Increase The Light Blog

Everything listed under: spiritualpath

  • Belief

    I might go so far as to say I am not Christian, but an individualized product of Christianity. I believe there have been many Christ figures.  Most Christians would not believe that. I also believe in reincarnation.   

        I honestly don’t have an inside track on answers. I go with my inner knowing and listening I would never force my beliefs on another. What you believe is private. Everyone is at a different place on their spiritual path. What I tell one person may not be what that person can believe or understand.  But the next person might understand completely.

         When I do a workshop I always tell people, "If you learn one thing, over this weekend, that stays with you for the rest of your life, then this workshop will have been worth it for you." I also tell them, "If what I say does not fit for you at this time in your life, please feel comfortable to leave."  I have actually done that myself on occasion.

         I often think we do not use all of our brain because we could not fathom the whole. We have enough trouble remembering as it is.  

         In the meantime, to all of you, thank you for your companionship thru the journey. And remember the more you know, the more you are responsible for.  —Mary Ann Johnston

    Tue, November 3, 2009 (No comments)

  • Spiritual Growth

    Jesus has been my companion since I was a small child. Our relationship was personal, just between Him and me, for over sixty years. Now, there is an urgency to share His words with all of mankind. Jesus encourages me, empowering my ability to write and share our ongoing dialogue. I can honestly say that I could not have written my books, Messages from Jesus, or Sustained by Faith, without His help. Some of the subjects are over my head. Many pertain to the times we are living in, and others are timeless. There is so much more written in the books, than what you read in our blog.

    My husband, George, is my editor, and my use of the English language is slowly getting better, but I don't always use the tenses correctly and can't seem to find the right place for commas. However, Jesus' grammar is perfect and George never has had to edit them.

    If you were to study about spiritual progression, or spiritual paths, you would attend lectures and classes, or read articles and books based on the experiences of others. We try to find guidance to God through  history's eye, through what has happened in the past for others. Jesus said, in Messages from Jesus (p.27), "...you will not find God in books. Books can only help steer one toward divine inner creativity and self-realization. Books of truth are stepping-stones on the soul's journey."

    Sometimes, in our attempt to imitate what we learn from others, we get caught up in repetition, routine, techniques and rituals that leave us ignorant of who we truly are. We try to be someone we aren't. We look outward instead of concentrating inward for discovery of revelations of our own. Shakespeare wrote, "Unto thine own self be true."

    In Messages (p.50) Jesus said, "There are no hard and fast guides on how to access inner peace, only generalities. No one can set specific guides to meet all people's needs. Not everyone is ready; each person is at a different place within their spiritual growth. You must first make up your mind to become the change you want for yourself, and then take charge of your life." ...

    —Mary Ann Johnston©
    Mon, August 24, 2009 (No comments)

  • Chakra Study

    During this next week I will be posting articles on the seven major chakra attributes, healthy functions, and dysfunctions. These articles are not complete in their presentation of the chakra system; they are simply a tool to help us understand the progressions in our lives, and that our individual paths all lead toward the same goal.

    I believe, because I have seen, that there are as many chakras in the body as their are joints in the anatomy. There are also chakras off the ends of the fingers, toes, nose, and ears, etc. However, there are seven main chakras, starting from the base of the spine to the top of the head. 

    The seven chakras I will be addressing are inter-connected and function together as the major energy distribution centers for our physical, mental and spiritual being.

    In making choices and learning lessons along life’s way, we move upward from our lower chakratic life styles and forward on our spiritual path, sometimes regressing before moving forward again. But, once we pass beyond materialistic and selfish pursuits, and experience life through the higher chakras, becoming ever more loving, we realize the spiritual side of us, which has always been there waiting to be discovered.

    In advanced stages of spiritual progression, or awakening, we realize the Divine in the perfection and oneness of all there is and discover the true meaning of life.    

    With Love,  Mary Ann

    Jesus said …
            “One path is not better than another, as they are all one. All lead to God. Everyone imagines they are on a different path but, ultimately, they all have the same destination: God-realization, heaven. Just as there are many roads to any one city, there are many ways to get to God, none better than another. Some paths are higher, but that doesn’t make it better.”
            I asked, “What makes one path higher than another?”
            Jesus said, “Higher means only that a person is nearer to God-realization than another. Still there is no comparison. The closer one gets to God-realization, the more intense the desire to experience divine bliss. And in this desire they live more fully in God. This does not mean it is better than another path, just closer to fulfilling where all paths lead. All paths eventually lead to God.”         
    - Messages from Jesus, p.43


    Sat, May 30, 2009 (No comments)

  • FINDING OUR WAY HOME

    Many spiritual paths are being made available to humanity at this time in history, most of them based on ancient teachings from the East. But A Course in Miracles presents both ancient and new teachings and does so in a unique and powerful way. In the Course, we start with the teaching that only God and the eternal Self are real and that the ego and the world are illusory and unreal. The Course helps us to assimilate this concept and thus shed false concepts, such as fear and guilt, which keep us trapped in pain and suffering. The Course helps us to find God—to have actual experience of That which alone is truly real.

    A basic premise of the Course is that the ego is the culprit from which all of our limiting illusions arise. The Course helps us to forgive the world and dissolve the illusions. It does this in two ways: through beautifully expressed declarations of ultimate truth, which closely examine the ego and its illusions, revealing their falsity, and by giving us mental exercises and affirmations of truth to practice.

    The Course, however, is not for everyone, because it is difficult to understand and is easily misinterpreted. Most paths take a very different approach to God-realization, yet are also valuable in "overcoming the world" in order to find heaven within. Many of them, like the teachings in Messages from Jesus, show us how to find God in our daily lives by living in love. Instead of denying the existence of the world, they help us reach heaven by seeing the good in the world. (Actually, even though the Course denies the reality of the world, it also includes practices for seeing good in the world.)

    Although they may appear to contradict each other, both approaches work. Just as denying the reality of the world, especially the illusions of fear and guilt, can help one to transcend ego-consciousness and attain awareness of God, living in love and seeing the good in the world lead to the same goal. Through love, we are able to see and appreciate the good in the world, and then we begin to see God. For God is in the world: as the divine love and light that create and sustain everything, as the life, beauty, and intelligence in nature, and as the divine oneness of all things. Further, God intervenes in our lives, guides us through the "voice" of Spirit, and is the peace, love and bliss in every soul.

                                                                                                                                                —George Johnston
    GUILT      

    Some say....
    there is no guilt...
    there never was.
    There is only innocence
    interwoven in our own perceived
    personal realities.

    To change the wrong,
    the concepts of sin,
    is to grow in the light
    of the One.
    To understand the One
    is to let go of the ego
    and to meld
    with all the universes
    and into each other.

    I say, “Welcome. ...
    This Freedom
    to do no wrong,
    frees my soul to be in the world
    above no one and below no one.

    It urges me to do only good.
    It Creates in me a resurrection
    to the surface
    whereupon I can blossom
    like the lotus into my truth.
                               —Mary Ann Johnston
    Tue, February 24, 2009 (No comments)

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