Standing Tall

An ostrich buries its head in the sand, you say. Have you been accused of doing the same? When on the spiritual path, you begin to see far more light than darkness. Has the world changed? Yes. YOUR world has brightened, for you have changed your focus.

Perception is reality. Darkness may continue around you, for so many feel the need to focus their attention on perceived darkness. You need not walk in their shoes.Once the Light shines inside you, the way is very clear. Allow others to wallow if they will. Send them love, then walk on, shining brightly. It is a choice you make from moment to moment: to give power to darkness, which is not a thing at all, or to see and be only goodness.

Is this naïve, or is this Truth in action? What has focusing on darkness brought to others? What has focusing on Love and Light brought to YOU? It has brought you peace, has it not? This enables you to share your light with others, even if you mistakenly believe it is only with one soul at a time. The effects are more far-reaching than you realize.

Go ahead. Stick your head in the sand, but be like your so-called tiki torch. Stand there and glow—perhaps the only light on the beach. But to what will others on the beach be attracted? To more of the same darkness, or to one solitary ray of light? Shine on, oh brave ostrich. You are the torch in the darkness.

True vs. False

Do you not understand that the devil is a human creation and not a reality? God is. God is all that is. God is all goodness and love. THAT is the only power that is. All else is a lack of God-power. “How can this be?” you ask.

What is darkness? Is it a real thing? Does it have power? No. It is merely the lack of light. What is evil? Is it a real power? No. It is merely a lack of Love.

The devil exists only within human consciousness, and only if you allow this false creation into your reality. To the one who truly knows God, the devil is not a power. Evil is a human trait. Rise above your humanness to the conscious vibration of Spirit. There you will find no evil and no devil, for imbued with the consciousness of Light, there can be no darkness.

Well Within Reach

You are told to reach for the stars. Why is this? Because the far away glittering light is a bit magical. It represents the unknown. Yes, a bit out of reach, but something solid that you can achieve. But is it really solid? Your scientists tell you the star may no longer even exist—that you are viewing the remnants of it in the form of light. Go within your consciousness and there you will find treasures beyond belief, yet well within your reach. The light there can burn far brighter than any star.

How do you reach this light that for many seems out of reach? You clear away the clutter—the weeds that have been choking off your earthly dreams. Reach not for the stars, but dust off your dreams that lie there within you. The dust and dirt comes in the form of your own consciousness telling you that you are unworthy and incapable of achieving your greatest desires. Be the shining star you are. Recognize the lies you tell yourself, and allow your greatness, your inner divinity, to shine.

Your Personal Fragrance

A fragrant stew cooks on the stove. Its aroma wafts throughout the house so that all know what meal awaits. It is a reliable signal. Do you know that you send out signals as well? No, we are not talking about scent or sight, but vibration. All is energy.

Those sensitive to energy can read you like a book in an instant. This is what you will encounter when you pass to the realm of pure spirit. There are no secrets there. All is recorded by your vibrational signature. You resonate or don’t instantly with all other beings of light. Here and now you can get away with things and thoughts with some who are not sensitive, but not always.

Imagine if all could smell your thoughts like a stew on the stove. Would you not wish others to anticipate your arrival and revel in your presence rather than being repelled? Your every thought builds up or drags down your “scent.” Be as beautifully aromatic as you can. Love is life’s sweetest perfume. Spray it about liberally.

From the Inside Out

You wear a cast on a limb to fix a broken bone. But does the cast do the work? Of course not. The cast is merely a tool that allows healing to take place. Your body is a similar tool. It allows Spirit to work. The body can take no credit for the activity of Spirit. Spirit, like healing within the cast, will do its work with or without the body. Unlike a cast, the body can move. It is quite a useful tool for Spirit to use in expressing itself.

Will you keep spirit encased and immobile as if in a cast, or give it full expression? You control its expression with your consciousness. Spirit longs to express its true nature of love and goodness. Spirit is eternal and perfect. It is the human that is imperfect. In expressing your true nature, it is you who heals—you, as the human being. Heal yourself from the inside out.

How?

How will you be remembered? We speak not of what loved ones will say when you depart from this world to enter the next. How will you be remembered when you depart from one room to the next? From one house to the next? From the presence of one person to the next? What residual energy do you leave behind? It is a tangible thing, you know.

A part of you lingers where ’ere you go. How will you be remembered? Will you leave a heavy energy that leaves a pall in a room? (Do you see the root of your word, “appalling”?) Or will you leave a vibrant energy that lights up those left behind? (Do you see the root of your word “enlighten”?) You do this. Everywhere you go, you leave a part of you: your vibrational signature. You call these “memories,” and do not memories linger? It is more than a figure of speech, my friend. You linger forever, and you live forever, for you are spirit—far more than human.

How will you be remembered?

Flexibility

Zero tolerance—a term you use for when there are no exceptions to your rules. “There will be none of that, or you will have to pay the consequences.” A zero sum game. All or nothing. One or the other. Is this not a bit rigid? Is not life about experience and experimenting? Do you not learn from trying and failing? Oh, but we hear your rational mind at work, and even in the spirit world we can see how you would not tolerate certain actions. Understand that all that you know as evil springs from ignorance of spiritual truths—that there is naught but God, and God is love and goodness. All else is ignorance and illusion.

Today we speak to you not of extremes, but of you and your day-to-day actions and thinking. Are you a bit rigid? Do you have a zero tolerance mentality? Do you see how this can hold you prisoner and not allow growth and learning? This is often learned behavior. Relax your self-imposed rules. See things from a different angle. Most of all, today see yourself from a different angle—one who is here to learn to express your true and only Self.

Be that which you are: goodness and love at the core. Be that, and you can tolerate ignorance in others, sending them loving kindness until they, too, discover Reality.

More or Less?

“There is something more. There is something more. There is more, more, more …”

A voice inside you repeats itself in an ongoing litany, pushing you, making you a seeker. But what is it you seek? Is it more riches, more friends, more accumulation of things? If so, then you will continue seeking and experience frustration. No amount of things outside of you will satisfy the voice or the urge. What is it that It pushes you to find? It is love, and peace, and stillness—all the same thing—but you will never find it as long as you keep seeking it. Quite the paradox, is it not?

Turn inside to the Voice. Tune in to the Voice. Now, be more of that which you have been seeking, once you recognize that what you have been seeking is peace, joy, and love. Turn that up, and what a discovery you will make! Suddenly, the Voice dims. You no longer need more, and more, and more things, for you are being that which you seek. Once you give love and joy and emanate peace, no longer do you need riches and things outside yourself.

Being that which you are and expressing it to the physical world quiets the Voice. You have blended with it and now understand that you are One with it, and that there is only one Voice.

Your Silver Lining

Silver linings on the clouds. What causes them? It is the bright light of the sun shining forth from behind this massive form. A light shines inside of you at all times. Do not at times others tell you that you have a glow about you? It is at these times that you are allowing the light inside you to be felt. It is visible to others and tangible to you in the form of joy, love, and peace. This is your silver lining.

How do you bring forth the glow? You must rid yourself of blockages—these mental obstacles that hide your inner light. Only you can do this for yourself. Work through your energy centers one by one, shining and polishing them in your mind, seeing them as purified. Do not be surprised if old issues come to the surface. Once exposed to the light, you can now release them.

This is not a one-time event, but an ongoing process of purification, for the human does gather dust. Clear out the obstacles regularly and allow your light to shine.

Note from Suzanne: When I heard the first words today ("A swan's song") my initial reaction was, "But I'm not sure what a swan's song is!" I was immediately put in my place as I was told that each moment is a lesson in trusting this connection. I didn't need to know. I only had to sit back, trust, and listen. What followed was a poem with a rhyming pattern they've never used before (AABA, CCDC, etc.). And of course, when I googled "swan's song" after the meditation was over, their definition was perfect.

May you all walk about today trusting in the loving guidance available to you each moment when you remember to ask.

***

A swan’s song … such a lament.
One last tune before life is spent.
Will you leave happy, full of life’s greatest joy?
We know that all wish just to leave here content.

The choices you make determine your direction.
Why is it so many seek naught but perfection?
“I want it all!” you cry as if it’s your right,
Then head off unwilling to accept a correction.

Life is a journey, a winding course.
You wander off aimlessly, as if there’s no Source.
But you’re always guided, directed by Love
That most powerful, certain, unwavering Force.

Relax as you ponder your role in this play.
Worry not so much of what occurs day to day
But watch your thoughts in each moment—what goes on in your mind,
For these do determine how smooth is the way.

We walk right beside you, holding your hand.
Be not frightened as you step into uncharted land.
Life's an adventure when viewed in this way,
Knowing with God you can meet any demand.

Without Looking

Be indiscriminate in your loving. Love everyone. Do not stop and look first. When you do that, your judgments get in the way. “Oh, that one has long hair and a beard. He is not one I would associate with.” “Oh, that one is overweight or too thin.” “Oh, that one is a bit smelly.” It is ego that judges.

Are you not doing your best to let Spirit rule your life? The best way is to love indiscriminately. Yes, everyone: your so-called saints and sinners, remembering that all that you see is the mask. That is not the real being. It is the part you do not see or smell or touch that is the same in all beings. That is the Source of the very love you are sharing. Make the connection, and all Spirit comes alive—in you and in the other. Whether or not you see this, it is felt.

Throw your love about indiscriminately. Why would you not? If you come up with an immediate excuse, we ask you to see beyond your own mask. Step aside, Ego. This is not about you. This is about finding peace, joy, and Truth.

Heed the Call

A trumpet sounds, announcing a momentous event. "Pay attention," its clarion call says. It is the birth of a king. All kneel down in reverence.

A voice speaks inside your head. It is not nearly so loud as the blare of a trumpet. In fact, it whispers. "I am here. Will you give birth to me? It is I, Spirit, here in your very Kingdom within."

You need not announce to the world the arrival of this realization. Perhaps you are a bit embarrassed that it took you so long to realize that Spirit was there all along awaiting you. No need to worry. All rejoice at your awakening. The flurry you feel inside? It is the residual vibration of a thousand trumpets announcing the awakening of yet another soul to the glory of the kingdom. It is love and joy you feel, and it is You who has brought this on in rejoining with your True Self.

In the Driver's Seat

Ego so often gets in your way. He stands firmly in place, taking a hard stance, and says, “I am in charge here. Trust me. I will tell you what to do.” Quite a bossy fellow, Ego is. And what exactly is it that Ego gets in the way of? Your very wisest decisions. Your very peace of mind.

Ego thinks it acts in your best interest, but you are far more than ego. You are human being and spirit being, and this is a problem for Ego. If you were to discover how very powerful is your eternal spirit nature, Ego would have to take a back seat. He does not like it there. He plays an important role in helping you navigate the human streets, but he does not have to be in the driver’s seat. Buckle him in beside you and thank him for his services, but let Spirit guide your every move.

Oh, how smooth the ride will be when you finally put Ego in his proper place.

In Tune

Music soothes the savage beast, but also enrages it. Each of your musical notes corresponds to an energy center within the body. Picture your subtle body like a keyboard with the energy centers as the vibrating strings attached to each key. As a note is played in the physical world, the relevant center vibrates in resonance. This is why certain songs strike you so blatantly. Yes, they activate your emotions, for each energy center is related to a specific emotion.

You have seen, perhaps, your Christmas lights that dance and light up in response to the notes of a song. This is what the body does. Can you see this in your mind? It is no wonder that you respond as you do to certain songs. You are being played by the vibrations of sound. Use music to your advantage. Soothe the soul or energize it as needed. Hold the image in your mind of the body as a vibrating, perfectly tuned instrument and let it sing in resonance with joy as you fill your life with joyful song.

Ride it Out

After the storm comes the calm. This is a law of nature … something upon which you can rely when the winds swirl about you. You know that you need only bide your time, and peace will once again prevail. The same is true of this situation in which you find yourself. All of life is changing. Were nothing to ever change, there would be no growth. Know that this too shall pass. The outcome may not be as you would wish, but peace will eventually come. All will be resolved, to give rise to a new adventure.

Things may seem hopeless when you are in the thick of the storm, but the clouds do eventually part. Do not lose hope. The sun is always inside, awaiting your recognition. When you recognize this, the storm passes even sooner.

Signs

Stigmata: points on the palms that bleed spontaneously … symbols of the pain Christ suffered on the cross. You suffer as well for the ignorance of others to the truth of who they are: children of God, created in the image of the Creator. You bleed as well, but your blood flows as tears from the eyes—escape points for the pain you feel inside. It is the human who bleeds and cries. It is the Christ inside each human that knows the truth and is at peace.

These rare so-called miraculous events of the stigmata are wake-up calls—reminders that there is a reality far greater than this physical life and that you are here for a reason. It is the more common occurrence of the tears that alert you to disharmony. The disharmony arises from your perception of external events. Always can you return inside and find peace. Once found, dry your tears and externalize that which you found within to heal your own perceptions and those of those around you.

Letting Go

Why are you so often disappointed? Because you have expectations. From whence come these desires? From the ego. Ego says, “I want this to happen a certain way. I want this person to do a certain thing.” Always it is your way and your desire for your outcome. Of course, when this does not come about, you experience dissatisfaction and disappointment.

How often do you simply surrender and allow others to be themselves? They are here for their own experiences and growth. God revels in diversity. It is the ego which rebels. Relax a bit. Can you do this? Your Creator does not worry or experience frustration. When you experience these lesser vibrations, recognize the ego in action. To find satisfaction and peace, learn to allow all outside of yourself to unfold as it will. With release comes peace.

Because You Love

One of your greatest challenges is to sit back and observe whilst one you love suffers through their own challenges. Why do you wish to help? Because you have suffered yourself and you wish to save them from pain. You have learned. You have gained wisdom and can see a better way for them. Yes, you can help. Feel free to do so. Offer loving advice as it feels right in your heart to do so, but when met with resistance or when the other does not “hear” you, see this as a message from the soul of the one you love that the human being attached to that soul is working through their lessons still. The resistance is not a personal affront, although in many cases it will come across in that way.

Do your best to not internalize the other’s pain. Send only love—that greatest of healing energy. The soul will receive it, if not the human ego. Can you practice detached compassion and allow your loved one to grow as you send love? If not, you will experience your own pain and stunted growth. Do you see how you grow together … how very interconnected you are?

Grow in love. It is love which binds you, or you would not feel the pain. But know that pain need not be ever-present. Practice the art of allowing life and its lessons to unfold, loving ever more deeply as you do so.

In Digestion ...

A Happy Meal – a special meal you purchase for your children to make them smile. It contains a toy—a tiny treasure to bring joy. Why are your adult meals often so joyless? You eat without mindfulness. Do you pay attention as your nourishment enters the body? Do you feel gratitude for the source of your food and the miracle of digestion? Do you share high vibrations with those who share your meal or is there disharmony? This, of course, affects the digestion.

In all of your actions, practice mindfulness. Be aware of the miracle of life, instead of driving on auto-pilot. Savor every bit of this earthly experience, whether it be a happy meal or a challenging learning experience. Digest your adventures fully, and grow all the more strong as a result.

The Ride of Your Life

Fortitude. Strength. Determination. All of these signify a lack of weakness and the ability to stand firm in a storm. To many, strength is preferable over its opposite, but are there not benefits to both? Does not the twig break when it bends not? In this world of duality, you are free to choose. You move back and forth from strength to weakness, trying them out. Which feels best? Which is appropriate for the situation? And do not all situations constantly change as well?

Yours is not a world of “one size fits all.” There is no one solution, for there is no one situation or perspective. Learn to find peace with diversity, equanimity amidst imbalance. Strength and weakness are two ends of the same spectrum. Always can you return to the center when riding the arc of the pendulum becomes too unsettling. Settle in for the ride … this E-ticket ride of great adventure is why you are here. The choices you make and what you experience as a result are the price of admission.