Ego-Bean Salad

I first heard of the following account this morning, through Source. I have no way of verifying if it’s true. I’ll leave that up to you to decide:

***

Once upon a time, there was a quaint little village named Eedon; which was named after A. & E. Eedon, who were the first couple to settle there in 1802. Nestled in a picturesque valley, the village consisted of seven-hundred kind souls. There was peace in the valley because everyone showed compassion to their neighbours and were generous of spirit. No one knew anything about bragging, boasting, and pride; in fact, they’d never heard of such behaviour. When a family was experiencing a challenging time, all of the neighbours got together and humbly pitched in to offer help. They built homes and barns together; helped educate one another’s children; tilled the soil and harvested crops together. All of the residents knew that they could count on one another. Until…

One day, at a town hall meeting, the Mayor, Mr. I-Come-Up-With-Bad-Ideas, suggested that they should hold a celebration in the center of town. They would have a feast. Everyone would contribute an ingredient from his or her pantry.

“What will we have for the meal?” asked Gwendolyn, one of the oldest residents in town. “Pork? Ribs? Potato salad?

Another man, Jed (who incidentally, barely kept his family fed) said, “No, let’s have fish. We have plenty of fish in the Eedone River, especially at this time of year.”

The polite discussion continued until the mayor proposed that they should have a special dish: Ego-Bean Salad. “Why, everyone’s got some degree of ego,” he said. “That way everyone can contribute to the meal. We’ll set up the cauldron in the town square, people will throw in their stash of ego-beans, give the mix a stir, and then step aside and make way for the next person. After the salad marinates for several hours, we’ll dine like royalty.

Although a few of the seniors doubted the wisdom of the planned menu, the mayor’s proposal was seconded by the deputy mayor, and the vote carried. A date was set.

On the day of the celebration all went well initially. People brought their families and musical instruments, and there was great merriment. The menu went over gangbusters, too. Bowl after bowl of Ego-Bean Salad was consumed. “More, please, more,” was the common remark as people lined up for seconds, even thirds. It’s rumoured that Jed consumed eight servings.

As dusk fell, a man known as Sparky casually sauntered into town. He almost always had a half-finished cigarette dangling from his lips. As he approached the town center, a flash explosion was suddenly set off. From miles away, people assumed it was a dazzling display of the northern lights. The first explosion was followed by several others and aftershocks that shattered windows in neighbouring towns. The cauldron still hasn’t been found.

***

And the moral of this tale? Why, this is just a little story about the hazards related to eating too much salad, right? It has nothing to do with letting our ego be in charge of our life. (If you’re earnestly eager to recognize your true Self, my YouTube video entitled “I Am: The Infinite” will be helpful.)

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” 🙏🏻🧡

Down The Rabbit Hole

I’m sure that most readers are probably familiar with the expression “down the rabbit hole,” which suggests “following a path of curiosity or investigation that becomes increasingly deep and complex.” When I was a teenager, I unwittingly fell into a metaphysical rabbit hole by following my instincts to read books about the law of attraction and our spiritual nature. I had no idea where my strong interest would lead.

Since 2017, following an experience that’s commonly referred to as enlightenment (meaning: to awaken from the dream of personhood), that rabbit hole has dramatically deepened. Habitual patterns and conditioned ways of interpreting experience and the “world” occasionally still pull my perspective back into Maya (Sanskrit: “illusion“); but such occurs much less frequently now. I know my true Self is Consciousness. In part, I am helped by many priceless quotes that I’ve collected during years of study. Some of the most potent are taped to the inside of my kitchen cupboards, to serve as reminders of the deeper level of “reality” whenever I view them. It’s my hope that the following quotes will help to elevate your understanding and be valuable pointers to your essential nature:

“Mind is the creator of everything.”

– Parmamahansa Yogananda, The Law of Success

***

“What you are seeing and hearing right now is nothing but a dream. You are dreaming right now in this moment. You are dreaming with the brain awake.“

– Don Miguel Ruiz, The Four Agreements

***

“However much you seem to be living in a material world, you are actually living in a world of imagination.“

-Neville Goddard, The Power of Awareness

***

“Everyone is sleeping. When you see other, when you see otherness, when you see duality, it is called dreaming. Only in the dream do you see objects.“

– Papaji, Wake Up And Roar, Satsang With Papaji, by Eli Jaxon-Bear

***

“Our entire experience arises in awareness. Is that clear to you?“

– Rupert Spira (noted author and teacher of non duality), Youtube

***

“Remember that your perception of the world is a reflection of your state of consciousness. You are not separate from it, and there is no objective world out there.“

– Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now

***

“Nothing comes from without; all things come from within–from the subconscious. It is impossible for you to see other than the contents of your consciousness.“

– Neville Goddard, Feeling Is The Secret

***

Note: (If you earnestly desire to investigate your essential nature, which is Consciousness, my YouTube video entitled On The Count of Three–Wake Up will be helpful.

Dare to dream (and care for one another).

With heartfelt regards,

Art

Pointing To Truth

In this article, I offer several quotes from various authors and deep thinkers that point to a very different way of interpreting reality; especially when compared to that which the majority have been conditioned to assume is true. It’s my hope that the quotes will resonate with you and inspire you to investigate your true Self and the nature of our apparent “world.”

“The world as seen only exists in the mind of the observer. It has no independent existence.”

– David R. Hawkins.

“This world, with all its animate beings and inanimate objects, is nothing but the creation of the mind. When the activities of the mind cease, there is no world, no duality. There is only God.”

– Gaudapada

“Every phenomenon that exists is a creation of thought.”

– Huang Po

“The truth is that God is the mind and life of the individual. God is the only I.”

– Joel Goldsmith

“Your Self without ‘you’ is the one you seek.”

– Mooji

“God is man’s consciousness, his awareness, his I Amness. The drama of life is a psychological one in which we bring circumstances to pass by our attitudes rather than by our acts.”

– Neville Goddard

“What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality.”

– Plutarch

“The universe is a mere appearance and the ego-sense is a mere concept.”

– Ramesh S. Balsekar

“There is no difference in our actual experience between the substance of the apple that appears in memory and the substance of the apple that appears in ‘real time.’ Our only knowledge of both is made out of mind–out of seeing, touching, smelling, and tasting, and the substance of mind is only Awareness.“

– Rupert Spira

“Everything is in consciousness, nothing else.“

– Shri Ranjit Majarah

“Thought creates the world. Thoughts bring things into existence.”

– Sri Swami Sivananda

“Phenomena only ‘exist’ in the mind that perceives them.”

– Tibetan Book of The Dead

“No thought of form can be impressed upon original substance without causing the creation of that form. A human being is a thinking center and can originate thought.”

– Wallace D. Wattles

Note: For readers who are eager to learn more about their true Self and the nature of our apparent world, I offer my Youtube video entitled Offering Dots: (You Decide If They Connect).

Dare to dream (and care for one another).

With heartfelt regards,

Art

Beyond Time

Times change; they surely do. In fact, change is paradoxically one of the constants in this changeful realm called “Earth.” On a daily basis, perpetual change is witnessed–minute to hour; morning to evening, and year to yesteryear. We know with absolute certainty that what’s popular and apparent today–in science, medicine, politics, and culture–will surely change. It’s just the way of expression here.

As a teenager, I once wrote a poem about the nature of time. Curious then, as I still am, I wrote that I didn’t want to know what made the clock tick–I wanted to know what made the tick tick. From my unaware perspective, I suppose I was searching for meaning in this mysterious clockwork mechanism in which we’re apparently enmeshed.

Initially, we may be somewhat unaware of the flow of time; for we, who are seemingly being swept along in it, barely notice its movement. From the perspective of the “person,” our attention is almost always focused on objects of fancy, or those which we wish to avoid. One year, such may be a goal to achieve business success; the next year, a romantic relationship; and the following year, plans to travel the world. Change, change, change–all of which we’re accustomed to labelling favourable or unfavourable.

What if, however, our habitual understanding of our “self” and time is all backward? What if we’re not the “person” within time in a great big world, but actually the true Self in which the apparent “person,” time, and the world appear? This shift makes a tremendous difference in how we process experiences and interactions with “others.” From my understanding, there’s only one thing (not a thing) that holds eternal value. The knowing of it, at least to me, is what makes the tick tick. Through all of the changing times and seasons, I believe the only tick that gives REAL MEANING to our lives is this: to express, and exemplify, the quality of our true Self, which is LOVE.

Note: (If you’re eager to investigate the deeper dimension of true Self, you may find my YouTube video entitled “Children of The Light” helpful.)

Dare to dream (and care for one another).

With heartfelt regards,

Art

Love, Being Love

As we delve into the nature of our true Self, please imagine, if you will, what it’s like for a newborn baby to look upon the “world.” Everything would literally seem new, fresh, and alive. Without the function of higher mental faculties, the baby would be incapable of discerning the difference between its arm, foot, or hand and the sides of its crib. The baby would be innocent; it would not have learned that it was a “baby” and that it was different from “other” babies. It, would, thus interpret everything through it unique focal point of I Am.” True to its essential nature, the baby would naturally be Love, Being Love.

So, the point, Mr. Russell? My point is that our mask, or avatar of name and form, is a learned perspective. It’s an apparently physical-psychological costume comprised of name, gender, race, nationality and other downloaded bits of data related to an Earthly “i”-dentity. It’s not the foundation of our essential nature. Before I ever knew that my full name was Ronald Arthur Russell, “I” was and still “Am.” My true Self is that irreducible essential nature that’s impossible to remove. In spite of all the triumphs and tribulations that Mr. Russell may have taken so seriously, I remain “I Am.” Such also applies to the real “YOU.”

While its understandable that we must don a costume in order to assume our role in this Earthly play, it becomes problematic when all that we know of ourselves is the costume. It leads us into temptation to use “others’ for our own benefit and is the cause of great suffering within Consciousness. Depending on the environment into which we are born, we learn all or some of the following:

I’m different from “others.”
I’m more special than you or, sadly, believe to be not as good.
“They” aren’t our kind of people.
I must compete, and win, to have value.
I can only love people of my same colour, race, nationality, and creed.
I will take from “you,” so that I (the “person“) can thrive.

Due to our identification with a purely conceptual “i”-dentity, actions are performed against “one another” that Love would never knowingly do. Most “humans” don’t realize that when we harm another, we literally harm ourselves. Why? Because…

LOVE recognizes that we are all One.

***

Every Being that dares to dive deep into Self inquiry and knowingly recognize his/her essential nature elevates the expression of God on Earth; and where there’s more God Awareness…

there’s more love, more joy, and more peace.

Surely, surely, surely that’s a worthy goal.

Dare to Dream (and care for one another).

With heartfelt regards,

Art

The Absolute: Consciousness

I offer you my latest video about our essential nature, which I’m suggesting is Consciousness.

Dare to dream (and care for one another).

With heartfelt regards,

Art

Who’s Ruling Your Castle?

Many, if not most, of us are familiar with the children’s rhyme: “I’m the king of the castle, and you’re the dirty rascal!” It relates to a children’s game in which boys and girls race to the top of a hill and defend their right to proclaim that they’re the king or queen of the castle. The origin of the game seems unclear; but by some accounts, it was played in 16th-century France and 17th-century Scotland and, perhaps, earlier.

Let’s investigate the rhyme and discover if it could possibly refer to an underlying spiritual meaning related to our essential nature. In support of this, I offer the following verse found in John 8:58:

“Jesus said to them, Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I Am.”

To be clear, the verse doesn’t state that Jesus said, “Before Abraham was, I, ‘Jesus,’ was”–it states “I Am.” I offer that Jesus was conveying that “I Am” (Consciousness) is prior to physical form (as illustrated by mentioning Abraham). Consciousness is the very foundation of our Being. Objects, both physical and mental, appear in Consciousness and are known by Consciousness. Research into the field of consciousness adds weight to this assertion; for try as they might, scientists have been unable to determine how physical processes give rise to consciousness. Ancient teachings assert that the body-mind arises in Consciousness; not the other way around, as materialists assume. In other words: “I Am” (Spirit, Consciousness) is the Reality (Castle) of each apparent King or Queen. A similar message is stated in 1 Corinthians 6:19:

“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own.”

My dirty rascal, “Art,” had it backwards for apparent years. “He” fooled everyone, including “himself.” Due to ignorance, ego “me” declared that he was the king of Being. Such seemed to occur only because the Real King–“I AM“–hadn’t, as yet, been recognized. Because of the veil of amnesia, which is an inherent mechanism of our apparently human journey, we must set out on a spiritual journey to knowingly rediscover our True Self. When we do, we knowingly assume our rightful “place” as Universal Consciousness, which is our eternal nature.

To realize the Ruler of the castle we must be It. When such occurs, it is not a pretense made by the mind; it is a “remembering” or re-cognition of that which is our true Self. The realization can be facilitated through meditation. Psalm 46:10 directs us clearly to the method: “Be still and know that I am God.” In John 14:6, the following is stated: Jesus saith unto him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” Can you see the parallel message contained in the nursery rhyme (“I Am the King of the Castle“) and the Biblical verses mentioned?

What can we do with this recognition? Live by it, as it. By being That, the quality of life will improve dramatically. Old energies related to the perspective of the false self will fall away as we remain as “I Am” Awareness. And when “I Am” notices thought patterns related to fear and competitiveness, we can turn away and deliberately focus on our positive visions. “I Am” is intended to be the ruler of our kingdom. As Spirit, our essential nature is beyond name and form. (For those who would like to delve deeper into this subject, I offer my YouTube video entitled “Children of The Light.“)

Dare to dream (and care for one another).

With heartfelt regards,

Art

“Fooled By Your Name”

The title of this article is borrowed from a line in The Book, by Alan Watts, who was a noted British author and expert on Buddhism, Taoism, and theology. The subtitle of his book, On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are, hints of a door to a dimension of Self that most may never be tempted to knock on, let alone open.

Our conceptual “person” can never know lasting peace and joy. It’s like asking an illusion to produce something that’s “real.” But beneath the world of name and form, in which we refer to things by words, there lies the most mysterious of mysteries. Our true Self is prior to the mind; therefore, beyond the scope of definition and comparison. It’s nature is peaceful, singular, and all-pervading; there’s, literally, nowhere that It is not. The key that unlocks the door to this dimension is stillness. When we turn away from sense objects and become still through meditation, it’s possible to “re-cognize” (know again) the very nature of our Being. We discover that we’re not our thoughts; nor our sensations, feelings, or perceptions. These, and everything else, are known by the real You, Awareness. Its nature is pointed at through the following quote from Chapter 25 of the Tao Te Ching:

“There was something formless and perfect before the universe was born. It is serene. Empty. Solitary. Unchanging. Infinite. Eternally present. It is the mother of the universe.”

Even a little investigation can reveal invaluable insights. Think: For objects to be known, they must be known by something. True Self is not a thing in the common use of the word; nevertheless, it is present; or, more accurately, Presence. Wherever we are, Consciousness is. It’s impossible to think “I don’t exist” because the very thought requires Consciousness to think it. Our essential nature is That which registers impressions from an apparently external world. It is also Consciousness that registers the name and form of the body-mind that we erroneously believed to be our personal identity.

Why should we care, especially when life seems to be ticking along just fine? For that very reason. The hands of our body-mind’s clock are moving; but we need not wait for the “alarm” of its impending death to recognize true Self. There’s a multitude of benefits that can be realized now; not the least of which is that we are immortal Beings. Our true Self is immune to the human drama; thus, not tainted by suffering and fear. No event, circumstance, or situation can harm it. The Bhagavad Gita (Song of the Lord) points to our true nature through the following quotes:

“Weapons cannot cut it, nor can fire burn it; water cannot wet it, nor can wind dry it.”

“I am the Self, O Gudakesha [one who has conquered sleep or ignorance], seated in the hearts of all creatures. I am the beginning, the middle, and the end of all beings.”

Dear Readers: There’s a Source of Love within you that’s waiting to be rediscovered. Due to the veil of forgetfulness that’s required for a “human” journey, we forfeited knowledge of our true nature; but forgetting can never erase That which we truly are. In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare summarized a deep truth about names, through a line spoken by Juliet: “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” The essential You is That sweet fragrance–not the name and form through which true Self expresses Its divine nature. (If you’re curious about learning more, I believe you would find the content of my YouTube video entitled “To The Point: I Am” helpful.)

Dare to Dream (and care for one another).

With heartfelt regards,

Art

Awake In The Dream

Simon couldn’t remember a time when he hadn’t loved to read. It seemed as though his passion for reading and books was woven into the strands of his DNA. When he was a young boy, the stories of Robinson Crusoe, Treasure Island, and The Hardy Boys had transported him into fictional worlds in which he experienced great adventures and solved crimes that puzzled adults. Now, at fifty-two, Simon’s love of reading was as strong as ever. For the last twenty years, his focus had been directed to books about the law of attraction and our spiritual nature.

In the fall of 2017, Simon’s logical mind was not prepared for the revelation that occurred during an evening flight from Toronto to Vancouver. He was in a window seat, reading The Power of Awareness, by Neville Goddard, when a quote leapt like a lion of realization into his awareness. In the depths of his being, beyond the level of his personality, he understood it fully:

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

Simon’s breathing had slowed, so much so that his body inhaled a deep breath to compensate. He had previously read the book at least twice, but the meaning of the words hadn’t registered. This time was different. Consciousness was awakening to Itself. For unknown seconds, he gripped the armrests tightly. When his attention returned to the book, the following quotes lighted up his awareness:

“Nothing has existence for man save through the consciousness he has of it.”

***

“Your assumption of the wish fulfilled is the ship that carries you over the unknown seas to the fulfillment of your dream.”

***

“The present moment is always the most opportune in which to eliminate all unlovely assumptions and to concentrate on only the good.”

***

Simon was staring out the window, at clouds that seemed mystically surreal, when he suddenly heard, “Can I get you anything, sir?” Shaken from thoughts that were vying for his attention, he turned and saw a flight attendant, with her hands on a service cart. “No, thank you,” he said with a faint smile. As he settled again, all of the information that he had read about spirituality and the law of attraction began to make sense. Consciousness, “I Am,” was our true nature; the body-mind, “person,” an appearance. It also explained why the teachings of the law of attraction stated that we could be, do, and have anything we desire. The Bible verse from Mark 11:24 called out to him: “What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” Soon after, the verse from Romans 12:2 crossed his mind: “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

***

Dear Readers: I realize that it doesn’t take a sleuth with Hardy Boy credentials to conclude that Simon is playing the role of “Art.” Although the account is fictional, there are pointers to Truth in the quotes from Neville Goddard. In the case of Art’s story, as he continued to meditate and read books about the law of attraction and our spiritual nature, I, Awareness, awakened in the dream of life. This means that I knew my Self as the Self; the Dreamer at the foundation of all dreams. To state that this was a surprise is an immense understatement. My interpretation of reality gradually shifted from one based upon physical “matter” to that which is founded in Consciousness only.

For those who are earnest about self inquiry, I ask this: If space-time isn’t fundamental, where is there “room” for discrete persons and objects that stand apart from the mind that perceives them? Do the persons and objects within nighttime dreams truly “exist?” If you’re interested, you might find my YouTube video entitled To The Point: “I Am” helpful.

Dare to Dream (and care for one another).

With heartfelt regards,

Art

To The Point: “I Am”

I offer you my latest YouTube video about our essential nature, beyond the name and form of the “person.” There’s a much deeper and richer dimension of True Self.

Dare to Dream (and care for one another).

With heartfelt regards,

Art

Think2wice

CONSCIOUSNESS, SPIRITUALITY, & LAW OF ATTRACTION

Tag: Spirituality

Ego-Bean Salad

Down The Rabbit Hole

Pointing To Truth

Beyond Time

Love, Being Love

The Absolute: Consciousness

Who’s Ruling Your Castle?

“Fooled By Your Name”

Awake In The Dream

To The Point: “I Am”

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