Pluralism tells me that isolation in the flavor of an ideal is no longer a possibility. For me to have a deeper commitment to the Christian faith and to be in Christ in my own experience, I needed other people, different ideas, theologies and beliefs. I see the buffet of differences as opportunities given by God. I see spirituality collapsing the old forces of domination.

I was captured and enclosed in the old forces of domination. It was the first level of my spiritual experience so I had to break out with mythology of expression, which is nonverbal, I then saw the Bible in a different light cast as a myth in the form of narrative. Mythos brought me to the logos in the uttered word and the word remaining within. Now, I had to analyze other mythologies in my culture and religion and in others. This relativism of differences laid bare the roots in my experience and the differing truth claims of others.

Traveling I saw that most values are specific to a person’s culture so I had no right to impose the values from my culture onto any other culture or person. In my relativism I could not tell anybody or any culture that their traditional values were false. I saw that the cultures, religions and philosophies that had imprisoned me regarded themselves as the chosen people, the real people, and referred to everyone else as wicked, miserable, treacherous or sub-human.
In silence I found the answer to the question I was looking for in dialogue. This silence was not a state of emptiness, but the fruit of my dialogue in which a fresh awareness of the presence of God sharpened and focused the similarities clarifying the common aspirations and common origin in the one God. The differences were not dissolved, but regarded as a mutual good, something necessary for me to experience the here-and-now in the absolute God of my life. I cannot love my neighbor as myself if I make my place higher. God is the unique place where my neighbor and I have common characteristics, consequently the one place that enables me to love my neighbor as God loves without any attempt at molding him.

Christian Mysticism

Nature opens the door of awareness as it creates a still point. Some can’t open that door because of the attachment to images, words, and ideas that support beliefs. We seem to fear an emptiness that we think lies beyond the door, beyond the surface of things so we grasp these things called ideas. Nature immerses us in a Reality that our mind can’t comprehend. The same guiding light is shining under, on top of and around all doors, but we are too attached and afraid to open them. The doors to our mind have no locks. There is no key doctrine, religion, teaching or technique that opens the door. I feel there is not even a door: we just need the to walk through it. It is our nature.

Rom 12:2 Do not be conformed to this present world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and approve what is the will of God – what is good and well-pleasing and perfect.

The Spirit is always there so we must transform and enlarge our personal consciousness and individual experience with the Holy Spirit. This is basic to every mode of spiritual discernment, and every quest. The more we are aware of Spirit working in and through everything, especially within ourselves, the more God’s presence can replace prior limitations and disharmonies with good. Our minds will act on the new ideas that are formed and form a new, more positive belief and attitude. This deep understanding sees the good of God everywhere and always present. This shift in attitude brings greater freedom; peace and joy so we need to give up the old worries, free ourselves and replace old ideas with the knowledge that everything we need is available. When we recognize Spirit and pull into life revelation, discernment and right choices are made.

Isn't amazing how throughout the ages mystics of all stripes and religions have plugged into almost universal concepts of love, unity and oneness, compassion and justice for all, regardless of their culture or religion.

Christian Mysticism

A true image of God though will always be puzzling to our limited mind. We are not only inundated with the images and misconceptions of our senses, but we are also compromised with the misunderstandings of our mind. To counteract our minds limitations we have developed some analytical and logical paradigms to examine God, the world we live in and the ideas that surround us. However, the characteristics of creation created out of one God have become unimaginable and paradoxical because of the many theories created by scientists and theologians with their commandments, processes, beliefs and experiences. To compensate for these imbalances in explaining this one world, an integration of philosophical and scientific principles, enlightening and uplifting terms is presented in this book. We must understand that not only human beings, but all living and nonliving things are created by God and are therefore, parts and parcels of Him. This one consciousness is behind the physical and psychic appearances that we observe in our daily lives because everything is created by God and is therefore, simply a reflection of Him.

Christian Mysticism

Christian, Awe, Unity and Love

I have found awe to be a psychological process that matures into a common denominator for love and unity. It shows me unity and love in the midst of diversity. It seems there is no unity in diversity without love.

Awe gives a successful attitude that shelters one from the flood of separate experiences in life that drags one down and drowns in a tightfisted attitude. Just like Noah followed directions in the midst of his troubles to build the ark, one can build a balanced state of mind. The separation that one encounters on earth is just a time to balance, adjust, heal and redirect the mind to the awe in one pure consciousness. When I meet life’s challenges constructively, it seems I build an ark of spiritual consciousness that is strong and able to resist negativity because it is situated on a balanced state of mind. This ark of consciousness also rests on the highest peak after a flood of negativity because it is consciously aware of the presence of unity. This unity leads back from the torrent of pessimism that separates and pulls me down to dissolution. It is the belief in the One Almighty Consciousness that gives courage, strength, and comfort in the awe that I experience. I feel unity is a remedy for my mind, for mental ills and a solution for difficulties. Awe seems to make my mind a channel for love, friendship, health, and a way to put fortune back into this world. This successful attitude in the unity of pure consciousness enables me to function at a much higher level eliminating fear from the body and impurities from the mind, which can cause disease and impede spiritual development.

The experience the awe in simple things, the physical, mental and spiritual windows must be cleaned so one can see clearly where to rest the ark of unity. To do this one must slow down the destructive pace of modern life so a solitary glimpse of the inner life of consciousness and the awesome power of clear thought can be experienced. When one dwells in the consciousness of God as the infinite Power then no human, devil or evil can do harm. This one Consciousness is the one Power, the All-powerful and the only Power that I acknowledge, nothing less than Omnipresence. When I have come to understand this fact and the interconnectedness of all things I know love; I know myself; and I know peace. The awe of our consciousness shelters one from health problems, money worries, guilt and other failures that can cause one to be depressed. The awe of unity shields from life’s storms and its waves of destruction.

thinkunity.com

This hidden garden of ecstasy is not in any particular country or in some private area away from civilization. It lies within each one of us so we just have to find the keys to open the gates. The keys are hidden in the layers of the mind in our experiences,agonies and ecstasies. Listen with thought to the inner voice to properly understand what to do because your intuition is a key to find, enter and live in this heavenly kingdom. When you enter the garden, you will see the river of life skipping down to the sea. Every obstacle causes the water to dance, every waterfall roars with excitement and every bend brings new enjoyments. The garden has one purpose and that is to show you the totality of life, and the river’s aim is to merge with the ocean of pure consciousness. When one finds the river merging with the ocean, one can see Jesus walking on the waters on the ocean of pure consciousness.  Christian Mysticism

Truth, Love and Peace may be considered theoretical because no one can see them, but we can see their results. Because of their manifestations we can conclude that their reality exists, but we cannot give a reason why Truth is true. At the same time the scientist can't give a good explanation for the action of the atom. A physicist may study the atom and learn something about its nature and how it operates, but he can't give a reason for its action, only a theory. One does not make universal laws and principles; one only discovers and makes use of them. One must accept this position in relation to consciousness, rather than contradict it, in order to experience it.
No one has ever encompassed the depths of pure consciousness because it reaches out to Infinity, and no one can encompass Infinity. One only enlarges one's capacity to know and to experience it. In our present state of awareness we are standing with our eyes next to the painting and only see one small patch of colors at a time, but in our pure consciousness we see the whole picture. The whole picture or pure consciousness can't be divided. thinkunity.com 

Chapter 43 now open for dialog or discussion.......

The gentlest thing in the world
overcomes the hardest thing in the world.
That which has no substance
enters where there is no space.
This shows the value of non-action.

 If we think of the Tao or God as what ties everything together in some form of harmony, then everything is in a relationship with everything, God or the Tao. When everything is in a relationship with everything else then nothingness or no thing exist in isolation or separate from everything so there is nothing. Therefore everything inseparable even opposites are one. In our body we have opposite muscles that complement one another. One muscle straightens the arm and the opposite muscle bends the arm. We have opposites in the body that complement each other for the health and well being of the entire body. It seems it was designed to co-operate and work with opposites that are inseparable.  In other words opposites are just two parts of one whole and are not separate.  In silence, we have no point where heat ends and cold begins. I think this dialog is talking about the cooperation and oneness of everything working together.  We have two eyes and they see one vision and our two ears hear one sound. To see the value of non-action, one needs to realize and be aware of the Oneness of All things. Non-action implies that there is no one doing the action so there is no-action, just Oneness. I find this passage leading to the stillness of the mind where we understand and find our One True Love, the Tao, or God.

Teaching without words,
performing without actions:
that is the Master's way.

Silence seems to speak volumes on the infinite, as our theories and knowledge are finite and only explain a part. I feel if a teacher says that a theory is the only true or possible one then it is a sign that this master does not understand the theory or the dilemma. Our minds are limited like words and can’t grasp all possibilities; therefore to look for understanding I think the Tao is saying one needs to look beyond the mind without words or actions. I feel in pure being on finds and can understand the One True Love. Therefore; religion would not be about believing in things, words or rules, but about being sacred and holy, whole-ly.

Christian Mysticism

He who knows how to guide a ruler in the path
of Tao
Does not try to override the world with force of arms.
It is in the nature of a military weapon to turn against its
wielder.

Every force has a counter force so force always rebounds on itself. Intimidation provokes and increases defensiveness, which only escalates the engagement. Escalating emotions, engagements or other actions only brings bad after effects. I think the lesson the Tao is teaching here is when confronted with a situation react in a reflective mind and not emotionally. This brings better odds at seeing things as they are and not as a threat. The deeper and wider the perspective the less chance there is to over-react. This seems to come with age and the continuous experience of being dragged down by our emotional instincts. The chaos narrows our view and we take sides losing our contact with the true nature of reality. Jesus said it this way, "You reap what you sow."

Wherever armies are stationed; thorny bushes grow.
After a great war, bad years invariably follow.

What you want is to protect efficiently your own state,
But not to aim at self-aggrandizement.

After you have attained your purpose,
You must not parade your success,
You must not boast of your ability,
You must not feel proud,
You must rather regret that you had not been able to
prevent the war.
You must never think of conquering others by force.

For to be over-developed is to hasten decay,
And this is against Tao,
And what is against Tao will soon cease to be.

Arrogance is compensation for a sense of weakness. Boasting is ammunition shot from the gun of inadequacy. Crusades require energy so as we age we learn the value of energy and don't want to waste it more than necessary. Pride is a waste of energy and increases life's stress so beneath pride and arrogance disaster crouches. The most effective path is to adopt a simple life that means sacrificing the stimulation of fantasies for the awareness of the moment.

Proverbs 16:18-19 (New International Version)

18 Pride goes before destruction,
a haughty spirit before a fall.

19 Better to be lowly in spirit and among the oppressed
than to share plunder with the proud.

1 Corinthians 3:18 (New International Version)

18Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a "fool" so that he may become wise.

Christian mysticism

The thoughts built into our character have brought us where we are today either happy or unhappy. If we are sad, we can’t learn, grow, evolve and progress to a place where we are happy and content until we find a place in our minds that is in harmony with our surroundings. When out of harmony, we learn by suffering and by cultivating happiness. As individuals, we have the choice to direct our minds wherever we choose so we may fall to the level of our desires or rise to the heights of our good deeds.

Taking responsibility for ourselves in a deeper way, we understand that it is the duty of an evolved being to give reality to the best convictions. This expression of pure consciousness needs the same courage and self-sacrifice shown by Christ because to gain Christ consciousness takes honesty. We have to realize who we are in our own way. The 'pure I' feeling can be felt, but can’t be totally understood because it is the symbol of the higher part of our mind. It is a treasure buried within us in the pure essence of our being, a seed that becomes a tree in order to shade others.

Christian mysticism