The Door of Everything

I have just finished reading The Door of Everything by Ruby Nelson and I am in absolute awe over the beautiful way this little book presents spiritual truth and wisdom. When I say "little" I mean it - the book is 4"x6" and 180 pages. It's size and simple message are part of its charm. I have been feeling confused and overwhelmed by the enormous number of instructions, meditations, transmissions, and rituals being offered by numerous people of good intentions, showing us the way to prepare ourselves for ascension. Still stuck in my 3-D existence, I have only so much time and energy for these endeavors, and they are all so appealing, How do I choose?

Ruby's method is simple and straight-forward: "Love, praise, and gratitude, arising from your heart center in silent expectancy, are the three Ascension Attitudes, those focused attitudes of mind that exalt your feelings toward the Christhood level." (p. 109) These three attitudes are the keys to the Door of Everything, also known as the Kingdom of Heaven.

What's interesting about Ruby's book is that it is copyrighted 1963. This was long before the dawning of the "New Age" and its many references to ascension, the Law of Attraction, Oneness, and the vibratory nature of all things; and yet all of these concepts and other "new" ideas are presented here with easily understood illustrations. Also remarkable is the fact that I have searched for Ruby Nelson online and I cannot find her. She does not have a website or a bio or a Facebook page. Her book can be read free-of-charge online: The Door of Everything. She is not trying to promote herself in any way.

The book was written as if the words came directly from the Creator, and I am quite convinced that they flowed from Ruby's higher self onto the page. The only concept that seems more 1963 than divine in origin is her reference to the "Father Consciousness" in everyone, but she also speaks of our Mother-Father God. Whether we refer to our higher consciousness as Father, Mother, Christ consciousness, or something else, this is the spirit of everything - the Love and Light that are all that really is - that stand knocking on the other side of the door that only we can open. We open this door with love, gratitude, and praise. And with faith.

Ruby's Christ consciousness tells us that we will have trouble passing through the door to the kingdom of heaven if we cannot break our habit of judging by appearances. It appears that sickness, poverty, and death are real components of life on earth. We see them, we believe in them, and so they are. Jesus said: "Be ye perfect, even as your Father in Heaven is perfect." But we don't believe it's possible to be perfect. Jesus wasn't serious, was he? And when he said "You will do greater things than I have done," he couldn't have really meant it! And yet Jesus frequently pointed out the power of faith: "Your faith has made you whole . . . . If you have the faith of a mustard seed you will be able to move mountains."

I do believe that my true nature is divine, whole, and eternal. I know that disease and old age are not part of the divine plan for humanity. And yet, every morning I wake up feeling stiff with arthritic pain - sometimes with tendonitis in a foot or an arm. As Ruby says, belief is a necessary step toward faith, but faith is stronger. When I have the same faith in my divine being as I have that the sun will come up tomorrow morning, then I will wake up whole and perfect.

RE: faith, Ruby's Christ consciousness says: "Signs of my inner heavenly kingdom do not precede your comprehension of truth, they follow it. Signs do not precede your faith, they also follow that." (p. 134)

How difficult it is to have faith in something BEFORE we see or experience it. This is why so few people have passed through the door to the kingdom of everything. Most Christians think they need only believe that Jesus performed miracles and returned from the dead. They do not believe that he was demonstrating how we can accomplish the same and even greater things. Believing that nothing is impossible is the first step toward faith.

Ruby's Christ consciousness tells us that faith will come when we spend time in the stillness where we can hear the small, quiet voice of God. She says you cannot "reach a state of total stillness where mighty faith takes over if others all around you are promoting their false gods of imperfection. Evict these noises from the privacy of your closet and listen only to the words of those who have discovered the one God of perfect Being." (p. 151) I find that others around me are CONSTANTLY promoting the negative side of life they see as real. I have yet to spend enough time in the silence, promoting the perfection of God's world, so that faith will take over.

Ruby points out that we see proof of faith's power whenever we believe we're getting sick and old, and we do; whenever we believe we won't have enough of what we need for an abundant life, and we are lacking. It is up to us to change our faith in the imperfect life to a faith in the perfect life that God wants us to have.

I can think of a few times when my faith in the unseen manifested something good. Twenty-seven years ago, when my husband and I had been trying unsuccessfully for a baby for four years, we applied for adoption, and were promised a healthy infant within a year. This promise gave me so much faith in the wonderful gift to come that I became pregnant and gave birth to a healthy baby girl nine months later. Five years ago I was struggling with the dilemma of finding fulfilling work. One day I wrote in my journal, "This is the day that I will discover the work I can do that will use my gifts and talents." I must have made this declaration with more faith than usual, because it was indeed the day that I learned about the Celebrant Foundation & Institute where I would study and become certified as a life-cycle and wedding celebrant.

You may have had some similar experiences that demonstrate how faith can make things happen. Ruby says: "Faith is your magnetic force and prayer illuminates the way." (p. 176) I am praying that my faith will grow strong enough that I will be able to open the Door to Everything and walk into that wonderful state of being where I will be one with everything - which, as Ruby says is not many things, but One. "Everything is Love" and "Love contains Everything." Our true, eternal life begins on the other side of the door. And "Life is Light and Light is Love." (p. 180) I believe this with all my heart and soul. All I need now is FAITH!


For more on this topic see: Advent: Waiting for the Door to Open

       

Love: the Bridge to Happiness

How many of you knew that February 11th was World Happiness Day? On this day, Happy: The Movie was shown in countries all over the world. My husband and I watched a presentation of the movie by the psychology club at SUNY Oneonta. The movie combines cutting-edge science from the new field of “positive psychology” with real-life stories of people from around the world whose lives illustrate what constitutes a happy, fulfilling life. 


The film's researchers discovered (surprise, surprise!) that wealth is not one of the factors that make people happy. Five of the factors that contribute most to happiness are:

1. A sense of friendship and community
2. Caring for and helping others
3. A personal involvement with nature
4. A balanced life, with plenty of leisure time
5. Engaging in enjoyable activities
6. Spiritual (not necessarily religious) faith

I conclude from these findings that a happy life is a life full of love: love shared with family and friends, love for neighbors, love for nature, love for the divine, and engagement in activities that we love. I see a strong connection between the findings of this movie and the lines from the Lord's Prayer that I discussed in my last article, because surely the Kingdom of Heaven is a state of being where everyone is happy!

In Sunday's class, I shared what I had learned from "Happy: The Movie." Some of the places where happy people are interviewed, including communities in Denmark, New Orleans, Okinawa, and a slum in India, could be thought of as little kingdoms of heaven. I was especially intrigued by the country of Bhutan, which I learned is the only country in the world where Gross National Happiness is considered by the king to be more important than the Gross National Product. Some of the policies that have been put into place to maintain the happiness of Bhutan's citizens are: advertising bans, Buddhist prayer flags fluttering in the wind everywhere, strict conservation laws aimed at achieving sustainable development, and bans on plastic bags and tobacco. Now some may say that this is an encroachment on people's freedom, but really, does smoking make anyone happy, or is tobacco, like alcohol and other drugs, just something that helps you forget that you aren't truly happy, makes you sick, and creates an extra roadblock to real happiness? Loving and caring for oneself is one of the links on the bridge to happiness!

This morning when my husband came back from the gym he was upset because he'd been listening to the radio in the car and heard about the practice of Pakistani men throwing acid in the face of a woman who turns down his proposal of marriage. Obviously, a man who would commit such an act is not the kind of man any woman would choose to marry. Such a man is totally divorced from the love in his heart. He doesn't realize the connection between all people and how he hurts himself when he hurts another human being. He must not feel very good about himself and cannot possibly be happy. 

One of the stories in the Happy movie is about a once-beautiful woman whose face was destroyed in a horrible accident. Afterward her husband divorced her, but she found happiness by loving and caring for others, and eventually she met a man who loved her for her inner beauty and became her new husband. I'm sure the man who married the woman with a disfigured face is happier than the man who divorced her, or any of the acid throwers in Pakistan who don't know what love is. 

Jesus said: "My kingdom is not of this world . . . my kingdom is from another place" (John 18:36). The place where the happy woman and her husband live is a different place from where the cruel Pakistani men live. It's the place that exists on the other side of the bridge of love. Anyone can go there. It's our choice.

Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done

            Tomorrow I will lead my adult church class which is studying the Lord’s Prayer. I volunteered to lead the discussion of “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done,” because it is my favorite section of this well-known prayer. The curriculum writer for this study calls this line a lament, because it points out the fact that there is something seriously wrong with the world we live in. I have to disagree, because to lament means to express sorrow, mourning, or regret. I believe these lines express the hope and faith that God’s kingdom IS coming, and, as Jesus said, it is even already here among those who do God’s will.

Luke 17:20-21 says: Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you.” 

If the kingdom is already here, there is no reason to lament. We find the kingdom within ourselves when we choose divine will over the will of our egos. To live according to divine will is to live from the heart. As stated in Micah 6:8 “And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” When we affirm this with faith it is true. When enough people find the kingdom of heaven within themselves the kingdom will come to all the world.

            Jesus said “ . . . strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matt. 6:33). When we do God’s will, that is, do all things with love, our material needs will be met. And if we are truly loving and compassionate, we will not have a great many material desires. The ego desires things that are not in keeping with divine will.  For instance, the ego likes to argue, to be right, and to put others down. The ego wants things that don’t necessarily make one happy, but that give one prestige, status, and power. None of this belongs in the kingdom of heaven, which is a peaceful place.

            The prophet, Isaiah, promises the triumph of God’s kingdom on earth : “He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore” (Isa. 2:4). This is what the kingdom of heaven is like, so those who love war, or want to be more powerful than others, or amass wealth at the expense of peace, cannot enter this kingdom.

Jesus told the Parable of the Ten Virgins to illustrate the importance of being prepared for the kingdom to come:

 ¹ “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. ² Five of them were foolish and five were wise. ³ The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. ⁴ The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. ⁵ The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

   ⁶ “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’

   ⁷ “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. ⁸ The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’

   ⁹ “‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’

   ¹⁰ “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.

   ¹¹ “Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’

   ¹² “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’

   ¹³ “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.

What does it mean to keep watch – to stay awake? Jesus also told us to be in the world but not of it – which is to be spiritually awake. When we are spiritually unconscious we go through life not thinking about our actions and whether we are choosing divine will or that of our egos. So many of us go through life like robots --  going to work, coming home to eat and watch television, not thinking about how our actions affect others. If we wish to enter the kingdom of heaven, we must think about our choices and how they affect our own souls as well as the soul of the world.    

Jesus also said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt. 18:3) One who is humble is not egotistic! Children are also innocent, nonjudgmental, and imaginative. Before we shower children with material things and expose them to commercials, they are content with the simple pleasures of life. Children tend to be idealistic. It is so easy for a child to have faith in the goodness of humanity and nature. If everyone could maintain the faith of childhood, we would all live in the kingdom of heaven!  

In Revelation 21, we read:

 ¹ Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,”^[a] for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. ² I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴ ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’^[b] or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

 ⁵ He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

 ⁶ He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. ⁷ Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.

            I hope the new earth is not lacking for seas, because I love beaches and the ocean, but the rest of this prophecy is beautiful. Many of today’s Christians no longer believe this prophecy will come true. They think it would have happened by now if it was going to happen, and they are tired of waiting for something that was supposed to take place soon after Jesus’ ascension. But Jesus said the kingdom would come at the end of the age. He also said: “I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:20). Traditional Christians do not seem to know what Jesus meant when he spoke of an age. Astrologers present an age as a 2,000 year span. It has now been 2,000 years since Jesus made his promise. It is the close of the age and the close of a 26,000 year cycle – the period of time that it takes our sun to revolve half-way around the Great Central Sun. It is the end of the age of darkness: the dawn of the Golden Age of Light. You can read more about the 26,000 year cycle in these articles:

http://hiddenlighthouse.wordpress.com/2012/02/17/zero-point-the-central-sun-2/

http://www.universallifetools.com/waveoflove/about_2012.html

I will close the class time with a meditation, using these lines as a mantra. You might like to try it:

Breathe in:  Thy kingdom come. (Think about the kingdom within you.)

Breathe out: Thy will be done.  (Think about manifesting the kingdom out in the world.)

Peace and Blessings,

Emily