by sublimity-001-main | Dec 1, 2014 | 2014, Post, Spiritual Growth
We’ve been conditioned to judge by appearances and let them determine what’s true about life and what’s possible.
This has led us to becoming problem-solvers, reacting to existing circumstances, instead of vision-holders, activating the next stage of our evolution. That’s why no matter how much things change, they seem to remain very much the same!
When we react to appearances and try to change them, we’re asleep in the dream of separation, believing we exist apart from the One Life that created everything and maintains the spiritual universe in perfect harmony. And even if we managed to improve things from this place (which is impossible to do permanently), we’d still be asleep.
There’s only one way to solve the problems of the dream – wake up!
All of the errors, conflicts, and challenges we face are part of this human dream of separation from the Divine. And most of our efforts to fix, change, heal, or protect ourselves from these issues are in opposition to the fundamental harmony of life – which leads to many of the evils in the world. It’s no accident that the word “evil” is “live” spelled backwards.
Here’s the greatest irony: you can’t change the world by changing the world, any more than you can change a movie on the screen by trying to manipulate yourself or the screen. You could put on earplugs or blinders, change the screen, or create all manner of distractions, but you’re still going to have the same movie being projected. You have to go back into the projector and change the film …or just walk out of the theater altogether!
The only way to change the movie is to change your mind, which is the projector that contains the film being illuminated by the light of your being. Your mind, or consciousness, is the only power, substance, and law unto your experience. The whole dream is being projected by you. So if you want the things you see to change, you must change the way you see things.
It’s not about getting out of the human experience, it’s about waking up in it – becoming the awakened dreamer, consciously dreaming the dream – which, more accurately, is a dream that reflects the deepest vision of your heart. That’s what all true visionaries have been – awakened dreamers. From that place, you’re not as limited by the laws of the dream and you can create seeming miracles.
The other key discovery as you awaken from the dream is that nothing has ever been damaged, diminished, or lost, and you already have everything you could ever want, hope for, and desire. You are a fully-equipped dream artist, and the dream is the canvas upon which you paint your soul portrait or the stage upon which you produce your Divine Drama.
STOP, LOOK, AND LISTEN!
So how do we wake up, take back the power, and become awakened dream artists?
There are three fundamental steps to awaken: we must STOP when we become aware we’re reacting, LOOK at what we’re really reacting to, and LISTEN to what’s trying to emerge through us.
When you notice that you’re taking action from a place of fear, doubt, or lack, and you start to feel your body tensing and constricting, your heart closing, or your mind judging, this is your cue to STOP. It means you’re caught in an unconscious pattern. You no longer have free will. You are now operating in what I call “free won’t!”
As soon as you can, stop what you’re doing, stop what you’re saying, sit down, and become mindful of what’s moving through you. Don’t try to do anything about it, just begin to notice it; what are your bodily sensations and where in your body are they? What are your emotions, what are you thinking?
Don’t just do something, sit there!
Now you are ready to LOOK. Shine the light of your awareness and allow the pattern to become conscious. Be willing to see where you really are, what’s really running you. Without judgment. You can’t heal what you won’t feel. This alone will begin to break the pattern, even dissolve karma, because the only power the patterns of the dream have are the power you give them through reaction and resistance.
Finally, LISTEN. In this more conscious place, you are receptive to divine insight, a revelation of the true nature of reality. And this expanded state leads to healing. All true healing is just expanded awareness of the wholeness that has always been here.
From this place, you can ask more conscious, empowering questions: “What is the vision trying to emerge by means of this?” Not “What’s wrong?” or “Why me?” Those are questions you ask when you’re asleep in the dream, but as you awaken you ask, “How does God see this? What is the truth that makes me free?”
Then you become still and receptive.
It’s not about setting anything right; it’s about seeing things rightly.
So next time you find yourself up against limiting experiences, remember the spiritually-awakened drill: stop, look, and listen …and watch your life transform!
To Your Emergence!
by sublimity-001-main | Nov 1, 2014 | 2014, Post, Spiritual Growth, Tools
Most of us are under a hypnotic spell that says we have to be realistic – after all, we’re limited by our circumstances, stuck with the cards fate has dealt us, and must suffer the effects of our karma, astrology, numerology, and every other ‘ology.’ But none of these have any power over you — no, not even Mercury in Retrograde can determine your experience!
The true pattern of your life is already fulfilled, a perfect idea of infinite beauty, abundance, and sheer brilliance. There’s no power or law outside of you that can diminish or destroy it, but there’s also no power or law that’s going to make it happen. You, and you alone, are the source of everything that comes into your life – and your habitual state of consciousness determines how much or how little of that infinite good you experience.
You might argue that you were born into hard circumstances. Or that by the time you realized you had any control, many major things in your life had already been set – and all you can do is make the best of what you’ve got. While it’s always a good idea to make the most of what life gives you, your potential is never circumscribed by your conditions. Your karma or any predisposition only determines your starting point. It is your character that determines what’s possible. And you can always develop your character.
To be more specific, character, not conditions, determines destiny. Habit determines Character. Action determines habit. Belief determines action. And consistent thought determines belief. In other words, no matter what circumstance you’re in, you still have all the power – because it’s always an inside job. But to regain control over this mechanism of consciousness, you must have more expanded awareness. In fact, without it, you don’t even have free will, you have ‘free won’t.’ Your life is a reaction to unconscious patterns, an habitual reaction of resistance to what you don’t want, more than what you do.
To reclaim your power and begin making real choices — so you can develop a character more in line with the true story of your soul rather than the human drama – you must begin living a life more aligned with what want versus what you don’t; who you want to be versus who you don’t want to be. The first, most important step, in doing this is defining a vision for your life that represents your highest ideals and aspirations. A vision based on your deepest heart’s desire, not parental fantasy, peer pressure, keeping up with the jones or mere survival. Then you must engineer a way of life that is congruent with this..
There are many ways to do this, many places you could start. You could focus on thinking more affirmative thoughts, feeling more inspiring feelings, and creating an environment that reflects the life you are creating. There are all-important, and part of the Emergence process. But one way in particular can begin to accelerate and enhance all of these areas – creating more congruent habits.
Forming habits is something you have naturally done, but for many their habit-forming has been a mostly unconscious activity based on coping. We formed the habit of watching TV or eating too much as a way to avoid feeling our feelings. We formed the habit of complaining as a way of venting the stress. We formed the habit of judging others as a way of covering up our feelings of inadequacy. Or we even formed a seemingly good habit of working hard, but often as a way of avoiding our feelings, intimacy with others, or from a fear of failure.
But now we’re embracing that habit-forming mechanism consciously and creating habits that are congruent with our highest vision – not from fear or desperation, but desire and inspiration. These kinds of habits tend to have much less negative byproducts. The other advantage is that creating habits tends to have a positive impact on all the other areas we might otherwise be focusing on – thoughts, feelings, environment.
For example, if you develop the habit of exercising, regardless of your thoughts, beliefs, feelings, or environment, you will begin to organically start thinking more improved thoughts, having better feelings, craving healthier foods, being drawn to more empowering environments and relationships – and eventually having a shift in your self-concept. And all of this without doing some rigorous affirmation routine! This isn’t to say you can’t or shouldn’t do the deeper inner work – adding these inner elements can definitely support you – it’s simply to illustrate the leverage that new habits can have on your transformation.
You may already know some of the new habits you want to form. But to ensure that they’re congruent with your highest vision, it’s helpful to take some time and imagine having achieved everything you want. Then explore that world and who you are in it, and identify how you feel, what you’re doing, and how you’re acting and interacting with the people, situations, and environments. Are you healthier, more generous, more playful, more productive in some area? What new habit would this version of yourself have that allows you to live this greater life?
As you identify a handful of these new habits, create a plan, a daily regimen that allows you to practice these. Don’t overdo it. Create a practice that stretches you but doesn’t pull a muscle! And be consistent. No matter what. That’s the key to making it a habit. The key isn’t so much that you believe it, but that you do it, over and over.
In the early days of my writing, I didn’t want to write, I just wanted to have written. But as I sat there, day after day, staring at a blank screen and typing whatever came through, eventually a flow started – and pretty soon I was writing! Same with exercise and meditation. Didn’t want to do either. Just wanted to have done them. But as I practiced, as I just showed up, regardless of how I felt about it, my body and mind got so used to it that to not do it was harder than to do it. And as a result, many other things in my life changed – thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and self-concepts.
Be gentle. Be kind. Be patient. And when you stumble – because you will – pick yourself back up and begin again. Over and over, until you achieve the desired new habit. Little by little, or sometimes dramatically, you’ll create a new set point. And as your habits begin to more and more reflect the character you would have in your ideal story, your life will reflect it too – and pretty soon you’ll realize you’re no longer a prop in this divine production, you’re the star of your show!
To Your Emergence!
by sublimity-001-main | Sep 9, 2014 | 2014, Post, Spiritual Growth
Most people are under a hypnotic spell that says we have to be realistic – after all, we’re limited by our circumstances, stuck with the cards fate has dealt us, and must suffer the effects of our karma, astrology, numerology, and every other ‘ology.’ But none of these have any power over you — no, not even Mercury in Retrograde can determine your experience!
The true pattern of your life is already fulfilled, a perfect idea of infinite beauty, abundance, and sheer brilliance. There’s no power or law outside of you that can diminish or destroy it, but there’s also no power or law that’s going to make it happen. You, and you alone, are the source of everything that comes into your life – and your habitual state of consciousness determines how much or how little of that infinite good you experience.
You might argue that you were born into hard circumstances. Or that by the time you realized you had any control, many major things in your life had already been set – and all you can do is make the best of what you’ve got. While it’s always a good idea to make the most of what life gives you, your potential is never circumscribed by your conditions. Your karma or any predisposition only determines your starting point. It is your character that determines what’s possible. And you can always develop your character.
To be more specific, character, not conditions, determines destiny. Habit determines Character. Action determines habit. Belief determines action. And consistent thought determines belief. In other words, no matter what circumstance you’re in, you still have all the power – because it’s always an inside job. But to regain control over this mechanism of consciousness, you must have more expanded awareness. In fact, without it, you don’t even have free will, you have ‘free won’t.’ Your life is a reaction to unconscious patterns, an habitual reaction of resistance to what you don’t want, more than what you do.
To reclaim your power and begin making real choices — so you can develop a character more in line with the true story of your soul rather than the human drama – you must begin living a life more aligned with what want versus what you don’t; who you want to be versus who you don’t want to be. The first, most important step, in doing this is defining a vision for your life that represents your highest ideals and aspirations. A vision based on your deepest heart’s desire, not parental fantasy, peer pressure, keeping up with the jones or mere survival. Then you must engineer a way of life that is congruent with this.
There are many ways to do this, many places you could start. You could focus on thinking more affirmative thoughts, feeling more inspiring feelings, and creating an environment that reflects the life you are creating. There are all-important, and part of the Emergence process. But one way in particular can begin to accelerate and enhance all of these areas – creating more congruent habits.
Forming habits is something you’ve naturally done, but for many their habit-forming has been an unconscious activity based on coping. We formed the habit of watching TV or eating too much as a way to avoid feeling our feelings. We formed the habit of complaining as a way of venting. We formed the habit of judging others as a way of covering up our feelings of inadequacy. Or we even formed a seemingly good habit of working hard, but often as a way of avoiding our feelings, intimacy with others, or from a fear of failure.
But now we’re embracing that habit-forming mechanism consciously and creating habits that are congruent with our highest vision – not from fear or desperation, but desire and inspiration. These kinds of habits tend to have much less negative byproducts. The other advantage is that creating habits tends to have a positive impact on all the other areas we might otherwise be focusing on – thoughts, feelings, environment.
For example, if you develop the habit of exercising, regardless of your thoughts, beliefs, feelings, or environment, you will begin to organically start thinking more improved thoughts, having better feelings, craving healthier foods, being drawn to more empowering environments and relationships – and eventually having a shift in your self-concept. And all of this without doing some rigorous affirmation routine! This isn’t to say you shouldn’t do the deeper inner work, it’s simply to illustrate the leverage that new habits can have on your transformation.
You may already know some of the new habits you want to form. But to ensure that they’re congruent with your highest vision, it’s helpful to take some time and imagine having achieved everything you want. Then explore that world and who you are in it, and identify how you feel, what you’re doing, and how you’re acting and interacting with the people, situations, and environments. Are you healthier, more generous, more playful, more productive in some area? What new habit would this version of yourself have that allows you to live this greater life?
As you identify a handful of these new habits, create a plan, a daily regimen that allows you to practice these. Don’t overdo it. Create a practice that stretches you but doesn’t pull a muscle! And be consistent. No matter what. That’s the key to making it a habit. The key isn’t so much that you believe it, but that you do it, over and over.
In the early days of my writing, I didn’t want to write, I just wanted to have written. But as I sat there, day after day, staring at a blank screen and typing whatever came through, eventually a flow started – and pretty soon I was writing! Same with exercise and meditation. Didn’t want to do that either. Just wanted to have done them. But as I practiced, as I just showed up, regardless of how I felt about it, my body and mind got so used to it that to not do it was harder than to do it. And as a result, many other things in my life changed – thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and self-concepts.
Be gentle. Be kind. Be patient. And when you stumble – because you will – pick yourself back up and begin again. Over and over, until you achieve the desired new habit. Little by little, or sometimes dramatically, you’ll create a new set point. And as your habits begin to more reflect the character you would have in your ideal story, your life will reflect it too – and pretty soon you’ll realize you’re no longer a prop in this divine production, you’re the star of your show!
To Your Emergence!
by sublimity-001-main | Jul 29, 2014 | 2014, Emergence, Post, Spiritual Growth
August is upon us. A name that means ‘exalted, acclaimed, renowned,’ among other things. To live an ‘august’ life implies being bold, grand, powerful – even legendary. It means to live the fullness of our authentic potential, holding nothing back. But even in our daily walk and individual goals, we can live more boldly.
Sometimes it’s good to grow incrementally and work merely to stabilize our life structures, but other times we must make big moves that shake up the status quo of our comfort zones — and catapult us into a new and unfamiliar world. Sometimes we must leap instead of step, run instead of walk, and dive in instead of dipping our toes.
In fact, as an overall part of a dynamic life plan, we need to design such August moves into our way of life. It keeps our ego off balance enough to activate our emerging energies and prevent us from looping around in the same story. (Remember, part of the ego’s job is to keep us the same, while giving us the illusion of making progress.)
So this could look like setting a goal to write a whole book in 30 days instead of three months. It could look like committing to running a marathon in 3-6 months versus just trying to lose ten pounds. It could be deciding to have ten dates with new potential people in the next 30 days or less. Or it could be going on a multi-day, silent retreat instead of just trying to learn to meditate 20 minutes a day.
In other words, if you’ve been trying to grow some area incrementally and are not making the kind of exciting progress you want, what big, bold moves could you make to really go for it –to really say to the Universe, ‘I’m ready to live my life full out now!’
Take time to consider this, write about it, and make a plan to begin living your legendary life. If you’re really bold, you can post your leaps in our private or public Facebook pages and invite others to do the same. Then, together, we will hold the collective energy for these quantum leaps.
My intention for you this month is that you have a real breakthrough; that all this theory becomes a living wisdom that lifts you to the next level — and sets you on course to have a truly extraordinary year!
Are you willing? That’s all the spirit needs. As Michael Beckwith says, “Where there’s a will, there’s a wall. But where there’s willingness, there’s a way!”
To Your Emergence!
by sublimity-001-main | Jun 30, 2014 | 2014, Emergence, Post, Spiritual Growth
We’ve been brainwashed to believe that what we want is somewhere in the future or distance. Because of this, most of our methods of achieving the good life have us trying to get somewhere or ‘some-when’ else.
Even the idea of ‘living in the now’ is often seen through this filter, making us believe if we can get into the ‘now,’ what we want will show up – as if it’s not quite happening in ‘this now,’ but in some future, better now.
And when we accept the idea of living in the now, it’s still frequently about finding enough peace to go get what we really want, without feeling so stressed about it — again putting our good in the distance or future.
The now becomes a means to an end instead of an end itself.
But the now isn’t a place you go to get some good feelings so you can get back into the rat race and withstand the blows of life – the ‘now’ is where The Thing Itself lives.
The music is already here.
Your Destiny Is Already Happening.
Not just the pattern or potential, but the actual reality — just at a different frequency, so you can’t see or hear it. Like your favorite music that is broadcasting on a certain station – but you can’t experience it until you tune into it, until your frequency matches it.
And when you do tune into it, you don’t make it happen, you make it welcome; you have found the station where your music is already manifest.
This is your manifest-station!
That’s what one great master of emergence meant when he said the Kingdom of Heaven was at hand, but having eyes you see it not, and having ears you hear it not.
When we judge based on appearances – using our physical senses – the best we can ever have is a slightly better human experience. But when we dive beneath the surface and look with our soul-senses, we discover that we’re already living in heaven now.
To Your Emergence!
by sublimity-001-main | May 31, 2014 | 2014, Emergence, Post
World religions, when interpreted from a more literal perspective, sometimes teach that we’re at the whim of an external God who rewards or punishes us for good and bad deeds, like Santa’s naughty or nice list—or just acts in capricious, mysterious ways that we’re not intended to understand.
But a more spiritual or mystical interpretation of the Christian teaching “as you sow so shall you reap,” the Buddhist teaching of karma, or the metaphysical law of attraction suggests that there is no external power; it is the seeds we sow in our own heart and mind—the overall quality of our consciousness—that cause us to reap the rewards and punishment we experience.
While this is a liberating truth and a great step up the evolutionary ladder, it can also be an overwhelming realization. If all the things we’ve thought, said, and done in the past (or past lifetimes) are creating our present and, ultimately, our future, won’t it take the rest of our lives (or many more lifetimes) to undo the mess we’ve created? A lot of causes (karma) have been set in motion—how will we ever reverse all their effects?
Mercifully, there is a higher law: Grace. The law of Grace says that no matter what has come before, no matter what you’ve set in motion, when you reconnect with the Truth of your being – this Perfect Seed Pattern the world has never touched and can never destroy – the innate wholeness, wisdom, and power you need will emerge again. From this consciousness, your past does not determine your future—neither past mistakes nor past lives.
The bad seeds you’ve sown are uprooted no matter how deep they’ve dug in, and the good seeds you’ve failed to tend take root and bear fruit. Under the law of Grace, the things you’re struggling with lose their power; cause and effect, karma, even Newtonian physics, which once operated as absolute, immutable laws and masters of your fate, become the servants of your destiny.
THE PRAYER OF AWAKENING
One of the most powerful practices I know to begin accessing this grace is what I call the ‘prayer of awakening.’ I invite you to pray this prayer every day, especially when you’re feeling stuck or struggling to change conditions:
“God (or whatever your concept is), more than I want to change, fix, heal, or improve my life (or the situation), I want to awaken to the truth that makes me free, I want to see and feel divine reality; I want to know who and what I really am and why I am alive!”
As you activate this powerful prayer, you will create a subjective groove that creates the inner conditions for revelation and breakthrough insights that open you to the grace and guidance of the divine.
Please share your insights and breakthroughs on our facebook page, so we can all be inspired and lifted by your wisdom.
To Your Emergence!
