Thoughts to Live By – Page Two
The World is a Revelation
Ancient sages believed that the physical universe in all its workings reflected the activity of a higher intelligence. In all things one could decipher the handiwork of higher beings—the “signature” of an exalted creative power. In this view, nature and the physical world is not simply an illusion; it is a revelation—a revelation of the inner forces that shape external life. The same may be said of our personal world. Our outer life is a revelation or reflection of our inner world of thoughts, feelings, actions and beliefs. In other words, our lives are a manifestation of the degree of spiritual light and love that we are able to bring through into our activities.
All our future happiness is dependent on the recognition of this universal truth, namely that our inner life of thought and consciousness creates our outer life in the familiar sensory world our bodies inhabit. Our thoughts, feelings, desires and imagination create our experiences in the three-dimensional tableau of sense experience. By training ourselves to think lovingly and luminously, we draw more beautiful experiences to us. And through the mysterious alchemy of spiritual development we transform ourselves and win the crown of life—the discovery of the divine light within. The warmth of love and the light of wisdom are the magical forces that transform us, for we need the high temperature of the flame of love and the intense pressure of wisdom in order for our souls to become an eternal diamond. In this mysterious process we find the true meaning of life.
– Emory Michael
Butterfly Visiting Flowers –Photo Source: Pixabay
The Miracle Mind
Our spirit essence dwells in...
Our spirit essence dwells in a world of eternal peace, untouched by the perpetual flux of matter. In contrast, our personalities – the mind and the body – inhabit the material realm of ever changing circumstance. The laws of cause and effect govern this world of material flux, the familiar world of the senses. To master life in the sensory theater of cause and effect requires that we get a handle on our thinking, for life in matter is governed by thought. Your life is shaped by your mind and your mind is shaped by what you desire to experience. Thinking creates motion in matter and draws to us events and circumstances that are in accord with the nature of our thoughts. When our thoughts are infused with the light of wisdom, we turn challenges into the fuel that enlightens us.
Thoughts are living things; they take wing and journey through space, returning to us in the form of events and circumstances. Thoughts are magnets that draw experience to us. The road we travel is paved with our thoughts, the building blocks of life. Over time, we mold ourselves in the image of our thinking. Those who think lovingly, kindly, and wisely develop the miracle mind, the mind of the sages. They build a bridge of light to their high self, the eternal spirit. On their journey through the spirals of matter, they discover the universe of endless creative energy that is seeking to flow through them. When we learn to connect our thinking to this source of life and energy we fashion our own miracles.
– Emory Michael
Zodiac Lady, Art Nouveau by Alphonse Mucha
The Secret of Light
There exists in every human being...
There exists in every human being a source of light and love, the promise of an immortal future. A tradition of ancient origin found in the world’s sacred literature tells of this inner fountainhead, the source of happiness. Saints and sages speak of its existence. Age-old ruined temples and vanished civilizations whisper its forgotten secrets. Our lives are an invitation to awaken.
As the fourteenth century cobbler Jacob Boehme sat at his workbench one day, his mind filled with a light that engulfed his senses. The radiance streamed from all directions – in him, through him, around him. Rushing outside, he found that the world was illumined with streams of golden brilliance surrounding him at each step. Jacob Boehme realized what all sages come to know – the world, even matter itself, is suffused with spiritual radiance. The universe is a theater of light.
The divine worlds are working out a wise and loving purpose through the lives of every soul on earth. Each person has a unique task and role to play in the evolution of the world and of humanity. The wisdom we need to fulfill our task is often displayed in the living book of nature. Spring is the time for planting in anticipation of a future harvest. All of us are planting in the gardens of life and ultimately, we reap what we sow. The season of harvest is sure to come. In the measure that we give, so does the living universe give back to us.
The greatest gift we can offer is to turn toward the light of the inner presence and become vessels for this radiance. As we fill our minds with wise thoughts of the sacred traditions, we grow close to the light. Learning to quiet the mind and rest in stillness, we bring to awareness a deeper presence. In contact with the sacred center in our hearts, we become focal points for projecting light and wisdom in the world. Sowing seeds of light, we embody the transcendent. The secrets of life are revealed to those who love and cherish the light.
The secret of light is that the universe has planted a seed of itself in the nucleus of your soul. The essence of your being is loving, aware light. We carry the deepest wisdom in our hearts. – Emory Michael
Sunlight Through Forest – Image Source Pixabay
The Living Book of Nature
Nature is a living book of great wisdom...
Nature is a living book of great wisdom, and if we contemplate the pages of that book – the living scenes of the natural world – many mysteries are revealed to us. When we consider the beauty of a spider's web, the splendid gossamer of an insect's wing, or the extraordinary intricacies of sea shells, we realize that nature unfolds its creations in accordance with exact laws and geometric precision.
Nature everywhere displays harmony, symmetry and artistry in its manifestations. The geometric and artistic precision in nature also plays out in the unfolding of human life, albeit not always evident when the "art work," that is our life, is under construction. But in the grand scale of life, as well as in the minutest details, a perfect outworking of wisdom is at work. All happenings are governed by divine and harmonious law, called "cosmos" (order) by the ancients, (in distinction to chaos, or disorder.) All events in life are orchestrated by a subtle, sublime intelligence, called in the east the play of shakti or the dance of consciousness-the divine dance of the gods.
An inexhaustible flow of spiritual power is at work behind the scenes of life, and the hidden hand of wisdom puts all things in order in due time. The best way to harmonize our lives with this greater scheme of wisdom is to abide in harmony and kinship with life, realizing that what we do to another we do ultimately to ourselves. This is what it means to work with cosmic intelligence. The power to heal a broken bone comes not from us but from God, but we must properly set the bone or risk becoming crippled. When we properly "set" our lives by living in harmony with the law of universal kinship, we allow the divine healing power to flow through our affairs and set all things aright. As we set in motion constructive forces on the wings of the law of causation, we can rest assured that all will work out for good in our lives. – Emory Michael
Photo by Johannes Plenio
The Power of Picturing
Everyone has heard about the power...
Everyone has heard about “the power of positive thinking,” and many have at least a theoretical grasp of the importance of one’s thoughts in shaping life. Yet it cannot be stressed too vividly that the thoughts we habitually hold are the chief determining influence in creating our external conditions. Our thoughts create the blueprint for the architecture of life. Mind images, and the emotions they produce, are the engines that drive our inner life and ultimately create our circumstances in the world. When we look forward with positive expectation, we release constructive forces that influence everything in our lives. We set in motion the life currents that draw abundance, prosperity and happiness to us.
The greatest maladies are not the physical ones, but the dis-eases that afflict our minds. As we learn the truths of life, we realize that happiness is an inside job, a creation of our thoughts and attitudes. In discovering the awesome energy of our minds, we learn the power of picturing.
The power of a focused mind is a wonder of nature. When we focus on desired scenarios (excluding undesirable ones) we bring them into being. Successful individuals learn this skill, the art of positive picturing. Focusing on a desired outcome, we draw from the universal storehouse the resources we need to make our pictured goal a reality. Our thoughts make an impression on the subtle ethers and magnetize currents that have an affinity with our inner pictures.
Think in terms of health, success and happiness. See yourself in the harmonious conditions you most desire. At the same time, live with contentment regarding current conditions, and bless each moment with streams of gratitude and gentle acceptance. The light of the spirit shining through our positive thoughts and bright feelings releases an inner power that clears away darkness and obstructing patterns. By anticipating blessings and goodness, we draw these into our lives. As we bless each moment, we create a bright world for ourselves and those we love.
As we energize our dreams with the positive energy of constructive living, we create a vortex in our minds that attracts good to us. In radiating love and kindness, we become magnets for the miraculous. Our consciousness becomes a wish-fulfilling jewel, crystallizing our dreams into manifestation in our lives.
– Emory Michael
Photo by Pixabay