To say that living in an awakened state is a challenge would
\nbe quite an understatement.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
After God told me that I was to write a spiritual book and
\nexplain the true meaning of Unconditional Love, it seemed I had first to go
\nthrough a kind of metamorphosis. My vision and understanding of life had to be
\ntransformed–from the human viewpoint to that of our True Spirit.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Up to that moment of seeing creation through my spiritual
\neyes for the first time, all I had to relate to was my physical life here in
\nthis world. I believed that I was living a life created by God. In the end, I
\nwas going to be judged and then go to heaven or hell for the rest of eternity. As
\nI had been raised Catholic (I had been baptized as well as confirmed), I was
\nconfident that I was good to go, salvation-wise. As long as I accepted Jesus as
\nmy savior I was assured a place in heaven. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
There is an expression that I remember hearing many times in
\nmy childhood: you can’t put the cat back into the bag, and pretend that you
\ndon’t know what is inside the bag. Having undergone the experience of seeing
\nCreation as a system comprised of many dimensions, I found that my previous
\nbeliefs were in many ways incomplete. I could no longer hold the limited view
\nthat I once held as my treasure. With the realization that God alone exists, it
\nbecomes apparent that everyone is equally a part of God and no one is special.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
This understanding came as a blow to my ego personality. My view
\nof, for example, my family could never be the same. Looking through the
\nspiritual eyes that God had opened for me, I realized that there is no room for
\nspecial relationships any longer. If God had a hand in creating everything and
\neveryone, then a bum in the street is equal to my own son in the eyes of God. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Understanding this truth and living it proved to be the
\nbiggest challenge I could have imagined. Prior to seeing the “bigger picture”
\nthere was nothing more important than my family to me.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I remember when my son was born. The love I felt for him was
\nso strong that I would have laid down my life for him without as much as a
\nsecond thought. After seeing the infinite journey we all share, where we have the
\nopportunity to have many incarnations, it became impossible to ever see my son
\nthe same way again. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
From my new understanding I recognized him as my spiritual
\nbrother first, and my son second. Obviously this had a huge impact on our
\nrelationship. Prior to my new-found understanding, I believed my life was much
\nlike any other American with a Christian background. Believing that I was to be
\njudged when I die, I had always done my best to live a good life.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I can remember thinking that my main concern was to provide
\nfor my own. I hoped that at some point I could retire with enough money to be
\ncomfortable, without working or have any financial concerns. How could that be
\nwrong? As long as I did not hurt or take advantage of anyone, wouldn’t God want
\nme to have a good life? Isn’t that what the American Dream is all about? <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
While that may be what the American Dream is all about, it
\nis not the main reason we are here in this world. What God showed me was that we
\nare here to awaken to who we truly are, and then to transform ourselves through
\nour day to day life. Some in this world are familiar with the term Rebirthing; I
\nunderstand it to represent the transition from one state of consciousness to
\nanother. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
My personal enlightenment was vital for me, but it did not
\ngive me the words to help enlighten others. If I was to be successful in
\nconveying understanding to others, I realized that I had to first find out what
\nthey knew and believed. Up to that moment I had little or no understanding of
\nother belief systems. As a matter of fact, I had not even read the Bible. I did
\nnot want anything to cloud the vision that God had showed me. I decided to
\nwrite about my new understanding and see how it compared to what other things
\nhad previously been written. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I left my job and rented an apartment to find a place of
\nsolitude. Monday through Friday I would leave my wife and son and write, while
\nmeditating and praying on the view of the Spiritual Life. Thoughts of prior
\nteachings many times conflicted with it. It occurred to me that, if I was
\nconfused about some things I had been taught, perhaps others had the same
\nproblem. I therefore decided that I would use some quotes from the Bible to
\nhelp add clarity. I did not want to become a Bible scholar, but rather to use
\nwhat Spirit guided me to use.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Not having been trained in writing and having read very
\nlittle, my first book proved to be a huge challenge. It took me over 2 \u00bd years
\nof meditating, praying, and writing for a minimum of 3-4 hours a day. Some days
\nI would write only a page or two, and then find myself rewriting the same pages
\nover and over until I felt it was clear enough. This process went on until the
\nend of 1999. When I finished, I felt a great sense of relief. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I had done it. My first book was called It Is All One <\/p>\n At this point my life had also gone through some big I chose to trust that somehow things would work out as they <\/p>\n Before writing Prophet or Madman<\/i> I felt it would be helpful to know more about the <\/p>\n Staying committed while letting go of my previous life <\/p>\n The Buddha said, “Those who practice the Way might well <\/p>\n Ecclesiastes 1:13 (New King James Version): “And I set my <\/p>\n Regardless of your path or what religion you practice, if <\/p>\n Love and Light,<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Brother Bruce<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Prophet or Madman<\/i><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" To say that living in an awakened state is a challenge would be quite an understatement. After God told me that I was to write a spiritual book and explain the true meaning of Unconditional Love, it seemed I had first to go through a kind of metamorphosis. My vision and understanding of life…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":234,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,5],"tags":[44,40,10,39,41,43,42],"class_list":["post-10","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-higher-consciousness","category-spirituality","tag-american-dream","tag-bible","tag-prophet-or-madman","tag-rebirthing","tag-spiritual-life","tag-struggle","tag-wisdom"],"yoast_head":"\n
\nTruth<\/i>. My sense of accomplishment was short
\nlived, however. Much to my surprise I found that most people who read my book
\nwere not getting it. My own mother said that she could not understand what I
\nwrote! <\/span><\/p>\n
\nchanges. The business I had started and ran as President and CEO could not take
\nthe strain of my not being there. My business partner and my wife came to me
\nand told me that they were in love. This led to both a business breakup and a
\ndivorce. I was then faced with another hard decision: I could use what
\nresources I had to rebuild my life, or continue with the commitment I had made
\nto God. <\/p>\n
\nshould. What I heard Spirit tell me was that I had to rewrite It Is All One
\nTruth<\/i>, and so I set out to write another
\nbook. That book is called <\/span>Prophet or Madman<\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nBible. I read the complete New Testament as well as parts of some writings from
\nother religious traditions. I discovered that many ideas were close to my new
\nunderstanding and others appeared to be far away. I also found that my presentation
\nwas in some ways conflicting. <\/span><\/p>\n
\nproved to be a challenge. I soon discovered that it is not easy to remain in
\nthis world and be detached from it at the same time. Today, I realize that the
\ntransformation from our human life back to our spiritual one is not easy. When
\nJesus said that you must be vigilant in every moment, he was 100% correct. <\/p>\n
\nfollow the example of an ox that marches through the deep mire carrying a heavy
\nload. He is tired, but his steady gaze, looking forward, will never relax until
\nhe comes out of the mire, and it is only then that he takes a respite. O monks,
\nremember that passions and sins are more than the filthy mire, and that you can
\nescape misery only by earnestly and steadily thinking of the Way.” <\/p>\n
\nheart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under
\nheaven; this burdensome task God has given to the sons of man, by which they
\nmay be exercised.”<\/p>\n
\nyou wish to awaken yourself and live awakened in this world you will have to struggle.
\nMore to come…<\/p>\n