Sunday, January 23, 2011

What Do We Have to Fear? Why Do We Fear It?

The best quote on the subject of fear -- came from President Roosevelt during his inaugural speech in the year 1933. He said: "The only thing we have to fear -- is fear itself -- nameless, unreasoning, unjustified which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance."
How do we engage in 'retreat' ? It's not necessarily meaning to disengage from some kind of 'battle' ..but to paralyze our own thinking to the point where we forfeit all of our innate power to create our reality.
I believe its true: fear of separation is the greatest fear of all. Separation from anything and anyone; from the fear of losing some one's admiration, to losing our possessions; from being 'out of control' of any kind of situation ... to what we too often perceive as the greatest fear of all: death.
The funny part of it is: it really IS all 'illusion.'...and I am not talking 'fluffy talk' here.
We all die to our present lifetimes...but I believe the teachers who say we never lose consciousness. We get so heavily into our present "reality" empowering it with our thoughts and minds -- so much so that at times we have ourselves convinced 'this is all there is' and that life continuing on is the illusion. That is pretty sad.
We don't always recognize that many of our responses decisions, or reactions to life are fear based. Often we justify them as being based in 'common sense.'
We basically have been taught that to worry, to fret and stew, to 'be concerned' to the point of obsession, is noble and a sign of a really 'good person.' Not just about friends and loved ones ... but every state of affairs imaginable. Heaven forbid we give the impression that we just plain 'don't give a damn' and win a place of honor on the list of world's worst human beings.
I'm NOT advocating apathy or lack of compassion ... but a healthy perspective and detachment. Being mindful, as Buddhism teaches, that we are MORE than these drama-queen roles we are playing out.
Take the word "saint." It puts you in mind of suffering, martyrdom, and an all around miserable life that certainly is not meant to be enjoyed. The more 'selfless' one is...the more elevated one's heavenly status. Some goofy adage sprang up from who knows where, that said: "God must really love poor people; that's why he made so many of them." AND if you are rich ... your chances of 'getting to heaven' to slim to none. Talk about FEAR of success of ANY kind -- material or physical! Sheesh. We all have storage lots filled with our 'yeah but's' and 'what if's' and instant justifications... and if we are honest ...we have to admit that they are fear based.
The government, the media, and even some of our 'entertainment' doles out our daily doses of fear. This makes us easier to control. This INCLUDES some conspiracy theorists! It's long been proven that the more you can keep people in fear, the easier they are to control...and be more receptive to even greater fears.
One of the most convincing arguments FOR fear is: think of the consequences and of course they are almost always dire ones...including the the #1 biggie: 'burning in hell'... We too often assume there is only one right way of thinking.
I believe the more one's attitude toward all of life itself is negative and leery...the more fear is apt to be present.
Another good definition of fear is: the apprehensive feeling of the 'unknown' or of what 'might happen.' Someone supposedly recently, did a survey and the conclusion was less than 10% of all of our fears ever come to fruition. Maybe there is a reason for that, too.
The Job 3:25 Bible quote is fairly well known: "That which I have feared has come upon me. That which I have dreaded has happened." Most of you will recognize this as the Law of Attraction. This is not implying that you will get whammied with something awful just because you occasionally entertain some fearful thoughts...but you DO get what you focus upon... (Seth... or any metaphysical teaching) ... and even if you don't get flattened by a steam roller, you still make your life miserable by always _choosing_ to live in fear.
A lot of our old baggage (fears, mostly) is being forced out into the open for us by this unrelenting, increasingly strong energy. Mine sure did this last time I got sick! It presented me with the choice: Hang On and be miserable...or Let Go and Feel SO much better!... This is what it does for all of us.
One of the sneakiest (and superstitious) fears we have is: "Yeah, but if I don't fear it -- it will probably then happen." (Kind of a twisted version of "respect") This most often came from another one of those horrible 'lessons' we were taught: "Just don't get too cock-sure of yourself, or something will happen to you!" Keep your fear. Keep your humility. Right. Sure. Ever analyze that one?
"Playing it safe" is not always based in wisdom. Nothing ventured, nothing gained shows a lot more zest for, and love of, life.
Healthy fear? OK, it exists.. to a point. It's prudent not to step out in front of a speeding car, but far too often its our fears that keeping hitting us...not speeding cars.
Overcoming our fears means being willing to recognize and acknowledge them. It's not the kind of baggage that is going to help us in these interesting and challenging times.
I've often thought those "No Fear" T-shirts were kind of neat. I have my work cut out for me. We all do!
Namaste'

Prayer

"The coward dies many times before his death; the valiant but once." Wm. Shakespeare





























Monday, January 3, 2011

WHY WE HAVE THE FRIENDS WE HAVE....

There are no 'accidental friendships.' There are no 'accidental relationships' of any kind. It's all the Law of Attraction at work.... on both sides.
I really DO appreciate my friends... I think of the wide variances of my own friends and therefore call them my "Motley Crue" Nerd Some of you will remember that band.
Some of you might stand a better chance of remembering this schmaltzy little Email forward penned by an anonymous author. It was entitled "Friends for a Reason, A Season, or a Lifetime." Aristotle wrote at length about friendship and he, too, said there were three categories of friendship, made for the purpose of 1) utility, --those who are of benefit to us; 2) pleasure, which included those things from passionate love affairs to fishing buddies; and 3) those 'of good,' in which friends would always seek out the good in the other -- comparable to 'lifetime' in the modern version. I prefer the simplicity of the modern version. As with all of the great philosophers, Aristotle tended to word it to death, although there are definite similarities to his modern day counterpart. I believe it is possible for all three descriptions to blend and intertwine in many of our relationships.
_Reason_: Friends for a reason. To me, this is the one I see as most highly based on the Law of Attraction. Opposites only appear to attract. One is simply doing a better job of hiding certain qualities, letting the other expose those qualities openly.
We draw or magnetize certain people into our lives because they DO seem to confirm us and our belief systems. They also mirror what we do NOT like about ourselves. That makes us want to go 'huh-uh' 'no sirree'...'no way, Jose' ' ... but in our non-defensive and non-guarded moments we can 'see' what we prefer not to see. Usually, this comes as an indicator that there is an area in our life we need to 'clean up.'
The opposite can be true. We can see in some of our friends what we like seeing in ourselves. Our "Reason" friends are most likely to me the ones with whom we share many basic beliefs. C.S. Lewis once said that often instant friendships were born when one tells the other: "Oh, I thought I was the only one who thought that way!"
__Season__: Friends for a Season: These are friends who come into our lives for a short time...perhaps only several years...maybe even for a few days. But, we have made a real 'connection.' Some teachers have told us: You can feel a powerful recognition of someone -- like sitting on the same bench at a bus stop, or in the aisle of a supermarket... that you may never see again; but perhaps he or she was a good friend in a different life, and its just a way of saying 'hello.'
Sometimes short term friends can prove to be very valuable teachers ... or of some needed comfort...or guides or angels taking human form that somehow serve us with a very important purpose. Barb Marciniak's Pleiadians have told us that in this very important and pivotal lifetime, we will somehow, in some way, connect with all friends (or family) that have been most important to us in all our lifetimes. Sometimes we might even recognize each other as such.
__Lifetime__: We have comparatively few 'lifetime' friends during one lifetime --the friends we have known since childhood. An exception, I believe, could be family groupings that we have recarnated with many times become Lifetime friends (or family.) It is always our choice, in between lifetimes, if we want to stay with the same groups or branch out and try something different for a different type of growth and expansion. Lifetime friends probably know us best of all. I like this definition of a friend: "Someone who knows all your faults and worst secrets and still likes you." As romantic as it sounds, I disagree with the premise that a person just has 'one soul mate.' We can become obsessively attached to the idea that NO ONE could possibly take this person's place and we could never love some one as much as this particular person. Here again, is where, to me, Buddhism explains things very well. This is Grasping and Attachment (cause of suffering) ...and therefore very limiting to the total Soul we really are. We will never 'lose touch' with all those we know and love... but they are not 'the only ones' we dearly love...hard as that may be to conceive of. We can also play different roles for each other in various lifetimes...just for the experience and expanding points of view. Its all about expansion and growth. Careful not to think of 'karma' as _punishment_...that is a very suffocating, limiting, false concept.

Sometimes friends drop out of our lives for various reasons, not the least of which can be that either they...or us...have decided that no more contact is better for us. But as Abraham says: All relationships are forever... the person you now want no more to do with is someone who might likely be a good buddy on 'the other side.' You don't have to 'put up with' anyone...but you best wish them well -- not for their sake -- but you own. Otherwise you will draw yet another person into your life who may look and sound different ... but will be amazingly similar to the one you dropped. So -- we owe it to ourselves to ask "What does this teach me?...What have I learned?"
After all, "I" the one that attracted that person into "my" life. Those of us who know we Create Our Own Reality, realize that we cannot continue to play The Blame Game' for any length of time. That keeps us from being free of the situation...which will be repeated until 'we catch on.' I do not at all mean to imply that we ARE, at times, much better off without certain people in our lives ... We just have to 'see things' from a much deeper and more perceptual point of view. There are NO such things as true victims. (although that is a very appalling concept for some people...)
As Creators...like Seth has told us ... we have chosen to play both on what we call The Dark Side and the Light Side... and to experience it ALL...because we are a part of All That Is.
There, are times, though, we have all most likely questioned what kind of heavenly nectar we were imbibing when we outlined the blueprints for our lifetimes. Nerd

Namaste'
Prayer












Sunday, January 2, 2011

What Happens in the New Year is Up to Us

We CAN make it a good New Year...if...we BELIEVE we can.
Many of you are acquainted with the term The Shift... as it applies to the Year 2012. That is the time the planets will all be aligned with the Galactic Center. It implies great change is in store for us. It is an 'opportuned time' for us. I believe that. But what is in store for us is up to us--each individual one of us.
Nothing will be imposed upon us that we do not somehow, in some way, consciously or unconsciously, agree to.
People who do not believe that they Create Their Own Reality do not believe that. They choose to believe they are 'victims'...or in more lofty sounding terms "survivors' of what happens to them.
Lately, it has become so glaringly obvious to me, that so many people are so mind-controlled, programmed, and hypnotized -- and therefore remain in a powerless state of being. However, I also see and am acquainted with people who have chosen to claim their empowerment and depart from the Blame Camp. When we start remembering Who We Really Are... and have, in many different ways, become Aware and Awakened to the "I AM" within ... it is then that we self-realize that we are continuously presented with CHOICES about what we DO and how we REACT to circumstances that we have co-created.
The Shift, I believe, is all individual. It will always be a Choice.
I love the humor of the teacher Abraham: "One of your main problems, dear people, is that you too often choose to face reality"... That is not 'living in the Now'...but continuously pointing backward and keeping the past fixed and in place -- in our present moment. So we continually get more of the same.
Several times during the past few days I have come across quotes that are similar in their message: One has to be willing to let go of all beliefs that are not serving us well. Sometimes this requires radical new thinking...especially when it requires abandoning the type of 'realistic thinking' that keeps us stuck in the past.
We all want 'good things to happen' to us...but we tend to act like our own thinking and belief systems have nothing to do with it. Nerd (which has everything to do with realistic thinking.)
Those who are familiar with Quantum physics KNOW that two things are crucial to outcome: 1) observation...and 2)expectation. If we put strong belief in what we 'see'...it will stay in place.
Seth said: "You get what you concentrate upon and give your attention to." So, for many of us, what is needed is what we might think of as 'frivolous' :Pollyanna thinking! (Or believing in Unicorns!) Thing is -- most of us know it works....unless one has the countering belief: "oh well, something will probably go wrong to ruin it." As Jesus, Buddha and a host of others have said: "It IS done unto you according to your beliefs." We are trained to resort to Blame. Blaming anyone or anything that exists outside of ourselves.
Giving up Blame is the Name of the Game.Even when it defies 'logic and reason.'
Which means: We must stop blaming society, politicians, government, religion, Monsanto, neighbors and enemies, the NEWS and media, and actually ALLOW others to have what we think of as their totally screwed up opinions!
Whatever does NOT make us happy or promote feelings of peace and well being, we need to be willing to Let Go of... This includes our 'reactions.'
And if 'whatever' DOES make us feel good...we must also make sure that doesn't mean doing things we 'should' do because "God and Society" will then 'approve.' For some, I know, this simply is not thinking 'realistically' enough.
It feels like we are taking a huge RISK when indulging in experiencing incredible FREEDOM -- if we decide to "Follow Our Bliss." It seems many people do not want to let loose the comfort of being told what to d0. They prefer to keep striving to please others.
Remember the first "Matrix" movie? It's a lot like that. When we consciously or quite suddenly DETACH ourselves...step back and ask: what am I doing? what am I saying? how am I reacting and WHY?" ... it can be quite unsettling. We momentarily are not in the group of Sheeple ( a David Icke term) anymore...BUT...we are then quite Aware and Awake. We then become the Thinker behind the thinker...as Eckhart Tolle says.
I do not believe everyone will experience "A Shift" during this period of time. I'm not even saying its Right or Wrong not to do so. But if we want to expand, move ahead, and enact more of our own god-spirit empowerment, then, as the P's tell us: "You need to own your own mind!"
For the ones who choose not to... every New Year will be pretty much the same. Perhaps for lifetimes. I personally want to experience more connection to Source, more Joy and Self-Empowerment... and that will be up to me. Not to some misconceived idea of 'what will happen in the New Year.' It really IS up to us. I know I have my work cut out for me!
Prayer
Namaste'