I Accept and Acknowledge the power of All That Is.
I am Grateful for All That Is.
There is nothing more powerful than the thought (for me) that this life is extremely precious and it is filled with blessings and gifts of love. This Life is Love. Nothing and no one is insignificant. This Life is enriching and fulfilling when accepted exactly as it IS ... When resistance is dropped completely ... When the wish for things to be different is no longer in one's consciousness. What a relief! Now all the burdens may be dropped willingly and easily. Sure, nothing will work out according to my expectations, but I no longer care about that. Its not my concern or interest. Let Life do what it must do. Every day my heart is opening wider and wider to all these facts and deeper and deeper to embrace and comprehend the magnitude and the immensity of this life and the reason for living it.
The gift of choice is not a choice really. It is Spirit's most deepest way the human brain can understand of the magnitude of love that is behind the teaching of self acceptance and surrender and that Love is the only way. There is no peace in any other pursuit or endeavor.
I am beyond grateful for my very life.
I am beyond grateful for all that my life contains in this very moment.
I am beyond grateful for the lessons of soul expansion that drops me deeper and deeper into the ocean of understanding, wisdom and peace.
I am beyond grateful for all of my mistakes, wounds, healing, joy, broken relationships, beautiful friendships, the elements of nature, of all the species ... of everything!!
The vibration of AUM and Her Presence is all encompassing, all loving and deeply trustworthy. She is THE Power, Force and Love at the back of ALL that the mind can comprehend and beyond.
I have started a new discipline which is becoming the ground of my Being. I'm not sure why I didn't think about it earlier ... perhaps I would not have understood its value appropriately at that time I guess.
Its been a few days since I started a vigil of silence from the time I wake up till 12 noon. I broke the rhythm today absent-mindedly out of sheer excitement (note to myself: be more conscious!) because so many new things are suddenly beginning to happen and inspiration is flowing into my heart like a thin stream of fresh water from somewhere beyond me. I feel different ... calmer ... in-charge ... slow ... rhythmic ... confident ... sure of what I no longer wish to foster ... the stuff I thought would be difficult to release seem so much easier now ... a whole new set of interests are lighting up my environment ... the list is long and I have only just started!
This new phase is so welcome because the last two years have been rather stressed as a Caregiver and boundaries were getting blurred more often than I could count. I was beginning to get sucked in and as I try to continue to remember that I am a hero in my own world and only I know what I want and how I can change my situation ... ahem! that motivational self talk did'nt work nor were my other efforts. Efforts. Ah! that was the key word - too much effort was being put in to change the situation which made the task even more difficult. I asked myself how can I bring about change effortlessly. I got my answer almost immediately because suddenly this thought came out at me like a bolt from the blue at a time when heart palpitations were rising and my hope for change was sinking rapidly.
Spend half a day in silence and self study before emerging into the world each and every day.
Let this be your new discipline.
Well, they say when the student is ready, the teacher will appear. And that is exactly how I feel now. My golden teacher of Silence has has put forth its gift in front of me and I have been doing pretty good. Straight, simple, to-the-point guidance.
I have spent the last fifteen days in very intense interactions with my Soul. I think it has something to do with the intense energies on the planet. Its been good, heavy, not so good, freaky, and some other choice words! But this morning I woke up to a realization that answered ALL of my past queries in just three points:
Unceasing Prayer
Essential (Voice of My Soul)
Extras (The Voice of the world)
Stick with Unceasing Prayer
Listen only to the Voice of my Soul (Essential)
Cease listening to the voice of the world (Extras)
The story below is significant because no matter how flawed I may feel at times, the "flawedness" in and by itself has a soul purpose. Nobody in this world knows me. Only I KNOW me. My suffering ceases the moment I start operating from a deeper trust and an awareness of own Inner Voice. My purpose is to grow vertically, not horizontally.
A STORY
THE CRACKED WATER POT
By Sacinandana Swami
A water bearer in India had two large pots, each hung on one
end of the pole he carried across the back of his neck. One of the pots had a
crack in it, and while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full
portion of water at the end of the long walk from the stream, the cracked pot
arrived only half full. This went on every day for two years, with the bearer
delivering only one and a half pots of water to his master’s house.
Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishment
and saw itself as perfectly suited for the purpose for which it was made. But
the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its imperfection and miserable that it was
able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do. After two years of
what it perceived as bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by
the stream. “I am ashamed of myself and I want to apologize to you.”
“Why?” asked the bearer. “What are you ashamed of?”
“For the past two years, I have been able to deliver only
half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way
back to your master’s house. Because of my flaws you have to work without
getting the full value of your efforts,” the pot said.
The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and out
of compassion he said, “As we return to the master’s house, I want you to
notice the beautiful flowers along the path.” Indeed, as they went up the hill,
the old cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the wildflowers on the side
of the path. The pot felt cheered.
But at the end of the trail, the pot still felt bad because
it had leaked out half its load, and again it apologized for its failure. The
bearer said to the pot, “Did you notice that there were flowers only on your
side of your path, but not on the other pot’s side? That’s because I knew about
your flaw and took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the
path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you’ve watered them for
me. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate
my master’s table. If you were not just the way you are, he would not have such
beauty to grace his house.
The answer to all worldly concerns and worries is to rely on The Kingdom Within. The reason we suffer - the one and only reason we suffer - is because we rely on the world for our needs most of the time. To come to this understanding in a personal way is empowering and vibration-shifting.
"See the person you imagine yourself to be as a part of
the world you perceive within your mind and look at the mind from the outside,
for you are not the mind. After all, your only problem is the eager
self-identification with whatever you perceive. Give up this habit, remember
that you are not what you perceive, use your power of alert aloofness. See
yourself in all that lives and your behavior will express your vision. Once you
realize that there is nothing in this world, which you can call your own, you
look at it from the outside as you look at a play on the stage, or a picture on
the screen, admiring and enjoying, but really unmoved. As long as you imagine
yourself to be something tangible and solid, a thing among things, actually
existing in time and space, short-lived and vulnerable, naturally you will be
anxious to survive and increase. But when you know yourself as beyond space and
time — in contact with them only at the point of here and now, otherwise
all-pervading and all-containing, unapproachable, unassailable, invulnerable —
you will be afraid no longer. Know yourself as you are — against fear there is
no other remedy."
"I love this world as I love all good stories." ~ Byron Katie
Truly, this is the place to be in. There was this myth I once believed in about living a happy 'retired' life after the usual retirement age of 58 or whatever! But as life would have it, that stage came for me much earlier than I ever imagined. I chose it consciously because I came into a position where I could. Since then I have been discovering layers and layers of this identity that I am donning presently through my spiritual journey. And this thought came to me today: no one who lives an unexamined life can ever enjoy a happy retirement!!
I intend for the last phase of my human life to be a very creative one in whatever form that takes in the highest service that Spirit wants of me. Now, that is a 'retirement' worth 'working' towards. The world can be whatever I want it to be in my mind. I want it to be a very happy story!
I have at last realized that I am more intuitive than I have given myself credit for. When I have felt strongly about something, a lot of the times instead of exploring and questioning the reasons for those strong feelings, I have pushed it aside believing I am being too over-reactive or sensitive. A perfect example would be feelings about people including family and friends. When I have felt a silent rejection from someone in any form, I have always put it down to my childhood abandonment issues that are clouding my judgement and clear vision. But now, that is not so. More than ever, my intuition is getting stronger and deeper and it is becoming my guiding light. I'm beginning to see through little 'white lies', hypocrisy, etc. I am receiving crystal clear answers about issues in my life and perhaps for the first time, I am looking at every tiny thing in my consciousness in the Light of my intuition.
Most people are not very honest about their true feelings. And because of their dishonesty, I have been thrown off my own trail imagining and believing that I am wrong once again. But lately, I have been asked from within, by my Soul to step up and KNOW the difference between my own human beliefs (and what I want to conveniently believe) and the true Soul inspirations coming from within. I am beginning to understand the difference and the more I understand, the more peace I am feeling about my life and myself with less and less expectations from others.
I love what Mooji says about true friendship which is worth remembering always.
A true friend is not merely someone you like, or who is like
you; they could be quite unlike you in most respects. However, though
they love you, their first love is for Truth, not for you or anything
else. Such a friend is rare indeed and rarely appreciated.
I woke up today with two big nudges.
~ the first nudge was to recognize true friendship.
~ the second nudge was to once again read the "The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ" by Levi H. Dowling. I get a very good feeling that this is going to open up a whole new way and a more enlightened path within which I was not ready for earlier. I look forward to this great adventure.
I am deeply grateful for the new direction my life is taking and the fear that is evaporating more easily. Sometimes it is necessary to deal with persistent human problems the human way with the heart and mind looking upwards as a way to communicate and then taking a step backwards to allow the rest to flow the way Life wants it to flow. Since everything is spirit, sometimes what seems 'inappropriate' to the human dual understanding, is perfectly appropriate in the learning of Life and the flow of it.
More and more I am amazed at the confirmation of my feelings about my thoughts on Truth matters. When we live from the Source of The One Divine Mind, it is not surprising then that many will share their heart songs which resonate so strongly with our own. In my blog "Inner Softening" which I posted on Sunday, I shared what 'Awakening' actually felt to me personally as an experience. Not what others say it is, but what my Soul is telling me and two words definitely featured strongly: "Awake" and "Alive".
Today in my email, I received this wonderful poem by Scott Morrison which resonated completely and absolutely with me. I just had to file this away with my own "heart speaks".
NOTHING ELSE MATTERS
by Scott Morrison
Stop dead in your tracks.
It doesn’t matter at all, what you’ve ever done, or not
done.
It doesn’t matter how grandiose, self-centered,
arrogant, or neurotic you’ve ever been.
It doesn’t matter how brilliant you’ve been, or how stupid
you’ve been.
It doesn’t matter what you’ve ever experienced, or not
experienced.
It doesn’t matter how much good you’ve ever done, or how
much harm you’ve ever done, your whole life long.
Nothing that has ever happened to you makes any difference
at all.
It doesn’t make any difference how many times you’ve been
enlightened, or not enlightened, or how powerful, profound, or intense those
experiences may have been.
The only thing that matters, that really matters at all,
is whether you are willing to be completely alive, awake and
free,
this very moment – this very instant.
The only thing that makes any difference – any difference at
all,
is whether you are willing to let go of all mental and
emotional -
all historical and future versions of yourself and your
life,
and simply be what you are, completely and absolutely, right
now.
We are simply awareness – pure, infinite, and wide open.
Our nature is to be unconditionally kind, honest, wise, and
sincere,
tender, affectionate, sensitive, and compassionate,
without reservation, right now.
It’s the most natural thing in the world,
and there is nothing real in the way.
Everywhere is your home.
Everyone is your lover, your child, your mother, your
father, your sister, and your brother, your best friend. Every one is your own
reflection.
Meditation clears cobwebs. It takes away the confusion and muddiness that one is experiencing at any given time.
Today I woke up with mixed feelings and emotions. I am creating new pathways in my heart to embrace my True Identity with more and more confidence. I am leaving behind a lot of unwanted stuff now. I am releasing a lot of old stuff that is not needed in my heart, mind and spirit any longer. It is a lifetime process. You are never done with this exercise. I am trying to stay with bare minimum. Part of doing this process is that a lot of loneliness, longing and confusion begins to set in. It is precisely why meditation is such a life saver. This morning I distracted myself so much and kept disturbing my own meditation!! Till I suddenly saw a visual of cobwebs which didn't go away till I paid attention to it. And it did'nt take me long to understand that, that was precisely why I needed to SIT down and within myself. From somewhere within I heard myself instructing myself not to get up till I allowed myself to be sorted out by Spirit. And I obeyed. And the cobwebs of my mind got gently dusted away and I definitely felt a million times better.
I got this deep sense of myself. This small self that kept up with the self judgments never letting up. This small self that I was directing my attention to unconsciously was convincing me that I cannot 'change' anything in life. It always keeps coming back to the same place. Till I finally started a self inquiry. I stuck with it for a while and then I kind of beamed into a deeply hurt part of me that kept denying myself 'Sacred Intimacy'. Its that intimacy that one lacks within but one mistakenly believes its on the outside. Its that lack of self love that directs our other thoughts into pain and more pain. I found myself letting go all world beliefs including the belief that all my problems stemmed from my childhood, etc. etc.
I asked myself how do I know this? (About source of all problems go back to childhood). From world information, I answered.
"Is that true?" asked the Silent Inner Questioner.
"I don't know" I answered.
"If you don't know" asked my SIQ (Silent Inner Questioner) then how can you be sure of all those emotions and feelings that you are experiencing to be true?
"I don't" I said.
"Then go back to the source of the self judgments" suggested my SIQ.
And as I went further and further into my questioning, clarity began to fill my mind and heart.
The floodgates opened.
"Sacred Intimacy" is what was deeply lacking. In that moment I knew how that affected the most important areas of my life starting with how authentically and genuinely do I love myself, this person, this form that appears to be 'here' for a purpose. How deeply do I love the Self that is the back of my entire existence and my whole life experience? I don't know all the answers, but I surrendered my lack and pain to Spirit, The Source of All Goodness. I sat silent for a long while.
After that I randomly opened my precious "Prayers of the Cosmos" and here's what came up for me as a huge acknowledgement from Spirit:
"Blessed are those in emotional turmoil,
they shall be united inside by love"
Love never fails those who long deeply for It. Love never fails to change and turn the emotional turmoil of those who feel weak and in want from such longing into Itself. When in emotional turmoil or unable to feel clearly any emotion, experiment with deep breathing. Embrace all of what you feel and allow all emotions to wash through and through as though you were standing under a gentle waterfall. Follow this flow back to its source and find there the spring from which all emotion arises. At this source, consider what emotion has meaning for the moment, what action or non-action is important now.
Last night was a sleepless night. I did a lot of reading and
meditating and something in particular jumped at me from "The Art of
Spiritual Peacemaking". I'm sharing it here. This chapter is on Passion
and Desire.....
Jeshua says:
"You are afraid of Love! Take a deep
breath now. You will not be able to heal that wound until you embrace it. You
will not be able to move to the next level of your Self unless you first accept
your fear of love. Then your passion will be released on its own without effort
on your part. Then you will open like a flower, and your Holy Task will enfold
you. Your fear of love will ultimately catapult you into a life you can only
imagine now, for then you will have compassion for yourself and all the world.
This is what an Emissary of Love, or a savior, must learn. That is why you are
here now, reading these words and accepting these Blessed thoughts. You are
ready to move forward now."
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YES!! come to think of it, I still am.
I'm afraid of being taken advantage of and be made to look like a fool when
love is not 'reciproacted'. I'm afraid to love because hypocrisy does'nt fall
too easy with me. I'm afraid of love ..... too many reasons, which now when I
think of, I always felt like it was no big deal, but in my heart of hearts, I
knew all those reasons had to be dealt with in order for the pure love of
Christ to flow through me. I keep expressing it in words to myself and others
who I feel such great warmth and affection for because that is what I want to
do the most in my life - to love freely and without conditions under the most
direst of conditions and in the most loveless of interactions. I will know then
- YES!! this is it!!! I'm not there yet! I KNOW theoretically I AM LOVE, but
you know that's a whole lot different from actually living LOVE.
How do I know I'm actually afraid of love? I know because
.... unexplainable!!!
I have read these words so many many times and yet each time
I read it again, it feels like it is for the first time. There is nothing more
delightful I would love to do right now than extolling the virtues of love, but
I won't because I realise my ideas of it are still attached to the world. The
love I feel a lot of the times is fraught with expectations and conditions and
loving anyone or anything for those reasons are really depriving myself of the REAL
thing. Instead, I will remember those rare and precious times when I actually
showed up in Life doing something for someone whom I knew can never repay me
back, but the deep peace and joy I felt all the same was beyond precious and
irreplaceable.
In Love's Name, Blessed Be! Love is an inside job radiating
outwards.
This is a typical conversation I
believe most souls who have been touched by new spiritual learning, have had
with their mentors at the time, who are taking them through new understanding
of God and the soul. Its a conversation I have had umpteen times and each time
I have been encouraged to go ahead and help others in order to help myself.
Infact I have always been told that, that is the best way! Well, I have
discovered that it does'nt work at all in the best way for me. Not at all.
Because back of all the good intentions lie many personal ego based wills that
muddy the good intentions. Add to that, I have learned that the energies of the
teacher flows right into his/her students. Most teachers are not fully healed
themselves. I did'nt know that then, but I do now. What they teach is purely
from their own personal experiences. And that is wonderful if I can stick with
the Truth of the learning,and not the personality. But what happens most times,
is that we begin to want to emulate the teacher and do all the things that
person does or is doing. I have
discovered by doing that in the past so many zillion times, I have actually
LOST myself in the bargain because I am so busy trying to repeat someone else's
experiences. It has taken me many many lessons to finally understand this and
this Lent, this is being sufficiently highlighted for me. I am unique. I am
precious. And there's a blue print just
for ME!! Yes, I can take all the help I
can from others who have walked before me, but only to use them as pointers to
walk deeper into myself and open up for my own experiences that God is simply
waiting to burst through from me and through me.
And so, as all the effects of my past choices are magnifying themselves amazingly and showing me the importance of living from my own heart, not someone else's, and from living a life of absolute courage, fearlessness and an abundant heart, I am able to see this clearly now the motivations behind all those thoughts and choices I made over the years which took me away from my Self. Today's message from Mooji is just perfect because it brings a big spot light on emptying myself totally and completely. Something I should have done diligently over the years, but did'nt. All great saints, sages, masters, teachers, avatars keep themselves perfectly still and empty.
During the last few days the ONE Pure Truth has been emerging and demonstrating Itself for me with crystal clarity as if It has set up a private stage showing just for me. And I am the only audience, the participator, the actor, the all in all. How do I know? Because I am seeing myself through the screening of something that is beyond me. I AM PRESENT in every playout!! I Am ALL of it as well. What a revelation!
A few years ago when I started reading "The Jeshua Letters" by Jayem I was immediately drawn to this guidance shared by Jeshua. It made for me a perfect prayer. What could be a more direct prayer than this?
"Ask, therefore,
not for salvation,
because your ideas of it
are distorted.
Ask, instead,
that you AWAKEN from every last trace of belief
that you have ever been separate from God.
This will focus the impetus of your soul
with right intention.
Since you receive what you ask for,
clarity of thought is essential
(Jeshua Letters)
It matters not how the lessons come for learning. What matters only is that the Essence of it is understood clearly. Everything is about clarity. To be crystal clear is to be transparent. To leave behind the stories, the drama, the unbeliefs, religion, people, a.k.a. the world, requires a deep sense of one's Self - the Self that Jeshua portrayed to perfection during his sojourn starting from his 40 days at the desert till the Resurrection. Not so much the 3 days suffering leading to his death, but the glory that He BECAME at the end of it.
I have a tree in front of my home. I call her Mystic. When I am sitting on my swing in the front porch, her trunk is hidden from my view because of the boundary wall in front of our home. All I get is a vision of her beautiful green leaves shinning and glittering in the sparkling sun and the sky as the big backdrop falling like a curtain in the background!! What an incredible sight! But when I come out of my gate, I see her trunk to be not too big or strong, like, say, the old oak tree. Mystic's trunk is quite unattractive actually and she has a whole lot of cable wires wrapped around her and what not! But despite all of that unattractiveness on the surface, below at the ground level, her face is looking up to the sun and with her wide array of leaves she is simply majestic!!! Mystic's tree trunk reminds me of our human bodies and our human limitation on the surface, but my! oh! my! just let Spirit be the focus instead, and there is only glory to glory.
There is a Mystic Law, a Mystic Essence that runs through everything in Life. That Mystic Essence is All That Is. Its the sap, the honey, the life-giving Holy Breath that nurtures and sustains and runs through all sentient and insentient Beings. Its unexplainable and not comprehended by the human mind, because in truth there is NO human mind - there is only the ONE Divine Mind. This is what the demonstration of Jesus's Life means to me. The Holy Essence within Him is also in me. The human has to get this truly and deeply. And then the dream is shattered. You cannot be the same after that. Enlightenment and Awareness is not experienced the same way by everyone. Some see visions, some hear their inner voice more clearly, some just 'know' intuitively, etc. etc. I understand now I knew this always intuitively but was denying its existence simply because I wanted to be accepted and loved by the human condition that represents the world. The ego is not so interested in all this 'holy' stuff. It wants other 'finer' aspects of the world. It will befriend those who are more inclined to those things. And as I see it, the world of my illusions can never love me because it does not exist. Is that not why we suffer? We are expecting something that is non-existent to replace God? To become aware is to be truly understand that everything is perfect in its place be it the so-called suffering, disease, death or happiness, joy, abundance. These are all just words. At the final analysis words mean nothing. Only the Perfect and True Blissful Silence.
Spirit communicates through Perfect Silence. Here's a beautiful demonstration of this fact. Everything in Life is a demonstration of Spirit. Notice Nature and Creation and you will get the sense of this quiet communication.
Two questions emerged: My "fear of God" and "Timelessness".
Starting with my fear of God. This fact surfaced and bubbled
up for questioning which was related to many habits formed in my life the most
important of all being that I am undeserving of God. Unconsciously this thought has dominated my
whole existence depriving me of partaking in the full abundance of God's
Table. There was always a part of me
that felt I was undeserving and in doing so have hurt my soul beyond
measure. I applaud everyone else's
experience, but somewhere at the back of my mind, I think, I realised, that
everyone has a right except me. And so
early this morning as I was releasing every bit of the fear I held for God and
kept repeating the mantra, somewhere it suddenly changed from "I release the
fear of God" to "I Am a Flower of God" and I did'nt even realise
that change had happened so spontaneously. How marvelous indeed are the Divine
Ways constantly working and living and moving and breathing within us.
My days are becoming more and more Grace filled. The only teacher I am open to and learning
from in these 40 days is from my Inner Master, Teacher and Guru - Jeshua a.k.a.
Jesus. Jesus is not some magical being outside of me. No! that is not so. Jesus, the angels and all the holy beings are
springing from my own consciousness, all reflections of The Divine shining
through me as me.
It is incredibly satisfying to experience an ongoing inner dialogue and holy conversation with The Mystical Power within. I am more and more convinced that everything in this life is reflective. My thoughts are constantly reflecting my changing reality. I always reconfirm this when choosing from decks of oracle cards. What comes out as an answer to a question I hold is really and truly the reflection of my mind in that instant. When I choose a card that has an ominous message,it is because my mind was flooded with doubts and fear. There is no little or a lot of fear. There are no shades and grades of fear. Either I am in Love or I am in fear. Simple as that. When I become aware of present thought reality showing up in the card I hold, I immediately center in, change my mind and choose again - and lo! and behold! an amazing message shows up!! Its this dream self that is constantly choosing from this dream world, this holographic world. And "someone" is observing these choices - who is that "someone"? Inquire.
Last week, our clock stopped. We were two hours behind time, but
neither my husband nor I realised that. We actually thought we had a lot of time despite us doing so much, that we decided to do something we had not done in a long long time - sit by the plants, have tea and biscuits and talk about the philosophy of life which we used to do a lot in the past as our morning ritual. We truly enjoyed that. Unfortunately, we got disrupted in our peace after that glorious leisure time when my husband realised the clock had stopped and infact he was now 'officially running late'!! Seriously?? When we understood what just happened we just burst out laughing at the wonderful lesson we were being taught about Timelessness and how only we can maintain that or allow ourselves to be disrupted by time. What a beautiful lesson on Timelessness for the day! That was last week but today I was reminded again by Jiddu Krishnamurthy.
Jiddu Krishnamurthy message in today's mail brought my attention back to timelessness today:
So the question is then: can what is be transformed
immediately? Which means never allowing time to interfere. Are we coming
together? Listen to this, you will find out, it is really simple. If we apply
our mind we can solve anything, as has been done, they have been to the moon,
built marvellous submarines, incredible things they have done. Here, psychologically
we are so reluctant, so incapable, or have made ourselves incapable. So if you
do not allow time, or never think in terms of time, then the fact is not -
right? I wonder if you see this? Because we allow time the fact becomes
important. If there is no time it is resolved. Suppose I died this second,
there is no problem. You understand what I am saying? When I allow time I am
afraid of death. I wonder if you understand all this? But if I live without
time, which is an extraordinary thing if you go into it, psychologically,
never. Time means accumulation - right? Time means remembrance, time means
accumulating knowledge about oneself, all that involves time. But when there is
no time at all, psychologically, there is nothing - you follow? You are capturing
something? Are you understanding something? Please come on. - Krishnamurti,
Brockwood Park 4th Public Talk 7th September 1980
I have spent the last two days just immersed in the lessons of The Seven Essene Mirrors and they are incredible. Don't be fooled by the short description of each mirror because there is so much depth to each of them. The lessons on releasing judgement and focusing on forgiveness go hand in hand and every aspect of our spiritual, emotional and physical life are completely covered overall. Gregg Braden has done an excellent job teaching them.
I finally get it now. There's NO place for judgment in any form, subtle or otherwise either of myself or anyone else at all. Not even comments. No justifications about our judgments either. And most of all what I finally get is what Jesus really means when He asks us to leave the world and come to Him. It simply means leave the world of judgment for good and permanently! Judgment brings strife. Dropping it brings absolute peace. I wonder why we human beings cherish judgment so much?!
Sacred Relationships
Techniques you can use now
We live in an Action Reaction World known as the Plane of Demonstration where Consciousness Creates Reality. We manifest and magnetize people and events into our lives according to our consciousness. The Seven Essene mirrors is a way of understanding how this process works. We can use what seem to be negative experiences as stepping stones to healing and empowerment. “When life rolls boulders, build stairs.”
FIRST MIRROR reflects to us that which we are. It is something we ourselves are doing or where we ourselves have been in error or wounded.
SECOND MIRROR reflects to us that which we judge. It is something we have an emotional charge with, something we have either been wounded by in the past and have not forgiven. It is good to discern; however if we judge and condemn with an emotional charge, we will attract exactly what we judge into our lives.
THIRD MIRROR reflects back to us something we Lost, Gave Away, or had Taken Away. When we see something we love and desire in another, it is often something we have lost, given away or had stolen in our own lives. Every relationship is a relationship with self and often we try to reclaim what was lost, we gave away, or had taken away as a child. It could be joy, innocence, honesty and integrity, courage or love. All of which can be reclaimed within self.
FOURTH MIRROR reflects back to us our most forgotten love. This could be a way of life, a lost or unfinished relationship. Often it is a past life where a wrong conclusion from past experience was created. These will recreate themselves over and over until the right conclusion is registered in the soul as wisdom.
FIFTH MIRROR reflects back to us Father/Mother. It is often said we marry our father or mother. We also often become them acting out the same healthy and unhealthy patterns we learned as a child. Our fathers and mothers to us as children are Gods. It will often reflect the same relationship we have with others and the Father/Mother God principle.
SIXTH MIRROR reflects back to us the Quest for Darkness or what is often referred to as the Dark Night of the Soul. This is when we meet our greatest challenges, our greatest fears and have been gathering the tools and understandings in life to confront them. God never gives one any more than they can handle and we have a choice in every experience to greet it as a powerful manifesting God/Goddess or a victim.
SEVENTH MIRROR reflects back to us our self perception. Others will perceive and treat us according to how we perceive and treat ourselves. If we have a low self-esteem and do not acknowledge our wisdom and beauty, others will not acknowledge them. If we are angry, bitter and unloving to others, they in turn will often react in the same way towards us. If we change our perception of ourselves, we change the world. Maybe it is time to be kind, loving and compassionate to ourselves and others. Remember the saying, “The only reason anyone has power over you is you want something from them?” Maybe that something whether it be love, joy, or a personal God connection can all be found from within?
Secrets to Sacred Relationships
“Always keep your heart in heaven."
“Love and allow!”
Unlike most relationships with attachment, unfulfilled desires, expectations, codependency's and confusion, Sacred Relationship transcends these challenges and it is where everyone is heading. Many know the old relationships and ways of interacting with each other are coming to a close yet have no idea what the new way or relationship is thus they are often left floundering in pain, suffering and confusion.
We can have love, compassion and even passion without attachment. We can have anger without hate, discernment without judgment and condemnation and expression without suppression. When we do not express due to fear of loosing the love, acceptance, approval of another and suppress in denial, we create an energy block which can eventually end up in disease or when the dam breaks a burst of anger and resentment issues forth upon whomever is in the path. Expression without suppression, denial and insecurity also helps others to evolve by giving them the information they need to go forward.
If we truly desire a sacred relationship we must first take full responsibility for our own attitudes, emotions and actions. It is no longer appropriate to project, blame or make another responsible for our lives, the love, joy, happiness and even the abundance we are experiencing. There is a saying, ”The only reason anyone has any power over you is because you want something from them.”
Whether it be love, joy, acceptance, approval or even security, these are all attributes to be and not seek through others or outer experiences. Be love, joy and happiness. Accept and approve of yourself. Be secure within yourself and manifest your own abundance. Become sovereign and establish a sacred relationship with self. Love yourself enough not to participate in all the other dramas, especially those which another has not chosen to heal and go forward. Take the time necessary to heal yourself of any wounds, traumas and wrong conclusions from past experiences.
We live in an Action/Reaction world known as the plane of demonstration where consciousness creates reality. We magnetize people and events to us according to our consciousness. Is it not wise to first heal ourselves, love, accept and approve of ourselves and then magnetize people and events to us which are a reflection of our own self-love, self-acceptance, self-approval, as well as our own happiness and security?
The ultimate sacred relationship is to become one with the loving, joyous, wise and powerful manifesting God within and allow that love to flow through you unconditionally and unattached to others and all life. This is where we are all headed eventually.
For more information on how to heal the wounds traumas and wrong conclusions from past experiences which includes past lives as well, read these two articles here and here , or read about sacred relationships and the process in Becoming Gods 1 & 2.
Copyright James Gilliland 2006 – 2008. All rights reserved.
So today is Day 3 of my commitment to focus on radical transformation.
There is nothing more radical than changing the perceptions of my mind. Every year I decide to do something 'radical' and I am quite sure at some level it works. Its not so much the effort in doing as it is in setting the intention to be opened to change. I'm not a very disciplined person, but what the heck! I have embraced that about myself even if it appears to be a 'flaw'. I like my flaws now. They are good markers indicating where I Am in my inner travels and travails.
This year I have decided to really drop the "comfort zone" and go into the areas where I have just been sitting at the edge till date. Whenever I am stuck and don't know what to do next, I like to think of our Indian Rishis and Sages. They knew it all from their profound wisdom through their one pointed focus on Spirit. They just moved to places that nurtured their spirits. People came to them. They were least interested in the world. I know the baubles of the world can be so mesmerizing, the stories so compelling, and the drama so exciting, but what is it all really? All this is surrounded by pain. Even relationships are painful. I am tired of being the one to always, always make the first move on everything, to initiate the next step or to even initiate a conversation. I am tired of being raised to a higher standard just to suit someone else's low image of themselves. I am fatigued, tired, bored and fed up. I have been travelling this inner path for quite some time now and I find myself constantly stuck and going back to the same things over and over again. I am so fed up now, I just want to make a 360 degree change! As I drop more and more, the mind just seems to keep bringing up more and more. Most times I feel the rest of the world is far more awakened than I even though I see otherwise - NOW WHY ON GOD'S EARTH WOULD I FEEL THAT WAY? Am I being too hard on myself and raising my own standards and then feeling frustrated that I can't catch up with my own image?? That must be it! No, I am sure it is - well, atleast it's one of the 'problem' areas. I'm saying "problem" for now because I am still going into more and more, deeper and deeper, radical acceptance of myself.
The mind is a foxy trickster! If handled with wisdom and understanding, it can bring you to the heights of spiritual bliss. Ofcourse it could very easily do the opposite as well.
I love this message I received for today. Once again my hope and faith in myself is revived. See, I love words! They are empowering!
« A child coming into the world is a soul limiting
itself, and it suffers at having to come into a body where it feels so
confined. Even if this limitation is necessary to allow for manifestation on
the physical plane, human beings must never forget that their soul’s home is
infinite space. Shut up in a body, it longs for that immensity where it expands
and rejoices. This is why, even if humans dread death, because they experience
it – naturally of course – as a wrench, their soul welcomes it as a liberation.
Life is made up of these two movements, limitation and
expansion, which each person must learn how to balance. Even when you are
called upon from all sides, if you do not want your soul to end up suffocating
and becoming weaker, do not allow material tasks and worries to take up all
your time and energy. From time to time, for a few moments at least, stop, go
within, and open yourself up to immensity… then go back to what you were doing.
»
~ Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov ~
And then, there is one of my favorite authors and spiritual teachers, Oriah who made a personal observation about herself to which I can relate.
"So, as I woke up this morning filled with memories about
Marie Claire I wondered: Where am I feeling caught in the past? Where am I
missing the opportunity to lay down a burden and walk on with more freedom?
Where am I refusing healing, afraid to be free, not allowing myself to receive
fully what is offered to me now?
And I offer a prayer for my old friend, grateful for what is
stirred by remembering her, wishing her spirit deep peace and freedom."
Now that is a lot of valuable stuff to ponder on today. I am blessed and I know it. Because that is what the God stuff is about. One continuous, endless, eternal mass of Grace and Blessings all strewn all around me like sparkling diamonds. Aum.
Benedictine Monk Laurence Freeman OSB talks about what
meditation is and provides a simple meditation technique that Christians, or
anyone, can practice. Father Laurence describes the primary experience and
nature of meditation, and outlines a simple but effective method using a sacred
word or mantra.
Video transcript:
What is Meditation?
What is meditation and how do we meditate? The word
meditation is like the word “medicine.” It has this prefix “med,” which is a
Greek prefix that means “care” or “attention.” When we meditate we are being
careful, we are paying attention.
Meditation is a universal, spiritual tradition, wisdom. We
find it in all the great religious traditions of the human family. Years ago I
was teaching meditation, Christian meditation, in Australia. I was talking
about the 2,000-year old tradition of Christian meditation, going back to the
teaching of Jesus on contemplation. And then an aborigine, Christian aborigine,
who was in the audience came up to me afterwards. He thanked me for the talk
and he said, “You know, our people, my people, the aboriginals,” he said, “have
been meditating for 40,000 years. We call it didgeri, which is a silent,
non-questioning awareness, a harmony with the world around us.” They go to a
sacred place, maybe a rock or near the river. He belonged to a river people. He
said, “We just sit beside the river and feel the flow of the river and we open
ourselves to the presence that is in nature.”
So meditation goes back to the very earliest intuitions of
humanity of what lies deeper than the senses, or deeper than even our rational
mind. In meditation you could say we go from the mind to the heart, from
thought into silence, from words and images and planning and problem and
analyzing–all the things that we do all the day in our active minds. We go
deeper than the mind. We go into that place of the heart.
The heart is not just a romantic, emotional symbol. We find
the heart as a symbol in all the spiritual traditions. And it is a symbol both
of the interiority of the human person and also the wholeness of the human
person, where the body, the mind and the spirit converge into the true Self,
into the person I most deeply and truly am, through all the years and all the
experiences of my life.
Stillness
So meditation is our journey of consciousness, shifting the
center of consciousness, from the mind to the heart. And we do that, not by
trying to achieve anything, but simply by being still. Stillness is the primary
experience of meditation. So when you meditate, sit physically still. The
stillness of body will help to bring you to a stillness within, the stillness
of mind.
Silence
Then we also practice silence, because in silence we are
learning to pay attention. Remember that word “med,” to pay attention. We’re
not thinking about God. We’re not thinking about the meaning of life. We’re not
thinking about ourselves or our problems or solving our future plans. In
meditation we’re not trying to have good thoughts, but we are letting go of all
thoughts, moving to that deepest level where we are paying pure attention to
pure being.
So silence is about attention, but in order to be silent to
pay attention, it’s very helpful to have a quiet place. So when you meditate,
try and find a quiet time and a quiet place.
Simplicity
And the third really important quality that we practice in
meditation is simplicity. And by that I mean that we’re not analyzing
ourselves. We’re not saying, “Am I happy? What don’t I have? What do I need to
make me happy? What are my problems? What are my daydreams?” In meditation,
then, we let go of thoughts, words, images, and daydreams. We come into the
present moment. That’s the essence of all meditation. And it’s only in the
present moment that we can find God, the God who is, the God who reveals the mystery
of God as I am. “I am who I am,” God said to Moses.
How to Meditate
This is the nature of meditation, but how do we do it? How
do we become silent, and simple and still? And how do we let go of our worries
and plans and daydreams and desires and fantasies, and slip into the only place
where we truly are real, which is the present moment?
In the Christian tradition there’s a very simple method,
taught from the beginning of the Christian spiritual tradition, which has deep
resonance with the same method taught in other traditions even older than
Christianity. And that is to take a word, a single word, short phrase, a sacred
word, a mantra, and to repeat this word continually, gently, faithfully,
attentively, during the time of the meditation. The saying of the word is what
focuses our consciousness. It’s what stills the mind. It’s what takes the
attention off our busy, active and distracted minds.
So you don’t have to fight your distractions. Just let them
go. And when you do get distracted which, of course, happens all the time, when
you do get distracted simply come back to the saying of your word.
The next most important thing is to know what word to
choose, and because you want to stay with this word all the way through the
meditation and from day to day. The recommendation of all traditions is to take
a sacred word, the word that is sacred in your own tradition. Stay with the
same word and give your full attention. It’s helpful if it’s not in your own
language because that means it’s easier to get out of your head and to let go
of thoughts, even good thoughts.
The word I would recommend is the word, “Maranatha.” It’s a
beautiful prayer word, a beautiful mantra. It’s in the language that Jesus
spoke, Aramaic, and it means, “Come, Lord.” You’re not thinking about the
meaning as we say it. And St. Paul ends the First Letters to the Corinthians
with it. So it’s a scriptural word of great sacredness, the oldest Christian
prayer.
If you choose that word say it with just four syllables:
“Ma-ra-na-tha.” Listen to the word as you say it. Don’t visualize it. Just
listen to it as you say it. As thoughts come, let them drop, let them go, and
keep returning to your word.
So this is how you meditate. You sit down. You sit still.
Sit with your back straight so that you are alert and awake. Meditation is
about being awake. Close your eyes lightly. Sit relaxed. Breathe normally. And
then silently, in your mind and heart, begin to say your word, your mantra. The
word again I would suggest is “Maranatha, Ma-ra-na-tha.”
That’s the simple way of meditation. It’s very simple, not
easy, but you can meditate at any point in your life. You start to meditate
from where you are. You can teach a child of six to meditate. You could
meditate on your death bed. The important thing is to start where you are, to
accept yourself where you are, and begin to deepen your spiritual journey from
the place you find yourself to be.
Regular practice and community
If you want to meditate seriously, build it into your life,
then meditate twice a day. Aim at this twice daily rhythm of beginning the day
and ending the day with about twenty minutes of meditation on each occasion.
And if you want to strengthen, to deepen, to encourage that
practice, then be in touch with others who meditate. Meditate with them
regularly. The community that grows out of meditation is a community of
spiritual friendship. If you’d like to contact one such community, a Christian
meditation community, you can do so through the internet, wccm.org, or for
younger meditators, thespiritualsolution.com.
The community that meditation creates begins with the
harmony, the peace, that we find within ourselves. It’s a simple way, and it’s
a way that leads to fullness of life
ღ.¸¸.✫*¨`*✶ღ.¸¸.✫*¨`*✶
Dom Laurence Freeman OSB is a monk of the Olivetan
Benedictine Congregation of Monte Oliveto Maggiore and Director of The World
Community for Christian Meditation. Fr Laurence was born in England in 1951
where he was educated by the Benedictines and studied English Literature at
Oxford University. Before entering monastic life he had experience with the
United Nations, banking and journalism. In the monastery his spiritual teacher
was John Main with whom he studied and whom he helped in the establishment of
the first Christian Meditation Centre in London.
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