Old Friends

How many Spiritually based websites or pages do you follow? How many spiritually themed books are on your bookshelf, by how many different authors? Perhaps Chopra, Fox, Dyer, Gibran, maybe Schuler, Wilkerson, Grizone and Warren are a few of them? How about the heavy hitters, The Bible, Vedas, Torah, Bhagavad-Gita, Koran or the Book of Mormon. These apps, pages and books are fine and helpful, but without action, demonstration in purpose, nothing of any lasting value is achieved, any more than reading about diets results in weight loss. Being informed and inspired is fine, but nothing concrete happens until we take action. Knowing when to stop seeking and start doing can be a difficult and often fearful transition. Commenting on the play very different from being on stage.

When I wore a younger man’s clothes and was far more impressed with myself I would look at my bookshelves loaded down with spiritual tomes with a sense of self-important satisfaction. Believing knowledge equaled demonstration, I had convinced myself that I not just talked the talk, but walked the walk. I could not have been more wrong. When the truth finally hit, it was devastating. I had a head full of knowledge but had put precious little of the “great truths” I said I believed in into action, and what I had put into action was inconsistent and haphazard at best. I was the antithesis of spiritual truth, talking the talk but not walking the walk.

So participate in and study the things that sing to you Spiritually, but instead of always looking for something new, return to an old friend and give it a look with the new pair of “glasses” your living experience has provided you with.

Today I “keep it simple.” I revisit a small group of authors who have touched me over the years. Some of these books I have read for decades and though I have traveled their path many times, I continue to find fresh insights for my spiritual vision, as yours, improves with age and action in purpose.

© 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, Healing Path

The Truth Of Limitation

Teachers of spiritual principles agree on this point: freedom comes when limitation is overcome. On the surface the differences in approach from one school of thought to another can often seem dramatic if not downright contradictory, but in essence they are all tools to address the same thing, our perceived loss or missing connection to the Source which provides clarity, direction and serenity in our lives. To be clear: We are not/cannot be disconnected from Source, for we are comprised of Source. Flesh is ephemeral, but our spirit, soul if you prefer, is eternal, has always been, will always be, was never born and can never die. We choose to believe in a gulf or lack of connection out of fear and the seeming unfairness of life. Our ability to comprehend the totality of existence with our limited understanding of the miraculous leads us down the paths of denial and often into spiritual make believe. It is seemingly easier to hold that we are living at the whim of creation or conversely chaos, therefore taking no responsibility for our lives, than to live in purpose, coming to grips with the truth that we are where we are because of every choice and decision we have ever made. Fear modulating between what if there is no God to God will punish me for I have chosen and/or acted poorly.

In truth: When we know who walks beside us everyday, on this path we have chosen, we will never be afraid again. Just as every child is connected to their parent by blood, we are connected to Ultimate Source in Spirit. Arguing over the title of this Source is one of the Adversary's, Fear, greatest tricks to keep us locked into the bondage of self, Limitation ascendant.

To free ourselves from the self-imposed fetters on our spiritual life we must strip away the lurking fears holding us back and step out in faith, the faith generated from the certainty of our true connection with Source. Living any other way is existence restricted, fear rather than faith dominate, living in the light desired but giving in to the carnal always beckoning shadows of a hundred faces of fear, which is the handmaiden of limitation. We overcome limitation by standing, though often trembling, in the light, proclaiming our love and steadfast belief in our connection to the 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, Healing Path

 

The Art Of Meditation: Focused Meditation

Focused Meditation: Here we have a specific problem, difficulty or question we are seeking to understand. As before find a quiet place where you will not be interrupted and perform the cleansing breaths previously outlined. If asked, do not explain the specifics of the meditation to anyone, for in so doing you invite failure. Our time in meditation is the time we are in concert with Source, it is our time, not the other mans. In your mind’s eye visualize the issue at hand. Avoiding judgement, observe the issue troubling you in all its aspects, the individuals involved and possible outcomes without consciously outlining a solution. After you have thoroughly explored, without words, the issue, silently ask for the correct course of action to become evident. End the session thanking the Universe (God) that you now know it (Him) better, take a cleansing breath and go about your day. Again, avoid telling anyone about your meditation for this opens us to negative judgement.

Purpose: In focused meditation we invite Universal Mind to address our difficulty, without outlining the solution. In short order you will intuitively know what to do, amazingly the answers will just come. In this way we begin to rely on the infinite, all knowledgeable Source instead of our finite selves and our fear-tinged solutions.

Over the last few days some simple methods of meditation have been outlined, there are many others. In closing hold this truth evident: the purpose of meditation is not to become better at meditation, that will happen naturally in time, the purpose is simply to meditate. Be consistent, don't struggle and in short order this quiet time with the miraculous will become as natural as breathing.

© 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, Healing Path