THE SECOND CONDITION
ALIGNMENT

And coming out, Jesus saw the multitudes and was moved with compassion toward them. And he healed their sick.

What do you know about the power that moves within this universe?

You know that it is vast, certainly. You know that the universe is permeated end to end with unspeakably powerful forces, forces that can shape a billion stars into a galaxy like the Milky Way -- 100,000 light years in diameter -- and keep all of its stars pouring forth unfathomable waves of heat and light and radiation for billions of years.

You know that the universe is so powerful that it can organize atomic and subatomic particles into incredibly complex organic molecules and then organize them into highly intelligent human beings, each with fifty trillion cells, all working together in a perfectly coordinated fashion.

You know that the power of the universe, the power of nature can bathe your environment in sunlight, bury it in a ferocious blizzard, or drench it beneath a towering thunderstorm that shoots forth hundreds of lightening bolts each carrying millions of volts of electricity.

What’s more, you have reached a point of personal evolution where you have come to know that all of this vast field of energy is perfectly synchronized, perfectly orchestrated -- that each iota of energy is precisely interwoven to form a single, intentionally designed tapestry.

And you know that if you could only harness but an infitesimal fraction of this endless sea of power that you surge ahead toward the manifestation of your dream.

It is possible for a human being to accomplish this. You know that too, because the great teachers – including the demonstrator, have clearly shown that it can be done.

The problem lies with what you don’t know. For as yet you have only a very vague idea about how to harness this energy, how to channel it into your life so that you can use it to make your dreams a reality.

The First Condition shows you how to become aware of the great power, the great river’s current, and how to make contact with it by cultivating the right kind of consciousness through meditation.

The Second Condition will show you how to further shape your attitudes and actions so that the current will pick you up and carry you efficiently to your desired destination. This is done by a process known as alignment.

Alignment is analogous to what a sailor does with a sail boat. The currents of the winds and water are constantly changing, they are very difficult to predict, and they are totally out of the sailor’s control.

But the sailor has knowledge on his side. He understands the nature of the currents of wind and water that surround him. And he knows precisely how to trim his sails and adjust his rudder so that the current – however wild and turbulent -- carries him exactly where he wants to go.

Right now it may seem as though the great currents of your world are wild and turbulent too. Sometimes the currents carry you in the right direction, but more often it seems as though you are struggling against them -- that they carry you off your desired course and away from your dream.

So often, the great river seems capricious, random, surging this way and that like a bucking horse. You seem so helpless to control any of this that you simply sigh in resignation when things go awry. You shrug your shoulders and say "That’s life. There’s no sense fighting it. That’s just the way it is," and turn back dejectedly to your daily struggle.

But part of you knows that there is more. Part of you knows that you were not born as a child of Spirit to be helpless victim, blown about by random forces. Part of you knows that you are meant to master to art of sailing, that you were meant to soar like an eagle on the great winds.
*****The next section of the Alpha Passage indicates that when the masses arrived, the demonstrator "came out" -- of his state of meditation -- and shifted his focus. He turned his attention from within to without, now focusing on the people surrounding him, feeling their want and suffering.
Matthew chose a very interesting Greek word to describe the exact nature of this shift from inner to outer focus: splagchnizomai. This word is traditionally translated as "filled with pity" but a closer examination reveals that a more accurate translation is "moved with compassion."

This is key: Matthew doesn’t say that the demonstrator merely "felt compassion." He chose a word that indicates the demonstrator was moved with compassion, as if being carried by a current.

Before you can harness the great current and sail upon it, you must, like a good sailor, develop a clear understanding of the nature of the current. What do you know about the current at this point in your journey? Do you think it random and mindless, governed only by the physical laws delineated so brilliantly by modern scientists?

Or is the flowing current intelligent? Does it have a kind of personality, a mindset, a set of higher principles that governs its flow?

Henry Ward Beecher once explained the nature of the great current very succinctly when she said very simply, "Love is the river of life in this world." And what is compassion but love in action, love in motion? God is love, and God is everything – and everything is moving and changing. Everything is flowing.

There is no doubt that the Matthew’s terminology was selected with great care and precision. In this section of the Alpha Passage, we are being told that the great current is actually a river of love, and that the way a miracle worker can ride its powerful waters is by shifting to a state of compassion.

Compassion is a state of consciousness where others’ needs and concerns take precedence over all else, even concerns for one’s own well being. As such, compassion is the highest manifestation of love, and love is the destination toward which the entire universe is flowing.

Think for a moment exactly what the demonstrator saw when he came out of his state of meditation and beheld the ragged, dusty masses before him. Knowing that he was a highly perceptive and intuitive observer, we can safely assume that he saw the people that milled about him with penetrating accuracy.

When the demonstrator saw the multitudes, he saw them for what they were. He saw all of their human frailties. He not only saw their lack and their hunger, he saw their spiritual ignorance, their greed, their selfishness, and their failure to live up to law. After all these were just ordinary people and for better or worse, that is how human beings really are.

Put yourself in his position for a moment: What would you feel if you were peacefully meditating and you awoke to find a crowd of loud, anxious, haggard individuals pressing in from all sides around you? Do you think you might be somwhat irritated? Would you feel imposed upon, perhaps somewhat offended or disgusted? Probably.

But the enlightened react differently than you or me. The passage tells us that Jesus’ immediate reflex reaction to what he saw was one of deep concern and care. Far from feeling aggravated, he felt an instantaneous and very natural love for the people before him and was automatically moved to begin helping them, to begin doing something.

The wording also says volumes about what he didn’t feel. He didn’t judge the people for their shortcomings. He didn’t react with revulsion or condemnation. He didn’t react with any kind of moral condescension. His compassion contained no political agenda. His compassion was an expression of purely unconditional love.

We see this again and again throughout his life. The demonstrator clearly made it a practice to seek out the company of the poor, the ignorant, and the diseased -- the "sinners" rejected by polite society. We do not generally find him going out of his way to be with the wealthy and powerful, with those who were well fed, well-spoken, well-dressed, and well-educated. Such fortunate individuals had less pressing needs for his services.

If Jesus were alive today, he would probably be working in the inner city, ministering to people with AIDS, counseling gang members, and empathizing with the homeless, mothers on welfare, and criminals. He wouldn’t be on talk radio harping on a mean-spirited political agenda. He would not be fearful of different cultures or races. He wouldn’t scorn people with different lifestyles or unusual religious beliefs.

The demonstrator would love all people unconditionally. His natural predisposition in any social encounter would be to ask: "How can I help?" not "What’s wrong with you", "how can I straighten you out," or "how can I get you to believe what I believe." The same is true for great holy men and women of every race and creed.

How do you feel about others that appear around you as you travel through your life? It is important to examine your natural reactions to those different from you, those that you encounter on the street or in the supermarket as you move through your own safe life.

Honestly now: Do you harbor any subtle disdain for any person or class of people? Do you despise liberals or perhaps conservatives? Do you feel a subtle sense of superiority to any cultural group? Do you look down upon any race or religion or socioeconomic strata? Do you feel mere "pity", a kind of condescension, when you see someone less fortunate?

How often is your automatic reflex reaction one of true, heartfelt compassion? If your honest answer is "not often" then you have a lot of work to do -- that is, if you seriously intend to see your dream become reality. You will need to intentionally practice, cultivate automatic and genuine compassion if you want to make any real progress.

You will have to change all your attitudes and reactions – however subtle -- from judgment and condemnation to selfless compassion and love if you hope to manifest a miracle. Think of it this way: Selflessness is in your own self-interest. When you begin to put other’s welfare ahead of your own, your own dreams will begin to advance with incredible efficiency. THE COMPASSION SHOCK WAVEImagine that you take a superb journey overseas. You have two ways in which you can pay for this great experience: You can either pay as you go, pay later, or pay ahead of time.
This is true with life. Unfortunetly, we "pay" or compensate the universe for the experiences we participate in, like we often pay for the nice things we buy: We elect to pay later and are constantly working to repay debts we have incurred in the past.

It need not be this way. With some foresight and wisdom you can start thinking about paying ahead of time. This can be done very effectively by practicing compassion in all your affairs, all your interpersonal relationships.

When you pay ahead of time you break down barriers and stumbling blocks before you even get to them. In a sense, paying ahead creates a shock wave in the fabric of cause and effects, a shockwave that travels ahead of you and makes your way clear and easy.

This explains why shifting to a state of compassion enables you to attain synchrony with everything that is going on around you in your world. Since the whole universe is nothing but a river of compassion, when you shift to a state of compassion you become one with the river, one with its vast web of cause and effect that stretches infinetly all around you.ONCE YOU ENGAGE IT, DON’T FIGHT THE CURRENTImagine that you are stranded in a tiny lifeboat in the middle of the ocean. You drift helplessly in the buffeting waves and currents beneath a relentless sun. Your fresh water and supplies are dangerously depleted. You feel desperate and alone and out of control.

Finally you catch sight of an island on the horizon. Through your binoculars you see that it is somewhat barren, but right now it looks like paradise.

You pray fervently to be brought safely and quickly to this island, visualize how great it will be when you arrive, think positively, and repeat numerous affirmations. Above all, you take action by rowing with all your might . . .

But the ocean will not cooperate. The swift current carries the lifeboat away from the island. Soon your arms and shoulders burn from the exertion. The oars fall from your blistered hands and you collapse in despair.

You fear you are doomed, but you soon notice that flowing with the current is definitely easier than struggling against it. Realizing your only hope is to make the best of the situation, you search the horizon for land ahead, in the direction the current in sweeping you.

After a little while, when you least expect it, you suddenly notice something miraculous. You are thrilled and amazed when another island eventually appears. And what an island. Lush and beautiful, with fruit-bearing trees, freshwater rivers, and rich forests — it is a destination far superior to the barren place that had been your initial goal.

You thank God that the current brought you here against your wishes.

Years ago when I was trying to build a house, I experienced something similar in my own life. I once had my heart set on building a house at a specific location. But no matter how I tried to get the job done, every conceivable thing went wrong. After a prolonged and frustrating struggle, I finally gave up and let go. I felt as though I had failed, as though the universe itself had failed me.

Then something happened. About two months later, my wife and I learned that our intended location had serious problems, problems which would have caused us great expense and hardship.

About that time, while scanning the real-estate market, a new house in an infinitely superior location appeared. We bought it, realizing how close we had come to making a terrible mistake. My family is happier in our new house than we ever thought possible.
ESTABLISHING THE SECOND CONDITION1. With the eyes of Spirit, see the multitudes. Shift your awareness from your own concerns to the concerns of others. At home and at work be increasingly aware of others’ problems and needs.

Pay attention to what’s going on in the world, especially to countries and cultures that require aid. If something is brought to your attention, pay attention. You may be seeing and hearing something for a reason. Take note. Then do something – something to help. Even doing something small can have a powerful effect on your alignment.

2. Don’t limit your compassion to any particular political or cultural group; as an excellent spiritual exercise, whenever possible give the bulk of your attention to those groups you find especially offensive. See all people as your brothers and sisters, your family.

3. A big mistake people make in practicing compassion is that they focus so much on the big picture that they forget their own microenvironment. This is backwards. You need to start with your microenvironment. Expand outwards only when you have mastered your personal world.
Pay careful attention to the people that surround you most often, your family, coworkers, and friends. Show them compassion first.

Each is a kind of floodgate. Make sure that you have carefully opened each channel of compassion with each individual.

4. Fine-tune your synchronicity. This will keep you perfectly aligned with the flow. Pay attention to everything "mundane" that happens to you through out the day. If you understand the importance of shifting into compassion, you will find great power in the mundane.

Every time you put change in a charity's cannister, let a car move ahead of you in traffic, return your shopping cart to the rack, smile at a stranger, compliment a coworker for good work -- every time you do anything unselfish and helpful, you bring yourself closer to perfect synchrony. Like small adjustments to the rigging of a sailboat, such actions will help you move ahead in all your endeavors with tremendous speed.

5. Heal the sick. Just realize that "healing" can take many forms, not all of them at the physical level. Contribute generously to charities that perform this type of service. (This will also allow you to release resources and help you establish a vacuum.) Purchase food and take it to a local shelter or by contribute to charities that feed the poor.

If you are consistently conscious of others' concerns, the universe will be involved with your concerns. If you consistently help others and prosper others, the universe will consistently help and prosper you.

5. Become a lightworker: Consider healing others through prayer. Many well-designed scientific studies have shown the efficacy of healing prayer. For example, in California, researchers studied four hundred patients recovering from serious heart problems. Healing prayers were directed at half the subjects while the other half received no special treatment. The medical treatment of both groups was the same. The results were astonishing. Patients in the group receiving prayer had half as many complications and a statistically lower incidence of congestive heart failure.

6. Ask yourself:
What are my mission and my real agenda in wanting fulfillment of this dream?

Where will my dream take me in consciousness?

Will my miracle benefit anyone but myself?

Will it contribute to the universal plan for Good? Will it advance the cause of compassion?

As I strive for this dream, am I motivated by compassion?
Work with these questions until you are very clear about your motives.

Evaluate your dream in terms of whether it will harm you or hinder your progress to a state of compassion. Your goal must work for the greater good of others; your success will be directly proportional to the care you exercise in this area and the extent to which your focus shifts from yourself to others.

2. Lose any rigid investment in getting exactly what you want, how you want it, and when you get it. Miracles are born of fluidity, which must begin within. Learn to trust. Only a series of changes can carry you to the goal, and you may ultimately have to change your goal, so something better can come to you . . . even if you don't know what it is.