Self Awareness Archives – Page 2 of 4

January 1, 2014

Resolutions – No time for Masks; The “I’s” Have it!

New Years is a time many of us think of as a “renewal.” This is a time when we can reassess the year just ending and realign ourselves to greater achievement and stronger commitment. It is a time where we look to the oncoming year with new hope and newly expressed motivation. This renewal is often short-lived and yet each year we recommit with new energy and determination. Rarely do we ponder the reason that our resolutions have any staying power.

Perhaps the thing we all need to consider is that each of us is comprised of many masks all representing different aspects of ourselves that are only present when we need a particular characteristic to carry us through a given situation that a given mask represents. Most of us wear dozens of masks who represent individual “I’s” that appear and disappear throughout the course of our daily and nightly routines. We are never without them. The obvious question, at this point, is what has any of this have to do with the making and breaking of our New Year’s resolutions?

Simply, if we do not have a consortium of “I’s” in alignment with a particular resolution we will be in a constant struggle with those “I’s” who are not on board. Here’s an example: One of the most tried and true New Year’s resolutions has something to do with improving health, e.g., lose weight, exercise, etc. Let’s say that we commit to walk one mile each morning at six in the morning. The “good health” “I” steps forward and fully commits to this simple but extremely useful resolution and we feel the sense of purpose and confidence that, while requiring some effort, will be an extremely valuable opportunity to improve overall health and fitness. It’s a go starting January 2^nd at 6:00 AM.

At 5:45 AM, January 2^nd the alarm goes off just as planned and what happens. While “good health I” is ready to go, “like’s to sleep, I,” who did not agree to any resolution is not ready to crawl out of bed and go for a walk. Additionally, “well dressed I” is disgruntled that “I don’t have anything proper to wear on this walk.” “Know it all I” jumps into the fray, as well, and contests that “I do not know enough about the nuances of walking to feel that it’s completely safe to do” and then of course “work I” comes forward with “we really need to catch up on some work and this time would be better served doing that, just this once, of course.”

All the other “I’s” come forward in these few seconds and the battle to overcome them begins. Perhaps there is enough intensity from the “good health I” to force the others to go along but the conversation amongst them all is intense even though we may not hear anything. Sounds corny, I know, but we all have this going on inside us and rarely do we ever consider that what one “I” believes is useful and good is anathema to the others and outside our conscious awareness they will attack any goal, plan or resolution that they have not bought into!

Our intentions need to incorporate the desires of all our “I’s” or at least have a majority if we are going to ever be successful pulling off New Year’s resolutions; or any resolutions, plans or goals for that matter. Too often we let a single “I” commit to something only to see it fall unglamorously to the wayside underneath the taunts and jeers of all the other “I’s. All of us recognize that we have masks but few of us” ever try to have them integrated when we take on new things. In fact, most of us don’t even consider that the “I’s,” that are our makeup, have any bearing on anything we plan to take on and, quietly let our well-intentioned resolutions slip into the dark and dingy hall of failures without even considering what happened.

Talk to your “I’s”; all of them. Even the ones we hate to admit exist like the mean, angry or scared ones. They will tell you what they need and give insight into how to make things we plan work or at least have a better chance of working. The only other alternative is to have them take apart everything we desire and bury it long before we were given any chance to succeed.

The best resolution is the one that takes the entire cast of “I’s” into the New Year.

July 4, 2013

Giants in the Land

There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bear children to them, the same became mighty men of renown. Genesis 6: 4

These words while written thousands of years ago could not be more poignant then , then they are now and while they are somewhat nebulous and cryptic it is believed that they were written just prior to the flood describe in the Old Testament. It is also believed that they were written during a time when there was great upheaval in the world.

Many believe we are in such a time now and yet the times now would suggest there is a great settling in the earth in that there are more people alive now than at any other age or time and that human existence is now unfettered by the horrific slaughter of humans by other humans. There continues to be wars and physical conditions that take life from our planet but it is not nearly of the scale and magnitude of the last century. Those being born into the world are surviving at a rate unprecedented in history and even in just the last few years. It is as if spectators are gathering for some cosmic event , yet to come, and which can only be viewed on our tiny little planet. One can only speculate.

Along with this population growth and relative non-destruction of human life we have also seen a disappearance of local and world leaders who are of renown and who actually lead. They are not to be found in the institutions we once looked to for great and inspiring advocates of human consciousness, moderation and wisdom yet we continue looking to those places as if they might somehow or in someway emerge.

Government, institutions of higher learning, science and religion are besought with treachery and graft. Instead of laying the groundwork for honesty and integrity they foster sullenness, intellectual superiority, greed, waste and complacency. Little did the framers of the constitution of the United States ever contemplate that the very institutions they formed would become the house of corruption!

The only quality we look to in the institutions, once thought to be bastions of integrity, is that of “intellect” which has become the father of moral decay. The intellectual cannot know what we feel. Ever! They can only know what they “think” they know. Where have all the leaders gone?

Surely with the sheer numbers of people increasing the world over there are “great ones” among us, but where? We cannot look to government or religion or universities for inspired leaders. These institutions wreak of dishonesty, avarice, pride and condescension. They are no longer the breeding ground for people with character and integrity. All these institutions seem to do anymore is create faithful soldiers who will uphold whatever illusion they have accepted. We don’t find inspired leaders in industry, entertainment, media, news organizations or any other place we once thought they would be.

We witnessed in the last presidential election “ugliness” unprecedented in U.S. history and it was not just the candidates who ran for various offices. It was “We the People!” And after all the vitriol and ugliness of an election process no leaders emerged. That is not to say there were no victors but we are still a “leaderless” country and the world at large suffers from the same dearth as we here in the United States. Still we continue to look around for someone who will lead us into new horizons we can only imagine exist. We have been so conditioned to see life from our particular viewpoint and we select our leaders because they supposedly carry a similar point of view and so complete is our idea of their complicity with our own that we will resort to saying things like, “I know he or she is not the best but he/she is the lesser of two evils.” Did you get that? “The lesser of two evils!” Have we, in lieu of leaders who are not there, settled for evil?

Are there no persons of “renown” among us? Surely there must be but where?

In truth they are among us and have been for a while. Some sense it but others have yet to discover their own renown. Most are currently beset with the idea that the institution or character of their liking, their persuasion, is the way out and they hope, in vain, that things will turn in their way. It is an easy way out of looking to themselves as the “giants” they truly are. Some have discovered their innate integrity but are remiss to step forward with their own awareness that will greatly inspire and lift the rest of us. Sadly, some have sold themselves already to their cause and its institutional counter part and are lost to their own inner light. In other words many of the elect have been deceived and have taken their followers with them.

The giants are among us, none the less, and not only must we begin to recognize them but they too must rise up and see us as well. Perhaps, as you read this, recognize, that you are one of them. If you are searching for such individuals this alone speaks to your own greatness. Think about it. Those who see the light amid the darkness are the ones we are all really looking for and they will never affiliate with an institutional idea or belief. Institutional leadership has failed in every clime and it is no longer the way back to the light we seek. In fact, the giants among us will disenfranchise all institutions and beliefs because any affiliations with them would be the equivalent of bringing “sheep to the slaughter.”

The giants will show us a new way which ultimately will break what is. It is the only way out of our illusory stupor. Government, religion or any other system as we know it will never function in an enlightened society but “the way” must be forged by new blood, inspiration and intuition. Those ingredients already permeate the land but for now they are silent. Many have not recognized that they are part of the pathway to light and that they have but to step out of the darkness. They indeed will bring enlightenment and hope to a world that struggles.

Careful; they are not who you might think they are. We have yet to see them but they are here. I call to them as do all the inhabitants of the earth! What we all must do as the groundwork for their emergence is to stop looking to the world’s institutions and current leaders to solve the worlds problems. The “world” has demonstrated comprehensively that it knows not what it does. The giants and people of renown will show us all and the showing resides not in the institutions we believe must change. It resides in the compassion, honor, dignity and integrity they will replace all the old forms with.

Who are these giants; these people of renown? Look to yourself. You already know.

January 26, 2013

What do you do to be enlightened?

I was asked these two questions about enlightnment recently and wanted to share my thoughts with each of you as well. Here is the Question:

Do you think that we can all one day become enlightened? If so, what do we need to do?

My Response: There is no “day” in some future time that we become enlightened. There is no future at all. Each of us already is enlightened and at various points in our lives we see it. Those who do get a glimpse of it are usually pulled into it by some event, such as the death of a loved one, or something else that causes deep reflection in which no “answer” comes. Most people who have such an experience can always recount the emotional state they felt in such times but they almost always revert back to the egoic need to explain what is going on. Most come to some conclusion that their “prayer” was answered or that an Ahhhh Haaa came to them and they understood in a way they hadn’t before. What gets lost in these conclusions is that in that moment where no answer existed is the only place that enlightenment occurred.

In other words, enlightenment is not some magical, mystical awareness of all the, so called, “Big Questions.” Enlightenment is the “nothing” that
existed before the “ego” needed an explanation. It is the sweetness of being in the presence of absolute silence and not needing an explanation
for everything. In that place there is no fear, love, happiness, sadness or any other emotional state. There is nothing but silence and it is in that
“not knowing” that “all” is known and none of it needs definition.

What do “we” need to do? “Be still and know that YOU are god.” In other words, unmask who it is that occupies your body by silencing the mind. In
this place you will experience the grand mystery of which we are all a part. It’s all you can do. There is no “we” in this unmasking. You’re own
enlightenment will enlighten others. The “god” that you are is never invisible to the “god” that they are. Something inside us always sees the greater light but it is in the quiet of the mind. Quiet your mind and discover the “everything” that is contained in the “nothing.” This is your enlightenment.

This is what you can do.

January 20, 2013

How We Create Our Own Reality?

I was recently asked this question and wanted to share my answer which I believe is relevant to any spiritual search. Let me know what you think.

We do create our own experience. When the newborn child you mentioned enters this Earth existence, it is the result of, or creation by, the spiritual being (I call it god) who will occupy that body and grow with it into whatever. What happens for all newborns is that after the initial excitement of the birth the adults in the new baby’s life begin to reprogram the child into seeing things the way they were taught to see. After about ten to fifteen years of this, the child embarks on a life that confirms and reinforces what they were previously conditioned to see, accept and/or believe.
This is why I say we live in an illusion. It does not start out that way but all the experiences, training, etc. that go into making us who we are as “humans” cancels out what, in fact, we truly are and what we were when we first got here. Newborn babies have no egoic identity whatsoever, and therefore everything in and about life is wondrous and incredible to them.

Mind based thoughts are powerful but spirit based creative powers are much more so. In fact, the suffering of most humans can be tied directly to the struggle between “what” they are (or were when they got here) and what they have been conditioned to be after they arrived. Perhaps one of the best examples of this is that in the United States (true for other western countries as well) over 70% of the working population hate what they do as a career but for most who are unhappy in their career field they were conditioned to go down this path contrary to their nature which craves something else. How sad for us!

You mention the mind being all powerful (rhetorical) but let me be very specific. We are each two individuals. The “mind” created individual and the spiritual being, or what I call god, which dwells within us. Those first few years you mention are so critical in the development of a child’s mind because what we are conditioned to believe initially will mask what we really are for the rest of our lives. Very few will break free of the conditioning they undergo and return back to the “unidentified” being they were when they came here.

Our lives here should not be about finding purpose and meaning but rather about finding who we are. In finding that, and synching the mind to our spiritual nature, life unfolds in a very un-conflicted way. “We”, that is the real “We” we were before we got here, is made manifest and life, our creation, unfolds in a way that reveals that being. There is power in our thoughts but our thoughts, as rational as we like to think they are, are anything but.

From the moment of our birth, we are taught to want and have and possess to the point that when we “get”, we completely identify ourselves to all the things we have gotten. Life becomes, in essence, a continuous pursuit of things the getting of which is what we falsely believe, make us who we are. An example is I can be “me” after I get my college education or when I get this particular job or career or when I get this particular house, etc., etc. We literally identify with “what we are not” and determine that until we get (what we are not) we are not complete. This is craziness.

Until we re-access that divine being that dwells within us we create a reality that is as wild and crazy as the one we live in now.

The beauty of the un-identified newborn baby is that in their creation everything is simply WOW! (Good article on this at: http://cbozeman.wordpress.com/2009/11/22/the-frequency-of-wow/. There are no judgments about anything and the entry into life is incredible in every way. No judgment is the key. With a mind free of judgment or identity everything just simply is. Children “act” without thinking and do so until we, as adults, condition them to judge everything. Life slowly but surely loses its Wow-ness.

Bottom line is that when a newborn comes into this life, its body is occupied with a “god” who has already created the experience of being here for no other reason than just being here. That god is thrilled and everything about the experience is exhilarating until the “human” has been conditioned to judge good and evil and place every life experience from that point on into a good or bad range. Ego identity takes over and from that point life experience becomes confused and challenging. It was never meant to be so.

In a nutshell we create our experience but it is either a mind created experience or a “spiritual being” created experience. Unless the mind experience is in synch with the spiritual experience there will always be conflict. The two typically see things in very different ways and “identify” with reality accordingly. The mind has become powerful but it is not “all powerful”. The mind is finite. The spirit is infinite. We, individually, are the purpose we seek and try to create with the mind. All we have to do is turn off the mind, dis-identify with the things it (the mind) has determined are necessary for its identity and simply enjoy the richness and wonder of this life experience. When we let go of “mind” created identity, the wonder and spectacle of life opens up in a way I cannot possibly explain here. It truly is unexplainable.

The god that you are “created” this experience long before you arrived here on Earth. The mind identity fights against that original purpose. Find the inner self and you will begin to recognize the awesome power of your own creation. Pretty cool!

November 22, 2012

The Non-Gift of Giving

There is a common misconception about the act of “giving” we all tend to focus on at this time of year; likely because we hear so much about it. We call it a time of giving and much of the speak is that “when we give we get back.” Often we are told that our giving returns to us more than what we give. It is almost as if the idea of “getting back” is the purpose of such giving. Nothing could be further from the truth!

The human mind is always, always about finding reason for doing anything, giving, included. It is the mind’s nature and the birth of ego is born in this idea that reasons must find their way into our existence and upon finding such we are born into an identity that supports the conceptual ideas we form our identity around. Sometimes the idea that our “getting,” in return for our giving, is used as motivation to spur us to the action of giving. “Look beyond your means for now and you will receive as much or even more than you sacrificed in the “giving.”

In truth, like happiness, giving is our essence. Remember that WE are Gods. Individually and uniquely, Gods. It is our very nature at the level of the divine to give. The Human in us says, “let there be light, so I may see” while the God that we are says, “let there be light so all may see.” Giving is our inherent nature as the divine beings that we are and the idea that ego can out do that nature by promising to give back what is given is most absurd. The idea that you must have returned to you what you gave is not giving; it is taking. Think about it!

If we comprehend that our nature at the very core of our existence is “the giver” then no part of our existence looks for reasons why there must be a “payback” for our giving. Remember the new Testament story of the old woman who gave her last penny to charity? Jesus pointed to her and told those who had given of their abundance that she alone had given the most. Why would He make such a statement?

We don’t know much about the old woman and her circumstances but we can assume that her ego was screaming at her to keep the penny as she herself was in as great a need for assistance as those she chose to give to. What kept her from holding on to her last penny and giving all that she had? She had found and accepted her true nature. She gave without expectation because the “giver” was unmasked and could not be hidden by the “show” of giving only in quantity. Those who gave more in quantity, still masked in an identity of receiving for their gifts, gave nothing of their true nature. Theirs was only a gift; with the expected return. Hers was a blessing; an act of godliness that reflected her connection to the divine within. Hers was an act of power!

The act of giving is never about getting something in return. All that we are, at our core essence, is never wanting or expecting anything in return. The act of truly giving is a natural act. It is an act of God and you are God! Giving resonates in all of us because we have this essence already. Most of us have been taught to give of our abundance but this kind of giving only mitigates the egoic awareness that something else (inside) is the giver of all.

Do you want to know what you “get” when you give? You get to be who you are. In other words, you get to stop thinking about acts of giving and just “be” the giver that you inherently are. You get to shed egoic ideas of “who am I” and simply be “who you are” without any conversation at all telling you otherwise. When we give we engage our inherent nature and that frees us from the egoic nature that is heavy and burdened.

What we feel when we are in service to others is the lightness that comes from being “who, or what we really are.” The weight of mind created identity leaves for a short time and we feel this lightness and it feels so good we talk about it in egoic terms without really understanding what has happened. We should all ask what is it about these acts of giving and service that makes us feel so light and happy? The answer will almost always come back to something like, I got to shed “my stuff” and just be in this wonderfully natural state that was surprisingly without any thought.

If we must have a reason to give then let the reason be because it frees us from our “stuff” and lets us be, if only for a short space of time, the divine giver that we already are. Don’t attach reasons to the giving. Just give and the giving will engage an inherent nature that already is YOU.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!

Carl

June 24, 2012

A consciousness guide; “The” Spiritual Handbook! – Book Review

I am one of twenty bloggers participating in the virtual book tour for Yvonne Perry’s latest book, Shifting into Purer Consciousness ~ Integrating Spiritual Transformation with the Human Experience. Today, I am sharing the review that I wrote. You may learn more about Yvonne and her book at http://shiftingintopurerconsciousness.com

Title: Shifting into Purer Consciousness ~ Integrating Spiritual Transformation with the Human Experience

Author: Yvonne Perry

ISBN-13: 978-0-9825722-9-0

Publisher: Write On!, May 2012

###

Yesterday, the tour stopped at Janet Riehl’s Riehl Life blog. Tomorrow the tour will be at Doreen Pendgracs’ blog- Wizard of Words and I invite you to visit that site to learn more about the spiritual transition we are currently in. See the full tour schedule at http://dld.bz/byrF7 .

Here is my review:

Yvonne’s words float through the mind like a summer’s breeze easing their way into the fabric of the soul. She is eloquent, bold and shares a compelling glimpse into her own spiritual journey that shows us how her journey can become a map for our own. While “Shifting into Purer Consciousness,“ is a gentle excursion into greater spiritual awareness it is an equally powerful handbook that teaches in specific ways how each of us can approach our own spiritual journey.

I was taken by the numerous exercises and affirmations Yvonne shares that are impactful, deep and compelling. The book will lead you on a journey of self discovery that makes the essence of every single moment in life significant and essential. Yvonne is not only a guide but a friend who shows us the way to venture into our own “Human Experience” and even in those moments of fear and timidity she effectively shows us how to be unafraid. There is boldness in her words that, “where all paths are honored and merged, I see no reason why one must follow a strict regime of “getting it right” (indicative of a patriarchal system). It is our intention that counts.”

Intention does count and this wonderful book shows us so many ways to discover our own unique spirituality and find “Intention and Purpose” in every facet of life. If nothing else this book will make you look at yourself in a new and reverent way and it will most certainly “shift your consciousness.”

Carl Bozeman

Author of the Bestselling Book: On Being God – Beyond Your Life’s Purpose

www.spiritual-intuition.com

June 17, 2012

My Father Al; A Living Tribute

It may seem a bit odd to pay tribute to another human in the form of an obituary but what good are expressions about someone if they, for whom they are written, are unable to hear and know the depth of feeling a Son can have for his Father.

My Father Al came into my life after I had ruled out all adult humans as trustworthy and protective of those they were charged with caring for. My real father had left without having any contact and my life as I knew it then was forever over. I never even gave my Father Al a chance to be a friend let alone a father to whom I would look up to. He was just another Man, human if you will, who like so many others would find ways to hurt, abandon and abuse me and make my life a hell that would haunt me endlessly. I kept him at a distance but I never stopped observing his quiet, steady ways. Beyond that I never gave him much thought. He was not much more than an inconvenient intruder in my own already defective life.

As I grew older, I began to take upon myself, with great pride, the idea that having lost my biological father, I could pick and choose the men who passed through my life and take from them characteristics I admired and wanted to emulate. I prided myself on the great variety of virtues I was able to draw upon as well as the men from whom I would draw them. I threw my admiration at certain men from many walks of life and eagerly observed and adopted characteristics I felt were necessary to my own character building. Things like integrity, honesty, hard work, devotion to family, self-sacrifice, humor and love of life. As I sought these things, always, Al was in the background.

One rarely knows the “hows” of our experiences. Most of us come to a place in our lives where our own retrospection looks back on “what changed” or on “what just happened” and in silence we marvel at what we missed for so long. For me, like John Bunyan’s “Pilgrim” I travelled a long and desperate road only to circle around back to where I had started. In a moment of stark recognition I had made my way back to my original home and to that place where in my youth I had judged so harshly. The journey took me in countless directions and all that I ever sought was always right there where I had begun. The greatest of all men was there in my own backyard. He had not changed but I had. I now had eyes that could see that where I began, and where I had ended was at his feet. And in a silent moment of recognition, at one so great, I am humbled in his presence.

The light has never shined so bright as when I have been with him. My Father Al was everything I ever sought and even with the passage of time being so long before my own recognition I feel as though I have never “not” known. This is because of Him, as well. In all my travels he has never judged. He has loved as only a father could and I have felt that love and it is inexpressible. What was once the “least” to me, is the greatest!

My Father Al has gone home to a place we all know and from whence we have all come. He is with his “greatest of all possessions,” as he referred to my Mother, whom he adored every moment of his life. Another great quality of the man! We are forever drawn to the place he now enjoys but more importantly we are drawn to him. Like a fortress or a stand of trees or the inexorable pull of the moon upon the waters he will always be the force that draws us ever closer to eternity. The light in a dark place, never looking back but always looking forward. He is our guide, a sentinel, not guarding the way but protecting us along the way.

My Father holds many places in our hearts. To some he is “Al,” while to others he is “Dad,” while to some he is “Brother Yates” or “Grandpa” or just “Yates.” Some even know him as “Handsome.” Whatever the name we knew him as or the description of him we hold we are all united in our love for him and he always reciprocated by loving us. Not in grand and showy ways but quietly, completely and most of all purely.

Rest well my Father and know that in this place we celebrate the life of one so good we are all humbled to have been a part of the vast universe you created. Go in peace and know that we all love you.

I love you. God bless you my sweet Dad.

Your Son,

Carl

April 15, 2012

You Are Not Your Body

Jesus, dying on the cross was not about giving his life as a demonstration of power nor was it to save us from our so called sins. It was a demonstration that He was not his body or mind or anything else we all tend to identify ourselves with.

His closest disciples did not understand this either. This is why Peter came to his defense in the garden of Gethsemane and cut off the ear of the Roman soldier who was trying to apprehend Jesus. Peter wanted to defend the “man” He thought Jesus was, not who Jesus actually was. Peter, and so many others then and now, could not see who Jesus was outside the “man” he thought him to be. He only saw the “man” and thought the “man” was endowed with special powers and that he must defend Jesus, as “the man” Peter “thought” him to be.

Jesus was never able to convince anyone that He was not his body; that He was not the “object” others had created him to be. His whole ministry was a demonstration of his own awareness that he was completely unidentified with anything in the world. His crucifixion was a profound and vivid example of that. Death did not matter to him. Not because we “rise again,” but because what WE truly are never dies! Who we are never dies and Jesus imparted that message one last time by allowing himself to be killed as a demonstration that he would continue on just as each of us will continue on.

We will never “fail” in this life because this life is not anywhere near what we are in eternity. Detach from the body, discover who resides within and nothing in human experience will ever be able to take from you anything that actually does matter.

January 8, 2012

Breaking Down the Barriers to Spirit – A Way to Live for 2012

Instead of asking you to reflect on the year just ended and create resolutions for the new year just beginning I would like to share a pattern for life that will put you on a path of breaking down the barriers we all have when trying to access our spiritual natures. These are not resolutions rather they are a guide for living everyday, regardless of year, that never requires renewal or reflection. They are a guide for living in such a way that we are always open to our own divinity.

Accessing our spiritual or divine nature is difficult in light of the control ego has on us. Ego is opposed to anything beneficial to others and to ourselves. A Course in Miracles says, “The ego wishes no one well. Yet, its survival depends on your belief that you are exempt from its evil intentions.”

How do we penetrate egoic devices that keep us from accessing the good within? Here is a list of characteristics that will not only penetrate our ego natures but help form a barrier that will prevent ego from having any influence in our lives, whatsoever.

Never point the finger; never and at no one: Pointing the finger steers us outward away from who we are. It is an easy thing to do to look away from ourselves while focusing on others. In fact, all of us need to always be singularly focused on our inner selves, where no inclination, whatsoever, exists to point away toward someone or something else. Pointing in any direction, even towards ourselves, is a good way to distance ourselves from that being who dwells within.
Ceasing to judge anything: Our judgment blinds us to reality. It skews our perceptions to finite criteria which limits infinite possibility. Gods have no limitations of any kind. They are bound to nothing, even so called physical laws. Judgment is the glue that holds us to the idea of impossibility. We like saying “nothing is impossible”, but our judgments convince us otherwise. When we cease to judge anything, the doorway to everything opens up to us.
Give up holding onto the past: Our history is the “school” of our judgments. We learn well our definitions of life in the school of past experience. Those definitions not only become the criteria for judging others, but also for judging ourselves. Judgments are confining to our senses and to our essence as gods. When we give up holding onto the past, newness and freshness strikes us in ways we cannot imagine.
Speaking kindly: Humans are said to be hardwired for communication. The ego, which is uniquely human, is programmed to defend itself. No ego ever wants to be perceived as “less than” its preconditioned criteria. While other egos may not reciprocate, always speak kindly of others. We can never know where anyone is coming from. No one knows your history nor do you know theirs. Speaking kindly allows everyone some ease and safety. It is an opening of your heart and theirs.
Expressions of love soften the ego, speak them often: The only thing “hard” about humans is the ego. It is the shell we all have that supposedly protects us from the onslaught of other egos crucial judgments. Ego is a defensive mechanism built up over time. It is the past brought forward into the present. It is the preparer of future defensive engagements. It is strong against the devices of other egos. It is defenseless against love and kindness. Speaking kindly and expressions of love break down egoic defenses and opens the door to the soul where our defensive walls give way to our divine nature. Expressions of love are gods speaking to others and to us. Nothing can stand against such expressions, especially our own egos.
Love everything: This is difficult because we are never programmed to do so. We are programmed to judge and place our affections on those things we have been taught to see as good. Finding a way to see beauty in everything is a way to open our minds to what our hearts already know. There is beauty and wonder in everything. It is all worthy of our love. Everyone, everything!

Practice these things everyday if you can. You will feel your heart soften toward everything going on in your experience. You will also notice doors opening to you that were once closed and you will be filled more and more with the wide-eyed wonder you had as a child. Each day, less and less will escape your view.

Enjoy your new awareness, enjoy the new year but most of all enjoy yourself right now this very moment. You are god. All my best,

Carl.

December 11, 2011

A Holiday Message – Before Giving….Release

During this holiday season I would like to share some thoughts about the greatest “gift” you can give to yourself. I hope you won’t mind my making reference to Jesus as this time of the year is especially focused on the birth and subsequent life of Jesus but the message is universal and certainly non-denominational.

Christians the world over look to Jesus as a gift, given to the world by a kind and benevolent Father and that we should pledge strong belief and allegiance to him. Christians miss much about this great man. The life of Jesus and all his subsequent teachings were about “release.” Our “giving” should be about giving away the things in this life that we attach ourselves to. It is believed that Jesus gave his life for the sins of those who would but believe in him, however, where we err is that the “giving” is about Him and not us. We consider his great kindness to us and we are forever obliged and in his subjection for having sacrificed as he supposedly did.

The idea of giving away our sins is not so much about giving away our sins to him as much as it is about releasing ourselves from carrying them. We should not feel burdened with life. Giving is a difficult thing to do when the giving is from the abundance of our egoic identity. Egoic abundance is all that ego holds as reality, truth and belief when most of it falls into a realm of illusion and untruth. We are all full of such abundance and all of it comes with the attachments of fear and guilt and second guessing our own unique and divine nature.

True giving is releasing ourselves of our burdens. This is a greater gift then that of giving from our physical wealth because “release” frees us of our emotional ties to things past that no longer exist other then as memories coupled with the original emotions they carried. Giving always carries emotion which is not really giving. Release instead, your identity with the things that cause you fear and doubt. These are the only things that make you question your own divine nature. Release your grief, your sorrow, your sadness, your unhappiness and your pain. These are the greatest gift you can give to life and everyone who experiences you in their life.

It is my hope that you make this holiday season, not about the traditional “giving” we have come to think it is, but about “releasing” ourselves of our limited ideas about how incredible we are. Let everything go and enjoy to the fullest your divine nature and the divine nature of everyone you come in contact with. Nothing you have done, do, or will do will ever impact your place in eternity. When you get to this place you no longer “give” of your abundance. You give of yourself and those to whom you give will sense the release you have experienced. This will release them.

All my best during this holiday season. Let yourself be merry, happy and free of anything you believe holds you to a view of yourself that is anything less than the god you are.

All my love,

Carl