Yeah but...is there cake?

Having been a spiritual mentor for many years, there is no more painful word to hear from a student then but. It matters little whether the student has been on the path 10 weeks; 10 months or 10 years this word is a nearly impenetrable barrier to progress.

The new student listens impatiently, waiting for a chance to chime in, then when the opportunity presents its self they begin their comment with yeah, but…

The student who has been on the path for a time, faced with something uncomfortable attempts to make their case for avoidance of the required action with yeah but you don’t understand…

Finally, those who have traveled the path for a significant period are attacked by but obliquely, in their quiet moments. Having persevered and done much work spiritually, they “believe” but doubt has crept in. They are attempting to come to terms with some seeming inconsistency and are looking for answers or some action to engage in for specific direct relief. One of the most difficult spiritual lessons to take to heart is when to stop. When you have consulted with those whose spiritual counsel you value, have taken all the secular steps indicated, have prayed and meditated on the difficulty, the next indicated action is to be still.


Consider cake making. You have mixed all the right ingredients, in the correct proportions, placed the batter in the baking pan and the pan has been placed in the heated oven were the magic of cake happens. While it bakes we leave the oven closed for opening the door repeatedly to see how things are progressing upsets the balance. The cake batter has its job, the oven its task and neither requires our assistance. Let God do His work, you have put together the ingredients for healing and placed them in His hands; give Him time to cook. Tasty cake and faith require patience, neither have buts in them. If truth is true, there are no buts.

Electric Alamode

Consider the apple pie. When you remove a piece, the whole is diminished by the size of the slice you have decided to enjoy, possibly alamode. The original apple pie and the slice are composed of exactly the same ingredients, in the same proportions, only the size different, the slice merely a smaller representation of the whole. Soon others become aware of your pie experiment and the “whole” pie that began our lesson is now only represented by a crumb filled pie tin; the original portioned to the many, probably alamode.

When considering God many think of Him in this way because it is logical. Believing that God is so large He can break off pieces of Himself without concern of ever becoming an empty tin. If this were true however regardless of how small the piece removed, the whole, like our apple pie, is still diminished. But, in truth, God is never diminished, cannot by His nature be diminished. He is as complete and whole today as a year, a thousand, ten thousand years ago. So, if we are not only connected to God but His spark resides within each of us, what is God’s nature?

God is like silence. Cut silence in half and you have more silence. Cut it again, more silence. No matter how many times you try to portion it you only have more, the whole never diminished or changed. The Indwelling Presence is not a “portion” of God, but God himself and proof of our true divine self hood. Now add to this the concept of an electric circuit. The electricity (God) is present throughout the circuit (us) though invisible to us. We only “see” the action of the electricity when we flip the switch and the bulb (our Divine Mind) illuminates.

Our physical life is like our pie; each day a little more gone until only the tin remains, no deposit required. Our true self, our soul, the I AM is like silence, never diminished, never proportioned always whole and eternal. We are not human beings in search of the miraculous, a spiritual awakening, we are spiritual beings experiencing the human condition. God, like electricity flows through us, always there, the bill always paid in full, just waiting for us to flip the switch and embrace enlightenment.