The Birds of Worry

"That the birds of worry and care fly above your head, this you cannot change.
But that they build nests in your hair, this you can prevent."       Chinese Proverb







This Chinese proverb reminds us that we can choose whether or not to engage in thoughts that create fear and worry. A seemingly harmless thought might pass through our minds and within minutes send us on an internal tail spin of "what ifs" and "oh nos" which are usually based in future thinking realities that may or may not happen. Or in reverse, we may become stuck in thinking about the past, going over and over minute details of events that have already occurred. When we become mired in the hamster wheel of endless thought, then we are not fully present in the moment which is the point of power.


Developing the ability to not entertain thoughts that are self defeating requires awareness and a certain degree of discipline, ignoring the temptation to indulge in random thoughts which are not in the present moment. This doesn't mean we can't dream per se, but rather that even positive thoughts for the future could be held lightly, or they can easily trap us in expectations which root in fear. Continually bringing ourselves back to this moment, right now, this day, allows us to experience life fully.  Namaste.

Michael Teachings Basics

Michael Basics

What is Always true

*You will continue to reincarnate until you have completed all the lessons of the physical plane. In between lives your soul or essence resides on the astral plane.

*We each have one essence twin and one task companion. We have many other “friends” with whom we share our lifetimes. We have the same role and casting order in each lifetime, as they never change.

*Love is stronger than fear

What you Choose before you are born

*Where you will be born and to whom, agreements, a “life plan”, mode/goal/attitude, body type, karmas to be repaid by you or to you.

What you choose during your lifetime

Centering and chief features (chosen at 2nd and 3rd monads) whether you will complete your chosen agreements, how you respond in any given circumstance. How you do your life task.

Blue Moon

BLUE MOON on December 31 
From: Sandra Ingerman

"On December 31 throughout the day and evening I invite you to join with me to drop into a deep place of unconditional love. This means opening your heart with absolutely no expectations of what will come from this event.

Place your hands on your heart and breathe deeply into your heart feeling the love for the earth, life, and all that is precious to you. Take some time and get into a true place of love that goes beyond your thinking mind.

Start by experiencing love for yourself and all you have been through to get you to this point in life. And when you feel ready expand your heart and allow your love to flow out to our circle throughout the world. Let's create a strong focused energy of love just simply pulsating throughout our global community.

Remember that you are part of life and that you cannot give love without receiving love. So as you breathe through your heart allowing love to flow through you remember to breathe in the love so that our circle is complete. The earth, our circle, and the rest of life will not receive your love if you cannot receive the love yourself.

And as you feel yourself part of that pulsation of love allow yourself to experience that flow of love going out to the earth and touching every living being. This includes the elements earth, air, water, and fire and all of life that lives in these elements - the spirit that lives in all things.

We do this to be in service to the planet in the same way we have been guided to for thousands of years. Allow yourself to sink into the true power of love that comes from beyond the thinking mind. Allow it to flow from the depths of your soul. This is true service!!

And when you feel the circle is complete and the unconditional love is flowing come back and continue to breathe deeply allowing the flow of love to continue and the flow of love to be received by you. Continue this throughout the day into your New Year's celebrations.

We give thanks for this circle, we give thanks to all of life, and we give thanks for our life!"

excerpted from Sandra Ingerman's message for Dec. 31st, 2009

Peace

"Nothing Can bring you Peace but Yourself"

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Your Daily Donne: All Mankind is a Volume

"All mankind is of one author, and is one volume; when one man dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book, but translated into a better language; and every chapter must be so translated. God employs several translators; some pieces are translated by age, some by sickness, some by war, some by justice; but God's hand is in every translation, and His hand shall bind up all our scattered leaves again for that library where every book shall lie open to another."

John Donne (1562-1631, London)

New Year Resolutions

My New Year's Resolutions


I will not throw the cat out the window
Or put a frog in my sister's bed
I will not tie my brother's shoelaces together
Nor jump from the roof of Dad's shed
I shall remember my aunt's next birthday
And tidy my room once a week
I'll not moan at Mum's cooking (Ugh! fish fingers again!)
Nor give her any more of my cheek.
I will not pick my nose if I can help it
I shall fold up my clothes, comb my hair,
I will say please and thank you (even when I don't mean it)
And never spit or shout or even swear.
I shall write each day in my diary
Try my hardest to be helpful at school
I shall help old ladies cross roads (even if they don't want to)
And when others are rude I'll stay cool.
I'll go to bed with the owls and be up with the larks
And close every door behind me
I shall squeeze from the bottom of every toothpaste tube
And stay where trouble can't find me.
I shall start again, turn over a new leaf,
leave my bad old ways forever
shall I start them this year, or next year
shall I sometime, or .....?


Poem by Robert Fisher

Photo El Granada Harbor Dec. 2009

A Karmic Tale

"Karma is not incurred when you take someone's parking space or miss a date for lunch".     - Michael

Karma. That pesky thing that happens when we take someone elses choice away in in such a way as to prevent them from completing their life plan.  According to the Michaels, there are 4 Major karmas: Murder, false imprisonment, “mind-fuck”, and abandonment. 


A nun convinces her young charges, 2 brothers, that they are worthless and can't survive on their own. She later casts them out onto the street where they both die and a karmic ribbon is incurred.  Several hundred years later all 3 decide that in the next life she will attempt to repay the debt and the two brothers, now mother and son, will allow it. Or try to. They meet, this time the nun is a psychologist who offers to help with the son's migraine headaches. Her first plan is to send him for extensive and invasive medical tests, disregarding the suggestion that nutrition and sodas might be the culprit. 


After one MRI, the three meet again and immediately afterwards the 12 year old son, in anger, emphatically states he will NEVER see this "shrink" again and, in what is an unusual response, the mother agrees without much comment. The debt is not repaid.....


Michael later says that it was likely that another debt would have been incurred had the three continued meeting.  Ouch.  


This is a true story- I know because it happened to me. The interaction was compelling, focused, and at times fearful. I have since wondered if I would have allowed the repayment if it was just me at stake and not my son's mind which she was keen on tampering with, again.  And, another twist is that about a year later I learned that she moved to the small town where we live. 


I suppose karma is inescapable and will be repaid. This time, however, we get to choose.

Light is Returning

LIGHT IS RETURNING

Light is returning 
Even though this is the darkest hour 
No one can hold back the dawn 

Let's keep it burning 
Let's keep the light of hope alive 
Make safe our journey through the storm 

One planet is turning 
Circles on her path around the Sun 
Earth Mother is calling her children home 

from Canticles of Light by Charlie Murphy, originally recorded in 1984

Celebrating the Winter Solstice: Lots of Ideas!

Celebrating Winter Solstice
by Selena Fox of Circle Sanctuary
excerpted with permission

Winter Solstice has been celebrated in cultures the world over for thousands of years. This start of the solar year is a celebration of Light and the rebirth of the Sun. In old Europe, it was known as Yule, from the Norse, Jul, meaning wheel.

Today, many people in Western-based cultures refer to this holiday as "Christmas." Yet a look into its origins of Christmas reveals its Pagan roots. Emperor Aurelian established December 25 as the birthday of the "Invincible Sun" in the third century as part of the Roman Winter Solstice celebrations. Shortly thereafter, in 273, the Christian church selected this day to represent the birthday of Jesus, and by 336, this Roman solar feast day was Christianized. January 6, celebrated as Epiphany in Christendom and linked with the visit of the Magi, was originally an Egyptian date for the Winter Solstice.

Most of the customs, lore, symbols, and rituals associated with "Christmas" actually are linked to Winter Solstice celebrations of ancient Pagan cultures. While Christian mythology is interwoven with contemporary observances of this holiday time, its Pagan nature is still strong and apparent. Pagans today can readily re-Paganize Christmastime and the secular New Year by giving a Pagan spiritual focus to existing holiday customs and by creating new traditions that draw on ancient ways. Here are some ways to do this:

Celebrate Yule with a series of rituals, feasts, and other activities. In most ancient cultures, the celebration lasted more than a day. The ancient Roman Saturnalia festival sometimes went on for a week. Have Winter Solstice Eve and Day be the central focus for your household, and conceptualize other holiday festivities, including New Year's office parties and Christmas visits with Christian relatives, as part of your Solstice celebration. By adopting this perspective, Pagan parents can help their children develop an understanding of the multicultural and interfaith aspects of this holiday time and view "Christmas" as just another form of Solstice. Have gift exchanges and feasts over the course of several days and nights as was done of old. Party hearty on New Year's Eve not just to welcome in the new calendar year, but also to welcome the new solar year.

 Adorn the home with sacred herbs and colors. Decorate your home in Druidic holiday colors red, green, and white. Place holly, ivy, evergreen boughs, and pine cones around your home, especially in areas where socializing takes place. Hang a sprig of mistletoe above a major threshold and leave it there until next Yule as a charm for good luck throughout the year. Have family/household members join together to make or purchase an evergreen wreath. Include holiday herbs in it and then place it on your front door to symbolize the continuity of life and the wheel of the year. If you choose to have a living or a harvested evergreen tree as part of your holiday decorations, call it a Solstice tree and decorate it with personal symbols.

Convey love to family, friends, and associates. At the heart of Saturnalia was the custom of family and friends feasting together and exchanging presents. Continue this custom by visiting, entertaining, giving gifts, and sending greetings by mail and/or phone. Consider those who are and/or have been important in your life and share appreciation.

Honor the new solar year with light. Do a Solstice Eve ritual in which you meditate in darkness and then welcome the birth of the sun by lighting candles and singing chants and Pagan carols. If you have a indoor fireplace or an outdoor fire circle, burn an oak log as a Yule log and save a bit to start next year's fire. Decorate the inside and/or outside of your home with electric colored lights. 

Contribute to the manifestation of more wellness on Planet Earth. Donate food and clothing to poor in your area. Volunteer time at a social service agency. 

Lao Tzu Chapter 37

The Tao Te Ching of Lao Tzu
Chapter 37






Eternal Tao doesn't do anything
yet it leaves nothing undone.
If you abide by it, everything in existence will transform itself.


When, in the process of self-transformation,
desires are aroused, calm them with nameless simplicity.


When desires are dissolved in the primal presence,
peace and harmony naturally occur,
and the world orders itself.


For JS

The Michael Teachings: A Lens Through Which to View

A Lens Through which to View 

The Basic Principles

*You are free to choose in each and every moment.

There are 7 roles in essence and you are always the same one: Slave, Artisan, Warrior, Scholar, Sage, Priest, King.

“Truth is the greatest good and love is the highest truth”.

*There are 3 Levels of Truth: Personal, World, and Universal.

*There are appr. 1000 fragments (individual souls) in an entity, 7 entities in a cadre.

*There are 5 souls ages (infant/baby/young/mature/old) and 7 levels within each.

*Your overleaves are your basic personality chosen in each lifetime, the overleaves support your life task. There are positive poles of the overleaves which are an expression of your true personality through love, and negative poles which are your false personality expressed through fear. 

* The Michael entity is a reunited group of 1050 souls who teach from the Causal Plane.

compiled from Messages from Michael by Quinn Yarbro

Your Daily Einstein

"A human being is part of a whole, called by us the "Universe," a part limited in time and space.  He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest--a kind of optical illusion of  his consciousness.  This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us.  Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty."

 Albert Einstein, Ideas and Opinions, 1954

The Enneagram: Health and Stress

The Enneagram:  Health and Stress

from The Enneagram Blogspot online

Healthiness
"One of the wonderful things the Enneagram personality theory does is to analyze nine different levels of healthiness for each personality type. It is amazing how people of the same personality type can be so different when one is functioning on a healthy level and the other is functioning on an unhealthy level. That is why this personality study is just as applicable to, lets say, criminals, as it is to models of society.

The nature of healthiness levels is generally the same over time. A person may fluctuate during the day between healthy, average, and unhealthy levels, but generally they "live" in one state. This state can change only over long periods of time. For instance, a person who is depressed most of the time may have an hour's worth of reborn hope and excitement about the world, only to return after that brief moment to the state in which she normally operates. It is only over long periods of time that she can actually move from functioning at an unhealthy level to functioning at an average level."

Direction of Integration (Growth)	Direction of Disintegration (Stress)

"An interesting way the Ennegram analyzes stages of health is in the Directions of Integration, when a personality type is experiencing growth to a healthier level, and the Direction of Disintegration, which is the opposite. These directions are the reason for the enneagram shape. A type 4, for instance, behaves like an healthy 1, objective and principled, when she is improving in her level of psychological health. But she becomes like an average 2, over-involved and clinging, when she is under stress, decreasing in her level of psychological health. These directions are indicated by the arrows.


Besides the Direction of Integration and Disintegration, there is an in-between level of movement known as a "Security" point. When a type 4, for instance, feels secure with her situation, but she is not actually undergoing a period of growth in her psychological health, she still becomes more like a type 1, but not on a healthy level; she instead becomes like an average type 1, critical and demanding. The descriptions on Udit Patel's page describe the process for each personality well."


Question: What is my Enneagram type and what point does it move to under stress and in health?

Wearing the World like a Loose Garment

Letting Go of Attachments

St. Francis of Assisi (1181-1226 ce) is credited with the saying “Wear the world like a loose garment." 

In order to be truly free, it is beneficial to cultivate a relationship to external events where clinging does not occur, and to see that anything outside of the self which is seen as providing security is temporal at best. This approach to life doesn't imply ambivelance or lack of participation, but rather suggests that it is when we become attached that we suffer as attachment lends itself to disappointment due to failed expectations.

The first step is becoming willing to let go of anything: people, objects, and expectations. We begin to let go of looking outside of ourselves for satisfaction and pleasure, understanding that our true sense of joy is within. And, contrary to what at first may seem as negative or indifference, letting go of our attachments creates the chance to experience life without imposing our hopes, needs, dreams, wants, desires, and expectations on others which then creates freedom all around. The freedom to choose, both for ourselves and for others.

Byron Katie wisely says "As long as we continue to resist reality we will suffer". When we wear the world like a loose garment we are accepting reality without the need to change it and this is where suffering ends and freedom begins.

Expanding Our Perceptions

What if we wake up one day and think that maybe many of our Perceptions while true may in fact be limited?


Our perceptions are colored by our personal experiences as well as social and cultural lenses, all of which help us over time to create our world view. Beginning when we are young, we look and listen to see what others think and create our own opinions, holding them as true for us at the time which of course they are. As we mature, we may begin to become more open to the possibility that what we have thought all along may be in need of some reconsideration followed by adjustments and in this way, we continue to grow.


For those of us who are students of spiritual teachings whether Eastern, Western, or somewhere in between, we also develop a spiritual viewpoint in our dedication to understanding the vastness of the Universe and how "things really work". It's not unusual for students of the Michael teachings for example to say "this is the way it is" after being introduced to the system, finding comfort in knowing a truth about themselves through the overleaves and life task information, both extremely valuable if accurate. But what if these teachings are really just a beginning rather than an end? Perhaps they provide us with a foundation upon which to build our viewpoint as well as a lens through which to understand others and their choices. All good. A place to start.


The Michael Teachings are a focused aperture through which to view the Universe.


What if you were to open that aperture? Let in more light, more love, more openness. We are each a grain of sand in the Infinitely Creative Universe. Sounds a bit simplistic or even hokey?  Maybe so. But worth a try.





Photo from NASA Carina Nebula

Beauty

The most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen 
or even touched, they must be felt with the heart .

Helen Keller

Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, 

we must carry it with us or we find it not.

 Ralph Waldo Emerson 

Beauty is not in the face; 

beauty is a light in the heart.  

Gibran

Love of beauty is Taste. The creation of beauty is Art.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Our hearts are drunk with a beauty our eyes could never see

 George W. Russell

Everything has its beauty, but not everyone sees it . -

Confucious

By plucking her petals, you do not gather the beauty of the flower.

-Rabindrath Tagore

The Enneagram: Groups

The Enneagram

Coping Styles or Harmonic Groups (how we defend against loss and disappointment)

            

Positive Outlook Group:

2: I am caring and loving. Avoids seeing their own neediness, disappointment, anger. Overemphasizes needs of others.

7. Enjoys excitement and fun. Avoids seeing their pain and emptiness. Cant see how they create suffering. Overemphasizes their own needs.

9. Idealize their own world. Avoids seeing problems in loved ones. Feel overwhelmed by all needs and avoid dealing with them.

            

Competency Group

1. I am organized and sensible, know the rules. Feelings are channeled

into activity and held in the body. Try to be “good” and work in systems.

3. I am efficient and capable. Goal focused. Manages feelings through activities also and achievement. Bend the rules. Find shortcuts                       

 5. I am the expert and have information. Split off from feelings and stay in thinking. Reject the system and isolate.

           

Reactive Group

4. Seeks a rescuer, want to be seen and cared for. Fears abandonment. Keep others at bay by playing games and limiting access.

6. Seeks independence and support. Want to be strong. Fear being without support and dependence. Try to be committed AND independent.

8. Seeks independence and no need of others. Fears being controlled by others. Keep their guard up, remaining tough and unapproachable.

Question: How do I respond in stressful situations?

Serenity

"When the serenity of the mind and the purity of the heart work together, nothing can stand against their immediate success."

Sri Chinmoy

Question: How can I return to serenity today?

The Enneagram: Basic Principles

The Enneagram  Basic Principles

This is the first part of a series on the Enneagram

The Enneagram is a complex system dating back some 10,000 years. It has most recently been explored through the work of Helen Palmer who brought it into the mainstream, making these teachings available to many. The types are essentially our chief feature reactions to external events, our response under stress but the system also denotes how we can move away from our fears toward more joy. For example a "one" would tend to respond to the world through maintaining perfectionism and control, would "dissentegrate" to "four" when under stress, becoming withdrawn and melocholy, but when feeling safe and secure would move to "seven", becoming more outgoing and social. 

The first step is identifying your own primary point.

* There are nine points on the Enneagram. We usually choose one of these points

prior to incarnating, although they may not solidify until the third monad when

the chief features fixate. (and stress points are chosen)

* The Enneagram is a system of personal discovery that allows us to see beyond

our fear based responses and to understand our truest essence.

The types are divided into categories:

Major Triads

1. Body/Instinctive Triad Anger (8-9-1) concerned with maintaining resistance to reality

            “I must maintain a felt sense of self”

Eights tend to act out rage, nines tend to deny rage, ones tend to repress rage.

2. Heart/Feeling Triad : Shame (2-3-4) concerned with self image

            “I must maintain a personal identity”

Twos are rescuers, fours are rescuees, and threes don’t need rescuing.

3. Head/Thinking Triad  Fear (5-6-7)  concerned with anxiety, want more safety/security

            “I must find a sense of inner guidance and support”.

Fives fear the outside world, sevens fear their inner world, sixes fear both (and pingpong)