WHAT’S GOING ON?
2022 APRIL NEWSLETTER
THIS MONTH’S THOUGHT
#165 APRIL 2008
ALONG THE WAY
The heart is full of gratitude.
What is the ideal we base our expectations on?
HEADLINES
(Page 32)
DRESS AND KEEP THE GARDEN
Literal: The garden is one’s environment, associates, surroundings, the physical body and all the space a being occupies or uses. When a student sees the inter-dependence of all living forms, the student takes responsibility for all that space the student occupies, uses and expresses in. Thus the student does not contribute to pollution in any shape, form or fashion, but does contribute to the beauty, order and well-kept appearance of the environment he or she expresses in.
Spiritual: The Spiritual Garden is Awareness. This Garden must be kept open for inspection, which is self-knowing. This Garden is dressed and kept not only by keeping it open, but by the practice of gardening, removing the weeds (conditioning), by order, by paying attention, watering, fertilizing (gaining information).
The major source of fertilizer and water is seeing the parallel as practiced in the literal world. Without seeing the parallel, the Spiritual Garden is closed. It grows up in weeds and is choked and neglected. Without the practice of dressing and keeping the Garden in the literal world, one cannot see the parallels and practice in the invisible world.
HEADLINES
(Page 54)
Most of us are quite concerned with possessions. Let us take a little look at what we mean by possessions.
It is not whatever we call my or mine? Such as, my job, my car, my house, my clothes, my opinions, my body, my mind, my political party, my church, my vacation, my soul, my conscience, my idea, my conviction, my ability, my skill, my country, etc.
When we claim something, we are at once identified with it and treat it as self. You may have seen someone defend their opinion with a display of considerable violence. In this connection, it is interesting to see if one can ascertain what it is that possesses all these things.
It is not the body, as one says “my body.” It is not the mind, as one says “my mind.” It is not the soul, as one says “:my soul.” Perhaps one is nothing or at most a tiny point of awareness that may or may not have been activated. Be that as it may, at least it is something to think about.
The scripture passage we will use in this discussion is from LUKE. Chapter 14, verse 33.
So, therefore, everyone of you who does not renounce all that he possesses, cannot be my disciple (student)”
Key words:
- RENOUNCE – to give up, abandon, repudiate, cast off. (We note in the scripture reading, “everyone of you who does not renounce all that he possesses, that is, to give up, abandon, repudiate, cast off, cannot be my disciple” or student. Many have taken these words literally according to the senses, and certain people have disposed of their house, their clothing and/or their job, much to their error and sorrow. But, never once did they ever think about renouncing, repudiating, casting off their inner values of these things and they might have gone on and used them quite successfully.)
- POSSESSES – to have as property, attribute, idea, passion. This is hard to fit in with the idea of the world, that the whole purpose of living is to have more, better and different of everything. That the one who possesses much in land, money, building, power over others, beauty, intelligence, education, etc, is a success, while one who possesses little is a failure.
But here the Master said, as a condition of being his student, of following his teachings, of understanding them, of hearing them even, that the student must first renounce all that he possessed – not that he would dispose of it later, but as a condition of being a student.
To be a student, one must do considerable work to first discover all that one possessed. To discover what one possesses may take considerable time. But if one is interested in being a disciple or student of Christ, one simply doesn’t sit down and make an inventory. Some of one’s most valued possessions one may not be aware of, so we’ll have to observe over a considerable time. Here is a sketchy map.
Do I have a way, my way that I have to struggle to have? What is it? Just to always be comfortable?
To have everyone do exactly what I want them to, when I want them to?
To have everything that I feel I am entitled to right now?
That people who do things that I know they shouldn’t do, be made tu pay for having mistreated me?
Do I have certain pleasures that I feel entitled to?
Do I have my rights that I must defend?
Do I have my ideas, which I know are correct?
Do I have my organization which I must defend against all comers?
Do I have my opinion on many subjects which I know are the only valid opinions to have?
Do I have my conclusions, which are the end of the matter?
Do I have my sexual drive which must be gratified?
Do I have my children who are obligated to do as I say?
Do I have a wife or a husband who has a duty to me?
Do I have a mind that thinks thoughts that worry me?
Do I have a job or business that makes too many demands on me?
Do I have a conscience from conditioning that torments me?
Do I have a body that hurts me and gets fat and old?
Do I have my health that I’m in danger of losing?
Do I have a lot of debts that worry me?
Do I have my imagination that runs wild every now and then into the land of fantasy?
Do I have my reputation to protect?
Most of us are very rich, we have many possessions. We just mentioned a very small sampling of the more obvious ones. However, from this small sample, we can see that we couldn’t be a student of new ideas, as we are burdened down by these possessions and couldn’t even hear new ideas or concepts, must less use them.
A STORY
Last week I made some changes in my cell phone arrangements. Of course, the new company would not let me use my old comfy cell phone and sent me a new one, along with an almost useless instruction guide.
It didn’t take long before I realized I was in water way over my head. I began to feel agitated, frustrated, used, abused, victimized and angry. It took great restraint to keep from walking onto the deck and hurling the f____ thing into the lake.
I called my friend, Tanya, who is cell phone savvy, to help me. She soothed my jagged nerve endings, contacted customer service and patiently guided me through the tedious learning process.
What was going on? I had an expectation based on an illusion. I had a bunch of oughts and shoulds for the cell-phone company, the writers of the information guide AND myself. I was all tangled up in what I thought ought to be instead of dealing with “what is.” Result: conflict, struggle, resistance.
The Teachings say that resistance to ‘what is’ is the ONLY problem. One more time I am slapped into the awareness THAT I DON’T KNOW WHAT OUGHT TO BE! And one more time I am filled with gratitude that Life loves me enough to keep on slapping me around until I get it.
What a priceless gift!
IDEAS TO WORK WITH:
- If we are finding fault, we’re looking through a misconception.
- Mankind was never designed to have fear, guilt, anger or insecurity.
- The vicious cycle starts with a misconception based on misinformation or lack of information. This is toxic stuff. This triggers a false feeling of emergency that mobilizes energy to fight or run.
- The four questions: What am I? Where am I? What is going on? What can I do? Provide true perception and feeling. Energy is generated, the body regenerates. We are renewed. Energy flows properly.
- Only as I, the Observer, sees some idea of the self as an illusion, it is free of the tendency to identify with that idea.
- Pain and discomfort have value.
- We are sowers of seed. What kinds of seeds do we sow? Peace? Love? Joy? Our mood, attitude, is our seed. We live in that which we radiate.
- Read and listen without interpreting. Interpreters are “Not-I’s” on an ego trip to show how smart we are. Read and listen and let the material work on us instead of trying to interpret it.
- Spirit is not concerned with how “good” we are.
- The Teaching material does not allow us to be less disturbed. But we will be less disturbed because we don’t care anymore if we are. When we are free to be disturbed, we don’t get all torn up about it.
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Some people are kind, polite and sweet-spirited until you try to sit in the pews
Many folks want to serve God, but only as advisors.
Some minds are like concrete: Thoroughly mixed up and permanently set.
A lot of church members who are singing “Standing on the Promises” are just sitting on the premises.
