I'm a psychiatrist and intuitive in Los Angeles. What I do isn't my job.
It's my life's passion. With patients and in workshops, I listen with my
intellect and my intuition, a potent inner wisdom that goes beyond the
literal. I experience it as a flash of insight, a gut feeling, a hunch,
a dream. By blending intuition with orthodox medical knowledge I can offer
my patients and workshop participants the best of both worlds.
Now, listening to intuition is sacred to me, but learning to trust it has
taken years. I've described the details in my memoir Second Sight which
is meant to assure anyone whoever thought they were weird or crazy for
having intuitive experiences, that they are not! This brief synopsis gives
you a taste of the book.
I grew up in Beverly Hills the only daughter of two-physician parents with
twenty-five physicians in my family. From age nine, I had dreams and intuitions
that would come true. I could predicts illness, earthquakes, even the suicide
of one of my parent's friends. This confused and alarmed me, as it did
my parents who were entrenched in the hard-core rational world of science.
At first they tried to write my intuitions off as coincidence. Finally,
though, after I dreamed my mother's mentor would loose a political election--which
to my horror, came true--she took me aside and told me, "Never mention
another dream or intuition in our house again!" I'll never forget
the look in my dear mother's exasperated, frightened eyes, nothing I ever
wanted to see again. So from that day on, I kept my intuitions to myself.
I grew up ashamed of my abilities, sure there was something wrong with
me.
Luckily, I've had many angels in human form who've pointed me to
my true calling as physician. In the sixties I got heavily involved with
drugs in an attempt to block my intuitions out- obviously not something
I'm recommending to you! Following a nearly fatal car accident at
age sixteen when I tumbled over a treacherous 1500 foot cliff in Malibu
Canyon, my parents forced me to see a psychiatrist. This man was the first
person who ever "saw" me--not who he wanted me to be, but who
I was. He taught me to begin to value the gift of intuition, and referred
me to Dr. Thelma Moss, a intuition researcher at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric
Institute. She was to become my mentor and guide to developing my intuitive
side.
While working in Thelma's lab I had an amazingly specific dream which announced,
"You're going to become an MD, a psychiatrist, to help legitimize
intuition in medicine." When I awoke, I felt like someone was playing
a practical joke on me. I'd never liked science, and I was bored around
all my parent's doctor-friends. I was a hippie living in an old converted
brick Laundromat with my artist-boyfriend in Venice Beach, working in the
May Company's towel department. (I've had a great love of towels and sheets
since!) The last thing I envisioned doing was medicine. But because I was
beginning to trust my intuition, I enrolled in a junior college just to
see how it would go. So one course became two, became fourteen years of
medical training--USC medical school and a UCLA psychiatric internship
and residency.
The irony was, that during my medical training I strayed far from the intuitive
world again. Traditional psychiatry equates visions with psychosis. Working
in the UCLA emergency room, I'd keep seeing psychotics who were wheeled
in screaming, strapped to gurneys, accompanied by cops with billy clubs.
These patients professed to hear God and to be able predict things. They
also felt their food was poisoned, and that the FBI was on their tail.
No one tried to sort through this mishmash of claims. Typically, patients
would shot up with with Thorazine, hospitalized on lock-down inpatient
units until their "symptoms" subsided. Seeing this so many times
I doubted whether it was safe or appropriate to integrate my intuitions
in medicine.
When I opened my Los Angeles psychiatric practice in 1983, I had every
intention of it being traditional; I'd use medications, psychotherapy,
but I didn't intend for intuition to play a role. My practice was
extremely successful. Since I was a workaholic and also loved helping people,
I had twelve hour days, though very little personal life. But then I had
a heart-wrenching wake-up call that changed everything. It was an intuition
that a patient, on antidepressants, was going to make a suicide attempt.
Because she was doing so well--nothing supported my hunch--I dismissed
it. Within a week she overdosed on the antidepressants I'd prescribed and
ended up in a coma for nearly a month. (Had she not survived I would've
been devastated.) The hardest part, though, was that I thought I'd harmed
her by not utilizing a vital piece of intuitive information. This
was intolerable for me. From then on, I knew, as a responsible physician,
I had to integrate my intuitions into my work.
After this episode, my journey to bring intuition into my medical practice
began. I didn't know how I'd do it, but I put out a silent prayer to the
universe to help me. Soon, I began meeting people, more angels, who showed
me the way. Gradually I grew comfortable with my intuition, set out to
write "Second Sight." This took me seven years to complete because
I had so much fear about coming out of the closet as an intuitive. I was
afraid of what my physician-peers would think, that they'd mock me or blackball
me from the profession. My mother warned, "They'll think you're weird.
It'll jeopardize your medical career." Ah Mother: I loved her, but
thank god I didn't listen. Finding my voice as a psychiatrist and intuitive
has been my path to freedom.
Sure, there's a risk when you stretch yourself, but the rewards are enormous.
Now, I'm blessed to travel around the country giving workshops on intuition
to auditoriums full of extraordinary people--health care professionals
and general audiences alike--who long to embrace their inner voice. I'm
heartened to see that many physicians are eager to deal with patients in
the new way I offer. Recently I gave an intuitive healing workshop at the
American Psychiatric Association convention, a annual gathering of the
most conservative psychiatrists in the world. I'm pleased to report the
response was wonderful.
I'm sad to report that my mother didn't live long enough to see this. In
1993 she died of a lymphoma. But, on her deathbed, she decided to tell
me our "family secrets." She told me, "I want to pass
the power onto you." I was astounded to learn that I came from a lineage
of intuitive healers on her side of the family--my Jewish grandmother who
did laying on of hands in a shed behind the pharmacy she and Grandpop ran
in Philadelphia. East coast aunts and cousins I'd never met since I grew
up in California. Also, my mother, herself, had a strong inner voice which
told her how to treat patients for over forty years. She'd listened to
this voice and secretly used her innate healing powers to keep her lymphoma
in remission for many years. "Why didn't you tell me?" I asked
her. She said simply, "I wanted you to lead a normal, happy life,
not to be thought of as weird like your grandmother was." Oh
Mother... I'll always be grateful for what she shared, but, still... she'd
waited so long. Even so, I believe in the wisdom of the paths we've been
given. Mine has been to fight for what I believed in despite what my parents
or anyone said. An invaluable but rugged lesson in empowerment.
These days, no matter what I'm going through, especially when my heart
is torn in a million pieces my intuition has sustained me. I hope that
my journey in "Second Sight" can help you. One thing I'm certain
of: if you follow your intuitive voice, you can't go wrong. Stay true to
it. Intuition is about empowerment, not having to conform to someone else's
notion of who you should be. It's about being true to yourself, and all
the goodness that comes from that.
Judith Orloff, M.D is a board certified psychiatrist and practicing intuitive,
author of the bestsellers Second Sight, Guide to Intuitive Healing and of Positive Energy, due out from Harmony Books, April 2004. She is assistant clinical professor
of Psychiatry at UCLA and an international workshop leader. Dr. Orloff
can be reached at www.drjudithorloff.com.
The easiest, most exciting adventure in consciousness follows the lamplit
guidance of the still, small voice in each of us. In the quiet of meditation,
we listen to our souls and hear what is most needed in our lives and how
best to obtain it. This wise, kindly voice never fails us and never falters.
There is no substitute for inner listening. But in our travels, these four
pathways emerge to enhance our joy and draw us into the Oneness.
See which of these harmonic pathways resonates best with you: thought and
word, self-knowledge, inner peace, or chanting and toning. All work together,
as individual notes or as a chord, to transport us into the beauty and
music of higher consciousness--the light and sound of Universal Mind, or
God.
1. The power of thought and word. When our ideal is peace, healing or prosperity,
and we say or do something out of alignment with this, we sense, feel or
know it. The discord itself keeps us on track and guides us back into oneness
with ourselves, others and Spirit. The great psychic-healer Edgar Cayce,
who said that "Thoughts are crimes or miracles," lovingly advised
everyone to create an ideal by which to live. This is best done in meditation,
so that the soul voice may show us what is needed most. For you, is it
peace, joy, self-discipline, will, oneness or something else altogether?
If a single word floats up when you ask this question, create with this
word an affirmative phrase or sentence, then go back into the silence to
see if it is good and right for you. When it is, post your ideal somewhere
and, during meditation, use it as a mantra to draw your busy mind back
into the silence. This will build your ideal into your life. When the words
of your ideal no longer have a "shine," or "go dead"
for you, you have incorporated this quality and it's time to return to
meditation for a fresh ideal.
Every time you think or speak your ideal, you are physically attuning your
body-mind to it, so be sure it's a spiritual intention that will uplift
you! Ideals are blueprints with which we build our lives, whether we know
it or not! If you aren't convinced that your thoughts, words and emotions influence the physical world around you, you might
find these stories very interesting.
Last November I attended an historic conference in Virginia Beach that
featured the physicists and U.S. military personnel at the center of America's
research on remote viewing, termed "anomalous perception" or
"anomalous perturbation" (psychic receiving or influencing) by
these methodical thinkers. One of the presenters was the famous remote
viewer and artist Ingo Swann, who reminded us that thoughts, as vibrations,
are heard and felt by all sentient beings, including house plants!
At a party in New York City, Swann met Cleve Baxter, who later authored
the classic book, The Secret Life of Plants, and visited Baxter's home
to participate in experiments. Baxter had hooked up lie detector electrodes
to the leaves of ordinary house plants, and every time Swann struck a match,
the readout jumped sharply in reaction. After awhile, the reactions stopped
and Swann asked why. "The plant knows you're bluffing!" Baxter
told him. And so it did, as illustrated time and again in Baxter's landmark
book.
In other experiments, Baxter and Swann took skin scrapings and drops of
blood from a man and put them in a vial hooked up to the same electrodes.
The readouts consistently jumped when the man was poked with a pin, even
when he was five blocks away! (See the second edition of my e-zine, OneWorld,
for a series of eye-opening articles and interviews from this amazing conference.)
That we are all one body, one mind is indisputable. Yet we so easily forget
and doubt how our thoughts and words affect everyone-and everything-else,
including our own bodies and minds.
2. The power of self-knowledge. My still, small voice has said for the
past 16 years that releasing darkness enables us to attract and hold more
light, and recently, DNA experiments carried out by a Russian scientist
proved definitively that this is true. It's intuitively verifiable as well,
and a phenomenon that we can physically feel as it takes place.
Here's how to bypass your ego, which I call a "hero in its own mind,"
and awaken to what you need to know about yourself. Every time you find
yourself angry, frustrated or in conflict with someone else, "Stand
back and watch yourself go by," as Cayce so vividly advised. "Know
Thyself," emblazoned on the temples of Greek mystery schools, is the
key to conscious evolution. If we do not undertake this journey, we are
not really conscious at all.
I was taught this by my meditative writings, and as I traced my discordant
words and actions back to their source-fear of inadequacy and a crippling
lack of self-love-I was able to see and correct the destructive patterns
of behavior that drove me to addictive decisions and ways of life. I could
actually feel my burdens growing lighter, as my pain, sorrow and yearning
gave way to increased amounts of light in my body-mind.
What fascinated me most was the correlation of this "en-lightenment"
to sound: with each stride forward, I could hear my singing voice becoming
ever more resonant and beautiful! I can still hear the difference in my
voice, in shifting from one state of consciousness to another, and especially
in singing with other spiritual seekers, wherein everyone's voice grows
more harmonious, resonant and beautiful. I concluded that the high frequencies
of love bring us into our blossoming literally and in response to our deepest
desires.
3. The power of inner peace. Silent meditation, by building up the divine
currents of energy within us, is the single most effective way to heal
and transform the body-mind. These currents, containing the light and sound
of God, tune up our bodies through the chakra system, or "wheels of
energy," as Cayce called them. He said, and virtually all medical
intuitives have seen, that these seven energy centers connect the spiritual
dimensions with our endocrine glands, located at major nerve centers. The
chakras, powered-up like frequency transformers with multi-level circuits,
step our energy up or down.
You can feel this happen during meditation, and the longer you meditate,
the more sensitive you become to these subtle energies, which carry us
into the Oneness. I experience this oneness not only as a sense of love
for and connection with others, but also as oneness with my highest mental
clarity, creativity and intuition. After 16 years of regular practice,
I emerge from every meditation, brief or lengthy, feeling more centered,
grounded and in attunement with my true self. Going within kindles the
divine spark in us so that we may know and speak the truth of who we are-and,
in this, reach out to others in love, compassion and service.
A calm, peaceful sense of oneness is critical to our evolution; otherwise,
we volley back and forth from one state of consciousness to another without
ever really knowing what is real and what is not. I experience this shifting
consciousness when I don't meditate every day. The slippage is all too
apparent to me, and unfortunately, to others around me as well.
When I do return to meditation, I am amazed at the consistently gentle,
loving voice of my heart, which does not complain when I skip my contemplative
time, but waits patiently for me to return. Recently, while in deep meditation,
I heard a quiet little voice say, "I am too hurried." Upon engaging
in a pen-and-paper dialogue with my heart and mind, I learned that both
want and need the restful peace of meditation.
This makes sense, doesn't it? It is in the Oneness that both are energized
and made more vibrant and whole. In this blissful state, these three notes
organize themselves into a chord made of the proper co-creative partnership:
mind serving heart, heart serving soul, and soul serving what I call the
Divine Harmonic.
4. The power of chanting and toning. To comprehend the potential of sound,
we have only to read the Hebrew Bible, which tells us how the powerful
vibration of trumpets and the drumbeat of marching feet toppled the walls
of Jericho. In modern times, we have seen this same harmonic phenomenon
in a California bridge undulating in resonance with the frequency of wind
blowing all around it. The bridge eventually shattered. Equally unpleasant
to many of us is the deep, rumbling bass of automobile speakers passing
by and thumping our beating hearts into palpitations.
Such "entrainment" sensations can be reversed by a meditative
thought, word or rhythmic sound, all of which will rapidly shift any frequency
pattern. People have always used chanting and toning to evoke altered states
of consciousness and heal with the power of sound.
I've recently read, but have not yet verified, that Egyptian hieroglyphics
show adepts using the vibrations of their voices to heal their patients'
energy fields. It makes sense intuitively that if we fully understood the
capabilities of frequency and vibration, we would be able to heal anything.
The racial memory of these abilities, lost through the ages, has been restored
to us by Cayce and others. Researchers reading of Cayce's glimpses into
the distant past believe that the mastery of sound technology is how the
Mayans, Aztecs and Egyptians moved 100-ton boulders hundreds of miles and
up mountainsides to build megalithic temples and pyramids.
David Elkington's meticulously researched book, In the Name of the Gods,
claims that Egypt's pyramids were not meant to be burial chambers, but
were frequency modulators for spiritual ascension and for quickening the
mummified dead. Like sacred cairns and stone circles, pyramidal structures
amplify the resonance of chanting voices and may have been used to raise
the frequencies of the crystalline human body into harmony with the crystalline
healing frequencies of the Earth. We know today that this frequency, 7.8
hertz, is a fundamental brain wave frequency of meditation and spontaneous
healing by hands-on practitioners.
Hindus, Buddhists and many Westerners harmonize the body-mind by chanting
the familiar "Om" or singing the word "Hu," the Sufi
and Eckankar seed sound for God. (Eckankar is the present-day Religion
of the Light and Sound of God.) The vowel sounds in these words move energy
through the abdominal, cardio-pulmonary and cranial cavities of the body
when we focus on feeling this movement of loving, divine energy, rather
than how we sound to others. The key to chanting and toning is being present
to it.
Here's a powerful chant from ancient Egypt, resurrected in trance by Edgar
Cayce and explained in a little book, Music as the Bridge, published by
Cayce's Association of Research and Enlightenment (edgarcayce.org) in Virginia
Beach. I've asked people, during my talks and workshops, to sing this chant
and always hear beautiful harmonic overtones that carry the singers into
deep meditative states. Cayce said this particular chant awakens our ability
to draw ourselves into the divine and the divine into us. See if it works
for you!
Surrounding yourself with a sacred circle of love, chant the word ar-ar-r-r--e-e-e--o-o-o--mmm.
Fill your pelvis and navel with this rich, resonant "ar-ar-r-r"
(as in ah-r) and with your whole body sound the "eeeeee" (as
in eat) in your solar plexus, moving the breath upward and directing the
"oooooo" (as in oh) to the heart and throat, then the uuuuuu
(as in blue) to the base and center of the brain, and the "mmmmm"
(as in room) to the forehead and frontal lobe of your brain. You will feel
this last sound vibrating the very bones of your head.
If you sit with this chant for awhile, you'll feel the currents of spiritual
love coursing through your body-mind, and a river of peace will carry you
into the Oneness of perfect love. Share your peace and healing by visualizing
your loved ones and Earth's people basking in joy.
Joy is the natural outcome of these pathways into the Oneness, for here
we feel the perfection in all things and know ourselves to be one with
the Divine. All pain, loss and sorrow fall away in this journey toward
the Light and Sound of God. In the beautiful music of this illuminated
Oneness, we soar on wings of freedom and joy, at home in our place of true
belonging, forever.
(c)2004, Judith Pennington.All rights in all media reserved.
Judith Pennington is a writer, workshop leader and author of a critically
acclaimed book on the soul and consciousness: The Voice of the Soul: A
Journey into Wisdom and the Physics of God. Visit her website, www.eaglelife.com, to read articles related to this one and to sign up for her free e-newsletter,
The Still, Small Voice, and e-zine, OneWorld.
When I was in the ninth grade, I played on my school’s football team.During one of our games, I had an experience of the authentic Self.As I was running with the football towards the goal line, my attention
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lasted only a few moments, but as I was running out of the end zone to
meet my teammates who were rushing towards me to celebrate our score, I
felt an inner peace.
I soon forgot about that profound experience and didn’t remember it again
until my early thirties when I began my own search for the inner Self.For most of my life, I lived with a compelling need to search for something
that I could not define or articulate.In retrospect, I believe my soul longed for completion, which can only
be fulfilled through experiencing the supreme love that exists within every
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spouse to fill my emptiness, seeking the approval of others, wanting to
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be empowered to experience the greatness that is your very own Self Back To Top
Someone recently asked me why I believe what I believe. He stated that
he thought one should start from a point of eliminating any concept of
God and to use my mind to work forward from the point of zero knowledge
of any such entity. He maintained that if I did so I would realize their
was no such being. I replied that I had actually done just what he’d suggested
many years ago and that this was how I actually came back from a period
(about three years) of atheism. The following letter is my response to
him and my description of that journey.
This part is a quote from his letter to me: Personally, I would think the more logical approach would be to completely
eliminate the God concept from ones mind and work forward from the point
of zero knowledge of any such entity, than to take the present entity and
work backwards from it.
My response begins here: You'll probably find this difficult to believe,
but that's the exact route I took to arrive at my present situation. I
was an atheist for a few years during my early twenties. I had been raised
Catholic and when I came to understand that there was just something wrong
with certain parts of the Bible, (the God of love directing His followers
to slay their enemies was a big one), I totally rejected all belief in
God. Kind of like throwing the baby out with the bath water, but I didn't
realize it at the time.
What started my turnaround was that I started thinking about myself one
day. I knew from science studies that "I" was a bunch of tiny
(unimaginably small, actually) particles floating around in space that
never touched each other. Where was "I" in this conglomeration?
The particles were lifeless and nonsentient. I was an alive, thinking,
and feeling entity. The particles formed atoms and molecules, still no
"me" there. The atoms and molecules formed amino acids and such;
the building blocks of life, but still no "me" in the mix. The
amino acids and stuff combined to form (I'm sure you understand it's much
more complex than this, but I ain't presentin' no science dissertation),
one celled animals. Life at last. But still no "me" And, don't
forget the lifeless particles that make up the one celled beings. Those
particles are still without life, they still whirl around in limited space
and NEVER touch each other. Where the hell was I? For that matter, where
the hell were the one celled animals, or whatever awareness they possess?
Now, of course the one celled entities grouped (some of them), and formed
my liver, my skin, my fingernails, eventually my whole body. Now at last
"I" am present. I am aware. I am a living, breathing, fornicating
(when my wife let's me), beast of the planet. I feel the center of my awareness.
It seems to be in my head. My brain, I guess. But wait.
My brain is composed of uncountable billions of lifeless particles buzzing
around in space. No life in these things. They, in and of themselves cannot
be me. And the cells that make up my body? They don't even know "I"
exist. At most their awareness extends to their neighbors. They certainly
don't understand that they have a job to do, and that job is to be a mere
cog in some big machine that they don't have even the slightest conception
of. I think you'll agree the cells lack this level of awareness. No scientist
I am aware of would grant them anything more than a very rudimentary level
of self awareness. I doubt that the liver cells ever heard of the kidney
cells. If they did, they'd probably organize a raid so they could capture
a few wives J .
After contemplating this conundrum for more than a year, I slowly came
to the conclusion that I must be more than this. And therefore, life must
be more than the sum total of its lifeless parts. And yes, this understanding
that life was more than the sum total of its lifeless parts did lead me
to believe that there was something more behind it all, something beyond
my understanding. I finally admitted to myself that there probably was
some universe creator. I still was not ready to accept God. At least not
God as I understood Him to be at the time. No, that guy was mean, petty,
vindictive, and small. Fear of God? Damn right, if that's what He was like.
But I saw no reason to fear whatever is behind the creation of the universe.
I began studying the world's religions to see if any of them made sense.
I bought all the books out at the time (my library is still overstuffed
with them to this day), including the lesser known ones like Theosophy,
Rosicrucianism, and even the cabala (Jewish mystical tradition), and each
seemed as silly as the other (my apologies to any who take offense at these
words, but that was how I felt at the time). After each book, or series
of books, that I read, I had more questions than when I had started them.
I still had my original questions unanswered, and now had others waiting
in line behind them. This quest for God was becoming an endless trek down
a winding path that seemed headed for nowhere. Or worse, a "dead"
end.
I finally came across some texts that answered all my questions. That not
only proclaimed a God of love, mercy, and perfection, but answered in the
most beautiful and sensible way such mind-numbing questions as how a God
of love could allow the suffering we witness and experience every day.
It answered the questions of who we are, where we came from, and where
we are going in terms and concepts that rang loud and clear in my heart.
It made sense of the whole picture. Not only that, it made beautiful, logical,
and thrilling sense. After nearly thirty years of studying these texts,
I am still excited over them. I am still thrilled each day as I contemplate
my place in the universe. I can embrace everyone, of all faiths, all national
origins, and all types as my actual brothers and sisters. I'm not saying
I couldn't have loved my brothers and sisters before, in fact I did, but
how many belief systems claim that ALL belief systems (including the atheistic
faith; don't kid yourself, atheism is faith clothed as cynicism, or skepticism),
were equally valid? That it was how you lived, not what you believed that
was important? Not many. In fact, I've only found one, Unitarian Universalism,
and that's not exactly a belief system, more of a 'come on down and join
us, no matter what you believe.' I don't fault the Unitarians in any way.
I'm just saying that they don't really have a belief system, and that's
fine. Especially when you consider how the alternative has driven wedges
between people for thousands of years.
So there you have it. I took your advice over thirty years ago. I
completely eliminate(d) the God concept from (my) mind and work(ed) forward
from the point of zero knowledge of any such entity,
Oh yeah, those texts I came across over twenty years ago? I have recently
published an updated and easier to read version of a part of them, (the
most pertinent part), and they are available on my website under the title
"The Greatest Story Ever Revealed."
[Sundar Singh (1889-1929) is known as India's most famous convert to Christianity.
However, that reputation is misguided, for Sundar Singh never accepted
the religion as such but emphasized instead the life-changing starkness
of Jesus' original teachings. If anything, he was the ultimate heretic
- an uncompromising critic of convention and a scandal to the comfortable.
Leaving a wealthy home at sixteen to live as a sadhu, or wandering holy
man, Sundar Singh soon became the stuff of legends. Though hugely popular
in India and Europe during his lifetime, his simple yet profound parables
have not been readily available in English for decades.]
************************
dharma - devotion
Once as I wandered in the mountains, I came upon an outcropping of rocks,
and as I sat on the highest rock to rest and look out over the valley,
I saw a nest in the branches of a tree. The young birds in the nest were
crying noisily. Then I saw how the mother bird returned with food for her
young ones. When they heard the sound of her wings and felt her presence
nearby, they cried all the more loudly and opened their beaks wide. But
after the mother bird fed them and flew away again, they were quiet. Climbing
down to look more closely, I saw that the newly hatched birds had not yet
opened their eyes. Without even being able to see their mother, they opened
their beaks and begged for nourishment whenever she approached.
These tiny birds did not say: "We will not open our beaks until we
can see our mother clearly and also see what kind of food she offers. Perhaps
it is not our mother at all but instead some dangerous enemy. And who knows
if it is proper nourishment or some kind of poison that is being fed to
us?"
If they had reasoned thus, they would never have discovered the truth.
Before they were even strong enough to open their eyes, they would have
starved to death. But they held no such doubts about the presence and love
of their mother, and so after a few days, they opened their eyes and rejoiced
to see her with them. Day by day they grew stronger and developed into
the form and likeness of the mother, and soon they were able to soar up
into the freedom of the skies.
We humans often think of ourselves as the greatest living beings, but do
we not have something to learn from these common birds? We often question
the reality and the loving nature of God. But the Master has said: "Blessed
are those who have not seen and yet believe." Whenever we open our
hearts to God, we receive spiritual nourishment and grow more and more
into the likeness of God until we reach spiritual maturity. And once we
open our spiritual eyes and see God's presence, we find indescribable and
unending bliss.
************************
A scientist had a bird in his hand. He wanted to find out in what part
of the bird's body its life was and what the life itself was. So he began
dissecting the bird. The result was that the very life of which he was
in search mysteriously vanished. Those who try to understand the inner
life merely intellectually will meet with a similar failure.
************************
amrita - eternity
The fitness of our hearts and thoughts to receive God's spirit is like
that of violin strings. If they are properly tuned, in harmony with one
another, then the touch of the bow produces beautiful music. If not, then
there is only discord. Whenever our hearts are truly ready to receive God's
spirit, they will produce heavenly airs and joyous harmonies - both in
this life and in the spiritual world.
Once a poor beggar sat for twenty-one years on top of a buried treasure
without knowing it. He burned so hotly with desire for money that he even
hoarded the pennies he received. Yet, he finally died in utter poverty.
Because the greedy man sat so long in that one spot, a rumor arose that
he had hidden something valuable there. So the governor had the place excavated
and the hidden treasure chest was found, filled with precious gems. The
greedy beggar died in ignorance of the wealth that lay a few inches under
him, and in the end the riches went instead into the royal treasury. God's
promise of bliss is very near to us - in our mouths and in our hearts.
************************
darshana - the divine presence
The story is told of a poor grass cutter who found a beautiful stone in
the jungle. He had often heard of people finding valuable diamonds and
thought this must be one. He took it to a jeweler and showed it to him
with delight. Being a kind and sympathetic man, the jeweler knew that if
he bluntly told the grass cutter that his stone was worthless glass, the
man would either refuse to believe it or else fall into a state of depression.
So instead, the jeweler offered the grass cutter some work in his shop
so that he might become better acquainted with precious stones and their
value.
Meanwhile, the man kept his stone safely locked away in a strongbox. Several
weeks later, the jeweler encouraged the man to bring out his own stone
and examine it. As soon as he took it out of the chest and looked at it
more closely, he immediately saw that it was worthless. His disappointment
was great, but he went to the jeweler and said: "I thank you that
you did not destroy my hope but aided me instead to see my mistake on my
own. If you will have me, I will stay with you and faithfully serve you,
as you are a good and kind master."
In the same way, God leads back to truth those who have wandered into error.
When they recognize the truth for themselves, they gladly and joyfully
give themselves in obedient service.
************************
karma - bondage
People may not even be aware of their mortal danger. They are like the
hunter who caught sight of a honeycomb on the branch of a tree overhanging
a river. Catching sight of the honey, he forgot everything else and quickly
climbed up. The honey was sweet and he was so enchanted by its flavor that
he did not notice the alligators waiting in the stream below. Nor did he
see that around the foot of the tree, wolves had gathered. Worst of all,
he didn't notice that the tree itself was infested with termites and was
not strong enough to bear his weight.
While he was still enjoying the honey, the tree fell and the hunter fell
prey to the alligators. So too, the human spirit enjoys for a time the
pleasant but fleeting delights of the senses, forgetting that the world
is like a jungle fraught with dangers of every kind. Sin gnaws at the very
foundation of our lives, threatening to fling us to our spiritual deaths.
The evil of this world lures us with clever words and beguiling enticements
like certain snakes that fascinate small birds with their glittering eyes
until they can devour them.
Or think of the moth that gives no thought to the burning, destructive
power of the fire. Fascinated by the flashing brilliance of the flame,
it rushes to its own death. Likewise we often see only the allurements
of the material world, seeking quick gratification of our own urges, and
so rush headlong into spiritual death.
Once in the depth of winter, a bird of prey was busy feasting on a corpse
that was floating toward a waterfall. When the bird came near the falls
he wanted to leave the corpse and escape. But his claws were frozen to
it and he could not fly away. He fell into the roaring waters and died
a miserable death. Likewise, if we allow sin to numb our consciences, we
become powerless to escape death and danger ahead, no matter how we struggle
to escape.
************************
seva - service
There are many people who waste precious chances to serve God and their
fellow human beings. They should rouse themselves and make full use of
the time that is given to them. Once a hunter picked up some pretty stones
by a river in the jungle. He used them to shoot at birds with his slingshot,
and so one by one they disappeared into the water and were lost.
Some time later, he was in a city and wandered through the market absent-mindedly
tossing and catching the one stone he still had left. A jeweler caught
sight of it, marveled at such a precious gem and offered to buy it for
several thousand rupees. When the hunter recognized the value of his stone,
he cried out: "Woe is me! I have been carelessly shooting gems into
the river. I could have been a millionaire. But thank God I have saved
at least this one."
Every day of our lives is like a precious diamond. We may have wasted countless
days already in idle and selfish pursuits, so that they are now lost in
the depths of the past.
But let us at least awake now, see the value of the days that remain and
use them to acquire spiritual wealth. If we use them in selfless service
to God and if we use them to warn others who are still frivolously throwing
away their days in pursuit of fleeting pleasures, then we will gain the
boundless treasure of heavenly bliss.
************************
tapas - suffering
If a newborn child does not cry out and scream, then it must be slapped
until it does. No one has joy in slapping a child - only the longing that
it makes full use of its lungs and draws in life-giving air. So in perfect
love, God may strike us with blows and stings of pain so that the breath
of prayer flows freely through the lungs of our souls. This is the only
way we can become strong and fit for eternal life.
Look at the pearl. A pearl is a product of pain and suffering. Tormented
by some foreign matter against its soft flesh, the oyster responds by embracing
the irritant and transforming it into an object of great beauty. The creation
of the pearl not only provides relief to the oyster but is also a source
of wonder and pleasure to many others. But beware! The unique luster of
the pearl can be easily destroyed. Ink or oils can contaminate and destroy
its beauty. Pearls laid in ancient tombs often decay with the corpse of
their owners; the dust of the pearls is then mingled with the dust of the
dead.
Spiritual life - like the pearl - grows out of pain and suffering. And
even when the pain has been transformed into a thing of beauty, the lustre
of our spiritual lives can easily become contaminated and decay.
Thousands of years of heat and pressure come to bear on black carbon before
it is transformed into a precious diamond. Even then, diamonds do not dazzle
unless they have first been cut. When cut and polished, then the rays of
the sun make them shine with wonderful colors. Scientists may manufacture
artificial diamonds in laboratories, but careful examination exposes their
inferiority. Likewise, we cannot attain spiritual perfection without passing
through pain and suffering.
CREDIT LINE:
Excerpted from Wisdom of the Sadhu: Teachings of Sundar Singh (Plough,
2000).
This sucks! I hate reading. Why do I have to think positively? What's the
point? We talk to ourselves constantly throughout the day and that never-ending
dialogue has a dramatic affect on our lives. You may not notice how often
you put yourself down or think negatively during the span of just a few
minutes. Whether it's thinking you're not good enough to do a certain thing,
or feeling down about messing something up, you create your reality with
each thought.
Some research has shown that there is a correlation between thoughts and
manifestation in the body. For example, by thinking about a juicy lemon
and imagining yourself biting into one, you may begin to have the physical
response of salivation. This also holds true for thoughts about yourself
and the situations you are faced with. For instance, if you are trying
to run a mile in 7 minutes and constantly tell yourself you can't do it,
chances are very good that you'll never be able to do it. In contrast,
by telling yourself over and over again that you can do it and visualizing
yourself completing the mile in 7 minutes, your potential for success is
much greater.
Let's examine just how much negativity we carry with us throughout the
day. I'd like you to try a little experiment over the next few days. Keep
a notepad with you or a tape recorder and try to record every negative
thought you have throughout the day. These can be as simple as comments
like the following:
I'm so stupid. I can't believe I messed that up.
What's wrong with me?
I'm so clumsy.
I'm not ready for this test.
I can't.
I'm not smart enough to do this.
I worry too much.
I'll never get that job.
I'm so depressed.
I never know what to say.
These are just a few of the thousands of negative thoughts we have throughout
the day. You may be surprised at just how many thoughts you really have
that aren't "good for you". Now that you know you have them,
let's talk about what you can do to get rid of them. The first step with
all "programs" for change is becoming aware of the problem. Knowing
you are having a negative thought is the most important part of getting
rid of it. Most of us go about our day not even realizing that so many
of our thoughts are negative. We are trained from birth to feel insecure
and have doubts about our strengths and abilities. These are reaffirmed
by our friends, family and other outside influences.
In order to take charge of these thoughts, you must become aware of each
thought as it occurs. As soon as you recognize that the thought is negative,
turn the thought around and make it positive. For example, if you're trying
to figure out a math problem and you think to yourself, "I'm not smart
enough to do this," turn that around and say to yourself, "I
can solve this math problem." At first, you'll have to constantly
remind yourself about this and will have to keep consciously changing your
thoughts into positive ones, but over time, this will become natural and
your first thought will be the positive one. Depending on how deeply ingrained
these negative thoughts are, it may take months of reprogramming to feel
the results, so hang in there.
Also realize I'm not saying that just by having one positive thought, you'll
suddenly solve that math problem, or make your life perfect over night.
What I am saying is that as you begin to change each of your negative thoughts,
you'll begin to notice a feeling of incredible self-confidence and happiness.
As a result, you'll be able to accomplish more then you ever imagined possible.
And, you will find an answer to that pesky math problem sooner or later.
Any significant change takes time and energy. To help you to maintain a
positive outlook, remember to meditate every day, if possible. Tension
and stress play a big role in negative thinking, so regular meditation
can help to dramatically improve how you feel about yourself and your surroundings
Ali Sharifi has been teaching meditation and self-hypnosis since 1995 and
is the President of The Sage Within, a company dedicated to helping people
tap into their inner wisdom through practical exercises and useful information.
There is much controversy today over the cloning of human beings. Scientists
have successfully cloned sheep and other animals and it can only be a matter
of time before we have walking, talking replicas of ourselves. I am not
getting into the discussion of whether it is wrong or right, for that will
be a debate that will rage for a long time to come. Science and religion
have always been at loggerheads with each other. There is no wrong or right
and many wars are caused by strong beliefs that rely on the ego's view
of the world. The only truth is spirits' truth, not just the stand-alone
human ego.
The Question here is will a clone have a soul?
I asked this question recently on a spiritual forum and the views of some
very well respected spiritual folks were quite mixed. I concluded that
it all depends on how we define a soul and who we think we are. These are
deep probing questions and many philosophers of the past have come up with
a variety of answers, but humanity as a whole has not settled on any one
answer to date.
So what is the answer. Lets look into the future and take one scenario:
A person by the name of Will is fifty years old and lives as an atheist.
Will has undergone many cosmetic surgeries for vanity. Does Will have a
soul? Of course he does; right? He may not recognize God, but that does
not mean God does not exist. Atheists may not know if they have a soul,
that does not mean they do not have one.
Now Will is very wealthy and decides they would like a clone of himself
so his image is left behind after he dies. The clone is made and is physically
identical to how Will looked when he was young - all natural with no cosmetic
surgery. The clone studies hard, grows up very religious and becomes a
priest. Does the minister not have a soul? Will God disown the minister?
Who is to cast the first stone? Is the "Will" of God the same
as the "Will" of the clone?
What about the advancement with microchips? Very soon we will have robots
that can think for themselves. Maybe solar powered, or they may even be
powered by inhaling oxygen. Science fiction is fast becoming science reality.
Androids may well look just like humans, but that is artificial life and
a machine will not have a soul - or will it? It may well be the machines
become more intelligent than humans and we are ruled by them. Extreme thoughts
but possible some time in the future.
Now more than ever folks need to understand who they are and the reason
they exist. If we go through life with no idea of who we truly are, we
will get more and more lost in the high-tech revolution. We need a sound
foundation to build our lives upon.
Every life form contains a soul, and even a clone will have a soul once
the breath of life is infused into the body. We will never be able to know
who was born and who is a clone. Spirit is in all life and those that want
to think humans have an exclusive contract with spirit will feel anger
and hatred towards a cloned human, if they can distinguish one from a naturally
created human. Many folks will say a clone has no soul therefore is not
really human.
Many folks think they are superior to a dog or cat. Many folks believe
animals don't possess a soul. All this blind "dogma" has been
programmed in humans for thousands of years. That is why most folks can't
be happy. They have to guard their possessions and many humans believe
that they possess God exclusively of all other species of life. Some even
go so far as to think some other humans are not in God's camp at all. Many
different tribes of thought, lined up in divisions of ego's blind thinking
and so much time wasted worrying and hating others.
Oh! by the way, did I mention genetic engineering? I heard today they can
put genes in our foods to make us fit and well. Maybe also to control our
minds in case we feel like rioting against the clones?
Athletes are experimenting with all kinds of stuff to make them compete
faster. One-hundredth of a second can mean the difference of big money
sponsorship and athletes will try anything to make themselves winners.
The latest thing I read was wasp juice from the larvae of killer hornets
gives a big boost. Some seek a menu of caterpillar fungus, seal penis and
extract of sea horse. How lip-smackingly scrumptious!
With such competition in sports, it will not be long before gene therapy
is introduced and injected into sports folk. We will be able to tailor-make
our bodies. No need of the surgeon's scalpel. So we will remanufacture
a human being to suit a trend. We will become designer beings. Stem cells
are cloned cells so many humans will be injected with cloned cells. Does
this mean they will lose their soul? The possibilities of modern science
boggles the mind. The cures for many diseases maybe just a few years away.
No illness means longer lives. Can the planet cope with a population explosion?
This is just a brief glimpse into the future. What would folks say who
lived two hundred years ago and could comment on today's lifestyles? Whatever
will be will be. Science will advance and humans will survive in spite
of their ego selves.
The moments of life are precious and few. We are put on earth to enjoy
our lives and what wonderment there is to see a sunrise, to hear the birds
sing, to gaze at a sunset. The free things in life are enough. Simplicity
in all things is the answer in any era. Everything else is just the icing
on the cake. How big a slice do we need?
Remember: Enjoy life and don't fret about so-called advancements. All is
perfection in the souls' world and that is the real eternal world. We are
all souls together and NOTHING CAN ALTER SPIRIT.
We all need to recognize we are the energy that drives the motor, we are
not the motor. We are the energy that feeds the mind, we are not the mind.
We are the energy that feeds the thoughts, we are not the thoughts. We
take a ride on the carousel of life, but we must remember not to go round
so fast or it will make us sick and dizzy. The seesaw makes for one down
and one up and we don't want others down at our expense. Best we all ascend
in spirits' elevator together.
Michael Levy's poetry and essays can be found on many websites, journals
and magazines. He is a renowned guest speaker on finance, wellness and
inspiration. He has appeared on TV in the USA and UK and hundreds of radio
stations throughout the world. His New book "Invest With A Genius"
is now available from all bookstores world wide.See his website at http://www.pointoflife.com Back To Top
__________
Discovering Your Life Purpose by Jayne Chilkes, ALCM, MABCH, ITEC
Hypnotherapist, Life Purpose Coach, Healer, Teacher, Author, Artist, Musician
What is a Life Purpose? What is your view? Some people say the answer is,
“The reason you were put on this earth at this time.”
There is of course no right answer, and I personally think that a “Life
Purpose reflects your link with your Soul, and your Soul’s Purpose is linked
to Universal Power.”
The realization of your Life Purpose gives you a foundation to flourish.
If you do not have an inkling of your Life Purpose you are always feeling
off kilter and in a muddle. You are always searching “outside” yourself
to find that which was always “inside.” So what would you prefer? To stand
outside yourself in the world searching for that lost Life Purpose Key
or standing inside yourself finding the Life Purpose Key that you thought
you lost?
I think the answer is very simple; you want to be standing inside yourself
with the Key opening the door to your Life Purpose. Then you will see a
Grand shift in the way you deal with life. You will be coming from a place
of joy, passion and of service. You build a life that is so fulfilling
for you that you wondered why you ever lived life any other way.
What do you think it feels like to live wholly by your Life Purpose? Good?
Having Heaven on Earth? Yes, of course it does!
Once you have an inkling of your life purpose you start to realize that
it is linked to your soul purpose! But what is your soul? Soul according
to the dictionary is: “the spiritual rational, and immortal part in man;
conscience; life; moving or inspiring power; human being…”
Why have most of us forgotten how to contact our soul? Is it that mass
consciousness has moved to materialism as our prime goal? Why is it so
important to remember your soul?
When you start to feel your soul is your pure essence, you then start to
realize that you are linked to Universal Power. You therefore have the
ability to make all your dreams come true when you come from that position!
In other words, you are truly Living a Life on Purpose.
The next question is, how can we live at one with our Life Purpose and
Universal Power? Responding to the following statements will give you a
good starting point. Grade yourself on a scale from 1 to 10.
1. I am crystal clear what my life purpose is.
Disagree 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Agree
2. The life I lead is a full expression of my life purpose.
Disagree 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Agree
3. I live a values-based life rather than a materialistic-based life.
Disagree 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Agree
4. My life is free of unnecessary clutter and complexities and I seldom
feel overwhelmed, rushed or cluttered.
Disagree 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Agree
5. I regularly take time to nurture myself in ways that feed my soul.
So, what is running our lives if we do not know what our Life Purpose is?
The answer sounds very simple – our unconscious patterning or Inherited
Purpose is running our lives. We have to identify what we call the Inherited
Purpose in our unconscious mind. That is what is often ruling our life
and keeping us small. It is blocking our oneness with the Universe and
therefore our Greatness! In fact most of us don’t believe for one minute
we are truly Great. Why is that?
We are mostly trained by our parents, teachers, Sunday School teachers,
school mates to be the opposite. We are trained in accordance to their
belief systems and unconscious patterning, to live a life a certain way
according to their thinking.
Does that mean we do not know who we really are? Yes!
Does that mean that all our lives we have believed half the truth or a
lie? Yes!
Does that mean we have to be responsible for our thinking? Yes!
If we do not want to continue to live a LIE, we have to take action.
I would like to clarify another point, and that is the definition of Being
and Doing. We have all heard of someone who has worked at the same job
for forty years, love what he/she is doing thinking they are fulfilled
and living a life on purpose. Then one day that person is laid off or is
retired. They become depressed, lost and confused. So, were they really
living their Life Purpose? Of course not!
They thought they were doing a job they loved was enough, but they weren’t
BEING their Life Purpose. If they were Being their Life Purpose they would
still be happy, fulfilled and living a life purposefully.
So how do you get to a point where you are being your Life Purpose? You
need to put aside your unconscious beliefs, notions, assumptions, fears
and patterns that drive your daily life unconsciously. How do you find
out about these hidden beliefs?
When I looked at my life as a child of six, I remembered playing in the
playground with Pamela and friends. Pamela offered all the children a sweet
except me! I then asked her “Can I have one?” She said “No!” I was absolutely
devastated. I felt “Everyone is better than me!”
That is a statement that makes up an Inherited Purpose as well as “Nobody
loves me!”, “I can’t do that!” and more. I realized that all these statements
had been running all circumstances and relationships for most of my life.
It doesn’t matter who we are, we all have an Inherited Purpose. Maybe if
you realize yours, you could then be consciously aware not to live by it.
That in essence is why I think the Life Purpose Process is guaranteed to
change your life, if you apply what you have learnt.
Then when we look for a Life Purpose where would we find it? When we look
at our Vision for the World and Values we will find part of our answer.
Of course there is a glue that holds our life together isn’t there? The
glue is Love, God and the Universe.
So dear friends I come back to our Soul. Our Soul is Love and is Eternal.
We already have all the answers inside of us. Our Soul is the true leader
as all is else is temporary.
Once we have found our Life Purpose we are closer than ever to our Soul.
We are entitled to be contented, fulfilled, happy, abundant just as our
Soul is. By finding your Life Purpose you will re-find your Soul and your
true Happiness.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jayne Chilkes, Soul Artist, Musician, Healer (for twenty years), Teacher,
Hypnotherapist has written The Call of an Angel and Twelve Steps to Heaven,
an introduction to Twin Flames, Angels and Soul Wisdom. Browse at http://theangelschannel.netfirms.com
Other therapies and classes offered by Jayne Chilkes are:
Hypnotherapy, Past Life Therapy, Soul/Angelic Channeling, Chakra Balancing,
Life Purpose Coaching, Indian Head Relaxation Technique, Astrology - Handwritten
Natal Charts, Angel Workshops, Courses to learn about the Chakras and Healing
or Indian Head Relaxation Technique.
Jayne has also produced three Music tapes, a CD, Visualisation Tapes, Chakra
Cards, organised many Angel Days and Art Exhibition, and has run workshops
and taught classes for over ten years. She currently works as a channel
of soul wisdom.
Jayne can be reached by email at angels3@rochester.rr.com
Phone: 585 394 4143 (S.Bristol, NY)
_________________________
Looking For the Yellow Brick Road -
One life's journey for the spiritual , Series 1
A young four-year boy walked down the hill undetected as if pulled by an
imaginary force. His parents continued talking to a local about the monuments,
artifacts, and history of this place called "Little Big Horn."
As the boy stood looking out across the hills and plains, he suddenly was
centered in the middle of a horrendous battle. The screams and battle cries
pierced his ears. The smells of damp, gunpowder, and the stench of death
and hatred filled his nostrils. The ground thundered with the falling of
soldiers, Indians, and horses. The boy began to cry and fear filled his
entire being. This brought the attention of his mother who came running
to his aid. What's the matter? Why are you crying? The boys explained through
sobs what had occurred only to be told not to be silly.
One of many unusual and unexplainable occurrences that occurred to this
boy while growing up and with no one to explain just what these were. However,
the boy's intensity to know, to understand, and to search for meaning only
grew. This boy was me and ever since I can remember, there could be no
one that could take my faith in those things spiritual away. The continual
experiences of this sort and the experiences of a search for understanding
drove me forward through life. Regardless of the outer circumstances in
life, which sometimes tend to distort and create a smoke and mirrors effect,
my journey pressed forward.
Looking back at this journey, I look with different eyes then a young boy
standing in fear. I look with the total of experience, visions, insights,
and dreams that have accompanied me along this path. Primarily, I have
come to know, from one particular vision, the understanding that all things
are spirit/energy. I have come to understand from this vision the nuances
of energy that flow around us. Our effect and co-creationary effects that
ripple out from us with every thought and feeling even if we are unaware.
My search and understanding continues. Yet, it's like the river with ebbs
and flows changing to the experiences, and wisdom I am given, as I am ready.
Many times I have reflected back on the experience at "Little Big
Horn." It is as clear in my consciousness today as it was when it
occurred. Like a movie, yet more alive. The feelings of those I saw around
me flooded my being. The clarity of sight and smell intensified as if I
was standing there as it occurred. What caused this? I have read many potential
explanations, but none seem to touch completely an explanation of the experience.
Some have said it was but a cell memory since I do have that heritage within
me. Others have said that it was a trick by a demon. For me, the best explanation
rides in the understanding that all is energy and all events (especially
those filled with intense emotions) are recorded. These events can be accessed
by anyone who is open to see. Also along the same lines, there is the theory
that an event, which occurs with strong emotional energy attached, can
be etched on the skeins of time and space much like a photograph is etched
onto the film. No matter, for me it makes sense today. Tomorrow is another
day and another understanding.
This is the first of an on-going series of articles reflecting the experiences
and understandings, or lack of at some times <smile>, in the life
of D.R. Lawrence. I hope that it brings realism to ideas, inspires, seeds
your own inquiries within, or just plain entertains.
D.R. Lawrence is a freelance writer, Spiritual Counselor, and editor and
designer of www.spirituallightjourneys.com and the associative newsletter
of that site. Back To Top
_____________________
The Journey Towards Unity Consciousness
By Leigh Tremaine
When we still our minds and become receptive to our greater identity -
a self that has no boundaries, for it is everywhere at once - we realize
that our individuality has no more permanence than a ripple in a pond.
In truth our individuality is literally a 'ripple' in the universal field
of consciousness that enables us to experience an illusion of time and
space. It is time and space that enables us to identify with form and separation.
By immersing ourselves so deeply in this world of form and separation -
to the extent that we believe it is the only reality - we maximize our
potential for self-realization. For to experience fully that which is,
we must also experience fully that which is not.
So our journey of evolution is our journey towards unity consciousness.
In practical terms this may start when we feel the pain and suffering caused
by our identification with separation. We are most aware of this pain and
suffering when we experience war on our planet, either as someone who is
caught up in it, or as someone who is looking on in despair, perhaps feeling
the hurt in their own hearts. We can also be aware of it in our personal
and social relationships, in our relationship with the Earth, and in our
relationship with the greater whole.
This pain and suffering always stems from our identification with the smaller
self or ego, which perceives the world to be a place of separation. Often,
though, our experience of pain and suffering is suppressed because we fear
going into it and acknowledging the root cause of it. This fear takes many
forms - the most prominent being fear of change and fear of rejection.
For example, if we were to go to the root cause of the pain and suffering
created by a society and a culture that is based on a worldview of separation,
we would see that such a worldview would have to change, along with our
own lives, our society, and our culture. Too many people do not wish to
take responsibility for such a change, and fear being rejected for doing
so. Our journey of evolution requires that we go into this fear and, like
an illness, see what positive message it has to give us. The essence of
the message will always be about opening to our greater identity and experiencing
more and more fully our essential unity with all that is.
Clearly we are all at various different stages of this journey, and we
have many challenges to overcome before we can fully experience the truth
of our identity. Those of us who have touched our greater identity, and
are aware of it as the ultimate meaning in life, may sometimes sit in judgement
of the rest of the world when we feel that they are not changing, or are
changing too slowly. Yet the crucial challenge we are facing is not whether
other people are waking up with us, but whether we are actually willing
to fully experience and express our essential unity in all aspects of our
life. For the full experience and expression of our essential unity will
never be achieved if all we do is meditate now and then, write or read
articles on spiritual topics, talk about or listen to spiritual information,
lead or take part in a spiritual workshop, or give or receive Reiki attunements
or birth chart readings.
When we fully experience ourselves as all that is, we will not choose to
participate in activities that perpetuate separation, and will see our
personal, social, economic, and ecological relationships as opportunities
to heal ourselves and to work together as co-creators with Spirit. The
awakening of unity consciousness starts with the expansion of our identity
and the perception of the interconnectedness of all things, but is only
completed when we embody this state of consciousness in all that we do.
Amongst those of us who are spiritually aware there is still a fear of
taking this step because there are still aspects of our being that are
locked in separation. Deep down somewhere we still fear change and rejection
because we have yet to fully spiritualize our ego and embrace our greater
identity. Many of us still, for instance, contribute to an economic system
that is widening the gulf between rich and poor, and damaging the planetary
ecosystem. Many of us still conspire with a political system that perpetuates
the fragmentation of society by dividing people into the governors and
the governed. Many of us still find it difficult to cooperate with others,
often choosing instead to attend to our narrow self-interest, or to affirm
our ego by seeking personal recognition, reward, or power. If we search
deeply enough, and are honest with ourselves, we will find that there is
an ego-based fear at the root of all these choices.
The solution is to make a choice to experience everything we do with full
awareness, and to make a choice to express the truth of our essential unity
at all times - without condition - so that we literally 'walk our talk'.
If we think we do not have the ability to do this then we need only to
remind ourselves that as spiritual beings we are one with all that is,
and therefore have enormous power, wisdom, and love to draw upon: when
all things are already one in essence, the reflection of this essence by
form will always be possible. If we think that the time is not yet right
then we need only to remind ourselves to live in the now, rather than wait
for another thousand lifetimes. If the truth were told, the whole world,
and maybe even the whole universe, is waiting for us. Let us start now
and celebrate whom we are by going into and then releasing our fears, our
patterns, and our conditioning, for we deserve to flower and fulfil our
destiny. This is the path of self-love.
Leigh Tremaine is a healer, networker, transformational thinker, and astrologer.
He is the joint-initiator of World Earth Healing Day and the webmaster
of the World Healing Website (www.worldhealing.co.uk). Permission to reprint
this article in its entirety is granted. Back To Top
Spiritual Core Beliefs --What are they?
By D.R. Lawrence
There are many things we perceive as a "knowing" and believe
it to be so based on that. These things we explain as a "knowing"
are core beliefs. We operate on core beliefs and values daily - many times
unaware of what they are or where they come from. They can be from an external
generated stimulus or control, or they can be from an internal focus. Some
examples of core beliefs we accept externally are a) knowing the sky is
blue during the day even if the clouds obscure its view; b) if I do not
have oxygen, my body will die. These are beliefs we have learned from our
existence here. However, core beliefs are perceptions and not all are balanced
with scientific and other laws we have come to understand.
Many core beliefs we carry with us are dysfunctional concepts. Values and
beliefs we hold intrinsically that were learned from our background, culture,
and experiences in life. Automatic thoughts of, "I can't", "I
don't deserve", "I will just fail" creep in as reminders
our past that have sat at the helm of our consciousness to keep us from
our higher dreams and aspirations. Its like climbing a mountain with thrill
and exhilaration, then thoughts flow when we reach the mid-point like a
polluted river telling us we will fail. So entrenched are these thoughts
that many times we aren't even consciously aware of them.
In order to reach the top of the mountain we must get beyond these limiting
beliefs, and begin to build core beliefs reflecting our understanding from
a higher inner understanding.
Once we begin to realize that something must change, we become vacuum cleaners
eating up every book, teacher, counselor, and source we can find to understand
what went wrong. We attempt to study all the philosophies and concepts
in the world in the hopes of finding the "wellspring" of knowledge
to correct all our woes. Although books and guidance can be greatly beneficial,
there is a dilemma here. Do we still follow the tradition of looking outside
ourselves for the answer verses within? Do we still carry a feeling and
belief that we are isolated or separate from the answers we seek? Regardless
of the path or ideology we choose as our outline for truth, the following
is a good set of questions to ask for our own well being:
CLINEBELL'S (1965) TESTS FOR MENTALLY HEALTHY RELIGION
Does a particular form of religious thought and practice
1. Build bridges or barriers between people?
2. Strengthen or weaken a basic sense of trust and relatedness to the universe?
3. Stimulate or hamper the growth of inner freedom and personal responsibility?
4. Provide effective or faulty means of helping people move from a sense
of guilt to forgiveness? Does it provide well-defined significant ethical
guidelines, or does it emphasize ethical trivia? Is its primary concern
for surface behavior or for the underlying health of the personality?
5. Increase or lessen the enjoyment of life? Does it encourage a person
to appreciate or depreciate the feeling dimension of life?
6. Handle the vital energies of sex and aggressiveness in constructive
or repressive ways?
7. Encourage the acceptance or denial of reality? Does it foster magical
or mature religious beliefs? Does it encourage intellectual honesty with
respect to doubts? Does it oversimplify the human situation or face its
tangled complexity?
8. Emphasize love (and growth) or fear?
9. Give its adherents a frame of orientation and object of devotion that
is adequate in handling existential anxiety constructively?
10. Encourage the individual to relate to his or her unconscious through
living symbols?
11. Accommodate itself to the neurotic patterns of the society or endeavor
to change them?
12. Strengthen or weaken self-esteem?
( http://www.csulb.edu/~tstevens/sct-oh.htm )
Each individual must determine the ultimate reflection of sound spiritual
core beliefs and values. Those are found with and through inner practices
such as meditation. We must come to accept all aspects of ourselves unconditionally.
Understand what are our ultimate concerns and begin a JOURNEY today to
discover what are your spiritual core beliefs!
"First, know thy ideal-spiritually, mentally, materially. Not so much
as to what you would like others to be, but what may be your ideal relationships
to others! For he that is the greatest is the servant of all-as the law
of cause and effect."
Regardless of our path or idea as to what we call God/Highest good, our
direction, goals and ideas can be scattered by the winds and storms of
daily living. Many feel unsure as to what they should be doing, what their
purpose is, or how they should react to a certain person or situation.
Many of us are not aware of the "ideal" that is presently at
the helm of our consciousness. Sure, we can say I believe in this or that.
However, something may cross our path daily and something goes off inside
us. Bang! That belief just became null and void as we explode into anger
or fear.
From a cognitive perspective, our thoughts and ideals are part of a pattern
that influences our emotions and experiences. These are triggered by like
or similar situations. If we have problems, concerns, stagnation, or frustrations
in our life, then we can usually relate it to a negative thinking bias.
Here there is a tendency toward looking for the worse in a situation, event,
or person. These are usually learned patterns of thinking that were reinforced
time and time again from our families, social groups, and experiences that
taught from a fear-based mentality. They rarely are relative to our true
"spiritual ideals", but more specifically in direct opposition
to them.
So, how do we determine and work with our "spiritual ideal"?
First, we need to determine what our spiritual ideal is. In other words,
what is the highest ideal or spiritual quality you desire to attain? This
can be different for every individual. For some, it might be the example
established by Jesus – "let the mind that was in Christ be also in
you." For another, this could be a concept such as, "divine love."
Based on your own spiritual core values (spiritual core beliefs will be
explained in more detail in next issue), you will determine the path to
motivate and guide you. Once you have established a beginning spiritual
ideal, you are ready to begin.
An exercise I have seen utilized in addiction treatment can be useful here.
Instead of Higher Power though, we will use the term "spiritual ideal".
Take a sheet of paper and make three columns labeled:
Spiritual Ideal
Mental Ideal
Physical Ideal
In the first column you list that which you have determined is your spiritual
ideal – your motivation for what you believe is the highest spiritual attainment.
In the second column, list the mental attitudes and thoughts that would
guide you toward that attainment. For example, let’s say that you put the
concept of "divine love" for a spiritual ideal. Then you might
list mental attitudes such as compassion, openness, and patience in the
mental attitude column. Finally, you list in the physical those actions
and activities that you feel will lead you or build toward the attitudes
you listed.
Sound simple? If done correctly this isn’t a one-time exercise, but is
a fluid, growing and ever-changing day-by-day exercise. As we decide to
do any inner work, things appear to come forward in a synchronicity type
fashion to assist us in learning these concepts and ideals. From this,
our understanding should grow and that which we understood will take on
new nuances. Also, understand that anytime you stir a stew that has been
sitting for awhile, all the sediment will rise to the top. It is similar
while stirring the pot within. Those negative ideas and situations that
are tucked away inside will tend to rise to the top of our consciousness
for exploration and potential reframing that is more aligned to our spiritual
ideal.
Metaphysically speaking, it is believed that "thoughts are things."
As we reframe our actions and attitudes to be more aligned with a positive
regard to all, then we will see the beginning of a new and glorious journey.
Good Luck and peaceful journeys!
Want to see more articles?
Click on the individual categories for past or current articles
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