Anam Chara - Living A Life Of Value

Much of our lives we spend comparing what "me" has with what "you" has. Usually this is to the detriment of "me." We take our values from the world of the visible and ignore the values of the invisible. We build our sense of self on the sifting sands of fortune.

Our values are mostly those of the society we live in. They are the values of family, race, gender, economic and nation-state to name a few. Many of these values change. They change according to the winds of fashion. One time we value long hair. The next time we value shaven heads. One time we value thrift and the next time we value spending. These are individual values we choose to hold either consciously or unconsciously.

Usually our values are dictated by the place, time, situation into which we are born. We adopt these values and often never question their impact on our lives and the lives of others. Then there are those other values. These are Universal Values. These are the values of Love, Compassion, Peace, Justice and Freedom to name those that most readily come to my mind.

These are values that one has to consciously commit to. They do not change but may manifest in different ways. These are what I call "The Values of Being." These are the natural energies of life. Once you know who you are these are the qualities that flow thought your mind and body. These are the qualities you are.

In the beginning "me" commits to these values with an act of will. Later with commitment, patience, persistence, passion and presence there is the experience of "I am these values." You are then aware that "I am is valuable beyond measure." These values are the colour of your life's flow.

Universal Values are the foundation of purpose. You can follow any one of these values to the ground of purpose. Each of us has a purpose in life. This is not because God has some great plan. It is because you are a co-creative being non-separate from the Beloved. Your purpose is like a colour in the paint box of the Beloved. You are the vehicle of the artistry of God.

Do you think God has painted only one picture? Do you think you are a pre-determined pixel of light on the screen of a limited imagination? Your purpose is part of the picture of eternity. You never stop being creative. You never stop being the created flow of the Beloved.

A plan, even a Divine plan, is one that is written in time. How can that which is timeless have a plan? This idea of Gods plan is a hope of a mind separate from Love. This is the projection of the ego that wants God to come and make it all right in a way that the ego can understand. The ego does not want God to have no plan. How can God not have a plan? "We are lost," it thinks, "if there is no plan.

Our religious teachers tell us that everything will come right according to Gods plan. This is ego inflation gone mad. The ego has knowledge of time and space. It has knowledge of planning which has a beginning and end. It has the hope that in the end the "good guys" win. The ego cannot know that which has no beginning and no end.Eternity is not a very long time. Eternity is beyond time. No beginning. No end. If you "think about" it you will do you head in. It is an intellectual exercise similar to pulling yourself up with your bootlaces. You will fall over.

Most of us our focus is on values that are those solely of the marketplace. We forget that we are human beings. We forget to honour the one behind the mask of persona. We get lost in the pursuit of values that take us further and further from the centre of our being.

You can only truly serve one master. This is either the master of the visible or invisible worlds. This is the master that is your ego self or the master of all that is which is you real SELF. This is the experience of serving the higher self. This is the experience of serving and flowing with the Divine.

There is no requirement for you to be religious. You can belong to a religion or none. You do, however, have to choose to make a commitment. This is made with a heart of courage. This is even if you only feel a little courage and a lot of doubt. This is a first step. This is all the journey of the soul requires. It asks you to step forward. It asks you to step forward one step at a time. It keeps asking until you disappear into Simply Enjoying Love Forever.

Please do not start with "belief in this," or "belief in that." I refer to belief in the real sense as "being your lief (life.). This is not something you do. It is something you are. If you do not feel compassion, love, understanding, joy, wonder or grace to mention some aspects of being say so. Say you "do not feel these feelings." Say you do not know at present.

Do not start with building barriers. Start with a little faith. You experience more faith when you say, "I do not know," than when you say, "I believe." Do you believe in sex? Do you believe in Love? Do you believe in Monday? You can believe what you will but that means you do not know. This is not the end of the world. Of course to say you do not know is unflattering to the ego. It is not what we are taught to say. We are after all knowledgeable people. We are advanced logic choppers. To say you do not know makes you appear stupid.

I read recently that over 80% of Americans believe in God. This depresses me. I have hope for the other 20% who might be allowing enough of their essence to know. In the world of universal values honesty in knowing or not knowing will take you further. Not knowing is the emptiness into which knowing and understanding is poured. The Beloved paints the colours in the chamber of your open heart.

You can say you believe in God if you wish. I ask the same question that was posited by Carl Jung, "If you know why do you need to believe?" When you know you know. There is no need to believe. If there is "not knowing" then there "is not knowing." One is empty the other is full. One is Ying and the other is Yang to use Eastern terms. Each serves the other. The cauldron serves to feed the hungry and when it does this there is a process. One time it is full and the other time it is empty.

Be courageous. If you feel you do not know then say so. Be committed to knowing. Enter the heart. Listen to the still small voice. You are not completely in the dark. You are really a "knowing it all." You are the "knowing of it all." Your knowing is unlimited because the essence of who you are is God. God is not limited.

Knowing is not knowledge. Knowledge is rational. It is always partial. It is past. Knowing is insight filled. It is complete.

The values of our society are knowledge based.

They serve the values of the more wanting the more. The values of the inner are those of subtraction. You let go all you are not and become empty of all attachment. You let go into the universal flow of life. This is what Jesus meant when he said, "Any man that shall save his life shall lose it." How to save what you already are? How to save the flow of a river? The river only needs to be allowed to run its course.

Value who you are. Value your being. Value your purpose. Value your life's flow. Value the Simple Enjoying Love Forever experience. Nothing to add. Nowhere to go. The river flows and the grass grows by itself.

Tony Cuckson is an Anam Cara. This Celtic term means "Soul Friend." He specializes in providing insight for the spiritual journey, Blessings for YOU, words of wisdom and finding inner peace. Visitors to Irish Blessings Matter website and Tony's Blog get the opportunity to develop a purpose driven life through articles, newsletters and other programs.

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