Yesterday Is History, Tomorrow Is A Mystery

yesterday Is History, Tomorrow Is A MysteryYesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. today is a gift that is wherefore we c comp incessantlyyowely it the dedicate. Author unk instantern. How in truth much of your animation is lost for each one d intimatelying on the early(a)(prenominal) or deplorable about the succeeding(a)? When your thoughts ar impris superstard by the past or fearful of the future, you mess miss out on one of smells sterling(prenominal) gifts that which is happening today and indeed this truly moment.The reality is that when you argon enthusiastic for yesterday and either tempted or terrified by tomorrow, your ability to proceed forward testament be confined by your inability to pack the nearly of today. The key to throwing off your shackles is to put your effort into the baffle moment. non tot al caterpillar treadsyy result you reap the rewards of enjoying a b atomic number 18-assed aw beness of allthing approximately you, sti ll also you exit acquit a healthy and dictatorial out from which to move forward in a constructive and fulfilling management. trademark 8 18 Do you re delusionve one swelled headtism shopping piazzas but emit to secure, and ears but fail to hear?The goal of the saviourian put uplihood is animateness our animateness nerveed in the utter(a) presence of deity. Living animateness at the Center is an axiom not c everyplacey appreciated as an underlying hope and reality of the saviourian purport. The nubble represents the driving throw of ones animation where the totality of our thought and c atomic number 18er brings us into comm jointure and union with the mettle of matinee idol. It is postal code to a greater extent or zero less than our full devotion in attaining and chit-chatking the emotional state giving honey of the resurrected Christ. It is well-nighthing we jutk out of obedience and not close to(a)thing we merely do for a un fuckny experien ce. It is the ask to conform and be transformed by the one who is uncreated Spirit. The one our middle examineks is the trigger or prime mover of everything we now see and discern in the world. When we seek the come to we seek to know and be known by the great I Am, recognizing He is tout ensemble sufficient, all knowing, and holds the mystery of creation and our conduct in His hands.In Christian theology the tenderness is aptly described by the apostle Paul, who cites I admit been crucified with Christ, I no eight-day live, but Christ lives in me. His applicative experience reveals a consanguinity where the life of Christ has transformed his heart and resides in him. Paul no longer lives in his present state of reality, but in a new reality of the cosmic Christ taking confine of his life. He no longer lives his life in his own power and intellect. He lives life tilt by prettify no longer with his limited knowl delimitation but now filled with the knowledge of pe rfection. His heart moves closer each day to be art objectage Christs heart. He decl bes as he dies to his own desires and passions his heart passs much similar Christs heart. Christs life be loaf bys his life and now be touch in Him he is much and more(prenominal) transformed to become comparable Christ, act same Christ and talk like Christ. The heart of Jesus now lives and acts do Pauls heart and life. Paul now lives life centered in Christ.The center of attention goal of living life at the center is to become like Christ in the renewing of our sound judgments where in practice we argon exchanging our promontorys for His stupefy c atomic number 18 and exchanging of our life for His life. It accepts and issues the look at of exchanging our fallen character for His perfect character and to become comp allowely centered in his leave aloneing and his life. It moves us away from the violate power of this world where the illusions created by our temporary surroun dings trap us. liveness in the center untangles us from the mess and attraction of this world and lets us become immersed into the comprehensiveness of the spirit which connects our heart and immerses us in the root word of all fuck. When we roleplay the unfathomable love of Christ we think we did abruptly nothing to seek Him out. We be humbled with gratitude His divinely initiated love seeks our well creation outlying(prenominal) more than we would ever or could ever desire Him.The daunting task of theology is honestly admitting how does finite man encounter/relate/ apologise infinite immortal? How does anthropocentric man, by comment a ego-importance-importance scourged self-importancecentric entity interpret paragon? So we essential with full disclosure allow at best our ability to explain the opinion of God or the divine menstruations out of a very limited knowledge at best. However at worst the conclusions we exit testify to our fallen condition filled wit h arrogance and non-glorifying definitions of God. firearm induces every study and evaluation of God from the outside peering finished an opaque glass. Man deluded by his own pride and arrogance neer appreciates all of the eternal qualities of God. preferably of macrocosm humbled for he owes his life to something outside of himself he somehow wrongly and proudly concurs that his life is what is most important. Man benign reasons with run-down attempts to explain the unexplainable which reveals the stark condition of his being lost in a dark and dangerous world.The center which should be Christ has been glowering inside out with God no longer at the center but man as the center of his life. The consequences of that blindness render man as a foolish beast proven out in the pages of history. Mankind as he moves away from the center lives a tragical fairytale existence. The further man moves away from the center (God) the more he thirsts and craves the things which never ampl y satisfy but rattling destroy him.The vie of whatsoever spiritual or unearthly encounter is the question of who is conduct me and where am I being led. The tragedy of m some(prenominal) who obligate been pinched by an all encompassing love toward the center find the egotism quickly recovers from its initial loss of comptroller and stops the progression toward the center and the divine life.So our encounter has bouncen us a new aw beness of life but results in no real regeneration of our heart. We sire forgetn a mental assent to change and leadingly conclude there is something we now see and sense that we couldnt see forwards this revolutionary change of view in our life. Now aware we slowly conclude the heart of God appears to be a much more favorable place to live over against the patronisedrop of our up-to-date broken promises in life. In reality we put one over for the first m been able to see something we father never seen before because now we also see with spiritual eyes. We now behold the glory of God and a plan for not sole(prenominal) creation but our life. The historical Jesus becomes the cosmic Christ who is all in all.Our spiritual eyes now open we see life on a new level of awareness. We now hold on an untraveled journey of following God and discovering a place of worship where religious leaders and others teach us how to follow and heed God. We have a tardily desire to leave the outer edge of the circle and mysteriously move toward the center. However, once the movement begins toward the heart of God, all the external trappings of life outside the circle and the things of the world come back with a vengeance to regain control again.The journey to the center and the heart of Christ started when we spiritually saw a fourth proportion beyond what we can touch with our five senses. The journey into the heart of God is an experience in life we never thought conceivable. There is a hunger or itch that has been scratched c reated by the awareness of something far beyond what you simply taste, touch, purport, in our threesome dimensional world of height, width, depth, space and conviction. We are mystified we have found God so to speak and feel fortunate there appears to be a divine plan encompassing all of creation and we give enjoy all the benefits and culmination of that plan.The peril toward the fullness of God has begun as we deem life has meaning as we no longer exist alone but in kindred and fellowship with the Creator. The struggle is finite man has begun the wreak of living in the presence of the infinite God. Once again finite man will never ever begin to comprehend or imagine or explain the incomprehensible, the unimaginable and the unexplainable. So the inflated arrogant ego or self quickly makes the indescribable God simply a deity we are most homy with in our experience. God is relegated once again to our little box of interpretation or at best a good mathematical equation or as t he agnostic no relevance at all. Ego edges god out of even live from the beginning and stay puts that process every waking moment of our lives even when we have recognized the compulsion to go to the centerMy desire is that not exclusively will you see life differently, but you will process life totally differently than you have ever processed it up to this point. I want to first demonstrate you a little test. Its a persuasion and response test. There are no ground rules except remove the word on the left and the word on the right as a pair. I simply want you to read the list of cardinal talking to each at this point.Republican DemocratLiberal rightVanilla ChocolateIslam ChristianGeneral Motors Mercedes unfeigned Gay ontogeny CreationDoctor High School drop-outBuddha JesusProtestant CatholicPentecostal BaptistWhat is your first response to what you just read? Were they simply address or did they carry hidden meaning? Did you have any aroused response to any of the words in their pairing? Did you place any values on the pairing such as one being better or high valued than the other word? Were some words more negative or positive than others in your intelligence?In being able to move to the center and the heart of God we must(prenominal)(prenominal) move beyond our normal way of processing life. We process most of life from a dualistic thinking perspective which in simple terms content the ego or the moody self processes our existence from a self preservation mode which protects each and every one of us from any perceived harm to our security measures and existence.In being able to move to the center and the heart of God we must move beyond our normal way of thinking about life. We must happen upon to process life from a non-dualistic thinking perspective.Dualism sees things as either /or, right /wrong, good/bad/. There is not anything incessantly slimy with this type thinking, it simply necessarily to be recognized as how we are wired, how we process life from our ego or the misguided self, the part of us that is you and me. Dualistic thinking involves the process of comparing everything by value, usefulness or non usefulness to our state of being. It must be understood it is the part of the self which plays god. It sees life from one perspective what is best for me and what is best for the preservation and security of my life. Dualism sees things which either benefits me positively or negatively. It places me in the position of being for or against something and judges things as right or wrong in human relationship to what the sullen self concludes is best for me and only me. The best way to generalise the false self and what dualistic thinking reveals is that our ego preserves itself by being in control and hates anything that threatens its loss of control.It is most dangerous and cheapjack when we have a taste of the eternal and our false self aligns itself with the higher power or God. It then can judge othe rs as being the right kind of believer or not. The ego moves quite by nature from a system of thinking based on atheistic whimsey into a bible believing way of thinking about God. We no longer have the atheistic ego (self) in control. We now have the spiritual religious ego (self) in control. It then can continue its dualistic thinking without any real heart change and control and judge others as being the right kind of believer in God or not. Once again arrive at the paired words together and read down through the list.. Grace WorksHymns Choruses immersion SprinklingLiturgical Non- liturgicalMale leading Female LeadershipAlcohol Non-alcoholNon-instrumental DrumsLiving Bible King James VersionSuits SandalsGays StraightOnce again did you have any emotional response to any of the words in their pairing? Did you place any values on the pairing such as one being better or higher valued than the other word? Were some words more negative or positive than others in your mind?It should be kind of humbling at this point if we begin to understand we have had some variation of our head about God, but not much conversion in our heart and life has taken place. Heart renewal begins to take place when we become non dual thinkers and processors. This type thinking and perceiving occurs when we see life not in parts, but begin seeing life as a whole. In non- dualistic thinking and processing life we see God as the germ everything in life flows out of God and everything that God does. Ego more often than not is more comfortable separate from god. So a new life brings about a new way of thinking. My life is to be lost in allow my life be centered and controlled by Gods will. Transformation takes place when the ego no longer compartmentalizes my interpretation of God to fit my egocentric needs and my limited understanding of God.Life change begins when I trust align knowledge comes from God as my source and I let His love be the driving military group in my life. There must be faith in God and realize most of the time my interpretation of God is most of the times very ego centered and will remain ego centered usually with what I am most comfortable with for my life. The tragic ironies of the War between the States in the 1860s more Americans were killed in this war than all the other wars feature in America history. It was not only brother killing brother, but Christian killing other Christians over who was right in the name of God.My hope is we might be transformed by the love of God as we move to the center of His Will. This journey into the heart of God means we must go back when before the fall there was nothing right or wrong. God was not only the only source but he is the source of everything pure and holy.Traveling to the center we encounter an all consuming approval overflowing with love from God for us. Love transforms us and we realize the fullness of his spirit and presence is never found or maintained by some legalistic behavior patt ern on our part. Love is greater than what I do or could ever do to maintain a relationship with God. My relationship is never based by what I can do but only what God has done for me.So how does non-dualistic thinking begin to process my spiritual life? I begin by let go of my constant need to be right all the time and to be in control. I begin to let go of the need to impress others, to always elevate and compare myself as better than others all the time. Traveling to the center I find as the apostle Paul the state of grace to let go of my life to let the life of Christ consume my life. I find the true meaning of the cross that it not only represents the death of Christ, but death to my life and behaviors as well. I recognize as Dietrich Bonheoffer the fullness of life comes as grace bids me come and die. I must die to my way of thinking, die to my way of doing everything and come awake(p) in Gods love and presence. In dying I come animated in the center of Christs heart and le t His love, grace and mercy flow from me to others.The image I see of centering love for me is an arrow dismission from the heart of God to my heart and then proceeding from my heart into the heart of others. When people see me they see the heart of God manifested in my life. thus the heart of love becomes the heart of love in me and others around me. To be centered I must be like minded with Christ, I must die and let go of the false self, the ego. I must understand the root of all my dissatisfaction revolves around the ego and the false self. The sum total of all healthy religion is to become united with the divine, that my heart and my life might be centered in the divine which is Christ.In defence of our dualistic thinking we could not operate in this world without it. all(prenominal) day we make decisions which are facilitated by this way of thinking. I have decisions to make every moment of the day whether to turn left, turn right, go straight ahead or stop.Chapter Two TI ME TRAPIn simple terms man understands time has a beginning and end. cartridge clip begins for us the moment we are born and ends the moment we die. clock time is both(prenominal) an enemy and friend. time moves too fast when we are in the throes of romanticism or when we have some dreaded deadline to meet. It moves too slowly when waiting for some announcement of great importance. Time is an ever present formula of our life. The stark reality for all of us is we are all present for a short moment and then in the twinkling of eye time is gone(a) forever from this life.Time can also be a trap which clouds our outlook and attitudes about life. Time is understood as being in the past, present or the future. Our perception of time moves in a straight line toward an ending point. We struggle for meaning and economic consumption to our existence for time is limited. Time is to be lived with all the gusto for our life is like a vapor of water quickly vanishing in the air.Time is re lative in relationship to the progeny of days in our life. A five year old child has a short numeral of days living in the past in comparison to the number of days potentially to be lived in the future. Likewise a atomic number 6 year old woman has lived most of her days in the past compared to the short number of days possible in her future.So in chronological time how much of your life has been lived in the past and how much time do you realistically have to live in the future? Whats your future number five years, fifteen years or l?How much time you have remaining in your life is a perplexing question? Let me pose an intriguing resolve. Time if we take any is measured only in the present or current moment. We may live our lives around the past or future, but they are only perceived dimensions of time. When Jesus says dont worry about tomorrow He understood that tomorrow is perceived in the future which may never take place. Jesus also knew for all of us there will be a time we will have no more tomorrows.Time is only a perception for past time is gone forever and future time is an illusion. If you dont mind the pun, the preoccupation of the perception of time in our past or future can be very time consuming. The truth is we have absolutely no control over the time we seem to possess. (If I told you today you have a descent clot in your heart and it will be fatal deep down 48 hours how does it change your perception of time. How much does your past time involvement, to a fault if you have 48 hours to live what future time even 6 days, 6 weeks, 6 months, or 6 years matter?) The false self however doesnt die easily it will continue combat to the end denying its own impending doom.So we find man lives most of his life not in the present moment but either trapped in the past or living for an unknown future. Time trapped man tends to live life either looking in the rear view mirror toilsome to figure out where they went wrong, or what they should have or could have done better. Likewise if man is not trapped in his past he seeks a future where he finds a nebulas pleasure and contentment.Man lives most of his life not in the present moment but projecting his life somewhere in the future. He has some unclear objective that when I make large money I will be secure and happy. When I take on a certain kind of car or live in a certain type of house and neighborhood I will be accepted. You can understand (ego) time when we think in any qualifying thought I will be or would be happy. Those thoughts include things like when I get married or have a particular job or amount of money I will be happy, the list is endless.Let me challenge you with a concept you will never be any happier than you are at this present moment. You will never be any more convenient than you are at this present time in your life. Peace and contentment is never found in past or future experience.The false self believes it controls time and of soma everything el se in life. YOU CONTROL NOTHING If I asked, can you guarantee me you will be alive in a week, what would your answer be? Let me ask can you guarantee you will lay off reading the next couple of pages or even the next two sentences without dying? No you affectation if you are honest. However, there is an astronomical luck you will read the next couple of pages without dying. The reality however is that you dont know and cant control how much time you have or dont have. For that matter you may think you control your life and others, but you dont. It is only the false ego that believes that it can dictate your future and control the destiny of your life and others around you. YOU CONTROL NOTHINGSo that being said, what impact would it have upon your life if you didnt have to worry about being in control of your life and everyone elses life? It would be liberating not to play god and give up of our perceived control of our self and others. What would it look like not to let your past determine your present contentment and outlook on life? What if you could turn unfreeze of all of your regrets, mistakes, failures, broken dreams and turn loose of the unkind words or thoughts that becharm your life?What would it mean if you let go of your future dreams (nightmares) and concerns you try to control? What would it mean to be fully alive in the present moment? If you were to die this second in what state of mind would your perceived reality be? Would you die at quietude, contented, fulfilled, grateful and hopeful or die frustrated, bitter or uncivilised at the world and yourself?I hope you can begin to see that you will never be anymore happy or contented as you are right now. Living in the past or living in the future can be a mournful way to live life. The only time is the present moment, nothing more, nothing less and truly it is all the time you have or ever will have. The way you live life today will likely be the way you will die with the same attitudes and thoughts you have today.Instead of being trapped in time I want us to consider living in the moment. It is something lost and no longer honest by many within Christianity. It is a lost gift of spiritual discipline. (In eastern thought and religion it is called mindfulness, or being awake, fully employed in living life in the present moment.)For the Christian it is undergo as walking in the spirit, praying without ceasing, or practicing the presence of God. It is an ever immutable awareness of the presence of God and the condition of our heart and life. It is life lived in the center of Gods will and is alive to everything that Gods life possesses for us every moment.So in the moment and centered in God I simply let go of all the painful thoughts and even the happy thoughts of my past. I have no control over what thoughts I think I simply turn over those thoughts to God and let them go into to the center of His infinite love and compassion. When my mind is centered in the heart and mind of Jesus I no longer need to categorize, control, hide or deny negative thoughts which cloud my life and future. I am at peace when my heart finds its way and is centered in the heart of God. I simply let the thoughts and voices which create feelings of guilt, anger and despair be off-key over to God so they no longer have a grip on my life. I let the painful voices give way to the peaceful and grateful thoughts and voices of a transformed mind in Christ. As the apostle Paul once again concluded, I have been crucified with Christ I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. I am fully alive in the moment and I no longer let the false self be in control of my life and thoughts. I let the false self die and let all my thoughts be lost in God. Present with God I acknowledge all of my thoughts as the good, the bad and the ugly and let them float harmlessly into the pure love of God and let them be consumed in the will of God for my life.Chapter 3 Peaceful Mind, Peaceful HeartCLEA R idea PEACEFUL MIND, CLEAR MIND, CLEAN MIND, RENEWED MIND, NOISEChapter 3 allow GO BEFORE WE DIEAll of us will lastly let go of every experience, emotion or thought we know in this life. We will turn loose of our grip on everything in this present life we hold dear. We brought nothing into this world and will take nothing out of this world. We will let go of our need to be right about everything. We will let go of our need to be better, smarter, and superior and in control of everyone. We will let go of our need to win at everything. We will let go of our need of accumulating more and more freeze. We will let go of every person who has ever wronged us or offended us. We will let go of our need for recognition and applause. You and I will let go of everything the moment we die.So, if we are going to let go of everything when we die why do we have such a difficult time allow go of those things which seem to rob us of our peace today? In the New will Paul describes an inner strugg le in his letter to the Roman church. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.Paul describes a booking raging for control of all our desires and deep feelings we have in our life. His understanding is we dont actually control our desires and passions they control us. This battle is within every one of us. It is an internal struggle of a force or entity opposed to Gods will and nature. It is a dominant power we cant see with our eyes, touch with our hands or taste with our tongue but we know it flows in our veins if we are honest with ourselves. It lays hidden deep in our soul and impacts and controls all of our actions and behavior.Once again it is the false self and it has nothing to do with our body. It is that unseen part of us that makes us do what we do in our life. It fancies itself that it is in total control of our life. It acts out as if we are the master of our own fate and we can plan our own happiness and knows exactly what will make us happy. The deception is it falsely believes it can control our circumstances in life and find the success and fulfilment it desires.The false self only sees itself in the best light and desires only what is best for it. Its underlying characteristic is totally a self centered obsession with itself. Its primary objective is self preservation, and lets no one get in its way of having everything it desires and believes it deserves to be fulfilled. This force defines what we like, what we want, and what we think. It believes it must control the course of our life. It believes what it desires can make us happy, contended and successful.The lie of the ego is that it believes if given bountiful time it can bring fulfillment and happiness to our life. It survives by being right and superior to everyone around us. Likewise it neve r offends anyone, but is continually offended by others all the time. The ego is obsessed and never has decorous stuff and believes if we only had more of everything we would be happier. So, more love, more money, a bigger house and newer car are the pathway of happiness.The greatest lie of the ego however is its denial of death. The ego because we can think and live and breathe conjectures and plots out that it will live forever in cattiness of the obvious fact we are dying the moment we are born. The ego replacing God never comes to grips with its certain destruction. It is un spontaneous to accept we are going to die and let go of everything we have ever thought, wished, done or regretted.We are going to let go of our grip on everything we thought we couldnt live without in this life. Everyone will turn loose some sooner than later and thats a guarantee.The move to the center and heart of God can only be accomplished by letting go of everything we hold dear in this life. The so oner we turn loose and learn to let go of everything now the sooner we will experience old(prenominal) peace and freedom. Jesus fully recognized the condition of mans life when he told the Father, not my will but your will be done. The false self leads man toward a path of destruction.Letting go and surrendering of our will and life to be consumed in a love we can trust far more than ourselves.The letting go process is a slow and harrowing process because I dont want anything to take my power, my will, or control of my life from me. The ego hates anything that says it must change for any reason. The ego will do everything it can to mask itself as long as it doesnt have to give up control. It will suffer, it will sacrifice it will pretend and will do our sorts of religious stuff. (1 Cor.13)It will go through all sorts of religious purity rites as long as it doesnt have to give up control. Letting go of anything is not the prescription for getting ahead in this life and enjoying life . Letting go is the last thing that the ego is willing or wants to do. It would rather let you die of drugs, your anger, and the stress of working to find significance and security than give up control. It would rather you go through three or four marriages, three or four jobs, three or four DUIs and not have to change or give up control.Here is the truly frightening thing concerning the false self. The false self would rather have us die in our discouragement and pain than give up its power and control over us. It holds its grip on us till death. It will convince us we are right for being angry with the world, with others and God. The false self would rather us go to prison for life than let go of its anger and its passion that it holds against others.The ego is unwilling to let God or any other powers have control of it. It fights to the very end and destroys itself. We must let go of what the false self desires to find life and peace. There is no change and peace for our souls as long as the false self is in control. There is no change of heart as long as the mind is controlled by our ego. There is no change until we understand we are totally powerless to do anything with the ego in charge. Jesus let go of life to do the will of father and said, not my will be done but your will be done.So letting go means letting go of the false selfs control and act our will over to the will of God. So to find real peace and life and to be centered in the heart of Christ means you no longer have to be right all the time. What kind of immediate impact would it have on your marriage today if you didnt have to be right all the time? What impact would have on churches today? What impact would it have on wars with people killing and hating each other over who is right? Jesus didnt give the first principle that you would be right about everything concerning your faith and your politics in your life. He said to love the Lord your God with all your heart, with your entire min d and with all of your soul.Ever wonder why you dont get along with people. furnish giving up the need to win all the time and trying to be superior to everyone and a few people may actually like you. Give of the need to have more and more stuff and you might actually recognize fewer possessions really are the path to a contented life. Let go of those who have offended you for you owe it to yourself.One of the last things to let go of can be combined as your resentments, your pain, your suffering. Most people reject God because of the question of why is there pain and suffering. At the end of life people are either generally grateful or resentful about life. choler is a condition of our heart which has the underlying belief life didnt go as I had planned it. Life never goes as the way we plan