Tag Archives: expression of spirit

With Spirit Eyes I see

With spirit eyes I see you…

With spirit eyes I see you and I are kindred spirits.

With spirit eyes I see we are all connected parts of a whole.

With spirit eyes I see many paths leading to higher levels of spiritual awareness.

With spirit eyes I see a powerful being unaware of its spirit-self.

With spirit eyes I see your spirit body (the real you)—so beautiful and perfect.

With spirit eyes I see your potential for unconditional love for all living things.

 

With spirit eyes I see me…

With spirit eyes I clearly see and understand my transgressions.

With spirit eyes I see that my suffering can lead to redemption and greater awareness.

With spirit eyes I see the invisible ones always close at hand to help me.

With spirit eyes I see the beautiful light and love that radiates from them.

With spirit eyes I see that my purpose is to serve.

With spirit eyes I see that this is what gives life meaning.

*******

Each of us has the potential to see the world through our spirit eyes. It is a choice we can make, but one that must come from purity of intent. That is, a desire to not only see as spirit, but to also live life according to what spirit shows us.

Copyright 2016 by Blair Atherton

Spiritual Kinship

Copyright 2014 by Blair Atherton

Copyright 2014 by Blair Atherton

Is there spiritual kinship among all living things, especially people? The answer to this question depends on what you believe about the nature of our existence.

As indicated in previous entries to this blog, I believe that we exist as spirit and that we all come from the same Source. In spirit form, free of the physical body, all distinctions of race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, socioeconomic status and so forth disappear.

As children of God, we are all kindred spirits with sameness likened to identical twins. In spirit form, we all “look” alike, and when first born as spirit, we all have the same potential for spiritual development.

If we genuinely understood our spiritual kinship, then we would care for all people as we care for our husbands, wives, children, and so forth. We would never allow anyone to be cold, hungry, or thirsty.

There would be no envy, struggles for advantage or power, and no greed. Rather our love for all of our spirit kin would compel us to raise others up and fulfill their needs without hesitation or thought about ourselves.

I believe that all of humanity has a spiritual kinship. The challenge is not so much to come to this realization, but rather to live in a manner that reflects such a belief.

Related articles

We Exist in the Ethereal Spaces Between the Atoms

What is Spiritual Awareness?

It’s Not All About Me

Charity Doth Call My Spirit Forth

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Charity that comes from the heart is an act of love and compassion where the spirit reveals itself in all of its divine glory. It raises us up ever so slightly so that our feet seem to lose touch with the ground, if only briefly. With each charitable act, a wave of happiness and fulfillment washes over us and for those few moments, we understand the meaning and purpose of life. We realize that our joy comes from giving of ourselves—our spirit selves—to others.

But too often these moments are fleeting. When our feet touch the ground again, we find ourselves yearning to soar once more, free of the constraints, obligations, and selfish desires of the physical life. But it is not our time to fly away just yet. We must prove ourselves worthy of wings.

It is my belief that charity is a human and spiritual responsibility. We must strive to make charity a central part of our everyday life. Charity is an important way that we can express our spirit or spirituality. In its pure form it is an act of unselfish love and compassion with no expectation or desire for material gain or recognition.

If you make a big deal about how much you contribute to charity or about things you do to help others, you seek to raise yourself up in the eyes of others. On the other hand, if you are humble and your charity is motivated only by genuine caring for others, you raise yourself up in the eyes of God.

The charity of a spiritual person is generally done privately and seen only by those they are helping, or by the charitable foundation receiving their donations. That is to say, they do it because they see people in need and they know the right thing to do is help if they can.

Prayer: Spiritual or Self-Serving?

Lord, please hear my prayer! Copyright 2008 by Blair Atherton

Lord, please hear my prayer!
Copyright 2008 by Blair Atherton

Prayer, for most of us, is the primary means by which we communicate with God. The question is: what should we be saying when “speaking” with Him?

It seems that many who pray use it mostly to ask for things they want, even though God has already provided what they need. This is in keeping with the self-centered, materialistic mind-set of society today.

Why should one ask for more than they need when there are so many around the world who are barely able to scratch out the most basic existence? To ask for more when we already have enough, may be offensive to God. He has a life plan for each of us and He will provide precisely what we need to support that life plan and the service to which we have been called.

I question the value of saying prayers prescribed by a religion in a long chain over and over again. The repetitive nature of this form of prayer can quickly make the process one of a mindless drone. If the first repetition was said from the heart with sincere and conscious intent, then enough said.

Saying the same prayer again and again is not likely to give it greater force. In fact, it may even have a negative effect. Who wants to hear the same thing over and over? Soon one stops listening. When you say a single prayer with all of your heart and soul, it will be heard throughout all of the heavenly spheres with clarity and power.

And praying should not be restricted to time spent at one’s place of worship. Prayer should be an ongoing, frequent, daily practice said anywhere at any time. This is especially true for prayers of thanks. As a continuous process, prayer is a spiritual presence of mind where one is always aware of the presence of God in all things.

We should not make “promises” to God such that if He gives us X, then we promise to change our ways or do Y. Instead, we should attend to how we live on a daily basis, and always treat others with kindness. Then we will be rewarded without asking.

We are all human with limited ability to protect ourselves from harm and to cope with pain and suffering. If we find ourselves in a dangerous situation, or we suffer from some malady, prayer can often bring the help and strength we need to endure.

When we ask for material things for ourselves, prayer becomes a hollow self-serving exercise that may fall upon deaf ears. However, prayer becomes an expression of our spirit when we use it to give thanks for what God has chosen to give us, to ask for help for others, and to seek guidance concerning how we can be better human beings.

To What Doth My Heart Hearken? (Part 1)

To what doth my heart hearken?
This is the question that haunts me in every waking moment.
Though it beats in my chest,
My heart seems somehow abstract and transcendent.
It calls to me with sweet refrain.

And like the Siren my heart’s song draws me in a new direction.
But not to destruction; rather, to new meaning and purpose.
I do not want to resist; the melody is too beautiful.
The notes hit a chord that makes my spirit sing.

I am compelled to seek the Source of this wondrous beauty
That I may come to know it in its fullness.

“What would you have me do?” I ask.
The answer came swiftly and powerfully in a single word
That echoed and resonated in the essence of my being—LOVE!

Copyright 2013 by Blair Atherton

In Part 2 next week, I will tell how this verse came about.

The Light Inside You

Copyright 2013 by Blair Atherton

Copyright 2013 by Blair Atherton

In the last article, I used the imagery of the body as a garment within which lay the spirit. Here I would like to share with you a verse I wrote a long time ago and that appears in my book that likens our spirituality to rays of light that we too often shut away. And having done so, it continually strains for release.

The Light Inside You

For only a few fleeting moments
Have I felt the warm light of you—
Of what is inside of you.

Those moments were like rays of light
Peeking through the cracks of a door
In a dark room.

I am in the darkness alone,
Longing to know
What lies on the other side of the door.
Yearning to feel the touch
Of the warm and beautiful
Light that lies there.

But the door is locked,
The key to its opening
Unknown to me.

I will wait—
Yes, wait patiently
For the next beam of light
To spill through the cracks.
Longing to know
To understand
To embrace
The wonderful light
That shines inside of you.

Copyright 1969, 2012 by Blair Atherton

Please take a moment to get in touch with any feelings that this verse may have elicited. It always brings forth in me feelings of longing to fully express my spirit.

It is my belief that no matter who you are, what kind of a person you are, or what kind of life you live, there have been moments when your spirit was able to squeeze through the cracks in the walls you may have built around yourself. The fortresses we build to protect ourselves are always flawed and conquerable from within and without.

Our spirit-selves, that some of us try to hold captive in the darkness of our fears, doubt, and insecurities, yearn—no demand expression. The amount of energy required to restrain its expression is enormous. It is like trying to hold your breath until you pass out; you cannot do it. Similarly, no matter how hard you try to cling to the material world and deny your spirituality, your spirit will always seek to show you the path of goodness and a better way to live.

If you accept the notion that your spirit is what gives you life and your spirit-self is the real you, then you can see that your spirit must be allowed to express itself. Otherwise are you really alive?

I believe that we are all spiritual beings. We, and those around us, look for evidence of this in us and in themselves. They are searching for the warm and beautiful light emanating from others and hope to find within themselves. Perhaps we do not realize that all we have to do is open the door, even if only a crack at first.

 

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To What Doth My Heart Hearken