Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah.

— Psalm 4:4

King James Version of the Bible

“Reaching For The Light”

Purity of 

Thought … p 33

Nothing in life should keep us from affirming our divine inner self; all else is secondary. Bringing our soul to light through purity of thought permits us to commune with God; thus to manifest His Goodness and His Love.

— Garry D. Kilbourn

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

— St. Matthew 11:28-30 

King James Version of the Bible 

“Reaching For The Light”

Come Unto Me … p 33

As we turn our heavy-ladened thoughts to God humbly asking His help, a lightness of Being bestirs our very soul, making ever more real His call,

“Come unto me … for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Thus are we awakened in His divine Light, forever enfolded in His Goodness and His Love.

— Garry D. Kilbourn

"Here is a simple, rule-of-thumb guide for behaviour: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you, then grab the initiative and do it for them. Add up God’s Law and Prophets and this is what you get.

— Matthew 7:12

The Message (MSG)

“Reflections From Infinite Mind”

Love: The Healing Elixir

Any thinking person will know to question man’s age-old propensity to judge and to inflict harm on others, all the while knowing that basic common sense tells us to do to others as we would have them do to us. Ethical and moral principles are human guideposts which enable us to live in peaceful harmony with our fellow beings. However, we need but look to mankind’s history to know that we, collectively, will not achieve this Elysian state of perfect happiness so long as we fail to acknowledge our human dualism, i.e., that of our mortal body, limited by the five senses and that which gives meaning to life and is at once life itself, our immortal soul.

It need hardly be said that such acknowledgment can only be done one person at a time; each one of us looking within, conscious of our inborn goodness and that of all others which, by its very nature, engenders love for all. Loving ourself and all others, mindful that we are all of the one Divine Mind, this, and naught else, will bring us together in peace.

— Garry D. Kilbourn

Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

— 2 Corinthians 10:5 

King James Version of the Bible  

“Reflections From Infinite Mind”

The Gift of Life … p 54

It is as though, seated on a swing of life’s uncertainty, thoughts — oh blessed thoughts — carry us into the airy light of the midday sun, then, with foreboding certainty, new thoughts thrust us back into the dark recesses of the mind. Such are the workings of the mind when left unattended.

Having been given the gift of life, it is ours alone to do with as we will. We need but reflect on our own condition to know that harmony of mind, body and soul is not to be found by looking outside of ourself. Busying ourself with ephemeral worldly matters — those that veil truth — is but the pursuit of a fool’s paradise. Divine grace can only be found by directing our thoughts inward, mindful of God’s presence and forever giving thanks for His abiding goodness and love.

We choose whether our thoughts and our conduct carry us into the light of God’s Divine Mind, or whether they take us into the despair of unending darkness. We know untold happiness and joy in the presence of God, and we are made whole.

— Garry D. Kilbourn

What a Day that will be! No more cold nights — in fact, no more nights! The Day is coming — the timing is GOD’s — when it will be continuous day. Every evening will be a fresh morning.

— Zechariah 14:6-7

The Message

"Reaching For The Light”

God’s Time … p 32

Emboldened by thoughts of selfless love, we dare to ask ourself: “Why is it that we habitually impose on ourself societal customs relating to time?” Not the ordinary day-to-day time constraints common to all, but time in a much broader sense; the limitless time of the universe.

Our concern in this respect, quite rightly, should be for our Higher Self — the immortal soul. Here, as ever, mind is the determining factor, harbouring thoughts that both limit our humanity and those that uplift, freeing us to be all that God intends for us.

Going within, we give thanks to God for spiritual enlightenment, consciously rejecting man’s construct of time, and instead paying homage to GOD’S Time for all of nature — a spiritual never-never land. Such incorporeal thought lightens the burdens of the soul, puts a smile on our face and adds greatly to our overall well-being.

— Garry D. Kilbourn

My dear children, let’s not just talk about love; let’s practice real love. This is the only way we’ll know we’re living truly, living in God’s reality. It’s also the way to shut down debilitating self-criticism, even when there is something to it. For God is greater than our worried hearts and knows more about us than we do ourselves. And friends, once that’s taken care of and we’re no longer accusing or condemning ourselves, we’re bold and free before God! We’re able to stretch our hands out and receive what we asked for because we’re doing what he said, doing what pleases him. Again, this is God’s command: to believe in his personally named Son, Jesus Christ. He told us to love each other, in line with the original command. As we keep his commands, we live deeply and surely in him, and he lives in us. And this is how we experience his deep and abiding presence in us: by the Spirit he gave us.

— I John 3:18-24

The Message

“Reaching For The Light”

God’s 

Abiding Love … p 31

Our Humanity is forged in the fellowship of others and in the crucible of God’s abiding Love.

Whereas human relationships rightly reflect our own character, our relationship with God is one of intimacy, fuelled by selfless Love and an earnest desire on our part to know God.

In humbly reaching out to God in prayer we are transformed. Our true spiritual nature is revealed, and with it a joyful lightness of Being; wasteful pursuits a thing of the past.

— Garry D. Kilbourn

God spoke: “Let us make human beings in our image, make them reflecting our nature So they can be responsible for the fish in the sea, the birds in the air, the cattle, And, yes, Earth itself, and every animal that moves on the face of Earth.” God created human beings; he created them godlike, Reflecting God’s nature. He created them male and female. God blessed them: “Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge! Be responsible for the fish in the sea and birds in the air, for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth.”

— Genesis 1:26-28

The Message

“Reaching For The Light”

Laws 

of Nature … p 30

The Order that obtains within the fathomless reaches of the universe, including all things worldly, bears on and affords insight into the natural Harmony of life; that is to say, we, like all else, are subject to the Supreme Being’s laws of nature.

Being made in the spiritual image of God, we possess within our immortal soul His Purity, His Goodness and His Love. That worldly pursuits tend to obscure the divine Light of the soul, thereby rendering us fallible Beings, cannot negate the Truth of God’s abiding Grace.

Our True Self will nonetheless ever elude us until we reclaim our natural harmony by unveiling God’s wondrous Life and Light of the soul. Truth alone is the key to salvation.

— Garry D. Kilbourn

A grasping person stirs up trouble, but trust in GOD brings a sense of well-being.

— Proverbs 28:25

The Message

“Reaching For The Light”

Harmonious 

well-being … p 29

Our True Being — our Divinely Spiritual Self — is made less mysterious and easier to understand if we but visualize it as being separate from the Body; this despite the fact Immortal Soul and Mortal Body are intertwined and dependent on each other for harmonious well-being.

Truth, the first principle and manifestation of God’s Love and Goodness, must ever be our guidepost.

Truth is the foundation of our Being; a manifestation of our own spirituality. It is the catalyst which enables the transcendence of mortal mind into the realm of God’s immortal presence; that which sets us free.

To stray from Truth and become lost in the ways of the world is a condition too well-known and results in aught but sorrow. The way back is found in zealous abidance with Truth and an unwavering pursuit to rediscover our True Being.

— Garry D. Kilbourn

Walk straight, act right, tell the truth.

— Psalm 15:2

The Message

“Reaching For The Light”

Truth 

and Honesty … p 28

Turmoil of the mind is eased with the spiritual salve of the soul. Truth and Honesty light the way out of the darkness of despair to set us on our spiritual pathway. Our true inner self is revealed; intuitively we have found our way. God’s presence, though all but imperceptible, is nonetheless both real and growing.

Life’s cornerstone has been restored and we can begin the rebuilding of a life hitherto lost. With Truth and Honesty as our abiding precepts, no less an awareness of God’s ever-present Love, the work is made light.

— Garry D. Kilbourn

  

And that’s about it, friends. Be cheerful. Keep things in good repair. Keep your spirits up. Think in harmony. Be agreeable. Do all that, and the God of love and peace will be with you for sure. Greet one another with a holy embrace. All the brothers and sisters here say hello.

— 2 Corinthians 13:11-13

The Message

"Reaching For the Light”

Harmony … p 27

It is not enough merely to strive for Harmony of mind, body and soul: we must attain it if ever we are to truly know ourself. Although the very concept may bewilder the mind, reconciliation of these seemingly disparate entities holds no mystery.

As with all else in life, Healing begins in the mind. Uplifting thoughts — thoughts of love — become the elixir which exalts the soul and reveals our divine spirituality. In such a state of spiritual transcendence, mind is freed of the shackles of artful behaviour. In all humility, inner peace and enlightenment suffuse the very soul.

A new-found understanding — soon to become habit — lets us become reacquainted with our natural — our true God-given self.

— Garry D. Kilbourn

Mixed motives twist life into tangles; pure motives take you straight down the road.

— Proverbs 21:8

The Message

“Reaching For The Light”

Habit … p 26

Habit is defined as “an acquired behaviour pattern;” one that plays a prominent role in our life. To be sure habits, for the most part, are innocuous. Those, however, which endanger our well-being demand to be questioned. In blindly submitting to self-imposed rules of behaviour, no less those unconsciously assumed, we impair our ability to judge both right and wrong.

Doing things out of habit, never questioning our motives, tends to absolve our behaviour: Be it right or wrong, we will have failed to subject it to the crucible of honesty and truthfulness.

Honesty and Truthfulness, ever our Touchstone, enable us to know both who we are and our purpose in life; personal traits that instill self-respect and honour our worth.

— Garry D. Kilbourn

For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

— St. Mark 11:23 

King James Version of the Bible

“Reaching For The Light”

Our Higher Self … p 25

A trait all too common is that of dreading what others think of us. What is worse, we tend to transfer our own insecurities and feelings of inadequacy to the thoughts of others. Such thoughts are hurtful, serving only to demean us. These we must be quit of.

Our true Being — our Higher Self — lies within. It is this, our divinely spiritual self with which we must commune. As ever, we go within, unselfishly imploring God’s Grace.

— Garry D. Kilbourn

BETTER is the poor that walketh in his integrity, than he that is perverse in his lips, is a fool.

— Proverbs 19:1 

King James Version of the Bible

“Reaching For The Light”

Attitude … p 24

When all is said and done, it is attitude — how we view the world and our role in it — that determines how we value ourself. To our great misfortune we all too often allow our worth to be determined by worldly thoughts of the mind, when our worth stems from our Higher Self, our immortal life-giving soul.

It is a fool’s choice to be all things to all people. Our primary concern is to honour that which is uniquely ours — our God-given self. In the doing we as well pay homage to the worth of others. We are of no use to ourself, much less others, if our footing is on shifting sands. Without fail, honesty and truthfulness must be our abiding companions.

No matter our good intentions; no matter how hard we try, bodily ills cannot be overcome by human will power. It takes God’s Higher Power that is ever present within us. It is God’s will alone that obtains: we have but to acknowledge His Love and surrender to His Will that He may work His wondrous ways: ways that salve the very soul, bringing us ever closer to Him.

The oft-quoted aphorism, “To thine own self be true,” embodies within itself the insightful truth that suffuses throughout our very Being. Truth is an antidote to the turmoil of the mortal mind, helping to keep us grounded and to come to know ourself.

The sky all but opens up to us in that magically tranquil moment when, from out of our unconsciousness, we rightly sense that Mind imbued with the Power of our Higher Self alone conquers all.

— Garry D. Kilbourn

For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

— Romans 8:6 

King James Version of the Bible 

“Reaching For The Light”

A Lifetime of Personal Experience … p 23

A lifetime of personal experience and providential guidance has given me a deep sense of inner peace and love for my fellow-man.

How then to deal with the mind that we may allow God’s divine presence to be made known? The answer: Go within in search of our own spirituality.

Our Spiritual Nature, that is to say our Higher Self, is the true essence of Being, wherein lies aught but Goodness and Love. In all humility, we commune with our Higher Self, firstly, by rejecting mundane — ofttimes harmful — thoughts and instead having those of Love for ourself and others. Ever looking for the good in others, we come to know peace within, and with it an abiding sense of self-worth.

— Garry D. Kilbourn

But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.

— St. Matthew 13:16

King James Version of the Bible

“Reaching For The Light”

Our Spiritual Eye … p 22

A life governed by the dictates of the world; one fraught with lingering emptiness and acute disquiet, is a life unacquainted with its own spiritual inner Being.

We are, without question, spiritual Beings. An apt definition of Spirit, affirmed in our own time, is that given by Samuel Johnson in his Dictionary of the English Language, published in April, 1755, i.e., “Spirit is intellectual power distinct from the body.”

The term “intellectual power” used in this sense has to do with our innate capacity to sense by way of intuitive spiritual perception God’s presence: in essence, an enlightened intellect becoming our “spiritual eye.” Such enlightenment quiets the mind, affords a sense of deep inner peace and, most importantly, allows us to begin life anew secure in our own goodness and self-love.

— Garry D. Kilbourn

So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cher-u-bims, and a flaming sort which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

— Genesis 3:24

King James Version of the Bible

“Reaching For The Light”

Finding Our Way … p 21

We well know that ours is a uniquely personal journey; each in his own way midst the tumult of life. Even so, it is not a journey to be taken alone. We are by nature social Beings, driven to engage in relationships with others. And, not to be overlooked, we are first and foremost, spiritual Beings.

How to balance this trio of interdependent forces — and balance them we must — such that we achieve our own identity, is vital to our well-being, no less our purpose.

This Elysium process, whereby we enter into a state of perfect happiness, begins and ends by our going within and, in all humility, asking God to show us the Way.

— Garry D. Kilbourn 

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

— Philippians 2:5

King James Version of the Bible

"Reaching For The Light”

Mind Holds The Key … p 20

The mighty waterfall stands in awe of the untold power of Mind; albeit a mind made pedestrian through countless millennia of human conduct.

Mind holds the key to who we are. Our role is to peel away the mists of time that cloak our true identity, and to reveal Mind’s spiritually Higher Power.

Whilst in a state of meditation or prayer, the first person “ I, “ or ego, must surrender to God’s unselfish Love: a Love for ourself and others.

God’s all-empowering presence transcends human thought: spiritual Mind speaks the Truth of our Being.

— Garry D. Kilbourn

He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

— Psalm 23:3 

King James Version of the Bible  

“Reaching For The Light”

The Soul 

Revealed … p 19

Of a certainty, we are, each one of us, unlike any other. As such, it behooves us to be none other than that one person God means us to be. Though never easy, our foremost challenge in life is to acknowledge who we are and to love ourself.

That which is seen by others — no less so by ourself — is not our true Being. Truth, ever our guidepost, is not of the body but of the soul; each a child of God in His own spiritual image.

In thus honouring our true Being, all the while giving thanks to God, we experience a wondrous harmony of mind, body and soul, to know peace within. A new-found selflessness that reflects the divine light of the soul enables us, in all humility, to love and to give freely of ourself to others. Only thus do we come to know and love ourself.

— Garry D. Kilbourn  

For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.

— Psalm 36:9 

King James Version of the Bible

“Reaching For The Light”

The Lightness of Being … p 18

Time alone should be seized upon for reflection and study. Freed from the bustle of everyday life, we are enabled to go within and to question the societal mores that influence our thinking and shape our life.

Such moments of deep quietude tend to awaken our recumbent soul, the very essence of Life. We come to sense a wondrous lightness in our new-found Being: Truth and Honesty become our providential guideposts.

— Garry D. Kilbourn

But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

— St. John 4:23

King James Version of the Bible

“Reaching For The Light”

Truthfulness,

Selflessness and 

Humility … p 17

Letting what goes on around us to pattern our behaviour is a violation of our sense of self. Granted, we are by nature Social Beings, with a need to love and be loved. First and foremost, however, we are highly individual, blessed with personal traits ours alone to treasure, to develop and to share with others.

Daily interaction with others is made easy when our thoughts, our speech and our behaviour reflect our true inner values; values freed from the nemesis of materialism. Such values have only to be revealed, ever there to be taken up and used. They have their genesis in Truthfulness, Selflessness and Humility, character traits which exalt our very soul.

— Garry D. Kilbourn

For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

— Romans 8:6

King James Version of the Bible

“Reaching For The Light”

Spirituality of the Mind … p 16

Quieting the turmoil of the mind that we may come to know peace within is a solitary journey; one of perseverance and faith. Having others of like mind around us may provide a welcoming sense of fellowship and bolster our determination to resolve the dilemma, but we alone are accountable.

As is ever the case when seeking Truth, the answer lies in becoming still and going within to nourish with our own spirituality the mind become enlightened.

— Garry D. Kilbourn

In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

— St. John 1:4

King James Version of the Bible

“Reflections From Infinite Mind”

God’s Light 

Touches All … p 53

We do well to reflect upon our life, to ponder the events that have made us, wittingly or unwittingly, the person we’ve become. Failure to question who we are and what is our purpose that we may be masters of our own destiny, is to submit to whatever befalls us, to wander aimlessly through life never knowing our potential. Our life, and that of all others, holds within it a story unique to each. Were we to be cognizant of this fact we would find ourself showing compassion for our fellow-man, all the while seeing in him his God-given goodness.

Should we choose to do so, we have within us the ability to change our story, to redirect our life in a way that is both purposeful and fulfilling. We have but to change our attitude, figuratively speaking, to fall to our knees in submission to God’s goodness and love, entrusting Him with our care and that of all others, mindful that His light touches all.

— Garry D. Kilbourn

And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.

— Isaiah 65:24 

King James Version of the Bible

“Reaching For The Light”

Love and 

Be Loved … p 15

Demonstrably a part of the human condition, we share with all others the need to love and to be loved. Here, we speak not of a love likened to, and stemming from, the intemperate passions of the body, but of the Love embedded within the soul; part and parcel of our very Being: immortal, life-giving Love. This is the divine Love that cannot be denied; Love that forever sustains us. To know it fully, we must first love ourself, that we may love and be loved. It means going within to face up to that which gives rise to our disquiet. In the end, as with all else in life, it is simply a matter of being honest with ourself.

— Garry D. Kilbourn