TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES

YOU

can always

count on the ego

to

play

the victim card

The litigious-ladened society we find ourselves in has us ducking and diving the inevitable judgments that must surely be lurking ahead, ultimately, from GOD HIMSELF.  Who will be spared?  Actually, everyone.

There is no doubt that consequences for our choices lie behind every corner, some small and some bigger than small.  We can usually parry the manageable ones, but those big boys keep us on our toes (or knees).

There is a mindset in the world that victim-hood is to be preferred (and convenient).  What we fail to realize is that the world is not happening to us, OUR world is happening to us--we have brought it on ourselves.  The realization of this puts consequences in a whole other light.  If this be the case, we need to re-examine more closely the results of our choices.

The Prodigal Parable exemplifies these dynamics on many levels.  The choice to leave, the choice to experience, the choice to return, were all free-will decisions and not the result of being victimized on any level.  The consequences from all were the responsibility of the son and no one else.

The TRUTH of our situation needs to be “owned”.  We are not the victim of ourselves, but simply reaping the consequences of our own choices.  Realizing that GOD HIMSELF will not violate our free-will choices leaves us with the responsibility for those outcomes.

The good news is our destiny is settled in GOD.  Our open-invitation stands, and the party awaits.  The only question is:  how long do we wish to play the victim?

Embrace the TRUTH and high-tail it HOME.

LETTING GO OF THE WHEEL

THE

more control

you relinquish

the more

in control

you will be

Our insistence on driving results in many delays in our arrival.  We most often fail to take advantage of the on-board guidance system we came equipped with, our TRUE SELF--the one who is actually ONE with GOD.  There are those times in your life where nothing seems “ONE with GOD”, but that is an issue of awareness, not TRUTH.

Call it what you may; GOD, CHRIST, HOLY SPIRIT, STILL SMALL VOICE, etc., our TRUE SELF has one job description--directing our journey HOME.

In the Prodigal Parable, the only evidence of GOD found within the son’s misadventure was his “remembrance/memory” (TRUE SELF) of who he was and where his TRUTH was found.  We, also, have come fully-equipped with the same spiritual GPS.

The “calibration” for receiving accurate direction from our TRUE SELF has everything to do with our state of mind.  When we are in conflict/anxiety (dis-ease), it is difficult to hear clearly, like static on a radio.

Despite all appearances, the Prodigal’s GPS was at work during his entire misadventure, but there was so much confusion in the son’s mind, the signals did not always register.  It was only when the son came to the “end of himself” (was really lost), relinquished the wheel long enough to hear his TRUE SELF, that his about-face took place.

There is an inherent practicality in the steps that lead us HOME.  We will not be lead into water before we know how to swim.  Our TRUE SELF always provides us with the next step, wherever that may lead.  Worrying (dis-ease) about steps that are hours/days/weeks/months ahead do not serve us well, and further obscure our awareness of directions being given in the moment.

Being lead, one step at a time, may also include “stopping”--which is a direction in itself.  Your TRUE SELF always has the big picture clearly in view; grabbing the wheel back only results in making wrong turns.  Fortunately, there are no fatalities, only delays in arrival.

The “letting go” of the wheel, the release of “dis-ease” (conflict) for ease (PEACE), is the calibration necessary for receiving accurate direction.

There is only one driver qualified to lead us HOME.  Riding shotgun is easier anyway.  

THE CHOICE FOR LOVE

WE

were

CREATED

in LOVE

by LOVE

for LOVE

LOVE it

By making a decision to engage the moment with a mindset of LOVE, regardless of what the moment brings, builds the foundation for seeing it in TRUTH.  Forsake the option to view it any other way.  

LOVE then frames our engagement with a complete openness, acceptance and allowance of what IS, removing the obscurity that judgment brings.

The activation of that “LOVING feeling” is birthed in a condition of PEACE, and the only way to initiate the experience of PEACE is to let go of conflict, releasing the dis-ease, until ease returns.  We then establish a firm platform for moving into the feeling of BEING LOVING.

By allowing PEACE, we are then FREE to LOVE, which releases JOY--a very simple equation.

Choose LOVE.

HAVE A GOOD LAUGH

HE

who sits

in the HEAVENS

laughs

a

lot

There is an old Chinese saying:  “Sometimes there is nothing left for you to do but have a good laugh.”  Good advice for many occasions.

Life can get pretty serious, and, in those times, a good belly-laugh, for no apparent reason, can help mollify the situation, and put it back into perspective.

We keep forgetting that we made the whole thing up anyway.  The drama of our invention is just that.  We have an entire inventory of JOY which can be applied liberally to any situation, the drama be damned.  You don’t even need an excuse or justification.  Just launch a good laugh for the hell of it.  It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks.  In fact, it just might be the contagion everyone is hoping to catch anyway.

Go on.  Have a good laugh.

KISS

It

is possible

to be AWAKE

in the dream

This

is accomplished

by not treating the dream

as REAL

Keep It Simple Son.

Since our ego is so preoccupied with slicing and dicing our illusions down to the smallest nanoparticles, it is easy to get lost in the confusion.  Our little dream-scenarios are no match for the TRUTH, except, if we treat them as REAL.

Our ego is also preoccupied with attempting to make TRUTH a complicated matter of business, when, in TRUTH, TRUTH is not.  It is actually quite simple.  That is what makes it so damning to the complexity the ego would attempt to offer us as a carrot we could never have.  If we embrace our TRUTH in its simplicity, it makes the whole affair quite simple, and actually, enjoyable.

If we simply remember that our IMMORTAL REALITY is FOREVER safe with GOD right now, and that whatever presents itself contrary to that has no bearing on REALITY, no matter how convincing, it makes the job of treating the dream as a dream much easier.  What more could you ask for?

If the TRUTH is only LOVE, anything that is not LOVE, is not the TRUTH, and therefore,

is part of the dream.

How can we apply this simplicity within the dream?  Simply LOVE everybody, and have fun.  It is our FATHER’s desire that we LOVE one another, and be altogether JOYFUL.  What more could you ask for?

Keep It Simple Son.

LOVE EVERYBODY

h  a  v  e   f  u  n

MOVIE TRAILER

EGO

resists what is

by projecting

what is not

SPIRIT

embraces what is

by knowing

it is meant to be

Most of us have had the experience of viewing a movie trailer, and then actually seeing the film, only to be surprised at how different the movie seemed to be from the preview.  There is an interesting corollary to how we continually project ‘trailers’ into our future, only to realize how different our trailer was from the actual events.

What we can learn is simply that our trailer never actually conveys reality, and, in some instances, bears little or no resemblance to it at all.  Our ‘scenes from coming attractions’, while possibly entertaining at the time, never really play themselves out as advertised.

As selective as a movie trailer may be in attempting to lure us into a future viewing by myopically isolating high points, both good and bad, we project both good and bad ‘outcomes’, and attempt to create a ‘feature film’ that mirrors our trailer.  Just like the previews, our projections end up being a poor representation of our experience.

It is usually just better to forego the trailer altogether and experience the film firsthand.

ONE WAY OR ANOTHER

THE

ONE

who has fallen asleep

will eventually wake up

as

ONE

Even the tree sloth wakes up.  Perpetual slumber is a myth.

One way or another, the dream-state of our individual experience will eventually give way to an awakening, however rude.  The TRUTH of us, in TRUTH, will eventually dawn upon us, one awakening moment at a time.  Even those among us who have perfected procrastination to a science, will face the inevitable falsification of their certainty.

The world will forever hold for us dissatisfaction on many fronts, and even in the face of those odds, we still feel a resistance to letting it go.  Even though our myriad attempts at placating the feelings of isolation, scarcity and eminent threat see no convincing results, our final release is continually resisted.

One way or another, HE who knows what’s really better for us (those things we actually want, but fail to recognize), will win out in the end, because finally being brought to the end of ourselves will awaken us to the realization of our TRUE SELVES--a much better option indeed.

It will happen--one way or another.

KNOW WHEN TO FOLD ‘EM

RELEASE

yourself

from the

burdensome task

of judgment

Everyone may not play cards, but we are all holding hands (figuratively speaking).  We not only hold the sex, race, culture, language, country, community, family cards--which we seemingly had no choice about--but, we also hold the more intimate and personal individual-experience cards which we do have some choice about holding.

Life seems very much about card-accumulation, so much so, that we often have difficulty holding onto all of them.  But there is an option--fold ‘em.

The cards we can fold are many.  Even though the ones dealt to us (sex, race, culture, etc.) we will be holding onto for the duration of the game, we can minimize any negative impact they may have by discarding any of the associated cards which are within our control to play.

For instance, hurts done to us by anyone at any time, can be either held, or folded.  Feelings we have about ourselves (physically/emotionally/psychologically) can be held or played.  Evaluations/judgments about others we can either accumulate or discard.  It is our choice.

We were dealt a hand when we chose to play.

Know which cards to hold and which to fold.

BEING GROOVY

IF

there is a flow

go

IF

there is not

do not

Being groovy is a feeling that only happens in the moment and is synonymous with being in the flow.  As momentary as this seems, we can find our self in the groove for a moment, ten minutes, or two hours.  The thing is, we can feel when we are groovy, and feel when we are not.  One has the feeling of being effortless, the other, the feeling of striving.

Think of it as spiritual calibration, and it is an ongoing process.  Being in the groove is so fun and free we rarely give it any notice until we go off-track.  Then, if we are sensitive, we will be cognizant of the dis-ease factor that has replaced the ease of the previous moment.  What do we do?  STOP.  Stop until we feel the ease return, recalibrate, sense a new direction, and feel ourselves in the groove again.

We can have canyon-like grooves which represent an overall direction our lives may be taking, like successive mountain ranges spread out before us on the horizon.  But, those distant peaks are not where we currently reside; they merely represent relative bearings.  It is where our rubber meets the road that determines whether or not we are being groovy.  Each step represents our journey from one mountain range to another, and must be walked one step at a time.  Being in the groove allows our experience to be one of wonder, instead of burden.

We generally lose our groove when we transition from being willing to willful.  We can stumble upon an inspiration, enjoy riding out the momentum, and then try to extract additional benefit willfully after the anointing has left.  That is where and how we lose our groove.

Instead of focusing on the activity, we need only focus on the feeling of being in the groove.  The feeling of ease is our guide.  If that is suddenly replaced by the feeling of dis-ease, we simply stop what we are doing, recalibrate until the feeling of ease returns, and continue on our way, whichever way feeling groovy leads.

Be groovy.

HAVE YOU EVER BEEN EXPERIENCED

WHEN

an experience

trumps our beliefs

the

experience

will always win out

Theory will only take us so far.  It’s our experiences that really drive the point home.

We are continually exposed to theory (everybody’s opinion), which may or may not register as TRUTH, based on whether or not our own experience provides confirmation.

We face various levels of disconnect between theory and experience.  An endorsement of something may find no corresponding evidence, be it for an individual, restaurant, book, movie or theory.  In the end, it is only our experience that carries any weight.

Religion, theology, philosophy, doctrine and dogma are replete with various theories, but it is only our experience that makes itself a part of us.  A perfect example is the near-death experience (NDE).  Here we have an immense cross-section of humanity, from all walks of life, including race, religion, culture, gender, age, social and financial demographic.  Each ‘participant’ takes with them theories of the beyond, which are then met with the experience.  What we find is when their experience encounters their theory, their experience always wins out.

There is the old saying:  “Without a vision, the people perish.”  But, another way of looking at it may be:  “Where there is experience, theories perish.”

Theories will only take us so far.  It will be our experience that brings us HOME.

THE PERFECT PARTY PLANNER

EVERYONE

is waiting

for us to show up

so we can

join

the party

Most of the time, life hardly seems like a party.  The trials, tribulations, and daily struggle seem hell-bent on making it feel like anything but.  The good news is, we came equipped with the perfect party planner.  As difficult as it may be to accept, GOD really is a party-animal, and is determined to have us join HIM ASAP.

Our experience in the world is one of separation, scarcity, and struggle--nothing that we would deem a party atmosphere.  We are continually watching our step as we negotiate one mindfield after another, oftentimes shouldering great burdens enroute.

What did that invitation say?

MY YOKE IS EASY

If that were only TRUE.

GOD stages HIS party in

ONENESS, UNLIMITEDNESS, and EASE

--that’s a REAL party.

The great thing about our party planner is that HE not only takes care of all the details, HE is continually sending us updated directions from where we are, to where we need to go.

No matter what wrong turn we take, HE has our back, with course-corrections up-to-the-minute.  Our arrival is guaranteed.

Our burger & brew await.

THE FUN FACTOR

THERE

is nothing

more fun and creative

than to be into a flow

which brings us JOY

We would be hard pressed to find anyone who does not like to have fun.  In fact, our pursuit of fun represents our drive to ‘return to JOY’, representing our TRUE HOME.

There are as many ways to have fun as there are people pursuing it.  We each have our own recipe.  We often reminisce about childhood examples of fun which were found in the simplest things.  Unfortunately, our ‘maturity’ as adults seems to sap the fun right out of things, until we find ourselves pursuing ‘oasis’ of fun, punctuated by long stretches of barren landscape.  We have isolated fun into such narrow categories, and have so refined the search, that we have drained out most other possibilities along the way.

Witness the wide-eyed wonder of small children, who take in their surroundings with little discretion.  The wonder of the moment is all there is, and it's all kind of fun.  Things, which we adults have long since ruled out because we know ‘what it's all about’, are still apart of the parameters of the childlike experience of fun.

The fun of simple things can once again be reclaimed, so that the distant oasis so far off can once again become a verdant landscape of wonder.

The fun lies in the rediscovery of simple fun.

COME OUT AND PLAY

DO

not let

the dark side

of night

rob

from you

the delight

of dawn

You remember--having fun.  Play--it’s not just for kids.

The worry-ridden world attempts to ring the play right out of us.  Say it isn’t so.

Hopefully, all of us have some childhood memories that represent to us the simplicity of just playing.  It almost seems irresponsible on some levels.  As adults, we have to schedule fun. What a pity.  It can still be found in the simplest moments.

Our myopic lives tend to shield us from the vicarious play of others in all venues.  Merely watching the play of others can give us a temporary fix until we can schedule in our own display.

Watching children delight in things we have long-since written off can always bring to us feelings of JOY.

Observing the grin of a dog as it leads it’s owner on a walk can always be enjoyed without the need to carry a poop-bag in your pocket.

Watching birds bathing in a fountain, or to be transfixed by an aerial display, shouldn’t be brushed aside as passé.

Play is to be found all around, even when you are relegated to spectator-status.  Better yet, schedule in some fun yourself and watch the smile return.