The Sacred Flame Of The Heart - Part One

The Burning Heart

When the heart burns passionately for the sacredness in life, it burns for the Holy Christos and its virtuous attributes so that we may reflect and live these in our own lives. It burns for sacred wisdom to learn of deeper paths of the inner heavenly kingdom, found within the soul. It burns for the Truth of all truths, the ultimate reality of God, beyond everything we thought was true. It burns to be free from the bitter shackles of worldliness, to become perfected and harmonized with its Creator, to become whole and unified with the Divine. It burns to serve and to love the most Holy One, to love Him more than ever before, and it burns to feel the love of God, for God first loved us so that we may grow to love Him. It burns to worship, to pray and to meditate in the most Holy Presence within. And it burns with compassion toward others, for blessing and healing to be upon them. It burns to serve God by serving all mankind, from the most insignificant ways to the greater and more fulfilling ways when possible. It burns to see a world without lack or poverty, but one of prosperity and abundance, through God"s gracious providence. It burns in the spirit of humility and selflessness, in givingness and forgiveness to others. It burns to see peace on Earth and good will toward all people, to see everyone live in peace and harmony, that they may trust one another, and to accept and love each other, even though these are very high ideals beyond mankind"s grasp or willingness at this time. But the possibility and potential is indeed there.

Our yearning hearts ache for such righteousness and fulfillment for all souls in this world, for our desires reflects the harmonious state which is a thought in the Mind of God for His beloved children, and the seeds have been planted and will continue to be planted by His laborers in the field, for the harvest is indeed plenteous. Although the laborers are few, we continually pray to our Lord for more righteous laborers to assist in this great and Holy Work.

However, when we see the ways of iniquity and deception that wage a war of confusion across the world, we tend to feel desperate and our hearts ache for God"s intervention. We can diligently pray ceaselessly and serve where we can, for the heart needs temperance and patience toward the rest of the world that still houses stubborn and willful people. Once the heart can see with patience and wisdom, it is on its way to master and direct the burning and yearning into useful and beneficial channels of the Work, by which it can function with a deeper focus in life and for the immediate needs of others. Every small effort in service to others adds greatly to the overall work of uplifting and transforming all mankind, even if this means one person at a time. Our task as servants of Jesus Christ is to heal and illumine all people, but this begins with the small deeds first, and it also means the only way to change and heal others is by first changing and healing ourselves. This will plant seeds of change into the mass mind of the world, for as we implement transformation within ourselves, this will seep into the greater subconscious mind of mankind. This is the silent and subtle way to plant seeds.

In essence, the heart burns in service and worship to God and in service and healing to mankind in the ways described. The heart so burns in these ways because the sacred flame is lit from within; it is on fire for the Divine. This is so because the soul within the human being is intrinsically connected to the Divine, what we will call the Divine Infinite Beingness, or God the Creator of All. The human soul - within which resides the divine life-spark - is so bonded to God, just as the fetus within the womb is intrinsically connected to its mother. In fact, in a much deeper way we are connected to our Divine Source, for we are "closer than hands and feet." The spirit in mankind and the Spirit of God are one in essence, for we were created in His divine image. Our souls were created from the very substance of God, which is also the substance of Love itself. Our inner nature reflects God"s own Nature, but we must learn to awaken to this reality. Our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ did say, "I and my Father are one." This is not exclusive with only Him, for this is true for each individual. If it were not so, then our journey on this spiritual path is a fruitless one indeed. The difference is that these unawakened ones must "wake up" and come to "realize" this inner divine union, which many true mystics have already accomplished.

Jesus Christ is our Way-shower into the very Heart of God, to be unified with the Divine. It is important for each one to realize this sublime truth and experience it within. For to merely intellectualize it is a very narrow and misguided road. This is because the ego is all too familiar with the realm of the human mind, and it eagerly takes hold of such concepts of self-unity and becoming one with God, and then it deifies itself, setting itself up as God. You are then deceived in believing you have reached God"s wisdom, but the ego's own vain advice is often what you hear. The ego tends to bring what is on high down to its own limited level, or more precisely, to create a facsimile of the higher Divine reality and tricks you into worshiping this instead. This is because it either does not know how to reach up higher for lack of proper disciplines and devotion, or it is too stubborn and willful, because it would rather justify its own will and desires then to heed God"s Will. This kind of attitude only forms a block for the manifestation of the true Beingness of God within, and the flow of Divine Spirit that would transform it. Unfortunately, many people do not desire real transformation, but only to be content in their own created universe of what they perceive as righteous and divine; so they are deceiving themselves. The intellectualizing and conceptualizing of these truths can become detrimental to one"s genuine inner growth.

It is likewise unfortunate that there have been certain ones, who have not yet succumbed their mind and ego humbly to God, who have had spiritual experiences, or have become God-intoxicated, and have taken it too personally, believing they were God-personified on Earth, almost exclusively. Hence they set themselves up as great avatars or messiahs who believe their way is the only true way. They have interpreted their sublime experiences wrongly, for they have had a dangerous misunderstanding of the true inner experience. They witnessed the God within, but failed to humble themselves to this Most Holy One. Those with such a God-Complex have not learned to humble their ego and mind to the true God who is within and without. Sometimes this self-deification is not that extreme, as some have recognized that they have experienced a union with God, but then they feel they are special and have been chosen for some great cause, as if they could single-handedly save the world. This is why we must learn to purify the human heart and mind, and tame the human ego, to learn to surrender these outer aspects of ourselves through humility and obedience to the Will of God. This is what the early mystic contemplatives call the Purgative Way. Through this process, the soul is lead into the next phase called the Illuminative Way. By this, the sacred flame is enkindled brightly in the heart and the way is lit which leads into the Unitive Way. This is the realm of Divine Union which the mystics seek and have experienced as well. It is this sacred flame of the aspirant which continually unfolds and burns brighter while it progresses through these three levels of spiritual growth.

Without concept, without anticipation, without impatience, yet with clear mind and pure heart, and in total surrender of being, while living in the present moment in meditation, you can learn to contact the Divine Beingness within, to experience this sublime reality which is essentially indescribable, for no human words can clearly and completely define what has occurred. It can only be experienced in the heart and soul, beyond the ego"s grasp. However, it is true that the body, mind, and ego are definitely affected by it and transformed, and then unified into a more divine state. All levels of the human being are affected, harmonized, and transformed toward the sublime state of Divine Being. It is when you feel the burning heart within that you are opening to this reality within.

You feel the burning flame within your heart because in essence it is the Holy Flame of God burning within your heart of hearts. It is the divine-spark of Light and Life within your innermost heart. When you hear the Great Call to Christ, which resounds within your soul, this is the Word or Logos from the Godhead which emanates into the denser world in order to uplift the hearts and minds of all people. For it calls through all hearts to reach all hearts, for God"s Spirit is within reverberating outward, like the pebble that drops into the pond, creating countless rings which expand wider across the whole mass of the water. Those who are awakened will hear the Call and will serve as examples to call others into God"s Way of Righteousness. Their illumined hearts will shine forth to others who seek the divine Light of the Christ.

When the purifying heart burns for the Divine and for the sacredness in all life, it is likewise burning away the dross that has accumulated around the crystalline globe of the soul, so that the divine-spark of Beingness within can clearly and brilliantly shine forth and penetrate through your whole being. Then you will surely realize your oneness with the Divine, within and without. The universe within and the universe without will become a unity and whole, for in truth it has always been this way, although you did not realize this yet. The center of God and the whole of God will be realized as one. The intellect normally does not grasp such ideas, but the intuition of the heart will.

However, the burning away of negativities and impurities is a long and arduous process, yet necessary for spiritual growth, requiring much patience and perseverance. Not too many people have the patience to continue in this cleansing through the Purgative Way, but if they wish to continue with this journey, it is prerequisite. It is a key factor in the whole transformative process.

Likewise, we must keep our hearts and minds focused within during this transformative development, to continue to live in the present moment, not dwelling in the past, not holding out for future expectations, but to live right now in this moment, while we enjoy the unfolding, burning flame within the awakening heart.

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