The path to enlightenment can be as elaborate or as effortless as you wish it to be. This path ends with the recognition that you are awake. It is a state of mind that recognizes what already is. You do not need to change who you are. You do not need to better who you think you are. You simply need to remember who you have always been. You simply need to extend what exists within.
– James Blanchard Cisneros, Author of You Have Chosen to Remember: A
Journey from Perception to Knowledge, Peace of Mind and Joy, p. 46
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Eternity smiles and embraces her heroes and guides as they return home. The journey has been long, but without distance. It has simply been a journey from forgetfulness to remembrance, from fear to love, from pain to peace, and from perception to knowledge. These heroes have traveled, experiencing all the illusions the world had to offer, and all the lies the ego said were true. And so they will look back at the fear, pain, illusions and lies, and smile in remembrance; for now through forgiveness they hold all such memories in light, and by holding their memories in light they receive understanding. The understanding is this: Every moment in their adventures, every moment in their lives, was chosen by them in order to remember who they and their brothers and sisters truly are – the perfect expression of the mind of God physically manifested here on Earth.
– James Blanchard Cisneros, Author of You Have Chosen to Remember: A
Journey from Perception to Knowledge, Peace of Mind and Joy, p. 47
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The ego, like a hurricane, creates and supports a confusing and chaotic world, yet if you stay focused on your Godself, you will forever live in its eye. By living in your Godself state, you will be at peace wherever you go. You will offer rest to all who come near you, and they will find comfort and peace in your presence. Those bashed around and worn out by the storm, though not understanding why, will find refuge in you. For there are many who know only of the storm. It is their only reality. They will be drawn to you, and question you about your peaceful state. You will provide a temporary shelter, and serve as a gentle reminder that there is another way. They may not yet be ready to leave the storm, but the next time they remember you they will see a break in the clouds and a glimmer of light shining through. If only for a moment, they will experience warmth and reassurance. They will be surprised but not shocked by the experience, for the memory of this light also lives within them. That memory has now been reawakened, and it will offer them peace any time they choose to focus on it.
There will be times when you will forget that you and your brothers and sisters are the perfect expression of the mind of God. These times when you are off-center, you will feel the winds, the power of the storm. You will feel unbalanced. Your ego will have you curse the wind for blowing, but you will not share in its thought system. You will quickly remember that the winds are a helpful reminder of the truth of who you are. You will thank the storm for its reminder, and soon you’ll regain your center. As you come back to your truth, you will again experience peace of mind and joy. You will offer it to others because it is simply the natural extension and expression of who you are.
– James Blanchard Cisneros, Author of You Have Chosen to Remember: A
Journey from Perception to Knowledge, Peace of Mind and Joy, p. 52-53
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Keep in mind that this vehicle, the idea that there is a process that you need to go through to awaken, is in and of itself a creation of the ego, and thus an illusion. Yet, as is the case with all illusions, its only value lies in recognizing that it is an illusion and nothing else. You are already awake. You are already complete and whole. You are truth and love. And you are the perfect expression of the mind of God. The truth of who you are, your Godself, is already in you, and it is well aware of itself.
– James Blanchard Cisneros, Author of You Have Chosen to Remember: A
Journey from Perception to Knowledge, Peace of Mind and Joy, p. 74
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Life has cycles. Whatever goes up, comes down, and what falls can rise again. Progress can be slow: We remember, then we forget, then we remember; we take two steps forward, then one step back. No matter how enlightened we become, we still face the realities of daily life.
A lesson on enlightenment may be learned from the following anecdote:
A young man had spent five arduous years searching for truth. One day, as he walked up into the foothills of a great mountain range, he saw an old man approach from above, walking down the path carrying a heavy sack on his back. He sensed that this old man had been to the mountaintop; he had finally found one of the wise-ones who could answer his heart’s deepest questions.
“Please, Sir” he asked. “Tell me the meaning of enlightenment.”
The old man smiled, and stopped. Then, fixing his gaze on the youth, he slowly swung the heavy burden off his back, laid the sack down and stood up straight.
“Ah, I understand,” the young man replied. “But, Sir, what comes after enlightenment?”
The old man took a deep breath, then swung the heavy sack over his shoulders and continued on his way.
Socrates (character in the story) once told me, “A flash of enlightenment offers a preview of coming attractions, but when it fades, you will see more clearly what separates you from that state – your compulsive habits, outmoded beliefs, false associations and other mental structures.” Just when our lives are starting to get better, we may feel like things are getting worse because for the first time we see clearly what needs to be done.
“After illumination,” Socrates continued, “difficulties continue to arise; what changes is your relationship to them. You see more and resist less. You gain the capacity to turn your problems into lessons and your lessons into wisdom.” 14
– Dan Millman, No Ordinary Moments
Cited in You Have Chosen to Remember, p. 125-126
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Your brothers and sisters will experience how you act and treat them, and they will be surprised. They will want to be like you and understand what it is you are doing in your life to be that way. And you will smile, but not from a sense of superiority, but from the knowledge that what your brothers and sisters are searching for, they already have. They will think of themselves as spiritual children, but you will know them as complete equals and peers. They will ask you questions that they believe they do not know the answers to, and yet when you answer them, a memory will be reawakened, and they will simply recognize that they already know what you are saying. They will understand that the answer has always been within them, simply waiting for the question to be asked. You will remind them that all the questions they could ever ask are exactly like that first question they themselves answered. They will recognize great freedom in this. They will recognize this memory as true. They will thank you for helping them remember their true selves and you will thank them for not letting you forget yours. You will experience great joy and fulfillment from your interaction with your brothers and sisters. You will live in joy with the knowledge that all your brothers and sisters are either living in joy or searching for it. You will even love and respect those you perceive as not searching for joy, for where they are in their remembering process has nothing to do with their perfection. You recognize and know them all as the perfect expressions of God, and it makes no difference where they believe themselves to be in that recognition.
– James Blanchard Cisneros, Author of You Have Chosen to Remember: A
Journey from Perception to Knowledge, Peace of Mind and Joy, p. 79-80
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And finally, at the fourth level of perception, we acknowledge that there are no such things as “bad things.” Gratitude becomes our only response to each and every situation. At this level of thinking, we know with utmost certainty that nothing comes to us that is not held in our minds. If properly perceived, the previous statement offers absolute and total freedom. We understand that we do have the power to determine what will enter our minds. We know that there is no force outside of ourselves that brings lessons that should be experienced as unpleasant. When we are in touch with peace, which is our natural inheritance, we are in a harmonious state. As a result, we make requests from this state and the results of our experiences will be harmonious and peaceful.
– James Blanchard Cisneros, Author of You Have Chosen to Remember: A
Journey from Perception to Knowledge, Peace of Mind and Joy, p. 237
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Footnotes / Acknowledgments
Every effort has been made to provide accurate source attribution. Should any attribution be found to be incorrect, the author welcomes written documentation supporting correction for subsequent printings. For material not in the public domain, selection was made according to generally accepted fair-use standards and practices.
14. Dan Millman, No Ordinary Moments, Copyright 1992, (H.J. Kramer/New World Library).
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