Some
people have the idea that Spiritual Laws are punitive. These Spiritual Laws are
guidelines that come from such Truths as Yama Niyama, The Ten Commandments, The
Four Noble Truths/Five Mindful Trainings/The Twelve Steps.
They
are not punitive. They are simply that: guidelines. When these guidelines are
followed in the societies they have been born from or of, there is harmony, and
peace prevails over darkness. When they are not…well, we are experiencing what
happens in the days in which we are currently living.
It is
said that if you follow The First Commandment/Guideline, everything else will
fall into place.
There
are three ways to look at the First Commandment/Guideline:
- Religiously
- Spiritually
- Mystically
All three
ways are correct…for those individuals.
Most
people who see it through the eyes of their religion or just see the words of
this Guideline, see (or hear): There
is only one God, my God (Yahweh, Jesus, Allah), and every other God is false.
Some of them might also get that they should put their God first and foremost
in their life. Then there are those who understand it to say even more; that we
shouldn’t put riches, fame and glory before our relationship with God; meaning
that we work hard, do our duty and leave the rest up to God.
There
are those of us who see this Guideline through the eyes of spirituality. They
might hear this Guideline saying to them: There is only One God who comes in
many forms and names. They understand that God is not limited to one form or
expression of Her/His Unlimitedness. They also might hear this Guideline tell
them that the Love for and of God is first and foremost, and try to balance
their lives by honoring all life, in all forms as a part of God and His/Her
wonderful creation.
And
then there are those who see this Commandment/Guideline through the eyes of a
Mystic. Some of what they experience when hearing this Guideline is that there
is Only One, and that One Is God. Everything is but an extension of God. The
Unlimited is experiencing the limited through us and our material natures. They
see everything as part of a Divine Plan. They see it all as the relationship
between the Lover and the Beloved. There is so much more to the mystical way,
as well as the religious and spiritual understandings, of this Guideline. Books
have been (and are being) written about them.
They
all say the same thing in some way. Put God first in our lives. Spend time with
the One who has loved you from the beginning of time, One who will never
abandon you, even if you felt abandoned at times, you weren’t. God is Life, and
life energy is what helped you through that time when you felt abandoned.
There
is the wonderful poem, “Footprints in the sand” that says it all for me.
One
night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord. Many scenes from
my life flashed across the sky.
In
each scene I noticed footprints in the sand. Sometimes there were two sets of
footprints, other times there was one only.
This
bothered me because I noticed that during the low periods of my life, when I
was suffering from anguish, sorrow or defeat, I could see only one set of
footprints, so I said to the Lord,
“You
promised me Lord, that if I followed you, you would walk with me always. But I
have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life there has only been
one set of footprints in the sand. Why, when I needed you most, have you not
been there for me?”
The
Lord replied, “The years when you have seen only one set of footprints, my
child, is when I carried you.”
~Mary Stevenson
When
we put our jobs, our goals, food, sex, glory, our homes and, yes even our
relationships with others, ahead of our relationship with God, there will be imbalance,
from which we feel separation or loneliness, lack of fulfillment, frustration,
abandonment, and all sorts of pain. It is when we are separated from the Light
that we experience the darkness. That darkness is sometimes called evil or sin
or bad karma.
Can we
make time each day throughout the day…morning, afternoon and evening…to connect
with the One gives us all that we truly need to be happy, joyous and balanced?
Would
the world be a better place if all acknowledge God and others faith in God and
followed this Guideline to our faith/belief?
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