Friday, February 10, 2012

Coming Down the Mountain 4

I don’t recall Christ ever saying “I am the Lord your God, worship me.” What I heard was, “Follow me, be like me, do these things and you will find peace and happiness.”  He would not have asked us to do the things that he did if they were impossible, something that only God could do.  He said that we could do everything that he did, and then some.  I wonder if people look at the Christ and say “Oh, well He was God incarnate, so obviously he was able to help and heal others, care for the poor and the sick, uplift humanity, teach us a better way to live; but me, I am just a human, these things that He did cannot be expected of me.”  But they are expected of us, each one of us, not just the saints, the social workers and the clergy, but all of us, if we are to be happy, holy and free, as Christ intended for us to be.
gregorysgardner.com

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Coming Down the Mountain 3

You are my mirror.  You are my reflection.  What I see in you I am seeing in me.  What I see in you comes through me.  If I am mistreating you, I am mistreating myself.  If I am mistreated by you, I am mistreating myself.  If I am afraid of you, I am living in fear.  If I snap at you, I have snapped.  If I judge you, I am judged.  If I do not love you, I do not love myself. It does not matter who you are, you are me.  If I don’t see God in all, I don’t see God at all.
gregorysgardner.com

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Coming Down the Mountain 2

  A radical transformation is happening in my life and in the lives of people that I know.  To some it may seem subtle, as it does at times, yet for most people that I have spoken with the changes are quite obvious and powerful.  We seem to be growing closer to Source; our relationship with the ever abiding, benevolent Energy that creates maintains and regenerates has become more natural, and denying its presence feels more uncomfortable.  We are learning to love ourselves unconditionally, and not measuring ourselves by our relationship to people, places and things. We know that these other people, places and things are not something that can or will fix us.  We are learning to abide in pure love, and to hold our relationship to people, places and things in that purity.  We are learning to love others, not because we need to, but because we want to.  We are becoming more tolerant. We are reaching out in service, because it fills us with joy and pleasure.  We are coming to understand why we are here, and what we are about.  We are creating heaven on earth.
gregorysgardner.com

Monday, February 6, 2012

Coming Down the Mountain 1

I have heard that prayer is talking to God and that meditation is listening to God, but it’s not like I hear the small still voice of Spirit when I am waiting and expecting it, it is not like a conversation, asking a question and then getting an immediate response.  The answers come, perhaps, when my being is most ready to receive them, when I am receptive, quiet and calm.  Most often, I believe, I hear what I am supposed to hear in conversations with others.  When more than one person tells me the same thing, I can often be sure that the Universe is talking to me.  I can hear God in a random smile.  I can see God in the face of a stranger in pain.  I can smell God in a flower, or garlic cooked with love.  I can taste God in the water that I drink.  I can feel God in the air that I breathe.  I can bathe in God’s love and wonderment listening to a symphony. I can experience God through a child.
gregorysgardner.com

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Solar Flares

Infinite grace abounds in our presence. We can access powers beyond our wildest dreams that have lied dormant. We are interlocked, one being actually, solar flares that spit out and are sucked back into their source. We are light travelers. We are a united force of love.  Our joy is our being.  Our mission is to uplift.  We are servants of truth. We are awakening. We are so much more than we know, just know that.

Friday, February 3, 2012

Santosha: Contentment 7

There are things about my life that I really enjoy, I want them to last.  Often times they are gone the following day.  And it really does not matter how much time that I spent planning for them, praying for them, thinking about it, it’s just gone.  Perhaps just because I am over it, yet I spent so much time dwelling on it, obsessing over it even. I so wanted to keep it, hold on to it; but it was like holding on to water, and I wonder, was I even able to enjoy it while I had it to enjoy, because I wanted to keep it that same way forever?
gregorysgardner.com

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Santosha: Contentment 6

The real trick for staying centered and content has been, and shall be, Sadhana, my daily spiritual practice.  We are encouraged in program to seek through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with our Higher Power, praying only for knowledge of Her will for us, and the power to carry that out.  If there is anything that I might possibly know about my Higher Power’s will for me, it is a daily spiritual practice.  Through prayer, yoga and meditation, I meet each moment.  I may not always be perfectly content in each moment, but I am able to get back to center, usually sooner rather than later.  Yesterday I was in a splendid mood leaving for work, my youngest son in tow on the way to his dentist appointment.  As I approached the truck I noticed the mirror had been destroyed on the driver side.  This would be the third time. “Sh!T” and a few other choice and angry words came barreling out of my mouth.  A few moments later I was on the phone to the mechanic asking him to order yet another mirror, I chided myself for forgetting to fold the mirror in, chalked it up to another karmic adventure, and was back at center; content and grateful for another beautiful day.  For me, that is growth that can be measured, and it is lasting happiness. I can point to my morning practice and know that I, no longer the victim, know how to affect my day.
Gregorysgardner.com