Last House On The Block

When facing a seemingly insurmountable challenge in life, finding our back against the wall, all secular answers and escape routes seemingly tried or closed off, beset on all sides by fear and perceived negative outcome, we become willing. From this nadir of spirit, a spark of faith bursts into life. In truth it was always there, buried beneath conventional thinking and secular belief. When faced with the insurmountable, having exhausted the conventional, we are left only with what was once unthinkable and we begin to pray. Perhaps we have not prayed in years or ever prayed in a religious sense. Perhaps we believed ourselves to be agnostic or a conversational atheist effectively leaving the question of God simmering on a back burner, only to find life has turned up the heat and the pot is bubbling over.
    
Though perhaps surrounded by people mouthing spiritual platitudes, we feel alone, lost, trapped, the walls closing in, no apparent way out. So we begin to pray. We make sure we are alone, unseen. We may even feel guilty, a hypocrite for all those times we disparaged those “holy rollers”, for having felt superior to those weak willed church goers, having gleefully engaged in schadenfreude when a religious figure fell from favor. Having found ourselves at the court of last resort, bereft of any more “good” ideas or plans, we finally turn to prayer.

From this moment of trepidation, one book closes and a new one opens. We quickly find that the universe does not make too hard terms for those who earnestly seek. That God will make himself known to us, if we ask. The Great Carpenter taught that upon this mustard seeds worth of belief, a deeply rooted strong spiritual life can be grown. Our job to remain open minded, honest and willing to learn.

Having stepped on to this path, does it mean our prayers are answered in the manner we outline? Doubtful. All prayers are answered in the positive, but our vision is limited while God’s is not. Spiritual hindsight has shown that many of the things I prayed for, had they been delivered as I ordered them, would have caused more trouble and problems down the road. Prayer will never cause pain or unintended consequences, so it is not that the universe says no, but it will not say yes to anything that may cause harm, intended or not.

 There are many questions about life and living that are beyond our ability to comprehend. So pray softly, form and style of little importance, speaking from the heart of paramount importance. God will Deliver, if asked, for our birthright is to be Happy, Joyous and Free. © Vincent Jones

 Zen, Wayne Dyer, The Secret, spiritual freedom, Serenity Prayer, Road Less Traveled, metaphysics, Law Of Attraction, How To Be Happy, Golden Key,

What Lies Behind The Clouds?

When things are going well there is a natural tendency to slack off a touch in our spiritual work. The sun is shining, the clouds decorating a peaceful sky, perfect for watching lying on a soft bed of grass, peace immanent. Life is good. We enjoy these times but must remain wary of complacency. Like the athlete who trains daily for the occasional competitions, we pray and meditate daily to keep our connection to the Divine fresh and open for the inevitable storms that visit every life. Living on the Spiritual Basis we now understand the rain falls on the just and the unjust equally, it is not punishment, it is just life. Living on the new basis today when a storm comes we gently step back into the shadow and shelter of the Almighty, out of the wind and rain, continuing to pray and meditate until the storm passes and the sun returns. Having embraced eternity we understand the truth of being, that behind every cloud, the sun still shines. 

ACIM, Alanon, Baba Ram Dass, Zen, Wayne Dyer, The Secret, Serenity Prayer, Road Less Traveled, 

Moses?

Thought about Moses lately? Living on the Spiritual Basis the purpose of life has become clear: to establish and maintain a conscious contact with Our Father. Moses, according to the narrative, had a pretty stout conscious contact with God. The relationship was so deep, God chose him to receive the Ten Commandments, the new blueprint for living. Moses was not chosen at random, God chose him because of the strength, unwavering faith and belief he demonstrated in every area of life. His willingness to go to any extreme for a spiritual experience; taking some pretty unpopular stands against recognized spiritual authority along the way, demonstrating his love of, and faith in God. The Moses narrative happened around 3,500 years ago, give or take, and amazingly he holds a revered position in Judaism, Christianity and Islam; no small accomplishment, but what significance could this have for us today, in the “modern” world?

God was so moved He appeared to Moses in a physical form, at least twice! To be like Moses we must set aside prejudice and preconceived notions and study with our heart as well as our mind, standing ready to kick our sacred cows to the curb. The greatest barrier to spiritual growth is a closed mind. With our feet firmly planted on our chosen path we must keep an open mind and heart, listening and learning daily, praying and meditating with joy, never out of a sense of duty if we are to grow and prosper in the light. In so doing we become more like Moses, admit it, though it would scare the bejezus out of you, a speaking burning bush would be pretty cool, so to borrow from an old commercial tag line: Got Moses?


Zen, Wayne Dyer, The Secret, Source, Serenity Prayer, Road Less Traveled, Proverbs, Law Of Attraction, Bible, Baba Ram Dass, 

Misconstrued: Righteous

Righteous. This word has been married with “self” so often that if someone is righteous it has a seemingly negative connotation, which could not be further from the truth. Since placing our feet on the path, wholeheartedly committed to Living on the Spiritual Basis; to become a righteous person means we are not only living by right conduct but embracing right thinking. Right thinking, now there is a loaded term. Right thinking; spiritually, means keeping an open mind, remaining teachable, refusing to accept negative thoughts or conditions as God‘s will, to truly practice patience, tolerance, kindliness and love in every area of life. Now, do not misunderstand, righteous does not mean we become servile or scraping, on the contrary. Our lives, the true demonstration of the path, will naturally attract inquiry from those seeking a better way of living but we do steer clear of argument and debate with those just seeking confrontation, avoiding the trap of being labeled: self-righteous. We stand firmly for our beliefs and will witness to them whenever or wherever it will serve any good.

         To sum up: to be righteous means our conduct is right, that we are maintaining an open mind, are willing to learn and will honestly share our heartfelt beliefs whenever it will serve any good purpose.

Watched Pots, Oranges and Bike Riding

Has someone said to you or have you ever said “don’t think like that?” Not possible is it. It is one of those silly things we say to one another without having thought it through. Like “a watched pot never boils”, yes it does, every single time, eventually, and without the origin understood for context it is just nonsense. As soon as we are told not to think about something the first thing we do is think about it. No? OK, don’t think about oranges.... How did you do? We are powerless over the thoughts that float through our minds eye; however we choose the action upon becoming aware of these thoughts. Oranges are not much of a problem, but there exists in all of us a voice of discord and negativity embedded in the subconscious that is constantly looking for a reason to be upset or outraged. The origin of the voice is secondary, the action we choose to take paramount. Having embarked on Living on the Spiritual Basis the action is to turn from the lower to the higher by way of prayer and meditation.

If a negative thought is persistent engage in some distracting activity such as a phone call to a friend inquiring about them (do not speak of the negative thought), an engrossing book, exercise, meeting with like minded people over coffee, etc. If possible find a way to be of service. Nothing relieves us of the bondage of self, and all negative thinking binds us in self, as intensive work with others. The key is to substitute positive thinking and action for the negative thoughts. Simple but not easy, when we begin this way of living it will feel clunky and somewhat uncomfortable, remember the first few times you rode a bike but as long as we are diligent in time it will become second nature.

What Lies Behind The Clouds?

When things are going well there is a natural tendency to slack off a touch in our spiritual work. The sun is shining, the clouds decorating a peaceful sky, perfect for watching lying on a soft bed of grass, peace immanent. Life is good. We enjoy these times but must remain wary of complacency. Like the athlete who trains daily for the occasional competitions, we pray and meditate daily to keep our connection to the Divine fresh and open for the inevitable storms that visit every life. Living on the Spiritual Basis we now understand the rain falls on the just and the unjust equally, we are not being punished. Living on the new basis, today when a storm comes we gently step back into the shadow and shelter of the Almighty, out of the wind and rain, continuing to pray and meditate until the storm passes and the sun returns. Having embraced eternity we understand the truth of being, that behind every cloud, the sun still shines. 

The Adversary's Thousand Faces

No one but you and God know what is in your heart, nor can we ever truly know what is in the heart of another, for only God has that ability. We come to know the issues of someone’s heart by their actions, demonstrations, not their words. One of the most misunderstood teachings in the Christ message is on judgment. It is not that we are to avoid being judgmental, for that is impossible. In fact, we are instructed to employ righteous judgment, to judge based on action, not on words. However, we cannot judge rightly if our own house is not in order.

To put our house in order we take an honest, fearless and thorough inventory of our life. We identify the things that have been blocking us from fully accepting God’s love and guidance. Once we have done this we find they are all fear based in one manner or another, for the adversary, fear, has a thousand faces. We risk our serenity when we pass judgment on another’s actions while ours are just as bad or worse. We clean up our side of the street first, sharpen our vision, and then we can speak to our brothers’ difficulties, if asked. Seeing the pitfalls and roadblocks in someone’s path is none of our business unless we are asked. Living on the Spiritual Basis, we never answer the unasked question. We practice patience and prayer, standing ready to go to any lengths to be of service when called, remembering that although we have great power in changing ourselves, by our reliance on God in all things, we have little power in changing others since their desire, just as ours, must come from within.

A New Year, A New Way Of Thinking

       We live continuously barraged with bad news. Read any newspaper, watch any news channel and the hammers of negativity begin doing their work on our psyche. Living on the Spiritual Basis is a choice, it is the road less traveled. History is an invaluable tool that few truly employ. There is nothing in today’s headlines that has not happened before, nothing.

        “The world is not going to the dogs. The human race is not doomed. Civilization is not going to crash. The captain is on the bridge. Humanity is going through a difficult time, but humanity has gone through difficulties many times before in its long history, and has always come through, strengthened and purified.
           Do not worry yourself about the universe collapsing. It is not going to collapse, and anyway that question is none of your business. The captain is on the bridge. If the survival of humanity depended upon you or me, it would be a poor lookout for the Great Enterprise, would it not?
            The captain is on the bridge. God is still in business. All that you have to do is to realize the Presence of God where trouble seems to be, to do your nearest duty to the very best of your ability; and to keep an even mind until the storm is over.”

     When Emmet Fox wrote this in the 1930’s the depression was in full swing, prohibition the law of the land, the heart of America gripped in a “black blizzard” of dust that bankrupted and displaced millions, the storm clouds of war gathering in Europe as Hitler rose to power. Economic hardship, unemployment, war on drugs, global warming, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, bickering politicians. Sound familiar? Politicians and leaders, both religious and secular, have been applying the same answers and solutions to mankind’s struggles for thousands of years, with the same results transcending generations. Unfortunately each succeeding generation fails to profit from the lessons learned by their predecessors and proceeds to travel down the same failed paths, leading inevitably to more war, suffering and the search for scapegoats to explain what amounts to basically taking the same actions again and again expecting different results.

     Nothing changes if nothing changes, but when we change the way we look at things, the things we look at change. Living on the Spiritual Basis we trust infinite God rather than our finite self or the world for salvation, for if we are ever to truly walk a different path as a people, the change must begin within each of us. Let there be peace, and let it begin with me.

“Guilty with an Explanation Your Honor”

It is suggested that we “pray with a feather” for prayer should never be hard work; it is our time to speak with God. When praying we should not concern ourselves with choosing the perfect word, phrasing or long explanations. The longer the explanation or “set up” the more obvious that we are trying to "sell" God. Now in truth, who are we trying to sell, God or ourselves? “Guilty with an explanation your Honor.” God already knows our heart and mind, for He is closer than breath. Remember, His love is unconditional, grace freely given regardless of our transgressions, impossible to earn. Though there may be secular consequences for our past deeds, we are forgiven in spirit as soon as we earnestly ask. So pray simply, honestly, quietly from the heart, and you will receive openly and in great measure, for that is the promise.

REBORN

The 3rd step in the 12 step path of enlightenment asks us “to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God’ with the proviso “as we understood Him.” This phrase is pivotal to the process, so the student must not take the easy way out. I have heard individuals refer to “God” as they understand Him as a doorknob, a tree, the ocean or some other nonsensical thing or object.

Nonsense: n. 1. That which is without good sense; meaningless or ridiculous language. 2. Things of no importance.

To believe that “God” can be anything relegates god to being nothing. “God is either everything or else He is nothing.” What is our choice to be? If you are struggling with the concept “of a Power greater than ourselves” you can start at a simpler level. To truly set ones feet on the path to living on the Spiritual Basis God must be at least this: Available, Intelligent and Loving and nothing less. Available: to live on the Spiritual Basis requires daily visits with God in prayer and meditation. How is this possible if He is far away, distant? Intelligent: He is the Creator. What more do you need to know? Loving: Here I would ask you to set aside any belief you may have of a vengeful or score keeper God. One of the keys to living on the Spiritual Basis is that “the realm of Heaven is roomy, all inclusive. Never exclusive or forbidding.” That God never brings trouble or sickness to our lives, that He loves us a thousand times more than we love our own children and I love my children a lot. Additionally God doesn’t keep a tally sheet. We do. Everything we have ever done or said is written on our heart and is and always has been an open book to Him who has all knowledge and power; yet because He loves us unconditionally we are forgiven as soon as we ask. If we could only forgive ourselves so readily think how much trouble we could avoid. So, if you are struggling, start at a simpler level and God will heal what AIL’s you.

HAVE YOU A DINOSAUR’S EGG?

We all do. It may be sitting in the garage, on a shelf in the workshop, possibly in a folder in this very computer or a box in the closet with all those creative projects we had so much energy to do when first envisioned but have been gathering dust longer than we care to admit. The dinosaur egg in the museum was a potential dinosaur that for what ever reason failed. We can wonder about the potential dinosaur it represented, but in truth, it represents failure. No one completes every project envisioned; the question we need to answer in our heart of hearts is whether we follow through on anything to its logical conclusion. Dreaming doesn’t require getting our hands dirty, scrapping a knuckle or clean up and we never have to worry about what anyone thinks of our project. After a while they even stop asking about the project car under all the Christmas decorations, garage sale items and other debris too valuable to throw away, that box in the back of the closet, the workshop that has become a storage shed or the book hidden in a word folder.

Think from the end. Thank God for having a fertile imagination but learn to be realistic. How? By tapping into Divine Intelligence. Consider your “dinosaur egg” in this light by quietly asking in meditation for guidance and direction. Ask specifically about the project (s) and the answer will come. Now it is up to us to follow through with the indicated action, which could be anything from becoming energized and committed to completion or scheduling that garage sale. Willingness is the key. Now if you will excuse me, I have some eggs to check.

TAIL WAGS DOG

The conditions in our life are the result of the crops (thoughts) we plant in our consciousness, how well they were tended and honestly appraising their value. We must be willing to cast aside that which is unhealthy, regardless of how attractive it may appear, realizing that our actions matter, carry direct consequence.

If we wish to be happy, we cannot walk around with a long face complaining, thinking and talking about trouble, whether it is the worlds or ours. When we choose to embrace morbid reflection, we dwell on what exists only to convince us that sickness, trouble and failure are unavoidable. We cannot control the thoughts that float through our mind; thought control is not about banning a thought, which is impossible, but taking right action when they surface. What we do control is the action we take as soon as we become aware of our negative thinking, for it can be cunning, a wolf masquerading as a lamb. Remembering that prayer is always the answer, if we believe that outer conditions have more power than prayer, then we place effect ahead of cause. If you find yourself putting your belief in the effects of negative thinking (believing the problem insurmountable) rather than addressing the cause with gentle and consistent prayer, then “tail wags dog.” Living on the Spiritual Basis, we place our trust in God, take the indicated action and stay out of the results business. Either God wants us to be happy, joyous and free or He does not. There is no middle ground. God is either everything or else He is nothing, what is our choice to be? God does not punish with one hand and love with the other, his dog’s tail wagging with anticipation of good tidings, if we are willing.

WHEN-

When there is nowhere left to turn, turn around, for God is always there.

When in the grips of fear, pray with a feather.

When facing calamity, meet it with serenity, the serenity found only in His presence.

When in doubt, stop and ask for the right thought or action, in prayer of course.

When the solution feels out of reach, reach out in prayer and meditation.

When feeling put upon, put your hand out to those in need.

And

When all else fails, place the failure in His hands and watch a miracle unfold.

OUR ASSURANCE

Some things in life are assured: taxes, death, politicians, less sleep and more bathroom trips after 50, at least one new diet a month that promises: better sex, drop 20 pounds in 20 days with no exercise, fewer bathroom trips and better sleep. The newspaper/nightly news will lead with a scary story. Oh, and of course the Cubs.

What of spiritual assurance? Spiritual tomes and teachers state matter-of-factly some pretty strong promises of what will happen, for good or ill, based on our actions. What do you believe? The world (man) is always presenting some new and improved way to solve problems, to address the issues of living. All that is required is your vote and/or your money/credit card number and everything will change for the better. In truth, nothing in the news today is new. Politicians may not technically belong to the worlds oldest profession (I have my doubts) but if not they have been around nearly as long. Additionally there was a time, and not that long ago, when leeches and blood letting where central to a patients care and most patent medicines would definitely make you feel better, considering they consisted mostly of alcohol and some form of opium, but did little else.

We are asked to trust people and institutions, to place our faith in governments and “learned” experts. Yet the same problems that plagued the ancient Greeks and Romans still plague us today: healthcare, jobs, secure borders, taxes, immigration, elder care, safe and available food, education, road and bridge maintenance, etc. Studying the history of worldly assurances; both micro and macro, it becomes apparent that outer assurances have done little to fundamentally change the world.

Living on the Spiritual Basis we have found the timeless assurances of spiritual teachers becoming real for us because we stepped out in faith and did the work ourselves. By placing our trust in the miraculous, turning from the outer to the within through prayer and meditation, trusting in infinite God rather than our finite self, we have found peace and the ability to meet calamity with serenity. Our reliance based on our work in raising our consciousness, expanding our conscious contact with God, not the assurances of others. The promise of life eternal beyond the limitations of the flesh real, for we are in the world but no longer of the world. Now if I could just cut down on those bathroom trips in the middle of the night, maybe if I change my diet...

INCONSISTENCIES MADE CLEAR

Years ago I came across a Far Side cartoon that depicted a group of anthropologists that find a single bone who then proceed to construct the most outrageous looking creature extrapolated from that single bone. We attempt to do the same thing with our lives. We get glimpses of the future as we grow spiritually and the natural inclination is to build on them, creating an image of our lives as we progress. This is like the nightly weatherperson on the local news forecasting what the weather will be like a month, a year, five years from now. Unless they limit their prognostication to that of George Carlin’s hippy dippy weatherman: today it will begin dark, followed by light then turning dark again, their chances of being accurate are about zero. In time as our consciousness grows and expands so will our perspective. That which seemed disconnected, prayers seemingly unanswered will take on a new clarity that only 20/20 spiritual hindsight can provide. Avoid the traps then of projecting into the future or morbid reflection on the past. Make plans but do so in a spiritual light, the light of God‘s guidance. Be a man or woman who lives one day at a time and all will become clear eventually, if we are about God’s business and not our own.

PRAYER DOES CHANGE THINGS

For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he (Proverbs 23:7). Prayer either does or doesn’t change things. No middle ground. Prayer is either 100% effectual or it is a waste of time, a delusional jest of the greatest magnitude. Having lived on the Spiritual Basis for a time we have seen the power of prayer in our and others lives. So the question isn’t whether or not prayer works/changes things but why it seems inconsistent, why some prayers are answered and others seemingly not. All prayers are answered and unlike the cliché: sometimes the answer is no, all prayers are answered in the affirmative. God will never give us something that will harm us, but He will provide what we need. When we are new to the path our prayers are often a form of outlining, requesting some action we would like God to take on our part, thinking we know what’s best. Having turned our will and our lives over to the care of God it is clear why prayers of this type do not return the expected results. But God does answer these prayers in the affirmative, providing what we need though we cannot see it with our limited vision. Additionally there are the halfhearted prayers. Prayers said from the conscious mind, not the heart. When we pray with the thought in the back of our minds that we don’t deserve it or God is too busy to be bothered with us than we will receive in exactly the manner we ask. Keep in the forefront of your consciousness that God wants us, all of us, to be happy, joyous and free. Pray from the heart, expecting to receive and life will change in incredible and marvelous ways.