Tag: God

Your Mission: Found

Back by popular demand (okay, that might be stretching the truth just a little), I offer you my rendition of Mission I Am Possible. Press here to play it. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to re-cognize (know again) That which you are. With that in mind, I offer the following:

Maxwell Planck, the German theoretical physicist, is attributed with this quote: “I regard consciousness as fundamental. I regard matter as derivative from consciousness. We cannot get behind consciousness. Everything that we talk about, everything that we regard as existing, postulates consciousness.” This is easier to understand through the analogy of our nighttime dreams. All of the objects, events, and persons are made of Mind, which is Consciousness in motion. No one would claim that they exist beyond the mind that perceives them.

In Why Materialism Is Baloney, by Bernardo Kastrup, who’s a noted philosopher, author, and computer scientist, he wrote: “Experience is all there is. The world, as we know it, is a representation in consciousness.”

In John 1:3, it’s stated: “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.” In this verse, “him” refers to God. I suggest that God is Consciousness, or Awareness of Being.

In Acts 17:28, it’s stated: “‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’” All of the characters and events within a nighttime dream “exist” only within Consciousness.

In John 8:58, it’s stated: “Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.” I humbly suggest that He wasn’t saying that “I, Jesus” was before Abraham. He meant that “I Am” is the substratum from which everything arises.

In Isaiah 45:5: it’s stated: “I am the Lord, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me.” I offer that to “not acknowledge me” refers to being ignorant (unaware) of the Source of our Being.

***

In Ego-land, aka Earth, most “persons” see things very differently. When asked who they are, most will likely reply that “I am…name, age, form, gender, race, nationality, status, etcetera.” But words are merely terms, or conceptual structures, that refer to something else. Thus, we realize that all of the words with which we define or describe ourselves can’t possibly “BE” what we are. The question–“Who, or What, are we?”–then begs to be asked.

In the Parable of the Prodigal Son, which illustrates the story of a son (child of God) who requests his inheritance early and goes to a foreign land where he spends it wastefully, it’s told that the son finally becomes weary of his struggle in the world and returns to his Father. In Luke 15:24, the following is shared: “For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.” Consciousness, which forfeits knowledge of Itself to take an apparently human journey, celebrates when It awakens to Its essential nature.

Could it be that we are Consciousness, the ground of all Being, masquerading as form in the dream of human life? Could it also be that we’re “found” when we know our essential nature as Spirit? That’s for you to question and only YOU to know.

Dare to dream (and care for one another).

With heartfelt regards,

Art

Copyright © – 2026 – 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” 🙏🏻🧡

Ready For A Secret?

When I was in my late teenage years, I was drawn to books such as Think and Grow Rich, by Napoleon Hill, and The Power of Your Subconscious Mind, by Joseph Murphy. In my innocence, I thought that the books might help me find my way. At the time, I couldn’t grasp the depth of their content; but I was right about one point: they did (eventually) help me find my way. If you’re seeking solutions, or a better way of living, the information within this article may help. It’s my sincere hope that it will be of service.

The following quotes are from You Too Can Be Prosperous, by Robert A. Russell. To understand their meaning, you must be willing to look at the nature of “reality” in a very different way. What’s Real is so much grander than what you may have previously assumed. I offer my own explanation following each quote:

If your mind is shouting, “No, this world is made of matter;” please know that I hear you. But I can no longer agree. The use of dream analogy makes this quote easier to understand: When you’re having a nighttime dream, all of the persons and objects seem very physical. They seem as real as real can be. But when you merge again with waking-state “reality” of your daily life, you realize that all of the seemingly “material” things were rendered by Consciousness. They only appeared physical within the framework of the dream. The same principle applies here and now. In the same way that your perspective awakens from a nighttime dream, our true Self (Awareness, or Consciousness), can awaken from the waking-state perspective related to our “person.” This isn’t an event that happens to the person, because the person’s perspective is transcended. Through this knowledge, we realize that our habitual thoughts are directly related to the nature of our Earthly experiences: They’re the mental blueprints of coming circumstances.

***

In this quote, Robert A. Russell explains more of what I shared about his first quote. He’s informing us that “things” are appearances within Consciousness, or God; in the same way that objects and people seem to “exist” within nighttime dreams. Our predominant thoughts, especially if imbued with emotion, become apparent things and circumstances. It will help to know that science has been unable to discover discrete independently-existing “matter.” Smaller and smaller bits of apparent “matter” always break down to energy. Atoms, in fact, are considered 99.999% empty space. Do “things” within a nighttime dream “exist” without a witness? Even with a witness? Or are they appearances?

***

This quote is easier to understand if you’ll consider the amazing effects that have been attributed to a placebo; which is basically an inert substance (commonly referred to as a sugar pill) or fake treatment. It is the power of our belief in the treatment that causes it to work; not the treatment, itself. This is what puzzled me as a young man. As I was consciously unaware that I was anything more than the body-mind, I couldn’t understand why changing the nature of my thoughts could possibly make a difference. I, thus, believed that the only avenue to success was education, luck, or hard work. The following quote from Think and Grow Rich, by Napoleon Hill will add to your understanding: “If you are one of those people who believe that hard work and honesty alone will bring riches-perish the thought; because it’s not true. Riches, when they come in huge quantities, are never the result of hard work. Riches come if they come at all, in response to definite demands, based upon the application of definite principles, and not by chance or luck.”

***

Every Law of Attraction book that’s worth its purchase price mentions this one main point: We must first have what we desire in Consciousness before it can ever manifest in our apparent “reality.” Can you see why knowing the nature of our “world” is so important? Contrary to common belief, we’re not dealing with a static world that “exists” of its own accord. We’re dealing with God’s Living World, here and now. If God was not, we would not be. In Mark 11:24, the great master Jesus is attributed with sharing the same message:

“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”

The teachings of the Law of Attraction become quite logical when we know the nature of reality and our true Self. Contrary to what we’ve been conditioned to believe, this world and our apparent Earthly body-mind, are moment-to-moment experiences within Consciousness. I believe my YouTube video entitled “Knowledge About The Law of Attraction” will also be helpful.

Dare to dream (and care for one another).

With heartfelt regards,

Art

Copyright © – 2026 – 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 Big “Oh”

In the movie entitled When Harry Met Sally, starring Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal, there’s a famous scene in which Harry and Sally are having a discussion about relationships while sitting at a table in a busy diner. Sally is telling Harry that at one time or another most women have faked an orgasm. Harry doubts that such has ever happened to him—he would know. Sally then goes to great length to demonstrate a fake orgasm that includes tossing hair, hand pounding the table, and cries of “Oh, God, ohhh, God–yes, yess, yesss!” After Sally finishes making her point, Rob Reiner’s mother, Estelle, who plays a character sitting at nearby table, nonchalantly tells her waiter, “I’ll have what she’s having.”

***

Most adults are probably familiar with the type of big “O” referred to by Harry and Sally; but for the purposes of this article I’m going to relate some information about a very different type. It’s the big “Oh” related to our spiritual nature; which by and large goes unrecognized by the masses for a human lifetime.

Since infancy, all of us have programmed to believe that “our” consciousness is personal and arises due to neuronal processes of the brain. This belief is so deeply ingrained within us that the majority never question its validity. We assume that our identity is a combination of sensations, images, feelings, thoughts, and memories related to name, age, gender, race, and nationality, etc. Due to this, we conclude that “we” begin at conception or birth and will, thus, end at death of our body-mind. Upon this common shaky assumption we base our entire life.

What if, however, that such isn’t true? The big “Oh” related to spiritual awakening turns this paradigm of reality on its head. Through enlightenment, we realize that our essential nature is Consciousness, Itself; in which the world and our body-mind arise. For those who claim that such is impossible, it’s worth contemplating the fact that space-time and all of the apparent “material” objects and scenarios within nighttime dreams are rendered by Consciousness. During a dream, situations seem as real as real can be. A brick building within a dream seems to be made of “real” bricks and mortar; but when we, Awareness, merge once again with waking-state “reality,” we realize that the brick building and everything else within the dream were created by mind, which is Consciousness in motion. At that point, we assume that “Earth” is made of matter, not Consciousness. But, is it?

To support the information I’m sharing, I offer Saying 2 (of 114 Sayings attributed to Jesus) from The Gospel of Thomas:

Jesus says: “Let him who seeks cease not to seek until he finds: when he finds he will be astonished; and when he is astonished he will wonder, and will reign over the universe!”

I humbly suggest that the “astonishment” to which Jesus referred isn’t that we’re a person in a material world; but that we, in fact, are the Universal Consciousness, or Spirit, in which our “person” and the world arise. The false self, our person, is nothing but a repetitive “I-thought” that we assume to independently “exist.” Please contemplate the following quote from Man’s Eternal Quest, by Paramahansa Yogananda:

“Live in the consciousness of Spirit, in that oneness with God wherein you know that life is a dream.”

This is supported in this quote, from “Why Lazarus Laughed,” by Wei Wu Wei:

“Reality alone exists–and that we are. All the rest is only a dream, a dream of the One mind, which is our mind without the “our.”

Our understanding can also deepen through the following quote from The Book of Secrets, by Deepak Chopra:

“This embarrassing problem–that there is no way to prove the existence of an outside world–undermines the entire basis of materialism. Thus we arrive at the second spiritual secret: You are not in the world; the world is in you.”

If you would like to experience the big “Oh,” I highly recommend the practice of meditation. Make “time” to sideslip the world of the senses and enter the transcendent Now. In the stillness of Being, it’s possible to realize that you are Spirit, here and now, dreaming a human life. Recognition of true Self is the biggest “Oh” you’ll ever experience. If you’re eager to recognize your essential nature, I offer more information through my following YouTube video entitled “Unchained Love, Our True Nature.” When you knowingly “meet” your true Self, you’ll experience a sense of glory beyond compare.

Dare to dream (and care for one another).

With heartfelt regards,

Art

Copyright © – 2026 – 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” 🙏🏻🧡

Because of Your Belief

To the best of my memory, it was late July of 2012 when I arrived in Hope, British Columbia on one of my long solo motorcycle trips. I would be staying there for two nights before heading to Vancouver Island. The next morning, I decided to take a day trip to Kelowna. It was there, in a Chapter’s Bookstore, that I purchased The Kybalion; a book about the Hermetic philosophy of ancient Egypt and Greece. When I was back at my motel and beginning to read, the The First Principle of Truth soon caught my eye:

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

Can you imagine my reaction? This very real guy named Art Russell had just read that he, his motorcycle, the highways, the motel, the province, etcetera, were all mental. You guessed correctly, I thought the book was mental! But, wait; let’s be willing to investigate deeper knowledge. As I continued reading, parts of the book began to make sense. The book explained that the All in All, which is the Substantial Reality, or Spirit, was all there was and, still, is. If the All in All was the Divine Foundation, that meant that It (God, Source, Consciousness) had no-“thing” other than Itself out of which to create objects. A “material” world didn’t “exist” until the All in All imagined it. The Kybalion was describing an event that’s similar to the account found in Genesis 1:3: “And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.” During the coming years, as Awareness of my true Self began to shine more brightly, I found the following in other books:

“What you are seeing and hearing right now is nothing but a dream.”

(The Four Agreements, by Don Miguel Ruiz)

***

“Consciousness is the one and only reality. All phenomena are formed of the same substance vibrating at different rates. Out of consciousness I as man came, and to consciousness I as man return.”

(Prayer, The Art of Believing, by Neville Goddard)

***

“You are what you think; you attract what you think; your life is a product of your thought and beliefs; and nothing in the world can change this fact. To alter your life the only single course open is to alter your thinking.”

(Three Magic Words, by U. S. Andersen)

***

“There is but one consciousness in the universe able to think; and when it thinks, its thoughts become objective things to it.”

(The Master Key System, by Charles F. Haanel)

***

“People can gain control of themselves and their environment because they have the power to influence their own subconscious minds, and through it gain cooperation of Infinite Intelligence.”

(Think and Grow Rich, by Napoleon Hill)

***

“As you think about the world, so will you see it. According to Pure Knowledge, the universe does not exist at all. This worldly manifestation is the doing of the Self. This is all imagination.”

(From Amrut Laya, The Stateless State, by Shri Sadguru Siddharameshwar Maharaj)

***

“For human beings, world and self seem to be solid objects, time and space seem to be a rigid always-existing platform. This occurs for enlightened people and for unenlightened people. However in the case of the enlightened person, a paradigm shift, a shift of interpretation, has occurred.”

(The Science of Enlightenment, by Shinzen Young)

***

“The Self is the witness. It is all-pervading, complete, singular, free, non-choosing, non-doing, unattached, desireless, completely peaceful. The world is an illusion, a projection.”

(Ashtavakra Gita, translated by Janki Parikh)

This content won’t be understood as long as we insist on believing that you’re the “person.” That’s part of story time. When we cast aside our assumptions about identity, we discover Truth; and it will, indeed, set us free. We are Consciousness dreaming a human experience. The great master Jesus knew his true identity (“I and the Father are one.” – John 10:30) and so, too, may we:

“Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.”

(John 14:12)

The use of the dream-state analogy makes this article much easier to comprehend. When you fall asleep at night and merge with a dream, perhaps of sailing over a vast ocean, it seems to have very real objective existence. You see the spray of the waves, hear the seagulls cry, and feel your sailboat list with the force of the wind. But, when you merge again with waking-state “reality,” you realize that the waves, the gulls, the sailboat, and the wind were all rendered by Consciousness. The same principle applies here and now. So I ask you, “What “works” would you like to dream possible?”

Dare to Dream (and care for one another).

With heartfelt regards,

Art

Copyright © – 2025 – 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” 🙏🏻🧡

Invitation to Play

Please join me, if you will, on a journey of remembering the feeling of days when our spirit sang with freedom; when we were happily unaware of mind chores that claim they must be done; when the words yesterday and tomorrow held no meaning. “Such” is still alive within us.

During the next few hours, you’re invited to:

  • Withdraw from all news media; in spite of being fearful of being struck ignorant or uncaring.
  • Write a list of 12.279 things that must be absolutely right before you will enjoy life. Prove the list wrong by literally or figuratively burning it.
  • Drop the seeming importance of your medals, trophies, formal education, resumé, and achievements. Ask, “Are they?” Ask the same of your so-called failures.
  • Imagine how a child feels upon meeting a new friend.
  • Listen carefully to children playing. As you overhear them rant and complain, make a list of their sorrowful woes about the economy or state of the world.
  • Glance at your “To-Do” list of chores demanding attention; then just as quickly turn away.
  • Drop all of your mind stories related to “I did this” and “He/she did that.”
  • Close your eyes and follow your breath into an inner world of wonder. Return as awareness, carrying the sense of wonder with you.
  • Remove the stain related to “life will be better when” by asking if “when” ever arrives.
  • Take off your ego’s muddy galoshes, and run bare foot.
  • Acknowledge the Divine Power that’s beating your heart. Bow your head and whisper “Thank you.”
  • Pack a picnic (however meager) and dine at a new location, in the glorious fullness of Now.
  • Look upon everyone (the young and the seeming old) as a child of the Creator. They are.
  • For sixty seconds, feel your heart’s warm unity of Oneness with All. Repeat.
  • Count your “haves,” instead of your “wants.”
  • Be with your hands as they slowly open and close. Can you feel the miracle?
  • Through awareness, Be peace, here and now. Silently say “hush” if the mind attempts to intrude.
  • Give.
  • Love.
  • Be grateful.

Through awareness, we may reignite so much of the joy that we felt as children. This world, Life, needn’t seem like such a bothersome chore. We don’t have to manage it, change it, or define it according to the mind’s perspective. Wonder, amusement, and excitement are waiting to be born into experience through Presence.

Dare to Dream (and care for one another).

With heartfelt regards,

Art

Copyright © – 2025 – 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” 🙏🏻🧡

Hashtag (#) Everyone

How paradoxical truth IS…

Humankind is being sold a story of the apparent good life, and the majority of persons unwittingly buy it without examining it for value. I, for one, buy it no more. On the surface, the story seems bright, shiny, and sensible; a story that deserves to be placed on a high shelf in our lives. At some point, however, many of us learn that the degree of truth contained within the story is equivalent to the facts found in the rag magazines at the grocery store checkout line. The story promises, but it doesn’t deliver.

There are various versions of the story related to name, fame, and achievement; but the theme always remains the same: “If you, little Johnny or Mary, work hard enough, sacrifice enough, and keep your nose to the grindstone long enough, you can make something of yourself. You can be a success, become a somebody, and, thus, be happy.”

With that dangling carrot in mind, the false donkey “i” within us pulls back its shoulders and goes to work. Thoughts inform us that we must build an impressive resumé and be noticed to be worthy of the happiness we desire. We practice our hashtagging skills at every opportunity. We #this about ourselves, and we #that; #I was #here–don’t you know; and #I was #there. In our mind, life revolves around me and my story.

As long as we continue to feed the insatiable appetite of our ego, we will #never…#be…#happy. Through wisdom, we can finally realize the insanity of the story we’ve been telling. How long is it–really–before the luster of the shiny new car wears off? How long is it--really–before the promotion that promised happiness is realized for what it is? How long is it–really–before the perfect partner we adored doesn’t meet our needs?

So what’s the paradoxical truth alluded to at the beginning of this post? That the happiness we seek is recognized when we are empty of the “self” that requires anything in order to be happy. We discover–quite surprisingly–that we’re naturally most joyous when we:

#Give of our Heart,

 #Be of Service,

and

#Share our Resources

And that’s not a story–it’s the Truth. I can’t imagine an emptier way to live than for #me, #me, #me.

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), 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” 🙏🧡

8 Billion Prodigal Sons

This article contains an exaggeration: There aren’t actually eight billion prodigal sons. It’s true, however, that the vast majority of Beings are prodigal sons and daughters without being aware of it. Before we go further, let’s share what the term prodigal son actually means:

According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, prodigal is defined as follows: “characterized by profuse or wasteful expenditure; recklessly spendthrift.” The Parable of the Lost Son, found in Luke 15: 11 – 32, relates the account of a father and his two sons. The younger son asks to receive his inheritance from the father, who willingly grants it. He travels to a distant country and lives an extravagant and wasteful life; while the older son stays at home. In time, the son who went away becomes destitute and is forced to work as a swineherd, which would have been considered repugnant work. When the circumstances of his life finally become unbearable, the prodigal son finally realizes that he must rise and return to his Father, who welcomes him with open arms.

The parable is actually a metaphor for what happens during our human journey. When we stray from the Father (Awareness), it means that we have been ensnared by the world of illusion (Maya) and forgotten our essential nature, which is Spirit. Due to conditioning, we assume ourselves to be a separate self of name and form. That’s what it means to turn away from the Father, aka Consciousness. In our confusion, we waste our life on self-centered goals related to a fictional self. The parable mentions repentance, but this doesn’t have to be interpreted heavily. To repent merely means to acknowledge our error (sin: to miss the mark) and recognize true Self. The son’s return to the Father means that the son has “awakened” and realized his true nature as Spirit.

For several hundred years, the materialist paradigm of reality has convinced the vast majority of beings that their apparent body-mind and world are made of independently existing stuff called “matter.” This continues to occur despite science informing us that atoms, which were once considered the building blocks of matter, are 99.999% empty space. The truth is that our apparent body-minds and the world are rendered by mind, which is Consciousness in motion. When Jesus said, “I and my Father are one,” he was referring to Consciousness.

How do we turn to the Father? By investigating the nature of our true identity through self-inquiry. We can “Know Thyself” by withdrawing our attention from our senses and becoming still. When we meditate, it becomes obvious that we are the witness of our sensations, images, feelings, and thoughts. Our true nature is That which knows. Awareness, Itself, is the the very Substance of All That Is. It’s not dependent on the body or the mind. In fact, the truth is the other way around–the body and mind are dependent on Consciousness. They appear in the Waking State and are erroneously assumed to be the sum total of our being. Every time that we rest in the stillness of our essential nature, we return to the Father and, thus, know peace and joy. We only suffer, or become destitute (as in the case of the prodigal son), when we fall back into Maya and the perspective of personhood.

The ratio referred to in the first paragraph will begin to tip in favour of the Father when more beings investigate their essential nature. All that’s required is to ask the question “Who Am I?” with earnest curiosity. We are neither our body, nor our mind. Instead of trying to appease the false “i” through objects or activities, we are wise to turn within and discover the true Source of happiness. Human incarnation provides a unique opportunity to recognize our essential nature. It would seem a shame to waste it.

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), 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” 🙏🏻🧡

“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’s one of the 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 in all of us, life flows so much more smoothly. Our human experience then literally shines with 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), 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” 🙏🏻🧡

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 our waking-state reality, 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 of pride or guilt.

The verse is easier to understand when it’s contemplated in relation to dreams within the dream state. Such dreams (which may 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 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 of 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 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), 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” 🙏🏻🧡

One Serving One

In 1998, Joseph decided to follow his passion; he took a leap of faith and opened his small diner. By the menu standards of other restaurants, the food that he offers is basic–burgers and fries, hotdogs, chili, stew, pulled pork sandwiches, and homemade soups and biscuits. Joseph runs his business simply but efficiently. When customers arrive, they’re directed to approach the front counter, place their order from the large menu board, and then take a number when they pay. When their number is called, they return to the counter to pick up their tray of food.

In the first two years of business, Joseph began to wonder if opening his diner had been a mistake. On many days, the flow of customers was pitifully slow. Initially he blamed the situation on the fact that his diner wasn’t on a major thoroughfare; but then he also noticed that first-time customers who trickled in rarely returned. He worked long hours just to make enough to pay the bills. In his desire to “get” success, Joseph seemed to be failing miserably.

The situation changed soon after Joseph experienced a startling revelation about his essential nature. His focus turned toward “giving” each and every one of his customers a successful dining experience; which meant serving them the best meals possible in a kind and courteous manner. He wanted them to feel his love for them. In the following months, his business quadrupled; and many of the first-time customers became regulars. Family and friends assumed that his business had only been saved by luck; but Joseph knew the real reason:

For more than twenty years, Joseph has secretly whispered to himself when customers come to pick up their food at the counter. Although he outwardly calls their number tag (e.g. “Serving #17”), in his heart he knows the truth that he’s actually “One Serving One.” He realizes that his customers are within him; and he’s within them. Together they’re a success. God in apparent form is serving God in the forms of guests. And therein lies the secret of his success. As a result, the people who visit his restaurant often think of it as a loving sanctuary, more than a restaurant.

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), 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” 🙏🏻🧡