Enlightenment Surrounds You - Just Go!

Greetings Everyone! This week's lesson comes from the Teaching of Buddha as scribed by Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai.

"Indeed, those who seek for Enlightenment must think of their minds as castles and decorate them. They must open wide the gates of their minds for Buddha (my word: Spirit) and respectfully and humbly invite Him to enter the inmost chamber, there to offer Him the fragrant incense of Faith and the flowers of gratitude and gladness."

Each day, as I prepare to meditate, I ask Spirit to guide me to the book, author, page, affirmation or even prayer, that is to serve as my inspiration for meditation that day. After I've read - what I've been called to read, I light the candle on my "prayer wheel" . The prayer wheel is a small silver dish with a niche for a small votive candle in it's center. Surrounding the candle are the words that I begin my meditation with.

"The Light of God surrounds you. The Love of God enfolds you. The Presence of God watches over you. The Power of God protects you. Wherever you are, God is. Wherever you are, God is. Wherever you are, God is. "

After saying these words aloud, I fall silent and focus on the flickering flame. I allow thoughts of the words on my prayer wheel to clear my mind of the normal "chatter". And then I ask Spirit to show me what it is that I'm to learn from earlier lesson. (The reading I was guided to read.)
Then I listen.

I listen to my breath. As I inhale I say to myself "Wisdom in". As I exhale I say "Excess out". Soon I will have stopped talking and I will start to hear "me speak to me." Spirit using my own voice to speak to me - Enlightening me.

So today, I invite you to try it. I invite you to meditate, pray, treat, get centered and allow yourself to be Enlightened. I will share with you a small reading. Once you've read it - be silent and ask yourself - "What is Spirit guiding me to learn from this lesson?" Enlightenment is all around you. Go get it! Give it away to others and Get use to surrounding yourself with gladness. Here's the story:

"Once there was a boy named Sudhana who also wished for Enlightenment and earnestly sought the way. From a fisherman he learned the lore of the sea. From a doctor he learned compassion toward sick people in their suffering. From a wealthy man he learned that saving pennies was the secret of his fortune and thought how necessary it was to conserve every trifling gained on the path to Enlightenment.

From a meditating monk he learned that the pure and peaceful mind had a miraculous power to purify and tranquilize other minds. Once he met a woman of exceptional personality and was impressed by her benevolent spirit, and from her he learned a lesson that charity was the fruit of wisdom. Once he met an aged wanderer who told him that to reach a certain place he had to scale a mountain of swords and pass through a valley of fire. Thus Sudhana learned from his experiences that there was true teaching to be gained from everything he saw or heard.

He learned patience from a poor, crippled woman; he learned a lesson of simple happiness from watching children playing in the street; and from some gentle and humble people, who never thought of wanting anything that anybody else wanted, he learned the secret of living at peace with all the world.

He learned a lesson of harmony from watching the blending of the elements of incense, and a lesson thanksgiving from the arrangement of flowers. One day, passing through a forest, he took a rest under a noble tree and noticed a tiny seedling growing near by out of a fallen and decaying tree and it taught him a lesson of the uncertainty of life.

Sunlight by day and the twinkling stars by night constantly refreshed his spirit. Thus Sudhana profited by the experiences of his long journey.

Indeed, those who seek for Enlightenment must think of their minds as castles and decorate them, They must open wide the gates for their minds for Buddha (my words: Spirit) and respectfully and humbly invite Him to enter the inmost chamber, there to offer Him the fragrant incense of Faith and the flowers of gratitude and gladness."

[The Teaching of Buddha; Kyokai; "The Way of Practical Attainment - Lesson #9; pages 318-322]

Your Life is Like a River

This week's dialogue is born out of a quote in my mediation lesson for April 17, in the book "365 Science of Mind - A year of daily Wisdom from Ernest Holmes" it reads:

" If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, 'Be thou removed, and be cast into the sea': it shall be done." - Matthew 21:21.

It's about intention! It's about the power of our words. Each word we whisper, speak, shout, or say silently to ourselves is a declaration of our intention for what we say to be so. Ernest Holmes' lesson went on to say:

Our activity of though is actually a Divine compulsion of the One Mind in us seeking an ever-increasing achievement and expression through us. The forms and outlets for this self-conscious process of though, which appear as a unique creation of life in man, may manifest in many ways.

We each interpret and use the urge for greater expression. For some, the fulfillment of this inner drive may be found in a new home, increased business activity, or better health, as well as in a desire for greater spiritual awareness.

All of these desires are urges of the indwelling Intelligence and we either can combat the urges we feel or we can give then expression. The choice is ours to make. But we cannot stand still. We have to continue to express this action of Life within us because creativity is our Divine Essence.

Our lives and experiences may well be likened to a river. If we stand on the bank of a river and watch it flow by, we become aware that the river never changes but that its content is always new. By analogy, we might say the purposeful dynamic quality of life within us never changes, but the content of our experience of living never remains the same.

So ponder this:

As you meditate today - in your minds eye stand on the bank of the river of your life. See that river flowing before you and notice the content. Don't judge what you see - just notice. Know that whatever is there - is the manifestation of your words. It was born out of an urge, an idea - it was your intention for it to be there. Now, if you no longer desire for "it" to be there - bless it and allow it to flow on by. Allow it to be washed down stream.

Now notice your reflection. Bless the being that is you. Take a breath and notice "what's new". What beautiful new thing has come down stream to enrich your life? Allow yourself to see all that good that surrounds you. This is also the manifestation of your words. Relish in the idea that through the power of your words, you can cast the mountain into the sea. Now "Go" do what you've been called to do. "Give" graciously to those that you have been called to support and "Get" the love and the gifts that are Divinely yours.