The premise of the movie is that a global electrical glitch eliminates some very well-known cultural icons. In this revised world, there is no Coca-Cola, no Harry Potter and most poignantly, no music by the Beatles. I love this fun-loving movie and, of course, the music.

One British man, Jack Malik, is hit by a bus at the exact moment of the global blackout while riding his bike and carrying his guitar on his back. His friends buy him a new guitar and ask him to play them a song. He chooses to play “Yesterday” by the Beatles. His friends think he wrote the song and are amazed. Deciding to claim all the songs he could remember as his own, Jack becomes famous. Only two other people world remember the Beatles and they are happy just to hear the songs regardless of Jack passing them off as his own. The other two Beatles’ fans also pass along the great news to Jack that, without the fame and notoriety, John Lennon is still happy and alive.

After enjoying rewatching show, I allowed myself a few minutes to contemplate what it would be like if the Beatles had never existed.

Obviously, we can’t define or necessarily feel the lack of something that didn’t happen, but we can marvel in the knowingness of the joy that this reality with Beatles music brought the world. We can even contemplate the joy of still having John Lennon with us, in this scenario.

While playing with this thought process, I heard from my guidance that this is how Source feels about each of us in the Experiment in Duality. We all have contributed to the joy and wisdom in the Experiment. The Experiment would not have been as rich without everyone’s contribution. Every inhabitant, every being, regardless of which of Mother’s Earth Kingdom we represent, have added to the complexity and knowledge that is being written into the Experiment’s Conclusion. Source wouldn’t want it any other way. Source considers the Experiment a success because it is how we experienced ourselves as vibrant, magnificent and exceptional. It is how we remembered ourselves as Love. And as the Spiritual Hierarchy and the Beatles explained to us, All You Need Is Love.

Namaste.

Gratitude to Gerd Altman for the image above.

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My neighbor loves Halloween. Each year she puts out an assortment of spiderwebs, headstones, half-buried bones, bats and rats. Each year, she adds something new to her collection. This year she added a giant spider sitting on top of something unidentified encased in webbing. Another neighbor and I noticed the new decoration at the same time and were both leaning over for a close inspection when… it moved! Suddenly, it was floating directly at our faces, and we both squealed like little children and actually ran several paces before we stopped to laugh so hard we could hardly breathe. The webbing under the spider hid a motion-activated hydraulic press that caused the spider to rise up whenever someone came near. It also played creepy sounds for added effect. Question answered.

After we dried our tears of laughter, I thought about what is so enticing about surprising ourselves like that and I heard, “For the fun of it- just like the experiment.” Oh, that’s right. We collectively chose to create the Experiment in Duality for the experience of believing we are separate by forgetting our Oneness. The purpose of the experiment wasn’t actually to scare ourselves, but it was to grow and learn as creators, explore unique experiences and perspectives and expand our love and wisdom.

As we heal the illusion within, we all go through layers of judging what we’ve created and wondering why we ever chose to do this in the first place. When we get stuck in the judgment and struggle, it can be helpful to take a breath, take ourselves a little less seriously and re-connect with why we created all of this in the first place- Oh! For the thrill of it!

Image by Alexandr Ivanov from Pixabay

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This line really jumped out at me while I was going over some older books on my shelf. I’ve been working with the principle of mirrors in my own spiritual practice for many years, but something about the way Pema Chodron phrases this so directly and succinctly really clicked for me.

Many spiritual traditions include the concept that our outer world experiences are an illusion which mirror to us energy we’re resonating. Our judgments, beliefs and emotions about those mirrors reveal what we are holding onto that is unhealed and out of alignment with divine truth.

But even with this understanding, we may still hold onto the perception of the mirror as that over there while this is me here. If I look closely, I may notice similarities, but I may still hold the belief in something “other”. This quote breaks that pattern and is a powerful reminder that the mirror and me are one and the same, presenting in unique forms. When I am in denial about something I’m resonating because of my judgment and fear, the mirror shines a light on it by showing it to me in a way that I might more easily identify or be more willing to see. Once we truly open ourselves to the divine truth underneath the illusion by looking at it directly, free of judgment, we are well on our way to healing the false reality of our separation from Source.

Pema Chodron follows up this raw truth about rejecting ourselves with some insights on how we can begin to heal that judgment and denial. I share a more expanded quote from the same section of her book, with gratitude for her wisdom and insight:

Our repetitive suffering… comes from rejecting our own energy when it comes in a form we don’t like. It comes from continually strengthening habits of grasping and aversion and distancing ourselves…

But if we choose to practice by acknowledging, pausing, abiding with the energy, and then moving on, the power of this is not just that it weakens old habits but that it burns up the propensity for these habits altogether. The truly wonderful aspect of living this way is that it leaves the space wide open for a completely fresh experience free of self-absorption. Right here, exactly where we are, we can live from a broader perspective, one that admits all experiences- pleasurable, painful, and neutral. (Chodron 36)

Chodron, Pema. Taking the Leap. Shambhala Publications, Inc., 2019.

Image by Paramjeet Singh from Pixabay

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If you were a teenager or twenty-something in 1987, like me, it is easy to recognize the great opening line of the R.E.M. song “It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)”. It was quite the anthem for those of us who felt we were calling out “the man” and showing our rebellious side by dancing to this unique song. Never mind that in Nov 1987, when it came out, I was sufficiently comfortable in my public accounting job in Denver. Perhaps my willingness to shout these lyrics was a juxtaposition to having passed the Certified Public Accountant exam. Was I showing my “crazy” side? Was it a release valve for a stressful uptight professional life or just my willingness to let my hair down on the weekends while maintaining my mild-mannered accountant disguise during the week? Or was it just a good song?

Thirty-nine years later, it feels like it was a prescient song that was fun to sing and dance to.

I think the song needs a revival now. It is a great song to accompany the energies of breakdown for breakthrough, the concept that many have spoken about for at least 25 years. Sometimes it feels like the breakdown is coming more quickly than the breakthrough, but the ultimate result is the same, that “I feel fine”.

The chorus of the song is a study in the peace of detachment. “It’s the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine.”

The chaos displayed in the song verses is like the chaos we see in the outer world, in the breakdown of the systems in the illusion. The protagonist is even willing to announce that it is the end of the world as we know it, but that he feels fine. The singer is detached from the chaos and the crumbling world, and is at peace about it. The singer is in the world but not of it.

This is how we will master the illusion ourselves.

Try breathing in Divine Peace. Then breath in Divine Detachment. Alternate breathing in these resonances as long as you are guided. Feel the energies as they become your truth. This will help you navigate “The end of the world as we know it” and I suspect you will feel better than fine.

Namaste.

Gratitude to Prashant Sharma for the beautiful image.

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As I worked with this insight, I was reminded of a Buddhist parable about Marpa the Translator, a 10th century meditation master:

Marpa’s only son died suddenly as a young man and Marpa wept openly at the loss. Some of his students questioned his grief, pointing out that he himself had given many teachings on death as an illusion and the impermanence of the physical world. Marpa replied, “Death is an illusion. And the death of a child is an even greater illusion.”

Spiritual mastery does not require that we deny our human emotions but rather acknowledge and allow them, be present with them even as we are letting them go. Marpa’s reply teaches that the experience of death is indeed an illusion and so is the experience of grief about death. But we can only understand the impermanence of an illusion if we do not resist it or cling to it. Judging our emotions is a sure way to get stuck in them. Allowing our emotions without being bound by them is a powerful and freeing spiritual practice.

image created by AI

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When we contribute to a situation, again whether it is with actions, time, money or physical things, we are doing it because we are holding the energies of surplus and abundance instead of giving from scarcity or obligation which is more the unhealed energy of sacrifice.

As we teach in Standing in the Light®, “It is not the What; It is the Why”. The why for contribution is our love for one another, our commitment to the highest plan and our desire to evolve into our best selves and, if guided, to help others do the same.

Take these ideas into your meditation and determine if changing your perspective on situations around you will help you to navigate your contributions as Source instead of lamenting your sacrifices as Lower-Self only. Remember that you are a multi-dimensional being in the illusion of separation. We are not separate, which means all contributions are self-serving, because we are all one.

May you feel yourself as the abundance of Source.

Namaste.

Gratitude to Chris0223 with pixabay.com for the image above.

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Someone once shared with me the practice of changing “responsible” into “able to respond”. We sometimes mistake responsibilities with obligations. An obligation is a duty, task, something that can feel like it has power over us. We can choose to see responsibilities as opportunities to contribute and be of service, as moments when we are in a position to participate as a member of a community, whether that’s a partnership, a family, a neighborhood, the world or the universe.

Divine Responsibility is being able (and willing) to respond with our whole selves, not just our physical actions but our whole energy and intention. We can trust in the Divine Wisdom of the whole and let go of the need to control other people’s choices. Divine Responsibility is about discerning when it’s our place to take action and when it’s time to step back and give someone else the opportunity. It is free of judgment if no one else does step up. The focus becomes, “What can I do?” rather than, “What did you do?” We can focus on what we can each offer and do it with joy for the greater good, rather than tallying up a list of who did what or worrying about whether our contributions measure up.

Are you mistaking responsibilities for obligations? What do you need to shift within to free yourself of obligation consciousness and step into your divine responsibilities? Take a few moments to meditate on these questions: What are my true responsibilities?

Image by GLady from Pixabay

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I listened to the playlist earlier today and realized I was struck by the only country and western song on the list; “I Hope You Dance” by Lee Ann Womack. I was surprised by how much emotion came up for me when Lee Ann sang the line, “And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance.”

I immediately tried to determine what the reason for the emotion was. I believe I need to clear all the times when I did not take opportunities for growth or didn’t fully lean into a situation. Perhaps I allowed fear to cause me to choose the safer option. I started to clear any discordant emotions regarding this and the false beliefs that someone else held me back from living fully and passionately.

I can see the larger mirror for the Experiment in Duality. I realize that the lyrics are giving me the nudge to truly release all the angst and false beliefs that I have held for all the actions and inactions I have taken in the Experiment. It is also giving me the reminder to truly be joyful about volunteering for the experiment in the first place. I can feel the shift of looking at the experiment as wonderful, not just a “wonderful opportunity” but sincerely as just a wonderful experience to the point that I can’t wait to see what crazy thing I am willing to join after our Ascension. I don’t want to sit anything out. I want to dance.

Here are the lyrics for the song and the link for the YouTube video. May you find inspiration in this song, too.

Namaste,

I AM

LORI

“I Hope You Dance”, Song by Lee Ann Womack, Songwriters: Mark Daniel Sanders, Tia M. Sillers.

I hope you never lose your sense of wonder
You get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger
May you never take one single breath for granted
God forbid love ever leave you empty-handed

I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean
Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens
Promise me that you’ll give faith a fighting chance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance

I hope you dance (dance)
I hope you dance (dance)

I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance
Never settle for the path of least resistance
Livin’ might mean takin’ chances, but they’re worth takin’
Lovin’ might be a mistake, but it’s worth makin’

Don’t let some hell bent heart leave you bitter
When you come close to sellin’ out, reconsider
Give the heavens above more than just a passing glance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance

I hope you dance (time is a wheel in constant motion)
I hope you dance (always rolling us along)
I hope you dance (tell me who wants to look back on their years)
I hope you dance (and wonder where those years have gone)

I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean
Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens
Promise me that you’ll give faith a fighting chance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance

Dance, I hope you dance (dance)

I hope you dance (time is a wheel in constant motion)
I hope you dance (always rolling us along)
I hope you dance (tell me who wants to look back on their years)
I hope you dance (and wonder where those years have gone)

Tell me who wants to look back on their years (dance)
And wonder where those years have gone (dance)

YouTube video: Lee Ann Womack – I Hope You Dance (Official Music Video)

Gratitude to Lee Ann Womack, Mark Daniel Sanders, Tia M. Sillers for the song.

Gratitude to Gerd Altmann for the dance image.

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The ability to be fully present and reverent in each moment is a skill every spiritual master practices. To quote the beloved Master Hanh:

“Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the world earth revolves- slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future.”

Do not get caught in the illusion of what is important or in the fear of what might happen. Do not give your power to the structure by which others live their lives. Instead, drink your tea slowly and know the importance of who you are in each moment. Be reverent in every thought and deed. Trust in the divine plan and let reverence be your focus this week, this month, this year.

Image by fatema nur from Pixabay

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The fact of the matter is, if we all waited to be 100% healed, no books would be written, no seminars nor classes would ever be taught. Remember that our first priority is our own evolution, but it is through our second priority, through our service that we learn what we still need to heal for our evolution – our number one priority. Thus, it is through the books, blog entries, healing circles, and classes that most of us teacher / healers will find our mirrors and our triggers to help us evolve.

What I discovered, as I was preparing this blog post, is that the true imposter energy that I need to heal is that I am human in the experiment of duality; that is my true imposter. My authentic self, the essence of who I am, is Source, is the Universal Energy. Look at the image accompanying this blog post. The human reveals their true self as the universe that we see when the human opens their shirt. We see the authentic self when Clark Kent takes off his journalist jacket to reveal his Superman self. We show our authentic self when we tap into ourselves as Source and heal the imposter self / the lower self ego that believes the story we tell ourselves in the Illusion of the third dimensional world. We show our authentic self when we admit that we have more to heal on our journey through the illusion.

Yes, let’s heal the imposter energy. But that isn’t you as an imposter of a teacher / healer or master. Heal the imposter energy that I believe I am not Source. Remember yourself as the true master, the true essence of yourself as Source. Everything else is simply a character you are playing in the game of the experiment in duality.

Thanks to Pixabay.com for the image above

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