Have you ever thought, 'I would never have done that?'
I have. More than once.
If you spot 'it' (in another), you got! Whatever irritates you in
another is a mirror on a part of yourself that is waiting to be healed.
Then I read somewhere that I, as myself, may not have done that in my
circumstances, but had I lived the other person's life and had their
experiences, then I would have done exactly that: just as they did.
It's so easy to judge. It's part fear, part laziness. Fear because we are afraid of the part of us that acts in that exact way, and laziness because we would rather pretend it's 'out there' than do the inner work of healing that part of ourselves.
Healing is all about forgiveness. We can heal ourselves, our rifts from others, by forgiving ourselves. Not them. Us.
Forgiveness is healing. Forgiveness is accepting. Accepting our own pain, our own limitations, our own failings. Not giving excuses. Not justifying anything with reasons 'why'. Not judging others.
Forgiveness is allowing ourselves to have got it wrong. Allowing ourselves to see a better way , a way that is kinder to both us and others.
Monday, 29 April 2013
Friday, 26 April 2013
As subtle as a sledgehammer
They are pulling down and rebuilding the house next door. The banging was particularly impressive this morning and I was doing a sterling job of remaining centred and calm, not ignoring it as much as allowing it to be. Until I read this:
"Every time our buttons get pushed, we could see it as an opportunity to have our own minds be healed of another aspect of that conditioning. We could even be the most grateful to those of 'get our goat' the most, for they offer us the biggest opportunities to heal.
Step by step, our minds become clearer. We may have to repeat this process many times on a given issue, until it is gone. We may be tempted, when the issue returns to think that forgiveness hasn't worked, but we can rest assured that, each time we chip away at it, it is getting smaller."*
Crash.... Bang.... Smash! I thought the sledgehammer was going to break through the wall! I dissolved into laughter! Who says angels don't have a sense of humour?!
So, relax! We're getting there, sometimes it feels like we are getting no where, but we are getting there.
*Patrick, Ian (2013) The Key to Happiness and Healing, Cygnus Review, issue 4
"Every time our buttons get pushed, we could see it as an opportunity to have our own minds be healed of another aspect of that conditioning. We could even be the most grateful to those of 'get our goat' the most, for they offer us the biggest opportunities to heal.
Step by step, our minds become clearer. We may have to repeat this process many times on a given issue, until it is gone. We may be tempted, when the issue returns to think that forgiveness hasn't worked, but we can rest assured that, each time we chip away at it, it is getting smaller."*
Crash.... Bang.... Smash! I thought the sledgehammer was going to break through the wall! I dissolved into laughter! Who says angels don't have a sense of humour?!
So, relax! We're getting there, sometimes it feels like we are getting no where, but we are getting there.
*Patrick, Ian (2013) The Key to Happiness and Healing, Cygnus Review, issue 4
Monday, 22 April 2013
Letting go of 'right' and 'wrong'
Hate nothing. Reject nothing. Despair of nothing. Rather, bring compassion, kindness and forgiveness to that from which you recoil. Where you recoil, there is your growth.
There is the extension of compassion and oneness that your soul seeks in order to be free: to be perfectly at peace with All that Is.
In the jigsaw of life, there is the shade as well as the light. Neither despise nor reject the shadow, either your failing or the failing of others, for healing is only invited through the door of illness.
It is the apparent imperfection that gives rise to the apparent perfection.
There is the extension of compassion and oneness that your soul seeks in order to be free: to be perfectly at peace with All that Is.
In the jigsaw of life, there is the shade as well as the light. Neither despise nor reject the shadow, either your failing or the failing of others, for healing is only invited through the door of illness.
It is the apparent imperfection that gives rise to the apparent perfection.
The language of the heart
To write with poetry is to distract the mind, so that the heart may listen. For the heart knows the Truth that the mind would corrupt.
The mind would create gods of words, of collections of words, of ideas. While the heart, the heart would fly free on the truth of the song.
In your heart resides your truth. Your knowing. It is pictures, ideas, 'knowingness'; for the heart paints in the language of freedom, while the mind peddles fear.
Let the songs of your imagination, the seeds of your idle daydreams feed your heartbeat. Allow the images to float through your heart, to filter through your mind, and distill your purity.
You are separated not by the body, but by the mind. Beyond the logic of the mind, is the Universal song of the heart. The poetry of life.
The mind would create gods of words, of collections of words, of ideas. While the heart, the heart would fly free on the truth of the song.
In your heart resides your truth. Your knowing. It is pictures, ideas, 'knowingness'; for the heart paints in the language of freedom, while the mind peddles fear.
Let the songs of your imagination, the seeds of your idle daydreams feed your heartbeat. Allow the images to float through your heart, to filter through your mind, and distill your purity.
You are separated not by the body, but by the mind. Beyond the logic of the mind, is the Universal song of the heart. The poetry of life.
Friday, 12 April 2013
Meeting Jesus
This morning, while driving the car, I saw Jesus. It was a flash, the briefest of moments, but in that millisecond I saw nothing else.
His message was simple, 'Put your trust in Me'. The image is harder to describe, the outline of a man, radiating golden light, with an enormous heart that invited me within, that invited me to wrap myself in His heart, in His love.
Life has been changing for me recently. My rollercoaster ride of emotions is more stable. I feel more joy in tiny moments. I have been blessed with unexpected gifts and kindness.
My realisation has been: Walk the Path of Light. This means, for example loving myself when I fail instead of feeling shame, sending forgiveness instead of anger when I have been hurt... So, each time I feel overwhelmed, upset, angry, or unforgiving, I pray for the light to shine through me; for love to flow through me and through the person or situation vexing me.
This morning, James seemed to have a sick stomach. I gave him Reiki but still feared that he wouldn't get over it: even after a switch clicked in my head saying, 'He's fine now'. How's that for ingrained stubbornness?!
I was upset because I wondered when - and how - I was ever going to walk the path of light. How could I ever recondition my negativity, my fear that the worst will happen?
As I drove James to nursery, I got my answer: 'Put your trust in Me'. I don't have to do this on my own. His light, His divinity can bolster mine, can amplify mine until I'm strong enough to be that person on my own. But how? Another answer emerged: tell Him about the issue, trust that He will work it out for the highest good and then let it go.
To be very honest, I've wondered about sharing this story, but I do so for two reasons: first, because I have received enormous solace and insight from the miracles others have shared; and, second, because I'm an ordinary person, this event shows me that Ascended Masters, like Jesus, walk with us all the time and that they are ready to help, we just have to ask.
His message was simple, 'Put your trust in Me'. The image is harder to describe, the outline of a man, radiating golden light, with an enormous heart that invited me within, that invited me to wrap myself in His heart, in His love.
Life has been changing for me recently. My rollercoaster ride of emotions is more stable. I feel more joy in tiny moments. I have been blessed with unexpected gifts and kindness.
My realisation has been: Walk the Path of Light. This means, for example loving myself when I fail instead of feeling shame, sending forgiveness instead of anger when I have been hurt... So, each time I feel overwhelmed, upset, angry, or unforgiving, I pray for the light to shine through me; for love to flow through me and through the person or situation vexing me.
This morning, James seemed to have a sick stomach. I gave him Reiki but still feared that he wouldn't get over it: even after a switch clicked in my head saying, 'He's fine now'. How's that for ingrained stubbornness?!
I was upset because I wondered when - and how - I was ever going to walk the path of light. How could I ever recondition my negativity, my fear that the worst will happen?
As I drove James to nursery, I got my answer: 'Put your trust in Me'. I don't have to do this on my own. His light, His divinity can bolster mine, can amplify mine until I'm strong enough to be that person on my own. But how? Another answer emerged: tell Him about the issue, trust that He will work it out for the highest good and then let it go.
To be very honest, I've wondered about sharing this story, but I do so for two reasons: first, because I have received enormous solace and insight from the miracles others have shared; and, second, because I'm an ordinary person, this event shows me that Ascended Masters, like Jesus, walk with us all the time and that they are ready to help, we just have to ask.
Wednesday, 10 April 2013
Mummy in the mirror
There are probably few mirrors more uncompromising, more unflinching than our children. While they are not exact copies of us, they do tend to do what we do, not what we say, providing us with a realtime reflection of who we are, not who we think we are.
Over the past few weeks, James (age two and a half) has begun answering questions and suggestions with the most resigned, bored 'Okay' I could ever imagine. "Where did he learn this? Who was this bored with him?" I wondered.
The penny dropped today. Cringe. It was me.
There are moments when playing with him is the last thing I want or can do, for various reasons. And that's the tone I use in those moments: when I've resigned myself to doing what he wants, not what I want to do. I just didn't realise I did it so often. Cringe again.
So, what's the insight from this? The first is this: Life can be muddy, and so too can I. Rather than berating myself, which only increases my feelings of shame, resentment and unworthiness, I can choose Forgiveness for myself, for not living up to my own idealised standard.
The second is this: This is also an invitation to reconsider how I respond to moments of frustration - not only is James the most important person in my life, he can also be the most persistent, as anyone with experience of toddlers knows! - I don't know exactly how I shall deal with this in the future, but I do know my tone will change.
And my mirror will show me when I've succeeded!
Over the past few weeks, James (age two and a half) has begun answering questions and suggestions with the most resigned, bored 'Okay' I could ever imagine. "Where did he learn this? Who was this bored with him?" I wondered.
The penny dropped today. Cringe. It was me.
There are moments when playing with him is the last thing I want or can do, for various reasons. And that's the tone I use in those moments: when I've resigned myself to doing what he wants, not what I want to do. I just didn't realise I did it so often. Cringe again.
So, what's the insight from this? The first is this: Life can be muddy, and so too can I. Rather than berating myself, which only increases my feelings of shame, resentment and unworthiness, I can choose Forgiveness for myself, for not living up to my own idealised standard.
The second is this: This is also an invitation to reconsider how I respond to moments of frustration - not only is James the most important person in my life, he can also be the most persistent, as anyone with experience of toddlers knows! - I don't know exactly how I shall deal with this in the future, but I do know my tone will change.
And my mirror will show me when I've succeeded!
Friday, 5 April 2013
One is All
Awaken. Awaken to the beauty that resides deep within you. You, who are the pinnacle of creation. You who are the beauty of unimaginable grace. You are perfection. Awaken. Awaken to the beauty within.
Much as the leaves whistle in the wind, they whisper to the trunk, 'So solid as you are, you too are delicate and graceful. What you are, I am too. As I am, so are you. We are of the One.'
That is the journey Home. The journey of the whisper. Of the reminder. Of the growing awareness that what you thought you were not, you are. The Other is in you, of you; just as I too am in you, of you. We are all One.
The great harmony of Life grows as each comes to hear that whisper. The rustle of the leaves, reminding... remembering... All is One. Above and beyond the illusion. All is One.
So too, One is All. In each and every one of you is all that you love, all that you hate; all that you trust, all that you mistrust; all that you accept, all that you judge. But could the leaves live without the trunk? Could the trunk survive without the leaves? For only the briefest of periods.
You can no more dissect the colours of the rainbow than you can live without each other. Each and every one of you is a thread in the most beautiful tapestry of divine love. Tug on one thread and you tug on them all.
This is love in action. Such is the deepest, most intimate interconnection between you that a kindness to one is felt by all. Grace extended to one, is extended to all. Forgiveness extended to one, is extended to all. All is One. One love.
Much as the leaves whistle in the wind, they whisper to the trunk, 'So solid as you are, you too are delicate and graceful. What you are, I am too. As I am, so are you. We are of the One.'
That is the journey Home. The journey of the whisper. Of the reminder. Of the growing awareness that what you thought you were not, you are. The Other is in you, of you; just as I too am in you, of you. We are all One.
The great harmony of Life grows as each comes to hear that whisper. The rustle of the leaves, reminding... remembering... All is One. Above and beyond the illusion. All is One.
So too, One is All. In each and every one of you is all that you love, all that you hate; all that you trust, all that you mistrust; all that you accept, all that you judge. But could the leaves live without the trunk? Could the trunk survive without the leaves? For only the briefest of periods.
You can no more dissect the colours of the rainbow than you can live without each other. Each and every one of you is a thread in the most beautiful tapestry of divine love. Tug on one thread and you tug on them all.
This is love in action. Such is the deepest, most intimate interconnection between you that a kindness to one is felt by all. Grace extended to one, is extended to all. Forgiveness extended to one, is extended to all. All is One. One love.
Walking as God
Focus not on the flaws, nor the stumbles, but on the path. Notice the journey. Your journey.
There is no journey better than another. Each path has stones. Each path has smooth sand. One journey is not superior to another. I care about every journey with the same passion and depth and breadth of being.
There is no nuance that is lost to me. There is tear shed that I do not catch. No laughter that does not enlight my heart. I tread every path. I cry every tear. I laugh every laugh. Your path is my path.
The pink crystal paths of the Himalayas are no more precious to me than the steps you took this very day. This Every minute. Because you tread that step, it too is now encrusted with those self same pink crystals.
Look back on your footprints. Do you not see how they shimmer? It was You. You who created that glean. It was your footstep that transformed that place. That moment. Because you lived it. It was your sacred creation. It is your sacred creation.
For each and every minute is just that, your sacred creation. I do not require it to be perfect. It already is perfect. Just notice it. Notice your moments. Gently. See the sparkle in them. Bring your awareness to your present moment. Your Present. It is my present. As it is your present to me.
There is no journey better than another. Each path has stones. Each path has smooth sand. One journey is not superior to another. I care about every journey with the same passion and depth and breadth of being.
There is no nuance that is lost to me. There is tear shed that I do not catch. No laughter that does not enlight my heart. I tread every path. I cry every tear. I laugh every laugh. Your path is my path.
The pink crystal paths of the Himalayas are no more precious to me than the steps you took this very day. This Every minute. Because you tread that step, it too is now encrusted with those self same pink crystals.
Look back on your footprints. Do you not see how they shimmer? It was You. You who created that glean. It was your footstep that transformed that place. That moment. Because you lived it. It was your sacred creation. It is your sacred creation.
For each and every minute is just that, your sacred creation. I do not require it to be perfect. It already is perfect. Just notice it. Notice your moments. Gently. See the sparkle in them. Bring your awareness to your present moment. Your Present. It is my present. As it is your present to me.
Painting with God
Do not think yourself so small. It does you an injustice. It does me an injustice. Consider instead this; you are an artist. I am the paint. I can be anything, you simply have to conceive of it.
But do not worry if you cannot create a work of art, if you think that what you have painted is not worthy of your dreams; of what others say you should dream. Consider only this: do you like the colours? Do they dance with your eye from the canvas?
If they do, we are in harmony. We are in beauty, of beauty and, through beauty, in the dance of the divine.
If they do not, we are still in harmony. Still in and of and through beauty. There is nowhere you can hide where the paint is not.
And so I beckon you. Come with me. Trust each brush stroke. Each colour. Trust each interaction of your life, for you are always dancing with me. It cannot be otherwise. We are one. Every step you take is the right step.
No matter how far apart you think we are, I am here to tell you that we are together. We are one. Inseparable. You are of me. I am of you. It is a dance of eternity.
With your thoughts you paint your canvas. With each thought I am your paint. The colours may sparkle, or they may sludge. I do not mind. I am happy just to paint with you. To be here in the experience of your painting. To be dancing together.
But do not worry if you cannot create a work of art, if you think that what you have painted is not worthy of your dreams; of what others say you should dream. Consider only this: do you like the colours? Do they dance with your eye from the canvas?
If they do, we are in harmony. We are in beauty, of beauty and, through beauty, in the dance of the divine.
If they do not, we are still in harmony. Still in and of and through beauty. There is nowhere you can hide where the paint is not.
And so I beckon you. Come with me. Trust each brush stroke. Each colour. Trust each interaction of your life, for you are always dancing with me. It cannot be otherwise. We are one. Every step you take is the right step.
No matter how far apart you think we are, I am here to tell you that we are together. We are one. Inseparable. You are of me. I am of you. It is a dance of eternity.
With your thoughts you paint your canvas. With each thought I am your paint. The colours may sparkle, or they may sludge. I do not mind. I am happy just to paint with you. To be here in the experience of your painting. To be dancing together.
A love letter from God
Imagine, if you will, the smallest thing. A single seedling, pushing its single, fragile leaf out above the confines of the crumbling soil that surrounds it. That is you.
The courage that takes. Yet it cannot be otherwise. The seed must push forth. It must give life to itself. It must honour its purpose. The divine blueprint inside beckons it forth, calling to it from timelessness. It is what it is. You: You too are what you are. Called forth from timelessness.
Imagine, if you will, the greatest of creations. The cosmos, pushing its infinity beyond the confines of invisible walls that appear to hold it in. That too is you.
It is inevitable. It cannot be otherwise. The pulse of the universe beats within it, pushing it gently beyond the edges of what was considered conceivable just yesterday, just now. That too is you.
In the sacred smile of the divine, you are precious. More precious than if every star were a jewel, twinkling in the divine eye. You are more powerful than you understand, deeper than you comprehend. You are that divine eye that smiles upon yourself. You are the poetry that enraptures your own soul, caressed by the hand of God, held in the arms of love.
For this is your song. The song of your soul. Oh, you know it well, though you may pretend not to hear it. But how can you not Be your own beauty? You may hide from it, but you may never quash it. The Divine essence that is You cannot be buried for long. Nor can it be ignored, for it whispers in your ear, with each breath you inhale, with each breath you exhale. Just as the sprout will become a tree, so you too will know Yourself as me.
You will come back to me, the eternal, all enduring me. The softness that strokes your tired brow when you cannot sleep in the dark hours of the night. I am there. I am with you and beside you and within you. As you are within me.
We are one, my beloved. You and I. We are the dance of life. We are the breath of life, the expanse of the cosmos, the eternal whisper of divine love. You are beauty itself. And when I gaze upon you, I am breathless. For this, this is the divine in me in you.
The courage that takes. Yet it cannot be otherwise. The seed must push forth. It must give life to itself. It must honour its purpose. The divine blueprint inside beckons it forth, calling to it from timelessness. It is what it is. You: You too are what you are. Called forth from timelessness.
Imagine, if you will, the greatest of creations. The cosmos, pushing its infinity beyond the confines of invisible walls that appear to hold it in. That too is you.
It is inevitable. It cannot be otherwise. The pulse of the universe beats within it, pushing it gently beyond the edges of what was considered conceivable just yesterday, just now. That too is you.
In the sacred smile of the divine, you are precious. More precious than if every star were a jewel, twinkling in the divine eye. You are more powerful than you understand, deeper than you comprehend. You are that divine eye that smiles upon yourself. You are the poetry that enraptures your own soul, caressed by the hand of God, held in the arms of love.
For this is your song. The song of your soul. Oh, you know it well, though you may pretend not to hear it. But how can you not Be your own beauty? You may hide from it, but you may never quash it. The Divine essence that is You cannot be buried for long. Nor can it be ignored, for it whispers in your ear, with each breath you inhale, with each breath you exhale. Just as the sprout will become a tree, so you too will know Yourself as me.
You will come back to me, the eternal, all enduring me. The softness that strokes your tired brow when you cannot sleep in the dark hours of the night. I am there. I am with you and beside you and within you. As you are within me.
We are one, my beloved. You and I. We are the dance of life. We are the breath of life, the expanse of the cosmos, the eternal whisper of divine love. You are beauty itself. And when I gaze upon you, I am breathless. For this, this is the divine in me in you.
Wednesday, 3 April 2013
The life of your dreams
What's the life of your dreams? To win the lottery? I know I have that daydream! But the life of our dreams isn't quite that simple (well, since when is winning the lottery simple!). The ego has its dreams, but the soul too has a dream: and they aren't always the same dream.
What's useful about the ego's dream of a lottery win is that it points towards the soul's dream. A lottery win is a dream of freedom. The real question is, if you were free, what would you do? Who would you be? That's your soul dream.
So begin today, to live the life of your dream. Be a day dreamer! As I said in the previous post, if you can't run, then walk; if you can't walk, then crawl.* Take steps, however tiny they may be, in the direction of the life of your dreams. Before you know it, your crawl will become steps and your steps great leaps.
The more fully we each live the life of our dreams, the greater your gift to humanity. Blessings to you and your dreams.
*Not my wisdom, but that of Bear Grylls.
What's useful about the ego's dream of a lottery win is that it points towards the soul's dream. A lottery win is a dream of freedom. The real question is, if you were free, what would you do? Who would you be? That's your soul dream.
So begin today, to live the life of your dream. Be a day dreamer! As I said in the previous post, if you can't run, then walk; if you can't walk, then crawl.* Take steps, however tiny they may be, in the direction of the life of your dreams. Before you know it, your crawl will become steps and your steps great leaps.
The more fully we each live the life of our dreams, the greater your gift to humanity. Blessings to you and your dreams.
*Not my wisdom, but that of Bear Grylls.
Tuesday, 2 April 2013
The 'Why' of You
'What should I do?' It's a common question and one that is asked with increasing frequency. There's an even better question.
Why am I here?
Another way of phrasing this is 'What's my legacy?' What is it that I leave behind? What is the imprint I leave behind?
But asking the questions in that order: Why am I here? What's my legacy? allows us to dip into the deeper truth of who we are, it allows our Inner Angel to speak. It may only be a whisper at first, but revisiting the question, as a way of honouring who we are, reveals greater and greater insight.
When what we do is aligned with why we are here (our legacy), we have touched the very essence of who we are. Then we begin to come into alignment: our why, what and who are in harmony. Then we what we do, no matter how humble it may seem, becomes infinitely powerful because it is aligned with the deepest essence of who we are, our divine destiny.
Don't worry if it's not clear at the start. Just follow your small hunches. It gets clearer as we revisit it. Don't worry if you can't take great strides towards it today. Just take small steps. Don't worry if it's less of a footprint and more of a fragrence that you bring to life, most, if not all legacies, are intangible, they are about who we become through the process of life.
Why am I here?
Another way of phrasing this is 'What's my legacy?' What is it that I leave behind? What is the imprint I leave behind?
But asking the questions in that order: Why am I here? What's my legacy? allows us to dip into the deeper truth of who we are, it allows our Inner Angel to speak. It may only be a whisper at first, but revisiting the question, as a way of honouring who we are, reveals greater and greater insight.
When what we do is aligned with why we are here (our legacy), we have touched the very essence of who we are. Then we begin to come into alignment: our why, what and who are in harmony. Then we what we do, no matter how humble it may seem, becomes infinitely powerful because it is aligned with the deepest essence of who we are, our divine destiny.
Don't worry if it's not clear at the start. Just follow your small hunches. It gets clearer as we revisit it. Don't worry if you can't take great strides towards it today. Just take small steps. Don't worry if it's less of a footprint and more of a fragrence that you bring to life, most, if not all legacies, are intangible, they are about who we become through the process of life.
Everyday rebirth
While the aim of all life is union with the divine, that is the big picture. What's the small picture? I set myself a task this Easter, to discover what rebirth really means to me.
I believe that Jesus' rebirth was to presage our own rebirth, moving from human consciousness to divine consciousness, but surely it's more than an annual reminder. As I thought about rebirth over the past few days, a new understanding emerged, an every day understanding of rebirth.
Complete union with the divine is the big picture, as I said above, however, that is an incremental path. We do not go from black to white, so to speak, overnight. First we must pass through a million nuances of the rainbow. Rebirth is the story of our dance through each of those nuances.
Divine union is the story of love, the love that surpasses all knowing. With each dance through the rainbows of life, we shed the illusion of seperation and embody love more fully, more purely, more completely. It's a subtle process, but it each time we embrace the life lessons of love, we are reborn, for we come another step closer to our ultimate rebirth into divine consciousness.
Feast days stand out, larger than life. Or they used to: we have lost the meaning of many of them, but they serve as reminders, like beacons showing us of the steps back to wholeness, to our divine essence.
I believe that Jesus' rebirth was to presage our own rebirth, moving from human consciousness to divine consciousness, but surely it's more than an annual reminder. As I thought about rebirth over the past few days, a new understanding emerged, an every day understanding of rebirth.
Complete union with the divine is the big picture, as I said above, however, that is an incremental path. We do not go from black to white, so to speak, overnight. First we must pass through a million nuances of the rainbow. Rebirth is the story of our dance through each of those nuances.
Divine union is the story of love, the love that surpasses all knowing. With each dance through the rainbows of life, we shed the illusion of seperation and embody love more fully, more purely, more completely. It's a subtle process, but it each time we embrace the life lessons of love, we are reborn, for we come another step closer to our ultimate rebirth into divine consciousness.
Feast days stand out, larger than life. Or they used to: we have lost the meaning of many of them, but they serve as reminders, like beacons showing us of the steps back to wholeness, to our divine essence.
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