God was Seeking Me

Bede Griffiths, a Benedictine monk of the first half of this century, says in his autobiography, The Golden String, "I suddenly saw that all the time it was not I who had been seeking God, but God who had been seeking me." Have you noticed that you are always seeking? Everything you do is a form of seeking. What is it that you are seeking...truly? I would suggest that, first and foremost that you are seeking comfort, security and pleasure. And, what could that be but a personal agenda? That seeking for comfort, security and pleasure will always fail. It will temporarily succeed....for a moment...but sooner or later it all falls down. Pleasure is always fleeting. The higher the pleasure, the faster it passes. At a deeper level we are seeking some way to stabilize this idea of self. We are seeking to authenticize and identify this individual, separate, special entity. We even use our "spiritual path" in order to become a "spiritual person." That is an oxymoron of cosmic proportions. There is no such thing as a spiritual person. Those two things are the opposite of one another. The word "person" or "personality" comes from an Etruscan phrase, per sona, "through sound." It referred to the mask that the players wore in the dramas which had a megaphone built in. Your persona is your mask that hides your real self and yet you are always trying to glorify and stabilize the persona, the image, the mask. We don't want to come to the place where we have to say "I don't know." Oh, we can sit around in study groups and say it, but I'm not talking about the concept of "I don't know." I'm talking about the realization, the total disorientation, the complete amnesia that comes with realizing that I really don't know who, what or where I am. Whoa!

Griffiths, who had sought through religion and philosophy, was educated at Oxford, had gone into the priesthood and then the monastery, finally realized that he had no way to conceive of God, "Was He truly a Person, as Christian writers maintained, or might He not be conceived impersonally, like Brahman, or again might not the absolute reality be simply a state, like the Nirvana of the Buddha?
"Thus my mind was gradually reduced to chaos. All the elements of religion which had been building up into a living structure in my soul, and had seemed to meet in the harmony of a living temple, of which Christ was the corner-stone and the principle of unity, now fell apart, and I was lost in confusion. At last I decided that I must make a new start."

That was the undoing. We can't build a structure out of God. There is no way to structure It and yet the mind, the small "m" mind, the ego-mind, the no-mind (because it is not a mind at all; it doesn't think; it just keeps repeating the same idea over and over in an infinite variety of forms) always wants to contain God within a structure because structures protect the ego. And I'm not just talking about physical structures, I'm talking about psychological structures as well - all kinds of definitions and paradigms that we hold about who we are and how we should be...they are all false. So, Griffiths goes on to say, "I saw that it was not I who was seeking God...." We must begin to see that we are not truly seeking God, we are seeking to avoid God, even when we claim to be seeking God. We are not seeking Reality; we are seeking an idea of God that we are holding and that's just not what God is.

"I suddenly saw that all the time it was not I who had been seeking God, but God who had been seeking me."

Everything Means Yes

Yes means yes, and no means yes, and everything means yes, and we are all made of yesses
Mike, Age 5

Not only am I an emissary of love, I am Love. It pours from me, it is everlasting. By being here I shine love into every heart I meet. We are all like this; it is our true nature. That is all there is to say.
Lins, Age 14

It is time. Let go and love.
Nasat-La

You can never hurt God because God is love and love is unhurtable.
Jason, age 7

Know that the world as we know it is not real. If you let go, you will reconnect with spirit
Nikki, age 12.


The new children coming into the world, the Children of Oz, bring the whole message in one word: Pretend! Children have always spoken this one word to anyone who would listen. You too spoke this word as a child. You have forgotten what it means. You have forgotten how to PRETEND WHAT IS TRUE. You have chosen instead to pretend what is not true. And so you have made a world that reflects that decision. Choose again. Pretend that you are enlightened. Pretend that you are loved by God. Pretend that you are perfect just as you are. Pretend what is true. Then everything will make sense. Pre means “before” and Tend means to “pay attention.” Pay attention to what you were before. Before time began. Your original self. Pretend you are still that original self. Pretend nothing ever changed. Then know that what you are pretending is fact. It is true. Build your life around it. Nothing else matters but this. And this is why it is the message of the Children of Oz.
James Twyman


If you just pretend it and believe that it is true, it will happen.
Steven, age 15

David R. Hawkins Life and Enlightement Process

David R. Hawkins


See http://davidhawkins.info/ http://consciousnessproject.org/page.asp?PageID=23


Just as Einstein’s Theory of Relativity was the hallmark of scientific discovery, Dr. Hawkins’ discoveries are the E=mc2 of human consciousness research and spirituality.


Sir David R. Hawkins, M.D., Ph.D is a nationally renowned psychiatrist, physician, researcher, and lecturer. He co-authored Orthomolecular Psychiatry with Nobel Laureate Linus Pauling that helped revolutionize psychiatry. His national television appearances include The MacNeil/Lehrer News Hour, The Barbara Walters Show, and The Today Show. Winner of the Huxley Award, knighted by the Danish Crown, nominated for the Templeton Prize and honored in the East with the title “Tae Ryoung Sun Kak Tosa” (Foremost Teacher of the Way to Enlightenment), Dr. Hawkins’ honors are vast. His background is detailed in Who’s Who in America and Who’s Who in the World and his work has been acclaimed by many world leaders and Nobelists, including Mother Teresa.

Dr. Hawkins has lectured at the Universities of Argentina, Westminster Abbey, Notre Dame, Stanford, Harvard, and the Oxford Forum. In addition, he has been an advisor to Catholic, Protestant and Buddhist monasteries. He has conferred with foreign governments on international diplomacy and has been instrumental in resolving long-standing conflicts that were major threats to world peace.

He is the author of the best-selling trilogy, “Power vs. Force” (Published in 17 languages), “The Eye of the I,” and “I: Reality and Subjectivity.”

Dr. Hawkins is an internationally known spiritual teacher, author, and speaker on the subject of advanced spiritual states, consciousness research, and the Realization of the Presence of God as Self.

His published works, as well as recorded lectures, have been widely recognized as unique in that a very advanced state of spiritual awareness occurred in an individual with a scientific and clinical background who was later able to verbalize and explain the unusual phenomenon in a manner that is clear and comprehensible.

The transition from the normal ego state of mind to its elimination by the Presence is described in the trilogy Power versus Force (1995) which won praise even from Mother Theresa, The Eye of the I (2001), and I: Reality and Subjectivity (2003), which have been translated and are available worldwide in foreign editions. Reviews (such as those on the Internet at amazon.com) have awarded the works with five stars.

The trilogy was preceded by research on the Nature of Consciousness and published as the doctoral dissertation, Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis and Calibration of the Levels of Consciousness (1995), which correlated the seemingly disparate domains of science and spirituality. This was accomplished by the major discovery of a technique that, for the first time in human history, demonstrated a means to discern truth from falsehood.

The importance of the initial work was given recognition by its very favorable and extensive review in Brain/Mind Bulletin and at later presentations such as the International Conference on Science and Consciousness. Many presentations were given to a variety of organizations, spiritual conferences, church groups, nuns, and monks, both nationally and in foreign countries, including the Oxford Forum. In the Far East, Dr. Hawkins is a recognized “Teacher of the Way to Enlightenment.” (Tae Ryoung Sun Kak Dosa”)

In response to his observation that much spiritual truth has been misunderstood over the ages due to lack of explanation, Dr. Hawkins presented monthly seminars provided detailed explanations that are too lengthy to describe in book format. Recordings are available, along with questions and answers that provide additional clarification.

The overall design of this lifetime work is to recontextualize the human experience in terms of the evolution of consciousness and to integrate a comprehension of both mind and spirit as expressions of the innate Divinity that is the substrate and ongoing source of life and Existence. This dedication is signified by the statement “Gloria in Excelsis Deo!” with which his published works begin and end.

Inducted into the 2006 American Psychiatric Association 50-Year Distinguished Life Fellows honor

Inducted into the 2006 Orthomolecular Medicine Hall of Fame

Established Devotional Nonduality as a major spiritual pathway and the Science of Consciousness Research

Published numerous articles in spiritual periodicals, 1990 - current

As appeared on The Today Show, Science, Barbara Walters, the McNeil-Leher News Hour and talk radio shows worldwide

Presents lectures and workshops throughout the U.S., along with monthly full-day seminars, 2002 - current

Gave annual Landsberg Lecture at the University of California Medical School at San Francisco

Listed in Who’s Who in America and Who’s Who in the World

Appointed consultant to the Unity School of Religious Studies and post-graduate curriculum, including establishment of the Unity School of Consciousness Studies, 2003

Published research on Science of Consciousness in series of books in 14 languages

Establishment of worldwide independent study groups

Nobelists and world leaders accorded recognition in support of world value of research and writings: Dr. Linus Pauling; Mother Theresa; Lee Iacocca; Sam Walton; Bill W. (founder of Alcoholics Anonymous); numerous clergy and businessmen (spirit in business).

Consultant to government leaders, South Korea, 2000

Received title “Tae Ryoung Sun Kak Dosa” (Teacher of Enlightenment), Seoul, Korea, 2000

Became a knight of the Sovereign Order of the Hospitaliers of St. John of Jerusalem, which was founded in 1077. This ceremony was officiated by Prince Waldemar of Denmark at the San Anselmo Theological Seminary in 1995.

Physicians Recognition Award, American Medical Association, 1992

Elected to Sovereign Order of St. John of Jerusalem (Founded 1077), 1989

Invited to become Commissioner of Mental Health, State of New York, February, 1983

Citation from Medical College of Wisconsin for “Contribution to Medicine”

Taught classes on Advaita

Published articles with Bill W., cofounder of Alcoholics Anonymous

Taught classes based on A Course in Miracles

Consultant to clergy, cloistered nuns, Episcopal and Catholic dioceses, the Zen Monastery (NYC), and spiritual groups

North Nassau Mental Health Center Award for “Dedication to the Alleviation of Human Suffering,” 1978

Huxley Award for “Inestimable Contribution to the Alleviation of Human Suffering,” 1979

Published Orthomolecular Psychiatry with Nobelist Linus Pauling, 1973

Published numerous scientific papers in the American Journal of Psychiatry amongst other fine publications, 1953 - current

Founder and Director, The Mental Health Center (largest practice in New York City), 1958 - 1980

Training Psychoanalysis by Prof. Lionel Oversey, M.D., at Columbia University Psychoanalytic Institute

Supervising Psychiatrist, New York State Department of Mental Hygiene, 1957

Awarded Fellowship in Psychiatry, Mt. Sinai Hospital, New York, 1956

Intern, Columbia Hospital, New York School of Psychiatry, 1954

Mosby Book Award for Scholastic Excellence, 1953

Alpha Omega Alpha – National Medical Scholastic Honor Society, 1952

North Nassau Mental Health Center, Inc., 1958
Federation of Mental Health Centers, 1963
North Nassau Clinical Laboratories, 1970
North Nassau Research Division and Laboratories, 1971
An Integrated System for the Care of Schizophrenics, 1971
Academy of Orthomolecular Psychiatry, 1971
Institute for Applied Spiritual Studies, 1980


Schizophrenics Anonymous (Board of Directors; Medical Advisor)
Schizophrenia Foundation of New York State (Incorporator; Director)
Schizophrenia Foundation of Long Island (Board of Directors; Medical Advisor)
Institute for Scientific Communications (Incorporator; Board of Directors)
Journal of Orthomolecular Psychiatry (Editorial Board)
Journal of Schizophrenia (Editorial Board)
St. George’s Day Activities Center (Medical Advisor)
The Attitudinal Healing Center of Long Island (Board of Directors; Medical Advisor)
Christ Church Day Activities Center (Medical Advisor)
The Masters Gallery of Fine Arts (Co-Director)
Mental Health Fairs
The Gateposts Halfway House (Medical Advisor)
Garfield House (Halfway House)
Day Activities Center of Port Washington (Medical Advisor)
Brunswick House (Alcoholism; Psychiatric Consultant)
New York Association of Holistic Health Centers
Life Support Systems (Board of Directors)
Space Form (Ecologic Communities and Low-Energy Housing)
Became Director Emeritus of the North Nassau Mental Health Center in 1980 and gave up psychiatric practice to spend full time on spiritual research.

American Medical Association (Life Member)
American Psychiatric Association (Life Member)
New York State Medical Society
Nassau County Medical Society
Nassau Physicians Guild
Nassau Academy of Medicine
New York Academy of Science
The American Association for the Advancement of Science
New York State Psychiatric Association
Qualified Psychiatrist, New York State Department of Mental Health
Nassau Psychiatric Society
New York State Clinical Directors Association
American Association of Psychiatric Administrators
Academy of Orthomolecular Psychiatry (Founding President; Chairman of the Board)
International Academy of Preventive Medicine
American Holistic Health Association
The Huxley Institute for Biosocial Research (Board of Directors)
Academy of Religion and Mental Health
New York State Association of the Professions
The Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine
Schizophrenia Foundation of New York State (Board of Directors; Medical Advisor)
The Attitudinal Healing Center of Long Island (Board of Directors; Medical Advisor)
North Nassau Mental Health Center (Director Emeritus)
Medical Society of the Brunswick Hospital (Director of Psychiatric Research)
Attending Staff, Gracie Square Hospital
Youth Consultation Services, Episcopal Dioceses, Long Island (Psychiatric Consultant)
Editorial Board, Journal of Orthomolecular Psychiatry
Editorial Board, Journal of Schizophrenia
Editorial Board, (Alcoholism), Journal of Psychotherapy
American Schizophrenia Association (Scientific Advisory Board)
National Society for Autistic Children (Professional Advisory Board)
Long Island Council on Alcoholism
The Federation of Mental Health Centers (Co-founder)
American Medical Society on Alcoholism
Arizona Medical Society
Arizona Psychiatric Society
Brunswick House (Director of Research, Alcoholism)
The National Acupuncture Research Society
American Geriatric Society
International Council on Applied Nutrition
The Academy of Preventive Medicine
Canadian Psychiatric Association (Associate Member)
American Society for Psychological Research
Monroe Institute for Applied Science
International Kirlian Research Association
National Council on Alcoholism
The Association for the Advancement of Psychotherapy
The Society for the Study of Addictions
American Institute for Scientific Communications (Co-founder)
International Society for General Semantics
Consultant on Alcoholism, U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare
American Ontoanalytic Association
Consultant, New York Foundling Hospital
New York Paleontological Society
Consultant, Operation Hotline

The First Zen Institute of America, 1960
The Institute for Applied Spiritual Studies (Founder, Chairman), 1983
Institute for Advanced Spiritual Research, Inc. [501© (3) Public Charity], 1983
Sovereign Order, St John of Jerusalem, 1995
Devotional Nonduality Community (Founder, 2003)



About David R. Hawkins, MD, PhD
Dr. Hawkins was once asked, “What is due to the teacher?”
He responded, “Nothing at all. The listener’s interest is more than sufficient. The only obligation one should accept is the obligation to one’s own self to institute the wisdoms that were learned and to practice them in order to transcend the ego. Respect the teacher but save reverence only for God.” (I, 18)
__________________________________________________________________________________
David R. Hawkins, M.D., Ph.D., is Director of the Institute for Advanced Spiritual Research and has practiced psychiatry since 1952. He is a widely known authority within the fields of consciousness research and spirituality, authoring Power Versus Force, The Eye of the I, I: Reality & Subjectivity, and Truth Versus Falsehood (among others). He has authored numerous scientific papers and co-authored the book, Orthomolecular Psychiatry with Nobelist Linus Pauling. He writes and teaches from the unique perspective of an experienced clinician, scientist, and mystic.
A widely respected therapist, author and lecturer, his national television appearances include The MacNeil/Lehrer News Hour, The Barbara Walters Show, and The Today Show. He has been knighted and honored worldwide with many titles including “Tae Ryoung Sun Kak Tosa” (Foremost Teacher of the Way to Enlightenment) and knight of the Sovereign Order of the Hospitaliers of St. John of Jerusalem (which was founded in 1077). His background is detailed in Who’s Who in America and Who’s Who in the World and his work has been acclaimed by many world leaders and Nobelists, including Mother Teresa. Dr. Hawkins has lectured at universities, institutions, and to spiritual groups, from Westminster Abbey to Catholic, Protestant and Buddhist monasteries. His life is devoted to the spiritual evolution of mankind.

Timeline:

1930/age 3: Sudden awareness of existence—a nonverbal, but complete understanding of the phrase “I am” and the polarized fear of nonexistence. (i.e., “If I exist, it could have been that I didn’t exist.”)

1939/age 12: As a paperboy in rural Wisconsin, he found himself in a 20-below blizzard, and while nestled in a snow bank for safety, he had a near-death experience. “I became oblivious of my physical body and surroundings as my awareness fused with this all-present illuminated state. My mind grew silent; all thought stopped. An infinite Presence was all that was or could be, beyond time or description.” (P vs. F, 293)

1943/age 16: Walking in the woods, he saw the collective suffering of all of mankind and became agnostic as a consequence. (He explains that he mistook the consequences of the ego to be the actions of God.) Additionally, after his spiritual experience in the snow bank, traditional religious teaching lost significance. “Compared to the light of Divinity which had illuminated all existence, the god of traditional religion shone dully indeed; thus spirituality replaced religion.” (The Eye of the I, 336) Dr. Hawkins was raised High Episcopal and went to Jesuit University.

1945/age 18: Hazardous duty on a minesweeper during WWII with no fear of death as a result of the Presence.

1946/age 19: Began medical school after WWII

1952/age 25: Began practicing psychiatry

1965/age 38: Succumbed to a progressive and fatal illness which did not respond to any available treatment. In his final moments before he felt himself dying, he called out, “If there is a God, I ask him to help me now.” The state of enlightenment replaced normal consciousness in January 1965: “The person I had been no longer existed. There was no personal self or ego, only an Infinite Presence of such unlimited power that it was all that was. This Presence had replaced what had been ’me,’ and my body and its actions were controlled solely by the Infinite Will of the Presence. The world was illuminated by the clarity of an Infinite Oneness which expressed itself as all things revealed in their infinite beauty and perfection.” (P vs. F, 294)

For nine months the stillness persisted. In this state, he seemed unable to function effectively in the world. Friends and colleagues urged him to return to his practice, but there was little motivation to do so.

1966/age 39: Hawkins now had the ability to perceive the reality that underlay personalities: the origin of emotional sickness lay in people’s belief that they were their personalities (a consequence of the illusion of the ego). “It was clear that all pain and suffering arises from the ego and not from God.” (The Eye of the I, 340) As though of its own, his clinical practice resumed. People came from all over the United States and eventually, he built the largest psychiatric practice in New York with 50 therapists and other employees, 2000 out-patients, a suite of 25 offices and laboratories, and 1000 new patients each year.

1968/age 41: Saw Dr. John Diamond perform kinesiology and immediately saw its potential. Whereas everyone else saw a local muscular response, Dr. Hawkins’ saw an impersonal response of consciousness itself with universal applications. The technique was gateway between the world of the mind and the spirit, bridging the gap between the two dimensions.

1973/age 46: Co-authored Orthomolecular Psychiatry with Nobelist Linus Pauling, a work that was a decade ahead of its time.

1975/age 48: Left New York City (and his Fifth Avenue apartment and estate on Long Island) and moved to a small town in Arizona. Seven reclusive years were spent in meditation and study.

1977/age 50: In Rothman’s restaurant in Long Island, New York: “the Presence suddenly intensified until every thing and person, which had appeared separate in ordinary perception, melted into a timeless universality and oneness. In the motionless Silence, I saw that there are no ’events’ or ’things’ and that nothing actually ’happens,’ because past, present, and future are merely an artifact of perception, as is the illusion of a separate ’I’ subject to birth and death. As the limited, false self dissolved into the universal Self of its true origin, there was an ineffable sense of having returned home, a state of absolute peace and relief from all suffering. For it is only the illusion of individuality that is the origin of all suffering; when one realizes that one is the universe, complete and at one with all that is, forever without end, then no further suffering is possible.” (P vs. F, 297)

Patients came from around the world and were healed by the Presence (although the illness didn’t necessarily remit). He silently communicated to each patient that all pain and suffering arise solely from the ego and not from God. The practice eventually became overwhelming, with patients backed up and waiting for beds to open (even with the extra ward the hospital had built to house his patients). He became overwhelmed and enormously frustrated in the face of the endless tide of human suffering that could only be encountered one patient at a time.
1983/age 56: In order to conduct research and write, Dr. Hawkins stopped all spiritual practice and focused on the world—reading newspapers, watching television, etc—to reacquaint himself. “And so, after a long, circular journey of the spirit, I returned to the most important work, which is to bring the Presence that has moved my life perhaps at least a little closer to the grasp of as many fellow beings as I can reach.” (P vs. F, 301)

Founded the Institute for Advanced Spiritual Research [501(c)(3) Public Charity]
1995/age 68: Received his PhD for his dissertation, “Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis and Calibrations of the Level of Human Consciousness” and published Power versus Force (calibrating at 850).

Officiated by the Crown Prince Valdemar of Denmark at the San Anselmo Theological Seminary, Dr. Hawkins became a knight of the Sovereign Order of the Hospitaliers of St. John of Jerusalem (founded in 1077) in recognition of his contributions to humanity.

1999/age 72: Invited by Dr. Jin-Hee Moon, former assistant to the Dali Lama, to speak in Korea and meet with government officials and many spiritual groups, including the Advanced Yoga Research Center in Seoul.

2000/age 73: Given the honor of being named “Tae Ryoung Sun Kak Tosa” (translated as “Great Soul, Foremost Leading Teacher/Scholar of the Way to Enlightenment”) in Soeul, Korea.

2001/age 74: Published The Eye of the I, the second book in his trilogy, calibrating at 980.

2002/age 75: Began conducting lecture series in Sedona, AZ.

2003/age 76: Published I: Reality and Subjectivity, the final book in the trilogy, calibrating at 999.8.

2005/age 77: Published Truth Versus Falsehood, a tomb of over 7,500 consciousness calibrations.
An Autobiographical Summary from Dr. Hawkins can be found here:
Power vs. Force, in “About the Author” (back of the book)
The Eye of the I, in “Prologue” (front of text) and “About the Author” (back of the book)
I: Reality & Subjectivity, in the “Introduction” (this is summary from Power vs. Force)

Quotes by Dr. David R. Hawkins

For those unfamiliar with Dr. Hawkins’ writings, we highly suggest reading this caveat from the beginning of his books:

The traditional religionist or the spiritually timid are forewarned that the material presented herein may be disturbing and therefore better bypassed. The teachings are presented for the seriously committed spiritual student who is seeking God as Enlightenment.

The pathway to Enlightenment via radical truth is demanding and requires the surrendering of all belief systems. Only then does the Ultimate Reality reveal itself as the sought-after ‘I’ of the Supreme.
The material presented herein is from the perspective of the Infinite ‘I’ of the Self.”
Quotes from The Eye of the I:
We change the world not by what we say or do but as a consequence of what we have become. Thus, every spiritual aspirant serves the world. (Eye, 69)
To let go of the known for the unknown requires great commitment, willingness, and devotion to surrendering one’s faith to God. (Eye, 110)
There is no inner ‘thinker’ behind thoughts, no ‘doer’ behind actions, no ‘seeker’ of enlightenment. Seeking occurs on its own when the time is right, and it emerges as a focus of attention. All aspects and qualities of consciousness are self-actuating and energize each other under the general direction of the will. (Eye, 132)
It is the ultimate human paradox that man’s dependence on perception precludes his being able to know his own identity. (Eye, 220)
There is absolutely nothing in ordinary human experience to compare with the joy of the presence of the Love of God. No sacrifice is too great nor effort too much in order to realize that Presence. (Eye, 289)
The true destiny of man is to realize the truth of the divinity of one’s source and creator which is ever present within that which has been created and is the creator—the Self. (Eye, 87)
To understand the nature of God, it is necessary only to know the nature of love itself. To truly know love is to know and understand God; and to know God is to understand love. (Eye, 88)
In reality, everything occurs of its own, with no exterior cause. Every thing and every event is a manifestation of the totality of All That Is, just as it is at any given moment. Once seen in its totality, everything is perfect at all times and nothing needs an external cause to change it in any way. From the viewpoint of the ego’s positionality and limited scope, the world seems to need endless fixing and correction. This illusion collapses as a vanity.
In Reality, everything is automatically manifesting the inherent destiny of its essence; it doesn’t need any external help to do this. With humility, one can relinquish the ego’s self-appointed role as savior of the world and surrender it straight to God. The world that the ego pictures is a projection of its own illusions and arbitrary positionalities. No such world exists. (Eye, 107)
At some point, the illusion breaks down and the opening for the start of the spiritual quest commences. The quest turns from without to within and the search for answers begins. (Eye, 115)
Q: Where does one begin the search for spiritual truth self-realization called enlightenment?
A: It is simple. Being with who and what you are. All truth is found within. Use verified teachings as a guide. (Eye, 175)
Like springtime, the promise of a new era in man’s understanding of God is emerging. Now the level of consciousness of mankind is high enough to be able to recognize the truth of a God of Love instead of worshipping the god of guilt and hate. (Eye, 76)
It is helpful to remember that neither Truth nor Enlightenment is something to be found, sought, acquired, gained, or possessed. That which is the Infinite Presence is always present and its realization occurs of itself when the obstacles to that realization are removed. It is therefore not necessary to study the truth but only to let go of that which is fallacious. Moving away the clouds does not cause the sun to shine but merely reveals that which was hidden all along. Spiritual work, therefore, is primarily a letting go of the presumably known for the unknown, with the promise of others who have done it that the effort is more than well rewarded at the end. (Eye, 117)
In turn, every advance that we make in our awareness benefits unseen multitudes and strengthens the next step for others to follow. Every act of kindness is noticed by the universe and is preserved forever. (Eye, 118)
The radiance of God is the light of awareness that reveals the divinity of all that exists. In the stillness of the Infinite Presence, the mind is silent as there is nothing that can be said; all speaks of itself with completeness and exactitude. With this realization one transcends the final duality of existence versus nonexistence because only existence is possible. The opposite of Truth does not exist because Reality excludes nonreality. In this realization resides the peace of God. (Eye, 118)
Nothing in the universe happens by chance or accident. The universe is a coherent concurrence and interaction of innumerable conditions attendant on the infinite number of energy patterns. In the state of Awareness, all this is obvious and can be clearly seen and known. Outside that level of awareness, it could be likened to innumerable, invisible magnetic fields which automatically coalesce or repel one’s position and which interact according to the positions and relative strengths and polarities. Everything influences everything else and is in perfect balance. (Eye, 170)
What the people in the world actually want is the recognition of who they really are on the highest level, to see that the same Self radiates forth within everyone, heals their feeling of separation, and brings about a feeling of peace. To bring peace and joy to others is the gift of the benevolence of the Presence. (Eye, 91)
Much relief is experienced when we realize that by adopting a spiritual life, righteous condemnation and the hate that ensures from it can be left to others. This pursuit of the spiritual ‘good’ benefits all mankind, and it could therefore be said to be the most praiseworthy vocation of all. (Eye, 67)
Spiritual progress is based on acceptance as a matter of free will and choice and thus everyone experiences only the world of their own choosing. The universe is totally free of victims and all eventualities are the unfolding of inner choice and decision. (Eye, 61)
The experience of the presence of God is available and within at all times, but awaits choice. That choice is made only by surrendering everything other than peace and love to God. In return, the divinity of the Self reveals Itself as ever present but not experienced because it has been ignored or forgotten, or one has chosen otherwise. (Eye, 48)
Spiritual truth, then, is universally true and without variation through time or place. It always brings peace, harmony, accord, love, compassion, and mercy. Truth can be identified by these qualities. All else is the invention of the ego. (Eye, 40)
Peace is literally a choice and a decision, although not a popular one in our society despite all the rhetoric about the term. The decision to overlook the seeming inequities of life instead of reacting to them is a choice. (Eye, 198)
When perception ceases, the world of wonder reveals itself. Consciousness is in all that exists. It recognizes itself manifesting as the Allness of Creation. (Eye, 228)
In reality, the love of God, like the sun, shines equally on all. (Eye, 235)
In the Reality of nonduality, there is neither privilege nor gain nor loss nor rank. Just like a cork in the sea, each spirit rises or falls in the sea of consciousness to its own level by virtue of its own choices, and not by any external force or favor. Some are attracted by the light and some seek the darkness, but it all occurs of its own nature by virtue of divine freedom and equality. (Eye, 262)
Q: What prayers are useful?
A: Ask to be the servant of the Lord, a vehicle of divine love, a channel of God’s will. Ask for direction and divine assistance and surrender all personal will through devotion. Dedicate one’s life to the service of God. Choose love and peace above all other options. Commit to the goal of unconditional love and compassion for all life in all its expression and surrender all judgment to God. (Eye, 201)
Quotes from I: Reality & Subjectivity:
When one realizes that one is the universe, complete and at one with All That Is, forever without end, no further suffering is possible. (I, xxii)
The destiny of the spirit will be for better or worse, depending on the choices and decisions one makes. (I, 154)
Beliefs are the determinants of what one experiences. There are no external ‘causes.’ (I, 22)
Thus, if we take responsibility for being the author of our world, we come close to its source where we can correct it. (I, 22)
The soul is the author of its own fate by the exercise of its own choice and selection. (I, 24)
Truth has no opposites, such as falsity or ‘off-ness.’ Nothing is hidden from the field of consciousness.
The level of consciousness is determined by the choices made by the spiritual will and therefore is the consequence as well as the determinant of karma. Freedom to evolve requires a world which affords the greatest opportunity to ascend or descend the spiritual ladder. Viewed from that perspective, this is an ideal world and its society is constituted by a wide range of experiential options. (I, 80)
Exploration is innate to mankind, and its highest levels lead to spiritual inquiry. This brings up the questions of who am I, what am I, where did I come from, what is the origin and destiny of the self, and who and where is God. (I, 117)
The human mind is incapable of discerning truth from falsehood. (I, 117)
The spiritual aspirant, therefore, is wise to detach from all positionalities and opinions and be willing to surrender the ego’s temporary satisfactions for a higher goal. (I, 177)
All life ebbs and flows. Everyone is born, suffers afflictions, and dies. There are happiness and sadness, catastrophe and success, increase and decrease. The stock market rises and falls. Diseases and accidents come and go. The karmic dance of life unfolds in the karmic theatre of the universe.
All reactions to life are subjective. There is nothing happening that is awful, exciting, sad, good, or bad. It is pointless to hold a position that catastrophes shouldn’t ‘happen’ or that the innocent ‘didn’t deserve it’, or ‘isn’t it awful’, or ‘it must be somebody’s fault’. With a broad view, one can remain unperturbed by either the content or the context of life. That requires giving up judgments, expectations, or ‘sensitivities’ (I, 179)
Inasmuch as the entire universe and everything in it is a karmic unity, the Allness of Reality is the realization of enlightenment. If all is a karmic unity that originates from the same source, then to see any separation is an artifact of perception. In Reality, the one and the many are the same. (I, 251)
Be passionate for God, not for belief systems. That is the only real decision that has to be made and can be applied to any and all situations. The question is always whether to be at the effect of the world or aligned with the Truth of God instead. The search for enlightenment is different from that of seeking worldly success. (I, 355)
The world of the ego is like a house of mirrors through which the ego wanders, lost and confused, as it chases the images in one mirror after another. Human life is characterized by endless trials and errors to escape the maze. At times, for many people, and possibly for most, the world of mirrors becomes a house of horrors that gets worse and worse. The only way out of the circuitous wanderings is through the pursuit of spiritual truth. (I, 393)
At every instant, one is really making a choice between heaven or hell. The cumulative effect of all these choices determines the calibrated level of consciousness and one’s karmic and spiritual fate. (I, 397)
At first, spiritual purification seems difficult, but eventually, it becomes natural. To consistently choose love, peace, or forgiveness leads one out of the house of mirrors. The joy of God is so exquisite that any sacrifice is worth the effort and seeming pain. (I, 397)

The Story of Byron Katie

The way Byron Katie tells her story, her life was once filled with a brand of suffering familiar to affluent Californians. She lived in a "gorgeous home" in Barstow on the edge of the Mojave Desert with her second husband Paul and the youngest of her three children. And she had a knack for making money, lots of it, buying and selling real estate. "The setting said, 'This is the perfect life, but Inside I was miserable. Every day I wanted to die. I'd wake up in the morning and notice I was still here and just curse God.”

By 1986, she was depressed, eating too much and fighting with her husband and children. She weighed 200 pounds and had entered a depression so deep that she spent most of her time in her bedroom watching television. In despair, she entered a halfway house for women with eating disorders in Southern California. There, on the floor of an attic bedroom, Byron Katie Reid—secular Barstow housewife, television-watcher and real estate investor— had the kind of spiritual awakening that Buddhist monks and Christian contemplatives pray and fast and meditate years for.

"I opened my eyes and there was a cockroach crawling over my foot," she said. "And all my problems were gone. There was no identification with the woman that went to sleep the night before. It was as though something else was born. There was just this amazing laughter."

Soon afterwards, Katie returned to her family in Barstow a changed and strange person, spending long days alone in the desert and leaving her door open to allow anyone to enter her home. In the years since, she has spent much of her time touring this country and Europe teaching what she calls "The Work"—four deceptively simple and liberating questions that her new book, Loving What Is, promises "can change your life." "Is it true?" she asks, sitting on a stage at a packed hall—most recently at Spirit Rock meditation center in Woodacre—as a man or woman in a chair opposite her reads out his or her most damning thoughts and wounds from a scrawled piece of paper: My wife betrayed me with my best friend; or my boyfriend should get out of debt; or my mother is a bitch; or my stepmother drinks too much; or my abuse ruined my life. "Is it true?" Katie asks them. "Can you absolutely know that it's true? How do you react when you think that thought? Who would you be without that thought?"

Before she went into the halfway house, she was full of rage. “I wasn't questioning my thinking. I believed everything I thought. And the thoughts that would come were: Nobody loves me. I don't have a purpose. My children think I'm a terrible mother. I'm misunderstood. Today those thoughts fill me with laughter because I've questioned them and I've come to see what's true. But lying in that bed, I had no questions to ask of those thoughts. It was very deep mental illness. Since then I've come to see that anyone who doesn't question their thoughts is suffering from mental illness. No one has to suffer that kind of pain when life can be so simple.
That's what my life is about now. When we get free, when our minds are clear, all it leaves is gratitude and how can I help?

Before her awakening experience, Katie had a hard time with her husband—he left his socks everywhere, he yelled at her. "My children should pick up their socks, my husband should pick up his socks. And look what they are doing! If they really loved me they would do just that one simple little thing!" They just kept leaving them there and leaving them there. I would rage, I would cry, I would die a thousand deaths. The next morning, the socks were still on the floor. I use that as an example—the simplest thing can just put you over the edge. Until we question our thoughts.

If someone else would just do this one simple thing, I would be happy—isn't that pretty universal? If they would just cooperate, we would all have better lives! I know the way! Well, I don't think so. Often I couldn't even take a shower or brush my teeth! And paranoia—if my children just glanced in my bedroom, it would be like, "I know what they think about me." And that would send me into a rage. Not my children, the little innocents. They just walked by and looked at their mother. Mentally, I did all the rest. I was my enemy. Until we question those stressful thoughts, we believe we're right. When you question one, it, leads to the next stressful thought. And to the next stressful thought. Until eventually, it's done. I've undone them all.

I'd think the thought, my children don't really care about me. If I don't question that thought, if I really believe it, how do I react when I think that thought? Well, I become depressed. And then I have a lot of thoughts to prove that the first thought is true. That's the mind's job, to prove that it's right. Without questioning, it just rolls on. How do I react when I think that thought? I'm stressed out, I'm angry, then I go to the refrigerator, then I go to the alcohol, then I go to credit cards and I'm shopping, buying things that I have no interest in or need for. That's how I react when I think the thought.
If we can question these old thoughts, then this is the end of our internal war. What's left is genius, infinite mind, and it knows how to deal with things effectively.

Going back to the halfway house, I got a moment of clarity. There are a lot of theories around it. Whatever it was, I'm grateful. I had a moment of grace, and I understood. I just knew one day to go home. Well, they wouldn't release me. They said I wasn't ready. So I just left. And then I began a very strange life at that point, a very strange life.

My doors were open, for one thing. I knew enough not to shut the door. Someone would walk into the house, and I would just sit with them. And then the phone would ring and I would go to the phone. Then I'd have the thought, do the dishes. And I'd do the dishes. Then one of my children would need me, and I would just do that. For me, everything is God. Everything and everyone. So it was just, God needs me now, now, now. And everything got done. And it still does to this day. There is never too much. I am totally enjoying this.

I would go out into the desert. The desert was my teacher. I didn't know about gurus and wise people—I wasn't a reader. That wasn't my world. The desert never moved. It was so clear. That's where I learned that there are no new stressful thoughts, that they are all recycled. The version I tell is that I went out into the desert to get away from all the noise in the world, and I took the whole world with me in my head. Every thought that's ever been thought. And I just sat there, and I undid them, and I undid them.

I'd have the thought, "It's too hot, I'm going to die." And I would just live that one through. I would walk so far, without water. Not on purpose, it just happened. I had the thought, I’m lost. Because of the questions, I would see that I was found, that I am always where I am. And then someone would always find me. I wasn't out there like some weird person. I just needed to do these things.

I would sit and know I had a terror of snakes, rattlesnakes. I would close my eyes and wait, and I knew that they were there. That's how powerful imagination is. How do I react when I think that thought? And just let the terror take me over. Who would I be without the thought? And I discovered that if a thousand snakes bit me it would be less painful than those thoughts. All I was doing was noticing mind.
The desert was close to a base, and they do desert maneuvers there. These bombs would go off. And I'd notice that the desert doesn't mind. There would be a bird taking something to build a nest, and over there the desert is being bombed, but she just gives and gives and gives. She [the desert] never says Stop, she never says Don't. She just lives the reality. And that's me... When I'm not giving to that last breath, it goes against what I learned. It becomes a privilege to give, because we are not resisting our own nature.

Reality and our story never match. Reality is always kinder. I love reality. I know it's for good. Either that or God's a sadist.


Katy ButlerByron

A Prophet of Love

Teilhard de Chardin was a visionary French Jesuit priest, a paleontologist, a biologist, and philosopher. He spent the bulk of his life trying to integrate religious experience with natural science, most specifically Christian theology with theories of evolution. His writings were suppressed by the Catholic Church, and none of them were published until after his death.

Chardin was a prophet of love who took on the lifelong task of integrating science and faith. His aim as to teach how to see God everywhere, to see him in all that is most hidden, most solid, and most ultimate in the world. He was a prophet of immanence, which we can see in what he said at the end of his life:

If, as a result of some interior revolution, I were to lose in succession my faith in Christ, my faith in a personal God, and my faith in spirit, I feel that I should continue to believe invincibly in the world. The world (its value, its infallibility and its goodness)—that, when all is said and done, is the first, the last, and the only thing in which I believe. It is by this faith that I live. And it is to this faith, I feel, that at the moment of death, rising above all doubts, I shall surrender myself.

Every Patient became my Teacher

Dr. Tim Ong

Wake up from your daily trance-like existence and regain your divine rights to Love, Power and Abundance! The world is changing, and there is a great shift of consciousness everywhere! It is an exciting time for those who are aware and are able to take advantage of the increasing power within.

If you have told me back in 2004 that I was living a life of fear, I would have stared at you in disbelief!

My life was probably at its best at that point in time. I have a wonderful family and my career as a doctor has just reached its peak. There was no major debts to worry about and I was building a strong reputation as a caring and compassionate doctor in the community I was serving.

So it came as a big surprise to me when in the midst of all these successes, I was suddenly drawn into spirituality. To be fair, it was not really a sudden shift. I have always known that I was inclined towards spirituality. That was why even as a doctor, I was more interested in understanding the unseen world of emotions, mind and spirit and how they influence our physical body and surroundings than just treating the physical ailments most of my patients came to see me with.

However, I was always in a dilemma. On the one hand, I was scientifically trained to practice evidence-based medicine. On the other hand, I was drawn to the invisible and unmeasurable beliefs and concepts of spirituality.

However, as I continue my practice, I began to see more and more patients whose physical ailments I believe stemmed from unresolved emotional and mental conflicts. As they said in medicine, "If you don't look for it, you won't see it." So I began to open my eyes and more importantly my mind, and what I saw provided me with new insights into the mechanism of illnesses, and the role our emotions and mind play in our overall health, which includes spiritual health.

From then on, every patient became my teacher. From each of them, I learned not only lessons that I could use to help them but also relevant for my own spiritual growth. The knowledge and insights are so powerful and transformational that I began to see dramatic results happening before my own eyes. People's lives changed merely by being made aware of their thoughts, beliefs and emotions. At times, even physical illnesses can disappear - just like that!