Making Room for the Highest

Hello, dear Ones. It’s the day after Christmas, and I am sitting by a warm fire here at Dave and Charlotte’s home in N.C. They are with their family in Atlanta and I am here taking care of their kitty, Domino. Mom and I had Christmas here together and it was lovely. I'll head back to Florida before New Year's.

As I was completing my morning meditation and just basking in the radiance of this auspicious time of year, this came up to share with you …

“Cast all the old aside to make room for the new. How can you
 expect to usher in the new if you insist on holding onto the old. Make room, make
 room, and have a good spring clean from time to time and see what there is you
 can cast forth of the old and never be tempted to hold on to anything which is not 
of the very highest. This needs to be done with thoughts and ideas as well as material possessions. 
Don't just throw out the rubbish, but also those things which clutter up the mind 
and stop it from expanding. Take time to go through your material possessions 
as well and sift and sort what you have and cast out anything which you do not use. 
It is right to have all that you need, but again let Me remind you not to hoard. It 
is far too easy to accumulate and then wonder why you feel burdened and bowed 
down and can't move forward and upward.” -Eileen Cady

Someone asked me, recently, what was the best way to celebrate New Year’s. What I recalled was a conscious process that I have experienced and witnessed, that removes what is no longer useful and truly “makes room for the Highest.” It came up to share this process with you.

Here is how it goes, step by step…

1. Start the process in plenty of time, before New Year’s Eve. Begin by writing out all that is old and no longer useful in your life. Just let it empty out onto the paper without any editing. This “streaming” is a way to just let it all come out and be emptied.

2. Be aware of the experience in the body as it is streaming out…being the Awareness of what is being seen…and see through all of what is arising…letting it be.

3. Be sure it is all emptied and there is a clear space before going on.

4. Now, get a fresh piece of paper and write out what is true for you…what wants to now express itself through you. Just let it stream out onto the paper without editing.

5. Notice the experience arising in the body and include this in Awareness…letting it be. It may be surprising to you that negative, as well as positive feelings are arising. Just allow it all to be fully seen through from the clear space of Pure Awareness.

6. When it has all been emptied on the paper and the space is clear, take a fresh piece of paper, and write on the top of the page: “What is True for (your name) for 2012.” Looking back over what has been written, write out what is true for you, now. Let it be clear and neat on the page, and at the same time feeling it is already complete.

7. What is coming now, is coming from the clear space of Pure Awareness, straight from your Heart…it is what is already true…what is so.

8. Now, when we bring in the New Year, there is a complete alignment with “what is” for 2012…letting go and letting it all happen in the best way, as a win-win for all concerned.

9. Some people find it helpful to meditate as the New Year comes in. However you celebrate it the main thing is, at midnight, “what is true” for you is being felt as complete. And, we are resolved to allow it all to unfold in its own natural way.

As New Year’s Eve comes, let’s be together in our Heart-felt “New Year’s Resolution” wherever we are, feeling it complete for ALL. And, as we each take responsibility for being and living our truth, we are directly assisting the Whole.

Just one more very important thing that comes up to share, with regard to living our truth with “others” in 2012. Here are three "gatekeepers" from an Old Arab Proverb...

“The words of the tongue should have three gatekeepers: Before words get past the lips, the first gatekeeper asks, ‘Is this true?’ That stops a lot of traffic immediately. But, if the words get past the first gatekeeper, there is a second who asks: ‘Is it kind?’ And, for those words that qualify here too, the last gatekeeper asks, ‘Is it necessary?’ With these three on guard, most of us would find very little to say!”

Have a very happy and prosperous 2012 … living and being the Highest … now, ready to receive so many blessings.

(Blessings from the top of the Holy Hill Arunachala)

Being Expressions of Love

During this Holiday Season, in Consciousness, we all have the opportunity to be brought into perfect alignment with Pure Love, as lived fully by at least two awakened beings. They were born at this time and are widely known and respected… Jesus Christ or Jeshua and Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi.

If we all tune into the sacredness of this time, we can truly benefit, directly, from their awakening and what they have taught us by their living example of this Pure Love.

I was brought to this story of Mark Nepo just recently that seems to fit nicely…

“I recently learned that the first form of pencil was a ball of lead. Having discovered that lead, if scratched, would leave markings, people then wrestled with chunks of the stuff in an attempt to write. Through the work of many, the chunks were eventually shaped into a useable form that could fit the hand. The discovery became a tool.

I am humbled to confess after a lifetime of relationship that love is no different. Be it a lover or a friend or a family member, the discovery of closeness appears in our life like a ball of lead – something that if wrestled with, will leave markings by which we can understand each other.

But this is only the beginning. The work of love is to shape the stuff of relationship into a tool that fits our hands. With each hardship faced, with each illusion confronted, with each trespass looked at and owned, another piece of the chunk is whittled and love begins to become a sacred tool.

When truth is held in compassionate hands, the sharpness of love becomes clear and not hurtful.” - Mark Nepo “The Book of Awakening”

So, were Jesus and Sri Bhagavan here to leave us a teaching that we can remember by their words? Or, were they born to leave us an imprint in our Hearts as to how we relate with one another?

This is the question that is coming up for me to investigate, as I write you, as I am recalling this very auspicious time of year. I guess the only way I am going to know the answer to that is to tell myself the truth as I review my life’s relationships and see if there is “compassionate hands” where “the sharpness of love is clear and not hurtful.”

As I begin each day, new and fresh, am I being with life from the Whole? … seeing from this “Whole” perspective in relationship with life? Or, am I being with relationship and life situations from a “me-my-mine” perspective?

This is how I am “checking-in” and “being aware” these days. It becomes pretty clear, when I look and see … is there a “win-win for all concerned” or a “what about me” present?

Seeing from the Whole is receiving the Whole of who-I-AM as expressions of who-I-AM. This is Pure Love, Compassion, Sensitivity, Kindness and Generosity…lived naturally.

Is this what is being required of each of us in this planetary shift? Is this “happiness for all mankind” lived in our day to day, ordinary lives?

I invite you to check-in and see if life is being lived from this Whole perspective…in every moment of now. It is our duty and our privilege to follow the footsteps of the Wise Ones that have gone before us. Then, it is simply our natural expression to…

Have a Love-filled Holiday season!

Ho...Ho...Ho...

From Santa and his little helper. :0)

An Idea Whose Time Has Come

“You now have everything you could possibly need. In the end, there is only one thing you really need – and that is the fact of your own being. The good news is that it is always with you. It is the one thing that you can never lose.

Look straight through any thought or belief that says you are bound, separate or incomplete in any way whatsoever. Present awareness is the reality. It is here and now in all its fullness. You are not separate from that. There is no understanding to attain because everything that you were ever hoping to find is shining right at your center.” - *John Wheeler from “Right Here Right Now”

It’s been about a year now since my retirement from AHAM. It has been quite a ride, but it feels like it has stopped for awhile being here in a lovely little spot in Palm Coast, Florida. It is a lovely home for the winter, offered by Lina and her family. She and I had time together to open the place and for her to show me around, as this was her father’s home and she was very familiar with the area. We also invited Annette, from Gainesville, to come and stay for a few days to “play.”

While the three of us were having time together early in the morning, some things came up to share about “context.” I was brought back to the beginning of AHAM and how our teacher, Ramana, through his example demonstrated to me how context works. When he shared with me the idea of an “association of happiness for all mankind” (8/24/78), he said that it was “an idea whose time has come.” I had never heard of that expression before. He proceeded to say that this was an expression from Victor Hugo. It expresses when a context is formulated. That was the first time I’d ever heard of context, as well. It was all so new to me, but as AHAM grew it all came clear to me, through experiencing it directly, what it is to have a context and how to nurture this idea whose time has come.

During this conversation with Lina and Annette, I was transported back to this time with Ramana and AHAM at its fresh beginnings. Together, along with those who joined us at the time, we received this context as our own and through thick and thin saw it through. Whatever came up to appose the idea, we honored the context and allowed what was arising to play out. That’s a whole other story to tell you as it all unfolded.

After having honored this context in AHAM over many years, this very principle was discovered to be exactly what we do with our own spiritual practice. When we have created a context … when we *“stand firm in the conviction that it is done and come back to what I am” with whatever arises our real work begins. It’s interesting when we get it … I mean really get it … we see that we may have been working on ourselves for many years and searching throughout many teachings and teachers, but the question that ends this search is “have I really created a context…an idea whose time has come … have I established the context for myself I am complete and totally finished, right here and now?” Am I standing firm in the conviction that it is done and coming back to what I am no matter what arises? If so, this is the beginning of our true spiritual work. We get it that honoring who-I-really-am as Aware Presence, is where I stand firm, no matter what arises moment to moment.

This really hit home for all of us and a solid conviction was felt.

As we were sharing in this together, a song came up to share with Lina and Annette. When this happens, I simply have to let it come. It is a song that dear friends wrote who were a vital part of the beginning of AHAM, Karen Micheals and Ken Hamilton. It was Ramana’s favorite song. As it sang through me, I felt the presence of Ramana in the room. He was twinkling, as he did whenever something was being awakened in his presence.

Ramana passed on before he could see the context fully flowering in all of us in AHAM. He was feeling it now, in this moment, and he was glowing…he was in touch with what had started in 1978 now coming into fruition. This “flowering” included all of those who have created this context and are now living from the Heart.

Tears flowed in this Heart-felt connection with him. It is done.

I am feeling it again, while writing this to you. I am also remembering what he would say…”sharing makes it real for you.” Thank you for allowing me to share this with you. It is done.

AHAM is now being held in the hands of our new Director, Stanley Davis and all those who are inspired to assist in its context. It came up in my silent retreat in September of last year, that Stanley was to be the one to take AHAM into this next era, it was a shock to me. I was to leave AHAM and give it space to grow now through someone else. Releasing Ramana and now AHAM…it was huge. But, honoring “what is” is honoring the context and allowing it to flower in its own natural way. So, on the day of my retirement, November 1^st, 2010, the “wave” that had carried “me” in this context for over 30 years completely stopped. There it was. And, now, in this recent meeting with Ramana, he seemed to have given us his blessing…all is exactly as it should be and all is well. In this picture of him, this blessing shines through … look closely for the twinkle. :0)

Now, it is coming up to say, how important it is to support “what is” and honor those who are now responsible for this context. AHAM has so much to offer this universal shift that is now happening. It’s like a Lighthouse steering the ships into safety, AHAM provides a way to direct attention back into the Light of Being…into this Aware Presence…and to live our lives from this perspective with whatever is arising. And, being in the world now, there is a lot of suffering happening in those who do not have a connection with this eye in the center of the hurricane. I am so grateful for all that is occurring on the planet to assist in this endeavor…it is truly an idea whose time has come.

To end this sharing, here is the song that opened the door for this magical, mystical meeting to occur…delighting in your flowering…

Hiding in the shadows,

Waiting for the Light,

Wishing to the moon

In the safety of the night.

Your Being has not failed you,

You are only in between,

And, the world will be ‘til everyone has seen.

Appearance cannot please you,

You must come from Within,

And, when the sky is open,

The choice is to begin.

So, wrap your arms around you,

For you have all you need.

And, the world will be ‘til everyone has seen.

And, so our ships go sailing

Unto a distant shore,

Along with them our wishes

Until we wish no more.

And, when we give to lovin’

We’ll all know what it means.

And, the world will be ‘til everyone has seen.

Oh yes, the world will be ‘til everyone has seen.

It is done.

Being Childlike

Flagler Beach, Florida

Have you ever been at the beach and just wanted to run through a flock of sea gulls? As Lina and I watched the sun rise here at the Atlantic Ocean, this opportunity came up and I went for it. What a free feeling!

"Be very, very simple, very un-complex, very natural, like very small happy children, undisturbed by what happened yesterday or what may happen tomorrow, but living and enjoying the ever present Now to the very full. Never try to possess anything, never try to hold on to anything, because when you do, you cannot be simple and childlike, for you are full of fear, you are afraid of losing that which you are trying to cling on to. When you can open your hearts and share all the good and perfect gifts, which I pour down upon you, holding on to nothing, then you know the true meaning of the freedom of the Spirit and you really are free. When all is out in the open and you have nothing to hide, what a glorious feeling it is." (Eileen Caddy of Findhorn, Scotland)

When I arrived in Florida a month ago, an experience took place that gave me an opportunity to let go into this child-like "holding on to nothing" that is being shared here.

I was about an hour from my destination when the right front tire blew on the car and it went out of control on the highway. There was no steering or brakes. As it was happening, everything slowed way down and there was a clear seeing of the entire experience from Awareness. The body was in a bubble of Grace and was not hurt. It is so clear, as I look back on the experience now ... there is only an appearance that we have control ... we have never had control and will never have control. It is just like the player piano, it looks like and sounds like the song is being played by the musician. But, the song is already on the reel and it's all just getting played out.

This revelation brought forth a child-like quality that is meeting every moment with a sense of awe and wonder. Not missing any opportunity to fly with the sea gulls.

As I drive now, in my new/used car, it feels kind of unreal how it all came together so effortlessly. I am so grateful for these blessed experiences that free us of any remnants of holding on, to then release the hidden splendor of the Creative Essence that we all are. Each day, each moment is a miracle happening.

Simply enjoying it all as it is.

Celebrating Being Together

Wafarer,

Your body is my prayer carpet,

For I can see in your eyes

That you are exquisitely woven

With the finest silk and wool

And that Pattern upon your soul

Has the signature of God

And all your moods and colors of love

Come from His Divine vats of dye and Gold.

- Hafiz

Since our last communication, I received this very meaningful letter from Mary. She gave me the go ahead to share it with you…

Dear Elizabeth,

How special it is to be able to spend a few minutes "with you" and see how your day unfolded. Two things come to mind, the first is a "gatha" I say in starting each day. It is from Thich Nhat Hanh's book Peace is Every Breath.

Waking up this morning, I smile.
Twenty-four brand new hours are before me.
I vow to live each moment fully
and to look at all Beings with eyes of compassion.

The other is a song that had come to me in the mountains and that I sang over the phone during our NNP follow-up calls.

We are the river, the mountains;
We are the trees, the ground;
We are the fish and the ocean,
The Heart where Love abounds.

For there is no other, there is no other, there is no other, there is only One.

Several other verses have come to me from time to time. I feel such gratitude and love of life. Your guidance at AHAM freed me to live with joy moment by moment.

Much love to you,

Mary

I’ve been here in Florida for almost three weeks already. There has been such a sweet gathering with a number of folks here. We celebrated in this Love and Oneness that Mary shares in her letter...simply being together.

Here's Dan & Jenny (& baby) at a gathering for 11-11-11 in Orlando...

Here is Cheryl, Lucas, Charlotte and I, at the same gathering on 11-11-11...

Kelly and Cheryl celebrating at exactly 11:11pm on 11-11-11...

... and Richard joining in ... we all raised the roof ... all 400 of us ...

Later that week, here is Charlotte and I with Annette at a little place by the sea called Cedar Key... while visiting her in Gainesville...

..."living in joy moment to moment"...no matter what arises...so grateful to be alive.

Thank you, Rich ...

The Gift of Life

This beauty will not show itself

like a face or hands or any bodily thing at all,

nor as a discourse or a science,

nor indeed as residing in anything,

as in a living creature

or in earth or heaven or anything else,

but being by Itself with Itself always in simplicity;

while all the beautiful things elsewhere

partake of this beauty in such manner,

that when they are born and perish

IT becomes neither less nor more

and nothing at all happens to IT....

-Mary Oliver

Today, have we fully received the gift of life? Have we been alive to each moment as life unfolded its magnificence before us? In one tradition, it is called “mindfulness,” in another tradition it is simply “being aware.” Do we live each day as it was our first and our last?

There is a lot of talk about a great shift that is occurring on this planet. There are many perspectives as to what is going happening…some good and some not so good.

As I am here in the N.C. mountains, it has become so clear to me the simplicity of it all. As Esther and I walked in the Dupont Forest today, hiking the trail up to the Triple Falls, this very basic question came to me: ”Am I fully present in this moment, receiving this gift of life?”

When I truly received what was in front of me, with love and gratitude, I realized this simple act of being fully present honors the gift of life in all of its various expressions. Gratefully receiving it all, is the contribution I can make to this “shift” taking place, which seems to be bringing us all back in touch with our Wholeness.

I received a beautiful You Tube today that shares this perspective so perfectly. You may want to view it yourself:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5DYFL4Wl4k

So, just another day in the simplicity of living life to its fullest…oh, how remarkable and magnificent and holy it is!


May I never not be frisky,
May I never not be risqué.

May my ashes,
when you have them, my friend,
and give them to the ocean,
leap in the froth of the waves,
still loving movement,
still ready,
beyond all else,
to dance for the world.

- Mary Oliver

Home Is Wherever I AM

I am here on Cedar Mountain in North Carolina in a retreat center called Terra Nova. They have a place called the Hideaway that guests stay in. I have known the people who created this place for a number of years and they gifted me retreat time in this lovely space, for a few weeks.

There are five bedrooms that have a number of beds in each. I have one of the back rooms that is sort of away from the others to accommodate my having a silent retreat. As the people came and went, my “silent retreat” occurred more when I walked the woods or stayed in my room, which worked out just fine. As I went into the common kitchen area, we would all meet with each other and it always seemed to be a beautiful heart-felt exchange.

What was interesting was the common question that started the conversation each time… “Where do you live or where is your home?” Everyone I met answered easily enough. But, each time for me it was a new revelation. It asked me to look closely at what was coming up in responding to their question as to where was my home.

The feelings of not having a “home” were kind of unsettling at first, having just recently moved out of AHAM. It’s not like I am walking as the Peace Pilgrim did years back. I do have a car. But, to tell you to truth, it brought up something to see through. Staying with these feelings as they were arising from Awareness, what come through was … “the Heart is my home.”

I’ve said this many times before or heard it said. But, this time it struck a deep cord. When there is literally “no home,” one is left with nothing to hold on to. What Grace! There is only the Heart left standing as a solid, strong feeling within.

This then brought about the further realization about what it is to “follow a calling” … this phase of my life is to follow this mysterious calling into the unknown. And, it is revealing itself each step of the way. Every chance meeting is a blessing … a blessed exchange of Heart … a puzzle piece in the whole picture. This was a blessing that someone visiting this center gifted to me: “It is commanded, the most benevolent outcome for Elizabeth, that she has clarity of her calling and moves along her path full of grace and love, giving and receiving blessings.”

Everything that I am being moved to read or hear spoken, is opening the space for clarity as to what is true, where I am and what is my next step to take. Much like the old movie “Field of Dreams” and how he was given each step as he went along and didn’t know the ending until it got there. There seems to be an uncanny faith in this unknown journey and a certainty that all that is needed will be provided … and, so far so good.

Lao-Tzu says it so beautifully …

Be content with what you have;

Rejoice in the way things are.

When you realize there is nothing lacking

The whole world belongs to you.

Just before leaving and coming here, Jim and I went to a concert at Duke University in Durham and met with Miten and Deva Premal. Deva had given consent for Jim to use one of her songs in his new Arunachala DVD (which will be coming out soon.) And, so after the concert, we met them out back in their motor home. What impressed me, during the concert, was Deva mentioning how people would ask them where they lived. And, she responded “our home is wherever we are." So, it is not a unique thing, with what is happening overall these days, that people are following a calling to serve wherever their Heart moves them to serve and doing it however they are being inspired. One of the songs we chanted together was, “Let the Heavens meet the earth.” The Love was so powerful and deeply moving for all.

Miten, Elizabeth, Jimmy, Deva Premal

So, as we are following our calling, wherever or however that may be, I hope our paths cross along the way. In the meantime, let's join together in the Heart, on October 28th, and radiate our Love and glorious Light, connecting the Heaven to the Earth. It is a very auspicious day according to the Myan Calendar.

May the Love we're sharing spread It's Wings

Fly across the earth and bring

This LOVE to every soul that is alive.

May all the Beings, in all the worlds, be Happy.