2012 - Is It The End? Yes, yes it is.

I have been asked by many people about 2012.  There is a lot perception and speculation as to what exactly is or is not going to occur.  If you are one that has read anything about the Mayan calendar, the winter solstice of 2012 is when the Mayan calendar count ends.  In Vedic texts it tells that this is the time of the “great age”.  Some have prophesied that it is the end of the world.

What is my personal thoughts regarding 2012?  In looking at the history of the world around us we can see signs lending to conscious thoughts of what is happening around us.  We have seen climate changes, diminishing natural resources, increase in geothermic activity, and the Earth itself bleeding.  There has been an increase in hurricanes (four were in the Atlantic Ocean at the same time in September), an increase in earthquakes, and other natural ‘disasters’.  Let’s not forget the drastic overpopulation issues and financial crisis the world is in.  Each of these ‘circumstances’ are increasing humanity’s stress levels, the desire to seek out solutions in the spiritual realm, as well as, an increased fear perception.

I believe that this is the time that is spoken of in nearly every sacred text.  The time when a sharing within humanity to become a unified humanity rather than a divided in duality humanity.  Yes it is going to be the end of a calendar.  Yes it is going to be the end of the reality we have known.  It is shifting of energetic alignment where humanity comes to the realization that something has to be changed.  A humanity spiritual awakening and remembering that replaces the illusions of a take- take society. It is a time when humanity will return to the ancient foundation that everything within our reality is truly interconnected and interrelated.  What actions we take as a society does impact the world around us.  That world to include all our relations with Earth; the plant kingdom and our natural resources, the animal kingdom, the air we breathe, the waters that flow across our planet, and the other beings that walk beside us.

This “great age” is the time so many have waited for.  When as a race of humanity, we become unified in our spirituality.  A time when people awaken to the consciousness of One.  For some, I believe, it will be experienced as struggles and grief.  We are a humanity of free will choice.  That choice will have to be made by not some select few, but by all.  So there is an ending on the horizon.  But there is also a beginning.  A beginning time that will have cosmic proportions.  It is a time now for each of us to prepare our own souls and energies.  To assist others in preparing for this cosmic alignment that are just awakening and remembering. 

It is time to engage actively in ensuring that you are prepared.  It is also vital that each individual also actively engage others to awaken and remember.  It is time to let go completely and trust the flow that resonates within.  In the words of a great spiritual mentor of mine, “The Golden Age is upon us.  Join us in this enlightening time as the world becomes ablaze with the Fire of Truth.”

It Happened Again ... So Let Me Set The Record Straight

It happened again.   It seems to happen more and more frequently.  Someone takes exception to something that I say or do.  They take exception to how I live my life.  They take exception to my personal Spiritual mandate.  There are times when this happens, that I become frustrated – perhaps even angry.  There are times, like this one, when it serves a purpose to incite my passion, my fire, to blaze even stronger.

Within the world of humanity that we live in today, there is a perception that duality is reality.  That there is a positive and negative for everything that exists.  A dark and a light path.  Within this duality, as spiritual “light workers”, it is our responsibility to live on a path of light.  Not to vary from it.  To surround ourselves with what we perceive as positive people, positive energy, and positive light is what is the seemingly normal.   Any person who goes to what is perceived as the darkest “hells” of humanity must be traveling a ‘dark’ path.  A person who purposefully seeks out these perceived negative energetic people must be ‘bad’ or ‘dark’.

Let me set the record straight for anyone who has questioned my spiritual mandate.  I am a person that specifically and purposefully seeks out the darkest “hells” of humanity.  I actively engage in travelling to find person whose energies are the ‘darkest’ perceived by humanity.  Yep, that is me.  Why?

Pause for a moment and think about it without judgment or opinion.  A ‘light worker’ surrounds themselves with loving people, positive energy people, and other ‘light workers’ in order to remain loving, positive and in the ‘light’ themselves.  Great!  Your life is illuminated.  You share between one another all this love and laughter.  You share your positive affirmations and messages with others who are on this same ‘light’ path as you are.  You are uplifted by them, inspired by them and loved by them.  Wow all this positive loving energy shared between those who are positive loving persons. 

What about those who are living in the gutters of life?  In iron cages, real or imagined, held imprisoned by their own darkness?  What about the people who are so hopeless and helpless that they see no light?  The ones who see no laughter?  The ones who see no love?  The ones who live in  desperate devoids that are becoming suffocated because they have no connection to a Divine source?  They have no connection, no light to follow to even seek it out, what about them?

They are not part of your loving, positive group.  They are not hearing and experiencing a connection to become full of their own hope and faith.  Who is going to change the tide for them?  Who is going to go out and get dirty because someone actually paused long enough to help them dig a ditch to climb out of the gutter?  Who is going to have enough internal light blazing inside of them that it radiates outward to illuminate their world, so they can find their path, their connection?  Who is going to be the one that will go fight the ‘demons’ in their world so they can have a break long enough to realize they are not alone?

“Jesus wouldn’t have done battle” is a comment that was made.  Let me share with you that Jesus did battle, He stood up for injustice, He went to the ‘darkest hell holes’ to lift and inspire people, He sought out the out casts, the hopeless, and the helpless.  He did not judge a person based on their words, their appearances, nor their social/economic status.  He watched their actions, listened to their hearts, and then shared hope, love, and compassion regardless of what He saw and heard.

So go ahead, judge me all you wish.  Have opinions perceived while you are sitting around in your little groups discussing affirmations to change your own lives.  Go ahead.  My flame, my fire, my passion, my connection with the Divine is strong enough to go into the ‘darkest’ ‘hells’ that exist to do battle, to get dirty, and to share light with others.  Perhaps it is best if you stay in your little groups because if your flame, your fire, your passion and your connection may not be strong enough to go do battle.

The Attack of The Vampire

It was unrelenting leaving me drained barely able to sustain the simple task of being.  Would I recover?  The black hole sucking me within it felt as though it were bottomless.  Could I still escape?

Each of us has had this experience.  The experience of being attacked by an emotional vampire resulting in a complete draining our life force from us.  A person in our lives that literally sucks the life forces from us with their unrelenting complaining, harping, and negativity.  We try to disappear when we see them coming.  Avoid contact, yet, it seems they always find us sucking us back into their black hole of negative emotions. 

There are ways to deal with these “emotional vampires”. 

Understanding their root of negativity can sometimes can assist you in both not absorbing the energy and protecting your own energy from being drained. 

Empathizing not internalizing detaches you from the emotions of their situation.  Instead of continuing on with the negativity of their circumstances, share a positive story of gratitude from your day.  This mentally distances yourself from the flood of their emotional outpouring.

Insulate your own energy.  When it is impossible to avoid contact with these “emotional vampires” insulate your own emotions.  As you are around these “emotional vampires” visualize a insulating bubble around your being that does not allow entrance by one of these energy feeders.  Mentally state to yourself your intention to insulate yourself from their energy. 

Remember that it is not your responsibility to take on their negative energy.  Ultimately, you are responsible for your own energy; thus, you choose whom to give your energy away to.  Empathizing is vastly different than internalizing and carrying another’s load.  

The State of Inner Happiness Already Exists

Joy is not in things; joy is in us.  Benjamin Franklin

Cultivating an inner happiness is realizing that happiness is an “it”.  It is not a thing.  It is a state of mind that is devoid of the perception that happiness can be bought as well as being devoid of fear you will not find happiness.  It is a complete release from external circumstance.

Believe it or not, nothing needs to happen in order for you to have this elusive inner happiness.  It is already within you.  It exists and does not have to be created or manufactured.  The more that a person strives and struggles to experience it however, the more fleeting it appears.  True inner happiness is really an inner guide to teach a person how to live in the world.  True inner happiness reveals the authentic you.

When a person is in a state of true inner happiness, it brings forward the ability to relate with other people and the world around you in a more connected and confident manner.  True inner happiness brings about a sense of purpose in life.  Each and every person can experience their true, authentic self by cultivating this inner happiness. 

Being in this state, eliminates the need to live by certain “roles” that many tend to live in.  The “role” of the parent, partner,  or  the role played in career.  It allows a person to connect with each area of life in a genuine way by passing appearances.  Most people crave the ability to be accurately seen , appreciated and respected for who they are within.  This desire is so powerful that many go out of their authentic self to become a character in a role.

Here are some key techniques to begin to cultivate that inner happiness:

Love You Unconditionally – Work at loving your true self unconditionally.  Release and negate the unproductive thoughts and behavior patterns.  See your inner, authentic self as a being with high esteem .  Don’t judge yourself; believe in yourself.

Release the Fear – Let go of the need to be fearful.  Many have become so engrained in the old thought patterns that it is necessary to have fear, to feel fear, and to experience fear that they cannot even recognize fear.  Fear has a hundred forms that do not allow belief and acceptance to enter.  Trust and welcome peace; it will bring in a safe secure feeling.

Accept change –  It is difficult to change old belief patterns.  These belief patterns are justified in our biography as they have served a purpose in the past.  When new thought patterns begin to form many times a struggle happens that returns a person to a state of fear.  As a person struggles, they pick up the ‘mask’ and begin to play a role.  Accepting the change, is knowing that the change is necessary to become truly happy within.  It allows the emotion of worry to be eliminated.  Have faith through change.

Practicing Gratitude – Gratitude is not a state of being; gratitude is an action word.  By practicing gratitude, a person begins to see all of the miraculous gifts rather than focusing on the negative side of circumstances.  Each circumstance is simply a lesson or a way into unseen blessings and gifts.  Develop a habit of saying thank you for whatever comes into your life.

Negate regret – Regret places you in the past and holds you hostage there.  It is a waste of energy.  Literally, regret can suck the energy and emotion from your being.  To be free from regret, change your perception.  When feeling regret look at the situation from a different perception seeking out what a positive outcome from the situation was.  Even if that outcome was simply a lesson of how to do it differently in the future so that you do not repeat it, practice embracing the mistake as something of value.

For every action that is taken there is an equal reaction that results.  There are always choices that can be made.  You can choose to accept, let go, and be open to happiness or cling, struggle, and battle every situation.  If you are feeling stuck, unable to experience a true inner happiness, or are constantly living in regret and frustration, change your perception.  Ask yourself a few questions:

Will your thinking, forcing, or struggling with a situation, change it?  No.  Then accept that it is and choose to find the gratitude perception.

Is there a pattern of thought which is holding me in impatience, judgment, or fear?  Being willing to change and release the old patterns.  Realize obstacles are blessings in disguise.

Where is it that my inner self wishes to be?  As it is called becoming part of the flow, realize that does not equate to floating without focus.  This is making a choice in determining where you wish to be and what the steps are to get there.

Lord of Fire

Spiritual GPS System.wmv

Responsibility of Spiritual Leaders and Workers

Shamanic Fire Journey Video

"The beauty of hindsight is clarity"

There are times in every journey, especially when your horizons are expanding and shifting, that you will take time to pause and reflect.  For me, there are two times during the course of the year that I spend time doing in-depth reflections of the past six months.  During these times I attempt to discern that which has worked and that which has not in my experiences and belief patterns.

First let me say emphatically that although I do walk a shamanic path, I am a minister, and I do try to help people; however, I am the same as anyone else.  I make mistakes, I learn from my mistakes, and sometimes I even re make a mistake because I didn't get the lesson.  If I was perfect and I got it all, then I would certainly not be here.

On to the real topic, I knew someone that said "the beauty of hindsight is clarity".  At the time I thought, well yeah.  If you have already walked through the situation, make the choices, and climbed the mountain so to speak of course things will be clear.  Now if you could only shift the sentence to say the 'beauty of foresight is clarity' that would be something. 

Although it is not one of those twice a year times, I have had a couple of -incidences- that have caused me to pause, reflect, and delve deeper into the energies surrounding.  I was told that in one case I was being "self-righteous", "fear based", and standing on a proverbial "soap box".  In yet another -incident- I was told that I was most likely the most "stubborn" and "bull headed" person they have ever met.  On the flip side of the coin, I had others telling me that "they wish they had the conviction and ethical standards" that I have and furthermore the veracity to stand up for them as I do. 

As I reflect upon these -incidents- and the many state of affairs in the world that are playing out that fill the news media, I had to really determine whether I was standing up for my beliefs and moral compass or hiding behind it from fears.  It had to be one or the other, right?  As I went through this process I turned to those in my life that I look to as mentors, teachers, and guides (both of this world and not of this world).  I was looking for a defined, simple answer that I could be at peace with.

As is my way, I spent much time upon the spokes of the medicine wheel asking the questions and listening for the answers.  I heard many things, but none would leave me with peace.  I heard the formulas for transforming duality and linear living into unity of Source.  I saw the spectrum of colors from the vortexes in the earth and how they networked together.  I saw a symbology that I am sure is relevant and that I will understand one day.  I felt the flames of fire; both the flames of passion and energy and the flames of rage and eruption. 

There was a time when I lived without any code of ethics, no morale boundaries, and an abundance of free will.  For many years I have lived within a narrow path of what my own code of ethics are, my own boundaries, and my own morality.  Not a path or journey for most.  It held me up for a very critical standard that probably many that take ordination vows do as well.  I was willing to stand up and state my beliefs, my truths, and my own code of ethics whenever they were challenged.  I did not hold others up to the same standards that I held myself up to. 

Again, hindsight is clarity.  With those closest to me, I share my thoughts, my own wounds, my own fears, my desires, and my beliefs.  There are a handful of persons that have walked this journey with me for multiple decades and they have seen the transformations and shifts.  They were there for the wounds when they were open and raw.  With this handful of people, I have no shadowy areas that are hidden.  They have seen the beautiful, the ugly and the indifferent. 

During my meditative walks a guide came to me and shared that in fact I am bull headed which also means I am with unwavering focus and with great resolve, I am stubborn which also means I am persistent and tenacious, I was self-righteous which also means I am self-assured and confident and yes you have fears from wounds that left scars but that also means you have become empathic and compassionate.  They are all different sides of character.  If you wish to be less bull headed then be willing to become lost without direction, less stubborn then be willing to become halfhearted, less self-righteous then be willing to become of low self-esteem and less fearful be willing to become unfeeling.  The linear thinking of duality does not allow you to see the full spectrum of all perspectives only your own.

This reminds me of another statement a mentor / friend / teacher once said “Being respectful of another’s journey is mandatory”.  To show me (being that I am a show me person and not one of blind faith) I was taken on another walk.  It was a walk that can only be aptly described by the statement “to understand another man’s perspective; walk a mile in his moccasins”. 

I cannot say that my code of ethics has shifted.  I cannot say that my personal morals have changed.  I cannot even say that my beliefs and truths are different.  What I can say is that my perspectives have shifted.   Healing happens when suffering ends.  Suffering is anguish over something, agonizing over thoughts, smarting from words, enduring and experiencing emotions.  I am content with the words that were said to me.  They no longer smart.  The emotions just are.  Most of all I am not agonizing over what was right or wrong, positive or negative, nor even light, dark, or shadow aspects. 

Yes the scars may still be there but they are serving a purpose.  A reminder of lessons learned, experienced, and survived.  So the words spoken so long ago "the beauty of hindsight is clarity" has once again proven to be truth. 

*Quotes are words from spiritual mentors / teachers