The Wolf Howling at the Door

Friday, 10 September 2010 09:34 Andre Spirituality Explored

After thinking that our voyage through this life has finally come into calm waters, it is suddenly all a-roiling and we find ourselves in dangerous waters again. How do students of Truth, travelers on the Path, deal with such circumstances?

There is a simple way, but it is one that is hard to do, even impossible, if you try to do it all by yourself. Do your part to your utmost ability and in faith. After that, hand the rest over to God. Pray, and give thanks in the deepest gratitude, and with the strongest feelings, that All-Goodness is already demonstrating in your life with Omni-present Spirit manifesting also as substance, even though you might not yet be able to observe it on the material plane.

Refuse to open the portals of your human mind to the enemies of life... worry and fear. But, because we are human and fallible, we recognise that these enemies will keep on trying to sneak into both our waking and our dreaming moments. When they do slip past our guard, use an Affirmation to banish those specters back into the darkness of illusion from where they come. Visualise the thing we need in a positive way -

In my case, this is what I do:

I see in my mind's eye my wife and I happy and laughing and secure and enjoying the chance to serve others in what is now our old age.

I thank God for materializing health, happiness and material substance in our lives, even when the illusion of want is howling so hard at the door that it is very difficult to keep on affirming that the fears have no substance.

I thank God for yet another chance to prove Him in my life. I hold Him to His promise in Mark 11:24 ... "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."

I give thanks in advance for the needed things.

I praise and glorify Him for raising my level of consciousness above the seeming lack, thus enabling me to behold the reality of His Omniscience, which knows what we need before we ask.

I pray and thank Him for opening our hands to receive His bounty, shaken down, overflowing to spare and to share.

I am filled with excitement and anticipation - I look out in eager expectation to see how His omni-presence will materialise. It is no longer my problem. I have laid all my burdens and my fears on my Father in Perfection and He will deal with this, and all other matters pertaining to me and mine, in his Own Perfect Way.

A Prayer, by Joseph Benner

Monday, 19 April 2010 06:04 Joseph Benner Spirituality Explored

A Prayer
(Slightly adapted by me for our modern times - but with sincere reverence)

This Prayer is from The Way to the Kingdom by Joseph S Benner, who wrote all his books anonymously at the time. I believe his name was only revealed after his death in 1941. This prayer has wonderful power and it is presented here for your listening pleasure.

Beloved Father; Thou Oh blessed Christ Jesus; and Thou our dear Brothers and Sisters of the Kingdom… hear this, our earnest prayer.

Draw us in consciousness deep within where Thou art, where self exists not and where we may be one with Thee and abide with Thee in Christ.

The Meaning of Holy Days

Friday, 25 December 2009 08:13 andre Spirituality Explored

Psalm 103: As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more. But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children's children,

God knows what we are made of. He made us. He knows our fallibilities and how easily we forget who we really are.

No matter which religions we call our own, we are all the same deep within; we are all children of the Most High. And in the hurly-burly of daily life, we are all so beset by the challenges that we imagine we face, that we forget that we are Spirit, that we are One with our Etermal, Omniscient and Omni-present Father. And it is through believing in seeming-realities, that we give power and substance in our lives to the dark illusions of lack, poverty, ill-health and anxiety. They are dark illusions because they come not from the Light, but from the lower self of each one of us; the material self that denies us the full enjoyment of the "Fruits of the Spirit - Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Gentleness, Faithfulness, Goodness and... Self Control."

That is why all religions have Holy Days - such as 25 December, a deeply symbolic day for Christians. Such Holy Days serve to help us to reconnect with Spirit-Within and it must be done through contemplation, meditation and prayer. Holy Days are meant to bring us a renewed understanding of a single Great Truth and all earthly religions try to bring this Great Truth home to their followers.

This Truth is very simple, yet it is profound and universal:

The Truth is... God Loves us. We are His children and we are all brothers of one another. In the East, the West, the South and the North... all religions share this single Truth, a Truth which makes all dogmas, all strife, all misunderstanding, all hate, ultimately irrelevant. The Truth is... Love is the force that nurtures the tree that bears the Fruits of the Spirit in each one of us.

Now go, and send thoughts of peace and neighbourly love also to those who are not of your religions, your groups, your cultures, your languages, your political persuasions, and God will Bless you. And remember, God's Blessings are always upon you - not only on Holy Days, but on all the days of your life.

Understanding Scripture - Spirit Within is Your Guide

Sunday, 02 August 2009 11:34 Andre Spirituality Explored

Phil 2:13 For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Does this verse confuse you a little? Well, it certainly confused me for a while. I had to ask myself, "What is that 'to will' bit doing in there?" The word "both" seemed to indicate that the writer saw the concepts of "will" and "Work" as being mutually exclusive. Does God have to force Himself through His "Will" to do this unpleasant thing called "Work"? Does He get through it rather like we hurry through our working days so that we can get into our sporting togs and have some fun (good pleasure) hitting a ball around?

I battled with this for a while but then I discovered that the key to understanding that text lies in the translation of the word "will".