by John Henry • Sometimes traumatic worldly events cause us to reconsider many of our feelings, hopefully resulting in our recommitment to walking the path home to Spirit. Rejecting a seemingly unjust picture, I’m reminded of my first imaginings of the world and how I wanted it to be when I was young. In light of recent events, I’ve recommitted myself to controlling my thoughts, keeping them focused on goodness, on evolution—not just for me, but for all my loved ones and the planet itself.
I learned how to meditate years ago. Although we can’t escape our karma, I’ve learned over the years that it’s best to face it head-on if you can. Keep your feet on the path, and slowly karma falls away. Each one of us is completely responsible for our own lives and what is happening to us, what we are thinking and feeling.
For me the hardest thing is to stop my mind from thinking. I’ve been successful at many things I’ve tried to do in my life, but I would say that my success at stopping my mind is poor. Yet, I’ve learned that if you make one hundred percent commitment to serving Spirit and walking the path, there’s a certain peace and strength that comes to you. It allows your soul to overpower your mind and not let thoughts take strong hold of you. You can keep going and trying, and watch your success grow.
Knowing the outcome will be better, I think we all want to do God’s will, not our own. We each have our own Star of Bethlehem to follow through life, to get to that place where we meet the Christ Light (and enlightenment), just as the wise men met the baby Jesus. God is always showing us the way. We just need to control our thoughts and make ourselves aware enough to perceive the hints and the little thoughts and signs that God is giving us to lead us home—signs that lead us to being our true, most fulfilled selves.
If you make that internal commitment to serve the Divine one hundred percent, you’ll find that I Am That I Am is providing all the strength and direction that you need to succeed. Nothing short of that will allow your heart to feel right.
In the beginning, the 12 days of Christmas were 12 steps to Divine Realization. Farther back than we can remember, the Ancients knew this symbol, a Rainbow Path Key and spiritual wormhole leading to all wisdom, all space, and all time.
Wisdom keepers who’ve been through the wormhole are returning the Rainbow Path Key back to humankind’s awareness. Each one who strives to embrace this wisdom tears free a part of the net of ignorance holding all humans in bondage.
Let us rejoice for the Ancient Rainbow Path unveiled, a precious gift that, when fully opened, reveals the true Christ-Mass, Divine Consciousness. Each day we can find more Joy and ecstasy as we grow in Divine Love, the heart of this teaching.
Join us virtually in 2021 as we explore, and learn. We are Astronauts of Inner Space, wandering the worlds of our divine birthright, and finding new strength and understanding within. SUNBURST
by Sandy Anderson • Courage is a universal virtue. All beings want it; all beings need it to survive, to thrive, and to move forward in their lives, to protect their young, and to go for their goals.
This quote is from Norman Paulsen, founder of Sunburst Community: “Your inner quest and surrender to God gives you the strength and confidence to face and overcome your fears. The presence and attainment of courage on the pathway homeward is realized through your unceasing love and devotion to God. Love bestows courage.”
All beings require courage to stand up, to be a part of this mighty miracle, to be a part of this beautiful life that moves in all of us. Courage is essential to affirm “I am,” to become who we really are. Every step of the way demands courage.
Every virtue is tested at some point in our lives, at a time when we must stand up and claim that virtue. Courage is a multi-faceted jewel that is reflected in all virtues. It’s a jewel of joy. Day by day, in many ways, we are tested in it. We all feel fear at some time. And we can all claim the virtue of courage. It is within us.
I want to tell a little story about when I had to face my own fears. For me it was a victory I’ll never forget it. My husband and I planned a trip to Santa Cruz Island to go kayaking, when there was to be no swell and the tide would be low. Two days before we went out, we found out it was going to be windy, but we went anyway.
We got in the water, and because of the wind, there were big waves. They looked like they were going to break on us, but they weren’t. I remember at one point there was a huge wave coming right at me, and I almost screamed. Then I remembered, “No, it won’t break on me,” and it just went right underneath the kayak. It took me awhile to relax and trust that I would be safe.
My companion in overcoming that fear was the One that can allay all fears. It was Living Spirit. We went through the big waves and into the sea caves together. We went into almost every cave, every tunnel, and every arch. I remember on the way home feeling thoroughly ecstatic, not just because I’d been kayaking, but because I had conquered my fear. Spirit gave me the confidence, strength, and courage to feel the fear and move through it. That’s one of the blessings that we can call on everyday while in this great earthly drama. My experience that day inspired this prayer:
Living Spirit, you bestow on us courage whenever we ask for it. You bestow courage from your essence, from your blessing. We reach out with both our hands and our hearts to embrace you, to allow your freedom to move and create within our lives. We offer this canvas of our lives to you for a beautiful painting. We will paint with you, and sing along with your sacred song.
Amen
by Norman Paulsen, Sunburst Founder • We are all looking for love. Not just love that flares up and lasts a short time, but love that is enduring and ever new. It can only be found in knowing God. God’s love for us and our love for God is eternal and enduring. The most important thing we can do in our lives is to seek God. to feel that great love that God has for each one of us, to feel it take fire in our hearts and grow.
We join together as one family, and offer up all that we are to Spirit. We do this with our meditation technique and the devotion of our heart. We reach down into the center of our Mother Earth and bring her energy up to our spine and offer it to our Father. We open the door at the crown of our head, looking for the white light, and draw the Father’s energy down through our spine.
As we do this, we are mixing and melting our Mother and Father’s energies in us, healing us, giving us strength, and wisdom. We’re also growing our spirit bodies. You can imagine that, as we bring the energy up and down our spine, a layer of light covers our spirit body, one breath at a time. With each circulation, we’re adding to that spirit body. It gets larger, and spreads out in all directions. Spirit wants to experience the joy of the creation through us.
As we grow our spirit bodies through meditation, and through our daily lives of virtuous living, we are holding space for Spirit to share our earthly experience. In this way, we become a vehicle for Divine Will.
As we meditate today, let’s open our hearts up to our best Friend, our dearest Companion, that we may be filled and transformed into that vehicle of white light. Thus, our actions may be in harmony with Spirit’s will, manifesting the kingdom of heaven here on earth.
How blessed we each are to be alive, to be present in this moment, and when we ask God to reveal himself to us. I see him in every face, beating in every heart, existing at the center of every soul. To find that light within us, to let it grow, to nourish it, to receive its love and allow it to open our hearts, this is why we meditate.
This Being that has created all of us wants to become conscious in our minds, in our thoughts, participating in everything we do that is virtuous, giving and loving. We each have this wonderful gift of God’s presence in our souls—that light of consciousness, that spark that God gave each one of us.
Years ago, I began my journey, seeking the light of soul within myself. I was finally led to a teacher who gave me the direction I needed to begin my meditations. Meditation is the key that unlocks the door to our souls. I spent many hours in meditation every day, calling on God to reveal himself to me. I wanted to see God face to face; this was my desire. Could it happen? is it possible that the Creator of everything we see could reveal itself to each one of us?
After years of meditation and service, God did come to me in a body of light as bright as the sun shining in the sky today. Wondrous it is that God will come to us if we persist and call with all our love, and open our hearts to receive this visitation. With diligent practice, meditation will bring us to that point in our lives when God is going to open up the window of our soul and say: My son, my daughter, it is me; I am here! It has been me all along that you were searching for.
What a supreme unimaginable day it is when we meet God, our Creator, face to face, when we can actually get our hands around God and hug him, love him, and bare our hearts to him. God is so close. My teacher, Yogananda, used to say, “If you only knew how close God is, you would see him right now.”
God wants you to know him, wants you to see him. The unimaginable can be seen. When the inner eye of soul is opened, God comes blazing into our consciousness, filling you with the greatest love you can ever conceive of. Why meditate? To find God within yourself, to follow a spiritual life, a virtuous life, to become a true servant of God that you may help others, that you may support our world that so desperately needs support today.
Meditate on the fact that when Jesus was baptized in the waters by John, the Spirit was seen descending like a dove upon his head. What was actually seen were the dual sacred forces, the right and left hands of God that descend like spirals, the baptism that waits to settle upon each of us if we seek to receive it. It brings with it the sacred birth, the birth of the Christ child inner-dimensionally within our hearts of love.
Yes, Jesus spoke of the new creature we can all become if we but receive and believe. That Christ child is waiting in the center of our souls to be born in its light, and ascend to the throne of consciousness within us.
This can happen for each one of us in this lifetime. This is the promise, this is the pledge that Spirit has made to all the children. I bear testimony of it; I humbly submit that it has happened to me. We need but to ask; the promise is: “It shall be given,” if we but believe, if we but make the effort. Breathe in that light of God through the crown of your head. Let it descend into your heart. It builds a mighty heart within us that can withstand anything. It makes living virtue wonderful and simple. It makes our work and our lives a joy.
by Norman Paulsen
