Home

Whispers From Within

Wisdoms

Other Cherished Writings

My Cup Runneth Over

Activities

Joel's Audio/Print Work

John

WHISPERS FROM WITHIN
February 1999

God Isn't Sought by the Humanly Comfortable

With food on the table, reasonably good health, a job with some savings or investments, one or two fairly happy human relationships, a modest sense of safety or security, and a feeling of personal self-worth, who needs God? Nothing will drive the human within himself in search of TRUTH (GOD) but his own intellectually baffling predicaments.  Each of us can be thankful for the problems in his life.  And more so if they happen to be very serious.  For instance, it's better to be facing the prospect of poverty than that of missing perhaps one or two paychecks.  

No one who's suffering wants to be, or even should be, told that his situation is a blessing in disguise.  That is,if the intent is to help him.  As someone giving spiritual help, you and I must let the person know we'll give the help and that he should leave it with us.  Once help has been received and the individual shows some interest in wanting to know how it happened, this unfoldment of the blessed nature of a problem can gradually be revealed.

            What then is our present task in handling the claim?  Suppose we're faced with a claim of ill health.  It isn't necessary to know the specific name or nature of the illness.  We don't even need to know the patient's name.  Neither do we require to know the supposed reasons why the patient is afflicted.  None of this concerns us for shortly after our work begins, everything about the claim drops from our awareness.  Our singular approach in healing is to immediately turn our thought to God.  Why?  Since God is all, there's nothing else to consider.  We turn to God and begin realizing, rehearsing, practicing - call it whatever you like - some facet of ITS nature.  The claim can be the springboard which gets us started on a principle.  For example, if the claim is ill health we might begin by knowing the nature of GOD as Life.  Since GOD is infinite, there is but one Life and IT is eternal.  If Life exists at all, It's the one expression of GOD and is therefore the same Life no matter where, when, or how it appears.  And from a beginning such as this, we proceed with our pondering of God's manifold nature.  Above all, our mental practice [metaphysical work] of knowing the truth must be continuous and constant until we, that is, our thought process, become inwardly still.  Then we're no longer conscious of a claim nor of any supposed person with one.  We're aware only of a complete silence that fills every corner of our being.  The constant rehearsing of truth, permitting it to actively and exclusively occupy our attention, will slowly dissolve all awareness of a claim or person with one (i.e., error).  When the revelation of God as ONE, God as ALL, dawns in us it will be obvious that there can't be any claim or person with one outside of God.

            Who are the humanly comfortable?  Everyone not seeking to know God.  This indeed is a great number for it includes the majority of mankind.  Human consciousness isn't yet so universally dissatisfying as to make the majority yearn for something beyond the human scene.  This isn't anyone's fault since everything is a matter of grace from the one Source.  If we were developmentally ready, the intelligent Source in us would know it and would therefore place in our breast the dissatisfaction with human modes of living that is the necessary antecedent to making the search for something higher.  Therefore, those of us still seeking the desires of this world such as wealth, health, fame, glory, power, etc., aren't yet ready for the experience of God.  Those finding and settling for the joys of this world are even worse off.  These will live out their present incarnations on the human level consequently remaining on the merry-go-round of a material state of existence.  They have been born and will die, whereas, life eternal is their essential birthright.  Why does this have to be?  Is there no way to show the world the wickedness of its ways?  There is an infinite Intelligence (OMNISCIENCE) at work in the universe.  IT constitutes all that is known of this universe.  Therefore, what we conceive as men and women caught up in a state of material existence is in reality that one Intelligence.  IT is gradually, one by one, bringing ITSELF out of limited mortality.  IT can't do this collectively since IT has wrought  ITS complete nature, a facet of which is individual freedom, in each of ITS manifested forms.  IT has given to all forms ITS own wisdom and intelligence and left the forms free to find the infinite essence at their center.  Here and there one does find IT.  This one will turn and find a measure of God. What each finds will be different due to his individual nature.

           It's rather impossible to imagine being dissatisfied with something you've never experienced.  So we must follow our dreams, whatever their nature, that we may know their value.  Some will remain a part of our life while most will prove to be unsatisfactory.  By following these inner urges, we unknowingly either clear them away, or bring them into the light of TRUTH to be seen for what they are.  Many of course will find a great deal of satisfaction along this way and will fall by the side of the road.  Others, such as you and I, will continue to feel something gnawing at our soul, a sensation that won't permit us to rest.

            If you and I are blessed, and we are, though the difficulty of this particular path is enough to produce real doubt, all we can do is live according to our highest light.  If we've attained some measure of spiritual consciousness, then we should live as if we had, demonstrating less fear, less sickness, abundant supply for our needs, and the patience and love to stand by to be of assistance to anyone reaching out for the God experience.  Our life should be the warmth attracting others to the Spirit, not our words about Spirit.  In accordance with the Master's teaching: Let your light so shine that men will be drawn unto you.

            None of the foregoing is reason for the spiritually minded to become puffed up, as St. Paul declares.  Not one of us on the path is there of our own accord but because the grace of God found a somewhat fitting instrument through which IT could come into this world to work among those in darkness.  You and I know that we've done nothing of our selves but that whatever anyone thinks we've done or are doing is the work of the Father (Spiritual Consciousness) in us.  We become almost inwardly embarrassed to accept any glory for the good that unfolds in the lives of others who've sought help.  All we've really done when called upon is closed the eyes and turned within to the Christ that IT may reveal to us the truth of the situation.  And eventually we're reminded that "I AM all in all, for I AM one."  As a result, this whole world is reinterpreted, rightly identified, as a spiritual creation of the one Spiritual Consciousness.

            If we note our individual life, it will be clear that when we're faced with some dilemma nothing can prevent us from finding some place where there are persons turning to God.  But just let those problems ease up and the first thing to take the back-seat is God.  Now, everything else is more important.  Such is the nature of the human experience.  Nevertheless, this isn't reason for anyone to blame himself by thinking that perhaps he's falling away from the path.  No, this is all part of working out of one state of consciousness into another higher state.  It's part of the emptying out process wherein we're instructed to put new wine (truth) into new bottles (state of consciousness) not the old ones (state of consciousness).  Therefore, we're to first have all the erroneous beliefs which we've accepted removed from our consciousness.  These things are the seeds which have taken root in us and the law of our being has erected a state of consciousness based on them. 

           Now, however, to change to a new state all that's presently there (in the bottle - our consciousness) must first be eliminated.  Remember, there is but one CONSCIOUSNESS and furthermore IT'S our consciousness.  All of this takes place in the only consciousness you or I will ever know, our own.  So we're going to empty out all the erroneous beliefs and then turn and fill the self-same bottle (our consciousness) with a new awareness.  And this will eventually cause the law to produce a state of consciousness which reflects it.  It isn't as though there are two separate consciousness'.  There's but one.  Only used incorrectly it can appear to function one way while correctly used it will produce an opposite result thereby seeming to be two exclusive states.