May | 2012 | Religion4All

What is SIN?

May 31, 2012 at 3:20 pm · Filed under Authors, Books, Faith, Philosophy, Quotations, Quotes, Religion, Spirituality and tagged: Addiction, Art, Astrology, Baptist, Belief, Buddhism, Catholic, Chakra, Chi, Christianity, Church, Energy, Fundamentalist, Gnostic, God, Holy Spirit, Islam, Jesus, Jewish, Judaism, Love, Magic, Meditation, Miracle, Mormon, Muslim, Mysticism, Nature, Overcoming, Pain, Poetry, Prana, Presbyterian, Prose, Protestant, Religion, Samskara, Shaman, Shamanism, Shiite, Sikh, Soul, Spirituality, Suffering, Sunni, Tarot, Unitarian, Wicca, Wonder, Writing, Zen, Zodiac

Okay, since this is such a big topic to cover there, I dedicated more than one meditation session to it … they are: “The Absence of Sin“, “Dorian Gray – On Sin“, and “Meditation“.

So what is “sin”, anyway? I grew up in an extremely fundamentalist Christian background where sins were absolute (even if the execution of these judgments tended to the extreme of hypocrisy). In my mid-twenties I went through a period of spiritual conflict … I knew that the way I had been raised was not God’s will. I could feel God’s prompting, and hear God’s voice (when I took the time to listen back then) telling me that the entirety of these views were not God’s views. There is truth mixed in with un-truth being spread about by man.

Because I was so conflicted, and SO dis-enchanted, I actually went through a period described in the “Dorian Gray” quote … where you sort of try everything in order to overcome it. Those were VERY troubled times. Not only did I do a lot of things that I shouldn’t have been doing, but I encountered spiritual things that were not of God. Very few are able to untangle themselves from those nightmares once they dabble … it’s like a spiritual “tar-baby” that just keeps sucking you in the more you try to break free. Fortunately, I never abandoned my relationship with God. I continued praying, and meditating, asking forgiveness, and seeking God’s guidance throughout that entire period … and THAT was my salvation in the long run. Otherwise, if not for God’s grace and help, I would probably still be there.

So, no … the views expressed in that quote from Dorian Gray do NOT express my views on sin. It was a part of my past though … and I am forever grateful for God’s grace and compassion. I came from one extreme (extreme fundamentalist Christianity) and when I rejected that extreme I then, for a while, went to the other end of the spectrum … the opposite equal. Some people just HAVE to get their hand burnt … I, it seems, am just that stubborn (or at least I was).

Fortunately, I was freed from that by God. I was able to devote years to meditating and nurturing my relationship with God. Many breakthroughs, and spiritual blockages cleared, later I have come to a place where I feel that I understand God’s will. The chains that people try to use to bind us down using the word “sin” is largely a way to control … control people’s minds, and their actions, and ultimately their faith. We are constantly being assaulted by forces that do not want us to have a relationship with God.

“Sin” is what happens when we allow ourselves to be closed off from God. That’s it. If you have an open heart, with ears to hear and eyes to see what God has in store for you, you will be led by God. If you keep your heart open, always maintaining a spiritual connection to God … then you WON’T be sinning. It really is that simple. If you do fail, and “sin”, then all you need to do is take the time to open your heart and connect to God again … no penance, no rite of purification. As with any relationship, if you do something to hurt the other party, you ask for their forgiveness. It’s that simple … just maintain an open relationship with God, at all times.

However, it takes a HUGE amount of discipline to maintain this “open-heart” connection at all times. Sometimes it feels SO natural, like you could just stay there forever … those moments are blessings. What is difficult is to keep your heart open no matter what. No matter what happens in your life (depression, physical ailment, death, heartbreak, abuse, etc). NEVER close your heart to God. Keep yourself wide open, and allow God to inhabit this new space … in fact, a new opportunity to grow.

As you do this, you will see that God really DOES comfort and nurture you … protect and guide you.

When you close yourself to God, you are simply stumbling about … flailing about like someone who doesn’t know how to swim … someone who will drown. That is when we sin. When you are open hearted and connected to God … you will not be sinning. God is a God of LOVE … if you are based in LOVE in everything that you do … you won’t be sinning.

During one of these meditation sessions for this posting on SIN, I began it by asking for forgiveness of my sins … just out of routine, really. I heard God’s voice ask me,

“Why are you asking for forgiveness of your sins? Have you sinned today?”

I thought that was a strange question because I have been such a PROFOUND sinner at times in my life, that I just naturally assume there is some sin that I have committed, without even knowing perhaps. I thought about it, and I then realized that (at that moment in time) I had spent the entire day connected to God. I never once shut my heart down. I had just been blissfully going on throughout the day, constantly connected to God. It COMPLETELY blew my mind to actually be able to say back to God,

“No … I guess I haven’t.”

My whole body warmed, and my 6th chakra tingled electrically … God’s Happiness flowed through me at this new awareness achieved.

* Note – for any reading this who do not understand what I mean when I talk about having an “open heart” … a good place to find some understanding on this can be found in the book, “The Untethered Soul“. I’m sure there are many other resources as well that others can provide by leaving a comment.

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Religion4All is an idea: that every human being (no matter their race, religion, sexuality, social status, lifestyle, or any other possible factor) is LOVED by God; just … as … they are.

We all are loved by God, and NO religion or person has a monopoly on it. Every single person on this planet is loved equally by God … SO many are cut off from God because they are told they don’t belong. God loves everyone … we ALL are beautiful creations … we don’t need to cringe when we hear the words “God”, or “religion”, or their judgments … God LOVES us all!

There is no requirement to change in order to be LOVED by God, or to LOVE God. God is LOVE, and LOVE is God … period. There is no one who God loves more than anyone else … there are only those who choose to LOVE more … to love God more, and consequently then to love each other more. In doing so, we grow closer to God … and know God.

By opening our hearts, and minds to God (free of boundaries like religion, or social trends); by LOVING God … we are exactly where we are meant to be. If we maintain that openness, never allowing any person or event to make us close our hearts, we will be guided by God to be who we are meant to be.

In that space of openness we can then live a life of LOVE, and be guided to where we are meant to be … forever in LOVE.

Southern California, Northern California,Mission Viejo, Irvine, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Marin, San Jose, San Juan Capistrano, Santa Ana, Palm Springs, Long Beach

Comments (7)

Meditation

May 31, 2012 at 11:30 am · Filed under Faith, Philosophy, Quotations, Quotes, Religion, Spirituality and tagged: Addiction, Art, Astrology, Baptist, Belief, Buddhism, Catholic, Chakra, Chi, Christianity, Church, Energy, Fundamentalist, Gnostic, God, Holy Spirit, Islam, Jesus, Jewish, Judaism, Love, Magic, Meditation, Miracle, Mormon, Muslim, Mysticism, Nature, Overcoming, Pain, Poetry, Prana, Presbyterian, Prose, Protestant, Religion, Samskara, Shaman, Shamanism, Shiite, Sikh, Soul, Spirituality, Suffering, Sunni, Tarot, Unitarian, Wicca, Wonder, Writing, Zen, Zodiac

Working for the last few meditation sessions on the concept of sin. This is the final quote to meditate upon:

“Meditation is not to escape from society,
but to come back to ourselves and see what is going on.
Once there is seeing, there must be acting.
With mindfulness, we know what to do and what not to do to help.”

– Thich Nhat Hanh

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Religion4All is an idea: that every human being (no matter their race, religion, sexuality, social status, lifestyle, or any other possible factor) is LOVED by God; just … as … they are.

In that space of openness we can then live a life of LOVE, and be guided to where we are meant to be … forever in LOVE.

Dorian Gray – on sin …

May 30, 2012 at 9:31 pm · Filed under Authors, Books, Entertainment, Faith, Philosophy, Poetry, Quotations, Quotes, Religion, Spirituality and tagged: Addiction, Art, Astrology, Baptist, Belief, Buddhism, Catholic, Chakra, Chi, Christianity, Church, Energy, Fundamentalist, Gnostic, God, Holy Spirit, Islam, Jesus, Jewish, Judaism, Love, Magic, Meditation, Miracle, Mormon, Muslim, Mysticism, Nature, Overcoming, Pain, Poetry, Prana, Presbyterian, Prose, Protestant, Religion, Samskara, Shaman, Shamanism, Shiite, Sikh, Soul, Spirituality, Suffering, Sunni, Tarot, Unitarian, Wicca, Wonder, Writing, Zen, Zodiac

An interesting quote … one could go SO many directions with this … anyone? 😉

“And yet,” continued Lord Henry, in his low, musical voice, and with that graceful wave of the hand that was always so characteristic of him, and that he had even in his Eton days, “I believe that if one man were to live out his life fully and completely, were to give form to every feeling, expression to every thought, reality to every dream–I believe that the world would gain such a fresh impulse of joy that we would forget all the maladies of mediaevalism, and return to the Hellenic ideal– to something finer, richer than the Hellenic ideal, it may be. But the bravest man amongst us is afraid of himself. The mutilation of the savage has its tragic survival in the self-denial that mars our lives. We are punished for our refusals. Every impulse that we strive to strangle broods in the mind and poisons us. The body sins once, and has done with its sin, for action is a mode of purification. Nothing remains then but the recollection of a pleasure, or the luxury of a regret. The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. Resist it, and your soul grows sick with longing for the things it has forbidden to itself, with desire for what its monstrous laws have made monstrous and unlawful. It has been said that the great events of the world take place in the brain. It is in the brain, and the brain only, that the great sins of the world take place also.”

– Lord Henry; from the Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde

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Religion4All is an idea: that every human being (no matter their race, religion, sexuality, social status, lifestyle, or any other possible factor) is LOVED by God; just … as … they are.

In that space of openness we can then live a life of LOVE, and be guided to where we are meant to be … forever in LOVE.

Comments (6)

“Us Against The World”

May 30, 2012 at 3:54 pm · Filed under Entertainment, Faith, Music, Musician, Philosophy, Religion, Singer, Songs, Spirituality and tagged: Addiction, Art, Astrology, Baptist, Belief, Buddhism, Catholic, Chakra, Chi, Christianity, Church, Energy, Fundamentalist, Gnostic, God, Holy Spirit, Islam, Jesus, Jewish, Judaism, Love, Magic, Meditation, Miracle, Mormon, Muslim, Mysticism, Nature, Overcoming, Pain, Poetry, Prana, Presbyterian, Prose, Protestant, Religion, Samskara, Shaman, Shamanism, Shiite, Sikh, Soul, Spirituality, Suffering, Sunni, Tarot, Unitarian, Wicca, Wonder, Writing, Zen, Zodiac

In meditating on my prior post (“Perseverance Rewarded“) I was reminded of just how difficult perseverance can be. I’m not so much talking about the “one foot in front of the other” mentality … that part, while painful, is the far easier aspect of perseverance. What is truly difficult is Trust.

To explain – this example:

It’s pitch black, you feel blindfolded, and you are climbing higher and higher. You believe you are on the right path but there are all sorts of rocks, and roots, along the way that trip you up because of your limited vision. Sometimes your path is precarious, even a tightrope. You happen across another path that looks to be blissfully free of these encumbrances, and it heads slightly downhill, which seems quite refreshing just now. Now comes the hard part … the decision to either stay on the rocky path you are on, or change course for the path that looks easier.

In truth, that easier path could wind up being easier for all the rest of your days. It could be a decent path … but it won’t get you to the destination that you were so zealously climbing after … that place that God wanted you to be. So, in essence, you aren’t just switching paths … you are giving up on “the dream” (that being what you felt called to).

It sounds like not such a big deal when talking about it in terms of a parable. When you get down to the real life manifestations of this, however, then it becomes excruciatingly difficult at times. This also goes back to my “Unconditional Love!” post yesterday. We have so many conditions about how things are supposed to be in our lives … so many structures built up. Sometimes the only way to see the path you are supposed to be on is to allow all those structures to be torn down. To just … slow it down … let God fill you … let everything else melt away … and TRUST.

So what does this mean … well, sometimes it means allowing yourself to be hurt without making the retort you SO want to make. Sometimes it means knowing that the path you are on is Divine, and you are about to make it man-made with your actions (or rather reactions to the provocations around you). Loving the other people around you despite what you are going through about it … and just letting those inner barriers erode and crumble. Those are the structures that YOU built up to try and protect yourself … when you walk on the path God has designed, those things (pride, ego, sarcasm, gossip, etc. … all the REACTIONS that you THINK make you feel better about yourself) just get in your way.

Sometimes it means just letting go completely … of everything … falling … and trusting that God will be there to catch you. That’s the hardest part … WAY more difficult than just putting one foot in front of the other.

It hurt so bad when your were in the midst of it … but when you look back, it is quite startling to witness. You can see all those times that you wanted to take over, and make things be the way you wanted them to be instead of allowing them to unfold as God wants them to be … and, if you somehow managed to persevere and not take charge for yourself … if you succeeded in the hardest part: to Trust … you will see the plan that God had all along; unfolding in reverse. We can’t see it looking ahead, through the chaos as it swirls … but retrospect is the best way to see how God is really there caring for, and carrying, you along.

Even then, the path is easier … but you still have to keep persevering. Sometimes you let your guard down and before you know it you’re about to take charge again. Be vigilant … God has great things in store for you.

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Religion4All is an idea: that every human being (no matter their race, religion, sexuality, social status, lifestyle, or any other possible factor) is LOVED by God; just … as … they are.

In that space of openness we can then live a life of LOVE, and be guided to where we are meant to be … forever in LOVE.

Perseverance Rewarded

May 30, 2012 at 10:06 am · Filed under Faith, Philosophy, Quotations, Quotes, Religion, Spirituality and tagged: Addiction, Art, Astrology, Baptist, Belief, Buddhism, Catholic, Chakra, Chi, Christianity, Church, Energy, Fundamentalist, Gnostic, God, Holy Spirit, Islam, Jesus, Jewish, Judaism, Love, Magic, Meditation, Miracle, Mormon, Muslim, Mysticism, Nature, Overcoming, Pain, Poetry, Prana, Presbyterian, Prose, Protestant, Religion, Samskara, Shaman, Shamanism, Shiite, Sikh, Soul, Spirituality, Suffering, Sunni, Tarot, Unitarian, Wicca, Wonder, Writing, Zen, Zodiac

Great words to meditate on!

“The rewards for those who persevere far exceed the pain that must precede the victory.”

– Ted W. Engstrom

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Religion4All is an idea: that every human being (no matter their race, religion, sexuality, social status, lifestyle, or any other possible factor) is LOVED by God; just … as … they are.

In that space of openness we can then live a life of LOVE, and be guided to where we are meant to be … forever in LOVE.

Comments (3)

Hopeful Healing …

May 29, 2012 at 8:04 pm · Filed under Faith, Philosophy, Quotations, Quotes, Religion, Spirituality and tagged: Addiction, Art, Astrology, Baptist, Belief, Buddhism, Catholic, Chakra, Chi, Christianity, Church, Energy, Fundamentalist, Gnostic, God, Holy Spirit, Islam, Jesus, Jewish, Judaism, Love, Magic, Meditation, Miracle, Mormon, Muslim, Mysticism, Nature, Overcoming, Pain, Poetry, Prana, Presbyterian, Prose, Protestant, Religion, Samskara, Shaman, Shamanism, Shiite, Sikh, Soul, Spirituality, Suffering, Sunni, Tarot, Unitarian, Wicca, Wonder, Writing, Zen, Zodiac

THIS is what I was looking for 🙂 … words to meditate upon for a friend who is in need of healing:

“It’s supposed to be a professional secret, but I’ll tell you anyway.
We doctors do nothing. We only help and encourage the doctor
within. We are at best when we give the doctor who resides
within each patient a chance to go to work.”

– Albert Schweitzer

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Religion4All is an idea: that every human being (no matter their race, religion, sexuality, social status, lifestyle, or any other possible factor) is LOVED by God; just … as … they are.

In that space of openness we can then live a life of LOVE, and be guided to where we are meant to be … forever in LOVE.

Comments (3)

Sing songs that none have sung …

May 29, 2012 at 7:44 pm · Filed under Entertainment, Faith, Music, Philosophy, Quotations, Quotes, Religion, Singer, Songs, Spirituality and tagged: Addiction, Art, Astrology, Baptist, Belief, Buddhism, Catholic, Chakra, Chi, Christianity, Church, Energy, Fundamentalist, Gnostic, God, Holy Spirit, Islam, Jesus, Jewish, Judaism, Love, Magic, Meditation, Miracle, Mormon, Muslim, Mysticism, Nature, Overcoming, Pain, Poetry, Prana, Presbyterian, Prose, Protestant, Religion, Samskara, Shaman, Shamanism, Shiite, Sikh, Soul, Spirituality, Suffering, Sunni, Tarot, Unitarian, Wicca, Wonder, Writing, Zen, Zodiac

Wow … looking for a quote on something else … but THIS one touched deep, and so I must share:

“Sing songs that none have sung, think thoughts that ne’er in the brain have rung; walk in paths that none have trod; weep tears as none have shed for God. Give peace to all to whom none other gave, claim him your own who’s everywhere disclaimed. Love all with love that none have felt and brave the battle of life with strength unchained.”

– Paramahansa Yogananda

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Religion4All is an idea: that every human being (no matter their race, religion, sexuality, social status, lifestyle, or any other possible factor) is LOVED by God; just … as … they are.

In that space of openness we can then live a life of LOVE, and be guided to where we are meant to be … forever in LOVE.

Come To The Edge

May 29, 2012 at 3:16 pm · Filed under Faith, Philosophy, Quotations, Quotes, Religion, Spirituality and tagged: Addiction, Art, Astrology, Baptist, Belief, Buddhism, Catholic, Chakra, Chi, Christianity, Church, Energy, Fundamentalist, Gnostic, God, Holy Spirit, Islam, Jesus, Jewish, Judaism, Love, Magic, Meditation, Miracle, Mormon, Muslim, Mysticism, Nature, Overcoming, Pain, Poetry, Prana, Presbyterian, Prose, Protestant, Religion, Samskara, Shaman, Shamanism, Shiite, Sikh, Soul, Spirituality, Suffering, Sunni, Tarot, Unitarian, Wicca, Wonder, Writing, Zen, Zodiac

Words to meditate on:

“Come to the edge.”
“We can’t. We’re afraid.”
“Come to the edge.”
“We can’t. We will fall!”
“Come to the edge.”
And they came.
And he pushed them.
And they flew.

– Guillaume Apollinaire

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Religion4All is an idea: that every human being (no matter their race, religion, sexuality, social status, lifestyle, or any other possible factor) is LOVED by God; just … as … they are.

In that space of openness we can then live a life of LOVE, and be guided to where we are meant to be … forever in LOVE.

Unconditional Love!

May 29, 2012 at 3:02 pm · Filed under Faith, Philosophy, Religion, Spirituality and tagged: Addiction, Art, Astrology, Baptist, Belief, Buddhism, Catholic, Chakra, Chi, Christianity, Church, Energy, Fundamentalist, Gnostic, God, Holy Spirit, Islam, Jesus, Jewish, Judaism, Love, Magic, Meditation, Miracle, Mormon, Muslim, Mysticism, Nature, Overcoming, Pain, Poetry, Prana, Presbyterian, Prose, Protestant, Religion, Samskara, Shaman, Shamanism, Shiite, Sikh, Soul, Spirituality, Suffering, Sunni, Tarot, Unitarian, Wicca, Wonder, Writing, Zen, Zodiac

God has been teaching me about Unconditional Love, on an ongoing basis, for the past several months. Every time I think I get it, I then proceed to fail at it (lol), and have to get back up to keep working at it. So here are my thoughts on the subject:

Firstly, Unconditional Love is NOT something that comes naturally to humans. We have all SORTS of conditions on things in life … ranging from an open door requiring a “Thank You.”, all the way across the spectrum to an “I love you.” requires actions to back those words up. If someone tells you that they love you, but don’t return your calls or e-mails for five days … well, that kind of tells you that something is up (or it makes you suspicious that something is, at the very least) … and it makes you want to then REACT by pulling yourself back (i.e. closing yourself down) from the other person. It’s a very natural reaction … you get burned, you don’t want to get near the flame again. This happens across the board; in all kinds of relationships.

Here’s the thing though … that is not how God loves us. God takes every rejection; every time we ignore, or even turn our backs. The level of love that God has for us never changes … to put it differently … OUR actions don’t make any difference to what action God takes. We can do ANYTHING, and God will still love us just as much. Of course, when we do these things we are causing the same level of pain to God that we would feel if somebody treated us in the same way … except magnified insanely, because God loves us that much more.

Secondly, LOVE creates a bond and, whether you know it or not, you are feeling things from that bond every day. Most people probably take notice of the mood change, or that something is different, they just don’t realize that it actually came from somebody else. Love creates an empathic bond … I’m sure many of you could write comments about experiences that you have had where a family member was in trouble, or a loved one was hurt … and you FELT something. Those are the big things … but we really are affected by these connections more frequently than we know.

When you share a bond of love with someone … it doesn’t just disappear because they do. I’m sure that we each have our own levels of sensitivity in this regard … so this might not be the case for everyone … maybe some people can’t relate. I am a VERY empathic person though, in that I feel and pick up the energy of people around me … as well as the things that I attach my energy to (i.e. when a bond is made). I have felt things from people I love when I have been on the other side of the planet … LOVE knows no bounds.

When you make a commitment of Unconditional Love … it really is just about the deepest commitment that any person can make. You are saying, “I don’t care what decisions you make … I am going to love you no matter what.” NO MATTER WHAT … there are NO conditions on that love … not fidelity, not friendship, not rejection, not even common courtesy. Think of all the possible ways that you leave yourself vulnerable by making that commitment … a whole WORLD of pain could be lying just around the corner.

So why do it???

Well, first of all … it is the way that God loves us, and if we truly aspire to be like God … then, that is how we should love.

Sometimes though, you simply don’t have a choice. The love is there … and you are left with two decisions: you can REACT by shutting your heart down, or you can ACT by not allowing anyone else’s actions to dictate yours. If you love someone … truly and purely love them … then you really don’t have a choice in the matter.

Most importantly though … we are intended by God to be Beings of Love … Beings IN Love. God does not want us to shut our hearts down, EVER. If we get our hearts broken, God’s desire is that we keep our hearts wide open and take God into that place to fill it up with God’s love … don’t shut your love down, it is an opportunity to allow God to love you that much more. God is fully capable of fulfilling every aspect of you … but in order for God to do that, you have to be fully open to receiving that gift from God.

When you view things in such a way, you realize … you have NOTHING to lose! You unconditionally love someone and now there are two possibilities … either God will inhabit the relationship you develop with the other person, OR, God will fill the space they left by rejecting you … either way, it’s a Win/Win.

When you reach that place … it becomes much easier to give … to just give your love freely, because you know that it will be a new level that opens for you … either a new relationship that flowers and blooms, or a deepening of the relationship with God that you have, or BOTH.

There will be pain though … that is one thing I can guarantee … there will be a lot of pain … but then, great Love comes with great pain … you can’t have it any other way. You can be closed to God, and numb everything in life down to a dull, faint throbbing … or you can be open to God and BLAZE away unconditionally, knowing that God will always be there to provide care, and comfort for whatever the result may be.

Either way (whether with that other person, or alone, but with God) you will always wind up growing closer to God … and THAT is what life is about.

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Religion4All is an idea: that every human being (no matter their race, religion, sexuality, social status, lifestyle, or any other possible factor) is LOVED by God; just … as … they are.

In that space of openness we can then live a life of LOVE, and be guided to where we are meant to be … forever in LOVE.

Comments (9)

The Absence of Sin

May 28, 2012 at 6:58 am · Filed under Faith, Philosophy, Quotations, Quotes, Religion, Spirituality and tagged: Addiction, Art, Astrology, Baptist, Belief, Buddhism, Catholic, Chakra, Chi, Christianity, Church, Energy, Fundamentalist, Gnostic, God, Holy Spirit, Islam, Jesus, Jewish, Judaism, Love, Magic, Meditation, Miracle, Mormon, Muslim, Mysticism, Nature, Overcoming, Pain, Poetry, Prana, Presbyterian, Prose, Protestant, Religion, Samskara, Shaman, Shamanism, Shiite, Sikh, Soul, Spirituality, Suffering, Sunni, Tarot, Unitarian, Wicca, Wonder, Writing, Zen, Zodiac

Beautiful words to start this day in meditation:

“Let your love flow outward through the universe,
To its height, its depth, its broad extent,
A limitless love, without hatred or enmity.
Then as you stand or walk,
Sit or lie down,
As long as you are awake,
Strive for this with a one-pointed mind;
Your life will bring heaven to earth. “

The Sutta Nipata

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Religion4All is an idea: that every human being (no matter their race, religion, sexuality, social status, lifestyle, or any other possible factor) is LOVED by God; just … as … they are.

In that space of openness we can then live a life of LOVE, and be guided to where we are meant to be … forever in LOVE.

Southern California, Northern California,Mission Viejo, Irvine, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Marin, San Jose, San Juan Capistrano, Santa Ana, Palm Springs, Long Beach

May 27, 2012 at 2:44 pm · Filed under Spirituality

Loved this post! I would say that if we are keeping our hearts open, and constantly connected to God … planting bad karmic seeds is impossible. When we close our hearts, either momentarily or permanently … then we can sow whole fields of unhealthy karmic crop. 🙂

May 27, 2012 at 2:33 pm · Filed under Spirituality

Beautiful perspective :-).

May 27, 2012 at 2:31 pm · Filed under Spirituality

A very wise, and elegantly worded post on contemporary issues.

HeartSphere

Many men often come to a point in life where they are begged to learn or unlearn. This point is the precipice of a denouement of sorts; of a becoming or of a realization. When we come to this point, we either accept or deny the truth that we find. This is the sphere of crossroads.

When any human being is confronted and forced to review their personal dogma, many things happen. No man welcomes this review. Though some accept it, this review is often unwelcome as it is too personal an issue to be disregarded. This is especially true when regarding spiritual dogma. If the tenet of belief is challenged, one will find any phrase or quotation to prove his point. Most often this is done in denial, when a simple truth has been brought forward.

When confronted with a spiritual or dogmatic crossroads, a man first holds fast…

View original post 425 more words

Soul in Bloom

May 27, 2012 at 12:32 pm · Filed under Entertainment, Faith, Philosophy, Quotations, Quotes, Religion, Spirituality and tagged: Addiction, Art, Astrology, Baptist, Belief, Buddhism, Catholic, Chakra, Chi, Christianity, Church, Energy, Fundamentalist, Gnostic, God, Holy Spirit, Islam, Jesus, Jewish, Judaism, Love, Magic, Meditation, Miracle, Mormon, Muslim, Mysticism, Nature, Overcoming, Pain, Poetry, Prana, Presbyterian, Prose, Protestant, Religion, Samskara, Shaman, Shamanism, Shiite, Sikh, Soul, Spirituality, Suffering, Sunni, Tarot, Unitarian, Wicca, Wonder, Writing, Zen, Zodiac

It’s really pretty amazing, when you think about it … just how much time we spend trying to make ourselves lovable. That’s ultimately what we are doing. Hair styles, outgoing personality, matching clothes (preferably designer), an impressive career, a sparkling resume … the list goes on and on. All the ways we strive to convince those around us that we are lovable. The more you begin hearing people talking about these things, the more you can hear their soul screaming,

“LOVE ME … PLEASE, SOMEBODY LOVE ME!!!”

That is what I was doing for a long time. In meditating on my prior post (A Cat Doesn’t Become A Chicken) I started thinking about how this is especially true for people who are truly unique … people who aren’t the typical variety of bloom. Because of this they end up being literally obsessive about how they are perceived. Some seek to blend in completely, to hide their abnormality … while others create exotic realities, thinking that impressing people will make them lovable. To actually be that TRULY unique Inner Self is unthinkable … because if you are rejected for your projected facade, you can always tell yourself that they don’t know the “real you”. If only they got to know the “real you” they would surely love you … but you never show that real person to anyone; excepting maybe one or two who have proven over time that they won’t reject you. You finally believe that this person will love you; so you let your “True Self” blossom for them to see.

The problem is, what happens if that person ends up rejecting you later on … that’s where true heartbreak comes from … because they didn’t just reject your projected facade, they rejected the “Real You”.

It’s all a very elaborate game, isn’t it?? What are the odds though that you will lure someone in for good by being one person, and then revealing the real you later on? If you went into a grocery store and bought a carton of orange juice, but then took a swig and it was milk … would you continue drinking, or return it because you happen to be lactose intolerant??

Whereas, if we focus on just being our “True Self” all the time, no matter what … when we are loved, it will be True Love; for who we really are! We may experience more overall rejection along the way … but just think of all the drama and heartache you also avoid by not having to pretend for people you ultimately aren’t compatible with in the first place. What if you end up falling in love with one of those people? You really are just dooming yourself to eventual heartbreak … it’s unavoidable. Nobody is SO good at keeping up appearances that they can do so for an entire lifetime; without change.

So I started thinking, “Who is the ‘Real Me’?” Am I the singer or voice that I get typecast as? No, that’s just something I enjoy doing. Am I the writer, or composer? Nope, same thing … just activities I happen to enjoy. Traveller, student, professional? Nope, no, and not a chance. What is the one thing that defines me?

It’s simple really … my love for, and relationship with, God. That’s it. If I present that person then I will always be the “Real Me”. It no longer matters what I do, where I go, or what I accomplish. I could be singing opera at La Scala, in Milan, serving ice cream to kids at softball tournaments, or just sitting under a tree … meditating.

So long as I keep my heart open and connected to God, and follow God’s guidance … that’s it. That’s my “flower” (as the quote talked about) … and all I have to be, is a Soul in Bloom.
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Religion4All is an idea: that every human being (no matter their race, religion, sexuality, social status, lifestyle, or any other possible factor) is LOVED by God; just … as … they are.

In that space of openness we can then live a life of LOVE, and be guided to where we are meant to be … forever in LOVE.

Southern California, Northern California,Mission Viejo, Irvine, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Marin, San Jose, San Juan Capistrano, Santa Ana, Palm Springs, Long Beach

A Cat Doesn’t Become a Chicken

May 27, 2012 at 8:02 am · Filed under Authors, Books, Entertainment, Faith, Philosophy, Poetry, Quotations, Quotes, Religion, Spirituality and tagged: Addiction, Art, Astrology, Baptist, Belief, Buddhism, Catholic, Chakra, Chi, Christianity, Church, Energy, Fundamentalist, Gnostic, God, Holy Spirit, Islam, Jesus, Jewish, Judaism, Love, Magic, Meditation, Miracle, Mormon, Muslim, Mysticism, Nature, Overcoming, Pain, Poetry, Prana, Presbyterian, Prose, Protestant, Religion, Samskara, Shaman, Shamanism, Shiite, Sikh, Soul, Spirituality, Suffering, Sunni, Tarot, Unitarian, Wicca, Wonder, Writing, Zen, Zodiac

I LOVE this … and this is a much needed topic to meditate upon, for me particularly :-).

“Peonies bloom on peony trees.

A cat doesn’t become a chicken.

Tulips are tulips, not roses.

Why can’t we realize this true fact?

That to be me is great.

I don’t have to be anyone but me.

I am blooming as I am in my life,

just as a peony blooms on a peony tree.

Further, a beautiful peony flower

does not worry about when it will wilt and fall to the ground.

It does not compete with the flower next to it;

rather it blooms with its whole self.

– Sensei Ogui; from “Zen Shin Talks”

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Religion4All is an idea: that every human being (no matter their race, religion, sexuality, social status, lifestyle, or any other possible factor) is LOVED by God; just … as … they are.

In that space of openness we can then live a life of LOVE, and be guided to where we are meant to be … forever in LOVE.

The Empire Strikes Back

May 26, 2012 at 10:10 pm · Filed under Entertainment, Faith, Philosophy, Quotations, Quotes, Religion, Spirituality and tagged: Addiction, Art, Astrology, Baptist, Belief, Buddhism, Catholic, Chakra, Chi, Christianity, Church, Energy, Fundamentalist, Gnostic, God, Holy Spirit, Islam, Jesus, Jewish, Judaism, Love, Magic, Meditation, Miracle, Mormon, Muslim, Mysticism, Nature, Overcoming, Pain, Poetry, Prana, Presbyterian, Prose, Protestant, Religion, Samskara, Shaman, Shamanism, Shiite, Sikh, Soul, Spirituality, Suffering, Sunni, Tarot, Unitarian, Wicca, Wonder, Writing, Zen, Zodiac

I’m almost embarrassed to post this (lol) … lest every reader think me a Star Wars junkie :-). However, the movie was on TV tonight, and I simply had to comment on one specific sequence. It moved me, so I just had to.

Luke, having discovered enlightenment from an unlikely source (Yoda), is presented with an opportunity to face his greatest fear. I found it interesting that Yoda actually said to him, “You will not need your weapons in there.” Yoda knows that every/any defensive mechanism will not help Luke against his greatest fear.

Luke wanders into the morass of swampy foliage, wondering what he will find. What he discovers is his greatest fear … Darth Vader. The black cloaked figure fights him, but Luke valiantly riposte’s to lop off Vader’s head … which rolls free to reveal a face … Luke’s own face. His greatest fear is that he will wind up becoming his greatest fear.

SO MANY valid elements in this one scene … to become enlightened you must face your greatest fears … you must accept your own mortality, and flaws. You must endure, in the face of what seems unendurable. You must accept your fears, and not allow them to rule you … if your fears rule you? You become that which you fear.

Afterwards, during a training session, Luke says to Yoda, “Okay, I’ll try!” Yoda says, “No, try not … DO or do not!”

The ultimate sequence from this whole scene? Yoda lifts Luke’s ship from the swamp, and Luke says incredulously, “I don’t believe it!”

Yoda says, “… and THAT is why you fail.”

So what is it that seems SO unbelievable??? It is anything that society tells us is impossible. It is anything, because of what you have chosen to believe in your life, that is contrary to what you feel guided to accomplish. We have been trained to believe what we are capable of … and what we are incapable of. The only thing is … we usually are trained by people who have NO concept of what God is capable of!

God is capable of anything. If you are to be used by God … you must let go of EVERY limitation. This does not mean you will become some sort of “Jedi” … it only means that you will be capable of accomplishing anything, and everything, that God intends for you to accomplish. None of us know what God intends for us … and so, we must prepare ourselves to accept everything, and anything. It doesn’t mean that something supernatural will happen … it only means that, if God intends it to be … God will be able to use you to make it so. It could be that God simply intends you to live on a farm, and have a beautiful spiritual relationship … who is to say?? None of us know, all we can do is follow.

God does not force things upon any of us … that is why those who are dedicated to God are needed. We can help and influence each other, from our relationship with God … but God will never force any of us to do anything. That is just how much God loves us … God would never force … God only LOVES.

One last Star Wars proverb from this scene to close: “Don’t give in to Hate … that leads to the Dark Side.”

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Religion4All is an idea: that every human being (no matter their race, religion, sexuality, social status, lifestyle, or any other possible factor) is LOVED by God; just … as … they are.

In that space of openness we can then live a life of LOVE, and be guided to where we are meant to be … forever in LOVE.

Leading Into Interior Silence.

Leading Into Interior Silence

May 26, 2012 at 6:35 pm · Filed under Faith, Philosophy, Quotations, Quotes, Religion, Spirituality and tagged: Addiction, Art, Astrology, Baptist, Belief, Buddhism, Catholic, Chakra, Chi, Christianity, Church, Energy, Fundamentalist, Gnostic, God, Holy Spirit, Islam, Jesus, Jewish, Judaism, Love, Magic, Meditation, Miracle, Mormon, Muslim, Mysticism, Nature, Overcoming, Pain, Poetry, Prana, Presbyterian, Prose, Protestant, Religion, Samskara, Shaman, Shamanism, Shiite, Sikh, Soul, Spirituality, Suffering, Sunni, Tarot, Unitarian, Wicca, Wonder, Writing, Zen, Zodiac

So glad to share a quote with Stephanie (the same quote from my post earlier today, “Thoroughly Acquainted“) … and to see where her inspiration from that same quote took her on her own blog. I am really looking forward to what she has to share in the future; as she has revealed she will be doing … so this is just a teaser apparently. Beautifully written … and insanely meaningful/inspiring. Thank you, Stephanie.

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Religion4All is an idea: that every human being (no matter their race, religion, sexuality, social status, lifestyle, or any other possible factor) is LOVED by God; just … as … they are.

In that space of openness we can then live a life of LOVE, and be guided to where we are meant to be … forever in LOVE.