The Lure of the Physical

Don’t mistake the reflection of the moon for the moon.

The lure of the physical or “Don’t mistake the reflection of the moon for the moon.” I didn’t make that up … it’s something I saw on Facebook. It resonated with my reading of The Edinburgh Lectures on Mental Science that I am studying for my Thomas Troward class at the Center for Spiritual Living.

“If we realize that all visible things must have their origin in spirit, then the whole creation around us is the standing evidence that the starting point of all things is in the thought-images or ideas, for no other action than the formation of such images can be conceived of spirit prior to its manifestation in matter.” ~Thomas Troward

When we look to conditions we are looking at the reflection and not the moon.

Your Connection with the Divine
A friend of mine recently experienced the loss of two close friends. He was in a lot of pain and sorrow. He described his spiritual practice as having the effect of “feeling like knots were being untied within him,” pointing to his abdomen.

I couldn’t help but think of the Khalil Gibran quote from “On Pain”

“Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding.” ~ Khalil Gibran

We all have pain. We all have our stories. But the underlying theme is disconnection. Pain is the feeling of disconnection no matter what the story or the pain.

When we are all knotted up letting go of those knots can feel painful. Like releasing a muscle that has been clenched for far too long. We can’t feel connected when we are all tied up in knots.

Knots keep us separated and in pain. They impede the flow of life from coursing through our bodies and our lives. Pain teaches us where we are knotted up and where we need to release and open up to let the light in.

Recognizing the Infinite Oneness
We talk a lot about Oneness. “We’re all one” and all that stuff.

But talking about Oneness and really experiencing the mystical experience of Oneness are very different on the scale of true recognition.

On Sunday, Dr. David Ault shared his life changing experience of Oneness when he experienced the pain and suffering of the children in Cambodia. It was not out of pity but out of an overwhelming realization of his Oneness with them which precipitated his breakthrough moment and ultimately changed the course of his life.

His wailing in the pontoon boat was that moment when he experienced the Oneness which exists between every living creature on this planet.

My aha as of late and as a result of reading Thomas Troward is that this Oneness isn’t created in that mystical moment but is always existing and just waiting for our recognition of it.

“... you’ll come to realize the Divine is already there and always has been. Your greater good has just been waiting for the space and acknowledgement to come forth into your life.” ~Joyous Living Journal

It’s already there. It’s there right now!

Isn’t that exciting!