Facilitated by Rev. Jacquelyn Eckert, & Connie Poole
Listen to this recording
A universal assembly for true discernment
Aliveness has a Voice.
It is the Voice for all,
because Life
is the one unifying field.
When appearances are seen
as having no meaning,
the Voice for Life is clear.
When appearances are seen as meaningful
and requiring a response for salvation,
the Voice for Life may seem weak,
or it may not be heard at all.
Let go of appearances.
Trust what your eyes cannot see.
~From our Holy Spirit
Find a place where you will be undisturbed. If it is comfortable, put on headsets or earbuds. Relax, and enjoy this meditation.
Thoughts of Awakening Quote 182
Hour Meditation Thoughts of Awakening Quote 182
Aliveness has a Voice.
It is the Voice for all,
because Life
is the one unifying field.
When appearances are seen
as having no meaning,
the Voice for Life is clear.
When appearances are seen as meaningful
and requiring a response for salvation,
the Voice for Life may seem weak,
or it may not be heard at all.
Let go of appearances.
Trust what your eyes cannot see.
~ From our Holy Spirit
When we learn that we are the unaffected Self, but we still feel affected by things that happen in the world, we often think we are guilty for feeling affected. Today’s reading says that is not true. We are not guilty.
The idea that we are guilty for not being fully awake to Self is simply another false ego idea. Since it is a false idea, it is an idea we can let go of.
Instead of believing you are guilty when you feel affected by something in the world, simply watch your emotional reaction. Practice rest-accept-trust. When you watch an emotional reaction or practice rest-accept-trust, you are abiding as the true Self. When you feel guilty, you are falling for another ego shenanigan.
Note: The next tip will be available tomorrow morning after 3:50am ET at this link.
Norma Clarke (AT Vice Chairman of the Board), Lisa Hester (AT Treasurer), Jacquelyn Eckert (AT Vice President-Minister) and Regina Dawn Akers (AT President-Minister) toured 807 E. Field Street with a realtor in June. They agreed it would be a good starter retreat house for Awakening Together.
We made an offer on that house on Tuesday of this past week. The seller counter-offered on Thursday. We countered that offer, and the seller accepted our counter on Saturday. Interestingly, we were informed of the seller’s acceptance on July 21, 2018, which is Awakening Together’s 5-year anniversary. We “opened our doors” with our first gathering on July 21, 2013.
Thank you to the members who agreed to donate so that we could purchase this house. Since our special member meeting on July 1, we have raised $32,000 dollars thanks to your generosity.
Our scheduled close date is August 27, 2018. There are still steps to take before we are able to close on the sale of the house, including approval from Awakening Together’s Board of Directors. We will keep you informed as we move forward in this process.
Find a place where you will be undisturbed. If it is comfortable, put on headsets or earbuds. Relax, and enjoy this meditation.
Thoughts of Awakening Quote 181
Hour Meditation Thoughts of Awakening Quote 181
Rest.
Let go of appearances today
by looking at the aliveness
that is.
When you look at aliveness
and celebrate aliveness
for the simplicity and perfection
that it is,
appearances are not judged,
because appearances are seen
to be meaningless.
~ From our Holy Spirit
Today’s reading opens with this paragraph:
Now is the day of salvation, for now is the day that you can choose to think apart from the world. You can choose to think apart from your experience. As you do this earnestly, your experience will change, and you will find yourself willing to let go of the world.
Interestingly, the previous paragraph does not end with:
As you do this earnestly, your experience will change, and you will have everything you want the way you want it.
Instead it says:
As you do this earnestly, your experience will change, and you will find yourself willing to let go of the world.
Yesterday, we saw that Ramana Maharshi said:
Happiness is your nature.
It is not wrong to desire it.
What is wrong is seeking it outside when it is inside.
Everyone wants happiness. Since happiness is our true nature and we feel lost from our true nature, it is natural to seek happiness. However, it is a mistake to seek happiness in the world, because the world was created to be different from truth, which means different from our true nature. Happiness cannot be found in the world. Happiness can only be found in our true nature.
Some people may argue against this point by saying that although they aren’t always happy in the world, they do experience some happiness in the world. They might argue that they are happy when they are with their children, grandchildren, lover, pets or favorite hobbies.
Let’s look at that more carefully and see if these things truly bring us happiness.
Has there ever been a time when you were with your children, grandchildren, lover, pet or favorite hobby and you felt something other than happiness? Have you ever felt distracted, worried, frustrated, annoyed, disappointed or any other way that was not happiness when you were with your children, grandchildren, lover, pet or favorite hobby?
If so, then we can say that your children, grandchildren, lover, pet or favorite hobbies don’t bring you happiness consistently, since you don’t always feel happiness with your children, grandchildren, lover, pet or favorite hobbies.
Next, let’s see if these things ever bring you happiness or if happiness has a different cause.
First, let’s examine what your true nature is. We have called your true nature “consciousness,” “awareness,” “life,” “emptiness” “openness” and “Love.” Another term that we can use is “being.” Whenever you are simply being open awareness, accepting the current moment as it is without a wish for it to be different, you are abiding as your true nature. Since your true nature is happiness, you experience happiness when you are being your Self.
Recall a moment when you were not happy with your children, grandchildren, lover, pet or favorite hobby. Look at what was in your mind in that moment. Notice that you were judging something. You thought something should be different than it was. The cause of your unhappiness wasn’t your children, grandchildren, lover, pet or favorite hobby. The cause of your unhappiness was your judgment.
Now, recall a moment when you were happy with your children, grandchildren, lover, pet or favorite hobby. Notice you were not judging in that moment. You were not wishing things were different. You were simply being with the moment. You were open and aware without judgment. You were abiding as your true nature, and that is why you were happy. Happiness is your true nature. Since you weren’t blocking your true nature with judgment, you were naturally happy.
This is important, because if we think certain things or certain circumstances in the world make us happy, there will always be other things and other circumstances in the world that we believe make us unhappy. This leaves us seeking those things we think make us happy and trying to avoid those things that we think make us unhappy. We start trying to control the world around us, which we can never do, and we become completely lost from our Self and our joy.
“Think apart from the world” is another way of asking us to abide as our Self regardless of the current circumstances. It is another way of asking us to be open awareness without asking things to be different. When we learn to be with every circumstance in this way, we abide as our Self, and we are happy because our Self is happiness.
The opening paragraph from today’s reading says:
Now is the day of salvation, for now is the day that you can choose to think apart from the world. You can choose to think apart from your experience. As you do this earnestly, your experience will change, and you will find yourself willing to let go of the world.
The reason thinking apart from the world prepares us to let go of the world is because we learn that happiness isn’t found in the world. It is found in our true nature. At that point, abiding as our true nature becomes our only real goal.
Note: The next tip will be available tomorrow morning after 3:50am ET at this link.
Rev. Jacquelyn Eckert led this meeting to introduce the four nominees for the Member Board of Trustees, Kathy Smith, Anne Blanchard, Meg Reinhart and Carrie Christensen.
Jacquelyn also discussed the next steps in the election process and gave an update on the purchase of our Retreat House in La Veta Colorado.