The man was saying, “Let me come close to you my God. my Lord, and I promise that I will clean your body when it is dirty. Even if lice are there, I will take them away…. And I am a good shoe-maker, I will make you perfect shoes. You are moving in such ancient shoes — dirty, gone completely dirty…. And nobody looks after you, my Lord. I will look after you. When you are ill, I will serve and give you medicine. And I am a good cook also!”

This type of prayer he was doing! So Moses said, “Stop! Stop your nonsense! What are you saying? To whom are. you talking — to God? And He has lice on His body? And His clothes are dirty and you will clean them? And nobody is there to look after Him, and you will be His cook? From whom have you learned this prayer?”

The man said, “I have not learned it from anywhere. I am a very poor and uneducated man, and I don’t know how to pray. I have made it up myself and these are the things that I know. Lice trouble me very much, so He must be in trouble. And sometimes the food is not good — my wife is not a good cook — and my stomach aches. He must be also suffering. This is just my own experience that has become my prayer. But if you know the right prayer, you teach me.”

So Moses taught him the right prayer. The man bowed down to Moses, thanked him, tears of deep gratitude flowing, and he went away. Moses was very happy. He thought that he had done a good deed. He looked at the sky to see what God thought about it.

And God was very angry! He said, “I have sent you there to bring people closer to me, but you have thrown away one of my greatest lovers. Now he will be doing the right prayer, but it won’t be a prayer at all — because prayer has nothing to do with the law. It is LOVE. Love is a law unto itself; it needs no other law.”

But Moses is the lawgiver. He founded the society: he brought the Ten Commandments. Those Ten Commandments have remained the foundation of the whole Western world: Judaic, Christian, Mohammedan — all three religions depend on the law of Moses.

So the whole world has known only two lawgivers: the East knows Manu and the West knows Moses. Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, they have been supplied the law by Manu, the law has been given by Manu, and Moses has given to Mohammedans, Christians, Jews.

These two lawgivers have created the whole world. And there must be something — both are `M’: Manu and Moses. Then comes Marx who is the third `M’. China, Russia — he has given the law to them. These are the three great `M’s’ — lawgivers.

Osho – “Come Follow To You”

The post Absurd Prayer – A Spiritual Story by Osho appeared first on Spiritual Growth Events.

She was on a pilgrimage, and she came to a village at sunset and begged for lodging for the night, but the villagers slammed their doors. They were against Zen. Zen is so revolutionary, so utterly rebellious, that it is very difficult to accept it. By accepting it you are going to be transformed; by accepting it you will be passing through a fire, you will never be the same again.

So traditional people have always been against ALL that it true in religion. Tradition is all that is untrue in religion. So those must have been traditional Buddhists in the town, and they didn’t allow this woman to stay in the town; they threw her out. It was a cold night, and the old woman with no lodging… and hungry. She had to make a cherry tree in the fields her shelter. It was really cold, and she could not sleep well. And it was dangerous too — wild animals and all.

At midnight she awoke — because of too much cold — and saw, as it were, in the spring night sky, the fully opened cherry blossoms laughing to the misty moon. Overcome with the beauty, she got up and made a reverence in the direction of the village….

This is what TATHATA IS.

Overcome with the beauty, she got up and made a reverence in the direction of the village:

Through their kindness in refusing me lodging I found myself beneath the blossoms on the night of this misty moon.

She feels grateful. With great gratitude she thanks those people who refused her lodging, otherwise she would be sleeping under an ordinary roof, and she would have missed this blessing — these cherry blossoms, and this whispering with the misty moon, and this silence of the night, this utter silence of the night. She is not angry, she accepts it. Not only accepts it, welcomes it — she feels grateful.

A man becomes a Buddha the moment he accepts all that life brings with gratitude. He is on the Way, he is on Tao; and he IS becoming meditative.

Osho – “Zen the Path of Paradox”

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Hanyatara came to the court with an attendant. The king was thrilled; it was his dream for his whole life one day to have a Buddha in his court, in his palace. The whole palace was decorated, the whole town was decorated; the whole capital was celebrating. It was a great day of celebration. But the king was puzzled, a little bewildered: Hanyatara sat silently, not saying a single word, and the attendant recited the sutra. Now, this was not the purpose at all. The king could have found better people to recite the sutra than the attendant. He was just an attendant who looked after Hanyatara, just used to do small errands, a very ordinary man, not even a great scholar. His grammar was faulty; his pronunciation was not exactly as it should be. He was an ordinary man.

Just out of respect, the king kept silent. When the sutra was finished, he touched the feet of Hanyatara and said, “Sir, enlighten me about this; otherwise I will remain puzzled. Why did not YOU recite the sutra?”

And Hanyatara said, “What, I did not recite the sutra? Then what else was I doing the whole time here? You fool!”

The king was even more puzzled, because he had kept quiet; he had not said a single word. The king said, “Please, explain it to me. I don’t understand. I am an ordinary, ignorant person. I may not know the ways of the Buddhas.”

And Hanyatara said, “I sat silently, breathing in, breathing out. That was my sutra. What else is there in life? Breathe in, breathe out. Be alert, aware. When I breathed in, I was aware; when I breathed out, I was aware. It was all awareness! What else is a sutra? Awareness. If you had listened to the rhythm of my breathing you would have understood. I have recited it! Words are one way to recite it. Breathing silently, but with full awareness, is another way to recite it — and far better a way. I have been very expressive today, as I have never been before. Thinking that you have been waiting for so long, I thought, ‘Why not give the real thing?’ ”

The king was thrilled, seeing the compassion. Now he felt there was a certain rhythm in his silence. Now he became aware, retrospectively of course, that this man was not silent in the ordinary way. He had seen silent people; sometimes he himself had sat in silence. This was a different silence. There was a song, certainly there was a song. There was a fragrance around this man. There was a vibe of a different quality; he was vibrating. Strange it was, but now he remembered, yes, it was there. And the way he was breathing was no ordinary way. Not that he was doing anything special in the breathing: his breathing was pure, natural, like a small baby.

When you breathe, your breathing is never natural. If you are a little angry, your anger changes your breathing. If you are full of passion, lust, your lust changes your breathing. If you are greedy, your greed is reflected in your breathing. Continuously your mind mood infiltrates breathing and changes it. You can watch it. When you are angry, try not to disturb the breathing, and you will be completely unable to be angry. Just try not to change the breathing. Let the breathing remain as it was before you became angry, and then try to be angry. It will be impossible. The breathing has to change first. Through the breathing the body changes; the mind first affects the breathing. When you are in a moment of lust, watch, keep the breathing natural, and you will suddenly find the lust has disappeared, the moment came and passed.

By and by you will be able to see each mood is reflected in your breathing, so your breathing is never natural, because there is some mood or other. The natural breathing means there is no mood: that means there is no mind — neither anger nor greed nor lust nor jealousy nor love nor hate. No — mood means no-mind. In that state of no-mind the breathing is natural. Then there is a song to it, then there is a totally different quality to it. Then it is pure life. Then the flame is without smoke.

Yes, the king remembered, there was something strange, something was happening. He had missed it. He started crying. He said, “I have missed it. Why didn’t you tell me before? Now I know there was something, and I had even felt it, but my consciousness is not so developed, so I could not understand what was happening.

“And I was too concerned about that foolish sutra. I was continuously thinking about why you were not reciting the sutra and why this attendant was reciting the sutra. I was so much concerned about the sutra that I missed.

“But I am grateful that you showed such compassion, that you showed your being so naked, so true, so authentic.”

Story 2 : No ordinary diamond

He presented a great diamond, the most valuable he had, to Hanyatara, and then he said to Hanyatara, “I have three sons. Sir, be kind enough. I will call them. Bless them.”

Thinking that young people are young people, and the youngest was only seven, they may disturb the sutra reciting; he had not called them to participate before.

The three young princes came in.

Rather than blessing them, Hanyatara showed the diamond that the king had presented to him to the first prince, the eldest. He must have been somewhere near fifteen. The prince looked at the diamond and said, “A great diamond, of the finest water, purest water. Where could you get it? It is rare. It is no ordinary diamond.”

Yes, his understanding about the diamond was perfectly true. It was a rare diamond, of the most perfect water. Even Hanyatara had never seen such a thing.

Then he called the second prince, who must have been near about ten, and the second prince looked at the diamond, and he said, “Not only the finest, not only the best, it is certain that it belongs to my father because in this kingdom nobody can have such a diamond. It is rare. Sir, it does not belong to you, it cannot. To protect this diamond you will need a great army, otherwise you cannot have it. Just this attendant won’t do.”

Yes, his understanding was also very correct.

And then the third son was called. He was only seven. He looked at the diamond, looked at Hanyatara, and laughed and said, “What? Do you want to befool me?” He was only seven, and he said, “Do you want to befool me? You cannot! Because the real diamonds are never of the outside. And what are you trying to show me? You have the real diamond within YOU. I can see it! This is just a stone that you have in your hand. Throw it, sir!”

And it is said that Hanyatara hugged this small boy.

This boy’s name was Bodhitara, and Hanyatara changed his name to Bodhidharma. He became the twenty-eighth successor of Buddha; he was the first patriarch of Zen in China, this small boy Bodhitara, whose name Hanyatara changed to Bodhidharma.

Hanyatara said, “This boy has looked into the deepest reality anybody can look into. DHARMA means’the ultimate reality’. He has penetrated to the ultimate reality.” He said to the king, “Even you could not see who I am. That’s why you missed my sermon, my silent sermon. That’s why you missed my silent song. I was singing here but you missed. But this boy, yes, I cannot befool him. This boy is going to be my successor.”

And then he said to the king, “Sir, forgive me. I have not come for you and I have not come because you requested me to. I had to come because of this boy. I have been in search of this boy! This has been a promise from the past life, and this has been a decided gesture: in the past life I told this boy,’I will seek you and find you and I will show you a diamond, and that will be the moment of your examination. If you can see my inner diamond and you are not befooled, you will be my successor.'”

The legend is of tremendous value. First, the silent sermon. Yes, sometimes a mystic can be silent — but he is not silent! His silence is a very telling silence. He may not do anything, he may not even move his eyes, he may not move any of his limbs, but still his presence goes on doing a thousand and one things. Just to be in his presence, just to breathe with him in the same rhythm, and something is transferred: his song, his silence, his dance. You will never be the same again.

Osho – “The First Principle”

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Buddha said, “But why?”

He said, “Then these feet will be lost to me. Wait a little. Emancipation is at hand and I would like to be with you a little longer. Don’t push me away so soon” – because once the master has blessed and the emancipation is at hand, this is the last thing: one has to say goodbye to the master. Sariputta said, “Wait!”

Sariputta became enlightened later on. Buddha told him, “Now you go. I waited enough. Now you go and spread whatsoever I have given to you, go and give it to others.”

Sariputta had to go, weeping and crying. Somebody asked, “You have become enlightened and you weep and cry?”

He said, “Yes, I have become enlightened – but I can throw away the bliss of enlightenment if Buddha allows me to live at his feet.”

Such deep gratitude – and then wherever Sariputta lived, everyday in the morning he would bow down to the direction where he knew Buddha was moving. And people asked him again and again, “Why do you do this? To whom do you bow down?” He said, “Buddha is moving in the south.”

When the last days of Sariputta came, he inquired, “Where is Buddha right now? – because I would like to die bowing down in that direction.” And he died bowing down in that direction where Buddha was. When the energy is received, when the final benediction comes from the master – the emancipation is at hand – one has to say goodbye.

Osho, Tantra: The Supreme Understanding

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Kate’s words “I release you Mathew!!” were still playing in his head. Those words were as good as the last nail in the coffin.

Having been without any employment for last two years, he got himself deeply into debt. All he was left with the money that was enough for two more days of oxygen. He knew landlord was about to knock his door and reprimand him for not paying last four months rent. He could not imagine a way out and was at his wit’s end.

Though born to a theist mother he was an outright atheist. For him, the very concept of god was irrational and he saw religious ceremonies as acts of gloried madness. If there was a divine law against mental blasphemy, he would have been festering in the worst hell that one could imagine.

But today something was gnawing his ego. Though he had made his mind to take his own life he thought of going to church. This was not an attempt to escape from landlord’s reprimands but his inner call.

He headed towards church that was half a mile away from his place. Being an atheist for all his life he could not see his purpose of going to church. He was pacing steadily. Something had put his beliefs about religion and god on hold.

He finally reached church and there was standing a priest. His eyes gleamed with joy.

“I was foretold that you will come soon” Priest said.

“Who told you?” Mathew asked to his amazement.

“Whom you have loathed all your life”

“Who are you talking about? My dad ?” Mathew asked after a momentary pause.

“No”

“Who, then?”

“Soon you’ll know, son”

“Have you been waiting for me?”

“In a way, Yes”

Priest took him inside.

The place Mathew had always hated was having a calming effect on his psyche.

“You cannot fill more water in a glass that is already full” Priest said.

Priest’s words were definitely esoteric for him but he was not inclined to resist anything. Priest made him to sit comfortably on a chair and asked him to close his eyes.

He did without asking.

Soon he felt that his consciousness was expanding. Residual mental chaos vanished. Deep sense of peace set in. He had never felt this before.

To his astonishment, a non-physical entity appeared in his mental eye.

“Who are you?” Mathew asked.

“People give me different names, but you can call me god.” Answer came.

“God? But I have heard that god never comes to a non-believer like me.”

“Though you are a non-believer you are made in my image and cannot be separated from me, ever.” God said.

“But I have hated you all my life.”

“It was not you who hated me but your ego which you have identified yourself with. You are an eternal soul which is ever pure. How can you ever hate me when you are made in my image itself?”

Fog of ignorance was being dissolved from Mathew’s consciousness.

“Why did you choose me? There are so many people out there who worship you!” He asked.

“I can see that you have so many unanswered questions which I will to address. I could not let you die because you are not destined to die too early.” God said.

Mathew felt furious.

“Destined to die means? People who die in catastrophes are meant to die?” he asked.

“In a way, yes”

“I don’t believe this”

“It doesn’t make any difference whether you believe it or not. Did you believe in me?”

“No”

“Yet you see me”

“But why you let innocent people die untimely deaths?” Mathew questioned.

“It is not me who let them die. It is their own debt of deeds which they repay. It is the law of cause and effect.”

“But religious people say you are a savior.”

“Yes, indeed, I am. I protect my children from committing sins.”

“But there are lots of sins happening in the world!”

“Yes. But this is because of people exercising their own free will. I always show the right path. This is my job. If someone chooses the wrong path with his own free will, what is my mistake?”

“But how do you show the right path?” Mathew asked again.

“Everything happens for a reason. Why do you think your arrival to this church is a coincidence?” God asked.
Mathew seemed convinced.

“Okay. Why I grew up without a father? He continued “Why did you not show my innocent mother the right path to not to get into a relationship with a fiend?”

“I told you everything happens for a reason.” God said.

“What reason? What did my mother and I do?”

“Your mother was a daughter of a king and was a tyrant in the previous birth. She killed a man who did not advance to her proposal of marriage because he loved someone else. Though your mother became a hermit in later years of her life, she still had to pay for her deeds. You are the one who accomplished her in the killing.”

“What is the point when I don’t remember any of my previous lives and bad deeds done by me?”

He was curious.

“It is a blessing. If you remember your previous lives it will be hard for you to make spiritual progress in this life. Though everyone has latent seeds of good and bad qualities when they are born, these can be destroyed by doing the divine deeds.

Charity is one of them, for example.” God answered.

“My dad has done bad to my mother. Will he not face any consequence?” he asked.

“Oh, he will. He has created his own bad debt account. He will have to pay sooner or later.”

“I Understand. But have I done so many bad things in my previous lives that I am still paying?”

Mathew wanted to know. He continued “I had a bad childhood. My mother died suddenly. I had a bad relationship. I am in a deep financial debt. Why am I suffering so much?”

“You are suffering because you have conditioned yourself to resist circumstances in your life. Remember, pain is inevitable but suffering is optional. You always have a choice. When you were a kid your father left you and your mother. It’s been years but you still hate him. This hate is nothing but resistance. See, as I told you everything happens for a reason you should accept what you cannot control. You must accept & learn from circumstances and not resist them. If you don’t accept those things which you cannot control, you will always be in pain. Circumstances are designed to teach you something. They help you grow. So, in this case, you must forgive your father and take a lesson to become a very loving father to your future progenies.”

“Very well, what can I learn from my bad relationship?” Mathew asked.

“You should learn to not to be needy and demanding. In your relationship, you’ve always demanded love from your partner. You felt jealous and insecure when you saw Kate with someone else. You may call it love but it was nothing more than a morbid attraction. Unconditional love cannot flourish in slavery. Absolute freedom will come with it. Do I demand anything from anyone? Yet I love all.

No one can love you if you don’t love yourself. Expecting someone to love you is purely a phenomenon of ego which needs security. As soon as ego is threatened, jealousy and insecurity will inevitably arise. You must learn to love others unconditionally. Sooner you’ll realize that more you give, more you have. This is a law that you should apply in every area of your life.” God answered.

Realization of this truth was a big moment in Mathew’s life.

“Father, I have tried to improve myself financially but I invariably fail in my pursuits. What should I do? Why do I fail in my efforts?” Mathew asked.

“Before you can solve a problem, you should know the root cause of the problem. You have failed invariably because you have focused on the lack of your finances. You know that you are made in my image and everything in the universe is a manifestation of my thought then you should not have any difficulty in understanding that money is no different.” God answered.

“Should I worship you to become financially healthy then?” Mathew asked.

“I did not say that. But you have to realize that more you focus on lack which is an attribute of duality and not oneness, you will experience more and more lack. Realize oneness instead.”

“Realizing oneness?”

“Realizing oneness means that you realize that you are not your ego but me. You’ll then realize that inherently you don’t lack anything. Always see yourself as a wealthy being. Have faith that you are already rich which you are indeed. You are made in my image and hence know no lack. You must practice non-attachment to the outcome in every deed you do.

Outcome is not in your hands. All you have is “now”. Nothing exists outside now. “Now” has got all the powers. Take action in now and be detached from the outcome. Every desire carries with it its fulfillment but you have to rise above the desire and then they’ll be fulfilled. You will succeed in all your endeavors.” God answered.

“Thank you for enlightening me, father. I am deeply grateful to you. My praise for you is ineffable.” Mathew Thanked.

“There was never a time when I was not with you, son. May you serve others!! ” God disappeared.

Mathew opened his eyes. He had never felt in life such bliss as he was feeling now. He was about to start a new life.

The post An Interview With God – Spiritual Story appeared first on Spiritual Growth Events.

. . . those who have seen their beloved pass from their view . . .
. . . those who lie ill and are without hope . . .
. . . those who are afraid of their human mortality . . .
. . . and for those who long for peace with life . . .

The following is my best description of a very personal and a most remarkably true event. It was the early 1970’s and I was about 22 years of age. I lived in Michigan.

I am asleep in my bedroom (3–4 am). I wake up facing the wall to my left, and I raise my head. Compelled for some reason to turn my head, I look then to the right, and there, a few feet from my bed, is a Light. Not a light bulb, nor light coming thru the window. It was a Light from a different dimension (Light that of itself was alive!) that just opened up in the middle of my small bedroom. And I was just about to release an audible “huh?” When the Light Speaks,“ Be Not afraid; it is I, Peter.” I barely had time to blink or feel the fear that was just readying to rise when the voice slowly spoke again,“ Be not afraid; it is I, Peter.” But this second time the voice and words seem to come from literally everywhere inside me and around me. I was immersed in their energy and sound, and I subsequently found myself to have departed from this earth entirely.

I was a Light just like Peter. I was following behind him, not on legs, however, as I had no human body. I was more like a Living Light-filled Expanding Orb of Consciousness, for lack of better words, and All of me was totally sobbing with joy! And I mean, soul-deep sobbing over and over again exclaiming, “It’s so Good to be Home again!” and nothing had ever felt better, truer, and more Real. Freed from the earth, and finally, Home Again! YES!!!

We were moving in what felt like a diagonal slant upward direction. I saw nothing and no one else. And the further we proceeded, the larger I kept expanding, all the while filling up even further with a joy that was truly indescribable and so intense! Incredibly, in just seconds, it felt as though I had swelled to hundreds of miles in every direction. Could there be too much of a “good thing” because I was losing control? I was trying to now “hold on” to my (already way the heck out there) boundaries. I was like a gigantic balloon and my fingertips (that did not exist, though I was trying to use some form of that thought) were stretched to the max and now failing in their effort to contain the now-impending explosion of nuclear joy! Yikes!? And as strange or humorously stupid as this may sound I was suddenly afraid of “blowing up”! OK, sure, with Joy Beyond Comprehension, but still I’m feeling like this balloon is going to burst and Pop! goes the ME-zel.

I stop.(Apparently fear acts like a brake, even there.) Peter now stops and turns to me and says gently and with assurance, “Come, it’s just a little further; you’re almost there,” but I reply, “I don’t know how!” Now is that hysterical or what? But I really was occupied with the whole “holding on” to some kind of boundary idea, and I feel apologetic (as your brother) that I wimped out at the last moment, a hair’s breath from certain changes to my ego that I sensed might render me void of any chance of retaining a relevant first and last name, leaving me likely speechless and more likely, me-less. But Peter knew where I was at before I did, and then warmly confided to me “Just wanted to show you, so you know.” And just as suddenly I was returned to this world; me, my body, the room, my bed, and I was delightfully intact with a whole new understanding of the truth of our soul and of our home not being of this earth, but in that of the infinite ether of spirit. I slid out of my bed and knelt in profound gratitude and thanked my Father and my brother for this most blessed moment of my life. I knew that all of us, you, me, your family, friends, neighbors, every one of us—are actually together forever. That was a very reassuring thing to know with absolute certainty at the young age of twenty-two.

This was not a near-death experience; I was simply taken and returned. It was the coolest trip of my life, and the awe and preciousness of it remains with me always. To say I am grateful is an understatement. For those that may wonder if this divine soul-snatcher is the same entity as Peter the disciple of Christ, the topic never came up. He never said he was, so I cannot tell you he was, and nothing like that mattered at the time anyway, though “within me,” I do know him to be that brother and your brother. But I would have been equally glad for the lift, no matter the name he gave.”

Thank you to James Francis for sharing this spiritual story!

The post Taken to the Afterlife – A Spiritual Story by James Francis appeared first on Spiritual Growth Events.

I sat in my best comfortable attempt at a lotus cross-legged position. Now, I cannot hand you my experience, that being the pure and sincere intimacy through which my mind and heart traveled for thirty or forty minutes or so, but trust me, my Entire heart was in it. So if He had Anything to say, there was nothing more important to me from the tips of my toes, to the torch in my heart, than to tune in. And I waited . . . and heard nothing; nothing at all.

Eventually I prayerfully said my good-byes to a voice I never heard and opened my eyes. I felt inwardly good, unfolded my limbs, stretched out on the bed, and was smiling now with eyes closed, basking in the comforting thought that I had the rest of my life to learn how to hear God through meditation. I was proud of my first effort and enjoyed an afterglow of inner satisfaction . . . When suddenly there was a “pop” sound/sensation in my head (and the following is as best as I can describe the event).

I am instantly taken on an ever-tightening Spiral of Flashing Light, moving at a tremendous speed, seemingly upward, yet inward and I am inside what I can only describe as a tiny diamond Fire Spark of Divinity (and God knows I was not in control of the steering). Now, folks, when the I within the spiral comes to a stop, how do I say this, except to say that, “O Lord, I am not worthy” was the only all-consuming feeling and thought I could muster from within my very nicely crumbling, overwhelmed, and grateful being, for I was held in the Infinite Presence of the Face of God, beyond the scope of anything we have ever dreamed of, and there are no words to capture the indescribable divine wonderment of the creative source of all life. It’s all way too big for any of the boxes we have sought to put our Creator in, so I can only humbly, and do so now in the name of peace, assure you, We are in Unfathomably Good Hands. I don’t know how long I was “there.” I was looking into forever and stripped of my Timex. When my eyes opened, I had returned as me, in this body, in this world, and I also understood clearly, I was not of it. None of us are native earthlings; but rejoice, we get the best of all worlds. (Afterward, I did recall that while I was in that Presence, it felt as though I was in some sort of an invisible, spherical, almost egg-shaped protective energy bubble that seemed to have provided me safe passage and kept me intact, as it were, though nothing . . . could ever be the same. Implications that I would like to point out: I would say that I went from the consciousness of material solidity (the physical body, the earth, and the awareness of myself as the human I am) and spiraled into the realm and throne of our Divine Source, in maybe five seconds! (And God knows that traveling at the speed of Light eliminated any chance of me screaming for help.:) To me, that’s an intriguing thought that begs contemplation in terms of the supposed reality we find ourselves in. It seems as though time and space are conceptualized tools of measurement at our disposal. They allow us the opportunity to experience and express our divine self through the vehicle of the evolution of an individual soul destined to be co-creative companions to the Creator. Wonder how we’re all doing?

I would say divinely well, regardless of appearances. I saw God, though Not as a man, as this experience is apparently only made possible by accessing the spiritual dashboard of Our Piece of the Spark and Spirit of Life. And trust me, it’s the best piece you’ll ever have. Also, in an effort to further convey the experience to the reader, I feel that the phrase “I saw God” should be worded differently. “The Presence gave me sight of the Truth of Itself,” and the little eyeball orbs we are used to using here had no meaning there, and were knocked out of commission in favor of absorbing the Light of the Divine Force of Life and Love. And I was totally humbled, but not because God wanted me to feel humble (nope, that was all my idea), but because I found it impossible to not melt
before such as is our Father and Creator. (I doubt you will do much better, but you won’t care anyway.) By the way, you will find there are no questions floating around your mind at that moment (in case you are saving up a good one for when you see Him next). All there is really is One Way Big Answer. It has never happened since (never needed it to), and I have always been amused at the fact that it occurred only on my first attempt at meditation, and only when I had finished that effort. My word for that is . . . cute (and I know where my sense of humor came from). Another implication I draw from the experience is that our religious dogmas and doctrines most often do not support the possibility of any direct approach for us to experience our divine self, plus we have generally accepted that our invisible God is also unknowable and consciously perceived as a separate entity from us. And “as you believe, so shall it be done” is again applicable to what we do or don’t experience. We have many self-imposed boundaries that we might do well to drop from our minds and hearts, but that is forever up to each one of us and the paths we choose. I just wanted people to know, you always have options that you may have not even known existed. So 39 or so years have passed without ever hearing any information about anyone seeing God lately. Then just recently, I stumbled upon a Hebrew word, the Merkabah, via the Internet, Wikipedia and YouTube. You may search merkabah for yourself to retrieve the relevance I found to the above “true story.” But suffice it to say, I was pleased to have found such information. We know not of what Brilliance we proceed from unless we care to seek and know of such stuff. And what Father would hide from His children?

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Pretty simple and direct, with no qualifying time frame given for such endeavors. It’s always totally up to us to seek whatever we will, whenever we will. Also for the record, I am not suggesting in any way that the purpose of anyone’s life should be to have a face-to-face meeting with God. The experiences we seek are those that the soul outlines before arrival and extension into this place. They may have the appearance of something far removed from spiritual endeavors, and yet be the perfect path for the soul. But I am sure it will Never hinder the progress of any soul to wear the face of God that we have been given in a manner that promotes compassion, mercy, forgiveness, and goodwill toward all man. What I have shared here is truth to me alone and offered as such, and I never wish to intrude upon the consciousness of any man.

– Thanks to James for sharing this spiritual story!

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David always asked lots of questions. And his grandmother always tried to answer them. So she just smiled and said, It depends on which prayer you say David. When you say a blessing for the food you eat, the blessing doesn't go anywhere; it just stays with you in your mind and makes you feel grateful and fortunate. When you sing a Hebrew song from the Bible, it goes to your heart and makes you feel joyful and Jewish. And when you say a prayer like the Sh'ma together with the congregation, it is transported to God by Sandalphon. That is what my grandmother told me.

What is Sandalphon? asked David. Is it like e-mail?

I am not sure what Sandalphon is, said grandmother Miriam, My grandmother told me it is a very tall angel with wheels. What is important about Sandalphon is that he takes all the prayers that are said from the heart, in each congregation throughout the whole world, weaves them together into a crown, and places the crown on God's head, which means in God's mind. The crown of prayers is like a verbal rainbow, with each word acting as a sparkling drop. The light and the beauty are reflected back into the heart of people who are praying in the congregation. If they sing their prayers; the reflection is doubled.

But why does God need a crown? asked David.

A crown of prayers is not like a crown of gold, answered grandma Miriam. It is more like when grandpa used to tell you that he loved you. He told you that he loved you every time he saw you, although you already knew that he loved you. Now that he is gone you can't hear him say it with your ears, but you can hear him say it with your heart and in your mind.

If Sandalphon has wheels maybe he is like an escalator, said David.

It isn't important what you imagine he looks, said grandma Miriam, What is important is that our prayers make God holy, just as our doing God's commandments makes us holy. You can't be a husband without a wife and you can't be a wife without a husband. In the same way we need God's love; God needs our love. That is why the prayers are woven into a crown. It is like putting a wedding ring on the finger of the person you love. The kind of ring is not important.

David thought for several minutes about everything grandma Miriam had said. Then he asked his last question. Where did all the cookies go?

After 39 years as Rabbi of Temple Akiba in Culver City Calif. Allen Maller retired in 2006. He is the editor of a series of High Holy Days prayer books; the author of a book on Jewish mysticism, “God, Sex and Kabbalah”; and the husband since 1966 of Judy Coopersmith. Visit his website at http://www.rabbimaller.com for more information.

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Lower Level Dimension

Never had Soul understood why helping and reaching out to others in life was the key to happiness; love for himself had diminished a long time ago in his waking life. Love would be the only thing to set him free, but this he ignored in life and now he was trapped, forever being tormented in confusion and heaviness.

Soul cannot move very far; it takes him long periods of time to complete tasks, tasks that have no value or achievement in their outcome. When time passes on an uncountable scale, Soul had time to reflect.

Why, he wondered, did he not understand the way to happiness in his life time? Why could he not love himself? Why had life been so boring? Was it that hard to figure out?

As he looks up, he is able to see the Upper Level Dimensions, occasionally catching glimpses of happy Beings moving with such fluidity and freedom. Were these Beings given the answers, he wondered? And if not, how did they seek the truth?

Soul dreamt about the lessons he would go through in order to understand love, and always knew that if ever presented with the opportunity, he would seize the journey and listen to the teachings of those whom offered sound advice.

Soul decided to try something he had never tried before. Along with the others trapped around him, he had spent many nights, screaming, crying out and wallowing in self pity. But tonight was going to be different; tonight he was going to Pray.

As the cries of the night surrounded him, he was almost tempted into following and joining the others. But at the point of being overwhelmed, he centred himself and concentrated.

“I want to understand”, he said. “I want to love myself, I want to love others, I want to be Free!”

An Indian Settlement

A circle of men and women in deep meditation surrounded in a smoky atmosphere. Soul's call can be heard echoing around the space.

Arashoona was a man of harmony, peace and giving. In his life time he had travelled to understand different cultures, helped to build communities, grown food for those who needed nutrition, and felt love and compassion on large scales. He now spends his days travelling the dimensions helping ‘low vibrational' souls back to the light. Arashoona's energy vibrates on an undetectable level allowing him to be light enough to travel to Lower Level Dimensions without getting stuck.

Arashoona travelled to Soul and with the help from his spirit guide, set to work charging Soul up with energy and light. As soon as Soul was vibrating at a high frequency he was light enough to float, just like the Beings he would watch in the Upper Level Dimensions. Arashoona and his spirit guide took Soul up, crossing through dimensions until they had taken him as far as they could. Arashoona thanked his guide before she left.

Soul was grateful to Arashoona but Arashoona had a few things to tell Soul, advice that Soul needed to take on very carefully. Arashoona explained that Soul will not stay vibrating at a high frequency for very long, Soul must seek out the answers to his questions in order to stay free from the Lower Level Dimensions. “The higher the vibration level within spirit, the lighter you will be, and this will allow you to travel into the light.”

Soul was keen to get started and gestured to Arashoona that he was ready. But Arashoona told him he would not be accompanying Soul on his journey; this is a mission Soul must take-on alone. Soul pleaded with Arashoona to stay, but faster than the speed of light Arashoona was gone.

Lower to Mid Level Dimension

Soul could already feel his vibration level dropping, so wasted no time. He knew not what he was looking for but understood one thing more than he had done only moments ago – and that was not to suffer in silence. If you speak up, someone will always be there to listen and help.

Soul spotted a Being in the distance; he thought it might be Arashoona so moved towards the moving object. Soul could hardly believe how lightly he could move, this spurred on his wanting to understand more.

As he approached the Being he could see that it was like no other he had encountered before.

He asked the Being, “What are you and why are you waiting here?”

The Being explained, “I am a protector, a protector of the in-between.” (The in-between was the point in which the dimensions crossed)

“A new dimension?” Soul thought. Great, just what he was looking for and proceeded towards the fuzzy smog. But as he approached, he became heavier and heavier as his vibration levels dropped.

He asked the Being, “Why can I not cross?”

The Being said, “To cross into this dimension you must love yourself. If you can do this then your vibration levels will go up in frequency.”

But until then Soul would not be allowed to cross.

“I do not understand” Soul thought, and asked the Being to help.

The Being said, “I cannot give you the answer but I can show you a way to the answer.”

The Being looked at Soul with an intensity and threw a cloud of Sparkle towards him. Soul was no longer able to feel himself, but could visualise the world around him very vividly. He could see himself in his waking life.

He could see flashes of moments in time, opportunities he denied himself for fear that he could not succeed. Travel plans never followed through. Times that he let bad energy in and shut out the good always convinced that it's easier in the end to just stay.

As Soul came round from his hallucination, he looked at the Being. The Being asked Soul, “What had stopped you from loving yourself?” Soul answered, “Fear and Laziness.” The Being smiled as Soul became lighter. Soul felt proud that he was charging his own vibration levels and immediately was able to cross through to the new dimension.

Mid-Level Dimension

In the new dimension, four Beings are waiting in a circle. They are all carrying little bundles of white cloth. Soul approaches them, curious to know what they are carrying and curious to find out what they are waiting for. As he gets closer to the Beings, he notices scars upon their chests.

The Beings greet Soul and immediately know what Soul is looking for. They asked Soul if he would mind helping them find what they are looking for. Soul thought about the little time he had to find the next dimension, and was nervous about what to do.

The Beings stared back at Soul, longing for his answer. One of the Beings approached Soul and said to him, “Be patient.” He explained that “life cannot be a stream of acts for just one's self, but that kindness for others is essential, and in the long run will benefit not just those that you help, but your own journey's questions will be answered too.”

Soul was taken back. Helping others complete their tasks will help complete mine too, he thought? Soul agreed to help and asked what it is they were looking for.

Another of the Beings stepped forth and said, “To find what we are looking for, you must first know what we have found.”

The four Beings that were carrying the bundles placed them on the floor and with a great amount of care, unfolded them to reveal four pieces of healthy heart. The Beings explained that they needed to complete the heart but were running out of time for the Being that needed the heart was born with an incomplete one. Soul set to work looking in every nook and cranny of the dimension, but failed to find anything. He returned to the Beings feeling heavily exhausted and his vibration levels were starting to drop again.

“You searched too far for what we are looking for, Soul.” the Beings explained.

Soul looked around him and in that moment, his attention was focused upon the scars the Beings had across their chests. Now Soul understood. What they needed was inside of him; it was a piece of his own heart!

Soul was scared at the thought of giving over a piece of his heart. “Don't worry”, the Beings told him. “So were we at first, but now we feel healthier than ever.”

Soul mustered up all of his courage and in that moment was filled with overwhelming love, as the 4 pieces of heart connected with his piece and became whole.

The heart began to beat faster and faster as it became healthier and healthier. The four Beings sent love and thanks to Soul as they carried the heart away to their friend.

Upper Level Dimension

Soul could feel himself becoming weightless as he lifted from the ground and felt the warmth engulf his body. He had become spurts of colour that streamed from him to light his way towards the Upper Level Dimensions. He could feel the energy inside of him vibrating at such a high frequency, that Soul shot off at immense speeds towards a blinding light.

“I understand”, he said. “I love myself, I love others. I am free!”

Greeting him in the blinding light was none other than his saviour and friend, Arashoona. Arashoona congratulated Soul for seeking his own way but explained to Soul that “the only way to always live among the Upper Level Dimensions is to continuously put into practice what you have learnt from your lessons, and keep evolving by finding the answers to new questions.”

So Soul's journey had only really just begun but how excited he now felt about life; the possibilities were now endless… for he had finally found freedom.

The End.

– Thanks to Gemma Spurgeon for sharing this story with us!

The post The Story of Being – A Spiritual Story by Gemma Spurgeon appeared first on Spiritual Growth Events.

She paid the driver and, using her hands to feel the location of the seats, walked down the aisle and found the seat he had told her was empty.

Then she settled in, placed her briefcase on her lap and rested her cane against her leg.

It had been a year since Safiya, thirty-four, became blind. Due to a medical misdiagnosis she had been rendered sightless, and she was suddenly thrown into a world of darkness, anger, frustration and self-pity. Once a fiercely independent woman, Safiya now felt condemned by this terrible twist of fate to become a powerless, helpless burden on everyone around her.

“How could this have happened to me?” she would plead, her heart knotted with anger. But no matter how much she cried or ranted, she knew the painful truth her sight was never going to return. A cloud of depression hung over Safiya's once optimistic spirit. Just getting through each day was an exercise in frustration and exhaustion. And all she had to cling to was her husband Meraj.

Meraj was an Air Force officer and he loved Safiya with all of his heart. When she first lost her sight, he watched her sink into despair and was determined to help his wife gain the strength and confidence she needed to become independent again. Meraj's military background had trained him well to deal with sensitive situations, and yet he knew this was the most difficult battle he would ever face.

Finally, Safiya felt ready to return to her job, but how would she get there? She used to take the bus, but was now too frightened to get around the city by herself. Meraj volunteered to drive her to work each day, even though they worked at opposite ends of the city.

At first, this comforted Safiya and fulfilled Meraj's need to protect his sightless wife who was so insecure about performing the slightest task.

Soon, however, Meraj realized that this arrangement was not working – it was hectic, and costly. Safiya is going to have to start taking the bus again, he admitted to himself. But just the thought of mentioning it to her made him cringe. She was still so fragile, so angry. How would she react?

Just as Meraj predicted, Safiya was horrified at the idea of taking the bus again. “I am blind!” she responded bitterly. “How am I supposed to know where I am going? I feel like you are abandoning me.”

Meraj's heart broke to hear these words, but he knew what had to be done. Meraj promised Safiya that each morning and evening he would ride the bus with her, for as long as it took, until she got the hang of it. And that is exactly what happened. For two solid weeks, Meraj, military uniform and all, accompanied Safiya to and from work each day. Meraj taught her how to rely on her other senses, specifically her hearing, to determine where she was and how to adapt to her new environment.

Meraj helped her befriend the bus drivers who could watch out for her and save her a seat. Meraj made her laugh, even on those not-so-good days when she would trip exiting the bus or drop her briefcase. Each morning they made the journey together and Meraj would take a cab back to his office. Although this routine was even more costly and exhausting than the previous one, Meraj knew it was only a matter of time before Safiya would be able to ride the bus on her own. Meraj believed in her, in the Safiya he used to know before she would lost her sight, who was not afraid of any challenge and who would never, ever quit.

Finally, Safiya decided that she was ready to try the trip on her own. Monday morning arrived, and before she left, she threw her arms around Meraj, her temporary bus riding companion, her husband, and her best friend. Her eyes filled with tears of gratitude for his loyalty, his patience, his love. Safiya said good-bye, and for the first time, they went their separate ways.

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday… Each day on her own went perfectly and Safiya had never felt better. Safiya was doing it! She was going to work all by herself!

On Friday morning, Safiya took the bus to work as usual. As she was paying for her fare to exit the bus, the driver said, “Sister, I sure envy you.”

Safiya was not sure if the driver was speaking to her or not. After all, who on earth would ever envy a blind woman who had struggled just to find the courage to live for the past year? Curious, she asked the driver, “Why do you say that you envy me?”

The driver responded, “It must feel so good to be taken care of and protected like you are.”

Safiya had no idea what the driver was talking about, and asked again, “What do you mean?”

The driver answered, “You know, every morning for the past week, a fine looking gentleman in a military uniform has been standing across the corner watching you when you get off the bus. He makes sure you cross the street safely and he watches you until you enter your office building. Then he blows you a kiss, gives you a little salute and walks away. You are one lucky woman.”

Tears of happiness poured down Safiya's cheeks. For although she could not physically see him, she had always felt Meraj's presence. Safiya was lucky, so lucky, for he had given her a gift more powerful than sight, a gift she did not need to see to believe – Gift of Love that can bring light where there had been darkness.

– The author of this story is unknown and greatly appreciated!

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