Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Who are you?

I am God.









When you read that statement, what thoughts and emotions does it generate for you? I have no doubt that even from such a small and simple sentence a great many thoughts surfaced in your mind because of it. Notice them and take a few minutes to let them roll around in your mind. The key is to be aware of them without responding to them for now.





I am God.





Now I ask you to notice the perspective that you are reading the statement from. Do you read it as Michael saying that Michael is God? If you change it to be a statement that you are saying about yourself, does it change the thoughts and emotions? Are you willing and able to say it about yourself…and mean it?





I AM GOD.







“God” is a huge concept and each of us has our own personal view of that concept. This view has been created by us since we first heard the word until this moment. It may not be a conscious action where we sit and contemplate the Divine and ask ourselves what do I think of God but it is a concept that we probably never allow ourselves to fully grasp. For the majority of us, especially those with religious backgrounds, it’s a statement that few are willing to make because of all that we believe it to mean.





I am God.





Can you say it out loud? Does that change what comes up for you when you do? Would you even allow yourself to say it out loud? The mental and emotional responses that surface for you when you say it is all that I ask you to be aware of at this point. Does it trigger fear, insecurity, shame, anger, resentment…or a deep inner knowingness and an awareness of truth?



DEFINING GOD

Those of us who have spent time as a member of any religion have a great deal of energy built up around the concept of God. Each of our world religions has a God at the center of its belief system. How God is defined and how we access that energy along with the stories of those upon which the religion is based is what makes the difference between the religions. Each religion is a belief system constructed around the experiences of key individuals and their relationship to God. Each religion has compiled and constructed texts which are used to define the belief system held by those who formed or control that particular religion. Each believes their way to be the best way otherwise the religion would collapse in upon itself.


Unfortunately many religions believe their way is the ONLY way and that’s where the problems start for everyone else. To believe that you are the holder of definitive truth and this truth is so powerful that you have to convince others that their belief is wrong is what is at the base of all Holy wars. At their core, all wars are really Holy wars. The ideological differences between the religious beliefs of one society and another is what leads each of them into battle, and ultimately war, to defend that belief system. The dominate religious belief system within a culture has a direct impact upon all the members of its society even if they aren’t members of that religion. These members are then tasked with going to war to defend the culture and its beliefs. This shows how much power belief systems can hold over us.

We fight amongst ourselves, human against human, simply because of differences in cultural beliefs. We aren’t fighting off another predatory species that wants to consume us. We argue, fight, kill and attempt to destroy all others who don’t believe as we do so that in the end our belief system is the only belief system. The truly sad part is that each warring faction does so in the name of its God.



TRUTH IS ONE, PATHS ARE MANY

If I asked you to define God for me, how would you do it? What words would you use and where do the words that you select come from? For the majority of us the definitions come from religion whether we consider ourselves a member of that religion or not. So where do religions get their concept of God? Each religion is founded upon the subjective experience of a key individual who’s connection to or experience with the Divine is beyond the norm. Entire cultures form around these individuals, temples are built in their honor and they are worshiped and adored. But are they the destination or are they a path?

If you examine any of the major religions, at their core is a story of an individual, born of simple means that is able to break through the mundane existence and express a deeper truth. This truth is so overpowering and inspiring that stories are written about it to share with future generations. The experiences of these key individuals is so far removed from the ordinary experience that these individuals seem magical and begin to seem “larger than life”. From that perspective, the individuals begin to be worshiped directly rather than the truth behind their message and experiences. This is confusing the messenger with the message.

Yet if you take a deeper look at the stories and drop any preconceived notions about the stories you begin to see the deeper truth. It isn’t until we admit that we don’t know something that we open our minds to seeing it from a different perspective. As long as we believe that we know something, we stay locked in our own belief system and nothing changes. When we remove the supernatural aspects from these stories and can simply see these key individuals as other humans sharing the truth of what they have found, the teachings become more accessible. “If it can happen to him, it can happen to me” invites inspiration whereas “I’m not worthy” limits our power.



THE BELIEFS THAT BIND

In the next entry I’d like to share a different perspective on some old stories. Rather than trying to disprove or reject them however I hope to encourage you to see it as a way to see another deeper layer of truth that is accessible to each of us. Truth surrounds us but based upon our past conditioning we are unable to recognize this truth or we fear it too deeply to acknowledge it. The vibration of the planet is increasing and life as we know it is about to transform. We have to break free of limiting beliefs in order to recognize and affirm our own power so that we can move forward into this new existence. To be free from our past and able to respond fully in the present moment is the essence behind “free will”.


Are you willing to see yourself as the creator, or God, of your life? Are you ready to take full responsibility for the good AND bad things which you have already created and begin to transform your life?

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Process work

“Know thyself”. This is a simple axiom which has been passed down to us through the ages. It sounds simple but how well do you really know yourself? Most of us know ourselves by summaries of ourselves. “I’m a good person” or “I’m quiet and reserved.” To really know yourself and to begin to make changes in your life, you really must know yourself beyond the surface summary level. The term used for this type of transformational activity is “process work”.


Process work is any formalized activity that causes us to examine and alter the processes that we use to navigate the world and how we present our self to the world. It is really about getting into “our stuff” (beliefs/fears/issues/judgments/etc) and working through them to release what doesn’t work and expand upon or add what does. Any type of healing work, talk therapy (psychology) or self-help work that we use to transform issues in our lives is process work.



GROWTH REQUIRES WORK

The thing with doing this type of internal process work is that you may engage in it for a specific issue but the more you learn about why this is an issue for you the more you learn that it’s usually bigger than you thought. For example you may go into therapy because you feel depressed but once you really get into the emotional causes of your depression you realize that it’s not just because you just had a break-up or lost your job, it’s much deeper. Once you take an honest look at yourself and your life and all that needs to change, it can be overwhelming. It can also be frustrating because you feel the changes you need to make in yourself to be happy are not possible within the framework of your current life. Process work is challenging but it is essential for our social, emotional, mental and spiritual growth.

The challenging part about process work is that it will require us to change patterns in our lives and issues in our belief system. When we run into issues which challenge our beliefs, our natural instinct is to judge the issue as wrong and dismiss it because it isn’t in alignment with our beliefs and surly our beliefs are can’t be wrong! All too often however the belief is where the problem is and that is what needs to change. Until we really know and understand our beliefs however we can’t ever begin to change them.



THE POWER OF BELIEF

Our belief system begins forming while we are still in the womb. These beliefs are forming at a very unconscious level and are based upon energy we receive during our gestation period. If our mothers are living in fear or abusive relationships, resentful of the pregnancy or highly stressed, the fetus receives these emotions and the unconscious belief that “the world isn’t safe” gets a foothold. Every event that happens from that point forward will be perceived through that “unsafe” filter.

If we unconsciously hold the belief that the world is an unsafe place, we will engage the world very differently than we would if we felt fully safe and supported. Two people could experience the same event but their belief that the world is safe or unsafe will color their experience and cause them to see the parts of the experience that confirm their belief system. We don’t tend to focus on things that disprove our beliefs because it’s all happening at the subconscious level. Our beliefs then begin to create our realities. If I believe the world is unsafe then I will fear everything and live my life based upon that fear response. Eventually my limited world will close in on me and I will be held hostage in my self-created prison of fear.



ENGAGE THE PROCESS

So then if our beliefs create our realities at the subconscious level and we are unhappy with the way life is going for us, how do we begin to change? We can’t change what we don’t know about. To begin the process of change we have to be willing to take an honest look at our belief system to find and release the limiting beliefs. The following exercise is a way for you to engage a process to bring out the unconscious beliefs that you are holding so that you can begin to see them and bring them into your conscious mind.

Take a blank sheet of paper and write “I believe…” at the top of it. Begin writing everything that you believe as it comes to you. Just make quick notes without explanation at this point but be honest with yourself. Start with the easy ones but notice the others that surface when you write one down. Don’t edit or judge yourself, just write a few words about each belief as it surfaces and stay with the process. Don’t be afraid to write down the ones that scare you or that you feel you’d be judged by if you spoke it out loud. Only you will see this paper. If it scares you too much to write it down, it’s probably causing a great many problems without your awareness. Write it down BECAUSE it scares/saddens/angers or triggers some other powerful emotion within you. Don’t worry about processing these issues for now otherwise you’ll find a way to run from the deeper issues which will begin surfacing after you stop writing the fluffy beliefs that you like. Don’t stop this process until the page is full on the front and back. Push yourself to fill the page and if the energy is there a second or third page. Each time you write one thing down and bring it into your conscious mind this way, more beliefs will surface with it so write them down too and keep the process flowing.

Allow yourself to observe yourself engaging in the process and notice what beliefs surface there. If “rules” arise (“I should use good grammar”, “I must use good penmanship”, “I shouldn’t write negative things”) make a note of them too. Each of these items is a reflection of a belief (you must use good grammar all the time, write precisely or only focus on love and light) that you hold consciously or unconsciously. Thoughts that come with “should” or “must” or words like that originate from some belief you are holding about why you should or must do something. These are the small, controlling and limiting beliefs that we’re searching for with this exercise.



STAY WITH IT

Begin this process when you can set aside at least 30 uninterrupted minutes to an hour for it. Try and stay with the process once you begin it until you can’t take any more. Starting and stopping breaks the flow so push yourself to continue, especially once you hit the first “that’s all” point. It’s very easy to write furiously for 2 or 3 minutes and then talk yourself into being done. Force yourself to stay with the process for the minimum amount of time that you’ve set aside even if you have periods where nothing seems to be surfacing. Allow yourself to sit in that silence and wait. Use blank paper if possible so that you don’t have lines to follow but rather you have unbound space to work in with no rules. Commit to the process of just writing the belief without limiting or judging yourself or doing anything beyond simply writing down what you believe to be true no matter how trivial, petty, embarrassing or seemingly unrelated to anything in your life it is.

Remember to examine all levels here including personal, family, societal, religious and/or professional beliefs. All of the beliefs from any area of your life are having an impact on all areas of your life whether you see it directly or not. For now, just write the belief itself and don’t worry about rationalizing it, understanding it or processing it. This exercise is only about bringing that which is held in your unconscious mind into your conscious mind. Use as many sheets of paper as you need to get it all out and don’t worry about duplicates for now…just let it flow. Save the paper(s) for the process work that’s ahead in upcoming blog entries. If more beliefs surface after you feel that you are done, add them. The more beliefs you can bring from your unconscious mind into your conscious mind the more effective this process will be. Please don’t limit or judge yourself with this process.



What do you really believe and what beliefs have been given to you or imposed upon you?

Thursday, September 16, 2010

The Conscious Competence Cycle

If you’ve been following this blog, you should be aware by now that I believe that as a species we are evolving. With all of the environmental issues that we are seeing, wars, greed, disease, famine, natural and man-made disasters, it’s enough to make anyone want to throw their hands up in despair. When we can step back and take an honest look at what is going on with our beautiful planet, we can see a planet and her inhabitants in crisis mode. We are nearing a breaking point in a planetary cycle. This planetary crisis is (as I discussed in http://peacefulmichael.blogspot.com/2009/10/guiding-principals-part-2.html) the impetus behind the evolutionary impulse that is awakening across the planet. At its core, it is nature telling us “Evolve or Die”.

Fortunately we are waking up, listening and responding as a species. It’s happening slowly but little by little we are approaching “critical mass”. As more and more of us awaken to the deeper truths, as a species we begin to see and feel the deeper potential. Eventually enough of us will stabilize this new consciousness and hold it until it becomes strong enough that we all feel it. That point where enough of us believe something to be true that it allows all of us to believe its truth is the point of critical mass.


THE COMPETENCE CYCLE

As we awaken to our deeper and fuller potential as a species, we are like infants that are beginning to walk. The movements are new, challenging and scary but still we are drawn to the change at a very unconscious level because it is encoded in our DNA. As we awaken to this evolutionary impulse we experience the world of energy as something mystical and magical. We begin our journey with “unconscious incompetence”. At this stage we don’t know what we are capable of and we don’t know how to use the dormant abilities that we are slowly discovering that we have. As a result we misuse, fear, and deny these abilities. Yet still we sense that something is shifting.


Slowly as we grow as individuals we may not know the full depth of our capabilities but we begin to change our behaviors because we first learn what doesn’t work through our problems, failures and setbacks. Each time that we do something that brings us a result that we don’t like or want, we learn to change our behavior to avoid that consequence. It’s like the toddler that learns to avoid touching the radiator because it burns. It takes a few times of getting burned to make the connection or see the pattern but eventually we learn. At this stage we begin to move into “conscious incompetence” because while we may not know everything just yet, we have learned to survive and grow.

Eventually we reach a point where we have gathered enough experiential data that we can begin putting the pieces together and realizing that we are indeed capable of something more than meets the eye. This stage is like the child learning that if he moves a box near the counter, stands on the box and pulls on the drawer handle to use to climb onto the counter top, he can access the candy jar. At this stage we reach “conscious competence”. We know we can do something greater than we did before to gain more desirable outcomes, like the sweet candy, but we don’t fully comprehend the consequences of these more complex actions. Too much candy leads to a tummy ache in the short-term and weight issues long-term which open us up to a whole host of health issues.

Finally after gaining a body of experience and the knowledge to understand cause and effect along with consequences, we move into “unconscious competence”. This is the adult stage where we are able to see what our actions do and so we learn to moderate and modify our behaviors to get what we need with the fewest possible negative impacts in the short and long-term. There may still be consequences for our actions that we aren’t aware of yet but we’re much further along than when we were the infants and unsure and unaware of what was happening in our world. At this stage we begin to become so competent in our actions that we don’t really have to think about it any longer, we just do it automatically.

This is the growth cycle and because it is a cycle, it repeats itself. This cycle however is more like an upward spiral. Each time we reach the “unconscious competence” phase we are wiser and more powerful as we move into the new terrain and return to the “unconscious incompetence” phase but at a more challenging level. This is an endless cycle because the more we grow and evolve in any area we learn that the more we know, the more we know that we don’t know and so the process begins again. This cycle applies to every process we engage.



TIME TO WAKE UP

This is how it is with humans and the world of energy. Some of us are just waking up to our abilities in this realm. Some are already masters and are leading the way for others to follow. Others unfortunately are too afraid of the change and so they deny this world and even ridicule or attack those who have made the shift. Still life evolves and moves on and so those unwilling to change and grow will be left behind because they are trapped by their own resistance.

For those of us who are inspired by those leading the way, until we gain competence in this new world, we have to invest the time to learn. We are physical beings. We can see, feel, hear, taste and smell and this allows us to gather data from our physical environment. We have emotional (“energy in motion”) responses to this stimulus. We are capable of thought so we are able to gain knowledge from our experiences. However we are also spiritual beings but it’s important to remember that this spiritual aspect of ourselves is non-physical and therefore operates in energy realm. We are force (non-physical energy) contained within form (our physical body). We are both at once and must learn to work with this equation rather than continuing to deny its existence.

IT TAKES PRACTICE

The rules in the non-physical world are different than in the physical world and require different tools to navigate. To assist you in this realm I want to begin to offer you some tools and techniques which have been shown to me to help you begin to sense your way around in this world. I hope that you’ve been working with, practicing and hopefully incorporating “The Basics”  (http://peacefulmichael.blogspot.com/2010/04/awakening-grounding.html) into your daily life. If not, I encourage you to begin doing that. As we move deeper with the information I have for you, you’ll begin engaging energy consciously and if these basics aren’t in place you’ll have no framework or structure to hold the experiences in the physical realm. If that is the case then the words will seem empty, the principles will seem foreign and your growth will be minimal at best.

Are you ready to make the journey from “unconscious incompetence” toward “unconscious competence”?

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Labor Pains

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.