What is TRUTH?

Truth has many explanations and definitions in this world.  The one that resonates with my Being is the one that says that Truth is Eternal and Changeless.  Also, I love the way Truth has been explained by Jane Woodward below, excerpted from "Regarding The World Of Appearances".  It makes perfect and truthful sense to me.

"When you were a child you most likely believed in Santa Claus. Some children believe so much in Santa that  they even “see” Santa in their house on Christmas Eve or believe they have heard him speak in their ear or some other imaginable happening. Some believe so much that they cry when they are placed on Santa’s lap. The whole “image” is almost too much for them. Some believe so much in Santa, that with the help of “others” who help them to continue in the fabrication, they absolutely expect the elderly, robust gent to come down the chimney year after year. Santa is “real” to them, very real. They will fight to defend this imaginary man and are quite shocked and disappointed to find that this person that they believed in so much was just a fantasy. I have seen children cry and be very hurt by the news that it was all “make-believe.” Other children, if they are more mature may take it in stride, but either way, to whatever extent they have believed, and regardless how elaborate their imagination has become on the subject, once the illusion is dispelled for them, they can never get it back again. Once they see through the fantasy it is over. Though they may want to get that “belief” back,  once it is revealed for what it is, it can never be believed in that way again.

   

Once the veil is lifted from your eyes and you see Truth and understand “this world” for the fantasy it is, you will never again be able to see it the way you did before. The veil is removed in Christ (which is Light - or understanding).  

Certainly storms, or diseases or other distresses appear real – as real to you as Santa to a child. Do not underestimate the belief a child has regarding the fictitious world of make-believe. This is why Jesus very plainly told us to “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.” (John 7:24) What is “righteous judgment?” It is to see according to Truth, and the “pictures” thrown on the screen called “this world” are not Truth. They may seem “true” to you, but they are not Truth. TRUTH is whatever does NOT have a beginning or end. Anything that has a beginning has to have an end, and anything that has a beginning and an end - is NOT Truth, therefore it is not God, and – therefore, it is not Reality. TRUTH is eternal. What is the “appearance world,” also called, “the temporal world,” is NOT eternal, therefore, is not Reality."

How may I be of service?

~ Lavina Olive ~

Source: http://limitlesslvx.com/portfolio/regarding-the-world-of-appearances-jane-woodward/

Every day begin your day like you know nothing!! And see what happens!!

When you begin to truly understand, realise and know God IS All - the One Power and One Presence, you pretty much do not have to do anything.  Literally.  Nothing.  

You begin to see the futility of all the stuff that you placed so much of importance on.  You see the time wasted on all that is NOT.  When this realisation dawns on you like the morning rising sun, you pretty much can heave a huge cosmic sigh of relief.  

You begin to drop all your stories one by one.  You begin to release all the meanings you attached to literally everything in your world.  You begin to see how much pain and suffering you have caused yourself simply by  attaching yourself to the illusions of good and bad.  You begin to see really there is absolutely nothing to deciding something is good or bad.  These labels go nowhere and do nothing because they are nothing.  

Remember those times you really felt good when you were complimented or when someone had a good word for you and high praise for your achievements, etc. etc.  You felt so wanted and worthy and all that! Well, that is an illusion too.  And untrue as well are those thoughts and beliefs you held about yourself in a negative way.  

Once you go off the beaten track of world beliefs, and take a new road in your life, you start to ascend into yourself and begin a new way of thinking and living.

Try it.  Its mind blowing! Literally!

Begin afresh everyday.  Every single day.  Begin your day with the idea that you are just born into this world. This very moment.  All Perfect.  All Beautiful.  All Bountiful.  All Love.  That is all you know.  Those are the only clues you hold in your Sacred Heart. You will be surprised at the amount of time you will have available in your hands to follow your heart because you will have really nothing to do.  There will be no need to make any effort to achieve anything.

That will sure take the load of being who you think you are and begin to unravel who YOU actually are.

How may I be of service?

~ Lavina ~

The Courage of an Emissary of Light

Enlightenment is a NOW, EVERY MOMENT process.  It is not some historical happening nor is it something that happens at some future stage.  To be enlightened is to KNOW who you are NOW, this very moment and not in some distant future. I like this idea very much.  In "The Art of Spiritual Peacemaking" by James Twyman, the Power and Presence of Jesus can be felt deeply in His words  as they spring to life while you read them. I am embracing every word of this incredible book. I have been going through this book over the last couple of years and each time the lessons speak to me differently, not to mention each day as well. No matter how many times I might read a lesson in a day, it always feels different. I love how Jesus asks the student to release every idea and belief of what enlightenment means in this world. Only when you empty yourself can you really begin to embrace and take in new insights, learnings, wisdom, etc.  The old and new ideas cannot mix.  New wine, new wine skins. 

The first attribute that an Emissary Light is asked to develop is COURAGE. Not the meaning of courage as we know in this world, but rather True Courage. The Courage to KNOW that there is NO death, only ETERNAL LIFE.  The Courage to acknowledge, embrace and know this moment that I Am an Eternal Being.  I Am not this form, this body, this lack and limitation and all the things of the world of illusions we have created for ourselves.  The word 'illusion' can be very confusing most times.  How I understand it is that what's true is CHANGELESS.  What's not true dies eventually.  Spiritual values are changeless.  Material values hold no water. When you stand in the world of Spirit, from that vantage point, you can feel what is true and what is not.  If there is no joy, there's no truth. If there's no peace, there's no truth.  Peace and Joy are a great way of knowing where we are every moment. Either we are in Love or we are in Fear. True Courage enables us to go beyond the physical being and recognize ourselves as extensions of God living and loving eternally and way beyond human understanding.  Don't try to intellectualize this idea.  You're not going to get the answers you're looking for from your mind.  You'll just wrap yourself up in knots.  Jesus is addressing the Soul.  All this wisdom and knowledge will get embedded in the Soul.  You have to show up by being very present as you study the lessons. It does'nt matter if you do not understand the lessons. Just take time to meditate and contemplate on them.  Begin to do things differently.

Courage is the first key to unlock the mysteries of the Soul. "Be courageous and know that you are an eternal being. The body's decay is not yours for you are not the body" says Jesus. Don't worry about your clothes falling to ruin eventually. Don't worry about the death of the body. There was a time I used to be terrified about the very idea of death. Its amazing how True Knowledge can change your understanding at a very deep level. It is the Gift and Grace of God. Open wide your arms and accept all that is True and Wise. Only then Life begins to make perfect sense in an imperfect world of the mind. Courage opens you up completely to a brand new way, a brand new world. Step right in.

"To be an Emissary of Light means that you focus on what IS, not what isn't, and you find your courage there.  Let go of the concept of death, and you will discover a wealth of strength you did'nt know you possessed." ~ The Art of Spiritual Peacemaking / Secret Teachings from Jeshua ben Joseph"

How can I be of service?

~ Lavina ~

My whole life is based on the past. What a shocker!

These days we are living in an environment where everything is 'peaking'.  Ignorance and illusions are at its peak levels.  Frustrations and anger have reached the no-tolerance zone as all other harmful thoughts.  It seems everything is a memory.  Every thought that comes to mind comes from past associations.  This is a shocker to anyone who is looking for the key to peace and happiness. We are usually looking for mysterious and profound answers to all our deepest self made problems.  The fact that all answers lie within us escapes most of us on a daily basis.  More than anything else it shows a complete lack of understanding of who we are and who we are capable of becoming. It takes too much time to set aside ten minutes in the morning to sit in silence and open ourselves to inner knowing.  We say we don't have time.  If only we only we took the time to make the time for this deeply sacred activity, we would be so much better for it.  The path of inner knowing starts from a practice of sitting within ourselves.

Lesson 8 from "A Course In Miracles" brought back a fresh resolve for me to make the attempt every moment of every day to stay 'awake' by following the lessons daily.  I am not attempting to follow any one else's interpretation but staying focused on the words of Jesus and meditating on them to unearth what comes up for me personally. The Heart always knows.  Each life learning is unique.  The Heart will always direct you to perfect wisdom needed for YOU alone.  You just have to take the time to listen.

Lesson 8

My mind is preoccupied with past thoughts.

This idea is, of course, the reason why you see only the past. No one really sees anything. He sees only his thoughts projected outward. The mind's preoccupation with the past is the cause of the misconception about time from which your seeing suffers. Your mind cannot grasp the present, which is the only time there is. It therefore cannot understand time, and cannot, in fact, understand anything.

The one wholly true thought one can hold about the past is that it is not here. To think about it at all is therefore to think about illusions. Very few have realized what is actually entailed in picturing the past or in anticipating the future. The mind is actually blank when it does this, because it is not really thinking about anything.

The purpose of the exercises for today is to begin to train your mind to recognize when it is not really thinking at all. While thoughtless ideas preoccupy your mind, the truth is blocked. Recognizing that your mind has been merely blank, rather than believing that it is filled with real ideas, is the first step to opening the way to vision.

The exercises for today should be done with eyes closed. This is because you actually cannot see anything, and it is easier to recognize that no matter how vividly you may picture a thought, you are not seeing anything. With as little investment as possible, search your mind for the usual minute or so, merely noting the thoughts you find there. Name each one by the central figure or theme it contains, and pass on to the next. Introduce the practice period by saying:

    I seem to be thinking about ___.

Then name each of your thoughts specifically, for example:

    I seem to be thinking about [name of a person], about [name of an object], about [name of an emotion],

and so on, concluding at the end of the mind-searching period with:

    But my mind is preoccupied with past thoughts.

This can be done four or five times during the day, unless you find it irritates you. If you find it trying, three or four times is sufficient. You might find it helpful, however, to include your irritation, or any emotion that the idea for today may induce, in the mind searching itself.

How may I be of service?

~ Lavina ~

Filling the Lonely Spot

There is an empty and lonely spot within that nothing and no one in this world can fill in.  Once you begin to acknowledge and understand this, a true journey within begins. At first, this knowledge throws you off keel completely because now, there's a vacuum that appears to have magnified itself.  This feeling of such acute loneliness that touches the very depths of your being and reflects itself in every aspect of  your life, keeps resurfacing every now and again, and, most times, rather unexpectedly till you take notice of it and answer its calling. YES, IT IS CALLING YOU and YOU ARE CALLING IT. You will be reminded often till you finally get right into that place and feel it with all your senses.  Total acceptance, surrender and forgiveness especially of yourself facilitates this experience. Without it, it is pretty much impossible. Accepting that you cannot handle any of this anymore and acknowledging that it is beyond your power to comprehend with your small mind what the Higher Mind already knows, suddenly propels you into your heart. Your heart knows. It has always known. It will always know that only God Alone can completely fill that gaping hole within. Just God.  God Alone.

Take a deep breath and pause.  Go for the gold! Know that you will be guided along as you uncover each layer of yourself that you never knew existed.  You have to allow yourself to be immersed in this deep pool of inner acute ache till you absolutely get it in the very marrow of your bones the understanding that only God can fill in that void. Nobody or nothing in this world can come even a close second. There will be tears pouring - lots of tears. Be prepared for this onslaught because dams are being broken within and everything is being unleashed.  Just stay still. This inner awareness completely changes the course of your life.  In my case, this realisation brought all the spiritual activities - reading, study, meditation, contemplation etc. come to life. It began to have meaning and depth.  My understanding was becoming clearer and the mists and haze were being lifted up.  It seemed like a physical Being of the highest understanding, love and knowledge was sitting in front of me personally teaching me because all those words in front of me were beginning to spring to life. Those very same words that I have read a hundred times or more in the past which had very little impact in the days, months and years before were now coming LIVE to me from Jeshua. It was an inner experience. This new found clarity and surprise of finally understanding what that so oft repeated phrase "we are not alone" really means is what poured over me bringing on so much relief, that it is unexplainable.  Perhaps this must be joy.  All I know for now is that I pushed open the Door of Awareness a little more today.  Its certainly getting brighter within! And what's more?  It happened yesterday! And it will happen everyday because it is now true and authentic for me.  I will allow the Door of Awareness to be opened wider and wider each day till The Light comes blazing in right into my consciousness. That Light IS always there. You have to step out of the darkness. Its like the sun. You have to step out into the sunlight to sunbathe!!

I Am not lonely. I Am just Alone. (All-One. Unified. United. With God. With Everything). What a relief!

How may I be of service?

~ Lavina ~

A Little Bit About True Knowledge

True Knowledge acts as a savior.  True knowledge is eternal and unchangeable. It redeems and saves and brings us into right perspective of who we are.  It is important to study ourselves everyday.  When we are open to receiving guidance from God, everything in our lives makes perfect sense.  We not only know what is right and what is wrong - though right and wrong are only concepts for the time being - we can begin to unravel the essence of who we truly are and the role that other souls play in our lives to constantly help us to deeply recognize who we are at the very depth of our being.

Whatever anyone does to us is of little consequence actually. It is being done to us not because we are being 'bad' but because we have chosen this experience as a means of learning that we are not the ego, but instead we are creations of God. We need to know this for ourselves. Its easy to read what Scriptures and Sages say and accept what they say to be true about ourselves rather than us going through the grinding mill, but where is the personal knowing and experiencing and flowing and loving .....  ???  Why would we want to not have these blissful experiences like the great ones who have gone ahead of us? Why should we just accept as truth something that we have  not experienced or experimented with? We cannot join this Heaven Club if we have not discovered Heaven for ourselves. Every moment offers that opportunity. When the ego gets its way, we loose joy temporarily. When we choose heart based living, we begin to experience the unknown in such unique and personal ways.  When seen this way, life becomes a thrilling adventure.  As soon as we recognize the Face of God behind each soul we interact with no matter what the relationship, we become closer to God. When we distance ourselves from each other, we distance ourselves from God.  Its not an either/or situation. God is not an option really. God is the only choice.  Free will is the will to choose God.

This is the biggest lesson I am learning now. In my heart I can go right into my past and bless all those whom I distanced myself from.  Loving them is loving me.  It is essential.  Departing from this love is departing from my own spirit. This is Gratitude.  This is Love.  Or what I have learned so far.  I have only just peeped into the Eternal.  I am so completely open to let in the Light as I open the door more wider each moment.

How may I be of service?

~ Lavina Olive ~

Remembering Your Self

When sometimes what you see with your body's eyes does'nt please you, it can cause you much grief.  In that moment all that you have studied spiritually is forgotten and you start feeling the emotions of depression, self judgement, self criticism and self blame.  And there the fall downwards into the rut starts if we don't curb it in time. 

First of all, these emotions are just feelings.  They are temporary and have no solid ground.  It seems to me the reason we fall in a rut is because the spiritual knowledge we have gained so far is only theory which has not been processed and integrated into our consciousness.  Hence, the 'loss of memory' of who we actually are.  But when we have woven all these teachings into our lives so that we can authentically experience beauty and goodness, the remembrance of our true Identity will be stronger than the forgetfulness of it.

Its nice to have someone very reliable with whom we can share, exchange and discuss our spiritual life. It becomes easier to be brought back on track.  Our mirror reminds us of who we are and immediately a sense of relief floods us. We feel fresh motivation to start afresh.  Again, only feelings. But these feelings have the capability to build up, restore us and raise us up to the extent we allow them to help us.  Eventually, the whole idea is to be able to discern for ourselves automatically, like a habit, when we stray even a bit from our true thinking, that these dark thoughts are just illusions.  They are not the truth of who we are but an imagined one that comes from a place of non-existence or illusion.  There is only God.  One Power. One Presence. The spiritual life is not only about having perfect health, wealth and happiness.  Atleast not in this realm.  The spiritual life is about holding everything with the same  view.  And the view is: there is only One Power and One Presence. That Power and Presence is an unimaginable Source of Love,  and,  that Love is what sustains everything and beholds everything because it is holy.  It is all holy indeed.  This is the difference between resistance and surrender.  The choice defines our experience. 

Yesterday I was listening to an interview by Lilou Mace on Youtube.  Sonia Choquette was her guest and they discussed Sonia’s  recent journey, from death and divorce, to true authentic spiritual awakening.   You can view it here:  http://youtu.be/svnucsVYYu0

What struck me most of all about the whole interview was Sonia's complete honesty and humility in sharing her journey.  She has been teaching for 35 years and yet, here she was, 35 years later actually having a major awakening. However, in this world, spiritual people are judged rather harshly a lot of the times. "Non spiritual" people or, as I would like to say, people who have no interest in going beyond their noses, really expect those that have embarked on this path to become superhuman, and God forbid, if the person so much as experiences loss and pain or other 'negative' situations, then there is a big question mark.  What's more, they make darn sure you see the question mark on their faces and in their tones of questioning and judgment. Its what Sonia experienced and how she was able to move past it all.  It was a perfect reminder to me to never get phased out by the opinions, comments and beliefs of people. My journey is my very own personal one between God and me.  And that is how it should be.

I love Psalm 1. It gives me clear guidance as to how to navigate myself in this world in order to stay aligned with Spirit.

1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

4 The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.

5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

6 For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

How may I be of service?

~ Lavina ~

Learning to Pray Deeply

That is what I want.
I want this year to be all about committed and soul searing prayer
I want to learn how to pray deeply.
I want to learn how to pray the good old fashioned way of talking directly to God.
Just like the Psalms.
The Psalms are beautiful.  They are filled with the longings of the heart.
That is what I want.
For this year.
Every day.
Every hour.
Every moment.

How may I serve you?

~ Lavina Olive ~

Gifts

Today, I offer You a Gift.

The Gift of Love.

I offer You the Gift of Seeing You for who You are.

I offer you more Gifts.

The Gifts of Acknowledgement and Recognition.

I Acknowledge You and Recognize You

Because I SEE You in Me.

How else can I know Me.

How may I be of service?

~ Lavina ~

Notes to Myself ...

Live in Truth.

Feel no compulsion to be perfect.

Just take each day as it comes.

Some days will be dry and some will be fertile.

Both change anyway!

Just keep sowing seeds of joy.

Look after your health, wealth and happiness.

Take deep breaths often in the day.

Breathe in slow.  Breathe out slow.

Loose the anger. It has no value.

Meditate.

Make lots of friends but hold no expectations.

Give freely and don't wait for the return gift.

Don't try pleasing everyone. You won't get it right.

Be at ease.

Everything is not due to karma. Most of the errors in life are due

to foolish thinking.

You are the artist of your own life.

Create a masterpiece.

Ask only one question: How can I be of service?

But be practical about it and do only what you can do,

not what others want you to do.

The rest will all just fall into place.

Know your boundaries - know where you end and where others begin.

Having said all the above, here's the most simple way.

Stay constantly focussed on God and all the above and more, will

happen by itself.

How may I be of service?

~ Lavina  Olive ~