A magical thing happened to me this morning. It’s actually still happening to me now as I write this post. You see, I decided to dedicate some of my attention today to going through messages in my inbox; messages that have been waiting for me for some time now; messages that I wasn’t ready for or open to until now; messages that I am nevertheless extremely grateful to have received. Most of them are videos and links to resources sent to me from friends and family – information that they thought I might be interested in coming across. Most of the time, these messages sit in my inbox for quite some time before I feel comfortable enough to approach them. I think to me, that means that they have great power to affect me, and at some level, I know this, so I wait until the time is right so that I can truly give them the attention they, and I, deserve. Today, I happened to come across a sound that stimulated such a profound feeling of something opening within me that I felt moved to share it with you here.

Sounds are very powerful. We’ve talked about them here in the form of mantras and chants. There are certain frequencies that can be expressed in seemingly simple tones, but that when listened to, create an environment in which great awakening can take place. The ones that I would like to share with you today are frequencies that resonate at 741 HZ. The videos that I will include below include these types of sounds. When I listen to them in this moment, I feel something happening in my Third Eye area. The more I listen to them, the more this feeling expands to fill the top of my head, the back of my head and around my temples and ears. Even my neck feels the impact of the sound. It starts off as feeling of pressure between my brows, but not a physical pressure like when you press on your forehead with your hand. No, this is a more subtle pressure, one felt beneath the surface of the skin, that bores into the depths of my inner site. I know this sounds strange but it’s so powerful. My vision isn’t technically affected in the experience, but at the same time, I can feel that my eyes would prefer not to focus on this dimension. It’s as if they’re asking me to look beyond, to look past the physical, to allow them to rest for a moment in another space, a more peaceful, gentle space. This makes for quite an interesting experience while I’m typing! Good thing I remember the position of most of the keys!

I enjoy experiencing unfoldment in this way. It’s almost like an instantaneous repositioning of my awareness into a deeper place of much greater expanse then any place I’ve been on to this planet. Even the most gloriously wide, open space like a wheat field along a dusty highway or the view from atop an ancient volcano can’t compare to the expanse that exists within us. To awaken this sense is such a healing experience to communicate with our Higher essence with the utmost of grace and reverence. To mingle with your soul while still experiencing the physical dimension is a wonderful reminder that we are so much more than our bodies, our minds, our surroundings. We are one with all. There exists no delineation between this and that. There are no borders, do separation between this dimension and that dimension. It is all a fluid flow of tranquility. Enjoy and God Bless!

CHAPTER 4: The Problem of Self

Link to chapter: click here
Length of chapter reading: 38:34 minutes

The Problem of Self is really about the relationship we have with ourselves. Every other relationship we have in any given life is but a reflection of our connection with our true Self. That which you enjoy in others is what you enjoy about yourself. The things that bother you and bring you discomfort are those aspects of yourself that you have not learned how to love unconditionally yet. Listening to this fourth chapter can help to remind us of what is real and what is maya (illusion). The confusion of relation – relating to ourselves, to the world around us, trying to find identity in our experiences – all of these are simply manifestations of the little ‘i’s’ that we pick up on the side of the road as we make our journey. What we must remember though, is that we started our journey with empty pockets, and this is also the way it must end. You are free to collect as many i’s along the path as you like, but remember, one day, you will be asked to shed your pockets, and return to the essence that is the true You.

I am that I AM. Not I am who I am, or what I am, or how I am. I am THAT I AM.

“…man is never literal in the expression of his ideas except in matters most trivial. Very often, man’s words are not a language at all but merely a vocal gesture of the dumb. They may indicate, but do not express his thoughts. The more vital his thoughts, the more have his words to be explained by the context of his life.”

To assume that what we hear is what is meant to be heard is to create within our own minds a reality disconnected from the rest. Even if the meanings of all the words in the dictionary were implanted in our minds, we would not be able to ensure clear communication because the interpretation of each sentiment is dependent upon the place from which it is experienced. This is why the eyes, the smile, the act of radiating light from within are all so important. The messages that come through us from our Higher Selves cannot be mistaken. They may perhaps not be consciously observed, but the soul knows, and that is more than enough.

“We can look at our Self in its two different aspects. The self which displays itself, and the Self which transcends itself and thereby reveals its own meaning. To display itself, it tries to be big, to stand upon the pedestal of its accumulations and to retain everything to itself. To reveal itself, it gives up everything it has, thus becoming perfect, like a flower is blossomed out from the bud pouring from its chalice of beauty all its sweetness.”

In a world that displays proof in its physicality and evidence, it is easy to loose site of the Self. Turning on the television, entering into a store or simply watching people on the street, we see ‘things’ – things we want, things we like and dislike, things we’ve had but now have better. The illusion of the material world is where the little ‘i’ dwells. It is where the ego likes to bask in its glory. To look past the material and to see the essence present in all things, we transcend identification with the little ‘i’ and move into the realisation of the Self. We can only know who we truly are, why we are here, and what gifts we have brought with us to share with the world if we take the journey within. The big ‘I’ is the actor on the stage. The little ‘i’s’ are the roles you play.

“…love is an end unto itself. Everything else raises the question ‘why?’ in our mind, and we require a reason for it. But when we say, ‘I love’, then there is no room for the ‘why?’. It is the final answer in itself.”

The moment you find yourself asking, ‘why?’ – why is this happening to me?, why does it have to be like this? – you miss the whole point of the experience. In these moments of questioning, step back – even though it will feel difficult and unnatural at first to separate yourself from something you’ve identified yourself with so closely – and say a prayer of thanks. Be thankful for the experience you have been given, express gratitude for the opportunity to grow your understanding. It is during the moments when we ask ‘why?’ that we have the most to learn. Gratitude for these moments enables transcendence into places of greater connection with the Self.

“Whenever the part, spurning the whole, tries to run a separate course of its own, the great pull of the All gives it a violent wrench, stops it suddenly, and brings it to the dust. Whenever the individual tries to damn the every-flowing current of the world force, and imprison it within the area of his particular use, it brings on disaster. However powerful a king may be, he cannot raise his standard or rebellion against the infinite source of strength, which is unity, and yet remain powerful.

“It has been said that by righteous men prosper, gain what they desire, and triumph over their enemies, but at the end, they are cut off at the root, and suffer extinction.”

Observing the state of the world today, is it not the perfect time to take inventory, dig into our pockets, and let go of some of the little ‘i’s'?

Back in January,  I wrote a post based on an article I read in the first 2009 issue of O Magazine. This afternoon, I found a torn out page from the magazine on my desk with some of my notes on it and it reminded me that I had read something else in that issue that moved me. Timothy Hutton (p.57) was reflecting upon an aha moment he had in his life and he wrote, “…I realized I didn’t have anywhere I actually needed to be; therefore, it was time to be somewhere else.” I’m not sure I agree…

I’ve moved around a lot in the short time I’ve spent renting room on this planet, and not just the kind of moving around that backpacking adventurers do during a summer of freedom. No, the kind of moving I decided to do was a bit more expensive, emotionally arduous and uprooting – I moved my home many times, changed addresses, purchased mailboxes, rerouted phone numbers, the whole lot.  If there was a reward program for Ikea customers I’d have the international platinum account! And I’ve done it more than once.

Why am I bringing this up? Because moving around means that at some point, you’re faced with the “cliff moment” – there are either two places you can go if you find yourself on the edge of a proverbial cliff: either jump off the cliff into the unknown and just do your best to keep the faith that you made the right decision, or start retreating from the edge and go back to what you know. When faced with that decision, you may find yourself wondering what there is to gain, and what there is to loose. In the process, you might ask yourself, “Is there anything left for me here? Do I have any unfinished business left to complete?” Reading Hutton’s statement brought me back to the cliff moments in my life and got me reflecting on how I see myself and the world around me when faced with those questions.

How do you know whether there is anywhere you actually need to be? The only way I can imagine answering that question is by looking deep within myself and listening to see if you hear from that little voice – intuition – because asking myself whether I still have appointments to make or whether I’m willing to leave a good friend behind just doesn’t seem to generate the ‘right’ kind of answer.

How do we know whether there’s somewhere we actually need to be? How can we know whether there’s someone out there, either in a nearby city or in the apartment right next to ours who needs help that we are able to give? How do we know? So many of us have become so focused on ourselves and on how to survive the times that we have completely forgotten to ask how we can help. It scares me sometimes. Am I losing my faith in humanity? Or am I coming to an age where these questions are naturally on one’s mind? I don’t know…

But what I feel is that if we ask for guidance, become and remain open to divine intervention for the Highest Good and act when the Universe requests our assistance, then perhaps we will discover a purpose where we didn’t think one existed… Or perhaps not, but that process of deep reflection and openness to whatever answers come from within is important, I think. Perhaps…we might just discover a new reason for being…wherever that may be…

So tell me, how can I help?

“Rei meaning “a ray of light” or “universal soul” and Ki meaning “universal life force energy” or “radiating energy”.

When the Japanese characters are combined, they present the concept of “universal life-force energy”.

The history of Reiki is a story of a man discovering his ability to connect to a powerful source of energy and transferring it through himself to others.  Over time, Reiki has become known to many as a healing art.  People associate it with a therapy that involves the ‘laying of hands’ on the body and healing physical ailments.  In many ways, these things are true, but Reiki encompasses much more, and you will learn as you begin to experience the process, that there are many unspoken benefits that must simply be experienced in order to be understood.

What Reiki Does

Reiki works on all levels affecting us. It will naturally begin to assist you in releasing limiting belief structures about yourself and the world around you. Instead of dwelling in the past or worrying about the future, you begin to embrace every aspect of the now and live in the moment. Emotional outbursts stabilize, and you become less vulnerable to the shifts of your ego personality. Your motives and the motives of others become clearer, and you better understand how things happen for a reason. Your thoughts don’t run aimlessly in your mind and you learn how to focus energy specifically on those thoughts that you want to become your reality. Those affected by increased flows of energy often choose to no longer allow fear to run their lives and they gradually detach from dependencies.

When you integrate your mind, body and spirit into one harmonious flow of energy, you begin to leave behind the fears and ego-centred motives of a world of pain, and enter into a higher state of consciousness that brings health and prosperity to all facets of your life.

Physically:

Reiki speeds the mending and recovery process.

Why?
Everything is energy. Your body is simply energy. If there is a blockage through which energy cannot flow freely, an imbalance exists. Your body will (at first) gently tell you that you have created an imbalance by exhibiting pain. When you sense pain, you can choose to ignore it or to heal it. You can also choose to recognize that your body has communicated an imbalance, and with the ability to tap into a greater flow of energy, you can choose to rebalance yourself. When you bring balance back to yourself, any imbalance that existed is released.

Mentally:

Reiki relieves stress (stress=imbalance), and softens a crisis mentality by alleviating the mental pressure without losing the integral importance of the lesson.

What does that mean?
You will see things differently. You will begin to see a bigger picture of any situation: your point of view, the perspective of others, and any other factors that are involved in any situation. You will understand why you are creating your thoughts, the way they develop and how to identify them consciously before you freely release them. You will notice that you have more choice about what you think and do because you will be able to approach any situation at a slower speed (so to speak) and decide what to do before you are in the middle of things and feel like there is no way out.

You will understand why people act the way they do. You will find it easier to be compassionate and understanding. You will catch yourself in a moment of wakelessness and see that you always have the choice to do what benefits the Highest Good. You will ultimately be able to understand why things happen the way they do, and what you can learn from every experience.

Emotionally:

Reiki helps to resolve tangled emotions and purifies your emotional state of being.

Why?
Your emotions are a very big part of who you are. Sometimes it’s tricky to maintain a balanced emotional state, and there are even people who ‘loose their mind’ because they let their emotions run wild. Reiki helps harmonize emotions in two ways. When participating in a session, you subconsciously train your thoughts to calm your emotions. This will allow you to identify your emotions clearly, sensing which feel right and which feel out of place. The unconscious process that takes place when you tap into a more powerful energy flow also works on balancing you while you sleep. The process is gentle and healing.

Spiritually:

Reiki opens us to the presence of the divine. Aligning us with our spirits is one of Reiki’s most profound affects. The process attunes us to our own spiritual being and puts us in harmony with the Creative power.

What does that mean?
This is the most abstract benefit of Reiki. To explain this concept, let us work from the outside in. You have a body, but you are not your body. When you have a feeling about something, or when a creative idea comes into your mind it is not because your finger or your knee told you so. Thoughts of inspiration and guidance come from a very special place. They come from the real you, that little voice inside of you that is heard only when you are still enough to listen. Reiki creates a clearer connection to the real you, connecting you more closely to your spiritual self.

The beneficial affects of Reiki are only limited by the person who is receiving. When you realize the limitless potential of Reiki, there is nothing that can prevent you from achieving what you now see as the impossible.

God bless!

What’s the difference between work and play? My first reaction to this question was that we inherently ‘like’ to play and ‘dislike’ working. I know that there are a growing number of you out there who like working, and there are an equal number of you who have never liked playing, whether it was sports, cards or acting. Setting the exceptions aside, let’s look at the basic aspects of work and play for a moment.

Actually, let’s not set you aside. Let’s use the fact that there are so many ‘exceptions’ as a guide to help us see what dynamic is actually functioning here. Maybe it isn’t the act that defines whether we are working or playing. Maybe it is rather the way that we perceive the act that categorizes it as work or play.

When we play, most of us have fun. We enjoy the temporary activity of participating in a game. Even though there are rules, we don’t take the game seriously because we know that ‘it is just a game’. We know that we are just playing the role of a tennis player for a short time, and then when the game is over, we go back to being ourselves. We don’t always identify ourselves with the game, or our role in the game. We derive enjoyment from the fact that we can use our creativity, instincts, intuition, rhythm and imagination to play our part in the game. So if all of these things are so much fun, then why are there some people who dislike playing sports or board games? It’s because they take the game too seriously.

Once we begin to perceive the game as something we must win and decide that failure is bad, the game then turns into work. Instead of allowing our instincts and intuition to guide us, we constantly calculate risks, evaluate possibilities of success, judge players based on their past performances and view everyone as our enemy. The game becomes a competition. The game becomes a war. Life or death is at stake; the life or death of our ego.

Allow me to give you an example. Let’s say that you are asked to walk 50 meters on the sidewalk in front of your house. The only rule is that you cannot, under any circumstances, step onto the street or onto the grass. You must stay on the sidewalk at all times. Would you be able to do it? Of course! You walk on that sidewalk everyday! You could even run or ride a bicycle on it and be able to accomplish the task.

Now, imagine that this sidewalk is 300 meters above sea level, it has no railings and it connects two mountains. Would you be able to do this without stepping over its edge? The answer is that of course you would. The difference is that you don’t take the first game seriously so you are fully aware of all of your skills and abilities and are capable of using them easily to accomplish the task. In the second scenario, you decide that it is no longer a game and that you must take it seriously. The moment you decide it is work, you loose your connection to the right side of your brain where your creativity, intuition and rhythm can be found. As a result, you only work with your left brain where you have logic, deduction, analysis and judgment. You will still be able to accomplish the task if you choose to because you have the skills to do it. The question is, will you remember that the skills are inherent in you and all you have to do is perform them without over-analyzing. In other words, will you have faith in yourself?

When we predominantly work with only one side of our brain, we paralyze ourselves. It is just as if you were to tell a bird to fly with only one wing. It is the same for all of us. When we stop taking things seriously, we allow communication to flow freely between both sides of our brain. The result is the ability to fly.

The next time you are at a job interview, or sitting in your dentist’s reception area, do an experiment and pretend that you are just playing a game. Right before you enter into a situation that you are dreading, remember the feeling of laughing so hard at something that tears stream out of your eyes and your stomach cramps up, yet regardless, you continue laughing because of the pure joy of the experience. See the pure joy and light-heartedness in every situation and you will always be a winner.

I’m going to take my own advice. Next week I have a driving test. I’ve been driving for over 10 years but for some reason, instead of seeing this test as a technicality (as a GAME), I’ve been trying hard to freak myself out about it – even though inside I feel assured and at peace that everything will be fine. So, instead, I’m going to try this experiment and see how changing my perception will effect the experience…

Heaving, dripping, panting, gasping, I’m on the elliptical machine at the gym and for a change of pace I’m reading a magazine instead of blazing my iTunes Music Store purchases through my brain – all in a conscious effort to become unconscious of the fact that I’m on an elliptical machine. (Ok, it wasn’t that bad, but I was pushing for an hour of cardio after a Christmas break free from all things gym-related!) In just so happens that I’m reading O Magazine because my mom brought it for me when she came to visit with my dad for Christmas. This happens to be the issue where Oprah is on the cover (in her purple ensemble) facing herself (in her white ensemble) and asking herself, ‘what went wrong?’.

I had one of those ‘Aha’ moments as I was reading Dr. Phil’s advice column (p.52 of the January 2009 issue). He was writing about the concept of you getting in the way of your own success, and the statement that slapped me in the face like a cold fish was, “Your fear is disrupting the flow of your life”. Being in the flow is REALLY important to me because ever since I got a taste of how it feels to be in the flow, being out of the flow just feels sooo bad. Pain, suffering, confusion, identification with the body – all those things start creeping up when I start resisting.

The reason this statement is affecting me so much is because I think that my resisting the organic flow of my life recently prevented me from getting a job interview for a position that I think I really would have loved.

To make a long story short (which doesn’t say much for the writer in me!), I just moved to the States from the UK. When I was living in the UK, the iPhone was released in the States. I’m a huge Apple fan. Couple that with the fact that I haven’t had a good relationship with my cell phones in the past and you have a fruity fanatic with an insatiable urge for a new apple. I was really looking forward to getting an iPhone. I had so many beautiful plans for our future! We were going to be so happy together. Then this little thing called ‘credit history’ enters the scene and my dreams go poof. That’s ok though, I thought to myself, because all I have to do is to go to AT&T every week in the hopes that my credit goes up enough for them to know that me and my iPhone are meant to be. Didn’t realize, of course, that the more often they check credit, the worse it gets. (Believe it or not, not every place runs on American rules!)

Anyway, I was so resentful to the fact that I was being made to wait for the cell phone that I decided simply not to get any phone at all (and definitely NOT an archaic land line) and just rely on Skype to talk with family and friends in the meantime. I also had an old cell phone with a US number that got hardly any reception in my new apartment, but that’s the number I gave whenever I had to give a contact number. Like for example, on my resume…

I wasn’t sure where I was going or what my next big step would be, so I decided to plant a few seeds, one of them being to take a quick look on Monster for any jobs that caught my eye. I saw a job for a Learning Manager at Weight Watchers and applied. I didn’t give it much more thought until I got a call from their recruiter the day after who wanted to have an impromptu telephone interview with me then and there. I was fine with that – a little pressure is fun The thing is, as I was trying to understand what she was saying, I was running around the apartment (hoping she didn’t hear that I was panting) desperately seeking a spot where I could get at least ONE BAR of service! Needless to say, after 3 dropped calls, her patience was exhausted. I eventually got her direct line and left a voicemail (while standing outside where there is better reception) but she had already moved on I guess because I never heard from her or that opportunity again. The worst part is that the last thing I heard her say way, “Well, it sounds like you’re perfect for the job!”

Without boring you too much, it’s important for me to say that Weight Watchers has been a saving grace in my life 3 times. It changed my life and has empowered me to learn how to develop a healthy relationship with food. That’s why this job would have been amazing. I would have been given an opportunity to be in a position to teach and inspire others…and that’s sort of what I’m about. Anyway…

The point here is that perhaps if I hadn’t let my ego drive me into a crazed frenzy to settle for nothing less than an iPhone, perhaps I would have had that impromptu interview on a land line and this story could have gone very differently.

Fear is the way the ego controls us. Did I disrupt my own flow? The more I think about it, the more I think I did… Being in the flow means surrendering. When we insist on thinking that we know best, we are no longer in the flow because we’re allowing our ego to guide us. The lesson I take from this experience is that surrender trumps desire – everytime! Oh, and also that patience is indeed a virtue! I’m also learning to happy with what I have – even if it is a landline

I read somewhere recently that it’s official: we, as a globally connected society, have become more of an energetic culture than a physically-based culture. The sentiment stimulated many responses from me. Most of all, it made me feel better about myself! The life I lead is becoming more and more electronic and less rooted in the material world. The vastness, the openness and the limitlessness of the World Wide Web and of the technology that supports it and nurtures it is intoxicatingly tempting in which to immerse myself when I compare the alternative – to engage in a world where it still takes hours to get from point A to Point B, where the air is smelling increasingly ‘funny’, and where people are loosing their patience much more quickly then they seemed to 20 years ago (…kind of sounds like a description of Neo’s world…).

The statement also made me wonder how communication will look in the future. Is it all going to be digital? Is sex ‘caveman style’ becoming an extinct pastime as its newer, real-time, instant and anonymous counterpart takes center-stage? Even peering into the neighborhood cafe freaks me out! People are still drinking coffee but instead of making eye contact with other humans(!!), laughing at jokes and talking about whatever it is that people at coffee shops used to talk about, they’re ALL staring into sleek little laptops!

Becoming an energetic culture is the most amazingly connected yet disjointed reality I can imagine. From one perspective, we can reach out and connect with people from across the globe in an instant and build relationships that would otherwise have been very difficult to cultivate. On the other hand, we still (at least partially) exist on a material plane where things are physical and can be touched and can touch back. Social etiquette aside, how are we supposed to evolve as a physical race if we are investing more and more energy in the virtual?