Vista

vis-ta:  noun, etymology: Italian, sight, from visto

1: a distant view through or along an avenue or opening: prospect  2: an extensive mental view (as over a stretch of time or a series of events)   - Merriam-Webster        

     One definition of the brain’s function is “a pattern recognition system.” If we repeat negative thoughts and feelings we create neural pathways much like a stream of water cuts a deep canyon through a mountain. Conversely, practicing and learning to maintain beneficial energy and thought states over time creates increasingly healthy and refined patterns of being.  

    “The fact that we all share the potential to feel an external energy force, a God if you will, could be such a tremendously healing and unifying revelation for a diverse, strife-torn world. Many of my patients tell me that their belief-based elicitation of the relaxation response has broadened their religious views, made them more respectful of the spiritual quality of life, no matter what religion expresses it. It is as if the elicitation puts them in tune with other people, as well as with a spiritual presence. But the idea that God is a product of beliefs, which are nonetheless critical to the species’ survival, is startling to some people. Even though God is ultimately unknowable and unprovable, and can only be envisioned, conjured and believed in by way of the faculties of our minds and bodies, it is hard for many believers to attribute their faith simply to their faith. But, as disconcerting as the news may be for some, my medical pursuits maintain that it really makes no difference where this capacity for spirituality came from, from God or from some evolutionary mandate, only that it is ultimately very good for health and for humanity. It is a win-win situation to believe in an Infinite Absolute.” (Herbert Benson, M.D. “Timeless Healing, The Power and Biology of Belief,”Scribner, 1997, page 216).

     I am excited about continued discoveries which give factual explanations for what most of us already know intuitively deep down, if we take a moment to pay attention to the deep down part of us that holds the magical mystery in reverence. In "From Intellect to Intuition," Alice Bailey speaks of a New Age that combines the best of Eastern and Western philosophies. Now the New Age is expanding to encompass the interchange and mirroring between science and spirituality.

     As an idealist I have been viewed as an unrealistic dreamer. But it is the idealists who hold the vision of a higher mode of being which humanity as a whole can step into. Hopefully, overall as a culture we aspire to becoming progressively more civilized. One can also hope that most any person, when asked if they would choose the higher road - especially if they were given a clear map - would answer, “Yes.” The challenge is that the directions are usually muddled and confusing. We get conflicting information from many sources - the media, from religious teachings, our parents and families, our friends, and from a niggling feeling which, if we take the time to pay attention to it, turns out to be our own inner guidance. Regularly connecting with one’s center, using the meditative visualizations in this book and/or other spiritual practices, clears a channel to receive the inner guidance, and to experience self-care and care and compassion for those with whom we share this planet.

     I believe that love is the highest energy that humans can experience. I have tried to imagine a greater energy than love, but decided that for now it will be enough for me to work on experiencing and generating love on a more regular basis, and cutting down on the amount of time spent cycling through fear and doubt. Love is the essence of all of the spiritual philosophies and healing modalities I have studied. All of the teachings and instructions and explorations help us get rid of emotional patterns and erroneous behaviors and belief systems that block us from experiencing the love that is freely available in our hearts at any and all times. A famous teaching is the suggestion that we love others as we love ourselves (“Love your neighbor as yourself,”Matthew 22:40, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,“Matthew 5:43 ). Perhaps if we loved ourselves better, creating and maintaining a strong inner connection with the Spirit of Love, we would reflect our inner love to those in our lives, and  our world would be more harmonious and joyous.

    With a regular practice of Connect and Glow, one can more quickly find the way back to the inner center of love, and act in a loving way to oneself and all those encountered in our daily lives.

     May your light shine bright. May you know faith in your courage and in your inner guidance. May every step be blessed. May every moment reveal new and inspiring vistas. May you experience aliveness and love.

      "Hope...is a light force which radiates objectively and
which directs creative evolution toward the world's future.
It is the celestial and spiritual counterpart of terrestrial and natural
instincts of biological reproduction. In other words, hope is what
moves and directs spiritual evolution in the world."
      - Valentin Tomberg

Leave a comment