INTEGRITY INTEGRITY INTEGRITY

INTEGRITY INTEGRITY INTEGRITY

Antony De Mello began his bestselling book Awareness with the words Awareness, awareness. awareness. With good reason. Most of us are not aware of ourselves, others, our motivations, or the potential consequences of our actions. This is causing us all a lot of problems, for example, on a purely practical level, the economic state of this country and the world as a whole, is based on that very condition – lack of awareness coupled with lack of integrity. Certain individuals in positions of power saw opportunities to increase their wealth and, irresponsible of the consequences, pursued those opportunities, thereby sacrificing the livelihoods of others. These powerful people were assisted in the pursuit of their business interests by governments whose sole concern was self preservation, and by a culture which has become innured to corruption and material self interest.

While there are individuals within government; within corporations and institutions who uphold a high moral code, it became practically impossible for those people to effect change to a system they saw spiralling towards wrecking havoc on the lives of the masses. The web of collusion in croneyism and hubris amongst their colleagues, and the media, effectly silenced their protests and most of them either shut up, resigned their positions or continued pressing warnings against deaf ears. The fat farce rolled on until it smashed up against a wall of it’s own making. Some simply sidled away unscathed by the ensuing fracas, others, remaining in power hide behind a new wall of spin, and most of us will spend the rest of our working lives paying for the latest measures hastily put in place to safeguard the interests of the economic elite.

HONOUR IS A GIFT YOU GIVE YOURSELF

“Honour is a gift you give yourself.” I remember reading this a number of years ago. I don’t remember where, but it struck me as being so true. Sometime later, I heard Ricky Gervais repeat it in an interview, and thought, there goes someone I’d like to meet. Integrity is something we need to foster in ourselves, and, no matter what happens around us, it is up to us to keep checking with ourselves whether our thoughts and actions match what we know to be the best option for us to take. If we can’t look in the mirror and like the person we see, we become diminished in our own eyes and, ultimately, will have no one else to blame. No one can take away our honour but ourselves.

There was an article in The Irish Times recently in which a priest spoke of the culture of The Victim. He maintained that people in the church didn’t speak out about the abuse they witnessed because they were indoctrinated to believe they were powerless to do anything about it – they had become victims. It wasn’t their place to do anything, they didn’t feel they could. This is so sad.

This same attitude applies now as it did then, and not just to the clergy, but to the community as a whole. We all wait for someone else to do something, it’s the classic “Somebody get help!”

Not everyone is a political leader, a mobiliser of change on a grand scale. But we are all capable and indeed supported, to live our best lives for ourselves. By that, I mean to pursue a level of Self interest which supports what will nurture and nourish us on a soul level. When we each commit to honouring our true Self, we make it impossible to dishonour another. This is a challenge we each meet everyday and in almost everyway. The question always is:

DO I LOVE MYSELF ENOUGH?

When I love myself enough I will safeguard that self esteem and won’t risk diminishing it by actions which will damage it. All of us, responding to our souls calling to Love can create an environment of change which will benefit all. In this, if we but realise it, we are totally supported by our souls essence which holds us in infinite love and compassion. Everything which occurs in the external world, the everyday life in which we engage, exists to provide us with opportunities for growth.

Those opportunities often appear as challenges in the form of other people who ‘get up our nose’ or threats to our financial or physical wellbeing. In order to respond to these challenges from a place of awareness and integrity, rather than from a defensive kneejerk standpoint, we need to be in touch with our True Nature or souls essence. There are many ways of doing this. Spending time quietly with ourselves, or walking in nature will help us to gain a fresh perspective on matters. Writing out a list of our deepest values helps to clarify what is truly important to us. Practising Yoga, , Chi Kung and Tai Chi is an excellent way of replenshing our energy and maintaining health on all levels from the physical to the spiritual. Meditation helps us to connect deeply with our Soul Self, that essential root from which we project our energy enabling us to learn over lifetimes in the slower vibration of the material dimension. This is where we will find the support needed to face life challenges from an honourable and authentic perspective. It is from the place of our Soul Self that we realise we have the strength to form our own opinions and follow through on them. It is through strengthening the realisation that we (each and every one of us, without exception) are pure at our core that we are enabled to walk an enlightened, more responsible path in the everyday.

I collected this image a while back and can't remember from where so haven't credited the author - if it is yours please email me your web address, I'll check it out and credit you for your great artwork.

SLOWING DOWN AND SEEING

I live in a beautiful place and enjoy the forty five minute drive to and from work (twenty five outside of rush hour). The light is constantly changing and I often yearn to spend the day photographing instead of teaching in a darkened studio, lecture theatre or darkroom. As I am also a mother, am always a student: of psychotherapy, of philosophy, shamanism, Tai Chi and Chi Kung; of writing and entrepreneurship, and, first and foremost, of my own spiritual journey, I can often miss the entrancing details of that almost daily car journey.

The other evening as I drove towards the orange and mauve streaked glow of the Western sky, my attention was drawn upwards to the birds perched on their nests in the tall bare branches of the winter trees. Every now and then the silhouette of a lone bird caught my eye as it's dark shape traversed the sky in front of me, now carrying a twig, then carrying a tuft of lambswool or dried grass. The age old movement of the bird population signaling Springs arrival and the portent of new birth, in a visual synthesis with the natural environment of budding blossom and spring lambs. Something about the beauty and depth of the changing scene, as each bird made a different shape swooping poetically across my path carrying its building material, enriched me with the prompt, You and I are One in Life and Nature.

Later, slowing down behind a trailer, packed high with organic matter whose pungent aroma filled my car, I spied an almost angular pocket of mist, hanging spectral like, alone in the graceful dip of a large darkening field. Wondering at its presence, I traced its source, barely discernible; a thin trail of smoke wafted silently across some fields, river, and road, towards the chimney of a large farmhouse quite a distance away. Somehow, this quiet scene, of smoke and landscape in the twilight palpated with the pure elegant presence of Being....

The tractor and trailer turned off and I pressed on the accelerator, my thoughts gathering apace and projecting into the future once more, towards dinner and further list of the demanding To Do's of the everyday.

JZ Knight Interviewed by Alan Steinfeld on New Realities

JZ KNIGHT TALKING TO ALAN STEINFELD

In a very eloquent interview JZ Knight talks to Alan Steinfeld about her life as channel for Ramtha, a more developed Being guiding us on our evolution through teaching us the nature of ourselves (our True Self and Personality Self) and of Reality as an eternal evolution of consciousness and Divine Creation.

The video begins with excerpts of JZ Knight channelling Ramtha at the Mastery School, then proceeds to the interview between JZ and Alan, in my opinion worth waiting for. It is evident from the comments on You Tube that most of the viewers are unable to grasp the concepts she articulates.

After about 3 hours of unsuccessfully attempting to load this video, I'm posting a link here instead: www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXHtjb44qyA

THE GUEST HOUSE

copyright Gillian Treacy January 2010

THE GUEST HOUSE

This being human is a guest house.

Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,

some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!

Even if they are a crowd of sorrows,

who violently sweep your house

empty of its furniture,

still, treat each guest honourably.

He may be clearing you out

for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice.

Meet them at the door laughing and invite them in.

Be grateful for whatever comes,

Because each as been sent as a guide from beyond.

copyright Gillian Treacy January 2010

Jelaluddin Rumi.

Translation by Coleman Barks

CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR HIBERNATION AND CELEBRATION - Providing light and cheer in the darkness of mid-winter.

STEVEN PRESSFIELD ANSWERS MY QUESTIONS ON RESISTANCE

Image by Josef Sudek

Ten years ago, as I sat talking with my then energy healer before a session, I told her I felt I had a resistance to Life. I knew I had, could feel it like an enormous anchor I was dragging around with me; like an invisible membrane I had to push through to do anything at all. She said something very important, reminding me that I was there, sitting with her; reminding me too of all the other actions I was taking which demonstrated my considerable coping skills. I hadn’t thought of that as I dragged myself around, trying to survive the death of my best friend Dolores, which had been followed on six months later by the death of my husband. I was devastated, not only by the loss of two such great friends and soulmates, but also by the suffering I had witnessed, in particular that of my beautiful Kieran, who endured extreme pain for two and a half years before moving on, as I helped as best I could, while feeling helpless.

Throughout that time of relentless suffering, other things were happening, which I can only describe as Divine Intervention, through which we both received enormous strength; strength I also witnessed in Dolores who proved to be a great spiritual teacher to me. I was in awe of both of them, people I simply loved, hung out with, who, when faced with circumstances which caused them unbearable suffering exhibited such immense tolerance and consideration, such grace.

After they transformed, (death is the usual term we employ, but I now know for sure that death, as we understand it, is impossible) one of the gifts of grace I received from the adventure and trial we shared was to experience God, firsthand. Even now I don’t actually like to use the term God to name my experience. God, as a concept has become so distorted and misused, so misrepresented. What I experienced was pure, unconditional Love, whole and vast beyond measure. I cried with gratitude and bliss at a time I expected to cry in agony; was held in light as every cell of my body vibrated and I understood that this state of Total Love is my home, and each of our birthright; that all of us are returning to this state of complete wholeness and no one can miss that path – all roads lead home and there is no if, however, it is up to each of us to determine when. We are all called, we are all sustained.

I felt immensely privileged and immensely humbled.

Since that experience, I have become more and more aware of the help available to every one of us and have also become aware of the struggle at hand. Following on from such bliss, I entered the Dark Night* of The Soul, where, having been brought to the top of the mountain and presented with the view, I now had to enter the abyss and make my own way back up. (*For Night, Read Dark Decade of the Soul! Don’t let that put you off though – the journey is worth it, and, you know what they say, “If you’re going through Hell - keep going!!!”)

What I have had to struggle with is my own distorted beliefs and deceptive thinking. I wrote elsewhere on this blog recently, that I’ve realized, as Spirits undertaking a human experience (which lasts lifetimes) we undertake to experience the entire spectrum of human emotions. These emotions are not ours and can be let go of, once we realize we are misidentifying with them. What I experience is not me, it’s simply something I’m experiencing which is part of this planet, this dimension, and Humanity. The feelings we undergo appear very real, feel very real, however, there is a Reality which outshines any fleeting emotion we experience, instantly and gratefully recognized as true Reality when we are privileged to merge with it, that which is our One Self.

(Even great writers fail to express the profound elegance of the ineffable Being and I’m certainly not managing here!)

Externally, my life appears relatively unchanged. Some would say they notice I’m now laughing more. Internally, I have altered immeasurably and am still transforming, beautifully. Along with the rest of humanity, I still dialogue with myself and have to negotiate my self-imposed fears, or rather, the fears which are part and parcel of this dimension. Throughout, I have been aided by both ‘invisible’ and visible helpers, by friends and teachers, disincarnate and incarnate.

As an avid reader, (and now writer(-ish!)), as a person seeking to evolve, I love books in which others share their authentic experiences of being human in order to add their support to the well of voices which speak for the Light. I love when people open their hearts to connect directly with the hearts of others, as this inspires all of us to trust ourselves and our own process. To know that it is a noble and shared endeavour we undertake which bestows real rewards.

One of the books which provides savvy insight into Resistance, and eloquent support to the rest of us in our daily struggle is The War of Art by Steven Pressfield:

“Resistance has no strength of its own. Every ounce of juice it possesses comes from us. We feed it with power by our fear of it.

Master that fear and we conquer Resistance.

Resistance obstructs movement only from a lower sphere to a higher. It kicks in when we seek to pursue a calling in the arts, launch an innovative enterprise, or evolve to a higher station morally, ethically, or spiritually.

So if you’re in Calcutta working with the Mother Theresa Foundation and you’re thinking of bolting to launch a career in telemarketing…relax. Resistance will give you a free pass.”[i]

Having commented on Steven’s blog, his assistant Callie emailed to say that Steven is reaching out to other bloggers and invited me to engage in a Q&A session with him. Steven kindly provided honest and heartfelt answers to the following three questions I posed to him:

1. What do you think is occurring when one is trying to move to a higher sphere - who or what is resisting and what is being resisted?

I'm only speculating, Gillian, but just as we can feel a force in nature that calls us to evolve to a higher level (otherwise why are we so uplifted, to the point of tears and beyond, by "inspiring" stories), so also do we feel a negative force that's trying to hold us earthbound. I wish I had some great wisdom here, to identify what these forces are. Good and evil? In The War of Art, I suggest that what's holding us back is the Little Self, the Ego, whose existence and usefulness is limited to this material dimension, the dimension that knows death and suffering, in which each individual is seen as apart from every other, and in which fear is the predominant emotion. What is calling us to evolve is our Higher Self, our Big Self, what Jung called simply the Self and what others have called Cosmic Consciousness, the All, or God. That Greater Self has its primary being, I'm speculating, on planes higher than this one--where death is not real, where each individual is united to every other, and where love and not fear is the predominant emotion.

Our Higher Self is calling us to evolve to a loftier level. It is being resisted by our Earthbound Self that wants us to stay here on lower planes.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

2. What benefits have you received/shared when overcoming resistance?

If I hadn't learned how to overcome Resistance, I would never have been able to write any of the stuff I've written. I wouldn't have met the great people I've met, felt my own soul evolve beyond prior limited self-conceptions, I wouldn't be who am I today but would instead be stuck in some lower, self-limiting incarnation. I wouldn't have been able to help the people I've helped or contributed whatever I've been able to contribute. I'd be a mess!

3. Have you had to be incredibly selfish/made sacrifices to progress your aims?

Yes. But I think that is in the nature of the game. When we as artists or entrepreneurs make the decision that we are going to pursue a calling rather than just sell out our time in exchange for money, we also accept the consequences. We have to give up a lot. We decide that it's worth it. We decide that we want to do work we love and not work that somebody else tells us we have to do; we decide that it's more important to do work that fulfills our soul's calling--and we're willing to pay the price.

In my case, one price is that I haven't had kids. I could have, many times along the way, but I knew it wouldn't be right for me--or for the kids. That's not nothing. I could have had more money, more material gain, I could've married certain women, enjoyed certain perks, I could've saved myself a lot of heartache and loneliness if I'd stayed at certain jobs, you know the tune. But I made the decision that it was more important to me to follow what gave me joy and made me feel like me. I don't regret it. The things that one might say I have "given up" are not real things for me and for my particular calling. Some sacrifices simply must be made. To believe that you can live your own authentic life and not make those sacrifices is a delusion.

As Telamon of Arcadia once said, "It is one thing to study war, and another to live the warrior's life."

That's it, Gillian. Hope that helps!

---

[i] The War of Art. Steven Pressfield. Grand Central Publishing. 2003.

Steven Pressfield is the author of the following books together with numerous film scripts and various other projects.

Steven also posts on his blog. Check out: blog.stevenpressfield.com

OVERCOMING RESISTANCE TO LIFE

image courtesy of asmundur from flickr

OVERCOMING RESISTANCE TO LIFE

“Always be kind, as everyone you meet is involved in a great struggle”

Words to that effect have been attributed to people as varied as Plato, the Dalai Lama and Jack Kerouac – the point being, that there is a longstanding recognition that we are all struggling to ‘better’ ourselves in one way or another and, whether we are aware of it or not, the ultimate goal of all struggle is, like that of a salmon struggling upstream, to return home, to become Love.

Bringing in the light occasions challenges on multiple levels, physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual as the ‘Ego’ fights to maintain dominance over our lives. Resistance and self sabotage are well recognised; a multitude of tomes have been written and read on the subject, and workshops are ongoing on a daily basis in an effort to help people to rise above the dragging effects of negative consciousness.

Engaging in Positive Thinking is the new ‘tablet’ with which we are to dose ourselves in order to overcome low self esteem and inertia. Turn that frown upside down, change negative thoughts to positive. If thinking were all that were necessary to effect such change, we could simply ‘talk ourselves ‘round’ to anything we want to accomplish, and with the good of humanity in mind – there would be no more atrocities committed and we would all live happily ever after. Unfortunately, things are a bit more complicated than that. When as children, we learned to inculcate damaging perceptions into our subsconscious minds, merely changing our thinking on the surface level won’t suffice to transform those powerful subconscious perceptions.

The low vibrational energies we inherit as humans are a legacy of aeons of human evolution, which are self perpetuating. As evolving spiritual beings having a human experience, it is inevitable that we share in experiencing the entire spectrum of emotions, from states of joy through to deep self hatred. Over millennia, we have experienced them all; through lifetimes, we work to climb out of the abyss to higher states of being. Why we chose the experience in the first place, I do not know, but this appears to me, to be what we have chosen and the epic struggle with which we are engaged.

I’ve noticed as my insights become deeper and my consciousness more ‘elevated’, as the light comes in, and my body adjusts to a higher calibration, I have had to face physical challenges in the form of recurring illness. The illness is accompanied by depression and ‘attack thoughts’ which I have to negotiate. Recently, during such an episode, I mulled over the whole endeavour of attempting to ascend spiritually, to raise ones vibrations and effect some good in the world and the forces of resistance which kick in in order to hamper such progress. The vision which came to mind describing the process of counteracting Resistance with Will Power is that of the Roman bridge or arch, in which resistance of opposing forces is used to keep the structure in place. The effect of two opposing forces resisting each other has the effect of creating an impasse, or state of stuckness as energy thus engaged becomes frozen in place thereby preventing the necessary movement for consciousness to evolve to a higher sphere.

In order for real transformation and insight to occur a third element has to enter the equasion; that of divine light, (which is above either conscious or subconscious thought) and the self compassion the invocation of the light endows. As Elizabeth Gilbert realized when she sat on the beach all night, inviting the rejected parts of herself to come to receive her love, greeting the abandoned aspects of our psyche with compassion means gently assuring the fearful, isolated frightened child aspects of ourselves that they are part of the whole, this allows our adult selves to recognise our wholeness and power. The activation of divine love aligns us with the light which is higher consciousness, and elevates our conscious awareness to embrace the entirety of existence. We can now hold more and more light thereby becoming more effective lightworkers and happier, more joyous individuals.