Finding the Perfection Within

When we walk into a Spiritualist Church for the first time, it is difficult to know what to expect. We are doubtful but curious and hopefully entering with an open mind.

If we stay, we gradually become aware that there is something more than our physical existence. Mediums have knowledge that could not be gained by normal means. We find that mediums have a strong vocation and that most church mediums are unpaid or claim minimal expenses. They serve at churches out of love and a commitment to service. Many mediums are quiet and shy individuals, who have found themselves reluctantly on the platform.

As we learn about the Seven Principles, we become aware that everything is made of energy. We are made of that energy as much as everything else is made of energy: animals, insects, plants and trees, the soil and rocks, the air we breathe, our solar system and everything within our universe. All is energy. We begin to understand that energy is what we call God or Spirit. It is Spirit in motion. It can neither be created nor destroyed. It is as it is.

As we are made of energy, and all energy is God: we are God in a microcosm. As God is perfect, so we are perfect. There is no distinction, no separation.

So why do we see so much imperfection in our world? When we chose our physical lives, we accepted that our awareness of who we are, a microcosm of God, would be taken away from us. If we had retained our true awareness, we could not have fully experienced our physical lives, with all its range of emotions. We would not be able to experience love and joy without experiencing the opposites of fear and loathing. Ignorance was gift that we will only understand when we complete our physical journey.

We can see imperfection as we lack the awareness that we are perfection. We have free will and therefore we can act and experience anything we choose. We can make bad choices. We can hurt others and we can hurt ourselves. That is the nature of freedom. We also chose before starting this physical journey to experience different aspects of life. We may have chosen hardships in order to learn about love, compassion, tolerance and patience. Few of us have knowledge of the lessons we came to learn. Often we learn those lessons the hard way.

Spiritualism provides an understanding of what is happening in our lives and that can help us to deal with the challenges we face. None of us are here by chance. Although we have free will, there is guidance available if we ask for it. Guidance can come through the philosophy of Spiritualism, from messages from mediums or direct guidance appearing as intuition and signs in our day to day lives.

With the awareness through Spiritualism that we are indeed perfection, we can start to seek it in our lives. It can be a bad habit to focus on our own and the imperfections of others. It is very easy to pick faults, to spot errors, to emphasize failures. Our challenge is to seek our beauty and perfection, to find love and compassion within for both ourselves and others.

No-one needs to change, to iron out imperfections, to become better, to know more, to be more than they are. Each of us is perfection now. We just need to recognise it and live it out. Your hearts are beautiful. You have love and compassion in your hearts. Find it and use it and never let it go.

You have free will. Choose to see the beauty in others. Choose to see their qualities. Choose to see the beauty of the world around. Be a part of that beauty. The more you seek out beauty and harmony in your world, the more beautiful it will become.

If you see and give love and compassion, it will come back to you. It may not return in ways you will expect. You cannot transform others, but you can transform yourself. As you become a role model for love and compassion, that will have a ripple effect on those around you.

As you take each step in your life, know that you are a perfect soul, a microcosm of God. Your heart contains love and beauty. The more you bring out those qualities within yourself, the closer you will become to knowing your true self.

Bringing Spiritualism into your life is the first step.

Fear of Death

The idea of there being no death and life being eternal seems attractive to many people. But me, not so much.

I understand that it takes away the fear of death, but I am not sure I am really afraid of death. I fear the process of dying, but death seems OK to me.

Life sometimes feels like banging my head against a brick wall and the idea that we would choose to do this willingly and that we might choose suffering is hard to get my head around.

Life on Earth can be great; particularly experiencing sensory pleasures can be wonderful. We cannot live life watching the waves crash on a beach or the sun setting. It’s not all about eating chocolate and smelling the roses. Reality has a nasty habit of kicking us up the backside.

Why would we want to repeat this experience? Why would we choose it?

I guess if I did live for eternity I could get a bit bored with floating around on clouds. I might fancy experiencing the hustle and bustle of Earthly life. A bit of pleasure and maybe a little pain might make things interesting. I might feel that I would rather be part of the action that just a formless spectator.

It is hard to fathom. All of it: the idea of the after life, the idea of reincarnation.

A long time ago I had a dream in which I was shot in the head by a sniper from a roof. A bizarre dream amongst years of bizarre dreams. This one has stuck in my head, maybe a bit like a dreamy bullet. The strange thing was that on being shot, I didn’t feel pain or shock or sadness. I felt relief: pure blessed relief that all my worries could drop away, no more responsibilites,nothing more to do. I thought “Is that it?” All of the difficulties I had faced and expected to face dropped away. I felt my mind and body relax and let go. It was a wonderful feeling.

There was no bright light to meet me or tunnel leading to long lost relatives. There was just deep enveloping darkness like sinking into a velvet bed in an unlit room with no chink of light peeping through the curtains. Strange as it may sound, it was bliss.

I am not advocating seeking this bliss any earlier than is naturally meant to be. After all, I had that dream over twenty years ago. It did change me. I have no fear of death now. I guess if there is an after life then that would be a bonus. But the richness of nothingness, pure oblivion, and freedom awaiting me, when the time is right, is a wonderful comfort.

It all fascinates me: life, the universe and everything. I want to know all the answers. One day I will pass over to the other side. I will either be in a blissful sleep or find myself wondering whether to do all this again. I hope I’m not wearing ethereal rose-tinted glasses.