Who are you? - A Story

There once was a young student who had begun down the path of self discovery. One day, while sitting with his Master, the Master asked him to go out and bring him back something that revealed who the pupil was. The student was not sure what the Master had meant by this, but never the less, head out to the nearest village in search of something that would show his master who he was.

While in the village, the student found an old man who did  portraits. He asked the man if he would paint him a portrait of him to bring back to his master. The old man did so, for a price. The student returned to his master with the portrait and said,

"Here Master, this is me."

 The wise master looked at the portrait for a moment, then with a shake of his head spoke,

 "No. I do not see you there. This is not you.."

The student was puzzled by this, but headed back to the village to find something else that would reflect who he was. After searching for awhile, he found a man who was taking photographs of people. The technology was very new, and was very expensive, but the Student wanted to please his Master, so he asked the man to take a photo of him. The student then returned to his Master and said,

"Here Master, surely this is me.."

The Master looked at the picture for a moment, and though it was impressive, the wise Master shook his head and spoke;

"No. I do not see you there. This is not you.."

Frustrated (and broke), the student gave up on his search and retired to his home to sit in stillness and meditation, hoping to reach an awareness of who he really was. During his spiritual practice, he slipped deep in to the stillness of his heart, and connected with the Source of his Spirit, with God. He was filled with great Love and Joy, and these experiences stayed with him.

The old Master came to his house and asked the student to walk with him. The pair headed in the direction of the small village that was near by, and as they walked, the Student noticed a small child trying to reach an apple that was out of reach, piled with other apples in a cart that were for sale. The student, without thought, moved towards the child and handed him the apple out of his reach, and even offered to pay for it (even though he had little money left).

The small boy was very happy, and hugged and thanked the student for his kindness. This made the Student even more filled with Love and Joy. And in that moment, the wise old master placed his hand on the students shoulder, turned and faced him, and said;

"There you are."

Aum.

Upkeep. What we are Keeping Up..

If you think about it for a moment, you'll notice that a large portion of our day is spent maintaining something in our experience. Whether its a car, a body image, a home, or something non-physical like a sense of security, or comfort, or self worth, we devote a large portion of our time keeping up a particular experience.

And we need to ask ourselves, when we are in "upkeep" mode, what are we really keeping up? Nothing mentioned above can be said to be at cause of anything, so there has to be something deeper, more subtle that we are trying to maintain. We invariably are lead to the thoughts and beliefs we hold in consciousness as being at cause, so its in the dimension of Mind that we must put our attention and focus when trying to determine why we spend so much of our time in the "upkeep" of these things.

In truth, we are merely keeping up one (or more) of the illusions of phenomenal existence. Neale Donald Walsch, in his book Communion with God, very clearly outlined what those illusions are. You can find them here. Each of these illusions operate in our lives to a certain degree, which is determined by our conscious awareness of their activity. (The more awareness, the less they operate in our lives indiscriminately). 

So be sure to take some time to read over what the illusions are, and how they are operating in your life, and what is at effect because of them. For instance, the first illusion is the Illusion of Need. As it is explained in the linked article, this illusion leads to the dreadful pursuit of happiness. And of course, we don't really know what happiness is (thanks to the following illusions), so we project this need on to all the different things we are told will make us happy. 

We seek happiness in the exterior world, and therefore place our attention on the material things in our life (including the body) in a vain attempt of securing our happiness in them. We buy cars, electronics, games, clothing, makeup, accessories, drugs, etc.. all in the name of fulfilling a need. Of course, these things don't fulfill anything (not permanently) so we are forced to consume more of these things to get back to this illusory state of need-fulfillment. 

So all of this "Stuff" we try to accumulate in our lives are at Effect, while the Upkeep of the illusion of Need, is what is truly at Cause.  On an energetic level, this upkeep is literally exhausting, and can lead to negative emotional, mental, and physical responses. All of this upkeep is adding 'weight' into the sack we carry around, the sack of our identity. And most of us are completely unaware of these illusions being active in our lives, so we spend an entire lifetime dragging around our "Ego Sack", stopping once in awhile to offer maintenance to all of the things we consider reflections of who we are. When in fact, we are trying to sew our shadow back on as it keeps up in this endless cycle of cat and mouse, fulfilling needs that do not truly exist. 

So check out the article "10 illusions of humanity" and spend some time contemplating all the  different ways we are keeping up these illusions. Know that as you place awareness on any area of your life, the light of Consciousness begins to dissolve these illusions, revealing the true power that lies at your center. 

You are not the 'stuff of life'. 
You are before it. 

Aum

The Science of Prayer

Whether you consider yourself religious or spiritual, the concept of prayer is probably not foreign to you. Prayer has been an effective tool to ease the stress of the mind, to bring focus to our attention, and to generate good will within consciousness. Though, I would admit, that most of us have never really been taught the truth about prayer, how its done (properly), and the metaphysical laws which govern its practice. I shall offer some insight into these area's here, so as to ensure that the next time you SYBD (Sit Your But Down) to pray, you'll have a clearer idea of what your actually doing.

One Mind

The most important thing to realize and understand about prayer, is what it is not. Many would have you believe that one is organizing a series of thoughts in their own mind, directing it to an outside source (the object of prayer, deity, etc..), to offer some degree of benefit. A person gets into an accident, and those close to them offer prayers. You need one more run to win the game, out comes the prayer-book. 

What is fundamentally flawed about this concept is that prayer is seen as some sort of Divine lucky charm that, when exercised, can tip the bar in our favor. This model of prayer does not coincide with what we can learn about The Law, nor does it reveal where the true power of prayer lies. Clearing up this misconception can transform our experience of prayer, as well as the personal experience of the Divine in our lives. 

The first confusion that arises in this model of prayer is the illusion of Separation. This is the most consistent and widespread illusion of the human experience. I am separate from you. We each have two, separate minds, which are also separate (and insignificant) to the mind of God. Correcting these false idea's will lead to a deepened experience of prayer, and wholeness.

Correct the idea of separation by embracing the truth, that we each SHARE the One Mind of God. We are not separate entities, rather, we are seemingly separate individuation's of this one mind. I say seemingly because if we were to look beneath mere appearances we would discover that we are all connected at the quint-essential dimension of being (Mind). Much like we see that there are many separate tree's, we will find that they are all connected by the same element (Earth), and therefore are joined in roots to the same "ground of being". (Pardon the pun..)

How does this revelation transform the nature of our prayer? 

Coupled with the fact that what we hold in consciousness with consistency, has the potential of manifesting in our experience, Prayer becomes an activity in consciousness, of shedding the false idea's surrounding the conditions of phenomenal experience and embracing the true nature of reality. If someone we know falls ill, we do not pray for their well being (which in truth is us empowering the idea of sickness), but instead release the idea of sickness in our mind entirely. We pray to cleanse all falsehoods and illusions from Mind so as to not remain fooled by appearances, and to allow the Truth of God and of Life to be expressed naturally. 

Correction

Typically we are moved to pray whenever something "bad" happens in our experience, or if we perceive the need to add a little "luck" to our endeavors. ("Dear God, please don't let me slip and fall as I accept my award"). This is the classical form prayer takes, and is the reason why we've become accustomed to having our prayers go 'un-answered'. The practice of prayer is not a means to bring Spirit into our human-hood, and this is why the effects of our prayer have been so inconsistent. 

Again, this idea is another misconception, generated by the illusion of separation. We believe that there are two worlds, a world of form made up of physical, gross matter. And then there is a world of Spirit, and this is where God is. These idea's are what have confused mankind for thousands of years, and in many ways has made prayer very ineffective. The correction that must be made in consciousness is that there is not two worlds, but One, expressed in two different ways. 

When one clears this misunderstanding, then the use of prayer becomes about dissolving/releasing our beliefs and idea's surrounding our human nature, so as to allow our Spiritual/Divine nature to find expression through us. Can sickness touch Spirit? Can Death? Can Misfortune? No. Only if we accept the idea that we are merely human can such concepts have an effect in our experience.Therefore prayer is not about increasing the quality of our human experience, but to deepen the experience (and subsequent expression) of our Spirit. 

Does this mean that it is useless to pray for others?

Not at all. 

In fact, our prayers become more potent, because we now understand that we do not pray to alter/influence/change the conditions of form. Instead our prayers for others becomes about cleansing our consciousness (which is the one consciousness we share), of all the thoughts and idea's which brought such experiences to bear in the first place. We seek to hold in mind the perfect vision of our Brothers and Sisters, and hold in consciousness the Truth about who and what they really are. This is the true power of our prayer. Not to fall into the illusion of temporary forms, but to bear the fruit of Truth in our consciousness. 

Praying for World Peace

There are times when, while we pray, we offer good will to all the world in the hopes of bringing an end to the widespread violence, hate, and sickness that plagues so many people. This is beautiful. Yet, people have been praying for this for a very long time, and in no wise has the human situation changed on planet earth. There is still war, violence, sickness, and brutality. Daily.

How does our new understanding of prayer apply to all of the world, and its turmoils?

The crises and problems of the world are merely the same issues and confusions we experience as individuals, but scaled to the entire collective. If we seek to bring about world peace through prayer, we will fall victim to the illusions mentioned above. Instead, the effect of our prayers -- of holding Truth in our consciousness -- translates into the ascension of our own consciousness. This ascension brings us out of the gross experience of life, and releases us into the grace of God, where the turmoils of the world are no longer entertained as truth. 

It is from this transformation of consciousness that we "change the world". By going within and treating the false idea's which are born from being hypnotized by outside appearances, we create a space in mind where we become expressions of this Divine Reality. There may be violence in some part of the world, but here and now, while you are held in the light of truth, such violence cannot take place. And where ever in the world that you travel, you shall bring with you this altitude of consciousness. You shall be anchored in spirit, and that light will shine in the minds of everyone with whom you join with in consciousness. 

This becomes the nature of your prayer. To transform the falsehoods held in mind with the light of Truth, the light of Spirit. To deny the false appearances of form and to correct these thoughts in consciousness so as to allow the expression of Divinity through you. Prayer is about cleansing our consciousness, and about sharing this wondrous reality that we have be born again into, with all the world and those that people it. 

Aum

Being human.... is not enough...

There is something that is happening on our planet, and its not the first time. It has happened countless times over the billions of years that life has been evolving on earth, yet this is the first time it can be consciously directed, in response to the presence of life- threatening crises and breakdowns. As a collective, we have the opportunity to make a quantum leap.

This is what life does when it reaches a ceiling. When it reaches an impasse. A wall. A point of no return. We as a species have reached this point, where every aspect of our civilization, global culture, and technological mishaps have brought us to the edge of page. We can no longer go any farther at our current altitude of consciousness. In short, we must evolve or die.

There was a wise man who once said, 

"You can never solve a problem at the same level of consciousness that was used to create it." 

That is really the easiest way to put it. On every tier of experience, from Individual to Global, we are faced with a vast array of crises, conflicts, and experiential cul-de-sac's that are threatening the stability of our civilization. Some of these issues are new, while others have been building up over several decades. 

If we have any hope of bringing change to our individual and collective experience of life, then we need to get into the zone. This zone is the evolutionary impulse, the fuel of the immanent quantum leap. It resides at the heart of all life and drives it toward greater and more holistic expressions. Call it God, Universal Intelligence, Evolution, Love, etc... Regardless of how you paint it, it is the same thing that is compelling us all to take that next step towards are greatest yet to be. 

When I look to all of the issues and crises that we face in our personal lives, and all the conflicts in our collective circles I notice that each of them has been generated by the Human Being. Or, Homo Sapiens Sapiens to be more accurate. And if the above quote holds any truth to it, then its going to take a very drastic shift in the pillars of our idea's, thought's and beliefs of Who and What we are, so that we may begin taking steps in a more sustainable and enlightened way. 

I feel that, right now, we are each being called to let go of the old idea's we have held about who we are, and what we are capable of. If we are going to tackle all of these issues that we face, then its time we leveled up a little bit. I think its time to shed the skin of being merely Human, and allow the rise of a more spiritual, a more whole expression of life that is open to greater idea's, greater connection between us, and a world of infinite possibilities. 

Tiers of Change

This year has been a big one so far in the department of self development. Many experiences have really helped shape my perspective on a wide variety of issues, existing on each tier of experience. It had occurred to me that these tiers are not widely considered when approaching Change. It seems as if focus on "Global Change" is the most prominent, while community and individual change follow in behind. 

I've been giving this topic considerable thought over the last couple of weeks and just today I was struck with clarity on the why's behind some of my more recent direction changes. Its easy to jump behind the banner of "changing the world" but when you really think about it, the "World" is nothing more then a concept in the mind, patched together by the bits and pieces of news we catch online or on the tube. 

We obviously don't experience the world from a 1st person perspective, so we rely on our worldviews to fuel our passions for Global Evolution. But where does the real change take place? Lets take a look at the different tiers we are involved with day to day, so as to clearly punctuate where the real change is occurring. 

Tier 1: Individual

This first tier is where the real stuff happens. This is the internal and immediate exterior dimensions of our development. Whenever we are moving through thoughts, emotions, beliefs, blocks, our shadow, our relationships, and our behaviors we are operating on the 1st Tier. And it is at this tier that we turn to first whenever we seek to change the experiences of our life, in the 2 succeeding tiers. 

Tier 2: Community

The second tier represent the dimension of our influence and is greatly dependent on the shifts which happen in the first tier. How we show up to our neighbors, teachers, postal workers, garbage men, city council members, and total strangers reflects the development we have made in the 1st tier. The degree of our involvement in our immediate community determines how we view, not "The World" but "Our World". 

If we existed in a community setting that is productive, peaceful, and happy then such conditions would greatly influence what we would perceive as possible for the 'world at large', and in fact would carry with it considerable power to change other places that we do not immediately experience. At this tier we can see the ripples of our influence within the relationships we share in our communities. 

Tier 3: Global

This is the tier where development and shifts in the previous 2 tiers culminate. True global change occurs with the synergistic efforts of many groups of people working together for a common goal. These changes are caused by collective shifts in consciousness, where old world views deteriorate in the light of new discoveries and opportunities. 

I bring all of this up, not as an attempt to turn anyone away from pursuing global change, but for the purpose of highlighting how this change naturally takes place. I myself have experienced the frustration of having my eyes set on changing the world, only to loose steam from a lack of focus on the "here and now" of the world (or first 2 tiers). 

It is also important to note that each tier is deeply connected and that even the smallest shift made in the 1st tier has a direct effect on the proceeding 2 tiers or dimensions of experience. Lets not get caught up trying to change the "headlines" when we can be changing whats going on in our head.. 

Aum