N.O.W. I see. Do you wonder what it is that I see? Or do you wonder what is different NOW that allows me to see what I could not see before? What I see is the omnipresence of God, the face of God in loved ones, neighbors, strangers, and yes, even in those whose actions I find disheartening. In the NOW I find the place between past and future, where time does not exist, and where Nothing Obstructs Wholeness
This past week has presented us with a kaleidoscope of images and feelings. The decline of new cases of COVID-19 and the conclusion of many Stay-Home orders has been juxtaposed with curfews, violence, looting, and military force all across the United States. And at the center of it all another black man, George Floyd, murdered by hatred and racism. When the world presents us with such disturbing physical images, it is easy to lose sight of the omnipresence of God.
Omnipresence, however, means everywhere present; God is present everywhere, all of the time. It cannot be otherwise. But there can be a disturbance that produces the illusion that God is not present. Yet we can create a window through the disturbance when we choose to see from the place where Nothing Obstructs Wholeness.
A Buddhist teaching depicted by three monks, one with hands over the eyes, one with hands over the ears, and one with hands over the mouth tells us to “See no evil. Hear no Evil. Speak no Evil.” This does not mean to pretend what our physical eyes behold is not there. It means to see above & beyond the disturbance to the omnipresence of God. It means to hear the voice of Spirit more clearly than the words of anger or hatred or their source, which is always fear. It means to speak only Truth, that which Spirit whispers in your ear.
To See No Evil is to See Only Truth
A few years ago, I discovered a company that makes special corrective lenses for people with color blindness. People who are color blind see the world in muted colors with a spectrum as much as 90% less than those who are not color blind. Imagine witnessing the brilliance and beauty of color for the very first time. It would no doubt be an exciting and perhaps an emotional moment.
Perhaps that’s the kind of excitement that occurred for the man born blind that Jesus healed. Jesus heals from the N.O.W. He discounts the idea that the man’s blindness is caused by the sins of his parents, or anything in the past. He says, instead, that the man is blind so that he might make God visible!
Jesus asks the man to make a choice. He says, “Do you want to be healed?” It’s your choice. You can keep being blind, or you can choose to see. Of course, the man says. “Yes. I want to see.” Then Jesus spits on the ground, makes a poultice of mud and rubs it on the man’s eyes.
Then, Jesus tells the man to wash the mud (earthly illusion) from his eyes. The man removes the mud as directed, and suddenly, he can see. He then tells everyone he meets how listening to Jesus (the Christ Mind) has caused him to see.
It is vital to our individual and collective well-being that we choose to see the Truth. And, we must listen to the inspiration of the indwelling Christ Mind and wash the illusion of separation from our eyes, for it is not enough to See Only Truth. We must also Hear Only Truth.
To Hear No Evil is to Hear Only Truth
We hear the Truth most clearly when we quiet the inner chatter through meditation and by paying attention to the many ways that Spirit speaks to us. You may hear it as a quiet voice somewhere within you. Or you may recognize it in a song that pops into your mind. Or perhaps a billboard message will speak to you. However it shows up, you will know the message is from Spirit because it will be grounded in Love. And it will inspire you to speak the Truth.
Speak No Evil is to Speak Only Truth
The words we speak affect what we create and what we experience. It’s easy to get caught up in the illusion of separation and use our words in ways that further divide us. But be mindful that your words carry great power. Will you use your words to create a greater disturbance? Or will you use them to create windows in which the face of God can be seen? Speak Only Truth and then step into that Truth with inspired action. In other words, Do No Evil.
To Do No Evil is to Act Only from Truth
Some people suggest there ought to be a fourth monk depicting Do No Evil. To Act Only from Truth is to let every action be inspired by the Christ Mind. The blind man would not have been healed if he had not taken the action inspired by the Christ to wash the mud from his eyes. Imagine a world in which everyone acted only from the Truth that we are all one with God and with one another.
Our world is in the process of a spiritual evolution. But humanity cannot evolve without shedding what no longer fits the vision of wholeness written on our hearts. That we see hatred, anger, and violence is not surprising – they are there. But are they there because we’ve failed? Are they there because of something done long ago? Or, are they showing up because it is time to bring them into the Light and wash them away? Are they coming up to present us with an opportunity to make God more visible, to take inspired action toward our collective spiritual evolution?
The question is not, “Is there hatred and racism in the world?” The question is, what will you do with them? Will you Let them lord over you? Cause you to be blind to the power of Spirit within you and within all beings? Or will you use them as a reason to practice the N.O.W. and to see the face of God in everyone? Will you use them as a reason to listen more fully to what Spirit is saying to you. Will you use them to speak only Truth and to shower the world with actions inspired by Love?
The world is presenting us with images that can, if we let them, obscure the presence of God. But we can choose at any time to enter the place in mind where Nothing Obscures Wholeness, where we can see above and beyond worldly illusions. In the quiet solitude of the N.O.W., we open our inner ears to the voice of Spirit and Hear Only Truth. In the N.O.W, we are inspired to Speak and Act Only from Truth.
See only Truth; Hear only Truth, Speak only Truth and act only from Truth, and you will clearly see the face of God and be the face of God you are intended to be.
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© 2020 Eileen Patra
Eileen Patra, is an author, ordained Unity minister, and inspirational speaker. She is the author of The Mystical Ark: A Vessel of Blessings, released in July 2019. In 2014 Eileen received the Ruth M. Mosley Award for Outstanding Achievement in Ministry while serving as the Senior Minister at Unity of Livonia, MI. Prior to her call to ministry, Eileen earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from the College for Creative Studies in Detroit. She has published dozens of spiritually-themed articles in local periodicals, online journals, and via this blog.
To view Eileen’s full length talk “N.O.W. I see” visit http://bit.ly/SLC-LiveStream
Talk begins approximately 20 minutes into the video.
A LASER, an extraordinary focused beam of Light has truly miraculous capabilities. Simple waves of Light that usually bounce off of objects of matter, become capable of cutting through the densest structures of steel. The same powerful LASER beam is capable of the most delicate and intricate medical procedures, isolating and dissolving unhealthy cells or tumors without disturbing the surrounding tissues. Even the delicate structure of the human eye can be treated with a LASER to improve or restore eyesight. Like LASER beams, we too are made of Light and we too can achieve miraculous results by focusing and concentrating our thoughts and awareness on that which we wish to experience. Faith is the tool that gathers the Light in us, Prayer and Affirmations concentrate our awareness, dissolving what is not aligned with the Light in us. Through this heightened and focused awareness, we can cut through seemingly immovable obstacles. We can perform the intricate procedure of dissolving thoughts and beliefs that keep us small. Through the focused awareness of ourselves as Light, as offspring of the Light of God, we become like LASERs, cutting through the delicate veil that separates the world of form from the vastness of Beingness; and suddenly, we see with pinpoint accuracy, the Oneness of God that has always there all along. The LASER beam of Light focused on God shining through, reveals the Kingdom of the Heavens that has surrounded us from the beginning but we have failed to see.
HOLOGRAMS allow us to see an image captured on a 2-dimensional surface with a 3-dimensional perception. HOLOGRAMS miraculously display what is 2-dimensional as a 3-dimensional image. A HOLOGRAM torn in two will reveal the exact same complete image on both pieces. In fact, the HOLOGRAM divided into a million pieces would still reveal the complete image on every piece. Like a HOLOGRAM, each of us contain the entire image of God. As spiritual beings, continually evolving, we expand and multiply into billions of expressions of the Divine. Yet we are one continuous, complete image of the Divine ever-longing to return to the state of wholeness from which we have burst forth. What is truly miraculous is that even in the state of what appears to be separation, expansion that draws us apart, we are still one, whole and complete. When gazing upon one another from a God’s eye view, even the space between is miraculously imbued with the image of the Divine. The appearance of empty space is an illusion as there can be no space where God is not. A HOLOGRAM is a miraculous manifestation of the nature of humankind as one with the image and likeness of the Divine.
TENTS seemed quite a miraculous thing to me as a child. I recall pinning a blanket to the top of the fence in a neighbor’s yard, stretching it out and holding the lower edge with rocks to form my own little refuge from the world. Inside the TENT we could hide, giggle, tell stories and share secrets. It was a world unto itself, yet temporary, easily moved to another place for another day. Have you ever thought about the physical forms that we walk around in as being like those TENTS? Our bodies provide a virtual TENT in which we can find a bit of refuge from the vastness of the universe. They are a private place in which we hold our own personal thoughts and ideas. We tell ourselves stories about the world and our lives. Sometimes we laugh and sometimes we cry. And when we close our eyes we can close out the physical world around us and reconnect with the vastness of the universe, with the very essence of Life which is greater than all the stories we tell ourselves. A TENT is a miraculous idea providing shelter wherever we go. Our bodies, the physical body, the energy body, and the spiritual body, provide a place of refuge too. Within them we can close the door to outer appearances aligning our minds with the Mind of God, the ultimate shelter that transcends time and space and all that has appeared before us.
RIVERS are the miraculous pathways the crisscross the earth moving life-giving water from one place to another. Like streams of energy, they move toward the lowest ground. Our spiritual body is an intricate system of energies connected by streams of thought, intention and vibration. Unlike RIVERS of water, we can easily direct the flow of energy in our being. We can choose to let it flow to the lowest space in our consciousness. Or, we can choose to direct our energies higher and bring the entire being into a state of balance or homeostasis. RIVERS are a manifestation of the miraculous process of flow infinitely occurring in our minds and in the universe. When we become aware of this process and our ability to direct the flow it becomes irresistible to step into it. And then, we become the RIVER crisscrossing the field of consciousness moving and directing life-giving energy from one thought to another. 
EYELIDS are miraculous to me in this moment. By purposefully closing them I shut out the world and open an inner sanctuary where nothing can disturb my peace. EYELIDS function without my thinking about them throughout the day. Such a simple yet complex party of my anatomy. They protect my physical eyes from dust, sun and other irritants. They keep my eyes moist and restful. But those are small gifts compared to the opening they create in me when they are closed. What a brilliantly creative element to the human form. I am grateful for my EYELIDS and now I close them and enter the secret place of the Most High and I am blessed.
Eileen Patra 