A Peaceful Existence

My chaotic journey

2011-12-15T09:47:00.001-08:00

In February of this year, I participated in the “ShamanicDe-armoring” ceremony which was created and presented by the Deer Tribe out of Mesa,Arizona. It really rocked my world and in some very powerful ways. At the endof that experience, we were given some summary sheets that showed us theenergetic condition we were in when we arrived and how we looked uponcompletion. These sheets were a summary of what the people running the ceremonysaw in our energy field. It was about 8 pages of information and I rememberthinking “Wow, I wish I could read all that information, it would sure help mein my own practice to know all of this about the men I work with.” In October Iwent to Mesa for a two week training session where I learned to do that verything. Oh my, what an experience that was!

THE DEER TRIBE

A couple of years ago as part of the energy class that I’min, our reading assignment for the month was “Song of the Deer”. It was writtenby the leader of the Deer Tribe, Thunder Strikes. I remember reading the bookand thinking “this just all makes so much sense” and it felt like it was intotal alignment with my belief system but just far more detailed. ThunderStrikes was one of the guest speakers at the ASEP conference that I attended acouple years ago. I remembered being awed by all that he had tosay and thinking I’d love to get to learn more from him. It seems that littleby little I was being drawn to his teachings.

The Deer Tribe teaches that our physical body is just onetiny component of our energy field. At this point most people have heard of“the aura”, the energetic rings surrounding our physical body. The Deer Tribeteaches that the energetic rings of the aura form the outer shell of theLuminous Egg Cocoon (LEC). In addition to the 5 layers of auric rings there area whole host of other energetic components along with the body which compromisethe LEC in total. Learning to read all of these components is what the class Iattended was all about.

OWNING OUR TRUTH

We all havepsychic gifts and abilities which are available to us. Most of us have chosento block that information out at a very early age because we were taught thatwe were either making it up or worse yet evil for being able to see the unseen.When we make the choice to shut it out, opening it back up can be challengingand scary. As part of that willingness to engage the psychic realm again we notonly have to contend with a flood of new information but we also have toprocess all of our accumulated emotional baggage around why we chose to blockit out all of these years and the consequences of that decision in our lives.

The men I work with are all in varying stages ofself-acceptance and each is dealing with their own sexual and spiritual woundsin their own way. A major factor for any of us on that journey is denial.Rather than fully claiming our power and acknowledging our part in creating allof the experiences that we’ve had, we create false personalities composed ofwhat we think others can love and accept. That becomes the false egoic selfthat we form our identity around. It is what the Deer Tribe calls the“pretender voice”. We put all of the parts that we believe are unlovable, byothers or ourselves, into what is called “the shadow self”. The shadow self isbasically all the parts of ourselves that we deny, reject or repress. Neitherof these, the pretender voice and the shadow self, is the full measure of whowe really are but we delude ourselves into believing that our pretender voice iswho we are and our shadow self is who we are not.

For most of us, our pretender voice has become the onlyvoice that we associate with internally because we believe it is “me”. In mywork, when I speak with my clients they respond from the projected self andthat makes my work challenging because to truly help them I have to be able tosee under that projection and into what is really true for them. The only wayso far for me to access that information has been to gain it psychically andslowly over a series of sessions until I can get a good handle on what’s goingon for them. In my work I’ve been slowly learning to not only notice thesepsychic abilities within myself but I’ve actually come to rely on them. My ownjourney into trusting that information is unfolding along with me as I workwith my clients.

SEEING INTO THE UNSEEN

Now I wish I could say that I went to the training and theyshowed me a magic button that I could press on a body where suddenly I couldsee all of these energetic indicators, auric rings and moving lights. If onlyit were that easy, but it was not. Not only did we have to learn what all is inthere, where it is and what it does but we also had to learn to see, intuit orfeel it based upon our particular primary psychic energy gifts. To say thatthis was a challenge for me would be a gross understatement. The analogy that Igave Thunder Strikes for how I felt was: it’s like you’ve put me in a dark roomand filled it with some wild animals that I’ve never seen before and you tellme to find one. When I manage to feel around and finally get my hands on one,the question you ask is “what did it eat for dinner last week?” It’s all soforeign that when I finally get a glimmer of understanding of what I’m lookingfor then the problem becomes determining what that means.

While I felt like I was truly taking a shot in the dark formost of the two weeks that I was there, it really pushed me hard and made melook at my own pretender voice and how much I identify with it. “I can’t dothis”, “I don’t know how”, “I’m not as good as everyone else” and “I keepgetting it wrong”. I wanted to get it so badly that all I could focus on wasthe problems I had and that led to a couple of emotional meltdowns. Thosemeltdowns of course opened a pathway to healing the issue for me and it mostlycame back to issues of self-worth or self-pity.

THE OUTSIDER

To hopefully help you see how these issues might bemanifesting in your life and blocking you from achieving your goals, I’d liketo share how they showed up for me in the class. This class is primarilyoffered to those on the Deer Tribe path but those outside the path can attendas well. I was the only one of the 12 students that was not an apprentice onthe path. Being on the “Deer Tribe path” simply means that you study theteachings of their spiritual lineage. Once I discovered that this was the case,I immediately felt myself at a disadvantage because the extent of my exposureto their teachings came during Shamanic De-armoring, from reading “Song of the Deer”and some teachings that I’ve received in the energy class that I’m in.

I noticed myself not wanting to continually have to say“what does that mean?” when ThunderStrikes was teaching and would use a term orconcept that was new to me but was familiar to the rest of the class. I didn’twant to appear to be “the dumb one” or to be the one that holds up the learningprogress of the class by asking too many questions. To that end, during thefirst 3 or 4 days of the class unless it seemed really important, I wouldrarely ask for clarification or definition of terms and I would just try and gowith the flow and ask for clarification from the other students after class. Mysense of low self-worth was preventing me from getting the teachings that Ideserved whether it slowed anyone else down or not. Not having the depth ofknowledge that the other on the path had and therefore unable to fully graspthe teachings being presented was just another way for me to stay in victimmode. Being in victim mode is one way that we all manifest self-pity.

OLD PATTERNS

In general, we all seek attention (energy) through theactions that we generate. This is a pattern that we learn as infants. If I cry,pout, misbehave, act out, go silent or become a pleaser, I get attention. Evenif it is negative attention, it is still attention. Feeling sorry for myself orgetting you to feel sorry for me is one way that I can get attention. This is why so many people are all toowilling to share all that is wrong in their lives so that they can gainsympathy (attention). Of course theolder and wiser we become, the more crafty our attention seeking devicesbecome…even to the point where we don’t consciously notice them ourselves untila situation brings them to light. This is one of the things that the trainingexperience did for me.

Once it was pointed out to me that this was the energeticbehind my behaviors, I knew it had to change and from that point on I gotclarification on anything which I didn’t understand. In fact one of the mostpowerful teachings that we received in the class came from me saying “I don’tunderstand what that means”. ThunderStrikes then took the time to explain whathe meant in depth and even one of the teachers of the class said “I’ve neverunderstood this like I understand it now.” The class consciousness benefitedin that instance from me being willing to transcend my issues of self-worth andself-pity. That is also the way it works for the human collectiveconsciousness. The entire collective benefits from the healing and growth ofthe individuals.

MULTI-DIMENSIONAL SENSES

Our physical bodies reside here in the 3^rdDimension. In this realm we use sight, sound, taste, touch and smell tonavigate our world and identify its components. Since the LEC is non-physicalit cannot be read by our five senses but rather it must be read, or as the DeerTribe calls it “gleaned”, by our energetic (or psychic) senses. The journeyinto trusting these senses is more complicated because these gifts are not honoredin this world (and especially this country) the way they should be and so thisis mostly uncharted territory. Fortunately that is shifting and more and moreof us are waking up to these gifts and owning them and the data they bring us.

As we began the training, I’ll admit that my skepticism wasrunning high the first few days. I really began doubting that all we were beingtold was what was going on inside the LEC and that the techniques we were beingshown would help me read it. Each evening we would all gather in the trainingroom and the rest of us would glean one of students from our class. Around thethird or fourth evening is when I was able to pull back from the “doing” andrealize that if we were all independently reading one person and coming up withthe same answers, it couldn’t be just “lucky guesses”. That was one of many “AHHA” moments for me. Once I let that awareness sink in, I began to feel moreconfident about my own ability to read and trust the information I was gettingback.

Once I began trusting the information I was getting then Ihad to look at what that information, which was in my LEC too, really meant tome and said about me. It basically came down to “it’s there, it describes youand you can read it too.” Through my actions and experiences I ran full speedinto my own doubts and fears and dispelled them. When presented with the conflict betweenvalidated experiential data and my own personal denial drama, I realized thatmy old story was false. If I dropped my own pitiful story of “I can’t” thatwould mean that I would have to start seeing myself differently. My pretendervoice could not stand on its own against my current reality. Needless to say,an emotional meltdown followed this realization and I had to change.

THE CYCLE OF CHAOS

At the most basic level, change is what I sought from myexperience with the Deer Tribe. Anytime that we choose to consciously engage anexperience that it outside of our normal routine, we disrupt our patternedbehavior. Breaking a pattern is intentionally introducing chaos into our lives. Since everything in a state of chaos seeks order and everythingordered ultimately breaks down into chaos, change is the catalyst (that which bringsthe energy of movement to that cycle). Anytime a structured system breaks down,when it reorganizes it does so at a higher level of consciousness. This is truefor internal energetic systems and it is also true for external systems that wesee in life. So what this teaches us is that in order to grow and consciouslyevolve we have to disrupt our patterned behaviors, ride out the chaos and allowour awareness to increase in the process. Resisting the chaos or going intovictim mode because of it, holds us in the chaotic state and slows our growth. Themain difference between conscious and unconscious evolution is therefore awareness.

As you may have noticed, I went to the class in October andit is currently mid-December. I sought change and I got it. Yes, I learned someamazing things in the training class and got some powerful teachings fromThunderStrikes in the process but I also have been through some serious chaos.The time between the class and the completion of this posting is due to metrying to get a handle on all the change which has occurred since the training.That however will be food for a future posting.

INVITE THE CHOAS IN

For now, I invite you to examine the places in your lifewhere you see stagnation, fear, or resistance. Start with a simple issue andsee if you can consciously introduce a small measure ofchaos (change) and watch this process manifest for you to observe for yourself.A controlled experiment like that will allow you to then trust the process andutilize it in bigger and more important areas of your life. That experimentwill benefit you far more than just reading my words describing it. Experienceis the most powerful teacher we have. Just remember that when the chaos ofchange begins, even if it is just a tiny disruption, that this is what youconsciously sought, so don’t resist it. Welcome the change, flow with it andyou’ll see it settle faster and you’ll learn more from it.

Where are the places in your life where you cling thehardest to your pain, your drama or your fears?

It's all connected - Part 2

2011-09-23T07:05:00.000-07:00

For the past two years I’ve been attending a monthly classon energy fundamentals. The class has helped me in so many ways to be a betterperson and a better energy-work practitioner. As an extension of that class, inMarch I become a member of the “Men’s Group” which is comprised of men who havebeen through the first two years of the energy class. This is a working supportgroup which provides us with a safe space to talk about the changes that theenergy class is making in our lives. The group is currently comprised of 13men, 4 of which are gay and the other 9 are straight.

In July thanks to the beautiful weather we were having, wehad decided to meet in Volunteer Park and have a small pot-luck cookout. Forthose that aren’t familiar with it, Volunteer Park is what the gays in Seattlethink of as the “gay park”. It’s in the Capitol Hill (gay neighborhood) areaand is where many “Gay Pride” events are held. On the day of the meeting, Iwent shopping for my pot-luck food as was actually quite excited about themeeting because it was sunny, I was in a good mood, I enjoy the group and picnicking(which I love) was involved.

I was the first to arrive so as I waited for the others I satbasking in the afternoon sun and enjoying the fresh air. As more and more menarrived I noticed that my joyous mood had shifted to something more subdued. Ieven felt myself beginning to withdraw from socializing with the other men butchose to ignore it and press on into the gathering. Once we began there was oneother gay guy present and the other 7 men were straight guys.

CHECKING IN

As with any support group, we begin with a “check in” wherewe discuss whatever is going on in our lives so that we can get support fromthe group as needed. I was about half-way around the circle from where westarted with the check-ins so I had about 6 guys ahead of me. I remember thefirst person had barely gotten into his check-in and all I could think aboutwas “when will this end so I can get out of here?”

I began thinking about what might be going on that wasmaking me not want to be a part of something that earlier I was excited about.I concluded that the guys were going to take too long to check-in (they do it everymonth) and because of the cookout that we wouldn’t have time to get to thediscussion that we usually have or to do any energy exercises, which is myfavorite part of the gathering, and that THAT was what was annoying me. My intransigencewas stacking the deck against me.

As I listened to the guys sharing their stories, I beganthinking about what was going on for me that I would share. The main dramawhich had arisen in my life was around the Facebook posting that my childhoodfriend had made which set me off. By the time it got to me to check-in, almostan hour had passed due to the lengthy check-ins and I was more than annoyed andmy response was to withdraw and share the minimum I could so that things wouldmove along. Literally my check-in was “Not much is happening really. I’m good.”After all, why would all these straight guys care about my “big gay drama”?

NOT THE DISH I ORDERED

After the check-ins ended, we began the cookout. Whilethings were being grilled and prepped, I sat there stewing in my pot of angerand completely withdrawn yet trying to put on a happy face to hide it all. Oneof the guys came over to check on me. “Is everything okay? You seem sowithdrawn and quiet.” I gave him the response that most of us give when wedon’t want to own what is going on inside or share it, “I’m FINE.” (Fucked-up, Insecure, Neurotic and Emotional) Several other guys tried to make conversationwith me but I wasn’t in the mood to engage them either so my response to themwas equally short.

As soon as everyone had their food off the grill (which Ihad brought so I had to stick around), I made a hasty retreat and actually leftwithout saying goodbye to most of the guys. Everything in me was saying “RUN”and so I did. I spent the entire drive home trying to figure out what hadreally set me off and trying to decide if I really wanted to be a part of thegroup any longer.

TRACK IT DOWN

When I got home where it was quiet, I was able to sit down,relax and try to track my experience back to the point where I shifted fromexcited to withdrawn. I remembered that I was good until the first two guysarrived. They arrived together and one of them was what I think of as the AlphaMale of the group. He’s not in charge of the group but because his work andlife are about him being in charge of lots of people (big family and smallbusiness owner) he tends to want to run the show anyway. He is also the groupmember which I feel most nervous around.

When they approached, I remember thinking “you don’t knowthese guys very well so don’t be overly affectionate so just smile, shake handsand say hello” and so I did while remaining seated. As other guys arrived sincethey were standing, they would greet and hug each other while I sat and took itin, withdrawing further and further and feeling more and more like an outsider.I had found my “breaking point”. The question was why did guys showing up andgreeting each other set me off?

The answer was of course right there in my response to themand their arrival. It has been my historical observation that straight men areuncomfortable with hugs and emotional greetings from other men but especially fromgay men. Therefore, over the years my “default setting” has become “do notgreet straight men very affectionately and keep an emotional distance”. It’sbeen that way for so long now that I don’t even really think about it, it justhappens. I feel safer because I believe they feel more comfortable around me.

So there I sat watching the group unite and bond one by one,with me consciously choosing to stay on the outside where I thought it was safeand yet resenting feeling left out. My default setting was the source of myisolation and it was so instinctual and automatic that I didn’t even notice it.It becomes very challenging for a support group to support you when you won’tengage with it and allow it to support you. The energy held by group gatheredfor a specific purpose is more powerful than the amount of energy which can beheld by the individual members. It is knownas “emergence” and allows each group member to benefit from this higher vibration of energy.

PERSONAL DEFAULT SETTINGS

Of course I’ve only come to realize most of this as I’vebeen creating this blog entry and thus one of the reasons for my delay ingetting it created. Major resistance has shown up at every turn and mostly allself-induced. I spent time in the days after the gathering trying to tracethings back to the point where I felt things went awry so that I could begin tounderstand what happened. I knew that I did not feel safe in the group andshared this with them in an email after the gathering but I also made it clearthat it was an unconscious fear because consciously I knew that these men meantme no harm.

The part of me that didn’t feel safe was my inner little gayboy who had been taunted and teased all through my childhood by the bulliesthat I went to school with. I have processed all of that consciously andlearned that their actions had everything to do with them and nothing to dowith me. I have forgiven them for their cruelty and myself for taking on theirhatred and hating myself and them because of it. I have done all the things Ineeded to do to move on with my life but still my default setting was to keep a distance physically and emotionallywith a group of straight men.

That default setting has now become problematic. I don’tneed that emotional distance any longer because now I have the skills to managethe emotional landscape within me. By using “The Basics” I can now create and hold space for myself, determine what is mine and what isnot mine, define my boundaries and be fully present to life as it occurs momentby moment. The task then becomes to find these old wounded places within me andheal them. Being present and aware will help me notice them. Bringing myconsciousness to the issues with an intention to change them will enable me totransform the issues.

JOURNALING TO THE RESCUE

I’m a big fan to advising others to journal when somethingis going on for them. It seems in this case that was good advice for me as well.It really is amazing how much is revealed just by opening up and listening toall the messages that surface and seeing your thoughts written out where youhave to look at them. Now they aren’t just idle thoughts which pass throughyour head but something that you have to look at and say “Is that really truefor me?” “Do I want it to be?” The answer to those questions will open apath to healing.

INTERCONNECTIVITY

One of the other points that I’d like to emphasize bysharing this entry and the preceding one is the importance of seeingconnections between events. With all the things that happen in our busy lives,it seems challenging to think that anyone would know which events to connectand how many of them. The main indicator is always “emotional charge”. If thereis something within us that is ready to heal, that energetic will help us attractexperiences which will trigger an emotional response. The emotional response isthe key thing to notice. The wounded parts of us hold the emotional charge ofthe original wound that was not expressed or resolved at the time of the triggeringevent. That charge is released as we heal and we are therefore no longertriggered by events related to it.

Since connections between events will occur over time asopposed to single events which we can deal with at the time, these largerissues can be harder to spot. Typically the first event will remain unresolvedfor various reasons and already have our attention drawn to it when the relatedevent(s) occur. On the surface these events may or may not seem connected andthis is where introspection comes in and a bit of intuition. Do the events havea similar theme or is the same core issue being triggered by two dissimilarevents? Is there a pattern that seems to be repeating across events? If youfind yourself saying “why does this keep happening to me?” you can believe thatthere is a wound in there somewhere trying to heal.

It takes deep introspection to know if the events arerelated and there is no set formula for how that is done. The best way to knowis to trust your intuition. If you feel or think there might be aconnection between events, trust that and spend some time journaling or talkingwith a friend (both help to keep your awareness on the issue) about it and inall likelihood you’ll find that connection.

Once you find the issue that connects seemingly unrelatedevents, chances are that you’ll see how this issue is playing out in otheraspects of your life. If the issue is pretty widespread from that perspective,odds are that you have a default setting that needs attention as well. As thename implies, a default setting is a habitual action which we typically dowithout even thinking about it or even thinking that it’s an option to not doit. It’s so instinctive that the action goes totally unnoticed. In my case Iwas defaulting to emotional distance with straight men because of my fear ofhow they would respond to it. I wasn’t allowing room for them to have controlof their emotions or for them to have the confidence to be comfortable beingaround gay guys. My wounded inner child was passive-aggressively trying to keepme safe. In truth he was keeping me from feeling the support and friendship ofother men who have done their own inner work and wanted to be my friend.

BEING QUIET WOULD BE EASIER...BUT NOT BETTER

This has been a difficult entry for me because it is sopersonal. I’ve struggled to even continue to try and write it and thus thedelay in getting it posted. If I hadn’t mentioned it in the last entry, I’mcertain I would have abandoned it some time ago. I’m really glad I didn’tthough because the act of getting it written has revealed so many things to mein addition to the things I’ve shared in the post.

I invite you to notice what your default settings are andask yourself if it is set to the way that works for you now as opposed to atime early in your life when you probably set it unconsciously. If it isn’t, youcan change that default by holding your awareness on it when it gets triggeredand consciously choosing to respond in the new way that does work for you. Itwill take several times of repeating that change for it to take effect but itwill happen. It will only happen however if you are conscious about it. It is “consciousevolution” at work. My hope is that through this blog I will give you the toolsand awareness to help effect that type of change through conscious competency.

Are you willing to raise your awareness to the level whereyou can observe the interconnectedness of life and your experiences within itto find the places in you that need healing?

I'm still here!!!

2011-08-23T06:52:00.001-07:00

Greetings dear readers. I know it has been a while since I posted any new entries and I apologize for that. The nature of what I’m working on now (the second part of the “It’s all connected” posting) is so personal that I’ve run into a lot of resistance internally to getting it written. Things are still being revealed to me about my part in the experience and what all I can learn from it. I’m working on it for sure but wanted to drop you a note to say “don’t give up on me…I’m still here”. I’ll have it soon…thanks for your patience and understanding.

If you haven’t already “Liked” my Facebook page which is linked to this blog, please do that and you’ll know exactly when I put a new entry up…plus you’ll get nice little quick thoughts through occasional Facebook posts from me. Just click on the Facebook box on the right side of this column and you’ll be directed to the Facebook page, then click “Like”. Easy breezy.

Thank you again for reading my blog. I’m honored by that and grateful to you.

Peace is always the way,

Michael

It's all connected - Part 1

2011-07-19T15:17:00.000-07:00

As most everyone was aware June was “LGBT Pride month”. It was a time for gay people to feel acknowledged and accepted by our nation which is built on diversity. President Obama had the wisdom and respect enough to proclaim it as such after President Bush stopped that designation during his time in office. Pride month is a time when the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) community can celebrate our successes and raise awareness of our struggle for acceptance and equal rights. It’s a time that we can focus on being proud of who we are and our ability to love.

I make no secret about the fact that I am a gay man. I live my life in a way that pleases me with honesty and integrity. I am out to everyone that I know including my loving birth family and my beloved partner’s family. I am proud of the fact that he and I have been together for 10 and ½ years in a loving, committed relationship. I am honored to be able to work with other men to help them love and respect themselves and their sexual expression whether they are gay, bi or straight. By fully accepting ourselves just as we are and sharing that we can offer others the choice to love and accept us and not a false personality that we have created in an attempt to be who we think they can accept.

SWEET HOME ALABAMA

As a child and small boy, I grew up during a time (the 60’s) when gayness was considered a psychological defect which needed to be treated and cured. I was born and raised in a small town in Alabama which was full of people with good hearts but misguided belief systems that said if you were not heterosexual and white you were not welcome. In fact if you were not straight AND white you ran a very real risk of being beaten or even killed. In an area of Alabama with a strong Klan presence, homophobia and racial discrimination were not only rampant but openly embraced.

I was a very soft natured and physically small boy who was quiet, effeminate and very introverted. The local religious environment taught me to view myself as a sinner because of my homosexual nature. The community taught me to hide who I was to avoid physical harm or verbal assaults. I grew up living every day in fear for my safety and well being because I could not hide who I was inside. I had very few friends outside my immediate family because I was so obviously different. Kids at school pretty much avoided being friends with me because they knew it could bring negative attention to them simply by our association.

Needless to say I really valued very highly the friends that I did make because they gave me a feeling of safety, love and acceptance and a sense of community. At that age, fitting in and being accepted was essential for good emotional health. Having a group of friends at school that I could feel safe around allowed me to relax and let down my guard a bit and experience a sense of belonging. I knew that no matter how cruel the verbal and physical assaults were from the other kids, I had a safe refuge somewhere with my friends.

RECONNECTING

Since I left that place back in 1981 I’ve made my peace with who I am, the painful experiences I had there and even reconnected with a few of my childhood friends thanks to Facebook. One of those people was a boy that I was very close to as a child. We were born 10 days apart and I always felt a close kinship to him until after graduation when I left town. We’ve since reconnected on Facebook and it’s been nice getting to know him again but as an adult. It seems that we both have developed a rather sharp sense of humor that can cut and entertain. We both can go so hard for a joke sometimes that other people can easily and unintentionally get hurt along the way.

This became very clear recently when I was the one who was hurt by his humor. He posted the image that you see here on his Facebook wall. He was actually posting it to another of his male friends but I saw it on his wall and was immediately triggered by it and let him know. His response was that I was being “too sensitive” and reading something into it that he didn’t mean. He said he considered himself an equal opportunity offender with his humor.

The more I thought about this, the angrier I got and the more hurt I felt. I considered the possibility that I was over-reacting and even posted the image on my Facebook wall asking my other gay friends if it offended them. Most who responded began reading into it and even defending it saying that gay’s “have a more refined taste and are classier” which is also in line with Mac’s marketing practices. I get where they were going with that but to me that was definitely reading more into it than was present and even showed how corporate marketing can affect us.

EMBEDDED HOMOPHOBIA

Finally I decided to sit and analyze why this bothered me so much rather than just saying that it hurt me because it was truly NOT directed at me personally. It was me that had the problem after all. I realized that it was because of the divisive nature of the message. To me this image says “the sole criteria that I will use to determine which group you are in is your sexual orientation. The thing that divides us will be your sexual identity.” On the surface maybe there is some humor which can be had based upon our personal beliefs around gayness, Mac’s and PC’s but there is embedded homophobia within it. As someone who is trying to bring forth a message of Oneness, self-acceptance, peace, harmony, love and awareness, this flies directly in the face of that message. As a gay person, it stings. Coming from someone who I thought had my back, it hurts.

On many levels I was deeply hurt by this insensitivity and I let him know that I was both upset and offended by it. I explained to him why it offended me and let him know that I expected nothing from him because of it. The problem was with me and my response to the posting and so it was my issue to work. My life experience provided the fertile ground for this situation to bloom and so the healing needed to occur there as well. I made it clear to him that I wasn’t looking for an apology or for him to do anything other than be aware of the response his actions had triggered. What he chooses to do with that in the future is entirely up to him because now he knows the impact his actions had.

I didn’t know it at the time but this experience was getting me set up for a deeper awareness and a an opportunity to heal an old issue. I’ll share that in Part 2.

DISCRIMINATION IS NOT OKAY

In a country which struggles with its treatment of gay people, homophobic remarks like this one get dismissed by society because it has always been okay to make gay jokes. The message that our government and religious organizations send is that it is okay to discriminate against gay people because they don’t deserve equal rights or equal treatment because of that one issue. When the culture holds a belief, it should come as no surprise that its members will act in alignment with that belief and not see a problem with their behavior.

On the one hand, it would be easy for me to say “Oh, he didn’t mean it THAT way” and just ignore it but then nothing will ever change. The truth however is that when you post (say, write, act, display) anything like the image above, not only do you get your particular message attached to it but you also have to own the deeper embedded energetics of that message. It doesn’t matter what joke you are trying to connect it to or why, you get it all and are responsible for it as if it were your own words. If that image had replaced “gay” with any racial designation, it would have caused an uproar but because it used “gay” it was seemingly okay.

THE STRUGGLE FOR EQUALITY

Every subsection of our culture has had its struggles for acceptance and equality. It is challenging when you are in a minority to get the majority to treat you fairly because they hold the weight and power of the majority. The role of government is supposed to be to protect the minorities and ensure their equal rights and fair treatment. Unfortunately the majority seems to think the government is there to protect their fears relating to the minority wanting a piece of their pie. We’ve seen this happen with women, African Americans and now it’s time for equality for gay people.

When we know better, we can do better. Discrimination and separation will never move us in the direction that we need to go as a nation or as a species. They only further divide and weaken us. To survive and flourish we have to learn to think and act as one. “One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice FOR ALL.”

WE ALL DESERVE LOVE AND RESPECT

We all deserve to feel safe, respected and heard. This is especially true when we are with our friends. At the same time each of us owes it to the world to be our own unique, authentic expression of the Divine. As we experience that which is different from ourselves, we learn and grow and see the value of the diversity of nature. Yet despite our differences, ultimately we are one planetary species and we have to learn to find ways to value those differences. When we can drop our judgments of others which drive us further apart, we can see that ultimately we have more in common than we think because we’re all human and we’re all in this together. We can choose to be a piece of the whole or we can choose to live in fear, separation and ultimately isolation.

Remember, energetically you get back what you send out. Will you choose to radiate love and acceptance or project your fears out into the world?

Expanded consciousness exercise

2011-06-22T14:25:00.000-07:00

The most common theme among all world religions and spiritual teachings is the core belief in Oneness or Unity Consciousness. Every religion brings this teaching out in various ways but the belief is there beneath the dogma of the particular religion. This awareness of Oneness is what I’ve been using as the framework for the information that I’ve been sharing with you in this blog. It is also something that I’ve been working to manifest in my own personal life, not just as a concept but as a reality that I’m consciously choosing to orient my life around.

The biggest challenge that any of us face when we choose to focus on our Oneness with that which created us is overcoming our sense of separation. From the moment we leave the womb and the umbilical cord is cut, our lives begin to organize around a sense of separation. That one quick snip by a doctor which separates us from our mother is the moment where we first experience our individuality and uniqueness. In essence it is the very first lesson we receive and so it should come as no surprise that our world is built around the belief that we are all separate.

So how is it then that we can be disconnected and yet still ultimately all be connected? The answer to that question has everything to do with where our consciousness is and how aware we are of it. Since our consciousness is not physical and therefore not fixed in one place, it can move from place to place and level to level in an instant. To help understand this a bit more easily, it may help to also think of your consciousness as your awareness or point of focus.

INTERNAL AWARENESS OF AWARENESS

Let’s do a little exercise here to help you become a bit more familiar with shifting your consciousness around. The first step is to get familiar with how it feels when you move your consciousness around within you. Before engaging this process, it’s best to make sure that you have your “Basics” in place first. It’s always a good idea to have your Basics in place in every moment but until you can hold that as a constant state, reminders like this can be helpful. It’s also a good idea to turn off any external distracters like televisions or radios. The quieter your space is the easier this exercise will be. Spend some time with this first part and really get a feel for the movement of your awareness before you engage the second part. If you can focus inward enough, you will actually be able to feel your awareness move. The key in this first part is really observing how it feels when your awareness holds in one spot and moves.

Sit comfortably in a chair in an upright position. Ideally the chair should have arm rests. This exercise can also be done by lying on the floor and pointing your fingers toward the ceiling.
Spread your legs comfortably wide and rest your elbows on the arms of the chair with your hands raised pointing up and index finger extended on each hand pointing out and away from your body so that you would have to turn your head from side to side to easily see each finger.
Turn your head and shift your eyes to the index finger on your left hand and put your full focus on the tip of that one finger for at least 10 seconds.
Observe how it feels inside your finger when you hold this focus. Notice the sensations in the finger for a few moments and then notice how it feels in your head and body to hold your awareness on this one point.
Turn your head and shift your gaze to the index finger on your right hand and hold it there for at least 10 seconds noticing how it feels during the shift from the left finger and the moments after the shift and beyond.
Slowly shift back and forth a few times between these fingers to get familiar with the feel of your consciousness shifting between these two visible locations within your body. Really focus and observe what you feel in the finger as you move to it and away from it.
Hold your full awareness on the left hand index finger and let your awareness gather there for 10 seconds then just very lightly, without turning your head to look or putting too much focus there, observe how the index finger on your right hand feels when your awareness is still fully on the left. It’s very easy to split your focus with the right hand while doing this so really fix your gaze and hold your attention firmly on the left hand. Just use the tiniest amount of awareness to notice how it feels in the right finger without your full awareness on it. Yes, it is tricky but possible and may require practice to get it.
Experiment with this a bit until you get a good feel for it and then while still gazing at the left hand, without turning your head to look, send your full awareness (minus the visual focus) to your right index finger. This one can also be a little tricky so play with it a bit until you can feel your focus settle in on the right hand while still gazing at the left hand. Notice how that feels in each finger.
Experiment with rocking your awareness slowly back and forth between the fingers while holding your gaze on only one of them. Repeat this until you can almost feel your consciousness shifting within your body. Once you have that felt sense of the shift within your body, you’re ready to continue.
While holding your gaze on the left index finger, shift your awareness to the right finger, then down to the right big toe. When you feel the shift down to your toe then go to the left big toe. (Picking a specific toe or finger like this helps to narrow the focus more fully and makes it easier to feel.) When you feel that shift then come back to the left finger where your visual focus is.
Slowly repeat that loop from finger to finger to toe to toe to finger several times until you can easily observe your consciousness shifting within your body.

EXPANDED AWARENESS

The first part of the exercise should give you a palpable feel for your focused awareness and the energy that it has. When you have that then you’re ready to proceed with shifting your awareness beyond your body. Take some time with this part and really notice how you feel after each step, not just at the beginning and then the end. Notice your thoughts (but don’t get caught in them), sensations in your body, shift in mood or emotions, whatever happens for you, just observe it and gather the data.

It might be easier to do the second part with a friend reading the instructions to you rather than trying to remember it all or read it step by step. You may also want to record yourself reading these notes (with long pauses between steps) and play that back when you’re ready to engage the exercise.

Close your eyes and repeat the finger-finger-toe-toe-finger loop a couple of times to notice how it feels when you shift it with no visual focus.
Once you have a feel for your consciousness shifting around to these points then play with moving it around to various points within your body allowing time at each point for your awareness to gather at that point before moving on. Think of the point first and then move your awareness to it. Joints and points are the easiest places to select because they are more specific spots (i.e. hip, knee, tip of the nose) than surface areas (chest, thigh, back).
When you have a feel for that internal movement from point to point then relax your arms down and let your hands rest and draw your legs in so that you can sit or lie comfortably for the next part.
With your eyes closed, bring your awareness to your nostrils and just observe the breath moving in and out for a few cycles. Feel the coolness of the inhale and warmth of the exhale. If you can’t immediately feel the difference in the temperature of the air, hold on this step until you can.
Now slowly allow your awareness to spread out to include your whole head, down your neck, through your chest and down the arms, down the torso into the pelvis, over the glutes and abdomen then down your legs. Don’t focus on any one spot during this process but rather feel like your awareness is growing from the tip of your nose to include your whole body but do it slowly piece by piece this way. Each place you expand to include is added to what you already have and is not the center of your focus. Remember to hold on to the awareness of the whole as it expands and not just focus on the next point or level.
When you have added all parts of your body, spend a few moments here observing how it feels to notice ALL of your body from the inside. Notice any tingling or pulsing which arises within your body and really gather the data on how this feels in your body. This is different from any thoughts you might be having on doing this exercise or mental distractions which may arise. Try to let those thoughts go for now and just notice the feeling of this expanded consciousness.
When you have gathered the data on “the self” now allow your thoughts to also include any other members in your immediate household one by one. This is human, animals and plants…any living beings within your home. Just lightly call in thoughts of each of them without losing your focus on you.
Now expand your thoughts to include only your immediate family one level out which is mom, dad, children, brothers and sisters. The family members referenced here can be living or dead. This exercise is about expanding your consciousness only and not about connecting with these individuals so just any visual or feeling you have for each one is all that is necessary to feel like you’re including them in your consciousness.
Now continue expanding to include the next family level…grandparents and grandchildren. Think for a brief moment about each one as you bring them into your consciousness. Don’t make this too heavy or sharp of a focus but more their name and maybe flash upon their face. It’s almost like what you would do if I said “tell me the names of each of these people” but this is all done internally.
Now begin including your entire extended family including in-laws and any distant relatives that come to mind. Don’t get caught up in trying to make sure that you get every single one but feel for what it’s like to bring them in one by one and still hold the awareness of the group you already have.
Now include friends…again one by one, just lightly allowing your consciousness to expand to hold them.
Next include immediate co-workers, associates, old friends, past relationships…anyone that you have physically met and related to in the past. Really get a feel for anyone that comes to mind during this process no matter what emotional history you have with them but again don’t focus on them or your history with them, just their name and a maybe an image of their face and then move on.
Notice any challenges that come with this process but don’t let that stop you. The more people you include in this exercise the more challenging it will become of course but that is part of the experience we’re seeking here. Once you have all your direct relations done, just lightly scan across them and notice how it feels within your body to hold your focus on you AND them. The important part is to not lose awareness of you in the process.
Now shift to thinking about places rather than people but still holding on to the thoughts of the people you’ve pulled in. Imagine that they are all right there with you and think about the place where you live and begin slowly expanding from there to the whole building (if you live in apartments or condo’s), then on to your neighborhood, then city, state, region, country, continent, hemisphere and finally to the entire planet. Take your time and focus fully on an image of this expanded upward movement at each level and notice how challenging it becomes to still hold on to the awareness of yourself and all those you gathered at the individual level. It’s almost like you were using Google Earth and slowly zooming out to go up and away from the planet.
Feel like you are holding all of the people, animals and plants around the entire planet in your consciousness. Gather the data on how this feels to have your awareness be this so expanded as to include the entire planet. Really spend a few moments gathering the data for how this feels and how taxing it might be on you or how easy it feels.
When you really have this feeling noted, quickly let it all go and bring your focus back to your nose. Notice the feeling of your consciousness collapsing back to this single point.
Experiment with stepping your awareness back out to the planet level and then back to your nose a few times to really gather the data on how it feels to be connected to the whole and how challenging that can be and then how it feels to bring your consciousness back to a single point. Take more time with the expansion, hold when you’re there, notice the feelings/sensations/emotions and then do a quick collapse to the nose. This enables you easily compare between fully expanded and totally collapsed. Going from the nose to the Earth quickly doesn’t get you the same feeling nor have the same effect as stepping through the upward stages with more awareness.
When you feel done, release the thoughts of your relations and perhaps send a thank you with them for helping you and then get your Basics back in place as the energy of this can really overload your system.

EXPERIENCE VS. THOUGHTS

Once you actually engage the exercise above rather than just reading the words and thinking about it, you’ll have an idea of what expanded consciousness feels like. When you can begin to feel and know (not just think) that you are a part of something much bigger, your consciousness will expand to hold that. When you make your decisions from that expanded place, the decisions you make will change because of your expanded consciousness. Holding your conscious awareness at a level beyond the self initially takes a lot of effort, much more than just an awareness exercise requires, because that effort is where the work is. It is how we consciously evolve our consciousness. It is why I invest my time in creating this blog so that you can hopefully be inspired to do that work.

The important part is to work at the place where you are and grow from there. If your day-to-day minute-to-minute decisions are only based upon you and your immediate survival needs, trying to jump to planetary consciousness won’t work. When you can begin to offer and accept unconditional love towards just yourself and then expand that unconditional love to just one other being and then continue that expansion outward, things will begin to shift for you. If you find yourself saying “how can I unconditionally love that person (criminal/molester/ex-lover/fanatic/etc)” then you know you’re not ready for that level yet. The important part is first learning to unconditionally love and accept yourself NO MATTER WHAT. Acceptance, forgiveness and love are choices and they are yours to freely make. Nothing concrete stands in your way, only your thoughts and beliefs.

YOU ARE NEVER ALONE…EVER!

Remember there will be times when you feel that you are totally alone or like it’s you against the world but that’s never true. You are always connected to the whole of humanity and thus the planet simply because you exist. Any belief to the contrary is just a false sense of separation that has been handed down to you either consciously or unconsciously by those who came before. In every moment the choice is yours to feel disconnected and alone or connected and whole but either way you are always connected. The only difference is your thoughts and beliefs.

Will you choose to feel alone or will you choose to feel connected?

Memory

2011-05-10T07:43:00.000-07:00

We are the summation of all our memories. Every experience helps to shape who we will become as we remember and process the experience. Fortunately most of us don’t remember every single detail of every day but our subconscious records the experience whether our conscious minds recall it or not. In every moment, we are bombarded with billions of pieces of data but our conscious minds can only process about 2,000 of them. These 2,000 bits then are what we are aware of and this is how our awareness shapes our lives. This is also why it is important to notice what you put your awareness on…and even what you are choosing to ignore.

After my last posting on “Wounds”, a reader said the following: “The unfortunate thing is that these hurts and wounds become more self-inflicted and assisted by insensitive comments from others. They turn into pain that keeps the memory fresh in the mind.” He is correct in that these old wounds can cause us to become our own judge, jury and executioner. When we accept other people’s opinions of who we are, we use that as ammunition to punish ourselves for not meeting someone else’s definition of who we should be.

Once we have a wound firmly in place even the slightest reference to something associated with it can send us into pattern. We then deepen the wound through self-inflicted pain because of the issue. For example when I was ridiculed for my haircut as a child, I became hypersensitive to anything having to do with my hair. Thinking of hair made me think that my hair wasn’t “normal” and I would become “triggered” by it. I would get embarrassed, angry, bitchy, ashamed, or any number of less-than-loving responses would result. More often than not I would then project the hurt from that triggered response onto someone else as a way to try and feel better about myself. That process NEVER works despite its repeated and defensive use. We can never feel better about ourselves by trying to make others feel worse about themselves.

STORING MEMORIES

At the root of the sensitivity is what is known as an “active memory”. When the memory of something is laid down in our brains, any emotional component to the experience is connected to the memory as well. There is no magical recorder in our heads that just tracks and stores every sequential event in our lives and stores it for future playback. Instead there are neural pathways which are formed that connect the memory to emotions associated with it. We may have tons of memories which are ultimately connected to the emotion of sadness but the memory itself doesn’t have sadness as a direct component of the event. Sadness was our emotional response to the event itself and so our brains connected the memory of the event to sadness.

If you think of the brain as looking similar to the picture you can begin to understand how memories are formed. Think of each of the spots, a neuron, as a single piece of data. Our brains are incredibly powerful machines which are also incredibly efficient. So your brain might have one of those spots as the location for “sadness”, another one for “anger” and another one for “love”. The brain only needs to store that emotion in one place. Then when it stores the other components of a memory, it simply connects that group of neurons to the spot for the associated emotion. Therefore we will have tons of individual memory paths which are all connected to that single emotional neuron for sadness. A memory will actually comprise a collection of countless neurons (location, age, people involved, environmental data, emotional response, etc.) which are connected via neural pathways. Therefore one memory of something sad can often trigger memories of other times when sadness occurred because they are all connected via that one neuron for sadness.

This is of course a very simplified explanation of an incredibly complex function of our brain but I hope it will help you to have an idea of how memory is stored. Given this format, “active memories” are those which are directly connected to neurons which trigger the emotional response within our bodies associated with the emotion. An “inactive memory” is one which is not associated with any particular emotion. These types of memories are typically forgotten rather quickly or are simply memories of places we’ve been, things we’ve seen or actions that we’ve done and that don’t elicit any emotional response.

MAKING AND BREAKING CONNECTIONS

For example, I remember walking around my neighborhood but I have no real emotional charge associated with that so therefore walking down my street is easy for me to do. Of course if one particular house has a big dog that barks at and scares me, I will consciously or unconsciously avoid walking past that house in the future. My brain associates that house with fear and I avoid the house. Maybe to avoid the house I have to take a different street and that then becomes my habit because it is safe. Years later I may start to walk down that street and suddenly feel fear without consciously knowing why. The dog may be dead now or the people moved but I still associate that house (and street) with the emotion of fear.

This is an example of living in the past because I’m avoiding a street in the present moment because of a negative past experience. If I bring my consciousness into the present moment however I can begin to shift that. I sense “fear” and rather than reacting to it and running I will be able to respond and potentially go into the fear. I can then choose to walk past the house and see that now it has beautiful flowers which I love, an adorable puppy or someone I might meet who will become a dear friend. The potential for joy and healing lies only in the present moment.

This act of going into the fear (which I spoke of in the “Wounds” entry) is where healing resides for me. By recognizing that my emotional response was triggered by past events and not present experiences, my brain will begin to form new neural pathways that associate this street and house with “love” or “friendship”. Ultimately the street is just a street but it is my emotional coloring of the street (based upon my past experiences and memory) that changes the experience for me. Eventually my brain will drop the connection to “fear” because no energy goes into feeding that neural pathway since my focus is now on the love that I feel associated with that house. I may always remember that a scary dog used to live there but the active component of the memory isn’t there any longer.

This is how it is with active memories of emotional wounds. Unfortunately they can’t be cleared as easily as choosing to walk down a street but they can be cleared. Awareness of the issue is the first step in that clearing process and then it becomes a matter of finding a technique or healing practitioner to help you discharge the active component of the memory. Just like I mentioned in the “Wounds” entry however, it is important to get to the core issue however and not only address one of the surface symptoms.

GETTING HELP

There are a variety of healing techniques and modalities that are incredibly effective and practitioners are available in most every part of the country and certainly in most larger cities if not all cities. I will mention a few techniques that I am familiar with and I recommend that you surf the web for more info on any of these which resonate with you. That search will undoubtedly lead you to the technique that is exactly right for you so just follow your heart for choosing the right technique and if necessary the right practitioner. Once you think you have the practitioner, ask lots of questions and trust your instincts.

REIKI

Reiki is a technique which I’ve been a practitioner of for over 10 years. It is really great for quickly addressing physical issues but also for getting to the underlying mental, emotional or spiritual issue. It’s simple and effective but very subtle. It initially helps to relax the entire body and clear the mind. From this relaxed place, your spirit is able to communicate with you more easily because you are able to sense and know it more clearly. Reiki helps to quiet the mental chatter and allow your inner guidance to emerge. This guidance will often reveal the true nature and core of the issue you are working on.

Many times when we address a situation in our lives which we think is current such as a failing relationship, our spirits will reveal that the core issue is one which actually began in early childhood and continues to replay itself in your life. The beauty of life is that it will present you with many opportunities to look at your issues through many different experiences. Until you identify, address and heal the core issue, you will continue to see it play out time and time again. Leaving one situation where the problem is manifesting won’t fix the problem; it will only shift the resulting symptoms. For example if your core issue is that you don’t respect and maintain your boundaries, you will continue to attract relationships where those boundaries will continually be violated and which will ultimately force you to look at the issue. If you’ve ever heard yourself say “why do I keep attracting (losers/abusers/alcoholics/immature partners/psychos/etc)” you know that one of your core issues is trying to get your attention. Changing relationships won’t fix it.

BODYTALK

Another technique that I practice is BodyTalk. While this system is great for a addressing a large number of issues, one particular component that I think is incredibly effective is the one used for deactivating unconscious beliefs and active memories. Often times there are limiting beliefs that we have adapted in order to help us survive in a situation or that seemed right based upon our limited understanding of life. These surface beliefs are often so strong that they completely obscure the real issue and so they need to be dealt with first.

Let’s say for example that you are struggling with weight issues. Over the years you may have adopted the belief that “food is my only true friend” because it is always there and helps soothe the pain and so you over-consume it. In truth the over-consumption of food is contributing to the problem and so your belief holds you in an unhealthy relationship with food. Clearing that unconscious belief can then allow you to see that eating doesn’t fix any problem, it only masks it. From that place you can then begin to see the underlying issues which are where the real problem is but sometimes you have to get the limiting beliefs out of the way to see them. BodyTalk is great for directly communicating with your unconscious mind to tell it to dissolve that neural pathway that connects food with the emotion of love.

EFT

Another amazingly simple technique which you can learn to do on yourself is called Emotional Freedom Technique. EFT is specifically for disengaging active memories and limiting beliefs which are holding you back. It is a simple technique which involves tapping specific points in a specific sequence on your body. This process has the effect of neutralizing the powerful emotional component of an issue within your brain. The beauty of this system is that there are manuals available on the web that you can download for free and learn to use the technique on yourself. Once you learn the sequence of the tapping, you can neutralize these issues in less than two minutes. The key to success with this technique is to ensure that you are addressing the core issue and not just the surface symptom.

It is important to note here however that the manual that you can download is only one small part to the EFT process. There are trained EFT providers who can take this process and really help you do some deep and intense healing. Yes, the manual can help you slog through the surface issues and even some deeper ones but it may not be able to take you all the way to full healing. If you try the process and it resonates with you, you might want to seek an EFT therapist and work with them on the deeper issues. They can help you work past the surface issues and fully heal the true core issue.

This technique is great for releasing some core issues but it is also just as effective for getting rid of those little tender spots that we have. Through our past wounds, we all have those issues which we can be very sensitive about. Anytime someone brings a specific topic up, you can feel emotions start to arise such as shame, embarrassment, anger, or resentment. By being aware of these emotions through bringing your consciousness into more and more of your life, you can simply notice that these emotions arise without reacting to them. Once you notice a particular emotional response this way, you can then use the EFT method and disconnect that neural pathway which associates the emotion and the topic.

Once the emotional component is neutralized, you may then be able to understand what the core issue is beneath it. In the example with my hair, it was just a surface issue, the core issue for me was one of self-confidence. I couldn’t get to it however because I couldn’t get past the sensitivity issue to my hair. Talk of my hair triggered a memory of me feeling very insecure and being emotionally wounded and so my defense was to become angry or bitchy to protect the wound. Simply discharging my sensitivity to people talking about my hair would not have really healed my true core issue. By not becoming triggered by it however I could then begin to see that I was basing my self-worth on someone else’s judgments of me. That is what the real core issue was for me.

OUR TRUE CORE

On my journey I have learned that beneath it all, I am perfect and divine because I am an individuated piece of the Divine, Source, or God. And so are you! When I self reference against that ultimate perfection through the awareness of Unity Consciousness, I have no need to become defensive, play small or weak, or in any way feel inferior. Those feelings belong to my egoic human self and are all based upon self-judgment, not self love. As such they are not in alignment with my true nature and so they have no place in my life and do not serve to further my evolution.

There are a huge number of healing modalities available and finding the one that works best for you and your issue can seem daunting. That should not be used as an excuse not to work on yourself and heal your issues however. Doing nothing will ensure that you do not change, heal or grow. Yes, it takes time and effort to do this inner work but we can find the time by making small changes in our lives. By removing the time wasters and attention distracters such as television, music, video games, web surfing, drugs or porn you will find the extra time and willingness to do the work. All of these things are not inherently bad but they have to be kept under control rather than being used as a way to prevent us from doing the work which will help us become better humans. As we grow and become more healed, we make life easier for those around us and provide a template for them to want to grow and heal as well. This ripple effect contributes to the collective whole of humanity and helps us to evolve through the awareness of this Oneness.

I invite you to ask yourself:

- “What are my hot buttons?”

- “Am I willing to heal those issues?”

Wounds - Part 2

2011-04-27T11:35:00.000-07:00

HEALING THE WOUND

Once we have located the wound then comes the work of healing the wound. If you begin to think of energetic wounds in the same way that you might think of a physical wound, you can follow the same process that you would use to heal that.

- Expose it
- Clean it out
- Put medicine on it
- Protect it while it heals
- When healed: forget about it and move on

So let’s look at those steps in terms of energetic wounds to give you an idea of the actual healing process. Depending upon the wound that you expose, you may be able to do this work alone but you may also need to seek assistance from someone in the healing profession or a trusted friend. Don’t be afraid or ashamed to ask for help. Asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness; it’s a sign of courage. The healing process is a journey into your power, a willingness to look at what holds you back so that you can become stronger. It takes strength and courage, so honor those qualities in yourself and know that none of us are in this alone. The perception of aloneness or separation is what keeps us from truly healing our deepest wounds. We are all connected and as each of us heals our individual wounds, the collective benefits and grows stronger. That fact is why I’m sharing this information with you and all the information contained within this blog.

EXPOSE THE WOUND

This is where “going into your fears” comes in. Here are a few ways that you can identify where the wounds are so that you can expose them.

- A subconscious resistance to doing something that consciously we know we should be able to do
- Irrational fears or phobias
- Phantom pain in your body, especially if it changes location
- Dis-ease
- Body tension
- Anxiety, depression or over-excitement
- Hyper-sensitivity
- Strong emotional reactions
- Judgmental attitude

All of these issues are indicators that we are off balance and away from our true nature which is perfect health and true inner peace. If we believe in the Western Medicine model of disease and treatment, we will run to the doctor with most of these issues and try to get a pill to fix it. The pill will mask the symptom but it doesn’t cure the issue. Your body manifested the symptom because your subconscious mind held the belief that you needed it. Your body therefore also knows how to release it and cure it.

CLEAN IT OUT

Once you determine what the wound is or is related to, then you can begin work on the issue. This involves taking an open and honest look at the issue without judging yourself for having it or rationalizing it away. Judgment moves us away from healing and so it has no place in the healing process. The need to judge is often an indicator that there is a wound that needs healing.

One way of getting to the core of an issue is by continually asking “Why?” until you’ve gone at least 5 layers deep. For example, let’s say you have exposed a wound and are ready to clean it out. Quiet yourself, still the breath and focus inward. Ask yourself “why is it a problem for me that (insert the issue here)?” and then wait for the answer to come. Rather than trying to figure it out, just drop that question in to your consciousness, sit quietly and wait with an open and receptive mind. When you get ANY answer, ask yourself “why is that a problem for me?” and wait for that answer. Continue this cycle of inquiry until you’ve gone at least 5 layers down. Each time you go deeper with the “Why?” you move closer to the core issue. If you stop after the first one, you’re only brushing the surface symptom and not addressing the core issue. Dig deeper!

The key here is to trust whatever response arises in your mind without judging it. It may take you 10 layers to get to the core issue so stay with the process no matter what happens for you. Journaling is a great technique to help uncover issues in this way. Engaging the inner dialogue and documenting the thoughts through journaling will bring many deeply held issues to light that might be otherwise missed by just “sitting and thinking”. As you journal and notice issues, ask yourself “why is that a problem for me?” and just keep the stream of consciousness writing going and watch what comes out.

You’ll know when you hit the core issue because you will probably have an emotional release of some sort or one of those powerful “AH HA!” epiphanies that makes everything seem suddenly clear. Don’t let a few tears or a little “ah ha” slow you down however, get under the issue all the way to the core. That is how you clean it out. Go at least 5 layers deep with the questioning before you stop but go until you truly know you’ve hit the core issue. Over the years we have built up excuses and rationalizations for why we behave and respond the way we do. These things keep us in victim mode and away from healing. “I’m not (strong/smart/pretty/rich/clever/etc) enough to do that” is nothing but the wound speaking so that it can stay hidden. You ARE enough, you just have to learn to believe that with all of your being.

PUT MEDICINE ON IT

Now that you have dug down into your psyche and determined what the core issue is then it’s time to go to work on healing the issue. Depending upon what the issue is and how deep it goes, you may need to seek help with this part from those trained in doing healing work. This can be energy workers or body workers, shamanic practitioners, counselors, psychologists, hypnotists, or anyone trained in some technique which specifically addresses your issue. When searching for professional help, the main thing to keep in mind is that this is an energetic wound; you need to get it out of your head as well as out of your body and energy field. This is often why people don’t see complete results from talk therapy. Understanding the issue and talking about it only heals part of the issue. Perhaps you’ll need to see two or more people to fully clear the issue. Trust your intuition and listen to your body when doing the healing work.

Ultimately this part of the process is about understanding and clearing a core belief that is driving the behavior/issue that you trying to heal. Once we have a deeply held belief at the subconscious (this lifetime) or super-conscious (soul level) level that is where the belief must be released from. As we mature and gain knowledge in the world, our beliefs and views may change in the conscious mind but if we unconsciously hold a contradictory belief, that is the one which will drive how our bodies respond. The body is controlled by the subconscious mind and so that is where the healing must occur.

One book that I’ve found to be very helpful in my work and in my life is “You can heal your life” by Louise Hay. Her body of work is unparalleled. Through her years of working with the body, she has come up with a chart that maps physical symptoms to their underlying emotional cause. She shares many wonderful techniques for doing self-help work that are simple and effective for anyone to use. The techniques may not be able to help you resolve every issue which arises but it is a great start for most. For the rest, seek experienced healing professionals.

PROTECT IT WHILE IT HEALS

True healing takes time. If you are working at the energetic level, change can occur there instantaneously but because the body is more densely held energy, change will occur more slowly there. The best example I can give is to think of the 3 states of water; solid, liquid, gaseous. Let’s say for example that your wound is that “you believe that you are not worthy of love”. This gets frozen inside your body which we’ll call the ice cube. Let’s say that belief makes you cold and unapproachable. I come along with a heater (love) and surround you with it. The air around you may warm up instantly but the ice takes time to thaw. Slowly it becomes water which is less energetically dense and allows for change more easily. The water begins responding to the heat and warming up which further melts the ice. Finally after the ice is fully melted, the water reaches a point where it boils and eventually becomes vapor.

We are a lot like that. Our bodies are the ice cube, our emotions and thoughts are the water and our surrounding energy field is the vapor. It’s important to keep that in mind when doing healing work so that you give the process time to complete. The change has to occur at all 3 levels to be effective. This is why often people will have surgery to heal an issue and a few months or years later, the problem is back. They simply chipped away some ice but didn’t clear the core emotional issue. Our entire being must be addressed and tended to for healing to be completely effective. The energy body holds the template which the physical body forms to.

FORGET ABOUT IT AND MOVE ON

The important part of healing is to accept and embrace the results. If I continue to hold on to my story around the issue and form my identity around that wound, then I’ll never be able to move on with my life. For example if my issues were rooted in being molested at age 10 by a friend and I get my attention by being known as a “molestation survivor” then I am still holding on to the drama therein. In the present moment, where I exist, the abuse is not occurring only the identity I’ve formed around the wound is all that is left. I am the only one holding the memory of that event so I need to do my forgiveness work for the perpetrator and for myself to the point where I can let it go. I can then begin forming my identity around being complete and whole. http://peacefulmichael.blogspot.com/2009/08/claim-your-power.html It’s the difference between being known as a “survivor” and as “a fully empowered being”. As we heal and become whole, the words and labels that we use to define ourselves need to change as well. Heal. Forgive. Forget. But remember, the healing part has to come first because your conscious mind may forget but your body remembers.

THERE ARE NO ACCIDENTS

While it may seem easier to go with the “out of sight, out of mind” philosophy when it comes to doing healing work, that approach really does not work. If we spend all of our energy trying to run from or ignore the core issue, nothing will truly change. Our outer experiences in the world will continue to trigger us in an effort to get us to heal the issue. We can blame the world or other people but our spirits have a vested interest in us being healed and whole and so they will always attract those experiences which will move us in the direction of healing. Until we stop blaming others and own the fact that whatever experience is happening for us is one which we have attracted or created to help us move towards healing. We have to be grateful for its presence in our lives and thank it for what it has to teach us.

When we claim our power to create in this way, especially if we are creating negative experiences for ourselves, we can then own our ability to use that power differently to create experiences that we do want. We can always choose to learn through the “teacher of pleasure” or the “teacher of pain”. If we create pleasurable experiences which help to evolve our spirits and help us grow, we will be attracted to that and we will indeed grow. We will want to do it more and more. Loving yourself more or hating yourself more. Which do you think would make your life happier?

Sometimes in order to fully embrace the change that we manifest in our lives, we have to be willing to let go of our old identity. We have to release our old stories and be done with the past. No longer victims of our past but rather powerful beings who because of their past have made it to be a part of the present moment. Each and every one of us that is alive at this moment is here because we chose to be here, even if unconsciously. We are the chosen ones who are awakening in this moment to be a part of a shift in human consciousness. Cultures from around the planet have predicted it and with open eyes we can witness the fact that we have to evolve the way we think and behave quickly before we destroy ourselves. We are fighting because of our differences and not celebrating our diversity.

Who would you be if you let go of your oldest story of wounding? What would your life look like if you didn’t hold on to that identity?

Wounds - Part 1

2011-04-20T08:55:00.000-07:00

Wounds. We all have them and usually we have lots of them. They’re such an integral part of who we are that most of us aren’t even aware of them…yet they’re still there. When people who haven’t done much inner process work hear this term, they believe it means physical wounds, such as cuts, scraps or old broken bones. Those are indeed wounds but the wounds I’m speaking of are energetic in nature and typically show no outward physical appearance.

Energetic wounds are places in our energy fields, which surround and include our physical body, where we hold the memory of the hurt which has come to us. This hurt comes in many forms. Sometimes this hurt has come from physical damage such as when we are in accidents or fights. The majority of our wounds however have an emotional or mental cause. These are the ones which are less visible and are often outside of our conscious memory either because they are so old that they’re forgotten, were so subtle when they occurred, happened to us when we were so young that we don’t have a recallable memory of the experience or it was so painful that we’ve chosen to forget it.

HOW WE ARE WOUNDED?

Wounding occurs when we encounter an experience which we are unable to process and resolve. Our inability to process an experience may come from a variety of factors including age, past experiences, mental weakness, misguided information or a violation of our trust or boundaries. Whatever the reason for the experience or our inability to physically, mentally, emotionally, sexually or spiritually handle it, the wound is formed and it begins to shape our lives and affect our identity, often to our detriment. Unfortunately the wounds that we carry often cause us to inflict the same wounds upon others.

To understand this process, let me give you an example from my own life. The post I did called Body Memory lays out the story of my childhood haircut drama. As a child, that event was so traumatic for me that I collapsed in tears. That trauma was the source of a deep wound for me and at the time “emotional wounding” was not anything that I was aware of. My response to the experience was to find ways to protect myself from ever letting this happen again.

Growing up I was always very defensive when it came to my hair and always did my best to ensure that it didn’t attract any more negative attention than necessary. Unfortunately I also had very thin and fine hair and it began falling out in my early 20’s and this became an all-too-frequent topic of conversation. I knew that I was incredibly defensive about it and often lashed out inappropriately at others who made wisecracks or comments about it. Anytime anyone would make a comment about any haircut I got, I would shut down and quickly try to change the topic. Often that defense strategy would involve some sort of self-deprecating humor that served to further hold my wound in place. I became my own worst enemy. In some respects, the day that I decided to shave my head was the day that I found peace. My hair could no longer be made fun of because now it was gone.

It would have been very easy for me to write off my defensiveness as “no one likes to be teased about anything personal” but my response to the teasing was always more intense than was warranted. This was because an old wound was being triggered deeper within my subconscious and that wound was the source of great embarrassment. Yet this was an experience that I had mentally blocked out because it was too painful to hold on to but the wound was still very present in my energy field. It wasn’t until the meditation experience that I even recalled the original event.

WOUND AWARENESS

The obvious question then becomes “if I can’t remember the original wounding experience, how do I heal that wound?” This is where awareness and inner work come in to play. Being self-aware is about being able to be in the world and engaged but also being “the observer” of your experiences. Many of us experience the Observer but do it from an unconscious place where it is typically ignored. The Observer is that small part of our consciousness which is constantly witnessing the events which unfold in our lives. The key to identifying the Observer is that it is not judgmental nor does it direct us in any way. It is simply the silent witness.

For most, the Observer is first experienced consciously during a meditation practice. It is that part of our consciousness that not only is aware that we are sitting for meditation but also the part that observes the thoughts that we have. It helps us become aware of the thoughts when those thoughts are not the object of our meditation. For example, let’s say that I’m sitting to meditate and my focus is on the breath. Perhaps for the first 20 seconds I’m witnessing myself focusing on the breath, then I hear an the external sound of plane flying overhead, which causes me to begin thinking about the last time I flew somewhere for vacation. The next thing I know, I’m thinking about me lying on a sunny beach somewhere. Perhaps a few minutes pass before eventually I catch a nudge from the Observer that brings my awareness to “beach thoughts” and this allows me to bring my awareness back to the breath.

BUILD A RELATIONSHIP WITH THE OBSERVER

The key to that experience however is learning to be connected to the Observer. The Observer is always consciously aware of our experience and can help us become aware of those times when we aren’t in the present moment but rather lost in thought and past events. By deepening our awareness of and connection to this part of our consciousness, we can begin to be aware of when an old wound has been triggered. We may find ourselves in a defensive place trying to rationalize our irrational behavior or reacting like we are 8 years old. This is when the Observer gives us a nudge that we aren’t in the present moment. If we are aware of that voice we can not only observe that we are reacting from a wounded place in our psyche but also what the nature of that wound is.

To give you an example of how that process might look, let’s continue with my hair story. Perhaps someone had made a wise crack about my hair being messy and I became unconsciously triggered by the comment. I became defensive and went into pattern and began projecting my wound onto them by making fun of either their hair or something which I knew would hurt them. Perhaps a bitchy comment I make upsets them and a verbal or physical fight ensues between us and we both lash out at each other. Now my focus is on this fight and not the original wound.

WATCH FOR THE RED FLAGS

It would be easy for me to walk away from that event with my focus on how mean the person was or just the fight itself and still have my deeply hidden wound intact. If I had been aware of the Observer, perhaps I would have noticed that their hair comment took me out of the present moment and into the past where my original wound was. I could have then been aware that there is an old wound that needs healing and even that it has to do with being so self-conscious about my hair. This information would have come to me via the Observer because it witnessed the events just as they were without the judgments of my personality or emotional coloring.

Typically we can become aware of old wounds this way because of our emotional response. We become overly emotional or we experience fear or anxiety. This is where the old spiritual adage “go into the fear (or pain)” comes in. By being aware of what the issue is that triggers us, we are given a pathway to healing an old wound. In my example above, if I had been self-aware enough to notice that I was defensive about my hair, I could have used my time alone to process that through a simple inquiry into my subconscious, “why am I so sensitive about my hair?”

FEARS ARE RED FLAGS

Our fears point the way to healing. Unless there is physical danger involved, truly we have nothing to fear so when we notice that the emotion of fear is present, we can use that as a compass for locating and ultimately healing an old wound. In my example above, I had the fear that someone would talk about my hair so I would go out of my way to try and keep it perfectly combed and styled in a way that I believed was attractive. I of course wasn’t fooling anyone but myself. I held the belief that no one would notice that it was thinning by keeping it styled and sprayed into place. Yes, it was a different issue from a child’s crew-cut but my hair was a source of shame from an earlier wound, thus the sensitivity.

What seemingly simple activity do you have a fear of? What makes you say “ouch”?

END OF PART 1

This entry turned out to be a rather long one so I’m going to break it into two pieces. In the next part I’ll share a process for working to heal the wounds. Until then examine your life for those areas of resistance, feelings of discomfort and hot buttons. Watch what happens just from becoming aware of them.

Patterns

2011-03-25T11:32:00.000-07:00

Choice is the expression of “free will”. All religions and Spiritual teachings tell us that we are entitled to and beings of free will. On the surface that sounds like a good thing, and it is, but most of us only brush the surface of choice. We can choose what clothes to buy and wear, where to live, what activities to do and all sorts of physical decisions of this nature. When we get down to the level of our habits and emotional responses we believe that our free goes out the window. I spoke a bit about this choice in “Claim your power”.

Even after we stop giving our power away however it can still seem as though many of the life changes that we would like to be able to make are still elusive. When stressful situations happen we find ourselves repeating our same old response patterns that haven’t worked for us in the past, getting the same outcome and feeling like “that’s just the way I’m wired”. These responses come so quickly that we can’t imagine having the ability to make any other choice. It seems as if there was no choice at all involved but rather the reaction was instinctive. This instinctive reaction occurs because of our “energetic patterns” and these patterns are what drive many of our unconscious responses.

PATTERN SELECTION

Our energetic patterns were chosen long before conscious choice was even an option. These patterns began forming when we were in the womb and into our formative years as young children. These patterns helped to protect us before we had the knowledge, skills and abilities to protect ourselves as adults. We are products of our environment both physically and energetically and as such we are responsive to stimulus from our environment. As a fetus or small child, this type of energetic response was the only one we had available to us.

A great deal of study has been done on these response patterns from many levels and by many different fields of study. They have been studied by psychologists, scientists and especially by psychics and these studies have resulted in five main groups or patterns based upon the results of their particular field of study. A great many books have been published about these patterns with each field of study putting their own twist on them. Rather than me spend a great deal of time trying to explain each of them to you, I’ll refer you to the one most relevant to my area, energy work. Barbara Brennan has done some amazing work in this area and is the one I’d like to ask you to have a look at. Her book “Hands of Light” explains each of these patterns in detail and how they show up in the physical body. Here is a link to a document I created from that book with all the patterns explained.

Their names can be a little off-putting because modern psychology has also used these names to define psychological disorders. These patterns and their definitions precede the psychological references so don’t let the idea that your pattern has a “bad name” throw you off. Each pattern also has what is called a “light side” and a “dark side”. The dark side attributes are a bit more defensive and at times destructive while the light side ones are more functional and constructive.

Reading the information from “Hands of Light” should help you begin to see which pattern you run. We all have a primary pattern and a secondary one as a backup if the primary fails or simply isn’t the most effective for the situation. When you read through the information on the patterns, you may see parts and pieces from each one that you resonate with. We all have consciously developed actions that we believe work for us by observing others but you should see at the very least one that just seems to be “spot on” for you. That’s probably your primary pattern. The secondary one can be a bit harder to determine because it’s a little less familiar than our primary defense pattern and may take a little more time to isolate.

Once you determine which pattern you run, you’ll begin to see and experience what it feels like to you when you are “in pattern” and when you are not. When we are in pattern, our responses are more instinctive feeling because we are in essence in “fight or flight” mode. We typically will go into pattern when energy comes at us that we believe we can’t handle. This energy can be stress or stressful situations, crowds, strong electrical fields, emotional interactions, or even through the focused intent of a single person.

PATTERN OR ARMOR

These energy patterns are connected to the armor that I discussed in the previous post to this one, "Man of Steel", in that they help to drive the creation of the armor. When energy comes at us, it triggers our defense system and that creates the armor. When we are in pattern, or defense mode, our responses become so quick that they feel instinctive. Based upon the pattern we run those responses can vary but generally speaking each one has a general response. Those are: Schizoids will fragment and scatter, Orals will collapse, Psychopaths will escalate, Masochists will hunker down and hold and Rigids will resist.

Just to be clear however, our energy pattern and body armor are two separate things. The armor was originally formed by the energy pattern but is primarily held in relation to the physical body. Our energy pattern also helped to shape our body type or structure but these patterns are pure energy. These patterns are far more fluid than the physical structures of our body or armor. This is what allows us to switch between our primary and secondary structures almost instantaneously. Therefore one can learn to recognize when they are in pattern and take action to come out of that and respond to the situation rather than instinctively react to it. Armor however can only be removed through a Dearmoring type experience. And of course the physical body will take longer to change because of its dense energetic nature.

COMING OUT OF PATTERN

For most of us we remain almost constantly, unconsciously in pattern. We don’t know what it feels like to be out of pattern and fully in form, in our bodies. Awareness of these patterns is the first step into supplanting them. Once we understand and accept their existence then we can begin to see how our responses, especially under duress, begin to play out according to our understanding of the pattern. When cannot change what we are not aware of. It then becomes easier to recognize when we are in pattern (even without the stress) and this allows us to take action to come out of pattern. This is actually easy to do but it takes practice and is a learned skill.

Remember when I shared “The Basics” with you and encouraged you to begin working with those, well this is where they come into play. When we go into pattern it is typically because we don’t feel that we can energetically handle whatever situation we have found ourselves in physically or energetically. The Basics are what we use to create a firm, safe structure energetically so that we are able to handle whatever life brings at us. This allows us to come out of pattern and into our bodies.

Think about the Basics as you building your energy home here on Earth. “Ground” is about you defining and claiming the place and space upon which you will build your house. It is like buying the property and saying “This space is where I will build my home.” “Clear” is about making room for the structure. This is where you determine where the house will go and clear out the dirt and trees. “This space is only for me.” “Bind” is when you begin putting up the walls of the house to define the structure. “These are the boundaries for the space I will occupy.” Finally “Core” is putting on the roof to create a defined space which will be your energetic home. “I live here.” You need each of these to be in place for the system to hold because they build upon each other and work together to serve and protect you.

Because we are so used to being in pattern and not knowing that there is another way, our responses are habitual (“That’s just how I am”) and no real conscious effort is required to maintain this pattern but it is a major use of our energy system because we are constantly in defense mode. Adrenal overload and chronic fatigue syndrome are common physical indicators of this. When we make the decision to keep our Basics in place, it takes constant and repeated effort to do this until we establish that as our default. It’s a lot like learning to walk. After we master crawling, that becomes our norm or default position. Once we decide to stand and walk, it’s a new skill set to master and takes repeated efforts to learn the new tasks necessary to accomplish it until it becomes habitual and instinctive. Then the more you do it, the easier it becomes and requires very little thought or effort. This is an example of the Conscious Competence cycle.

KEEP THE BASICS IN PLACE

I was first introduced to “The Basics” about two years ago when I began an energy training course with an amazing teacher, Lynda Caesara. Now that I’ve worked more consciously with the Basics myself and they have become my default position, I am learning to recognize the “feel” of being in pattern versus in the Basics. For months after learning about these, I would spend time in the morning getting them in place, go on with my day and realize late in the evening that I never really put any additional awareness on maintaining them throughout the day. This awareness would suddenly make some of the things I had done during the day make more sense. I would see how that patterned response was not really the strategy that I would have most liked to have used. I can’t say that I’ve reach unconscious competence with it yet but I am finally consciously competent with it.

It has taken me a long time to learn to almost constantly hold some small part of my awareness on keeping the Basics in place. One of the best training techniques I used was the old rubber band on the wrist. Every time I would notice the rubber band, I would check the Basics and firm them up again. Once you have them in place along with the resulting image and “feel”, you can firm them up again in a few seconds with practice. By using the rubber band, you’ll notice how many times you’ll be reminded to check them, you’ll see how much more effort it requires, at least initially, to really retrain your subconscious to hold your energy in this new grounded state. This becomes especially important when you are interacting with anyone particularly one-on-one. PLEASE give the rubber band trick a try rather than just thinking about it so that you can see for yourself.

Once you get a feel for what it is like to be in your Basics it will become the desired state rather than the ungrounded, crowded, fractured, amped up, spacey, foggy, or scattered feelings of being in pattern. Trust me on that one! Until you know that there is another, better, more energetically aware and attuned way however, you’ll have no motivation to change because you don’t know that it can be different. It’s definitely a case of until you know, you don’t know. I didn’t know myself but now I do.

When being in your Basics becomes your norm, you’ll begin to see how easily and unknowingly you’ve been triggered in the past even by seemingly normal interactions with others. You’ll begin to see that all of your energetic needs can be met from within so you won’t need to find ways to get others to meet your needs. Rather than reacting to your situation, you’ll be able to respond. The gap between stimulus and response will begin to widen and in that gap you will find choice. Choice is the key to free will. The need to scatter, resist, surrender, control or manipulate will simply vanish and the true inner wisdom that is the voice of your Higher Self will emerge.

Are you willing to make the effort required to claim the power of your free will?

The Man Of Steel

2011-03-12T10:57:00.000-08:00

Okay so the whole “I’ll blog during the de-armoring process” didn’t really work out. Here it is a full two weeks after the end of the two-week ceremony and I have absolutely nothing ready. I’m okay with that however because lots of great things have risen to the surface to share with you and I now once again have the motivation along with the desire to share it. My motivation was the missing component before the De-armoring ceremony but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. It seems that all I wanted to do before the event was sleep as much as I could and since I blog in the quiet early morning hours, the two were in conflict and sleep always won. I can be very lazy.

In truth, my motivation was the missing component for doing a lot of things in my life. It elt like so many things in my life required me to push myself so hard to get it done that everything was a chore. That feeling that it was a chore caused me to build up a lot of resistance to doing it and that just made getting anything done even more of a challenge. Without realizing it, I was becoming my own worst enemy to accomplishing anything. I have a to-do list that is always full of things I want to do but desire alone doesn’t accomplish much.

SHAMANIC DE-ARMORING

I remember when I first heard about the Shamanic De-armoring experience at the Association of Sexual Energy Practitioners (ASEP) conference in Mesa, AZ a couple of years ago. http://peacefulmichael.blogspot.com/2009/09/synchronicity.html The leader of the Sweet Medicine Sundance Society, Thunderstrikes, spoke at the conference about the ceremony. One of the leaders of the De-armoring ceremony, John “Spinning Coyote” also discussed the process and something about their words let me know that I needed this. I wasn’t exactly sure why. It felt right but the timing wasn’t right for me just then. A year later, one of the guys I go to for massage went through it and his experience inspired me and I felt like “YES, I WANT THAT!” But again the timing wasn’t right. Finally this past September a dear friend went through it and I thought “here it is again…3 times this has been presented to me…I better move on it.” The timing was finally right for me and so in I went.

I won’t spend a lot of time going over the armoring/De-armoring process because it’s probably best to read their site for info on that. That is www.ShamanicDearmoring.com. It’s really a beautiful site. It will speak to some who read it and others will write it off because it is too “out there” for them in their life or the timing isn’t quite right. Our Spirits always make the things that we need to do attractive to us. Those things which we do not need will also become unattractive to us. That simple act is how our Spirit works. It’s not about words, voices, thoughts, detailed discussions, visions or anything complex like that. Our Spirits are pure energy and energy doesn’t have words or images. Those things are products of the mind, not the Spirit. Our spiritual energy works like a magnet and attracts and repels what we need and don’t need. It’s far less complicated than our human minds want to make it. It is time that we all wake up to that knowledge.

OUR ARMOR IS OUR DEFENSE SYSTEM

I will share a tiny bit about the shape I was in when I went into the ceremony because it fits within the context of the sharing I’m doing here. I guess you could call me the “Man of Steel” because my armor was layered, shiny, polished steel. It really makes me smile to think of that because after breaking it off, I feel like Superman. The armor that we choose to create as a protective barrier is of course energetic. None of us are walking around with visible armor but we all “know” it’s there especially when we are honest with ourselves about our behaviors and “our stuff”. We choose to begin creating this armor from the moment we enter the world because we have no other defense systems in that helpless, infant state.

This energetic armor helps to shield things that we are not equipped to handle from reaching the core of our being. The skin and muscles also function as shields but they aren’t incredibly effective at the energetic level. We are born helpless and trusting and we don’t possess the verbal skills or knowledge to defend ourselves so we have to rely on our Spirit and energy field to shield us. In response to our surroundings, we begin building defenses to the environment as well as the people in it, even our parents. Despite the love that they had to bring us into this world, they too were wounded and armored beings and began projecting those wounds onto us right away as part of their drama.

ARMOR BLOCKS ENERGY

Now that I have completed the de-armoring process I can feel the difference between having the full suit of armor and having a body which is free of it. If you think about how our energy system works at the most simple level, you can see how this armor affects us. Our life-force, or sexual energy, begins down in the lowest part of our bodies at the base of the spine and wants to move upward through our system and out the crown of our head. As this energy encounters each of the armored plates surrounding our body (see the graphic of that on the De-armoring site for reference http://www.shamanicdearmoring.com/produced.htm), the armor restricts the flow of that energy. Whatever amount makes it past the first plate, hits the second plate and is again restricted. As each plate is encountered more and more energy is blocked and unable to continue upward to the higher spiritual centers of our energy body. Is it any wonder then that we feel so cut off from our true spiritual nature?

During the Dearmoring process, as each plate was cracked open and eventually destroyed, I began feeling more and more sensations in my body. Of course as each plate was opened all of my old “pain tapes” held in that armor were brought back up to be played again. The pain tapes are our memories of all the times we caused ourselves pain either mentally, emotionally, physically or spiritually. Fortunately the things which seemed too traumatic for me to deal with as a small child were either no longer an issue in my life (people, places, events) or as an adult I was able to see them from a more mature point of view and realize that those were the fears of an uneducated child. I was easily able to release those issues without them even needing to be processed. There were issues however which were more current and that needed to be dealt with. The armor we create isn’t just from early childhood. It’s a lifelong process that we continue as long as we are unconsciously moving through our lives in victim mode.

WHY MAKE ARMOR?

Below I’ll share one of the things which surfaced for me as I worked on cracking my pelvic plate because I believe it might help others, especially those reading this blog. The pelvic plate protects our life-force and our sexuality. As children, exploring our bodies is natural and beautiful and we hold no shame around this. Once the adults in our lives begin projecting their own sexual wounds (which have a base in family, religious, cultural and societal taboos imprinted upon them) onto us we begin to feel shame around our sexuality. Add the extra dose of hatred which is projected onto gay children about the expression of their sexual desires and the plates really begin to thicken. If there is sexual abuse, especially during our childhood when we are ill equipped to handle it, the shame and fear we feel about our sexuality not only leaves deep emotional wounds but also causes us to create layer upon layer of protective armor to try and stop the pain.

We are taught to feel shame. Shame for our bodies. Shame for our emotions. Shame for our sexuality. Shame for our desires, our needs, our thoughts and for our deeds. Is it any wonder then that we judge ourselves so harshly and punish ourselves so cruelly? Shame is the result of judgment. One must evaluate the object against some set standard to determine worth or value. This is how we determine if it is right or wrong, good or bad. All of that judgment comes from the summary of what we have been taught, what we have experienced, what we believe and how we see the world. Based upon some ideal criteria (that we choose), we judge ourselves and those judgments rarely seem to go in our favor. If we believe that we are not good enough, that belief will color our entire world and we will never allow ourselves to love ourselves fully enough because we are not worthy.

The truth is that we are all worthy and capable of infinite amounts of love. Only our beliefs separate us from that truth and that doesn’t mean it isn’t true, it simply means we won’t allow ourselves to believe that it true. Change your thoughts, change your beliefs. Change your beliefs, change your life. Change your life, change the world. Be the change that you want to see in the world.

DENYING MYSELF PLEASURE

As a young man I went through the youthful years of rampant sexual desire and moved into a more tempered state. As an adult my sexual desires are less urgent and consequently my orgasms are less frequent. Somewhere along the line I bought into the belief that one ejaculation a day is all that I can handle “because I’m too old”. Since I do erotic work for a living, I receive a lot of sexual stimulation during a day and have developed techniques to limit that as much as possible in order to prevent an ejaculation while still being fully engaged with my body. Having that “I’m done” feeling during my first session of the day has made it challenging for me to be able to engage others erotically for the rest of the day. As a way to avoid too much sexual stimulation directed at me I have often said to my clients “During your session it’s not about my pleasure, it’s about yours.” That phrase has actually become an anthem for me…unfortunately.

When I began working on the pelvic plate in the De-armoring ceremony, it became painfully clear how much I was denying my own pleasure. In an effort to control and prevent an ejaculation, I have avoided and dodged contact with clients and my partner, devised many techniques and excuses and done lots of schedule juggling. If an ejaculation occurred early in the day, I’ve cancelled appointments, judged myself harshly or felt very stand-offish with clients and promised to work harder to prevent that from happening again. I’ve even experienced extended and repeated episodes of erectile dysfunction because on a subconscious level that was a defense mechanism that my body thought I needed to avoid too much stimulation and pleasure. All of this was done based upon the false belief that I’m too old to have more than one ejaculation a day. I’m totally not and I knew that because I’ve had days where I’ve had 2 or 3 ejaculatory orgasms in a single day and felt fine. Actually those were amazing days when I look back on them…thus the number of orgasms. I felt like a kid again!

Yet it just never clicked until that plate started cracking and I had to look at my stuff. Most people don’t do erotic work for their job so you may be thinking this couldn’t possibly apply to you. I invite you however to look at the ways you deny yourself pleasure in your life. Do you limit the free flowing expression of your sexuality because of dogma placed upon you by religion? Do you hide behind the wounds of past sexual experiences? Do you judge yourself for being a sexual person…especially if you are gay? Do you believe that you can’t be spiritual and sexual at the same time? Are you so disconnected from your body that you don’t even feel sexual desire any longer? Do you choose not to feel sexual because it might lead to engaging another person and that could lead to heartache?

A HOUSE OF CARDS

Perhaps, like me, you’ve created an elaborate scheme of excuses and processes as a way to justify your behavior and it’s all based upon a false assumption which may have seemed true for you at some point in your life but is no longer the case. This happens when we live in the past (“I was wounded sexually in the past so now I’m damaged goods.”) or in the future (“I want to be a better person so I have to give up my sexual expression” or “I’m too old to be loved”.) and not in the present moment. When we really do the work to look deeply at our beliefs as expressed through our words, thoughts and actions, we can see how we limit ourselves in so many ways. As I’ve said time and time again, our beliefs shape our reality. Change your beliefs, change your life.

Changing your beliefs start with opening your mind to the present moment and being willing to look at things as they are now without the coloring from our wounded past. When we change even just a single thought about how we see the world, we open ourselves to newness. Opening ourselves to newness is the gateway to a world of infinite possibility and potential. With the problems we face in our personal worlds, nationally and globally, we have to be willing to let go of our old, limiting ways of being. In letting go, we can own our power and co-create a future unlike anything that we ever seen before on this planet.

JUST GETTING STARTED

So that was how the Shamanic De-armoring ceremony started for me. All this was just from the first three days and then it really got good. I can now say that I highly recommend this experience to everyone. You don’t need to be on a Shamanic path or an erotic worker but you do need to have a desire to release your old wounds. Your past is what created your armor unconsciously. When you begin to live a more conscious life, you will find that you don’t need to lug around all that old baggage and constantly replay those old pain tapes. Once you make the choice to step out of victim mode and choose to co-create with the Universe to make a life that works for you now, the armor just gets in the way. Armor keeps stuff out but it also keeps you locked inside.

How do you limit your power? How do you deny your pleasure?

Kicking off 2011

2011-01-23T11:28:00.000-08:00

Greetings dear readers. I hope that 2011 is treating each of you well and bringing you more and more opportunities to evolve and grow. As you may have noticed things have gone quiet here for the last couple of months. Much of that is because of my own personal growth and some general laziness on my part.

I enjoy the process of writing and doing it really helps me to understand and view the information I have in a new way. The best way to figure out what you believe is to teach it. Since I chose to keep this blog free however it really has to take a lower priority in my life. Over the last few months I’ve been working to develop a new area of my professional practice and that has really taken the bulk of my focus. Remember that birthing process I spoke of in June, well it’s all related. (http://peacefulmichael.blogspot.com/2010/06/preparing-to-give-birth.html) I’m almost done with the setup that I need for it but not quite yet so things may still be a little slow here for a while especially based upon what is in my immediate future.

Tomorrow morning my beloved and I will leave for 10 glorious days of sun, fun, rest and relaxation in beautiful Puerto Rico. Neither of us has ever been there and needless to say we are both very excited about it. When we return, after a couple days of rest I’ll begin a two-week shamanic ceremony that will really shake things up for me. I had hoped to write a couple of postings on some topics related to the ceremony (shamanism, armoring, energetic defense patterns and Sacred Ceremony) before I told you about it but since we leave for Puerto Rico in the morning, obviously that won’t happen.

The ceremony is called Shamanic Dearmoring and information on it can be found here. http://www.shamanicdearmoring.com/. The thing with shamanic ceremonies is that once you commit to them, you go into ceremonial space then and the energy of the ceremony starts working on you. I signed up for this at the end of November and can truly attest to the truth of what I just shared with you. This ceremony, along with a smaller ceremony that I experienced as part of the energy class that I’m in, has really shaken my foundation. December was a very challenging month for me because of these two events and the general holiday drama which comes along with it. At times it felt like my whole reality was about to crumble and that seems to only be intensifying as the date of the physical ceremony draws nearer.

I am fortunate that I’ve been able to watch two friends who have gone through this process and I’ve seen the beautiful and powerful changes it has made in their lives. It is my hope that I’ll be able to share my experience with you not just after I’ve gone through it but as I’m going through it. I’m not making any promises but believe that creating the blog entries will be a lot like journaling and can help me make sense of the experience for myself. Only time will tell on that.

Needless to say the next 4 weeks are going to be intense and exciting for me. I’d like to ask that if thoughts of me (or this blog) pop into your head, especially between 2/6 – 2/20, that you send me good thoughts and love and know that it will be returned in kind. I know the laws of physics will take care of that because we always get back whatever energy we send out. The thing with going into a transformative ceremony like this is that I know I’ll be different, not better or worse, but just different because I am choosing to consciously engage change through the process. As with all things in life, I welcome change because even though it’s scary, growth and evolution require change to keep them going. We can’t grow and evolve without changing. It’s just not possible. The nature of our reality is change so any struggle against that is simply resistance and as such is a waste of energy.

Thanks for not giving up on me or this blog. Your comments are always welcome and your support and encouragement is always appreciated. May the Universe always nurture and support you in all that you do and may you always find true peace and love from within.

Welcome to 2011

2011-01-03T07:38:00.000-08:00

Greetings everyone. I hope that your holiday season and transition into the new year has been enjoyable and full of love. My wish for you is that the coming year brings you a deeper level of awareness of your true nature as well as the ability to harness and use all of your unlimited power to achieve your goals and manifest your dreams.

I’m a big fan of Mike Duley’s “TUT - The Adventures Club”. When you sign up for it, each morning you are sent an email reminding you of your power with an inspirational message to help you achieve your personal goals. http://www.tut.com/resources/notes/ It’s really a great way to start your day with a nice, short, positive message. I’d like to share the one that arrived on New Year’s day because I think is so powerful. It said:

So the new year starts and now's a great time to:

1. Wipe the slate clean.

2. Focus upon what you really want.

3. Chart your course.

Right?

Well... only if you want to risk having to repeat these steps for the same wishes next year! Maybe this is splitting hairs, but here's an adventurous alternative:

1. Give thanks that life is... just as it is (and that it has been). Because of it, you’re now “Ready”.

2. Define what you want in terms of the end result. Don’t worry about the hows, or even the course. KNOW that what you want is ALREADY yours in spirit, by divine LAW, just focus on the certainty of this ownership, understand it, claim it, and “it will be on earth, as it is heaven (spirit).”

3. LET THE UNIVERSE show you the way via your impulses and instincts that appears as you take inspired action. Don’t worry that your first steps seem silly or futile. And if you don’t know what to do, do anything! Go! Get busy! Do not insist on intermediary successes, only upon the end result.

I hope you are able to achieve your dreams in the coming year and live the life that you’ve always dreamed of. Nothing concrete stands in your way, only your thoughts. Believe it and you can do it.

As you may have noticed, things have been a little quiet on the blog this past month. I’ve been taking some time off from blogging during December to focus on some of my personal goals and general well being. Now that the holidays are behind me, I hope to again focus on sharing the information which has come to me and allow it to come through me.

I also hope that the information that I’ve shared with you so far has been helpful as well as challenging. When we are challenged, we grow. As we grow, we evolve and expand our personal consciousness and come more into alignment with Cosmic Consciousness, the awareness of the underlying unity we share with all of creation. Unity Consciousness isn’t a far off idea, it is Universal truth and only your limiting thoughts stand between you and the full awareness of that truth.

Now that I have laid out most of the groundwork, in the new few months I hope to share some tools and techniques for helping you to move past your patterned, unconscious, habitual responses and into the conscious evolution of your consciousness (or soul). If you look around our planet at all of the social, environmental, financial, political and religious drama that is unfolding, it is easy to see that we are headed for unprecedented problems on a global scale. We must evolve our consciousness in order to solve these problems because we cannot do it in the same consciousness in which we created them. More of the same will never bring us the change we require. It simply is not possible.

I’m excited about all that I have to share and I am grateful that you are sticking with me. Thank you for taking the time out of your life to read what I have to share. I hope that you’ll take time to share your experiences with me as well especially as it relates to the use of the tools and techniques found within my blog. I will do my best to keep things rolling here but I have something big going on in February and will share more about that in coming posts. I also have a personal work project which I’m trying to complete during January so things might be a little slow these first two months but please stick with me.

Cheers to you for the new year. May 2011 be your best year ever! Thanks again for your continued support and encouragement. It is very much appreciated.

A holiday mirror

2010-12-02T09:21:00.000-08:00

The world is a mirror which reflects back to us what we look into it with. This is true for all of us but when you are doing energy and healing work, it becomes especially true. I used to work for a Chiropractor who specialized in energy medicine. One thing he taught me was that whatever issues that his clients presented, there was always a reflection of that going on in his body or in his life. As I’ve grown into my own practice, I’ve found this to be very true for me as well. I’ve written about how powerful this has been for me before. http://peacefulmichael.blogspot.com/2009/04/coincidents.html

Last week a client wrote to me asking for an appointment and in his email he expressed how stressed out he has been over a DUI that he got in June. It was his second one in some number of years and so he faces potential jail time. He mentioned how sad this was making him. He was feeling depressed and lonely and so he wanted to schedule a session with me. Throughout his email he proceeded to blame everything that was going on for him on getting a DUI.

After a few emails back and forth discussing the issues, one of the things that became clear to me was that he was stuck in victim mode. I pointed out to him that the night of his DUI was over and done. Yes, his impending court date was a direct result of that evening but so was the night he took his first drink. So was the day he first got the prescription medication which negatively interacted with the alcohol. So was the first day the he learned to drive a car. Every day was somehow related when you examine it so why choose such a negative event to focus on? I understand why and do it myself but when you look at it consciously that way, it helps to break you out of victim mode.

This awareness seemed to really help him move through the block he was holding on to but it also really stood out for me emotionally. I found myself continually thinking about the email exchange and so I knew there was something there for me too and that I just needed to watch for it. Not surprisingly it didn’t take long for it to show up.

HO HO HUMBUG

This past Saturday, my partner and I began decorating our home for the holidays. This time of year can be very emotional for a lot of us because of all the stress that the holiday season can bring. As much as I hated the fact that I disliked this season so much, the truth is historically it has been one of the worst times of year for me because of early childhood wounds. Those wounds led me to be miserable as a young adult and unhappy even to this very year. All of that has contributed to me having yet another unhappy holiday season every year. It was one of my “life stories” that I told myself and others. Sad but true.

That night as we sat in our living room admiring our decorations, my partner was looking at our tree and smiling. He said “this is the first real tree that I’ve ever had for Christmas.” My heart broke open. Here is a 43 year old who is one of the kindest souls I know and someone whom I love dearly and he was experiencing newness in this moment. His joy was evident and there I sat stewing in my old Christmas juices. And then it hit me. I’m being a victim of my past. Just because past Christmas seasons had bad things happen, it didn’t mean this one had to be bad too. The only thing that was negative about this season was ME.

Tears flowed down my face at both the joy of co-creating a magical experience for my beloved but also how much lighter my heart felt by me choosing to let go of the past pain and move into present joy. I know that my thoughts shape my beliefs and my beliefs shape my life, so if I change my thoughts I change my life. In choosing to believe that this season is about THIS season and the joy that fills my life THIS year, I chose to step out of victim mode and into joy of the present moment. It really feels good and just made things a little brighter for me.

In looking at your life, what old stories are you still re-playing that keep you from being joyous in the present moment?

A personalization process for the Tarot

2010-11-13T11:34:00.000-08:00

Imagine for a moment that you were creating a card based oracle from scratch because you wanted to deepen the guidance you receive from within. You might start with two cards; one says “yes” and the other says “no”. Each time you asked your Spirit a question and used these two cards, obviously you’d only be able to ask very rudimentary questions and you’d receive very simple answers. Eventually you’d want to expand your vocabulary so perhaps you’d add a card for “maybe” and one for “unsure”. Over time as you began to seek more and more specific answers you might have a deck of hundreds of cards that you’d select from and there would be overlap between cards so you’d start trying to find ways to deepen the response on each card to reduce the number of cards. Potentially after years and years of perfecting your deck, you’d end up with a simplified version of the Tarot deck. Fortunately this process has already been done for you over centuries and all you have to do is learn the language.

The process that I will share with you is a way for you to learn the meaning of the cards according to the interpretation book and eventually create a reference that is specific to you. This is a process that may take you a year or so to create but not doing it doesn’t speed the process along nor help you learn to work with the Tarot any faster. Hopefully you’ll be using your deck for years to come so why not start personalizing it right away so that you’ll see a personal connection faster than you might otherwise. For this process you’ll need a couple of notebooks, your Tarot deck and interpretation guide. I like using a notebook with ruled, loose leaf sheets in it because when you fill one page up, you’ll be replacing it with another one as you’ll see. Create a single page in your notebook for every card in the deck. Write the name of each card, in sequence, at the top of the page and leave the page blank. You’ll be using the front and back of the sheet, so one card per sheet of paper.

DAY 1 – GETTING STARTED

I recommend doing your reading in the morning before you start your day. The very first step is to get your “Basics” in place. http://peacefulmichael.blogspot.com/2010/04/awakening-grounding.html When you connect with the Tarot, you are connecting with an energy field of the Tarot and with your Higher Self. Your Basics help keep you grounded during this process and that allows you to connect more fully with the process. Take your Tarot deck and hold it next to your heart. Take a moment and feel that connection between your physical body, the cards and your Higher Self or spirit. When you feel the connection feel like you drop a question from you head down into your heart and into the deck. An easy, generic daily question that I pose is “What is this day about for me?” A question similar to this is the best way to start learning the Tarot rather than jumping to big questions with complicated spreads. It’s like learning to crawl before you run. Remember though this is your egoic self asking the question of your Higher Self, your direct connect to Source. You aren’t asking the cards or some outside entity. It’s you all the way through.

Next shuffle the cards while contemplating the question. Think about the events of the day that you already know you have planned while you do this. Continue shuffling the cards until you feel that you’re ready for the response. There is no set number of shuffles or time but more just a feeling of “that’s enough” that will arise. Next lay the cards down and cut the deck with your left hand and put the bottom half on top. Using your left hand is said to engage the intuitive side of your energy. Trust that you will be cutting the deck at exactly the right spot because you will. Your conscious mind may not be aware of what is going on but during the shuffling process your spirit is getting the cards arranged in the way that you need for the response. Trust is key to this process as well as enough shuffles for your spirit to get you the best answer to your question. That is where the “that’s enough” response comes from…from YOU!

Take the top card and turn it over so that it faces up and lay it down. If the card is upside down, leave it that way. The cards have additional meaning if they are upside down (reversed) as opposed to right side (direct) up. Now you can either take the next card and flip it over or cut the deck again. Listen to what your intuition tells you or go with what “feels right” because it will be right. Place this second card to the right of the first card face up. In the beginning these two cards are all the cards that we’ll use in a single reading. Keeping the number of cards used to a minimum will allow you to direct your focus onto a single card so that you can learn about each card more fully.

Now take what I’ll call your scratch pad (any little notebook will do for this but allocating a notebook specifically for this purpose is a good idea) and write the date and both cards that you drew on the line with it. You’ll be using this scratch pad during the entire process so keep it with your cards and books. That’s it for the first day. To start with, don’t read the interpretations in the book for today (hopefully you will already have taken the time to read the first portion of the book up through the interpretations). When you’re done, stack the cards you drew (still face up) on the deck so that they will be on top for you to see tomorrow.

DAY 2 – RECORD YOUR EXPERIENCE

On the second day the process will be a little bit different. Take the cards you drew yesterday and spread them back out side by side so that you can look at the pictures more closely. The first card you drew is what the focus of your day was about. The second card is what energy is crossing (or mixing with) that focus. As we all know, an entire day is never about one single thing. Life is too complicated for that. In the beginning don’t worry too much about what this second card means but for now just record it for historical reference. It will make more sense later.

For the purposes of explanation, I’m going to assume that you are using “Tarot of the Spirit” as your interpretation book. Look up the meaning of the first card you drew. When you find the page where it begins you’ll see a “Divinatory Meaning” followed by a “Meditation” and then the “Interpretation”. Read through the “Interpretation” completely while you lightly hold on to the thoughts of your previous day. When you finish the reading, take the card and hold it so that you can get a good look at it. Let your eyes wander around the card while you continue to mull over all that happened to you yesterday. Take your time with this but hold your focus on the card rather than looking around the room. If need be after a minute or so, close your eyes, think about the image, the interpretation you read and your previous day.

When you feel you are ready, turn in your notebook to the page you have created for this card. Write the date on a line and then summarize your previous day onto one or two lines at the most. We aren’t looking to create a journal here but rather record events or learnings from the day. If the card is direct (right side up) then document it on the front of the page and if it is reversed (upside down) then record it on the back side of the sheet. The events that you want to record are those which “feel” relevant to you based upon the interpretation of the reading you just did. There is no right and wrong here but rather a trusting of your intuition to give you the information that you need. If you think that the event is in any way related to the reading, make a quick note of it. You want to be concise but detailed enough that when you read over this in a few months from now you’ll be able to recall the experience from your words or get a feel for how the day was from your words. At the end of the line, make a note of the second card that you drew. You only need to note what card it was for now. Don’t read the interpretation for this card because it will take your focus off of the primary card’s interpretation and slow the process of the image/interpretation connection. Eventually you’ll have read and re-read each cards interpretation so many times that you’ll almost immediately know the meaning just by seeing the card. That’s the experience that we’re after.

ONGOING – SUMMARIZE AND PERSONALIZE

You’ll repeat the above process each day that you do a reading. If you can incorporate this spiritual practice into your daily routine you will of course start seeing results faster. Once you have filled up a page (or mostly filled depending upon your personal process), you should begin to see a pattern emerge. That pattern is what we are seeking with this process. Remember the more days that you incorporate into your readings the more accurate your results will be which is why I recommend waiting until you have filled the page. Once you have identified the pattern, take a fresh sheet of paper and document what you see. You may not come out with a verbose summary like in the interpretation book but that’s okay. This info is specific to you so that you know when you see a certain card come up you’ll begin to have an idea of what is ahead in the day or where you are in your personal cycle http://peacefulmichael.blogspot.com/2010/09/conscious-competence-cycle.html

The most important thing that you will gain from this is a greater ability to respond to a situation rather than simply reacting to it. For example, if you know ahead of time that your plans will most likely fall apart because of outside influences, then you can begin to consider alternatives or at the very least not become triggered by the experience and start spouting off at others involved. Having an understand of what’s going on for you as part of the experience allows you to see the lesson there more easily rather than immediately seeking to blame others.

THE SECOND CARD

By the time you’ve reached the point where you are building your own summaries (and you can keep adding to this over time as you see other patterns emerge) you will be familiar with all of the cards. This is where looking back over your history with each card really becomes important. With the built up knowledge of the cards and knowing what they mean you can now come to understand how the second card in the draw is flavoring the first one.

Let’s say for example that you are working with the “Death” card and creating your personal summary for it. Death does not have to mean a bad thing because death to an old habit, a destructive emotional response pattern or unhealthy relationships can be a good thing. This is where that second card comes in because it helps to clarify what aspect of death you’ll be dealing with. Yes, sometimes it can mean that someone is going to die but that is rare. So as you look back at your history for each card you can see a bit more info on it now by noticing how the second card related to it. This should help you begin to understand the primary cards message along with what happened to you on that day a bit more fully. Hindsight is always rich with insight if you take the time to examine it. This information can help you see how a single card can have so many nuances.

IT’S ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE

The end result is that your summary will certainly be informed by the interpretation from the book but it will also have your personal experiences in it as well. This won’t come from you trying to guess what the card will mean, it will come from your experience and documenting that result. Once you have your summary created you’ll be mentally blending your summary, the books interpretation, modifying it with the secondary card and then letting your intuition speak to you to give you the insight that you can use as you go through your day ahead. If you understand what scenario may arise during the day you’ll begin to recognize it when it emerges and you can respond with wisdom rather than reacting out of a patterned response.

The other nice thing that you will see emerge from this will be gained by looking at the daily readings history. In doing this myself I’ve seen where my own cycles are emerging. For example, if I draw the Magician today, I can look back over my history to find the last time I drew the Magician. I can then see what was going on in my life the last time I drew that card and I will see shades of those experiences in my current experiences. This lets me consciously draw on what I learned from the last cycle and then I can choose to respond differently this time around if I want a more desirable outcome. Hindsight now becomes foresight and that is the guidance we all seek so that we are making more informed decisions in our day to day existence.

CHOOSE WHAT WORKS FOR YOU

I know this seems like something that is going to take a while to create and it is but the important thing to remember is that you are learning from your own experiences along the way. If you choose to use an oracle such as the Tarot, you’ll be doing it for years to come once you see its value so why not get a jump start on something like this now rather than a year down the line. It’s a relatively simple process that will yield some powerful information for you down the line...but then simply doing a daily reading and using the interpretation guide is a powerful and useful process as well. Of course there is no requirement to do the process I’m sharing with you. I’m simply offering you something from my experiences that might be of assistance to you.

There are also other amazing oracle decks on the market. One I’d like to mention in particular is the “Animal Medicine Cards”. The animals have much to teach us humans if we can get past our ego’s and see them for the powerful teachers that they are. This deck and interpretation guide will teach you a great deal about what energies the animals are manifesting and you’ll see how this knowledge can help you make more informed decisions. It is one of my favorite decks. The book lists some very powerful spreads that can tell you a great deal about yourself and how you move in the world.

The best thing to do when you go to choose any deck is to look at all the cards and see what you are drawn too. Perhaps you just like the images, the color of the deck and cards, the feel of the cards or something that you can’t quite put your finger on. Your spirit will make the deck(s) that is best for you seem the most appealing. If you pick up a deck and suddenly feel a little bit happier, just noticing that shift can tell you a great deal and will always lead you to exactly the people, places and things which are in your best interest. That is how we can directly follow our intuitive guidance. It really is that simple.

I wish you all the best with working with oracles. If you begin using one and have questions, I’m happy to try and help answer them so feel free to drop me a line via email.

What lessons does the day hold for you?

Oracle usage

2010-11-05T08:39:00.000-07:00

In the last posting I quoted a book on the Tarot and so this time I’d like to talk a little bit more about the Tarot and other oracles. When some people think of the Tarot or an oracle, they retreat in fear or label them as bad because of broad generalizations or associations with “dark forces”. I understand these fears. I had them myself initially but fortunately I’ve worked through them and have seen the benefits of oracle usage.

An oracle, in the simplest of definitions, is a communication device. The communication however is between you and your spirit, or non-physical self. As I have talked about in the past, we are spirits (energies) which are enmeshed within physical bodies. For most of us, receiving guidance from our spirit is something that we do on an unconscious level, so unconscious that most people don’t even know they’re doing it. Our spirits guide us through our intuition but we’ve had this guidance socialized out of us because others didn’t understand it and have taught that it was evil and should be feared. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Our spirit or Higher Self is just another aspect of ourselves. It is our direct connection to the Divine and as such I know that my spirit has my best interest at heart because it is me! With that awareness in mind, finding a means for direct communication with that aspect of myself seems essential to me. The more clearly I am able to discern the guidance from my spirit and follow that guidance, the easier it is for me to come into alignment with the Divine. An oracle then becomes the communication bridge between these two aspects of myself.

THE TAROT DECK

The Tarot is a deck of cards similar to the decks that we all use for standard card games. Rather than using spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs however the Tarot uses other symbols to represent the physical (Earth), mental (Air), emotional (Water) and spiritual (Fire) aspects of ourselves. Different decks use different symbols but they all are referencing the same four energetic components of our existence.

A typical Tarot deck has the four suits mentioned above numbered one through ten. It then has four “face cards” with each suit represented as the King, Queen, Prince and Princess (father, mother, son, daughter). These four suits are collectively known as the Minor Arcana. In addition to those there are 21 other cards known as the Major Arcana. These represent the prototypical emotional response patterns that emerge as personality or “energy types” such as a traveler (the Fool), a hero (the Hermit), a creator (the Magician), or ruler (the Emperor) for example. The Major Arcana also represents the archetypal energy patterns that we experience throughout our lives such as completion (Death), love (the Lovers), energy balancing (Karma), or introspection (Hanged Man) for example.

In a typical Tarot reading one begins by posing a question. Most people believe that when they go to someone for a Tarot reading that they are asking the card reader the questions. In fact they are asking their Higher Self the questions and the reader is using the cards to interpret the answer for them. When you do the reading for yourself this becomes more obvious. The cards are shuffled and then dealt out into various spreads. The direction the card faces (up or down), it’s position in the pre-defined spread and it’s relation to the cards around it all factor into what it means for you in response to the question. The spreads can be as simple as a single card or more elaborate ones with 10 or more cards which gives a greater depth of response.

When you begin to see the Tarot, or any oracle for that matter, as what it is rather than fearing it for what it isn’t, it becomes a very useful tool in your life. With the almost non-stop chatter which goes on in our minds, sometimes being able to perceive guidance from our spirit can be near impossible. An oracle then becomes a clear communication vehicle for that connection. An oracle is simply a clearly defined tool for the communication between your conscious mind and your subconscious or super conscious mind. Depending upon how clearly you frame the question, the spread that you use, and your familiarity with the deck and the cards interpretations there is no limit to the guidance you can receive. As with life, the only limits are the ones that you put in place.

INTERPRETATIONS

When I was first introduced to the Tarot I thought that it not something that I was going to get very much from. I had been to readers in the past and thought that the power was with them and not the deck. When you buy Tarot decks, typically they come with a book of interpretations. I was unsure how reading these predefined interpretations was going to get me any sort of unique answer to my potentially unlimited questions. As with most things of a spiritual nature that you buy through mass production, the authors aim towards the most casual user, therefore the interpretation books are usually broad, vague and very generalized. As you learn more about the Tarot however, you realize that the books are just a jumping-off point, the deepest interpretation comes from understanding the cards and relating to the deck.

Most people when they think of going to a card reader, they think of doing it to see if they’ll meet that special person, get a raise at work or answer some general question. I believe that comes from movies and TV and the way psychics are portrayed there. Sure those types of questions can be asked but one has to keep in mind that the future is not set in stone and so asking those sorts of questions can get you responses that may or may not come to pass. Meeting that special person is just one potential outcome that your future may hold but it is all dependent upon the paths you take.

A Tarot reading is a lot like being in your car and going from your home to some location on the other side of town. Based upon your knowledge of the roads, weather conditions, traffic, time of day, and your mood you may choose a very different path than you would have on another day and time. Perhaps that special someone would only interact with you if you had chosen to go down a specific street but traffic congestion caused you to change your mind at the last second and take a back street instead. But then again, perhaps that last minute change is what causes you to meet them. As with all of life, the potential was there but the choices you made affected the ultimate outcome.

I was introduced to the Tarot about 10 years ago by my partner who had been doing readings for himself for many years before we met. Over time I’ve found that daily readings for myself have been very useful personally but I’ve also learned a great deal about the process and about myself along the way. To me, the cards are a great way to see patterns emerging in my life and a way for me to see if my egoic self is aligned with my spirit. Based upon my experience, I’d like to offer some guidance for you if you’d like to begin your own personal journey with an oracle.

DECK SELECTION

The most important part of selecting a card based oracle is the images on the cards themselves. The images themselves are symbols which speak to the deepest layers of our psyche. There is a great deal of truth in the old adage “a picture is worth a thousand words” especially when it comes to oracles. I use the generic term oracles here because there are also oracle card decks which are not Tarot based and they can be very useful as well. The Tarot is a specific system with a set number of cards just like a set of Rummy cards or a Uno deck.

Tarot decks can be found at most larger book store chains but the best selections are at New Age shops. (If you are in the Seattle area, East West Books in the U-District has a huge selection.) They are also available online but unless you know of a specific deck that you want and can’t find it locally, it’s best to go where you can take the cards out, hold them and look at them. Take some time looking around at various shops before you make a decision. Try and find the widest range of cards before simply purchasing the lowest priced ones that you can find.

You want to choose a deck that you will enjoy working with for years and so selecting one with images which appeal to you will be very important. Once you start working with a deck, you’ll want to stay with it as long as you can because you’ll begin to imbue the deck with your energy through usage and that will deepen your experience. The images in Tarot decks are psycho-active. This means that the simple act of studying the symbols on a particular card activates your sub-conscious mind in such a way that allows explanations or interpretations to surface to the conscious level. This is where spending time looking through the deck before you purchase it will be beneficial. The deck that you should work with will hold great visual appeal for you for reasons that you may not even understand. Your intuition will guide you in that process. Our spirits have a way of making what we need be very attractive and what we do not need be very unappealing.

INTERPRETATION GUIDE BOOKS

While most decks that you purchase will also come with an interpretation book, if it’s possible to only buy just the deck, go with that option because I would like to recommend that you purchase the book I referenced in the last post. “Tarot of the Spirit” by Pamela Eakins is a fantastic book to use. She provides some of the most directly spiritual interpretations of any book that I’ve seen as well as information on various spreads you can use and the history of the Tarot. It’s an amazing book and after 10 years of use, I’m still blown away by it. Even if your deck comes with a book, I’d still recommend also purchasing and using her book. You will be very glad that you did.

The book however should only be seen as a starting point when beginning to work with the Tarot. I’d like to give you a technique that I’ve developed in conjunction with my spirit guides to help you personalize the interpretations for yourself. When you initially begin working with the Tarot, essentially you are establishing the language that you and your Higher Self will use to communicate. Typically our Spirits give us direct guidance through our intuition. Our culture doesn’t emphasize this aspect of ourselves nor help us learn to develop it and so we don’t really learn to work with this innate ability. At various points in our lives however we realize that we are getting these “hunches” or “gut instincts” and desire to begin relying on these more and more but we don’t know how.

STAY TUNED

In the next posting I’ll share a process for personalizing your readings. In the meantime, I encourage you to begin searching for a deck which appeals to you. Many decks now have websites where you can see every card in the deck or see enough cards that you can decide whether you like the look of the deck or not. Trust that you’ll know it when you see it…even if you don’t know why. Enjoy the process.

See it another way - Part 3

2010-10-21T12:32:00.000-07:00

This is the final part of this 3 part series, so let's get to it.

SEPARATE THE MESSAGE FROM THE MESSENGER

I have a Shamanic teacher who is a very powerful channel for several entities. He is able to open himself to those energies and let their messages and teachings flow through him. When we see him do this from the outside it looks exactly like the human we know as ThunderCloud but there is often a subtle shift in his tone or speech pattern. As well as we know him often times it is difficult to detect the moment these shifts occur and even harder to identify which of the entities he has connected with and is channeling. When someone new sees him do this and they don’t know what is happening, it simply appears as if ThunderCloud is spouting forth information that is very powerful and deep. To them it is all just ThunderCloud and nothing more.

This is how it was with Jesus. When he connected with and began stabilizing the Christ Consciousness within his human consciousness, he would speak from that place and unless you were there and knew when this happened and that it happened, you wouldn’t know what was going on. When he made statements like “I am the Way, the Truth and the Light” he wasn’t speaking about Jesus the man, he was speaking from the Christ Consciousness. This is why it is important to be able to distinguish the message from the messenger.

The Christ Consciousness is an eternal energy field and not connected to any one person or soul. Jesus was a human born of flesh and blood and his body was only temporary. We are given stories which were created by those observing his actions and words and then passed on orally as stories to others before finally being written down. We can’t get bogged down in the semantics of any one statement or single word but rather we have to look at the bigger picture of the teachings contained in these stories. As history has proven, this is very challenging and leads to worship of the messenger rather than the embodiment of the message.

FOLLOWING THE STAR

Keeping the Yogic perspective in mind let’s have another look at the “star” that the wise men followed. Yogic teachings state that while we may perceive ourselves as physical and solid, we are in fact a field of pure energy. We are an individuated stream or portion of the Divine energy field (God, Allah, The Source, Zero Point Energy Field). As such we each have our own energy system that we use to perceive, process and transmit energy from the Divine, our environment and the Earth. This system has many entry and exit points and these places are called chakras. In Sanskrit, where the term originated, chakra means turning or spinning wheel.

I will be doing a series of blog entries discussing the chakras in more detail very soon but for now I’ll just touch on the subject enough to make a point here about the birth story. The human body has seven main chakras which bring energy to the body and each of these are connected to various organs, systems and muscle groups. These are the Seven Gates spoken of in the Bible through which we must pass to gain entry into heaven. In Yogic terms that is to say the seven energy centers through which our consciousness must pass as we move up the spine from the root chakra to the crown chakra, or Heaven. One of these primary chakras is the called the Ajna or “3rd eye chakra”. This energy center is where we process what is commonly called psychic information. It is our connection to the non-physical world of information or our connection to the whole.

Through training and personal work we can have conscious access to the information available via the 3rd eye. Through this energy center we have access to all the information we could ever need to know about anything. This chakra is also known in ancient Hindu texts as “the Star of the East”. The Yogis believe that Divine energy comes to us from the East; the direction of the rising Sun. This is the “star” that the wise men (or energy masters) were able to use and follow to locate Jesus. This is the same process that is in use today in Tibet and India to enable them to locate the new incarnation of the Master teachers (The Dali Lama, various Buddha’s and Sai Baba to give a few examples) when they reincarnate into a new body.

OTHER VIEWS OF THE JESUS STORY

The Tarot (an ancient oracle) is a divination system and philosophy which is based upon the use of archetypes. An archetype is “an original model of a person, ideal example, or a prototype upon which others are copied, patterned, or emulated; a symbol universally recognized by all.” One of the archetypes from the Tarot is the Hierophant. In light of the above, I offer you this powerful excerpt from “Tarot of the Spirit” by Pamela Eakins.

“On the path toward understanding the mysteries of life, the Hierophant is known as the Sacrificial Priest. He embodies the strength and resolution to dissolve or to discard that which is no longer needed. As sacrificial priest, he also embodies the strength and resolution necessary to banish and therefore to overcome self-pity.

Thus he is the star of sacrifice as well as the star of manifestation, that which brings forth. He is also known as the guiding star of divinity. The Hierophant’s primary role is to illuminate. He illuminates sacred (inner) realities and teaches hidden laws. One of the most important symbols of the illumination of a sacred reality is the birth of Christ in a lowly manger. The birth of Christ-consciousness represents the consciousness of the higher self of all of us. This sacred birth represents the spirit made flesh, the descent of the Holy Spirit to the condition of Humanity. It is the merger of the macrocosmic will of the outer world with the microcosmic will of Self. When I say the spirit is made flesh, I am speaking of rising above, or lighting, the darkness of the unconsciousness or the darkness of ignorance. The light of super-consciousness is realized. That is why the birth of Christ is called the Birth of Light. The Hierophant represents such light. He is both the eternal life-force residing in the flesh and the guiding light. He is the eternal will of the babe in the manger as well as the light of the star that guides the Magi to the birth.

The birth of Christ-consciousness can be looked at figuratively or literally. The Hierophant – as the great macrocosmic force coming to Earth – is said to move in cycles of 2000 years. This means that the Earth is due for a new Messiah. The new Messiah is the harbinger of a new level of consciousness. During this phase of the 2000 year cycle, however, there is not one Messiah, but a multitude. A whole generation is rising up and embracing the female aspects of the God-head. A generation is rising up in defense of the Mother Earth and beginning to raise the vibrational level of the planet to receive the clear communications from the source, to which we shall all return. Even as you read this, you are being called as one of this multitude. You must realize this. You are a harbinger of the new consciousness.

The transition to a higher vibrational level, just as any transition in life, involves its share of pain and suffering. To make room for the new, we must abandon the old. There is a certain amount of sorrow inherent in this process. And the shaking out may not always be what we want or think we want. Nonetheless, it is always for the better. We must abandon self-pity. The Hierophant intervenes for our growth and development, both on the micro (self, inner) and macro (universe, outer) levels. He is eternally the triumphant intelligence. His will triumphs because it is the same as the will of God.

Even if we are wounded as we grow, we are nonetheless wiser. The Hierophant - which can also be seen as our conscience or the conscience of the planetary group – represents the force of light, the shaking out of ignorance.

The Hierophant is the inner ear. He teaches us how to listen. He shows us the path of understanding of the universal forces and our own place within these forces. He shakes us out of ignorance. We shake out our ignorance through binding with our higher self, through listening to our inner conscience. The Hierophant is the personal consciousness linked to universal conscience energy. He is the awakened one, the conscious one, the illuminated, the enlightened.”

It is important to remember that just like in the Bible, God is referred to as “he”, the Hierophant has no gender either because it is an energy field devoid of human characteristics. Using this type of gender pronoun (he) and giving the field human traits helps us to identify with it more closely. This archetypal consciousness of the Hierophant is the same as the “Christ Consciousness” that I’ve been discussing previously. Hierophant is just the label the Tarot uses to reference it.

EXPAND YOUR VIEW, DEEPEN YOUR PERSPECTIVE

To me it is important to find those parallels between systems because having that cross-reference awareness can help you understand both systems more fully. The more we can see these parallels between spiritual teachings, the more we begin to understand Oneness. Now rather than thinking that it’s two different systems referencing two unrelated topics, we can see it as two different views of the same target. The knowledge of one then becomes transferrable to the other and a new depth of understanding emerges within both of them. When that happens we are able to relate more easily to those who follow the other teachings because we see a connection to our own. This is especially the case with Christians and Muslims. They both are looking at God but using two different views.

LIFE MOVES IN CYCLES

One of the main points I’d like to draw out of that powerful passage is the 2000 year cycle of the Hierophant. So if we see the time of the birth of Jesus as the last time the Christ Consciousness, or Hierophant, manifested in the physical realm that puts us in the general timeframe for the re-emergence of that consciousness. While it may seem that technically we’re 10 years past that point, I should point out one important piece of information. It has been determined that when the current Roman calendar system was established, there was a miscalculation which occurred. Researchers now know that this miscalculation caused it to be about 12 years ahead of what the year actually should be. That means that technically the year 2010 should only be 1998. You can easily understand why we don’t just change the date globally to accommodate this information however.

The Yogi’s have long believed that the best way for anyone to learn spiritual teachings is by direct transmission from Guru (Master, Teacher, Sage) to disciple. They know that Guru’s of all levels and purposes emerge to illuminate sacred teachings and this knowledge is passed on. This process has been necessary because the knowledge was often lost because our consciousness couldn’t hold it as a species. This happened because those with the knowledge had no way to document and preserve it, or they and the knowledge were eradicated by those seeking power over them. That is changing now because knowledge is so easily disseminated now across the globe in a matter of minutes and it can be retained. The Yogi’s have also taught that the age we are entering is the end of the age of the Guru. Rather than only one Master (Avatar, Savior, Buddha) that consciousness, Christ Consciousness, will manifest in the masses.

As more and more of us awaken to this consciousness, we claim our power rather than denying it or believing that we have to go through some other human agency to access it. The more fully we claim our power, the more fully this Christ Consciousness will be able to manifest in the physical realm. As this happens the consciousness of the collective human species will expand to accommodate it and life as it we know it will be transformed. This is “critical mass” and works just like the “100th monkey effect”. Once enough of us know about something and we are able to stabilize that awareness, then we will all know about it. That is what each of us is being called to do, to awaken to the oneness of Truth. That is what I hope to help you to do and why I am sharing the information which has come to me.

KEEP AN OPEN MIND

You may be reading my words and connecting with parts of it or searching for some point that you don’t believe and then writing it off as all wrong but at least the information is getting to you. For a lot of people, Christians in particular, they will read the interpretations that I’ve shared above and immediately reject it because it isn’t in alignment with the belief system which has been handed down to them. It is not important at all that you believe everything I’ve shared (or will share) but what I do hope that you will gain from this particular mini-series (“See it another way”) is the awareness that while you may think you know all there is to know about something, you really don’t. I don’t either. None of us do. There is always another way to see things but you have to keep an open mind.

Once we believe “I know that” then you stop learning and you stop being open to the mystery that is life ever-evolving. By surrendering a limiting world view of spirituality and expanding your view of God and embracing the mystery of the Void, a new depth of wisdom is accessed and our individual and collective consciousness expands to accommodate it. What is true for the parts is true for the whole and what is true for the whole can become true for the parts but only when the parts drop their sense of separation and merge into the whole. Again we see that it is only our sense of separation from the whole which holds us back.

I do not want to prove or disprove anyone’s belief system. Rather I hope to show that by dropping limiting beliefs which cut you off from your power and embracing a sense of wonder and mystery, your view will expand to accommodate a deeper understanding. As your individual consciousness expands, you will be able to stabilize the Christ Consciousness which is emerging and that will indeed be the “Second Coming of Christ” which Jesus spoke of. Those whom are expecting a 2000 year old body to defy all the rules of physics which operate this reality and to reappear will miss out on the very thing that they’ve been watching for because of their limiting view.

TOUGH ONE

Thank you for sticking with this little mini-series. I’m certain it was as challenging for some to read as it was for me to write. I know if I had read this 25 or 30 years ago I certainly would have been challenged by it but now it makes so much sense and helps me see the Bible and the collected stories within it in a whole new way that isn’t scary. I can see it now for the teachings on Love which are at its core, rather than a thing which I should fear or be judged by. There is no room for ‘hate’ within Love because just like I said above “what’s true for the parts is true for the whole”. If there is hate, that energy is not a part of Love. So whether you hate the sin or the sinner, there is still hate and judgment. Holding on to hate keeps you from fully embracing Love.

Are you able to open your heart, mind and eyes and allow yourself to see Life in another way? If so, what do you feel when you do that? If not, why?

See it another way - Part 2

2010-10-15T10:42:00.000-07:00

So let's continue this mini-series with the second installation. In this part, I begin to explore the story behind the story that we're presented it. To understand a character we have to take their whole story into account. Who were they and what did they do and what was their life like?

SEE THE WHOLE STORY

An important factor in understanding the stories is understanding the characters and their stories. In the case of the Bible it’s important to know about what isn’t there as well. In following the narrative of Jesus, he disappears for about 18 years from the time of his early teens and then reappears as Jesus Christ, the healer and teacher. To most people this seems incidental but these missing years are critical to understanding the deeper meanings of the teachings passed on by Jesus and his disciples.

Anyone who is familiar with the Bible knows that Jesus was a bit of a rebel. He was opposed to the established political structure and sought to change it. He was also well versed in spiritual matters even as a child. His thirst for knowledge and truth as well as his dislike of the existing power structure led him to leave the area and to ultimately go to India. His time in India, the missing 18 years, is well documented. Because a different language was spoken in India however the name Jesus translated into Isa. Jesus went to India to study the ancient texts and spiritual teachings of Yoga. These teachings had been around for thousands of years before the birth of Jesus. They also contain stories of their version of creation, the virgin birth of a Savior, Krishna, and his death and mystical resurrection. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_years_of_Jesus

THE SPIRITUALITY OF YOGA

The deeper spiritual teachings of Yoga are not about being able to contort your body into challenging positions or to use it as an exercise program. The physical poses are tools for moving energy through the body and to enable conscious control of the body and it’s functioning. To embody the deepest teachings of Yoga, all functions of the body have to be brought under conscious control so that the energetic changes necessary for spiritual embodiment can take place. The teachings of Yoga are about aligning the individual soul with the Divine and embodying that energy. In essence it is about manifesting the Divine through the vehicle of the body. “Yoga” literally translates into “yoking” or “union”; connecting the body with the Spirit.

When you understand the spiritual aspects and deepest teachings of Yoga and you compare that to the teachings of Jesus, it becomes easy to see how the two are connected. One of the most powerful books on this topic was written by Paramahansa Yogananda and is called “The second coming of Christ – The resurrection of the Christ within you.” In this two-volume masterpiece Yogananda studies the first four books of the New Testament from the Bible and explains at length how these teachings emerged from the ancient Yogic texts. While many Christians may initially feel uneasy about hearing that, if they take the time to understand the deeper truths behind the teachings of Jesus, it helps those teachings to become more accessible and applicable to real life.

The process which Jesus went through is a process which countless others have gone through as well. He wasn’t the first nor was he the last. At its core, it is about using certain energetic techniques which were (and still are) passed on from Master (or teacher or Guru) to student (or disciple or seeker). These techniques help the student learn to consciously take control of their physical bodies and all of its functioning. Once the body, breath and mind have been brought under conscious control then the main process of stabilizing the Atman can occur. The Atman is what we in the West might think of as our Higher Self. “Atmic stabilization” is then the process of physically embodying the Higher Self.

This process is one that anyone can embark upon but it may take them many lifetimes to complete it. The key process is about the evolution of the Soul and thus the speed and success level is dependent upon the individual’s own unique evolutionary process. Since all souls are eternal therefore there is no set timeline or deadline for this process. As is evidenced by the teachings of Jesus, he was clearly a very advanced soul and energy master who manifested in our world to accomplish all that he did. If this were not true, he would not be such a prominent figure in a world which exists 2000 years after his death. The same of course holds true for Krishna, the Buddha, Muhammad and any other being whose life has impacted our modern world.

KEEPING IT REAL

If we take away the magic and mumbo jumbo from the Biblical stories and examine the base stories of Jesus, we begin to see a ray of hope. If I see Jesus as a product of physics-defying magic which cannot be duplicated by a real human, then I am only left to wonder and believe that none of that could happen to me so why bother. However, if I see Jesus as a real flesh-and-blood man who through his own volition and study was able to achieve Oneness with the Divine, it gives me hope. If I know that there is a process which I too can follow, that gives me inspiration and motivation. This view of Jesus is far more accessible to me and is in alignment with all the rules of physics and therefore believable.

While I could never even begin to give you an almost verse by verse translation of the Bible verses into Yogic teachings as Yogananda did, I would like to touch upon the key points of some of the more well known aspects of the Jesus story contained in the core of Christian teachings. By seeing these stories as viewed through a Yogic filter, they take on a far more believable tone and reveal many deeper truths.

The stories in the Bible were written by the followers and observers of Jesus and not by Jesus himself. Their stories emerge from their interactions with Jesus and his teachings. Given that, it is important to remember that they did not have the knowledge that Jesus did because of his training nor the wisdom that he did because of his soul’s evolutionary journey. Those who passed the stories along were speaking about what they saw, heard and understood from the outside. Their own issues, fears, misunderstandings, faulty memories and personal agendas went into creating the stories they shared. They were sharing their stories the same way that you might share a story about your life. They weren’t submitting heavily edited manuscripts to a publishing house that was busy creating the Bible but rather they were simply passing along an account of their experience to those they knew.

YOGIC STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS

The deeper spiritual teachings of Yoga begin to delve into the various phases of consciousness especially those outside of our limited human understandings of the mind. Consciousness is that spark of life which separates the animate from the inanimate. They also teach that there are states of consciousness that one achieves as one advances toward Enlightenment. Enlightenment is the conscious awareness of Oneness with the Divine. The Yogis have labeled this state of consciousness as Christ (or Kutastha) Consciousness. When one is in this state they are consciously connected to all of creation as well as the unmanifest realm of Spirit.

Ancient Yogic texts which have been dated to over 3,000 years old (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vedas) speak of the process by which advanced souls can achieve this state of Christ Consciousness through certain energetic and metaphysical processes. This process is based upon the belief in reincarnation. Reincarnation is the process by which eternal souls return to the physical realm repeatedly, each time taking on a new body at birth and dropping it at death. Through this process the soul is able to continue its learning’s from the physical realm as that soul advances towards Enlightenment.

Jesus was clearly an advanced soul but it is important to know that he was not the only soul at this level. As one advances spiritually, their purpose for incarnating becomes clear and they are able to consciously fulfill their destiny. Some souls have a larger and more visible purpose, such as Jesus did, but most may serve a much more transparent or obscure purpose where little or no recognition is necessary or desired. Unlike how things are in our modern world, it is not about who has the best job with the most recognition but rather it is about fulfilling the souls destiny no matter how large or small the task.

It is important to note that this state of Unity or Christ Consciousness was not named after Jesus but rather Jesus was given this name after he achieved this state of awareness. This is why Jesus of Nazareth became known as Jesus the Christ. His new name was given as recognition of his shift in consciousness from individual awareness into Cosmic Consciousness. As with any name, when one is called by that name then that energy will flow through them and to the one doing the calling. It’s a lot like when your friends call your name; they are addressing the totality that is you and not just you at some age or specific date on which you met them.

When Jesus obtained this enlightened state of awareness he then began to channel, or embody, that consciousness. His limited human consciousness became immersed in Christ Consciousness. It wasn’t an instantaneous occurrence but rather a continuation of the process of soul advancement that led him to that point. As he worked to stabilize that consciousness within himself, he began speaking more and more from that awareness. This is where I believe that a great deal of confusion has resulted in our understanding of the teachings he left behind.

END OF PART 2

That's it for this portion. I hope you are beginning to see how context is as important as content. Until next week I invite you to examine people in your life that you may have misjudged. Perhaps it is someone that you thought of one way until you got a key piece of information and suddenly you saw them, their actions and words in a completely new way. The key there is that they didn't change but your understanding of them did and that made them seem different to you. Or perhaps you were the one who was misjudged.

See it another way - Part 1

2010-10-07T07:31:00.000-07:00

Let’s take another look at some of what we think we know about the Bible and see if we can find some new, deeper truths there. As I share this, I invite you notice when resistance arises. I’m not asking you to change your belief system but for now just keep an open mind and rather than shutting down when you disagree with what I say just allow yourself to consider the possibility that perhaps there is more to the story than meets the eye.

This is going to have to be a multi-part installment because it is rather long. One thing I’d like to point out before I continue is that I am not looking to disprove or dismiss any religion or its teachings. Rather I want to encourage you to expand your view of them, drop your limiting beliefs and see deeper truths contained within the ancient teachings. The truth is there in all the religions but we have to sort out the message from the messengers and from manipulation. We are all human and religion is a product of mankind. The sacred texts from the religions are also a product of mankind and are therefore subject to human interpretation, misunderstanding and manipulation (consciously or unconsciously).

Since Christianity is the religion that I, and I believe most Americans, are most familiar with, it is the one that I will primarily focus on. I will also try to show you parallels in other dominate world religions but for sake of clarity I will try to hold my focus on Christianity. The principles behind what I hope to reveal will apply to any religion and its teachings. Truth is one, paths are many. In our ascent to Universal Truth we see that each religion is simply another path which presents us with a slightly different view on our journey. All paths are equal but each is unique.

I’m going to include a few links to sites for additional background information on the topics I’m touching on. These links are for your reference and should be considered an easy entry point for gaining deeper insights. I find Wikipedia to be full of useful info with many links to more detailed information so that is the main site I reference. I hope you’ll do your own web surfing to lead you to the information you need. To try and get all of the information into this blog would really be too much and detract from the main narrative, so please follow these links as far as you feel led to.

THE CHRISTIAN STORY

To begin, let’s take a look at the big picture story presented by the Bible in relation to Jesus. We are told that Mary was visited by an angel and told that she would become pregnant from the Holy Spirit and that she would be birthing a Savior for the world. As time for the birth arrived, Mary and Joseph were traveling and could only find shelter in a manger. Meanwhile, wise men from far away were traveling to where Mary was so that they could worship this newborn king. They were navigating to where Jesus was born by following a star.

The Bible then tells a bit about the childhood of Jesus up through his early teens. He then seems to be absent for roughly 18 years and then reappears as Jesus Christ. This is where the stories of his miracles and the main body of his teachings begin. We’re told stories of how Jesus rebelled against the political establishment and challenged the reigning religious beliefs with radical new teachings. We’re also introduced to his group of 12 disciples and told of his interactions with Mary Magdelain. In the current version of the Bible, Mary is basically written off as a trouble making whore and nothing more.

All of this ultimately leads to Jesus being betrayed by one of his followers, Judas, and being taken into custody by the local rulers, tried and sentenced to death for his rebellious actions. He is then taken along with other common criminals and nailed to a cross and crucified. After his death, he is put in a tomb and three days later, as Jesus had predicted, he arose from the dead and ascended into Heaven. Jesus said that his death would cause everyone’s sins to be forgiven and that he would watch over us and be back when the time came to bring an end to the world.

In the Christian religious belief system, they teach that the Bible is the inspired word of God. They are taught that the stories are literal and given to us directly by the hand of God. The believers are supposed to take all this on faith and follow the teachings in the Bible to the letter. By trusting in Jesus to cleanse them of their sins when they ask for forgiveness, they are all set to gain entry into Heaven at the time of the human death. Those who do not believe are instead sent to Hell to suffer for an eternity in an eternal pit of fire.

HARD TO SWALLOW

To the casual observer, that all seems like quite the story. When compared to the present day reality and laws of Nature, it becomes a bit hard to swallow. As the Dali Lama says “when you examine reality and it doesn’t line up with your beliefs, then it’s time to change your beliefs.” The reality that we know tells us that virgins don’t have babies and that dead people don’t come back to life after being dead for three days. This says that stories that we’re being given aren’t describing physical reality because the Laws of Nature have not changed in the 2000 years since the time of Jesus. If this is the case then what are these stories about?

To begin to appreciate these stories for what they truly are, which is metaphorical teachings, you have to look at the history of the Bible and Jesus and see them both for what they are. The Bible is a collection of stories written by humans for humans. These stories were selected by those in power, translated and edited by humans and passed on to the next generation. The Bible was created by taking the Jewish Bible, the Old Testament, and adding the new stories about Jesus, the New Testament. It was used to define the budding Christian religion and hold its teachings. Historically, it was modified and used by those in political power to maintain power and control over the people.

Let’s take a closer look at the story of Jesus and put it into historical perspective and align it with the reality which we believe to exist based upon physics, scientific fact and experience. It is important to not only understand the stories but to view them in the context of the time in which they were written. 2000 years ago, Paganism was the dominate religious philosophy of the time in the area where Jesus grew up. In this belief system, Mother Earth is worshipped as the Creator of life. This belief led to the worship of the feminine and by extension females as the embodiment of the Divine. It was also believed that the Earth was flat, that we were the center of the creation and that all things revolved around us.

PUT IT IN PERSPECTIVE

Our knowledge has come a long way since that time and we can use that knowledge to allow us to see the humanity of these writings. Our study of history and the history of the Bible, in addition to the content and context of the Bible, begins to transform what seems to be a supernatural story into something that we can more directly relate to. One of the cornerstones of the Christian faith is the story of the “virgin birth in a manger”. 2000 years the word virgin meant something entirely different than it does now. Then it meant “an un-wed woman” and had no relevance to sexuality. A “manger” was a regular home which had a place on the lower floor for the families’ livestock. The warmth of the animals helped to keep the house warm during the night.

If we take this knowledge and apply it to the Jesus story then things begin to come back into alignment with the physical reality that we know today. This means that Mary would have had to have sex to become pregnant and that could explain how protective Joseph was and it would seem to indicate that Joseph was the father of Jesus. Two humans having sex and producing a human child returns the humanity to Jesus and keeps the story in alignment with physical law. The humanity within Jesus is what makes the rest of his story then come alive in a new and more profound way. The greatest teachers the world has known have achieved their greatness by the quality of the life they live and by their actions not by the stories they tell.

So how did “wise men” follow a star to find and worship Jesus? Let’s use science to help us re-examine this part of the story. We now know that the stars we see at night are two things. Some of the bright points of light are actually other planets in our solar system reflecting the light from our star, the Sun. The other stars are actually just like our Sun, a giant ball of various gases which radiate heat, light and the nutrients essential for the creation and preservation of life as we know it. They are not simply tiny points of light which light up at night like a giant string of twinkle lights. If a star tried to come close enough to our planet to guide travelers, our planet would be disintegrated from the heat of that star. If you see it as “they used a star to navigate by”, then how would they know when or where to stop? Stars, when used for navigation on the sea, help sailors find their way back to land not to a specific place in the middle of the land.

THE STORY OF THE STORIES

It’s important to remember that all the stories from the Bible are filled with metaphors and symbolism. Metaphors are powerful writing tools which help to unlock different meanings in the mind of the reader based upon their knowledge level. They can tell a mundane story on the surface to the casual reader but hold deeper truths for the adept especially when combined with symbolism. During the time of Jesus anyone who disagreed with those in power, including for their religious beliefs, could be put to death. This is where symbols come in. Rather than use specific names in the story, and risk death, often animals were used instead and then when the story was passed on, the translation keys were shared from teacher to student. This is why Jesus is often referred to in the Bible as the Lion or the Lamb.

It’s also important to keep in mind that even the first of the stories involving Jesus were written 40 to 50 years after his death and the rest came much later. Most of the stories were written by people who weren’t even alive during that time because the stories were passed on orally until someone chose to write them down. Just like with Genesis, there was not a scribe running around following God and documenting his story from creation to up through the political workings of ancient Egypt. The stories were written by those wanting to bring forth the teachings to preserve them for future generations from a story-tellers perspective and not as an eye witness account.

The stories that we find contained in today’s Bible were written independently and later gathered together to create the Bible hundreds of years after the original writing of the individual stories. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biblical_canon) The sands of time have presented us with additional insights into these stories as well. In 1946 a cave was found near the West Bank which contained ancient scrolls. These scrolls were original copies of some of the books used in the Bible as well as many that did not make it into the Bible during the canonization process. Researchers have learned a great deal about the story of Jesus from these documents. They were able to see how the current stories have been altered over the years as well as gain additional insights into the political, social and religious history of the people. These documents have become known as "The Dead Sea Scrolls" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Sea_Scrolls

Every religion has its own version of the story of creation but they are just that, stories. http://peacefulmichael.blogspot.com/2009/04/whisper-game.html They are the attempt by the author(s) to explain how we got here and not an eye witness report of the events. Yes, the stories do contain factual components too but it is important to understand their origin and the climate in which they were created. It’s also important to remember that the original story may have been written in one language and translated and retranslated into others. Mistranslations were common as were intentional changes in the story to suit the needs of those using the stories to create the Bible. Changes have been made to the stories through the years as well to suit the political, social or religious needs of those in power. Again taking a historical perspective, these changes were easy to make because there were very few copies of the original manuscripts. The printing press had not been created yet and so only those in power had copies of the texts.

One of the most important things to keep in mind when reading these ancient texts is that the same rules of physics and nature were in force then as now. When you read these stories if there is something that isn’t physically possible now, it wasn’t possible then. Yet just because a story isn’t 100% factual, that doesn’t mean that it isn’t useful. We can’t get caught up in the meaning of any single word or quibble over statements or events but rather see the teachings contained in the stories and learn from them. Story telling is meant to grab and hold the reader’s attention. This allows the teachings to be passed along by creating imagery that unfolds in the mind of the reader in a way that it will be remembered more easily.

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That’s it for part 1. Part 2 will be up shortly so please stay tuned. In the meantime I invite you to look at stories which have shaped your life, your family, or the world and ask yourself this “even if it’s just a story and not based on fact, what can I learn from it anyway?”

Who are you?

2010-09-29T12:27:00.000-07:00

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?

Process work

2010-09-23T10:08:00.000-07:00

“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?

The Conscious Competence Cycle

2010-09-16T15:57:00.000-07:00

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”?

Labor Pains

2010-09-08T06:21:00.000-07:00

Greetings and thanks for staying with me. It’s good to be back to continuing this blog. When last you heard from me there was lots of movement on my horizon. I’m happy to say that fortunately the physical move is fully behind me now and only some unpacking is left ahead. While I’m not a big fan of the physical act of moving, I do love moving because I like the newness and change that it brings.

SURRENDER TO THE FLOW

This year has really been about surrender for me. All of this began in the last couple of months of last year. My work studio was in a small house in a neighborhood that wasn’t bad but certainly wasn’t the best in town. After being in the house for 11 months, I started having the occasional client get their car broken into after dark. After speaking with the landlord about this and exploring a few simple safety upgrades and not really seeing any changes, I decided that since I couldn’t get rid of the crime the only thing I could do was move my studio.

In March of 2010 I found a cute little studio condo to rent inside a much more secure building and moved there in April. I spent a month and a half getting myself set up in the new space and decorating it the way I like for my work. Once that was done, I sent an email out to my client base letting them know that I had moved and was ready to roll again. Two days after sending that email out, I received a note on my door from building management telling me that they knew about my business and wanted me out of the building as soon as possible. They said that since it was of an erotic nature, they considered it prostitution and that if I didn’t move out quickly they would take their evidence to the police.

Needless to say, they got my attention and so the search for a new place began in earnest. In talking with my amazing partner, we decided that renting a house where we could live and I could work was going to be the smartest option. It was a big decision to make for our relationship but since we’ve been together for nine years and are good communicators and open about our lives, it was a move we were willing to make if the situation was right. To that end we began searching for houses with separate mother-in-law units or finished basements that were separate from the living spaces.

We found what looked like the perfect house. The size was right for our living space and the basement was completely self-contained. Everything was going great for us to get the house and we were very excited about it. As we later learned, the house was in a neighborhood called Goat Hill. Apparently back when Seattle had brothels, they were located in that neighborhood. It just seemed like the perfect place for my studio to be so we turned in our move out notice at our apartment and my work studio and said that we’d be out at the end of June.

When it came time to sign the lease for the new place, like most places they wanted first and last month’s rent and a deposit. We were looking at almost 5,400 dollars necessary to move in and all this on the 3rd of the month. This meant that on top of the apartment rent and studio rent which we’d just finished paying, now we had to pay more. In order to make this work, I asked the new landlord if we could spread it out a bit over the month ahead before we moved in. He apparently took that as an inability to pay on my part and promptly backed out of the deal. Great. Our apartment had already been re-rented and asking to stay longer in a work studio that they wanted me out of wasn’t really an option. Panic.

THE UNIVERSE CONSPIRES WITH US

When we began searching again, my partner noticed that a rental home was back on the market that he had noticed and tried to get me to notice when I was looking for a new place to move my studio originally. At that time, I just wasn’t ready to combine my work and home life and so I dismissed the idea. This time out of desperation I decided to at least check it out. As it turned out it was perfect for our needs. Apparently it had been rented around the time that I rented the condo but things didn’t work out so well and so that deal fell through and it came back on the market just days before we found it.

I’m happy to say that we moved into the house on the first of July and every day we fall more and more in love with it. The studio and home separation is perfect and we are incredibly happy. One of the best parts about the house is that we actually gained more living space for ourselves in the move. This extra space has allowed my partner and me to both have our own “create space” as we’re calling them. In addition to our living space, each of us got a room on the top floor that we can call our own for creating art or in my case, writing. It’s just absolutely perfect and it’s in a sweet and safe neighborhood. We’re both very happy.

The layout of the house is representative of the chakra system to me. (The chakras are a topic which I’ll be talking a great deal more about in the next few months but if you are interested in knowing a bit more about them now, you can see the info on my site at www.MaleEroticEvolution.com/chakras.html.) The physical floor of the basement represents the root chakra (our connection to the Earth). My work space which is in the basement is then representative of the sacral chakra. This is the chakra related to sensuality and the connection to others. The physical floor above that represents the solar plexus chakra. It is where our personal power resides. On the main floor is where our bedroom, kitchen and living room are. This is the heart of the home. This floor represents the heart chakra which is the emotional center. The physical floor to the top level represents the throat chakra. This is the communication energy center. The top floor is where our “create spaces” are as well as a small meditation room. This floor represents the 3rd eye chakra which is where creativity is expressed and our connection the energy world resides. Finally the roof of the house represents the crown chakra which is where our connection to the Infinite is. I could not be happier about the layout of the house even if I had built it myself.

“A HAPPY ENDING”

So even though things certainly didn’t go like I had originally thought they might, ultimately they turned out better than I could have hoped for. At times I really feel like I have it all. I have a loving and supportive partner who is free of jealousy and understands the importance of my work. I get to do work that fulfills me on every level and that is having a powerful impact on my clients. I have a home/work space that is making my both of those parts of my life easier. I have my own create space that lets me come and write anytime that I like for as long as I like. I have loving friends and family who support and encourage me. I have great health, a light heart and a strong connection to the Divine and the feeling that great things are ahead. My desire is that all of this translates into my writing and will make the future of this blog even more powerful.

HIDDEN LESSONS

There is actually another lesson at work here for me. In February I told you about Mars being retrograde (http://peacefulmichael.blogspot.com/2010/02/retrograde-planets.html) until March 10th. In that post I talked about how I had been feeling “off” and that I believed I was being affected by the retrograde. Late February and March was when I searched for the new work studio. Knowing that Mars went direct on March 10th, I consciously scheduled the lease signing to be a few days after that thinking that all would be well. As you can see from my story above, it did not go very well at all.

In looking back on that post now in hindsight, the following paragraph from the Café Astrology site really jumps out at me.

“With Mars retrograde in the usually assertive and direct sign of Leo, the tendency to internalize and hesitate might feel especially unnatural. Rather than direct and healthy expressions or outlets for frustrations, we might resort to sneaky, indirect, or obtuse methods of going after what we want. If we push ahead impulsively, we run into problems, obstacles, and frustrations.”

My frustration with the break-ins led me to “only search for a space but not sign anything until Mars goes direct” so I pushed ahead impulsively and clearly ran into problems. I knew I was being impacted even enough that I wrote a blog entry about it and still I pushed ahead trying to sneak around the technicalities. There is a great lesson here for me that I can ONLY see through hindsight. Much can be learned from life when we’re willing to review our past actions this way. The lights were flashing and the bells were ringing. I tried sneaking under the warning lights and got hit by a train. When our Spirit brings us clear information and direct warnings, we need to honor that. Lesson learned…the hard way.

We certainly live in challenging times and it seems like every day it gets a little more challenging but these challenges, like the challenges I faced this year, are all leading up to something amazing that we just can’t see yet. I look forward to sharing more thoughts on that with you as we move forward. Thank you for your patience during my absence and for staying with me this far. I always welcome your comments here in the blog or directly by email. May you manifest all of your dreams. Now, enough about me, let’s get back to the deep stuff.

Preparing to give birth

2010-06-21T07:51:00.000-07:00

I hope you have had time to begin working with the four steps of “The Basics”. The more you work with each of these techniques, the more you’ll see what a difference they can make. They are subtle but incredibly effective. The more you practice them the more you’ll notice when one, or all of them, isn’t in place. The key is to notice the difference in how you feel before doing them and after you’ve taken time with each one to get them set. Make a conscious effort to notice how it feels to have all four active and engaged. As you move through your day if your current feeling doesn’t match that feeling, stop and re-engage what is missing.

I’d like to offer you a few tips on telling which part is off for you. If you feel overloaded or nervous, focus on “ground”. If you are feeling confused, have no reference point or opinion, work with “clear”. If you feel dependent upon others or like you are being controlling, work with “bind”. If you feel clumsy or unstable, work with “core”. These are generalities but will help you move in the direction you need. If you just feel “off” but can’t put words to it, re-engage them all. It only takes a couple of minutes so it’s not that big of a commitment in time, energy or money. Different personality types will be challenged by different steps in the Basics. Everyone will usually find at least one step to be particularly challenging based upon their energetic defense patterns.

It’s easy enough to read over these and think “how could that help? I’m only visualizing things.” Know that as with all things, it’s about trying it rather than just reading it. Take an experimental approach to it if need be. First pick some time bounds, determine the experiment and conduct it within the time constraints and then evaluate the results. For example say “I’m going to try doing these Basics every morning for two weeks” and then do it. At the end of that two weeks (which should be ample time to get very familiar with the process), see if you feel more grounded and centered as you engaged your world. If you like the change, and I’m sure you will, then continue doing it and work on having it become a more robust process that you are aware of constantly. If you feel no change, then stop doing the exercises. The experiment costs you nothing but a couple of minutes a day.

CHANGES

As of the writing of this entry, my life is undergoing major change. I’m about to move my work studio and our apartment into a new home where I can both live and work. All of this needs to happen in the next two weeks and then everything has to get set up. I also have a week of “vacation” planned for mid-July. That along with several other things which require my time, attention and thus my energy are causing me to take a hard look at my life to see where I can free up some energy.

As a result of that examination, I’ve decided that I’m going to be taking some time away from writing this blog so that I can get my life resettled. There is a major birth occurring for me because the stress around things reaching this point has been intense and is still building. I know there are some great lessons in all of this for me and I’ll share those with you when I return.
Since I see this as a birthing, I’m going to allow myself to surrender into the process and then return on, symbolically enough, Labor Day. Big things are in store and I’m very excited about what all this could mean for me, my relationships and also my work. Please check back here after Labor Day and look for some new posts then.

In the meantime, I thank each of you for reading my words and for the beautiful feedback that I’ve gotten from so many of you. I’m deeply touched and honored that you would take time from your life to read what I have to share. My hope and intention is that you benefit from some of it whether you believe it all or not. Please send good thoughts my way and I look forward to continuing our journey together after Labor Day and the birth.

My best to you in all that you do,

Michael

The Basics - Step 4 - Core

2010-06-13T18:05:00.000-07:00

The fourth step of “The Basics” is called “Core”. This process will help become more centered and in your body.

Thus far in the Basics, we have established our connection to the Earth (Grounding), called our scattered energy back into our energy field and cleared others out (Clear) and tied our fibers off to avoid energy piracy (Bind). In this final step we want to pull more of our Essential (Higher) Self into the core of our physical body and into the energetic container we created in the first three steps.

CONSCIOUSNESS MANIFESTING

At the deepest levels of our Being we are energy coming into form. We are Consciousness manifesting in the Physical realm. The bodies we inhabit are just one tiny portion of all that we are. Energetically we are far more than can be held by these temporary bodies yet these bodies are the tools we use to do our work in this realm. To do the work we have each manifested to do, we have to be fully in our bodies. That is not to say that all that we are will be in the body but rather that we will fill all of the body with some of who we are.

For most people this concept is a shift in their belief system. We’re taught in Church that we’re a soul trapped in a body which will die one day and then that soul will be judged based upon that single lifetime and then spend the rest of eternity in “Heaven” or “Hell”. This paradigm is incredibly limiting, judgmental and in sharp contrast to the deeper meaning held at the core of all religions and Spiritual teachings. When you can begin to shift your consciousness to the truth of being eternal and not limited by a physical form, Life will take on new depth, dimension and context.

FITS LIKE A GLOVE

The following technique works off of this deeper truth of our existence. A good metaphor for how this works would be to imagine that your body is a glove and your Consciousness (Higher/Essential Self) is your hand. If you slide your hand half-way into the glove and then try to pick up and manipulate objects with it, you would struggle and be limited in your success. However, when you slide your hand all the way into the glove so that each finger reaches the ends of the glove then your dexterity increases and the glove then becomes more useful.

Unfortunately most of us are very disconnected from our bodies due to the experiences which have come our way. When we don’t feel safe in our bodies, we escape into the non-physical realm of thought or fantasy and we disassociate. We may feel safer there and even create all sorts of elaborate mental constructs in an attempt to rationalize our behavior. In truth anything that we experience in the non-physical world serves no purpose for us if we can’t ground in into the physical realm. Without doing that, it all remains in the non-tangible energy world of the thought realm. The Basics offered in these first four steps are designed to help you come more fully into your body and to help you accomplish your reason for incarnating in this realm.

STEP 4 – CORE

After completing the first 3 steps, you’re ready to pull in more of your Essential Self. While this step is in essence the most powerful of the 4, the process is actually the simplest.

Sit with your spine nicely erect and put your full focus (your awareness) at the very top of your head in line with the where the top of your spine would be if it continued up through the crown of your head. Feel like you are connecting with whatever energy you feel outside your body when you hold your awareness there. Some feel it as a slight pulsing, mild vibration or just have a felt sense of movement there. There is no preferred or required sensation. Go with whatever works for you and know that in time that sense will grow more palpable and powerful.

Once you have a sense for the connection (or in the beginning just imagine it and trust), feel like you are pulling that sensation down into the very core of your body. Imagine (visualize, think, feel) that you bring it down through the skull and into your spine. Keep following that down through the center of your body, right through the spine until you reach the base of your spine, the coccyx. Allow any sensations you feel along the spine to radiate out into your physical body as you continue to pull more and more of this energy into your system. Allow it to expand out through all parts of your body and even beyond the physical boundaries of your skin and out into your energy field. Feel that this energy mixes and merges with the energy that you pulled up in the Grounding process.

DAILY PRACTICE

Now that you have all four components of the Basics, I’d like to offer you some guidance in learning to use them. Ultimately you want to become so familiar with these techniques and the feeling that results from them that they become your normal state of being, so that you are constantly and fully grounded in the center of your Being. It takes time to reach that state but as with any journey, it begins with the first step. Once you have a sense for how it feels to be fully grounded in your Basics then the next step is to notice when you are ungrounded and be able to quickly move back into a grounded state.

Scientific studies have shown that it takes about 22 days for us to create a new habit. In this time new neuro-pathways are formed in the brain and this allows us to turn the action over to our subconscious mind. It is much like walking. Once we learned and mastered the technique, we just use our willpower to move and focus on the destination without thinking about all the elaborate muscle movements required for locomotion. Interestingly enough, Science has also shown that it takes about 22 seconds for your subconscious to engage requests from your conscious mind. This is actually a good thing because if our subconscious engaged every random thought our conscious minds had then we’d probably not be very happy about that. So be patient and loving with yourself as you lay down this new habit of engaging your Basics and take time with each step along the way. Remember there is no substitute for personal experience. It is the best teacher and the only way that Truth is revealed within each of us.

FELT SENSE

What I recommend that you do is work with each of these individual steps in the process until you really have a felt sense for how you feel after you engage each one. When I use the term “felt sense” this means that you should notice how your body feels everywhere. Start with your physical body and scan it from bottom to top. Notice places where you might be holding tension. Next notice your mental body. Observe your thoughts. Don’t focus on them but just notice the quiet or the mental chatter that is going on without feeling the need to change it at all. Finally notice your emotional body. What mood are you in and how does it make you feel?

Often times we’ll say “I feel good” or “I feel bad” but those are summaries. A felt sense is what is obtained by observing all the components that roll-up into that summary. In doing this observing we will often find that the summary statement is simply a cover-up for how we are really feeling. Our bodies may ache, our minds might be very busy and emotionally we’re a wreck but we ignore all of that with “I feel fine”. Gaining a felt sense is done by simply being honest with how you feel in the moment and not being attached to the story that you tell yourself or others. This is you being honest with yourself. Truly no one wants to be around those that only complain about how bad they feel but for the purposes of this exercise, be brutally honest with yourself without judgment or a desire to change it. Only you need to know your truth here.

THE PRACTICE

So to begin with, focus on each of the components individually for around 30 seconds or more. Hold an image of the end result of each step of the Basics in your conscious mind and allow your subconscious to pick that image up and begin to work with it. Spend more time in the beginning when doing this and know that as you become more familiar with it, it will take you less and less time to achieve the desired energetic state. Once you become familiar with each of the individual pieces then get a felt sense for the end result of having all of the components in place. Focus on that and get a mental snapshot of the end result and hold on to that image with your conscious mind for at least 30 seconds. This is the one where you really want to concentrate your focus and get your subconscious to work with the image. It is also the one that you want to notice when you feel out of alignment with so that you can quickly get your Basics back in place.

WHY "THE BASICS"?

These Basics are essential to have in place before you engage energy. Engaging energy happens when you deal with other people, work with Oracles, work with your chakras, exercise or just generally experience Life. I share all of these techniques with you because most energy training that we have in our society assumes that you already have these Basics in place and so they don’t cover them. I know this was something that I had to learn the hard way. Without a container for the knowledge we gain, the information isn’t useful and our bodies have no place to hold it. With these Basics in place you’ll have a firm foundation and structure for the information to be held in your energy system and you’ll be less likely to take on others energetic issues.

I see the Basics as building an energetic house. The Grounding says “I want to build my house here and give it a firm support system” and so it becomes the foundation. Clear says “now that I have the place, I want to clear the space to build my house” and so it becomes the floor. Bind says “now I’ll build walls to define my house.” And finally Core says “put the roof on the house, fill it up and call it a home.” You need each one individually but you need them all together to have a complete system.

Me, myself and I AM

2010-06-03T15:28:00.000-07:00

It has been said that we have three different views of “self”. We have the self that we project out into the world, the self that we think we are and the self that we really are.

FIRST VIEW – “ME”

The first view is the one that we project out into the world. This self is constructed and comprised of the things we share and don’t share with others. The things we share, and thus the view others are given, changes depending upon who we are talking to and what image we are trying to project. For instance to some people I am a body-worker, to some I am an erotic educator, to others I am a whore, a friend, acquaintance, confidant, student, lover, trouble maker, son, strange relative or just another face on the street. While I am each of those things, I am also all of those things but I am also so much more.

This view of me is dependent upon my relationship with the viewer and can change in an instant when more is shared. In essence there are as many views of me as there are people who view me because every person holds a different perspective of me based upon how much they know about me and what personal filters they are viewing me through. If you hold the belief about me that I am “just another whore” then you will most likely not be able to see me as anything beyond that because of your own judgments being projected upon me.

SECOND VIEW – “MYSELF”

The second view is the self the way we think we are. Today I may see myself as a silly, fun-loving guy with a really cool job. Tomorrow I might see myself as a loud-mouthed buffoon who is constantly putting his foot in his mouth. The next day I might see myself as a compassionate friend who does his best to help everyone that he can. Then in following days I could be a victim of my circumstances, the bravest man alive, a rebel, a leader or a wounded child. This view changes constantly and is usually based upon the situation I am in or who I am with. My own filters, which I’ve created from my past experiences, color the way I see myself in relation to others.

This view is problematic as well because it is based upon my own false judgments of myself. For example if I think that sex is bad (which I don’t) and I engage in sex then I’m likely to not be able to see all the good things that are possible through sexual expression. If I grew up being told that I’m stupid, lazy, not good enough or a “sinner” and I have adopted these beliefs simply because someone else called me these things then I will most likely judge my every action and only see my faults. This will of course validate these false beliefs that I hold and reinforce them. This negative view of self will of course be reflected in the image that I project out to others because of my own insecurities.

THIRD VIEW – “I”

The final view is the self that I really am. This self is the one that manifested the body that I currently reside in. It is the part of me that animates and enlivens this body. When I complete the lessons and tasks that I manifested to work on, it is the part of me that will leave the body and continue exist outside of the physical realm. It is eternal and ever evolving. I am either in the physical realm or I am not. Unlike the other temporary views of self, it is my deepest, truest self and not dependent upon or affected by any judgments. It is the one small slice of the infinite field of the eternal Divine which is “me”. In sacred texts it is called the “I AM” consciousness. I am one with the Divine and in that oneness I AM the Divine.

Most people believe that they are the body and that all of the judgments they hold upon themselves are what keep them from “Heaven”. As such they hold themselves in a perpetual powerless state because as long as they believe that another has power over them and sits in judgment of them, they will always be a victim. They will live their lives according to the rules and judgments given to them by an external source rather than following the guidance of the inner Divine. For them they will never be able to even conceive of themselves as anything but unworthy let alone the Divine being that they truly are.

EGO OR ESSENCE

The first two views are temporary in nature and represent only a tiny slice of the powerful beings that we all really are. These two views of self belong to the ego. The ego is connected to the temporary physical body. All of those things connected to the physical body fade away at death because of the temporal nature of the body and the personality associated with it. The third view is that of our Essential Self. It is eternal and our direct reflection of the Divine, our True Self, Higher Self, or Soul. It is part of all that is, was and ever shall be. It is the part of us which reincarnates in the physical realm to learn the lessons we manifested to learn or in some cases to help illuminate a path to the inner Divine for others to follow.

We expend so much of our time and valuable energy working on the self that we project out into the world because for most people that is as far as their awareness will penetrate into the true nature of their existence. Each time we create one of these false personalities that we present to others we have to use our energy to maintain it. When we are around those who we don’t allow to see us as we truly are out of fear of rejection, we have to remember what they do and do not know and how much more we are willing to let them know. We believe that others can’t love and accept us if they know our truth so we create a view of ourselves that we believe they can accept. This speaks directly to our inability to love and accept ourselves without judgment. It also says a great deal about our judgment of others and our belief that they can’t handle our truth.

Our internal view of self is not much different. When we judge ourselves and limit the expression of our Divine nature, we compartmentalize ourselves often as a way to cope or delude ourselves into believing that we are the body and the false personality we have created for it. These inner views of self have a direct bearing on the projected views. If we believe we are weak, evil, a victim, a sinner or even a Saint, we will create external personalities in alignment with those beliefs. Remember our beliefs create our realities. When others reflect back their view of us to us, we tend to allow ourselves to believe that we are these fractured personalities rather than a direct manifestation of the Divine.

The third and definitive self is the only true view of self. The more we hold our focus there the more that view informs our view of our self and then that view is projected out to others. This is a paradigm shift for most people because they internalize the world view of themselves rather than expressing their inner true nature. This true nature which exists within every single individual, animal and plant is the Divine expressing itself in so many forms in physical reality. This is true no matter what our perception of others is, even those we think of as “wrong” or “evil” because those judgments belong to the egoic self and are seen through our own judgmental filters.

AWAKEN TO YOUR OWN TRUTH

This inner expression of the Divine is the truth that I want to help you to awaken to and that is happening as you read these words. It is the way, the truth and the Light. It is not manifest in any single individual any more than any other but it is expressed more fully depending upon the evolution of the individual soul. The more deeply we connect with and express this Essential Self, the easier life becomes because we are able to allow our energy to radiate our truth rather than expend energy maintaining false personalities. It requires no adherence to religious dogma, new age belief system or advanced study. It is simply a matter of looking within to the deepest layers of our existence and expressing the truth found therein.

Will you put your awareness on the temporary or on the eternal I AM?

The Basics - Step 3 - Bind

2010-05-26T10:06:00.000-07:00

The third step of “The Basics” is called “Bind”. This process will help set our personal energetic boundaries.

In the second step of the series, we cleared the energy field surrounding the physical body known as the Aura. Now that we’ve cleared the field, we want to define the edges of it. We also want to ensure that we are getting all the energy that we need from within and not from others at their expense.

EARLY DEPENDANCY

When our physical bodies begin manifesting in the uterus, the umbilical cord becomes our feeding tube from our mother. This is where we receive nourishment during our gestation period in the womb. We begin our lives in the physical world by learning to feed off of another. After birth, when the cord has been cut, we move to breast feeding and are dependent upon others to bring us the nourishment that we require to survive and grow. This process is often referred to as “bonding”. This process continues at various stages in our lives until we reach the point where we can become self sufficient and are able to care for our own needs.

The learned behavior of depending upon others to nourish us is deeply set at an unconscious level by the time we reach our late teens and begin our adult lives. Unfortunately in American culture we have lost the ancient rituals and rites of passage into independent adulthood and so these unconscious patterns don’t get broken. In Native American traditions, the ceremonies used to celebrate our transition from childhood to adulthood help us make the energetic shift from dependence to independence. They are physical acts to accomplish an energetic purpose of breaking the bonds to allow for liberation of both parent and child.

CUT THE CORD

In these ceremonies, the energetic fibers which have formed from parent to child are cut and the child is taught to become self-sufficient. We might think of this as cutting the final energetic umbilical cord. As our culture has lost sight of these rituals those connections are not being severed and we have generations growing up who are still energetically feeding off others because of their unconscious patterns. This is detrimental to both parent and child at an energetic level. The parent’s energy is slowly and continuously drained by the child who is energetically (and often physically and emotionally) dependent upon them. This can lead to physical ailments in the parents which eventually get transferred to the child via the energetic feeding tubes and are often explained as being hereditary ailments or dis-ease. (Dis-ease is anything which disrupts our natural and easy energy flow. This is separate from disease which is an actual infection, virus or physical ailment.) The child also suffers in this situation.

It may feel harsh for the parents to cut their children off and that is often why it doesn’t happen. In the long run, the parents are doing a grave disservice to the child. As the child moves away from home and begins forming attachments to others, unconsciously they begin feeding off of them as well. This happens at such a deep energetic level that most of us aren’t even aware of it and certainly not conscious that we are doing it…but still it happens. If we have friends that leave us feeling drained emotionally, physically and mentally whenever we’re around them, we can be sure that this is the underlying energetic cause. These people are often referred to as “energy vampires”.

ADULT FEEDING TUBES

The energetic attachment we make to others is accomplished by our “fibers”. These fibers are non-physical and become feeding tubes of sort. To get a visual idea of what they look like, imagine them as dozens of small ropes or tubes that extend from our abdominal area and reach out beyond our Aura. The ends of these ropes can have suckers or hooks on them, depending upon the need trying to be fulfilled. Unconsciously we send these fibers into the energy field of others in an attempt to get our energetic needs met. Where then do these “energetic needs” come from?

We are all non-physical energy beings inhabiting physical bodies. We are force coming into form. Our physical bodies need energy to do all of the tasks that they have evolved to do. In every moment our bodies are doing an almost infinite number of tasks and these processes require fuel. Even when we are completely still, our bodies are handling countless numbers of tasks such as digestion, assimilation, elimination, respiration and circulation. At the cellular level, in every moment our bodies are in the process of renewal. As one cell dies another replaces it. In fact, by the end of every seven years, every cell in our bodies has died and been replaced. We literally have a completely different physical body than we did just seven years ago. How’s that for our amazing capacity to change?!

Within each of these physical processes there are three components of the process. Each has an input, an action and an output. For example, in digestion there is the input which is food that is to be digested. Second is the action, in this example it is the physical act of digestion which transforms the food we eat into the nutrients that our body needs to survive and grow. Third is the output of the process, the nutrients derived from the food and the unused waste. This is true for every system in the body. The action part needs energy to function and this energy has to come from somewhere.

ENERGY ALLOCATION

Our physical bodies can hold a finite amount of energy. They are physical in nature and while they can expand and contract, ultimately they are limited in size. So let’s say that we have our 100% allocation of energy. This energy comes to us from the environment through our energy system. Now, we have to begin allocating this energy to each of the countless processes going on inside the body…digestion, elimination, fat storage, fat burning, cell creation, circulation, respiration, etc. Each of these involuntary processes needs energy to do their work and so each of them chip away at our total energy allocation.

Then we move into the voluntary systems such as communication and locomotion. All of the physical acts that we do with our bodies require energy to function as well as the fuel to burn. Each of the muscles which comprise our bodies and all of the organs within all of our systems also require energy to do their work. Each of these things takes another portion of our overall energy allocation until eventually it is all divided out into our bodies as needed.

ENERGY SUPPLY

All the energy which is needed by our bodies has to come from somewhere and since it is constantly being used it has to be constantly replaced. Our bodies are major consumers of energy but fortunately our environment provides all the fuel that we need. We get it from the air we breathe, food and water we consume as well as from the Earth. In the first part of this “Basics” series, Grounding, when we connect with the Earth we are also connecting with its energy field to receive more of the energy that we need to survive. In essence, we established our energetic umbilical cord to the Mother Earth and use it draw in the energetic nutrients that we need.

Most of us however don’t access the environmental energy which is freely available to us. Due to all of the physical, spiritual, emotional and mental issues we are dealing with, we don’t feel connected to our bodies and even less connected to Life. Despite that lack of connection, we still need energy to function as described above. To get the energy we need, we use our energetic fibers to acquire this energy and often at others expense. In a perfectly healed and whole state, an individual can obtain all the energy that they need by simply connecting to the environment.

VICTIM OR VAMPIRE?

So how can we tell when we’re feeding off others or being fed off of? On the physical level this happens when we’re with someone that “dumps” all their issues on us. They constantly focus on their problems, how bad their life is, their needs and the injustices that they believe they suffer from on a daily basis (victim mentality). If they don’t do that then they disguise this behavior as an unhealthy attachment to someone who they make the center of their world and expect that attention to be returned. “Look at all I do for you” becomes their identifying catch phrase. At some level they try passive-aggressive guilt as a way to get the energy they need. If we see these things being done to us or we find ourselves doing them, having an energetic understanding of what is happening allows us to make the decision to stop the unhealthy process.

Our attention (or focus) is where our awareness is. The physics of what happens is that “Energy follows awareness”. When we give our attention to someone or something, we send some of our energy to them. This is true whether the person is physically present or not. When someone is doing something and trying to get our attention (even with what we label as “negative attention”) this is them throwing their fibers at us trying to get the energy that they believe they need. Often times this can be so draining to us as the “host” that we’ll immediately turn to someone else and complain about the experience in an unconscious attempt to drain energy from them. This can all be avoided by ensuring that our Basics (Ground, Clear, Bind and the next one in this series, Core) are in place and our boundaries are maintained appropriately.

STEP 3: BIND

This process sets our energy field so that we aren’t sending our fibers out to someone else and draining them. All the energy that we need comes from within through our connection to the Earth and the world of energy available to us in the environment. As with most things done in the energy field, this is a physical act used to accomplish an energetic purpose.

After grounding and clearing are complete (step 1 & 2 in this 4 part series) then you’re ready to bind. Focus your awareness at your navel and imagine that your fibers extend out from your body at that point. Imagine that they are at least two main ropes (tubes, vines or whatever visual works for you). They can also be seen as a large number of smaller tubes as well. Just notice what visual comes up for you when you put your awareness on this and trust that. There is no need to make it anything other than what works for you. One way is no more or less correct than the other it simply is what is true for you.

Once you have the image of the fibers, physically reach down with your hands and surround your navel with your palms facing each other. Imagine that you are gathering half of them in one hand and half in the other. Pull them out and away from your body the way you would if you were going to tie a rope around your midsection. Wrap each half around behind your body and back to the front and then tie them together the way you begin tying the laces on your shoes. Just a simple over and under knot and then cinch them together.

Repeat the knotting as many times as you feel necessary. Visualize and move as if you are threading the ends through the center of your body and out the back and around to the front again to cinch them together. You are sending an image to your subconscious by doing this visualization and physical action. Take your time with it and really focus on the action as if you actually had two ends of a rope that you were wrapping around your body. The end result of this is that you want to contain your energy field and these grasping fibers so that you rely on energy from within. You made that connection in the grounding process. This process teaches your energy field to use that connection rather than draining others.

KEEP THEM TIED

As you move through your day, if you find yourself seeking unnecessary attention from others by your actions, stop and repeat this process as if the fibers had become untied (and they will until you change the habit). The basics process is about learning better energetic manners and defining your boundaries rather than relying on others for what you need. At some level it is like the child growing up and leaving home. Becoming an energetic adult requires taking more responsibility for your own actions and becoming self-sufficient. This necessitates moving beyond habitual patterns and making your own way.

Click on the following link to go directly to The Basics - Step 4 - Core

The Basics - Step 2 - Clear

2010-05-14T08:59:00.000-07:00

The second step of “The Basics” is called “Clear”. This process is to help you to make sure that you are the only one occupying your personal energetic space.

THE AURA

This process involves scanning your physical body as well as the energetic area surrounding your body. Imagine that there is an egg-shaped bubble that surrounds your body. This bubble is known as your Aura. This is actually part of your energy field and typically extends approximately two to four feet away from your physical body in every direction. Its shape and size is dependent upon the individual. This field is pure energy and responds to your awareness and intention.

This energy field is invisible to the naked eye but through a process known as Karlian photography we are able to actually make photographs where this field can be seen. In the photographs it looks like a multi-colored cloud of smoke that surrounds the person in the picture. Some areas may be red, orange, yellow, green, blue or violet. You might think of this field as an energetic extension of yourself. Based upon your needs in any moment this field could expand from the size of your body to the size of a stadium or contract to accommodate the needs of your body, mind or spirit. I’m including a sample of what one of these pictures looks like since I can’t find my own unfortunately.

ENERGY SOUP

When you ground, the energy that you pull up from the core of the earth, moves through your body and spills out into this energy field and fills it up. If you can imagine what your Aura looks like when you come into close proximity with another person you’ll begin to see where the need to “Clear” comes in. The Auras of the two people mix with each other in sort of an “energy soup” process. When you separate again, each of you could be left with some of the other person’s energy in your Aura as a natural byproduct of that interaction.

If you’ve ever been around someone that you think of as negative or draining, you will notice that after you are away from them you may still feel their negativity. Conversely if you are around some who is spiritually or energetically advanced or very charismatic, you may notice that you still feel excited and happy for a while after they leave. These feelings are partially due to the fact that even after they are no longer near you physically you are still holding on to a part of their energy. It is also partially due to how you allowed them to affect you energetically when they were near. It’s important to remember that they too are still processing a small portion of your energy. Now imagine what shape your energy field is in after a busy day at work or after attending some sort of large gathering especially where the people are packed in so tightly that you can’t move without pushing past someone. Talk about energy soup!

The process of clearing allows you to reclaim your scattered energy as well as release any energy from your field which is not yours. It’s a very good idea to use this technique after emerging from crowds and after dealing with unpleasant people or just anytime that you feel like you just need an energy bath because of your personal interactions with others.

STEP 2 - CLEAR

After you have fully grounded yourself, begin this process by calling back your scattered energy. To do this, simply call your name slowly and consciously. I do this at least once for each of the four cardinal directions. This can be out loud or just mentally. Use whatever name you most identify with. This can be nicknames, your birth-name or assumed names. If you aren’t sure what name to use, use them all. Just call each one four times. As you call them imagine that you are calling to someone out in a field and wanting to have them come to you. Feel like you are calling your scattered energy home to yourself. Feel a longing and desire for this energy to come home to you.

Next, mentally scan through your body and Aura and see if you sense energy there which is not yours. This is a very subtle process so trust your intuition. If you think there might be something there, trust that inner knowing and know that you can’t do this wrong. If you detect foreign energy, use your imagination and gather this energy up. You might imagine that you take a butterfly net and scoop it up. You might create a small fan and blow it out of your energy field. You might reach out and pull in a vacuum cleaner hose and suck the energy out of your field. You might even just grab it with your hands and toss it out. Go with whatever visual works for you and allow yourself to be creative with this process. The one thing I recommend you NOT doing however is using any type of violent visual for this process…blowing up, killing, shooting and things like that. Let this be a loving act of release.

As you are clearing your energy field, feel and intend that you are sending this energy back to its owner for them to process. This energy could have come to you through the Aura overlap described above but it could also be there because someone has sent this energy to you because they were angry at you or wished you harm or ill will. It is not important that you determine who’s energy is in your field or why it’s there or why it is in some certain spot on you. Simply gather it up and in some way send it out of your field with the intention that it return to its energetic home. Your energy is for you to process and theirs is for them to process.

Once you believe that the energy has been cleared from your field, call your name again four times and repeat the clearing process for any energy that you feel remains in your Aura that is not yours. What you want to do is feel like you are making more space in your field for you and you only. The more space you can make for that, the more you will begin to feel at peace within your body and feel more complete.

A RETURN ON YOUR INVESTMENT

As I mentioned above, some of the energy in your field could be from where someone either consciously or unconsciously directed this energy at you. Most of us have done this from time to time without an awareness of what we were doing. If you have found yourself stewing about someone and in some way wishing them harm or just negative feelings, you’ve sent this energy to them. Remember that eventually this energy will be coming back to you…but it will be increased significantly. Think about when you toss a rock into a small pond. The ripples on the water move out and grow as they move further and further from where the rock hit the water. When these ripples hit the shore they begin bouncing back. Now there are more ripples than just the initial impact and they’re coming back from every direction.

Energy works the same way. You are the rock. Your intention is the rock hitting the water. The ripples are the results of your actions. Now that you have this knowledge you can no longer plead ignorance. Be careful what you send out. If you are wishing harm to others, eventually that harm will come back home to roost with you. However if you are sending out love and compassion, imagine how amazing it will feel when this expanded energy returns to you.

Click on the following link to go directly to The Basics - Step 3 - Bind

Karma

2010-05-09T15:17:00.000-07:00

From the very earliest stages of our lives we are taught that we are being judged. The older we get, the longer our list of judges seems to become. Our first judges come in the form of our parents. As we gain motor skills our parents have to begin keeping a closer eye on us. To keep us safe during this phase of exploration parents alert us to danger through verbal cues like “NO!” or a smack on the hand. We subconsciously learn during this stage that our actions are being watched. When we move into the verbal communication phase, a shift occurs. As we develop language skills our parents tell us they are watching us and begin teaching us what they believe to be “right” and “wrong”.

There is a very subtle shift between these two phases. The former is about safety and protection while the latter is about judgment and control. Our parents begin to imprint their belief systems on to us at this stage just as their parents did to them. We are taught what our parents, our gender, our family, our society, our country, our culture, our race and religious organizations believe to be acceptable behavior. Each of these comes with their own set of judgments upon our actions and plenty of people willing to judge us, consciously and unconsciously, for those actions.

UNSEEN JUDGES

In early childhood most of us are introduced to our next judge, Santa. We are taught that beyond the visible watchful eyes of our parents there is a magical being who watches us from the North Pole. He knows what we’re doing and knows when we’ve been “good” or “bad”. When Christmas arrives we are given “rewards” if we were good or “switches” if we were bad. The difference depends upon Santa’s judgments of our actions throughout the year. It doesn’t matter that he’s not real, what matters is that we are taught to believe that he is real and that he is watching us every moment.

As we grow into childhood we learn about our next supreme judge, God. We are taught that yet another mythical, magical being is able to remotely observe our actions and behaviors and pass judgment upon us. Interestingly enough, if we behave according to the rules of all the layered entities I mentioned above we are on God’s good side. When we step out of line however we are taught that punishment is on its way in the form of bad things that begin happening in our lives. By this same school of thought, if enough of us are seriously misbehaving then we will receive larger punishments such as accidents, disease and any form of natural disaster. Above all this we are led to believe that this incredibly judgmental super human who is keeping tabs on our every single thought and behavior and will administer the ultimate coup de grâce after we die in the form of an eternity in “Heaven” or “Hell”.

JUDGE NOT LEST YE BE JUDGED

With all the judgments being placed upon us at every level from our parents on up the line to God, it should come as no surprise then that we become deeply judgmental of ourselves and project that judgmental attitude out onto others. These judgments then become the filters with which we view the world. We no longer see just the action but rather we judge and label everything as “right” or “wrong”. As long as we hold these self-judgments upon ourselves we can never truly feel the full measure of unconditional love that the Divine has for us. It is not possible to sit in judgment and feel love at the same time.

Ultimately we end up with a world full of people unable to fully love and accept themselves because of their own judgments. If you can’t feel unconditional love yourself, how will you give unconditional love to the world? You cannot give what you do not have. Projecting our judgments out into the world and on to others does not mean “I am right and you are wrong” but rather it says “I have a need to judge”. It is not possible to sit in judgment and feel love at the same time.

KARMA IS ENERGY IN MOTION

The above is actually an example of karma in action. Most people hear the word karma and believe it is the product of a judgment. If I do something good I get “good karma” and if I do something bad I get “bad karma”. Karma is frequently misunderstood and equated to the Hindu version of the Christian view of God’s system of reward and punishment for each of us based upon the summation and judgment of our Earthly sojourn.

In truth the term karma originates in Hindu philosophy but it has nothing to do with judgment. Karma is the term for the process of balancing of energy. It is more closely related to Newtons third law of motion which states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Karma is simply the balancing of energy which has been set in motion. In conjunction with the laws of physics, energy naturally seeks to balance itself unconditionally.

When we come to understand the non-judgmental workings of karma we begin to see that whatever is happening TO US now is the consequence of our past actions. In the example above we see that when we teach others to judge themselves and others, ultimately these judgments will come back on us and we will feel judged and rebel against it and proclaim it wrong to judge.

CLAIM YOUR POWER

To move into a space of healing when we feel judged we have to own the original cause within ourselves and not blame the other person for judging us. “I feel judged…therefore I must be judging others” is the enlightened approach to balancing our karma. By owning our actions and reactions, which we have full control over, we can learn to stop judging others and ourselves and thereby free ourselves from our own judgment. Our own judgments are really the ONLY ones which have a direct impact on us. Any judgments that I might hold against you, are my judgments and only affect me.

Each of our actions sets energy in motion. Once we acknowledge this for ourselves and are willing to own the consequences of our actions, we learn that by controlling our actions we can begin to create positive outcomes for ourselves. As long as we deny our power to create our own destiny we will remain nothing more than powerless victims in our own self-constructed karmic prisons. This shifts us away from the notion that we must please an angry judgmental God in an effort to win favor with him and it puts the onus directly on each of us. It’s not about being judged at all but rather acknowledging the basic physics of energy. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. You get back what you send out.

When we are able to remove the judgmental aspect from the essence of karma, we begin to see how we are moving into alignment with the deepest teachings of every major world religion. Judgment belongs to the realm of the egoic human consciousness and is not a quality associated with true Divinity. Therefore judgments pull us out of alignment with the Divine. Karma is not judgmental or selective but it is exacting because it simply is our own energy balancing itself. It is the process by which your consciousness, or what the Yogis call your Atman, is stabilizing itself in the physical realm.

LAYERS OF KARMA

Karma occurs on many levels. Individually we create our own karmic consequences. When we belong to larger groups (and we all do) we also begin to generate collective karma. The actions that we take as clubs, teams and organizations have a noticeable impact on our lives. The actions that we take as a society, culture, race, religion or nation have a much larger impact on our world. Most importantly the actions that we take as a species have a direct result on our planet and ultimately our existence as a species.

Individually I may believe that my actions have very little impact on what we do as a nation but that doesn’t mean that I get out of the karmic consequences of our nations actions. I may disagree completely with our nation going to war with another country but energetically I will have to accept the impact this action has on our planet and on me. In owning this I will be more motivated to seek more peaceful solutions to each of the challenges I am presented with. When love and peace are what I want to receive, I know that loving and peaceful actions are part of the steps I must take to achieve it. I know that I will never receive love by propagating hate even if I am doing it in the name of God.

NO HIDING FROM YOURSELF

It is important to note that while karma is always just and exacting, it is not always evident. For example let’s say that I become angry at something you say to me and I chose to punch you. Odds are that you will then become angry with me and punch me back. That’s instant karma where I can see the immediate consequences of my actions. The smaller the disturbance in energy, the faster the response and the smaller the resulting return impact is.

If I generally tend to be an angry person, people will tend to not want to associate with me because of my attitude. Eventually I will realize that I have no close friends and certainly can’t hold down a loving relationship and so I am all alone. In the depths of my anger I will of course blame it on the fact that “everyone else” is cold and mean because they won’t be my friend. Everyone’s coldness will of course make me angry. With deeper, personal introspection I might finally see that I am the source of my own misery. Accepting that allows me to chose to be friendly rather than angry and in return receive a friendlier welcome from others. Remember, emotions too are just energy in motion. (http://peacefulmichael.blogspot.com/2009/06/energy-of-emotions.html)

WE’RE ALL IN IT TOGETHER

When we move up to the karma that we create as a nation for example, the consequences of our actions are often greater but more difficult to associate with the initial action. If we do not have knowledge of our history then it is very easy to place the blame for the unfolding of major karmic events on others. For example, we could look at the events of September 11th, 2000 as “we were unjustly attacked by those opposed to our freedom and our liberties.” This would seem to indicate a belief on our part that we had nothing to do with these “unprovoked attacks”. Nothing could be further from the truth.

If we take the time to examine our history, including the secretive and manipulative actions of our government, we see that the events of 9/11 were just another punch in an ongoing conflict with those that we have deemed to be “unlike us”. Our nation and in particular our government are not the keepers of “truth, liberty and justice” for the entire planet the way we like to believe that they are. Our fear-based actions of the past motivated us to destabilize foreign governments, overthrow elected heads of state and generate atrocities of massive proportion all in the pursuit of “freedom”. When viewed from a still larger perspective it was just one more event in an unending battle that has been raging since before recorded history when one person (group or entity) tried to assert power over another. At this scale we can see that we are in essence paying the karmic consequences for the actions and reactions of our ancient ancestors.

TEMPORARY BODY/ETERNAL SOUL

At the most subtle level however there is individual lifetime karma. This is part of our individual soul’s karmic destiny. For every action that I generate personally, energetically the results of that action will come back to the source of that action. Imagine that you toss a pebble into a small pool of water. The ripples from the impact of the pebble with the water will radiate out, hit the edge of the pool and reverberate back to the center of the pool. No other pool of water is disturbed by this action.

Now imagine that the above pool was the size of the Pacific Ocean and the pebble grew in direct proportion to the increase in size of the pool. When this pebble is dropped into that ocean, it will take much more time for the waves to reach the shore and make their way back to the site of the impact. They would eventually make it back but it might take so long to happen that I would probably lose the association between the waves at that site and the original impact of the pebble.

This is the case with lifetime karma. Lifetime karma is the result of cumulative actions which I generate which are so constant that I may not experience the consequences of those actions in a single lifetime. To understand the inner-workings of karma at this level, we have to explore the concept of reincarnation. That topic however is far too broad to discuss as part of this posting so I’ll save that for a future posting on that specific topic.

OWN IT

Once you understand that you alone are in complete control of your karmic destiny, you empower yourself to generate desirable results for yourself. In that empowerment you step out of victim mentality and into self actualization. No one can create our actions for us and no one can save us from the consequences of those actions. It has nothing to do with judgment, fairness, reward or punishment but rather it is simple, basic physics in action in the world of energy in which we exist. We are beings of energy at every single level of our existence.

When you begin to understand the workings of karma and move in accordance with it, your life will transform. Despite religious myth to the contrary, no one can be born for me, live for me, suffer for me or die for me. These are all actions which I alone must experience. When I awaken to the fact that my own actions create my own destiny, I can moderate my actions to receive more desirable outcomes. I do not need to judge and blame others, nor depend upon them to save me. Reclaiming that power is just the tip of the iceberg. Imagine the positive outcomes that you can achieve for yourself by simply moving from victim mentality to a fully empowered co-creator with the Universe, the Divine, God, Great Spirit.

So what pebbles will you toss into the ocean of existence?

The Basics - Step 1 - Ground

2010-04-30T16:01:00.000-07:00

All of life really comes down to two things, energy and awareness (or consciousness). We are beings of awareness inhabiting bodies made of dense slow moving energy which we call “physical”. We are force inhabiting form. If we shift our belief that we are physical beings trying to become spirits and begin to see ourselves as spirits choosing to manifest in the physical realm, life will take on new context and dimension. It is a very subtle difference but opens us up to the deeper truth of our existence. That shift in consciousness will also help you more fully integrate the teachings which are ahead in this series.

To honor the process of manifesting in the physical realm, there are some “energy basics” which we need to learn and keep in place. I’ll begin this series with instructions on these basics. They are:

• Ground

• Clear

• Edge

• Core

SPIRIT MANIFESTING

Each of us is an eternal energy being that inhabits a temporary physical body which enables us to manifest in the physical realm. Our spirit, or soul, is our direct connection to the spiritual, energetic realms. As an energy field it is more fluid than our physical body and is able to move beyond the physical limits of our bodies. Most of us function under patterning, or unconsciously repeated actions, and limiting beliefs passed on to us by our ancestors which holds us in the “we are humans trying to ascend to Heaven” paradigm. As we journey deeper together, I hope to help you see how you already are that “heavenly being” trying to manifest on Earth.

Each night as we sleep our spirit is able to reconnect with the spiritual realms and journey to other places. This happens when our awareness shifts from our conscious mind into our subconscious mind. When we awaken our awareness returns to our conscious mind. As we disengage our consciousness from our dense, physical bodies, it withdraws up and out of our bodies. When our awareness returns to the body however sometimes we do not reconnect fully with our bodies and are ungrounded.

Our natural energy home is in the energetic or spiritual realms and physically manifesting requires a great deal of energy but not all of the energy that we have available. We are so much more energetically than just our bodies. If our bodies are experiencing physical pains, if our lives are chaotic or unfulfilling or if we’re highly stressed, our spirits are more attracted to the loving, peaceful non-physical energy realms. When this happens or when we are too caught up in thought or fantasy, we are not grounded into our bodies and this can cause problems.

Most spiritual practices and organized religions in particular draw our awareness up into the upper energy centers in the body. They keep us focused there and direct our awareness to the non-physical. If we don’t ground that awareness and energy into the body then it remains nothing but energy. Many believe themselves to be focused on their spirituality but yet are almost completely disconnected from their body. The body is our “ticket to ride” in the physical and grounding helps secure a platform for that energy to come into. Later in this series, I’ll be showing you techniques for increasing the energetic capacity of the body to enable you to pull in even more of the spiritual energy, but first we have to create a platform for that experience to occur.

Think for a moment of how you feel when you are daydreaming or just really focused on something which requires a great deal of thought. Typically when we do these things, our bodies become very still and quiet. If you tried to suddenly move across the room, you’d probably stumble, crash into something or even fall because your awareness was on your thoughts and not the body. For various reasons, including physical and emotional trauma, this is how most of us go though our daily lives and why so many people feel disconnected from life and their bodies. This can lead to feelings of depression, the inability to connect with others and a whole host of physical dis-eases.

WHY GROUND?
In order for us to be fully present and able to engage energy in the physical realm we need to be fully grounded into the physical body. I’d like to offer a technique for you to work with that will help you become more grounded as you move through your day and through life. This technique is especially good to use for starting your day after waking up, during times of high stress or after periods of intense mental processing to help you reconnect with your body.

Grounding helps us to stay “in the body”. If you find yourself bumping into things, having silly accidents, dropping things or just generally unable to focus this is an indication that you are ungrounded. Many people live such highly stressed lives or are just so generally disconnected from their bodies that they are almost constantly ungrounded. People who deny their physicality and only focus on the spiritual aspects of themselves will typically be very ungrounded. Trying to focus on deeper meditative practices for example without being fully grounded in the body is like building the roof of a house before you build the house and wondering why you aren’t getting anywhere. With a strong base firmly anchored into the Earth, greater heights can be achieved.

SHARPEN YOUR FOCUS - TAKE YOUR TIME

The main key to this technique is to do it consciously with your full focus on the activity. While you are learning to do this process it will initially take a bit longer than it will once you are comfortable with it. Gradually the process will become almost automatic and can be done in a matter of seconds once you know what you are trying to accomplish. Being able to be in a constant state of groundedness can take years to fully develop and that ONLY happens by beginning the process and staying with it.

STEP 1 - GROUND

Begin by sitting comfortably upright and relaxing the body. Take three slow conscious breaths and really focus on the movement of air into and out of the lungs and abdomen. Next take a full, slow, deep breath and as you do gradually increase the tension in the body by squeezing the muscles tighter and tighter as you inhale. At the top of the inhale, your body tension should reach its maximum. As you consciously exhale, slowly allow your body to relax until you reach the bottom of the exhale where your body should be fully relaxed. Coordinate the clenching with the inhale and the relaxing with the exhale. Repeat this for at least three cycles. Do not retain the breath for more than a second or two at the top or bottom of the cycle.

The next part of the process will involve some visualization. We all process energy differently. Some of us “feel” it, some “hear” it, some “see” it and others just have a “felt sense” of it. If you don’t consider yourself good at visualizations, begin with just allowing yourself to “think it” and trust that it will be occurring. Over time your ability to visualize the process will increase as you work this energetic muscle. Don’t worry if this doesn’t happen easily for you right away.

Our energy system responds to our thoughts or awareness. We communicate between our unconscious (or subconscious) mind and our conscious mind with images or visualizations. Language is the product of humans and is not an energetic vehicle. How our energy system will actually accomplish our request is far more complex than any visualization that we can use but the visualizations are how we communicate our desires to our subconscious mind to begin that process. Non-consciously created thoughts or visuals that come back to us is our subconscious communicating back to our conscious mind.

Grow roots

Focus on the tip of the base of your spine, known as the coccyx. Now imagine that one thick tap-root begins to grow from this area down towards the Earth. See (feel, intend, imagine, will) it go down through your chair, through the floor and into the Earth. Really think about each part of the structure above the Earth that it would have to grow through to reach the Earth. You will have more detail on the layers because we are familiar with this area. For example: the chair, carpet, flooring, perhaps the ceiling below, then the room below and next floor (if you live over others), and finally to the physical ground, deep into the soil.

Continue to imagine it growing through the ground, through the outer layers of the planet, the deeper layers and all the way to the core of the Earth. You’ll have less detail here as most of can only imagine how far down we’re actually traveling through the Earth’s crust. Once there, focus on the entire connection from you down to the core and allow the root to fully connect (grow into, surround) into it.

Next feel like you’re drawing energy up through that root as you continue to reach down with the roots. Feel the energy moving up the root from the core, up through the Earth, the housing structure, the floor and back to you. Allow this energy to be visualized as a zesty deep red as it makes its way to you. Imagine it coming up into your system as if it were filling you up from the bottom. Let it fill you up until it spills out the top of your head. Imagine that any excess energy flows out through your body, surrounds you and radiates out to others to help them ground.

Focus on this connection for at least 30 seconds or more. Really allow yourself to focus on the visual of all of that and hold your awareness on it. Research has shown that it takes about 22 seconds of focused awareness for the subconscious to engage and continue the action. Intend (affirm, decide, think) that this process will continue without your conscious mind being focused on it and it will happen.

Once you complete it and get a sense of how your body feels after doing it, check in on that feeling 1000 times through the day. You really cannot do this too much for you can never be too grounded. Ultimately what we’re after is being able to constantly feel grounded while engaging our regular activities. That only comes with repeated practice. If you feel it missing or just think about the roots for some reason during the day (especially after stressful interactions with others or high-stress periods), mentally feel that you are reconnecting those roots and drawing that grounding energy up. The reconnection process can be as simple as just getting a quick image of that root going to the core of the Earth from the base of your spine. Your unconscious mind will do the rest from there with that image...but start the day with the full visualization to set that up.

EVERYTHING IS AN EXPERIMENT

Feel free to experiment with this technique and allow yourself to be creative with it but just be very conscious with what you’re doing. You should notice a decided difference in how you feel before doing it and after. When we operate from a centered and grounded place, we’re able to make better decisions, move more confidently and react more calmly. We also begin to become more connected to and comfortable in our bodies.

Click the following link to go directly to The Basics - Step 2 - Clear

Merging sites

2010-04-21T09:29:00.000-07:00

The following information comes from the introduction that I was using for the paid site. I have modified it slightly to post here.

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I believe that, as a species, humans are about to undergo an evolutionary leap. I don’t know what the other side of that leap will look like for us but the stage is set for that to occur. Our planet and her inhabitants are under tremendous stress and something has to give somewhere. I believe that this new species which is evolving from within will be called forth because of our current state of crisis. You may recall from an earlier post called Guiding Principles – Part 2 < http://peacefulmichael.blogspot.com/2009/10/guiding-principals-part-2.html> that “Crisis precedes transformation”. To help us prepare for that shift in consciousness I have information to share and this is the forum in which I will do that.

In future posts I’ll be sharing information with you in addition to tools and techniques that I’ve learned along the way. I’ll be covering topics which include but is not limited to the following:

 the fundamentals of energy

 tools for consciously working with the human energy system

 working with the three states of consciousness

 meditation

 oracle usage

 learning to work with your intuition or Higher Self

 healing personal issues

 connecting with and manifesting your Essential Self

 new ways to view sacred documents to see a deeper message

The information that I will be sharing is from lectures or classes I’ve attended, books I’ve read, personal experiences, information that was given to me in person by my teachers as well as information channeled through me from my guides and my Essential Self. It will come from a variety of philosophies, cultures and spiritual practices rather than being the dogma from one belief system. I’ve studied many such systems and will share the best of what has worked for me from these systems in a way that is easily accessible to anyone, especially those just beginning to explore their spirituality.

I don’t believe that I posses all of the answers to all of life’s issues and as such I hold no requirement that you believe and accept every shred of information that I share with you. I am simply sharing information that has helped me on my journey which is still very much a work in progress. I invite you to read the information, try the techniques and sit with it to determine if it resonates with your core being. Try the exercises and techniques for yourself rather than just reading them and see how they work for you but give yourself time to really explore them before discarding them. If you feel it’s not right for you then you don’t have to believe it or use it. As with all information that you receive, keep the best and leave the rest.

I have no hidden agendas with this information, no affiliation with any organized religion and no products to sell. I simply want you to have access to information which I believe has helped me on my journey and that can be of use to you. I welcome your feedback, suggestions for topics, comments and questions on any of the information presented. I look forward to our journey together and hope to hear from you along the way. It is my deepest desire that this information will be an inspiration to you and lead you deeper on your personal path to evolutionary healing and transformation.

Pushing through fears

2010-04-15T10:43:00.000-07:00

In life, despite outward appearances, there are no setbacks because everything happens for a reason. Anytime that we don’t meet an objective it is always for a reason even if we don’t fully understand the reason at the time. The secret is in knowing when to stop pushing in a direction that isn’t working and instead focus on what is working.

In December I made the decision to start a second blog site for those who were ready for the deeper messages and energy teachings. At the time I did it because I knew I had some information to share that might not sit to well with many of my readers, particularly those locked into a dogmatic religious belief system. I know that much of the information will challenge them to look at their religious, spiritual and personal beliefs and invite them to look at them from a different perspective.

My fear about sharing this information is that because it will challenge belief systems it will also ruffle some feathers. Much of it shook my foundation when I discovered the truth of the deeper history and messages of religion but ultimately all of it positively transformed me. In addition because I was sharing it without any request or commitment on the reader’s part, my fear was that it would be written off. When something challenges our beliefs, the first thing we do is discredit the challenging belief because it doesn’t line up with our current belief therefore it “must be wrong”. We discredit, discard, ignore and move on.

I took the time to set up an online store for these postings so that by paying for the ongoing lessons you were committing to the process. I then embarked on a journey to create postings for that site while at the same time tried to continue to make postings for this free site because of all the wonderful comments and feedback I’ve gotten on these posts. At the time I thought it was something that I could handle. As it turns out, it apparently is not.

Writing the first batch of lessons for that site turned out to be a very different type of writing experience for me. The information that I began sharing there was techniques for grounding and coming into the body more fully. This was information that needed explanation along with it to explain what to do, why you are doing it and what is accomplished by doing it. That process required going into my head and digging out knowledge and then studying that to ensure that I had done a thorough job and explained everything. It is a great way for me to actually get a firm grasp on what I do know and believe by taking the time to write it down to share with you. That’s been one of the main benefits of this whole process for me because really how often do you sit down and write all that you know on a topic?

That process is in contrast to the one that I use for this free site where I sit down, align myself fully with my Essential Self (Higher Self, Inner Divinity, Spirit, etc.) and let the words simply come through. Rather than focusing on knowledge I was focusing on inspiration from the knowledge. It is a process that I really enjoy and have been amazed by what has come out.

These last few months have been really stressful for me personally and professionally for a variety of reasons and I’ve unconsciously chosen to allowed those challenges to create an emotional log-jam for me. I’ve tried to handle all that was going on in my life and keep two blogs going and in the process moved away from writing for either one of them because it was just “one more thing” that I couldn’t handle at the time. Because I had people paying for the new series I felt a professional obligation to focus on those. At the same time, I had others asking why I wasn’t posting as often to the free blog site and sharing how much the information has meant to them and I wanted to keep that going too. Consequently because I haven’t had enough time to do both, it seems I’ve chosen to do neither. Not surprisingly that stressed me out as well.

Sunday my beloved partner sat with me and helped me look at all the things going on in my life to help me clear the emotional blockage. In that process I realized that my fears were what were getting in the way. In fearing that the information I had to share would challenge the beliefs of those I love and that might mean I’d lose that love, I found a work around, the paid blog site. My fear of sharing the information I received which has helped me to see things from a deeper perspective was preventing me from allowing you that have that experience. I was afraid to tell you about things that have helped me awaken and allowed me to work through some of my earlier religious wounds. This process has enabled me to see life, religion and spirituality in a new light of expanded consciousness. In essence I was afraid to do what I intended to do by starting the blog in the first place.

I now see that I need to rectify this situation by simply allowing the information to flow through me and detach myself from any outcome associated with that information. I have to be at peace with it whether you love it, hate it, laugh at it or find yourself transformed by it. My task is simply to share the information and allow you to do with it what you will. With 2012 almost upon us and all of the changes which are already beginning to occur, I just don’t have the luxury of holding back the information any longer.

To that end, I’m going to discontinue posting information to the paid site and instead post that information here on the free site. I am happy to refund any money that anyone has paid for the information previously or apply that to a private session with me. While one part of me is embarrassed by this, another part knows that it is happening for a reason. I may not know what the reason is but I do know that everything happens exactly as it is supposed to and I trust that knowledge. I know my embarrassment will pass just like any other feeling and I’ll be a stronger person for the experience.

My plan then is to pepper in the postings that I already have from the paid site in between the new information for this site. This will hopefully keep something new coming to this site at least once a week. This feels like the right thing for me to do at this point. I don’t expect you to believe everything that I’ll be posting but I do hope that you’ll keep an open heart and mind. My goal with sharing this information is not to discredit organized religion or the Bible but rather help you see the Bible and the story behind all religions in a different but more accessible light.

If you are reading this I want to thank you for continuing to read the information I’ve been sharing. The support and encouragement I’ve gotten along the way has been incredibly uplifting. I always welcome your comments and criticisms here on this blog site (which you can post at the end of any entry) and of course by email. I look forward to our continued journey together and may we both be blessed by the experience in ways that neither of us can image at this point.

Horse sense

2010-03-26T11:23:00.000-07:00

Over the last month and a half I’ve been reading a couple of books about horses. The first one is the Tao of Equus and the second is Riding between the Worlds . Both are by Linda Kohanov. I’ve learned more about horses from these two books than I’ve ever known before. These books aren’t about how to feed and care for horses but rather about how horses are used for therapeutic purposes to help humans work with our emotional issues.

Through her work with horses, Linda has learned how they are able to show humans when we’re out of alignment between our thoughts and our emotions. Horses are prey animals. As such they have evolved a very keen awareness for the presence of predators. They are also pack animals and they have the ability to sense the emotional state of all members of their herd. Since their lives depend upon knowing when danger is approaching, they react immediately to any member expressing fear.

KEEP IT SIMPLE

The easiest way to think about what they are responding to is to boil our complicated emotional landscape down to two simple emotions. One is love and the other is fear. At its core this is true for us but we further define each of these in an attempt to rationalize and explain our behavior. Horses don’t need that extra layer of emotional complexity in order to survive. They simply need to know “safe” or “danger” so that they can respond. Since they have few defensive skills, their survival depends primarily upon being able to sense the presence of danger and escape while they can by using their speed and stamina.

When a predator is in the area, horses are able to sense the danger by the energy of the predator. When the horses sense an elevated heart rate or increased hormone levels, they know to take action. This is how they are able to help humans with our emotional issues. When we are out of alignment with our emotions, our energy becomes blocked and that is uncomfortable for horses to be around. When they sense these emotions they will actually begin to enact them to help us notice and release them. By helping us find places where we are out of alignment with the harmonious, free-flowing energy of love they can help us uncover our own emotional truths.

By learning about the history of the horses that Linda works with and understanding the impact that it has had on them she can better understand why certain horses choose to work with certain people and not others. This helps her get an extra layer of insight into the issue that the human is dealing with. For example let’s say that I had been traumatized by being beaten whereas you had been abandoned. I would be far more sensitive to someone with anger issues than you and you would be more sensitive to someone who is emotionally distant or detached. Horses are the same way based upon their individual history.

Through Linda’s study of horses she has learned that horses will mirror emotions for us that we aren’t in alignment with or in denial of. By learning the actions that horses do and the behaviors that they exhibit when they are stressed or relaxed, she can help inform the humans about what the horse is trying to convey. Horses pick up on unexpressed emotions and will mirror them for us to see…if we’re observant. This is just another example of what powerful teachers animals can be for us.

THE LIES WE TELL

When we say one thing but that isn’t truly what we believe or feel, then we are not in alignment with our emotions and this is uncomfortable for horses to be around. It’s like a wolf wearing a smile trying to fool them into coming closer. When we are honest about what we are truly feeling, even if it is what we label as “negative emotions” then we are “emotionally congruent”. When we are out of alignment with our truth our energies don’t flow smoothly. This situation makes a prey animal very nervous and they respond quickly to it as a perceived threat since their life may depend upon it.

When people casually ask us “how are you today?” we typically go one of a couple of ways with our response. The first is “fine”, “good”, “great” or some quick summary response. On the social level, we know that the question is simply an ice-breaker or way to connect with someone. As such they really don’t want the exact details of how we feel but rather they simply want to engage us in conversation. I learned a long time ago that “I’m great” is an answer that stirs positive emotions and gets the conversation going without interruption. The other route is that we begin sharing all that ails us and often the story behind those ails. This will often lead to the other person’s eyes glazing over or making a quick escape. Eventually we learn that the first route is the way to go and to allows them to ask follow-up questions if they really want to know more about how we feel.

This behavior is one that leads us into becoming emotionally incongruent. Our lives may be in a total state of chaos on many levels, yet our social patterning says to cover it up, put a happy face on it and move on because people don’t really want to hear about it. Soon we’ve even convinced ourselves that “I’m fine” when we are really an emotional wreck. We basically learn to lie to ourselves and that is the start of trouble for us energetically. The key is in learning when a casual response is needed socially and when emotional honesty and integrity is required internally.

The beautiful thing about horses is that they don’t have our social filters nor our human judgments. They don’t like or dislike us because of what we have done, the clothes we wear or the people we know. In essence we are either friend or foe to them. If they can’t feel safe around us they won’t come around us. They are so innately attuned to their environment because their lives depend upon it. This isn’t learned behavior for them rather it is the survival instinct protecting them. They don’t waste time thinking about past interactions with us, they simply respond to what is happening in the present.

BENEATH THE SURFACE

As humans we are riddled with judgments on ourselves and others and so we rely on surface appearances and memory to decide who we will interact with. For most of us we are so disconnected from our bodies due to our emotional wounds that we no longer feel anything. This leads us to become so emotionally incongruent that we don’t even know it. Yet because we too have senses beyond the five physical senses, we pick up on this incongruent state in others at a very subtle level. If we are disconnected from our bodies however we probably won’t notice it consciously but at some level we are left feeling uncomfortable around those who are so out of alignment with their own truth.

If left unchecked, eventually this emotional incongruency will manifest as physical dis-ease. The more we deny the existence of our emotional truth, the more disconnected from our bodies we become and the more we lie to ourselves. This denial begins to bring sadness into our hearts and minds and can ultimately lead to depression. Remember that our brains will manifest whatever we put our awareness upon. The more we focus on the sadness within, the more chemicals our brains will release to create that internal state (which is the deeper, energetic cause of the hormonal imbalance that is labeled as “depression”). Likewise, when we focus on our joy and happiness, they will also grow and expand.

EMOTIONAL HONESTY

So how do we begin to recognize when we are emotionally incongruent and work to bring ourselves back into alignment? The simple answer is to become more and more honest with ourselves. Since most of us aren’t able to go to equine facilities to work with horses in a manner that lets us immediately see when we are out of alignment, we have to find ways to do it from within. Simply put, we have to be willing to be fully and completely honest about the emotions we are feeling and more importantly about the ones that we are denying that we feel.

Most of us grew up being told that it wasn’t okay to express or show our emotions. When we were sad, someone was shoving tissues at us and telling us not to cry. When something bothered us, we were told not to complain. When we become excited, we’re told to calm down. This is all social conditioning which moves us away from being authentically connected to what our emotions are telling us. Noticing, honoring and owning our emotions, especially those that we label as negative, is the only path to emotional freedom.

As I talked about in an earlier post (Energy of emotions - June 2009 ), emotions are just energy that moves through our bodies. These emotions are neither good nor bad but rather should simply be viewed as data. To begin to see emotions as data, we have to develop a bit of emotional distance. First there is the emotion which arises and second is our response to that. Rather than respond to any and every emotion as it arises, we first have to simply become aware of the emotion but not respond from that emotional place. Even if we can’t label or define the emotion, just being aware that you “feel something” is a great starting point. Think about the difference between saying “I am angry” and “I feel anger”. In the first one you have already become the emotion. In the latter one you just have the awareness of the emotion (data) and so you can choose to respond more consciously to the source of your anger.

Emotions are felt within the body and so to feel them we have to be “in the body”, grounded and centered. Techniques for accomplishing this are given in “The Basics” series at http://shop.healingforevolution.com/. Once these Basics are in place then our task is to notice those times when we feel off-center or ungrounded. Our natural state is one of peace and tranquility where nothing bothers us mentally, emotionally or physically. Many people will read that statement and wonder how that is possible to feel peaceful with all the things they have to do and all the turmoil that they feel inside. This is a peaceful state that is achieved through meditation (Connecting with the inner Divine - July 2009), Yoga and is also the same one that you feel in those few moments after you awaken and before all the inner dialogue begins flooding in. Our true nature is one of peace but the physical world distracts us from that inner harmony.

GATHER THE DATA

I’ll be posting more information on this process soon in “The Awakening” series and that will include techniques for uncovering and working with old stored emotions to release them. Until then, I invite you to begin to notice your response to “how are you doing?” Notice who it is asking, what the scenario is and what your immediate response is. Nothing needs to change but we can’t change what we aren’t aware of so for now just hold your awareness on what thoughts and feelings arise when you are asked that question.

Are you really “Fine”?

Remember what you ask for

2010-03-09T06:54:00.000-08:00

Recently I told you about Mars being retrograde and all I can say now is that it cannot go direct fast enough. This has been such a challenging period for me and while I know that I can’t “blame” it on Mars, one less challenge would be very welcome at this point. The thing I’ve learned about adversity however is that I’m always a better and stronger person for having gone through it. The lesson has always been to retain my composure and inner-knowing that “this too shall pass”.

While it is not my intention to whine about all that has been going on for me, one of the things that happened illustrates an important point energetically and so I want to share it with you. In December I reached a place with this blog where I was going to be putting forth some posts that perhaps the casual blog reader isn’t quite ready for and so I decided to create the pay-per-post blog site to continue the deeper lessons. At that time I was very busy at work and couldn’t find the time to do all the writing I would have liked.

I was getting up at 5am so that I could meditate and clear my head to allow the messages to come through. I’ve never been a big fan of getting up early like that but it was the only free and quiet time I could find to do what I needed to do. So in late December when the holidays were upon us, I remember asking my Spirit to help me find some free time to get things sorted out where I could get the site set up and get some posts on it. “Be careful what you ask for because you will get it.”

In looking back on the last two months, I see that I did in fact get it. Work has been very slow for me and when you have a job where if you’re not working you’re not getting any income, that can be a struggle. Unfortunately bills don’t magically disappear or shrink simply because your income shrank. I could go on and on for quite some time here sharing with you all the things that contributed to a reduced income being problematic for me but I’ll just leave it at that.

Over the years I’ve gotten used to the ups and downs of owning my own business. I’ve learned not to panic when it’s slow but rather to use that time to work on personal issues or things that I haven’t been able to get to during the busy period. It always comes down to trust for me. I have to trust that my Spirit knows when I need rest so that I can recover and face the next wave with ease. Now that I’m doing work that relies so heavily on my Spirit and that trust, my egoic self struggles when things don’t go the way that “I think” they should. It always comes down to trust though. Always.

So during this slow period I did get the new site created and got the initial Basics posts up and ready to roll. Despite things being slow at work, I kept coming back to “trust” and trying to get the rest I needed and tried to complete many of the little outstanding projects that I have in the works. I’ve come up with every possible explanation for why things are still slow however…post holiday sticker shock, the recession, Mars being retrograde, you name it. I also did a lot of introspection trying to see if something in me was energetically keeping work away. It felt like everything was aligned yet still work was very slow.

Finally last week out of desperation I threw up my hands and in a moment of frustration demanded assistance from my Spirit. Seconds later it hit me, I asked for the slow-down so that I could get things done. I had gotten exactly what I asked for. So it’s not enough to say “be careful what you ask for” because it needs further qualification to include “and always remember what you asked for”. Once I had the awareness that I was in fact getting what I had asked for, I knew that I simply had to begin asking for (setting my field of intention) what I wanted now so that the Universe could deliver it…and it is.

The Universe is completely responsive to our desires and requests because we are a part of the Universe. It works much the same way as our bodies. If one tiny part is calling for attention, the whole system responds. For example, if I’m hungry and so my belly desires food, obviously it can’t go out and find it by itself. It simply communicates its desires to the system, the system responds and next thing you know I’m eating something.

This shows the power of the spiritual adage “As above, so below”. People often hear that phrase and assign it a religious meaning of “as in Heaven, so on Earth”. The beautiful thing about metaphors is that they work on many levels at once to illuminate truth at all levels. Another perspective on that adage is to say “What is true for the Universe is true for the individual”. That’s one of the basic laws of mathematics in that what is true for the parts is true for whole and what is true for the whole is true for the parts. As much as our egoic sense of separation tells us that we are autonomous individuals having an experience with manifest reality, the truth is that we are simply part of the experience of the Universe. Everything that we are; the tissue, bones, fluids and consciousness are all here because of the physical manifestation of the Universe. We do not exist apart from the Universe (God, the Divine, Great Mystery, etc.). All that it is, we are too.

This is the information that I want to share with you at a much deeper level and is the direction that paid blog will go. In thinking on how to roll that out however, I realize that it won’t be done in just 5 or 10 entries but rather it will come out over time, even over a couple years if that’s what it takes. Given that, for one person to purchase all of those, it could run in to a larger investment than I believe is necessary on their part. To resolve that I’ve decided to continue with the posting plan as I have it but also add another option of a one-time fee of just 30 dollars. That’s about the same amount that you’d pay for a book and so it seems fair to me.

Right now I have the first series on the paid site (http://shop.healingforevolution.com/) which is the Basics of energy. The four part series gives you the fundamentals for setting your energy system to engage life and energy. I’m going to add the one-time payment option this week. If you chose that option as opposed to individually paying for each lesson, I’ll email the lessons directly to you as soon as I post it on the site. That payment will be good for as long as you want the information coming to you.

My desire and intent with sharing these deeper teachings is that I can help you awaken to all that you already are. I have no desire to change you, judge you or force you into any particular belief system. Rather I want to share what has worked for me along the way that has helped me to awaken to this expanded reality and shift in consciousness. The answers are all around us. We simply need to shift our focus to notice them. That is what I hope to help you discover how to do for yourself.

I look forward to our journey together as well as to the continued sharing of information on this free site. My best to you in all that you do.

Peace is always the answer. Truth is always the way.

Retrograde Planets

2010-02-11T18:17:00.000-08:00

Most of us have heard of the term “Mercury Retrograde” by now. When a planet is referred to as being retrograde it simply means that when viewed from Earth the planet appears to be going backwards in part of its orbit around the Sun. The following site has a lovely explanation of why another planet would appear to be going backwards when Science teaches us that this is physically impossible. http://www.scienceu.com/observatory/articles/retro/retro.html

On December 20, 2009, Mars went retrograde and will be in that phase of its orbit until March 10, 2010. This only happens for Mars about every two years. The following site has a wonderful description of how this planetary movement affects us. http://www.cafeastrology.com/marsretrograde.html. I’m referring you to these two websites because I’m not an astrologer and so that’s not my focus however the information from these sites is related to what I’m about to share with you.

I only became aware of this information on Mars Retrograde last week. In a conversation with my spiritual advisor, he brought it up as a way to help explain the advice he was giving me. When I investigated it more and read the information on the website in the second paragraph above, it felt like some puzzle pieces were falling into place for me.

Since late December, I’ve really been struggling with creating these blog entries, a slow-down in my business, disturbances of my sleep, a sense of frustration and a general feeling of angst. I really had no explanation for why I was feeling like I was but I could not deny the feelings…nor could I resolve them. I’ve never been one to blame my mood on the movement of planets but to have someone so accurately describe what has been going on for me based upon that movement has really shaken me a bit.

At some level, I’m writing this as a way to help me get what is going on inside written down so that I can process it. On another level I’m writing it because I believe that if this is happening for me, it’s probably happening for others as well. As a Gemini with Leo rising and a Scorpio moon, it would seem that I’m getting the full whammie from this celestial occurrence. Mars rules the sign of Scorpio and the retrograde is happening in Leo. If you read the paragraph for Gemini (again on the second website above) you’ll have a good idea for what is going on for me.

I can’t even tell you how many times in the last month I’ve said to myself “Why bother with this blogging? My life would be easier without doing it and no one would even miss it.” Yet, every time I feel that way I am gently reminded by the Universe that I would be denying my spiritual path if I stopped writing…and so the angst cycle continues. In looking back in my blog at the late December and mid-January posts, I can see where I was struggling then even before I knew about this retrograde event. I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve stopped even writing this entry…yet here it is.

If you too are struggling with internal conflicts, I hope this information is helpful to you. I’m sure I’ll get myself sorted out soon and will be back on course so please bear with me during this emotionally challenging time. My heart and Spirit are still engaged with this information sharing but as strange as it sounds to me to say it “the planets aren’t aligned for me at the moment”.

May all your challenges be short lived but may they also take you into a place of introspective healing. That which does not kill us makes us stronger and this retrograde period is no exception.

Deeper Energy Teachings

2010-02-02T14:15:00.001-08:00

Thank you for your patience while I finished getting the new site set up for the energy teachings which I have to share. “The Awakening” is what I’ve decided to call the series because I believe that more and more of us are awakening to the true nature of reality. Just as we do when we wake up from a deep sleep, it takes a moment to orient ourselves before we begin movement. I want to share with you what has worked for me on my own journey thus far to help me get oriented.

The web address for the new site is http://www.shop.healingforevolution.com/. Once you select the items you want to download, you’ll be able to use any major credit card or a pay-pal account to pay for them. Charges will appear on your card as “Healing For Evolution”. The first posting there is free and describes my purpose and intent with the new series.

I will continue to share information on this free blog site about my journey and experiences but all energy teachings will now reside on the new pay site. I look forward to sharing these deeper teachings with you and to helping you to Awaken to the deeper truth about our true nature as energy beings residing in physical bodies.

I look forward to continuing our journey together.