by Ginger | Jul 1, 2016 | Blog
As we celebrate our many wonderful freedoms on this July holiday, there is one basic freedom that many of us are still denying ourselves and others. Are you allowing yourself the very special and ultimate freedom to love?
As Lightworkers, we know that we are all Love and that in the eyes of the God/Goddess there is no one, no thing, no event which is more or lesser in deserving to know that divine Love. This is easier to state in generalities, but may sometimes challenge us in the specifics. We may say we are all Love, but when that politician speaks hatred or bigotry, does it feel uncomfortable to declare out loud an unconditional love for that person? We say we are all Love, but is there a hesitation to suggest that we pour love toward that world leader even as he attacks his own people? We want to Be the Love, to truly feel that Divine Love within us, yet we may still carry judgments about when it is okay to love and how others might react. Those judgments can cause us to act with anger and conflict instead of the love we are.
There are some very enlightening and inspired debates that have been going on in our nation about the right to love- who it is okay to love and how it is acceptable to express that love, both for others and love for ourselves. These are important questions and each conversation helps to lift the layers of shame and guilt that we have built around the very simple and natural act of loving. We are in the process of remembering how to be Love.
So, in this season of celebrating freedom, ask yourself if you are truly allowing your own freedom to love. To express the love that we are without conditions or limitations of any kind is our birthright, our very nature, but only we can choose to fully allow that freedom for ourselves.
by Lori | Jul 1, 2016 | Blog
I will admit it. I have been struggling with the concept of Divine Gratitude.
Readers of my blog know I teach and believe that we are all aspects of the God/Goddess All That Is / Source. Source is all there is and we are a part of it. We are unique aspects of this wondrous universal (perhaps “multiversal”) energy of Source. This is the key point to the teachings of Standing in the Light® programs and classes.
Another fundamental aspect of the SITL classes is that in order to consciously create we must hold the intention of what we want to create and the energies of Divine Love, Divine Surrender, Divine Detachment, Divine Trust and Divine Gratitude plus whatever qualities of what you are trying to create – such as a car, house, or new job. However, no matter what we are trying to manifest or create, we must be holding the first five energies sufficiently to bring our intention into form.
These are the reasons each of the five energies is necessary:
- Divine Love – to know and understand ourselves as love with the self-worth and self-confidence to bring the creation into form.
- Divine Detachment – to not be concerned how and when the creation comes into form.
- Divine Trust and Divine Surrender – to be willing to trust and surrender to what the highest plan is and to trust and surrender to our own ability to bring it into form.
- Finally, Divine Gratitude – to be willing to show gratitude and be grateful prior to something coming into form. (Anyone can show gratitude after what he/she is trying to manifest comes into form, but the master shows it before it is created with the confidence that it will be created.)
What I was struggling with was the intersection of knowing I am an aspect of Source and therefore ultimately I am Source with the idea of giving gratitude to the Source that I am. Why would I need to give gratitude to an energy source that I am?
What I figured out was I was under one of two possible misconceptions. First, I was misunderstanding that the gratitude I was giving was to some benevolent energy outside of myself that needs me to give gratitude to it as if I was borrowing its car on a Saturday night. At least this misconstrued gratitude was to a benevolent Source because the second one wasn’t. The second misunderstanding was that I was giving gratitude to an energy that wasn’t quite so benevolent as if I was a supplicant or subject needing to show unconditional gratitude out of fear of reprisal if I didn’t.
Having been able to see through these two misconceptions, I finally realized that the gratitude I was giving and feeling was to and for myself, myself as this wonderful aspect of Source. I needed to allow the gift of the energy and joyful feeling of Divine Gratitude for all the many wonderful qualities and frequencies that I hold ethereally which come into form physically because of the universal law of like attracts like. Because I am holding a certain cocktail of frequencies, I attract those physical manifestations to me.
That is what I have to be grateful for: feeling, knowing and being the state of total enjoyment of what has been created and honoring that creation. That is what Divine Gratitude is. That is what we need to know and be in order to bring any intention into form. The knowingness of the Joy of Gratitude.
Want to read more about Gratitude? Check out these two blog entries by Ginger Withee and myself. https://iamstandinginthelight.com/the-grace-of-gratitude/ and https://iamstandinginthelight.com/grace-and-gratitude-two-ideas-whose-time-has-come/
by Ginger | May 30, 2016 | Blog
I remember an old 1970’s sci-fi film set in Earth’s post- apocalyptic future when humans had tried to resolve what they judged as the aging “problem” by simply eliminating the older people. At some point after their 20’s, people were sent off with a big, happy graduation party to walk through a big set of doors to some great unknown magical place and never seen again. None of the young people knew what old age looked like or even that it was a normal part of the human experience. It was beyond their understanding, but so was the wisdom of experience that comes with it.
As a meta-physician, I know that the physical body has infinite regenerative capacity. I know that the body is not the truth of who we are and that physical death is not the end of our experience. Yet, it is still difficult to watch a loved one struggle with an aging body because we still identify so strongly with our physical selves as the reality of who we are.
My cat, who has been my dear companion for many years, will soon turn 18 and has experienced noticeable physical changes these last few years. While she can still get around the house, there are days that her legs are stiff enough that going up the stairs is a slow process and she sometimes will opt out of getting up on her favorite perch on my bed, despite the special steps I’ve placed there. Yet, she seems un-phased by these changes, does not cry or show any signs of distress.
As her caretaker, I want to “fix” her when I see her struggle. Intellectually, I know that it does not serve her purpose to stay in this body forever, but I still experience the desire to “heal” her oncoming death from happening. I realize that this comes from my judgment that physical aging and death is to be avoided, and that it should be preventable if we just work at it hard enough.
Yet, when I check in with my Soul for guidance, I hear repeatedly that she is fine with what is happening and that she needs nothing from me but love. She is my greatest teacher in this, as she has been in so many things. She has no attachments to this lifetime and no beliefs about the rightness or wrongness of death. It is simply a metaphor for the transitions that we all go through in our spiritual journey, from one phase of our learning to the next. When it is time for her to make that transition, she will. No drama. No regrets. No judgment.
I am learning, as I watch her move uncomplainingly through this phase of her life, to let go of my own ideas of how things should be. If she does not perceive this as suffering, then why should I? Her aging body is the perfect vehicle for what she is both learning and teaching right now. It is exactly as it should be and does not need any fixing from me. If the time comes that I am guided to assist her in her transition, I will strive to do so from a place of pure Love. No drama. No regrets. No judgment.
I honor her wisdom in this simple truth: total and unconditional non-judgment of any of her experiences. I hope to follow her example in living my life with that fluid, cat-like grace of total acceptance. The total non-judgment of what Is.
by Lori | May 11, 2016 | Blog
Are you an Outlander fan, like me? Reading the Outlander series has given me cause to question how I might act if I were in similar situations as the characters.
The Outlander series is a time-traveling love story written by Diana Gabaldon. There are eight books in the series with the ninth coming out soon. Gabaldon has also written many short stories and side stories involving the same characters. Gabaldon’s books and characters are so popular that Starz has turned them into a cable TV series.
I am currently reading book number seven, An Echo in the Bone. I won’t go too far into spoiler mode but I need to give a little background in order to tell you what I have questioned about myself while reading the books.
The main characters in Outlander are Claire, an English World War II nurse, who time travels to 1743 Scotland where she meets our hero, Jamie, a Scottish Highland warrior. Jamie, although enamored with Claire, is not enamored with “outlanders” the derogatory term for the English. Claire eventually shares her time travel secret with Jamie and convinces him of her knowledge of the future, since it is history to her.
From the beginning of the shared knowledge, Claire and Jamie debate whether it is possible for two people to change the future. Although an ongoing theme, my metaphysical questions didn’t really come to me until reading An Echo in the Bone. Here comes the spoiler alert!
In An Echo in the Bone, Jamie and Claire are now living in the British Colonies of North America thirty odd years forward from when they first met in 1743. The Declaration of Independence of 1776 has been declared and for a few years running up to that, the British subjects in the North American Colonies are deciding whether to stay loyal to England or to take up the cause of those opposing the English King.
Claire knows the outcome of the war even when almost no one, including the rebelling colonists, would have predicted it.
The questions metaphysically are, if you had the insight and knowledge that Claire has regarding the outcome of the war between the rebelling colonies and Britain, how would you act? What would you do? Would you keep your eye on the end game? Would you work to help others see the truth of the revolutionary cause? Would you experience your outer world more calmly because you know how it will end? Or would you continue to be in fear because of the potential of dying in the war, regardless of the final outcome? Would you have the courage to move forward or would you move to a region of the world not affected directly?
These are basically the same questions we can ask ourselves regarding the experiment in duality. If we know the final outcome will be that everyone and everything on Mother Earth will remember who we truly are, will return home to the oneness of Source, would we have the courage to move forward regardless of how chaotic and physically challenging we see the outer world? Will we allow ourselves to move through the layers of our fear to our own evolution where we might be able to help others see the truth of this seemingly revolutionary cause? Or would we, with the knowledge that we have, try to deny the inevitable by staying with the status quo of the third-dimensional world even when we know that is not ultimately sustainable?
Asking and answering these questions will not change the final outcome. We all do make it home, even those who are trying to stay in the third-dimensional reality because that is all they know or because it is where they believe their power base is. All make it home because we are already home. We are already God/Goddess All That Is. However, the answer to the questions will determine how much joy we have in the journey and perhaps how much joy we can help others to experience, as well. There is no judgment from Source / God/Goddess All That Is regarding how long we exist in the experiment in duality. Time is also an illusion so there really isn’t a “how long we exist in the experiment” concept either. You can be the first on your block to adopt the revolutionary idea of evolving out of the experiment and remembering who you are even when all evidence to the contrary in your outer world might lead you to believe that the status quo is the only option you have. Don’t worry about holding onto the old paradigm. Master the illusion and move into the new paradigm. The new world awaits.
by Ginger | Apr 30, 2016 | Blog
In this country, we value our personal independence greatly. Yet, we often forget how much of a community we are with so many people we never meet. I can go to the grocery store and pick out whatever I want all on my own. But it took the efforts of dozens of people to give me that opportunity; from the farmer to the trucker to the produce stocker and many more. A breakdown at any time along that chain would have a direct effect on me, though I might never know why spinach wasn’t available that particular day. I will never be able to thank those players in person, but I can be grateful for their contributions.
Every day we have countless opportunities to participate as a global community, even more so now with the Internet and social media. What we do and say, the footprint we leave behind, has a very real impact and has the potential to uplift and bring us together or to tear down.
We each have so much to offer in this world, but it only benefits ourselves and others when we act. In smaller communities and villages, it’s easier to see the direct impact of everyone’s participation. If the blacksmith didn’t do his job, there would be no tools and the horses wouldn’t have shoes. If the baker didn’t work, the village wouldn’t have bread. In a global community, it’s harder to see the effect, but the concept is the same. We may never know the value that a piece of art we created had to someone else or how many children’s lives are touched by the park restoration project we spearheaded, but if we listen and act when we are called then we don’t need to know. The joy of doing our part is all we need and the ripple effect of such actions can expand beyond our wildest imagination.
In the movie Pay It Forward, the main character comes up with the idea for each person to do an act of kindness for three other people without reciprocation. The idea was that if everyone gave what they could to others, then we would all receive what we needed in some way or other. His vision saw the world as a global village. What goes around, comes around. This is a powerful vision and it does work, but only when everyone is fully participating in whatever way they are able.
So ask yourself, “What do I have to contribute? Where am I still holding back? Why am I still holding back?” We are unique beings with unique talents. No two contributions to the world are the same. Yet, we cannot do it without each other. We cannot do it alone. It truly takes the whole village to be a village.
by Lori | Apr 6, 2016 | Blog
As readers of this blog know, I am a new puppy guardian. The universe has been giving me great messages through this new experience for me. Today’s message is Divine Power and Freedom through Divine Surrender.
Recently, my friend and teacher, Marsha Hankins wrote a book called, Ascension, The End of Duality, Published by Balboa Press and available online at http://amzn.to/1W9XswR. Marsha arranged a teleconference to answer questions that any of her readers might have. On the conference, Marsha was addressing the need for us to surrender to our own Divine Will. She suggested that we all tap into the energy of an ascended master to see how the ascended master felt about Divine Surrender.
I was guided to tap into the energy of the Christ to see how he feels about Divine Surrender. The immediate response I received was that of Divine Power. How interesting. By being in Divine Surrender, the Christ was feeling his complete Divine Power. Ginger Withee, another friend of mine shared with me that when she tried the same experiment, she felt expansion, freedom, and deep connectedness. Comparing notes, Ginger and I realized that Divine Surrender is the exact opposite of what human surrender feels like. It is through Divine Surrender – surrendering to the Divine Will within ourselves, that we have the power and the freedom to be and experience what is in the highest good of all. Anything less than this and we are limiting ourselves.
How does this apply to my 11-week old lab, Ruby Sunshine? Obviously, Ruby is very young and we are just starting to train her. Pat and I are trying to be as conscious as possible to not expect her to be more evolved than she is! Having said that, we live on a state highway that has a 50 mile an hour speed limit at our door. We can no longer allow Ruby to be outside of our backyard without a leash. She is too fast for us, already! Further into her training for voice recall, this may change. But, for now, the leash needs to be on for her protection and security.
As you can imagine, at first, Ruby viewed her leash as trying to control her or to confine her. That is how we humans view surrender and even guidance, sometimes. We have been working with Ruby, physically and energetically, to see if she will reframe the way she views the leash from being controlling to being her freedom. Just like the Christ showed me, Divine Surrender to Divine Will, (aka being willing to walk on her leash) will allow Ruby to go anywhere, not just stay in the backyard, and be safe and secure while she is on the leash. Her universe will no longer be limited to her backyard. Her universe will include walks, hikes, new experiences, and new smells, all because she is willing to surrender to her leash.
The other day, Ruby was still fighting the leash on what I assume is personal conviction! Therefore, Pat and I had her in the backyard. However, she could see us in the garden which is not in the backyard. She kept running to the fence and looking like she wanted to join us in the garden. Deciding to give it a try, I put her on the leash and without much resistance, she was willing to be out of the backyard. Please bear in mind that the walk we went on was not a classic “at heel” walk at all! It was definitely all about how far she could run to the next smell. She did great! I believe this smart little creature is starting to realize that the leash is the key to her freedom.
What do we need to do to realize that surrendering to our own God-self, our own inner wisdom, and guidance, will lead to our freedom and our true power?
