In a previous post we explored what Jesus may have meant by The Kingdom of Heaven.
But how do we access this state of eternal presence?
The most common way is meditation and practice.
But what do we meditate on, and how do we practice?
This is a personal journey that each of us have to embark upon. So much of it can’t be written down because it’s about lived experience. Words aren’t sufficient instruction.
But in January of 2022 I stumbled upon a track that I believe sums up a great deal of what I’m talking about. Now if you’re like me you might not click on embedded links in emails or posts very often, and that’s totally OK.
But if you’re seeking that thing I’m referring to—then I would encourage you to take three minutes and listen to this track…
Spotify link:
YouTube link:
This was by far my most listened to Spotify track for 2022. I would put it on anytime I wanted to help ground myself and within a couple minutes find my state completely transformed.
I could listen to it all day. (Sometimes I did listen to it all day.)
Let’s take a look at the lyrics…
You're tuned to Dawn FM
The middle of nowhere on your dial
So sit back and unpack
You may be here awhile
Now that all future plans have been postponed
And it's time to look back on the things you thought you owned
Do you remember them well?
Were you high or just stoned?
And how many grudges did you take to your grave?
When you weren't liked or followed, how did you behave?
Was it often a dissonant chord you were strumming?
Were you ever in tune with the song life was humming?
If pain's living on when your body's long gone
And your phantom regret hasn't let it go yet
You may not have died in the way that you must
All specters are haunted by their own lack of trust
When you're all out of time, there's nothing but space
No hunting, no gathering
No nations, no race
And Heaven is closer than those tears on your face
When the purple rain falls
We're all bathed in its grace
Heaven's for those who let go of regret
And you have to wait here when you're not all there yet
But you could be there by the end of this song
Where The Weeknd's so good and he plays all week long
Bang a gong, get it on
And if your broken heart's heavy when you step on the scale
You'll be lighter than air when they pull back the veil
Consider the flowers, they don't try to look right
They just open their petals and turn to the light
Are you listening real close?
Heaven's not that, it's this
It's the depth of this moment
You don't reach for bliss
God knows life is chaos
But He made one thing true
You gotta unwind your mind
Train your soul to align
And dance 'til you find that divine boogaloo
In other words
You gotta be Heaven to see Heaven
May peace be with you
There’s so much I love about these words. Cognitively, yes, but also what they do to me. What they do to my soul. How they transform my state almost instantly.
In listening, we find ourselves at the end of life, in a sort of purgatory, looking back at all we thought was important. We look back at our disharmony with life:
Now that all future plans have been postponed, and it's time to look back on the things you thought you owned: do you remember them well? Were you high or just stoned? And how many grudges did you take to your grave? When you weren't liked or followed, how did you behave? Was it often a dissonant chord you were strumming? Were you ever in tune with the song life was humming?
This is almost too much to bear, but it continues:
If pain's living on when your body's long gone, and your phantom regret hasn't let it go yet. You may not have died in the way that you must, all specters are haunted by their own lack of trust.
And then, in a just few words, we see all of our universe, including humanity’s history, in sum:
When you're all out of time, there's nothing but space, no hunting, no gathering, no nations, no race.
Time & Space. Hunting & Gathering. And the social constructs that divide us.
A reminder that when the grave comes we’re all the same. This is all heavy stuff to contemplate.
It’s at this point, facing our grief, that the idea of Heaven is introduced:
And Heaven is closer than those tears on your face; when the purple rain falls, we're all bathed in its grace. Heaven's for those who let go of regret.
But much like Moses and the Promised Land, we can see this Heaven but we can’t access it:
And you have to wait here when you're not all there yet.
But suddenly, hope is introduced:
But you could be there by the end of this song.
By the end of this song, really? I love this idea. No matter how bad things seem, no matter how far away or disconnected we may feel, enlightenment is available to us all, and it’s available today. It’s available now.
This hope continues to build:
And if your broken heart's heavy when you step on the scale, you'll be lighter than air when they pull back the veil.
And then we receive the simplest of instructions:
Consider the flowers, they don't try to look right, they just open their petals and turn to the light.
Secrets are being revealed to us:
Are you listening real close? Heaven's not that, it's this. It's the depth of this moment, you don't reach for bliss. God knows life is chaos, but He made one thing true: you gotta unwind your mind, train your soul to align, and dance 'til you find that divine boogaloo.
And suddenly we realize that this purgatory we’ve been experiencing isn’t in the wake our death. This purgatory is our lives. We’ve become the living dead.
Disharmony and regret and striving to control reality have imprisoned us in a purgatory that prevent us from experiencing the moment, this moment. They’ve prevented us from experiencing our very lives.
But Heaven is available now. Freedom is available now:
In other words, You gotta be Heaven to see Heaven.
May peace be with you.
Ps. Sometimes our teachers come from unexpected places. These incredible lyrics were written and performed by none other than Jim Carrey. Yes, that Jim Carrey. And in just under three minutes Jim has distilled millenia of spiritual insights and helped us see how we might make the most of this reality.
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This is so rich and very much in line with the post I published today.
Totally awed. Period. ❤️🦋👏🌺🌸🌼