| If you would like to receive notices of new article postings, send an email with the subject line, "Request notice of new articles" (without the quote marks). Questions and comments also always welcome. |
|
|
As creatures of this earth, we are engaged in this pursuit we call living a life. Everything that man has created is about life at one level or another, for life is creativity itself. All art, literature, invention and discovery are expressions of it. Still, this does not mean that we have a clear understanding of life. The studies of philosophy and religion are efforts to answer the universal questions we have in that regard. The fact that there isn't one particular philosophy upon which all can agree, however, does not mean that it's not possible to find one that works. Of course discovering what we mean by "works" is an issue in itself and is one that we explore here.
This site is dedicated to the idea that we are here in this world (in this physical experience) in order to joyfully experience the abundance of physical substance and energy in which we are immersed. But it doesn't end there. Just as important as that first part is the principle that it is achieved by our contributing to the whole through expression of our totally unique talents and abilities. We naturally experience joy when we express in our own unique way; as we do that, we give (contribute service) and as we give, we receive. This all happens, to a great extent through work and career. Abundance is a natural consequence of this activity if we are in harmony with our True Selves. For this reason, we are as eager to discuss the higher aspects of work and business here as we are the other elements of prosperity and happiness. But let's be clear; at this site, we celebrate that we are living in a physical world. Therefore it is not our intention to remove ourselves from it into some "spiritual bliss"--not that there's anything wrong with spiritual bliss; it's just that it's too often associated with moving away from everyday realities to the proverbial hilltop cave. Rather, our aim is to begin to utilize the tremendous powers of Infinite Mind that are within us in order to live our physical lives more joyfully.
There are two aspects or realms of life--that of our physical realm with which we are most familiar and the realm of our higher selves, which we are here to rediscover. The study of metaphysics helps us to delve into the latter aspect of ourselves. Metaphysical means beyond the physical--in other words beyond what we physically observe. Some might use the word spiritual. That's fine as well, as long as it is understood that spiritual is not synonymous with religious--for what is discussed here is not about religion. We use both terms ("spiritual" and "metaphysical") freely and interchangeably here because they help us to discuss the critically important element of our lives that most of us neglect as we focus upon maneuvering through the "seeming chaos" of our daily lives.
We are here to create our lives as we want them to be. Career, work, money, business, love relationships, physical vitality -- all are important elements of our lives. Our aim is to understand that the two aspects of our lives are reflected in all of these particular areas. The reason that we may experience difficulty in any of them is because we engage them only on the physical level and neglect their higher aspects. We tend to approach most of the elements of our lives the way conventional wisdom tells us to. When we limit ourselves to conventional wisdom, we cut ourselves off from the awesome powers to which we have access and remain adrift in struggle and limitation in those areas. Coming to understand that and then learning to correct our thinking so that we are in harmony with our desires is the focus of this site. By doing that, we gain more control over our lives, bringing order and peace of mind where there seemed to be chaos.
When people begin to pursue awareness of the higher aspects of their lives, they are sometimes referred to as seekers, but how we refer to them is not that important. The important thing is that once the individual begins to ask questions of his Inner Being (some might say questions of the heart), he will begin to open himself up to guidance that comes from his Higher Self. The actual insights may come through some other person or from an article or book or an experience (or being drawn to a website such as this). There is a saying to the effect, that when the student is ready, the teacher will appear. The teacher can appear in many forms. Of course the statement also implies that if the student is not ready, the wisdom does not come. What that really means is that it is always there and accessible. It's just that we don't recognize it until we have the desire and awareness to ask for it. Asking places us in a receptive state.
Be assured that everyone, all successful business people, artists, writers, scientists, whoever, are people who are listening to their inner voice and vividly using their imagination to create their experience . Some may call this their intuition. Whether we realize it or not, we are all both students and teachers in this life experience. We are living most vibrantly when we are consciously reminding others of their own magnificence. Our own success provides an example to others that they also can achieve what they desire. There is a higher purpose-- the evolution of our individual souls and by extension the evolution of consciousness. But we play our part only by engaging in the evolution of our own souls. While that includes love and compassion of our fellow travelers, we cannot do anything about evolving others. Not only is it impossible, it is a mistake to try to live other's lives for them. So I encourage you to open yourself up to the awesome powers to which we all have access and use them to create everything in your life that you've ever desired. By simply working to understand your own purpose and then engaging in it, you will live joyfully and be doing your part in the evolution of Infinite Mind as well.
The ideas expressed herein are widely embraced and represent no particular group, sect or religion. They are based upon principles which are at the root of the teachings of all of the great sages, enlightened masters and teachers of all time.
Please note that there is an Article Index page where you can go to access all of the articles currently archived. At the top of the list of articles is an Orientation article that might be a good one to begin with--especially for those who might describe themselves as new seekers.
As I close this overview, it occurs to me that you should know something about the evolution of this site. I began by writing a series of articles (Perspectives of God -- How The Universe Works) for another site. Readers of those earlier installments indicated in emails to me that intervals between the Parts were getting longer and wondered if there was another way of receiving installments. My original motivation for starting the original site (since upgraded to this URL) was nothing more than an answer to that immediate concern. I had no great vision to expand beyond that series; it was simply a convenience for readers of that series. But as a result of answering mail received from readers, I found I was writing responses which were in themselves mini articles. So I would end up editing those themes for posting on the website, and the archive of postings in the Article Index expanded and evolved.
But fhis accounting of the evolution of the site is only a lead in to a more important point -- my own evolution in understanding since I began drafting the first articles in mid-1999. Within a couple of years, my understanding had evolved to a point where I no longer found the original series satisfactory. From time to time, I considered removing the original series from the site. But let me clarify that that was only because they were not reflective of how I would express the ideas from a later perspective -- not because I didn't think they weren't informative for many readers. As it turned out, I kept seeing in the site statistics that these articles were being accessed as much as any others, and that readers were still writing positive comments to me about them. In the end, I decided that they were still serving a purpose -- especially to beginners -- and therefore worth retaining in the archives.
Since we are all on an evolutionary path of consciousness, there are those coming to this site who are at a point similar to where I was when I wrote that initial series. Just as I could not have written the current series, The Way of Open Consciousness (mid 2007 into 2008) in that earlier time period, it would not surprise me if novices to metaphysical concepts may not resonate as much with this latter series as they might at a later time. Our insights and understanding are unarguably related to our awareness level. I can only hope this makes sense.
So this site is irregularly updated with new articles and sometimes expanded to include new elements as time goes on. Thus, you will also find a link on the left side of this page that informs of new postings. It is called Notice of New Articles. Please come back to visit every now and then. Hopefully you will find something to inspire new insights.
Copyright
©, 2001-2008, William Gunderson
All Rights Reserved
To Top Of Page
