Thursday, April 30, 2015

No Question~ I AM a Stumbler

This is a vision of life that begins with self and ends with self. But people on the road to inner light do not find their vocations by asking, what do I want from life? They ask, what is life asking of me? How can I match my intrinsic talent with one of the world’s deep needs?

Their lives often follow a pattern of defeat, recognition, redemption. They have moments of pain and suffering. But they turn those moments into occasions of radical self-understanding — by keeping a journal or  making art. As Paul Tillich put it, suffering introduces you to yourself and reminds you that you are not the person you thought you were.  The people on this road see the moments of suffering as pieces of a larger narrative. They are not really living for happiness, as it is conventionally defined. They see life as a moral drama and feel fulfilled only when they are enmeshed in a struggle on behalf of some ideal.  

This is a philosophy for stumblers. The stumbler scuffs through life, a little off balance. But the stumbler faces her imperfect nature with unvarnished honesty, with the opposite of squeamishness. Recognizing her limitations, the stumbler at least has a serious foe to overcome and transcend. The stumbler has an outstretched arm, ready to receive and offer assistance. Her friends are there for deep conversation, comfort and advice.

External ambitions are never satisfied because there’s always something more to achieve. But the stumblers occasionally experience moments of joy. There’s joy in freely chosen obedience to organizations, ideas and people. There’s joy in mutual stumbling. There’s an aesthetic joy we feel when we see morally good action, when we run across someone who is quiet and humble and good, when we see that however old we are, there’s lots to do ahead.   

The stumbler doesn’t build her life by being better than others, but by being better than she used to be. Unexpectedly, there are transcendent moments of deep tranquillity. For most of their lives their inner and outer ambitions are strong and in balance. But eventually, at moments of rare joy, career ambitions pause, the ego rests, the stumbler looks out at a picnic or dinner or a valley and is overwhelmed by a feeling of limitless gratitude, and an acceptance of the fact that life has treated her much better than she deserves.

Those are the people we want to be.

Author Unknown to me~

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

No question~ I AM an old soul


How can you tell if you are an old soul?  Are there differences in traits or behaviors? What signs can I look for that can help me differentiate the difference?
Generally speaking, we are all old souls, but some of us have been here longer than others.
The word “old” is only relative to time.  Because time is linear and our souls are eternal, 10,000 years would be the blink of an eye.
Dolores Cannon believes that we need to incarnate many, many times as inanimate objects, plants and animals before we can become human.  Then, as humans, we still need to incarnate many, many times to learn all of the lessons we came here for.  For example, according to Cannon, we all had to be an air molecule and a drop of water to learn what it’s like to work together as ONE.
So, how can you tell if you have an old soul?

You understand many of life’s deeper lessons.

For some people, it is hard to fathom that the soul of a child may be much older than the soul of his or her parents. For these particular people, this is a sign that their soul might be younger than yours.  When you begin to understand why you keep incarnating to this 3rd dimensional reality, it becomes similar to the movie, Groundhog Day, where Phil wakes up each day to find out that it’s still February 2nd until he learns how to remove his ego and starts doing kind deeds for others.
Once you realize that time, space, energy and matter are 3rd dimensional products, the theory of time becomes irrelevant, thus the theory of how old your soul is also becomes irrelevant.
But for the sake of understanding how old your soul may be, we’ll continue!

You are in touch with your natural abilities or have an extreme interest in these abilities.

Some people are born with innate gifts, such as special healing abilities or psychic abilities.  The truth is that we all possess these abilities, but an older soul is more in tune with how to access and implement these abilities in the name of humanity. If you don’t have any particular ability, but have a strong interest in them, this is simply your soul trying to recall these abilities that you may have had in a previous lifetime.

You become spiritually aware.

Everyone is pure consciousness, but many people have a difficult time understand what this means.  Your soul is pure consciousness and love.  It has a unique understanding of how the matrix is being played on this planet and understands that everything we do as a collective will help to facilitate the awakening of others.

You understand the importance forgiveness.

Some people are old souls who still have much to learn because they are trapped inside the box with their ideologies, are stubborn or have not learned the importance of forgiveness. By forgiving yourself and others, we can release any karma between these people.

You’re able to transcend ego.

It’s nearly impossible for anyone to completely transcend ego 100% of the time but simply being aware of our ego and how it plays against unity consciousness is a definite sign on an old soul. On the other side, there is no ego.  During your life review, you will re-live your ego and will see how it affected others, as well as yourself.  At this point in “time”, you will probably make a soul contract with the hopes of overcoming ego and atoning for whatever ego issues you had in your previous incarnation.

You’re able to transcend materialism.

Money and materialism are products of this 3rd dimensional reality and it’s easy to succumb to materialism, especially when it’s in your face through advertising, programming and peer pressure. An older soul realizes that money is non-existent on the other side and it generally takes away from who we truly are as spiritual beings. Those who are older souls will generally use money as a tool to either help facilitate their spiritual progression through spiritual retreats or by possibly creating a lavish feng shui home decorated with spiritual meaning versus the most luxurious furnishings. They may also use their money to help others who are less fortunate.

You are able to understand the concept that your body is a shell for your soul.

Before you were born, you not only chose your parents, you also chose your life situations and challenges that would help to facilitate your spiritual growth while atoning for any previous karma. The body that you are currently in is simply a vessel for your soul.  Your name is what your soul currently refers itself as, but in previous lifetimes, you had many different names and you have lived many previous lives as either a male or a female.  Your name and title are both associated with ego because ultimately, you are infinite consciousness and we are all on the same team.

You seem to have a special connection to eras long before you were born.

Did you ever watch an old movie or see some artwork from a specific era in time and have a connection to that era?  Chances are, you lived a previous life during that time period and this is your cellular memory letting you know!

You have an understanding of what you need to do to complete your spiritual progression.

Just by making it this far, you are more awakened than most people on this planet.  You have an understanding of Universal laws and what is left to do on your soul contract.  Even if you are not specifically sure of either, your higher self and spirit guides will continue lead you in the right direction.

You have a strong feeling that home isn’t Earth.

Did you ever look at a random area of the sky and star at an unknown star for no particular reason?  Do you have a special connection with specific star systems such as the Pleiades or Orion’s Belt?   Do wars and corruption make you feel uneasy, as if they didn’t exist where you originally came from?  Are you one of the souls who volunteered to come here at this specific point in time to help with the Earth’s ascension?  If you answered yes to any of these questions, then chances are, Earth is not your home planet.

You tend to be a loner.

The stigma on the word loner is often condescending, but those who are old souls are merely looking for other fragments of themselves and will often distance themselves from younger souls who need more incarnations into a 3rd dimensional planet. Older souls will seek out other like-mided people because there’s a comfort and familiarity with these types of people who will help to facilitate each others spiritual progression.

You have a rebellious nature.

Whether you rebel from religion, laws or anything else, this is a sign that your soul knows the only true laws… the Laws of the Universe.  While you respect the reasoning and intention behind laws and religion, you might not be compelled to use these as absolute laws when you know there are a set of higher laws that are intended to facilitate our spiritual progressions.

You have a burning desire to attain truth and inner wisdom.

Many older souls can easily see through the lies we’ve been taught through religion, politics and through our educational facilities.  While they realize they are all one with the universe, they also want the truth exposed to help other people’s awakening process. They also continue to seek knowledge in the spiritual, metaphysical and esoteric fields and will absorb this information much easier than anything they were taught in school.

You are not controlling of others.

Older souls are more accepting, not just of other people, but of circumstances as well.  For example, while you don’t approve of the corruption within politics, you understand how the corruption will help to awaken other people to the truth. You respect the free will of others and are more likely to use tact than verbal demands of others. You tend to be more of a team player than anything else.

You sense a separation between yourself and the “real world”.

As you transcend ego and materialism, you find yourself living a different lifestyle. While this lifestyle is unique to your current incarnation, there also seems to be a familiarity of the direction you’re heading.

You are curious whether you’re an old soul or not.

Many young souls wouldn’t ask this question or much less be concerned about it.  While many older souls aren’t concerned either, for different reasons, they simply “know” they’re old souls, but it’s nice to have affirmations that coincide with your spiritual progression.
There are many lessons we have learned throughout our lifetimes, all of which has culminated into this particular incarnation.  All of your previous life incarnations are embedded into your cellular memory and can be recalled through past life regressions.  Most of the people on this planet are old souls, yet many remain unawakened and still have a lot more to learn and will need several more incarnations to a 3rd dimensional planet.
Many of those who are awakened will probably move on to their next level of spiritual progression.  It’s important to remember that this is not a race because in the end, we all win.  Enjoy every millisecond in this incarnation because this may be the last time you’ll ever experience a 3rd dimensional reality!

Spirituality~

An excellant description when people say to me, "oh, you are so religious..."  I am a spiritual being!


Spirituality is one’s capacity to be guided. It is not about how much we mediate. Or how often we go to church. Or how many yoga poses or Sanskrit words we know. Or how much time we spend praying. Or how many Om pieces of jewelry we have. Spirituality is really about how much we get out of our own way and allow ourselves to be guided by God.
That means . . .
Letting go of expectations.
Releasing attachments to the way we think things should be.
Quieting the voice of our ego so we can hear the voice of inner wisdom.
Making changes that maybe scary and facing uncertainty with faith.
Being of service to others that Spirit places in our lives in often unexpected ways.

Set Aside Prayer


Set Aside Prayer
God, please let me set aside every thing I think I know about sobriety, life, and You so that I may be open to a new experience.
Amen

Be Patient~


"Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart
 
and try to love the questions. 

Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, 

live along some distant day into the answers"
 
                                                                      Rilke poem - 

Monday, April 20, 2015

Mark Nepo~ The Festival of Life!

I sometimes wonder how many times I will have
to crack before I will "fully have" the light~ 
and as soon as I ask, I know the answer.  
As long as I am living~

We fight it constantly, but the meaning of life 
waits beyond all our plans and under all our 
desires; waiting for us to lose our maps and 
crack our hard shells open so that the light 
within can join with the light without.  
Mark Nepo


THE FESTIVAL OF LIFE 

What if the heart cracks like a seed, 
needing to be opened to grow? Then 
how do we understand what comes 
pouring out? Does pain turn into a 
small root? Does grief if watered start 
to break ground? It does no good to tell 
someone broken that they will become a 
flower. No one believes this while lost in 
the dark, anymore than creatures of the 
night can believe that there’s a festival 
of life making up the day. But this is 
the work of faith, the faith that moves 
like song and blood beneath our wounds: 
to believe that we are more than what is 
done to us. It’s true. I’ve lost everything 
more than once, each a devastation. Yet 
each in time grew me into who I was to 
be. I can’t explain or offer conclusions. 
Just know that we’re surprised into being. 
Like divers who open the treasure just 
as they’re running out of air, we’re 
forced to let go of what we want 
in order to live another day.   Mark Nepo

Monday, April 13, 2015

Our Julia Child


I find this to be the road to JOY!

"Find something you're passionate about and keep tremendously interested in it."  

April 11, 1954: She eventually mastered the art of French cooking, but at 41, Julia Child was still figuring it all out. An attempt to make a beurre blanc for sea bass failed, much to her “quite hurt surprise.”