Every generation, as it moves out of prime into maturity, swears that the world has deeply degenerated. So, I suppose it should come as no surprise that I have deep concerns about where our society has evolved to. I look around and see a world that seems to be directed by hate, fear, anger, and greed. Islamic extremists top the list of our boogeymen. However, I see clearly Christian extremists, political extremists, ideological extremists, & a greed directed financial system, all of which have shied far away from their origins and seem to match in destructive power, their Islamic extremist counterparts. It seems that fear and anger are today's answer to life. If someone holds a different opinion, hate rules and those of similar opinion band together to hate others out of their livelihood and possibly existence. And lies have become the new facts simply because they blend better with our emotional opinions.
One member of our congregation swears the answer is to never watch the news. But the media is the symptom, not the cause of the problem. Even if I withdraw from the flagrant unfairness that dominates the airwaves, another member tells me her personal story of a beloved, large corporation that has dealt with her with unconscionable deceit and may never be held accountable. The problem does not seem restricted to the macro level of society. We bump into the unfairness of life and the unfairness of the way people relate to each other in the small relationships too.
The part of me that sees this world as a very small part of the universal possibilities wants to give up - take joy in the idea that this world is transitional and passing away as we speak - and assure myself that if God is exploring all possible futures through us, this one certainly isn't going to make the grade. In other words, I am tempted to detach and curse the world around me, retreating into something beyond what we are facing here in the earth. But I realize that if I return hate or even rejection for the fear, anger, hate, greed, and unfairness around me I am adding to the problem and probably trapping my identity in this particular expression of reality.
Jesus said, "Forgive them for they know not what they do." And to Pilot, "You would have no power over me but my Father in heaven gave it to you." And of course, "Do not resist evil." We fight injustice with harmony, not anger. If I declare my indignation over the state of the world or even personal life around me, I am adding to the very energy that I detest. Instead what is needed is harmony which annihilates the negatives the way Light swallows up the darkness.
If you are faced with unfairness, ask what God is wanting you to learn, how you can wrestle a blessing from what you face. Declare to the circumstances and people that you are squared off against, "You would have no power over me, but my Father in heaven gave it to you." Our lives are totally between God & ourselves - all of them! So fight off the desire to "resist"; and declare harmony with Islamic extremists, liars & hate mongers on the media, unfair situations, destructive financial values, and all those whose opinions seems to us to flow from ignorance. It's time to resist the natural impulse to reject and withdraw. It's time for compassion and HARMONY!
A practice that can change your life is to simply, throughout your day, declare "I am in Harmony!" We start by declaring harmony whenever negative emotions arise. But it will evolve to declaring harmony WITH all that we would naturally turn away from. This is not a capitulation to evil. It is refusing to participate in evil even by hating it. It is "living in harmony" no matter what the world throws in our way. The messenger of God in this world does not "kick ass" in the right places. The messenger of God channels harmony into every expression, especially those that seem to need it most. And the messenger of God rises above what faces him or her by realizing that the "harmony" that is is me is greater than what is in the world.
If all this sounds like babble, then just consider this spiritual practice. If you will declare "I am in Harmony!" throughout your day, and let it evolve into "I am in harmony with....." targeting all the areas you encounter where harmony isn't natural to you, you will shortly see a marked improvement in your life. This whole blog boils down to that one sentence. The pursuance of Harmony at all costs will dynamically transform your life - for the kingdom of heaven or harmony is where all wonderful miracles are initiated.
Good luck! If it were easy or if it were natural to our human self, everyone would already be demonstrating these miracles. But though it is alien to our human inclination to meet evil with harmony, Jesus demonstrated it, you can do it, and the results are astounding.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Playing with Jesus
From time to time I've decided to share some of my spiritual experiences - the things that make me who I am. Today, I decided to share how my relationship with Jesus Christ as my teacher has circled around almost 360 degrees throughout my life.
When I was a small toddler (somewhere plus or minus 2 years old) my dad served a charge (3 small churches in a traditional movement) in North Dakota, for one year, before returning to Ohio. It was there that my parents, after discovering that I was missing, found me in the sandbox outside. But I was not alone. It seems that I had somehow gotten into the den, up on my father's desk and hauled his prized picture of Jesus out to the sandbox, set it up in one corner and was playing away. Shocked that I had grabbed this prized possession, my mother asked me accusingly, "What are you doing, Bobby?" The story goes that I replied immediately, "I'm playing with Jesus!" And it seemed so sincere that I didn't get yelled at, though the picture went back immediately to my father's desk.
As a minister's son, I had heard enough about Jesus and the Bible to keep me happy for the rest of my life by age 12. I immersed myself in science & math and kept Bible study or talk of Jesus at an arm's length. Then we found Unity and my spiritual side got a chance to soar without the traditional approach that I now openly bristled at. I embraced the Christ Spirit within us all, and though I knew my Bible well, shied away from too much concentration on Jesus. It reminded me of the hypocrisy that traditional Christianity represented to me. I went off to Renselaer Polytechnic Institute preparing for Chemical Engineering. But half way through I ran into a "Crisis of Purpose". Examining what I now realized I needed from life, I was horrified to realize that it was the ministry, but placated myself by saying "Only in Unity!"
In Unity ministerial school, I abhorred the "Bible Punchers" and stuck to learning to teach Spiritual Principles. In a sense I was still the engineering student. I used Bible and references to Jesus minimally (though I was well versed from childhood). I spoke of the Universal Christ Spirit instead. However, as associate in Miami, my senior minister, Charles Neal, insisted that I would start each lesson with scripture, so I researched appropriate scriptures for each subject that I undertook. Being a creature who often depends upon comfortable patterns, I ended up starting each lesson with scripture for more than 38 years now.
But my next breakthrough came after I followed my 1st wife into the Sufi Movement. One day as we were declaring ourselves disciples of Hazrat Inayat Khan and doing all sorts of practices to "connect" with the teacher, I realized that I was resisting because I had not put this effort into Jesus Christ & I believed Jesus to be a superior spiritual example. In an instant I knew that I truly was a disciple of Jesus Christ and I needed to use every technique I had learned in Sufism to connect to "my Teacher"! Thus, began my deep inner commitment to being a disciple of Jesus Christ, not just a student of the Christ Spirit. I guess I was back to "playing with Jesus".
Though I was quite talented at Metaphysical Bible Interpretation, the Bible still reeked of traditional Christian slant that was taught almost universally and I wasn't a fan. The Bible became a necessary evil to prove validity. I had a personal relationship with "my teacher", "Jesus Christ", & I suspected that "Church-ianty" had messed up the Bible like it had messed up Jesus teachings. For years I simply tried to wade through the garbage to get to the "good stuff". Jesus has always been a partner in my ministry. What more did I need?
About the time I was coming to Orlando, Bible came together and totally "jelled" for me. I saw that from the "Mystical Point of View" (remember mysticism is immersing yourself in the "experience" of God), everything in the Bible (especially the Gospels) teaches how to function in the higher invisible "Kingdom of the Heavens". My perspective is very different from the fundamentalist interpretation, but from this perspective, the Bible conveys amazing depths of understanding about how to navigate these Higher Realms - all of it - no cherry picking necessary. You just need to maintain this mystical perspective to see the higher message in every part of the recorded story of Jesus teachings. All of a sudden, the young man who disliked the Bible punchers has become one, as he matured in his spiritual path. I don't need the Bible to teach what Jesus taught. But I've learned to love the language and can use it to illustrate every aspect of higher spiritual awakening that we can pursue.
These days my goal is to follow Jesus into the Christ Spirit, to surrender identity until I merge with the whole and express individually in whatever manner is appropriate. I see that the "Light of Life" as Jesus called it is that Christ Spirit that unites us all and is our true source. And I struggle to meet Jesus in this Christ Spirit as he suggested we would in the Gospel of John. Humility becomes the doorway to majesty and the idea of separation is the true enemy, not any other person or groups of people.
Jesus has always been with me, even when I was not so eager to acknowledge him. But now as I declare that the mind that is is Jesus Christ is in me now or the Life that is in Jesus Christ is in me now, I am beginning to understand what it means to be Jesus, yet know that you are the Christ Spirit. And I am beginning to understand that Bob must eventually lose this fear of loss of identity and enter the Christ Spirit out of which both Jesus and Bob have expressed. Only then will I have proved myself a true disciple. I may not in this life have the strength to make that final jump. But just holding the aspiration has proven to be the most powerful thing in my life. It would appear that I've been playing with Jesus all of my life, even when I didn't realize it!
When I was a small toddler (somewhere plus or minus 2 years old) my dad served a charge (3 small churches in a traditional movement) in North Dakota, for one year, before returning to Ohio. It was there that my parents, after discovering that I was missing, found me in the sandbox outside. But I was not alone. It seems that I had somehow gotten into the den, up on my father's desk and hauled his prized picture of Jesus out to the sandbox, set it up in one corner and was playing away. Shocked that I had grabbed this prized possession, my mother asked me accusingly, "What are you doing, Bobby?" The story goes that I replied immediately, "I'm playing with Jesus!" And it seemed so sincere that I didn't get yelled at, though the picture went back immediately to my father's desk.
As a minister's son, I had heard enough about Jesus and the Bible to keep me happy for the rest of my life by age 12. I immersed myself in science & math and kept Bible study or talk of Jesus at an arm's length. Then we found Unity and my spiritual side got a chance to soar without the traditional approach that I now openly bristled at. I embraced the Christ Spirit within us all, and though I knew my Bible well, shied away from too much concentration on Jesus. It reminded me of the hypocrisy that traditional Christianity represented to me. I went off to Renselaer Polytechnic Institute preparing for Chemical Engineering. But half way through I ran into a "Crisis of Purpose". Examining what I now realized I needed from life, I was horrified to realize that it was the ministry, but placated myself by saying "Only in Unity!"
In Unity ministerial school, I abhorred the "Bible Punchers" and stuck to learning to teach Spiritual Principles. In a sense I was still the engineering student. I used Bible and references to Jesus minimally (though I was well versed from childhood). I spoke of the Universal Christ Spirit instead. However, as associate in Miami, my senior minister, Charles Neal, insisted that I would start each lesson with scripture, so I researched appropriate scriptures for each subject that I undertook. Being a creature who often depends upon comfortable patterns, I ended up starting each lesson with scripture for more than 38 years now.
But my next breakthrough came after I followed my 1st wife into the Sufi Movement. One day as we were declaring ourselves disciples of Hazrat Inayat Khan and doing all sorts of practices to "connect" with the teacher, I realized that I was resisting because I had not put this effort into Jesus Christ & I believed Jesus to be a superior spiritual example. In an instant I knew that I truly was a disciple of Jesus Christ and I needed to use every technique I had learned in Sufism to connect to "my Teacher"! Thus, began my deep inner commitment to being a disciple of Jesus Christ, not just a student of the Christ Spirit. I guess I was back to "playing with Jesus".
Though I was quite talented at Metaphysical Bible Interpretation, the Bible still reeked of traditional Christian slant that was taught almost universally and I wasn't a fan. The Bible became a necessary evil to prove validity. I had a personal relationship with "my teacher", "Jesus Christ", & I suspected that "Church-ianty" had messed up the Bible like it had messed up Jesus teachings. For years I simply tried to wade through the garbage to get to the "good stuff". Jesus has always been a partner in my ministry. What more did I need?
About the time I was coming to Orlando, Bible came together and totally "jelled" for me. I saw that from the "Mystical Point of View" (remember mysticism is immersing yourself in the "experience" of God), everything in the Bible (especially the Gospels) teaches how to function in the higher invisible "Kingdom of the Heavens". My perspective is very different from the fundamentalist interpretation, but from this perspective, the Bible conveys amazing depths of understanding about how to navigate these Higher Realms - all of it - no cherry picking necessary. You just need to maintain this mystical perspective to see the higher message in every part of the recorded story of Jesus teachings. All of a sudden, the young man who disliked the Bible punchers has become one, as he matured in his spiritual path. I don't need the Bible to teach what Jesus taught. But I've learned to love the language and can use it to illustrate every aspect of higher spiritual awakening that we can pursue.
These days my goal is to follow Jesus into the Christ Spirit, to surrender identity until I merge with the whole and express individually in whatever manner is appropriate. I see that the "Light of Life" as Jesus called it is that Christ Spirit that unites us all and is our true source. And I struggle to meet Jesus in this Christ Spirit as he suggested we would in the Gospel of John. Humility becomes the doorway to majesty and the idea of separation is the true enemy, not any other person or groups of people.
Jesus has always been with me, even when I was not so eager to acknowledge him. But now as I declare that the mind that is is Jesus Christ is in me now or the Life that is in Jesus Christ is in me now, I am beginning to understand what it means to be Jesus, yet know that you are the Christ Spirit. And I am beginning to understand that Bob must eventually lose this fear of loss of identity and enter the Christ Spirit out of which both Jesus and Bob have expressed. Only then will I have proved myself a true disciple. I may not in this life have the strength to make that final jump. But just holding the aspiration has proven to be the most powerful thing in my life. It would appear that I've been playing with Jesus all of my life, even when I didn't realize it!
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
STRESS
I feel the need to address this regular opponent that we face - STRESS - but I'm not sure I have clear solutions for wiping it out entirely. Sometimes we just need to recognize that Stress is the enemy, not the enemies that we think we are facing.
Stress is something that we often do to ourselves. But it also comes at us in waves from the thought atmosphere around us. Right now I'm watching a lot of people buckling under the onslaught of a recent wave. Actually today, I feel the winds have shifted. And it is important to realize that as powerful as a wave of stress passing through our life seems to be, it is a wave. It will pass and the tide will shift. If you watch closely, you can see these stress waves in all kinds of different time frames. Some waves come and go quickly, others go a few days and are followed by days of relief. And of course there are the long term waves.
I like to compare this to the wave motion in the stock market because in life we make the same mistakes that beckon to investors. Those long term stress waves are similar to the boom & bust that leads from a basic bull-bear cycle. Please note that there are rallies within a bear market and corrections within a bull market. Stress-wise we seem to be in a bear market right now. Stress has been tearing at people heavily of late and may continue at a relatively elevated level for a while. But we can use these relief rallies to anchor ourselves in the spiritual place that will allow the next rush of challenge to roll off our backs. That is the key isn't it? This too shall pass! Don't let it derail my focus on where I'm going.
Investors are known for panicking at the low and selling everything & then, casting caution to the wind and buying everything at the high. Handling stress is harmful if we fall prey to the same emotional triggers. We need to know that God is in charge during the lows and solidify our spiritual gains during the highs so as to handle well whatever life throws our way.
In handling our lives we have one further option. We can rise above the game entirely by concentrating on gratitude, beauty, love, & joy - and the realization that reality is much, much broader than this little bit of Stress that we are currently facing in this possibility that we are currently living out.
But, you know, your greatest challenge may not be handling your own stress. It may be fielding all those around you who are buckling under the wave. You must have compassion, yet not join them. It's a delicate dance. Remember a drowning man often tries to drag down someone swimming out to rescue him.
I don't know that I've got any clear answers here other than to know the waves for what they are and not give them any more power than they very temporarily carry. Concentrate on the qualities that lift you above the challenges. Detach from the drama and watch for the sunrise that follows each night. Calm those around you as best you can. Hold your life on course and in harmony with your high ideals. And rally the cries of joy in those around you as the tide shifts.
It's never as dire as it seems, even when it is truly dire. Expand your vision and realize how insignificant this all really is. Do everything in life "as if unto God" and depend only upon God & yourself for approval.
Yes, I know that in a perfect spiritual world no wave of stress has any power over us - that a truly spiritual being maintains peace no matter what he or she faces and that we "do not have to participate" in the folly of what the world is doing around us. But we are also riding this horse called personality. And the horse still lurches away from a snake in its path, and chomps at the bit trying to run home. Occasionally the horse must be calmed and reassured, or want to run with the herd. This is "spiritual horsemanship" here. First you must know you are the rider, not the horse. Then you must master the needs of your horse's innate character so you can safely guide it through the various terrains that you must traverse to get to your destination. In the end a well disciplined horse is a happy horse and a safe one. Much the same is true for these personalities we are riding.
The soul doesn't have a problem with stress. But we owe it to the horse (our personalities) to teach them how to traverse a stressful terrain.
Stress is something that we often do to ourselves. But it also comes at us in waves from the thought atmosphere around us. Right now I'm watching a lot of people buckling under the onslaught of a recent wave. Actually today, I feel the winds have shifted. And it is important to realize that as powerful as a wave of stress passing through our life seems to be, it is a wave. It will pass and the tide will shift. If you watch closely, you can see these stress waves in all kinds of different time frames. Some waves come and go quickly, others go a few days and are followed by days of relief. And of course there are the long term waves.
I like to compare this to the wave motion in the stock market because in life we make the same mistakes that beckon to investors. Those long term stress waves are similar to the boom & bust that leads from a basic bull-bear cycle. Please note that there are rallies within a bear market and corrections within a bull market. Stress-wise we seem to be in a bear market right now. Stress has been tearing at people heavily of late and may continue at a relatively elevated level for a while. But we can use these relief rallies to anchor ourselves in the spiritual place that will allow the next rush of challenge to roll off our backs. That is the key isn't it? This too shall pass! Don't let it derail my focus on where I'm going.
Investors are known for panicking at the low and selling everything & then, casting caution to the wind and buying everything at the high. Handling stress is harmful if we fall prey to the same emotional triggers. We need to know that God is in charge during the lows and solidify our spiritual gains during the highs so as to handle well whatever life throws our way.
In handling our lives we have one further option. We can rise above the game entirely by concentrating on gratitude, beauty, love, & joy - and the realization that reality is much, much broader than this little bit of Stress that we are currently facing in this possibility that we are currently living out.
But, you know, your greatest challenge may not be handling your own stress. It may be fielding all those around you who are buckling under the wave. You must have compassion, yet not join them. It's a delicate dance. Remember a drowning man often tries to drag down someone swimming out to rescue him.
I don't know that I've got any clear answers here other than to know the waves for what they are and not give them any more power than they very temporarily carry. Concentrate on the qualities that lift you above the challenges. Detach from the drama and watch for the sunrise that follows each night. Calm those around you as best you can. Hold your life on course and in harmony with your high ideals. And rally the cries of joy in those around you as the tide shifts.
It's never as dire as it seems, even when it is truly dire. Expand your vision and realize how insignificant this all really is. Do everything in life "as if unto God" and depend only upon God & yourself for approval.
Yes, I know that in a perfect spiritual world no wave of stress has any power over us - that a truly spiritual being maintains peace no matter what he or she faces and that we "do not have to participate" in the folly of what the world is doing around us. But we are also riding this horse called personality. And the horse still lurches away from a snake in its path, and chomps at the bit trying to run home. Occasionally the horse must be calmed and reassured, or want to run with the herd. This is "spiritual horsemanship" here. First you must know you are the rider, not the horse. Then you must master the needs of your horse's innate character so you can safely guide it through the various terrains that you must traverse to get to your destination. In the end a well disciplined horse is a happy horse and a safe one. Much the same is true for these personalities we are riding.
The soul doesn't have a problem with stress. But we owe it to the horse (our personalities) to teach them how to traverse a stressful terrain.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Touching Source
So often we affirm, "God is my Source!", without realizing the depth of what we are declaring. There is an experience that goes along with this and it is one that goes way beyond any concept of prosperity. It is more an experience of touching essence vs. trying to create a particular expression.
The further you go toward realizing your eternal spiritual self, the heavier earth expression becomes. Eventually we get through this, but until we do the antidote for the frustration over the heaviness is to "touch Source". And quite frankly, by touching Source, we re-connect with the invisible powers that create life and set in motion forces that answer prayers and fulfill our heart's desires. That is why, for property, we affirm, "God is my Source." It puts us in contact with the creative power of the universe.
However, I want to go beyond "creating the expression I want", and going there for what it will do for me here in earthlife, and talk about the totally abstract experience of "Touching Source", entering the eternal essence. When we touch Source, we let go of all expression, we retreat into the "unformed", and for those of us who are starting to awaken to a Self that is Spiritual not physical, there is a tremendous sense of RELIEF!
Let go of everything and slip backward from individual expression into the vast ocean of unformed from which all formed flows. It is beyond time, space, & definition. It cannot be described. And some simply describe it as the VOID. Those horrified by loss of individuality call it NOTHING (No-Thing) and they would be accurate. I know an individual who go there and was horrified to find "No-Thing". It scared her. And my explanation that "nothing" is the flip side of "everything", brought her no comfort.
But let me point out that though she did enter into the void and find No-Thing there, she did return into her individualized life. She did NOT loose herself and find no way to return. She naturally flowed back out of the unformed into the formed. That is the way "expression" works, it naturally flows out of "No-Thing" (the unformed) into the Formed. And that is why it is so powerful in making a prosperity demonstration, to carry your prayer into the unformed and then flow back out into formed expression. Within the unformed, all form is possible without effort.
However, just as a matter of course we need to touch Source as often as possible, to open up that natural flow through our consciousness. Notice that natural flow is always happening or formed life would not exist. The opening is into our "awareness" or "consciousness". Only when we are aware can we choose to "consciously rely" on Source, rather than wrestle with the world of things, totally unconscious that Source is what is actually creating our lives.
In the end we will "touch Source" not simply to create things in our lives. We will touch it for "relief" from life, and in order to return to individual expression renewed and rededicated to the particular possibility that we are exploring. We touch Source because in the end, IT is real, and all this out here is not. Just touching that which is eternal, empowers us beyond anything the world can give us.
What comes to mind is a race of beings in the Sci-Fi series, "Deep Space 9". Odo (don't know if I got the name right) is a shape-shifter who must once during his daily cycle return to an unformed puddle of liquid for a rest period. Then he can rise into shape again. When his planet of beings is described, the series shows each dipping into the ocean of unformed beingness together and occasionally rising out of it into individual expression in order to accomplish some task in the outer world. The ocean of "Being" is described as nurturing, renewing, and comforting beyond anything that the outer world can offer.
"Touching Source" is real! When placed on a background of only having experienced "expression" it can feel like "No-Thing". It can be called going into the VOID. We describe it as entering "Being" rather than "doing or thinking". If you let go of everything for a moment you will slip into the void. But you will naturally return. I remember in Hypnosis training (my dad was the teacher), the clear teaching was that it is a myth that someone might go under hypnosis and not wake up. The problem is keeping them "under", not "bringing them back". In worst case scenario they will sleep it off in a short time. Thus it is with source. The problem is learning to enter it, not worrying about returning to outer expression.
So I urge you to let go and "touch Source" throughout your day. Become aware of the nothingness from which all something-ness flows. Just touching the Source will be nurturing, comforting, renewing beyond anything outer life has to offer. And then there are the by-products. You know: Answered prayer, prosperity, & healing out here in the dream.
The further you go toward realizing your eternal spiritual self, the heavier earth expression becomes. Eventually we get through this, but until we do the antidote for the frustration over the heaviness is to "touch Source". And quite frankly, by touching Source, we re-connect with the invisible powers that create life and set in motion forces that answer prayers and fulfill our heart's desires. That is why, for property, we affirm, "God is my Source." It puts us in contact with the creative power of the universe.
However, I want to go beyond "creating the expression I want", and going there for what it will do for me here in earthlife, and talk about the totally abstract experience of "Touching Source", entering the eternal essence. When we touch Source, we let go of all expression, we retreat into the "unformed", and for those of us who are starting to awaken to a Self that is Spiritual not physical, there is a tremendous sense of RELIEF!
Let go of everything and slip backward from individual expression into the vast ocean of unformed from which all formed flows. It is beyond time, space, & definition. It cannot be described. And some simply describe it as the VOID. Those horrified by loss of individuality call it NOTHING (No-Thing) and they would be accurate. I know an individual who go there and was horrified to find "No-Thing". It scared her. And my explanation that "nothing" is the flip side of "everything", brought her no comfort.
But let me point out that though she did enter into the void and find No-Thing there, she did return into her individualized life. She did NOT loose herself and find no way to return. She naturally flowed back out of the unformed into the formed. That is the way "expression" works, it naturally flows out of "No-Thing" (the unformed) into the Formed. And that is why it is so powerful in making a prosperity demonstration, to carry your prayer into the unformed and then flow back out into formed expression. Within the unformed, all form is possible without effort.
However, just as a matter of course we need to touch Source as often as possible, to open up that natural flow through our consciousness. Notice that natural flow is always happening or formed life would not exist. The opening is into our "awareness" or "consciousness". Only when we are aware can we choose to "consciously rely" on Source, rather than wrestle with the world of things, totally unconscious that Source is what is actually creating our lives.
In the end we will "touch Source" not simply to create things in our lives. We will touch it for "relief" from life, and in order to return to individual expression renewed and rededicated to the particular possibility that we are exploring. We touch Source because in the end, IT is real, and all this out here is not. Just touching that which is eternal, empowers us beyond anything the world can give us.
What comes to mind is a race of beings in the Sci-Fi series, "Deep Space 9". Odo (don't know if I got the name right) is a shape-shifter who must once during his daily cycle return to an unformed puddle of liquid for a rest period. Then he can rise into shape again. When his planet of beings is described, the series shows each dipping into the ocean of unformed beingness together and occasionally rising out of it into individual expression in order to accomplish some task in the outer world. The ocean of "Being" is described as nurturing, renewing, and comforting beyond anything that the outer world can offer.
"Touching Source" is real! When placed on a background of only having experienced "expression" it can feel like "No-Thing". It can be called going into the VOID. We describe it as entering "Being" rather than "doing or thinking". If you let go of everything for a moment you will slip into the void. But you will naturally return. I remember in Hypnosis training (my dad was the teacher), the clear teaching was that it is a myth that someone might go under hypnosis and not wake up. The problem is keeping them "under", not "bringing them back". In worst case scenario they will sleep it off in a short time. Thus it is with source. The problem is learning to enter it, not worrying about returning to outer expression.
So I urge you to let go and "touch Source" throughout your day. Become aware of the nothingness from which all something-ness flows. Just touching the Source will be nurturing, comforting, renewing beyond anything outer life has to offer. And then there are the by-products. You know: Answered prayer, prosperity, & healing out here in the dream.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
White Unto Harvest
Part of learning how to improve the conditions of your life is learning to "see" that life is responding and that change is now inevitable, even if it appears that it will take a while. Growing a garden takes a very different skill set from going to the grocery store and buying food. You must be able to see that that fragile seedling is your promise of a bountiful harvest.
Jesus once told his disciples that though they look at a field and see seedlings, he looks at the same field and sees that it is already "white unto harvest". When you look at your life, do you see it "white unto harvest" - do you see the fulfillment of your desires for your life - do you see that life is responding and that you are "winning" when everyone around you still sees only "losing"? This requires "eyes to see; and ears to hear". A life is like a large ship. It takes a while to turn it. However, any good sailor knows that even a small force applied to this large ship over time and distance will dramatically change the destination. So the captain may alter the controls to make his course change, but see very little immediate response. Even so he knows with certainty the change in course is set in motion and unless be alters things it will be fulfilled. He confidently waits for the ship to fulfill his expectations.
Co-Creating the life you want is very much like captaining a large ship. You do your work on the invisible level. You hold to the new course you have set in motion. And you vigilantly watch for the small simple responses that tell you that your course change has been set in motion and is continuing. With spiritual perception you look for the subtle experiences that reveal that something is moving. You have "eyes to see" those subtle responses that most others would ignore. And you happily know the outcome of this course correction, while others are still excitedly complaining that nothing is happening. They may even declare that things are getting worse. (In 4T we recognize that for some people, things get worse before they get better. This can actually be a sign that things are in motion.) But you endure is what you know, bolstered by the subtle responses that you have paid attention to. You see the "field white unto harvest", because once set in motion IT IS! You joyfully declare that things are happening, success is already unfolding, while others around you think you are nuts or in some fantasy world. But if you truly have eyes to see, you are watching a true course correction, not blindly fantasizing success with the hope that your positive outlook will somehow eventually prevail.
Take an honest look at your life. See what course corrections need to be made. Apply the inner consciousness pressures you need to to create those corrections. Boldly do in the outer what must be done to be in harmony with these inner course changes. Then HOLD over Time! Hold your rudder where it needs to be and with "eyes to see" notice those subtle responses from life that indicate that your ship is still on course for the desired correction. Life will offer these subtle responses from all around you if you are vigilant. Then rejoice! The harvest is already there waiting for you. Faith, held over Time (we call that strength), will always turn the ship, no matter how large, slow and unresponsive is seems to be. True FAITH doesn't need things to go any faster than they are going. However it does open the way for JOY & OVERWHELMING GRATITUDE, which actually could speed things up!
Jesus once told his disciples that though they look at a field and see seedlings, he looks at the same field and sees that it is already "white unto harvest". When you look at your life, do you see it "white unto harvest" - do you see the fulfillment of your desires for your life - do you see that life is responding and that you are "winning" when everyone around you still sees only "losing"? This requires "eyes to see; and ears to hear". A life is like a large ship. It takes a while to turn it. However, any good sailor knows that even a small force applied to this large ship over time and distance will dramatically change the destination. So the captain may alter the controls to make his course change, but see very little immediate response. Even so he knows with certainty the change in course is set in motion and unless be alters things it will be fulfilled. He confidently waits for the ship to fulfill his expectations.
Co-Creating the life you want is very much like captaining a large ship. You do your work on the invisible level. You hold to the new course you have set in motion. And you vigilantly watch for the small simple responses that tell you that your course change has been set in motion and is continuing. With spiritual perception you look for the subtle experiences that reveal that something is moving. You have "eyes to see" those subtle responses that most others would ignore. And you happily know the outcome of this course correction, while others are still excitedly complaining that nothing is happening. They may even declare that things are getting worse. (In 4T we recognize that for some people, things get worse before they get better. This can actually be a sign that things are in motion.) But you endure is what you know, bolstered by the subtle responses that you have paid attention to. You see the "field white unto harvest", because once set in motion IT IS! You joyfully declare that things are happening, success is already unfolding, while others around you think you are nuts or in some fantasy world. But if you truly have eyes to see, you are watching a true course correction, not blindly fantasizing success with the hope that your positive outlook will somehow eventually prevail.
Take an honest look at your life. See what course corrections need to be made. Apply the inner consciousness pressures you need to to create those corrections. Boldly do in the outer what must be done to be in harmony with these inner course changes. Then HOLD over Time! Hold your rudder where it needs to be and with "eyes to see" notice those subtle responses from life that indicate that your ship is still on course for the desired correction. Life will offer these subtle responses from all around you if you are vigilant. Then rejoice! The harvest is already there waiting for you. Faith, held over Time (we call that strength), will always turn the ship, no matter how large, slow and unresponsive is seems to be. True FAITH doesn't need things to go any faster than they are going. However it does open the way for JOY & OVERWHELMING GRATITUDE, which actually could speed things up!
Friday, October 7, 2011
Higher Lessons
Some people will tell you that the height of spiritual mastery is demonstrated by being able to create the life you want. You declare a thing, image, or hold a thought until it becomes fully expressed in your life. That is certainly a worthy way station along the path - one most of us aspire to. However being a totally effective life-creator is one of the early stages developed to perfection. Many will approach their spirituality with this as their ultimate goal. Many will spend their whole lives perfecting this skill. And there is nothing wrong with that. However, there are higher lessons than simply learning how to change things in this particular possiblility that we find ourselves serving in - and change them to our liking. If you are happy with simply learning co-creation and you define that as getting what you want, then read no further in today's blog.
I've said over and over, "Humility is the door into all the higher spiritual experiences", and especially Divine Power. The further one goes the humbler one becomes. While others declare that you simply don't have enough faith to "have your way with life", you realize that you are not this personality, that this world is but one of billions & billions of possibilities, that everything you see is passing away, and a deep sense of personal unimportance, even the unimportance of this earthlife sweeps over you. Life as we see it is an expression and those expressions you are trying so hard to mold to your liking don't really matter terribly much. We start the path declaring that "I can do anything!" and you can. However, thru the door of humility that leads to higher realms, we realize how meaningless it is to declare like a spoiled child that I must always have things my way. This person I think I am, is not real anyway. It's one particular possibility and it's what's behind expression that matters.
When reality as we have known it is torn by this glimpse into the great beyond, it leaves one lost - If it doesn't matter what am I doing here? The key is that it does matter to God, though it doesn't matter in the way your personality has assumed it does. And in the higher realms, you belong wholly to God. We will declare "I only want to serve God's purposes. So get me out of this mundane earthly experiences. I long for the life of Spirit." But this also falls short. Life asked us to play this role. Who are we to declare that it is unimportant to God. If we have truly surrendered our life to God, then we can certainly play any part in the "play" on any possibility that God has put in front of us. Nothing is more spiritual than what life has assigned you. Remember the story of the spiritual master who claimed, "Before enlightenment, I chopped wood and carried water. After enlightenment, I chop wood and carry water."
However if there is an assignment that we are given it is to Love the life that we are expressing right now. We show our greatest dedication to God by loving our life as we are living it now - the parts that are to our liking & the parts that aren't. Once you realize that your personality desires don't matter, you are willing to love whatever role in this particular little possibility that you are assigned, you don't need to make a demonstration to prove your spirituality or to make yourself happy.
Suddenly you realize that you don't need to "spiritually lean" on your world to be happy (to change things to your liking). But now since you don't need to change things, you don't need NOT to change things either. As long as you love life the way it is, you are allowed to transform it as you will. There is no right or wrong. There is no better or worse. There is simply choice. And maybe we CHOOSE abundance, healing, loving relationships, etc. We become gardeners of life. In the end we've come full circle and are powerful co-creators of our world, but for very different reasons.
Those who never left the level of co-creation, look at us and agree that we have finally gotten our lives together and learned how to make a demonstration. And we look at our lives and say "I love my life! The demonstations are entirely beside the point. They are merely choices - either of which is God- and therefore wonderful."
I've said over and over, "Humility is the door into all the higher spiritual experiences", and especially Divine Power. The further one goes the humbler one becomes. While others declare that you simply don't have enough faith to "have your way with life", you realize that you are not this personality, that this world is but one of billions & billions of possibilities, that everything you see is passing away, and a deep sense of personal unimportance, even the unimportance of this earthlife sweeps over you. Life as we see it is an expression and those expressions you are trying so hard to mold to your liking don't really matter terribly much. We start the path declaring that "I can do anything!" and you can. However, thru the door of humility that leads to higher realms, we realize how meaningless it is to declare like a spoiled child that I must always have things my way. This person I think I am, is not real anyway. It's one particular possibility and it's what's behind expression that matters.
When reality as we have known it is torn by this glimpse into the great beyond, it leaves one lost - If it doesn't matter what am I doing here? The key is that it does matter to God, though it doesn't matter in the way your personality has assumed it does. And in the higher realms, you belong wholly to God. We will declare "I only want to serve God's purposes. So get me out of this mundane earthly experiences. I long for the life of Spirit." But this also falls short. Life asked us to play this role. Who are we to declare that it is unimportant to God. If we have truly surrendered our life to God, then we can certainly play any part in the "play" on any possibility that God has put in front of us. Nothing is more spiritual than what life has assigned you. Remember the story of the spiritual master who claimed, "Before enlightenment, I chopped wood and carried water. After enlightenment, I chop wood and carry water."
However if there is an assignment that we are given it is to Love the life that we are expressing right now. We show our greatest dedication to God by loving our life as we are living it now - the parts that are to our liking & the parts that aren't. Once you realize that your personality desires don't matter, you are willing to love whatever role in this particular little possibility that you are assigned, you don't need to make a demonstration to prove your spirituality or to make yourself happy.
Suddenly you realize that you don't need to "spiritually lean" on your world to be happy (to change things to your liking). But now since you don't need to change things, you don't need NOT to change things either. As long as you love life the way it is, you are allowed to transform it as you will. There is no right or wrong. There is no better or worse. There is simply choice. And maybe we CHOOSE abundance, healing, loving relationships, etc. We become gardeners of life. In the end we've come full circle and are powerful co-creators of our world, but for very different reasons.
Those who never left the level of co-creation, look at us and agree that we have finally gotten our lives together and learned how to make a demonstration. And we look at our lives and say "I love my life! The demonstations are entirely beside the point. They are merely choices - either of which is God- and therefore wonderful."
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
JOY like a Light Bulb
JOY - what we are working with this week- is an amazingly powerful spiritual quality. But it seems to me that we generally use it wrong. Or at least we capture its weaker side.
The first step in attaining a little bit of the glow of Divine Joy is to realize that deep spiritual joy is in the moment. Human joy may be about something that just happened, pride in what we have accomplished, or joyous anticipation of the future. But, Divine Joy is in the now - the moment. It is not about past or future. Neither are truly real. Only NOW exists in the Divine. That is why the highest states of spiritual ecstasy are related to living in the "Eternal Now".
Stop to feel joy - not joy about something - just JOY. It flushes your whole being with a radiance of well-being. That starts growing as you give it attention and continues to expand until your whole being is radiant - glowing like a light bulb. When we simply sit in the presence of Joy - immerse ourselves in the moment of joy & stay in the moment, it rises within us into a state of ecstasy. But for many this state is uncomfortable and we rush to throw off the energy in activity. If instead, we hold the glow inwardly, we can calmly go about activities while living our lives in a radiant state. Life responds to this radiance, & though ecstatic joy is its own reward, you can expect the world around you to alter the way it relates to you - alter for the better.
It seems to me that JOY is like an electric current. When channeled into an electric motor is creates activity and motion. This is how we are most accustomed to using joy. It is fun, yet the energy is dispersed into the activity and when used up leaves us empty once again. An electric current can be channeled into a light bulb where it creates no motion or activity. However as it is captured and internalized by the filament in the bulb, the energy becomes radiant, quietly transforming the whole room around it. This is the power of Divine Joy moving through our hearts as ecstasy in the NOW.
Let JOY smolder inside of you. Remain calm and cherish the energy internally. Let it expand until you glow like that light bulb. The beauty of ecstasy is how it grows exponentially. Recently, I read of research into the use of solar sails to power space craft into space. The solar push is subtle and the craft starts off slowly. But it builds and it continues to build. Into the trip a little ways, the craft has accelerated to hundreds of thousands of miles per hour. A subtle radiance that is internalized over a period of time creates an overwhelming glow that can turn any mundane life into the most stimulating trip one could ever take.
In regard to the Divine Energy of JOY, be the light bulb, not the motor. Keep the Divine Gift internalized until the radiance transforms every part of your life. The motor may move you down the road at 60 miles per hour. But the solar sail, while it starts out at a very few miles per hour will shortly build to an unimaginable speed. Joy radiance internalized will begin by making a hard life bearable, but quickly build into the bright radiant Light that produces a life of ever-connecting-miracles.
The first step in attaining a little bit of the glow of Divine Joy is to realize that deep spiritual joy is in the moment. Human joy may be about something that just happened, pride in what we have accomplished, or joyous anticipation of the future. But, Divine Joy is in the now - the moment. It is not about past or future. Neither are truly real. Only NOW exists in the Divine. That is why the highest states of spiritual ecstasy are related to living in the "Eternal Now".
Stop to feel joy - not joy about something - just JOY. It flushes your whole being with a radiance of well-being. That starts growing as you give it attention and continues to expand until your whole being is radiant - glowing like a light bulb. When we simply sit in the presence of Joy - immerse ourselves in the moment of joy & stay in the moment, it rises within us into a state of ecstasy. But for many this state is uncomfortable and we rush to throw off the energy in activity. If instead, we hold the glow inwardly, we can calmly go about activities while living our lives in a radiant state. Life responds to this radiance, & though ecstatic joy is its own reward, you can expect the world around you to alter the way it relates to you - alter for the better.
It seems to me that JOY is like an electric current. When channeled into an electric motor is creates activity and motion. This is how we are most accustomed to using joy. It is fun, yet the energy is dispersed into the activity and when used up leaves us empty once again. An electric current can be channeled into a light bulb where it creates no motion or activity. However as it is captured and internalized by the filament in the bulb, the energy becomes radiant, quietly transforming the whole room around it. This is the power of Divine Joy moving through our hearts as ecstasy in the NOW.
Let JOY smolder inside of you. Remain calm and cherish the energy internally. Let it expand until you glow like that light bulb. The beauty of ecstasy is how it grows exponentially. Recently, I read of research into the use of solar sails to power space craft into space. The solar push is subtle and the craft starts off slowly. But it builds and it continues to build. Into the trip a little ways, the craft has accelerated to hundreds of thousands of miles per hour. A subtle radiance that is internalized over a period of time creates an overwhelming glow that can turn any mundane life into the most stimulating trip one could ever take.
In regard to the Divine Energy of JOY, be the light bulb, not the motor. Keep the Divine Gift internalized until the radiance transforms every part of your life. The motor may move you down the road at 60 miles per hour. But the solar sail, while it starts out at a very few miles per hour will shortly build to an unimaginable speed. Joy radiance internalized will begin by making a hard life bearable, but quickly build into the bright radiant Light that produces a life of ever-connecting-miracles.
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