Thinking About Gratitude
~ by Shirl



Recently I watched "Fierce Grace" the story of Ram Daas. It is a lovely story of a man who found his path along his journey. I enjoyed it and while enjoying it revealed to myself some of my prejudices. Still holding on to some of my resistance of anything that has the appearance of "religion" or structured belief. That is so old and so not pertinent to anything of spirit. Perhaps it is just so that I have held on to aspects of this for many lifetimes. From another perspective, this watching of the film is a continuation of things in my awareness of late. Seeing that all who seek spirit, who seek the validity of who they are in highest truth have process that is very similar. That seeing for me is comfort and validation that although we may have come to it in a different way, through a different process, that in some things, some areas, we have exceeded our most extravagant expectations.

It keeps being shown to me these past weeks that we have extraordinarily succeeded in our quest, in our seeking. I say this with no thought of ego nor praise that we have accomplished more than others or that we have done anything that all cannot do as they choose it, or have done and continue to do. It appears to be merely a recognition of what IS. It is the filling up of ultimate self-love. The love of self that is the love of all. Being filled with pure love of self is that which expands us to pour it out on all those around us, to all.

As we perceive that we are unfinished masterpieces of creation, as we are sometimes acutely aware of those aspects of self that seem less than we hoped they would be, as we sometimes take note of our "faults" this self love brings forth in us the knowledge that we are divinely perfect now, just as we are. There is nothing to chastise ourselves for, only to encourage ourselves into a place of greater grace and perfecting of all that we are becoming.

What this stirs in me is amazing and overwhelming gratitude for the journey, for the discovery for all that is as it unfolds before me. This type of gratitude only comes from a place of pure love. And pure love only brings forth greater amounts of gratitude.


My entire lifetime this time has re-written itself from a perspective of my deep abiding gratitude for all of it just as I perceived it in my experience. . .and the breathtaking change of my perspective of what it all meant and how it directed my choices and experiences. It has all been masterful in its teaching me and guiding me towards this place of knowing.

In my association with your hearts and being-ness, I know your place of IS in this now is similar and expansive and inclusive.

Always I love to hear your stories of how it is with you. If you care to share them with me, I am here.

Blessings and love
Hugs
Shirl

Ram Daas, books "Be Here, Now" and "Still Here"
DVD available at NetFlix and other rental places: Fierce Grace

SUNDAY SOARING ~ By Shirl

Sunday is such a great day to go flying, not that I am so sure I have much ability to differentiate Sunday from all those other named days that lead or follow it into the ethers.

It is for certain that I can FEEL Sunday. . .and I have had whole weeks of Sunday from time to time.

Having said that, I set my windsails, perched upon the nearest spot of higher perspective and allowed the billowing colors of music and light to lift me up and into the places other than here, yet deeply within here all the same.

Soaring was wonderful in the early hours. Effortless. Today's soaring was filled with a bit of quiet and wonder-amassed gentleness. Swooshing and lifting within the music of the spheres. As I dipped one arm or wing or sail as perceived, and circled slowly and luxuriously into the depths of an inviting energy, I was caught up quite fully and irresistibly into a whirlpool of LOVE-LIGHT. As these things are, the whirlpool here is an upward spiral, drawing up rather than pulling down. I became a stillness in the ocean of color, sound and light that held me aloft. Suspended in Love. Suspended. All things within their realm expanding and showing forth amazing beauty.

As it does, my heart-soul center swelled and was filled beyond capacity with the flowing abundance of its inpouring. As it does, it spilled out and overflowed into the everywhere, splashing and showering onto and into the everyone. The love tears made wonderful streams and waterfalls as they traced their paths down my cheeks. Again, I thrust my arms wide open as far as they could go in order to allow it all in and to bless the overflowing cycle out to every other pilot and passenger aloft and about and beyond, especially those who haven't yet thought that they would fly.

Beyond language are my thoughts and words to you. . .Dance in the waterfall of Love that is pouring out to you and you will see, hear, touch, taste, feel it as I do. . . Know that in your stunning beauty of soul/spirit/heart, you leave me filled with the blessing of you.

Namaste`
Shirl

Neale Donald Walsch


Something for your consideration



Finding Joy in Life -
It's not about meeting the needs of your body...

======================================== If you believe that life has anything to do -- anything at all -- with the needs or goals or accomplishments of your body, then you haven't understood anything at all about the purpose of your existence, about the reason you, a spiritual being, chose to travel through time and space with your body and dwell in the realm of physicality. You must understand who you really are before you can begin to understand life -- or even tolerate it.

Only when you know your true identity, and your true purpose for being here, can anything that's happening around you even begin to make sense. In the absence of this clarity, life as it is lived on the planet Earth will become totally unacceptable to do. It will make no sense at all. And you will want to reject it, to run from it, to hide from it, to pretend you have nothing to do with it, and ultimately, to abandon it. It will all seem so pointless to you. It will all seem to have no reason or purpose whatsoever, but to simply be a tangled mess of no-fun alternatives and joyless experiences and frustrating choices and impossible challenges, and you will say to yourself more than once, "what's the point?" In these moments of deep questioning you may find yourself in such a negative place that you will even snort out the defiant lie: "I'd rather be dead."

Only in the presence of Awareness can the primitive existence that we are all living in this barbarian civilization begin to have any meaning, to hold any promise, to provide any comfort in a way that makes sense to our soul. So here is the truth, here is what you need to know to make some sense of it: You are not your body. Your body is something you have, it is not something you are.

The "You" that you are, is non-physical. You are a package of energy, a singular unit of the Essential Essence of all of life. You are an expression of all and everything that life is. In spiritual terms it could be said that you are an Individuation of Divinity. You are a Spirit. You live in two realms: the Realm of the Spiritual and the Realm of the Physical. You move between realms eternally in a process called Evolution.

You experience life in the Realm of the Spiritual in order to know your Self, and you experience life in the Realm of the Physical in order to Experience your Self. The back-and-forth movement of your soul between realms is a journey from Knowing to Experiencing and back again. So far this is all pretty straightforward.

Now here comes the twist. In order to Experience your Self you must forget some of what you know about your Self. This is because if you remembered all of it, there would be no way to re-create the Experience of it. And it is the Experience of your True Self which your soul desires. I will explain in my next commentary why forgetfulness is necessary. For now, take my word for it that it is.

Digest this feast little by little. What we have here is a meal for the Mind, nourishing your understanding. Do not try to gulp it down all at once. Do not gobble it up. Savor it, morsel by morsel. Taste its delicious flavor delicately, bite by bite. For now, allow yourself to just accept the fact that a certain kind of "selective amnesia" is part of the Process of Evolution. What is important for you to know, what is vital for you to understand in the early going as you explore your Reason for existing and the Reality of all of life, is that there is a much larger agenda being served here than what may be immediately apparent. That agenda has nothing to do with the desires of your body, although your body may, and will, be used in advancing that agenda.

The agenda you are serving is the agenda of your soul. This does not mean that you can have nothing to do with the desires and the joys of physical life. Indeed, it is just the opposite. It is through experiencing the desires and the joys of physical life that the agenda of your spirit is served. Yet you cannot begin to know the joys of physical life until you stop chasing after them as if they were the Prime Agenda, the Prime Purpose, the Prime Goal. Because most people have not given up the chase, most people have given up the joys. They're resigned now to settling for simple satisfactions. They want only an end to the fear, to the struggle, to the frustration of daily existence. They seek a modicum of security and just the smallest portion of what they see that the most fortunate have. They have become bitter and angry as a result of their inability to achieve even these minimal life goals. They have joined the Great Mass of the Disaffected. They are facing, each day, a life of small sufferings (or in some cases, very large ones), and they scrape and scratch for a tiny moment of happiness here or there. This is the way it is for many people on this planet. In fact, most. Believe me, I am not exaggerating here. This is the way it is.

Perhaps you have experienced life in this way yourself. Perhaps you are experiencing life in this way right now. The above description may feel a little exaggerated to you, but, by and large, it may not be so far off from your own moment-to-moment journey. And if this is not the way life is for you now, I'd venture to say that, at the very least, you know someone in your immediate circle of acquaintances who fits this description perfectly. I don't mean this to be a "downer." I'm not trying to throw tons of negative energy around here. In fact, just the opposite. I am bringing all of this up here because I want to make a larger point: Life need not be this way. Life was not intended to be this way. The reason life is this way for so many people is that there is among so many people a huge misunderstanding about the nature and function and the purpose of life itself, and who they are in relationship to that.

The good news is that there is a formula that human beings can use that can and will turn their experience around. And the beginning of that formula is about coming to a place of great clarity that life has nothing to do with the body. Life has to do with the Spirit. That is the understanding for today. Let that be Today's Reminder. Nothing more needs to be said now. That is enough. That is a lot. It is a great deal to absorb and to embrace and to digest. So grab onto that knowledge and hold tight to that wisdom as you move through this day.

Stop -- this very day, stop -- the incessant voice inside your head that complains about the experiences your body is not having, the pleasures your body is not enjoying, or the security your body is not feeling. And stop, as well, the endless activity of your mind, wishing for acknowledgment, that others may know who you are and how special you are and how wonderful you are and how good you are at what you do. You will have all of this. I tell you that before this lifetime is over, every one of your wishes about this will come true. And it will mean nothing to you.

Then you will realize that you have been reaching for the wrong thing. Then you will understand...then, in that moment...you will know that you came here to begin with to serve the agenda of your Soul, not the agenda of your Mind or Body. I know that all of this may seem empty to you right now -- especially if you are young. Who wants to wait for all the wisdom of life to befall you? Who wants to wait for all the wishes of youth to be granted? Who wants to go through everything that it seems we have to go through in order to achieve what the Spirit is choosing to accomplish? Yes, yes, it takes great patience, it takes a great willingness to surrender to the process, it takes great faith, especially when you are young. For you have just come into your body, after all, a mere 18 or 25 years ago, and you are just really embarking upon your life, and you understandably want to get on with it, and experience the joy of it. Well, you can! Yes, you can! Even while you are young!

Wisdom does not have to wait until you are very old. It is not the treasure only of the ancient and the aged. True wisdom may be embraced at any age, at any time, in any moment. And with the embracing of such wisdom, joy becomes possible to achieve and to experience -- yes, even in the midst of the frustration and the anger and the sufferings small and large. So journey with me to the place within you where wisdom resides, where lasting joy is created, and where the wonder of life may be known as it was always intended to be experienced.

Come with me now, and I will show you the place where your heart's desires dwell, where your grandest truth lives, and where is born your most wondrous expression of Self, which can emerge through you, as you, in the most extraordinary and breathtaking way at any moment. You must believe me when I tell you there is more to life than you now know. I promise you. There is a Reason that conditions are the way they are in the appearance of things, and there is a Reality that stands apart and aside from these conditions. This series of commentaries will deal with the Reason and the Reality.

Someone asked me the other day, "What is Enlightenment?" Enlightenment, I told them, is joy experienced. And it can be experienced, even in the midst of the primitive life that we all live on earth. Indeed, we came to the earth to do so. We have the opportunity, because of this environment, to know and experience the bliss of entering and expressing our True Selves. On the time scale of the Universe, we are here for but a split-second. Yet even in this tiny moment, even in this smallest slice of eternity, we have ample opportunity. Such is the wonder and the glory of life. And such is the generosity and the love of God. ~ NDW

Neale Donald Walsch (http://www.cwg.org)

Neale Donald Walsch is the author of the Multi-million best seller "Conversations With God" and many other books. I think you will find a lot of interesting information on his web site. As always, use your own judgment as to what of this rings "true" to you. Be open, but be wise.

Hugs Shirl

A Message from Mike Quinsey on "Fire the Grid"

==========================================

Dear Friends,
As you know, I only occasionally send you messages that you have not subscribed to, but I make an exception for one contained in the videos listed below. There have been a number of messages already this month about "Fire the Grid" which is to take place at 11.11 GMT on 17th July 2007. In my own messages the emphasis has been on how important this month is, and reference made to it "being one that will be looked back upon as a major turning point" (Diane 07.02.07). I only had to listen to the first video to know that Shelley Yates is a great soul, who has spent her tragic life for this particular important moment in time. I was absolutely riveted to her message, and every word carried an energy that told me that this dear soul is so honest and loving. She was clearly inspired, and I have not been so excited for a long time at the message she gave. It was dynamic and powerful with a clear instruction as to what each individual can do to "Fire the Grid".

We are in the time that we can exercise our own power to determine the future of Mankind. So many times our friends in Spirit/Space have told us of the power of thought, particularly when many souls come together in a common cause. The 17th July will be our day, and the first of many when we shall take back our sovereignty, our dignity and freedom.

In Love and Light,

Mike



This is part one. . .the links to all 8 parts are below

Shelly Yates videos on "You Tube" (8 Parts):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqUAluDvuU4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVhVCsv56kg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsqOZUmaECY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzrPCGP60As
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66zQg0v_gn4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_6ajmdt39A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWtJncxNeLI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2sR8DWTD3U