Mr. FishOn the desk in my office is a memento that I found in a little gift shop in a non-descript hotel in New Delhi, India some years ago.It’s a green anatomically incorrect fish with a rather ugly face displaying dozens of menacing teeth. It’s carved from a single piece of lime-green marble. The reason I like this fishy character so much is that all along both sides are lattices that allow you to look right into and through what I fondly refer to as “Mr. Fish”.Well, when you take the trouble to look inside Mr. Fish, you find something quite surprising. …You find a whole other fish! That’s right; a whole second fish has been carved right inside of Mr. Fish, and from the very same piece of marble! The artist’s skill is quite remarkable, in that to create the inside fish, it had to be carefully and delicately carved through the many quarter inch lattice holes of the outside fish. The effect is that it makes it look like Mr. Fish swallowed the second fish in one big gulp. It’s a great bit of artistry, for sure. But we both know that marble fish can’t open their mouths and swallow other marble fish; no matter how deliciously tempting they may appear! For you and I are wise enough to figure out that the inside fish was there, in that piece of marble from the very beginning. So, that’s my long-winded preface for what I want to share with you today. And that is, “there’s something wonderful on the inside of us that’s been there from the very beginning!”Of course you knew that already, right? But what is it exactly that you know? We can all give that standard response that we heard in Sunday school or from our parents or from the pulpit, which is. “We are all souls that are made in the image of God.” ……. And that’s not to say that any of that was or is wrong. It’s just that it’s not of much value if it only stays in the realm of an idea. So what is needed, for this to be of any real value to us, is that we must change this idea into our actual experience. And this requires some spiritual investigation and effort on our part.On our rapidly evolving planet we are now beginning to discover that the realm of the material and the realm of the soul and the “here after” are far more connected than has previously been understood. Most people have either read, or know about someone who has had a near death experience. Where that person was conscious of dying and “popping out of the body” and then, often hovering over it while doctors or loved ones say things like “we’ve lost her”, or “He’s gone”; …and not only that, but that these people have been able, in many instances, to perceive the thoughts of those who were nearby during these events. There are many, many recorded cases like this that make these experiences undeniably true.But of what value are these experiences to us. Well, first of all it affirms to us that there is more to life than what we experience through just our five senses; which is wonderfully reassuring. And the second and perhaps more important value is that these things show us that the realm of spirit is not far away in some distant place or time, but rather is right here with us all the time.And so I suggest to you that it is not only nearby, but that it is nearby for a reason. And that reason is that it is the ultimate goal for each one of us that we discover and learn how to reconnect with our higher, spiritual self and That which has created us, in order for us to find the fulfillment and love that is the long sought destiny of every soul. And to do this the very first step is to begin the introspective process by creating for yourself an interior life where you learn how to regularly be alone within, and through that process begin to discover that, indeed, you are not alone!I’m John Johnston… See you next time, here, On the Cosmic Porch!