An Invitation to Peace

By James R. Heldwein

To the mind, true spirituality seems a contradiction in terms; a paradox. Peace, that elusive quality universally sought, is that which you always already Are. You are being invited to sense, know, and experience yourself as This. It is paradoxical to be invited to that which one already Is. The invitation is to allure the mind and at the same time to break through its infinite reams of conditioning. So highly conditioned is the modern human that the entire population, to a greater or lesser degree, identifies with or believes themselves to be the mind.
Have you ever entertained with any degree of seriousness the question: Who Am I? As of this writing, more and more of this planets population are beginning to take an interest in the Truth; the Truth of what they Are, as well as embrace the Truth of what everything Is. Rest assured nothing is as it seems to be, to the mind.
You are being invited to step aside from the mind and its incessant chatter, in the quest for Peace. When the activity of the mind begins to cease, that which is left cannot be described. You are being invited to simply find out what it is that awaits when all that is false is exposed. In this revelation awaits your Truth, your Peace.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press
• Release date: Oct 11, 2016
• ISBN: 9781504366786

James R. Heldwein

James Heldwein lives with his wife Rose in upstate New York. His extended family live nearby. What began as daily journals, documenting his struggles with anxiety disorders, eventually and unexpectedly evolved into an inner exploration resulting in the realization that all we ever yearn for is already and always available, right now, awaiting our simple recognition. Previous published book: “Wind Chimes” (Balboa Press 2014)

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Copyright © 2016 James Heldwein.

Editor: Linda Gibson

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Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

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ISBN: 978-1-5043-6677-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5043-6679-3 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5043-6678-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016915682

Balboa Press rev. date: 10/12/2016

Contents

Dedication

Acknowledgment

Preface

Introduction

Part One

Chapter 1 Life

Chapter 2 The Human Condition

Chapter 3 The Separate Self

Chapter 4 Suffering

Chapter 5 The Thinking Mind

Chapter 6 Truth of the Absolute

Chapter 7 Our True Nature: The States of Being Known as Peace, Joy, and Love

Part Two

A collection of inspirational contemplations

Dedication

Dedicated to my wife Rose, who has always been available for the seemingly endless succession of tasks needed to compile this text.

Acknowledgment

There are no words that can adequately express gratitude for the tireless as well as unending devotion that editor Linda Gibson has freely provided for every phase of this project.

Part One

Dance the Dance of Life

Sleep my Love, even deeper now.

Abide in the infinite caress of the ONE.

Cry me your tears of sorrow, of pain, the pain of the deluded.

Shed from your shoulders the weight of the thought-based world;

The content of the mentally arranged sense of existence.

May your slumber be brief, in order that you may arise from the veil,

the veil of the illusory self.

Awaken to the fullness, the glory that you Are.

Attune to the play of Existence, in a most harmonious medley.

Sing and dance the dance of Life, the Sacred Song whose lyrics yield the

fullness of existence itself.

Come home my Love, come home Now!

James R. Heldwein

Preface

This text is a work of non-fiction. A work that deals with that which is sometimes called Spirituality, and when applicable, Religion. For some, these words may even be judged as controversial. In this light, I begin this work with a quote from the Greek philosopher Aristotle:

"How many a dispute could have been deflated into a single paragraph if the disputants had dared to define their terms."

At the outset then, terms will be defined as they are used in this text to reduce, as much as possible, any misunderstanding. The writings contained herein, most likely, will not be of interest to the ‘mind.’ Interesting feeds the mind and in spiritual practice (as we shall see) the mind is not useful in the traditional sense of the term but is an impediment to the realization of our True Nature.

Our True Nature has everything to do with PEACE. What then is Peace as used in this context? Peace is an inner feeling of calm contentment, a sense of comfort and an inner knowing that all is well. Inner Peace is perhaps one of the most sought after qualities, in addition to Happiness, Joy, and Love. The definition of inner Peace in the context of this text is all of these and much more. In spiritual circles, Peace is sometimes defined as a ‘State of Being.’ This distinction is made to clarify the difference between Peace as a State of Being, as opposed to peace as a mental state. A State of Being is that which is always inherently present, and is intrinsically that which you Are. In the tradition of Christianity, Jesus has been quoted as saying:

"Peace I leave with you, my Peace I give to you. Not as the world gives give I to you." (John 14:27 KJV)

This is the Peace that this text is all about. This is an inner, inherently Divine endowment from That which Created all humans. What distinguishes this Peace from mere peace of mind is that the latter is contingent upon life’s circumstances being seen as peaceful. Logically, peace of mind is deemed very pleasant when it happens. Life, however, tends to be anything but peaceful all of the time. Of course, there are those ‘moments’ that define life and make it worth living, no matter how you define them. Those sacred moments when the mind stops; the birth of a child, a romantic candlelit dinner, a breathtaking view from atop a mountain, gazing into the vastness of a starlit night, and falling in love; these are perhaps some of the most sought after experiences simply because the mind comes to a halt, or at the very least, is not in opposition to anything. The resultant is Peace. Financial independence may have the allure of peace and happiness, especially if you dislike or even abhor your occupation. To be financially free is indeed, for many, the ideal state. Even here, however, true Peace and contentment cannot last long, and sooner or later more and more in the sense of the world’s offerings will be sought. If true Peace were solely dependent on the circumstances of life, it would be a rare phenomenon indeed.

Hence, the realization of and experience of Peace as a State of Being is our only purpose here.

This Peace is dependent on nothing because it already is you, as you. This Peace is within you Now, even if not known, felt or experienced at this moment. The rubric of this text is not to offer you something that you do not already have, but to reveal to you all that always is already available to you. Just as the sun is always shining, though it may not appear as such due to heavy cloud cover. Even during the most violent storms, damaging hurricanes, tornadoes and blizzards, the sun has not disappeared, but is simply cloaked, covered up and obscured by layer upon layer of turbulent cloud cover. While this knowledge may be pleasant to ponder, this text is designed to pave the way and assist you to remove the layer after layer of ‘mental’ cloud cover, revealing once and for all that inner Peace that is dependent on nothing for its existence. Having discovered this inner Peace, depthless in its nature, then endless Joy, as well as uncompromising Love (also States of Being) will arise in concert effortlessly and make themselves known and felt as a direct, everlasting and experiential Reality. This is the only reason for these words; this is why we are here.

This then is your "Invitation To Peace."

Introduction

Spiritual teacher Eckhart Tolle writes of the first flower to appear on the planet. A spectacular event that signified the highest state of evolution possible for plants. Thus, he metaphorically speaks of human Consciousness in like fashion. Although we are all conscious Beings, as of yet very few have ‘flowered’ into our highest possible evolutionary state of Pure, Unconditioned Consciousness. To help enable this evolution is why we write, provide Satsang, (a talk given by a spiritual teacher with the topic being directly in association with the Truth) Spiritual Retreats and general Spiritual Discourse.

The time has come that humanity needs to ‘flower,’ or awaken from the mind-identified state of consciousness to the realm of Pure Consciousness that is our intended as well as our highest evolutionary state. Seeing the intensity, as well as the widespread nature of man’s inhumanity to man, it would appear to be a matter of urgency as of this writing.

Since you have decided to allow these words to take up residence in your psyche, as your author I would be remiss should I not strongly advise that the words, no matter how eloquently penned, are never the Truth. However words being all we have, they must be used in some sequence that will provide a roadmap of sorts, a sign post that will point, and point well, to the realm of the Absolute or Spirit. The words presented here are penned in the hope that, at least in part, they may resonate deep within the reader in order that a full awakening may be facilitated. Allow the words to simply sink into the Consciousness that you Are. Be ready, be sincere, and be open; open to the Truth of That which you Are. Hence, may the Grace of the ONE empower these words, as well as countless other offerings, to provide the catalyst as such for this Awakening to occur.

Chapter One

Life

In revealing the (Absolute) Truth of human existence, spirituality does not attempt to cleanse the lens of distorted perception but removes the lens altogether so that we may see that which really Is, as opposed to the mind’s interpretation of what is.

What is life? Why do we exist? Why go through all the bother? These words are not attempting to offer either a philosophical or an intellectual discussion of the mysteries of Life as countless relevant texts already exist. We are speaking about and discussing Life in the context of spirituality and the Truth; Truth of the Absolute variety. In this light, Life is being examined in a most practical fashion.

An infant is born, a most sacred event! The simplicity, innocence and spontaneous existence of a newborn baby need no description. A human being does not reflect the Divinity, the Pure State of Being in a more eloquent fashion than a newborn baby. A baby, as a most natural expression of Life, is a prime example of pure experiencing and pure Consciousness. The infant does not distinguish between its existence and the ‘other.’ The pure experiencing of an infant is seamless as an expression of an Aware Presence, without the interference of ideas, labels, beliefs and all that is produced by the activity of thought.

In virtually no time the infant becomes that which some may label a ‘toddler.’ Then another seemingly miraculous event happens when the toddler learns they have a name! That moment heralds the beginning of an existence that defines as well as elevates all humanity from the rest of known creation. A human ‘mind’ is born. At the risk of sounding cliché, the rest is history. The formation of an identity based on ‘thought’ or a conceptualized separate self is a necessary developmental stage of a fully functioning child. The child must learn that they are a separate and distinct entity in order to grow, learn, function and mature. The growth and development of the entire human race depends upon independent thinking and that sense of separation that a conceptualized identity provides.

There comes a time, however, that this development needs to take on a different hue in the form of the ‘being’ element of being human. Our entire world culture seems to have completely missed this necessary stage of maturation in the natural evolution of humanity.