Not By Accident

That you find yourself reading this article (perhaps with enough curiousity to read it twice), has not occurred by accident. In the right place, at the right time, conditions align. Such may be a sign that the real YOU is becoming weary of playing the persona you have erroneously assumed yourself to be. It may, indeed, be time to awaken to true Self and knowingly recognize that you are not the egoic self of name and form with whom you’re familiar. How can this possibly be?

From the human perspective, it’s often convenient to believe that we are responsible for the favourable circumstances of our lives. We naturally assume credit because it feels good to do so. However, when unpleasant circumstances arise, we may wonder what we did to deserve such horrible conditions, or blame ourselves for being fools. Upon the shifting sands of ever-changing circumstances, we attempt to forge rich and fulfilling lives. From the point of the Absolute, nothing occurs by accident. As challenging as this may be to contemplate (much less accept), the nature and quality of our predominant thoughts and beliefs have everything to do with the apparent events that arise in our lives.

To help deepen our understanding of our essential nature and of how events–both personal and collective–occur, I offer the following passages:

“We do not wake up into a really waking state. In the waking state the world emerges due to ignorance and takes one into a waking-dream state. Both sleep and waking are misnomers. We are only dreaming. True waking and true sleeping only the gnani knows. We dream that we are awake, we dream that we are asleep. The three states are only varieties of the dream state. Treating everything as a dream liberates. As long as you give reality to dreams, you are their slave. By imagining that you are born as so-and-so, you become a slave to the so-and-so.”

(I Am That,” by Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj)

***

“Is there any reason to doubt that our dreaming mind functions uninterruptedly throughout the twenty-four hours of our time, that is, from birth, or before it, to death?“

(Why Lazarus Laughed, by Wei Wu Wei)

***

“You are at home in God, dreaming of exile but perfectly capable of awakening to reality. Is it your decision to do so? You recognize from your own experience that what you see in dreams you think is real while you are asleep. Yet the instant you awaken you realize that everything that seemed to happen did not happen at all. You do not think this strange, even though all the laws of what you awaken to were violated while you slept. Is it not possible that you merely shifted from one dream to another, without really waking?“

(A Course in Miracles, by Helen Schucman)

***

“No one doubts the reality of the world. They see trees and mountains, and they are certain that all of it exists. Only when this certainty is challenged is the dream doubted. Wake up, and find it was a dream.”

(Wake up and Roar, Satsang with Papaji, by Eli Jaxon-Bear)

***

“Every appearance on the physical or astral plane is just a dream before the soul. It is ignorance when it takes this experience to be real.”

(The Heart of Sufism, by Hazrat Inayat Khan)

***

“The fact of the matter is that our waking reality is as much a creation of our mind as our dreams.”

(The One in the Mirror, by Ramesh S. Balsekar)

***

Dear Readers: To identify with the perspective of the person is to invite suffering. Life may proceed smoothly for many years; but circumstances eventually change. When we recognize That which we truly are (Spirit, Awareness, Consciousness), we process the circumstances of life more easily. To help this occur for YOU is the reason that I share this information.

The One had no other way to apparently become a multiplicity and diversity of various forms except through the power of imagination. You are not who you think yourself to be. You are an Infinite Being, dreaming a human life. When our attention is turned inward, we can recognize a much deeper dimension of Self. The Bible states this in Psalm 46:10: “Be still and know that I am God.” Through Grace you may realize that NOW.

Dare to Dream (and care for one another).

With heartfelt regards,

Art

Copyright © – 2023 – 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. 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”

Oh, What a Thrill!

Oh, what a thrill–the glorious ever-present thrill of Being! Thrilling, trilling, and twirling–taking no thought of the past or the future; I Am That I Am, here and now. I can dance across clouds and leap the tallest buildings. I can gallop faster than the speed of light or sit still as absolute silence. I Am unlimited potential–rich with infinite possibilities. I Am the Life of distant galaxies and the ripeness of each moment. I Am the fullness of sunrise and the beauty of sunset. I Am the wings of each bird in flight and every crawling ant. I Am That which moves the wind and its gentle kiss upon your cheek. I Am the beat of your heart and the breath within your lungs. I Am baby, infant, toddler, child, and adult. I Am simultaneously here, there, and nowhere. I Am everything, no-thing, and anything. I Am the Absolute; the glorious All in All.

Please come and join Me–now. My invitation is always open. We will dine as One at My table and feast upon foods that take our fancy. To be with Me, there is only one requirement:

You must leave your “self” behind.

Such means that you must allow your body, your mind, your name, your gender, your age, your nationality, your status, your history, and all of your self-related definitions to fall away. I also ask you to surrender your pride; but when you do, I will remove your shame. In order that I may fill you, you must first become empty. Please don’t mourn or feel sad. I Am not asking you to surrender anything real. I Am only asking you to shed your illusions. As you let go of who you think you are, you knowingly enter the fullness and freedom of That which you truly are. The world of effects in which you live and move and have your being is not what’s real. But I Am; which means that so, too, are YOU.

I Am the unchanging realness of everything–including YOU.

Oh, dear, sweet child–how I love each and every one of you. My only desire is for your health, happiness, and wholeness. I have baskets full of joy to share with you; if you will only awaken and receive. When you’re confused about your true nature, you seek ways and means of being happy that cannot possibly last. Please turn to me; for as you do, a warm and comforting sense of familiarity will flood through your being. You’ll come to know Me again. Oh, what a thrill.

Dare to dream (and care for one another).

With heartfelt regards,

Art

Copyright © – 2023 – 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. 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”

Are We “There” Yet?

Most parents will be quite familiar with the question that serves as the title of this article. The question (or variations thereof: “Soon? Much farther?”) often arises from our children during long car trips. To the children, the destination just seems so dang far away. The same mindset often lurks within us during our journey-less journey toward knowing recognition of true Self. In The Perennial Philosophy, by Aldous Huxley, he expressed this very clearly:

This ‘experience,’ which is a state of emotional excitement–an excitement which may be mild and enduring or brief and epileptically violent, which is sometimes exultant in tone and sometimes despairing, which expresses itself here in song and dance, there in uncontrollable weeping. But emotional excitement, whatever its cause and whatever its nature, must be died to by anyone who aspires to live to divine Reality. ‘Excitement’ about God (the highest form of this kind of excitement) is incompatible with ‘experience’ as immediate awareness of God by a pure heart which has mortified even its most exalted emotions.”

The point that Aldous Huxley made so eloquently is about the experience of awakening to our essential nature and how that relates to the person. To fully awaken is to live from the perspective of true Self; as opposed to the perspective of the illusory conceptual self that we refer to by name and form. As with so many points related to spirituality, a paradox applies: If we (as a person) are incredibly jubilant about having experienced recognition “of” the pinnacle of our essential nature, we have still not arrived. We are yet not there (liberated) until we’re presently living “as” true Self, and fully aware of What–not who–we actually are. From that perspective, such just is what it is. The situation is also described through the following quote from St. John of the Cross:

"The fly that touches honey cannot use its wings; so the soul that clings to spiritual sweetness ruins its freedom and hinders contemplation."

The toggle switch between awareness of That which we actually are and who we think we are is incredibly sensitive. When we are knowingly unaware, it can be triggered abruptly by habits that belong to the body-mind. We can be reminded of the difference by contemplating a few questions: “In awareness of the inherent fullness of our true nature, who is it that could possibly be feeling lonely?” “In this dream called life, who is it that could feel guilty of acts labeled bad or rejoice in those labeled good?” As we stabilize in recognition of our essential nature, we may be surprised to realize that–yet again–we have descended a rung or two on the ladder toward personhood. When such occurs, it’s often wise to become still, take a few slow breaths, and regain our center. In time, the egoic voice that’s habitually asking whether we have arrived yet will lose energy and fall silent. And that’s good news.

Dare to dream (and care for one another).

With heartfelt regards,

Art

Copyright © – 2023 – 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. 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”

“One In Other”

I have just had an up-close-and-personal reminder of the incredible goodness (Godliness) that’s shining just beneath the surface of human experience. I was shopping at a store in my home town, when I was approached by a man who made a huge difference in my life. He is one of many to whom I owe so much gratitude. We smiled and shook hands; and within a couple of minutes, I started to thank him for what he did several years earlier. A little back story is required:

In 2006, the apparent life story of Art included a sudden divorce from a twenty-year marriage. The shock of the event was like being driven off of a cliff; the after effects, a free fall that lasted for years. At the time, it was one of the most challenging circumstances I had ever faced. That life had fallen apart was the last thought on my mind before sleep, and the first thought to cross my mind in the morning.

Several months after the initial shock, I was shopping in the grocery store where Mark worked. We didn’t really know each other, beyond making a few passing comments to each other. On that particular day, I must have been having a tougher time than usual, which Mark sensed. For the next ten or fifteen minutes, he listened while I attempted to empty myself of some of the incredible pain that I was feeling. Patiently, supportively, non-judgmentally, he listened. When we parted, I felt better and a little stronger. And Mark was the reason.

As I began to thank Mark again today, he (remembering what had occurred) just patted me on the shoulder, looked me in the eye, and said:

“Hey, we look after one another.

It’s what we do.

It’s why we’re here.”

I was driving the short distance home, when I realized that Mark had summed up the whole purpose of life in just a few words. Whether we realize it or not, we’re here to nurture and look after “One in Other.”

The One that’s shining in me–as me–is the same One that’s shining in you–as you.

In Truth, there are no “others.” When we see beyond the differences in our personalities and fleshy costumes and recognize the God Force in all of us, life flows so much more smoothly. Our human experience then radiantly shines with our immanent divinity.

Dare to dream (and care for one another).

With heartfelt regards,

Art

Copyright © – 2023 – 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. 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”

Break Out The Champagne!

What great news, dear friends–a toast is in order!. The grandest, most important merger has occurred! It is a merger of “knowing” that you and the Lord of your Being are One! To this grand recognition we will be lifting our glasses in celebration. It’s what Rumi, the great Persian poet and mystic, expressed through the following quote:

“I searched for God and found only myself. I searched for myself and found only God.”

Strictly speaking, of course, we cannot actually define this as a merger; for that would imply that we had actually experienced a separation. You see, we already are–and always were–One with God. It has only been illusion of Maya that made it appear otherwise. Through ignorance, we have been conditioned to believe that we are the body-mind of name and form. In John 10:30, this message is again related through the following verse:

“I and my Father are one.”

The Truth, of course, is not that one highly notable figure named Jesus was the only son of God. He came to make our lives more abundant by sharing that such was the birthright of every man, woman, and child. How, logically, could the Creator “not” be in his fruit? Never in a million years would “parents” within this Divine Matrix believe that their genetic material had not been passed along to their offspring:

Our true heritage is Divine, because we are of–and from–One Divine Creator.

The eyes of understanding open wide when we realize that just as our nighttime dream experiences are created by Consciousness in the dream state; so, also, are all objects, events, and circumstances in the waking state, which the majority of persons erroneously believe to be foundational reality. That reality is actually occurring within a dream. The following passage from Hebrews 11:3 may help to make this stunning revelation more clear:

 “Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.”

For the sake of clarity, we must be very clear about our understanding of the material shared within this article. I am NOT stating that experiences are unreal; but that they are only relatively real within the contextual framework of a dream. Does this information not suddenly help us understand why placebos give rise to cures and alleviate many conditions? It is our belief “in them” that creates their effects. “The mind,” as Paramahansa Yogananda stated, “is the creator of everything. In other words, although the champagne referred to in the title is not absolutely real (in the way we would have previously assumed), it can still make our legs wobbly. Now, let’s pop the bubbly and pour!

Dare to dream (and care for one another).

With heartfelt regards,

Art

Copyright © – 2023 – 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. 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”

Neighbour Blues & Good News

It was Gwen’s fourth night in her new apartment. At forty-six, she was starting over; her divorce papers had been signed only a month prior. The pace of unpacking had slowed; and now, with some favourite knick knacks in place, her living space was beginning to feel like home. A smile lit its way across her face as she surveyed her efforts. At quarter to midnight, she climbed into bed; eager for a good night’s sleep. She felt tired but content. All seemed right in her world until she heard of the strident voice of her neighbour Harriet (who she had met briefly the previous day) explode in an uncontrollable tirade. “Get the f#%k out!” Harriet screamed. “Get out, you f#u%ng loser–NOW!” She was a spigget of profanity turned on full force. A fearful thought spiked into Gwen’s mentality as she pulled the covers higher: “Oh, dear God, have I just traded one hell for another?”

For the next half hour, Gwen was tossed by fearful thoughts as Harriet subjected anyone within earshot to her continuing explosion of anger. Harriet was demanding that a woman who was visiting must leave; but the woman, who was also screaming profane replies, refused to leave. Admidst the turmoil, Gwen came very close to notifying the superintendent or the police. However, she finally found peace–even during the event–when the following thought entered her mind:

“Persons who appear most unlovable actually need our love the most.”

With that anchor of understanding, Gwen gradually found her own fearful thoughts being crowded out by feelings of loving compassion. “No one in their right mind would deliberately choose to live this way?” she said to herself silently. “What inner fears are driving this release of pent up energy? What kind of hellish environment must Harriet have been raised in, or exposed to, to give rise to such behaviour?” As the noise from the apartment beneath her lessened in intensity and frequency, Gwen was finally able to fall asleep.

***

Dear Readers: Attempting to ensure that home “without” always remains peaceful is a losing battle; for our outer environment is subject to ever-shifting circumstances. It’s only when we recognize home “within,” (that placeless place beyond name and form) that we realize the peace that passeth all understanding.

Dare to dream (and care for one another).

With heartfelt regards,

Art

Copyright © – 2023 – 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. 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”

In Him We Live

The following verse from Acts 17:28 may leave many of us scratching our head; especially if we interpret it thorugh the materialism perspective of reality: “For in him we live and move and have our being.” The “Him” (God) referred to often seems missing in action, and our logic begs the question: “If God is real, where is He/She/It? That we are puzzled by the verse, or write it off as complete insanity, is due to ignorance of our essential nature. The situation is made worse because we are unaware that we’re unaware.

During the waking-state hours, we believe with absolute certainty that we are persons living in a world made of matter. Our challenges appear very real; as do our triumphs. We mourn the passing of a dear friend; and we are joyous to receive a promotion. Due to our conditioning, we assume that we are persons and, thus, the doers of actions. In time, this often leads to feelings related to pride and guilt.

The verse is easier to understand when contemplated in relation to dreams within the dream state. Such dreams (which often include people, events, and circumstances that seem absolutely real during the dream) are assumed to arise within the brain of the person; but this is erroneous. They actually occur within Consciousness. The evil person who chased us, and the lovely person who invited us for tea, were both made of Consciousness, by Consciousness. It becomes obvious that any apparent matter must have been rendered by the mind.

If we replace “Him” in the above passage with “Consciousness,” we realize that the dream characters did, in fact, live and move and have their being in Him. This is completely logical. When we apply that template of understanding toward our experience within the waking state, the light of greater awareness shines more brightly within us. Through direct experience, we may awaken from our delusional belief in being the person and realize that the experience of our body-mind within an apparent world is also occurring within Consciousness. As we stabilize in Truth, the sense of doership lessens; and we realize that Infinite Living Mind is the doer of all actions and events.

As shocking as this may be, our so-called human lives are being dreamed in their entirety—including the writing of this article! We are characters of Consciousness who live and move and have our being in Him—God. Our ego (which is only a repetitive thought related to a conceptual person) will strongly rebel against this information; for its psychic realness is based upon the assumption that it lives of its own accord. Such, however, is a falsity that creates tremendous suffering within Consciousness. The good news is that when that which is false (the ego) is crucified, the Truth of our being is recognized as Life eternal. We are made of the very God that many deny.

Dare to dream (and care for one another).

With heartfelt regards,

Art

Copyright © – 2023 – 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. 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”

Eavesdropping on God

Not once upon a dead time in history, but continuously in the living here and now, I, God, create and recreate the apparent world and all objects, events, and persons contained therein. I Am the immanent and transcendent Mystery; the Creator of all that is, was, and ever will be. It is written in the Gospel of Thomas, “Split a piece of wood, and I am there. Lift up the stone, and you will find me there.” As I am omnipresent, nowhere am I not. I Am the alpha and the omega; for everything known begins with Me and ends in Me. It could be no other way; for I Am all that IS.

Due to confusion and innocent ignorance about your essential nature, humans continue to assume that they are the source of their own being. This mental story has spread like wildfire and burned its falsity into the human psyche. This erroneous perspective is based upon illusion and gives rise to suffering. Only through I do you live; for I Am Life, Itself. That humans live is the very proof that I Am. Jesus expressed this Truth when he stated that I Am the vine and that you are the branch. Unless you remain connected to Me, you cannot possibly bear fruit.

Distracted by the apparently outer world, the majority of humans spend their life struggling against challenges which, they, themselves are creating. Like spiders, they unwittingly spin thought-webs that promise happiness for a false self in a future that doesn’t exist. Feeling lost and alone, they are unaware of My divine inner Kingdom, which may be discovered by turning their attention within. There, I, the Light of their very Being, lie waiting to be recognized. We are One in quality and nature, varying only in degree. It’s true that I will never leave you; for I Am in you, and you are in Me.

Please hear this: Your soul reason for living is to come to recognize your true origin and, thus, experience life more abundantly. This cannot possibly occur until you realize That which you truly are. It’s time to cast aside your identification with the false self and recognize the eternal dimension of “I Am” within. The Truth will, indeed, set your free. To know this is to live in peace and harmony.

Dare to dream (and care for one another).

With heartfelt regards,

Art

Copyright © – 2023 – 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. 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”

Here & Now: The Holy

Oh, how our ego loves to tell tales. With its sly reptilian ways, it regales us with non-stop stories about our humanness. Through its perspective, we and so-called others are labelled wicked or worthy. Via the faculty of memory, it can fill us with pride about our successes; and then–in a moment flipped like a coin–empty us to shame about our failures. In a dizzying twirl, it can wind us up like gossiping toys about our neighbours’ recent sins; yet conveniently forget our own transgressions. Through our belief in the reality of the ego, suffering arises.

In the blink of an eye, our ego can shape-shift from role to role. As the charmer, it coddles us with, “You’re the best–so good and lovely!” When it plays the judge, it holds the gavel and we pray for a favourable verdict. Reduced to beggars, we wonder, “Today, will I be spared or thrown to the lions? And even if we are spared, our ego then immediately pokes us with the next grave thought–“But what about tomorrow?” Behind our backs, our ego slaps its knee and howls, “Ha-ha, hoh-hoh, they don’t even realize that NOW is all there is!”

***

Dear Readers: If you’re begging for release from your ego’s harsh judgement, please consider the practice of daily meditation. Even five or ten minutes is enough to begin. You might also consider asking: Who Am I?–really. Are you really the person that is observed? If the person can be observed, what is That which is witnessing? You are home–“free”–when you recognize that true Self is beyond the ego’s stories–both good and bad.

Dare to Dream (and care for one another).

With heartfelt regards,

Art

Copyright © – 2023 – 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. 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”

Yogananda’s Diving Board

Paramahansa Yoganda was a famous yogi who brought knowledge about meditation and Kriya Yoga to the west. He also wrote many fine books about our essential nature; including Autobiography of a Yogi and Man’s Eternal Quest. Please stand with me, if you will, on the following quote from the latter. We’re going to springboard from it into deeper spiritual water:

Sssplaasshh! Please just catch your breath and tread water alongside me as we contemplate the meaning of his quote. If what Paramahansa Yogananda expressed is true (and it “is”), that would mean:

About the contents of “my” life:

Yes, it’s all occurring within a dream.

***

About the belief that I’m the body-mind:

Yes, it means that I can’t possibly “be” the person.

***

About the nature of the world:

Yes, that it’s only relatively real; an appearance within Consciousness.

***

About being the apparent doer of actions:

Yes, such is impossible. We’re also certain that we’re the doer during nighttime dreams.

***

About all of our worries and cares:

Yes, they relate to an illusory “self” that’s known by “our” name and form.

***

About the nature of space-time:

Yes, it’s not fundamental. It’s rendered via the mind; as is everything else.

***

About my belief that death of the body-mind means the death of “me.”

Yes, it’s totally bogus. We never “were” the body-mind. It’s an appearance within a dream.

***

About God (Consciousness/Awareness) being illusory:

Yes, that God is All there actually is.

***

Now that we’re at the edge of the pool: “Would you like to dive from another quote from Paramahansa Yoganda, or should we grab our towels and call it a day?

Dare to dream (and care for one another).

With heartfelt regards,

Art

Copyright © – 2023 – 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. 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”