A Passage In A Book
I first read this passage in a book over thirty years ago. At the time, the words made an impression on me. They have continued to stick with me through the years. Unconventional words about God for sure. And yet, while not really understanding the passage at the time, I felt that the words were indicative of an inner truth.
The passage was in a book written in 1988 by an author named Stuart Wilde. Here is the passage I am referring to – “Universal Law is impartial. It will give you anything that you believe. It will throw you garbage or roses depending on the energy that you put in. You are the one in charge and you must accept that and stand alone. If you think God is coming down to fix things for you, forget it. God is out playing golf.”
You may be familiar with the image of the painting by Michelangelo on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican. It is the one titled “The Creation of Man”. In it, God is portrayed as an older gent in a robe with white hair and a long white beard. He is reaching out and his finger is touching Adam’s finger.
I believe the passage in the book does not presume to see Michelangelo’s image of God wearing Dockers, a polo shirt and golf shoes. The passage of course is a metaphor.
The Heavenly Switchboard
Let’s play with the passage and conjure up an imaginary scene. The heavenly switchboard is especially busy with urgent calls for help coming in from all over the globe. Inhabitants of the earth are dialing up hundreds of millions, even perhaps billions of calls to God through prayer. They are pleading with God to come down and make a service call.
Someone is in ill health. A person just got fired from their job. The toilet keeps backing up. And every other possible type of adversity that you can imagine. The receptionists keep saying the same thing – “God is not in the office today. He is out on the golf course.” Eventually, totally frazzled, the head receptionist calls God on his cell phone. The receptionist tells God “The calls are coming in especially heavy today. Do you think maybe you should come in to the office?”
Gods answers, ” Why do they refuse to listen to the words of Jesus? He has already told them in plain English that the Kingdom of God is within them. My prophet Joshua could not have made it any clearer when he told them that the Lord your God is with you wherever you are. I have created the humans of the earth in a manner that allows them to connect with me at any time, wherever they are, by going within. I am with them always. And yet they still continue to look outward for rescue. Oh well, I am patient. They will eventually learn. OK, I have to go now. I still have another nine holes to go.”
He Said What?
Where should you immediately go when you encounter any type of trouble? To God, of course. But where is God? He is within you. Listen to verses 20 and 21 from the gospel of Luke, chapter 17:
And having been asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, ” The Kingdom will not come with observable signs, nor will they say ‘Behold here or Behold there’ for behold the Kingdom of God is within you”.
I have used the Bible translation known as the Literal Standard Version. It is the most literal translation of the Holy Bible. It provides significant improvement over previous literal translations. The Literal Standard Version uses as a textual basis the Masoretic Text, the Septuagint, the Dead Sea Scrolls, Textus Receptus, Majority Text and other New Testament manuscripts.
I have observed clergymen take Luke 17:20-21 and state “Oh Jesus did not really mean what he said. He actually meant …………”. Then they give their own spin that matches up with their church denomination stance. Really?? The words sound very clear to me.
Step On In
When you are engaged in a process of conscious manifestation praying, be aware of everything going on around you. Stay alert. Pay attention. Spend every day, as much as your state of consciousness will allow, experiencing the Presence of God. Stay focused on God but walk with an open mind. God may elect to bring you the object of your desire in a way that you are totally not expecting. And when that door of opportunity opens up specifically for you, for crying out loud, don’t just stand there, step on in. The parable, Two Boats and A Helicopter, serves nicely to illustrate this.
A storm descends rapidly upon a small town. The torrential downpour soon turns into a full scale flood. The local clergyman kneels in fervent prayer in the church vestibule. A few townspeople come up to the church in a rowboat. Knowing the preacher is inside, they shout “Better get in our boat now Preacher, the flood waters just keep rising”
“No, I have full faith in the Lord. He will save me.”
The flood waters do continue to rise. They force the clergyman up into the church choir loft which has a big window. A man zips up the the window in a motorboat. “Come on out Pastor. You need to get out now! Things just keep getting worse”.
Once again, the clergyman stands his ground stating, “I trust the Lord. He will save me.”
Sure enough, the levee breaks. The flood waters continue to rise to the point where only the church steeple is above water. The clergyman has moved to the steeple and is clinging to the cross.
A helicopter descends from the clouds. A state trooper lets down a rope ladder. By bullhorn he urges the clergyman to climb on the ladder.
Once again, in full faith, the clergyman stands fast, insisting the the Lord will save him.
Ultimately, the clergyman drowns.
Being a truly pious man, the clergyman goes to Heaven. He ultimately gets an interview with God. He plaintively asks, “Why God, why? Why didn’t you save me from the flood?”
God gives a deep sigh and says, “What did you want from me? I sent you two boats and a helicopter!”
Where Do You Live ?
Where are you living these days? I do not mean a geographic location such as a town or a street. I don’t care about that. I mean where are you living deep down inside yourself. Are you spending any of your limited time on the planet living within the Kingdom of God? If yes, good. Very good. Just keep doing that (as if I had to tell you). If no, honestly ask yourself, why not? Do not be in a rush to answer that question. A snap answer will not serve you well. After you have answered that question, then stop for a moment. Center yourself into a totally relaxed state of quiet stillness. Then ask again with laser penetration. Peel back all the layers of societal conditioning and get to the heart of the matter.
As I have said to you many times within this blog, consciously manifesting your desired reality requires work on your part. The disciplining of your thoughts. It is necessary for you to make thought work for you instead of you allowing your thoughts to “run the show”. Drop the chains restricting your beliefs. Once your mind forms the vision of your desire, believe that vision is real. Not real in some future time but real right now. Make your home within the Kingdom of God. If you do this, your mind will open up like the petals of a flower. Indeed, your mind will get out the way to allow Ultimate Intelligence to reach you. You will understand the eternal laws at play in conscious manifestation. I am sorry that I am not able to better explain it. You will just have to experience it for yourself.
The concept is simple. Conceive. Believe. Receive. The work you will have to put in is real. But so are the beautiful rewards. Just let go. Let God’s thoughts be your thoughts. Be subsumed by the Presence of God. Lose your outer constructed self in order to discover your true self. You will discover with delight that your true self fits you perfectly like a custom tailored suit.
The Young Pope
Did you ever watch an HBO TV series called “The Young Pope”? I have never watched a full episode but have viewed several clips on You Tube. Briefly, the premise of the series revolves around the installation of a young Pope (an American) played by the actor, Jude Law.
One of those scenes that I have viewed involves the Pope having a conversation with a female Vatican official. She is the Curator of the Image of the Holy Father. She explains to the new Pope that it is necessary to have a photo session to record his image for papal merchandise sold by the Vatican. Merchandise with the image of the Holy Father such as coffee mugs, postcards, key chains, framed prints and posters, t-shirts and commemorative plates. The curator goes on to explain that there will be two types of plates. The first will be mass produced and sell for five euros. The second will be hand crafted and will sell for forty-five euros.
Upon hearing this, the Pope excuses himself and briefly leaves the room. When he returns he is holding a white dinner plate. As he stands in front of the curator, the conversation goes as follows:
Young Pope: Do you see this plate m’am? (Note: He is holding a plain white dinner plate).
Curator: Yes, of course Holy Father, I see it.
Young Pope: This is the type of merchandise I am prepared to authorize.
Curator: But it doesn’t have your image on it.
Young Pope: I do not have an image my good lady because I am no one. You understand? No one. Only Christ exists. Only Christ. And I am not worth 45 euros or even 5 euros. I am worth nothing.
Where is your true focus? On the world or on the Divine within you. With the former, circumstances create you. With the latter, you create circumstances.
Josh Nailed It
The Presence of God, the source of your power to manifest, is with you always, everywhere that you happen to be. From the first breath of your life unto your last. It is up to you however, to recognize that truth and live in it.
In the Old Testament of the Bible, one of my favorite verses to meditate on is in the book of Joshua. The prophet Joshua understood the truth. Read and absorb the full meaning of this sublime verse, Chapter 1, Verse 9:
Be strong and courageous.
Do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged.
The Lord your God, will be with you wherever you go.
Wherever you go. The love of God, the peace, the power, the truth, the joy, the presence – wherever you go.
I am sitting in a Starbucks writing this at a table that is against the wall. Reflecting on the full implications of this verse is causing me right now to well up inside. I must turn my head towards the wall so that I am not observed silently crying in joy.
Josh nailed it. He understood completely. BE strength. BE courage. The Kingdom of God is within you. Be free of all your fears. You really can, you know, if you so desire. There is no earthly experience of any type that you will ever experience that will give you the feeling of living in the Kingdom of God.
Three
In this blog, I have given you several “recipes” to manifest your desire. These “recipes” are actually techniques of prayer. After forming the vision of your desire, the prayer technique that you choose is the first step in the process.
The second step is to develop the creative mindset. Imaginative belief. What the Bible calls faith. In your mind, claim your prayers as answered, regardless of any and all circumstances. They do not matter. It is called “living in the end”. You are living in the world but your faith is not of the world. It comes from the Kingdom of God. Your continued faith is the rock solid evidence that you have what you hope for. Your faith is your true reality.
The third step in manifesting is to receive with gratitude. When your faith, your belief, has gotten you to the point, where in your mind you have received your desire, when you are “living in the end”, then, rejoice, be thankful. Feel gratitude. Relief and gratitude because your manifestation is complete. It is you know. It just takes physical reality some time to sync up with your inner belief.
Go forth. Be God’s agent here on earth. Manifest all manner of good things. Why do you think God blessed humanity with that power? To not use it?? Certainly not. Go forth. Manifest with joy as you live in the Kingdom of God within.
Conceive, Believe, Receive – the trinity of conscious manifesting.