Mum's the Word

For the remainder of the month I set forth a challenge. Before speaking, mentally decide how you can relate what it is you want to say in the fewest words possible. (If an example is required, refer to 4-14-13.)

Told Me What?

So what am I saying? (an indulgence to those who claim they don't understand) Because you hold it in your mind, it (GGG) will sustain you--nurture, nourish, and maintain you. It will be your guiding light, a beacon to bring you home. No matter the hell you are experiencing, if you can conjure the thought that this is a Gift, which you could (somehow) be Grateful for, you will not only find the means to muddle through, you will experience God. This isn't a promise--it is reality. Decide that God can use YOU as a means to interact with life (creation: any and everything) and the process produces the outcome. The resistance (fuck this!) that you experience is the result of expectations. Let it be what it is. (it's going to be anyway) Then allow yourself time to examine why you struggle against what is. This is the unmasking of your ego and the method by which you surrender to that which some call God. (call it what you wish) Regardless, once you begin to integrate what Life brings you, (harmony) you demonstrate a personality reflective of the aspect of God you are here to embody. GGG is a method, a process, a 'hack,' that allows for immediate transformation. There is no simpler spiritual application you can employ. The link provided yesterday (Shots of Awe--Godmode) is validation from another source of what I have been telling you for nearly 3 years.

Told Ya

Gift Gratitude God is one such "God Hack." As an ontological engineer employing what has been suggested, (GGG) you do create conditions that construct a conduit to the numinous. What is experienced then and there is epiphany...yet you question it. All your preconceived ideas are put to the test. How restrictive is your definition of what God 'should' be?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fB-48RCOdA

Pure Enough

When we convince our self we can't possibly live without another person, we resist all intention and impulse of discovery. I belong with/to this other person and they belong with/to me. We're SOUL MATES! I'll love them forever!! Our mind is made up.

As you listen to this powerful song by Jennifer Warnes, ask yourself the following questions: 1) If "this love is real," why are you unhappy the way it's unfolding? 2) It might be worthwhile to investigate, "don't matter how it all went wrong," you might discover why. 3) If you "never get enough," how needy are you? 4) Not "get(ting) nothin' done" or "be with anyone," sure plays to self-indulgence, doesn't it? 5) I think it fine that you're, "never givin' in, never givin' up babe," so long as you accept the emotional cost it entails. 6) Would you ever really want a "cure for love?"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPdUkWCDmGM

It may be a sacrilege to break down an emotional song this way. The purpose is not to disparage it, or you. Truth is, it's one of my all time favorites. And there are times it can be therapeutic to get down in the mud and grovel in our misery. Lets just be honest with ourselves as to why. We want love to be the way we want it to be. If it's not, we start self-destructing, abusing, indulging, blaming, pouting; in general having a major, all around shit-fit.

What I ask of you is this: go beyond the pain, the rejection, the humiliation. See what lies beyond. And beyond that, yet again. I promise you there is more. Once imagined, once experienced, once integrated, you'll understand the gift love has offered you. It won't be what you expected, but it will be enough to sustain you. Even if your heart has been broken.

Overtime

The many questions Doubt posed worried Wonder no end. Things went from bad to worse when Fear materialized next to Doubt and the thought, "You are going to Hell," flashed in Wonder's mind.

Virtue didn't seem surprised. "Hey Fear," she said. "How goes it?"

Fear sneered but didn't respond. His focus was on Wonder. Doubt suddenly moved next to Wonder and eyed his tibia. When Doubt actually began to gnaw on him, Wonder nearly jumped out of his skin! "What the..." was all he could manage, violently shaking his leg.

Virtue deftly interposed herself between Doubt and Wonder, separating them, while hailing Fear once more, "How ya been?"

Fear finally lifted his gaze from Wonder and glared at Virtue with hostility. Wonder had seen and felt Fear any number of times in the past, and knew him to be a man of few words. Fear seemed to be able to communicate subliminally. The images that Wonder experienced around Fear always terrorized him. Even now his thoughts were of Doubt eating his innards and Fear summoning the Angel of Death. He felt himself ready to bolt.

Virtue picked up Doubt and half dragged him towards Fear. "No kidding?" she said to some unheard response. "You are a formidable emotion, no doubt. Where would we be without you?" Here she deposited Doubt at Fear's feet, and placed her face inches from his. "Still, I find you lie too often and encourage the worst in humans. Your teachings are crude and lack subtlety. Wonder is in no need of your message today."

The very air around them seem to shimmer like a heat wave. Fear was trembling with suppressed energy and looked as if he would lash out at Virtue. Wonder felt woozy, wanting to help Vi but unable to move. The images in his mind where so potent he had difficulty comprehending the singular conversation. He was sure however, that Vi was shielding him. He forced himself to move toward her despite his trepidation. But his dread was such he stumbled and nearly took a header. He was caught before falling by two slender arms. He believed it was Vi, but looking up he saw it was the lady Grace. He had often thought about travelling to her state. Now he was in her arms. She was so elegant he became self-conscious. He glanced at Vi and saw her beaming at him like a summer sun. Her look was so full of affection he visibly blushed. He wasn't so discombobulated though, not to notice that Fear and Doubt had somehow vanished. Wonder wondered if wonders would ever cease.

After untangling himself, Wonder thanked Grace. He then walked over to Virtue and hugged her. It was the first time he had ever initiated an embrace between them. The hug-fest was broken up by the loud utterance of, "Ba'al Shem!" echoing through the glade. All three turned to see a young Hasidic Jew, book in hand, staring at Virtue. He didn't appear to be older than 6 or 7. He waited expectantly, smiling at her and fingering his left earlock until Virtue--after considerable thought--announced, "Ubiquitous." The young boy nodded sagely and resumed his travels.

"What was that all about Vi," Wonder asked.

"Seems I'm awash in validation, Wonder," answered Virtue, watching until the boy disappeared. She turned to Grace and expressed her appreciation she showed up when she did. "I wasn't entirely sure how that was going to play out Grace. Your timing was impeccable." Grace nodded, her features relaxed. She stated, "You're needed in the north, Virtue. Your time has come."

Virtue seemed surprised. She whispered, "so soon?" and then, after several heartbeats, "so be it." She shot a quick glance at Wonder and asked Grace for a minute to spend with him. "Of course," Grace responded, moving toward the woodland trail. Turning to Wonder, Vi saw he couldn't mask the disappointment on his face.

"Do you really have to go, Vi?"

"Yes, Wonder, I do."

"Can I go with you?"

"Not this time Wonder."

"But I always wanted to be in the state of Grace, Vi!"

"You're not so very far away Wonder. You're closer than you think."

"I don't know what that means Vi." A note of desperation crept into Wonder's voice. "I don't know so many things. How will I learn everything I need to know without you? How do I do that?"

"Over time Wonder, over time."  

Fourth Quarter

As luck would have it, Faith suddenly appeared and strolled into the clearing. With a pleasant smile she greeted both Wonder and Virtue and stated, "Heard Wonder is experiencing some confusion."

This caused Vi to break out in laughter. "Might just be the person trying to explain it to him, Faith."

Wonder shook his head and piped up, "No, it's true. I don't understand. Everyone seems to have different ideas of what God is, or how we should act, and what to believe. How am I suppose to know which one is right?"

"Believe in the process Wonder." With that she winked at Vi and continued on her way, whichever way that was. Faith like to find her own path. 

Wonder's glance at Vi was dejected. "I don't know what the process is, Vi."

Virtue studied him for a time before saying, "Wonder, do you know the men of science say that there has never, ever, been two snowflakes alike? In all the snowstorms, in all the world, since time began, no two snowflakes have been identical. Does that seem possible?"

Wonder shook his head slowly. It seemed preposterous.

"And what happens when thousands upon thousands of snowflakes fall in a specific location?"

Finally! Something he knew. "Snow, Vi."

"Indeed! The uniqueness of the individual snowflake is lost--it becomes homogeneous. It loses itself in something larger, and, some would say, greater. But that isn't the end Wonder, not by a long shot. Most snow eventually melts and becomes water. It soaks the soil to nourish verdure, or finds a stream to slake a thirst, or seeks solace in the anonymity of the ocean. Wherever it goes though, evaporation and transpiration take place--or sublimation if it hasn't melted--and it will, eventually, find itself lifted skyward to form a cloud. Guess what happens then Wonder? The PROCESS starts all over again! Be it snow, rain, dew, or fog."

"To what purpose, Vi? Why?"

"Look around, Wonder, and ask yourself, 'why not?' God wants you to know Him. She didn't think that possible without revealing Herself."

"Vi, how can God be a He and a She?"

"Wonder, God isn't a He, a She, or an It. God transcends gender. God is nothing--no 'thing.' God is everything. Every Thing! And the urge, the impulse, the desire to experience, is what God is up to. Or down for, as the case may be."

Just then Doubt crept in...

Triple Play

"Oh Vi, you're making fun of me," Wonder asserted. "How am I ever going to figure things out if you keep teasing me?"

"Well Wonder, it is important to maintain one's sense of humor when talking about the Deity," Virtue insisted. "Did you know the Lord goes around introducing Himself as Al?"

Wonder gasped, "The Lord calls himself Al, Vi?"

Virtue struggled to maintain a straight face saying, "Yes He does Wonder--Al Mighty! In fact He insists his full title is, 'Good God Al Mighty.' "

Wonder bit his lip and looked at Virtue with reproach. "Vi, you blaspheme."

Virtue glanced at Wonder with kindness. She gently took his arm and said, "lets sit down for awhile Wonder," and led him off the trail to a small glade. Once they had settled in, Virtue asked for his undivided attention and told him the following story:

"At the beginning Wonder, the Lord of Creation said to the Lady, 'with everything We have fashioned, how are We going to keep Our shit together?' (here Wonder gasped yet again) The Lady, with only a slight raise of an eyebrow, suggested there might be a less crude way of putting it, but that yes, definitely, Creation would produce large amounts of waste. Whimsy, who was there at the beginning and a vital component of the creation process, suggested that 'poop in a group' was more refined, and that he thought he had the answer--'shit kickers.' The Lady concluded this wasn't solving the problem of 'good taste,' insofar as terminology was concerned. Well, Whimsy was up to the task and provided an alternative; 'dung beetle'. But he asked that the beetle push the shit with his feet, no! no! with his BACK feet, head pointed the opposite way! As the Lady contemplated the idea, murmuring, 'perhaps a poo pushing beetle would work,' the Lord commented, 'how in the world are they going to be able to sustain a straight line?' Whimsy, by now totally enamored with his notion, said to make it so they navigate--steer--by stars million and millions of miles away. The Lord of Creation asked Whimsy 'why so grandiose?' to which Whimsy responded, 'to keep humans humble.'

"So...that's the end of the story, Vi?"

"Well, its the end of the point I am trying to share with you Wonder. Humans believing that they can 'blaspheme' is the height of arrogance. It would be as though an electron in your body was saying that YOU were illegitimate or counterfeit. The electron's existence is dependent on the very thing it would repudiate. It is inconsequential ignorance. The Lord and Lady care far less what you say as what you do. Remember that. Even if you are no more than a poo pusher."

[ image courtesy of http://www.toptenz.net ]