Guiding Thought

In Divine Mind, you are filled full! All are equally filled full. All are equal in Love. Fill your mind with thoughts of fulfillment and remember what you already know. Be determined to fulfill your purpose, to know your Self as Divine Love, and to share the fullness you are.

 

Sharing

“Be determined to fulfill your purpose”!

Sometimes it’s easier to be determined, when there is a tangible goal, a point at which you know that you’ve arrived, or that you have accomplished, or attained.  “I have a plan and I’m working my plan…”

It’s less easy when the goal is abstract, or intangible. I mean, what kind of goal is there to “the journey”, it’s so vague?  What about when the goal is actually NON-attainable like “Divine Love” (since that is infinite)?

But on the other hand, how many people do you know who have attained those tangible goals (graduating from a certain level of education, getting that dream job/spouse/home) and they still feel unfulfilled, while people “on the journey” seem happier, less stressed, and more care-free?

This is a bit more of that material-spiritual dichotomy I talked about yesterday. There is a need for balance, for understanding of both approaches, while applying the appropriate tools for each. Meditation is an appropriate tool  for achieving the abstract goal of “Divine Love”, but it is not an appropriate tool for passing a test—study and hard work are tools for passing a test, right?

If I want to attain a higher level of education, I have to get into a school, do the coursework, jump through some hoops. I can’t just sit and meditate and expect to achieve it.

Or can I?

Two things come to mind.

First: “seek ye first the Kingdom of heaven and all things will be added unto you”. If this phrase is to be believed, it’s saying that even passing a test can be achieved (“added unto you”), if you first do the spiritual work of seeking the Kingdom of Heaven.

Second: There is a story in Autobiography of a Yogi, that keeps coming to mind regarding this very thing. Yogananda was in school primarily to please his family. He did not want to be in school, he attended sporadically, he maintained very low grades, even to the point of near-failing; he spent all his time in meditation, or with his Guru, or both. The day for his final testing approached, and he had to pass in order to complete his education, as he had promised his family. He did not study…he meditated. He continued seeking God, and relied on God to provide him with the means to pass his exams and graduate. At the last minute, one of his friends came over unexpectedly to tutor him for his exams. When exam day came, the very-same-exact questions he had studied with his friend were on the exam, so he knew all the answers and passed. (I may have gotten some of the details a bit off here, I am relaying this story by memory, but the gist is accurate.)

My question is: what is the point where the seeking the Kingdom of Heaven is enough to get us through daily life and activity in such a way? Do I need to meditate 2 hours every day to see results in my life? 3 hours every day? 8 hours every day? What is the point at which seeking the Kingdom of Heaven first brings about “all things are added unto me”?

I am not a Yogananda, I don’t meditate for 8 hours every day; I don’t have that lifestyle, but I do strive toward the Kingdom of Heaven every minute of every day (barring my admitted occasional forgetfulness).

If seeking the Kingdom of Heaven can bring about things like passing a test, why don’t more people do it? Why don’t more people seek the Kingdom more? Or meditate more? Or do any of the other practices that are being proven scientifically to bring more energy/relaxation into the mind and body?

I think the word I used above is a big part of the reason: lifestyle. Many people have a hard time finding 30 minutes a day for intentional spiritual practices. WHO has time to do that, when there are jobs and homes and kids and responsibilities?

This is what I am getting at, and this also addresses the material-spiritual dichotomy I wrote about yesterday: Fulfillment comes through connecting with Spirit, with God, seeking first the Kingdom of Heaven (which is within you, by the way). Organizing a lifestyle to make room, make time for this seeking, this connecting to Spirit, to God,  is the first part of Fulfillment. Lifestyle provides the time/space to do the practices necessary to bring about Fulfillment, which in turn provides the lifestyle for the time and space for Itself—like Yogananda taking the time/space to meditate instead of study, and the meditation provided its own reward.

“Be determined to fulfill your purpose”? Damn Skippy. I am figuring this out.