Becoming Weightless

How touching are the physical things we hold onto for a moment as mementos of our time on Earth - souvenirs of the journey, reassuring us that we have a past and are somebody, have been someplace, have done something.

Letting go of these things that we gather, and collect, and hoard, is hard to do, yet it enables us to move on, to be created anew in each moment.

These things that we hold onto can be buoyant and uplifting, tender and innocent, but more often they are weights that we carry in order to preserve our sense of who we are. Because of their weightedness, they often slow us down.

To be free to un-weight one must have the courage to live freely, to live trustingly, to live with the understanding that life is forever disclosing its secrets to us, and that we listen best when we are open and empty. Then we can hear the voice of God speaking through time and space into the very corners of our heart and soul.

Adam in Beginning

"This road I travel," he said,
"Where shall it take me?
And who will be there to greet me when I arrive?
And if I stray, by chance, from the familiar path,
who will point the way back,

who will set things right?"

"I shall set things right," sayeth the Lord,
and plant your feet upon the holy path,
and wipe your tears when you stumble,
and keep your heart beating

when you are afraid.
For in all things I am with you,
part of you, forever,
And I shall walk with you all the days

of your life, and be with you always,

until the end of time."

How We See

The human brain is made exquisitely and with exquisite care to respond to life through the activation of the neural receptors so that we see, hear, and know a particular version of reality - the version that corresponds to the spectrum of light that defines the physical.

Within the physical range, spiritual light operates at its lowest frequencies. Attunement of the cerebral cortex and cortical connections to this end of the frequency spectrum allows us to perceive objects as separate from each other. Compare this to the possibility, for example, that another construction of a different kind of brain, or the evolutionary transformation and acceleration of our own physical brains might register incoming impulses of light within a higher frequency range and a broader spectrum. Instead of seeing solid objects, then, we would see or sense all as a movement of varying impulses of light, both in frequency and duration. We would not perceive the universe as solid, though it would coalesce into denser and less dense patterns, but rather would see all as a flow of moving light impulses.

Such a perception would convey to us without any need for explanation, the understanding that all is energy, and that all is woven together in an intricate pattern of harmonic resonance. It would also convey to us without a need for explanation, an understanding of intentionality behind the harmonic pattern. For this would not appear random, but rather coalesce in attributes of beauty, purpose, and love.

Such a vision of the possible in relation to human perception is not far from being realizable. If we think not in terms of 'seeing' with our physical eyes, but of seeing with our non-physical senses, then the range of perception of light-impulses that is becoming available to us through the increased closeness of the planes of spirit and matter can alter forever our picture of reality as a solid universe with discrete physical objects. In the new landscape, the physical, as physical, would remain a perception at a certain layer of experience, but it would only correspond to a certain layer, rather than to the truth of what is.

The beauty of the universe constructed according to the 'lux fiat' (“Let there be light”) utterance of Genesis or the Divine action described by other sacred texts is this: that the Universe is not random, but created according to Divine intention and invested with power, beauty, and holiness. As we come to feel this through the awakening of our non-physical senses, we will experience a different reality and a new relationship to all of life.

Such a movement is already happening as a consequence of the ‘quickening’ of physical matter by light. When it reaches a point of maximum resonance, the planes of matter and spirit will be experienced as inextricably connected with each other, and the world will know itself to be a sacred manifestation, rather than something that exists apart from the Divine totality of all that is.

Love or Fear

To break down the barriers of isolation,
love must become stronger than fear.

Where self-protection rules,
there, love has little space to grow.

The Flow of Time

When the ego is out of the way and the heart is surrendered, then the flow of time is like a river emanating from the higher planes of existence. From the source which is the Divine Presence within, down to the embodied self consciousness, the flow of time brings with it the events and circumstances that are meant to be.

All of time is a flow shaped by consciousness. But which consciousness has the greatest input into this shaping depends upon the level of alignment of the personality-self with the higher Self, and the purpose that one feels one's life is serving. As long as the attractions of the world create ego-gratification that one wishes to hold onto above all else, then the river will flow at the level of potency that is conditioned by the needs and desires of the lower self. But when that embodied self desires to do God's will more than its own, then the river of Time more and more begins to manifest what serves the highest purposes of God and the soul.

This flow of life from higher to lower is a universal principle. It relates to the multidimensional self and how each human being is constructed. All life experience depends upon our attunement to what we resonate with - whether to those things that are outside us that we gravitate toward and yearn for, or to those things that are inside us that are independent of outer circumstance and that define our more essential self.

Time is a medium that we shape with our consciousness. Blessed is the one who knows how to move through time in the arms of timelessness.

See Me

The world cries out: "See me. I am here."
What do we see?

The one we judge cries out: "See me. I am here."
What do we feel?

The Earth itself cries out: "See me. I am here."
What do we allow ourselves to know?

Photos by Claude Renault http://visagesdinde.blogspot.com/

Voices

We listen to the voices of others but often do not hear
the message carried on the voice itself,
not the content of what is being said,
but the place from which it comes.
Not the feeling that is conscious, but the feeling
that is beneath consciousness.

All words carry vibration.
All words can be listened to as invisible containers
of the secret messages of the soul.

Next time someone speaks to you,
listen not just to the meaning of the words but
to the sound of the voice.
In that sound lies the journey of the heart
and the history of the soul.

Looking Inside

It is often easier to see beauty outside of oneself than inside.
Pride gets in the way,
fear gets in the way,
blame gets in the way.

Next time you look inside, look not for what is yours
but for what is God's.
Then you will not have to worry about pride or fear.
All that you will see will belong
to the One
who created you.

Artwork - Daniel B. Holeman

House of Beauty

I passed a house beside a busy thoroughfare,
not more than twenty feet from the road,
and saw between the cars whizzing by
an old relic with peeling paint,
unkempt yard,
and old, old, windows with crooked shutters -
the fragments of a life unseen by passersby.

And yet, like sun-burst in the midst of rain,
in the midst of dirt,
in the midst of neglect,
someone had erected a monument to beauty,
a single glass door inlaid with scrolling flowers,
bordered by side-panels of flowers
on either side.

This precious detail of a life,
this tribute to the everpresent yearning for beauty,
spoke of the soul who lived beside the road,
who lives beside many roads,
their life invisible to us,
a world unto itself,
a world in which one watches, perhaps,
the cars passing
through a dusty window.

A Meeting With Others

In this group of souls that I gather with
are the flames of many candles,
all lit, all burning brightly,
all expressing the sacred fire that lives within.

Each candle's light burns steadily, eternally,
unquenchable, unstoppable.
And yet it may not be seen or known by the outer self,
the self that thinks itself to be but a dim reflection
of the possible.

We are the lights of Creation.
We meet, we join, we gather to bring
our flames into one flame,
and still to remain uniquely ourselves,
blazing with our own inner fire.

When two or more are gathered in My name,
there I Am, sayeth the Lord.
Flame upon flame, consuming lesser truths,
burning through limitation,
creating the glory of God in the unity of souls.

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Going Beyond Roles

Mother, father, child, teacher, student, friend, helper, worker... We learn to play roles with others from the time we are very young. Knowing how to be creates comfort, familiarity, the security of agreed-upon forms of communication.

Stepping beyond roles into a deeper level of who we are takes us into the unknown - what will we say? What will we be like? It involves the sense of risk until it becomes clear that this risk is life itself, a way of being that is more honest, spontaneous and free.

Stepping beyond roles does not mean leaving our moral center and abandoning inner guidelines that govern behavior. What it involves, more than anything else, is a connection with our deeper self - our sense of truth which is always positive and includes our inner moral compass. This sense of truth has always been with us, waiting to be activated. It is what remains when roles diminish. It is what remains when defensiveness is gone. In its essence, it is the truth of love.

Living Timelessly

The knowledge that no meeting in life is accidental can be life-changing - that the very air we breathe is filled with connections to the beyond.

The practical activities of life - taking care of the house, repairing the plumbing, replacing light bulbs, listening to the radio, each of these is part of the dance of spirit and matter, the play of light through the cosmos.

We are so involved with the work of living that we often forget the exquisite drama of living, the grace of living, the gift of it.

Each action that I take by moving my arm ripples out into the universe.

Each step that I walk has an effect on those who came before along this path and on those who come after.

It is possible to live timelessly in time by being aware of these interconnections.

Then the world opens into a great pattern of beauty and unity. It opens into the knowledge that everything I do matters all of the time.

This power given to consciousness is beyond measure. It is both a power and a calling to awaken, to choose wisely. In doing this, we allow ourselves to know that in the dance of spirit and matter we are responsive to all and responsible for all.

Rock

What is matter and what is Spirit?

Inside everything that is physical are atoms, protons, electrons, and sub-atomic particles whirling around like tiny dervishes in an invisible universe. Yet, we continue to relate to things as if they were solid, knowing somewhere inside ourselves that everything is teeming with life, yet not knowing what difference this might make.

Such knowing must move from concept to experience. It must become the indelible sense of the radiant life in all things - the song of being that is sung by every part of Creation. It must be recognized as the Divine Presence within life itself.

We see this life and hear this song sometimes when nature moves us - in a sunrise or sunset, in trees, in budding leaves in the Spring. Some things speak to us of the life of the Earth. Yet, this life of the Earth is connected to the greater life of all-that-is, and all-that-is is but another name for Spirit, God, the One.

"Take off your shoes, Moses, for the ground you walk on is holy," said the Lord from the Burning Bush on top of Mt. Horeb. (Exodus 3:5) Indeed, this might be said of all ground, everywhere, the sand dunes of the desert, the mud flats of the delta, the wheat-filled plains, the rocky mountainous regions - all are holy vessels of sacred life.

When you have a chance, pick up a rock that you find while walking somewhere - not necessarily a special rock, just a rock. This small, insignificant object that you hold in your hand has been fashioned by God in the fires of Creation. Inside its hardness and solidity is that same fire that gave it birth. All of Creation is concentrated inside this tiny insignificant stone, reduced to a small sample of what is Infinite.

Can we look at this very small thing that has no external value and see something of the Creator, or shall we allow our senses to continue to fool us? The answer will depend on what our hearts and minds are ready to know.

In this moment, let us open our inner vision to see Creation continuing within the intricate patterns of energy that give life to physical matter and specifically to the life within this rock. Let us let go of the need to see with outer eyes and see with the inner.

Whatever comes to us is grace. Whatever continues to remain concealed is the journey. May all eyes be opened to see and feel the Heart of life.

Soul Love 2

Beyond any habit, role, gesture, or limitation,
I see the great beauty of your soul,
and reach to that place of deepest truth
so that you may know, and feel, and trust
the power of love
that is you.

Soul-Love

There are certain people whom we meet, where for no apparent reason the heart leaps out to love them, even when they cannot love us in return, and even when they may not be able to acknowledge our love at all. These souls are brought into our lives through a pattern of soul resonance. The mind may not recognize how or why, but the heart does. Instinctively, it yearns to shower loving blessings upon the other, even when no form or way or avenue presents itself.

Such unpredictable and surprising loves of the heart are a testimony to the secret ways that we, as souls, are connected to others. Without knowing how or why, we meet our loved ones again and again, often waiting for them over many lifetimes, sometimes remaining together, sometimes drifting apart, sometimes passing like ships in the night with hardly a word exchanged.

It is important to validate these profound stirrings of the heart, for they are part of the soul and come from the place of sacred truth. Though soul-love may become distorted through fear of rejection, desire, or clinging, all of which bring additional motives into the picture, this pure and bright expression of the heart can still exist, even amidst distortions. It only needs to be sought with full intent in order to be found.

Within longstanding relationships such as marriage, the pure motive of soul-love is often tarnished through needs and fears which come to cloud its original purity. When this is the case, the relationship needs to be reclaimed and reinstated to its rightful place as an expression of soul-connection on the physical plane. To the extent that two people can strive to live in this way, the motive of generosity and the purity of love will once again flourish.

Some may think that it takes two to form a bond of love but in fact it only takes one. A selfless heart that seeks to love another can do so by committing itself to its own intrinsic nature, to its own deepest feelings, no matter how these feelings are responded to. When this happens, the relationship becomes progressively elevated to a purer and more light-filled state, sometimes visibly so, always invisibly so. This is true even when only one remains aligned with love.

Here, we have a way to change the world - not through waiting for others to change themselves, but through committing ourselves to remaining faithful to the love that flows naturally through us, whether toward one, two, or many. Each consciousness has the capacity to make this commitment. Each has the ability to stand in the light of love and contribute both to the healing of a planet and to the awakening of the soul.

I Am

The great mystery and wonder of existence

is to know that

God lives within you as you.

How many tears have been shed because

this knowledge seemed lost!

Aliveness

Within each of us is a sensor that reads out the measure of how alive we feel or how deadened, and what circumstances and people contribute to this sense of aliveness.

This sensor is not something to be ignored, but rather to be cherished. Although our experience of heightened life may take place in the presence of loved ones, or certain places in nature, in relation to foods, or smells, or music we hear, the home of our aliveness can be found most deeply in the silence of solitude. With others, we may feel temporarily more alive, but often find that the feeling disappears when we are once again alone.

The relationship of 'aliveness' to our outer life is generally understood. We know what wakens our senses and causes us to feel more alert. Less known is the fundamental fact of our inner 'aliveness' - that which comes from our relationship with the Source of life - that which is indestructible, even while we may not perceive it.

Thoughts do not tell us how alive we feel. Feelings tell us this. Our heart lets us know by its beating and by its communication to us in subtleties of feeling, the measure of how we are with ourselves.

The true meaning of 'aliveness' does not depend upon external circumstance but on our inner state. In fact, the stimulation of outside sources can create heightened sensations that sweep us away in one moment, letting us down in the next. For example, in our pursuit of different forms of entertainment, what sends us into a place of laughter, excitement, or wonder can, in the next moment, turn into something else when we return to ourselves with life based on what is inside.

While this is true of entertainment, it is even more true of things we are addicted to that aim to heighten our sense of aliveness however briefly, comforting us and preventing us from feeling empty or alone.

Inner aliveness - that which stays with us wherever we go - that which is part of our indelible experience of ourselves and our life-force - this grows in the presence of spiritual pursuits of many kinds. There is a reason to practice quietness and stillness for a certain portion of each day. It is not only to clear the mind and to center the self in the higher vibrations of light and truth. It is also to become self-aware and self-regulating with respect to our aliveness. In the quiet, we can see how we are with ourselves. We can acknowledge our state of being and make choices based on this that bring us into greater life.

What, then, is aliveness?

It is the sense that we are fully here. That every part of us is being used, is engaged. Aliveness conveys meaning, purpose, hope, and even fulfillment, uniquely related to the nature of each individual soul. It is not the same as happiness, for one can be very much alive and be experiencing great challenges and difficulties. Yet, even in the presence of difficulty, aliveness lets us know that we are living life fully.

It is the destiny of each child of God to come into this full state of awareness through contact with their own inner being. Beyond roles, habits, doubts, and limitations, to be alive is to know the full majesty of the living Oneness that expresses as our very own self.

Being Present in Relationship

The light of one shines to the other,

casting out rays of many colors

to help and heal.

Relationships

All relationships are significant, from the most intimate to the chance encounter we have with someone in the supermarket. We travel through a network of interconnected energies that draws us toward others for various purposes, some known, some unknown. The question is how we respond to these meetings - how much of ourselves do we bring to them?

Our chance encounters, in particular, may be with souls we have known in other lifetimes. They may involve an exchange of few words, but in the presence of a brief interchange, energetic connections may be made and healing may take place from our energy field into that of another, or visa versa, without our knowing anything about it.

Intimate relationships require the most from us in terms of remaining present, for where ego-needs are still strong, presentness is diminished. Where ego-needs are strong, we no longer see the other as they are but as we wish them to be or as we fear them to be.

Presentness is inversely correlated with our need to have reality or others be a certain way. To be present, an open space within us is needed. A space free of coercion or worry. A space of just being, infused by love.

In the world of relationships, it is important to not underestimate our significance as we walk around in time and space. The secret inner connections between ourselves and others are manifesting help and healing as we travel, and bringing to us the help from others that may also be needed.

Blessed are those who understand the interconnectedness of all beings, not just in principle but in the living vital way of energy and consciousness.

Dichotomies

There are dichotomies that we set up in our minds that separate one thing from another. They create the structures by which we come to believe in duality.

spiritual versus -- physical, practical
sacred versus -- secular, mundane, ordinary
inner versus -- outer life

These dichotomies are ways of thinking. They are not real. They are categories of thought - habitual ways of perceiving.

All words create dichotomies. All words speak something into existence and leave something else out. Nevertheless, we need to find the words that create unity - not only the unity of love and of brotherhood, but the unity of a seamless life in which we hold all things as part of the Oneness.

We need to find the mind of a child again. The child that holds the world in wonder.

Eyes of the Soul

It has been said many times that "the eyes are windows to the soul." What does this mean?

If we look into another's eyes with the eyes of our heart and spirit, we can see the story of their soul's journey, both the joy and the sadness, the innocence and the fear. These things come to us as an energetic impression that infuses our awareness.

Many are afraid to look deeply into another's eyes. Even stronger is the fear of being seen oneself. And yet the soul that inhabits the person we barely know, this stranger we see while shopping, this TV announcer, this public figure - the eyes reveal the inner being, waiting to be recognized.

Often, we give up on both seeing and on being seen. This is because we have grown accustomed to playing roles in life which cover the truth of our soul-nature. Such concealment within roles casts a veil over our eyes - a veil of unconsciousness, a veil composed of our need to remain within habitual behaviors.

Nevertheless, if, for a moment, we could abandon roles and just look, and just be seen, what worlds would we enter?

Here is the invitation: see behind the eyes of another to their soul. Also, be willing to be seen. Such a shift can change one's life.