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Posts Tagged ‘Faith’

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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The Pure in Heart

Posted in Good Morning, tagged , on December 7, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God (Matthew 5:8).
This is one of those wonderful gnomic sayings in which the Bible is so rich. It is a summing up in a few words of a whole philosophy of religion.
Let us begin by considering what the promise in this Beatitude is. It is nothing less than to see God. To “see” in the sense referred to here, signifies spiritual perception, and spiritual perception is just that capacity to apprehend the true nature of Being that we all so sadly lack.
We live in God’s world, but we do not in the least know it as it is. Heaven, lies all about us—but because we are lacking in spiritual perception, we are unable to recognize it, to experience it, and, therefore, so far as we are concerned, we may be said to be shut out of Heaven.
We are very much in the position of a color-blind man in a beautiful flower garden. All around him are glorious colors; but he sees only blacks, whites, and grays. If we suppose him to be also devoid of the sense of smell, we shall see what a very small part of the glory of the garden exists for him. Yet it is all there, if he could but sense it.
Our task is to surmount these limitations as rapidly as may be, until we reach the point where we can know things as they really are—experience Heaven as it really is. That is what is meant by “seeing God.” To see God is to apprehend Truth as it really is, and this is infinite freedom and perfect bliss.
Understanding this truth opens the gates to the Eden God created for us. The only thing keeping us out…is us.
In the garden,
Z gardener

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Hunger for Righteousness

Posted in Good Morning, tagged , on December 6, 2012| Leave a Comment »

            Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled (Matthew 5:6).
Righteousness is another of the key words of the Bible, one of those keys that the reader must have in his possession if he is to get at the true meaning of the book. Like earth and meek and comfort,it is used in a special and definite sense. Righteousness means not merely right conduct, but right thinking. In the Sermon on the Mount, every clause reiterates the truth that outer things are but consequences. As within, so without.
When people awaken to a knowledge of these truths, they naturally begin to apply them in their own lives. Realizing at last the vital importance of “righteousness”they begin immediately to try to put their house in order. The principle involved is simple, but unfortunately the exemplifying of it is anything but easy. Now, why should this be so?  The answer lies in the potency of habit; and habits of thinking are at once the most subtle and the most difficult to break.
Perhaps failure to achieve righteousness is the failure of half-heartedness; you long but not too deeply. Your hunger and thirst do not rise from a sense of total need. Have a mental stocktaking or a review of your life. It could not happen that a wholehearted search for truth and righteousness, if persevered in, should not be crowned with success. God is not mocked, nor does He mock His children.
Once we have accepted these truths, then we must decide to live our lives according to them. Oddly enough, the decision is the hardest part. That is not to minimize the difficulty of breaking old habits of thinking and imbedded perceptions. However, making a decision to change is the key, and it is usually a hard decision to make because it means changing our most basic concepts and our life view.
The good news is that when do make the decision and follow through on it, our lives change remarkably for the better. Not that anything will be perfect, but that everything will be for our best good. Once we change our minds…our lives will change.
Stay hungry my friend,
Z gardener

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Posted in Good Morning, tagged , on December 5, 2012| Leave a Comment »

As Meek As Moses
Moses—who overcame the old age belief to the extent of manifesting the physical body of a young man in the prime of life when, according to the calendar, he was one hundred and twenty years old, and then transcended matter altogether, or “dematerialized” without dying—was known preeminently for this quality; “as meek as Moses.” Apart from his own personal demonstration, Moses also did a marvelous work for his whole nation, getting it out of Egyptian bondage in the face of incredible difficulties. Moses had an open mind, ready to be taught new things and new ways of thinking and working. He was not, in the beginning at least, free from serious faults of character, but he gradually rose above these defects as the new truth worked in his soul.
Moses thoroughly understood that to conform oneself rigorously to the will of God, far from involving the loss of any good, could only mean a better and more splendid life. He did not, therefore, think of his task as self-sacrifice, for he knew it to be the highest form of self-glorification—the glorification of God.
…the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works…I am in the Father, and the Father is in me (John 14:10-11).
There is a marvelous Oriental saying that “meekness compels God himself.”
Conforming ourselves to God’s will (meekness) should not be confused with weakness or passivity. Moses was neither weak nor passive, but he was meek, and he had faith in God’s will.
We all have some form of bondage gripping us today; imprisoning us with our own thoughts, words and deeds. Throw of those shackles today by turning away from self-will and embracing God’s will. Far from a sacrifice, it will ensure our very best good and our dominion over our lives.
Be meek and walk with God in your garden today…and every day.
In the garden,
    Z gardener

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Inheriting the Earth

Posted in Good Morning, tagged , on December 4, 2012| 1 Comment »

Let us see how we are to go about inheriting the earth. This Beautitude says that dominion, that is, power over the conditions of our lives, is to be obtained in a certain way, by nothing less than meekness.
The word meek in the Bible connotes a mental attitude for which there is no other single word available. It is a combination of open-mindedness, faith in God, and the realization that the will of God for us is always something joyous and interesting and vital. This state of mind also includes a perfect willingness to allow this will of God to come about in whatever way divine Wisdom considers to be best, rather than in some particular way that we have chosen for ourselves.
This mental attitude of teachableness, willingness to be led, is the key to dominion, or success in demonstration. There is no word for it in common speech, because the thing does not exist except for those who are up on the spiritual basis of the teaching of Jesus Christ. If we desire to inherit the earth we must absolutely acquire this “meekness.”
The Lord reigneth; let the earth rejoice…(Psalm 97:1). 
In order to inherit the earth (exert dominion over the conditions in our lives), we must first exert control over the self. Meekness is the manifestation of dominion over the self. When we put God’s will first and join with God to implement his will in our lives, we are demonstrating meekness and will have dominion over the conditions of our lives.
This concept of dominion is the opposite of that held by most in modern culture. Modern culture’s concept is the primary cause of separation from God (Sin), and the accompanying loss of  dominion. When we separate ourselves from God, we then have to live in the world as we created it, instead of the Eden God created for us. That world we create has dominion over us instead of the other way around.
To walk daily in the garden God created for us in dominion over the conditions in our lives, we must walk in meekness. There is no other way to inherit the earth in the biblical sense of this verse.
Seeking meekness,
Z gardener

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