Treasure within

Matthew 13:45-46

 

 

 

 

Hidden beneath an outer shell of earthen clay hides an image of great value, its true nature has been lost to the sands of time. This treasure of such great value was alluded to in the ancient spiritual texts; the pearl of great worth, the kingdom of heaven is found within.

As above, so below is an ancient quote.  Is this treasure the realm of spirit in which we live and move and have our being.   The clay image is but a low resolution likeness of a greater inner image, patterned as a fractal of the universal Self. This Self is the treasure we all seek and once its found the search is over.

 

 

 

Balance- Yin and Yang

 

 

Most of us would agree that to be fully human is perhaps our most worthy pursuit. But, what is the ideal way to live in this world? 

Is living a life in safety, under strict discipline and order, much better then a life of total undisciplined freedom, which may veer us down a path of chaos and disorder?  Most of us will agree that order seems better then dealing with the challenges that take us out of our comfort zone, in a personal world, that is chaotic. But, too much order in our life can cause disease in strange ways that are not as obvious as the disease caused by chaos and disorder. Obsessive compulsions with its tendency toward the activating of excessive order can cause us to be stressed just as much as  the dysfunction caused by too much passive disorder. To live on the edge, the precipice, between order and chaos is a delicate balance; its a balance between the extremes of an obsessive, ordered carefulness with that of a passive disordered carelessness. To push the limits, our boundaries , is to grow physically, mentally and spiritually. Being healthy is living  balanced, and avoiding extremes as much as possible. 

 

 

The need for excessive order can make us fearful...because we need control. This can lead to obsessive compulsions and the need to manipulate every detail of our lives. There seems to be less freedom in a controlled state. 

Living out of balance with nature, in too much  disorder, tends to stress the body and mind. Living in this dis-eased state, under constant dysfunctional stress, is perhaps the greatest cause of our diseases. 

The drive toward one polarity whether its order or disorder, overrighteous or overwicked, wise or foolish, dominate or passive, when taken to extreme, causes dysfunction, duality and an unnatural way of living.

 

 

To be free, is to take risks with one foot in the unknown and the other on solid ground. 

 

 my granddaughter when she was making her first steps

Grace

There is a saying... ' you are no closer to God then in a garden'. I enjoy gardening more and more each day. Today,  I picked a perfectly ripe red tomato off a very healthy looking vine. I looked at it, felt it , smelled it, and became very thankful for it. I thanked the plant and the insects for pollination. I thought about the whole process from sunlight to food and its all so amazing. I didn't wash it , I trusted the process, it was perfect. I bit into this delicious fruit off the vine right there in the moment. Wow! what a taste.

Thank You! Thank You!

The sun , the elements , the water and the life force all worked together to produce fruit on a vine, in order to provide sustenance for another living being. We have so much to be thankful for. To acknowledge the miracle of a tomato on a vine ready to eat is beyond comprehension. What a mystery? We live and move and have our being in this total mystery we call life; life given by grace. But, what is this grace out poured every millisecond in our lives by this unknown mystery?  This universal will to give life without concern for outcome seems like  a form of love.  We have heard the phrase 'it is more blessed to give then to receive' , well,  a similar thought came to me a couple days ago,  'you will never want for giving' . I have been giving these tomatoes to all my family and neighbors and yes I do feel blessed because of it. There seems to be a connection between, giving, gratitude, grace and feeling blessed.  Being blessed for me, means, to be loved by a divine providence. I sense that daily. I repeat often ...'I live by grace', these words always seem to pull me out of an anxious thought pattern.. It is very powerful.

The grace of life is poured into all of us, continually. Some are thankful and feel blessed.Others are ungrateful and suffer from a sense of lack. Being grateful, we feel happy and content. Being ungrateful only reinforces a sense of lack.

Give thanks with a grateful heart, for all of life, this is the way of happiness and contentment.

Creation, Spirit and Life

What is creation ? Creation is the perceived reality of form. We perceive it with our senses.  This creation of form is supported, and held together by an underlying realm of invisible spirit. This invisible and formless influencer and organizer of all matter in our know universe could be called Spirit. Where does Spirit and what we call 'God' end and begin. Is this realm of spirit , God? Is God really another word for the undefinable presence of Life and Spirit? Is creation the activity of Spirit as it happens, now? Perhaps God is Spirit presence in action, and this is what creation actually is. It seems like  Life, Spirit  and God are the same reality and it can only be now.  Nothing stays the same. Life is in a continuous flux, a never ending movement of spirit and it is always now. Every moment is different; every nanosecond life is projecting a constant every changing creative energy. This is creation, now!   Something to ponder.

Without fear

The grand illusion

https://www.collective-evolution.com/2020/03/03/shattering-the-grand-illusion-the-power-of-human-thought/


This is an excellent article ,click the link above. 

Fear or Trust

Fear is setting in all over the world today, a new pandemic virus is spreading all over the globe. It looks unstoppable, it may spread into every community on earth.  What does this mean for life as we know it?  Two out of 100 people who get this may die. Where will our collective psyche go on this issue? We have a choice, do we move toward fear or trust? Do we trust the life force in the human being to overcome this threat? Or, do we get bogged down in fear and weakness? These are some of the questions one could ponder regarding this latest health risk. We know that fear can make us incapable of thinking straight in a rational way. Under the spell of fear we can't critically think and look at the big picture . A people living in fear will give up their freedom for security, but in the end it only leads to slavery to the tyrants that rule them. They will have neither freedom or security.





What is fear? Is it a creation of our thoughts ? Is fear an emotion we feel, caused by thinking, when we project our mind into the future or past? Is fear caused by, a fault in our dependence on our finite individual abilities, and a lack of trust in the life source itself.? Or is it "Fear" itself that we fear? How do we face fear? Can we stand our ground and stare it down? I experience fear as a feeling that comes over me, a dark force of some kind . I feel it in pray and meditation often. I just observe it with my inner eye and see it as separate from who I am. I stare it down in a meditative state . I don't judge it I just observe it . It loses its power on observation and it dissipates like a morning mist.

The mind loves to concentrate on a problem. The stock market crashed 12% . (Update on March 31 stock market crashed 35 % over the past 2 weeks) Fear over this virus has taken over, on a global scale. Everything is connected, with global markets, the internet, travel...what happens in China affects us here in North America.

When there is a threat like this, which involves all humans on earth, in 2020, it tends to create unity in our collective consciousness, and that's a positive effect. We may be connected mentally over the internet, but, in a pandemic crisis, the first response by authorities is physical separation of those with the virus. In quarantine we become forced into isolation.  Nations restrict travel, towns and cities are in lock down. The global trade supply train slows down.  Everything can grind to a halt, in a worst case scenario.

I guess its only human to feel fear. Even if you are not concerned for personal life, you have family and friends who may not be able to survive this, possible threat. So, from this perspective there is lots to be concerned about.

Regardless, of our concerns, life has its own intelligence. Humans have been moving too fast, for too long. Knowledge is growing faster then wisdom. Humans have been living in too much Yang and not enough Yin on a global scale. We have become absorbed in much doing, without a proper balance of introspect. A forced slow down may do us all good.  When we slow ourselves down, and find balance, even in isolation caused by external forces, we may find an inner unexpected peace that passes understanding.

What is trust? It is the opposite of fear.  I say to myself often, when confronted by the latest arrows of daily fear.thoughts..I live by grace, trusting in Life powers, which I do not understand. I don't have future, there is only now. These type of affirmations cause the fear thoughts to fade from our attention.

This life force which runs the 'Life' program seems to have an infinite intelligence, and endless capacity for love. (Love in this cosmic sense is the cooperation of polarized forces for the good of the One Life).

When we do not realize this life source, in the body and  at the core of our being, we do so  at our own peril, we live a life prone to dis-ease.What does it mean to trust Life?  Grace is the spiritual freedom, we feel  in our inner being when we realize that life is a gift. Life comes through grace, its unmerited, we do nothing to deserve it. We don't have a life, we are life. For a time in space, Life moves in an individualized unit, in a biological vehicle. When the earth biological unit eventually fails, its energy source, the Life force is released from the form.  This life energy does not die, it is not a body, or a localized, separate, mind,  it merely transforms into a new state which we cannot know. Can we trust something we do not understand? This is the choice; we can live in fear, depending on the power of the little 'me' and its ability to run its separate life program or we can trust the true Life source with its super life program? This is something completely outside of the understanding of our intellect.  It comes down to Fear or Trust. The road less traveled is  this complete Trust in an indefinable life force. Trust in this mystery of Life may not bring an absolute certainty to the analytical mind but neither does fear-based living, with its anxiety.  Personally, I would rather live in trust then in fear.


 

Here is a link to another post on trust 

Not Knowing is Ok!

 



Friends and family who know me best, know that I have gone through a radical shift in my core beliefs over the past ten years. I dared to step back and take a critical look at what I was conditioned to believe most of my life. It was not easy. I had a lot to lose. I had to drop all my certainties. There was a risk that  friends and family would not understand. As I peeled back the layers of what I thought was fundamental truth, for at least 35 years, I realized that most of it was not real. I had been living in an illusion and so through a process of many months I slowly became disillusioned. With a more open mind I now feel freer then ever before. I feel a peace that passes all understanding. I realized that taking a critical look at your core assumptions is not a bad thing. Truth and reason are more important then a perceived belief system. Truth stands the test of time, and if you have a belief system that cannot be tested for truth, then you have to question ....why???. "Question everything " would be good advice to our children and grandchildren, so, maybe it would be good advice for adults as well.

We have become addicted to the need for certainty, and the belief that we are right. When we are convinced we know the only truth, we become closed minded to the views of others around us. Being open to new truth, and not being so certain in your conviction, is what sets you free. When certainty of belief is dropped, we realize, we don't know, and that is the most humble approach to living. Not knowing opens us up to the mystery of life. I started out seeking and striving to find truth, a process that lasted many years. I released the need to strive after answers to deep questioning recently and the seeking is diminished to the point where I am getting content with not knowing. This contentment with not knowing is a type of release that resulted in a great sense of freedom and truth. It was only when I gave up the striving that I felt a type of liberation.

Here is a link to another post I wrote on  truth   

and here is another,

 Not Knowing 


One reaches a point where there are no more questions and there's no more search. - John Butler