quotes by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

Understanding Our Dual Nature

Understanding Our Dual Nature

Read Understanding Our Dual Nature article by Genevieve Gerard

This article is part of my ongoing series on Soul Awareness.

The experience of being human is an amazing blend of seemingly contradictory factors.

Let us take a moment to consider the diverse parts of the human being that must be integrated every day of our lives.  Understanding this better may help you understand the different aspects of your human nature that are often challenging.

A dear spiritual friend of mine calls this duality, but I feel that term may not capture the full depth and breadth of the dynamics of what it means to be a human being in incarnation, especially at this exciting time in human evolution.

Since the dawn of creation, when human beings first drew in the breath of life, we as human beings have been a unique creation.  We are told in the scriptures, that man was created in the image of God, the relationship between the part of ourselves that is the animal man and the part of ourselves that is Divine created in the image of the creator, has been a source of many questionsIt is that concept on which I wish to expand.

Let us take a minute to consider the meaning of the dual nature of man.  This is a subject that I have long pondered and studied. Within the understanding of that dual nature are many factors that are important to consider.

Divine Observations

The most ancient religions across the planet, even when they differ dramatically in dogma seem to have observed certain essential truthsOne of these truths is that a human being has within them something that is both Divine and eternal.

This truth is acknowledged by the ancient greeting Namaste.”  The meaning of the ancient Sanskrit phrase Namaste is that you honor and recognize this Divinity in another.  This recognition happens in a deep pre-conscious part of your being.  It is both a deep truth and a profound mystery about the human condition.

There are some things that help to consider this dual nature of your being.  Some of these are common sense observations of reality.  Others are more abstract.  Yet, even the most abstract of these seem to be a part of your collective understanding, and archetypal awareness of what it means to be a human being, a unique and amazing blending of what is material and what is spiritual. 

As you delve into this mystery, there are many beliefs that may have been taught to you throughout all of our life that come into play.  When we talk about these issues, these beliefs can be a great support in your understanding or a great hindrance because what I am saying is being judged to match up with the dogma of those beliefs.

What Resonates For You As The Truth

As I write to you today I try, to my best ability, to discuss and explain these issues in a way that have a practical implication upon your life, the decisions you make and how to best take advantage of this miracle of life with which you have been blessed.  As you read this, I am going to ask you to calm your mind and open your heart.  I am going to ask you to consider these words from a place deep within you that resonates and is recognized by you when you hear the truth.

I am going to ask you today to read my words and only judge them by what resonates for you as the truth.  If anything that I write, today or ever does not live up to that standard, I request that you dismiss it.  I am a human being on the same path to being more enlightened in my awareness as you and every other human being who walks the earth.

Nothing I have ever said or will ever say should be given greater authority than the truth.
          – Genevieve Gerard

Inner Sense of Truth and Knowing

Amazingly, each of us has within us a deep sense of truth when we are open to receive it.  The common phrase, “that has the ring of truth to it” describes this experience of considering the truth in what you are hearing or reading.  There is a phrase I have often considered and pondered on along my own path, “no religion is higher than the truth.”  Therefore, it is to this inner sense of truth and knowing that I direct you as we explore this fully human and Divine aspect of your human nature.

As we consider these truths, I also ask you to consider how these truths relate to the practical daily decisions you make in your life.  In my own meditations lately, when I connect to my Soul, my own spark of Divine Light to grow and understand my life and my work, I have been pondering upon a phrase, “practical spirituality.”  Indeed, if being spiritual has a purpose in life it must be to help us live life more abundantly and more joyfully.

The more that I have come to know and understand the spiritual part of my being, the more solutions I have found to the multifaceted and myriad of life’s challenges.  Meditation has been the portal through which I make contact with the Divine spark in me, my Soul, and it is through the vast and unconditional love that is available to me when I touch my Soul, that I am granted both understanding and wisdom to solve life’s problems. 

I have, to the very best of my ability, tried to capture these solutions to share with you in my guided meditations and my writings.  From my own very human challenges in life and from my many years helping others resolve life challenges I have created many meditations.  My husband jokes that my epitaph will be “I have a meditation for that.”  It is my experience that my relationship with my Soul is both immensely practical and life-enhancing.

It is from the perspective of my own awareness of my dual nature as a Soul or Spiritual being that I must integrate the needs of my body, my emotions, my thought with the directing of my Soul.  I shall strive to describe the practical applications of that dual perspective to you now.

Understanding Your Dual Nature

You Have a Physical Body

In order to have this discussion, it is important that we consider what you know to be the seeming diverse parts of your human natureFirst, you know you have a physical body.  That part of your human nature and your human experience is the source for many delights.  The five senses of the physical body are a source for a great deal of enjoyment.  It is a precious gift from the Creator.  It is a bountiful blessing.

If you apply that recommended filter of truth to the preceding statement about your body, I am sure it will pass the test.  There are those in the name of spiritual teaching who have taught you to deny the blessings of the body, with thoughts of shame and guilt.  Nevertheless, I ask you to consider with gratitude and celebration the miracle that your body is.  Open yourself to enjoy and appreciate that amazing part of the wholeness of yourself.

As it is true that the physical part of your human experience is wonderful and glorious; it is also true that you are more than a physical body.  Life, your life, is multilayered and multifaceted.  Yet, from your awareness of your physical nature, you know that the desires and the pleasures of the flesh can easily get out of balance and out of control.

Amazingly, it is your Higher Self, your Soul, which can help you keep your physical desires in balance.  The Soul, or as addiction treatment refers to it, a Higher Power, is often the key to overcoming excess and addiction to the desires and pleasures of the flesh.  This is for many a first step in calling upon their dual nature in a practical and life-changing manner.  It is by calling on the Higher Self, your own personal Higher Power, that you can gain mastery and start a process of integration.

In the Ageless Wisdom, this process is referred to as an important step in human evolution, that of bringing the Soul into dominance over the physical desires and urges.

You have a body, but you are more than your body.  This is powerfully demonstrated when you use the influence and strength of your Soul to transcend out of balance physical desires to move forward in your life.   This is an example of calling upon the advantages of being a dual being, material and spiritual.

You Have Emotions

Likewise, you have emotions.   This is one of the true challenges of our human experience.  Just as dealing with the desires of the flesh can create untold challenges in the human adventure, so too can the experience of emotions present an ongoing challenge.  The wildly erratic nature of emotions, from anger to joy, from hate to love, make having emotions, and especially not letting your emotions be in control in your life, a major focus of the practical application of spirituality.

There is no doubt that coping with and managing the desires of the flesh is an important part of life.  We have all seen the disastrous results of lives where desire and pleasure were allowed to be out of balance in life decisions.  Likewise, the rampant expressions of the volatility of emotions do not lead to a happy or fulfilling life.  This is the conclusion of a thinking man. 

You Have A Thinking Mind

Truly, the mind is an equally powerful part of the wholeness of your being. Through the power of your mind, you are able to understand that you, in your human experience are more than a body.  And, by observing life you know that you are more than the sum total of your rollercoaster emotions.

Your mind and most importantly the content of your thoughts is essential to understanding what I call your spiritual anatomy.  How these diverse parts of the human nature of physical, emotional and mental combine and work together is truly amazing.  The integration and blending of these concurrently diverse forces of the self is the function of the personality.

You Are A Soul

Although the personality does a great job of striving to balance the parts of the self, the real dynamic power of one’s dual nature resides in the Soul. The Soul, that spark of Divine Light that is so rarely even considered in many people’s daily life, is where the real magic of the human experience resides.  However, as we consider the magnificent multifaceted parts of “being” a human being it is important to understand the different nature of the Soul from your personality.

The Ageless Wisdom teaches that the Soul, your Soul, is available to help you live the full breadth and the full joy of your life.  This is a power you can engage and activate in ways that help you conquer the challenges of the desires of the flesh.

You have to grow from the inside out. None can teach you, none can make you spiritual. There is no other teacher but your own soul.
          – Swami Vivekananda

The Soul offers the support to transcend fears and one’s more unpleasant and painful emotions.  Your Soul provides the ignition to the mind to serve in a co-creator relationship with the Divine.  With the empowering of your thoughts through the spiritual principles of the Law of Attraction and the energetic dynamics that “energy follows thought,” you can create your life.  Ponder on this.

We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.
          – Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

Although your personality does an ok job of integrating your body and your emotions with your mind, your personality is not your Soul. Your Soul, which is a spark of Divine Light, is a part of the Creative force and eternal and evolving essence of life itself.

Your Soul, rather than your personality, can do a much more enlightened job of integrating the human nature of your body, mind, and emotions.

To touch your Soul, to open your heart and your mind to that resplendent radiance and glory is life-transforming and can take place every day.  Making this distinction is important in understanding your dual nature as a human being. 

As you develop, learn, and grow as a spiritual being on your quest for more enlightened awareness, it is the touch and transforming power of your Soul that will make the greatest difference.
          – Genevieve Gerard

Soul-Infused Personality

Along the path of spiritual evolution, the integration of the body, the emotions and the mind with your Soul are significant achievements. The integration of each of these parts of the self with the Soul is the forerunner to integrating your personality with your Soul.

To incorporate the consciousness of your Soul with your personality, you must focus your awareness beyond your individual self, into your oneness with all of life. Throughout the day, allow your Soul to overshadow your personality and influence every action you take.  This will make a powerful and profound difference in how you experience even the most mundane things in the world.

It is in the integration of your very human nature with your spiritual nature that the real majesty of being a physical being and a Soul comes into its full glory.

It is in this step in the evolution of a human being and a Soul that the full miracle of merging the physical with the spiritual can be demonstrated. 

Check out any of my guided activity-based awareness meditations to have an experience of this.

I invite and encourage you to experience the many ways that your human nature can benefit from the greater perspective of your Soul’s wisdom and vast unconditional love.

This merging and integration with your Soul (and the ultimate understanding of your dual nature) is the most rewarding and exciting adventure you can undertake. I welcome your comments on understanding your dual nature below.

Namaste,

Genevieve

The Blessing of Love on all that you do!

 

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Last updated 8-18-2019

 

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About the author:
Genevieve Gerard teaches Transformational Consciousness – from first awakening to enlightened Soul awareness. She helps you experience the joy that results from the spontaneous “touch of your soul.”

Read more details…

Genevieve has a Bachelor’s Degree in Philosophy and Theology and a Master of Arts Degree in Counseling and for over thirty years has worked one-on-one with people who were recovering from devastating disabilities and chronic pain. Teaching the mastery of the mind-body relationship she was one of the early professionals trained in biofeedback, visualization, imagery, and meditation as essential techniques to help people heal their bodies, heal their emotions, heal their minds, and heal their lives.

Genevieve’s work demonstrates what she knows so well, “It is spiritual connectedness that triggers physical healing and emotional and mental well-being.”  Helping people, like you, tap into your higher-self is the power she wields to guide you to heal and transform your life.

Now, with this understanding, she combines the effective techniques she developed over decades teaching mind-body mastery along with her extensive experience in meditation and spiritual development to create a synthesis of mind-body-spirit that delivers complete healing and opens the door to unlimited personal growth and an encounter with your Soul.

In addition to her current life guidance coaching sessions, and workshops performed around the world, Genevieve has produced more than 20+ guided meditations in the last eight years that are available on iTunes, Amazon, CDBaby, and her website.

It is her vision that through your experience with the techniques of awareness, visualization, and meditation, the love of your Soul will touch and transform your life through her writings and products. It is her sincere desire that the potential of a life of joy and celebration that seems to elude so many people can become a reality for you, now and forever.

Browse her life story and read the Touch of the Soul that changed her world. To contact Genevieve, visit her keep in touch page.

 

Copyright © 2014-2019 Genevieve Gerard and Touch of the Soul LLC. All rights reserved.

 

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Angels Are Among Us

Angels Are Among Us

Read Angels Are Among Us by Genevieve Gerard

This article is a part of my on-going series on Angels.

How the visible world co-exists with and connects with the invisible world is a great mystery.

There remains among most of us a sweet residual memory of an awareness of the presence of the angelic realm from a time of innocence and acceptance in our childhood when the realm of angels and devas was open to our inner sight.

You may remember this time. You may be one of the rare people who kept this vision open in spite of the input and insistence of those who only value what was material and tangible as real.

You may remember being ridiculed or disapproval as you insisted that this world you could see with your etheric vision was real.

Gradually, you may have learned to accept the definitions and limitations that the world around you defined as real.

If you are one of the rare and special individuals, who clung to a sense of truth and knowing about the nature of what is real, in spite of your reality not receiving the confirmation of those around you, this post is especially for you.

It is a part of the amazing hubris of the human experience to only acknowledge and value what can be experienced, touched and felt through the senses of sight, touch, hearing, taste or smell.

To deny the reality that anything exists beyond the accepted ways of sensing or experiencing the world is an unnecessary limitation. It confines and entraps you to an awareness that constricts, rather than opens and expands, your reality to the amazing miracle that is all of life and all of creation.

Life, and indeed consciousness, is not limited and confined by what is material in the world. To begin to understand this and expand your awareness to feel and explore energy and consciousness beyond the limitation of matter opens your mind.

To think that matter is the only thing that is real denies and confines truth. The fact is, you don’t know, what you don’t know.

It is an important step in consciousness to begin to understand the immense scope of what is real in this vast and amazing multifaceted adventure we know as life.
        – Genevieve Gerard

To begin to acknowledge that both what is composed of spirit is real and simply obeys different universal laws than the laws that govern matter, opens your heart and your mind to an awareness that is even more amazing and miraculous than you have ever imagined.

Physics in its quest for understanding the nature of what is real is just beginning to explore reality in ways that demonstrate that the world is more mysterious and magical that we have ever imagined.

I’m a big believer in quantum physics, which says that the universe is more incredible and mysterious than any of us can imagine, which is my way of saying, ‘Anything is possible, including angels.’
        – Caroline Leavitt

The knowledge of the subtle world is just beginning to be explored and explained by the scientific world. Much of what has been taught in the Ageless Wisdom, or has been revealed in spiritual teachings of the Bible, are just beginning to be explained or understood.

Physics and science has the ability to measure increasingly more refined subtle energies, which unveils a world that is much more diverse and amazing than has been imagined.

The nature of energy, the nature of consciousness, how thought and other invisible forces impact the material world, are all revealing concepts that are changing our understanding of life.

For those for whom the only reality is scientific proof, what is being revealed through quantum physics and especially the groundbreaking field of noetic science, requires opening and expanding the understanding of what is real.

Concepts such as the Holographic Universe and the revelation that space can be inter-permeable, as well as new revelations about the nature of subatomic particles, are mind expanding and awareness enhancing.

Angels Are . . .

In light of these revelations, we can begin to understand how angels can be among us and have always been among us.

Most people believe that there are angels. I think most people want to believe that angels observe our human experience and can at times provide assistance. The concept of a guardian angel appeals to most people. Throughout literature, there have been many stories told of angels appearing in one’s life, often as messengers from God.

That angels can have a message that is personal and revealing is certainly behind the popularity of Angel cards. That angels are still the messengers of God, aware of a willingness to provide assistance, is a very comforting and appealing concept.

This leads to wondering how the angelic or spiritual realm can connect with and influence the world of dense matter or more significantly come into your awareness.

It seems a first step is to understand that matter must obey the rules of matter, but that there is that which is not matter and therefore functions by different rules. The inter-penetrable nature of space demonstrated through particle physics provides a hint that is most likely beyond the understanding of most people.

Luckily, your consciousness is not limited by your ability to understand these different realms, nor is the truth or nature of the realm of spirit limited by your understanding. Your consciousness can travel freely from the world of matter into the realm of spirit. This you can do through meditation. This you can do by deep pondering in nature.

Open yourself to an encounter with heaven, be as a little child. Release your desire to the winds of the universe. Trust your angels to catch your wish and bring it to you in a delightfully surprising way.
        – Doreen Virtue

People often find it easier to sense and touch the spirit world when they are out in nature. The intermingled interaction between spirit and matter is more visible when the bombarding of the physical senses becomes less intense. When you are in nature the presence of the world of spirit blends with the presence of life itself.

Away from the noise and bustle of cities and stress, in the quiet and amidst the teaming of the life force of nature, is an excellent opportunity to renew and refine your ability to commune with and open your awareness to, the rich energy of the world of spirit.

In order to experience the world of spirit it is helpful to have some understanding of the part of creation that not only co-exists with our human life experience but also co-creates in its own realm under its own Divine direction in harmony and cooperation with the world of matter.

To understand that the realm of angels is different from the world of tangible substance and matter does not make one realm real and the other unreal. It does mean however that they operate within distinctive parameters. They serve different purposes and functions in the world. They are experienced through a distinctive sense that is more attuned to subtle and etheric energy, than the more dense matter that is perceived through the senses of sight, sound, touch taste, and smell.

Angels have long been presences in many of the world’s great Cathedrals. There they have an almost tangible feel that supports the bridging of the awareness of spirit requested by human petitioners.

It is believed by many who receive impressions from the angelic realm that this impregnating of the world’s great Cathedrals is an act of service by the angels so that humans may have an experience of their Soul, which resides in the realm of the angelic. Their presence serves as a conduit to a greater experience of your Soul, thus making it easier to be open to the energy of the world of Spirit.

I believe angels are always among us and we can feel their presence. We can open our hearts and our minds to the soft gentle voice of their nature by invitation and invocation in meditation when we have the intention to experience the world that is not made of matter, yet is no less real.

The Nature of Angels

It is important to understand some essential elements of the nature of angels. Angels are beings who live and move and have their being in a way that is unique to them and different from the human evolutionary experience. Their being resides on a different plane of existence.

The essence of Divine Love weaves the fabric of their life. That is why the sensing or appearance of angels is usually associated with a profound sense of being loved. It also explains why throughout time most who have written of angels have described them as residents of heaven.

The realm of the invisible, that is the realm of angels, is also the realm of your Soul. Your Soul, your guardian angel, and a mystical angel known as the Angel of the Presence are all a dynamic part of your human evolution that is a part of this invisible realm of being.

This awareness may shift your understanding of the phrase oft-touted:

“We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.”
        – Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

Think about that possibility and consider what implications that would have in your life. Ponder on this.

You are a spark of Divine Light. You were created in the image of the creator. These are deep truths and deep mysteries that speak to a sense of knowing that defies logic. You are an eternal being who has entered into matter for a span of measured time out of eternity.

You don’t just have a Soul; your Soul is the essence of your being. You have a physical body, emotional body, a mind, and personality but these are under the influence of your Soul, which is the eternal spark of Divinity that defines you.

What you can touch, see, feel, taste or smell all exists in the world of matter. What you can sense beyond the 5 senses of matter comes to you through the gifts of the higher mind, intuition and sensing and impressions of your Soul.

To open your awareness and your ability to touch the reality of this realm of consciousness you need to utilize invitation and invocation to make it accessible to your conscious mind while you sit quietly in the stillness.

Meditate to Invite Angels to Appear

I have found that meditation can be the doorway to experiencing these subtle energies, so I have created a meditation just for you to invite angels into your life.

Before you begin this meditation, you might wish to have a journal and pen at hand so that you can record and capture whatever insights, guidance or impressions you receive.

To begin a meditation to connect with and commune with Angels it is important to first quiet your mind of the constant chatter that masks your ability to hear the promptings in the silence, the still quiet voice of the Soul and of angelic presences.

As much as you are able, suspend thought and judgment as you calm your mind, open your heart and invite the Light.

As you sit quietly and prepare to listen, not with your ears but with your inner ear and to see not with your eyes but with your inner sight, let your mind be open and receptive.

Then issue an Angel invocation and invitation by saying in your heart and mind:

Angels of Light, Angels of Love, Angels of God, I invite you to come into my presence and reveal to me any messages, thoughts or impressions that can help me at this time in my life.

I open my mind to receive any thoughts or impressions that will guide me in my heartfelt desire to live a better life.

For the gift of your guidance, I give thanks. For the blessing that you have come to my awareness at my invitation and invocation, I give thanks.

Now, having issued the invitation sit quietly and receptively for about 5-10 minutes.

Record in your journal any thoughts or impressions you might have. Once you feel the connection to the angelic presences, you can offer up a specific issue or challenge about which you need help and clarity.

Remain quiet and receptive, observing.

This time of communing will begin to fade.

Before you return to your daily life, express your gratitude for this quiet time and any clarity or understanding you may have received.

Carry with you the peace, the love and the joyful sense of communion you may have touched in this meditation.

I invite you and encourage you to open your heart and your mind to the presence of angels in your life. Connecting with your Soul is a portal to consciousness of the world of angels and the Divine that can have impact and influence on your life.

The guidance, the wisdom, the love and the joy that are available through expanding your awareness is empowering and amazing.

When you open your heart, and your mind to experience and enjoy the beauty and blessings of your life on all levels of your being, physical, emotional, mental and spiritual, the miracle of life will be revealed. Joy and love will fill your life. This love and this joy are your birthright and are available to you when you open up to the belief that angels are among us. Celebrate!

Namaste,

Genevieve

The Blessing of Love on All That You Do!

 

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Last updated 11-7-2017

 

Copyright © 2015-2017 Genevieve Gerard and Touch of the Soul LLC. All rights reserved.

 

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