I myself looked for some larger branches and put them on top of the kindling. So it was in life. In order for the more substantial  pieces of wood to catch fire, the kindling must burn first. In order for us to liberate the energy of our strength, our weakness must first have a chance to reveal itself.

~The Witch of Portobello, Paulo Coelho

“I cannot live with myself any longer!”

Have you ever said this to yourself in the privacy of your own lunacy? If you have, perhaps you’ve made yourself miserable enough to want to wake up now and acknowledge that you’ve just made a fundamental discovery! You’ve identified two of you – there is the “I”, and then there is the self with which “I” cannot live. If you assume that this is true, then is it possible that only one of these “I’s” is real and the other is artificial? An interesting thought…

So, why bring this up? Well, what I’d like to do during this three part this ‘Living in the Now’ series is to discuss the difference between our ‘real self’ (you as a part of the Oneness) and our ‘false self’ (our physical body as identification with the ego).

How can we challenge ourselves to step beyond this limited view of ourselves and step into the greater expanse of who we really are? How can we free ourselves from the intense grip of our egos, which is currently controlling our thoughts, our emotions and our mental image of what we project into the world we perceive? How can we step out of our ‘minds’ – these minds to which we surrender so much control? How can we learn to live in the present moment and let go of past baggage and fears of the future?

These sound like impossible tasks to some, but hopefully with greater understanding of how to apply the principle of living in the Now to our lives, we can attain a deeper grasp of how we can transform ourselves into ‘Beings of Now’.

Enlightenment, transformation and living in the present moment can only truly begin when we honestly look at ourselves and ask questions like, “Who am I?”, “Am I listening to my soul?”, “Is there a ‘real’ self and a ‘false’ self? And if I believe that there is, can I make a distinction between the two and believe in myself enough to take the necessary steps for transformation?”

During this period of major realignment on our planet, there are many coined phrases and terms that are flowing as freely as our out-of-control minds. Words like evolution, vibrations, false self, ego, consciousness, superconsciousness, unconscious, inner body, unmanifested, authentic self, soul, spirit – the list goes on and on. It’s easy to get overwhelmed trying to determine the meaning of each word and how it fits into our own interpretation of how things work. But remember, these are just words – words that can both confuse and words that can excite, words that make us feel empowered and words that make us feel unworthy. But remember that the most basic job of words is to help us TRY to communicate.

As an example, there are words whose meaning we don’t question, such as the word ‘dog’. When we hear that word, we can assume that most people immediately envision a furry, friendly, cuddly pet who wants to lick us and be our friend forever. Pretty simple: mental image = definition of the word. But…what about other words a bit more tricky to envision? How about a word like ‘enlightenment’? What immediately comes to mind? Is this a harder picture to conjure up? I would guess if we asked each person reading this what he or she saw in the mind’s eye, each person would have a different mental picture and thus a different explanation of what ‘enlightenment’ means.

Our minds are very important to this process, but we must know how and when to use them and when to step out of our minds! Our intellect is also very important in our human expansion, yet our intellect can also get in the way of transformation. We have to learn how to understand the difference between our mind and our intellect in order to really make significant changes in our lives. The journey is challenging, yet it is tremendously important in our own personal path back to Source.

Can we release our falsely-created self, the ego, behind? Can we truly breathe the lighter air of the spiritual on a regular basis? Through the wisdom of various spiritual teachers, a variety of different lessons and also, with the study of the powerful book of Eckhart Tolle called ‘The Power of Now’, let us bring to light the importance of living in the present so that we can face this existence in a state of true inner peace. Eckhart Tolle shares so beautifully his deep understanding of the power of our own minds. In this book he speaks of ways in which to understand how the mind works, of obstacles that we are confronted with daily that have the power to challenge our ability to stay on the path, of the importance of undersatnding relationships that we share in our lives, and of how to discover, through communion within ourselves as well as with others, how to truly live in the present moment.

As we work through this process, it’s important to define a few terms that we will be discussing as they relate to the material given here. Each person, each religion, each teaching that we have all been exposed to over the years can have a different definition or understanding of a specific term – that is both the beauty and the confusion of trying to use words for spiritual understanding. I by no means am giving the ‘right’ definition of the following terms but I am attempting, within our limited vocabulary, to share one possibility, one variation of an xplanation of some of these important terms so that clarity may have a chance to assist us in the understanding of what it means to live in the Now.

The first word I would like to discuss is the word ‘being’. I am sure there are various definitions of this word but in this context here, the following definition is offered:

BEING: ‘Being’ is the eternal, ever-present One Life beyond the many forms of life that are subject to birth and death. ‘Being’ is not only beyond but also deep within every form as its innermost invisible and indestructible essence.

This means that it is accessible to us now as our own deepest self, our true nature. ‘Being’ is used by many people because it is an open concept – it does not reduce the infinitely invisible to a finite entity since it is difficult to form a mental image of ‘Being’.

Many people identify the word ‘being’ with a physical expression and label it ‘God’, where they can envision a very large man-like character who knows all things, sees all things and judges how we live our lives. Other people think of ‘Being’ as life-force energy or Sprit of pure love and light that vibrates at a very high rate of frequency. No interpretation of ‘Being’ is right or wrong. For every living creature, it is their very presence, and it is immediately accessible to us as the feeling of this presence. It is only a small step from the word ‘Being’ to the experience of Being! How incredible is that!?

Next, what is enlightenment? Simply:

ENLIGHTENMENT: means to regain our awareness of ‘Being’ and to abide by that state of ‘feeling-realization’. It is simply our natural state of ‘felt oneness with Being’ that keeps us in the state of connectedness with something immeasurable and indestructible – something that IS essentially us and yet is much greater than us. It is the discovering of our true nature, beyond name and form and identification with our physical body. The word ‘enlightenment’ conjures up the idea of some superhuman accomplishment, and the ego likes to keep it that way!

The inability to feel this connectedness gives rise to the illusion of seperation, from ourself and from the world around us. We then can perceive ourselves, whether consciously or unconsciously, as an isolated fragment, separate from everything else. When this happens, fear arises and conflicts deep within ourselves can become fueled.

The greatest obstacle to experiencing the reality of our connectedness to All There IS is the identification with our mind, which then can cause thought to become compulsive. Not to be able to stop thinking is a dreadul afflication, but we don’t realize this because almost everybody is suffering from it so it is considered normal. This incessant mental noise prevents us from finding that realm of inner stillness that is inseparable from Being. This can help to explain why so many people have difficulty meditating. Their inability to establish stillness within and of having a mind empty of thoughts seems an insurmountable task. After several failed attempts, our minds declare victory and meditation becomes an imposibility. However, if we can learn to understand the power of our minds and begin to have power over them, the results are peace, happiness and stillness within.

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!

Today’s message is one that reflects some of the private conversations that so many of us have had with God. Whether we pray on our knees, talk to ourselves while driving, or cry quietly and simply ask ‘Why?’, today’s message touches on many of the questions that we so often don’t know how to answer, but that seem to come up again and again as we experience humanity.

Some people try to explain that evil does not exist, or that it is merely a psychological factor. But this is not so. The evidence of evil is here in this world. We cannot deny it. If there is no evil, why would Jesus pray, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil”? He is praying plainly that evil does exist.

So the truth is, we do find evil in this world. And where did it come from? God. Evil provides the opportunity for us to recognize and experience goodness. Evil had to be, if there was to be any creation. If you wrote a message with white chalk on a white board, no one would see it. So without the blackboard, the good things in this world wouldn’t be visible. For instance, Judas was Jesus’ best publicity agent. By his evil act, Judas made Christ eternally famous. Jesus knew the role he had to play, and all that was going to happen to him in order that he might demonstrate the love and greatness of God. A villain was necessary to this enactment.

Perfection is not to be found in this world

It’s hard to know where the dividing line is between good and evil. Certainly it is terrible that bacteria kills billions people every hundred years, but think of the chaos of overpopulation. And if everything here were good and perfect, no one would leave this Earth of his or her own accord; no one would want to go back to God. So in a sense, misery is your best friend, because it starts you seeking God. When you begin to see clearly the imperfection of the world, you will begin to seek the perfection of God. The truth is that God is using evil, not to destroy us, but to make us disillusioned with His toys, with the playthings of this world, so that we might see Him.

This is why the Lord Himself permits injustices and evil. But I have said to Him, “Lord, You have always been perfect. How do you know what suffering is? Yet you have put us through these tests; and you had no business doing it. We didn’t ask to be born as mortals and to suffer.” (He doesn’t mind that I argue with him. He is very patient.) The Lord answered, “You don’t have to go on suffering; I have given everyone the free will to choose good instead of evil.”

So evil is the test of God, to see if we will choose Him or His gifts. He created us in His image and gave us the power to choose for ourselves. But we so often don’t use that power consciously. At night, when we leave our bodies during sleep, we all return to our Godlike states. But in the daytime, we become devils – not all of us, but most of us – the unconscious among us. Why not live in tune with God in the daytime, for then we shall know no fear, we shall know no evil. It is easy to say this, but how easy is it to put into practice?

While evil in itself is something we don’t want, yet it is like a poisoned honey, it is palpable, it is tasty. At the table, we are tempted to eat too much, and to eat the wrong things. Then we begin to get fat here and there, just where we don’t want it. In response to our wrong actions, Nature takes revenge and seems to be poking fun at us all the time. It is indeed a funny world! But the results of our wrong actions don’t seem very funny to us! Believe me, I know! This is why many of us quarrel with God and scold Him, “Why have you created all of these terrible temptations that your children succumb to? Why have you made them so pleasurable?” Well, the lesson is simple: the Law of Cause and Effect.

So, since there is no perfection in this world, why continue to seek it here? You may find a little short-lived pleasure, but mostly you will find suffering and injustice. Pain was given to make you know when something is wrong with the body. But when the pain of cancer comes, there is no reason in it. The sufferer has no relief from his pain, and he doesn’t know why he has to suffer. And there are those who need money and can’t get it, and those who don’t need it who easily acquire more. Those who have much want still more; and those who have nothing want just a little, but can’t get even that. Isn’t this true? Why these injustices? Some people are as healthy as can be, and some are always sick. But health or disease doesn’t necessarily determine whether or not you are happy. St. Francis suffered much of the time, yet he was healing the sick and was filled with the joy of God. Suffering has a different meaning for you when you have attained the freedom of God. But you have to attain that freedom first.

We must learn to work without desire, and to live in this world without attachment. As soon as you are caught up in desires and attachments, you will have all the evil that is coming to you. That is why the Gita says “O Arjuna! No (compelling) duty have I to perform! There is naught that I have not acquired! Nothing in the three worlds remains for me to gain! Yet I am consciously present in the performance of all actions.” Those who want to be liberated must do likewise, engaging in service-ful, joyful, and non-attached activity. Most people willingly work hard for money, but they won’t make even a little effort for their salvation. We must work for God. The way to do this is to stop cooperating with evil and to behave as God would have us behave.

We must love one another. Sometimes it is not easy, but to love your enemy means to choose not to become another person’s enemy. By a thought, any one of us could destroy another, but why would we want to? Jesus had that power. When his enemies taunted him to save himself from the cross, he said, “Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then shall the scripture be fulfilled, that thus it must be?” He conquered by love. If the ordinary man is slapped, the great desire is to slap back. Therefore, God does not give His divine power to those who are spiritually weak, because they would misuse it. The desire and the strength to forgive comes from attunement with God.

How few you find in this world who are sincere and who want to be your friend for your sake, and not for something they can take from you. Those sincere souls are most enjoyable. Greater than all riches is true friendship. If you can be a true friend to people, you will find God. If you sincerely love people, you can know them, just as when you look through a clear glass, you can see what is in the glass. But your perception of people is unclear unless you love God, and unless you love others with the love of God.

“I can give my life for a sincere soul”

In this world, we will all eventually learn that we must be fearless, sincere, and surround ourselves not only with those whom we can inspire, but with those who can inspire us as well. When we attain heightened levels of clarity, we can begin to help those who are ‘evil’, but trying to do this when we are not yet strong enough ourselves will weaken us. So many of those who try to reform others become infected with their evil.

If you have a mind that absorbs everything like blotting paper, you must keep that mind free from evil influences. Just as blotter paper that has become snaked with spilled oil will no longer absorb water, so must your mind first be saturated with good until it becomes impervious to evil.

Be strong in your own goodness, and try to be helpful to others. The man who only looks out for himself and his own family won’t find much happiness. If he doesn’t think of anyone else who might be suffering, he denies himself the joy of helping another, so his own cup of satisfaction will remain small.

The Cosmic Motion Picture

There is another angle to duality, or good and evil. If a movie producer made motion pictures only from select angles, and showed them in the film houses morning, noon and night every day, he would soon have to close-up business. He has to produce variety in order to attract people’s attention. The bad man makes the hero look so much better! And we like plots that are filled with action. We don’t mind looking at exciting movies about danger and disaster because we know that they are only movies. I remember one time when I was taken to see a movie in which the hero died; it was such a tragedy! So I stayed and watched the next showed until I saw the hero alive again, then I left the theater.

If you could see what is going on behind the screen of this life, you wouldn’t suffer at all. It is a cosmic motion picture show. This movie that God is projecting on the screen of this Earth has no value once you see what goes on behind the screens. Look at the beam of God’s light that is projecting these scenes onto the screen of life. See the pictures of the whole universe coming from this beam. See beyond the illusion.

Another time, I was sitting in a movie theater watching an exciting drama on the screen. At a certain point, I looked up into the projection booth and saw that the projectionist wasn’t interested in the picture, because he had seen it over and over again. Instead, he was reading a book. The projection machine was doing its job; there was the sound, and the beam of light was casting the realistic pictures onto the screen. And there was the audience, caught up in the drama. I thought, “Lord, You are like this man, sitting here in the booth, absorbed in your own nature of bliss and love and wisdom. Your machine of cosmic law is throwing on the screen of the universe scenes of jealousy, of love, of hatred, of wisdom, but you remain uninvolved in your plays.” From age to age, from civilization to civilization, the same old pictures are shown over and over again, only with different characters playing the parts.

When I took my gaze from the beam of light that was casting the scenes on the screen, I looked at the audience and I saw that they were going through all the emotions of the actors in the movie. They were suffering with the hero and reacting to the evil of the villain. To the audience, it was a tragic experience. To the operator in the projection booth, it was only a picture. And so it is with God. He has created pictures of light and shadows, the hero and the villain, good and evil, and we are the audience and the actors. It is only when we identify with the play that we get in trouble!

Without shadows existing alongside the light, there could be no picture. Evil is the shadow that converts the one beam of God’s light into pictures or forms. Therefore, evil is the shadow of God that makes this play possible. The dark shadows of evil are interspersed with the pure white beam of the virtues of God. He wants you not to take these pictures so seriously. The director of a movie sees the murders and the suffering and the comedy and the drama as a means to create interest for the audience. He stands apart from the play and directs and observes it. God wants us to behave with detachment, realizing we are only actors or observers in His cosmic show.

Though God has everything, it can still be said that he has some desire: He wants to see who will remain un-intimidated by this picture, and who will play his part well and come back to Him. You can’t run away from this universe, but if you act in this play with your thought fixed on God, you will be free.

If you feel like saying to God, “Lord, this is a motion picture to you, but it is terrible to us”, He may reply, “I make you realize it is a dream every night when you go to sleep. You simply forget this in the daytime.”

For him who realizes God, there is no evil

The way to supreme happiness will not be found by the scientists nor the material-minded people alone, but by those who follow the masters who say: “Go back to the booth of the Infinite from which you can see the projection of all these cosmic motion pictures. Then you won’t be troubled about God’s creation, God’s play…”

When you are part of the delusion, you suffer.
When you stand aside and watch it, you cannot suffer.
When you are an observer, you can enjoy this play.

And with that, a little story to end today’s message:

A king fell asleep and dreamed that he was poor. He was crying out in his sleep for just a penny for some food. Finally, the queen woke him and said, “What is the matter with you? Your treasury is full of gold, and yet you are crying for a penny.”

Then the king said, “Oh, how silly of me, I thought I was a beggar and was starving for lack of that penny.”

Such is the delusion of every soul that is dreaming it is a mortal, subject to the nightmarish evils of all kinds of disease, suffering, troubles, and heartbreaks. The only way to escape this nightmare is detaching from the dream images of this world. It is because you have your attention on the illusions that you suffer. If you give your heart to man, or to drink, or to greed, or to drugs, you will suffer. Your heart will be broken. The more you seek peace in God, the more peace will devour your worries and sufferings. Suffering comes when the evils of the world are let in. When we learn to be spiritually tough, we enable ourselves to be filled with joy, and thus, evil-free.

Mastering the Law of Manifestation is one of the most essential spiritual practices for a student on the path. Following are many principles that serve as the foundation for mastery of this important law.

1. The first part of the Law of Manifestation is that we must learn to manifest with all three of our minds – the conscious, subconscious and superconscious minds – using them in perfect harmony, balance and integration.
2. Awareness that we ARE the soul and NOT the personality is essential. If we manifest from the consciousness of personality, we will see ourselves as separate from our brothers and sisters – indeed, from creation itself. That is an illusion.
3. Do no be attached to what you are praying for or are trying to manifest, or you will end up repelling it from yourself. Make your choice for manifesting a preference, not an attachment.
4. Surrender your prayer request to God and leave it in God’s hands, accepting whatever comes your way. A very useful mantra that I use to assist me in the process of manifestation is: “In the name of God, I place … on the Alter of the Divine, and ask the Masters of Love and Light to take care of the situation in a way that benefits the Highest Good of All.” With these words, you express your preference, and then surrender to the outcome that is for the greatest good.
5. All that exists is perfection. God created us and we are perfect.
6. The thoughts and images that we hold in our mind create our reality. God’s universe is abundant and limitless. We attract either poverty or abundance, depending on the attitude we hold.
7. Have faith. After we pray, know that our prayer has been heard and that God’s laws have been invoked.
8. Everything in God’s universe is energy, and all energy is God. All we are really doing in working the Laws of Manifestation is changing or transferring energy from one form to another.
9. The Laws of Manifestation operate whether we are consciously aware of them or not. Whatever we give the subconscious, it will use.
10. Every moment of our lives, we are working the laws of manifestation, even when we are not praying, willing, visualizing or affirming. Every thought that we have in our mind as we go through our daily life as well as when we are sleeping is part of this process.
11. It is important to receive as well as to give.
12. Gratitude is of utmost importance. Be humble and thankful for the abundance that God has bestowed upon us, no matter what it is.
13. Failure is not a possibility. How can we fail with God, the soul and our personal power?
14. To have all, give all to all. We must keep our abundance in circulation. When we become selfish and stop giving, then the Universe becomes selfish and stops giving to us.
15. Words have power. Every word we speak is a decree of manifestation.
16. Positive affirmations produce positive results.
17. Love yourself through the entire process.
18. Avoid talking about what you are trying to manifest in your life. This can dissipate the energy.
19. Know that you possess all. Always!
20. Ask only for what you need.
21. Tell your subconscious mind what to do.
22. Be of service and focus your love on humanity.
23. KNOW that miracles happen…trust!
24. Be specific in your visualizations and affirmations.
25. After prayer, comes acceptance. This is essential. After praying, accept your prayer as answered. Don’t just believe that it is answered; rather, KNOW with every cell of your being that it has been answered. SO IT IS!

WE ARE GOD, AND WE ARE ONE WITH GOD. HOW CAN OUR PRAYERS NOT BE MADE MANIFEST?

Everything is energy!

Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only changed!

How many times have we all heard those statements throughout our spiritual journeys? We all manifest energy at the physical and spiritual level every single day. We expend our energy and we gain new energy. We hoard our energy and we give our energy away. When we work on a project we expend energy in useful ways. When we meditate, we also create positive energy in our lives. On the flip side, when we worry or stress over an experience, we let our precious energy drain out of our body, which can lead to negative thoughts, sickness and out-of-balance emotions. Life is a continuous ebb and flow of energy, and the more we learn and understand about the importance of using our energy in beneficial ways, the quicker we can evolve spiritually.

The Law of Cause and Effect states that nothing happens by chance or outside the Universal Laws. This tells us that all our behaviors, thoughts and actions produce either positive or negative results. Every cause creates an effect, and every effect has its origin in a cause. Let’s take this a step further now. When we understand how the Law of Cause and Effect works in our lives, we can begin to incorporate the Law of Manifestation into our lives. Just as we reap what we sow within the Law of Karma, through the Law of Manifestation we work with natural principles and laws in order to translate energy from one level of reality to another. Since all is energy, and energy seeks its own balance and vibration, so does what we send out around us come back into our lives magnified! For this reason, it is imperative that we truly grasp and understand the power that we posses. We have the power to create and manifest all that we desire and deserve. However, in order to truly be able to manifest for ourselves, we must understand the importance of our conscious mind, our subconscious mind and our superconscious mind in this process and how each works. So before we get deeper into the Law of Manifestation, read through the information here about the three levels of the mind so that you’re familiar with the mechanisms that allow them to work with one another, and with us as co-creators.

We ‘have’ and ‘are’ everything already

We have heard for years in our spiritual studies that we ‘are’ and ‘have’ everything already. However, sometimes when we are in the throes of a difficult situation, it can be challenging to believe that we already have all that we need. When we judge our lives strictly through the ‘little i’s’ (our personalities), we lose sight of who and what we are. On the other hand, when we view life through the eyes of the soul, we no longer live in the illusion of separation and negative ego. When we include the superconscious mind in the process of manifestation, what we want to manifest is a part of us already. Manifestation, then, is in a sense just undoing or stripping away that which is already ours but which has been hidden by the delusion of the personality. The soul is not separate from the object that it is trying to manifest, as the personality would have us believe. The object we are trying to manifest is a part of the soul, for soul pervades all things. This is why we ‘have’ and ‘are’ everything already.

A person such as Sai Baba can instantly manifest what he thinks and imagines. The same is true for us, except the process is slowed down a bit. When we create from a soul consciousness, we instantly manifest, except that we cannot see what we’ve create instantly with our physical eyes. Time and space do not really exist (another challenging theory), but know that once we claim our manifestation, it is already ours. We are just waiting for it to come into manifestation on the earthly plane. Again, this can be challenging to truly grasp but it’s imperative to gain an understanding of this process as we progress through the various levels of ascension.

Most people manifest the things in their lives on a conscious mind level through the use of will or personal power. This is creation through physical action. We lead busy lives, sometimes running 18 hours per day, doing the ‘stuff’ that our conscious minds tell us we must do. What actually is our conscious mind? How does it play out in our lives compared to the workings of our subconscious mind? Where does our superconscious mind come into play? Do we make use of these three powerful minds that we each possess, or do we simply operate out of one of our minds and dismiss the power of the others?

Take a moment now to read through the posts on the conscious, subconscious and superconscious minds before you start taking a deeper look at the Law of Manifestation.

The Importance of Healthy Bodies

Each of us understands the importance of feeding our physical bodies with healthy food choices, vitamins and herbs, along with getting daily physical exercise of some type. We are constantly being bombarded with articles in our newspapers, advertisements on television and in magazines, advice from our doctors and our parents, etc. about what we need to do to keep our physical body strong and healthy. So much emphasis is put on needing to continually be aware of how we take care of our physical bodies. But, how often do we get reminded about the importance of taking time during our busy days to feed, nurture and expand our spiritual bodies?

Many of us have also been provided with numerous suggestions and ideas from various sources on ways to consciously grow into more loving, balanced, forgiving and accepting human beings through many different spiritual practices, the main one being through daily meditation – that time for conscious stillness when we open ourselves to higher energies. Yet how many of us listen to these repeated suggestions and truly attempt to implement the practices into our daily routines? This is not a judgment…simply a question to ask ourselves to determine if we are taking a consciously active part in our spiritual growth.

Mantras

Many of us know that meditation can be a powerful way to cleanse, clear and center, but how many of us have experienced the power of mantras and prayers? These are also tools that represent very powerful spiritual practices that can help us attune to our pure states of spiritual being. Even by simply repeating the names of God and other powerful words that resonate deeply with us, we can create transformational shifts in our realities that will very likely ripple into the realities of many around us as well.

There is not a single spiritual teacher or Master of any path or religion who has not recommended this practice in some form. The benefits of this practice are unbelievable. Gandhi chanted the name of God as Rama constantly throughout his life, and he said it was one of the absolute keys to his success. Sai Baba said repeating the name of God and visualizing His form is one of the main keys to spiritual success. The idea is to not just do it in meditation but to did it throughout your day, while doing laundry, showering, driving in the car or taking a walk. During the day, it is so simple and so beneficial to repeat the name of God or the word ‘love’ in any project that you are doing, dedicating it to the Highest Good. We can take any simple task and turn it into a dedication to that highest part of ourselves that is grateful for the gift of life.

Power of the Mind

The law of the mind is that thoughts create reality. Energy follows thought. When we chant the name of God, we eventually become that which we are chanting! If we repeat the name of God enough times, it has the effect of cleansing our physical, emotional, mental and etheric bodies to the point that they reflect only God. One of the greatest difficulties that people on the path experience is a wandering mind. I experience this myself, still more times then I notice. But when I do catch thoughts float by that are dark, or that represent a reality that I do not wish to experience, I immediately chant ‘DELETE, DELETE, DELETE’. Sometimes 3 times is enough to bring peace, and other times it takes more than 30 repetitions to erase the thought and its energetic imprint on me. But then it’s gone. This is an example of the power of self-observation, and a power it certainly is!

The chanting of the names of God can also keep our minds focused on higher vibrations. It is not that important whether you focus on visualizing God’s imagine in your mind’s eye, or on connecting to a feeling of peace or love that you create. This process of simply repeating words of such high frequency is enough. It is all that is needed to activate an automatic elevation in your vibration, and in turn, in the vibration of the world around you.

If our mind isn’t on God (whether consciously or unconsciously), then it is likely to float back to the lower self and the many needs of the personality of the little ‘i’. We must learn to focus our attention on the true part of the Self. The mind creates bondage, yet it also has the power to create liberation. This is equally true of the spoken word. Words can harm but words can also heal. Reflect on this…

Any time you feel negative emotions coming on or if you are feeling depressed or angry, try chanting the name of God. If you allow yourself, you will be lifted up faster than you can imagine into a place of greater peace and tranquility. You see, it is not that the process does not work for everyone. It is that we struggle so much, often viewing the world as a cold and difficult place full of obstacles and opposition, that we have come to believe that this is our natural state. So because this has become the color through which so many of us automatically perceive our experiences, it no longer feels natural to be in a state of peace and calm. Sometimes I rise into this wonderful state very quickly when chanting my personal mantras, and if I am far enough detached from the ‘little ‘i”s’, I notice that my first response is a very subtle sense of relief and relaxation, BUT this is very quickly followed by a fear that I have to be on guard and immediately my instinct is to get back into a protective stance. Or sometimes, I get the feeling that this peace is too good to be true and I should get back to a reality of pain. Watch yourself. If you catch yourself creating this same pattern, see it from a detached place of understanding and compassion, and then simply guide yourself back into that place of peace. When I have this interaction with my many facets, I sometimes feel like I’m trying to calm my inner child into coming back into the sun where the light is warm and nurturing. At first, I can understand that the light is overwhelming and if I’m not used to being in it, it can seem very bright. So why punish and judge our reactions? Instead, watch them as they happen from a place of higher knowing, and act accordingly from a place of greater understanding.

Names of God

A few suggestions of powerful words to chant are:

“I Am That I Am”

“I Am God”

“I Love”

“Be Still and Know I Am God”

“Elohim” (Meaning: ‘All That God Is’)

“Adonai” (Meaning: ‘Lord’ in the Kabbalah)

“El Shaddai” (Meaning: ‘God Almighty’)

“Jesus Christ”

“Krishna”

“Buddha”

“Holy Spirit”

The list can go on and on. The key is to use a powerful mantra or a name of God or of a Master that means something special to you; an entity to which you feel yourself drawn or a powerful expression which you find comforting.

As well as the names of God, there are also sacred sounds such as Aum and Om which are the mother of all mantras. These sounds can have a tremendously soothing effect if you are attuned to the range of their frequency. They can help guide your mind and your emotions to a place of quietude. I listen to my Om cd very often when I am facing an experience that frightens me or that makes me uneasy and what happens is that the sound organically brings me out of a place of fear and into a state of peaceful calm which in turn equips me with an improved mind-frame to be able to make clearer decisions. Much power is in this particular sound for it attunes the chanter or the listener to the sound of life intself, or in other words, to God. It brings both invigoration and calm. I believe that the invigoration comes from a state of greater awareness and this broadened consciousness is easily interpreted as a more ‘alert’ or ‘invigorated’ state. The amazing thing about mantras is that many of them exist in the highest dimensions and have been brought forth to humanity by the ancient Indian seers who hve actually heard these mantras clairaudiently.

Names of God can be chanted out loud, whispered, said silently in your mind or written down. Each has its own unique effect. The idea is to not become too mechanical in their recitation. Saying each word with worship and devotion to God empowers it to purify, cleanse and heal all of our bodies. When you chant the name of God, you are programming perfection into your subconscious mind, which then creates perfection in your physical, emotional, mental and spiritual bodies.

It is extremely important to build a strong subconscious mind because what we feed it is what we will manifest in our lives! It takes 21 days to create a new habit, so once we begin using loving visualizations and words of power each day, they will become part of the normal, natural way that we live. Thus, whenever we find ourselves in a stressful situation, it will become much easier to act positively and calmly rather than ‘reacting’ with out-of-control emotions and fear.

An Extra Boost

However, saying all of this to you,  I can also very much appreciate that life can become extremely complicated and sometimes we may want an extra boost of support from the heavens in order to get through the experiences without too many cuts and bruises. Sometimes, when life has drained a significant amount of our force and we have not been actively replenishing to keep up,  we may even get to a point where we feel that we can make it through the experiences, but at a cost to our bodies. Although I know that we are given only that which we can handle and not a drop more, it can sometimes feel that one thing after another is coming at us with growing intensity with no breaks in between to even catch our breath. In these situations, the power of mantras is invaluable because it is a way for us to refuel before the next battle and manifest a state of centeredness that will carry us even in the most fluctuating of times. I have been through some of these challenging cycles, and in the process, I have learned to use another tool that I would like to share with you now. When you feel spiritually tired and perhaps not quite sure if you can handle any more of what this life has to offer, take a breath, and begin to repeat the following:

“God, please heal my soul.”

The power of this mantra can even put you to sleep as you become enveloped by a feeling of mercy. It is as though you are being carried up on wings of divinity more beautiful than the mind can imagine. When we ask for this holy healing, we are actually asking for a healing that each and every one of us receives as we reenter our spiritual home once we leave our physical bodies. There is a process that follows the physical death in which the soul is placed in something similar to what we would call an incubator, and here the soul is supported through a mending process that helps it regenerate back to its fully recharged state. By asking for this process to take place while still in the physical vehicle, you are asking for a healing that incorporates so many levels of your essence that, in turn, you may wish to leave the body through the sleeping state in order to support this process.

What happens…

Chanting mantras helps to build our Light Body which is the body we will use in our ascended state. The more we chant words and sounds of high frequency, the more the energies of the words become the center of our consciousness and protect us from lower vibrations. The mantra is like the seed that will eventually grow into a beautiful tree – the tree being symbolic of God-realization. The ultimate purpose of reciting the names of God is to blend our individual consciousness with God consciousness, thus becoming aware of our true nature as the eternal self. By praying or chanting, we are using ‘the word’ as a co-creator with God, thereby intoning the highest possible vibrational frequencies. Everything is energy, and these spiritual practices assist us in raising our frequencies to a higher state of Light and Love.

For example, if you chant the divine word of ‘Elohim’, which means ‘All That God Is’, then you are attracting to yourself all that which is God. Chant God’s name as you are falling asleep and you will float in your soul body to the dimension and consciousness of the name you are reciting, since where you go when you fall asleep depends on the last thought in your mind. The constant practice of this most holy spiritual discipline builds enormous spiritual force and power in your aura which can then be used as a blessing upon every person you meet…thus we can literally change the world around us!

Can you imagine how you would feel if you could harness the tremendous force of your mind and channel it into a spiritual focus only? Imagine if you used your mind constantly, 24 hours a day, to focus on loving thoughts, words of power and caring emotions…your every thought, word and deed would be of divine origin! This is the ideal – to let your entire life on Earth be an affirmation of God, which is who you really are!

There are so many spiritual disciplines available for each of us to become more balanced and loving and to help us ascend and evolve into higher beings of Light. We can use our meditations, our prayers, spiritual reading, daily positive affirmations, journal writing and physical fitness to help us achieve that inner knowingness and peace. It is also beneficial for us to enjoy spiritual music that soothes our soul and to sing to our heart’s content as this also creates a feeling of joy and bliss for our soul. It is important to create variety in our spiritual disciplines for we need to make the journey interesting and joyful. Just as we are good to our physical bodies, we need to feed good spiritual food to our minds and to our spirits.

A final note…

One of the keys to spiritual and wordly success is understanding the importance of where we put our attention. Where our attention lies is literally where we live…so why not keep our focus on training our minds and bodies to seek inner peace and joy through the various spiritual practices available to us that have been proven to change the world!? This is OUR journey and we have the responsibility to ourselves to be the best that we can be! These many ideas can help us have fun along the way. Let’s stop making excuses that we are too busy or do not have enough time for these practices. We can make these a priority and change our lives…NOW!

All of the above serve as healing balms, not only to us, but to the world itself, as these sounds, words, mantras and prayers move through us and out into the etheric, astral and mental atmospheres. The choice lies with us whether we are going to use words and thoughts to hurt or to heal. It is my fervent prayer that each of us chooses to use the power of thought, word and deed in order to cause as much healing as possible within ourselves and upon the planet. Because whether we recognize it or not, we all really need it!

From the very beginning of time, there was a master plan set down by the Creator which established, within a given time frame, certain progressive steps through which humanity was to move in order to rise to a certain level of spiritual purification. Many of life’s experiences could mesh with wisdom and knowingness so that each soul could emerge with a complete sense of Oneness with the Creator. As we progress through our life experiences, we begin to discover a profound purpose, a logic and glory of a spiritual expression, that which transcends the basic needs of the physical form and the persistent ego that tries to control who we are. We begin to develop a compelling urgency that reaches beyond the mundane to a much richer, fuller existence.

Each lifetime offers us the possibilities of utilizing all of those many qualities that we have accrued from lifetime to lifetime. Our ultimate goal is to strive to release the constrains of the ego and to act in Oneness with all of creation…where everyone is truly equal and where individual gain or distinction is no longer our primary focus.

Is it possible to look at life where it truly doesn’t matter which profession someone chooses, which country one lives in, what the color of ones’ skin is or what religion one practices? What matters are the simple, day-to-day interactions with our fellow man and learning forgiveness and compassion in every human encounter.

There are many avenues in our lives that we can walk on that help us practice unity, sharing, and experience a unifying in spirit for the evolution of our planet. These avenues can be walked along, but remember that they can also be walked as a part of a group consciousness. Most of us in this world are working independently on our spiritual growth and that, of course, is very important. However, another process that assists us in becoming more loving, compassionate souls is through utilizing group energies by working together in groups with a unified focus.

Our ultimate goal as preached from the Heavens, spoken through our souls and known by our entire being is to truly learn to love…to love ourselves, to love our neighbors as ourselves and to love every creature on Earth as a piece of God and of ourselves. Is it possible to love if you are not in relationship with another human, animal or other form of energy? It has been said that “He travels fastest who travels alone.” This may be true in many fields of human endeavor; however when the goal is learning how to love, it follows that such can be done only in relationship with others. When we want a closer relationship with God and are searching for Him in our own way, we are in a relationship with Him during the process. To search for God actually means to “learn how to love.” Even when we love ourselves, we are in a relationship with ourselves and are learning acceptance within ourselves…if we love a beautiful sunset, we are sharing an experience with another form of nature…if we love our homes, we are sharing a relationship with all that the home represents (security, comfort, peace, etc.).

Just as we have relationships with our spouse, our children, our family and friends, we also share a strong relationship with others of like mind. Whether it be sharing a day on the golf course with a golfing buddy, walking through a mall with a friend who is also a shopping fanatic or walking the beach with a special someone, hand-in-hand enjoying the beauty and sounds of the ocean, sharing an experience and common interest with another person can expand the enjoyment of the experience. This is the same as the joys of sharing a spiritual relationship with someone very special. When we are seeking truth and understanding within our lives, it is more profound when it is shared with others on the spiritual path.  Being a part of a focused spiritual group is an incredible opportunity for expanding who we are and how we think and live our lives. We each have a “calling” that has brought us to this world: to share a relationship with those other seekers, by maximizing relationships to achieve a much greater understanding of who we are.

How does a group help us develop a greater understanding of who we are? There are a number of excellent reasons for the effectiveness of work in small groups. They are:

1. Motivational
   All of us may discover when we start on a new activity that our consistency, persistence and interest are strengthened and enhanced by the encouragement, support and interest of others involved in the same activity. When our focus seems to wane or when we get emotionally or mentally out of balance, their encouragement can spur us on; and in turn, when their motivation is low, we can encourage them.
2. Stability & Balance
   We may, at times, become emotional or frustrated about a situation that we are experiencing. When we are dealing with a very complex area of study, in sharing with others we may see the wisdom of a more moderate and balanced attitude. As we begin to study and reflect upon the difficult concepts involved in spiritual unfoldment, we may find that our own way of reading or thinking is quite different. If we share our reflections with others, we discover that there are ways to view certain issues other than our own initial response. As we listen to another person’s perspective, we grow in the ability not only to appreciate the point of view of others but also to establish a more modest evaluation of our own ideas. We gain both as we listen and also as we give of ourselves to others. In sharing the burdens we carry, they grow lighter and we find ourselves strengthened by the response and encouragement of the group, some of whom may have dealt effectively with similar situations.
3. Sense of Humor
   A third way in which a group can assist us on our path is to help us with a “sense of humor” about ourselves. In work as serious as soul development, we need to learn not to take ourselves too seriously. The group may help us see that some experiences that may appear so great or so tragic can be occasions to laugh at ourselves when we view them from a different perspective.
4. Prayer Support
   A most important way in which the group enhances growth is through mutual “prayer support”. In groups that pray for each other, there is given an energy, support and protection that cannot even be properly evaluated in ordinary terms.

It is very important to understand that we all learn not only through self-introspection but also through comparison. This process is especially enhanced in the sharing of viewpoints and experiences in a group. As we listen to another, it is not that we should agree or disagree or try to discover who is “right”, but rather, that as we genuinely permit ourselves a different perspective as offered by another person, there may be a quickening of growth within ourselves. Therefore, it can be said that personal growth may be more enhanced by the dynamics of interaction in a peer group rather than solely in self-study.

Group gatherings may be called study groups, spiritual groups or a school that teaches students how to discover their own deep, personal beliefs. Whatever terms we use, they might better be called groups for the study, meditation and application of learning how to love. It is through this process that we are able to truly understand who we are and what we value and what we believe as truth in our lives. Group discussion, the group energy and the comparison learning can be a tremendous tool in our spiritual growth. We must remember…the spirit of the group is learning how to love…

Some seekers who attend spiritual classes may be disappointed when they find the group failing to be in full agreement with their own viewpoints. Or, they find the group failing to measure up to their expectations in terms of some criterion of social or intellectual status. Such a response misses the point of the group because these criteria fail to reflect the essential purpose of the group which owes its oneness to a shared IDEAL, not necessarily similar IDEAS.

Along the same line, sometimes in a group there is one difficult, challenging individual who you find yourself judging. (On the flip side, you may possibly BE that challenging person to someone else!!) Rather than being a weakness to the group work, this gets us close to the very heart of the purpose of such groups. As we seek to grow personally in all of the dimensions with which the lessons deal, we come in time truly to love and appreciate that person with whom we initially were having the most difficulty. In the process of learning how to love this difficult person in the group, we find the group has been a laboratory in which we have experimented and learned about relationships. We then discover these lessons have generalized into our lives in such a way that we are now dealing more effectively with other “difficult” people, in our families, in our jobs and in other relationships.

The major theme of interest which draws people together in such groups may be the realization that there is more to us and to the meaning of life than we see in our present physical manifestations and circumstances. In our growth in a group setting, we find that we have a new, broader hope in the meaningfulness of life. This, in turn, leads to renewed motivation and the consequent energy that accompanies motivation, a new sense of direction in one’s life and a purpose guided by a clear commitment to ideals. As we seek to grow, we discover that that which stands in the way is generally ourselves. As we come to a growing awareness of the many dimensions of our own being, we gain both a deeper acceptance of our weaknesses and a more humble and thankful appreciation of our strengths. We find that the weaknesses and shortcomings that we have may be, with the thrust of a new spirit, turned into strengths!

As we come to understand our individual beliefs through our study of lessons, grow in attunement to the spirit through meditation, and experience improved relationships with others through daily application, we come to see that beyond all of this is the living force, the Spirit, acting in our lives and bringing about a transformation which no ego-oriented self-improvement program could ever even begin to offer.

We must approach with dignity and with compassion this task of becoming whole in every aspect of our lives. Even though the timing or experiences may differ from individual to individual, the end result is consistent…we must use this external support system to emerge through this process with the strength and understanding that we are not separate from God or one another but are in relationship with Him and all the rest of creation.

One more time…

OUR EGOS ARE IN CONTROL OF OUR MINDS AND ARE CAUSING OUR OUT-OF-BALANCE THOUGHTS AND EMOTIONS TO RULE WHO WE ARE!

How many times do we need to hear this before it really sinks in? Sometimes we may have to hear it over and over again to finally learn how to release the ego’s power over who we are!

Next…

WE ARE LOSING OUR PRECIOUS MOMENTS OF NOW BY FOCUSING OUR THOUGHTS ON PAST GARBAGE LIKE FEAR, ANGER, RESENTMENT AND OUR INABILITY TO FORGIVE AND MOVE ON!!

Why??? When are we going to get it? Another thing…we are living for tomorrow with the assumption that our current problems will be gone and our lives, we assume, will be happier. If so, what is happening to the present? Are we missing it? Is it being overshadowed by anxiety or the illusive hopes that our lives will be happier when such times as our kids are out of the house, or when we don’t have to go to this unsatisfying job any more, or when our mortgage is paid off? Whatever it is that we are anticipating that will bring us more contentment than we are presently experiencing, if we do not change our thinking NOW then these “whens” will simply be replaced with other “whens”. We will continually believe that we will be happier later on. Wherever it is that our thoughts are taking us, we are missing the present!

Are you getting fed up with the restlessness, the anxieties and the constant dreaming for better times? If so, then CHANGE YOUR THINKING!!! CHANGE IT NOW! The present time is the only time that is available to us, and it is for this moment that we need to be grateful!

I spoke to an incredible senior citizen a while back about to what she attributes her positive attitude, her optimistic outlook on life, and her brilliant smile. She shared with me her secret: She stated that she wakes up each morning and makes the conscious decision and verbal affirmation, “Today I choose happiness.” How profound is that?! How can so simple a statement contain so much wisdom, power and love? How many of us can have the courage to proclaim such a statement to ourselves and then truly live by it? Can you? Is happiness a conscious choice? I believe it is! This courageous person shared with me that she has experienced several difficult experiences throughout her life; yet through each challenge, she chose happiness. I walked away from my time with this special lady a changed person. She is a living example of how our attitude and outlook on life are our own individual choices to make, and how they can make our lives positive, loving and worth living or, conversely, a cross to bear.

So, does a statement such as this: “I choose happiness” seem possible in your life? Can you say it now? Can you step aside from your current problems and challenges and look at yourself in the mirror and say that you choose happiness? All that we truly have is the present moment, and we can choose to see happiness in this moment or we can look at life as one continuous problem after another that we have to overcome. No one can do it for us! We must make the continuous effort to see our current problems as situations that we need to learn from, lessons that our souls CHOSE to experience in order for us to remember who we are. These situations were not forced on us…they are gifts offered to us to grow more loving, more patient, more understanding individuals.

Our families need us, our friends need us, our planet needs us! Are we up for the challenge? Can we use our precious life energy in a focused, loving way that can help create peace in our lives and peace in our world? I think we can!

How many of us have experienced a ‘calling’? What is this voice, or pull, or force that has set us on a journey into unknown territory? Where has this urging come from? From within us? From outside of ourselves?

The next set of questions that come to mind are…

‘When did all this begin?’

‘What was I searching for on the day that I realized that I possessed a calling from something so much greater than myself?’

‘Did I know that once I embarked on this search, I would not be able to turn back?’

Then, of course, the next set of questions begins with…

‘If I could turn back the clock to a time much simpler, when this calling wasn’t such a big part of my life, would I go back?’

‘How has this urging changed me?’

And finally…

‘Has the momentum of this pursuit for answers escalated over time or is the desire and passion for my search diminishing?’

‘Am I continually feeding this urging or am I trying to push it aside?’

‘What has control over who I am?’

‘Is it my ego struggling to make sense of it all or is it my humble, simple craving soul reaching out to me for a connection, a union with all of the other parts of me?’

These are some of the questions that we each need to be asking ourselves…we need to delve deeply within our hearts and souls and truly see what our motivations are and why you are here, reading these words right now. Please take the time to ponder these many questions when you are alone in the stillness. Take time out of your busy days to understand not only why you are here but where you are going. We each need to have a goal, a purpose, a spiritual focus within our lives in order to truly live a full, balanced life.

We are each on our own paths and have each arrived here through different experiences, different relationships, a different set of circumstances; yet, WE ARE HERE!!! We are a small group amongst a hustling community, yet the size of the group is immaterial. We are all here for a reason…some are seeking support and guidance during a challenging period of their lives, some are striving to release fears or practice forgiveness on a regular basis, some are working hard on controlling their thoughts and emotions and some are looking to add a much deeper spiritual realization into their lives. Then there are others who are on a fast-paced ascension process, whereby their primary life focus is on their spiritual growth and on maximizing their life experiences to attain a higher vibration and more powerful energy balance. Whatever the reason, this urging continues to simmer, stew and sometimes boil, depending on the heat within us.

The key is that we continue to come together to answer this ‘calling’ that is deep within our being and that continually talks to us – whether we can hear it or not… Each of us is unique and each of our paths are special and unique. No one person is better than any other…no path more powerful. We are united here for one purpose and one purpose only…that is to remember who we really. And who are we? We are simply spiritual beings having a human experience. We all know this, yet we have a tendency to forget it!

Okay, why am I bringing up this calling over and over again? It is because I believe that once we recognize that voice of silent knowingness that comes from the depths of our being and when we honor that recognition of Divine truth and let it direct our lives, we will never be the same! We have joined others hearing the calling at this time in our evolution, to join this emerging global family of like-minded individuals who are simultaneously undergoing this life-altering transformation. It is now time to become who we really are, time to relinquish the limitations that are fostered by our fears and embrace the truth that is conceived in love. We have reached a crossroads of monumental proportion that requires the relinquishing of all that is ego-based and material-driven and must strive to replace them with unconditional love, kindness, truth and honesty.

We live in very trying times right now where confrontations are mounting, both in our homes and in the nations of our world. We have crises in our waters, in our air, in our economies, and even in our streets where we used to feel safe. What is happening and why now? There are many theories, many prophecies, much discussion about energies, about vibrations, about earth changes…but what do we think about this? How does this resound deep within our souls? Each of us probably feels differing beliefs on these questions. There is no right or wrong answer. Each of us must answer our own questioning, discover our own beliefs and truths and live our lives accordingly. For within each one of our personal ‘callings’ there is a remembrance of things past, an undefinable place of recognition that comes from within us and forms a connection with who we truly are. This connection has a deeper knowledge as to why we chose to come into this particular body, in this particular lifetime. For this reason, we each must continue to seek and re-discover who we really are and why we are here at this particular time. By loving both ourselves, others and all of nature as one connected energy and by living our principles and our truths, this truly is possible.

The key to this process is getting to know who we really are, what direction our lives are heading, making any correction or improvements in how we lead our lives if necessary, and by truly getting in touch with our Higher Selves and our deeper truths. This process of rediscovery is a journey, an opening up of new ideas and yet a closing of old doors, a holding-on and yet a letting go, a time of struggle followed by a deeper personal understanding of what the experience brought to us. This process is powerful and it is on-going. It doesn’t happen overnight or after a couple of spiritual classes or books. It takes time, it takes effort and it takes conscious awareness of our thoughts, our emotions, our habits and our choices on a DAILY basis. Through this process of self-discovery and personal insight into who we are, we are then able to make conscious choices of who we want to ‘become’. We are changing each moment of every day, and when we are able to make ‘conscious’ choices, we can truly mold ourselves into a more loving, accepting and balanced individual.

Life is continually changing and providing us the opportunities for soul development and growth. The moments in time when we find ourselves right in the middle of any major change in our lives merely reflects a pause in an ever-ongoing momentum of individual soul growth. Through these experiences and challenges, we are given the opportunities for expanding who we are. Can we see change as a gift to us which has all the possibilities of expanding our consciousness? This is only possible if we condition ourselves to see the beauty, to see the opportunity, to see the potential in each change in our lives as a grand possibility for personal soul growth. How we react to change is a choice made by each one of us.

A life lived by choice is a life of conscious action.
A life lived by chance is a life of unconscious reaction.
It all depends on how we choose to exercise our own free will.

This ‘calling’ from our souls for a deeper connection can be our constant companion when we listen and acknowledge its presence. We must never expect that the process of evolution ends at any given point, whereby having completed a given course of study, we are tested, graded and given a diploma and can then just sit back and utter a sigh of relief. This is a process, experience after experience, challenge after challenge, lifetime after lifetime. We are the captains of our ships, we are the ones to keep the momentum going forward…to see where we are heading and to be in control of the wheel at all times. When we allow someone else to step up to the helm and make decisions or choices on our behalf, we lose a part of our souls to this outside force and give away our own individual power. Through the deeper understanding that these Teachings give to us, we are fortified with the knowledge of the powers that are contained within each of us…and this power must be truly understood, controlled and directed throughout the course of our lives.

There have been few times in all of existence when humans have been able to hold so much of their own power within their physical bodies. With this power, comes much greater responsibility. We are now in the transition period during which we are given time to climate to our newly powered vehicles. Take this time to be accepting of yourself, to look around you as well as within you and take in all the changes that are taking place. And most of all, remember to be patient with yourself and those around you.

During the next several weeks, you will be given many opportunities to engage with your calling. Are you going to listen? Are you really able to hear it speaking to you with all the mental clutter that is going on in your mind? Please give some thought to the questions and comments written here and share your own thoughts on this topic with the rest of us. Help one another discover ways to really open up and hear this voice of wisdom that wants SO badly to reach all of us!

Remember dear ones, we are all teachers and we are all students. Let’s maximize this time of change by truly practicing understanding, sharing our wisdom and experiences with one another and unifying as one heart of SOUL.

‘We came into this life with nothing to learn…we have only to demonstrate what we already know…’
~Neale Donald Walsch

CHAPTER 8: Realisation of The Infinite

Link to chapter: click here
Length of chapter reading: 32:02 minutes

We reach the final chapter of Sadhana this week. I hope the journey has been fulfilling and enriching for you. I thank you for being part of it, and for sharing, whether outwardly or silently, your thoughts throughout the experience. And so it is.

“When you know that whatever there is is filled by Him, and whatever you have is his gift, then you realise the infinite in the finite and the giver in the gifts. Then you know that all the facts of the reality have their only meaning in the manifestation of the one truth, and all your possessions have their only significance for you not in themselves, but in the relation they establish with the infinite.”

Can you bare to lose something precious to you? Does the car that you dreamed of owning for so many years and now finally drive enable you to pursue your soul’s desire or your ego’s demand for material wealth? Are you beautiful because of your clothes, or would you know how to radiate your brilliance in a torn piece of cloth? Do your relationships define you, or are they a way to share freely in the experience of life?

The gifts that we are afforded in this life are tools designed to aid us in the pursuit of the discovery of our Selves. To see them as more then that is to empower them and disempower ourselves. If All the World’s a Stage, do you see the props as being the story, or simply as temporary (finite) tools for the actors who happily surrender them when it is their turn to leave the stage?

“The tragedy of human life consists in our vain attempts to stretch the limits of things which can never become unlimited, to reach the infinite by absurdly adding to the rungs of the ladder of the finite. It is evident from this that the real desire of our soul is to get beyond all possessions. Surrounded by things that she can touch and feel, she cries, “I am weary of getting. Ah, where is he who is never to be got?

“We see everywhere in the history of man the spirit of renunciation is the deepest reality of the human soul. When the soul says of anything, ‘I do not want it for I am above it’, she gives utterance to the highest truth that is in her. When a girl’s life outgrows her dolls, she realises that in every respect, she is more than her doll is. Then she throws it away. By this very act of possession, we know that we are greater than the things we possess.”

Possession is a representation of what we have already attained. It symbolises that which we have already discovered within or about our Selves. That is not to say that the act of having is a result of higher understanding or greater awareness, but rather it can often be a consequence of the misunderstanding of what it means to achieve. In this wonderful world, which is represented on this physical plane, it is no wonder that possession is understood as a symbol of attainment, but it is to confuse attainment with obtaining that creates the mess of chronic consumption and ravenous consumerism. To fill the void within (the still undiscovered Self) with material things is like trying to fill the infinite with the finite.

“In the region of nature, which is the region of diversity, we grow by acquisition. In the spiritual world, which is the region of unity, we grow by losing ourselves by uniting. Gaining a thing, as we have said, is by its nature partial; it is limited only to a particular want. But being is complete. It belongs to our wholeness. It springs not from any necessity, but from our affinity with the infinite, which is the principle of perfection that we have in our soul.”

I have had earth shattering experiences in which the dawning of a greater awareness has felt like the destruction of the world as I know it. Things that I was sure were true and right no longer made sense. My firm beliefs in how I knew the universe to be no longer fit into my understanding.

Imagine for a moment that our spiritual journeys are akin to us building walls. Each brick we acquire along the path we place where we think it best fits as we build our wall higher and wider. Then one day, there is a tremor, or perhaps a full blown earth quake that shakes the foundation upon which we were building our wall. As a result, some bricks shift into different spots, others fall away from the wall and no longer have a place. As we stand back and inspect the state of our wall, we notice that where there were holes, some bricks may have shifted closer together making the wall stronger. In other places, the structure may have completely crumbled to the ground and is no longer necessary. It is the same with new awakenings.

When we reach a point where we see more of the Big Picture, we experience a process of losing a part of ourselves. It is as if we shed a layer of the illusion only to reveal a clearer view of that which is just on the other side of the veil. Through this loss, although it may not feel like it at first, we actually become more complete.