Multitasking and God

     When we pray and meditate we are visiting with God. What could possibly be more important in our lives than the time we spend with Our Father? Yet many pray by rote, failing to infuse their prayers with feeling, attempting to meditate while unfocused, is it any surprise then when they fail to demonstrate? Remember reaping and sowing? What would happen to the farmer if he approached his fields in this manner? Tilling the ground with disinterest, the rows uneven and of inconsistent depth, planting seeds while thinking about other things, his mind wandering, letting them fall where they may, then watering and tending his crop with little regard for the seeds welfare or working to insure a successful harvest, merely going through the motions because he is “supposed” to, it’s what a farmer does. Would anyone be surprised when the crop fails?
  
    Unfortunately many pray and meditate in this manner and then are perplexed when they fail to demonstrate. Instead of focusing on the spiritual work before them, they rush through, fit it in, pray while thinking about everything but God, even going as far as to “meditate” while driving, yes I have had students attempt to sell me the idea that they can meditate while driving! Multitasking and God do not mix, ever.

    The greatest sermon we will ever give is the one we give by our actions. What could possibly be more important in our lives than the time we spend with Our Father? The world is a cacophony of noise and competing voices vying for our attention, the still quiet voice within waits patiently for us and stands ready to deliver if we will but eschew the world and address the miraculous within with our undivided attention. Few are situated were they have the gift of time to spend many minutes or perhaps even hours in prayer and meditation, yet we all have time to do the things we “want” to do. Make your time with the Divine “want” time, not “duty” or “supposed to” time.

   When we approach God wholeheartedly, just as the farmer who plants and tends his fields with interest and care, we will reap as we have sown, a magnificent crop indeed.

FALSE WITNESS

     The “false witness” in our consciousness afflicts everyone from time to time. When this voice chimes in it never brings good or positive news, instead it strives to fill us with fear and doubt. You know the voice; it’s the one that consistently points to the negative, the down side; we are too old or too young, it’s too hard or there’s no time/it will take too long, we are not good enough or smart/educated enough, we don’t deserve it or what will they think? Somebody probably already thought of it or tried it and failed and anyway success is really all about luck or connections, so why try. In short it opens the mental pitfalls of morbid reflection to sabotage us, to turn us from trust to despair, from the light to darkness, the demoralizing darkness of the bondage of self.

   Emmet Fox wrote, “Verily, doubt and fear are the cruelest things that can come into the life of man.” To be clear: The shadows are always there, seeking purchase in our consciousness, beckoning us with their cruel lies. By living on the new basis, The Spiritual Basis, we choose to reject the shadows of fear and doubt, instead embracing God’s light and love.

   The false witness is a persistent tireless foe, so when we become aware of the cold shadow of fear and doubt settling down, we gently turn to prayer, affirming God’s salvation, meditating on the Truth of Being, placing ourselves squarely in the sunlight of the Spirit. By stepping out in faith, praising the one true Source in this manner we banish the cold shadows of morbid reflection creeping into our consciousness, one psychic assault at a time.

FREEDOM FROM FEAR AND DOUBT

    The term “reborn” has been employed poorly if not down right incorrectly so often that its true spiritual meaning has become obscured. Living on the Spiritual Basis we now see that all external happenings are but passing shadows of no permanent importance. We have come to hold in our heart of hearts that to dwell in the Presence of Divine light and knowledge as the only true escape from our “enemies” (negative thinking/morbid reflection) and “foes” (fear and doubt of every stripe). When our consciousness rises to this level, we carry the message of His love and guidance into all our affairs, responding to all seeming trouble with “my heart shall not fear, thy will be done” and we are free, We are reborn in Spirit. With this spiritual key in hand, understanding who our true foes and enemies are, now would be an appropriate time to visit the 27th Psalm, just a suggestion.

FREEDOM IN CHOICE

     “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” When FDR said this in his first inaugural address America was in the grip of the great depression and great clouds of dust howled over the central plains displacing millions. What FDR knew is that fear is paralyzing. Whether you agree with the political course FDR set this country on is immaterial, the critical point is that as a leader he understood the power of fear. Living on the Spiritual Basis we confront fear where it lives, in our consciousness. Fear brings darkness to our thoughts, an actual feeling of constriction in the chest, as if life is being squeezed from us, the sense of impending doom attempting to overpower. Fear is a liar. To be crystal clear: everyone dies of something; the flesh we inhabit will one day fail. Money comes and money goes. Jobs end and begin. We may fall out of love or someone we love may fall out of love with us. Accidents happen. The choice is ours as to how we handle the inevitable lows in life. Do we cower in fear, paralyzed in inaction or step out in faith, demonstrating reliance on a power greater than ourselves?

     Freedom comes when we turn in all things to Him who has all knowledge and power, who brings the light banishing the darkness of fear, providing the keys to the kingdom, replacing the dread surrounding our heart with the surety of salvation, enabling us to meet perceived calamity with poise and serenity, putting the truth to fears lie. How is this accomplished? By choosing consistent prayer, meditation and service work in the face of the stultifying fear. Our greatest gift is free will; out of free will we choose to create. Whether it is a new recipe, scientific theorem, musical composition, play or novel, we make the choice to create, each day we choosing which path we walk, darkness or light, bondage in self or salvation. The choice is always ours.

WHEN TITHING, WHAT IS THE TRUE SOURCE OF SUPPLY?

     Looked at a dollar bill lately? Go get one, I’ll wait…now, look on the reverse, it states: “In God We Trust.” The question is, do we? When we tithe out of fear or from a grudging sense of obligation, we miss the point of the tithe. We are better off building on our understanding of Spiritual Truth than to give in this way. The core lesson of tithing is to affirm through demonstration that we not only intellectually grasp the concept of true source, but also hold it in our heart. When tithing thank God for knowing Him better, certain in the knowledge that we are all connected in Spirit, always reaping as we sow, so plant with joy.