From The Archives: Because It Is ... Pardner.
Friend and reader, Dani - commented on the post "Whence Wetness?":
"This is a wonderful essay to help me sit in my I am ness. I love the thought that our imagination contributes to combining what seemingly ordinary elements into inconceivable phenomenon.
" 'Slow down, pardner' and the reminder that it takes time....."
Thank you, Dani, for the reminder of the reminder that it takes time. About time, The Risen offers the following:
In spite of this simplistic speech about past, present, and future, time is more than just a concept—it appears to be a fact for those of us living on the earth. If we want to live as a human being on this planet we have to be able to experience the appearances of time, as informed by our physical and spiritual senses. The physical senses tell us about the present as it emerges from our experience of physical being, while the spiritual senses infiltrate, enrich, and extend this sense of being even further beyond the body. Our physical senses can tell us nothing about the past or future, so what we might believe to be sensations of the past or the future are really thoughts informed by memory—and memory is only of the past.
Our spiritual senses operate on non-visible, non-tangible levels, in non-physical circumstances. Because the appearances of time have different qualities on non-physical levels, we have senses that can experience non-physical time, which is also spiritual time. These “extra” senses are similar enough to those of the Risen that we can sometimes share sensations and experiences with them.
Those who have left the earth via the transitional process and are now Risen also experience time as informed by their senses. Like us, they are in the present but are also exquisitely aware that they are in an eternal state of being, an existence outside of the appearance and effects of our earthly time—or timelessness. Time exists in a certain way for those on the Earth and in a different way for the Risen, who can experience time as ever present and everlasting.
It is possible for a Risen sense of time to be experienced by those who are still on the earth. We ourselves can assist this process by finding our own sense of calm presence and then directing this heightened, expanded, and receptive sense toward the Risen. Like a child waiting for fireflies to appear in the twilight, the naturally heightened state of a Risen mind can perceive our mind reaching out—and then move forward and reach out to touch us, while stepping into our space of expanded receptivity. Depending upon our openness and persistence, we may be able to feel their thoughts and their presence. We might even connect and touch, remaining together for a few brief but unforgettable timeless moments.
Feelings of suffering and grief begin with and are fed by thoughts, which are a function and result of something this book will refer to as the ego-mind. The thoughts may be so deep, so subtle, or even wordless that they are hidden from our conscious awareness. The combined presences of the earth-embodied and the Risen can become timeless, and thus powerful enough to dissolve thoughts and thereby release feelings of suffering, which is healing. There is much assistance awaiting us from the Risen, who have ways to help us find this place of timeless power. They can show us that consciously becoming aware of our sense of internal presence is a way out of suffering, and they can help us stop expending energy trying to flee to the past or to the future. With Risen assistance we can become enabled to discover firsthand that the idea of being alone with nobody to help us is but a slight misunderstanding.
As we continue to progress together with our Risen loved ones, it becomes possible to discover that both worlds, and indeed, many worlds, interact together with the greatest of ongoing intimacies. These interactions have been happening all along, ever since the day we entered this particular material realm, and will continue to do so when we finally leave and move beyond it. This all may sound paradoxical, mysterious, and even mystical—because it is.