The Importance of Individuality on the Path - this is YOUR day!

Thank you Vimal for the kind words.

Although I look like a patient person in the outer, I lack lots of patience with myself (which means I'm not accepting what IS). By judging my progress as "slow", it causes me to lack all this ~trust~ that is so important - and this lack of ~trust~ contributes to slowing my progress even more. So I find myself in this constant loop, because one thing feeds the other. I'm always ahead of myself...

Yesterday I was in a relaxing walk, some hours after adding my comment, and I saw this sign "iRUN" in a car from a fitness company - it really spiked my consciousness. It's time!

Peace,
Eduardo

Hi Eduardo,

 Your post has been synchronistic for me . For the last some days i was feeling really numb and insensitive to my field which led to me to a 2 day juice fast and boy that helped! So its always better to honour the pull if it means we need a little boost once in a while. Overall i'm also feeling i have slowed down and progressing very little now which creates resistance to what is.  Thinking that this is not what i need but something more expansive but this very lack of acceptance is what is holding me back.  At such times i have observed its always better to just brings awareness to my daily interactions and bring acceptance to what is happening. This requires a lot of trust especially when things are not going according to my preferences. So i say keep trusting brother if you are being honest to yourself and committed which i observe you are,you  will progress no matter what is happening in your external world. Let the drama pull you ,dont reject any of it,you manifested them for a reason. Bring acceptance to whatever is happening. But also as much as you can find your own space , being with nature or whatever that brings you peace and joy.  I will leave you with a quote i learned today 

"The secret of life is not to have everything you want, but to want everything you have"

Well wishes Fellow traveller 

Vimal

Thank you, this was just in time... I've always been so rigorous with myself. And since my goals in life involve musical expression, this is something that really stands in the way. I'm always comparing myself with others... my compositions, my lyrics, my mixing, my voice. Lately I've been feeling very powerless, emotionally insecure and lost in this world. I also fear the biosphere's collapse that is inevitably coming, even though I don't know when it will be. I confess that I fear a lot not making the Shift in time...

Maybe all that I need is some renunciation, in a positive way. My day in filled with distractions everywhere, including my friends. All of this pull me in the drama like a magnet. It's not helping me much just meditating in the morning and in the evening, if during the day I can't keep this feeling.

So I'm thinking of reserving at least two weeks in silence just meditating every day non-stop. In my understanding, this will act like a "boost" on the path. And after this boost I will have much more clarity and power to live in my souls magnificence and fully ride the path. Let me know what you think.

I love you all,

Eduardo

Hi,

  Two things which I would like to say: 1. The article is beautiful because it´s true. INDIVIDUALITY is immensely important. Without it we clearly lose ourselves or we sacrifice our uniqueness to a group ideal. It is not spiritual. Sure we can learn from others but if we don´t remain inside ourselves while doing so, we just mimic. I don´t know if this is clearly expressed but I feel it. Secondly, that poem is fantastic. I loved it. Thank you for being here and letting me share with you. I have confidence in my day today, the sun is out here in Malaysia, and beauty is waiting to bloom everywhere. May your day be magical, too.

Love, magic, strength, beauty,

alma

When I stepped out of the ferry and had my feet on the bridge at Fauntleroy Ferry Terminal, I realized first my jaws got tightened, followed with my facial muscle, diaphragm and of course my entire respiratory system....

I remembered very well before the 5Gateways Program ended earlier that morning, Open stated very clearly that we would notice changes from being in and out of the retreat - that important is to inquire into the situation without intention but attention to our bodily reactions.

A few days now past, when I thought my bodily reactions, mostly contractions towards circumstances around my being was not getting any better, I came upon this article.....Oop......its like the drop of water in the desert....the light of the dawn.....and loving tears just rolled and rolled and rolled...

I love you, Open and all those new friends for a beautiful experience in Seattle. If there is a way to tell everyone in this world about you, OPEN and this organization, I will gladly do so in return for your genuine love.

Miss you much and much love and appreciation
Ellen

I note my comments posted above from February. It's been a challenging road since then after I stepped up to help realign energies in a community setting. What I've found is that you don't have to be the leader to lead although I already knew that. I didn't want to take on leadership responsibility, but here I am taking it on anyway.

It all feels very karmic. Long, long, ago and far, far away, I'm feeling that I made decisions that caused suffering to others although those decisions felt right at the time. I have definitely carried guilt into this incarnation from past lifetime experiences that stem from the heavy mantle of visible leadership. It felt easier in this lifetime to sit on the sidelines. But here I am, once again, in the thick of it, although on a lesser scale. Feeling tense, anxious, and weary. Overly sensitive to doing the right thing. Feeling the resistance. Wanting to withdraw. But continuing on anyway because it feels right. Part of who I am as a unique spark of the divine is someone who cares deeply and passionately about social injustice and doing something about it.

But I'm also aware that I have a sidecar passenger along for the ride, a hitchhiker, a false identity, an ego identity, an attachment to being a righteous person. I just saw the film, The Zookeeper's Wife, based on the life of Antonina Zabinski and her husband, Dr. Jan Zabinski, during Nazi Germany's occupation of Poland. The Zabinskis worked with the Resistance to save the lives of hundreds from the Warsaw Ghetto. Jan and Antonina were awarded the honour of "The Righteous Among Nations" by Israel for their tremendous courage. I'm always drawn to watching films about Hitler and his genocide of the Jews.

When I was a young child in grade 5, I wrote a short story about being imprisoned in a concentration camp. It felt very real to me. The details flowed from my pen although I knew very little about the holocaust at that time. Past life recollections perhaps that fuel my passion for social justice. I'm definitely drawing situations to me these days that call out to act but also call out to act out from an unidentified place from deep within. To let go of the "righteous" identity. Meanwhile, I continue to meditate daily to help me unwind the incredible amount of tension and anxiety I feel in all of this. I'm so weary. Perhaps one day I will move into "relaxed right action" as Open calls it in his Breakthrough Breathing Meditation. But right now, it feels like a huge weight on my shoulders. And it doesn't feel very relaxed. Letting go as I'm able. Meditating helps big time.

x Cathy

Love this article, Open. So reaffirming and encouraging for the expression of each individual soul as a unique spark of the divine, essential to the whole luminescent magnificence.

How I am uniquely me? A question you ask of us. Well, these days I'm a mix of the lover and the warrior. A warrior of love. As an HSP, I have shied away from the limelight for most of my life, preferring to 'lead' more invisibly from the sidelines, cheering and supporting the visible leaders on. Now, synchronicity is inviting me to step up and take a leadership role to help realign distorted energies in my group environment where nuanced bullying and disrespect have crept in. Feels totally karmic. It's outside my comfort zone, so I'm feeling anxious. But I'm also feeling powerful will and determination fueled by my passion for social justice. So I'm breathing into my anxiety and going for it! Whatever may come. Reminding myself it's never about the outcome. Rather, a way to be.

x Cathy

Hi Charlie,

Thank you for bringing attention back to my own words, still feels relevant a year on, timely for me too... ;)

I love the words of the Breaking Surface poem too...

You are the only explorer.
Your heart, the unreadable compass.
Your soul, the shore of a promise
too great to be ignored.
Mark Nepo

and a great article (f)

With love, Fiona

'Namaste' M.

I'm just silent here, in awe of that poem Open, powerful. Thank you.

So good to hear from you M. I've been wondering how you have been doing. Eddie

The sky opens up and the world is winged. . . . Listen! The air is alive with flight. Wake up! (N. McClure)

Today is the spring equinox and I just love this tremendous vitality of expression when we burst into spring. I find the poem you posted carries the energy of this beautiful season.

The seasonality of human life, all life actually, makes for quite a fascinating topic. During the winter, we slow down to retreat deep inside. It gets dark and cold at times, but there is something enormously nurishing about exploring the murkiness of our roots, deep in the familiar unknown. Winter can be beautiful and seductive in its own way, and as essential to the human spirit as the summer scene. There is a lovely term in botany - vernalization - referring to seeds that can only thrive in spring if they have been through the severity of winter. Well, many aspects of our life can become “vernalized”, can't they? :-)

So, with this equinox, it seems to me, the air is alive with flight more than before and I feel warm air current under my wings. They are carrying me some place new. And I'm enjoying the silence of the flight. My wings have been ready for so long... it was only me who wasn't trusting.

We welcome the world. A bounty of light is received . . . The outside becomes inside. (N. McClure)

Namaste

M.

This poem speaks to my heart in a big way right now as I feel into the pain of identifying with prescribed roles in society: mother, daughter, wife, sister, and friend, as I gradually let go of judging and blaming myself for my failings and how I've hurt people by not measuring up to ideal behaviors put forth by society. The lines are dissolving and blurring as I see myself and others more and more as souls, not roles. This is so timely. Thank you, Open.

Hey Fi!
Lovin the poem!
Awesome.

~~

Thanks Open.

~~

Love all, always
Rich.

Heartfelt thanks Open, this has been a rich exploration for me of late and I really appreciate the post. These words came last night...

I don’t need any other thing
Though at times the illusion of such need
Appears real and painful
In truth I am already whole and complete
I simply choose to remember
I don’t need a lover, a child, a mother
A father, a sister, a teacher or even a friend
It is all inside of me
A vast cosmos of infinite potential and possibility
I am my own child and my own mother
My own lover, father and best friend
When I trust and remain open
Letting go of the neediness - the expectation of something outside of me
Then rightness flows from unexpected places
A flower, a birds song, a child at play, a feather floating on the breeze
Sinking into an embrace, a smile or any of a thousand other miracles
I reconnect and become part of the One Divine Union
Part of all that is
And when I have fallen into that place
Where none of it matters, where all just is
Then I am home

With love and gratitude, Fiona

Beautiful song Jan. Just listening to it and seeing the perfection of our creation...like it's practically yearning to see us breakthrough it... To see it all for what it is and let go of the attachment to the mirror.

My heart is cracking open today as my lower body feels like it is in a tail spin... Deep realizations landing of what is born out of the death of what we have held too. Feeling deeply inside how there is no one to lose because you really can't have anyone. Just non-stop tears today and gratitude as well. x Jen

Terrific article, Open - perfect timing, as always.

Understanding the pitfalls of co-dependence within relationship has been huge for Geoff and me. So easy to get lost there...

This lyrics in this music help me to stay afloat sometimes. Geoff is more into Beethoven.. perfect...
xo Jan

https://soundcloud.com/paul-luftenegger/this-time-uncut-by-paul-luftene…

That's such a great article - thanks Open. Amazing.

You are actually alone in the universe. Whooaagh. Love how that feels now. Or that feels like love now.

This is a great one! So much clarity again in a spiritual/new age world full of hogwash (is this a real word?). Or should I say crap? I think this better expresses my real self or stream of consciousness. No we don't become a big blob of white light after enlightenment and no we don't need to find our perfect partner to make us feel whole. Well said Open!

It's so funny you say that because I felt for a while to build something in my backyard for me to have as my own space but I have also had the feeling that things are going to change in the next 1-2 years and so it feels purposless... Forgetting that it's not about the outcome or it's long term utility, that it's about the expression and what it means for me to create a space of my own....and embracing the uncertainty. What you all experienced with the building of the studio is quite reflective for me. Thank you!!! Jen

Great article!

This line sums up the experience of needing from outside of yourself beautifully:
'Yet of course we must know all about the risk of co-dependency. It's like the other expresses that repressed aspect of yourself that seems out of reach or too difficult to fully unleash. Then you might feel you can't do without them.'

Living in community and being in relationship, I can easily resent the fact that I am around other people a lot of the time, and feel that need for time just to be on my own. I can often feel guilty for that. like there is something wrong with me for that.
But I know that sometimes just a few minutes, some execise, a walk, being with my body or whatever, makes all the difference and I can appresiate the company of others and the world, with a freshness of being.

I loved the video, and the reminder, thanks
I walk again with inspired steps.
David

"It's like the other expresses that repressed aspect of yourself that seems out of reach or too difficult to fully unleash. Then you might feel you can't do without them.
For a man, it might be witnessing the divine feminine - the manifestation of his twin flame. The risk being that you then can't find that sweet softness in all life around you - in the fragility of a bird, or the sweet scent of a flower. For a woman, it might be experiencing the power, strength, commitment and motivation of the divine masculine - such a dependable rock upon which it's so easy to build the foundations of ones life."

This couldn't better express what I am experiencing!! I am here in this 100% supported environment... Seemingly Free from worries about future planning or financial needs... I feel this steady rock of support that never wavers and yet it's not from within and it's not expressing through me. I see how feeling a bit of that uncertainty actually is motivating... It activates something within you that causes you to dig deeper and to express more. I find it very hard to feel motivated to be the best most full expression of me with this comfortable "certainty". How do I live and express from the place of uncertainty when the false sense of security is so strong. I ask myself how would I be, what might I do if there was only me here, no one else to rely on? How might I express differently? Of course in truth there is only one, but I have allowed an aspect of me to be suppressed and fulfilled by my partner) I see myself expressing more Self reliance, building a greater degree of trust in Self and really giving 100% to what stirs my soul. So what is stopping me? How can I be more intimate with uncertainty, step into it more? I will be with that. Thank you Open for the awesome article!! With love, Jen