Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Reaching For The Light ...

RIGHT and WRONG … p. 104

Fundamental to our well-being, nay, to our very humanity, is our intuitive sense of right and wrong. Awareness and self-discipline help in honouring these distinctions and in keeping us on the right path. Other ennobling traits contributing to our humanity; traits all too often lying obscured within us, are those of Selflessness and Humility. These alone ensure a place on the path and are, as well, key to an enlightened soul. Thus is our God-given Goodness made real and thus too are we enabled to love both ourself and our fellow-man. 
— Garry D. Kilbourn

Monday, June 29, 2015

Reaching For The Light ...

CHANGING 
OUR MIND … p. 103

Changing our mind is easy: we do it all the time with thoughts of little or of lasting consequence. Changing our mind to effect a new way of living, of becoming a better person, is another matter, however, requiring more than good intentions and ephemeral thought.

The change we long for, that which endures and brings joy to the soul, is nothing less than a metamorphosis of the self, whereby our true spiritual Being is set free to enlighten the mind and engender a sense of peace within.

Transformation of this magnitude is made possible only when we freely acknowledge our plight and surrender in all humility to God: He who lives in us, and we in Him.
— Garry D. Kilbourn

Sunday, June 28, 2015

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

Saturday, June 27, 2015

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

Friday, June 26, 2015

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

Thursday, June 25, 2015

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

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

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 living, 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

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Reaching For The Light ...

BODY and SOUL … p. 97

Mankind have 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

Monday, June 22, 2015

Reaching For The Light ...

BITS and PIECES … p. 96

  • Love heals the soul and makes us whole.
  • The eyes speak and reveal all.
  • Truth cleanses the mind and uplifts the soul.
  • A hand extended with Love is God made real.
  • Beauty speaks from the soul: is of the soul.
  • Know thyself: know thy Goodness.
  • That heard should be thought before word.
  • Be kind to yourself that others may share in your Goodness.
  • The divine silence of heartfelt empathy doth assuage the grief-filled soul.
  • Hasten not to judge another: our true inner self is not revealed to the naked eye. Be still that divine intuition may give insight into the Goodness of another’s soul. Only then do we know.
  • Self-Doubt is a state of mind that imprisons the soul; a denial of our own self-worth: even more, it is a denial of our own divine Goodness, Life’s most precious gift. The seed of Self-Doubt may be likened to the Biblical tares sown by envious foes to destroy the field of wheat. Just as the tares were gathered and burnt, so must Self-Doubt be destroyed and driven from the mind by thoughts that uplift and free the soul from bondage, allowing us to become one with God.  — Garry D. Kilbourn

Sunday, June 21, 2015

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

Saturday, June 20, 2015

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

Friday, June 19, 2015

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 (i.e. matter). 
— Garry D. Kilbourn

Thursday, June 18, 2015

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, June 17, 2015

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, June 16, 2015

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, June 15, 2015

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, June 14, 2015

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

Saturday, June 13, 2015

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

Friday, June 12, 2015

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

Thursday, June 11, 2015

Reaching For The Light ...

THE ART of CONVERSATION … p. 84

We experience a magic moment when, in all humility, we give our full attention to what another is saying; not only to hear what is being said, but that which is unsaid such that we come to sense the other’s true inner Being — the immortal soul. In a mysteriously wondrous way a spiritual bond is forever forged. 
— Garry D. Kilbourn

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Reaching For The Light ...

HAPPINESS  … p. 81

I am happy.
I am happy because
I am at peace within.
Looking back, I mistook
Feelings of pleasure and delight
For happiness, sensations
Soon forgotten.
Happiness, true happiness
Lives deep within me —
I never leaves.
I found happiness 
When I found myself,
My true spiritual Being.
True happiness comes
From loving myself
And others, and, finally,
From loving and being loved
By another.
I am thus blessed.
— Garry D. Kilbourn

Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Reaching For The Light ...

SELFLESSNESS … p. 80

We give of ourself
To heal the soul.
The reward,
Though not sought for,
Is of transformative kind.
Not least, to be sure,
It quiets the mind.
And our Goodness within
That awaits but a call
Heaps blessings on us;
Heaps blessings on all.
— Garry D. Kilbourn

Monday, June 8, 2015

Reaching For The Light ...

FEEL GOD’S PRESENCE … p. 79

Turn to God to calm
A troubled mind.
In the stillness of
The moment let His
Presence be felt:
He is there.
We have but to
Give thanks.
— Garry D. Kilbourn

Sunday, June 7, 2015

Reaching For The Light ...

FINDING OUR WAY … p. 78

God’s voice within,
’Tis ever true,
Is heard
In stillness of mind,
His message etched
As in stone.
That which we were
Is no longer:
Life, born anew,
Given to that of others.
Life fulfilled; that
Which we must do.
— Garry D. Kilbourn

Saturday, June 6, 2015

Reaching For The Light ...

BEING … p. 77

This, our earthly garment,
With that, our inner soul,
God doth freely give;
His breath of life the
Gift that makes us whole.
’Tis He who lives within us
And He who shows the Way.
’Tis ours to know His presence:
To love, honour and obey.
— Garry D. Kilbourn

Friday, June 5, 2015

Reaching For The Light ...

LIFE’S ULTIMATE TRIUMPH … p. 76

Life’s ultimate triumph - no less its purpose - is the reunion of our true inner Spiritual self with the divine primordial force which is Life itself, and gives Life to all, i.e., God, who lives in us, and we in Him. It is a force within each atom of our Being, in all of nature and throughout the universe: a mystic force that unites one and all. To know it is to be in touch with our own immortal soul and to know Truth, our ever-present providential guidepost. 
— Garry D. Kilbourn

Thursday, June 4, 2015

Reaching For The Light ...

THE VOICE of LOVE  p. 75

Some things I just know
The older I grow;
Of this ’tis easy to see
That God really watches;
He truly does watch over me.
Knowing I’m one of His own,
I know too I’m never alone.
When I stumble and fall,
As happens to all,
The Love that I feel
Is made ever so real
When His voice speaks
Only of Love; a voice that 
Doth gladden my soul,
For ’tis God, and God alone 
Who makes me whole.
— Garry D. Kilbourn

Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Reaching For The Light ....

SPIRITUAL 
UNDERSTANDING … p. 74

Enshrined in spiritous Mind,
Deign not to speak
Whilst understanding
Another.
Honour instead
Your quiescent
Sixth and Seventh senses:
Hear another’s silent outcry
Of the soul through
INTUITION — truth’s revelator
And
UNDERSTANDING truth unsaid.
— Garry D. Kilbourn

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Reaching For The Light ...

SPIRITUAL AWAKENING … p. 73

It is not enough merely to make do with all that befalls us in life. Were we but to probe our own mind, to question our thinking, reason alone would tell us we have a moral obligation to shape our own destiny. No matter the cost to our ego, we must be ever open and honest with ourself. This means mindfully freeing ourself from memories of life’s hardships (real and imagined). And it means consciously confronting and laying bare repressed trauma, thereby forestalling subliminal outbursts of real-life memories together with unforeseen, ofttimes disastrous, consequences. Finally, it means acknowledging and surrendering to our true inner spiritual self. This alone is our providential guidepost, and this alone gives us abiding Peace and Harmony within. — Garry D. Kilbourn

Monday, June 1, 2015

Reaching For The Light ...

THE DUALITY of BEING … p. 71

We are, each one of us, a duality: that of mortal body and immortal soul, each, in its own way, playing a vital role in our well-being. We need only take an honest look within ourself to realize that our everyday concerns all but invariably centre around affairs of the body, with little or no thought given to the soul. Experience alone tells us that these two separate though interdependent “Beings” must work as one if we are to know inner peace and harmony.

In order that the soul may play its proper role, which is that of animating our spirituality and coming to know God, we must first take charge of the mind. Idle and mundane thoughts serve only to imprison us in mire. They are of no avail and must not be allowed to linger in the mind. To our good fortune such thoughts are readily expunged by thoughts that uplift and enliven the soul. We can begin doing this merely by giving thanks to God.

That we may become ever conscious of the soul — our life-giving force — we do well to begin, first, by taking our mind off ourself, then in selfless humility, look for the good in others, a simple process, figuratively speaking, of stepping back, becoming quiet within and listening. Thus does our intuition, or spiritual eye, come into play such that our higher — that is to say divine — senses enable us to at once see another’s goodness and to connect spiritually with his very soul. For both it becomes an ennobling experience. — Garry D. Kilbourn