We sat down for dinner in a walled garden café in Mexico, my friend had heard a man he considered the best guitar player in the world play there before. Hoping to see him, we ordered, when a quiet, gentle man dressed in black appeared and put his guitar case down. He started to play recognizable rock hits from the 70’s and 80’s, so that the melody, voice and percussion were all heard, without any singing. His playing evoked spaciousness, perfection and joy. With a faraway look in his eyes, each note flowed unforced upon an invisible wave.
My friend, said “He is not playing for you, he is not playing forme, he is playing for God.”
It set some questions bouncing around in my head:
What does it mean to play for God? What is God? How do I play for God?
It’s not a word I generally use and it sometimes confuses me because it has so many differing definitions.
“When you enter into the greater Consciousness of God…. ….The invisible is the substantial, the visible is but the shadow.” ~ MurdoMacDonald-Bayne.[1]
Ok, so there’s a start- focus upon the invisible. When I attune to the invisible there is a presence…. God?
I first felt the invisible presence as a child. I had no words for it, and never labeled it, but I noticed it and felt it. It could also be called Love. Abiding in Love’s peaceful presence I can relax… all is well, I am safe. With so many distractions in life today, it is easy to lose its feeling of peace.
Love is the healing force within and around all life. It is here right now. Feel it.[2] — Jesus
I guess I just have to look for it. I have moments of ecstatic, humbling and heart
opening awareness of the Loving Presence. Sometimes I am brought to tears by
its purity. My awareness of God’s presence often contrasts sharply with my
regular life. When I notice the apparent separation, and want to reclaim my intimacy with the field of Love I make a point of seeing in a different way. I intentionally change my focus and look for the essence of Love in the people, land and things around me. It transforms how I feel and interact, and sometimes taps into a limitless well of Love that flows through me.
“There is a great force of creative power working in and through you- yet you do not see It. It is that which manifests, and must do so through you, for you were specially made for that purpose.”- Jesus speaking through Murdo MacDonald-Bayne[3]
I love the idea that we were specially made to channel the creative power of God, to work with (and as) the“great force.” When I see as the great force sees… through the eyes of Love, without limits or limitations … healing, clearing, protecting and creating as a vast being of Love becomes possible. Peace emanates.
There are also times when I just don’t know what to do… when Life is confusing. Swami Paramarthananda,[4] a Vedanta teacher says to ask God for guidance before making any big decisions. Explaining that God is the controller of what happens, and our human actions only influence the outcome that occurs. If we consult with God, we can then be at peace with whatever outcome results from our actions as we have influenced our actions in consultation with God.
Actions taken in alignment with the Invisible loving Presence are super powered. Within its flow we can influence, shape and create our way through the world’s material density and be at peace with what occurs.
Remembering the Presence of Love or God within ourselves and in all that we see touch and interact with, turns our actions into prayer. My friend at the café said the guitar player was praying through his playing.
We all have the power to bless with our medium of creation, through song, poetry, art, writing dance, creations, etc.. We change this world and are changed by it in the process of blessing we are blessed. Our world is in sore need of more of us remembering this sacred task we hold.
That evening in the café in Mexico was a gift. The guitar player and my friend reminded me that in each moment, I too can ‘play for God’ and make Love visible by dropping all limitations, sensing the invisible within the visible, and remembering that it is not me doing this thing- it is the greater “I” (eye) that is and sees so much more.
Imagine the kind of world that we would live in, if we all remembered the power we hold to transform the world around us by how we see it. Oh what a world this would be!
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[1] Jesus speaking in Divine Healing of Mind and Body. Murdo Macdonald-Bayne wentto the far East, and was trained for the purpose of embodying Jesus. In a series of lectures given to a selected group of people, Murdo stepped aside
within his body and Jesus inhabited it during these lectures, which were life changing for those who were able to hear them.
[2] Mauran, Hope Ives, Love’s New Earth, 2024, Bloomington Indiana, Balboa Press, pg. 1.
[3]Murdo Macdonald-Bayne, Murdo, 1953, 1999, Divine Healing of Mind and Body, Essex, U.K., The C.W. Daniel company Limited. p.33
[4] Classeson Atmabodha, H.H. Swami Paramarthananda, copyrighted by Vedanta Vidyarthi
Sangha, MP3 recorded and digitally mastered by mantra, Available at SASTRAPRAKASIKA TRUST, email: sastraprakasika@gmail.com
Photo Caption: With Deep Gratitude to the Guitar Player at Le Kaat Vegetarian Cafe in Valladolid, Yucatan Mexico