Love

 

"Let there be spaces in your togetherness." Kahlil Gibran

As an alcoholic, I demanded love and was possessive of others. I selfishly treated people as possessions and made them responsible for my own satisfaction and survival. My fear of being alone caused me to blackmail people with my needs and emotions. Today I love people while allowing them to breathe. My program entails healthy detachment. I take responsibility for me and allow others to take responsibility for themselves. I give those I love the space they need. Sometimes, I must love people enough to let them go. I am beginning to understand that to be free, I must give freedom to others.

God, in the spaces of my love is the growth experienced.

On this day of your life

 

I believe God wants you to know ...

 

... that you are loved on this day for all the wonder that

you bring to your world with the gift of being you.

 

Hard to believe, isn't it, that you are that special in the

eyes of God? Yet you are--and not because of what

you have done, but because of who you are. You are

God's own creation, an expression of Divinity

in human form.

 

The fastest way to experience this is to be the vehicle

through which others see it in themselves. Each person

is walking his or her path and doing his or her best. God

knows this and that is why God loves you all.

Acting as a Guardian (OM)

 

To act as a guardian to somebody during a difficult time is a most beautiful gift of support. One of the greatest gifts we can give another human being is to act as their guardian. Whether this gift is related to a specific situation or is representative of an ongoing commitment, we each benefit from the association. To protect someone is to walk with them in challenging times and see them through safely to the other side. In doing this, we grow with them. And those under our guardianship derive confidence from our support and assistance, enabling them to persevere through almost any conditions.  There are many reasons we feel inspired to serve as guardians to those we care for. Sometimes just holding the space for somebody allows them to do what is necessary to grow or heal. We may simply want to see that our friend or loved one is taken care of and equipped to prevail over difficult circumstances. We may also sense that we are in possession of knowledge our loved ones are lacking yet need in their current stage of development. Our offer to serve as a guardian may also be both unsolicited and unrelated to any one situation. Instead of helping someone we care about cope with a specific challenge, we may find ourselves providing them with a more general form of emotional sustenance that prepares and strengthens them for challenges yet to come.  Our ability to empathize with those under our guardianship is our greatest asset because our comprehension of their needs allows us to determine how we can best serve them. Even when this comprehension is limited, however, the loving intentions with which we enter into our role as guardian ensure that our care and protection help others grow as individuals while living their lives with grace.

NUGGETS OF WISDOM - 394

 

• ·       “Forgiveness doesn’t sit there like a pretty boy in a bar. Forgiveness is the old fat guy you have to haul up a hill.”

  ·       “Of this I am absolutely sure: Do not reach the era of child-rearing and real jobs with a guitar case full of crushing regret for all the things you wished you’d done in your youth. I know too many people who didn’t do those things. They all end up mingy, addled, shrink-wrapped versions of the people they intended to be.” - Cheryl Strayed

  ·       “The story of human intimacy is one of constantly allowing ourselves to see those we love most deeply in a new, more fractured light. Look hard. Risk that.” - Cheryl Strayed

  ·       “I’ve written often about how we have to reach hard in the direction of the lives we want, even if it’s difficult to do so. I’ve advised people to set healthy boundaries and communicate mindfully and take risks and work hard on what actually matters and confront contradictory truths and trust the inner voice that speaks with love and shut out the inner voice that speaks with hate. But the thing is—the thing so many of us forget—is that those values and principles don’t only apply to our emotional lives. We’ve got to live them out in our bodies too. Yours. Mine. Droopy and ugly and fat and thin and marred and wretched as they are. We have to be as fearless about our bellies as we are with our hearts.” - Cheryl Strayed

  
  

Don’t Rush the Answers: The Importance of Pausing & Reflecting before Reacting.

 

Mackenzie Belcastro & Stacey Molengraaf (240)

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In the day and age of gurus and guides, leaders, and light workers, it’s easy to get sucked into the belief that there is a secret sauce to a happy life, and that it lies exclusively in the external world.

This notion is sold to us not only on the daily but on the hour, the minute. And made seductive with pretty packaging.

But the truth is that what we need to be truly happy is almost never found in the world outside of ourselves.

Yes, we need the essentials. But once we have shelter over our heads, bread on the table, and access to clean running water, the rest of what we actually need lies within. Deep within.

What that means exactly varies person to person. But, on the whole, it looks like feeling safe to show up in this world as we truly are. In all facets of life: personal and professional.

Most people are already fully aware of this, or, at least, have an inner knowing that hints to them in moments of stillness that this is true.

That material belongings, a powerful network, and an abundant bank account are absolutely nice to have, but nothing compared to the rich fulfillment of being truly seen and appreciated for who it is that we are at a soul-level.

And yet, most people lock their soul’s pleas in the closet within to chase shiny toys dangled by the external world.

Why?

Because, in many ways, it’s easier.

There is something to immediate gratification. It lights up the pleasure centre of our brains, and we like that.

This is natural. Our ancestors were the same. We were designed this way. For many reasons, including in order to remember where it was to find food, back in the hunter-gatherer days. Or, to remember to procreate, to ultimately keep this human species of ours alive.

So we shouldn’t have shame at all around our pull toward instant gratification. We should accept that it’s natural, and still recognize that eating a boxful of cookies, or binge-watching television, or what have you, don’t serve our highest needs, in spite of our primitive minds suggesting we need to succumb to them right now.

This is the power that meditation brings us: the ability to pause and reflect before reacting.

Some powerful questions that may be used in meditation, or journalling, to tap into the soul’s deepest wishes and visions include:

>> What do I most need to pay attention to in my life right now?
>> What do I need to let go of?
>> What is one piece of advice you (higher self) can give me?

Don’t rush the answers. Let the questions sink in. Give them space to marinate. Let the answers bubble up to the surface without force.

Another reflection that may be of service when seeking to develop greater intimacy with the soul is to imagine your higher self gave you a gift.

What would it be? Would it be physical? Would it be psychological?

Inspect what comes up for you when you envision receiving this gift. And then reflect on what it may signify to you about your deepest desires, your innate gifts.

When we become in touch with these pieces of ourselves, we become free. The external world no longer has the pull on us it used to. Its toys lose their shine.

This is because we now know who we are, and we are beginning to see the fruits of the labour of our internal explorations.

And those fruits, they are self-acceptance, fulfilling relationships, purposeful work, the ripple effect of standing in your light, shining it on others, and, ultimately, inner peace.

~

 

Mackenzie and Stacey are the founders behind Soulmap Business Plan. Yin and yang, they are a blend of silly and soulful energy, and wouldn’t have it any other way. Believing that we lead our most fulfilled lives when we lead with authenticity, they guide coaches on how to tactically tap into their souls to develop a business founded on their innate gifts—and get it out into the world in an aligned, practical manner.

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Mackenzie Belcastro & Stacey Molengraaf

AUTHOR: MACKENZIE BELCASTRO & STACEY MOLENGRAAF

IMAGE: AUTHOR'S OWN

The Charles Bukowski Quote we should all Read.

 

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Nicole Baptista (10,280)

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It was a friend who first introduced me to the works of Charles Bukowski.

I’d heard of him before, but the words that came to mind weren’t necessarily the greatest: a lifelong alcoholic, a misogynist—someone who hated everyone and everything.

Regardless, one Christmas, I was offered a collection of his poems. I got down to reading them, and boy…I connected to his writing in a way I have never connected to anything else before.

His writing is raw, honest, and he does not beat around the bush. He isn’t afraid to say what most people would be afraid to say. He is blunt. Real. Direct.

I love his no bullsh*t approach.

He takes the crappiest things that happen in life and laughs at them. It’s funny, and yet at the same time, it’s heartbreaking. He reminds us that we’re all human, and we all suffer. We all feel like crap at times, and his writing gives people like me hope.

He reminds us that we’re not alone.

I’m sharing one of my favorite quotes of his, one that I turn to when I need that little source of motivation, whether as an inspiration for work, hard situations, relationships, or just simply for life.

I hope it can be of benefit to you too:

“I knew that I was dying.
Something in me said,
Go ahead, die, sleep, become as them, accept.
Then something else in me said, no,
save the tiniest bit.
It needn’t be much, just a spark.

A spark can set a whole forest on fire.

Just a spark.
Save it.” 

~ Charles Bukowski, The Last Night of the Earth Poems

~

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Nicole Baptista  |  Contribution: 10,280

Nicole Baptista is a language teacher and freelance writer from London. She loves writing about education, and healthy living. She loves animals, especially dogs, and baby goa… Read full bio

AUTHOR: NICOLE BAPTISTA

IMAGE: THIERRY EHRMANN/FLICKR

The Quote

 

Freedom

 

Freedom is the right of every human being. -Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

Spirituality is a choice. Recovery is a choice. Living the life that says Say Yes to Your Spirit is a choice. All the above happens because we make it happen-the power of being human-and it brings freedom. This freedom is also a choice. The poets, who write during times of persecution, tell us that you can throw people in prison, torture them, chain them, separate them from loved ones, but you cannot take away the freedom that lives in their souls. Having this attitude is a choice. It is a choice to believe in the all-encompassing entity called spirituality. It is a choice to dance in God. - Leo Booth

Today I choose freedom.

On this day of your life

I believe God wants you to know ...

 

... that peace cannot come to this world until you are

convinced that violence will never produce it.

 

Hurt does not heal hurt. Violence will not bring an end

to violence. Help the world to understand this by

reacting differently, responding newly, when anger and

a need to hurt you is sent your way.

 

You will have such an opportunity in your life. And

probably, more than once. Do not miss the chance

to humbly send a message of love.

Cycle of Life (OM)

 

While we are on earth, we are all human beings in different phases of our lives and soul development. As we walk through the world, the people we encounter appear so different from one another. We see babies, old men, pregnant women, and teenaged boys. We know couples on the verge of marriage and lonely widows. We interact with toddlers and the terminally ill. As different as each person seems, they are all living the human experience. They are just at different places in the cycle that begins with birth and ends with death. Every phase of the cycle of life has its gifts and its challenges. Each stage is temporary and ultimately gives way to a new phase. This ephemeral quality makes each phase precious, because it will never last. One of the wonderful qualities possessed by babies and young children is that they are unaware that a cycle of life even exists. They simply are present to wherever they happen to be right now, and they don't give much thought to the past or future. Being around them reminds us of the joy that comes from living fully in the moment. On the opposite end of life's cycle are our elderly role models. They are a reminder that each phase of life should be treasured. Time does pass, and we all change and grow older.  Being aware of the cycle of life and our place in it makes us wiser. As we develop a true appreciation for the phase we are in, we can savor it more. A new mother going through a difficult time with her infant can more easily embrace her challenges because she knows that her child will grow up, and she will long for this time again.  Difficult and challenging periods are inevitable, but – like everything that is a part of the cycle of life -- they are temporary. When we are fully engaged with life, we get to savor and grow from each phase, and we are ready for the next one when it arrives. Fully embracing wherever you are in the cycle of life is the very essence to happiness.

The Singularity of Connection (MB)

 

Michael Berg
APRIL 28, 2021

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There is a beautiful section at the end of the Zohar portion for Emor, in which Rav Shimon bar Yochai says, "People do not know, do not see, do not pay attention. When the Creator created man, and flowed down all the Light and blessings to Adam, the Creator wanted one thing. He wanted man to be completely unified and connected to the Light of the Creator, that there should not be any change, that there should not be anything that goes wrong.”

The Creator created man for one purpose, and Rav Ashlag speaks about it at length in The Introduction to the Ten Luminous Emanations (published as And You Shall Choose Life): to achieve complete connection to certainty in the Light of the Creator. Everything is connected to the level of certainty that an individual awakens. When it said the Tree of Life was in the middle of the Garden of Eden, it means the Creator said to man, "I need one thing from you. My desire for you is for the Light to flow to you all the time, my desire for you is to be in singularity of connection to the Light of the Creator, and that has to come with certainty."

But Adam, man, and ourselves, still continue to go off the path of certainty, and we left the Tree of Life. We left the total connection to the Light of the Creator, and people choose, still to be connected to the Tree that changes from good to bad. We therefore fall from the highest levels to the lowest levels, and unfortunately, become connected to constant changes all the time - sometimes good, sometimes bad. Because the most elevated level is a singularity, one that never changes. This is what it says, that in the original Creation, we are meant to be straight, but man, unfortunately, wants all kinds of calculations, and leaves the path of the Tree of Life to go towards the path of Tree of Knowledge, Good and Evil.

So, the Zohar here is telling us that connection to the Creator is singularity. The singularity of connection, the singularity of attaching ourselves to the Light of the Creator, is one. So what does it mean to be one? For all of us who are on the spiritual path, spiritual work is important to us. Certainty is important to us. But there are other things that are important to us, too. Once there are other things that are also important, that is the Tree of Knowledge; this person is doing this to me, this person is doing that to me. All the things that also are important to us take us off of the path of the Tree of Life, and connect us to the Tree of Knowledge, Good and Evil. Therefore, it has to be our understanding that if we want to be on the path that connects us to what the Zohar calls the singularity of connection, there cannot be other things involved.

This does not mean that we do not live in the physical world and can’t enjoy things. But as far as things that are important, things that take up our thoughts, that bother us and upset us, then we connect to the Tree of the Knowledge, Good and Evil. Being connected to the Tree of Life means we are singular, there is only one thought in our mind at all times: What am I doing to connect to the Light of the Creator and to achieve the singular connection? Any other thought takes us off.

The Zohar says we choose this every day. We leave the singular tree, the tree we can only connect to when our consciousness is singular and when the only thing that is important to us is our connection to the Light of the Creator. We can do a lot of spiritual work, we can do a lot of study, we can read a lot of Zohar, and still not be connected to the singular state, because it has one essence. It is singular, meaning that a person can only connect to it when he is in a singular state.

What does it mean to be in a singular state? It means my connection to the Light of the Creator is all I care about. When a person starts thinking about all these other things that are important to him except his connection to the Light of the Creator, the Zohar says he leaves the singular Tree of Life and connects to the Tree of Knowledge, which is sometimes good and sometimes bad. That Tree could also have spiritual work, wisdom, and some connection to the Light of the Zohar. But he lost the Tree of Life, because we cannot be connecting to the singular Tree of Life when our minds are filled with other things, as well.

The Creator says, "I made man to have a singular consciousness." Again, this does not mean that we do not live in the physical world and do not enjoy many things or have other thoughts; but when we talk about what bothers us, what is important to us, what really takes up our mind, this is what we are talking about. What is the most important thing to me? Nothing else distracts me, nothing else can upset me, or take me away from it. To the degree that we have the consciousness, as the Zohar calls it, of singular connection, then we are connected to the Tree of Life. But once we start thinking about other things that bother us and other things are important to us, we are leaving the Tree of Life, and we are already connecting to the Tree that has all kinds of other things, both good and bad.

Next time something happens that upsets us, that wants to take our important thoughts, we have to remember what the Creator is telling us. The way to be connected to life is singularity of consciousness, and the way to be connected to the Tree of Knowledge, Good and Evil is by all kinds of other consciousness. It is a life’s work, of course, but if a person pushes himself, consistently, to be singular in his consciousness, singular in his desire to connect to the Light of the Creator, then eventually, as the Zohar says, he can come to a state where he does not taste death. However, if he leaves that path, if he leaves the singular consciousness, then all kinds of death and darkness are part of that path.

The Zohar says as long as we do not maintain singularity of consciousness, sometimes good things will happen, sometimes bad things will happen. Sometimes things will be upsetting, sometimes things will be calm. Sometimes there will be judgment, sometimes there will be mercy. But we will not be able to maintain one connection to life, mercy, goodness, and peace. Because if we allow many different consciousnesses - this is important and that is important - then that is what we attach ourselves to. We have made the choice, "I am attaching myself to the Tree of Knowledge, Good and Evil.” The Zohar tells us that the Creator desires for us to have goodness, and tells us every day to stop eating from the Tree of Knowledge, Good and Evil, and to stop worrying about, or busying ourselves with, this and that.

We are not meant to be perfect, but in a week, in a day, how much of our mind is connected to the Tree of Life? Now that we have this understanding, the question we ask ourselves is: How much of my consciousness is only focused on my connection to the Light of the Creator, and how much of it is focused on other things? And when enough of us push for that, it is what brings change to the world. It is a very important section in the Zohar, and since it is revealed to us on Shabbat Emor, it means this ability for us to be awakened to a greater connection to the singularity of connection is available for us on this Shabbat.