Month: May 2016

The “ego mind” is the portion of the mind that is devoted to defining reality in a way that will protect us. The ego mind protects us through presenting to us beliefs, justifications, and stories. We “buy in” to those beliefs, justifications, and stories. Why? Because we seek to avoid confronting the fears that those beliefs, justifications, and stories cover up. We withdraw ourselves from the experience of the darkness by building facades of light.

Sometimes when something threatens us, or our facade itself is threatened, we grip onto the facade even harder, even tighter, desperately demanding shelter within it. Sometimes the facade is all we’ve ever known.

The problem is not the facade itself. The problem is our unwillingness to face the darkness. If we let go of everything that is protecting us, and simply surrender to experiencing the present moment in all of its gory glory, it will mean that we will have to be open and willing to feel everything. We call that willingness to feel, “vulnerability.”

Contrary to what our culture has taught, vulnerability is not a weakness. In fact, spiritually speaking, vulnerability is a profound strength! It is through the willingness to fully experience ALL of what we are, ALL of what we feel, ALL of what is around us and within us, that we can fully grow and mature in the way that God intended: toward Love. Love, the most powerful force in existence, is vulnerable.

It is OK then to relinquish your control. If you let go, the spirit will always be there to catch you! God is not a fairy tale or belief, but a real conscious force of profound love that dwells within and beneath every single thing in this universe- including you. That power is always on the other side of the fears and pains you may engage when you drop the facade and choose to be vulnerable, no matter how long those pains or fears may last, no matter how long you may experience the illusion of your own powerlessness.

We live in a jungle of confusion. The veil of amnesia and the illusion of separation cause a profound state of “limited information” in which each individual must use limited data to decide what is true. 7 Billion people on Earth each have their own perspective, most think they generally have the world figured out, and many spend an incredible amount of energy trying to tell each other what to think. Advertising, religion, social media: all add to the cacophony of individual or group messages to other individuals or groups. As technology proliferates, the volume of the jungle increases.

Yet, so very much of it is confusion because none of the messages sent in metaphor or word can successfully communicate the full scope or “deeper truth” of What Is. Form (words or ideas) cannot fully describe that which is beyond form.

Since conscious awareness is fundamental, the only way that the individual can encounter “deeper truth” is by personal experience. Striving to experience “deeper truth” is a very individual and unique process that certainly cannot be articulated in words to you by someone else. But one important channel can be identified: the unadulterated experience of the Now (rather than the consideration of some idea). The more one is able to be fully present with one’s entire actual experience of the present moment, the better one will become at being able to see past the deep construct of one’s own thoughts, judgments, and beliefs. The more one is able to see past one’s own thoughts, judgments, and beliefs, and simply experience the Now itself, the closer one will be to allowing themselves to be touched by glimmers of the ineffable truth which transcends all the metaphors of the world. The sounds of the jungle can be very distracting: but fortunately, nothing can thwart your free will ability to choose to focus inward to the silence, rather than outward to the noise.

Often when we wish to “make change” in the world we perform tasks that seem pertinent, but may in fact not be very effective. For instance, perhaps we care about a local cause, so we join a committee or fill some leadership role to support it, only to find that instead of effecting great change, much time and energy is spent bogged down in procedure or politics. Or perhaps we are sick and wish to be healed, so we go see a doctor- when in fact the doctor may have limited understanding of what may actually help us. While our actions are of course always meaningful to some degree within the big picture, in the physical arena sometimes our allocation of time and activity may actually be pretty inefficient at effecting change. This is a natural part of living within a system of limiting constraints.

It is important to recognize however that the very real all-powerful source of our entire reality itself is always present. In a fundamental sense, the power of physical action is crude and paltry in comparison to the power of the spirit, and the power of the spirit is mobilized by intent. Intent is deep at the root of all events. The entire rule-set of this experience on Earth- this experience that seems physical- derives from God’s awesome intent, which we are connected to. We are connected to the source of the most awesome change- and within our own consciousness itself always lie the keys to unfolding a new reality around us. Rather than some abstract idea, and despite how it might appear on the surface, this is a real and practical engine for change. In fact, it is the primary and most powerful one.

Yet collectively in consciousness space, we have “dug this reality deep.” There is a humongous precedent, a monumental amount of vibrational history, that has set us to where we are, both in how our physical world has evolved, and also in how the human psyche typically expresses itself. But we can change it. We, collectively, have the power to bring the light of the higher realms into this reality frame.

How do we do this?

First, we relinquish old ideas that make us fearful or powerless and embrace the power that is inherent to us- for even as we do so in mind-space, we automatically begin to do so in the world.

Second, we change our focus toward celebrating the light instead of accepting and feeding the negative systems and ideas of our world.

Third, we accept responsibility for exactly who we are and what the world is.

Fourth, we recognize that how we see the world is primarily a reflection of us – not a statement about how the world actually is.

And fifth, we work on ourselves to conquer our own fears, to bring forth our own love, so that the world shines back to us the love that we are. Real change comes through love- for when the spirit loves, the physical solution naturally unfolds through and around us.

In Near Death Experiences it is often reported that the most prized and celebrated accomplishments of our lives are moments motivated by love. The smallest of actions, when motivated by concern for another with no thought of personal reward, are the greatest triumphs. Accomplishments that society may deem as successful are not necessarily seen by spirit as important at all.

Yet often we go through our lives thinking that our success is rooted in material prosperity, social status, or physical impact. We celebrate CEOs, politicians, surgeons, and actors. We hope to be “successful” too.

The entire realm of the physical is subordinate to the realm of the spirit. You are in both right now- you’re just focused on the physical, which is the one that will pass away. In the realm of the spirit, where you will always exist, love is what matters. The physical will pass away; love will never pass away. The physical dirt or money that you moved around will not last; the spirit that you moved through love will last forever.

Recognize then today that your true success resides not in your great physical achievements, but in the small matters: in making selfless choices, in helping others in small ways, in facing your own failings in simple quiet moments. Great spiritual work is done even when nothing is seen in the physical world. Follow where your spirit leads, and embrace the wonderful treasures that are the smallest decisions- for indeed in the Big Picture, even though we cannot see it, the small stuff is the big stuff!