Surrender - the BIGGEST part of my life.

Surrender has become the biggest part of my life. Ever. When one surrenders unconditionally and without holding back anything, life truly begins to become effortless. While the ego is always strategizing, complete surrender to God closes all the deals on effort and hard work to accomplish anything worthwhile in one's life. If surrender was easy, it would not be such a big deal. Through surrender, I am beginning to cultivate Divine Patience, because that is what you will need on this path. Honest-to-God patience for stuff to work out in the best possible way - the way that is best for me and in unity with the Will of God.

Surrender is not meant for just a few aspects of one's life. If put into action for the minutest detail in one's life, it will turn out to be the single most powerful tool to always hold on to for being in the constant Presence of God. Its not a one-time or two-time thing. It is ongoing till the day you give up this body in this lifetime. Once you develop the practice of releasing your entire life to The Power That Permeates Everything, you will find that It has become your most deepest, most trusted and most sacred Ally. There is safety, protection, security, fearlessness and the deepest love no one can imagine in this world because we cannot feel it in the world - we can only experience it deep down in our hearts. Well, who does'nt want that?

Recently, while I was having an inner meltdown, I surrendered the whole experience to Spirit. I was feeling restless, stressed out and unfocused. I was wishing I was not feeling this way when suddenly, my pet dog, Sparkie, just got up from his bed and sat close to me, his skin and fur rubbing agaisnt my legs as if soothing me. In that instant I was reminded that God already is on the job of restoring my mind back to deep peace, I just needed to open up to the Beauty and Gift of His Love. It was okay to feel disrupted so long as I keep stepping up constantly. Emotions are guideposts. They always direct us back to our Hearts. No two ways about it.

How may I be of service?

~ Lavina Olive ~

Spiritual tension is good. It leads you to new and unexplored places.

This year continues to be intense but in a different sort of way. Its a spiritual tension that is forcing me to stop clinging to people, beliefs and ideas. I am just moving out of that stagnant, status quo space and I am realizing now that the reason it is so, is because I am not bringing freshness into my life.  I am constantly trying to improvise and improve on old situations that continue to be present whether they be relationships, beliefs, ideas, creativity, abundance, etc. I am expecting mutual changes and that is not happening. I have finally got it that without detachment, one can really get stuck in one's spiritual path. So, now I am going through massive inner changes (it never stops!) I'm weeding out my ideas and beliefs. I'm loosing the expectations. I'm choosing to do the creative projects I have in mind solo rather than team up with anyone. I have realized the reason I'm looking for a buddy in my soul travel, is because I am still terrified of the world. I see now so are other people. Many of us hide our fears. We run away from situations. We think if we do service elsewhere, we're covered. I have always resisted this idea for many reasons, one of the most important being is that if I cannot be of service in my own personal home environment, doing it anywhere else gains no merit. I'm just delaying the process. On the other hand, one has to embrace everyone in compassionate love, which will only come when every aspects of our lives are fully embraced and we become fearless by facing the fears that terrify us. In the past I have run away from my situations. I have changed cities, jobs, lifestyles, people and what not all in the name of 'changing my life'. But your life never changes unless you face it. You face Spirit. And do the work that needs to be done. I am still young enough to endure many difficulties, so what could be a better time than this to make a 360 degree change, complete make over and turnaround? Spiritual tension is always good. It can only make your Soul shine brighter!

While being busy with my changes, I came across a wonderful website. The owner is Joan Tollifson and she caught my attention big time. In her words she describes herself as:   “Joan has an affinity with Buddhism, Advaita and other forms of nonduality and meditative inquiry, but she belongs to no particular tradition”. I loved that description. I can sense complete openness.  She also has a wonderful list of recommended books which are really top of the line as far as I am concerned because of its authors.  I loved how she described her choices. Here's an excerpt. You can visit her link at the end if you feel the same way as I do and check out the complete list.

JOAN'S ANNOTATED RECOMMENDED READING LIST

This list of recommended authors and books about nonduality and waking up is based on my own tastes and resonances and is in no way intended to be a comprehensive, definitive or authoritative list of nondual or spiritual books. I'm not endorsing every single word spoken or written by any of these authors (including Joan Tollifson). The list includes books from a variety of different perspectives (Advaita, Buddhism, radical nonduality, Taoism, Sufism, Christianity, brain science, and so on). Some of the books and authors listed below may appear to contradict each other. Some of them say that the entire movie of waking life (including you and your whole spiritual journey) is all nothing but a dream-like illusion, while others appear to take the phenomenal manifestation (and spiritual practice) very seriously. Some insist that there is nothing to do other than exactly what is happening, while others offer some kind of apparent process, practice or method for waking up. Some seem to suggest that "you" have the power of choice, while others say there is no "you" and that everything is the result of infinite causes and conditions over which no one has any control whatsoever. Some say liberation is found in the realization of complete impermanence while others insist it comes with the recognition of That which never changes. Who has it right? What should you believe? As soon as you open your mouth, you go astray. No words or concepts can capture reality. Maps are useful, but they can only describe and point to the territory itself. Eating the meal is what nourishes you, not reading the menu. Take what resonates and leave the rest behind. Don't believe anything you read. Question and look and see for yourself. The book that wakes you up one day may lull you to sleep the next. Always be ready to see something new and unexpected. --J.T."

You can find her Recommended List of Books here:http://www.joantollifson.com/recommend.html

What touched me was her complete openness to her spirituality and her ability to stay absolutely present, accepting everything exactly as it is without creating any story. She does'nt judge any other religion or belief and that's what I love about this reading experience. That's the kind of thing that keeps me interested. One should stay focussed on one's own path and if one is a teacher, then one should just teach what one has learned and not get into critical judgement about other people's teachings. I used to do that a lot (not teach, but general unsolicited advise/judgments/comments) - trying to convince people about my new way and new ideas of Spirit, but eventually, I found it to be rather unwise and spiritually immature. It serves no purpose. Every Soul is entitled to do his/her own personal journey the way he/she would like to or is being guided to. The best way to connect with others spiritually is to share impersonally and without attachment and expectations looking for praise or marketing one's self. Well, atleast, that's what works for me now. It is therefore all the more refreshing to come across spiritually matured people through their writings. 

I am really enjoying reading the rich material available at her website http://www.joantollifson.com/home.html 

and if you want to read a sample from one of her books, here's the link https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0125/1442/t/2/assets/awake-in-the-heartland-sample.pdf

Shalom!

How may I be of service?

~ Lavina Olive ~

The Work Is Never Over

Your work with yourself is never over.  The deeper you dig, the more you discover yourself.  You cannot stop.  You cannot become inert.  Inertia is death.  Action has to be taken appropriately. Not the action of the world, but the action of the heart. This particular quote from Carl Jung has been a source of inspiration particularly these days.  

It keeps me on check. The tendency to look for answers outside often trumps seeking them within because the 'inside' and 'outside' can become very confusing. I feel the world not only shows us the answers we need, but it also shows us answers we don't need and if we do not have strong inner wisdom we can often confuse the two. I like to think of myself as an artist-in-waiting (with no proper skills yet) but digging deeply into my Inner Well for the gems that will continue to guide my way. And so, it is appropriate to remember the words of Julia Cameron, author of The Artist's Way:

"As artists, we are spiritual sharks. The ruthless truth is that if we dont keep moving, we sink to the bottom and die."

It is better to do something, than nothing, even when we feel we don't want to do anything. Create a new way each day for dealing with the same old issues that don't seem to bring any joy. It becomes better, I promise you. 

How may I be of service?

Choosing True Freedom

When you wake up each morning and DECIDE you're not going to make the same unhappy choices as you made yesterday, a new energy fills you up and you suddenly find yourself looking at a new 'path' to explore. The possibilities of all things good shine like little sun soaked pebbles and stones down your garden path as you look at life ahead of you. You're looking at your paradise, your very own garden of love. And you begin to decide what fruits and flowers you're going to plant.  Its a good way to start the day.

Many years ago, I decided to stop living a karma based life. Its not been easy at all. The road has been difficult, but I am completely embracing the idea that this is a lifelong learning and, each lesson will come up as I get better and better prepared to learn them without any resistance. I try to let my choices reflect soul based choices as much as possible and, where I have been slow in learning, I have stopped punishing myself and beating myself up. Instead, I am plucking up courage to make fresh new starts each day. And they are definitely working. Infact there are many things that I have stopped doing and there are many more things that I am in the process of stopping, and I guess the process will be a life long one, and that is perfectly fine with me. I am in no hurry. I Am seeing myself more and more in a timeless zone.  I have got into the groove of discovering new things to do and explore.  

For example, I have stopped calling my 'spiritual journey' 'spiritual' and 'journey'. I just call it 'My Path' now. I have discovered that everything is truly spiritual and that there is no journey as such. It is just a moment in time I stop to do a little house-clearning. I am actually beginning to feel the idea that God IS in a much deeper and more profound way as I begin to peel the layers. I'm not saying its a pretty sight, but when you're removing layers of old stuff, its not a one minute or one day job though the decision to do so is. Each layer takes its time and process and must be treated like a sacred ritual which would include Acceptance, Releasing, Surrender and a New Choice. So, no matter what choice you make, its going to lead you onto the next 'good' choice.  And soon you will discover there is no 'good' or 'bad' choice - just the directions you want to take. And that direction is completely upto you. There are no rules and guidelines. There is just Freedom. Freedom to choose Real Freedom. And then, there is your Inner World - the world you scarcely think about, but in truth, holds and contains ALL of YOU. All of You that starts with "I AM" and ends with "I AM". You Are. Period. God IS. Period. Like Joel Goldsmith said "There is no God and I. There is just God". Likewise, there is no I Am so-and-so. I AM. That is sufficient. Everything after the I AM will just flow like an ever flowing stream or float by like a passing cloud. The only constant is the background or the sky of I AM. And that is the miracle I Am looking for everyday. One can look for the precious gems in any facet of one's life. For me the biggest challenge always appears to be "relationships". So, the following quote from Jennifer Hoffman resonates with my heart.

"We have an opportunity to step away from the karma and set new standards of connection for ourselves. If we want to have relationships that are joyful, loving, respectful, kind, and fulfilling, we need to be connected with people who can embody those energies and not expect that because we have expectations of those behaviors from certain people based on a label that is attached to a connection.

It only takes one person’s willingness to move out of karma to end it and to create a new path for that relationship. If the other people involve agree, then a new paradigm is created and we can have ‘happily ever after’ with them. If not, then we get closure and release, and can set our sights on attracting people who can connect with us at the level we want.  Wherever you identify a gap in your life (from last week’s message which you can read here), there is an opportunity for review, to set a new energy standard for that connection so it can be released or renewed at a new level."

~ Jennifer Hoffman ~ / http://enlighteninglife.com/relationship-review-stay-play-go-away/

How may I be of service?