Here is something I believe you will find useful… an overview of the journey towards spiritual awakening and what lies beyond.
Awakening To The Infinite – A Map Of The Authentic Spiritual Journey
Leave your questions and comments below.
Enjoy!
Shafin
Question from a Reader:
Hello Folks,
And hello Shafin! My question and response is some what short and straight to the point. It’s basically this: Once a person has gained a very high level of enlightenment about many of the important things in life. Where does that place such a person in regards to everyday life?
He or she still has to work a job, they still have to eat food, maybe have a release for sexual, mental… or enhancement. So while still living in this meat suite, where do the enlightened go from here, and how does this enlightened individual make life count productively while still be subject to the wheel of Samsara, birth and re-birth (life and death)?
That answer could be the real “secret” of the ages.
Theo
My Reply:
Hi Theo,
Strictly speaking, there is no enlightened person, only enlightened activities people do. Some do it more than the others. But no one becomes “permanently enlightened” simply by figuring out some cosmic secret. It’s not a degree you earn; it’s a state of being you need to work pretty hard to maintain.
Nowadays enlightenment is popularly portrayed as some sudden state of rapture usually accompanied by luminous shapes and a profound unity consciousness. True, this is enlightenment; but just like all candles (or for that matter stars) require energy to keep shining light into darkness, that state of unity consciousness also requires energy to stay that way. And that energy comes from constant spiritual discipline and focus.
Now here’s the biggie: it’s actually EASIER (in a very ascetic way) to maintain this so called state of enlightenment in a monastery or up in the mountains far removed from the challenges of modern life! It’s tremendously harder to serve the world in an enlightened way when you have to live in everyday world of mortgage and credit cards, school homework and divorce lawyers. But it is here that we learn the hardest of the lessons. It is here in the every day life amidst people we grow the fastest. Why?
Because it’s ALL God. God is not only found somewhere in Himalayas hiding in a temple, nor in a thousand year old church somewhere in Ireland. God is everywhere and interacting with us through everyone. God is here and now. God wears 10,000 masks. And some of those masks include your mother-in-law, ex-husband, tax officer, boss, brother, sister, lover…
It’s so much easier to stay enlightened when you don’t have to fall in love so madly that you could die for the other, only to be scarred so badly that it hurts to even breathe. Its so much easier to be enlightened when all you have to worry about is your own robe and a rice bowl – yes its simple and its difficult to attain this level of simplicity, but its easier too – its so much harder to act with perfect enlightened attitude when you have to deal with traffic jams and politicians, have a family to feed, children to send to school, and want to take them on a little vacation once in a while so they may smile and grow. Its so much harder because there are so many challenges that come on the way.
Now I am not saying there is anything wrong with the monastic life or people who dedicate themselves to a life of simplicity and strict spiritual pursuits in seclusion. Those choices can be compared with going to school or university. Sometimes we need to study for many years in seclusion or in an institution before we are able serve the world in a bigger and better way. Depending on how much you want to study you may take 5 years or 30 years. But it’s important to realize that it’s not significantly better or worse to be a monk or a stock broker.
You can be a monk or a yogi for all the wrong reasons (fear of dealing with the challenges of the world) and obviously you can be a police man or stock broker for all the wrong reasons too (being driven by never ending hunger for money and power). Both are valid in their own way. But when you live a life of seclusion, it’s definitely easier to maintain a state of rapturous unity consciousness of perfect love and compassion.
I remember hearing a story in a monastery in Nepal (where I lived for a month last year): the story is about this great yogi who lived in a remote cave all alone for 27 years. Finally he was discovered by the village people nearby and they started to offer him food once in a while and he’d give them teachings sometimes. Soon his name became famous and many people began to visit him regularly from villages all around the place. Everything was fine until one day someone invited the guru to come down in the village carnival in the valley below to impart his wisdom. Nobody really expected him to accept the invitation but the great guru said yes.
So it is after 28 years of seclusion, meditation, discipline and devotion, the great guru came down to the village carnival… and then something happened!
Because many people came to the carnival and some of them did not have any idea who the great guru was, there was commotion all around him and mistakenly someone bumped into him and he fell to the ground. Angry, the guru got up and yelled “Do you not know who I am?” And the moment the words came out the great yogi realized his mistake. He asked forgiveness and moved along.
He taught many people in the carnival and when it was time for him to leave, a disciple asked him where he would go now, back to his cave? Could he not stay just for the night in the village?
To this the guru answered, “The days of being in the cave is now over. I realize that my true learning will happen here among the people. It is here that I shall learn what I truly need to learn.”
And so the guru began to live within the people, learning to adjust to the struggles of everyday life, discovering all the hidden aspects of his self that he could not see all this years in the seclusion of his cave.
This story reminds me of a simple truth: God is not just the light, but also the darkness; not just the pleasure, but also pain; not just success but also the failures; not just life but also death. There is nothing that God is not. And I feel that living within people is one of the most effective ways to practice the discipline of remembering that simple truth.
Here’s a quote I read a while ago: “God turns you from one feeling to another and teaches by means of opposites, so that you will have two wings to fly, not one.” Opposites are part of this physical reality; you can’t have light without dark…
Remember: it is the people that cause the greatest “dis-harmony” are the ones that teach the most profound lessons as well. Something I think is valuable to remember on our ever increasing quest to ONLY attract the “positive”. Remember, on a magnet, you can’t have the positive without the negative. No matter how many times you try to chop the negative off.
So coming back to your question “where do the enlightened go from here?”, the enlightened goes no where really but simply realizes that after all has been said and done, its all God, all perfect, all One, despite the seeming two-ness and apparent broken-ness. So where do you go when you are already there? You don’t.
You simply do what you do but never put anyone out of your heart. You play your role in this drama with all enthusiasm and seriousness but you NEVER forget the truth. It’s all One. It’s ALL God. We are ALL in this great journey together. The bad guys are serving the perfect role and so are the good guys. All the obstacles and disappointments in life are nothing but guidance for us to fulfil our chosen destiny, to learn all the lessons we are here to learn in this life time, to be all that we are destined to be.
All the wars and the cruelty, all the disease and the poverty, are simply calls for the heroes to rise, for the warriors of light to awaken and unleash their magical powers, for the timid princes to slay the dragon only to fulfil his destiny to serve as the great ruler…
But here’s a question that the enlightened never forget to ask: “How would the heroes realize they are heroes if the villains never challenged them to arise?” Who then, are truly the heroes? The ones who get all the kudos for slaying the dragon? Or is it the dragon who served the role of the bad guy so the hero could become the hero?
The enlightened do not go anywhere or do anything special. They neither fervently seek the light nor do they remain inactive in the darkness. They simply do what they do – in their monasteries or stock markets, marriages or nightclubs, serving the roles of patriots or dictators, saving lives or killing many – but they never put anyone out of their hearts. They see the unity beyond the illusion of material separation but they act with perfect compassion and empathy. They serve the world but not with the illusion that right now is anything but perfect. They do what they do, wherever they are – prisons, hospitals, carnivals or battlefields – but they never put anyone out of their hearts.
They remember this simple truth – Love is the recognition of God in the other.
And in the end… it’s all Love.
Shafin
—
Shafin de Zane, CHT, MH, MNLP
Hypnotherapist, Author, Spiritual Coach
This post is taken from chapter 34 “The Gift Of Love” of my newly updated book Redefine Your Reality. To read the full chapter, you can purchase the book here
Here’s one of the most difficult challenges we all face on the spiritual journey: remaining open and staying connected to the present moment. It is hard to explain, harder to remember and hardest to practice within the chaos of worldly affairs. But it is the key to freedom, the essential ingredient for all revelation, the link without which all secrets become useless head knowledge.
Remaining open to the present moment means transcending your ego mind. It means going beyond the identity you have assumed in this life time and becoming bare naked… nameless, identityless, roleless, limitless. It means coming out of the prison of intellect into the open sky of the infinite. It means letting go of control over the how and the when. It means becoming the witness of the perfection that is unfolding right here and now, without judgement, without preference, without trying to squeeze the ocean into a drop that you can hold in your hands. It means letting the ocean merge into the drop and watching the drop explode into the ecstasy of infinity. In other words, it is being fully present here and now and loving every moment of it!
When you are open and connected with the present moment, with God, with another human being, you go beyond the limits of your ego mind and merge with the ocean of the boundless One. In that moment you are no longer bound by the socio-cultural-economic-religious-family programming of this life that has created your framework of belief system, the paradigm of your life, the filter of your understanding. In that moment you are ready to experience the bliss and the joy of being one with the Universe – the One Song.
The Sufi poet Rumi once said “Love God or love another human being, but if you love deep enough, you will know Love.” Falling in love with another human being is one of the most potent opportunities to experience this bliss without having to spend twenty years in meditation or under the tutelage of a realized guru. When you are truly in love with another human being, all separation dissolves away, even if for a few days or minutes when you are in the arms of your beloved, and you go beyond your ego mind experiencing “We” for the first time in your life.
This We, which is a unified being that is the combination of the lovers, is very real and is capable of great accomplishments, if you are able to remain connected for a substantial period of time that is. Remember, true love is not wanting another person, it is recognizing yourself in the other person, it is becoming one with the other person. True love is that awareness where you realize that no separation exists. It is not you loving him but there is a We now, which is the unity of your being. That We is love.
But typically, that We-ness fades after a while, the desire remains, the craving remains, the insatiable feeling of wanting to spend time together remains, but the We-ness fades after a while (in most cases). After a while, it becomes me and her. It becomes…
“I love you so much, why do you not love me back in the same way? Why are you thinking about something else even when we are together?”
“I love you too. But there are other things in life you know. I had a bad day. My boss is giving me problems. Our friends also need our attention remember? We can’t be selfish and focus only on ourselves…”
“Yes but I don’t feel your presence anymore like I felt before. Its like you are here but not here.”
“But I am here. I don’t know how else to make you happy. Do you want to go grab a drink? Maybe if we go out more often you’d feel better?”
“You don’t understand.”
The We-ness has faded. One has gone into the prison of the ego mind, the other is taking time to join. Now it has become “I… love… you” rather than we ARE and all other explanation is superfluous. We ARE and we are floating in love, connected ALL the time, feeling each others heart moment by moment, every moment, as we grow together towards the end of time. We are one, serving as one, growing as one, loving as one, hanging out with friends as one, attending parties, funerals, tax filings and grocery shopping as one. When we make love, it isn’t me making love to you, stuck in my head of either “am I having enough fun?” or even “is my partner having enough fun?” but “Look! Your body is making love to my body and we are experiencing both our bodies as we enjoy the blissful ecstasy of bodily pleasure as ONE.” You are no longer stuck in your own body having pleasure or trying to give pleasure, but you are simply experiencing the mind blowing juiciness of the present moment as We and feeling the bodies writhe in ecstasy…. In that moment, together you are ready to experience God, because in that moment when you are no longer stuck within your ego mind role of “me against them”, but you simply are, you get a very powerful glimpse of what it means to be One with God.
But then again, that We-ness fades and we get carried away by the worldly affairs of trying to make a living, raising a family, dealing with traffic jams and politics… we slip into the sleep of separateness, into the roles and functions, into our endless quest of trying to become a “human doing” rather than a “human being”.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. There is a better way of living this precious human life. While that way of living can be a bit difficult to master, it is so much more fun, satisfying and fulfilling…
Read the full chapter by buying Redefine Your Reality
If you have already purchased the book, get the newly updated version from your download page. If you lost your download page or it has expired, drop us a line at ryr.customer [@] gmail.com mentioning the email address you used when you made the purchase.
Today I have a very special gift for you. Something I believe has the potential to really change the way you live life. Something that has the potential to not only change your life but change the world. Not everyday I am this excited about one of my own work. But I am today, and I hope you will find as much joy and value listening to it as I have serving as the messenger.
LIVE PERSONAL SESSION RECORDING (Right Click And Save Target As / Save Link As)
As you will see, its a live recording from a personal session I was conducting with one of my students from the UK. What transpired this day was something I didn’t plan, neither did I realize the value of, until it came through. As you will notice from the recording, both myself and Archie (the student in the recording) were profoundly moved. And with his kind permission I am now offering you this little gift we co-created.
Enjoy, share with your loved ones and do leave a comment.
Lots of love,
Shafin
—
Shafin de Zane, CHT, MH, MNLP
Hypnotherapist, Author, Spiritual Coach
www.redefineyourreality.com
QUESTION FROM A READER:
Hi Shafin
For over 15 years I have been studied metaphysics, Met someone who is one of the speakers on the video the Secret and spoken to him. Leaned self hypnotherapy and also listened to Steve G. Jones on attracting wealth ,great relationships etc. Down loaded countless products on the law of attraction subliminal suggestion and read ninety percent of the books that are in the free download once Ive purchased your book. None has made any difference infact im in a worse position in every area of my life these days than i was thirty years ago.
What i would like to ask what in your book would be any different from all the other metaphysicians claiming to turn peoples lives around if none of this stuff has bought into fruition the things i have being trying to manifest. For ten years I have tried everything to bring in a mutually loving and supportive relationship only to attract crazy makers, commitment phobics and con men.
I havnt been asking for this. I have had vision boards,imaginging as if i already have a great relationship ,hypnosis etc etc Have no problem attracting men in the first place. Should it be this difficult after working with all these techniques from the law of attraction. I have constantly asked for a healthy relationship and abundance. Have taken action and being very focused and possitive only to start at the bottom again. Im nearly fifty years Idont feel old but find it very difficult to remotivate my self and continually come up with the same result. I I would be happy to purchase your book but well how is it any different.Could you offer me an answer.
Thanks G***
My Answer:
Hi G***
I’m not going to answer the parts about “why you should buy my book” but address some far more important questions that you have asked without really putting it in words.
The first thing you need to realize is that the problems you mention are not very unique. In fact it’s quite common. Many people experience such blockages and find, while highly re-assuring and most times very entertaining, all these wonderful ideas of law of attraction, vision boards and so on somehow just don’t work for them (or works sometimes but not other times). You are nothing special in this department.
Now I want you to read the above lines a few more times before you read anything further. Do not read further until you have read it at least 3 times.
I want you to become aware of how you felt when you read my words above. What was your mental talk to yourself? If you felt even a slight twinge of irritation or anger at my words, it could be because “that it doesn’t work for you” actually is your way of feeling special. Something to take note of and think about. Again, interestingly there is nothing to unique in that department either. Many of us do it simply because our ego mind has many convoluted ways of making us feel special. It’s workable, and very much solvable a problem. If you actually did welcome my words, then read on.
We go about trying to attract our reality using our mind power and intention without asking one vital yet tremendously uncomfortable question: who thinks our thoughts? We want this and we want that, we try to manifest relationships, dollars, cars and circumstances. But we rarely stop to wonder, where is it that we get these desires from?
The usual answer to this question is “well I do, I think my own thoughts”. But do you really? The uncomfortable truth is that less than 10% of our life is directed by our thinking, logical, rational, “conscious”, ego mind. The rest 90% or more of our decisions and desires in life come from our subconscious mind which is the mega store house of beliefs, emotions, habits, and permanent memory of our life experiences. And where does our beliefs come from? How are our habits formed? What memories of childhood do you have stored in the dark corners of your mind? What are your emotions trying to tell you? What is the purpose of your emotions that hold so much power over your life?
The answers to those above questions, unfortunately, require an exploration of the human mind that I cannot give you in this little email but let me briefly give you an idea about where I am going with all of this:
See our conscious thoughts are entirely shaped by life experiences. Life experiences create the framework of our belief system (our functional paradigm of the world). Our beliefs then serve as background pattern, default choice, subconscious decision making blueprint, as we go about making thousands of choices every day. Every moment, we are making choices and decisions: what to wear, what to eat, which shampoo to buy, how to answer a question, which credit card to get, which stranger to talk to, which beggar to give alms to, which TV channel to watch, which partner to date, who we should trust, who we should avoid, what job to take, which dreams to follow, which books to read, what to write on vision boards… endless series of decisions and judgments, most of which we THINK we are making, but really it maybe being shaped by forces and factors we have no clue about!
Don’t believe me? Well, here is a little news for you: human mind is far easier to influence that we are willing to accept! Here is an example (Derren Brown is a famous British Mentalist and Simon Pegg is the star of many movies including Shaun Of The Dead, Run Fat Boy Run and my recent favorite… How To Lose Friends and Alienate People):
Okay maybe what you just saw is an extreme, maybe it required many props and careful manipulation of environment to pull off the trick, but just like the video, we too are being influenced by big marketing companies ALL THE TIME. Trust me when I tell you this: they know MIND CONTROL.
And what about all the random, yet highly powerful messages that we are exposed to everyday by the newspapers, radio, television news, movies, documentaries, advertisements etc? These shows and messages are created by some of the most brilliant and creative marketing minds of the world. These messages are powerful, engaging, entertaining and they have ONE common purpose: sell advertisement space! If no one bought advertisement space on CNN, it wouldn’t be able to run, if no one bought advertisements on Google, even they won’t be able to run. In turn, the advertisements have ONE purpose: to make YOU buy what they are selling. And in order to do that, sometimes they have to ALTER your perception of reality before you are in the right mind frame to buy (a BMX instead of a leather jacket).
Now what has all of this got to do with metaphysics and apparent lack of success with all the new age ideas? Everything! While the concept of being able to attract everything you want into your life is wonderfully empowering, it’s simply an intermediate step on the way to enlightenment. It’s a great concept for all those stuck in a life where they think “life is something that happens to them” but not so great for people who have progressed somewhat and are ready to understand some deeper aspects of reality.
Here is the problem with the great “law of attraction”: if you can’t see the future, don’t know what your personal destiny is, are incapable of predicting what will make you happy (as it is apparent by our decisions which only lead us to a future we are usually not happy with at all) and are completely biased by continuous marketing messages that bombard us every waking hour… how can we take responsibility for altering circumstances and events that are inextricably entangled with everyone and everything in the universe? How can we choose when we don’t even know what is favorable and what is not? How can we change our future, when we don’t even know what will make us happy?
Everything is interconnected. And we cannot change one grain of sand without changing the entire universe. But that is NOT to say that we cannot attract our dreams and desires into manifestation. We very well can, at least in the beginning, as many will religiously vouch to you that law of attraction works. And it does… but not for long. Why not? Because the design is such that it only works until you have successfully escaped the prison of “life is a struggle and you have to work hard” mentality. Once you have escaped, are reasonably certain that there is a deeper reality with very different laws that govern it, that your mind is very much capable of altering the course of events, the whole thing either stops working or becomes harder and harder to manifest.
Law Of Attraction works generally, not specifically. It works in the level of thoughts. Thoughts become things (generally). Thoughts about poverty, struggle and fight, brings more poverty, struggle and fight. Thoughts of peace, love and prosperity brings more peace, love and prosperity… generally. The specifics are in the domain of the Universe, in the hands of God.
The problem begins when we try to write our own specific future and materialize specific circumstances. Since our thoughts and desires are often not our own, and rarely in sync with the “big plan” (which is interconnected with all things and all people), they rarely materialize. When they don’t materialize, we become frustrated and go back to our old ways or distract ourselves with some form of external stimuli (food, drugs, movies, news, relationships, charity, and even helping others). But the frustration remains, the cognitive dissonance (conflict between beliefs and results) remains.
Unfortunately, since we have no better model and since all these new age products keep telling us that its “supposed to work” this way and gather many testimonials and what not to “prove” to you that its working for everyone else… and since it still doesn’t work for you, you get even more frustrated.
Actually its worse than that because if it didn’t work at all, that would be fine (although disappointing) and you could move on. But it works for you too, only sometimes, and not the other times. Somehow the “small things” that you dont care much about works better than the bigger things you “really want”. And since that makes you confused, angry and frustrated, it becomes harder to be truly grateful and joyous. And now the law of attraction works against you, rather than for you, and you keep wondering “where is it that it all went wrong???”
There is a better, more mature way of doing things. And that way is opening yourself up to miracles, instead of magic (or make things happen consciously by mind power).
How do you open up to miracles? Now this a topic like learning to swim, I can write many pages but you might learn nothing if you never tried to swim before. To really learn to swim, you need an instructor, you need to be in water, you need to practice and after all of that you will still look like a drowning monkey in the beginning. To be a little more direct, LIVING this way (as opposed to just intellectually understanding) requires you to radically transform your mind and completely change the way you live. You need a good teacher and you need some patience before you begin to de-program some of that negative programming. There is no quick fix or magic formula for this. If you wish to work with me, you are welcome to do so. Click here to make a choice.
Now let me give you some steps to live a life of miracles and magic:
First realize that YOU are NOT your thinking ego mind. You are much bigger than that. Your ego (that thinks and has a name and wants lots of material things) is a part of you, a tiny part at that, but it is not YOU. It’s only a part of you.
Second, meditate. Meditation is the royal road to enlightenment and miracles. It is the automatic process of healing yourself and opening yourself to direct communication with the Source or God.
Third, be open to ALL possibilities, every moment of every day. Unfortunately, this is easier said than done. It’s a great intellectual concept but tremendously hard to pull off when life gives you one of her many challenges. The only way to truly be open is by meditating, which will automatically help you dis-identify yourself from your ego mind, which will allow you to perceive the Unity of all things and co relationship between everything in the universe, which will allow you to understand the signs which are all around us, which will allow you to be open because now you realize that you are being guided, you are being taken care of, you are loved beyond comprehension.
When you are open, you no longer struggle and fight, but simply say “Thy Will Be Done”.
So meditation is the key. Meditation will automatically heal your mind and illuminate all the dark areas where those limiting patterns and behaviors reside. It will alter time, space and redefine your reality… automatically. You will no longer need to struggle or fight, or take the enormous responsibility of designing your destiny. You are far greater than your ego mind wants you to realize. Far too great is your destiny for your ego mind to design.
Pure meditation is pure void – pure silence, remember that, everything else is a technique that leads us to that place. In fact, pure meditation is Unity, or Love, which is too deep a concept to put in words so I will stop here.
I know I didn’t answer even one question you directly asked. But I do hope my words have overlapped your consciousness and touched your soul, and you are able to get a glimpse of that which cannot be taught with words.
With lots of love,
Shafin
Shafin de Zane, CHT, MH, MNLP
Hypnotherapist, Author, Spiritual Coach
www.redefineyourreality.com
Related Posts:
On Law Of Attraction And Giving (Live Coaching Session)
There is a story in the Christian Bible in the Gospel of John. The story tells us about a time when Jesus was travelling around trying to spread the message that he was carrying within. I chose this story because it reminds us that, beyond everything else, the story of Jesus Christ is a story of one man’s journey of following his dreams in the face of all adversity and conflict, a story of offering his gift to the world even when everyone thought he was completely crazy, a story of an ordinary human being who became the Son of God upon awakening.
When I hear so many people saying “I know I have a gift but… I have family/I have mortgage to pay/I am poor/I don’t know where to start” etc, I remind them of stories of all great men and women who followed their dreams and became great. It’s the same story, over and over. Be it Jesus, Mohammed, Buddha, Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, your next door neighbour, it’s always the same story. At some point we are inspired and the voice within us tells us to take the next step. The next step is always difficult because in the end, it’s never about anyone else, it’s always about you. The next step is going beyond your doubts and fears, all negative programming, and beginning to see with the eyes of the soul. Beginning to see what is real and rejecting what is unreal. Offering that truth to your fellow beings (who will almost invariably reject it immediately) and helping them awaken as well on their personal destiny.
As anyone who has ever tried such a thing knows it’s never easy. But I am here to remind you that it is way easier now than ever before. Just about 400 years ago on February 17, 1600 the Italian philosopher Giordano Bruno was burnt at stake by the Catholic Church for claiming the earth goes round the sun and not the other way round (along with certain other advanced spiritual beliefs that cannot be addressed here). He was famously quoted to have said to his persecutors “Maiori forsan cum timore sententiam in me fertis quam ego accipiam (Perhaps you pronounce this sentence against me with greater fear than I receive it).”
We live in a much better world today, you should realize. Following our hearts and speaking what is the truth has never been easier. Easier of course does not mean easy. It’s never easy because the greatest battle is the battle within. It’s the battle against your own ego mind – the part of you that only understands the world through separation and judgement. It’s not easy but it is your destiny. And until you start listening to that voice within and take the next step, you will never be truly happy, no matter how much power, money or fame you gather.
Anyway, back to our story of Jesus, try to go through it with an open mind no matter what your religious beliefs are. If you do, you will realize this is the story of a man inspired by God, a man in love, a man awakened.
The Story of Jesus on Solomon’s Porch
It was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem and it was winter. Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon’s porch. Seeing him arrive, the people surrounded him and said to him, “How long are you going to keep us in doubt? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”
Jesus answered “I told you and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness of me… I and my Father are One.”
Hearing this they took up stones again to stone him.
To this Jesus said “Many good works I have shown you from my Father. For which of those works do you stone me?”
They answered saying “For a good work we do not stone you, but for blasphemy, and because you, being a man, make yourself God.”
Jesus answered them, “Is is not written in your law, ‘I said, you are Gods’?” (Referring to Moses)
“If he called them Gods, to whom the word of God came… do you say of him… ‘You are blaspheming?’, because I said ‘I am the Son of God’?”
“If I do not do the works of my father, do not believe me; but if I do, though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in me, and I in Him.”
Hearing this they sought again to stone him but he escaped out of their hand.
Gospel of John, Chapter 10, Verse 22-39. (Certain parts have been edited for readability. All words in quote are unchanged from the Bible.)
So I leave you with this story today to think about it. There are many layers, many aspects to consider. The easiest thing to do after reading this story is saying to yourself “truly Jesus was great” then going about your day. But everyone knows that already and the world is still engulfed by the darkness of separation and judgment. The hardest thing to do is asking “How can I follow his footsteps and do what he did? How can offer my gift to the world in the face of all obstacles? How can I overcome my doubts and fears and speak the truth even when no one is ready to listen to me? How can I make this world a better place by awakening to my personal destiny? ” and then actually doing something about it.
Just like Jesus, the Father is in you too. Just like Jesus, you too are One with the Father. Just like Jesus, you too have a journey to make, a gift to offer, a world to change. How long are you going to pretend to be asleep? How long are you going to distract yourself with your TV and family, work and money, relationships and struggles?
Something to think about…
Lots of love,
Shafin
—
Shafin de Zane, CHT, MH, MNLP
Hypnotherapist, Author, Spiritual Coach
www.redefineyourreality.com
“Real isn’t how you are made…” said the Skin Horse. “It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.”
“Does it hurt?” asked the Rabbit.
“Sometimes,” said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. “When you are Real you don’t mind being hurt.”
“Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,” he asked, “or bit by bit?”
“It doesn’t happen all at once,” said the Skin Horse. “You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in your joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand…”
~From “The Velveteen Rabbit” by Margery Williams
Sometimes the only way to deliver the most powerful ideas are through poetry or parables. The Velveteen Rabbit is a little Christmas story for children that is timeless, profound, beautiful and it contains messages that can only be understood, if at all, through a mind that knows humility. Read this message over and over again, take a printout and store it somewhere safe, for maybe one rainy afternoon, ten years from now, it will remind you once again, how to love, to be humble, to be real…
With lots of love to you all…
Shafin
—
Shafin de Zane, CHT, MH, MNLP
Hypnotherapist, Author, Spiritual Coach
RedefineYourReality.com
I remember a number of years ago I was listening to Marianne Williamson in one of her talks. At this particular talk she was saying (I am paraphrasing it) that there are two ways of manifesting your desires. The first way is something like white magic which encompasses everything from law of attraction, visualization, mind power etc. The second way is surrender to God and allowing God to decide what the best is for us, it is manifesting your desires through prayer.
At the time, I remember thinking to myself, that the second way is just way too much religion for me. God didn’t create us so we could just allow him to decide everything for us. God created us so we can grow and become like God. And the way that happens is by using our will power, learn the deeper secrets of the universe and master the art of willful creation. As we get better at creating things consciously, we grow spiritually.
This was a time when I was learning aspects of alchemy (and certain other secret arts) and was pretty successful at manifesting things with mind power and law of attraction and so on and so forth. I had multiple businesses, offices in 3 continents of the world and a fantastic social life.
So what has changed? Not much really, except that along my journey of self realization, along the many paths that I have trodden that took me to extreme highs and lows, I have learnt the greatest secret of them all. The secret that has changed my entire life; from one that was filled with struggle and fight, also money and glamour, along with speed and excitement, to one that is filled with peace and surrender, miracles and magic.
The change happened as I slowly realized that along with the recent global re-discovery that we are indeed in charge of our destiny (and we do indeed create our own reality and there are, indeed, very specific ways of manifesting our dreams using our mind power), we are still stuck in the same basic misconception that human kind has been plagued with for the last two millennia. The misconception is that YOU are a separate being from everything and everyone, from nature, from God.
Now at this point most people who know anything about, lets say, Law of Attraction, as its known by most who take interest in self improvement topics, may be tempted to say that that is not correct. That you do realize we are one. That you do understand your Oneness with God. But do you really? When you practice visualization, create your “vision board”, or perform any other ritual that has to do with manifesting your desires, do you ever take into consideration that what you are asking for may not be the right way for you? That maybe, just maybe, you having a “million dollars” right now may not be in the best interest for yourself? Do you realize that in your quest for realizing your dream, you maybe drifting far off your personal destiny? How would you know the difference? How would you know how all things are interconnected between infinite past and future? How would you know what your responsibility is in this infinitely complex web of time, space and causation? Could it be that your being poor actually serves a purpose for the greater mass? Could it be that you having an accident or even dying could serve as a valuable lesson for others so they may grow? Are you even ready to accept such a concept?
It’s been two millennia of socio-cultural-religious-scientific brainwash that has taught human beings that you are a separate being from everyone and everything. Thing about it: modern man (and woman) is absolutely incapable of experiencing anything other than himself. He may feel compassion, but it is he who feels compassion, which is very different from experiencing what the other person is going through. He may appreciate beauty, but it is he who looks at the scenery and enjoys it, which is very different from the experience of being one with the scenery. Everything is dependent on him existing first, then letting everything else having the privilege of being experienced by him. When he dreams a dream, it is he who needs to manifest his dream, at any cost, regardless of how his dreams may alter the course of time and web of interdependent components. He wants to be rich, right now! He wants to be successful, right now! Regardless of what his responsibilities of learning and growing maybe. What if his destiny is to learn humility? Or patience? Or maybe help some one else learn a difficult lesson by sacrificing his own self? Can the modern man even humor such a strange concept?
Now don’t be mislead into thinking that I am against conscious manifestation of desire. I am not. My whole existence is dedicated to teaching humanity how to redefine reality. It is your birthright to create consciously and I am here to help you learn the art. All the things I mentioned above are possibilities and all can be worked through while having a fulfilling life filled with joy and adventure, but that topic is for another day. Right now I just wanted to demonstrate how difficult it is for our current state of consciousness to experience anything apart from itself.
I know how difficult it is to face everyday with uncertainty. I know what its like to live from day to day not having enough money to even buy food. To be so depressed that the only way out seems like suicide. I know all of that because I have lived through it. And I am here to tell you that there is a middle ground between being desperately helpless and a manifestation zealot. The middle ground is realizing that our human consciousness has its limitation, that we cannot see the infinite interconnection between all things and past and future. That no matter how smart we act or think we are, the truth is we know so very little about the deeper laws of reality, it’s not even funny. That we do live in a very noisy world with an average of 1500 advertisements and marketing messages being bombarded on us each day. That what we think, what we dream of, what we want, what our thoughts are, are not always our own, and most definitely not always beneficial to our own selves.
There is an intelligence that pervades all reality. The Universe is a living organism that we are all part of. God is the creator and IS all that is. God is within you and around you. You are in the heart of God. You are being taken care of and loved beyond comprehension. God became human in you, unfolding through you, everyday. And while you will always have free will to choose your path, just like the ultimate loving parent, God will protect you from going too far off from your personal destiny, one that is not confined within your personal story of birth and death. When you dream, God dreams with you. But sometimes what you want right now is not what is in your best interest, especially when your desires are heavily influenced by socio/cultural conditioning, marketing messages, personal pain or fear.
So how do you manifest your dreams when you don’t even know what the right path is for you? Surrender. Surrender your dreams to God. Pray. Pray in the right way. How to pray? Here is how…
First, go into deep meditation. Meditate to the point where all noise dissolves away. Meditate to the point where you no longer have a name. Meditate to the point where you feel the absolute joy of being One with God. Keep saying “Father, I am your son. You are my Father. We are One. Love me Father. Love me Free. Open my heart so I can feel You. Open my heart to Love. Open me to Love. Love me free my Father so I can feel you, hear you, see you, touch you.” Keep praying till you absolutely feel the joy and love of being One. When you feel it, God is listening to you. It’s the right time to pray.
(Replace Father with Mother if that’s what you are comfortable with, it’s the same thing; choose the one that makes you feel the closest to God in a very real sense. This is not a clever formula to make things happen quickly but to be one with God. When you do that, miracles happen but there is no faking it.)
Second, state your desire. Say “This is my desire I am willing to work for it and grow through it. This is what I think will make me happy. But I realize I don’t know what the best is for me. So guide me my Father. Guide me towards the right path. Show me the right way to take. Send me signs, inspirations, guides and teachers. Open my eyes so I can see. Above all else, I want to love You and be One with You. Guide me my Father through all these dreams and desires so I can find my way back home again. This is what I want, I surrender my dreams to You. Guide me my Father. Show me the way…”
Third, keep praying until you see the signs. They will arrive very fast. But not always what you thought it would be. Follow the signs, no matter how scary. This is detachment. This is surrender. If you follow them, miracles will happen. You will always, ALWAYS win. Sure the path will test you beyond belief, sure everyone will think you’ve gone mad, but you will constantly receive signs and help and teachers and guidance to lead you on the way, through the darkness of the unknown, to a destiny so fantastic that no one could ever imagine. But above all that something more unbelievable will have happened: the world will be a better place because you followed your dreams. Whole humanity will take a step forward because you have awakened. Entire human consciousness will awaken a little more because you opened your eyes.
That is the difference between white magic and surrender. The difference is simple yet it is most difficult to make a part of our life. The difference is realizing that we are all One. That God is truly within us, around us, IS all that there is. That the divine plan is inconceivably bigger than our 3 dimensional existence between life and death. That when we awaken, we will realize, when we realize, we will be able to relax, but until then… we need to surrender, or love, which is really the same thing, when you think about it.
With you always on the way to miracles and love!
Shafin
—
Shafin de Zane, CHT, MH, MNLP
Hypnotherapist, Author, Spiritual Coach
www.redefineyourreality.com
PS: Thanks to Francesca from Singapore for asking the right questions which helped me bring about these answers.
PPS: Suggested further reading:
1. Who Is God?
If you are like the rest of the world today, when you hear the words spirituality or spiritual life, you probably imagine monks in a monastery or a naked yogi up on the mountains. We are living in a time when most people don’t even prefer to talk about the word spirit in public as its considered too controversial. Most people, it appears to me, think of a spiritual life to be one that requires sacrificing everything and allows no fun, freedom or passion. The truth is couldn’t be further away! Ironically, as you will realize eventually, a true spiritual life not only takes you to heights of ecstasy you have never dreamed of, it also brings you freedom you could never imagine.
While many schools of thought hold many different ideas, basic spirituality can be summarized as follows:
a. There is an omnipotent intelligence that is the Source of this universe.
b. All creation comes from this divine Source or Energy.
c. The universe exists for a reason and a purpose.
d. Very simply put the reason is evolution. The universe evolves itself from lower states of intelligence and energy to the higher and higher levels until it merges back with the infinite Intelligence that created it.
e. We as human beings have always felt the painful separation from God or the Divine Intelligence since our birth into a body of flesh and bones. Trying to distract themselves from the pain of separation (or more appropriately unawareness), humans have struggled in many different ways. Some of these unfruitful ways are trying to control other people, food, drugs, alcohol, sex, violence, making money (yes that too can be a major distraction) etc.
f. When we find our way back again and reconnect with God, we experience an absolute sense of freedom and peace.
g. Once someone experiences this bliss and enjoys the direct blessings of God, he or she is automatically driven to help others experience the same.
This is the essence and goal of a true spiritual life.
Fascinatingly, as you awaken spiritually more and more, you begin to discover that there are many hidden forces that shape the way your life unfolds! These invisible deeper forces begin to make a lot of beneficial things happen to you, things you may have not even asked for or imagined! These are the miracles that people commonly experience on their spiritual journey. As you focus more and more with discipline and dedication on your spiritual journey, these miracles and serendipities begin to happen at ever greater extents. It’s like God, in a very realistic way becomes a part of your daily life on this physical plane. No prayer is too small, no wish is too insignificant. In the most extraordinary ways all prayers are answered and fulfilled. Something that is beyond the wildest dreams of most people, you begin to enjoy a freedom that is simply incredible!
When people see the yogi on the mountain what they do not see is here is someone who has given up silly little material gains and received a kingdom full of treasures. Someone who has bargained with by giving up the false sense of physical freedom with a freedom beyond time and space. Someone who has traded paltry physical pleasures to receive divine ecstasy! Looking at it this way we may suddenly understand the absurdity of our corporate culture and our struggle to exchange our life for a credit card and a house. This does not mean that to live a spiritual life, you have to give up all your material gains. You can keep whatever you want to, but sometimes it just makes no sense to keep the unnecessary chains of our materially focused societies.
A real spiritual life trains your mind and your senses to go beyond the material obvious and perceive the deeper spiritual truths. Slowly you begin to understand the deeper laws of the universe and use them in your own life. When you get there, your life becomes filled with real magic and miracles. The whole universe seems to conspire to help you achieving your dreams. For now, your dreams and dreams of the universe has become one. They have become the dreams of God.
Shafin
—
Shafin de Zane, CHT, MH, MNLP
Hypnotherapist, Author, Spiritual Coach
www.redefineyourreality.com
My Brothers and Sisters,
Here is a spiritual prayer that I say every morning. It allows me to re-focus, to remember, to re-orient and to be grateful. It reminds me where the Source of all creation is and where I need to focus. It allows me to center and see beyond the veil of material illusion. It reminds me of my purpose and the responsibilities of my journey. It allows me to differentiate between what is real and what is not. It allows me to be.
Believe it or not, this one prayer has the capacity to turn your life around if you use it right. Write it down and say it every morning… from the heart. Miracles will happen!
With all my love,
Shafin
You can get the prayer text here
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