We have been taught many things that hinder our spiritual growth. It takes practice to re-train our minds to respond from a place of love rather than a place of fear. Thankfully, we always have a choice of how we respond to the challenges that arise in life.
We are designed for greatness! As my wife puts it,
“We are like a star. We shine from within.”
We are put on earth to shine our inner greatness in whatever way is most meaningful to us.
There are so many paths one can take. My path is the one that leads directly into my warm, loving heart. What path should you take? Find God wherever you are and that is the right path for you. Imagine that which you desire, then walk right into it.
Buddha tells us that when you realize something is wholesome, embrace it. And, when you realize something is unwholesome, let it go. Absorb that which is good and ignore the rest. We need to continually refocus on those things that lift us up and let the rest go.
Beautiful thoughts create a beautiful reality. If we change our narrative, we change our reality. Filling your mind with uplifting thoughts, crowds out those dark thoughts that pull you down. Give yourself a lift every day with loving thoughts. Feel the afterglow of those warm uplifting thoughts. Love begins, where words leave off. Lao-Tzu said,
“The way to live life is to do everything through being.”
If you cannot alight your attention on a positive thought, then return your attention to your Breath. All you have to do is breath. Everything else is optional.
In the vortex of the tornado, we can not only survive, we can thrive! The key is to stay in the moment, and realize that we have nothing to lose but our illusions. Our strength lies in maintaining this “Nothing to Lose” attitude. As long as we maintain this attitude, we operate at our peak potential and walk fearlessly as the God (that we are) upon the face of earth. It is when we take things personally, that we fall from our place in heaven, into the depths of our self-created hell.
Change is sweeping away everything in this world that we know. The only thing we can hold onto is the love in our heart. While life rages around you, find the point of stillness within. Keep snapping back to your center. Keep love-consciousness in your mind throughout the day.
We always have a choice. We can dwell on love and live in a heavenly reality. Or, dwell on fear and live in hell. Ultimately, our path is about transcending all ideas and concepts and experiencing our oneness with God.
Below are some pointers for staying on the path that is right for you.
Thoughts are like spells.
Use them carefully.
Words can bless like the warm, glad sunshine, and brighten life.
Paraphrasing Unknown Author
It is with words as with sunbeams.
The more they are condensed,
the deeper they burn.
Robert Southey (1774-1843)
“There’s a great power in words,
if you don’t hitch too many of them together …”
Josh Billings (1818-1885)
“Whatever Is,
Is Best.”
Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850-1919)
“Say you are well, or all is well with you,
And God shall hear your words and make them true.”
Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850-1919)
“Wealth consists not in having great possessions,
but in having few wants.”
Epictetus (50-135)
Do not wish for things to be as you want them to be,
But instead want them to be as they are, and your happiness is assured.
Paraphrasing Epictetus (50-135)
Always consider how much more you have than what you need,
and how much unhappier your circumstances might have been.
Inspired by Joseph Addison (1672-1719)
For a quick lift, think of all the ills that you don’t have.
Inspired by Joseph Joubert (1754-1824)
“Do not wish to be anything but what you are,
and try to be that perfectly.”
St. Francis De Sales (1567-1622)
The renown that riches or beauty bring is fleeting and frail;
A loving heart is a splendid and lasting possession.
Inspired by Sallust (86-34 B.C.)
“My practice, is the practice of non-practice,
the attainment of non-attainment.”
Buddha (600-400 B.C.)
Those who travel unworn paths
find the rarest flowers
– Hindu Proverb
“I never found a companion that was so agreeable
as solitude.”
Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)
They are never alone
those who are accompanied by lovely thoughts.
Paraphrase Sir P Sidney (1554-1586)
“The man with no inner life
is a slave to his surroundings.”
Henri Frederic Amiel (1821-1881)
“If you must be mad, be it not for things of the world.
Be mad with the love of God.”
Sri Ramakrishna (1836-1886)
Remember, you are the king of your kingdom.
In my kingdom, I declare:
That love reigns supreme;
That the Beloved and I are One;
That this is heaven on earth.
Don’t think,
just be.
Inspired by Horace (65-8 B.C.)
“Stay close to anything that makes you glad you are alive.”
Hafez
“Wisdom is knowing what to overlook.”
William James
Copyright © 2019. Mark Ellison. All Rights Reserved.
Living in Heaven on Earth 