The following is an excerpt lightly adapted from The Gospel of Joy, from circa 2020 writings leading
up to the Solstice edition, published on 21 December 2020.
…The wisdom of joy is found within the present moment where life is alive in the creative field within one’s self. Wherein I can use knowledge from past experiences in experimentation and transformation of my beliefs and intentions, and through observation, scientific methods, and alchemy in motion, I create in life, like an artist with paint on a canvas, or stirring a cauldron of healing herbs and fragrances, or following a recipe to bake a joyful treat, adding a dash more of this in my world or a smidgen less of that, or maybe the recipe called for a variation I hadn’t tried before, and resulted in greater inner peace and joy.
All of it begins and ends, right now.
At the crossroads in the present time with the creative life force and choosing within the moment which way to proceed.
The key is to mindfully center in the present moment to establish a connection with the wellspring of peace within.
The idea of a life filled with greater peace and joy may sound appealing, and there are a multitude of self-help books, spiritual and mindfulness educators, classes, retreats, and more, with teachings in all sorts of diverse words and languages, in all the colors of the rainbow.
Even with all of these, so many seekers continue to question whether or not they’ve actually managed to reach the place or attained what it is they are trying to achieve. Speaking from personal experience, it isn’t an elusive mystery; you’ll know it when you find it inside.
Seemingly mysterious or not, to effectively navigate more mindfully from the heart into actions that create healing, joy, and miracles, takes an incredible amount of care, patience, and compassion with one’s self. Especially for those who have never tried meditation or silent prayer and contemplation of “no thing” before.
Therefore, with the intention to align us in the same present moment in time and space, these writings are briefly about to slow down almost to a pause right here, in this paragraph, for us to be fully present together in the flow of creation.
Just as you are in this moment now and reading these words on this page. Yes, that’s right. Right now as you are reading this sentence. You may be realizing I have brought your mind’s focus to this very moment in time, and directly to you.
Yes, right now. I see you, hi there!
(Although if I really “see” you right now, that would be a bit eerie, so please allow me to rephrase and say that my heart and mind are here with you in this moment in time and space, and this is me honoring the light within you, bowing in namaste with love.)
As your eyes take in these words, we are here together in the same space in time created by this post.
This, right here, right now, is the moment where life is created, and all things are made new: you are alive and breathing.
Go ahead and feel yourself inhaling through your nose on the next breath and slowly exhale it out while allowing yourself to relax and let go of anything that does not feel like peace… into where your breath reaches the shores of the sky like the waves of the ocean rolling upon the sands of the shore.
If it feels as though you could be even more at ease, you are welcomed to repeat inhaling breath through your nose again, and exhaling, until you feel the peaceful stillness and calm from within, like a pond’s surface without any ripples from the wind.
Right here, right now where you are, is the present moment. It is the infinite space where all possibilities exist. Right now the past is history (you can let it go, for it is completed), and the future does not exist (you can let that go, for it has not happened yet).
Everything is possible here.
From this moment onward everything is brand new.
If you notice yourself drifting into the past, gently bring your mind back to your breath.
If you notice yourself drifting into the future, gently bring your mind back to where you are in the present.
While you are filled with conscious awareness and observing the stillness within, you may begin to realize that although you are reading this sentence in your present right now, these words were written in the past.
Notice how you are living in the past time just as much as you are in the present time.
You can also think about an event that you expect to happen in the future, and you are thus co-existing creatively in the present-future time-space world.
Consciousness is not bound by linear time within our minds—we can draw upon the wisdom from the past to create a better present-future just as easily as we can envision the present-future and imagine what new possibilities may exist and try them on to see if they are paths we want to walk upon.
This aligns with what Meister Eckhart, a German Monist philosopher, mystic, and theologian born in 1260, wrote, “God creates the entire universe fully and totally in the present now… there where time never penetrates.”
This means that the power of creation is right here, right now within YOU, too.
Each of us has the Divine power to shape and participate in the creation of what the future of our world looks like and feels like.
We are part of the ever-in-motion creation of life with every breath, action, and word that we speak, write, type, or sign, every day we are alive. So, as conscious beings with the ability to create, why on Earth would anyone want to waste this moment that we were given to not create more joy in our own lives and the lives of others?
For more about The Gospel of Joy, click here, for more about Shannon, click here, to connect, click here, to return to the home page, click here.
