The Fortress Of Potential

Discovering The Power, Mystery, and Expansiveness of Life


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“On Jello…”

Original depiction of fictional anthropomorphi...

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Anthropomorphism.

That’s a big word. What it refers to, if you don’t already know, is an attempt to explain anything that isn’t human by relating it to human behavior.

It doesn’t take a superior intellect to see that this one, human propensity to analyze an unexplainable power in human terms is at the core of the incredible number of “human” images and attributes that have been assigned to “God” over the eons of time. Very often, the results of this tendency has been disastrous. Let’s face it; if God is human-like, we’re screwed.

Here is a brief list of the human attributes that we have assigned to “God:”

- Vengeful

- Wrathful

- Egotistic (desirous of praise)

- Intolerant (if you do not believe this particular way, you are doomed to eternal suffering)

- Unyielding

- Prejudiced (“He” has “chosen” people)

- Is OK with the butchering of any living thing to appease “His” disappointment…

- Loving (nice that we could fit that in)

- And, depending on who you ask, He doesn’t like Muslims. Or Christians. Or Hindus. Or Buddhists…awww, the heck with it. If you ask enough people, you’ll find that God doesn’t like ANYBODY – so we’re all doomed to an eternity of misery.

Is that your God? No thanks, I’ll pass.

Is there a God? ABSOLUTELY, there is a Supreme power. But It is beyond any human attribute, and certainly beyond what any of us can describe with human intellect. Somehow, that doesn’t seem to matter to a lot of people.

Have you ever made Jello? You take a mix of a particular color, add sugar and hot water, then pour it into a mold, a shape of some sort, then put it in the fridge to “set.” You get to choose the shape…the Jello doesn’t care. It just fills the prescribed space, and becomes the shape that you desired it to be. This is also what we do with “God.”

I suppose that would be OK if we left it at that…if we had our little “God Mold” that we cherished and that fulfilled us – but that isn’t what happens most of the time.

No, what happens most of the time is that we set up an institution devoted to our favorite flavor and color of Jello, and set about attempting to convince the rest of the world to abandon what they believe, and to acknowledge that our Jello mold is the Supreme Jello. That’s when the killing, and the persecution, and the arrogance of our petty egos takes over. And you want God to have human attributes?

“God” is, (thankfully),  not human. That energy may well fill up a human form, and overflow to bless many, (as with Jesus, and Buddha, and many, mostly unheralded, others), but that doesn’t make that power “human;” It’s just “passing through,” – literally – a human form.

No. the last thing we need is a “human-like” God…we would all be dead before sunrise. What we need are human forms that allow the power of the non-human power that is the Source of All to flow through them. Then, we shall have peace, and compassion, and Divine love.

Many Blessings To All…

LOTD

 

 


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“A Damaging Infatuation…”

Ashoka's dharma chakra, with 24 spokes (after ...

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Many people are infatuated with the need to feel that they are in control of their lives. In some ways, you are, but what this “control” usually comes down to for a lot of folks is incessant worrying, fear, and anxiety about the past, present, or future.

The ego is quite convincing in its portrayal of a ruinous collapse of all that you hold dear if you DON’T worry and fret over a perceived problem. That idea is a total fallacy; an untenable and unsupportable position.

The more that you hold on to problems due to the illusion that doing so gives you control over them, the more “in the way” you will be to their resolution. Rather than being a help, your mind and your ego become a dam that inhibits the flow of Creation. In yet another of the Infinite’s grand displays of its mastery of paradox, the only way that you will ever have control is to give up control.

What? That’s a fair question. Yes, it is a difficult concept to grasp, and an accomplishment that will consistently elude you without FAITH.

The key to real control lies in the understanding that you are responsible for the effort, NOT the results or reactions. Translation: give your best, loving, and honest effort to what is before you to do, and leave the results to a higher power [that's where they have been all along, anyway, despite what you may have thought].

When you have developed your faith and trust in the Supreme power to the point where you can release your imagined control over the outcome, you may well discover that the outcomes become better than what you had hoped. And relieving yourself of your self-inflicted burden of responsibility for the results is the key to emotional and mental freedom…the greatest peace. No longer will your false sense of control be a hindrance to the flow of the Divine. Instead, you will be flowing with God and, as Emmanuel wrote, that ride will be “to your great delight and benefit.”

Make your plan, establish your vision, set your spiritual intent – then LET IT GO. Allow the power of “All That Is” handle it from there. You won’t be disappointed.

Many Blessings To All…


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“This Is For You…”

No, you didn’t ask for it…but I am led to give it.

My ego does not wish to part with this. This is sacred…of immense breadth and scope. The words that you are about to read are incredibly powerful, and life-changing, even though they are a “watered down” adaptation of the actual vibration that has been revealed to me.

You will not find it anywhere else. It is a meditation/contemplation that, if you stay with it, will cause a peace in your life that you have likely never experienced. Here it is:

 

“I, Myself,

Heaving Sea,

Perfect Tranquility…

A lotus carried in the hand”

 

Just words? No. Power…and Peace. Do not analyze, just take the words into your heart. Contemplate and meditate. You will be amazed at the results.

Many Blessings To All…

LOTD

 


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“I Love ‘Em…”

I love those “crazy” people with great big dreams.

You know the ones. They passionately follow totally unworkable and unrealistic ideas because they are mesmerized by them. And you know what happens? They end up succeeding in dramatic fashion.

Those are my kind of people. I love all of humanity in equal measure, it’s just that these kind of people, on the physical level, are a joy.

They never consider how they will be received, they just love what they do. And they never have a negative word about what fascinates you, because they can appreciate a dream. They may not understand it, or have an interest in it like you do, but they can relate to following that mysterious compass that each of us has on the inside.

These are the world-changers, these are the ones who create new categories, these are the ones who, without any real intent to do so, re-define “normal” in the pursuit of their joy.

You’re one of these people. Well, that is, you are when you walk away from the dragon of fear.

Many Blessings To All…

LOTD


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“Leaving It To Find It…”

17th century representation of the "third...

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It seems to be a long and sometimes arduous journey for most of us…this trip to absolutely nowhere.

Yes, it’s true. All of us who set out on a serious spiritual quest to reach what is often termed enlightenment end up right where we started. There is a strong measure of absurdity to the whole process when you analyze it with the intellect.

Think about it.

Years and years of meditation, or total renunciation, or devoted prayer and poverty commitments, saffron robes, or the vestments of some other ecclesiastical tradition…all to eventually arrive right back at the place in the circle from which you began. That has every appearance of being a totally pointless endeavor. But it isn’t pointless, it is absolutely essential.

In what has to be the biggest cosmic mystery ever spun, the only way that you can simply BE who you are, NOW, is to go away first.

The human brain is a marvel of inconceivable, untapped power and ability, but it is also your biggest impediment to reality. It wants, it desires, it evaluates, and it does these things based on flawed premises by which it has been conditioned since childhood. So, it simply cannot accept the truth that everything is exactly as it is designed to be, and that you lack nothing, or that you, yes YOU, are an embodiment of the creative power of the universe. No, you cannot simply BE that; it doesn’t compute. The brain says, such a thing has to be attained…you have to work and strive to realize this. Besides, the brain looks around and determines that you don’t have everything – that there is lack, something missing – so you start walking your circle. We all do.

I may know that I have money in a savings account, at a bank. But, I don’t really have it until I go through the processes required to withdraw it. At that point, it is no longer simply knowing I have it, but a useable form in my hand. I have realized the truth, beyond knowing it mentally. The spiritual journey is the same way.

We may all agree that we KNOW that we lack nothing, that we are all one, and that we are the very essence of Creation itself, with all of its power, and that everything is perfection no matter how it may appear to the intellect. But the distance between knowing this and REALIZING this is what constitutes the circumference of the circle that you must walk to get back to where you are. What changes? Nothing…EXCEPT…the eyes with which you see the world are no longer the ones on your face, but the vision of the spirit. This changes everything, though nothing looks to have changed.

Deep water for a Monday night.

Many Blessings To All…

LOTD


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“Natures Finest Balm…”

Bachalpsee in the morning, Bernese Alps

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Disturbed minds are not difficult to spot; you can observe the stress and worry on passing faces almost anywhere that you travel. Some have lost jobs, homes, retirements…others have lost nothing in the physical sense, but live in fear that they will just the same. In either case, stress and worry are never “justified,” in that they bring no justice, or peace, or positive resolution to anything – AT ALL. Such thoughts and feelings will most often serve to manifest the exact opposite of what you hope, and exacerbate any temporary challenges one may be facing.

All of that being said, the fact is that a majority of people have untrained minds, resulting in one’s spiritual reality, power, and truth being drowned in a sea of physical and mental woes. So, what can one do to alleviate a disturbed mind?

Well, there’s prayer and meditation, which can and does remove many hindrances to your peace. There is also what Edwin Way Teale termed “nature’s finest balm.” He was referring to the “still beauty of dawn.”

Nature, at ANY time, will have powerful, positive effects on a troubled mind, (and this has been proven through many scientific studies. Science, however, has no concept of the esoteric energy that is the “why” for this fact). But, there is something even more calming about the “still beauty of dawn.”

Sunrise, (and sunset), the “shift changes” of our natural world, possess a mystical energy that can quickly clear the jumble of junk that consumes your mind and waft them away on the breeze. [This is one of the main reasons that many sacred ceremonies are performed outdoors at those times...the power is strongest]

It doesn’t matter if it is the middle of winter or the heart of summer – the magic is the same. Those times manage to be a bustle of activity while maintaining a supreme energy of serenity. You can soak up this gift by making the commitment to get outside, breathe deep, and allow your awareness to settle into that peaceful pulse. Done consistently, it will accomplish wonders in stilling your mind, enhancing your connection to the Infinite, and bringing answers and hope to your dilemmas. So, get out there and BREATHE!

Many Blessings To All…

LOTD


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Missing-In-Action…”

I’ve been missing-in-action on this blog for a little while. No one really cared enough to ask what’s up…but that doesn’t keep me from writing anyway; I do what I do. And what I am doing on Saturday is going to the Maryland Renaissance Faire.

My wife and I have gone every year for the last 3 years or so. Yes, I love going and, yes, I know that it is a romanticized, unrealistic depiction of “medieval” times. So what.

That is a problem with the world today…instead of seeing the world in a “romanticized” manner that appeals to the way that one wants to live, there is judgment instead. When you lose the child-like ability to create a worldview that is fun and, yes, idealistic, you are essentially dead. When you stop believing in magic, go ahead and start digging your grave. It may be years before your body actually takes its place there…but your energy is in the grave already.

It’s your perspective that shapes your experience. Life is what YOU make it; why be so serious, so rigid and “realistic?” You can have it. Me? I’ll keep dreaming of the magic and the mystery – and keep up with my responsibilities in-between.

It’s all your choice.

Many Blessings To All…

LOTD

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