Great Bloggers/Articles

Recipes For Self-Love

2011-02-28T11:31:00.003-05:00

Recipes For Self-Love

Take full responsibility for your life.
Stop blaming others.
See yourself as the cause of what happens to you.

Do things you like to do.
Don't stay in a job you don't like.
Participate in life at the highest level you can.

Stop terrorising yourself with your thoughts. Be gentle and kind and patient with yourself.

Give yourself the simple pleasures of life abundantly.
Wear clothes you feel good in, get a massage etc.

Watch what you say. Avoid self put-downs.
Stop being critical of yourself and others.

Take care of your body.
Give it exercise and good food.

Be willing to create a life-style that generates and nourishes self-esteem.
Associate with others with high esteem.

Acknowledge yourself frequently.
Keep a diary of your successes and accomplishments.

Avoid comparing yourself with others.
Remember that it's who we are, not what we do, that's important

Give yourself permission to do nothing periodically.
Schedule time by yourself.

Frequently take deep breaths.
Discover the benefit and pleasure of breathing fully.

Eat first class frequently.
Don't look at the right side of the menu.

Stop trying to change others.
Focus your attention on being the way you want others to be.

Look into a mirror regularly
and say "I love you, I really love you".

Stop feeling guilty and saying "I'm sorry".
See mistakes as valuable lessons and avoid judging yourself.

Consciously generate positive thoughts and feelings of self-love
in place of old thoughts of inadequacy.

Be willing to laugh at yourself and at life.
Stop taking yourself so seriously.

Accept compliments from others without embarrassment.
Don't invalidate their positive thoughts and feelings about you.

Be kind to your mind.
Don't hate yourself for having negative thoughts.
Gently change your thoughts.

Keep your awareness and your thoughts focussed in present time
instead of living in the past or future.

Acknowledge others frequently.
Tell them what you like and appreciate in them.

Invest money in yourself.
Go to seminars, workshops and courses that develop your talents.

Make a list of 10 things
you love doing and do them frequently.

Treat yourself as you would treat someone you really loved.
Praise yourself.

Empowerment And The 3rd Dimension

2009-08-12T11:39:00.002-04:00

Empowerment And The Third Dimension

Empowerment:
To give yourself the authority to choose and create your destiny at will.

Creating your destiny, changing your life for the better and receiving the things you want start with you becoming self-empowered to reach your goal and obtain all of your desires.

Anyone who's ever achieved any goal; an athlete, a doctor, an astronaut, a composer or the student who won the local spelling bee, were all self-empowered. They all had a desire to obtain something and they stayed focused on it until they received it.

It doesn't matter what you're looking for. Whether you're seeking greater wealth, better health, consistent happiness, more abundance, or you'd like to identify your purpose in life, when you become self-empowered, and you learn to trust in yourself, a new world opens to you. A world that's far beyond anything you've ever imagined.

The Third Dimension

Generally, people live their life in 2 dimensions; the past and the present. For the most part, they almost always disregard the future as another dimension they should be concerned with controlling.

Empowerment is not based on your current status or past accomplishments. Only your Ego cares about what you've done in the past. And, it loves when you waste your time dwelling on what you did to get where you are today. The Ego finds enormous pleasure when you tell your achievement stories over and over to anyone who will listen.

Bragging on your accomplishments and spending your time reflecting on what it took to get you to your present status level are clearly not empowerment because it adds nothing to the great things you desire to accomplish in the future. The past is behind you and continuing to relive it adds no value to going forward. However, because you have been blessed with Free Will and the ability to use it to alter your destiny, you can create the life you want.

The Third Dimension of Empowerment is about what you will do in the future. It's about giving yourself the authority to take full responsibility for what ever it is you have chosen to obtain or accomplish, and taking action towards reaching that goal.

In essence, you make a stand, drive a stake in the ground and tell the world: "I'm going to complete this, I'm going to have this and there's nothing which will stand in my way of achieving it."

Be Grateful You Can

Gratitude is also a significant part of Empowerment. Although the premise of being self-empowered is to focus on the future, it's also important to be grateful for your current position in life. Practicing radical humility and being grateful for all the things you currently have is essential for accomplishing your future plans. Be grateful to yourself and your source (Higher Intelligence, God, et cetera) for what you have accomplished up to this day.

In addition, it's also necessary to be grateful that you have the ability and opportunity to actively participate in creating the future you want. Recognizing that the future is the only place where changes can be made, so you can live your life the way you want, is definitely something to be thankful for. Therefore, also be grateful for your empowerment.

The Clear Way to Empowerment

Becoming empowered, consistently focusing on your future plans and actively participating in creating the future you want may sound like an impossible task, but the good news is, it's not. With a little practice, and the right guidance, anyone can learn to achieve even the most seemingly unattainable goal.

No matter how big or how small, whether it's something physical you want, or nonphysical like better health, you can easily learn how to become self-empowered and dynamically create your future. The key to the simplicity of empowerment comes by turning within and learning to trust one's self at a higher level.

Through the power of meditation, the most powerful self-improvement tool available to mankind, anyone can learn to accurately focus on their goals and see them come to fruition.

By learning to quite and relax your mind while connecting to the vast resources of the universe, you can now work from the inside out towards achieving your life's desires, no matter how big or small they are. This enhanced ability to concentrate more easily and at a deeper level truly puts the "power" in empowerment.

Endless Possibilities

When you become self-empowered the impossible becomes possible. Things that once seemed to be out of your control, you now consistently control. Empowerment, combined with meditation, allows your mind and your body to function at a whole new higher level of being.

Goals are reached more efficiently, you see your future more clearly and you learn first-hand that you can dynamically create future. Empowerment puts you in control of you; opening the door to a future of endless possibilities.

By: Ed McDonough

How to Embrace the Power of Surrender

2009-07-31T10:17:00.005-04:00

How to Embrace the Power of Surrender
Ginny Grey

Flowing into peaceful surrender, allowing its softness to gently envelope us, is much like sinking into the warm water of a bath; body aches and pains are soothed and mental tensions are melted away as we slowly drift into sweet serenity.

Many of us know the power of surrender when we choose to let go of our fears by breathing them out and focusing on something uplifting, or when we release our problems by asking a guardian angel or higher power to take them from us and guide us to solutions. Ah, the relief. But most of us have not been guided to live our lives in surrender. We have been taught the opposite; try harder, plot more, manipulate where you can, force, push, resist, and if those don't work, run and hide. We know too well from experience that all these actions really accomplish is to dig us deeper into turmoil. We burn out, get frustrated, feel hopeless, alienate others, compromise our integrity, and give away our power.

Surrender allows us to own our power; the power of our higher self, spiritual self, creative source or whatever term one uses to describe their eternal essence. That same essence within each of us is within everyone and everything in the universe. This is why when we let go into it, our fears are taken away, our problems are taken care of, and whatever we need is brought to us. All it takes is letting go; letting go of trying to control all the details, letting go of holding onto fear, doubt or guilt, letting go of old identities that no longer serve us, letting go and letting something bigger than our small self be our guide. From here our mood lightens, our heart opens, and the walls we erected to protect our small self begins to crumble, allowing more light to enter.

Insights

* How do you view surrender? Do you see it as a giving up or giving in? Does it feel like things will collapse and get worse if you let go? Or are you able to trust in the divine order of things and feel that you are surrendering into something more powerful? How you view surrender will determine how you experience it so play with different perspectives.

* What is your experience of surrender? Have you experienced the relief of letting go of a fear or problem and trusting something bigger within you or within the universe to handle things? What motivated you to surrender during these times and what was the outcome? What would support you in surrendering more often?

* How do you feel right now? Are you in a surrendered state or are you in effort, trying, resisting or holding on? Is your body relaxed and peaceful or is it tense, feeling like you are grasping onto something? What about your mind; are your thoughts clear and calm or racing about or spacing out? What about spiritually; do you feel open, expansive, peaceful and uplifted, or shut down, numbed out and closed off? On average, do you spend most of your time in a more or less surrendered state?

Inspiration

* Whatever state you are in right now, allow yourself to move into a more surrendered space. Take a few deep breaths and on the exhalation release any tension in your body. Let your body completely relax into the chair you are sitting in. Close your eyes and bring all of your awareness into the center of your head, finding a still peaceful place within. Notice anywhere in your mind or body where you are holding on - to emotions, tensions, thoughts, worries or problems and let them go; allow them to drift out of your mind and body and float away, or see yourself putting them down on the ground behind you, or hand them over to a guardian angel or higher power. Breathe in softness and trust. Feel that you are being cared for and looked after by a loving presence.

* Practice being in a surrendered state daily by taking time to connect to your bigger self and your higher power. Take time in inner silence or meditation to feel your true authentic self and your connection to your eternal essence. Let this peaceful feeling flow throughout your whole mind and body, supporting you to let go into a place of ease, trust and flow.

* As you go through your day and days ahead, whenever you notice yourself ruminating over problems or concerns, or feeling a tight or holding on sensation in your body, choose to let go and release all of this to your bigger self or higher power. As you do this regularly you will move more and more into an expansive surrendered state.

"Surrender does not diminish our power, it enhances it."
-Sara Paddison-

The Art and Science of Life

2009-06-16T16:29:00.002-04:00

The Art and Science of Life
Gwen Randall-Young.

     Despite exciting interdisciplinary encounters, in the western world a schism yet exists between science and spirituality. There is still some discordance between hard evidence about how human life operates, and soft evidence about the meaning, or deeper purpose of life. Interestingly, the schism exists only within the mind of the thinker, who must, of necessity, separate himself (or his perceptions) from the unified whole in order to even formulate his schema. There is a huge difference between Descartes, I think, therefore I am , and the rationalists I think, therefore it is.

     Descartes philosophized that it is in thinking that we become aware of our being. It is true that thinking must occur in order for one to realize his or her independent existence. The newborn does not realize existence independent of the Mother. It is also true that as we grow, what we think about ourselves can limit or enhance our being. If I believe all things are possible, then like Edison, Einstein, Gandhi, Jesus or Mother Theresa, I may stay focused on my path no matter what. If I believe I am not musical and could never learn to play the piano, I would not even try. My belief becomes my truth - even if it is wrong.

     The rational scientist chooses a small, manageable playing field. He makes up the rules. If it is not measurable, observable, recordable, i.e. real in his mind, it is not true. The tools used, however, will determine what is found. An x-ray reveals something different than what is seen with a CAT scan, while an MRI reveals information beyond what the others could detect. So, if we use a scientific, rational mind as a tool for understanding reality, as wonderful a tool as it is, much will remain undetected.

     Science will never isolate God, love, or spirit, because they are non-material. That much is true. However, the leap to the conclusion that these are unscientific and thus not real, reduces science itself to a purely utilitarian exercise. It might be possible to do an in depth profile of every movement, every muscle contraction within the body of the ballerina as she dances Swan Lake. That would do nothing to explain how the audience is touched by her grace and passion. One could do a highly technical analysis of the voice, the sound waves, and the acoustics in the concert hall, and still know nothing of why the opera singer brought tears to the eyes of her audience.

     The science of life is profoundly fascinating. The exploration of the human body is as vast and wondrous an undertaking as the exploration of the Universe. However, human life itself, is art. Art is defined as any human activity that is the product of, and appeals primarily to the imagination. Imagination is the power of forming pictures in the mind of things not present to the senses; a creation of the mind. Quantum physics suggests that everything may be a creation of the mind. This is a dilemma for the scientist, who has limited his scope of exploration to things he believes to exist independently of any individual mind, including his own! This effectively eliminates God, spirituality, eternity, intuition, divinity, soul anything beyond the biology and psychology of body and mind.

     The scientist will allow that much exists in the physical Universe that is beyond our ability to detect as yet, but would not suggest that unless we scientifically validate it, it is not there. Humans have senses and the ability to tune into other levels of reality for which, currently, there are no scientific measurements. Animals have the ability to sense a coming earthquake, and have likely done so long before humans inhabited the earth. Dogs can hear sounds which are beyond the range of human hearing. If animals have the ability to perceive things that are not perceivable in an expected sense, it stands to reason that humans would also have this capability. Those grounded in reality may roll their eyes when someone feels the presence of God in their lives, senses the energy in a room, or just knows that some synchronistic event is profoundly significant.

     Life is art. Human evolution has played itself out on the canvas of the Earth. We are not separate, distinct, from all who have come before. We are part of a flow of life DNA which combines and recombines in different forms. We carry with us some part of our ancestors, as some part of our being continues on in our descendants. Imagination, myth and metaphor allow us to tap into the train of consciousness that is the evolving human mind. Like the tail of a comet, human consciousness is a path behind a moving life force a primeval force set in motion eons ago, pulsing along as an unfolding future. Myth and metaphor awaken something in consciousness that cannot be named, only felt. It carries us all the way back to the time when there were no words, no language, no science, only life itself unselfconscious, unanalyzed. Yet long before the dawning of rationality, there was passion, love, intuitive knowing - without which humans would not have survived.

     Perhaps it is science that is not real. It is a stepping apart from life, an applying tools and rules to try to understand. When we look at a painting, we can know the specifics of the colors and techniques used, how the painting was created, and how it will endure from a physical standpoint. No matter how sophisticated our analysis, we will still know nothing of the artists intent, or consciousness at the time it was created. We will know nothing about how the work impacts viewers, or changes their consciousness. But these are precisely the aspects which are most meaningful, most real, most alive.

     So it is with life.
     The parts that are most meaningful, real and alive, are the most elusive.

     They are aspects, the dimensions of which are unbounded, at times indefinable, and often cannot be named. These are the aspect we must embrace if we are to experience the fullness of being human. All that can be measured is that which is temporary. When our time runs out, when the pulse winds down, when we are taking our last breath, all of the rules, definitions, proofs and certainties will mean nothing. Death is only the end of the aspects of life that can be measured. All that is timeless, eternal, and true, will be there as it always was, and if we have prepared ourselves, we will embrace it more fully than ever before.

HEALING OUR SHADOW

2009-06-01T16:03:00.000-04:00

HEALING OUR SHADOW

by Meg Benedicte @ soulfulservices.com

     We've often heard from the sages of the past that the true path to enlightenment requires the total acceptance of the shadow self. This process of soul integration includes all aspects of our being - both positive and negative aspects. In order to become whole, healthy, complete beings we need to face our shadow and compassionately accept and heal these lost fragments of consciousness.

     This requires digging deep within, observing and confronting our wounded human self, the part of our being that has suffered throughout time, and offer solace, gentle care and release from the painful shadow stored in our cellular memory. It is not an easy or comfortable process but it is vital that we connect to ALL energy present within our unified fields so that we can piece ourselves back together again.

     And yet the capacity of the human ego's resistance to self-reflection, analysis and forgiveness is astonishing, but very real! We would rather distract ourselves with just about anything before we will admit we even have a shadow self!

     But the truth is that we all travel the same journey towards becoming a Divine Human; the spiritual embodiment of the Soul. And that journey entails the gradual healing, clearing and releasing of all darkness from our bodies, our auric fields and our consciousness. As long as we exist in a human reality we contain within ourselves a mixture of Light and Dark; we are the living embodiment of duality!

     And so first we need to observe and recognize life's lessons as we reflect and analyze our personal patterns and behaviors. The gift of karma is the wisdom it imparts as we allow ourselves to receive the soothing balm of forgiveness and compassion. Wisdom erases all karma! Every aspect of human life has meaning and purpose---we only have to open our minds to reveal it. So as we dig deep into our shadow, we need to look at all the nuances and insecurities we are sensing, feeling and reacting to. We have tapped into the emotionally charged area that is ready for healing and forgiveness!

     Every layer of shadow that we probe, uncover, heal and integrate will contribute to the increased raising of our energetic vibration. As we let go of more and more heavy, dense, stuck shadow energy we begin to feel lighter and lighter. We feel lighter thoughts, lighter emotions and also lighter bodies! As we convert our low-vibrational shadow into Light, we enhance our physical health and well-being. Each time we merge more of our hidden consciousness into the Light, we are piecing back together our whole self! We begin to feel less dis-connected and empty inside and more Soul presence and wholeness in our daily, human lives.

     There has to be a shift in power, like the passing of the baton, from the ego to the soul so we can evolve into Divine Humans. This can be one of the most harrowing of experiences, often referred to as the "dark night of the soul", when the ego battles to maintain control of the will.

     We tend to blame outside forces when we don't get what we want, not realizing that everything is flowing into our lives as a result of our past thoughts, feelings and actions. When we can move into following the wisdom of the soul and feel the presence of our personal power and true essence, then we are able to take full responsibility for what we create in life. It is only when we can switch to seeing through the eyes of the soul that we can see the consequences of our past, egoic decisions, actions and words. We are then able to own and accept the legacy of the less-developed self and begin the process of clearing shadow from our energy field, so that we can move into the purity of the future.

     It is this process of internal house-cleaning that frees us from the shackles of the past; the locks and chains holding us frozen in time. By cleaning out the shadow of the egoic self we can break free of the limiting beliefs, patterns and programs that have kept us prisoners in duality. This freeing process allows our true self, the Over-Soul, to fill our bodies with power and self-love. It opens the heart to feel the natural flow of abundance and the exquisite joy present in the quiet moments in life. We can soar to the heights of our visions and feel the bliss of freedom.

     If darkness is the absence of Love, then the most effective tonic to use in healing internal shadow is self-love. The more love we flow into our deepest wounds and darkest emotions, the quicker we are able to clear and raise our vibration. This process gradually transforms the bio-energetics from a broken-down human into a powerful, healthy evolved Soul living heaven on earth. This is our destiny and our purpose, and so it is!

Lightworkers

Get Out Of Your Own Way

2009-05-26T12:00:00.002-04:00

Get Out Of Your Own Way
By Chuck Danes

Do you ever think about how unfair life is? Do you often allow your emotions to get the best of you? Do you ever allow fear and anxiety to fill you, bind you up, paralyze you, and keep you from achieving all that you know down deep is yours?

If any of this describes you, I have some simple yet profound advice.

What is it? Get Out Of Your Own Way.

Exactly what do I mean by that? Precisely this…..

You have already been provided all that you could ever want and need to fulfill you in this lifetime. Everything and anything that you could possibly imagine, your hopes, dreams, desires, are all attainable and within your grasp, waiting for you to open to, accept, and allow to come to you. You already possess the ability to manifest far more than sufficient quantity in the areas of money, health, and relationships. You have been provided with all the gifts you need to live and experience a life of harmony, joy, inner peace, and unlimited prosperity in whichever area that YOU CHOOSE to experience it in.

If that’s TRULY the case why do you continually fall short of realizing these abilities? Why is it that you appear to experience struggle and strife from day to day, week to week, and year to year. Why does it seem so difficult sometimes just to make ends meet?

Simply because you have not yet discovered the simple steps that it takes to learn how to get out of your own way. You have not yet discovered the truth of your TRUE unlimited potential which was supplied to you and which you have had the ability to use since the beginning of time. You have forgotten and lost sight of the REAL TRUTH concerning who and what you REALLY are and allowed the perceived hardships and limitations of day to day living to dominate your thought process, blocking the manifestation of that which you most desire to experience. You have allowed what “Appears To Be” to blind you to what “Truly Is” and instead of accepting that, you feed and nurture that which you claim that you don’t want to experience, which attracts more of the same.

Re-examine the first three questions that were asked at the beginning of this article. Did you answer yes to any of them? If so, you are creating, more specifically attracting situations that you would rather NOT experience.

You fail to realize that the perceived hardships of today are due to seeds that you have personally sown at some point in the past. And when they show up in whatever form they do you always seek out some temporary external solution believing that it, whatever it is, will somehow fill the void, only to find that at some point in the future the same void returns and presents itself to you once again, sending you again anxiously scurrying about looking for the solutions in the external world where you have failed to find them so many times before, only to find yourself once again unfulfilled, anxious, fearful, all the time knowing that somewhere deep within that there must be a better way. If only you could find it.

You continually attempt to fix effects with effects not fully understanding the need to seek out, discover and develop the knowledge of the TRUE Source from where these effects come.

So where is this Source? Where does this place of peace and serenity exist if at all? How does one find inner peace and comfort in times of trial? When the money’s short and the bills are long, the children are sick, the relationships that you most treasure appearing to be in turmoil, how is it that one can experience peace and serenity? Where are these answers to be found that will correct what "appears" to be real?

They lie within.

Within Each And Every Person That Has The Desire And Willingness To Seek Them Out And Discover Them.

All that is required is to learn to get out of your own way and learn to quietly go within and awaken that which holds and draws to you the answers that you are seeking. To quiet the constant anxious, fearful, and worrysome internal babble that has you convinced that pending doom and disaster is lurking just around the next corner waiting to jump out and lead you down the next path of hardship, rather than placing your focus on the fulfillment of the desires, dreams and visions that you hold as dear.

So precisely how do you get out of your own way? What exactly does it mean to go within?

Here is the step by step breakdown….

Discover the real truth concerning who and what you TRULY are.

Take the initiative to discover and eliminate the self limiting false beliefs you have absorbed and have “allowed” to block your path.

Replace those which you discover aren’t leading you toward the fulfillment of your deepest desires with those that will.

Understand that when hardship “appears” to be looming that it is only that, an “Appearance” which can easily be changed.

Understand that the thoughts, beliefs and emotions that you allow are merely seeds that you have the choice and free will to feed and nurture or ignore.

Come to the understanding that those seeds which are planted, nurtured, and fed will grow, not only in nature but in your life and that any other outcome is impossible and would go against the Laws of Creation

Learn to develop and express sincere gratitude for that which you experience regardless of how it may appear, fully accepting the fact that ALL THINGS work together for good. That these perceived challenges that you are experiencing today are a direct manifestation of the thoughts feelings and emotions that you have experienced at some point in the past, and merely stepping stones that will enable you to reach your desired destination.

Become conscious of your day to day thoughts and emotions. When you discover they are not in alignment with your desires, change them

Begin to understand that happiness is a choice, YOUR choice, and that by choosing that, the weeds that you have allowed to grow as a result of your previous mindset will soon whither away and be replaced with the sweet fruits that result as an effect of implementing your newfound knowledge.

In a condensed version simply focus on your inner happiness regardless of external appearances, focus on and see only positive outcomes in your minds eye, and express thanks for all that you encounter along the way.

Do you have any doubt as to what is being conveyed? Try this exercise…..

The next time troublesome thoughts and emotions ignite within you, focus on them. Really look deeply and focus on what the perceived problem is. Analyze it, ponder it, and allow it to fill your entire being for just a few minutes. Now stop for a second and become aware of how you feel. Really analyze how your body feels, how clear your thinking is. etc. Not very pleasant is it?

Then try this.....

When a situation arises that you usually act upon as you did in the example above, this time discern first of all if there is something that you can do about it. If there is take immediate action to correct it, but only do so with the solution in mind, focusing only on the positive end result that you desire as you take the steps to complete it. If there isn’t anything that you can do at the moment, first of all break focus from the problem. Think about a pleasant time you’ve experienced at some point in your life. A time that really gave you joy or pleasure. Allow your thoughts to shift away from what you can’t currently do anything about right now anyway and purposefully shift your focus to that pleasant experience whatever it might be. Really allow yourself to experience this pleasant memory and experience it like it was happening all over again. Once this is done, then shift your focus to seeing the problem, whatever it may be as resolved. See the end result that you desire to experience. Feel it, hear it, touch it, taste it, and see it. How does it feel now that it is no longer a problem? Now express Gratitude for receiving the answer and go about your day to day activities. Now stop for a minute and analyze how your body feels. How clear is your thinking?

Do you feel the difference?

Don't analyze, think about, or wonder how or when your solution is going to happen. Just "allow" it to happen. Remain aware of signs that may show up. Be alert to potential opportunities that may arise. Don't worry about HOW, just "Know" that they will. Don't concern yourself with WHEN, just understand that they will. Refrain from engaging your logical and analytical thinking process. Creation and attraction is NOT logical in relation to widespread and commonly held beliefs.

Do not underestimate the power of this simple exercise. Many times the simplest things in life produce the most amazing results. This exercise is one of them.Begin to understand the simple, powerful and miraculous process of manifestation.Discover and accept the truth concerning the Unconditional Love that is yours and provides precisely what you ask based on your beliefs. Develop the self awareness to dig deeply enough to discern what those beliefs that you hold really consist of at their core. Change those which you find aren’t serving you. Don’t allow your thoughts to focus on problems that you can’t do anything about at the moment which creates self induced stress, fear and weakens your body as well as your spirit, and at the same time attracts to you MORE of that which you are attempting to eliminate. And ABOVE ALL, express sincere and heartfelt thanks for the growth that you experience along the way.

Take immediate and focused action on that which you can change with only the solution in mind. Break focus from that which you find you can’t currently do anything about and allow yourself to experience and ponder on only pleasant things. Engage ALL of your physical senses and experience the end result, the solution. Persevere and practice this exercise and before you know it your perceived problems will melt away like snow in springtime.

Yes, it may take a little practice to master. It may require a little discipline before you will begin to experience the effortlessness of shifting your thinking. But persevere in it's implementation and it WILL.

Once you have accomplished and mastered this exercise and learn to consciously and consistently use it, you will have learned what it means to "get out of your own way."

Yes it may take effort initially to retrain your mind. But I can assure you that the reward is FAR GREATER than the initial effort.

The answers you seek are readily available. All your hopes, dreams and visions for the future can and will become a reality in your life IF you’ll allow them to. Anything that you are able to conceive and hold in your mind can be and IS experienced in the physical world. That which you place your focus and emphasis on whether consciously or unconsciously IS attracted to you, manifests and becomes your reality.

You are the producer and director in this movie called life. You possess the power to rewrite each scene. Become consciously aware of the script that you are writing. Allow each scene to express abundance and limitless prosperity in each area of your life and you will begin to experience just that.

Now you know what it means to "Get Out Of Your Own Way." Implement what you have discovered and that which you most desire to experience in your life will be attracted to you.

You have the ability to experience Joy, Fulfillment, Inner Peace, Harmony and Limitless Prosperity in each and every area of your life.

Allow It, Receive It And Experience it.

How? It's really quite simple....Get Out Of Your Own Way.

Obstacles in Spirituality and Yoga

2009-04-27T18:42:00.002-04:00

~ POWERFUL ARTICLE FOR ALL SPIRITUAL ASPIRANTS ~
source:http://1dreamworld.blogspot.com

I suddenly came across this wonderful articles which I thought was very, very important for all aspirants. I give all the due credit to the site www.katiehillyoga.com from where this below article is taken from. I must add that many of the points in it were eye-openers to me and I have learnt a lot from it because the articles hits on many hard, bitter truths that we never ever would want to hear about ourselves. I am learning from it and with the hopes that you might also find it interesting and learn from it, here it is ~

There are certain obstacles in the path of Yoga, which you should, by all means, overcome in the very beginning of your Yogic career. If you do not adequately guard yourself against these impediments in right time by the warning voice of your Guru, they will smash all your hopes and aspirations to pieces and will eventually bring about miserable downfall.

Lust, greed, anger, hatred, jealousy, fear, inertia, depression, prejudice, intolerance, evil company, arrogance, self-sufficiency, desire for name and fame, curiosity, building castles in the air and hypocrisy are foremost among these. You should ever introspect and watch your mind. You should take effective measures to remove these obstacles root and branch. "Women, beds, seats, dresses, and riches are obstacles in Yoga. Betels, dainty dishes, carriages, kingdoms, lordliness and powers; gold, silver, as well as copper, gems, aloe wood, and kine; learning the Vedas and the Sastras; dancing, singing and ornaments; harp, flute, and drum; riding on elephants and horses; wives and children, worldly enjoyments; all these are so many impediments." (Siva Samhita: Ch. V-3).

The Yogic student should not possess much wealth as it will drag him to worldly temptations. He may keep a small sum to get the wants of the body. Economical independence is of paramount importance to an aspirant; because it will relieve him from anxieties and will enable him to continue his practices uninterruptedly.

If you get easily offended even for trifling things, know that you cannot make any progress in Yoga and meditation. You should, hence, cultivate amiable, loving nature and adaptability. Some aspirants easily get offended, if their defects and vices are pointed out. They become indignant and begin to fight with the person who shows the defects. They think that the person is concocting them out of jealousy and hatred. This is bad. Others can very easily detect your defects. If you have no life of introspection, if your mind is of outgoing tendencies, how can you find out your own defects? Your self-conceit veils and blurs your mental vision. If you, therefore, want to grow in spirituality and Yoga, you must admit your defects, when they are pointed out by others. You must endeavour to eradicate them and must be really grateful to the man for pointing out your defects.

It is rather a difficult business to eradicate the self-assertive nature. This nature is born of ignorance only. Everyone has built his personality from beginningless time. This personality has grown very strong. It is hard to bend this personality and make it pliable and elastic. You want to dominate over others. You do not want to hear the opinions and arguments of others, even though they are quite logical, sound and tenable. You have a pair of jaundiced eyes. You say: "Whatever I say is correct. Whatever I do-is correct. The views and actions of others are incorrect." You never admit your mistakes. You try your best to support your own whimsical views by crooked arguments. If arguments fail, you will take to vituperation and hand-to-hand fight also. If people fail to show you respect and honour, you are instantaneously thrown into a fit of fury. You are immensely pleased with anybody who begins to flatter you. You will tell any number of lies to justify yourself. Self-justification goes hand in hand with self-assertive Rajasic nature. You can never grow in Yoga so long as you have this self-assertive nature with the habit of self-justification. You should change your mental attitude. You must develop the habit of looking at matters from the view-point of others. You must have the new vision of righteousness and truthfulness. Then alone you will grow in Yoga and spirituality. You should treat respect and honour as offal and poison, and censure and dishonour as ornament and nectar.

You will also find it hard to adjust yourself to the ways and habits of others. Your mind is filled, as it were, with likes and dislikes, prejudice of caste, creed and colour. You are quite intolerant. The faultfinding nature is ingrained in you. You jump at once to find the faults of others. You cannot see the good in others; you have a pair of morbid eyes. You cannot appreciate the meritorious actions of others. You brag of your own abilities and merits. That is the reason why you fight with all people and cannot maintain cordial relations with others for long time. You should overcome these defects by developing tolerance, love and other good virtues.

The old Samskaras (latent impressions) of vanity, cunningness, crookedness, arrogance, petty-mindedness, fighting, boasting or bragging nature, self-esteem or thinking too much of yourself, speaking ill of others, belittling others may be still lurking in your mind. You can never shine until you remove these faults thoroughly. Success in Yoga is not possible unless these undesirable negative qualities of lower nature are completely eradicated.

Those who engage themselves in hot discussions, vain debates, wranglings, lingual warfare and intellectual gymnastics cause serious damage to their astral bodies. Much energy is wasted. The astral body gets actually inflamed and an open sore is formed. Blood becomes hot. It bubbles like milk over fire. Ignorant people have no idea of the disastrous effects of unnecessary hot discussions and argumentations. Those who are in the habit of arguing unnecessarily and entering into vain discussions cannot expect an iota of progress in Yoga. Aspirants must entirely give up unnecessary discussions. They should destroy the impulses by careful introspection.

You have heard several brilliant lectures, delivered by learned monks or Sannyasins. You have listened to several discourses and expositions on the Bhagavad-Gita, the Ramayana, the Bhagavata and the Upanishads. You have also heard several valuable moral and spiritual instructions. But you have not at all endeavoured to put anything into serious earnest practice and to do protracted solid Sadhana.

Mere intellectual assent to a religious idea, a little closing of the eyes in the morning and at night just to deceive yourself and the Indweller and the Witness, a little endeavour to stick to the daily spiritual routine and to develop some virtues in a halt-hearted, careless manner, some mild effort to carry out the instructions of your spiritual preceptor perfunctorily will not suffice. This kind of mentality should be entirely given up. You should follow the instructions of your master and the teachings of the Scriptures to the very letter. No leniency to the mind. There can be no half measures in the path of Yoga. Exact implicit and strict obedience to the instructions is what is expected of you.

Do not make any thoughtless remarks. Do not speak even a single idle word. Give up idle talk, tall talk, big talk, loose talk. Avoid evil company. Become silent. Do not assert for rights in this physical, illusory plane. Do not fight for rights. Think more about your duties and less about your rights. These rights are worthless. Assert your birthright of God-consciousness. Then you are a wise man.

If you are endowed with good character, celibacy (Brahmacharya), truthfulness, mercy, love, tolerance, forgiveness, serenity these qualities will more than counterbalance many other evil qualities you may possess. Then gradually these evil qualities also will vanish, if you are careful, if you focus your attention on them.

If you remain in the company of a developed saint, you will be really benefited by his magnetic aura and wonderful spiritual currents. His company will be like a fortress for you. You will not be affected by evil influences. There is no fear of downfall. You can have rapid spiritual progress. Young aspirants should remain in the company of their Gurus or other experienced saints till they are firmly moulded and established in deep meditation. Nowadays many young aspirants wander aimlessly from place to place. They do not care to hear the instructions of their masters. They want independence from the very start. Hence they do not make any progress in Yoga. Humour is a rare gift of nature. It helps aspirants in their march on the spiritual path. It removes depression. It keeps one cheerful. It brings joy and mirth. But you should not cut jokes at the expense of others and wound their feelings. The humorous words must educate and correct others.

You should laugh in a mild, delicate and decent manner. Silly giggling, guffaw, or boisterous, indecent, unrefined laughter in a rude manner should be given up, because it prevents the spiritual progress and destroys serenity of mind and serious magnanimous attitude. Sages smile through their eyes. It is grand and thrilling. Intelligent aspirants only can understand this. Don�t be childish and silly.

Even the slight annoyance and irritability affect the mind and the astral body. You should not allow these evil modifications (Vrittis) to manifest in the mind-lake. They may burst out as big waves of anger at any moment, if you are weak and careless. They should be nipped in the bud. You should develop the noble qualities of forgiveness, love and sympathy for others. There should not be the least disturbance in the mind-lake. It should be perfectly calm and serene. Then only meditation is possible.

Success in Yoga is possible only if the aspirant practices profound and constant meditation. He must practice self-restraint at all times, because all of a sudden the senses may become turbulent. That is the reason why Lord Krishna says to Arjuna: "O son of Kunti! The excited senses of even a wise man, though he be striving impetuously, carry away his mind. For the mind, which follows in the wake of the wandering senses, carries away his discrimination, as the wind (carries away) a boat on the waters." (Bhagavad-Gita: Ch. II-60, 67).

A terrible fit of anger shatters the physical nervous system and produces a deep and lasting impression on the astral body. Dark arrows will shoot forth from the astral body. The germs that caused the epidemic of Spanish flu may die, but the wave of influenza still continues in various parts for a long time. Even so, though the effect of the fit of anger in the mind may subside in a short time, the vibration or wave continues to exist for days or weeks together in the astral body. Slight, unpleasant feeling that lasts in the mind for five minutes may produce vibration in the astral body for two or three days. A terrible fit of wrath will produce deep inflammation of the astral body. An open sore will be formed on the surface of the astral body. It will take months for the healing of the ulcer. Have you now realised the serious consequences of anger? Do not fall a victim to anger. Control it by forgiveness, love, mercy, sympathy, enquiry (of "who am I?") and consideration for others.

Worry, depression, unholy thoughts and hatred produce a kind of crust or dark layer on the surface of the mind or astral body. This crust or rust or dirt prevents the beneficial influences to get entry inside, but it allows the evil forces or lower influences to operate. Worry does great harm to the astral body and the mind. Energy is wasted by this worry-habit. Nothing is gained by worrying. It causes inflammation of the astral body and drains the vitality of man. It should be eradicated by the practice of cheerfulness, vigilant introspection and keeping the mind fully occupied. By continence, devotion to Guru and steady practice, success in Yoga comes after a long time. You should be patient and persevering.

Aspirants who take to seclusion generally become lazy after some time, as they do not know how to utilise their mental energy, as they do not have any daily routine, as they do not follow the instructions of their Gurus. They get Vairagya (dispassion and disgust for worldly enjoyments) in the beginning, but as they have no experience in the spiritual line, the Vairagya begins to wane. They do not make any real progress in the end. Intense and constant practice of Yoga is necessary for entering into Asamprajnata Samadhi.

If the Yogic student who practices meditation is gloomy, depressed and weak, surely there is some error in his Sadhana somewhere. True meditation makes the aspirant strong, cheerful and healthy. If the aspirants themselves are gloomy and peevish, how are they going to impart joy, peace and strength to others?

You will have to master every step in Yoga. Do not take up any higher step before completely mastering the lower step. Gradually ascend the successive stages boldly and cheerfully. This is the right royal road to perfection in Yoga.

Aspirants do not possess true and unshakable faith in their Gurus and the teachings of the Scriptures. Hence they fail to attain success in Yoga.

Sleepless vigilance is necessary, if you wish to have rapid spiritual advancement. Never rest contented with a little achievement or success in the path, a little serenity of mind, a little one-pointedness of mind, some visions of angels and Devatas, a little faculty of thought-reading, and so on. There are still higher summits to ascend, higher regions to climb.

A Yogi claims that he can attain extraordinary powers and knowledge by subduing the passions and appetites and by practicing Yama, Niyama and Yogic Samyama (concentration, meditation and Samadhi at one and the same time). Patanjali clearly warns the students that they should not be carried away by the temptations of powers. The gods themselves tempt the unwary Yogi by offering him a position similar to theirs. Aspirants run more after Siddhis (psychic powers) than after real spiritual attainment despite the clear note of warning.

Desire for powers will act like puffs of air which may blow out the lamp of Yoga that is being carefully fed. Any slackness in feeding it due to carelessness or selfishness will blow out the little spiritual lamp the Yogi has lighted after so much struggle and will hurl him down into the deep abyss of ignorance. He cannot rise up again to the original height to which he had ascended. Temptations are simply waiting to overwhelm the unwary aspirant or Yogi. Temptations of the astral, mental and the Gandharva worlds are more powerful than earthly temptations.

Patanjali enumerates the following nine obstacles: Disease, languor, doubt, carelessness, laziness, sensuality, mistaken notion (false knowledge), tossing of mind and instability to remain in the state of Samadhi. He prescribes practice of concentration on one subject (Eka-Tattvabhyasa) to overcome them. This will give the aspirant steadiness and real inner strength. He further advocates the practice of friendship between equals, mercy towards inferiors, complacency towards superiors and indifference towards wicked people. This practice will generate peace of mind or composure and will destroy hatred, jealousy, etc. A new life will dawn in him, when he practices these virtues. Perseverance is needed. It is the key-note to success in Yoga. The Yogi is amply rewarded, when he gets full control over his mind. He enjoys the highest bliss of Asamprajnata Samadhi.

In the Yoga-Kundalini Upanishad you will find: "Diseases are generated in one's body through the following causes viz., sleeping in the day-time, late vigils overnight, excess of sexual intercourse, moving in crowds, the checking of the urine and the faeces, the evil of unwholesome food and laborious mental operations with Prana. If a Yogi is afraid of such diseases (when attacked by them), he says: "My diseases have arisen from the practice of Yoga." Then he will discontinue his practice. This is said to be the first obstacle. The second obstacle is doubt, the third carelessness, the fourth laziness, the fifth sleep, the sixth not leaving of objects (of sense), the seventh erroneous perception, the eighth sensual objects, the ninth want of faith and the tenth the failure to attain the truth of Yoga. A wise man should abandon these ten obstacles after great deliberation.

Fatigue is harmful for aspirants. They should avoid long walks and much exertion. When the state of tranquillity prevails during meditation, do not disturb the mind. Do not get up from your seat. Try to prolong the meditation.

You cannot please the world. Remember the story of the old man, his son and the donkey. Stick to your ideals, convictions and principles tenaciously, whether you become popular or unpopular, even if the whole world opposes you. Stand up boldly on your own principles of right conduct and right living. Do not retrace your steps even a fraction of an inch.

Do not dig shallow pits here and there for getting water. The pits will dry up soon. Dig a deep pit in one place. Centralise all your efforts here. You will get good water throughout the year. Even so, try to imbibe the spiritual teachings from one preceptor only. Drink deep from one man only. Sit at his feet for some years. There is no use of wandering from place to place, from one man to another man out of curiosity, losing faith in a short time. Do not have the ever-changing mind of a prostitute. Follow the spiritual instructions of one man only. If you go to several people and follow their instructions, you will be bewildered. You will be in a dilemma.

Do not relax your efforts. Keep the Divine Flame burning steadily. You are nearing the goal. The light has come. There is Brahmic aura in your face. You have crossed many peaks and insurmountable summits in the spiritual path by dint of untiring patient Sadhana. It is highly creditable indeed! You have made marvellous progress. I am highly pleased with you, O John! You will have to ascend one more peak and go through one more narrow pass. This demands some more patient effort and strength. You will have to melt your Sattvic egoism also. You will have to transcend the blissful state of Savikalpa Samadhi. The Brahmakara Vritti also should die. Then alone you will attain Bhuma, the highest goal of life. You can do this also. I am quite confident. There at the summit of the Hill of Eternal Bliss, you can see now the Jivanmukta or the full-blown Yogi. He has climbed the stupendous heights through intense and constant struggle. He did severe rigorous spiritual Sadhana. He did profound meditation. He spent sleepless nights. He kept long vigils at night on countless occasions. He gradually ascended the heights step by step. He took rest at several halting-places. He persevered with patience and diligence. He surmounted many obstacles. He conquered despair, gloom and depression. Today he is a beacon-light to the world at large. You can also ascend to that summit if only you will.

Article Source:
http://1dreamworld.blogspot.com
Jacob Thomas
Note by Jacob Thomas: "This article is not written by me but is from: http://www.katiehillyoga.com

Spirituality by Einstein

2009-04-13T12:55:00.002-04:00

Spirituality by Einstein

Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955) was a leading Scientist of his era. Much of his research centered around the problems of physics. His life work in many ways was dedicated to resolving the problems of physics. To his credit are the Theories of Relativity, The Evolution of Physics, and Investigations on Theory of Brownian Movement. Einstein received honorary doctorate degrees in science, medicine and philosophy from many European and American Universities.

Such a man of science would normally automatically become pegged as one who did not have much interest in or recognition of things spiritual, however this was not the case with Einstein. In fact over his lifetime, he often had to correct others on his views of spirituality. Einstein simply didn't believe in the spiritual mode of the day. He stated in a letter he wrote in 1954 that he did not believe in a personal God, he said that if there was something in him which could be called religious then it would be the "unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it."

Einstein was raised in a Jewish family, but by the age of 12 his love of science and his religious beliefs were at odds. As he would explain to those who queried, the scientific books of the day helped him to reach a personal conviction that much in the stories of the bible could not be true.

This did not shut Einstein down, however, it opened his mind to free thinking and also to be skeptical - but these were essential tools to a researcher.

Einstein believed himself to be an agnostic. In 1950, he explained, "I am convinced that a vivid consciousness of the primary importance of moral principles for the betterment and ennoblement of life does not need the idea of a law-giver, especially a law-giver who works on the basis of reward and punishment."

In Albert Einstein's famous book, The World As I See It, He said,

"The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. He who knows it not and con no longer wonder, no longer feel amazement, es as good as dead, a snuffed-out candle. It was the experience of mystery - even if mixed with fear - that engendered religion. A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty, which are only accessible to our reason in their most elementary forms - it is this knowledge and this emotion that constitute the truly religious attitude; in this sense, and in this alone, I am a deeply religious man. I cannot conceive of a God who rewards and punishes his creatures, or has a will of the type of which we are conscious in ourselves. An individual who should survive his physical death is also beyond my comprehension, nor di I wish it otherwise; such notions are for the fears or absurd egoism of feeble souls. Enough for me the mystery of the eternity of life, and the inklilng of the marvelous structure of reality, together with the single-hearted endeavor to comprehend a portion, be it never so tiny, of the reason that manifests itself in nature."

It Can Get Lonely

2009-03-13T21:32:00.002-04:00

It Can Get Lonely

by: Miruh.

Image credit: Alicepopkorn

For him who has responded to the call of the Way of Possibility, loneliness may be obligatory….It is not we who seek the Way, but the Way which seeks us. That is why you are faithful to it, even while you stand waiting, so long as you are prepared, and act the moment you are confronted by its demands.
by Dag Hammarskhold: Markings

It is said that the spiritual healing journey is the path of the razor’s edge. Very few people truly have the stamina, the courage, the discipline and the desire to follow the path of the spiritual warrior. For those who do, they may subject themselves to ridicule, scorn, and in the distant past, even bodily harm or death by torture. It is a path of loneliness. It is relatively easy to follow a religion; a spiritual path that many pursue in the safety of the group, conforming to a particular belief system. Many religious groups were evolved through marrying spirituality and political correctness of a particular ideology of a particular era. True spirituality is the path of the mystic. It is the path of exploration through personal experience, without religious dogma, practiced in the laboratory of the soul. It is the path of recognition of Truth. It is possible to live spiritual truths within the bounds of religious teachings, provided that one has true discrimination to differentiate what is strictly dogma and what is universal truth that takes one in the direction of Love.

In the quote from Dag Hammarskhold above, he tells us that following the path of the spiritual warrior, The Way of Possibility, is not one that we seek, but one that seeks us. We are driven to follow the call of Love even though we may not be actively seeking Truth. It is a call that is relentless, and when faced with it, we must follow. It means letting go of a lot of “shoulds” and concepts that we have. The window of opportunity is just that, and we have to be prepared to sacrifice our agendas to attend to the calling. This is the path of the razor’s edge.

For many on the spiritual path, this period of sacrifice is for a limited time, it could be as long as a few years perhaps. This is a time of loneliness that many will fail to endure. It is a necessity to separate oneself from one’s usual social lifestyle when the personality or ego goes through a period of upheaval; a transformation where body and psyche are in alignment with a new way of spiritual being. When equilibrium is achieved, the seeker must then fully participate in his world. At this point we do not simply pick up where we left off. The personality has gone through a transformation; we are not the same person we were and we are required to make choices that cultivate the nurturing of the new alignment of the rejuvenated body, mind and spirit.

Signs & Symptoms Of Inner Peace

2009-02-20T12:23:00.006-05:00

Some signs and symptoms of inner peace:

* A tendency to think and act spontaneously rather than on fears based on past experiences.

* An unmistakable ability to enjoy each moment.

* A loss of interest in judging other people.

* A loss of interest in judging self.

* A loss of interest in interpreting the actions of others.

* A loss of interest in conflict.

* A loss of the ability to worry.
(This is a very serious symptom.)

* Frequent, overwhelming episodes of appreciation.

* Contented feelings of connectedness with others and nature.

* Frequent attacks of smiling.

* An increasing tendency to let things happen rather than make them happen.

* An increased susceptibility to the love extended by others as well as the uncontrollable urge to extend it.

Inner peace (or peace of mind) refers to a state of being mentally and spiritually at peace, with enough knowledge and understanding to keep oneself strong in the face of discord or stress. Being "at peace" is considered by many to be healthy (homeostasis) and the opposite of being stressed or anxious. Peace of mind is generally associated with bliss and happiness.

Peace of mind, serenity, and calmness are descriptions of a disposition free from the effects of stress. In some cultures, inner peace is considered a state of consciousness or enlightenment that may be cultivated by various forms of training, such as prayer, meditation, T'ai Chi Ch'uan or yoga, for example. Many spiritual practices refer to this peace as an experience of knowing oneself. Finding inner peace is often associated with traditions such as Buddhism and Hinduism.

The question is, how to bring more peace of mind into our life, and more importantly, how to experience it in times of trouble. You might also ask whether it is possible to make it a habit, and enjoy it always and under all circumstances. First, you need to learn to bring more moments of inner peace into your daily life. Later, you will be able to experience these moments in times of trouble or difficulties too, when you most need inner calmness and tranquility.

Here are a few simple things that can help you:

- Reduce the amount of time you read the newspapers or watch the news on TV.

- Stay away from negative conversations and from negative people.

- Don't hold grudges. Learn to forget and forgive. Nurturing ill feelings and grievances hurts you and causes lack of sleep.

- Don't be jealous of others. Being jealous means that you have low self-esteem and consider yourself inferior to others. This again, causes lack of inner peace.

- Accept what cannot be changed. This saves a lot of time, energy and worries.

- Every day we face numerous inconveniences, irritations and situations that are beyond our control. If we can change them, that's fine, but this is not always possible. We must learn to put up with such things and accept them cheerfully.

- Learn to be more patient and tolerant with people and events.

- Don't take everything too personally. Some emotional and mental detachment is desirable. Try to view your life and other people with a little detachment and less involvement. Detachment is not indifference, lack of interest or coldness. It is the ability to think and judge impartially and logically. Don't worry if again and again you fail to manifest detachment. Just keep trying.

- Let bygones be gone. Forget the past and concentrate on the present moment. There is no need to evoke unpleasant memories and immerse yourself in them.

- Practice some concentration exercises. This will help you to reject unpleasant thoughts and worries that steal away your peace of mind.

Learn to practice meditation.

Even a few minutes a day will make a change in your life.

Inner peace ultimately leads to external peace.

By creating peace in our inner world,
we bring it into the external world ,
affecting other people too.

Updated Info:
Excerpts SYMPTOMS OF INNER PEACE
© 1984 Saskia Davis
http://www.symptomsofinnerpeace.net

Thank You Saskia Davis For Leaving the Complete Article In Your Loving Comment
( below )

Abundant Blessings.

Move Into Your Empowerment

2009-02-08T14:51:00.001-05:00

Move Into Your Empowerment
by Nancy Leilah Ward
soultransitions. com

Greetings!

This has been the coldest winter I can remember, here in the Northeast United States. Interestingly enough, I find myself drawn to working with the energy of the Sun. I took a sunbath the other day, laying on a blanket on the floor as the sun shone through a window. It felt so nurturing and I was aware of receiving some very powerful waves of energy. I have also been visualizing myself traveling right into the sun and asking for the stuff I’m ready to release to be burned away. I feel the fire elementals within the sun delighted that I’m there with them! Another visualization that came to me recently is to bring a beam of sunlight into the pineal gland in the center of my head. Many of One will speak about this as you read on. As I do this work, I know I must be prepared for the surfacing of old feelings as they come up to be released.

LET GO AND BE -

There may be feelings of overwhelm at times and we are all being counseled not to overdo it and place unreasonable demands on ourselves. This is a time of allowing as we learn to let go and be, instead of hold on and do. Many people are creating deeper connections with their soul and true purpose in their lives. There are all kinds of healing and energy modalities to assist in this process. As the planetary awakening grows, we’re seeing people turning from a rational, mind-oriented focus to a more circular, intuitive focus.

EXPANSION OF CONSCIOUSNESS -

Many people who haven’t ordinarily brought their attention to their relationship with their inner selves are turning to meditation to find peace and relaxation and a connection to their intuitive nature. This is the expansion of consciousness and a reflection of the high vibrational energies that are beaming through our universe. For example, my 84 year old mother has started going to a Qi Gong/meditation class, which she really enjoys! The Light is achieving critical mass.

The changes we are seeing in the “outer” world are disruptive and cause fear, for much of the old, as has been said before, is collapsing. This is a good thing and if you let it go, you will be in the flow. If you resist, you will cause difficulty and pain for yourselves. These changes are necessary in order for the new to be created. For, just as the old is dissolving, new growth is sprouting. Be on the lookout for new ideas, inventions and creations in all realms.

Many of One:

TRANSITIONS - much is falling away yet you are still here.

It is time for Humanity to know themselves on a SOUL LEVEL. We have spoken of this before. You have released much and are opening up your energy field to receive your higher self fully into the core of your being. This is a window into the vastness of yourself. Many people are beginning to search more deeply into who and what they are and why they are here at this time. You will be finding that you cannot live what is no longer your truth. It is more and more difficult to do those things that you do not resonate with, whereas in the past you were able to live a little more superficially and tolerate situations that didn’t resonate with the rhythm of your heart.

THIRD EYE -

All are being called to go more deeply into themselves and we wish to bring your attention to a place in the center of your head. Become aware of your third eye - the 6th chakra just above the center between your eyebrows. If you focus your attention there you will begin to feel a sensation - a pressure. Trace a line straight through your skull and then bring your attention to the side of your head behind your temples and trace another line through your skull. At the center, where the two lines cross is the pineal gland. The pineal gland resonates with the rhythm of the Universe and is activated by Light. Begin to see it now as a star within the center of your head. Focus on that star radiating light. This will begin to activate your inner sight.

Now turn your attention to the star of your solar system – your sun. The sun is receiving waves of energy which it radiates outward. Connect to a beam of light from your sun and bring it directly into your pineal gland. Making that connection will help you to open up to the vastness of your being. It will help to awaken you to the vastness of your soul and your connection to the Universe for, as you know, it is no accident that you are here on Earth at this time. Look to the sun with appreciation. Lie or sit in sunlight and soak in the energy of the light. This will help to open your intuitive knowing and your inner sight. Send appreciation to the sun for this perfect set-up between Earth and Sun, creating this place for Spirit to experience itself as Human Beings. The energy of the sun is sending powerful transformative beams to Earth. Another sun exercise is to vision yourself traveling into the sun and staying within its energy. Ask the sun’s energy to burn off all that you no longer need to carry on your journey.

ONENESS -

The star inside your head and the awareness you bring to it and the light of the sun that you invite in will activate your connection to your purpose and will allow you to see the truth of your being and the oneness of all beings.

You are star travelers.
There’s a vast knowingness inside of you that you are just beginning to tap into. You will witness more and more that you are creators of your journey. As you begin to trust the intuitive impulses you feel, you will find yourself navigating new pathways in every aspect of your life. The struggles that you see around you will take on a new meaning. As you detach from the drama you will begin to feel a sense of freedom.

INNER KNOWING -

Challenges may arise when it is necessary for you to function in the third dimensional world but as you detach more and more you will not get caught in drama. A gentle, inner knowing will dawn and you will not be able to hide from the truth of yourself. You will know what it is that you need to do to become fully empowered. As you do so, you will begin to witness the manifestation of that which you are vibrating with more rapidly and more clearly.

TURN YOUR FOCUS -

Many of you are finding that you are able to shift from feeling tone to feeling tone as you turn your focus from that which brings you fear to that which brings you happiness. This is a practice. You will still have moments where heavier feelings come into your being. This is due to the high vibrating energy bringing up feelings and thoughts which don’t resonate with your truth. You will recognize these feelings as “old” and you will begin to say “no” to them. “I do not want to feel this anymore . . .” “I do not want to create this in my life anymore.” And as you make those statements and find a moment to sit within those feelings and to focus on your breathing and bringing yourself into the moment of now, you can tune into your heart and your mind will become still.

At times it will feel like a struggle because the mind likes to tell stories – the mind tells the stories of your past because that is all it knows. As you sit within the moment of now and cultivate the inner smile you will be able to shift out of the heavier feeling tones into a lighter . . . is-ness. And the more you do this the more you will find creative inspirations rising within you. If you take those inspirations and put them into action you will create more energy and more happiness and vitality and it will grow exponentially. And so we wish to say that when you go back into the heavier moments, you are simply releasing that which is not yourself. You will know that you are focused in the lighter realm more and more and so do not fear that you are creating more negativity… you are simply letting the old density go and you will find that you will be able to quickly move out of density.

THE NEXT LEVEL -

Many of you are here on missions - to shift those denser feelings and live within the lighter tones. As you do this, you bring more light and love onto the planet and you are amplifying and radiating that light into the atmosphere of the earth thereby assisting the planetary dimensional shift. We wish for you to know deeply that Spirit and Earth need you here to do this. To help create … to help bring the Earth and Humanity to the next level of evolution.

EMPOWERING PEACE AND JOY -

These are indeed the times you have been waiting for. And as you begin to see much falling away, creating chaos, creating more fear, we wish for you to celebrate these changes. We wish for you to become less attached to what might be happening in the future. We wish for you to find delight in the changes that are occurring and to know that whatever changes are happening in your lives it is for a greater unfoldment of the empowerment of humanity. You are on a path towards your sovereignty. And in that new world, you will collaborate together and co-create in a healthy, organic way, a world of peace and joy. For this is your birthright and this is what you came here to do.

We also wish for you to know that the prayers and comfort and love that you send out to people of the word who are suffering… it is very helpful, it is very… blessed. It is very beautiful indeed. Your thoughts go out into the world, each and every thought you think. They don’t just disappear… they are energy and they hold the seeds of creation within them. So if you have negative thoughts, you can send out beams of light to transform them when you are ready to do so.

These are times of miracles and wonder.

OPEN AND RECEIVE -

Focusing on the sun and the pineal gland and the star light shining there will also help you to open your minds, to open your energy fields to receive new visions and inspiration and it will bring in a new feeling of who you are. It will bring in a stronger feeling tone to your energetic signature. Within this process it is important to bring your focus into your heart, away from your mind. The incessant talking in your head will begin to decrease as you embody a deeper knowing. As you tune into the center of the core of your being and send your grounding chord down into the earth, you will be able to flush out that which you no longer wish to carry. The thoughts that you no longer wish to have can be released instantly.

BEING YOUR TRUTH -

You will begin to see, as well, many more people in your world questioning who they are - beginning to look inward. Many people are being forced into this focus because aspects of their lives that they identified with are falling away – they are losing their identity. Many of you who are reading this are the Wayshowers for those who are beginning to awaken. Many of you are teachers. It is time to step into your purpose in that way. Teaching takes many forms. Teaching is not necessarily a job or standing in front of groups of people, sharing what you’ve learned, it is also simply living and being your truth and speaking openly about your awakening experience.

NO JUDGMENT -

We also wish to remind you that there is no judgment! Humans are the cruelest judges of themselves. It is essential to bring yourself into a space of loving yourself and not criticizing yourself. This is where it begins. Love yourselves enough to receive direction, information and guidance from your Higher Self and from your Spirit Guides, the non physical beings that have been assigned to you or hired by you to assist you in this journey. These are relationships that were set up before you came into the physical. You come from much more open spaces. Coming onto the Earth plane in the density… it is very different here than where you come from.

LETTING GO -

Remembrance of who you are happens when you leave this body. The remembrance of who you are and why you are here. That remembrance will begin to happen to you without you leaving your physical body. This is the Awakening that is happening. It is a very wondrous time to be on Earth. When you feel fear, you get sucked into a dense vortex and you think, “this is all there is” and then you feel the fear of being afraid and it grows and grows until something happens – a light goes on within you – a reminder that you are afraid of something that doesn’t exist and you have to bring yourself back to yourself, back to your NOW where you can change the focus of your attention instantly. Your ability to make this shift will happen more swiftly as you realize you are letting go of that which is no longer in your vibrational vortex. As you observe what is happening the connection to the drama dissolves.

OBSERVE -

There is much restructuring and rearranging going on. We see this on an energetic level as some things breaking down and disappearing and new things rising and growing up. Do not get too caught up as to what is happening in the world of government. There will be new ideas, and road blocks and ways of getting around. And that struggle will be happening for awhile. Do not get too caught up in the news that you hear or read. Do not take it into your emotional body. Remain as an observer… Detach yourself and continue to RAISE the VIBRATIONAL FREQUENCY within YOU, for that is how you, every one of you, are changing the world from within. Again we say observe what is happening on the governmental level but do not feed into the dense thought forms and frustrations. Keep the inner smile within you and keep focusing in the light and radiating your truth.

EMPOWERMENT -

Sending out a feeling tone of what you want this world to feel like and focusing on waves of joy and freedom will help to take you beyond the struggles of the past. For what you will be seeing is the new establishing itself as the old falls away. There will be resistance. Continue to hold that space of glory and grace and know that by doing so; it will take you beyond the struggles and drama of the present time. Trust.
Trust your intuition, trust that up ahead is a peaceful world where creativity abounds as all people begin to realize that they are creating their future in every moment and they will begin to play with that and see results and this is how you move into your empowerment.

Thanks To:
Lightworkers

Leadership, Service and Spirituality...does it matter?

2009-01-31T02:54:00.002-05:00

Leadership, Service and Spirituality...does it matter?
a message from Celia Fenn

      So, here I am again with this topic that just doesn't seem to want to go away right now. It seems to be something that needs to be addressed, and strangely enough, it is Obama that is bringing this to the surface. I think we are experiencing a deep healing of the collective psyche around the issues of leadership and service, and yes, spirituality. Because they are interconnected in the continuum of our lives, and because what happens in the USA tends to have reverberations in the western world.
So lets start with the American psyche and the issues of leadership that Obama is bringing up in people. I find that Americans who are spiritually aware have two responses to Obama. The one is a kind of glamorized idealization, where he is seen as a kind of Messiah. The other is the opposite pole, where he is viewed with grave distrust and seen as no more than a continuation of the old dark ways. I believe that David icke has already "proved" that Obama is working for the "dark side".

     I am going to suggest that what is at issue here is how we view leadership and power, and a healing of the deep wounds in the American psyche that go back to Watergate and Nixon. At this time, the Leader was found to be corrupt and dishonest and was successfully removed from power. This was unfortunately true of Nixon, but it created a pattern of political distrust and paranoia that has followed practically every President since. There seems to have arisen a culture of politics that is interested only in highly destructive power politics, in which aggression and oppositon to the person in power is in order if you don't like them, and idolization if you do. The whole thing is played out in the media, and people take positions according to what "appears" to align with their current point of political and spiritual view.

     Now, I get mails from people who assume that because I write about Obama in positive terms, I must belong to the idolization camp. Sorry, but not true. As an outsider, I consider Obama to be a gifted and capable leader, and the best choice America could have made right now. Of course he represents a significant change of direction. When last did the American people choose a leader of color with a history in community service? That alone holds out great hope for significant change! But, I am of the opinion that you judge a leader by his or her performance, and Obama is still in the wings on that one. He hasn't even been there for a month yet, and it is still far too early to make judgements of any kind on his leadership ability as a President or what it may mean. Of course, there is his track record, very positive, and his community work, that suggests that he may indeed be a capable leader and a good one. One able to lead America to and through the gate of 2012.

Why is that important?
     Well, I was talking to my Spiritual partner on the phone last night, and he reminded me that 2012 will be the culmination of the significant shifts that we are moving through right now. We are recreating the Planet as a New Earth, and the changes that we make now will determine whether we, as a whole, will be of a high enough frequency to pass through this "gate" as a Planet. I believe, personally, that every person alive today has the opportunity to make that passage, and that the choices that we make now will be crucial to raising global frequency sufficiently to make this a New Earth for everyone.

     But, in this phase of the "Now", we are still healing the Watergate scars, and the Vietnam scars...and the other "shocks" that entered the psyche of the "superpower" as we began the big shift back in the seventies. Now, just as we are rediscovering that we need to grow food like we did "back then", with respect for the soil and the water in order to keep our bodies healthy, we are discovering that we need to build community through respect for leadership in order to keep our social body healthy and viable. The tremendous technological and social changes we have passed through as a collective have left us in a state of collective "post traumatic stress", as we struggle to come up to speed with who and what we are now. And, learning to trust our collective leadership and to work with that leadership while still holding it accountable to the rule of law, is what will determine whether we can raise the frequency in our society and in our collective being. But we will need to release the paranoia and the distrust and be prepared to serve and to support those who serve.

     When we can trust our leadership, we will trust the leadership in ourselves. When we can serve others, we will begin to trust those that serve us. Because it will no longer be a media and politics mental "game", it will be part of our lives and part of our spiritual service. And maybe when we can trust ourselves and our inner Light and Divinity enough, we will cease to look heavenward waiting for the redeemer who will save us, and start to trust our own innate Spiritual essence and truly believe that "we are the ones we have been waiting for". All of us, not just the Dalai Lama and Barack Obama....but each one of us on the Planet today.

     It is not easy...and just to show you what I mean I would like to share something of my own experience with community leadership and power politics. When I first became involved with the community I support, I joined a group that seemed to be made of of people with high ideals, ecology, sustainability and community upliftment. I went to some of the meetings and I liked what I was hearing. But unfortunately, that was as far as it went. There was lots and lots of talk that went round and round, but very little to show for all the talk. There were issues of money misappropriation and who was responsible. The "usual" stuff. After a while, as I suggested new projects, I became the focus of a power struggle in the group. I was considered to be a newcomer, and it was perceived that I had an "agenda" that was obviously to enrich myself, since this particular group were there with that agenda. So they became obstructive and started to oppose everything I suggested. The climax came when we decided to work towards creating a garden for the soup kitchen that I was supporting at that time. I asked for a plan of the work to be undertaken and a schedule of working times so that we could co-ordinate our efforts. The response was that I was trying to control them, and they refused to co-operate. The garden never materialized, and after all the "talk" the community was left with nothing. At that point I moved on and began to work with my present Organizer in an independent project.

     I was dismayed at the time that was wasted in power struggles and ego trips and talk, by people who considered themselves to be community leaders. The idea of "service" and "accountability" had given way to ego and power and money. And, it seems like that is where we are mostly in our political and community life. A very low vibration. And we have a few years to lift that to a new level of community support and oneness. And yes...enter Barack Obama.....world leader. I do not think Obama's work is to solve all the problems America has. If he can, however, instill a new ethic of community support and awareness into the American psyche, and heal the paranoia and mistrust so that people can work with him and trust him, then he will have made a huge change and created great healing that will benefit us all. This is what I expect from Obama, this is what his background is mostly about. And this will create a platform for a higher frequency of government and leadership.

     And why it matters to us, is that we as Lightworkers are here to assist in raising the frequency of consciousness as we move towards 2012. We can do this by the leadership and service that we offer to our community and by the example that we set. Will we continue with the low frequency politics of duality and power, or will we begin to help to create a society where we can live and experience the true nature of the "one" within our collective. And that does not mean that we are all about to fall into a world dominated by America like a huge prison camp, as some surmise. The nature of "oneness" is always diversity and mutliplexity, for the Law of One is made up of the Laws of "the One and the Many" and "The Many and the One", complex expressions of soul family and diversity within the Divine Expression of the Totality of Life on Earth.

     It matters because we are changing, from day to day, and we are learning to express who we are in new ways. Even our spiritual understandings and beliefs are changing as we embrace who we are as "Masters of Light" and the co-creators of our own destiny here on Earth. It is what we chose to come here to experience at this time.

© 2006-8 Celia Fenn and Starchild Global http://www.starchildglobal.com - You are free to copy, distribute, display, and perform the work under the following conditions: You must give the author credit, you may not use this for commercial purposes, and you may not alter, transform or build upon this work. For any reuse or distribution, you must make clear to others the license terms of this work. Any of these conditions can be waived if you get permission from the copyright holder. Any other purpose of use must be granted permission by author.

Awakening To Total Revolution

2009-01-22T22:15:00.003-05:00

Awakening To Total Revolution

Inner Freedom Is a Social Responsibility

      Viewing the world as a large pieced-together collection of fragments, some of which are labeled as friend and others as foe, begins internally. We map out our internal territories with the same positive or negative designations as we do external territories, and wars go on there as they do in the world. Internally, we are divided against ourselves; the emotions want one thing, the intellect another, the impulses of the body yet another, and a conflict takes place which is no different in quality, although it is in scale, from that of the world wars. If we are not related to ourselves in wholeness, is it any surprise that we cannot perceive the wholeness of the world? If we believe ourselves each to be a patched-together, unmatched assortment of desirable and undesirable features, motives at odds with each other, undigested beliefs and prejudices, fears, and insecurities, will we not project all this on the world?

      Because the source of human conflict, social injustice, and exploitation is in the human psyche, we must begin there to transform society. We investigate the mind, the human psyche, not as an end in itself, as a self-centered activity, but as an act of compassion for the whole human race. We must move deep to the source of decay in society so that the new structures and social systems we design will have a sufficiently healthy root system that they will have an opportunity to flourish. The structures of society need to be transformed, but the hidden motivations and assumptions on which the structures rest need to be transformed as well. The individual and collective values and motives that give sanction to the injustice and exploitation of modern society must become the focus of change as much as the socioeconomic and political structures. We no longer will be able to allow the motivations and values that underlie personal and collective behavior to remain hidden and unexamined. It serves no lasting purpose for us to change the surface structures and behaviors while the deep foundations remain decadent and unsound.

      Those of us who have dedicated our lives to social action have considered our personal morality and ethics, our motives and habits, to be private territory. We not only want our personal motivations and habits cut off from public view, but from our own recognition as well. But in truth, the inner life is not a private or personal thing; it’s very much a social issue. The mind is a result of collective human effort. There is not your mind and my mind; it’s a human mind. It’s a collective human mind, organized and standardized through centuries. The values, the norms, the criteria are patterns of behavior organized by collective groups. There is nothing personal or private about them. We may close the doors to our rooms and feel that nobody knows our thoughts, but what we do in so-called privacy affects the life around us. If we spend our days victimized by negative energies and negative thoughts, if we yield to depression, melancholia, and bitterness, these energies pollute the atmosphere. Where then is privacy? We need to learn, as a social responsibility, to look at the mind as something that has been created collectively and to recognize that our individual expressions are expressions of the human mind.

      Inner freedom from the past, from the thought structure, from the organized, standardized collective mind, is absolutely necessary if we are to meet one another without mistrust or distrust, without fear, to look at each other spontaneously, to listen to one another without any inhibition whatsoever. The study of mind and the exploration of inner freedom is not something utopian, is not something self-centered, but it is urgently necessary so that we as human beings can transcend the barriers that regimentation of thought has created between us. Then we will perceive ourselves, each as an unlabeled human being; not an Indian, an American, a capitalist, or a communist—but as a human being, a miniature wholeness. We have not yet learned to do that. We are together on this small planet, and yet we cannot live together. Physically we are near one another, and psychologically we are miles apart. Clearly the social responsibility for arriving at inner freedom is a very relevant issue. We study the mind because we want the harmony of peace to prevail, because we need the joy of love in our hearts, because we care about the quality of life our children will inherit. We do not undertake such study because we want something new and esoteric for the ego, some transcendental experiences to enhance our self-image. We study the mind as a social responsibility; we recognize that the roots of violence, injustice, exploitation, and greed are in the human psyche, and we turn our clear, precise, objective attention there.

      We are related organically, and we have to live that relationship. To be attentive to the dynamics of the inner being is not creating a network of escapes to avoid responsibility. It is not continuing a false superiority that I am sensitive and you are not. It is simply recognizing that our personal relationships and collective relationships are miserable affairs, and that these relationships stimulate fear and anxieties and throw us on the defensive. However much we yearn for peace, emotionally we are not mature enough for peace, and our immaturity affects everything we do, every action we take, even the most worthy of actions.

      The elimination of inner disorder takes place in the lives of those who are interested in being truly creative, vital, and passionate whole human beings, and who recognize that inner anarchy and chaos drains energy and manifests in shabby, shoddy behavior in society. To be attentive requires tremendous love of living. It is not for those who choose to drift through life or for those who feel that charitable acts in society justify ugly inward ways of being. The total revolution we are examining is not for the timid or the self-righteous. It is for those who love truth more than pretense. It is for those who sincerely, humbly want to find a way out of this mess that we, each one of us, have created out of indifference, carelessness, and lack of moral courage.

The Choice Is Ours

      Most of us are not aware of our motivations for living or our priorities for action. We drift with the tides of societal fashions, floating in and out of social concerns at the whim of societal dictates and on the basis of images created by the media or superficial, personal desires to be helpful, useful persons. We are used to living at the surface, afraid of the depths, and therefore our actions and concerns about humanity are shallow, fragile vessels easily damaged. Ultimately most of us are concerned chiefly with our small lives, our collection of sensual pleasures, our personal salvation, and our anxiety about sickness and death, rather than the misery created by collective indifference and callousness.

      We have reached the point, however, where we no longer have the luxury to indulge in self-centered comfort and personal acquisition or to escape into religious pursuits at the cost of collective interests. For us there can be no escape, no withdrawal, no private arena in which we can turn our backs on the sorrows of humanity, saying, “I am not responsible. Others have created a mess; let them mend it.” The writing on the world’s wall is plain: “Learn to live together or in separateness you die!” The choice is ours.

      The world today forces us to accept, at least intellectually, our oneness, our interrelatedness. And more and more people are awakening to the urgency of arresting the accelerating madness around us. As yet, however, our ways of responding are superficial, unequal to the complexities of the challenge. We do not take or even consider actions that threaten our security or alter our habitual ways of drifting through life. If we continue to live carelessly, indifferently, emphasizing private gain and personal indulgence, we are essentially opting for the suicide of humanity.

      We can become involved in many acts of social service, according to our resources, without ever moving one inch from the center of our private interests; in fact, the very act of social service typically enhances self-image and self-centeredness. But we cannot become involved in true social action, which strikes at the roots of problems in the society and in the human psyche, without moving away from ego-centered motivation. We must look deep into the network of personal motivations and discover what our priorities are. Our yearning for peace must be so urgent that we are willing to free ourselves from the immaturity of ego-centered action, willing to grow into the sane maturity required to face the complex challenges that affect our existence. If we are motivated by desire for acceptance either by the dominant culture or the counterculture, clarity of right action and passion of precise purpose will not be there. We may be praised for our contributions, but unless there is a deep awareness of the essence of our lives, a penetrating clarity about the meaning of human existence, our contributions will not penetrate to the roots of human misery.

      To be ready for social responsibility, we will have to be mercilessly honest with ourselves. Wherever we are, we are responsible to resist injustice, to be willing to put our comforts, securities, our lives at stake in fearless non-cooperation with injustice and exploitation. If we adopt all the habit patterns of the enslaved—the fear, the acceptance of tyranny, the intellectual and emotional blindness to injustice—we deserve the inevitable consequences that are descending upon us in a dark storm cloud. If we are submissive, clinging to our small islands of security, naturally terror will reign. If we are willing to allow all others to perish—the peoples of other countries, races, castes, cultures, religions; the other creatures of the earth—so that we may flourish and endlessly increase our network of pleasures and comforts, obviously we are doomed to rot and decay. The callousness of letting others be abused so that our petty little lives will be undisturbed, so that all the comforts of a lovely home, pleasant meals, and good entertainment will not be threatened, portends doom for us all.

      When we come face-to-face with the actualities of human and planetary suffering, what does the powerful moment of truth do to us? Do we retreat into the comforts of theories and defense mechanisms, or are we awakened at the core of our being? Awareness of misery, without defense structures, will naturally lead to action. The heart cannot witness misery without calling the being to action, without activating the force of love. We may not act on a global or national scale; it may be only on a community or neighborhood scale—but act, respond, we must. Social responsibility flowers naturally when we perceive the world without the involvement of the ego-consciousness. When we relate directly to suffering, we are led to understanding and spontaneous action—but when we perceive the world through the ego, we are cut off from direct relationship, from communion that stirs the deepest level of our being.

excerpted from Vimala Thakar’s
Spirituality and Social Action: A Holistic Approach
(Berkeley: Vimala Programs California, 1984).

The Strength That Comes From Being Who You Are

2008-11-12T11:19:00.002-05:00

The Strength That Comes From Being Who You Are

     Ours is a world filled with many people trying to be something that they are not. Struggling to fit, to please others, to be something others want them to be, but which they are not, to be something that seems to be rewarded and appreciated, but which is far from the center of who they are.

     This is not all foolishness, of course, many times it is the desperate impulse to survive that leads people to stray from their center, to live on the edge of their true nature, on the periphery of their soul.

     If you have ever seen a contest in judo or wrestling, you see how deadly it is to let yourself be caught off balance, with your feet too close together, or your weight extended too far from your center. In a sudden moment, you may be thrown down to the ground.

     In the same way, the person who lets himself assume a stance that does not come from his own heart and soul, is made weak by not being who he is. I see a whole world of people off balance, a whole world of people who are not solidly positioned on the earth of their true nature, a whole world of people who lack the strength that comes from being themselves.

     This article is especially for you, my friends and soul family members, who have been drawn down paths you cannot bear, in order to try to live.

     Taken away from the center of who you are, which is where your strength comes from, you are punished in alien places, forced to fight battles far from your soul’s stronghold; and the idea that you are weak grows and grows within you, as you suffer defeat after defeat.

This article is meant to resurrect your belief in yourself.
You are like eagles, made to swim with fish.
You are the least talented of the fish, the weakest of the swimmers.

     Realize, my dear friends, before you let the shadow of failure, and the misery of feeling out of place, erode your last trace of pride and competence, that it is not you, it is the water! You are out of your element. You belong in the sky, gliding with open wings above the earth. Of course you will always lose, and you will always be last, when you try to be a fish.

     In the same way, a giant may be made to feel incompetent when he is unable to fit through a tiny door, the door through which all the others pass.

     My friends, I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to remain close to the center of your soul in life, even though - and I know this well - the whole world’s force is trying to pull you away from it, to take you away from your power, so that it can use you and control you.

REFERENCE: On Aggression, by Konrad Lorenz

Blessings Of Love & Peace To You & Yours

♥ Ria ♥

THE RADICAL HYPOTHESIS

2008-10-24T15:49:00.001-04:00

THE RADICAL HYPOTHESIS

"Y O U D O N 'T K N O W W H O Y O U A R E."

Do you know who you are?

Most folks, when they're asked the question "Do you know who you are?"answer something like this:
"Screw you! Of course I know who I am!"

Yet when the question is "Okay, then . . . who are you?"then answers can often start to wear a little thin.- because maybe, just maybe, most folks are wrong.

But maybe not. So to try to get down to the bottom of things,we, your fearless, dedicated, and ever-so cuddly LiveReal Agents decided to offer a few thought experiments for us all to have fun with . . .

Think of a phrase we often use: "self-control."
In this sense . . . are you the self that is controlling, or the self that is being controlled?

Think of a phrase we often use: "self-discipline."
Are you the self that is "disciplined," or are you the self that is giving (or should be giving) the discipline?

Think of another phrase we often use: "self-esteem"
Are you the self that is esteeming, or are you the self that is being esteemed?

Why is it such a cliche - that is muttered by almost everyone at some point, even the poets of big-hair 80's rock bands: "Don't know what you've got . . . till it's gone"?
Or another cliche - "You need to appreciate what you've got, while you've got it" (as if, normaly, you don't?)
Or another cliche - "Be here now!" (as if you normally aren't?)

It seems that compared to every single other person on the planet, we should know the sound of our own voice better than literally anyone. After all, every single time we mutter a word, we're there to hear it.
Yet why is it typical that the first time - or even any time - we hear ourselves recorded, we say "That doesn't sound like me!"?

Why is it that, according to a recent study of 11,000 people, "only one out of every four low-carb dieters "are actually significantly cutting carbs"?

Why is it that things like parachute pants, neon shoelaces, afros, movies made before the 1960's, Wham videos - essentially, things that now seem utterly ridiculous to us - only seem ridiculous to us now, decades later . . . when back then, they actually seemed cool?

Do you take personality tests? Do you take quizzes in Cosmo, Self, or msn.com? Why? - especially if you already know "who you are"?

One might think that parents ought to know their own children better than anyone else in the world. Yet if this is the case, why is it that a recent study suggests that "Parents don't see obesity in their children," and "A third of mothers and 57 percent of dads actually saw their obese child as normal"?

Why is it that often we can solve everyone else's problems . . . but not our own?

Why is it that we're often so terrified of "intimacy"? Could it be that during moments of intimacy, when we're vulnerable, another person sees us in a way that we don't see ourselves . . . and so it threatens our idea of who we are?

Think of the people who are in the "other" political party, the one you're not in, the party/parties you're against. They seem to think they know who they are (nice, patriotic, good, honest folks) - but you see them for who they really are - lying, cheating, no-good dirty rats. So then, in your view, it's safe to say that you think they don't know who they really are. (And, most likely, they see you the same way).

Folks often do things they regret later, or even say "I don't know why I did that" or "I don't know what came over me." Why?

Have you seen "The Sixth Sense"? Most of the main characters in the movie didn't "know who they were" . . . dead people who didn't know they were dead . . .

Why is it that girls can often see - clearly, plainly, and obviously - what a total jerk their friends' boyfriend is . . . yet are utterly and completely blind about the jerk they're dating?

If we all know who we are, why are personality tests - MMPI, Myers-Briggs, Enneagram, etc, etc so popular?

In many marriages - even happy ones - many folks eventually confess that "I had know idea who I was really marrying." Is is possible not just that they didn't know who their spouse was . . . but that the spouse themselves didn't know who they were themselves?

Why do so many of us - actors, everyone at Halloween, and especially young children - love pretending to be somebody else?

"Addicts" - alcoholics, drug users, couch potatoes - are notorious for being in "denial," a state where everyone around them know that they're an addict . . . except for them. In other words, everyone around them apparently knows them better than they know themselves. So, do any people around you think that you're in denial, about anything? Is there a chance that they know who you are better than you know yourself?

Why is it that psychics can know secrets about other people . . . but can't do it for themselves?

Consider moments when somebody calls you a name - Say somebody calls you "Stinkyface." It hurts your feelings. If you know who you are - if you know that you are truly not a "Stinkyface" - why does it hurt your feelings? (Maybe . . . aside from the hurt of somebody thinking bad of you, you also have your feelings hurt because of the possibility that you really suspect that you might really be a Stinkyface).

Think of your spouse/girlfriend/boyfriend/best friends, and their most annoying, irritating habits that drive you crazy. Chances are that they do something you consider "irrational" which they won't stop doing it. Is there a chance that, at least in this way, you would claim to know them better than they know themselves? . . . and would they say the same thing about you?

Do you read astrology? Is it just because you want to, say, predict the future, or find out if you're destined for either love or years of loneliness . . . or could it be because you don't know who you are, and want to find out?

If you work in an office, think of all your office-mates/coworkers. Now think of all the gossip, stories, annoying habits, secrets, and talk you've heard about them. Most likely, what folks talk about in the office regard actions/annoying habits/personality traits that the other folks (the ones being gossiped about) don't know they have - they're totally blind to it. So then, in your view, it's safe to say that you think they - most of your office-mates - don't really know who they are.

A key ingredient of good movies entails us identifying with one of the characters in the movie. Most of us really enjoy going to good movies. Why do we enjoy pretending - even if we know it's a complete fantasy - that we're somebody else?

Why has the Army had so much success with the slogan "Be all that you can be?" Is there some sense that people have that somehow, they aren't "all that they can be?" And why is it that more specific phrases - "Do more than you can do" or "Do different things than you're doing now" or "Earn money for college" - isn't nearly as inspiring?

Why is it that people who we think are really crazy actually think they're sane, and it's everyone else who is crazy?

Why is "human potential" such an interesting, powerful phrase? Evidently, many folks sense that we are able to do or become much more, somehow, than we currently are?

Many folks buy very expensive, super-fancy clothes, cars, houses, watches, socks, etc? Why? Many folks say that they're trying to "prove" something - that they're important, superior, rich, are high-status, that they matter, that they're somebody, etc? If they actually are important, superior, high-status, if they truly do matter, etc etc . . . why do they need to "prove" it?

Socrates is still respected today, over 2,500 years after he died, as a wise man. What did he do? He went around questioning folks who thought they were wise, and exposing that they actually weren't as wise as they thought - in other words, that they thought that they were something they actually weren't. (they killed him for this). Would it be safe to say, then, that the folks Socrates questioned, then, didn't know who they were?

The Oracle of Delphi, who was no slouch as far as intelligence goes - in fact, was widely believed to be the spokesperson for gods - said "Know Thyself" - and in fact, believed it so strongly that it was carved in marble in the Temple. If we actually already know ourselves . . . then why did the Oracle feel the need to do that?

Why is it that the proper chance, an eye - like what you're staring out of right now - can, given the proper instruments, see everything in the universe . . . except for itself?(It can see a reflection of itself, say, in a mirror - but that's not really itself, it's a reflection).

Given the proper chance, an ear can hear everything in the universe . . . except for itself. (Again, it can possibly hear a recording of itself, but that's not it, but a recording.).

Many folks think they know who they are, and define themselves by their job, their status, their school grades, etc. Then, when they lose their jobs, lose their status, make bad grades . . . they get depressed or even commit suicide . . . why? Could it be that they realized, when they lost those things, that they weren't who they thought they were?

Let's pretend that you fall asleep. In your sleep, you dream of a beautiful, incredible symphony playing breathtakingly gorgeous music. You wake up, and the music is still ringing in your ears. You then write the music down, and make millions as a famous composer. Are you really the composer of the music, or are you, in a way, part of the audience?

Why have certain folks - who are not unintelligent individuals, to put it mildly - made the following statements:

"A human being
. . . experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings
as something separated from the rest,
a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness..."
- Albert Einstein

"I dreamt I was a butterfly
Now I am not sure
if I am a man dreaming I was a butterfly
or a butterfly
dreaming I am a man."
- Chuang Tzu

"One must become
who one is!"
- Nietzsche

"Resolve to be thyself;
and know that he who finds himself
loses his misery."
- Matthew Arnold

"There is no human being on earth
capable of declaring with certitude who he is.
No one knows what he has come into this world to do,
what his acts correspond to, his sentiments, his ideas,
or what his real name is, his enduring Name in the register of Light . . .
History is an immense liturgical text where the iotas and the dots
are worth no less than the entire verses or chapters,
but the importance of one and the other
is indeterminable and profoundly
hidden."
- Jorge Luis Borges

"It is as hard to see one's self
as to look backwards
without turning around."
- Henry David Thoreau

"Why do you need to meditate?
To know yourself.
Why do you need to "know yourself"?
Because what you are at present -
what you think you are -
is not yourself.
That's why you, and most people -
are never really content for long:
you know, unconsciously,
that you are not yourself.
Consequently, you feel insecure, uncertain, and even afraid.
Inside you is a wonderful, helpful, loving, and uniquely creative being.
You know it . . . at least sometimes.
But that loving, creative "you"
is very difficult to externalize and bring into the world . . ."
- Barry Long

So if there is a chance that, in a way,
"we don't really know who we are" . . .

What now?

Well, it seems like not knowing who you are . . . is a problem.

And the solution to that problem is . . .
well, finding out who you are.

And how do you find out "who you really are"?

Well, of course, that's what folks call "the spiritual quest."

And what does the "spiritual quest" entail?

Well, you probably already know the answer to that, and don't need to know what we think about it. But if you are interested in something else that's kind of fun, one cool something we've found is some experiments to try . . .

Talk about it:
info@LiveReal.com

I don’t play hurt!

2008-09-06T15:23:00.005-04:00

I don’t play hurt!
Excerpt From:
"Why Your Life Sucks and What You Can Do About It"

Now there’s an affirmation to file in a conspicuous place.

I don’t play hurt.

My God, that’s exactly what I’ve been learning for 30 years!
(And how many lifetimes?)

Don’t play small.
Don’t assume a victim position.
Don’t seek rewards for pain.
Be magnificent.
Be self-empowered.
Be whole.

Play grand, for that’s who you --
all of us -- truly are.

Why, if we are all so grand, would people want to play small? Because they believe that the rewards for pain outweigh what they would be receiving if they were well and whole.

Let’s consider some of the rewards we might garnish for being hurt: money; gifts; attention; sympathy; control over others; getting out of work; escaping relationships with unresolved issues; avoiding undesired sex; postponing decision making; being right; an identity; acceptance in a group which glorifies similar pain; and on and on.

Now let’s consider the benefits of not playing hurt: integrity; honesty; health; prosperity; success; rewarding relationships; self-empowerment; and peace of mind. The entire list of worldly rewards for playing small doesn’t add up in value to even one of the benefits of practicing wholeness.

The rewards for victimhood are not satisfying at all; they only drive pain, separateness, and illusion deeper. The benefits of living large are empowering and go on gathering good.

Consider the scenario of a man walking down a street when a flowerpot falls off a windowsill above him and crashes at his feet, narrowly missing hitting him.

There are several paths of response the fellow could take:

(1) Victim: he slips into feeling vulnerable, goes home, feels sorry for himself, and sends away for self-protection equipment;

(2) Retaliator: he dashes up to the apartment from which the flower pot fell and punches out the owner;

(3) Stoic: he reasons that it was simply his karma for the flower pot to miss him and he keeps walking; and

(4) Healer: he goes to the florist on the corner, purchases another flower, finds the apartment from which the pot fell, and gives it to the owner to replace the one he accidentally lost.

Obviously, the path of the healer is the most empowering and regenerative. The healer "don’t play hurt." We have all felt hurt. We don’t have to stay hurt. It takes a big person to grow beyond the seeming rewards for smallness. Terry knows. He was bumped unexpectedly, but he would rather get on with the fun portion of the ride.

Alan Cohen is the author of the best-seller:
Why Your Life Sucks and What You Can Do About It,

The Individual Path

2008-08-25T13:49:00.003-04:00

The Individual Path
By Steve Schlarb

Establishing Yourself as an Individual

While the ultimate result of any truly spiritual path is the negation of the individual ego-self, one cannot begin on one's own personal path of spiritual realization unless one establishes his/her individuality. That means freeing oneself from the demands of organized religions, creeds, socially accepted beliefs, the dictates of any prophet. All of these characteristics of religious participation establish only the group-identity, the body of like-minded believers. People can spend an entire lifetime following the teachings and beliefs of others, without ever finding the path that is right for them personally.

This is not to say that one should not participate in any organized religion. There is the benefit of sharing common beliefs, participating in worthwhile community activities, etc. But one should leave open for themselves their own private spiritual search for a deeper and more fulfilling connection to the Source of all religions -- which many call God. The outward expressions of group worship, ritual and prayer do not accelerate the personal relationship with the divine. Neither does one find that personal relationship with the divine when dealing through a priest or referring constantly to some approved text by a religion's prophet. Repeating an approved creed once a week does not bring one into the divine presence.

The focus of most group religions is on the external characterization of the divine. God is supposedly "out there," but to find your soul's connection to the divine, one must look within oneself. That means leaving (at least in one's private mind) the security of the "saved" group and its accepted creeds and rituals.

The truth is within ourselves. All the sages of the ancient past have found it so. Within ourselves are all the problems and promises that we must confront and meld into a whole Self that we can then project to the outward world. And within ourselves, in our unconscious mind, is the Spirit of God -- our spiritual essence that is constantly communicating with us -- if only we unlock the rigid pattern of thinking imposed by our conscious mind. The conscious mind deals in a mechanical way with the outward world, but the truth lies within. The group, the congregation, the society, cannot tell you which way to go. The group is interested more in security and conformity than it is in truth.

Into the Valley of the Shadow of Death

Only the individual can go on the personal search that is right for him or her. It means taking that mythological hero's trek away from the religious safety of the group, and wandering alone in uncharted spiritual territory. It means confronting alone the anxieties, potholes, feeling lost, and sometimes despair of the greatest quest of your life. This quest is for the "Holy Grail" of your soul -- confrontation and ultimate union with the divine Source of your soul.

When alone, the individual mental focus naturally turns inward. There is the usual learning phase in studying religions other than that in which one was raised, but true learning is not mere knowledge; it is absorption of the meaning of what one learns into one's self. In the internal search, one must confront the angels and demons of one's unconscious mind. We must accept the terrors of an unknown mental landscape, with only symbolic and quixotic guides to higher spiritual ground.

This search can be visualized as a traveler leaving the security of a mountain castle filled with the familiar forms of family, friends, and accepted society. The traveler wanders alone and uncertain, down the mountainside toward a dark unpopulated valley. The path is long, filled with the ethereal shapes of the unconscious mind: images, sometimes strange beings, sometimes human or part human, sometimes animal. There is the terror of separation from the familiar and safe, the sense of absolute aloneness with no idea of where the path will lead through this seemingly insane wilderness.

This is the Valley of the Shadow of Death in the well-known 23rd Psalm. Yet here, the spiritual searcher finds the clues and deeper understandings of his total mind. The conscious mind (in the cerebral cortex) can only deal with the already known, recognizable images, and build logical systems of thought from familiar patterns, but the unconscious mind of the seeker floods the conscious mind with strange images and shadows that challenge the logical systems built in one's earlier, immature stage. These images and feelings can appear beautiful, strange, threatening and disconcerting. They may be dreams of horror, death or resurrection while sleeping or anxiety over everyday situations while awake, and continue until the individual receives the personal revelation from the unconscious that is the vision meant for him. Then the totality of the unconscious is accepted and melded with the conscious, and stability returns.

The experience can be one of terror and despair, but that is only the necessary temporary phase, the death of the old self, the familiar, comfortable ego. Then the inner truth for that person is revealed. The new Self that emerges is no longer ego-bound, and no longer alone. As it says in the 23rd Psalm: Yea, though I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me.

The Discovery of One's Self

In the darkness of true spiritual aloneness, the ego dies. The soul, however, can never die. And it is the person's soul that comes through the dreaded Valley and begins the climb out on the side far removed from where one began this quest. This is the discovery of who the person really is, one's inner spirit or soul without superficial attachments to worldly identities -- the true Self. What happens in that Valley is specific and personal to each seeker. The dreams and visions that come to the mind -- once it is stripped of its complacency and familiar moorings -- are new and challenging. But they also beckon the searching soul toward its destination: that vision that is spiritually right for it. At one level, this is one's personal mythology, but with a solid core of truth. When one finds their own personal vision, there is no doubt, no vestige of longing, no anxiety. Within the embrace of this personal vision, the soul finds acceptance and love from the Source of itself.

This journey is one of choice, for while the unconscious stimuli come to all people, beckoning them toward their spiritual fulfillment, not all choose to take that lonely path. Most people choose to stay in the secure castle on their mountain high above the valley. They are safe within their group. They can always touch on some text, ritual, or prayer that gives them temporary solace, and they will always explain away those stimuli and ideas that threaten their castle of security.

But for the person who chooses to follow the calling of his own soul, the journey leads to a purity of vision and ultimately an immersion in the Divine. One's true Self no longer needs the human group or organization to tell it what it is or what it believes, for at this point, the Self no longer exists separate from its Source. It has come home.

♥Shared with love♥
Morning Star

Follow the light of the Spirit-9 Steps

2008-08-22T12:46:00.000-04:00

_______________________________________

NINE STEPS TO THE BEAUTIFUL LIFE
_______________________________________

- 1 - To live always in the Secret Place of the Most High

- 2 - To think only those thoughts that are inspired from above

- 3 - To do all things in the conviction that God is with you

- 4 - To do your best at all times with no thought of reward

- 5 - To love everybody as God loves you, and be kind as God is kind

- 6 - To ask God for everything and in faith expect everything

- 7 - To live in perpetual gratitude to The One who gives everything,

- 8 - To love God so much that you can inwardly always feel the Presence

- 9 - To pray without ceasing, the true worship of the soul

Follow the light of the spirit

"Follow the light of the spirit in all things and depend upon God in all things, choose the living Christ as the pattern in all things and depend upon God in all things Do not seek the truth; seek the spirit of truth The spirit leads into all truth-

To know the truth is to know the way.
To be guided by the spirit into all truth is to walk in the light of the spirit all the way and the way of light leads into the kingdom of eternal life-

Follow the words of the Christ until the spirit is found; then follow the spirit into the greater life of the Christ. Keep the eye single upon that light that is revealed through the spiritual vision of the soul... Where that light is shining there is the gate; beyond is the way that leads unto life, and all who are in the spirit shall find it even now" --

Christian D Larson,
THE PATHWAY OF ROSES

Leading With Power and Love

2008-08-12T15:14:00.001-04:00

Often people are motivated to a place of leadership due to a desire for power. It may be a selfish motivation or simply a desire to be an agent of change, but power can become a dangerous tool in the hand of any leader. For this reason, leadership often has a negative connotation in the minds of many.

One of the greatest powers know to man is the power of love. Whether is it the love for a woman that can force a man to fight armies or walk through fire or the love that would motivate people to give their lives in service to the poor and sick, both display the reality of the power of love.

Since both leadership and love involve the concept of power, why is it that we so rarely associate these two ideas? This mixture is exactly what characterizes the leadership of God. His ultimate power is never threatening because is it characterized by love. If this is God’s model of leadership, then it should certainly be ours as well. What does the love of God look like in a practical sense?

We are all familiar with the love chapter, I Corinthians 13. Though this list of what love is and is not gives us direction on how we should live, I have recently realized that this list is a description of God, for God is love. My realization of this has altered my concept of who God is and how he acts toward those under his authority. As one who is seeking to live and lead in a way that is consistent with the character of God, this chapter becomes a guide to the character of powerful leadership. I will replace the word "love" with "leadership" in order to challenge our concept of power in leadership. My goal is not to alter the meaning or value of inspired Scripture, but to push us into a new understanding of the calling God has given us as leaders who model the love of God.

"A Leader is patient"

When I have to have things my way in my time, without interruptions or complications, my life is not characterized by patience. Patience is a great test of maturity, since it is childish to demand to have what I want immediately. It is those who learn to wait who find their strength renewed.

"A Leader is kind"

We live in an angry world where selfish people think only of what benefits themselves. It is like a breath of fresh air when someone you don’t know greets you with a smile and "good morning" or stops to help you pick up the papers you just dropped. Kindness is love in action. It is not only an attitude but also the tangible expression of that attitude that reaches out to help or communicate value to one who questions his value.

"A Leader is not jealous"

If you are building your own kingdom, jealousy will steal your joy and destroy your health as you see others succeed. But when I see myself as one stone in the building that God is building (I Peter 2:5), then I can rejoice in the success of others, knowing that it ultimately is my success.

"A Leader does not brag and is not arrogant"

If everyone under your leadership knew what God knows about you, what would you have to brag about? We are all hopeless beggars that have found the grace of God to fill our void. Leadership is simply when one beggar directs other beggars to the source of grace that he has found.

"A Leader does not act unbecomingly"

There is always the temptation in leadership to fear losing the attention of those I lead. This can especially be true in youth leadership. Often, we try to keep this from happening by doing things or saying things that keep everyone’s eyes on us. It is not necessarily that we do blatantly sinful things, but just things not appropriate. It is interesting to see how many times the New Testament warns about meaningless words or actions. Too often, primarily among youth, this manifests itself in sarcasm. This is characteristically the humor of our generation, but I believe it is most destructive because it is based on truth about an individual that reflects either their failures or things that they have no power to change. (I Tim. 6:2)

"A Leader does not seek his own"

Leadership is servanthood. Jesus clearly showed us this (Matt. 20:28) A servant is not consumed with himself, but with pleasing the one he serves. Jesus took this to the ultimate degree and died for those he served. If my desire in leadership does not take me to lead me ultimately to a willingness to die for those I serve, I am seeking my own good. If we are really servants, why does it bother us so much when someone under our leadership treats us like a servant?

"A Leader is not easily provoked"

Somehow most of us have accepted the concept that anger produces results. Maybe it is because this is what was modeled for us by our authorities or because in our sinful nature it seems logical. But it is not from God. Most anger is the result of poor communication and narrow-mindedness. This is why James says (1:19) that we should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to anger. Then he goes on (v. 20) to say that the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God. Anger is a dead end. It will never accomplish anything but to damage your testimony and effectiveness.

"A Leader does not take into account a wrong suffered"

We are great at keeping lists of what people do to us. I don’t know what we think it will accomplish, but somehow we feel that if we take a name off the list of those who hurt us, they will not have to "pay for it." Unforgiveness puts us in prison; not the ones we don’t forgive (Mat. 18). God is totally capable of balancing the books. That is why he sent his Son to die. The cross balanced the books. You will never forget what has been done to you. God doesn’t expect you to, for even He cannot do that. But, He chooses not to remember those things against us (Jer. 31:34), and this is what we are to do. It is an act of your will that will set you free.

"A Leader does not rejoice in unrighteousness"

This would seem to be obvious, yet our hearts are deceitful and drawn to what is wicked. I don’t normally think of myself as one who rejoices over that which is wicked, but this might help put things in perspective. The opposite of rejoicing is grieving. Does sin grieve my heart the way it does God’s heart? When I see injustice, do I respond in anger or grief? When I see immorality on newsstands or television, do I respond in secret curiosity or grief? When I see drunkenness, do I respond with a joke or grief? Do the things that grieve God’s heart grieve my heart?

"A Leader rejoices with truth"

Integrity is doing what is right because it is right to do what is right, regardless of who knows or sees. Is truth and honesty so valuable to you that you are willing to take a lower grade on a test or pay a higher tax or receive a reprimand for being late, rather than telling a lie about traffic or a broken alarm clock? The reason we rejoice with truth is that the truth sets us free and freedom is something to rejoice about.

"A Leader bears all things"

As a leader you are ultimately responsible for what happens. The easiest thing for a human to do is to blame. It all began in Eden. As a leader you will always be able to find someone to blame, but neither you nor those you lead will be better as a result. You must take responsibility. If someone didn’t understand, you didn’t make it clear. If someone didn’t hear, you didn’t communicate in an interesting way. If someone was irresponsible, you should have chosen someone different. You ultimately must take responsibility for what is happening. You cannot imagine the security that this type of attitude will bring to a group. And those under your leadership will rush to your aid to help you succeed.

"A Leader believes all things"

Trust produces trust! Trust is empowering! Nothing is more demoralizing to me than to be given a job and then hear "I sure hope I can trust you with this." If I know that I am trusted, I will rise to the occasion to show myself trustworthy. Most would say that this is gullible and maybe there will be times when I regret it. But in most situations, it might be the thing that causes ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary things.

"A Leader hopes all things"

If there is one thing missing in our world, it is hope. Most have lost motivation to live and experience the future. When looking from a human perspective, this makes sense. But as a leader you have been called to see past the expected to the possible. When you look at the forest, you don’t see trees. You see handcrafted furniture, yachts and mountain lodges. You see the potential in the rough, unfinished product and can help others see what could be. You are a giver of hope because the future is as big and limitless as God himself.

"A Leader endures all things"

Leadership is hard work. It takes discipline and sweat. It is not for the lazy or weak. There will be times when you know what God is directing you to do and you must do it, regardless of opposition or misunderstanding. It was the path that Christ chose and it wasn’t easy. But the joy that is before you, as it was with Jesus, makes it all worth while. The joy of seeing a student set free through Christ from drugs or insecurity makes the endurance worth it. The fulfillment of watching those you have discipled as they disciple others makes the endurance worth it. The thrill of seeing your youth group gain a vision and burden for friends and fellow students who don’t personally know Christ makes the endurance worth it. The anticipation of hearing, "well done, good and faithful servant" makes the endurance worth it. Everything is for a purpose. "For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory." (II Timothy 2:10)

By Gentle Soul
http://www.imeem.com/babsintuition/

Laughter Therapy

2008-07-23T12:34:00.004-04:00

Laughter Therapy

Once, a friend told me the following story: There was a person diagnosed with an incurable disease, who was given only a little while to live. He decided that if he was going to die so soon, he might as well have as good a time as he could until the end arrived. So he made a point of gathering around him all sorts of comedy movies, and began to watch reel after reel, a movie a night, sometimes more, determined to laugh all the way to the grave and to fill his last nights with enjoyment and pleasure, rather than fear and misery. Somehow, my friend told me, the laughter broke the back of the doom, changed something inside the man, carried off the pain and hopelessness, the heaviness and stress, lifted the energy of death off of him; somehow, the laughter lightened up his soul and cleansed his body, allowed life to have a second chance inside of him...
He shook, he cried, he howled, till he was healed by his new doctors: Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, and Laurel and Hardy…

While "laughter therapy" is never recommended as a substitute for "proper medical treatment", it surely is a welcome addition to our tool kit of personal health resources. More and more, the interrelatedness of physical health and mental states is becoming documented and accepted by the modern medical establishment which once dismissed the wisdom of ancient cultures that always understood the connection between the body and the soul; between the flesh and the spirit. Within this rediscovered paradigm, laughter is now becoming increasingly recognized as a tremendous stress-reducer and as a restorer of the human life-force: as a power that can break us free of the grip of defeatism, anxiety and depression, which suppress the human immune system and breed illness; as a power that can stop the momentum of diseases that take advantage of our down-states and unrelieved gravity, and which can therefore tip the scales of health back in our favor...

In my own life, I’ve learned the value of a sense of humor, and the value of a good laugh. I’m quite sure they’ve literally saved my life. When a wounded man, when an overburdened man, dares to remain faithful to the beauty of life which persists even in the midst of sorrows and absurdity, and when he dares to express this faith with a laugh, the grim reaper stands back. The chi of humor puts balance back into the fading body; the falling soul is caught. With a sense of humor, well-exercised and well-fed, the body remains buoyant, it floats in the dark water of life’s disappointments, and does not sink. The heaviness does not congeal into illness, or persist as illness, because the sense of humor has carried it away...

Fully believing in the value of laughter therapy, I implore you all to counter that part of your sorrow which is unbearable (beyond that part that is necessary as the bringer of depth and wisdom), with humor; to seek out movies, books, comedy shows, and people who can help you to enjoy life, and to have a good time again...

excerpts from:rainsnow. org

_______________________________

________________________

Embracing the Shadow

2008-07-15T13:07:00.002-04:00

______________________________

Embracing the Shadow
by Altazar Rossiter, Ph D
______________________________

Light and dark are frequently used to represent the basic polarity of good and evil. The shadow is the indeterminate space between light and dark where one shades into the other, the deeper the shadow the darker the nature of what lives there. The shadow is also a term that originates in Jungian psychology and which refers to a nebulous unconscious repository of what we fear and dislike in ourselves..

Wherever there is a shadow it is cast by something standing in the way of the light. The brighter the sun shines, the harder the shadows. And when the light is really bright it can be difficult, if not impossible, to see anything beyond the intensity of the glare. When we want to see clearly in bright sunshine we seek the shade to look out from, and if we can't find any we create some with a hand to the eyes. So our physical experience of the phenomena of light and dark is that we can see things more clearly by standing in the shadow..

This is an allegory that is very useful for the inner process. The more the light of the soul shines through, the clearer will be the issues that inhabit the shadow, but we have to stand in the shade in order to see these clearly. We have to stop looking the other way..

The trouble is when we look into our shadow most of us see things we not only wish weren't there, but often things we are thoroughly ashamed of. Because of the intensity of the shame our automatic impulse is to bury its cause so deep within that this can never again see the light of day. This enables us to continue living with ourselves, but the truth lurks somewhere within and we know it..

What lives in the shadow is everything that we reject about ourselves, everything we refuse to love. This is every aspect of our existence that fails to comply with the ideal social specification of our self-identity. We are terrified it will be discovered and cause our downfall. We pretend it doesn't exist, but we know it's there, full of resentment for its denial, that's why there's such a widespread fear of the dark. But deep transformation occurs when we embrace what we fear..

A spiritually intelligent perspective understands that the shadow is the facilitator of our growth. Its very existence is a sign that there is a purpose to our being here, that we have a job to do. When issues begin to surface out of the shadow it's not a sign that something is wrong, but quite the reverse. It's a sign that we are holding more of our light. The light is simply showing us where it is still blocked. We are being guided to the next step in the process of self-empowerment. Convention says we must find an answer so the problem goes away, wisdom says the problem is my friend trying to tell me something I'm reluctant to hear..

Whenever the possibility arises that something we've consigned to the shadow in this way might be revealed to us - or worse, to others - we are likely to experience the emotional responses of fear and anger. Owing to the supreme efficiency of our denial processes, we are normally in a condition of blissful ignorance of what's been hidden in the shadow. Our emotional responses can therefore be intensely reactive. This is the surest sign that we've uncovered an aspect of ourselves that requires understanding and compassion - something that really is me but which is incongruent with the self-image I hold..

The key to transforming all of the issues lurking in the shadow is the principle of presence. By staying present with anything that arises, remaining aware of our breathing and letting any feelings express, we eventually feel the sadness locked into the part of ourselves we consigned to the shadow. We feel its mistrust, its fear and its abject loneliness. Simply allowing this to be is a process of acceptance, recognizing that it is all ok brings us a step closer to a realization of self-mastery. This is not necessarily easy, it takes courage and persistence..

From this perspective the shadow can be seen as the friend it truly is. It is only waiting for us to love it. The issues it will then show us are the keys to self-empowerment. This is its gift..

To be truly conscious we must embrace the potential of the shadow individually and collectively. For as long as we continue to deny it, it will keep manifesting destructively in an increasingly less convenient manner. The shadow provides us with the raw material and the opportunity to transmute fear into love. One of the greatest services we can offer is to engage with this process. Just opening up to the possibility that this is a valid assessment of the dynamic of the shadow is a huge shift out of the consensus rut. Giving intent to clear our shadow is the next step... Continuing this journey is to follow our own light, which will ultimately shine unimpeded!

______________________________

shapersofeducation. org
______________________________
LOVE & THANKS TO:

Lightworkersfor posting..

LoVe LoVe LoVe

______________________________

+++ G O S S I P +++

2008-07-11T15:40:00.002-04:00

Gossip, Nobody's Friend

My name is gossip. I have no respect for justice.

I maim without killing. I break hearts and ruin lives.

I am cunning and malicious and gather strength with age.

The more I am quoted, the more I am believed.

I flourish at every level of society.

My victims are helpless.

They cannot protect themselves against me...

because I have no name and no face.

To track me down is impossible.

The harder you try, the more elusive I become.

I am nobody's friend.

Once I tarnish a reputation, it is never the same.

I topple governments and wreck marriages.

I ruin careers and cause sleepless nights,

heartache, and indigestion.

I spawn suspicion and generate grief.

I make innocent people cry on their pillows.

Even my name hisses. I am called gossip, party gossip,

Telephone/Internet gossip, and don't forget church gossip.

I make headlines and headaches.

Before you repeat a story,
ask yourself, is it true?

Is it fair?

Is it necessary?

If not, keep it to yourself!.

Let’s say you’ve just heard a juicy rumor about someone . It may not be true, but it’s too good to keep to yourself. Your first instinct is to hop online and IM it to all your friends. We’ve all had that kind of urge. But why? Here are some possible reasons:

To feel superior

When people are feeling bad about themselves, they sometimes think they’ll feel better if there were someone worse off than they are. It’s like, it’s okay being near the bottom, as long as they’re not actually on the bottom. The easiest way for them to make sure someone else is on the bottom is to make up a rumor that puts him or her there.

To feel like part of the group

If everybody else is gossiping or spreading rumors, you might feel you have to do the same thing in order to fit in. When you’re “in on the secret,” you’re in the group. Unfortunately, the person who the gossip or rumor is about is usually left out of the group for the same reason that you’re let into it.

For attention

When you know a secret that nobody knows, or are the first person in your group to hear a rumor, it can make you the center of attention. A rumor or piece of gossip is sometimes like money; telling it to people is like buying their attention, if only for a few minutes. You might even save up a really scandalous rumor, waiting for the right moment to blab so you get the maximum amount of attention
for it.

For control or power

Certain people always want to be in control and at the top of the ladder. You probably know at least one person who needs to be the leader, say what goes, and make all the decisions. When people are at the top of the popularity scale, or are determined to climb higher, one way they do this is by reducing the “status” of another person. Spreading rumors and gossip is one of the main ways people reduce another person’s status, especially among girls. It’s like one caveman beating up another caveman for control of the tribe…only it’s done with cruel whispers and petty remarks instead of fists.

Out of jealousy or a need for revenge

If you’re jealous of someone’s looks, popularity, or money, you might gossip about that person in order to hurt him or her. If you feel that someone’s done something bad to you, or deserves to be hurt, making up a rumor might satisfy your sense of justice.

Out of boredom

Did you know that in many studies, this was the #1 reason why young people say they spread rumors? Sometimes, a period where everyone is happy and getting along just seems kind of…dull. Spreading juicy dish might shake things up a bit, or get two people to start a fight, and that would make life a little more exciting. All those tabloid newspapers and TV shows full of celebrity gossip are pure proof that rumors are a popular form of entertainment.

Avoiding gossip means taking a close look at how you currently become involved in gossip. Ask yourself questions like:

Do I initiate discussions about work colleagues, job performance, personal lives?
Do I initiate discussions based on second hand information?
Do I consider the comments I make about others to be of real value to the workplace culture and environment?
Do I repeat personal conversations?
Am I involved in 'fuelling' hostility between others?
Can I be trusted to 'keep' a confidential conversation?
Do I sometimes give confidential information to another because I feel as their 'friend' they should know?

What's your score?

Exploring Your Psychic Type

2008-07-10T17:50:00.004-04:00

Exploring Your Psychic Type
by Sherrie Dillard M. Div.

The ancient Chinese text, “The Tao Te Ching” is the most translated classic of all time next to the Bible. It was written somewhere around 300 BC and attributed to Lao Tzu, the great Chinese philosopher. It is the source of the legendary saying “Without going out of doors one may know the whole world; without looking out of the window, one may see the Way of Heaven. The further one travels, the less one may know. Thus it is that without moving you shall know; without looking you shall see; without doing you shall achieve.”

Perhaps this is a reference to our innate intuitive ability, our inner resource of knowing, seeing, and being. Our intuition, when developed, blossoms into extrasensory or psychic perception, revealing to us a rich vast inner reservoir of possibilities and potential. We may indeed access all of the world through turning within.

We all have innate intuitive ability. It is so much a part of us that we tend to not notice the subtle ways that we receive information about ourselves and the world around us. Our intuitive sensing is interwoven within our daily reactions and interactions, so much so that it is not always immediately obvious that our intuitive sensors are guiding us in our many daily decisions and concerns. Becoming psychic is in a way simply becoming aware of our intuitive tendencies and focusing our energy and attention to further developing them.

We interpret and interact with the world in a variety of ways. Some people are highly visual. They connect with their environment primarily through their sense of sight. They notice detail, color and prefer to learn through observation. Other people are acute listeners. They respond to noises, sounds as they are primarily auditory. Some people are more kinesthetic. They learn and understand the world more through physical sensation and touch. Our approach to intuitive and psychic development is also specific and varied.

The four major modalities that we utilize to connect with psychic energy are our emotions, our mental perception, our physical bodies and our spiritual awareness. With each of these modalities comes specific ways of connecting to psychic energy.

Emotional intutives are highly empathetic, and emotionally telepathic and clairvoyant. Pauline sometimes wakes up in the middle of the night with waves of feelings washing over her. She recalls conversations and interactions with people who she has talked to during the day. Emotions and feelings such as sadness, anxiety or even happiness fill her. She has come to recognize that what she feels as she lies there in the dark are not only her own emotions, but also the feelings of those who she has connected with during the day. Even brief encounters seem to affect her.

Mental intuitives receive psychic energy through mental telepathy, clairvoyance and spontaneous knowing. They naturally attune themselves to others thoughts and ideas and they can be prophets who intuit the future of cultural, medical, and scientific innovations and developments.

Derrick is a successful business owner. He has a special knack for predicting the popular trends in his design business and he always seems to be in the right place at the right time for business opportunities. Before the busyness of the day Derrick prepares himself by sitting quietly and clearing his head, he is then able to tune into and act on his inner knowing throughout the day

Physical intutives pick up psychic energy primarily through their bodies and do extremely well with psychometry, which is the ability to receive impressions and information through objects. Kara works as a massage therapist. As she works with her clients, smoothing out the tightness and tension in their muscles, she trusts her hands to guide her. Over the many years of massaging people she has found that her hands somehow know where the body may be holding pain, sadness or anxiety. When she gently touches these areas she often sees flashes and images of her client in challenging situations. Kara then imagines love and healing moving through her hands to them.

Spiritual intuitives often receive energy in a more ethereal way. The may have visions, precognitive dreams and they may be able to sense spirits or people who have passed to the other side. Jared always felt a special kinship with his grandfather. When he was young he would spend his summers with him on his farm. When his grandfather died a few years ago he left Jared the farm and over eighty acres of land. Jared knew that it was impractical for him to leave his job in the city and move the rural location. But he couldn’t bring himself to sell the beloved property. He asked his grandfather in spirit for a sign to let him know what his wishes for the future of the farm. The next day a neighboring farmer called Jared and asked him if he was interested in selling the property to him to increase his pasture land. To Jared this was the sign that he was waiting for.

Our psychic type interprets the world around us and it can also be our guide into the inner mystical realms, as it reveals to us our unique spiritual capabilities and purpose. When intuition is focused within, higher states of spiritual awareness and a conscious connection of oneness with all of life permeates our consciousness.

For the emotional intuitive this is the journey through the path of the heart as they are naturally attuned to divine states of love and service to others. Mental intutives are evolving from ego to enlightenment. They are inclined to be truth-seekers on a path of transformation of consciousness. Their task is to open their mind to divine illumination, instead of just recycling their own thoughts and biases. Their minds can be attuned to the super-conscious, absorbing truth and possibility. For the physical intuitive the journey is that of the divine made physical. They witness the divine in all living things and they have the natural gift of channeling healing to others through their touch. The spiritual intuitive is attuned to the higher realms of essence and pure spirit. They bring to this world the gift of transcendence and the ability to be in this world but not of it.

_____________________

Sherrie Dillard M.Div. is a psychic-medium clairvoyant, author and teacher with an international client list. She has been a professional psychic and medium for over twenty years. She has been featured on television and radio for her work as a psychic detective and medium. She is the author of Discover Your Psychic Type (Llewellyn Worldwide). Sherrie is available to teach and discus this innovative approach to developing psychic-spiritual awareness through type.
www.sherriedillard.com.

The Heart's Code

2008-06-30T17:19:00.005-04:00

______________________

The Heart's Code
by:Dr. Pearsall-
______________________

The New Findings About Cellular Memories
and Their Role in the Mind/Body/Spirit Connection ..
You know that the heart loves and feels, but did you know that the heart also thinks, remembers, communicates with other hearts, helps regulate immunity, and contains stored information that continually pulses through the body? In the Heart's Code, Dr. Paul Pearsall explains the theory and science behind energy cardiology, the newly emerging field that is uncovering one of the most significant medical, social, and spiritual discoveries of our time. The heart is not just a pump; it conducts the cellular symphony that is the very essence of our being. Pearsall shows that by listening to the subtle energy and wisdom each of us has within our hearts, we can learn valuable lessons for loving, working, playing, praying, and healing.
By unlocking the heart's code we can discover new ways of understanding human healing and consciousness, even as we create a new model for living that leads to better health, happiness, and self-knowledge-

"The Heart knows, the Thought denies, is there no other way?"
Stephen Sondheim

Dr. Gary Schwartz was a professor of psychology and psychiatry at Yale University in the early 1980's and unexpectedly discovered "systemic memory mechanism", an explanation of how atoms, cells and organs such as the heart naturally stores encoded information. He kept this quiet for 12 years until 1993 when he shared his theory with Dr.Linda Russek-

Dr. Paul Pearsall understands phychoneuroimmunology, modern physics, phychophysiology and cardiology along with the ancient wisdom of the Hawaiian ancestors, the Kahuna (medicine men and women). Dr. Pearsall began research in 1993 on "energy cardiology" a mergence of physics and cardiology.
"Energy Cardiology" opens the field in the relationship between information, energy, and mind/body medicine-

The Heart's Code honors and follows the clinical observations that science requires. Drs. Schwartz, Russek and Pearsall have combined their knowledge of biology and new physics - the study of subtle energy and the invisible atomic world and modern cardiology. They based their field of energy cardiology on the "dynamic systems memory theory", the idea that all systems are constantly exchanging mutually influential energy, which contains information that alters the systems taking part in the exchange.
Thus 4 hypothesis' were born-

Energy and information are the same thing. Everything that exists has energy, energy is full of information and stored info-energy is what makes up cellular memories. From the interaction between the tiniest parts within a single cell to the energy bouncing back and forth between the stars and planets, everything exists in a continuous relationship.
Since all systems are info-containing energy "stuff", all systems constantly change memories-

What we call mind, consciousness, or our intentions, are really manifestations of info-containing energy. Information is what gives a system its form and structure. Energy is the force or function that moves a system, connects all aspects of a system and helps systems communicate and connect.
Since all systems are connected and share forms of the same energy, all systems share common memories-

The Heart is the primary generator of info-energy. The heart is constantly sending patterns of energy to regulate organs and cells in the body. Every cell in the body is bathed in the energy.
It is thus central to out system's recollection of its life - its cellular memory-

Because we are manifestations of the energy coming to, flowing within and constantly being sent out from our total cellular system, who and how we are is a physical representation of a recovered set of cellular memories. Based on cellular biology, certain molecules have very good memories because they are good at storing complex coded information such as DNA. The cells, in essence, become a holographic representation of our energetic heart.
(In Mystical Teachings, the soul is considered to be a holographic piece of the greater whole of God and the Great Unconsciousness)-

StarStuffs

To the skeptics among us - There is a Divine Plan!

2008-06-26T14:13:00.002-04:00

To the skeptics among us -

There is a Divine Plan!

To the skeptics among us –

There is a purpose to life!

There is a Divine Plan!

The positive changes to humanity are taking place regardless of the agenda of the Bush family and associates. Even though the war has started, look at what is NOT happening. Many terrorist acts in the USA have not eventuated.

Following Bush's Fourth Reich agenda, America should have been put under Marshall Law, by now, because of the numerous terrorist acts that he has set up. Instead all have been stopped by the "White Knight" forces and off-world forces. Recently Bush Snr. tried to initiate a chemical/nuclear explosion in New York City, but again it was stopped by intervention.

Remember the CIA/military that Bush controls is over 400 years ahead in technology from the general public, but the off world forces are millions of years ahead of them!

Apparently all nuclear war heads have been disabled by these same forces. These forces will only carry out their Divine Intervention directive relative to our free will. We the people of Earth have to show what we want - war or peace. It appears the majority want peace, but because Bush controls the main stream media, it appears the other way. The off world forces are aware of this and will always intervene in events which we cannot stop or do not know about such as a comet hitting the Earth - they simply re-direct its course.

This amazing experiment called "life on earth" will not be put off track.
There is a Divine Plan and purpose for life! After each of us has had many lifetimes, we are approaching graduation time (2012?) and not even the dark forces of the Bush gang are able to stop that. A recent quote: "At NASA they have a machine that can see into the future (probably ex Montauk technology). They do not like what they see, they have lost control.
The dark agenda are no longer able to reincarnate on this world because the vibration is just too high for them . . .
. . . They have to go elsewhere.
The time/science of the Mayan Civilization seems to be on track. They say that by 2012 we will have moved through the 4th dimension into the 5th, regained our 12 strands of DNA (via "re-programming from the Supreme Intelligence" at the centre of our galaxy, the Milky Way), moved beyond duality (positive & negative) to pure light.

Thought forms are very important and affect our everyday life. We create our reality with thought forms. If we think negative thoughts of others this is what we attract. If we think positive thoughts we will attract positive people and events.

So be aware of your thoughts and eliminate the unnecessary negative or judgmental ones.

Be aware that most of the media is controlled by just a few. Use discernment! Look for the hidden agendas. Why is this information being presented to you? What is "their" real agenda? Is it a case of problem-reaction-solution? Do "they" create a problem so that "we" react and ask for a fix, then "they" offer their solution? The "solution is what "they" really wanted in the first place.

Remember almost nothing happens by accident.

Almost all "events" are planned by some agency or other.

To quote "Dove of Oneness" :

WE do HAVE POWER, we have choice, and we do have a part to play in bringing
forth our better world. Each of us can continue to hold the HIGHER REALITY in
our prayers, our thoughts, our speaking, and our writing: "WAR is CANCELLED; PEACE Prevails!".

WE who HOLD the HIGHER REALITIES are the ones bringing forth a better world for everyone. We can take back our power and KNOW we have the divine right to call forth OUR CHOSEN REALITY of PEACE. We can know that billions of other people on Earth also want PEACE."

Our prayers and calls for PEACE have been HEARD...

and ARE BEING ANSWERED!

Source: http://www.2012.com.au/Site.A.html