Archive for February, 2008

What this book is about
In A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose, Eckhart Tolle has expanded upon the information in The Power of Now and created a road map to guide us to a complete awakening to our life’s purpose and creating a new earth. Topics include the consciousness of humanity, ego, how to break free, find who you are, what your purpose is and what "a new earth" means.

The new earth
What is the new earth? It’s been spoken about, fantasized about, written about and speculated about by many people. Some even fear it for what it will mean to the change in their lives. I’m supposing it will actually look different to everyone since there are many different "worlds" within our world. The ant and chicken worlds are very different from the bird, dolphin and human worlds. One of the sign-posts that Eckhart points to as evidence is the statement in the bible that the lion will lie down with the lamb. As Eckhart puts it, that points to an entirely different order of reality and it’s not Utopia. It’s from our transformed consciousness that we will experience a new earth, not because we are going to be saved in some future time. Heaven is within us and it’s now. It’s always been now. Be free of the ego and find yourself again to create heaven on earth. When enough people do this, we will know a new earth.

A new earth and religion
The "new" earth has been written about in many texts, not all of them religious. And although Eckhart references biblical examples in his books, all of his writings transcend religion to speak to the soul on many levels. No matter where you are, you will get just what you need. Come back and read the same book later and it seems to have a whole new relevance for you. It’s just amazing.

Your part
You may ask, "How can my life’s purpose be linked to a new earth?" Well, do you like earth so far? Eckhart explains it this way, the collective consciousness of humanity creates the earth: the physical world. What does that tell you about the consciousness of humanity at this moment? Volumes, huh?
Heaven is the state the mass consciousness of humanity must reach in order to create the new earth. Eckhart mentions that Jesus also taught that heaven was a state of consciousness, not a place. It’s not, "up there", it’s inside all of us and you can reach it at anytime. Just imagine if we all created our own personal heaven. That would be heavenly, now wouldn’t it? Well, if we all had our own personal heaven, then the earth would change to reflect the new state of consciousness that humanity had achieved and we would all be living in a new earth. Got it?

Rising above thought to achieve consciousness
A New Earth offers techniques to practice rising above thought, being in the moment, dissolving the pain body and staying conscious. It also warns against habits and practices that cause people to stop thinking that aren’t beneficial. These habits actually cause people to fall below thought and lose consciousness instead of rising above thought. In the book I found it helpful to read about what drinking alcohol, taking drugs and watching television do to the consciousness. There is advice offered on how to remain conscious while watching television and how to select programs that are thought-provoking and stay conscious while watching them. Also, beware of addictions. Not good, no.

What to do
If you’ve read The Power of Now you are familiar with the techniques Eckhart Tolle recommends to stay in the moment and dissolve the pain-body while reclaiming and converting its energy into "presence power". These techniques are enlisted to help us while we awaken to our life’s purpose and help the evolution of humanity and the earth. So, do your part by practicing being in the moment, dissolving the pain-body, and create your own personal heaven and the new earth will be born out of the collective humanity being conscious.

My experience
It’s actually taking me a while to finish this book. I think I purchased it last year and started reading it in the fall. I’m still working on it. I guess my Being is just taking as long as it needs to integrate the material. It’s so good and juicy that I’m digesting it a little at a time. It has some of the same information in The Power of Now and Practicing the Power of Now but A New Earth presents it in such a way that you can almost feel Eckhart guiding you along the path from where you are to your life’s purpose. It’s gentle and understandable and explained in a way that will inspire you to live a better life. One of the things I incorporated into my writing years ago was the suggestion (from The Power of Now) to toggle back and forth between creative thinking and inner listening while doing creative work. What that means is that I write for a bit, then stop and feel the inside of my body. When I do this, my writings are infused with Spirit and Presence. People who read what I wrote in this manner feel their hearts touched and are moved on an emotional level. I guess they are feeling the truth of their own Presence by my writings calling it up in them. Mmmmm, that’s so nice to see and feel.

A New Earth on Oprah’s book club
Oprah and Eckhart unlocked the secrets of this transformational book in her book club.

View book details at Amazon: A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose

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Post title
My first thought was to call this post, "Mid-Life Reawakening" but I would hardly call 40s mid-life anymore. Besides, when I posed the question Doreen Virtue suggested I ask of the angels, "How long will I live?" I learned that I could live as long as 256 years and could ask for it to be longer. Hey, who’s to say what the powers of this raw food diet are (once I’m 100% raw).

What’s going on
Recently I’ve started observing my life and realized that I’ve allowed myself to become devitalized. I’ve been slouching, walking mechanically, and thinking and acting like I’m older than I am. It’s not that I’m out of shape. I work out at least five times a week. There just wasn’t a lot of energy behind what I was doing.

I realized what I was doing
This morning I considered that this might be what people call a Mid-life Crisis. The realization that I have been sinking into complacency and not having fun much anymore was some what shocking. I thought about ways I could have more fun and realized this is why some people buy fun cars in their 40s and 50s.

What I’m doing about it
In my desire to have more energy and enthusiasm for life, the Universe has guided me (read that as "I asked and it was given") to see where I’ve allowed myself to be less energetic in my thinking and actions and what to do about it. I have a Zen page-a-day calendar and one day it mentioned struggling with nature to allow yourself to truly live. That day I went for a walk and asked for wind so I could walk against it. It was revitalizing to add the resistance of the wind to the workout of the walk. Since then I’ve welcomed giving my body something more to challenge it and I’m waking up. This morning I took a shower and rubbed cold water all over. It was revitalizing. I also took the Heaven on Earth Class with Amanda Miller and I’m doing the homework every day, I’m reading A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose by Eckhart Tolle, I’m on Level one of Holosync® with the affirmations and doing the exercises and meditations from the Living from the Heart paper with my study group in addition to drinking green smoothies and working out almost everyday. And this is all easy. My body wants to do these things and I’m loving it and the renewed sense of living that I’m getting from it.
 
I’m actively putting more energy into everything I do and  I’m going to find ways to have fun, enjoy my life and truly live. In the words of Mahatma Gandhi, I’m going to “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”

What I’ve noticed
Now that I’ve been doing this for a few days there’s a spring in my step, love in my heart, I’m breathing more deeply, playing with my daughter, running up the stairs, having more patience, loving myself and staying happy more often. I’m generous in my love and considerate of all living things and desirous of continuing to grow and evolve.

Remember
“We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” George Bernard Shaw

Have a great life!

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About Equinox astrology
Robert Currey’s astrology forecasts are very insightful. The yearly forecasts are relevant for the times they cover. I really like Robert’s work.

Self-fulfilling prophecies
Some people think that following astrology takes your destiny out of your hands by influencing your thoughts of your future and thereby creating self-fulfilling prophesies. This can happen if you are very susceptible to other’s influence and blindly believe what people tell you without realizing you still have a choice. But we’re not like that, are we? This is where Robert’s readings are different. I’ve had a couple of Year Forecasts done by him and I didn’t read them until after the relevant dates had passed. I wasn’t going to be influenced. Guess what, his readings were accurate anyway. How’s that for not being influenced?

Other services
There are many different astrology services that Robert offers through Equinox Astrology. You can choose a Character Portrait Horoscope, a Yearly Forecast, a Child’s Profile, a Compatibility Profile and a Birth Wheel Chart.

Visit Equinox Astrology

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The story
I remember sitting in physics class my senior year in high school when it happened. My focus started to change and I felt powerless to stop it. I tried with all my might to shift back to how I had been seeing before but just couldn’t do it, probably because I didn’t know what was actually happening. Once the change was complete I accepted it as irreversible. Sometimes I lamented the loss and came to think of it as not being able to see in three dimensions anymore.

My explanation at the time
For years I recalled the incident as being caused by watching television, a flat screen, and labeled it as no longer having depth perception. I’m sure many doctors would have disagreed with me, gone into a lengthy explanation of what it would have really been like. They would have pointed to examples of people being able to see after being blind their whole lives. Well, all I knew was that I wasn’t seeing the same way anymore and didn’t know what to do about it. The world now looked like I was seeing it on a flat screen: 2 dimensionally.

My realization
After I took a course to communicate with animals I learned how to soften my focus and found that it also softened my energy field. It made animals feel more comfortable around me. When I started practicing softening my focus I began see in “three dimensions” again, so to speak. I noticed how I could see things moving in the landscape as I walked instead of everything looking like a two-dimensional picture. That’s when I realized what had actually happened during my high school physics class. My focus had become one-pointed and I had begun looking (focusing) on only one point in space instead of being able to see the whole scene at once.

Why did this happen
Well, my theory is that it happened from spending more time being one-pointedly focused, like reading books, staring at a computer screen, watching televisions and movies, and less time taking in the scenery. What I mean by "taking in the scenery" is doing things where you don’t have to look at one point in space for a long time. This includes such as hiking, looking at a beautiful horizon or landscape, gardening, gazing off into the distance. You can probably think of other examples of things that don’t require one-pointed focus.

Making it clearer for you
Still not sure what I mean? Think of it this way, gazing at a group of people from across the room is using soft-focus. Giving someone "the eye" is one-pointed focus. Got it now?

Does it matter?
Well, that depends. You have to decide if it matters to you. It does make a difference in your energy and how you feel. I find I’m more relaxed when I use a softer focus. My whole body relaxes. I can take in more of the scenery whether I’m outside or in a room full of people. I can see more of someone’s face when I’m looking at them and the energy of our interactions is softer and more loving. I also don’t have to look back and forth from one eyeball to the other while we are looking at each other and communicating. (I find it very unnerving when I become conscious of this while I’m talking to someone. I wonder if I’m spending equal time looking at each eyeball and "am I looking at the same eyeball that’s looking at my same eyeball?" because you know, “the eyes are the window to the soul”. It’s very confusing.)

When would you use a softer focus
You would use a softer focus if you want people to be more comfortable around you, if you want to relax, if you want to slow down and enjoy the moment, if you want to take in a whole person’s face, if you want to enjoy more of the scenery, while watching a play or musical on stage, while watching a movie in wide screen, while watching a tennis match (then your head won’t go back and forth like you’re watching a tennis match; very humorous to watch someone doing that), when you are looking at the sunrise or sunset, etc. The list goes on and on. 

What you can do about it
Well, if you decide you want to be able to be able to choose between using one-pointed focus (which can be useful sometimes) and softening your focus, there are things you can do to make it easier.
Paying attention
Look at the picture above. First look at the tree in the foreground then move your gaze down the line of trees, looking at each tree individually, until you get to the end of the line of trees. Did you notice how your focus changed as you looked from one tree to the next and the difference between how your eyes felt looking at the one in the front as opposed to the one at the end of the line? You can also pay attention to how you see throughout the day. Try gazing at the horizon. Can you see the trees or buildings moving as you walk (like a scene in a movie when the camera pans and suddenly you see more of what was behind that tree or building) or do they look like a picture that keeps changing its perspective? Now, find someone to talk to and notice if you see their whole face while you are talking or are you looking back and forth from one eye to the other, staring at the beautiful shape of their chin, noticing how their eyes are perfectly almond shaped or their eyebrows plucked better than the last time you saw them or noticing some other feature on their face. (When I did this I realized I had a tendency to look at people’s mouths while they spoke. This was because I got in that habit when I worked in a place where there was a noisy copier running most of the time and would look at the person’s mouth to aid me in understanding what they were saying. I was doing a bit of lip-reading while listening to what I could hear of their words.) So, how did you did? Are you more one-pointedly focused or is your gaze already softened?
Techniques to practice softening your focus
Try to feel the energy in your body and send it down into the earth to ground yourself (this step might not be necessary but it could make it easier).

1. Bring your attention to your eyes and try to relax them. Look at the picture above. Look at the whole thing without focusing on any one point in it. Take in the whole picture at once and maybe the entire computer screen. This might be a challenge at first but you can make it easy by realizing that it can be easy (what you believe becomes true for you). See how long you can hold your eyes in a relaxed state and look again at that landscape.
2. Take a walk and see if you notice how the trees move against each other and the background when your eyes are relaxed. Notice how different things look and how different you feel when your eyes are more relaxed.
3. Now close your eyes (make sure you are in a safe place when you do this so you don’t fall over to otherwise injure yourself or anyone else) and practice softening your gaze by feeling like your eyes are sinking back into your head. If you have a hard time softening your gaze with your eyes open then practicing with your eyes shut will make it easier to do when your eyes are open. You can also notice the same feeling when you are lying in bed at night starting to fall asleep. Your eyes will just naturally relax and then you’ll get a better sense of what soft-focus feels like.
4. Practice shifting your gaze from one-pointed focus to soft-focus throughout the day and it will become easier. If you spend a lot of time in front of a computer, take time once an hour to look with soft-focus at something in the distance for a few minutes. It will also help you feel more relaxed at the end of the day. (“Experts” have been advising this for years as a method to rest your eyes while doing close-up work.) It also helps to move your body often since our bodies weren’t made to stay in one position for hours on end.
5. Practice looking at wide-screen pictures and shift back and forth between looking at  the whole picture and looking at different things in the picture. This picture of the Whirling Dervishes will work nicely.

Other helpful things to do
What will also help will be doing things to lower stress like meditation and the methods I mentioned in the Valentine’s Day post. Tai Chi and other forms of exercise also help.

Keep a journal
Lots of healing practices encourage journaling and it could be very encouraging to see your progress. Daily, weekly or whenever you remember, jot down how you felt in both visual states (one-pointedly focused and soft focused), what you did to practice shifting between them, how your day changed by practicing soft-focus and how people and animals around you respond to you in each state. You’ll soon see which is a more enjoyable and friendly way to be.

A soft-focus example
My friend, Maxine Sperling, is an artist and we’ve worked together a few times. I had no idea she practiced soft-focus until one day, I think we were talking about paying attention when someone talks to you, and she shared with me that she uses soft-focus all the time. She demonstrated what it looks like when she shifts her gaze from soft-focus to one-pointed focus and, honestly, it was really intense. It made me feel uncomfortable and I was glad when she went back to soft-focus.

Conclusions
Using soft-focus can make you feel gentler and bring you more into the present moment. It can make you more lovable and more connected to the earth. It can make you more open to love and good-will coming from everywhere and help you feel more comfortable on the earth. Use it in good health. With practice and intention it becomes easier and feels more pleasant and natural. Take in the whole world and breathe deeply. You’ll feel a difference.

Love, Light, Peace, Prosperity, Abundance and Soft-focus

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A day for romance
So, what are your plans for Valentine’s Day? I just loved being pampered and spoiled by my husband on Valentine’s Day. Perhaps he should be writing this post. He’s such a romantic and very loving.

Conversely, I think this can be another day of the year that exemplifies a value we can bring out and share with the world for the whole year. Just like Thanksgiving reminds us to be grateful, Valentine’s Day reminds us to be loving. If we love ourselves and show love to everyone we meet, the world would be such a lovely place to live in. Don’t you think? Let’s make Valentine’s Day a touchstone to remind us to show love to everyone all year long. And let’s start with ourselves.

Love yourself
What does it mean to love yourself? Believe it or not it means different things to different people. To me it means being happy, taking care of myself, living the life I want and honoring my needs and feelings. Now that I know, from reading Ask & It Is Given, that the most important thing is to feel good, I intend to keep myself happy. I want to feel good all the time and I’ve found it works best by being connected to Source and looking inside myself for my fulfillment and happiness. I can feel good all the time just by what I think and say and I’m working on feeling good all the time.

Being proactive for positive feelings
I’ve found that being proactive makes it so much easier to handle the ups and downs of the day. In addition to daily meditations and listening to Holosync® every day, I found two "processes" from Ask & It Is Given to do weekly. I usually do the Creative Workshop (Process Number 3 on page 155) and Scripting (Process Number 9 on page 207) on a weekly basis. Then throughout the week I’ll do The Rampage of Appreciation (Process Number 1 on page 141), The Book of Positive Aspects (Process Number 8 on page 199), The Magical Creation Box (Process Number 2 on page 149), Virtual Reality (Process Number 4 on page 167), Evaluating Dreams (Process Number 7 on page 193), and The Place Mat Process (Process Number 10 on page 211) as they come up in my mind. If I’m feeling low I’ll grab the book and find a process that feels good and do that until I feel better. It never takes long, though, if I’ve been regular with my weekly work. The other thing that I’ve added is studying the e-paper Living from the Heart and practicing the exercises in it that teach you to live more from the heart.

Techniques for transforming negative feelings
Yup, they come up. Negative feelings are a reality for most of us and when they come up they are ready to be released. By using a few techniques, and paying attention to how I’m feeling, I can usually defuse negative feelings in less time.

• In The Power of Now Eckhart Tolle recommends listening to the voice in your head. When we have a painful experience that pain energy is stored within us and he calls it the pain-body. When you start having negativity emotions, aches and pains or negative thoughts, that is when you know the pain-body is active. By paying attention to what is happening, as if you are the silent watcher or observer, watching without judgment, you defuse the pain-body. When you defuse the pain-body, that energy that was once pain now becomes "presence power" and helps you to stay in the moment, the NOW.
• Event Temples offers a technique (available in "James’ notes" in the "My Journey" section of the website after you sign up) which James calls the "Neutral Heart Technique" and it’s a process by which you transform and realign stuck energies. Since negativity is just energy that has solidified in the energy field, it can’t be cast off from you but it can be transformed. Use the Neutral Heart Technique when you are experiencing anything negative and see what it does for you. I find it very affective.
• Esther and Jerry Hicks offer processes in Ask & It Is Given to get you from anywhere you are to a better feeling place all the way to a GREAT feeling place. And remember, practice makes perfect.
• Holosync is an automatic transformer of unresolved emotional issues. The primer level, Awakening Prologue, and level 1 come with materials to assist you in more easily transforming what arises in your that’s ready to be released.
• Keep a journal of how you are feeling each day and what’ coming up for you. Bill Harris from Centerpointe Institute recommends this practice for those using Holosync and assures us that those who do get results and move through their issues faster and less painfully.

What works for you?
You just need to figure out what works for you in order to keep yourself in a good feeling place (or stop a downward spiral) so you can show love to yourself and others and be the person you want to be. Just think about what you feel good doing. Is it watching an inspiring or funny movie, being alone, reading a good book, talking with a good friend, pampering yourself with a massage or something else that makes you feel good before, during and after? You can also ask the Universe to send you a message about what will work for you. Then just listen for the answer. Answers come to me through song lyrics, signs on the road, books, the things people say or they’ll just pop into my head. It’s fun seeing where God sends the answer. I’m glad the Universe has a sense of humor.

Best gift for you
What is the best gift you can give yourself? Think about it and then do it. You can find the tools and people and everything else you need to make your dreams a reality. Just get clear about what you want then allow the Universe to line things up to bring them to you. The best gift you can give the world is the gift of yourself being happy. Just imagine if everyone did that. I want to live in that world so let’s make it happen together. I’m doing it right now. Join me.

"Follow your bliss and doors will open where there were no doors before." -Joseph Campbell

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