“There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” - William Shakespeare (Hamlet Act 2 Scene ii)

When we take the actual time to deeply consider our consciousness we begin the road to create change in our lives. The road map to change is consciousness, but that requires awareness. And all spiritual practice is about deepening awareness. An awareness of our unity with all things. This includes those beings of light whom we may have deemed enemies in our lives.

“You have heard it said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have” Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Matthew 5:43-48

Following on heels of deepening our understanding of the consciousness of retaliation we are met with a challenge: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.

On the surface there is this message, if we are beings born of love then we should love only. That is pretty straightforward. Do you find it difficult to love those whom you feel have wronged you in some way? From where does that sense of being wronged stem? I would suggest that it is a belief rooted in our own consciousness. It is our consciousness that creates enemies, and it is a decision to allow the enemy to remain an enemy. It is also a decision to live based on love. It is a choice and it is all about energy.

The more power we give to the consciousness that enemies exist, the more we experience enemies. Does this suggest that if we are in a frame of mind that doesn’t accept enemies as a possibility that there will no longer be people with whom we disagree? Of course not. There will always be people with whom we disagree. It is our consciousness that attracts them into our experience or keeps them from our experience.

The more we give in to love only as the primary focus of our awareness, the more we experience and attract those who are in alignment with love. The “Father in heaven” (which is another way of saying the creative nature at the core of your mind and heart) is impersonal… it is mechanical… it simply creates. We are the ones who infuse meaning and heart into the creation. It is very personal to us.

So then, this becomes a call to live in the fullness and recognition that we are already perfection expressed (if God is perfect… and that is who we are… then we must to be perfect… that’s the simple transitive property of equality). It also means that all people are perfect expressions and embodiments of the One. Whether they act accordingly is another story, and if they don’t act accordingly, there is no requirement that we maintain them as factors in our lives.

“Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.

“So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” - Matthew 6:1-4

Simply put… nothing we do should be for show. Our spiritual practice is for us. When we concern ourselves with what it looks like to others we remove ourselves from the experience itself. That brings us down to a focus on the form rather than the absolute creative nature.

Each of us has a unique, creative expression of our Spirituality. That expression should be for us, and for no one else. There is no “doing it right” or “doing it wrong.” There is only our connection, and the more deeply we connect in our own unique way, the more effective it becomes in our lives.

This is not a call for us to hide our expression of spirituality, though. The part of the passage which says it should, “be done in secret,” is not literal in a strict sense. What is secret is that which is ineffable and undefinable in our own connection to and as Spirit.

There is a song that we sing in my center sometimes. The lyrics are, “So sacred, so secret, so precious, this Love.” I have given a lot of thought to the “so secret” part of the lyric, and thought for a time that I should change it. I have decided against changing it because no matter how public our expression may be, there is that part which is so personal and intimate it will always be secret. I don’t have to try to keep it from others. This goes hand in hand with the next passage.

“And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” Matthew 6:5-8

Here is a challenge. How open is too open? How closed is too closed? To take it more personally, how open or closed are you about your Spiritual nature? If we are open, to what degree are we open and for what purpose? Is it for the purpose of setting ourselves apart from others—or can we simply wear our faith on our sleeve by simply being, and living the principles we teach?

I have a tendency to believe that if I am in the consciousness of knowing that my word is my bond, then I don’t need to make a show of it. The life I experience will be the evidence necessary to inspire. I don’t need to try to make a show of it. I simply choose to live it. It’s all about the energy and consciousness (are you sensing a recurring theme here?).

My spiritual practice is ongoing, 24/7. I even got a tattoo on my right inner forearm that reads “…and so it is.” as a reminder that my word is my bond, and I am constantly creating. The tattoo is for me, and for no-one else.

When we simply live our best lives, rooted in the knowledge of our unique individualization of infinite Divinity, then life gets better. Pretty soon we will have everyone around us exclaiming, “I’ll have what s/he’s having.”