The Focus of My Thoughts . . . for the next while will be

Once my perception is disengaged from the domination of the preconception and my personal interests, it is free to experience the world as it is and to behold its inherent magnificence...

Perception of the miraculous requires no faith or assumptions. It is simply a matter of paying full and close attention to the givens of life, i.e., to what is so ever-present that it is usually taken for granted. (Michael Stark and Michael Washburn. “Beyond the Norm: A Speculative Model Self Realization”  Journal of Religion and Health Vol 16 No.1 pp58-59)

The true wonder of the world is available everywhere, in the minutest parts of our bodies, in the vast expanses of the cosmos, and in the intimate interconnectedness of these and all things.

We are part of a finely balanced ecosystem in which interdependency goes hand-in-hand with individuation.

We are all individuals, but we are also parts of a greater whole, united in something vast and beautiful beyond description.

Perception of the miraculous is the subjective essence of self reali-zation, the root from which man's highest features and experiences grow.

Self realization is born and matures in a distinctive kind of awareness, an awareness that has been described in many different ways by many different people.

The mystics, for example, have spoken of it as the perception of the divinity and perfection of the world.

Dr Richard Bucke referred to it as Cosmic Consciousness; Buber described it in terms of the “I-Thou relationship”; and Maslow gave it the label “Being cognition.”

We shall use Ouspensky's term and call it the Perception Of The Miraculous. “Miraculous” here refers not only to extraordinary phenomena but also to the commonplace, for absolutely anything can evoke this special awareness provided that close enough attention is paid to it.

Once perception is disengaged from the domination of preconception and personal interest, it is free to experience the world as it is in itself and to behold its inherent magnificence ...

Here is a little homework of consideration and observation. Divide the month up into even days and odd days ...

 

On Even Days consider the following using the guidelines that are suggested.

 

So why is it I do what I do?

 

Now as I consider why it is that I do what I do ... know this!

• Every step toward understanding loosens the grip of conditioned experience and its resultant fear on my point of consciousness.

• With each new insight, I will gain a glimpse of what creation really is.

 

• Each glimpse increases my creative power until the balance between my mind and the ego is tipped in the mind's favor.

 

• When that happens, progress is rapid indeed.