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Brain Science, Storytelling, and YOU! – Richard’s Commentary
I have a recent story to tell and I hope I only have to tell it once! As always it is a question of learning the lessons. Here’s the story:
About a week ago I started running a fever. I had no real symptoms other than the severe body aches and pains that often accompany a fever. As this one developed not only did the aches and pains get worse but the fever turned into significant shakes and sweats over a three-day and night period. I had not experienced this kind of illness since I came down with malaria in Africa more than 40 years ago – it was that bad!
The fever was at its worst right at the New Moon/Solar eclipse last Thursday evening. I went to the doc Friday afternoon about the time I started to feel just a bit better. Lots of causes, thankfully, have been eliminated. And now I am much better, finishing a course of antibiotics even though I suspect it was viral. But much more important than the medical report or even my symptoms and treatment are the lessons and symbols represented by this fever and my experience of it.
I have been processing this experience, this story since I was well enough to meditate and write about it. And my old friends, QRS (remember my “floating heads”?) have helped me with some interpretation. Here’s the real story of my serious fever:
What is the message from my unconscious mind via my body?
QRS: Your body heated up to burn out some impurities. The shakes were because you are not using the “shaking technique” from Jeff Primack (this is a Qi-generating approach by shaking the whole body for a period of time; we did it for 12 minutes at the Qi-Revolution weekend!). Do it for five minutes every day. It will help. The sweats were to purge impurities through your largest organ – your skin. Shower to cleanse away the toxins. Heat, fire is from the heart. You are heart-broken for multiple reasons. The fever was a reminder of the fire and passion of your heart and that you need to attend and mend the brokenness before you can do any real work of consequence. The fire was a tempering and a mending process. You will emerge from this stronger if you take these words “to heart”! The weakness was to get you to rest. You have to be quiet to mend. Your quiet time has helped. The aches and pains were your body knocking at your door to let you know it needs your care. Yes, Qigong has been good. But keep it up. Don’t let your body turn to brittle old bones!
Your mind has been in a fog. This was a reminder to not slip away into a fog like your dad did! Awaken! And stay awake.
You think you have been working hard on yourself. Don’t mistake effort for accomplishment. Working hard is only part of it. Achieving is necessary. Awaken! It is time to break out. Move beyond the chrysalis stage and emerge, fly. You have so much to do, but time is not infinite. Deaths of your friends are to remind you of this. Their time ran out; mission accomplished. Yes, you have your purpose, your mission, but you only have the rest of your life to fulfill it. Don’t let us down. Wake up!
This explanation of my story has helped me realize the fever had its purpose. And I have my lesson to take to heart. As I wrote this I also recalled the Buddhist prayer, or Evening Gatha, we recited at Zen Mountain Monastery when I spent some time there:
Let me respectfully remind you,
Life and death are of supreme importance.
Time swiftly passes by and opportunity is lost.
Each of us should strive to awaken. . .
. . . awaken,
Take heed. Do not squander your life.
Do not squander your life…
INSPIRATION FROM ROSEMARY: Whose Story Are You Telling?
My video for the week: Whose Story Are You Telling?
PS: Here is a fun way to find out who might be renting space in your brain: join Rosemary for a Conversation with The Other Side. Next Monday, May 20, at 7:00 pm she is offering an online Conversation where you can talk to anyone from your past who has crossed over whose story you may be holding on to. Get more information and registration details at TheScientificMystic.com
Are You Ready? – Richard’s Commentary
Rosemary’s opening to her MuseLetter article this week was certainly provocative:
Did you think you could relax because you made it through December 21, 2012? Think again!
The Shift has begun. Time has been speeding up for years and we’re moving ahead at an amazing pace. It’s time to grow, to transform, to evolve. Hold onto your hat!
Yes, the time is now. And I can certainly feel the urgency of the moment. I have been impacted a lot this week as we are in this very old moon energy in Taurus. My body hurts, my mind isn’t functioning at peak performance and my emotions tend to rule my tongue more often than I’d like! Is it just this old moon, impending new moon and solar eclipse coming our way that has me in such a state? And what can I do to “be ready”?
Then we came across this from one of our astrologer friends; we have trusted Steve Nelson’s readings for us and his deep writing for years! Here’s what Steve says about this time in May:
Karma is fate, dharma is destiny. Karma is in the body as chronic muscle tension that holds encoded past emotional memory. Dharma is our divine purpose to be revealed and realized as karma is let go. Past world patterning or karma can be released through exercise (especially yoga), deep breathing and ritual celebration. Collective karma, the shadow of the age, is up for clearing now. As we clear personal karma we clear world karma. Karma is cleared cosmically by New Moons and by eclipses of the Sun and Moon.
…
A solar eclipse is Mother Nature’s most powerful instrument for transformation. When an eclipse occurs above, things get eclipsed and are transformed here below. Whatever needs eclipsing comes up in the days/weeks before a solar eclipse. An eclipse is an opportunity to eliminate patterns of thought and behavior that trouble our world. This is an ideal time to clear away what stands in the way of dreams being realized. The May 9/10 solar eclipse is the subject of another prophecy by Nostradamus in Century 9 Quatrain 83: ”Sun twentieth of Taurus, the Earth will tremble mightily; It will ruin the great theater filled: And so darken and trouble air, sky and land, the unbeliever will call upon God and the saints.”
The May 9/10 solar eclipse in the 20th degree of Taurus may bring a great earthquake as Nostradamus predicted. We’re advised to stay away from crowded theaters on this day. Our old world patterns are broken one way or another; we can hope and pray for the kinder gentler way.
It sounds to me that all the energy I’m feeling is definitely part of this New Moon/Solar Eclipse energy. It may be a doozy. I’ll definitely “hold on to my hat”!
But what does this mean; how do we prepare and “be ready” for major events that may occur? Steve Nelson recommends ritual work. Ritual is a wonderful way to heighten our awareness and bring consciousness and intention to our plans and actions.
And Steve mentions yoga and deep breathing – no surprise here! As you know from my previous posts I am all about yoga, qigong and breath-work!
I am doing everything in my power to be ready for this New Moon/Eclipse this evening (it occurs here on the east coast at 8:29 pm). Here’s what Rosemary has said about it:
This Solar Eclipse ends a cycle and begins a new one. Look back at what was happening in your life on May 10, 1994 for some clues about your personal evolution. We are being invited to release the past, clear negative thought patterns and whatever else might be holding us back from expanded consciousness and evolution. According to The Mountain Astrologer magazine, Eclipses also affect cellular memory, facilitating our awakening and remembrance of our soul’s blueprint.
Karma and dharma: release the past and awaken to your soul’s blueprint!
With Steve I wish you a “kinder and gentler” experience of this powerful energy. May you use it for growth!
Spiritual Practices: from Qigong to Prayer
The theme for the week has been Spiritual Practices, so I thought it would be good to close out the week with a laundry list of the possible. I’ll offer as examples my current practices that I do on a regular basis:
Qigong: Daily. I’m spending anywhere from 20 to 40 minutes every day doing either 5-Element Form or Jeff Primack’s Level 1 Form (which I’m also certified to teach and will be starting my classes very soon).
Yoga: At least every other day, at least 20 minutes. I also just returned from my Svaroopa Yoga class with my good friend Dharma, an excellent teacher. This is nearly a two hour class each week in this new to me style of gentle, yet very effective (I can feel tonight’s work already!) yoga.
Morning Pages: Daily. I write three long-hand pages every day in the style recommended by Julia Cameron in The Artist’s Way. I find this practice to be incredibly grounding, a way to purge, a way to jump start the day, a way to record feelings, events, dreams, visions, plans, hopes, basically just about anything that comes to mind (or heart). I sometimes channel consciousness that just comes.
Poetry: I often write a poem or two through each week. I publish one here on the blog every Monday. And I read poetry often. I love this other-dimensional way of writing and expressing.
Divination: Daily. Currently I draw two cards, one from the Goddess Guidance Oracle Cards by Doreen Virtue, and one from the Crowley Tarot Thoth Deck. I use these cards to get an intuitive sense of the energies of the day. I write a page of notes about what they mean to me and how they relate to one-another.
As another form of divination, on new moons I cast an I Ching Gua for the moonth to gain intuitive insight on the energies for the upcoming moon cycle.
Chanting: I wrote in yesterday’s post about Mantra Meditation. I do this frequently, currently daily following Deva Premal & Miten’s 21-Day Journey.
These are my current daily practices. I spend about two hours each morning on these practices. And I consider them all forms of prayer. They are definitely forms of an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with a deity, an object of worship, or a spiritual entity through deliberate communication. (from the Wikipedia definition of prayer).
OK, I may be stretching a point a bit here, but the “spiritual entity” I communicate with is the Universe, Source, the All, and other ways of expressing or labeling something greater than I and yet also inside me!
I do sometimes wonder if I am over-doing it; if I am spending too much time at my practices. But they do serve me in many ways. I feel we are all on a path of expansion, evolution and transformation. Why else bother with all these sometimes hard lessons we keep encountering and, hopefully, learning! My practices help me through the changes, support my struggles, offer ways to feel my feelings, stretch my intuitive sensibilities, open me to embrace the greatness of human consciousness and the Divine Consciousness that is there for immediate access if we sharpen our methods to encounter and listen to the wisdom available.
How much time is this worth? For me it is priceless. Maybe I am not devoting enough time to my practices!
Enjoy your weekend. Find time to practice!
Will the REAL YOU please stand up? – Richard’s Commentary
I don’t know about you but I was really struck by this message from The Divine Feminine posted yesterday! And I realize part of this message’s impact is the “memory” it hits. I think anyone reading this post knows the truth of this message about themselves! We are all here, now, in this time for a very specific purpose. We are here to be part of an enormous transformation. And it is time for the REAL Us to stand up! Here are the specific instructions from The Divine Feminine:
Expand your Consciousness to embrace the biggest version of YOU that you can imagine and then allow that to continue to expand. The Universe sees YOU as large as you REALLY are. Dissolve the limitations that you have put on yourself and BE THE BIGGER VISION OF YOU.
What does this mean? I have a perfect example of a couple of people doing this very thing. You may or may not know of Deva Premal & Miten, two artists who have made chanting mantras, both in Sanskrit and from other cultures in other languages, not only beautiful art but moving, spiritual experiences. Rosemary and I have all of their albums and listen to them regularly. We have attended their live performances and have been truly inspired. Here’s what they are now doing to embrace their biggest vision: they are offering a completely free 21-Day Mantra Meditation Journey over the internet. It just began on April 23rd and it is fantastic. What a wonderful way to start the day, with 15 minutes of these beautiful human beings introducing and then chanting a new mantra. Deva and Miten have stepped up to a higher level of offering Divine Chanting for the world!
You can still join us in on this journey; sign up here: Deva & Miten
We are all called to Stand Up! The Divine Feminine requests this and Deva Premal & Miten demonstrate a perfect example of what it means and how to do it.
It begins with an expanded consciousness; it begins with a “bigger vision of you.” We all have dreams, wishes, desires. Are these true visions of who we are and what we can be or are these fantasies of the “if only” category? Visions are dreams that can be actualized. They require motivation, planning, resources, scheduling and action. The Divine Feminine are not calling us to dream, they are calling us to Vision and Action. They are asking us to Stand Up!
What is my vision? I have outlined my first Qigong class! I plan to teach a 10-week program beginning in May. I have a marketing flier completed, class syllabus ready to go, sign-up/release form to print and a few ideas for marketing the class to local groups here in Maryland. I am excited not only to be doing this but with the notion that I am moving in a new direction and beginning to “stand up.” OK, a Qigong Class may not sound like a big leap, but it is a step.
And Rosemary and I are moving forward with other plans to expand programs and offer more to our local groups, followers and clients here in the Maryland area. We are also continuing to develop our online plans to bring what we offer to a wider, global audience. Rosemary’s voice already reaches around the world with her services to select international clients. She too, as the “Voice of The Divine Feminine” is stepping up and moving into a much bigger Vision of her Service to Humanity.
It really is time for all of us to Stand Up, to live into that greater vision we all sense about ourselves and the Universe knows about us!
Are you ready to Stand Up?
ROSEMARY’S EXPLORATION: Will the REAL YOU please stand up?
This week’s article is a message from The Divine Feminine:
Dear Ones,
Your work now is to be fully YOU. Who are you? Independent of your roles, your relationships, your duties and obligations. Who are you when no one is looking? Who are you in your dreams and fantasies?
What do you wish you could say? Say it.
What do you wish you could do? Do it.
Who do you want to be? Be that person.
There is nothing stopping you except you.
Who is limiting you? Only your beliefs and thoughts about you hold you back.
What is your relationship with money? If money seems to be a limiting factor in your life then you have cut off the flow of money to you and through you by defining a limiting belief about HOW money operates.
If, for example, you say, “I would like to travel but I don’t have the money,” then you are defining how you cannot travel and you are correct. If, however, you say to the Universe, “I would like to travel to ________ and I am grateful and eager to see how you will provide that trip,” then you allow the Universe many options for making that happen.
If you believe that you cannot make the money you need then you are only looking at a particular method of receiving money and, again, you limit the ways in which the Universe can bring money to you.
Be grateful. Be curious. Be open.
Be yourself.
Who must you BE to receive the money you desire
Be the powerful manifestor that you already are. Be in the flow of your Life Purpose. Be constantly grateful for the reality that is your Life, for the lessons you are learning, for the people who are helping you to learn those lessons. Be in touch with your Inner Child who is trying to feel safe, happy, protected and playful. Be creative, for you may have forgotten how to play and create. Be joyful, for Joy is a powerful magnet to attract more Joy into your Life.
Be who you are behind the limiting beliefs you have created about yourself. Stop defining yourself by the money you do or do not have. Stop confining yourself to what you used to believe and think.
Leap forward into possibilities that hold the most Joy for you.
You are there. You are here. You are the Light of the World. You are the Delight of the Universe.
Expand your Consciousness to embrace the biggest version of YOU that you can imagine and then allow that to continue to expand. The Universe sees YOU as large as you REALLY are. Dissolve the limitations that you have put on yourself and BE THE BIGGER VISION OF YOU.
And so it it.
Rosemary’s Comments:
I don’t know about you but I need the reminder to stop playing small. It seems much easier to focus on what seems do-able then to stretch into the bigger visions. Take a leap of faith! Reach for something that really scares you! Trust the Universe to support your bigger visions.
And I have learned that it is important to ask for help.
We asked the Universe for a house to rent and our friend asked for someone to rent her house. Voila! We move in August. It happens just that way when you trust.
PS: The final week of the Spring Book Special: Get Your Woman On! Embracing Beauty, Grace and the Power of Women – The Amazon Best Selling book that Rosemary co-authored with some amazing women – is available this April at a very special price – $12 with free shipping in the US and some great bonuses! This would be an inspirational gift for Mother’s Day for a woman who would like to read 39 stories of transformation. Here’s how to get your copy: Book Sale
INSPIRATION FROM ROSEMARY: Who Are You REALLY?
Rosemary’s video for the week: Who Are You REALLY?
PS: Book sale! Spring Book Special: Get Your Woman On! Embracing Beauty, Grace and the Power of Women – The Amazon Best Selling book that Rosemary co-authored with some amazing women – is available this month at a very special price –$12 with free shipping in the US and some great bonuses! This would be an inspirational gift for Mother’s Day for a woman who would like to read 39 stories of transformation. Here’s how to get your copy: Book Sale
The Story is Not the Person! – Richard’s Commentary-Part 2
“The story is not the person.” But the person is part of the human story, as I wrote in my post yesterday. There is so much to Rosemary’s article posted Wednesday that I wanted to come at it from another angle.
She wrote of boundaries that people have that must be respected. We have them to protect our inner vulnerabilities. We all have these soft spots that can cause us great harm if exposed (at least that’s what we believe). But these boundaries can also become barriers to growth, to expansion, to the evolution of human consciousness I wrote about yesterday. There is a balance needed here that I want to explore today.
Rosemary writes: “Each of us has a responsibility to ourselves and to others to learn how to live in community with the people around us. We are not private islands with ‘No Trespassing’ signs on our foreheads! The most important lesson to learn about living in a civilized society is to learn what healthy boundaries are. Learn what to let in and what belongs to the other person.”
The question this begs is what are these healthy boundaries? Until we gain the answer here we may be hiding behind unhealthy boundaries (barriers) and blocking our own growth.
We all have secrets. We are human, we grow up in human families with foibles, stresses and all the baggage of generations of growing up in human families. Some secrets like those from our youth don’t necessarily need to see the light of day. If they served their purpose in teaching us then they can remain hidden; no harm done.
But if we have not yet learned the lessons from these secrets then perhaps they do need to be aired, to see the light. This is particularly true if the secrets, the unlearned lessons, are blocking our growth in some way.
Another form of boundary is the façade we erect to pretend we are someone other than the person we know on the inside. This is our persona; and we all have them. In fact we likely have several of them we “wear” in different situations. And this too is OK. We don’t necessarily want to expose the “real” person behind the persona in every social situation.
But if we always hide behind a persona in every situation we may be hiding something even from ourselves that needs to be examined. Our persona may form a barrier to our own true story that we need to understand. That story is the base for our expansion, growth, evolution.
The healthy boundary comes from a balance between over-exposure and hiding, between blurting out old, irrelevant information and withholding information that might help us better understand ourselves and others. With healthy boundaries in place we can move easily in society, learn as we interact with others and grow beyond those boundaries.
As Rosemary concludes: “Own your story but do not be governed by it. Be conscious of your responsibility to continue to grow. Help others to grow by allowing them to have their own stories while keeping healthy boundaries for yourself.”
Do you “own your story”? Does it set up healthy boundaries or barriers to your growth? The place to begin to answer these questions is to write your story down. It may have some lessons, some hidden gems that need to be mined!
ROSEMARY’S EXPLORATION: The Story is Not the Person!
Everyone around you has a story and you have only heard the part of the story that they want you to hear. Everyone has a part of themselves that is hidden away, being protected, staying safe by not being revealed. Behavior is not the story. Behavior is often the cover-up for the story.
When you understand this about the people around you it is easier to be gentle with those folks. What if that person just lost a loved one and doesn’t feel comfortable sharing that with you? What if that person was so horribly abused as a child that they cannot bear to be hugged by anyone because it re-traumatizes them? What if that person just got off the phone from a very disturbing conversation and they are in the middle of processing the information when you try to talk to them?
There is an endless list of possibilities for what is going on in another person’s life and most items on that list have nothing to do with you. Do you keep this in mind when you interact with other people? Can you be sympathetic to the part of the story that they are protecting from exposure and give them the benefit of the doubt?
Each of us has a responsibility to ourselves and to others to learn how to live in community with the people around us. We are not private islands with ‘No Trespassing’ signs on our foreheads! The most important lesson to learn about living in a civilized society is to learn what healthy boundaries are. Learn what to let in and what belongs to the other person.
Asking others to respect your boundaries includes allowing them to ask the same of you. Some people have very private stories behind the fence of their boundary and that is theirs to protect. By the same token, you are allowed to hold parts of yourself private from public scrutiny and anyone who doesn’t respect that boundary does not get the privilege of interacting with you.
In learning how to interact with others in a healthy way it is important that you know your own story. What motivates you? What has happened in your past that is influencing your present? What parts of you have you disowned that are lurking in your shadow bag waiting to be rediscovered and reintegrated? With whom have you had an interaction that might influence your current relationships with baggage from the past connection?
Study your story. Write it out. Do a timeline of your own life. It can be useful to do a timeline of your parents’ lives as you know them, or as they can share with you, and compare that with your own. Sometimes we can uncover hidden beliefs about ourselves by noticing what has moved onto our timeline from our parents.
Notice when you get stuck in your story instead of continuing to create it. Are you in a loop that has you repeating a part of your past story that is holding you back from growing in the present? Are you re-traumatizing yourself by repeating that story over and over again and never giving yourself a chance to open to new possibilities that allow you to release that old story?
What parts of your story are you hoping no one else will discover? Why?
Part of being on the path of personal growth is expanding your consciousness to encompass ALL of who you are. Every part of your story is important in shaping you to be the person that you are today. And this is true for everyone around you.
Own your story but do not be governed by it. Be conscious of your responsibility to continue to grow. Help others to grow by allowing them to have their own stories while keeping healthy boundaries for yourself.
And you can change your story! There are many techniques available to help you to do this. Empower yourself by taking the first step – write your story. Then the work can begin.
PS: Spring Book Special: Get Your Woman On! Embracing Beauty, Grace and the Power of Women – The Amazon Best Selling book that I co-authored with some amazing women – is available this month at a very special price – $12 with free shipping in the US and some great bonuses! This would be an inspirational gift for Mother’s Day for a woman who would like to read 39 stories of transformation. Here’s how to get your copy: Book Sale
ROSEMARY’S EXPLORATION: What’s New with You?
Where is the newness in your life? Are you in a rut? In a routine that doesn’t allow you time and/or space to grow?
Now is the time to explore the ways in which you have gotten stuck and are holding yourself back from your expansive greatness. Sometimes it seems easier to stay put, to stay where things are simple, uncomplicated, the same. But are you growing?
If you are alive in a human body then there is something more for you to learn. That’s what the human life is all about. We are learning machines, from the moment we’re born and we have to figure out how to get around in this physical world.
Babies are growing and exploring and trying new things all the time. All those ‘No!’ messages are helping the baby to learn what can and can’t be done, what’s safe and what’s not, what’s accepted and what’s not. As we get older we start giving ourselves those ‘No!’ messages for very different reasons.
What would you like to learn or explore that you are telling yourself ‘No!’ so you will stop exploring? What learning experience are you denying yourself because of a list of reasons that might, possibly, be excuses for maintaining the status quo? How are you holding yourself back?
Brain science is discovering fascinating things about how we think and how we can change our thoughts. Every thought either reinforces a previous thought or creates its new pattern in our brain. The thoughts we repeat deepen the groove of that thought and make it easier to revisit. New thoughts must be repeated to create a deeper pattern and, if left unvisited, will wither away.
What are your patterns of thinking and what would you like to change? There are techniques for making those changes, and to change your mind you have to be conscious of your old patterns and the new patterns that you want to reinforce. You can do this!
And what new stimulus is there in your environment to keep you growing? Or are you content with the status quo and resisting forward motion?
Living a Conscious Life requires that you accept yourself on a path of growth and that you are proactive about seeking to expand your awareness and advance your understanding. You are not the kind of human being who believes you are done learning new things and are content to sit around without exploring any new ideas. You challenge yourself to grow and to explore.
This task is not as easy in a vacuum as it is with a like-minded tribe. Who is your Consciousness Tribe? With whom can you explore ideas, share thoughts without concern about judgment or condemnation? Where are the people who will challenge you to consider a viewpoint that you haven’t considered before? Do you have these folks in your sphere?
Or are you content to hang out with people who represent the ‘you’ of decades ago, who will not challenge you to think outside the box of your old ideas?
Your tribe is yours to find. Sometimes we need a new tribe. Sometimes our tribe grows with us and we can stay with the same explorers while we all expand our consciousness.
Are you being challenged to find something new in your life? Ponder this thought today and then look around you and your day-to-day life. Maybe it’s time to try on something new and see how it fits.
What’s new with you today?
PS: New! Spring Book Special: Get Your Woman On! Embracing Beauty, Grace and the Power of Women – The Amazon Best Selling book that Rosemary co-authored with some amazing women – is available this month at a very special price – $12 with free shipping in the US and some great bonuses! This would be an inspirational gift for Mother’s Day for a woman who would like to read 39 stories of transformation. Here’s how to get your copy: Book Sale
Men and The Goddess 