Affirmation Prayer

I Am... a vibration of light from the Source of All,
I Am... a sovereign being within the All,
I Am... infinite,
I Am... eternal,
I Am... unlimited,
I Am... All knowing,
I Am... the One, in unity with the All,
I Am... absolute,
I Am... complete within my self,
I Am... a buddhachrist of god,
I Am... god,
I Am...
I Am...
I Am.....

Soul Song... I Am...

I am the light that's in your eyes..
I am the joy in each sunrise..
I am the smile upon your face..
I am your beauty and your grace...

Refrain:
I am... I am... I am...
I am... I am... I am...

I am your heart, I am your soul..

I am the other half of whole..
I am your only love that's true..
I am the unseen part you..

Refrain:
I am...

I am the speaker of the truth..
I am the innocense of youth..
I am the beauty of your life..
I am the peace amidst the strife..

Refrain:
I am...

I am the secret of your smile..
I am your love, more than awhile..
I am the calm within the storm..
I am the eternal part of form..

Refrain:
I am...

I am the singer of your song..
I am the dance that is life long..
I am the truth amidst the lies..
I am the rainbow in the skies..

Refrain:
I am...

I am the joy that brings your tears..
I am the haven from your fears..
I am your one, your truest friend..
I am the beginning and the end..

Refrain:
I am...

Freedom...

Freedom is a true expression of spirit and soul. Freedom, in this pure form, contains everything and is unlimited. It is sovereignity of being, within the unity of All.

In this earth existence, we are born free as the pure spirit of a child, but become conditioned by life experiences, peers, rigid belief systems, and the many things of life. Real freedom is so much more than being rich and having unlimited resources to go and do. That kind of freedom is a pale shadow of real freedom which is without limitations and is universal. Real freedom starts with a heart desire to be free in All Ways... free in spirit and soul to express who you truly are in the flesh.

Real freedom comes first from within and is living and expressing who we truly are, without fear or doubt. Freedom is gained by freeing the mind and heart by letting go of limiting beliefs, attitudes and opinions and healing/ releasing the emotional traumas and dramas of life experiences. This process allows the higher self to become more present in our lives, and as this occurs, the freed spirit manifests more and more freedom in our outside world. As we become freed from our past and let go of the illusion of who we think we are, we come to live in the now... the eternal moment. By being steadfast on our spiritual path, we eventually become truly free of all limitations and we become who we truly are... become all that we are...unlimited, infinite, eternal and all-knowing... god in the flesh... This is the teaching of the Masters of the past... every one has the potential to become the Buddha.. the Christ... within them... every one... Happy becoming !! ♥ ♥ ♥

Everything and nothing matters...

Everything matters and no thing/ nothing matters and this is the paradox of life..
This is a universe of cause and effect, so everything matters.. every thought & feeling, every action & non-action creates something somewhere and whatever energy a person puts out, returns to them in kind.. "you reap what you sow". Some would label this karma, but it is a law of the universe. So, be conscious, be present in the now and be aware of your thoughts, of your feelings, of your choices... Do not let them run rampant in negativity or unkind thoughts or actions to others. Acknowledge and express your feelings and do not deny them or bury them in your heart for they will create dis-ease. From another perspective, every thing matters as all life... every person, creature, plant... and all things of creation are sacred...

Paradoxically, no thing/ nothing matters... From a spirit and soul perspective, this is the illusion and no material thing matters... All things change and no thing is permanent. All that is seen or valued on earth, is worthless in the greater reality. Instead, it is the "nothing" of spirit and soul that really matters... that part of self which is unseen, but is infinite and eternal. Love, cherish, caress, nourish and live these parts of your Self for they are the real you... ♥ ♥ ♥

Perfection in choice...

This is a universe of freewill. Every action or inaction, every thought and feeling, whether it is conscious or not, is a freewill choice... and therefore everything is perfect. It is through our choices that we create our lives and it is we, and we alone, who must take reponsibility for that which we create. No one or no thing creates our lives for us and, even though we interact with others and with things, it all comes back to our choices.
Because our lives are created by our choices, based on our beliefs, our thoughts and feelings, and our consequent actions, our lives are perfect. If we believe our life is not perfect, we have the freewill to change it by making different choices. There are no victims of anything outside of ourselves. If anything, we are victims of ourselves by our choices of our human experience. In truth, no one can make us feel a certain way or cause hurt in us unless we choose to take on feelings of hurt. Nor can anyone can make us do anything do not want to do, unless we give them that power over us.
Those that plead that they are unhappy or that life is unfair are, paradoxically, happy in their unhappiness, otherwise, they would make choices that would lead to happiness. Nothing is written in stone and everything has the possibility of being changed, simply by making different choices. This includes how we feel about ourselves and everything in our lives. Truly, all things are possible. We just need to get rid of our limiting beliefs and change our perspective on our lives. In our humaness, the reflexive, egoistic thought is to blame others or that elusive "god" for our problems. However, it all comes back to us and our choices. By taking responsibility for ourselves and our lives, we can create the life that we desire...
And that, is the way it should be... perfect.

Teachers...

I do not have any one teacher on my path... a guru that I follow and look to for spiritual guidance. Instead, I have many teachers on my path. They are every one, every creature, every thing, and every no thing as, from my perspective, they all have something to teach me... to show me a mirror of my self to reflect upon and, hopefully, to gain some further insights and wisdom. My teachers are everywhere, and my challenge is to be aware of what is around me as well as what is going on inside of me and link the two together. As Hermes Trismegistus states as a great truth: " As above, so below. As within, so without. As the soul, the universe. ". The outside is a mirror of the inside of a person, all ways, and therefore, this perspective and understanding is a great tool in spiritually evolving. Teachers abound... in the slums and ghettos, in schools, in the workplace, on the streets... simply every where, and the key is to be aware of them all or, at least, as many as I can consciously absorb .

I have the view that there are millions upon millions of teachers of love and compassion on earth. They are the ones who push my buttons or are the ones who give me reasons to fear or judge by forming an attitude or opinion on them. They show what is going on inside of me, providing me with opportunities to heal and come to love and accept my self. They reflect to me that which I judge, that I may learn to accept them, and myself, unconditionally, with love and compassion. I honor them on their paths, for they are my great teachers.

In my mind, in a more formal sense of teaching, there is a great difference between teachers and those I would describe as "preachers". A teacher is always seeking truth, wanting to expand his/ her knowledge and is accepting of differences of observation and opinion. Therefore, the mind is open, not closed and, because there is no vested interest, the opportunity for discussion and questioning is available. A classic teacher of old is Socrates who, in essence, taught his students to think for themselves... prodding them... exposing their limited concepts to them and showing them how to utilize the dialectic approach to greater truth... thesis, antithesis and synthesis.. and the world became that much wiser for it.

A "preacher", in my definition, is trying to convince others of HIS/ HER knowledge and wisdom... convince others that he/ she is right about some aspect of observation or belief and that approach is, inherently, self-righteous and ego driven. It should be acknowledged that, in this instance, the "preacher" IS actually teaching by exposing himself as a wonder full example of pride, arrogance, self -aggrandizement and more... those negative aspects of self. I just observe and be aware... I do not pass judgment, but look within my self to see what is going on within me, since it all comes back to me..... ♥ ♥

Forgiveness...

In my mind, there are two kinds of forgiveness... forgiving one self and forgiving others. Actions or non-actions which carry the stigma of emotional self judgment/ regrets or trauma require self forgiveness in order to release, resolve, and heal one's self. Living in pain and suffering are choices that we make, and when we decide to change our lives and face our pain, we need to forgive ourselves for holding on to the pain. Pain places great limitations on how we view life and how we live, so, forgiving ourselves for robbing our lives of joy is a necessary part of healing. There are no victims.. we are only victims of ourselves, because it is our choice to take on / believe / accept pain as our reality.
Forgiving others is a matter of perspective... If we hold grudges, feel wronged or have the belief the others can cause pain in us, then forgiving others is a necessary part of healing. The greater truth is that no one can cause emotional pain in another person. If some one says something about us or to us that is negative and detracts from one's self, then the "normal" reaction is to blame them for those negative feelings that arise from within. These come from our own sense of self... no where else. It is how we feel about OUR SELVES that creates the pain. In this sense, the other person is a great teacher of ours and is offering a gift of insight... they are simply holding a mirror so that we can see what is within our selves. We then have a choice to heal our self or not... We should be aware that we do not have to accept what is said about us, as it is only their perception of us that they are commenting on. If the comment is accepted, personalized, and internalized, then the result is pain. We make that choice.
I wonder about people asking for forgiveness... The words " forgive me.. " seem to be for the asker not for the receiver of the request. They have regrets about something and want me to condone their action, non-action, what was said or whatever they are feeling guilty or responsible for. Therefore, asking for forgiveness comes from a need of the asker to feel better about themselves, and does not have anything to do with the other person. Each person goes through own processes of forgiving others and themselves and it is internal to them and them alone. Each person is unique in their own understanding of the outside world and the events therein, especially the emotional aspects of it. A person asking for forgiveness is coming from their own interpretation of an event and not that of the person being asked.
So, what does asking for forgiveness mean ?? Forgive me for making you feel bad?? Forgive me for what I did?? Forgive me for ...??? These carry the energy of judgments and assumptions, because it is difficult to know and understand what the other person's experience is, unless they tell you. Even then, there is a personal bias.. what is really true ?? What is a greater truth ?? So, from both sides, forgiver and the forgiven, it all seems to come back to self forgiveness... Therefore, I suggest, do not ask for forgiveness of another.. they will forgive in their own time and it is selfish to ask them to deal with your stuff... deal with your own self and give yourself the love and healing that you need. Love is forgiving your self and others... Love is for giving to your self and others... These responsibilities are yours and yours alone....

Love Thyself...

Every thing is perfect… the perfection of thee All is with/in thee all… creation IS perfect.. each individual is a spirit & flesh and is both.. perfect AND imperfect and, the imperfection IS perfect… It is when we judge our choices from duality as being right /wrong; good/bad that we lose our perfect imperfection & fall into the trap of duality… Each experience should be viewed as just that… an experience… to learn from, to enjoy, to decide whether or not we want to experience again or not or whatever purpose is served… objectively & without judgment….

Judgment of thoughts/ actions… good/bad, right/wrong… introduces negative & positive feelings created from thought/experience connecting with emotion. The resulting feelings, generically, are not real but are simply a temporary, essentially neutral, energy form created within a person from and for the experience and should be acknowledged/ expressed, accepted and released. Positive feelings can become addictive to the extent of being pursued vigorously absorbing a lot of energy and become a means of avoiding reality which contains both, positive AND negative feelings. Therefore, positive feelings are not necessarily “good”… but are not “bad” either… ALL feelings should be part of the experience and become part of the past along WITH the experience….

It is negative feelings that present the greatest challenge, because the tendency is to hold them within oneself, instead of experiencing, acknowledging/ expressing them and letting them go. These held feelings are fed by other experiences which cause them to grow and thus, dis- ease sets in on the mental/emotional levels which eventually manifest in physical form. Holding negative feelings becomes a pattern of denying the reality of the human existence and it too, can become addictive and absolutely definitive in unconsciously determining the actions and responses of an individual in different situations. Negative feelings, that are held, consume an enormous amount of energy, simply to keep the security systems of a comfort zone in place. Blocks, barriers, denials, or whatever they might be, drain a person's energy system, and cause weakness physically and in immune systems, mentally and emotionally and, eventually, become disease.

Unprocessed feelings become part of a complex, unconscious program which operate the individual without their awareness through conditioned responses, much like Pavlov’s dog. Experiences/thoughts connect with emotions creating a feeling which follows a path to memories of other experiences of same/ similar feelings. If the feeling(s) from that memory have not been processed and cleared, they add to the held feeling(s) and it grows, and it will continue to grow until the first trigger experience of the feeling is accepted, the feelings cleared and the learning taken from it. This will essentially clear all subsequent similar experiences/feelings. If not cleared, the feelings grow until the feelings manifest in physical reality as disease… The original experience and the unprocessed feelings are the start of dis- ease, or mental/emotional discomfort.

Fear lies at the root of all discomfort... unwillingness to look at mental/emotional history, especially negative experiences, because it is believed that it is a painful experience to be avoided. This belief does, however, create a barrier between the selfs… the human, ego self and the higher SELF…. This is the creation of separation/ duality within an individual where thoughts/ actions/ feelings are judged good/bad or right/ wrong and the war within begins and becomes manifest on the outside in personality. This is the essence of the allegory of the Garden of Eden and separation from the “god” that is within each person, caused by fear, doubt, guilt, etc … Note that guilt and many negative feelings are really self judgment and we take these on as a truth by our freewill choice....

The center of this dynamic is choice… first, choosing the thought/ action/ experience, whatever that may be, recognizing that ALL experiences are a choice, consciously or not, for a purpose and nothing happens WITHOUT a purpose. Secondly, how it will be experienced from the perspective of emotions… joy, sadness, hurt, or fear are the primary emotions which will connect to the thought/experience to create the feeling experience…. Thirdly.. the choice of how the generated feelings will be processed… felt and held/denied or, acknowledged/ expressed, accepted and released. These choices are critical, since the consequence of the choice is dis- ease/ disease or not… The purpose of the experience is what each individual must determine for themselves…. learning, teaching, enjoyment, expression of self, and give and receive exchange of energy with others are just a few and may include several aspects in one experience.. ie: a learning / teaching experience is naturally an energy exchange as well…

The key to existence in peace, love and harmony is to be in the moment which, quite simply, means being self-aware all the time and being in alignment/attunement to the innocence of your higher SELF. Self- awareness allows the instantaneous and spontaneous expression of feelings and/or the processing of them so that they are not held or denied and this keeps the energy system clean and clear. This is exercising choice during the action/ experience and THIS IS TRUE FREEDOM. As an analogy, it is the constant blank screen of the mental and emotional bodies … like an etch-a-sketch from which every drawing/experience can be erased and be ready for the next one… It is getting back to the innocence of the child who does not judge things in terms of right/wrong, good/bad or perfect/ imperfect and is the state of BEING OK (NOT just FEELING OK ) with every thing….

Pain does not, in fact, exist in and of itself…. As a child, an individual learns of physical pain from experiences in the body.. falling hurts, and touching a hot stove hurts and these are bad experience. These experiences of physical feeling are taken by the child and applied to mental/emotional feeling situations. If something doesn’t feel good, it must be bad, and since a child does not want to feel bad, the inclination is to judge feelings in these terms and, rather than acknowledge negative feelings, deny them. This starts to happen at around the age of two, when a child starts to become aware of mental /emotional feelings and is more aware of sensory input and a greater world. The innocent child does not know what feelings are or where they come from and develops coping skills/ programs in order to take care of them. Unlike the sensory feelings, mental /emotional feelings are random, constant and chaotic and, since no one but the child is aware of them, the child cannot be taught how to deal with them. Out of his/her discomfort with chaos, the child decides to create some form of order and begins to categorize feelings/actions, usually as good/bad and right/ wrong. Each child is unique… a snowflake, and therefore, each decides how to cope with feelings according to their experiences and their unique needs. These coping devices can become extremely complex systems which form the basis of belief systems about themselves. Children are like pieces of raw clay and are molded by external experience… they DO NOT have a sense of who they are except by reflection from the outside world and what the world tells them about them. They begin to believe feelings and that feelings are real and if they are told they are “bad”, they feel “hurt” and this feeling is judged as “bad”. Since a child does not like what are judged as “bad” feelings, the tendency is to deny them expression and they are internalized. The “bad” feelings then start to accumulate as a negative image of self and become low self esteem and unworthiness to love and be loved which forms part of the child’s belief system of who they are. At this point, the pain starts to build resulting in the child losing his/her innocence… the trueness of who they are. This disconnection is the start of believing those negative things projected by the world about them and who they are and the feelings generated by these projections. This denial of who they truly are, their true, innocent self, is the source of excruciating pain….

The same is true of overly positive projections by the world. However, in these instances, the ego builds an unreal/ false self value/ worth, which shows itself as arrogance, and feeds on/ NEEDS positive feelings to sustain itself. Negative feelings relating to self are likely to be denied as untrue, but WILL accumulate in the subconscious and form a low self worth despite outward appearances. The need for positive feelings fed by the external world correlates directly to the perception of lovability…. Worthiness to love and be loved. The result is the same as negative projections… pain will begin to build as a result of the denial of the true self/ innocence… who they truly are…

Most people on the planet suffer effects from mental/ emotional sources of pain in the duality of selfs. It is important to know that it IS possible to transcend even physical pain through the unquestionable, unconditional acceptance and knowingness that YOU ARE NOT THE PHYSICAL BODY, but ARE a SPIRIT FIRST, FOREMOST AND ALL WAYS… and in that way detaching from the physical experience.

Healing by clearing held feelings and emotions has the effect of awakening dormant DNA nodules as a result of clearer energy channels. Awakened DNA greatly assists in the healing the physical body. The human race is only now discovering the real human potential in DNA, power of the mind, influences of soul experiences, etc...

In different terms, the foregoing is the essence of what is taught in some higher belief systems… acceptance (of self/others), non-judgment (of self/others), self-lessness (of ego self), detachment (from physical reality) and other teachings of ascen-dance to a truer/ greater reality that move one into the innocence of the child/spirit and the dance of life… The Dalai Llama once stated in a speech that Buddhism is about "...self- appreciation…." and, in my mind, self healing is the greatest act of self-appreciation/self-love a person can do…So, love thy self enough to heal your self... It is your choice....

Apologies- "I'm sorry.."

I sometimes have difficulty with the phrase: " I'm sorry...".

People often use the phrase in an apologetic way... in a way that suggests that they cannot change a state of things or the outcome of choices. It also suggests that some form of guilt has been assumed and that responsibility has been taken for an emotional "something" going on in another's life. In these circumstances, the words seem insincere, and suggest that the person made a choice to do something or not, from a state of unawareness.They made a choice which THEY regret, and they believe it affected me and, now, they are trying to smooth over their own guilt and fears by apologizing. It has nothing to do with how I feel, but how THEY feel...It is THEY who are living with the regret, not me... I have my own feelings about what has occurred and they do not know what they are and I will deal with that which is mine. If the choice is made from awareness, and the knowingness that everything is perfect, then there is no need to apologize. It was a choice without stigma... it is as simple as that !

Sometimes, " I'm sorry.." is used in an empathetic way, but this seems inappropriate as it implies that an emotional alignment with another exists when, usually, the empathizer is only "feeling bad for them..". There is no real emotional alignment occurring unless a person deeply connects with the feelings of the other, and not every one does that. Feeling " bad " for another simply does not accomplish anything, except the feeler participates in their drama and prolongs or deepens it. Wouldn't it be better to comfort them in another way ?? In a positive, supportive way?? And why apologize for something that does not involve you or is beyond your control ??

If someone says to me, " I'm sorry " it has many implications in my mind. It suggests that I cannot take care of or have not taken responsibility for my own feelings. It suggests that they KNOW what I am feeling when, very likely, they do not. It suggests that their words can somehow clear up my discomfort. If that is the desire, talk to me, and find out what is going on with me, otherwise the words are empty. People often use the phrase.. " I'm sorry to hear that bla... bla... bla... " and my thought is: " Oh really ?? Guess I shouldn't have told you.." For myself, I have chosen to use the words "I apologize for.." or "I'm saddened to hear... " which seem to convey the message I really want to give... that of stating how I feel about an experience.....

A number of years ago, Erich Segal wrote a novel, "Love Story", which contained a great truth.... " Love is never having to say you are sorry..." Think about this~~ Love... when it is pure and unconditional... is perfect in action or non-action. Love that comes from the heart truth, will never create anything where there is regret or any other negative feelings and therefore, no apologies are ever necessary... How wonder full.... ♥ ♥ ♥

What is Truth ???

There are 7 billion truths on this planet... one for each of us, and no two the same. Each person's truth is created by what they are taught by others and their life experiences and these form their attitudes, opinions and beliefs of who they are and what they are all about. These beliefs are formed from the intellect and from emotional experiences and each person's perception/ interpretation of life experiences and, for the most part, these beliefs of self are not true. They are what we have come to believe we are from others in our lives... we become defined by others. We become dependent on others to show / tell us who we are or should be and we become so conditioned that we dare not step beyond the defined, "normal" boundaries of self for fear of being judged. We live in fear of being "not normal" and this fear controls our actions, our thoughts, our very lives.... We live with a public facade of who we are and, in effect, create our own mythology of self which we hold out as "me"... and this is part of our "truth"....

So..... what is truth for each of us ??? It is and, paradoxically, is not our life experiences.... Much wisdom is accumulated from our experiences which makes us more as we grow in understanding from them. However, the truth of our existence is in our heart / spirit and soul and this is where a person should live from and not from a false self/ ego. The truth of self is something that keeps getting bigger and bigger as we seek who we really are. The truth of self is realized once we reach and understand the state of pure spirit and live it, as the spark of god that we are... as god in flesh.... This is the teachings of the Masters... we are not the limited beings that we believe we are... we are great beyond our understanding. As Nelson Mandala stated, in paraphrase, " it is not our darkness that we fear, it is our light... " . The strange thing is, we actually wallow in our darkness... in our pain, our sadness, our sorrow... in our beliefs of unworthiness... our negativity... and use these emotional crutches as excuses for not doing and not being/ living all that we are. This is, usually, not a conscious choice... it is the default setting in our behavioral patterns... the automatic response. We simply do not know otherwise and accept this, our diminished being, as our truth. This is the illusion. The challenge for each of us is to examine our belief systems objectively and, in doing this, determine the greater truths within them so that we can discard the rest. In the letting go of our false images of self and in healing our emotional scars, we become the clear self... the child again... with the spontaneous innocence of the free spirit. We become the being that trusts in the natural order of life / all and creates a life of love, joy and abundance from the simple purity of higher self. What a wonder full truth to aspire to...... : )