Selective Hearing

If you would only listen, oh what you would hear.  A repetitive sound in the bedroom will keep you awake, will it not?  You allow it to distract you and “drive you crazy” to the point where you lie in bed sleepless.  This is because you allow your focus to remain there.  The moment your focus moves to something else, the original distraction no longer bothers you. 

There is a voice inside you that whispers all the time.  “I AM love, and you are that.”  Can you imagine how your life would change if you were to keep your focus on that voice?  It would not drive you to distraction.  It would propel you to spread that love with all you encounter.  Now, that is a kind of craziness your world could use more of.

Balancing Out

You recover from your excesses.  At the dawn of a new day, you say, “Never again.”  At the dawn of a new year you say, “I am starting anew.”  What does it matter if you enjoyed a bit of excess?  It matters not a bit if you learned nothing from it.  Seek balance.  When there is excess, balance it with a bit of deprivation.  We apologize if the latter has a bit of a negative connotation, but does not “excess” also carry the same feeling?  Excess and deprivation.  Why do both carry a negative vibration?  For they represent opposite ends of a see-saw of sorts.  Where do you find peace?  At the center.  Once again, neither end of the see-saw need be perceived as “bad” if you can learn from it to seek balance.  Once you have experienced the center more often, you will no longer care to stray to the far ends.

Giving Thanks

Pity not those with little money.
Many are rich beyond measure.
They count their blessings not in coins,
But in the things that most do treasure.

Love, communion, sharing life ...
It's these that truly count.
So on this day of giving thanks,
Perhaps your worries you'll surmount.

Focus on what matters most.
Go straight into the heart.
You won't find worry there, or fear at all.
Those things keep you apart.

It's love that rules, it's love that reigns,
It's love that carries on
Long after all the football games
And all the turkey's gone.

Yes, of course we speak of mundane things.
We know your world quite well.
It's when you come to know the Spirit
That true gratitude does swell.

Exposed

“Just be yourself.”  How often have you heard this?  It is good advice when it refers to not thinking that you must act a certain way to get attention or to be liked.  You need not dress a certain way or say cute phrases.  Just be yourself.  We are not speaking now of the one who has taken on a name.  John, Mary, Joseph, and Annie, or whatever label was given to you at birth are roles you have all taken on.  Being yourself means stripping away the labels, the clothes, the language, and the behaviors.  “Why, then I would be naked!” you cry.  “Exposed!”  And you are right. 

Expose yourself:  a beautiful child of God, pure and clean.  You are that now.  Oh!  Do you see how the guilt rears up for all past human transgressions?  There is not one among you in human form who does not have them.  But know that there is not one among you who is also not a pure spirit-being.  You are both at once while in this incarnation.  Which self do you choose to be right now?  The one who feels he or she needs to impress others to be loved, or the one who is Love?

So Simple

You are never under any obligation to do anything.  Ah, yes … you have your rules, and of course you must pay your taxes, you joke.  But these are human obligations.  As the spirit-being that you are, you are under no obligation to DO anything.  You could simply sit back and BE for your entire incarnation, and that would be fine.  You did, however, come here for a purpose.  “Oh, please tell me what it is!” you cry.  Your soul knows the answer.  Why don’t you ask it.  You heart will reply.  On a smaller scale you fulfill your purpose when you find your passion.  On a larger scale you fulfill your purpose when you love.  It is that simple.  Be.  Love.  Why make it any harder?

Do you see?

Do you see how you help people?  And all it takes is an open hand to touch an arm, a smile to remind another that someone cares.  Do you see how you help people?  And all it takes is looking into another’s eyes and saying even without words, “I care.”  Do you see how you help people?  And all it takes is opening your heart and allowing the love that is you to be felt by others … not waiting, not withholding, but letting it flow.  Do you see how you help people … just by being you.

Let it Flow

Do you know what manipulative behavior is?  You are trying to control circumstances or others’ behavior for a desired outcome—one that is to your liking.  The ends you seek may be positive, negative, or neutral to the other, but perceived as favorable for you.  Manipulation indicates a lack of trust in the flow of life.  It is all ego’s doing.  The spirit knows that all is perfect—perhaps not in your human world, where ego rules, but at the level of the spirit, where the heart rules, there is no need to exert control or “have it your way.”  Be aware of when you may be trying to control situations and people.  Could you perhaps be avoiding a lesson you need to learn?  The spirit knows what that lesson is, if you will only ask.

On the Right Track

You want to change the world.  Do you honestly think you can change everybody?  First examine why you want to do so.  If it is because there is not enough love, then you are on the right track.  But be cautioned:  You need not touch every life—only one.  You are the source of love in your world.  That is the only one you need work on.  Are you fully loving all of the time, unconditionally?  If not 100%, then why worry about others?  Begin at home.  You may not be able to change all others, but you can make 100% of the changes you desire to see within yourself.  We are not speaking of physical things, but consciousness, which is, after all, the basis of all things. It creates the pattern for what is to follow.  Follow your heart, where love resides, and be the change you wish to see in the world (with our thanks for the use of his words to one who understood compassion and understanding).

Paying Attention

Seeming coincidences are actual events meant to get your attention.  This word of yours (“coincidence”) tends to downplay or dismiss their importance.  “Oh, that was only a coincidence!” you say.  Oh yes?  Well, why did it happen, and more importantly, why did you notice?  It happened so that you would notice.  Pay attention to coincidences.  They are attention-getters on purpose.  You ask to interact with the other side.  You ask to hear from your unseen helpers.  And so, they send you signs in the form of coincidences.  Are you paying attention? 

No Excuse

Excuses, excuses.  You all have them.  You make them in response to expectations—either your own or others’.  Perhaps your excuses need a bit of examining.  Why do you make some of the same ones over and over?  Could there be something there that truly needs changing?  You need merely get out of the head, where excuses lie, and into the heart.  How does it FEEL when you make these excuses?  Is there peace in your heart as you repeat the excuse?  Then you are exercising healthy boundaries.  Is there a twinge of discomfort?  Then heed that “voice.”  It is that simple.  Once again, a dose of awareness is all it takes to propel you on a path of healing change.

Choose Your Moments

Sorrow only lasts a moment, as does every emotion you feel, for all you have is this moment. It is your choice, using your free will, how many moments of sorrow or joy you will link together.  Some of you get stuck adding one moment of sorrow to the next. You do not realize it is a choice.  You base your emotions on your thoughts until the body's chemical reactions take over and it craves the repetition of that feeling. You control your thoughts and hence your emotions.  

Yes, grieving is a process ... a process of placing one moment next to another until you learn to place one higher than the last until they lead you out of the abyss.  It can be a steady progression -- a chain of ups and downs, or a giant leap upward, but you are in control.  Do not forget that, and never forget how much you are loved as you face the moments of life.

In Place

“When your heart is in the right place, things fall into place.”  Yes, a quote you would do well to bear in mind.  What is your motive?  Is it strictly to earn power, fame, or fortune? You may get where you want to go, but the rewards and results will be far less than if you were motivated by altruism.  It is fear that causes so many to ask for more than they need.  You already have all that you need, and you can find it deep inside.  Give from that place, and as we said, all will fall into place.

Unscattered

Scattered and smothered … this is how you feel at times, do you not?  The mind goes running off in all directions, and then the body does the same.  Take a moment in these moments of mental frenzy and notice your breathing.  It is likely quite shallow and as erratic as your thoughts.  You can bring all back to rapid balance by focusing on the breath.  Pull in a deep breath from the earth.  Then pull in a deep breath from the heavens.  Where the two meet you will find balance.  Is it any surprise that this meeting point is at the heart?  Breathe deeply and find peace, focus, and balance at the center of you.

Adieu

When the heart stops beating, it is not the end, merely the turning of a page to a new chapter for all.  The one who took their last earthly breath now begins a new adventure.  Those who remain in the former story line are not left behind, but left to write their continued story in a different way. 

No story continues the same forever, although many would like it to be so.  Where is the learning in that?  Where is the growth?  It is the change which brings opportunities to experience love beyond words.  If you and one you love never leave the same room … if you sit and look at each other with no action or interaction, why, no matter how much love you share, after a while, you would need to stretch. 

Change is part of life—a very vital part, for in turning the page and writing new stories, you allow in yet more love.  Say “adieu” for now, but know that nothing is permanent except the Spirit, which is born of love.  No goodbye is forever.

Only Love

“Deliver us from evil,” you cry, and for this we need your cooperation.  Your Source did not bring in the evil.  The Source is naught but love.  There is only one Power, and it is that greatest of vibrations which connects you all.  It is only when, through the use of free will you turn off your awareness of the Love that flows through you, that humans become capable of doing anything less than loving.  The more you allow this Power to flow through you, then even applying your free will you will be incapable of saying, doing, or even thinking anything less than in alignment with your true nature.  You are that Love of which we speak.  Love flows through your every cell and the cells of all around you.  Align yourself with That.

Rough and Tumble

Your life is like your football games.  Back and forth you run from one end of the field to another.  Whoever has the ball, someone else wants it.  You try to rack up points for having that ball and getting it to a goal.  Does this not seem a bit silly when you think about it?  Why, you even knock each other down and at times some get hurt in order to get that ball where you think it needs to go.

Of course we are having a bit of fun with you today.  We recognize that a bit of competition brings out how very strong and capable the human is, but do take a look at your life as we share this analogy.  Are you in competition with those around you or cooperation?  Do you try to snatch away the prize that others have or allow them to run with it?  Do you guard your abilities and belongings fiercely if others come near?  Do you run back and forth, back and forth, trying to reach a goal, or do you ever stop to simply sit on the sidelines and listen to what the Coach has to say?  Only when you stop for a breather can you see Life for what it is … a game.  A rough and tumble game at times, but it need not always be so.

Together

At times you feel alone, even when surrounded by others.  “How can they possibly know what I am going through?” you moan.  It is true:  They may not have experienced your exact set of circumstances, but all have experienced LIFE.  All are made of the same substances, both of the physical world and the spirit.  All understand pain and pleasure, birth and death, joy and sorrow.  Your unique recipe for learning and growing may differ from that of those around you, but all are kindred spirits.  You are not alone in experiencing challenges.  Allow others to take your hand and help you learn the greatest lesson of all:  Love is the Force that binds you.  Love will see you through.

Calming Presence

"You feed off of each other.”  What does this mean?  You and another have a frequency that when paired are additive rather than cancelling each other out.  When two who are agitated are in close proximity, the agitation increases.  It is “an energy thing,” as you would say.  Be aware of the effect of others’ vibrations.  You may not be able to change another’s experience, nor do we advise you to make such an attempt.  If your anger or excitement rises in response to another’s, then it is you who may stand to learn.  Take a deep breath the moment you come into awareness of the rising tensions, then using conscious intention, dive straight to the heart.  Leave the chaos and go to the center—the eye of the swirling energy.  There in the I of you, you can choose:  “Will I feed off of the other’s vibration, or feed others with love?”

Crumbs

It’s all about love.  How do you find your way home?  Follow the crumbs … those moments in your life when you shared true feelings of love with another and were able to awaken that love within yourself.  You spend your life trying to create more of those moments … looking for the crumbs.  The path, the trail leads straight to the heart of you, not another.  You have kept your head down, searching, but the Source of love is right there inside of you.  Do you wish to help others find the Source within themselves?  Each time you smile or share a kind word or a hug you are leaving a crumb for them to follow.  Thus you turn crumbs into entire loaves of bread and feed the multitudes.

Always in Your Heart

Note from Suzanne:  Last night I received a call from Anne Gehman to tell me that her dear Wayne (Dr. Wayne Knoll, Ph.D.) passed away yesterday (They are featured in my book, The Priest and the Medium).  At the same time, a dear friend is sitting vigil with her beloved husband who was placed in hospice yesterday.  This morning as I sat to meditate, I wondered what I could take her to help her.  Dear friends are providing food, so what else would help?  I pushed those thoughts aside as I entered the Silence, but it soon became clear that Sanaya had the answer.  I sat in grateful wonder as the words below flowed from Spirit--a gift I will print and take to my friend.  I know that they are universal words, and that they will touch many of you as you heal from the physical loss of a loved one.  May they help to heal your heart as well ...

Always in Your Heart

Sanaya says ...

When a loved one leaves your side you grieve.
"I cannot live without them!" you believe.
Oh, how your brain it does deceive,
For your loved ones truly do not leave.

Life is but a journey of the soul,
Which in essence always will be whole.
When death comes, the bell may toll,
But only for the end of this one role.

Turn your thoughts now to the heart,
That with a death feels torn apart.
It is there that you will find love's piercing dart,
And know that this is how it all did start.

When that love did come to you,
Did your life not seem brand new?
And now that they are gone from view
That very love will see you through.

For though the form may go away
It's the memories that never stray.
And the love you shared from day to day
Now in the dark will light your way.

Note from Suzanne:  I did a session with Sanaya at Unity of Citrus County last Friday night, sponsored by the New Age Thinkers.  They have posted the recording of this powerful session on their website.  If you would like to listen, click here and scroll to the bottom of the page for the download button.  The first minute or so of the recording is silent as I shift my consciousness to attune with Sanaya.  Much love, Suzanne

Flow

Flexibility is key.  In a world that is not as solid as it appears, be as the wave:  bend and flow.  All is energy, continuously flowing.  Where you get stuck is when you stand firmly in your beliefs. “It must be this way,” you declare, and thus you set up a barrier.  You exist in a sea of consciousness, and it is a sea of infinite possibilities.  The waves of your consciousness can flow in infinite directions with limitless strength.  Do not limit yourself, your peace, and your strength with the power of your thoughts.  Be flexible and simply flow.

Recognition

You pray to a Father in the sky—one you hope to someday meet.  Would it help you to know that the great Spirit of Love to whom you pray is all around you now?  Call it He or She or whatever you want.  This Source of All That Is is in all that is.  It is in your neighbor and in you, for you exist.  It is that simple.

When you can look upon your neighbor and say, “There You are! There You are, having an earthly experience through that one!” then you begin to understand how to truly love your neighbor.  And when you see and know that pure love flows through all of your neighbors, even though they may not realize or display this themselves, then you might finally realize that this same Love flows through you.  Then, with that wondrous realization, you may just look in a mirror and see that same Love flowing through you, and smile in recognition and say, “There You are.  I love you, too.”

Dissolve

We are going to teach you a very important distinction—the difference between “How does it feel?” and “What do you think?”  The moment you begin to think, you are analyzing, which is quite a valuable tool for the human, but that is the challenge.  The human is most often controlled by the ego, which sees itself as separate.  “How does it feel” however, takes you immediately to the heart, the domain of your soul.  At the level of spirit, where soul operates, there is only unity and no sense of “looking out for number one.” 

“But if I only feel and do not look out for my own interest, then I will dissolve!” you protest, and can you see how insidious ego is?  Dissolve, yes, ego’s stranglehold.  Dissolve into the vibration of light and love that is you, and spend a bit more time in your heart.  We daresay you may come to like it there.

Norms

Holy … sacred … revered … You use words such as these for experiences and beings far above the norm.  Why are they held above?  For they engender feelings of love far greater than the normal being or normal experience.  They remind you that there is something greater than the norm, and that you can share in that experience.

Why do we use this term “normal” repeatedly?  For it is the norm in your world to accept the norm.  Most do not realize that YOU are holy and worthy of reverence … you and that other over there and that other over there.  When regarding all others as holy becomes the norm and loving each other becomes the norm, then this soul school in which you find yourself can finally close its doors.

According to Plan

"But that is not how it was supposed to happen!” you cry, and we ask you to ask yourself, “Is this according to your plan?  And how many others’?”  Free will is a funny thing.  It causes plans to go awry more often than not.  Were all of you to follow the heart and not the head, all would go according to Plan more often.

Your smaller plans oft stray from the greater Plan thanks to the insertion of will.  Is that so bad?  It may feel that way at times, but pay attention when you are dissatisfied.  All dissatisfaction is a sign.  There is something to learn here.  Where there is no peace, there is desire and attachment, and most likely the imposition of will.  Surrender, allow, and be at peace as the greater Plan unfolds.

Note from Suzanne:  Today's poem blows me away.  Ten stanzas with a powerful reminder that flowed in mere minutes.  But it's what happened last night that has me once again in a state of awe.  I felt drawn throughout the day yesterday to pull a favorite book off the shelf--one I hadn't looked at in some time.  I finally had time to pick up the book before going to sleep.  I felt guided to open it at random, knowing I would open to just the right page.  I did so, and then made one of those gasps that always makes Ty say, "What happened this time?"  There on the page in the book I was guided to was a discussion of what Sanaya tells us repeatedly--that there is only One Mind--and the phrase, "We are that One, showing up as creation for the joy of the dance."  These last four words were in italics as they are here, but they jumped out at me without the emphasis.  Why?  Look at yesterday's message from Sanaya--given to me early on the same day.  It is entitled "Still Dancing" and encourages all of us to "dance on" - one of the rare occasions that Sanaya has used the analogy of life as a dance.  After this wonderful confirmation that there truly is only One Mind and we are part of That, I think I will be dancing on air for quite a while.  May your steps be lighter today as well with this reminder of how much we are guided and loved.  xxoo.  Suzanne

Words

How often do you focus on the goodness?
How often are you sad?
How often do you think and talk
Of things that make you feel quite bad?

If you care to pay attention
To the things that cross your mind
Quite a big surprise, my friend,
We think that you would find.

You do enjoy your gossip.
You talk and talk of others' plights--
Of what they do in public
And with whom they spend their nights.

You focus on your body
And how it gives you pain,
Of how it ages, how it groans
And with your voice you do the same.

You talk quite like a record
Going round and round without a pause
And also without seeing
That your low vibrations you do cause.

Listen closely to your words.
Pay attention to the themes.
Are they happy and uplifting
Or as bad as your life seems?

If the latter, do not wonder
Why your life is not so gay.
It's right there in the topics
That you so often choose to say.

Idle chatter and the gossip
May be fun for just a while,
But in the long run rest assured
They will not bring about a smile.

Hear your thoughts before you speak.
Speak not with judgment of your brothers.
Speak of love and cheerful things.
Speak with kindness of all others.

You are the cause of your own health,
Of how you feel from day to day.
It all begins within the mind
So be aware of what you say.

Still Dancing

You feel that you must change your world, to improve it.  “There is too much violence, too many challenges, too much of this or that.”  Do you not understand that life naturally seeks balance?  Were there not violence tempered with loving acts, your world would have vanished long ago.  Instead, there you are, right in the middle of soul school—a difficult school, to be sure, but one your soul chose to attend for the tremendous growth it offers. 

If all were obviously the goodness and light that underlies the soul, then there would be no growth.  Instead, you souls chose to take on the experience of a human with free will.  It is that very free will that keeps things just enough off balance that there is a continuous dance of duality in which you now find yourself.  When you get dizzied by all of the dancing, simply retreat for a while off the dance floor.  Drift above to the balcony from where you can look down on all your fellow students with greater perspective. 

Do you remember how you used to feel about school dances?  You chose to go, but the experience was different for each one.  And so it is with this life you now experience.  Dance on.  Choose love in every moment, and the school dance will result in even more favorable memories.

Polished

Imagine finding a sparkling diamond amid a pile of stones.  What a treasure!  It stands out for the glint of light.  Its facets are like a polished mirror, while the stones around it are too rough to reflect the light and catch your attention.  Diamonds are valued because they are so rare.  All of you are facets of a brilliant Jewel, yet most are not yet polished—works in progress are they now.  Those who reflect the light stand out and catch others’ eye.  Value yourself.  You are a jewel.  How well polished do you wish to become?  All are diamonds in the rough.  It is your loving thoughts and actions which bring your true beauty to the surface.

Love Story

When the curtain goes up, it is time to act.  You get out of bed and you decide, “What am I going to wear today?”  You come into this life and you decide, “Who am I going to be this time around?”  Do you not see that you have made this decision daily, just as you decide what to wear?  Are you not happy with the role you have taken on, the costume you have been wearing?  Change it from moment to moment.  Stretch and grow.  How dull to play the same role for a lifetime!

Surprise those around you by acting differently than they have come to expect.  “How should I act?” you ask, and we advise you to ask the Director.  Of course, the new role will place you squarely in the starring role of a love story (and we speak now of the love that emanates from the soul), and it will be the greatest role of your life.  Play it to the best of your ability.

All Connected

Interdependence … this applies to you more than you know.  It becomes so easy to think you can survive on your own, but do not let that thought overtake your purpose (to be the presence of Love).  Were it not for your parents, you would not be here.  Were it not for the food supplied to you, you would not be here.  Were it not for the trees and plants which give you oxygen, you would not be here.  Were it not for the very Source that gives you breath, you would not be here, and yet you think you are the center of the Universe.

We hope that you will look about you and see that the concept of being alone and independent is an illusion.  There is nothing wrong in being dependent on another.  You are dependent on All That Is, and is that so bad?  Rejoice in your interdependence.  Celebrate it, for without it, you would not exist.