If You Had 3 Wishes

If you had three wishes, what would they be? Riches? Immortality? A perfect body unaffected by any food consumed or sedentary lifestyle? Your children healthy and prospering? Mosquitoes extinct? Probably we have all dreamed of what we would ask for if Aladdin’s lamp came into our possession. How about the ability to fly? To make all politicians and car salesmen tell the truth? Now that would be something unheard of. Along with flying, there are a whole myriad of superpowers that would be pretty cool. Strength, telepathy, breathing underwater, invisibility, etc. all make for an interesting thought experiment. I have pondered on this and today if I could have a super power it would be the power to instill common sense. I would walk through crowds brushing against people, striking them down with common sense, and just like the popular end of the world virus scenarios once infected every person they touched in turn would become infected as well (insert diabolical laughter here). Soon the entire world would be infected and there would be nothing that could be done to stop it, common sense would Rule The World!! (More diabolical laughter).

OK, diabolical laughter aside, if common sense was, well common, consider how the world would be transformed. No one would talk or text, apply makeup, read, shave, consume a three-course meal or any of the other thousand things some folks do while piloting a couple of tons of steel down the highway.  Politicians and leaders would actually be concerned about those they serve, working for something other than their legacy, their bank account or trading on their influence for personal gain. I may be naive, but I believe that common sense would resolve conflicts in a twinkling, all parties working toward the welfare of all involved. Terrorists, once infected, would slap their foreheads saying, “What was I thinking?” and then do something constructive with their lives. Admit it, wouldn’t you love to be watching TV when some self-obsessed personality or politician became infected on air? Professional athletes’ salaries would become commensurate to the reality that they play games for a living, while teachers’ pay would reflect the importance of the role they play. Reality TV and infomercials would cease to exist overnight. No pollution or litter, for no one with a lick of common sense would poison his or her environment or trash it. Kinda gives one pause to wonder doesn’t it.

I know, Common Sense Man does not have the same panache as Captain America, Wolverine, Batman, Wonder Woman, Hulk, Thor, Superman or Ironman but in the real world, clear thinking and common sense are of much greater value than retractable Admantium claws or going through life saying HULK SMASH! My other two wishes? Common sense dictates I keep some things to myself. Excelsior!

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© Vincent Lee Jones All Rights Reserved

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Miraculous Revealed

Ever wonder where the phrase One Day At A Time popularized by Alcoholics Anonymous came from?  Emmet Fox is the most likely source, he wrote: “Live in today, and do not allow yourself to live in the past under any pretense. Living in the past means thinking about the past, rehearsing past events, especially if you do this with feeling…train yourself to be a man or woman who lives one day at a time. You’ll be surprised how rapidly conditions will change for the better when you approach this ideal.” Dr. Fox said this a few years before Bill Wilson sobered up and many, including Bill, of the early rummies studied Dr. Fox’s spiritual principles, many of which found their way into the book, Alcoholics Anonymous.

When we marry one thing at a time with one day at a time, we have a simple yet powerful guide for living: Living on the Spiritual Basis. The only time we can be present for God, the only time we can stand in the presence of God, the only time God can be present in our lives, is in this moment. He was there yesterday, and I trust He will be there tomorrow, such is faith, but our work is done right here, right now. When we keep our head where our hands are, our eyes fixed on the Miraculous, our heart in His care, nothing can ever truly harm us.

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© Vincent Lee Jones All Rights Reserved

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No Mere Words

Many believe that change and growth can come through discourse alone. That sounding off and speaking out accomplishes anything lasting. Today, just as yesterday and the day before, impassioned speeches will be delivered from the bedraggled fellow in Hyde Park speaker’s corner to the United Nations. Chances are none of them will be remembered next week, or even tomorrow for that matter in most cases. There have always been and will always be vibrant speakers. Eloquent and moving in the moment, their words perhaps even bridging time, to touch future generations. However, did their words alone truly change anything? Consider: If Churchill had not demonstrated resolve along with eloquence, would Britain have persevered against seemingly insurmountable odds? FDR spoke eloquently and with firm resolve on Dec. 8th, 1941 but the world would look like very different today if he had failed to follow through. John Kennedy did not just speak about going to the moon; he said we would within ten years and put into motion the foundation to accomplish this amazing feat. Mother Teresa did not merely speak about love and service but demonstrated it by living and prospering in conditions that few of us can truly comprehend.

These individuals were dynamic. Yes, they spoke with eloquence, but what made them dynamic was making their words real, turning eloquence into action. Though we may never reach the levels of renown of these dynamic individuals, being dynamic is part and parcel of Living on the Spiritual Basis. Faith without works is dead, sweet words and promises mean nothing, actually becoming destructive, if the appropriate action does not follow. None of us walks the way we talk all the time, but it is a goal worth shooting for. So, strive to be dynamic, and though you may lack eloquence, your actions and demonstration in Spirit carries more weight, and lasting permanent value, than any mere words alone.
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© Vincent Lee Jones All Rights Reserved

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Spiritual Wet Cement

The natural tidal flows of our spiritual unfolding can be disconcerting. Often this happens when our life is going well, we feel connected, in Source, not a cloud on the horizon and then seemingly out of nowhere a sense of being disconnected, out of sorts, edgy, struck with shadows of discontent seemingly obscuring our vision. Consider: Most modern buildings rest on a concrete foundation. It would be a foolish builder indeed who attempts to build on wet cement. They wait for the concrete to “cure”, to become strong enough to support the construction to come. Just as a builder cannot begin construction on a new floor until the underlying construction is sufficiently sound, the same holds for our spiritual growth. Our consciousness is a mufti-story construct and just as in the modern skyscraper, it is built one floor at a time. If we succumb to the adversary Fear and allow morbid reflection to become dominate the underpinnings of our new and expanding consciousness can be weakened before they have had sufficient time to “cure.” The result could lead to a collapse in our peace and serenity, possibly even creating a crisis of faith.

The construction of our spiritual awakening is a never-ending process, a structure of infinite wonder and of truly unlimited size and scope. In those inevitable times of seeming no growth, perceived lack of progress or discontent, take heart and remember this truth, often a cloudy day is just a cloudy day, but the sun is always shining above the clouds. Stay consistent in action and soon the current level of work will become fixed, the lessons learned in truth, written on our heart, ready to be built on anew. Be consistent in that which has brought you to this point but do not rush for rushing spiritually leads only to setbacks at best and collapse at worst. So, let the Miraculous as you understand it teach you and guide you through prayer and meditation, but avoid struggle, allow the process to happen naturally relying on Divine Love as your chief architect and building inspector and you cannot fail to succeed.

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© Vincent Lee Jones All Rights Reserved

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The Captain Is Still On the Bridge 2019

Certain teachings rise to the level of “sell all the books, everything needed is here.” Emmet Fox provides one of those with: The Captain Is On The Bridge (Around The Year With Emmet Fox pg. 248) for dealing with fear. Consider, when he said this America was in the grip by the Great Depression, prohibition creating a whole new class of criminal, millions displaced from America’s dust choked heartland, the drums of war beating with Hitler’s rise to power in the east and Japan’s in the west. Yet Dr Fox confidently stated that The Captain Is On The Bridge:
“The world is not going to the dogs. The human race is not doomed. Civilization is not going to crash. The captain is on the bridge. Humanity is going through a difficult time, but humanity has gone through difficulties many times before in its long history, and has always come through, strengthened and purified.
       Do not worry yourself about the universe collapsing. It is not going to collapse, and anyway that question is none of your business. The captain is on the bridge. If the survival of humanity depended upon you or me, it would be a poor look out for the Great Enterprise, would it not?
        The captain is on the bridge. God is still in business. All that you have to do is to realize the Presence of God where trouble seems to be, to do your nearest duty to the very best of your ability; and to keep an even mind until the storm is over.”

God doesn’t need my help in running the Universe, let alone my life, but I certainly need His. Fortunately, The Captain Is (still) On The Bridge.

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© Vincent Lee Jones All Rights Reserved

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Relaxed Contrary Action

Living on the Spiritual Basis we stand vigilant and are never afraid of questioning or re-examining any belief or position regardless of how long we may have held it. The truth will set you free is true whether we have been on the path a few months or most of our lives. When we first embark on the path of Living on the Spiritual Basis we are confronted with large, easily recognizable defects and shortcomings. As time flows by the impediments to spiritual growth become smaller, less pronounced, often obscured by a layer of misunderstanding or complacency masquerading as truth which requires greater, deeper vision to see. The natural response is to work harder, dig deeper and faster to ferret these things out. The problem is our spiritual vision is not sufficiently refined to adequately recognize them; so contrary action is called for.

So we relax, we take it easy. Hard work in this area only makes the work harder. Continue to pray and meditate daily, asking to be shown the way of patience, tolerance, kindness and love. In natural course, the partially hidden shoals will become visible and can be addressed spiritually. To be clear: we do not work on them; Divine Consciousness makes them visible and when we are spiritually ready, removes them. Our part is to remain willing, willing to go to any lengths to be spiritually aware, humble in service.

By embracing spiritual living in this way you will find the wind at your back most of the time, but if for some reason you discover you are facing the wrong way, relax and trust in Divine Mind to alter your direction back to the true path.

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© Vincent Lee Jones All Rights Reserved

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“But for the Grace of God go I” 2019

Walking the way we talk. When we espouse one thing but act in a contrary manner not only does it make us look untrustworthy but also opens the door to all manner of spiritual disease and unease coupled with a corresponding disconnect from truth. Wishing to be happy but seeding unhappiness, wanting to be loved but unwilling to demonstrate love, demanding respect while being disrespectful, holding truth and fairness as essential while speaking falsely and treating others unfairly, in a manner we would not tolerate, are all examples of spiritual disease, a demonstration in conflict with our stated intention. These are gross examples, readily identifiable and addressed if we truly wish to change.

But what of the subtler forms: condescension and self-aggrandizement couched in seemingly “well-intended” but not fully considered verbal asides, comments and actions. One of which, which I found particularly painful since I had used it often was “But for the grace of God go I.” The phrase always made me a little uneasy, though for years I could not suss out why. When the truth finally hit, I became physically ill and spiritually unsettled. Consider the full import of the phrase: it implies that God withdraws or withholds Divine Grace from some unlucky souls! And fortunately, I’m not one of them!  Really? That some are “chosen” in some way, greater in God’s sight than another? Or, being flawed, prone to error in thought in deed, especially when fearful, we could err so egregiously that we are “cast” aside? If God is the embodiment of Love and we are all children of the Miraculous, Grace freely given because of this love and intimate connection, how could that be possible? I wrestled with this for a time, looking for a loophole to crawl through, but they all ended in the same place: base condescension and the spiritually corrosive “holier than thou” sensibility.

Wayne Dyer suggested in all things we “think from the end.” Applying this concept here I now understand that no one stands above another Spiritually, and though each of us will reap the harvest from the seeds we have sown, for good or ill, Grace is a gift that cannot be earned or lost and to believe that in anyway anyone is beyond Grace or has lost it, we then set ourselves up for a life of disharmony at odds with the truth of being.

“For we are human, weak and prone to wrong, and by Thy Grace alone are we made strong.”
Henry Coyle

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© Vincent Lee Jones All Rights Reserved

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Real Action

How many Spiritually based websites or pages do you visit or follow? How many spiritually themed books are on your real or virtual bookshelf, by how many different authors? Perhaps Chopra, Fox, Dyer, Gibran, maybe Schuler, Wilkerson, Grizone and Warren are a few of them? How about The Secret or the heavy hitters: The Bible, Vedas, Torah, the Buddhavacana, Bhagavad-Gita, Quran or maybe the Book of Mormon? All these apps, pages and books are helpful, but without action, demonstration in purpose, nothing of any lasting value is achieved, any more than reading about a diet results in weight loss. Being informed and inspired is a first step, but nothing concrete happens until we act. Knowing when to stop seeking and start doing can be a fearful transition since commenting on a play is seemingly safer, easier, than being on stage.
When I wore a younger man’s clothes and was very impressed with myself, I would look at my bookshelves loaded down with spiritual tomes with a sense of self-important satisfaction. Believing knowledge equaled demonstration, I had convinced myself that I not just talked the talk but walked the walk. I could not have been more wrong. When the truth finally hit, it was devastating. I had a head full of knowledge but had put precious little of the “great truths” I said I believed in into action, and what I had put into action was inconsistent and haphazard at best. I was the antithesis of spiritual truth, talking the talk but not walking the walk consistently.

So participate in and study the things that sing to you Spiritually, but instead of always looking for something new, return to an old friend and give it a look with the “new pair of glasses” your living experience has provided you.

Today I “keep it simple.” I revisit a small group of authors and books that have touched me deeply and profoundly over the years. Some of these books I have read for decades and though I have traveled their path many times, I continue to find fresh insights, for my spiritual vision has thankfully improved with age and action in purpose.

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© Vincent Lee Jones All Rights Reserved

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Overcoming Limitation Thinking

Regardless of path or discipline, teachers of spiritual principles agree on this point: freedom comes when limitation is overcome. On the surface the differences in approach from one school of thought to another can often seem dramatic if not downright contradictory, but in essence they are all tools to address the same thing, our perceived loss or missing connection to true Source/Higher Self which provides clarity, direction and serenity in our lives. To be clear: We are not/cannot be disconnected from Source, for we are comprised of Source. Flesh is ephemeral, but our Spirit, soul if you prefer, is eternal, has always been, will always be, was never born and can never die. We choose to believe in a gulf or lack of connection out of fear and the seeming unfairness of life. Our ability to comprehend the totality of existence with our limited understanding of the Miraculous leads us down paths of denial and often into spiritual “make believe.” It is seemingly easier to hold that we are living at the whim of creation or conversely chaos, therefore taking no responsibility for our lives, than to live in purpose, coming to grips with the truth that we are where we are because of every choice and decision we have ever made. Fear modulating between what if there is no God to God will punish me for I have chosen and/or acted poorly.

In truth: When we know who walks beside us every day, on this path we have chosen, we will never be afraid again. Just as every child is connected to their parent by blood, we are connected to Ultimate Source in Spirit. Arguing over the title of this Source is one of the Adversary’s, Fear, greatest tricks to keep us locked into the bondage of self, limitation ascendant.

To free ourselves from the self-imposed fetters on our spiritual life we must strip away the lurking fears holding us back and step out in faith, the faith generated from the certainty of our true connection with Source. Living any other way is existence restricted, fear rather than faith dominate, living in the light desired but giving in to the carnal always beckoning shadows of limitation thinking, Fear’s handmaiden. We overcome limitation by standing, though often trembling, in the light, proclaiming our love and steadfast belief in our connection to and with the Miraculous.

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© Vincent Lee Jones All Rights Reserved

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Forms of Meditation: Focused Meditation

Focused Meditation: Is employed to address a specific problem, difficulty or question. Again, find a quiet place where you will not be interrupted or disturbed and perform the cleansing breaths previously outlined. If asked what you are about, do not explain the specifics of the meditation, for in so doing you invite failure since our time in meditation, to be vital, must be treated as sacred “me” time in concert with source. Speak of it in general terms with those seeking help but keep the specifics between you and Divine mind. Now, in your mind’s eye visualize the issue at hand. Avoiding judgement, observe the issue troubling you in all its aspects, the individuals involved and possible outcomes without consciously outlining a solution. After you have thoroughly explored, without words, the issue, silently ask for the correct course of action to become evident. End the session thanking the Universe (God) that you now know it (Him) better, take a cleansing breath and go about your day. Again, avoid telling anyone about your meditation for this opens us to negative judgement.

Purpose: In focused meditation we invite Universal Mind to address our difficulties, without outlining solutions. In short order you will intuitively know what to do, amazingly the answers will just come. In this way we begin to rely on the infinite, all knowledgeable Source instead of our finite selves.

Over the last few days some simple methods of meditation have been outlined, there are many others. In closing hold this truth evident: the purpose of meditation is not to become better at meditation, that will happen naturally in time, the purpose is simply to meditate. Be consistent, don’t struggle and in short order this quiet time with the Miraculous will become as natural as breathing.
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© Vincent Lee Jones All Rights Reserved

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