“Spelling” Success

In the following fictional account, I share real tips that I hope will help you experience more success in your life, both personally and professionally. As the title suggests, it relates to casting “spells:”

***

Kate and Sloane, who are now forty-three and forty-five respectively, first met when they were young children. They liked each other immediately and soon became best friends. During the long hot days of summer, they enjoyed spending time together as often as possible. They took great joy in sharing their secret dreams; of countries they desired to visit, businesses to start, and possessions to acquire. Excitedly, they would high-five each other and exclaim, “Yes, we can do this!“

When they were in college, the difference in their approaches to life became evident. Although they both faced challenges, Kate somehow managed to surmount them fairly easily. Sloane’s life was filled with struggle–with his grades, part-time jobs, and relationships. Undaunted, he vowed to work harder to achieve the success he deserved. Over time, their friendship slowly drifted apart. Their lives diverged in other ways, too. Kate did, indeed, achieve the success she envisioned; but Sloane did not.

From a law of attraction perspective, the difference in their level of achievement resulted from the ways that they were spelling success. Whether we realize it or not, everyone is casting “spells” via our habitual thoughts, feelings, and beliefs. Kate happily performed her work “from” the perspective of already being successful. She was living her passion, which made it natural to feel successful. This was the paradigm (pattern, or example) that she carried within her wherever she went. Sloane, on the other hand, performed his work with the dream “of” one day being successful. He reasoned that if he worked hard enough, he would finally achieve his dreams. The subconscious paradigm that he mentally carried was of his self-proclaimed past failures. He talked about them frequently. In contrast, Kate mentally claimed her success before it manifest. Sloane was mentally chasing success; but Kate was embodying it.

***

The reason for the varying degrees of success experienced by Kate and Sloane is related in the following passage from Matthew 13:12:

“For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance;

but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.”

“Whoever has” refers to those who have claimed their success and prosperity in consciousness (in health, wealth, and relationships) and, thus, carry it with them in the core of their Being. “Whoever does not have” refers to those who carry subconscious paradigms of failure and poverty.

This message is echoed in the following passage from Proverbs 23:7:

“For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.”

If you’re seeking success (as you, yourself, define it), you might consider asking yourself this question: Do I already possess my success at the core of my being, or do I hope to experience it in the future? Just for the record, no one has ever experienced the future. In other words, “you can’t get there from here.” All there is, is Now.

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” 🙏🏻🧡

The Story of Gain and Loss

The paradigm of reality which I relate in this article is radically different from the one that we’ve been conditioned to believe. Almost everyone, particularly in western-type cultures, has been programmed to blindly accept that they are a separate self (the little “i”) who either gains, and is, therefore, labelled a success; or losses, and is, therefore, labelled a failure. Due to this, we naturally judge the value of our life and that of the people around us by this criterion. Such could be described as a competitive way of living, at best; a treadmill of despair, at worst.

For many, this societal system based upon comparative ranking is the cause of many sleepless nights and an underlying stress to perform. “Yes,” says the little i-voice within us, “if i perform well enough, i will then receive what i need.” That need is usually the desire to be loved. The trouble is that this little i-voice toggles between success and failure on a regular basis. It’s a fickle phantom, inclined to whimsically praise or criticize. Success that’s achieved is eventually replaced by so-called failure. It is this erroneous belief that leads to false pride and boastfulness in so-called winners; and their opposites in the so-called losers. We might contemplate the situation of a star athlete who is happy as long as his/her career is going along well. What happens in retirement, after the glory days are over? What then?

The compass related to the “personal” story of gain and loss points only outward or inward. In the outward direction, persons continue to believe that if they work harder, perhaps in a different arena, they will achieve the success for which they yearn. In the inward direction, the failure-related suffering can be so great that Grace appears and points us to a deeper dimension of Self, which transcends the world of the person. The majority of persons may be unaware that success based soley on outer circumstance must ultimately fall to its opposite. How could it be otherwise in an ever-changing world?

What I’m suggesting is that the quality of everyone’s worldly experience improves dramatically when we catch the thief—the egoic “i”—before it steals more of our innate joy. Being is easy. Attempting to be a “successful person,” however, is riddled with pitfalls and problems. Buddha called such Dukkha, which loosely translated means “stress” or “suffering.” When we investigate the nature of the little “i” that has been blindly chasing gains and shunning losses, we may discover that the “i” that we’ve been attempting to appease doesn’t truly exist.

In the paradigm of reality that I refer to as Truth, every person flows from One Fountain of Divinity. As droplets of The Divine, each of us possesses unique talents that are intended to be expressed. We might imagine this as dipping our ladle into the Ocean of Universal Consciousness prior to incarnating. The droplet of consciousness labelled as John Brown, might later express a talent for carpentry or the practice of medicine; while the droplet of consciousness labelled as Jane Smith might later express a talent for writing or the practice of law.

Upon recognition of the truth of our Being, we naturally transition from the competitive mindset and embrace our collective talents and abilities. Everyone is viewed as being essentially equal. No one is above or below “another;” for ultimately we realize that there is no “other.” In recognizing our Oneness, we appreciate All. When this occurs on a grand scale, everyone experiences a more peaceful and beautiful way to live. The phantom storyteller of gain or loss is nowhere to be found.

Dare to Dream (and care for one another).

With heartfelt regards,

Art

Visits From “Art”

The purpose of this article is not to ramble on about “Art” and his apparent life. We’ve all heard enough “then-i-did-this” stories to realize that they usually, if not always, become quite boring. That is not to say that I do not love “Art” or appreciate his apparent journey; I do. It’s just that if we desire to recognize (know again) the Truth of our Being, it’s important to gain and maintain figurative distance between true Self and the character who you’ve erroneously assumed yourself to be. Most persons do not; and as a result there is the experience of suffering, both personally and collectively.

Physical, mental, and emotional suffering is related to a variety of circumstances; but despite the variety, all apparent suffering shares one root cause: our ignorance-based identification with the character that is masquerading as “you.” This identification is understandable, because from Day 1 of our appearance, we are conditioned to believe that we are the person of name and form that is experienced. The truth is that we are not.

We may illustrate this point by imagining that we are a court lawyer (true Self) who–day after day, year after year–is forced to defend the same defendant (our character) as though “our” very life depended on it! The defendant and we seem so closely united as to appear inseparable. On some days, it’s relatively easy to arrange bail for our character (which gives rise to happiness); on other days, it’s impossible to escape a harsh sentence (which gives rise to unhappiness). This is the human condition. It manifests as experiences that alternate between pleasure and pain.

For persons who experience the suffering related to identification with the egoic character, please know that there is a solution. It’s called enlightenment; which means to awaken from the dream of personhood and, thus, be liberated from identification with our character. It can happen in much the same way that persons awaken after sleep and realize that the events that occurred during the dream state were only dreams. It’s important to realize that true enlightenment refers to freedom from the perspective of the person, not as the person. No person ever becomes enlightened.

Regarding the title of this article, Visits From Art refers to remnant energies related to my character “Art” and his attempts to impress me with his realness. He and the apparent world are not absolutely real; they are both rendered in the waking state (termed reality by most persons), by the same Infinite Mind that creates dreams in the dream state. Occasionally, my character still whispers, or demandingly cries, that life must bend to “his” will. A few years ago, knowing Awareness was freed from Its delusional identification with “Art;” and the feeling of freedom and expansion that followed has been, and is, amazing. Now, when the imposter (Art) comes to visit, the natural tendency is to become still and settle knowingly in, and as, Truth. So, too, can YOU. You are not the body-mind character that has been suffering. True Self is immortal and infinite.

***

For those who are earnestly eager to recognize true Self, you might find my YouTube presentation beneficial. I’ll leave you with a quote from Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, and his spiritual classic entitled I Am That:

“To be a person is to be asleep.”

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”

Of Leprechauns and Gold

Caution: Before reading this article, please know that part of its content may feel unsettling. On the plus side, it also contains a pointer to great joy. Both are related to the following questions: Do you remember the story of a leprechaun who was chasing a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow? Do you believe the leprechaun ever found that gold in the so-called “future?”

That devious leprechaun, which lies within everyone, can be so tempting. It attempts to convince us to follow it forever. With feigned wisdom and a sprightly dance, it exclaims, “Come follow me to great riches at the end of the rainbow!” To live in the manner it espouses, binds our apparent happiness to our senses and external circumstance; thus, we alternately experience great highs and lows. Only foolishness would have us believe the leprechaun’s advice. When we do, we trade eternal joy for the promise of an empty future; for as we realize, tomorrow never comes. To live a rich life, we must realize the truth of the following:

The gold of our Being is shining brightly, here and now

Nowhere beyond the eternal now may we mine our precious gold. The reason is simple: Nowhere else exists! Delusions of the mind would have us chase rainbows the world over–seeking happiness in fame, fortune, and perfect partners. Truly, think now, can another mountain climbed, another degree attained, or another relationship be the reason for our happiness? Can a real gift be found in an imaginal future? Tell, me if you will, has anyone actually found happiness that’s not–first–possessed within?

Now, dear friends, let’s approach this subject from Truth: I Am, I Am, I Am (Consciousness)—this is our silent, eternal song! I Am is the chorus, verse, and bridge! Our joy isn’t dependent on the leprechaun and the world; the leprechaun (body-mind) and the world are dependent on us! When we’re anchored firmly in the here and now, we realize that “I Am” is the rainbow, the pot of gold, and the gift!

Dare to Dream (and care for one another).

With heartfelt regards,

Art

Deliberate Creation 5:5

Persons who’ve heard about the law of attraction will most likely have polarized views. There will be a large camp of people who believe that it’s absolutely ludicrous; and there will be those in my camp, who’ve investigated it deeply, and believe in its validity. With the hope of helping you make an informed decision, I’m going to list five books about the law of attraction that I’ve read during a period of forty years. I also share five quotations that relate great insights; for those who are ready to receive them. Let’s begin:

Number 1: My overall favourite book about the law of attraction is entitled The Master Key System, by Charles F. Haanel. The book may seem a challenging read (it was for me the first few times); but I believe that its difficulty is offset by the amazing depth of content. Mr. Haanel was a heavyweight when it came to his level of understanding about our essential nature and manifestation. Here’s an important quote from Part Eight:

“It is the few who know that the things which they see are only effects, and understand the causes by which these effects were brought into existence.”

Number 2: Another book that holds a valued place in my small library of carefully chosen books is entitled The Power of Awareness, by Neville Goddard. He possessed a wealth of knowledge and expressed a great deal of it within this small book. I highly recommend this as an introductory book for anyone who desires to gain a deeper understanding. Here, I offer a quote from Chapter Thirteen, Acceptance:

“However much you seem to be living in a material world, ‘you are actually living in a world of imagination.’ The outer, physical events of life are the fruit of forgotten blossom-times–the results of previous and usually forgotton states of consciousness.”

Number 3: The next book on our list, entitled The Secret, by Rhonda Byrne, is undoubtedly the most well-known book about the law of attraction; but I believe that Ms. Byrne may not always receive the credit that she deserves. She’s still very passionate about helping people improve the quality of their life; and even more importantly, she’s also shares rich information about our essential nature. Here, I offer a quote from Dr. John Hagelin, found in the chapter entitled The Secret to You:

“Quantum mechanics confirms it. Quantum cosmology confirms it. That the Universe essentially emerges from thought and all of this matter around us is just precipitated thought. Ultimately we are the source of the Universe, and when we understand that power directly by experience, we can start to exercise our authority and begin to achieve more and more.”

Number 4: Neville Goddard’s depth of understanding about the law of attraction was so great that I’m going to include another one of his books, entitled Neville Goddard’s Interpretation of Scripture. I highly recommend it for persons with at least a moderate degree of knowledge about the teachings. Here, I offer a quote from page fifteen:

“Things have no reality other than in consciousness. Therefore, get the consciousness first and the thing is compelled to appear.”

Number 5: Last, but definitely not least, on my list of books with incredible value related to the teachings of the law of attraction is entitled A Happy Pocket Full of Money, by David Cameron Gikandi. He relates a wealth of knowledge about quantum physics, our essential nature, and techniques for manifesting. His book also contains a great affirmation that is repeated throughout the book. Here, I offer a quote from Chapter 4, Images of the Mind, The Blueprints of Life:

“The world is an illusion, as we will see much more clearly as we move on. See it as an illusion; believe it to be an illusion, an illusion designed to help you know and experience your Self. Once you do so, you will always remember to create the next version of the illusion that you wish to have. You literally create the next version of the world by painting your mind’s images with certainty.”

***

As you can see from the above quotes, to fully understand the law of attraction requires a paradigm shift toward so-called reality. Initially, this will undoubtedly seem strange; but if you allow your mind to open, you will discover the amazing benefits. A couple of questions may help: “Is not a world created within the dream state every night? Then, why is it not conceivable–in fact, quite probable–that Infinite living Mind is also creating this world of reality right now? To shift towards this perspective requires that we surrender our ingrained belief of being a body-mind. It is an appearance in Consciousness. The degree to which you might find this unbelievable signifies the strength of the egoic grip.

The law of attraction applies to every aspect of our life–health, wealth, and success. For readers who are earnestly eager to learn more about our essential nature and how to manifest more easily, I suggest that you click here to watch my five-minute video, and also read more of my previous articles. The information has been inspired from my personal experience and the study of more than one hundred books.

Dare to Dream (and care for one another).

With heartfelt regards,

Art

I Am ( _ _ _ _ _ _ _ )

With regard to the rather strange title of this article, I’m going to pose an odd question: “Do you dare?” That’s it, at least in part. Now here’s the question in full: “Do you dare fill in the blanks with the desire–most dear and important–that you hold in your heart?” At one time, I was too afraid to claim what I most desired. As a result, it couldn’t manifest. That was then. This is now.

Neville Goddard is one of the teachers that can help us learn how to manifest our deepest desires. Born in the Barbados, Goddard later moved to the United States. There, he met an Ethiopian rabbai named Abdullah, who taught him many of the mysteries of the Kabbalah. In following years, Neville wrote several books and held lectures about spirituality and the law of assumption. The following quote is borrowed from one of his books entitled Feeling is The Secret:

“The dominant of two feelings is the one expressed. I am healthy is a stronger feeling than I will be healthy. To feel I will be is to confess I am not; I am is stronger than I am not.“

To understand this more deeply, it will helpful if we examine the subject of time. Please become still with me now, and ask yourself the following question: “When but now could you experience any event?” Last night’s dinner was eaten now. Tomorrow’s breakfast will be eaten now. When you get married, or graduate, or move into your new house, you will do so now. How can this be? Because time is conceptual only; the past and the future don’t exist.

This is why we must claim what we desire Now.

By gently and repeatedly claiming our desire as though achieved (through feeling-imbued affirmations and visualizations), we impress a clear paradigm (mould or example) upon the subconscious mind. Let’s go deeper via a quote from Proverbs 23:7:

“For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.”

The heart is the real YOU beyond the “person” of name and form that you’ve assumed yourself to be. To manifest our dreams, we must claim–here and now–what we desire. To believe that our desire can be achieved in a conceptual future (that doesn’t exist) is to doom it to remain a dream unfulfilled.

So, I lovingly dare you: Please fill in the blanks (written in a few concise words) with the desire–already achieved–that you hold most dear in your heart. In private, quietly affirm it to yourself repeatedly, in a calm and relaxed manner. Write your goal on a card and place it in your wallet, pocket, or purse, and refer to it often. In your mind’s eye, from a first person perspective, see your desire fulfilled in every detail. Engage as many of your senses in the imaginal scene as possible. As doors swing open that lead to your desire, fearlessly step forward. You deserve all the goodness that you imagine.

Dare to Dream (and care for one another).

With heartfelt regards,

Art

Be Curious: (Gospel of Thomas)

We have been conditioned to believe that “each” apparent body-mind that we term a “person” has a separate and independent consciousness that arises at birth (however that’s defined) and ends at death. Such is the predominant view held by the masses. It is BUNK; in other words, poppycock, balderdash, and hogwash. In this article, I offer information that I hope will provide reasons to investigate that assumption more deeply.

***

In 1945, near the village of Nag Hammadi, Egypt, two peasants found several leather-bound papyrus codices in a jar in a hillside cave. One of the texts turned out to be The Gospel of Thomas, which is comprised of 114 sayings attributed to Jesus. The prologue begins as follows: “These are the secret words which the living Jesus spoke, and which Didymus Judas Thomas wrote down.” Please contemplate the meaning of saying 29:

Jesus said, “If the flesh came into being because of spirit, it is a wonder. But if spirit
came into being because of the body, it is a marvel of marvels. Indeed, I am amazed at
how this great wealth has made its home in this poverty.”

The wonderment expressed by Jesus (regarding the belief that the body-mind gives rise to consciousness) has recently been echoed by David Chalmers, a philosopher and cognitive scientist. He’s well known for coining the term “the hard problem of consciousness,” which refers to the challenge that neurologists encounter when they attempt to explain how neuronal processes give rise to consciousness. Here’s why: They don’t. There is a correlation only; not cause.

***

You are not who you think you are. The following question may naturally arise: “Then, Who/What am I?” You are actually God incarnate (Christ Consciousness, The Tao, Buddha Nature, Brahman, etc), whether you are knowingly aware of this or not. How can this be so? Because Consciousness is the only reality, and It is Universal in nature. The Father and I are One. All that is form, is representation, only; it is the manifestation of That which is forever Unmanifest. This is why it is expressed in Luke: 17:21 that you cannot point “lo, here” or “lo, there” to your Being. Consciousness is omnipresent, but we do not, and cannot, experience it with our senses as a thing. Because Consciousness is not a thing, it’s impossible to define or objectify it with the mind. To discover the kingdom of heaven, we must look within.

We’ll end this article with saying 3, in its entirety:

3. Jesus said, “If your leaders say to you, ‘Look, the kingdom is in heaven,’ then the birds of heaven will preced you. (2). If they say to you, ‘It is in the sea,’ then the fish will precede you. (3) Rather, the kingdom is inside you and it is outside you. (4) When you know yourselves, then you will be known, and you will understand that you are children of the living Father. (5) But if you do not know yourselves, then you dwell in poverty, and you are poverty.”

Our greatest poverty is to believe that we are separate from God. We may knowingly recognize the Truth; and such will, indeed, set us free from the suffering that’s associated with believing we are the person of name and form.

Dare to Dream (and care for one another).

With heartfelt regards,

Art

Quit Thy Childhood, Wake Up

The inspiration for this article arose from two recent events. The first was related to the poignant account of a man whose wife had recently passed away; of how he and his wife had walked a pathway together for many years, including periods when her body-mind had been ill. The second occurred when I read the following quote attributed to Jean-Jacques Rousseau:

“Sors de l’enfance, ami, revéille-toi!”

“Quit thy childhood, my friend, and wake up.” [tr]

The purpose of this article is to ease suffering that’s associated with the human perspective. Its content is a distillation of ingredients derived from my apparent personal challenges, and my passionate interest in the nature of consciousness, spirituality, and the law of attraction. The information will naturally pour forth to anyone who feels inclined to hold out a cup.

Every “thing” appears to have a beginning and an end, including persons. A sapling appears in the forest, and we realize that (if it grows unimpeded) someday an aged tree will fall. Due to our conditioning, the predominant belief held by humans is that we “are” the objective body-mind that appears. The body-mind (person) has a birth date and also a death date. The conclusion, therefore, is often that death must spell our end. Directly and indirectly, we experience the suffering the comes with this perspective. My personal story includes the sudden loss of my father when I was sixteen.

Let’s deepen our understanding NOW, by contemplating the meaning of the quotation above. By writing, “quit thy childhood,” Jean-Jacques Rousseau seems to be urging us to abandon our childlike nature and be adults; but, surely, he realizes that those who read his work are adults. How nonsensical! And what did he mean by, “wake up,” punctuated by an exclamation mark? The quotation seems like an apparent slap in the face. The key to a deeper realization is closely related to the subject matter of the book in which I found the quote: The World As Will And Representation, by Arthur Schopenhauer. In the first few lines, a strong clue–directly stated–is found for those who are ready to decipher its meaning:

“The world is my representation: this is a truth valid with reference to every living and knowing being, although man alone can bring it into reflective, abstract consciousness.”

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the first definition for the word representation is as follows: “an artistic likeness or image.” The majority of humankind may exclaim, “But, surely Schopenhauer didn’t mean this literally!” The “world” to which he refers cannot possibly be imaginal–it’s real, material, and objective, independent of our perspective! We are absolutely certain of this; but here’s the catch:

We’re certain, not because we truly know; only because we assume it so.

Many readers may, understandably, exclaim the following: “But my body, it’s real–I can feel it and sense it!” This, indeed, is a major component in the illusion that is being cast. The Sanskrit term for this is Maya. When we stay rigorously present with our direct experience (as Rupert Spira advises), we can acknowledge that we experience sensations and perceptions (via tasting, touching, seeing, hearing, and smelling) but never an actual body or world. It is only via the mind that we “know” anything objective. We assume that objects, including our body-mind and the world, possess independent existence; that we are merely observers of them. This, however, is assumption. That which is Real, eternal and immortal, is the Knower, not the apparent phenomena. To recognize this directly, we must turn within and discover the deeper dimension of ourselves that is beyond flesh and bones.

My interest in the nature of consciousness, spirituality, and the law of attraction paid an unexpected dividend. True to what sages, saints, and gurus have shared for millennia, this world, and our experience of it occur in a dream. It is to this that “quit thy childhood, wake up” refers. To avoid needless suffering, we must shed our childhood perspective and mature in the knowing of what we really ARE. Sri Ramana Maharshi advocated self-inquiry via the question “Who Am I?”, termed jnana-vichara in Sanskrit. In Truth, we are Consciousness, Spirit, dreaming a so-called human experience. To know this directly is what can ease the suffering that is part and parcel of identifying with the human perspective.

If this seems too ludicrous to consider, please contemplate the nature of your dreams at night. Do they not also seem real when they occur? However, in the morning do you see any evidence related to them, beyond fleeting memory? No, of course not. What Schopenhauer realized is that our true nature is Spirit eternal. When awaking occurs in the morning, we merely enter a deeper level of dream. Once again, we don the perspective of a separate “self,” with a continuing plotline for the character that is known by our name and form. The erroneous belief is that we can actually be that character. We cannot.

To believe that we and the ones we love are merely flesh and bones is to perpetuate a most enfeebling perspective about reality. It is founded upon ignorance (meaning unawareness) of our true Self. When we assume it, we are apparently limited to the abilities of that level of consciousness. To promote it through our own uninvestigated assumptions about our identity is to invite great suffering. This needn’t be so. Please, ask yourself, “Who am I?”–really. Any answer short of Truth will not suffice.

Dare to Dream (and care for one another).

With heartfelt regards,

Art

“The Heavenly Life”

James Allen was a New-Thought author of several books; his most famous one entitled As A Man Thinketh. For more than thirty years, a framed quote from it has held a place of honour in my bedroom. It begins as follows: “Dream lofty dreams, and as you dream so shall you become. Your Vision is the promise of what you shall one day be; your Ideal is the prophecy of what you shall at last unveil.” In this article, I’m going to focus upon another of his works, a little masterpiece entitled The Heavenly Life. He originally published the work without copyright, so that its rich content could be enjoyed by as many readers as possible. The following are some of the quotations that leapt to my attention:

***

“The toil of life ceases when the heart is pure.”

***

“Heaven is in the heart. They will look for it in vain who look elsewhere. In no outward place will the soul find Heaven until it finds it within itself; for, wherever the soul goes, its thoughts and desires will go with it.“

***

“Heaven is here. It is also everywhere. It is wherever there is a pure heart. The whole universe is abounding with joy, but the sin-bound heart can neither see, hear, nor partake of it. No one is, or can be, arbitrarily shut out from Heaven; each shuts himself out.”

***

“If you have a trouble it is in your own mind, and nowhere else; you make it, it is not made for you; it is not in your task; it is not in the outward thing. You are its creator; and it derives its life from you only.”

***

“Think lovingly, speak lovingly, act lovingly, and your every need shall be supplied.”

***

“Purify your thought-world until no stain is left, and you will ascend into Heaven, while living in the body.“

***

“Herein lies the peace and patience and beauty of Love–it sees no evil.”

***

To help you mine the rich content of these quotations, I offer the following quote from The Law of Success, by Paramahansa Yogananda: “The mind is the creator of everything.” As challenging as this may be to accept, this includes our body-minds, all objects, and the “world.” None of them have existence independent of the mind that perceives them. The degree to which this seems impossible is represented by the density of the apparent veil of egoic identity. All body-minds are only representational forms of various perspectives of the ONE, Consciousness. The quality of our life depends on the beliefs that we hold in our heart, true Self. It is from these deeply held paradigms (models, or patterns) that our apparent “reality” is formed. When better than NOW to ask ourselves what we’ve habitually been imagining?

Dare to Dream (and care for one another).

With heartfelt regards,

Art

Understanding The Law of Attraction

The key point regarding a deeper understanding of the law of attraction involves an apparent shift in our identity. I added the word “apparent” for good reason. Although we can only be what we actually are, it’s possible, however, to hold erroneous beliefs regarding our essential nature. This, in fact, is the predominant situation for the majority of persons in the story of humanity. Until we directly recognize true Self beyond name and form, we’ll probably believe that the law of attraction is merely nonsense at best; and, perhaps, detrimental at worst.

A closely related point that’s connected to deeper understanding is found as the first principle in The Kybalion, a book of esoteric teachings. The principle reads as follows:

“THE ALL IS MIND; The Universe is Mental.”

If your initial reaction is to exclaim that such is absurd, please know that you’re not alone. My first reaction was one of incredulity–“this” just couldn’t be true! The reason for my doubt, and that of many other persons, is simple: We’ve been so strongly conditioned to believe that we’re the physical person that to even contemplate being otherwise seems ludicrous! Most would probably agree that their mind is at least involved in observing their body as it interacts with the apparent “world;” but only a relative few know that Infinite Living Mind is actually creating their body-mind and the world. In fact, the thought of such a possibility has most likely never crossed their mind.

If we maintain that our body-mind and all other objects have “existence” independent of the mind that perceives them, we will be forced to remain at the level in which we believe that we (as physical body-minds) must be the doers/performers of all tasks and goals. True to this belief, such will seem to be the case. If, on the other hand, we can open our mind to the possibility that Consciousness is fundamental (independent of the person), we will realize that Infinite Living Mind is the creator of all, including our body-mind.

Please at least contemplate some of the nighttime dreams that “you” have experienced. Were there not persons, places, and objects in them? Did they seem real? If so, could this not also be the case for our apparent reality now? What I’m asserting is that the so-called “matter” in this world is fashioned from the same “stuff” that apparently occupied our dream state–namely, Consciousness. It is upon this vantage point of understanding that the law of attraction becomes credible. To create from it, we habitually hold a feeling-imbued idea of our desire already achieved and watch (as the witness) as actions are performed via our body-mind. There’s a detached and stress-free feeling associated with this form of creation; for we know that our essential nature is beyond name and form.

Let’s end this article with a photo-passage from The Secret Door to Success, by Florence Scovell Shinn:

As we can readily understand from the message, Florence Scovel Shinn is relating that it’s our habitual heart-felt focus, empowered via Infinite Living Mind, that makes the difference in what manifests in our apparent life. I, and many other authors and teachers, agree. This seems possible when we understand more about our essential nature. Do you really believe that you’re the body-mind that “YOU” witness?

Dare to Dream (and care for one another).

With heartfelt regards,

Art

Think2wice

CONSCIOUSNESS, SPIRITUALITY, & LAW OF ATTRACTION

Category: Empowerment

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The Story of Gain and Loss

Visits From “Art”

Of Leprechauns and Gold

Deliberate Creation 5:5

I Am ( _ _ _ _ _ _ _ )

Be Curious: (Gospel of Thomas)

Quit Thy Childhood, Wake Up

“The Heavenly Life”

Understanding The Law of Attraction

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