Chapters 1 & 2: The Wounded Mind and The Loss of Innocence

This photo is in our bedroom in Nevada.  It reminds me to focus on the positive light, the love present in this universe.  Here it is almost the end of March.  I have had a challenging month at work along with a case of the crud and strep.  It still amazes me how easily I can slip back into the fear-based mode out of habit, but I remind myself what I want to create for my life and continue onward.

The beginning chapters of this book discuss the fact that we live in a fear based society.  I can remember when I was influenced by fear more so than I am now.  I have had an awareness, a knowing that there is another option, living life from a place of love.  It is not easy to get beyond the fear, because it is so ingrained in us as a society.  I believe the first step is to understand where the fear comes from.

The author says the Toltecs believe the human society lives in The Dream, or mitote.  This big Dream includes all the rules of society, its laws, its religions, its different cultures and ways to be.  This dream keeps us from seeing what we really are, which is pure love, we are Life.  Human beings by nature are very sensitive beings in which we perceive things with our emotional body.  When something goes wrong with the physical body we have a warning in the form of pain.  With the emotional body, the warning is fear. As children, we listen to these warnings and then move on.  Children live in the moment.  They are not ashamed of the past or worried about the future.  They are not afraid to love.  By the time we are adults we have become domesticated.   We lose our innocence, we lose our freedom, we lose our happiness, and we lose our tendency to love. This domestication has been going on as long as humans have been on the Earth, but more so with our society in the past few hundred years.  "Damn those Puritans" is a phrase JBR and I like to say to explain those beliefs in society that we are not aligned with.

Can Hell be right here on Earth?  I think so.  I think we can create our own Hell right here by our belief systems, that part of our mind that is always judging.  We not only judge others, but continuously judge ourselves.  This judgment is based on what we believe and based on a sense of justice and injustice.  We find ourselves guilty and need to be punished.  This manifests itself by feeling unworthy.  When we feel unworthy, undeserving, unlovable how can we have healthy relationships with others?  Hell has many different levels.

So if I understand where my fear comes from, what my belief systems are, then I can continue on the journey I have chosen for myself.  I can remove my fear-based beliefs and live my life from a place of love.

2011, New Year, New Name, New Book

Here it is February 2011.  Sometimes the months just seem to fly by.  This has been an exciting year already. BRC and I got married January 2nd.  Jillian is off to France to study at Pont Aven until the middle of May. Will is making a home for himself in Iowa, engaged to be married in September.  I can feel the tides of change shifting to a more stable time.  I have decided to write the blog about the book The Mastery of Love by Miguel Ruiz, published in 1999.  It really resonated with me.  If you are not familiar with this author he also wrote The Four Agreements which was more commercially successful.  Don Miguel Ruiz is a Nagual(shaman) and a master of the Toltec mystery school tradition.  He recently experienced a heart transplant.  This is a description of the book:

The Mastery of Love

In The Mastery of Love, don Miguel Ruiz illuminates the fear-based beliefs and assumptions that undermine love and lead to suffering and drama in our relationships. Using insightful stories to bring his message to life, Ruiz shows us how to heal our emotional wounds, recover the freedom and joy that are our birthright, and restore the spirit of playfulness that is vital to loving relationships.

I really like playfulness as a vital part of a loving relationship.  So who are the Toltecs?  The book jacket states the Toltecs have three fundamental masteries that guide us to our true nature, which is happiness, freedom and love.  The first is the Mastery of Awareness.  This makes sense in that we need to have an awareness of what we really are.  The second is the Mastery of Transformation which teach us how to become spiritual warriors, breaking free of the knowledge that enslaves us.  We change the dream of our life by changing our agreements and beliefs.  The third is the Mastery of Love which is a result of the first two masteries.  when we master Love, we align with the spirit of Life that is passing through us.  We are no longer the body, or the mind, or the soul, we are Love.  When we master these three we reclaim our divinity and become one with God which is the goal of the Toltec.

Thousands of years ago the Toltec were known throughout Southern Mexico who were people who formed a society to explore and conserve the spiritual knowledge and practices of the ancient ones.  Over the millennia they were forced to conceal the ancestral wisdom and maintain its existence in obscurity.  This was necessary to shield the knowledge from those who were not prepared to use it wisely or use it for personal gain or intentionally misuse it.  It was passed down from generation to generation, unveiling at this time.  It is not a religion, it honors the spiritual masters who have taught here on Earth.

The book gives the following description:
    A toltec is an artist of Love, an artist of the Spirit, someone who is creating every moment, every second, the most beautiful art~ The Art of Dreaming.
    Life is nothing but a dream, and if we are artists, then we can create our life with Love, and our dreams become a masterpiece of art.

To be a Master of Love,  let my journey begin...

        

A List of the Universal Laws

Here are all the laws covered in the Book in the order they were presented:

1. Like begets like.
2. As you sow so shall you reap.
3. The spirit of your actions multiplies the results.
4. Like attracts like.
5. opposites repel.
6. As you seek, you attract and are attracted to that which will fulfill your search.
7. As you seek, you repel and are repelled by that which will not fulfill your search.
8. Fore ever effect there is a cause.
9. There is nothing by chance.
10. Nothing happens by chance; there is a purpose to everything that happens.
11. As thought, purpose, aim, and desire are set in motion by minds, their effect is as a condition that is.
12. Know the truth and the truth shall make you free.
13. God is.
14. As you honor, respect, and love your own unique individuality, so you honor, respect, and love the individuality of others.
15. Your true needs, wants, desires, hopes, dreams, wishes, and their fulfillment are as important as those of any other soul in existence.
16. You must first "save" self if you would "save" another.
17. As you put the God within first in your life, so you manifest the God you are. 
18. As you become master of your lower self, so all things, conditions, and elements become subject unto you.
19. Spirit is the life, mind is the builder, physical is the result.
20. Life is the experience of your choices.
21. If you will be my people, I will be your God.
22. Seek first the spirit within and you will find.
23. Ask the spirit, with faith, and you will receive.
24. Knock, with faith in spirit, and the door will be opened.
25. All exchanges balance.
26. As you believe, so it becomes for you.
27. Whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.
28. Love Transforms.
29. True giving manifests love.
30. As you give so it is measured to you again.
31. As you give you gain in understanding.

Chapter 21: Be the Law

Today is the first of January 2011.  Even after the first decade of 2000 I have a hard time believing it is 2011.  Time seems to be flying by, this past year passing in the blink of an eye.  This is the last chapter of the Your Life:  Why it is the way it is and what you can do about it.  What a journey this has been for me.  

I thought by the end of this book I would have it all figured out, but of course, it is an ongoing process~a journey of growth and will continue as long as I continue to be.

This last chapter discusses how to put it all together.  My work with studying these laws has just begun.  The book notes this is the first of three steps:

1.  Learn the Law

2.  Live the Law

3.  Be the Law

By reading this book I now have a consciousness of the laws.  I am responsible for my life and my own destiny.  I have already had experience with living the laws.   When the opportunity to use the law presents itself, which it will, apply the law in the highest way you can conceive.  Live it day by day, not just acknowledge that the laws exist.  The book discussed in earlier chapters about being in the flow with the purpose of the Universe~this is where inner guidance is required.  You can bring great order to chaos.  

"...in compliance with laws all things become possible".  This is a state of true freedom where there are no limits.  "The key to true freedom is living the Universal Laws in the highest way.  When you apply the laws in your daily life, the Creative Force works with you."

As you apply the law you become the law.  This chapter explains that "to be the law" is far more than just complying with a law.  It involves making yourself one with the purpose of the Universe, which is a selfless purpose, one coming from love.  This will release your fears and limitations.  I have the potential to live my highest and best, taking the high road for a life fulfilled, one of love, peace and joy.  I believe it is worth it.  

Here is an affirmation by Angela Peregoff that I enjoyed:

"On this day, I will receive all that brings me joy and light and love.  I will not allow this day to destroy my dreams, my hopes, my wants or my desires.  I embrace this day with the fullness of my divinity and not other way shall it be.  For I no longer choose to learn the hard way.  I no longer choose to run into the brick wall in my manifestation, in my creation and in my beliefs.  I choose with the dignity of a Being of Light and with a knowing that whatever I set my thoughts upon in this day, they shall be rendered free and they shall be rendered manifested.  And so it shall be. 

No longer will I harness doubt and allow it to pull me forward into the ruts and the crevices of human living.  but I will fly with winged freedom above what keeps me so limited.  For it is only I and not another that clips the wings of my soul and of my dreams".

I choose the dignity of a Being of Light.  Onward and Upward.  

Chapter 20: The Laws of Love

"Love is what we are born with.  Fear is what we learn here".  Marianne Williamson


Here I am writing about the second to the last Chapter and we finally get to the laws of love.  Isn't this what really makes the journey worthwhile?  Is there a distinction between types of love? ~maybe a confusion.  Love is of the Spirit, it is creative, it is all giving.  Divine love is universal.  The book states that "Love is the force that uplifts and inspires mankind.  It costs nothing, yet its value cannot be measured by material standards. Love is the dynamic force which brings into manifestation all things.  It is the healing force, the cleansing force, and the force that blesses all things we touch.  With our hearts filled with love we will see only goodness and purity in everybody and everything."

This chapter states the first law of love:  Love Transforms.  It means that no matter what kind of a condition, situation, or relationship you are dealing with, when you bring love to that circumstance of life, it will change, it will be lifted, it will be transformed.  I can think of numerous times in my life that this has been true.  I have been on both the receiving and giving end.  The experience of love is the way in which you sense and touch the Spirit within.  Love is a continual flow. The book states that your full potential is reached when this love is not kept inside of you, but flows outward, generating creativity, healing, peace, beauty, and joy, transforming both your life and those around you.  It is imperative to recognize and to love the source of love within yourself, the Spirit within.  You have an infinite supply within yourself.  You only need to release this power of love.

The second law of love deals with releasing this power stating:  True Giving Manifests Love.  It can be as simple as a smile, as material as contributing a great sum of money.  There are so many ways to give.  It can involve all three levels of the physical, mental, and spiritual.   The purpose for which you give is vital.
The book warns it cannot be for personal gain.  I use to tell the kids if I did some act of service and then complained about it, it negated the service.  As always, you must be in your truth.  Ah to give with no strings attached!  That is the manifestation of true love.

What is unconditional love?  Am I, or are we, as a human being capable of unconditional love on a regular basis?  This means I accept others just as they are, not in spite of what they are~no judgements.  This chapter says the laws of giving will help understand the process.  The first law of giving:  ...As you Give...So it is measured to you Again.  When you focus on loving others, you give them the best that is within you, they begin to feel the potential you have expressed and are inspired to manifest the best within themselves.  This is where the saying "You can never lose anything that really belongs to you, and you can't keep that which belongs to someone else."  


The other law of giving:  As you Give you Gain in Understanding.  When one starts with Spirit there is always an increase.  I think this law can relate to "walking a mile in anothers' shoes".  As I give I can understand better where another is coming from, letting go of judgement and increasing love.

I have personally enjoyed reading people's accounts of near death experiences.  What common theme I appreciated was that love was really the basis of everything.  That we are on this earth to love one another.  By putting in effect the laws of love, the other Universal laws go into effect.  To me, this is no surprise.  Living out of love and not fear has transformed my life.  It is a balance.

The chapter addresses a practical application of love to solving your problems.  This involves three steps for Self-transformation:
1.  Find the message:  what put this difficulty into motion?  Write it down if possible.  Look at the pattern    
     or belief revealed.  Don't judge yourself.  Accept it and move to the next step.
2.  Find the feeling:  let yourself feel what this experience is like.
3.  Bring love to it:  realize you are trying to learn and grow.  Accept and love yourself the way you are.
     Vital to this step is to release any criticism, expectation, or judgment of self or what you should have
      done or not done.
In doing these three steps you have accepted responsibility for the experience, found the lesson, acknowledged your feelings, and accepted them.  You are transforming your consciousness, learning
a higher consciousness.  A more complex situation may take a higher Universal law of mercy, grace, forgiveness or oneness.

I liked the figure at the end of this Chapter which gave a summary of the Universal Laws leading to a Higher Consciousness:


                                                                                  Laws of Love
                                                                           Laws of Faith
                                                                    Laws of Belief
                                                             Law of Balance
                                                      Your Purpose and Ideals
                                               Laws of Guidance
                                        Laws of Attunement
                                 Law of Choice
                         Law of Manifestation

                  Laws of Self

Chapter 19: Nothing is Impossible

"You are everything that is, your thoughts, your life, your dreams come true.  You are everything you choose to be.  You are as unlimited as the endless universe."~Shad Helmstetter

Chapter 19 talks about how nothing is impossible.  Do I really believe nothing is impossible?  I am sure working on it.  This Chapter states that faith is the key.  I remember a scene in the Indian Jones and the Last Crusade movie where he has to take a leap of faith.  I always wondered if I could really take that step.

The bible in Matthew reads "Whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith." The book chapter states that many of us can recall a time when we asked in prayer, but did not receive what we asked for.  Asking without any faith in the power of Spirit doesn't put the law in operation.  This is where it can get complicated.  If you do pray and ask with faith in Spirit, you bring the Creative Forces into play and the results are assured-IF you have not previously set other laws into operation that counter your request.  So have I set up a karmic condition for myself with a lesson that I need to learn?  The problem may also not resolve in the way in which I want it to resolve.  If I remember that the Universe always operates for the highest and best good for all concerned I can save myself a lot of heartache.  


This chapter goes on to discuss that death is often a healing.  After having worked hospice this summer I believe this.  The Universe is aware that we, as souls, do not die, but are eternal; that the passing of the body is another step forward in our development.  In the Universe sense, death is a positive change.

So how does prayer relate to the Universal Laws?  The chapter defines prayer as a process of attuning yourself to reach a higher point of view-of wholeness, of understanding, of oneness with Spirit.  I think everyone has their own way of praying and I think that is a personal matter.

So what is faith?  The book states faith is simply the ability to perceive that through the infinite power and wisdom of the Spirit within, working through the Universal Laws, nothing is impossible.  By free will you can choose to have two percent faith or 100 percent faith in the infinite possibilities of the Spirit within.  We block faith with doubts and fears.  Again, a reminder that living out of fear instead of love limits us.  How does one get through those fears and doubt?  "We can release the doubts and fears by giving them no energy and no thought, turning instead to Spirit for guidance.  As our mind builds from that base, we can first hope.   Then, as those hopes are realized, we gain confidence in our guidance.  As our confidence grows, we begin to trust.  Then our trust grows.  As we, through experience, see that we can truly trust the Spirit within, we finally realize that as we use our mind directed by Spirit in applying the Universal Laws, nothing is impossible and everything is possible-we have arrived at faith."


It is all about moving to a higher consciousness and to a greater understanding of the Universal Laws.
I agree that I need to bolster my faith when I am faced with a situation that seems impossible with my limited vision.  The book states faith lifts us beyond our limited beliefs, doubts, and fears to the higher dimensions of consciousness.  I know there are times when I have more fear and doubt than faith.  If I become consistent, persistent, and prayerful I can expect things to happen.  The power of expectancy is a stepping stone to developing my faith.  Along with this comes living our faith, believing that we have received and acting in that manner.

So the key to transformation using the Universal Laws goes something like this:
Hope~Confidence~Trust~Faith~Knowing

I know, as a spiritual being, I chose to come into the earth with its conditions, in physical bodies, and
with perfect patterns and guidance available for anything I need.  The Universe imposes no limitations, it is only the restraints that I believe in, accept or create for myself.  Onward and Upward.

Chapter 18: Law of Belief

I am beginning to write about the last three chapters of the book.  I know it has been a wonderful journey for myself, one of great awakening.  I know my journey is far from over.  I already have a new book in mind.

What do I believe?   I honestly thought that by my age I would have had it all figured out.  What is wonderful is that my beliefs have evolved with me as I continue on my journey and my quest for knowledge.  I have an understanding now that some of my beliefs have held me back, beliefs I didn't realize I had held so deeply.  This chapter is about the Law of Belief and how it manifests in our lives.

AS YOU BELIEVE, SO IT BECOMES FOR YOU.  As you believe refers to all that you think or feel is true about yourself, any aspect of life, or your understanding of how anything operates.  So my beliefs are the base from which I apply the Universal Laws.  My beliefs are the major determinants in creating every aspect of my life along with being the filter which I screen all that comes through me.  

So what do I believe?  Am I conscious of all I believe?  The answer for me is probably not.  So where do my beliefs come from?  The book lists unconscious programming, previous experiences, all kinds of input, but the truly wonderful news is that the unconscious beliefs that are negative do not have to continue.  Any difficulty is a red flag raised by the Universe to let you know you have a belief that is not in accord with the Universe's flow and love.  The book states I should be thankful for them and seek the lesson each holds for me.  I get this, but sometimes I am not so thankful if I am being honest, especially the difficulties I keep repeating.  I do now know that if I can change this belief I can create greater happiness for myself.

I am prompted to go to a sidebar here.  I know one of the beliefs I held for too many years was that I didn't deserve to be _______, (happy, rich, skinny), you fill in the blank.  BRC has worked a great deal with me on this.  I had to really think why and where did this come from, then I had to accept that I held this belief.  Did I really want to continue to hold this belief?  NO, so let it go, release it.  The book recommends releasing it and substituting a more positive belief.   This new belief you substitute should be in accord with your purpose and ideals.  Check with your inner guidance as to what is best for you. 

If there is deep emotional involvement or trauma, professional counseling may be helpful to release the belief.

How do I transform a belief?  The book offers the following equation:  C + B= A.  That which you can conceive (C), plus that which you can believe (B), is that which you can achieve (A).  If we are attuned to Spirit and believe that it is possible and that it can and will be done.  You do not need to know how you will achieve your goal, trust in step-by-step and day-by-day.  The Universal laws are not limited to material success that we often think of; peace, joy, patience, and love can also be achieved.

This chapter provides a warning for seeking material goals only,  stating that you can, with the powers of the mind and physical effort alone, achieve great wealth and fame, but the price you pay may be enormous.  This need not be.  If your seeking is based on guidance by attunement to Spirit your material and other needs will be met, by law.  Again, you can follow the high road, guided by the Spirit within you, or the low road, guided by your mind and mass-mind consciousness.  This mass-mindedness can be easy to get caught up in, but with awareness and conscious choices I can create the life I want to live.

I read this today and loved it:

May the sun bring you new energy by day.
May the moon softly restore you by night.
May the rain wash away your worries.
May the breeze blow new strength into your being.
May you walk gently through the world and know its beauty all the days of your life.
~Apache Blessing