Thursday, September 29, 2016


Your ears will hear sweet words behind you: “Go this way. There is your path; this is how you should go” whenever you must decide whether to turn to the right or the left.
— Isaiah 30:21 The Voice (VOICE)

“Reaching For The Light”
Reason and Intuition … p 102

Call it what you will, but the “… still small voice …” that speaks to us from the very depth of our soul is, without question, the voice of Truth. To ignore it is to live a life devoid of purpose. To honour it is to enter into fabled Elysium made real — a state of perfect happiness.

In choosing Truth as our moral standard, we call upon those two basic human faculties, Reason and Intuition, each buttressing the other, to show us the Way. Thus do we have the best of all worlds wherein our physical, or mortal, Being is working in harmony with our divinely immortal Being: Reason, a product of the mind, and Intuition, that spiritual voice which speaks from the soul. Invoking Intuition at once ennobles the soul and subsumes Reason, taking it to a higher, spiritual, plane. We become aware of God’s calming presence, knowing we have found the Way.
— Garry D. Kilbourn



Wednesday, September 28, 2016


“Write this letter to the leader of the church in Laodicea: “This message is from the one who stands firm, the faithful and true Witness of all that is or was or evermore shall be,” the primeval source of God’s creation
— Revelation 3:14  Living Bible (TLB) 

“Reaching For The Light”
Never Alone … p 101

Even though we may welcome the sentiment, we need not be told we are special. We know we are special; even more, we are unique, for we intuitively sense that we are unlike anyone else. In some strange and wonderful way, we rightfully take comfort in knowing this.

What we either don’t know, or give little thought to, is that we are also unavoidably a part of the whole: the whole of mankind; the whole of the cosmos; the whole of God’s all-enveloping Love: we are never alone.

The key to this lies in the fact that all mankind are an emanation of the one primal source of Life each, in effect, a ray of Light from that wondrously mystical source which gives Life to the soul; which is the soul, in truth, God within.

Would that we thus honour our Birthright and do unto others as we would have them do unto us.
— Garry D. Kilbourn


Tuesday, September 27, 2016


Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.
— Proverbs 3:5-6 New Living Translation

“Reaching For The Light”
Divine Inner Peace … p 100

The lingering disquiet and unhappiness that forever hold us down are but a problem of mortal mind; one we are all susceptible to. We alone must face up to the problem and deal with it. An unwavering belief in our own divine Goodness is, more than all else, essential to the solution.

Stop looking to others, to different circumstances or to a change of place. All are but temporary palliatives which, when revealed in their true colours, serve only to deepen our despair and affirm the futility of ever finding our true Being.

All too often, our goodness which, by its very nature, cannot be taken from us, is obscured from our own sensibilities when mired in mental turmoil of our own making. To reveal, and to reclaim as our own, this wondrous gift of Goodness, we begin by going within. Thoughts of the mind to no purpose are instead given over to thoughts of God’s Love. In so doing, we intuitively become one with our immortal self: our true spiritual inner Being. Not only have we thus become quit of those inner demons which gave rise to our unease, we have as well achieved a state of selfless humility subsumed in an aura of divine Peace.
— Garry D. Kilbourn


Monday, September 26, 2016


Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.
— Psalm 42:11 King James Version of the Bible 


“Reaching For The Light”
Know Thyself … p 99

The night of disquiet
That troubles the soul
Is but illusion of mind,
Our bondage but
Fetters of myth.

“Be free of these demons,”
Cries a voice that rings true,
For it speaks from the
Depths of our Being.
Thrice we are told
“Go within, Go within;
Surrender to God’s 
Sovereign power.”

The O so long night,
The illusory mind
But fantasies
Wrest from within
Awakened at last,
Veils stripped from the soul
“Know Thyself,” all along,
Was His goal.
— Garry D. Kilbourn


Sunday, September 25, 2016


So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed every day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 
— 2 Corinthians 4:16-17 Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)

“Reaching For The Light”
God and Nature … p 98

Save for those indigenous peoples who, culturally, honour and revere the environment; they who are spiritually at one with nature’s bountiful gifts, mankind in general consistently ignore, or fail to recognize, nature’s significance relative to human well-being, no less our very survival. The whole of mankind, the world around us and all that’s in it, the entire universe: all are subject to the laws of nature, the First Cause, that Primal Force we know to be God.

Knowing God includes honouring and embracing nature in its entirety, availing ourself of its Goodness, while at once respecting its natural harmonies. We begin, quite properly, by establishing a relationship with God.

We know God to be a loving, ever-present disinterested force within us. Our role, even more, our responsibility is to be awakened to that divine energy force and to become one with it. In silent prayer, in meditation or in contemplation we learn to commune with God that we may forever share in His Wisdom, His Goodness and His Love.
— Garry D. Kilbourn


Thursday, September 22, 2016


The eyes of the Lord are upon those who love him, a mighty protection and strong support, a shelter from the hot wind and a shade from noonday sun, a guard against stumbling and a defence against falling. He lifts up the soul and gives light to the eyes; he grants healing, life, and blessing.
— Sirach 34:16-18 Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)


"Reaching For The Light”
Body and Soul … p 97

Mankind has long pondered the mysteries of mortal body and immortal soul, putting forth a myriad of conjectures of how each influences and interacts with the other.

Our senses readily affirm the vital reality of the body which, to our misfortune, tends to obscure the presence of the soul. The oft-quoted Biblical saying, “… man shall not live by bread alone …” is but allegory for the futility of unbridled materialism as a way of life. Common sense tells us that concern for our physical well-being needs go hand in hand with that for the soul. Happiness and peace of mind will ever elude us without our first achieving such balance. Care of the soul — that which is Life itself — is at once care of our inner self. It means as well, manifesting our spiritual, all-healing, relationship with God.
— Garry D. Kilbourn

 

Wednesday, September 21, 2016


Yes, they stumble at the Word of God for in their hearts they are unwilling to obey it—which makes stumbling a foregone conclusion. But you are God’s “chosen generation”, his “royal priesthood”, his “holy nation”, his “peculiar people”—all the old titles of God’s people now belong to you. It is for you now to demonstrate the goodness of him who has called you out of darkness into his amazing light. In the past you were not “a people” at all: now you are the people of God. In the past you had no experience of his mercy, but now it is intimately yours.
— 1 Peter 2:8—10  J.B. Phillips New Testament

“Reaching For The Light”
Getting To 
Know God … p 95

Getting to know God, to become an intimate such that we learn to confide in Him, giving thanks for His Guidance, for His Goodness and His unconditional Love, is an undertaking available to everyone: More than this, it is the reason for our being.

Our coming to know God requires of us much more than a mere expression of belief with good intentions. It means 1) Submitting to the power of His divine Sovereignty that His will may be done; 2) Listening to our conscience — that “… still small voice …” which is the spiritual emanation of the soul telling us to go within that we may come to know our real inner self — our true spiritual Being; 3) Harbouring thoughts that uplift the soul, all the while giving thanks to God and looking for the good in others, and 4) Giving freely of ourself in selfless humility, manifesting our new-found passion for life’s many blessings.
— Garry D. Kilbourn


Tuesday, September 20, 2016


We know, for instance, that if our earthly dwelling were taken down, like a tent, we have a permanent house in Heaven, made, not by man, but by God. In this present frame we sigh with deep longing for the heavenly house, for we do not want to face utter nakedness when death destroys our present dwelling — these bodies of ours. So long as we are clothed in this temporary dwelling we have a painful longing, not because we want just to get rid of these “clothes” but because we want to know the full cover of the permanent house that will be ours. We want our transitory life to be absorbed into the life that is eternal.
— 2 Corinthians 5:1—10  J.B. Phillips New Testament 

“Reflections From Infinite Mind”
Our Most 
Precious Gift … p 72

Thinking persons — those who ever question, seeking a better way, who value their own humanity and that of others, are all too familiar with the struggle to “Know Thyself,” our most precious gift. There is but one guidepost in the process of coming to know ourself: The divine light of the soul, in itself God’s presence within.

Herein lies the rub. Our whole way of life is one given over to satisfying the needs, real and imagined, of our bodily senses, with little or no regard for our spiritual needs. The two — body and soul — while quite distinct, are yet interdependent and in need of care.

Coming to know ourself  has nothing to do with transitory thoughts of mortal mind: It is not an exercise of the intellect. Nay, it goes much deeper, into the realm of our spiritual nature. It requires of us an earnest desire to know who we are and our purpose in life. It means, in all selflessness and humility, giving ourself over to God’s care, asking that His will be done, thus to know a lightness of Being, of joy and of peace within: We are at home.
— Garry D. Kilbourn

Monday, September 19, 2016


Be sure to give to the LORD the best portions of the gifts given to you. Also, give these instructions to the Levites: When you present the best part as your offering, it will be considered as though it came from your own threshing floor or winepress.
— Numbers 18:29—30  New Living Translation
“Reaching For The Light”
I’ve Done 
My Best … p 94

I’m ever in awe
With each breath
That I draw how
Life’s gift is lived
In the now.
Midst the gold
And the dross in
Life’s daily path
My thoughts,
Never at rest,
Are only of good,
Each day knowing
I’ve done my best.
— Garry D. Kilbourn


Sunday, September 18, 2016


Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be. Your eye is like a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is filled with light.
— Matthew 6:20—22  New Living Translation

“Reaching For The Light”
Inner Peace … p 93

How arduous the path we trod in our quest for inner peace, all the while following false guideposts, and all the while refusing to look within. Were we to question our motives, common sense alone would tell us that our ill-omened ways are rooted in a habitual obeisance to the god of matter.

Our salvation lies in knowing we are a composite of two Beings: 1) mortal body and 2) immortal soul, or, God within. Inner harmony is achieved when our conscience — that “… still small voice …” becomes our guiding Light. We are aided in this divine pursuit when we take to heart those Scriptural passages stating: “If a house be divided against itself that house cannot continue,” and “No man can serve two masters” … “ye cannot serve God and mammon".
— Garry D. Kilbourn


Thursday, September 15, 2016


Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.
— Colossians 3:13-15 New Living Translation

“Reaching For The Light”
Know Thyself … p 92

Seldom do we give thought to how vital this timeworn epithet, ‘… Know Thyself …,’ figures in our well-being. And little do we realize how daunting the task.

To know ourself is to know Harmony of mind, body and soul, subsumed in a sense of deep inner peace. The business of coming to know ourself, like all else that is good, is akin to the pursuit of Truth; self-honesty being paramount. It means going within and purging mundane thought, such that mortal mind is taken to a higher, spiritual plane whereby the soul, long veiled by materialism, is seen to be what it is — our true inner self. With new-found values that affirm our blissful state, we are forever transformed.
— Garry D. Kilbourn



Wednesday, September 14, 2016


We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.
— 1 John 4:16-17 New Living Translation

“Reaching For The Light”
Selfless Love … p 91

The key to ‘life’s wondrous mystery’; one made even more obscure by untold centuries of man-made myth, awaits each one of us through divine revelation.

Not to be taken lightly, our charge in life is to rediscover the Purity, the Goodness and the Love of our estranged life-giving soul. Such spiritual enlightenment is not alone of our own making. Not at all. The journey is made hand in hand with God whereby we freely give ourself over to Him, humbly invoking His care.

Our faith, nay, our certain knowledge that God lives in us and we in Him, in turn gives rise to no less than a physiological transformation whereby our thoughts and our very Being exist in that divine realm of Selfless Love for all.
— Garry D. Kilbourn


Tuesday, September 13, 2016


O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knows my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knows it altogether. Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it. Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee. For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb.
— Psalms 139:1—13  King James Version of the Bible 

“Reaching For The Light”
The Light of God … p 90

The Light of God is within us: we are born with it. We have Goodness and Love, human traits that never leave us. As well, we are gifted from birth with the capacity to reason, enabling us to distinguish between right and wrong. And, not least, we are given will power, that which molds our character and shapes our conduct — in short, our very life. All of these innate God-given senses are affirmations of God’s Presence and of our humanity.

There is never a time when God is not within us, no matter if we are at our lowest or at our best. Truly, God is our Shepherd. Believing and instinctively knowing this is spiritually uplifting. Thus do we walk in the Way, all the while enveloped in God’s abiding Love and Goodness.
— Garry D. Kilbourn



Monday, September 12, 2016


Enthusiasm without knowledge is no good; haste makes mistakes.
— Proverbs 19:2  New Living Translation 

“Reaching For The Light”
Contemplation … p 89

Neither in word nor in deed should we be in haste. There is no undoing that which is said or done when we speak without thinking or act impulsively: for good or ill, the die is cast.

We do ourself and others a disservice when we fail to take the time to think beforehand of the relevance or import of what we say or do.

Contemplation should ever be our companion. By going within and coming to know ourself, our understanding and appreciation of others is immeasurably increased.

In conversing with another, our thoughts and our conduct should have less to do with us, and instead be given over to the other. Words become meaningful, the encounter uplifting: a bond is formed, two lives enriched.
— Garry D. Kilbourn




Sunday, September 11, 2016


After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
— St. Matthew 6:9—13  King James Version of the Bible

“Reflections From Infinite Mind”
Submitting To God’s Will … p 71

“Thy will be done…” These few words, familiar to all, are of immense import to our well-being. They are not to be hurried over by rote, but should be deliberately savoured in thought that they might remain in our consciousness and take on meaning, for they are, quite simply, a plea to God for spiritual guidance.

In itself, faith that God’s will reigns over our thoughts and our conduct ensures a reawakening of our spiritual nature, a falling away of earthly veils that so hide the light of the soul that is our oneness with God, that forever frees us from earthly travails.
— Garry D. Kilbourn


Thursday, September 8, 2016


But God’s angry displeasure erupts as acts of human mistrust and wrongdoing and lying accumulate, as people try to put a shroud over truth. But the basic reality of God is plain enough. Open your eyes and there it is! By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can’t see: eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of his divine being. So nobody has a good excuse. What happened was this: People knew God perfectly well, but when they didn’t treat him like God, refusing to worship him, they trivialized themselves into silliness and confusion so that there was neither sense nor direction left in their lives. They pretended to know it all, but were illiterate regarding life. They traded the glory of God who holds the whole world in his hands for cheap figurines you can buy at any roadside stand.
— Romans 1:18-23  The Message


“Reaching For The Light”
Mystic Intuition … p 88

Deep within us, yet ever at hand, lies an intuitive “sixth sense”, an expression of our divine spirituality. When listened to, we are enabled to look beyond life’s physical reality and, in all humility, find the goodness in others. It is a wondrous experience that both engenders compassion and frees us from the human propensity to judge. In conversation with another we learn to hear what is being said while at once listening for that which is unsaid. Two souls are forever uplifted.
— Garry D. Kilbourn





Wednesday, September 7, 2016


At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto thee because of thy righteous judgements. I am a companion of all them that fear thee, and of them that keep thy precepts. The earth, O LORD, is full of thy mercy: teach me thy statutes.
— Psalm 119:62-64 King James Version of the Bible

“Reflections From Infinite Mind”
Becoming One 
With God and Nature … p 70

Be still within your bodily temple; picture a flower-filled meadow, warm sunlight in the glistening stream. Such uplifting thoughts fill the mind, taking us into a higher, spiritual, realm. Here, comforting thoughts, suffused in a pure white light, are those of God, of His abiding goodness and love.

In time, letting thoughts of love, of God, of ourself, of our fellow-man overtake thoughts that sully the mind, forever changes us. A lightness of Being becomes our faithful companion. With joy in our heart we see only the good in others, knowing that each has a story, that all are in need and deserving of compassion and love.
— Garry D. Kilbourn




Tuesday, September 6, 2016


Jesus began to pray and the disciples tried to stay awake, but their eyes grew heavier and heavier and finally they all fell asleep. When they awakened, they looked over at Jesus and saw something inexplicable happening. Jesus was changing before their eyes, beginning with His face. It seemed to glow. The glow spread, and even His clothing took on a blinding whiteness. Then, two figures appeared in the glorious radiance emanating from Jesus. The three disciples somehow knew that these figures were Moses and Elijah. Peter, James, and John overheard the conversation that took place among Jesus, Moses, and Elijah — a conversation that entered on Jesus’ “departure” and how He would accomplish this departure from the capital city, Jerusalem.
— Luke 9:29-32 The Voice Ecclesia Bible Society

“Reaching For The Light”
The O-So-Elusive 
Light … p 87

That we may quell the disquiet within, consciously and unconsciously, we are ever “reaching for the light;” that all-knowing Light which reveals an understanding of who we are and of our purpose in life. The irony is that this o-so-elusive Light is ever-present in our inner self — our true Spiritual Being. We find the Light — and with it ourself — by being honest: by suppressing our ego and in turn embracing those few simple moral tenets of Humility, Unselfishness and Truthfulness.
— Garry D. Kilbourn


Monday, September 5, 2016


We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.) Giving no offence in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed:
— 2 Corinthians 6:1-3 King James Version of the Bible 


Reflections From Infinite Mind”
Salvation … p 69

Distraught, troubled of mind, we can but turn to God for succour. The very act of submission, of giving ourself into God’s care, transcends mortal thought. The force from within that frees us, that lifts us into light-filled bliss, is but a manifestation of our true inner Being, a reappearance of our earthly-veiled soul whereby we reclaim our spiritual relationship with God.
— Garry D. Kilbourn



Thursday, September 1, 2016


[ Jesus’ bold claims — about himself — and his Father ] Later, Jesus spoke to the people again and said, “I am the light of the world. The man who follows me will never walk in the dark but will live his life in the light.”
— John 8:12  J.B. Phillips New Testament 

“Reaching For The Light”
O What A Joy … p 86

O what a joy, Lord
O what a joy
To walk in the Light
Free of all darkness
’N fear of the night.

Free of all sorrow
Filled only with Love
Your Love, Lord
From heaven above.

You’ve given me hope
’N you’ve given me all
My soul is set free
No more can I fall.

My path is made easy
My duty made clear
’Tis others, dear Lord
Awaiting your call
’Tis others, dear Lord
To keep from a fall.
— Garry D. Kilbourn