Salt Of The Earth

      Salt of the Earth, we don’t hear that expression used very often anymore. When I was a child when someone was referred to as being “the salt of the earth” (Matthew 5:13) it was always said with a tone of reverence and respect. Matthew 5:14 explains why: You are the light of the world. To be a light of the world, quite a promise. The gospel goes on to state that this light will be set on a hill so all may be illuminated by it. So, practically how is this accomplished? By Living on the Spiritual Basis. When we embrace this way of life we begin striping away the husks of selfishness, pride, self-pity, resentment, fear, all the things that shut us off from the sunlight of the spirit. As this way of living develops the truth of being becomes evident: that we are children of eternity, the spark of the divine within lies beyond the strictures of time, space and flesh; everything and everyone connected. By practicing the principles this new way of life embodies, our inner light begins to erase the shadows of false belief and in time we become the salt of the earth. Consistent demonstration is required, for if we falter and rest on our laurels the salt will lose its savor/effectiveness. So be diligent in the issues of your heart, be consistent in Living on the Spiritual Basis, let no vicissitude sway you from the path and give freely of what you have found; for you have become a light of the world, there is no greater calling.

Piercing Ourself With Sorrow

       Who has not heard, or some variation of, the quote: For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows (1 Timothy 6:10). Well, at least the first part anyway. Consider how many “successful” people throughout history have attempted to translate wealth into a position of power, to impress their will on others because of the false belief that financial success equals spiritual/life success. The supposed entitlement that wealth conveys unfortunately builds a barrier to enlightenment that often becomes insurmountable. To be clear: money is not the problem, the love of it is.

      If our definition of success is based solely on possessions and wealth, we will have “gained the world but lost ourselves”, remember, he who dies with the most toys still dies and as much as we may wish to, we can’t take it with us. Many have tried and all have failed, we find them, disinter them and then parade them and their cherished possessions about, kind of creepy if we really stop and think about it, this grave robbing. Clearly it didn’t work out so well for them, did it? Additionally we all know or know of a family torn apart over an inheritance, money trumping love and family.

      Living on the Spiritual Basis we learn to use money as the tool it truly is, to live well, enjoy life and praise God through our actions, demonstrating the path in every arena. God wants all His children to be happy, joyous and free and if we have been blessed with substantial resources, we seek ways to help others, preferably anonymously. For in this way we steer clear of the trap of love of money and avoid piercing ourselves through with many sorrows.

Cloudy Days

To show mercy to those in pain, whether physical or emotional, is of course a quality to be cultivated. But how merciful are our thoughts? It is the secret place the Great Teacher is really speaking too with the lesson: Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy (Matthew 7:1-5). To help but hold contempt in our heart for anyone, demonstrates having missed the point entirely. Having embraced Living on the Spiritual Basis does not mean we ignore the contemptible acts of others, but we must not confuse the act with the actor. In truth we recognize them, praying for the individuals consciousness to be raised and in meditation seek to improve conditions. Their acts will be addressed by the proper appointed secular authority if applicable and spiritually we are all ultimately responsible for our own demonstration, reaping what we have sown. A more seductive form of contempt is when we decide that anyone is beyond the pale, incapable of growth or spiritual understanding for any reason. The most spiritually handicapped individual’s life will improve when we shine the sunlight of the spirit, to the best of our ability at the time, on them. Sometimes the change in condition will be obvious, often however it will not be and that is none of our business anyway. What matters is our demonstration, for by our action we have raised not only our consciousness and the consciousness of those around us, but the entire world.

 Being merciful toward others is laudable, but what of the mercy we fail to show ourselves? Do you mentally (or worse, out loud) chastise yourself when a mistake is made or when some negative or objectionable thought floats through your mind? We all make mistakes and curious thoughts float up in everyone’s consciousness, so we must put away the mental cat of nine tails and demonstrate mercy in our own house (consciousness). God, Our Father, wants all His children to be: happy, joyous and free. So we stop berating ourselves and thank God that by knowing Him better we can learn from our mistakes and when those curious negative thoughts seem to appear from nowhere we can turn to Him in prayer, ask if there is anything to be learned (sometimes there is, but not always, often a cloudy day is just a cloudy day) and move on. Under no pretense do we engage in a hunt for the cause of the thought, attempting to root out it’s location in the psyche. To do so only opens us to the deadly trap of morbid reflection and in the ancient cartographer’s lexicon, there be dragons. If there is something to be known or learned, God will make it abundantly clear, so ask Him; but don’t go looking for dragons.

The Meek, Inherit?

Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5) well now, on the surface this seems to make little sense. We all know or have have known “meek” individuals and blessed isn‘t the first thing that comes to mind. So, once again we face a spiritual conundrum. The statement is either true or it isn’t, and if it isn’t, what else is false and how in the world are we supposed to figure it out. In much the same way as “poor in spirit” is misunderstood, so is the term meek spiritually. Meek, before God, means simply to be humble and compliant to the path of spiritual enlightenment, nothing more. When the Rich Young Man (who had great possessions) sought out the rabbi Jesus, Jesus did not berate or condemn him. He merely pointed out that he would have to leave his “possessions” (preconceived ideas and beliefs) behind if he were to follow the teacher. Upon placing our feet on the path of enlightenment we have to “cease fighting everything and everyone” and strive to be “meek as Moses” to be successful. Simple but not easy, a price has to be paid and that price is the surrendering of self. Now we have the key: Spiritually to be meek is to be wholly committed to Living on the Spiritual Basis and through our actions demonstrating the love, power and guidance of God, blessings in demonstration, our inheritance realized.