Sunday, August 26, 2012

Appreciating What Is

I officiated at a beautiful wedding yesterday at the Muttart Conservatory here in Edmonton. I hadn't been there for several years and was reminded that we have some really beautiful places here that we can enjoy any time.

There is so much beauty everywhere really when you open your eyes, let your mind take a break and just be. Looking out my office window I am greeted with the sun shining on a beautiful Mayday tree creating all kinds contrast and shadows. Yesterday was equally beautiful with the clouds and wind and a bit of rain here and there.

The world is full of wonders for us to behold yet there is such a tendency to get lost in thought and not even notice. The mind is constantly trying to resolve issues, answer questions and figure things out which is part of its function but there comes a time when the mind must be relieved of all that.  Life is unfolding in its own sweet and wondrous way without the mind having to figure everything out.

Breathe, relax, appreciate the wonder of what is for a moment...whatever is on your mind will resolve itself in ways you could not imagine if you will but let go of the need to be in control and know exactly how. Revel in the moment, loving what is and let tomorrow look after itself.

Namaste

Monday, August 20, 2012

Changing Time and Energy

I sometimes wonder what's happening with my relationship with time. It's been very different of late and I've found myself double booking things, feeling out of sync with what I used to consider the normal flow of time and just plain feeling odd with it. Whatever it may be I think I'm finding my feet with it again and even though it's different there's a new norm arising.

My continued focus on the self-compassion  project I initiated a few weeks ago has been a huge help in these shifting times. I must say I feel very blessed as I move through all these changes and life in general with compassion and understanding. It really doesn't matter what shows up, when I meet it with love and compassion  it just eases the way and helps release the natural resistance that shows up with change.

I was in a great conversation the other day about making wanted change by working with energy. It was brought up how easy and wonderful it was to get results  by seeing yourself being and doing what you want and really getting into the energy of it. I totally agree that the quality of our vibration is what determines our experience and when there are no opposing energies at play the unfolding of what we envision seems quite miraculous.

What I was reminded of in that conversation however was the reason The Liberation Process was created in the first place. It was in response to what I perceived as the need to deal with those opposing energies which are based on our beliefs systems. If what I truly desire and envision as my life is not what I am experiencing chances are pretty darn good that I have some kind of programming running that is not of the same vibrational quality as what I think I want. So much of the work with the law of attraction and all its derivatives seems to want to ignore that programming, telling us to just focus on what we want and it will happen. There's so much about that idea that doesn't work I don't even know where to begin. So I won't get into all the details but keep my comments to just a couple of ideas that may be useful.

First, if you are trying to make some changes and are feeling stuck or frustrated, I find it very helpful to take a big breath and stop trying to make it happen. Efforting your way through change probably isn't going to work for you any more, it sure doesn't for me. If you notice yourself trying hard and getting little or no results you are likely caught up in those opposing energies I mentioned earlier. Move toward the frustration instead of trying to get away from it and notice what you feel and think about yourself, about what you have and about what you want. Is there any thought/feeling that isn't in alignment with the change you desire? Are you caught up in a particular picture of what it has to look like or are you willing to allow all kinds of possibilities to unfold? Is there any thought floating around in the background that says something like 'I'll never get to have or be what I really want' or 'I don't deserve (fill in the blank)' or 'I must have done something wrong and I'm being punished' or 'This is just another example of the world being against me'. I think you get the drift.

Any kind of belief that says you 'can't' is quite likely going to negate what you want. The same is true with any belief that limits what is possible because you've already decided it isn't going to work 'that way'. For the most part you're probably so used to thinking the way you do about whatever it is that is blocking change that you don't even realize you're doing it. That's why it's so important to learn to listen to yourself with compassion and understanding instead of dismissing the obvious. It opens the way to being able to gently question the beliefs that have had a hold on you all your life and change the energy. If you can gently let yourself know that what you've held to be the 'truth' about yourself or life or whatever you've been thinking isn't in fact true but rather just a belief you've adopted then the way opens that allows you to experience life anew.
energy
There's so much more to life than we could possibly conceive. Why not go with the flow letting the universe unfold as it will anyway and release all that angst about it? The energy of appreciation and wonder is so much more fun.

Namaste

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Meeting With Resistance

I'm loving this self-compassion project. it's bringing up all kinds of goodies to be dissolved in love.

It's also bringing the levels of resistance to change into sharper focus as well. We had a great conversation about that on Sunday at the gathering because it was so obvious in the group. It's never easy to effect real change within and there's something about being truly present, kind and compassionate to inner being that is particularly challenging. If I was to guess I'd have to say it has something to do with dealing with pain in the opposite way from what we've been accustom to. Mostly we've deflected, protected, rejected what we were experiencing when we got uncomfortable and didn't understand what was really going on. That was how we survived the human condition.

cruise shipOn the journey back to Essence we are being invited to be present to, have compassion for and embrace those painful memories and experiences instead of the way we used to try to get away from them. Sounds good doesn't it? Not easy though I assure you. Whatever that was that drove us to move away from Essence may be calling us back now but we're so used to going the other way turning around is really a project! I just had the visual of a giant cruise ship turning around. It doesn't happen on a dime and neither does the turnaround in how we relate to ourselves. The very process requires compassion and patience and lots of practice.

The beauty of it all however is that what the self-compassion project is bringing up is exactly what is needed as we journey home to Essence. Even the resistance is perfect and you are invited to meet it with compassion and understanding too. I have not encountered anything so far that can withstand true compassionate presence. Don't fool yourself into thinking that if you just think about it that's enough; thinking about a thing is not the same as being present to it. Let the thoughts rest for a few moments and just be.

Namaste

Saturday, August 11, 2012

It's All God

Sometimes my heart just wells up with gratitude and love for Creator/Creation/Life/Source, whatever you want to call it. It isn't something I can manufacture or affirm into being, it's just what rises up from deep within for its own reasons. Quite frankly, I don't care why those overwhelming feelings show up I just appreciate that they do on a regular basis. It's like I just want to open my arms wide and praise the All Being.

The wonder of Creation is so vast and intense it completely humbles me and opens my heart in a way that is beyond words. My sister made a strange comment a couple of weeks ago when we were finishing with cleaning Mom's house. I said something like 'Thank You God!' and she says,'Oh, do you believe in God?' Such a good Catholic girl she is and that was such a typical comment for her to make ya gotta love her.

I certainly am not into the many concepts of God that most religions espouse so I can see where the comment might have come from; for me it's all God, we live, move and have our being in God. There is only God expressing always and all ways and that is difficult for the more religiously minded among us to conceive. 'What about evil and bad people and all the bad things that happen? That can't be God!' Really? There's God and then there's something else? Not in my world. Even forgetting that there's only God is God as far as I can tell.

I just don't use the word God much. I prefer Life, it doesn't feel so pigeon holed.

Namaste

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

The Journey Home to Essence Video

I've been having some creative fun the past couple of days creating a little video on some of my thoughts about the journey home to Essence.

The idea for the video came when a went to a PechaKucha night here in St. Albert. I had heard of PechaKucha a few times before but wasn't really clear what it was about, so I found out.

Doing a video in this style, 20 slides of 20 seconds each with narration, has been on my mind ever since, so here it is. 

Enjoy, share freely and I'd love to get your comments!

Namaste

Friday, August 3, 2012

Opening The Cell Doors

Since the weekend there's been a lot of physical pain that has been quite unusual for me. My commitment to bring unconditional, compassionate attention to whatever shows up has been a wonderful gift in this process. Constantly bringing my focus back to the pain in the body with understanding and acceptance opened out a way for some very deep, previously well-hidden memories and feelings to come to the surface.

The flash of insight about what was behind the pain came not while I was focused on the pain but when I was doing something mundane where my mind wasn't completely occupied.

Awareness is like that. What we need to know doesn't show up when we expect it to, nor does it seem to have anything to do with how we think we're going to receive it. It really does seem to be about simply making space through acceptance, compassion and understanding then responding when the insight does arise. In this particular case the response has been to acknowledge what was previously denied and to bring more understanding and acceptance every day for as long as it takes.

It's important to note that this kind of release really isn't a one shot deal. What was buried for so long seems to require lots of space and time to fully reveal itself and be freed from the confines of its long imprisonment. This one was at least a 55 year sentence so there is some adjusting to do as the cell door opens and light is admitted.

It doesn't matter that the prison was created in false assumption and misguided beliefs. That is also acknowledged but the imprisonment was still experienced for a long time indeed so patience and gentleness is the order of the day.

Namaste