Picture: Boondocking in the desert
There are tests that come to all people regardless of their belief system or spiritual development. Highly realized souls can take on the world’s “sins” (errors) in ways that others cannot due to their identification with God. Some imagine that realizing God will be the end of all challenges, however God has become everything there is, and therefore there is nothing outside of His purview or that of His beloved ones.
When you are in intimate connection with God how can you not also know His creation; the good, the bad, and the ugly. The difference for the realized Master is the certain knowledge that God is his, and he is God’s. Normally souls become deluded when they meet the bad or the ugly. In this delusion there is felt to be a vast separation between the soul, the world, and God.
Recently I came up against a case of murderous anger in a soul; in reality this anger stemmed from a deep fear. In self-absorption this individual felt the world was not meeting his or her needs. Such anger and fear is not uncommon, but how sad it is when it results in a looping dialogue for which there is no solution. It is because fear and anger are emotionally charged and self-sustaining; if there is a change in one area of dissatisfaction in life then another will crop up that will be found to be equally dissatisfying. Thus fear and anger leads to a never-ending cycle. This person’s anger clung to me, like cigarette smoke permeates clothes and hair and everything it touches.
The real solution is to realize the Divine Intention behind all the world’s activities, even the bad and ugly. With this solution alone a peace that surpasses all understanding comes into the heart and soul; a peace unshakable. Without this solution fear and anger will corrupt the soul, making it ugly and distorted beyond the recognition of its original design by the Creator.
This solution of knowing God must come to every soul, and it begins with genuine surrender and humility. A heartfelt prayer must ask for Divine intervention to let go of all fear and anger. Then with one’s whole thought, feeling and will he or she must align individual will with Divine Will.
As I witnessed firsthand with both Mother and Swami Satchidananda a spiritual life is not hiding from the difficult parts of life and all of its complexities, rather it is often putting yourself right into the middle of it. The difference is that you have now placed yourself on God’s side, there is no separation, and that makes all the difference. As I placed this individual’s anger at the feet of God, lit some incense and gave it all to Him, the residue left me, leaving only peace and compassion.
If you have not yet realized God fully, it means you are harboring fear and/or anger that does not allow you to experience this surpassingly beautiful peace. Expose your innermost workings before God, surrender all that you knowingly or unknowingly are keeping for yourself, then lay it all at the feet of your infinite Beloved. Experience His peace as never before, then you will go on to be a Light unto this world.
Health Update: All is going along very well in our continued pilgrimage; we are in a beautiful desert on the border of Joshua Tree National Park south entrance. Rick and Judy are our close neighbors; we are boondocking on BLM land under a full moon and magnificent star-scape.
The question came to me early this morning, “How do I create a mental image to direct my body on a cellular level, and continue to be tumor free?” I have had a generalized thought of Light flowing into the affected area, but that did not seem to be sufficiently powerful; I knew I needed something more specific.
I thought of white blood cells, the body’s combat ready soldiers to cordon off and destroy the microscopic cells that do not belong. Even more powerful are the “special unit” soldiers, “take no prisoner” combatants, the battle hardened killer T cells. Killer T cells can drill holes into the seemingly impervious cancer cells and with repeated penetration the cancer cells collapse and die. Visualizing these white and killer T cells surrounding and killing cancer cells and prohibiting them from migrating elsewhere has given my mind a useful and powerful focus. I see these soldiers of the immune system filled with an inner Light of Divine power and energy; taking the fight to cells that do not belong! Yes, that will do nicely.
P.S. Please keep Lois Hickenbottom (a kriyaban and my sister-in-law) in your prayers. This last week it was confirmed that she has a cancerous tumor in her colon. The medical opinion at this time is that the surgical removal of the tumor may be all that is needed at this point; more will be known after the procedure. May all souls strive for and attain perfect health in the body, mind and Spirit!