IS
by Dennis Krum
For more than sixteen years, I have
been aware that I am on a path toward spiritual enlightenment.
In the beginning, the course seemed very uncertain and
confusing, for it didn't seem to make sense according to the
ways of the world. Now, it makes more and more sense every day,
and I now know that all of the loving help I have received must
be extended, for giving is a great part of the learning of Love.
Thus, these thoughts, and the circumstances that led to
their discovery, are offered and shared with the hope that they
will affect.....for good those that read them. I ask no-one,
however, to accept them as their beliefs, for each needs to find
his own truth, his own way. There is no right way, and no-one
needs fixing.
I grew up in a very loving family, and was
taught to be industrious, moral and religious. When I reached
high school, and learned to think for myself, and learned
physics, the old, limited religious teachings made less and less
sense. I could no longer accept beliefs because someone told me
to believe, I had to learn for myself.
Growing away from
religion, I began learning of positive thinking and
self-determination. Proceeding into mind stuff (psycho-
cybernetics, alpha-cybernetics, self-hypnosis, bio-feedback,
etc.).
At age twenty-five I set a goal to be a
millionaire by age thirty. The newspaper carried a 2-page story,
Pity Poor Dennis Krum....He Failed To Make His Goal, when I was
thirty... and a half. I had missed by six months.
Still
hard-working and moral, I became a big-shot, a big ego, one of
the movers and shakers in Hawaii. I built my little empire,
taking on all comers and winning, until the U. S. Government
showed me I wasn't so big after all, and I lost my fortune.
For a time, it was Why me? I always played the game fair,
and yet I lose my fortune while the crooks get richer. I had,
after all, only the limited ego view of the world I had learned
to that time, and had no idea that I was ready to learn, and had
thus started to create the perfect learning experience for
myself.
It was then that I read an article in Psychology
Today entitled THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO HELEN, which told about A
COURSE IN MIRACLES. The article convinced me to get the book. As
I began to read, two things happened. First, though intelligent
and a great skeptic, I concluded that no human mind could have
written that book. Second was the AHA syndrome, where you ponder
an unanswerable question, and then the answer appears, and it is
so simple you say Why didn't I think of that?
But these
were the BIG questions, such as the ones that drove me away from
did I lose my fortune? That answer was simple. I had, to a large
degree, mastered the material world. I had to lose it to learn
it didn't really have value, and then I was ready to learn what
did have value. When I was ready to learn, all of the tools and
teachers I needed to help me learn began to appear, including
the COURSE.
About a year before, I had met a wonderful,
very successful man, and I began to see that he lived his life
according to the principals I was reading. Though he had never
heard of A Course In Miracles, he was brought up as a Christian
Scientist, which follows the same Truths. His philosophy was I
wasn't put here to make money, I was put here to do good, and
God takes care of me. And do good he does, including helping me
financially during my struggling times. Since that time I have
been blessed with the most wonderful teachers/helpers I could
imagine. And I have learned, slowly and painfully at first, but
ever more easily and happily.
And today, I have more
than I ever had. Though my stack of dollars isn't as large, I
now have more than I ever need. I have more peace, more
happiness, more joy, and more Love than I ever dreamed possible.
And I am ever so grateful for the Love that has been shown me,
and that I now share with YOU!!!
That one word has
become the most powerful tool in my life. When applied
consistently, unerringly and unequivocally to everything in
existence, it leads to a profound peace, joy, happiness and Love
for all of this great creation that is Life.
It took
many years of learning and growing before the awareness of IS
began to seep into my consciousness. The first step was the
philosophical learning that all creation is for only one thing,
"the healing of God's Son". If the whole purpose of our
existence is to learn that we are one Being, the Son part of the
Holy Trinity that is God, then every "thing", every "event" ' in
our lives, must fulfill that One purpose.
If God is
Love, everything must either be an expression of that Love or a
seeking for that Love. If we see anything else, we must be
mistaken, be judging incorrectly because we cannot see clearly
enough to judge. The next step must be a conscious effort to
suspend judgment until we can see clearly enough to know that
Love in all things. That is where IS works wonders.
IS... is a complete lack of judgment. It is not modified by
words like "good" or "bad", or "right" or "wrong". It stands
independently, all byitself. If something just IS, it has no
power to disturb my peace. It is not judged as "bad" and
therefore doesnŐt have to become "good" to make me "happy", for
I am happy with it as it IS. Nothing is "wrong", and therefore I
don"t have to be "right" and impose my will on others, or on
events to make them fit my judgment of what they "should" be.
Likewise, no other person is anything other than the way
they are. They can be accepted exactly as IS, without them or
anything they do being judged as "right" or "wrong". Then they
can be appreciated as they IS, and only the One Son of God
appears to my eyes, and I see Love.
IS..... isn't a bad
definition of Love, unqualified, unconditional positive
acceptance.
And then I realized, my loving parents gave
me the answer to life when I was born. They named me "Denn IS".
RIVER
View life, for a moment, as a journey down
a river in a small boat. When our consciousness is small, the
river seems narrow and very swift. It is full of rocks and
rapids, and we focus so intently on ourselves that we are always
paddling furiously to avoid disaster. If we keep our focus so
narrow, it will stay that way.
If, however, we begin to
raise our consciousness to include others, we begin to see what
happens to them as they travel before us, and, if wise, learn
from their actions, both good and bad. If truly wise, we seek
out reports from others that are further down the river, and
plan to avoid pitfalls they have discovered. The river then
seems to broaden, giving us more latitude to choose, and more
time to make our decisions.
As our consciousness expands
further, we begin to appreciate those that have helped us, and
begin to leave markers for those that follow. We then discover
the satisfaction and joy of giving, for we are no longer alone
and "selfish".
If truly wise, we figure out that our
viewpoint is limited by the the boat we ride, for we can only
see to the next bend in the river. If, somehow, we could borrow
a balloon and see from a higher vantage point, we could see down
river, and plan our trip accordingly. We could stay on the left
of the river when we saw rocks around the bend on the right, and
we wouldn't have to paddle so furiously to avoid them when they
suddenly appeared in our path.
If we got high enough, we
could see the calm path all the way, and could leisurely plot
our course. From our higher vantage point we could even see
where the river is going, and all of the others traveling along
it with us. Maybe we could even share our trip, and plan gala
parties along the way.
TOO LOUD
Driving down the
street, a nice instrumental tune on the radio, window open, I
pull up next to a car at a light. As I approach, the music
becomes much more full, enveloping me in its beauty.
The
convertible next to me has the radio tuned to the same station,
but very loud, and I realize the stereo effect of two car radios
enhances my pleasure. I know a synergy, of more than just two
radios being merely louder.
I shout "Wow, now that's
stereo" to the other driver. But she can't hear me. Her radio is
too loud, and all of her attention is on the sound.
I
realize that, though we are listening the same, our experience
is different. I am experiencing Love, and sharing, and I know
at-one-ment because of the experience, and I am full and
complete.
She is alone, and separate, lost in her little
world, unable to feel the love and oneness. Yes, she hears the
same song, but is caught up in the medium and can't hear the
message.
And I know, that is how we are, here in a body,
on earth. Our radios are too loud, and we can't hear, and feel,
as I did, that we are in Heaven, too.
RODS AND CONES
Some weeks ago, in Deepak Chopra's Unconditional Life, I
read where our eyes contain a much larger number of "rods" (used
for night vision) than "cones" (day vision)(or vice versa). I
don't recall the numbers, but in my concept it was like 8,000 of
one and 40,000 of the other. I remember thinking that there
might be another purpose for the disparity, as "night vision"
didn't seem to be a satisfactory explanation.
I recalled
my "night vision" training in the military, when we spent time
in a dark room, adjusting, then began to see pictures all around
the room. The key was to look to the side of the item we wanted
to see, rather than directly at it as in light. The training
included field exercises, and I recall how fascinating it was to
find a new way to see.
For the past few weeks, as my
consciousness of "light" has grown, I have been deliberately
increasing my ability to absorb the light of the sun, to the
point that I am now able to stare directly at the sun for ten
minutes or more (near sunset) or in repeated ten or fifteen
second snippets at high noon. This leaves a slight "halo" effect
that interferes with normal vision for a few minutes, but I know
it does not damage my eyes as I previously thought, as nothing
of God can be detrimental to us.
I also understood how
we "step down" or transform light through our being to allow its
use by parts of us that cannot absorb such intense energy, just
as beings with higher consciousness are stepping down the energy
at many levels to where we can absorb it on Earth.
This
morning, illumination filled my mind, and I understood the
purpose of the rods and cones. THE RODS ALLOW US TO ABSORB THE
SUN'S ENERGY AUTOMATICALLY. We don't have to look directly at
the sun for the light to be absorbed, a part of us is designed
for thatpurpose. The cones, on the other hand, are for focusing
directly on the physical world, and that vision is not in any
way disturbed by the rods absorption of the energy at the same
time.
Once that concept was anchored in my mind, the
awareness expanded further. Chopra talks about each cell in our
bodies having the same "receptors" as the brain, thus all can
absorb the intelligence of the I AM, not just the brain cells.
And each cell thus knows its specialized purpose, and works
harmoniously to implement God's plan (unless we interfere).
Just like the rods absorb the incandescent light
automatically, all of the cells of our body automatically absorb
the "light", in ALL of its rays. Just as the cones see the
physical world, our "brain" focuses the energy on the physical
world, applying the knowledge to the physical living of life.
And then the idea expanded even more, to the knowing
that all parts of our body function the same way. Just as the
eyes translate the light to see, and the brain to think, so
fingers and lips (and other body parts) are used to translate
the love to touch, the voice to express love verbally, and on
and on.
And then the idea became whole. "As above, so
below". The understanding of one body leads to the understanding
of the whole. As all of our cells absorb all of the energy
automatically and each part expresses the love in its unique
way, so all of our "selves" (interesting similarity here between
cells and selves) absorb all of the LOVE, LIGHT, GOD, I AM, and
each personality part (body) expresses its Love in its unique
ways.
WOW!!! I AM GLAD THAT I AM.
About The Author
The above is an excerpt from
the book "IS" by Dennis Krum. You may read the entire book through
the link we have established in the Free Stuff pavilion.