Reaching For The Light ... p. 126

“… live through him."

I John 4:9

King James Version of the Bible

PERSONAL 

ENLIGHTENMENT … p. 126

Whether or not the many and varied ills that beset us are of our own making is a moot point. What does matter is that we alone must find a way to deal with them. How we go about this is critical to our well-being.

However difficult it may be, we begin by acknowledging our state in life and accepting responsibility for it. In the very act of doing so our burden is made lighter.

Our other, higher spiritual self thus becomes freed as well, to reawaken our bruised soul and to give balance to our being.

The whole purpose in pursuing this course of personal enlightenment is to achieve Harmony of mind, body and soul. Only then may we lay claim to that age-old maxim, to thine own self be true. And only then will we come to know true happiness.

— Garry D. Kilbourn

Reaching For The Light ... p. 125

“… Be gracious in 

      your speech …”

— Colossians 4:6, 

The Message (MSG)

HARMONY … p. 125

To say of ourselves, knowing it to be so, that we are happy, is to confirm the reconciliation of our inner being — our spirituality — with the mind. In short, we have achieved all that God wills for us — Harmony of mind, body and soul.

By its very nature, happiness cannot be contained: it must be shared with others. Its essence lies in our inborn goodness, such that we all have the potential to know happiness.

This state of everlasting bliss, as we well know, is not easy to come by. It demands that we subdue ego with humility, that we may come to love ourselves and others.

We are, each one of us by our very birthright, divine Love. Our Purpose is to rediscover our Birthright, to know happiness and to glorify God’s Goodness and His wondrous Love.

— Garry D. Kilbourn

Pre-Register for ... JOY of Healing Inter Faith workshop

JOY of HEALING II 

— Inter Faith workshop

DATE: Saturday, September 19, 2015

TIME: 8:00am — 4:30pm

PLACE: FCJ Christian Life Centre

COST: $35 includes lunch

PRE-REGISTRATION requested

Email:  blwoodard@shaw.ca

Cheque payable to: B. Woodard

Mail to: #106, 
305 - 25 Av SW Calgary T2S 0L3

Reaching For The Light ... p. 124

“ Charity never faileth …”

I Corinthians 13:8

King James Version of the Bible

A MORAL 

PRECEPT … p. 124

Accepting responsibility for our conduct is a moral imperative. Above all else, it defines our character.

Awareness of such a responsibility arises not from the mind, but from intuition, an inborn human trait.

Morality resides in the soul, the essence of our being. Unless veiled by worldly busyness, our divinely spiritual nature enables us to recognize and to embrace responsibility: conduct that ennobles character.

By its very nature, we early sense the need to accept responsibility, a sensation which may or may not be alone to honour this moral precept. Our personal well-being demands that we do so with cheerful readiness.

— Garry D. Kilbourn

Reaching For The Light ... p. 123

“… he that dwelleth in love 

dwelleth in God …”

I John 4:16

King James Version of the Bible

PRAYER … p. 123

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 extend 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

Reaching For The Light ... p. 122

“ …    ye, 

 always having 

all sufficiency in 

    all things … “

— II Corinthians 9:8

King James Version of the Bible

NOURISHING The SOUL … p. 122

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

Reaching For The Light ... p. 121

“           My child,

           never forget

the things I have taught you …

      Let thine heart keep 

     my commandments”

— Proverbs 3:1

NLT and King James Version of the Bible

SPIRITUAL 

ENLIGHTMENT … p. 121

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

Reaching For The Light ... p. 120

“…        God, 

         thy God, 

   hath anointed thee 

with the oil of gladness …”

— Psalm 45:7

King James Version of the Bible

Our 

TRUE SELF … p. 120

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

Reaching For The Light ... p. 119

“… turn again 

     to the LORD.”

— Lamentations 3:40

King James Version of the Bible

GOD’s 

STANDARD … p. 119

There are certain standards in life that, by common consent, we embrace and take for granted, e.g., Greenwich Mean Time; Weights and Measures. There is yet another standard anterior to these and all else in our daily pursuits; one that we as well take for granted, but all too often ignore; namely God’s STANDARD of FULLNESS.

God’s Purity of soul, breathed into each one of us, is the very essence of His Goodness and His Love, setting a spiritually priceless STANDARD for all mankind.

God’s Light within, never to be extinguished, is the spiritual guide for all that we think and do. The further our thoughts take us from God’s divine inner Light, the more tenuous our life becomes. It is thus worth all we value in life to keep God’s STANDARD ever-present within. Only then may we avoid the human dross of life that forever threatens to beset us.

— Garry D. Kilbourn

Reaching For The Light ... p. 118

“… behold 

        his 

righteousness.”

— Micah 7:9

King James Version of the Bible

GOODNESS … p. 118

Goodness, that most precious of God’s life-giving gifts, is an inborn human trait: our spiritual compass that alone centres us in God. In all of its aspects, Goodness is that which gives us our humanity.

By its very nature, Goodness cannot be effaced, although evidence abounds that it ofttimes becomes obscured. Hence, at the very least, reign confusion and conflict.

Goodness is something that we must first look for within. Secure in the knowledge that we are thus spiritually grounded, we ever look for the Goodness in others. Thus is born mutual trust and affection: lives made immeasurably richer.

— Garry D. Kilbourn

Your Invitation to attend : JOY of Healing ... Saturday, September 19th

JOY of HEALING II 

— Inter Faith workshop

DATE: Saturday, September 19, 2015

TIME: 8:00am — 4:30pm

PLACE: FCJ Christian Life Centre

COST: $35 includes lunch

PRE-REGISTRATION requested

Email:  blwoodard@shaw.ca

Cheque payable to: B. Woodard

Mail to: #106, 
305 - 25 Av SW Calgary T2S 0L3

Reaching For The Light ... p. 117

“… serve him 

      in truth …”

     I Samuel 12:24

King James Version of the Bible

MEDITATION … p. 117

MEDITATION, whereby we still the body and quiet the mind to allow the soul to reveal its divine self, is at all times emotionally and spiritually uplifting.

CONTEMPLATION, meditation’s intellectual counterpart, is an exercise of the mind available to us at any time and under all circumstances. Moreover, it engages our sensuous nature, bringing reason into play.

MEDITATION and CONTEMPLATION are ever at our bidding: tools essential to our well-being that demand to be used.

— Garry D. Kilbourn

Reaching For The Light ... p. 117

“… O send out thy light 

      and thy truth …”

— Psalm 43:3

King James Version of the Bible

The COMMON 

GOOD … p. 117

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

Reaching For The Light ... p. 116

“… light shall shine 

   upon thy ways.”

— Job 22:28

King James Version of the Bible

INTUITION … p. 116

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

Reaching For The Light ... p. 116

“           Let 

your light so shine …”

— Matthew 5:16

King James Version of the Bible

WALKING 

in the WAY … p. 116

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

Reaching For The Light ... p. 115

“…   trusteth 

    in the LORD …”

— Jeremiah 17:7

King James Version of the Bible

SPIRITUAL 

DEVELOPMENT … p.115

“Are you going to believe what you see, or what I’m about to tell you?” is a colloquialism ofttimes used in jest or to lighten an otherwise sticky situation. 

In terms of our own spiritual development, it is an expression that might easily be used to illustrate why we so willingly embrace God intuitively by way of our sixth sense — our spiritual eye; whereas when we are exhorted to hear the Word of God, all too often the seed is sown in stony ground: The message is heard and received but for a season.

— Garry D. Kilbourn

Reaching For The Light ... p. 114

“…      Ye are all

 the children of light …”

— I Thessalonians 5:5

King James Version of the Bible

GOODNESS … p. 114

I know what Goodness is:

A spiritual suffusion

Of Goodness and Love,

Her soul’s immortal Light revealed,

Her precious being, Purity

And Divine Love,

Child of God: a gift to all.

— Garry D. Kilbourn

Reaching For The Light ... p. 114

“Seek the Kingdom of God

         above all else …”

— Matthew 6:33, NLT

LIGHTNESS 

of BEING … p. 114

Not always conscious of the fact, we are made a little better each time we express gratitude for that which befalls us. Instantly, our bodily senses transform this act of positive thinking into one that transcends the mind, taking us into the unconscious realm of divine spirituality.

Thus ennobled in this intimate relationship with God, we know a lightness of Being and of love for our fellow-man.

— Garry D. Kilbourn

Reaching For The Light ... p. 113

“ Understanding is a

     wellspring of life …”

— Proverbs 16:22

King James Version of the Bible

SPIRITUAL 

REBIRTH … p. 113

Spiritual rebirth is a resurrection of the soul. It is a transcendental healing which reacquaints us with our God-given Goodness that we may again become whole. Doing unto others as we would have them do unto us becomes our abiding providential guidepost.

— Garry D. Kilbourn

Reaching For The Light ... p. 113

“…     whosoever will,

let him take the water of life

               freely.”

— Revelation 22:17

King James Version of the Bible

CONCERN for 

OTHERS … p. 113

Fortune smiles more readily on those whose lives are in order: Those of sound moral character whose concern is for others, and whose Goodness abounds.

— Garry D. Kilbourn

Reaching For The Light ... p. 112

“… he that doeth truth 

cometh to the light …”

— St. John 3:21

King James Version of the Bible

TRUTH … p. 112

TRUTH dwells in the divinely pure soul, our spiritual self. It is an inviolate human characteristic; one akin to Goodness and to oneness with God. Truth is that which we both aspire to and revere.

— Garry D. Kilbourn

Reaching For The Light ... p. 112

“…    let 

the beauty of the LORD our God 

   be upon us …”

— Psalm 90:17

King James Version of the Bible

AT ONE 

with NATURE … p. 112

That we, like all else, are subject to the immutable laws of nature is but affirmation of our oneness with God: He who is life eternal.

— Garry D. Kilbourn

Reaching For The Light ... p. 111

“… Sir, give me this water …”

— St. John 4:15

King James Version of the Bible

THE ENLIGHTENED 
SOUL … p. 111

All else aside, we have a moral obligation to provide for our own well-being, physical and spiritual. Herein lies the rub: Familiar to most is the lifelong pursuit of earning a living, in itself both necessary and laudable. Much less so, however, are we given over to the needs of the soul, our ‘other,’ spiritual being.

Unbeknownst to many, it is this divine inner self that must, at the very least, be given equal time and study to that spent in the effort to earn a living.

The physical and spiritual aspects of life, while separate are nonetheless interdependent. If we are to know harmony of mind, body and soul, the incessant workings of the mind must give way in part to the enlightened soul. In the doing we become a changed person, with a new-found sense of empowerment and inner peace.

— Garry D. Kilbourn

Reaching For The Light ... p. 110

“… bring glad tidings of good things! ”

— Romans 10:15

King James Version of the Bible

PRAYER … p. 110

Spirituality is an expression of the soul: God within. How to become one with this, our inner self, becomes the question central to our well-being. To our own good fortune the answer is ever before us: We have but to surrender ourself to God in prayer.

Prayer is self-effacing communion with God. Here, thoughts of the mind lose themselves in our divinely spiritual self, our very being suffused with Love: Love of God and Love of our fellow-man. Such is man’s natural state. 

— Garry D. Kilbourn

Reaching For The Light ... p. 109

“… What shall we do, 

that we might work 

the works of God?”

— St. John 6:28

King James Version of the Bible

KNOWING GOD … p. 109

Believing them to be separate and distinct, we speak of “God’s will,” as in the oft-quoted Lord’s Prayer: “Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven,” and of “human will,” the latter being a product of the mind — deliberate thought and action.

God’s will is that divinely primordial force governing the laws of the universe, of nature and of mankind. The exercise of human will, absent of divine influence, is little more than wishful thinking. When, however, our will is not a manifestation of personal preference, but instead, the divine emanation of human spirit, human will becomes one with God’s will. Such is made possible when thought transcends worldly concerns by going beyond belief and beyond faith to that of KNOWING God lives in us and we in Him. It is this purity of thought, of humble selflessness and love of others — in essence, harmony of Being — that transforms us, whereby our will “in earth” becomes one with God’s will “in heaven.” 

— Garry D. Kilbourn

Reaching For The Light ... p. 108

“… they drank 

of that spiritual Rock 

that followed them …”

— I Corinthians 10:4

King James Version of the Bible

SPIRITUAL INSIGHT … p. 108

Midst the frenzy of materialism that defines much of our life we rely for the most part upon five familiar senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch. Within these confines we live out our lives in a never-ending effusion of goods and services, all the while longing for more to life. And so there is, in two lesser known senses: intuition and understanding. When brought into play they are, within themselves, no less than our saving grace.

Intuition we know to be spiritual insight founded on Truth. Understanding, which follows upon and is indeed a concomitant of intuition, is acknowledgement of that Truth. These combined faculties are a phenomenon common to all. How to put it to use in our daily life becomes the question. The answer, ever the same, is to go within, to rediscover our true inner self; our God-given Goodness and Love. Thus, in selfless humility, may we let others be witness to our own vulnerability. Thus too, in the stillness of mind and body, do we intuitively come to know and to understand another’s true inner self, and with it, brotherly love. 

— Garry D. Kilbourn

Reaching For The Light ... p. 107

LIFE’S EVERLASTING 

QUANDARY … p. 107

Were it otherwise, we might find life to be less of a quandary. As it is, however, we humans are a duality, made-up of a mortal body and a spiritually immortal inner self. To our great misfortune, mankind has all but lost sight of its God-given spirituality in favour of an unrelenting pursuit of materialism.

The pleasures of materialism we know to be short-lived at best. Conversely, those emanating from the Light of the soul endure forever. When nurtured, the soul — that is to say, becoming one with God in all that we say and do — is that which gives us our humanity.
— Garry D. Kilbourn

Reaching For The Light ... p. 106

SPIRIT and 

MATTER … p. 106

In honouring the age-old admonition to “Know Thyself,” we come to learn of the very real and discernible correlation between Spirit and Matter: as devotion to one increases, the other suffers a like decrease. And so it is as we reconnect with our inborn Spiritual nature, we lose sight of heedless mind-driven materialism. So it is too that the ground we stand on becomes ever firmer as we ascend our Spiritual path, ever closer to knowing our true inner self; to God within. — Garry D. Kilbourn

Reaching For The Light ... p. 105

ALLOWING OTHERS TO BE THEMSELVES … p. 105

We all know moments of disquiet in our personal relationships, be it family or otherwise, when things don’t go our way. Were we to go within and reflect on the matter, we could but conclude in all honesty that things are not always meant to go our way. Just as we are quick to rightfully assert our own individuality, so must we honour this in others. In so doing we achieve a hitherto unknown magnanimity of character, in essence a transformation to a higher, spiritually enlightened mode of thought. We instinctively know it is our moral duty to allow others to be themselves.

As is ever the case when we seek the Truth, Selflessness and Humility obtain. Truth’s revelation both frees and uplifts us: Life becomes so much more worthwhile.

— Garry D. Kilbourn