By Jerry Kvasnicka
On opening and sharing my heart
In the world as it is now, where many if not most human beings are out of touch with the truth of themselves, opening the heart can be a rather precarious or even dangerous business. When grasping and self-serving human egos get into the picture, open human hearts can be exploited and trampled upon. This is why I feel one must exercise considerable care as to what the heart is open to.
In opening my heart I want to be sure that it is opened to what is higher, in myself and others, rather than to what is lower. I first open my heart to the highest and finest qualities of character that spring from the truth of love at the core of my own being. Firmly centered and grounded in this, I am then in position to open my heart to these same qualities of divine reality that I sense in others. Then there is a meeting, I suppose one could say, of angel to angel, and open-hearted creative interchange follows. Fortunately, in the spiritual community where I live, I don’t have to worry much about finding these kinds of truly trustworthy people to whom I may safely open my heart.
Granted there are people who are out to exploit, manipulate and do harm. I always initially approach people with an open heart and a willingness to trust, but once I discern that they are out to hurt me or others, I don’t allow my heart to be a part of their life-destroying schemes. Jesus warned against “casting pearls before swine.” The heart is our most precious pearl, and we have a responsibility to keep it pure and safe.
On blessing
Blessing everyone and every circumstance that comes to us is really all that we are called to do in life. It is the essence of spirituality. We were created to bless; it is our natural mode of function. We cannot be totally fulfilled in life until we are allowing a stream of blessing to flow through us in every moment of living. Though some might recoil at the thought of being a machine, I believe we incarnated to be blessing machines. And yes, we are here to bless even people and circumstances that we might find disturbing.
I would note one recent example of this. Many supporters of Hilary Clinton were so greatly disturbed by her failure to win the presidential election that they protested in the streets, sometimes violently. Well-known spiritual leader and “peace troubadour” James Twyman suggested the following exercise to his online network: “Close your eyes and let your heart fill with love, then open your arms and imagine you are closing them around Donald Trump in a warm embrace. Let the fullness of blessing flow through you to this man.” Some left-leaning liberals might be appalled at the very thought of doing this. And yet, if we are to honor the capacity to bless that is our very nature, who would hesitate to welcome this creative opportunity?
On human wants
A medical doctor with whom I used to play tennis wrote this: “Life already knows what we need for fulfillment. No need to cajole or perform ceremonies or pray to a distant God or employ some psychological technique. Let the pulsations of spirit work their magic, bringing the people and things needed to be successful, and in sequence. If we sense that abundance within, it will eventually take form in our lives, one way or another, without having to force it.”
Human wants, no matter how spiritually refined they seem to be, always contain a residue of ego or small self. We may avoid this by simply engaging the virtue of trust, a quality of character that too few human beings hold in high regard. Trusting the universe, or, as I like to put it, the creative process, to provide what is needed. I don’t believe this implies inaction or doing nothing on our part. We continue to assist the creative process by consistently doing what we were created to do on Earth: bless and enfold in love everyone and every circumstance that comes to us.
On my supreme passion and purpose
When I was just 12 years old, I had a sudden realization of why I am present on Earth. As I put it then, “I am here to serve God and to help God save the world.” Many years later, I have refined this goal somewhat and would now state it like this: “My one overriding desire is the spiritual regeneration of humanity.”
Everything in my life revolves around this; it is my supreme passion; all personal wants and desires are subordinate to this. It obviously hasn’t been achieved in my lifetime, although a start has been made, as many are awakening to their true nature and a spiritual body is emerging.
What fears, false beliefs and excuses are preventing a greater awakening from occurring? There are a multitude of religious beliefs, cultural traditions, ethnic identities, political loyalties and all manner of human wants and desires that serve to block human beings from knowing who they truly are and why they are present on Earth. Perhaps some of these patterns are still present in my own consciousness, in which case I need to let them dissolve as I continue to express the qualities of true character to the highest of my vision.
I believe my consistent fidelity to the truth of love and the truth of being puts a powerful message into the subconscious field of connection I have with all humanity: “Come home, my people, to your own divine character and identity, and express this in your living.”
On using the media to serve my purpose
The first thing I do upon awakening is sit on the side of my bed, lift up my eyes and repeat: “Behold, I make all things new. I would bless everything that comes to me this day.” Then I immediately turn on the radio and begin listening to the latest world news on National Public Radio. My burning passion in life is “the spiritual regeneration of humanity.” One of the ways I go about this work is by sending out a radiant blessing of love into and through every news story, even those describing intense suffering and death. Through the subconscious channels of connection that I (and all of us) have with the whole body of humanity, this blessing is received at some level by everyone involved in the news event, everyone involved in communicating the event (the media) and everyone hearing or reading about the event.
So what an opportunity for world service is available to me as I prepare my breakfast! While some might insist that listening to or watching a newscast could only disturb their consciousness and bring them down, I have the opposite experience. While many find their spiritual centering by going within through meditation or some other spiritual practice, I feel most centered and grounded when something is flowing out in blessing and invitation to my world, calling it home to the truth of love. The media, particularly radio, provide a conduit for this flow in the morning and throughout the day This is my primary spiritual practice.
On random acts of kindness
Living as I do in a spiritual community of around 100 people, there are many daily opportunities for random acts of kindness. I manage our community post office and receive a lot of letters for people who no longer live here, and if I have the address of a person and if it’s first-class mail, I forward it to the person. The other day, I received an envelope addressed to a young woman who had moved away several years ago. I questioned whether the address I had on file was still valid.
Nevertheless, something told me to forward it. A week later, I received an e-mail from the woman profusely thanking me for the letter. It enabled her to connect with a social service agency that will provide help in caring for her aging mother. She didn’t know the assistance was available. She was so grateful. So I guess you could call this a random act of kindness on my part that yielded some beautiful results.
On wildness
We are each unique and have unique and even wild gifts to bring. In fact, there is a natural wildness that is built into the very fabric of our being. In the hands of the “wounded self,” this natural wildness can be destructive. But when it is accessed and expressed by the “Wonderful Self” that forms the core our being, this innate wildness can come forth in beautiful and creative ways. I elaborated on this in my article “Born to Be Wild” that appears on this website.
I’m so thankful that I have found my tribe in the Sunrise Ranch spiritual community. People who live here have no fear that their natural expression of uniqueness and wildness will be rejected. Indeed, it is encouraged and celebrated, recognizing that we do not totally fulfill our purpose on Earth if this natural wildness is suppressed out of fear of rejection or for any other reason.
On loneliness
Just as physical pain is a sign that healing and integration into the whole are needed for some part of your body, so the emotional pain of loneliness is an indication that some part of yourself is disconnected from the elemental truth of who you are. The reality is oneness, oneness with universal being and oneness with each other.
So if there is a feeling perception of loneliness, know that it is merely a perception; it is not the reality. And the step to be taken is to do whatever is necessary–meditation, affirmation, attunement, even deep breathing–to bring your mind and heart back into coherence with the elemental truth of who you are.
Loneliness is a great gift. It is a clear indication that something is off and needs to be spiritually addressed. Until this dis-ease is cleared in myself, I cannot connect with another person on the right basis. Once I am back in resonance with my own nature, then I am equipped to generate creative conversation with another person and, if there is disconnection there, to gently and subtly draw that person back into resonance with the source of his/her own being. So in all of this there is a wonderful creative opportunity!
On travel and a sense of wonder
I did a lot of travel earlier in my life, but in later years I have found that I can experience a wonderful adventure every day simply by staying in place and fully offering my creative gifts right here in the spiritual community of Sunrise Ranch, where I live. It all depends on the state of consciousness that one brings to each day. If one is meandering in mediocrity and boredom, life will be an exercise in drudgery and futility. But if one embraces everything with thankfulness and a sense of wonder, life is an exciting adventure.
One of my favorite statements from the Book of Revelation is “Behold, I make all things new.” Notice it does not say “all new things,” but suggests that all existing things can be perceived as new by an animated and lively state of consciousness. In my work, I basically go through the same motions and see the same people every day, but it is all refreshingly new to me because I choose to bring that state of consciousness, that sense of wonder, in everything I do.
Oh, and incidentally, I find it far more convenient and less expensive to let the world come to me via the Internet, radio, TV and the many people who come here than attempting to go out to the world via trains, planes and automobiles.