I am What?

Trust me with your life, because I Am you, more than you are yourself.
Bhagavad Gita

So how do we answer the question, "What am I?"

I believe we answer with "I am that"

I am what, crazy lady?

I mentioned earlier that when we repeat/think the mantra OM So Hum we are actually saying "I am that. "  What exactly is that?

Again...I don't know...yet.  :) But there are  a lot of possibilities out there that resonate in my core.

"That" according to the writers of the Rudraksha Yoga site is Brahman: the One, the Divine, the Universal Self according to Vedic tradition. There is an amazing translated passage in the Gita that Ram Dass & others have  written about.  It is worth a read:  https://sacredgate.wordpress.com/2013/06/14/bhagavad-gita/

Now I caution when reading  translations because words/concepts/ terminology and meaning  may differ from translator to translator.  For example, I cannot seem to find what chapter that beautiful passage from above comes in when I read the below translation of the Gita.  Just saying.

The gist is the "that" is God.  We are more God like...a bigger Self  than we are little "I's" or selfs. 

Even the Tao purports this idea.  In the Scriptures of the Yellow court, the body is described as a divine court with inner dwelling places for each God.

How do Christians view the "that" in I am that? Do they see the body as a dwelling place for God?

I love this passage from Corinthians:  "Do you know that you are God's temple and that God's spirit dwells in you? " I Corinthians 3: 16 (ESV) .  It speaks to the same idea, does it not?   God is within us and therefore we are God like.  We are born of God and we know God through the amazing act of Love.

"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. " I John 4:7 (ESV)

God is Love and we therefore are Love too.

What we are Not.

I believe it is important in understanding who we are... to strip away the things we are not.  If we want to see the  true Self we need to remove the false self  that hides it.

We are not our egos; we are not our personalities and false selves.  We are not the masks we wear.  We are not the opinions of others.  We are not our successes or what we feel we have "earned" in terms of prestige, wealth or recognition.  We are not what we do or what we own. We are not our thoughts or our minds . And we are not our bodies.

We are often over identified with the little self and its attachments.  The little self is focused on body and mind and so often steers us away from the voice of Spirit.

We are something much more than this.  We are that which sees and experiences all these things. We can not see that until we step away from the things the little "I" attaches too.

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:2


Hmmm! What does that leave us with?

What we are then ? What is "that"?

"That" is God/ Brahman.  We are of God/ Brahman.  "That is Love" . We are Love. The Kena Upanishad puts it beautifully.

Not that which the eye can see, but that whereby the eye can see: know that to be Brahman the eternal, and not what people here adore;

Not that which the ear can hear, but that whereby the ear can hear: know that to be Brahman the eternal, and not what people here adore;

Not that which speech can illuminate, but that by which speech can be illuminated: know that to be Brahman the eternal, and not what people here adore;

Not that which the mind can think, but that whereby the mind can think: know that to be Brahman the eternal, and not what people here adore.

 Now that resonates in me.  What about you?

All is well.

References/Sites to Check Out:

" Not That Which the Mind Can Think"-The Kena Upinshad (2013) MoonLightened Way.  Retrieved from https://moonlightenedshelves.wordpress.com/2013/01/04/not_that_which_the_mind_can_think/

Open bible: https://www.openbible.info/topics/who_we_are



Religion Library: Taoism (n.d.) Human Nature and the Purpose of Existence. Patheos. Retrieved from http://www.patheos.com/library/taoism/beliefs/human-nature-and-the-purpose-of-existence

Rudraksha Yoga (2013) What is the  Meaning of Soham?  Rudraksha Yoga. Retrieved from https://rudrakshayoga.wordpress.com/2013/05/24/vagartha-what-is-the-meaning-of-soham/

Sir Edmund Arnold (translated by) (n.d.) The song Celestial. Theosophical University Press on line. Retrieved from http://www.theosophy-nw.org/theosnw/ctg/bhaggita.htm
 
Taylor, Marie (2013) Bhagavad Gita . Remembering the Sacred Self. Retrieved from https://sacredgate.wordpress.com/2013/06/14/bhagavad-gita/
 

Was There something Before This?

God is so great that the greatness precludes existence.
Raimon Panikkar


I would like to address all those important soul  questions listed  in the previous post.  I do believe they are very important things to ask ourselves to trigger our recognizing and remembering.

My first response in answering any of these questions, however,  would be: I haven't got a clue. 

I Knew Before

I would be sincere in responding that way because   I don't know but only partially so. I may not know on the conscious level but I feel somehow that I "knew before."  I do believe I know the answers to these questions on a deeper level of understanding I have yet to tap into.  The answers are in me somewhere, where they have always been. I just forgot.

Something tells me, I did know before!  This leads to another big question.

Was there really a before?

Do you believe we  knew before as ACIM tells us we did ? Were we somewhere else in different form before we came here; before we were born into these bodies?  Did our souls exist before the body did?

What do you believe?  What do you really believe?

I know what I was taught to believe growing up with orthodox Christian teachings.  I was taught that the body came first then the soul...therefore there really was no before. There may be an after but no before. "But it is not  the spiritual that is first but the natural, then the spiritual."  I Cor 15: 46

And "The first man being from the earth is earthly by nature; the second man is from heaven." I Cor 15: 47-48  The Jerusalem  Bible

Even to consider the idea of pre-existence was sinful according to this belief system. 
It was deemed by the Second Council of Constantinople in 553 that purporting this belief  could lead to excommunication. "If anyone asserts the fabulous pre-existence of souls, and shall assert the monstrous restoration which follows from it: let him be anathema"

Is this what the bible teaches? 

Even that is questionable. "Before I knew you in the womb, I knew you, before you were born, I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the  nations." Jer1: 4-5 (NIV)

And what about this from Romans 8-29-30? : "For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. (NIV)

The idea of us having a before seems to have different possibilities in the bible. Which one do we believe?

Do all Christian Religions teach that pre-existence does not exist?


No.  The Church of Latter Day Saints teaches that it does.

“ Mormons teach a totally different perception concerning the nature of God, the pre-creation universe of eternal realities, the origins of our world, the nature of humanity, and the eternal potential of humans to become gods. In fact, the worldview constructed and promoted by Mormonism mirrors several aspects of ancient paganism, Egyptian and Greek mythology, Hinduism, and New Age, and is foreign and destructive to a biblical Judeo-Christian worldview. " (The Primordial World of Mormonism)

So not all Christianity is set on this idea that we were nothing before so therefore we have no prior knowledge to "remember."   What about other religions?

Other Religions' take on Pre-Existence.

According to Kohler & Blau ( 1906), pre-existence of souls is a part of the Jewish teachings. They begin their article in the Jewish Encyclopedia with this description, " Existence previous to earthly life or to Creation, attributed in apocryphal and rabbinical writings to persons and things forming part of the divine plan of human salvation or the world's government."

Lord Krishna tells Arjuna in Chapter 2  of the Gita, " Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor all these kings; nor in the future shall any of us cease to be." So the Hindu take on us having a before is certainly expressed.

Islam also speaks of a pre-existence, a Fitra which is a primordial nature that we are born with and "the ever flowing life."

Buddhism speaks to the  concepts of being and non-being and that there is no death, just rebirth.  We are re- born into one of 6 realms of existence and it is from one of those six realms we emerge.  So there was a before and there is never an end, according to Buddhist tecahings.

So from the "universal"  religious standpoint the dominant thought does not agree with Orthodox Christianity and sees that there definitely was a place where we were before.  If there was a before, there was a knowing before.  This supports the teachings of  A Course in Miracles.

Philosophical Theories on Pre-existence

Whether  we came here with innate knowledge or a "blank slate" has been a topic of great philosophical debate for centuries. Two dominant figures come to mind when I think of pre-existence. Plato who first coined the term "innatism" firmly stated that we were somewhere before and have come into human form with some knowledge.  Carl Jung a 20th century psychiatrist also believed that we had the memories of our ancestors trapped within us, in what he coined "the collective unconscious,"

These two historical figures both purported, amongst great debate and criticism, that we existed before and that we carry knowledge with us now.

Scientific View of Pre-existence

According to many quantum physicists there had to be pre-existence of consciousness before anything manifests in physical form. " The implications of the 'Observer Effect' are profound because, if true, it means that before anything can manifest in the physical universe it must first be observed. Presumably observation cannot occur without the pre-existence of some sort of consciousness to do the observing. The Observer Effect clearly implies that the physical Universe is the direct result of 'consciousness'." 

Were we pure consciousness before we were bodies?

Somewhat Unusual Explanations of  a Before

Some others, step away from  the religious and philosophical understanding of a before and have totally "new" ideas.  Many  of these innovative thinkers believe we come from other planets.  There are several different theories related to that possibility. I have included one article for the Gaia site for you to review.

Or maybe we came from another dimension.  Please read Stuart Wilde's article linked below.

How will we ever know what that before is?

It doesn't matter what you were taught, what you read, what you discovered through experiementation...do you really know if there was/wasn't a before and if there was...what that before was?

How will we ever know if there was a before if we can't remember it? How will we ever know if we are carrying precious knowledge and wisdom within us from the "something" that may have existed before our births into these bodies?  How will we know if this is our first time here or if we have been here many times?   How will we know where we are going if we don't know where we came from? 

How will we ever know which teaching; which philosophy; which possibility is the true one?

Whether it is a scientific explanation you are looking for, a spiritual one or a new more exciting one there is only one way of knowing anything. The only way to know the answer to that question is to do what we need to do to answer all soul questions:  ask the  Spirit within.  Go inward to the silence and stillness...that has  a lot to do with where we were before.  I know that for a fact and I cannot even tell you how I know that.  I don't know much but I know that. 

If there was a before, maybe we will never remember everything or anything  about it and that is okay too. 

Do we really need to know where we have been or where we are going when all that there really is, is this moment we are in right here and right now?

At this point I can tell you that I strongly believe there was a before but  I don't know.  I follow my heart and I am doing my best to remember because I strongly feel there is something I am supposed to remember.

All is well in my world.


 
References


For More Information to help you answer that question for your self, check out:



Chapter 2: Contents of The Gita Summarized (n.d.) Retrieved from https://asitis.com/2/12.html

Could a Person's spirit existed Before Their Soul was Created? (n.d.)  Apostles Creed . Retrieved from http://apostles-creed.org/confessional-theological-orthodox-perspectives/could-a-persons-spirit-have-existed-before-their-soul-was-created/

Innate idea. (n.d.)  New World Library. http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Innate_idea

Lafontaine, Lewis (2013) Carl Jung, Gnostic, Meister Eckhart, Scrutinies, Soul. Carl Jung Depth Psychology.  Retrieved from https://carljungdepthpsychologysite.blog/2013/07/05/carl-jung-meister-eckhart-gnostics-red-book/

Lesson 15: Life, Pre-existence and Eternity (2004) Al-Islam.org.  Retrieved from https://www.al-islam.org/discursive-theology-volume-1-dr-ali-rabbani-gulpaygani/lesson-15-life-pre-existence-and-eternity

McLeod, Saul (2014) Carl Jung.  Simply Psychology. Retrieved from https://www.simplypsychology.org/carl-jung.html

New International Version.  Bible Gateway https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+8%3A26-30

Patterson, Alex (2008) The Observer Effect. Master Index. Retrieved from http://www.vision.net.au/~apaterson/science/observer_effect.htm

Thich Nguyen Tang (n.d.)Buddhist View on Death and Rebirth. Urban Dharma. Retrieved from  http://www.urbandharma.org/udharma5/viewdeath.html

The Primordial World of Mormonism The Exhumator-Encyclopedia of Esoteric Knowledge http://exhumator.com/02-017-00_religious-mormons-faith-latter-day-saints-the-primordial-world-mormonism.html

Wann, Raenae (n.d.) Are Humans Actually aliens on Earth? Gaia .Retrieved from: https://www.gaia.com/lp/content/are-humans-actually-aliens-on-earth/

Wilde, Stuart ( 2009) Where Did Humans Come From? (The Fourth Dimension) Stuart Wilde. Retrieved from http://www.stuartwilde.com/2009/02/where-did-humans-come-from-the-fourth-alternative/

The Important Questions

The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.
Mark Twain

We all want to know why we are here and what our life is all about don't we? Between Deepak Chopra (2013) and John from Higher Awareness  I have discovered seven important questions we need to ask ourselves  prior to each meditation session and when we are contemplating our lives

They are:

• Who am I?
• What is that I want?
• What is my purpose?
• What am I grateful for?
• What am I here to learn?
• What gives me meaning?
• How can I best serve?

I would like to take a look at all of these in greater depth when I have more time.  Right now...I am late for work. :) .

All is well:

Check out:


Chopra, D. (2013) Four soul Questions. Chopra Center http://www.chopratreatmentcenter.com/blog/2013/01/07/soul-questions/

John.(n.d.) Soul questions: Letter from the Editor? Growth Tools.  Retrieved from  http://www.higherawareness.com/growth-tools/revealing-soul-questions.html

I am that

Wisdom is knowing I am nothing,
Love is knowing I am everything
and between the two my life moves.
Nisargadatta Maharaji


When you are lost and wondering "Who am I?"  ...try sitting quietly by yourself, close your eyes and listen to this :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qA4XX15xatk

The So Hum mantra is derived from the Vedic scriptures and Upanishads.  In translation directly from Sanskrit it means, "I am He".  The "He" is Brahman...the Universal Self.  So in other words we are saying, "I am that" when we repeat this mantra, because  "Myself is the universal self."

This is a chant without a chant.  It is repeated not with words but with breath.  We breathe in on the "Soooo" and out on the "Hummmm" ...(though it is said, in some scriptures, it can be repeated the other way as well and that mantra is referred to as the Humsa mantra). Humsa is also a white swan in Sanskrit which is the symbol of the "Universal Self".

Soham...like most spiritual things in this world cannot be understood by words...it must be experienced ...just as union with the universal self can only be understood when it happens.
The writers of the Rudraksha Yoga site caution that this should not be performed without the supervision of a qualified Master.  Just saying.

It is so beautiful, just to listen to!


References/Recommended Reads:

https://rudrakshayoga.wordpress.com/2013/05/24/vagartha-what-is-the-meaning-of-soham/

 http://www.chopra.com/articles/cultivate-present-moment-awareness-with-the-so-hum-meditation

http://meditativemind.org/must-listen-choir-sings-om-so-hum-mantra/

More on Recognizing and Remembering: Another Imperfect Video

Perhaps it is our imperfections that make us so perfect for one another.
Jane Austen (Emma)



Another Video

I am having a hard time explaining what I mean by recognizing and remembering who we are and from Whom we came, to others and to myself. I feel like I have to spit it out somehow. So I thought I would try it with an off the top of my head video again.  I scribbled down a couple of quotes, fired up the camera and off I went on a tangent.

The Bloopers:

When I recognize and remember through reviewing this video, I know that on the inside I am perfect...on the outside...not so much.  :)

Okay...  you will have to excuse the lighting.  I am somehow silhouetted by a dark border as if I was going for the " mysterious gothic" theme...(was not intended)...

You will also have to do your best to ignore the less than graceful transitions between clips and the way I sound like William Shatner  auditioning for a very intense movie in some parts.  (No offense to William Shatner)

My bobble head has got to stop snapping from side to side too!

I also have to laugh at my creation of new words again. lol ...  like "Emongous" : which is a combination of enormous and humongous.  Why do I do that? Is it like a thing?   More importantly, how often do I do that in everyday conversation and why has no one ever pointed it out to me before?

 It is just too funny what we pick up from watching ourselves.

Shutting Ego Up

Again...these videos are not ready for the big public and maybe they will never be. I will however share them here.

 I can hear ego, "OMG!  You can't be serious about putting those atrocities up for people to see? What will they think?  What will they say?"  I am determined to shut ego up.

Too often in life we allow ego to hold us back with its "It's not good enough!  You are not good enough!" speeches.   It tells us not to expose ourselves unless we are perfect or what we do is perfect.  Wow!  I don't know about you, but I wouldn't do anything if that were the case because I have never been perfect on the outside.

We cannot spend this precious life being afraid of showing our imperfections.  That doesn't mean we are not going to try to be to best people we can be.  We are going to learn and grow with our efforts and failed or less than perfect attempts. We are only going to be able to  hit a home run if we actually swing at the ball coming our way.  We may strike out... sure... but there is no way of knowing what we are capable of until we try! Even if we do miss the mark, we will be more experienced the next time we get up and more likely to succeed.  Don't let a heckling ego keep you in the dugout!

Besides, when we recognize and remember who we really are, we will happily let ego make a fool of itself because we will know it is not us.

So once again...I step up to the plate in all my apparent imperfection.


All About the Message, Not the Messenger

Anyway...I am not sure I was clear in what I wanted to say but it certainly felt good saying it.  It was sincere. That has to count for something.

I have a message  coming from a place much deeper and wiser than ego.  Whether I should or I shouldn't, I feel compelled to share it with somebody, somewhere.  You are obviously still here... forgiving of my imperfections and possibly even getting something from my rampages lol.  So I share with you.

For that reason, it is all good.

All is well in my world.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

 

I thought I should compensate for my laughing at Roxy bumping into walls with the cone on her head...by showing a pre-cone pic that flatters her.

 

Aren't the colours amazing?  I am so thankful that I live in an area that splashes so many amazing colours over the landscape in Autumn.  It is almost worth the long hard winters we Canuck's endure (Almost...lol)

 

It is Thanksgiving in Canada. ... so much earlier than that holiday our friends to the south of us celebrate.  Here are some interesting tidbits of information to share about our Northern Day of Gratitude:

• October was traditionally the month for celebrating the harvest in Europe for centuries.
• We actually had Thanksgiving here before the May Flower ever landed.  When Martin Frobisher reached Newfoundland in 1578 he was so grateful that he survived the trip from England that he celebrated with a feast of thanksgiving
• For centuries the date of the Canadian holiday was as unpredictable as our winters...changing several times before it was officially declared by parliament in 1957 that the second Monday of October would be "a day of general thanksgiving to almighty God for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed."
• October made more sense than November did for us being that we were further north and therefore our harvest came earlier (as does our winters :( )
• The country also wanted to avoid the day falling on Remembrance day ( November 11th).  War is never something to be thankful for.

So here we are...celebrating and thanking almighty God for a bountiful harvest!! May you have a blessed day of gratitude, regardless if you are Canadian or not.

 

All is well!

 

 

 

Check out:

 

 

http://www.kidzworld.com/article/2614-canadian-thanksgiving

 

 

http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/thanksgiving-day/

Doing Something about "it" Peacefully

I said 'somebody should  do something about that'...then I realized I am that somebody.
Lily Tomlin

My daughter walked by my desk when I posted those pics of the cat and dog the other day.  She noted that I was  jokingly referring to it as "animal cruelty" and pointed out that I "shouldn't be making fun of that." She was concerned that I might offend all the animal activists in the world who work so hard to save the lives of so many beings on this planet. I didn't know how to respond at the time so I just nodded my head and said, "duly noted."

Now I can respond:

It was never my intention to offend.

I appreciate all the passion, motivation and inspiration the animal activists offer as they do all they do for the betterment of all beings on this planet. I respect their position. I am grateful that they care so much!!!

I am aware

I accept and fully realize the suffering that many animals are enduring at the hands of mankind. I do not have my head in the sand.  I do not close my eyes and pretend it isn't happening.  I am aware. I just have a different approach than others to the suffering that happens around me.

I do not fight it

I stay aware...yes...but I  do not fill my head with it.  I do not "fight" it.  I try not to allow myself to be consumed with anger over the injustice or to blame and hate those who inflict such cruelty.  I do not "resist it". 

I truly believe that what we resist persists. And the more I am "overwhelmed" by the suffering in this world...I fear the more suffering there will be.

 
I attempt to seek a peace  filled world through peace

I strongly believe if I focus more on being peaceful, the world will become more peaceful; the more I focus on being kind, others will be kinder; the more I focus on being joyful and happy...the more happy and joyful the world will be...the less suffering, there will be.  If we want to make an everlasting change in the world...we need to make a change in our own inner worlds by eliminating the toxic emotions like anger, rage, resentment, despair, helplessness, and revenge.

I focus on  the deed, not the doer

I believe it is the deed that is unjust, and it is those deeds I want to focus on changing.   I do want animal cruelty to stop.

"There anin't no sin and there anin't no virtue.  Just stuff people do." (Casy, from Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath)


I forgive

I believe those who inflict pain on other beings are often unaware of the pain they inflict.  If they are aware they are lost in their own pain.  I also see myself in all other beings on this planet.  I cause pain too...in some way...so how can I judge or condemn others that do so.

The most healing thing to do is to forgive.


I take inspired and peaceful action.

The action I take may be small scale but I believe it makes a difference.  I support the SPCA. I am not actively saving a species but  I have six rescued pets that I love and take care of. I love all animals and make it a point to love and appreciate nature.  Even my shooting animals ( with my camera lol) allows me to capture and share their preciousness and their beauty.  In some small meager way that may inspire someone to care as well.

I try to use ease and lightness in my everyday approach.

I attempt to find lightness and laughter in everything for I believe that will help the world more than my intensity, my anger and my need to do ever will.

For example, I cannot help but to chuckle  a little when I see this:

 

Even though the circumstances that lead to that cone were very sad.  Yesterday she stepped into a trap set for a much smaller animal whose fur is valued as a means to make money.  She suffered two large down to the bone lacerations requiring several sutures. I am now fully aware of what happens to those smaller animals and it deeply saddens me. 

 

Yet, I know for a fact... Roxy does not waste a moment of her here and now resenting the trapper who set the trap.  She is past all that.  She is more focused on being all she can be now. She is focused on healing her own wounds.

 

I do not agree with trapping.  I do not agree with our human ego's quest for material gain through the suffering of other sentient beings.

 

I still believe on focusing my energies  on what I want to see in the world rather than what exists.  I believe I need to heal my own wounds first.  Anger, resentment and  a need for vengeance of any kind are wounds that need healing.

 

Kindness, Lightness of spirit and joy are things that heal.

 

All is well in my world. 

Recognizing and Remembering

All your difficulties stem from the fact that you do not recognize yourself, your brother or God.  To recognize means to "know again," implying that you knew before.
ACIM. Chapter 3: III:1:1-2


I want to clear up some confusion when I speak of  "remembering who I really am and from Whom I came."  I know I say that often and I understand it may be confusing and unsettling to those that hear it. You may question if I am "completely off my rocker" or  suffering some late stage dementia symptoms.  In a sense I am. And so are you.

Say what crazy lady?

Dementia?

 Well...I suffer and am attempting to recover from a different type of dementia that inflicts so many of us once ego steps in to our lives to make its noise.  Once that happens we may not hear the voice of truth that lay beneath it. We may be confused by the chaos. We may begin to believe what ego tells us and think we are something we are not, that the people around us are strangers and we may  wander  farther and farther away from home. We may not recognize the familiar, all we knew before even when it is where it has always been. We will, then, have dementia of the spiritual kind.

Not being able to recognize the world around us causes a great deal of fear, does it not?  Most of us do not see what is real.

I worked with patients who had Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia and though they were sometimes comfortable in their distorted realities...there were many more times when they were terrified. It was heartbreaking to watch them  desperately fight to get through the security doors so they could "go home," to what they knew before.

We all do as they do, on some subconscious level. We struggle to find the familiar, to go home to where we belong. This world of chaos we create in our minds is not where we belong.

Healing

Healing is simply remembering who we are and from Whom we came. "When you heal, you are remembering the laws of God and forgetting the  laws of the ego."  ACIM Chapter 7: 2:6

I want to know the laws of God  again.  I am at the point in my life where I realize that I do not recognize and remember the way I should. I am banging on those doors looking for my way out of this world I created in my head. Something tells me over the ego noise that home is not all that is around me...it is in me.  The doors I want to open, where I know the truth exists, lead inward.  I want to go there.  I want to understand.

If I  looked in the mirror and suddenly heard myself saying, "Oh!  There you are!"...and seen in those eyes staring back at me, the One who created me and Who has never left me...I would "Know again" that which I always knew. All my difficulties would disappear, would they not? I would once again know Love.  And in Love there can be no fear and without fear, there is no suffering.  

Home is the end of fear.  Home is the end of our difficulties.  No wonder why we desperately want to go home even if we are not fully aware of that longing. We want to "know again," what we knew before. Remembering is healing.

So What did we know before?

Hmmm! I don't know. 

I cannot give you a wordy explanation that will answer all that.  I am not sure anyone can.   Even if I did know, I don't think I could put it into words, like so many of us feel we need to do with explanations of heaven and hell, other lifetimes, other dimensions, or other planetary degrees.

 I cannot describe it or give directions because I do not know exactly where we came from. I don't know. I know what I was taught and conditioned to believe but I don't know on the conscious level!

 I  think what we knew/what we know...whatever that may be...  is beyond word constructs and thoughts???  It is beyond the way we understand things in this form.  I believe it can only be known and expressed through feeling, vibration and pure consciousness.   I believe with all my heart... for reasons I cannot even explain...that what we knew/what we know...in ourselves, our brothers and this One source of all Creation that I call God...is Love...pure , uncontaminated, unconditional  Love.  That is all I got for you.

When I say I am remembering...I am simply tapping into that Love somehow...getting glimpses of it from time to time...and they are only glimpses. I will hear something.  I will read something.  I will see something and experience something and it is like remembering the face of a loved one in the midst of a demented fugue.  It clicks!  It resonates.  It feels so good and I find myself saying, "Oh!  Yeah!  That's it!"

I also  believe whatever it is we knew/know...is right now and right here. ...where it always was and where it will always be. We just need to recognize it and remember. Something tells me in a very strong and compelling way, that we do not need to die to do that.  We just need to slow down, breathe and go inward for just a few minutes  a day.  We need to seek that face in the proverbial mirror of our soul.

Well I have a sense I didn't make that any clearer for anyone lol.

A Course in Miracles

For those who want to know more about remembering this Love, I would recommend A Course in Miracles.  It uses a Christian basis to make sense of our remembering who we are and from Whom we came but it is definitely not the fundamentals of heaven and hell Christianity  I was brought up on.   The teachings  resonated with me as they may or may not with you. 

If the course is too daunting for you, try reading Marianne Williamson's Return to Love which is a lovely and gentle introduction to the teachings.

I guess...what I have come to see over the course of my searching is that it is okay to go beyond what we were brought up to believe in search for what we do believe...to what we knew before.

All is well.

References.

ACIM ( 2007).  A Course in Miracles: Combined  Volume. Mill Valley; Foundations for Inner Peace.

Williamson, Marianne ( 1992) Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles.  New York: Harper Collins

Animal Cruelty

Mankind is not the only animal that laughs, cries, thinks, feels and loves.
Douglas Williams

 

"You may be amused.  But I certainly am not!!!"

 

Oh the things we do to our animals for amusement purposes. lol

 

Please know that no animals were harmed in the taking of these shots...just their dignity.

 

 

"You give me the ball; tell me I'm a good girl and then you put me in this?  Cruel... not cool!"

We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes the master. 
Ernest Hemingway

Working on editing my book for the ??? time...it is all good.  I learned so much from writing it and I am sure some could learn from reading it. I watched this free video seminar on book publishing from Hay House the other day ( I can not link it).  In the video Dr. Deepak Chopra spoke about what was needed for a successful book.  Loosely paraphrased, this is the information he offered:

1. You need to be passionate about what you are writing (Check!)
2. You need to know your stuff (Check!)
3. You need to have a unique way of expressing that information (Check!)
4. You need to have relatable stories within it (Check!)
5. You need to know that every good story is a love story of some kind ( not a romance novel but a "Love" story.(  (Check! That works for me because there  is Love in my title.)
6. You need to follow a story arc: a problem that needs to be solved, barriers/conflict and resolution.(Check!)

I got all that!  Yeah!  So now to get some one to publish it lol.

It is all good!

References

Hay House (2017) I can't get back in to get the name of the webinar but it was with Reid Tracy...part one of the series when you accept offer for a free "Quick Start Publishing guide"

It's all right!

My happiness and my function are one.
Lesson 66 ACIM

Okay...I am going to talk a little bit about serendipity and purpose. 

I have been playing and thinking about Tom Petty  for weeks.  And I am not one to play a lot of music. Nor do I tend to be star struck and obsessive about musicians but for some reason I was thinking about Tom Petty an awful lot lately.

Now don't get me wrong...I love his music.   I often have my Sirius set at the Tom Petty's station for nostalgic reasons. (As a fitness instructor back in the day, I led an aerobics class and I filled my tapes with the heartbreakers' and the Travelling Wilburys' music.  It always uplifted me so I could uplift others.)

One day, about two weeks ago, I heard a Travelling Wilbury's song  and it stuck in my head.
So  I go around the house repeating the chorus of this song for days.

Then I come across the  George Harrison documentary on Netflix last week and he, of course, was a Wilbury. In the doc they showed them producing this song.

They also show clips from an interview with  Tom Petty as he  explained how the Wilburys began.

So I am even more in tune to the music  after watching that.  I find myself cranking up my radio as the songs come on all stations, it seems, over and over again.

Before I leave for Toronto I have this great inclination to find some of Petty's lyrics and use them for my entry.  I used Wildflowers  because it seemed to fit with where I was at. 

Even in TO I had a conversation with someone about how much I liked Tom Petty.  ( I usually do not talk about musicians to others).  I mentioned how I envied the fact that he was a man who knew happiness when he was doing what he loved to do, when he was following his purpose. He in a sense did not only inspire me to inspire others in the aerobic classes I led but he also inspired me to write.  I seen this young man from a small town in Florida do what he loved to do and though stardom is not the perfect life by any means...one could tell by watching him perform and by his lyrics he was happiest simply doing what he was here to do. 

I realized that when I want to write...I often turn his music on.

Then sadly... I find out yesterday that he passed. 

What I kept hearing and reading was : Petty died at 66. I kept saying to myself 66?  66? 

This morning I wake up  and amongst the thoughts that popped into my head I am thinking about Tom Petty dying at 66. 

So I go to open up the ACIM text to a random page, as I sometimes do, for a few words to inspire me and set me off for the day...I am "coincidently" thinking about Tom Petty dying at the age of 66
 as the book opens.

Without any conscious intention, I open it up to the above lesson...lesson 66.

And I knew as I sat there looking down at the page that I was experiencing serendipity. What was the lesson about?  The connection between purpose and happiness.

There has to be something to learn from that, doesn't there?  There has to be something to learn from Petty's life and music, his being on purpose?

There has to be something to learn from serendipity? Maybe all this is more than just a series of kooky and not so kooky coincidences that people like me make too much of?  Maybe all these little events that happen in life are leading us somewhere ?  Maybe I was meant to open up to that page because of the wisdom in it?

Maybe we are all meant to follow our bliss as Campbell said and Petty did...that is where we will find our purpose?  I know yesterday after hearing the news I was inspired to get back to some books I had written to re-edit them  for submission again.

There is something to learn from these lyrics that were written by a serendipitous meeting of musicians who formed a band serendipitously all because they  found their happiness simply  making music? That music is used by others for the same reason.

Well it's all right, even if you're old and gray
Well it's all right, you still got something to say
Well it's all right, remember to live and let live
Well it's all right, the best you can do is forgive

retrieved from https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/travelingwilburys/endoftheline.html

It's all good...heck..."it's all right!"

I'm gonna free fall out into nothin

Gonna leave this world for a while

-Tom Petty- Freefallin



Rest in Peace Tom Petty.

I absolutely loved his music.

What We Can Learn from "Strangers"

I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.
Tennessee Williams

Wow!  What we learn from so called "strangers." (Isn't "stranger" an awful word, btw? As if the individuals around us, whose personalities we have yet to become familiar with, are "strange." Aren't we all the same under our outward appearances and ego dominated personas?  Aren't we all One?  How can we be strangers then?)

Anyway, On the way home I happened to be seated by a lovely woman who was moving to the province from BC and I feel like the angels above did the seating arrangement for that flight that evening.  I couldn't rearrange my seat to sit by D. because the plane was pretty much full and disappointedly I plunked myself down in an aisle seat, next to a woman who I would soon discover had a wealth of valuable knowledge to share...knowledge actually that I needed in my attempt to cope with my health issues more naturally.

I am not sure how much I was able to offer her but this is what I gained from our two hour conversation:

• Cayenne pepper is just as effective as nitroglycerine and much less toxic...in relieving angina.  It is a vasodilator as well and can be taken under the tongue or in a glass of warm water. (http://www.nutralegacy.com/blog/general-healthcare/5-cardiovascular-benefits-of-cayenne-pepper/; http://www.naturallyproven.com/cayenne-pepper-top-15-health-benefits/)
• Lugol's Iodine is an estrogen stabilizer and will help with fibrocystic breasts, menstrual irregularities, ovarian cysts and plain old menopause. (http://alternativa-za-vas.com/en/index.php/clanak/article/lugols-solution; http://druglessdoctor.com/article/ladies-do-you-have-hot-flashes-2/)
• Pink salt ( Himalayan salt... which I recently started using because someone told me it was good for you) offers the perfect combination of iodine and other much needed minerals for the body without upsetting the sodium balance as much as white salt will. (https://draxe.com/pink-himalayan-salt/)
• Dairy is not meant to be consumed by humans.  (I knew that but thought I would include it here as a "review" :)) The only milk we were meant to consume is our mother's milk and only in infancy.  Cows, themselves, only drink from their mothers as calves. Why then are we encouraged to consume dairy products throughout our lives? (http://drhyman.com/blog/2010/06/24/dairy-6-reasons-you-should-avoid-it-at-all-costs-2/)
• Dairy is a mucous producer and should not be consumed when one has a cold or respiratory infection.  It will make the congestion worse.  (I knew that as well but read the literature that disputed this as a myth...it was time to read the literature again).  If it is producing mucous that is a sign that the body needs to protect itself from it. (https://nutritionfacts.org/video/is-milk-and-mucus-a-myth/)
• Turmeric, though nasty tasting, is excellent remedy for a sore throat.(http://www.thehealthsite.com/diseases-conditions/try-turmeric-for-quick-relief-from-a-sore-throat/)
• Peppermint oil ( the ingestible kind) has a host of wonderful healing properties including being an immune system booster.  It is not irritating to the GI tract. (https://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/essential-oils/health-benefits-of-peppermint-oil.html)
• Garlic also boosts the immune system as well as improve cardiac health.  Many of you may already be aware of that. (https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/11-proven-health-benefits-of-garlic#section7)
•  A cold/hot shower can boost energy and immune functioning.  By doing seven short intervals of adjusting the tap between hot and cold while showering, we can stimulate blood  and lymph flow.(http://healingthebody.ca/health-benefits-of-hot-and-cold-hydrotherapy-showers/#gs.hU9Jvto)

She shared so much more with me ...too much for me to remember all of it.  I was blown away by her knowledge of the healing techniques of so many ingenious people through out  the world. She explained things in  a way that left no doubt that she knew what she was talking about but for the purpose of "evidence" here...I will include sites where more information can be found to support the knowledge that poured from her head so easily.

The uncanny thing was...I never mentioned any of my ailments (of course) but she touched on remedies for all of them.  I just found myself completely absorbed in the information she was sharing. It was truly serendipitous.

The greatest thing I learned through our encounter, though, was that there are some truly "real" people out there.  I watched how she spoke to me and the others around her.  There was no pretentiousness, no cockiness ...just sincere kindness.  She was vegan and dressed the part so authentically without an ounce of animal product on her or around her.  (Well except for my leather sandals and purse that I tried to hide unsuccessfully underneath the seat in front of me lol).  She was the real deal.

I am grateful I met her. I wish her all the best in the new life she is establishing as a Maritimer.

All is well!

Just a quick note before heading off to bed.  I'm back!!! ( Obviously lol).  I want to make it clear that I am by no means judging city life in anyway except knowing it isn't for me. I think if you like excitement, adventure, and the fast life... Toronto is the place to be.  I just cannot seem to get used to it......and in all honesty...I never gave it a fair shot.  I went on an "extended vacation" once when I was in my 20's, with the intention of looking for work but I knew then...it wasn't for me so I went home after about a month. 

I drive in the vehicles of excellent drivers when I am there and feel very confident in their skill and ability but just think that I won't be doing that in this life time. lol . No matter how I want to confront my phobias...driving through TO on the expressway...is not something I intend to do anytime soon. My problem...no one else's.

Not putting down the city or the inhabitants in my previous entry...just mentioning just how un-city like I am. :) I had a very nice weekend...met some wonderful people and spent time with "family."  So it was great!  If I would have felt better...I am sure I would have been ripping and soaring with the best of them lol. 

All is well!

You Know You are a Hick when...

I say half your life is spent trying to get out of a small town, and the other half trying to get back to one.
Unknown


You know you are a hick when...when  airport security asks you to stand on the red line you turn your back to them and lift your arms in preparation for the frisk you see on TV shows... only to have them  tell you to turn around and go through the archway like a "normal person".

You know you are a hick when...you can read the airline  magazine twice because it so " interesting".

You know you are a hick when...you get excited over the "cute little" package of cookies or pretzels the  airline offers you for a snack.

You know you are a hick when...you can't get your head around the fact that you are suspended miles and miles in the air...when only a little over a 100 years ago the idea of flying was deemed "impossible."

You know you are a hick when...you wore hard to walk in flip flops because you assume you will be able to  step into Pearson airport off the plane and walk right out the door to a waiting taxi cab.

You know you are a hick when...you are prevented from crossing lanes of traffic to go into an unmarked vehicle  that is hailing "Come!  Taxi!" from half a kilometer away from where the taxi line up is .

You know you are a hick when...some kind soul pulls you away from the oncoming traffic that you assumed would be courteous and super aware of new to the city  pedestrians as you walk into it.

You know you are a hick when...you believe that "only minutes away from the airport"  is like five or ten minutes away, not a 50 minute taxi drive.

You know you are a hick when... only five minutes into the city you are looking above the massive buildings to the sky and are saddened by the fact that you cannot find one single star in it.  The lights around you are not the lights that impress you.

You know you are a hick when...you instantly drop your bags in the middle of the  lobby  of the Hilton and look up completely amazed by the architecture and size of the building, as well as  the ten floor glass elevator.  You are even more amazed at the more "cool" people who are now  staring at you because you are amazed.

You know you are a hick when...you sit in a crowded bar for 30 minutes, wanting nothing more than a sandwich,  only to be completely ignored as all the "more cool"  people around you get waited on and served.

You know you are a hick when...you have to jump on the bed in the hotel room to test it out.

You know you are a hick when...you long for the sound of cicadas and peepers in the middle of the night so you can sleep.

You know you are a hick when.... you travel down the 401 or the 407.  (I need not say more....only that you know if it was you behind the wheel, you would have your eyes closed and your foot on the brake the whole time.)

You know you are a hick when... you ask people how  they can stand being in a car for up to six hours a day and they just look at you like you are crazy, "Well...you got to do what you got to do.  You get used to it."  You know you never could nor would you want to.

You know you are a hick when...you wonder where all the  people in the city are going and why because  after they reach their destination they just seem to spend the time planning the way back.

You know you are a hick when...you feel like you were the one who got married as you walk away from the wedding reception with a beautiful bouquet of flowers that was once the centerpiece on one of the many elaborately decorated tables, bottles of complementary wine, boxes of sweets,...all this after eating a magnificent three course meal that was to die for.  ("What did I have at my wedding?"  you may find yourself asking as the shoulders come up around the ears. "Oh, now I remember...I couldn't even afford wine for everyone so I gave them juice." Oh the shame of comparison.lol)

You know you are a hick when...your limited exposure to different languages and cultures becomes so obvious as you strain to listen to the wonderful varied tongues all around you and shamefully catch yourself staring at the beautiful faces and wardrobes   that look so different than your own.

You know you are a hick when...with butterflies in your belly, you want to see it all and experience it all while you are here and get disappointed when you know you can't do "everything" in three days!

You know you are a hick when...despite all the excitement, you still find yourself longing for the small streets, back yards that go for acres, skies that twinkle with stars at night and the friendly simplicity of life in a small coastal city.

You know you are a hick when...you hear the wheels of the airplane touching down on the runway of a much smaller airport,( one suited for flip flop wearing gals like myself) and you sigh with deepest appreciation, "Ah!  I'm home!"

You know you are a hick when...