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CREATION SPIRIT NEWSLETTER AUGUST 2011
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Welcome Creation Spirit Friends,
There appears to be much on our minds these days. The huge shift in weather patterns, the unending wars overseas, limitless poverty all around us, sickness and worry--all of it which can lead to poverty of spirit. Actually, perhaps it's poverty of spirit that leads us to false conclusions about all this seeming disarray. While all around us appears to be important most of the time, and it is on this plane or level of existence, on a deeper level--as spiritual perception--it is not at all what it seems, what we name it. All of it is simply what it is. This seems like an odd statement, even as it comes out of my fingers onto the screen before me. And yet, it rings true--I hold it differently in my mouth. For the most part, what we see outside us is what we have become accustomed to believing about it. And yet, as Shakespeare said so brilliantly, "Nothing is good or bad, but thinking makes it so." Some of us see Shakespeare as a rather unusual fellow, so his declaration sounds more than a bit strange. Certainly there are things that happen, choices we make, that are either good or bad. No, not so. They're only good or bad if we hold them to be good or bad--and there's a long list of reasons why labeling life this way holds us hostage to our beliefs and opinions, both individually and in the collective. The purpose of this month's newsletter is to reinforce but a single idea of shifting some previously held perceptions about life in general, and about how we can use those shifts in everyday life. Eventually, by our example, we'll be able to proclaim: HOLY SHIFT! From the beginning, the Creation Spirit Newsletters have been about that very thing: indeed, transcending the perspectives found in ego consciousness in favor of perceptions based in spiritual consciousness is its singular purpose. The information contained in the various predictions and prophecies connected with the end of the Mayan calender in December 2012 is a case in point. Some fear the end of the world at that time; others are completely oblivious to it; still others transcend the fear held by some to engage life from a deeper place within. As you have been encouraged before, we are urged to transcend fear for the Truth found in spiritual consciousness. And when we do, the fear-filled prophecies and errant predictions hold no fear at all for us. This current newsletter highlights a false idea held by many, if not most of us: that we need to work hard at becoming enlightened if we are to survive this life, let alone thrive in it. And yet, if we let our preconceived notions, beliefs and opinions go, we are better able to perceive life from an entirely different, and much deeper, vantage point. We begin by setting fears aside. Some ideas for transcending fear appear alongside this introduction and the main article, which deals with enlightenment. By setting aside the fear of letting go of what he cherish so deeply for just a brief period, we'll be able to see the Wisdom that awaits its way with us. Let this be our challenge, and the way we go forward together. Thank you for being with all the others who join you in this regard, and for your interest in this newsletter. With Love's blessings and my unending gratitude, Jim |
ON BEING ENLIGHTENED...
During brunch conversation with a friend, out of nowhere he asked me if I thought I was enlightened. Listening inward to my deepest self, intuition unfurled my tongue to say: "Enlightenment is our innate, most natural state. It's just that most of us hide our Light behind a curtain of belief and opinion, which act as detractions from gnowing* our Truth, from gnowing we are enlightened." My friend said something like, "Do you mean to say that we're all enlightened? I always thought we had to work to become enlightened." "That's the normal belief," I rejoined, "but that's only a myth--an unfounded belief that's been perpetrated by those who want us to believe we must continue seeking enlightenment, most particularly under their tutelage. Otherwise, they'd be out of a job--and we'd be free to be what we already are and always have been, always will be." On the conversation went, with details not remembered here, so I'll simply spill the beans all over again from a spiritual perception. Most people believe that they must work hard at becoming something they already are and thus can do: be divine. Be complete in every way, demonstrate only authentic Love in every circumstance. Many of those same people think they need to seek God; seek someone or something to make them feel complete: seek spirituality; seek love; seek a soul mate: seek, seek, and seek yet some more. When someone declares that she or he is a seeker, you can be sure they are embedded in a belief or opinion that says they are something less than they're seeking. So they must seek to find whatever it is they think they lack. And then they declare that this constant seeking makes them spiritual. Sorry to say, the seeking and declaration are neither necessary nor the Truth. Here's why. Being spiritual, being enlightened, comes not from pursuing something or some condition found outside ourselves, even through affirmations or prayers. Neither is being spiritual found in living in an ashram, meditating, praying, being a Buddhist, Christian or Muslim, going to church or eating only certain foods. Being spiritual means that we take our guidance for living from day to day only from the "still, small voice" heard inward. Enlightenment is but the acknowledgement of the Truth of our innate, divine essence--what we are, and extending what we are into the Universe. There's nothing for us to change in order to be enlightened or spiritual. We're just to be our authentic selves. Being spiritual, enlightened, is about being aware; is about discerning one's Truth, one's moment-to-moment purpose and demonstration inwardly. Being spiritual is demonstrating a continuous connection with that inner Authority--Spirit, Love, Truth, Life, Wisdom, or Christ consciousness-by whatever name. Being spiritual, acknowledging our innate state of enlightenment, is staying connected with the inward Voice--and then following its Truth, as if it were our Truth--simply, because the inward voice of spiritual, Christ or cosmic consciousness is the Truth. All the other examples and beliefs are but examples of Truth mistranslated. We must be careful to understand that this inner Voice is not separate from our own True Voice. The Truth of the matter is that this inner Voice IS our own Voice, the only real voice, spiritually--appearance or argument to the contrary. We don't think this is an accurate statement largely because we have taken the voices of outer authority as the Truth. The voices of outer authority are the Truth not. As we practice getting out of our own way and stepping away from all the distractions that hold us from resonating with (hearing) the Truth found in silence, our awareness of that very Truth becomes not only more apparent but also more frequent. And without doubt, we come to gnow Truth as our own Voice, the voice of the One and only--all that is--of which we all are the essence. A friend calls what we are--this essence of Life--cosmic consciousness. The name for what we are matters not at all. Our only mandate is to live true to our innate divine essence--to be still and listen, while Truth awaits our awareness. The spaciousness that holds Truth for us is our innate state. Contrary to popular belief, we are not a body with a brain, thinking our way through life. We are an enlightened being--divine essence or consciousness--simply waiting to become aware, from one rich moment to the next. Unfortunately, most of us are in denial about harboring this rich inner Source, let alone being it. On still another level, many are aware that intuition strikes from time to time, and when they follow the intuition experienced within them as the resonance with Truth, it has always been just the right decision for them to follow. As a matter of fact, those who reflect on the impact of intuition on their lives will confess that intuition has never failed them. So, why, I ask, do we use anything else to guide our lives? Surely our individual judgments about how to live our lives turn out to be incorrect at least as often as they seem to be correct. Notice I said, "seem to be correct." Usually, our decisions are made in a way similar to that of flipping a coin--"I'll do either this or that." Meanwhile, we keep ourselves limited in such a way that any of the other infinite potentialities are kept hidden from us by our own shortsightedness and our vast array of personal limitations. As a Source, intuition, even insight, is the equivalent to enlightenment, by yet another name. Inner Authority comes to us as a sudden flash of understanding, an "aha moment," like a bolt of lightning or the roar of a lion--or as a bump in the night. It is out of our natural enlightened state that we live spiritually, that we provide spiritual order to Life, while at the same time putting outer chaos and dis-ease to rest. Living spiritually--as the enlightened beings we are--is the only authentic form of Love--and our only real identity. All the rest of what we may erroneously label as love is but an expression of affection, mistakenly believed to be Love. But that is a conversation for another day--perhaps even tomorrow. Will you show up for brunch? Certainly, I hope to see you here... *Gnosis: the intuitive apprehension of spiritual Truth. Gnowing is a word I've coined to keep the focus on comprehending/understanding from a spiritual foundation, whereas knowing points to intellect or outward authority or source, which gnows nothing of spiritual consciousness or demonstration. |
ON THE ROAD AGAIN...
Thanks to a host of friends and other generous people around the world, I'll be on the following speaking/workshop schedule through the autumn months: Thur., Sept. 1, 7:00 PM - Spiritual Frontier Fellowship, 4900 Waters Edge Dr., Raleigh, NC: 2013! The Beginning is Here. Sat., Sept. 3, 10 AM-2 PM (registration 9:30 AM) - Spiritual Frontier Fellowship, Raleigh, NC: A workshop - Living Beyond 2012. Sun., Sept. 4, 10:30 - Triangle Center for Spiritual Living, 4900 Waters Edge Dr., Raleigh, NC: Live 2013 Now! Sun., Sept. 4, 12:30-2:30 -Triangle Center for Spiritual Living, Raleigh, NC: Living from the Inside, Out Sun., Oct. 16, 6 PM - Fellowships of the Spirit, Lily Dale, NY: 2013! The Beginning is Here. (716) 595-2159 Fri., Oct 28-Sat. Nov. 5 - Speaking tour in Germany, related to the German translation of: AWARE IN A WORLD ASLEEP. A specific itinerary is forthcoming. Do join us for one or more of these sessions. I would welcome your active participation. Namaste', Jim |
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