It's a big universe ... so don't get too full of yourself!

Hold your truth lightly

When I was a teenager I had what many Christians would call a conversion experience. It occurred during a youth service at a church to which a friend had invited me. It was an eye-opener from the perspective that I suddenly became very aware that God was, indeed, alive and real. Not in the ho-hum way that I had formally believed but in a vibrant, animated sense that I had not supposed previously. The experience was not emotion-based. It was revelatory in nature. And it washed across me like a wave.

It was a life changing event from a number of perspectives, putting me on a course that I would not have taken otherwise. I looked at life differently, made different choices, thought and acted differently. A few years later I held a priesthood office in that church. I prepared and delivered sermons to large crowds, performed marriages, baptized people, served communion – did all the things normally associated with being a pastor to a congregation. I was steeped in the church and sure of my theology. I was a “defender of the faith”, writing and speaking about the history of the church, I taught classes and, on occasion, because of my knowledge of the scriptures and speaking abilities I was called upon to debate those who held differing views.

Looking back, I think I was as sure as I could have been that my church was “the true church” and that I had a grip on “the truth” like few others.

Over the years, though, I began to slowly and quietly question that truth. Persistent and nagging doubts began to creep in about how I could reconcile a God that, in the Old Testament could order the slaughter of an entire town – men, women, children, babies and every breathing thing – with the God Jesus described – a loving, forgiving Heavenly father.

I began to wonder about how a loving, forgiving, Heavenly father could create an eternal place of punishment that people would be thrown into at death if they had not declared Jesus as their savior. What about the people who have never even heard of Jesus?

There were many more cracks than these that appeared in my beliefs … but you get the idea. Over a period of some years those cracks got more in number and became wider until the belief structure I had developed finally fell completely through them. The short story is that I disassociated myself with that church and surrendered my priesthood ... at gunpoint (metaphorically!)

Looking back, I now realize that I could've stayed there. None of us, after all, have a corner on the truth. My ministry to the congregation could've continued. There was really no need for me to leave and pursue truth elsewhere. There was as good as any other place. But I hadn't yet reached that level of understanding. And I also think that it would've been difficult for me in the sense that the people to whom I ministered would've thought me a fugitive of sorts.

Still, there were many good things associated with that experience. My life did change … and overall for the better. I met some sincere and wonderful people. I was able to minister to many people in some very special ways. It created some foundational beliefs about God and the universe that I continue to believe today.

It was, however, a difficult experience to go through. I realized that my rigid belief system had cost me some dear relationships. I wondered if it had really been worth it. I began to doubt myself and my place and purpose in the universe. For many years after giving up my priesthood I felt like a traitor. I wondered, as an "aspotate" what lay ahead for me after my life on earth was over. I wondered what opportunities to minister I had given up. I questioned the meaning of the whole experience.

It wasn’t until many years later that the pieces finally began coming together for me. The experience had not been the destination. It had simply been part of my journey. It helped introduce me to an expanded understanding that was to come much later. I hadn’t been gripping “the truth.” I had been gripping “a truth.”

Eventually I came to realize that the universe and God is infinitely larger than I had ever gotten my arms around. As I began to study quantum physics and related materials, I began to get a hint of how the universe really works and about how God really “thinks” ... admittedly in a very, very limited way. But, still, it was from a broader perspective than I had previously. I was able to abandon some beliefs and embrace others. I no longer felt the need to defend the truth because I came to realize that the truth is so large and integrated and robust that it needs no defense. I became comfortable saying “I don’t know” rather than feeling that I needed to have an answer for everything – which is an impossibility.

What I learned is this – life is hard enough. Don’t make it harder by encasing yourself in a belief structure (whatever it is) that is clearly insufficient to describe how the universe really operates. Hold your truth lightly. Learning about God is a process that will take you millions of years. Stay open and flexible and non-judgmental. Of course, you can have and share your beliefs. Just don’t think that they represent “the truth” with any high degree of accuracy!

He that believes on me ... out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water (John 7:38)

Are you a Dead Sea?

The Dead Sea is an anomaly. As a body of water, it is six times saltier than the oceans. Nothing lives in it. There is no seaweed or plants or fish or any other living, squirming organism. It is completely void of life. If a fish from a feeder river finds its way into the Dead Sea, it dies immediately and its body is quickly coated with a preserving layer of salt crystals and washed up on shore by the wind and waves.

Why is the Dead Sea dead? According to extremescience.com ”…no rivers drain out of the Dead Sea. The only way water gets out of the Sea is through evaporation. And boy does it evaporate! This part of the world gets plenty hot. When the water evaporates, it leaves behind all the dissolved minerals in the Sea, just making it saltier. In fact, it's through the dual action of 1) continuing evaporation and 2) mineral salts carried into the Sea from the local rivers that makes the Sea so salty. The fact that the water doesn't escape the Sea just traps the salts within its shores. There's nothing living in the Dead Sea because it got so salty, so quickly, that evolution has not had a chance to produce any creatures that could adapt to such brutal conditions.”

The Dead Sea is dead because it takes in salt water, but the salt water has no outlet. It is not “living water” as Jesus talked about … water that flows up and out … water that has movement and purpose. It becomes stagnant.

The same thing can happen to us if we keep our talents and abilities to ourselves and do not use them for the benefit of others.

A friend of mine who’s a pastor told me he was talking to a young man the other day and told him as kindly as he could that he was “like the dead sea.” “You’re always needy … always looking for help … always wrestling with your own problems. But part of your problem is that Spirit can’t flow through you because you’re not giving to anyone else. You’re not engaged. You’re not helping others. You’re only focused on yourself. There’s no outlet for the Spirit in your life. So you’ve become stagnant. You need to get outside yourself and get engaged in helping others so that Spirit can run through you like a river … and not be bottled up inside you to die like the Dead Sea.”

There are many ways we can get outside of ourselves. Volunteer at a local homeless mission or hospital. Tutor at-risk children in your local schools. Be a Big Brother or Big Sister. Volunteer at a food pantry. Give an anonymous financial gift to someone in real need. Teach a class at your church or synagogue. Give some time to your local hospital or hospice. Work within your church or synagogue to visit the elderly and help them with transportation or grocery shopping or meal preparation.

Be a river … not a Dead Sea.

The key to paradise

Judge not

Jesus once said an interesting thing that calls into question what many Christians have been taught about the “judgment of God” … which, for many of us, conjures up the image of a stern old man with long grey hair and furrowed brow who watches our every move with the intent of catching us in the act so He can punish us later.

Very simply, Jesus said, “Judge not that you be not judged for with the measure that you judge, you will be judged.”

He was really making two points here. First, he’s making a connection between reaping and sowing. What you put out into the universe, comes back. Throw your bread on the water and in several days, it will return to you. Your attitude toward others eventually boomerangs whether it’s an attitude of mercy and compassion or an attitude of criticism and meanness of spirit. “… for with the measure that you judge, you will be judged.”

Second, there really isn’t any need for God to judge us. Because of the way the universe is hardwired (the law of resonance), we reap what we sow. This is a simplified way of explaining things but, at the point of physical death, the spirit finds its way to a dimension with which it resonates. In that sense, God doesn’t “send” the spirit there.

A person who has lived a life filled with evil intents and actions can’t enter a dimension of paradise because of natural frequency barriers. Their spirit simply doesn’t resonate with the dimension of paradise. It’s vibrational frequency is too slow. It doesn’t have the “key” to the door of the higher frequency dimensions.

It isn’t that God is punishing that spirit by preventing access to paradise. It’s more that the person lived a life on earth that was inconsistent with paradise … and that carries over into the afterlife … at least for a time. Because Christ holds the keys to heaven and hell, it’s possible for spirits to evolve through eternity … which is another story. Think of this for a minute. Would it be justice for a person’s spirit to spend an eternity in a place based on that person’s 50 years of life on earth?

And there are other advantages to having a non-judgmental spirit. First, on a practical scale, there are dangers in having a holier-than-thou attitude. Very simply, you have further to fall. Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone screws up. Don’t set yourself up for trouble by condemning others when you’re certain to make mistakes yourself.

That doesn’t mean you can’t point out issues of social injustice … or defend truth as you know it … or try to change things for the better … or speak out against ignorance. It just means you do it without meanness of spirit and bitterness.

Second, the bitterness of spirit that often accompanies an attitude of judgment acts as a drain on a person’s psychic energy. Any good auravoyant will tell you that the energy field of a person with a sour or hostile attitude lacks structural integrity. The various layers of the field will be clouded and dull. Negative thoughtforms will block the light of Spirit. There may be ruptures that allow energy to be leaked. That will eventually affect physical health.

That’s why the good book advises us to forgive (John), not to rejoice when those who trouble us stumble (Deuteronomy) and not to take vengeance (Romans). Although it’s not often easy, it’s better for us in the here-and-now and in the long run.

We're dreaming about the future.

Past, Present and Future

Linear time only exists in the third dimension. In the higher dimensions there is a space-time continuum in which past, present and future exist as a “package.”

Humans are multi-dimensional creatures whose physical bodies exist in the third dimension. We also have the capability to travel to and learn from other dimensions. Time spent in the third dimension, however, allows us to learn lessons that are uniquely provided for in that reality. That means we have to learn the rules of this dimension if we’re to optimize our experiences here.

One less is that, to optimize potential, we must focus on potential. Potential can only be defined in the future tense (in the third dimension). Therefore, to optimize potential and change our present, we must focus on the future.

You may learn from the past, but you should avoid being anchored to it. You will repeat the past if you don’t learn from it. But you won’t move into a preferred future if you can’t release what has been. Many centuries ago, the apostle Paul wrote, “Leaving the past behind, I press on toward the mark … “ He understood this principle. To effect change you must look beyond the point of the horizon. Said another way, without vision the people perish.

I have been involved in the martial arts and when I first entered classes I was amazed to see the instructors easily break through several inches of solid board or concrete with their bare hands and feet. They taught us how to do this by focusing attention on a point about five inches beyond the back surface of the object. Your mind, then, directs your fist to strike through the object to the point which is located through and behind the object. Metaphorically, the same is true about changing the present. While living in the present, you look beyond it to change the moment.

Your ability to change the present is proportional to the time you spend on the effort. If you want to change the future but spend 40 percent of your time focused on the past, you can expect results that are only 60 percent of optimal levels. Use the mathematical formula any way you wish.

Focusing on the future has a number of advantages. It helps constellate the events necessary to achieve your desired results. It helps stimulate your imagination. It sends signals to higher beings that will come to help you in the achievement of your goals.

It also helps put the past behind you and keep it in its proper place … as a tool of learning. Getting some experience in creating your own future is healing in nature. It helps you recognize that things do not have to be as they are or as they have been. It helps return you to an inner locus of control.

In general, our capabilities far outreach our imaginations. A few successes and you will begin to get a little taste of your own power to change the future.

The power of the cross

Symbols

As I was growing up my father taught me the skills of woodsmanship. I learned how to read a compass, navigate through the forests, track animals, build emergency shelters, survive in inclement weather, hunt and fish. The forests became my second home. I always felt a warm sense of peace and connectedness when I was outdoors with my dad and surrounded by nature.

During winter hunts, we would often break off chunks of wood from pine stumps and build fires to keep warm and cook our food. The sharp, sweet scent of the smoke from those pine fires became associated with the peace and contentment I felt in being with my dad in the forests.

One year, my father bought a little incense burner constructed in the shape of a small log cabin. The thick incense sticks were made from pine tree products from upstate Maine. They smelled exactly like the pine fires that we built during our hunts. The first time I smelled the burning incense as it circled slowly from the chimney of the little log house, I was instantly transported back to earlier hunts and those feelings of deep peace and happiness.

One year my father gave that little incense burner to a close family friend as a gift. She died a few years later and, because so many of my memories were wrapped into that little log house, I was hoping that it would be the one thing that I could have as a remembrance of both her and my father who had also passed away. Unfortunately, a neighbor of hers took it.

The following Christmas, however, I was surprised to find that my mother had searched the country for the same burner and had found one. I unwrapped it as one of my gifts on Christmas Eve.

That very night, I lit one of the incense sticks and watched the smoke curl out of the chimney into my mother’s living room. In an instant, I was back in the forest. I was connected with my dad. I was happy and at peace.

Symbols like that little log house and the smells it generates can be powerful tools for healing and transformation. Scientists are now confirming that thoughtforms circulating in the human energy fields that surround all of us actually possess magnetic charges. In much the same way symbols can be imbued with charges that can actually have effects on physical, emotional, spiritual and mental processes. From this perspective, we can gift symbols with the power of healing and employ them for other purposes as well. We can use them to marshal inner strength, for mediating conflicts, and for building bridges between people. Through the principle of resonance, universal forces are then attracted to those symbols and assist in the identified process. Consider both the cross and the swastika. Symbols, you see, can be used for both positive and negative purposes. They reflect the states of those who create them.

Symbols can also be used in many instances where language cannot. Symbols, in that respect, are representative of the spiritual realms where language as we know it is not necessary. They represent much more than can be expressed verbally or in writing. They represent feelings, emotions, intents and powers that lay beyond linear expression. They can be used as bridging devices not only between people and within individuals but also between dimensions.

What symbols are you attracted to?

What symbols would you use to help yourself achieve your goals?

How would you use those symbols?

Can you think of major symbols that, throughout history, have been associated with good purposes?

Will heaven have water for me to swim in?

What happens when I die?

Everyone occasionally wonders what will happen when they die. Traditional Christianity teaches that your spirit returns to God for “judgment”, after which you are sent to either heaven or hell. If you are unlucky enough to pull a ticket to hell, you will fry for an eternity in a lake of fire. If you’re lucky enough to qualify for heaven, you’ll live eternally in a Mayberry type environment where you ride on clouds and play a harp.

Even as a teenager, which is when I began my spiritual journey, I had problems with these concepts. Many aspects of these beliefs simply didn’t make any sense to me at all. So, for what it’s worth … here’s what I’ve learned in the days since and believe now.

The earth is a tough environment. There’s poverty, crime, pestilence, greed, war. Some people are born into ghettos … surrounded by an environment … including drug dealers, drive-by shootings, larceny as a way of life, stealing as a means to survive … in which they have little chance of finding the Light. That doesn’t excuse bad behaviors. But it does explain it. And the image of a judgmental God who would throw a person of those circumstances into an eternal lake of fire just never squared with me. There was an element of fairness that felt absent.

When Jesus hung on the cross, one of the thieves that hung next to him, mocked and taunted him. The thief that hung on his other side chastised the first thief. He reminded him that they had “deserved” their punishment but Jesus was “innocent”. Clearly, the second thief had an epiphany or gained some insight into his life as he hung on that cross and was remorseful for the things he had done. In response, Jesus told him, “I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

That doesn’t sound like a God who draws black and white lines and puts your sins and virtues on a scale that, tipping a micrometer into the “sin” category, qualifies you for an eternity of horrible suffering.

The entire concept of an eternity of punishment is something that has to be reconciled somehow with whatever view you have of God. For me, it’s difficult to conceive of or accept a God that would throw someone into a lake of burning fire (which in itself is a metaphor) for an eternity if their “bad” deeds only slightly “outweighed” their “good” deeds on that golden scale. And it doesn’t ring true when you consider the words of Paul in the book of Peter where he talked about Christ going into “prison” (typically thought of as hell) to preach to the spirits there. If Christ went to the prison, he didn’t go to tease, he went to instruct with the goal of releasing those spirits from the conditions that brought them there in the first place.

And perhaps it isn’t God who does the judging in the sense that many Christians have typically been taught. Jesus counseled us to “judge not, that you not be judged … for with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged; and with what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you again.”

That sounds very much like it isn’t so much God who towers above us with a stern face and pointed finger and judges us, but simply a universally inherent karmic principle that applies to everyone’s life … when you cast your bread on the water, it returns to you. Let’s turn it around and look at it another way. If you show mercy, you will be shown mercy … not because God sits in judgment but because that’s the way the universe is hardwired.

Think of it this way … in a quantum universe, everything vibrates at a specific frequency. Dense matter vibrates slower. Spiritual matter vibrates faster. The universe is also multidimensional. The higher the dimension, the faster the vibration. The lower planes of the astral dimensions aren’t very fun places to be … the higher planes are heaven-like.

As you progress on the spiritual path, you raise your vibrational frequency. When your physical body dies, your spirit “automatically” (in a sense) goes to the dimension with which its frequency resonates. It’s like a vibrating tuning fork placed next to a guitar. If the tuning fork is a “C”, the “C” string on the guitar will start to vibrate in resonance.

The spirits of “good” folks who pass away won’t be drawn into the lower planes because their “frequencies” are too high. Conversely, the spirits of “bad” folks are not likely to ascend to the higher planes because their frequencies are too slow. The mismatches in frequencies are natural barriers to entry.

Does that mean that “bad” folks are doomed to an eternity of punishment? That’s not likely based on the fact that Christ went into the prison (a metaphor used to describe the lower planes) to preach. By the way, “prison” is a metaphorical word used to describe the lower planes. We typically think of a prison as a place of punishment, but we have to remember that the people who wrote the old and new testaments used the best words they could to describe things. Some of those words are limiting in nature … as are the translations. So look at it this way … the “prison” could be a place where those spirits were confined simply because they were unable to ascend to higher dimensions because their frequency was too slow. Of course, it was “punishment” in the sense that there were much nicer places to be and they couldn’t get to them. But Christ visits (because he has the keys to heaven and hell) to teach them and help them raise their frequencies so they can access those higher planes. If there was no chance for those spirits to ascend, He would not have gone. There would have been no purpose.

There is also a phenomenon known as being “in the cord.” This occurs when a person’s physical body is dying and the spirit moves through the “silver cord” (described in Ecclesiastes) that connects them with God. While in the cord, the spirit experiences a life review and is given the chance to “re-live” that life with the advantage of making decisions from the perspective of the soul. This is possible because the cord exists outside of time (when the cord snaps, the body dies) … and the experience enables decisions to be made without contamination from the personality or ego. It is a “second chance”, if you will … made possible because of God’s love for us and His/Her desire that we always be in the highest possible place. Many lives are “redeemed” through the cord experience.

If you “make it” to “heaven” do you really ride on a cloud and play harps forever? Hardly. How boring that would be. And this is not a boring universe. It is an infinite universe which means that there is an infinite number of places to visit, things to do, things to learn, ways to grow. It’s probably better to leave discussion of these issues for another entry. But, for now, suffice it to say that you continue to evolve and participate in creation.

From my perspective, the issue of life after physical death is like an iceberg. We can see the tip … but most of it lies beneath the surface. On the other hand, with a little study and some spiritual practice, we can put on our scuba-gear and get into the water to see much more.

I'm more competent than I look ... or think I am ...

The Perfect Teacher

A common pitfall of mentors is that they feel they have to know everything about an issue before they can effectively mentor someone in it. Another prevalent problem is that they do not feel they can mentor on an issue because they have an intellectual understanding or spiritual discernment about it but have not yet integrated it completely into their lifestyles. The result is that they feel like hypocrites, talking about the issue but not living it. They feel they are not “walking the talk” completely.

This is a widespread problem but it is exacerbated among mentors who have perfectionistic tendencies. For these people, it can be a very painful experience because they push themselves so hard to have a complete knowledge about an issue before they feel adequate to provide any type of counsel or guidance. In the meantime, many valuable opportunities to provide assistance are lost and many suffer needlessly.

Understanding of an issue occurs at the internal or intellectual level before it is incorporated into the external lifestyle. The time for this knowledge to be externalized varies with the individual and circumstances. In the meantime, mentors should keep in mind that they are both mentors and mentored. All of us seek guidance and counsel from teachers who have larger rings of consciousness than ourselves. In turn, these people are taught by others who have larger rings of consciousness than themselves. From this perspective, we can see that it would be difficult for anybody to possess absolute and encompassing knowledge about any given subject. The universe is a very large landscape indeed! And there is much to learn. Rings of consciousness can expand indefinitely. We offer what we have at the time and our efforts are blessed and magnified by Source who recognizes our intent to help.

The externalization of knowledge into lifestyle occurs because of a universal law that says we must teach what we wish to know and experience. This makes sense if we stop to think that physical actions do not precede thoughts but, rather, thoughts form the basis for physical action. We do not automatically turn our cheek when struck; we must first recognize that this action may be a viable alternative to violence in many situations. And we must have some inkling as to why this is so. It is only necessary for a small spark of recognition to occur. But if we fan that spark, building on teaching and experience, the reasons why this is so will dawn in our minds and solidify our understanding and commitment. Eventually we will be able to teach this principle with great authority and power.

The universe does not require perfectionism as we assign meaning to the term. A primary function of Light is to take what truth is provided between mentor and protégé and magnify it. It is not required that we provide a sweeping explanation of all aspects of an issue. All that is required is that we share what we have knowledge of and not exceed the boundaries of our understanding.

We are accountable for what we teach, but Light does not track errors in the sense that many believe because that would cause alarm to both mentor and protégé and be counterproductive to the process of learning and healing.

The mentor should not hesitate to share what she knows would help heal. Often, this is simply a recognition of what the other person is feeling. Sometimes it is more specific guidance on an issue that is of concern to the protégé. But a self-crucifixion because the mentor does not feel worth of providing guidance is unnecessary. We do not service by withholding help because we do not feel we are finished with the process of externalization.

The perfect teacher may well be the person who knows she is not perfect and doesn’t wait to help until she is!