"The Kingdom of Heaven exists within every individual"
Well, yes and no.
Yes, in the sense that everyone and everything is LIVED by the Divine, but NO in the sense that that is NOT the essense of the process.
The ego assumes that, from its standpoint of separation, that it goes deep within and finds that which is living it. But to do so it has to abandon its sense of separation, and in the process of that, it then IS all and everything, and later (more properly) the witness of all and everything.
This process, as originally conceived, is the "Great Path of
Return" which constitutes the details of living in the 4th, 5th and 6th stages of life. But even that is based on illusion because everyone and everything are NEVER separated from the Divine at any time. So you can't RETURN when you never left!
"Maybe you and I can go. Maybe we've already been."
Maybe we never left! Various Eastern religions refer to the
Akashic records--the notion being that anything that ever "was" still "is". And not only still is, but is an essential component of what could be called the unconscious mind. For some overview, see:
are-cayce.com
And finally, let me put in my UNPAID COMMERCIAL ANNOUNCEMENT. If you are going to be doing these "journeys", it is helpful to have both a map and a guide.
Fortunately these are both embodied in the form of Spiritual Masters, some no longer in the physical, some presently in the physical. Adi Da is my recommendation in the latter category, but choose your own "assistance".
Some people choose Krishna, Buddha, Zoroaster, Lao Tzu, Jesus (because of how they were raised, generally), not knowing that living Spiritual Masters exist, and always have existed. However, no longer in the physical Teachers CONTINUE to exist and serve, albeit differently than those in the physical. How differently?
Adi Da says: "Dead Gurus don't kick ass".
You may wonder why your ass would need to be kicked. The ego just wants to be loved and congratulated. But it actually needs to be "undone" to a significant degree. It's an easy process if you are cooperative, but egos are not always cooperative.
Namaste!
Jim |
