A Daily Contemplation

The greatest power that we yield as Divine Consciousness is the power to determine what we choose to think, what we choose to place into our conscious awareness.  So much of existence is spent processing information, opinions, viewpoints, and thoughts (both positive and negative) from sources outside of ourselves.  In the process we sometimes fall victim to the "Lemming Effect", caught up in group-think unable to form our own opinions or process our own feelings. 

It is always important to me that we as individual sparks of God live in a state of cause, and not unknowing effect.  Within this framework must come a conscious effort to fill oneself with only that which will create our own chosen outcomes.  Remember, what we think is what will out-picture in our own personal universe.  

With this in mind, I wanted to pass on a personal 'Daily Contemplation' that you might find helpful and useful in your ongoing quest to create love and positivity in your life.  I hope you find it helpful, as it has proven to be a very useful affirmation for me:

A Daily Contemplation
by Darrell Johnson

From this moment forward, I awaken to the oneness of All That Is and Its unconditional love.   

I now understand that while I am also an individual spark of Divine awareness, I am God and God is me, and that it has always been this way.   

Now “We” embark on this new day neutral and balanced to outside events that unfold, and are humble, mindful and grateful that they serve as divine challenges to embrace, lessons to learn, and opportunities to expand and grow.   

From this moment forward, we exist within the power of love, understanding that God is love, and we are one with It.   

We too identify and understand that we are one with our surroundings, and all whom we come in contact with, regardless of whether they are aware or not.

We acknowledge that the road to God awareness and consciousness seems lonely sometimes, but that this is only an illusion for we are never alone.   

We understand that everything in life is Spiritual, and that we walk on Holy Ground everyday.   

We embrace our role as a conscious channel for Spirit, and that our light derived from an unlimited ocean of love will be used to touch and heal those around us.   

From now on we live within God’s conscious awareness and embark on our life’s journey, knowing that we create our reality by virtue of our thoughts.   

We are thankful for this perfect day filled with miracles and possibilities, and we know that God’s wonders will always be.

What Is Love?

Throughout time, poets, philosophers, priests, scientists, psychiatrists and just plain folk have pondered, analyzed and contemplated the true meaning of love. Is it simply a biochemical reaction in the brain brought on by some outside stimuli, or something far beyond our limited physical perception and capacity to understand?  Often when the subject of love comes up, it tends to move immediately to aspects of relationships, courtships, and the complications therein.  But love is so much greater than this one small prism.  

From my own personal perspective, I've come to understand that love is the quintessential dynamic force that creates all things. It is the essence and energy of Source itself.  Despite the many miasms that plague our current predicament on this physical plane, the multiverse is in actual fact based on a Love-centric system.  We exist because of God-Source’s love for us.  This love is unconditional, and with it, we are given free will to do as we want, understanding that within this love system are checks and balances that must be exercised and fulfilled.  But the absolute essence of Source, of All That Is, is love.  

From this perspective, we as Divine Sparks of God energy may have difficulty in conceptualizing the sheer magnitude of this God-love.  So as a means of providing us with a more intimate and microcosmic perspective of this macrocosmic truth, we are given the opportunity to share and express this greatest of feelings in a much more personal way.  As such, our interpersonal relationships, be they with a child, a mother, a father, a husband, a wife, a lover, a friend, or any of the unlimited combinations that exist in our spectrum of possibilities actually become a simple personification of God’s love made manifest.  To feel the sheer depth of love one can have between a father to his daughter, or a mother to her child, or a husband to his wife, or the passion of a newfound love just formed, or simply the love of your pet, is to glimpse but a thimble full of the power and majesty of God’s love in existence.  There are simply no words that do it justice, but you at least have a glimpse, a feeling of what it is so as to provide you with hope, strength, inspiration, and meaning. 

So as we celebrate this Valentine's Day, may you experience the absolute power of love in its most wonderful expression, whatever form that love may take.  May this love be unconditional and unceasing.  May the love you find externally only enhance your love of self, and may you find joy and happiness in its infinite glow.  Happy Valentine’s Day.

2SistersChat - MONEY CONSCIOUSNESS, CHAPTER 1, PART 1

I have been so remiss in posting this wonderful video series (my humble apology), but I had a chance to replay it and really found it to be so timely right now.  This series is a very interesting and important dialogue between two incredibly insightful sisters, Melissa Higginbotham and Sandy West.  The Topic of the discussion is MONEY CONSCIOUSNESS. CHAPTER 1, PART 1.  Their views are unique, refreshing and extremely thought provoking.  I suspect you may never look at money the same way again.  They also have a number of other videos focusing on a vast array of Spiritual topics.  I give them all 2 thumbs up (more if I had extra thumbs) so enjoy, let me know what you think, and thank you.

Losing My Religion, Gaining My Spirituality

This past week, I listened with great interest to the NPR featured series entitled Losing Our Religion.  I found it most intriguing, in that during the course of the narrative it talked about how so many people in America have moved away from their core religious beliefs into a more secular space of either agnosticism or atheism.  What I found most interesting about the series however, was in my view the glaring omission of one key aspect of this incredibly important transitional process; that of moving through this pivotal phase towards a potentially greater and more nuanced spirituality, while falling away from outmoded, inflexible and dogmatic religious beliefs.

This omission intrigues me because from my own personal perspective and experience, this transitional course is more a part of the natural spiritual progression that most Souls are likely to take in their long-term quest for true enlightenment. I believe this phase (and yes, from a reincarnational Soul perspective I do consider it a phase) to be a kind of weigh station in the ongoing movement towards Spiritual awareness and personal divine understanding. Before something new can grow, something else must first fall away.  I know in my own spiritual journey, I transitioned multiple times from a number of religious and spiritual paths, each time bringing me closer to a greater and more intimate relationship with Divine Source.  I would be remiss if I didn’t state that this road has not been an easy one, and along the way I’ve had to deal with some jarringly painful resets and reaffirmations in my spiritual understanding and commitment to the ultimate search for truth.  I am, however, undaunted in my quest and commitment to finding my way back home, helping as many as I can along the way awaken to their own true purpose and intention.

One key component of my personal steadfastness towards this ultimate journey is an unflinching commitment to the seeking of truth wherever I may find it.  This outlook and perspective is what I believe to be the only true way of Soul’s quest for genuine enlightenment.  It has served me well these many years.  While I would imagine that most of you would also probably espouse to this aspirational metric of truth, the reality is that it is a much trickier and fleeting application than one might admit, fraught with deceptions and disappointments at every turn.  The fact of the matter is that more people tend to fall into the category of “Gatekeepers” than Truth Seekers.  What I mean by gatekeeper is a person who may claim to seek ultimate truth, but will aggressively defend any challenge, contradiction, or potential threat to their current belief system or paradigm.  There way is THE way.  This individual will hold to their beliefs with irrational steadfastness, regardless of any rational argument or counterpoint that they may be confronted with.  A truth seeker in this same situation will be more apt to weigh all aspects of an argument or thing (no matter how uncomfortable), determining what works for them in their own personal quest for truth.  This individual is likely to stay with a belief system for a time, but may ultimately outgrow it, asking questions that cannot be answered by their current paradigm, and move away to something that is more nourishing and spiritually fulfilling for them.  This is the way of the truth seeker.  It can be a lonely road, but the goal is ultimately why we exist.

Please understand that I am in no way standing in judgment of anyone, far from it.  Truth be told, there were moments in my life when I was as strong a gatekeeper as there ever could be, simultaneously believing that I was a truth seeker.  But when old beliefs were challenged by new paradigms that shook me to my core, I had to look at them squarely and determine if these greater concepts were in alignment with my deeper spiritual (gut) instincts; were they consistent with the nudge I was getting from my Higher Self?  When the answer was ultimately yes, I had to move on regardless of the cost.  So I speak from experience, having lived on both sides of this fence.

I believe that world religions are extremely important portals and conduits for spiritual growth and education, but I also believe that we as Soul, as enlightened beings re-awakening to our true origins, were never meant to park forever in one belief system for life.  I feel that Religions by their very nature have some legitimate aspects of the truth, but no religion has all of the truth.  They are a means to a greater end but not an end in themselves.  It is incumbent upon each of us to do the personal work necessary to uncover the truth and reconnect the many puzzle pieces that make up our truth.  Ultimately, we come to a point in our own spiritual evolution where we realize that WE are our own path to God.  

This reality exists within the backdrop of an ongoing march of Religious fundamentalism throughout our world today.  Religions have in many ways been unfortunately co-opted by those who would manipulate and change its original intentions into a toxic mix of selective truth coupled with outrageous, irrational deception.  This irrational dogmatic thinking has resulted in justifications for the most horrific acts of terrorism known to man, all under the guise of serving God.  This must end, our lives depend on it.  

Again, I cannot make this point plain enough; in the final analysis, you are your own path to God.  You must find your truth and take your journey; the journey that was meant for you.  This is the same journey that those we have historically considered to be Saints, Messiahs, and Prophets have taken.  Did they come to this earth in search of the best religion? No.  Did they come to this earth to propagate a religion?  No.  They came to this earth in search of ultimate truth, and in their Divine quest and success became a light for others to follow.  This light was designed to help others find their own way, using these Spiritual Masters and icons as archetypes (examples) to help show all of us the way, not by worshipping them but by loving them and replicating (as best as possible) what they did to personally find your own Divine light.  We all have the same potential.  We only need to exercise our inalienable Spiritual rights.  Hopefully we will all take this journey, meeting up at some point along this golden road to share our experiences.  I look forward to seeing you on that road and trading epic stories of our adventures together. Namaste.

Resolution: 2013

Having survived 2012 and that pesky, much maligned and misunderstood Mayan Apocalypse, I write this with both a sublime and introspective feeling of gratitude and admitted relief.  Relief from a subtle yet disquieting earworm asking “what if…?” despite my intellectual comfort level that 12/21/12 marked more of a shift in conscious evolution than a hard and fast checkout time for Hotel Tara.  Gratitude in the realization that, well, we’re still here to even crack jokes about it (another Y2K).  This gratitude moves headlong into the New Year 2013, to the point of negating any superstitious notion of the 12 + 1 biblical origin that such a unique number creates.  I think surviving the apocalypse trumps this New Year suffix anyway.

But I am also equally mindful of the fact that 2012 was a tumultuous year filled with incredibly wonderful milestones, coupled with unimaginable moments of tragedy and senseless acts of terror.  Sometimes I ask myself “…has this world gone crazy…is there any hope these days for loving one another, for gaining oneness with all?”  The annoyingly vague, yet most likely correct answer to both questions is yes.    Many have lost their way and have seemingly been co-opted by the negative forces, causing them to perform unquestionably cruel and vicious acts.  But I submit to you that still more Souls are finding that light from within, showing them the way to their true Divine origins as conscious sparks of Source energy.  The bottom line in all of this, at least for me is that we all have more time to do the good work necessary to find our way back home, and (where personally applicable) fulfill our respective missions on this physical plane. 

To that end, I have proclaimed 2013 as the start of a new phase of enlightenment for those who consciously desire it, and I hereby submit that this will be a stellar year of rebirth, rejuvenation (hard work), and reawakening.  With this in mind, I want to share with you 10 of my most personal resolutions, mandates, milestones (what have you) for 2013 and beyond:

1.       I will strive to play more, love more, share more, write more, pay things forward more, and live my truth more.

2.       I will consciously choose to live in a state of love and not in the illusion of fear. 

3.       I will constantly remind myself of that which is the true hub of my wheel, Divine Source, and live within this reality every moment of every day. 

4.       I will forgive myself for my mistakes, and remember to love myself unconditionally.  I will also remind myself that I exist because of Godsource’s love for me; that IT’s love is unconditional. 

5.       I will live from the consciousness of Service-to-Others, and not Service-to-Self, for I know that by outflowing my energy, I receive back the Divine gift 100-fold.

6.       I will continue to eat right and exercise my body, my vessel, my temple.  It is through this that I can best fulfill my mission on this plane.

7.       I will not let setbacks discourage me.  Each experience is a lesson to be learned.

8.       I will live from my higher self, my Divine essence, and not from the little self (ego).

9.       I will treat others as I wish to be treated, despite how they may treat me.

10.   I will do my spiritual exercises daily and consistently, so as to maintain my spiritual balance and remain a beacon for good, light, and hope in this world.

We all have to be consciously aware (daily) of exactly what is our launch point; what is our focus and emphasis.  It is also vitally important to understand that we have the right to choose what that launch point is.   Will it be God-love, or fear?  We’re never alone, we just have to keep reminding ourselves of that.  We must also live our lives from that higher place; that place beyond the senses.  This is our true home, our origin.  So Happy 2013.  Live it in the now and with confidence, and before I go I want to leave you with this amazingly poignant contemplation from Mother Teresa entitled “Do It Anyway”:

Do It Anyway

People are often unreasonable, illogical,
And self-centered;
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you
Of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some
False friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank;
People may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building,
someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness,
they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today,
people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have,
and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you've got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis
it is between you and God.
It was never between you and them anyway.

My love goes out to all of you.  Be well, be happy, choose love.  I’ll be writing again soon…promise.

What Is Your Mission?

It’s all around us; the signs are everywhere.  All you need do is quiet down and focus your awareness inwardly to feel it, then extend that awareness outwardly and feel the transitional energy shift, as well as the distortions occurring with every passing day.  Divine discontent is impacting those around you more and more, no longer satisfied with status-quo thinking or old ways of doing.  People are waking up to their true purpose, potential, and value.  It is a new day, a new time.  

Perhaps you’re having trouble putting your finger on it right away, and you sense that something is indeed going on, but what?  Maybe there’s a greater urgency to do your part to somehow make this world a better place.  Perhaps you’re feeling a greater frustration coupled with a stronger sense of empowerment to do something about it.  You simply begin to see things differently than how you used to.  Not a lot has necessarily changed on the surface, but you’re changing on the inside.  Could it be that you’re daring to question the veracity and relevance of what you’ve been told and taught all these many years about what’s going on, or are beginning to challenge traditional ways of societal thinking or being?  

The Occupy Wall Street movement and its respective spin-offs around the country and indeed the world are testaments to this new way of thinking, feeling, doing and being.  The 99% are now outwardly vocalizing the sentiment “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore!” And the status-quo Powers-that-Be are scared.  BUT (and it’s a big but), there still remains the manufactured distractions and fear tactics of our time that certain forces keep throwing at us, keeping us from galvanizing a complete and irrefutable paradigm shift of upward consciousness that is so desperately needed for complete and total spiritual growth, change, and enlightenment.    We as a species should be much farther along in our spiritual development and growth than we are now.  Why is this?

Speaking as a spiritual being inhabiting a physical body, this world has become a very iniquitous and inequitous distraction.  These days so much of our time and energy has been focused on the exercise of simple survival; rising bills and cost-of-living coupled with stagnant employment opportunities resulting in limited means of making a living.  It’s been rough out there, and as a result we’ve been stuck within the lower rungs of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs; no time for enlightened thinking, I need to get paid.  

So consider this proposition...You came into this physical plane with a preset contract; a commission to fulfill a spiritual mission.  But by virtue of the dysfunctional nature of our current existence and drama within this 3D realm of distortions, you’ve been cut off from the frequency trigger(s) that would help to awaken you to your true purpose, your spiritual charge.   You as a spark of conscious awareness are eternal, and as such you have incarnated here before, many times.  You bring with you certain highly developed skill sets, not least of which are emotional perception, empathy, intuition, and compassion, and find within your internal arsenal certain things that are very easy for you to do compared to others around you.  As mentioned before, you have great capacity for empathy and it bothers you that things are not as they should be.  The question becomes, what are you going to do about it?  What will it take to flip your inner (innate) switch?

We are finding out more and more that one person can make a difference.  Just look at Molly Katchpole of Washington, DC who started a petition to stop Bank of America from charging $5 a month to hold our own money, and later successfully took on Verizon to back off of its attempt to charge a $2 payment fee.  Or how about Marcin Jakubowski who after graduating from college with a PhD in Fusion Energy, decided that the direction of his life was all wrong and chose a more agrarian path.  He bought some land in Missouri and began farming.  After his tractor broke he took it upon himself to build a new one.  It was a simple but revolutionary design that he chose to share with others through an open source network he created called the Open Source Ecology.   Or how about the ongoing tensions in Senagal where Senagalese Rappers are mobilizing to create a movement called Y'en a Marre, which means "We're Fed Up. Enough is Enough" in opposition to President Abdoulaye Wade's bid for a third term in office.

I can go on and on but hopefully you get the point.  You can make a difference; you can make a change.  I would love to hear what you’re doing or even thinking of doing, and how you’re planning to make a difference.  It doesn’t have to be grandiose, just something that is helping someone else; one person at a time, one day at a time.  If you feel you can’t do it alone, help is everywhere.  Just ask.  If you build it they will come.  

All I’m saying is that you have a purpose; you have a mission.  You’ve simply just forgotten it.  And with all the distractions and distortions hitting us from all sides, even the notion to follow your passion has been pushed down the proverbial priority shoot.  But you do have a mission.  You do have a contract.  It’s in your DNA (literally).  Just take a minute and quiet your mind enough to hear that inner-core-seed knowingness that is you.  What’s it telling you?  What is your passion?  What really pisses you off and compels you to be a catalyst for change?  What is it?!?  It’s all inside you, you just need to listen.  Part of my contract (I have come to believe) is to help you spark yours; to help you realize that you have a purpose, a mission, a destiny even…because you do.  

It’s time for you to awakening to who you are and what your role is in creating spiritual ascension for all; for the good of the whole.  If you’re not sure, ask within and look for the signs.  You just need to ask.  You come from a loving God-Source that created all of us to live, learn, and grow.  We live in a LOVE system, but we also live in a free-will system.  Because of this, you can choose to follow the path of Love or choose the alternative.  Some have chosen the latter and because of this fact distortions and difficulty exist.  We live in world of duality and there’s no getting around it.  But you do have a choice, you always have a choice.  You come from Love.  You exist because of God’s love for you.  Embracing this fact alone will put you on the path to spiritual growth and enlightenment.  The rest is up to you.  

So what are you going to do?  It’s ok to get pissed at the inequities in life, but you no longer have the luxury of apathy.  You are the 99% (and if you happen to be some of the 1% reading this, then you can certainly do something).

Trust that feeling and intuitive side of you nature; it’s more important than you could ever realize.  It is the means by which you can overcome so many of the distortions around you.  So find your true purpose.  Talk to that man (or woman) in the mirror and make that change.  More often than not, God cannot do for you what it can only do through you.  You are the change, so be the change.  Much love to you all.