Don't Squint

Researchers from Ohio State University studied people who squint at their monitor. They do so or you may be doing so now because you are looking at complex or detailed info, wanting to cut brightness or bring small details into clearer focus. What happens when we do that? It changes the shape of eye, lets in limited amount of light. You may more easily focus, but you are also changing your perception of what you are looking at. It is less illuminated and doing this squinting is a deceptive practice and has little impact on your vision. In addition, squinting makes one prone to eye strain and dry eye, resulting from a lack of blinking. It is irritating and uncomfortable. Even low-level squinting causes blink rates to halve from 15 per minute to 7.5 per minute. And it also means you are not seeing clearly. You may need glasses, contacts, or LASIK maybe or a clearer vision of Truth. Are you seeing life through a squint? When you do, you are lessening the illumination of Light and Spirit and drying up your True perception. You are being blinded to that which must be enlightened and only partially being open to inspiration and intuition.

The soul would have no rainbow if the eyes had no tears.   ~Native American proverb

We require our eyes to be moist for best vision and clarity. So too, do our minds and hearts be drenched in vision, intuition and imagination!

A six year old girl was sitting in the back of the classroom drawing when the teacher walked back to her and asked “What are you drawing?” The girl said “I’m drawing a picture of God.” To which the teacher laughed a little and replied: “But nobody knows what God looks like.” And the little girl said “They will in a minute.” 

They say seeing is believing. Most people would say that is true, but it is not required. Our vision, belief and connection doesn't require a Near Death Experience or a trip to the other side; it's an inside job – can happen right now. What it does require is to remove the obstructions in our perceptions from our histories and supposed DNA.

Matthew 7:1–5... 

1 Judge not, that you may not be judged.       2 For with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged: and with the same measure with which you measure, it shall be measured to you again.    3 'Why do you see the mote (splinter) that is in your brother's eye, but do not feel the beam that is in your own eye?'    4 Or how can you say to your brother, Let me take out the mote/splinter from your eye, and behold there is a bean in you own eye?    5 O hypocrite, first take out the beam out of your own eye; and then you can see clearly to take out the mote/splinter out of your brother's eye. 

Mote is like an irritating particle in the eye. We squint to make the mote less irritating. If you wear contacts you probably understand. If not, note that when dust particles get in your eye wearing contacts, if feels like a rock is in there and you usually squint to avoid the pain blinking brings. But in actuality, with eyes wide open, the tearing starts and the particles and dust are released. So too in mind with your beliefs. The Scripture story from Matthew implies that someone is ignoring a glaring fault of their own while criticizing a smaller one in someone else. This happens as well when we squint to see clearer. It is a lie, a deception, impermanent and shadowy. Temporary, at best.

All experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.  ~Thomas Jefferson, Declaration of Independence

Don't Squint, it doesn't abolish you vision difficulties. Open your eyes wide and actually see more. There's a story about a parent with their six year old child....

“What are you looking at?” The child nestled in my lap stared, mesmerized, at the sky. She pointed to the sky and asked me, “Do you see those clouds. They are not clouds. They have magic. They move. And there’s a unicorn hiding there. Can you see it?” 

 Can you see it?

There are no seven wonders of the world in the eyes of a child. There are seven million.  ~Walt Streightiff

When we squint at life, thinking it will get clearer, we actually are eliminating some of the light. In mind, when we squint at life versus looking at it with eyes wide open, we don't see with the wisdom of the ages or the inspiration from the Universe supporting us. We blind ourselves of seeing a vision of life through the Power of the Source and Substance of our supply.

The only thing worse than being blind is having sight and no vision. ~Helen Keller

What is your vision? Are you squinting at it, hoping to see it clearer, but not illuminating it?

Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens.  ~Carl Gustav Jung

Focus on what you want. You don't have to squint to see it clearly. You just have to feel, visualize and vision, using insight, not eyesight.

The eye through which I see God is the same eye through which God sees me; my eye and God’s eye are one eye, one seeing, one knowing, one love.  ~Meister Eckhart 

Instead of hoping or even asking you to promise, I am declaring you shall dance with eyes wide open, heart inviting, inspiration and imagination at full bore, wings spread and ready to fly and take action
How?

In the universe there is an immeasurable, indescribable force which shamans call intent, and absolutely everything that exists in the entire cosmos is attached to intent by a connecting link.  ~Carlos Castaneda

When you open your mind and heart, let your imagination flow and inspiration chime in, the needed teachers will show up and the course will get clear and you won't have to squint to see it...

Within man is the soul of the whole, the wise silence, the universal beauty, to which every part and particle is equally related; the eternal One. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Don't squint at your addictions or fears...
Don't squint at your past or lack and limitation thoughts and beliefs...
Don't squint to try to focus on what to change, update, upgrade, transform or transcend as this leads to dry eye, double vision, irritation, and a false clarity; without the luminescence of Divine Wisdom.

Don't squint  -you don't have to-  just open your eyes....the ones in your head and the one in your heart ... and Believe!

Believing is seeing and seeing is Be-ing

...the Divine in You!

Affirmation
I Can See Clearly Now...
...the reign of infinite possibilities is here ...the reign of Light shines through
...the reign of vibrant health, happiness, peace and pleasure is mine
...the reign of fortune, benevolence, and integrity surround me
These reigns rain upon me; powerfully informing, inspiring,and bringing me the presence of mind I require for my most greatest life..
It's Gonna Be a  Bright Sunshiny Day!

Reflections

Heart Of A Mouse from Heart of the Enlightened by Anthony De Mello

A mouse was in constant distress because of its fear of the cat. A magician took pity on it and turned it into a cat. But then it became afraid of the dog.

So the magician turned it into a dog. Then it began to fear the panther, so the magician turned it into a panther. Whereupon it was full of fear for the hunter.

Frustrated, the magician gave up and turned it back into a mouse saying, "Nothing I do for you is going to be of any help because you have the heart of a mouse."

Where our heart goes, so too, the mind and feet. Experiences are a reflection of our consciousness, our beliefs. What is your reflection? What is our reflection as a people? Does it reflect the common good​? Here are a few common good happenings that occured in history during late February.:

February 23, 1455:  Johannes Gutenberg prints his first Bible

1896:  Tootsie Roll introduced by Leo Hirshfield
...fortunately, toothpaste began being massed produced in 1873

1954: The first injections of the Salk polio vaccine  given at Arsenal Elementary School in Pittsburgh, PA

Feb 24, 1983:  Special Congressional commission  released report condemning WWII Japanese internment
...almost 40 years late and now California is putting together an official apology, too

1979:  Stamford, Texas, the highest price ever paid for a pig was made...$42,500
...pig's name was Glacier
...more for the common breakfast than the common good

And in 1924:  Pacifist and spiritual leader Mahatma Gandhi was released from jail
...one who dedicated his life to the common good.

Seeking the common good is a Habit of the Heart; something that must be developed:

  I asked a Rabbi once, “Why does Torah tell us to ‘place these words upon our hearts’? Why does it not tell us to place these holy words in our hearts?” 
The rebbe answered, “It is because as we are, our hearts are closed, and we cannot place the holy words in our hearts. So we place them on top of our hearts. And there they stay until, one day, the heart breaks and the words fall in.”

Opening the heart to new words and new insights, thus a new habit, must be intentionally developed in order to reflect into our own experiences and those of the common good. Before we get to the how of developing this habit, let's remember that this country was created for the common good:  preamble of Constitution begins “We the People” and the U.S. motto is "E Pluribus Unum" - Out of many, one. So, for those in the United States, remember that working for the common good is one of the American ideals, as well as one for humanity.

Let's talk some more about creating this habit of the heart. In defining the work ”heart,” I found that it comes from the Latin word “cor.” Interestingly, the heart is the core of the whole system -mind/body/ spirit- and is the first organ to develop in a person. It is the core of the body because the heart pumps much more than blood; it also pumps hormones that regulate many bodily functions, including those in the brain. The heart also has an electromagnetic field enveloping the body which has been proven to influence behavior of DNA in our cells. The heart has an intelligence; is the core of the human self, where all knowing converges. Within it is an intricate network of several types of neurons, neurotransmitters, proteins and support cells, like those found in the brain. It is where we integrate what we know in our minds/brains with what we know in our gut - the place where knowledge, intuition, and feeling connect.

Heart-Mind well-being refers to creating a balance between educating the mind and educating the heart. ~Dalai Lama Center for Peace and Understanding

Cor is also the Latin root of the word courage.

When all that we know of self and world comes together in the center-place called the heart, we are more likely to find the courage to act humanely on what we know.  ~Parker Palmer

Our heart is a reflection of our beliefs into experience and our experiences are a mirror from our heart.

I know it gets difficult out there. Statistics show that in 1963, over 70% of Americans trusted government to do the right thing, nowadays it's only 16%. Trust for corporations in the late '70s averaged 32%, by 2016 it was only 18%.  Trust in banks has dropped from 60% to 27%, in newspapers, from 51% to 20%. This decline is found in nonprofits, universities, charities, and religious institutions. Seeing this for years, we start to feel hopeless, out of control and become apathetic. Our heart closes - for protection more than anything.

Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.   ~Jung

In the end, the face we turn toward our self, is the face we will turn toward the outer world. What to do? Parker Palmer, Founder and Senior Partner of the Center for Courage and  Renewal designed five habits to heal the heart of democracy:

1. An understanding that we are all in this together.

Everything we receive through the Law, comes from a reflection of our consciousness

2. An appreciation of the value of "otherness"

Of course, "otherness” is a made up notion / bias / prejudice. It is a fear from a learned or accepted perception. There is truly no otherness as all come from same creative energy - the Namaste.

The measure of mental health is the disposition to find good everywhere. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

3. An ability to hold tension in life-giving ways.

Life can be imperfect, yes, however what we do with the tensions of the imperfect is what is important. Are you going to be a victim or a victor? You get to decide.

4. A sense of personal voice and agency.

What we put into the race consciousness via our opinions, judgments, biases, prejudices, etc. affects the culture and our community and world. Choose wisely.

5. A capacity to create community.

If you want to go fast, go alone; but if you want to go far, go together.  ~Anonymous

A person's true wealth is the good he or she does in the world. ~Mohammed

Believe, when you are most unhappy, that there is something for you to do in the world. So long as you can sweeten another's pain, life is not in vain.   ~Helen Keller

 Being in and taking care of community and collaboration is not versus taking care of self. It is inclusive and part of taking care of self.

Somehow, the act of self-giving is a personal power-releasing factor.  ~Norman Vincent Peale

Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will never be shortened. Happiness never ceases by being shared.  ~Chinese Proverb

"Lighted from a single candle" reminds me of the Hanukkah menorah lead candle - the shamash. The shamash is the helper or attendant candle that is there to serve if one of the eight candles blow out. Let us all be the shamash for each other, with the heart of a lion and for the common good. In you “there's a heart that must be free to fly…” Break open your heart, let the sacred words drop in and watch the world reflect that heart and shine longer, steadier and brighter as a reflection of love, inclusivity and prosperity for all.




Affirmation
I Am a Mirror Of..
...kindness, victory, prosperity, vitality, creativity, influence, certainty and comfort. I Am in control and secure, full of variety, significance and uniqueness.
I inhale the oxygen of life -Love- and I exhale, spreading that Love.
I Am connected, growing, evolving, transcending, contributing, and seeing life with clarity, beauty, and possibilities
I Reflect the Divine Wisdom In Me!

A Vision of Beauty

Love is the self-givingness of the Spirit through the desire of Life to express Itself in terms of creation. Emerson tells us that Love is a synonym for God.  We are also told in the New Testament that “He that loveth not, knoweth not God; for God is love.” Love is free from condemnation, even as it is free from fear. Love is a cosmic force whose sweep is irresistible. ~Ernest Holmes

What gets in the way of letting Love live through us? It's all the Universe wants, right, to Love through and as us? But, what blocks are hidden in our belief systems? Some are because of cultural conditioning and some are because they are too close for us to see them in ourselves, even when others can see it clearly. Our vision of beauty gets skewed by our perceptions. In the Science of Mind, Ernest Holmes tells us:

Love does not overcome hate and fear by argument or force, but by some subtle Power of transformation, transmutation, sublimation, invisible in Its essence but apparent through Its act.

Not always easy to do the right thing, take high road? However, it gets easier as we get clearer on what one wants to bring into this world and answers the the question -who I Am, who I want to be. When I do the right thing, I feel a rightness, a centered-ness, like a cog on a gear slotting into the correct place. Sometimes you can even hear the *clink* or *click* of the connection. People like Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman and Mitt Romney showed their integrity, acting in principle,  in the last few months (as many others), taking the highest road, answering the questions above.

As light overcomes the darkness...so the radiant presence of Love and Peace dissipates fear, hate, and confusion.  ~Science Of Mind 331.2

When I love or act from Love (kindness and compassion, as well as passion), it is from a most intimate connection with the Divine, a communion, actually. Love is an ultimate principle, an engagement with my True Self, a manifestation of Divine Love - this is the highest calling and the road to peace of mind and body.

But what about my enemies? How do I love them? Note, I am talking about love not like! Well, some people don't like you or won't like you because of the way you walk, talk, your talents and abilities (versus theirs) or your popularity with others; mayber your hair or skin color or spiritual ideals are a factor, as well. It's usually not because you did something to them, but from various jealousies or biases or perceptions; mostly from ignorance. And we all can have some ignorance and must look at them, see our hidden hates, biases, judgments, blames, and root them out. We must love our enemies, yes, but that doesn't mean we have to approve their actions or ideas to disprove their power over us.

In the flush of love’s light, we dare be brave. And suddenly we see that love costs all we are, and will ever be. Yet it is only love which sets us free. ~Maya Angelou 

We must learn to remove false beliefs and engage with our True or Higher Self. Choose from a place where Love is present; what are you for versus what are you against. Focusing on what you want, not what you don't want, puts you in the realm of positivism, optimization, acting through love, and acting without the malaise of hate, anger or depression.

[We] must see that force begets force, hate begets hate, toughness begets toughness. And it is all a descending spiral, ultimately ending in destruction for all and everybody. Somebody must have sense enough and morality enough to cut off the chain of hate and the chain of evil in the universe. And you do that by love.    ~Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

What does all this mean? We only have control over what we think, feel, say and do; our job is to optimize that control. Recent weeks Have been tough, no matter your politics or whether or not you live in China, trying to count ballots, or standing for your principles. Will you see life as a struggle and full of unloving people or move forward optimizing the ideas, actions and people you surround yourself with? Do you see disappointments and desperation, hate and negative inevitability or lessons and possibilities? What will be your vision of beauty?

I am not asking you to ignore the dysfunction in our society, but to have a vision of beauty. Not to put on rose-colored glasses, but to see the full picture, supporting that which adds to the creation of beauty, which, in turn, diminishes and rids us of the dysfunction. You can meet it headlong without butting heads. Pour more love, peace, goodwill, kindness, wisdom, humor, integrity, and time, treasure and talent into changing the world, the country and your community. It's not always quick, but love overwhelms hate and Light always removes the darkness.





Affirmation
What do I see?
Through my eyeballs, the creative force of Spirit expresses in all:  nature's splendor - coloring fields and meadows, a soaring flock of purple martins - free and joyously adventurous, the unconditional wonderment and love through the lens of a puppy or babe,  and other such things. And with insight, I commune with the Universe, expressing Its power, grace, vitality, prosperity and love in all I think, feel, believe and experience.
TODAY ROCKS!

I See God In Everything

A couple had 2 little boys, ages eight & ten, who were always getting into trouble ... if any mischief occurred in town, their two sons were somehow involved.

At their wits end, the parents contacted a clergyman  who had been successful in rehabilitating children. He agreed and asked to see the boys individually. 

The eight-year-old was sent to meet with him first. The clergyman sat the boy down, looked him sternly in the eye and asked, "Where is God?"   The boy made no response, so the clergyman repeated the question, more sternly, "Where is God?"  Again the boy did not answer, so the clergyman raised his voice even more & shook his finger, "WHERE....IS....GOD?"  At that, the boy bolted from the room, ran home and slammed himself in his closet … shaking.

His older brother followed him into the closet and asked, "What happened, what happened … what did they say, are we in trouble?"  The 8 year old looked up, tears rolling down his trembling face and replied, "We are in BIG trouble this time. God is missing and they think we did it!"

Of course, God is never missing, we're just looking the other way.  Can we really see God...in everything? Many think not 

God is forever beyond the reach of...the intellectual faculty; but by means of...the loving faculty, [It] can be fully grasped by each individual being.  God can well be loved, but cannot be thought. By love, can be grasped and held, but by thought neither grasped nor held.  God is eternal, the human mind is finite. If God could be comprehended, surrounded by a concept, this would make us greater than God. We invent the illusion that God is a thing that we lack and must therefore seek, find, and control...  ~14th century Christian mystic, The Cloud of Unknowing

What do you think of that?  Talk about duality b. s. Some, like St. Augustine, said It could be located:

But when unknown to me you caressed my head,
and when you closed my eyes lest they see things that would seduce me,
I began for a little while to forget about myself,
and my madness was lulled to sleep.
When I awoke in you, I saw very differently,
infinite in a very different sense.
But what I saw was not seen with the eye of the body.

Augustine, like many of us, searched for God where it is said It cannot be found—outside oneself, in conquest, career and ambition. He got woke in Spirit, beholding what only the inner eye can see: 
...the infinite possibilities of the One Mind
...the luminous vastness that we are part of
...a Power we can forget, ignore or reveal by choice of thought, feeling and belief. 

But is it only the inner eye that can see Spirit? It is true that when we employ the Divine Matrix it becomes less an intellectual exercise and more of a communion, realization and transcendence ...to know in our heart, is to know in our head. Our what (profession, status, finances, etc.) is not our who (Truth – Individualization of the Divine), but our who is in our what. We just require the eyesight and insight to see God is in everything; the outside just doesn't make us who we are.

In metaphysics, as in everything else, we are dealing with a proposition which is the substance of things which are not seen by physical eye. The human eye only sees things which are effect; the human hand touches only that which is effect; and we are very apt to say these are controlled by law. That is true, everything must be governed by law. Law controls everything, absolutely. But we are not as apt to realize that the law itself is an effect.   ~Ernest Holmes, Love and Law 

How we see things -our perspective, our perception- is how we are effected by those things.  Spirit is only in everything when we allow it to be. Sometimes that takes a beginner's mindset, a zen practice called Shoshin.

If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything, it is open to everything. In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's mind there are few.  ~Shunryu Suzuki

When we reach the end of what we know, that’s where we find God in everything.



Ilia Delio, a Franciscan Sister and theologian wrote in Birth of a Dancing Star: My Journey from Cradle Catholic to Cyborg Christian about the ideas of God's love from the writings of Dyonisius the Areopagite (or Denis, for short), a judge from the late 5th/early 6th century:

God’s love is so tremendous ... like a sober drunk, falling over Itself in the desire to share divine life.  God, [is] the eros of divine love. God, the agape, gives Its God-self away.

Which we individualize

 We long for God because God longs for us

It experiences life through us, as us

God, the volcanic eruption of divine life ... seemingly hidden, but revealed and accessed by way of Its manifested creation, eternally desires to give Itself away in love so we can give ourselves in love

And what is that eruption called?

There is a Divine urge within everyone to know more, to be more, and to express more, and I have found that the thing we are searching for is the thing we are searching with.   ~Ernest Holmes

Good, bad, destructive, constructive; all is the same in God ... a non-judgmental force for Good (which has no positive or negative aspect to It). For example, the story of the great ancient flood, Noah's flood. Bible tells a big story of how God is mad and wants to start over with Noah and the family and two of everything.  It's a metaphor, a fable, a lesson. God wasn't mad, that was humankind's self-destructive consciousness in play. Again, it's a lesson to teach that human consciousness as a whole, race consciousness (as it is sometimes called) is powerful both in Mind and action. What we do with that lesson, is how we experience and see God in everything. Heck, the kidney stones I experienced years ago (which was no picnic) and the standing ovations (which was) - both God. My divorce and my inspiring others in my ministry - both God. All were in and through the Divine Presence. What I do with those experiences in joy or learning or both is what's important. Neither were examples of God mad or happy, punishing or rewarding. All is a reward, even if I don't like the "prize," I love it and see God in It. I see God in everything:  sorrow or happiness, joy is in the experience and/or the lesson.

Wisdom is knowledge deepened by love. The wise person knows more deeply by way of love than by way of argument because the eye of the heart can see the truth of reality. Hence the wise person is one who knows and sees God shining through everything, even what seems ugly or despised.  ~Ilio Delio

Ernest Homes tells us, “We are to look for God in each other and love this God, forgetting all else." Yes, I may sometimes not like the experience, but as I move through it and past it, I learn from it, because Spirit was in it.

I see God in everything, because It is!

Affirmation
Seeing Is BE-ing
I have 20/20 vision for 2020. Perfect sight lit by the flame of my faith that reveals the Divinity in me.  I look in the right places, spot the right ideas, view the best questions, and perceive the greatest answers.  I open my mind to the most wondrous, inspiring magnificence. I open my heart to  recognize love so pure. And I identify inspiration at every turn.

Elemental Living - FIRE

A physicist, a mathematician, and a mystic were asked to name the greatest invention of all time.
The physicist chose the fire, which gave humanity the power over matter.
The mathematician chose the alphabet, which gave humanity power over symbols.
The mystic chose the thermos bottle.
 "Why a thermos bottle?" the others asked.
 "Because the thermos keeps hot liquids hot and cold liquids cold."
 "Yeah -- so what?"
 "Think about it." said the mystic, “That little bottle -- how does it *know*?"


Today I want to talk about an element of the earth plane and the spiritual realm. It is a powerful source of energy that enlightens, illuminates and inspires or can burn and destroy. It is something that needs to be fed, nurtured, and tended to or it will distinguish, if ever start at all. It is a primal force in our bodies, showing up as metabolism, and in out hearts as love, as well it is found in our minds as drive, intention, and desire. The Hindu/Vedic tradition has a diety called Agni, a symbol of communication and immortality, which comes from this element. In Greek mythology, the Titan Prometheus gave this element to humanity, which represents and forges our passion, zeal, creativity, motivation, spontaneity, intuition. It is FIRE.

Fire has four needed components to exist; as do we in our inward fire. It requires:
1) Fuel that will burn, which in Mind is the idea.
2) Heat to make the fuel burn, which in Mind and heart is the passion for the idea.
3)  Air or oxygen, which in Mind, heart, and gut is the imagination, intuition and love that feeds the idea we are passionate about.
4) Chain Reaction or a feedback of heat to the fuel to produce the gases used in the flame, which, in Life, is the intentional, conscious use of the Law to manifest the idea that is feed by our imagination, intuition, and love; which we are passionate about.

There are several stages of fire, both the element and the kind in our belly:
1) Ignition, where fuel, oxygen and heat join together in a sustained chemical reaction. In Mind, it's the idea which ignites passion and imagination.
2) Growth, where the initial flame ignites additional fuel; which, in Mind and heart, is that idea ignited passion and imagination.
3) Fully developed is when the fire has spread over much if not all the available fuel, temperatures reach their peak, resulting in heat damage, and oxygen is consumed rapidly. In Mind, heart, and gut, it is the imagination, intuition, love and time that is devoted to the idea that ignited the passion and imagination, et al.
4) Decay or Burnout is the stage where fire consumes all the available fuel, the temperature decreases, the fire gets less intense, the burning material cools, the oxygen available lessens, the fuel is removed, and/or the chemical reaction is broken. In Life, that is when we bring in a consciousness of lack, other's opinions of our idea that squashes it, and/or things or other ideas about life that get in our way steps us into the decay and/or puts out the fired idea we were passionate about.

Like fire, our ideas are or can be burning, fueling, igniting, or decaying. When it is decaying (and that can be early in the process or much later), this could happen:

I can almost see it
That dream I'm dreaming but
There's a voice inside my head saying
You'll never reach it,
Every step I'm taking, every move I make feels
Lost with no direction
My faith is shaking     ~The Climb by Jessica Alexander and Jon Mabe 

To prevent that, here are three ways fire spreads, with both the element and the ideas we want to manifest:

 1) Conduction - heat energy passes through or within a material from direct contact with that material. In Life, that's when you start sharing the idea with others.
 2) Convection - fluid or gas flows from hot areas to cooler ones. In Mind, Heart, and Gut (the Divine Matrix), and in Life, that is when we are in harmony with idea, passion, imagination, inspiration and the allies it is shared with
 3) Radiation: Heat travels via electromagnetic waves in all directions, without objects or gases carrying it. Same happens in the Divine Matrix and life when the idea is shared both in the consciousness and physical realms.

More from the song:

There's always gonna be another mountain
I'm always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be an uphill battle
Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose
Ain't about how fast I get there
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb

Now the above lyric is not necessarily true or gonna happen, unless that is where your consciousness or general perception of your ideas lies; however it is always a journey. The ebbs and flows of enthusiasm are constant bedfellows, even in what are considered very successful ideas. Take these three examples:
Apple. Following the 1985 departure of Steve Jobs, till his re-hire 12 years later, the company operated at a loss, creeping close to bankruptcy. It is now worth $1 Trillion.

FedEx.  The company began in 1971, soon rising gas prices and logistics nightmares caused the  company to lose a million dollars a month, so that funds got as low as $5,000. Recent earnings were  $4.5 Billion.

Starbucks. Company first opened in 1971, Seattle, but it took 16 years to start expanding outside of town. It is now worth about $30 Billion.

The song again:

The struggles I'm facing, the chances I'm taking
Sometimes might knock me down but
No, I'm not breaking
I may not know it
But these are the moments that
I'm going to remember most

Yes, there may be mountains to climb, people or situations to get out of our way, a lack of education in this-that-or-the-other as far as marketing, logistics, etc. or a temporary lack of funds or of consciousness, but that is just part of the journey sometimes....emphasis on sometimes.

Someday, after mastering the winds, the waves, the tides and gravity, we shall harness for God the energies of love, and then, for a second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire.    ~Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

We can come back from those sometime setbacks in the fruition or passion of our idea. To do so we can:

1. Pay attention to the successes, no matter size

2. Reflect on Purpose:  remind yourself why

3. Say Goodbye to What Hasn't Worked

4. Take Time to Rest, Rejuvenate, Schedule Joy

5. Re-Imagine, Re-wonder, Get Curious Again

There is a light in the soul that is uncreated and uncreatable...  ~Meister Eckhart

IT is a thing that is unconditioned, universal, birthless, deathless, infinite; an energy that lies at center of our Being. It is our Self-hood.

My me is God: nor do I know my self-hood except in God.                       ~Saint Catherine of Genoa

What is our self-hood? In Indian mysticism, it is the divine core, the atman; translated as“the Self.” For the Gnostics, it is the portion of God that resides within each human being, the Divine Spark. Every time something is born, there is a divine spark - all individuals, all creatures, all of life. Self-Hood is That Divine Spark in You.

All the power and intelligence of the Universe is already within, waiting to be utilized. The Divine Spark must be fanned into a blaze of the living Fire of your own divinity.  ~Ernest Holmes, Creative Mind and Success

Let us take the time to re-fan the flames till our consciousness once again catches up to our idea, passion, and intention. Last bit of the song, the inspirational part:

But I Gotta keep trying,
Gotta keep my head held high, Just got to keep going
And I gotta be strong, just keep pushing on
Keep on moving, Keep climbing
Keep the faith baby, It's all about the climb

What are you climbing? Is it with having the perspective and assurance that the Universe has your back? Because, It does! At the end of play, Prometheus Unbound, by Percy Shelley, a character leaves Prometheus (the Titan who brought fire to humankind) with these words of wisdom:

To suffer woes which Hope thinks infinite;           
To forgive wrongs darker than death or night;         To defy Power, which seems omnipotent;           
To love, and bear; to hope till Hope creates     
From its own wreck the thing it contemplates;
Neither to change, nor falter, nor repent;           
This, like thy glory, Titan, is to be                    
Good, great and joyous, beautiful and free; 
This is alone Life, Joy, Empire, and Victory.         

Here's to your victory, success, passion, joy, beauty and love – the fire in your belly made manifest!

You Are Ablaze With the Glory of the Divine.....Use IT.

Affirmation
I Am Ablaze With The Glory of The Divine
The passion I have for life burns with the power and presence of the Big Bang. In an explosion of Spirit, I spread my love, grace, peace, and kindness throughout the world.  I shine with pride and respect, illuminating any darkness with Light.  I face this day with joy in my heart, zeal and determination in my walk, and a fire in my belly to do great, live great and Be with greatness!              I Vibrate At The Speed of The Divine!

Elemental Living - WATER

It saves lives and it destroys life

It can heal and it can spread illness and disease

It cleanses and purifies and, if polluted, dirties

It can still the mind, calm the heart and cool the pain or it can infuse fear and dread

It is a key component of rituals and ceremonies, blessings and holiness

It is a dynamic and the most important molecule of life

It is Water

Water is powerful – an element of living. It can dissolve more substances than any other liquid, including sulfuric acid. Seventy to eighty percent of the human brain is water and about 66% of the human body is water. It regulates the Earth’s temperature and it is alive and active, covering our planet. A person can live about a month without food, but only about a week without water. There is an estimated 326 million trillion gallons of water on earth. That's 90,921.8 drops per gallon, with each drip having 1.67 sextillion (21 zeroes) molecules per drop. 

Water molecules are unique among molecule family. They are adhesive; similar, our belief system bonds us to the Law. They are cohesive; similar, our thoughts and feelings get stuck with our habits, beliefs, perceptions, and perspectives. Like our feelings, water is a universal solvent.  Like our body, mind, heart and gut, water has polarity - it is slightly charged on both ends (like our conflicting ideas and actions).  Like many of us, at various times, it is fluid or frozen or steamy.... another word might be gassy (and who isn't now and again?). Like an active mind and body, moving and circulating, water is energized and energizing; and like a sedentary life, still water is effectively dead or dying. And finally, like our consciousness, water is the ideal medium for processes, because it is a dynamic medium; without water, nothing in the or our environment can change and without consciousness, our lives don't change.

Water is a powerful living system that can be influenced by our thoughts, feelings and beliefs - it communicates and has memory. Dr. Masaru Emoto experimented on how emotions effect ice crystals. You might have heard of these experiments in his book or in the film, WHAT THE BLEEP. There was a double-blind experiment with his ideas at the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS). They found that intention can influence the formation of water crystals. Remember, that our brain is 70%-80% water, so our consciousness, feelings, and thoughts have a great affect on it and our body (average of 66% water).

And water teaches us...

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein, is dripping with many lessons (you could also watch the movie for most of these). The lesson is bolded and underlined:

You Are Enough Right Now

Inside each of us resides the truth.... But sometimes the truth is hidden in a hall of mirrors. Sometimes we believe we are viewing the real thing, when in fact we are viewing a facsimile, a distortion.

We too, must shatter the mirrors. We must look in to ourselves and root out the distortions until that thing which we know in our hearts is perfect and true, stands before us.

Declare Your Choice of Focus

In racing, your car goes where your eyes go.

The best drivers don’t dwell on the future or the past. The best drivers focus only on the present. Reflection must come at a later time.

You Are Your Own Pit Crew – When Manifesting...

No race was ever won in the first corner but many have been lost there.

At some point, in every race, well, you got to take a risk if you want to win.

It’s not about a heavier foot. It’s about feel.

When the driver has the courage to create his own conditions, the rain is simply rain.

I could add more explanation to the quotes, but I want you to contemplate them, based on my lesson title, and find meaning through your intuition. This all reminds me of a fable:

An unhappy young man came to an old master and told him he had a very sad life and asked for a solution.

The old Master instructed the unhappy young man to put a handful of salt in a glass of water and drink it.

“How does it taste?” – the Master asked.

“Terrible.” – spat the apprentice.

The Master smiled and asked the young man to take another handful of salt and put it in the lake. The two walked to the nearby lake and the apprentice swirled his handful of salt into the lake.

The old man said, “Now drink from the lake.”

As the water dripped down the young man’s chin, the Master asked, “How does it taste?”

“Good!” – remarked the apprentice.

“Do you taste the salt?” – asked the Master.

“No.” – said the young man.

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.”

To live at our fullest, we must become the lake - flush out the negative with overflowing positive, fill our minds and hearts with the best words, the loftiest ideas, and the most loving thoughts. This gives you a base, empowered by Truth, to endure, optimize, be smart, be centered and grounded, and have vitality, joy, wisdom and love be the place from which you think, decide, and take action. 

With this strength, you can overcome any negative and manifest your best life!!!

Affirmation
My Life is Buoyant
I float in a sea of confidence...solid yet fluid, assured and vulnerable, drenched in power and impact, knowledgeable yet teachable, daring and bold within rivers of wisdom, brave and adventurous while gliding in waves of prudence; and sodden, soaked and soused with the beauty, joy, love, peace, grace and intelligence of Life Itself.
I AM Awash in the Presence of the Divine!

Elemental Living: EARTH

From birth, man carries the weight of gravity on his shoulders. He is bolted to earth. But man has only to sink beneath the surface and he is free.  ~Jacques Cousteau

Cousteau talking about the sea, which is more appropriate to next weeks element - water. However, we don't have to dive below the ocean to sink beneath the surface – we have only to dive into our Mind.

...the Earth is our base

     ...the terra mater -mother- of our existence

     ...the terra firma -solid ground- of our beliefs

     ...the terra forma -system- of our experiences

Ever see a picture of the Earth from space....the pale blue dot?

Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there - on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.  ~Carl Sagan

But it's our mote of dust! Here's to some Earth fun facts:

1. we are the third planet from the Sun-formed 4.5+ billion yrs

2. the word comes from Anglo-Saxon word, “erda” - ground

3. we are the only planet not named after Greek/Roman deity

4. the planet orbits around the Sun in 365.256 days

5. it takes 23 hrs, 56 mins, 4 secs to rotate on its axis and, by the way, the rotation is gradually slowing at approximately 17 milliseconds per 100 yrs, which has the effect of lengthening our days ....in 140 million years, one day will equal 25 hrs

6. it was once believed to be the center of the universe, but we now know it's the youngest son in a Jewish family

7. seventy percent of surface is covered in water, 3% water is fresh and 97% is salted

In astrology, Earth signs have a tendency to have an unchangeable routine. They stick to habits that don’t always make them happy. They become convinced they have to stay at a job because of financial security, even when it is contrary to their intelligence and creativity. It is also said to be wise, stable, sensual, grounded; make great gardeners, cooks, and lovers, and are reliable, making trustworthy business people. But those are tendencies not inevitabilities. The planet keeps spinning and anything can change. Sagan again:

Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.

So, where do those responsibilities begin? Well, in Mind, of course, in our consciousness, thoughts, feelings, and beliefs.
And how do we achieve those responsibilities? We get grounded!

You might ask, “Can I dream, be in wonderment, delve into my imagination, have my head in the clouds sometimes and still be grounded?” 

And my answer would be "YES!"

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

It's time to ground to the planet, as we reach for the cosmos. It's time to connect with Mother Earth, as we commune with the Divine.

Grounding, in electricity, is for protection from outside sources, such as lightening. Grounded in life, is also for protection from outside sources, as well as, any reflections or reactions from hate, despair, and fear. Grounding stabilizes, protects, centers, and enlivens us. Being grounded is not about being practical. It's an alignment, a communion, a firm connection to Mother Earth, the soil we were born to and attached to, simultaneously with the Divine Presence - he soil of our consciousness.

"How do I know I am not grounded right now?" 
Because you asked!

Earthing is another tool in our elemental living with the Earth. In electricity, it is similar to grounding in that it transfers an electrical charge into the planet. Earthing in life?

"How do we retain a calm center with fires, wars, etc. or when we feel challenged by finances, health, work, home, our family, or feel weakened or fearful because of life challenges?"

"How do we move forward, past the pain or hurt or embarrassment?"

We earth and/or ground!

Your life force energy is not grounded through your home, job, bank account or relationship. It is only through the Divine Matrix of Mind, Heart and Gut. Do you feel out of whack with temporary situations that are changing or maybe falling apart? Are experiences making you feel knocked off center and un-grounded, disassociated from your body, self or Divinity? Are your mind, heart, and body not feeling integrated and you feel disconnected from the world around you? GROUND!

Your spirit does not need to be grounded, rather your mind, and thus your body, does. You need a GPS fix on your here and now, to have your body and mind go from out there to in here. When grounded, you are centered within the energy, frequency and life force of the Universe and the planet; all of which are abundant and full of infinite possibilities....all of which are alive, centering and empowering.

Remain true to the earth, my brethren, with the power of your virtue! Let your bestowing love and your knowledge be devoted to be the meaning of the earth!  ... Let it not fly away from the earthly and beat against eternal walls with its wings. . . . Lead, like me, the flown-away virtue back to the earth—yes, back to body and life: that it may give to the earth its meaning, a human meaning. ~Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra

For the planet, we do what we can at home and in the voting booth, and we give our time, talent and treasure to organizations equipped to fight the good fight. For ourselves, we ground, we center, we put our bare feet on the dirt or sand (earthing). With that spiritual practice, we can keep away the fear, the trembling, the despair of the news, the climate, the idiots in government - whatever is in our way of thinking straight, taking right action, and living a fabulous life, no matter the circumstances.






Affirmation
I AM Grounded
In this state of support, balance and stability; I am open to the best decisions, the most fabulous thoughts, and the sincerest feelings of joy/peace/vitality and strength. Connected to Mother Earth and communing with Universal Presence and Intelligence, I AM electrified, fortified, beautified, and verified for a successful day.
I AM Rockin' It!

Elemental Living - AIR

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

A hungry beggar walked up to a well-dressed plump man shopping on Rodeo Drive and said: "I haven't eaten anything for several days." Walking past him, he replied , "God, I wish I had your willpower."

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

Biases - everyone has them....
They are predispositions for or against a person, place, thing or idea. They interfere with or impair our judgment and, often times, our own success. Here's an example of that:

At 7:51 a.m. on Friday, January 12, 2007; in the middle of the morning rush hour, a youngish white man in jeans, a long-sleeved T-shirt and a Washington Nationals baseball cap entered the L'Enfant Plaza Metro subway station in Washington DC. From a small case, he removed a violin. He placed the open case at his feet and threw in a few dollars and pocket change as seed money. He then swiveled it to face pedestrian traffic and began to play. In the next 43 minutes, as the violinist performed six classical pieces, starting with the 14 minute quite difficult piece, the Bach Chanconne. 1,097 people passed by. Almost all of them were on their way to work, mostly government jobs. 

If you were there, what choice do you think you'd make:  Do you stop and listen? Do you hurry past with a blend of guilt and irritation, fascinated by the music yet annoyed by another demand on your time and wallet? Do you throw in a buck, just to be polite? Does your decision change if the performer is bad? And what if they are really talented? Do you have time for beauty in your daily commute? Shouldn’t you?

This gentleman made about $40 for the time he played. Unbeknownst to all but one of those 1100, it was a performer who it has been said, “plays like God.” He was playing on a $3.5M Gibson ex Huberman violin, handcrafted in 1713 by Antonio Stradivari, and can usually command $1000 per minute for his internationally known talent. He was Joshua Bell. 

How many Joshua Bell's have you missed in life?

People see what they want to see and what people want to see never has anything to do with the truth.  ~Roberto Bolano, Chilean novelist

Our theme of year is Perception. We will explore what they that is, what perspectives are, how they got there and what to do with them. Perception flavors our belief and thus our experience. Our January theme is ELEMENTAL LIVING, the basics of life. 

Aristotle believe that all the matter in the universe was made up of four basic elements, earth, air, fire, and water. These elements were acted on by two forces: gravity – the tendency for earth and water to sink, and levity – the tendency for air and fire to rise. This division of the contents of the universe into matter and forces is still used today.   ~Stephen Hawking, A Brief History of Time

And this week we are exploring the AIR. There are five aspects to explore.

At this moment, you are breathing some of the same molecules once breathed by Leonardo da Vinci, William Shakespeare, Anne Backstreet, or Colette. Inhale deeply.   ~Diane Ackerman, The Natural History of the Senses

1) It can be enjoyed by all the senses
The air is all around us, can't exist without it. And I am not just talking about oxygen.

The air is always vibrant and aglow, full of volatile gases, staggering spores, dust, viruses, fungi, and animals all stirred by a skirling and relentless wind.          ~Diane Ackerman, The Natural History of the Senses

I am also talking about things like thoughts, they exist in the air, whether from the consciousness of the human race in general, the news, your history, or your community and like-minded friends. Some are clean and fresh, and some are tainted and polluted. We get to choose which to keep and which to lose.

When we say our distant ancestors crawled out of onto the land, we forget to ad that they really moved from one ocean to another, from the upper fathoms of water to the deepest fathoms of air.  ~Diane Ackerman, The Natural History of the Senses

By the way, that book I just quoted from three times is a fabulous  and delicious poetic treatise on our senses. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!



2) Breath
We use our lungs to inhale/exhale life. I frequently use the affirmation, "God Is" on the inhale and "I Am" on the exhale to help center and ground myself. Breath is a spiritual practice unto itself when we intentionally sit aware of its movement in our bodies and its effects on our inner environment. We use mind, heart, and intuition to breathe in the air of prosperity or lack, love or hate, faith or fear. The choice is ours.

3) Lightness of Being
Quick story:
Former aerospace engineer Marion Franklin Rudy introduced the air innovation to Phil Knight in 1977 of  placing tiny air bags in the soles of shoes to soften impact. The first shoe to incorporate Air cushioning was the 1978 Nike Tailwind runner, which grew in popularity as researchers at the University of Tennessee discovered that athletes used less energy when running in the Nike Tailwind compared to other conventional running shoes.

What do you do to use less energy, but stay energized? Like the Nike shoe, we too have tools inserted in our very selves to do that; to feel free and peaceful, like surrender control, trust our intuition, show compassion and kindness to our self and others, and believing the simple truth:  I am enough.

4) Air is also the word for a song or aria
Air is also a French music duo from Versailles, consisting of Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoît Dunckel. Air's critically acclaimed debut album, Moon Safari, including the track "Sexy Boy," was an international success in 1998. Its follow-up, "The Virgin Suicides," was the score to Sofia Coppola's first movie. A little fun fact.

What song do you sing? How do you express/voice your self and your Self (the Divine within)? What words are you using a lot? The words you say to your self, your self-talk, says a lot about your perspective and perception of you and the world. For what you can perceive, you can achieve!

5)  Your air is the general impression, manner, look, aspect, atmosphere (perception theme) you convey; what you take flight from, through and as.
Truth is universal. Perception of Truth is not. Just like you want clean air in your lungs, so too do you want it in your heart, mind, intuition, thoughts, feelings and beliefs. We must ventilate the negative and circulate the good in mind and action. But...

Let's not ventilate by concentrating on removing
...ventilate by approving the Truth in all
...ventilate by behooving the Truth into our daily thoughts, feelings and beliefs
...ventilate by improving our consistent, intentional spiritual practice
...prayer, chanting, rituals, vision boarding, visualizing, meditation, quiet walks on the beach, reading with contemplation, affirmations, morning routines

Let us do our ventilation through revelation. Clear the air. Breathe the air of Truth. Put on your best air of the Divine You. And dive into the air of joy, success, vitality and opulence.

That is the way of elemental living in air.



Affirmation
HELLO 2020
I know who I AM and the Power I embody. I use it to create my abundant prosperity, creativity, vitality, relationships....EVERYTHING! Anything that thinks it can get in the way of that is nulled and voided. I say bye-bye to mental  junk, gunk and muck.
I declare, soar, zoom, sing, transcend, transform and generally do the success dance for this opulent year.