Reading from “Practicing the Presence” by Joel Goldsmith

The is an old old story about a great spiritual teacher who knocked at the gates of heaven for admission into paradise.  After some time, God came to the door and inquired, “Who is there? Who knocks?” To this query, came the confident response, “It is I.”  “Sorry, very sorry. There is no room in heaven. Go away. You will have to come back some other time”.  The good man, surprised at the rebuff went away puzzled.  After several years spent in meditation and pondering over this strange reception, he returned and knocked again at the gate. He was met with the same question and gave a similar response.  Once again, he was told that there was no room in heaven; it was completely filled at that time.  In the years that passed, the teacher went deeper and deeper within himself, meditating and pondering. After a long period of time had elapsed, he knocked at the gates for a third time. Again God asked, “Who is there?”  This time his answer was, “Thou art”. And the gates opened wide as God said “Come in. There never was room for Me and Thee.”  

There is not God and you or I. There is only God expressed, manifested, as individual being. There is only one . . .The secret of life is oneness, and oneness is not something that we bring about. Oneness is a state of being.