Divine Insights from Human Life, Peck Eva

This book covers thirty-six biblical topics presented under twelve broad themes. For each topic, three or four key aspects are addressed by covering the main points and giving a list of supporting scriptures. To gain the most out of their study, readers are encouraged to check the scriptural references which sometimes provide additional infor­mation to what is covered in the text. The occasional short Bible quotations in the text are from the New International Version (NIV). However, the basic thoughts and concepts are the same in all Bible translations and therefore readers can use their preferred version.

The aim of the book is to help people who desire to get better acquainted with the Word of God. For those already familiar with the Scriptures, the book may prove a useful review of the main Bible teachings, as well as providing new or richer insights. The material can be studied individually or in small groups.

May this book answer many of the questions arising in the hearts and minds of those who seek a higher purpose in life and are drawn to the reality of the Christian life and spirituality - the pathway to life revealed in the Holy Scriptures. May readers of all persuasions who take the time to explore this book find something of value and be edified.

• Reality-based - true to lived experience.
• Inclusive - speaking to readers on any spiritual path, or none.
• Timeless - relevant today, next year, and in decades to come.
• Universal - able to touch people's lives across a broad spectrum.

However, while the poems are intended to speak to people of any spiritual orientation, readers may find a gentle undercurrent of Christian and/or Buddhist thought as a result of the background and studies by their authors.

Alex and Eva are pleased to have permission from Jindrich (Henry) Degen, Eva's father, to use some of his mainly abstract paintings as introductory pages to the sections and to the individual poems in this book.

The poems are arranged under the following themes:

• Truths of Life
• Wisdom for Life
• Acceptance
• End-of-Life Reflections
• In Memoriam
• Friendship
• Family
• On a Lighter Note

With the authors now well into their sixties, as well as having over the years been drawn to interact with and serve older members of their communities, the poems overall reflect a serious side of life. Specifically, four trains of thought have emerged: life has many wonderful qualities and is a precious opportunity to benefit oneself and many others; this life is impermanent and can end unexpectedly; life is inescapably governed by cause and effect; and life is not without difficulties, frustrations, and heartaches. To balance the soberness of the poems, Eva wisely suggested including a section entitled "On a Lighter Note"

May readers find the feelings and thoughts about life captured in the poems helpful and insightful for their own life journey. Words, of course, are limited and so may they point to the deeper, heartfelt, and sometimes inexpressible, meanings.

It's possible for us to be like the blind men that Jesus encountered on his travels - but worse still, not even realize that we are blind or missing anything. Unknowingly, we may be oblivious to the divine realities surrounding us. Just as countless camouflaged living creatures cross our paths but totally escape our attention, there is camouflaged divinity in every nook and cranny of the created order. Living things - both plants and animals - can teach us much about life, as well as giving us insights into present and future spiritual realities.

This book proposes, like its companion volumes Divine Reflections in Times and Seasons and Divine Reflections in Natural Phenomena, that the Divine can be glimpsed in ordinary experiences - and that indeed all of life is sacred and as such teaches us about and brings us closer to God. In other words, an immanent aspect of the Divine pervades all living things, enabling us to see traces of the transcendent reality. A consciousness of the Creator's presence in the seemingly mundane will help us recognize divine qualities reflected in the creation.

Like the blind men in the Scriptures, of and by ourselves we are often unable to see the camouflaged divinity. We may well need to have our eyes opened and the divine brought to light. Then, with a desire to see and know, by looking deeper below and beyond the surface of the seemingly mundane, we will be able to glimpse the divine presence. Something as ordinary as the household cat, birds nesting in the backyard tree, or a flower bed with butterflies hovering over it - these, as well as myriads of other things around us, will enable us to discern or spot signs of the divine mystery.

This closer and deeper looking at life will also allow us to perceive the unity and interconnection (-inter-being-) of all things. Everything is interrelated and interdependent, as well as containing all else - animals depend on plants for oxygen and sometimes for food, plants need insects for pollination and thus species preservation, and all life needs and contains energy from the sun and water from the clouds for survival.

As we become open to new possibilities of seeing and begin to interpret our experiences in fresh ways, the ordinary transforms itself into the extraordinary and the previously unnoticed becomes a source of marvel

Few would question the importance of sound teachings. Nevertheless, God is far outside of our realm of perception and comprehension, and therefore human language becomes limited in accurately formulating concepts about the Divine. While groups differ in how they see the Ultimate Reality, no one can know fully in this life - we all understand partially at best.

The Bible includes both doctrinal teachings and references to direct experiences with God. They are presented from individual perspectives of the writers and editors of the Scriptures. From the texts we can deduce that a close, experiential relationship with the Divine is possible. Examples include King David, Abraham, Job, Enoch and Noah walked with God. We are all children of God, each with a special and individual relationship to our Father / Mother (since God is genderless and has both male and female qualities).

This book (the second of a trilogy) suggests that the Divine can be experienced all around us - that indeed everything is sacred and as such teaches us about and brings us closer to God. In other words, the immanent aspect of the Divine pervades all things, enabling us to catch glimpses of the transcendent reality. Increased consciousness of the Creator in the seemingly ordinary and mundane will help us appreciate divine qualities in the creation. Furthermore, it will awaken our own creative potential, since we are, at soul level, made in the divine image and therefore co-workers and co-creators with God

For centuries, nature has been seen by many as the second book of divine revelation, next to inspired writings. Through nature we can, by grace, unexpectedly and often in surprising ways, encounter the Divine. When this happens, the literal becomes a metaphor which invites us to explore its larger and deeper meanings. By looking for the sacred in the mundane, be it dew on the grass, clouds in the sky, or new growth in the spring, we can also perceive the interconnection (-inter-being-) of all things. Everything contains all else - the sun and clouds are in the grass and buds, which couldn't come into existence without rain and sunshine.

By our becoming open to new possibilities and interpreting experiences in fresh ways, the ordinary becomes transformed into the extraordinary, and what we had previously not even noticed becomes wonderful. When we open our hearts and become emotionally receptive, we will notice surprising presences.

Seek to be really aware, mindful and attentive to your surroundings. Open your senses, take a deep look, and truly experience things. Pay closer attention to the unusual flower or beetle, appreciate the beauty and diversity of both the living and non-living aspects of the creation. -Come and see-, as the Scriptures encourage. Become open to the unpredictable, to adventure - allow circumstances to spontaneously unfold. Then you, too, may well echo the words of the poet Gerald Manley Hopkins, -The world is charged with the grandeur of God.-