Growing Pains

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Just as physical growth

May cause some discomfort

So too, spiritual growth

May do the same.

But know the end result will be wondrous.

Dear One, growth comes with its own process and often discomfort. Spiritual learning may cause you to reflect upon issues long buried deep within your being. And it is the brave soul who allows these issues to percolate and emerge for reflection and release.

The human psyche is well developed to allow you to move forward despite many hurts or disappointments. And often this is done by burying those feelings so that you are able to survive the moment and carry on.

But eventually, especially if you have opened to your spiritual path, these long-forgotten feelings must be brought to the surface to be faced with love and forgiveness. For they sub-consciously affect how you walk through your world even though you do not remember them. What was initiated as a protective measure for you may become an anchor holding you back from further progress upon your path.

It takes courage and faith to allow these feelings to surface and we encourage you to seek help or counsel if you are struggling with what is emerging. It is a part of the process of the cleansing of the soul which will allow more light to emerge as a result.

Dear One, if this is happening to you, it means you are ready, you are strong enough, you have the support to allow this process to continue. Trust in yourself and do not attempt to over-analyze what is occurring. It is more helpful to focus upon what you are feeling rather than what your mind is thinking. For the human condition in many cultures encourages thinking over feeling. And it is time to recognize your feelings and allow them to be heard.

The world is changing, the universe is expanding, and all sentient beings are affected by what is occurring. There are many upon this plane who are very aware of this and who are working very hard to help others to raise their vibrations to ease any discomfort these changes bring to them.

If you are struggling, reach out to others whom you trust. If you have come to the other side of those growth spurts, reach out to those who are confused about what is occurring in their lives. Remember, all are connected. And as one person works through long-forgotten issues, all others gain. This is because you all have similar issues, with varying degrees of intensity, but still they are universal across the human condition.

As you continue to grow, and indeed you will and are growing, love and compassion will become a more natural response to incidents which occur in your life. This includes self-love and self-realization of how far you have come in this earthly life of yours.

It will include compassion for others as you begin to reflect upon the common traits of the human condition and how the spectrum is affected by the level of personal awakening of each person. You will begin to reflect upon how you speak to others, how you listen to others and how you act toward others.

This is in your future, Dear One. But it requires effort on your part, and some discomfort, as discomfort usually goes hand-in-hand with growth. However, you must remember that you are not alone in this. Many others are experiencing the same as you. And you have much help available to you from both the seen and the unseen worlds. Reach out; either for help or to give help. It is all connected and each person’s progress will affect you also.

You are a being of light

Brave enough to live in a world of duality

Where the lessons can be challenging

But not insurmountable.

Help surrounds you

Reach out and take it.

For you are loved and respected

Beyond measure

Dearest One With All of Thee.

 

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Perception of Time

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How do you move through your day?

Are you thinking of the future?

Reliving the past?

Or are you enjoying the moment

Exactly as it is unfolding around you?

Dear One, as you have read before, the only part of your life which enables you to take action is the present. Contemplating the future or the past puts you in a state of being which exists only in your mind. The possibilities of enjoying the present moment are minimized as your mind takes you elsewhere. Your conscious attention is drawn away from what is occurring in the now limiting your potential for growth.

In reality, time does not really exist as you perceive it with your conscious mind. In truth, you are existing in multiple time frames simultaneously. Does this sound too far-fetched for you? Then consider how often you are traveling from one physical place to another while your attention is far away either in the past or the future. Is this not existing in two time frames at once?

And have you been productive in either of those times as you co-exist in both at once? Have you not missed what is occurring in your immediate surroundings at the present moment? Have you contributed anything other than worry or anxiety to the past or future moment which you consider in your mind? Once again, we tell you that the present moment is the only point of action.

Can you instead focus all of your attention on the present moment? Seeing, really seeing and observing, what is occurring at this time. Truly listening to what another is saying rather than already forming your response while they are still speaking. How many opportunities have passed in the present while you have been in your mind thinking of other times?

Dear One, your life can be infinitely more enjoyable if you are able to truly be present in the moment. If you feel you need to plan for the future, or reflect upon the past, then set time aside to put all of your attention on either of these tasks. For, indeed, reflection and contemplation are required for forward movement on your path. Allowing yourself the time to meditate or to write will help you to clear your mind of those thoughts which continue to vie for attention through-out your day.

Remember also, that your perception of past encounters can be altered due to your emotional state. To be able to see things more clearly, ask for help and clarity as you reflect upon the past. If you are certain how you want a future event to unfold, give gratitude for it as if it has already happened as you wish it to happen.

You are more powerful than you imagine. But you require more practice in focus and release. Focusing on what you are truly feeling, on how you want your life to unfold and what is happening at this very moment in time.  Multi-tasking is not as productive as you require it to be. Have you considered that the reason you do not remember much of what has occurred in your life is because your focus has been elsewhere rather than in the moment, in the now.

Life for you is very complicated. But there are ways in which it can be simplified by honestly reflecting on what absolutely needs to be focused upon in this moment in time. And then by focusing solely on that one task. Your daily life is filled with a constant flux of energies from those around you asking for your attention. Add to that the internal chaos which exists in your mind as you grapple with doing it all.

Dear One, take a deep breath and take an honest assessment of what really serves you and how you can serve the world in this moment of time. It may be as simple as sitting quietly and allowing your mind to clear and de-clutter. It may be as easy as taking a breath and sending love out into the world. Or it may be as natural as observing your present situation with all of your senses.

Remember the tranquility, Dear One,

That lives deep within your being.

It is your natural state.

Find it again, it is still there.

Buried within the chaos of your mind.

Go to your heart center and allow it to emerge

With each breath that you take.

This is who you truly are

Connected with the All

In peace and harmony.

Dear One With All of Thee.

Sacred Life

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Every step that you take

Every place that you go

Every interaction that you have

Is sacred.

For all of life is sacred

Without exception.

Dear One, you have not yet realized the sacredness of every moment in time. This is understandable as the human condition provides you with much distraction including emotions felt throughout your day. The sacredness of who you are and of all of creation is often lost in the task of living in a physical realm.

But the time has come for you to better understand and recognize the sacredness of your existence, of life itself. For so often it is taken for granted until loss is imminent, at which time awakening occurs with little time left for honoring what or who is before you.

Each passing moment is sacred, for it will never be available again in the same way, with the same opportunities. Each interaction that occurs in your life is sacred as a teaching moment either for you, for others, or for all involved. Becoming more mindful of your surroundings, of the subtleties of each interaction, will help provide more clarity for you as you move forward on your personal journey.

How can you attain this presence of mind during your hectic schedules of daily life? It begins with quieting the chatter in your mind. Emotion clouds your perception and many of you suppress emotions felt, only to be revisited by them at the most inopportune times.

How often have you reacted towards a person with emotions originally caused by, yet unexpressed towards another? The present recipient of this outpouring of emotion did nothing but provide a similar situation yet unresolved from this previous interaction. Had you taken the time to resolve the original conflict, you would have been able to move forward with clearer thinking and an open heart.

This is not to judge you but to offer you guidance on how to move forward with grace rather than with internal conflict. You are sacred to us and seen as such in other realms. The key for you is to own that sacredness which fills your entire being. By doing so, you will begin to see the sacred in others and in all things. For you, Dear One, are but an extension of the Divine.

You are connected to the All, we have said this many times. And when you can accept this truth, you will be better able to accept the support that comes to you through this connection. As you struggle, understand that situations or people will enter your life to provide the support you need at this time. Sacred connection allowing you to move forward with grace, surrounded by love.

Dear One, it begins with you. Recognize without judgment the inner work required for you to silence the chatter, the inner conflict you feel in times of stress. By learning to quiet your mind and open your heart to the help available, you will begin to recognize the sacred at work in your life.

You have been there for others in their times of need as others have been there for you. And if you are unaware of those present in the physical, remember that there is much support which comes to you in your dreams or by those unseen who send you love constantly.

You, Dear One, are surrounded and supported by love. Be it by those very close to you, by Mother Nature, or by unseen hands, the loving support is always there for you. Internal conflict clouds your vision and your perception of this love.

And so, we encourage you to begin to do the work necessary to move forward. Recognize the help available to you through synchronous events and interactions. Reflect upon your dreams and observe Mother Nature for subtle clues on how to proceed.

You are a sacred being surrounded by sacred love.

All interactions are sacred as they provide you

With exactly what you need in that sacred moment

To move forward in grace.

You are love, you are loved

You are indeed

One With All of Thee.

Finding the Peace Within

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How do you settle the chaos within?

Silence the chatter

Still the judgment

And walk forward in peace and joy?

Dear One, your journey upon this physical plane seems a constant search for peace within, in a world where chaos and disruption are ever-present. How can you find that place of peace and silence as your mind continues to engage and process all that is occurring around you?

The peace that you crave lies within your heart and not within your mind. The key is to disengage from those constant thoughts moving through your mind. How is that possible? There are many ways in which to silence the chatter. Many choose meditation while others exercise or lose themselves in a creative task. Others might seek out the peaceful environment provided by Mother Nature.

Any and all of these activities will help you find calm from the storm of thoughts bombarding you throughout your day. But these are just the first part of the journey towards the peace that you seek. For many of you have unresolved issues which require reflection. Much of the turmoil you feel is due to a way of thinking which may need further study.

Place your hand upon your heart area and breathe, quietly and deeply, allowing the stress to release from deep within where you hold it so tightly. Then begin to reflect upon the impetus for the stress that you feel. Is it really just a recent event or interaction or is it linked to a long-held desire unmet?

Dear One, what is the fear which lies behind the stress you are feeling at this moment? Do not move away from this fear but embrace it and allow it to give you the answers required to move forward with grace. For your thoughts, your actions, are driven by one of two things, either fear or love. There is nothing else.

There are many names for these feelings that you have; jealousy, judgment, competition, anger and so on. But the root cause of these feelings is fear and only fear. The times of quiet which you find are only the beginning of the journey to allow that peace within to grow and flourish for you daily.

Keep in mind that this life of yours is lived in an illusion, created for and by you so that the lessons you chose to learn can be facilitated in the best way possible. Remember that all who cross your path are your teachers. Many of them invited by you in another time to be present on this plane to help you learn those lessons. These contracts were made in love, to be carried out in a physical existence for your personal growth.

However, due to free will, many plans go awry, perhaps with more harshness than was originally discussed. For this human existence carries its own sweet charm that can distract you from your purpose for being here. Lessons are still learned, despite these distractions, moving you forward upon your personal journey of self-discovery.

Dear One, this physical life is one of impermanence. This very moment in time with all that is before you may not be the same in the next breath that you take.  This provides opportunity to change in every moment of time, how you feel, what you think, and in what action you might take in re-action or response.

But it also means that every moment is sacred, never to offer the same opportunity again. Can you live each moment as if it were the last, for indeed, in a fashion it truly is the last? Can you begin to turn around your way of thinking and replace it with the feeling of love emanating from your heart? For your true essence, your true nature, resides in your heart connected in love to the Source of all creation.

You have come this far and survived.

Continue to move forward in grace,

Viewing your world through the lens of love

And not fear.

For love is who you are

And what comforts you the most.

For like attracts like.

Live in love

Forgive in love.

And remember the connection you have

With all of creation.

Dear One With All of Thee.

How Do You Remember?

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Memories are flavored with emotion

And emotion can affect discernment.

Can you be sure that your memory of an event

Is exactly how it happened?

Dear One, there are so many things to consider when you reflect upon an event in your life. Did the emotional charge of the event affect the attempted communication at the time? What was your contribution; was it purely unemotional or did you add to the emotional charge with your actions?

Have you ever reflected upon a prior event and looked at it from another’s perspective? Can you distance yourself enough from what occurred to view it from a higher perspective? Are you able to see all points of view and the lessons for everyone involved?

Dear One, every person who crosses your path provides you with an opportunity for personal growth. Perhaps they remind you of another with whom you continue to have unresolved issues. In truth, your current reaction may have nothing to do with the one present in the moment, but with someone from your past.

Can you reflect upon past events and honestly look at how your actions affected the others involved? It is so easy to feel wronged or wounded or judgmental about others. And of course, you expect others to act in a way similar to how you would act. But, Dear One, take a step back and consider another’s place of origin, their place in the world.

Can you find enough compassion for another to reflect upon their point of view, their personal history and their wounded self? Can you see the Divine within all who cross your path? Just as you chose this life to learn certain lessons, so did all who are embodied at this time. In fact, many have, out of love for you, agreed to interact with you in a certain way when you crossed paths here upon this physical plane.

Human emotion is such a driving force and fear is one of the strongest emotions you feel as you inhabit these physical forms. For indeed, you are unable to see the web of connection, to remember the agreements made prior to incarnation for lessons to learn.

Step back a moment, breathe, and allow the emotion that rises from your belly to have its moment in time and then release it. This may take multiple attempts, but it is possible. Then focus upon your heart and find the love that resides there at all times. Awaken it, if you feel it has laid dormant within, and fill your entire being with its warm glow. Then send that love outward to all close and far. Blanket this world and beyond with the infinite amount of love that resides within you. For remember, that your heart is connected to the All, to the Source of limitless love.

As you continue to reflect and allow the emotion to dissipate, you will eventually reach a place of forgiveness, for yourself and the others involved. Upon continued reflection and growth, you may begin to understand the lesson involved for you or for another and see how each of you act as a catalyst for change for another. Over time, you will reach a point of gratitude for what occurred as you begin to see how it provided you with an opportunity for growth.

Remember, that change and growth often are the result of suffering. It may begin with love for another. And it can also end with love for each other, after the emotion has dissolved and the lesson is learned.

Dear One, this journey is for you. Others are in your life to help you along your path, just as you are here to help them. You may never realize the true nature of an event but have faith that it will always provide you with an opportunity for growth.

Be still and allow the compassion within to emerge

Compassion for yourself and for others.

For you all are here to help and guide each other forward.

Be gentle with yourself and with others

As you navigate this school of love.

Remember that love surrounds you.

Always.

Dear One With All of Thee.

Change

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Change is here

Coming with magnificent results.

Embrace it without fear.

Allow your inner guidance

To show you the way forward

In grace and in love.

Dear One, change is upon you at this very moment, from the personal to the global aspects of your life. Honor it, embrace it and do not judge it harshly. Without change, there is no growth, and personal growth is the reason why you are here.

Every sentient being has a part to play in the change occurring upon your planet at this time. Some may be more vocal, more visible, but all have a role to play in the growth and expansion of your globe. Can you allow it to evolve with love rather than fear?

All of you came to this plane with a blueprint of what you hoped to learn, to accomplish, while embodied in this physical realm. In your natural state, prior to incarnation, you chose and understood the potential role you could play in the continued expansion of the Universe.

That being said, given free will and the conditions of being in a physical form, many of you have not acted exactly in the manner you expected you would. There is no judgment in this, for it is not perceived as a failure at all. Every experience that you have here upon this plane is considered to be important for your own personal growth. You are loved unconditionally, no matter what.

We have told you before that you come from love and will return to love. No matter what happens during your time here upon this physical plane. Do not question yourself, wondering if you have done enough, or too much, or could have done it differently. All experiences that you have had to this day have contributed to your current level of personal growth

If you wonder, if you still question what you can do to help, the answer is very simple. Come from love. Come from love in all that you do. How does that translate into your daily life when you see such angst and fear around you? Begin by sending love with every breath. Give yourself time every day to connect with your Source, your higher self, by being still with your breath, or walking mindfully with every step you take.

Dear One, your world, the expansion of the Universe, will only move forward through love. Change begins with you, with loving yourself without judgment. For how can you love another without first loving yourself? If you love yourself only when you feel your actions are acceptable, this is how you will love another also.

There are many in your world today who are creating what you perceive as chaos and turmoil. But instead of demeaning them, send them love. Understand that often for change to take place, a catalyst is required, and perhaps this is the role these souls chose to accept for their physical journey.

Can you act in love rather than re-act in anger? Can you allow the stimulus to inspire you to positive action, rather than fearful judgment and rhetoric? Can you understand that you see only a small portion of what is happening throughout the entirety of being?

Love one another, no matter what. This does not mean that you are required to condone actions which you feel are motivated by Ego or greed. Instead, move forward with grace and with love. Do not add to the lower vibrations that permeate your current world by complaining or becoming angry. Instead raise the vibrations by remaining calm and rising above the chaos and fear.

Change is here and you have an integral part to play in it. The choice is yours. How will you act or re-act to the current climate in your world?

You have such power

Lying silently within you.

You need not be loud and boisterous

To do your work.

Join the many

Who are quietly raising the vibration

Through loving acts.

Allow the power of love

To move this world

And all of creation forward

You, Dear One, can be the force of change

Through loving kindness

And grace.

Out with the Old

It’s that time of year when many of us go through our closets in order to weed out all the things we no longer use. Clearing the air, making room for new things, perhaps just allowing ourselves to feel lighter and less burdened. After all, spring is around the corner and with it comes new growth and the promise of lighter days and endless possibilities.

This is the time of year that I am heavy into pruning my blueberry bushes. I started the last week of January and will be out there at least till mid-March trying to get rid of the old canes. It’s not that difficult a concept to prune. Get rid of the canes that are too tall or too close to the ground. The pickers can’t reach the blueberries on the tall canes and blueberries growing too close to the ground will affect weed control. But most of all, the canes should not overlap causing damage as they rub each other. They also need room in the center of the bush for air to circulate. They need to breath just like us.

People ask me how do I know when I’ve pruned enough. My standard reply is ‘When I hear the bushes say Ah!’ I know it sounds crazy, but I noticed it when I took a blueberry pruning class. After the instructor showed us how to prune, I could feel those bushes sigh with the new freedom of movement. I asked a few of the other students if they could feel the difference in the bushes and they just looked at me like I was crazy. What can I say? This is how I move through life, feeling empathy not only towards people but also towards other sentient beings. Because I do believe my blueberry bushes can feel.

When friends come to visit, they tell me that the bushes greet them as they come up the driveway. My response is, ‘Of course they do, they have had good home training’. And when I need a hug, I just walk out into that blueberry patch and always feel so much better.

It’s like a time warp in there. You get lost and think you’ve been out there for just an hour and realize its been at least three hours. It’s addicting. Even when we pick, it’s difficult to come in because you just have to get that one last ripe berry, or those few ripe berries over there. I have to tell my pickers that they are now ‘off the clock’ to get them to come in some mornings.

This is hard work. It’s time consuming and tiring and this time of year I usually spend my evenings on the couch with a heating pad on my back. But at the same time, it is a joy for me. Being out there helps me clear my head. I’ve been struggling lately with all that I have on my plate and how to prioritize; questioning if I have made the right decisions or if I need to make some changes. I’ve been stalling on doing some things I feel I need to do and have been feeling guilty about it.

My main goal right now is to prune as many bushes as I can before the sap begins to flow. Yet, I’ve realized that pruning is helping me to work through my stuff. I’m helping those bushes by clearing out the old canes and they are helping me by providing me a nurturing space to figure out my life. It’s the connection, the back and forth, something I’ve written about often in this blog.

I cannot tell you how lucky I feel to be a blueberry farmer. I tend those bushes with love and all my clients rave about how good the berries taste. My friends tell me that I am not only spreading love in my writing, but also through the blueberries, and I can see the truth in that.

All aspects of our lives are connected in some way. And I know that if I move through these other parts of my life one step at a time, as I do when I prune the bushes, then I’ll be okay. If I can move through the other parts of my life with the same tenderness I feel for those bushes, then I’m in balance.

I never know what each season will bring. Drought or a late frost could affect the yield and I just have to trust that all will be well. Because I can’t control the weather. I can only send loving energy and gratitude to those bushes for coming back to me every year. I tell them often, no matter what the yield is, I will always love them and be grateful for what they have given me. And they haven’t let me down yet.

The blueberries are teaching me to approach the other aspects of my life as I approach farming. The truth is that there is only so much I can control and sometimes I just have to trust my intuition and wait. Wait until I feel the time is right, rather than judging myself for not doing enough or for not doing it sooner. Life has a flow. It has a season, just like in nature. And sometimes we just have to allow it to bloom in its own time.  Thank you, my dear blueberry bushes, for sharing your wisdom with me once again.