Divine Healing

Divine healing does not require elaborate rituals, esoteric oils or crystals, or intense effort. Have you read any stories of Jesus, Buddha, or another holy person working himself into a frenzy or to exhaustion in order to manifest healing? On the contrary, healing manifests spontaneously in the presence of divine connection. All that it requires is openness and surrender to Source. No shaman or practitioner can induce healing without that connection. This is because healing is the work of Source energy, not something that is produced within the body or mind of the individual healer. The only effort - if it can be called that - required of him or her is to become and remain aware of Oneness with Source and its omnipresent perfection. Healing will then radiate from him or her like the warmth and light of the sun. 

Source itself does not expend energy, because all the energy of the Universe belongs to and remains within Source. Source merely manifests continual perfection, in which we humans share to the extent we maintain connection to it. 

Science of Mind, as established by Ernest Holmes and practiced by the Centers for Spiritual Living, provides one of the purest examples of this simple approach to manifesting healing (among other things). Called Spiritual Mind Treatment or Affirmative Prayer, this practice is described on the Science of Mind Magazine website  as follows:

Science of Mind uses a five-step affirmative prayer called spiritual mind treatment. The five steps are:
1. Recognition—know that God is all there is.
2. Unification—know that you are one with God.
3. Declaration—state your word for the circumstance you want to manifest.
4. Thanksgiving—give thanks for your word being acted upon by the Law of mind.
5. Release—“And so it is!”
There is no beseeching to or urge to compel an outside entity in spiritual mind treatment.  As Ernest Holmes states in The Science of Mind:

"Effective mental treatment is propelled by a consciousness of love and a realization that the Creative spirit is always at work....A treatment should be given in a calm, expectant manner and with a deep inner conviction of its reality, without any fear or any sense that the human mind must make it effective. The work is effective because the Law is always in operation."
 

Broadcast Love

At this time of sharing and renewal, be sure to maintain connection with the Source of everything. Be a beacon of love and compassion for those in need, not only of food and shelter, but of spiritual sustenance. Broadcast comfort and joy; absorb and cleanse any negativity, sadness, or hatred you encounter. Release ego's need to magnify and wallow in the misfortunes of yourself and others. Be compassionate but focus on infusing Love and hope into your own space and others'. Allow the sustaining light of Spirit to shine through you for the benefit of the whole world.

The End Is Simple

All paths to Oneness are blessed. Each of us must find a way to detach from superficial worldliness in order to approach Truth undistracted. However, it is important that the path itself does not become a distraction. Those practices and beliefs that help us find the road less travelled can eventually become encumbrances upon the Way. Be wary of attachments to rites, doctrines and paraphernalia. Spirit's goal is the ultimate simplicity of Oneness in perfect Love. All ritual, all superstition must fall away until one is found nameless and naked before God. At the moment when all differentiation ceases, Oneness becomes the sole point of awareness. Then only does the soul exult in the attainment of pure unity with All That Is, and dissolve in fundamental welcoming Love.

There is nothing you can change about your circumstances or surroundings that will make a lasting improvement in your life. Peace and happiness can only be found within yourself, so if you lack them, it is yourself you must change.

Dealing With Negative Energies

It doesn't matter if the whole world seems charged with negative energy. Chances are this is only an illusion caused by some unresolved conflict within you. Let go of that problem and it will cease to give out the negative vibrations that are clouding your vision. If the negativity is external, it may still be localized so you can easily move away from it. Or you may choose to remain and overpower negativity by casting your own penetrating illumination into the darkness. With practice, you can create a zone of clean, positive energy around you at all times, so that you always exist in that environment and serve as a beacon to others. However you choose to deal with negative energies, remember that reality is the Self, the Self is God, and God is Love.

No Limitations

Limitations don't mean anything until you reach them.  Why tell yourself that you can't do this or will never attain that goal, if you haven't given all you can give to the effort?  We are all capable of far more than the small self wants us to believe. That negative voice has its own agenda, and it is not love, peace, and contentment. 

The small self is run by ego, and paradoxically in most of us ego would rather complain about failure than attempt success. Failure is something we can have right now, while achievement requires focus, effort, and in many cases, sacrifice of immediate gratification of base appetites. The more we live in the ego, the more we give ourselves over to indulgence, resentment, and self-pity. We create limitations out of our own imaginations to justify staying stuck in the comfortable wallow ego creates for us.

The illusion of limitation is nowhere more evident than in the realm of spiritual growth. We have embedded ourselves in a web of images that collectively constitute the physical world as we see it. We have invented science to convince ourselves that nothing exists that cannot be detected and measured by physical instruments. Others of us have spent thousands of years developing religious (or anti-religious!) orthodoxies to imprison the human spirit by circumscribing the range of permissible spiritual experience.

In truth, there are no limitations on Spirit or on what the individual can experience when the higher Self is expressed through personal intention and behavior. I have recently blogged on the Foundations of Spiritual Growth. From the dawn of human existence the practices mentioned there have enabled many to transcend the limitations that we and others have imposed on ourselves. It is a path that is open to everyone. Following those practices requires only a measure of intention, and the willingness to step out of the busy-ness of the world to a peaceful space in which the higher Self  can act as a channel through which Universal Love can fill and possess our being. But those who choose to do so are rewarded for their efforts a million times over.

I myself denied the validity of spiritual experience for many years.The passage of time brought a sense of frustration and futility as I pursued one mundane satisfaction after another, only to find the anticipated pleasures crumbling in my hands at the first touch. Eventually something activated the kernel of Love at the center of my being and I became open to instruction from the earthly spiritual masters of our time. I became mindful of the opportunities for growth latent in my consciousness, and of the bliss that such growth can confer. I formed the intention to grow. Love fed ravenously on the teachings of contemporary masters and  of their masters throughout history. It was not long before I began to receive insights directly from Spirit through the higher Self. I am still a novice, but my devotion to Spirit is constantly on the upward path, and I continue to derive true satisfaction from surrounding myself with a matrix of Love, peace, and Universal light. 

I am a personal witness to the truth that the only limitations on our spiritual growth, and therefore on our happiness, are those that we impose ourselves. True happiness is not only attainable, it is present at this and every moment regardless of worldly circumstances, because it is drawn directly from the fundamental loving energies of the Universe. All that is needed is the intention to allow it into our lives.

 

Responding to Negativity

When someone is exhibiting anger, dislike, or other negative emotions toward you, you may feel that you want to respond in kind.  Most likely, however, that person's negative feelings are actually directed at himself and merely displaced upon you.  Compassion, not anger, is the appropriate response. You may feel he or she is trying to goad you into a negative response. However, it is actually your own ego that is goading you. No one else can goad you if you are mindful and your higher self is in control of your emotions and, especially, your ego.