Fantasy versus Reality

Love and Imagination are the Breath of Creation.
(Quote from Spiritual Networks)

"Reality can connect you with God, fantasy can send you on a wild goose's chase." This was my response to a question someone asked in the Spiritual Networks community on the "Fantasy versus Reality" theme. Actually, it took me even a little bit of editing to get to this version. Instinctively, I wrote that reality is of God, while fantasy is of the ego. But then it occurred to me that our so called reality too can be tainted by the human touch. Sometimes one really has to look hard to find God in some of the man-created mess.

The expression "fantasy" is a problematic one for the reason that it already has the notion of being artificial embedded in it. What if we took "imagination, anticipation, entrepreneurial spirit, creative powers" instead, we would think very differently, wouldn't we? In conclusion, we shouldn't look down on a world that is created by the mind. Isn't it also true that reality is sometimes so brutal that only with the help of our imagined world we can keep going? I once read the story of a Prisoner of War, who more likely than not would have died given the conditions he found himself in over many years. He found a mental crutch though and played every day a round of 18 hole golf on his favorite golf course. Stroke by stroke, round by round, manifesting the imagined reality in his head. It is said that when he finally returned to America, despite his weakened body, he played the best round of golf ever, in honor of the course and the game that saved his life. 

God gave us a big heart and a beautiful mind to be Her co-creator. Let's celebrate both of our God-given institutions. We are God's Co-Creator with the mission to bring the utopia "Heaven on earth" a little closer to reality.  

Truth and Falsehood

Any belief
which places
a limit on LOVE

is a
definitive
falsehood.

(davidWELLENS, Spiritual Networks)

It is possible to comprehend and feel the Way; just as it is possible to be misled by our mind or our feelings in life's complicated wheeling and dealing. Also, sometimes heart and mind disagree about what step to take next. Go inward in this case, for the solution to choose LOVE is always at your disposal. Get quiet then, for the ANSWER always lies within. You may now ask, how exactly does one know what is TRUTH? Well, just follow LOVE, for that's God's handwriting. Just as davidWELLENS puts it so well, whoever or whatever places a limit on LOVE definitely misses a step along the Way. 

Tainted Love

You've got it all wrong. You didn't come here to master unconditional love. That's where you came from and that's where you'll return. You came here to learn personal love. Universal love. Messy love. Sweaty love. Crazy love. Broken love. Whole love. Infused with divinity. Lived through the grace of stumbling. Demonstrated through the beauty of messing up. Often. You didn't come here to be perfect. You already are. You came here to be gorgeously human.

(Courtney A. Walsh) 

How do we square a circle? It is impossible, unless, of course, all we have to do is to describe a single point in time. We can do that quite well with our linear tool set - a tangent does that perfectly well - as long as we understand that it only works for the timeless moment we are in, the holy Now. Being human automatically implies that we will never reach the infinite but that doesn't prevent us from seeing and experiencing the perfect moment in time with both feet on the ground. Spirituality is the art of seeing and feeling, and yes, every moment you can be holding Her hand.

How do you generate the thirst for unconditional love? It is the imperfection that makes you long for this perfection. It is the realization that you are a sinner deep down inside that makes you fall on your knees when you finally touch a saint. Never look down on the tainted force inside of you, consider it your fountain of energy instead. Spirituality is the art of falling in love with what is. Every moment can be perfect once you are ready for it. No matter what your motivation may have been in the past, the moment you stand next to Her the world is whole and you can finally enjoy what is.

Mind the Dark Force (Revised)

The spiritual community has made a big step forward by putting the God versus devil struggle in the background. Instead, we internalize the divine as well as destructive force inside ourself with help of the ego versus True Self contrast. Yet, something is still missing. What about our soul? Isn't our soul somewhere in between ego and True Self? And isn't the ego versus True Self the battle between evil and good in new clothes? We Tao traveler have a different perspective. We tend to say, "nothing is either good or bad", quoting Shakespeare, "only  thinking makes it so. Our soul has longings that need to be satisfied. We argue there is a Way that gets you there.

No doubt that there is a force that wants to keep us away from the Way. I have often seen it in action. Yet, the same force wants to conquer, wants to possess and wants to advance. Does is really make sense to feel bad about these desires; the aspirations of what we want to have or what we want to be? Isn't there a "good" versus "bad" ego in us?  The soul combines our God connection as well as our earthly mission statement that still has to be completed. Why can't we celebrate the innovative ways we find to express our earthly desires while still operating in harmony with the cosmic design? The Way does this for us.

The Tao defines a divine Path for our earthly desires. We can have it all - all our authentic needs get satisfied while experiencing God every step of the Way. Yet, there is a dark force inside of us that starts running with these desire and literally takes us for a ride. The ride can feel thrilling at times but whenever we deviate from love and spiritual meaning it gets annoying pretty fast. So how about this distinction instead, there are the longings of our soul and there is the Way. Follow your dreams but be mindful of the voice in your head that wants you to wander off in a different direction. Mind that dark force, it is easy to do. All you have to do is to make sure that She is with you every step of the Way.

The Art of Coming Home

Jesus was fasting for 40 days in the desert. The devil appeared and asked him to turn stones into bread, but Jesus said, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." The devil then tempted him to change the power of gravity and lastly, to take over the world. In all cases Jesus declined and the devil was gone forever.
(New Testament)

If you run after possessions you run away from your True Self. Yet, if you don't allow yourself any luxuries, you may repress your intrinsic desires instead. And if you constantly run after sex you probably try to drown out the restlessness and emptiness inside; yet, by becoming a nun in the name of spirituality you may in fact be just be too afraid to face the lust that slumbers inside. The same with power. If you crave it you probably don't recognize the power that you already possess. Yet if you keep on turning the other cheek, as Jesus once demanded, you may in fact be afraid of the Clint Eastwood inside who wants to be expressed.

So where does that leave us? What are we to do if we are spiritual travelers? What is the True Self and what are nothing but repressed desires? There is in fact an easy reality check to know what is truly going on. As long as you perceive drive, greed, lust, avarice, anger, you have to deal with it. If you think you can just pray and meditate it away, you may be fooling yourself. Look for the authentic needs you can express with spiritually kosher means: a promotion at work that expresses your talents, a soul-partner who fulfills you sexually or perhaps even an open relationship. And what exactly prevents you from getting the house, vacation and hobbies of your dreams? This is your spiritual path; you find out what is kosher for you and what is not not. When you are where you want to be, peace will be with you; but until then, let life lead you to the expression of your True Self.

While peace and love is the ultimate measure of success, studying the demon who pops out every other full moon is the other. Why do we have anger fits on occasion? Why do we you experience emptiness and restlessness, and why do we at times do the opposite of what all the spiritual literature tells us to? Find the slumbering conflict inside that still hasn't entirely come to the surface. What authentic desire might we still not have granted ourselves? Instead of beating us up over it, we can very much try to understand what the demon wants.

The Art of Coming Home is the observation that there is a red thread right in front of us that helps us with our mission. Walking the Tao doesn't take the pain away that everyone else experiences. We have to adjust along the Way and change can be hard at times. We have to be entrepreneurial even though we may be averse to taking risks, and we certainly have to face all our fears. And sometimes we have to say no to what is meaningful to us. So while the pain is there, the rewards are bountiful. As we travel the Way, we feel how the pounds are dropping. We experience how our posture straitens and we realize how we become ever more light-hearted. Excess baggage that we have carried around for years is falling by the wayside. We travel light along the Tao and every step of the Way fulfills our authentic needs.

I started this note with Jesus' three temptations. All his temptations were about power. As we all know, Jesus ended up doing the opposite. He said no to the ego wherever he went and created a spiritual spark in half of humanity. That was his way of resolving his power struggle. What is yours? I am not saying that you have to become another Jesus - we already had one. Just become the whole, empowered and loving person that you are born to be in whatever niche that might be. Say no to your ego on some occasions, express your desires in others; try to understand what your demon wants from you. All of this is easy to accomplish, just dance with life. Peace and love may not always be with you, but ever more often as you walk the Way. Holding onto Her hand is a blissful journey indeed!

Does God Exist?

The first gulp of the glass makes you an atheist,
but at the bottom of the glass,
God is waiting for you.
(Werner Heisenberg)

What would I say if my boys asked me whether God exist? I would say, "Well of course, stupid"! But then, what would I say if a nuclear physicist approached me with the same question. I would say that God really stands for the highest symbols humanity can experience within themselves. We are born human but we can gaze at the stars with our feet safely planted on the ground.

Heaven on earth is as real as a self-imposed hell. You have a choice and you can experience unconditional love wherever you go. There is a magic thread always in front of you - the stuff that Heisenberg discovered as he ventured towards the bottom of his cup - you don't have to be a believer; you can start your soul-searching journey as an agnostic; but you have to be willing to give the God hypothesis a try. When you look for love, She will always stand next to you.

Let Your Creations Flow Right Through You

When Her work is done, she forgets it.
That's why it lasts forever.
(Tao Te Ching)

There was once a body-builder who had won a number of important tournaments and was on the way to make a name for himself. A friend took him out for dinner and had some advice for him. He said, "you know son, you are in a good position to do something with your life. You have a talent, don't squander it. This body of yours will not earn you a living forever. You could open fitness studios in the LA area; you can become a businessman; you can brand your name." The body-builder laughed and said, "I have other plans. I first will become a famous actor and afterwards become a politician. One day I will be the president of the Unites States."

Do you recognize the German accent when you read this story? Yes, this exchange allegedly once took place between Arnold Schwarzenegger and a friend as he was on his was to win the seven Mr. Olympia championships in body-building. This magnificent body of his was the means to reaching for the stars.

We spiritual travelers sometimes look down on any goals that involve our body, yet, as Arnold Schwarzenegger's showed, he used his impressive body to express the longings of his soul. His body was a means to an end, to break into Hollywood and eventually into politics. There are so many others - dancers, performers, athletes - who manage to express themselves with the help of their amazing bodies. What right do we have to say, "you are not your body"? Yet, the spiritual community is right in pointing out out that you if your body ever becomes an end in itself, chances are you will become depressed one day. The giant is within - eventually, not even the most amazing body can represent the Spirit.

The same is true for money. When earning money in a prestigious job is just the reward for putting your heart and soul into a job that you live doing, the money will flow right through you. Perhaps it becomes the means to financing your children's education, or taking your family on some exciting vacations, and providing a beautiful home. Yet, when you enter a competition with your peers in who has the most earnings and buying power then money unfortunately has become an end in itself. It sticks to you and chances are, sooner or later life will send you a message that you are abusing your creative powers.

The message of spirituality is quite a simple one. Grant yourself whatever your heart desires but make sure none of your belongings possess you. Let all of your creations flow right through you. God gave you your creative powers to enrich all of us. And when your work is done, know that it is good and then walk away. This is the difference between a life-giving, flowing brook and a decaying, stagnant puddle.

Don't get us wrong, you have every reason to be proud of your creation just as God is proud of His. Keep them coming, never get entangled with them and never make them an end in themselves. You would only belittle your creative powers that way. Your creations are the means to uniting your Self with God. Enjoy every step of the Way.

The Day the Ego made Peace with God

Someone shared an image at the spiritual networks that showed thousands of words lined up next to each other. It had expressions like fear, lust, pain, must, competition, guilt and so forth. But all of these words were blurred; it was as if someone looked at all these expressions through a distorted lens; the only word that was fully visible was in color and was right in the center: love.

That's what life is all about, a magnificent obsession to fall in love with what is while burning your passion on something that is important to you. Never mind if you are all-to human, and never mind if you still carry karma from the past. You might sexually lust after someone who may turn out to be your soul-partner; your love of power can be transformed into a love for your co-workers and the mission of your business. Your love for money can be transformed into a desire to found and fund charities.

No matter what the calling of your ego might be, God is always standing right next to you, ready to give you a new perspective that helps you realize that true love is what you are after. It is as if a divine lens lets you zoom right into the center of your priorities, true love. There is only one requirement, you have to connect with the Way and let Her do Her thing. Once you have held Her hand, once you have tasted true love, nothing artificial can ever again cast a spell over you.

Where is the Love?

Father, Father, Father help us,
send some guidance from above.
'Cause people got me, got me questionin'
Where is the love?
(Black-eyed Peas, Where is the Love?)

We are human and we are divine. We are egoistic and we are loving. The spiritual community loves to affirm how we are our True Self. Yet this view seems a bit naive and often is not very helpful. We are who we are. We have our feet on the ground and we gaze at the stars at the same time.

What sounds like a dilemma doesn't have to be one. We spiritual travelers are encouraged to discover divinity in every moment. A spiritual path is really a choice. Every moment we have a decision to make, for the ego or for love. Life is designed that way to present you with this choice every step of the Way.

When you are meeting a woman for a date and you are somehow swept away by her, are you in love with her beautiful face or her soul? Do your hormones surge in response to her figure or her life story? Is it her earnings power or her kindness that speaks to you? How easy it is to just brush all this aside - and thousands of other personal attributes that often get registered only on a subconscious level - and you confidently declare, "I am in love!". Well, name that feeling as you wish but understand that you are quite confused and conflicted about it. Lots of biological, psychological, egoistic and spiritual drives overlap. But all that doesn't matter much. As you enter a committed relationship your soul-mate will give you the chance to discover everything that is true love while all the artificial attractions fall by the wayside.

There is only one way to avoid the perpetual yin and yang of spirituality, the never ending struggle between perceiving yourself as sinner and as saint: you accept everything about you as is. The greed, the envy, the competition and the lust, as well as the divine spark. You stand with both feet on the ground and you take this as the starting point to reach for the stars. Where God is around, everything is possible. A spiritual path helps you finding love in every situation.  For every step of the Way the choice for love will come natural to you - life has been designed that way.

Why is it so lethal to live in your head? Why can fantasies be so devastating? Because you let the ego go on its pleasure trip while you shut out the magnetism of life. When you experience things in real life, there is always an angel standing next to every temptations;  there is a learning opportunity even if you miss a beat. Get our of your head and let life dance with you and you will find love every step of the Way.

The Shift

Why do we change jobs and why do we change careers? Personal growth is about outgrowing desires. You literally transcend them and move on to the next spiritual level. In the past, status and power may have mattered to you, but after working long and hard - and after being beaten up a few times despite your best efforts - your notion of success may have shifted somewhat. Relationships suddenly matter more; mentoring and seeing the younger generation succeed become more important to you. And then one day you retire from your old career and your perspective entirely changes yet again.

"Been there, done that" is a holy mantra in my opinion. The shift is complete in one dimension of your personality structure and you move on to other personal quests that are still important to you. So from that perspective, no matter what you do, life tends to prepare you for undergoing this "been there, done that" moment. That's  quite an uplifting message actually. So you can stop complaining about the past and how you could have been so much better off had you not done a particular mistake. You did what you did for a subconscious reason; so even your so-called "mistake" was probably perfect for preparing you for the shift that is about to take place.

While most desires tend to drop off as you engage with them because life shows you what truly matters to you, addictions are the exception to this rule. An addiction is a desire that just gets kind of stuck. No matter what you do, no matter how hard you run after whatever it is that gets you high, it actually only strengthens its grip on you. In this case - after many years of wasting your time and undermining your physical or psychological health - the shift simply consists of stepping away from it for the very reason that there is no alternative. Addiction is a demoralizing trip to get to spiritual awakening, but making a decision to stop can be pretty powerful shift too. Many recovering addicts report that they gain a new level of intimacy with God as they leave behind their compulsive nature.

Life is perfect as is - for everyone and at every time. This is probably a hard pill to swallow but it is true as long as your goal in life is spiritual development. One note of caution though: please don't drop your existing relationships and work out of the blue just because it feels right. Listen to your environment and be guided in your decision by the voices of people you care for before you make any drastic changes. When the "been there, done that" moment really comes you will know it and the world will be smiling the day you graduate to your higher calling.

The Will to Face the Pain

Never underestimate the pain of a person, because in all honesty, everyone is struggling. Some people are better at hiding it than others.
(Will Smith)

Ask anyone who has an addiction and they will tell you that their "acting-out" in whatever form gives them a temporary release from the emptiness and the pain inside. But alas, when they wake up from their trance the broken China on the floor makes the pain even more unbearable.

Why are self-help groups like the AA so successful? It connects the recovering addict to the fellowship of (wo)men and to the Higher Power that they appeal to. The pain has to be released and digested one way or the other in order to make it to the other side. This is really hard to do. Yet, anyone who has love to hang onto has a shot at making it.

Every spiritual traveler knows what pain is all about. Before the journey started we also experienced pain but it was experienced very differently. Anger is pain projected onto others. Fear is pain projected inwards. And escapes of any form are pain repressed or drowned in "pleasurable" activities. We spiritual travelers know what pain is all about because we decide one day to stop looking away: no more blaming others, no more escaping from what we feel inside and when we feel fear creeping up we just stand there asking, "so, what exactly do you want from me?"

Addicts have no-choice in this. Facing and digesting the inner turmoil becomes  a matter of life and death. Actually, a spiritual traveler who has started on the Way in earnest doesn't really have a choice either, but it may take him a little longer to realize that there is simply no alternative! Once you have started the spring cleaning exercise you simply can't help but finishing the entire job.

There are ways to digest bad energy. It maybe nature walks, a conversation with a precious friend or just alone time in form of meditation, creative writing or yoga. Many recovering addicts report that they find outlets to cry. Let the storm cloud pass and know that the sun will shine a lot brighter the next day than it ever did before. When you develop the will to face the pain, presents will wait for you every step of the Way.

Be One a With the Emptiness

Why do some people work so hard? Why do some people cling on to their friends? Why do some people search for God, and why do many try to boost their moods with the help of sex, alcohol, shopping and other forms of entertainment?

Could it be that deep down inside there is a restlessness, an emptiness, or a dread that we want to escape? Face your fears, accept your restlessness and be one with your emptiness and just see what happens. We are not saying hat God does not exist, and we are not saying that She cannot be experienced, but to be one with the beyond you first have to break through this state of disconnectedness.

Spiritual awakening is the ability to be still in the face of fear, greed, depression and restlessness. The voice in your head and the feelings in your gut want you to run, want you to avoid, want you to get, want you to search, want you to get "better". Well, just sit there and do nothing. Be one with the emptiness and experience how out of a sudden light and love stream in.

Losing Sight of the Way

Great events make me quiet and calm; it is only trifles that irritate my nerves.
(Queen Victoria)

We all tend to be thankful to God when the going is easy, but how about when things seem to be out of control? We suddenly feel lonely and scared when things are not going our way. So has God forgotten all about us?

To the contrary, it is us shutting down on the Way and falling back on our old nasty habits of fearing for our status, our health, our sanity, the loyality of our friends, and what have you. We literally get carried away by the fearful events when all that is really needed is the faith that the upcoming change or the problem at hand will help us in accomplishing our life's mission even better than before. Instead of setting our sails to the changed wind direction we are steering back and forth without getting anywhere. We zoom into the problem instead of the solution and consequently feel bitter, afraid and resentful.

When you are lost and confused, and when you lose faith in a divine order of things you end up hurting yourself and others in the process.  It is like the harder you try to solve the problem at hand, the harder the problem gets. So when the going gets tough and when you feel impatience, anxiety and anger rising in you, drop everything and reconnect with the Way instead. It is not hard to do. You will be surprised about that incredible peace that penetrates instantaneously when you take a step back and connect with the Way. No matter what, the Tao never stops extending a guiding hand; it was you instead who temporarily let go of Her.

Please test our theory next time when you feel anxiety, impatience or anger rising in you. If you can connect with the Way even in these situations you will be all set for life. Fact of the matter is that the kingdom of God never leaves you - the kingdom of God is within you and is always at your disposal.

By Christian and Su Zhen

I Am that I Am

God, the devil and Adam went for a walk on a beach. Suddenly God stopped, picked up a stone from the ground, smiled and turned to Adam, "Here it is, the stone of wisdom, forever yours." Adam turned to the devil and grinned, " What can you do now?" The devil rolled his eyes and said "Never mind, I will make an institution out of it."

How often have our prophets told us about God, have given us tips of how we can say no to the ego and say yes to the holy Now, but for some reason it never sticks. Moses once asked God for his His name and he responded "I Am that I Am", but we immediately got scared and mandated that His holy name should not be used in vain, or tried using it as some kind of power symbol to get something. The meaning of "I Am that I Am" is simple enough. The holy intersection of life flowing though us "I Am" gives us a glimpse of God. When life takes your breath away She is sure to walk next to you.

Recognize the Symbol

You can never choose except between God and the ego.
A Course in Miracle

Do you remember the scene in Pretty Woman when Richard Gere wanted to show his love to Julia Roberts as he offered her an apartment and some money under the implicit premise that she would now be his girlfriend, but to his surprise she turned him down. Confused and angry he said to her "I never treated you like a prostitute", to which she replied "you just did." After a little soul searching he realized that he wanted to be her knight in shining armor, so he proposed marriage to her and the fairy tale ended like every good fairy tale does.

Everything you do, say and perceive is a symbol. Most of the time we do what we do subconsciously, yet everything we do or say always has a meaning. Angel and devil sit side by side on our shoulder so sometimes things happen with mixed intentions, but we can always zoom deeper and deeper until the choice becomes very clear: Is our intention of God or is our special interest at it again?

A spiritual traveler spends a lot of time with gestures, words and meanings of things. We do not claim that we are any better than anyone else but we have learned the hard way to think twice about every symbol that comes our way. My favorite quote is, " How can I know what I want to say before I have said it?" Never be afraid of anything you do or say. Even if you do something in a half- hearted fashion, even if you say something in bad taste, you can always try better next time around. The next opportunity for certain will come your way because this Universe was created just for you to find your Self. Just like billionaire Edward Lewis discovered that he wanted to marry his pretty woman, when the choice between ego and God comes out in the open, it really becomes a no-brainer.

Just Leave the Movie Set Behind

It must must have happened to you that you were in big pain and you didn't know how to get out of it. You felt trapped. The harder you tried to get rid of this pain, the more painful the mental images were that entered your mind. Your heart was racing, painful memories popped up, and your mind entertained horrible scenarios. Like a truck stuck in the mud, the harder you hit the accelerator, the deeper you got stuck in it. Typically, time healed you. Somehow a few days later the problem didn't seem quite as overwhelming. You found a glimmer of hope somewhere, you calmed down, became hopeful and with it a remarkable turn-around started. The secret we want to pass on is that you don't have to wait at all. You can find a way out of your problems here and now. These are all energies flowing through you. There are bad energies and good energies, ego-created and God-inspired energies. The trick is to let the bad energies just pass. All you have to do is to find your idiosyncratic ways to put yourself in touch with the divine energies which are always at your disposal.

The problem statement is, who exactly is the "I"? When you are work, facing many deadlines and your boss comes to present you with yet another mission impossible, the "I" feels under attack. When you are at home and you are watching pornography just to let off some steam, the "I" feels aroused. Think of the " I" as a home entertainment center that can always flip channels, and with it, you access different energies. The "I" consists of your thoughts, your blood flow, the chemicals in your brain, your hormones, the memories that float to the surface and the meaning that the ego attaches to everything.  Often you activate these energies like in the example when you go home and consciously surf the Internet for videos that turn you on, and sometime life picks these energies for you, like your boss who puts even more work on your already crowded desk.

Imagine that you are an actor who has temporarily forgotten that he is in a movie set. Our spiritual discipline loves beating up on the "ego", but that doesn't get you far, the ego is you. All you can change is the energy that is circulating in your system and with it your blood flow, your hormones and your brain chemicals will change as well. You can only quiet the ego if you get in touch with something inside of you that operates beneath the surface. You can access the quiet voice inside, you can get in touch with God's energy. With God's energy you suddenly have access to symbols that heal rather than attack; your system slows down, you see solutions rather than problems and you experience love, joy and peace.

Meditation can connect you with this divine energy, as can nature or perhaps something idiosyncratic to your spiritual journey that can get you in touch with this energy. Without being able to flip to God's channel, you will be trapped in your mind. You cannot get out of your pain when you are trapped in a negative feedback loop. The more you stretch your thinking, the more you get stuck in the mud. Your mind and your thinking just extrapolate the problems they perceive, the attack that you think you experienced or the hostile ego symbols that you chose for yourself. Alternatively, your mind can reflect the love that surrounds you and it can express the boundless creativity that is inside of you. The choice is up to you how you want to put your mind in use. Your mind will just follow the energies that you or life have activated.

Meditation connects you with divine energy instead and starts overriding the worries of your mind. When you tune in with your True Self during meditation, you very fast experience how your worries disappear as fog does when the the sun comes out. Think about it, what exactly does meditation do? It calms your blood-flow, releases stress relieving chemicals to your brain and quiets down the noisy voice in your head. The actor is given a chance to remember that she is in a movie set. At this moment you understand that your pain and your problems are just illusions. They have been created by your mind and your environment.

This is why we encourage you to meditate regularly. When you meditate, you connect with God’s dimension, you connect with a higher energy, you connect with your source, with insights and inspiration. In real life, you are way too often thrown out of equilibrium by events that you perceive as negative and then you only make it worse by trying to override the pain with the help of alcohol, porn or mind racing. Learn to let go of bad energies by first accepting that they exist and then by letting them pass through your system. Find a way to sourround yourself with good energies and avoid the energies that drag you down.

Regular meditation introduces you to another dimension of life; it puts you in touch with the divine energies that you can access whenever you need. Heaven is here and now and you can always experience this state. Heaven is not when you achieve some goals in your life, or when you possess some special ability; the here and now is Heaven as long as you have the ability to connect with your divine energy inside whenever you so choose. You don't believe us? Stop everything right now. Count your blessings for a moment. Do you really experience more than you can handle? Isn't God generous and gives you everything that you truly need? Aren't you surrounded by love? These insights come from your heart. Your mind will never be satisfied and will look out to the neighbor's yard and will prove to you that the grass is much greener over there. Get in touch with your divine energy instead; your life will thank you for it.

Try to be thankful for all the blessings you have in your life. Appreciate the presents that God gives you, day in, day out. Recognize the many things your soul siblings are doing for you. This focus will connect you with the divine energy that is always yours to tab into. When you focus on gratitude and thankfulness, life will surround you with love and affection. On the other hand, when you run after ego symbols, you will not be able to appreciate the abundance life supplies you with. You are the creator of your own world! You are the actor who feels the emotions as she experiences the ups and downs of life, but deep down inside she smiles because she knows that she will be part of a magnificent love story in the next movie set. Be always in touch with your divine energy and create your own movie full of fun, joy and love.

By Christian and Su Zhen

Your Avatar Knows Best

You probably have already played a video game, or at least heard of one that involves an avatar; someone who represents you in the virtual interplay with others. You grow fond of your avatar and identify with her, and if something happens to her in the game you are in fact as distraught as if something happened to you instead.

Biologists say that we are driven by our instincts, evolutionary psychology is saying that many of our desires and behaviors have been formed over millions of years of gene competition. Sure, the "system" that defines us is our avatar, but that is exactly the start of our spiritual journey. Everything we do, every desire that we experience has a symbol attached to it. When we aggressively pursue our soul partner the "selfish gene" is surely talking, but the quiet Voice buried deep down inside of us is pleased to see that soon after some bedroom excitement a life-long healing journey is about to take place that allows both parties to discover who they really are.

Your avatar sets you up, it leads you like the donkey is led by the carrot dangling in front of it, but without your knowledge, you are in fact headed in a spiritually meaningful direction. You play this virtual reality show with your soul siblings who deep down inside know exactly who you are. Science and spirituality don't contradict each other, they exist side by side. You can analyze "reality" until you are blue in your face. No matter where you look, all you will find in is energy in the end, just as it is the case in every video game. But the programmer of our virtual reality show is the One Who wants you Home. So keep on playing, your avatar and the divine Matrix you are operating in know best.

The Wall that Separates You From God

She is a devoted Christian who attends church regularly and with passion. When you see her face during these times of prayer and meditation you can see how her mind and entire being clings to her faith in the Lord the Christ. She treats everyone with care and attention and her mind clearly follows the commandment that you should love your neighbor like yourself. Yet, when you see her how she deals with people you can see that something holds her back, that something blocks her ability to love whole-heartedly. An external observer would say that she acts condescendingly, that she does say the right words but that she appears cold and lifeless.

If something stands between you and God, step one is to acknowledge the problem. How much easier is it to believe that you are "holier than thou". That way you will keep your backyard proper and tidy and you project all your problems and dirt out to the people you are dealing with. One minister once said in private, "You should love all people like yourself, but some you better love from a distance." In my experience it doesn't quite work like that way. Every person who you meet has the ability to heal you as much as you can heal them. Sure, some people bring problems with them, but these are your problems. Your struggling friend holds a present for you in hand that you should happily take for helping him will remove the wall that is standing between you and God. The art is only to understand which presents are yours to receive and which ones someone else will gladly pick up instead. Let the Tao be the judge of that and not your mind with its desire to heal the world.

In the case of my friend from the example above, she did have well-meaning intentions but she was an unhealed healer and she found over and over again that whatever she touched crumbled in front of her astonished eyes. The message of the Christ is one of the heart, not of the mind. Get in touch with your heart and be bold enough to recognize the wall that stands between you and God. For once you acknowledge the wall, the Tao will assist you in your demolition course.

On Gurus and Angels

You probably have read about the handful of spiritual giants who have been blessing the earth. If you are really lucky you may even have had the chance to meet one of these beacon of light yourself. When you listen to them, when you read what they write, when you just sit silently in their presence you can feel that everything they are is true. Perhaps they can be compared with a fueling station. You go to your personal Mecca to get some new direction, some new hope. These masters are able to connect with the Source whenever they like. They are God’s messengers. They can heal like God. They also radiate God's energy. Just sitting in their vicinity charges you up.They give you an appetizer for what life on earth can be about, but after experience you are still left on your own to find the path for yourself. You leave your Mecca with a full tank and you try your journey once again.

The Tao is about realizing that you don't need to seek your personal Mecca, you can find it in your own home yard. When you are ready to launch your spiritual path, angels will come to assist you on your Home coming journey. It takes some skills to recognize these angels, but when you truly trust your heart you will find them. When we start our journey, most of us will experience a period of chaos. The ego is theatrical as you will find out for yourself, so we need to stage a few theatrical near-death experiences to help you stepping out of this movie plot. No "enlightened master" can help you with that otherwise your ego would just design a new idol, one with holy clothes this time around. But you are not alone in your journey. The angels are still with you. They are the people who challenge you, the friends who need your help, your children who look up to you. Everyone helps you discovering who you truly are.

Once you open up to your environment, once you walk the Tao the guidance will be just around the corner. God's grace and miracles show up just when you need them. Just like Moses you find that the sea parts in the nick of time. As you have more and more lucid moments it dawns on you that you can experience God all the time. As you are merging with Her you can feel how you are being transformed. At that moment, it is time to walk completely on you own. You don’t need any masters any more because you are your own Daughter of God. You are God's co-creator and in fact always have been but at this holy moment you realize your birthright.

If you are on a spiritual path an angel must already be in your vicinity. Reflect for a moment, do you have a hunch who it could be?

By Christian and Su Zhen

The Miracle of Walking the Path

It is an amazing feeling to walk on the Tao,
Just like a bird freely roaming the sky,
We walk freely along the Path.
No words can express our gratitude to be guided by Her.
Along the way, there is only pure beauty, truth and love.

All the things you aspire to have,
they just naturally show up in your life.
All the obstacles that stand in love's way just melt away.
It is hard to imagine how wonderful that feeling could be.

Imagine a world in which all the people you come across
are there to help, support and love you;
incredible, isn't it?
Imagine whatever people may say to you,
they don't trigger a predetermined reaction anymore.
How liberating! You are finally free!

You are not reactive like a robot anymore!
You are also not afraid to show your emotions.
Life certainly drives your emotions,
but your emotions no longer control you.
Isn’t that marvelous?

We invite you to walk the Tao with us,
Let Her take off your pain and unload your burden;
experience the healing She can offer you,
realize the peace of mind, love, beauty and truth
that flow wherever you are.

We invite you to walk the Tao with us,
to taste the flavor of grace,
to appreciate the wonder of life,
and realize that you are worthy of miracles.

Yes, you are worthy of miracles,
because you are child of God,
She is always there waiting for you,
and help you remember who you truly are.

We invite you to walk the Tao with us,
no one should experience separation from Home.
No one should wonder alone,
we are here for each other.

By Christian and Su Zhen