(C) 2006 David Lazaroff,  all rights reserved.

All That I Am…

If I would see all that I am, I would see the air that I breathe.
I breathe air and it becomes my body.
I would see that the air that I breathe comes from the sun and the plants.
I would see that I am the sun and the plants.

If I would see all that I am, I would see the food that I eat.
I eat food and it becomes my body.
I would see that the food that I eat comes from the land and the sea and its living beings.
I would see that I am the land and the sea and its living beings.

If I would see all that I am, I would see the water I drink.
I drink water and it becomes my body.
I would see that the water I drink comes from the lakes, rivers, oceans, and clouds.
I would see that I am the lakes, rivers, oceans, and clouds.

If I would see all that I am, I would see the people I have interacted with.
I interact with people and they become my mind and my emotions.
I would see that my mind and emotions develop from my interactions with all people I encounter.
I would see that I am all people I encounter.

If I would see all that I am, I would see the love that sustains me.
I receive love and it becomes all my perceptions.
I would see that the love that sustains me is the thread that sustains all that exists.
I would see that I am love.

If I would see all that I am, I would see what I am becoming.
I live and become the result of my thoughts, speech, and action.
I would see that the world of tomorrow is the extension of how I live today.
I would see that I am the future.

If I would see all that I am, I would see eternity.
I am born of the past and I am the seed of the future.
I would see that my body, my mind, and my love will become those of future generations.
I would see that I am God.

I would see that you are God.

I would see that we are God.

I like to contemplate sacred writings.  A couple of years ago I realized what it is that makes a writing sacred and how to recognize it. 

This blog entry was prompted by an interesting blog by Shyloh.

One of the ways I recognize a sacred writing is by the layers of understanding it offers.  As we grow and deepen our understanding of the world, we find new meanings in the sacred writings.  A Bible story appears to be magical to a child.  It has a lesson about the difference between good and bad for a ten year old.  The same story has a lesson of moral choices for a teenager.  A young parent may learn about the preciousness of life from the same story and an older person might reflect on and learn about their relationship with God and the meaning of their approaching death.

Many meanings reside in a single sacred writing.  Sacred writings may come from any culture.  You are capable of a sacred writing.  The meanings are not hidden.  Our understanding is hidden.

David

There was I time when I delighted in the magical experience of life.  The synchronicity was astounding!  The wishes coming true were amazing!  I was learning to believe in my power over things in the world.  The more educated I became, the more powerful I felt and the bigger things I accomplished.  I was happy and I was becoming more ... arrogant.  I was becoming more disconnected.

When I started seeing that I was arrogant, I was both horrified and excited.  A key moment came when a practitioner of the Alexander Technique gave me a simple demonstration of her work.  She had me sit in a chair and then stand up.  She observed my body position, how I moved, and the parts that I led my movement with.  She tilted my head forward so that it rested more naturally on my spine.  She had me sit and stand again.  The world looked different.  I was holding myself and looking at the world differently.  Horrified, I realized that for more than twenty years I had been looking down my nose at the world -- literally and figuratively.  I never wanted to be arrogant.  Nobody wants to be arrogant.

That was in 1995 when I was finishing my MBA and exploring how to use technology to bring informational tools for healing to many people.  My work with these healers turned into holistic.com and fired up a longing within me for spiritual community.  When I was ready and put in some effort, the teachers appeared.  I was introduced to spiritual practices and ancient teachings.  I was awakening.  I was discovering my connection with others and with God.

The synchronicity was astounding!  The wishes coming true were still more amazing!  Poof!, the magic disappeared!  I was coming to understand that I have no power over things in this world.  I began to experience the mystical nature of this world.  I found myself woven into the universe, blended into the milkshake of life!  A part of everything, apart from nothing, I am more powerful than I ever imagined any great magic could make me.  And I am no more powerful than you.

We have no power over this world.  We have power within this world.  That power feels like love.

Blessings to you,

David

The world is as you perceive it.
The world doesn’t change.
How we experience the world changes.
If you want to see change in the world,
Change your experience of the world.

The world has always had conflict.  
The world has always had love.
The world has always had unrest.
The world has always had peace.
It will always be that way.

When you give your attention to something,
More attention and energy is drawn to it and it grows.
Give your attention to what you truly love and desire.
Give your attention to what you truly need.

Give your attention to clean water,
And thirst will be diminished.
Give your attention to growing food,
And hunger will be alleviated.

Give your attention to education and the truth,
And understanding and compassion will be cultivated.
Give your attention to your heart and the hearts of others,
And hatred will have fewer places to dwell.

Go where you are welcome.
Always bear a gift of your heart.
Give fully with great joy and don’t expect much else.
Respect the ways of others.
Recognize when it is time to leave.

Make yourself strong, skilled, and agile.
Use force only to defend what is close to your heart.
Help the weak one.
Look into people’s eyes and listen.

Take time every day to go deeper into your heart,
Get to know what is there,
And see it’s reflection in the world around you.
Share your new experience of the world with others.

The world doesn’t change.
Our experience of the world changes.
If you want to change the world,
Change your experience of the world and share it.


----
holistic.com
davidlazaroff.com

Please do not copy this and send it to everyone in your address book.
If you want to share this, send a link to this page, one person at a time.  Say hello to them and send it with love.

This entry was inspired by my Zaadz freind Celia.

Much of what I read on Zaadz contains many truths that I have been contemplating in my practices.  One is that we experience the Source of the Universe from many perspectives: sometimes as the underlying current of the river of life, sometimes as the canvas upon which the physical world is painted, sometimes as a person we pass on the street, and sometimes as a singular spirit presence that can be addressed as an individual.  Each is a different aspect of the Absolute, not really separate from any other aspect.  Similarly, that which emerges from the Source, is not separate from the Source, but an expression and further aspect of the Source.

Ken Wilber writes eloquently about human perception and how all persons are capable of peak experiences of “higher consciousness”, but then when we come back from that peak, we interpret it from whatever our “established” level of conscious development is.  So it is that many people have an experience of a great individual “God” and return from that experience to reason their personal smallness and disconnected feeling.  Sometimes I see this as a sad thread through much of “organized religious practices.”   Other times I perceive that the great organized religions have lifted more people than have regressed.  But that may be the subject of another blog....

Spiritual practices help us to advance when they provide a means to have the peak experiences, connect with them, and establish our consciousness in a perspective that is more inclusive of our connectedness with others (because that is the way it is).  Practices are “spiritual” when they “lift our spirit” in a palpable way.

I recognize all of this in much of what I read here on Zaadz.  Do you see it?

I get along well with the syllable “God” because it is a popular and often understandable reference to the Absolute that became the Universe.  Just consider the difference between “God Became the Universe” (a phrase from the ballet and short story I wrote) and “Source Became the Universe.”  The latter is redundant.  The name “God” denotes a consciousness; a concept that is familiar to many cultures.  It also implies a source of creation.  If others have a concept of “God” and I want to help them expand it and become established in a broader experience of “God” as the Source and underlying current, then “God Became the Universe” helps to remind them.

Remember, you are truly a beautiful expression of our Divine nature.


Blessings to you,

David

holistic.com, davidlazaroff.com

This is the title song of a modern ballet script I wrote.  The short story is here.



Long, long ago before time,
Before stars, the earth, and the sky,
Before all things as we know them,
God was One all alone...

Then,
God became the universe,
And God became the stars,
And God became the sky and earth,
And God became Our hearts.

If you've wondered where we're from and where we're going,
And what will happen when we die,
Think of that time not too long ago
When God blinked and became your eyes.

Remember,
God became the universe,
And God became the stars,
And God became the sky and earth,
And God became Our hearts.

We look like We do for just a little while.
Bodies don't last very long.
And when this form is done, it won't disappear...
Like God We will become tomorrow's flowers...

Just like
God became the universe,
And God became the stars,
And God became the sky and earth,
And God became Our hearts.

You're not so very different from those near and far.
We're all made up of the same stuff.
Born from God to return again,
Take some time and look into your heart,

You'll see:
God is still the universe,
And God is still the stars,
And God is still the sky and earth,
And God is still Our hearts.

Look, you'll see God is still living
in your heart!

(C) 2006 David Lazaroff, All rights reserved

Sun shines on my skin,
And I am the sun.
When I see your face
You and I become one.

When I smell the flower,
I am the bee.
When I feel your love,
You become me.

Some say we look different,
But we're more the same.
We're all beautiful parts
Of what God became.

So throw all the fears
And lies that you've learned,
Into the Fire
Of Union to Burn.

Into the Fire of Union,
That's where all souls find reunion.
So, throw all the fears and lies that you've learned
Into the Fire of Union to Burn.

I breathe in the air,
And I am the wind.
The man on the street
is really my kin.

When I drink water,
I am the sea.
When I feel your love,
You become me.

Some say we look different,
But we're more the same.
We're all beautiful parts
Of what God became.

So throw all the fears
And lies that you've learned,
Into the Fire
Of Union to Burn.

Into the Fire of Union,
That's where all souls find reunion.
So, throw all the fears and lies that you've learned
Into the Fire of Union to Burn.