Be aware of how you feel at all times

"Be aware of how you feel at all times. Your feelings will point out where the subconscious blockages of pain are."-Jason Hairston

 I suppose being aware of how we feel at all times is part of living and being in the present moment, practising mindfulness and meditation. We can watch our feelings pass by, just as we observe our thoughts come and go, like passing clouds in the sky, without necessarily engaging or acting upon our thoughts or feelings. Our feelings may or may not be validated, depending on how we perceive things, since I learnt that life is a matter of perception. I am not sure what the quote meant by subconscious blockages of pain - if they refer to guilt and regrets about the past, I would say it is only human to experience such feelings, since we all tend to do some self-reflection and wish we could have done something better (I tend to do self-evaluation from time to time, such as in the area of my work). 

 I believe even as we embark on this inner journey, it is also good to remember that our past - whether shortcomings or achievements - does not define us since our true identity is based on that which is unchanging and eternal - beloved, blameless, beautiful and perfect spiritual beings on a human journey - we are here to have a human experience. This is how we can reconcile to our highest self (the Father) whenever we come home and remember who we really are and awake to our innocence, being embraced in divine unconditional love. Being aware of our feelings at all times thus becomes a meditation practice in which we make peace with ourselves, and experience inner bliss. 

As the verse goes, "Having been made righteous by faith (awakening to our true identity of innocence and perfection and wholeness), we have peace with God (our highest self) through our Lord Jesus Christ (representative of our human race, our true identity), in whom we have access in this grace (divine favour) through faith." We can continue to expect wonderful things to happen to us because we are beloved and precious children of the universe.

"Behold, now is the day of salvation. Now is the time of favour." Every day is a good day because we are accepted in the Beloved.

Armed with Love

"To arm oneself with hatred and judgmental accusations takes no courage. No, the courageous are the ones who arm themselves with love". Mick Mooney

I agree with Mick Mooney's quote that the courageous ones arm themselves with love because love wins at the end of the day. Jesus was naked and armed only with love at the cross when the religious people were throwing accusations at him, and he prayed for their forgiveness for they knew not they were doing. After he rose again, many of them heard about how he had loved them and experienced a change of heart. Indeed, the weakness of God confounds the might of man.

The Energization Exercises of Paramhansa Yogananda

"The whole purpose of true exercise is to awaken the inner source of energy which we have ignored throughout our lives."

—Paramhansa Yogananda

Overview

The Excercises are based on the principle of drawing the Cosmic Energy into the body through the medulla oblongata by the power of will. Located at the back of the head, the medulla is the point where the scull joins the spinal column. It is referred to in the scriptures as “the mouth of God,” and is considered by yogis to be the portal through which the energy enters the body.

The idea of awakening our divine energy through double breathing technique looks interesting. I tried double breathing just now and the deep breathing made me feel more relaxed. I will keep in mind to practise this.

Leadership is not about having the answer to all the questions....

Someone said: "Leadership is not about having the answer to all the questions....it's about enabling the group you lead to ask the questions!"


Yes, leadership is not about having all the answers, but enabling the group to ask questions because leadership is more about serving and nurturing and building up people, teaching them how to think for themselves, rather than about spoonfeeding, or worse, indoctrinating them into following the leader without questioning.

Even in the education system here in Singapore, the ministry wants to change the traditional mindset of teachers - that they are no longer to be seen as a  container of knowledge, facts and figures giving information to students just to memorise for examination without really understanding the hows and whys beyond the whats and wheres, but to be seen as facilitators of learning, self-discovery and critical thinking, encouraging students to gather information, compare sources of evidence, evaluate their validity, and draw their own conclusions about various issues.

It is much like what we have been doing in our own studies and research in comparing and analysing different religions, philosophies and schools of thought, and drawing our own conclusions. In a sense, we are our own teachers or leaders, and our own students at the same time, even as we also learn from other teachers and leaders, and compare notes with other students in this university we call life. Together, we learn and share and build up one another, till we all reach the measure of the fullness of Christ in maturity.

Coming out of fear-based religion is like coming back to life and back to reality

"I'M GONNA HAVE A BAD-HAIR DAY!
somebody just message me and said you couldn't go to Heaven unless you were baptized in water after Praying the sinner's prayer...
So....I pulled out half my hair.
I....REEEAAALLY HATE DUMB RELIGION!!!"- Robert Rutherford

Yes, the christian religion can be dumb. As much as I am coming to accept that there is no one true or perfect spiritual path, so to speak, since every one is unique (due to the fact that each of us has a unique spiritual DNA and is responsible for our own spiritual path), I also see that some aspects of christianity - especially the fundamentalist ones - can be dangerous. For example, I heard about a case of someone being told by a pastor that he could "see" a tumour in her body. It is sad that many people who are still in the religious circles are being vulnerable to so-called pastors claiming or presuming to have the "authority" to speak in the name of God. I want to address the issue of this cultic mindset in my blog, so as to spread the awareness of such spiritual abuse that is still going on, despite the fact that many are coming out of organised religion in view of the global spiritual awakening.

Incidentally, I was reading this blog "Taking charge of how we experience life" earlier on a similar subject, and I like what it says here:

"I knew that no one had the power to make me feel anything, except for me and my brain. Nothing external to me had the power to take away my peace of heart and mind. That was completely up to me. I may not be in total control of what happens to my life, but I certainly am in charge of how I choose to perceive my experience."

Yes, those of us who have learnt to meditate and watch our thought life have come to a place where we realise the importance of not allowing ourselves to be affected by what others tell us - especially negative or fear-inducing things - and instead choosing to perceive our own experience and guard our heart and remain in peace and wholeness.

Indeed, coming out of fear-based religion is like coming out of the illusion of fear and separation and coming back to life and back to reality, as the song by Soul II Soul goes.

Nowhere to go but the heart. - Rumi

Yes, we have nowhere to go except return to the heart. The only journey is our journey within. 

"The only journey is the journey within." ~ Rainer Maria Rilke

“Meditation increases your vitality and strengthens your intelligence; your beauty is enhanced; your mental clarity and health improve. You acquire the patience and fortitude to face any problem in life. So, meditate! Only through meditation will you find the treasure you are seeking.” — Mata Amritanandamayi ("Amma")

I agree with the quote on meditation too. Meditation is indeed beneficial for our mind, intellect and soul as it stabilises and refreshes us from within. I am learning to live and breathe mindfully whenever I remember to.

The more we meditate on our true divine identity, the more we are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, from beauty to beauty, from one level of brilliance to another level of brilliance. Our beauty is enhanced, our strength and wisdom is restored, and our youth is renewed like the eagle's, much like what the quote above says. As we wait upon the Lord and behold the beauty of our true self, we shall mount up with wings and soar like eagles, we shall run and not be weary, we shall walk and not faint, and we shall dance the divine dance to the rhythm of love.

The mystery of the gospel is all about us

I believe the mystery that ancient texts speak of is that what is written is about YOU. Not literal but an allegory.. You are the living word. You are love spoken.. The fall of who you think you are and the rise of Christ is a story that happens within all of us. Not something out there. Heaven (enlightenment) isn't a place somewhere it is within and so is hell. All the tribulations everything. One is taken and one is left... Separating the wheat from the chaff... ONE is always remaining!! TRUTH everything else must go! ♥ at least this is what I feel" Star Love

Yes, that's true - the mystery of the gospel is all about us - our fall in Adam and our rise in Christ. One is taken and one remains. The false identity based on the illusion of ego and identity is the chaff that was gathered and burnt, and only the wheat remains, which is our true identity based on the truth of unconditional love and divine oneness with God or higher self and with one another. 

I also learnt that the word "apocalypse" is derived from the Greek word "apokalypsis", which can mean cataclysm or revelation. Both meanings are metaphorical or symbolical. The cataclysm is about the destruction of the illusion of separation and ego, and the revelation is about the unveiling of our true identity of divinity and unity.

We are all each responsible for our own creation in our hologram

"We are so used to thinking of things external to us. When, we do this we begin to feel like a victim. This keeps the victim-victimizer game going. We have been both. It is some times painful to look within and see self. Many say you need to get rid of your ego. If you do that you are no longer able to see what needs healed. If you repress your thoughts or feelings then this energy turns in and causes illness and all kinds of problems. When, you are able to see it and not judge it but send love to it the energy is no longer stored in and can flow out in a healthy manner. What, is on the outside of you is a refectrion of you. When, you heal what you see needs it, you will stop the victim-victimizer game, you will know we are all in the same boat. We are all each resposible for our own creation in our hologram. Also, makes it easy to love each other. We are all one, but individuated Faces of God Source. So, we make our experience here." ~ Marlene Fow

Yes, we are all one and yet individual faces of the God source in this divine ecosystem in which we coexist and build up one another in the body of Christ. Like what Paul wrote, when one part of the body suffers, the rest of the body is affected and suffers as well, and when one part of the body does well, the rest of the body benefits too and rejoices with that part. 

And yes, I have also come to realise that we are living in a matrix or holographic universe, whereby our inner condition or consciousness can affect our outer condition or universe. So what we see and experience outside is a reflection of what is inside us because what is inside us manifests on the outside. 

Like what the post says, when we love and accept ourselves the way we are, including embracing the ego, we will experience wholeness and create a beautiful and peaceful world both for ourselves and others, which is our ultimate reality. Whenever outside circumstances appear challenging or overwhelming, we can remind ourselves these things are an illusion and focus on the divine unconditional love inside us, and we will remain in peace and victory over the circumstances. 

In 2 Chronicles 20, when King Jehoshaphat and his army was overwhelmed by Moab, Ammon and other armies, they learnt to sing praises and focus on their belovedness, and they eventually won the battle without a fight and got to collect the treasures in the battlefield. 

The gospel of our belovedness and oneness has the power to transform our consciousness and bring peace and wholeness to ourselves, which will also emanate to the world around us. May we continue to create a wonderful, peaceful and restful world.

Related post

Waking Life (full length movie)

 

How do we overcome the illusion of separation in the material realm?

"If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other." --Mother Teresa

I asked a question in Yahoo Answers recently: Since we are living in a material dimension which causes us to have an illusion of separation and false identity, how do we walk by faith and not by sight in this world?
 
We all need spiritual eyes to see beyond the illusion and realise we are all one and not separate from one another. Though each of us is unique and different, we are all one in divine love and are interconnected and interdependent. I like the quote by Mother Teresa too - to realise our connectedness is to have peace in this world as we would seek to love others as ourselves, and love ourselves as others.

every one wants to love

Someone wrote:

"The need to right and win an argument is a STRONG indication of deep rooted insecurities that come from low self-worth. The ONLY cure for low self-worth is realizing you’re worth what God paid for you. Settle the self-worth issue and you’ll settle most of the arguments in your life".

That's true - everyone wants to love and be loved, and the way for a person to be established in his own self-worth is to realise the value God has placed on him. Jesus reminded us we are worth more than many sparrows, and he gave his life for us that we may be free from the illusion of separation and false identity and come to know our true identity and our oneness with God. We were bought with a price, as Paul described in 1 Corinthians, not in terms of paying penalty for so-called sins, but in terms of purchasing our freedom from ignorance and religion with God's own life to demonstrate we are worth everything to God. As Jesus has said, no greater love is there than this: that a man gives his life for his friends.

So yes, when a person is established in God's love and his own self-worth, he will know that he has nothing to prove and has no need to win a debate or argument. Instead, he will rest in his own belovedness, and do or say things for edifying others, that they may also benefit by knowing their true identity and their oneness with God and others.

Being free from people's opinions

“As long as you are worried about what others think of you, you are owned by them. Only when you require no approval from outside yourself can you own yourself”.

~ Neale Donald Walsch

Yes, I have learnt that people are going to have opinions about us and we can't stop them from doing so, but we can be free from their opinions. Like what he says, when we cease to worry about others think about us, we cease to be controlled by their opinions and truly own ourselves. After all, we know that people's opinions are most likely a reflection of their hearts - if they think good about us, it is mostly because they think good about themselves - they see something in us they like about themselves, and vice versa. 

Besides, people may not always understand where we are coming from since they tend to interpret our words and actions based on their preconceived ideas and past experiences. 

LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE

Make your own needs and wants priorities.

Make time for the things you love to do,
even if they feel silly, or superficial, or extravagant.
If it’s within your means to do it and it doesn’t hurt anyone,
don’t worry about justifying–just enjoy!

Use your gifts and talents in the way you want to use them..
not the way you think you should.

Speak directly from your heart, without fear of reproach.

If you believe in something, stand behind it,
even if you stand alone.

Keep your heart open to the world around you
so you can be moved and inspired..
and then use that internal illumination to create
something that will move and inspire the people around you.

Play. Laugh. Love. Leap.
And remember that you have nothing to prove.
There’s nothing you have to do,
and there’s no one you have to be
other than exactly who you are.

Because Who You Are Is Beautiful.
Who You Are Is Full Of Light..
And The World Deserves To See It!

~Lori Deschene 

Daily Meditation: Signposts on the Way to God

 How do we know about God's love, God's generosity, God's kindness, God's forgiveness?  Through our parents, our friends, our teachers, our pastors, our spouses, our children ... they all reveal God to us.  But as we come to know them, we realise that each of them can reveal only a little bit of God.  God's love is greater than theirs; God's goodness is greater than theirs;  God's beauty is greater than theirs.

At first we may be disappointed in these people in our lives.  For a while we thought that they would be able to give us all the love, goodness, and beauty we needed.  But gradually we discover that they were all signposts on the way to God.
- Henri Nouwen

I think this is a gracious view of the various people in our lives, including pastors. I have come to see that while I can be grateful for pastors who have contributed in my life, in terms of preaching the gospel of grace and unveiling God as our loving Father, I am also learning to see them as humans who are subject to fallibility.

As I am growing and learning new things beyond mainstream christianity, I have grown out of my former church pastor's teachings. When I look back at the institutional church system from the outside, I begin to see that it has pros and cons. The upside is that it favours those who are part of the system, as the members get to enjoy the privilege of fellowship. The downside is that it draws a clear distinction between those who are "in" and those who are "out" of the system.

For example, those who do not subscribe to a particular church system's teachings are seen as "apostates" or "heretics". This is especially so if the church institution leaders are insecure and feel threatened by what is seen as a challenge to their "authority".

Secondly, megachurch pastors tend to be regarded as celebrities, who are usually too busy or important to address queries and needs of the church members. They would usually delegate the tasks to their appointed leaders and deacons. While having a busy schedule is understandable, we can't help remembering Jesus for being different from most megachurch pastors. Jesus made time for everyone, regardless of their social status, whether be they Roman centurions or fishermen or widows or Samaritans.  Jesus sees and treats everyone as equal.

Thirdly, I have ceased to be reliant on church pastors to feed me with daily manna. Maybe the fivefold ministry of apostles, evangelists, teachers, preachers and pastors are only applicable in the old covenant system of law during Paul's time in the first century AD. Once the new heavens and new earth began in AD70, as the new covenant of grace took effect, we no longer need a preacher to teach us about God. After all, the new covenant said "None shall teach his neighbour 'Know the Lord', for all shall know Me, from the least to the greatest."

Therefore, everyone knows God intuitively. Everyone can listen to the still, small voice of God for himself or herself. We may learn from others when they share their insights about God and their encounters with God, but we can only truly experience God for ourselves.

I have come to see the danger of depending solely on a preacher to share about God because we can become confined to or restricted by the preacher's own theological box. Besides, by doing so, we would be subjecting ourselves to the mood swings and emotional experiences and religious sensibilities of the preacher. What if the preacher gets up one Sunday morning and decides that God is displeased with him about something, and he starts to preach a message that focuses on sin management? This will invariably affect the minds and emotions of the listeners.

Fourthly, megachurch pastors are probably more susceptible to becoming a victim of their own success, so to speak, if we were to measure success by their popularity, compared to pastors of smaller ministries and denominations. Some of them may have started well when they preach grace at the expense of themselves being criticised by more legalistic preachers. But the moment they become well-known, they may become addicted to fame and recognition.

What happens when people around the world experience spiritual awakening and start questioning traditional doctrines on the literal hell, rapture, literal second coming of Christ and penal substitutionary theory of the cross? Are the same pastors willing to bear the costs of exploring these questions and display intellectual honesty to admit they might be mistaken in their interpretation of the Bible if they were to consider certain principles, such as time references, audience relevance and symbolism used in the Bible? The costs of being intellectually honest may include being ostracised by the mainstream church circles, losing support of their peers, losing church membership, being labelled as heretics, and experiencing their own spiritual crisis, not to mention the risk of losing their regular income in the process, along with their comfortable lifestyles.

"There are few things more dangerous than inbred religious certainty.”
― Bart D. Ehrman 

At the same time, I do not want to come across as being judgmental, because as the saying goes, when I judge someone, it reflects more about me than about the other person. Besides, if I were to be in their shoes, would I be certain I would not have made similar decisions and faced similar dilemmas? I have been "unconscious" myself in the past as I was also involved in mainstream christianity for several years, and I used to think such church doctrines and programmes were "normal".

Then again, I would not be true to myself if I were to close my eyes to what is happening in the world today. Maybe there is a fine balance between making an observation and making a judgment. By being aware of what is happening, and by questioning the status quo, I may be helping both myself and others to come to terms with the whys behind the whats. In this case, I am questioning why the church institutional systems, particularly mega church institutions, are continuing to function the way they do (as corporate entities) and the preachers seem unwilling to question doctrines that are based on the illusion of separation (such as literal hell and literal second coming of Christ and sin and penal substitution). Perhaps this is a question only the preachers can answer for themselves honestly.

As for me, I am still growing and evolving. I have come to a place where I think everyone needs to have the freedom to explore spirituality on their own and come to their own conclusion. Each of us is a mystic, and we are our own preachers. We are our own pastors. We don't need to rely on someone else to pastor us or save us. We are our own saviours. We don't need any external saviours.

We are saved by grace through faith, yes, and yet grace is not separate from us. We are saved daily by our own repentance (change of mind to believe the gospel). We are saved by our own thoughts and beliefs about who we really are - Christ in us the hope of glory.

The implanted Word that is able to save our souls is not an entity separate from ourselves. We are the implanted Word. We are the good news. We are the mirror image of our Beloved, in whom we live and move and have our being. As we behold our true divine Self, we are being transformed into His same image from glory to glory.

Peace and blessings.

Related post:
Our Purpose - Joshua Guild