Читать книгу A Search for God Anniversary Edition - Edgar Cayce - Страница 17

If self-development is our aim, then we must begin just where we are. It will do no good idly to wish to be in some other condition or surrounding; for, unless we have mastered our present state, the second will be worse than the first. The first and last obstacle to overcome is understanding ourselves. Until we are fully aware of all that constitutes our existence we have no right to say that this or that is the aim and goal of life. Our capacities and abilities are of the highest creation. Let us not fool ourselves by accepting anything but the fullest expression of consciousness.

Meditation is the safest and surest way to understand our selves. It is the key to the door which is closed on the real world for most of us. Let us study and know ourselves. It is a command, an entreaty. Let us dare to seek, not blindly, but with faith, that we may find “the noble self.” (See 281-7.) Our approaches and results may differ, but the same understanding, the same point of consciousness, and the same state of awareness are the ultimate goals. Two attitudes are essential:

1. A strong desire to seek truth.

2. A constant, consistent effort to move forward.

Let us be continuous and regular in meditation. Broken periods of meditation will accomplish little. Be active in holding the ideal, and be regular in awakening the inner self.

In the end, the reward is well worth the effort expended. Most of us waste hours each day when just a few moments spent in daily search within would bring more peace and joy, and more true happiness, than any physical activity. Then let us first seek the kingdom of heaven. Where is the kingdom of heaven? It is within. What He gave of old is as true today as it was in the beginning. Let us call on Him and know that our bodies are temples of the living God. There He has promised to meet us.

Are we afraid? Are we ashamed? Have we so belittled our opportunities, have we so defamed our own bodies and our own minds that we are ashamed to have our God meet us within our tabernacles? If such is the case, let us set our houses in order.

There are spiritual centers in our bodies which are points of physical contact between the physical organism and the soul. These connections are just as real as the nerve centers and fibers which carry impulses from one of the sense organs to the brain. There is a bowl that must one day be broken, and a cord that must one day be severed from the physical body of each individual.⁹ The ultimate goal of each soul's searching is a greater awareness of God. Through meditation we may increase this awareness in daily life and prepare the way for the change called death to bring us another step forward toward the goal.

What is our God? Are we ambitious only as to whether we shall eat tomorrow or as to wherewithal we shall be clothed? We are of little faith and of little hope who allow such to become the paramount issues in our consciousness. Know we not that we are His? We are of His making. He has willed that we shall not perish, but has left it with us as to whether we become even aware of our relationships with Him. In our houses, our bodies, there are ways for the approach—through the desire to know Him. We put that desire into activity by purging our bodies and our minds of those things that we know, or even conceive of, as being hindrances. It has been given of old that it was not for those who would descend from heaven to bring us a message, or those who would come from over the seas, but that we would find Him within our own hearts and consciousnesses.

Would we ask God to do for us what we would not do for our neighbor? If we would, we are selfish and cannot know God, for as we do it unto the least of our brethren, we do it unto our Maker. These are not mere words—they can be experiences, if we seek to know Him. He is not past finding out. If we would know Him, we must turn to Him; look, hope, and act in such a way that we expect Him, our God, to meet us face to face. “It is I; be not afraid,”¹⁰ said He who came to those seeking to know their relationship with their Maker.

Many of us become afraid because of the things that we hear, and we say, “I do not understand, I do not comprehend.” Why? Have we so belittled ourselves, our bodies, our minds, and our consciousnesses that we have seared and made of no effect those opportunities within us to know our Maker?

Let us purify our bodies and our minds. Let us consecrate ourselves in prayer. Let there be humbleness in our hearts, for we must humble ourselves if we would know Him, and come with an open, seeking, contrite spirit, desirous of having the way shown to us.

When we are shown the way, let us not turn away, but be true to the vision that is given us. He will speak, for His promise has been “When ye call I will hear and will answer speedily.”¹¹ Then when He speaks, let us open our hearts and our minds to the opportunities and glories that are ours. We can accept them through attuning our consciousnesses to the Christ Consciousness in meditation. Then we can say and mean it, “Let others do as they may, but as for us, we will worship—yea, we will serve—the living God.”¹²

Even in those times of greatest trial He is not far from us. He is closer than our right hand. He stands at the door of our hearts. Will we bid Him enter, or will we turn Him away? (See 281-41.)

¹John 14:2, 3

²Matt. 5:23, 24

³Luke 10:27

⁴See Genesis 2:7

⁵Deut. 6:4

⁶P.R.

⁷Rev. 3:20

⁸Matt. 14:27

⁹See Eccles. 12:6

¹⁰Matt. 14:27

¹¹P.R. See Psalm 102:2

¹²P.R. See Joshua 24:15