“The Kingdom of Heaven is Within”. If this is a truism, what does that mean? Well, obviously we can infer that “within” means that it is within your consciousness; it is a part and parcel of you. That part is pretty simple. What we are really lacking is definition for the “kingdom of Heaven” part. At first glance, you’d think that would be just as simple, but really -- What is that?
When we examine the perceived qualities of Heaven, we know this is what the phrase is really speaking to. So let’s take a moment to examine some of those qualities:
Love (which means acceptance)
Peace
Joy
Security
Unlimited Creation (power-back of creation)
Freedom
Connection to Source (God)
Eternity
If we consider these as a basic framework of Heaven, then suggest they are within us … And thus begin to believe that they are within us … When we begin to align our thoughts toward these aspects … we can begin moving them from abstract thoughts into objectified reality.
Let’s face it, if the vastness and true kingdom of Heaven were within you, would you not view yourself with a bit more compassion, delicacy, and maybe even fascination? If you were to carry the literal Heaven within you, then you must acknowledge that you could never be flawed, broken, or otherwise “less than.” How could you be if the literal Heaven were to be placed within you? Heaven is all things lovely, joyous, and of good rapport.
Yet we often don’t display these traits. Why not? Because on some level, we do not believe or accept that a literal type of Heaven is within us. We write it off as a nice philosophy, a pleasing platitude, but we don’t really believe it. If it were to be true, why does it seem our lives (and the world around us) are more hell than such a so-called heaven would have it be? Well, precisely because we don’t believe it and focus more on the hellish aspects of experience. What you focus on creates “tones of reality” and hardens such concepts into objectified states. We cover up or bury the Heaven aspects that are such a part of our true spiritual nature because we were told in childhood that “Life is hard” or “Life is unfair” – all things which are not what one would experience in an idealized Heaven.
Yet it is in the very force of Life itself where Heaven exists. All environments are created by consciousness, by Life, and thus Heaven is not some faraway place, but can only be an expression of the force of Life each one of us is endowed with -- we just don’t objectify it because we have buried it so deep; some to the point of completely snuffing it out.
Consider: A literal Heaven existing within you, as a natural part of your Life force (consciousness) and is not some philosophy or platitude. Would you not perceive that as something absolutely precious? Something worth preserving and protecting? It certainly makes you think about all the negative self-suggestions and criticisms you unload on yourself, doesn’t it? If a literal Heaven truly existed within you, then how could any of those negative things you tell yourself be true in the overall sense of your nature? They wouldn’t. They couldn’t. If a literal Heaven truly existed within you, it would be far greater than all of those things and blot them out; it’s just as much a part of you (if not the very heart of you), than any of those others. However, the only way to really bring it out is to accept that it’s there and place some focus on it. That means accepting that within yourself, you are loving, lovable, joyful, and can be free and secure within the experience of Life. You may not have ever considered those aspects truthfully before, but if a literal Heaven is within you, then they are there and can be expressed.
It also means you were never born a “sinner”, “less than”, or “off the mark.” You were born with the ability to stray from the Heavenly core of your being, but that core has never left and is still a part of you. You weren’t born automatically at fault; rather, you were born with an ability to come from another angle or perspective than the eternal heavenly one, and over time through lack of understanding or coercion moved awareness out of the heavenly sphere and into something else. If anything, being born with an eternal inward Heaven implies that you were born with a type of perfection on the inner plain of your Life force consciousness, if you choose to accept it. If Heaven is within, then your salvation is already a guarantee – you just have to move inward and claim it. Anyone who tells you that you need to find it outside of yourself is nothing more than a snake oil salesman and needs no more of your attention (and especially not your money).
With Heaven being within, you are never alone. The eternal nature of the plain puts you in contact with all Life everywhere – something we can ascribe to the nature of the subconscious. Moreover, when we come from that space rather than thinking of it, we are engaged with that most beautiful side of our consciousness and are using it in that framework with the rest of Life everywhere. In this sense, it behooves us to let go of our negative self-talk and remind ourselves at every moment “I am Heaven. I have Heaven within me.” Since we have already ascertained all the good things coming from Heaven, this doesn’t make one egotistical or prejudicial. It doesn’t rob anyone else of their own power or place of Heaven, for it exists at the basis of all Life.
It may be the one way of accepting yourself that you haven’t yet tried before.
Contemplate it. Feel it. Objective reality comes from those beliefs and ideas we pay most attention to. If you contemplate and act upon the sense of a literal Heaven within, there is nothing to lose – yet Heaven to gain in your outer experience.
If a literal Heaven exists within, then we must confess that whatever we are experiencing in the outside world shouldn’t take on the gravity that it does, for you have something far greater inside you. The power, the love, the security of Heaven must make the issues of the outer world much more insignificant by comparison, so long as we claim that aspect of us and work from that space. In other words, every day is an opportunity to claim and experience Heaven within, no matter outer conditions. And the more we come from that space and cultivate as a belief about who and what we are, it will blossom and harden into physical fact.
Then let us contemplate what kind of world it can be.