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The Door to All Beginnings
Yesterday I posted my commentary on Rosemary’s post about surprises. We seem to be in the midst of many surprises as we move well into 2013. Whether the subject is politics, global affairs, earth changes, violence, economics, and the rest of the lengthy list, every area of life seems to be popping with surprises.
And then there is the astrology and my friend, Chris Largent’s musing about the dissolution of “consensus reality”!
Holding all of this in mind I turn easily to the Master, Lao-Tzu, and the First Chapter of the Taoteching:
The way that becomes a way
is not the Immortal Way
the name that becomes a name
is not the Immortal Name
the maiden of Heaven and Earth has no name
the mother of all things has a name
thus in innocence we see the beginning
in passion we see the end
two different names
for one and the same
the one we call dark
the dark beyond dark
the door to all beginnings
from the translation by Red Pine
Every surprise is a door to a new beginning. Every shift is an opportunity for transformation. And this is the story we are now writing for ourselves. This is the reformation of reality we are all forming from the dissolution of the old consensus reality.
It’s an open door; a dark door. There are unknowns and unknowables on the other side. It will take courage to walk through into that darkness. And many of us are ready and willing. We are the light-workers. We carry our inner light through and into that dark, unknowable territory to create the new reality. This is our mission; this is our time.
Where is this door? It’s on the inside. The opening is right in the center of our hearts. Each and every light-worker knows this; has known this from the beginning. And we all have a sense that we are moving into this time to step through the opening door.
Imagine if our new reality is formed by the consensus of light-workers! Can you see the vision; can you hear the music; can you smell the flowers; can you taste the delights; can you feel the soft breeze of the freshest of air sooth your delicate body; can you imagine such a new reality? This is the Tao. It is there, just beyond the door. Yes, it’s “dark beyond dark” through that door. But it’s the door to “all beginnings”! Let’s walk through it, hand-in-hand with courage and a true vision for the New Reality!
Surprise!!! – Richard’s Commentary
While thinking about my response to Rosemary’s article on this subject I received an email from a mentor/teacher/friend, a deep scholar and also a gifted astrologer, about the energies of the times we are experiencing. I’m quoting a bit of his latest offering to set the stage for my thoughts about surprises.
More on the BIG astrology now – it IS that important – from Chris
“The aspects of the end of this week represent a rupture in consensus reality. In other words, what we take to be true about ourselves, our community, our nation, and our planet could be challenged or expanded (or both). My best advice is that if we see an opening in the “medieval fort” of everyday, programmed awareness, we should run through that opening.
“The possibilities for expanding consciousness are huge. But we have to choose to engage with those possibilities. We have to step outside the fort and challenge things we take for granted.”
Chris Largent
Surprise!!! A “rupture in consensus reality” certainly has the element of surprise embedded in it! Wow! But what does this really mean?
We have been anticipating big shifts with all the thought-energy, the expectations generated around 2012. While much of the hype is gone, many understand that the Winter Solstice, 2012, was a turning point, not THE EVENT itself. We are now in the midst of that long turn. Some are suggesting that we may see big shifts with the Summer Solstice as the transformation to a new era begins to unfold in earnest. And many astrologers are aligning events in the Heavens with the correspondences of ancient calendars to conclude big things are happening.
Beliefs are certainly shifting and rapidly. Just look at one example around the issue of same-sex marriage rights. No matter what side of this issue you might support there has been an incredible, rapid shift in American acceptance of the LGBT Community and their rights to equal treatment under the law! Consensus reality is reforming here in a surprisingly positive direction. Chris goes on to say:
“The consciousness doors that open now will allow for big inner and outer shifts through the summer of 2014 – but the opening is NOW.”
Rosemary has this to say about consensus reality:
“As a human being, it is easy to fall into the trap of always wanting to be in control of your life. That would be nice. But the Earth is inhabited by other human beings who also want to be in control of their lives. What happens when these two desires collide?”
What happens is, willing or not, consensus reality is reformed around that collision. Of course it doesn’t have to be a collision! Chris says:
“…we are like currents in a river. In other words, we look at the world in terms of fluid processes (and whole systems). If we look closely at our lives, that’s what we see: we flow within larger patterns, and we create patterns as our life-processes flow with other life processes.”
I love this analogy of lives that flow together, but there’s no doubt that there is colliding yet to come as we bump through the next months of transformation! As consensus reality dissolves around us we need to be prepared for the reformation of our reality. These are exciting times! And while I don’t always like surprises (I’m one of those people who likes to be in control) I am now at a stage of life where anticipation of big changes and moving forward on the evolutionary path of consciousness is very appealing.
What other cultural surprises might we anticipate? Well, they wouldn’t be surprises if we knew about them in advance! Are you prepared for the long predicted and anticipated shifts? Are you ready for the BIG SURPRISE?
ROSEMARY’S EXPLORATION: Surprise!!!
What is your attitude toward surprises? Many people say they don’t like to be surprised. They want to know if there is a surprise party for them about to happen. They don’t like change. They don’t like the feeling of ‘not knowing.’ They don’t like to feel that they are not in control.
But what about loving surprises? Loving that surprise party that a loved one engineered just for you. Being thrilled when someone does something nice for you or gives you an unexpected gift. How do you feel when that happens?
Life on the Earthly Plane is full of surprises. Some of these surprises are as thrilling as that unexpected gift. Some, however, are not so much fun. Are you willing to accept the ‘not knowing’ as an essential part of life on Earth?
As a human being, it is easy to fall into the trap of always wanting to be in control of your life. That would be nice. But the Earth is inhabited by other human beings who also want to be in control of their lives. What happens when these two desires collide?
Life can become chaotic through no fault of yours. Or you can thrive on the drama that chaos creates. Things can go smoothly for about a minute and then some new wrinkle is thrown into your day. How do you react?
The important part of growing in your level of consciousness is to make peace with the understanding that you will never be in 100% control of your environment and the circumstances of your time on Earth. Other people around you have free will and will sometimes make choices that will conflict with your desires, especially if one of your desires is for total peace and control over everything.
And sometimes Mother Nature decides to let you know that she is in control of her biosphere – that you are allowed to inhabit HER domain but she is ultimately in charge. Hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, winter storms, lightning – these are not under your control and yet they happen. What is your response?
Are you reading these words and thinking that they conflict with the concept of ‘your thoughts create your reality’? There really is no conflict, if you think about it deeply.
The point is not that people don’t sit around wishing for a huge storm to come and destroy their house. But there are a lot of people who are worrying about that eventuality. Worry sets up the same magnet of attraction as desire does – did you know that? Thinking about what you don’t want does attract that very energy.
And thinking about what you do want has to have some caveats attached to it. Not the usual, ‘is it realistic?’ caveat, which really means, ‘can you see the way to make that happen?’ But are you wishing for something that takes away the power of others to have free will?
I’ve heard people say that they are trying to work with the Law of Attraction but that other person still hasn’t changed into what they want them to be. Hmmmmm…… What’s wrong with this picture?
How about understanding that not knowing HOW you will receive that which you are desiring allows the Universe to bring it to you in unexpected, surprising ways? And if you are working with the Law of Attraction you must be honoring other Laws of the Universe, including the Law of Free Will of all individuals. You do not have permission to try to make others change.
When you demand control of your environment, you limit the ways in which the Universe answers your requests. Your thoughts are projecting an often unconscious request to keep things just the way they are. And, yet, there are laws of the Universe about change being ever present.
Your thoughts are sending out energy that does create those storms and that chaos and we’ll talk about that later. For today, remember this equation:
EVENT leads to your REACTION and then you choose a RESPONSE.
While you might not control all the events that happen [Surprise!] and your reaction is your immediate ‘knee jerk’ feeling, you DO control how you respond. Put your energies into practicing Conscious Response – choosing the response that demonstrates your personal growth. Then you can relax into making peace with the ‘not knowing’ and enjoy the ‘Surprise!’
PS: Why not surprise yourself this week with a Discovery Session with Rosemary? They are FREE! Go here to apply
ROSEMARY’S INSPIRATION: Surprise!
Here’s Rosemary’s video for the week: Surprise!
PS: Why not surprise yourself this week with a Discovery Session with Rosemary? They are FREE! Go here to apply
Monday’s Poem: Evolution of Enlightenment?
On Saturday I listened in on the “Guru and Pandit” continuing series of discussions between Andrew Cohen and Ken Wilber. As always it is a treat to hear these two expound on their evolving thought with respect to Spirituality and Integral Philosophy. But I was struck by one area of exploration during their latest offering about the evolution of human knowledge and, more generally the evolution of consciousness vis-à-vis Enlightenment. And I’m still pondering the question about whether Enlightenment is relative, therefore evolving, or absolute and therefore a touching on the Ground of all Being, the Absolute, unchanging, fully evolved Truth. This exploration motivated my poem for the week:
Evolution of Enlightenment?
Some would say
We know more today
Than the Buddha did
When he awakened.
Human consciousness
Is evolving, yes?
We are reaching higher stages
Of development.
But what is enlightenment?
Realization of Absolute Truth,
The fully formed, never changing
Ground of Being?
Awakening to the never changing,
Formlessness cannot change.
Buddha is fully evolved.
Question answered; problem solved.
©2013 Richard W. Bredeson. All rights reserved.
Self-Forgiveness as a form of Self-Love
In yesterday’s post I responded to Rosemary’s exploration about Self-Love – how it feels. And I touched on forgiveness as a way of letting go, freeing oneself of bonds that constrict one’s growth and interfere with Self-Love which in turn interferes with one’s ability to love at all!
Then it hits; the lesson! It seems that as soon as I begin to think deeply about something I get hit with the exact lesson to drive home the understanding! Yesterday we were under time-pressure to finalize Rosemary’s class for that evening, to put together the presentation and collect all the materials. Then the printer indicated low ink supply, so it was off to Staples for more. But here’s the thing: we had received a big discount offer in the mail earlier in the week; I planned to use it for more ink. The discount could only be used online but I did not get a chance to get the order placed. And now we needed ink immediately. I stormed out of the house, hair on fire with the time-crunch foremost in my mind, and raced off to get the additional supplies. Then to compound an already harried day, I left material behind when we raced off to the class. More rushing, now we are late, more storming around!
It’s tough to reach into Self for some Love under these circumstances! It can only start with forgiveness!
The lessons here are multi-layered but the main one is Self-forgiveness. I had intended to order the ink. But the week was busy and it didn’t get done. As it turned out I didn’t even need the ink yet; the printer only sent me a warning. Everything turned out fine, the class was a great success and my hair didn’t really catch on fire! And now I even have a story to base this post on!
I am calm now. And I did learn something today, again, that’s very important: every moment is a learning experience, or at least an opportunity. If we pause in the moment and ask: “What is this?” even in the midst of the chaos and flaming hair, then we can begin the learning process. If we get angry, impatient, frustrated, and harried there is no room for learning, and likely, no peace, no calm, no Love! But it is not an easy practice to stop in the midst of the chaos, deadlines, time-constraints and frustrating interruptions to ask: “What is this?” Yet, this is the lesson and this is why we are here!
And at the end of the day I even have to look back and forgive myself for not only my impatience and anger, but the failed practice! It just keeps on compounding!
But isn’t this what “practice” is all about? If it is no longer practice, then we would not need to be here. Our purpose will have been fulfilled.
For now I’m just going to keep on practicing. Self-forgiveness is a very big and necessary action for those of us with a lot of Wood Element in our make-up. This is a reference to the main element type, of five, that I resonate with from Dr. Charles Moss’ work: Power of the Five Elements. I am nearly finished with the book, a fantastic reference for anyone interested in Chinese Medicine, the Tao, acupuncture and health. (I will review the book here once I have finished my detailed read of it.) Here is just a sample of why this book is helping with my practice:
“Forgiveness and patience, the Virtues associated with the Wood Type, come from the vision and insight of the Wood energy. These Virtues can neutralize frustration, anger, impatience, and hostility (the toxic emotions and actions of the poorly adapted Wood Type) and create a path back to adaptation.”
My practice continues to transform the toxic emotions into these Virtues, to create a path to adaptation, or what Dr. Moss calls “knowing how to be.”
What Does Self-Love Look Like? –Richard’s Commentary
“Love creates. Love bonds. Love attracts and holds securely. Love frees. Love develops and Love lets go. Love releases bonds that no longer serve.”
When I first read Rosemary’s “litany” about Love, Paul’s letter to the Corinthians came to mind, that often used text in Christian weddings: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking. It is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.” (Quoted from the NIV Bible published by Zondervan.)
While these lists of what Love looks like are superficially very different, they certainly are parallel. Rosemary’s list is about creation and development. There are bonds in Love but those bonds need to serve, not hinder growth. And Paul’s description of Love can certainly apply to creative development, growth. His words almost more appropriately apply to the Love between parent and child; there is a definite paternal quality to his list which likely reflected his feelings toward the Corithians.
Then how do these descriptions of Love apply to Self-Love, the main topic of Rosemary’s post? Creation and development are key in Rosemary’s list. And I believe this is very true for Self-Love to grow and flourish. As humans we can never stop growing, Life is about learning our lessons. And these lessons are all about the evolution of Consciousness. The explosive creation of the Universe, out of Love, initiated this entire evolutionary expansion we find ourselves in the midst of. If we were loved into existence then isn’t it incumbent on us to continue that love-stream?
Then look at what Paul says in the context of Self-Love: it is all about development, growth of a child. What if we apply these actions of patience, kindness, recording no wrongs toward ourselves? This creates an environment for learning our lessons, for expanding our consciousness and contributing to the evolution of Consciousness.
Paul’s and Rosemary’s litanies about Love turn out to be highly parallel and mutually supportive!
And what if we treat ourselves as they both implore? Rosemary says “Love releases bonds that no longer serve.” And Paul says Love “keeps no record of wrongs.” These words are describing forgiveness. And, for me, Self-Love and self-forgiveness are closely bound. There can’t be one without the other. I can only love myself from the capacity to forgive myself. And I can only forgive myself from that secure base of Self-Love.
When I am feeling low I sometimes need to drag out that “record of wrongs” I keep on myself and remember they are past wrongs that I need to let go; I need to release those “bonds that no longer serve.” This is a recurring theme for me; forgiving myself is at the base of picking myself up by my own bootstraps.
“Love is kind, it is not rude, it is not easily angered.” “Love frees.” I need to apply these words to me, often and always. Then perhaps I’ll more easily know what Self-Love does look like. And then, too, I’ll be contributing more to the evolution of Consciousness!
What does Self-Love look like for you?
ROSEMARY’S EXPLORATION: What Does Self-Love Look Like?
For each individual the specifics of Self-Love will differ, but the underlying energy is the same.
Love is a very high vibration, much higher than Romance, with which many people confuse Love. The energy of Pure Love is the vibrational frequency of the unifying force of the Universe. Love creates. Love bonds. Love attracts and holds securely. Love frees. Love develops and Love lets go. Love releases bonds that no longer serve.
These statements are true for every element in the Universe, from the smallest particle of matter to the energy of a human being to the largest planets, stars, galaxies. Love is the strongest force in the Universe.
All Love flows from Self-Love. The Universe-before-the-Universe so loved itself that it exploded into the Universe that you are experiencing at this time in the 21st Century. Everything that exists in this Universe was created out of energy potential of the Love that existed in that explosion of Self-Love. Every Universe came from that same energy.
In the life of every human being, there must be enough Self-Love to explode energy – that is the creative force energy – to manifest dreams into reality. If there is not enough Self-Love, then energy is sucked into oneself without the pure expression of Love energy in the outer world.
Those who exist with little or no Self-Love cannot manifest their high vibration dreams and desires.
All Love blossoms out of Self-Love. If you have a high enough level of this Self-Love then you cannot help but overflow into sharing that Love as Creative Energy in the world around you.
No relationship improves by working on it without also elevating one’s level of Self-Love. No situation – job, career, financial, legal, etc. – will improve before the person involved increases the level of Self-Love within.
What does this look like?
For one person, Self-Love might appear as eating a healthier diet. For another, it might be taking time to meditate or journal or walk in Nature. For someone else, Self-Love may mean severing a friendship, ending a relationship or quitting a job.
One person might need to speak their truth aloud. Another might need to stay quiet and change their situation.
The high vibration of Self-Love eclipses lashing out to hurt another but that doesn’t mean that others might not choose to feel hurt or even to play the victim in the situation. Self-Love leads one to stand in their own truth no matter what happens outside and around them. There is no intention to hurt another and yet there is also no responsibility for the reception one receives when standing in Self-Love.
Self-Love is not the same as Self-Care but all Self-Care develops out of Self-Love if it is healthy care. One does not rebel or feel guilty when Self-Care stems from Self-Love. There is a neutral character to this Self-Care—it just IS because it is based in Self-Love.
Ask yourself if you Love yourself enough to make choices from a place of Self-Love. Are you willing to look inside yourself and to love every part that you find there? Are you open to loving even those parts that you are wishing to change, simply because they are YOU and they have served you in some way up to this point?
Self-Acceptance and Self-Care come from Self-Love. As the Universe loved itself into existence, so should your Life be a reflection of great Self-Love. If you are unhappy about some element of your Life, then focus on increasing your level of Self-Love so that your Life can change to reflect that higher level of Love vibration.
Love your Life into existence as you desire, letting it blossom forth from Self-Love.
PS: In honor of the Equinox this week Rosemary is offering a Spring Cleaning Special – a big discount on your Scientific Hand Analysis Session — $100 off! This is the time to learn about your Soul Purpose and the gifts you’ve been given to manifest that Purpose in your life. If you’re ready to leap forward and take advantage of those expectations then send Rosemary an email and she’ll give you the discount code for your Scientific Hand Analysis Session. Get your Spring Cleaning done by clearing away the questions you have about ‘Why am I here?’ and ‘What are my next steps?’! rosemary@TheScientificMystic.com
Need more information on Scientific Hand Analysis? Find it here!
ROSEMARY’S INSPIRATION: Love Yourself into Your Greatness!
Here’s Rosemary’s video for the week: Love Yourself into Your Greatness!
PS: Are you interested in the subject of “Life after Life”? Rosemary did an interview with BlogTalkRadio program, Explore the Afterlife, the other day. Check out the recording here!
Monday’s Poem: Consensus Reality?
With the Spring Equinox coming this week my mind is on balance. I selected this poem for eqinox-Monday in a wistful recall of what once was “fair and balanced”!
Consensus Reality?
Perception is reality.
Mine or yours?
Consensus seems quite thin
These days.
Who’s right, who’s up, who’s in?
Adjustment is needed now.
Ours or theirs?
Who’s ready to give in
These days?
Not us, not them, no win.
Balance seems a thing long gone;
Fairness need not apply.
Maat is sorely stressed
These days.
Consensus fails the test!
©2013 Richard W. Bredeson. All rights reserved.
Men and The Goddess 