"Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’[d] This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’[e] On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 22:37-40
Love your neighbor as yourself. Well, in John 17:11 Jesus prayed: "Holy Father, keep in Your Name [[a]in the knowledge of Yourself] those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We [are one]."
If Jesus is Logos, He spoke and the heavens and earth were formed, then this prayer is already done. Everything in the universe is interconnected. We are all one. If you lie to somebody, you're lying to yourself. If you betray somebody, you're betraying yourself. If you love and bless somebody, you're blessing yourself. Your neighbor IS your self. Meditate upon this. The unity of all mankind.
This is why we treat others as we would like to be treated - because what we are doing to others we are doing to ourselves. Why do we hear all of these mantras all the time? Because your neighbor IS your self.
And just as important to all of this is that you must love yourself. If you do not love yourself you cannot love others. If you're having trouble loving yourself, find find out how God sees you. The entire universe is His love song to YOU. We are one with Him. Jesus was madly in love with God the Father because they saw each other in one another's eyes. God is madly in love with you because He sees Himself in you. It's the divine dance of the universe. Learn the nature of God. This is your true nature. And "God is love" (1 John 4:7).
UPDATE 13 January 2014:
Upon further reflection about this, I've realized something even more profound. Those around us, even the whole universe, is US. Our perception is our reality. We do not see truth, we interpret what we perceive and it becomes our reality. Yet my reality is different from yours. Your reality is different from that of everybody else. Reality, the world around us, is simply US. It's the way that OUR minds interpret it. So when you see someone, you're not seeing that person. You're seeing your mind's interpretation of that person. When you love yourself and understand this truth (our reality is US), then it is only natural to love the entire universe - because in loving it we are loving ourselves. If a person is angry at you, know that they are angry at themselves.
My daughter baked some brownies the other night and left them in the pan over night. The following day, while she wasn't in the kitchen, I put the brownies in a container and began to wash the pan. As she came by the kitchen I showed her the pan and didn't say a word. Her immediate reaction was: "You ATE them??? You threw them away???" She was very upset. I didn't say a word.
After a few seconds I asked, "How do you feel right now?'
She told me, "I'm mad!"
I asked, "Why?"
She replied, "Because you threw away all of the brownies that I made!"
I explained, "You're mad because that's your reality, but it's not truth. Had you known truth you would not be mad. The truth is, they're right here in this container."
Peace, love, and blessings be upon you who read this. May your spirit comprehend if your mind has difficulty.
Saturday, January 11, 2014
Thursday, January 9, 2014
Salt of the Earth
“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men." - Matthew 5:13
I've always wondered what the heck this meant. No sermon I've ever heard had satisfied me. They just kept seeming to come up short. Sure, they meant well, but in the end they just came across as human demagoguery with little spiritual revelation.
I was watching something about salt and its importance in history. The word "salary" comes from salt, as do many other words. But then one man said something that leaped out at me. In essence, it is salt that is traveling through our brain to form our thoughts. Our consciousness is essentially salt. We are the consciousness of the earth. We are one with the earth and it with us. We are its voice, its consciousness.
Our blood is also primarily made of salt. Blood is the life essence. We animate this earth. We are the living, conscious manifestation of the earth and the universe.
"4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will[b] ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples." John 15:4-8
God abides in us as we abide in him. In church I learned it as our union with Christ. Reflect upon this mystery as if your very being depended upon it. For in the end, this IS your being. This is who you are.
I've always wondered what the heck this meant. No sermon I've ever heard had satisfied me. They just kept seeming to come up short. Sure, they meant well, but in the end they just came across as human demagoguery with little spiritual revelation.
I was watching something about salt and its importance in history. The word "salary" comes from salt, as do many other words. But then one man said something that leaped out at me. In essence, it is salt that is traveling through our brain to form our thoughts. Our consciousness is essentially salt. We are the consciousness of the earth. We are one with the earth and it with us. We are its voice, its consciousness.
Our blood is also primarily made of salt. Blood is the life essence. We animate this earth. We are the living, conscious manifestation of the earth and the universe.
"4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will[b] ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples." John 15:4-8
God abides in us as we abide in him. In church I learned it as our union with Christ. Reflect upon this mystery as if your very being depended upon it. For in the end, this IS your being. This is who you are.
Saturday, January 4, 2014
A dream
About 3 weeks ago I began taking blue lotus extract. I first took it to see its relaxation effects. After using it two or three times I noticed that I had a dream. And every night that I take it now I have a dream. It doesn't matter if I take it early in the morning or just before bed. In my dreams I've seen people that I hadn't seen or spoken to in years. I've traveled to places, well, that I've only dreamed of. Last night I had a different dream.
I dreamt that I was with my family visiting my sister's house. She has a 2-story house. I'm assuming there's an attic, although I don't remember based on my Grand Tour of the place when they first moved in. As we were there it began raining hard. Suddenly the whole area was flooded, and the flood waters were rising rapidly. I rushed to get my children up to the attic, as the first floor was completely submerged and there was no end to the rising waters in sight. After everyone was safely in the attic, I scrambled to get some of our most valued possessions. Finally I made it up to the attic with everyone else.
The rain was still coming down hard, waters still rising. I started getting concerned that we'd drown in the attic. We were trapped, waters still rising. Then my daughter (Age 11) said to me confidently, "They're going to open the tunnel underground and the water is going to go down it." My reaction in my head was, "You silly child." I said to her, "It doesn't work that way. If there were a tunnel underground it'd be the first thing that fills with water before it began to rise." I felt hopeless.
Then, with a sudden gush, the water began to recede. It was like the plug being pulled from an old bathtub. The rain stopped. The house was ruined, but no longer submerged. The ordeal was over.
When I woke up I immediately knew the meaning. I've recently been going through a stressful situation, and there have been numerous occasions where I've said to God, "I don't know where this is going, but something's got to give. Things can't keep on this way." The rising waters are the mounting stress, and the attic was our last stand. I've done everything I can to protect my family and keep them dry, safe, and happy. Relief is coming soon. When it comes, it will not be a gradual relief, but a supernatural, miraculous relief that defies human understanding.
I won't go into specifics because I believe that this could apply to anybody with any particular stressful situation. While I believe this dream was intended for me, if I can encourage others through it, so be it. But not everybody's journey is the same, so your answer may not be exactly the same as mine. This, though, I know is true: We are not abandoned. None of us. Continue to live, love, and dance in the loving, reassuring embrace of our Father.
I dreamt that I was with my family visiting my sister's house. She has a 2-story house. I'm assuming there's an attic, although I don't remember based on my Grand Tour of the place when they first moved in. As we were there it began raining hard. Suddenly the whole area was flooded, and the flood waters were rising rapidly. I rushed to get my children up to the attic, as the first floor was completely submerged and there was no end to the rising waters in sight. After everyone was safely in the attic, I scrambled to get some of our most valued possessions. Finally I made it up to the attic with everyone else.
The rain was still coming down hard, waters still rising. I started getting concerned that we'd drown in the attic. We were trapped, waters still rising. Then my daughter (Age 11) said to me confidently, "They're going to open the tunnel underground and the water is going to go down it." My reaction in my head was, "You silly child." I said to her, "It doesn't work that way. If there were a tunnel underground it'd be the first thing that fills with water before it began to rise." I felt hopeless.
Then, with a sudden gush, the water began to recede. It was like the plug being pulled from an old bathtub. The rain stopped. The house was ruined, but no longer submerged. The ordeal was over.
When I woke up I immediately knew the meaning. I've recently been going through a stressful situation, and there have been numerous occasions where I've said to God, "I don't know where this is going, but something's got to give. Things can't keep on this way." The rising waters are the mounting stress, and the attic was our last stand. I've done everything I can to protect my family and keep them dry, safe, and happy. Relief is coming soon. When it comes, it will not be a gradual relief, but a supernatural, miraculous relief that defies human understanding.
I won't go into specifics because I believe that this could apply to anybody with any particular stressful situation. While I believe this dream was intended for me, if I can encourage others through it, so be it. But not everybody's journey is the same, so your answer may not be exactly the same as mine. This, though, I know is true: We are not abandoned. None of us. Continue to live, love, and dance in the loving, reassuring embrace of our Father.
Step 1: Out of the darkness
I created this blog to share my experiences as I prepare to embark on a new adventure. An adventure that everything in my being tells me I was created to embark upon. My life's calling. My destiny. Or just a really cool adventure, if you don't believe in that type of stuff.The first step in this adventure is actually the result of a culmination of many steps, many trials and errors, lots of soul searching. Rather than tell my entire life's story in a single blog entry, I'll just drop nuggets here and there eventually leading to a more detailed portrait.
I've invited a dear friend to contribute to this blog. You will, at times, find completely random entries that may have nothing to do with anything else. I've given her free reign to use this blog to put whatever she wants. She once asked me to do a blog together with her a few years ago and I just never really got into it, so I couldn't possibly begin my own blog without her. The randomness adds to the experience, in my opinion. Because sometimes life is just random.
In the words of the great Slick Rick: "You all tucked in? Heeeeeeeere we go!"
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