All of us, at one time or another have had the experience of saying to ourselves, "I am getting fat," "I can handle this," or "I'll stay as calm as I can," and so forth. What is happening during these "revelations' is simply that our Higher Nature is giving encouragement and procedural advice to us, or that our Higher Nature is showing concern for our present state - be that how heavy we are in body, or how heavy we are in spirit.
This Higher Nature is always ready to do these things and many others to help us define our present state, to encourage us and to propose a course of action when we are in doubt.
It is so difficult to get the Ego out of the way that we fail to realize that these simple statements from our Higher self are, in themselves, a poor man's form of contemplative prayer. These statements are on a very superficial and mundane level, nevertheless, they contain within themselves the seeds of prayer.
One great teacher and spiritual "seer" once said: "The path to the Spirit can not be found, it must be CREATED by each of us." And that process of Creation is called Contemplation.
But what do we usually contemplate?
The answers to that are myriad: the Bible, a favorite verse in the Bible, a favorite prayer in the prayer books of the world, the words to an old hymn, our own name and so forth.
Those are indirect paths to the Spirit, using someone else's words, not our own words. If the teacher above was correct we cannot find the path to the spirit using someone else's words, we must create that path ourselves.
The means of doing that is found in the simple expressions which our Higher Nature communicates to us. The trick is to "universalize" these expressions, to find direction, or some advice on the procedure to arrive at a solution to a problem. That may sound difficult but it is very simple and very effective. Let us go through the process with the thought, "I am to fat."
If we universalize that thought it would be something like this, "Many men and women in our day are over weight." Or "Food is consumed beyond what is needed for human life each day by many people." You may do much better, but what is needed is to take the thought from the personal and write it in a journal as a universal truth.
Next, we may think of a solution, "Therefore we should stop eating." But that is cheating ourselves. What is called for is an idea about the reason for this or a thought about this overeating process that will assist us to eat less. Thus, the end result of this thought is something on the order of "Many men and women in this time tend to overeat. The reason they eat more than they need is because they are hungry for something substantial, not found in food, but rather in their spiritual lives. If they could satisfy that hunger they would cease overeating. I am sure you could come up with even a better quatrain or expression if you try.
This expression, (I call it a quatrain, but it is not really that), is to be written down in your journal, no matter how banal or simple it may seem to you.
Continue to do this and after a week or so, you will have collected ten or more of such quatrains and you may begin to shape a path to the Spirit.
Take the quatrains that you have and read them over from first to last. You will be distinctly aware of yourself speaking to yourself, but it is more than that. You will become aware that it is your Higher Self speaking to you and something more. Since you have put there quatrains into universal form you will see that this Higher Self speaking to you and something more. Since you have put these quatrains into the universal form you will see that this Higher Self is really able to speak to All selves, if they would listen. You will become aware that some of your own quatrains seem to "ring true" and others may not seem to do so. The latter can be examined again, rewritten or discarded if you wish.
I have included a few of my own quatrains. Read them in order to "get the tune of it" but you must write your own lyrics and compile enough of them over the weeks ahead to give you something to "Contemplate." It is your truths that should be looked at the thoroughly understood. It is the Soul in you that furnishes these thoughts, these truths for you to examine and think about and pray about. In the example above, we might contemplate on what Spiritual food is all about; is it Manna from heaven? After contemplating our own wisdom quatrains, we may want to end by opening ourselves to Spiritual inspiration, praying that we be taught the secret of Spiritual food so that we will cease to seek such nourishment in the foods of the earth, and turning to the Spiritual, receive the nourishment for the Soul.
There is another use for these maxims as well. You will find that simply reading them, after you have sorted out those that do not seem to "ring true," will bring you into a state of prayer, a very deep state. Even if you haven't the time to spend contemplating them, you can find strength in simply reading them, or parts of them.
There are always those who are who are filled with self-doubt and therefore do not even attempt to follow this procedure. "I can not write a line," or "What if so and so found my journal, they would think I'm silly," and so forth.
It really is very easy to write a journal. Perhaps one more example will encourage you to try:
One afternoon you are in the parking lot of your local supermarket. A mother who is obviously preoccupied does not see that her four year old is running away and has just passed in front of your car! You slam on your brakes, stopping in time so that the child is uninjured, but you are very upset; shaken to the core about what could have happened; and you think to yourself: "I can handle this, I'll stay as calm as I can."
The outcome of the experience with the preoccupied mother and her child is not the focus here. The "think to yourself" is the point and focus I ask you to notice for now. If you would write down that thought, minus of course, any expletives you may also have added, you will find a valuable lesson from your Higher nature, your Soul.
When you finally calm down and are able to do this work, for it does take some effort to build your own path to the Spirit, you must first generalize or Universalize this message to yourself. This is so in order that you may express it as a truth for ALL of us - yet it pertains to your life only, at this moment.
You might write, "If one remains calm, every emergency can be handled." Then, try to add some way to do that ; a way you have read about, imagined, or experienced in your own life, such as "take a deep breath;" by imagining the Christic Spirit is protecting everyone in the emergency; or you are not the cause or the solution, they are the business of the Spiritual world.
Look, now, at the result remembering that your result can be far better that this simple example, if you try:
• If you remain calm, any emergency can be handled.
• You may reach that place of calm by imagining the Christic spirit is protecting everyone dealing with the emergency.
• You are not the cause of the solution, they are the business of the Spiritual world.
Months later, when you read that maxim or that Quatrain, you may have forgotten the incident, but the truth from your Higher Self will speak to you as strong as before. And perhaps, you will not be the first one to have the experience that you needed to be reminded of that truth on that particular day.
One of the things that you must realize is that these "Truths" are for you, for your eyes only. They may not apply to anyone else; they are private thoughts, useful to you for Contemplation, and for inspiration. If someone comes across them, do not be upset, but they are not for your friends or relatives. They are strictly your own business. The more you try to share them with others, the shallower they will seem to be, until at last, you will cease to look at you own Higher thoughts at all. So be as wise as Solomon and keep your own counsel. If, after these two examples, you still do not understand how to arrive at these Quatrains or Wisdom Expressions, then try to do the same thing with a small poem; not a rhyming poem, but one in prose. Try your best however to universalize the thoughts.
There seems to be in this world
Two sorts of food for us to use
One is bread, the other prayer,
And it is prayer that feeds the Soul
Oh might we all grow strong through it!
The following are a few of my own thoughts which I will share with you. Please regard them as mine, and as mine alone. You will find your own with only the slightest effort and they will lead you to your goal. In our last chapter you will learn more of their usefulness as prayer. Just remember to use your thoughts, universalize them, (using you, we and us, instead of I and me), try to fashion a statement about the thought, and then come to an answer or a solution. Notice these things in what follows. This is the melody, you supply the words!
• You can see that the world is moving to ward a difficult time. You can not prevent that but you can assist others when the tragedy is over. Prepare yourself toward that end.
• You may think that love is the opposite of hate, but that is because you have never felt indifference. Not caring at all is worse than hate.
• When you begin to look at the earth as a living being, one that has a life and, yes, even a soul, you will begin to understand the value of Christ's sacrifice.
• We can enter into a conversation with the wild things of our earth if we are generous enough to allow them to use our voice, and if we are loving enough to try to do that.
• You are the reflection of love; as the moon reflects the light of the sun, so do you reflect the light of God's love. Your mirror may need cleaning.
• When we consider that the Christos is that part of us that forgives our errors, or sins if you prefer, the real miracle is not in the forgiveness but in our willingness to face-up to our errors. If we play our part, the Christos is anxious to play His.
• Most of you think of God as a man. God is not a man, God is complete, and men are incomplete. If you are unaware of that incompleteness, then you are either a God or you have no knowledge of sexuality.
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