Oneness, Here And Now

Aloha,

I'm Ruben Cinti-Palos and I'd like to talk today about changing your focus in meditation and prayer to one of not looking outside of yourself for answers but accepting who you are and finding the truth there right where you are inside.

And this involves getting past what's been called in Zen the discriminating mind.

And I think one of the key phrases I've been meditating on that helps to describe it so beautifully is this.

Pray for a consciousness of God not to God.

So let's break that down for a moment.

Think of yourself praying to God or praying to any source that you consider that you pray to.

The normal thing that most people will do is think of an energy source or whatever they conceptualize as God and thinking outside of themselves maybe even sending it a long distance away.

You know getting down on your knees maybe sometimes and really you know that look of looking up to heaven right.

But in a long-term practice of meditating for a long time and being on the path for a long time you start having that inner connection by looking within by meditating daily by experiencing that inner connection.

And with that inner connection you start to realize that it's there within.

Now it's a very interesting subject.

I wrote actually a poem this morning about this about the subject because I couldn't it kept coming to me in meditation.

Um that phrase you know knock seeking you shall find knock and the door shall be opened to you.

I'm sure you've heard of that one right.

But we can seek and seek and seek and it can become a way of life that we are always seeking and then you can forget that this journey this path of seeking is really just part of your searching for something you might already have.

So I wrote seek and you will find knock and the door will be opened and then you might see what's there inside.

That long path was always leading you back to that universal light that opens up our eyes.

Not separate not defined but revealed as one in the grand design.

That mystic mirror is not outside but reflects that light of the presence we find.

Ask and it shall be given but don't be surprised that it was here inside all the time.

Now that sounds fairly simple but it's not because it's it's in our nature to think that we have to find answers.

That it's called the seeking mind is a thing that's very very prevalent in many people's paths when they're meditating.

And of course when we see all the people that offer lectures and talks and everything this is you know they have the answers.

And if we find the answers well then we've got the answers.

But what then right what then what happens when that door is opened and you do have the answers.

Not as many people talk about that moment where you realize oh yeah right yeah it's here right now it's always been here right now.

The us and them principle of course I think of Pink Floyd right.

And the division which we've been definitely seeing here humanity you know the us and them right and wrong you're right I'm wrong.

But part of ourselves is that same one is with what's right and with what's wrong.

And this reminds me of the grace prayer which I say every day.

Into thy hands I commit my spirit my soul and body thy will be my will.

Heal me at depth reveal that which needs to be revealed.

So I can heal what needs to be healed.

So that I may glorify you God and live in the fullness of grace.

Now there's a lot of interesting parts to this right.

Thy will be my will.

Well if we're already in that oneness right where does that come in.

So this is part of that taking away of the ego which also separates you from realizing that what you already have.

The ego is a trickster.

It can trick you for a lifetime.

It's very very good at tricking you.

It's very easy.

It's not hard for the ego to know you well enough to trick you right.

And to separate you and to puff up your pride and get you upset if someone says something.

And even if you're a practitioner who's been doing this a long time you have to realize that's part of what's being revealed to you so you can heal what you need to heal.

The practice when you're sitting and meditating isn't anything but right where you are and that's where the enlightenment experience is and it isn't always bliss.

It's often doing the hard work.

Getting down to the nitty-gritty of what's inside you and how you can accept it,

Face it and deal with it and heal it.

And if you deny it and push it down and you're not gonna have it revealed and you will not be able to be healed.

So when you have things revealed then you have the opportunity to heal.

Is that easy?

No.

No.

No.

I've been doing this for over 50 years.

55 years to be honest.

Over 55 years.

And I still have this come up all the time and sometimes I forget to be grateful for those buttons that get pushed even when you forgot you had them.

And to be grateful for those people who were crafty enough to know how to push those buttons that you have pretty well covered up right if you've been on this path for a while.

But that's where you need to heal and that's where you need to forgive and that's where you use the tools in your spiritual toolbox.

That's where you use harmlessness.

That's where you use goodwill.

Why?

Well we don't want to harm anyone else do we?

We don't want to harm ourselves do we?

But do we even know sometimes when we are doing that?

When someone pushes our buttons and angers us how do we react?

That's part of the refining of your beingness.

That you learn there's no separation from when you're meditating versus when you're doing your work.

And that's all part of the revelation of the truth of who you are.

And that's where you have to dig in and go okay let me pull out my toolbox.

Let me really practice forgiveness.

Let me practice saying I'm sorry even if it isn't my fault.

That's the hardest part right?

When you know you were right and the other person is wrong and you know it and still saying you're sorry and forgiving and understanding that's a gift to you because you learn okay that other person is some part of me that's created that put there for my lesson in life.

So the spiritual path is such an interesting one and when you realize everything you do is part of that path that is here right now then you understand the oneness.

And if we were going to take this being present in the oneness then think for a moment about heaven and earth.

Now I'm working on a book and it's a Christmas book but I talk about when heaven merged with earth.

We often think of this is earth and that's heaven.

Now again we're coming back to us and them right?

We're here on earth.

They're there in heaven.

But if indeed the Bodhisattvas in Christ came to earth to bring heaven to earth over thousands of years of work then that energy is already here right now.

That energy is present in us right now.

But so often we do not accept this heaven here on earth because our discriminating mind says oh that can't be look at all the problems this world has.

Look at the wars.

Look at the killings.

Look at the anger.

Look at and I do I watch the news.

I listen to the news.

I'm aware of the news.

I'm aware of what's going on.

But I that was my watch just pinged with news right?

I have a watch that keeps me very aware of the news as well.

But that watch is on my hand.

That watch is part of me right?

The news that I hear about the world when I'm sitting in meditation when I'm aware of the oneness can be looked at in the objective observer sense of like okay in this energy field look what the world is working on.

So taking it out of just our self with the way seeking of realizing okay what if this is true right now?

What if we are here we are all one and heaven has merged with earth and there is a Christ consciousness that can hold all the light and love in the world.

How do we come to terms with that all that light all that love all of that oneness here right now and what's going on in the world with news?

It's a big question and if you can find the answer you can find inner peace and you probably could be a peacemaker as well.

We can realize that this earth is creating in that same way we create for ourselves hard lessons so that we can work on becoming better at dealing with these lessons and learn to love them.

What if in the same way the world is creating hard lessons so that humanity can learn to heal itself to overcome these difficulties and if indeed heaven is here on earth aren't there so many that are already realizing that this is the energy that they would like to be present here on earth and as more people embrace that light and love and the consciousness of God right there right here right now a consciousness of God then we'll be able to raise the vibration of our awareness and hold that light and love and create an energy field where there is more of this energy of light and love and peace around the world.

Can we just be that can we just ah just say ah release anything in you that's feeling separate.

Breathe in hold it and breathe out breathing out just breathe in hold out go to the breath within the breath from the light within the light to the love within the love that is one with all within you now breathing in light holding and letting that light fill your entire body your head your shoulders neck heart solar plexus pelvic area root chakra down your feet till light is now extending out six feet above you six feet below you six feet in front of you six feet on either side of you to the right and left you are in your own universe of light right now and now let's extend that light that we just created around our own body to extend out in the same way to the entire world extended out further and further first your community ah to the country you live in to other countries around the world across the oceans surrounding the entire planet up above it down below it to the right and to the left of it forward and back until the whole planet is one in light right now protected and whole and see the highest energy sending that light and love to the places in the world that may be experiencing a place where it needs healing allow it to be filled with light and love and the spirit of peace let it circle the entire planet breathe that love and light out breathe it in and allow that light and love to come back to you 100 fold back into your very being back to where you are right now meditating and now for a moment allow yourself to believe you can have the consciousness of God experience God consciousness how does God consciousness feel it feels expansive it feels infinite it feels like love it feels like light allow yourself to feel that love and light breathe in and breathe out feel the breath of the world every living being breathing in and breathing out be that breath within the world breathing in and breathing out no separation just here right now in oneness and allow yourself to be in that consciousness that is one right now right here in the consciousness of God ah it feels good God feels good so allow yourself to feel good breathing it in and breathing it out and coming slowly back slowly back slowly back and if there's any words or thoughts that came to you you can write them down and that way you can bridge again that feeling of that same God consciousness to your conscious mind and your subconscious mind let them unify and work together in unity I thank you so very much for taking the time to be here and oneness with that beautiful energy it feels so good my deep love and blessings to you always