cosmic porch

Mr. Fish

Mr. Fish
On the desk in my office is a memento that I found in a little gift shop in a non-descript hotel in New Delhi, India some years ago.
It’s a green anatomically incorrect fish with a rather ugly face displaying dozens of menacing teeth. It’s carved from a single piece of lime-green marble. The reason I like this fishy character so much is that all along both sides are lattices that allow you to look right into and through what I fondly refer to as “Mr. Fish”.
Well, when you take the trouble to look inside Mr. Fish, you find something quite surprising. …You find a whole other fish! That’s right; a whole second fish has been carved right inside of Mr. Fish, and from the very same piece of marble!
The artist’s skill is quite remarkable, in that to create the inside fish, it had to be carefully and delicately carved through the many quarter inch lattice holes of the outside fish. The effect is that it makes it look like Mr. Fish swallowed the second fish in one big gulp. It’s a great bit of artistry, for sure.
But we both know that marble fish can’t open their mouths and swallow other marble fish; no matter how deliciously tempting they may appear! For you and I are wise enough to figure out that the inside fish was there, in that piece of marble from the very beginning.
So, that’s my long-winded preface for what I want to share with you today. And that is, “there’s something wonderful on the inside of us that’s been there from the very beginning!”
Of course you knew that already, right? But what is it exactly that you know? We can all give that standard response that we heard in Sunday school or from our parents or from the pulpit, which is. “We are all souls that are made in the image of God.” ……. And that’s not to say that any of that was or is wrong. It’s just that it’s not of much value if it only stays in the realm of an idea. So what is needed, for this to be of any real value to us, is that we must change this idea into our actual experience. And this requires some spiritual investigation and effort on our part.
On our rapidly evolving planet we are now beginning to discover that the realm of the material and the realm of the soul and the “here after” are far more connected than has previously been understood. Most people have either read, or know about someone who has had a near death experience. Where that person was conscious of dying and “popping out of the body” and then, often hovering over it while doctors or loved ones say things like “we’ve lost her”, or “He’s gone”; …and not only that, but that these people have been able, in many instances, to perceive the thoughts of those who were nearby during these events. There are many, many recorded cases like this that make these experiences undeniably true.
But of what value are these experiences to us. Well, first of all it affirms to us that there is more to life than what we experience through just our five senses; which is wonderfully reassuring. And the second and perhaps more important value is that these things show us that the realm of spirit is not far away in some distant place or time, but rather is right here with us all the time.
And so I suggest to you that it is not only nearby, but that it is nearby for a reason. And that reason is that it is the ultimate goal for each one of us that we discover and learn how to reconnect with our higher, spiritual self and That which has created us, in order for us to find the fulfillment and love that is the long sought destiny of every soul.
And to do this the very first step is to begin the introspective process by creating for yourself an interior life where you learn how to regularly be alone within, and through that process begin to discover that, indeed, you are not alone!

I’m John Johnston… See you next time, here, On the Cosmic Porch!

Getting Out of the Woods

GETTING OUT OF THE WOODS
So let me ask you, which is more important, to change the world or to change yourself?
Well recently, a good friend of mine was bemoaning that the country was heading in the wrong direction. I said that I was watching the same cosmic movie he was and that that was not what I was seeing.
So we discussed the age-old dilemma about government? When is it too little and when is it too much. And when is it just… right?
Does that last sentence trigger any childhood memories for you? It does for me. You’ll remember her. She’s the little blond girl that had that encounter with those beasts in the forest.
You remember her,… Goldilocks! That’s right! Goldilocks and the Three Bears!
“This bowl of porridge is too hot.” “This bowl is too cold.” “But this bowl is just… right!” “Ahhh!”
And so in her little adventure in the forest Goldilocks mirrors the human condition of us all. And that is that we all want our lives to be, just… right!
So after a while my friend wanted to dive into what we need to do in the next election to head the country back towards “just…right”. But that was where I felt we needed to refocus our conversation to what each of us should actually be doing in this world. Should we be putting our priorities into changing the world or should we be focusing on changing ourselves first? I frame it as a question of Consciousness versus Conditions.
Though we all would agree that striving to improve the human condition is always going to be an important part of what every society in every age has to grapple with. I would offer that there is something even more fundamentally important that life is asking of us. And that is life is asking us to uplift our consciousness, to make consistent efforts in those things that will make us better individuals. What I call soul progress.
And I would argue that by first putting our attention on self-improvement, on lifting our consciousness, we can then make even more valuable contributions to improving our world, because the more evolved our consciousness is the wiser and more all inclusive our insights, decisions and actions will be.
So whether it’s dealing with bears in the woods, or bear markets or an unbearable personal or national problem, the more wisdom, the more unconditional love and the more compassion we can bring to bear on the issue the better will be the outcome.
Just look at the difference one person with a higher understanding and purer motive can make in the world. Could anyone have done a better job in keeping the hopes of a new nation alive during its darkest hours than George Washington? And look at the patient love based wisdom Abraham Lincoln expressed in guiding our torn nation through its second great calamity. And how many lives were spared in India’s colossal struggle for freedom by the exalted life of their saintly leader, Mahatma Gandhi?
And finally for you scientists out there, let’s look at this from a vibrational point of view. In his consciousness-altering book, Power vs. Force, David R. Hawkins, M.D., Ph.D., starts with the fundamental principle of theoretical physics, which is that “everything in the universe is connected.” And from there he points out that the positive, powerful and evolved consciousness of even one person can dramatically offset the negative thoughts and feelings of hundreds or thousands or even millions of people depending on the degree of that evolution. Gandhi’s enlightened consciousness of non-violence offset the ignorance and hatred of millions during his lifetime.
So now let’s take it down to your living room. When you change your consciousness from anger to forgiveness or from expectations to unconditional love what happens in your world? You already know the answer. It gets better, and not just better for you, but also for all those around you because… we are all connected!
And just that simply then, you change the world for the better. So as we all strive to do our part in making this a better world, let’s remember where it all starts. It all starts with the relative nobleness of your own heart’s intentions.
I’m John Johnston. See you next time, here, On The Cosmic Porch!