Consciousness Building part 2

“Habit is habit, and not to be flung out the window by any man, but coaxed downstairs a step at a time.” Wayne Dyer.
 

Consider those who suffer from addiction. Many who initially recover, seemingly having cast their “habit” out the window, a new basis for living embraced, then relapse and are often baffled as to why. They are fooled by the delusion those years of thinking and living in addiction now magically disappeared because the intoxicants are out of their system. In reality the “instruction” sheet they have been following for years is carved deep in their consciousness and will take years of positive contrary action and consistent vigilance of motive to overwrite, to learn how to live on this new basis of living, the Spiritual Basis, embracing a completely new set of directions, a day at a time. The price may seem high, but the rewards are nothing less than miraculous.

© Vincent Lee Jones Living In Spirit All Rights Reserved

#The Secret, #Wayne Dyer, #Serenity, Enlightenment, #Zen, #Emmet Fox, #How To Be Happy, #Golden Key, #Pope Francis, #Chopra, #Jesus, #Einstein, #AA, McRaven,

Consciousness Building

When we purchase something that requires assembly, it generally comes with instructions. I once purchased a teapot and inside were instructions, for a teapot! Now the instruction sheet for that Christmas morning bicycle years ago was considerably longer, and I still maintain wrong, both the bike and teapot instruction sheets had numbered steps, the teapot two with the additional warning that hot water is, well, hot, the bicycle four hundred and fifty seven, in Latin. 

Our consciousness requires assembly as well; the question is what “instruction” sheet we follow. With the exception of some notable examples directly touched by the Divine, most of us build our consciousness, for good or ill, step by step by the actions we take and the thoughts we entertain, our level of awareness and understanding waxing and waning dependent on what we say, do, consider and act upon, experience building upon experience, good and bad. Habits of thinking and living do not change by simply assenting to them as needing to be changed; it requires action and perseverance on our part. To borrow from Wayne Dyer: “Habit is habit, and not to be flung out the window by any man, but coaxed downstairs a step at a time.”

© Vincent Lee Jones Living In Spirit All Rights Reserved

#The Secret, #Wayne Dyer, #Serenity, Enlightenment, #Zen, #Emmet Fox, #How To Be Happy, #Golden Key, #Pope Francis, #Chopra, #Jesus, #Einstein, #AA, McRaven

Storm Proof Foundation

The longest eighteen inches in the world lies between the head and the heart, the bridge from intellect to faith, embracing grace. But speaking about God and spirituality, practicing faith when the weather is calm is easy. Standing in faith when every fiber of the carnal mind screams in opposition is the challenge. The back of every American dollar bill reads “In God We Trust” but do we, really? The Great Carpenter teaches that those who demonstrate faith in action build their spiritual house/consciousness “upon a rock” while those who are nominally Living on the Spiritual Basis build their “house” on sand “and great was the fall of it.”

We can build a structure on any ground as long as the sun is shining, the wind nothing more than a breeze, but to do so in the belief that conditions will never change is a fools errand at best, yet many do this very thing with their spiritual house and then are devastated when the rains come and the winds blow and their structure collapses, then compounding the error by blaming God for the storm, forgetting storms are part of life, rain falling on the just and unjust equally.

In truth we chose the materials our house is constructed of, the construction practices employed, how well we adhere to the blueprints, for it matters little the quality of the materials if they are poorly installed, the blueprint ignored or altered out of fear. The Good News is the Master Builder will step in at any point and set the project (our consciousness) right if we will only place our trust in His guidance and unconditional love. By this simple, but not easy reliance on a Power Greater than Ourselves our structure is solidly built, able to not only withstand life's inevitable storms, but to stand as a beacon of hope and resolve to those who chose poorly. Remember always that Living On The Spiritual Basis is not about weathering storms, but learning how to dance and sing when the rains come.

© Vincent Lee Jones Living In Spirit All Rights Reserved

#The Secret, #Wayne Dyer, #Serenity, Enlightenment, #Zen, #Emmet Fox, #How To Be Happy, #Golden Key, #Pope Francis, #Chopra, #Jesus, #Einstein, #AA, McRaven,

A Feather Stronger Than Steel

When we harbor resentment we slowly die spiritually. Fortunately through forgiveness we are reborn. Nurturing resentment binds us to the object of our ire by a mental chain stronger than any steel. Holding on to resentment is akin having a physical wound we never allow to heal, every time it begins too we scratch at it until it bleeds again. We do the same thing spiritually by reliving, retelling the resentment in graphic detail to any who will listen, even if we are only talking to ourselves. This manner of thinking is a slow insidious spiritual suicide; we must learn to turn away from our hurts and allow them to heal.

How? By deciding finally and forever to forgive, with God’s help, the cause of the resentment by naming them and asking God to do for them everything good that we wish to have happen in our life. Visualize them receiving God’s grace, His peace upon them. In time a scar will form but resentments are tenacious and our subconscious will whisper that perhaps we should scratch at it again, just in case. Do not react negatively when these thoughts surface, but do turn in prayer immediately and thank God for knowing Him better, that you and the author of the resentment are free. Do not for a moment rehash the memory of the hurt; focus only on seeing the Presence of God where the hurt was.

Having just begun incorporating this new way of thinking into our life we do not berate ourselves when we  discover we have drifted into morbid reflection, examining the old scar, instead quietly we turn to God in prayer thanking Him for knowing Him better. Eventually this will become second nature. As with all things spiritual (and all life as well) condemnation stunts growth, so we are always gentle in prayer, especially with ourselves, learning to pray with a “feather.”

© Vincent Lee Jones Living In Spirit All Rights Reserved

The Secret, Wayne Dyer, Serenity, Enlightenment, Zen, Emmet Fox, How To Be Happy, Golden Key, Four Agreements, Chopra, Jesus, Einstein, AA, McRaven, Healing Path

Working Anonymously, The Law Of Coincidence

We have all had “miracles” happen in our lives. That time we needed money and the phone rang or a letter arrived and source was provided. We were thinking of someone and we turned a corner and there they were. We find ourselves facing a difficulty and it either fades away or turns into something positive.

Are these occurrences “an answer to a prayer” or simply “coincidence?” It matters little, for Coincidence is just God working anonymously. Perhaps the most difficult part of this is why sometimes it happens and other times not. Those times when the person remained an enigma or that which we deemed needed did not appear, a prayer request seemingly ignored. In looking back on my life, inventorying the past with raised consciousness, many of the things I thought I needed in the moment turned out to be the last thing I needed, had I received them my spiritual development would have been delayed or even derailed. As our consciousness rises our spiritual vision corrects and clears, however even with corrected vision, some questions are beyond our sight, remaining unfathomable at this time. Why does one child miraculously recover from an illness and another succumb? Or someone who worked hard all their lives, played by all of society’s rules who then find all they worked for gone through no fault of their own? It is beyond my vision for some questions can only be addressed directly by God, the answers finally coming after this flesh fails and we are launched into the infinite.

In Faith and Truth God only brings good, He does not, cannot bring suffering or strife.  Today my spiritual vision is longer and clearer than yesterday, if you prayed and meditated today so is yours. We see the world through a new pair of glasses, our understanding broadened, our empathy revealed, the path illuminated. Even so I still have no good answers in the moment for those experiencing seemingly inexplicable calamity, only a shoulder, a quiet ear and a silent prayer. Perhaps that is the answer after all.

© Vincent Lee Jones Living In Spirit All Rights Reserved

The Secret, Wayne Dyer, Serenity, Enlightenment, Zen, Emmet Fox, How To Be Happy, Golden Key, Four Agreements, Chopra, Jesus, Einstein, AA, McRaven, Healing Path

Our Cup Of Poison

Our Cup Of Poison

Forgiveness is the key, to everything. Until we understand this, carve it into our heart, no real lasting progress can ever be made. When we think about it logically this makes perfect sense. Have you ever prayed and then wondered why you did not demonstrate? In order to fully demonstrate we must be free of self-condemnation and remorse, forgiving ourselves, which happens only after we have fully forgiven others, ridding ourselves of all resentment and condemnation toward them. Though repeated ad nauseum, this truth cannot be repeated enough: “simple but not easy, a price has to be paid. That price is the surrendering of self.” Search your heart, in the secret place of your consciousness is there any “justified” anger or an old resentment lurking that you feel is warranted for any reason? If so perform an act of forgiveness and mean it. If for any reason we cannot do this, by holding on to old hurts, real and imagined we are essentially raising a cup of poison to our lips, believing that by drinking it we are punishing those we hate or resent. So to be truly free, we must put down the cup and forgive, for our sake.

© Vincent Lee Jones Living In Spirit All Rights Reserved

The Secret, Wayne Dyer, Serenity, Enlightenment, Zen, Emmet Fox, How To Be Happy, Golden Key, Four Agreements, Chopra, Jesus, Einstein, AA, McRaven, Healing Path