Let love lead the way

What does love mean? I'm not asking about romantic love which is often actually a misunderstanding of that other four letter 'L' word - lust. I'm asking about the love that makes a mother pick up a truck that has driven over her child or the love that has an uncle give a kidney to his niece. The love that has a volunteer give up all their home comforts to bring new opportunities to families living in a straw hut in a desert where they have to walk 4 miles each day to fetch a meagre supply of water. This love that transcends any thought for the self. A love that embodies the unconditional love of source energy.
I have experienced seeing a new born baby and felt that surge of love for something so magical and perfect. Standing in awe of the creative process. I have also felt absolute unconditional love for the animals in my life, even after they have thrown up on the front room rug or pee'd on the bed. I have often, however, found it more difficult to love other adults or older children in the same way. Which brings me to contemplate the nature of love.
Within this contemplation I have come to the realisation that the people I sometimes have trouble loving unconditionally are the ones who have their own opinion, who voice it and in so doing they trigger my 'stuff' and I go into judgement. Does that make them any less loveable? No. Do I have a choice in how I respond to their opinion? Yes.
So ultimately unconditional love is a choice. It's a choice that we can make in each infinite now moment (which, by the way, is the only moment you ever have). It is the choice that not only makes you feel good on a conscious level, but it is a choice that biologically can change the chemistry and biology of your body.
Compassion is almost a synonym for love. The Dali Lama has said that if every 5 year old child was taught to meditate for 1 hour a week on compassion, and followed that practice throughout their childhood, within 1 generation all war would be eradicated. Imagine that - is it not worth us taking the time to that in our own lives now. There have been so many different studies on the power of the collective mind through meditation. Just like love - it's a choice.
Today I choose to love first, last and in between. I let go of all judgement of myself and others and I practice compassion in al things.
In Love. J x

Be the change you want to see

At the quantum level everything is energy or light (it's the same thing, just a different name). Therefore there is no where that this energy is not. In knowing this it means that we are all connected to each other, even though we are hanging out in an individual suitcase.
We could call this energy God or one of the myriad names that has a similar meaning. The thing I know about this is that it really doesn't matter how you perceive it.
Ernest Holmes called it 'The Thing Itself' and the Tao refers to it as 'The Way.'
The important thing to know is that regardless of the way in which you connect to this universal energy it operates in your life in the same way.
Just like gravity, it operates consistently, it doesn't select who or how it will operate. It has no judgement of you in your individualised self because you and it are the same stuff. You are a microscopic part of it, but in the quantum world of holograms, you have all the stuff of the energy within you, there isn't any part missing.
I look at it this way - one individual wave has all of the sea in it, but it is not all of the sea. The sea is comprised of lots of different waves and it needs all those wave to be itself.
So this universal energy needs you to be you so it can be it.
We have mostly been raised in one, of many, religious wisdom traditions. I honour each one of those as eternal truth, but my intention is to add another dimension to those teachings that are not religious, but bring the deeper mystical traditions of spirituality to the world.
Our universe is expanding faster now than every before. Using the ancient axiom of 'as above, so below, as without, so within', we must also be expanding faster than ever. I know many people on their life journey who will agree with this, it is almost palpable.
For me to be in alignment with me, I am called to model these teachings, to speak and write about them and to support the even greater expansion of this planet in consciousness.
I know that as each one of us becomes self actualised and remembers that they are an intrinsically linked part of the whole, the world shifts into a place of peace, joy and love where every member of our planet has a full belly, a safe roof to sleep under, access to education and health care, someone to hold their hand and is respected for who they are. We are all part of one organism, I invite you to remember that what ever you do to someone or something else, you are doing to yourself.
Today, in every moment of my day, I remember my part in this universe. I flow like water, with gentle power and presence peace, joy and love in all my actions, words and thoughts.
In Love. J x

Self loathing to self love

I have a problem that is challenging me at the moment which I would welcome your thoughts on…

How can I best support someone with low self esteem and a lack of self love?

In recent weeks I have met a few people who are so utterly convinced of their unloveability (if there is such a word), that all my best efforts to present a different world view have failed to even open the slightest chink in their belief.

I have a wide and diverse range of training in this matter and I have quite a number of tools in my tool belt, but I know there must be a quicker, more effective way of short circuiting the brain and planting a seed of self love that can replace the self loathing that is creating so much negativity and unhappiness.

I should confess up front that I do want to facilitate healing for absolutely everyone on the planet and I know that is possible, I do also recognise that the only person I have to heal is me and that through my healing the world is healed. 

But!  That doesn’t stop me wanting to open the doors of possibility to people for change in their lives.

The most powerful technique I have experienced in my own transformational journey is healing breathwork. This is a breathing process akin to rebirthing that moves energy in the body at a cellular level and releases old blocks and patterns without the person necessarily being aware of the details. It has been very significant for me, however it can also be a rather dramatic and intense experience. It is not necessarily something that I would want to do with a client too early in their journey as it may freak them out. Even as I write this I recognise that this is only a belief I hold and I could work on changing that to know that Healing Breath could be a great place to start.

I am also a great believer in the technology of prayer. I personally use the New Thought modality of affirmative prayer treatment. This is basically a five step process:

Step 1: I recognise the Divine in all things: God Is

Step 2: I unify myself with the Divine: I am

Step 3: I realise the Spiritual Truth of the situation I am praying about: This is a series of affirmations and statements declaring how the situation would be if it was all done and perfect. It’s kind of like looking at the situation through the eyes of God, who knows only perfection.

Step 4: I give thanks for everything: Gratitude is such a powerful technique any time. Here I give thanks for the perfect outpicturing of the situation and for all the good that is already manifest in my world.

Step 5: Release: I let my words go into the universal intelligence, letting go of any attachment to the outcome. This is the place where I know, at my deepest level, that what I have prayed is already done and complete in the mind of God and I allow it to manifest in the perfect time in what the Tao describes as, “the world of the 10,000 things.”

I have heard it described thus: God is; I am; here’s the thing; thanks a bunch; it is done. I guess that is the shorthand version.

The most important thing I know about prayer is that the actual words are not important in themselves. Their purpose is to create the feelings in me as I speak them and it is through my vibration that my belief about the situation is changed.

Anyhow, back to the question at hand. How can I best plant seeds of self love in my clients?

I know we are all powerful creative people, and that world energy is shifting greatly towards self-actualisation. I simply want to facilitate that transformation as quickly and painlessly as possible so lets create some new ways to do that.

Today I am open to Divine Mind in knowing best how to support every person I meet on their personal journey to self awareness. I know that I am always Divinely guided and going in the best direction and as I know that for me, I know it equally for you.

In Love. J x

Universal Intelligence

A friend of mine came up with a great metaphor for our connection with the universal intelligence. A jigsaw puzzle (thank you Rev Shawn). There isn't the the puzzle and the pieces, the pieces are the puzzle. There isn't me and the universal intelligence, I am that intelligence as well as being the physical suitcase of me.

Now we could get into the nature of that universal intelligence, but that could be divisive and I only want oneness. So let us look at this from a more quantum science type view. At the very microscopic level, everything, ant I do mean absolutely everything, is made up of the same stuff, which is light or energy. And what I remember about energy from my high school science class is that it cannot be created or destroyed, it just changes form. A hair dryer takes electrical energy and changes it into heat and wind (the movement of air). This is a very obvious transformation that we wouldn't see as remarkable and it takes place when we move a switch. But at a quantum level the energy of our body is always changing form, largely because the intelligence in our body sends intention and chemical signals for it to do so. I accept that this is a very simplified version of how it works, but I'm a very simple kind of person. If you want to understand more about this, pick up on some of the links at the bottom and get reading and watching.

We are universal intelligence, regardless of us understanding it or not. Just like gravity keeps us walking on the planet, this intelligence is at work through us in every moment.

The great thing, and I so love this, is that science can now support what spiritual teachers have been saying for thousands of years. We can direct this intelligence through our thoughts and feelings.

Bruce Lipton explains how this works eloquently and simply in his book "The Biology of Belief." And in "What the Bleep do we know", the whole quantum paradigm is introduced in a very user friendly way. If you struggle with it to start with, just allow it to wash over you, it's so worth the time to get this stuff.

You are vastly more powerful that you know and you can change the way you think and how you experience life.  I know this is possible because I have done it.  I have travelled a long journey through depression and stress, alcohol and anti-depressants to be the centred, confident and self-aware woman that I am today.  I am not, for one minute, saying it is a five minute fix. It sounds real simple when you say, "oh just change your thinking and have a fab life." The concept is very simple, but the journey is not always easy. What I do know is that for me, it was essential, and if I can do it anyone can.

You have all that you need within you because you are that universal intelligence. I invite you to take the first step, as the Tao says, "A journey of a thousand miles starts with one step." If your life is not working and you want to feel better about who you are, be willing.  Be willing to own that thought, but know that you are enough, you are loved and that all you need is within you, it is just a case of discovering it and making friends with it.

Today I remember that all I need already exists within me, that there is always a surplus and that there is nothing that I cannot be, do or have.

In love. J x

The Infinite Variety of Creation

In his book ‘Creating Health’, Deepak Chopra says, “All of nature, therefore, is nothing but a teeming universe of all kinds of impulses or thoughts expressing themselves in the infinite variety of creation.”

Look around you, where ever you are, you won’t see anything that hasn’t originated in a thought. If what you see is man made, then first someone had a need for that thing and then someone thought about it and created the design, although there maybe some kitchen gadgets where someone thought about it and we were told subsequently that we can’t live without it.

If it is a nature made thing then there is a constant desire, or thought, of growth and expansion, the acorn has within it the potential of a great oak, and the oak has the eternal desire (or thought) to continue it’s gene pool and expand through the acorn.

“The infinite variety of creation” - infinite meaning endless, and limitless. There is no limit to the boundaries of our thought, whether we use that for physical healing, the development of new technology or to gain self mastery. Regardless of how it sometimes feels, you are the only thinker in your mind. It may feel and sound like there are many. Karen Drucker sings about ‘taming her inner critic’, and I have attended lectures where I have been encouraged to characterise my various voices and have inner dialogue with them. But the bottom line is that there is just you and your consciousness, you are the thinker and as you become more self aware you can take a step away and be your own observer.

If you are reading this knowing that you have various voices and you haven’t been clinically diagnosed with schizophrenia, take a moment to imagine yourself outside of yourself observing your thoughts. As you move into the role of observer I invite you to a new awareness about the workings of your thoughts and impulses. It is from here that we have an opportunity to practice a new level of consciousness and move into greater awareness about the powerful creator we are.

Play with this and practice it. If you start a new exercise regime you start slow and build it up, you don’t immediately go and lift up the heaviest weight, the journey back to the self is just the same, be gentle with yourself, go at your own pace, experiment with the times it is easy to observe and when it is harder. I know that as you play, experiment and practice it will become easier and you will start to gain new insight in to your self.

Remember, this is not an opportunity for your inner critic to give you a hard time, this is when you can invite the highest and best of you to come out to play. Just like a child, you will grow and learn, just like the acorn, you already have all the magnificence of the oak within you.

Today I become the observer. I release all judgement about my inner journey and I trust and know that I am in the perfect place, at the perfect time, doing the perfect thing. As I practice I move into a greater sense of self easily and effortlessly and I know my inner perfection in all moments.

In love. J x

Day 3 -The test

To write or not to write, this is the question. Today I have to drive for three and a half hours to be somewhere by 10 am. To fit in meditation and writing along with my regular morning routine I had to get up before 4:30 am. Some of you may not know that there are two 4:30s in the day, but I promise you there are.

I have passed my own test. The temptation to turn the alarm off and return to the arms of Morpheus was overcome and here I am, eating scrambled egg and tomato on toast, writing.

One of my favourite sayings is, "the most important choice you make is what you chose to make important." Always remembering that in every moment we are at choice. This is one of the areas in Religion that causes discord amongst different believers. The matter of free will.

I believe that there is only One Thing or substance in the universe, and that is the God stuff. Therefore you and I are made of this stuff, because that's all there is. There is nowhere that God is not. Oh and by the way - if the God word has you with your hands over your ears, pick another word that you like, there are over 2500 different names for God. I have two favourites at the moment, "Unconditional Love" and "The Divine."

When people ask me if I am Religious I say, "No, I am spiritual." In Wayne Dyer's audio programme 'Excuses be gone', he says that in his experience Religious people want to argue about it and Spiritual people want to share it. At this point in my life I am a lover not a fighter, so for me I know that what you believe is absolutely right for you for now, you may or may not make different choices at different points in your life and that's all good.

Even as a young child I was a spiritual seeker, wanting to know what 'more' there was and how the universe worked. I was born with an inner knowing that I was a Divine Spark, that there was more to me than the flesh and bones of my human suitcase. It took many years, much drama and a wide range of spiritual practice for me to find the peace I now have.

Today I live, move and have my being in the Divine Source, I meet each person from that place in me and know our Oneness.

In love. J x

Morning Pages - Day 2

It takes somewhere around 21 days to create a habit. So in theory after 21 days of this morning practice I will be in the habit of writing and it will become anchored into my habituated mind.

I'm a great believer in testing theories personally, I demonstrate new paradigms of thought by walking my talk in life, that way when I teach, I come from a deep place of knowing that it can work if a person is ready to change and is willing to do the practice.

We are Spiritual beings having a temporary human experience. I think of it like our bodies are a suitcase for our Spirit. Our bodies are the mechanism by which the true us can be transported through our journey on the planet. We need both parts, the physical and the spiritual, otherwise we wouldn't be human.

Have you ever stood at the luggage conveyer at a big airport and watched all the different type of cases and bags go round. Some look very similar, but have particular unique marks that allow the owner to identify them, some are strikingly different with bright colours, stickers and ribbons. Others are pristine and immaculate and look like they have hardly left the cupboard, others look like they have done many thousand mile journeys and are patched up, scuffed and battered.

Now do you see why I call our bodies suitcases? Personally my suitcase has done quite a few miles, is only a little scuffed and has had some major repairs over the years.

The one problem about suitcases is that when you look at them, you have no idea what is inside. We might have an opinion about the contents based on what we see on the outside, or what material the bag is made of, but ultimately we don't know until we stop and look inside.

I heard a quote once, can't remember the origin and may not have it exact, "low self esteem is created when we compare our insides to someone else's outsides."

A minister I know says, "the only sin is compari-sin," but I still sometimes find myself lost in a moment of comparing what I know is going on in my head with an appearance I see before me. It is in that moment that I return to the awareness that I really have no clue what is going on for that other person. I have found that remembering does get easier to do the more I practice.

We all live in our suitcases, sometimes trying to pretty them up so that no one will discover the mess that is inside. But what if we stopped worrying about the outside and started working on the inside, taking time with ourselves to throw out the contents that no longer fits who we are today, tidying up the stuff that just needs a button sewn on or a hole patched and then appreciating all that we have and all that we are, knowing that we are enough, regardless of how much we still want to grow and become better. We are Spiritual Beings, our essence is that of Divine Perfection.

Today I choose to release all comparison with others, I turn within and know that I am enough, I release all thoughts of less than or lack and I celebrate all I have with deep gratitude.

In love. J x

Morning Pages

Introduction

In 'The Artists Way' by Julia Cameron there is a practice called 'morning pages'. Write 3 pages every morning for so many weeks. I can't remember the exact number, 12 weeks seems to be in my mind, but that may not be correct. It doesn't matter to me the detail of timings, it matters that I have set an intention to write in this blog every morning. I won't get to 3 pages that often as I type slow and I have a busy schedule, but my promise to myself is to write here each day, allowing my creativity to flow and letting the Divine presence work through me in ever greater expansion.

The thing Itself

"Thoughts are things, so pick good ones." This is a phrase I hear often. I also experience peoples reaction to that quote, some of whom agree with it and know it in their daily lives, some of whom utterly disagree. Ultimately it may or may not be true but if you had a thought that supports you and your life goals versus a thought that doesn't support you, which one does it makes sense to select?

We live in an age where quantum science, cell biology and neuroscience all provide evidence for this quote. It is also an underlying truth in all ancient wisdom traditions. In the Christian Bible Jesus said, "It is done unto you as you believe."

Yet, regardless of any perceived evidence, still we are each at choice in every moment regarding what we believe and how we think. AT CHOICE. We are not robots who must follow the programming put into us by those who have raised us, or educated us. We have free will and choice in any moment. From a young child my father would tell me that no one 'makes' me do anything. I am always at choice, even with a gun at my head, I have choice. It may not seem like much of a choice to some, that depends on your view of death (not for today's conversation), but it is still a decision making point. As a younger person I never really understood what Dad was on about, especially when he was 'making' me do home work or cleaning. But here I am, older and wiser with a clear understanding of the choices I have in every moment of my day.

Today I chose to live from unconditional love, I honour the Divine in everyone I meet and I am overjoyed to have met the first day of my commitment to me in writing this blog.

Be love. J x