Glimpses Of Light: A Spiritual Journey of Self-Discovery and Love

By J.M. Shepherd

Glimpses of Light is a Spiritual Journey of Self-Discovery and Love. The Loving ideas and feelings that permeate throughout this book came through experience, channeling, trust, and, most of all, Love. Advanced spiritual concepts and application exercises are presented in a step-by-step manner to progressively expand your awareness and self-confidence. Specific affirmations will increase your feelings of Love so they become a natural part of your daily life. What I have found missing in most presentations are clear explanations of how various mental processes work. This vital information is important in achieving lasting results using your natural mental processes. This book will give you valuable information, tools, and detailed instructions on how to incorporate this Loving information into your daily life. Part 1 "Unfolding the Fundamentals of Life" describes the experiences and spiritual breakthroughs that happened to me and other individuals during our search for truth. Part II "Higher Consciousness" takes the reader on a path to higher levels of mental awareness and understanding. New feelings of Love and compassion will start radiating from you naturally. The word Love is capitalized throughout this book to emphasize its importance as the Essence of the Universe. Be prepared for a wonderful experience when you complete this spiritual journey. You will truly see yourself, your life experiences, and the universe in a totally new way.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jul 11, 2017
• ISBN: 9781640284081

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Glimpses of Light

A Spiritual Journey of Self-Discovery and Love

J.M. Shepherd

ISBN 978-1-64028-407-4 (paperback)

ISBN 978-1-64028-408-1 (digital)

Copyright © 2017 by J.M. Shepherd

Revised 2023

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Introduction

PART I—UNFOLDING THE FUNDAMENTALS OF LIFE

Unfolding the Fundamentals of Life

The Search

Meditation

Glimpses of Light

Connecting with Your Destiny

12 Facets of Love

The Way

Reflections of Perfection

Improving Your Life

Gaining Understanding

Overcoming Fear

Taking Charge of Your Life

The Unfoldment of Life

Higher Alignment

PART II—HIGHER CONSCIOUSNESS

Higher Consciousness

Discovering the Oneness

How Individual Consciousness Functions

Learning from Your Reactions

Creating a Better Now

Heaven—Where Is It?

Working with God Within You

Experiencing More Love

Preparing for Your Initiation into Christ Consciousness

The Second Coming

APPENDIXES

Appendix A

Chakras

Appendix B

Forgiving Others

Appendix C

12 Facets of Love

Appendix D

Loving Others

Appendix E

Thought Reflections

Appendix E

Thought Reflections

Appendix E

Thought Reflections

Appendix E

Thought Reflections

Appendix E

Thought Reflections

Appendix E

Thought Reflections

Appendix E

Thought Reflections

Appendix F

An Inventory of My Good

Appendix G

Achieving Your Goals

Appendix H

Forgiving Yourself

Appendix I

Loving Myself

Appendix J

A Greeting to the Day

Appendix K

Reaction Log

Appendix L

Structure For A Harmonious Life

Appendix M

Seven Days in Oneness with Love

Appendix N

The Internet And Consciousness

APPENDIXES:

Acknowledgments

My appreciation goes to many people, particularly my wife, for her endless patience and assistance in preparing the material for this book.

I am also extremely grateful for the Loving information being sent to me by my Spirit Guides. This inspirational support has been invaluable in putting this book together.

As I think back over my life, there have been so many people that have helped me in ways too numerous to list. To all of you, I give my sincere thanks and deepest appreciation.

About the Author

Writer, teacher, traveler, and metaphysician, the author spent most of his life in search of answers to life's perplexing mysteries.

He has traveled to over forty different countries and visited numerous important energy and spiritual centers throughout the world, such as the pyramids of Egypt; Stonehenge in Britain; Maya and Aztec temples in Yucatan; Inca ruins in Peru; Amazon Indians in Ecuador; temples in India, Nepal, Thailand, and Sri Lanka; Christian and Islamic centers in Spain, Italy, and Turkey; rainforests in Australia; and tribal villages in Africa.

The author was trained and educated in engineering and spent most of his working life in electronic sales and management. He has studied mental awareness, self-improvement, yoga, Reiki, Medicine Wheel, meditation, psychic healing, channeling and taught metaphysics for many years.

His lectures, tapes, meditation classes, and written material have provided valuable tools for people who are seeking ways to unfold a more Loving and enjoyable life.

Introduction

Glimpses of Light is a Spiritual Journey of Self-Discovery and Love.

The Loving ideas and feelings that permeate throughout this book came through experience, channeling, trust, and, most of all, Love.

Glimpses of Light contains advanced spiritual concepts and application exercises that are presented in a step-by-step manner so you can progressively expand your awareness and self-confidence. There are also specific affirmations to increase your feelings of Love so they will become a natural part of your daily life.

I have read a large amount of books, attended many classes and seminars, and listened to numerous taped lectures on self-improvement. What I have found missing in most of these presentations was a good, clear explanation of how various mental processes work. This vital information is important in achieving lasting results using these natural processes.

In this book you are given valuable information, tools, and detailed instructions on how to incorporate this Loving information into your daily life.

This book is divided into two parts. Part I—Unfolding the Fundamentals of Life describes the experiences and spiritual breakthroughs that happened to me and other individuals during our search for truth. Part II—Higher Consciousness takes the reader on a path to higher levels of awareness and understanding.

There are certain topics presented in this book that are very important for the unfoldment and understanding of this material. Therefore, these topics will be introduced in Part I and brought up again and expanded on in Part II. Also, because of the power of the information and the Loving energy contained in some of the affirmations, I have found specific chapters to be much more effective when read out loud. These specific chapters will be identified at the beginning of each respective chapter.

As you proceed through this book, you will notice a definite increase in your understanding of yourself and the world you live in. In addition, new feelings of Love and compassion will start radiating from you naturally. The word Love is capitalized throughout this book to emphasize its importance as the Essence of the universe.

Be prepared for a wonderful experience, because when you complete this spiritual journey you will truly see yourself, your life experiences, and the universe in a totally new way.

PART I—UNFOLDING THE FUNDAMENTALS OF LIFE

Unfolding the Fundamentals of Life

Chapter 1

The Search

Seeking the truth becomes a journey of self-discovery and Love.

Who am I?

What is God?

What causes things to happen in my life?

What is the purpose of life?

What was Jesus trying to tell us?

What is true Love, and how does it work?

Most of my adult life has been spent in pursuit of the answers to these age-old questions.

Since I had so many questions about life and I couldn't find any common sense answers for them, I became frustrated at an early age. I was intense, quick tempered, and compulsive.

Religion became a source of more frustration and disappointment. As a youth I prayed for answers to my questions until I cried—but no answers came, just more questions.

After years of studying many different religions and still not having my questions answered, I started venturing into the occult and parapsychology. This opened up new avenues of more questions and some scary experiences. I then decided to delve into hypnosis and found it very exciting and beneficial. Keep in mind I was only fifteen years old at the time.

Many years later I decided that I wasn't getting anywhere with my search for truth, so I stopped studying everything. Out of frustration I stated out loud to the universe, I quit. I've had it with searching for answers to the deep questions of life. To hell with it!

A few months after I made this declaration to the universe, something strange happened to me. I was visiting an electronics show at a hotel in Los Angeles. As I walked in the hotel lobby, I noticed someone I worked with. Suddenly a message flashed in my mind—Talk to him. So I immediately proceeded across the room to follow up on my feeling. We talked for a few moments. Then I felt compelled to ask him a question: By any chance are you studying something that you find very rewarding? He paused. With a surprised look on his face, he said, Yes, but how did you know? Without getting into a long and deep answer to his question, I just asked him how I could find out more about this study. He said he would ask his teacher and let me know. About a week later he set up a meeting for me. When I met his teacher, I told him about my spiritual pursuit for truth. The teacher proceeded to tell me about the metaphysical study he was teaching. He told me if I decided to enter the study and made a sincere effort to learn the principles and concepts contained within it, that my questions about life would be answered. He then offered to help me find these answers. My response surprised everyone in the room, including me. I took my fist and drove it into the arm of the chair. I looked him straight in the eyes and said, Every study I have been in has made the claim that it will answer all of my questions. I will hold you to your promise. He looked at me and, without any reaction at all, said, See you here next week. This wonderful man became my teacher, my friend, and my mentor for many years. I learned a great deal from him.

This metaphysical study taught me how to think effectively by using my deductive reasoning. My self-confidence increased tremendously as I began to unfold answers to many of my questions. This was a very gratifying time in my life. However, after many years in the study, I found I needed to explore new avenues for my future spiritual growth. It was a difficult decision to make, but I finally decided to leave the study. When I left, I experienced a deep loss for some time. But after a while I regained my confidence and started investigating all kinds of new avenues of awareness. Fortunately, I had a good grounded foundation to work from, and I used it carefully in order to glean the essence out of an assortment of books, classes, seminars, and workshops. I truly enjoyed these experiences and appreciated the understanding I gained from each one of them.

There was one class I attended that I feel contributed greatly to opening up my awareness to the Loving energy of the universe. This class was called the Medicine Wheel. It was taught by a Native American lady. The eight week set of classes was to help you see nature through the eyes of an American Indian. There were twelve of us in the class, eight women and four men, and we met at her home.

In our first meeting we sat in a circle and she told us about the Medicine Wheel. As she talked, she held a Talking Stick, which was a piece of oak about a foot and half long and shaped like a candy cane. It was carved and had the feathers of three talking birds tied to it: the parrot, minor bird, and cockatoo.

She told us the Medicine Wheel represents the circle of life. To help us understand it more, she used the analogy of a bicycle wheel. She said, The spokes in the wheel are like our own individual paths of unfolding life. We are all heading toward the same common central point, understanding the Oneness of the universe. She then began asking some very deep questions about life. Each one of us held the Talking Stick as we shared how we felt about these questions. When we were done she asked us all to join hands and close our eyes. We were then taken through a guided meditation. We took in a deep breath and let it out slowly three times to calm our thoughts and feelings. We were first asked to visualize Loving male energy coming down from Father Universe into the center of our circle. Then we were asked to visualize warm, Loving, female energy coming up from Mother Earth into the center of our circle. She then told us to visualize both levels of energy joining together and branching out like spokes in a wheel to the heart center of each of us. There was a deep feeling of warmth and Love coming into our circle. When the teacher felt this energy enter her heart center, she sent it around the circle to the right by giving a little squeeze of acknowledgment with her right hand to the person next to her. As the person to her right felt the energy coming in through their left hand, then through their heart and out their right hand, they would gently squeeze the person's hand next to them. As the energy went around the circle, it became stronger and stronger. It felt like this: dah—DAH, dah—DAH, dah—DAH. It was as though this energy became the group heartbeat. Suddenly I felt a rush of Loving energy so strong and so powerful that tears began running down my face. I could not stop the tears no matter how hard I tried. The feeling was so wonderful that I can't find words to describe it. This went on for some time. The teacher said, We are all one in spirit now. And at that moment, the energy within me became unbelievably intense. It was like Loving electricity going through my entire being. This was an experience I will never forget.

As we settled down and started to come out of the meditation, I felt embarrassed with all the tears running down my face. But as I looked up, I noticed that I wasn't alone. There wasn't a dry eye in the group. This was the end of the first class, and we all gave each other a warm, Loving hug and parted company.

As I was driving home, I began thinking about the wonderful experience I had just gone through. Then it hit me. If the energy is this strong in the first class, what's it going to be like in the eighth class?

In our next class we went on our first nature walk. But before we started walking to the forest, the teacher told us to be receptive and open to the energies we feel and watch closely how we respond to these energies. Also, she reminded us to pay close attention to any thoughts and feelings that may come to us along the way.

As I walked along the sidewalk I noticed the street to my right and the cars whizzing by me. Then I noticed the lush forest over to my left. Suddenly a fleeting message came to me. I am now walking on a pathway between life in the fast lane and the beauty and simplicity of nature. I didn't realize the full significance of this message until a few weeks later.

When we finally got into the forest the teacher gathered us all together in the shade of a group of alder trees. She talked to us for a while, and then we formed a circle around one of the largest trees. We joined hands, and she asked us to close our eyes and see what energy we picked up from this large alder tree.

After the meditation we sat down and shared our thoughts, feelings, and sensations. It was at this moment that I could feel a Loving bond starting to grow within our group. You could close your eyes as someone was talking and see and feel what they were sharing.

I remember my experience with the alder tree very vividly. As I closed my eyes I felt my branches reaching up to the sun. I felt the sun's warm light energy coming down on to my leaves, into my branches, and then circulating throughout my body. Now this light energy went down my roots into the earth and began mixing with the earth's energy. The strong mixture of these energies started coming back up through my roots and began dispersing throughout my body, branches, and leaves. I felt energized and inspired. When I shared this experience with the group, the teacher said, You have just experienced the essence of a tree.

With each successive class I found I was becoming more and more aware of the energies that surround me all the time. As the weeks went by and the experiences became deeper and higher, our group formed a Loving bond that still exists today, many years after the class was over. Let me give you an example of the power of this class.

About a year after I completed the Medicine Wheel class I was on a business flight from Portland to Seattle. A young fellow took the seat next to me on the plane. We began talking, and within a half an hour, I learned that he was twenty years old, had stolen $75,000, shot someone, taken about every kind of drug you could think of, and been in and out of many corrective institutions. I told him I was amazed because he radiated such warmth and depth that I never would have guessed that he would have done these things. I asked him what changed his life. He told me that the institution he was in selected him and few others to try an experimental self-awareness class to see if it might help them. He said, The class was called—the Medicine Wheel, and it was taught by a Native American man in Oregon. I told him that I too had taken the Medicine Wheel class, and it was one of the most beneficial classes I had ever taken. I felt a rush of Loving feelings going through me as we shared our experiences together. I asked him what he was going to do with his life now. He told me he wanted to work with abused kids and pass along what he had learned. I asked if he was flying to meet his parents in Seattle, and he said enthusiastically, Yes. I suggested that he send them Love before landing to prepare the way for his arrival. I felt a Loving bond with this young man. We shook hands, and I watched him walk down the ramp to meet his parents.

As I walked over to get my bags, I thought, out of all the different days to fly, different airlines to choose from, different flights to take, different times of day to fly, and different seats to select from, why did we end up being seated together? Could it have been because of the Loving bond we shared through the Medicine Wheel?

Chapter 2

Meditation

"Meditation is the key

to unfolding the deeper truths of life

and the higher vibrations of Love."

Many people have asked me what the difference is between meditation and prayer. Simply stated, meditation is listening to God within you and prayer is talking to God within you.

Meditation can also be defined as a deep level of calm, relaxed stillness.

I have had many wonderful experiences during and after my meditations. There have been times when I was searching for a solution to a problem at work and the answer came quickly and clearly during a meditation. I have also had great success in unfolding answers to my spiritual questions. Sometimes the answers were very clear. At other times I didn't grasp the full significance of what I was unfolding until weeks later.

Music is a terrific enhancement tool during a meditation. Some New Age music seems to touch me spiritually and accelerate my deepest feelings of Love. When I think about these wonderful feelings of Love, I am reminded of that great marble sculpture The Ecstasy of Saint Theresa by Bernini. It is life-size, and it stands in the Cornaro Chapel of Santa Maria della Vittoria in Rome. The work represents the religious ecstasy of St. Theresa as her heart was being pierced by the Angel of Divine Love. St. Theresa described the experience as follows: The pain was so great that I screamed aloud; but at the same time I felt such infinite sweetness that I wished the pain to last forever. It was not physical but psychic pain, although it affected the body as well to some degree. It was the sweetest caressing of the soul by God.

I know you will find, as I have, that meditation is the key to unfolding the deeper truths of life and the higher vibrations of Love.

When I started meditating I found it difficult to still my thoughts and feelings. I was too conscious of my body and my immediate surroundings. A friend of mine suggested that I put on some deeply inspiring music and sit down in a nice comfortable chair in a quiet environment. The next step is to take in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Repeat this breathing sequence five times. Then let go and flow with the music. Nothing else has to be done. Just let go and be in the moment.

As messages, which can be words, feelings, or visual images, start coming to you, just flow with them. The more you practice this, the easier it gets. Information may start coming to you as if in a dream, and you will have to decipher it. When you have a specific question, make it the theme or focus for a meditation by stating your question out loud at the beginning of the meditative session. Then go through the same breathing process as before. Be sure not to steer your thoughts and feelings, just introduce your question and let your energy flow through whatever path is desired by your Higher-Self. You will be pleasantly surprised by the wonderful ideas that will come to you concerning your questions. It is important to note, when your questions are clear and simple, the answers come forth automatically. The clearer the question, the faster the answer will come to your awareness.

Let's look at the mechanics of how the process of meditation works.

Loving energy is the glue that holds the universe together. Consciousness is guiding or directing the energy of the universe. For example, if you want to speak, you just think the thoughts to be expressed and the energy is generated