EXHILARATED THOUGHTS ENLIGHTEN THE MIND  

"You worship, you praise, and with your ever expanding love,
you pour out to all mankind that they may see the Christ,
the God-man standing forth triumphant." Exhilarated
thoughts bring forth the Christ.

PETE'S JOURNAL, JUNE 2002

  www.seekeronline.org

6-1-02
What are exhilarated thoughts? Exhilarate means to animate, delight, energize, enliven, excite, gladden, invigorate, lift, stimulate, thrill, vitalize. Really nice words. I personally think in this case exhilarate means a mixture of lift-energize-thrill. The meaning of thoughts and mind in this case mean the thoughts of the personal mind. The personal mind of an individual still separated from God or God's Divine Mind. The thoughts of the personality-ego which is the created being of our own personal illusion. The thoughts and mind that we use in our every day living.

So what we are trying to do, when we say, "exhilarate our thoughts?" What we want to do is to lift up the thoughts of our personal mind, spiritualize them, and energize them. This process causes energy to flow through our body. And this is what thrills our body. We exhilarate our thoughts which causes God energy to flow through our body and enlighten our mind.

What does enlightenment mean? Synonyms for enlightenment are: advise, apprise, civilize, counsel, educate, illuminate, indoctrinate, inform, instruct, teach and undeceive. All of these words except illuminate infer the communicating of information. To me illuminate means to light up.

So I think we can safely say that part of what enlightenment means is being educated, or receiving knowledge. It seems to me that being educated or gaining knowledge, however, does not imply any spiritual attainment. What a person needs to gain spiritual attainment from knowledge is understanding or spiritual light on the subject. We need to illuminate the mind to be spiritually enlightened. I have had no personal experience with illumination of a "light up" nature, so from here on, I will rely on written sources. If we are one with God, we are the same as God, we are God, and what we are trying to do is return to God consciousness... to unite our conscious (personal) mind with our Soul.

"Pure white light is God Life. Through man only do the pure rays of God Life emanate or manifest."

"This is not emotion nor infatuation; this is a clear, calm vision of man, standing forth from God, in full dominion and mastership. This is the mastership of all humanity; not anyone is excluded. Back of the form is pure crystal, dazzling white light emanations. It has come forth from pure white light, it is formed of pure white light; therefore, man is pure white light. This light is life."

"We lift these bodies up until their shining radiance becomes a blaze of pure, white light and together we have returned to the Father from whence all have come forth."

"When anything is made plain, we are enlightened regarding it. The light shines forth into our conscious concept. Soon the LIGHT of LIFE will shine forth to your watching eye, as it has to all the great ones. Many of these great ones are portrayed standing forth in a great blaze of light. Although you may not see it, [now] this light is real and is life, radiating from your body."

"God is that power which is generated and exhilarated by your own thought action."

"You will soon find that, by fixing your thoughts and attention steadfastly on God and His divine perfection, you can raise the vibrations of your body so that they will blend so harmoniously with those of the divine perfection, that you are absolutely one the the divine perfection and thus one with God."

From the above statements we can conclude that enlightenment is not only the gaining spiritual knowledge and understanding but the actual illumination or lighting up of the mind and body. The body-mind-Soul are One.

Exhilarated thoughts enlighten the mind and body.

Quotes from, The Life and Teaching of the Masters of the Far East

6-2-02
The problem: Separation from God.
The solution: Union with God.
The method: Unite the conscious mind with the Soul.
"Do this either by work, or worship, or physic control,
or philosophy, by one, or more, or all of these,----
and be free. This is the whole of religion. Doctrines,
or dogmas, or rituals, or books, or temples, or forms,
are but secondary details." Swami Vivekananda

No matter what system you use, spiritual illumination is granted by God's Grace alone.

"Follow the example of all the angels of the Heavenly Father and the Earthly Mother, who work day and night, without ceasing, upon the kingdoms of the heavens and the earth." Essene Gospel of Peace, Book I

6-5-02

Part I. Patanjali's Yoga Sutras

1-17. Concentration upon a single object may reach four stages: examination; discrimination; joyful peace; and simple awareness of individuality." [pure I-am-ness.]
From: How to Know God

"Samadhi is defined as an Expanded State of Consciousness that allows one to come face to face with Truths about the universe, God and man that can only be experienced when one's Consciousness temporarily transcends the limitation of the intellect, mind and senses."
From: Psychology of Mystical Awakening

There are four levels of samadhi defined in the commentaries of this sutra. If a seeker is interested in understanding these states of awareness, please refer to the primary sources. Swami Savitripriya's excellent book, Psychology of Mystical Awakening, is very readable and covers this subject thoroughly.

6-7-02
Raw fruit-veggie diet holding well, 7 days now. I want to mention that there is no "one" way, or one system in attaining union with God. There are as many ways to break through the illusion that we are separate from God as there are people struggling to do it. There are no rules... except God's rules. Seek out God's laws and apply them in your life. If someone says to you, "Oh, you can't do it that way," or "You have to have a Guru," or "This is the only way to enlightenment," ignore them and seek your own path. You are the Master of your life and of your spiritual path.

A true spiritual path proves itself. As you walk toward a light, the light becomes brighter. As you apply God's laws to your daily life you immediately begin to ascend. In my own experience, when I walked the path before, as I worked to purify my body and mind, change my thinking, and studied; I could feel the changes every few days. When you are on a true spiritual path, one that leads to union with your Soul (God), you feel it immediately, and things happen very rapidly. Stay on the path.

"These, then, are the rules of light: That which is self evident; That which is axiomatic; That which is substantiated by facts; That which hath a parallel in known things; Things that lead to peace, order, and the lifting of thy neighbor and thyself." From the Oahspe Bible

6-9-02

1-18. "There is another samadhi, which is attained by constant practice of the cessation of all mental activity, and in which the chitta [mind] retains only the unmanifested impressions."

"This is the perfect super conscious state which gives us freedom."

Before reaching this state... "A man may attain all the powers and yet fall again. There is no safeguard until the Soul goes beyond nature."

"Knowledge is power, and as soon as we begin to know a thing we get power over it, so also, when the mind begins to meditate on the different elements it gains power over them. This samadhi implies the questioning of the elements, as it were, that they may yield their powers to the man who meditates upon them." From: Raja Yoga

"There is no liberation [or enlightenment] in getting these powers" [Bold emphasis mine]

"The possession of what we call occult powers only intensifies worldliness, and, in the end intensifies suffering. Though as a scientist Patanjali is bound to point out the possibilities of his science, he never misses an opportunity to warn us against these powers." From: Raja Yoga

6-10-02
Went back to a mixed raw and cooked diet today.

Stimulation? Most people in this country are addicted to stimulation. When they are bored they seek out an exciting novel, a thriller movie, the loudest music, the spiciest food, the most uninhibited dance, the fastest and most dangerous car race, the most violent sports playoff, the least or loudest clothes, the meanest boxing match, the wildest party nightclub-bar-saloon. They want to do something exciting, have a good time, live a little.

For the seeker of truth a calm mind is necessary to live a spiritual life.

"Be still
And know
That I Am
God."

From: The Impersonal Life

6-12-02

1-19. "The samadhi just described passes not beyond the bounds of the phenomenal world; it passes not beyond the Gods and those concerned with the concrete world." From: The Light of the Soul, by Alice A. Bailey

"Occasionally... a rare Soul spontaneously enters into the fourth stage of Samadhi and knows, 'All of this is Me', without having needed to practice any spiritual disciplines in this life. His or her Consciousness simply, without effort, merges into oneness with the sum total of the basic matter of the universe, called Prakriti, at which time even the concept of being separate, embodied individual ceases to exist."
From: Psychology of Mystical Awakening

6-15-02

1-20. By others [who are not the rare Soul spoken of above; this samadhi] is attained through faith, energy, memory, concentration, and discrimination of the real.

1. Having faith that you can succeed.
2. Having the determination to succeed.
3. Remembering God's laws and practicing them.
4. Keeping the mind concentrated on the Goal.
5. Making the right (free-will) choices.

6-16-02

1-21. "Success in yoga comes quickly to those who are intensely energetic."

1-22. "Success varies according to the means adopted to obtain it--mild, medium or intense."
"Theoretically, there is no reason why we should not achieve the state of perfect yoga [union] within the space of a single second--since the Atman [Soul] is eternally within us and our ignorance of this fact could be instantaneously dispelled." From: How to Know God

6-18-02

1-23. Or enlightenment may be attained by total devotion to the living God within.
"...for in the end it is God's Grace alone which opens the door to eternity, not the practices." From: Psychology of Mystical Awareness

6-21-02

1-24. God is the Supreme Being untouched by the illusions created by the personal self of man.
God's reality is perfect. Worldly man's reality is illusion. Man's goal in life is to break through the illusion he has created and reunite himself with God's perfect reality.

6-23-02

1-25. God is all-knowing; in man it [all-knowing] is only a germ.
Most ordinary people's knowledge of spiritual truth is only a seed or potential. Once a person becomes interested in the truth that seed begins to grow and with the proper applications in one's life the growth of a little truth can become great wisdom.

1-26. God has taught man throughout the ages because He is not limited by time or space.

6-24-02

1-27. God's name and Being is expressed by the word OM.
OM is pronounced AUM... 'a' as in father, "aaaaaah" (the sound coming from the back of the mouth or throat, with the lips parted); 'u' as in human or the sound of 'o' in moon, "ooooooo" the sound resonating in the mouth by slightly closing the lips; 'm' as in hum, "mmmmmm" the sound made by closing the lips. Each sound should flow into the other; and each sound should last for three or four seconds.

'A' is the beginning or creation, 'U' is the preserver or sustainer, 'M' is the end or culmination. Birth-life-death. AUM is the most sacred word and all other sounds are contained in it.

"AUM is the Word of glory, and is the Christ in us, the hope of glory..the sound of conscious life itself as It is breathed forth into all forms."


"It is the sound which brings into manifestation the incarnated Soul, the Christ..."

"The Word when rightly apprehended causes...the Christ aspect of divinity to shine forth resplendently." From: The Light of the Soul, by Alice A. Bailey

6-25-02

1-28. Chanting the word OM [AUM] is a great aid in attaining enlightenment. Japa Yoga is the repetition of a mantram. "A holy name which will elevate your mind should be taken as a mantram. By repeating it constantly, a part of the mind gets linked to that. It is a golden cord between you and the Lord or the Cosmic Force."

"Japa...is a very powerful technique, and at the same time the easiest, simplest and the best. Almost every religion advocates the repetition of God's name because all the prophets, sages and saints experienced and understood its greatness, glory and power."

"We say it is the easiest because you need not go to a particular place or have a particular time for it. It is not somewhere outside you, but always within. Wherever you are, your mantram is with you. To worship a form you have to have a picture or an image and a place to keep it. But in mantra practice it is always in your heart, the most sacred place..."

"Do not bother about the meaning in the beginning. Let the repetition become a constant habit. When it becomes a firm habit, then you can think of the meaning without forgetting the repetition itself, because it has become a habit already." From: Integral Yoga


1-29. From this practice comes the removal of all obstacles and the realization of the Soul.

6-27-02

1-30. "Sickness, mental laziness, doubt, lack of enthusiasm, sloth, craving for sense-pleasure, false perception, despair caused by failure to concentrate and unsteadiness in concentration: these distractions are the obstacles to knowledge."

1-31. "These distractions are accompanied by grief, despondency, trembling of the body and irregular breathing."
"When an aspirant enters upon the spiritual life, he naturally does so with great enthusiasm. The first steps he takes are almost always accompanied by feelings of peace and delight. Everything seems easy, so inspiring. It is therefore very important that he should realize right from the start, that this mood will not continue, uninterrupted, throughout the rest of his course."

"Religion is not simply a state of euphoria. There will be relapses; phases of struggle, dryness, and doubt. But these ought not to distress him unduly. Conscious feelings, however exalted, are not the only indications of spiritual progress. We may be growing most strongly at a time when our minds seem dark and dull. So we should never listen to the prompting of sloth, which will try to persuade us that this dullness is a sign of failure."

"No temporary failure, however disgraceful or humiliating, should ever be used as an excuse for giving up the struggle. No failure is ever really a failure unless we stop trying altogether---indeed, it may be a blessing in disguise, a much needed lesson."
From: How to Know God

6-28-02

1-32. "The practice of concentration on a single subject (or the use of one technique) is the best way to prevent the obstacles and their accompaniments."

"The point here is that we should not keep changing our object of concentration. [Our techniques or path] When you decide on one thing, stick to it whatever happens. There is no value in digging shallow wells in a hundred places. Decide on one place [technique] and dig deep."
From: Integral Yoga

6-29-02

1-33. "Undisturbed calmness of mind is attained by cultivating friendliness toward the happy, compassion for the unhappy, delight in the virtuous, and indifference toward the wicked."
From: How to Know God

By cultivating and nurturing these attitudes they will soon replace the the unpleasant thoughts and emotions that disturbs the mind.

6-30-02

1-34. The mind may also be calmed by the controlled intake and retention of the breath. "Patanjali does not give many particulars directions about pranayama [controlled breathing]..."*

"He means that you simply expel air, and draw it in, and hold it for some time--that is all; and by that the mind will become a little calmer."*

"Mental disturbance and despondency are accompanied by irregular breathing: rapid, shallow and uncontrolled."**

*From: Raja Yoga; and**From: How to know God

Most of us has heard someone say to a person that is angry or upset to, "just take a deep breath." This helps to get their body and mind back under control. For all practical purposes the mind can be calmed by slow, deep, regular breathing.

It is important to be calm and at peace. Little can be accomplished spiritually without peace of mind. It is easy for someone to say, "no matter what happens, remain calm and peaceful." I hope and expect to reach a place in my life where I can remain calm under any circumstance, but for now I am not there. So I avoid people, places and things that upset me.

I avoid food and drinks that upset my system because its hard to be at peace with a stomach ache. I say, "Hi," and pass on by people that have a tendency toward confrontation. I avoid places, particularly where there are a lot of people drinking or highly charged emotionally protest meetings, where disturbing scenes or violence may occur. This is not difficult because I am not interested in these things anyway.

I am careful about what I read or watch on TV. I don't listen to the radio or go to rock concerts, rodeos, or sports events. I avoid crowds or any situation that will upset my mind. I try to keep my mind calm and peaceful, like a lake on a clear sunny day without a breeze.

To live a spiritual life the mind must be at peace. So, be at peace, and stay at peace, by not allowing anything that is not peaceful to enter your inner kingdom.

"You are the unchangeable Awareness in which all activity takes place. Always rest in peace. You are eternal Being, unbounded and undivided. Just keep Quiet. All is well. Keep Quiet Here and Now. You are Happiness, you are Peace, you are Freedom. Do not entertain any notions that you are in trouble. Be kind to yourself. Open to your Heart and simply Be."

Swami H.W.L. Poonja

Your affirmations, prayers, praise and exhilarated thoughts will bring forth the enlightenment of the Soul.

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