LOOK AROUND

"I think, therefore I am....Cogito, ergo sum," said René Descartes.

"I AM THAT I AM," spoke the Burning Bush to Moses

Both are authentications of the Divine Presence.

Our thinking, thoughts, consciousness are paramount in manifestation, perception, and our connection to the Universal, but is it the only way to authenticate the Divine?

my mind is

a big hunk of irrevocable nothing which touch and

taste and smell and hearing and sight keep hitting and

chipping with sharp fatal tools

in an agony of sensual chisels i perform squirms of

chrome and execute strides of cobalt

nevertheless i

feel that i cleverly am being altered that i slightly am

becoming something a little different, in fact

myself

Hereupon helpless i utter lilac shrieks and scarlet

bellowings.       ~ e. e. cummings, Portraits VII

What do you feel when you see hear, touch, smell, taste something so fantastic your whole life seems to make sense? It brings words to mind you never thought you had, descriptions and adjectives you’ve never used, memories you had long misplaced? There's a book I love called “A Natural History of the Senses” by Diane Ackerman. She is quite the prolific author of two dozen highly-acclaimed works of poetry and nonfiction, many New York Times bestsellers, The Zookeeper's Wife (a 2017 movie starring Jessica Chastain), and a Pulitzer Prize Finalist for "One Hundred Names for Love." Ackerman is the epitome of curiosity and imagination. Her thrilling observations urge us to live in the moment and to wake up to nature's everyday miracles and her work is addictive. Today I'm using some of her quotes and readings to authenticate the Divine in all – our June theme.

In a mere ounce of air, there are 1,00 billion trillion gyrating atoms made up of oxygen, nitrogen, and hydrogen, each a menagerie of electrons, quarks, and ghostly neutrinos. ... Sometimes we marvel at how “calm” the day is, or how “still” the night. Yet there is no stillness in the sky, or anywhere else where life and matter meet. They are always vibrant and aglow, full of volatile gases, staggering spores, dust, viruses, fungi, and animals, all stirred by a swirling and relentless wind.   ~"Vision" chapter

When you look at the stars, the moon, the expansiveness of the sky / the universe, a flower, a child, your loved one, or a sweet treat, you may stare in amazement of its power and beauty – your emotions soar, yes?You may think, “A higher intelligence must be present!”

Each of us are a unique beholder of creation, an authenticator of a design that is both super natural and metaphysical beyond our present comprehension, even though science and scientific theory attempts to explain it all.

When you look in a mirror, you will see the face of a predator; not to capture or eat other animals though that ability is there as well, but to gather light, pick out important  images, focus on novel sites, and pinpoint them in space and time to follow them, we have the ability to be a walking stereoscopic binocular

What we see are prey, not in order to feed our bellies, but our minds, that's the power of our sense of vision. If that is not from a Divine intelligence, I don't know what is. Helen Keller wrote:

Smell is a potent wizard that transports you across thousands of miles and all the years you have lived. The odors of fruits waft me to my southern home, to my childhood frolics in the peach orchard. Other odors, instantaneous and fleeting, cause my heart to dilate joyously or contract with remembered grief. Even as I think of smells, my nose is full of scents that start and awake sweet memories of summers gone and ripening fields far away.

In 2014, researchers in a Science magazine article concluded that the human nose can distinguish at least 1 trillion different odors, way beyond the previous estimate of 10,000. Whether it's your favorite fruit pie or flower, fresh cut grass, sea or mountain air, or the pheromones of your mate; a human nose has around 400 scent receptors. For example, when the smell of coffee wafts through a room, specific receptors in the nose detect molecular components of the odor. That elicits a series of neural responses, translating into inward or outward cry's like “Thank God” or “Where is it?”. Or it engages the action of the salivary glands and creates a GPS-like hunt for its location. Smell brings out both the imaginary and the memorial in the brain. It can act as an informant of a person's profession or hobby, habits or previous locale; and with food – the sense of taste attaches itself. Rev. Kelly Isola, a Unity minister, wrote some tips for increasing your spiritual sense of smell. Here's two:

• When you connect with God's presence, what scents or fragrances come to mind?
• With every deep breath in today, let it be a reminder of being more open and alive, to knowing God as real, authentic, and attentive

If the sense of smell is not from a Divine intelligence, I don't know what is.

If you want to find the secrets of the Universe, think in terms of energy, frequency, and vibration.  ~Nikola Tesla

What happens when you hear Mozart or Miles Davis, Dolly Parton or Dean Martin, Bach or the Beatles (depending on your taste). How about a baby laughing, a light rain at your window, a crackling fire, the sigh of your lover, or the purr of your cat? For me, a Debussy composition delights all of my senses - when I hear them, I feel enlightened, open and ready for expansion and transformation. The sounds of nature, both pleasant and not, are a symphony of proof that Spirit wants to be heard; in all the languages for all Its creation - animal, mineral, vegetable, aviary, reptile, mammal, and plants...yes, even plants.

Using highly expensive and sensitive acoustic sensors, similar to the ones use to detect cracks in bridges, researchers are able to catch the ultrasonic blips and pops of a plant. They may not sing like the one in “Little Shop of Horrors,” but it has been proven that their vibrations are a language to each other and the insects that feed upon them

The Universe's sound, translates closely to the "Aum" chant you may hear at an Ashram or the beginnings of a Yoga class. Though we cannot truly create the sound of the universe by a chanting; we can produce a vibration sympathetic with the electro-magnetic ones of the cosmic hum. Listen to this:

If sound is not from a Divine intelligence, I don't know what is

Touch, by clarifying and adding to the shorthand of the eyes, teaches us that we live in a three-dimensional world.   ~”Touch”

When we touch silk, velvet, grass, or each other, we can miraculously heal hurt, ease pain, save premmie infants, and change the circumstances of health and well-being. Touch informs, touch educates, and touch loves. Touch is not only by skin, but what we do when we pray or commune with the power and presence of the Universe.

If touch is not from a Divine intelligence, I don't know what is.

More from Diane Ackerman:

A creamy blur of succulent blue sound smells like week-old strawberries dropped onto a tin sieve as mother approaches in a halo of color chatter, and a perfume like thick golden butterscotch.

Isn't that beautiful? All of that is a description of Nature saying “hi...” in the synesthesia of life. Only 2 - 4% of people have the neurological condition called synesthesia in which information meant to stimulate one of your senses stimulates several of your senses, but in many ways, all of us are synesthetes.

Sacred rituals use the senses to connect to their very being and essence. The Torah (Exodus 20:18) describes the Hebrews gathering to receive the scrolls with Moses at Mt. Sinai to hear visions and see the voice of God. Dr. William Bushell of MIT's Department of Anthropology and Columbia University's American Institute of Buddhist Studies tells us, "In fact, synesthesia may not only be associated with the highest spiritual states, it may be necessary for them." 

Dr. Eben Alexander wrote in "Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon’s Journey Into the Afterlife" about the blending of his senses during his near-death experience in a 2008 coma when he wrote, “Seeing and hearing were not separate in this place where I now was ...I could see the surging, joyful perfection of what they sang.” After months of analysis and discussion with other scientists about his experience, Eban Alexander concluded, “It is crucial to remember that my ultra-real experience deep in coma, in the realms of the Gateway and the Core that I describe in my book, did not happen in my brain, or in the physical universe, but they really happened in a more fundamental reality – the dwelling-place of Divine consciousness, spirit and soul.”

What more proof do you need to authenticate the Divine in all and through all? Just use your senses. Stay aware and awake, and allow your senses to inform you, inspire you. All you gotta do is look around

Affirmative Incantation

Today I put in place a guarantee for a great day:

    I promise to be centered and grounded

    And if I slip, I pledge to stop and get grounded and centered once again

I commit to being clear and concise with my intentions

    And I shall use the lifetime warranty from the Universe 

To assure me of my bodily vitality, 

To vouch for my heightened mental and creative abilities, 

And to confirm my absolute willingness to awaken to all inspiration around me.

This pledge deposits gobs of Peace, Power, Beauty, Joy, Love, Light, Life, and Wisdom in my mind and heart,

All I require for a wonderful experience at work, play, and love throughout the day  

I amplify, clarify, and intensify my best self today with this guarantee 

That will fill me, thrill me, and stay with me morning, noon, and night.

Foundations Under My Castles In the Air

If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.  ~Henry David Thoreau, Walden

This month is about AWARENESS:

Being awake, mindful, and conscious about who we are, what we want, and where we want it. Dreams (the castles in the air kind ) are the beginnings of any idea, of any manifestation or any journey. It can be the beginning of any step into our self-confidence. It is an experimentation of the mind where we see the brighter future and can experience our greatest strengths, and imagine the failures and successes to learn from; where we envision our best life.

Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning.  ~Gloria Steinem

Day-dreaming vs mind-wandering?

Mind-wandering is a distraction from what's going on; off-task musings like staring into the air, looking out the window on the train. These are usually without a specific purpose other than being distracted from the present. Do not attempt this when driving or handling heavy machinery or pointy objects.

Mind-wandering can be a powerful precursor to day-dreaming. It allows a flow of discovery.

Daydreaming is a visionary fantasy, usually with pleasant thoughts of hopes or ambitions. It is a use of the imagination of something coming to pass and is experienced while awake. Daydreaming leads to an act of visualization/envisioning

Be fully awake if you want to dream.   ~Paulo Coelho

Daydreaming is focused, usually intentional, and are imaginative what-if mental projects possessing a narrative structure. They are usually full of plans and goals to achieve, showing feelings felt with a mental picture of purpose and success. This type of dream is like a seed with the potential to grow into a majestic sequoia. These castles in the air are also like the architectural blueprints for a building. They are only a potential, a design until you start to pour the concrete of the foundation and pound the wood and nails together.

Day-dreaming can be unity with our best self, the precursor of the mental equivalent or of the manifestation. In order for it to move from a vision to an envision, from fantasy to fact, you must live it on the inside to build it on the outside.

Building Tool #1:  Find the meaning it has for you

Parable of the Fisherman

One day a fisherman was sitting by his boat while playing with his child on a beautiful beach; his fishing pole resting against the boat.

A wealthy businessman came walking down the beach, trying to relieve some of the stress of his workday. Curious and horrified at the sight of the fisherman wasting the day, the businessman asked, "Why aren't you out fishing?"

The fisherman looked up at the businessman, smiled, and replied, "Because I already caught enough fish for one day." The businessman followed, "Why don't you catch some more?"

"What would I do with them?" replied the fisherman. "You could earn extra money," said the businessman, "then buy a bigger boat, go into deeper waters, and catch more fish. You would make enough money to buy nylon nets, catch even more fish, and make more money. With that money, you could own two boats, maybe three boats. Eventually, you could have a whole fleet of boats and be rich like me."

"Then what would I do?" asked the fisherman. "Then," said the businessman, "you could really enjoy life."

The fisherman looked at the businessman quizzically and asked, "What do you think I am doing now?"

It's not about more, more, more - it's about fulfillment, fulfillment, fulfillment. A heartfelt purpose with a mission and a vision,

Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.  ~Carl Jung

Awaken to the why more than the what of your dreams; that is a foundation-builder.

Building Tool #2:  Hold the vision

Get clear on what you want this dream to look like, smell like, taste like, feel like. Use this envisioning as your motivation, a compass point to keep you going in the right direction.

IMAGINATION, VISUALIZATION, SPECIFICATION

Building Tool #3:  Baby Steps

Identify your milestones and gap areas, reverse-engineer your success, and pick the action steps to make for each milestone. Use networking, research, outsourcing, content creation, etc. Break your action steps into smaller chunks, simple tasks that you can accomplish. In education, better your current skill-sets. In connections, connect with needed contacts and allies to assist you and other resources needed for completion, including our spiritual communions (our at-one-ments). Do the actions and hit the milestones one at a time.

Confidence, going in the direction of your dreams may include a journey that is fearful, terrifying, unknowing, and difficult, but we go towards them. Sometimes with baby steps, but always with boldness. They are an adventure that builds the life of majesty we want and that has always awaited us

Building Tool #4:  Connect with Spirit and stay in tune with having your dream

We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aid, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn.  ~Henry David Thoreau

Our inward reflection and inner work project outward and peace within reflects on everything we see and do. 

Conclusion and Call to Action

Don't dream it, be it!   ~Dr. Frank-n-Furter, Rocky Horror Show

The Science of Mind teaches us that the relationship between the individual and the Universal Mind is one of reflection. We reflect in our lives those castles in the air we have laid a foundation under with attention, focus, feelings, and belief. In the conclusion of Walden by Henry David Thoreau, he says: 

I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavours to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. He will put some things behind, will pass an invisible boundary; new, universal, and more liberal laws will begin to establish themselves around and within him; or the old laws be expanded, and interpreted in his favor in a more liberal sense, and he will live with the license of a higher order of beings. In proportion as he simplifies his life, the laws of the universe will appear less complex, and solitude will not be solitude, nor poverty poverty, nor weakness weakness. If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.” 

It's not about chasing your dreams

It's about being a reflection of your dreams 

It's about going from imagination to contemplation to realization to initiation

It's about going from a vision to envisioning, fantasizing to being it to living it

Final Building Tool:  Never let anyone else’s opinion about what is and is not possible become your reality

Your dreams are not impossible, nor ridiculous. They are the start of something that could absolutely change your world. Without dreams, nothing changes, nothing grows or evolves.

So dream.  Dream bold.  Dream big.

Build those luscious, rich, mouth-watering, divine-inspired castles in the air! Then bravely lay a concretized foundation under them and start building your greatest, most fun, most sexy, most prosperously abundant vibrant life today!

A. I.

I am awake. I bear witness to my thoughts and pay attention to those that ignite my life with love, kindness, respect, dignity, health, and prosperity. All others, I learn from and transcend through to my highest.

As Light pours through me like the rays of the Sun, day or night, my heart is bright and awake. It sparks feelings that illuminate and support my dreams. And from them, I breathe this Light back into the nostrils of the Universe, bringing my clearest vision of abundant ideas alive. 

Awake to my Divine nature and communing with the constant amazement of the beauty that surrounds me - I rejoice with a mighty sound, a grateful heart, and a loving spirit.

Let's Get It Started

In June we talked about getting clear and present certainty in our thinking and thus our consciousness and life. 

We learned what a maverick is and how to have maverick intentions. To be bold, brave, independent, and inclusive; knowing the abundance of the Universe is at hand. To be open at the top and out of the box in your imagery of the demonstration

We reminded ourselves that our power comes from knowing who's talking, and that's the divine creative power within...It effects everything we experience.

We filled our tank with the fuel of imagination, knowing that:

• Being in quarantine does not stop our minds from working.
• Being out of work does not stop our wisdom from working.
• Being stuck indoors does not stop our connection with the Divine. 
• Envisioning equals experiencing.

Now its time to take Mindful Action

When you truly have an insight or spiritual awakening, the next step is always action. ~Michael Bernard Beckwith

We are always in a state of action: breathing, processing, sleeping, eating, thinking. Yet we're not always doing it on purpose with purpose. What could our lives look like if we aligned with our intentions? We plant seeds with spiritual practice and now we must tend to them. We must water and nourish them like a garden. We must be in a state of mind and body with them, tell the story of them and strategize about them.

It's time for a breakthrough. It's time for that moment in time when the impossible becomes possible. It is usually triggered by inspiration or the power of decision, when you are shifted into action mentally, spiritually and physically.

Success or failure cannot be explained by anything other that the use and misuse of mental processes. The subconscious mind produces what we place in it. It is a creative process. It is a law of action. ~Raymond Charles Barker

Here are three keys to a breakthrough. They are listed from least important to most important, inspired by the work of Tony Robbins:

3) Strategy – the plan. We may make plans of action, do our part – what we can control, that is. The ins and outs of how are the Universe's purview.

2) Story – the vision, the beliefs. This is the what and why of our idea - what are we telling ourselves about why we are desiring this. When you change your story, you change your life.

1) State – feelings and emotions your in your life. This is about your perceptions and attitudes about the idea you want to manifest. If you are a billionaire, but pissed off and frustrated, you probably have lots of toys and comfort, but everything is tainted by your state of mind and state of being. Money can't buy you love or true happiness, though there's nothing wrong in being rich. Be rich, however remember to have a spiritual connection in your life; you may not be happy all the time but you can know joy all the time. State is also about the physiology of body - the stance you take, the sounds you surround yourself with, and the exercise you strengthen yourself with.

When you focus on what you want, focus meaning the feelings you have for something, that's action. When you visualize and envision your ideas, experience them in all your senses, no matter how ridiculous the smell of your bills being paid may seem, your taking action. State inspires story - the why do we want it, the purpose. Language, what are you saying to yourself everyday and all the time is also key. All this is taking action and will clear your mind to inspire you to do what needs to be done physically to manifest your idea.

Work without vision is drudgery, but vision without work is self-deception. The well-balanced person can walk with his head in the clouds and still keep his feet solidly planted on the ground. Faith and work are ineffective when separated. ~Ernest Holmes, Journey Into Life

Meditating is good, praying is good, a vision board is fun, however now it's time for getting up off our meditative prayerful faithful asses and take action. Jesus, Mother Teresa, Gandhi, Dr. King didn’t just pray, they took action both on and in their faith. And too, while simultaneously being afraid and having the courage to walk the talk. A courage with clear and present certainty to be mavericks and get the party started.

The proof that one believes is in action.  ~Bayard Rustin, organizer and strategist for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Mavericks take their minutes of prayer and meditation, the time to disconnect from the facts into the Truth, breaking the bind of the 3D world to step into the 5D Universe by imagining their next now with feeling and experiencing it in mind and thus body. Remember, your body doesn't know the difference between experience and thought. You can change your biology, chemistry, hormones and genes by having an inner event.

In The Black Eyed Peas song, "Let's Get It Started," it says:

Obstacles are inefficient, follow your intuition... free your inner soul and break away from tradition...Get stupid

Be a maverick by going back to square one, kindergarten - who the heck you are! Later, they tell us.

Burn it till it's burned out, Turn it till it's turned out, Act up from north, west, east, south

Repetition is the mother of skills...

• So say it till you spray it.
• See it till you be it. 
• And act it till you crack it, fact it and unpack it.

Movement is key, in mind, body and language. Use the wonder woman stance in your physiology, “shut-up” the b.s. in your mind and talk yourself blue with the focused language of manifesting your dream now. The Universe expands all the time and we expand with it to continue happiness, in service to the Highest Good.

Conclusion and Call to Action: 

Through faith tie your mind back to the Mind of God, and in action live as though you were guided by a supreme Intelligence. ~E. H., Philosophy of Jesus

The Mindful Maverick prays to set their intention, meditates for Divine discernment, and then takes action. Repeating this cycle again and again till you get it and it shows up. Affirmations are great, but we need to use them not just as affirming statements, but as incantations with magical and scientific effect.

More of the song:

Lose control of body and soul
Don't move too fast, people, just take it slow
Don't get ahead, just jump into it

Let's jump into it by...

• Create a compelling future with language, physiology and focus.
• Stay true-hearted and authentic.
• Believe in who you are, your vision and your power.
• Challenge the status quo in mind, body and spirit with strong imaginative convictions.
• Be courageous, even when afraid
• Use [EQ] emotional quotient over [IQ] intelligent quotient
• Use your Superpowers: intuition, talents, spiritual tools, imagination, and identity to compel your future every day...then walk the talk!

Your always creating....be creative

Let's get it started and thrive!

Affirmation

Every action I take emerges from knowing that it serves my Highest Good. I take pride in the I am that I am. 

I free myself to be happy. I free myself to be healthy. I free myself to be surrounded by love and peace. 

It is with clear and present certainty, I speak my word with maverick intention; solid in my beliefs, vision, purpose, and intention. I feel successful, smell successful, sound successful and have full  faith in my Power to create and manifest my best life.

PENETRATING INTELLIGENCE

A Buddhist monk strode into a Zen pizza parlor and said, "Make me a slice with everything." When he got his order, he gave the proprietor a $20 bill, which the guy thanked him for, pocketed and started to walk away. "Hey," asked the monk, "where's my change?" The owner turned back and said, "Change, my friend...must come from within." 

Can We Talk to God?

Neale Donald Walsch made a career out of his conversations and Ernest Holmes wrote a book with that title based on a 1934 lecture, where he teaches the Law of Cause and Effect and affirmative prayer, what he coined as Spiritual Mind Treatment. I talk about it all the time...affirmative prayer and other spiritual practices.

Does It (God or whatever you like to call It) Talk Back?

Better yet, does It start the conversation?

Lately, I've been starting our Sunday celebration with a version of this affirmation:

I am an irresistible magnet, with the power to attract unto myself everything that I divinely desire, according to the thoughts, feelings and mental pictures I constantly entertain and radiate.  I am the center of my Universe.  I have the power to create whatever I mentally choose and accept.  I begin choosing and mentally accepting the highest and best in life.  I now choose lavish abundance for myself and for all mankind.  This is a rich friendly Universe and I accept its riches and hospitality now!!!  ~Vetura Papke

We're not only attracting experiences into our lives through the Law of Cause and Effect and other spiritual laws, we are also attracting wisdom that penetrates our mind and consciousness with ideas, tactics, answers and, sometimes, additional questions that take us deeper into solutions. 

How do we penetrate our own mind? We do it every day with our thoughts and feelings. We can do it so well, we are so smart that many times we talk ourselves out of our success and other times heal ourselves of dis-ease.

The human mind is really more of a process. It is not a completed thing, like an arm or leg, but a relationship and a process.   ~Jane Roberts, The Nature of Personal Reality 

Part of that process is the relationship and conversation that exists between the solar plexus -the gut- and the third eye -the brain. Now I understand that the head brain reigns supreme, but the gut is the older. Before you had a neo-cortex or the frontal lobes, you only had the gut and instincts to guide you. The "gut" or enteric nervous system consists of sheaths of neurons embedded in the walls of the long tube of our alimentary canal, which measures from the esophagus to the anus. It contains some 100 million neurons, more than in the spinal cord or peripheral nervous system, and uses more than 30 neurotransmitters, just like the brain. In addition, 95 percent of serotonin, the hormone and neurotransmitter that regulates mood and social behavior, appetite and digestion, sleep, memory, and sexual desire and function, is found in the bowels. The primary visceral nerve, the vagus, carries information from the gut to the brain and not the other way around; electrical stimulation of which has been used as a treatment for depression.

How do we allow Divine Intelligence to penetrate our conscious and subconscious mind? By being open and aware of what Steve Jobs has called that which is "more powerful than intellect." It is a sacred gift from the Universe.

My brain is only a receiver. In the universe there is a core from which we obtain knowledge, strength and inspiration.    ~Nikola Tesla

Inspiration comes from the Latin, tueri, meaning to guard or to protect. The Hindus refer to as the Akashic River of Knowledge as inspiration. Biologist Rupert Sheldrake refers to inspiration as the morphic fields where all information floats and Malcom Glaldwell, in his book, "Blink," talks about “the power of thinking without thinking.”

Cracking The Intuition Code

I define intuition as the subtle knowing without ever having any idea why you know it. It's different from thinking, it's different from logic or analysis ... It's a knowing without knowing. ~Sophy Burnham, The Art of Intuition

It's a flooding of the brain with Divine penetrating intelligence, a “direct messenger of the soul” per Clarissa Pinkola Estes, author of "Women Who Run With the Wolves."

We all have hunches, sudden insights, that gut feeling or butterflies in the stomach. It is something which is not to be feared that you will become Doctor Faustus and make a deal with the Devil by listening and adhering to them. Those would be negative energy thoughts and easy to differentiate. O that you somehow are heeding the call of the mythological Sirens, luring you to crash and burn with their enchanting songs like sailors getting shipwrecked on the rocky coast of their island. Those will be destructive voices and ideas coming from your scared ego, lack and limitation self-talk or judgments masquerading as intuition. . We also do not need to buy into the judgment, prejudices or biases that rear their ugly head masking as intuition. In her book, "The Art of Intuition," Sophy Burnham tells a story about two women waiting in a doctor's office. Joanne, a brilliant journalist (an observer of fact) saw that the other waiting patient seemed to be an unkempt, disreputable-looking woman, the more off-putting for having the shadow of a dark mustache. She shuddered at the idea of talking to this woman. But time passed and boredom was setting in and they fell into a conversation. Joanne was surprised to find out the woman was a nuclear physicist and a captivating conversationalist. She mistook intuition for her judgments, prejudices and biases.

When any of those show up, evaluate their integrity - is it destructive? judgmental? bias-ridden? fear-induced? prejudicial? If so, ignore them or over-ride them with Truth, and tell them to take a hike. Take over and allow your intellect to discount them as the fear or judgment-centered voice they are.

You get your intuition back when you make space for it, when you stop the chattering of the rational mind. The rational mind doesn’t nourish you. You assume that it gives you the truth, because the rational mind is the golden calf that this culture worships, but this is not true. Rationality squeezes out much that is rich and juicy and fascinating.   ~Anne Lamott

Intuition is usually subtle and many times makes no sense. The key is of course, to stop and listen to that inner voice and the sensations of your body. What do you perceive is going on, being said, letting you know?

If courage is the penetration of mind through the fear which seems to overwhelm us then we can think of calmness as the penetration of mind through the anxieties which confront us, even including anger. …. Our mind need not be always passive; always like a sponge. …. If we don’t often use our mind this way we gain no strength with it—we get flabby.  ~The Zennist

How To Cultivate Our Intuition

1) Tune in and raise your vibration and take time for solitude. Solitude is a practice that does not equate to being alone, but to being at One with the energy and Light of the Divine.

If you want to find the secrets of the Universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration.  ~Nikola Tesla

This energy, frequency and vibration is the universal power, as First Cause (initiator of  creation), is the original broadcasting station, extending Its wisdom out into all of Its creation.

2) Listen, allow, recognize and act. Allow your Spidey-sense to emerge as you pay attention to the goosebumps, the tingling in the scalp, the shudders, icky feelings or words you hear inform you.

3) Observe, be in the moment and not in a life drowned in rote.

4) Connect deeply to your feelings and emotions and those of others. This is not to indulge, soak or become the victim, but to listen to the messages, work through them and then let them go.

5) Visioning – directly or indirectly. Go inward, ask, journal your thoughts. Talk to your higher self on purpose. Here's an exercise:  focus on an event and pay attention to the thoughts that emerge while in contemplation. Write down in a 'stream of consciousness' mode what came to you. 

6) Pay attention to your dreams. Your subconscious mind is talking to you. Learn what that might be. 

7) Rest, meditate, sit in nature. Can't say it enough. And when you do, say to yourself, affirmations such as these:

I Am Intuitive, I Am Knowing

I Am Alive In The Now and Connected To My True Path And Purpose

True To Myself, I Am Connected To My Own Inner Vision

My Insight Is Strong and Can Be Trusted

I Have Strong Instincts From My Intuitive Self and I Am Listening

I Am Clearly Connected And Step Firmly Into the Unlimited Possibilities, Bringing Them Into My Reality Right Now

It is always with excitement that I wake up in the morning wondering what my intuition will toss up to me, like gifts from the sea. I work with it and rely on it. It's my partner.   ~Jonas Salk

Connect with your “partner in enlightenment;” call it God, Source, Consciousness, Wise One, Tao, Gnosis, Qi, Source, Muse...whatever. Open your gut and allow its Penetrating Intelligence to call you to your best and...

Listen for the nuggets of wisdom to bust through soar and zoom.

Affirmation

I have a powerful, creative and constructive mental acuity with  the acumen to accurately activate and accentuate the source of Divine Light in my life. 

I keep my mind alert and sharp, listening to my inner self and downloading the answers I require. 

I am savvy with the details that manifest exciting, love-filled experiences and I allow them to joyously ring loud and clear in my every thought, feeling and belief. 

I have the wit to speak my word with bold, brave, sassy, succulent and enlightened clarity. 

Perceiving and retrieving the brilliance of Divine Intelligence, I  perfectly conceive the best ideas and achieve the deepest insight; receiving great peace, prosperity, joyous love and abundant health in my life.

Ain't Life Keen?

During this first year, we explored our Origins...  

THERE IS but one hand in the universe. It is God's hand. Whenever you have felt that your hand was empty, it has been because you have believed yourself something separate from God. … Your hand is God's hand. My hand is God's hand. [It] reaches out through these, [Its] only hands, to give [Its]) gifts.  ~Emilie Cady, “How I Used Truth, God's Hand” 

We discovered that the Big Bang and Genesis stories are the same, though they explain the event in their own vernacular. We also presented our Statements of Principles. Our Purpose:  

We are Here to Reveal Our Divinity

Our Vision, what you see in your mind's eye for your life is imperative.

Vibrating at the Speed of the Divine with love always being the answer and then optimizing your greatest Self by being a clear, luminous and dynamic force for Good

Mahatma Gandhi reminds us:

Your beliefs become your thoughts,

Your thoughts become your words,

Your words become your actions,

Your actions become your habits,

Your habits become your values,

Your values become your destiny.

Our Mission statement concluded the hows we will succeed in our vision?

To Use The Principles and Tools of The Science of Mind and Spirit, Neuro-Science and 

Ancient Wisdom To Bust Through, Soar and Zoom Into Our Greatest Life and 

Sharing That Gift For the Common Good 

Later, we re-imagined and refreshed many traditional ideas. We discovered the back story and true meaning of "Amazing Grace," that our thoughts create the wretch, not our True nature. We took back the New Thought trope, "Perfect, Whole and Complete;" recognizing that those words illustrate our spiritual foundation and we should always begin there. We regained the use of “Hallelujah, ”which means joyous praise in the song of God. We know Law is always at work and Love fuels It in all things. 

Then we re-discovered the 10 Commandments. We took them apart, using a translation from the Aramaic. We found that they are directions, guiding us on our journey, not 'slap-your-wrist' commands. The first five were about recognizing and unifying ourselves with the Presence and Power within, honoring the relationship between ourselves and the Universe through our parents, our community and our world, and to remember to take time to rest / reboot / reconnect at least once a week. The second set of five are about not taking or hoarding things in your life. There is no reason to take, that is evidence of a lack consciousness. To give and share is the Law of Circulation:  what you give returns to you multiplied abundantly. When we develop a have consciousness, there lies the best opportunity to tap into the Infinite possibilities in the Universe.

We took a deep dive into That prayer...The Lord's Prayer. I interpreted from the Aramaic translation, based on the cultural references of the day:

Our beloved parent, Mother-Father-Mind, which is everywhere in the Universe.

That which is the pure, indestructible, omniscient, omnipresent, all-knowing, and all-loving power; the singular energy which created all and is All, quenching the thirst for life in all...the great I Am.

I take this moment to call upon and reveal your Divine Council and unify with It's beauty, power, light, joy, peace, understanding and wisdom.

Let it be your desire on this planet, as it is in the Universe, to flow into my consciousness, like the movement of the celestial bodies in the cosmos; filling my life with your blessing of love, health, harmony, and prosperity. I now intentionally receive those blessings and acknowledge my Good.

Provide me bread, the meals which my soul feeds from day to day.

For you are the source and substance which nourishes my body temple and my mind, brings abundance into my pocket, Light into my heart, and joy into my experiences.

Your power and love surrounds me with the kindness, respect and compassion of others, and the knowledge of Truth, and the understanding of who I am.

Empower me to forgive all my offenses and mistakes, as I forgive any and all who has offended me; untying, releasing and setting me free from the burden and bondage of anyone and anything that I believe has done me wrong; and canceling those ideas in my mind and my heart, forgiving myself and removing all judgment in my life.

And do not let me enter into any temptation that separates me from my best life and the perfection of your creation.

Yet, do separate me from any mistakes and troublemakers entering my life.

Keep me from any thoughts or feelings of lack or limitation, dis-ease or despair, narcissism or entitlement, addiction, selfishness or fear and anyone who may lead me to such actions and beliefs.

For I know your Divine Counsel, power and energy, which has come forth in songs and praises throughout the ages, now lovingly guides and inspires me, through It's indwelling presence, to speak my word, which I now faithfully seal and release, backed by my belief in and gratitude for its fulfillment; right here and right now.

I am powerful and I am blessed! ... and so it is. Amen. Hallelujah.

This is not just the Lord's Prayer. It may be called the Namaste Prayer or the Christ Consciousness Prayer. It is Your Prayer. My Prayer...The Truth Prayer

In this first year, we've declared and decreed our independence from lack and limitation. We re-treated into our roots to reveal our Divine factory settings, learned to bend reality by having our brains on God and living a life of gratitude, gracefully and prosperously. We studied the Divine Matrix we all have working for us.

We see the world, not as it is, but as we are.  ~Talmud

We studied the elements – earth, air, water, fire; how the simple act of breath is a spiritual practice, receiving and sharing the Divine within. And grounding and earthing are spiritual practices from just putting your bare feet in the grass and connecting to Mother Earth.

Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads.  ~Henry David Thoreau, Walden 

Life is about buoyancy, focusing on where you want to go and seeing the biggest picture. We heard the story about the Master and his student discussing life pains.

The Master sat beside this troubled young man and said, “The pain of life is pure salt; no more, no less. The amount of pain in life remains the same, exactly the same. But the amount we taste the ‘pain’ depends on the container we put it into. So when you are in pain, the only thing you can do is to enlarge your sense of things. Stop being a glass. Become a lake.”

In this last year we discussed fanning the Divine spark, staying ablaze with the glory of Spirit in everything you think, feel, and do. As we dived into studying perception in 2020, we discovered how to see God in everything, use foresight to not just see ahead, but to be in that future in consciousness right now and attract what we desire in our lives. We talked about how to dress for success, in mind as well as body, and that no matter what is going on to stay on Principle, and when you speak your Word to be consistently sassy and succulent.

Man's word is his wand filled with magic and power! Yeshua emphasized the power of the word; “By thy words thou shalt be justified and by thy words thou shalt be condemned,” and “death and life are in power of the tongue.” So man has power to change an unhappy condition by waving over it the wand of his word. In the place of sorrow appears joy, in the place of sickness appears health, in the place of lack appears plenty.   ~Florence Scovel Shinn, Your Word Is Your Wand

Staying awake during this pandemic, we allow a transmutation to occur...our butterfly is emerging and change is a-comin'. What will that change look like? Well, that's the beauty about being awake, you can choose with eyes wide open.  

Happy first year, my friends. I am blessed to have you in our beloved community. 

Affirmation

Divine order surrounds my every move.

I am one with Infinite Intelligence and learn everything I need to know,

when I need to know it.

Always under direct inspiration, I make the right decisions, quickly.

I am blessed...

Blessed with the guidance of Infinite Spirit.

What Are You Forgetting?

Last month our theme was...
We learned that, again and again, we should treat our mind with mind candy, knowing we are the ones starting the healing process, in co-creation with the Universe, by going back to our factory settings, especially when faced with chaos or trauma.


This month's theme is...
We bend reality all the time, using our perceptions on life. For example, some people feel unloved. It probably started with some stupid thing and hurtful thing our parents said. And no matter how much we are show or told how wrong we are, this idea continues to bend reality through that dumb learned belief of being unlovable. It became a subconscious habit, a core belief...an inner dialogue etching. We all have similar triggers. Do our perceived “truths” eliminate the Truth?  Or have we just forgotten? 

Faria Sana, psychology professor at Athabasca University wrote:

The information flowing in actually doesn’t stick unless you put effort into it and concentrate and engage in certain strategies that will help you remember.

There is something call the forgetting curve. It is described as the timely decline of memory retention, if no attempt to retain it. It happens within 24 hours. And, after a few days, you usually can only recall one fourth of what you read; a few days after that, you're pretty much a goner, retention-wise.
We must use our brains and minds on purpose, if we want to retain the tools and tenets of this philosophy. We want to do more than learn, we want to transform.

Massive change requires some form of transformation. Professor Emeritus Robert Boyd, a Psychologist, and the Director of the Laboratory of Group Dynamics at Univ of Wisconsin-Madison tells us:

Transformation involves experiencing a deep, structural shift in the basic premises of thought, feelings, and actions. It is a shift in consciousness that dramatically and irreversibly alters our way of being in the world

Transformation allows us to irreversibly see the world in a fundamentally different way. It is an expansion and evolution that takes place in our brain and throughout our entire Divine Matrix of heart, mind and gut.

Here's a couple of examples of transformational learning:
     You start a business, it fails, you lose a ton of money, it’s painful, but you look back at what may have gone wrong and learn what to do and what not to do the next time you attempt your next business.

     You may be extremely ambitious at work, stress takes its toll and you fall ill...it’s painful, but once you recover, you make a commitment to take better care of your health.

This type of transformation comes from satori learning . Satori is a Japanese Buddhist term for awakening, comprehension; understanding.














Another type is a gradual accumulation of experiences that shifts the way we understand how we fit into the world through insight. It is a type of transformation from kensho learning, a Japanese term from the Zen tradition. Ken means "seeing," and shō means "nature, essence;" "seeing one's (true) nature." One is usually chock with painful experiences – satori, the second (evolving over time) is usually more slow in the download – kensho.




So how do you shift from just learning to transforming? Here's a few ways to lock in learning and turn it into transformation:

Critical Reflection Sometimes it is advantageous to assess your fundamental assumptions and beliefs honestly through a critical reflective practice, whether as a voluntary process or taking advantage of some dilemma you just experienced. Through meditation, contemplation, using spiritual mind treatment or affirmative prayer to unlock insights from the Universe on what's going on in that belief system of yours.

Think of a belief that limits how you experience life right now. We all have one or some. We bend reality by thinking these beliefs are 'truth:'  “I’m not smart enough” or “People just don’t respect me.”
Ask yourself, "What was the stacking of ideas, beliefs and learning from childhood to now that makes me arrive at this particular form of identity? Did I create these beliefs based on my own experiences? Or did I inherit them from fathers, mothers, preachers, teachers or the news media?

Once identified, find a specific example how you came to this belief. Maybe recall an embarrassing, shameful, or traumatic moment in which this 'truth' took hold. For example, maybe in elementary or junior high school, you raised your hand in class to ask a question, and everyone laughed at your question. After that, you decided to never risk that kind of exposure again. Now you play it safe and wait before you speak. It has happened to a lot of us. Okay, then picture yourself back in that specific moment, but then imagine yourself finding your voice. Tell those involved how you feel about what just happened or what they said or 'did' to you. Reflect on how different your beliefs about yourself would be if this event never happened. Many times these beliefs stick because we haven't expressed ourselves on purpose about them.

In another situation, you might remind yourself that these beliefs are a product of your experience. Then, you might imagine yourself being raised in a loving and supportive family.  Notice how differently you feel about yourself? Once you choose to reclaim your potential, you cease being a victim of damaging circumstances. Remind yourself, over and over again (re-treat) that “I don’t need to be imprisoned by my past if I choose to free myself from my limiting beliefs.”  You may want to do this kind of shadow work with a professional, but the transformation you will feel and have as you take control and command of these limiting beliefs will be exponential in living your greatest life.

Contemplative Study & Writing Using my talks, other talks, classes, the weekly affirmation cards (see this week's below), and integration of SOM principle like you would in a class with a test. Not to memorize facts and figures, as such, but to comprehend and integrate the information. This will commonly lead, over time, to the accumulation of what is called, changed meaning-schemes. Not schemes, as in something nefarious, but in an conglomeration of ideas from various deep learning experiences that you work on and allow to stick.

Sharing Talk with like-minded friends or start a small group at your home. These gatherings develop new frames of reference, integrating learning into practice. Like a movie or book discussion club, this type of conclave of friends, works the brain to integrate these concepts on a deeper level.

Application Like riding a bike, learning an instrument or new skill, you gotta work this stuff. Through spiritual practice, you work your new or remembered knowledge. It is essential that this not be just an intellectual process, though it may start that way. The application of this information requires it to be worked logically, scientifically, whole-heartedly, spiritually, and holistically - it is a full body experience!

Steven Kotler, the Pulitzer Prize-nominated author, wrote:

We need to start moving from a mono-phasic state of existence to a poly-phasic state of existence.

Though we may start there, to effectively transform, we need to go from doing (mono-phasiic) to being (poly-phasic). Mindfulness meditation or other contemplative practices create a lasting transformation. You are more than your experiences! There is an infinite potential of possibility awaiting you. And it matters not your age, gender, height, weight, schooling, culture, etc. Once you learn to see how your beliefs are informing you and do the work of transformation, you are free to bust through, soar...zoom into your greatest life.

Witness your thoughts and recognize the story they are telling you. Don’t confuse them with the truth. You can always rewrite your story. Immersion leads to inspiration, which leads to transformation. See and experience “painful” moments in a different light. Go ahead and allow to experience the initial pain of the experience of change, but quickly then turn that pain or shame, blame, guilt or embarrassment into something that doesn't pull you down, but informs you. It is an indicator you are on the cusp of new growth, a course-correction of the direction of your life. Use to expand and evolve, then life becomes an ever-growing unfolding of new ideas, insights, and awakenings into those Aha moments. I know life can suck sometimes, but using the concepts I talked about last month (see top of blog or previous blogs at this site), you will go from victim to victor. 

Memory must be the storehouse of all ideas that have passed through my mind. Memory is active, for my thoughts come back to me. My thought is conscious of my body; my body is operated upon by my thought, and it must be operated upon by my memory, since memory is active; but since memory is the result of conscious thought, memory of itself is an unconscious operation of what was once a conscious thought. This is one of the most important conclusions which the mind of [humankind] has ever made.   ~Dr. Ernest Holmes

So, don't just learn the Truth, become the Truth! You know, an acorn doesn't learn to be an oak tree, it becomes one and a caterpillar doesn't learn to be a butterfly, it transforms into one.

By changing [their] thought, [one] could re-mold [their] affairs; and by right thinking [one] could bring new conditions into [their] life.  ~Holmes

Next time you experience a painful moment, as we all do in life, ask yourself this:  “What have I learned from this and how can I grow?”  And when you do, you’ll quickly realize that pain is nothing more than the Universe’s way of directing you to take the next step. It is a time you are in that liminal space (see previous blog), at choice. It is a time to choose to remember your heritage, your factory settings and transform your core beliefs.

What are you forgetting? Nothing! It is there in your memory, waiting to come out .... grab it, learn it, absorb it, and transform yourself into constantly and consistently Being It. The power in you is always at the ready to transform your life so you can bust through, soar and zoom into your best self.

Affirmation 
I Am Evolving
I move through the world around me with confidence, kindness, compassion and grace. Today I calmly challenge the status quo of my life, enriching it with thoughts of joyous prosperity and feelings of gratitude.

The Evolution Is In Full Swing
I live in the world I choose, experiencing the abundance I choose; confident my awakened consciousness points True.