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Reflections from 2013 = Guidance for 2014 – Richard’s Commentary
As my commentary on Rosemary’s important post from yesterday I simply want to trace the development of the reflections leading to the guidance for the new year and note why these thoughts and development are so important to our growth in consciousness.
Each of us has a responsibility to ourselves and to others to learn how to live in community with the people around us. Evolution in conscious returns us to community. I say “returns us” here because as the human race was developing a few thousand years ago, we did so only in community. The “rugged individualism” of the so-called modern west had yet to arise. Humans depended on other humans, living together in social structures in which everyone had a role to play, a dependent and cooperative role. We need to return to that level of consciousness.
Reach out beyond what you can see to the possibilities that are there. Always reach higher. We are never finished with development. “After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water.” There is no limit, no goal that can be achieved and sustained without reaching higher.
A crystalized belief feels like an energy block. Examine all beliefs; The Divine Feminine during the Winter Solstice message channeled by Rosemary, said our beliefs will be challenged in 2014. We will be called to defend them. Are you prepared to defend all of your beliefs? Are you prepared to release the ones that are holding you back?
When you find yourself stuck in a rut, or not sure what your next step is, remind yourself that you are always at a point of choice in your life. We are always at choice. This can be either exhilarating or daunting. Choose the freedom and exhilaration this requires and make the best choices you can with the information you have in the moment. If it turns out to be the right choice, celebrate your brilliance. If it turns out there may have been a better choice, forgive yourself, learn the lesson and move on!
It’s okay to consider yourself and your own needs. It’s not “selfish” to take care of yourself. You cannot serve from an empty container. You first have to love yourself in order to be able to love your neighbor, and your enemy!
When you put your attention on being instead of doing, your energy flows into being the you you were meant to be. We are humanbeings. Find the way to be, in the moment, in the present, right here, right now. Now is the only reality. If you find the way to be then you will have the energy and the motivation to do.
When you demand control of your environment, you limit the ways in which the Universe answers your requests. This is excellent advice for the western mind. We are all about control; we want things just so, the way we planned them, the way we expect them, the way they “should” be! But what if the Universe has something better in store? What if we pause, be in the present and listen? Letting go of that false sense of control not only opens the doors to possibility greater than we can imagine, it also relieves an incredible load of stress!
and
This message is from The Divine Feminine for us:
“Dear Ones,
The flames are licking at the Doors of Change. Those who fear change are trying to engulf the opportunities in flames so that you and others will not walk through them. Do not let these fear-mongers paralyze you.
Change and Opportunity are two sides of the same coin, of the same door.”
Choose change and you choose opportunity.
Community, possibility, examined beliefs, choice, self-care, presence, flow and fearlessness open the doors of opportunity. The change you find there will be of your own making! And it will make for a wonderful 2014!
PS: The Divine Feminine, as channeled by Rosemary on the Winter Solstice, offered amazing advice for 2014. Expect more change! The transformation continues! Their message is available as an MP3 recording for a modest price; check out the details here: Winter Solstice Mesage
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 suggests there may be some pain involved in this evolutionary process we are finding ourselves in the middle of. There is always pain in not knowing. And there is so much we don’t know. When it comes to our evolution we certainly don’t know how it’s going to turn out; we don’t even know for sure that the human race will survive the process! But there are way-showers; through the millennia there have been people who emerge as prototypes for where we are headed.
But we are here now; and many are struggling with this angst of not knowing. However, there is hope and Rosemary offers a thoughtful prescription to calm the angst as we move through as standard bearers ourselves in the evolutionary struggle to emerge from the cocoon of our old ways.
Her first remedy: decide what you can control and what you cannot. You may have noticed that this post is late today. My usual deadline for posting is 10:00 am Eastern time. But I needed to make a priority choice between getting the post out and our grandson’s school holiday concert. And backing up from that we had an event at our home last evening that went much later than expected. So I chose these events over sticking to a hard and fast blog-post schedule. I can control my time and my priorities and flow with those choices. And I can significantly reduce my stress level by remaining flexible.
Rosemary’s second remedy: make sure that your spiritual life is on the path that you wish to journey. The event we hosted last evening that ran late pushing my schedule and delaying this post was our monthly Spiritual Exploration Group. Normally we gather this group at a local restaurant, but for this one everyone brought food to share and we visited the subject of Crystals and how we interact with them. One of our members is an extraordinary keeper of crystals and he set up a spiral and grid in our meeting room for this event. I have included a picture here that poorly captures his
creation and the “music” of the crystals. The evening of presentation, discussion and meditation was powerful and moving. The crystal spiral and grid had messages for each of us and seemed to offer support for our journeys.
The third remedy: Stay connected to other people. Both Rosemary and I have building community as part of our soul purpose. Our Spiritual Exploration Group is just one of the ways we are doing this and staying connected. We have brought this group together by invitation; we are very careful to invite those who are curious, exploring, growing and evolving with us. Our motto for the group is “we come together for discussion, not dogma.” We are open to all topics and any thoughts, experiences and observations are welcome. Last evening’s discussion, as an example, was free ranging from the approach to choosing crystals (or they choosing us) to deep meditation on what the crystals have recorded during their long history and what they have to tell us. Everyone had experiences to share.
The fourth remedy: Remember that you are a part of the evolution of all humanity. Holding this perspective is a good way to work through the “agony.” This work is not for the faint-of-heart!
Lastly, you are not alone. We are all in this together! No one can evolve by themselves. And no one needs to suffer the agony of angst alone. Set your priorities, look to the inner, spiritual journey, gather together to share the process and remember the great work we have been called to!
And thank you for doing your part in the work of evolution that all humanity needs at this time!
ROSEMARY’S EXPLORATION: The Agony of Angst
Every so often in the course of human history there comes a period where humans who are awake to the evolutionary energies start to struggle with the cocoons of their lives and move into the process of growing out of old patterns.
This is one of those periods.
And you thought 2012 was the end of the cycle? It was just the beginning!
As all of humanity evolves each person must struggle against the teachings of the ‘old way’ and must create the ‘new way,’ for their own life and for the society in which they live. This is not a simple task nor one to be taken lightly. This is an important aspect of becoming a New Human.
Remember that your Soul, your Spirit, decided to facilitate this particular aspect of human evolution. You asked to be allowed to participate in human life on Planet Earth during this part of the 21st Century. Yes, you asked for this!
And now your work is to participate fully even if you are feeling the angst of the struggle, the upset of the unknown, and the agony of the desire that things were different. Even if it appears that your life is moving along swimmingly and things are wonderful, and I hope that is the case, there is probably a part of you that wishes that at least one aspect would shift to support your continuing personal growth. Or you might be wishing that society would ‘get its act together and resolve some things.’
Many people seem to be struggling with one problem or another in their personal or professional lives. Do you know anyone dealing with disease? Financial problems? Family issues? Career concerns? Any problem, when viewed in the evolutionary light, can present an opportunity for one to become anxious.
The job of the evolving human is to work through what life presents, not to wish away the circumstances one faces.
What can you do?
The first thing to do is to decide what you can control and what you cannot. Look at the next month and set your priorities for your goals and your time. You might not be able to control all of your time in that month but you can start by scheduling time for the highest priority items on your list. Make sure you give them time. Make sure, too, that you leave blocks of time unscheduled so that, when there are bumps in the road, you can handle them without throwing away the rest of your plans.
Next, make sure that your spiritual life is on the path that you wish to journey. Are you paying attention to your Inner Life or are you sinking beneath the obligations of your Outer Life? Where are your priorities? Examine the last few weeks and where you have spent your time. You’ll see what you are choosing to do with your energy. Does it match your honest priorities?
Stay connected to other people. The worst thing to do when you are feeling the struggles of life is to hibernate. Some alone time is beneficial, but you need connections to others to help you see a different point of view, hear advice that can help you shift, grasp ideas that you might not have considered. Find someone or a group who can support you in your personal evolution.
Remember that you are a part of the evolution of all humanity. The energy you are feeling is the same as the growing pains that kids feel when their legs start to grow really rapidly. Applaud your growth and work through your angst.
You are not alone. And thank you for doing your part in the work of evolution that all humanity needs at this time!
PS: Are you feeling angst? Are you agonizing over decisions? You can receive personal assurances from Guides, Spirits, Angels and Loved Ones who have crossed over at Rosemary’s next event: a Conversation with The Other Side,this Friday, December 6 at 7:00 pm Eastern. Click for details
Stay Happy Through the Holidays – Richard’s Commentary
Today, the holiday festivities all begin with the day we set aside here in the US to give thanks. I’ve been giving thanks, writing notes of gratitude in my “morning pages” this week. I began my thank you notes, giving deep gratitude for my incredible partner, wife and love of my life, Rosemary. And if you have been following our blogs and reading our posts you know what a talented and resourceful woman she is. Her advice for conscious living and spiritual evolution are profound and creative. And her advice for the holidays is no different! She suggests:
The first step to staying happy through the holidays is to do a realistic and honest assessment of this time of year for yourself.
This may sound superficial but do you move into this time of year with a perspective of staying happy? We have all heard the stories of people who are alone, who dread the holidays because they don’t get along with family, who feel bad because they can’t afford to give elaborate or expensive gifts, who party and drink their way through the season. Perspective is an all-important first step to be happy in every moment.
Next Rosemary suggests:
Consider a new way of operating through the holidays this year.
Everyone around you is struggling with their own life lessons. Somehow the holidays come with Hallmark Cards and Norman Rockwell expectations that nobody really experiences. If you put self-care at the top of your agenda, IT IS NOT SELFISH!!!! Let me repeat that – Self-Care is not being self-ish!!!
Self-Care – in other words, give yourself the gift of looking out for you! Attend to your health, prepare wholesome meals for your celebrations, if you drink alcohol moderate your intake, stay warm and especially keep your neck and throat protected and warm, keep moving with yoga or qigong or another body practice, take time to meditate and if you don’t meditate this season is a great time to start, celebrate the special holidays in your tradition – make them Holy, honor everyone you meet as learning their lessons just as you are – they are you!
Compassion begins with yourself. Taking care of you is taking care of everyone. Recall Rosemary’s question in her inspirational video posted Tuesday: “can compassion for yourself equal compassion for them?” She goes on to suggest:
Look at your calendar for the rest of 2013 and decide what you will do for yourself. Rest. Relax. Pamper yourself. Watch movies that make you smile. Hang out with friends or go on a silent retreat.
As we approach the Winter Solstice, one of those special holidays we celebrate, it is a good time to go inside, to do the inner work of deep winter. The Ancients took this time to retreat, to look inward for the coming renewal. Deep inner work is another way to take care of yourself on the personal level and all others on the global level. This is true compassion!
Coming back to Thanksgiving I took Rosemary’s advice and turned inward to give thanks for me. I am grateful for my soul path, my spiritual journey back to myself, I am grateful for the health and strength to make this journey, I am grateful to myself for making the commitment, I honor myself for my discipline and I am grateful for all of the spiritual teachers and guides that hold me in their love and compassion.
Be grateful for yourself! I am grateful for you because I know you are supporting me on my journey.
Have wonderful, blessed and happy holidays!
“Conversations with the Goddess” – a Review
I just finished reading this book, Conversations with the Goddess: Encounter at Petra, Place of Power by Dorothy Atalla, a few days ago and am anxious to share it with you. I “encountered” this book when I was unpacking boxes of our books and putting them on shelves in their new home. It is a book Rosemary came across and was even asked by the author’s assistant for a review and comment some time ago. I put it aside in my “read pile” and something drew it to the top of that pile; I’m so glad it became a priority.
Atalla’s journey actually began in Petra, Jordan a number of decades ago. Several years after her trip the Goddess began coming to her in meditation and these “conversations” were recorded. It took Atalla even more years to put the conversations into book form.
You may gather from the title of this blog that I am interested in the Goddess. Well, maybe “interest” is a mild word for my passion. This passion was refueled by Atalla’s book.
It is not at all what I expected. I have read lots of “channeled” material. I often publish much of what Rosemary channels from The Divine Feminine and in many forms. Atalla’s conversations come through with a clarity and reasoned approach that is fresh and scholarly.
This book is much more than the Conversations with the Goddess Atalla recorded and reports. She adds layers of research to go beyond the conversations and into deep understanding of the Goddess. She references significant works from anthropology and archeology, from psycho-historical research and the philosophy of the development of human consciousness. She makes extensive use of resources such as The Great Mother: An Analysis of the Archetype by Erich Neumann, Up from Eden: A Transpersonal View of Human Evolution by Ken Wilber and the works of Joseph Campbell.
While the Goddess has plenty to say about herself through her conversations, Atalla adds her own research and the research of these great minds to offer a compelling and comprehensive vision of the Goddess, in action through the history of human development and even now as we move through a new phase of evolution.
The book concluded too quickly for me; I want more. I want to hear more about this evolutionary step we are about to take. The Goddess even concluded her conversations with a “teaser” – to quote the Goddess through Atalla:
The seed has been planted in many hearts. There is already a yearning for “something else.” Though many are not sure what this yearning is all about they feel its ache within their hearts, and that is because of the strong spiritual impulses toward transformation that are sweeping across the planet.
You can imagine why this book gripped me. How often have you heard Rosemary and me talk about transformation in the past months, even years? Yes, I feel this yearning; yes, it feels like an ache, like an emptiness that is drawing me forward. It is always good to hear we are not alone. And it is wonderful to hear the Goddess acknowledge this yearning!
I highly recommend this book to anyone who senses this yearning for the coming transformation. Through it you will gain a beautiful, and awesome, vision of the Goddess!
ROSEMARY’S EXPLORATION: Love Energy + 3rd Eye Energy = Transformation
Every human on Planet Earth is responsible for their own personal growth as well as their contribution to the evolution of human consciousness.
And, as every entrepreneur knows, working on yourself is working on your business. Everything boils down to personal transformation and the continuation of a path of personal growth.
Relationships depend on growth or they stagnate. Careers, businesses, parenting skills, partnerships, education – all require that there be learning and growth to succeed.
Are you committed to your own personal growth and transformation? Do you know how to do that? Are you willing to ask for help or start learning some new ways to grow?
Let’s start with the energy of Love at the heart center level. Self-Love starts with an acceptance of who you are, right now, right here, just as you are. In this place you can reach the elevated level of Love vibration. If you have self-doubt or self-criticism you anchor your heart energy to a lower vibration.
What do you know about your 3rd Eye? It is in your forehead between your eyebrows and connects you to the higher wisdom in the Universe. This is your antenna. It is not just an idea but an energy center that vibrates at a high enough frequency to connect you to the wisdom vibration.
Think about the power of connecting these two centers, allowing two high vibrational energy frequencies to unite. The power is the energy of transformation. And YOU transform YOURSELF!
Through meditation, soul work, counseling, shamanic/spiritual healing and other spiritual technologies you can clear away blocks and lift your vibration to these higher level frequencies. If you practice regularly, you can grow and expand on this path of transformation.
The wisdom of transformation abounds in the Universe but it is your job to find a connection to that wisdom. Love energy is the glue that holds the Universe together and Self-Love is the greatest appreciation of the gift of your life that you can show the Universe.
On a personal level, when you connect two energy centers in your energy body, you lift the vibrational frequency of your whole field. Does this all sound a bit woo-woo to you? Frankly, it’s not. You have an ability to connect to wisdom in the Universe and this description speaks to the ‘receiver’ in your head as your crystal radio. Tune the dial and hear the Wisdom Show!
Love? That’s not woo-woo. It just is. Love is the attracting force of the Universe. Love is not a romantic thought or Valentine’s Day feeling. Love is an energetic force that has great power in our lives and in our societies.
Now combine these frequencies and feel the power of the shift we call ‘Transformation.’
Transformation is the energy, the engine of evolution because it is such a powerful energy. Your personal transformation work carries all of humanity along with it. Your learning how to transform yourself contributes to the evolution of human consciousness
Yes, that’s a big responsibility. Remember that you signed up to come onto the Planet Earth at this time so that you could transform for the good of all!
Thank you!
PS: This post is a deeper exploration of a topic from Rosemary’s evening Satsang event in October. Every 3rd Saturday, at 7:00 pm Eastern time, Rosemary hosts Satsang for all who would join her in the exploration of evolving consciousness. This event can be attended in person and online using video-conferencing services.
Get more information and sign up here The next Satsang with Rosemary is November 16 at 7:00 pm Eastern.
ROSEMARY’S INSPIRATION: The Energetics of Evolution
My “Two-Plus-Minute” video for the week: The Energetics of Evolution
Note: this clip was taken from our October gathering for Satsang.
PS: This message is a brief clip from Rosemary’s evening Satsang event in October. Every 3rd Saturday, at 7:00 pm Eastern time, Rosemary hosts Satsang for all who would join her in the exploration of expanding consciousness. This event can be attended in person and online using video-conferencing services.
Get more information and sign up here The next Satsang with Rosemary is November 16 at 7:00 pm Eastern.
The Echo of Truth from the Future – Richard’s Commentary
I love this kind of talk! I have been a futurist for most of my life. My first love in reading is a good SciFi novel, some wonderful, imaginative projection into the future of the possible.
So, when words like “truth from the future” come from Rosemary’s channel I also perk up and take note! Here are the key thoughts from her message this week:
Humanity is constantly evolving. Human Consciousness is always growing and expanding. Human Awareness and Understanding grow with each human experience. Truth must constantly be re-evaluated as consciousness evolves.
When we hear that ‘the new truth comes back from the future’ we must understand that, as humanity evolves, we are growing into the New Human, the human of our future.
And that “human of our future” is calling us forward into that future. We have to embrace the truth of that possible future in order to allow ourselves to flow toward that future.
This is heady stuff. But it is not really as crazy as it might sound, especially if we suspend our western, Indo-European notion of time. One of the ways I do this is to remember back to my times with my most esteemed teacher, Martín Prechtel when I sat with him in his Bolad’s Kitchen. Martín teaches from many sources, but his grounding in Mayan culture and language comes through at every turn. The Mayan language has no verb form for “to be” so the whole notion of time in Mayan culture is completely different from our western notion of the linearity and vectored flow of time. This is not an easy concept to grasp when we are constantly reminded of the was/is/will be experience of time as captured by our western languages.
One way Martín offers to help get in touch with this other way to view time is to picture ourselves as islands in the middle of an ocean, the ocean of time. The past, present and future events are all part of this ocean. Events flow to us and away from us and influence us as we exist in the ebb and flow of time. Both the past and the future “echo” toward us as these islands.
And this is how Time Line Therapy® works. We can go backwards on our time line to heal wounds in the past, in a way we undo karma. We can then bring that healing forward to the present. Equally we can flow forward on our time line to embed events in our future so that when we reach that point the event is already energized. Using the analogy of the ocean we are flowing back and forward on the surface of the sea to receive information from both the past and the future. Past events can be healed; future events can be energized.
This is also the mechanism of the Law of Attraction. We can visualize the future we want to attract and actually influence that future.
The Divine Feminine as channeled by Rosemary during her Satsang event pointed this out clearly:
…focus on your dreams being realized, if you say ‘I usually handle this easily’ or ‘I always find the perfect parking place,’ then you are echoing a truth from the future.
You create your future with the thoughts you project. You experience ‘the new truth’ when you allow the future to manifest in this present moment.
What does the future truth that is pulling you forward have in store for you?
PS: Are you looking for advice from beyond the usual, maybe the future, through a gifted Medium? Join Rosemary for a Conversation with The Other Side at 7:00 PM Eastern, November 1 – All Saints Day – tomorrow evening. If you are in Maryland, join us in person. From a distance join us by tele-video conference or simply by phone. Learn more here.
ROSEMARY’S EXPLORATION: The Echo of Truth from the Future
In the Satsang message this week we learned from The Divine Feminine that ‘the new truth comes back from the future.’ This takes some thought to comprehend.
The ‘old truth’ is based on beliefs that worked for earlier times and this includes the old tapes that play in your head from parents, teachers, and others from your past. They appear to be the truth but must be re-examined from your perspective in present time.
Culture and society often operate from the position that ‘old truth’ stays ‘Truth with a capital T’ for all time. Not so.
Humanity is constantly evolving. Human Consciousness is always growing and expanding. Human Awareness and Understanding grow with each human experience. Truth must constantly be re-evaluated as consciousness evolves.
When we hear that ‘the new truth comes back from the future’ we must understand that, as humanity evolves, we are growing into the New Human, the human of our future.
Who are you called to BE in your future? This is the evolved you! Can your truth stay the same as your consciousness evolves?
Not everything must change, but you must recommit yourself to your beliefs or change those beliefs. Personal growth is a path of evolution. Every experience that you have brings you new learnings. Do you adapt to what you learn? Do you re-evaluate your beliefs based on your growth? Do you accept yourself as an evolutionary being as you continue to live through new experiences and to expand your awareness with the information given to you?
Every choice that you make today is based on some belief that you hold, and, thus, is based on your own truth. Examine your choices – do they reflect your ‘old truth’ or ‘the new truth’ that comes from the future? Are you still making choices based on what used to be your truth or are you making choices based on who you are becoming?
In a very practical way, this is how the Law of Attraction works in one’s life. If you are backwards focused, if you are worrying about something, if you say things like, ‘I always have a problem with this’ or ‘I can never find a parking place,’ then you are stating a truth that is not based on the evolutionary you but on past beliefs.
If, instead, you focus on your dreams being realized, if you say ‘I usually handle this easily’ or ‘I always find the perfect parking place,’ then you are echoing a truth from the future.
You create your future with the thoughts you project. You experience ‘the new truth’ when you allow the future to manifest in this present moment.
Take some time to ponder these ideas. And remember that all time exists in this present moment. We tend to think of time as linear because we experience Earth as one minute after another. But the Dimension of Time encompasses our 3-Dimensional world and our past, present and future are all in this moment.
The ‘who you want to be’ calls you to make the choices now that are based on the new truth echoing back from the future.
Just evolve.
PS: Are you waiting to hear from The Other Side? Maybe an old belief will be revealed. Are you looking for advice from beyond the usual, maybe the future, through a gifted Medium? Join Rosemary for a Conversation with The Other Side at 7:00 PM Eastern, November 1 – All Saints Day. If you are in Maryland, join us in person. Or, join us by televideo conference or simply by phone. Learn more here.
Men and The Goddess 