLY SPIRIT CAN BE IDENTIFIED

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In every school of Christianity,

we see people who follow the same spirit,

who do not want to speculate on what cannot

be speculated about. "Negative theology"

is an effort and practice to prevent Christians

from being caught by notions and concepts

that prevent them from touching the living

spirit of Christianity. When we speak of

negative theology, the theology about the

Death of God, we are talking about the

death of every concept we may have of God

in order to experience God as a living

reality directly.

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A good theologian is one who says almost

nothing about God, even though the word

"theology" means "discourse about God."

It is risky to talk about God. The notion

of God might be an obstacle for us to touch

God as love, wisdom, and mindfulness.

The Buddha was very clear about this.

He said, "You tell me that you are in love with

a beautiful woman, but when I ask you,

'What is the color of her eyes? What is her

name? What is the name of her town?'

you cannot tell me. I don't believe you are

really in love with something real."

Your notion of God may be vague like that,

not having to do with reality. The Buddha was

not against God. He was only against notions

of God that are mere mental constructions

that do not correspond to reality, notions

that prevent us from developing ourselves

and touching ultimate reality.

That is why I believe it is safer to approach

God through the Holy Spirit than through

the door of theology. We can identify

the Holy Spirit whenever it makes its

presence felt. Whenever we see someone

who is loving, compassionate, mindful,

caring, and understanding, we know

that the Holy Spirit is there.

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From Living Buddha, Living Christ

Thich Nhat Hanh

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