Have you  ever memorized  a bible verse?  If so, what was the first bible verse that you learned?

For me,  at the young age of four I memorized  John3′16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Tonight, during a group meditation at the Art Of Living Course that I attended with Leslie and a few other friends, I experienced for the first time, what I felt to be a deep Truth within this verse.  It was profoundly beautiful and humbling.

I offer you this translation of Jesus’s words through the lens of my own personal experience tonight only, for your pondering.

For God -The Primordial Source of all existence that all religions agree upon at the most basic level, is LOVE) John 4′8  says “Whoever does not love does not know God, because GOD IS LOVE.”

so loved the world -Our Universe, the laws of existence and our amazing planet, Earth)

That he gave his only begotten son- God/Love felt so much of itself that s/he exploded and gave birth to a finite expression/image of himself so that Love could be experienced, because without an other this love can not be experienced. (Science might call this the big bang})   The Son is US, all of humanity. And, we are made in the image of God)

Who soever  believeth in him -Was Jesus speaking of believing in him THE man with the ONLY ticket to salvation ( The original Greek word for salvation was Sozo, which means wholeness) or was he pointing to him as God, which is  Love as the only way to wholeness?   I wonder…if Jesus Christ were among us today in the flesh, can you imagine him  telling the devout Buddhist, Hindus,  Muslims and others who are living beautiful lives filled with love, joy and compassion, that you gotta go through me for your soul to survive, sorry. Would he say that the Dali Lama was not the real deal? Would he be jealous?  Would he have a need to “convert” him? Or can  you more easily imagine Jesus, as a/the source of love  speaking of  LOVE being the only way and teaching that we, like he, are in our essence love also)

shall not parish but have everlasting life. (Realizing the deep mystical truth that God is Love ,we are made in this image and WE AND THE FATHER [LOVE] ARE ONE)

The realization that I had tonight is an experience that is beyond words. Yet, I love words, so these words that I’ve shared is my own  humble attempt to convey  what I believe to be a mystical Truth. If you and I are able to get past the mind and the identity that it has created us to be, we can clearly see that Christ realized the Truth of who he was and his purpose was to illuminate his realization to us: “I and the Father are One” You and me and the Father/God/Source/Love/I AM…are one. With this authentic realization, we become aware that the essence/soul/ Love within us will not parish with our body, but be a part of the mystery, miracle  and Love pouring through Life everlasting.

This is the same Truth that the mystics from every spiritual tradition came to understand and shared, in the only possible means, within the limitations of language, through  stories, symbols and metaphors.

Within very religion, their is an esoteric/spiritual knowing and an exoteric/ego interpretation. If you look closely you will see that the esoteric came first and pointed to something of wonder, beauty and  awe. The exoteric  explanation is designed to provide the ego with what it craves most-certainty and the promise of the ego self  remaining forever.

What I’ve written about may or may not resonate with you. You may feel that I’ve taken to much liberty with Gods words. Yet please consider that these word, as best as I can assimilate them, are Gods words to me tonight.  If God spoke through the flawed yet earnest men of the bible, why would he not speak through my sincere heart tonight, and yours?

You and I and The Father are One. If/when you experience this authentic realization, you will laugh and say like me: “Of course, I’ve always known this but just now realized it for the first time.” Then, you will know who you really are and how really true it is that WE ARE ALL ONE.

You can learn more about The Art Of Living  Foundation and courses by clicking HERE.

Hello fellow Radical Wholeness Enthusiasts!

Want an almost effortless way of meditating and engaging  in spiritual practice with your computer?

The folks at Wild Divine, a unique software program featuring  Depeek Chopra and healing and health experts,  recently polled their Wild Divine Meditation and Bio-Feedback Game purchasers, asking them the all-important question- “why did you buy our product?” The number one answer by far was, “because my therapist/doctor recommended it to me.” People are seeking solutions to their dilemmas in life in various ways. But one of the rising trends comes from recognizing stress, and our body’s need to find ways to relax, even if the pace in people’s lives is not slowing down. The Guided Mediations and breathing techniques taught in our Healing Rhythms programs can help give people simple ways to relax, even if for just a few quick minutes in the middle of a busy day.

The easiest way to start off when practicing guided relaxation is to count your breaths as you inhale and exhale. Deep breathing relaxation methods, which involve inhaling through your nose as deeply as you can, will help your body start to relax. Hold this breath and then let it out slowly through your nose. Your heart rate will start to slow down and your muscles will start to relax. When learning relaxation meditation, remember to have a focus for the meditation. It requires work to focus your mind on one point and you must be engaged in all aspects of meditating. During relaxation meditation, all kinds of thoughts will come to mind. You have to learn how to recognize these thoughts and then dismiss them so that you are still actively involved in the guided relaxation. This is one of the main reasons why you need to choose a quiet place for meditation where you will not be interrupted by the normal sounds of your life when you are teaching yourself how to relax in this manner. Meditation for beginners will be frustrating when you can’t seem to get it right the first time.

The key is to stay focused on meditating and to focus on your breathing techniques. The thoughts of frustration are ones that can take over and ruin relaxation methods for you. One great practice in meditation for beginners learning how to relax is to concentrate on the parts of the body. Start with your toes and focus on them as you feel them relax. Then move upward concentrating for a few minutes on each body part and how it relaxes. As you get to your head, your body will be completely relaxed and then you can concentrate on having a blank mind.

I’ve  used the Journey to the Wild Divine as a fun way to train my brain for a couple of years now and recommended to several clients.

You can learn more about it at the Tools for Wholeness section on the SOULutions site.

The yellow in the logo symbolizes the light of consciousness shinning down from above into the roots that are below conscious awareness. Just as the health and growth of the tree is determined by the health and depth of the root system, we too are emotionally and spiritually healthy to the degree that our soul/essence is healthy. Spirit can only express through us, impacting Life with the strength and love of our gifts to the extent that we have the depth to support this expansion. The greater the depth - the greater the potential for expansion.

Here’s the back story.

My first spiritual teacher, or guru, although I didn’t recognize her as such until a few years ago, was Mother Nature. On this morning, as I meandered down the river path near my home, I saw the exuberant expressions of fall and recalled the previous spring. I sat on my back porch allowing my eyes to play with the dogwoods, azaleas, and purple wisteria. Every year it is the same cycle of growth, dormancy and rebirth. I listened very carefully on this morning to hear the message Mother Nature whispered to me through the cool autumn breeze:

“With the fall equinox, I prepare myself to go inward, deeper toward the center of the earth. There, I do the soul work of deepening my roots—pushing through the dirt that keeps me from my Source. I deepen my roots so that when the spring equinox arrives, I am ready to allow Spirit to express itself through me in all of its unique, abundant manifestations. You, Michael, are a unique incarnation of Spirit, also. Tend to your soul as I tend to my roots and Spirit will express itself through you.”  Click HERE to read the entire article.

Bill Maher may be a gifted comedian, talk show host and the creator of the recent movie “Religulous” yet most would agree that he is about as far from being a  fundamentalist you can get.

Or Is he?

Maher and I agree that it is ridiculous to steadfastly hold on to the belief that the universe was created in six literal twenty four hour days as told in Genesis’s  story of creation. And, as religious fundamentalist believe, evolution is just a man made theory with no validity. Yes, ridiculous, you might agree.

Here’s where  I part with Maher and other “scientific fundamentalist’s.”  Suggesting that the rich texts in the Christian Bible have no validity and the impact they have on people’s lives is a hoax, as Maher suggests, is equally ridiculous.

While the religious fundamentalist literal claim;“It’s in the bible, God said it, I believe it and that’s all I need to know” is a bit shallow, the scientific fundamentalist’s” claim of Maher and others, that the stories in the bible are ridiculous and only stupid people take them seriously is, …well, a bit stupid. Both miss out on the rich spiritual insights that can  bring both meaning and practical wisdom to our daily lives.

The late Joseph Campbell, known by many as the leading expert in mythology, helped me to understand that spiritual teachings are spoken about through metaphors and stories. The depth of their truth is beyond facts and the limitations of language. The truth is in the illumination provided by the beauty and purity of what the story is pointing to.

All spiritual literature, whether Christian or from other religions and cultures can reveal a message of truth far deeper than the words, if heard from our hearts rather than interpreted, defended or dismissed by our heads. Find the beauty and purity expressed in these stories and you will find the richness of the Spirit.

Ego seeks the illusion of certainty. Essence seeks Truth.