At this point in our disciplined spiritual path, we begin to suspect that the state of mind of Heaven on Earth is the Real World, the natural state of mind. We can now see ideas we place in our mind tend to grow, whether they are spiritually based or ego based. We have discovered that peace of mind is what we want. We have known this all our lives and we can achieve peaceful periods of thought by refocusing and recalling who we truly are. We have seen while using specified, prescribed steps, we can alter our perceptions of ourselves, relationships, and events.
However, this state of mind cannot be achieved without the correct beginning. We open ourselves to the Holy Spirit to guide us through our process. There is a comfort in remembering this. Our previous frame of mind was self-centered. Now we take this small leap of faith. If we can remain Self -centered, (capital S refers to seeing through the Holy Spirit's eyes), we will enjoy increased periods of continual grace.
As stated previously, we must expect a miracle in every moment. This step (willingness) we must do strictly on our own. It is our free will. Beyond that first step, the Kingdom of Heaven is ours because we have in truth asked for it. There are no further conditions.
In the last several chapters, we have practiced both asking for and receiving the Holy Spirit's input. Through this input , our peaceful frame of mind develops through forgiveness. Now we are ready to ask for a larger share of our time to be blessed in this state. The Real World is the state of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. It stands for the opposite of what our ego sees. It is the opposite of the world seen through eyes of fear and trepidation. It is the world in which forgiveness blesses us first.
The witnessing of fearful thoughts and fearful activities is a waste of our precious time because when we concentrate on them we divert ourselves away from our true purpose of shining the light of love upon the world. We have found that what we thought were real discrepancies, conflicts and misunderstandings in relationships are the opposite of the Real World. No matter what seeming differences of opinion we have, we can always approach any relationship with an open mind and belief that the Holy Spirit can show us the real channel of healing, our call for love and appreciation.
Any seeming conflict is an opportunity for learning how we can choose again, away from conflict. When we expect a state of Heaven surrounding us, all sights and sounds are gentle in our minds. The Real World arises through a mind of forgiveness, a mind choosing to deal with peaceful solutions evident within our desires. No real danger lurks in anything forgiveness sees, since all the mind expects is kindness.
Sometimes, however, we are caught off guard. Many of us have been taught to seek the 'power' the ego promises. We have sought to be better than, greater, than, and richer than others. We have been taught this is a key to security and a ticket to keeping us alive. Yet, it buys us only a roller coaster effect. When we race with the ego, enough is never enough because in the ego world, there is always someone bigger, better, and seemingly more powerful and ominous. The roller coaster never stops, is never still. Without stillness, we cannot find peace.
Our alternative is clear. There is no race. As we seek our purpose through the Real World, the world of loving interactions, we will be guided to our vast unified kingdom of Heaven on Earth.
Ego thought habits do not give up easily. The ego may label these thoughts of releasing ourselves from the rat race of victimhood as naive, as seeing ourselves as reaching for an overly blissful state of mind. When we become frightened by this state, we may jump back into our zealous self-protection. We may even chastise ourselves for taking ourselves off guard. This is partly what keeps us on an emotional roller coaster. When we achieve brief moments of inner peace, the ego cries out 'enough!', almost without fail. Off we go to pay the price the ego would have us pay for inner peace.
The Real World puts no price on the giving and receiving of miracles of love. Love's energy costs nothing and requires no conditions. We need not do or think anything special. We only need to be willing to open up to miracle opportunities in every moment. Would it not be better to maintain an even and faithful outlook and avoid the strain and stressful waste of elusive highs and depressing lows? Too simple? The ego would say yes, and puts us back on the emotional roller coaster.
As our practice of seeking peace deepens, we come to realize that there is no compromise position with the ego. The ego glorifies fear as a necessary way of life. The Holy Spirit knows of no fear. It is insanity to keep trying to balance the two. The two cannot coexist. When our minds get on the ego bus, we get off the free ride of the Holy Spirit.
Our choice can be made in a Holy Instant. If we want peace of mind, we can always choose to fill our minds with loving and compassionate thoughts. When we fill our mind with our willingness to see the Real World, our attention naturally goes to those miraculous qualities around us, which verify we are surrounded by God's love.
Our bodies are our exquisite communication devices, helping us to glean physical sensations, which our minds and hearts translate into spiritual blessings given unto us. We are grateful for those sensations rather than judge them. The temperature around us becomes neither cold nor hot. Our body's sensations simply attest that we are alive to feel these temperatures. The taste of food represents the care and interest of its preparation. We feel the love in that preparation. And so the miracle in the tasting of food is recognition that we have a body that can taste. The taste reaches up to our eternal state of satisfaction as we gratefully receive offerings of those folks who are willing to lovingly prepare the meal.
Our Real World thinking reaches for the verification of joy in our experiences. The breeze blowing the branches of trees shows us the balance of exquisite nature. They regulate themselves in concert with the totality of the elements, which are always a part of our life giving nourishment. The refreshing smells and fragrances that spread the message that all sensations and elements are part of a total grand plan of which we have an essential part.
The way a bird will seek the air currents allowing it to soar above the ground, seemingly without effort, becomes a lesson in the power of God's glory. We can place ourselves in a position to ride with the current of energy which keeps us above and detached from all that appears to be pressing in our lives. It's from this point of detachment that we are carried up to look at the whole gestalt of all that unfolds. So we see the essential in blessings.
We realize that alas, we can go off into the detour of justifying our need for our ego thought processes. We can point to an infinite number of examples in this world which engender fear. We choose consciously not to go there. We choose rather, not to waste our thoughts on debate. Our emphasis here is to enhance the awareness of the state of Heaven on Earth, the Real World.
Surely, we would all admit that we need more of that process and less fear thoughts in their many forms. Each one of those forms boils down to a fear of separation from God. In the path that we have chosen for our deliberate studies, we are reaffirming our constant alignment with the love of God. We are never alone, and only need to re-mind ourselves through our open spiritual awareness of the Real World.
We cannot fail to feel the eternal working of God in the powers that create oceans from the coalescing of gasses, support a chain of life extending from the tiniest of creatures to the mightiest, in the free choices that are given us, and in the interweaving of each moment of miracles. Yet, God is so gentle as to be the softest voice we will ever hear and yet the truest. GodŐs infinite patience helps us to choose again as we gradually shed our own emotional imprisonment. The more we seek the Real World of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth in our daily training, the faster we release the bonds holding down our free spirit and partake of the abundance of miracles given and received.
WAKING MEDITATION
Upon completion of the deep breathing meditation, open your mind to seemingly small things that are happening around you. Begin by saying, 'This small event has a world of meaning within it.' Then take in that small event, letting the Holy Spirit show you the continuity of all events that have led to this one moment in time being brought to your attention.
Pick one such event such as an ant crawling on the table. Let your mind be shown that the ant is responding to its part in a grand plan of where it is to go while crawling upon a table. The table, which came from a place from which it was manufactured, which came from where the wood was harvested and milled, which came from where the tree was grown, which was nourished, perhaps, in part by the death of a small insect such as an ant, indicating an eternal unfolding of events in just the right way. The ant crawling on the table in front of you shows you a blessing, the blessing of the continuity of life. The blessing carries with it God's continual promise that all unfolds as it should, and is beyond our need for understanding.
As another example we may focus our attention on the swinging of branches of a tree in the breeze. The wind of the breeze gathers up at just the right moment to affect the branches and then passes on while allowing the tree to correct its posture. The tree becomes stronger each time it is given this interaction with the elements. Your attention to this branch swaying in the breeze is a gift given to yourself and allows you to be reminded of other lessons of the Real World. It may indicate to you all things pass as we remain flexible.
As another example, you may hear the singing of a particular bird in the distance, and that particular pitch reverberates in your heart. Suddenly we allow ourselves to feel a vast connectedness spreading across the land and through our minds unabashedly. The examples in even a few moments of awareness can be endless. We feel the collage of personal and particular miracles being shown to us to affirm the presence of the Kingdom of Heaven, the Real World as we tune in around us and within us.
Here is another helpful example that illustrates the multitude of effects of this waking exercise. When we see these letters: NOWHERE, we can read them out of habit from a sleeping mind or we can choose to awaken to the message the Holy Spirit would have us see. Physically, they are only letters on this page. Will you put the effort in to ask yourself what you are to see? When you do, what will you be shown? You could see NOWHERE, NO WHERE, or NOW HERE. No matter what answer you have received, the search itself is what the Real World is about and what brings you to your truthful answers.
SHORT WAKING MEDITATION
This is simply to emphasize that any tiny moment using the above concentrated focus can be every bit as powerful as longer meditations. The spiritual message contained in these moments of awareness come to you instantaneously without any analysis. If you have a few extra moments, jot down these awarenesses in your notebook.
GUIDED IMAGERY
Upon completion of your deep breathing meditation, see a majestic eagle sitting in front of you in your mind's eye. See its wide wingspan and profuse array of feathers as they lie smoothly and perfectly over its entire body. Look into the eagle's keen eyes and the majesty of its head sitting boldly upon its commanding torso. After becoming completely immersed in this vision, let yourself melt into the eagle. Feel the power and the courage of the character of this mighty spirit. Let yourself jump off your perch into the trade winds, which carry you in your soaring. As you look down, see all of the beauty, wonder and interweaving tapestry of the landscape elements below you.
Now ask the Holy Spirit to show you a particular landscape, and then a particular part of the landscape. Allow the Holy Spirit to guide you to either rise to see a larger picture or to glide downward to see a close up of particular views. Notice what is being shown to you in this tour. Is the search for beauty, for serenity in seeing the interconnectedness of all things, for food, or for other spiritual or emotional nourishment?
As you place yourself in the arms of the Voice for God, the Holy Spirit, is showing you a journey of personal discovery. Each time you take flight in the winds, what you see and experience becomes a fascinating surprise. You are shown what you are ready to see. Notice the effect on your mind and body when you listen truly, as you meditatively soar on the wings of the Holy Spirit, buoyed by God's eternal energy.
As you are soaring, call for a distant memory of when you flew in this area at a much younger age. Let yourself be shown how your perceptions have changed and what wisdom you have acquired in these travels. Recognize familiar animals with whom you have previously had any encounters. Greet them and bless them, whether or not they are aware of your presence above. Notice the effects upon your mind and upon what you see in them when you bless them. See how the landscape has changed and notice the benefits those changes have brought to the inhabitants below and to yourself. Bless yourself for being able to see this transformation toward peace as you soar with the wings of Heaven. Make note of the miracles shown to you upon ending this meditation. Journal Entries
As you reflect on your pocket notebook entries from the waking meditations, and you will find a very active dialogue with the Voice for God, the Holy Spirit. Your frame of mind in seeing every day events somehow more reverently as continuity of our Real World of love becomes easier to discern.
As you review your notes of miracles shown you through your guided imagery meditation, allow yourself to dialogue with the Holy Spirit, the Voice for God on the topic of being willing to see and appreciate readily the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.
AFFIRMATION
to be said and thought as often as you are inspired:
'My perception of the Real World of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth arises from my mind, seeking peace with itself.'
WHEN IT IS TIME TO MOVE ON
Practice the above meditations for as long as you feel you need. We can now begin to intersperse them with the previous meditations we used in earlier chapters based on your personal decision and guided through your inspiration with the Holy Spirit, the Voice for God.
Please try to complete, in part, the following tasks before going on to the next step.
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