Christ Consciousness in Small Steps

by Lori | Apr 3, 2021 | Blog

‘Tis the Season when many around the globe are reminded of the beauty and power of Christ Consciousness. For Christians, Easter celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. Some of us celebrate Easter traditionally with lilies, bunnies, colored eggs and peeps. Others break their Lenten fasts with chocolate and baked ham. When I was young, I would give up my favorite delight for Lent – kosher dill pickles. My Easter basket always contained a jar of my favorite brand come Easter morning.

Now, my personal traditions for celebrating the rebirth of Jesus focus more on his embodiment of Christ Consciousness. How might I emulate his love for other humans as well as his love for himself and his own God-Self? Jesus’ level of knowingness of himself as Source seems like a daunting, seemingly never attainable achievement. Can we achieve Christ Consciousness? Yes. How do we achieve Christ Consciousness? Pretty much the same way we achieve anything – consistently taking small steps.

Every time we have the choice between two or more thoughts, beliefs or actions, we “simply” need to choose the higher frequency choice. The old saying “if you take care of the pennies, the dollars will take care of themselves” seems to apply in this case too.

My friend, Rachel Phillipe, brought the following wisdom to my attention. I believe this list of ideas for working with the energy of resurrection and Christ Consciousness in our daily lives is quite inspiring.

Found in this online article, ultimately, the list is from Megan McKenna, in her book Not Counting Women and Children: Neglected Stories from the Bible.

• • Give your full attention to whatever you are doing, and you’ll recognize the constant renewal of life all around you.

  • Walk the path of beauty and notice the spiritual radiance in people, places, and growing things — more signs of rebirth.

  • Leave the past to God’s mercy. Leave the future to God’s discretion. Living in the present moment, the only time when God brings forth new life, is a way of affirming your belief in resurrection.

  • Whenever you, with compassion, open your heart, mind, and soul to the pain of the world, you help bring suffering beings back into the land of the living.

  • When you cultivate the art of making connections, the walls of separation come crashing down and new life can spring up out of the rubble.

  • When you regularly pray for others as part of your devotional activities, you are practicing resurrection.

  • Enthusiasm is the mark of a life-giver. When you can laugh and sing and relish life, you are practicing resurrection.

  • Faith enables us to live with confidence amidst doubt and paradox. When you can trust in your relationship with God, all kinds of leaps and rebirths are possible.

  • Every time you forgive someone, another resurrection is in the making.

  • Every time you accept God’s grace in your life and see it in the world around you, your own resurrection is in the making.

  • Practice gratitude and you are slaying the death-dealing forces of boredom, despair, and taking-things-for-granted.

  • Bring hope to someone in despair, bring healing to those in conflict, and you are contributing to the ongoing resurrection.

  • When you can welcome guests and alien ideas with graciousness, you are participating in a new world of

  • When you give full rein to your imagination, you are opening the gates of creativity so resurrection can come in.

  • When you add even a small portion of joy to the lives of those around you, you bring resurrection into your community.

  • Your work for justice, freedom, and equality sets the stage for resurrection. When you feed the hungry and stand up for the oppressed, you are a life-giver.

  • Your little acts of kindness tenderize the world, add to the fund of good will, and set the table for resurrection.

  • Listen to others, the universe, and your inner voice, and you’ll be privy to resurrections when they happen.

  • Love God, love your neighbor, and love your new life as marks of the resurrection.

  • Find meaning in your experiences and speak the truth to power, and you help put death in its place.

  • Nurture yourself — eat right, exercise, get plenty of rest — and you are helping God resurrect your body.

  • When you stay open to all people and situations, you affirm your belief that all things can be made new.

  • Every peace treaty that you sign with someone who is your enemy or opponent is a sign of resurrection.

  • Sometimes you feel refreshed by the simplest things — laughter, games, play. This, too, is resurrection.

  • Othertimes it is the thrill of the quest that spurs you on to be all you were meant to be as a person reborn.

  • When you practice reverence for life, you can’t help but notice all the little resurrections going on all around you, the continual process of creation on Earth.

  • Practicing resurrection also means having confidence that God can make something out of your selfishness, anger, greed, hatred, and any of your other shadow.

  • Find a place where you can regularly practice silence; it will rejuvenate your soul.

  • Spiritual teachers can point you on the path of resurrection, showing you texts and mentors to jump-start your journey.

  • Welcome changes — big and small — in your experience and signal your receptivity to transform and resurrection.

  • Work together with those who are trying to make the world a more just and decent place. This unity practice is a mark of the resurrection.

  • Pay attention to visions and visionaries as likely conduits of resurrection for yourself and your community.

  • Every time you bring to life another’s sense of wonder and affirm that you are all standing on holy ground, you practice resurrection.

  • By respecting the mystery of God, human nature, and the natural world, you bear witness to the ineffable nature of renewal and rebirth.

  • By giving voice to your yearning, and acting upon your desire to feel the closeness of God, you invite resurrection into your life.

  • By accepting your identity as a child of God and your mission as a copartner with the Holy One in the unfolding drama of the universe, you embody the resurrection principle.

  • Practice resurrection with zeal. Be aroused by life and cherish every moment as a gift from the One Who Renews us day by day.

Be inspired. Take small steps daily to raise your frequency and be the resurrection and Christ Consciousness in your own life. May you know Peace now and always. Namaste.

Gratitude to Free Photos from Pixabay.com

Personal Spring Cleaning

by Ginger | Mar 31, 2021 | Blog

As we move past the winter season and prepare ourselves for society opening up again post-pandemic, we may be asking ourselves whether it’s time to clear some things out. I often do an inner spring cleaning check with my Soul to see if it’s time to let go of some old aspects of my personality or habits. Sometimes we get stuck on the parts of ourselves that we’re still healing and forget that what we see as weaknesses are our strengths if we look at them from the divine perspective rather than the third dimensional paradigm.

The aspects of our personalities that we struggle with are just the parts of ourselves still operating in the illusion. It is the fear and self-judgment that causes these traits to express as the shadow side, vibrating at denser frequencies. Once we stop resisting those traits and see the higher frequency truths underneath, they are transformed into gifts and talents that can serve us and the world.

Maybe it’s time for a little spring cleaning of your personality self. Rather than trying to scrub out the parts of yourself that you dislike or believe are useless, ask your Soul to help you see the hidden gem within. Create a list of resonances that will help you to evolve those aspects of yourself into the higher frequency version of expression.

Seen from another viewpoint, stubbornness can be turned toward focus, commitment and determination when aligned with the Divine Plan. What was once anger bottling up can become the passion and strength to create change. The neediness of the past can be used as building blocks for compassion and understanding for others going forward.

The path to true wholeness is not to remove parts of ourselves, or our lives, that we believe don’t work well. The path of healing is to love those parts of ourselves back into wholeness so that we see their true value and allow them to shine in their perfection.

image courtesy of Manfred Richter on Pixabay.com

Thanksgiving Address

by Lori | Mar 2, 2021 | Blog

“If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.” Meister Eckhart

In the Standing in the Light® Classes, we teach that when possible the simplest way to do something may be the best way. Our clearing statements, gratitude statements and ceremonies do not need to be overly elaborate to be powerful and effective.

We also teach that sometimes it is better to look for the detail in order to make sure we have covered all the possibilities.

Meister Eckhart’s quote, “If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough,” is an example of keeping it simple. The Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address: Greetings to the Natural World, quoted below, is a beautiful and moving example of being precise and detailed to cover all the reasons we have to be grateful.

As part of the manifesting class in Standing in the Light®, we teach that, besides the specific resonances that we are trying to create, there are five resonances or energies that we need to hold in order to create what we wish to manifest. Those five resonances are Love, Trust, Surrender, Detachment and Gratitude. Sometimes we humans forget that we need to be grateful before we “get” something in order to energetically be ready to attract that quality to us. (For more discussion on these five resonances as part of manifesting, check out my blog entry from July 2016. https://iamstandinginthelight.com/the-joy-of-gratitude/)

Gratitude is such an important energy and an important feeling state that being specific about what we are grateful may help us identify areas in our lives that we have been taking for granted. The more we are consciously grateful, the more we consciously live. The more we consciously live, the more we consciously evolve.

The English translation of the Mohawk version of the Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address may help you focus on gratitude.  It was developed, published in 1993, and provided, courtesy of: Six Nations Indian Museum and the Tracking Project.

If you want to add this gratitude practice to your life, great. If you would like to write something specific that speaks to your heart, great. Gratitude is welcomed and needed in all its forms.

I am grateful to all who have brought this wonderful address to us. Namaste.

Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address – Greetings to the Natural World

The People

Today we have gathered and we see that the cycles of life continue. We have been given the duty to live in balance and harmony with each other and all living things. So now, we bring our minds together as one as we give greetings and thanks to each other as people.

Now our minds are one.

The Earth Mother

We are all thankful to our Mother, the Earth, for she gives us all that we need for life. She supports our feet as we walk about upon her. It gives us joy that she continues to care for us as she has from the beginning of time. To our mother, we send greetings and thanks.

Now our minds are one.

The Waters

We give thanks to all the waters of the world for quenching our thirst and providing us with strength. Water is life. We know its power in many forms- waterfalls and rain, mists and streams, rivers and oceans. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to the spirit of Water.

Now our minds are one.

The Fish

We turn our minds to all the Fish life in the water. They were instructed to cleanse and purify the water. They also give themselves to us as food. We are grateful that we can still find pure water. So, we turn now to the Fish and send our greetings and thanks.

Now our minds are one.

The Plants

Now we turn toward the vast fields of Plant life. As far as the eye can see, the Plants grow, working many wonders. They sustain many life forms. With our minds gathered together, we give thanks and look forward to seeing Plant life for many generations to come.

Now our minds are one.

The Food Plants

With one mind, we turn to honor and thank all the Food Plants we harvest from the garden. Since the beginning of time, the grains, vegetables, beans and berries have helped the people survive. Many other living things draw strength from them too. We gather all the Plant Foods together as one and send them a greeting of thanks.

Now our minds are one.

The Medicine Herbs

Now we turn to all the Medicine herbs of the world. From the beginning they were instructed to take away sickness. They are always waiting and ready to heal us. We are happy there are still among us those special few who remember how to use these plants for healing. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to the Medicines and to the keepers of the Medicines.

Now our minds are one.

The Animals

We gather our minds together to send greetings and thanks to all the Animal life in the world. They have many things to teach us as people. We are honored by them when they give up their lives so we may use their bodies as food for our people. We see them near our homes and in the deep forests. We are glad they are still here and we hope that it will always be so.

Now our minds are one

The Trees

We now turn our thoughts to the Trees. The Earth has many families of Trees who have their own instructions and uses. Some provide us with shelter and shade, others with fruit, beauty and other useful things. Many people of the world use a Tree as a symbol of peace and strength. With one mind, we greet and thank the Tree life.

Now our minds are one.

The Birds

We put our minds together as one and thank all the Birds who move and fly about over our heads. The Creator gave them beautiful songs. Each day they remind us to enjoy and appreciate life. The Eagle was chosen to be their leader. To all the Birds-from the smallest to the largest, we send our joyful greetings and thanks.

Now our minds are one.

The Four Winds

We are all thankful to the powers we know as the Four Winds. We hear their voices in the moving air as they refresh us and purify the air we breathe. They help us to bring the change of seasons. From the four directions they come, bringing us messages and giving us strength. With one mind, we send our greetings and thanks to the Four Winds.

Now our minds are one.

The Thunderers

Now we turn to the west where our grandfathers, the Thunder Beings, live. With lightning and thundering voices, they bring with them the water that renews life. We are thankful that they keep those evil things made by Okwiseres underground. We bring our minds together as one to send greetings and thanks to our Grandfathers, the Thunderers.

Now our minds are one.

The Sun

We now send greetings and thanks to our eldest Brother, the Sun. Each day without fail he travels the sky from east to west, bringing the light of a new day. He is the source of all the fires of life. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to our Brother, the Sun.

Now our minds are one.

Grandmother Moon

We put our minds together to give thanks to our oldest Grandmother, the Moon, who lights the night-time sky. She is the leader of woman all over the world, and she governs the movement of the ocean tides. By her changing face we measure time, and it is the Moon who watches over the arrival of children here on Earth. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to our Grandmother, the Moon.

Now our minds are one.

The Stars

We give thanks to the Stars who are spread across the sky like jewelry. We see them in the night, helping the Moon to light the darkness and bringing dew to the gardens and growing things. When we travel at night, they guide us home. With our minds gathered together as one, we send greetings and thanks to the Stars.

Now our minds are one.

The Enlightened Teachers

We gather our minds to greet and thank the enlightened Teachers who have come to help throughout the ages. When we forget how to live in harmony, they remind us of the way we were instructed to live as people. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to these caring teachers.

Now our minds are one.

The Creator

Now we turn our thoughts to the Creator, or Great Spirit, and send greetings and thanks for all the gifts of Creation. Everything we need to live a good life is here on this Mother Earth. For all the love that is still around us, we gather our minds together as one and send our choicest words of greetings and thanks to the Creator.

Now our minds are one.

Closing Words

We have now arrived at the place where we end our words. Of all the things we have named, it was not our intention to leave anything out. If something was forgotten, we leave it to each individual to send such greetings and thanks in their own way.

Now our minds are one.

……….

This translation of the Mohawk version of the Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address was developed, published in 1993, and provided, courtesy of: Six Nations Indian Museum and the Tracking Project. All rights reserved. Thanksgiving Address: Greetings to the Natural World English version: John Stokes and Kanawahienton (David Benedict, Turtle Clan/Mohawk) Mohawk version: Rokwaho (Dan Thompson, Wolf Clan/Mohawk) Original inspiration: Tekaronianekon (Jake Swamp, Wolf Clan/Mohawk)

Gratitude to Pixabay.com for the image. (No specific creator noted.)

Child of Wonder

by Ginger | Feb 27, 2021 | Blog

Recently, I’ve been working on letting go of some old stories of mine which are rooted in the illusion of separation. I was reviewing Pema Chodrin’s book Start Where You Are and came across a story that spoke to me. She is describing the Buddhist teaching about being a child of illusion. This is not about staying in the illusion of separation, but about understanding that the world is not as solid or fixed as we often make it through our labels and stories. It reminds us to remain in a child-like state of openness to the wonder and experience of each moment.

I share the following excerpt for you to meditate upon:

We generally interpret the world so heavily in terms of good and bad, happy and sad, nice and not nice that the world doesn’t get a chance to speak for itself. When we say, “Be a child of illusion,” we’re beginning to get at this fresh way of looking when we’re not caught in our hope and fear. We become mindful, awake, and gentle with our hope and fear. We see them clearly with less bias, less judgment, less sense of a heavy trip. When this happens, the world will speak for itself.

I heard a story about Trungpa Rinpoche sitting in a garden with His Holiness Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. People were standing around at a distance, close enough to hear but far enough away to give them privacy and space. It was a beautiful day. These two gentlemen had been sitting in the garden for a long time, just sitting there not saying anything. Time went on, and they just sat in the garden not saying anything and seeming to enjoy it very much. Then Trungpa Rinpoche broke the silence and began to laugh. He said to Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, pointing across the lawn, “They call that a tree.” Whereupon Khyentse Rinpoche started to laugh too.

image courtesy of jarmoluk on Pixabay

Empathy

by Lori | Jan 31, 2021 | Blog

We have heard a lot of calls for unity recently. It is a topic that we teach in Standing in the Light® and for which we have discussed here many times before. However, a friend of mine, Rae Russel, mentioned that we would be better focused on the energy of empathy as a stepping stone to eventually manifest unity. Her words really resonated with me.

Therefore, I started to poke around the internet to find a definition of empathy that spoke to me.

In the online version of Psychology Today, there is a definition of empathy in an article called Empathy | Psychology Today

Empathy is the ability to recognize, understand, and share the thoughts and feelings of another person, animal, or fictional character. Developing empathy is crucial for establishing relationships and behaving compassionately. It involves experiencing another person’s point of view, rather than just one’s own, and enables prosocial or helping behaviors that come from within, rather than being forced.

I really liked the part of this discussion that having empathy helps with “behaviors that come from within, rather than being forced.” This is important so that the action is instinctive instead of feeling like we are following a set of rules or guidelines that someone else imposes on us.

Going a little bit further down the rabbit hole of this definition, I looked up the meaning of prosocial. At the website called verywellmind.com, there is this definition in an article titled The Basics of Prosocial Behavior (verywellmind.com)

Prosocial behaviors are those intended to help other people. These actions are characterized by a concern for the rights, feelings, and welfare of other people…Prosocial behavior includes a wide range of actions such as helping, sharing, comforting, and cooperating. The term itself originated during the 1970s and was introduced by social scientists as an antonym for the term antisocial behavior.

Obviously, the above definitions are from the third-dimensional world. They are a good place to start evaluating ourselves. If we are having trouble being empathetic and helpful, we will want to ask what judgments and fears we have that are keeping us from feeling these qualities instinctually. Do we fear scarcity and abandonment? Do we judge others for their actions? Are we judging ourselves for our own thoughts and beliefs? Look at the reasons behind the lack of 3D empathy.

In the Standing in the Light® Channeling Class, the Christ tells us that one of the modalities for receiving information, for channeling is being empathic. Here is that definition. “An empath is one who receives information through sensing emotions.  An empath tunes into the emotional state of a person, a group, an animal or an object and feels the emotional state.”

The benefit of tapping into your ability to be an empath, if you desire, is to help you understand the reason others may feel and act the way they do, to be less judgmental of them and allow you to discern what action is in the highest plan for you now. You may be guided to help someone else in a third-dimensional way, like by donating money or time for a cause. You may be guided to send energy to others on your own or with a healing circle. By understanding how someone else feels you may be guided to do nothing, knowing that it is important for the other person to work through her situation herself. By being empathic, you will feel more confidence that the action you take or don’t take is the highest plan. Ultimately, this confidence will help you with your stress level because you will know that you have played your part in the co-creation of what is unfolding.

We are reminded that being empathic is not an excuse to be a psychic voyeur and to forget that we ask permission when we send energy to others, just as we would ask to help someone in person.

We are also reminded that just because we are aware of someone else’s energy does not mean that we need to take on or wallow in that energy. We use the awareness for information to help us know what our action plan is.

Finally, let’s look at 5D Empathy. When we are holding the frequency of fifth-dimensional empathy, we are tapping into the energy of the Whole, the energy of the One, the energy of Source. Within Source are all the energies and emotions healed and unhealed. All the energies are divine even when they don’t feel divine. Having the awareness of all possible energies will allow you to consciously decide what action plan is the highest plan for your piece of the puzzle for all of creation right now. The knowingness and wisdom of Divine Empathy will guide you to more peace and unity instinctively. It will feel like second nature and the truth of who you always have been because it is the truth of who you are.

Thanks to pixabay.com for the image.

Being the Witness Self

by Ginger | Jan 31, 2021 | Blog

Like many these days, I’ve been working on finding the balance between remaining detached while being fully present with what’s happening in our world. Many ancient spiritual traditions teach a version of how to be in our witness self, being in the world but not of it. This means being fully grounded, aware and participating in this world but not coming from the fears, false beliefs or entanglements of the lower self/ ego. It means to remain balanced, detached and coming from unconditional love. It does not mean to stand aside and look the other way as if you have no connection to what is happening in the world. How do we remain fully present in a world with increasing levels of anger, blame and violence surfacing which may feel uncomfortable or even painful?

One step is to keep yourself tuned into Divine Truth to help keep you resonating with higher frequencies and not get pulled into the lower frequency energies of anger in some of our current political and social debates. The debates themselves can be a great tool for self-evaluation and making change, but how we approach those debates, with resentment and suspicion or with respect and openness, is key to the results we will see.
Marsha Hankins recently wrote some useful suggestions for seeing clearly through untruth and biased opinion in her blog titled Do You Know When You’re Being Manipulated? We don’t have to invalidate someone else’s feelings or perspective in order to validate our truth and remain in alignment with our divine self. We do have a responsibility to discern the accuracy of information we might use to guide our actions or inform the kinds of questions we’re asking our Soul for our own clearing.

Another step is to welcome all experiences, including the controversy and chaos, for the healing they bring. How can we heal our darkness, our separation, unless we allow ourselves to bring it to the surface? You can’t truly clean out an old closet if you aren’t willing to pull everything out and look at it. At first, the big piles of stuff that we had hidden might feel overwhelming, but this process of weeding out what no longer serves us is essential for our individual and collective healing. Lori Rock wrote a blog in December on The Mastery of Gratitude which reminds us of the value of gratitude for growth opportunities in all of our experiences, including the unpleasant and uncomfortable ones.

In order to navigate these sometimes muddy waters of change and evolution, we will need to be vigilant with how our own energy is vibrating and whether we are remaining in alignment with our truth within. But the rewards are exponential. Imagine living in this world and seeing the divinity in everything, the opportunity for growth in every situation, the ability to connect on all levels with all beings! This is the heaven on earth that spiritual masters have taught for ages.

Being in the witness self is not a passive state, but one of active, loving engagement. And if we still have judgments or attachments holding us out of balance, then it will take some clearing work on our part. But we are ready for it and now is certainly the time. Make a commitment to take a pause and look at what triggers your emotions or bias the moment it comes to your awareness. Before you emphatically nod or shake your head, look within for the deeper truth. Ask your Soul to help you understand all of the perspectives involved. Even pausing for a few moments in your day to tune in and ask for clarity can go a long way to raising your consciousness and helping you to heal.

We can be part of a great spiritual transformation or we can see our world as being torn apart. Which version do you choose to witness?

picture courtesy of jplenio at Pixabay