Perfection

When Jesus commanded us to be perfect as our Father in Heaven, we learned something very important. We can reach perfection! In fact, how can we not be perfect when we were created by God, who is perfect. But what is perfection? How loving do you have to be? How smart, how spiritual? What spoken words constitute perfection? If you get fifty people in a room, you will have fifty versions of what is considered perfection. Since there is no universal definition of perfection, maybe perfection is just where you are at. We just have to recognize it. Everything in this world is an appearance. But behind all appearances is God, is perfection. As we strive to do things "better" (become more loving, etc.), we must also recognize the perfection of where we are at. Therein lies the paradox.

Peak Experience

We don't need to risk our physical life to have a peak experience. We don't need to climb Mt. Everest, drive a race car, or push our body close to death in some contest. Similarly, we don't need to compromise our spiritual and emotional being to have that peak experience from receiving adulation and being put on a pedestal by the world for our accomplishments or fame. He, He alone is your peak experience. What everyone longs for and searches for does not have to be found on top of a mountain. It can be found there, but it can also be found in your bedroom, or the grocery store, or the hospital, or the amusement park. Wherever you are, He is at, and you can access that "peak experience" at will.

Blessed Are Those ....

Blessed are those who have not allowed worldly possessions to come before God. Blessed are those who have not allowed their preconceived ideas to block God revealing Himself to them. Blessed are those who have not allowed advanced academic degrees or intellectual pride to tell them who God must be. Blessed are those who have disregarded the opinions of family and friends as to what they should be doing religiously or spiritually. Blessed are those who will go to no end, even death, to love Him, to be with Him. And it is so.

Attachment

God does not require that we do penance on our path back to Him; we can enjoy the things of the world. The problem is that many people become attached to things in the world, whether that be material goods, position, career, wealth, relationships, etc. When you become attached to something, you are putting it above God. He is all that you should be attached to. Remember, everything that happens to you in this world is part of a dream that will fade away. How can you be attached to something that is temporary and will be gone in an instant? Only He is Real. Only He is eternal. Only your relationship as His Beloved is Real. Only your relationship as His Beloved is eternal.

The Appearance of Love

What constitutes Love? We would probably immediately say that Love is separate from those people or experiences that we see as "negative", but can it really be separate from anything? What constitutes the boundaries that you would define as Love? Does this differ from the boundaries seen by anyone else? God is Love, and God is One, thus Love is all that exists. Love does not have a certain "look". In this dream world, Love appears under many guises. We come to this realization through a recognition that we have a totally unique belief system that is ours alone. That belief system is the one which determines what you see as Love and what you see as "negative". Wouldn't you like to stop seeing the "negative"? That is not only possible; it is what will happen, because Love is all that exists. When we get too far away from Truth, from the center, then like a rubber band that has been stretched too far, we snap back to what is Real.

One, Two, Three

At the instant of our perceived separation from God, we felt guilty, then we judged ourself, and then we felt fear. We are still in this instant, because only the Now exists. The illusion of time allows us to work back through these steps in reverse, healing the split that never occurred.

What is self-less?

Think of an apple tree that is full of bountiful apples. The tree gives in two ways. First, it gives apples for people and animals to have immediate abundance. Second, it creates future abundance through its seeds. In the DNA of the tree is the drive to procreate, and this same drive exists in all living things, including in you. Releasing its bounty does not the hurt the tree. In fact, it helps the tree to grow bigger and stronger for the next season.

How does this relate to you? Your true nature is self-less. When you give selflessly, you are giving immediate abundance, and you are giving future abundance. The Love that you give does not end with the person you give it to. That person will give it, and it will keep extending on and on, like a ripple on a pond. The immediate abundance is the Love that is received by the first person, the stone first making a splash in the pond, while the future abundance is the ripples extending outward. It is in your DNA to procreate through the giving of Love. This is who you are. Our creation, by Love, and out of Love, is re-experienced every time you toss that stone into a pond. As there is less of self (selfless), there is more of an empty container through which Love can flow and extend outward.

Intermediaries

Why is it that we always give our power to intermediaries? Why do we not go directly to the Source? We look to the government to give us a job or keep us safe. We expect the media to tell us what is truth. We expect financial advisers to tell us how to get abundance. And we expect priests or ministers or rabbis to tell us how to commune with God and how to get to heaven. You have abundance, safety, and communion, because He is in you. All answers lie within you, because the Source is within you. You have the ability to solve any problem and to answer everything you could ever want to know. You just have to ask, listen, and open yourself to be shown.

Seed and Fertilize

When we want something to happen, we must ask for it, intend it, and encourage plus vision it. In doing that we are planting a seed, but we don't always know in what location the seed will manifest in our garden. For instance, if we need money to open up a new business or to take a trip, there are probably several potential sources that immediately may come to mind. There are also other sources that we are not aware of which God will bring to us, assuming we continue to believe that God will provide the source and we continue to "put it out there" in asking people. Some explorations may lead nowhere, but these are not wasted opportunities.

By believing that God will provide this, and by exploring all options, even the ones that seem unlikely, we are creating the energy to make this happen. We are giving a big green light to God.  It is not our exploration of individual options that will create this. It is the sum of the parts, the combination of our intent and our exploration in general. This fertilizes the seed to where it can pop its head above ground. We do not know which option God will make it happen through --- we do not know where the seed that will manifest is planted in our garden. But by fertilizing all areas of the garden, by exploring all options that are brought to us, we end up fertilizing the one seed that will poke its head above ground.

Be The Best You Can Be

You are exactly where you are supposed to be. How can it be otherwise? Wherever you are, be the best you can be. If you are a mom, be the best mom you can be. If you are a lawyer, be the best lawyer you can be. If you clean toilets, be the best toilet cleaner you can be. These are only roles you are playing. Play the role as if you are in a performance that is opening on Broadway. And don't compare yourself to anyone else in the same role. There is no absolute best --- this is like asking whether a piece of artwork is perfect. So by staying in the present moment and being fully immersed in what you are doing in that moment, be the "best" that YOU can be. If you feel that you are not at that best, then have compassion on yourself and know that you have the very next moment to change how you play that role.

What is Freedom?

What can freedom do for you? Freedom gives you the space to be who you are. It allows God to enter. You are free when you don't judge yourself, anyone, or anything. You are free when you live in the present moment. You are free when there is an absence of fear. You are free when you give your life to Him in Love, in service, and in gratitude. You are free when you no longer have attachment to anything of this world. You are free when you no longer look outside of yourself for your identity and self worth. Freedom allows you to soar on His wings to heights you could never imagine. Freedom gives you His peace. Freedom allows you to be who you truly are.

A Tree in a Forest

Many of us make the mistake of judging others based on our individual belief system. We are but a tree in the forest, and our view is only as that tree, not as the whole forest. With Grace maybe our perspective eventually expands to one that encompasses more of the forest, possibly even the whole forest, but for now, our view is limited. Most of us cannot even make an accurate assessment of ourselves, for God sees each of us in a completely different way than we judge ourselves. Knowing that we do not have the perspective nor the capability of judging others brings you to humility, and humility is of God. When you are humble, you truly can help others, because you are not coming from a space of judgment.