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.

By Dennis Krum
Note from the webmaster:
The above is an excerpt from the book IS by Dennis Krum. You may view the entire book through the link we have established in the Free Stuff pavilion.