Remember no two snowflakes are alike. This is true for human beings as well. It is easy to see the beauty in snowflakes, how about looking for the beauty of each person you see today and the common thread that binds us all together. It is always there, you only have to look with an open heart. Instead, we choose to judge without knowing and to hate without understanding. It is living in this way without ever questioning our thoughts or beliefs that we perpetuate the suffering in this world and its destruction. To think that we do not have to take care of each other no matter who we are, what we believe or where we are from and this planet is a recipe for disaster and one that will ultimately destroy us all. I am not speaking metaphorically, I mean literally.
Oneness
FEAR
As an individual, a country and a planet that is becoming more connected than separated we must learn from our deepest fears. Otherwise, we will continue to inflict suffering, pain and even death to others, and ourselves instead of compassion, kindness, forgiveness, and love. When will we learn? When will we face our fears instead of acting out from them? When will we have the courage to do the right thing?
“What is needed, rather than running away or controlling or suppressing or any other resistance, is understanding fear; that means, watch it, learn about it, come directly into contact with it. We are to learn about fear, not how to escape from it.”
– Jiddu Krishnamurti
Mine, Yours, OURS
When our desire for money, security and even safety is driven by fear, are we following the teachings of our religion, especially when it is at the expense of those who are suffering? Would this be the choice of Jesus, Mohammad or Buddha? In addition, if you are not religious, are you doing the moral and right thing when you allow these choices to be made?
What are we so afraid of in this life that we would put our own interest ahead of those who are suffering, perhaps that we too will suffer? Maybe our greatest gift will come in taking this risk and reaching out with our hearts instead of trying to put walls up to protect what we think is ours and ours alone. Remember nothing is ours to begin with and all is meant to be shared. We should no longer be the selfish child on the playground, but the generous and loving adult that we grew up to be.
It is always easier to be frustrated than to be kind.
It is always easier to be angry than to forgive.
It is always easier to hate than to love.
We all have the opportunity to look within and make different choices in this life, today, tomorrow, and always.
For the Seeker of Enlightenment
The spiritual seeker who seeks enlightenment for himself or herself to help everyone else is being misled by their own ego and thoughts. In a covert way, it perpetuates our separation. We must recognize that this is a collective journey. The future of spirituality will not be found in the “enlightenment” of a single person or group of people, it will arrive through us collectively.
Therefore the phrase, “we are all one” is not just a catchphrase, but brings to light the totality of consciousness. Our recognition and experience of this truth brings our energy into alignment with the creative force of the Universe. This shift in thinking is more valuable than our efforts up to this point. Once we embody this truth, any action we take from this higher level of understanding will accelerate the ongoing evolution of our collective spiritual journey and it will accelerate the arrival of enlightenment on the collective level.
The recognition and experience that “we are all one” is shown to us through an internal knowing, intuition or personal experience, and is accessed in a state of non-thinking. A state of non-thinking can be reached in many ways, meditation, contemplative prayer, time alone in nature or any other way that quiets the mind.
You do not seek this experience, but allow it into your awareness by awakening to what is. When we are awestruck by a beautiful sunset we do not seek the feeling out it just happens, because the awe that you experience is in the sunset. This is also true when experiencing the totality of consciousness and our oneness. However, if you are too busy experiencing the busyness of life, your thinking will never slow down enough to connect with your True-Self, which is one with the totality of all things.
Do not allow the thinking of your False-Self to tell you that you do not have time or that when you do take time that it is not working. Because this is how the cunning False-Self keeps us looped in a perpetual state of busyness. From here we cannot experience our oneness, release our conditioning or see the truth that is all around us.
Through the Eyes of Another
When we are unable to see the world through the eyes of another, we are empty of empathy. We become cold to the suffering of others and we ignore their feelings. We make excuses as to why their feelings or circumstances are not valid. We may even insinuate that it is their fault for their circumstances.
Have you seen this kind of behavior from someone or even our politicians, world leaders or other authoritative people? Are you awake enough to know that you have also acted this way sometimes during your life? Are you able to see the world through the eyes of another now?
How would you answer the next few questions?
- Can you understand why the alcoholic cannot stop drinking? (if you are not an alcoholic)
- If you are straight, can you understand being lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or non-gender specific, or a crossdresser?
- Does every White American understand why a statue of General Lee upsets African Americans? Do you?
There are many examples like these, and you may understand one and not be able to comprehend another. The point is, are you willing to listen? Are you willing to try and understand? Are you willing to see someone else’s suffering and validate their truth even if you do not understand?
When we see through our conditioned eyes, we cannot see the conditioning. This conditioning also forms our current beliefs. I say current because beliefs can change with experience and with awakening to the truth. When we see the truth, our conditioning disappears.
Too many forget that we are all human beings living on this earth together. No race is better than another. No one religion is the only true religion. Underneath our conditioning, beliefs, clothes, and skin color, we are all just human beings or more aptly said, spiritual beings having a human experience. We are looking for validation, love and the freedom to live our lives. These are common threads that connect us all.
We do not have to feel threatened because someone else is different in some way because the truth is we are all different in some way or another. We choose the group that is the most aligned with our current beliefs and when we see someone a lot different we begin to judge the differences instead of seeing how alike we are. We do not see the other as a kindred soul.
If we become too focused on our group, beliefs, or way of life, we can feel threatened by anything or anyone that is too different. When our differences keep us from seeing our sameness, then we are disconnected from our True-Self and are living out our lives from our outdated beliefs, and from our conditioned or False-Self.
From this place, we may try to convert the other to be just like us, ignore them or we may try to impose our beliefs on them. When we see our ideology as the only way, our fear takes over, and that is when bad things happen. Then our only choice is force, so we engage in fighting or war.
If you look back through history, you can see multiple times where war and oppression have happened because of this and it continues today. If our leaders and politicians do not have empathy then they cannot see through the eyes of another. This can lead to horrendous problems for a country or the world. Look at the reign of Hitler, Genghis Khan or what is happening in the world today, for instance in Venezuela.
When we embrace our differences, we can explore the rich diversity of this planet. We do not have to agree on everything, besides that would be boring. And yes, there is evil in the world, but we do not have to be evil to conquer it. In fact, the opposite is true. The more we bring empathy, compassion, kindness, and love into our lives, the more the world will reflect this state. This does not make us weak, it empowers us. The first step is loving yourself. Many who commit evil acts are either conditioned by someone else to believe a certain ideology or they themselves have become lost and have no self-love. We must find our way back to self-love and then help someone else to do the same because that is the foundation for a sane society. If we cannot love ourselves then how can we be expected to love, have empathy and compassion for someone else? How can we expect to see through the eyes of another?
It all begins with you. Feel deep within, to those hurt and painful places. We all have them, stop ignoring and hiding from them. Be present with your pain as you would with your child or anyone else you love who is suffering. Stop looking for a solution. Looking for a solution means you have to hold onto your pain until you find it. Your pain is already healed; you just cannot see this yet. There is nothing wrong with you! The love that you seek is already in you, it is who you are and all you need to do is to breathe it up from deep inside. Let it fill all those painful and empty places. Let it mend your broken and tender parts. Love always works!
This is how we transform evil: with love. We begin with ourselves and that alone will begin to transform the world. If you think that this will not be enough, that something outside ourselves has to be fixed or how could something so simple possibly work, then you are once again listening to the voice of the False-Self. Do not let it stop you from doing what you know in your heart is true. When this happens, reconnect with your heart, the love that you are, and hear the voice of the True-Self once again. Remember to be gentle with yourself, to love yourself and every other human being who lives on this planet. There is power in this truth and you will know it is true because you will begin to feel empowered by it. You have felt this feeling before. Therefore, you know that what I am saying is true for yourself and you always have known it. You do not need me to tell you, you only need to remember.
We Are All Part of the Divine
What we tend to forget is that we are all part of the Divine, not just some of us, not just the ones who believe in this religion or that religion. Not just the people who belong to this political party or that political party, we are all part of the Divine. Not just the straight, lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, we are all part of the Divine. Not just someone who is Caucasian, Black, Brown, Red or Yellow, we are all part of the Divine. We must stop seeing just our differences and see what resides in all people and all things, the Divine.
If we do not recognize this in others and ourselves then we are at war within and blocking the Divine. Being at war is what we seem to do the best these days, we have the war on drugs, the war on terrorism, we go to war with anyone or anything we do not like or want in our lives, including ourselves.
What we should really focus on is being better at living life from the Divine and shining this part of ourselves, this light, out into the world no matter who we are or what we believe. Remember today when you feel angry with someone or do not like him or her for any reason at all, they are part of the Divine just like you.
Do you want them to see this part of you or the part that is angry, hateful or mean? The choice is yours in each moment and you can start again fresh each time you slip back into war, just reconnect with the Divine again. If you do this reconnection enough times, eventually you will only act from the Divine with kindness and love in life. This may happen quickly for some and take years for others, but the more of us who reconnect the easier it will be for everyone because we are all part of the Divine.
What kind of world do you want to live in? You cannot rely on someone else to do it for you. You have to make the choice. Will you start today or not at all? Because if you do not start today and at least try your best, then we will all continue to suffer because we are all part of The Divine.
Surviving the Rough Waters Ahead
“If you don’t become the ocean, you’ll get seasick everyday.” – Leonard Cohen
Those who want to stay stuck in the old ways of thinking and behavior will continue to feel seasick. Their lack of understanding will only increase their suffering as they struggle to avoid the inevitable. You cannot stop the power of oneness that is bursting from the hearts of so many beings from around the world today.
Donald Trump and many others in power, in this country and around the world are an expression of this old thinking and behavior. Our continued evolution has brought it to the surface so that those who could not see it before can no longer avoid seeing the truth.
Those who continue to express the old paradigm cannot survive. Yes, this can be painful for those who still fear that our old ways have the power to survive and retake their lofty place in the world again. However, I can assure you this cannot happen; this will not happen. Let go of your suffering and use your fearful energy to focus on what you want; use it to catapult yourself forward, instead of holding you back. Fear is not your enemy; it can be your ally to healing when used for good.
We can no longer fear our neighbor, whether they are across the street or around the world, because in the end it will be love that brings us together, not hate, not fear, not anger; not anything that is not born out of our oneness. Deep in our hearts, everyone knows this, even those who do not seem to express it.
What many are seeing so vividly now is the expression of our deepest conditioning. If it makes you fearful, angry or worried, then you are part of the solution and you must transform this energy and use it for healing and nothing else. Otherwise, this energy will feed the very thing that makes you fearful, angry and worried. Then you will be prolonging the inevitable and your own suffering.
Remember, become the ocean and end your seasickness.
Fixed Ideas
We have fixed ideas about people. We see them through a singular lens and miss the totality of who they really are in this life. Remember the next time you have a particular negative thought about someone to ask yourself, have I had this thought more than once. It may even be about a group of people. For instance, a Muslim, LGBTQ person, a liberal, conservative, or anyone who believes differently than you, if you have, then maybe you have created a fixed idea about that person or group.
When we look at people in this way, it limits the world and our lives. Therefore, before you think a person is this or that way, maybe you should look to see if they are more than what you have allowed yourselves to see. Maybe you should get to know them, before judging them.
Has anyone ever looked at you this way and only seen what they wanted to see? Have you ever had that feeling? It could be a stranger or it might be a parent or friend. Maybe it was because of your job, religion, sexual orientation, your hair, a tattoo. It could be anything that causes someone to think they know who you are and helped them to create this fixed idea of you.
Have you ever assumed you know someone’s beliefs because of his or her political party or religion? Did you take the time to get to know them? Could someone know you just by your political party or religion? Could someone know you for years but not really see you completely? Have you ever felt this way, that you are more than just how people see you?
If you know that you are more than how other people see you, then is it possible that whoever you are looking at with disdain is also more. I can tell you that if you cannot find a way to see the “more” in people then your disdain will keep your life small, fill it with pain, fear and heartache.
There is one thing I can tell you for sure and that is that you are more and they are more. So consider your thoughts when they repeatedly play the same negative message about another person or group. Take the next step and get to know the person or someone from the group. Do not let someone else make up your mind for you, find out for yourself. You may find that you have more in common than your differences.
The World’s True Enemy
The world’s true enemy and that of every person on this planet is not who or what you might think. It is not our governments or the lobbyist. It is not the corporations, banks, military or even terrorist.
How do I know this to be true? Because these organizations have one thing in common, they are made up of people just like you. Yes, they may have different beliefs, politics or even religions, but none of them would exist without our part in creating them.
We like to place blame elsewhere for our problems. Even as much as we would like to THINK it is true, our real opposition never resides out in the world. The real opposition resides within and is often invisible to our conscious awareness. We find ways to distract, ignore and resist the truth. In fact, to hide its very existence, the False-Self convinces us through our thoughts that the problem is always somewhere else; we are never our own worst enemy, “they are”. Who are they? Well it turns out that “they”, are just another human being.
Without careful observation to build our conscious awareness muscle, we will be forever under the influence of the False-Self. Once we start to notice this influence, it is the beginning of awakening. Our suffering increases anytime we resist the call of the True-Self and only follow the guidance of the False-Self.
When you find yourself blaming someone else or something else for your upset, stop and pay attention to your thoughts. This is the only way to shine light of awareness into the darkness. What are you saying to yourself and are these thoughts making you feel better or worse? Do they actually help you resolve the issue or perpetuate your uncomfortable feelings? It will only be through this careful observation that you can awaken to this covert influence of the False-Self and begin let it go.
When our leaders, voters, the people who make up our corporations and military are coming from this alert and conscious place, then we will begin to see the change we wish for in this world. Until then people will be led around by their False-Self. This can only lead to one place, the destruction of our home, Mother Earth and our continued collective suffering.
To those of you who resonate with what is written here, I ask that you continue on your path. Remember to breath and let go. Live your best life. Pray, meditate or practice any pursuit that brings you peace. Then spread this peace throughout your life to those people you meet with acts of kindness, compassion and most importantly love. Forgive yourself when you are not able to follow through on this intention and then begin again. Remember there is no act to small and the collective power of these acts will change your life and the world. We can only do our best each moment of each day. Remember when we know better, we do better. Let us help everyone know better by example, so we can all do better for our children, grandchildren and all the future generations that come after we are gone.
The Calling
I wonder if you will ever be able to see beyond the narrow path you have created for your life, this tunnel of the unawakened. Your Divine-Self is always calling you. Can you hear it? When you see that moment of beauty and you are awestruck, that is when it is the loudest and perhaps depending on your state, the only moment you will hear its call. So instead of continuing to follow your habitual life today, take a moment to look for beauty, the miracle of life itself and in that awestruck moment, hear the call.
Why, because you have lost your way and you may not even know it. If you are not careful, this life will be over before you climb out of your conditioned-self. So take a moment to stop and listen. Take the time to hear the soulful call back to your True-Self and stop the suffering of the world. It is never too late to start and if there is a part of you that says different, this is the conditioned-self and not the Divine-Self talking to you. Which part will you listen to today, because all of your yesterdays got you here and if you keep listening to the conditioned-self, you will wake up one day wishing you had taken the time to stop and listen. Perhaps you already feel this way and I remind you once again, it is never too late to start.
Tim Custis 