•by Eckhart Tolle (excerpted from “The Power of Now”)•Your mind [thinking] is an instrument, a tool. It is there to be used for a specific task, and when the task is completed, you lay it down. Most people’s thinking is not only repetitive and useless, but because of its dysfunctional and often negative nature, much of it is also harmful. It causes a serious leakage of vital energy.
This kind of compulsive thinking is actually an addiction—you no longer feel that you have the choice to stop. It seems stronger than you. It also gives you a false sense of pleasure that invariably turns into pain.
Why should we be addicted to thinking? Because you are identified with it. You derive your sense of self from the content and activity of your mind. You believe that you would cease to be if you stopped thinking.
As you grow up, you form a mental image of who you are based on your personal and cultural conditioning. We may call this phantom self the ego. It consists of mind activity and can only be kept going through constant thinking. The term ego used here means a false self created by unconscious identification with the mind.
To the ego, the present moment hardly exists. Only past and future are considered important. This total reversal of the truth accounts for the fact that in the ego mode the mind is so dysfunctional. It is always concerned with keeping the past alive because without it—who are you?
It constantly projects itself into the future to ensure its continued survival and to seek some kind of release of fulfillment there. It says: “One day when this, that or the other happens, I am going to be okay, happy, at peace.”
Even when the ego seems to be concerned with the present, it is not the present that it sees. It misperceives it completely because it looks at it through the eyes of the past. Or it reduces the present to a means to an end, and end that always lies in the mind-projected future. Observe your mind and you’ll see that this is how it works.
The present moment holds the key to liberation. But you cannot find the present moment as long as you are your mind.
•by Norman Paulsen, Sunburst Founder•The nature of the universe is love—unconditional, unending. We think we lose loved ones, that’s an illusion. We find them again in the future. This was all wrought not that you suffer, but that you joyfully exist in it; to realize how wonderful, how thrilling it is to be in your body, this great atomic structure produced by light and consciousness.
Yes, who created us? Who sustains us? Who keeps all those electrons in obedient orbit? I Am That I Am does! It is dreaming, through our self-conscious minds, that it is you and me and everyone else. But when it wakes up into Christ consciousness, it knows who it really is.
Think of what life would be if everyone was fully conscious of I Am That I Am within themselves. That is why we pray and meditate—to know and speak with our Creator face to face.
If people’s lives could be changed just by hearing the truth, the whole world would now have salvation. Humanity has been preached to for over 2,000 years, and yet many have not changed their lives. It won’t do any good for any of us to be preachers. We must be demonstrators, overcoming the world as Christed Jesus did, and as he continually asks us all to do.
Yes, everything we accomplish here in our lives is automatically broadcast to everyone on this planet. They’ll receive it in their dreams, and their subconscious mind, in their inspiration and their intuition. Every obstacle anyone overcomes for the sake of Christ consciousness will be felt by everyone on this planet; that’s how it is.
Therefore, the true preaching means living the spiritually conscious life ourselves to the best of our ability today and every day. When you accomplish this, the world will change around you. In short, we have to live a spiritual life completely and totally in action, in all aspects. Let this be our mission.
•by Barbara McCaughey •A documentary about near death experiences intrigued and amazed me. Six people retold their stories of being absent from their physical bodies long enough to recount thoughts and sensations that took place during that time.
One man recalled how small actions during the day can strongly affect the people present and, like the rippling effect of a rock thrown into a pond, they continue to bless or stress future encounters in an ever widening circle. Sa’Di is quoted: “To give joy to a single heart by a single kind act is better than a thousand head bowings in prayer.”
This become obvious in my own life when I needed to fill a prescription at my local pharmacy. At first visit, the clerk saw the high price of the medicine and expressed concern that the sale was not covered by insurance. She asked me if I would prefer to take less, or if there was another option open to me. Next the pharmacist assured me that he would check the price since it had doubled after my previous refill. That evening I reflected on how much I appreciated their caring, especially considering their daily volume of work.
At my next visit, the two original employees were not present, and I was told to come back another time for answers to my questions. This was a big inconvenience and when I did come back there was a very long line.
Finally reaching the counter, I was unprepared and take aback at the cashier’s stern pronouncement: “That’s the price. You want it or not?” When I asked for half of the medicine so I could pay for it, a large fee was tacked on, making that cost prohibitive as well. My level of frustration was leading to my feeling anger and disappointment that I’d been unable to improve the situation.
I found a quiet place to sit in silence and regain my composure. Breathing deeply, I felt the natural love of Spirit return to fill the space my ego had just occupied. It amazed me that two seemingly identical missions could have such different outcomes. Then the realization dawned on me that it was my own responsibility to meet trying experiences without resistance, like an aikido master who easily averts a blow which may be meant to wound him. Nothing outside of ourselves can wound our perfect souls. Unless we clash with or absorb adversity emotionally, mentally or physically, we can remain spiritually centered and in balance, unscathed.
Later in the week I came across this anonymous quote which spoke to me: The golden rule is of no use whatsoever unless you realize: It is Your Move! Remaining centered in our true selves, our perception of reality shifts to see the perfection of Spirit’s creation, and we see ourselves as a harmoniouspart of it. Then Source, the Universe, God speaks for us and the ego is tamed. We can appreciate every opportunity to bless this world with kindness. It’s worth the effort to try and try again.
• by Valerie King • When the year 2000 came around, and I wrote “000” so many times, it made me stop and reflect. The zeroes felt like a new beginning, a fresh start, a time to plant good seeds, a time when humanity has entered undiscovered country.
About that same time, I read an article that said time was going to start speeding up. I wondered what that meant. How can time speed up? Soon I began to understand that it meant our planetary karma was speeding up. Humanity as a whole is going through a tremendous growth spurt, which can be painful at times.
The intense pressure for change is upon us all, pushing us into new adventures. We are all experiencing the necessity of reviewing our lives, our choices, and making changes. Now more than ever, we must make the time daily to connect with the Divine, to listen to that quiet inner voice speaking of love, kindness, and virtue. Following is a timely message for us from a Hopi Elder:
“You have been telling the people that this is the Eleventh Hour. Now you must go back and tell the people that THIS IS THE HOUR. And there are things to be considered…Where are you living? What are you doing? What are your relationships? Are you in the right relationship? Where is your water [coming from]? Know your garden. It is time to speak your Truth. Create your community. Be good to each other. And do not look outside yourself for the leader.”
Then he clasped his hands together, smiled and said, “This could be a good time! There is a river flowing now very fast. It is so great and swift that there are those who will be afraid. They will try to hold onto the shore. They will feel they are being torn apart and will suffer greatly. Know the river has its destination. The elders say we must let go of the shore, push off into the middle of the river, keep our eyes open, and our heads above the water.
“And I say, see who is in there with you and celebrate. At this time in history, we are to take nothing personally, least of all ourselves. For the moment that we do our spiritual power and journey comes to a halt. The time of the lone wolf is over. Gather yourselves! Banish the word struggle from your attitude and your vocabulary. All that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.”
• by Norman Paulsen, Sunburst Founder•Look beyond the narrow confines of your body and this world; look into space and all eternity. Realize that our lives here are but for a moment. They can be lives of bitterness, selfishness, and deprivation, or they can be lives that open like flowers, petals receiving God’s light, and expressing it actively from the beginning to the end. Each soul has its witness, and as we live so our future unfolds.
So it is; realize that the bitterness of today will open up in joy tomorrow if you persist in virtue. One cannot create virtue, one can only receive it; it comes by grace. It comes by the return of our life to Christ. Virtue, in the form of Christ’s life force and self-control descends upon us like a silken garment. One day you are without it, the next you have it. One day insurmountable problems exist, and the next day they are gone. So it is with the kingdom of heaven, with the divine presence of Mother-Father-God.
Each soul is tested to its full endurance. The more tests you receive, the further you grow. God still tests me every day. Just when I think I’m ready to drop from exhaustion, God says, “Here’s a little more life, you can go a little further now.” When you feel you can’t go on any longer, then comes the joy, the rapture of God. If you study the lives of saints, you will find that God never came easily to them. The One who is constantly at work in all creatures, in all elements throughout infinity, never rests. And yet, It rests all the time.
God wants and expects you to be a god, in your true image, as She created you. This was God’s intention, that we dwell here in these bodies, that we enjoy life and each other in full consciousness, knowing eternity. How can we accomplish this? Every moment we must ask, “God, God, God-Mother-Father come to me, dwell in me!” The fruit of heaven is so luxurious and so ecstatic—one taste, and you will give all that you have for more. God hears our every thought, our every desire. As we think and desire, and desire and think, our future is written and our past is erased—karmas overcome.
Remember, God wants you to be an irresistible force. The vessel of your soul must contain the wisdom of heaven, the power of God. God must be sure that your vessel will not crack. Therefore, accept those tests in life that come upon you, and realize that if you persevere, it is God who is building that vessel of you that will contain Him. No matter how much our cup might want to hold the wisdom of the sea of eternity, it can only hold a cupful. It is by expanding our cup that we can contain more of that wisdom, that strength. One must be patient with God; have faith in God, whose time is eternity. We get in too big of a hurry sometimes. All will take place in God’s time if we will allow it.
•by Michele Pike•Everyone we meet is defined by so much more than the role they play in their family, at work, or in their community. Nobody is just a mom, dad, sibling or friend. We are all children of God, divine aspects of Spirit. We each bring a unique and important expression of I AM to this world, one that is to be appreciated.
Most of us could use a reminder now and then that everyone we meet is Spirit. We can be grateful for each beautiful and singular soul. We can thank Spirit for all the many faces that recall the One, our universal Mother and Father.
In our reflections of gratitude, let us not forget ourselves. Remember to be accepting and loving to the irreplaceable aspect of God that you embody. No one else can bring to the world the particular combination of gifts that you do. Be thankful of your own divinity. Express it, for in expression it is given substance, fulfillment.
Beloved Spirit, I am so grateful for all my brothers and sisters. I appreciate and honor each one as a magnificent realization of you. Let me express the love I feel for them by always remembering their inherent divinity. Amen.
“Only in embracing all, can we become the arms of God.” – The Illuminated Prayer
