Living life is an inside and an outside job.
We are always making up our interpretation of the world (life that is happening all around us; that which we see), with the push and pull of our hearts, or intuition.
New Thought leader, Ernest Holmes, taught that the Infinite Universe is always creating ‘stuff’ so that It can have an experience of Itself as Life. We can’t really know this, except to observe ourselves in that Life.
Think about something you love to do… a hobby you might have. Some of us love to bake, for instance… and then we enjoy eating the result. Some may paint and put our pictures up on the wall. Maybe you build maps for others to use, or construct something, or garden. These creations represent an aspect of ourselves. Each time we are in a creative mode, there is a piece of us that feels fulfilled. (“Oh, there I am!”) It is our inner self that desires expression, and so we give it an outlet.
Our lives are also enhanced through the opportunity to play with the world around us… play with forms, go to events, listen to music…You may have created a beautiful thing… but then I get to see it, smell it, feel it, taste it, and/or use it.
I enjoy the external world through my perceptions AND I experience myselfthrough my creations. One is external the other is internal.
Ernest Holmes also said, “Appearances limit the future possibility of man to the uses he has already made of Life, and thus circumscribes the Infinite. Hence, we are told to judge righteously and not by appearances”. What Holmes meant is, if we only ever created from what we have already seen, we would be living in a very static world. There would be the first thing created, and then everything else would be a copy of that thing after that.
Think back to what we know of ‘cave man times’... fire was discovered, perhaps by rubbing two sticks together. If we only ever copied, if it were considered taboo to veer away from that original method, then today we would not have electric power, combustion engines, solar panels…. ‘The Infinite would be circumscribed’ by adhering to only one methodology… that of creating fire with two sticks. So we are told not to judge by appearances. There is something far greater going on. Something else that wants to be known, invented, created… through us.
Art is always seeking the new through our expressions. Greek philosopher, Plotinus, told of three ways by which we gather knowledge:
Through science
Through opinion
Through intuition or illumination
Each of these channels represent spiritual capacities. Each is an avenue leading to self-knowingness, and self-knowingness is the very nature and essence of Spirit.
Science is Spirit inducing Its own laws
Opinion is our estimate of Reality
Intuition is Spirit knowing Itself All are spiritual faculties.
It is important to know that there is never anything ‘more spiritual’ or ‘less spiritual’. Your very existence is creative. Being you is you doing the Art of Life YOUR way. Your creativity is perfect…. How do we know? We know if what you do and how you express brings you joy… in fact, we know if what you do and how you express fulfills any ‘spiritual' quality. Here are some examples:
Do you feel empowered?
Is it beautiful to you?
Do you feel lighter; more free?
Is it life enhancing; life expanding?
Does it make the world a better place in any way?
Is there peace?
Life is always experiencing life on It’s own terms. Each of us is an outlet for this expression on our own terms.
Science is Spirit inducing Its own laws We use science as a way to make things happen and to observe our actions on life. What happens when I use baking soda instead of baking powder? What happens if my computer isn’t working and I use a hammer? What happens if I share my garden with my neighbours? These are examples of us experimenting with the world of affairs in all the many ways we do.
Opinion is our estimate of Reality We look around the world and we deduce what is happening. We may have an opinion that a diet rich in vegetables is ‘better’, for instance. We may learn that walks and runs in the forest feed our soul. We may learn to leave the theatre when the movie is ‘too’ violent. We have opinions about all kinds of things, and they are our way of using our spiritual faculties so that the Infinite has an experience of Life Itself, through Its creations… US.
Intuition is Spirit knowing Itself Sometimes I can’t help but listen to that voice inside that keeps telling me to do my life differently. When I do decide to listen, I learn there is another way to know myself and to trust myself. When I don’t follow that voice, I often wish I had.
Bottom line… there is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ way. (‘Judge not by appearances’). Be your own destiny. Live life in your most beautiful way. Trust and know that your way is Good, always… all ways… inside and out.
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