• by Vimala Rodgers • Honesty means always speaking to the God within the other person, just as we appreciate their speaking to the God within us.
Honesty is not to be confused with “the facts”, knowing that the facts are often bent and gnarled from our interpretation of them. To speak honestly is to speak in such a way that our words are never injurious but a source of grace and healing for both ourself and the person to whom we are speaking.
But honesty does not stop there. It stretches beyond the boundaries of simply telling the truth and embraces integrity. Like a body without a heart, without the one the other cannot exist. Integrity is that quality which prevents us from doing, acting, thinking, or saying anything that conflicts with our value system. To some it may imply keeping one’s word. When teamed with honesty, it shifts in depth to encompass “being your word.”
Brother Lawrence, from The Practice of the Presence of God: We ought to act with God in the greatest simplicity, speaking frankly and plainly, and imploring assistance in our affairs, just as they happen. I have often experienced that God never fails to grant it.
Norman Paulsen, from Sacred Science:
Integrity, an internal moral compass, starts at home and spreads outward into the world in which we live. Practicing the virtue of honesty reveals the law of cause and effect: whatsoever a person, group or nation sows, that shall they also reap. The law of cause and effect is the eternal law created by God, spoken of by the ancients. We cannot escape it. Another name for it is the law of karma, or action and reaction.
• by Norman Paulsen•The by-product of Christ consciousness is ecstasy beyond description. This is the ecstasy that exists far beyond the self-conscious mind and its perimeters of experience. It is divine in all respects, transcending states produced by the five senses. It is indeed the complete experience of the new Christ Sense, and that which all writers and poets have tried to capture in words. With Gautama the Buddha it was preserved in the sutras; Jesus in the parables; Paul in his epistles; Dante at the end of Purgatorio and in the beginning of Paradisio; Shakespeare in his sonnets; Balzac in Seraphita; Whitman in Leaves of Grass; Edward Carpenter in Towards Democracy.
Following this ecstatic state comes the illumination of the intellect, again quite impossible to describe. In that great flash of light, that moment when divine rays penetrate the realms of the self-conscious mind, all is known—or should we say, all is comprehended. The very essence of life force, the Breath of Life, which created all images, is now dwelling completely exposed, within and around the self-conscious ego. This penetrating force shatters all previous concepts held by the self-conscious mind concerning God, the visible and invisible universe, and life itself.
One no longer sees planets, sun and galaxies as inert, lifeless matter, but rather the contrary. All visible images now become alive and are pulsating with the rhythms of eternal energy combinations. God himself, within and surrounding all images, now becomes visible to the beholder.
In an instant, one learns more than many self-conscious existences could ever contribute. The infinite floodgate is breached, and that flood never ceases in this life or hereafter. Above and beyond this, the greatest realization is experienced. God, I Am That I Am, is experienced as a state of ever-new joy and peace, Cosmic consciousness.
This experience reveals that the very keelson of this creation is love. Ten, twenty, thirty, fifty years afterward, the flood of divine wisdom comes pouring down on the newborn being, the Christ child. For lack and want of words, how can one express this divine state, this pearl of great price? You, dear reader, can only know this through your own experience of it.
What else is there to seek in this life? when we see those before us disappearing over the horizon and into the grave. We can see that the material pursuits are for nothing. God is everything! When we lay down our energy in this pursuit, the reward is all space, all time and all images to play with.
•by Valerie King•Who am I? Who are you, God? These questions can only truly be answered from deep within. To find the answers takes effort, diligence, and obedience to the promptings of your own conscience, the voice of the Pure Self speaking to you.
Divine ecstasy, the true experience and realization of God, inhabits the space between the cessation of one thought and the birth of the next. You must be very still to catch it.
Sit quietly, and focus all your attention at the point between the eyebrows, the single eye. Bring your listening ear within to hear the white sound behind all outward sounds. Now go even deeper and listen to what is behind that white sound. Can you hear the sound of OM, the song of the universe singing to you? With full concentration of your heart’s love, someday you will hear the cosmic song and be immersed in it. You will pierce through the darkness of closed eyes to see the face of the Divine, the immortal Sun shining brightly
within you.
In the quiet of meditation, search the deepest desires of your soul. What do you really love? What would you do if this was your last moment on Earth?
Hafiz poem: A day of Silence Can be a pilgrimage in itself. A day of Silence Can help you listen To the Soul play In marvelous lute and drum. Is not most talking A crazed defense of a crumbling fort? I thought we came here To surrender in Silence, To yield to Light and Happiness, To Dance within In celebration of Love’s Victory!
•Norman Paulsen, Sunburst Founder•Over millenniums, animal forms have been evolving from primal, simple consciousness into the higher reaches of self-consciousness. Humankind now stands on the threshold of Cosmic consciousness, Christ consciousness, enlightenment. If we allow, the power of Divine Spirit will enter in and walk within each one of us upon this Earth. This is the reason for the creation! Every man and woman can know their true immortal nature, I Am That I Am.
It’s hard to conceive what this world would be like if we were able to open up to this potential. We get glimmerings of it in the sixth sense—feelings of intuition, dreams, visions, voice communications from Spirit.
Through Kriya meditation, there is a way to open the astral door on the crown of the head. The power of I Am That I Am, the masculine and feminine sacred vortexes, the right and left hand of God, can enter in and begin to feed us with divine information, the information of the cosmos, the geometric structure of atoms and galaxies, the wisdom, the infinite knowledge. We can begin to receive and express God-consciousness on this Earth, now, today.
I hear people say: “If there is a God, why did he create such a mess? Why does he allow this world to go on like it is, with people killing each other every day because they belong to a different religion or creed or race. Why?” But God did not create the world this way. Man has made it that way. I Am That I Am created this planet to come here and live fully conscious in us, in perfect harmony.
“Know you not that you are all gods? These things I do, you can do also.” What did Jesus mean? He meant that we can become true sons and daughters of God because we are created in that image, and it lives within us.
Pray for the Divine to reveal that Light. Reach up to the crown of your head and open that door. Let those powerful vortexes of life force spin into you. That’s what sustains us here. It will give power to the higher consciousness to rule over the self-conscious mind. It will let you evolve into your true nature.
•by Dawn King•Confusion is rife on our planet today. Realize that this too shall pass, and all human conflicts will end over time. Meanwhile, you are expanding your awareness of how to be part of the solution of rebuilding society and the planet…starting today.
Why me? Embrace the idea that “I chose to be here now, and chose my life experiences because they serve me. They help me grow stronger in spirit.” The law of attraction (your thought) is powerful; you will continue to attract what you need. Think positive and you will attract positive experiences.
1. Affirm: “Today is the first day of the rest of my life, and I’m making it a purposeful life.”
2. Feel safe in your own space, your own spirit. Yours is the power to create your life as you will it. Your spirit is in a place separate from fear. Your thoughts and actions can operate from that same centered place. If needed, physically move yourself into a place that feels safe, while asking for, receiving, and knowing spiritual help is guiding you. It will FEEL right.
3. Grounding is needed while we live in these physical bodies. Plant a garden. Create or take a job that serves humanity and the Earth. Be practical in your decisions to act. Idealism can lead us into rash actions we later regret.
4. Be a loving person. Our task today is to move our center of consciousness into our hearts. Be kind; love yourself for acting in a way that will make you a better person. Your spirit is perfect; it is the offspring of a loving Creator. Identify with your perfect spirit; it is eternal—going on after this physical life is past.
We are spiritual beings in physical bodies, trying to cope with the drama unfolding around us. Take the time to tune out the drama of the world, and tune into your spirit.
Learning to control our thinking is vital to living a productive and happy life. Meditation and self-reflection is helpful in this process. Use affirmations: “I am choosing to let all conflict go; I am choosing to be at peace.”
“I am grounded.” Visualize your roots of support and strength extending into Gaia, our Mother Earth. Your energy field naturally extends around you in all directions, including going into the Earth. Spend as much time as you can in Nature. Absorb its energy and teachings.
Like a little child, when you live from the heart you have no fear, and others cannot control you. Your effort to be your best is always good enough. And like a little child, you need not judge others. Embrace those who feel like your own, and let loose of those who do not. Wish everyone well, but keep your distance from those people and things which don’t uplift your spirit.
You are valued by the Earth and the Universe. You are loved by those beyond this dimension, and by your Mother-Father Creator. Keep yourself mindfully in that positive light. Open your heart and mind to all the light and love that is available to help and nurture you. You are never alone.
•by Patty Paulsen•Singing at Sunburst’s Sunday service, and listening to the music, quiets our thoughts, so we become very attentive to this very moment of being totally present, totally alive and awake. We experience the movement within our heart as it opens up, and we feel the devotion and love expressed in music. It brings forth within us a peace that is very nourishing.
We can cultivate that peace. It’s always here; it’s eternal. We can do many outward things to cultivate peace in our life. For one, associate with people that have a sense of peace, because it’s contagious. You feel comfortable around them. You feel peaceful too.
We can be mindful of what we nourish our body with. Does it agitate our system? And how does it affect our mind? Is it healing and nourishing?
The greatest work to do in cultivating peace starts within. We can take the most wonderful vacation and get away from it all, but still carry our restless mind and anxious thoughts with us. We’ll never find peace if we don’t start looking for it within ourselves.
That’s the wonderful gift and grace of using a proven tool of meditation. It can tap into that natural peace within. Meditation brings it forth so you can carry it with you in your daily practice of life.
Sit comfortably upright, and still. Sit so you are comfortable and attentive. Notice how much tension you’re carrying in your body. We are bombarded by so much—outer thoughts and activities, anxiety and worry. Sometimes without our even knowing, its piles up in our body.
Mentally scan your body; relax and release tension to create space. You may notice as you release gripping tension, you also release the breath. It moves freer in your body. At the very end of your exhaling breath it dissipates into a neutral background and the new breath comes in from the same place, the same neutral background, the silent witness of just being present.
You’ll notice this neutral background where the breath dissolves, and where it arises again. Breath has an effect on our mind, our thoughts. There is less of a grip in the mind; it too begins to relax, release, and feel more spacious. The inattentive mind can run frantic with thoughts, running to the future, going back in the past. Like watching a train pass in front of us, it’s going so fast with thoughts. But as we begin to watch the breath, the thoughts begin to slow down.
That same neutral witness, that same neutral back drop, that never changes, never jumps into the future, never goes back into the past. It’s totally present. The more we stay in that place, observing that silence witness, the less we get carried away by the train of thoughts. We can pause between our thoughts, by pausing between the inhaling and exhaling breath. In meditation, this pause begins to lengthen naturally on its own. This is the place of peace that surpasses all understanding. It’s a peace in which our ego surrenders, and the mental critic is gone.
The inner critic, that finds fault with everything dissolves. In it’s place, the neutral witness of just being present allows you to feel the peace and joy of being alive, fully alive, fully present in this place.
In this state, we can connect to the center of our soul, to the pure self, to who we truly are. And when we feel this connection, the heart opens up and allows us to stay here. We feel the Divine Presence; we have a center to be a part of, a center to give us the security that we need. We don’t feel empty or alone. Allowing thoughts and feelings to come up later, we don’t grasp and hold them as our own.
And when we find this peaceful, non-judgmental place within us, we see the perfection in other people, and everything around us. We can see what’s behind their personalities, their thoughts, and actions. Our little judging ego steps aside and we just see who we really are, and how connected we truly are to one another.
This peaceful center is where we hear intuition speak to us. We have that pause, that moment to help us make the right choices in life, if we listen. The more we cultivate this awareness, this Presence, the more we’ll be conscious of it throughout our day.
When you catch yourself wandering, just bring yourself back and be present in this space, this spirit; feel the peace of being at home in the present. Staying in this neutral place allows you to partake in life all the more. When you take a walk in nature, you are not thinking of tomorrow or what you did yesterday, but you are present, aware of the wind blowing through the trees, the feeling of the earth beneath your feet. You’re hearing the animals call for their young, noticing the vibrancy of colors, seeingthe sacred geometric patterns in nature.
Every morning in meditation, catch that moment of peace, and carry it with you throughout the day. As we calm our thoughts down, we see the light of consciousness, the pure self that we truly are. We feel our connection to all life, to all beings. We know we are loved, we are here for a reason, we are never alone, the Universe is supporting us every moment. Peace…Peace…Peace!
