Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Faith, Part 3/3

As we carry our torch into the world to light it, should not our thoughts, words and deeds align? What kind of faith is it to think and know the unseen good but to falter in word, or act out a fear? Are we even conscious of this dissonance? If we are we can look to ourselves and better understand how faith is working in our lives. And if not, we are unconscious in this regard. But the Universe is a force for good and it is a certainty that events or conditions will conspire for our growth.

Even as we carry our torch we will face doubts. Being human is about change and evolution, about experiencing this journey so that we can become more knowledgeable. By coming to understand a new knowing or law we can truly incorporate our understanding of it. When Edison invented the filament light bulb he had faith that it could be done. He knew it to the point that he described the 2,000 experiments to get there not as failures but as learning. The cumulative examples of such discoveries give us tangible evidence of what faith can do. In this regard faith can appear quite real and be seen.

In the asking ourselves about our faith we begin an internal conversation that is the springboard to greater things. We are providing ourselves the awareness to acknowledge faith as a part of our life, to see moments and experiences where our faith is rewarded, and to face other moments where our faith is tested. If we can observe and incorporate these moments into our experience we will learn, grow and evolve in our faith. And in turn our ability to hold to our faith regardless of conditions will be all the stronger.

By living in faith we shift from a place of fear and lack to a place of knowing, acceptance and love. In such a state of grace we are with God. We are “God being itself.” We enter into moments of fear and lack in our humanness. Such experiences provide a contrast and allow us to compare graceful moments with fearful ones. In turn we can come to savour our grace and honour it for what it is. The experience of fear is to be honoured and acknowledged, just as our choice to have faith in the unseen power of the Universe is honoured by God through our ability to create.

And so as you live life pray for all that you need, have faith that your prayer will be answered and believe that it is already so. For regardless of the conditions about you your measure of faith will be the very highest when you know all is good.

Faith, Part 2/3

Differences in faith are not the point of life. It is not through a comparison of our faith to another that we can truly evolve. We must accept that another’s interpretation of the unseen nature of the universe and their faith in it is exactly as it needs to be for them. It is for us to truly come to understand our faith, what it means to us, what beliefs we have, and what attitudes and values we take into life.

The Universe will continue to be with, or without, our faith in it. However, when we have faith in an unseen power in the Universe working for us this merely shows that we understand the nature of how things are. This is a compelling mindset to take with the Universe. And any compulsion tends to build upon itself.

The question then becomes, do we have faith in fear or in love? And more importantly, is fear but an absence of faith in love? In turn, we find ourselves with a simple realization; there is either faith in love or there is nothing.

Steven Warren wrote that, “Faith, then, becomes the medium through which we manifest God.” We are god – in having faith we manifest that divine aspect of ourselves. If this is the case, then the manner in which we approach faith is as integral to the process of creating our conditions as our beliefs and attitudes are. Holding our faith close is an opportunity regardless of whatever might shake it. When distressing times appear about us how much harder is it to maintain our faith in an unseen power for good working for us? Yet, if you could face the more serious of conditions and have faith through them then your faith would be the strongest of all. And if that were so, would you not be manifesting the God that you are in the most divine way?

I have faith that when I flip the switch lights will come on. How then do I feel when they do not? Do I abandon my quest to light the room? No. I might check the bulb, or other lights to see what the cause is. With life, and faith in an unseen power, we must learn to adapt our perspective on conditions which shake our faith. But if we fear that there will never be power again what would we do? Our state of mind would work against us. And so it is with life. By having a faith to call our own and believing in it we can bring forth our own light.

In the realization of faith, and the holding to it, we both bring a light into the world and an opportunity for ourselves to work with that light. In having faith of an unseen power for good in the Universe we have a choice to guide others, our light lighting the path so that others may choose to see. We should not be attached to whether others follow that path, for such an attachment would be based on a fear that we are somehow lessened because another did not follow our light or our faith. Rather we must know that all have what they need for their journey and expression through God. We must focus on bearing our torch, on our thinking, on asking and doing what we can to add to that unseen force for good.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Faith, Part 1/3

Yesterday I wrote a thought paper on Faith as a part of my spiritual studies. It occurred to me to share it here. Given the length of the paper (1500 words) I thought I'd break it into 3 parts. Here's part 1.

The extent to which you can know all is good, regardless of the conditions about you, is a measure of your faith. The truth is the truth; it is how we measure it that defines a lot or a little for your experience. The question then becomes, how much faith do you have? And what does faith mean to you?

Faith is based on your thinking “I can”, “I know”, and “I have.” Faith is supported by ideas of what is and the way it works. In this light faith should mean that all is good to you. Faith is then an alignment with the universe, where the individual mind knows the One Mind, its completeness, and the Reality of the I AM. If you live in a place of fear, of lack, then your faith defines your experience as one of lack.We can use faith to overturn and replace our thinking in the negative. Through faith we can transform thought to a place where we claim our divine nature utterly, without any pause of doubt, where we come to a place that is holy. In this holy place we can begin to see the boundless Infinity about us, know the Divine that looks back at us, and see the light in all, ground and sky alike.

The picture that resonates with God is one where we feast on health, wealth and love. In such a state of mind our faith aligns with the bounty of God. God wants only good for us, and if we focus on the bountiful health, wealth and love in the ‘everything’ that is God, then we will truly be reflecting the God that is within with the God that is in all.

Although we need not understand why it is clear to me that there is a force within us all that pushes us forward and upward. This inner spark only needs to be inspired to flame by faith and belief. As our faith illuminates us our light expands the light of life. In this moment of faith we are arriving at the very thing we were called upon to do – to live life wholly.

This inner force pushing us on has influenced the behaviour of mankind in recorded history. Whether through religion, the evolution of arts and sciences, the cosmos, astrology, or philosophy, we have had an insatiable curiosity to better understand faith. How is it that an unseen force is so compelling; can so drive us to seek? And then there is the most profound paradox of all; why are the multitude of answers so divisive and different? Does the knife edge of life, with fear one side and love the other, cut us so? Perhaps the answer is to be found in consciously applying ourselves to the search from a place centred in love and acceptance?

Monday, May 18, 2009

Feeling Visualized

I had the fortune to spend a weekend out of town with some good friends and old acquaintences. I also found myself journaling often when alone. Here are some of the snippets I penned:

Being clear on how your vision will feel is a powerful way to create. You only have to recall key memories. If you find the emotion of the time clearer than faces or names then you should be reminded of the power and guidance of feelings in your life.

The Truth is the contradiction to the mortal mind and the harmony of the Spiritual One.

The Universal Power that is behind and in all things loves you unconditionally: This is grace and truth. Know this truh and live this grace, and you will be free.

Monday, May 11, 2009

Living By Spiritual Principles

As a part of my practitioner training I was set an assignment to consider Spiritual Principles and to assess where I am with how I live them. As I worked through this 'Where are you?' exercise I was both gratified and humbled. I was grateful to see how much I liked where I am, and I was humbled in realizing that the attainment of these things on an on-going basis was a beautiful vision to create.

I thought I would share my treatment. Within the part where I affirm (know) where I am, I am establishing a knowing of those things that resulted from my exercise.

There is one magnificent and Infinite Intelligence working in, through and as everything. Just as God has breathed life into me as an idea I in turn breathe into this Greater Idea. Just as God creates through idea, I create as God through my ideas.

I always know specifically what I want. I take affirmative prayer and meditation into my daily life. I always follow my intuition. I always love myself and others. I always count my blessings.

I release this knowing into the Law with great and humble gratitude. I celebrate the fact that as I think these ideas they are already so. I give great thanks for the demonstration that is already headed toward me. And so it is.

Sunday, May 3, 2009

That Place Where Humility and Passion Meet

During my journaling this week I came to realize that I desire to embody being humble, and to support through being a great listener. I came to this conclusion with the thought that with realization of the Principle of Life (all power, all we shall ever need) it is easy to be humbled in the immense face of Infinity. But more importantly, with the true realization of our being One with God we should have nothing to fear.

As I thought about humility and being humble I was then reminded by my own inner voice that I am a person of passion. I relish so much in life, jumping into moments so readily and earnestly. This passion and energy is an aspect of my individuality. For the sake of finding joy I determined that my goal is to find that place where passion meets humility.

With the thought that ‘fear is misplaced faith’ I came to the following logical conclusions: In being spiritually conscious I can extend the idea of God being in all living things to knowing that the ‘Divine Giver’ is in all things, always seeking my good. In this knowing there is no need to seek attention, prove I am good enough, or even to utter an answer in conversation simply because my intellectual process prompts me to.

From a text-book perspective the Science of Mind says that neutralizing a thought behind an undesirable condition we must:

  • Look at the condition
  • Define its polar opposite
  • Identify the spiritual principle
  • And treat for it

I considered this approach and I found myself leaping from the undesirable condition. In recognizing my condition of failing to listen and reacting out of a sense to prove my worth, I immediately realized that I wanted to find that place where passion and humility meet. The process in this regard, I believe, was prompted by intuition. I could feel that sense of Truth immediately.