There was a woman who longed to find out what heaven was like. Every day she would pray,
“God grant me a glimpse of paradise.” She prayed for years, until one night she had a dream. In her dream an angel came and led her to heaven. They walked down a street until they came to an ordinary house. The angel pointed to the house and said, go inside. The woman went into the house and found a person preparing supper, another reading the newspaper and children playing with their toys. She was very disappointed and returned to the angel on the street, “Is that all there is to paradise?” The angel replied,
“The people you saw in that house are not in paradise, paradise is in them.”
Miracles come in all sizes – and they are in the eyes of the beholder… What miracles have you created so far? (feel free to share in the comments section below…)
Miracles are often created by our intention and we are continually INTENDING by our subconscious thoughts.
When we say to ourselves, “I really want a new (fill in the blanks )- , but I can’t afford it.” I’d like this – but, it will never happen The “but I can’t afford it” or “it will never happen” or ‘that wasn’t in my plans’ is winning. Look for the underlying beliefs that keep you from what you really want. (let’s hear your buts… so you can get rid of them once and for all.)
This month, we are looking at creating miracles and the profound lesson on how to do that from Jesus — the master teacher. He gave us the conditions for miracles in the Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes as interpreted by Dr. Michael Abrams in his book The Twelve Conditions of a Miracle.
Keys to Wisdom by Ernest Holmes, p. 36:
There is a Power already resident in our own soul, ready to be used.
In this miracle Jesus was teaching us how to use that Power in our own soul through a series of 12 conditions – you could call them 12 states of consciousness. And we are exploring those states of consciousness this month and into next.
Life is really ALL ABOUT CONSCIOUSNESS!
We have looked at the first four states of consciousness already:
• Emptiness
• Alignment
• Asking
• Maximizing
Today we are talking about Conditions or States of Consciousness Five and Six.
Condition Five: Giving
Conditions 1 – 4 were in preparation.
Condition 5 gets things moving — it begins the flow.
The flow begins with a sincere gift.
According to the account given in the book of John, Andrew (one of the disciples) said to Jesus:
“there is a small boy here who has 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish, and he is offering them to us.”
Now, we can assume that this little boy was just as hungry as everyone else, but generously he offered what little he had to the disciples. With the innocence and trust of a child, he released his precious resources, freely and in good faith, to the higher good. He released his gift and he set up the condition of flow.
And then the disciples passed the food forward to Jesus who kept things moving — first, by raising the gift above his head — recognizing the True Source of these gifts – GIVING THANKS — and then by giving the food back to the disciples to begin to be distributed.
The Fifth Condition or State of Consciousness is Giving: The act of giving relieves congestion and stimulates the flow and increase of resources.
Or, in the words of EH, p. 440:
When the law of circulation is retarded, stagnation results. It is only as we allow the Divine current to flow through us on and out, that we really express life. The law of giving and receiving is definite. Emerson tells us to beware of holding too much good in our hands.
Luke 6:38:
Whatever measure you use in giving, large or small, it will be used to measure what is given back to you.
Some thoughts for activating the fifth condition – the condition of Giving:
• Focus on the feeling behind the gift.
There is a simple test you can use to evaluate any gift: A gift is capable of generating miraculous results if the act of giving that gift makes you feel really good. We don’t give in order to feel good, that’s pseudo charity. It’s better than not giving at all. However, we must recognize that this form of giving is not coming from the highest level of our being which is Spirit. This is self-evident, since Spirit doesn’t need to feel better about itself, because SPIRIT IS the good feelings that we are seeking.
That’s why DOGOODERS get exhausted… and burned out – because their giving isn’t part of the creative process of life and isn’t emanating from the highest level of their being.
That’s why you should never “give until it hurts.” If the act of giving causes you worry or discomfort, your pain will attract more pain. Giving should always feel good.
On the other hand, Stretching is good. Of course, you know I’m going to talk a bit about Tithing…
But first, let me say – There are several kinds of giving – we can call them compensatory, charitable and gracious…
Compensatory is what the name implies.. We provide something in the form of a service or product, we EXPECT a return or compensation, usually in the form of money. The principle behind this giving is BALANCE.
In all other giving, we want to take care to attach no strings of any kind.
A true gift is always released freely without any expectation of the results. The kind of giving that facilitates miracles involves a major shift in consciousness. Completely forget about the reactions of humans that receive your gifts. NOT EVEN EXPECTING a THANK YOU… (not suggesting that we shouldn’t say thank you – it’s the EXPECTATION that taints the gift here!)
Expect your true return — all of it — from the Universe itself.
So, if I give you a gift – and you give it away – or never use it – it is none of my business. Giving a child a gift IF they do something is also not gracious giving.
Gracious giving is an expression of GRATITUDE for what we have already received. Giving simply for the JOY OF GIVING.. It’s not even gratitude for some pleasing physical object or experience, but gratitude for the awareness of the Presence of God brought to us by others. This duplicates the self-giving nature of Spirit and is a mirror of the way God gives to us.
• Finally, give consciously and thoughtfully.
Think about what you are doing. Make it a sacred act. Who/what are you supporting?
Does this help to put tithing in a whole new light?
Man in Alpine who didn’t want to tithe because his minister drove a Rolls Royce.. Wanted to control HOW the money was being spent that he gave to Church… I asked if his employer checked on how he spent what he was paid!
Made a tither out of him…!!
Not giving TO GET a return… giving out of GRATITUDE –RECOGNIZING that GOD is source of All Good we receive, we CHOOSE FREELY and joyously to LEAVE 10% with the source of our Spiritual Good – wherever that may be.. usually the Church, could be a person, an author, a teacher, a friend who has been an inspiration.
Like the loaves and fishes, I have found that tithing has given me a greater awareness of God as source. It’s not a practice that I think pleases God… God doesn’t need to be pleased.. It’s not about giving because a Church NEEDS it…
The more we sow, the more we reap. The more we demonstrate our gratitude, the more the Universe will provide us with reasons to be grateful.
When we begin to tithe, our hidden fears of lack and limitation come up to the surface so they can be dispelled by a CONSCIOUS act.. It is by consciously acting in opposition to our hidden fears of lack and limitation that we dispel their hold upon us. By affirming our gratitude in the midst of doubt, we are able to transform our fear into faith. It is this transformation that brings about the expansion in our lives.
That’s why it is suggested that we give not just REGULARLY but as a PERCENTAGE of our income…
It’s a more CONSCIOUS way of giving rather than just writing the same check each week… It makes us aware of the Source of our Support and is a graphic indication of the increase that ALWAYS shows up when we act in faith.
Abundance is always available to us, standing hidden behind our belief in lack and the appearance of need. The key to invoking a greater awareness of Abundance is gratitude. The more grateful we are for what we have right now – the five loaves and two fishes, the more easily goodness will increase in our lives, without our having to seek it through the experience of need. When our needs are fulfilled as they arise, we are living in the experience of the miraculous.
Condition 6 – Grounding
Jesus fed large numbers of people twice by expanding small amounts of food. On both occasions he told everyone to “sit down on the ground” or “on the grass,”
just before the miracle occurred, depending on which Gospel account you are reading There was a reason for this. In Greek “sit down on the grass” actually means to
recline or lie back in the garden.”
This might be considered an odd thing to say to people who are in the middle of the desert. Telling people to lie back in the garden doesn’t really make sense from a literal standpoint. There is no grass in a desert, certainly no garden. Therefore, the unusual phrase must have a deeper, metaphorical level of meaning.
The use of the word “garden” is very reminiscent of the Garden of Eden. Indeed, exploring this metaphor yields a wealth of pertinent metaphysical information which is completely consistent with the conditions of a miracle.
Consider: The story of the Garden of Eden is a metaphor for the development of human consciousness.
The original, natural state of human beings is like that of a child. A child has not yet “eaten of the tree of knowledge.”
As a result, a child is wholly in the present moment without the burden of: self-consciousness, judgment and self-doubt. He/She is free to experience things just as they are. He/She does not judge. He/She feels no shame or “nakedness.”To “lie back in the garden” is to relax and return to the natural childlike state of mind.
EH, 456
We must become as little children. How we long for a return of that simple trust in life which children have; in their minds there are no doubts– they have not yet been told that they are sinners, destitute of divine guidance and spiritual life. The life of the child is lived in natural goodness. We must return the way we came. As little children, who know that life is good and to be trusted.
DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE THAT?
I’m in the middle of a weekend workshop on the TAO studying with a Qi Gong Master. A lot of what we are learning is to recognize and trust the FLOW of life.
First, let me give you Abrams’ definitions:
GROUNDING is just that – being grounded. Staying present, keeping your feet on the ground, reconnecting with the Earth and use it’s body, cosmic energy to revitalize our own. (DO THIS NOW: ) We can literally visualize sludge moving down through my body and out the bottom of our feet. We then see the sludge, or tired energy, working its way down through the dirt and the rocks and the water table, cleaning and filtering as it goes. Eventually, the sludge has turned into a rich, fertile compost, ready to nourish, instead of pollute. The energy is then drawn back up through the earth, and back into our body.
Master Chen keeps saying things like – the fruit of all of our meditation is ongoing HEALTH and Longevity – even immortality… He told us about his Master deciding when to let go of this life – at the age of 130… There’s so much we still have to learn about energy healing – and about the way we PRAY in Religious Science – never seeing What is before us with our eyes… but SEEING only the ENERGY of LIFE itself.
Activating the Sixth Condition: Grounding
1. Stay in the present moment as much as possible. The past and future do not exist. DELIGHT in what is.. Since the present is the only real place you can be, it is the only place that you can receive anything of real value. Only when you are firmly grounded in the here and now will you be positioned to accept
the flow.
Before each Tai Chi or Qi Gong movement, we RESTED.. we centered.. The present is the only place that we can act from. It is the only solid platform from which you can do real things to advance your dream. Fear and anxiety are a byproduct of an obsession with the future. Shame and guilt result from thinking about the past and obsessing over the self.
2. Become as a child. You will return to the garden by returning to your natural state of consciousness. Learn to play again. Make time to do things that are fun, things that make you laugh, things that bring you joy. BALANCE
Don’t waste all of your time anxiously slaving away at one arduous task after another. This is an enormous mistake. Take your life into your hands and start living. Do the things you have always wanted to do. Start now.
Everything must FLOW – and be done without EFFORT.
We are living in a DREAM and we get so serious because we think that WHERE WE ARE IS REAL…
I think of Wayne Dyer teaching ROW Row Row your boat GENTLY down the stream… MERRILY…merrily…merrily…merrily –
Life is but a dream…
Profound message in that little song…
5. ROW – Work on your level of belief. Know that the power will flow to you, even if you but lightly touch the spirit in consciousness. If you don’t believe, make yourself believe. Act and talk like you really do believe. Over and over, reprogram your mind at the deepest possible to believe and receive. Be gentle with yourself..
Tithe at the level you feel able – start with 1% if necessary and plan to increase to the full 10… Do ONE thing this week that will move you closer to your dream.. What would that be??
