Sign for the Times

Wow!  This year seems to be a time when terrible things are happening to good people.  The worst of it is how lost they feel.  A sign is always a great way to get your bearings.  Here is that sign.

Take some time.

Change how you see yourself and your world.

Step into your new world.

Time to Define

1.      Accept: If you are here, you are ready to be here.  It’s okay.  If your situation is catastrophic, it is so that you can hear the message; it is time to change.  Look to yourself for answers.  You are the only one who cares.

2.      Define yourself: it is all about walking your path; not someone else's.

3.      Define the world: the world is huge, narrow your focus to your special corner.

4.      Define your contribution: It is all about the exchange system. What will you give that the world wants? What will the world give that you want?

Answer the Questions

There are 6 questions that need answering: who, what, where, when, why and how. The definition you are working on changes the focus. Use your feelings as a guide.

1.      Define yourself.

Answer each question positively and negatively. This gives you a fuller picture of yourself. It allows you to choose whether you want to follow your “bliss" or meet and overcome your challenges.

Who – are the people you enjoy being with, that inspire you?

         - are the people that irritate you, that you avoid?

What – are the experiences, the things that you are proud of, that you seek out?

          - are your hobbies, interests?

          - are the experiences, things that bring you down, that you avoid?

Where – do you feel great?

            - do you feel terrible?

When – do you feel energized; during your day, during the month, which season, dealing with the past, the present, or the future?

            - do you feel exhausted?

Why – do you do what you do in the above situations?

   - do you approve or follow anybody, anything?

               - do you avoid situations, disapprove or resist?

How – do you respond to your life or the moments within it; with anxiety, confidence, analysis, spontaneity, procrastination, planning? Are you happy with that response?

2.      Define the world.

You can see the negative or the positive in the world.  In this section, I suggest the positive. Same questions. This time you are searching for those parts of the world that reflect yourself.

Who talks your language, who do you admire?  What jobs, places, experiences allow you to lose yourself, lose all track of time?  Where do you glow, feel renewed?  When do you relax, feel comfortable, sure of yourself?  Why is one place right, another wrong?  How does a place/experience reflect you?

3.   Define your contribution

You have a great deal to offer to the world.  Now is the time to become specific. What will you give and what do you want in return?

Who do you want to exchange with? What do you have? What does the world want? Where do you wish to produce, to exchange (home, office, some other place)? When is determined by your need, production time and exchange time. Why is how you benefit and how the world benefits. How will you do whatever you choose to do?

That's All

4 steps and 6 questions provide the signposts to lead you out of your current place.  Change what you see.  Be willing to step into that world.

Only you can take the path.  Only you can take the first step.  Only you can keep moving.  Others cheering you along will help. Sharing your tips and tricks helps them.

Take care. You've got this.

Inspiration

One way or the other I have had a life related to the spiritual world.  It started out as the traditional Christian church upbringing.  My church experiences extended through low Anglican to Presbyterian to Jehovah Witness, a few Alpha courses, some information on other standard religions.  I then got into what could loosely be described as actual spiritual guides or people discovering and using said guides.  Nature connections were quite big too.  Eventually, I moved on to what is known as energy healing with dips into self-help books. I recently discovered Shamanism.  There have been various contacts with Yoga, gurus, various techniques to access the energy flow in our bodies, Chakras.  I am currently involved in TaeKwonDo. Throughout this, I held on to my own beliefs that may be influenced by all of the above but don’t fully jibe with them.

I live now and have always lived with very practical people.  My husband has no interest in religion as a practice.  He firmly believes that what the churches teach is hogwash.  What exists is what you see.  He believes in a force but that force doesn’t have the faintest interest in us, at least not as far as affecting our personal lives.  The Bible is a historical book.  Evolution is the basis for creation, not creationism especially when creationism says we have only been on this earth for 7000 years (or 5000, I lose track of when the beginning was supposed to have been).

The above information has led me towards a belief which includes the Universe and many, many non-physical beings including both mans’ Gods, God, my greater self, guides, friends and more.  The above living has created a dual understanding of the world/Universe (in future this combination is understood whether I write one or the other).  This understanding creates a definite juxtaposition in me.  I cannot choose one or the other.  I have come to believe that is a necessary and purposeful thing for me.  Too much of my life in all of its areas involves juxtaposition.  Somehow, somewhere I need to find a place where I can join both worlds or act as a bridge between worlds on the understanding that travel goes both ways not one.

This is my problem with all of my explorations into other worlds.  This is why I am angry. At least that and the fact that my external life is unbelievably bad; personally, my husband’s health, financially, pretty much everything. Everybody talks about a one-way trip.

Life does not go one way.  Yes, it is possible to live in a world with high vibrations, feelings and visions.  Yes, it is possible for those individuals to live successfully and practically in this world.  It is also possible to live on a fully practical level, utilizing energy as solely a physical thing, living within your five external senses, fully feeling and enjoying this physical world.  Each is valuable. Each is necessary.  Evolution is not a one-way street. I suspect that eventually we will discover that neither is the universe.  There is much, much more to the universe than a bunch of stars and whatever always expanding outwards in a one-way direction.  The problem is not with the universe or evolution; the problem is with our ability to discern.

In every belief system or “way of life” or philosophy or theory of attraction, there are rules.  These rules must be followed.  If you do not have success, it is your fault for not following the rules. If you do, you have obviously followed the rules. Honestly, come on. In the fully practical world, the individuals who make it to the top in any area of life do so by being different, by standing out or in some other way not following the rules (in fact that is one of the rules – be different).  Energy Healing methods either tell us to have completely positive vibes which are then going to automatically lead us to positive lives (that being the true goal and of course, help others) or they tell us to deeply explore our negative feelings, to let go of them, thus allowing positive vibes to flow in.  Again – not happening, your fault, try harder (which by the way negates the statement that this is not something you struggle for).  Then there are the God and Universe rules.  You show them (it) that you are worthy, that you really want it, and then they might deign in their fatherly (motherly, it) goodness to allow you to have it. Obviously, if there is no success, you screwed up.  The simple truth is that God, the Universe or whatever you name your belief is not human.  They do not have human emotions.  Every portrayal ever created of them has been a metaphor to help understanding not a literal statement.  That is what metaphors, what language does.  It is not what a God or Universe does because a God or Universe doesn’t do.  Applying human consciousness, human actions to something which is supposed to be beyond humanity, beyond the world, is to demean it.

Here I am then.  Feeling terribly guilty because my husband’s health which was supposed to be completely resolved is getting alarming – way too many doctors appearing again; my health is just weird and our financial health is unbelievably bad and getting worse daily.  According to the rules of every belief that I have explored, the right way of acting will bring manna, whatever that means to you.  Unfortunately, I do truly believe that living in tune with your purpose and the Universe (if they are different) will bring you your version of Eden.  Since my life is obviously not that, would be much closer to Hell in fact if I actually had succumbed mentally to my external physical conditions, it must be my fault.  I must be being punished for something terrible. Problem is I don’t know what that is.  The incredible guilt is very real.

Yet how can I be punished by a force that is beyond such things? If I am not being punished, there is no need to feel guilty for some great unknown crime.  So, what? Guilt is a feeling, not a thing that you use when needed and throw away when not needed.  How do you let go?  Commit – to what?  Then there is the fact that this time I said no, I did not fall prey to the guilt and end up in a permanent panic attack (or more accurately permanent seizure).  In fact, I have been more fully in contact with my personal guides, gods and friends.  I am having beautiful visions – the current one is that I have finally left the prison I have held myself in and am living in my true garden of Eden.  Yet my external life keeps on getting worse.  The financial outlook is bleaker every day.

What gives?  I was incredibly angry when I started this.  The anger is lessened for the moment but nothing of significance is happening in my external life and you can only live on internal visions for so long.  The body, unfortunately, is very physical and needs physical nourishment.  I guess that is what annoys me so much about all these wonderful “ways of life”.  Great story but not a whole lot of physical reality.

Truth – I am several thousand dollars in debt some of it critical.  I am in overdraft as of tomorrow.  If I am lucky I might have 200 of that to live on (read buy food) until March 28. The only form of obvious resolution is to renegotiate our rent.  That has been initiated, I think.

          - Bob’s c. difficile has not been resolved, the doctor is trying very serious drugs, an infectious disease specialist has been called in, a colonoscopy has been demanded, she is worried that he has had angina attacks.

          - My health particularly my blood pressure is wildly erratic.

          - my future is an incredibly dark hole.

..........- not terribly sure of the ground I am standing on.

I was told to do what inspired me and came easily.  This is it.  Let the bounty begin.

How to Water Your Garden

This morning I had a very dry garden; the promised rain hadn’t materialized.  I also had back and knee pain.  I eyed the hose on the hose hanger.  If I waited, hoping somehow that the problem would go away, it would become too hot to water.  My back sharply informed me that dumping the hose on the driveway, bending over to untangle it and dragging it down the driveway to the garden in my usual fashion would result in me joining the hose in a tangled heap on the very, hard driveway.  Yet I could hear my plants crying, “Water, Water, Help!”

Keeping my back very straight, it’s truly amazing how great my posture becomes when pain is the alternative, I walked slowly towards the hose.  With the intention of keeping the business end of the hose in my hand when I got to it, I lifted the hose and dumped it on the ground.  Of course the nozzle ended up on the driveway.  I looked at it, then braced one arm against the house and slowly moved a foot under a loop near the end and, still moving slowly, lifted my foot and the hose up until I could grab the hose.  I carried that end to the front yard placing it through the porch railing pointing down to the garden.  I could reach it easily and the water was headed into the garden, not onto the porch.  Bringing the loops of the hose up to me and untangling it as I went, I gradually worked my way back to the hanger.  On the rare occasion that I had to bend, I discovered that if I raised a back leg as I reached forward with the opposite hand, the sore part of my back didn’t bend.  Alternatively, I could bend my knees outward and lower my upper body enough to reach what I needed.  Turning the water on was not a problem.  The hose was straight and running with water.  I could walk upright slowly around my front yard pleasing the plants and myself as I admired them.  Looping the hose back on the hanger was simply a matter of drawing the hose upwards towards me and looping it over.  Those slow movements had eased my back enough to make the remainder of the day easier.

How does this apply to you? Do you have a business problem, something in your lifestyle, or perhaps you want to improve the way you move or look?  Regardless of the need or the obstacle that you can’t work around, the answers are exactly the same as I used to solve my garden problem.

Recognize that this is all about you, no one else.  It is your need and your obstacle. I cared about my garden and I was the one who had the sore back.  You care about your issue.  You are the one who is feeling the obstacle or the lack of results.  It really doesn’t matter to anyone else.

Define the need and the problem.  A hint here, it is not a lack of money or clients. Both are a result.  Lack of them is lack of a result, not the cause. To determine the cause, ask questions until you reach a very specific answer.  What do I want to achieve?  This is not a grand future goal.  What do you want at this precise moment? Why do I want to achieve it? The answer to this is the reason you are doing this in the first place. If you have no reason, what are you wasting your time for?  Again, narrow your focus to the present.  Why do I want this Right Now? When do I want to achieve it?  If the answer isn’t now, give a precise and specific date. What is standing in my way? The answer could be your personal beliefs.  It could be that you don’t have a plan.  It could be that your focus is too broad. Pain was my answer. How can I get around it?  Specific solutions are required here not general statements. What are my strengths? Remember to include you as well as other positive areas in your life/business. Who are my supports? Supports can be physical, people, information, nature, technology, or beliefs. You can use these supports to stabilize you as you try new ways of doing things.

Act, but act slowly.  There are some people who can be thrown into the deep end of the pool and immediately start swimming.  The majority of us learn much better when we start in the shallow end, learning in stages.  If you try small things, you can stop or correct before too much is lost, before you have to absorb too much pain.  As you are acting, watch for what works and what doesn’t.  Write it down.  Keep an ongoing record.  It makes it so much easier to remember for the next time.  It also makes it easier to share.

My garden needed water.  I defined what I couldn’t do, used physical, mental and informational supports to define what I could do and altered as necessary.  The result, my immediate problem was solved, my condition improved and I was able to discover and share some new-to-me problem solving techniques.

How do you water your garden? Please let others know in the comments below or on my facebook page www.facebook.com/sfmagicink.  Thank you.