This is putting the period on our almost 4-month semi-segue, looking into our spiritual, familial, cultural, and governmental nefarious indoctrinations, which gave us the life that we had. Then we learned how see it for what was and how to deconstruct it. This freed us up to live a glorious life in God through Christ, as our authentic self.
Let’s break it down for the last time:
The way we were:
It all started out innocently enough. A voice inside your head said, ‘This world and its inhabitants are dangerous. Let me show you how to avoid pain.’ It called itself ‘you,’ and you believed. Immediately, a dark spirit entered and layered that voice with malevolent suggestions, hoping that you would take ownership of them.
The dark spirit hoped for your death, physical and / or mental, trying to stab Jehovah in the heart during the process. All the time, your authentic self was buried at the bottom of a murky well of furiously swirling thoughts, designed to lull you to sleep through your entire life.
That is not what God intended: “So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.” Jn. 8:36 NLT
God sent Christ to die, to deliver your spirit. It is time to claim that truth. That freedom is yours, even in the face of this world that would have you marinate in bitterness and misery.
We began by looking at the prison that we constructed, to camouflage the person that we thought we were. Then we compassionately acknowledged ourselves for our powerful creativity in building this intricate (if warped) survival mechanism.
Following that, we sought to understand what our payoff has been, which looks a lot like a safe (?) cocoon of melancholy, where we exhaust ourselves in trying to successfully envision the next thing that blindsides us. There is a cost – a life without love. This is the foundation for human suffering. Only when we acknowledge our suffering, will we be ready for God’s deliverance.
Stepping into change:
There comes a time in your life, (if you want one), when you must desist in intellectualizing about your problems, get off your butt, and put your newly learned solutions into practice. Why?
For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. Pr. 23:7 NKJV
It has always been a head game that you’ve been playing against yourself. If you want change, you must do change. No more status quo between your ears. You must become a perpetual seeker of truth, and align your thoughts and actions with it.
You’ve lost some precious time, but your true heart is still within you. You must let it out. Make a contract with yourself, that you will adhere to assiduously. A great model of this is found in The Four Agreements by don Miguel Ruiz. They are:
1. Be impeccable with your word
When you are, you’re always speaking the truth, from your heart. Life only works when you live by the truth; and truth can only be comprehended when you are conscious.
2. Don’t take anything personally
Most of the time, what you hear coming out of the mouths of unconscious people is the ramblings of that voice in their heads. Being that they are mostly lies, taking them personally makes no sense.
3. Don’t make assumptions
Assumptions are never based upon truth. They are guesses at best, which have at least a 50% chance of being false,
4. Always do your best
When you do your best, you create a space for truth. So, what if that voice in your head complains? (It will scream bloody murder in the beginning, because you are heralding the beginning of its demise.) All God asks of you, is to do your personal best. The outcome is whatever it is, and He does not judge you for that.
So, what is this change that you need to make? It’s all about going home, back to the center of your authentic self, where Christ resides. Give thanks to Jehovah for making you aware of your true salvation, so that you can begin life anew, in a sea of new possibilities.
Pray, which can only be done in present time. Ask for healing love, faith, and a revelation of your part to play in His grand design. It will always consist of a way that He can use you to express His love. Open yourself up to receive God’s mercy. When you are in a state of grace, ego has no opening to attack. Love yourself like Jehovah loves you – unconditionally. Claim that perfect image of God that you are, and draw on His limitless strength.
As you continue working God’s plan for you, your detours in life will become miniscule; and as He continues unfolding your shining spirit, the closer you will resemble His Son. See every event in life as a chance to get to know God better.
Acknowledge yourself for trying to survive life the best way that you knew how, with the tools you had at the time. Shift your focus onto what Jehovah wants and how you can make that happen in the context of that new contract with yourself – staying awake, living consciously.
Let go of any beliefs / strategies that hinder you. When you shed the darkness, you’ll find that your divine glory is already on the job.
Live life with the single expectation of receiving the next surprise in the present moment. Flow with the flux of life. Every time you lose something that you thought was essential to your security, know that it was a blessing from God, reminding you that your serenity is found in Him.
Embrace your new enlightenment (not a mental epiphany, but a celebration for being unshackled from an unworkable life) – a commemoration for reconnecting to your heart. Take comfort and feel the joy in your life’s metamorphosis, living it as the real you. Allow the memories of the dark places to remind you of the vital importance of continuing your journey through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Acknowledge and reward yourself daily for your progress. Journal your victories so you
can see how much God is working in your life. Enjoy the things that you like about yourself as you are getting reacquainted with your authentic self.
Set exciting goals that align with who you know yourself to be. Speak them. Write them down – cradled in present time, in a positive light, with you pictured in their fruition. What do you want to be, do, and have? By when? Create those goals to include what makes you the happiest, brings you maximum growth and serves the greater good of all those around you. Then, ask Jehovah to bring it all into being.
Project yourself outwards. God lives within you. You are love. Sharing that, you reinforce your love. Commit to acts of love, compassion and kindness that recognizes the sanctity of life, demonstrates justice and righteousness, and nurtures loving communication.
Consort with others who walk your path, to remind you of your quest, to lovingly cleave you to your commitment, to rekindle your hope, and to hold you to your authenticity. Find a mentor within that circle who is farther down the path – someone trustworthy to reflect your mind back to you, to help you root out any unconsciousness, to facilitate you getting the answers that are already inside of you, and to mercilessly spur you on, so you don’t stop along the way and congratulate yourself for already ‘knowing everything.’
Enlightenment is a lifelong process for getting closer to God, and to better reflect His love. When you open your heart wide enough, everyone will have something to teach you. The sooner you return to your authentic self, the faster your life will commence.
The cost of not living in reality, is huge. Your battle is not with life. Life is neutral. It only reflects what’s going on in your head. Happy head = happy world. The world can offer you nothing that you don’t already have inside of you.
Have an immense respect for time! The world was made for you, perfect for your time in it. However, your allotment of that time is FINITE. You can’t afford to drown in your unconscious, waiting for a better time when all things coalesce perfectly. THIS IS THE BETTER TIME. THIS IS THE BEST TIME. IT IS THE ONLY TIME!!
Life teeters on both the resplendent and the heartbreaking; both keeps us in check. The ‘heartbreaking’ fuels our compassion for others and ourselves. The ‘resplendent’ inspires us on to greatness.
Celebrate your victories, cultivate your present, and your future will be rich. There is no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. The journey itself is the goal.
God did not intend for you to live out hell on earth. Take a leap of faith:
“What an awesome place this is! It is none other than the house of God, the very gateway to heaven!” Gn. 28:17 NLT
Finally, don’t allow your path for enlightenment be part of the problem. Don’t punish yourself by thinking you aren’t practicing your path correctly or with enough vigor. Otherwise, you are just using your path to denigrate yourself.
There is no ‘right way’ to practice, only the next level of consciousness to grow into.
Conversely, don’t allow yourself to become ‘puffed up’ with your newfound spirituality. That will only lead to you using your practice to build yourself up by tearing others down. That never works.
Also, don’t use your path as a security blanket. Your practice is for helping you engage with life, not to help you hide from it…
Epilogue 1
My purposes for this monumental 4-month journey are clear: The devil has been on the attack since the time of Adam and Eve. He is victorious on many an occasion in his quest to snuff out souls. Only when we learn how he works, will we be able to resist him. And only by seeing that nature of the common sufferings of humankind, will we be able to apply successful solutions.
My only hope is that you come away from this quest with the ability to ask better questions when you pray and have the courage to act on His answers. God can do anything and stands ready to help you. I also wanted to help you to be able to quickly be cognizant of when you fall back into the world, so that you can call out to Him.
That path that I have presented for getting to know your true self and live a happy life, is garnished from the wisdom of God, and from others who got theirs from Him. It’s only one path. Take what you need (that which resonates with your heart) and mold your own path. Your journey is unique to you. Be kind to yourself. Find out what works and what doesn’t. Listen to your heart. That’s where God plants His wisdom. It bubbles up when you pray and concentrate on His word. Trust in Him to bring you what is best.
Don’t be afraid. You knew how to fly as a child. It’s like riding a bicycle. You never forget. Take that leap and let your spirit shine. Everything will happen at the right time as you find your authentic perfect self – living the perfect life, wrapped up in perfect love.
I am profoundly awed by all people who commit to living from their heart. I hope that I have made a meaningful contribution to yours. Kindly leave your thoughts in the comments box at the end of this post, regarding your assessment of the value of this segue that we shared together. Thank you…
Epilogue 2
According to Dorothy Daigle, a researcher of the Hopi Native American culture, these Indians speak of a ‘Red Road of Life,’ which is a righteous path one walks in a sacred fashion, to align with the Great Spirit and His creations. They believe that this Red Road was created before humankind, and that it consists of a spiritual path that leads to an eternal life of enlightenment.
This same Red Road requires that the traveler utilizes seven principles to navigate it. I find those principles rife with metaphorical innuendos and rich with Christian principles. I thought you might enjoy them:
- Hold all creation in an attitude of awe, gratitude, love, and respect.
- Trust the Great Spirit and accept your circumstances, knowing that when you overcome the adversities you encounter, there will be spiritual growth.
- Seek to purge your heart of evil intent.
- Repent and humbly surrender your will to become one with the Great Spirit.
- When you communicate with the Great Spirit, be sure to act upon your new knowledge.
- Live true abstinence (selflessness) – serving others with love and kindness; and in turn, receive the flow of living waters, which purifies your heart.
- Become harmonious with the Red Road of Life, loving others unconditionally because you are unconditional love.
Doesn’t that sound just like what the Great Spirit (Jehovah) has been revealing to us in His word for over 3500 years? It is my sincere wish to meet you all on the Red Road of Life – on the path devoid of anything except what the Great Spirit would have us embrace, immeasurably joyful in each other’s presence, smiles deeply creasing our countenance, as we wait in an unknowing awe for whatever the next precious moment will bring…
God bless you everyone.
Last Epilogue:
I dedicate our segue to all the hidden happy spirits who are itching to come out to play. One of those spirits resided in the tormented heart of my little brother Sammy.
There was a time when he loved everything about life. However, our unconscious parents’ divorce ripped his 9-year-old heart out of his chest and shredded it. Sammy remained shackled to his traumatic meaning that he made of this event, for the remainder of his life.
The voice in his head was the cruelest that I have ever heard. All he knew about how to cope with it, was by rendering himself unconscious with drugs and drink. For over 40 years, I watched him get arrested repeatedly, trying to unsuccessfully rehabilitate himself, patching his dying body in hospitals, and living out of dingy motel rooms.
He lived out those devil-implanted sentences: ‘I’m not good enough,’ and ‘I’m unlovable,’ regardless of the many people who told him otherwise.
I offered no help, because his pain reflected my own, and it hurt. I abandoned him, more concerned for my own preservation.
On October 2, 2007, at the age of 54, the world was robbed of Sammy’s spirit, when he died alone in a trailer in the woods. I did not attend his funeral.
I severely flagellated myself for years for running away. It was the final spark that accelerated my journey.
We all have a little Sammy inside of us to some degree. Hopefully, we can now find the ability to give him the love that he needs to come out of the trailer.
Also, I want to share with you how God wants to help you in horrific and seemingly unjust situations.
Many people rail against Jehovah when things don’t go rightly in their own point of view, e.g., losing someone to an addiction, the birth of a physically or mentally challenged child, or the untimely death of a loved one. However, what does He tell us?
“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the LORD. And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.” Is. 55:8, 9. NLT
Jehovah is not denigrating us here. He is saying that we cannot see the big picture. In my brother’s case, God did not force him to drink and do drugs. He chose (albeit unconsciously),to die.
However, Jehovah took that choice and brought something good out of it. I believe Sammy was a gift from God to all of the lives he touched. He taught me (posthumously) to have a much deeper understanding and compassion for all people – teaching me to love others even if they seemed unlovable. He also helped me get in touch with my own pain and love myself in spite of it. I would go so far as to say that he helped save my life.
I believe that we all have an exact prescribed time on this planet before we graduate. It is a finite period that God gives us, to learn about Him and about living a good life. It’s also a time for us to learn the lessons that God sends us through others.
In death, Jehovah gave wings to Sammy, so that his hard journey is now a forgotten memory as he soars along that Red Road of Life:
…by means of their suffering, he rescues those who suffer. For he gets their attention through adversity. Job 36:15 NLT
God makes the harder calls; but He makes them out of love. I hope that you grab onto our little segue, so that we can all lovingly cradle the child inside of us, and coax him out with love, walking hand in hand – stooping to kiss him gently on the cheek and whisper into his ear, ‘I love you little Sammy.’
Goodnight and God bless.
Next week, we go running after Jesus…