Thoughtful Thursdays-#313 November 9th The Strong Within Daily Affirmation Podcast

I Find Heaven Within

"The main object of religion is not to get a man into heaven, but to get heaven into him." — Thomas Hardy

When I lived in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin…a suburb of Milwaukee… My next-door neighbor Mike become a great mentor in my life. And as life would have it, he became my landlord later as they were selling the house I was renting at the time. Mike’s studio apartment that was connected to the back of his house had just opened for rent and so I moved in.

Mike and I spent many days talking, and I learned so much from him. And during the spring and summer months we would sit on the front porch as he called our place heaven. He taught me that heaven wasn’t a far-off place, but was a decision to be a part of. He taught me that as humans we can focus on heaven or hell in our mind. We literally can create our own dwelling by what we focus upon. And so I spent many days in heaven talking about the deeper ideas in life with him.

From my religious experience, I had been taught that heaven was a place of reward, a place that only the best souls could inhabit…and I lived in fear of life and God as I spent my existence trying to earn my way into this far off place. And I’m not wanting to contradict anyone’s religion, but heaven is something that doesn’t have to be waited upon. Religion is used to help us understand God, and I’ve found that the journey of knowing God, of knowing ourselves, and truly understanding that we are One… will be a life long journey.

Over my life time some of the greatest stories I’ve heard always involved the search for immeasurable treasure. The mountains of gold, the cities of gold, the streets of gold… and in the greatest stories there was always a constant…while the heroes searched thousands if not millions of miles, and some even searched for their entire life…they always found the treasure in the same spot…within themselves.

And I think we get heaven confused as a place. I think we get heaven confused as a destination that once we make it then we can stop being who we were as we are magically transformed into pure souls…and I don’t buy into that theory. I spent years punishing myself for not being good enough, I contemplated the gates of hell in my depressions and thoughts of suicide…and the one thing that kept me on the plane of this physical world…besides the fear of death…was a hope that there was always something beautiful within me. Even in my darkest hells while on this earth…I still had a glimmer of hope. I still had that piece of heaven within shining through…grabbing my attention. That voice inside that kept telling me there was more…that I was more…that this moment of pain, struggle, and uncertainty in my life was temporary.

I learned to stop seeking heaven, and to be within heaven. I learned to know heaven, and to remind myself that all the darkness I feel within is only a choice to live in fear. For hell is a choice to focus on the sadness and darkness that’s temporary. It’s a place of closing your eyes to the beautiful life that is here right now. And I won’t lie, it’s a difficult place to remember…as the world, and ourselves, seem to forget that heaven isn’t a far off place…but it’s always inside of us ready to be remembered and lived within.

I’m not a prophet, and I’m not a savior…but I do have one gift I would like to give you…whether you’re involved in organized religion, or on your own spiritual journey, or whether you are agnostic or atheist…heaven is within you. Every choice is a decision to live within the beauty of this moment…or it’s a choice to focus on the darkness, the loneliness, and separate yourself from the beauty you have within and outside of you at any moment.

Just like the saying, “when you stand for nothing you will fall for everything.” Heaven is the same…it can’t be earned, begged, or fought for…it can only be stood for in everything that we are. So let us not fall to the darkness of our fears, but let us stand and face the light of choosing to find heaven within ourselves at every moment. Let us choose to live a better life because we have decided so.

Today’s Personal Commitment:
How will you choose to be in heaven today? Heaven…is a choice. So take notice of all the times you focus on the things that go wrong, how life is unfair, and all the things that can drag you down…and then see how you can pivot from those thoughts and find a better perspective. We can choose to keep our eyes on the ground afraid of what we might step in…or we can keep our eyes to the sky seeing all the magnificent beauty that is in every moment. Choose to pivot from hell today, and choose to be in heaven…in every moment.

I Find Heaven Within

 

 

Thanks for listening.  I'm sending great energy your way as we become Strong Within together,
Personal Development Life Coach-
Chris O'Hearn

Contact info- email: [email protected]  phone:865-219-3247

 

 

Music by:
- Zest by basematic (c) copyright 2011 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license.
- I Have Often Told You Stories (guitar instrumental) by Ivan Chew (c) copyright 2013 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license.
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