Category: Love

The Fire of Our Being

In this article, we’re going to figuratively gather around the collective “Fire of Our Being.” We might imagine it as a large bonfire that’s glowing with flames that are dancing lively and flicking their sparks toward the evening sky. The burning wood snaps with sizzling crackles as its energy is released. Around the fire, there are benches and chairs on which we can sit and be comfortable. Gleeful children, who aren’t yet ready to listen to our chat, are playing tag behind us. When we gaze upward, we see stars in the heavens that sparkle like diamonds; and the brilliant moon is so close–we can see the “man” who lives there smiling at us. Here on Earth, we’re sitting together as brothers and sisters. We’re taking turns to share, listen, congratulate, and embrace one another tightly. Everyone is welcome to sit around our fire. It’s my turn to talk…so I begin:

***

“My brothers and sisters,” I say, with my arms spread in welcome, “a trick has been played upon us. And it has fooled the majority of us for too long. NOW is the time for knowing better. When we first came to Earth, we–each of us–were given a name. Our names come in great variety; and we speak with many accents, depending on where we live. But it’s important that we know our True Identity. We are not our names! A name is only a word that refers to that which it represents. You can never get wet from the word water!

We’ve been conditioned to believe that there is a separate “me” looking out from each of us. But that’s not the case. Only the mind attempts to fool us this way! There is only One Knower, and our body-minds shine by Its Light. When we become still and quiet our mind, we can realize through our heart that the Knower in you–Consciousness–is also the same Knower in all of us. In Truth, we are One.

What are we…truly? We are aspects of That which makes this Earth, the sun, and galaxies. Out of The One arises everything–all that was, is, and shall be! We are born of The One that makes all of the world’s oceans, lakes, and rivers; if it was not for The One, nothing would flow, including us. The One is the only Creator; and, we, creations of The One. We are alike in nature–Spirit; and differ only in degree. Our body-minds are on this Earth, but we–Spirit–are not. We belong to, and exist through, The One. We are intended to work together, help one another, and express the best that’s within us. And the best within us is God.”

***

The fire burned until the wee hours of the morning; and we, brothers and sisters, huddled around it. At one point, a shooting star blazed across the inky sky; and soon after, another one–playing tag–flamed behind it. To stay warm, we gathered closer when the fire died down to embers. The atmosphere was bathed with rich Love–the real, everlasting kind. There was no talk of nations or division; no line drawn in the sand to separate this and that. We knew the harvest of the world was intended to be shared equally. Everyone had enjoyed much talking and laughing, eating and drinking, sharing and caring. And when we departed to go our apparently separate ways, we were happy to know that we were expressions of the One.

Dare to dream (and care for one another).

With heartfelt regards,

Art

Copyright © – 2020 – R. Arthur Russell

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” 🙏🏻🧡

Service…With a Smile

Guilty–as charged! Yes, the title of this article is cliché, but there’s good news: the content isn’t. As you may have guessed, the content relates to service–the real kind; not the smarmy “have-a-nice-day” (insert roll of the eyes) kind. On a deeper level, service can be interpreted as Purpose, with a capital P. Through wisdom, we learn that Being, Life, and Purpose are all so interdependently woven that one thread cannot be withdrawn without tugging on the others.

It’s been shared in the past, but the message is so important that it’s worth repeating again: “We’re not here to ‘get a life’ but to express the life that ‘is’ us.” The majority of persons may find this a perplexing statement; because from the perspective of the little “i” that presumes to be running our daily lives, it can certainly seem as though we live for the sake of our “self.” The “me-kind” of purpose, which most of us may have demonstrated at one time or another, is ultimately empty and meaningless; for such means that our sole reason for living is to keep the egoic self fed, watered, and physically and mentally satisfied. Such is a brochure to a destination, and a way of living, that most individuals wouldn’t want to visit.

There’s a spiritual saying that can is paraphrased as follows: “Before you can move into the big house, you must first move out of the little house.” It means that before we can recognize our true Self (the Big House), we have to move out of the little house (the ‘i”); and we do so by investigating its nature. The question “Who Am I?” is a good place to begin. One of the glorious realizations during my transition of houses occurred when I read, and understood, the following quote. Its measure of truth–a 10/10–is deserving of center stage:

“The tree does not eat of its own fruit.”

What a powerful quote–so vibrantly ripe with meaning! The words resonate with the core of our Being. They barge right past the little guy or gal who’s been pretending to be “me” and shout: “Why do I live? What’s my purpose? How may I help, contribute, and serve? When we find the answer, we discover the gold that’s to be shared with everyone! Does this describe a life of self-sacrifice? Yes, most definitely! But here’s a related point that’s referred to in the first paragraph: The self that’s surrendered isn’t real. We only sacrifice the thief that’s been robbing our life of true joy.

A secondary, yet important, point is worth making: When we knowingly discover our true Self, our lingering energies of the little house may tempt us to remark about the purpose that others express. It could be tempting to judge. Resist; better yet–don’t. Would such behaviour express our highest ideal? No. Everyone one of us is at a different stage in our journey; due to this, all of us–at heart–are doing the best that we can, given our vantage point. A note of profound meaning is worth remembering:

With love as our benchmark, we can’t go wrong.

A perfect world (balanced in Harmony, Truth, and Love) demonstrates that the real reason we live is for one another. That means that the good that I do serves you; and that the good that you do serves me or one or more of our worldwide brothers and sisters. Everyone is included; for the All That Is has no room for exclusion. The phrase that describes such a way of living is Peace on Earth.

Dare to dream (and care for one another).

With heartfelt regards,

Art

Copyright © – 2020 – R. Arthur Russell

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 Echo of “I Am”

In wisdom teachings about our essential nature, which is identical in quality and nature to God’s, an analogy is sometimes used of the sun shining as a reflection in water-filled pails. The sun, which is self-luminous and requires nothing else by which to shine, refers to Consciousness; and the water and the pails refer to us, the body-minds or persons. In the analogy, the unaware person assumes that there’s an individual sun in each pail. We, of course, realize that this isn’t the case. The analogy is intended to help us understand that each of us (water-filled pails) is not a source of consciousness unto our self. We shine (or know) by the light of the one-and-only true Sun, Consciousness.

Another analogy came to me this morning. Imagine the following, if you will: In the beginning: Consciousness, All That Is. Eternally and silently, It thinks, hums, and knows “I AM.” Through its creative faculties, It creates all that apparently is, including us. In our mind, we hear the echo of “I Am“–The Creator that logically would have to be within each and every one of Its creations. The confusion arises when we assume that the echo is generated by, and belongs to, our little “i” that walks this Earth. Consciousness is not personal; It is Universal. In John 10:30, Jesus is attributed with stating the same message: “I and my Father are one.” Through innocent ignorance, the majority of humans believe they’re limited to the body-mind that will surely die. This erroneous belief leads to tremendous suffering.

In case this seems like a whole lot of mumbo jumbo, it may help to know that scientists have been unable to identify the biological processes which they assume give rise to a supposedly personal sense of “i” within the human being. They never will. Why? Because the Consciousness which creates, and with which experience is known, isn’t personal. In other words, it doesn’t belong to the body-mind. The story of the little “i” that most persons believe themselves to be is known through Consciousness, the only one there is. A quote from Joel Goldsmith, who was a noted spiritual teacher, beautifully relates this Truth:

“Take off your shoes in the presence of the word ‘I’ because you are speaking the holy name of God.”

There are tremendous benefits that arise through understanding the nature of our True Self; not the least of which is fearlessness regarding death. When we know that the true “I” within us, that “is” us, doesn’t die, we realize that there’s nothing to fear. With this understanding, we can live–fully–here and now. The only self that dies is the fictional “i” of name and form, which is rendered by the mind. The Real “I” is all that is…eternally.

Dare to dream (and care for one another).

With heartfelt regards,

Art

Copyright © – 2020 – R. Arthur Russell

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” 🙏🏻🧡

Be The Change

Mohandas Karamchand (Mahatma) Gandhi(1869 – 1948), is attributed with the following well-known quote: You must be the change you wish to see in the world. The expression–or similar versions of it–has become common, almost to the point of being trite. However, just because we may see it on coffee mugs, T-shirts, and plaques doesn’t mean that we should overlook the wisdom it contains. In this article, we’ll be looking at how it relates to the Law of Attraction.

“What,” you may ask, “can this possibly have to do with attracting a better life?” In short, a great deal. Those of us who’ve been studying the Law of Attraction are already aware of the importance of our Point of Attraction. We realize that it is from here–now–that we attract according to our habitual thoughts and feelings. If we’re feeling down or depressed, we’ll attract (or definitely notice) more situations and circumstances about which to feel sad. Conversely, the same holds true if we’re thinking good thoughts and feeling fine. This is also expressed through Galatians 6:7 KJV: “As ye sow, so shall ye reap.” When we habitually sow goodness, we must reap more goodness.

When we become the change that we wish to see we are actually aligning ourselves with a fundamental law of the universe. This law operates by reflecting back to us our inner state of Being. If we desire to see a more loving world, we must first Be more loving. If we desire to see more prosperity in the world, we must first Be more prosperous. The same applies for other virtuous qualities–such as patience, kindness, and compassion–that we desire to experience in the world. Many of us may wonder, however, how our thoughts and actions could possibly make such a difference.

This will make more sense when we understand (or better yet know) Oneness. Imagine if you will that there is nothing and nowhere outside of One. And–contrary to a common misconception–humankind does not stand separate and distinct, apart from One. Because it can’t! All is intimately connected. When we realize that we are included in Oneness–and that there is only Oneness–we may understand that all of our actions must have an effect upon the whole. How could they not? Therefore, when we lie, cheat, or steal, we literally create a world in which we will experience more lying, cheating, and stealing. Our thoughts and actions are occurring within Oneness…because there is nothing beyond the whole! Conversely, if we think and demonstrate love, patience, and kindness, we are improving the quality of the whole for everyone.

Conceptually, this may be understood more easily if we imagine people smoking within a closed room. At some point, they’re going to inhale that smoke again, for it will return to them. By finding a way to serve goodness to others, we’ll also attract like goodness to ourselves. We must–for our world is a closed system much like the closed room beyond which nothing else exists. The good we create–the smoke in the analogy–must come back.

My suggestion to everyone who desires to create a better life (and to help the world situation) is to live Gandhi’s quote for a week. For seven days, practice it by deliberately expressing the highest ideal that you desire to experience in the world–to everyone, in every situation, in all of your interactions! If it is more love we desire, we must be more loving. If it is more patience, kindness, and sincerity we desire, we must be more patient, kind, and sincere. And when the week has passed, I further suggest adopting this manner of being for the rest of our life. All of us will benefit by doing so.

Dare to dream (and care for one another).

With heartfelt regards,

Art

Copyright © – 2020 – R. Arthur Russell

P.S. Please share this article if you believe it holds value. If you’d like to view my latest book (This Taste of Flesh and Bones–released September 8, 2020), press here. May it help you in your spiritual journey. 🙏🙏

“Thank You” & “Note to Publishers”

One Without a Second

If you’re still one of the vast majority who believes that you’re a little self born of flesh and bones, you may benefit from reading this article. Why? Because all of us–no matter how spiritual–realize that the body-mind (aka person) comes with an expiry date. This may not seem important now, but someday it most certainly will. The heart of this article revolves around an assumption that by and large goes unquestioned: Am I truly who I think I am?

Our ego would have no part of an article like this; for it believes that it’s in competition with, and disinct from, all of those other selves. It views the world from the perspective of separation, not unity. It sees humans of different colours, forms, and shapes–and conceptualizes them as different from itself. This is no wonder; for we’ve been conditioned to believe this since infancy. As we see ourselves, so we see the world. When we identify with this view of the world, our little “self“judges everyone as a potential friend or foe; or worse, as something that can be used for its own gain. The ego believes that it must fight for its right to survive; and that means defending itself at all cost. When this perspective dominates the collective consciousness, humans go to war…in the name of peace.

The good news is that we can recognize the Truth of your Being without intensive study; neither does such require that we attend a church, a synagogue, a temple, or a mosque on a regular basis (although doing so may prove beneficial). The Truth of our Being cannot be realized by the mind; for the Truth is beyond the mind. As Sadguru so wisely stated: “Truth cannot be interpreted; it can only be experienced.” To realize our authentic Self all that’s required is to withdraw from the sense world on a regular basis, by stilling the body and the mind. There, in the gap between two thoughts, we may glimpse the still Presence which is the Truth of our Being.

This Oneness to which I refer, can–and will–give us anything that we desire: health, wealth, and success beyond measure; but It asks–nay, demands–that to receive such favours, we must pay a price in return: We must surrender our erroneous belief of being a separate self. Why? Because as long as we’re filled with what’s false (the ego), we have no room to be filled with the Truth of our Being. Any associated pain or loss that we may feel when we contemplate surrendering our self may be lessened when we realize that what we’ve called “me” has no actual existence apart from the mind. It is wholly a conceptual self. A verse from Mark 2:22 can add to our clarity: “And no man putteth new wine into old bottles: else the new wine doth burst the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles will be marred: but new wine must be put into new bottles.” That new wine is found when we recognize (to know again) our true Self.

To my knowledge, Rupert Spira offers the best definition of Consciousness: “That with which all experience is known, in which all experience appears, and out of which all experience is made.” Contrary to popular misconception, the True “You” is neither personal nor mortal. You are like in nature and quality to That which gives birth to universes and human hearts with equal ease.

Dare to dream (and care for one another).

With heartfelt regards,

Art

Copyright © – 2020 – R. Arthur Russell

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” 🙏🏻🧡

Snakes and Ladders

When I was a young child, one of the games I used to enjoy playing was a board game called Snakes and Ladders. It’s actually still available to this day. It consists of a board with horizontal squares numbered 1 to 100; beginning in the bottom left corner. The objective of the game is very simple: A player wins by being the first to land his/her gamepiece at the square marked 100. Players take turns rolling a die and advance their gamepiece accordingly. If players land on a ladder, they can scoot upward; conversely, if they land on a snake they must slither downward. So, what’s the point?

What I didn’t realize until recently is that this simple game is based on an ancient board game from India called Moksha Patam. Moksha, for those who may be unfamiliar with the term, means to be liberated from the cycle of birth and death. This occurs through enlightenment; a term which refers to the recognition of True Self (which is Spirit) and, thus, the falsity of the conceptual person. The game was originally intended to help teach basic lessons regarding morality and how to better live with one another. The ladder represents our noble qualities–such as love, compassion, kindness, generosity, and empathy. The snake represents our ignoble instincts–such as lust, greed, anger, selfishness, and hatred.

On a human–grown up–level, we can still learn many valuable lessons through analogy of our life and the game of Snakes and Ladders. It reminds us to be aware, especially with regard to our thoughts, speech, and actions; for these are building our character and, thus, creating our destiny. If we allow our life to be driven by our little egoic “i,” we are certain to lose; for a self-centered cannot help anyone win. Such will be a shallow life, to say the least; one lacking the depth and richness that ultimately makes life worth living. To truly win, we are wise to apply ourselves to helping others climb their way to success. In effect we, thereby, become the ladder for their ascension and let our life stand humbly in the background. Sweet idea, isn’t it? Even better lived.

Dare to dream (and care for one another).

With heartfelt regards,

Art

Copyright © – 2020 – R. Arthur Russell

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. May it help you in your spiritual journey. 🙏🙏

“Thank You” & “Note to Publishers”