- By James Allen
Spiritual progress is painfully slow and uncertain until the eyes of discernment are opened. Without discernment, we too often mistake the inward promptings of our small self for the voice of the higher spirit of Truth.
There are many important things we do here in this life, like loving and being loved by others, or finding meaningful ways to help people and the planet. But the most important thing is our spiritual connection, our relationship to our Source, our higher power, divine love, the life-force of the universe.
The instant we release self-judgment we are incapable of judging anyone else. We can only judge ourselves if we have not accepted ourselves unconditionally. Every experience is an equally valid expression of life and as such we cannot judge it. True, justice is the allowance of all that is.
“God” is a loaded word. Can we use it without stirring controversy? I’ve turned it into an acronym: G.O.D. This seems to help.
I have believed all my life that there is a necessary interaction that occurs between a person and the Divine. This interaction does not come only to great spiritual masters, it comes also to us: ordinary people in our ordinary lives...
After being so careful for nine months, my husband Barry mysteriously contracted the Covid-19 virus. Within days, he tested positive and within a few days after that, I tested positive as well.
It has been tremendously helpful for me to understand the difference between consciousness and spirituality. Spirituality is one type of energy — the energy that links us to our deepest essential nature and to the universal source. Consciousness is the awareness of all of the energies within us..
The year 2020 has been no stranger to suffering. In the midst of a global pandemic, widespread financial hardship and violence arising from systemic racism, empathy for others’ suffering has been pushed to the front and center in U.S. society.
- By Tur?ya
Enlightenment does not mean everything in our lives works out. It doesn’t mean all money problems and relationship issues and health challenges suddenly disappear. What it does mean is the human drama does not block the unreasonable joy which is the play of existence.
"I am here for you. Remember, I love you always." Jackie awoke from her dream with a start. However, she could only manage to recall the last few sentences of his long message to her, but how powerful that voice felt! She wrote down as much as she could recall...
We may think that doing God's Will is contrary to our individual will. We might think He wants us to do something that we don't really want to do or wouldn't like doing. Maybe He wills us to change everything in our life as we know it and become selfless like a Mother Teresa. Or even worse, we could be afraid of God's Will.
- By Tur?ya
In our society we have confused liking with loving. We are taught when we really, really like something, we say we love it. Which means if I don’t like something, then there’s no way I can love it. This use of language distorts and limits our view, trapping us in the fallacy of love being equated to pleasure.
- By Alan Cohen
While watching the documentary film Stephen Jobs, Hippy Billionaire, I was tickled to learn that as a young adult Jobs was significantly influenced by Baba Ram Dass and his book Be Here Now. I also credit Ram Dass as one of the most valued mentors in my life. He led millions of spiritual seekers to higher awareness and is considered by many to be the “Father of the New Age.”
In the sixteen-century, people suffered from hunger, disease, hatred, and war. "How could God allow such terrible things to happen? Perhaps," Luria suggested, "it is because God needs our help." When you see something that is broken, fix it...
- By Maria Power
Pope Francis has delivered a message to the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics and people of goodwill everywhere which aims to soothe the fear caused by the coronavirus pandemic and unite communities riven by racism, inequality and climate change.
The reason I share "what works for me" is that it may work for you as well. If not exactly the way I do it, since we are all unique, some variance of the attitude or method may very well be something that will work for you.
An unfeeling heart has even been admired by many, as evidence of a "scientific outlook". The truth is that without love no one can penetrate deeply into the heart of things. For while emotions can cloud the mind, calm pure love clarifies it, and makes possible the subtlest intuitions.
It is hard to describe to those wholly invested in the spiritual path that at a certain point the obsessive and all-encompassing nature of the path gives way to utter simplicity. We attend to the human form and realize how precious life is, how we are meant to connect.
- By Alan Cohen
Real spirituality is beyond hope. Hope means there is a chance things may turn out as we wish, and if we are lucky we may get what we want. Inner knowing, on the other hand, proceeds from the awareness that...
I grew up in a blue-collar neighborhood on the south side of Chicago. I had nothing in common with my family, let alone with my neighbors and classmates. I always felt alienated there, as if I were in a prison biding my time until my great escape. It never felt like home. But where was home?
Day after day, I sink deeper into peace, absorbing all the many gifts nature has to offer. I sing more than ever. I write in my journal, sometimes composing songs. I talk with God and the angels, and try my best to hear their message for my life.
- By Diana Rowan
While I thought my biggest fear was of the unknown, of losing control, of being horrified by the darkness inside and around me, it turns out that darkness had been my friend all along. Darkness, my most cryptic ally, pointed me toward light and connection. Darkness showed me — and still shows me — the Bright Way.
Everything in our lives -- including all the crappy things -- is a choice that we have made for urselves. That is a difficult fact to face for most of us, since it's much easier to blame random circumstances in our lives than to accept responsibility for our own actions