In The Beginning

To describe what may have been a beginning is impossible without using words and illustrations bound up in time and space. Although what is being illustrated here had no sequence and no separation between events it will be described as if it did because of the limits of both our language and imagination.

We have always existed and we always will but we have changed in form. There was a beginning of sorts when we were endowed with the possibility of selfhood. This selfhood being the essence of will which enables us to become self-conscious, self-replicating and conscious of all creation. We existed an eternity before receiving the essence of will but only as part of undifferentiated soul spirit.

To get a clearer perspective of this beginning let us offer this illustration. Picture a pond with no beginning and no end, one that goes on forever. In this picture the top of the water is absolutely calm and appears smooth and motionless. Now suddenly a seed, the seed of the essence of will is dropped in the water and its weight causes a disturbance resulting in a ripple. Where there was a smooth surface before there appears a circle of water around a seed moving outward in all directions. As this ripple, this tiny wave travels outward from the seed let us stop and freeze the image right there for now. The first happening, the seed dropping in the pond created the possibility of separateness while the second condition, the ripple effect gave it a place to happen. There really was not a separation but the appearance of one. Now in the stillness of this scene the essence of will begins to stir to life. Here through eons we become aware that we are and our relationship with all creation. As we act upon creation the color and the character of the water within the circle changes from that in the rest of the pond. Here we can replicate our self in an infinite variety of ways and through experience become more aware of our uniqueness. Yet at the same time we remain part of the whole of the pond with only the image of separateness provided by the ripple wave.

The ripple will eventually travel outward until it dissipates and in this way our self-consciousness is spread out across the face of eternity.

Infinite Mercy

The Lord is perfect, He is infinite, He is merciful, and thus our God is the perfection of infinite mercy. What does this awesome conclusion mean to each of us in our daily lives? Let us consider that forgiveness is the natural expression of mercy and in His boundless compassion our precious Father has forgiven His little ones every possible misdeed. So perfect is infinite mercy that forgiveness is imbued within every misstep, every error, every transgression whether they are committed by His treasures as the result of commission or omission. If we can accept the premise of infinite mercy there is no act that has or can ever be committed for which the perpetrator is not bathed in mercy, in forgiveness even as the offense being committed.

Infinite mercy does not work only some of the time nor does it have any limits. It has neither size nor shape, there are no borders, no qualifications and no restrictions; it operates always and the same for everyone. To accept the implications of infinite mercy is a tall order and a hard mountain to climb. We see so much evil in the world it is difficult to accept the acts are imbued with forgiveness for the doers. Yet if God is perfect, infinite and merciful, there is nowhere else to go with this.

If we can come to grips with infinite mercy we must first realize we have always been forgiven every offense, large and small from the moment we committed them. Next that those whose acts we judge as being offensive have likewise been forgiven every offense, large and small from the moment they committed them.

Having been created in the image and likeness of our God we embody infinite mercy and as a result it is part of those building blocks that form our soul. We have the capacity to be unconditionally forgiving because this is what we are made of. When we act differently we create obstacles in our life that cause us unnecessary pain and stress. It may be easier to forgive a historic scoundrel than to forgive someone that has betrayed our trust. The villains of long past may be easier to forgive than those that deceive us for their own gain, for those who take advantage and despitefully use us. Yet to do otherwise is an attempt to deform infinite mercy which cannot be done.

So many of the difficulties we face are the result of our having placed limits on forgiveness. Our effort to qualify forgiveness is an act of selfishness that results in bitterness and pain.

May our God so strengthen us that we may go out and moment by moment be forgiving especially of those offenses new and old alike that are directed against us. Let us forgive our self and then others as the embodiment of infinite mercy that we are.

Infinite Mercy

The Lord is perfect, He is infinite, He is merciful, and thus our God is the perfection of infinite mercy. What does this awesome conclusion mean to each of us in our daily lives? Let us consider that forgiveness is the natural expression of mercy and in His boundless compassion our precious Father has forgiven His little ones every possible misdeed. So perfect is infinite mercy that forgiveness is imbued within every misstep, every error, every transgression whether they are committed by His treasures as the result of commission or omission. If we can accept the premise of infinite mercy there is no act that has or can ever be committed for which the perpetrator is not bathed in mercy, in forgiveness even as the offense being committed.

Infinite mercy does not work only some of the time nor does it have any limits. It has neither size nor shape, there are no borders, no qualifications and no restrictions; it operates always and the same for everyone. To accept the implications of infinite mercy is a tall order and a hard mountain to climb. We see so much evil in the world it is difficult to accept the acts are imbued with forgiveness for the doers. Yet if God is perfect, infinite and merciful, there is nowhere else to go with this.

If we can come to grips with infinite mercy we must first realize we have always been forgiven every offense, large and small from the moment we committed them. Next that those whose acts we judge as being offensive have likewise been forgiven every offense, large and small from the moment they committed them.

Having been created in the image and likeness of our God we embody infinite mercy and as a result it is part of those building blocks that form our soul. We have the capacity to be unconditionally forgiving because this is what we are made of. When we act differently we create obstacles in our life that cause us unnecessary pain and stress. It may be easier to forgive a historic scoundrel than to forgive someone that has betrayed our trust. The villains of long past may be easier to forgive than those that deceive us for their own gain, for those who take advantage and despitefully use us. Yet to do otherwise is an attempt to deform infinite mercy which cannot be done.

So many of the difficulties we face are the result of our having placed limits on forgiveness. Our effort to qualify forgiveness is an act of selfishness that results in bitterness and pain.

May our God so strengthen us that we may go out and moment by moment be forgiving especially of those offenses new and old alike that are directed against us. Let us forgive our self and then others as the embodiment of infinite mercy that we are.

And This Is Dying

And This Is Dying

I am seated in a room with activity of all sorts going on around me. Suddenly the view begins to fade until it is all hidden in a mist. The fog is so thick that it seems to block out all sight and sound.  Now there is nothing, no sights or sounds, just the mist and me. Gradually the mist clears and it is like waking from a cloudy dream in to incredible clarity. I am astonished that every sight and every sound seems to be alive. All of the colors are magnificent, they touch me deeply and each sound is like an entire symphony. I realize I did not move an inch and I am exactly where I was before the scene seemed to fade in to the mist. My surroundings are so natural, so full of life that I do not question why I can no longer see the shadows that formerly occupied and may still reside in the same space as I am in now… And this is dying.

Kindness

Compassion is the first stage of love for our brothers and sisters without which we cannot truly make a constructive difference in their lives. Unless the lives of others are of primary concern to us we are helpless to make any meaningful contribution to them. To have a beneficial use compassion needs first to be enveloped in grace, and in its simplest form an attitude of kindness is grace-full. Kindness is the beginning of grace in our daily lives and all other expressions flow naturally from it. It is important to note we are addressing a kindness so full of grace, so compassionate, so loving that all of creation pours out in to our lives through it.   

To be practical our motivation, our thoughts and our actions must be expressions of kindness at its highest level. Simply said, tender loving kindness must become our ideal; that which will guide our thoughts and deeds. We are often faced with conditions that try our sense of reason, yet if we are firmly anchored in our ideal we will not stray far from its helpful expression. To be of assistance we must adopt some hard fast rules that do not change with the situation and one might be that kindness requires nothing in return; it needs no justification, reason nor explanation. Kindness as our motivation simply is our highest ideal expressed in our daily life.

Once our motivation rises from kindness we are then constrained to find a practical application in our relationship to the lives around us. There may be many questions such as is this act helpful, is it what is needed at this time, is it the best expression of kindness for another, and so on. To help answer all of these and other questions we must first be sure that we are motivated by kindness. With kindness as our chief concern we must weigh our anticipated actions against our motivation. Keeping this in mind we will eventually find the most practical application. However, in such a quest we are not charged with getting it right but with expressing unadulterated kindness in the world around us. There will always be questions but the answer to them all is tenderness, love and kindness. 

In a world bound up in materiality we have developed the habit of weighing process against results. However, to be true to our highest ideals it may be best to focus fully on the application and let the process take care of the result. Otherwise we risk losing our way by taking a detour through fear and doubt. No one has earned kindness because it must be freely given. If we choose to be an expression of kindness we cannot place requirements upon those lives into which we must pour out our full measure of grace. As purveyors of kindness we are concerned with just being kind, one to the other.