Be Fearless

Fear is a subtle killer. It kills your dreams and it kills your hopes. It comes in the form of thoughts which tell you that you are not good enough or that you will not meet the expectations of yourself or others. Fear is a by-product of the ego, for were you to stand only as the presence of love—which is your true nature as a spirit-being—you would have no fear. You would have only the knowledge that all there is is love.

Love yourself fully. In so doing, you allow your true Self to shine forth. If there is anything to be “killed,” it is the ego’s grasp on your Self. The spirit cannot be killed, for it is eternal and all-powerful. Listen to your thoughts. Catch those that are fear-based and cast them out. Do not resist or resent them, for do they not teach you? Send them on their way with love … these fears you now recognize as falsehoods and limiters. You need hold onto them no longer. Be your true Self. Be fear-less, stand tall, and be an example to all.

Fly Free

You are free … free to explore and discern—a free spirit, unencumbered by beliefs and misperceptions. It is the ego which does believe it needs to think and act a certain way. It is the ego which puffs itself up with names and titles and credits. The only reason one need join organizations is the fellowship, but never need you be told by another what to think or what to believe. Even these very words are but suggestions to open your mind to free thinking.

Succumb not to the group mentality. Always will there be those within groups in whom the ego dominates. Not always are they the most obvious—those who take the lead or beat the chest. Oft they are those who cling and appear the most needy, when in reality this is yet another of the ego’s ploys. If there are those truly in need of succor, then give it, but fall not into ego’s trap. Remain a free spirit. Discern truth and follow your heart. Give love freely, but give not your soul in support of the ego. You are free to fly, dream, and discover. This need not always be in a flock.

Surrender

Surrender is not weakness. It is one of the most powerful actions you can take, when what you are surrendering is the ego. In this way you say, “I know that the ego is not my true self.” The ego wants and needs to be in charge for its survival, but in giving full dominion to the false self, you do negate the presence and power of the spirit within.

With the utterance of two simple words, “I surrender,” you do announce to the ego that there is a greater Force in charge. You do give up all need to control and let the Source of Love and Wisdom work through you. It becomes as a flow of energy and direction, directing your thoughts and actions instead of a willful “I know what’s right” attitude. When Spirit is finally allowed to flow and direct, through the simple act of surrender, then miracles can and do occur.
Surrender is not an act of weakness, my friend, for as you have heard, blessed are the meek.

Ego vs. Spirit

Carry on, even when the road gets bumpy. You may wish to stop exposing yourself—always so vulnerable to attack, but this is the ego that says, “Look out. Be on guard. We do not want opposition.” It is the spirit that says, “All is in perfect order. Fear not. Simply follow your heart.”

It matters not what others think or say about you, for the you of whom they speak is not the spirit-being, but the human-being. Were they to speak of the spirit-being, they would be speaking of their very self, for there is but one spirit. It is the ego in others and in you which causes the human-being to judge. Allow yourself and others to be human, but always remember who you are—a spirit-being … pure love at the core. Let others say and think what they will. It is only blindness that does the judging.

Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are

Do not retreat into your cave when things do not go as you wish. There is a difference between going within and sitting in the silence and going within a physical hiding place and sitting in solitariness.

It is far better when suffering to be with other souls. Do not wait for them to make you feel better, but radiate love outward, even if you can only muster a small glimmer. Serve. Serve others, for in so doing you are connecting at the soul level, and this will bring about far more healing far more rapidly than sitting alone and licking your wounds. The latter only brings about more misery as you focus solely on the self.

Place your focus on others. Through these vital connections you will experience humanity and realize that others suffer as well. Others rejoice as well. They are there to remind you that life is full of ups and downs and life does go on. So go on. Come out of your cave and live. In so doing, you allow your love to flow instead of stagnating. This flow brings vitality, and with renewed vitality you get back into the flow of life.

Be Guided

Haystacks … tall piles of straw … millions of pieces of matter that look alike, and somewhere buried in that haystack is a needle. How are you supposed to find it? When you have the right instruments, all tasks become simple. A very large magnet would make this task quite easy, would it not?

You have a beautiful divining rod there within you—a highly useful tool for sorting the wheat from the chaff. You do call this your intuition. Like a magnet, your intuition can show you what you need attract to you and what you are best to repel. Like the needle, it appears hidden at times. It is only a matter of knowing it is there, this tool of the spirit. Listen to that gentle inner urging. Do not be like the millions of others marching to the same tune. Follow the voice inside and like a magnetic compass that always points north, be guided unerringly.

Compassion

Compassion … caring for another … feeling their pain and understanding how they feel. Compassion comes from knowing that at your core you are all the same. Even one who has no understanding of the truths of the Spirit can have compassion for another human, for the human experience is all the same … birth, death, and the celebrations and trials in between.

It is the very presence of Spirit which gives rise to compassion. Human experiences will pass, but compassion remains, for its source is Love, and Love, like the Spirit, is eternal. See your brothers and sisters with compassion. Look upon them with love and honor the Spirit within all.

A Taste of Heaven

What is death, but a shift in your state of consciousness? In one state, you focus on the physical world, seeing through the eyes, interpreting all by how it looks, or feels, or sounds, and you think that these external things are the only reality. And then, in the blink of an eye, from one now-moment to the next, reality changes. You not longer have an eye to blink, fingers with which to feel, ears with which to hear, but lo! Behold! You are still alive! You must be, for you know that you are there. You are thinking thoughts. You feel the same. You know who you are, but everything around you has changed. Tune into this reality, and you realize that which you cannot feel with your senses you now feel so much stronger … you feel love, my friend, for you have come home.

Do not fear death. It is merely a transition. But do not hurry it along, either. You are here now to bring your true home to this experience. Love with all your heart and experience a taste of heaven wherever you go.

Poem #405 - This Path You're On

Bellows stoke the fire.
Air does fan the flames.
What began as just a spark
Now as a giant roar remains.

The path to your awakening
Is a bit like this.
There is no turning back, my friend,
Once you do taste the bliss.

You have that tiny spark right now.
It’s waiting to be fanned.
By thoughts and dreams and wishes,
And beliefs that once you banned.

So open up your mind and heart,
And fan the flames with glee.
This path you have embarked upon
Is the one that sets you free.

*** Barriers

Barriers … walls you erect around yourself with your thoughts. “Do not come too close,” say the invisible signs which hang there. The walls themselves are invisible—so see-through that at times you are not even aware you have erected them. Of what are they made, these walls that keep others at bay? Of energy—like an electrified fence around a prison, and you are the prisoner.

Why hold yourself in solitary confinement? This is not your natural state. It is a state of fear which holds you there. What is fear, but the absence of love? It is quite a paradox, for often fear arises from the false thought that you will not get enough love. And so arise the walls.

You, my friend, have the Source of All Love within you. You are it. You are the love you seek. You need only BE it, and reflect it, and radiate it outwards. This radiation is the most powerful force in the world. It has the power to knock down walls. And so, as you send love outwards, you knock down the barriers that have been holding you apart from others, and in flows the love you have been seeking. Do you see how it works? Love ardently. Knock down your walls, and receive love in abundance in return.

Chocolates for the Soul

Chocolates for the soul … little morsels of wisdom that you do collect and digest for the pleasure they bring. Perhaps you keep a small diary of these delectable treats—words which speak to your heart and make it sing … words which remind you that this world of meat and potatoes is not so full of gristle as it seems.

If you do not have your collection of sweet morsel now, we advise you to begin collecting them. There are times when you need a little treat—a pick-me-up to remind you of the path you are on. Chocolates for the soul … you will know them when you find them. Collect them carefully and digest them slowly, savoring every bite. This is how you get through the dark nights.

Trees vs. Forest

Hidden in the forest lies the answer to the puzzle. You cannot see the big picture, for you see only details—tiny pieces of the puzzle. One appears to be a great oak tree, and so you think the world is made of oak trees. You step a bit farther along the path and you see a palm tree, and your whole conception of what is true changes. “The world must be made of palm trees, instead!” And you take a step farther around a bend in your path and encounter an elm. “What is this new reality? Am I living in a world of oaks, of palms, or elms?”

My friend, it is true what they say: You cannot see the forest for the trees. Reality is far greater than the individual piece you perceive with your physical senses. Be not deceived. Have faith and trust that all will be revealed in time. For now, do not root your beliefs so firmly in physical perception until you can step fully beyond the forest and fly.

Color Your World

The sky appears blue, but is it really this color? What is color, but different vibrations along the spectrum of light? You vibrate as well, and your color changes with your thoughts and emotions… at times blue, at times red with anger, at times yellow with fear. Understand that we use these in allegorical fashion, for each color does have a particular frequency which resonates with the energy centers in your body. Red indicates stability …yellow, power … and blue, spiritual understanding. Green is oft associated with love, for it resonates with the heart center, so when you are feeling “blue,” imagine a beautiful field of emerald green light surrounding you and filling your heart. Flood your body with this green color until it radiates outward.

It is difficult to be “blue” when bathed in love. Share this love-bath with others who are a bit off-color, and watch the effects. A bit of emotional artistry is a good thing. Today, and every day, color your world with love.

Resonance

What is resonance, but when two or more waves enjoy compatibility in their frequency. You know a kindred spirit immediately upon meeting by the very feeling they produce in you. This is resonance. Your energetic signatures—your personal vibrational frequencies—are in tune, not dissonant. Energy is malleable. It changes in accordance with your thoughts and feelings. This is why your friends may change over time, for the personal vibration does change as one develops spiritually and emotionally. You will find yourself gathering ’round you souls of like vibration.

What is discord, but two frequencies vibrating out of sync. While you may never reach perfect resonance, radiate love. Pure Love is the highest vibration. It brings all others into sync with it. Is it time to move on when you no longer resonate with one you have known for years? Ask your Self. Synchronize with those around you by being the very presence of love. Do you have such power? Why, of course you do! There is naught but love, and you are it. Even the lesser vibrations come from love, but do reflect an absence of purity. Seek harmony in all facets of your life and be in resonance with All That Is. Raise your vibration with thoughts of love, and harmonize your world.

Believe

Those who believe in miracles do experience them. What is a miracle, but an event or action beyond the normal human experience? Do you not yet understand that there occur events and actions far beyond the human experience at all times? There exist dimensions upon dimensions. All co-exist and inter-mingle, but you are presently blinded by your physical senses to other realities.

Look again at the opening sentence: “Those who believe in miracles do experience them.” Belief is the key that unlocks the door to other realms. You create first with thought. If you do not believe there is anything beyond the physical, then you cannot create so-called miraculous experiences for yourself. Stretch your beliefs bit by bit so as not to exceed your comfort zone too much at first. As you experience tiny “miracles” by allowing yourself to believe that your world is not all there is and that you never walk alone, then you can modify your belief system even more and progress from baby steps to giant leaps for mankind.

Miracles are not miraculous. Never do they break the immutable laws of nature. It is simply a fact that Nature is far more expansive than the physical realm. It is your human nature to think your realm is all there is. Take a few baby steps. Take your time. Then, when you are ready, take a giant leap and believe.

Look Straight Ahead

When watching the sun rise over your ocean, from anywhere you look upon the horizon the sun is straight ahead. How do you explain this miracle? It is quite simple: As above, so below. From anywhere you look, the Source of All Love is straight ahead as well as there within. As without, so within.

Look straight ahead as you walk. Always are you guided. The sun always rises and love is ever present. These are things upon which you can always rely. Look not to the ephemeral, but that which is eternal … the soul—the seat of Spirit, there within your heart. Feel it and follow it and never will you go astray.

Mushrooms

Soldiers in a battle—that is what you are. We hesitate to use such bellicose words, but quite appropriate are they in reference to your world of light and dark. So many spend so much time in darkness that it becomes like a home. They grow comfortable there. They feed on it like your mushrooms, growing in darkness amidst the stench. All of these negative images we thrust upon you to awaken your understanding that you can bring light into your world. You need not spread the fungus.

Open the windows wide on those in darkness by shining your light so brightly they cannot fail to see it. At first, those mired in negativity may shield the eyes and rebel, but shine on. Soon they will recognize this long-forgotten feeling. The subconscious knows it as love, the true home. Use love as your weapon in this battle against darkness and shine it like a laser until you help those around you to emerge from their hiding place and find their true self.

Poem #404 - Not Without Some Pain

Sounds of creation: creaks and groans
And what at times do sound like moans.
But is it suffering that you hear?
Let us make this perfectly clear …

Does not the mother cry in pain?
When giving birth she moans the same.
For creation is a wondrous thing.
These creaks and groans pure joy do sing.

A bit of pain is worth the cost
To bring again what was never lost—
The presence of spirit to the sight …
Bringing Consciousness to the light.

All is spirit, can’t you see?
With this knowledge you are free.
But not without a creak or groan
For suffering’s what leads you home.

If you knew only love and peace
You would not ever seek release.
And thus would stagnate your soul’s growth
For this your soul did take an oath:

I promise I will always grow
And do my best true love to show
Even if the cost to me is high
I will be born and then I’ll die.”

But just a temporary stint
For this human life will give a hint
Of your true nature—what is real
Through creaks and groans life will reveal

That all is Spirit—this you’ll learn
And then the pain inside you’ll spurn
No longer will you need to moan
For then you truly will be home.

Feeling Very Human ...

Note from Suzanne: Just before walking into my study to meditate, I read the blaring headlines that 10 years after 9/11, Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the attacks, had been killed. My immediate reaction was very human. It was relief, not joy, but still it flew in the face of all I have been feeling spiritually recently. I sat to meditate, and the following words from Sanaya came at me before I even asked the question …

In a world of duality such as yours, you have what you do know as good and evil. These are both ends of the same spectrum. There are varying degrees of each. Where does good end and evil begin? It is a matter of perception, and perception varies with the perceiver.

When is it justified to rejoice over the death of one who perpetrated evil? We would say that first you must understand that death is only the end of the physical body. You cannot kill the soul. The soul always pays the price for its acts. It is the Law of Cause and Effect.

Is it justified to take the life of another in retaliation for the taking of lives or to stop the taking of yet more lives? You do this for what you call “justice.” Know that justice is an act which rides the path between good and evil, sliding the bar toward the center. What is the motive? Always study the motive. If love is behind the act and not power, gain, or glory, there you will find peace. These are difficult choices and thoughts you face in this world of duality, but always you have love as your litmus test.

Points of Light

You are all points of light. Billions of stars light the sky, but are the stars the source of light, or merely a reflection of it? You know the answer. And so we say to you yet again: As above, so below. Billions of souls walk about your planet, but are they the source of the Light, or a reflection of it? In this case, not a true reflection, for the light burns within them, but their thoughts and actions are a reflection of the strength of the Light they are allowing to shine through. At times quite cloudy is this field of stars, yet always there are those who burn so brightly they shine through the clouds, standing out as a beacon that says, “I know what I am …”

Do you yet realize what you are? A point of light … a focus of the loving Consciousness that created you … that breathes Life into you. Be the shining star you are and wash away the clouds.