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Archive for the ‘Good Morning’ Category

Peace – The Power Within

Posted in Good Morning, tagged , on December 24, 2012| Leave a Comment »

            There exists a mystic Power that is able to transform your life so thoroughly, so radically, so completely, that when the process is completed your own friends would hardly recognize you, and, in fact, you would scarcely be able to recognize yourself.
It can lift you out of an invalid’s bed, and free you to go out into the world to shape your life as you will. It can throw open the prison door and liberate the captive.
This Power can do for you that which is probably the most important thing of all in your present stage: it can find your peace, your true place in life, and put you into it.
This Power is really no less than the primal Power of Being, and to discover that Power is the divine birthright of all men.
…. Seek ye first the kingdom of God… and all these things shall be added…(Matthew 6:33).
…. The kingdom of God is within you (Luke 17:21).
Peace within, Peace without
Stan

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Let Nothing Turn You From The Path

Posted in Good Morning, tagged , on December 21, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Don’t try to straddle the fence. If you wish to accomplish anything, you must be single- minded. It will be going the long way around if you first turn left and then right when you really want to go straight ahead.
Let nothing turn you from the path. The Bible says,
A double minded man is unstable in all his ways (James 1:8).
Joshua was told, “turn neither to the left nor to the right, but be strong and of a good courage” and “ye shall prosper whithersoever thou shall go”.  Just remember, the path twists and turns also. Following the path means being willing to turn and change direction. This is requires being single-minded and obviates being narrow-minded.
To be single-minded we must believe and act as if we believe with all our being. It can’t be intellectual only or spiritual only. We must be all in; heart, mind, body and soul. Then, we will be given everything we need for our best good…if we just follow the path to the garden.
On the path,
Z gardener

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The Temple of Solomon – Ivory, Apes, and Peacocks

Posted in Good Morning, tagged , on December 20, 2012| Leave a Comment »

The Bible states that five things were to be found around the temple – For the king had at sea a navy of Tharshish with the navy of Hiram: once in three years came the navy of Tharshish, bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks (1 Kings 10:22).
Then comes the ivory. This stands for undue attachment to a particular teacher, a particular textbook, or a particular church or other organization. It is a mistaken loyalty. It is an unselfish error, but a deadly one. Any religious teacher or writer, however eminent, any church or center, however much beloved, is still but a means to an end. The end itself is spiritual growth.
Recognize with gratitude all the help you receive from any source, but remember that your loyalty is due to God, through your own spiritual development. You must feel free at any time to go wherever you get the most help, irrespective of personal considerations.
The ape stands for bodily temptations such as sensuality, addiction to drink, drugs and so forth. These things are so obvious that the victim cannot deceive himself about them, so that at least he knows where he stands. They can, of course, be overcome by systematic prayer.
The peacock stands for vanity. Vanity may take the form of intellectual pride, or of a snobbish attitude, or the desire to stand in with what is fashionable and powerful. It also includes spiritual pride on the part of those who really are in Truth, and this is worse than any of the other forms.
But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness (1 Timothy 6:11).
It all seems so simple. Follow these instructions and be safe from these threats to our peace, hope and love. But the decision to live this way is very hard; and living in the way of right thinking, faithfulness, patience, etc, is always a challenge. The “world” pushes us toward these weaknesses that were are told by the Bible to flee.
The good news is that any difficulty we endure in living rightly will contribute to our best good. Further, God promises and delivers every thing we need to live his way. So the “yoke is light” compared to the hurt and pain we feel living without God.
Most importantly. The blessings we receive living in harmony with God create a place here and now where; we overcome any sacrifice, pain or hurt we experience in our journey and we live in peace, hope and joy. This is the place called Eden.
Welcome to the garden,
Z gardener

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The Temple of Solomon – Silver

Posted in Good Morning, tagged , on December 19, 2012| Leave a Comment »

SILVER
Next comes the silver. This stands for greed of money or money’s worth, for material objects that can be bought, and even for riches themselves. Or it may be that the offender is not interested in riches themselves but in their ability to give him a position of honor in the eyes of the world. He wants to be considered important and to have adulation or applause. Often he wants to be a“leader,” not because he has a message to give but to be important. He is the victim of egotism. Now this is a base and ignoble sin; an insurmountable barrier across the spiritual path.
For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows (1 Timothy 6:10).
That which we prioritize, make important and focus upon, is that which we become. If our focus is material wealth, position or power, then we lose the spiritual, true power for joy and peace in our lives. Further, we “pierce ourselves through with many sorrows”. We also create an “insurmountable barrier across our spiritual path”; blocking us from our garden. Today, let us choose the garden, let us choose peace.
Live truth,
Z gardener

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The Temple of Solomon

Posted in Good Morning, tagged , on December 18, 2012| Leave a Comment »

GOLD
We know that the spiritual consciousness which we are all engaged in building is spoken of in the Bible as the Temple of Solomon. The name Solomon means peaceful, and symbolizes wisdom. This is logical, for peace of mind is the foundation of all spiritual building, the hallmark of understanding.
The Bible states that five things were to be found around the temple—For the king had at sea a navy of Tharshish with the navy of Hiram: once in three years came the navy of Tharshish, bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks (1 Kings 10:22).
This is the Scriptural manner of telling us that there are five principal temptations that may come to the soul that is striving to build the spiritual temple. The particular form that each temptation takes will vary according to the temperament and circumstances of the subject, but in principle will be the same.
First comes the gold, and this stands for desire for personal power over other people, the desire to regulate their lives, to make them toe the line—our line, naturally—and even to make use of them. Many people on the spiritual path have given way to this temptation. They must dominate other people’souls. They tell themselves that it is done for the good of the victims, of course, but it is really a craving for personal power and glorification. It is not an ignoble sin like that connected with the silver, but for that very reason it is far more dangerous, far-reaching, and enduring.
The thing that gold symbolizes when rightly understood is the omnipresence of God; and of course religious tyranny is a denial of this. You should do all you can to help, to enlighten, and to inspire others, as far as your own understanding will permit, but you must never try to dictate their convictions; or to hold to your own opinions. Religious tyranny is poisonous to the victims; but it is absolutely mortal to the tyrant.
Many times our love for someone, commitment to their welfare and our responsibility for them, such as family members, can cause us to fall into this trap. It is precisely because we care so much, that we try to force beliefs and behavior on them. This is normally a good things. Parents teach their children right from wrong, good behavior from bad, etc. However, when we cross over the line by dictating beliefs or philosophies, we have gone too far.
Today, let us live our commitments in love and respect for the fact that no two are alike, and we must respect each person’s personal choices. Let us lift, enlighten and nurture all those we touch. And may we lead by example, not by force so that they feel, taste, touch and feel the omnipresence of God’s love through us.
Teaching, not tyranny,
Z gardener

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Rejoice in Persecution

Posted in Good Morning, tagged , on December 17, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you (Matthew 5:10-12).
In view of what we know about the teaching of Jesus, that the will of God for us is harmony, peace, and joy, and that these things are to be attained by cultivating right thoughts, or“righteousness,” this is a very startling statement . Jesus tells us again and again that it is our Father’s good pleasure to give us the Kingdom, and that the way in which we are to receive it is by cultivating serenity, or peace of soul. He says that the peacemakers who do this, praying in “meekness” shall inherit the earth, have their mourning turned into joy, and that, in fact, whatever they shall ask the Father in the manner of this teaching, that will He do.
Yet here we are told that it is blessed to be persecuted as the result of our “righteousness” for by this means we shall triumph; that it is cause for rejoicing and gladness to be reviled and accused; and that the prophets and Illumined Ones suffered these things too.
All this is indeed very startling, and it is perfectly correct. However, persecution only becomes an occasion for rejoicing when we are deeply aware of our real nature, our true immortality, and know that the suffering of our bodies can be transcended and even transmuted by our state of consciousness. Persecution can be for us a blessed condition when we realize that in such moments we are really advancing… be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life (Revelation 2:10) is a promise that may become a reality right here on this earth.
May we all transcend the suffering of our bodies and transmute our suffering into our glory through knowing the truth of being…as within, so without.
Advancing through transcending,
Z gardener

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Peace of Soul

Posted in Good Morning, tagged , on December 14, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you… Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid (John 14:27).
This true, interior soul-peace was known to the mystics as serenity, and they are never tired of telling us that serenity is the grand passport to the Presence of God—the sea as smooth as glass that is round about the Great White Throne. This is not to say that one cannot tackle even the most serious difficulties by prayer without having any serenity at all. But before you can make any true spiritual progress you must achieve serenity; and it is that fundamental tranquility of soul that Jesus refers to by the word peace—the peace that passes all human understanding.
The Peacemakers are those who bring about this peace in their own souls; they surmount limitation and become actually, not merely potentially, the children of God. This condition of mind is the objective at which Jesus aims.
Of course, to be a peacemaker in the usual sense of composing the quarrels of other people is an excellent thing; but, as all practical people know, an excessively difficult role to fill. But once you understand the power of prayer, you will be able to heal many quarrels in the true way; probably without speaking at all. The silent thought of the All-Power of Love and Wisdom will cause trouble to melt away almost imperceptibly. You will become a peacemaker.
When our hearts are troubled or afraid, we can replace those feelings with peace by turning to God within ourselves. That which is troubling us or making us afraid will no longer have the power to rob us of our peace.
Rather than just trying on our own to resolve the problem, we need to affirm to ourselves the true power of God and seek his help. We should ask for God’s peace and accept it when it comes. Then, any external problem will be conquered by God through peace within us.
Accepting peace,
Z gardener

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Insufficiency of Knowledge

Posted in Good Morning, tagged , on December 13, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life(Proverbs 4:23).
Most people, and learned people especially, have all kinds of knowledge that does not in the least affect or improve their practical lives. Doctors know all about hygiene, but often live in an unhealthy way, notwithstanding; and philosophers, who are acquainted with the accumulated wisdom of the ages, and assent to most of it, continue to do foolish and stupid things in their own personal lives.
Now, knowledge such as this is only opinion, or head knowledge, as some people call it. It has to become heart knowledge, or to be incorporated into the subconscious, before it can really change one. The modern psychologists in their efforts to “re-educate the subconscious” have the right idea, though they have not yet discovered the true method of doing so, which is by single-minded prayer, or the Practice of the Presence of God.
Jesus, of course, thoroughly understood all this, and that is why he stresses the fact that we have to be pure in heart.
As we learn to replace our dependency on knowledge with the awareness of our dependency on God, our subconscious begins to reflect this in our every thought, word and deed. That is when spiritual law becomes as much a part of our reality as gravity. Then we will achieve purity of heart and walk in our gardens.
Gardening within,
Z gardener

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Peacemakers

Posted in Good Morning, tagged , on December 12, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God (Matthew 5:9)
To the casual reader this Beatitude might sound like a mere conventional religious generalization, even a sententious platitude. Here we receive an invaluable practical lesson in the art of prayer—and prayer is our only means of returning to communion with God. As a matter of fact, prayer is the only real action in the full sense of the word, because prayer is the only thing that changes one’s character. When such a change takes place, you become a different person and, therefore, for the rest of your life you act in a different way.
If you should get a very strong realization of the presence of God with you, it would make a very great and dramatic change in your character, so that, in the twinkling of an eye your outlook, your habits, your whole life would completely change. Many such cases are on record, including cases of what used to be called“conversion.” Because the change is radical, Jesus refers to it as being “born again.”
The great essential for success in obtaining that sense of the Presence of God is that we first attain some degree of true peace of mind.
Peace of mind is the root goal beneath all our strivings. True happiness is really peace of mind. And without peace of mind, true happiness evades us.
So brothers and sisters, let us first make peace within ourselves. Then, the presence and peace of God will pervade our outer reality and reflect that peace on us and all we touch.
Making peace,
Z gardener

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Who Shall See God?

Posted in Good Morning, tagged , on December 11, 2012| Leave a Comment »

 

 

 

 

…for they shall see God. In this wonderful Beatitude we are told exactly how this supreme task is to be accomplished and who they are who shall do it. They are the pure in heart. Purity, in its full and complete sense, is recognizing God alone as the only real Cause, and the only real Power in existence. It is what is called elsewhere in the Sermon“the single eye.”

 

 

Note that Jesus speaks of the pure in heart. The word heart in the Bible usually means that part of man’s mentality that modern psychology knows under the name of the “subconscious mind.” This is exceedingly important because it is not sufficient for us to accept the Truth with the conscious mind only. At that stage it is still a mere opinion. It is not until it is accepted by the subconscious mind, and thus assimilated into the whole mentality, that it can make any difference in one’s character or life.

 

 

…as he thinketh in his heart, so is he (Proverbs 23:7).

 

 

The way to know something is accepted by the subconscious is when we act as if it is the true reality in our conscious mind. The proof that something has been accepted by our subconscious and conscious is that we act accordingly. For instance, because we fully accept the reality of gravity in both minds, we do not walk off of high buildings.

 

When we truly accept that God is the only true cause and power in the universe, our entire mentality changes. That is when we can live in the true reality; that God wants us to live each day in joy, peace and love in the garden.

 

Seeing God?

 

Z gardener

 

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