In the wooded lot beside our yard, wild honeysuckle grows. Sweet to the senses, the
delicate slippered flowers yield nectar to the birds and insects and release a fragrance
so familiar to us all. These are the effects, however. And, although one enjoys the
effects of honeysuckle, cultivation of honeysuckle is not normally found in the average
garden.
Much like honeysuckle, Spiritual Truth is also not widely cultivated, yet
produces effects to fragrant any person's life. And, like with the cultivation of
honeysuckle, people prefer to forgo the work of obtaining spiritual gifts to others, not
wanting the expend the effort themselves but still wanting the benefits. Cultivation means "to tend to", "to nurture to
maturity", "to see the harvest fulfilled".
The effects of "Practicing the Presence" - practicing the presence and awareness
of God in one's consciousness yields everything and anything one needs to
fulfill his purpose here on earth. To cultivate one's consciousness in the acceptance of
the Truth of his being, and the nature of God as Reality, is necessary if one wants to
understand who he really is and reap the fruits of the Spirit.
The sweet temptations of the human world are nothing compared to the sweetness of Truth in
the "belly".
"How do I cultivate Truth?" you ask.
Meditate. Meditation reveals the Truth from within oneself. Still the
human mind to anything of "this world". If you have to think, think on something
spiritual - perhaps a Biblical passage, or simply the words, "God is". Do this
until something speaks to you and if you're wondering WHAT God is, even that answer will
be spoken unto you.
Leave the radio, television, and other forms of entertainment in favor of the stillness,
the silence of your "spiritual closet".
Fill yourself. You might start by filling yourself with inspirational
writings by others. Fill yourself by listening to audio tapes of inspirational words. Let
a spiritual understanding be revealed to you from within the confines of your inner being.
Don't expect to have another one's experience. Yours will be uniquely your own. And, like
the Bible verse reads, "You know not when the bridegroom cometh"
God is everywhere, and God is everything! Honeysuckle, as a vine, creeps into yards and is
rooted out as a nuisance. Do we tend to root out God's presence in favor of things more to
our liking? Would we rather plant daffodils instead of vines? Then let us know that
daffodils, too, sprout up in unlikely places. How often one sees them growing wildly in
the woods, the clumps of which multiply year after year!
Make Truth a conscious effort and it will multiply. If you don't already
do so, begin to understand the teachings of Jesus as spiritual lessons. It really doesn't
matter where one starts. Simply just the calling puts one on the path, until the
compulsion to understand what Jesus taught becomes so intense one cannot help but raise
his consciousness to the "Christ", or to "Buddha", or to
"Krishna" - it makes no difference, the Truth comes in the form of many
enlightened teachers.
Soon the Truth of your Being, the Truth of the nature of God, the Truth of your real
Identity will begin to take over and the sweetness of the Truth will fill you with peace,
love, health, contentment. The fragrance of God's Being will permeate beyond the
very pores of one's earthly appearance - out for others to enjoy.
With proper cultivation, what a wonderful garden we will have.
All is well.
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