Only Mind Matters: Emerging from the Waters of Symbolic Meaning

ONLY MIND MATTERS

Emerging From the Waters of Symbolic Meaning

Copyright © 2007 by James H. Young

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Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Chapter 1   The Mind That Matters

Chapter 2   A Sermon Ain’t What It Used To Be

Chapter 3   A Visitation To The Beatitudes

Chapter 4   Enhancing The Light

Chapter 5   I Shall Not Want

Chapter 6   Expressing The Need For Exposure

Chapter 7   Preparing The Table With Kindness

Chapter 8   The Eternal Home

Chapter 9   Setting The Pace

Chapter 10 Around, Around, And Around We Go

Chapter 11 Building A Sound Foundation

Chapter 12 The Disciples As Faculties Of Mind

Chapter 13 The Judas And Judah In All Of Us

Chapter 14 James, The Son Of Alpheus, And Beyond

Chapter 15 Confession Time

Chapter 16 The Sons Of Wisdom And Love

Chapter 17 Applying Faith To Possibility

Chapter 18 Word As Power

Chapter 19 Be People Of Zeal

Chapter 20 Mary, Mary, How Does Your Garden Grow?

Chapter 21 Jesus Returns

Chapter 22 The Christ Speaks

Chapter 23 The Return Match

Chapter 24 What’s The Gift Hidden In A Name?

Chapter 25 Let Truth Shine

Chapter 26 The More The Better

Spirit Noodles

JIM YOUNG’S WEBSITE

www.creationspirit.net This website contains additional creations to come through Jim Young, including other books and, eventually, collector-quality photography. Speaking services and classes dealing with his writings are also available. Contact: dimitrios@creationspirit.net.

Here in the self is all that man can know

Of Beauty, all the wonder, all the power

All the unearthly colour, all the glow

Here In the self that withers like a flower:

Here in the self that fades as hours pass

And droops and dies and rots and is forgotten

Sooner by the ages than the mirroring glass

In which it sees its glory still unrotten.

Here in the flesh, within the flesh, behind,

Swift in the blood and throbbing on the bone,

Beauty herself, the universal mind, Eternal

April wandering alone;

The God, the Holy Ghost, the atoning Lord

Here in the flesh, the never-yet explored.

—John Masefield

Acknowledgments

In the past, I have acknowledged everything and everyone from family and friends, to those Spiritual entities that have guided me seemingly out of deep waters, to those places deep Within that speak only Truth instead of error, and on to the gift and opportunity of creativity itself. And I’ve gone beyond even these.

Yet, there seems to be an underlying something that speaks even more profoundly at this moment. It is a something that has spoken with consistently clear power of Truth, and has shown its face regularly in all the writings of this new MY SPIRITUAL AWARENESS SERIES. And just what is that? It is the use of the now familiar greeting, that which comes so often across the lips of Christo Sahbays, the main character of these offerings: Namaste (Nama STAY).

Many persons in other cultures use this greeting frequently. It is usually accompanied by a gesture that looks like the folded hands that embrace a life of prayer. Indeed, Namaste is a prayer, a prayer that not only acknowledges but also celebrates Life, the Life of the divine, which we will come to see from a metaphysical standpoint we most assuredly are. As conveyed with particular emphasis in the first three books of this series, Christo is careful to explain that it would be a mistake to think that Namaste means only that I honor the divinity in you, for that would be like saying you honor someone’s kidney or liver as them. It’s not just something in us or someone else that we are to honor.

Rather, as Christo is careful to point out at in the context of metaphysics, Namaste means this: I, as a divine Being, honor and celebrate your divinity. The specific language is not all that important, just so you understand that when using this INspirational greeting you are honoring the divinity of one

and all the same: in its entirety. It is the Loving intention that embraces all as divine that carries the day.

Why is this greeting such an important thing to acknowledge and celebrate? As you will find in this book, if you have not already done so in the rest in this series, without understanding what you are, the way you see Life will be severely hampered. By looking through the lenses of illusion that can only portray us as something we are not, we can hardly do more than create imagery that replicates that deep inner feeling of being less than what we really are. Then again, when we understand at the deepest levels of Being that we most naturally are divinity personified and individuated, then we look through the glass of Life brightly and correctly. Truly, there is not a single one of us who is labeled human that is not divine, despite any appearance to the contrary.

When we can finally interpret and express Life from the seat of divinity we let go of our need to compete and demean and become workaholics, just to make ourselves seem better than we have come to believe we are—just so we can, finally, in our mind’s eye, seem good enough. The fact of the matter is that we’re already as good as we’re ever going to be, because as divine Beings we rest in our Spiritual Perfection. Thus our task is to perceive and behave only from that foundational understanding. All the rest is but an illusory detail.

How do I know that considering oneself divine does any good? Well, others, as well as I do, use this expression frequently, both for myself—whenever I see myself in a mirror, for example—as well as when I greet others. I don’t always use it vocally, but most always do silently, in the depths of my heart. Doing so lets me see others and myself as we truly are: divine. This underlying perception leads me to treat all the same: as divine. Such clarity of our divinity all begins at Home, Home being that divine spaciousness we have come to call Within. If we cannot honor the divinity of what we are, then this perception of lack will project itself out onto the screen of external life. The pain of separation from our Truth would be too difficult for us to face in any other way.

Also, nearly a year ago now I had the opportunity to speak to a church group, essentially using the content of THE CREATION SPIRIT as the topic, but under the title: The Metaphysician Within. In this talk I stressed the importance of acknowledging and celebrating our divinity. While doing so I suggested that each in the gathering practice saying Ñamaste to him or herself every time he sees his image in a mirror or windowpane, looking deep into his own eyes when doing so. I also suggested that they practice greeting others in this identical fashion, either vocally or simply silently. Again, it is the intention from which Ñamaste is used that counts. Of course, when I suggested that they practice this greeting, I had absolutely no idea what would come of it. I had only my own personal testimony to account for.

Fast forward with me for a moment. About a month later, I had an opportunity to return to that same church to give another presentation. After the presentation a young woman came up to me and said that she wanted me to know that she was using the suggestion I had made and that it had turned her life around in an amazing way. Without providing any details, she simply glowed in her expression of gratitude, so I knew it was genuine.

Now fast forward yet again. Just last week at one of our weekly meetings of the Arkansas Metaphysics Society (ARMS) one of our faithful participants suggested that very same exercise. He said that he has used it ever since it was suggested to him some months ago, and its use had anchored him in his divinity as he set about each day to engage the world. Just write out ‘Ñamaste’ on your mirror and acknowledge this in yourself as you look into your eyes every day, he told us with a knowing smile adorning his well-saged demeanor.

True, these are only two examples. However, it’s not the number of verifications that matter, it’s only the impact of acknowledging and exercising one’s own divinity that does. Even if it’s only a single instance, Life is made better for the entire planet.

Besides acknowledging my family and friends and all those who enrich Life on so many levels, not the least of which is the extraordinary contributions to the quality of this manuscript made by a cadre of faithful and talented readers and editors: Cynthia K. Janklow, Janice M. Kirk, Dr. Carolynn Reid-Wallace, and Marsha Havens, I want to acknowledge and honor—and heartily celebrate—your divinity. ÑAMASTE to One and all!

Jim Young

Introduction

In the first three books of this series called the MY SPIRITUAL AWARENESS SERIES, we have exposed the process of Creativity in a step-by-step fashion. We began simply, moved on to more complex and sophisticated ideas and concepts, and then landed on the root or First cause of Creation: God manifested uniquely through you and me and all like us.

Most particularly, in Book III, KEYS TO THE DOOR OF TRUTH, Metaphysical Musings of a Born-Yet-Again, we explored the Creative process that begins with First cause, or God, and continues with the guidance of the Holy Spirit married to our conviction, our faith, in the perfect manifestation or demonstration of that Truth. During this investigation, we found that the metaphorical and metaphysical meaning of people’s names and geographical locations speak to the deeper description of the various aspects or faculties of Mind. It is that to which our main character, Christo Sahbays, and his friends now speak even more particularly.

The purpose of this initial foray into the world of metaphysics is to expose the metaphysical meaning of Jesus and those with whom he surrounded himself, even those who merely showed up in his life. In this way, we will come to learn how we see Mind and—at least for most of us—egoism is supplanted with our divinity. The time has come to reverse that egoic outlook by putting our faith in conscious divinity expressed as Truth. Letting egoic doctrine simply fall by the wayside, we free ourselves to see that we can use the warning signals we attribute to the ego to work on our behalf, rather than against us.

Ego, as we all know, has as its tendency the need to run the show. The ego is evil only to the degree that we let it deliver us to its own purpose, rather than adhering to the larger purpose of unfolding the Spirit. The only evil, then, as always, is when we go to anything but our inner Authority for Truth. Error is

always of our own doing. However, when we educate ourselves to use the warnings we find in the illusory ego for larger purposes, our perceptions become a servant to Spirit and, over the longer haul, both Spirit and we will be happy partners in what we have come to know as Life. Here again, once our perception of Life expands to include all we really are, and from whence Truth comes, Life becomes all the richer. It will have as its foundation the Spiritual base made available from the infinite Universe of Truth and all its ways.

The course that lies ahead then, is to become familiar with the basis of Creation ItSelf, and then to move on to those entities which influence Life in ways that can only enrich, rather than deplete, Life. Life awaits us to express ItSelf. What a magnificent process this thing we call Creation is! And how enriching it is to the Soul to be such an integral part of and in it. Indeed, being a midwife for and of Loving Creation takes on an elevated meaning.

As in the other offerings in this series, certain words begin with an uppercase letter in order to emphasize their sacredness. You will also find words like intuition and insight featured as INtuition and INsight in order to indicate both their sacred nature and the location where they are found: Within. This is done largely to serve as a reminder of, and the reinforcement for, the sacred-ness of all of Life, and to emphasize the Spirituality of all. In many of the metaphysical teachings terms like Truth, Life, and Love are synonymous with God, the First Cause. Such is the case in this writing.

Should you wish to pursue your Spiritual development in the context of these topics, issues, and concerns, the SPIRIT NOODLES section found at the back of the book provides some starter questions for you to noodle about Spiritually.

Now, let’s let Christo and friends lead us on the way, so that our lives can begin to take on a very different image. Once we see the Truth about Creation, the more we will come to live it faithfully, most loyally. It’s time to worship Truth as the Way and the Life we want. The place is here, Within. The time is now, in this seat of infinity and immortality.

Jim Young

We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark;

the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.

Plato

CHAPTER 1

The Mind That Matters

Christo and Penelope have called together regional representatives who have expressed interest in fathoming the meaning found in the names of the Master Jesus’ disciples, beginning with those called the twelve Apostles. In the last session with Christo and friends we learned that the Apostles represent those aspects or faculties of Mind that speak to certain predispositions in our perceptions of Life. We could refer to them as archetypes. Indeed, each forms the experience we give to Life. Each of these aspects or faculties of Mind has a definite impact on how one sees Life, and thus colors one’s view of Life to the degree that it is taken as gospel Within. As we focus on the leading discussions on this important topic, we find Christo and Penelope, his most trusted collaborator in these programs, conversing lightly with those who have been chosen to assist in defining meaning for others to ponder Within themselves. The group consists of Raphael, Katherine, Consuela, Jophus and Sarah. All have distinguished themselves in previous regional sessions and have enthusiastically embraced this Spiritual approach to the Way, the Truth and Life.

Namaste and welcome home, begins Christo. It’s been several months since we met, and I hope Life has been good to and for you. It’s good to see your sparkling eyes once again, and to feel your Loving energy. What’s been happening with each of you since we last met?

Well, I’ve been sorting out things in the Gospels, other than the Gospel of John, responds Raphael. "It’s fascinating how different they read since I’ve more fully acknowledged the Truth as the Way for me. Other than that, I’ve been sharing some of what I continue to learn with others in our group and

preparing for this session with great anticipation. You know, one of the things I’d like to put out is that as I’m working on these things I have the distinct impression that I’m being healed on many levels, just out of the new understandings that I’m making mine. Do any of you feel the same way?"

I sure do, says Katherine. I can’t believe … well, yes I can … how much healing has come through me. It seems to be attached to the Truth as it comes forward as that. I have never felt Love to such depths. There have been times when I’ll be in the middle of some marvelous INsight and this warm fuzzy feeling just envelopes me, like God’s arms folding around me in the most comforting hug. Just as suddenly, some sense of sadness, sadness that is connected with a letting go—more like setting free, actually—fills me to the brim. I’ve learned to take it as rising to a new level of Being.

I like that way of saying it, Katherine, chimes in Consuela. I have had these very same feelings. Sometimes I feel almost overwhelmed by them. They have become real friends to me. I can feel someone Within being there for me, but in ways that reflect no judgment, only Loving support for the healing shifts that are regularly unfolding Within. I feel like I’m rising to new levels of Being, and it shows up in my dealings with my family and friends in some lovely ways.

Oh, yes, inserts Jophus. My family and friends all comment about it. I’ve never been any real problem for them, at least as far as I can recall. Even so, now my relationship with them has grown by leaps and bounds. There is absolutely no judgment to be found, only a continuing willingness to deal openly and honestly with difference. People cannot thank me enough for just listening to them, and occasionally leading them to a different perspective on a troubling outlook—but only when asked. It’s a wonderful way to live.

It is that, and more, for me, says Sarah. "All the same kinds of things are happening in my Life, too, and they have led me to now know the difference between simply coping with Life and really living

It’s like night and day, the difference is so great. I couldn’t be happier. I’m also finding that I don’t have to work at this Lifestyle. All I have to do is be me as I am coming to know the real me, and Life seems to be changing before my eyes. I’m becoming more astute at conscious living and tuning into my resonance for the Truth that leads me to higher planes of existence. If anyone had told me several months ago that this was possible, or even probable, I would have called her crazy. Now I see that I used to be the crazy one—at least in my own mind."

Isn’t this a wonderful testimony to the Truth, the Way and Life? suggests Penelope. Somehow I don’t see you giving yourselves to this in ways that eliminate all those people and things you enjoy, but rather you enjoy those and that all the more because of your current perception of Life. I must confess to the very same effect on my Life. Although I’ve always been happy with Life in general, looking back on it I’d have to say that I was largely ignorant to the real Way and the meaning of Life. I’ve come to feel the Loving energy you’re all talking about wherever I go, and with whomever I am with at the moment. I know that it isn’t others who have changed; it’s me. Focusing on Truth as the Way has indeed changed my Life for the better. How about you, Christo? What have you been up to?

"Well, you know from my notes and conversations with each of you that I took a vacation after our last major session. I was so gratified by what transpired with all of you and wanted to celebrate it without being influenced by the next natural steps in the process. I needed some time away from it all, so as to let the Spirit show its face, as It must. Did it ever! If I thought I was going to have a vacation in the usual sense of that word, I must have been insane. Well, in our way of thinking, that’s exactly what I was: IN-sane.

"By relieving some of the stress of coordinating the process of Creation in which we all collaborated, it set me free for the newest gifts of Life. I must confess that I was a bit tired by the end of the last program. Holding back from commenting was much harder for me than contributing from Life experience. And yet it taught me a great lesson on distribution of Power. I thought I had that one down pat, but was I sadly mistaken. Thank God I knew enough to listen Within for guidance all along the way, or it could have been a rather messy situation.

"Having learned this, however, I feel much better about what I am coming to understand lies before us, or at least, before me. Almost immediately I felt the Sermon on the Mount knocking at my door, and then the renewed dedication to several related projects. On top of all that, the work we are called to do together here began to take sharp focus and, well, here we are. I’m so glad to see you and to know that Life is also working so well for you.

I am curious about one thing, though, Christo says to the group. Each in your own way you have indicated that you are living from a different place these days. What does that mean for each of you? There is only a slight pause, as everyone is eager to respond.

Consuela takes the lead: "By the time we finished our last meeting I was feeling pretty comfortable with getting out of my own way and letting the

Spirit speak through me. I began hearing Truth wanting its way with and through me, so I let this be my Spiritual Awareness instead of intellectually reacting to what Life brought to me. Now, after weeks of practice, it’s almost second nature to me _ well, it’s just returning to my real nature, as we all know by now."

She said it precisely as It’s working through me, affirms Raphael. I always thought that Spiritual Awareness or consciousness required me to think Spiritually, but what I’ve come to is that Spiritual Awareness is actually acting Spiritually by getting out of the old way of egoic control of Life and letting the Spirit speak through me as Truth instead. This is the activation I must give wholly to Life, removing the barriers to Truth so it can have Its own way with me and thus flow through me.

I like that, Katherine says. "Until you put it that way, Raphael, I would have said that it was thinking Spiritually that