The Offering is an artistic depiction of higher consciousness—a map of an ideal to guide us on our journey toward becoming more enlightened beings.
There are many layers of The Offering, so to truly appreciate its potential, you must spend time actively thinking about it. Give your mind time to consider its meaning. When you do, the powerful latent energies within will emerge to bring you clarity, direction, and light.
At first, you may take The Offering only at face value.
In the literal sense, The Offering contains 53 words arranged in a crossword-like pattern. Each word is related to the others both physically, where they join and intersect with one another, but also energetically, in an INFINITE number of ways.
Every word you see represented in the grid has a contrasting sibling listed elsewhere:
LOVE contrasts with hate.
PEACE contrasts with war.
JOY contrasts with suffering.
You might react in a variety of ways to each of these contrasting words—or even the original words.
You might find them a comforting reminder of an ideal to hold yourself to as you move through life. Or, you might recall negative emotions from your past experiences. This is a good thing! Recognizing and acknowledging your negative emotions are necessary steps on your journey to self-improvement and self-empowerment.
These word pairs are more than opposites of one another; they represent an incredibly empowering idea:
Each day, we are faced with hundreds of opportunities to make choices—choices between love or hate, peace or war, joy or suffering, and so on.
Making the right choice will help you discover your power, while making the wrong choice—or not making a choice at all—will lead you down a path of powerlessness, bondage, and suffering. As you go forth, remember: the choices you make will determine how you feel emotionally.
This balance between each word and its darker alternative is the first of many relationships you'll eventually come to recognize in The Offering.
Where each word taken out of context has its own alternative, it also connects with every other word in The Offering...sometimes in unexpected ways.
Take the following, for example:
As you read the above, you may have picked up on another powerful idea represented by The Offering:
Balance.
Each and every relationship in The Offering is balanced: every word with its contrasting word, every word in the grid with every other word in the grid...even the two halves of the grid are balanced with one another.
Look closely at ABUNDANCE—see how it's the single connecting point between the two halves of the grid? Believe it or not, this relationship went undiscovered until well after The Offering was originally created!
Think of The Offering as a matrix of thoughts and emotions, where all 53 words are in perfect HARMONY with with each other. These checks and balances will help you determine the correct path forward as you continue your journey through life.
Accept the process. Strive for TOLERANCE and PATIENCE, even when—especially when!—neither comes easily.
Take ownership over your decisions. You have an INFINITE number of second chances, as long as you acknowledge your actions.
Steady progress is the key to your success and HAPPINESS. When you fall short, forgive yourself, then continue forward.
And remember:
Falling is part of the lesson. Without falling, we cannot learn to pick ourselves back up.
What I've described here only scratches the surface of the hidden meanings within The Offering. If you've read this far, I have no doubt your curiosity will bring you endless amounts of wisdom and teachings for years to come.
As you observe and contemplate The Offering, your spirit will flourish. The arrangement is pleasing to the eye, warming to the heart, and stimulating to the mind. I HOPE this makes you SMILE.
― Michael J. Brand
P.S. If you enjoyed reading this and consider yourself to be more spiritually attuned, you might also enjoy reading the original, high-conscious introduction to The Offering this piece stemmed from.