From Seth:

“Your beliefs form reality. Your individual beliefs and your joint beliefs. Now the intensity of a belief is extremely important...

And, if you believe, in very simple terms, that people mean you well, and will treat you kindly, they will. And, if you believe that the world is against you, then so it will be in your experience. And, if you believe...IF YOU BELIEVE THAT YOU WILL BEGIN TO DETERIORATE AT 22, then so you shall.

And, if you believe that you are poor, and always will be, then so your experience will so prove to you. Your beliefs meet you in the face when you look in the mirror. They form your image. You cannot escape your beliefs. They are, however, the method by which you create your experience.

It is important that you here realize that you are not at the mercy of the unexplainable, that you are not at the mercy of events over which you have no control whether those events are psychological events or physical ones, in your terms.

As I have told you, there is little difference if you believe that your present life is caused by incidents in your early infancy or by past lives over which equally you feel you have no control. Your events, your lives, your experiences, are caused by your present beliefs. Change the beliefs and your life changes.” –Seth ~ from the book "Seth Speaks"

Art by artist Rassouli at www.rassouli.com

Mother Oak
~Scribe~

There is no silence in the city: nowhere to be with nature without the roar of traffic, which surrounded me on both sides, as I walked in this well manicured city park. I breathed in the crisp fall air, only to find it filled with an acrid chemical odor, and felt a heavy longing for my beloved. sweet smelling north woods, and their untouched sanctity....

I walked on a ways, loving the way the leaves welcomed my feet, and the comfort of the trees, then paused to rest under the low hanging branches of an old Mother Oak.

One big leaf caught my eye, still clinging by it's loosening stem, shuddering slightly with each breeze-breath, ...getting ready..getting ready,... and then suddenly, I was no long aware of my body, I was that leaf, and it was me.

I could feel my stem-place..my connection with Mother Oak, so long so safe, so nurturing .. growing more tenuous with each puff of wind. I tried to cling .. even as I wanted to fly, and then..Mother told me it was time...

With a last kiss, she let me go... placing me gently in the hands of my own sweet freedom breeze...that gently swung me from side to side..oh sweetest dance of all...lower and lower..side to side..

.. I saw beneath me the welcoming arms of all the others.. waiting...to welcome me back to beloved earth.I came to rest in their arms at the foot of Mother Oak, nestled with my brothers and sisters, our edges curled in and up in silent honor of life given and lived, the wonders of all transitions..of the sacred cycles of birth and death and regeneration...

From here I saw the full size and shape of sacred Mother Oak,.stretching above me as far as I could see..her beloved arms reaching up and out in sheer celebratiom of the victory of another sacred cycle completed...her own bare arms now free to soak in the sunlight for herself.... renewing and restoring, preparing her for resting time..and her robe of royal white to come..

..I held up my own welcoming arms to the others now, as they were gently lowered, each pressing me closer to the earth..to the indescribable sweetness of her..to her hearts welcome,to her warmth and wisdom that gathered me in..and I knew..I knew...the rightness of it all in every atom of my being.I knew the endless depths of quiet joy...and a peace .that passes all understanding...

[Thank you Scribe, for your permission to cross post this on Matters of Spirit. It is also posted at Village Blue.]

The Angel Spoke:

You are the voice of the wind
That sooths all souls and clears
the movement of love within.

You stand within the feet
of unshakable strength in
power born of love unending.

Yours are the eyes that see beyond
into depths and places not
viewed by the many.

Yours is the heart that swells
within overflowing of beauty and
love not comprehended.

You are the One and the Many
the blessed of the blessed beyond
measure of any man.

Yours are the arms that embrace
the fearful and the fearless, the
heart that has room for all.

You have within your hands
the power, the glory, the beauty
incomprehensible of All That Is.

You are not forgotten nor
are you without our very presence
in this and every moment.

That which we are is in you.
That which you are is within us.
That which is All That Is - IS.

The Stars reside in your crown
The trees and flowers within your very
person
the birds sing within your smile.

There is naught to want or
seek after, ALL is within even
the spaces in-between what you are.

We hold you up to the glorious heights
from which you came and to which
you return,

In this you that IS, ALL are.
Spread forth your arms knowing
they are the arms of everyone.

Beloved,
The Beloved is within you.

~Archangel Ariel~
Through Shirley White

Secular Sprituality

Are “religion” and “spirituality” one in the same thing? To many, they are.

For me they are not.

For me to find my way to any sort of spirituality in my life I had to leave religion behind me altogether.

I define “religion” as formal, identifiable organizations of people who share the same belief system. These belief systems, or organizations, are designed by groups of people, most often men, based on their interpretation of historical information and descriptions of their chosen deity. In this country, Christianity is the most common identified religion but by no means the only religious organization.

Christians and Jews and Moslems and people of all “religions” may be, and often are, deeply spiritual people who lead lives according to the tenants of their particular religion, or set of organized and accepted beliefs.

Many, many people, of which I am one, lead deeply spiritual lives as well, completely outside the realm of organized religion. I am trying on the phrase ‘Secular Spirituality” in this particular piece, to better identify these differences for myself.

I define spirituality as whatever set of internal values and principles we choose as the foundation of how we live our lives. It is the core of things, where we turn for strength, guidance, comfort. It is whatever combination of beliefs we each accumulate along our way that work for us as individuals.

For many, this includes a belief in some form of deity, or higher power. For many it doesn’t. For me, it means a simple, deep belief in the existence of some kind of constant flow of immensely powerful goodness. It’s everywhere at once, within almost everyone, and within me as well. I can choose to step fully into this flow from wherever I am, and become a part of it, and I can choose to step out of it. For me, life is much better, when I choose to be a conscious part of it.
The exact details of my beliefs, or yours, matter not. The fact that I have this foundation of spirituality now, is what matters.

I had to eventually leave organized “religion” behind me completely before I could even begin the search for my own genuine spiritual foundations. . Not only did I need to leave it, I had to spend years recovering from it’s damaging effects.

What I know now, is that true spirituality empowers and expands. It feeds and nurtures my faith in goodness and hope and endless possibility. Because I am so well fed now, I have more compassion to offer others; more ability to accept and cherish others, more energy for walking my talk.

The harsh judgements, the fear of burning in hell, the existence of a Vengeful God, the terrible awareness of how sinful and unclean I was, the entire shame of me, all of this was deeply and indelibly imprinted on the clean slate of my little-girl-soul before I even started school, by the harsh tenants of the Christian Religion I was offered. During the very time a child’s sense of who she is being formed, it informed me of the terrible sinfulness of my being, and laid out for me the lifetime of penance I could expect, as a woman.

These were all lies. I know this now. Lies that were implanted so deeply that the effects on me as an seriously depressed adult very nearly cost me my life, by my own hand, with the help of end stage alcoholism. (Drinking was the only way I could stand to live with the sinful creature I really was, inside. It gave me my only respite: the wondrous restfulness of oblivion.)

This cost me years and years of my life. A life that I could have lived fully, rather than just barely surviving it.

This was all given to me in the name of the Christian God of Mercy, by the Men Of God of my time.

I am here only because I finally rejected that God and that religion after the age of 40.

Separating myself from it to the degree I have now took many years and immensely hard work. It required intense, long term self de-programming of the horrendous self identification bequeathed to me by this religion, and more years of re-programing, as I slowly uncovered the shattered pieces of my true personality and identity, and gradually knit them back together.

As this slowly progressed, and I was finally able to sustain sobriety, I began to explore non religion based spiritual pathways. There were very few I missed along the way. None of them were to end up my “home”, but from each, I gathered the bits and pieces that resonated on very deep levels, and I knew that they were to be mine.

Over the years since, it is these bits and pieces of wisdom and truth, that have become the tapestry of my spiritual belief system. It is what I can rest upon always. It is what I can wrap around me when cold winds blow. It is the foundation under me that never trembles. . It expands and empowers and guides me, just as it is. It is my own precious collection of truths and beliefs and values that need no validation from anyone else. It does not require me to write them down as commandments or to preach them to anyone else. It does not require me to pray in certain words “to” anyone or anything higher or bigger or better than me. It allows me to feel and know degrees of oneness with others, and with my imperfect world. It is not a separate compartment in my life, it IS my life.

There will always be a part of me that will wonder who I would have become, what my life may have been like, had I know my own true worth form childhood on. There will always a measure of regret for the years this kind of religion robbed from my life, and the suffering this caused and that I passed along in so many ways, to my own little girls and those who loved me as best I could allow. . I will always need to be vigilant about excessive self blame and the shame flashbacks that still come at me from the shadows now and then. These are the just legacies left , from my days spent striving to be a “good Christian woman”.

However, those shadows are well taken care of now, via the brighter light I’ve found in defining my own secular spirituality. ( a phrase that even rejected the capital letters I tried to give it just now!)

I can finally enter a Christian church again, to attend the special church occasions of my family, but still not with ease or comfort. I sit near the door, and sweat through the scripture portion of things, even as I rejoice in the open and affirming nature of the Christian faith they have embraced.

I wonder if there will ever be a space on those forms that ask for your “religious affiliation,” for people like me? Or will my choices continue to be restricted to naming a “religion” , or writing ‘none”, knowing how society still interprets that to mean having no faith at all.
Probably not in my lifetime.

It really doesn’t matter.

Secular Spirituality works for me.

Scribe

From a posting at Village Blue

Quado Daily Portion

“You are perfect exactly as you are”

Today, I wish for you to treat yourself like the treasure you are. Yes, like the unique and wonderful woman who has graced the earth with her presence, like the unique and loving man who has blessed us all by simply being here among us, lending his energy. You, just as you are, are a great treasure indeed.

What possible benefit can there be in thinking otherwise? Even if there are things about yourself which you wish to improve, even if you wish to move forward in certain areas, that does not make your perfection right now any less. For you are perfect. Exactly as you are.

Everything which has come before has led to this moment, right now. Every so-called mistake you have made, every decision, whether it later seemed right nor wrong, everything you have done or left undone, has led to this moment, right now. And right now could not be more perfect. This moment is the culmination of all of the moments which have been lived to date. Everything everyone has ever been and done in this world has led to now, right now, and you are standing within this moment full of power and beingness.

Go deeply into the moment. See it. Hear it and feel it. Smell it and taste it. Embrace it completely, every bit of it. Know it deeply and connect within it. All of the power is within, deep within, and you are allowed access.

This is a meditation itself, this moment of being in touch, this second of heaven inside the passing minute. Come down. Join me here. Revel in being who you are, right here, right now.

Here is a little prayer for today

Today, I am. I love and approve of myself exactly as I am.

I live deeply within each moment as it passes, embracing it with oneness and connection.

I am love. I am peace. I am one with all that is, right now. I am.

I wish that you may know what a treasure you truly are.

Love & peace,

Carrie

www.Quado.com

carriehart@msn.com

* * *

Subscribe & Unsubscribe

This newsletter is distributed free of charge. You may subscribe on www.quado.com

*****

All contents of this newsletter are Copyright 2005 by Systematique, Inc.