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ROSEMARY’S EXPLORATION: “The I’s Have It” – Richard’s Commentary
Speaking of taking care of yourself first so you have the energy and resources to serve others, I’ve been thinking a lot about veganism and vegetarianism lately. I know a number of people who are and have been for years. In fact my son has been mostly vegetarian since his college days after reading “The Way of the Peaceful Warrior.”
And recently I have begun to know people who are not only very strict in their discipline around a vegan diet but are also strong advocates of such, recommending it as a way to eat to save ourselves and the planet in the process. In fact some folks become so enthusiastic about their lifestyle and dietary choices that they almost become zealots, fundamentalists in their beliefs and political views on the subject.
I could say that some people even push my buttons on this subject. And I ask myself, “what are they mirroring for me that I need to examine closely?”
Examining this question took me all the way back to my childhood. I grew up on a small family farm in Wisconsin; and yes, it was a dairy farm. But we raised pigs, chickens, and sheep as well. For the most part we were a self-sufficient farm growing and raising much of our own food. Milk was the primary cash commodity and it all, but what we saved out for our personal use, went to a local factory that made cheese. Everything was pretty local in those days. We traded the eggs to the local grocery store for credit toward the things we didn’t raise or grow ourselves. We ate the extra roosters. We ate our own meat from pigs and steers we raised. So, I grew up with a lot of meat, milk, cheese, eggs; and when the local hunters helped thin out deer herds during hunting season we had venison as well.
I look back on this childhood with a great deal of fondness; I feel blessed to have been raised in the country with what then would have been the nearest thing to non-GMO, organic food we could have had from any source at any price – and it came from our “back-yard”!. We knew exactly where it all came from and what went into it.
Fast-forward about 60 years and it is hard to believe how things have changed! While some of the family farm remains right there in Wisconsin where I left it, much of the land has been sold to a “giant farm” following the trend everywhere to big-agri-business; the family farms of my youth are mostly gone. And I now live on the east coast with just enough garden for a few tomato plants. The nearest thing to small farming is the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) approach we have supported for the past few years. At least this way we are sourcing some of our produce locally; it’s fresh and organic and supporting a healthy way of life and a healthy planet!
My diet has changed too: for several years I have made my breakfasts and lunches in my Vitamix “super-blender” by creating a concoction of nuts, seeds, fruit and vegetables; it’s all raw, as organic as I can find and it certainly qualities as vegan. I have lost a bit of excess weight, very gradually, while on this regimen, I have lots of energy, feel great and I believe I’m pretty healthy. And for dinner I often have a meat dish. I love cheese (here I don’t think I had a chance since from childhood I had more milk in my veins than blood!). And, while I’ve given up on chicken in my diet I still enjoy, now and then, a bacon-and-egg breakfast on a random weekend.
I am far from vegetarian, let alone vegan! And I am not sure I ever want or need to become a strict anything. I tend to avoid becoming a zealot about things in life.
That said I have asked myself if I need to look more closely into this mirror held up to me by those who are more zealous! Are we on an evolutionary path toward a meatless diet? Will this path, in part, be driven by realities of limited resources and over-pollution by the current approach by big-agri-business? Are we killing ourselves with GMOs? Can we rely on science and technology to continuously increase production of already strained resources?
And the real nagging question, because I want to think of myself as an evolutionary and cultural creative: “Is the New Human vegan?” I’d love to have your thoughts.
ROSEMARY’S EXPLORATION: The I’s Have It
Most messages are about serving, about how connected we all are, how helping others is helping ourselves. Today’s message is different. This one is about YOU and taking care of YOU.
Society teaches us to serve others until we are depleted. At least, that’s what I learned as I was growing up, especially as a woman. ‘It’s better to give than to receive.’ ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’
The problem with those sayings is that we didn’t get the nuance that we ALSO need to take care of ourselves or we won’t have anything to give to others!
If we give, give, give until there is nothing left to give, then the next person who needs us is out of luck. I learned from Lisa Nichols the best image of appropriate service. She used the metaphor of a cup and saucer, where the cup represents you and you fill it up until it overflows, then you serve from the saucer. If you are always filling up your cup, there is always overflow from which to serve and you are never depleted. This means that you don’t have to stop serving to restore yourself – you keep filling yourself up and you can keep serving from the saucer.
And if it’s so wonderful to give, what about those of us who have learned to give but have never learned how to receive? Aren’t we depriving others of the opportunity to give to us? Think about that nuance. Maybe it is better to give someone else the opportunity to give to us than to always receive the pleasure of giving without letting anyone else have that fun.
Now, I’m not referring here to the political debates about the ‘givers’ and the ‘takers.’ Those labels are being used maliciously to justify certain positions and we’re not getting into politics here.
But most of us know what giving to others means and our generous, conscious, compassionate humanity leads us to give what and when we can.
It’s okay to consider yourself and your own needs. Sometimes we need permission to do that. You have that permission now. Focusing on what you need is vital to supporting your efforts to help others in need. Fill up your cup so you can serve from the saucer.
Reframe the word ‘selfish’ to ‘self-focused’ so you can release the pejorative judgments that go along with the idea of thinking of self. YOU are the one on Planet Earth at this time to live YOUR Soul Purpose. Taking care of yourself is essential to showing up for your Purpose.
Recently I’ve been doing Scientific Hand Analysis sessions for clients who are in the School of Service, one of the four schools in this system. The lesson in this Life School is to become a Master of Service Consciousness, understanding the difference between Service and Servitude. Service comes from a place of joy in the service and the act of serving is its own reward, with no concerns about ‘thank you’ or reciprocation. Servitude is saying ‘yes’ and then resenting that choice, wishing we’d said ‘no’ and wanting to get out of the obligation, or, worse, resenting the person to whom we made the commitment.
All of us are here to serve, not just those whose handprints indicate that their Life School is Service [this is just their Major at Earth University!], but we all need to learn to take care of ourselves so that we are available to help others.
What does this mean for you? Are you able to say ‘no’ when you need to, without feeling guilty about it? Are you filling up your cup so you can serve from the saucer or do you wait until you’re depleted so you can give yourself permission to stop and refresh?
Be conscious about putting ‘I’ on your to do list! Take care of YOU first and you’ll be able to take care of everyone who needs you!
After all, ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself’ doesn’t mean much if you don’t love yourself enough to take care of YOU!
PS: Are you curious about how your hand and fingerprints reveal your Life Pupose? Explore this more here.
INSPIRATION FROM ROSEMARY: Take Care of YOU!
Rosemary’s video for the week: Take Care of YOU!
PS: To start 2013 off with incredible guidance from The Divine Feminine you can get the 8 recordings Rosemary made at the end of 2012 during her Wisdom of the Week (WOW) calls. Get them here.
Monday’s Poem; and the I Ching for the Month
I have two offerings for today to start your week and your “moonth” as the New Moon from this past Friday begins to swell into our consciousness. First Monday’s Poem:
I wrote this as a reminder of three important virtues I want to hold firmly in mind as I work to transform my too often negative and troublesome emotions to these virtues to lift my consciousness and grow a healthier attitude.
Love, Forgiveness, Gratitude
Three acts for 2013:
Love, where it all begins
And ends.
The circle of everything
Turns with the tides
As the Moon loves down.
Forgiveness, in the middle,
The hinge.
It all turns on this act
Swinging round and round
As a gateless gate for passage.
Gratitude, the end,
No end.
Turning about the center
Where it all rests
As we give thanks and praise.
Love, Forgiveness, Gratitude:
Grace.
©2013 Richard W. Bredeson. All rights reserved.
The I Ching Gua I cast for the next four weeks, the last month before the Chinese New Year, February 10, is an interesting one. Using my yarrow stalks I cast five yin yao, all 8s, before I cast the final yang yao, a 7. The hexagram looks like this:
This is Bo and using Alfred Huang’s The Complete I Ching it means “Falling Away.” The lower trigram is Earth or Kun and the upper trigram is Mountain or Gen. So we have the mountain resting on a stack of yin lines which is pretty unstable. Think of a landslide as the mountain tumbles down to the low lands.
The Decision of this Gua is:
Falling Away.
Unfavorable to have somewhere to go.
For those of you interested in the I Ching you can pursue the meaning of this gua farther as you will with your trusted references. Here’s my take on the gua and the timing of it:
This is a good time to go inside, look inward for stability. This is the last month before the New Year. It is a good time to seek stability in this unstable time. Clean up, clean out, get organized. Sweep away the decaying underpinnings and get ready for the year of the Snake.
Contemplate all of those things that are not working. Let them go. Meditate on new things that might work better and bring some new stability. The mutual gua of Bo is Kun – Earth over Earth, Responding, Receiving. Again, look to receive some inner guidance.
Note also there are no changing lines in this gua. So the situation is stagnant. Again the message is to wait it out and seek inner guidance.
This is my interpretation of this gua for me at this time. It may or may not apply to you and your situation or the times themselves. But as our government seems locked in turmoil and stagnation this just might be an appropriate gua for others. In any case it is always good to go inside to seek guidance.
And this mid-winter time is a great time to just be with what is.
PS: To start 2013 off with incredible guidance from The Divine Feminine you can get the 8 recordings Rosemary made at the end of 2012 during her Wisdom of the Week (WOW) calls. Get them here.
Old Moon-New Moon
Are you feeling heavy these past few days? It feels to me as if I’m walking through a cloud with weights all over my body. No, I’m not really ill, although I do have some mild aches and pains here and there. I’ve been up, out and about taking care of others in the family who are also feeling this weight. What’s going on?
Is this the mid-winter doldrums? The post-holiday blues? The weather is actually reasonably nice here in Maryland as I write this Thursday afternoon; the Sun has been out and the temperature reached into the 50s! And yet there’s this drag to the day.
Oh, right! The Moon is very old, dying as I write and nearly conjunct the Sun. To give you exact numbers, I am writing at 4:41 pm EST. The Moon is 8 degrees Capricorn and closing fast on the Sun at 20 degrees 49 minutes Capricorn. If you could see the Moon now it would be 1% visible, but it is so close to the Sun we can’t really see it with a naked eye (expect just before dawn on the Eastern horizon).
And as you read this (assuming you read it the moment I post it) the Moon is just now brand-new. It conjuncts the Sun exactly at 2:45:17 pm EST. And then it begins to move away from conjunction with the Sun and is born anew. Yay! We should begin to feel the lightness return. And as you look to the clear western sky at Sunset in about 3 days you’ll see the baby crescent peaking over the horizon. From there, of course, it will grow to full over the next two weeks.
I have been aware of the Moon for as long as I can remember. As a kid riding in the back of my parents’ car at night I would follow the Moon as the Moon seemed to follow us. I loved the play of peak-a-boo with the Moon as we drove. And in deep clear Wisconsin winters I would watch the phases in the brilliantly lit country sky of my youth.
And now I am acutely aware of the Moon and her phases each month (moonth). And if I forget about her, especially around this time and full Moon time, she is the first to remind me with her tug on the waters of my body. Yes, we feel the Moon just as the oceans feel her pull; we are, after all, more than half water (the human body is about 60 to 70% water!). As the tides ebb and flow with the Moon’s courses and phases so too do our bodies.
As with everything awareness is the first step in sensing, working with and balancing our inner tidal actions. Beyond tuning in to the Moon and her activities here are some things I do to work with her energy:
• For the “dying” Moon as she wanes to darkness, as we just experienced, I offer up things to her. I release emotions, I let go of limiting beliefs, I even give her little gifts, offerings to be shared with birds or other creatures. The key words are “release that which no longer serves.” And this makes room for something new to come into my life.
• Just as the Moon is new, as it is today, I cast an I Ching gua to determine what the energies coming in with the new Moon will feel like and what my preparation for and use of the energies might be.
• During the waxing phases of the Moon, from now for the next two weeks, I work with the Moon’s energies pulling in newness: fresh ideas, new beliefs, and I work with my commitments and resolutions. It’s a wonderful energetic time. “Welcome in the New.”
• And then the downward slide of the waning Moon begins again. Energies are still high and I use them, but I also begin looking toward another weak Moon and consider what I may need to purge for this next cycle.
These are my approaches. There are many ways to work with the Moon. The key is to think about this major body in our sky and how it influences the planet and us as creatures under her smile.
How does the Moon affect you? Happy New Moon!
EXPLORATION: Money Wisdom for 2013 – Richard’s Commentary
Rosemary’s exploration article this week (yesterday’s post) is profoundly simple; and it is profoundly deep and challenging.
This money consciousness, the advice of the Sirius Mystery Temple teachers, is not really new. The basic tenants here are “be wise with your money, be generous, ‘neither a borrower nor lender be’, and don’t forget to have some fun.” This is time-tested wisdom; even Shakespeare offered some of this advice!
This one simple rule about borrowing/lending was violated by our granddaughter recently; the holiday gift giving, receiving, buying was the root cause of her borrowing money from her brother (“The Banker”). Then she became very upset with him when he reminded her of the debt and his interest in collecting. Their exchange created quite a row at the dinner table.
Then there is the National debate and negotiations around the debt ceiling and the gigantic deficit this country operates under. Wow, where is Shakespeare (or Bill Clinton) when we need him!
Loans, deficits, collections aside, the real challenge here is the belief part.
We live in a consumer driven world (how often do we hear the phrase “global economy” these days?). And despite some hints that this drive may be slowing, we continue to consume at a powerful pace that threatens our very existence. And we need money to consume, even to provide the basic needs of food, shelter, clothing, transportation, and some entertainment (to have fun, right?). But isn’t this whole consumer/economic model in which we operate based on a “belief system”? We believe that it is a reasonable economic model to work hard to gain money to buy the things we need and want. Money is the simple exchange mechanism to score the work and reward with the consumables.
But, what if we challenge the most basic tenet here: “money is a scoring system used to judge success”? Beliefs are choices we make. The world has chosen to agree that money is an exchange medium which brokers the deal between work and reward, and to believe in this system. OK, we are probably not going to change this approach any time soon, but my point is even the very underpinnings of our money philosophy are resting on a belief!
A more practical step here is to move up to a slightly higher belief and examine the concept of money as energy. The energy of our work translates to an energy of money (exchange) translates to energy of the things we buy: food, shelter, gasoline, etc. It’s all energy! And this slight shift in our belief about money can break the vicious cycle that money is “reward”, “measure”, “judgment”, “score”, and all the other negative associations we can apply to this energy exchange medium. In fact money is nothing more than an equal sign between operands of the equation with work on one side and return on the other.
(Of course the real meaning and measure of “work” does need to be considered on the left side of the equation. But this is a subject for a different discussion!)
What does it mean to shift our belief to “money is energy”? All energy in the Universe has a cycle to it. There is a vibration involved in everything that moves from the smallest particle to the Universe itself. Rotation and expansion, a throb is the core of existence. When we look at money this way, as having a vibration, a glow, like gold, then we realize it has to move. If it’s static it does nothing; it becomes dead, even a drain. Money wants life; as an exchange it is useless if not operating between work and return.
And this exchange is alive with negotiation, with the give and take (the vibration) of determining value. Again, the money has no intrinsic value. The value is in the “work” and the “return.” The key is in the evaluation of the two sides of the equation; the equal sign, the money, is only the operating agent in the middle.
The challenge for me and the change I am attempting to embrace for 2013 is to discard my belief that money is the object rather than the operator. Sure we all want money, more money. But why is this so? Aren’t we really more interested in negotiating the values of our “work” and our “return.” I’m shifting my beliefs to the two ends of the equation and interjecting some objectivity into my beliefs. Maybe then some of the emotional responses I too often exhibit can be shifted!
Money is only energy! Can you believe that?
PS: If you want more wisdom from The Divine Feminine, The Sirius Mystery Temple Teachers and other sources Rosemary draws upon, you might be interested in Eight Recordings of channeled teaching, guidance for 2013, given to Rosemary at the end of 2012. Explore this opportunity here.
ROSEMARY’S EXPLORATION: Money Wisdom for 2013
This post is from Rosemary’s latest MuseLetter which is published every Friday.Here she sets the stage for improving our relationship to money, a great change to make for 2013! From Rosemary:
Here is a message from 2011 that is great guidance for starting the New Year with a reminder about the Consciousness of Money. Do you need to change your consciousness regarding this topic? Do you feel emotional when you think about your financial situation? Are you worried? Are you playing ostrich (head in the sand)? Here are some wise words to help you make 2013 your best money year ever.
Mystic Message for March 4 2011:
This message comes from the teachers at The Sirius Mystery Temple who are giving me teachings about the Fifth Dimension of Consciousness. I am researching the Twelve Dimensions and these teachers are in a dimension around the star Sirius. This channeled teaching is about the Consciousness of Money.
“Money is an exchange of energy between two parties who have agreed upon its value. That is it. Money has no value outside the transaction that establishes its value by the agreement of two parties. Just as a house has a set value only when two parties contract to exchange the house for money at an agreed-upon amount.
Those who hoard money do not understand or appreciate that money is intended to be in circulation in a society. Money is an energy flow and, as such, must be kept flowing. Because its value is determined by an agreement between humans (or entities) then there must be a flow of energy. Those who spend more money than they have are also interrupting the flow of energy because the agreed-upon value of a transaction does not have the energy it needs to flow.
Monetary systems create artificial value that does not have the appropriate energy in it. This is why they can collapse.
Those who are working to expand their consciousness must examine their relationship with money. If they are afraid to spend it then they must examine that fear. If they spend too much then they must examine why that is so.
The rules of a Conscious Relationship with Money are as follows:
- Do not allow the energy of money to stagnate with you. Hold onto what you need to feel secure. Designate different funds with a purpose for the money in them so that a use, an energy, is attached to that fund.
- Share money with those who are not conscious enough yet to create wealth for themselves.
- Do not owe money to others. Pay your debts. Create a spending plan and stick to it as well as you can; i.e., do not overspend.
- Do not allow others to take your money from you. Collect what is owed to you. Make conscious choices about giving away money.
- Share what you have. Tip generously. Choose charities wisely and support the causes you believe in.
- Examine your beliefs around money, especially the source of those beliefs. If you are growing in consciousness then what your parents and grandparents believed may no longer be relevant.
- It is all right to use money for fun. It is also all right to save some money. Make conscious choices about both.
The Consciousness of Money boils down to this: Money is Energy. It needs to flow. Two people determine the value of money in every transaction. Money has no intrinsic value.
It is important, then, not to imbue it with any. Do not worship at the altar of money. Rather, see money as part of the flow of energy in the Universe. Treat it as such.”
PS: If you would like to get Rosemary’s MuseLetter delivered to your email box every Friday you can subscribe here. And when you do she’ll send you a special relaxation meditation to help you reduce stress and find inner peace.
INSPIRATION FROM ROSEMARY: What Will You Change for 2013?
Here is Rosemary’s video for the week:
PS: To start 2013 off with incredible guidance from The Divine Feminine you can get the 8 recordings I made at the end of 2012 during my Wisdom of the Week (WOW) calls. Get them here.
Monday’s Poem: New Humanity
I’ve been posting a lot about new thought, new time, a new way to look at the Universe and our place in it. Today’s poem is motivated by all this writing about Oneness, Time as an Echo-Chamber, the endless cycles and where they are leading. The main reference here is the Heart Sutra of Mahayana Buddhism.
New Humanity
Gate, Gate:
Avalokitesvara
Clearly saw emptiness.
Nothing new here.
But what if
This emptiness is
Everything?
What if
Avalokitesvara
Sees the All?
No separation,
No you and me,
No it, no out,
No then, no now.
What then?
No war, no peace,
No loss, no grief,
No mine, no yours.
Imagine!
©2012 Richard W. Bredeson. All rights reserved.
PS: To start 2013 off with incredible guidance from The Divine Feminine you can get the 8 recordings Rosemary made at the end of 2012 during her Wisdom of the Week (WOW) calls. Get them here.
Union and the Echo of Time
I’ve written now of my two messages channeled by Rosemary on December 7, 2012 (review the recording here). The first came from the three “Floating Heads” who have called themselves QRS. The second came from a Native American Guide – a Feminine Guide who spoke of the Union, or Unity, of Body and Spirit. Today I explore the coincidence of these two messages and their overall meaning for me:
Of course, it is no coincidence that QRS and my Native American Goddess Guide came together on the same night this past December to offer their messages to me. What is the nexus of the messages, the integration of the two?
QRS spoke of time and the importance of pulling future strength, character, structure from the future into the now in order to create the future. Time is an echo-chamber and the resonance set up in the present reverberates through all time. The future is now, the past is now; it is all right here, only and always in this moment. There is a Union here. We come back to wholeness. As we are holographic beings of the wholeness of creation so too is the present moment a holographic instance of All Time! The All is instantaneous.
One way to conceive of this is to imagine the moment before the Big Bang. At that moment there was a single seed containing all of the potentiality of everything and every-when. This singularity was it. (And here I use the past tense loosely because it is just as valid to claim it is now and in the future!) This singularity was/is eternal. We are still living within this Eternal Singularity; we are the potential within it. This Singularity is the seed hologram of Everything and All Time.
So what?
The consciousness of this greater dimensionality of reality has broad implications to how we might choose to live our lives. It is the integrated message of QRS and my Native American Goddess Guide. As we live, love and think in this moment we affect both the past and the future and we effect them as well! QRS is nudging me along a path that is essential to their future as they are living it – both 500 years in the future and now, through the echo I am creating. And 500 years ago my ancestors sent out an echo that is me. And I speak to them through this echo-link urging them to live, love and think in such a way that I might live just so, now! And we are all One in the great Seed Singularity that is pure potential for all of this to unfold just so!
Love, gratitude and forgiveness are profound attitudes and actions that are at the core of how to live with the implications of this Union of the All across All Time. If Brian Swimme (author of “The Universe is a Green Dragon”) is correct, then it is Love that motivates the Singularity Seed, that eternal stillness that was/is Pure Potential, to sprout and bloom into the Grand Universe. With Love as the echoing motivation for the New Human, an extraordinary sense of Gratitude swells my heart and deep Forgiveness for all limits place on Self and Other (One) swells my Spirit; and we drift into a place of expanded consciousness that can only be described as Bliss – Prajna Paramita – The Heart of Perfect Wisdom.
Gate, gate, para-gate! And so it is…
PS: Happy New Year! Our regular newsletter, Rosemary’s MuseLetter, continues in publication with a new issue tomorrow. Gain insight from her so that you too may Live Your Richest Life! Subscribe today – it’s FREE! And with your subscription you receive a wonderful audio meditation.
Men and The Goddess 