Tag Archives: joy

BLIND TO BEAUTY

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If God is truly beautiful, then what does that say about North American Christianity
Other than it must be blind –
Or, maybe, stubborn – simply refusing to open its eyes?

Where are the colorful flowers Hinduism loves so much
Except for some seasonal displays of white Easter lilies?

Maybe the Protestant North, given its weather,
Simply can’t find enough red, orange and gold flowers to decorate its churches –
The skies too overcast to provide a wider spectrum of Nature’s beauty.

Well, snow is beautiful –
So why not pray whenever it snows – absorbed in its purity?

When snow arrives, it’s kind of magical,
And peaceful.

If we’ve been driven inside by the cold weather
Why not bring fire along with us –
Candles and a glowing hearth for light and warmth –
Perhaps we should even consider celebrating Christmas all winter long!

So here’s the problem –
North America is constructed like a cash register –
Filled with money and metal drawers –
But is rarely appreciated for being beautiful – since it really isn’t –
Expensive, yes – too often; but, beautiful, no.

As a result, our local crafts have been dying off over time
(starting shortly after the Native Americans were separated off from the rest of us) –
With individual-made clothes, home furnishings, and design –
All machine-made –
Which has steadily been removing human-designed beauty
From our lives over several generations now –
(of course only for the best economic reasons).

As a consequence, we have been losing
All artistic crafts hand-made by human beings –

One item at a time.

Nature also has become separated from our day to day lives – especially in the cities –
We can still experience God, though, when looking at Nature
(spiritually, the “Back” of God) –
But no longer have the capacity to discern God’s “Face”
Which is simply too much for us to handle at this historical moment.

Listen, no one can ever buy God, no matter what they think –
All the money in the world only makes whatever’s being purchased even less holy –
Less likely that you’ll ever be able to discover the secret of God’s joy
Hidden deep inside your heart.

Actually, I now wonder whether we’ll ever be willing to accept
Any direct, or even indirect, gifts from God
Again.

IF YOU’RE ABLE TO DO THIS

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In some senses, you are who you look at –
When you meet someone, in a way, you become whom they’re experiencing –
Because, if you truly look –
You’ll see what they are seeing when they look at you –
So be careful about who you look at!

My advice is to look at God as much as possible –
When God returns your attention, God sees “perfection” –
Meaning all your potential in fully-flowered form –
Of course, that’s hard for you to accept
Because, in such binocular vision (looking through the eyes of God and self),
You’ll see yourself through the eyes of both –
And, of course, end up attempting to reconcile these two disparate visions.

So, if you dare to look at God,
You’ll experience God looking back at you –
It’s amazing, really, that you can do this
And not die!

You won’t – but it takes a lot of courage not to look away.

It can result in the sweetest “death” you’ll ever experience –
Because it’s only the death of an artificial entity – your ego,
While, simultaneously, your “true self” will be in the process of being born –
Something about which you dreamed your entire life
But could never remember – until this very moment.

When you look at God and discover
God looking back, it’s so wonderful
That, immediately, you’ll start singing: “Thank you,” “Thank you,” “Thank you,”
Letting gratefulness stream wildly out of your heart
That, otherwise, might explode
With Joy.

This is what I mean in saying: “Look at God” –
and not just a sidelong glance –
I’m saying: “Look, Look straight into God’s face.”

If you’re able to do this
You can have everything!

IF YOUR MIND IS FULL OF DEAD SNAKES

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If the God you worship is a true God –
But your heart lives in a trash dump –
What do you think you’ll see when you look at God?

If your mind is full of dead snakes
That you mainly enjoy counting –
Then a God who’s constantly offering fresh spiritual life
Will probably never get noticed by you.

If you believe life is truly a miracle –
Spontaneous – one of a kind –
Why restrict yourself to a regular routine –
Never contemplating the possibility of surprises?

If you don’t deeply yearn for the Spirit –
And always hold tight to the material –
One day you’ll discover your heart’s been moving in the opposite direction from joy.

Materialism isn’t bad, per se – it’s what sustains the Spirit –
But if our hearts only desire more things –
While refusing to open up to the Spirit –

Eventually – we’ll fall down –
Turn to dust
And blow away.

So say the prophets.

JOY, THE OXYGEN OF GOD

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Just what percentage of people need to become enlightened
In order to save the world?

By “enlightened” I mean someone who sees reality,
As well as herself, as part of that reality
Without rationalizations, fantasies, or taboos.

People might appear mature, intelligent, and reasonable at first glance
But actually are none of these
Because of self-interest
Or some advantage that might be obtained by manipulation
Or, more subtly, by missing the point.

The world continues on its merry way of being “the same old same old”:
With men judging women and women judging men,
The educated judging the less educated, the rich judging the poor,
And the poor envying and half-heartedly despising the rich in turn,
While non-caring people sit at home and judge everyone who’s outside their door –
Even those related by blood.

One day, however, a great iron door will start shutting for good –
After which, all our rationalizations and judgments will not mitigate the developing rain of blame
That will probably only increase the level of pain.

Our insistence upon an impeccable stupidity, ignorance, and unconscious violence can’t be effective forever, can it?

That iron door is now nudging itself shut –
The door that, once closed, life will become truly horrible –
Where we’ll no longer be able to remember “the good old days” –
Our days of blessings and hope.

So – my question is:

What percentage of enlightened people will it take
For us to start believing in God again –
To hear, once again, the brilliant bird of the heart
That never stops singing?

I believe it’s the exact percentage of people
Willing to sacrifice themselves for everyone and everything else,
Plus one, (are you that one?),
That’ll bring in universal Joy, like some unimaginable dawn,

The kind of joy
That God breathes –
That actually keeps God alive!

THEY’VE GOTTEN WAY TOO BIG!

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They’ve gotten too big! – I mean Jesus, Buddha and Mohammed – like a succession of Macy’s Day Parade balloons. But how did this happen since, at one time, they were human beings just like us? Continuous attention by large numbers of people over a long period of time accomplished it. Hundreds of millions of minds and hearts focused on a few individuals over millennia and, eventually, you’ll create something that’s no longer human – just giant light projections bouncing off the dark insides of people’s heads.  The psychic wattage has just been enormous.

In turning attention back to ourselves, we seem so small in comparison.  All three of these people repeatedly told us that they were just human beings. But that made no difference once they physically left us – because institution-building in each case had gotten well underway.

So how can we get them back down to earth without seeming disrespectful?  We’re certainly thankful for their existence – for their time with us – it was a good thing.  But such deep and largely unreflective worship has gotten us diverted from our duty to respect ourselves, as well as being a major distraction from God – who lives in our own hearts.

We’ve been on the way a long time now, and we’re finally ready to arrive!

We’ll begin by engaging with God and our true selves directly – not with a giant projection. Then, we’ll open up the colorful gift of joy secretly placed in our hearts – that little present God provided us at birth – to be opened only on the day we wake up spiritually.

This present was not one given to Jesus, Buddha, or Mohammed – because they’ve already opened their own special gifts –

No, this present was given solely to us –

A personal joy – straight from God!