1-29-2014

Why is there suffering in life?  Can you see the reasons for it?  Is there a way to stop it?  Is there a pathway out of it?  Herein lies the basis of the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism.  In a very simplified answer, there is suffering due to karma.  We bring to our lives what we have reaped, whether in this life or another.  Therefore, there can be no judgment about anyone else’s life, for what we are seeing is like a freeze frame within the whole movie of a life or lives.  We have no idea what has gone before or what will go after.  Tied into karma is the soul’s purpose.  Why has it chosen a life to suffer so?  Is it trying to balance out what it has sown in this life or in past lives?  Or is it here for contrast, such as learning to love self, and therefore to love all others through a seemingly opposing way of coming to that truth?  There are many reasons suffering goes on.  But have hope, for there is a way out, or off the Wheel of Karma as it were.

In order to understand the Four Noble Truths and the answer to how to get off the Wheel, it is important to understand the Eightfold Path.  It entails right understanding, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration.  What it comes down to is morality, a concentration of right mindfulness and wisdom through understanding and intention.

In western terms, it is about being pure of thought, acting through right intention, speaking kindly, acting toward others as you would have them act toward you, not being involved with anything as a livelihood that would bring harm to others, but instead, putting out an effort to help others, detaching from addictions (mental and emotional mostly) that would block you, and seeing all things through the eyes of compassion.  There is no judgment allowed in what other people are doing, being, or saying.  That is their path, not yours.  Right mindfulness allows you to detach from the suffering you see of others, what you consider evil, what you consider wrongdoing.  It is choosing the middle road, the Golden Path, or neutrality because you cannot judge another’s path, or the karma they are living out or that their soul chose to live out.  It does not mean ignoring or condoning, but it means seeing things as they actually are in the truth of it. This means seeing beyond the human eyes, which tend to judge.  It is being the observer and allowing things to pass before you, through you, without attaching to them or giving energy to them, good, bad or otherwise.  It is remaining neutral, taking the middle road.

Eckhart Tolle talks about this in his books, his lectures.  It is what he is all about!  It is finding that still place within, that space where the soul resides, and being the observer through the soul of your self and not the mind, especially not the ego.  Also, in Michael A. Singer’s book, The Untethered Soul, he gives guidelines in how to release your thoughts, especially those about yourself, and see them as the “things” they are.  They are transient, temporary, just as the moments of the day are.  Thoughts change, emotions change, even your cells change.  There is nothing permanent about any of it.  The only permanent thing is your soul, the “I”, the observer.  This is a much bigger I than that of the ego.  This is the God part of the I. 

In growing up, remember looking in the mirror and seeing yourself as you were then?  You look in the mirror now and see yourself as you are now.  What has changed?  Appearance for sure.  Thoughts and emotions have changed with growth and wisdom and learning.  But there is something inside that has not changed one iota – the observer of it all.  This is the soul.  This is the One within.  This is the only permanent thing – the energy of the soul that has been for all time and will be for all time.  All else is judged through this third dimensional world where all is temporary, and truthfully, illusion.  It is through mass consciousness that it all seems to be what it is, what we call reality.  It is through the agreement of the minds of all that a tree is a tree, a bird is a bird, red is red, and so on.  But aren’t there also vast differences in the interpretation of life throughout cultures?  What Americans would think of as sub-standard living conditions are not seen that way in other parts of the world, and so we think they are suffering.  In many cases they are not.  It is only in our perception.  Yes, there are places in the world where there is suffering, but remember you are judging anything below what you personally understand as “normal,” to be sub-standard.  This is not always the case. 

The most important thing to remember through your own soul’s learning and to understand is life just is.  Everyone has their own perception, like an opinion, of what they see, usually interpreted by their own upbringing or something from the past.  See things in the now with new eyes, deeper than human eyes.  Judging things through your own past experience is just that – you OWN past experience, not everyone else’s.  And why judge through the past when the past is gone?  Try to see things like a child, as if for the very first time, with wonder, without judgment, and you might learn a new perspective that allows you to forgive, to accept, to open to a broader way of being.  Judgment does not buy the soul anything but more karma.  Understanding, acceptance, and allowance, are the ways of the soul.  If what you may conceive of as God does not judge us for our errors, why should be different?  We are Divine within – judgment only comes from the ego and generally is a reflection of our own issues.

Begin this new year with fresh eyes; move away from the past and into this present, for it truly is all you have.  And don’t worry about tomorrow, for when it gets here, if it does, it never ends up being quite what you thought it would be anyway.  And always, the reason for the worry is resolved one way or the other, depending on your own vibration.  If you carry gratitude in your heart, suffering melts away.  If you carry good intention in your heart, suffering melts away.  Be mindful of your thoughts and keep them kind and forgiving, and suffering melts away.  Watch that your words are kind and positive, for they are a boomerang, just as your thoughts are.  These things will help alleviate suffering.

Now is all we have! Live in the present moment and meet your heart there, for it dwells not in the yesterday, nor in the tomorrow, but is beating as you take this breath - right now.  It will be the beginning of the end of any suffering.

I highly recommend Michael A. Singer’s book, The Untethered Soul for everyone.  Bear with it, for it is not an easy read, but read it to the very end, for it might change your life.  More than likely, it will.  Also anything by Eckhart Tolle.  And both books by Robert Schwartz, The Soul’s Plan and The Soul’s Gift I highly recommend, though I would begin with the first.  And may what you see as suffering in your life or in any other’s be transformed.

Love and blessings to you all.

It has been some time since I’ve written here.  Other than attempting to get a workshop together for the summer, there has been much inner work going on, and I guess I needed the time to do that.  I’ve been working on the visible power of love and joy and seeing the affect that has on those around me and how the Universe reflects that back to me.  A great way to spend time!  Today, however, the talk is on something I have been wanting to write about for a long time – gratitude.  And it seems appropriate for this time of year.

Gratitude is a word that is tossed around by many, mostly telling you to have an attitude of gratitude.  And that is a truth, for gratitude for what you have brings better and better things to you, whereas complaining about what you have (or the lack of what you have) brings more things to complain about.  But how far does your gratitude truly go?  How much is taken for granted only because it is never thought about in the busy world we live in or because we would rather not think about it so deeply.  Gratitude for what we have changes from country to country, and I fear in this country much is taken for granted.  I want to bring an example of this to you.

When you sit in your home, especially on a cold winter’s day, what are you in gratitude for?  The warmth of the home, the shelter against the storm?  Those are easily grasped.  But what is warming your home?  What is your home made from?  For many of us it is wood.  So are you thankful for the trees cut down that frame your home, that keep you warm, that hold the roof over your head?  And what about the logger than cut those trees and the trucker that brought them to the log yard and the person that milled those logs and the factory workers who made all the equipment to do so? 

Living in this third dimensional world is a chain of events that you may not be aware of until the final stage of what you have is in front of you.  All else is lost.  This blog is about going back, and further back still, to where some things begin, but that you might only be aware of as the end result that is visible.

Are you only grateful to the electric company and the line workers when the power is restored after an outage?  Who has put up those lines?  Who maintains them?  Who has made the wire that strings transformer to transformer?  Factory workers, linemen, truck drivers.  Who makes the phone lines strung from city to city, under the oceans, or who puts the satellites in space so you can pick up a phone and talk with anyone in the world?  Do you think of this when you are dialing or texting?  Probably not, until it isn’t working properly. 

Who are the people on the oil rigs that leave their families for months at a time so you can pump gas into your car or heat your home or have the gas available for all those truck drivers?  And who are the truck drivers that also leave their families so you can run to the store to buy the end result?  

Now here is a great example of end result!  Let’s take a simple meal like breakfast, which for some means bacon, eggs and toast.  Are you thankful to the chicken who laid the egg?  Are you thankful for the pig whose pieces are on your plate?  What about the farmers that raise those chickens and pigs?  What about the farmer that grows the grain that makes the toast?  What about the farmer that grows the grain that feeds the chickens and pigs and makes it available to the farmer to buy to maintain said chickens and pigs?  How far back does this reach?

What does it take to grow the grain?  Rain, sun, air, minerals in the soil, etc., etc.  Who created those?    Ah…  I could be scientific and give reasons and explanations for oceans, clouds, rain, trees transferring carbon monoxide into breathable air, et al, but I rather think of it as a very sychronistic cosmos, with a Divine Consciousness permeating throughout and a connection of oneness with all things that support and sustain all energy forms throughout.  That is what I thank each day, for it goes all the way back to the roots of things.  I do also thank the farmers, the animals, the plants, the minerals and all else involved in the sustenance of this being on all levels - body, mind, heart and soul.  How far back to do you go in giving gratitude?  When you give thanks, perhaps broadening the outlook on things that might be taken for granted would be a good idea.  Keep taking the next step back to see just how far it goes.  It is really mind boggling!

And give thanks as well for your soul, your form, and those things that continue to allow it life in its current vehicle.  And then go all the way back through the truck drivers, factory workers, loggers, farmers, animals, and the amazing nature around us that allows all to thrive to make you comfortable in your home and put food on your plate.  If you drop one link in this chain, all else is lost.  Think about that! 

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!  More to come in a shorter time…

Love and blessings,

Magdrael

To all my favorite valentines, I am hoping that on this Valentine’s Day, you give a wonderful gift to the person that should mean the most to you in your life – YOU!   Cheryl Richardson had a wonderful idea for a New Year’s Resolution (and how many have you kept thus far?)  Her idea was to love self more. A wonderful idea for the new year!  I thought at Valentine’s Day, this would be a special gift to the one you love, or should love most – you.  If you cannot love yourself, how can you truly love another?  If you don’t respect yourself, how can you respect another?

How many ways do you berate yourself during the day and where and when does it begin?  When you look in the mirror first thing in the morning (I hate my hair, I’m too fat, I need a face lift, I have too many freckles, I am going bald, blah, blah)?  Or is it as soon as your feet hit the floor getting out of bed (I’m getting old, my joints hurt, my feet are so ugly, I hate getting up for this job, I’m tired)?  All these thoughts take away from self-love.  You know why?  Because all these thoughts will create the very thing for you that you do not want in your life.  Would you do that to someone you loved dearly?  No.  You would say things to them that were positive, do things that were positive, speak of them in a loving way.  Then why don’t you do that for yourself?

Without getting too metaphysical, as I wanted to keep this particular blog along the basics, if we truly are Divine within, as I believe and many of you do, why would you say I AM fat?  I AM not worthy.  As Wayne Dyer says, when you use the words “I AM” in any sentence, you are truly declaring the God within.  Would you put God down when it comes to your own self?

Mike Dooley, whom I adore and lifts me up each morning with his “Notes From the Universe,” (and if you don’t get these, you should - sign up for them for free on his website www.tut.com), teaches that thoughts become things, so choose the good ones.  It is a given truth that we create our own reality through our thoughts.  So if you keep saying, “I can’t lose weight,” guess what – you won’t, for the Universe interprets the vibration of your thoughts, what you focus upon, positive or negative.  Abraham and many others have taught this for years.  Thoughts become things.  A simple, yet profound statement. 

So this Valentine’s Day, choose to give yourself a gift you would give to someone you love, and I don’t mean chocolates (though that is a nice gift, so splurge if you are inclined).  When you look in the mirror in the morning, as hard as it may be, see yourself with love.  You are a manifestation of Divine Consciousness as YOU.  Love yourself (Louise Hay’s most famous line) and be kind to yourself with good thoughts, loving thoughts.  Feel the joy of being unique. 

The other thought I had today was that many people suffer from self-worth.  But each one of us is part of the whole and is a necessary part.  Imagine a body without a particular cell.  Every body has all the cells it needs to be whole.  If you cut yourself or lose some skin from a scrape, what happens?  The body fills it in with new cells because it needs them all.  Just as a body needs all the cells in the microcosm we are, the macrocosm of the Universe needs each soul, each being of energy to make it whole.  Rather like George Bailey in “It’s a Wonderful Life,” we are all necessary for all other things to be as they need to be.  So consider the importance of Self, as you are one of the necessary components of the whole of Divine Consciousness.  You would not have been created otherwise, so you must be needed.  How does it feel to be needed by the Divine Consciousness of creation?  It should make you feel somewhat more worthy, I would hope.

So give yourself a gift of love this Valentine’s Day, and forever after, for when you love yourself, you open up to all the gifts the Universe has to offer that will bring you joy. When you love your self, you can be in joy, and the vibration of joy is very high on the scales.  It allows the Universe to bring to you exactly what would make you even more joyful.  Dr. Dain Heer has a wonderful line in his teachings that opens the doors to all the wonderful things the Universe has to offer.  No matter what is happening, whether you perceive it as “good” or “bad,” ask yourself in a positive way, “How does it get any better than this?”  Then the Universe has to show you something better!  That is how it works.  Perhaps I’ll go over the other three questions he likes people to ask about challenges, but today’s only challenge is looking in the mirror and seeing how beautiful you are, and asking that question about your life with a feeling of positive expectation – how does it get any better than this!!??  Trust me, it works. 

Happy Valentine’s Day, with a very special blessing of love and thoughts from Archangels Chamuel and Seraphina, the Twin Flames that deal primarily with love.

“Many do not understand the saying that if you do not love yourself, how can you truly love another.  The explanation of this is that if you do not love yourself, you cannot feel whole, and so look for wholeness outside of self.  When this happens, the love is conditional, not unconditional.  If you are whole within self, which means you love yourself, your own company, then you can love another unconditionally, without strings attached or constantly fearing the of the loss of them.  People need to come together to celebrate love, not have it bind another.  So perhaps this will help you to understand the meaning and importance of loving self first, so that you can love another and feel the freedom that flows through that love, without conditions, without judgments, without fear.  Unconditional love is sacred love.  So love self and feel wholeness within, then you can truly love another and be in joy over that love and not have it attached to fear.”

Spring is coming!  The days grow longer!  Stay positive, especially about yourself!

Love and blessings to you all ~

     Hello to you all.  Here we are at the crux of the Mayan calendar with the upcoming Solstice, Christmas, Hanukkah, and chaos in Connecticut and Afghanistan where the innocent seemingly become victims, and us left wondering where it will all lead.

     We stand at a gateway in each and every one of our lives at this moment, and it is your choice what vibration you choose, what thoughts you have, what words you speak that will determine how you will walk through this gateway on the Solstice.  It is easy to be in anger and hold thoughts of despair when the news brings us what it has this past week.  But anger only fuels more anger and despair will not solve anything.  Love and compassion are the only vibrations that will change the anger and despair and turn it around.

     I would ask you to stretch your mind in order to perhaps see things from a different perspective.  It is difficult in this dimension of density to see beyond the body, the material, and duality such as good and evil, up and down, in or out.  However, the soul sees beyond all this into the truth.  So for a moment, shut out any feelings of anger, despair, justice seeking, or hopelessness, and look into your soul for answers.

     It is said, and becoming understood and believed, that the soul plans its purpose before it comes into form.  There are times when groups will get together as a collective to do this as well.  This is what I understand from my soul’s perception.  No matter how heinous things are in appearance, there has been a soul’s choice, or in the case of Connecticut or Afghanistan, a collective choice, to have such a thing happen.  And because the soul is immortal, there is no such thing as death, only in the appearance of form, which is transient and a vehicle for the soul to bring its message to this world.  The soul sees its human life as temporary.  Do not think me callous, but our bodies to our souls are rather like our cars are to us – when they have served their purpose, wear out, or we tire of them, they get traded in for new ones.  Such is the body.  It is the soul that carries on with relationships and love throughout many lives, as love is all the soul knows and is.

     Even in knowing this, it does not help the grief or trauma of those involved in any tragedy, but thoughts from the heart and soul will heal the wounds faster and in a better way.  Instead of pointing fingers at who is to blame as an individual, a parent, a system that isn’t working, perhaps we need to ask ourselves why would a group of souls bring such a thing unto themselves, including the shooter, and their families.  If you come up with the answer for the highest good of mankind, you are seeing through the soul’s eyes and not human eyes.  It is incidents such as these that unite us, that allow us to experience compassion and oneness instead of separateness.  It is always the disasters that bring the best out in people, bring out the prayers, the helping hand, and the generosity.  Perhaps the lesson is that if we did this on a daily basis and treated all as brothers and sisters, these disasters would end, for the lesson would be learned.  It is something we bring to ourselves for our souls to grow into the love that they are in truth, and to bring our consciousness into that same focus.

     And so, with thoughts of love and compassion, I wish you all, dear brothers and sisters of the One, to love one another, to love this planet we share, to look beyond appearances before casting judgment into what might be our own lessons, to share what you have in order to open yourself to even more abundance, to give love freely from the heart without conditions attached, and to move through this gateway on the Solstice with joy in your heart, which will raise up the vibration of this entire planet.  Love is all there is, so express it whenever the opportunity arises, even if it is merely to touch someone upon the arm without words, just compassion.  And hold all those suffering through grief and trauma in the Light – wrap your love around them and wish them peace in their hearts.

     Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Yule, and Joyous Solstice, or whatever words you use to express a kind and loving sentiment for this season.  And may peace and love prevail in the new year and into the new Mayan cycle of this world.

Love and Blessings,

Magdrael and friends of the Higher Realm

Happy Autumnal Equinox and hello to you all!  I hope your summer has been a good and joyful one.  And now we find ourselves at the equinox, bringing us fully into autumn, as some of the temperatures of late remind us.  Autumn is busy with harvest, gathering the fruits of labor over the summer.  It is also the gathering and harvest for the self-work we have been doing; the time for the realization of what we have created through our own inner planting, and how we nurtured it and fertilized it. 

Autumn also finds us busying ourselves preparing for the winter.  It is such a transitional season.  Like spring, transitioning into birth and growth, autumn is the transition into harvest, dying, and toward the silence of winter.  As is the cycle of nature, so is the cycle of all life on this beautiful and wonderful planet.  It has been a planet of the third dimension (though changing), bringing with it limited sight through the belief of duality, limited hearing, self-inflicted limitation of what we are capable of, and conditioning of the kind that makes us work to find the divinity that we are - that is truly our birthright.  But it is time to break out of that conditioning and realize the fullness of who we are, the energy of the All That Is within us, for how can we be anything else?  If you believe that there is a Divine Consciousness and Ultimate Source of All Things, are you not part of that?  You can’t be outside of All That Is.

Being who I am and the energy I carry, I love the autumn.  The mystery of things once alive, now going back to the earth to create a new spring after the long, seeming death of winter, is a reflection of who and what all beings are.  There is no end, there is no death, there is only a resting place in the seeming death of things that creates new life in the season following.  We are no different.  We are a part of the cycle on this planet, and when autumn comes and we slow down toward our “death” and then pass, we are spending time re-creating ourselves on the soul level, of which the only truth lies - to be reborn again with the strengths we brought into the dying season.  (And you do not have to die in a literal sense to do this).  All life is like this.  We are akin to the trees, the grass, the butterfly, the birds, the stars moving through the heavens.  It all cycles around again and again.  And so why should we be different?  We are not.

Moving forward here, this blog is not so much about truths and philosophy as it is about picking your brains.  I see myself doing workshops and talks in the near future, but there is so very much to talk about that I feel I am at a smorgasbord and don’t know what to choose from.  I need your help.  Some of the things I would love to work with are as follows (and not in order of preference so much as the order of thoughts coming out):

Transitions of life;

Transitions into death;

Bringing spirituality into hospice work and seeing the sacred in death;

Grief and bereavement: how to allow oneself to be with it, regardless of what others think

How to support (companion) someone going through grief;

How changing your story can change your life/Affirmations/What you feel, think and say, and how it affects your life;

Universal Laws: knowing, understanding, and living them for the benefit of your soul and your life;

The keys to the Universal Laws: All is energy, forgiveness, self-love, strength of will of the emotional and mental bodies;

The meaning of the soul’s purpose;

Three words to live by: Believe, Surrender, Trust;

The ability to receive (which most people think they do, but do not) as well as give;

Creating a circle of what you wish to allow in your life vs. what you do not;

Fabric of the soul – what it is and how it works;

So there you have some of the topics that can be discussed, or that can be turned into workshops, either for a morning, afternoon, or all day.  I am asking for feedback on this in what you would like to hear or learn more about, to delve into more deeply.  All are good topics, but where are you with regard to where you would like to be?  What would benefit you the most?  Some of the above topics would overlap a bit, but it will give me a much better idea of where to focus for bringing something to a talk or workshop.

As we prepare for the stillness of winter, let us celebrate the bounty of the harvest, not only in our gardens, but also in our lives.  I’m sure many of you have made great strides forward over the past few months.  I would love to hear about it.  Or hear about where you might be stuck.  Those are the things we need to have talks or workshops about!

Much love and many blessings to you all and thank you for your feedback on this.

In closing, Haniel came forward to say a few words.

"Greetings to you all on such wonderful paths toward the Light.  Each one, in your own time, your own way, for your own purpose, will eventually come to a crossroads in your search for your life’s purpose, truth, and love.  Your choices should honor who you are and for the highest good.  And know that everything comes in cycles, as that is the way of all life, whether on this beautiful planet, or elsewhere.  Energy is ever moving, ever changing, ever expanding.  Nothing is stagnant.  As is often said on this Earth, the only constant is change.  That is evidenced by the cycles of the moon.  Things move constantly forward, ever expanding, as thoughts add to the whole of the One that all things are.  Thoughts create new thoughts, things become manifest, and then new thoughts and desires are derived from that very manifestation. 

"Work with the cycles of the moon.  The new moon is a time when things are fresh, blossoming.  Think about what you would love to create for the highest good of self and others.  Talk to the moon of these dreams. At the full moon, let it go unto the Universe for collaboration, remaining unattached as to the hows and whens this manifestation might occur.  You’ve put it out there, so let it go, rather like a helium balloon that rises into the light of the sun.  See it as done through the fullness of the moon, the all-light in the darkness.  You might be surprised if you study the cycles of the moon and your own attitudes and energy as to where these cycles in your life fit in with regards to the moon cycles.  And for women of childbearing age, a woman’s cycle has been revered by so many native people to be magic to the point of allowing women to go to another place at that time, so that the power they are wielding will not affect the rest of the tribe until it is meditated upon.  It is a time of honor.  It is the same with the moon cycles.  Revere them for their power.  Learn to work with them, for it will bring your consciousness into focus for what you do want instead of what you do not want.  And allow the light in the darkness to shine also within your soul.  And know in speaking with the moon of your desires and standing in that light, you are talking to the energy of Divine Consciousness and will be heard.  You do not pray to the moon, as the moon is a part of the same energy you are, the Divine energy.  You talk with the moon asserting Self and acknowledging its unique power in the scheme of the One.  You work together.  Be positive in your statements and not plaintive.  Be strong and ask for your highest good, and for the highest good for all, for God’s will needs to be your will.  See it as accomplished.  Yeshua said that all those that ask, believing, will be answered.  Much love, encouragement, and support is here for you."

           As Carl Jung said, there is self (small “s”) and Self (capital “S”).   It is our soul’s purpose to move from “s” to “S.”  The small “s” is seeing ourselves as human, limited, stuck in the ruts we create and that life brings to us through that very belief of ourselves.  The capital “S” is seeing the I AM of ourselves, the Divine within, the power of the spirit we are.  As Wayne Dyer states in his new book Wishes Fulfilled, there is an outer self-concept and an inner self-concept and how they can be changed to grow into the greatness we are.  But what if you are autistic?  What is the self-concept?  What is the self versus Self?  Temple Grandin knows, and this is the inspiration she gave to help me to move from “s” to “S.”

            I recently watched the “Temple Grandin” movie and was astonished at the learning I gained about my own self vs. Self.  There is a huge difference, and Temple showed me a way to move into Self from the smaller self.  Temple Grandin, for those who are not familiar with her, is an autistic woman born in Boston in1947, graduated from Franklin Pierce College in 1970 and got her master’s degree in animal science from Arizona State University in 1975.  She also got her doctoral degree in animal science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1989.  Quite a record for someone who did not speak until she was four.  She has also, and still does, conferences on autism and animal husbandry.

            This movie played a two-fold part for me.  I have always been interested in autism to the point of going to a conference on autism in 1993 or thereabouts, at Syracuse University.  I was fortunate enough to actually see Temple speak.  She blew me away.  This woman not only understands the various levels of autism, but also shows so much hope in what autism can bring to society and to help others understand this so called mental illness.  I never saw autism as a mental illness, but as a mystery that needed to be solved in the way autistic people think; that they are here to teach us something from a very unique perspective.  After hearing her then, I was convinced.  After watching the movie, I was even more convinced.

            For those interested in autism, or that know someone diagnosed as autistic, it would behoove you to watch anything by Temple, read her books, and also watch the DVD entitled “The Autistic Revolution: Children In the Time of Awakening,” by Esther and Jerry Hicks, which is a collection of talks by Abraham over a six week period in 2008.  Talk about a new way to see autism!  But it would also be worthwhile just to gain a bigger view of what they have come to teach us.

            What I took away from the movie about Temple Grandin was not only a deeper understanding of autism, but also a strong lesson for myself.  Temple had a difficult time socially, which I do not, but when it came from speaking her truth, from her heart and what she knew, she could be outrageous, fearless.  That is what I am not.  I have social skills, but to think about talking in front of people unnerves me.  Once I get started I’m fine, but the anticipation of it is fearsome.  Watching her, through all the ridicule she had to deal with, showed me that being outrageous and fearless is a lesson we all need to learn.

            Autistic people do not have the same kind of ego fears we do.  We are always concerned about being socially acceptable, especially within the groups we deem important to our lives.  Autistic people do not have this concern, which is one great lesson we can learn from them.  They feel hurt through ridicule at times, depending on the level of the autistic person, but will continue to try to befriend someone, bring forth a truth they hold, and continue to want to be heard regardless of being ridiculed.  But this blog is not so much about the various levels of autism as it is about seeing life from the perspective of autistic people that can help us to become more like them – without ego.

            It was so refreshing to see Temple speak her truth to those who thought they knew so much more about animal husbandry than she.  But they were wrong.  And because she spoke in a way that could convince them they were wrong, showing them her drawings, showing them her “proof” of what the cattle needed, they began to listen – and to learn.  She re-created the dip pools so cattle could enter them calmly and not drown.  She re-created the slaughterhouse, bringing cattle to the point of quickly dying without the built-up angst of walking through a place to that point before death that rendered them totally traumatized.  Her way brought them in their own natural way - circular and peacefully.

            Not only am I grateful for her understanding of animals in this way and her devout drive to create such slaughterhouses with more respect for the animal and their natural way of being, but also for her doing this with such passion, such fearlessness, such daring!  When she could not get into places she wanted because she looked different than the cattle people and drove a car that stood out, she went to town to buy cowboy clothes, an old pick up, and rolled in cattle dung.  She got in. 

            She was never stopped by thoughts of what others would think.  She followed her passion, no matter what, and has changed the face of animal husbandry, ranching and slaughterhouses throughout the country.  The drive, determination and just not caring about self, but caring about the greater good and coming from more of a Self, allowed her to create these changes.

            We are all capable of that if we can let go of the ego that constantly reminds us through fear of not fitting in, not being liked, not being acceptable… the list goes on.  Through Temple I was able to say to hell with the little ego issues and step into something more grand, more meaningful and with greater depth – like soul’s purpose.  She taught me that it is wonderful to be outrageous, to be on purpose without fear, to come from the heart of your beliefs, to be in the strength of your inner power when it is for the highest good.  Thank you, Temple.  The energy of Archangel Ariel has come with a few words.

            “I am called Ariel.  Most equate me with courage, and that is so.  Courage is the willingness to commit to a truth, whether or not it is everyone else’s.  Courage is the willingness to stand apart from the crowd to speak your own truth, no matter what.  Courage is the conviction that regardless of what others might think, you will live your truth.  All of this should always be for the highest good for your own soul, those of others, and for the betterment of the community of beings upon the earth and out into the Universe, for what you do here has an effect throughout.  And the community is made of all living things, as all is energy.  Never be afraid to be the different drummer, for your rhythm brings more harmony to the Universe, especially this earth planet.  And we need your rhythm more than ever to fill out the chorus of those raising the vibration of all.  Find your beat and play it out with conviction, determination, fearlessness, for it might be that it is your beat that carries the tune.”

Love and blessings,

Magdrael

           

            

This morning, the simplicity of truth came back to me again, as sometimes through the busy-ness of life the sight of it can get lost.  Love is the only real truth, and therefore, the rest is illusion.  This morning I said to myself that if I choose to see only love, I will see only truth with the knowing that we are created from Divine love.  Through that knowing comes the understanding that all else doesn’t truly exist except in our minds.  This is a strong theme in A Course In Miracles and the basis for most teachings handed down.  Every now and again, when I find myself in that place of knowing and feeling only love, nothing else matters - nothing.  What a world it would be if all we could see was love!  Not human love, but total, unconditional Divine Love.  The rest would melt through this perception until all there truly existed was love and oneness.  It is our choice, our perception in every moment to come to this illumination, this feeling of what I consider, bliss.

            The other thought I had is that we are so very gifted on this earth, and nothing brings that more to the heart than spring.  The renewal of life after a harsh winter is a miracle.  Green buds grow out of seemingly dead wood, hummingbirds travel thousands of miles and arrive at our feeders (many of the same ones at that!), the sun which set so much closer to the south now is setting again just about due west, and rising just about due east.  I can watch its path closely due to my open view of the mountains.  It widens and narrows through the year, rising in this notch to the southeast, then moving from notch to notch toward the east.  The same going from more southerly to due west as the days grow longer.  The Winter Triangle of the stars has moved off to the west and is almost below my horizon now.  But the Summer Triangle is making its way; Arcturus is high in the southeastern sky at night, along with Saturn and Spica in the south, and the constellation of Corvus, the Crow.  The changes are constant and consistent.  Nothing in this Universe is still.  All energy, and all motion in a circular pattern.

            I see all of these miracles of the seasons, especially spring, as a gift.  And as many gifts from Source, some of these, too, might be ignored.  I believe gifts are ignored for three primary reasons:  1) people are too busy living their un-real lives to see the truth of the reality of God around them; 2) people do not know how to receive gifts from God, or even other people for that matter; and 3) people do not perceive a gift as being just that – a gift.  Here are a few examples. 

1)  Many people see reality in the wrong places.  Our bodies are not our reality, our soul is.  Taking the time to feed the soul with the gifts of beauty all around us connects us with the truth of what we are.  The old saying, “Stop to smell the roses,” was coined for a deeper reason than merely telling you to slow down and relax.  See the miracle in the aroma of a flower, the smell of electricity during a thunderstorm, the return of far away birds.  Just stop for one minute and look and listen to the Source all around you and breathe it in.  Your soul will thank you for it.  It might make your day more joyful!

            2)  Many people don’t even know how to accept a compliment, let alone a gift from God!  Many do not feel worthy enough, but we’ve gone over that concept in more depth in a previous blog.  But that is the problem as I see it – people do not receive well due to self-worth issues, self-doubt, fear, whatever.  But remember, receiving allows you to give.

            3)  Due to perception, many do not see gifts for what they are.  Seeing something as a trying time can actually be an opportunity to learn.  Pushing past fear to try something new can give you the gift of freedom by jumping off the cliff and flying, realizing that there was nothing to fear in the first place.  Seeing a homeless person is giving you the gift of realizing your fortune and being in gratitude, learning that that person, too, has a purpose, for it allows others to give or feel from their heart.  All things have reason, and most always, what one might perceive of as bad fortune is a lesson in disguise, an opportunity to grow and to realize the importance of seeing things from all sides, not just one limited view.  These things are gifts if seen in the proper light.

            We are gifted every day in so many ways.  Just the air we breath, the water we and the earth drink, the fire of the sun that warms us, the earth supporting our feet upon her and growing our food with the synchronicity of the other elements.  All gifts.  Some are small, some are huge when considering the synchronicity it takes to have it all work together to create seasons, rain, sunlight, the movement of stars by which man has navigated around the globe, the growth of food or trees from a tiny seed.  Everything you see around you is a miracle.  Tomorrow morning when you wake up, before you get out of bed, sit for a moment and look out the window on the new day and say thank you for it; for the miracles it brings and for all the opportunities of the day to experience growth, love, giving and receiving.  People who make this a practice find their lives changing, for it puts them in a more peaceful and joyful mood, and changes their perception of events as they happen throughout the day.  If you don’t already do this, give it a try.  Anne Frank stated that she began her day by smiling at herself in the mirror, not unlike Louise Hay’s advice of looking in the mirror and telling yourself how much you love you!  Anne knew, as Louise does, that this small thanks for who you are to begin your day can change your world.

           

            I am finding of late that even with more hours of light during the day, I feel the days are shorter due to all the busy-ness at my day job (a large nursery full of plants and people buying them), more need to travel, people and groups I wish to visit with, workshops I wish to hold, that a weekly blog is one thing that puts a bit more pressure on than I need.  So instead of forcing it with a weekly routine, I am choosing to honor myself and the realm that works with me.  I will not try to write a blog from that place of pressure, but to work with the blog when it feels right, in order be in that enlightened space, so that meaningful words can come from that place.  I will email you when a new blog is posted so you don’t have to wonder about when it is happening.  I thank you all for your continued support and feedback.  We are a tribe of seekers and the best way for all to find the destination is to share the map.

            This is a thought from my higher being about tonight’s new moon and annular eclipse, along with the transit of Venus across the face of the Sun on June 5^th.  It is a metaphor, which is how I receive things from that other part of me.

            “As the moon crosses in front of the sun this night, creating a coverage except for the outer edges, it is also pulling in the light of the sun, absorbing energy, becoming one with that energy as it overlays the sun’s brightness.  This is a metaphor –as above, so below- for we, too, are taking in the energy, the light, to add to our own brightness.  This may sound rather poetic, but as you know, we are the poet, and that language holds truth for it is a transcendent language.  It, too, is a language of metaphor in which there is great power.  The moon and sun create a shift of power this night, as the darkness of the moon covers the brightness of the sun, and then both bring again, their own light.  It might seem the darkness holds more power, but just for a moment.  So too, any darkness that shadowed the light within, will be illuminated and overtaken by the light returning moments later.  Do you see this?  And then the new moon, the renewed journey begins - this time with more stamina, more clarity, more heightened awareness and intuitive knowing.  It has essentially touched the sun and takes with it the illumination of that energy.  So, too, with this soul we share.  With all souls if they have the awareness to allow it. 

It also is the pairing of the negative (moon) with the positive (sun) – the yin and the yang coming together as one.  So much symbolism in all of this!  And when the moon becomes new shortly before this event (EDT), it moves forward with more balance having gained from the sun, and the sun having been touched by the moon, as it were.  It is like watching a sacred union.  Though this form (in NH) will not be able to see it, as the sun will have moved below the horizon, it will be felt.   The fact that Venus is involved in all this, you can see where it is headed – more illumination on the one truth – Love.  It will transit across the sun on June 5^th and will be visible as a speck moving across the brightness.  This concludes the eight-year cycle of Venus in this transit begun in 2004.  With this culmination begins a new journey – the harvest of what has been planted will begin to make itself manifest.”

             With that, until next time, love and blessings.