Too Much Spirituality?

In response to the question:

CAN THERE BE TOO MUCH SPIRITUALITY?

Spirituality is a word so broad, that it seems to have no meaning; 

unless it is the being and practice of consciously manifesting spirit in the world.

We already ARE spirit, there is no where to strive to or from. 
Our practice is only to assist us to allow us to uncover our Light, and allow it to Shine.

We do this by focusing spiritually, not physically - and there cannot be too much spiritual focus:
Being spirit in my body and acting powerfully from that place is the practice and the Being.

Meanwhile, much of what people consider spirituality, 

is actually the body trying to understand, shift and change 

to obtain some physical or allegedly spiritual result.

There is no end to our desire, physically; 

including the desire for 'spiritual' wisdom, power, results.  

THIS is where we are tempted to imbalance 

- with physical desire, even too much is never enough! 

Therefore, when my body is in charge of my spiritual experience, practice and goals 

- I am up the river, without a paddle.

Most of us start in this physically-focused place in our spiritual walk. 
But, if we allow it, we move to a move spiritually-focused place, 

in which we live in balance, freedom and affinity, 

while we learn our lessons, create/heal, serve and enjoy this earth-game.

Blessings, Wendy

Magick

We are spirit, a spark of Divinity, in this physical world.
As spirit in bodies, we have great influence in this physical reality.
And it helps everyone, when we consciously choose to exercise it.

Magick is our will as soul, levered into this physical world.
When we consciously act as spirit in the world, in that spark of co-creation,
our spiritual intention shifts the physical world from its inertial course.

Magic is not a thing; it is a behavior, a practice, a choice.
It is not physical, it is not merely spiritual,
it is the intersection of both: where we fully engage; 

we play as spirit in sandbox earth.

Magick is a practice: a school, a gym, a playground
in which we Become Ourselves, we Become Powerfully Whole,
we Become the Mature spiritual Adults who shift Heaven and Earth.

Being Magick (growing into our capacity as spirit, to act in the world),
aligned with Source and our Unique soul path,
we mature, and inspire others to mature, come to fruition.

As my favorite Christian teacher, Dr Bruce Morgan, used to say:
"We are becoming who we are going to be for all eternity."
Let's keep at it.
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Being with Issues & Emotions stored in our Bodies

Photo: Anguish by Porschelinn on Flickr

Below is most of the article by Bernie Clark: Issues in our Tissues: Looking at the Emotions We Store in Our Bodies

Just as it is inappropriate and unhealthy to push past our physical edges, it is also unskillful and unhelpful to push past our emotional edges.

The first thing to recognize when strong emotions arise in our yoga practice is: “I am not alone!” Many people experience discomforting emotions and even elating emotions while doing their practice. Just being aware that others have gone through the same experience—and survived very nicely, thank you very much—helps to take the edge off the anxiety of the moment...

We all have issues in our tissues, which is to say, we store emotions in our bodies. Where else could they possible be?

Emotions are not stored out there in some cloud server on the Internet: they are not on a Google computer in hyperspace. They are within you, close at hand and ready at a moment’s notice to manifest.

The dance of yoga is one of playing our edges: we approach the point of being too deep, never actually arriving at this point, and then we back off to see if we can approach that edge again, safely. This is the art: never actually going too deep, but moving constantly towards that edge where the sensations are juicy, where there is definitely something happening, but it is not too much sensation and we are never in danger of ripping the body open.

When we think about our edges we often think in physical terms, and you may well have had such an image in your mind when you read the above words, but we have edges emotionally, mentally and spiritually as well. Just as it is inappropriate and unhealthy to push past our physical edges it is also unskillful and unhelpful to push past our emotional edges. Just as we may have scar tissue in our body that prevents our full range of movement, we often have emotional scar tissue as well that can restrict our interpersonal and lifestyle ranges of movement. These stuck, contracted areas can be painful when worked into and we can only go so far in our yoga practice to really open up...

Once again the answer is to play your edge, but with enhanced awareness.

Our basic emotions exist within us to provide protection, healing and growth—they are not inherently bad: they are in fact very necessary for a whole life well lived. But sometimes emotions are evoked unskillfully and it is in these cases that we need to evaluate the raw experience of the emotion unemotionally, with dispassion.

Let’s take a real life example: let’s say that recently you have begun to experience a strong feeling of fear, desperately wanting to get out of the posture, wanting to scream like crazy, “A pressure on my chest!” as one student recently noted when she went into Straddle (Dragonfly) pose during a Yin Yoga class. She had been practicing Yin Yoga for over a year so this sudden arising of fear was surprising, perplexing and worrying. What does it mean and what should she do?

First, realize that you are not the only one. Emotions will arise at some point in your yoga journey. That is quite natural when you consider that yoga works the full body, not just the physical tissues. Next, consider the depth of the emotions and whether these feelings are limited only to your yoga practice or also arise at other times in life, because if they do, you may want to seek some professional assistance in determining what it means and how to work through the challenge. Finally, know that this is a wonderful opportunity to deepen your yoga practice, to go beyond the mere postures and into the depths of your own being.

Photo: raganmd on Flickr

David Williams, one of the first two Americans to practice Ashtanga Yoga, once observed that the real yoga is what you can’t see. He means that the real process of yoga unfolds beneath the obvious shapes that we contort our bodies into, it involves the breath and the way we pay attention to what is happening within. This is the invitation your strong emotional response is offering you. Rather than blindly or automatically react to the emotion, cultivate an attitude of acceptance and curiosity. Ask yourself what is really going on: “What is this?”...

Poses in yoga work the body physically and energetically, stimulating the meridian lines that correspond to the major organs of the body and sometimes eliciting strong emotional responses. In the example of the woman who experienced fear while she was in Straddle Pose, she may have created a deep stress along the inner thighs, the adductor muscle group, through which the liver and kidney meridians run. This stress may be sufficient to trigger an emotional response if there is some blockage psychically or emotionally in the pertaining organs of the liver and kidneys.

Regardless of the cause of the emotional response, the prescription is the same: awareness with dispassion. Watch what is occurring without trying to change it, without running away from it, without giving into it in despair or resignation. Of course, as we have already discussed, if you really feel you are past your edge and are too deeply into an emotional state, then back off! But if the emotions are just challenging, not dangerous, stay and observe the raw experience that is occurring. This is when something interesting is about to happen. Don’t miss it!

Ask yourself constantly, “What is this?”

Note the emotions and the associated physical sensations in detail to yourself: what are you feeling, what is your breath like, your heart rate, is there increased tension in your jaw, shoulders, neck? For example, if you are feeling fear, notice what fear feels like: “my breath is shorter and choppy; my shoulders are tense; my thoughts are foggy and I can’t focus.”

Don’t judge these sensations as good or bad and don’t try to change them; just observe them as they are...

To sum up, when a strong emotion arises in the middle of a yoga practice pay attention to it. If it is too strong, back off and perhaps even stop the practice for that day. If this continues to happen to the degree that you can no longer practice skillfully, then seek help from a qualified yoga teacher or counseling. However, if the emotions are challenging but not dangerous, use this opportunity to take your yoga practice to a new level: play the edge of the emotion without going over the edge. Start to observe what is actually occurring, without adding anything to the experience and without taking anything away from it.

One last thought, and for this I will quote Rod Stryker: “If you have never laughed or cried in a yoga class, what are you waiting for?”

  Bernie Clark

How to receive a Spiritual Reading

I just answered this question, so I thought I would share here:

What would you tell someone who was considering a Spiritual Reading?
I would tell them what I tell my readees, and my students:

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1)  When getting a reading, remembering your Free Will is key

Humans are infinitely creative!
We can keep going in the directions we have chosen in the past 

or we can change direction whenever we choose to. 

Each of us can learn and grow and heal and change - yee ha!

This can drastically alter our lives, energies, bodies, relationships, perceptions, abilities, etc. 

This has been my experience in my own life.
I have also had the privilege to watch so many others 

become more conscious of themselves as spirit and 

co-create a very different life for themselves than might have happened otherwise.

I say all this to underline why I believe in free will. 

There is a rumor going around that our free will is a gift from Spirit. 

Therefore, I suggest:

 - avoid advice 

(information is very useful, but you are an adult, you don't need to be told what to do!)

 - avoid predictions of your future 

(you choose your route, and you can shift your direction any time!)

 - basically, I am saying, avoid 'programming' 

('buying' and 'wearing' someone else's information, expectations, desires...

that do not fit you as well as your own)

This is not meant to hamper or discourage you in your questions 

or the value you will receive in a reading – just the opposite.

You can ask to look at any situation or choice that is before you 

and ask about what the energy is now – in the present - 

and the direction you are going.

This will support you to make your own choices 

and honor the gift of your own spiritual freedom.

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2) Getting a reading, can be a wonderful gift of an outside perspective, a spiritual perspective.

A reading is like what folks say about an accident at a cross-street, 

each person on a different corner, sees a different accident.

This is the gift of a reading 

- you are receiving a different perspective on yourself and your creations 

(your life, body, relationships, etc) 

that is outside your own usual consciousness. 

It can be like looking in a sacred mirror, 

getting a reflection of yourself from a different angle.
This is potentially an incredible blessing!

Optimally, your reader will give you a spiritual perspective 

- neutral, amused, validating, spiritually-focused -  

this can be a wonderful healing, encouragement and inspiration to learn and grow.

If you perceive your reading as primarily physically-focused:

emotional, judgmental, invalidating, blaming... 

I would suggest wiping your feet and walking away.

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3)  Getting a reading is like a Spaghetti fight  - what sticks to you, is yours ; )

It is useful to stay neutral and amused, present and open in your reading.
Keep only what validates you, and leave the rest.

Just like the rest of life, 

YOUR information and experience is central.
Stay senior in your own space, 

and avoid allowing yourself to be 'programed' by other's perspective.

If something the reader says doesn't jive with you, 

don't let yourself get Hooked:  

I recommend letting go of judging, resisting or invalidating the information and experience.
If something seems to not fit, if it feels wrong:  

you don't have to 'buy it', letting go of the tendency to Resist! 

– just let it go.

But, as a rule: take what is said and meditate on it 

- there are probably a lot of jewels in there for you.

Even things that don't initially seem true for you, 

there May be truth in it for you – 

So, if something is bugging you, niggling at you: 

I recommend letting it sit on 'the shelf' for a few days; 

then meditate on it, ask Spirit: what is the gift for me in this information?

I encourage you to let this perspective from outside yourself, 

hopefully a spiritual perspective, 

inform your life and your living.

But, most importantly, 

I urge you to continue to develop your own spiritual 'ears', 'eyes', 'knowing' etc 

- so you can continue to deepen as the authority in your own life, the driver of your own car (life).

YMMV,
Wendy

Meeting the Red Dragon

I have had a lot of challenge in and with my body,
and my life on this planet.

To get on this bucking bronco of life IN my body,
and learn to ride, again;
I have been practicing Energy Healing, Reading and Teaching.

This path has served me and blessed me immeasurably.
Meanwhile, 'owning' my body and my body energy, again,
has been a very long and challenging process.

Lately, I have turned a very large corner in my relationship with my body.
I think of the song: Secret of Life: Isn't it a Lovely Ride?

It IS a LOVELY Ride.
It CAN BE a Lovely Ride, as much as I let it...
as much as I LET it...

9 years ago, I came to Seattle 'sick unto death'.
I was So broken and so stopped in my life and in my body:
I knew if I didn't change my trajectory,
I would die a protracted and painful death.

I was not slidin down, glidin down:
I was free falling... without a parachute
... and Not enjoying it.

In the last 9 years, my life and my body have changed Tremendously.
I recently started Yoga, again.
And the day before, I started Network Chiropractic.
They are each amazing, magical.

Here is one recent day of being with my body and allowing healing:

Yoga Day 5: Sunday morning - woo hoo.
It felt good to do it: I had skipped Friday morning,
I have been fighting a 'cold' and changing too quickly!

Today I had so much fear,
seen as cockroaches,
coming out of my body as I did Yoga!

I noticed this particular time, that the breathing Really brought everything to a head.
I could get through with the postures - such as they are when I do them - ha!
But in adding breath, so much came to the surface! 

The fear crescendoed about 2/3 of the way through the 70 minute class.
If felt like I would break somehow,
and I was fortunate that the Red Dragon appeared to assist me.

He is an Ascended Master who is just new to me, today.
He is not very verbal - but very Powerful.
He doesn't have "nice pictures" (happy to fry someone's ass, as needed ; )

I matched the Dragon.
He helped me to run anger.
To run kundalini.
To run red vitality, life force energy.

To throw the fear in the fire.
To own back my space.
To let go of victim pictures,
and most importantly, shift victim habits.

I moved to the hot tub where I stayed too long!
I moved off more 'not me' and gained back more of 'me'.
I owned a new way of being and made a mock-up to attract a dozen subscription clients, by the end of the year; and keep a dozen subscription clients, moving forward.

I came home to a new subscription client in my e-mail,
after showering and going to the farmer's market.
The new client is excited and scheduled:
seems like a really Good fit: YES it can be This easy...

I had the 'runs' this morning before yoga and my energy waned quickly this afternoon.
I am fighting whopping flu-like symptoms tonight
Very painful body, very low energy, sore throat, FREEZING!

I feel the energy of fear and invalidation in my muscles. 
I am running light yellows, the red is too much for now.
I am detoxing like crazy: feels like metal coming out.

I SO want to blow through all this in one fell swoop!
....everything that is in the way of my full spiritual, emotional, mental, financial, vocational and physical wellness / wholeness!

But, I KNOW from long learning the hard and painful way,
with so much unnecessary suffering:
Easy Does It: gentle and balanced is the only way forward, for me, on this road.

Like I've had on my wall for the last dozen years:
Pursue Growth with Reckless Moderation.
Challenging but useful!

May all beings enjoy nurturing support,
resting in the cupped hands of the Creator.

in Life, Wendy

Allowing wholeness: letting go of eschewing pain

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In my spiritual tradition, we practice letting go of energies that no longer serve us, and this 'housecleaning' in my energy system serves me, A LOT.

AND what I have noticed is: for the 'core issues', the deep wounding:
- eschewing the pain, pictures, experiences, energy...
- wanting to turn away and not grok this dark gift, rather just let it go:
this path Does Not Work.
I notice it doesn't make the pain move out easily in my system, or my healees or students systems either. In general, I notice for our deepest wounds, something else is often needed.

What seems to work, is being present to the brokenness, betrayal... whatever it is
- being present to what happened
- being present to what I thought and felt and made it all mean
- being present to how 'what happened' affected me then and affected me throughout my life to now;
- seeing the players and the game spiritually
- and holding it all, 'being with' myself then and now, and eventually validating and loving it all.

I don't mean spending a lifetime there, or even necessarily reliving it. I do mean not continuing the lifetime habit of running away from the pain/fear/whatever, hoping to bury it so deeply that it can't hurt me anymore. Because I can never run fast enough, and the price I pay for trying is very high!

So, in my tradition we notice the energy comes 'up and out to clear', if we let it. This process can be intense for a while, and happily that intensity ends and the fruit is amazing afterward:
- we need less distraction, obsessions, addictions...
- we can stop running from that old pain/fear/whatever...
- we can Just Be in our self and in our lives, more.
And as our internal expereince changes, our external expereince usually shifts as well.

This excerpt below inspired me to share, it is a wonderful description, IMO, of someone else's process of what I am referring to as allowing wholeness: letting go of eschewing pain. I hope you are blessed.
-wendy
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As Energy Comes Home

Compacted, frozen pain energy is like a baby. As a mother does not address her fussing baby with nondual language, neither do we in the meeting with ourselves. You may know and understand a lot and be conscious, but these energies are not conscious.

You come into direct relationship with them. Direct but gentle, not piercing, not intrusive, not willpowering anything. Asking contracted energy what it needs is a lovely way of acknowledging its presence and becoming intimate with it. Everything that is not at rest wants to be acknowledged, to be received and bathed in gentleness and benevolence.

It calls for a major slowing down, to receive the old, repressed cries of pain that show up now as contractions, as bodily sensations.

The mind is conditioned to want results - the result in this case being the disappearance of the disturbance. It is very, very sweet to bypass this, allowing the body to have what it has for as long as it does. You may walk around for hours with disturbance but you can be nurturing and aware of your precious cargo. Mercy and opening.

As you become more relaxed with meeting energy in yourself, you find a natural extension of this happening with others. Pain energy in another is no different in any way from energy in your own system. It is all the same separated, totally impersonal energy seeking resolution, looking for Home. So you find yourself, if the situation is fitting, in direct, welcoming relationship with these balls of energy in another, bypassing the personality and issue and mechanisms of mind. A catalyst for the dissolution of pain in others, a totally organic movement of Love.

The Kuan Yin of your heart is awakening. You come to see that You are Home and all is invited and welcomed Here.

- Mags Deane

The Blessing of Embodiment

Days Like This - Van Morrison

When it's not always raining there'll be days like this
When there's no one complaining there'll be days like this
When everything falls into place like the flick of a switch
Well my mama told me there'll be days like this

When you don't need to worry there'll be days like this
When no one's in a hurry there'll be days like this
When you don't get betrayed by that old Judas kiss
Oh my mama told me there'll be days like this

When you don't need an answer there'll be days like this
When you don't meet a chancer there'll be days like this
When all the parts of the puzzle start to look like they fit
Then I must remember there'll be days like this

When everyone is up front and they're not playing tricks
When you don't have no freeloaders out to get their kicks
When it's nobody's business the way that you wanna live
I just have to remember there'll be days like this

When no one steps on my dreams there'll be days like this
When people understand what I mean there'll be days like this
When you ring out the changes of how everything is
Well my mama told me there'll be days like this

Oh my mama told me
There'll be days like this
Oh my mama told me
There'll be days like this
Oh my mama told me
There'll be days like this
Oh my mama told me

this reminds me of the famus poem in Ecclesiastes, which also became many songs, this one famous

Ecclesiastes 3:1 - 8, YLT

To everything -- a season, and a time to every delight under the heavens:

A time to bring forth, And a time to die.
A time to plant, And a time to eradicate the planted.

A time to slay, And a time to heal,
A time to break down, And a time to build up.

A time to weep, And a time to laugh.
A time to mourn, And a time to skip.

A time to cast away stones, And a time to heap up stones.
A time to embrace, And a time to be far from embracing.

A time to seek, And a time to destroy.
A time to keep, And a time to cast away.

A time to rend, And a time to sew.
A time to be silent, And a time to speak.

A time to love, And a time to hate.
A time of war, And a time of peace.

I have been speaking to a friend quite a bit lately about how the needs and experience of the body is an important aspect of our life on this planet and our spiritual growth. 

Yes, we are spirit in a body. 

And yes, it is very important to honor our spiritual perspective, our spiritual growth, our spiritual communication, information, senses, abilities and gifts... 

to grow into our spiritual power, creativity and seniority.

In the circles I run in, the spiritual focus gets a lot of 'airtime' as well as practice and focus, as well it should! 

Because the world we live in (our families, our society, our churches, our friends, our jobs, our culture...) 

is almost 100% physically-focused, almost 100% of the time. 

It serves us  to find our spiritual center and hold it, 

which, like riding a bike, is EASY once we get it, 

and looks like falling down A LOT, until until we get it ; )

Personally, I don't know almost anyone who holds that spiritual center easily, yet. 

I am fortunate to play with folks who are, 

(as Paul of the Christian bible says) being diligent (other versions say: earnest endeavour, labour, hasten, strong desire, strive) 

"to enter into that rest".

And amoung us, it is easy to give short-shrift to our bodies; 

even as we focus on being spirit IN A BODY. 

The theory goes, we are here in a body, to learn,to grow, to evolve. 

The end of the evolution is, to become Masters (as our fore-runners, Ascended Masters like Lao-Tzu, Buddha, Jesus...). 

What is interesting to me is, we are ALL spirit, a part of Gd; 

what sets us souls apart: 

we who are still here on the Earth, 

we are not yet experiencing REST as the center of our being. 

I have noticed the Masters have ALL learned what we have not: 

to have the body in alignment - come into joyful, easful alignment with Spirit. 

Each of the Ascended Masters learned to love their embodied life and embody their spiritual path. 

 The Masters mastered the Earth game - so they are onto new games. 

(This makes them AWESOME friends, healers, guides for US, BTW ; )

I don't want to miss this point: 

We are ALREADY spirit, 

all the riches and beauty of all time and space are already ours. 

We are already ONE with Gd and with ALL. 

The POINT of the earth game is not to be spirit, or to be spiritual: 

the Point of being in a body, is to learn to be spirit in BODY. 

To comfortably master:
- surviving and thriving in this reality;
- dancing with our emotions and the flow of our sexuality;
- holding our power and directing our will;
- savoring our connection with the Earth, our relationship between us as spirit and our bodies, our connections with all our relations, our oneness with Gd, All That Is;
- creating the stories we live in and enjoying our communication with all within us and around us;
- being the Light on the Mountaintop: seeing and being seen clearly, staying with the Body as a Light in the world;

- being still here now with - and Knowing God, our Source - our truth, life, light, love, way...

and walking IN this, REALizing Spirit in our World.

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We are not just humans learning to become Buddhas, 

but also Buddhas waking up in human form, 

learning to become fully human. 

These two tracks of development can mutually enrich each other. 

~John Welwood

This path is spiritual, not religious

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I found this to be a wonderful essay from Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche. It was posted on Huffington Post, August 6, 2010.
This is written to Buddhist practitioners, but i believe it has more universal usefulness. I bolded a couple sentences which I found especially exciting...

Is Buddhism a Religion?

We often talk about Siddhartha, the young man who became known as the Buddha, as if he were a god. The fact is that he was just a simple Indian guy, a human being like you and me. We think of him as some kind of super-genius for having attained complete spiritual awakening, but in fact his real genius was in showing how any one of us can attain the same awakening as he did. We describe him as a prince and a member of the elite royalty of his time, and we think that must have given him an advantage over us — but the reality is that most of us today are probably better off, in material terms, than Siddhartha was.

We talk about his kingdom and so forth, but what the prince Siddhartha had was really no more than what you might find in any middle-class American household. He might have had more wives, but you’ve got more gadgets, more technologies and comforts and conveniences. Siddhartha didn’t have a refrigerator, and you do. He didn’t have WiFi, or a blog, or Facebook or Twitter. He might have had more houses and land, but you’ve got a more comfortable bed than he had. Maybe you even have one of those new, space-age Tempur-Pedic beds. Think of how much time you spend in bed, and how important your bed is. I guarantee that Siddhartha had a worse bed than you have.

The point is, we shouldn’t mythologize Siddhartha’s life and think that his spiritual awakening was due to his special circumstances. Most of us today actually live in conditions very similar to Siddhartha’s, in terms of our material situation.

Siddhartha was a truth seeker, nothing more. He wasn’t looking for religion, as such — he wasn’t particularly interested in religion. He was searching for the truth. He was looking for a genuine path to freedom from suffering. Aren’t all of us searching for the same thing? If we look at the life of Siddhartha, we can see that he found the truth and freedom he was seeking only after he abandoned religious practices. Isn’t that significant? The one who became the Buddha, the “Awakened One,” didn’t find enlightenment through religion — he found it when he began to leave religion behind.

The Lure of Religious Trappings

A lot of people prefer to think of Buddhism as a religion. It’s easy to see why, when Buddhism abounds with religious trappings: the rituals and the chants and the golden statues sitting on the shrine. Buddha himself never wanted to be deified in any kind of icons; at the beginning, he told his students no icons, no worshiping. But it’s said that he had a very devoted student who kept pestering him, requesting his permission to make a statue of him, until finally the Buddha gave up and allowed the first image to be made. And now we have all these elaborate golden icons that look like they were dug out of an Egyptian pyramid. It’s nice to have these reminders, but we must remember that’s what they are: reminders of something, an example to be followed, not idols to be worshiped.

If our goal is to turn Buddhism into a religion, that’s fine — in America we have freedom of speech and the Bill of Rights. We can make Buddhism into a religion, or a branch of psychology, or a self-help program, or whatever we want. But if we’re looking for enlightenment, we won’t find it through relating to the Buddha as a religious idol. Like Siddhartha, we’ll find real spiritual awakening only when we begin to leave behind our fixed ideas about religious practice. Seeing the Buddha as an example and following his example — recreating, in our own lives, his pursuit of truth, his courage and his open mind — that’s the real power of Buddhism beyond religion.

Truth Has No Religion

Siddhartha actually became the Buddha through his failure at religion. He saw that the ascetic practices he’d been engaged in were not leading him to true liberation, and so he left them behind. But he had five colleagues who continued their religious practices of asceticism, and they regarded Siddhartha as a failure. From their point of view, he just couldn’t hack it, and that’s why he gave up. Later, after he attained enlightenment and became known as the Buddha, they became his first five disciples; but at the time when he left behind their religious program, they regarded him as a failure. I find that very encouraging. As spiritual practitioners, we should be open to being a failure. We can take heart in the fact that Siddhartha found enlightenment not through his great success at religious practices, but through his failures.

As Buddhists, Siddhartha’s example is the most important one for us to follow. He was a great explorer of mind and its limits. He was open-minded, seeking truth, with no preconceived agenda. He thought, “Okay, I’ll do these religious practices and see if I can find the truth that way.” He did the practices, he didn’t find the truth, and so he left the religion. Like Siddhartha, if we really want spiritual enlightenment we have to go beyond religiosity. We have to let go of clinging to preconceived religious forms and ideas and practices.

Religion, if we don’t relate to it skillfully, can trap us in another set of rules. On top of all the ordinary rules we are already stuck with in this world, we pile on a second set of religious rules. I’m not saying there is anything bad about religion or rules, but you should be clear about what you’re seeking. Do you want religion and a set of rules to follow, or do you want truth? Truth has no religion, no culture, no language, no head or tail. As Gandhi said, “God has no religion.” The truth is just the truth.

If you are interested in “meeting the Buddha” and following his example, then you should realize that the path the Buddha taught is primarily a study of your own mind and a system for training your mind. This path is spiritual, not religious. Its goal is self-knowledge, not salvation; freedom, not heaven. And it is deeply personal. Without your curiosity and questions and your open mind, there is no spiritual path, no journey to be taken, even if you adopt all the forms of the tradition.

Letting Go of Controlling Others

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Something that is very misunderstood in our society, IMOe:
There are body feelings /emotions -> body communication,
as opposed to the spiritual feelings/soul expereince you are vibrating at -> spiritual communication.

I believe Abraham is unclear about this distinction, which leads to confusion and unhappiness, IMOe.
Please keep this distinction in mind, as you understand and integrate the wisdom below:

"
A belief that the behavior of others must be controlled
— so that your observation of that good behavior will make you feel good —
leaves you feeling vulnerable to their behavior.

We would like to help you to understand that
neither the good feeling you find when you observe wanted behavior,
nor the bad feeling you find when you observe unwanted behavior,
is actually the reason that you feel good or bad.

The way you feel is only ever about
your alignment, or misalignment, with the Source within you.
It is only your relationship with the Source within you
that is the reason for the emotions that you feel.

While it is nice to find things in your physical environment
that enhance your good-feeling;
alignment with your Inner Being,
your understanding of why you feel good,
will make it possible for you to feel good regardless of the behavior of others.

Understanding that the way you feel is really about
your Vibrational Relationship with your Inner Being — with the Source within you...
gives you complete empowerment and absolute freedom.
"

- Abraham-Hicks (WRW added white-space)

Jesus says: Throw Caution to the Wind!

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I want to start by saying, that regardless of how lily-livered, judgmental, and boring some folks portray Jesus in modern America, that is not at all my experience of him. For me, to put it bluntly, Jesus is kick-ass! For me, and many folks I know, Jesus is fun, he is laid-back and easy to be with, he is incredibly validating, he is powerful, and he is a wonderful guide and role-model to living in: present-time, alignment with Gd, filled with delightful and delicious spiritual gifts & abilities.

I come from a Christian background, and I have a great appreciation for some of the Christian scriptures. I wrote to my Christian students and friends as encouragement about a year ago, in my excitement about a particular scripture. Meanwhile, I was talking to a spiritual friend of mine who knows very little about Christian scripture the other day, and sharing about this particular scripture. He was really interested and excited about this message. So I thought I would post here in the hopes that some might find this information useful and hopefully inspiring in a general spiritual context…

I am addressing Matthew 6:19-34, which is attached below if you are interested. I am putting my commentary up front, so you don’t have to wade through the whole passage if you aren’t so inclined. I am basically utilizing Christian language and paradigms in this post – please do the translation to your own tradition, for yourself or ask me to translate for you ; )

1)

"Be not therefore careful (anxious), saying, What shall we eat? or What shall we drink? or What shall we put on?"

Jesus hammers on not being careful - take a chance on Gd - throw caution to the wind!

What Jesus says (which is very often the case) flies in the face of *what everyone knows*, very often what our parents teach us and want for us to do in our lives... and what we teach our children...

in this case:
* BE CAREFUL, SAFE
* LIVE YOUR LIFE TO TAKE CARE OF BASIC NEEDS - FOR NOW AND FOR THE FUTURE…
* BE RESPONSIBLE!!!!!

and here Jesus is strongly exhorting the opposite:
* let go, let God;
* be here now, today;
* focus on your spiritual path and relationship with God and everything else will come into line…

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2)

"But seek ye first the kingdom of God (the reign of God) and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you."

The bible says that righteousness is being in ‘right relationship’ with Gd, being in alignment with Gd. (“Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness”- Galatians 3:6; also see Genesis 15:6; Romans 4:9; Romans 4:22; James 2:23)

Abraham was righteous in that he heard the direct voice of Gd and (generally) kept faith in what Gd told him, in the face of much contrary physical evidence, over a long period of time… And was very blessed in the process: physically and spiritually. Yes, he was also challenged: he lived a very exciting life. So do we, on our own unique spiritual journey.

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3)

"The lamp of the body is the eye; if therefore thine eye be single (perfect), thy whole body will be light (enlightened)"

One of the practices in my tradition is: focusing ourselves spiritually into the center of our head – behind the “3rd eye” – this invites spiritual light into our physical body.

From this spiritually-focused place, we enjoy our spiritual sight (that Jesus so often referred to). We can more easily behold and reflect the glory of the Lord. (“And we all with unveiled face, beholding and reflecting as a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory.” - 2 Corinthians 3:16-18)

This shines the Light of Gd into and through our body. This changes our perception as well as our experience of everything inside and outside of us: switches it to a spiritual POV (point of view). It helps us find our way - our unique spiritual path deeper and deeper in Gd, as well as our unique path in this world.

I find it wonderful, in the middle of a section on HOW to LIVE in this world, this verse may seem tangential... but I think it is central! HOW do we live? We live as spirit, from our spiritual information, in focused connection with Gd: directed from Spiritual insight, not from the outside, from the inside... From there, and only from that place of experiential alignment with Gd and Gd's Light, Way, Truth, Life... we live in righteousness, abundance, peace, ease...

blessings on your hopefully un-careful journey,
as well as hopefully un-care-full journey
; ) wendy


Matthew 6:19-34

This is Darby Translation (with random reiterations from Young’s Literal Translation)
{and a couple insertions from me, when I couldn’t help myself ; }

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Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust spoils, and where thieves dig through and steal;

but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust spoils, and where thieves do not dig through nor steal;
{I see heaven is the spiritual realm, as opposed to physical realm}

for where thy treasure is, there will be also thy heart.

The lamp of the body is the eye; if therefore thine eye be single (perfect), thy whole body will be light (enlightened):
{perfect may point to whole or mature}

but if thine eye be wicked (evil), thy whole body will be dark. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great the darkness!
{wicked or evil may point to being out of alignment with God}

No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and will love the other, or he will hold to the one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon (Ye are not able to serve God and Mammon).
{Mammon refers to wealth or money – but it is treated like an idol or a god - i.e. the god of money, worshiping wealth…}

For this cause I say unto you, Do not be careful about (anxious for) your life, what ye should eat and what ye should drink; nor for your body what ye should put on. Is not the life more than food, and the body than raiment?

Look at the birds of the heaven, that they sow not, nor reap, nor gather into granaries, and your heavenly Father nourishes them. Are *ye* not much more excellent than they?

But which of you by carefulness (being anxious) can add to his growth one cubit?

And why are ye careful (anxious) about clothing? Observe with attention the lilies of the field, how they grow: they toil (labor) not, neither do they spin;

but I say unto you, that not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed (arrayed) as one of these.

But if God so clothe the herbage of the field, which is to-day, and to-morrow is cast into [the] oven (furnace), will he not much rather you, O [ye] of little faith?

Be not therefore careful (anxious), saying, What shall we eat? or What shall we drink? or What shall we put on?

for all these things the nations seek after; for your heavenly Father knows that ye have need of all these things.

But seek ye first the kingdom of God (the reign of God) and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.
{Kingdom or reign reminds me of seniority, I certainly read it as referring to the spiritual realm.}

Be not careful (anxious) therefore for the morrow, for the morrow shall be careful (anxious) about itself. Sufficient to the day [is] its own evil (the evil of it).

My Ordination Speech

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Hi Friends,

Yesterday I enjoyed another ordination day at CDM. I couldn't believe it has been 6 months since I was up there on stage. Last Spring, I was chosen to speak for my class on Ordination day (after 2 year Clairvoyant training program) and I did it kicking and screaming - but in the end it was a healing and a blessing. I had wanted to share my speech, as a way to give a glimpse of why I am out here in Seattle and how I am investing my life these days. But, my life has been pretty intense since May, mostly for personal/relational reasons, so I didn't get a round tuit.

But, I feel inspired to share it now. The speech is below, if you are interested. I use a lot of lingo, because most everyone I was speaking to uses it - but most of what I say is generally understandable, I think. It was more animated, fun and interesting in person and in context of the whole ceremony - but, hey it is what it is ; )

Since I finished Seminary, I had several weeks off from official training at CDM, then I started the Teaching program in mid-August - where I am continuing my growth and healing, learning to present spiritual information and energetic techniques with neutrality, compassion and amusement, and assistant teaching our basic mediation and healing classes. I expect to be certified to teach our 4 basic classes this June or next January - depending on my work schedule and such - it is usually a 14 month program ; )

Enjoyable blessings in the New Year!
In life, Wendy


Wendy's Ordination Speech for June 26, 2005


Spiritual Freedom

I have been asked to say a few words about being a CDM minister.

Now, defining what it is to be a CDM minister doesn't seem to be a simple thing, so let me start with what it is not. A teacher (Dr Bruce Morgan) who influenced me a lot before coming to CDM, used to say that "Most churches want to make us into cookie-cutter-Christians, who all look alike, talk alike, act alike, and if they have to cut off your arms and legs to fit in the mold - so be it"

Well, thank Gd, here at CDM we are committed to spiritual freedom - I've kind of become attached to my arms and legs, thank you very much. We don't always do it perfectly, but spiritual freedom is our stated goal and direction as a community and individually. This is a huge and wonderful, and usually challenging goal. But the rewards are sweet.

But this made it a challenge for me when asked to say a few words about what it is to be a CDM minister. We are all so different, unique - and that IS the point. So what is it to be a CDM minister?

This was annoying for my analyzer, I will tell you. But, eventually I had to look at the question as spirit - foreign concept, I know. And this is what I noticed about CDM ministers.

We are Spirit

We have a profound experience of ourselves as spirit and others as spirit over an extended period of time. An experience of being responsible for owning and managing our own energy systems, an experience of our connection with the Gd of our heart, an experience of consciously co-creating in our own lives - and watching others do the same.

We actively participate in a process - over an extended period of time - in which we receive all kinds of information and support and modeling and then the opportunity to practice, practice, practice.

Reading

One of the main practices is doing psychic readings.

Now, I did not come to CDM to become a psychic reader - I came to heal.
But, I knew the CDM Clairvoyant program was where I needed to do that - so, I did readings.

I will tell you plainly that I hated it - I really hated it.
I had so much invalidation and doubt and self-judgment and perfect pictures, etc in my space that it was a real drag. I couldn't stand attention - any attention - I was not ok, how I looked was not ok, what I did was not ok. Reading felt like being put in the spotlight - I had to start saying what I saw. How could what I had to say have any value for people? Not fun for Wendy, I'll tell you.

And although, over time, I cleared (and continue to clear) the pain and programming, the invalidation and doubt, the competition and lack of seniority in my own space, the resistance and many other things that made reading so challenging for me, it remained a challenge until almost the end
of the program. People would say, oh you are a great reader, and believe me it helped - but I really didn't believe it. And over time, the joy and energy and healing, the giving and receiving I experienced in readings started to slowly become larger than all the discomfort.

It was sometime the beginning of this year that I started looking forward to reading. For other people I understand this happens A LOT sooner, but it wasn't until my final quarter - almost 2 years into the program - that I really WANTED to read. NOW I understand why people come here to read WHEN THEY DON'T EVEN HAVE TO.

Reading is magic. I walk in an ordinary person and get to participate in a sacred dance - in which everyone there is validated and healed - everyone walks out changed. It is an incredible experience - some readings are more exciting or mundane, confronting or fun than others - but it is an incredible gift to be a part of them now.

And now I love doing student readings, I especially love being a center chair. This is funny because I was so afraid to be center chair - I felt like it was too much responsibility, I wasn't powerful enough or good enough to do it. Every step along the way I fought and resisted - I assumed everything would keep getting harder - who needed that aggravation?

But, now I can tell you it is an honor and a blessing to be center chair. I really enjoy having seniority in the room, making sure it is safe and high energy for everyone. Knowing more and more what is going on in that room and with everyone in it, and increasingly owning my power in a way that makes a positive difference there. I love playing and learning and healing with my side chairs, and enjoying their process and progress along with my own. I won't say I never get nervous or self-conscious anymore, but it is no longer my primary experience - in readings, or in my life.
That's huge.

Practice

So, as CDM ministers, we have the incredible opportunity to look at hundreds of different people over an extended period of time, to validate them as spirit, validate their co-creations and assist them change. We get to see the uniqueness of each spirit and the journey we are each choosing. We also get to see how many things we have in common as humans together on this planet.

As CDM ministers we have the experience of owning healing and change for ourselves and assisting many, many others in their healing journeys, over an extended period of time. We get to practice having our own space while we assist others healing.

When people become black belts or pilots or massage therapists, they have a lot of information and a lot of experience - this is a great accomplishment and some see them as having arrived. But the masters know, they are being validated for mastering the basics and they are getting a license to
continue learning - an opportunity to go out and practice.

Becoming a CDM minister seems similar. We receive an over-abundance of information, support, modeling and a whole lot of opportunity to practice.  We do this over an extended period of time - until it changes our habits, our abilities, our way of seeing and interacting with the world. For
myself, I can say "I am Spirit - a part of Gd, I have a body and I have co-creations in the world" and believe it and act in accordance with that, more and more.

So, as CDM ministers we have been changed over time. We become ministers and enter the next phase of our spiritual journey, like so many before us.  And, every day, every moment we have the choice whether or not to consciously manifest as spirit in the world - as does everyone. That is the whole game. We manifest as spirit in the world. By doing this, we change, the world changes. That is what it means to me to be a CDM minister. Maybe it is simple after all.

Personal Healing

To be more personal, there was some personal healing I absolutely needed in my life. I looked high and low, all over the country for a place to heal myself. When I finally found CDM, it felt like home.  There were 5 things I consciously wanted out of my Seminary experience. There isn't enough time to tell you about these things in depth, but I did want to validate - and I got them and so much more:
* I wanted personal healing, on all levels;
* I wanted to become a healer with good boundaries;
* I wanted to learn to own my own power in a positive way;
* I wanted to receive validation and learn to self-validate;
* and I wanted to increase my havingness and learn to consciously co-create good things in my life.

I have received these things and, of course it is a P word - a process, but the process is in motion and I am proud of the progress.

Being an Adult

Besides the 5 things I consciously wanted out of my seminary experience, I have received so many other gifts and insights and growth and change - I can't begin to tell you.

I can say that for me, going through this program has been about becoming an adult:
* Being able to stand on my own two feet,
* To own my own space and my own reality,
* To appreciate this great body I have and this amazing opportunity for life on this planet,
* to own the life I have co-created and know that I have the opportunity to co-create my future as spirit.

I now have a way of seeing and understanding my life and the world that works for me. This is huge. I have a useful place to stand, to know who I am and what is important in this world is something I always wanted and needed - but never found for any significant period of time. I made myself
miserable in my early life yearning for and searching for the meaning of life and how best to live it. I lived with this lack of useful, cogent world-view for a long time and then learned to live without it. But now, my life makes sense, the world makes sense, my experiences make sense. I have a very firm rock on which to build my life, this is a great comfort and joy.

I wish similar gifts for anyone who wants them, I highly recommend CDM as a path to Center.

Thanks for all the Fish

And so it is with profound gratefulness that I stand before you today as a member of the Church of Divine Man.

On behalf of myself and all the seminary students I would like to thank the board, the staff, the members, and everyone who walks through the door, for everything we have had the opportunity to give and receive here.

I would like to thank my fellow students, past and present, for who you are, and who you are to me, and who you let me be for you.

I would like to thank my partner, my friends and my family for who you are and your love and support of me above and beyond the call of duty.

I would like to thank Gd, as well as myself, for showing up and playing the game.
Blessed Be.