Sunday, November 25, 2012

The Unburdened Heart


 
Our lives are so  beautifully guided by Divine Intelligence. 

The Universe operates on the principle of flow.  

There is an intuitive unfolding that is always occurring everywhere we look and when we honor and embrace it,  Life is much easier for us to navigate.



This  graceful evolution is also at work when we need to make a difficult decision or choose a course of action.  



It reveals its wisdom to us and presents us with the most powerful and wisest path when we:

Embrace our feelings and emotions


Speak our truth in the best way we know how

Listen to others' truth and aspire to understand it

Hold the intention to act from Pure Love

Trust that the most beautiful and perfect choice will find its way into our
     hearts.

 

Once we discern the importance of BEING our true, authentic self and HONORING that impulse in others,  Life becomes a JOYFUL exercise, led by the grace of an unburdened heart.




Image is from Sundrip.com
Image used with permission. 
Copyright @ Sundrip Journals. All rights reserved.

Friday, November 23, 2012

The Other Side of the Veil






It has often been suggested that when we leave our earth life we have access to "the other side of the veil"  where we are able to know our Spirit selves in their full glory. 


In this picture life on earth feels concrete and real, replete with strong sensory experiences and intense energies.


The other side of the veil seems a hazy vision.


But what if we have it backwards? 


What if our authentic and essential essence is not in our earth life but rather in our SPIRITUAL PRESENCE?  

What if WE...living our earth journeys...are what is on the other side of the veil? 

What if WE are the hazy vision being observed by our SPIRIT SELVES?
 

Our sojourn here is just one small part of our story, one small part of who we are...actually just a moment in Time...a moment that is being viewed by our Spirit selves with caring, love and compassion.

 

Because of the nature of duality and the difficult challenges of earth life this moment feels so very real that we perhaps cannot fathom its place in the sweeping, pandemic, NEVER ending story of our true existence.


 
Our time here on earth may be the dusky, hazy dream we have
envisioned for ourselves so that we can experience and learn life's true lessons on what is really "the other side of the veil".





image from latinalista.com.   

Saturday, November 17, 2012

The Magical Playground



Though it often masquerades as a series of difficult challenges,

all Life is made up of Pure Consciousness…

and this beautiful, majestic, mysterious resource is our PLAYGROUND and it is WE who decide how to experience it.



We do this by the stories we choose to write for ourselves.  And there is a never ending supply to choose from because WE keep creating whatever we wish to believe about ourselves.


 
And, by this process, we cast OURSELVES in the role of our choosing though it FEELS like someone else did this to us...especially, if we are unhappy in the role...or feel victimized.  



We FORGET that we are Spiritual Beings having a human experience... that we are already perfect...already PURE LOVE


We FORGET that we have chosen to experience life in earth school and that we can PLAY with pure consciousness and create whatever story will help us on our journey.

 

If fear or anxiety is casting gloom in our life...if we are mired in depression or hopelessness,  


we can use Alberto Villoldo's suggestion in his book COURAGEOUS DREAMING to fly to the level of eagle and write A NEW STORY for ourselves...

one in which we are the Spiritual Hero who sees the soul view of what is happening, swings HIGH and chooses to act from PURE LOVE, our heavenly heritage.

 

It's easy to forget that we have this wondrous ability, especially because we accepted the veil of forgetfulness as a condition of our experience in earth school. 


 But ALL of this is ours for the asking.  We are the architects of our journey and we choose how this journey will transpire.



Never lose sight of the magical playground of pure consciousness.   Choose the best and brightest version of yourself. Live your dreams with passion and pleasure!





image from alisonkolesar.blogspot.com

Saturday, November 10, 2012

The Accomplice



Hiding deep in the background of our lives there is an intriguing force exerting a very powerful influence on us. 

Like an emotional parasite, it attaches itself to a difficult moment of challenge, intensifying an issue and adding layers of complication to it.
 

You may wonder where this mysterious
intensity comes from...and what gives it its potency and punch?



Here's what's fascinating about this situation...



The answer to the mystery 
is the fact that WE ourselves are THE ACCOMPLICEthe energy attaching itself to our problems and making them MORE painful and MORE difficult to resolve...and we are doing this by refusing to stay 100% focused on the present moment.


This present moment has two primary levels...what is happening and how it feels to us
.  


One...two.  Simple enough.  But somehow we manage to take the simple purity of that moment and cover it with levels which go beyond the primary experience.*
 

The third level we engage in is composed of the MENTAL CONVERSATION we are directing to ourselves about what is happening...


for example, 

"Oh, no, here comes my problem again.  I can't get away from it."
         or
"I keep making the same mistakes."
        or
"Something is really wrong with me.  It feels like I'm falling apart."



This mental commentary is then followed by the next level in which we EMOTIONALLY  BERATE  OURSELVES  for thinking these thoughts.



We may even add more levels to the experience as we write our "stories" about what is happening to us and our reactions to those "stories".

And, at the end of the cycle is MORE PAIN.

And is this last level of pain one we have brought on ourselves?




It seems as if the conversation we are having with ourselves about the pain or distress or problem and our reaction to it is evoking anxiety, stress and judgment and this emotional reaction is CONTRACTING the cells of our body, further intensifying our pain, compromising the healing process and causing ourselves considerable suffering.



Releasing these added levels of intensity and returning  to levels one and two  (the simple purity of what has happened and how it feels to us) will relieve much suffering .

But to do this we need to be consciously aware of the  process we are engaging in...and not indulge in judging ourselves when we do discover it.*

 
Eckhart Tolle says:
"The primary cause of unhappiness is never the situation but your thoughts about it.  Be aware of the thoughts you are thinking."

 

Why do anxiety, stress or negativity arise?

 Because we turned away from the present moment and missed what  Tolle calls

 "the deeper perfection that is inherent in life itself"....the perfection exquisitely designed to assist us in completing the goals of our life journey and provide opportunities for the healing of our soul.


Instead of being a perpetrator of our own suffering, let's consider becoming a SPIRITUAL Accomplice  to the work of the Divine Universe by honoring the unfolding of life in all of its perfection and embracing the lessons it is so carefully delivering to us.





*Special acknowledgment to Ken Porter for his thoughts on the possible complex
levels of our 
  experience of physical and emotional pain and his suggestion on how to deal with this awareness. 


   image from duckmanpettho.com.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Dress Rehearsal

    
The night before a new show opens is filled with hopefulness and excitement.  

This is the perfect opportunity
to showcase our talent, to let ourselves shine and, if we don't get everything perfect, we know that we have the opportunity to do it all over on opening night.  
                                            

Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could borrow the energy and rhythm of this special moment and hold a dress rehearsal in the drama of our own lives?
 

When we are faced with an uncomfortable or distressing or even painful situation...what if we held a dress rehearsal in our
HEART on how we are going to respond to the situation?   



What if we took a moment  
 to

 breathe deeply,
 send ourselves compassion for our distress
    and then 
 envision how we could address what is presenting itself to us 
 from the position of pure love?



Granted, this would definitely slow down the time it would take to respond, but imagine the beautiful inspiration we could evoke by asking this one, very important question:  WHAT WOULD LOVE DO?

 

The dress rehearsal in our heart would surely lead us to some lovely compassion (for ourselves and others) and could help us choose a response that would feel very PEACEFUL and COMFORTING.


And that PEACEFUL feeling would send a powerful message to all of the cells of our body which tune in so closely to our emotions, sending us those GLORIOUS endorphins and speeding the rate of any healing our body needs to deliver.


Isn't it fabulous what love can do!



image from cutcaster.com


Monday, November 5, 2012

The Courage of Authenticity





 Being authentic should probably be one of the easiest things we have to do.  

You know...just be ourselves. 

 And yet, it's not.


In fact, it's actually rare to find a truly authentic person because we are all so strongly influenced by our desire

 to be accepted
 to "not rock the boat"', 
 to please people who are important to us,
       or

 to take the "easy way out".

 

Being authentic takes courage.

It takes a belief in ourselves as the truest source for the choices we make in life.  

It takes the assurance and confidence to know that WE have the right to steer our own ship AND the responsibility.



This is not easy stuff to do.   It's way easier to adopt others' ways of looking at things.  And it feels safer.

No.  Earth school is not an easy ride.


We have to grow into ourselves...learn how to listen to our heart and make those messages our guiding principles.

 

IF we pass on this important part of our job description, there is a PRICE TAG.

It's a GNAWING FEELING down deep inside us that we sold ourselves out because of our fear...our fear that we are not good enough all by ourselves...our fear that we need to
attach ourselves to a bandwagon and ride it through the parade of life.

 

And our bodies (who truly know better and would be a faithful guide IF we would let them)  react and rebel in the face of this betrayal. 


They know how peaceful and loving we would feel if we were true to ourselves and so they find countless ways of reminding us that we are off center and not being a true reflection of who we really are.

 

That is the considerable price tag for not being authentic. 


BUT we can call forth our courage at any time, 
mobilize our energy 
and 
step into our true selves

and, thereby,  experience the Joy of having our heart messages on full display to the world through our thoughts, words and actions.




image from talentanarchy.com. 

Friday, November 2, 2012

The Wisdom of Cassie Nightingale






The concept of UNCONDITIONAL LOVE seems like such an appealing and beautiful thought.  

We often hear spiritualists and philosophers tell us how wonderful and transformative unconditional love can be.

The thought of loving without conditions...loving selflessly...seems like a heavenly achievement, one not so easy to accomplish during our sojourn in earth school.   But it's a glorious state to envision and aspire to.
 

And it seems like THE DIVINE UNIVERSE...through the magic of technology...is offering us an exquisite example of how to move through our daily life filled with this special grace.


Enter Cassie Nightingale, the heroine of a series of television dramas called The Good Witch.  Titles in this series (which is being currently broadcast) include The Good Witch, The Good Witch's Gift, The Good Witch's Charm, The Good Witch's Family and The Good Witch's Garden.


And I, thoroughly entranced, have watched every one of them.



As I reflected on the first Good Witch movie I saw, I realized that the title character, Cassie, was not only lovely and charming...she also had  the most beautiful  heart and was wise and intuitive.  

She embraced everything that life had brought her (including being raised in several foster homes). 

She respected others' journeys.  

She very easily spoke her truth with a quiet but deep conviction and respectfully listened to others'  truth as they were able to voice it.  

Of course, Cassie also practiced the "magic" of knowing how and when to encourage others along their path and was known to magically appear in just the right place at just the right moment.

 
Cassie's sudden and unexpected appearances aside (which are not in our ordinary skill set),  the character of Cassie Nightingale is the BEST contemporary, ordinary life role model I have ever encountered as an illustration of unconditional love.




It is true that The Good Witch stories are small town and folksy but the stunning illustration of how to live unconditional love....to offer that love to everyone you encounter and, especially to ourselves, makes them an extraordinary offering.



Here are some of her words from The Good Witch series.  They ring very true to me, have many applications and I feel are worth remembering.



If you make up your mind you want something, all the obstacles seem to vanish.



I believe the right people always show up when you need them most.



Sometimes the words find you.



The best gifts are the least expected.



You can travel a great distance by sitting very still and thinking very deep thoughts.



You will know if someone is the one for you by first making sure you know yourself.



Sometimes when my thoughts are circling in my head like so many swirling stars I like to write them down.



There are gifts everywhere if you're ready to receive them.



Real magic takes time and love.



They're here so we can help them.



I think you just need to keep searching for the right inspiration.



You're an excellent listener.  You hear what people need and you help them find it.



I never throw a good thing away.



Things are rarely as they first appear.



I have a feeling I need to keep my doors open for awhile.


Sometimes nonsense makes the most sense.



Be careful what you believe because that is the world that you'll create for yourself.



Try looking for the best in people.  See where it leads you.



We get a little restless when we aren't moving forward.



There's room...there's lots of room.  You just have to know where to look.





I'm keeping Cassie Nightingale and The Good Witch movies available on my DVR for repeated viewing.   

They're a lovely and delightful reminder of how to navigate my day with calm and centeredness and the joy of living what we are all meant to be...

Expressions of Unconditional Love







image from blog.zap2it.com.