Religion and Spirituality

Which side am I on?

“I’m not one who divides music, dance or art into various categories. Either something works, or it doesn’t.” -Twyla Tharp 

“I don’t believe anything, but I have many suspicions.” -Robert Anton Wilson

Secular or Religious?

Physics or Metaphysics?

Science or Spirituality?

Normal or Paranormal?

Materialism or Mysticism?

In all honesty, I have very little use for such dichotomies.

Give me an idea and leave me with it for a while.

If I am able to find some practical use for it, I’ll place it inside my conceptual tool box regardless of what label society slaps on it.

If I am unable to make any good use of the idea, then I’ll sit it on the shelf until it proves itself to be useful.

My pursuit of knowledge is not limited by standard systems of information classification.

I am not concerned with the name of the library section one has to visit in order to research certain ideas.

I am concerned with the ideas themselves and the opportunities for exploration that they provide.

I will consider any concept, theory, idea, or suggestion that leads me further down the rabbit hole of inquiry, adventure, and self-knowledge.

So, which side am I on?

I am on the side of those who don’t make up their minds by merely looking at which side of the line an idea falls on.

I side with Emily Dickinson who, above all else, chose to “dwell in possibility.”

Creativity is who you are

Creating isn’t the same as art-making. Creating is the process of transcending or releasing the elements of resistance that block us from speaking, writing, making, or doing whatever would naturally express itself through us in the absence of artificial obstruction. Whenever we embrace and execute the ideas and impulses that resonate with us, we are creating.

The process of creating reveals to us the secrets of our own soul.

Many have failed to discover the wellsprings of life within themselves, however, because they were convinced nobody wanted to hear what they had to say.

Is creating worth the time when we don’t even have a following?

Even if the world doesn’t want what we have to offer, we still need to creatively express ourselves in order to evolve.

The prolonged suppression of the heart’s creative impulses inevitably results in dis-ease at one level or another. More cases of sickness and stress than what is typically supposed, is the result of denying safe passageways to the life-giving energies of the soul.

We are conditioned by consumer culture to cease creative efforts which have no apparent market value. Once a person is past the age of having a “realistic” chance of becoming a professional pianist, for instance, he may well be advised to channel his energy along more productive and profitable lines, leaving creative endeavors behind for those who have hopes of making a career of it.

There is a side to creativity, however, which has nothing to do with markets, products, and revenue projections.

Creation IS evolution

Creativity is spiritual practice.

Having been made in the image and likeness of God, we were all brought forth with the express purpose of being creators. The willingness to form ideas and move them towards manifestation is what makes us god-like.

To create is to evolve. On the other side of every creative journey stands the person we’re meant to become.

When we hesitate to take the risk of creativity, we risk missing the discovery of our own divinity.

Creativity is who you are. Let nothing keep you separate from experiencing the joy of that for yourself.

Do what you came here to do so you can see how beautiful you were meant to be.

Cheers 🙂

T.K. Coleman

Be an explorer of eternal life

“To see a world in a grain of sand, And a heaven in a wild flower, Hold infinity in the palm of your hand, And eternity in an hour.” -William Blake

We were all born to live eternally.

This Eternal Life, however, is not simply the phenomenon of existing for a really long time. It is the joyful art of opening up to a realm outside of time and channeling the energy of that realm into everyday experience.

In categorical terms, “The Eternal” is a matter of quality not quantity. It is not the story of how long we live, but simply how we live. Eternity is a state of being and, as such, we do not merely live FOR it, but we live FROM it.

Like the children of Narnia who discover a magical portal concealed within a seemingly ordinary wardrobe, we can all have our mystical moment in which we decide to move deeper down the corridor of the soul until we stumble upon the “Kingdom of God Within” and find ourselves living a life that is nothing short of the fantastic.

This isn’t something we have to wait for. It doesn’t require a rapture event or an Armageddon scenario. We can each step through into eternity right here and right now for we are the door and the destination.

We do this simply by letting go of the idea that it is an object or place “out there” to be possessed and we open to the notion of Eternity as a Consciousness-Energy Field that we can tune into.

When we focus our attention in a life-giving way, our heart opens to life like the petals of a sunflower and we become recipients and transmitters of The Light. We become “in tune with the Infinite” and synchronized with Source.

Life is about so much more than just “getting through the day.” Let’s aim higher. Instead of seeking to get through the day, let’s endeavor to bring a consciousness of eternity to the day in every way.

Will you explore with me?

What to do when being positive feels fake?

If you’re trying to make changes for the better and it feels forced or fake, don’t accept that as a sure sign that you’re wasting your time.

Just because an activity feels unnatural in the beginning doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re being fake for performing it.

It’s natural until you change it

Let’s consider a couple of examples:

Suppose you’re accustomed to sleeping in until 8am or later, but you’re now hired for a new job that requires you to be there at 6am every day. Waking up at 4:30am or 5am is probably going to feel very unnatural until you reorient your body’s natural rhythms and sleep cycles.

What if you’ve never exercised a day in your life and you decide that you want to start today? Running for two blocks might feel like immanent death. Until your body starts to get into a decent fitness routine, even a mild jog is going to feel very unnatural.

Everything’s easy once you learn how to do it

If you’re accustomed to complaining everyday about everything that goes wrong, it’s probably going to feel a bit exaggerated when you try to describe your experiences in a more positive light.

That doesn’t mean you’re being fake. It just might mean that you’re spiritually or mentally out of shape and you could use a bit of conditioning in those areas. You may have become so accustomed to interpreting events in a negative way that it now seems like the normal, healthy, natural thing to do.

If you can be patient with yourself and commit to self-development as a process, you’ll be surprised and pleased with how much you can proactively accelerate your spiritual evolution.

Treat yourself to a psychological makeover

We are never stuck with the present day version of our personalities.

We have the power to recondition our thought patterns, retrain our reactionary instincts, and reinvent our emotional processing habits.

“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.” -Romans 12:2

The PURSUIT of happiness can only be fulfilled by the PRACTICE of happiness. Happiness doesn’t just “happen”. It’s the reward we receive for investing in our own well~being.

We must commit to the daily process of building new habits of speech & thought in the same way that an athelete trains her body or an artist perfects his craft

There’s nothing fake about persistence

My friend Chaz, from the One Direction Forward blog had this to say:

From someone who has grit his teeth on many occasions and forced myself by faith to try the path less travelled (or never-before travelled), I can say with assurance that it is highly uncomfortable the first time or two. But as we repeat it, the new way becomes more and more familiar. Not unlike making a change to a golf swing.

Our thinking is influenced by a culture that tells us to abandon anything that feels like force. This is true to a certain extent. It is important to remember, however, that many positive changes can feel like you’re forcing it or faking it during the embryonic stages of growth. This sensation does not last forever.

With a proper and balanced approach to personal development, feeling discouraged and defeated can eventually start to feel as unnatural as it’s supposed to feel for a being whose essence emanates from Infinite Joy AKA “You!”

That’s my two cents. What are your thoughts?

Cheers,

T.K. Coleman

If you liked this post, check out:

1. You can do anything better when you’re doing better

2. Sometimes there’s no lesson to learn

3. Perkiness & positivity are two different things

My life is a prayer. My existence is an act of meditation.

“It is easy in solitude to live after your own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.” -Ralph Walso Emerson
 
I am capable of finding my alignment under any conditions. I possess the flexibility necessary to connect to my Highest Self even when I am busy and on the go. Whether I am alone or in a crowd, I know how to maintain a positive vibration. By learning to see everyone and everything as an expression of Source-Energy, I can transform every experience into an opportunity for enlightenment, expansion, and evolution.

Prayer and meditation are not isolated activities separate from the whole of life. They are states of consciousness where my attention and intention is directed towards the higher energies of Spirit. Through patience, practice, and persistent self-love, I can cultivate this state of consciousness.

I do not always have to be doing what I love in order to feel my connection to God.

When I am doing what I do not love, I will find that which is loveable in what I am doing. When I am with who I do not love, I will find that which is loveable in who I am with. When I am in places I do not love, I will find that which is loveable in the places I am in.

Unconditional Love means there is no condition, however stressful or unpleasant, where I am incapable of focusing on and finding that which is an expression of the God who is Love.

Nothing can get in the way of my alignment because I have the divine ability to use every situation as a tool with which to facilitate and further my own evolution. No one can interfere with my ability to connect with Source, because I know how to see the Source in everyone.

From this state of knowing, I declare that my life is a prayer. I affirm my existence as an act of meditation.

I do not need to go to an exotic place or a quiet space in order to find resonance with the peace and power within. The place where I am is my place of connection.

Now is the moment. Now is the opportunity. Now is the freedom I have always sought.

It is so and so it is!

T.K. Coleman

If you liked this post, check out:

1. I tap the Source of all blessings

2. I am independent

3. TK’s Success School: Make your ideas “a-ffirm” reality!

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