An Open Mind Gabriel July 2012

07/24/12

It has been said, by a wise person, that to enter into Heaven, one must be as a child. What does that mean?

Surely it has nothing to do with age, as we do not know when childhood ends exactly.

And experience happens to the youngest, not just the adults.

Is it society, the civilization in which you live, that dictates when one is a child and when childhood ends?

It is the attitude, not the age, which is important. The most significant factor is that of an open mind. Opening the mind requires leaving behind prejudgment based upon past experience. This is harder than it might seem. Once one has taken on a habit, it is hard to see past it or root it out.

Why would you want to get rid of a habit? Something that you do automatically without thinking leaves a margin of error that can include accidents, mishaps, and misunderstandings. An example would be driving a car. You are accustomed to the car that you have owned for 5 years. You are accustomed to the streets you have driven on to get from your home to your place of work for 15 years. You are familiar with the traffic flow at the regular time of day that you leave your house to go to work. You are susceptible to driving in a brownout, where the lights are barely on but the attention is not working in your brain.

What can happen in a brownout? Slowing of the reflexes, failing to notice significant changes, distracted driving without even getting on the cell phone. Being like a zombie, not really alive, not really present. A child, however, looks at everything like it is new. The speedy reflexes of the child come more from paying attention, from being present, than of having a younger brain. Although a child will not be driving a car, a child can ride a bicycle or walk along the same sidewalk to get to school every day. The whole time, the child is looking at the scenery, who is present along with him, and what is happening around him.

The child, like a warrior, is present, in his body, in his time, and at this place. The warrior also must be aware of circumstances, where people are around him, and what actions they are taking. For the warrior, it is a matter of life or death, while for the child it is less dangerous in most cases. Yes, both can be distracted, by inner thoughts, by fascinating circumstances, or by orders being yelled at them by superiors.

There is one more example I wish to give you, that of the monk. The monk withdraws from regular daily life of the community to focus upon serving God. Instead of thinking about work, school, or battles, the monk takes time on a daily basis to feel the presence of God. Depending upon religious belief and practices, the monk keeps his connection to God open at all times. Instead of thinking that God is a powerful being in an unreachable remote location, the monk feels that his being is an inextricable part of God, making his own existence entirely dependent upon God's grace. The monk is here, present, now, in this place, with the presence of God within him.

Your life is your own to live, to be, and to experience. You have choices every day that are going to affect the rest of your life, and those who are connected to you. By choosing to experience life connected consciously with God, you will have information available to you that will make your life float through the hard spots. No one is immune from challenges, either man made or accidental. Having the God connection lets your mind know what the big picture is. Having an inner security based upon your personal relationship with God, gives you an unshakeable determination to do what you know is right. Doing what is right gives you inner peace, the ability to sleep at night because you have no nagging regrets skewering your mind with turmoil.

Who is there that can teach you these things? How to connect with God? How to live in the present, awake and aware? How to make tough choices?

It begins with you. A sincere desire to awake to the presence of God within you is the first step. No one can instill this desire in you but yourself. You have known the presence of God in the beginning when God created your spirit. Life here on earth in a physical body has created a feeling of separation from the divine which is not always discernible to the naked eye. One's physical surroundings and cultural setting further complicate matters by making religion, if there be one available, the only seeming choice. If it is not religion that you seek, what is it?

Religion is a set of rules and customs built upon a society of belief started by a specific person, or a mythical person. Most religions claim to protect the rights and persons of their adherents in this world and the next. Along with the rules come exclusions. In addition to the thou shalt rules, there are the more numerous thou shalt not rules. Lifetimes can be spent trying to figure out the maze of these expectations set by people hundreds or thousands of years before. In the end, what you have is a lesson in lesson-learning.

Inner faith does not require any religion or culture to support it. Instead, it can be hidden and personal, known only to the one seeking God within. It will be apparent to others through the words, actions, and deeds of the person who has a personal relationship with God. More important, it will be a source of inner strength and resolve to the person himself. Having an inner pillar of strength, making choices becomes simpler, life challenges are dwarfed by the big picture, and unexpected occurrences are taken in stride. A sense of inner peace is what defines the person's world-view. What once would have seemed threatening, due to past experience, now is just a red flag to remind one that being present gives one enough notice of what to do about the warning.

Taking the path of the open minded monk in the world of today is not the same as withdrawing into a monastery. A sage once said that he was in the world, but not of it. This being a riddle to those who had no understanding, it is a precept to those who choose to keep open their personal inner connection with God. One does not have to hide to avoid life's challenges, because they manage to creep into the tightest self-imposed dungeon. Instead, take God with you into the streets, into the marketplace, into the schools and public buildings. Take God to your dinner table with family, to the spa with friends, and to the gathering places of people who are socializing. Keep God in your mind as you spend time contemplating nature or going to a museum. Let God speak with you as you tell your close ones what you feel inside and how you look at life. Keep your options open, as you come within to understand God and yourself.