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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!
Assess the Necessity – Richard’s Commentary
Rosemary asks some tough questions in her blog-post yesterday. The key here is to review our values, especially with the question: “how much is enough?” in mind. Rosemary’s challenge: it is important to decide consciously what is a necessity in Your Life.
The first thing that comes to my mind when I ask this of myself is health. I have been struggling for a week with a debilitating pain in my shoulder. I brought this on myself, raking leaves like a madman a week or so ago. And I felt reasonably good doing it. I did and do realize I’m not 40-something any longer. I took my time and only did the front yard. And I expected some stiffness as an after-effect. I did wake up with a few sore muscles the next day. And then it got worse, and worse. Yesterday, over a week later I was almost unable to move without pain. And I realized health, feeling reasonably physically well, is close to the top of my list of necessities.
Of course, clean water, healthy food, clear air, warm shelter, reasonable clothing all contribute to the healthy body; anything that supports my necessity of health by definition is a necessity.
While I was forced to slow down and rest in relative stillness with my sore shoulder I reached for my books. Ah, if I can’t be moving about, bustling about, getting things done, then I can always take time to read. I discovered another necessity:reading material. (And if you were to visit Rosemary and me in our home you would quickly realize how necessary books are in our lives!)
And as many of you who have read my posts may remember, I write three pages of long hand notes every morning as recommended by Julia Cameron in her book The Artist’s Way. Pen, ink, paper are consumed in my practice. Necessity? This one is on the thin edge. I use my page writing to tune into my inner self, my intuition, and I use what I write, at least in part, as a guide to the rest of my day. Do I need to write it down? Does the process of writing promote the information that comes through to me? Of course there are other ways to receive or get in touch with these intuitive insights. And maybe there is no real need to record the information that comes through. So, maybe I have found a line here.
The point is to “assess.” What are the necessities in your life? How much is enough? It’s a good exercise.
But then Rosemary switches gears a bit when she says:
Humanity is evolving and each of us must step into our power, our empowerment, our Purpose. YOU ARE ENOUGH, just as you are, today!
And you have enough. Assess the necessity of everything in your life. Does it serve your Purpose? You might be surprised at the answers you get when you ask this question!
Wow! I am enough. I have enough. And whatever is serving my purpose is what I need! Health? Check. Books? Check. Pages? Check! My pages do serve my purpose, so they are on the necessity side after all.
Assessing necessity with Purpose as the backdrop is the more meaningful way to answer the question, “how much is enough?
Meanwhile my shoulder got so bad I asked Rosemary for help. I am living with, partnered with a healer! And I finally got around to asking for a healing! As I write this I am feeling much better. We both picked up that my pain may have been triggered by raking, but something else was allowed in, something physical and also something spiritual. The physical is like a viral attack, like a cold in my shoulder; I’m treating it like a cold. And the spiritual? Rosemary detects that my heart-mind center is opening. More on that later!
Do the necessities in your life support your purpose? You’ll feel great when they do!
ROSEMARY’S EXPLORATION: Assess the Necessity
Each person has a different definition of what is necessary in their life. To some, a fancy car fits into that category. To others, it is private school. Some consider necessity to include only one pair of serviceable shoes and to others, a different pair for each outfit in the closet.
Ours is not to judge what another considers a necessity in their life. However, it is important to decide consciously what is a necessity in Your Life.
Have you been thinking that a partner is a necessity in your life? Maybe you are avoiding doing some personal growth work to reclaim disowned parts (often the powerful ones) of your own Self and you have been misled into believing that another person will bring you to wholeness.
Do you have an amount of money that is a necessity for you to feel safe and secure? Is money something that you chase because you feel you never have enough, or that you never are enough?
The word, necessary, itself can be reduced to air to breathe, water to drink, food to eat (and less than we in the Western world are used to!) and maybe shelter from storms. As I write this, many thousands of people have been tragically struck by nature’s ferocity and have reduced their definition of what they really need to these few things.
And, yet, we somehow feel that we need more, we need to BE more.
Look at your ‘necessities’ and decide if they are really necessary to your life and to your happiness. Look at your relationships and ask if you really need more from the other person. Look at your career or business or work. What is really necessary there?
Appreciate how much you have beyond the basic necessities of life. We live in a society where we have music wherever we go. We drive cars or travel on trains and buses and planes to move from place to place. If you are reading this you have a computer or a smartphone on which to read it. You will probably come into contact with at least one other human being in the next week, if you wish it, so you are not totally alone in the world.
In November in the US we celebrate Thanksgiving and everyone speaks of Gratitude as if it’s a once-a year concept. Of course, most of us remind ourselves to feel gratitude often but we sometimes forget that we have huge blessings every day about which we can feel gratitude. What are your blessings beyond the necessities?
And it’s important to think of yourself as more than enough! You have a mission, a purpose, in being on the Earth at this time. You have all the resources available to you to complete your mission, to fulfill your purpose. Are you aware of that? Have you done the personal work to identify your Soul Purpose so that you can arrange your life to focus your energies on living that Purpose? Have you cleared the blocks that hold you into thinking that you are not enough? that you don’t have enough?
Humanity is evolving and each of us must step into our power, our empowerment, our Purpose. YOU ARE ENOUGH, just as you are, today!
And you have enough. Assess the necessity of everything in your life. Does it serve your Purpose? You might be surprised at the answers you get when you ask this question!
PS: You too may experience channeled messages from Rosemary. In fact you can receive personal messages from Guides, Spirits, Angels and loved ones who have crossed over at the next event: a Conversation with The Other Side December 6 at 7:00 pm Eastern. Click for details
Love Energy + 3rd Eye Energy = Transformation – Richard’s Commentary
Several confirming and affirming events conspired last Friday to give me a boost on my journey. We all need boosts (kicks in the pants) from time to time. These are reminders of who we are and why we are here! They are what might be considered the “little transformations” in our day-to-day lives. And sometimes the little kicks build up to a big one, as we experienced on Sunday with the New Moon and Eclipse in Scorpio.
The events of Friday leading up to the New Moon were the publication of Rosemary’s Ezine in which her message of yesterday’s post here was first published. Then we hosted a Conversation with The Other Side that evening. Here are the key paragraphs from the Ezine that provided the first boost:
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.
“Personal growth” is required for anything and everything to succeed. I cannot succeed in my purpose if I fail to keep growing, changing, transforming.
Then Friday evening during the Conversation a male bald eagle flew into the room to greet me and remind me to fly – to treat myself more lightly so I can fly – fly with him! I knew this eagle; I fly with him when I journey to the lower world. I took part of his message to mean I needed to return to visit him. I had not journeyed for a couple of months!
I do not ignore the call to my spirit guides! I journeyed and there I flew with Eagle surveying the lower world in all its splendor. And I also joined Mama Bear on this journey, another of my “familiars.” She took me deeper and into myself where energy rose up my spine through her powerful connection with the Earth. This tremendous power and Earth energy collected in my Heart. There it created a gravitational field that began to pull light and energy from the Heavens, Celestial Beings down to the Crown of my head, down through my 3rd Eye and Throat where this energy too collected in my Heart.
And there I sat, traveling with the drum, absorbing and absorbed in the powerful grip of Earth and Heaven energy, all while riding astride Mama Bear. And I realized the message was one of Love. Love is the force; Love is the glue; Love is the creative energy; Love is the power to propel this personal growth we are called to embrace. Love is the purpose. Love is the source. Love is the goal.
And here’s Rosemary’s question:
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?
I do not ignore the call of my spirit guides. And I do not ignore their message. Love yourself enough to accept your call and grow!
PS: Are you looking for messages about your personal growth? Every 3rd Saturday, at 7:00 pm Eastern time, Rosemary hosts Satsang for all who would join her in the exploration of evolving consciousness. It’s an excellent opportunity to ask questions. 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.
Use the Good China – Richard’s Commentary
True confession time: I am an inveterate procrastinator. I have been all my life. Maybe it’s my Leonine nature; with a birthday in August I definitely have some cat-like tendencies toward an independence from all those things waiting to be done.
And here’s another confession: when we unpacked the “good China” during our most recent move-in we tucked it away in a cupboard over the refrigerator – a rather difficult to get to area – because we don’t use the good China!
So, what’s this post of Rosemary’s about; and what do I take away that it might be good to consider?
The key paragraph that speaks to me is this one:
When you are connected to your inner wisdom and your spirit guides, you can check in to see what your next step is. Sometimes the message might be to capture the idea and then schedule it, even if it is not to be acted upon today. But often we challenge or question the energy of the guidance and step back to analyze until we have moved away from pursuing the action.
Yes, there are certainly times when I do “step back to analyze” and then the opportunity slips away and the guidance for the “next step” is ignored. This is the downside of procrastination. But here’s the thing: I do receive and hear a lot of guidance. And yes, often what I do with that guidance is put a task on my to-do list. In a sense this is putting it off; however, I do use my task list to get things done.
Lists really work for me. I learned yeas ago that if I can get a task listed and scheduled it will get done. It may not even get done on the day I first schedule it (the procrastination habit is tenacious!); but it does get done. This is my solution to my “Leonine procrastination” trait.
So, then I look at Rosemary’s comment on “Universal Flow” – When you follow the energy of the idea you receive then you are staying in the flow of the creative energy that comes to you from your connection to Universal Flow. She actually implies that when we are in this flow perhaps we are not procrastinating at all! She also implies that it’s OK to put off, even ignore the “shoulds” our egos present to us!
I often do have the sense that I am in a kind of flow, a rhythm in my life. And when the list of tasks obtained from guidance is used to channel the flow of my days I feel good, accomplished and content. And I have long since given up the idea that my task list for any given day will be exhausted. I have accepted that it’s OK to slide a task to another day; and sometimes tasks even drop off the list when they are overtaken by other tasks or they lose their importance within the flow. Perhaps those dropped tasks were in the “shoulds” category!
When I am in flow, in the rhythm of life I tend to feel productive; tasks get checked off, others get moved, some even dropped. An “old tape” may start up in my head accusing me of procrastination. But, if I really examine my life and accomplishments, maybe I’m not such a bad procrastinator after all!
What drives your life? Do you let your ego over-schedule you with shoulds then beat yourself up with labels like “procrastination”? Go inside for guidance. Listen for direction and list the tasks you can undertake to move in that direction. This moves you into flow and purpose!
Meanwhile, maybe I’ll get that good China out this weekend—for just the two of us!
You are a Multi-Dimensional Being! – Richard’s Commentary
Rosemary’s post begins with a message from The Divine Feminine in which they say:
We are The Divine Feminine and speak to you from the Realm of The Divine Feminine. This is one of the Dimensions that you have been hearing about.
There is nothing scary about dimensions or the beings that inhabit them. Our role in coming into your life is to assist you in your path of personal growth.
So, in casting about for my response today, to this message about being “multi-dimensional” I decided to take them at their word to see if I could hear a message from them. Actually I have received one or two messages from this “realm” in the past when I ask them for help, guidance or support. So, why not ask them to comment, through me, on their own message with additional illumination?
And I received a very interesting message of my own from this realm. I repeat much of it here because it demonstrates my own multi-dimensionality and perhaps it can model for you how you, too, can access this or other extra-dimensional realms if you ask!
From The Divine Feminine:
Dear one, of course we will speak to you! You are our beloved. You care for us as you care for Rosemary. You know there is a male component to us, just as there is to Rosemary. You mirror that component for us just as we mirror the feminine component of you. This is what your blog, Men and the Goddess, is all about. You men need us as that mirror. We are the Yin to your Yang, the Moon to your Sun. You need us to absorb, reflect, soften and affirm your very being. We need you for your strength, your action, your sending out the energy that animates it all.
The Goddess is in you just as the God is in us. We are inseparable yet dual. We inter-penetrate one another, affirm one another, in fact, manifest one another. And there is the problem with the dual nature of existence, of consciousness, just as there is a necessity to it. Often there is an imbalance in our natures. In you men, when the masculine over-powers the feminine, there is too much action, too much aggression. When the feminine over-powers the masculine there is too much inaction, too much passivity. The mirror image of this imbalance is true for women.
Balanced men offer the greatest hope for human survival and the evolution of consciousness. Balanced women offer the same hope. Partnership between such men and women offer extraordinary gifts to humanity. You, in partnership with Rosemary, model this balanced duality of purpose and power. Together you begin to restore balance in the energetic realm.
Now, this is not to dismiss The Divine Masculine. They too need their outlet and their balance. It is true that we are now in the forefront because the balance toward the masculine power has been so over-weighted as to almost lose sight of purpose! But as the work proceeds to restore this balance a restoration of appropriate masculine power will be needed for right action to emerge. This is your work. This is your calling. The work you envision with men is part of this restoration of balance. Working with the Tao and Qi is a way to help with balance. The ancient wisdom of China holds the keys to balance. They, the Taoists knew the importance of The Feminine, The Divine Feminine.
Keep to the path. Always return to balance.
And so it is.
Well, I did ask! Now I have to be congruent with the message I received! How does this message speak to you?
ROSEMARY’S EXPLORATION: You Are The Alchemist!
We have a message from The Divine Feminine to help us embrace our Inner Alchemist:
“Dear Ones,
Transformation is Alchemy in practice.
You are not turning lead into gold as you have been told the alchemists of old were attempting. You do, however, have the power to turn the lead of another person’s anguish or concern into the golden light of joy.
Each of you who sees these words is a transformation artist in every moment. Every word that you speak has the power to transform the hearer in some way. You can speak with love and concern and em-power the other person, or you can speak harshly and increase their feelings of low self-worth or self-esteem.
Even your thoughts have the power to affect another person. If someone speaks to you, and your thoughts are not supportive, you are sending that lower energy vibration to the speaker. If, on the other hand, you really listen and see the essence of the person and not the circumstance they are describing, then your thoughts can help that person to experience a higher vibrational energy and feel that support.
Speaking or listening you can affect another person by your presence. You can help them to feel good about themselves or to feel lower self-worth. Do you think about this when you speak? Do you concentrate on the other person when you listen?
Now, it is not your role to do the transforming of and for another person, but you are a facilitator. The alchemist mixes the elements and adds a catalyst, and then the process occurs. You are the catalyst as well as the alchemist.
Your first obligation, however, is to transform yourself into the person you were born to be. Are you living the life that your essence is asking for? Are you being your true self and not a persona required by others around you?
Transformation of yourself does not indicate that there is something broken in you that needs to be fixed. You are perfect just as you are at this moment. The transformation of which we speak here is the one in which you continue your evolutionary process, the alchemy of reaching for higher and higher vibrations within yourself.
As your consciousness evolves, so will your vibrational frequencies. Keep reaching for greater awareness, greater understanding of the world around you and where humanity is evolving. Pay attention to your thoughts and ask about the ‘light content’ of those thoughts. Are you thinking at a high frequency of light or do your thoughts feel heavy and dark?
Transform your thoughts and you will experience transformation within yourself.
Your story of transformation can act as a catalyst to help others to see the possibility of experiencing their own transformation. Think about being the empowered alchemist who empowers others!
You are the alchemist. When you shift the lead of heavy thoughts in your own life to thoughts of the Light, you can experience the golden Light of Joy that does not depend on circumstances but that lives within you NOW.
Be an agent of transformation, first for yourself and then for others. Be the alchemist you were born to be!
And so it is.”
From Rosemary: This message indicates that we are always in the process of transformation and so is each person with whom we come into contact. That is an awareness that leads us to see why we must take charge of our thoughts, words and deeds!
MONDAY’S POEM: Balance
During this time of the Autumnal Equinox it is good to look for balance in our lives. I published this poem before, during another equinox. But it continues to speak to me and I hope it helps bring balance to your life during this time of equal light and dark. And the last line of this poem is fully in harmony with my last couple of blogs about “home” and “sense of place.”
Balance
Breathe in freshness,
The power of life in the Universe.
Breathe out love,
The acceptance of All in the Universe.
Consume deliciousness,
Every dish alive with energy.
Purge the waste without grief;
It is a meal for another.
Bring into the Universe all of You;
Your unique gifts are essential.
Let go of everything that is not yours;
There are others ready to serve.
Live your Life Purpose;
Your karmic journey is open.
Die as a Natural Human,
Fully embracing your sense of place.
©2013 Richard W. Bredeson. All rights reserved.
ROSEMARY’S EXPLORATION: Happy Birthday to YOU!!!
People sometimes believe that they can’t change. My wonderful Mother used to say, ‘I’m too old to change.’ But in her 60s she studied Transcendental Meditation and started to meditate. She also adopted an attitude of ‘NMP – Not My Problem’ that freed her to relax about feeling responsible for everything and everyone around her. When we said that she had changed, she replied, ‘I didn’t change. I just changed my attitude!’
Every day, no matter how old or how young you are, you can adopt a new way of thinking, especially about yourself and who you are. Every morning is a rebirth, a new start, a ‘birthday.’
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. What benefits are there to staying in that rut? Do you really not know the next step? Or are you afraid of what it might ask of you and, therefore, you choose not to seek help in identifying it?
Happy Birthday to YOU!!! Today is your birthday. You get to choose who you are today, right now, in this moment. You don’t even have to be the same as you were when you woke up this morning. OR you can decide that you like the YOU who woke up and you re-decide to celebrate YOU! Either way, it’s your birthday today.
Celebrate who you are at your very core, the Light that was inside you when you were born that shines into the world because you are here today. Remember that your circumstances are not you. Remember that the people around you are not you – they are mirrors to help you grow.
Every day is an opportunity to grow, to learn, to be compassionate, to share, to shine your Light. Every day is a choice – to be happy, sad, contented, upset. Every day is a chance for renewal – of yourself, your relationships, your circumstances.
Every day is your birthday.
So when you wake up tomorrow, decide to en-JOY the day. Reach inside for the Light and the Joy that resides in that Light and shine. Happiness can rest on circumstances, but Joy is ever-existing within the Light. Touch it.
Celebrate YOU!!! We are all so glad that you showed up on the Planet now. Thank you!
Remember to give of yourself as well as to receive. When you choose to en-JOY your day, your smile will shed the Light on those who need it. You’ll have plenty of JOY to share with others so share it.
Happy Birthday to YOU!!!
ROSEMARY’S INSPIRATION: Today is Your Birthday!
Rosemary’s “Two-Minute” video for the week: Today is Your Birthday!
Men and The Goddess 