One
Today’s meditation is as follows:
If you had a wizened higher self, an inner sage that could speak, it would want you to destroy everything that binds
you to an unenlightened inner person of old.
What binds you to that remnant is a kind
of psyche broadcasting at a particular frequency. By extension, because you are
part of a collective, that is also what binds humanity.
That old outdated person, that version of
you, is like a dense mirage floating across the screen of consciousness. The
observable thoughts and emotions that emerge from that person are its offspring.
But they are of no consequence. Say
good-bye to them and watch them and their progenitor disappear into the dustbin
of history.
Then drop into your heart.
***
It is what is inside a person’s heart,
and their intent that matters, not their personality.
Next time you encounter a public figure,
or an influential person of any kind, look at them carefully. Remain in a state
of complete equanimity and ask yourself, “Who is in charge?”
Note your impressions.
***
Look closely and you will see that people
are two: what they are inside and what they are outside, who they have been
conditioned to be and who they really are.
It is the nature of the life process that
some people must try to make their outside more like their inside, while others
must try to make their inside more like their outside. You can learn to discern
that, and help others accordingly.
However, some people are trapped or broken,
inside and out, and you can offer only compassion. They need a miracle.
Compassion might do it.
***
Being not selfish simply means that I am
important, you are important, we are important and it is important. Value and
unconditional positive regard extends to all the people, the Earth, and the time to come, which is our collective future.
***
Power exerted for the purpose of only the
many, the collective, is no better than power exerted for the purpose of only
the one, the individual. Love includes both, the collective and the individual,
but is also bigger than both because it includes more than you can even
imagine.
***
We build churches and temples everywhere
to worship an invisible God while at the same time each and every one of us
knows that we are all moved by the same living spirit that moves the universe.
We are meeting with God every single day. Why pretend otherwise?
Maybe the buildings help us remember.
***
A man had this dream:
“I was in the cabin of an ocean liner.
The boat was sinking.
Suddenly, the porthole burst open. Water
rushed in and soon I
found myself under water. For a while I
swam around, wondering
where to go. When I finally came to the
surface, I saw a shark circling.
Only my head was above water. The shark
was circling closer
and closer. Off in the distance, close to
the horizon, there was a
beach and signs of civilization, but
there was no way to swim safely
in that direction because of the shark. I
back-paddled, then turned
around and swam in the other direction.
“I came to a dock and climbed onto it.
Behind the dock were stairs that switch-backed up a high hill. I started
running up the many flights of stairs and eventually reached the top. Again
wondering where to go, I looked down the other side of the hill. An angry mob
was approaching,
fast. I immediately ran in the opposite
direction. There was a small
contemporary looking house there, in the
foreground. Several
people standing on the patio waved at me
and gestured for me
to hurry up, come quickly. I arrived on
the patio, then hurried
through the house. Together with the
other people, I scrambled
into a large vehicle and raced away. For
a few moments I felt safe.”
On waking from that dream, the man felt
overwhelming dread. He called the dream, “Always seeking safety.” He recognized
that this dream was showing him a psychological pattern, a psyche that he
didn’t want or need anymore.
That was a turning point because the man
decided, then and there, that it was time to start drilling, and clearing away
the clouds.
***
Another man decided to start the process
of dreaming a different kind of life pattern. He was instructed to start
watching his dreams and look for one that expresses something positive,
something that might seem like a ‘greater truth.’
The dream he found went as follows:
“A
circle of people were singing, chanting, and playing instruments.
Others were sitting in silent
contemplation. As time slowly passed,
different people come and went. In the
center of the circle there
was a large three dimensional image. I
couldn’t tell whether it was
organic or inorganic. It was the size of
a very large human being,
and it seemed to be vibrating, shifting,
changing, and continuously
going in and out of focus. A few people
reach forwarded and gave
something to the large vibrating image,
which seemed to consume
these offerings, as if it was a living
thing and needed what was
being offered. Somehow, small children
began to be born. One,
then two, then three. They left the
center of the circle and exited
the space. Eventually, the action
stopped. The image became a still
statue. Now it was a sculpture, like that
of a Greek god made of
black marble or obsidian.
“Soon all the people began moving away and
up a hill behind this grotto where they had gathered. A plateau appeared, and
there were ruins as if from an old acropolis. All the people passed through
this structure. Then time and place changed. One of the adults from the circle
was now sitting at a café chatting with one of the children, who was now a
young man or a young woman. I couldn’t tell which.”
The man woke up smiling. There was
something timeless and transcendent and comforting about that strange dream. He
called it, “The White,” and said it reminded him of home.
The clouds had parted.
***
Unexpected dreams can become a source of
‘awakenings.’ They can shift our state of consciousness and maybe even our
life. That is what this man found:
“I was a young man wondering what life
was all about. I spent time travelling the East China Sea and visiting many
mysterious ports of call there. One night I was sleeping on board an old
freighter when I had an encounter with a mysterious green light. It appeared
out of nowhere, out of the space around me. I couldn’t tell whether I was
dreaming or sleeping, though looking back on the experience I realize now that
it was probably a lucid dream.”
Interestingly, throughout the annals of
Christian and Sufi mysticism there are tales of meeting a strange green light.
It is believed that such an experience is an encounter with the “holy spirit.”
This dreamer would probably concur.
“The light spoke to me and when I later
decided to write down what it said I had great difficulty finding the correct
words. They weren’t even words that I was recalling; they were more like
impressions, feelings I was trying to express.
“I felt cared for by something profoundly
vast, benevolent and creative and I was a part of it; it a part of me.
“Then, after it finished communicating
with me, it was as if this extraordinary green light, now filling half of the little
cabin, was a living being of some kind. I am sure I heard it take one long
breath. As it exhaled it spoke to me again.
“It defined itself, gave itself an I AM,
but I couldn’t quite make out the words.
“As a result of that encounter, I spent much
of my life trying to
find, engage and comprehend what I
eventually decided was the mind of God, the mind of the Kosmos. That green
light became my constant companion.
“And as I travelled and saw the state of
the world, I was plagued by a question: why does it seem like this force of
angels has mostly vanished from our existence?”
***
Today there is an alchemy going on.
Numbers can help us understand. On one side is the number five which symbolizes
matter, materialism, the senses, emotion, the basic human form. On the other
side is the number one which symbolizes the soul, essence, original self, or
basic creative spark.
They are form and formlessness.
The magic is in the union of the two.
When five and one become six the in toto psyche is born and embodiment is recognized.
We are not simply neurons firing; we are spirit encased in matter.
If sufficient consciousness is brought to
bear, and we witness this process, we begin to feel ourselves connected to the
whole of the cosmos, and also responsible for it. Our impulses start to change
and our psyche becomes more angelic.
It is enchanted, living in peace,
perceiving the true beauty of life, and appreciating every moment of existence.
***
Although we rarely recognize it or even
think about it, appreciation is a voice that echoes across all of time and
space, and is heard everywhere.
Because we are cosmic beings, we project
our self, our energy and our ideas throughout the universe, and in and out of
every living being in it. A common saying states, God is my witness. In fact,
the whole universe is hearing our song.
Appreciation can therefore become a force
unto itself.
***
