Month: April 2016

 

I don’t believe… I know.

-Carl Jung, founder of a neopsychoanalytic school, on the question of belief in ‘god’..

Believe:  1 a : to have a firm religious faith b : to accept as true  2 : to have a firm conviction  3 : to hold an opinion

Know : 1 a (1) : to perceive directly : have direct cognition of  (2) : to have understanding of  (3) : to recognize the nature of : DISCERN b (1) : to recognize as being the same as something previously known (2) to be acquainted or familiar with (3) : to have experience of 2 a : to be aware of the truth or factuality b : to have a practical understanding

Believing is holding an opinion. Knowing is to have direct experience, to understand, and to have a practical understanding of some concept. To further delineate the two different terms, it is important to realize that while one can “make- believe”, one cannot “make-know”.                                            -http://scientificmethod.wikia.com/

Hello My Friends!

When I meditate, I start by giving thanks and asking, “How may I serve today?”  I frequently have specific people or situations materialize in my mind and when they do, I send them love.  I keep a journal to jot down names, images and insights that fill my mind.  Some meditations are more of a reflection or a time to appreciate the peacefulness of each moment.  Other meditations have challenged me to reevaluate my beliefs because I experienced something for myself; something invisible yet something real that does not coincide with the beliefs that were handed down to me.

Have you ever wondered where your beliefs came from?  Most would say beliefs come from our parents, grandparents, friends, school, church, books we read, etc.  But who taught our grandparents and their great-grandparents?  How far back would you have to go to find the governing individuals who made some very important choices for you and I that have affected what we consider “truth”.  Have you ever asked yourself, “Who decided this was “good” and this was “bad”?  Why is this considered “pretty” and this is “ugly”?

My mother-in-law gave me a book for Christmas called The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz.  My personal opinion?  This book should come with a warning label.

WARNING:  You will never look at your life the same way again.  Side effects may include (but not be limited to): heightened awareness, thinking for yourself and questioning every belief you hold as a “truth”.

The beliefs most of us hold were dreamed up and passed down by people who lived in a place and time that I presume was very different from the here and now.  I wonder why they assigned these beliefs?  Was it to ensure order in society if they drew clear lines of “right” and “wrong”?  Was it for political, religious, financial or personal gain?  We’ll never really know, but with that in mind; what do you believe?  Now ask yourself why?  Is it a belief or a knowing?

Beliefs can change everyday.  I used to think that if I went against what I was taught I was being disobedient.  It’s not.  We’ve all felt that energy that ingites inside of us when we know something.  Don’t be afraid to listen to that; it means you are on the path to discover your real self which is who you came here to be.  We are all connected in this world, and we all have our own purpose, identity and insights that contribute to what makes this world such an amazing place to exist.

Think of it this way: If someone asks you if you know where you left your keys, you might say, “I believe they are on the counter”.  But when you find they are not, your belief has changed.  That belief is not a truth, not because you are being insubordinate but because you now know for yourself, it simply isn’t true.

Following Anita Moorjani’s advice to live fearlessly and be as ME and I can be, I’m going to share one of my post-meditation writings that begged to be written:

“You need not try so hard.  Rest in peaceful waters.  The rest is as important as the struggle to achieve.  Lean on the ones you love, who love you.  Let them be of support to you.  This is not for you to do alone.

Don’t try to find Me.  Be Me.  See Me in all things and everyone.  I am ever-present.  I am the Unyielding Force.  Illusion will trap your beliefs of Me.  To know Me you must set them free.  I offer no cages, for love cannot dwell there.  I dwell in the quiet places and I am there to greet you when you arrive.”

 

When we arrive on this planet, we are taught to love one another.  We are taught to be kind to others.  We are taught to be “good”.  We are taught to pray and encouraged to be moral people.  But of all the things we are taught about love, we’re not taught the importance of loving what lies within; our essence, our spirit, our connection to God and the rest of the Universe.

I read a remarkable book called Dying To Be Me by Anita Moorjani about her near death experience. Here are two excerpts relating to what she discovered on the other side about self-love:

“…and it’s one of the best kept secrets of our time: the importance of self-love.  You may cringe or frown at the thought but I can’t stress enough how important it is to cultivate a deep love affair with yourself.”

“IF EVERY SINGLE PERSON SUDDENLY BECAME aware of their true perfection and magnificence – let’s say that everyone on the planet had a spiritually transformative experience – our manifest world would change to reflect that new state.  People would be more self-empowered and far less fearful and competitive, which would lead to more tolerance for each other. Crime rates would drop dramatically. Our immune systems would be stronger from less stress and fear, so there would be fewer illnesses.  Priorities would change because we’d no longer be driven by greed, which is another facet of fear. Children would grow up being love – being stronger, healthier, and more trusting.  They’d live on a planet that naturally supports this way of life rather than in a place that’s hostile to it.”

I had the pleasure of meeting Anita Moorjani at a conference in Seattle and I’m telling you, this beautiful woman is pure love.  I heard her speak that morning and tell the story of her near death experience.  When I happened to meet her at the top of the escalator, SHE acted like she was the one flattered to meet ME!  I hugged this beautiful woman who has died and experienced the other realm; yet all she said to me was, she was just so happy I enjoyed hearing her story.  She radiates love.  She absolutely is pure love.  And her message is, we all are.

Of all the things we are willing to try or make time for in life, will you make time to sit quietly to contemplate how amazing you are?

You were created out of thin air!  Your heart beats itself.  You never forget to breath.  You heal.  You have a limitless imagination.  If you think about things, they come true.  You grow.  You have the ability to get quiet, meditate and find heaven on earth.  You have a consciousness AND a higher consciousness.  You have the ability to exist in a state of consciousness and explore higher consciousness.  You are operating a body.  You act it out.  The world is your playground.  You are the star in your life and the creator of your story!  Have fun, love unconditionally and BE who you came here to be!

Eckhard Tolle ~ “Love is a state of Being.  Your love is not outside; it is deep within you.  You can never lose it, and it cannot leave you.  It is not dependent on some other body, some external form.  In the stillness of your presence, you can feel your own formless and timeless reality as the unmanifested life that animates your physical form.  You can then feel the same life deep within every other human and every other creature.  You look beyond the veil of form and separation.  This is the realization of oneness.  This is love.”

Wayne Dyer ~ “You are a creature of Divine Love connected at all times to Source.  Divine Love is when you see God in everyone and everything you encounter.”

 

Hello my friends!  Some of you I know, some may just be passing through.  And so it goes in life.  I recently awoke to find I am on a very exciting journey… and it involves each and every one of you! (By the way, you are on a very exciting journey as well.  If this comes as a surprise to you, just think about how many people you cross paths with and have an influence on everyday.)  This exciting journey is LIFE!

In the past, I always considered myself to be an open minded person and prided myself on seeing the good in everyone.  Yet my head was full of judgement.  I judged everything.  “That’s good, that’s bad, that’s stupid, that’s pretty, that’s ugly.  Why would they do that?  They shouldn’t do that, they should do this.  They are lazy, they should get a job…”  All day long.  Out loud and in my head, judgment was a constant stream in my thoughts.  I never noticed how toxic my thoughts had become until I heard my words being spoken from my child’s mouth.

I was driving my son and daughter home from school and there was a homeless man on the corner holding a sign.  In a moment that changed my life, I listened to my son confidently regurgitate my ignorant assumptions.  “Mom, why doesn’t that guy go get a job instead of just standing there begging for money?”  And there is was.  The truth.  The truth was, I was not open minded and I was not raising my children to see the good in everyone like I thought.  Of all the things I had taught my children, all I could think was, “I’ve taught them how to discriminate.”

How on earth had this happened?

When we come into this world we are small, humble and perfect!  We are love and curiosity.  Curious of the world and curious of others.  I began watching babies and children to try to remember who I was when I came into this world.  As children, we are observational.  We are intrigued and excited by new things.  We trust, we accept and we are grateful for the smallest of things.  As children, we take it all in without bias which led me to reflect on my own childhood.

I found myself digging up memories of school mates I hadn’t thought of in years.  I remembered kids in my classes who looked different and smelled different than me but I don’t remember any judgment.  I saw them for who they really were.  The awareness that they hadn’t had a bath recently or their clothes were too small or they had a lisp was a mere observation and nothing else.

I innately understood that my friends were not just what my five senses told me, but as a child I didn’t have the understanding I was seeing my peers as they were – on a soul level.  In fact I remember loving my friend’s lisp and it didn’t bother me if someone brought an odor to school with them.  I loved them anyway.  But perhaps, deep down, I knew that it had nothing to do with who they were which is why I was not bothered.  I loved them.  Their whole being.  I simply had an awareness of these things but these things did not define them.  These are my memories from when I was 5-7 years old!

At what point in our lives do we swap love for judgment (and assumptions, taking offense, presuming we are better than others, etc.)?  When did we stop all being the same?  When we were kids, we were all just kids.  We have always lived in a world where individual differences exist; height, weight, skin color, religion, but it didn’t matter.  So why can’t adults just be adults?

I realized somewhere along the way, I had switched over to auto pilot.  Someone else was was doing the thinking for me.  A new person had moved in without my permission and I hadn’t even noticed.  I was stressed; in life, in my marriage and I was drinking every day.  As a mother, I constantly reflected on what my sorrow would feel like when my kids were grown and gone and I had not spent any time with them.  I was being swallowed up by daily tasks, obligations, negativity, and self loathing.

I was completely overwhelmed.

I was so busy doing other things, I quit showing up for the most important job ever gifted to me.  My life.  I was not longer in charge of my life.  My thoughts ran rampant.  I felt sorry for myself constantly.  I was angry and irritable.  I blamed other people and other things for what my neglected thoughts were conjuring up.  Of all the judgment I passed, the cruelest words were the deepest, darkest, meanest, secret things I told myself.  36 years of abuse.  “I am not good enough, I am fat, I am ugly, I am stupid, I am worthless, I can’t do it”; the usual list of unfortunate lies we tell ourselves (that ultimately have nothing to do with who we really are).

I had to start somewhere and honestly all I wanted to do was escape.  I fantasized about transporting to anywhere but here. I knew nothing in my life would get better until I slooooowed down.  That’s when I began exploring meditation.  Instead of watching TV before bed, I made a conscious choice to listen to relaxing music as I fell asleep.  (Even if it required wearing headphones to create a peaceful place.)  I started meditating everyday and in no time at all I became addicted to the silence.

I began prioritizing my time and writing instead of lurking for hours on Facebook and Pinterest.  Even if my thoughts were negative or questioning at first, I wrote them down.  Then I meditated on it, asking God (insert your preferred name here for the Universal Intelligence that is responsible for you being here) to provide me with insight.  Any thought that entered into my mind I wrote it down.  For the first time in my life I feel like I have a personal relationship with God and meditation gives me a daily escape and something that has become the most wonderful paradox.  It is something that is only mine and yet I feel completely connected to everyone and everything around me.

While looking for meditation music online, I discovered Dr. Wayne Dyer’s “I Am” meditation.  He explained the two words “I Am” are the name of God found in the Old Testament, translated from the original Hebrew as “I am that I am”.  Then he said, “Every time you say “I am” you use the name of God.  How do you use this name?”

When I awakened to the idea that we share the same name as God, I became very mindful about what words follow when I say “I Am” (in my head and out loud).  We’ve all heard various quotes about the power of our thoughts, but I wonder, do you really know the tremendous power that each one of us holds?  If we have the power to make ourselves miserable by essentially doing nothing, just think of the “unimaginable” things we might accomplish if only we imagine them?

I know this has been quite a long introduction.  My desire to start this blog is to stir the soul.  That is who we really are after all.  Our bodies are changing everyday, but the soul, the imagination, our thoughts… The parts of ourselves we cannot see or touch, THAT is who we really are.  Be kind to yourself, be kind to others, be mindful of your thoughts and what you tell yourself.  If my words are not enough to convince you, listen to the wise ones who have gone before us.

Thought is the sculptor who can create the person you want to be. -Henry David Thoreau

What you think you become. -Buddha

For as a man thinks in his heart, so is he. -Proverbs 23:7

Imagination is everything.  It is a preview of life’s upcoming attractions. -Albert Einstein

Whatever we plant in our subconscious mind and nourish with repetition and emotion will one day become a reality. -Earl Nightingale

Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking. – Marcus Aurelius