What we may lose through this process are our old beliefs about what and who God is? Unlike other losses that leave a legacy of desolation, this is a shedding that brings a rich emptiness by making possible an inner space for a deeper intimacy with God.
We let go of old limiting notions about God and replace them with the intimate KNOWING that comes through a living experience of Him.
But our old notions and beliefs about God must be faced and challenged. Such a process brings up a lot of fear. We have held these (often) child-like notions about God forever … how dare we consider expanding our vision/concept of God. Besides, we may think, what if we are wrong? Could we be committing heresy?
The “punishment” we administer to ourselves comes from believing these, and other painfully, limiting thoughts and beliefs that generate great angst. These thoughts – that crystalize into a scary, sad story about God – are the saboteur.
The idea of a need for punishment is an ego concept. Punishment is a miscomprehension of Universal principles. Yes, there are natural consequences to actions taken – but this is not the same as punishment. Punishment is man's compulsion to control and administer consequences for what we judge as unacceptable. In other words, delivering punishment is mankind getting in God's business.
Fortunately, we have been given resources that allow us to free our hearts from the bondage of fear generated by believing such low frequency stories.
Blessings Lynne