Everytime we gather to meditate and to be with each other in spiritual community, I understand the power of spiritually devoted minds coming together for heartfelt purpose.
In this week's gathering we were all coming out of the aftermath of a a few weeks of dealing with an earthquake, the hurricane that followed, and then days upon days of rain with subsequent flooding. People are weary and sometimes frightened by the uncertainty. However, the smiles on our faces come from the reassurance that at least for now we can rest in each others presence and go deep within together for the strength and clarity to continue on with wisdom and grace.
Our inspiriation for the evening's readings and meditations came from the insight that we can let go of our need to "overcome" because just the act of surrendering unconditionally to what is becomes the great opening of Love and the true letting go. It is the medicine for all that troubles us, all that we encounter. What comes from this surrender? First the ability to trust and then enough stillness to hear the inner voice, our guidance, and then the magnetism to bring all that we need to us with less trauma, with less stiving.
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The Antidote to Fear
Article written by Paul Dalton, Personal Development Coach
"Death is not the biggest fear we have; our biggest fear is taking the risk to be alive - the risk to be alive and express what we really are." - Don Miguel Ruiz
"Wouldn't it be wonderful have a fool proof strategy for getting unstuck and moving forward again whenever you find yourself in the grip of fear?
I once had an almost obsessive desire to discover 'the magic formula' for overcoming fear in any situation. Not just so I could use it as a coaching tool but more so because I felt I could really do with it in my own life. However, having trawled through countless books, recordings, courses and seminars I finally came to the point of admitting defeat. I was ready to accept that there is no ONE ultimate exercise or intervention for combating all fear.That was until, by chance, I heard someone use a phrase that literally stopped me in my tracks. In a moment of profound clarity I realised that the absolute antidote to fear could never be found in an exercise or technique, but rather in the acceptance of a simple truth. The phrase I heard was:
"The question is irrelevant; Love is the answer"
(All together now... Ahhhhhh!!)"
To read the complete article, click on the link below:
http://life-happens.co.uk/Articles/antidote%20to%20fear.htm
Excerpts from the Introduction to Gerald Jampolsky's book, "Love is Letting Go of Fear"
"The concepts in this book can help heal our minds and our hearts. They can open the door to making all of our decisions based on love rather than fear. They can assist us in committing ourselves to go through each day with the vigorous determination that we will have no thoughts, attitudes, words, or actions that are hurtful to others or ourselves. The lessons in this book are based on the belief that only our own thoughts and attitudes create our reality, and that it is only our own thoughts and attitudes that can hurt us . . . or heal us!
I like reminding myself of my friend, Hugh Prather, who states, "There must be another way of going through life besides being pulled though kicking and screaming." I do believe that there is another way of going through life, and it requires an open mind, a willingness to change our beliefs and to change our goal.
There is increasing recognition among people everywhere that we are destroying ourselves and the world in which we live. Many of us, myself included, have felt the futility of trying to rid ourselves of frustration, conflict, pain, and illness, while still holding on to old belief systems. We do not seem to be able to change the world, to change other people, or to change ourselves until we are willing to change our own minds.
Today there is a rapidly expanding search for a better way of going through life that is uncovering a new awareness and a change in consciousness. It is like a spiritual flood that is about to cleanse the earth. This transformation of consciousness is prompting us to look inward, and as we explore our inner spaces we recognize the harmony and at-one-ment that has always been there.
As we look inward, we also become aware of an inner intuitive voice that provides a reliable source for guidance. When the physical senses are hushed, and we listen to the inner voice and surrender to it, moments of true healing and growth occur. In this silence, where the conflict of personalities has ceased to interest us, we can experience the joy of peace in our lives.
Although we want to experience peace, most of us are still seeking something else that we never find. We are still trying to control and predict, and therefore we feel isolated, disconnected, separate, alone, fragmented, unloved, and unlovable. We never seem to get enough of what we think we want, and our satisfactions are highly transitory. Even with those people we are close to, we often have love/hate relationships. These are relationships in which we feel a need to get something from someone else; when the need is fulfilled, we love them, and when it is not fulfilled, we hate them. Many of us are finding that, even after obtaining all the things we wanted in terms of job, home, family, and money, there is still an emptiness inside. Mother Teresa of Calcutta, India, called this phenomenon "spiritual deprivation."
Throughout the world there is a growing recognition of the need to feel fulfillment within, rather than to rely on the external symbols of success. When we have a desire to get something from another person or the world and we are not successful, the result is stress expressed in the form of frustration, depression, perceptions of pain, illness, and death. Most of us seriously want to get rid of the pain, illness, and frustrations, but we still want to maintain the old self-concept. Perhaps that is why we are going in circles, because we rigidly hold on to our old belief systems.
The world that seems so insane is the result of a belief system that is not working. To perceive the world differently, we must be willing to change our belief system, heal our relationship with our past, and expand our sense of now by releasing the fear in our minds. This changed perception leads to the recognition that we are not separate, but that we have always been joined.
There are many valid ways that lead to transformation and inner peace. This small book has been written as a primer for those of us who are motivated to experience personal transformation toward a life of giving and love, and away from getting and fear. In brief, this is a book about self-fulfillment through giving. The words and drawings present practical applications of steps for transformation in everyday situations that all of us face. This book is intended to help us remove the blocks to the awareness of love's presence in our lives.
We can learn to retrain our minds to have the single goal of peace of mind and the single function of practicing forgiveness. Our fulfillment can come from listening to the voice of our inner teacher. And in so doing, we will learn to heal our relationships, experience peace of mind, and let go of fear. "
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