Divine

Pain

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Pain is part of our journey and something we will all experience. Suffering, however, is optional and not a requirement. Jesus did not suffer on the cross. He experienced pain, but he knew how to forgive and love unconditionally. The ones who suffered were his accusers and attackers because they lived in fear and hate.

Every experience of pain brings opportunity with it; we only have to look for it. Pain teaches us all how to live a better life when we are willing to listen. Once we do, our suffering melts away, leaving us with a stronger connection to who we really are, the Divine clothed in humanness.

Short and Sweet #152 – Non-Dualism

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In the last two posts, I have written about the world of opposites and dualism. These relate to the dualistic mind and how it sees the world. Acquiring more knowledge around dualism will help you begin to navigate your daily life with more ease and grace. However, there is still a truer underlying state and that is non-dualism. The world of opposites is brought forth by the dualistic mind and it serves its purpose for the world we live in. However, only seeing the world this way causes suffering.

We judge things as right and wrong based on our filters and social conditioning. We see the world as black and white limiting our ability to compromise. Our political parties are perfect example of this now with their unbending stance and inability to compromise and make progress. If we are not aware that we see the world this way, then we have no way to escape the trap of the mind. We become defensive in our stance falling further into the embrace of the False-Self.

When we are present with what is, not allowing our conditioning to guide us, but our Soul, then we are embracing the way of the True-Self. This is where dualism and opposites fade away because they do not exist. This is where you enter the space between, where the underlying current is untroubled and unshakable. That is why the Soul knows no difficulties.

“… no matter what our difficulties may be, we recognize that there is a deep untroubled stream flowing below all surface troubles and that we are of one substance with that stream. The soul knows no difficulties.” – James Thornton

Stepping into this space is to know that you are one with all things and embrace who you really are a spiritual being having a human experience. All that you seek and want to know resides in this space. Therefore, the next time you feel uneasy remember this is not who you are this is only an expression of who you have become. You can let it go just as easily as you picked it up the choice is yours.

 

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What’s on your mind? I am always open to questions and comments or for a healthy and supportive discussion about these topics.

Short and Sweet #150 – The World of Opposites

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There is a common saying that opposites attract. This is often said about relationships; however, it is greater than that because we live in a world of opposites. When we embrace this, life becomes easier. Everything in this life is distinguished by its opposite. For example, without pain, we would not know joy and when we experience great pain, we have the opportunity to experience even greater joy in our life. Think about this truth and how it has influenced your life.

Too often, we ignore what we perceive to be bad, ugly, difficult or hard. We think that we should not have to experience or see these things. However, life itself is duality and once we stop resisting, things become easier. We are embracing life as it is and not expecting it to be different than it is. What happens in a relationship when we expect the person to conform to how we think they should be instead of being just who they are? As long as we think this way, we suffer. The relationship you have with life and the Divine is the greatest relationship you will ever have; do not expect it to conform to your expectations and be different than it is.

This realization comes with the understanding of the oneness behind the duality. Know that it is not important to distinguish between the two opposites. What is important is to recognize the One that is behind it all. All things that exist come from the One. This means there are no mistakes unless we step in and say it is an error. Then we all know what happens we get upset, angry and frustrated because things are not going the way we think they should. From this state, we lose touch with the Divine and dive deeper into our own mind looking for a solution that does not exist. If we continue to expect life to be the way we want it to be then we will end up in a relationship that is doomed to fail in the end. We will live out our lives expecting something different from what is and never finding the space between the opposites, where peace, truth and happiness live.

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Short and Sweet #148– Do YOU Need To Change

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Do we really need to change in order for things to get better or is this part of the illusion? Personally, I do not believe that we need to change. I am sure many would disagree with this statement. If something already exists, do we need to change to experience it or do we just need to remember or rediscover it again. When we change our clothes, we look different on the outside but on the inside, we are still the same. Who you have become is what people see on the outside, but this is not who you really are. If you let go of your outside, the façade just like taking your clothes off then and only then will you expose your True-Self.

Is letting go change, you may think so, we even say I am going to change my clothes, however there is a difference because you cannot change the changeless. Do you see the qualities of the Divine as changing or permanent? If you see them as changing then you will disagree with me. When you perceive that something is wrong with you or someone else then you are looking at the False-Self through the eyes of the False-Self. Therefore, you will only see what it sees and you will stay stuck.

We must keep our awareness on the Divine this is what matters. Not only within but we must notice it in everyone. Why because we are all part of the divine and this is who we are, this is our True-Self. When we make a judgment about someone, we are judging him or her through the False-Self. If we continue to act through these filters then we are living in the illusion and not seeing things clearly.

The oneness of the world is only seen through the eyes of the True-Self. Just like in the movie, the Matrix do you want to take the blue pill or the red pill. The choice is yours in each moment of everyday. Therefore, you see it is not about change it is about choice. The choice to pay attention, be aware and live from the True-Self. It is always available to you and you have experienced it in this life. You have seen it in the eyes of a baby; it has caressed you in the arms of love and dowsed you in the sunlight. You just allowed the False-Self to tell you otherwise and fell back into the arms of illusion, instead of the Divine and the True-Self.

 

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Short and Sweet #144 – The Vehicle For Spirit

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The physical form is the vehicle for spirit to experience itself. It communicates guides and teaches us along our spiritual path, although this information is often overlooked. We fail to realize the value that it brings to us outside of its known or common uses. We treat it as something to be used instead of something to be partnered with on this journey. We expect it to perform and function perfectly no matter what we do to it. We abuse it constantly with are lack of awareness and this takes its toll over time leaving us wondering why we are in pain, sick or tired. We become disillusioned and even more disconnected over time because we think that if I ignore the signs they will go away.

Once we begin to listen to the body and treat it as we would a loving partner a major shift takes place. Not only will we take better care of the body but it will also take better care of us. We will rethink what we put into our body and how we treat it; in turn, the body will communicate what it likes and dislikes. This allows us over time to fine tune our diets and exercise routines to receive optimum performance by our body. Of course, you may already be aware of this level of communication although I will say that no matter how much you think you are listening to your body you can always develop a deeper level of communication. If you think you have arrived, you are just fooling yourself or perhaps I should say that your conditioning and patterns are fooling you.

There are many other ways that we receive information through the body. Our emotions, energetically, intuition is felt through the body. What ways can you think of that your body communicates with you? Are you paying attention to those messages?

The body is the conduit for the soul and spirit connection and is in direct communication with the Divine. You can develop this connection by releasing non-functional patterns and conditioning that our held in the body. Avenues for facilitating this kind of healing are deep transformational bodywork, energy work, yoga, nature, meditation and many other holistic modalities. Find what works for you but be willing to try new things as your body guides you to them. Be awake and aware as you listen more intently to the spiritual guidance that your body offers and your life will never be the same again.

 

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What’s on your mind? I am always open to questions and comments or for a healthy and supportive discussion about these topics.

Short and Sweet #86 – Divine Lessons

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We often have to be corralled by the Universe to take our first steps toward awakening. This often means suffering for us, because we refuse to listen to the messages of the Divine. Furthermore, when we fail to listen, the messages become louder and louder creating more suffering until we begin listening.

We can learn from joy or suffering because there is something to learn from every experience. Although, it seems we get our greatest lessons from pain and suffering. We believe the only way out is through our suffering and because of this belief we often become more focused and clear about our intention to stop the suffering. If we don’t, we end up living in it for years and you probably know someone like this. Those with the courage make it through to the other side with a greater understanding and appreciation for life. They have something to share with the world from these Divine lessons.

We can avoid a lot of suffering, by recognizing what is happening. This means that instead of being swallowed up by our pain we begin looking for the opportunity afoot. Yes I said afoot, where did that come from, oh that is right the Divine. Everything comes from or through the Divine. Everything is an opportunity to move closer to your True-Self and strengthen your Divine connection.

We take our first step by being aware and then we follow-up each step with another until we get to the other side. Sometimes this will happen quickly and sometimes not; it takes what it takes this is not up to you. What is up to you is how you respond to what is happening and this can change everything for you. So remember the next time you wake up to your suffering begin looking for the opportunity. That is right sometimes we are asleep to our suffering and I know that you have experienced this before. Have you ever looked back at a job or relationship and said why did I stay in that for so long?

Once you do wake up to your suffering know that class has started and the teacher is offering you a life lesson. Will you take if willingly or resist it all the way to more suffering. We do not have control over everything that happens in life but we always have control of our inner well-being and with this in balance, you cannot be shaken. If you know who you are, then you know that you are not only the student but also the teacher. So pay attention because ultimately when push comes to shove you have not been listening.

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Short and Sweet #77 – Divine-Creative-Energy

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Embrace that you are Divine, Creative and unbounded Energy. These are not separate aspects of your beingness but this is who you really are. You are part of the whole; you are the Divine Creative Energy that created all things. Realize that the energy of every thought you have and every action you take ripples through the universe. This energy never dies, it just transforms.

When a rock is thrown into a pond, the ripples are biggest where the rock hits, but they continue to move outwardly through the pond. This is also true for everything that we do, we affect those closest to us by our thoughts and actions but everyone is impacted whether they consciously feel it or not because our energy ripples outwardly through the universe.

It is time to become more aware and conscious of how we use energy. We were taught not to run with scissors yet we run through our lives with judgmental and other non-loving thoughts. We take horrible actions towards others, the planet and ourselves. Does this make sense? We must honor the energy in our thoughts and actions and become consciously aware of how this energy affects everyone and everything.

Deep down you may feel the truth in what I am saying and if you do then it is time for you to become more aware and conscious of your thoughts, actions and the energy that is released by them. You can always go deeper with this practice no matter where you are on your journey, so do not wait start now.