November 27, 2018

Day 354

Mirror Image

The Seed Thought:

An accuser and name caller is, more often than not, merely looking in a mirror and describing himself.

We seem to live in an age where many have dismissed civility and replaced it by a desire to attack and humiliate anyone who thinks differently than themselves.

I have experienced attacks myself for making innocent statements that would have not raised an eyebrow decades ago.

For instance, I have been attacked on political sites for merely mentioning something that indicates a belief in a nebulous Divine Intelligence. In past generations the belief in a Higher Power was so pervasive and tolerated that the mention of such would not raise an eyebrow. But now in this age it seems many are looking for something to attack, even if it is mainstream belief.

The raise in attacking the beliefs and positions of others seems to be on the rise since the introduction of the Internet. You would think that people would be more civil where they have to take the time to write, pause and hit the send button, but there seems to be something about lack of face to face communication that calls forth the worst in many.

I have spent time on sites talking about controversial issues and have often seen baseless attacks calling others liars, hypocrites, Nazis, fascists, tyrants, or generally the most insulting phrase they can come up with. In each case it seemed that the accuser was merely looking in a mirror identifying the other guy with qualities that are within himself. More often than not the accusation of “liar” is made merely because the one attacking disagrees with the victim and doesn’t want his argument to be true. Then if one researched the dialog of the attacker you will often find numerous lies and distortions in his own presentation.

It is interesting that Satan is called the “accuser” of the brethren “which accused them before our God day and night.” Rev 12:10

There is a time and place for a true and just accusation, but the seeker should avoid anything resembling a false accusation where the accusation is made to create problems rather than solve them.

And if a person lies should we immediately respond, calling them a liar? No. Accusation by name calling should be avoided whenever possible. Instead of calling the person a liar merely tell him, “You said this, but here is the truth.” That reveals the lie, but removes the seeker from the position of the accuser.

Seed Thought of the Day:

Those who say the path of achievement is effortless are entirely wrong. Standing still is effortless. True progress takes a tremendous struggle – there is no other way.

Day 355

The Necessity of Effort

The Seed Thought:

Those who say the path of achievement is effortless are entirely wrong. Standing still is effortless. True progress takes a tremendous struggle – there is no other way.

In the Alice A. Bailey books the influential master Djwhal Khul writes this:

“I am a brother of yours, who has travelled a little longer upon the Path than has the average student, and has therefore incurred greater responsibilities. I am one who has wrestled and fought his way into a greater measure of light than has the aspirant who will read this article, and I must therefore act as a transmitter of the light, no matter what the cost.”

Note that he says that he has arrived at his place on the Path because he has, “wrestled and fought his way into a greater measure of light than has the aspirant who will read this article.”

It is interesting that it is very popular for teachers from the old and new age to place emphasis on shortcuts that remove us from all responsibility of making an effort to actually accomplish anything or worth.

Among the Christian fundamentalist emphasis is placed on being saved by faith alone so all you have to do is acknowledge the right version of Jesus and then you are all set for eternity.

This same idea exists in a different form among many in alternative spirituality. Among them we hear such things such as:

“Accept our guru as divine and you can escape the wheel of life and enter eternal bliss.”

“Accept our message and the space brothers will rescue you from Armageddon.”

“Accept our teachings and you can escape duality and enter the blissful eternal void.

There are many versions of this idea, but in principle they are all the same which is, “Do as we say and your labors are over.”

When the seeker hears such teachings he must fall back on his common sense and the wisdom of the soul and ask, “When has anyone ever achieved a great accomplishment without effort? Does not real world observation tell us that progress in any endeavor is largely proportional to the effort made?”

The only qualification is that the effort should be made in the right direction, but even if the disciple works smart and efficiently great effort is still needed for a great accomplishment.

The highest aspect of God is Will for without the will to create the universe would not even exist. Now some believers think that all God had to do to create the universe was snap his fingers, but reality says otherwise as science indicates that God has been at it for over 14 billion years and still things are far from perfect. It is even taking God a great effort to whip the universe into perfect condition.

The same principle of focused effort is needed by all lives including you and me if we want to accomplish anything worthwhile.

“Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Jesus – Matt 5:15-16

“And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and THEIR WORKS DO FOLLOW THEM.” Rev 14:13

Seed Thought of the Day:

Falling in love is the closest thing most mortals have that relates to a direct experience with God.

Day 356

The God Experience

The Seed Thought:

Falling in love is the closest thing most mortals have that relates to a direct experience with God.

There are those fortunate people who have had the falling in love experience where the intensity was so great that the individuals do not want to be apart, as they are experiencing a greater high than any drug could produce.

The experience is so joyful that it is seen as a cherished memory even if the relationship breaks up.

Even more fortunate are those who have had a spiritual experience of oneness with Spirit. This can be even more intense and is an even more wonderful memory.

Now both of these experiences have their lower pseudo counterpart.

The true falling in love experience is produced from a two-way sharing of love energy. The feeling produced in a one-way attraction only involves lower desire and though the feeling may be intense, the vibration is low and incomplete.

Correspondingly, the true spiritual experience is also two-way – between the seeker and a great spiritual life. The false one involves the individual tuning into his own higher emotions which can generate intense feeling.

Those who have had both true experiences will marvel at the similarity between the two. The question is, why are they similar?

In the spiritual experience the seeker shares a oneness with pure spiritual life. With falling in love the two are imperfect personalities but overlook the lower and for a time see the perfected soul in each other. Thus the two experiences are similar with the spiritual one being of a more refined vibration because two lower personalities are not involved.

If those who have had a true mutual falling in love experience realize that there are higher and more intense spiritual experiences available then they have great reason to continue on the path of the seeker until full soul contact is achieved.

Seed Thought of the Day:

One must have enough empathy to relate to the suffering in the world, but keep enough detachment to avoid madness.

Day 357

Empathy

The Seed Thought:

One must have enough empathy to relate to the suffering in the world, but keep enough detachment to avoid madness.

Some who are sensitive complain that they suffer when around others who are in pain and this makes life difficult for them.

All of us are affected by this to a degree. Perhaps the most common situation is that of a parent dealing with a sick child. The suffering of an innocent child, especially your own, has a powerful emotional pull on one who loves him or her.

But consider all that is happening on planet Earth. Millions of all ages are suffering and near death with disease, accidents and abuse. Just imagine the distress you would feel if you could feel all their pain. Such a thing would indeed lead to madness.

Then consider the universe itself. Somewhere in the Universe a star system is going Nova and is completely destroyed with all life therein. Considering that there must be millions of planets with life that has suffering thereon certainly would magnify this problem of one identifies with the whole.

Yet even through all this suffering the Creator remains at peace and in a state of bliss.

Since we are created in the image of God we can do the same thing and see from a perspective that allows us to remain at peace no matter what is happening around us.

Fortunately, we are each created with a separate consciousness so we do not share another’s pain unless we extend our consciousness through empathy. The seeker must be careful to not over extend his empathy or he will become so distracted that he will be of no use to God or man – and certainly useless to those who are suffering that he wishes to help.

Once again, a moderate common sense approach works best.

Seed Thought of the Day:

If reality disagrees with your opinion then change your opinion.

Day 358

The Key to Change

The Seed Thought:

If reality disagrees with your opinion then change your opinion.

It may seem obvious to the casual observer that people would follow this advice, but unfortunately many do not.

And why is this the case?

Because we as humans just do not want to admit we may have been wrong.

And why is this?

There are two reasons. The first is obvious and related to the ego. To admit to ourselves that we have been wrong disturbs the ego’s sense of self worth or value. The “I” part of ourselves likes to see us as being clever, astute and being right all the time. It takes a blow when confronted with error and becomes defensive.

The second reason is not so obvious which involves the time factor. A wrong choice often leads the individual on a path of labor which causes an investment of much time and labor. No matter what the investment is no one wants to lose it all and start over. When the person has resources invested in a direction he seeks to protect the investment, even if it is a Ponzi scheme.

Therefore, to discover you are wrong usually involves the deflation of the ego and loss of investment. At least that is the way it is perceived.

So, how does the seeker transcend this problem so he can move ahead?

A greater realization will help the seeker overcome the ego. If he realizes that finding error so he can increase his progress toward the truth is a much greater benefit than the saving of a hurt ego he will greet correction with gladness rather than anger. The ego will still tell the seeker that it wants to be right but the higher part of himself has to tell the ego to settle down.

A higher realization also solves the second problem. The seeker must realize that part of his journey involves taking the wrong paths, understanding why they are wrong and then moving back to the correct one. He is not losing an investment for the whole journey is the investment. By analogy, discovering an error is like adding money to your bank account.

In both cases a higher realization is the key to success.

Seed Thought of the Day:

What good is it if we have light but keep it under a bushel? The bushel is composed of fear, inertia, ego, lack of confidence and dependence on unjust authority. Let us remove the covering and keep this a land of the ever present sun, in season and out of season.

Day 359

Let Your Light Shine

The Seed Thought:

This thought calls to mind the words of Jesus:

“Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Matt 5:14-16

Who wants to put a light under a basket? You would think the answer would be no one, yet such a thing must be a problem or Jesus would not have brought it up.

Notice how the verse begins. Even though the greatest light was Jesus, he did not tell them, “I am the light of the world,” but “Ye are the light of the world.” He said this to his disciples who were taking his words seriously. Jesus was a lighted candle, who lit other candles. He obviously wanted them to see that they also had light and once having light one incurs a responsibility to spread that light.

What would prevent a disciple from sharing light and truth once it is received? There are several things:

(1) A feeling of inadequacy or unworthiness.

I’m sure some in the audience felt that Jesus was doing the job for all and their contribution would not be important, but these did not realize that Jesus needed their help, that it was important for them to let their light “shine before men.”

(2) They think that any attempt to enlighten others is related to the ego wanting feel important and should be avoided.

Yet the greatest proclaimer of light to the world was Jesus. Was he centered in the ego? Was he encouraging others to be egotistic by admonishing then to expose the light they have?

To share is not saying you are better than the one receiving, but is an act of love if done with a humble spirit.

(3) Fear. The sharing of light is often met with resistance, ridicule and attack. Because of this many are hesitant to let their light shine. Of course, the seeker must use wisdom in how he shares and not unduly antagonize others, but he should share what he can without fear as the opportunity permits.

Seed Thought of the Day:

Imagination precedes reality, so imagine well.

Day 360

Imagine Well

The Seed Thought:

Imagination precedes reality, so imagine well.

The seeker must firmly establish in his mind the fact that thought has tremendous power to create and that creation can be good or bad. For instance, Tony Robbins tells his listeners how he visualized being rich and successful and it came to pass. Then we have the Biblical story of Job with all his problems who exclaimed, “For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me.” Job 3:25

Imagining either good things or negative results sends energy and structure into the creative ethers so we might as well imagine that which is desirable.

Most seekers will buy into this idea but some will ask why anyone would focus on the negative. One thing we do know for sure is that many people do make this mistake, but it helps to understand why. There are a number of reasons.

The first is that many do not understand the power of their own thoughts. If they fail to correlate results with positive or negative thinking then they will not monitor their thoughts and may often find themselves wandering into ideas that are not wanted in the real world.

Secondly destructive thoughts take less energy than constructive ones. It is always much easier to destroy than to build.

Thirdly, fear is a very powerful emotion and has great power to make life miserable. Even if the thing you fear does not happen the results of the fearful thoughts may still bring numerous unwanted events in life.

Lack of confidence or feeling undeserving is another factor. Many just do not think they deserve good things to happen to them.

The list could go on but this gives the general idea. The seeker must learn to neutralize the negative and once he realizes the power of his building thoughts he can place his focus on desired outcomes.

Some outcomes take more energy to manifest than others so they key to success lies in two main factors.

Pick an outcome that you feel is possible and that you are sure will be satisfying.

Secondly persevere until success is achieved. Someone once said, “Have you ever known someone who has worked his entire life on a goal and did not achieve some measure of success?”

Fortunately most goals do not take a lifetime to achieve, especially for the seeker who understands the power of his thought and imagination.

Seed Thought of the Day:

When the student is ready the teacher will appear. Therefore, focus on getting ready rather than just thinking one is ready. Find your next step.

Day 361

The True Teacher

The Seed Thought:

When the student is ready the teacher will appear. Therefore, focus on getting ready rather than just thinking one is ready. Find your next step.

The first sentence is a famous maxim known by all spiritual students. Most students think they are ready and either think they have found their teacher or looking for one to show up. The questions to ask are these:

Am I really ready, or do I mistakenly assume I am?
Are the current teachers in my life just placeholders filling in time until I am ready for the real teacher?
What steps do I need to take to be ready for a teacher that can truly assist me?
How can I recognize such a teacher when he or she shows up?

Most students assume they are ready for a real teacher, but many are not. Just like there are true and false teachers there are true and false students (or perhaps “misled” is a better word). What is the difference between the two categories?

The main difference is this. The true and wise student will be doing all in his power to find and fulfill his next step and doing his best to develop talents and increasing his power to serve.

The misled student will not be fully applying himself but be waiting around for enlightenment to strike, or a teacher to just show up and tell him what to do. Instead, the student must seek soul contact and focus on impressions therefrom.

The teacher may be an unseen master, an advanced spirit, his own Higher Self or one here in the flesh and may step forward to assist after the student has first done all he can do on his own.

The student needs to ask this question. “Why would a busy teacher take time to teach me knowledge that is already explained in a book that is sitting on the table in front of me?” First study that which is readily available then you may be given more.

Until the seeker truly makes himself ready he will encounter many who will compete to be his authority, or link to the Divine. These are placeholders and also teachers but not the kind looked for. Their job is to teach us what a real teacher is not.

How does the student recognize the real teacher? He can only be sure of recognition when a degree of soul contact is achieved. The real teacher will be more of a guide than an authoritative figure and stimulate the student to to move forward with or without his presence. The truth imparted will be confirmed through his own soul contact.

Seed Thought of the Day:

You find what you are looking for, whether it be good or evil, the true or the false, freedom or slavery.

Day 362

You Find What You Look For

The Seed Thought:

You find what you are looking for, whether it be good or evil, the true or the false, freedom or slavery.

The Bible Code caused a big stir a few years back. Researchers discovered that if they looked for hidden references of historical events in the Torah that they could find them. Some then concluded that all the history, past and future, was secretly placed there by God. They concluded that since past events seemed to be predicted in there that the future has to be there also. They then applied this same process and made numerous future predictions.

The strange thing is that none of the future predictions came true.

This same phenomena happens with the writings of Nostradamus. After any big event we see some article telling us that it was written of by this sage. In fact, every big event from the past seems to be in there, but finding the future in his writings presents the same problem as the Bible Code. Every announcement of the discovery of a prophecy of the future seems to fail.

The question to ask is this. Why do scholars find past events in code in these two sets of writings, but cannot find the future there?

The answer is very simple and that is that we humans find what we are looking for.

If you wonder whether the Bible Code or Nostradamus predicted the 9/11 event then you have this in the back of your mind as you look and anything that seems to verify your notion on this stands out and in the end the image in your mind is verified.

Finding the future there is much different because you do not know what it is and thus you just look at what is actually on the page.

The fact that one can find the past but not the future gives evidence to the principle that we find what we look for.

This applies even to some quite outrageous beliefs such as the flat earth. The Internet age has revived interest in this idea and even though we now have thousands of photographs of a round globe, which is earth as well as other globular planets, those who look for evidence of a flat earth find it. Such people have made many hours of video giving us the supposed evidence they are correct.

The question the seeker may ask is this. If we find what we are looking for then is it possible to find the truth? After all, the earth cannot be both flat and a round globe. Only one has to be true.

Yes, the seeker can find the truth. To find it one has to merely look with no preconceived notions. This is very difficult as most people are influenced by their bias. The final solution is to obtain solid soul contact. Then the soul will guide the seeker’s attention away from bias and directly toward that which is true.

Seed Thought of the Day:

Just as gold must pass through the refiner’s fire before it reaches its highest purity and value, even so must the disciple pass through every obstacle that can be thrown in his way on the path of service.

Day 363

Refiner’s Fire

The Seed Thought:

Just as gold must pass through the refiner’s fire before it reaches its highest purity and value, even so, must the disciple pass through every obstacle that can be thrown in his way on the path of service.

A recent thought I wrote enlarges on this idea:

It is ironic that life often treats her benefactors as if they are criminals who must pay a debt before they can serve the greater good.

The greatest example of this was Jesus, but there are many others such as his disciples, Galileo, Ignaz Semmelweis who was attacked for insisting that physicians wash their hands before an operation, Winston Churchill when warning of Hitler, and many more.

Any time a seeker decides to participate to any degree in moving himself or any part of humanity forward toward greater light and love it will generate a vacuum of negative force that will bring forth events and circumstances to pull the person backwards and keep him from taking the step forward.

When the seeker decides to use his resources to advance toward greater light and love he must be prepared to encounter resistance. The greater the impulse is to move forward the greater will be the resisting force to pull him backwards.

When one goes forward in the service of others he would think that one would be greeted with open arms by the many who would benefit, but that is rarely the way it works out. Instead, it seems that the servant must first go through a trial by fire, as if the gods demand that the one making a Herculean effort must first prove himself before he even is qualified to be a worthy servant.

Jesus made this important statement to disciples:

“Be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.” Matt 10:16

He also said: “Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness.” Luke 16:9

A good example of this approach was Isaac Newton. He spent a third of his life investigating forbidden ideas in scripture, a third in forbidden alchemy and the occult, and a third in science, which was accepted. He wisely kept two thirds of his research and thinking secret so as to not inflame the authorities at the time. It wasn’t until 2007 that his spiritual thinking was published to the masses. His wise approach prevented potential enemies from destroying his work.

Many a seeker thinks that he needs to just blurt out all that is on his mind, but sometimes this is not wise. Instead, he must take a realistic look at what the public is willing to receive and give it to them while holding back on some of those things which would cause enemies to come out of the woodwork opposing him.

Then there are other times that the only path ahead involves a release of the truth that will cause great conflict that must be faced, as was the case with Jesus.

This is where true soul contact is so important. The true seeker must be prepared to follow whatever it is the path the Higher Will sets out for him.

Seed Thought of the Day:

Most pain and disease has its root cause in resistance to taking the next harmless step in spiritual progression. Find out what that next step is, and take it; then a quantum of life energy will be released to circulate and heal your entire being.

Day 364

Causation and Pain

The Seed Thought:

If you take two people living a similar lifestyle and it turns out that one is healthy and pain free, whereas the other is enduring all kinds of pain and suffering what are we to conclude?

The common thinking is that the one enduring hardship is just a victim of bad luck associated with his inherited health potential and there was nothing he could have done to avoid his problems. To insinuate in any degree that those who suffer hardships, ill health and pain are exacerbated by anything other than maybe diet and lack of exercise is politically incorrect and can be a cause of vicious attack for being insensitive.

The hard fact is this. There is a cause for everything. If two people have the same lifestyle and one suffers painful ill health then there is something going on in this person that is initiating the cause.

I will briefly explain the cause of much pain and suffering by the individual not recognized by the science of today. It is simply this. Your soul or Higher Self has a plan for your life with lessons you need to learn. When it sees the time is right for the seeker to take the next step it sends an impression that will register on subtle levels in the hope of eventually reaching the fully conscious mind. If the seeker correctly picks up the message and acts upon it then he will release currents of energy that will energize him and successfully propel him onward through his life’s missions.

On the other hand, if he looks at his next step and resists taking it then blockages of energy will occur that create all kinds of painful problems. More often than not the pilgrim will reject his next step and create problems for himself until those problems become so painful that he looks up at the skies and asks, “Why me, God!” It seems that God is picking on him rater than trying to help him.

Asking this question is often a milestone and eventually leads to an answer where the next step can be taken and the pain and problems neutralized.

The next step in the progression of any individual is never easy. Because it is difficult resistance is common. If the seeker obtains a degree of soul contact he will be able to successfully see the next step ad take it without putting up a fight and creating many problems for himself.

Seed Thought of the Day:

We have reached the end of this course and have only one day left. If you have applied all the lessons it is hoped that they have been helpful in bringing you closer to your soul and understanding your true connection. We will end this course with two important, but connected seed thoughts.

An important key to spiritual progression is to make sure that every word you speak is true to the best of your knowledge. You do not have to reveal all you know, but what you do reveal should be true.

A broken promise is serious because it is a breaking of the will, your will. You have willed to do a thing and your will was broken by the only person who can break it, yourself.

Day 365

Being the Truth

Final Seed Thoughts:

A broken promise is serious because it is a breaking of the will, your will. You have willed to do a thing and your will was broken by the only person who can break it, yourself.

How does the seeker expect to find and recognize truth if he is consciously giving out that which is not true? The law of cause and effect tells us that we reap as we sow – that we receive back in kind to that which we have given out. Therefore, it stands to reason that if one gives out error and distortion he will receive, not pure truth, but error and distortion in return.

Have you ever explained to another something you knew of a surety to be true and present him with solid evidence, yet he cannot see it? Instead, he clings to a distortion of reality that you know is just not close to the true one. Have you wondered why this person cannot see the truth when it seems so obvious?

The answer is that the person has practiced deception on others and thus is suffering the effect on himself.

In this last lesson, if I can stress just one important starting point on the road to complete soul contact, it is that the seeker must be true to himself and others, else he cannot expect the truth to be true to him. If he allows deception to creep into his words then oftentimes he will not be able to see truth when it is staring him in the face.

To correctly discern truth and error that is out there he must first correctly separate truth from error within his own heart.

Now, of course, the seeker can make honest mistakes and some error may turn up in the words of the most honest among us. The responsibility though is to make sure that all the words coming out of your conscious mind are true to be best of your ability and knowledge. The worst thing the seeker can do to hinder soul contact is to tell outright lies that he knows are not true.

A broken promise is similar to a lie but different. When a lie is told the person knows that it is not true but many promises are made thinking that they will be fulfilled, but were not. Maybe the promise was completely sincere, but something unexpected happened to prevent its fulfillment.

In the area of promises, unlike merely telling the truth, more than sincerity is needed. On top of this, must be added good judgment and foresight. The seeker must look into the future and see all possibilities that could interfere with the fulfillment of the promise. If you promise to take your spouse out for dinner on Wednesday, yet there is a 10% chance your boss will ask you to work late then that 10% chance must be factored in. The seeker would then qualify his promise with careful wording such as,

“I’ll take you out to dinner as long as I do not have to work late.”

Or, even better, “Let’s plan on dinner Wednesday, barring something unforeseen.”“

Or…

“Lets go out to dinner Wednesday.”

The last statement only gives your intention, but has no promise behind it. If something comes up you both realize is important there is no harm done and no promise is broken.

Consider this. Suppose you were visited by a divine messenger, as were some of the prophets of old, and he gave you some truth accompanied by a promise. Would you trust him?

Most likely you would.

Why?

Because you associate a Divine Presence with truth.

If the seeker wants to be one with his Divine Soul or Higher Self then he must also become one that can be trusted to tell the truth and fulfill his promises.

It is my wish that the readers will take this advice that sets them on the path and then follow it to the consummation of full soul contact.

Links for the first 26 sections of this series.

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14, Part 15, Part 16, Part 17, Part 18, Part 19, Part 20, Part 21, Part 22, Part 23, Part 24, Part 25, Part 26