The Present Moment and Practicing What You Preach

If we contemplate such things as Heaven and Hell, Karma, or The Law of Consequence, it is not in order to draw attention away from the present moment or the present world, so as to fix our hopes and fears upon some other time and place. Rather, it is precisely to awaken within ourselves a consciousness of the supreme importance of the present time and place, when and where all things are decided; we cast an eye toward the effects, only so as to better appreciate the cause.

Here is your opportunity. Are you seeking peace in this moment, not merely for yourself but for the benefit of all creatures? If not, how then can you hope to find peace in the future? In this very moment, is it your intention to understand the ways of God? Is it your intention to heal the nations of the world, and to remind all people of the rightful and exalted place of Love? Do you wish to enter into the inexpressible experience of divine union? Do it now. The present moment is everything.

If you seek Heaven, seek it in the present moment, for that is where it lies, infinitely and eternally. But if you look into the future, you might as well be looking into Hell; for the future has no reality if it is not in Hell, and Hell as no reality if it is not in the future. Only be here now, and all futures, all hells, must vanish into the nothingness from which they came. Be here now, and discover what is real, -- namely, The Kingdom Of Heaven On Earth.

The spiritual life has less to do with what you believe than with what you are and what you do. The atheist who gives without selfish considerations is closer to God than many so-called religious people who live less charitably. In fact, we may do positive harm to ourselves by seeking knowledge before we have experienced within ourselves, and (as a natural consequence of that direct inner experience) put into practice, the knowledge which we have already received.

With childlike simplicity, we should endeavor to do much, and to know little. Knowledge becomes a burden to the man who knows more than he puts to use. Such knowledge is like a candle which gives light to others, but blinds the one who holds it. Let us, rather, be like those good and simple men, whose minds are darkened but whose hearts are lit from within. A heart which is full may easily overflow the limits of a narrow mind, and spur a man to noble actions which he does not fully understand. A full mind, though, can do nothing but oppress a narrow heart. It is something for which a man receives honor from the world, but which he knows to be a sure mark of his disgrace.

It is not enough to know that one must renounce all things which hinder one's intimacy with God. On the contrary, it is best to know nothing of this, but to do it purely from simplicity. To do good simply because it is one's own will is infinitely better than merely to know that doing good is the will of God.

Prefer that you should know nothing of God, not even the name of "God", if this knowing prevents, rather than encourages, your ability to approach the emanations of God; to partake of the actual experience of the Spirit of God, which surpasses all understanding and all names, and (being emboldened by the Spirit) to give one's life as a sacrifical offering for the sake of all beings.

What a mockery these priests make of themselves and of their calling, who preach and preach, and are not yet full of the very Spirit of which they speak! Their words may seem to provide for the spirit, but their actions primarily make provision for the flesh. They speak of renouncing the world, who have not yet renounced their drink! They talk of giving everything to God, who have given Him little more than lip-service. You vocal churchmen, when will you weigh the diminishing silence of your hearts against the increasing din of your tongues? Though it is a paradox impossible to practice, yet it is a wise saying nonetheless, that one should speak not, if one cannot hold silence.

Now I, too, have spoken, when I ought to have held silence.

Does this not prove that I myself am the subject of my speech?