In Tine

* in tine

The source of reality is inside you. It is your essence.

Here Jesus points the way to hidden dimensions, not simply the conventional notion of Heaven. When you go inside, you are aware of activity such as thoughts and feelings. Your instinct is to pursue the activity that brings pleasure and avoid that which brings pain.

But Jesus spoke of a completely different inner reality. The consciousness hidden behind your thoughts is the consciousness that upholds all intelligence in the universe. It is personal and collective at the same time. The personal is made up of your relationships, the collective is made up of the myths and archetypes common to all cultures. Both dimensions are you, and you can begin to connect the two as a bridge to the sacred.

Sit quietly when you have time to be alone and undisturbed. Choose a prayer that you feel comfortable with, or a phrase from that prayer. Silently repeat the words to yourself, letting them settle naturally into your awareness, becoming softer and deeper. Continue for at least five minutes and up to twenty minutes. This kind of sacred repetition is common to every religious tradition.

When you open your eyes, let your gaze settle on a sacred image. Ask this figure to embody itself through you. Gently feel a connection. Don't force this, just put out the intention that the archetype merges with your being. Some people use angels for this purpose, which is the same as asking for the essence of God to reach you.

Now contemplate the specific qualities you want, such as love, compassion, or forgiveness. These are archetypical energies that you are asking to express through your thoughts, emotions, and actions. By calling on your higher archetype, you will find yourself thinking and doing things you never expected as the person you know.

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Generate Your Own Patterns Becoming Your Parents We don't need to become our parents, we can transform our lives and release all patterns and chains that bind. Heredity plays a role in almost all human development, whether physical, mental, or emotional. We tend to look like our parents and are subject to the same sensitivities they have. We may even be predisposed to certain behaviors or preferences. As we grow older, we become increasingly aware of the traits that exist within us and the clear history of the traits of our mothers and fathers. Our response to this epiphany depends upon whether the inclinations, tendencies, and penchants we inherited from our forebears are acceptable in our eyes. We may honor some of these shared traits while rejecting others. However, there is no law of nature, no ethereal connection between parents and children, that states that the latter must follow in the footsteps of the former. We are each of us free to become whoever we wish to be. When we accept that our parents are human beings in possession of both human graces and human failings, we begin to regard them as distinct individuals. And by granting mothers and fathers personhood in our minds, we come to realize that we, too, are autonomous people and in no way destined to become our relations. While we may have involuntarily integrated some of our parents' mannerisms or habits into our own lives, conscious self-examination will provide us with a means to identify these and work past them if we so desire. We can then unreservedly honor and emulate those aspects of our mothers and fathers that we admire without becoming carbon copies of them. Though many of the tempers and temperaments that define you are inherited, you control how they manifest in your life. The patterns you have witnessed unfolding in the lives of your parents need not be a part of your unique destiny. You can learn from the decisions they made and choose not to indulge in the same vices. Their habits need not become yours. But even as you forge your own path, consider that your parents' influence will continue to shape your life—whether or not you follow in their footsteps. Throughout your entire existence, they have endeavored to provide you with the benefit of their experiences. How you make use of this profound gift is up to you.