Celebrating Your Higher Self

There is no better feeling when I tap my higher self. When I do not separate myself from my world things divine begin to happen. There are my many sacred ways enter this place. When I am in nature, sharing the company of others, singing, dancing, meditation, prayer, pausing or other magical encounters.

This sense of oneness arises when I fully show up. Also, when I am not being preoccupied, rushed, and anxious or in some place where I am not totally there. I become more vital with this natural flow of experience. This non separate self is about arriving where into the present.

The question for me is how to train myself to show us to life and to constantly remember not to be caught in up in "the many stories" or self talk that my ego slips into. One trick for me is to fell less in my head focus on my body sensations.

My favorite activity is go to the woods and allow of my senses to smell, hear, feel, see and taste what is happening outside at that very moment. How liberated this makes me feel when I can simply show up!

However, my mind is a very tricky and complicated thing. My thinking is like a radio on scan going to hundreds of different channels of reception. My secretion of thoughts is like my constant production of cells and enzymes. While thinking is necessary, part of which we are, it use to drive me crazy that way its goes non stop and repeats most of the same old thousands of thoughts every day. When I do not get so identified by my mind and tap into awareness I free myself from unnecessary inner dialogue

I have found that when I look closely at many of my thoughts is there is some form of dissatisfaction. Also I recognize that wanting drives much my minds as does fears. The incessant flow of thoughts can create the concepts about how life is, instead of directly allowing our senses to experience reality.

Much of my thinking can become self-absorbed with what is wrong we me, what’s lacking and other uncertain ideas that divide me from what is truly going on. This process can disconnect me instead of engage me with my world because my judgments create a separate reality. The simple act of observing allows me to see what is happening. While over judging prevents me from showing up to seeing the divine.

When I transform my mind I can lessen my creation of suffering. Also, I can discover what is true and enjoy a richer life.

When I can see, learn and accept my thought patterns then I can awaken. Next I can not be so identified by my thoughts and become free of them. I make my own mental prisons and I can unlock their very doors. How can I best show up to see the truth of my thoughts? When I observe the nature of my mind and see its pattern then I know what to expect. I easily become identified with my thinking and I need to remember that this is not who I am. Also, thoughts will pass with time so I must just watch and wait. Finally, my thoughts are like my breathing, I cannot fully control them so I must not take my thinking so personal.

I must focus on the hundreds ways of relaxing. For example riding a horse forces me to be relax and mindful. If I think about negative or fear things the horse picks up on this and may panic with me on it. Just like if I am rock climbing I am placed in a situation of being in the moment of face the consequences of falling. The latter is not the option I want to focus on.

In closing my higher self is about me becoming more whole and or holy. My higher self is a whole which unites the sum of my parts. Let’s celebrate showing up and pay full attention to what truly matters our higher self!

Resolve and Intention for 2009

Every year I celebrate the New Year with the intention of testing how far I can extend my heart. Exercising greater compassion is a present I give my self for the next year. By quieting my mind and allowing my heart to extend I celebrate greater mystery and wonder. Anxiety and despair can easily overtake me with negative critical and cynical mind-sets. This time of tremendous stress can alienate me unless I reconnect more actively with my natural world. Mental and material attitudes can rob me of greater spiritual experiences.

Lao Tzu named this experience of unable to describe things as the Tao, “I do not know what to call it.” All things or the source is both shapeless and silent. Chang Tzu described as, “It is not a thing itself.”

Allowing my heart to explore the space between nothing and everything I find an ocean deep of compassion. This space of emptiness can allow me to accept life and death as all things arise and fall. Simply nothing is separated and everything is interconnected.

This transformation transcends me to a higher self. Lao Tzu described this, “to embrace all is to be selfless.” So when I remember my being and shift out of becoming I better see my universe. This shows me life is filled with endless circles defining time and space where there is no beginning or end. Serenity comes to me when I from observe this harmonic process. When I surrender this natural chaotic order everything falls into place in the present. The future and past are just clouds in the mind. Flowing with this immediate attention to what is happening at this moment a doorway of freedom opens. Now liberated I am transformed by this magic of acceptance.

So I pray to the four directions to behold me with:

1. Self love
2. spiritual protection
3. gratitude
4. divine guidance

May I celebrate that I;

- Listen deeper
- Forgive more
- Find what is true
- Embrace my shadow
- Stimulate self kindness
- Venture being vulnerable
- Risk personal heartbreak
- Profound caring for others
- Freely experience experience

May we find greater loving friendly insights Allowing the emergence of heaven and earth forces to interconnect I can expand my love affair with this universe. May all things be free and benefit from selfless compassion. May you find greater self kindness, harmony, peace and happiness for 2009!

Devotion to the Truth

I must face my future challenges with a passion for the truth. However, this process tests my personal comfort level. My own search to find out what is going on has made me feel vulnerable and raw. Awakening to what is happening now in this country requires much courage. Denial is a subtle form of violence in America. Ignorance, greed and other habitual forces are undermining our collective need to preserve our future. Our societal love of the “status quo” and aversion to change is a hidden form of emotional terrorism. Our greatest threat today is our honest relationship with ourselves and our world.

It is time for me to address my crisis so to be honest with myself. This also pertains to acknowledging our collective heart. Somehow if I allow fear, doubt and other negative thoughts take over then I lose my way. I have attempted to push my limits including extensive exploration of my consciousness

To be fully present with today’s turmoil, I intend to act from a sense of inspiration instead of desperation. Fostering many wise teachings I must transform my life style even further to show greater respect for all places, people and things. Moreover, I now must redefine both my relationship with myself. Also when I remember to serve our fragile planet I help myself since we are not separate. May I show devotion to this awakening and seek what is true. I wish to be free and live in better way!

“WE MUST BE THE CHANGE WE SEE IN THE WORLD” - Gandhi

Embracing Our Light

Our deepest fear is that we not inadequate. Our deepest fear is we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. - Marrianne Williamson.

We are experiencing a mysterious spiritual celebration. We are blessed by an opportunity to shine to our fullest potential. This wonderful party is about savoring, enjoying and connecting to life by coming out of the darkness of denial with a new fearlessness for what is true. Otherwise humanity’s selfish greed may delude us into a collective suicide ignoring very life itself.

Our web of interrelationships is awareness of our sacred soul or all things; microorganisms, animals, plants, rocks, soil, air, water and all other non-living and living forms. What touches the core of being is a when we feel the grace of being one with our sacred soul. There are so many beautiful ways to develop reverence for our magical time here on earth with each breath of remembrance. May the light shine on all.

How can we find this harmonious alignment with our universe? This comes from the awareness that the universe is kind not brutal. It is an act of dying and becoming reborn by letting go our separated self to see that we’re all a part of a greater self. Just reflecting about the light coming from all the stars above transforms our lonely isolated self into one cosmic connection. As we reflect by the light of the heavens, we are earth stars dancing in this celestial mist where all things come and go. May we be guided in the spirit of love, joy, and peace so to find a deep inner quiet of our oneness.

A Buddhist " Shambhala Prophecy" predicts that we must become warriors engaged by compassion. Also insight emerges that both tempers our passion and provides clarity by recognizing that all things are interdependent. We only can celebrate our world by lessening the "mind-made" dangers threatening our Earth. Realizing each of us is this Gaia we find that cherishing our world and selves is one and the same. Let’s inspired to give all our soul to something much greater than just ourselves. Let's no fear lighting our own light!

I don’t know what your destiny, will be but one thing I know: the only ones among you will be really happy are those who have sought and found how to serve. - Albert Schweitzer

Returning to Our Earth

We all come from the earth and some day we will all return to it. Yet, how often many of us forget and neglect the most important thing: how we live. We are at a critical time in the history of our earth. Can we foresee and change our lifestyle? May we emulate and respect nature and not destroy ourselves. Indigenous people have always believed that they belong to the land not that the land belongs to them. Our neglect of the earth is now making this planet unlivable for many beings. What action must we take to ensure the survival of all of earth's creatures? Our ancestors left us a legacy of 60,000 years of wisdom and instructions on how to care for the earth. Shamans remind us that interdependence is essential for survival. Now we can celebrate by art, music, dance, singing and other rituals to how best to show our gratitude for our world.

Teach your children. What we have taught our children- that the earth is our mother.
Whatever befalls the earth. Befalls the sons and daughters of the earth
If men spit upon the ground, They spit upon themselves.
This we know. The earth does not belong to us. We belong to the earth. This we know.
All things are connected Like the blood which unites one family. All things are connected.
Whatever befalls the earth, Befalls the sons and daughters of the earth.
We did not weave the web of life, We are merely a stand in it. Whatever we do to the stand in it.
Whatever we do to the web, We do to ourselves. - Chief Seattle

We need to honor our ancestors’ great teachings and, by doing so, plant seeds of hope for future generations. Exploring the archetypes of the Grateful Warrior, the Compassionate Healer, the Balanced Visionary, and the Wise Teacher leads to a four-fold path*. Each archetype offers wisdom to help us make choices that can benefit our world.

* The Grateful Warrior’s way is to know the right use of power -- to show up!
* The Compassionate Healer’s way is to extend love -- to pay attention to what has heart and meaning!
* The Balanced Visionary expresses creativity -- to give voice to what we see!
* The Wise Teacher’s way is to practice wisdom -- to become open to all possibilities and unattached to outcome!

Let’s preserve our Earth and respect it now! We have the opportunity to shift our consciousness and life with nature. As we becoming more mindful we see all things as sacred. Such reverence increases our connection to land and we celebrate greater well being. We all return back to earth so may we celebrate our relationship with all things with precious reverence. Get native now!


I have come to terms with the future. From this day onward I will walk easy on the Earth. Plant trees. Kill no living things. Live in Harmony with all creatures. I will restore the earth where I am. Use no more of its resources than I need. And listen, listen to what it is telling me. - MJ Slim Hooey

.

Free to Respond

They that love beyond the world cannot be separated by it. Death is but Crossing the World, as Friends do the Seas; they live in one another still.” - William Penn

Every moment we are alive on this planet we have a choice to react or respond. For me, to react comes out of desperation contrasted by responding coming from a place of inspiration. We can create heaven or hell depending upon our choices. We can be self absorbed or engage with our community. Can we realize from understanding our ego the importance to behold something greater then the individual self? It is time we respond and plant new seeds of awakening within each of us.

The American spirit has been both kind and selfish. It is time we culitivate greater kindness so to inspire greater well being. We must not arrogantly act interested only in ourselves. We are in a critical human evolutionary period of consciousness. We are not children and must mature so to be fully responsible. Our actions must show reflect greater awareness towards how we affect our interconnection with all things. Can we unmask our unconscious fears, to truly be the greatest of our potential?

Self delusion, greed, hatred, envy, anger and host of other ills terrorize this possibility. Let’s clear away the debris of these selfish emotions and allow new light to shine. We are on the threshold of tremendous fury caused by want, despair and anger. We have to find the calm in this storm by showing compassion and insight. Being able to realize how to make this transition is why we must seek to better respond not react.

How can we balance both thought and feeling that allows us to act free? Yes, we can touch grace if we can see both sides of the coin. We can have the opportunity to see both life’s blessings and its curse then we can find a great harmony in intricate web of life. To be responsible is our path to liberate us from the ghosts that haunt us from our past blunders. If we practice forgiveness we gain stimulate increased happiness.

Tough love is about developing healthy boundaries with all our relationships. Understanding how to do what will benefit is what our freedom requires. So to best respect all our religions we have to be tolerant to worship side by side. May we vow to pray together and not prey on each other. We must work for greater justice so to promote widespread peace and harmony.

Our natural world cooperates and works together, and so must we to survive. Our collective human heart must find many guiding lights. Especially since much darkness shrouds us. Many have become blinded by their self-interest holding our progress forward. Again, we must seek a higher level of relating to endure these times.

By cultivating new friendships we achieve what we need - community. The health of human race depends on how we treat everything around us - people, places and things. Developing tough love to preserve and protect all things is required if humans wish to prosper. Without some reverence for such simple relationships we may not continue to be. Empowering ourselves and others to see our present danger can help us overcome our many self-destruction patterns.

Awakening and being personally responsible is the first step to liberating our world. When we react we separate and disconnect ourselves from life. Making a simple choice to respond instead of reacting we realize our inter-connection to the divine.

Free yourself from reacting to those shadows that imprison you. Act and benefit by becoming more responsible. Consciously responding to our daily challenges we both liberate and increase the quality of our lives.

Cherishing My Spirit

Whenever I pay attention deeply to my soul I feel a profound sense of beauty. Nothing is more priceless when I pay attention to my heart at its deepest beat. Beyond the sound of this pulsating I hear faint things. When I change my focus and hear my intuition speaking then I welcome my spirit.

What an invaluable thing our soul is. Also how easily we ignore it, become preoccupied or too busy to cultivate another level of our existence. My life becomes better aligned when I listen to my spirit.

This process introduces me not to just my spirit but to the great spirits within and without this world. This last statement can challenge the comfort zone of you the reader to say what? Many people lack to courage to be vulnerable so to tune themselves to the non-ordinary and venture in this unknown.

Is not your life a mystery? If you think let’s be rational then you are missing the whole point. The spiritual world is just that the world of spirits. Such instructions, signs, messages, teaching or whatever form spirit communicates is goes back to very beginning.

From our rich past we have developed an understanding ancestral traditions from earth-based societies. Venturing and experiencing some of these rituals can help us reconnect to earth in an intimate and healing way.

Another rich spiritual exercise is when I become more aware of my words. Before the white man natives on this land spoke in a manner that their words had greater meaning. Besides their greater sense of the interconnectiveness of things, indigenous people’ word had a greater sense of value. A friend of mine calls this credibility when the word was honored as something sacred. For me this skill creates a powerful and transformative shift in my world. For me this act is a soul awakening.

No word exists in the hundreds of Native American languages that come close to our definition of art. There is no separation between art and life. Art. Beauty and spirituality are firmly intertwined in life since there are no words to separate them.

What this calls for me is a profound listening to what the soul sincerely needs, the sacred connection of what is true. Just as indigenous people understood we must taking off the societal mask and unveil what false identity we have created. Once we discover our authentic being we find the courage to get out of our habitual roles and the comfort of the familiar. Beyond what our cultural and family conditions are a new freedom may be found.

When we shift this identity we welcome the “we” from the ego self from seeking acceptance and approval to a greater understanding of what we were pretending or hiding from at some unconscious level. Great determination is required to make such a transition since in my own experience I become very vulnerable. Like-minded supportive friends are required for such a transformative journey to this higher self so to enable this spiritual exploration.

Remembering to have courage and trust is critical for me in this loving-friendly adventure. Yes, taking this risk has bountiful rewards. Cherishing my soul is one my precious gifts to fill my life with light.

If you desire the self, get out of the self.
Leave the shallow stream behind and flow into the river deep and wide.
Do not be the ox pulling the wheel of the plow,
Turn with the stars that wheel about you- Rumi