Author: R. Arthur Russell

Although I was employed as a Primary Care Paramedic for almost thirty-six years, I also have a keen interest in the study of Consciousness, Spirituality, and the Law of Attraction. I believe that when more persons recognize their True Self, they will be relieved of needless suffering. This is my purpose--to ease suffering and improve the quality of life through the sharing of knowledge. Toward that end, I have just published a book entitled "This Taste of Flesh and Bones" --September, 2020. I also publish articles on a regular basis @think2wice.me

Mission I AM Possible

Note: To cue my original no-expenses-spared rendition of the theme music from “Mission I Am Possible, please press here. In this performance, I’ll be whipping up some “music” with spoons–😎. Tickets are selling out fast, but there are still a few seats available. Now, let’s begin:

***

Just prior to entering this incarnation, “each” of us might imagine that we were standing on a high diving board, preparing to take another plunge into the realm that’s referred to as Earth. Why would we do this time and time again? As a method of refinement. In a manner analogous to rubber automobile tires that pick up bits of gravel, grit, and even nails, human beings pick up the energy of certain tendencies–some that serve ourselves and “others” well; and some that make suffering very likely. The trip, in which we actually never go anywhere, allows us to learn what serves a higher ideal, and what belongs to the “person” in the lowlands of Earth.

From my own experience and knowledge gained from books about spirituality, I believe that the soul (and sole) purpose of our journey, at least from a human perspective, is to find our way back HOME; in other words, to recognize our essential nature. We Are of God; therefore, our essential nature must be God-like. The main challenge related to this purpose involves dropping, or at least questioning, our murky human assumptions long enough to allow the Light of Truth to shine through. As long as we cling to a false ‘i’-dentity related to name and form, the likelihood of realizing our true nature is slim. Suffering “as” the human is the one natural solution that provides opportunity for expansion out of the prison in which we have figuratively been placed. This isn’t literally true; but it certainly feels that way.

How will we know if we’ve recognized true Self. Trust me, if you will, the realization is unmistakable; but don’t expect to see signs of It as an object. The Bible states this clearly in Luke 17:21: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” Another way of verifying if we have arrived is that most, if not all, of the fear, pride, and arrogance related to performance (for example, of a rendition of Mission I Am Possible) has been jettisoned along with our belief in the illusory person. This is the meaning behind the well-known but, perhaps, puzzling expression: “to find yourself, you must lose yourself.” When we lay down our false assumption that we can–ever–possibly be the “person,” we open ourselves to recognition of our Oneness. Our mission, should we choose to accept it, is to find That.

Dare to dream (and care for one another).

With heartfelt regards,

Art

P.S. Please share this article if you enjoyed it. If you’d like to view my latest book (This Taste of Flesh and Bones), press here. My YouTube videos can be found at Think2wice@I-Am-Aware. May the content of either or both help you along your spiritual journey. “Thank You” & “Note to Publishers” 🙏🏻🧡

Douglas Turns Homeward

Although the glow from a streetlight shone through Douglas Hepburn’s bedroom window, his inner night felt very dark, indeed. Within minutes of retiring to bed, he realized that sleep would not be forthcoming anytime soon. Despite his deep yearning for the balm of forgetfulness, his mind had decreed that he had tasks to which he must attend: He must focus on his ex wife, and the life they had once enjoyed together; he must concentrate on the pain of estrangement from his children; he must lie upon the torture rack and be stretched by the “why” yet another relationship had fallen by the wayside. And last, but not least, he must wonder why “he” had been fated a failure.

After arising several times to pace aimlessly through vacant rooms of his small house, Douglas found himself–as he had been taught to do as a child–kneeling at the foot of his bed and clasping his hands together. “Dear God,” he prayed, “please…please help me. I’m so lost, and I don’t know what to do.” Tears flowed down his cheeks as he continued: “I’ve tried so hard, I really have. Why…why must my life be so challenging?” A few minutes later, he rose upon shaky knees and, exhausted, crawled beneath the bed covers and fell into a fitful sleep.

***

Dear readers: If Douglas’s life situation feels familiar, please know that help is available. The help isn’t related to a specific type of counselling, religion, addiction center, or rehabilitation program; although all or some of those avenues may be worthy of attention. The help to which I refer is a solution that’s found within yourself; in that placeless place where we recognize our essential nature. We are not now, nor have we ever been, the person. The Truth of this may be recognized directly. Suffering arises due to erroneous identifcation with the body-mind. We are so much more than name and form. The key to liberation from suffering is to investigate the nature of the “person” that’s apparently suffering.

Dare to dream (and care for one another).

With heartfelt regards,

Art

From The Horse’s Mouth

Switch Mental Microphone to “On,” to allow the message to be broadcast around the barn and beyond:

***

“Hello folks, it’s wonderful to meet you. If I could talk–that is, in a language that humans understand–I would tell you the following: They call me With-A-Twist, but I’d like you to understand that such is not actually What I Am. They could have called me Fancy Pants or Lancelot, and it wouldn’t have made one whit of difference. You don’t have to be the smartest horse in the paddock to understand that a name cannot possibly be What you are. As much as people might like to assume that I’m just a horse, I’d like you to know that I Am an expression of The Divine Creator. Newflash: So are You.

My other horse friends and I are happy for just “BEing;” that’s because we don’t have a nag in our head–the little “i”–that would pretend to be otherwise. From what I understand about the ego, it’s the false self that often has you folks running around in circles for no particular reason. Rumour has it that the ego will cause you to say silly stuff, like–“When I was President of the world…”–just to impress other egos. Me, I’m happy just to Be.

Lately, I’ve noticed that you humans seem inordinately preoccupied with fear. You allow fear to rule your minutes, hours, and days because you believe the almost continuous narrative of the little “i.” Because you don’t recognize your essential nature, you believe that you must protect it. Here’s the rub, folks: It’s just a thought; it’s not “That” which you Are. If you folks were cars, it seems you’d rather rust to death than crash. Not me, I was born to run. I also know that the Essence of That which I Am is immortal and eternal. Worry not, right? “Let not your heart be troubled.”

With-A-Twist backs away from the mental microphone but then steps toward it again:

“Before you go, would you mind unbolting the lock on the stable door? It’easy–just grab the handle and slide to the left. Grab handle, slide to the left. I’d do it myself, but as you can see, I lack the opposable thumbs; fingers, too, for that matter. I’ve been penned up for far too long; and I’m beginning to feel it. I was meant to be outside, mingling with other horses in God’s green acres–know what I mean? Oh, and some oats, a couple of carrots, and an apple would be nice. Thanks.

Dare to dream (and care for one another).

With heartfelt regards,

Art

Sassafras’s Wisdom

Chase, Chuck, Charlie, and Sassafras were tromping through the wooded areas of their local park on a hot summer day. They were as alive as alive can get; with good wriggley energy pulsing through their young bodies. Unofficially, they were known as The Three Muskeeters–at least that’s what the crooked plywood sign read above the entrance to their tree fort. Sassafras had recently joined their merry gang, but they had yet to get around to changing the sign to “four.” The three boys, the “C’s,” had been friends since meeting at grade school a couple of years earlier.

The goodies–of licorice, chips, and pop–had long ago been devoured. Now it was time for serious talk, the get-down-to-business part of their outing.

“Let’s take turns sharing what we want to be when we’re grownups!” exclaimed Chase.

“Sounds good,” said Charlie, “but we gotta vote on it.”

With that, the children’s hands spiked upward, signalling that the proposal had carried.

“I wanna be a tax collector,” said Chuck. “It’s government, don’t you know; so at least there’s security. I also hear that the benefit package is quite attractive, with an indexed pension.” The other two boys nodded seriously and gave their thumbs up.

“I wanna be a mortician,” said Chase. “People are always dying–you hear of it on the TV almost every day; so business should be steady. If I salt away some savings on a regular basis and make some savvy investments in a diversided stock portfolio, I think I could do quite nicely.”

“Makes sense,” said the boys in serious agreement.

Next was Charlie. “I’m gonna be the owner of a tech startup. I’ll make sure that I get a ton of options in our initial public offering of stock and make a financial killing when I sell at the peak. That’s a flagpole formation on a trading chart, in case you didn’t know. I’ll make sure to set up an offshore business to evade any unnecessary tax burden, and I’ll probably be a billionaire before I’m thirty, if I play my cards right.”

“What about you, newbie,” chimed the boys to Sassafras. “What do you want to be?

“True to her deeper nature, Sassafras paused and allowed herself a few moments of contemplation before answering: “I think that being born a human being is very special,” she said, “so I want to make the most of it. “I just want to be happy, and I figure that the best way for that to happen is to follow my heart.”

“Nahhhh,” exclaimed the boys! “Seriously, what to you really want to be?!”

Dare to dream (and care for one another).

With heartfelt regards,

Art

Light Prevails

The following is “actual” radio communication that was recorded via satellites functioning for Awareness One. I apologize for the poor sound quality:

***

Triple6: “Ccssshh, come in, Bastard Child. This is Triple6.”

Bastard Child: “Go ahead, Triple6.”

Triple6: “Ccssshh. There’s been a breach.”

Bastard Child: “Go ahead, Triple6.”

Triple6: “Ccssshh. I say again, ‘there’s been a breach.'”

Bastard Child: “Let’s try this one more time. Say again.”

Triple6: “Ccsshhh. THERE’S BEEN A BREACH!”

Bastard Child: Dead line. Buzzzz.

Triple6: “Redial.”

Bastard Child: “Hello, you’ve reached Diablo Incognito. Your call is important to us. All of our Dark Operators are busy right now, but if you care to stay on the line, we’ll have our way with you as soon as possible. Directory options include: Press 1, to enroll in current Dark Classes101; Press 2, for Upcoming Evil Events; Press 3, for Despicable Deeds; Press 4, for Greed/Corruption/Propaganda; Press 5, for Egotistical Leaders of Our Time; Press 6, for all other inquiries. We’re experiencing heavier than expected call volume at this time. Expected wait time is two-and-a-half hours. Key muzak: The Devil In The Blue Dress.Triple6: (Lights a cigarette, bites his nails, taps his fingers). A finished pack later: Muzak ends:

Bastard Child: “How may I help you?”

Triple6: “We’ve experienced a tear in our narrative.”

Bastard Child: “How big a tear?”

Triple6: “Large–waist to crotch. We are officially exposed.”

Bastard Child: “Are you saying, worldwide?”

Triple6: “Confirmed, worldwide. They know.”

Bastard Child: “Who’s they?

Triple6: “The Awakened.”

Bastard Child: “Any chance that synchronized media patches could cover?”

Triple6: “No possible way.”

Bastard Child: “Be advised, this call never happened; this call never happened; this call never happened.”

Dare to dream (and care for one another).

With heartfelt regards,

Art

“The Touch Of God”

I offer the following poem:

***

Once upon a time,

The silent voice of the Lord sang through His people;

And hearing His glorious song,

They were changed, dramatically.

In the NOW of eternity,

They recognized their true nature--they were of Him;

Thus, they realized that they, too, must be Holy!

Gladdened, they also learned 

That their world became more loving

When they ensured that His mark

Was left upon everything they touched.

***

Dare to dream (and care for one another).

With heartfelt regards,

Art

P.S. Please share this article if you enjoyed it. If you’d like to view my latest book (This Taste of Flesh and Bones–released September 8, 2020), press here. My YouTube videos may be found through this link. May the content of either or both help you along your spiritual journey. 🙏🧡

“Thank You” & “Note to Publishers”

A Tear From The Divine

Bruno did not cry, ever. For as long as he could remember, he had believed that crying was a sign of weakness; and he, Bruno Steinbeck, was a strong man. The narrative that played in Bruno’s mind was, “I am a man with whom to be reckoned. If you mess with me, you will find yourself in a big mess.” A body builder, Bruno trained at the gym five days a week, lifting ever-increasing weight. When his body had refused to comply with his demand of “more, bigger muscles,” he had forced it to submit to his will through the use of steroids. He would show the world his strength, or die in the attempt.

Outside of the gym, Bruno was also a force with which to be reckoned. The notion of conquest that he applied to weights in the gym also applied to his relationships and the women he dated. How good it felt to have attractive women hanging on his arms. In business, he also applied a motto of beat or be beaten. Earth was a competitive arena, with no room for losers; it was survival of the fittest. On a superficial level, life felt very good; but there was a yet-to-be recognized level of suffering lurking beneath the surface.

As part of his training, Bruno often posed in front of full-length mirrors to study the shape and size of his muscles. It was during one such posing session, that Bruno noticed one lone tear suddenly run down his right cheek. He was holding weights at the time, so there was nothing he could do to hide it. Would other body builders see it?! There was the tear…trickling downward, until it reached his upper lip. As quickly as he could, Bruno set down the dumbbells he had been holding and wiped the tear aside with his palm. Unnerved by the bizarre occurrence, he left the gym early that day.

***

That night, just before Bruno drifted off to sleep, “That” which sent the tear to him at the gym, spoke to him softly but clearly. It seemed as though he was feeling the words emanate from the pillow beneath his head: “Dear child, “It said, “you’re carrying too much burden. Put down your weight and awaken to That which you really ‘are.’ You’ve been dreaming your so-called life; of apparently being a muscular man named Bruno, who is six-feet tall. Please listen to me now; you’ve ignored Presence far too long. Give rest to your innocent ignorance and awaken to Truth. You cannot possibly be who you ‘think’ you are; that is delusion related to your egoic self. To know the lasting peace that ‘passes all understanding,’ you must know thyself.”

Dare to dream (and care for one another).

With heartfelt regards,

Art

Good Reason To Hate

(Note: It is highly likely that this will be my shortest article). With reference to the title of this article, I offer the following:

***

None.

***

Dare to dream (and care for one another).

With heartfelt regards,

Art

Tony’s Parrot

Once upon a time, there was a lonely middle-aged man named Tony. He’d had several brief relationships; but for reasons unknown to him, they always ended abruptly. The women knew, however; there was an aura about him which they found very unappealing. At one point, Tony’s loneliness became so severe that he decided to purchase a parrot for company. Off he trudged to a local pet store. When he returned home with the parrot, which he named Billy Boy, he hung the birdcage on its stand in front of the television. He reasoned that Billy Boy would, thus, have something to watch while it was locked up in its cage.

None of Tony’s neighbours knew what he actually did for a living. To one, he had claimed to be a rocket scientist; to another, a health professor; and yet another, a political leader. All they knew for certain was that Tony was gone…all day long.

One day, after leaving the T.V. attuned to a non-stop business news program, he returned home and was pleasantly surprised to hear Billy Boy talking. He raced to be at his side.

“The DOW is down, the DOW is down!” squawked Billy Boy, as it shuffled side to side on its perch.

Tony was so impressed that he rewarded Billy Boy with some brown rice, his favourite food.

The next week, Tony returned home and was overjoyed when he heard Billy Boy had learned some more new words.

“The market’s going to crash! The market’s going to crash!” cawed Billy Boy.

Again, Tony rewarded Billy Boy with some more food. This time, he gave Billy Boy steamed vegetables, which he gobbled up.

The following week, Tony returned home; and before he had removed his coat, he heard Billy Boy sing, “Bitcoin’s a buy! Bitcoin’s a buy!”

With tears of joy, Tony approached Billy Boy and embraced its cage. How he loved his little bird, the partner for which he had longed.

***

If persons had heard Billy Boy spew its news about business, they might have assumed that Billy Boy was quite bright–perhaps even a business genius, trapped inside the body of a parrot. We of course, know better; for we realize that Billy Boy was just parroting what it had been programmed to repeat. There was no thinking involved.

Dare to dream (and care for one another).

With heartfelt regards,

Art

“Thank You” & “Note to Publishers”

Good Rumblings at “The Place”

Tom and Jerry, who were caretakers at The Place, had sneaked out the back door for a smoke. They had worked hard for the previous few days, in preparation for the spiritual gathering that had begun only a half hour prior. As rules governing social attendance had been dismissed, The Place was packed to the rafters with one thousand men, women, and children.

“Should be a quiet night,” said Jerry, after he exhaled a deep draw from his cigarette, “I don’t think those spiritual folks will get too rowdy.”

“Yup,” said Tom, “clean up should be a breeze, too.”

They continued to puff and chat; but within the next few minutes, they noticed a groundswell of sound from behind them. They could actually feel it; it pulsed through the air as though by its own life.

“What the heck…” began Jerry.

“…is going on?” finished Tom. With that, both men stubbed their cigarettes beneath their boots and went back inside and climbed the iron stairs that led to a small overhead viewing platform.

Below them, a woman holding a microphone was jubilantly shouting questions. She moved with electrified vigour upon the stage.

“What’s The Center of your life?” she cried, with a triumphant wave of her free hand.

From the crowd (consisting of persons who were rising to their feet in increasing numbers) came the powerful reply: “God Is!” In unanimous agreement, they accentuated their replies with a loud “Thump, Wump” stomp of their feet.

“And where is The Center?”

“Wherever I Am!” Thump, Wump!

“Is The Center in you?”

“Oh, yes!” Thump, Wump!

“Is The Center in your neighbour?”

“Yes, there, too!” Thump, Wump!

“Is there anywhere that The Center isn’t?“

“Nooo!” Thump, Wump!

As the sound continued to build in intensity, Tom and Jerry looked at each other, stunned by the appearance of persons young and old being moved by the Spirit of Truth.

“I’ve heard rock bands quieter than this!” shouted Jerry, with a hand cupped aside his mouth.

“Me, too!” shouted Tom.

Again, the woman on stage urged the crowd onward: “Where is The Center?”

“Everywhere!”

Leaning forward, she filled her lungs to the brim, then turned and cried, “I can’t hearrr you!”

“EVERYWHERE!” came the thunderous reply. Thump, Wump!

“And where does IT end?”

“Nowhere!” Thump, Wump! Thump, Wump!

“Is it your essential nature?!”

“Yes,” cried the crowd, “oh, yes!” Thump, Wump!

With the last reply, Tom and Jerry turned from the platform and made their way outside for another smoke. “Crazy kooks,” muttered Jerry. “I second that!” exclaimed Tom, raising his hand. It was time, they agreed, to break out the bottle of whiskey that they had stashed behind a panel for just such an emergency.

***

What Tom and Jerry didn’t realize is that the Omnipresent God that the people were celebrating is often referred to as Consciousness. It has been described as a sphere, whose center is everywhere and perimeter nowhere. It is “That,” the one-and-only Power which was actually empowering Tom and Jerry’s freedom to deny Its very existence. Due to innocent ignorance, Tom and Jerry were unintentionally “prodigal sons.” If they grow weary enough of the world, Grace might gently nudge them to look within and discover their true nature. Conversely, they might continue to cope with life’s apparent challenges through bottles of malty distraction. Regardless of the outcome, All is ultimately good.

Dare to dream (and care for one another).

With heartfelt regards,

Art

Think2wice

CONSCIOUSNESS, SPIRITUALITY, & LAW OF ATTRACTION

Author: R. Arthur Russell

Mission I AM Possible

Douglas Turns Homeward

From The Horse’s Mouth

Sassafras’s Wisdom

Light Prevails

“The Touch Of God”

A Tear From The Divine

Good Reason To Hate

Tony’s Parrot

Good Rumblings at “The Place”

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