--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Union with God is not something we…" description: "\"“Union with God is not something we acquire by a technique but the grounding truth of our lives that engenders the very search for God. Because God is ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad5/martin-laird-32438_divorce_union-with-god-is-not-something-we-acqui_1847943.jpg" --- # Union with God is not something we acquire by a technique… ![“Union with God is not something we acquire by a technique but the grounding truth of our lives that engenders the very search for God. Because God is the ground of our being, the relationship between creature and Creator is such that, by sheer grace, separation is not possible. God does not know…” quote by Martin Laird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad5/martin-laird-32438_divorce_union-with-god-is-not-something-we-acqui_1847943.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad5/martin-laird-32438_divorce_union-with-god-is-not-something-we-acqui_1847943.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad5/martin-laird-32438_divorce_union-with-god-is-not-something-we-acqui_1847943.jpg) > ““Union with God is not something we acquire by a technique but the grounding truth of our lives that engenders the very search for God. Because God is the ground of our being, the relationship between creature and Creator is such that, by sheer grace, separation is not possible. God does not know how to be absent. The fact that most of us experience throughout most of our lives a sense of absence or distance from God is the great illusion that we are caught up in; it is the human condition. The sense of separation from God is real, but the meeting of stillness reveals that this perceived separation does not have the last word. This illusion of separation is generated by the mind and is sustained by the riveting of our attention to the interior soap opera, the constant chatter of the cocktail party going on in our heads. For most of us this is what normal is, and we are good at coming up with ways of coping with this perceived separation (our consumer-driven entertainment culture takes care of much of it). But some of us are not so good at coping, and so we drink ourselves into oblivion or cut or burn ourselves “so that the pain will be in a different place and on the outside.” The grace of salvation, the grace of Christian wholeness that flowers in silence, dispels this illusion of separation. For when the mind is brought to stillness, and all our strategies of acquisition have dropped, a deeper truth presents itself: we are and have always been one with God and we are all one in God (Jn 17:21).”” [Martin Laird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-laird/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human perception of separation from the divine is an illusion created by mental chatter; stillness reveals inherent unity with God. **In simple terms:** We feel apart from God because of our noisy minds, but we are actually one. Key Takeaway Cultivate inner silence to experience unity. Themes spirituality illusion mindfulness Mood calm hopeful Type spiritual contemplative When to use this quote - meditation - prayer - therapy - daily mindfulness practice Key Concepts theology psychology contemplation Questions to Reflect On - How does your inner dialogue create distance? - What practices help you quiet the mind? A Different Perspective Silence may be difficult to achieve in a noisy world. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Divorce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divorce/) [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) [Human condition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-condition/) [Last Word](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/last-word/) [Soap opera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soap-opera/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [When I say the grace of wildness, what I mean is its autonomy, its self-possession, the fact that it has nothing to do with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/verlyn-klinkenborg/when-i-say-the-grace-of-wildness-what-i-mean-is-its-autonomy-its-self/) [Verlyn Klinkenborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/verlyn-klinkenborg/) > [Dying is all about letting go and letting be, as is the awareness of God. 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The sense of separation from God is real, but the meeting of stillness reveals that this perceived separation does not have the last word. This illusion of separation is generated by the mind and is sustained by the riveting of our attention to the interior soap opera, the constant chatter of the cocktail party going on in our heads. For most of us this is what normal is, and we are good at coming up with ways of coping with this perceived separation (our consumer-driven entertainment culture takes care of much of it). But some of us are not so good at coping, and so we drink ourselves into oblivion or cut or burn ourselves “so that the pain will be in a different place and on the outside.” The grace of salvation, the grace of Christian wholeness that flowers in silence, dispels this illusion of separation. 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