Another time Jesus was praying, and when He finished, one of His disciples approached Him. Disciple: Teacher, would You teach us Your way of prayer? John taught his disciples his way of prayer, and we’re hoping You’ll do the same.

— Luke 11:1 The Voice (Voice)

“Reaching For The Light”

Prayer

A ceaseless hum of electrical activity is a term used in science when describing the human brain. Electrical impulses, interacting with chemical neurotransmitters, originate in the brain and extended throughout the body.

Little wonder, then, that we have such close affinity with the whole of nature wherein the entire universe is in itself a natural electromagnetic force.

Conjecture leads one to believe that human fellowship, no less communion with God, is made possible through the medium of electromagnetic forces common to mankind and to all of nature’s wonders.

In coming to be with God we do well to ask His Grace through earnest, unselfish prayer, thus comforting ourself while at once giving aid to another. Prayer is not an expression of human will: rather, it is a quiet moment suffused with God’s Love while in a state of complete self-effacement.

— Garry D. Kilbourn

Jesus answered him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind’. This is the first and great commandment. And there is a second like it: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself’. The whole of the Law and the Prophets depends on these two commandments.”

— Matthew 22:37-40  J.B. Phillips (PHILLIPS) more

“Reaching For The Light”

Nourishing The Soul

That we are mortal beings, everyone knows. What is less well-known or, all too often, given little attention, is our other “Higher” self — our divinely immortal soul.

We do well to make the distinction between the two, all the while cognizant of the fact that they are interdependent: The first having to do with our sensuous, or physical, being — that which is temporal. The second is none other than Life everlasting.

Bringing into balance both the bodily and spiritual aspects of our nature, such that we achieve harmony of mind, body and soul, is essential to our well-being.

Moderation in all things is the byword for a healthy body. That which nourishes the soul is a deep and abiding love of God, made manifest by a love of oneself and others.

— Garry D. Kilbourn

“And that’s not all. You will have complete and free access to God’s kingdom, keys to open any and every door: no more barriers between heaven and earth, earth and heaven. A yes on earth is yes in heaven. A no on earth is no in heaven.”

— Matthew 16:19 The Message (MSG)

“Reaching For The Light”

Spiritual Enlightenment

Young and old alike have long sought true meaning in life, that which gives purpose to our being. Often, however, we are at a loss, in not knowing how or where to turn. As though this were not enough, in our effort to unlock the seeming mystery, we tend to overlook the fact that the key to personal happiness, namely, a re-awakening of the soul, is ever at hand.

Veiled though it may be through mortal ill-use, the soul’s presence reveals itself to all of humble heart amid God’s wondrous inner Light.

Upon God coming into our life we at once sense His Goodness and His Love. We as well come to recognize the superficiality of worldly dross, ever an encumbrance to the soul.

Spiritually enlightened, we know ourself to be on firm ground. Thus too do we know true self-love and the love of others: We are at Home with our true inner self.

— Garry D. Kilbourn

Then Jesus went to work on his disciples. “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self. What kind of deal is it to get everything you want but lose yourself? What could you ever trade your soul for? 

— Matthew 16:24-26 The Message (MSG)

“Reaching For The Light”

Our True Self  

All too often, the person we portray to others is not who we really are, or would like to be. It is but an upside down image of the true “us.” Left unattended, it tends to become self-destructive.

To our own misfortune, we seldom seek remedy by going within to examine our life through mindful contemplation. Nonetheless, examine it we must if ever we are to come to know our true innermost self.

Very often, such self-examination is involuntary, coming at a time when we are at our lowest and no longer able, consciously or unconsciously, to deny the one thing most dear to us — our innately God-given Goodness.

In coming to terms with who we are, we at once sense a hitherto unknown lightness of being. At long last we are free, simply, to be “us.”

— Garry D. Kilbourn

"I’m telling you these things while I’m still living with you. The Friend, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send at my request, will make everything plain to you. He will remind you of all the things I have told you. I’m leaving you well and whole. That’s my parting gift to you. Peace. I don’t leave you the way you’re used to being left — feeling abandoned, bereft. So don’t be upset. Don’t be distraught. “You’ve heard me tell you, ‘I’m going away, and I’m coming back.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I’m on my way to the Father because the Father is the goal and purpose of my life.

— John 14:25-28 The Message (MSG)

“Reaching For The Light”

The Common Good 

We have a moral obligation to live our lives with purpose, each in its own way.

A sense of one’s own purpose is at once a transcendence of thoughts of the mind, a spiritual revelation of self-awareness.

It means abandoning all pretence, that we may be honest with ourselves and become re-acquainted with our God-given Goodness. Only thus may we come to realize our own unique human potential in pursuit of the common good — that which defines our purpose.

— Garry D. Kilbourn

Can you make lightning appear and cause it to strike as you direct? Who gives intuition to the heart and instinct to the mind? Who is wise enough to count all the clouds? Who can tilt the water jars of heaven.

— Job 38:35-37 New Living Translation (NLT)

“Reaching For The Light”

Intuition

Our sixth sense, is a trait common to everyone. It is a supernatural sixth sense which, among other things, has the potential to give insight into one’s true inner being.

That we may truly know and bond with another requires, firstly, our being at peace within. In such a state, and in all humility, we look to our Higher spiritual self to convey our vulnerability and our trust. Thus are souls uplifted.

— Garry D. Kilbourn

Then God said, “Let Us (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) make man in Our image, according to Our likeness [not physical, but a spiritual personality and moral likeness]; and let them have complete authority over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the cattle, and over the entire earth, and over everything that creeps and crawls on the earth.”

— Genesis 1:26 Amplified Bible (AMP) 

“Reaching For The Light”

Walking in the Way

Were we to be ever conscious of the fact that we are born in the spiritual image of God, forever possessed of His Goodness, all the while walking in His Way with Love for our fellowman, we would at once be midst those Elysian Fields of inner peace that we so long for.

Our spiritual salvation — our very humanity — lies ever within. We alone, in all humility, must take firm hold of that which is divinely given; that which is ever so near.

— Garry D. Kilbourn