Outlining And Being "Convinced"

The meek shall inherit the earth. To be meek, spiritually, is to be so raised in consciousness that we are open to God, demonstrating faith without reservation, convinced that His will for us is always joyous and positive, having ceased “outlining” how we think God should act in our lives. We have, in truth, completely placed our will and our lives in His hands, withholding nothing. Unfortunately there really isn’t a word that accurately reflects this. Meek comes close, but I can’t help seeing a mouse in my minds eye as a representation of meek or Mr Bean as a human analog. Perhaps if meek became convinced it would read easier. Blessed are the convinced: for they shall inherit the earth. 

© Vincent Lee Jones Living In Spirit All Rights Reserved

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Praying Scientifically

Praying Scientifically

Praying on or “treating” a problem or difficulty is simple, but not easy. First, get quiet, do not try to control your thoughts, anyone who says they control the random thoughts that float up into their consciousness is selling a book or seminar. We do not control thoughts, what we do control is our response/action when a thought surfaces in our consciousness.

We do this by turning our attention to God, contemplating on what we know about His Love, His Guidance, and our connection to Him as Father to child. We do not under any pretext think about the issue we are treating, praying about at this time.

Next, we read a short passage from any spiritual tome that appeals to us and then take a few moments in contemplative meditation to consider what was just read. The purpose of this is to center our thoughts in Spirit, to place our attention there, to raise our consciousness.

Now we take two or three cleansing breaths, breathing in deeply through the nose, exhaling through the mouth. We then claim quietly that which we lack or the situation/condition requiring healing. Of paramount importance is to always ask in the affirmative. If we ask in the manner of: “I need” money, health, peace, serenity etc what we will demonstrate is more need. We will be affirming need, not abundance. If money or resources are lacking we ask that our life be a demonstration of abundance. If it is employment, we ask to be of service to God and our fellows, for the perfect position for our unique set of abilities. Health, in general, ask to demonstrate a healed and vital radiance, for a specific ill or condition ask for a healing, visualizing the body free of the condition. If the demonstration is to assist another, we frame our words carefully so that only positive and affirming actions are employed. Remember, words have power.

As we are making our demonstration we see it from the end, as an accomplished fact and thank God for accomplishing it.  Under no condition discuss the treatment with anyone; it is between God and us alone. When you find yourself drifting back into thinking about the difficulty, and we all do, we stop as soon as we become aware and give it back to God with thanks, for prayers of thanksgiving are the most powerful of all.

© Vincent Lee Jones Living In Spirit All Rights Reserved

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The True Adversary: Fear

The True Adversary: Fear

To judge rightly first we must put our house in order. This begins with taking 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 these blocks 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 someone else while our actions may be just as bad or even worse. So we clean up our side of the street first, sharpening 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, for Living on the Spiritual Basis requires we never answer unasked questions. 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.

© Vincent Lee Jones Living In Spirit All Rights Reserved

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To Judge Rightly

To Judge Rightly

No one but you and God truly know what is in your heart, nor can we ever truly know what is in the heart of another, for only God has this ability. We come to know the issues of someone’s heart by their actions, their demonstrations in living, 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.

© Vincent Lee Jones Living In Spirit All Rights Reserved

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Sorrowful Possessions

Sorrowful Possessions

Living the examined life requires us to inventory our “great possessions” if we truly wish to be free. We all have them and until we identify them and understand their roots they are invisible anchors, retarding our progress. Does this mean we have to strip away and discard all we own (physically and mentally) to grow spiritually? No, but we must discard our attachments. There is nothing spiritually hindering in possessions as long as we don’t rely upon them for our personal definition. We are not the house we live in or derive any real status (positive or negative) from its physical location. We are not the car we drive, wristwatch we wear or any other material possession for these things are all passing, mere ornaments of living, gifts to enjoy but of little spiritual value becoming destructive if they bait us into a false sense of  perceived entitlement. As hindering as these may be, our mental possessions plant the deepest and heaviest anchors.

Once we close our mind to any fresh thinking or concept, in any area of life, we throw out another anchor, for nothing slows, even stops our spiritual growth quicker than a closed mind. To hold that any group or people are either favored by God or despised, plants another anchor. To place anyone or anything on a pedestal, a sacred cow, another anchor. To strive for secular recognition or refuse to recognize the inherent dignity of anyone, regardless of their station, another anchor, there are many more.

We are spiritual beings, the power that is within us is beyond measure; it is no less than the creative life force that animates the mayfly and powers the stars. As great as this power is, we can set enough anchors to slow our growth to the point of it being imperceptible. We must begin cutting away the anchors slowing our progress, for if we don’t, our fate will be the same as the Rich Young Man, who failed to demonstrate and …went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions (Matthew 19:22).

© Vincent Lee Jones Living In Spirit All Rights Reserved

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Ultimate Truth

Ultimate Truth

"When you change the way you look at things the things you look at change."
 
When we first embark on the path of Spiritual Living we are greeted with this truth:

If you knew who walked beside you, on this path you have chosen, you would never be afraid again.

Then as our awareness and understanding grows over time through application and demonstration of spiritual principles this transforms to:

When you know who walks beside you, on this path you have chosen, your fears fall from you.

Finally as we take our place as Children of the Light, understanding our true place, that we are spiritual beings experiencing the human condition, eternal, not limited humans seeking enlightenment, the ultimate truth resonates:

I now know who walks beside me on my chosen path and I fear no longer.

© Vincent Lee Jones Living In Spirit All Rights Reserved

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Your Music

Your Music

   “Do not die with your music in you.” That feeling of dissatisfaction, the sense of something missing in life is God quietly but insistently attempting to get our attention. Your Heart’s Desire will never cease trying to assert it’s self into the forefront of your consciousness. We will never truly be happy or fulfilled until we listen.  Remember our true state of being:

We are not human beings in search of the miraculous, a spiritual awakening; we are spiritual beings experiencing the human condition.

There is a reason for each of us being here, now. Our Heart’s Desire, God's desire for us, is that reason.

© Vincent Lee Jones Living In Spirit All Rights Reserved

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God Is Calling

God Is Calling

Emmet Fox wrote, “Your real problem-the only problem you have-is to find your true calling in life. Everything else will fall into place. You will be happy; and upon happiness, health will follow. You will have all the supply that you require to meet your needs, and this means that you will have perfect freedom; for poverty and freedom cannot go together.”

Your heart’s desire has called to you. The still quiet voice, God’s voice, in you has whispered it to you. That thing you may have never said aloud for fear of ridicule. That thing the fear-based voice says: you are too old, you will never make a living doing it, what would your friends and family think, what about my responsibilities, and a thousand other “reasons” to stay locked into the role you have decided secular society would have you play, not God. The first step to freedom begins here. You must answer this question: Do you believe God wants you to be happy, joyous and free? If you hold this as true, then what power on earth could possibly stand in the way?  

“Remember that this call is the call of God, and when God calls you to His Service, He pays all the expenses in whatever kind of coin. …Whatever you may require to answer that call, God will provide. Money, opportunity, introductions, knowledge, training, freedom, leisure, strength, and courage-all will He furnish, if you be about His business and not your own.
       
Your Heart’s desire is the Voice of God, and that Voice must be obeyed sooner or later.” 

© Vincent Lee Jones Living In Spirit All Rights Reserved

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Surrender And Win Part 2

Surrender And Win Part 2

So to win, we must alter our focus and begin to focus on the only thing that can truly change the world for the better, us. We accomplish this through consistent prayer and meditation, we don’t struggle, we pray "with a feather" approaching meditation with joy and excitement. If we find this a problem, we pray on it! A good beginning meditation is contemplating patience, tolerance, kindliness and love in our life and towards all we touch. If you are concerned about praying in the right way ask to be shown, in prayer, how to pray correctly and always Keep It Simple. Read something spiritual that sings to you everyday for a few minutes, for this raises our consciousness. Practice truth in living as you understand it in all your activities, remembering to be as gentle with yourself as you are with a newborn, for just as the newborn grows and changes physically daily we are growing and changing spiritually. By following this simple plan we surrender the secular life and gain eternity, not a bad win.

© Vincent Lee Jones Living In Spirit All Rights Reserved

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Surrender And Win Part 1

Surrender And Win Part 1

Generals draw up battle plans, their theory on how the battle should be fought and ultimately won. Politicians have theories on everything, often with little or no actual experience to inform their opinion. Economists are quick to theorize, usually poorly. Meteorologists and climatologists put forth theories daily, calling them forecasts, and we have all experienced their accuracy. Although we don’t usually think of it in this way, we all have theories about all sorts of things. When we chat about the reasons why something happened, or didn’t, what we think is going to happen or some action to take, we are floating theories. Theories based on experience typically have value, while theories based on no more than wishful thinking are hot air until implemented, the consequences realized, truth demonstrated. Truth is never subjective and often stark in its reality. If the local weather prognosticators get it wrong, the truth is typically no more painful than a ruined picnic or toting around an umbrella on a sunny day. Battle plans which go badly can result not only in death but in reshaping the map. Economists theories should be placed in the newspaper next to horoscopes, unfortunately decisions affecting everyone are based on their theories, were if a horoscope is wrong it won’t possibly put thousands of people out of work or raise taxes. Politicians and the price of demonstration for their theories? Examples can be found daily on the front page of any paper or leading the nightly news.

So perhaps, just perhaps we should look at things in a different light. Consider: Wars, slavery, economic inequality, one religion attacking another, bigotry, etc have been with us throughout our history, only the intensity modulating. The truth is we as a people keep making the same mistakes, based in flawed theories and thinking, one generation to the next with the same inevitable results. So clearly "secular" theories of living are at best problematic, even foolhardy in light of the results.  So to truly change will require surrendering the old theories and embrace a new basis of living. How? Stay tuned.

© Vincent Lee Jones Living In Spirit All Rights Reserved

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Set Aside or Lay Aside Prayer

Set Aside or Lay Aside Prayer

Consider this passage from the Sermon on the Mount “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3). We all have known or know people who are “poor spirited” and blessed usually isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. In fact, when really considering this passage for the first time it is difficult not to think of those times when we have felt poor spirited; somewhat perplexing to the notion that if this is “blessed”, is it such a good thing? The “poor in spirit” The Carpenter refers too has nothing to do with being poor spirited. Being poor in spirit means we have let go of our preconceptions and self will.

There is a prayer that has become known as the set-aside or lay-aside prayer that speaks to this state of consciousness. There are a number of variations, this is one of the simplest forms: Dear God, please help me to set aside everything I think I know about you and this world, so I may have an open mind and a new experience. Please help me to see your Truth, Amen. Surrendering to win, setting aside our preconceived ideas and sacred cows. If we can achieve this raised state of consciousness,  remaining open minded and willing to learn, to change and honestly address our defects as well as our assets of character in their proper light, we would truly be “poor in spirit” and the kingdom of heaven ours.

© Vincent Lee Jones Living In Spirit All Rights Reserved

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Does God Keep A Tally Sheet?

Does God Keep A Tally Sheet?

God doesn’t keep the tally sheet of our lives, We do. Everything we have ever done or said is written on our heart, in our hand. Our lives though are an open book to Him who has all knowledge and power; fortunately He loves us unconditionally and if we are earnest, our transgressions are forgiven as soon as we ask. Now if we could only forgive ourselves so readily think how much wear and tear on our heart we could avoid. So when struggling for any reason, let go and let God for He knows what AILs you, and He is Available, Intelligent and Loving.

© Vincent Lee Jones Living In Spirit All Rights Reserved

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Good For What A.I.L.s You

Good For What A.I.L.s You

The path of enlightenment asks us “to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God’ with the proviso “as we understand 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 all manner of nonsensical things or objects; trees, doorknobs, etc. To wit:

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 in reality. “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 yourself, you can start at a simple 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 or unavailable in any way? Intelligent: The Creator, the Architect of all that is, pretty much the epitome of intelligence. Loving: Here I would ask you to set aside any belief you may have of a vengeful Old Testament score keeper God. One of the keys to living on the Spiritual Basis is the truth that “the realm of Heaven is roomy, all inclusive. Never exclusive or forbidding to those who earnestly seek.” That God is never the author of trouble or sickness in our lives, His love boundless and unencumbered by human limitation.

Available, Intelligent and Loving, good for what AILs us.

© Vincent Lee Jones Living In Spirit All Rights Reserved

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