Recognizing God and Goodness in Every Face

It need not be perceived as difficult to recognize the benevolent "Face of God" in your brothers and sisters. If it IS perceived as such, this is due only to an inner resistance to seeing this Divinity clearly within yourself. You cannot perceive yourself in a favorable light and simultaneously perceive another or others in a less favorable light, for how you perceive yourself NOW is how you relate to all of creation NOW.

The State of the "Uncarved Block"

As an exercise now, one may begin to perceive that there is that Divine Force within oneself that cannot be harmed. It cannot be changed. It does not shift and sway. This Divine Force of Love is not carried away by the winds of change. It remains forever Itself, perfect and Life-affirming. This Divine Reality is that which Lao Tzu in the Tao Te Ching referred to as the "Uncarved Block." It is Perfection beyond anything that can be imagined. This Uncarved Block is the True State of the Tao. Most so-called "scholars" and students of the Tao do not speak of the "Uncarved Block," as most humans perceive Divinity as something that can shift and sway, because this is how most people highly perceive themselves.

Divine Love is Not Subject to Change

In this essay I am venturing out on a leading edge here and firmly stating that recognizing God and goodness in all of creation is a matter of attuning oneself to This Reality that is Changeless and Eternal. It is indeed of value to acknowledge the changing seasons of consciousness, but unless you discover within yourself that Divine Force of Love that is not subject to being affected by anything, you will have difficulty in perceiving all beings with eyes of crystal clarity.

The Silent, Still Reality Within

(The "Inner Smile that never fades away")

Begin to perceive now a sense of the Eternal. Forget for a few moments, if you will, that you are reading words upon a screen. These words are meaningless. They do not teach anything. Your experience is the teacher. Your Divine Inner Being is your Guru. (The "Gee, You are You!") I AM in these words, giving them life and meaning, but the words themselves are just symbols. Perceive that there is a Silent, Still Reality within you that cannot be harmed, that loves you always and completely, and is like an "inner smile" that never fades away...

You Were Born in a State of Grace, and Still Remain in Grace

It can help to remember that ALL humans were born in a state of grace. No soul fragment has taken on human incarnation with poor intentions. Get a FEEL for this Eternal State of Grace. The incarnated consciousness may indeed choose to affirm or deny its Source, but this Source Itself is not subject to change. It does not cry out to be worshipped. It makes no commandments for you to obey, that if you should "break" them you are somehow out of a state of grace. You ARE God's Grace, my friends, beneath the masks.

Do Not Be Fooled By the "Passion Play"

(You stand upon the Rock of Divinity)

For this exercise, do not allow yourself to be fooled by the passion play of changing events. Perceive the drama of life as meaningless in itself, and remember that innocent babe with shining eyes that you once were. That Child of God is forever pure and innocent, and it is eternally alive in you NOW. Now perceive this Innocent Child as the joyously playful Creator that is within every face that you see. The Rock of Divinity that you stand upon is uncarved!

The Absolute and Appearances of "Paradox"

This appears as paradox to the human mind, "For surely there is creation, there is change, there are those things that were created--carved--from the Creator," many humans perceive. Is there REALLY? There are APPEARANCES of change, but this "Uncarved Block" Itself is not an appearance. It is "before" all change, all time and space, and It is not subject to the laws of creation. Some call It the Absolute. Does this sound too abstract for you, and impractical? If it does, perhaps a deeper exploration of the True Nature of Consciousness will serve you to better understand this "recognition of God and goodness in every face."

The Recognition of JOY!

This recognition is a self-recognition of the joy that is already within you. That which is Perfection Itself has nothing to do with mere opinion. Rumi and many other mystics have sought to clearly demonstrate this state of the "Perfect Master," which is the True State of the soul, as best as they could while embodied, yet they themselves knew that this "God and goodness" is not subject to being understood intellectually, nor subject to being "shown" or taught to others in any humanly authoritative way, for the transcendental soul is "alien" to the world.

Acknowledging the "Law of One"

The simple way to acknowledge Divinity in oneself--and thus in ALL--is to forgive oneself one's own ignorance ("ignorance" here meaning "ignoring of Oneness," to whatever degree). It is like taking a deep breath and giving a great sigh of RELIEF, affirming, "Ahhh, this here doesn't matter. And that doesn't matter. All that matters now is my joyous state of Being." This is a very powerful, self-empowering attitude and recognition of your creaturehood as well as your Divinity, for no separation actually exists "between" anything in Consciousness, for there is no "between" in Consciousness. If you allow yourself to actually deeply FEEL this inner recognition that I speak of and point to here, you will be "perceiving clearly," which is being aware of "God and goodness" in ALL of creation and in ALL of Consciousness, seen (FELT and experienced) through a clear lens of human perception.

Namaste

[running]

I truly believe everyone is good. I have tested this with a business I was starting some time ago. I needed an incredible offer to kick start the business. So I had a bunch of fliers made up offering a free service. No strings attached. Almost everybody recpricated by having me do additional work or referred me to someone. It was an overnight success.

I became a trucker because the job heals me energeticaly because of my oneness with the sky. When I drive I fill up like a balloon with energy. So I no longer conduct business. And left it earlier to get away from the stress of it. But I just got off the phone with my brother whom I left the business with. He just sent out a similiar flier giving a free service no strings attached and is very busy. Getting the same recprication of referrals and extra work. Business has been the greatest teacher for me.

Another thing. After spending meditating in a church like setting and getting decent results. A year or so later my oneness and energy picked up while I was working a door to door sales job. I quit my business for a simple job so I could focus more on meditation. Everyone I was working with was drunk and or high. Once I got threatened that if I didn't smoke out with him I was gonna get stabbed a number of times. It realy sounds worse than it was because I am comfortable around those things. And I knew he wasn't going to stab me. He just thought I was a narc because I wasn't doing anything. Like I said my feeling of oneness and bliss took off here. Not in an ashram. So again I feel its all good. With an open mind one can see the light where others see only darkness.

[running]

But I'm not saying ashrams have not been helpful. Its just the way things happend for me. That's all

Originally Posted by running

With an open mind one can see the light where others see only darkness.

You said it perfectly my beautiful brother! I always enjoy your wise stories. (I've thought about truck driving, myself, a number of times. The sense of freedom can indeed be very powerful. You remind me of some of those late-night truck drivers that listen to Coast To Coast AM. )

I always love your attitude, Running. Bless you, bless you, bless you...

[running]

Originally Posted by Sourcerer

You said it perfectly my beautiful brother! I always enjoy your wise stories. (I've thought about truck driving, myself, a number of times. The sense of freedom can indeed be very powerful. You remind me of some of those late-night truck drivers that listen to Coast To Coast AM. )

I always love your attitude, Running. Bless you, bless you, bless you...

Thanks! Its an awesome job. Yeah I'm one of those truckers who listens to coast to coast. Except I drive during the day so its reruns off youtube. Its been a while cause the truck I haves stereo doesn't have the hook up. But I'm enjoying music and.that's cool

It need not be perceived as difficult to recognize the benevolent "Face of God" in your brothers and sisters. If it IS perceived as such, this is due only to an inner resistance to seeing this Divinity clearly within yourself. You cannot perceive yourself in a favorable light and simultaneously perceive another or others in a less favorable light, for how you perceive yourself NOW is how you relate to all of creation NOW.

This, upon reflection and thought, explains a lot to me. I have "perceived" this as being quite difficult for me. I have also come to understand some of the reason for the difficulty.

In the past I have made improvements in my life and in myself that I have been quite proud of. One could say overly proud and in the most annoying way humanly possible. I believe that there is some refusal (fear) to let go of the past and the way I acted then when I viewed either myself or my life in a favorable light. Fear that my terrible behavior will be repeated.

You are so right Sorcerer, it is time to let go of who I was then, understand and embrace who I am now (and who I want to become) and begin to see the best in everyone and everything. This is how I would want others to view me, "Love thy neighbor as thyself." "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

"...he that has seen me has seen the Father..." I will try to remember this every time I look into the face of another.

More later, Namaste my good friend.

Originally Posted by running

Thanks! Its an awesome job. Yeah I'm one of those truckers who listens to coast to coast. Except I drive during the day so its reruns off youtube. Its been a while cause the truck I haves stereo doesn't have the hook up. But I'm enjoying music and.that's cool

Very welcome, brother. Cool. I listen to C2C on YouTube as well, from time to time. Ah yes, music. Excellent.

Originally Posted by It is all good

This, upon reflection and thought, explains a lot to me. I have "perceived" this as being quite difficult for me. I have also come to understand some of the reason for the difficulty.

In the past I have made improvements in my life and in myself that I have been quite proud of. One could say overly proud and in the most annoying way humanly possible. I believe that there is some refusal (fear) to let go of the past and the way I acted then when I viewed either myself or my life in a favorable light. Fear that my terrible behavior will be repeated.

You are so right Sorcerer, it is time to let go of who I was then, understand and embrace who I am now (and who I want to become) and begin to see the best in everyone and everything. This is how I would want others to view me, "Love thy neighbor as thyself." "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

"...he that has seen me has seen the Father..." I will try to remember this every time I look into the face of another.

More later, Namaste my good friend.

Very excellent, dear one. All difficulty is resistance, expressed through resistant thoughts/feelings/beliefs/attitudes. Jesus had/has a great sense of humor, too, and so "Love your neighbor as yourself" was given in his understanding that, in his day, people in general barely loved themselves; but he taught it as a reminder so that people would take a closer look at their own behavior and learn to think wisely before reacting. After all, one can only love another/others to the same exact degree that one loves the self.

Actually, the cosmic joke here is that WE ALWAYS "DO UNTO OTHERS," because by universal law ("law of attraction") we automatically love others and treat others as a direct reflection of how we love/treat ourselves, you see. No more and no less. How we relate to others is always equal to how we relate to the self, always. Extremely few people GET this, but I am here sharing it because it is something that every soul must eventually realize in one lifetime or another. The so-called "Golden Rule" is really the "Law of "Attraction." They are actually one and the same cosmic law or rule, ultimately.

I appreciate your great attitude, my sister. Namaste.

The Miracle of Breathing

Simply focusing on the breath, the in-flow and out-flow of breathing, is a very powerful way of attuning oneself to finer states of Consciousness, as it has a miraculous way of affirming the Life-Force of the universe. For this exercise it may initially help to pretend that the awareness of your breathing is the most important thing, and whenever the mind slips away to another subject, gently guide it back to focusing on the cycles of breathing. The truly most important thing is your PEACEFUL, QUIETLY OBSERVING AWARENESS. Sense and feel Oneness. See yourself as the silent observer, Universal Consciousness Itself.

It is not breathing nor the breath itself that is the true miracle here in this practice, but rather your loving attitude of opening and allowing well-being that is the miracle--and a miracle is simply an expression of LOVE.