Attaining clarity is a funny thing.  The purpose of attaining clarity is to reach a place of stillness, silence, eternal security, oneness and to essentially become the embodiment of unconditional love.  On the other hand, those are things that do not exist on the material plane and to experience them, one must go ‘in’ and eventually learn to radiate them out.

Is it possible to be in physical form and have multi-dimensional experiences? It is absolutely possible.  What is not possible is to expect to be able to attain such an ability of conscious transmutation while remaining in an environment of a lower vibration – a vibration over-populated by the herd.  If you want to change for the Light-er, you must first purge the metaphysical weight.

Purging the weight is a process of death and rebirth.  It is a process of first accepting and then letting go of perspectives that box you in. Only when you allow these things to die do you create space for rebirth. It’s just like learning how to walk again.

Through this process of acceptance and release, you receive new tools for new purposes.  You can still try to use the old tools to accomplish new tasks, but you’ll eventually find that they don’t work the same way they used to.  In fact, nothing will feel the same as it used to.  The things that once brought you so much joy lead to disappointment and disillusion now.  Once the mind is stretched, it cannot go back to its original form.  You are changed forever.  You may allow the memories of the past to haunt you.  You may choose to try recreating what was once joyful, but nothing tastes nor does it look or feel the same.  All the senses are put to new tests.  The mind is exercised in different ways and the process of change just seems to get faster and more unforgiving. Whoever said that ignorance is bliss had a point.  There’s a temporary bliss connected to ‘not knowing’.

The only time you experience pain from the transformation into Light-ness is when you’ve shifted into a relatively higher vibration while simultaneously continuing to live an existence in tune with a lower vibration.  At this point, it becomes more and more of an effort to ‘balance’ because you’re no longer balancing according to the universal equilibrium. Instead, you’re creating your own scales and conjuring up your own private units of measurement in order to satisfy your egoic desires.  You’re constantly faced with the process of renewal and if you don’t embrace a new perspective of the experiences that come your way, you’ll create pain for yourself. You’ll create a reality of suffering because you will try to exert effort where effort cannot exist.

‘Effort’ is an interesting concept. It’s a deceiving word.  People use the word ‘effort’ with pride.  They believe that it denotes dedication and commitment.  In actuality, effort indicates resistance – it takes place when you’re working against the flow.  If you are working against the flow, you are not working in accordance with the Universal Laws.  You are in opposition to nature.  What is nature’s way of telling us that we are not working in harmony with its laws?  It brings pain.  The source of pain is resistance.

The next time you find yourself exerting effort to accomplish something, observe your mental chatter, ask yourself what you are doing at that very moment, and decide. Do you choose opposition or harmony?

See beyond to see within

What is in me is what you reflect for me.
What is reflected in you is revealed through me.

Like the glassy surface of a still lake,
You show me who I Am.

We are each one another’s mirrors.
See me, and you will see yourself,
Judge me and you simply judge yourself.

There are those you like, and they are the ones who show you what you accept in yourself.

There are those you dislike, and they are the ones who remind you of what you reject in yourself.

To look within, you have but to look into my eyes and see Me.

A conversation where science, art, education and politics are discussed within the context of spirituality.

“I’m nothing special. I’m just like you.”

Along the side of this post, I’ve included words – words that resonated strongly with me as I watched this video. This is an interesting exercise to perform with someone else, with 2 or more observers. You see, we all see the world through our own eyes. No one sees the same way. We all create our own perceptions of each and every thing we experience. These perceptions are created out of all the other experiences we’ve had, all the choices and judgments we’ve made and all the understandings and concepts we’ve collected throughout all of our lifetimes. So, why not share our perceptions? In this case, while watching the video, and in other cases in our lives? Listening to other people’s perceptions could not only teach us tolerance, acceptance, patience, and understanding, but it could also help us open our eyes to the illusion of all that is around us. What is real is connection. Let’s connect. What words resonated with you while you watched this video?

All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players.
They have their exits and their entrances
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages.

William Shakespeare – All the world’s a stage (from As You Like It 2/7)

I seem to remember going through this already. Why the repetition? I didn’t enjoy it the first time around, so could I just skip through it this time?

I’m born again, and I’m in a new body. The body has to learn how to function so I have to teach it how to walk and talk and eat without the help of others. That part is fine for me to accept, although that isn’t to say that I enjoy the process of maturation that will eventually allow me to pull away from these twits I have to share classrooms with and eat apple slices coated with the most ridiculous paste they call ‘peanut butter’.

They treat us all the same. Why? We are at such different stages of development. Some of us even still remember. Why are they doing their best to convince us that forgetting is the way forward?

I’m having difficulty merging into these experiences. I want this stage to be over. I want to be able to start where I left off last time. I’ve passed these lessons already. Why again? I have so much work to do, so many tasks to complete, but I can’t do them until I’m at a level near to the one I reached before I left last time. Why the repetition?

Ah…patience. I see! I suppose I could have forgotten more before coming into this life, so that means that I’m remembering more than others for a reason. Is it to teach me patience? Alright, fine, but is that really necessary at this stage? I have so much work to do and I can’t do it from this infant-state. I remember more than most of the teachers who are trying to ‘guide’ me. Why are they not listening when I attempt to explain to them the error of their ways? They call it ‘imagination’…“Look how imaginative she is!” Why are they not listening?

Yes, I know, physical reality = illusion. So perhaps it’s been about deciphering what part of my perception is Truth to begin with…

I don’t know exactly at what stage of my awakening I have reached to date – perhaps because I’m only looking into one dimension of my existence. In any case, I sense that I have not yet reached the peak of my clarity – I knew more in other lives, I knew how to tap into higher levels of power before. At least I’m at a point, though, where I have gone through the mundane. Is it wrong of me to see the early stages of the soul’s maturation as mundane? When you go through them so many times, how can they not become mundane…?

“Soul age refers to how a person has grown from experience on the planet, not just to how many lifetimes he or she has lived. … An Old Soul starts each lifetime being born as an infant who experiences Infant Soul consciousness and gradually grows into prior levels of consciousness. … It does not work to stick your nose in the air (or your head in the sand) in an attempt to avoid lessons and gifts from the other soul ages.”

Source: http://www.michaelteachings.com/soul_ages.html

While reading this wonderful piece, I made some notes about specific parts of the reading that resonated strongly with me…you can find them below:

“Seldom doing anything they don’t want to and preferring their own unconventional pursuits, they often seek the path of least resistance as far as work, so that all energy can be poured into spiritual development.”

…the times when I have accelerate most quickly up the ladder at work were times when I had to consciously disconnect myself from my more ’spiritually minded’ activities. Otherwise, I would quickly loose interest in the working world, and simply be intoxicated by the metaphysical…

“If higher education proves necessary in order to teach, less orthodox schools allowing more opportunities for inner exploration will be favored.”

…hahaha! I consciously seek out the most unorthodox higher education route that I can find! Being unorthodox FUELS me…

“Old Souls may explore many religions and teachings, being most drawn to those emphasizing love and to those they’ve resonated with closely in past lives. But being rule-bound or as orthodox as some disciplines require does not usually last long.”

…this has unfortunately been the case for me. I have had the soulful pleasure of bonding instantaneously with certain groups, but found that their rules were too difficult by which to abide. This eventually led to my silent departure…

“However, some people get uncomfortable once they are here with their aridity and lack of emotional warmth and set out to make up for what their personality seems to lack….A similar situation arises after a person has had materially successful lifetimes.”

…I have been torn in these worlds of relationships and wealth lately. One part of me craves emotionally rich relationships while another part needs solitude to explore and develop a connection to the wisdom within. One part of me wants to dive into the consumerist culture while the other finds infinite peace in making the most of what I have…

“A major challenge of the Old Soul period is mastering self-esteem.”

…and I thought self-deprecation was noble!

“It is never your last life until you like it here; essence would never let you off the hook before then.”

…OH MY! I have some work to do!

“In order to even out your past life choices, as an Old Soul you are often in the body of the sex you least prefer.”

…so THAT’s why I so understand the physical being-ness of the opposite sex so much more…

“Third level people do best when they give themselves the space and time to stay home and be alone as much as they want. Respecting their own proclivities and loving themselves just the way they are always smooths the way for more enjoyment of self and life.”

…well, I think I just gave myself permission to stop feeling guilty!

Love and Light!

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me…unless of course, I decide to let them.

I’m sitting before the panel again. It’s come time to make some choices about my next assignment. My Guide is standing next to me, as always the pillar of calm, strength, clarity and wisdom. I’ve been working a lot at honing my skills and developing some new ones that will help me in this next life. I realize now what I missed last time around. I think I know what to do this time. I’m so blessed to be given another chance.

Whenever any of us up here are told that we’re ready to go back, a sequence of events is initiated to ensure we’re ready when the moment comes. I’m at the point where I have to meet with the Masters and choose some specific experiences that I will have to go through in this next life. The panel will present me with some choices – all designed to prepare me for my next steps toward a higher level of initiation. We’ll also talk about contracts today. You know, those agreements you get into with other souls before you enter into your new body; the ones you all agree to take part in and that no matter what happens, you all have to go through. Anyway, that’s what today is about. Finalizing the cornerstones of my next life on Earth.

I heard something funny once when I was observing some humans. A guy was talking about his perception of this process of choosing experiences and signing contracts. He said it wasn’t fair that we are asked to make such important choices while we’re in our state of bliss. He said that if we knew how those experiences would really feel, we probably wouldn’t agree to them in the first place. Yes, it is true that we eventually attain a state of bliss when we return home, but even when we are embodied, we have a direct connection with home whenever we want it. It is just a case of learning to cultivate that connection – something he hadn’t learned yet.

During my last life, I was meant to develop an experiential as well as a mental understanding of the concept of free will. I brought with me the conscious awareness of pre-destined experiences and sacred contracts, and although I didn’t completely grasp these concepts, I knew from within that I had made choices long ago that were impacting the life I was leading in that body. What I struggled with though, was an acceptance of the relationship between free will and destiny. I walked through a great part of that life asking myself, “How can we have any power to choose when all our choices have already been made?”

Nearing the end of that life, I began to realize that although certain experiences were pre-destined, the way that we choose to respond to those experiences is completely up to us. We have the free will to choose how we perceive each and every experience. And these choices are what dictate how we develop and grow in each life.

Even though I can explain the concept of this lesson to myself, it still isn’t a lesson that I have completely enveloped with my heart, so I shall continue on my journey of understanding in this next life. Now, if you’ll excuse me, the Masters are waiting…

What is attachment?

To be attached to something is to be unable to let go of a belief. To be unable to let go of a belief is to create a limitation for ourselves. A limitation does not allow us to progress. It does not allow us to expand our thoughts, develop our feelings, and essentially, stops our journey of experiencing life. Every time we create an attachment, we take a step back on our journey through life, and every time we return to the ‘comfort’ that we have convinced ourselves the attachment brings, we take yet another step back. To experience life, not just to ‘know’ of life, but to experience life in this physical dimension, we must choose to continually take steps forward. The difficulty is that each new step is a step on new ground. New ground is unexplored unknown. Growth through experience means taking new steps and placing our feet on new ground, regardless of how afraid we have convinced ourselves to be.

Why do we have attachments?

They make us feel artificially safe. We surround ourselves with attachments to create a world where we feel secure, where we see the predictability of what will happen when we turn to our attachment. We convince ourselves that routines are positive things. We are told that routines, or in other words, processes that we continually repeat (or…PATTERNS!), allow us to limit, or one day ‘maybe’ even eliminate the possibility of making a mistake. We are taught practice makes perfect.

So, we attach ourselves to processes that we have dared to try at one point, and after seeing that things worked out, and probably believing that it was luck that made it work out and not us who did it all by ourselves, we continue repeating the process. There is a sense of addiction in the success that we reap from attachments. But before you get too comfortable with this ’success’, tell me what is wrong with making a mistake in the first place?

A mistake is just as much an experience in life as a success. Who is to say that mistakes aren’t successful? We are here to experience. We are not here to experience the good, and then go home. We are here to experience the all. Are you not perfect? Are you not whole and complete? Are you not a direct manifestation of all the power that exists? Why are you limiting your experiences out of a sense of artificial fear that you have convinced yourself exists in the unknown? What is the unknown? Who is to say that the unknown is bad? What is bad, and what is good in the first place? You owe it to yourself to do Your ALL in this lifetime. If you choose to hide from that which is not familiar, you have stopped living.

There is a different side of this story as well. Sometimes attachments do not bring ’success’ and pleasure. Sometimes, people grow attached to beliefs that make them miserable. Why would anyone want to be miserable? They may believe that they deserve to be miserable. Attachments that result in suffering are created as a form of self-deprivation, or in other words, as a punishment that we think we deserve.

Why do some people think they deserve to be punished? Because they have stopped loving themselves. They have stopped seeing the beauty and magnificence of the loving being that they are. They have forgotten that the person they are in this life is not a clear and full representation of who they are  and of what they represent. That which they represent is pure love, is pure acceptance – the two are synonymous, but the attached person has forgotten about this. The attached person believes that they are not worthy of their own love. This is when attachments develop.

What are we attached to?

It is easy to say that someone is attached to his mother or her sister. How many people do you know who are attached to money? What seems on the surface as an attachment to an object, to a process, to a physical or intangible thing, is really an attachment to a belief. Beliefs make us feel certain ways. Beliefs create artificial security that motivates an attachment. If you say you are attached to your mother, could it be that you are really attached to the belief that only responsible, good and polite daughters take care of their mothers in old age? Could it be that you have chosen to punish yourself for your successes because your family wasn’t as strong as you and you failed to help them to change and to be stronger, so instead you started punishing yourself for being the strong and limitless person you are?

Could it be that your attachment is a manifestation of a belief of which you convinced yourself decades ago: that being strong and loving of yourself should be punished, and being weak and refusing to take responsibility for your own life should be praised and rewarded? Could it be true that you don’t love yourself enough, that you don’t appreciate the gifts that you chose for yourself to be an independent, free spirit that does not NEED to be attached to any belief? The moment you understand your true potential, the second you begin to love yourself again and to appreciate the radiant spirit that you are, is the instant when you begin to fully experience life again.

I say again because there was a time when you chose not to accept your strengths as weaknesses. There was a beautiful time when you were totally unconditional love and free of judgement. There was a time when you loved yourself enough to know that you could do anything. Go back to the point when you gave up hope and love for yourself. Go back to the painful and wonderful moment when you started punishing yourself and feeling the need to attach. Go back to the person who you are still punishing and free the limiting belief structures that have trapped you for so long. Let that person free and you will feel your lungs fill with fresh air for the first time in years. Release all limits and you will again be able to manifest your dreams into reality.