The Chain of Gratitude

Recently one morning, I had finished eating my breakfast of poached eggs, when a thought entered my mind about gratitude. I was actually brushing my teeth when it occurred. I found myself thinking, “thank you for my breakfast.” Just as quickly, another thought related to gratitude entered my awareness; leading to the following chain:

Thank you for the eggs.
Thank you for the bread, butter, and plate.
Thank you for the frying pan and stove.
Thank you for my kitchen.
Thank you for my refrigerator.
Thank you for my apartment, electricity, and running water…

As you can readily tell, the list of related items and conditions for which I gave thanks are like links of a chain. I soon actually chuckled to myself, because I realized the chain is endless. I’m glad that a willing and eager desire to offer thanks is within me. Such is part and parcel of realizing a good life.

I am not advocating a Pollyanna approach to life–far from it. People who deliberately give thanks still encounter challenging situations. My point about offering sincere gratitude is related to the science of neurophysiology. Hebb’s Rule, or Cell Assembly Theory, basically states the following: neurons that fire together, wire together. By practicing gratitude, we’re actually training our mind to deliver a positive outlook, which equates to less suffering.

As this relates to the law of attraction, it’s important to know the following: Whatever we practice is performed more easily. It, thus, becomes our habit. This also includes suffering and pity parties, in which we have trained our mind to label situations negatively. We can avoid worsening challenging times by ingraining a perspective in which we seek for the good that surrounds us. It’s here. Napoleon Hill, who wrote Think and Grow Rich, was well aware of this. I offer one of his famous quotes:

“Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit.”

Gratitude, habitually and sincerely expressed, has the power to transform our lives. Circumstances and events that might have been considered commonplace (such as a breakfast of poached eggs) become miraculous. You might ask yourself the following: “What have I trained my mind to focus upon–that which I’ve labelled good, or that which I’ve labelled bad?” If you’re seeking to improve the quality of your life, I highly recommend introducing, or continuing, the practice of gratitude. Breakfast anyone?

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” 🙏🏻🧡

“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

Trusting The Heart

Because a person’s focus is habitually turned outward, the majority of us attempt to make our life “right” by controlling external circumstances. We do this for the sake of happiness. For a time, this superficial strategy may seem to work; meaning, we get the perfect relationship, the incredible promotion, and the shiny objects that attracted our attention. On the occasions when the strategy doesn’t work, our natural instinct is to push harder, stressing all the way. “Damn it,” we cry, “I’m going to win or die trying.” Most people inevitably reach a point at which all of their strategies fail miserably. It’s at that point that the real work of living rises to the surface. If we’re courageous, we face it; if not, we often turn to distractions for solace. Such is the human condtion. It is rife with suffering.

In our brokenness, when we’ve been unable to achieve the goals that we erroneously believed would make us happy, we may find ourselves turning inward, to the real solution to our suffering. There, in the depth of our Being, so long overshadowed by ego, it’s possible to discover that our essential nature “is” happiness, itself. We knowingly realize that we are the broad, deep ocean of Consciousness, not the apparent wave. As Consciousness is everything, It needs nothing to enjoy the glorious moment-to-moment experience of life. Only the needful ego cries, “I need this or that,” to be happy.

When we see with clear discernment, we realize that it’s not our unfulfilled desires which are the source of our misery. It’s the assumption that their achievement could make us happy. Through an erroneous belief, we attribute the source of our happiness to apparent objects and circumstances. When we awaken to our essential nature, we realize that no such mechanism is required. Thus, we’re free to enjoy our apparent human experience. Here (breathe) and Now (breathe), we may trust the heart and live as peace and joy. I Am is prior to the human tales that attempt to define us.

Dare to Dream (and care for one another).

With heartfelt regards,

Art

Eric VonBlissville’s Notes

One day, several years ago, Eric VonBlissville (honestly, who could make up these names?!) awakened. This doesnt mean that he opened his eyes after a good night’s sleep, yawned, and then went to the bathroom to empty his bladder. He awakened to the very Truth of his Being. To say that such felt odd is and understatement.

During the next two years, Eric gradually stabilized in his new reality. Every situation and experience seemed bright and new. His conditioned ways of processing the world from the body-mind perspective were no longer appropriate; for he realized that such was founded upon falsity. In time, Eric adjusted. People, who sensed the change in his behaviour, were naturally drawn to him and asked questions about spirituality. Soon he began to hold satsang (spiritual discourse or sacred gathering) with seekers who were earnest to recognize Truth.

At the end of one such gathering, a woman named Sally stayed late and asked Eric a few questions in private. As she was about to leave, Eric handed her a pamphlet of information about his insights. She expressed sincere gratitude and took it home to read before heading to bed. Here’s the content of the pamphlet:

***

During the nighttime dream state, various perspectives are experienced. In one dream, we might be the pilot of an airplane that’s flying through a lightning storm. In another dream, we might be a camel herder, traversing a vast desert. In yet another, we might be a business tycoon, directing a worldwide conglomerate. In dreams, we experience a wide variety of circumstances and situations. We walk, talk, travel, and interact with other persons. Our dream character eats food and drinks beverages. The dreams feel absolutely real…until we awaken and realize that all was but a dream. At this point, we accept that mind rendered all of the experiences.

When we awaken from the dream state, we naturally assume that we “are” the character that arises. We have been conditioned to believe this without question. It feels so incredibly real to walk, talk, eat breakfast, and prepare for school or work. We are absolutely certain that we are the doer of our actions and, likewise, the thinker of our thoughts. Without proof, we assume that the world (Earth) exists as matter and, we (the person), as flesh and bones. The sun appears to rise in the east, and its heat feels very hot, indeed. When it rains, we get wet. To only a relative few does the thought occur to question what sages have known for millennia.

What the sages have known is this: The mind is the creator of everything, including this, our apparent world, here and now. The following quotes affirm this knowledge. The first is from The Final Truth, by Ramesh S. Balsekar: “What we ‘think’ we are is merely an appearance, an insubstantial shadow, whereas what we really and truly ‘are,’ is Consciousness itself, the formless Brahman.” The second is from The Abundance Book, by John Randolph Price: “Know that this entire experience is but an illusion, an outpouring of your beliefs, an effect of your consciousness.” The third is from Illusion vs Reality, by Shri Ranjit Maharaj: “Whatever happens in illusion, is only illusion, and in fact nothing ever happens. So many things happen in this world, birth and death, but it is only a dream.” The fourth is from The Heart of Suffism, by Hazrat Inayat Khan: “Every experience on the physical or astral plane is just a dream before the soul. It is ignorance when it takes this experience to be real.”

When we meditate, as advised in the Bible (Psalm 46:10: Be still and know that I Am God), we realize that we’re the witness of our sensations, images, feelings, and thoughts); that we’re apart from them. To realize this is to recognize that our true nature is Consciousness (aka God). The reality is that we are the Christ incarnate. If such seems blasphemous, please ask yourself whether it’s actually more blasphemous to deny our inherent divinity and believe that (humankind) can exist independent of God. As God (Consciousness) is the only reality, of what else could we be created?

To experience a human life, Consciousness temporarily forfeits knowledge of Itself and becomes the apparent character (the “person”). In other words, “That” which we are dreams the dream of being a person. All of our so-called human experiences are only possible within a dream. Knowing this helps us understand the true meaning of Acts 17:28: “For in Him we live and move and have our being.”

Persons who have not yet awakened to their essential nature (to be precise, Consciousness awakens from the delusional belief of being the “person”) may claim that we have lost our sanity. Such only reveals that they’re still unaware of the Truth of their Being. Science has known the truth about the “material” world for many years. Atoms, which were once believed to be the building blocks of the apparent world, are actually 99.999% empty space. They are more accurately termed whirling clouds of energy. The apparent world is actually made of energy; as is your body-mind and mine. Thus, all of our experiences only “exist” within a dream.

Much love, Eric

***

So there you have it, dear readers. Are you, like Sally, curious about your essential nature, beyond name and form? To knowingly recognize what you truly are is one of life’s greatest gifts.

Dare to Dream (and care for one another).

With heartfelt regards,

Art

Gratitude 2.0

The wisest of the wise know the importance of gratitude. They state that it has the power to transform the quality of our life. Through sincere gratitude (which is thought, felt, and spoken), we raise our life and the lives of those around us. Platitudes and trite clichés are not permitted; for they are barren soil, incapable of growing the quality of life we desire to experience. Nothing less than heartfelt sincerity will suffice.

With regard to the subject of appreciation, many persons may be unaware that it is divided into two major classifications. Gratitude 1.0 is when we give thanks that we can do be, do, and have in our life. We are grateful that we can see, hear, smell, taste, and touch. Likewise, we are grateful that we can walk, talk, and perform. We appreciate that we have a family, home, job/career, and food to place upon our table. We give thanks that we can lead a good life.

Gratitude 2.0 is of a more profound nature, one more closely related to the facts of deep appreciation. What, you might ask, is the difference? In Gratitude 2.0, we realize that we, as the body-mind (person) can do nothing. It is, and always has been, God (aka Consciousness) all the way. Although it appears that humans are the doers, we are not. We have been carried, and continue to be, for the duration of our apparent lives. In Gratitude 2.0, we realize the truth of Acts 17:28:

“For in Him we live and move and have our being.”

If we contemplate this even briefly, we may arrive at a deeper realization, one in which Gratitude 2.0 may literally take us to our knees with the most humbling appreciation. Do ‘i” really know how to heal a cut—or does the healing of a cut occur? Do “i” maintain my breathing while my body-mind sleeps—or does respiration occur? Likewise, do “i” digest my food, coordinate muscles, and maintain cellular functions? In Gratitude 2.0., we acknowledge that humans do not perform the miracles associated with daily living. We may give thanks, however, that God does.

Dare to Dream (and care for one another).

With heartfelt regards,

Art

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

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

Footfall Of An Ant

We begin this article with a quote from Teachings of Sri Ramakrishna. Although its message may seem ludicrous to the masses, it will strike a resonate chord to those who’ve realized their true nature. Here, I offer the quote:

“Pray to Him in any way you will. He is sure to hear you,

for He hears even the footfall of an ant.”

What nature of Power could possibly hear the footfall of an ant? Is this message to be taken seriously, or is it merely an exaggeration intended to grab our attention and ease our troubled heart? To understand the quote more clearly, we’re going to set aside our assumptions and dive deeper into our very own nature.

Although the Holiest of Holy cannot be defined (for such would be the foolish attempt to limit That which is Limitless), the following three terms are often used to guide us to recognition: Omniscient Omnipotent, and Omnipresent; meaning, all knowing, all powerful, and everywhere present. For the purposes of this article, I’m going to refer to It as the All in All.

If we contemplate these descriptors seriously (and I hope that we do), we realize that all forms, including ours, must be within, and comprised of, this All Powerful Field. To exclude our body-mind from the All in All would be illogical. Thus, the energy of this field pervades everything, including you, me, and eight billion apparent “others.” Taken further, this Field must (for how could it not?) pervade the body-mind of the ant. Therefore, when the ant makes a footfall, the All in All has to be there to hear (know) it. From Its perspective, the footfall may seem thunderous.

Logically, this must also apply to us. When we practice self-inquiry, we’re enabled to knowingly recognize the Treasure Within. A few questions will help point to that realization: Could it be that an erroneous assumption has been made regarding the nature of the “i that permeates our Being? Could it be that the All in All (which is Omniscient, Omnipotent, and Omnipresent) is the real Knower, and that It has been overshadowed by a fictional “i,” whose only apparent existence is derived from a repetitive, and usually negative, thought pattern? What is That which knows all experience? When true recognition occurs, and the identification with personality is shed, epiphany reveals that the YOU that knows your body-mind, and the YOU that knows mine, are One.

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

Party Of The Heart

The mind and its persistent “i” informs us that we are all different; that we appear in a multitude and diversity of name and form. Some are short and others tall; some are big and others small; some are young and others old; some are shy and others bold. With know-it-all authority, it adamantly proclaims that we are limited to the edges of our skin; that a separate “i” resides within my container of flesh and bones and that a “you” resides within yours.

Of colour and class, status and nation, it has its favourites. To all, (including itself), it judges fair or foul; worthy or unworthy. In judgments that are often ruthless and swift, it deems that some are friends but more are foes. In private, the “i” of mind is almost always competing in varying degrees; its aim is to win! Its version of happiness, which is always brief and fleeting, is dependent on circumstances fashioned from fool’s gold; it contains nothing real and lasting. Even a first-place win often contains the need to do so again repeatedly. Its core energy is divisive.

The good news, for those seeking to knowingly recognize their essential nature, is that beyond the apparent boundaries of the body and the blind assumptions of the mind, lies the unitive energy of Truth–a placeless place of transcendent beauty, peace, and LOVE. Here, all are welcome. In the Now, everyone is accepted as we are. There is no need to fear or boast, for such is realized as behaviour befitting illusory selves, “who know not what they do.”

***

Today, in this article, I invite you to a limitless Party of The Heart–a party in which everyone is not only welcome but also celebrated and applauded. To attend, you need not qualify or prove your worth in any way; your ticket is your very BEing. You’re worthy because you are a child of God. Please trust me, you’re more than enough–here, now, forever. You need bring no-thing; for that, indeed, is what we, Spirit, are.

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”

Think2wice

CONSCIOUSNESS, SPIRITUALITY, & LAW OF ATTRACTION

Category: Life Enrichment

The Chain of Gratitude

“Spelling” Success

Trusting The Heart

Eric VonBlissville’s Notes

Gratitude 2.0

Of Leprechauns and Gold

I Am ( _ _ _ _ _ _ _ )

Footfall Of An Ant

“The Heavenly Life”

Party Of The Heart

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