Archive
ROSEMARY’S INSPIRATION: Reflect on 2013, Ponder 2014
My short end-of-year video for this week: Reflect on 2013, Ponder 2014
PS: While you ponder 2014 you may want to listen to a message Rosemary channeled from The Divine Feminine on the Winter Solstice; they offered guidance and advice on what we might expect in 2014, and how to approach the year’s upcoming energy. Expect more change! The transformation continues! The message it is now available as an MP3 recording for a modest price; check out the details here: Winter Solstice Message
MONDAY’S POEM: The Most Popular from 2013: Karma
For the end of 2013 I did a scan of poems I published here on Mondays and discovered the most popular one, by the number of “likes” was Karma. Here it is again; and thanks to all for your following and reading through the year!
Karma
There’s always more to burn:
Fuel to feed the great fire.
Travels through life in the mire
Lead to more lessons to learn.
Brothers of three generations
Differ in extraordinary ways.
Their life-paths twist through a maze;
Destinies driven by their limitations.
Karma is complex to unwind;
The source is a tangle of lives.
The weaving together of so many tribes
Forms a patchwork, one of a kind.
When love is the thread for the stitches,
The patterns emerge in fine hues.
The patchwork of reds, purples, blues
Renders a tapestry depicting life’s riches.
©2013 Richard W. Bredeson. All rights reserved.
And, have a safe, wonderful, happy and prosperous 2014!
PS: Next year will be wonderful! How do I know? Because I listened to a message from The Divine Feminine channeled by Rosemary on the Winter Solstice; and they offered guidance and advice on what we might expect in 2014 and how to approach the year’s upcoming energy. Expect more change! The transformation continues! If you missed the message it is now available as an MP3 recording for a modest price; check out the details here: Winter Solstice Message
Reflections on 2013
We have reached the last weekend of 2013! I hope yours has been as adventurous as mine has. I have experienced some significant ups and downs; this is the way of life. The ups remind us of how high we can fly! And the downs come along to teach us our lessons so we can fly higher still!
So, whatever happened through the year, reflect on the gains and the lessons (which are also gains). And carry the changes, the newness, your transformed self into 2014 with confidence, character and that sense of adventure that keeps life grand.
I want to conclude this short note today with a huge Thank You to all of you who follow this blog and frequently “like” my writings, especially the poems. Do know that I visit your blogs too and appreciate your efforts, even if I don’t always click through. I’ll work harder to make my appreciation known going forward.
Finally, I would like to let you know about a major project I am beginning to plan for 2014. I will share the details as I work through them and I will share the process as it unfolds. I am excited; I hope you will follow my progress with enthusiastic support!
Blessings and love as you wind down 2013 and look ahead to a fantastically transformational 2014!
PS: Next year will be wonderful! How do I know? Because I listened to a message from The Divine Feminine channeled by Rosemary on the Winter Solstice; and they offered guidance and advice on what we might expect in 2014 and how to approach the year’s upcoming energy. Expect more change! The transformation continues! If you missed the message it is now available as an MP3 recording for a modest price; check out the details here: Winter Solstice Mesage
You Are the Best Holiday Gift – Richard’s Commentary
Well, it’s all over! Or, is it? Yes, Hanukkah, the Winter Solstice and Christmas are behind us. But we have the Gregorian New Year, Epiphany, the Lunar New Year, and a whole new year of holiday’s coming up. And we have today, December 26. Many people are out returning or exchanging the gifts they received. They are back in the hustle/bustle of shopping for the post-holiday bargains; maybe some are even getting ready for next Christmas, buying up trimmings and paper and lights and party goods for the holidays of 2014!
However, if you carried the meaning of yesterday message from Rosemary with you, then your gifts to others, those gifts of yourself – a smile, a kind word, a hug at the right moment, and even an attitude of cheer through the day, those “gifts of yourself” cannot be exchanged, they can’t be taken back; but of course, they might be returned!
Every Christmas for I don’t know how many years now, my brothers and their families put on a Christmas dinner for those in my tiny home town that don’t have family, might not be able to purchase a fancy dinner with all the trimmings, or are just feeling the need to be with others at Christmas. Yesterday they went through two big turkeys and a giant ham, serving over 70 people with great food, warm cheer and smiles all around. When I talked to my older brother around 7:30 last evening he was already dozing off, beat from the hard day’s work; but he was so upbeat we gabbed for almost an hour. He gave the gift of himself and received so much more. His cheer was infectious!
So, hear Rosemary’s advice in your heart: Think outside the box of your own feelings. It doesn’t matter whether you are smiling all the time or crying all the time. There is more in you than just those feelings. And there is more around you than just what you are feeling today. Today is a holiday too; every day is a holy-day if we are present to every moment and present to how we are a present to the world!
And: Stay upbeat, if you can. Smile if you feel like it. Ask for help if you need it. Find someone with whom you can let your hair down and be yourself and share your feelings without judging yourself. Then find someone who might need a helping hand and offer that hand, outstretched because giving is great and receiving is, too. Be the gift that keeps on giving; and enjoy the gifts of a smile, a hug, a cheerful greeting you receive from others. And take these gifts into 2014, because that way it will be a wonderful New Year!
PS: Next year will be wonderful! How do I know? Because I listened to a message from The Divine Feminine channeled by Rosemary on the Winter Solstice; and they offered guidance and advice on what we might expect in 2014 and how to approach the year’s upcoming energy. Expect more change! The transformation continues! If you missed the message it is now available as an MP3 recording for a modest price; check out the details here: Winter Solstice Mesage
ROSEMARY’S EXPLORATION: You Are the Best Holiday Gift!
Are YOU in the holiday spirit? Or are you feeling a bit down about something in your life? Do you feel some pressure to perform with a smile on your face when all you want to do is hibernate?
In the US, it’s a bit difficult to distance yourself from all the ‘holiday hoopla,’ with bells ringing on the streets and music playing everywhere. Malls are crowded with people, some of whom are spending money that they can’t afford. There are parties all around. Some folks wish they didn’t have to attend so many and others wish they had been invited to at least one. Some people dread spending time with their family while others wish they could be with family that is distant or gone.
Is what is happening in December authentic? Are you feeling invited to be your authentic self? Or does a part of this smack of inauthenticity for you?
Neither constant, upbeat smiles nor constant, depressed frowns represent authenticity at the deepest level. It’s good to be upbeat. It’s okay to smile a lot. It’s also okay to feel like not smiling. This isn’t saying that you ‘should’ feel or be any way other than how you feel.
However, what choices are you making today? If you feel very upbeat and happy and in your ‘holiday jollies,’ are you thinking of less fortunate folks who might need a helping hand? If you are depressed or feeling low, are you focusing all of your energies on what you don’t have or how poorly you feel instead of looking at your life and feeling gratitude? Who can YOU help?
Helping others, giving to others, and not just gifts that cost money but gifts of self, time, talents, attention – this outward focus is the authentic aspect of humanity that we sometimes forget is a part of us. We WANT to be useful and helpful, even when we need help from others. We trip ourselves up when all we can see on our private radar screens is what we consider our own plight, our ‘woe is me’ vision. We can also trip ourselves up by feeling happy and smiley and not noticing that someone near to us has a broken heart.
If we put on our ‘service-self glasses’ we can see beyond our own situation and find someone out there to whom we can give a gift.
Stay in the holiday spirit not because it’s Christmas but because you want to smile. Help someone by holding open a door for them. Give to charities because there are so many in need. Call a friend who has suffered a loss and share with them your attention and time.
Play ‘Secret Santa’ for someone. What a joy it can be to do something for someone and never let them know that you did that for them!
Think outside the box of your own feelings. It doesn’t matter whether you are smiling all the time or crying all the time. There is more in you than just those feelings. And there is more around you than just what you are feeling today.
Stay upbeat, if you can. Smile if you feel like it. Ask for help if you need it. Find someone with whom you can let your hair down and be yourself and share your feelings without judging yourself. Then find someone who might need a helping hand and offer that hand, outstretched because giving is great and receiving is, too.
Are you willing to receive help? Are you willing to give help?
Have a Happy Holiday because you can genuinely feel gratitude and joy. Smile because you have smiles to give to others. Notice if someone is having a hard time and share your smile and your heart with them.
Be yourself and you are the greatest gift you can give to the world!
PS: I hosted a wonderful Winter Solstice event this past Saturday and channeled an important message from The Divine Feminine who gave us amazing guidance for 2014. You can receive this 57 minute recording for only $14. Go to my website for immediate access: TheScientificMystic.com
ROSEMARY’S INSPIRATION: Have a Happy Authentic Holiday!
Rosemary’s “Three-Minute” video for the week: Have a Happy Authentic Holiday!
PS: Rosemary hosted a wonderful Winter Solstice event this past Saturday and channeled an important message from The Divine Feminine who gave us amazing guidance for 2014. You can receive this 57 minute recording for only $14. Go to my website for immediate access: TheScientificMystic.com
MONDAY’S POEM: Homecoming
I found this poem in a notebook stored from another time. I had written it for our daughter for Christmas exactly 20 years ago . She was coming home from school; and I remembered some of my own homecomings from when I would return from college.
And here it is Christmas again. Many will be coming home; perhaps there will be some resonance with this:
Homecoming
Sitting in the car
Outside the door
Emotions racing
I hesitated.
I knew all would
Be the same.
Nothing changed.
Not all was good;
Not all was bad.
Mixed – like life
I faced my future,
Opened my door,
Stepped out,
Breathed the fresh,
Unchanged country air.
I glanced around,
Saw the familiar
Scene remembered
For so long now,
Beyond remembering.
Time mingled with
Space – things froze.
I broke the spell
With a shake; stepped
Forward toward
The door with the
Weathered knob
And turned it open.
The threshold seemed
A barrier, not an entry.
A gateless gate from now
To the past; to the future?
I needed to know!
So I crossed over;
Inhaled the sameness;
Devoured the love waiting –
I was back home.
©1993 Richard W. Bredeson. All rights reserved.
Have a very happy “homecoming”!
My Authentic Buddhist Self
I’m not very fond of labels. Maybe it’s because I prefer to go through life flexibly, avoiding being “type-cast” in any particular role. Perhaps this keeps me in flow, ready for change, evolving through the lives I have lived, even in this one life-time! Or does it keep me from commitment?
I grew up in a so called Christian home. We didn’t so much think of ourselves as Christian at that time; everyone was one so there was no need to distinguish ourselves with the label. When filling out forms and the “religion question” was asked I checked the “Christian” box; this was automatic but I’m not so sure how authentic it was.
The University, Peace Corps and life experiences, not the least of which was initiation into Transcendental Meditation in 1969, moved me smartly beyond the Christian label. I wasn’t anti-Christian; I had just moved beyond the dogma and form I had grown up with.
I was ordained in December 2000 as an “Interfaith Minister” through Pebble Hill Interfaith Community Church in Pennsylvania. Yes, this is a label but it seemed broad enough to fit my approach to “stay loose.” And my ordination wasn’t so much to earn a title as to continue the search for an identity. My course of studies helped me along that path but I did not conclude anything other than to continue the search.
What am I searching for? Certainly not a label. But I am looking for an authentic identity. Don’t we all want to know who we are?
Rosemary and I have written a lot about this subject, “Purpose.” It really does come down to this in the end. Don’t we all long to know “why”?
It has come to this: in these days when we have written about authenticity it is time to go inside and seek the clear answer to the question. I have studied, practiced, remembered, sat for hours, been in silence, bowed to statues and other iconic art, chanted, risen in the dark before dawn to the call of the Han, considered the vows, all the while feeling the familiarity of it. And I have resisted. It is time now to embrace who I truly am.
For much of my life now I have been a practicing Zen Buddhist without taking the full vows and without the label. But I’m not a Zen Buddhist. What I have been truly resisting, or perhaps more accurately not fully realizing and embracing, is the call to study and practice Tibetan Buddhism, Vajrayana, The Diamond Path.
Why the resistance? In part I’ve thought of the Vajrayana as ornate, overly ceremonial and complex; I like the simple, clear Zen-way of things. In part I have resisted Tantra as a practice overly foreign and strange; I prefer the straightforward, easily comprehended approach to practice. And, in part, I have walked the Vajra Path in previous lives; I’ve done that, don’t need to do that, learn that again in this life.
Then I began to receive visions in my meditations; visions of the very ornate and overly ceremonial practices and technologies of Trantra. I began, again, to read the Kalachakra Tranta Rite of Initiation, this time with clarity and excitement. I researched when His Holiness is conferring the initiation again: 2014 in Ladakh! And I began having visions of doing this!
It has taken me my whole life to return, again, to something familiar, something genuine, something that has been calling to me to come back. I’ve known I’m a Buddhist at heart. And now I am embracing the truth that I am a follower of the Trantric Path. Perhaps in some mysterious way this is my ultimate label.
You will be reading more about this journey I’m setting off on in the coming weeks and months. It is a journey home to my authentic self!
The Success of Your Authentic Self – Richard’s Commentary
Rosemary and I just returned from our monthly gathering of the EQUAAC group we are part of. This is the Equality Anne Arundel County group who, among other things, worked for the passage of Marriage Equality in Maryland. It’s a wonderful, warm group of men and women, both gay and straight who happen to believe in “equality” in all things! Rosemary and I are always welcomed with open arms, hugs, kisses and big smiles. It is such a pleasure to be part of this group!
And one thing always strikes me when we get together: I can be my authentic self with these wonderful human beings. I don’t have to pretend; there are no pretenses; there are no hidden motives, no one trying to get an upper hand or convince anyone of something other than genuine gladness to be together.
Maybe this is a luxury of getting older. I can be myself no matter whom I’m with or what I’m doing. Why can’t it always be this way? Here’s Rosemary’s answer:
We forget.
We forget to reach inside ourselves for answers. We forget that we are ‘enough’ just as we are. We forget that no one else knows exactly what our Soul Contract with the Universe is and that we agreed to come into this world at this time.
I am forgetting less often! I am working very hard, through my various practices to remember who I am, why I’m here and to live with that level of authenticity. And it does take practice. The ego wants to pretend; it’s sometimes easier that way, less risky. The ego doesn’t always like authenticity. But inside there are better answers; “real” answers. When we go inside we do remember what’s important.
And it is a matter of remembering, as Rosemary points out in yesterday’s post. We all come in knowing and remembering our purpose, our true self and the true reason the Universe called us to BE, here and now. Society and our ego want us to forget. We go through our growing years and our “educational process” learning to forget! If we all remembered to fulfill our purposes society would be very different. And society, just like our egos, wants to maintain the status quo.
There may be stability in the status quo but I wouldn’t call it success. Where is the impetus for evolution if we all toe the line and forget our purpose? Where’s the progress if we ignore our inner truth and accept someone else’s judgment about that? Where’s the lesson, the gain, the success if we pretend we are something other than who we came here to be?
Our success can only truly be measured against our true purpose. We all know our purpose; we may have forgotten it but it is in there, inside. We came with blueprints; we can remember. It takes practice but it is there.
Rosemary’s clarion call is to “remember.” I echo this call! We are called to awaken to our purpose, to our authentic selves. What better time than now, this holiday season and at year’s end to take up this cause and remember!
ROSEMARY’S EXPLORATION: The Success of Your Authentic Self
We forget, sometimes. We get caught up in images and activities and, horror of horrors, what other people think. We look in the mirror and see all the things that don’t match what we think we are supposed to look like. We envy the person who has the better partner, car, job, bank account.
And so we try. We follow a leader who says, ‘Just do what I do and you will have great success.’ We buy the clothes we think we should wear. We only date the folks we think our friends, parents, children will approve. We take a job that pays what someone says we should make, even if the job makes us feel miserable.
We forget.
We forget to reach inside ourselves for answers. We forget that we are ‘enough’ just as we are. We forget that no one else knows exactly what our Soul Contract with the Universe is and that we agreed to come into this world at this time.
We forget that we are a Child of the Universe with a unique reason for being on Planet Earth in the 21st Century. We forget that Mother Earth asked for us to come to her at this very moment in her history. We forget that we have a Purpose and that there is a reason we were born.
Our only work is to remember.
Remember that you are the only YOU the Universe will ever need. Remember that you are the Light of the World that only you can shine. Remember that your Purpose cannot be accomplished by any other Soul.
Remember that the Universe and Mother Earth conspired to bring you into human form to accomplish that Purpose and that they pledged to support you, with all the resources that you need to do that.
And all that you need to do is to Remember Who You Are.
Remember that all the circumstances around you have been brought to you by your ego/personality so that your Soul can learn the lessons it needs to learn. Remember that you are NOT your circumstances.
Remember that all the people around you are present to assist you in learning your lessons. Some of them drew the short straw and agreed to come into being so that they could represent the ‘jerk’ energy that you need to encounter to help you learn your lessons. Some people are here to help you remember that, while they may act as if they have something to say about you, you are not defined or confined or identified by anything that they say or think.
Your Authentic Self is the You who is the Light in the World that vibrates to your own unique frequency. Your success depends only on the extent to which you express your unique self in the world.
Be authentic. Be the real you. There is no one and nothing to hide behind. No one can judge you. No one can hold you back. Who can fight against the Universe and Mother Earth who are united to support you?
Get to know your Authentic Self. Get help to recognize yourself if you forget who you are. Present ONLY your Authentic Self to the world and allow others to learn their own lessons while you focus on yours.
And all you have to do is Remember.
PS: You are invited to Satsang with Rosemary. Guidance is available from many dimensions. Rosemary is continuing a series of teaching and channeling experiences for everyone! If you have spiritual questions, if you want to hear messages from other dimensions, if you are curious about life beyond this physical, three-dimensional world, if you are curious about the energies of 2014, join us for a unique experience! Come with your questions; this opportunity is interactive. Rosemary will teach and channel for part of the time and answer your questions at the end of the evening. And for December 21, the Winter Solstice, Rosemary is offering Satsang for FREE! Join us online or in person; check out the details here. Enter FREEDECEMBER as the coupon code in the Shopping Cart.
Please enjoy!
Men and The Goddess 