Beauty as a Reflection of God, a Mirror for Divinity, the Eternal

Introduction

Beauty as a Reflection of God

Who isn’t moved by beauty? The sight of a magnificent sunrise or a soaring, snowcapped mountain … the sweet smile of a tiny baby … the strains of a Beethoven symphony … a rose in full bloom. Beauty can thrill us. It can fill us with awe. It can inspire us to want to create beauty ourselves.

But do we ever pause to wonder why beauty moves us so? 

This is a subject that master teacher Michael Gottlieb, founder of Royal Way Spiritual Center, addressed numerous times—not only in his discourses, but also in tangible form in the extraordinary beauty of Royal Way Ranch, the setting for Royal Way Spiritual Center.

RW Ranch: A Place of Beauty

Anyone who visits Royal Way Ranch is immediately struck by the beauty of the setting. Its backdrop is the soaring peaks of the San Bernardino Mountains. Its immediate surroundings are the rugged beauty of the Mojave Desert, abundant with Joshua trees, yucca, sage, and seasonal wildflowers. Its expansive views take in the vastness of the desert and sharp outlines of the Granite Mountains.

In the presence of all this endemic beauty, the Royal Way spiritual community has created even more beauty—gardens, orchards, buildings, statuary, meditation shrines … beauty everywhere. Sounds of birdsong and flowing water fill the air. Fruit trees offer up their bounty. Magic pathways lead to secret gardens. The buildings and accommodations are lovely. The main meditation sanctuary room is spacious and uplifting.

All of the beauty of Royal Way Spiritual Center reflects the vision of Michael Gottlieb, who taught seekers to deeply appreciate the beauty of nature and to create beauty wherever they may be, whenever they can. He taught the beauty of beauty.

So back to our question: Why does beauty move us so? Why is it so important to appreciate it, to seek it, to create it?

Beauty Is of the Beyond

“Beauty is always of the beyond,”  Michael wrote. “Whenever you see a rose and you say, ‘It is beautiful,’ what do you mean? You mean you have seen something of the beyond. Something invisible has become visible to you.”

By “beyond,” we can infer that beauty lies not only on the surface of the thing that is beautiful, but hints at something grander, something beyond the obvious. 

Michael goes on to write: “You cannot go to the laboratory to dissect the rose and find whether it contains beauty or not. It does not contain it. The beauty is not contained in the rose. The beauty is from the beyond. It simply dances on the rose. Those who have eyes will see. Those who do not have eyes will not see.”One of the great pleasures of studying the teachings of Michael Gottlieb is developing eyes that are able to see and feel true beauty—that ineffable quality that “dances on the rose.”

Beauty Is Abundance

When we develop eyes that see beauty … when we hone our ability to sense the magical qualities of beauty—qualities that are from the beyond—we begin to see beauty everywhere. The world begins to astound us with abundance. And we sense and celebrate the fact that we are part of this abundance. It surrounds us and permeates us and thrills us with something that is more than mere appreciation. When we are open, beauty can fill us with delight, with an overpowering sense of gratitude.

Michael Gottlieb wrote beautifully about the phenomenon of abundance:“Look around you. What is the need for so many kinds of flowers? In fact, what purpose do any of them serve? What is the need for so many different animals, so many different birds? It is the wealth and abundance of creation. The oceans and their fullness, the myriad trees and mountains, the endless winds … all sing the abundance and wealth of the Creator. What is the need for the other planets? They seem to serve no purpose. What is the need for millions of stars and galaxies? It is the abundance of creation. It is God’s wealth and abundance streaming, spreading everywhere.”

To understand beauty and abundance in this way is to feel the presence of God. When we are moved, uplifted, thrilled by beauty, that is why: We are in the presence of God. We are feeling our own divinity resonating with the beauty around us, and we understand viscerally that we truly are part of this magnificent creation. 

For anyone who visits Royal Way Spiritual Center with an open heart and mind, that is the experience: We feel moved by its abundant beauty, and we viscerally understand that we are part of the beautiful sights and sounds we encounter.

And for all that, Michael adds that these wonders “are mere reflections—tiny, little mirror reflections—of the ultimate joy that is God.”

God Is a Presence, Like Beauty Is a Presence

So to savor beauty is to feel God, to revel in the divine, and know all the while that beauty is a mere reflection “of the ultimate joy that is God.” 

When Michael Gottlieb talks about God, he cautions us not to objectify God. “God is a presence,” he explains. “God is not a person. God is a presence, like beauty is a presence, like joy is a presence.”

He explains further:“This presence is not an object outside of you or inside of your skin. God is a presence at the innermost core of your being. It is your own presence. It is not a meeting with somebody else. ‘God is a presence’ means that silent core in your innermost being.”

So it is little wonder that experiencing beauty is so uplifting, so profoundly moving. Beauty is of the beyond. Beauty is a reflection of God, and God is found not only in that beauty, but also in the silent core of our innermost being.

Conclusion

A deep appreciation for beauty is a key teaching of Royal Way founder Michael Gottlieb. It was Michael’s purpose in establishing Royal Way to bring seekers to the experience of God. A profound way to experience God is to experience the beauty of God’s creation, which is found in abundance at Royal Way Spiritual Center, in all the beauty that surrounds us, and in the core of our being. Beauty reflects “the ultimate joy that is God.”