Soul Solutions Healing Group (SSG) Team Blog

Being: The State of Spiritual Surrender - by Todd Schaefer

2010-02-03T12:11:00.008-06:00

Beyond Surrender

In surrendering, we let go of our worry. We stop thinking about it. We know we have surrendered once we are feeling relieved or relaxed. But what about beyond that? Are we just supposed to teeter back and forth between ‘surrendering’ and ‘not surrendering’ things for the rest of our lives? Sure, we might get out of the mind for a while, but we usually get back into the mind as indicated by our feelings of worry returning. Let’s go beyond the act of surrender and go straight into the act of “being.”

What is Being?

Being is feeling the connection we have to our Source. Being is accepting this moment as it is. Essentially, being can’t be understood, it can only be felt. If the mind uses words to communicate, then the being uses feelings to communicate. It is challenging for many of us to get into being purposefully and regularly because we want to ‘think’ more than we want to ‘feel.’ When we try to feel, we are usually trying to feel with the mind.

The Need for Being

When we put our minds ahead of our being, we tend to forget our being and we let our minds run our lives. When this occurs, we are putting all of our consciousness into our minds. We have “become” our thoughts. We have “become” our reactions. There is no “us” in between what we think and how we act. The mind is why so many platitudes exist and yet they don’t get the job done for us, spiritually speaking.

On the other hand, when we put our being before our minds, we are putting our consciousness (awareness and attention) into our bodies and into our now moment, and not into the future and past. When we put our attention and awareness into our bodies and thus feel the energy and the presence within ourselves, we are putting our being first. We’re not "human laters," or "human what am I doing nexts" – we’re human beings.

How to Put Being First

Meditation is a great way to connect with being. Meditation need be nothing more than breathing and feeling the body with our attention. It’s so simple you may question whether or not you are doing it correctly. It is that simple, and it doesn’t require the mind.

It helps to not engage in any thinking, but to just allow thoughts to pass through and keep attention in the body and/or on our breathing. All we’re doing here is noticing the body. We don’t need to think, look for insights, channel or have any expectations about how we feel or what we accomplish. It will happen naturally as we allow it by relaxing. Any insights or healing will come as needed. Remember, this is a process that the mind does not manage, so it may feel odd at first to not use the mind. The goal for connecting with being through meditation is not necessarily to achieve anything. It’s just a space for feeling and breathing. It’s that simple.

Attention on the body is our gateway into being. As we focus attention on how we feel on the inside, we may notice some changes. Our thinking will slow down. We may notice some physical or emotional pain that was suppressed by the mind. Our breathing will naturally deepen and open up. We may cry, laugh, feel great or not feel much at all. We’re just providing the space to allow whatever needs to happen in us to happen. Instead, all we need to do is focus our attention on the body and breathing. We don’t need to physically touch ourselves. We just want to put attention on feeling us in ourselves.

We are increasing circulation, setting the stage for emotional and physical healing, allowing mental detoxification, as well as enhancing our internal communications, not to mention, connecting with our Source. Again, we’re not searching for anything. This is just what naturally happens.

Consciousness Follows Focus

Wherever we put our attention is where our consciousness travels. If we are always thinking, we are putting all of our consciousness into the mind. We can also direct our consciousness into other places within us. As we direct it inward and just notice - just feel - we are connecting to deeper levels within us. When we create the regular time to connect with our being, we are establishing a stronger connection inside of us.

When we choose to use the mind as secondary to being, the mind becomes a wonderful tool for our expressions. We become like a steadfast, powerful locomotive engine full of coal and cargo to be delivered. When we use the mind as primary over being, we can be like detached boxcars with no engine or cargo, unaware of which track we are riding on, accelerating or slowing not by choice but by the grade of the track around us. When we do anything while connected to being, our efforts are imbued with a sense of alignment, grace and being carried. It’s just easier to flow through life when we aren’t stuck in the mind.

Fear Equals Misalignment

Worry or fear creates misalignment. God bless us when we worry our heads off believing that we are “helping” someone else by fearing for them. We want to help, but we are unaware that we are not actually helping. Energetically, we are lowering our vibration to theirs when we worry. Help is not about fearing for others, it's about creating alignment. The most helpful person in any crisis situation is the one who stays the most calm, aligned and thus connected to being.

If we want to help someone, it is wise to align ourselves in the place of 'being' where they desire to go, not with where they are in their misalignment. Our alignment is most easily accomplished when as we choose to be relaxed. That way, they can follow us to our place of being relaxed. If we come from calm, then we are serving them. If we come from worry, we are not serving them. No matter how knowledgable we may be, our misalignment only creates another problem for those we may attempt to help.

We Aren’t Our Minds

When we are not connected to being, we believe that we are our minds. Getting still and relaxed isn’t always easy nor is it always appealing for the mind, but once we arrive there it does become easy. The mind really is an amazing tool. But it isn’t meant to run the show. You can tell how that’s true because of how we feel while we are in it. There are simply aspects to living that are hard for the mind to live because it isn’t meant to manage them. Life is hard when living from the mind alone. When we complain (not to be confused with venting) about how difficult life is, we are speaking from our mind and relinquishing our choice, giving away our power. When we align with people who create dependency upon them, we are giving away our power. When we aren't willing or ready to leave the mind, we create these consolations.

We Are Source

We are Source consciousness rooted in being that can also think. Our Source consciousness is greater than the amount of it that we use to power our minds. The “I think therefore I am” quotation is moot because the mind does not encompass our existence unless we allow it to define us that way. Consciousness and attention do define us, however. What we put our attention towards creates in our experience.

Guidance From Our Being

Feelings are a reference point to where we are standing as well as tools that guide us into being. “Bad” or negative feelings guide us just like positive feelings do. Yet, what we are feeling does not indicate anything about that particular ‘thing.’ What feelings do indicate is our relationship to that thing. The difference is that negative feelings are telling us what is not appropriate for us, and the positive ones are telling us what is appropriate for us. The key to following the guidance of our being is putting our attention towards those things that feel good and in alignment.

Food For Thought

But what about times when something that feels good is bad for us like alcohol, drugs or excessive eating? Usually, these actions taken to feel good are based out of the mind’s need for relief. Emotional eating, for example, feels good. But since attention is being given solely to the mind, it is what we are appeasing. This disguises as what we are feeling, but in actuality the mind (some would say the pain body) is emoting it. The body doesn’t crave excessive food, the mind does. Ask any holistic nutritionist. Using the excessive food example, returning our attention inward will clarify the true relationship that we have with ourselves – through stillness. Our choice to enhance our connection with being will enhance our connection to our body, mind and spirit. We will feel what our body needs more than what our mind wants, and this feels better.

Compulsive Thinking

Compulsive thinking is one of the hardest habits to break. The mind is so powerful that it can continually disturb our inner connection, but it can never permanently disconnect it. It's good to look for relief, but we tend to not want to stop thinking. We’ll slow down, but we resist stopping. In our mind’s assessment, there is no payoff in silence, so we avoid it. We find another party, or another external stimulation to keep our minds engaged and entertained.

Until We Are Ready

I’m not saying we need to force ourselves to meditate. Forcing anything before we are ready - even if it seems ideal - is not a good idea. In fact, we all naturally and intuitively know how to create balance within us. We intuitively know how to meditate and we do it all the time. We choose our own practices to naturally connect with being. We paint pictures, write, nap, talk, relax, drive, etc. Yet, each of us has our own threshold of resistance. For each of us, there’s a point in which we don’t want a stronger connection in 'being,' or we don’t know of a stronger connection because we haven’t experienced one yet. But stronger connection is available. And it is limitless.

When we are ready, we usually consciously choose in some way that we want better for ourselves. By some intuitive process, we naturally know when it is time to abandon an old way of thinking and/or behaving that we become increasingly aware no longer serves us. When we choose this, we feel better. Sometimes, the more we need to make a healthy choice the more courage it may take. The good thing is we can make healthy choices regularly and they become easier to make because our connection to our inner being guidance is strengthening.

By choosing to get into ‘being’ more often, we are able to access parts of us that are waiting to be used. In fact, we are more likely to make a “bee line” to whatever it is we want for ourselves because we are strengthening the connection within by putting being first.

Are there days when I, personally, don’t want to put being first? Absolutely there are. Some days, I just want to do what my mind wants to do and be done with it. Sometimes, a big pepperoni pizza is the only cure for what I’ve got. And is that wrong? No, it’s not. Any choice that feels right to me is just fine for me. To my knowledge, a slice of carb-filled pizza has never sent anyone straight to the depths of hell.

The irony in the pizza example is that even though I seem to be “giving in” to my mind, if the action I am taking releases my resistance and causes relief, I am actually making headway instead of holding onto the resistance of what I think I “should” be doing. The (ego) mind is tricky.

Making Being a Priority

Making ‘being’ a conscious priority adds nothing but good to our lives. Taking the time to “be” creates the alignment with all that we desire. Everyone wants the miracle cure in a pill or elixir with no drawbacks and there is no such thing. But, taking time to be still, to be, to just feel, is the miracle cure. I’m sure we’ve heard of the term “putting God first.” Really, when we put feeling and being first, we are putting God/Source/Holy Spirit first. When we connect with being, we are allowing ourselves to be guided by Source, and doing enough of it trains our minds to bring that state of “being” into our daily activities. Then, miracles start happening. We start spontaneously showing up at the right time for people. We get that phone call we’ve been waiting for. Something we own sells on Ebay. Our child poops in the toilet on her own for the first time. It’s a miracle! Life starts to work!

The nuts and bolts of this, in my understanding, is that choosing to give willingness to God in the form of slowing down, relaxing and becoming silent literally creates alignment in our lives. The compulsive mind will lead us to believe that “we aren’t being productive enough” urging us to do more to create relief. But the relief rarely comes, and when it does it is shortlived. What the (ego) mind doesn't tell us while persuading us to do more is that we are strengthening ITS connection as primary to 'being.' That is another ploy of the mind to prevent us from experiencing our being. Remember, the thinking mass mind of the free world is in a state of insanity (see A Course in Miracles). To the mass mind, sanity is a miracle; but to the Source within in us, sanity is accessible to us at any time by our willingness to connect with being.

Our Personal Game

All of life’s troubles boil down to a game that we are playing with ourselves until we are ready to release the game. It is “me versus me.” Yet, when I am willing to play it Source’s way, when I am willing to go within and connect to being and just let myself relax and not think for a while and breathe and put my attention on my inner body and let that peaceful practice carry me through all of my days – I feel good! Yes, I do trust the Source in me to carry me through and into being. All things are done through the Source in me when I am willing to align with it. Anything that relaxes me or enlivens me or makes me passionate will align me with my Source. I can do it all day long. Feel, relax, align. Just 'being' is enough.

(Feel free to distribute this article to anyone you like, but please include the copyright information and websites.)

Copyright Todd Schaefer 2010 All rights reserved.
http://soulsolutionshealing.com/
http://ssgteamblog.blogspot.com/

After the Five Month Break: SSG Update - by Todd Schaefer

2010-01-21T11:56:00.005-06:00

Good day dear friends!

It is a pleasure to be back here writing after five months of sabbatical, as it were. I am guided to write today to share a few things about myself and SSG.

I GOT MARRIED

On October 10th 2009, I got married to Kyra Clark. It was a perfect day. We’ve been together for almost 4 years now, so marriage has been a relatively easy transition. In fact, it’s been more beautiful and fun. Kyra says it’s been relatively easy for her because I have been working out steadily since last summer (lol). You can find us on Facebook. By the way, it has been a lot of fun reconnecting with some of you there and playing Farmville, etc.

SSG CHANGES

Without question, SSG continues to change. In time, you may see it dissolving and/or morphing into something new, perhaps as a new teaching tool for myself as I continue on my journey. If you’ve read the last SSG Newsletter before the five month break, you will have learned what some of these specific changes at SSG have been. In one word, “simplification.” I may end up officially ending and perhaps trimming away a lot of the programs like the Q and A, directory, promotions, article submitting, and more. Again, I thank you who have been a part of the SSG experience, either by receiving from it or by giving to it.

MY NEW BOOK

On to the fun stuff! It has been 6 years in the creation of, and over 2 years in the making of my first book. Nathan, Leslie and Ronnie (formerly SSG staff) have helped a great deal in years past with my first approaches with the book editing. And now, I have been engaged in the process that I consider the “final run” before proofing for print. This final run has been taking place for the last four months primarily with the amazing help of our friend Julieanne Paige, from “Be Inspired Today.”

The book writing/publishing process has prompted me to grow in ways that I haven’t conceived of prior to now, and has expanded my comfort zone. Nevertheless, I have procrastinated long enough and I am now focusing on getting the books out there, as I’ve been guided to do. Currently there are about five books on the burner. There are tentatively: a channel trilogy, an article/themed book, and a book on how to use our feelings for guidance. These books may change a great deal in nature as time continues, of course, as I have already noticed the theme changing and morphing with this first book since I began. I’d say we are about 80% complete with the first phase, but there will be additional phases to follow. My goal is to get my first book published this year.

Personally, it has been fun and scary to have gone this far. In some ways, I have total confidence with this material. In others, it is a big stretch of the old comfort zone, which is a good thing because it is spirit led. Otherwise, I would be stagnating in not following my passion for writing, speaking and sharing (like I have been).

WHAT’S THE BOOK ABOUT?

I’m glad you asked. If you’re not yet privy, the current plan of approach is to create a trilogy of all of my channeled works, from the day I started to the day I stopped (or slowed down significantly). I am adding commentary from present day to describe some of the growth and what I feel to be some of the meaning behind these expressions. The context of the books will be channeling/journaling, but the message is not necessarily to teach you how to channel. Instead, it is a long, long personal journey, including all of the doubts, fears and assurances that have come with my own spiritual discoveries during my channeling days. In some ways, it may seem like a groundbreaking book, yet the messages within it are essentially the same ones that can be found at the core of any spiritual teaching. It is simply my own personal experience. For the raw realism it provides into the unseen, I feel it may help demystify some things about spirituality (from my perspective) while sharing some good times and bad times, insights, as well as some successes and pitfalls and more. A lot of books teach from "level 10." This one will teach starting at level one, and work up to level ten, sharing the experience. Stay tuned!

DUPLICATE MAILING LISTS

Due to the massive SSG transformation in progress, I am aware that some of you may be receiving this email twice because you are subscribed to both the SSG Newsletter and the SSG Team Blog. As of now, there is no need for a second mailing list, so you may unsubscribe yourself from one or the other to avoid email duplicates.

The SSGTB can be unsubscribed via link in the posts emailed to you or via your aggregator feed.

The SSGNL can be unsubscribed by simply replying to me at asksoulsolutions@hotmail.com with “Unsubscribe SSG Newsletter” in the subject heading.

If you want to continue receiving emails from me and see what becomes of me and SSG, please remain subscribed to at least one of the above mailing lists. If any of this doesn’t make sense, just email me and I’ll help you.

As of now, I don’t know whether or not I will be posting regularly or what will become of SSG (although I have my instincts). But I did feel the desire to share with you what I have shared because I felt it was important for me to do so. To the best of my understanding, you may see more postings about my personal experiences, including updates about my life and/or the book publishing.

Thank you for your support!

-Todd

"Turn and Face the Strain, Ch-, Ch- Changes" - by Todd Schaefer

2009-08-11T13:37:00.005-05:00

Well yall, thought I’d drop this note here because I feel good about doing so. If you’ve read the July 2009 SSG Newsletter, you know that SSG is shifting in a major way right now, but I’m not shutting it down at this time. In fact, I’d like to share with you a few things I’ve been learning about surrender. It’s been a hellish battle, but it’s been rewarding.

Surrender is so fascinating because it essentially is the returning of my mind to God. It seems we go through spurts of growth, and each time we address something, we learn it better. Growth is energetic, not mental alone, so one example of the mark of our learning something spiritually (versus mentally) is denoted by how much fear we have released about that something. I’ve found it interesting how so often in my life, I have moved forward while staying put. Sound familiar? I’ve learned so many things, yet what I’ve allowed to come into my life has been very structured. The "allowing meter" has had the needle stuck on the "mild" setting. That, is changing as we speak.

'Surrendering' and 'allowing' sort of go hand in hand. The more we surrender, the more we allow by default. Surrendering is giving up control, and thus, more allowing happens. When more allowing happens, more good things show up: good feelings, good phone calls, good bye's, hellos, good items, etc.

When I surrender, I’m allowing God to lead my mind, instead of my mind to lead God. My life has had a lot of management in it at some times. Underneath that management, what I’ve come to discover is that there is a belief that things won’t hold together unless I’m managing them. Or that life won’t move forward unless I’m moving it forward. Usually, a needful feeling to move my life forward in some regard may end up with some external change, but it certainly does not guarantee change.

So often I’ve played in the illusion, and the closer I’ve gotten to nailing my ego to the floor and eliminating what it projects outwards, the more pissed off it has become. It has wanted to keep pointing, “but look there!” “but what about this?” Or just “yes, but…” ‘Yes but’ is what cuts off allowing. And perhaps for a time, those things have slowed me down and I’ve taken a closer look. But each of them has been worth the closer look. Light is automatically cast onto any fear or doubt that we have, and looking upon it again is never the same as before.

I used to take my growth pretty seriously. You know, I guess I still do. But it’s different. You see, it’s not as much under the management of my ego. I’ve observed myself when life would happen, and I wouldn’t allow it to happen because I deemed what I was doing or 'working on' to be more important than what was happening. Surrendering fixes that. Surrendering is trusting. Trusting that my intentions are set, and that I am focused on allowing everything to come into my life and accepting it as it is.

I remember one time where I walked into a group of people years ago. And after a while, I remember resenting being in that spirit group, deeming how “woo-wooey” it was. That was somewhat true, however, there was an important lesson to be learned. The exercises being offered were ones that required feeling and sensing, and all I was willing to offer was my intellect. I didn’t even have a concept yet that my mind was what was doing the resisting because it wasn’t being validated – it couldn’t be. Ya can’t go into an exercise of feeling and think your way through it.

Following intuition and my feelings wasn’t the issue, nor has it been a problem. What was a challenge was establishing 'who I was' with a sense of my mental identity, or who I thought I was, rather. No one was resisting me in the group, yet my mind was resisting. I didn’t know why I was upset. That ever happen to you?

I had so much to defend, so much identification with who I was at that time that when a situation did not represent who I thought I was, I believed that the situation was not for me.

Think about that sentence for a bit.

That was a long time ago, but in what I am experiencing now, that old memory arrives once more because surrendering has deemed it relevant. What’s the result? Could I go into that old scenario and know that I wouldn’t resist? If I had nothing to defend, if I had no expectations, if I was not dependent on the result, I could.

But what if I didn’t 'resonate' with being there?

With true surrender, it wouldn’t matter because I am resonating with BEING first.

If I resonate with Being (feeling, enjoying, not attaching, not identifying, not judging), if I give my mind to God, then I trust that everything that occurs is okay as it is. I trust that life is okay by me and I don’t have to do anything drastic in order to get this or that. Can I still have those items? Sure. But I can attract more bees with honey than vinegar. Surrendering is the honey; incessant thinking or 'getting' is the vinegar.

You know all this. Yes, you do. It’s all built in. It’s just waiting to be experienced in its own time. Here’s the catch, though. You can’t force the experience – you can only allow the experience.

With all other matters of life, we can force our way to greater results. With spiritual growth, we can put forth force, but since the goal is to get out of the mind and allow, feel, love, BE, enjoy, etc., we discover that we really haven’t spent much time outside of the mind to begin with. Then we find how smart we really are.

Every new echelon of spiritual growth is like this. So many levels intertwine so often, it’s hard to say what we’re working on or experiencing and when we’re doing it. Yet, we seem to know when something is complete. It’s in our feelings. We know when it’s time to take another step. We know when something is in alignment and that - no matter what - the step we take will be the right one because it is simply time to take a step.

Speaking of taking steps, one of my best friends told me something that brought me a lot of peace once when I was distraught, and still does. “Don’t judge your progress,” he said. That relaxed me. Figuring out that it’s not a race was a major thing for me to have understood. To accept that everything I do is the right thing for me, and that the result is meaningless. It’s simply about the experience. And it’s about consciousness growth. It’s about growing up, not growing old. And no matter what you believe, you can and will - without question - follow the path that is meant for you. The more conscious of it you become, the more you realize your creativity and enjoyment of it.

Surrender is giving up what we think is best for us, and allowing so much more, in every sense. Life doesn’t fall apart, it opens up in depth and in variety and in joyous peace and love for all things. With every single choice, we can choose to allow life to be that for each of us.

Blessings,
Todd Schaefer c2009

Read more articles by Todd on Spiritual Surrender

SSG Newsletter - July 2009: SSG Staff Says Farewell

2009-08-10T13:17:00.010-05:00

The July 2009 issue of the SSG Newsletter is now available online!

Enjoy this month's SSG Newsletter, featuring:

- SSG Staff Says Farewell

- Holistic Fitness: video on Holistic Health plus website

- Featured Book of the Month: Oceanic Mind - The Deeper Meditation Training Course by Tom Von Deck

- Featured Blog of the Month: Tomas Karkalas' Art by Tomas

- 15 contributions on spirituality

Access the SSGNL "July 2009 - Issue 7, Vol. 2" from the following page: http://soulsolutionshealing.com/publications/ssgnewsletter.html

Thank you for your support,

Todd Schaefer
Email: asksoulsolutions@hotmail.com
Website: http://soulsolutionshealing.com
Team Blog: http://ssgteamblog.blogspot.com

Neutrality: A Guide to Spiritual Centeredness by Andrew Hand

2009-07-28T08:10:00.005-05:00

Of all the things in life that we could be, neutral seems to be one of the least appealing. If your father asked you, 'so, what do you want to be when you grow up?' and you were to reply neutral, I suspect you would not receive praise for your decision.

We are taught to be for things or against things. This is the way that society has socialized us. But what if it is in neutrality that you can move outside of your known perceptions and step into the realm of endless possibility? The realm where the universe can only fulfill your desires? You aren't pulling or pushing, but merely standing still while moving along the track of life waiting to receive all that you need from your Source.

If you can get outside of your own mind-race enough to be the observer of your thoughts and see that through all things there is only what exists right now in this current moment, then it is possible to see all the effort that is put into trying to create your own reality will ultimately fade away and leave you with a sense of loss. However, if you can maintain neutrality, knowing you are moving forward toward your soul's fulfillment, then all things that come to you appear to do so directly from the bounty of the universe. As if another stone has been placed in front of your feet and then you take the step forward to land securely on it.

I understand that such statements can be viewed as being naive or too optimistic, not living in REALITY, but I would invite you to continue reading and keep an open mind. I understand your feelings. I have felt them many times through my life as I've wrestled with myself and my perceptions.

Recognizing the Push & Pull
The first step that I would like you to begin practicing is to observe your thoughts and your life. Look to the areas that you feel dissatisfaction with. What is going on in these areas? Are things not good enough, not quite right, leaving you feeling frustrated? Do you feel that just a few more things need to fall into place and then you'll have everything you need to be happy? What is it that you are pulling yourself toward and what is it that you are pushing away?

We need goals in life, they help us learn things about ourselves and connect to other human beings, which is the whole point of this journey here. We have come here for a purpose, to learn something by which we can grow into our souls more deeply. The question is in whether it is the destination or the journey that leaves you feeling fulfilled. The push and pull are all about the destination - so focused on it in fact that the journey never seems good enough because the journey is NOT the destination. It never can be. The destination may never be reached. It may change and in so happening will leave you feeling defeated and angry. But, if it is in the journey that you feel peace, the journey that you feel growth, the journey that you feel empowerment, then you can never go wrong. You are on a journey your entire life; a series of journeys that lead to more journeys, on and on until your life reaches its end.

That thought right there might have just got you upset. “My life ending with just a bunch of journeys?! That is pointless,” you might say, “What was accomplished?” If a goal was not reached then what was the purpose of the life? This is the internal wrestle, the push and pull. It happens both externally and internally, sometimes at the same time, stirring you up into a ball of emotional turmoil, feeling out of place, out of sync and out of control. These are the moments that it is critical to re-ground, re-group and re-assure yourself that you are on your path. You are here, right now and growing in this moment with perfect design. You return to neutrality and calm and stop pushing and pulling. You open to accept what comes into your life and live with joy.

That might sound too easy and in fact it is THAT EASY, but that simplicity is what makes it hard. When we are goal minded it just seems too easy to focus on the journey, the present step. If I take my eyes off of the destination then I will falter, I won't reach it, I won't be focused. The goal will not be achieved. There is a retraining of the mind that must take place to embrace this ease of flow. You must begin to witness the thoughts. Witness the resistance and then consciously let it pass out of you and feel neutrality. It is like a wave of peace coming over you, like a breeze of fresh air blowing in and cleaning out all the pain, hurt, worry, fears and frustrations that stagnate in the mind as they roll back and forth, ever repeating their loop of discontent. Breathe in now - a deep breath - that flows through your entire body. Feel the push and pull stop...feel the calm at the center and know that this is your rock. This is your soul, centered deeply in your body, like a rod of light that runs head to toe. It will never steer you wrong and it is a magnet of attraction for all the things you need in your life to continue your growth. Listen to its call and follow it. It exists beyond the mind, deeper than the mind, more powerful than the mind.

This is the first step, the first recognition. Now the task is to practice this daily. Practice centering yourself, recognizing the pushing and pulling and returning to neutrality.

Andrew Hand is a singer/songwriter, guitarist, composer, artist and writer in NYC. Currently Andrew is working on a song writing & music video project called "Songs For Oprah." The aim of this project is to create music with a positive message and to connect lyrically to the listener through reaching a common emotional thread of humanity. Each week the song and music video is posted to YouTube

One on One Yoga: The Benefits of Private Sessions by Carmela Cattuti MA,LPN

2009-07-27T05:00:00.001-05:00

Yoga is an ancient system whose foundation supports transformation of the body, mind, and spirit. Yoga is a creative solution to many issues and concerns caused by a fast moving world. Time just seems to be speeding along without us. Linear time isn't the stabilizing force it once was. This can create many fears and anxieties that we're not used to facing. We used to keep them at bay with busyness or blaming someone else for how we feel. With all of the changes in our country and the rest of the planet we are now forced to face our most basic fears.

I have taught yoga since 1994 and now specialize in working with private clients. My students range from ages 30-80. Regardless of age, all of my clients deal with moving through fear. I have pre natal clients who face the fear of childbirth, others deal with fear of declining health. All manage their concerns with yoga. As a yoga instructor of fourteen years and a student of yoga for twenty five there has been a deepening of the experience of yoga. Here are the most important benefits of private yoga sessions:

Increased Creativity

When clients are faced with a fear OF not being able to execute a specific posture(asana) there are modifications that can be applied. One can always enter the pose in a way that is beneficial for the individual's practice. This brings about a feeling of accomplishment and increases self-esteem. Fears can be approached in a similar manner. There is always a creative solution to every fear. Modifying an individual's approach to a fear so the person is comfortable in facing the fear dissipates the fears intensity.

Increased Strength

Yoga creates physical strength in the body. It is a way to access the mind and integrate the soul into daily life. Through holding yoga postures individuals learn to observe the sensation of discomfort and fear and not run from it. A certain amount of detachment is developed through holding yoga postures and breathing rhythmically. Detachment in facing fears is essential if the individual wants to change patterns of behavior.

Increased Flexibility

Flexibility in body and mind is critical in accessing creative solutions to deal with specific fears. There needs to be a letting go of old behavior patterns so the new behaviors can come in. When we stretch into yoga postures that require a release of the body, the thoughts also begin to release and a calmness takes over. This relaxation is important is accessing the solutions for that particular person.

Increased Relaxation

Individuals create change through the art of relaxation. In a fast changing world it seems impossible to relax. We always feel that we need to be doing something or somehow our lives are invalid. At the end of a yoga class or private session there should always be a deep relaxation to integrate all the poses. When deep relaxation takes over the body and mind, ideas and solutions that we have never thought of before come to the forefront. This requires that the individual allows the process to work. There is no need to look or search for answers when the intuition is allowed to emerge.

Combining over twenty-five years of yoga study with thirty years of professional nursing experience, Carmela Cattuti offers students a unique and effective teaching style. Having studied extensively at the Iyengar Center and achieving instructor certification at the noted Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, Carmela provides in-depth yoga instruction to both men and women for reducing stress and harnessing one's full capabilities of body, mind, and spirit.

She received her nursing training from New York Hospital for Special Surgery and went on to complete her undergraduate degree at City College of New York where she graduated cum laude. She received an MA in English Literature from Boston College and went onto be a journalist for the Somerville News. Her writing is now focused on yoga and spirituality.

Carmela's specialty is working with corporations to create a gentle yoga atmosphere where all employees can participate. She also specializes in working with clients in private sessions. Carmela is also an artist with a focus on creating commissions for private homes and businesses - yoga combined with creativity is now her focus. She has published in Sacred Pathways Magazine and Diet & Fitness Magazine. www.yogaofthefuture.com

Spiritual Q&A #35

2009-07-24T05:00:00.001-05:00

“A few years ago I had so much more than I do now. I feel like it was all taken away from me. I feel like God has taken everything away from me. I don't understand. Why would a loving God had someone as much as He does me to take everything I ever had, and want to hurt me? I'm not perfect but why try to destory me?” - Kenneth

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Disclaimer: All participants are informed prior to engaging in SSG Questions and Answers that spiritual answers given from SSG staff and the SSG community are for spiritual growth purposes only, and are not meant to be used as a substitute for psychiatric, medical, or professional treatment of any kind. By submitting questions and receiving spiritual answers from SSG, participants have consented to release SSG and its community from all liability. See our legal section for more information.

Video: Celebrate What's Right with the World - Dewitt Jones

2009-07-23T12:07:00.002-05:00

Celebrate what's right with the world - Dewitt Jones @ Yahoo! Video

What to Do During Economic Recovery - by Kyra Clark

2009-07-22T05:00:00.001-05:00

Guess what? The economy is getting better. We are in a major upswing now and it is a very exciting time. Our full recovery will likely be felt within the next 10 years. I have been looking around and I have noticed that my fellow Americans have wanted to stay in the same fear state over the economy even though there have been some great improvements. I would like to take the opportunity to suggest that now is the time to take a deep breath and know that we can use our remarkable resiliency as a country and as individuals to make our lives even better than ever.

What we learned

We learned we don’t have to overspend to be happy. We learned how to have fun with our families in a quality setting. We learned to eat at home instead of out. We learned that money doesn’t necessarily equal happiness. Our relationships in many cases thrived and we learned that with or without money we could survive the winter of our fears. In these things we grew, we achieved and we absolutely became stronger.

Is your brain in the game?

Take the time to expound on the achievements you have made over the last 14 months. List out all the things that you did well and then take some time to appreciate the abundance that actually did appear in your life. Didn’t have any abundance? Well then think of something that is abundant. I went to the beach recently and looked at all the sea shells. There was an abundance of sea shells and the tide brought in more and more every day. I also watched a robin red breast pull fat worms from the ground on our property. There seemed to be an abundance of worms and it was a delight to see these birds get full and content. It made me think that in my life I had an abundance of love, friendship and support. I noticed more kindness and love come from this economic downturn than ever before. I watched as people chose physical fitness and proper diet over fast food and eating dinner out. I saw parents go to the park with their kids and get creative with their entertainment. I saw an overall engagement of friendship and simpatico to cope with stress. We were relying on each other to carry us through the tough times. Write out 50 things that you saw as a blessing over the last year and a half and I guarantee you will have a revelation to the same positive degree as me.

What now?

Keep doing what you are doing, and do it because it feels good to do it. It feels good to connect and find something fun to do that is inexpensive. It’s fun to sit down and have a healthy family dinner. It’s fun to live life when you know that your attention is going towards building healthy relationships, including the relationship with yourself. Most of all, spend your money on things that make you feel good, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. I have in the past felt guilt when I have purchased something, or made an impulse buy. In contrast, when I have spent money on the things that truly and deeply made me feel good, whether it’s supplements or a new fitness magazine, it seemed my money would almost replenish itself because that purchase went toward my overall well being and therefore excelled my internal emotional guidance system to lead me toward more abundance. It sounds simple but it’s good to feel good and when you feel good, more good comes to you easily.

Kyra Clark

Portfolio Advisor

The Law of Attraction Handbook: How it Works and How to Use It – by Todd Schaefer

2009-07-20T11:55:00.009-05:00

The Law of Attraction Handbook: How it Works and How to Use It – by Todd Schaefer

Part I

(This article is based on the teachings of Abraham-Hicks.)

We’ve all heard of the Law of Attraction (LOA), but how does it work? How can we make it work for ourselves? Is it hype, or is it truth? How come the LOA seems to work so well for some people, but not for others?

In this article, I’ll deeply investigate the truths I am learning about the LOA primarily from teachers Esther and Jerry Hicks and Abraham through reading various books, CDs and learning through my own teaching. In Part 1, I’ll list the four things that I believe block us the most from having what we want. In Part 2, I’ll list some quoted notes from Abraham and I will provide explanation. Let’s learn together how to consciously create the lives we want to enjoy. Join me on the adventure!

How We Block What We Want

Abraham-Hicks states, “We don’t apply the LOA to our lives. It applies ITSELF to us, like the law of gravity.” Our lives are the summation of what we will ALLOW in each area of our lives. If we think the LOA is not working for us in some way, it is likely because: 1) we don’t want it, 2) we block ourselves subconsciously, 3) we are mind-identified, or 4) we feel lack.

1) We Don’t Want It: Do you see anything in your closet that at one time you wanted but you don’t want it anymore? Sometimes we think we want things but we really don’t. When we want things and get bored with them quickly when we get them, we merely wanted them at a mental level. We want things with our minds often, but not necessarily with our hearts. The mind is compulsive and gets bored. It soon wants something new. The mind is like an impatient child that makes continual demands, forgets about it when it gets what it wants, and soon becomes distracted with the next want. But if we get our hearts into what we want and FEEL what we want, then we’ll know that we truly want it. If the good feeling lasts well into attracting it, having it, and continually appreciating it, then we really wanted it. Don’t confuse this with merely purchasing something. I’m talking about attracting something into our lives because it is a desire in our hearts to receive it. This is different from something that arrives into our lives because a mental impulse gave us the compulsion to go out and buy it. Here’s a small insight: the things that we want with our hearts and feelings are the things that we truly want.

2) Subconscious Block: It’s harder to spot these, but if we ask for something, and eventually we find that our path gets a little sticky, it may be because we are trying to show ourselves that we need to release something in order to have what we want. If we are willing to examine what arrives into our experience, we may find a link to why we won’t ALLOW ourselves to attract and have what we want. For example, we may want something at the mental level, but in our subconscious feelings we are afraid of having what we want. Or maybe we say we want what we dream about but we are afraid making that dream a reality. Whether conscious or subconscious, the blockage will be a fear of some kind. Be mindful of this. Ask yourself if there are any fears that you need to release in order to move forward, and allow them arrive into your awareness to be experienced and released. (See “About Releasing Resistance” located in this article.) Consider enlisting a conscious friend to assist you in releasing the blocks quickly. During the process of experiencing and releasing the fear, remember why you are releasing the fear – because you want to ALLOW more good things to come into your life.

3) Mind Identified: When we are mind identified, we rely on mind impulses which we mistake for true heartfelt feelings. That’s what I mean when I say that we feel with our minds and not our hearts. Do you think that we really feel in our hearts that we want fast food three times per week? Our heart feelings don’t want that. Our bodies don’t want that. But the mind does want that fast food. Curious, isn’t that? When we are mind identified, we are stuck in mental wanting. These are ego impulses that promise lasting freedom but only deliver a short moment of relief until the next compulsive want arrives. This is a smokescreen to keep us from having what we truly want.

4) Lack: This is the big one. We don’t know the difference between creating from lack vs. creating from desire. Let me explain. When we’re mentally identified, meaning relying on mental impulses to get us through life without really feeling in the heart, we experience what we want usually with a root feeling of “lack” behind our want. Let me explain. If we feel that we don’t have something that we want, that wanting feeling comes from feeling like we don’t have it – which is lack. The lack feeling is usually the underlying feeling doing the creating. Our minds say that we want it, but we feel that we don’t have it. You see, we are confused about what desire is because we are creating from lack. We think lack is desire, but lack merely produces more lack. Desire is appreciating what we have and feeling good like we already have what we want. If we feel like we already have what we want, then we are feeling good inside. This feeling good inside about feeling like we have what we want is what desire is. On the other hand, feeling like we don’t have want we want is called lack. So you see that trying to create from a feeling of “not having,” even when we say we want it, produces more “not having it.” Creating from a feeling of feeling good that we “have it,” or that we feel good because we know we will have it soon produces “having it.” Whether we use lack or desire to create, we are still creating and the LOA is still working perfectly.

Part II

“Anytime you want change and things are slow to change, you’re simply giving more attention to what is instead of what you want.” -Abraham

Energy follows attention. If we’re putting our attention on what we want, and what we want FEELS GOOD (not compulsive), then we’ll attract more of that good feeling and the good manifestations that follow good feelings. We must feel good about what we want in order to have GOOD things manifest. If we focus on what is, when we’ll get more of what is – whether we think that is good or not good. It’s easy to see that nothing is more important than our feeling good if we want positive change. Isn’t that refreshing?

“Allow, Allow, Allow. Don’t look for the substance that will bring it. Look for the feeling of it now.” -Abraham

Waiting for something to happen before we can feel happy will not work very well with the LOA. We have to feel good NOW in order for it to work. Find a happy thought, and build on it. Let’s not look for what we have to do now to make us happy later. That puts the happiness out in front of us and robs us of our attractive power. Instead, let’s find a way to feel GOOD NOW. If we feel good now, we are attracting now. If we’re working to feel good later, then we’ll feel good later. If we keep working to feel good later, we will never feel it because later can never be now! It’s always later. Choose to feel good now.

“You only need to ask for something once and then keep focusing on feeling good.” -Abraham

The asking need only happen once. It is how we decide to feel that brings it to us after that. We don’t even have to focus on what we asked for! All we have to do is ask once, and then focus on feeling good, even if feeling good means thinking and feeling good about things that are totally different from what we asked for. “Feeling good is the work. Use any excuse in the world to feel good (Abraham-Hicks).”

“You can have 100 things that you want, not think about any of them, think and find one thing that makes you feel happy to think about, give you’re undivided attention to it, and all those 100 things will come to pass quickly.” –Abraham

Pretty awesome how that works, isn’t it? As mentioned before, energy follows attention. So let’s put our attention on what we want. And if what we want feels good, then it’s on its way to us. It’s on the way much more slowly when we start “going after it” instead of “allowing it to attract.” All things come when we’re feeling good.

“Negative energy means that the Source within you is not willing to go there.” –Abraham

All negative energy is merely misalignment with Source which always resides within us. Those negative feelings do not mean that we should dig into them more (unless we feel good about releasing them). The negative feelings merely mean that we are not in alignment with what we want, not in alignment with our inner Source, and not in alignment with feeling good.

“Reach for and develop an appetite for the better feeling thoughts. Warmer = downstream. Colder = upstream.” –Abraham

Abraham talks a lot about a river as an example of allowing. Which of our thoughts and actions are upstream thoughts/actions (pushing/forcing), and which are downstream ones (allowing/receiving)? The ones that feel more “flowing” and not resistant are the ones that we are in alignment with and are best for us to do to have what we want. Since there is more intelligence in our feelings than in our thoughts, living from the downstream flow of our feelings will produce greater positive results.

“Life is an emotional journey not an action journey, so you’re listening to how you feel, not taking score of the results. A successful day means everything that I did today, I felt good while I did it.” -Abraham

Listening to our feelings determines our quality of life. If we have the courage and trust to follow them, we will not falter. It can be a challenge when we do not understand why we are led in a particular direction, but as long as it feels good, we can trust that what is happening IS (in fact) for our highest and best good. Those who have the courage to live from their heart AND trust/follow their inner guidance while creating are those who tend to end up with both inner and outer riches.

“If you’re feeling good, you’ll be inspired to the action that will lead you to where you want to be.” -Abraham

Let’s choose a feel good thought, focus on it, and then allow that feeling to carry us through our day. This is a form of aligning with our Source within. When our thoughts and feelings are in alignment, we naturally feel good. Feeling good is the RESULT of alignment within our being. When that happens, we receive more thoughts and feelings in the direction of that alignment. That means that when we are feeling good, we begin receiving “inspired actions.” Inspired actions are internally motivated actions that come as a result of feeling good. They are natural. When we perform the inspired action, we are quickly moving in the direction of receiving what we want. This is the meaning of the “Be, Do, Have” principle. If we “be” it, we "are" it and we feel it. If we feel it, we’re guided via inspiration on what to do. If we’re guided on what to do, we’ll have it. Let’s not attach to the results of our actions, and let’s not judge what we are guided to do. We want to stay in those "feel goods." Remember the warmer/colder principle? We can use that as a guide to stay on target. Remember, feeling good equals alignment with your inner Source.

“The thing that has prevented me from moving forward is my condemnation about where I am.” -Todd Schaefer

This quote of mine means that without accepting my present moment, I can’t move forward in my life very easily. Accepting my present moment means feeling good right now. If I can’t make peace with what is occurring in my life NOW, I can’t easily feel very good about moving towards what I want to have in my life. While in non-acceptance of my NOW, my future projections tend to be based in LACK because I am condemning the NOW with my feelings of lack right now. So, if I am condemning where I am or what I am currently doing because it’s not where I want to be, then I will keep attracting more of the same thing, which is "not liking where I want to be." If that’s what I keep choosing to feel, I will remain in that cycle because I am never allowing myself to feel good. I am merely projecting my current lack into the future to create more lack. If we want positive change, it MUST start with choosing feel good thoughts and feelings.

“All you have to do is want to feel good and be willing to find something that does feel good.” -Abraham

Willingness to feel good is a key to finding something that will feel good. The following is an Abraham exercise. If we have chosen to feel better, we can follow any thought that comes into our minds and mentally note, “Does this thought feel better or worse?” If it feels worse, we can try a new thought that does feel good, perhaps a simpler one if necessary. When we find a different thought, we can ask ourselves again, “Does this thought feel better or worse?” If it feels better, we can ask ourselves another thought that we think might feel good. If we practice with this we will teach ourselves how to develop positive momentum and change our state from negative to positive or from positive to even more positive.

“When we try to make too big of a jump, we don’t make it. When this happens, we need to just feel good about the steps we take now. The good feelings create the momentum for attracting more good things.” –Todd Schaefer

I’ve fallen into the pitfall of biting off more than I could chew and ultimately fell short. Why? Because I sacrificed feeling good about my now in order to feel good later. Sacrificing the NOW to feel good later is based in LACK. It tends to attract lack via the LOA because we are feeling lack while working towards our future goals. This is why doing what we love to do is a recipe for such great success. Because if each step feels good, we will continue attracting steps that feel good and attract even greater results. Future feel good goals are great if we feel good during each step along the way to them, but future feel good goals which don't feel good during each step along the way we rarely reach because there is little attractive power in not feeling good. Some call these "pipe dreams," which, to me, merely indicates that a potential future of abundance cannot yet be reached, but only because the current state of feeling lack prevents it, nothing more. Feeling good right now is what creates a future of feeling good, not the other way around. Too much future and not enough present equals little attractive power. Alot of present and little future creates alot of attractive power. Let's put our focus into feeling good in the present and we will attract great things. This is because "future" is simply a NOW which we have yet to experience.

“When you make peace with where you are, you turn down stream easily. Having peace with where you are always leads you in the direction that you want. Don’t resist what is, accept what is, make peace with the now.” -Abraham

Acceptance means that you are not resisting where you are. It means that you feel good about the present state of you as you are. You are feeling good with where you are sitting; you are feeling good with what you are drinking; you are feeling good with playing some music. Anything that creates “feeling good” is something that creates more of what you want.

“You don’t deactivate a resistant thought by activating it. You deactivate a resistant thought by activating a positive one.” -Abraham

If we fight resistance, we resist. We don’t need to give resistance any power by activating it. We can simply choose a positive thought instead.

Understanding How Resistance Operates

Resistance can be a tricky thing, but it’s also simple. Resistance is merely what covers up a fear that is not yet ready for release. When we feel resistance, it’s good to choose a positive thought instead whenever we can. Yet sometimes there is a need to express and release our resistance before we can access positive thoughts. It’s great if we can shift into a positive thought and good feelings with relative ease. If we cannot, it may be beneficial to express our resistance in order to release it and - you guessed it - feel better. It’s never a good idea to repress or “put gold glitter on” our resistance by burying it and turning it into passive aggression. When we do, we make the resistance more unconscious, and that’s NOT what we want. Making things unconscious through avoidance and repression gives unconsciousness more power.

Healthy Release

Resistance CAN be expressed non-violently by talking with a consciously present friend, by punching a bag (not a person), by crying it out, by screaming into a pillow, etc. These forms of expression of resistance are beneficial when they make us FEEL BETTER. By feeling better, I mean that we feel more balanced, relaxed, cleansed, relieved, peaceful, and/or calm afterwards. Feeling better does not mean making someone else feel bad.

Unhealthy Release

Expression of resistance will not be beneficial when it strengthens the resistance itself. Resistance is any form of negativity such as: resentment, anger, irritation, annoyance, complaining, gossip, frustration, passive aggression, condescension, judgment, etc. Indulging in any of these forms of negativity which leads to feeling "tighter" or more negative is NOT releasing resistance, it’s strengthening it.

Resistance is repressed fear. Some forms of repressing resistance which are often mistaken for releasing it are misuse of: alcohol, verbal or physical violence at another person, sex, drugs, also escapism and avoidance. Some people may feel they can only relax or “be themselves” with the use of alcohol, for example, and this can be somewhat true to an extent. Alcohol may relieve the social and mental anxieties of life, but in the context of “being more YOU,” creating and attracting from your heart led good feelings and guidance will be infinitely more productive than using alcohol as a substitute to relieve resistance. After all, the resistance repressed by alcohol usually has a way of resurfacing, and many times, within the same evening. You might not choose to eliminate alcohol (and the like) altogether if you enjoy it, but simply be aware of how you are using it if you wish to create positive change in your life.

“Use action to improve vibration.” -Abraham

Using our actions to feel better is what taking action is truly for. When we do things that make us feel better now, we attract more things that make us feel better. We allow things to arrive that we’ve asked for. Feeling good is saying “yes” to the Universe. Feeling bad is saying “no” to the Universe. If we feel good on the inside, change happens easily on the outside. If we feel bad on the inside (even if we work hard on the outside), change happens more slowly on the outside. When we feel good, we are in alignment with our Source within. Then we are vibrant with light and energy. When we live from the inside-out, we feel good about ourselves. Even if stimulated by an external source, all true change will only occur from the inside-out.

“You don’t have to give up one thing to have the other, you can have it all.” -Abraham

Our feeling good supports us more than any way our minds alone could try to manage because are feelings come from our inner Source. When we live from our Source and from our heart, our life takes on new dimension and color. We live in the present. We smell, feel and touch with incredible vitality. Our relationships light up because our light attracts others. Our work enhances because we are practicing greater service by choosing to feel good. We ask, we allow, and the Universe decides “how.”

“Don’t seek healing, just seek relief. Don’t seek improvement, just seek relief. Don’t seek solution, just seek relief.” -Abraham

We don’t need to be more improved; we don’t need things to be fixed before we can feel good. We can choose to feel good now (without chemical assistance), and the things we believed we had to do in order to feel good will transform or melt away. Then we will naturally lead ourselves to greater service and happiness because we are using the LOA to live a heart centered life.

“Practice feeling better about all things. Get happy, and then all things will come.” -Abraham

Our choice and allowing of feeling good is our recognition that Universal Law can work through us, and our belief that we CAN have what we want in life. This is thinking and growing rich.

“It’s natural to be happy. Find something that makes you happy and fixate on it. That is the answer to all things. It’s the answer to getting everything that you want.” -Abraham

We are the masters. Let’s practice fixating on what makes us happy. We’ll learn about us. We’ll learn what we truly want. We’ll learn what we don’t want but thought we did want. We’ll become more conscious creators. We’ll learn that the power to change doesn’t come from the mind, but from the ability to feel good. We’ll live a fuller life. Let's always check in with our feelings for guidance and choose to feel good. Spirituality is just that simple. It’s easy, have fun with it!!

c2009 Todd Schaefer http://www.soulsolutionshealing.com/

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Who can be an Angel? - by COS

2009-07-17T19:07:00.000-05:00

To me Angels are here to fulfill a specific function in the balancing efficacy of each soul’s evolution. They are helpers here to help when a soul is in need! They are God’s divine servants ready to issue forth assistance in the conscious evolution of our soul’s expansion. If we are sincere in heart and intent we can call on them for guidance, protection, and/or healing. They understand that life is hard to handle at times when a soul is fighting to make sense of their own existence and thus they are forever here to accompany us into the light of our own awareness of God. I have been working a lot with Angels, Ascended Masters, and Guides lately and they have bestowed unto me knowledge, wisdom, and insight but most importantly they have helped me to cultivate my faith in them, in God, and ultimately myself.

The power of God is Omnipotent, Omnipresent, and Eternal! There are no limits to what God can do for us if we but only believe in the all pervasive essence that has created everything. God doesn’t care how you see Him - just that you believe! It is by your faith that all things are possible! Love can be restored to a heart who has lost faith by the compassion of another if that individual is sincerely devoted to that souls recognition. By definition, angels are messengers of God and aren’t just winged beings floating in the ether realm! Those are the Archangels that oversee the human Angels that live among us to ensure that righteousness is rightfully kept and maintained. It is easy for someone who is encapsulated in this form to get caught off guard by emotion or circumstance so it is essential to have over souls.

There is so much reckoning underway at this time to fulfill the divine plan that God promised us in the beginning that there are more Angelic beings who live among us than we may ever give credit for. You could be an Angel for someone with your gentle smile, heart felt laughter, compassionate pursuit, etc. Think about all of the people who are much better off today do to your sincerity?! How many people are actually walking with their head held higher with more appreciation of the life they live just because of your generosity? How much karmic burden was released from someone’s life do to your interaction with them? Sometimes the things we do might seem minute but in the long run our actions can have a powerful effect, like the butterfly who flutters its wings and creates a tsunami across the other side of the world...

Thank you for being you and the magic that you bring into this life...

COS

Reclaim Your Heart and Soul - by Kiernan Antares

2009-07-16T05:00:00.000-05:00

I participated in a meditation a few months ago at a seminar where we essentially cleared the karmic fears and programs inherited and passed down through our maternal bloodlines at birth. The moment we completed this exercise I felt my mother (located in another town) take a quick startled breath of fear.

This experience was quite emotional and profound. I wondered if and how it would affect my life. Well, as it turned out it wouldn’t be long before I would find out.

A couple of evenings later I was speaking with my mother and did indeed discover she had been thinking of me at the time we performed the clearing. During our conversation she told me that one of my cousins called to tell her that my uncle had passed over. My cousin also enquired about me and how I was doing.

Before I go any further I’ll give you a brief family history. My mother is the eldest of three sisters and they have been estranged from each other for more than fifteen years. As a result, none of us cousins who grew up together have seen each other during this time either.

Well, my cousin mentioned to my mom that she was on one of the popular networking websites and so the following day I decided to search for my cousin. Sure enough, I found her and sent her a friend request. I also noticed that she had been in touch with a couple of my other cousins and their mother via the internet but for some reason I didn’t contact them at the same time.

The following Saturday morning I was online and delighted to discover my cousin had accepted my request. Rather excited I showed her photos to my partner in life, Paul. He wondered why I hadn’t contacted my other cousins and I shrugged my shoulders in response. He urged me to send them a friend request also and so I did.
Moments later my computer beeped at me and low and behold, there was my eldest cousin sending me a note via the chat screen. I couldn’t believe it! What timing!

We engaged in a very excited online exchange―I was squealing with delight for about two hours while we got updated on our lives and reminisced. I couldn’t sit still; I kept jumping up and down telling Paul everything that was going on―he had never seen me like this before.

I told her I still had the beautiful Christmas tree ornaments she made for me more than twenty years ago and put them on my tree lovingly every year thinking of her. Actually, I think every year I show them to Paul and tell him my cousin made them. He smiles sweetly and never lets on that I’ve told him before―maybe he doesn’t remember but either way it warms my heart.

She told me she still has the hat, booties, and sweaters my mom knitted for her children when they were born―the very same ones she took them home from the hospital in more than twenty years ago. She also remembered my mom sewing clothes for her Barbie dolls when she was a little girl.

Yes, it was a very emotional and soul lifting chat.

My cousin and I discovered so many misunderstandings between our mothers and we committed to organizing a family reunion.

She was absolutely positive that her mother would be thrilled. I, on the other hand, wasn’t quite so sure. I really didn’t know how far or deep the misunderstandings went but I agreed anyway.

I was deliriously happy. I couldn’t explain it – just happy deep within.

Immediately afterward I called my mother and told her what had happened. Mom cried. She suggested us cousins get together for lunch or something. I saw my opening and tentatively told her of the idea for a family reunion.

She held her breath. She cried some more. You see, my mom is going to be eighty this year and she told me she never thought she’d live this long and she never thought she’d see her sisters again.

Well, we both cried and I told her I would make sure it was going to happen. She would see her sisters’ again―this would be my gift to her to show her my deep love―not just on the physical level but on the soul as well. Through her tears she said, “At the end of the day, we all have the same blood running through our veins and we’re family.”

Until that day I wasn’t aware that this part of me was missing from my life and neither did my cousins.

Since those initial conversations I have gone for lunch with two of my cousins and one aunt to catch up and plan our reunion. We’ve decided that we’re going to add a surprise element to celebrate my mom’s 80th birthday―this was my aunt’s idea and she asked me to help her get something really special for mom, something that says “sisters”. (Don’t worry my mom doesn’t have a computer so she won’t be reading this.)

Beautiful doesn’t describe the healing that is taking place on my mother’s side of the family and all since the day of the maternal fear bloodline clearing.

You see, when we take steps to heal ourselves we create the space for healing in others. This couldn’t be a better example.

We have all shed tears of joy while releasing sadness for the lost years and misunderstandings and I wouldn’t change a moment of it.

Why? Because now I can see my newly reunited family through wiser and more loving eyes. Our hearts have been wounded in similar ways and I can see myself through them. I am letting my heart reach out to them to show them that I love them as they are, and in so doing, we are each reclaiming pieces of our hearts and souls that were lost.

These are of the happiest days of my life, for many reasons I think. In a large part because now there is more room for love to flow in my life and my family. Conversations are taking place that are needed. We are reminiscing and laughing―about the old and the new.

This experience is expanding my heart, adding depth to my love for all of humanity and encouraging me to savor each moment.

I am more complete as a person in this world. It gives me added strength to know and feel the love of not only my living family but also that of my blood ancestors. They stand behind and beside me, as I do them.

Add in our angels, guides and God’s love and anything is possible.

May you heal your wounded heart and reclaim the lost parts of your soul and together may we awaken the heart of humanity, replacing fear and anger with love, joy and peace.

Reclaim Your Heart and Soul©
Namasté
Kiernan Antares
Author and Spiritual Healer
Awakening the Heart of Humanity
Website: http://www.kiernanantares.com/
Website: http://www.divineblessings.ca/
Email: Kiernan@kiernanantares.com
Blog: http://kiernanantares.blogspot.com/

Bioluminescent Organism - by COS

2009-07-15T05:00:00.001-05:00

"Someone wrote: I have heard that it would only take 10% of the world’s population to wake up to tip the scales out of the hands of the power elite."

This is an absolute truth that is at the basis of my meditations! My passion is in figuring out how to awaken as many dormant souls as possible and I realize that I can’t do it alone as it is going to take all who are worthy of this great compassionate accomplishment to step forth and take their stance with the conviction that their innate power is a direct source of influence for the collective unconscious. There is a saying that when 1 mind awakens, 10, 000 minds awaken simultaneously. This is in direct correlation with the 100th monkey effect in this interconnected sacred geometric frame of conscious entanglement.

We are like Bioluminescent Organisms swimming in this vast sea of unconscious energy and it is through our glow that we light the surrounding area for others to see. As we course through the waters of life we are shedding the light of our own beingness and naturally we will inspire others by the radiance of our personality. This is both poetic as well as a reality because even though we may have agitated some in our personal expressions, our light inevitably has rubbed off on them and ultimately a divine seed has been planted. F[orget] being afraid of the power of our own beingness! It is our divine right for peace and harmony...

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us, it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others." The above speech by Nelson Mandela was originally written by Marianne Williamson who is the author of other similar material."

COS

Spiritual Q & A #34

2009-07-14T05:00:00.006-05:00

“How does one balance their human emotions while trying to keep in balance with the spiritual light body in order to ascend?” - Anonymous

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If you would like to provide your response to this question, we encourage you to respond by visiting this link: http://soulsolutionshealing.com/beacommunityresponder.html. Responses to this question will be posted by the SSG community via "blog comments" on an elective, individual basis. In order to read these responses, you must visit this post at the SSG Team Blog, and click the "Comments" link under this post.

Disclaimer: All participants are informed prior to engaging in SSG Questions and Answers that spiritual answers given from SSG staff and the SSG community are for spiritual growth purposes only, and are not meant to be used as a substitute for psychiatric, medical, or professional treatment of any kind. By submitting questions and receiving spiritual answers from SSG, participants have consented to release SSG and its community from all liability. See our legal section for more information.

Spiritual Q&A #33

2009-07-13T05:00:00.001-05:00

“I started a relationship with a marry women around ten years ago. She was unhappy for years and she left her husband 6 years ago. I'm growing closer to god and my question is how will god look at our relationship now?” - Anonymous

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This individual has requested answers from SSG Staff members only. If you wish to respond as a Community Responder, we encourage your heartfelt prayers of love.

Responses to this question will be posted by the SSG Staff via "blog comments" on an elective, individual basis. In order to read these responses, you must visit this post at the SSG Team Blog, and click the "Comments" link under this post.

Disclaimer: All participants are informed prior to engaging in SSG Questions and Answers that spiritual answers given from SSG staff and the SSG community are for spiritual growth purposes only, and are not meant to be used as a substitute for psychiatric, medical, or professional treatment of any kind. By submitting questions and receiving spiritual answers from SSG, participants have consented to release SSG and its community from all liability. See our legal section for more information.

Pure Effulgence - by COS

2009-07-12T05:00:00.001-05:00

Every view is unique as each one is a derivative of the unique expression of the divine. No two views are the same because the experiences are unique in the sense that God seeks to balance in his expansion. Some parallel others with similar traits and beliefs but no two are identical. The I that I identify with as being myself is independent from all others but it is the source from which I/We have emerged from that is always the same. This is why I can say I am without interfering with you when you say I am.

One mind expresses itself through each and every view of self and thus all is perfect in the expression of self but who's mind is it that we operate under? Is it mine or yours? I say that this mind is the mind of God for lack of a more precise definition but definitions are only necessary for us to identify with the underlying meaning. Nothing has any more meaning than the meaning we give to it and thus our experience holds more meaning to it than any scientific, religious, or philosophical explanation.

We tend to get lost in our search for the underlying meaning of the definitions we seek all while remaining complacent with the definitions we ascertain without giving into the vibrancy of our complete surrender to the ideas. Ideas are there to help create a link to our divine connection to the source. It is a fathomless void that only reveals itself unto us when we are more than willing to surrender to its boundless efficacy. I would say that we will be more apt and capable of embracing the divine within us when we stop trying to control the outcome.

It's like trying to dip your hand water in an attempt to touch the same water your hand touched before. It is impossible! The same goes with ideas as well. One idea might work in one moment but become obsolete in the next. Why? Because each moment is unique and you thoughts and ideas are the hand in which you are trying to grasp the same experience that you once had. This in and of itself takes us out of our control dramas because we are no longer the same persona that we are trying to hold onto in our psychic retention.

Going with the flow and trying new things helps us to encompass a wider range of our totality as each moment ebb's and flow's carrying us to and fro. There is no separating the observer from the observed as there is no difference between the inner and outer reality we experience. It is only through our separating and dividing that we seek to control each moment but in doing so we forfeit our wholesome experiences by subdividing our associations into key components that we can identify with as being a product of our will.

You are the objects you look at, the people you meet, and the places you travel to. By our subsidiarity, we lessen the effulgence of each moment by our degrees of association. If we were to acknowledge the fact that we don't understand anything we see and that we really don't know anything about what we think about, we would be that much more closer to a full and total surrender to the all pervasive phenomena that we are. The beauty of each moment radiates as naturally as the magnificent lotus flower that you are...

COS

WAKE UP CALL!!!! - by COS

2009-07-11T05:00:00.001-05:00

I agree with you in some respect. If light workers, shamans, magi, and disciples of all walks and practices come together in unison for the common cause of harmonizing our intentions by aligning them with the greater good of all, we will inevitably create a world of love, peace, and sentient harmony. It is insane to remain complacent in the age old pattern of secrecy in my opinion as there are beings of the higher realms all working to bring about a harmonious flux that unites both heaven and earth. I think selfishness is outdated because it is at the root of all suffering. Trying to hold on to a little piece of heaven disrupts the flow and dampers the continuity that is necessary for our evolution.

The term "cunning compassion" came to me the other night as I was meditating which simply states that by knowing and understanding the dynamic function of the corresponding link between heaven and earth, the creative source and sentient life, me and you, we can utilize resources that are both of and not of this world to benefit all sentient life. Our souls are meshing and blending into the oneness decreed at the time of conception and people are fighting each other to maintain their personal identity and associated desires of self exaltation. It's kind of like white blood cells fighting the virus that plagues this part of Gods body so that God can return to a state of health and well being.

This in and of itself represents compassion in its purest form because it exists outside of the problematic reciprocity that humans ascertain. If we step outside of the boundaries of this common field of disharmony and rise above it into the realm of clear vision by washing the windows of the soul with the spiritual cleansing solutions provided for us by those who know better, we will find that we are a part of the solution and not the problem. The problem is that there is no problem but people love creating problems by way of their selfish motifs. The squander away each moment in a state of self delusion and in doing so they delude those of their peers who are gullible.

My steadfast proclamation is that this is going to happen whether we like it or not! Those who comply with the set pattern of purification coming unto us will find themselves empowered by righteousness and those who don't will only find more and more complications until they surrender themselves unto this higher purpose. There is no escaping inevitability even though people will fight and try to sustain their limited perspectives or at least attempt to justify them by way of the coming onslaught of light particles and emissions. It is mankind’s wake up call to step up to the plate and take on their personal responsibility for we are no longer children suckling from our mothers breast innocently curled and snuggled upon her lap, protected by her motherly qualities.

COS

God's Kids - by COS

2009-07-10T05:00:00.001-05:00

I remember when I was a kid I always questioned why adults just didn’t get it. It disturbed me to no end and in trying to understand why they thought and acted so differently, I soon found myself thinking just like them. It frightened me to experience the slow dissipation of my purity and innocence. I began to wonder why I was losing my wonderful DejaVu experiences that used to be so vibrant and breath taking. I did what I could to hold onto my inner knowingness without giving in to the harsh and unrealistic expectations of society.

I remember my purity as being so loving and excitable that each moment was a sensual experience of joy. Everything was vibrant and pulsating. I remember when one day I was walking down the street at the age of 9 or so and asked the question, "I wonder what it would be like to see through God’s eyes?" In the instant I asked the question, my heart lit up like a bonfire of spiritual bliss. It lasted only a few moments because my rational mind began to kick in and suffocated the experience.

I know now that I had to experience the loss of my spiritual ecstasy in order to appreciate it in its sacredness. It also catapulted me in the direction of trying to understand the dynamic equations that circumvent our divine experiences by digging into its depth using tools of religion, philosophy, and science. The battered warrior who struggled to find the source of his beingness is now coming around full circle back unto himself with insight and understanding. Destiny has played its hand and I am the King of Hearts that will take the victory.

You can not stop destiny when it calls for you as its magnetic polarity will eventually draw you into its divine purpose. Even the obstacles are there to mold one into the masterpiece of a pure divine expression. Can you imagine the power of God coursing through every pore and humbling you into pure acceptance of its power? That’s where we are heading? We have all of the help in the cosmos here at our disposal and it would be inconsiderate to not take up the opportunity when it’s standing right on your front porch knocking.

As far as kids knowing God; there is no way that they can not know the divine nature that exists within them as they are it. They can only fool themselves into accepting the illusions they have been taught by the supposed adults but just like when you place one truth on a mountain of lies, the whole thing crumbles to the ground. Truth will find its way through into the minds and hearts of everyone as God doesn’t even forget of the least fallen sparrow. There is no exclusion! And thus I am full of grace as I give thanks for this blessed experience...

COS

Drop of Water - by Ronnie Carroll

2009-07-09T05:00:00.003-05:00

My high school science teacher taught me that water has a few distinct properties that make it unique. I don’t remember all of them, but one that I do says that water ionizes in water. All this means is that the atoms in molecules of water share electrons. Electrons orbit the nucleus of an atom much like planets orbit our sun. Without getting into too much techno-babble about ionization, just imagine an electron orbiting two nuclei or imagine two nuclei sharing an electron and its orbit. This bonding is what makes two separate drops of water form into one single drop when combined. If you were to add a single drop to a glass of water, you could never retrieve that same drop because it has now bonded (ionized) with all the water in the glass.

In this same manner, you can view the ocean not as a collection of billions of drops of water, but as a single huge drop, until or unless you separate one part of it from the rest. Imagine floating in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Because you are in the middle of a single drop of water, you are simultaneously connected to both the American and European continents.

On a smaller scale, anyone will drink a glass of pure water. But, let’s say there is one drop added to it that contains poison. The entire glass of water then becomes undrinkable. No one can drink around that single drop because it has bonded with all the water in the glass.

Spirituality can be viewed the same way. The energies of spirit continuously flow all around us and through us with no separation of energies between the currents, just as there is no separation of water between currents in the ocean. In any body of water, regardless of its size, there is no place where water doesn’t exist. In our universe, there’s no place where spirit doesn’t exist.

There is no part of our body where the spirit of God doesn’t reside. There is just as much spirit of God in the right foot as there is in the left earlobe (and in every place in between). There is as much spirit of God in individual strands of hair as there is in the taste buds on the tongue. The spirit of God doesn’t fill only certain separate parts or areas of our bodies. Each of us as a human being is full of God, just as each of us is entirely surrounded by God. Yet how many people roll their eyes upward or point heavenward when they speak of God? Isn’t this an indication that they still view themselves as separate from Him? How many people hold the subtle belief that God is in everyone except himself? I like to say that some people are as aware of God as a fish is aware of the ocean.

Is God “for” some people or things but “against” others? If God were “against” anything at all, wouldn’t that mean that God was against Himself? If God hates the sinners, doesn’t that mean that God hates Himself for sinning? If God is all things, then God knows only the condition of I AM. God does not think of Himself as “pleased.” Pleasure is a condition of being as it relates to displeasure. God does not think of Himself as powerful. The condition of power exists only in relationship to the condition of non-power. Any condition of being that exists, does so in relationship to other conditions of being. I only know what happiness is because I have experienced sorrow. I only know what up is, because I have fallen down. If a person didn't know what peace felt like, how would they know they were at war? If God is all things, there is no condition of being that He isn’t already being. If nothing exists other than God, there is no other condition of being to compare Himself to; there is nothing else in relationship to God. There is only I AM.

The spirit of I AM fills us and surrounds us just as it fills and surrounds all things. The spirit of I AM is what makes existence exist. The source of my spirit as well as yours is God. We are not of God or from God. We are God’s spirit. Spirit is not confined to the size or shape of a human body. Spirit fills and flows through and around every cell, molecule, atom, and sub-atomic particle in all things; and on a sub-atomic scale, there is no separation of one thing from another. My spirit isn’t connected with yours – it IS yours. Our spirits are the same – they are God’s spirit.

As in the case of water, whether it’s a thimble full or an ocean full, it’s still only one drop. Picture yourself jumping into the ocean with an empty glass in your hand. The glass represents you and the ocean represents the spirit of God. As you submerge in water, the glass fills. God is now in you as well as all around you. Now, while still submerged in water, turn the glass upside down and try to empty it. We cannot be “empty” of God or separate from God or in any way have any more or less of God in us or around us. When we speak of our “journeys to God,” I have to ask, how can we go to something that we’re already in? How can we acquire something that we already have in greater abundance than we can ever imagine?

As I contemplate these things, I also think about what happens when you add a single drop of impurity to a glass of water or to spirit and I ask myself, how many of us justify or excuse our perceived imperfections or "spiritual flaws?" How many of us are willing to settle for even one drop of impurity? How many of us do? It’s quite easy to see and excuse imperfection when you see God as separate from yourself. Most important, it's when you see yourself as separate from God that you see yourself as imperfect. And if you condemn yourself in any manner because of your perceived imperfection, aren't you also condemning God?

On the other hand, you and I as lightworkers, making an effort to better ourselves and share or shed some light upon the world, must also realize that one drop of enlightenment within ourselves sheds light on everything. There is no separation of spirit.

For my final question – one that I love to ask on occasion just for fun: If Jesus (or any spiritual/ascended master that you relate to) were to suddenly show up at your home for an evening, what would you serve him/her for dinner? I have given this a great amount of thought over the years and my answer has always been the same.

I would choose to dine on a drop of water.

With Light & Love,
Ronnie

The June 2009 issue of the SSG Newsletter is now available online!

2009-07-08T10:37:00.005-05:00

The June 2009 issue of the SSG Newsletter is now available online!

Enjoy this month's SSG Newsletter, featuring:

- Introducing the Community Responders Program!

- Introducing Mary Schaefer, SSG in-house photographer

- Two SSG Talk Show synopses available (all episodes downloadable).

- Featured Book of the Month: The Angel Connection: Divinity in the New Energy by Christina Lunden

- Featured Blog of the Month: Dr. Kevin's Web of Light

- Featured Spiritual Directory listings: Oceanic Mind - The Deeper Meditation Training Course & Universal Consciousness

- 12 article contributions on spirituality

- 7 Spiritual Question and Answer sessions

- Books published by the SSG Community

- Spiritual Questions and Answers (free)

- Book/blog promotion (free)

- Subscriptions (free)

- FAQ

Access the SSGNL "June 2009 - Issue 6, Vol. 2" from the following page: http://soulsolutionshealing.com/publications/ssgnewsletter.html

Thank you for your support,
-SSG Staff

Email: asksoulsolutions@hotmail.com
Website: http://soulsolutionshealing.com
Team Blog: http://ssgteamblog.blogspot.com

Feeling God is Feeling Good! - by COS

2009-07-04T05:00:00.008-05:00

The bliss of being exists eternally without further ado! We find our joy in this by opening ourselves up to this all pervasive phenomenon! The law of attraction states that we reap what we think. Energy goes where your attention flows so what do you know about the life that grows inside of your head to the tips of your toes?

Act as if you are and you will be! That is the mystery that so many find hard to grasp. When I say you are a magnificently wonderful being who has the capacity to experience joy each and every moment regardless of the circumstances I mean it! It doesn’t even matter what I say for you should already know that!

If you don’t then I’ll give you a little exercise! Go outside and stare at the clouds and scream at the top of your lungs saying, "I AM AWESOME!" If you can get past the fear of others thoughts about you I can guarantee you will feel "AWESOME!" If not right away then through persistence you will accomplish the feeling.

It is all determined by your devotion to feeling Good aka God! That’s it! When you are feeling Good you are feeling God! God is all pervasive and permeates through your entire being regardless of whether or not you acknowledge it or not. Your free will dictates whether or not you are allowing yourself to feel Good!

If you are not, then why not? I know you can find all of the reasons to feel guilty, shameful, regretful, angry, fearful, stressed, or what ever other state of thinking you can muster up but why would you want to do that to yourself? I know it may be because you are used to it but if this is the case then you really should change the way you think.

Life is too precious to let our moments slip away into the bottomless pit of self despair and anxiety. Feel the wind course upon your skin, look up to the sky, and say "I am worthy of feeling Good and I am responsible for how I think about myself in life." Minus the intoxicating effects of Drugs and Alcohol you have the capacity to feel better by way of your own devotion to the process.

You are Beautiful! You are Awesome! You are Freespirited! You are Happy! You are Joyous! You are Blissful! You are Pure in Heart! You are Compassionate! You are all of these things and more! If you feel as if you are not these things then by all means fill in the ______ and use it as a means to reflect on your current disposition and ask yourself how you can make the necessary changes in yourself.

Regardless of where you are, you are exactly right where you need to be because that is exactly where you are at! Let go of any and all thoughts about what you need to be doing for just one second and fathom the possibility of feeling better. It is your divine rite! I know responsibility calls our attention but we can take at least a few moments to breath and feel good.

You owe it to yourself to enjoy the moment as it is. This is your life! Empower yourself with thoughts of joy, love, and grace and I can guarantee that you will see yourself in the mirror with a smile on your face! You will then notice that the sun shines for you, birds sing for you, the waves crash on shore for you because you have finally realized that you are the love of life inside.

As for everything else in your moment of cherishment, let them wash away with the tide even if it is for the few moments you spend in your silent revere. In love and grace may the greatest blessings that life has to offer you present themselves to you in the most magical fashion imaginable...

COS

Flowering Lotus - by COS

2009-07-03T05:00:00.006-05:00

We are like lotus flowers blooming and blossoming within every moment. There are methods that can assist us in our unraveling from the budded state as God is like the sun that nourishes the lotus with vitality. The lotus stands with its roots firmly grounded in the soil of life reaching up to the heavens above where the sun shines with magnificent glory. If we are firmly grounded in the soil of our lives, we can stand with outstretched arms in total acceptance of God's all pervasive magnificence as our heart reaches for his nourishing rays. Gentle is the breeze that blows upon the peddles of the lotus because it doesn't fight the inevitability of its bowdacious design.

COS

Spiritual Q&A #32

2009-07-02T05:00:00.017-05:00

"I've spent the whole of my life, attempting to rid myself of whatever is connected to me. Since i was the age of 2 i remember seeing into the realm of spirits, demons and the like. Watching on a swingset seeing armies or legions of the dead, slumping along the road. i don't sleep around reflective surfaces or with open doors. I hear thumping and screaming when i lay down. every night around the same time i experience the same events. my father is attached to the dark arts. And i am well versed in the world of spirituality. i 've had run ins with people that react to me in anger and violence. I receive visions in my sleep and premonitions, which are now coming true. i knew about the many deaths ive gone through and that doesn't make the fact that i cannot change fate and different. My question is nothing of an ordinary understanding. i have studied most my life and have a strong grasp on the topics of vamipirsm, divination, gematria, quantum physics and theurgy. i ask for help, how do i sever the ties connecting me to the world of the dark energies? Typical pagans know nothing, they say to put a name in a bottle and bury it. please help, once again how do i really without ambiguity destroy the connection with the darker side of spirituality? I have been unable in any respect to do so. i'm a little different from most people my age. thank you."

-Cordelia

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If you would like to provide your response to this question, we encourage you to respond by visiting this link: http://soulsolutionshealing.com/beacommunityresponder.html .

Responses to this question will be posted by the SSG community via "blog comments" on an elective, individual basis. In order to read these responses, you must visit this post at the SSG Team Blog, and click the "Comments" link under this post.

Disclaimer: All participants are informed prior to engaging in SSG Questions and Answers that spiritual answers given from SSG staff and the SSG community are for spiritual growth purposes only, and are not meant to be used as a substitute for psychiatric, medical, or professional treatment of any kind. By submitting questions and receiving spiritual answers from SSG, participants have consented to release SSG and its community from all liability. See our legal section for more information.

SSG Talk Show #15 - A Course In Miracles Workbook Lesson 41

2009-07-01T10:24:00.003-05:00

We would like to share that Episode #15 of the SSG Talk Show is now available for listening/download. You may access the show for free on the SSG Team Blog, via iTunes, as well as at our show's Blogtalkradio address at blogtalkradio.com/SSG-Talk-Show.

The following synopsis was written by Julieanne Paige.

Episode #15
“A Course In Miracles” Workbook Lesson 41
June 30, 2009

Todd and Ronnie discussed Lesson #41 after introducing the new Community Responder program and the latest post on ‘Be Inspired Today’ by Julieanne Paige.

The new Community Responder Program allows the Spiritual Q&A’s sent to SSG to be responded to by the community as well as the SSG team. Guidelines can be found at www.soulsolutionshealing.com, where you can find out how to be a community responder. It is a great way to express your spiritual practice and service. Responding not only helps the person with the question but it also helps the responder as it allows us to consider why and how we think about situations. It is an opportunity to get in touch with our core being and energies and to tap into who we are at a deeper level.

Todd shared and discussed the post ‘Presence’ which can be read here, from Be Inspired Today.

Presence:

The real truth is in the Now, not in the future or the past. When we discuss spirituality it is an experience to be understood rather than something that can be intellectually discussed. If you are in the mind when you are having a spiritual experience you will be busy trying to label or justify the experience rather than feeling the experience.

Tolle speaks about emotion being the body’s reaction to the mind. Abraham-Hicks describes emotions as key point indicators for what you want to experience. When we are in a joyful state, we are in alignment. If we are not in a joyful state we can always become aware and choose to return to that joyful state.

Following joy is very important but there are also times that we must past limitations. We have to find a way to step outside of that limitation or comfort zone to disperse fears either by addressing them or going straight through them.

ACIM says that even if you renounce something in the face of fear you have changed it. It doesn’t matter if you don’t feel it at the time but you have automatically changed it. You don’t have to reach an ultimate state of peace to have made a difference to the fear.

It’s not always about ‘feel goods’. You can focus on the joy, experience the joy, and walk away from the fear but if you have specific things you want to do, fears to face or healing, then these things need to be resolved, which is different to adding another ‘feel good’.

God is fully in the here and the Now and cannot be anywhere else. Fears are always based on the past, the future, what was, what will be, or what you think will be. Fears come from things that we have experienced in the past or think will happen in the future.

Presence will cause you act in peace and love. Fear cannot exist in the present moment. Ego can only exist in the past or future. Spirituality and fragmentation cannot coexist. God is not fragmented in any way so the present moment cannot be fragmented. God is whole, complete and eternal. Fear cannot exist in the present because the present is whole and fear is fragmented.

Become aware of the ego.

Lesson #41 ‘God goes with me wherever I go.’

This statement gives a sense of activity. A different way of putting this quote could be ‘No matter where I go, God is with me’. It doesn’t matter where we are, or what we are doing. It is telling us where all the power is.

If God is in everything how can God be against anything. The spirit of holiness is within and around us all the time and we think so often that we are separate from God. The power of God is within us if we are willing to look inward for it. It is accessible to everybody. Just practicing that can change the experience of your self.

Sometimes our belief systems can prevent us from considering or just being in a new way. A belief is what you have temporarily until you have the knowing of truth. We do always have God with us and we express this when we express love and joy.

Simplifying spirituality is important and even vital. What matters most is people creating spirituality that is comfortable and allows the space for empowerment. God is not hard and we don’t have to make it hard.

We can express Godliness in anything we do. We just have to ask ‘What type of experience do we want to have with ourselves?’ Open up to a broader experience of ourselves.

You cannot think your way to spirituality. Keeping it simple goes beyond thinking. Sometimes rituals can keep us caught up in the mental part of spirituality.

God is everywhere. When you fully experience any other thing or person, it will feel like it is an amplified experience of you.

The experience of what it feels like to have a spiritual experience is to find a place of comfort and protection and a feeling of returning home. We can call on these experiences when we are in a place of fear. Move right back into experiencing more of God and less of the illusion.
Marianne Williamson said ‘If you’re not thinking of God you are not thinking at all. It is an illusion.’ To some it is not a priority and it depends on where our priorities are but it can become a natural thing.

Any discomfort we may feel is because we are basing the ‘right now feeling ‘on the experience of the past or what may be in the future. When we see someone we know, we see what they have been in the past or what they could be in the future. Fear, a lot of the time, is bouncing back from what was and what could be and is not centered in the present.

We are never alone and are always surrounded by love. God goes with us wherever we go. When we experience God there is never a feeling of separation or loss.

Currently in the world, spiritually speaking, the old structures are breaking down and the new ones are emerging. When we choose to take responsibility for our experience we eliminate the external factors that hold us back from experiencing our power.

Tolle speaks about recession as being a period of negative growth. The new will rebuild with less illusion. The recession is giving us an opportunity to come face to face with the false reality we have created.

Be your highest spiritual self. There is no such thing as an idle or aimless thought. When you experience other people you can really connect and make an intimate connection and guide people through experiences. A lot of times this can happen instinctively because God is built into us. We can feel when people are open to things and what works and what doesn’t. If we are tuned into God within, it doesn’t matter where we are or who we are with. Spiritual connectivity is based on resonance not distance. Tapping into God changes everything instantly. Anything that consciousness touches, benefits.

Julieanne Paige

Blog: www.beinspiredtodayjpaige.blogspot.com
Forum: www.beinspiredtoday.ning.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/beinspired2day

Spiritual Q&A #31

2009-06-30T05:00:00.011-05:00

"16 years ago I discovered my husband was a transvestite. I tried to understand and accept but cannot. He says it is a part of his nature and he is happy to be a man but needs to express his feminine side. But I see how it has progressed over the years, from dressing at home to going away for events with other transvestites. He even had his picture in the local paper dressed in a gold mini dress and blond wig. He has a constant need to look at himself in the mirror and take pics and videos of himself to watch. Our youngest daughter found some and was very disturbed. I know love should be unconditional and marriage for life. But I see how selfish this makes him. Its as if he has himself to love and I am redundant So much self love can not be good for ones spirit. Can you guide me please? Don’t know whether I have to accept or move on. Thank you."
- Ann

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