Hello and welcome.
This is Guy Finley and I'm delighted to spend the time that we're about to spend together looking at some important ideas that we're going to call the divine journey,
Realizing your immortal self.
What we call the present moment,
Including all that appears within it,
Is actually the revelation of a timeless divine presence.
It is not the outcome of the past or a door to some imagined future.
Passing time is just one of the ways in which that which is eternal everlastingly presents itself to us.
But this movement of time no more defines or confines this presence than does the rising and setting of the sun change the nature of light.
Awakening to this indwelling divine life and to reclaim our right as beings created in its image to realize our own immortal self before we die is the purpose of this ecorse.
And so I think that I want to start with you a long time ago,
At least it was in my life,
Almost 50 years now honestly,
Where I was walking through an open market in a small upscale beach town.
There were colorful booths of various sizes and they were all displaying the work of local artisans.
It was lovely,
The day was beautiful,
It was late,
Warm,
And it was also full of a sea breeze that was washing in that kind of took away some of the gathering heat.
I was content just to be there taking in all the sights and sounds.
Besides,
Nothing is more pleasurable to an inverter at treasure hunter than the hope he might just stumble upon something no one else has seen or wants.
And then,
So to speak,
It happened.
In my mind's eye I can see still the 30 odd old small wooden benches.
They were of differing heights and laid out in three parallel lines with space allowed to walk between them.
And upon these benches sat dozens and dozens of diminutive trees.
I'd heard before of bonsai trees but never actually saw one at least until that day.
But each of these little trees was a miniature version of a towering pine,
An elm,
An oak,
And stranger still,
Each little tree was planted in a small ancient looking pot that appeared way too shallow to support it,
Let alone the tree that was in it to thrive.
Honestly,
I was spellbound.
The next thing I knew,
Like a moth to the proverbial flame,
I was drawn into the center of that display in that outdoor market.
And then something even more inexplicable took place.
As I stood there over the first bench before me,
My eyes became fixed on a kind of pine tree that stood less than 20 inches tall but it had the appearance of being over a hundred years old.
Maybe you've seen these trees,
These bonsai trees,
Weathered ancient trunks,
All of them turned almost back upon themselves radiating each and every one a silent story.
It told of a solitary life alone on some steep sea cliff where buffeted by unrelenting winds,
Its character had been shaped by the hardships.
Hardships that was given to bear over that time and yet here was a tiny version of it and with this one impression an overwhelming emotion came rolling over me like a wave from some unknown sea hidden in my own heart and I started to cry.
I know that's strange and it was strange to me too.
I mean I knew I was in a public place and yet I was powerless to contain my feelings.
So powerful was the impression received from this one tree.
Not to mention that I was surrounded literally by a miniature forest of other specimens just like this one.
The beauty of it all overwhelmed literally me and outweighed any concern I had of being seen as a fool or in this case a madman.
The rest of that afternoon was spent in a private audience before each of these ancient trees.
I was eager to hear their individual stories.
There was no way to explain it back then but now I understand at least some of the reasons behind this uncanny attraction including the strong emotional reaction that came upon its heels.
As the following explanation reveals at least I trust it will,
Everything points to the existence of a timeless interior presence that doesn't just precede the relationships we are drawn to in our lives but actually serves to arrange them including whatever life lessons we take from these encounters.
Calling on our own past experience for instance if you've ever had a moment like that will help validate the truths of what we're going to look at together as well as reveal some of the possibilities that these truths hidden within us hold for those of us who are willing to explore its extraordinary implications.
Here's what I'm leading to.
Within each of us lives a tireless latent longing to touch and to be touched by life's invisible celestial forces all of its beauty,
Its harmony,
Its balance.
For instance whenever we stand as a silent witness to the endless expanse of a dark night sky we're inwardly moved by this outer display of timelessness spread out above us.
We can't help being drawn to look at for instance a newborn child because the innocence we see within those eyes stir the depth of our own heart reminding us of a vital but now largely forgotten virtue.
Again drinking in these exterior impressions awakens,
Moves us literally by reminding us of something that is still latent within our own soul.
Which brings us to the very important point that we're trying to reach.
Each and every one of these precious impressions taken in from and around us regardless of its nature does more than just touch us,
It reveals us to ourselves.
It actually tells us,
It serves to tell us something about our innermost self that can't be heard or felt in any other way.
In other words anything that is reflected upon the mirror of one's soul be it a majestic mountain,
A single red rose or a smile on the face of someone we know in this instance for me those tiny trees,
Those moments create a kind of instant and corresponding recognition within us and that recognition is that within our own awareness,
Our own consciousness lives the corresponding part of whatever the content is that our eyes have fallen on.
That means we are never alone but rather we are always in relationship with another order of being that we for the most part have no awareness of at all right now.
That's one of the reasons that we have these talks.
The supposed other person for instance that stirring moment or whatever experience we're drawn to reflect upon within us,
None of these moments,
These people,
These places,
These conditions,
None of them are really other than us at all.
Everything we can realize in this life or in any kingdom to come is already an indwelling part of our own consciousness and much to the point always has been.
The unshakable self-knowledge that this kind of understanding provides is the secret wellspring of all spiritual mystics,
Saints and sages.
It is their undying source of wisdom,
Compassion and strength regardless of whatever tradition they may come to represent in passing time and so it is that we too are invited to drink from these living waters,
To allow them to nourish the nascent soul,
Awakening to realize that every moment including this moment right now with us together is always just the beginning of a life without end.
The gifts of this kind of union of realization through revelation and the new order of self conceived through it provide more than can ever be imagined.
This authentic second birth realizes something that can only be discovered in one way and that is it releases the aspirant,
You and I,
From all forms of regret.
It endows us with a patience and a compassion that no enemy can provoke and perhaps most important of all grants the realization that despite all appearances to the contrary death is not the end of life.
Please consider these opening ideas as the introduction they are intended to be to our new ecourse,
The Divine Journey,
Realizing Your Immortal Self.
I look forward to the time we are going to spend together in these studies and our next topic is called Give Yourself the Greatest Prize This World Has to Offer.
