Forgiveness: Balm to the Soul

Good Morning Everyone!

A news item caught my attention yesterday as Livestation opened itself up on my computer. When the cyber faeries insist, I'm thinking I should pay attention. The story was about accused Nazi, John Demjanjuk, who was being carried from his home in Bath, Ohio for deportation.

Demjanjuk was obviously old and ill. At 89 he was a pathetic site, indeed. I wondered about the process, because it seems so vivid and cruel.

Years ago a friend and I were at a hospital where her father lay dying. He had been a very hard and cruel man to his family, according to her and her sisters. Now he was the same pathetic sight that Demjanjuk posed yesterday. She remarked to me in the hospital cafeteria, "You know, I think that sometimes you hate something so much that you become that thing you hate." That was probably 35 years ago, and yet I remember it as vividly today as if I had heard it yesterday. It rang of Truth.

There ought to be a statute of limitations on hate. Of course this is our personal internal, spiritual work. Each of us, individually.

It's not that these things happened so very long ago, it is the fact that hate, kept alive, only eats up the hater. This is what ought to be taught in every church, every synagog, every temple, and yes, even in schools.

Horrible deed set up a dramatic field of contrast in order that we might choose what we do want in the face of what we don't want. When we see cruelty, such as I saw yesterday as they were carrying Demjanjuk out of his home, I immediately wished for kindness, compassion, and most of all enlightenment for all.

Some will argue that this is about justice. What about those 29,000 people that he is accused of being an accomplice to their genocide? Who will speak for them? I say that they are all in Well Being, in Oneness with Source, and know nothing of hatred and revenge. They know they are eternal beings and that there is only Love. It is only here on planet Earth, as we grapple with evolving our consciousness that we debate these issues.

The greatest argument that I can put forth for forgiveness harkens back to what my friend observed about the journey of her feelings for her father. She became him, that which she hated most.

Without forgiveness, hate eats us up in our biology, in our relationships, and in the quality of the life journey that we are keeping ourselves from enjoying. It ruins our lives, not theirs. Why should we forgive and forget? Because we deserve it; even if they don't.

If we take just one individual, such as my friend, and now multiply that by the millions upon millions that "hate" for a "justified" cause, we now see why we are at war somewhere all the time. Hatred is then passed on to our beautiful children, who come in as pure Love. It is tantamount to poisoning our own Well. We think that we have to teach them about what horror was done to "us" all those years ago, so they will carry on our "fight". But where is the Love in that? Where is the Goodness in this?

Forgiveness is the hardest thing a human can do. I know. But when we undertake that Soul work and move through it and get beyond it, there is a vista of infinite possibilities that cannot be seen through the cloud of hatred. There is so much more on the other side.

We are being called to become spiritual adults; to grow up. This is the personal work that has to be done one by one in order to see a new Earth. It isn't about "them" or "those people"; it is all about the individual: you and me.

So the next time you hear yourself ranting about "them" or "him" or "her" and the outrageous thing they did, stop and listen to what you're saying and feel the vile that is coursing through your body. This is what your hardened heart is doing to You.

That, dear reader, is the first step in the journey of forgiveness; a return to Love in your own consciousness.

Take the journey. It's Good for You.

Thanks for reading!

Kath

8 Steps to Changing Your Focus

Good Morning Everyone,

We're going to work on deliberate focus today and perhaps for a few weeks to come.

I know, the news is really competing for your focus and attention, big time. You almost can't avoid it, unless you put yourself into a cave. But we're not advocating that. What we're going to be doing over the next few weeks is showing you how to be the one to choose your own focus and therefore your own vibration and how to be a selective sifter of the information that you are viewing. We're NOT going to let the time and tides dictate your vibration. You get to choose.

This is going to take application and practice on your part for it to be effective in your life. The point of this, is to feel good, keep feeling good and optimistic, and to keep moving forward in the goals and projects you have in process and or to help you choose your new direction and focus and stay consistently and deliberately focused on what you choose.

So let's get started.

Let's begin with the headlines of any news media. Today for example, on Yahoo, it is all about the
Dow. And they give you just enough information to set your teeth on edge. Thanks, right?

Ok. What can you do with that information? Here's what I recommend:

1. You can simply bless the information. A sort of "thanks for sharing" type of thing. This is not getting yourself involved in it or reading any further; yet it probably still rankles and causes you some level of concern. You feel some dis-ease. What we want to do is change that dis-ease, into something that feels better to you right then and there.

2. So you feel that knot in your stomach and acknowledge it as fear. You might say to yourself, "This is scary." "I'm worried." or anything similar. What is important is to truly feel that feeling and acknowledge it. "Yep, I'm scared about this economic thing. I'm worried about what this could mean for my family, my job, etc." Be specific. Be clear. Be Truthful with yourself.

3. Now. Breathe deeply. Do it again. Breathe deeply. Again, if you need to to calm, even a tad.

4. Now you're going to reach for some better feeling thoughts about this. You might say things like, "In the past, things have gone up and down, and they always work out." or "There are lots of ways for money to come to me, my job is only one way, out of an infinite number of ways."
or "Isn't this interesting. I'm wondering if now just might be the time for me to follow that hunch I had the other day with respect to..." or "I know that my good is at play." You keep reaching for thoughts that ease that knot in your stomach. When you find it, and you can viscerally and literally feel the ease and relief, you've just changed your vibration on that subject.

5. Now you stabilize yourself there. Breathe in deeply. Relax into the new, better feeling place.

6. Now count your blessings. Let's tally up all the "haves" in your life. And I mean ALL of your "haves". You have your health, you have access to Internet, you have .....and keep on going. Do this every single day without repeating anything twice.

7. Now feeling better, choose deliberately to turn your focus of attention - your nuclear Source Energy - to what feels correct and right and fun for you to proceed with today, and give it your Full Focus. Is it your new book? Is it a new customer? You know where your good is, so follow it. Don't be tempted to look at the ick. It has nothing to do with you, unless you make it so.

8. Don't look back. Remember the story of Lot's wife who was turned into a pillar of salt when she looked back? Well, don't do it. Keep looking forward and upward. Keep working on that thought until it has become really positive and you have no fear about the subject of this economic turmoil.

These are the times when we are challenged to NOT look at all the icky stuff, but rather keep our eyes focused on what we desire to create, not what is. This is applied spirituality in action.

Next blog...being a selective sifter.

Thanks for reading!

Kath

Politics, Racism, and Fear

Hello Everyone,

I know that I am an innocent. I just am, and frankly, glad of it. What has sort of jolted me out of my pink bubble is the myriad political ads that friends and family forward to me as the election draws closer. America, there is a giant elephant in our living room. It is fear. It takes the form of racism, sexism, lying, cheating, name-calling, rumor and innuendo. It's ugly and it does not become us.

Just so everyone gets a clear picture, I used to be a registered Republican, because to my mind, the principles of the Republican Party were closest to what I believed: in the absolute and sovereign power of the individual. I believe that with every fiber of my being, because I know Who We Really Are: God having a physical experience on earth. However, as human mind has so twisted the tenets of both parties, I confess that for awhile there I really couldn't tell which party was which anymore. I still can't.

So I shucked the labels and registered myself as Independent. That feels more like me, anyway. I'm free to choose from the myriad candidates and myriad ideas, and I vote where it feels correct. I loathe the labels of left, right, conservative, liberal, democrat, republican, middle of the road. Labels are for those who can't think independently. Labels are for lemmings.

Once someone says they are "liberal" or "democrat", someone stops listening altogether. Not another word of what they have to say is given any listen by the closed mind and locked heart of fear. And this is what I see happening in my inbox. Friends and family send these political missives; the latest one today was from a friend in Virginia. The e-mail was a compilation of the best bumper stickers - all of which were defaming Obama and the Democrats. As I read them, I realized that he is afraid. Only fear can make people attack another on such grounds.

The presidential race should be all about the issues; rather it is reduced to slurs around rumor and innuendo. Another friend forwarded to me an e-mail that was reportedly written by a soldier in Afghanistan recounting that Obama had snubbed the troops. This e-mail is not verifiable, nor does it trace back to his e-mail address for veracity. It just gets forwarded on, like it's Gospel truth...out of fear.

I trust that Americans can figure out for themselves what is True and not True; but the catch to this is that you have to come to the table with an open mind and an open heart. You have to come to the debate with the attitude, "Tell me who you are." You can't come to the table with fears like racism, prejudice and preconceived ideas that obscure you from ever hearing what they have to say, let alone giving yourself the opportunity to FEEL the truth or see their beauty.

Fear is irrational. It has no reason, it just lurks within a heart and obliterates the Light. Fear is why we are at war. Fear is why we fight with each other. Fear is why we are sick. Fear is why people pass on information that is without verifiable truth, because it supports your fear.

If you want a safer, better, and happier America, then each of us, every single one, had better take a good hard and honest look at who we are as individuals, first.

No one need know what goes on in that conversation between you and YOU. But we each had better have that conversation. Because it is we, the people, that make up this country. You, me, the John and Jane Doe's all across these 50 states. However much fear and hatred we harbor in our hearts, that's what we are going to experience as a country in this world.

It's time for some individual house keeping. I challenge you to have that conversation with yourself. Come to terms with the fact that you are afraid of those of different colors, different creeds, different ideas. Now, I challenge you to love them. I challenge you to listen with an open mind and open heart.

This is no airy fairy exercise, my friends. This country is only as good as the people who comprise it. If you love America, but clear hate certain Americans, how can this Nation stand? It won't. It will crumble from within; it won't take any foreign enemy to bury us.

This country is advanced citizenship. It takes clear hearts and clear minds to deal with serious problems. To be a citizen of America means you must defend the right of someone to voice their opinion about something you would spend your life trying to defeat. It means you will disagree with that person vehemently on the issue; but you will respect that person as an equal citizen and worthy being. These are not oxymorons. You can disagree with someone and still respect their right to their opinion. And if you respect their right to their opinion, you will not defame, slur or disrespect someone by making a political argument into a personal slur. That is spiritual immaturity. We are called to become spiritual adults.

It's time to grow up America. We can conduct healthy, spirited debates and actually learn from each other. Only fear closes our ears to what someone has to say. It costs us nothing to listen, not just with our minds, but also with our hearts. Times are changing, as they always do. It just feels so much better when you listen with your heart open, even to something you don't like. It's the idea you disagree with; the person is just like you: God having a physical adventure.

We have a duty as Americans to be very good stewards of democracy. Democracy is a place where everything, every idea, every people get to be here, much like the books in a library. The books in the library sit side by side offering their unique and individual thoughts for those who wish to read them. Those books don't hop off the shelf at night and duke it out. So it is in this wonderful place. We all get to be here. It takes advanced citizenship to fully grasp what this really means and how great a challenge this is to each of us every day of our lives.

We have nothing to fear, except fear; because fear will undermine us and crumble us from the inside out. Next time you see someone whose political views you think you hate, try this: take a deep breath. Acknowledge that he/she is a unique individual with unique things to say, just like you. Acknowledge that you might be afraid of some of the things they might offer. Now, listen to them with your full attention and respect. Breathe in again, breathe out. Now, realize that you are in no way diminished because they have that idea. You can thank them for sharing. You can chew over what they had to say. You can discard all of it; some of it; non of it. Nothing bad is going to happen just because you listened with an open mind and an open heart. The only time something bad can happen is when you fear it, then, my friend, you will attract it.

This Universe can supply every one's needs at the same time. There's enough for everyone. America is the place on Earth where we are either going to learn to do that in the physical; or we will go the way of all the other civilizations that came before us. We can trust in the Good in each of us. Speak to that. Listen to that.

Everyone is God at center. America is the great experiment. Can we learn to live with all those different Gods in the same place and know that each of our Good is always at play? I say we can. That is applied spirituality in action.

Thanks for reading!

Kath

Letting "YOU" Flow Through You: Applied Spirituality in Action

Good Morning Everyone,

A newsletter that I subscribe to posted this video this morning for everyone to start their day off in Well Being.

I thought I'd pass it on in my blog, because this IS applied spirituality in motion. So as you watch Paul Potts of the UK, ask yourself, "What's my opera?" Then go for it!

Who you are is God here on earth having this physical experience. If you are in joy, in your passion, then you are allowing the You of you to play and dance here on earth. How do you know?

By how it feels. It's amazing.

Watch now, and thanks for reading!

Copy and paste the link into a new browser or simply click above on my title. Enjoy!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k08yxu57NA

Kath