Spirit tells me that limits are for pushing.
We seem to need to know that whatever we
have become and however we have expanded
boundaries that once seemed as horizons and
beyond our reach, we must go even further.
We are, as we were, much more than curious.
We are, as we were, determined to discover
how far we yet can go.
How far is it possible for us to go?
In reality, there are no limits.
Spirit refuses to accept my complaint that I am what I am and
I need what I need.
No! He claims. I only think I am whatever and need whatever,
without thinking deeply.
So, if I thought deeply, if I could, then what would I
think I am and need?
You would not think. You would know that you are spirit
living a physical life, and you would be aware that it
is all an illusion, except for the awareness that you
may have developed from playing the Game of Life,
according to whatever rules your particular society has
designed for you.
If different societies play the Game of Life by different
rules, and we are all becoming, more or less, citizens of
a world community, then how can we possibly interact with
each other?
The Rules of Life of different cultures, societies,
communities, or even neighbourhoods do not necessarily
have to be the same.
That may work in separated traditions but when people
migrate from one set of generally accepted set of rules
to another, then surely they need to adapt or learn to
live within the two cultures, without rejecting their
past.
They are their past, or at least they are a product of
past experiences.
The answer?
Respect for past traditions while adapting, or
creating our own set of rules to live by. Whatever
choice we make, however we choose to live our life,
we do choose and accept, consciously or otherwise,
the consequences, if there are any, and there
always are.
Spirit asks me if I can feel compassion for someone
whom I do not respect, and then, without giving me
time to consider the problem, for it would be, for me,
He asks if I could respect someone for whom I could not
feel compassion.
Can the answers be different?
No.
Spirit tells me that there are some people in my life
whom I would best serve by stepping away from.
Life, He tells me is about relationships: to oneself,
to loved ones, to community, to neighbours, to
fellow workers, to our environment, and to Life itself.
We are each as living pieces of a cosmic puzzle and
we each need to discover where and near whom we fit
most comfortably and appropriately.
Stepping away from a close association with those
with whom you do not share values with allows them
to also possibly discover where they belong.
At this time, neither of you are where you belong.
You both are holding each other back from
meaningful spiritual development.
Spirit asks me if I know why I behave the way I do.
When?
At any given time.
That depends.
On what?
On the situation.
Have you designed a specific beahavioral response for any given situation?
I don<t think so.
Then, what?
I respond as seems appropriate, at least for me.
Then different people might respond differently to the same situation?
I guess so.
Why?
Perhaps they have learned different coping strategies.
How?
I suspect you know more about this than I do.
Yes. We each began to develop general coping strategies in early childhood,
in response to personal experience. We learned, through practice and
experiment, what behaviours seemed to serve us well in different
situations. These we added to our tool kit of coping skills. With
use they developed into habits that may no longer serve us as well as
they once did.
Then we need to become more flexible in our response.
Yes, and more aware of what triggers our particular responses.
That would require paying attention to our behaviour.
Yes, with intent to adapt to changing circumstance.
Such as?
Our progress along the path of enlightenment.
Spirit shares gems of wisdom.
Spirit tells me that to live in such a way
that brings a sense of satisfaction and pleasure
requires us to seek to serve others, because
in serving others we also serve ourselves.
Survival of oneself depends upon survival of
others and upon the survival of the environment
which sustains us all.
But, He continues, we cannot care for anyone
if we do not first care for ourselves for,
if we have no love for ourselves then we have
no love to share with others.
It’s as simple as that.
Spirit asks me to make a promise to be.
To be what?
The best that we can be.
The best what^
What are we?
I don’t know.
We are seekers of ever-greater light.
I think I am, now. But what to do with the light I find when I know there must be even more?
Share what you have found while still reaching for more.
This could become a long-term project.
It is. It lasts forever, but, so do we, in one form or another, or in no particular form at all, if in any.
Spirit tells me that a new story must be told about our inner reality, an inner world of Spirit wherein all Life is eager to assist and share in the creation of our future, and to teach us how to care for each other, everyone, and everything we care for.
We are each citizens of this world, He tells me. We each blend our unique energies together into one. We are serving each other, in one way or another
Oneness is a core principle of Life.
Spirit asks me to try to see Life through the eyes of a mystic.
How does a mystic see Life?
As a mystery to be deeply respected, cherished, and served.
How to serve Life? What is Life?
All that is.
Then, how is it possible to serve all that is?
By serving yourself in such a way that expresses, if only to yourself, your awareness of oneness to everyone and everything else.
How to explain that to anyone?
To even attempt to explain it is to deny the reality.
Those who understand …
Yes.
Spirit tells me that we each are as rays of the sun, but not separate from the sun in any real way other than the direction we may choose to face. The sun, He tells me, has power to pull its rays home.
Life, too, is like that. We each live an individual existence only in our own mind and, perhaps, in the minds of some others. But, no number of individual illusions alters the reality of the illusion.
Simple Seeker Society 