Miracles have a meaning beyond what is commonly used in our everyday life. Miracles occur strictly within our minds. They are every day events and herald the presence of God's love around us in every waking moment. A miracle is a gift of grace, and when recognized as a gift of mind correction, freely given to us through the Holy Spirit, their abundance becomes increasingly clear to us. Miracles need not be sensational in nature as they are simple, bright moments in our daily existence. We can receive miracles by noticing them around us and we give miracles as we develop moments of joyful encounter with others.
A miracle is a mind correction that more clearly shows us how to recognize love's blossoming. Miracles take everyday events and make them open to a deeper understanding of the blessings that are in our lives at any moment. Since these blessings are all around us everywhere and all the time, there are no conditions required for miracles to happen, except our open mindedness to perceive them. Our awareness and recognition of these miracles reaffirm for us continuously our deserved nature to be shown opportunities of joyful love.
Miracles undo errors of criticism and self-judgment that tend to cloud our minds. A miracle can occur in a moment in time seemingly unrelated to the events around us. As a means of allowing the Holy Spirit to show us how to better open our minds, miracles are a means of intervention on behalf of our own peace of mind. They are the bright moments that we allow to shine beyond the clouds of ego distraction. Miracles are as simple and natural as the shining of the unpretentious sunlight, as far reaching as our minds will allow and as penetrating in reassuring spirit as the sunlight's warmth upon our bodies. In a sense, the miracles around us help bring the little sparkles of joy in life, which help remind us that many of the fears that we think are so real are transitory and exist only as long as we give them energy. Miracles show us the everlasting and constant place of blessed moments. They show us the miraculous unfolding of God's guidance through the Voice for God.
Miracles are universal. In order to see and experience miracles, we need only be willing to ask for them to be shown to us. This is where our awareness of the Holy Spirit is so necessary. Each miraculous moment is called a Holy Instant, for a miracle needs no framework of time to show itself to us, and if one passes unnoticed from our awareness, we only need look again and the next one will be there for us to see.
Miracles are universally understood by those who see them for their innate tenderness, simplicity, and loving images. No matter where you are sitting at any given moment, miracles are happening around you. Miracles shine God's loving light to help us fully experience the truly meaningful things in our surroundings, such as the beauty of nature, the warmth from a fireplace on a cold winter's day, the distant call of life such as birds singing to each other, children playing, people chatting.
Colors that are ever present, register in our minds when we truly let ourselves see them. A flower will bloom following God's plan. When we choose to look at the flower, we can see many miracles unfold for us from many different angles. As we contemplate the many petals of the flower as shining from moment to moment in the sunlight, each angle combined with each ray of sunlight that touches upon the blossoms shows us a gift and a blessing unto itself. Any miracle is holographic. Each part, as well as the combined whole, has a message of infinite love fully encompassing its essence.
Miracles can be moments enjoyed again and again as they are relived in our minds for their precious quality. A miracle can be enjoyed to the extent that we tune in and appreciate it. Using this orientation, miracles happen all the time, to help brighten our minds and to reassure us of everlasting life, of which we are a part.
Miracles are abundant. We can continuously sustain our minds with miracle moments. There are more than enough for our minds to everlastingly appreciate. We balance ourselves emotionally and spiritually by our willingness to take in and sustain ourselves with these miraculous blessings from which we can pick at any given time.
We invert perception with miracle awareness. Our minds take the common, and make it spectacular, not in physical terms, but rather with joy which miracles bring us. Events that seem to be hard and pressing, become easier and smoother. We consciously, interlace miraculous moments into our awareness, to neutralize, lighten, and defuse the times when our egos bring up thoughts of strain and anticipation of what may forebode. Miracles bring us back to the only time there is, the present. Stress and anxiety come from ignoring miracle moments. Yet, we can continue to choose to fill our minds with the invitations to the real world, the world of eternal love that miracles bring to us.
Our consciously taking in the miracles that are happening around us is what this particular step of our spiritual practice is about. Miracles are an on-going interchange. Once our mind is corrected through receiving miraculous perceptions around us, we feel a sense of joy, which brings a desire on our part to interaction with others around us in a likewise joyful manner. Love, humor and light spread effortlesslessly and make things easier for everyone around us. In this chapter, we will look at meditative exercises that help us to recognize our miracles.
WAKING MEDITATION
Upon completion of your daily deep breathing meditation outlined in Chapter 2, practice receiving miracles. Begin your meditation by asking the Voice for God for the recognition of at least three miracles that have recently manifested in your life. You need not concentrate extensively on these, simply let the thought that is requested extend out into the universe and then allow the answer to emerge. As you do this, think about the blessings that have been shown you. See them in your mind. See the people involved. See the circumstances involved. During the course of the day, reaffirm these blessings when you encounter those persons.
As you go about your daily preparation to greet the day, doing the seemingly mundane things, ask the Holy Spirit to be open to the sensation of the miraculous. Let yourself see the miracles, feel the miracles in the form of blessed sensations. Let the small events that happen have a high and bright impact upon your mind . For example, miracle sensations can be found in the simple drinking of your cup of morning tea. We can hear the sound of the water boiling, feel the light steam as the liquid is poured, the slowness of your breath as you settle into drinking from that cup, the slightly full feeling of ingestion from the liquid, and the care and the interest that you take in discerning the taste with every sip. The blessing of such an event can be so simple in its joy. Each seemingly mundane or small event is filled with miracles and we can find examples at every turn. We only need expect them, and increasing moments of our existence become moments of awe, wonder and reassuranc e of the power of the Voice for God.
In our shorter waking meditations, we practice miracle discovery. During the course of the day, we can notice larger areas in our waking life that can be a source of many miraculous moments. When you are ready, pick at least two a day and break them down into miraculous blessings that are yours for the noticing. The example of the cup of tea above, describes this process. The noticing of the miracle can be momentary, or can extend for a few minutes depending on your time schedule. Think of these moments as mini-vacations giving your mind a short release. When we look at investment in time in the whole picture of our days, we see just how very little is required to release tension.
During these concentrated moments of miracle mining, simply pull out your pocket notebook, write a few words about what event, circumstance and/or situation you have used to draw out your miracle perceptions and sensations. Then rate your state of mind after you have taken the time to mine the miracles. Use a simple method of reflecting on your level of peace of mind, such as less tense/more tense, or using a rating scale from 1 to 7 (with 1 being least and 7 being the most) ; recalling the tension before you took the time out and the rating afterwards.
The relief that we feel will be at first short-lived yet with each additional gift of miracles exploration that we give ourselves, we will find our minds remain increasingly released from the strain that comes from holding on to problems, anticipations, guilt and fears which our ego thoughts seemingly call 'reality.' We feel a much greater state of overall peace during our days as we consciously opt for the Universal Mind of which we are an everlasting part. It is the Kingdom of Heaven on earth, our true reality which we often, sadly, ignore. Now we can ask ourselves why. We can decide to change our minds this very instant.
GUIDED IMAGERY
Upon completion of your deep breathing meditation in the morning, ask the Voice for God to show you the vision of a beautiful special place, which treats your senses. Do not conjure up this place on your own, but rather, in asking the Holy Spirit to show you this place, allow whatever scene or images emerge. You may at first question what you are being shown. Do not try to control the images, however. Do not try to expand upon them, or alter them in any way. Your only conscious task in this guided imagery is to keep an open mind and discover what is shown to you.
You will find the sense of time will slow down for you during the course of your guided imagery, and you will notice details of things and details of the details. You will see both simplicity and enhanced awareness. Your heart will be lifting. Continue with this guided imagery for as long as it is comfortable. Maintain your deep breathing as you continue to ask to be shown the scene, the sensations, and the unfolding of the miracles through the Voice for God. Initially, the time period for the guided imagery meditations will seem short. This is a process that is developing within you. You will have a sense of knowing when the time for guided meditation is done. Don't fight that intuition.
JOURNAL ENTRIES
Immediately after these meditations, jot down in your small notebook, your subjective rating of your state of peacefulness, a few key images which arose and any key ideas on the slowing down of perception, and miraculous details. At the end of the day, transfer the short notes that you have made of your miracle mining from your pocket notebook into your journal. As you do so, openly dialogue with the Voice for God as you re-member the benefits of a balanced mind. Describe both the images and experience that you had as you dialogue with the Voice for God in your journal using these notes. Let the guided imagery tell you a story as you are writing about it. Let it show you those thoughts sensations, interests the Voice for God would have you expand in your daily and waking life. Notice whether any messages received in your meditation had application during the day. If you're unclear of the lessons that are being shown to you, simply write the question: 'What lesson would you have me see as you've guided me through these images?'
An answer will come to us. We need not use contemplation. As we write down those images that we seem to gravitate towards, we see these as God's invitation to use our more expansive awakening consciousness in our daily lives. Increasingly, we use our awareness of the miracles to more clearly hear the Voice for God .
Affirmation to be said and thought as often as you are inspired:
'Dear God, open my mind that I may see your reflections of love given unto me.'
WHEN IT IS TIME TO MOVE ON
After having completed to your satisfaction the above skills, you will be guided to know when to go on to the next
chapter in your spiritual path. This chapter will help you discover the radiance we feel as we give miracles through our
own Co-creation.
| Contributed Insights | Table of Contents | Next |