inner peace

May 19 2010

Walking in Integrity

To walk in integrity, we have to lose our fear about the future. We have to embrace the Goodness of God. We have to wrestle our human thoughts about appearances to the ground.

Siberian Tigers Play Wrestling in the Water by Abysim

Above all, we have to speak our truth. This is walking in integrity. When we are walking in integrity, we are able to be at peace within, in a deeply whole way.

Stewart, a graduate student, competed for and was awarded a paid summer internship paying $7000. He was thrilled. The program’s literature guaranteed a good match for the selected students with organizations in the area. Stewart was tentatively matched with an assignment in a public school system. After the interview in the school, he realized that he had already done that same type of work 4 years earlier and had moved on from there in the intervening years. When no other placements were actually available, he told the granting organization this placement was not a good match for him. They strongly advised him to take the placement and told him if he did not, they would “be obliged” to call his college and say that he reneged on his contract.

He was both disappointed about the mismatch and yet offended by the treatment he had received through veiled threats and serious arm twisting to take a job which was so clearly a bad match for him. After a second round of meetings, and a lot of soul searching, Stewart respectfully resigned the paid internship. By the time he made his decision, he was in a good place looking forward to a summer of doing his own research and work. The very day he let this go, however, he was asked to join a team in Africa to work on more efficient ways to deliver medical support for malaria. This offer was a much better match for Stewart on many levels.

This is a situation where walking in integrity paid off in a rather dramatic turn of events. In one conversation, we talked about Tom Stoppard’s line, “every exit is an entrance somewhere else.” This was truly Stewart’s experience. However, he alone had to weight the consequences and act. He was the only person who could decide what walking in integrity was for him.

One characteristic of being in integrity is that it requires deep personal soul searching at times. It requires getting our ego out of the way and listening to the energy of the Highest Good. Walking in integrity often requires facing our doubts, fears and misgivings rather than taking the expected option or path because of the promised rewards. At the end of the day, walking in integrity requires courage, the conviction of the heart that if something is not a good option, the right options will present in the fullness of time.

One great way to walk in integrity is to write to God or talk to God. This way, we are not tempted to shade things, twist motivations or color the truth. We can more easily speak the truth because we know all is already known anyway. Making up a good story for God is a futile act. When we communicate with the All Knowing Divine Presence, we can frequently find out what integrity looks like. It is never too late to walk in integrity around issues in the past or present.

When Ria began a spiritual practice of meditation, her world began to change. She began to realize just how unkindly she had treated some of the men she had dated much earlier in her life. She felt deep guilt and shame around some of her actions and was at a loss to know what to do. Though she was not in touch with any of these men anymore, the drive to “make things right” would not go away. She was led to write in her journal to each of the mistreated men, to say clearly what she needed to say, and to ask for forgiveness. She worked on this process until all the men she had mistreated had been written to in her journal, before God and until she felt whole and clean. Nearing the end of this process, she had a service for the men of her past. She blessed each one of them, acknowledged what she had learned from them, asked again for forgiveness and gave all her shame and guilt to God. She had walked in integrity with the past.

Where might you need to walk in integrity? What is keeping you from making amends with your past or your present? Might you be prostituting yourself for the sake of money, prestige, reputation, influence or recognition?

All things, no matter what they consist of, can be taken to God/the Great Knowing/the Oneness. When we take steps to walk in integrity we come into Right Relationship with ourselves, with others and with God. We come to a place of deep inner balance and peace. There are ALWAYS better options for us than remaining out of integrity with ourselves and our lives. As we come into integrity, we manifest more balance in our lives, more love and more forgiveness. Our lives can be literally transformed by taking a walk with integrity.

All acts of the past, those in integrity and those out of integrity are traveling along with us. Any set of actions we have taken which have been out of integrity are negatively affecting us in one way or another. We are the accumulations of our past actions, thoughts, deeds and feelings. Only when we bring those into the space of integrity can we be truly at Peace. Go hunting for places where you are not walking in integrity. You will be supported beyond your wildest imagination by the Presence of God.

Steps to Integrity

1. Open a Sacred Space with Divine Energy/God/Ascended Masters/Angels and your Highest Self, to support your work.

2. Name the specific person(s) or incident where you are out of integrity with All That Is.

3. Speak or write to God about the feelings you have regarding your situation. Name your fears. Go thoroughly into this situation and explore it deeply.

4. Ask for the support you need, a way out, a way to let it go of the guilt or fear, forgiveness, support in facing what you have done, etc.

5. Give all negative thoughts and feelings to Divine Presence, in writing or out loud.

6. Give thanks for the support you are receiving to walk in integrity.

7. Wait upon the Presence of God to work within your energy field.

8. Repeat this process with other situations or persons until you feel you are walking in full integrity.

May 01 2010

I AM

In Exodus 3:14, Moses asks God what name shall I use for you when speaking to the children of Israel. God replies, “I am AHIAH ASHAR HIGH (The Living God, The Sovereign God). Just say I AM ( AHIYA) has sent you.” Today we are addressing the I AM Energy of All That Is. This can only be a tiny sliver of light on this subject however, hopefully enticing you to seek more.

The number one issue we as humans have with God is our thinking. We think we are separate from God. To the contrary, however, we are One with God, we simply do not have this Oneness in our consciousness. As you read this piece, keep reminding yourself, I AM One with All That Is/God. It will keep the familiar thoughts of being separate at a distance.

The I AM Energy is eternal, all loving and whole in the fullest sense of the word. This energy is within every person in body for it is the core of who we are. However, if we are to know of it, grow it, live by it, we must have some guidance and examples of how to do that. Jesus offered one way to know more about this. He said as recorded in John 8:12, “I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” There are millions in our world who do just that, follow Jesus. However, this statement, “I am the light of the world” could just as well be said by one named Fritz or Ismelda, Lauren or Machi and have powerful presence if they too knew they were One with God. Jesus resolutely knew he was One with All That Is and that is the source of the power of his declaration.

This statement by Jesus however does not mean that he is the only light of the world, that he alone is only way to learn about the I AM Energy. This exclusivity in our views of religion needs to shift. We are all of the same Creator, different sparks from the Flame of Life, different paths given from the same Source. There have been many, many ways we have been called to know of the I AM Energy within. The pathway of the Sufis, the Kabbalah, the Vedanta Sutras are all ways to cultivate a deeper personal relationship with the Energy of Creation. The issue is that millions do not go deeply enough into their chosen pathways to develop their own relationship with All That Is.

I might have lost it, but it has never been lost by Shirin K. A. Winiger

Why is this? I think perhaps because it takes a level of commitment to wholeness we are generally not ready to make. In other words, it is easier to follow the dogma, rules and expectation of a specific faith than it is to develop our own relationship with God. It feels easier to focus on all the externalities of life on Earth than it is to go within and speak with God. To develop our own knowing of All That Is, we must be in Silence, pray, ask for forgiveness, let go of our ego and embrace uncertainty in all things with the energy of positive expectation on a daily basis. Further, we have to keep reminding ourselves that we are One with God/All That Is/Great I AM.

Each of us is Divine. We each have that spark of Divinity within. However, we can choose not to seek it, know it or develop it and still live on this Earth. It is as if we have a deep pool of knowing when we are out of body and when we come into body, we have to seek the stillness and connection with God if we want to fully manifest our Divine Beings while in body. It is a practice, a way of Being, a pathway we have to choose. With this pathway comes more Peace, more Balance, more Divine Harmony, Dynamism, Freedom and Creativity. For these characteristics and many more are characteristics of Divine Presence, Brahman or the Unified Field. They are our birthright if we choose them.

If we want to actualize our I AM Energy we have to do two things simultaneously. One is to claim the I AM Energy for ourselves. The second is to train our mind to return again and again to wholeness, love, forgiveness and humility. In this way, the I AM Energy can be fully actualized in our lives and all the positive characteristics of Divine Grace become present in each of our lives. These statements can help us begin to embrace our I AM Energy and call it forth in our lives.

I AM the loving expression of God manifest in my body.

I AM One with All That Is.

I AM the Wholeness and Peace I seek.

I AM the mighty Flame of God’s Divine Presence.

I AM expansive consciousness, loving all in my pathway.

Put one or two of these statements which speak to you some place you will see them every day. Speak them out loud frequently for thirty days and your consciousness will have the chance to change its pattern of perception.

The doorway into the I AM Energy is paved by consistent, loving effort over time. This is one way you can open this pathway more powerfully to receive all the blessings of being One with All That Is. This knowing is already deeply embedded in your full consciousness, it just needs an invitation to be more accessible in your present body or daily consciousness.

Mar 04 2010

Silence for the Dubious

When people say, “you need to be in Silence”, there is usually a vision of sitting, perhaps cross-legged with eyes closed and breathing deeply for 30 minutes or so, while being left alone by the world. The thought of this for many people is simply a non-starter and blocks our energy before one can even fully consider it. Sometimes in our lives, such time is non-existent no matter how much we would love to have that experience.

Still, the place to spend time with All That Is/Divine Presence/God is in Silence. When we show up for this time together, we are the ones who are greatly blessed because we are loved, supported and calmed energetically in ways that generally don’t happen in the world. Silence with God is spending time with God without your own agenda.

The main ingredient we need to be successful in making time with God’s Energy is intention. Here are some examples of how to do that. One can dedicate 10 minutes of a walk with the dog to being with Divine Presence.

Another option is to dedicate time while working in the garden or the yard to connecting with God. Open a sacred space by calling in Divine Beings or Divine Light and call God into your time regardless of what you may be doing. Another place I used to have time with God was in the bathroom. That was at a time that I could reasonably count on having a few minutes to myself there. I would seek that time and space at all times of the day and usually that was honored!

We can listen to uplifting music and intentionally invite Divine Presence into our space. This is not Silence per se but it may get us into Silence with grace and ease. The more we intentionally connect with Divine Energy, the more we notice a shift in the vibration of energy around us. This is the Holy Spirit showing up to be with us because we asked. One could read a spiritual book while asking God to enter into this space and time with you, as well. If you are reading poetry or prose, take a section, read the piece three time out loud and then sit in the Silence of that energy. You will be ministered to through Sacred Presence. Usually there is a great calm that comes over us even if we only have 15 minutes.

Any sacred time can be carved out and dedicated to God. You can be watching children playing a sport and while sitting apart for the crowd, take 15 minutes to dedicate special time with God. You can arrive early for an appointment and sit in the car listening to classical music or simply recline with eyes closed and ask God to connect with you. The ways are infinite.

The challenge is to regularly invite God into your life. Don’t talk about it and despair or simply close the door on it as being an impossibility. We are in great need of the Presence of God. That energy is incredibly calming, supportive and filled with Divine Love which is totally different from human support and love here. However, we need to knock on the door with GREAT determination, seek without giving up and keep asking for connection and communion with God by showing up every day in one way or another. We are the only ones who can gift ourselves with Divine Grace. It is all around us but we have to say YES and show up. So, do what works.

For those of you who are finding time in Silence, there is another step which can be taken to expand your conscious knowing of God. After you have intentionally connected with God, you may come out of that time and realize you have something you want to pray about, ask forgiveness for, call Divine Presence into or clear some blocked energy you have become aware of. This is not Silence. This is working with God to call forth this energy for a specific person, situation or purpose. This is unifying prayer. Each of these experiences is still being with God but the focus changes to your own thoughts, questions, needs, etc. This is a natural outgrowth of being in Silence with God.

Muriel was just coming out of a twenty minute session of Silence with God. She immediately saw the face of her sister in front of her. Her sister had passed away two years earlier.

She did not know what the image of her sister actually meant, but the experience felt uncomfortable within. She loved her sister deeply but there was an uneasiness when her face appeared to her. Muriel took two minutes more in Silence and realized she needed to ask forgiveness for the way in which she had behaved when she needed to help take care of her during her illness and when she needed to suddenly do all the extra things for their parents when her sister was sick. Right then and there she asked for forgiveness for those unkind feelings, hasty words and old anger. She felt a perceptible sense of Lightness in her chest and heart area. She knew she had actually been forgiven in that moment. She was amazed that it was so easy to release that old energy. In fact, she had not really remembered her feelings until her sister’s face appeared to her. This was the Holy Spirit working with Muriel to help her clear her soul energy from this stagnant, stuck feeling that was still with her two years after her sister had died.

This is an example of how seamlessly this Divine Energy can work with us. Muriel was in a deep communion with All That Is/God and she simply knew she needed to ask for forgiveness. Without showing up for time with God, she could have carried that draining energy for years and have it show up in all sorts of unhelpful ways.

If we begin our personal relationship with God in Silence, we will be blessed in ways we can never imagine. Show up, dedicate time to God, keep the appointment, be in the Silence, and listen. This is how we come to a place of balance and wholeness through Divine Grace. Even if you have no visual for God, no sense of what or who God is for you, even if you don’t even know if you believe in God Presence, do this anyway. There is a deep magic, that surpasses all understanding, whose doorway will open to us. When this happens all our fears become less powerful, we become more capable of gratitude, we can release that which is not serving us or others very well. If we have just even a few minutes, we will be ministered to. We are deeply loved beyond anything we as humans can comprehend. However, we have to chose to enter into the Silence before we can gather this blessing for ourselves and for others.

Dec 03 2009

Expect the Goodness

Holding the space for Goodness in our lives is a powerful mindset and the expectation of Goodness can permeate all aspects of our lives.

Heres to a Summery Week by AtilaTheHun — Here’s to a Summery Week by AtilaTheHun

At the same time, fears can play an important role in calling us to seek further, for Peace.

Have you ever found yourself, even when things are really good, waiting for something bad to happen? Do you prepare for potential tragedy by running things through your mind to see how you might react? Have you ever been in a relationship and find yourself thinking about how you will feel when it is over, when he/she walks out, or when you grow apart? This process of preparing for the worst, just to feel in control and ready for bad things is very likely to have just the opposite effect we are trying to guard against.

My husband used to commute to another state, 2 weeks a month, early in our marriage. I dutifully made sure to know exactly when my husband was flying. However, that increasingly meant I was ill at ease for the duration of his flight, every time he traveled. I had emotional melt downs if I did not hear from him within a “reasonable” time after the flight. I would work myself into a tizzy, with pent up worry and frustration and then erupt when he did finally call for “making we worry” . I carried some deep fear about losing him. However, I was thoroughly busy ignoring the real fear with mind preparation drills for the possibility of future tragedy. At the time, I really thought I was being responsible, in caring so deeply. Right motivation, wrong execution.

I did not realize what I was doing was feeding my worst fears, those which were truly unspeakable. I was so conscientiously preparing for the worst, that I was really feeding the beast within me, which I had completely created. I vividly recall the pit in my stomach, the fear in my mind and the tenseness in my breathing of those times. I was truly capable of making myself sick with fear and dark imaginings.

One of the worst outcomes of this, was that this fear seeped into all manner of situations. I would worry about my husband going to the store and being run into. I would obsess about walking around the block at night by myself. I would even imagine strangers breaking into my home while I was alone. Clearly, my mind had run amok. Thankfully, I still had some small perspective on what I was doing to myself. I did stop watching violence on television as one positive step towards more peace.

One day, years later, a book came to my rescue which I felt was written specifically for me. It was called Fear No Evil, by Eva Pierrakos. Talk about direct and to the point! My number was up. This book literally fell off a shelf before me in a bookstore even though I had let some of my darker fears subside. It changed my habit of preparing for darkness and fearing evil, for good.

Those months of commuting would have been so much better if I could have faced my fears and focused on the Goodness we had been graced with. We were awash in Goodness with good health, good jobs, supportive families, good friends, disposable income, a nice home, etc. I had regularly strayed into the darkness though and did not have the faintest inkling about trying something else. The fear of losing the Goodness I had been given was instrumental in my spiritual journey but perhaps you may avoid this particular detour.

What I recall from Fear No Evil is that I learned that fear comes from the part of us that is un-whole and hurting. Fear shows up when we feel disconnected from Divine Peace. I learned that what we focus on grows. All the fears that I felt were from the exact places where I was disconnected from God. I learned that fear was my own creation and therefore wonder of wonders, I could let it go.

For all those years, I had thought fear was real. I felt as though someone had released me to Goodness, to the very real possibility that Goodness attracts goodness. I learned when bad things happen, the Goodness is still present even when it seems covered by the darkness. I felt that “Someone” had rattled my cage and helped me remember Goodness.

Step by step I took a look at the real fears behind those manifesting in my life. I was afraid of my husband dying because I myself was afraid of being alone, unloved and bereft. I was afraid of being attacked and losing my safety because I was afraid of losing the Goodness of my life. I was so into thinking it was all up to me that God was a way distance second to ME. These real fears propelled me front and center into dialog with the Divine Presence. When I realized I had created and grown my own fears, I could let the fears go, and focus on the Goodness of Life.

I now highly recommend the practice of Expecting Goodness. Train your thoughts to expect the Goodness, think about it, nurture it, focus on the Goodness you have and see it continuing. As I slowly learned to do this, Goodness beyond my wildest imaginings showed up. To date, the Goodness given has always been infinitely better than what I might have envisioned. It’s a God thing!!

Steps towards Expecting Goodness

1. Name your presenting fears, those showing up in your life and then seek the deeper core fears fueling the feelings and actions in your life. (I am afraid my spouse and I won’t be able to have children. Core Fear- I am afraid I will miss out on one of Life’s irreplaceable blessings and that my spouse and I will grow apart. )

2. Release the fears you no longer want, to Divine Presence. We are never alone in facing our fears. ( I release the fear that my spouse and I will suffer and remain sad by missing out on one of Life’s blessings which will cause us to grow apart.)

3. Train your mind to see the goodness in all situations by actually speaking about it out loud to self and others. (My spouse and I will find infinite ways to love in this world, in ways we can equally share. )

4. Expect the Goodness — I call forth the Goodness of Life into all aspects of my thinking, feeling, acting self. I expect the Goodness of Life in whatever way it chooses to manifest in my life.

Nov 19 2009

How Does Spiritual Healing Work?

Spiritual healing is the healing of the unseen energy in our energy field. It is not magic! We know that we are out of balance if we become angry or afraid about something in our lives. Anger, fear, shame and guilt each have a unique vibration which is different from the vibrations of joy, laughter, contentment and love. When we carry anger in our energy field regardless of its origin, the vibration of anger permeates our body. That vibration leaves our body when we reach resolution regarding the anger. Or, the anger vibration may remain in our energy field for years, if it is not completely resolved, released or the person forgiven, who is related to the anger. Spiritual healing is the process of releasing blocked energy which is not serving us well in our lives.

Not merely an absence of noise, Real Silence begins when a reasonable being withdraws from the noise in order to find peace and order in his inner sanctuary. -- Peter Minnard by Fountain_Head (Extremely busy.....) — Not merely an absence of noise, 'Real Silence' begins when a reasonable being withdraws from the noise in order to find peace and order in his inner sanctuary. Peter Minnard Photo by Fountain_Head (Extremely busy.....)

Spiritual healing recognizes that our thoughts, feelings, actions, memories, experiences and bodies are all one interrelated flow of energy impacting each other in thousands of ways every day. This is the mind, body, spirit connection. Every thought and feeling we have resonates throughout our bodies. If we experience trauma, sadness, abuse, fear, abandonment, our body registers this emotional content in the body. When we are stressed, out of balance, we are more vulnerable to contract infection, virus, parasites, etc. When we are out of balance emotionally or mentally, this ALWAYS shows up in our bodies, sometimes immediately and sometimes years later but it ALWAYS shows up.

The way to stay healthy and in balance is to do our inner work. This work most powerfully consists of identifying and releaseing blocked emotional, mental and spiritual energy which is manifesting as pain, hurt, anger, broken relationships, poor communications, repeating confrontations, back pain, cancer, ADHD, depression, infections, irritable bowel syndrome, etc. and all other types of imbalances in our physical bodies.

Each and every one of us is here to learn to be in greater states of Peace and Joy. Some of us recognize this and others among us do not. We can choose to ignore our inner work but eventually we have to do the work to find Peace and Contentment in our daily lives. We can spend lifetimes on the externals of what others think of us, on material possessions and on public attributes of prestige and success. The externals however have next to nothing to do with feeling successful, peaceful and balanced inside. The goal of spiritual healing is Peace and Wholeness inside. Then our lives, our relationships, our jobs and our bodies come into greater and greater balance.

When we release deep sadness, un-forgiveness, resentment, hatred, judgement, shame, fear, etc. our minds and bodies come into greater balance. When I open a sacred space, I call Divine Presence into this dimension to work with me to help others who are in need. As I begin to work with another, I don’t know in my “human mind” exactly what blocked energy may be manifesting as infection, inflammation, Parkinson’s, Alzheimers, Crohns or Grave’s Disease. I do know that some set of blocked energy is manifesting as imbalance in the body. I also know that Divine Knowing knows all. Through listening, with the intent to come into balance, we will learn to identify the imbalances and then they can be cast out of our energy fields allowing the body to heal.

Some people come to me for a “quick fix”. Those rarely manifest. We have to steadfastly seek to connect with Divine Energy because the outer world is more visible, more tangible and seemingly more real to many of us. Until we have real experience with Divine Presence, the thought of this Presence is a vague possibility. We can experience Divine Presence though other people, nature, creations, etc. but we have to eventually go inside and have a dialog with Divine Presence and ourselves to find Divine Connection. God/Divine Presence/All That Is is within. Our I AM Presence, the part of us which is wholly connected and balanced, is within. If we seek with the attitude that we will get our body fixed and go right on with our behaviors and thoughts which have brought us to imbalance, we won’t be able to sustain any form of balance, mentally or physically.

Our bodies and more importantly our souls won’t allow us to be out of balance without letting us know in very powerful ways. We get as many chances as we need to release resentment, rage, blame, self-punishment and un-forgiveness but there is no way to fool the body into balance. We come into balance when we are done with giving our power and attention to negative energy which is manifesting as imbalance.

To Begin Inner Spiritual Healing Work:

1. Relax into Silence with the spoken intent to connect more deeply with Divine Presence. I intend to connect with Divine Presence. I open a Sacred Space for healing and wholeness. Wait there a while and be.

2. Identify a negative draining thought, feeling or emotion which is in your immediate energy field such as rage, for example. Or name the diagnosed imbalance you want to clear blocked energy for, such as breast cancer.

3. State aloud with conviction, With the Energy of the Most High, I command out the blocked core source of the rage I am feeling, (of the breast cancer, I am manifesting) through all time and space, with the intent to come into greater Balance and Peace. I affirm my desire to connect more deeply with Divine Presence in my life.

4. I offer my deepest thanks for this support and for the power of this healing within me.

__________

It may seem easier to get medical drugs, therapies and pills to take care of a situation. However, the same imbalances that brought the last sinus infection, the last back ache, the last heart attack, the last cancer stay with us unless we release the thoughts and feelings that have caused the imbalances in the first place. We get all the chances we need to come into balance. If you want to be done with chronic imbalance, go inside. Work with Divine Presence with the intent of creating more Peace and Balance, Health and Wholeness. All healing modalities can be supported and strengthened with inner spiritual work. Release that which you know is out of balance and all else will follow.

Begin Today. Sit today in Silence and cast out that which is manifesting as imbalance in your life. Repeat these processes frequently until the negative emotions have left your being or until the physical imbalance is re-balanced. Healing comes a little at a time. Keep calling out the imbalances, a little at the time.

inner peace

Steps to Integrity

Footer