When I was 16, in AP Chemistry, my teacher asked, “If everything is made up of atoms that have so much space and pure energy, then why is your hand solid.” I never looked at my hand the same.

Around the same time, my dad, took me into the kitchen and asked me what a piece of paper was made of. Being Ms. Know-It-All, I said atoms. Then he burned it and asked me, “What is it made of now?” I had no answer.

Later on, I learned that all matter is made of energy. In fact, everything in the Universe is made of energy, at least as far as Einstein is concerned. This is where science and spirituality blend for me. Consider that energy is Spirit, the essence of all of life. Now we’re not just talking about your hand, or paper, or a mug, we’re talking about situations, and life itself.

Life, as we experience it, is a manifestation of Spirit.

That’s a tough one to swallow for many of us because when we look around the world we see hate, and war, and poverty, alongside beauty, and love, and prosperity. So how can all of that come from the same Source? How is it all a manifestation of the same Spirit?

Well, how come a hand is not a piece of paper, and how come when you burn paper it turns into ash? There is something that determines how the energy comes together to form a particular object. For matter, in science, it’s the elements. For life, in spirituality, it’s our thoughts.

This is what the Law of Attraction is seeking to teach. Our thoughts influence what is made manifest in our lives. Now, you can look at it as your thoughts being the magnet of the Universe, drawing out of it what you sent out. However, the Universe is not out there coming to you. It is coming through you. You are indeed one of its manifestations.

Enter the idea of the veil, or lens, of life.

Your thoughts filter what comes into expression. When you impress upon your mind, through affirmations or positive thinking, your intentions, they act as the film. Pure Spirit projects through the film and what you see on the outside is the manifestation of your intention.

So what happens when you remove the veil completely?

In Spirit,
Nneka

In my cube I have a sign on a sheet of paper that reads, “Be a Buddha. Empty of desire, full of peace, at one with the Universe.” It’s the first thing you see when you enter. Invariably I get asked, “Are you Buddhist?” “Well, no, I’m not, I just like the saying”, I reply. It’s a reminder that I have a choice.

On Friday, someone remarked that Buddhist monks don’t eat spiced foods because they don’t want to arouse the senses. I told him that would definitely be one of the reasons I couldn’t be Buddhist. I love my senses. I love the dance and drama of life. I enjoy experiencing passion and even sorrow. I really believe that there must be another way. I mean, why incarnate as a human, but spend your time denying the human experience or detaching from it?

Do you have to lose your senses to experience enlightenment and bliss?

In Spirit,
Nneka