coming into alignment with pure, compassionate action and wise action

I hope you are moved by this passage from Adya's book "Falling into Grace."

"What actually happens when we stop judging, when we stop resisting the flow of our lives, is that we come  into an alignment where we are in a natural and clear relationship with whatever presents itself.  

From this place of alignment, the perspective we come upon is not the perspective that we anticipate.  It's not the fearful place of the ego.  The ego thinks we should become indifferent to everything and uncaring in the face of this nonresistance.  But actually something different happens.  Instead of being uncaring, we actually come into a deeper and more intimate relationship with what's happening.  We become very deeply connected. We find ourselves able, in the moment of someone's actual pain or in the middle of our own suffering, to connect very intimately, very purely, without any resistance.  This opens up a door within us for an entirely different response-a response that's not based in opposition.  Instead, this intimacy and stillness guides us into a very precise and effective type of action, a kind of involvement born out of a deep inner connection with life and with others.  This response is not based in conflict, but in wholeness and oneness. When we're not responding out of conflict, division, and resistance, what manifests is pure compassionate action, wise action that comes from intimacy, stillness and true connection." (Falling into Grace, p. 132-133)

All we have to do is let go of our judgments.  Notice what is happening in your life, what you are feeling about what is happening, but do not stand in judgment nor draw conclusions about what should or shouldn't be happening.  Accept the moment as it is showing up and allow pure, compassionate action to manifest from deep within.      

"come into harmony in life"

"The more conscious we become, the more powerful we become.  We don't necessarily become miracle workers, but as we begin to awaken and our state of consciousness opens, different capabilities within us come online and are available to us.  As you come into harmony in life, then mysteriously, almost miraculously, life seems to come into harmony with you.  There is a sense that everything is unfolding just as it need to, that everything is right on time.  As we let go of trying to control life, trying to force it in the direction that the ego wants it to go, life has a way of literally responding to our state of consciousness.  And that's a miracle-that as your state of consciousness transforms, life's relationship with you transforms as well." (Resurrecting Jesus, p. 124)    

Adya goes on to say that we are already one with all of life...all living things breath the same air, rely on water and sun for life to exist...  When we accept the unity of all of life we can relax into life.

Starting today let's accept what is showing up in each moment, knowing that there is a harmony to our lives and a higher purpose waiting to unfold in every instant.

One of the most powerful ways that I come into harmony with life is by being my most authentic self.  When I express myself honestly and with a willingness to be vulnerable I am letting go of egoic control and my life unfolds as it needs to.

When we live life consciously by accepting what is showing up and being authentic in how we respond, our true power and light emerge..just as God intended.

faith

"To have faith is to let go of control; it's to release the ego's instinct to always be in charge.  So faith opens up that aspect of the ego that wants to control everything and think that it has all the answers.  This is what faith is: an opening of the heart, an opening of the mind.  Jesus knew from his own experience that when you open your heart and mind, you literally open yourself to the healing presence.  You open yourself to that which can transform you, physically, spiritually, and psychologically."  ("Resurrecting Jesus," pp. 98-99).

May I rely on faith rather than ego in this moment.

May the world live by faith rather than ego.

"the most powerful healing balm that exists"

To continue with the theme of forgiveness:

"Forgiveness is probably the greatest healer there is.  When we forgive someone, what we've forgiven we're no longer attached to, no longer controlled by...In the story of Jesus, the ultimate act of forgiveness comes near the end, when Jesus says from the cross, 'Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.' Luke 23:34...And why forgive? Because they know not what they do.  This forgiveness comes from a deep spiritual understanding of the causes of suffering-and also of  those who inflict suffering, for those who inflict suffering have always had suffering inflicted upon them at some prior time. When we start to realize this, our hearts open."  (Ressurecting Jesus, p. 91)    

Notice how often throughout the day you have a need to practice forgiveness.

"It's Jesus' greatest gift, the most powerful healing balm that exists."  (p.91)

forgiveness "I see something in you that's the same as in me."

I was really moved by what Adya wrote about forgiveness in Resurrecting Jesus.

"The open heart is compassionate because it maintains an essential connection. But as soon as we separate ourselves from another-as soon as we say "No there's nothing in you that corresponds with something in me," as soon as we forget that you and I are essentially the same spiritual essence-then we cut ourselves off, and we go into blame.  Forgiveness comes from that deep intuition of our sameness, of our shared humanity. That perception starts to lower the walls of defense, and being judgmental is ultimately a defensive game, a way of saying, "I am not like you."  To forgive is really a way of saying "I see something in you that's the same as in me."  Then, even though you may be upset, even though the other person may have caused you pain or harm, when you connect with your shared humanity, there's forgiveness."  (Resurrecting Jesus, p. 90)

Sometimes it is hard to see the similarity between ourselves and others.  There is a person who appears to be homeless that sits outside of a Starbucks that I pass by most mornings.  I find my mind being a little irritated that he sits there everyday.  Today there was a woman (normally dressed and therefore did not appear to be homeless) sitting on the bench and chatting with the man.  That is what Jesus would have done. He saw the true Essence in everyone.  He did not judge.

Living a life where those types of judgmental thoughts do not set up camp in our awareness would be a beautiful way to live.

When we can accept our own faults, flaws, limitations, dark side etc. then it becomes easier to accept the humanity of others.  Then we can forgive, which means to truly know that we are all One at our Essence, and this allows for the Peace that Passeth All Understanding.  
 
P.S., "Resurrecting Jesus" is the most powerful book that I have ever read.  Reading it is a spiritual experience...the words move me into a connection with Spirit in the same way that mediation helps me to connect with the God within.  

'If he does not shine, he is darkness.'

"Jesus concludes that passage in the Gospel of Thomas by saying 'If he does not shine, he is darkness.'  That's the challenge.  That's the Jesus who tells it to us straight, who doesn't water down the message.  Either we are in light or we are in darkness.  That's a teaching meant to shake us from our slumber.  In order to come into our full potential and to embody truth and radiance of what we are, we must come vitally alive; we must lean once again into presence; we must pour ourselves forth into life, instead of trying to escape life and avoid its challenges.  Then our lives themselves become expressions of love, of overflow, because we have compassionately given ourselves to life, to our incarnation, as a means to redeem it-to bring everything back home, back to its source, to the eternal radiance within each and every one of us."  (Resurrecting Jesus. page 34-35)

If we want to become vitally alive and become  expressions of love then Adyashanti is telling us what to do: "lean once again into presence; we must pour ourselves forth into life, instead of trying to escape life and avoid its challenges."

This statement might require some contemplation.  What does 'leaning into presence' mean?  What does being 'vitally alive' look like?  How might I be escaping life or avoiding challenges?

I ask myself at various points throughout my day:  Am I aware of what is happening in
this moment or am I off thinking about the past or the future?  In other words, am I living in my life or am I living in my head?  Am I aware of presence, right here and right now?  What is happening in my heart space right now?

Whatever is happening in each moment we have an opportunity to experience and express eternal radiance.  We do this by being in our lives in a very real way.  I find that staying very focused on what my heart is experiencing (open versus closed, in pain or in love...) helps me to stay out of my head and grounds me in the reality of the moment.

May we all compassionately give ourselves to life and allow Spirit to awaken us to our eternal radiance.

"Stay with Me"

In "Resurrecting Jesus" Adya talks about Jesus as representing the Christ Self in each of us and the disciples as representing our human self.  I have been listening to a Taize (a French Monastery) chant, Stay with Me, based on the words that Jesus might have spoken to his disciples in the garden of Gethsemane:

Stay here with Me
Remain here with Me
Watch and Pray
Watch and Pray

(You can hear an absolutely beautiful version of this chant at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmAOcHqvS0Q)

Here is my interpretation of the chant:

Stay centered
No matter what, do not get hijacked by the ego
Witness what your egoic self is doing and align yourself with Spirit  (Richard Rohr talks about prayer as "setting out a tuning fork" to align yourself with the Spirit within) (The Naked Now pp. 101-102).

The chant reminds me to go within, take a half a step back from whatever I am dealing with in my life, and pray/align myself with my God Self.

I have had a beautiful week connecting with Spirit by chanting, praying and reading "Resurrecting Jesus."

And it never fails, when I watch or witness from this place of centeredness it is much easier to respond to life with greater wisdom and situations unfold much more harmoniously.