From the beginning of existence,  the universe and our planet, untouched, has evolved throughout time in a natural state of Being, manifesting, existing and operating in interconnected harmony; from our eco systems, to the universal pull that aligns the planets, moves the tides, the sun and moon and turns the seasons, to tiny seeds drawing strength and sustenance from the elements, growing into trees, oxygenating the planet. 

Humanity evolved in that harmony, intrinsically connected and linked into those same universal forces.  Born into this pristine natural world, as organic entities embodied in a physical form, there can be no doubt that the human race began its existence alongside nature, in a pure state of Being.

During those earliest incarnations, eons before the current demands placed on us by the modern world, as ancient civilizations and aboriginal cultures have and continue to show, we had intimate knowledge and awareness of our place within that system, adapting and harmonizing accordingly.

Then, at some point in our evolution, we fell from a ‘state of Grace‘.  Separated from that pristine, indefinable source that manifested as our inner Truth, we wavered and lost sight and knowledge of what and who we really are, our true place and purpose within the universe and natural world.  This state of separation was perpetuated by the sheer demands placed on us by successive rebirths into an increasingly industrialized and materially propelled world.  Human existence became focused on and dominated by individual wants, needs and desires.

Overloaded by sensory stimuli, grasping at pleasure, repelling pain, from the moment we first draw breath, every experience reinforces the ego, grounding us firmly in our sense of ‘I’.   Fulfilling personal wants and desires becomes a primary focus, what we base our sense of wellbeing and happiness on.   But it is a temporary, unsustainable happiness, that continues to fluctuate as conditions change.  Our much longed for fulfillment remains as illusive as the inner peace we crave but can never find.  Rather, what manifests in its place, deep within us, is an empty, restless disquiet.   And so inevitably we continue on, through successive rebirths, repeating patterns of behavior which perpetuate our false sense of self.

For some of us though, that restless longing shapes itself around an inner spiritual knowing, an ancient remembering, the strength of which leads us forward in search of something greater than what we have come to know.  And when conditions are ripe, it manifests in the enlightened form or words of a Master or Teacher, Bodhisattva or Saint, whose wisdoms and enlightened presence resonates with that primordial inherent Truth, at the very core of our being. 

And so we turn back to our inner world.  For only by turning inward, back ‘from whence we first came‘, can we ever hope to realize our true and full potential.  It is glimpsed momentarily, during deep reflection or meditation, or at the time of death, as a radiant, indefinable essence, all encompassing in the power of its purity and love.  Timeless and eternal. 

God, Buddha nature, Brahma, universal or cosmic consciousness -  all originate in and from the one same source.  Infusing and animating the entire universe, it manifests deep within us, as our true enlightened state.  Deep, sustaining inner peace and joy can only come when we uncover, live and stand in once again, that enlightened Truth that is our original state of Being, the state of limitless Grace.  And when we do the Universe responds, resonating within, manifesting without, all that Is, in perfect and true accord.

copyright S. L, 2012