The refinement and growth of conscious awareness is part of spiritual evolution. It is what enables greater freedom to take place within the individual and within one's life.
And yet many are reluctant to become more conscious, partly out of fear, and partly because it seems like work. The truth is that there is no other work that one takes embodiment for except to become more conscious. Despite the great variety of human experience and the variability of cultures, societies, and historical epochs, each human being, at whatever point they are at in their journey, is here to become more conscious.
If you are afraid, then, to learn more about yourself, or think there is nothing more to learn, perhaps it is time to look more deeply at your fear in that particular area, since all of light and love are here to support you. New doors are opening within you to think, feel, and love with greater freedom. It may be time to embrace these opportunities which will bring you to your own Divine self. Blessings.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Thursday, November 26, 2009
The Practice of Respect
Respect, like many other spiritual practices, is something that can be experienced at deeper and deeper levels. Most people practice respect according to the norms of their culture and society, learning ways of speaking and acting toward elders, those in authority, friends, colleagues, etc. This is the simple encoding or conditioning of behavior through collective agreement and it is an important feature of what society teaches in order to maintain itself.
However, respect from a spiritual perspective is deeper than this. It has to do with viewing others outside of their roles as souls and children of God. This kind of respect grows in a natural way as the connection with one's own soul-essence deepens, but along the way there are things that can be done, and ways of perceiving that can be cultivated that foster the development of respect for the soul of others.
1. Allow your world to unify. Look at everyone you meet as a soul whether they are serving you lunch in a restaurant, driving a bus, or speaking rudely to you in passing. Their soul-nature is not dependent on their outer behavior.
2. Become aware of judgments you have concerning the behavior of another. Forgive yourself the judgment and ask for healing of all judgments. In the place of judgment, affirm the Divine soul-nature of the other silently to yourself.
3. Understand that you cannot take something from another that does not belong to you without it diminishing or hurting you at the same time. Many still live in fear about not having what they need, and so 'taking something' rather than asking for it or waiting for it to be given, whether physical or emotional, is a not uncommon practice. When fear diminishes through the incorporation of trust in the Divine, the desire to respect all of life - persons, animals, the Earth, one's own body - is a natural outgrowth. The capacity to wait for life to bring what is needed also follows.
Namaste.
However, respect from a spiritual perspective is deeper than this. It has to do with viewing others outside of their roles as souls and children of God. This kind of respect grows in a natural way as the connection with one's own soul-essence deepens, but along the way there are things that can be done, and ways of perceiving that can be cultivated that foster the development of respect for the soul of others.
1. Allow your world to unify. Look at everyone you meet as a soul whether they are serving you lunch in a restaurant, driving a bus, or speaking rudely to you in passing. Their soul-nature is not dependent on their outer behavior.
2. Become aware of judgments you have concerning the behavior of another. Forgive yourself the judgment and ask for healing of all judgments. In the place of judgment, affirm the Divine soul-nature of the other silently to yourself.
3. Understand that you cannot take something from another that does not belong to you without it diminishing or hurting you at the same time. Many still live in fear about not having what they need, and so 'taking something' rather than asking for it or waiting for it to be given, whether physical or emotional, is a not uncommon practice. When fear diminishes through the incorporation of trust in the Divine, the desire to respect all of life - persons, animals, the Earth, one's own body - is a natural outgrowth. The capacity to wait for life to bring what is needed also follows.
Namaste.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Being Part of the Flow
Many things are changing now within the internal landscape as well as outwardly, and as a result of these shifts, relationships are changing. These changes can be gentle and progressive or sudden and unpredictable. In either case, the important thing is to be able to trust the flow of life, to believe in the future, and to open one's hands to let go of the past.
Letting go of the past in the presence of change requires a secure conviction that one will be alright with an unknown outcome. The sense of 'alright-ness' must therefore lie within the self, rather than be attributed to someone else or something else. This is an important shift that must take place if one is to grow emotionally and spiritually, and also if one is to ride the currents of change that are moving through life.
In the presence of change, one can be part of the flow or resist it. The difference typically has to do with the choice between fear and trust. How much can you trust yourself, trust life, trust God in the presence of the Unknown? This is the area of growth for many, now, and the answer to this question will determine how gracefully you can move through a time of change. All blessings be with you.
Letting go of the past in the presence of change requires a secure conviction that one will be alright with an unknown outcome. The sense of 'alright-ness' must therefore lie within the self, rather than be attributed to someone else or something else. This is an important shift that must take place if one is to grow emotionally and spiritually, and also if one is to ride the currents of change that are moving through life.
In the presence of change, one can be part of the flow or resist it. The difference typically has to do with the choice between fear and trust. How much can you trust yourself, trust life, trust God in the presence of the Unknown? This is the area of growth for many, now, and the answer to this question will determine how gracefully you can move through a time of change. All blessings be with you.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Which Reality Do You Choose?
We make the choice to be more conscious or less conscious in each moment of every day. Which reality do you choose?
Often, the response to this question is determined by how much discomfort we are feeling and whether the need to 'get away from it' is more important than the need to become more aware of it, its quality, its source.
Consciousness is a great gift and a great responsibility. The feeling exists within the separated state that certain things cannot be looked at too closely or faced without great danger. Within the increasingly present state of at-one-ment, consciousness becomes more possible since the sense of integration with one's larger identity allows more internal space to see what is actually there.
May all beings be blessed with the space created by light to embrace the self on all levels. Amen.
Often, the response to this question is determined by how much discomfort we are feeling and whether the need to 'get away from it' is more important than the need to become more aware of it, its quality, its source.
Consciousness is a great gift and a great responsibility. The feeling exists within the separated state that certain things cannot be looked at too closely or faced without great danger. Within the increasingly present state of at-one-ment, consciousness becomes more possible since the sense of integration with one's larger identity allows more internal space to see what is actually there.
May all beings be blessed with the space created by light to embrace the self on all levels. Amen.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Being Present to What Is
Acceptance can be superficial or it can be deep and filled with love and compassion. A measure of engagement with the NOW is the degree to which the heart is attuned to its natural state, without defenses and without fear. When this state is present, one is here and open to all experience. This engagement of the heart IS the present moment. It is here for all. It is All. Be willing to open your heart further and you will find it. Blessings.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Listening
Listening is a beautiful thing. To hear what someone else is truly saying to you through words, and gestures, and through what is behind these is a revelation of the soul of another.
Listening is a sacred act that allows others to become beloveds. It is a gesture of the heart and of selflessness which allows the other to be as important to you as you are to yourself. Blessings.
Listening is a sacred act that allows others to become beloveds. It is a gesture of the heart and of selflessness which allows the other to be as important to you as you are to yourself. Blessings.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Presentness and Emotions
How can you be present with all and wherever you are, when different reactions are evoked by different people and different circumstances?
To be present, one must be aware, not cloudy, within a clear space, not burdened by inner preoccupations. This, however, is not an either-or condition, but rather one that is achieved in degrees and increments. It can also take place in certain situations and not in others. What is important is to note how present you are and to be aware of what holds you back. It is also important to hold the intention to be present to life as a way of life. Without this, the personal and collective emotional field of energies can sweep you away into whatever is going on in the moment.
A question was asked concerning the stabilization of one's energy field that I spoke of in "New Ways of Relating - Part 2." Here is the response, which also relates to the issue of 'presentness'. To be unaffected by the streams of emotional energy that surround you while being able to respond to others with love is a measure of both presentness and inner stability.
Stabilizing One's Energy Field
To be present, one must be aware, not cloudy, within a clear space, not burdened by inner preoccupations. This, however, is not an either-or condition, but rather one that is achieved in degrees and increments. It can also take place in certain situations and not in others. What is important is to note how present you are and to be aware of what holds you back. It is also important to hold the intention to be present to life as a way of life. Without this, the personal and collective emotional field of energies can sweep you away into whatever is going on in the moment.
A question was asked concerning the stabilization of one's energy field that I spoke of in "New Ways of Relating - Part 2." Here is the response, which also relates to the issue of 'presentness'. To be unaffected by the streams of emotional energy that surround you while being able to respond to others with love is a measure of both presentness and inner stability.
Stabilizing One's Energy Field
Friday, November 6, 2009
New Ways of Relating - Part 2
The karmic 'pull' of energy fields that resonate with each other is what causes the 'triggering' mechanism that is so familiar to people, where something that someone else does creates a reflexive response of discomfort, anger, or withdrawal within oneself. This interweaving of energy fields happens because both persons involved are in need of healing of the same issues, although the manifestation of the issue may occur quite differently in each.
To move beyond karmic relating, it is very important to be able to stabilize your own energy field. To the extent that this becomes possible, you are no longer easily drawn into the interactive energy pattern and can operate independently according to your own positive Divine intention.
Stabilizing of one's energy field is a function of stabilizing light within oneself and stabilizing one's relationship with the Divine. To the extent that you wish to move things to a place of healing in your relationship life, freeing yourself from karmic patterns, it is important to take responsibility for this aspect of being. The Practice of Alignment can help with this, as can other forms of attunement to the higher vibrations of light. Blessings.
See also New Ways of Relating
To move beyond karmic relating, it is very important to be able to stabilize your own energy field. To the extent that this becomes possible, you are no longer easily drawn into the interactive energy pattern and can operate independently according to your own positive Divine intention.
Stabilizing of one's energy field is a function of stabilizing light within oneself and stabilizing one's relationship with the Divine. To the extent that you wish to move things to a place of healing in your relationship life, freeing yourself from karmic patterns, it is important to take responsibility for this aspect of being. The Practice of Alignment can help with this, as can other forms of attunement to the higher vibrations of light. Blessings.
See also New Ways of Relating
Thursday, November 5, 2009
New Ways of Relating
The emerging consciousness of one's own Divine nature and unity with all of life brings a new paradigm for relationships into being. It is based on the recognition of others as souls, and not merely as personalities.
This is important, for if you hold the consciousness of others as souls, then you are more capable of overlooking difficult behavior that might otherwise hurt or wound you, realizing that that other person is doing the best they can with their own learning and healing process. If you view them as a soul, and stop identifying them with their outer self, you will be silently but effectively offering them an invitation to become more of what you are perceiving and sensing beneath the outer layer.
This invitation to become the inner self is fostered by not reacting with rejection, anger, blame, or judgment to the outer self.
It takes only ONE person to do this - a person who is conscious and who wants to become more so. Blessings.
See New Ways of Relating - Part 2
This is important, for if you hold the consciousness of others as souls, then you are more capable of overlooking difficult behavior that might otherwise hurt or wound you, realizing that that other person is doing the best they can with their own learning and healing process. If you view them as a soul, and stop identifying them with their outer self, you will be silently but effectively offering them an invitation to become more of what you are perceiving and sensing beneath the outer layer.
This invitation to become the inner self is fostered by not reacting with rejection, anger, blame, or judgment to the outer self.
It takes only ONE person to do this - a person who is conscious and who wants to become more so. Blessings.
See New Ways of Relating - Part 2
Monday, November 2, 2009
The Language of Love
There are some people who do well with personal love - intimate one-to-one relationships, and there are others, especially at this time in the unfolding of our collective awareness, who do well with universal love in the abstract, but not so well with the personal.
In reality, the two are eternally connected, both requiring the freeing of the self from whatever obstacles exist to the presence of love and its expression. Many spiritually dedicated people have a desire to enlarge their capacity to love and to love all in the oneness of what is, but the heart's capacity to love begins with one - it begins with taking down the barriers of fear that exist due to inner misrepresentations of what love or intimacy is truly like. Many are afraid to take down these barriers, and here is where the largest growth can take place - in your own willingness to love more where you are, as you are. The love for the Oneness that all of life belongs to will grow out of the heart's capacity to love well, to love freely, and to give itself in full surrender to the experience of loving, no matter whom it is with and no matter what the circumstances.
The universal and the personal are forever intertwined, and one cannot leap over personal difficulties in order to arrive at the larger view. In the intimate details of everything lies the goal itself. Blessings.
In reality, the two are eternally connected, both requiring the freeing of the self from whatever obstacles exist to the presence of love and its expression. Many spiritually dedicated people have a desire to enlarge their capacity to love and to love all in the oneness of what is, but the heart's capacity to love begins with one - it begins with taking down the barriers of fear that exist due to inner misrepresentations of what love or intimacy is truly like. Many are afraid to take down these barriers, and here is where the largest growth can take place - in your own willingness to love more where you are, as you are. The love for the Oneness that all of life belongs to will grow out of the heart's capacity to love well, to love freely, and to give itself in full surrender to the experience of loving, no matter whom it is with and no matter what the circumstances.
The universal and the personal are forever intertwined, and one cannot leap over personal difficulties in order to arrive at the larger view. In the intimate details of everything lies the goal itself. Blessings.
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