Learning to Remember
By Susan Gale
As I work with people to help them remember the spiritual being that they truly are, I see two consistent factors: the lack of self-confidence and fear. And no wonder! The very things that are related to remembering are condemned by western society. Hearing voices, seeing visions, seeing spirit in its many forms are all causes for some members of society to send a person straight to the psych ward!
What exactly are we trying to remember? In the very beginning of our existence, we were truly co-creators with the thing many call God. In this essay, it will be called Spirit, as the word God seems to conjure up a human form. As co-creators, we are able to do all the things as Spirit, without actually being Spirit. This is akin to having a cup of ocean water being of the ocean without being the ocean. It is only when that cup of ocean water is with the entire ocean is it able to sustain the kind of life that seawater can.
So it is with us. Only when we are at one with the entire consciousness of Spirit can we truly be who/what we are. When we are not, we simply suffer. The most difficult concept for me to understand about this was the concept of losing myself in the whole. However, I found it does not mean losing anything, but gaining everything. Also, we do not have to be a part of the whole in our entirety unless we so choose.
We are here to have a physical experience, which seems to work at odds with having a spiritual experience. We inhabit bodies awash with chemicals that produce such strong emotions and desires, distracting us from the finer vibrations of the spiritual world. Our spiritual hunger to be at one with Spirit is paralleled physically with other hungers. Our job is to get past these physical distractions and reach for the spiritual truths.
And there seem to be so many paths, and so many tell us that they know the WAY! Well, there are so many paths… as many as there are individuals. The right path for each of us is known within and revealed by the still, small voice that resides there.
Yet we are often afraid and lack the self-confidence to listen and follow that still small voice. The causes of that fear and lack of self-confidence are individual to each of us, but there are societal issues that contributes greatly and of which we must be mindful. In the editions to follow, these issues will be discussed, but this month the idea of suffering will be considered.
“No pain, no gain.” “You have to pay your dues.” The accepted symbol for Christianity is the cross, not the empty cave. Emphasizing these points creates an expectation of suffering. It is true that we cannot get in good physical shape without the aches and pains of exercise. It is true that we cannot start out at the top of our chosen field. It is true that Jesus could not show anyone that death is meaningless without first dying. Yet the pain is not the focus point, not the goal. It is something that is to be discarded once it is endured.
Our focus point is JOY. It behooves us to look for joy. We find what we look for, so why not look for joy rather than pain? Spirit simply is and joy is part of its Being. Pain, both emotional and physical, is simply a warning that things are awry. We generally respond to physical pain by finding out what is wrong and doing something about it. However, for some reason, we seem to feel we should just bear emotional pain. In reality, emotional pain tells us we are out of line with the spiritual laws. It is in our best interest to find out what is wrong and do something about straightening up our spiritual lives rather than take a pill or go into denial.
Many of us are afraid to let go of being just a cup of the ocean water. We fear losing our identity when becoming part of the entire ocean. But what do we gain? We have vast oceans to explore. As part of the ocean, we would have the opportunity to be alongside (and perhaps travel through!) the whales, dolphins and other sea life. We can experience the storms, the calm, the depths, the sun, depending upon where we travel. All the while, we are still the same as we were as the cup of water. There is no difference in our consciousness except the opportunity to expand. The only difference in becoming a part of Spirit is that we maintain our ability to choose where we travel and there are no physical boundaries for us.
In future articles this topic will be explored further.
Director of A Place of Light, Susan Gale has been working with children and their families for over 30 years. At A Place of Light, families and individuals are offered a safe haven where they can discuss, learn and share information about their abilities with like-minded people. Susan Gale is also the co-author of Edgar Cayce on the Indigo Children, and the Northeast A.R.E. Regional Director. To learn more, go to http://www.placeoflight.net/
