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Overcoming The Dilemma Of Objectifying God
When we think of God, whether just the word or as a being or even as a concept, immediately it feels as though we are speaking or thinking of something that is other than us. That's largely due to our training. From the time we could understand discussions of the subject, God was always treated as something other than and superior to us. The archetype of God has always been a personification (with body and personality) though floating in lofty heavens rather than being earthbound like us. If we are to utilize the Infinite Powers that God is and which we are, the first thing we must do is correct this error in our perception about Infinite Mind as being something separate from and different than we are.
It's been said over and over that words are insufficient to describe what God is. While it may be true that the essence of God cannot be gotten to merely with words, we should at least refrain from objectifying God, i.e., perceiving that called God as separate from us. We can begin by utilizing phrases such as "All That Is". That places us face to face with the inescapable Truth that God includes, and in fact, means us. Unfortunately for too many of us, we were taught that any thought of that truth was sinful and so it provokes feelings of guilt (as intended by those who taught us such nonsense by the way). If there is one thing God is never about, it is provoking guilt.
Once you begin to open to the idea that you are part of "All That Is", which is no different from God, you might consider asking yourself why you are not treating yourself, loving yourself, giving to yourself, allowing the best for yourself as God does. The answer, of course, is that you have not yet become use to the idea that you are one with and part of All That Is. So, as they say, get used to it! You really only become use to it by doing it, just as you only become use to driving a car or swinging a tennis racket by doing it. And what is it that we are doing? What we are doing, is being. We need to become use to "being" God. By being Truth, we cease being limited. By Being All That Is, we cease being unloving.
God is love. All That Is can do nothing other than love all that it is, unconditionally; that means you and every other expression of itself. So get out there and enjoy "being" what you truly are.
Quite soon, you will begin to lose this feeling that God is something beyond what you are. You will begin to feel and know that God is in everything that exists, in you, through you, all around you. We are here to rediscover our Divine magnificence. When this happens, you can then begin to use the word God again, but now with a more keen awareness of the loving presence that God is. You won't feel so small and insignificant; you won't feel so inferior. You won't feel that you have to be coming to Infinite Mind in a meek and submissive manner. Know that you can ask confidently and assertively, for the loving presence is not ego or personality that can be or will be offended.
Copyright
©, 2001-2006, William Gunderson
All Rights Reserved
If I Were God, I would...
Our metaphysical teachings always bring us back to the truth that we are inseparable from everything that God is; that we are simply physical manifestations of God. However, so often we ask, "If I am God, how come I don't feel like God?" Toward answering that question, maybe we should ask, "How would we expect to feel in order to feel like God"?
Often you will hear people jokingly say, "If I were king (or emperor or president) of the world, I would mandate such and such (the such and such referring to whatever the person is frustrated about at the moment)--i.e., I would rule that no other cars could travel on this road, at this time when I am trying to get to work". The point being that the person is declaring that he would have the power to control the events of his / her life. Usually this means the power to control other people and outer events. Our idea of what it would feel like to be God then, is somewhat similar to this, and, therein lies the answer to our question.
Our ego (or personality or separated) self always works at the level of wanting to control other and outer. It simply knows of no other way; it thinks control of outer is the only way. But as we come to understand our true nature, we begin to live and operate from our higher perspective. And it is from this perspective that we feel that we truly are all of what God is. As we steadily increase our awareness of our own Divinity, we begin to trust in the absolute benevolence of the universe.
You see, the reason we do not feel like we are God has to do with all of the dense heavy weight we bear in thinking that we are responsible for controlling the world in order to bring about that which we desire. And let's face it, much of what we desire has to do with eliminating, preventing, running from and pushing away that which we don't desire -- that which we fear. In other words, can you see how it is that our focus of attention most of the time is not really upon what we desire as much as it is upon what we fear? And since God is never about fear, how can we possibly feel like our True God Selves when we are operating from that level of our small separated selves. The perspective from that position is, after all one of limitation; it is where fear (or more accurately, the illusion of fear) exists. Albert Einstein was stating this very thing when he said something to the effect that we can't solve problems from the same level at which the problem is created.
We can only feel like the essence of that which we are when we begin to trust in the universe to bring to us that which we actually desire, and, simultaneously, release our attachments to that which we desire not. When we truly trust, we give up the burdens of feeling responsible for solving all of our problems. We know that we can release them to Infinite Spirit. We also should know that we have at our beckon and call a bevy of willing assistants who operate from the larger perspective, arranging events and circumstances beyond the knowing and perceptions of our limited physical senses. You see, when we run around in distress trying to "do" by arranging and controlling things and manipulating others, we are showing that we don't trust in God (which we are). We are not then allowing the universe to deliver to us in perfect order. Rather, we are expending our energy in trying to prevent all of the possibilities that we imagine might screw things up. Meanwhile, we are also trying to master all of the minutiae of the conventional wisdom of the world.
Unfortunately, when we operate like this, we are in a no win situation -- for the two following reasons. First, we inadvertently bring into our lives that which we try to prevent. Why? Because what we resist, persists. We always get in our experience what we focus upon, and there is no greater form of focus of attention than resistance. Mostly we resist what we fear. Fear represents an attachment. What attachment means is that we are under the illusion that we need for our comfort and survival that which we are attached to. We so fear that we will lose what we think we need (be it a relationship, a home, car, job or health), that we begin to imagine and give attention to the things that might happen that would take them away from us. Then we try to prevent those imagined fears from occurring.
The second reason why operating solely by conventional wisdom is a no-winner, is that conventional wisdom is all about what has been done. Please understand that we are here to create according to who we are--not according to what has been done. Our true creativity blossoms from within. That means that we must listen to our inner selves, the source of all true wisdom. Conventional wisdom is usually about telling you of all the obstacles you will face and all of the ways that things should be done, all of the things to watch out for.
Let me ask you. Surely you have heard the phrase "beginners luck"? Have you ever thought about what that really is? Consider someone going into a venture ignorant of the conventional wisdom (of all of the limitations) and operating from inner guidance and going with what feels good, what feels right. When that person succeeds, those devoted to the conventional wisdom are aghast. The person who succeeded, upon discovering the conventional wisdom (after the fact) may also be surprised, but happy that she did it her own way, because had she known of all the obstacles that were the givens of conventional wisdom, she never would have taken the venture on to begin with. What is referred to as beginners luck, really was freedom from the limiting ideas of conventional wisdom.
So now that we are coming into greater awareness, let's not beat up on ourselves because we have attachments and intense fears related to them. Nor should we feel ashamed that we don't trust in or can't hear our Inner Guidance. Just know that we are here in order to learn to trust the universe. This requires that we make the decision to choose Inner Wisdom over the conventional wisdom of the world and that we recognize that our attachments are the source of our pain, struggle and frustration. Further, we should begin to see these as symptoms to get our attention, not as reasons for despair.
Now, we shouldn't think that the universe doesn't want us to have a great house, car, work we love and fulfilling relationships. God wants us to have anything we desire. The universe just wants us to understand that attachment (thinking that they are necessary for our happiness or survival) is an illusion of our limited selves. It wants us to know that when we trust, we need never cling to anything for the universe is always providing. So the issue is, will we relax and open ourselves up to receive. If we are willing to let go of that which we think we need, we can trust that the universe will always provide something better.
And so, go ahead and claim that you are master of the universe. But don't try to use your power to outlaw other vehicles on your route to work. Simply release your attachment to the fear and belief that they can cause you discomfort. Realize that it is your choosing to be dis-comforted that causes them to be drawn into your path as "obstacles". Release them in love and your way will open.
Copyright
©, 2001-2006, William Gunderson
All Rights Reserved
Express The Truth Of Your Being Now
In order to really create our lives according to our desires, we need to finally give up the belief that we are our limited personalities and finally just accept the truth that we are magnificent, deserving, powerful individualizations of Divine Mind. We have already discussed the fact that we were trained to believe that we are this personality with the name we were given by our families. We also know that we were trained to accept a multitude of limiting beliefs regarding our person-hood. That's a given. And now we also are becoming aware that our personality is an illusion--not the truth of who we really are.
But still we "seem" to be stuck in our personality, creating from it's limited repertoire rather than from the boundless potential of our unlimited selves. The only reason for this is that we simply don't make the choice to begin living as the full-fledged expressions of God that we are. It's all been said over and over countless times in countless ways. Still, we have difficulty accepting the truth of our Divinity; we act as though we consider the possibility of our infinite unlimited selves to be Truth is just too awesome to be. In our reticence to accept it, we make too big a deal out of this Truth, as though it were impossibly unnatural.
Think about this though. We see people all around us believing in their power to create, living lives of success and fun and joy that we can hardly imagine. They might be our corporate leaders, film producers and stars, musicians, artists, architects, etc. We give them celebrity status. But here's the thing to understand--if any expression of All That Is can manifest in seemingly unlimited ways, as those celebrities do, then any other expression of God (like you) can as well. One expression of Divine Mind is no more limited or favored by the universe than another. Being magnificently powerful creators, from the perspective of the universe, is no big deal; it's just the normal state of the universe, simply how it is.
Our seeming problem all comes back to our seeing ourselves as separate from our source, separate from Divinity. Of course this mistake is understandable and common to all incarnate beings. After all, we look around and see our fellow expressions of Divine Mind all in different bodies. We observe most of them doing struggle and also bringing into their lives many conditions and circumstances that aren't all that desirable. We hear them talking a lot about limitations and obstacles and how difficult life can be. This is the content of mass conscious thought that we are all brought up in and trained to believe is reality. So it is easy for us to succumb and accept those beliefs unquestioningly. Buying into the belief in the limitations and obstacles as just the way life is, then brings manifestation of those beliefs into our lives. We experience our beliefs in the form of the events, conditions and circumstances of our lives.
Here's where we often get caught up. We see many of these "others" around us behaving and expressing in ways that we don't like. We then think, "They aren't like me. How could I possibly be considered to be like them? They're different than I am." The mistake we make is forgetting that, in truth, we are all One at the higher level of reality from whence we've come. But at the same time, as unique individualized expressions of All That Is, we each have the choice and the freedom to express in any way we prefer. Just because other individualizations of God are expressing in ways we don't prefer doesn't mean that they aren't of the same Source. The simple fact is that they are operating under similar illusions that you are now beginning to become aware of in your own life. It's helps to realize that we are not all awakening to Truth and becoming aware at the same time. There are always going to be those around you who are still reacting in unconsciousness. It is our challenge, but an important part of our spiritual practice, to begin to allow and cease going into reaction over what is occurring around us.
Now here's the powerful truth you may not have realized. In the very same way that you are not in truth separate from those who are expressing in limitation and struggle, you also are not separate from those who are expressing in glorious joy, success and abundance. The only difference between the two experiences is the focus of your attention, something which you have control over. You can choose to believe in joy success and abundance or you can choose thoughts to focus on limitation and struggle. The universe makes no judgments. It simply delivers to you experiences consistent with your focus and beliefs.
So we come back to the beginning. Why not just wake up every- day and affirm to yourself the Truth that you are God expressing. You are not inadequate, less worthy, less divine or less favored than any other expression of Divine Mind. You are the most magnificent expression that could ever be. No one could possibly be better than you. No one could possibly do what you came here to do. As an individual expression of All That Is, there is no one like you. Be confident in your eternal magnificence. Walk about knowing that there is no one better than you, superior to you or more blessed than you.
But you must also remember that God is love and you, as an expression of God, are love. You must express love and the universe then returns love in the form of manifestation of your desires. Love is allowing. Accordingly, we must love and allow those who are not yet awakening, to express as they choose. Just focus upon your own being and forget about judging and criticizing those who are still entranced in the drama of their ego.
So there it is. As an eternal being, from the higher perspective, you are no less, no better, no different from any other. Difference is only a feature of the physical plane. But that's perfect because the whole purpose of the physical realm is variety. It is the way in which Universal Subconscious Mind experiences itself -- in an infinite variety of form. At the level of spirit however, there is only One -- All That Is.
Harmony Level Within Relationships
I recently attended a New Moon gathering of Spiritual seekers. The latter part of the meeting involved a discussion of relationships that evoked some thoughts I feel are well worth considering here.
Let me begin with a metaphysical premise -- that the Universe is always seeking harmony. That concept, at face value, for us as devotees of metaphysical spirituality, would seem pretty understandable and easy to accept. We know that everything is energy, and that, metaphysically speaking, like attracts like, and that the Universe has a natural tendency to organize itself accordingly. But when we consider the word "harmony" we may find that idea of seeking harmony comes with an unexpected twist that not a lot of people think about. Now let me explain why the discussion of relationships brought this to mind.
Most of us have heard, and likely observed many times that people very often choose the same sorts of partners again and again, even though the relationships are far from healthy. In other words, dysfunctional people end up in relationships with each other all the time. When we observe the chaos and drama that is so often characteristic of these relationships, they may seem to be anything but harmonious. The word peaceful would not characterize such relationships. But consider that from the standpoint of the Universe, there actually is Harmony, in that perfect matching has taken place. [Let's refer to the Harmony from this higher perspective with a capital "H", and that within the level of worldly experience with a small "h".]
An example of disharmony would be a very dysfunctional person getting together with a very peaceful, "together" person. This sort of match is so disharmonious in fact, that one rarely ever sees it. There is no energy-matching going on there. The together person would not be inclined to bring into his life all of the chaos that would come with a very dysfunctional personality. And the dysfunctional one would not likely find a peaceful conscious partner willing to play all of the ego driven chaotic drama games he/she craves.
Sometimes in relationships, it may begin with the matching of two chaotic partners; but as time goes on, one of the partners may awaken and begin seeking greater Spiritual awareness, while the other remains stuck in the old ways. There is a very high likelihood that eventually such a relationship will break-up. And when they do, the break-ups can be pretty messy as the partner remaining in the ego-fixated state creates a whole lot of drama. Yet, if the aware partner maintains a state of peace and calm, the negative effect will be minimized for him.
Now in relationships where both of the partners are on a path of expanding consciousness, there is far more peace, ease and authentic love at the outset. The ease part reminds me of something that one of the leaders of the group was making in the discussion at the gathering. He was elucidating five points to keep in mind when in a relationship, both from the female perspective and the male perspective. He was explaining that we must figure out which of these points is most applicable to our partner, and then modify our behavior in accordance with that if we are to maintain mutual respect and harmony within the relationship. As he was explaining this, I was thinking how strenuous it is when we operate from the mode of worldly conventions compared to how it is when we operate from a a higher level of consciousness.
What I mean by that is that as we progress in consciousness we begin to work more at the level of spirit. Conversely, in lower states of consciousness (where awareness is more limited), we tend to operate according to the ways of the world, applying conventional wisdom, relying on analysis and strategic reasoning. It occurred to me that such analysis as was being described may indeed be a very good and useful approach at particular levels of consciousness where the partners are still fixed in ego identity (which at this point in the evolution of consciousness includes most of the population of earth).
As is stated in A Course In Miracles, all analysis is of the ego. As we progress in our level of consciousness, we increasingly disengage from ego fixation. In fact that could be a definition of expanding consciousness - disengagement from ego fixation. So in relationships where both of the partners are on a course of increasing Spiritual awareness, there is more intuitive resonance -- and therefore little need for such an analytical approach. Each of the partners will intuitively meet each others needs. Operating at the level of spirit negates the need to manipulate the small things. Also each of the partners will be more accepting of and less reactive to each other's personal foibles. In other words, with disengagement from ego, the need for resistance and reaction to the small things of life are let go. The result is more harmony, peace and ease within these relationships.
Copyright ©,
2006, William Gunderson
All Rights Reserved
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