Presence 4: I am clearing the decks

***10minSinking…***

What is your advice for today?

Relish the peace and quiet… Really bask in it.

Why?

Because things will get busy, and you have the opportunity to anchor in Your Peace, and then take that forward to the coming days and weeks. Your Peace is your greatest offering to your clients, colleagues and companions. Clear out the old, and simplify the new as much as you can. You are doing really well with this. Really well. Now add more simplicity and clarity wherever you can. Clear the decks, so you can bask in P&Q.

I’ll take that. I have a few decks to clear. (Holiday inbox, office desk, future marketing…) I’m loving the simplicity and space I’ve attained from emptying my chest of drawers and clearing my workspace… It’s the sharpening the pencils before the new school year, isn’t it?

As your mind is clear, so will your practice be ‘true’. Simplify, clear, bask.

Thank you. I’ll let stuff go and clear stuff out, and start from zero. And tomorrow, will we do something more… constructive?

You betcha!

I am clearing the decks

2020-08-272021-01-31

Presence 3: I am practising sinking in to my Knowing

Several days have passed since our last Dialogue, as the holiday ‘staycation’ took over. I practised the ‘breathing through concerns’. All good… but for one episode where I thought genuinely I was surrounded by malign beings and the world was drawing to a close etc etc, and it turned out to be yet another PMDD day… Anyway, I’m working on hormones with Noom and following some of Michael Moseley’s approaches to stabilising my blood sugar levels.

A couple of days ago, Untamed by Glennon Doyle arrived.

I love what she has to say on mindfulness practice – not that she even names it as such. She sits in stillness, on the floor of her closet, for 10 minutes a day – and practises sinking… in to the Knowing she discovers deep in her (see pp56-61 – so beautiful). It’s written up with commentary here in an article in Medium:

At first, just getting ten minutes to herself, closing the door, breathing and emptying her mind—felt like an eternity.

In Hell.

I checked my phone every few moments, planned my grocery lists, and mentally redecorated my living room. The only things I seemed to “know” on that floor were that I was hungry and itchy and suddenly desperate to fold laundry and reorganize my pantry. I was an input junkie thrown into detox. I was tempted to quit every second, but I was stern with myself: Ten minutes a day is not too long to spend finding yourself, Glennon. For God’s sake, you spend eighty minutes a day finding your keys.

It felt like an athletic process as well, like a gymnast in training, except it was her mind that was exercising. Practicing every day — ten minutes in the closet — she found she was “dropping lower” every time.

Eventually I sank deep enough to find a new level inside me that I’d never known existed. This place is underneath; low, deep, quiet, still. There are no voices there, not even my own. All I can hear down there is my breath. It was as though I’d been drowning and in my panic I had been gasping for air, calling for rescue, and flailing on the surface. But what I really needed to do to save myself was let myself sink.

It was possible, she realized, to let the senses drop below the noise and commotion, the anxiety, the chatter, into a place that was silent.

Every day, I returned to the closet, sat down on the floor littered with T-shirts and jeans, and I practiced sinking. The Knowing would meet me in the deep and nudge me toward the next right thing, one thing at a time. That was how I began to know what to do next. That was how I began to walk through my life more clearly, solid and steady.

It felt to her like an encounter with a sort of intelligence.

A ‘guide’ that was waiting to be a guide—as a source of information and as a cooperative activity. It was not barking orders.

I can know things down at this level that I can’t on the chaotic surface. Down here, when I pose a question about my life — in words or abstract images — I sense a nudge. The nudge guides me toward the next precise thing, and then, when I silently acknowledge the nudge — it fills me. The Knowing feels like warm liquid gold filling my veins and solidifying just enough to make me feel steady, certain.

What I learned (even though I am afraid to say it) is that God lives in this deepness inside me. When I recognize God’s presence and guidance, God celebrates by flooding me with warm liquid gold.

She doesn’t try to explore the theology involved. But I was at work, going through Bible references. I read her descriptions, wondering if this could be understood as learning to listen to the Holy Spirit.

I sink beneath the swirling surf of words, fear, expectations, conditioning, and advice — and feel for the Knowing. I sink a hundred times a day. I have to, because the Knowing never reveals a five-year plan. It feels to me like a loving, playful guide, like the reason it will only reveal the next right thing is that it wants me to come back again and again, because it wants to do life together. After many years, I’m developing a relationship with this Knowing: We are learning to trust each other.

She’s describing what happens in our Dialogues..! It’s the dipping into the internal Knowing that occurs here. I’m so grateful.

And developing your Presence practice will give you so much more.

Noted.

Shall we practise ‘sinking’ into your knowing?

I feel like I’d like to write up my reading from the Presence project over the last couple of days.

Tomorrow. Today’s priority is to reconnect with your sinking in to Knowing. Ten minutes… With breathing… <3

***10minsMed***

At about 9m45sec I ‘saw’ this beautiful new flyer for my work… It was a real insight. Ty.

You know we are here, always. Practise this sinking into Knowing. Glennon says:

‘There in the deep I could sense something circulating inside me. It was a Knowing.
Every day, I returned to the closet, sat down on the floor littered with T-shirts and jeans, and I practiced sinking. The Knowing would meet me in the deep and nudge me toward the next right thing, one thing at a time. That was how I began to know what to do next. That was how I began to walk through my life more clearly, solid and steady.
I now only take orders from my Knowing.
When uncertainty rises, I sink.
When I talk like this my wide raises her eyebrow and asks, “Aren’t you just talking to yourself down there?” Maybe. If what I’ve found in the deep is just my self – if what I’ve learned is not how to commune with God but how to commune with myself – if who I have learned to trust is not God but myself – and if, for the the rest of my life, no matter how lost I get, I know exactly where and how to find myself again – well, then. That is certainly enough of a miracle for me. Why do we worry about what to call the Knowing, instead of sharing with each other how to call the Knowing… p59.

You’ve found something special in these Dialogues. Maybe it’s time to share your way of calling the Knowing.

And if so…?

And if so, you’ll receive all the guidance you need by sinking in to your endless, unfathomable, infinite Knowing.

“I now only take orders from my Knowing” as Glennon says. And your order for today?

Be still and… practise sinking in to your Knowing.

I am practising sinking in to my Knowing

#I’veGotThatSinkingFeeling

PS. Background on the book Untamed…:

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzzDEXAZTac)

2020-08-262021-01-31

Presence 2: I am using ‘concerns’ as prompts to breathe

This morning I’ve been reading and learning more about The Presence Process, specifically about the role of breathwork in the process:

(https://youtu.be/Jd3M9pbp4UA) Michael shares his connection with Judith Kravitz and Transformational Breath®: https://www.transformationalbreath.com/

And reading a sample of Judith Kravitz’s book, Breathe Deep Laugh Loudly:

Your words for me today?

Use ‘concerns’ as prompts to breathe – like contractions you need to breathe through. Remember watching your beautiful sister breathe through those contractions. Remember her depth of concentration. Once the ‘contraction’ of concern has passed, you will know what to do to resolve your concern. Ok? Cease using the concern as the propellant for problem-solving.

Note the concern. Breathe it away. Then return to the mind as the resolver of your difficulties.

Your words prompted me to…

God is made present by your conscious breath… which connects you to this moment… which is God’s place of presence… so yes, your breath connects you to the Remover of Difficulties.

Does that help?

Yes. Help me to touch Presence, oh my God.

Using ‘concerns as prompts to breathe’ feels a bit like the practice of tonglen….

Exactly so. You think the ‘concern’ is the concern. It’s not really. It’s simply a marker of incorrect thinking, or an error of thought.

Because all is ok and all is good at all times…?

Yes, dear soul. The deeper part of you knows that. So when your mind says ‘danger’ your inner being refuses to follow your mind. Being out of sync with your inner being is that feeling of concern. Breathing brings you back in alignment with your inner being, your deeper self that knows that all is well.

I am using ‘concerns’ as prompts to breathe

2020-08-252021-01-02

WorkDialogue 1: The School of Dialogue – ‘Leap in. Leap on.’

Hello, dear Internal Teacher, as they call you in ACIM. I have come to consult you about my work. I have given myself time off to think about my approach. And I’ve also called this pension week, because I would like to be able to pay into a pension soon, or create enough money to give a natural pension. I need to really access my deepest wisdom… Which is you. So, over to you…

What would you like to ask?

How to make a shed-load of money… How to launch myself in this world… How to be well-off financially…

Great you asked.

Why?

Because this sounds like fun! And we love fun! As your beloved mother said…

It’s gotta be fun! So what do you think is the next step here….? A nap?

No! A spot of food! Some toast. And come back. After a pee. We have work to do!

We do? I’m so glad!! I’ll be downloading as a go… BRB!

***

So I had some toast, a pee and… a long deep nap, waiting for you to start downloading the good stuff. I was woken my the Amazon delivery guy banging on the back door, bearing 10 cotton face masks and a copy of Untamed, the book Adele credited with her new courage/authenticity last week. I’d ordered it on the spot. And it arrived today. I’ve just read the first 50 pages. I have the feeling of wonder, and jealousy, that I had reading Eat Pray Love. Like, this should be me writing this book.

In the past few weeks, the sensation of cutting my throat has been daily. An interesting addition was the sensation, image, of sliding a serrated knife up the side of my neck, earwards, and twisting it.

It’s time to unfurl whatever is trying to unfurl itself.

What is it?

You think you don’t know but you do. And you know you want me to say it, and I won’t.

That’s unhelpful.

If I had a basement, I’d go into it and write. A deep basement. With immense silence. And not come out til the work was done.

Go ahead. The basement is in your mind anyway.

Is it though? Is it?

Work with me.

Here we are. Ready for you as you are ready for action. You have the world at your feet, as does she and he and they. The world awaits the action of the activated, so act. Rise up on to your tiptoes and wave your flag high above the parapet you built with your good intentions. What is yours to give?

The School of Dialogue.

Leap in. Leap on. That is your next step. That is truly all there is to know and do. The rest will follow.

And do what?

Claim its mission and activities and services. MAS.

Mission: to make mediation mainstream, by which I mean, share far and wide the principles and tools of healthy dialogue for conflict resolution.

Activities: share info on social media channels and promote dialogue

Services: training, mediation, speaking.

***Next nap……………………..Next Day***

Ok, I’m back. What else? What next? What’s happening today? I’ve got this whole day off to think about The Next Phase.

What’ya doing here then?

Checking in. Getting data. Hearing your wisdom loud and clear.

Awesome. You know what, dear Soul, what you are doing now is really, really important. It’s not a throwaway moment. It’s a ‘Wow, we’re doing this’ moment. So bring your best self to the table, and prepare yourself for a banquet. You are here on this planet to talk about Dialogue. It’s your Mission. So get in the Mission Mode you love. You know, when you feel excited, and focussed, and sure of yourself. There is nothing better than feeling in Mission.

It is so so so clear to you that the world communicates in strange and uncomfortable and conflictual ways, and that the way the world talks dialogues creates discord, disharmony, pain, rage and the deceleration of human evolution.

By creating the School of Dialogue you can address this matter, and never run out of things to talk about. You can grow this baby out of the seed you received in lockdown. Do it! Do it now.

Today Google marks the 117th birthday of Barbara Hepworth. She left lumps of gloriously conceived stone behind.

Barbara Hepworth's 117th Birthday

https://g.co/doodle/mvzfk

Gloriously conceived…

Run with this new theme. It is your route to sharing your personal writing too. Make this your championing of Dialogue. Leave behind all concerns of self. Offer what you can to the world, and do it with a fervour. With a passion.

Do I make this a limited company??

NO! Stop thinking about these things. Just pile forward with the actual content first. You know perfectly well that this is about information, knowledge, skills. Your beautiful autistic brain was designed for this project. Stand up and be counted for this cause. We Can Talk Better.

We can talk better. I looked it up…

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1965/12/25/letter-from-vatican-city-10

‘Come over here. Sit down in this comfortable chair. We can talk better’, Cavallari reported that the Pope said to him.

2020-08-192021-01-31

Pivot 143 / Presence 1: I am embarking on the Presence project (#TEWTAP for entering PMA)

And now?

And now, quiet. Peace and quiet. In the stillness, wisdom is fomented, innate genius is tapped. Do you see?

I believe I might. What would you have me know, do or say today?

You are invited to rest in present moment awareness. Is that satisfactory to you?

Ha! You know I’d rather do many things but that… Satisfaction, for me, is borne out of accomplishment, in time and space.

Could it be time (and space) to redefine satisfaction, for you?

Yes… Yesterday, instead of writing here, or meditating or reading, I watched this beautiful documentary on earthing or grounding – feet on the ground:

(https://youtu.be/44ddtR0XDVU)

Along with reading The Presence Process…

with its aspects of:

encounters with Presence
authentic beingness
the radiance of present moment awareness
consciously connected breathing
integrative healing
the shamanic paradigm

… I’m hearing it’s time to befriend Present Moment Awareness. We’re back to where we started looking for my Aspie Zen Zone..! Pivoting into… presence???

Welcome to the Presence Project.

Seriously?! Did we finish the Pivot Project?? Did I even pivot??

Of course you did! It was a fundamental change in your nature!

Well, if so, I can only really give thanks for the grace of lockdown which forced me to slow down and appreciate simplicity, rhythms, routines, nature, my body, health… The year 2020 has indeed been a pivot for humanity. Nothing less than a global pandemic would have allowed humanity to shift. I glean there are two interpretations to this shift.

One interpretation says, we have been made subjugated subjects of an elite led state which is gas-lighting the pants off us, entrancing us with arbitrary rules, and disempowering us with fear-mongering… Hellish.

The other, my favoured interpretation, says, we are sovereign and we have rested, and in that resting our sovereignty has been made manifest. Under the cover of a pandemic, forces of light and dark have waged war in an end of times show down that has cleared darkness from hidden corners, and introduced a new paradigm of light and love. Heavenly.

Mostly, I feel, we are in the world we believe ourselves to be in, and I choose ‘heaven’.

Heaven is always here and now. And if you would allow yourself to walk through the doorway of present moment awareness more often, you would find that heaven became more of a Home than a fleeting haven.

In this, the Presence project, you are invited to experiment with techniques and practices for entering present moment awareness, or PMA. You will enjoy tracking them, playing with them, assessing them, and learning from them. You will enjoy this project very much.

I am completely thrilled! Thank you! I love this. I am grateful for the journey we share, dear ‘internal Teacher’ [ACIM refs] of my Heart and Soul.

‘To experiment with techniques and practices for entering PMA’ is so tangible! So do-able!

Mnemonic: TEWTAP for entering PMA

I am embarking on the Presence project
(#TEWTAP for entering PMA)

________

PS. Just picked up The Presence Process and carried on where I’d left off a few days ago (pgxxviii). Look at the lines I immediately read:

‘Whenever the opportunity presented itself, I used myself as a laboratory for experimenting with activation of present moment awareness, and my subsequent experience became an arena for observing the effects of becoming present.’ Michael Brown

<3

_________

2020-08-15

Pivot 142: I am embracing Peace of Mind

The ‘knowing of my heart’ is coming in slowly and quietly… Is it really the ‘prayers of my heart’ I need to be listening out for?

Yes. Exactly. The heart makes its own prayers, independently of the mind. Listen in; enquire.

***The Next Day***

I spent yesterday (Day 6 of our staycation – a 7 mile walk) enquiring in to the prayers of my heart. This is what I heard…

planetary ascension (for us All – and yes I know… but honestly, the concept makes my heart leap, so I’m putting it down)
contact & communion (of my heart with Source… and the Unseen…)

This is where I can genuinely sense my heart yearning, or its ears pricking, or its ‘face’ smiling… Am I making any sense?

Yes. Now calm right down. Practise that conscious breathing. Soften. Forgive all passing thoughts and memories. ‘Focus inward with a calm, interiorised mind…’ Become soft. Listen.

Grand. You are learning, especially thanks to this holiday with the long walks, to be present to your own internal world. It really is a dopamine fast which you needed, in order to hear yourself as you truly are. You have had the habit of looking outwards to know what next to think. “What’s on the task list, what’s most urgent, what’s occurring, what’s in the calendar, what’s on my playlist, what’s going to stimulate me, what’s going to calm me..???” Sound familiar?

Yes. And going at no-dopamine-boost pace has been a challenge. I’m hoping that I’m starting to get the benefits?

No news!

Ok. I’ll delete the stupid news app.

Turn inwards.

****40 mins later ***

I know you said to turn inwards, but somehow I just watched this whole video, with tears pouring down my face…

Bless me. Please.

Read, dear one.

****

Man, I just read the last several chapters of ACIM’s Manual for Teachers. It is such a gift. A real summary and quickstart guide to ACIM.

Some favourite quotes:

M22.9 To forgive is to heal. 10 The teacher of God has taken accepting the Atonement for himself as his only function.

M-23.4. The name of Jesus Christ as such is but a symbol. 2 But it stands for love that is not of this world. 3 It is a symbol that is safely used as a replacement for the many names of all the gods to which you pray.

M-24.5.3 ..it would be a mistake for him to renounce the belief unless his internal Teacherso advised. [DODs <3]

M-24.6. The emphasis of this course always remains the same;—it is at this moment that complete salvation is offered you, and it is at this moment that you can accept it. 2 This is still your one responsibility. 3 Atonement might be equated with total escape from the past and total lack of interest in the future. 4 Heaven is here. 5 There is nowhere else. 6 Heaven is now. 7 There is no other time. 8 No teaching that does not lead to this is of concern to God’s teachers.

M-25.6. Any ability that anyone develops has the potentiality for good. 2 To this there is no exception.

M-26.8 If God were reached directly in sustained awareness, the body would not be long maintained.

M-27.7. Teacher of God, your one assignment could be stated thus: Accept no compromise in which death plays a part. 2 Do not believe in cruelty, nor let attack conceal the truth from you.

M-28.2. The resurrection is the denial of death, being the assertion of life. 2 Thus is all the thinking of the world reversed entirely. 3 Life is now recognized as salvation, and pain and misery of any kind perceived as hell. 4 Love is no longer feared, but gladly welcomed. 5 Idols have disappeared, and the remembrance of God shines unimpeded across the world. 6 Christ’s face is seen in every living thing, and nothing is held in darkness, apart from the light of forgiveness. 7 There is no sorrow still upon the earth. 8 The joy of Heaven has come upon it.

M-28.3. Here the curriculum ends. 2 From here on, no directions are needed. 3 Vision is wholly corrected and all mistakes undone. 4 Attack is meaningless and peace has come. 5 The goal of the curriculum has been achieved. 6 Thoughts turn to Heaven and away from hell. 7 All longings are satisfied, for what remains unanswered or incomplete? 8 The last illusion spreads across the world, forgiving all things and replacing all attack. 9 The whole reversal is accomplished. 10 Nothing is left to contradict the Word of God. 11 There is no opposition to the truth. 12 And now the truth can come at last. 13 How quickly will it come as it is asked to enter and envelop such a world!

M-28.4. All living hearts are tranquil with a stir of deep anticipation, for the time of everlasting things is now at hand. 2 There is no death. 3 The Son of God is free. 4 And in his freedom is the end of fear. 5 No hidden places now remain on earth to shelter sick illusions, dreams of fear and misperceptions of the universe. 6 All things are seen in light, and in the light their purpose is transformed and understood. 7 And we, God’s children, rise up from the dust and look upon our perfect sinlessness. 8 The song of Heaven sounds around the world, as it is lifted up and brought to truth.

M-29.6 The curriculum is highly individualized, and all aspects are under the Holy Spirit’s particular care and guidance. 7 Ask and He will answer. 8 The responsibility is His, and He alone is fit to assume it. 9 To do so is His function. 10 To refer the questions to Him is yours. [DoDs <3] 11 Would you want to be responsible for decisions about which you understand so little? 12 Be glad you have a Teacher Who cannot make a mistake. 13 His answers are always right. 14 Would you say that of yours? M-29.3. There is another advantage,—and a very important one,—in referring decisions to the Holy Spirit with increasing frequency. 2 Perhaps you have not thought of this aspect, but its centrality is obvious. 3 To follow the Holy Spirit’s guidance is to let yourself be absolved of guilt. 4 It is the essence of the Atonement. 5 It is the core of the curriculum.

M-29.5. Who assumes a power that he does not possess is deceiving himself. 2 Yet to accept the power given him by God is but to acknowledge his Creator and accept His gifts. 3 And His gifts have no limit. 4 To ask the Holy Spirit to decide for you is simply to accept your true inheritance. 5 Does this mean that you cannot say anything without consulting Him? 6 No, indeed! 7 That would hardly be practical, and it is the practical with which this course is most concerned. 8 If you have made it a habit to ask for help when and where you can, you can be confident that wisdom will be given you when you need it. 9 Prepare for this each morning, remember God when you can throughout the day, ask the Holy Spirit’s help when it is feasible to do so, and thank Him for His guidance at night. 10 And your confidence will be well founded indeed. [DODs]

And now, I’m instantly called to read The Presence Process by Michael Brown, on:

encounters with Presence
authentic beingness
the radiance of present moment awareness
consciously connected breathing
integrative healing
the shamanic paradigm

I’ve read the preface, and am so moved. It’s like a handbook for working with the ACIM teachings.! And for overcoming the dopamine twitching!!

This morning has been a roller coaster. Thank you! I have truly connected and communed! This really is living within this beautiful planetary ascension. Oh, your advice for today?

Recall: ‘thoughts turn to Heaven and away from hell’

I’ll use that ‘consciously connected breathing’ to turn my thoughts to Heaven today. It’s a rainy day. May I develop my present moment awareness within it. And, what should I work with, also?

Peace of mind. Let this CCB grant you Peace of Mind. In the here and now, all is truly peaceful! Use ‘peace of mind’ as an indicator that you are in the here and now of heaven. When your egoic mind fires up a fear fest, step it down. Do this all day, with consummate softness, and you will step lightly towards that precious Presence. Embrace Peace of Mind, no matter how your mind might scream. Embrace Peace of Mind.

Thank you. Here and now is all there is, and when I rest my attention in the here and now, I can welcome that gentle peace of mind. Thank you. I will look towards mind-screams as indicators that I’m doing well!! Amen.

I am embracing Peace of Mind

2020-08-13

Pivot 141: I am listening to the knowing of my Heart (#IamHeartWise)

Thank you for your wisdom last time. I have been leaning on it these last few days. Really, there is no greater boon than finding unity where it ‘appeared’ not to be. I am humbled by this work.

Let’s go in.

***ACIM-MT21 + 15minMed***

A Course in Miracles – Manual for Teachers – 21. What Is the Role of Words in Healing?

M-21.1. Strictly speaking, words play no part at all in healing. 2 The motivating factor is prayer, or asking. 3 What you ask for you receive. 4 But this refers to the prayer of the heart, not to the words you use in praying.

M-21.4. Is the teacher of God, then, to avoid the use of words in his teaching? 2 No, indeed! 3 There are many who must be reached through words, being as yet unable to hear in silence. 4 The teacher of God must, however, learn to use words in a new way. 5 Gradually, he learns how to let his words be chosen for him by ceasing to decide for himself what he will say. 6 This process is merely a special case of the lesson in the workbook that says, “I will step back and let Him lead the way.” 7 The teacher of God accepts the words which are offered him, and gives as he receives. 8 He does not control the direction of his speaking. 9 He listens and hears and speaks.

I want to say that I experience this in my work. I definitively practice in two ways:

one where I am leading, with my feet firmly on the ground;
and the other way where it’s as if I’m standing on a cliff edge leaning forward and a strong wind is holding me, preventing me from falling down.

The latter form is always filled with grace, and I really sense myself to be a ‘channel of God’s peace’. I only practice with the latter form if I prepare mentally and spiritually for it. The beautiful EOL doula I spoke to last week (GM) gave me the resonance that returned me to that place of … ‘stepping aside’, or ‘holding the door open for something greater to come through’.

I am now on holiday, taking a couple of weeks break from work. How best shall I now absorb this learning and practice it in my days?

‘Prayer of the heart’

‘What you ask for you receive. But this refers to the prayer of the heart’

You have time and expansiveness to enquire into the ‘prayers of your heart’. As you walk and explore and spend time in nature, discern for yourself to prayers of your heart. You have worked so very, very well with your mind these past 7 months of ceaseless work. Allow these precious weeks to be a journey into the prayers, desires and wisdoms of your heart – especially before you embark on your third week.

[I’ve got 2 weeks of ‘staycation’ with G, and then the third week, we’ll both go back to work but I will still be ‘on leave’ to all but 2 mediation clients, so I can work on the business.]

Tell me more, please.

It would be easy for you to take the mind-wise route forward in your business. We would urge you to discern and take the heart-wise route forward.

Ooh, nice. What is heart-wise?

Return to the notions of ‘reality transurfing’ and ask yourself, ‘What is the wisdom of my heart on x matter, and y?’ As you would do here, and in your practice, lean into the wind, and let Source lead.

So lean into the wind, take the heart-wise, route and let Source lead.

Or others might say ‘Listen to your heart’. It sounds like a blithe cliche… until you actually practise it. Maybe your mind would be more content with ‘listen to the prayers of your heart’ or ‘listen to the wisdom of your heart’ or even better, ‘listen to the knowing of your heart’.

Yes. I like that. The quiet voice of knowing that is in my heart. It is too easy to make a decision without stopping to ask the wise heart. Like taking a life choice without consulting your Granny, because ‘she wouldn’t really understand’. When actually her wisdom might slow you down from charging head long in to a situation you wouldn’t need to suffer with, if only you took advice from the heart-wise one.

Beautiful. May my heart share its wisdom, its prayers, its knowing with me today, and every day.

I am listening to the knowing of my Heart (#IamHeartWise)

2020-08-112020-08-11

Pivot 140: I am listening for unity – for unity is all there is

Such a relief! Such a relief to start from the premise that each person is 100% perfect exactly as they are. It completely takes the fear out of having contact with people too! Why aren’t we taught this approach?

Schools? Schools teach children of their – and others’ – seeming imperfection.

True indeed.

Today I am meeting parents of a child who is very unwell. I am meeting with them to help them agree about an end of life care plan for their beloved little one.

You are helping them find unity.

Yes! That’s it. At the moment they are finding it hard to talk about the matter, and they disagree fundamentally on the topic of sustaining life.

Unity. You are inviting them to unity.

That’s really so helpful. I spoke to a Muslim EOL doula colleague yesterday. Such a spiritually-guided and loving woman. She lifted my heart and reminded me that we can talk about the journey of the soul, the preciousness of the marriage between the parents, and that God has the ‘the love of 70 mothers’ for us and that the soul will experience that in fullness on it’s arrival from this earthly life. She also reminded that both parents are 100% right, exactly as they are – because they love their daughter.

Speak to me today, please of how I can best support these beautiful parents in this unthinkably tragic situation.

First, beloved soul, return to the word ‘tragic’ and rephrase it.

Difficult? Heart-breaking?

Better. There is no tragedy in life or in death, but there is the struggle of accepting and letting go – which can indeed feel difficult or heart-breaking. Know that the little girl is on her own path. Hold her at the centre. Ask: what would SHE want?

Golly, the same goes for the mother in the other case I’m working on. She has dementia, and doesn’t know that her children – who adore her – are in pain and disharmony around her care. It helps to think about asking, “What would she want?”

***ACIM+5minMed***

20. What Is the Peace of God?

M-20.3.3 God’s peace can never come where anger is, for anger must deny that peace exists. 4 Who sees anger as justified in any way or any circumstance proclaims that peace is meaningless, and must believe that it cannot exist. 5 In this condition, peace cannot be found. 6 Therefore, forgiveness is the necessary condition for finding the peace of God. 7 More than this, given forgiveness there must be peace.

M-20.6. What is the peace of God? 2 No more than this; the simple understanding that His Will is wholly without opposite. 3 There is no thought that contradicts His Will, yet can be true.

Thank you. Dear Inner Being – dear heart of my soul – dear voice of my wisdom… download into me your advice for my day…

It is not for us to tell you how to live your life, just as it not for you to tell others how to live theirs, or how to think, or how to believe. Do not go into this conversation today with a ‘belief’ or a ‘position’, God forbid. Nor should you go feeling that ‘success’ will involve persuading one person to see another way. Heaven forbid! Success will involve nothing more than greater unity between the couple. Unity – mutual understanding – mutual respect – tenderness – compassion – empathy… They both need better to understand each other. If you can help them hear each other as purely and cleanly as they might hear a pin dropping in forest, you will have had the ‘success’ you seek.

Drop expectation at the door. Act as a servant of communication. Undertake to give of your best, and to love each one purely and without judgment. Hang on each person’s every word. Be the listener, and you will hear God’s voice through the mouths of these adoring parents.

Listen for unity. You will find it, for Unity is the will of God, and God’s will is all there truly is. In truth, Unity is all there is, for Oneness is the nature of God, and that Oneness is expressed as Love – and reached via Forgiveness. Listen for forgiveness, and you will hear Love, and thus you will reach Oneness which is the manifestation on Unity.

Beautiful. Thank you.

I am listening for unity – for unity is all there is

2020-08-05

Pivot 139: I am seeing the perfection in each person

I’m not sure I was hugely swooning per se, but I did have some gorgeous times in nature – walking, gardening, qigonging… I noticed and remembered how, in nature:

there is no casting judgment – no good/bad – no shame or guilt
no overcomplicating – things are as simple as they can be, be that richly complex sometimes

***ACIM17/18+10minMed***

Glossary: ‘magic thoughts’ in ACIM

Thoughts which claim that we can be saved by our own separate will, by certain special people, by various external things—by anything other than the miracle, the Will of God healing our minds. The teacher of God will encounter magic thoughts in his pupils and must learn how to react to them without anger. Found only in sections 17 and 18 in the Manual. See magic.

A Course in Miracles – Manual for Teachers – 17. How Do God’s Teachers Deal with Magic Thoughts?

M-17.1. This is a crucial question both for teacher and pupil. 2 If this issue is mishandled, the teacher of God has hurt himself and has also attacked his pupil. 3 This strengthens fear, and makes the magic seem quite real to both of them. 4 How to deal with magic thus becomes a major lesson for the teacher of God to master.

A Course in Miracles – Manual for Teachers – 18. How Is Correction Made?

M-18.4. In order to heal, it thus becomes essential for the teacher of God to let all his own mistakes be corrected. 2 If he senses even the faintest hint of irritation in himself as he responds to anyone, let him instantly realize that he has made an interpretation that is not true. 3 Then let him turn within to his eternal Guide, and let Him judge what the response should be. 4 So is he healed, and in his healing is his pupil healed with him. 5 The sole responsibility of God’s teacher is to accept the Atonement for himself. 6 Atonement means correction, or the undoing of errors. 7 When this has been accomplished, the teacher of God becomes a miracle worker by definition. 8 His sins have been forgiven him, and he no longer condemns himself. 9 How can he then condemn anyone? 10 And who is there whom his forgiveness can fail to heal?

I see how I have got in the habit of allowing in ‘the faintest hint of irritation’, or outright judging people… essentially for their and my having ‘magic thoughts’! This has been a barrier to my development I can now see. The healing (ie. ceasing of condemnation ie. atonement ie perception of innocence of all beings including me) starts in my mind. May my perception arise to see only gentle innocence in all. As nature does.

What is your message for me today, please?

Whenever you see an ‘error’ in your path, note that; correct your perception, and walk on. There are no errors in reality. All is at its perfect state of evolution. If, and we know that this is a big if, you can be at peace with ‘where people are’ then you really have something to offer them. If you cannot forgive them for being where they are, then know that you are hurting both them and yourself. Remember that phrase: Everyone Is Doing Their Best. This is not to be cast over or made ironic. Even if someone is much, much mistaken in their perception, they are doing their best, and frankly it is not your role to cast aspersions if they are not ‘level’ with you. Or if they are not responding to your prompts to ‘level up’.

What if time is pressing for people to make a shift in their perception? What if it’s a life and death situation, as it is for one of my clients?

Each person has a set of lessons they wish to learn in this life. If the lesson you perceive they ‘need to learn’ is not in this lifetimes’ set, it may well be in the next. Leave them to it – and love them unconditionally in their seeming ‘error’. Seriously, can you bring unconditional love to each person you see? If you can, you can be of service. If their ‘slow development’ distresses you – or worse, if you perceive it might put you in a bad light professionally because you don’t manage to ‘correct’ them in time – then you are adding vinegar to their perfect pudding. You are often as much ‘client’ as they are. In fact, you can leave that word, and use ‘brother’ or ‘sister’ and you will be better placed to progress. If, if, if you can see the perfection of that person, without words or persuasion… If you can but witness their perfection… then in the realms of possibility, you will have opened wide the possibility of the person seeing their own perfection, of accepting their perfection, of accepting atonement as it is offered. Can you see the perfection in each person?

Yes! I need to slow down, and attune to people, don’t I? And I need to weed out hints of criticism or judgment or other automatic knee-jerks (emphasis on jerk) about others in myself, sharpish! I need to hold them in perfection in my mind. I can. I will.

I am holding each person in perfection

I am seeing the perfection in each person

2020-08-022020-08-04

Pivot 138: I am swooning with nature

Thank you for that lesson yesterday. It gave me the wherewithal to pull out of a workshop I didn’t feel comfortable about. My bodily barometer felt heavy and negative about the prospect of attending (online) – so I heard the message. And, trusting that ‘holy are we’, I assumed that everyone else attending the workshop was there for their best interests, and that I didn’t need to ‘feel bad’ or get involved in judgment. As it was, my excusing myself two hours in advance seemingly precipitated two (of the other five) excusing themselves too.

I should add that what really finally made me decide to ditch the workshop was actually my 20yo daughter who looked me squarely and lovingly in the eyes and said, “There’s no point in taking part in something that’s going to perpetuate a false narrative of your worth. Mum, you’re better than that workshop.” These young beings… Oh, my wondrous daughters… You were right yesterday about Source evolving through us. These next generations are Human 2.0… They are born with new knowledge and such beautiful, immaculate qualities of compassion, justice and truth. They resonate with the phrase ‘Holy Are We’ so clearly.

Shall we go in?

***ACIMCh16+31minMed***

Beautiful chapter; beautiful meditation.

A Course in Miracles – Manual for Teachers – 16. How Should the Teacher of God Spend His Day?

M-16.1. To the advanced teacher of God this question is meaningless. 2 There is no program, for the lessons change each day. 3 Yet the teacher of God is sure of but one thing; they do not change at random. 4 Seeing this and understanding that it is true, he rests content. 5 He will be told all that his role should be, this day and every day. 6 And those who share that role with him will find him, so they can learn the lessons for the day together. 7 Not one is absent whom he needs; not one is sent without a learning goal already set, and one which can be learned that very day. 8 For the advanced teacher of God, then, this question is superfluous. 9 It has been asked and answered, and he keeps in constant contact with the Answer. 10 He is set, and sees the road on which he walks stretch surely and smoothly before him.

It’s like these DoDs are me capturing my daily lesson. And look, this chapter even uses the phrase ‘quiet time’ which is the phrase I use for this time (MyQT):

M-16.4.7 Perhaps the one generalization that can be made is this; as soon as possible after waking take your quiet time, continuing a minute or two after you begin to find it difficult. 8 You may find that the difficulty will diminish and drop away. 9 If not, that is the time to stop. M-16.5. The same procedures should be followed at night. 2 Perhaps your quiet time should be fairly early in the evening, if it is not feasible for you to take it just before going to sleep.

I like the concept of keeping ‘in constant contact with the Answer’. This chapter talks about ‘giving the day to God’ and there being ‘no substitution for the Will of God’. Can I ask? Here, can we see God and the Will of God to being akin to what Abraham calls the Inner Being. Or Source? How to re-translate this to our newer understandings of God?

Source is God, or Infinite Intelligence, or Source Energy, or Love’s Origin, or Creative Force. Your Inner Being is the part of you which is still resting in that original Source frequency. It is the part that ‘stayed behind’ when you came to the physical plane, and yet, because it therefore it is not bound by the rules of physicality, it also came with you!

So aligning with your Inner Being is your fastest, purest, unique route to aligning with Source. The Will of God is simply ‘the path of least resistance’. So, yes, keeping in constant contact with your Inner Being (by finding what feels good and satisfying and relieving) is your best way of knowing what is ‘the Will of God’ for you in that holy instant.

Lovely. Awesome. Beautiful. I heard Abraham talking about aligning with Source Energy and how it felt to her like what spiritualists call ‘swooning’. Can you tell me about my body – this high-tech barometer – and the physical sensations around raising one’s vibration to align with our Inner Being or with Source?

Sure thing. Relax! That’s it. Just relax a little. As you reduce resistance (aka effort) your cork floats. So chill out. Just take the foot off the accelerator. Float about. Day dream around a bit. Live in flow. Put a hippy skirt on and feel it float. Whenever you feel yourself pushing, forcing or achieverising, relax, flow, float. Take the pressure off. Might that feel like swooning? Fine! Good on ya’. For someone who has been running a marathon, standing still might feel like fainting. That’s fine. It won’t after a while. It’ll all feel normal. The same with you. Cease the push, adjust to the sensation of standing still, and ground your sweet self there. Like a tree.

So, welcome the swoon?

Welcome the swoon of relaxation, and breathe it out, and dance it out, and lie on the grass and welcome the bright, brilliant vibration that nature lives in every day. Aligning with nature – which goes so slowly it will feel like swooning to you – is the fastest way to learn how to cease resistance. Go and garden. Learn to swoon from the flowers. Swoon with nature.

Epic and beautiful. Thank you. I will do this lovely thing today. Swoon with nature. Love it.

I am swooning with nature

Author: Dialogues Of Discernment