THE FINDING GOD ON THE TRAIN STORY -
NOTES ON ENLIGHTENMENT -
THE QUEST FOR A POSITIVE, PERSONAL SPIRITUALITY EVOLVES
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WITHIN
It is all within us, heaven on earth,
love and wisdom, truth – unity – God,
everything we seek, all that we desire,
aspire to, stretch to obtain – the power
to heal ourselves as well as others;
the enlightenment; the transcendence;
the very infinity we struggle to comprehend;
all history; all evolution; the cosmos;
consciousness; all levels of comprehension;
full and utter existence.
Yet, along side of this, is the murky,
the fearful, the anxiety, the suffering,
the hell unattended, the pain carried –
our own and that of our ancestors –
the chaos of wanton desire, our animal
natures, our monsters, our confusion,
our despair.
We must submerge ourselves deeply
within our conscious, subconscious,
and unconscious awareness; using
contemplation/prayer/meditation
to find our way; to find a way to order
our own “allness” for a more positive
existence, for our own being, for our
own becoming, for our own clear vision.
NOE G. 2.12.2017
It is often difficult for me to ascertain which
transpires first, a certain spiritual obsession,
or the daily message/guidance that may have
referenced the notion in the first place; creating
a sort of spiritual “chicken or the egg” conundrum.
Two spiritual concepts have captured my obsessive
attention recently, both incited initially, I think,
by guidance received during my daily meditations,
and finally morphing into the note offered above
titled Within.
First, is the very concept that we - as individual,
physical, spiritual beings - are all inclusive,
a sort of mobile hologram representing all that
exists, or has ever existed, within the cosmos -
including God. Not a novel concept for New
Thought adventurers, but one that has suddenly
stunned me, forcing me beyond my reason based
comprehension, into a vaster conceptual context.
I have, as of yet, been unable to fully verbalize
this clearly, but let me attempt to express
my swirling thoughts as the following.
We each, individually, contain the creative
life force that is necessary to not only
perceive the cosmos, and through that
perception establish its existence, but also
to use it as a multi-dimensional canvas
upon which, through which, we individually,
as well as communally, create a work of art
so enormous, so momentous, so profound,
we, if aware, must shutter at its magnificence.
Although I struggle here to convey its essence,
I know this gift of structured existence demands
our attention, requires our comprehension, and
beseeches our skillful use.
As the note above conveys, this power within
also includes our capability for healing, stated
briskly with the following simple declaration:
“the power to heal ourselves
as well as others”
Healing has been the other spiritual concept
that has occupied my thoughts recently.
And frankly, this power to heal should not
be a shock to me, given that all of New
Thought was founded on this very idea
of spiritual healing.
As with anyone who is a member of a large
family, serious health concerns throw life
into a state of chaos, and recently Ann and I
have also been contributing to the confusion.
Leave it to say, my morning meditations are
focused on healing, my own and that of others
I love.
So, I would like to share some of my recent
thoughts regarding healing, with the under-
standing that this topic deserves its own chapter
in one of my books (good idea!), or maybe its
own book, to ensure full coverage.
I will start with a controversial insight – that is,
healing, in my current thinking, is determined
by the faith of the person who is being prayed for,
not those who are praying. What is important
is that the prayed for person is aware of all
the wonderful loving, kind people who care
enough to pray; and it is here where the larger
the number of "prayers" stokes the importance
of the experience.
Likewise, recent research has shown that the
patient’s belief in the healing medicine, elixir,
placebo, operation, procedure, potion, prayer,
ceremony, festival, statue, or sacred location;
as well as the patient’s belief in the physician,
healer, priest, shaman – is most accentuated
and beneficial when the curing procedure is
performed, or offered, in a way that creates
what the patient will emotionally perceive of as
a “profound healing experience.”
To use modern healing practices as an example,
when we walk into a major medical facility for
a healing procedure: our minds register
the significance of the facility, the doctors,
the complex healing equipment, the reputation
of both the medical staff and the hospital as a
healing entity: all of which enhances our
(the patient's) healing belief, as well as our
expectation of a curing experience - actually
fostering a positive medical outcome by ensuring
a “profound healing experience.”
In other words, this healing experience –
its ambiance, its personal/spiritual significance
to the patient, even its magical nature – coupled
with the belief the procedure will work, heightens
the overall possibility of actual healing.
So, what I am saying here, is that the patient’s
belief in the healing element or process, when
administered by what is perceived of as respected
authority able to create the desired outcome –
when coupled with the potent demonstration
of a “profound healing experience,” not only
enhances the actual healing potential of the
patient, but may, in and of itself, trigger a
healing process within the patient.
This goes a long way to clarify why a vast array
of medical science based research studies report
actual, tangible, healing results within their placebo
control groups. Perhaps the very protocol of the
research study is triggering the internal belief
based healing system of the test patients by
providing this "profound healing experience."
For example, a recent television advertisement
for an injection that reduces the number
of migraines for those who suffer from fifteen
or more per month, offers an explanation
in small print at the bottom of the screen,
that those who received the actual injection
had nine to ten less migraines per month
on average, while those who received the
research placebo injection experienced
six to seven less migraines monthly. This
is what is known as the Placebo Effect -
actual healing from a control substance
or procedure that has no actual therapeutic
value.
It is easy to extrapolate that belief based healing
is a viable healing process, and that we each could
tap into, or benefit from, respected spiritual
healing experiences, of course, as an adjunct
to already respected modern medical procedures.
I have been most impacted and excited by the
feature focus of the December 2016 issue of
National Geographic – the cover title exclaims
The Healing Power Of Faith. This insightful
summary of healing research titled Mind Over
Matter, by Erik Vance, with amazing photographs
by Erika Larsen - fully outlines this significant
research regarding faith based healing. I have
shared a link to this article below:
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2016/12/healing-science-belief-placebo/
Thank you for allowing me to discuss my two
current obsessions. What makes this spiritual
quest so exciting, is that the wonder never leaves
us without something to mull over, and over,
and over. I will be republishing some of my
related posts from the Finding God On The Train
archives, in hopes stimulating our future mulling.
WITH LOVE, G.
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