Work in progress

Good day my brothers and sisters.

Part of having a good day is to make others aware of the benefit.

Start by smiling and saying, `Have a good day`, to others.

Continue by not seeing `others`, but sisters & brothers!

Above are four paintings, I was just going to say that I started in tandem.  Wrong. That would be two paintings!  Could it be right to say that they are being painted in conjunction? Yes. No. Dont know, or dont care. Lets move on.
                                          When we hear the word `Mantra` we often think of eastern religions, yet this is far from reality. The word `Mantra` is a Sanskrit word and it indicates a word or a phrase or a simple thought not expressed in any detailed words, or a mental picture not examined in any detail. If it is a word or a phrase you gently repeat it in your mind but do not think about its meaning. You just hold it in your mind in order to quieten the imagination. It is something given to the imagination to quieten it. It has a kind of hypnotic or quietening effect on the imagination, but in this state a person is not in any sense under hypnosis. Let me first of all explain in more detail about the use of Mantra.
 Your mantra could be a religious word, such as OM or Amen. Or a phase from the Bible such as, `Into your hands I commend my spirit`. I quite like to use both; `I am healthy wealthy, wise, I am Love incarnate` and `I am, you are, we are, LOVE`. Or then again, `Give me a pure heart o Lord and put a right spirit within me.` or `Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me`. Some people add, `a sinner` on the end. My problem with that is if I have just taken communion then I am without sin until it once again enters me from the realms of this world! Whatever phrase or word you pick, gently repeat it until your mind goes out beyond it. It goes out to God, but we are not to picture any image of God, for God is beyond all we can imagine.
 As far as our thinking mind is concerned God means for us simply nothingness because He is the infinite, He is the unbounded, and as we reach into our heart, in our will , our intention, beyond every distinct thought and every distinct mental picture and hold ourselves in the attitude of attentiveness to the unbounded indescribable God. Now where is the mantra? The mantra is at one side. You are not particularly noticing it but you are aware that it is helping to keep your imagination steady. As the bent of your soul reaches out to God more securely, more firmly, you feel less need of the mantra which is like a kind of crutch to help you remain in this state of attentiveness, and as this state gets stronger the mantra gets lighter and lighter, it becomes vague. If it began by being a few words it tends to shrink into a single word, and even that single word begins to get vague and almost fades away. For example, `Thank you Jesus.` May become, `Thank you.` or `Jesus.` Then the mantra seems to recede into the background. In a vague way you know it is there but it seems far away because the bent of your soul is leaning towards God in a way that is not expressed by any thought or image.
  Sometimes in fact the mantra might fade away completely and then you are in a state of pure consciousness, a state of what is called transcendence because you have transcended or gone beyond every thought and every image. That state might not last very long and you may find that you need to come back to the mantra again and rest on it awhile. When you thus come back to the mantra, come back only to the extent that is necessary to support your attention, do not go right back to the beginning when you had to use the mantra in a very distinct and obvious way.
  The mantra does not have to be a phrase. It is all the better if you only need a word, a single word, and here also people will choose whatever word they like.
  Agape. The verb translated "love" in John 3:16. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Paulo Coelho describes it as "The love that consumes." ie, the highest and purest form of love, one that surpasses all other types of affection.
So my brothers and sisters. Those of you that have read this far will perhaps like me be realizing how it
is impossible for those of us who are either enlightened or seeking enlightenment, to be content with this world, as it is finite and yet we must while here always be seeking to follow the way of Agape.
Peace and love to you all, from this smiling buddha brother of Jesus. Peter.