About
thirty years ago I began to travel a great deal in my career as a musician. During those
many long drives I noticed strange phenomena. Whenever I crossed a state border, the
scenery—the vegetation, color of the dirt, even the character of the
rocks—seemed to change. To my eyes a state line was more than a sign at the side of
the road; it was a change of environment, a crossing into a different world. It became
clear after a time that each neighborhood represents a state of consciousness which,
linked with others, organizes into cities which in turn form counties, states and even a
nation. What appeared as a physical change of state at a geographical boundary was the
outer representation of an actual, inner change of consciousness. Imagine all the states
of awareness we move through in a lifetime!
One state we talk a lot
about is the state of spiritual consciousness or spiritual awareness. When we make the
move from human consciousness to spiritual awareness the change is like my experience with
the change at state lines. Things change; life looks different. In spiritual consciousness
we see the presence of God instead of the absence. We see the presence of good in the
world and in our lives and ourselves as worthy, lovable and loving, healthy and whole
children of god. We behold the Christ—in ourselves and in others. To live in this
awareness is to live in heaven—the state of Eden where we never feel separate from
good and where all possibilities are open to us.
When we take a wrong turn in
our thinking and beliefs, we awaken in the state called hell where things look very
different. Possibilities appear as impossibilities and the Divine Presence feels very
remote. Even our language changes as we enter hell. "He’s having surgery on
Thursday and things don’t look good." Or, "How will I ever pay that bill?
There’s no money! Nobody loves me; nobody ever loved me." That’s hell. When
we think about the absence of God, of ourselves as miserable sinners and worms of the
dust, when we think that life and health, peace and happiness have abandoned us we have
crossed over into hell and it hurts. In this state of awareness feelings of helplessness,
hopelessness and victim-hood seem not only normal but insurmountable.
I’ve been to heaven and
I’ve been to hell. All things considered, heaven’s better! A sign in a plant
nursery reads, "The best time to plant a tree was ten years ago. The second best time
to plant it is now." Why wait any longer? Now is the time to enter the state of
spiritual awareness where we know the presence of God in the face of appearances.
Jesus said to the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4:6-28), "For God is spirit (Allaha
rookha oo, in his language of Aramaic); and those who worship him must worship him in
spirit and in truth." (V. 24) Spirit is not matter and not a person. It is beyond the
senses as the unseen, everywhere present moving force of the universe. To "worship in
spirit and in truth" is to understand God as the omnipresent foundation of not only
the universe, but also your life and everything in it. We’ve been taught a great
variety of things to do in order to worship God, but "worship in spirit and in
truth" is not a matter of doing things. It is a state of being—a state of
awareness. It is to behold the reality of God’s presence as life, love, substance and
intelligence right where you are, not separate from you or in some far off heaven.
We’ve all read or heard
about a lot of systems which supposedly teach the way to a spiritual life. Some are long
and hard—others merely expensive. But if we are created in the "image and after
the likeness of God," then a spiritual life must be natural for us and anything else
unnatural. Many have been taught that hell is home and suffering a natural aspect of life.
We’ve chosen to live in hell—to be stuck and distracted from our spiritual
journey—long enough. The best spiritual journey is a simple one and one of the
simplest steps, as Jesus said, "Let your eye be single." And what does that
mean? The shifty eye, the double eye sees good and evil, God and something
else—satan, bad, lack, death and hell. The single eye is the spiritual eye which sees
God and heaven only—life, health, peace and supply. What would you rather see, heaven
or hell? What state are you living in and which state would you like to make your home?
Try the simple way; let your eye be single.
Paul said, "Finally, my
brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honest, whatever is just, whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely, whatever is of good report; if there is any virtue and if there is any
praise, think about these things." (Philippians 4:8) There is your roadmap from hell
to heaven.
To think of Thee and feel Thy presence here,
To rise above the world of doubt and fear,
To enter heav’n, the many mansions see,
And taste communion face to face with Thee;
To find the Secret Place where all is still,
To feel Thy joy and life my being thrill,
To know that health and wholeness now are mine,
And see Thy light within forever shine;
To feel the peace that transcends thought and speech,
To know that I the endless heights shall reach,
That I, Thy Son, eternally shall be,
These are the greatest thoughts of life to me.