As Jesus was about to enter Jerusalem, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say I am?" Only Simon had the insight to see with the eyes of the soul. In doing so, he recognized that Jesus was a man who embodies the living Christ. In other words, he looked beyond the physical evidence to confirm Jesus’s higher virtues by using the power of the spirit within himself.

If you are like most people, you experience life through the eyes of Ego mind, rather than the eyes of your heart and soul. This is a mistake, and it limits your experience of life. The Sufi poet Rumi suggests you return to the root of the root, to the essence of your very soul. If you succeed in doing so, you learn why you are truly here. Buddhism puts it another way. It suggests that your attachment to material "things" interferes with your access to higher levels of being. It suggests that you leave attachment behind and instead, experience life with the eyes of your soul. 

In other words, relying on the mental and physical, as your center of focus, ensnares you and limits your awareness. Instead, you must give up this dualistic perspective and allow yourself to experience life with the eyes of the Spirit of God within you. Doing so breaks the chains that have held you down for so long. Remember, your life challenges are the necessary forces that shape you into the beautiful pearl that you are in the process of becoming. Embracing and transforming them allows you to experience living from the heart.

Join Reverend Dennis Ashley this Sunday for a lesson about becoming the very gift of God you are by seeing yourself and others with the eyes of love. 

Our featured ensemble is SOUL. They are Gwen Gathercoal, Paul Gathercoal, Jim Turner, Dagan Williamson, Patty Ashley, and Laura Wineteer.