Return to God

In their path of ascent, or path of return, the mystics might affirm, "I give up myself to God, so that there is only God." The implications of this have to do with three aspects: being, realization and action. If the affirmation is sincere, with one's whole being, then the energy of being is transmuted into a higher, finer energy. One's being is not suddenly transmuted to the highest energy of God-Being, but at least some degree of transmutation is effected by this meditative practice, as the mystic gradually approaches divine purity. The second aspect of this practice is to do with realization, for the mystic is giving up her limited understanding of self, and surrendering even the mind to God, so that there is nothing remaining in experience but God. Though again, this has a gradual implication, as layer by layer the self-veils are released so that more and more of God-Light is realized. The third aspect of this practice is to do with one’s will and action. I give up myself to God, so that there is only God’s Will. Thus, the final implication of this practice is for our little will to give itself up to the Higher Will; that there may be only God’s Will in our action.

The meaning of ‘God’s Will’ is discussed more elsewhere, but for here let us define it as a ‘Will to higher or greater good’. The ‘Will-to-love’ could also be included in this. Remember that ‘God’s Will’ is intrinsically a general Principle or general Way, rather than being specific instructions. We need to relinquish the mistaken belief that God has specific instructions for us, or that God’s Will has in mind a specific way or action. The Divine Will is general, not specific; and once we realize this, we might understand our own responsibility. The first part of this responsibility is to enter into God’s Will, which means being in alignment with that Greater Will, those higher goals and principles. God’s Will is given to us as a general principle or general way to follow, but the specific decisions needed to fulfill the general Will are up to us – it is our responsibility to consider and decide what may be specifically needed (or good) at this time and circumstance, and then fulfill that specific action.

Using a large-business analogy, ‘God’s Will’ is like a set of general business principles to follow and general goals to fulfill, but the actual study and decision about what to do specifically is delegated to those who are most intimately involved with the practical work. In other words, we are the delegates and regents of God, and we are entrusted with actually deciding what is specifically needed or best at the time. So in effect, we are entrusted with deciding what is God’s Will in specific decisions and actions.

Fundamentally, our responsibility is two-fold. One responsibility is to look up, as it were, to realize the higher goals and principles of Life – that which we need to align to, agree to, and seek to fulfill. And the other responsibility is to look down, as it were, to see how to serve life and work to manifest the higher Goals and Principles. Those Goals and Principles to follow come top-down from the Will of Divine Management. We are asked to accept and agree to this, and bring our own will into alignment with this, which is the meaning of submission of the lower to the Higher. With this alignment and agreement, we come into harmony and cooperation with the Divine Will, and then we begin to fulfill those higher Goals and Purposes. Again, these Goals are general, and it is up to us to see how to fulfill these Goals in specific ways. God is not a dictator, but more like a Corporate Manager, and so God’s Will (or God’s Command) is better understood as Goals and Principles to follow. As in any large business, the head manager does not decide how things should best be done all the way down the ladder or hierarchy. More specific decisions and actions are left to the lower levels of the business, though the higher management will oversee the general outcomes and work to make positive adjustments when needed. Within this organization or system, there are degrees of freedom and semi-autonomy, whereby it is possible that mistakes can be made over the process of time, though this also allows possibility for unexpected positive creative innovation. In fact, one general principle of the whole system is to allow for a maximum of freedom and innovation within the lower ranks of the system, though still maintaining influences that will bring the higher Goals into fulfillment over time. Thus, at any moment of within the process of time, there can be discordance and mistakes, as well as temporary hazards, yet in the long run the higher Goals of Management will prevail, because Management can set in motion new influences to bring the general system back into more concordance.

Now simultaneous to this top-down management, there is also an ongoing bottom-up development, whereby the lower agents are learning how to come into concordance and alignment with the higher managing goals and principles. They are growing up to greater responsibility, and also developing their understanding of the higher Will and developing skills to fulfill this. This will be a gradual development for each particular agent, and so within the system-business there will always be younger developed agents as well as more developed ones, and thus there are various degrees of intelligence and skill throughout the system of particular agents. Some will be fulfilling the higher Goals better than others, and some may even be making mistakes – but then hopefully learning from this. One might also see a hierarchy of departments within the corporation, whereby people often work in certain fields of service, and there are leaders of groups and leaders of groups above those groups, each seeking to manifest the Higher Goals. Also important to note is that the Higher Management has instilled in all of us an inherent capacity-essence to seek understanding of higher purposes and the skills needed to fulfill these.

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The Path of Return to God is, thus, a return to Being, to our essential Being. It is the process of emptying everything in its usual movement in the psyche; in other words, dropping all the preoccupations of mind and emotions, in order to return to the essential fundamental Being (which is God). This emptying is our surrender to God/Being. Then, in this emptiness, we must open to God, opening to the greater radiance of Being that will emerge from this emptiness. This allows the receiving of the Radiance, the realization of Greater Being. Essential to the opening is increased awareness or wakefulness to what Being presents (or how Being presents itself). That is, we need to increase our awareness of Being unfolding (through the emptiness). This is synonymous with saying that we need to listen to and realize what God is now giving, or how God is now radiating through our being. God is always Giving and Radiating of Its Being, so it is up to us to become openly aware of how this is unfolding.

The return to Being can be experienced in many ways and described in even more ways, so in describing this I can only state what I believe are the more profound points to consider. As said before, we can make a distinction between the experience of Being as within and the experience of Being as around us. So in one sense, Being is the mystery unfolding from within us, and we find the Qualities of God/Being in our own deeper being. In this sense, the return to God and surrender to God is a return and surrender to one's true, inner, deeper, essential beingness; in order to discover (or uncover) the Divine Qualities latent in us. One might even say that God discovers Himself through us.

While in another sense, Being is the Reality of God in Whom we live; God being all around us, and we being IN God. One may experience this as the greater surrounding Divine Presence, or as surrounding Love, or as the Divine Friend. In this sense, the return to God and surrender to God is a return and surrender to the Greater Being/Reality of which we are part. This means letting go of the smaller-self identity (or attachment) and embracing the greater-Self identity. It also means to surrender to and submit to a greater Purpose and Will.

In both senses of God/Being, we have the potential for reflecting Divine Being (in greater degree and in greater integrative completion). From our perspective, Divine Being is as potential. From God's perspective, we are possibilities for Divine expression. To some extent, in ourselves and in the world, Divine Being is already reflective and Divine expression is already an actualized reality. To what exact extent this is true is not something anyone can say and it need not be a concern. The concern is to bring forth more of the Divine Potential in ever-finer reflection.

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There are two meanings of the phrase 'return to God'. In the larger sense, the phrase means the return of the soul to God, or to final Unity. Plotinus thinks that this requires many lifetimes. In the other meaning, we have possibility in each moment to return to God, to make a conscious movement or orientation to God, and to come to at least a relative experience of God. This is the release of the little self, the release of limited identifications, in order to open-in and expand-in the Larger Self.

There are two 'approaches' in this effort, which are complimentary, and both involve a returning from distraction to Spiritual Being and Will. The inner approach, a withdrawal from the outer world, is a return to our most inner Being, our true Being and Qualities. It is the experience in inner Being and realizing the qualities of this Being. The outward approach, an openness to the outward universe, is a return to the Universal Being in which we live. It is the experience of Universal Being all around us, the experience of 'being-with' or 'being-in' God the Universal Being. This is a de-contraction of awareness, an openness to the Greater Being IN which we exist.

A third approach must now be mentioned, which can compliment the other two. This is the creative work with what is given from the inner and outer realizations. This is really a movement FROM God, than a return to God per se. It is our creative thoughts and actions that come FROM our realization of God. It is bringing into actualized existence the Qualities and Will of God. It is bringing love, truth, goodness and beauty into our world. Our final Aim is not just to experience Being and Its Qualities, and not just to be in harmony, unity, love and peace with the world. These are essential aims, but not enough. The world, including ourselves, are in need of healing and transformation. Greater love, truth, goodness, and beauty are still in potential, in need of manifestation. This is up to us to manifest. Believing that God will do it all is a neglect of our own human cosmic role and responsibility. This is our creative work, though it could also be regarded as creative play or artistry. Creative variety and playfulness is as significant to the Divine Purpose as is the more serious ethical work of bringing about justice in the world.

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We have two fundamental journeys. One is inward and the other is outward. One is a search for who I am, and the other is a search for creative and practical expression. One is a discovery of oneself, and the other is a discovery of the world and how to relate in it. The inward journey begins with self introspection, self reflection, and inner contemplation. And it is in this journey that we discover our deeper and truer feelings, our deeper sense of will, and also possibly our inner intuition about what is true and right. So the inner journey is incredibly significant. Yet many seem to forget to take this journey. Many go all around the world, but neglect to go inside on the inner journey. Now it is also important to remember that each time we go on the inner journey, the inner landscape and our inner experiences will be somewhat different. It’s never exactly the same. No two moments, no two journeys, are ever exactly the same. And that is one reason why the inward journey is fascinating. Also important to remember is that one could never comprehend all that is there, all that is within, all that is true of oneself. It’s not like we could go on the inward journey one time, and experience everything there is to experience in just this one excursion. It’s not like one can do the whole journey in one weekend workshop, and then get on with practical life. In just one journey, one cannot possibly experience and comprehend all of the facets and landscapes of oneself. Self discovery is not an instantaneous insight, like “oh, there it is.” There are instantaneous insights, but many rather than just one. Self discovery is gradual and experienced in limited portions at a time. It’s not like one big tidal wave, and there it all is. Whenever we think that the whole of ourself has been completely explored and realized, new and unexpected landscapes soon emerge. Previously unknown indigenous parts of ourself unexpectedly emerge, saying, “hey, what about us?” So there is this vast inner world to explore, and the exploration never really ends. Thus the inward journey is not really finite. It’s not containable in just one diary of self. It has to be a journey all throughout life, which compliments our outward journeys. And it’s little by little, portion by portion; because we cannot possibly explore all of the landscapes of oneself in one singular journey. Thus, explore one part now and another part later. One has to have patience in this journey, giving ample time and care to each experience in the journey. That is the attitude one needs.

This has been a consideration of the inward journey of self landscapes; but now let us consider a different kind of inward journey that is significant as well. This is more of a direct mystical journey, which transcends the landscapes and qualities of self. It is known as the Mystical Journey to the Inner Sun. It cuts through all landscapes and transcends everything that we know about oneself. It is the journey to the very inner Centre of oneself. And the reason why this is called the Mystical Journey to the Inner Sun is because deep at the very Centre of oneself, the very Centre of our being, is the spiritual Sun, which is the Centre and Source of Conscious Light, the Light of Being. This can also be called Christ, or the Light of God, or Super-Consciousness, or the Inner Spiritual Sun. It is certainly not a state of sleep, but rather a greater and more intense wakefulness.

The secret path of this mystical journey is to go into oneself, and keep going in and in, deeper and deeper into the source of consciousness itself. Paradoxically, consciousness is traveling into consciousness. This is a journey into Light. One is actually journeying into greater and greater Light, as one goes deeper into the Centre of being, or the Source of consciousness. The Light gets more and more intense, brighter and clearer, as the journey goes deeper and deeper. Finally, at some point the journeyer settles into annihilation within the Light, and the Light speaks ‘I am.’ Here, one has transcended all the landscapes of oneself, to become one with the innermost Light, and simply be Light Itself. This is essentially being the Light of God; yet it would be a mistake to believe this experience of Light is the absolute fullness of God-Light. Rather, each mystical experience of being Light is a certain portion or level of the Absolute Light. Thus, it is true that the mystic is one with God, and is essentially Light Itself; for the purity of Light is all that is present, so there is none other than God. Yet, one should avoid the semantic confusion of saying that one is now God, even though in essence this is true. For it should be remembered that any singular mystical experience of being Light is not the whole of Universal Light Itself, but rather a portion or level of the pure Light Essence.

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We have considered the meaningful notion of returning to God, or the Path of Return, or which is also be called the Path of Salvation or the Great Ascension. Yet we must remember that these terms are used metaphorically; that is, we don't actually GO anywhere. The path is actually a path of realization or awakening to the Divine (God) that is always here; although there is an actual transformation of being and mind, which is effected by the realizations. So the path is actually a path of ascending realizations, which are usually called higher realizations. The idea of 'higher' is itself a metaphor, for we could just as well call these deeper realizations, or truer or more holistic. These realizations have two polar aspects. In one aspect the realizations involve wider and greater knowledge of all the Divine Qualities or Principles, more of the Wholeness. In the other aspect the realizations involve deeper intimacy with the Divine Essence Itself, which is Pure Consciousness/Being and is devoid of any multiplicity. So in the first aspect the realizations involve greater knowledge within the Wholeness, but in the second aspect the realizations involve a purity of Gnosis or the essence of Being Itself. Both aspects are significant in the Path of Return.

Now in coming to a very high/deep realization of Divine Being, the metaphor of returning to God is actually turned upside down. Here we get into the very heart of divine mystery. Here, in this higher realization, you realize that you are the Divine Being realizing Itself, or God realizing Him/HerSelf in the manifesting world. You are the Divine discovering Itself, or awakening to Itself, in this body and in this world. You are God awakening, discovering, and realizing Itself in this world. You are not so much as returning, but in fact getting here. That is, you are not ascending, but rather descending and coming into this world. This realization turns the ascending view upside down. You are the incarnation of Divine Spirit into this world. You are the incarnating Christos, realizing and manifesting Divinity. You are a Divine Angel seeking to manifest.

Each soul is really the Divine Potential (or Christ potential) for incarnation, for realization and manifestation. Each soul is God in potential. Each soul is a Divine Angel ready to realize itself and manifest in this world. The Angels are essentially the Divine Qualities or Characteristics of God, which happen to appear to us as individual entities. But the point here is that you are the Angels, you are God, you are the Universal Being Itself, and You are awakening into incarnation. You are the Divine Light and the very Essence of Being. Yet this Light of Reality remains as potential until The Light realizes Itself in this person and in this world. It remains unmanifested until manifested. So I must discover and awaken to the reality of Light as the essence of who I am, and then pour forth this Light from my being.

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This brings us to the topic of spiritual transformation in the mystical sense. The fundamental practice for spiritual transformation involves both negation and affirmation. This is the negation of attachment and identification, and the affirmation of Truth. In the fundamental practice of sufis, for example, this negation and affirmation is contained in the repeated phrase translatable as, "There is nothing but God." There are other translations or possible phrases, but the essence of meaning is the same. What is important is the kind of inner activity involved in the practice. The first part of the practice is a negation, denial and rejection of everything standing in the way of God-Realization. This is a continuous letting go of all our attachments and identifications, a clearing and surrender of the thoughts and emotions of the ego-I. Essentially it is surrender and letting go of whatever we are mentally and emotionally holding onto. This is clearing away the veils blocking the realization of our True Inner Being.

Behind the veils is our True Inner Being, which is God. So as the veils are surrendered and let go of, more of Divine Being is experienced and realized. We become more immersed in Divine Presence. We more immediately experience Divine Presence, and we disappear in Divine Presence, as we surrender and let go of ourself. Now there is nothing but Divine Presence, as consciousness is filled only with Divine Presence. Most often this will be experienced as either Absolute Love, or Light, or Peace. It is the cherished Abode of God. So now we are in Divine Consciousness, experiencing Divine Presence. The veils have been lifted, maybe not absolutely but at least significantly.

This is the resurrection, having ascended into Heavenly Consciousness and in union with Divine Presence. This ascension came about because of the letting go, the surrender of mental and emotional attachments. The heaviness and clinginess of our attachments and desires have been dropped, like dropping heavy-clinging clothes or like dropping heavy-clinging energies. The result of this is a lightness of being and a freedom of being. And so it seems, once our being is freed from the heavy energies of ego-attachments, our consciousness naturally floats up into a vast Spaciousness, the Spiritual Sky, and we meet directly with the Divine Presence. Or it would be equally true to say that the clouds of our illusions have disappeared, due to our surrendering them, so now all that remains is a pure consciousness of Being Itself. This Being has always been here, has always been who we really are, but it was clouded and veiled by the various contents of our attachments. Now, our Being is freed and our consciousness is clear. We can remain in this pure state of Conscious Being, and soak in the Light and Love of God.

Yet at some point the Divine Being urges a descent back into individual mind and matter; for the Will of Divine Being is to be realized in all parts of mind and express through individual existence. The Highest Realization, or Highest Consciousness, begins its descent into individual thought and feeling. Now, the mind needs to understand and make sense of this Divine Experience. So the mind begins to formulate (form) an understanding by way of language or models. This is the process of building higher knowledge, based on direct experience. Direct experience must come into the understanding mind, which uses thought and imagery, language and models. Also in this descending stage, we acquire higher intentions - which are intentions from the Divine. Essentially these are Intentions of the Divine to express through us and into the world. So we once again enter the topic of affirmation as a needed tool in the descension of Divine Realization and Intention. We need to sincerely affirm our higher realizations and intentions.

Affirm the realization of Divine Presence, Divine Love and Divine Light. You might first realize that you are in this Divine Love, so make this an affirmation, affirm it deep through your heart and mind. You might even realize that you are Divine Love. Then affirm this as who you are. Affirm 'I am Divine Love,' or 'I am Divine Light.' This brings Divine Presence into self-presence. If we can keep on affirming this realized Truth through the various levels of mind, then there will be transformation on all levels of self. We can also affirm the Intention of Divine Love; thus making it our own intention. Affirm the intention to be Love, and be loving. Hold the intention and will to love. Affirm inside, "I am Love, and I will love."

Relating this to the mystical self-transformation, the first step is clearing and surrendering of all that veils the pure experience of God, Divine Being. We must do this until there is nothing but the pure experience of God. And through this voluntary clearing and surrendering, lower energies of ourself are transformed. This is the essential work of the spiritual practice, but it needs to be consistent since there is much to be transformed. The second step is the opening of mind and heart to what is Real, opening the mind/heart to the Presence of Real Being - which is discovered when the mind/heart is clear and open. So these two steps of clearing and opening are essential. It would be better to work just on these two steps, than anything else we could do in spiritual practice. The two steps are even related to breath; for clearing is a breathing out (an eliminating or letting go of) and opening is a breathing in (a letting in). First concentrate practice on the clearing part of breath, then after letting go of stuff concentrate more on the opening to Greater Being, or opening to God. God is not some abstract idea; God is the Real Being in which we live and of which we are. God is the Greater Consciousness and Greater Love to which we open.

So the result of our surrendering/clearing and the opening of mind/heart is pure consciousness in Divine Being, an awakening in Divine Being. This experience, this state of consciousness is described in various words by different teachings. We may describe this as Divine Presence, Divine Love and Light, or even God-Consciousness. But no matter what names we give it, there is a definite, notable, significant change in our consciousness and experience of being. Heaviness of being has lifted, cloudiness of mind has cleared, the mind is clearer and more awake, the light of consciousness is brighter, and both mind and heart seem greatly expansive. In fact, as we surrender ourselves, we seem to disappear into a greater Being/Presence - which was already here but covered up by layers of thought and emotion. We are surrendering to the Greater Presence of Being which emerges into brilliance as the clouds of self-thinking and self-attachment disappear. This Greater Presence of Being is always here, so we can simply surrender into it.

Here in Divine Presence, we can simply be content and at peace. We can simply be in the Love and in the Light. Or the experience might be that there is just Love, or just Light. This Love/Light eventually overflows so much that it keeps on expanding and radiating into infinite space. One then realizes, 'I am this Love,' 'I am this Love radiating love.' Now we begin to affirm the Quality of Divine Being, and identify with this. We can now consciously affirm the reality of Divine Being and identify with it, inwardly affirming 'I am this Divine Being.' Affirm: I am this Love, this Light, this Being, and I will love and radiate Light all around me. Then, one must take this realization into regular life and be it, live it and express it. This is where the affirmation of our realization and the intention to express it is so important. Become a sun and radiate the light of Love in all aspects of life. Make your own life more Divine, and help make everything around you more Divine. Love and help bring out the love in everyone you meet.

Allow Divine Love to flow through you, and work through you, and radiate through you, like Light radiating and expressing through a pure crystal.

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We enter God. We enter God Consciousness. We enter God Love and God Will as well. Or is it that God enters through us? The old self disappears and the Divine Self emerges. This is the Return to God. It is the return to God-Consciousness, from clearing the consciousness. It is the return to God-Love, from unabashedly opening our love instead of constricting it. It is the return to God-Will, from uniting our many fragmented wills into one greater purpose instead of allowing disconnected desires to lead us hither and thither. It is One God to which we return, though there are these primary three Aspects of God-Being.

The return to God (or Divine Being) is returning to Who we really are, Who we are meant to be. The little self is given up, it is sacrificed; in order for the Great True Self to come alive and emerge into experience, into this vehicle - which is really God's vehicle. We return to God, and God emerges through us. The return to God also means that we return our consciousness back to God. We give our consciousness back to God. So instead of using consciousness for little ego purposes, we give consciousness back to the True Owner. Then, our consciousness becomes God-Consciousness through us. As well, we return our heart back to God. We give our heart to God, so that God-Love can love through us. We give our will back to God, so that God's Will can will through us. We return ourself to God, so that God can emerge through us.

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* Returning to unity in Divine Being is our spiritual goal, rather than remaining lost in our own self-seclusion and separation from Divine Unity. This self phenomena of seclusion and separation is based on illusionary patterns of thought and emotion. In other words, this self-problem is a kind of illusion. The separative ego vices, which hold us back from divine harmony and alignment with spiritual purpose, are based on illusion. So if the bubble of illusion bursts, then there is realization of the Divine Being, the Reality that is always present but not always realized. In this moment there is a transformation of self experience, from being a separate contained entity to being a transparent reflection of infinite Divine Being.

This transformation of self experience thus involves an annihilation, release or surrender of the separative illusion. There are various ways to release this illusion. One way is through the divine air. In this way, one allows oneself to dissolve into the infinite spaciousness of pure clear Being, and one rhythmically breathes in and out in this pure spacious Being/Presence. Another way is through the divine water. In this way, one allows oneself to dissolve into the pure clear water of Divine Love, whereby one is cleansed and sustained in this Love, and one feels this Love flowing though oneself. A third way is through the divine fire. In this way, one allows oneself to enter into the Fire of Divine Being, to be transformed in this Fire. One surrenders into the Fire, so that only the purity of Divine Being remains present in oneself. A fourth way is through the divine earth. In this way, one gives of oneself completely to service for the earth and improving the physical reality of everyone and everything. This too is self transforming, through selfless service and divine manifestation.

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A distinction has been made between the Path of Return and the Path of Divine Expression, though these two paths are complimentary aspects of One Spiritual Unfoldment. The Path of Return is the process of clearing and surrender, whereupon the Divine Being emerges into realization. This is an un-covering, a clearing away of all the clouds of attachment and distraction, until the Light of Divine Being emerges from obscuration and is realized. So the Path of Return is an unfolding realization of Divine Being. We could also call it Self-Discovery. The Path of Expression is how the Divine unfolds into manifestation, or how the Divine expresses through us. Obviously, the Divine will express more fully and refinely when working through a clearer and more realized vehicle. So the Quality of Expression depends on the degree of realization (or the level of Return).

At any moment we might be on the Path of Return - consciously ascending back to God. While at another moment we might be on the Path of Expression - participating in the process of Divine Expression into the world. At other moments we may not be on any path at all, except the path of repeating karma or the path of slavery to social patterns.

Cosmically, there is an ongoing rhythm between paths of return and paths of expression. Yet in deeper mystical transformation, the two paths are synchronistically two sides of the same transformation, because in the actual moment of Return the Divine Being emerges into realization and expression through us. There is a synchronistic, complimentary relation between the Path of Return and the Path of Divine Expression. As we return to God, God emerges and expresses through us. So at higher levels, the two paths become less distinct and more synchronistic. But this is difficult for the mind to image, because it is like trying to see an upward and downward motion at the same time, or like trying to see light come into us and out from us at the same time. We can really only understand these truths when in the higher realizations, and remember that direct experience is more important than intellectual understanding. But to wrap this subject up, understand that the Path of Return and the Path of Divine Expression merge together at the very apex of Return, the apex of spiritual ascent. In other words, when we have surrendered ourselves completely the Divine Self emerges and is immediately expressive. So Divine Emergence is the focal point or merging point between Return and Expression.

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Balancing Inner and Outer

Essential on the spiritual path, there is a ‘turning-in to God’ and a ‘turning-out to the world’.

Turning-in to God involves leaving behind the world, leaving behind all outer distractions, and going inward to God – the Essence of Being. It is leaving behind the complexities of practical worldly life, and returning to the simplicity of just Being. Note though that one is not only leaving behind the outer complicated world, but also leaving behind the complications and conflicts within one’s own self. These self complexities and conflicts are, often, the more difficult phenomena to become free of and leave behind. So generally, this turning to God has to involve a leaving behind, a letting go, and a surrender of the self. It is almost like a melting into God.

The turning-out to the world is… a kind of concentrated looking outward with full attention to the external world, and working fully in this external world. It is very much the opposite of being inward and withdrawing from the outer world.

There is a middle way, or reconciling way, between the turning-in way and the turning-out way. This can be called the way of harmony and balance. It is a harmonious turning within and out simultaneously. There will still be a need to sometimes concentrate on either the turning-in or the turning-out, but the major part of our spiritual path and practice will be along this middle way. Here, one is fully involved relationally with the outer world, yet at the same time working with an inner practice. One is, in a sense, turning or dancing in the world while remaining inwardly centered and harmonious. One is fully embracing the sensory properties of the world. One is walking through the world with the senses wide open, and the heart and mind fully involved in this world.

Yet one is not becoming lost in the world, lost in the chaos or complications or distractions of the world. Nor is one allowing the world to spin oneself out of balance. One is not letting influences of the world take control of oneself. In other words, one is not allowing the outer world to spin and push and pull us here and there. One is not merely losing oneself in the forces of the world and becoming a slave or mechanical robot in relation to these outer forces. So we need to have our own centre, consciously breathing in and out from this centre; and not allow the outer world to take away our centre, nor take away our conscious breath. So we move and walk and dance in the world from our own centre, always practicing to hold our own sense of inner balance and harmony with the outer world.

Our practice is to relate in the world with harmony. But this does not mean that we merely allow ourselves to drift with any outer force that comes along. This way is not merely a passivity in relation to the world; it is not harmony through mere passivity or merely being like a feather floating upon any forces of wind that happen to appear. Rather, this practice involves active intention and wakeful consciousness. The intention and practice is to become harmonious in the world, while simultaneously maintaining of our own centre of being. Now the practice is to come into harmony with the world, but we are speaking here of a deeper meaning-sense of the world. For it is not merely the social-cultural or economic world that one is practicing to be in harmony with. Rather, it is the natural world, or we can just as well say the divine order that is underlying this perceptible, manifest world. So the way and practice of harmony is to come into a conscious (and also higher emotional) relationship with the natural/divine order of which we must learn to sense or intuit as existing within the outer world. It is like finding the essential underlying harmony in a given piece of music. One is not so focused on particular segments and notes, but rather one is sensitive and aware of the very basic, essential harmony of the music. So the practice being described here is to open up one’s subtle sensitivity, then listen for or feel the subtle rhythm of harmony within the whole natural world – within this sacred world of Divine Being. Then, with conscious breath, keep entering into this harmony, continually becoming one with this harmony. This is the way of coming into natural-divine harmony. This is the way of becoming harmonious in being; in harmony with Divine Nature, in harmony with the very Presence of God. And we can do this by bringing our breath and our whole being into this harmony.

Then, we “come from this place” – this natural harmony…as we relate in the world and with others.

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In some spiritual teachings there is greater emphasis on the Path of Return, more so than the Path of Expression. This may be because we have to begin from where we are, and we begin from conditionings, habits and ego patterns, which need to be surrendered. If we merely express from lower states of being, then expression never evolves to a higher level. So the first step is raising consciousness, purifying the mind, surrender ego, and making the journey to Divine Being. In other words, the Path of Return (and all it entails) is needed first, and so it is rightly emphasized. But any emphasis can become lop-sided. So the better spiritual teachings also emphasize service, caring and compassion in the world, as well as a refined beauty of speech and self-expression. For remember that the spiritual Aim, from the perspective of Divine Being, is outward expression and manifestation; while the Aim from the perspective of the spiritual seeker will have more emphasis on inner realization or spiritual return.

Now, in emphasizing the Path of Return, spiritual teachings often emphasize practices of devotion, worship, and love for God (the Divine). Mind and heart is turned toward God, as the seeker approaches the Mystic. This emphasis tends to orient the mind and heart more inwardly, turning the mind and heart away from the regular world and more towards God as the Beloved. Mind is oriented more inwardly and the heart is oriented more toward loving union with the Divine. We see this exemplified in meditational and devotional practices of Yoga, and also in most other spiritual paths. This is all good, but this emphasis and these kinds of practice are only useful for the particular spiritual stage which we called the Path of Return. Once we return, the spiritual emphasis and orientation needs to switch. So, continually emphasizing devotional and surrendering practices would like continually climbing a mountain without ever coming back down. Well, this may be what some people want, but at some point we need to bring the Light of the Sun back down to earth.

At some point, we need to acknowledge and work with the Path of Expression. It is fine to be absorbed into the Great Light, but at some point this Light needs to be brought down into the world. It is fine to surrender and be immersed in Divine Love, but at some point this Love needs to be poured out to the world [through us]. At first we are raised up and enter into the Higher Light, becoming the Divine Light. But then we must turn back down to radiate this Light into the world. We surrender into the Heart of Love, and then we come outward to love. Always remember that the Full Breath of the Spiritual Journey is both upwards and downwards, inward and outward.

Reaching a plateau of spiritual union, love or ecstasy is all very good. Coming into God-Consciousness (or at least a higher consciousness), and into God-Love (or a deeper love) is what the Path of Return is all about, and this is very good. But at some point the emphasis [of aim and practice] needs to reverse itself, where upon we become a spiritual channel for Divine Expression. This happens when we become the Divine Quality of Love and become an expressive agent of Divine Love. We become expressive love. We begin to love and radiate love. And this becomes our spiritual practice. Our consciousness and love is turned outward to the world around us. It could be said that one's consciousness and love is still oriented towards God, but this new orientation is towards God immanent in the world rather than God transcending the world. That is, this new orientation is towards the Divine in others and in nature. The sense of worship, devotion and love is now towards the world. This is a reversal from traditional forms of worship and love of God. There is still love of and in God, but the new orientation and emphasis is now towards the world. The world, and all that is in it, becomes the object of reverence and love. Our consciousness now opens up to the beauty of life around us, opening to an aesthetic and spiritual appreciation of what we find in the world. We have loving appreciation for the beauty found in the world, but without attachment or grasping desire. It is simply a pure loving appreciation and reverence for all that is beautiful and good. Not everything we find in the world will be beautiful or good, but when we do perceive beauty or goodness, in people or in nature, we deeply love and appreciate this divinity.

Our caring and active love also goes out to others and the world. This may begin as a general radiance of love to the world, as we radiate-out the Light of Divine Love from our own being. We are actually bringing Love into the world. We are breathing Love into the world. Our heart centre becomes like a beacon or sun radiating Love to the world. Our heart is open and radiant with love. This begins as a general expression of love, yet this love can express specifically to people or places. What we are expressing here is Divine Love, God's Love. In Buddhist terms it is the Compassionate Buddhic Nature, or Boddasatva, or the Healing Love of Quan Yin. In Hindu terms it is the loving nature of Vishnu or Krishna, or the Goddess Pravati. No matter what names we use, the quality of our own love is the expression and radiance of the One Divine Being.

The essence here is to really focus our consciousness and love toward the world. This is how we become the active agent of Divine Being. Conscious Love is God Consciousness in action.

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Also there is a need to balance the path of the contemplative-mystic with path of the practical materialist. These two ways have often been in opposition. The contemplative-mystic has often been weak in practical material life, too busy experiencing the inner life. While the practical materialist has often been weak in the contemplative area, too busy always doing things in the outer world. Also there has been a simplistic labeling of the practical materialist as not so spiritual as the contemplative. This is part of the spurious division between spiritual and material life; but in reality, the material world is within the spiritual world and is significant to spiritual purpose. So if we see that practical work is equally important as spiritual contemplation in the overall spiritual purpose of life, then either way is just as imbalanced if one is over predominate. The contemplative needs to make time and effort for practical material concerns, and develop practical skills such as building or repairing or organizing material things. While the practical materialist needs to make time and effort for inner contemplation, and develop the inner skills of just-being and exploring the inner world of self.

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Generally speaking, there are two possible paths, the path to home and the path astray. The path to home is the path back to the heart; for the heart is home. It is our spiritual home. It is the home of our true being. Where else would home be? We all know that our heart is our home. Now of course one can leave home and wander about a city with its many busy streets and buildings. These are the thoughts of mind. And one can visit many attractions. These are the attractions of desire. Hopefully we do not get caught in a hooker house of desire, or get lost on the streets of thinking. Sometimes we even forget about home. But home is always close. We just need to remember that we can leave the bustling city of mind at any time, and come back home to peace and centeredness.

Home is in the heart, and to be comfortable in the heart is a very beautiful place to be. This is where we can relax, feel centered and at home. But for some reason or another, we often go astray from the heart. We seldom really choose to go astray. It just seems to happen. So we go astray and then at some point, hopefully, we remember the simple beauty of home and that we can go back home right now. Then we take the path home, we journey back into the heart. Try this at any time. It is remarkably simple. Just come back home into the heart. The path astray is not so great. It is quite over-rated. Go try it, but it is nothing compared to the beauty and peace of the heart. Finally we realize that there is no place like home, and we just want to be here. So keep coming home, wherever you are. Get back on the path to the heart. It’s the best path there is, and home is the best place to be.

Reality is like a sphere, and in the very middle of this sphere is the heart. Yoga philosophy defined seven centres (charkas) of the human being, and the middle centre is the heart. In the very middle of the heart charka is a secret entrance, the entrance to God (Universal Being). So the path to God is to come back into the heart and find the very middle centre of one’s heart, the very centre of one’s being. Here is the secret entrance to God, the entrance into Infinite Being. We have to meditate into this secret entrance. Meditation is the magic carpet that can take us back into the heart and through the entrance to God. At first one has to journey with active will, for this powers the journey. But then, one must surrender, for this allows the door to open. Once inside, we have arrived at our absolute Home.

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This journey could also be called the path of Light, because we come into the great Light of Being. It is also the path of Love, because we come into the great Love of Being. Opposite to this is the path of darkness or the path astray.

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Worship is essentially an orientation to God or to the Divine Reality. It is an expressed way of relationship to the Divine. There are many outer ways to worship God, as one can find in religions and spiritual paths. But let us consider the inward essence of worship. In heart, it is a sincere devotion or connection to God. Even deeper, it is a sincere relationship with God or Divine Reality. It is allowing God into one’s heart, allowing the Divine Spirit to be full in one’s heart. It is opening to God, and allowing God to live in oneself and through oneself. But this cannot happen without conscious intention and willingness. We have to consciously open our heart to God, so that God can feel at home in us. We welcome God into the home of our heart. God is infinite and unlimited, yet in our heart there is spaciousness for God.

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Ascend into higher energies. ******* big theme