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Be on the Lookout – A Special 4th of July Commentary
My Thursday posts are normally my commentary on the Mystic Message of the week, Rosemary’s Exploration topic. This week’s is “Be on the Lookout” (posted yesterday). But this is a special day, so I am taking an opportunity to speak about the meaning of today’s holiday. And as an aside, I had drafted a rather scathing rant about the state of our Nation. Then I got an email yesterday from a dear friend with a new perspective. So I significantly edited my rant. I kept the first paragraph, however, to be sure the larger picture is not lost.
The 4th of July, 2013
The significance of this holiday diminishes for me as the American experiment in representative democracy fades in importance and effectiveness. Money seems to be winning. The economic system has overwhelmed the political process drowning it in cash and graft. All politicians, left, right and center, seem to have been bought. Greed seems to be the rule of the day. Is American democracy dead, buried in a golden sarcophagus?
If so, what is left? Is there anything to celebrate?
It’s here where my friend’s email and quote kicks in (and maybe gives me a kick in the pants). Here’s what he wrote:
I want to wish you a wonderful July 4th!
Here’s hoping this Independence Day brings you the best of summer – free time with friends and family, fun and games, memories and leisure. This really is a special occasion.
In a way, Independence Day might be the most under appreciated of our holidays. While serving as America’s ambassador to France in 1785, Thomas Jefferson wrote to the future fifth President, James Monroe: “How little do my countrymen know what precious blessings they are in possession of, and which no other people on earth enjoy!”
Jefferson’s point is not lost; in our affluence and relative comfort, we sometimes lose sight of the remarkable degree of freedom we have. Independence Day reminds us of how great our nation is, and how fortunate we are.
Happy Independence Day!
From my gloomy place of wonder what is left to celebrate I got this reminder. And then I thought about my other 4th celebrations and some of the corresponding expressions: “Is the corn knee high?” “Will everyone keep all their fingers?” “Will the potato salad stay cold enough?” “How ’bout them Os?”
Life goes on. Another holiday comes and goes with a blink, a tear, a fading memory of the laughter of children having fun at a parade or gasping at the fireworks!
To a large extent we are free to live our lives and love as we choose; our choices are many. In the end this is what we celebrate!
ROSEMARY’S EXPLORATION: Be on the Lookout!
Sometimes it feels as if everyone is holding their breath, waiting for something but unsure what that ‘something’ is. Are you ready?
When opportunity arrives it doesn’t always knock loudly at your door. It might sneak into your life as a flash of an idea. Or it might come through another person. The next opportunity might be blossoming before your very eyes and yet you’re missing it because you’re waiting for the loud knock on your door.
The way to live a conscious life is to be always on the lookout for the opportunities as they present themselves to you. Don’t prejudge what that opportunity will look like. Expect everything you perceive to have a message, a lesson for you. And be ready to take action to follow up on that opportunity.
Oftentimes we seem to succumb to our circumstances and give away control of our lives to what is going on around us. We fail to see the growth opportunity that is right before our face. It doesn’t matter how evolved you might be, it can be easy to miss the forest because you’re focused on the tree. This is when it is so helpful to have a friend, counselor, coach to help you to step back and get perspective.
What opportunities are presenting themselves to you now? Do you have someone you trust with whom you can share your thoughts? Are you ready to take action when those opportunities are identified for you?
Your higher self knows what you need to progress on the path of personal growth. Whether you are focused on career or family or acquisition of knowledge, you have a guide within you who can help to steer your path in the direction that brings the most growth. Your job is to recognize the signposts along that path and take action in the direction in which they are pointing.
Are you ready to recognize those signposts and move? It is so easy to stay put, to dawdle, to wait and test the waters without commitment to action. But in this 21st Century energy we have no time to wait. We are called to action NOW.
Each person on Planet Earth in these times is called to share their gifts, their life purpose, with the others on the Planet. In the grand plan of the Universe, we have all agreed to share Planet Earth together and we each have a role to play. Others are waiting for you to step into your power and show up in their lives. The opportunity to be of service is being presented to you in small ways and in large. Your only role is to be who you came to Earth to be.
And NOW is the time. Are you ready?
Take a moment today to notice what could be opportunities for you to move forward. Just notice. Then ask yourself if you are willing to take action on those opportunities. If the answer is ‘No’ or ‘Not yet’ then ask yourself what is holding you back.
Notice the ideas that flash through your mind today. Is there something that keeps popping in that you continue to ignore? Is there an idea that has been nagging at you for a while that you have tried to push aside? Pay attention to those ideas.
Does someone bring up a topic that spurs an interest in you to pursue? Pursue it. If you see a doorway opening, walk through it.
Practice taking action on opportunities and see how much forward motion you can enjoy.
Are you ready?
PS: Here’s an opportunity for you to get ready for: Rosemary’s Conversation with The Other Side on July 13 promises to be another great evening. For a sample of the depth and detail of the messages you can expect she has posted some samples on her website: Sample Messages. Go to the link to hear and see how this works and how you can benefit with messages from The Other Side!
ROSEMARY’S INSPIRATION: Opportunities in Disguise
My “Two-Minute” video for the week: Opportunities in Disguise
PS: Here’s an opportunity for you: Rosemary’s Conversation with The Other Side on July 13 promises to be another great evening. For a sample of the depth and detail of the messages you can expect she has posted some samples on her website: Sample Messages. Go to the link to hear and see how this works and how you can benefit with messages from The Other Side!
MONDAY’S POEM: Awareness and Action
Last Friday I posted a musing on the subject of “awareness.” I’ve been practicing all weekend; have you? It’s not an easy thing. We are bombarded with so much information that it is difficult to be “fully aware” at all times. But how else are we to be positioned for “right action” if we are not fully aware? My poem today is about that:
Awareness and Action
A million bits of information
Streaming from a thousand sources.
Are you aware of seven or nine?
Your unconscious mind
Absorbs it all!
Awareness is a nebulous thing:
Seven, nine, ten-thousand things
Add to consciousness moment
To moment even as we sleep.
Absorb it all?
Nan-in asks Tenno: “Umbrella to clogs,
Left or right?” Ten-thousand bits
Lost in unconsciousness. Ten more
Years of Awareness practice;
Absorb it all!
Practice in Action. It is all
Practice! For what you ask:
How will you ever know
Bliss if you don’t
Absorb it All?
©2013 Richard W. Bredeson. All rights reserved.
Awareness
I often use this word, awareness, as a key word for both my blogs and Rosemary’s. It is a good synonym for “consciousness” and, I’m sure you know by now, we are all about increasing our level of consciousness, our awareness! I don’t think I have ever written about this subject specifically, but several events lately have caused me to pause and wonder just how developed my awareness is!
The other day I went to Radio Shack to replace a power supply for Rosemary’s portable DVD player. I took the player with me to be sure I got the right one with the correct tip to plug it in. I purchased the adapter which we tested in the store; it worked perfectly and even brought up the DVD in the player. I left the store with my purchase and drove off in the car for the next errand. When I got to my next stop I looked around for the DVD player and it was gone. I ransacked the car thinking it had slid off the seat or under a seat. It was nowhere to be found. I went back to the store in case I had left it there. No one had seen it. I retraced my route in case I had left it on the car roof and driven off with it there. No sign of it! Now I was frustrated, confused and upset; how could a DVD player simply disappear. I returned the power adapter to the store. The player has never shown up!
Awareness. My awareness shifted focus at some point in this transaction and I lost a DVD player. I was distracted by my next errand and failed to successfully complete the current errand.
And then again, the other day, I was preparing for my Qigong class. I have this delightful alarm-clock, Zen meditation timer that I began using a couple of weeks ago to gently remind me with a very pleasant chime where I am within the schedule of the class and practice. The timer was not in the bag I use to carry things back and forth to class. I looked everywhere, even the car in case it had fallen out of the bag in transit. A day or so later I decided to look for it in the place I used to keep it before I started using it for Qigong; and there it was! I have no recollection of putting it back in its old place!
These two stories remind me of an old favorite Zen story of mine; in this version it’s called “Full Awareness” and goes like this:
After ten years of apprenticeship, Tenno achieved the rank of Zen teacher. One rainy day, he went to visit the famous master Nan-in. When he walked in, the master greeted him with a question, “Did you leave your wooden clogs and umbrella on the porch?”
“Yes,” Tenno replied.
“Tell me,” the master continued, “did you place your umbrella to the left of your shoes, or to the right?”
Tenno did not know the answer, and realized that he had not yet attained full awareness. So he became Nan-in’s apprentice and studied under him for ten more years.
Yes, I can easily say I have, at least, 10 more years of practice to reach “full awareness.”
I am finishing this post just after returning from my Svaroopa Yoga practice. The opening and closing Shavasana focuses on body awareness; whole body awareness from the tips of the toes to the crown of the head. The guided meditation is a wonderful practice of total relaxation and yet a heightened sense of awareness. Ten years more is not such a long time!
PS: The contemplation for my yoga practice this week speaks pointedly to this subject of awareness:
Real happiness abides in Self-knowledge alone. All else is fleeting. To know one’s Self is to be blissful always. – Ramana Maharshi
The Heart of Humanity – Richard’s Commentary
Yesterday’s post was a message, as channeled by Rosemary, from The Divine Feminine. There is little I can say that will enhance their powerful message. But I do want to offer some thoughts and examples, perhaps in my way to amplify the message.
My first thought in encountering the words of The Divine Feminine comes from my training and work in indigenous cultures and their understanding of this “Heart” especially as it relates to ancestors. We, as living humans, stand on the bones of our ancestors; but their hearts beat right beside our own. Many of you know Rosemary as a medium who can speak directly to our ancestors, those who have transitioned in the near past and even ancestors from generations past. They are right here with us! So, when The Divine Feminine speak of The Heart of Humanity and say: “This is not about the individual heart of a single person but, rather, the collective heart of the humans both alive and in spirit” they include our ancestors in this Heart. Why is this important? They are right here with us, watching us, cheering us on. So often their messages through Rosemary are words of pride in our achievements, words of encouragement to continue to learn the lessons and evolve, words of comfort that they are with us! Their hearts beat within The Heart of Humanity just as ours do. Live and love within this energy!
My second reaction to the message is a recall of a divination card I often receive from the Goddess Guidance Oracle Cards by Doreen Virtue, PhD. Maat is a Goddess in the deck that 
carries the message of “fairness.” (I’ve pictured the card here.) The key to understanding the message of this card is in the definition Dr. Virtue offers for fairness: “It’s when all parties involved surrender their personal agendas in favor of the greater good for the entirety of the group. This requires trust in the wisdom of the group.” And I add this requires trust in The Heart of Humanity.
I like this definition of fairness a lot. And it is little wonder that I receive this card a lot! What if our justice system were based on fairness: what’s good for everyone, the common good? How did The Divine Feminine put it? – “For the good of all.” With no qualifiers. We are all in this together. Sometimes we may not like this inclusive approach to “all.” But we are all members of The Heart of Humanity!
My third thought goes to our “community supported agriculture” (CSA) farm. As I write this, today is pick-up day. Each week we get a box of organic produce fresh from the fields. During this past winter we purchased a family share in the farm. Now we are getting our return on that investment. We paid our local organic farmer in advance and now receive a share. This share means we are part of a community, part of the common good; and we are sharing now in the results, good harvest or poor harvest (and so far it’s been very good!); we share the benefit as well as the risk. Our community farm is part of The Heart of Humanity.
The Heart of Humanity is about our Ancestors and what they worked hard for, it’s about fairness, and it’s about sharing in the common good. I hope you are enjoying your share in this Heart!
PS: Come speak with your ancestors! They are alive in The Heart of Humanity. Your next opportunity to participate in a Conversation with The Other Side is July 13 at 7:00 pm Eastern. You can join the Conversation online via a video internet connection, or voice/phone; and if you can come to Annapolis, join Rosemary live! Get the details here.
ROSEMARY’S EXPLORATION: The Heart of Humanity
A message for you today from The Divine Feminine:
“Dear Ones,
We are here today to speak of the Heart of Humanity. This is not about the individual heart of a single person but, rather, the collective heart of the humans both alive and in spirit.
The Heart of Humanity is an energy of immense, unselfish, unconditional Love. This love for all humanity is the impetus behind humanitarian efforts of all kinds. Great spiritual teachers of all traditions have cared very deeply for the well-being of the people around them and for humanity at large. In fact, ‘humanitarian’ implies that the caring is only for human beings but this kind of caring and love extends to all Life, to all Beings, including animals and even plants.
Think of the teachings attributed to Jesus and Buddha about compassion and love for all. They were teaching about the Heart of Humanity. The Dalai Lama and other holy people of contemporary times teach the same message of caring for all.
Now notice how many preach a different story of separateness, of difference that allows one to feel ‘better than’ others, of deservedness vs. undeserving. There are those who are preaching the concepts of ‘mine vs. theirs’ with no concern for the common good. This does not come from the Heart of Humanity but from the source of greed that depends on fear of lack. This has no heart energy in it at all.
Some who claim to be religious people have embraced the teachings of separation and greed but have couched their preaching in a language that they think speaks to a common good. They have either deluded themselves into this belief or have chosen to mislead others by consciously using language to cover up the energy of greed and separation.
Great spiritual teachers offer their teachings to those who are ready to hear. They share from a place that they realize is greater than their own ego. They do not attempt to coerce or to impose their beliefs on others. They have too much respect for the free will of humans to try to convert someone to their way of thinking. They merely offer and allow the hearers to decide for themselves what they will accept.
This attitude for sharing spiritual teaching comes from the Heart of Humanity. The energy of ‘allowing’ is a more loving energy than that of ‘coercing’ or ‘converting.’ The Heart of Humanity is a gentle energy.
But this same energy can become fierce in the face of threats to the common good. When energy is needed for the preservation and protection of a group of people the Heart of Humanity spurs human helpers into action. This is the response you see in outpourings of help after disasters on Planet Earth.
The Heart of Humanity also compels people to work for the evolution of consciousness on the Planet. Teaching about the connectedness of all, that what is good for one is good for the group, that each individual has a responsibility to all others – these teachings stem from the Love and Compassion in the Heart of Humanity.
‘For the good of all.’ This does not have qualifying factors as some would propose when they separate people into groups who deserve and those who do not. When one makes a choice that seems good for an individual or small group at the expense of or that harms others, then one is not operating from within the Heart of Humanity.
‘For the good of all.’
Let this become your mantra. You cannot separate yourself from the matrix of all humanity. You can only choose how you will make your choices as one node in that matrix connected to all other nodes.
When you choose to work for the highest good of all humanity, you light up your node and add light to the entire web that connects all humans on Planet Earth. Your choices for yourself become clear as this light shines upon the possibilities. And YOU benefit from these choices as well.
The connectedness is a fact. There are those who know this fact and there are others who misguidedly believe that they are isolated from others and that they can make choices for themselves without regard for others or even at the expense of others. Sadly for them, they cannot choose to be isolated from the connection. Thus, the energy of harm stays in the energy grid and seeks to attach to like energy. It will be enhanced by similar nodes and will come back to them magnified.
This is what the traditions teach about karma. The energy you put into this grid seeks like energy and returns to your node magnified.
Choose to energize the Love and Compassion of the Heart of Humanity!
And So It Is.”
PS: Your next opportunity to participate in a Conversation with The Other Side is July 13 at 7:00 pm Eastern. You can join the Conversation online via a video internet connection, or voice/phone; and if you can come to Annapolis, join me live! Get the details here.
ROSEMARY’S INSPIRATION: The Heart of Humanity
Rosemary’s video for the week: The Heart of Humanity
PS: Your next opportunity to participate in a Conversation with The Other Side is July 13 at 7:00 pm Eastern. You can join the Conversation online via a video internet connection, or voice/phone; and if you can come to Annapolis, join Rosemary live! Get the details here.
MONDAY’S POEM: Hello Grandpa
Last Monday I posted my poem “The Journey” about a trip I often take. On that trip I almost always see my grandfather’s skull. Sometimes we talk. This is one conversation:
Hello Grandpa
I see him on the sandy
Floor of the cave I visit.
He is nothing but bones now,
Just a skull, really,
Grinning there, guarding.
“Hello, Grandpa. I love you.
And, thanks for being here.”
He laughs through that grinning
Maw, hollow eyes alight with fire.
I can almost hear his whisper:
“No place to go! I am everywhere.
Good to see you too!” Eyes flare.
“You are grandpa too!
How’s that going?
Are you getting the hang of it?”
I stumble and look back.
These are no idle questions.
“It could be better. You are a
Perfect model. It starts with
Loving me as you loved me!”
©2013 Richard W. Bredeson. All rights reserved.
The Cycles of Life
This week’s theme in Rosemary’s blog was Cycles beginning with her video message on Tuesday. Yesterday I wrote about the primary cycle in human life, human consciousness: Death. And as we move now into the energy of the Summer Solstice here in the Northern Hemisphere I am once again reminded of all the cycles that occur in our lives, from the most minute, the life and death of a single cell (we lose more than 50 billion a day to apoptosis!) to the solar cycle through solstices and equinoxes and all the solar holidays in-between, to human death.
As I thought about Glenn Smith, his early-in-life transition (he was only 55) I drew two divination cards (a daily practice, usually with the intention of divining the energy for the day); I wanted to tap in and see if Glenn had any messages for me through the cards.
First I drew Butterfly Maiden from the Doreen Virtue Goddess Guidance Oracle Cards. No surprise as this card is all about “transformation.” This is what I wrote about the card, pictured here:
Death is the big transformation for humans, only rivaled in grandeur and trauma by birth. And in a sense these largest of events in our experience of consciousness are one and the same. They are each part of the human cycle, a circle which has no end nor beginning. Birth, Life, Death, around we go always becoming, renewing, rejoicing in the knowing! And not knowing!
The second card I drew was from the Aleister Crowley Thoth Tarot Deck; it was the 10 of Disks, “wealth.” This is what I wrote about the 10, pictured here:
Wealth. Fulfillment. The completion of human goals. Another “end-vibration” card showing me that endings are not only OK but need to be expected. We can never be sure when a life is fulfilled. Too often endings are abrupt and unexpected. A greater cycle, beyond human consciousness and understanding – the mystery – is playing out. We are but cycles within cycles adding our ounce of Oneness to the tidal ocean of consciousness. Rest, Glenn. We hold your ounce as precious!
We can measure so many cycles: the cycle of a cell’s life, the cycle of the sun as it appears to spin around the earth. But how do we measure the cycle of a man’s life? The span of time from birth to death, to fulfillment of one life, remains in the mystery. Yet there is so much to learn from each precious life.
I learned many things from Glenn in our too short friendship. He was such a gentle man and yet so deeply conscious. Read about him in the blog we wrote together: powerfulsensitivemen.com. And here’s something he wrote for Rosemary I want to share:
Having always thought I was a bit odd and different from the regular crowd, I was overjoyed to receive a message passed to me through Rosemary Bredeson that I was indeed ‘different’, during a group session I attended. In fact every message she passed to the twelve people gathered had some impact on me. The message I received could not have been more relevant for me even though I have had many readings by many different psychics over many years. Her joyful way of expressing heartfelt messages from The Other Side was a delight to witness.
This is how Glenn was in life; he always seemed overjoyed and delighted!
I went to my Svaroopa Yoga class tonight energized as I often am to take respite in my body, to bring my consciousness to my physical being rooted as I am in this life for now on the planet. For the evening’s contemplation my teacher used a quote from Aristotle:
Happiness is the meaning and purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.
Glenn was a happy man, passing to another phase of consciousness having fulfilled his purpose in this cycle on Planet Earth.
Men and The Goddess 