Saint Teresa of Avila was a Catholic Mystic in the 16th century. I learned of her at a retreat I attended in Colorado several years ago and she changed my life forever.

Think about that. A woman who lived over 500 years ago changed my life! A woman!! 500 years!!! That is remarkable. That is not why I am writing this, but I just cannot let that idea pass without mentioning it.

In Mirabai Starr’s book, Saint Teresa of Avila : Passionate Mystic, she writes “God, Teresa saw, chose the center of the human soul as his dwelling place because that is exactly the most beautiful place in all creation.” She tells us of Teresa’s vision from God of our soul as a round crystal palace with many rooms that lead progressively inward. At the center is God, our Beloved. Teresa named this place the Interior Castle.

I agree 100% that we find God, the Beloved, within us. I also believe that our crystal palace is deeper and more complex and beautiful than we can fathom.

So if God resides deep within us, what do we do?

We start walking the round downward path that leads to Truth. We visit each chamber along the way. We search for the keys to open each door. We look through the crystal walls to see each facet, each rainbow, each reflection. We observe. We listen. We learn. We walk on.

My favorite part of my job is helping others walk the halls of their own crystal palace.

We cannot be free of the human condition. We will have pain, we will suffer, we lose, we will grieve. The miracle and the hope is found in the truth that no matter what we face in this world, we have everything we need already inside of us. Our Hope lies in God who is at the center of our being, on the ground floor of our crystal palace. So if you hit rock bottom, God is there. If you fall to the depths, God is there. If you can’t find your way out, God is there. You are not alone. This is HOPE! We do not need to fear because while we feel like we are carrying the weight of it all, God is carrying us from within.