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Letter From The Editor
By Dekora
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Namaste!
August saw a lot of changes in our area going on. Our beloved anuk-yin decided
to get rid of his internet for a while, so now we're going to have to chase him
up for articles in person! Some of the other regular contributors of articles
are looking to take a break, so there are going to seem like there are more and
more guest articles in place of the regular authors. There is a reason for this!
I don't want to see the newsletter pass on so early after it's conception, I think
it has a lot to offer to people and a great message to deliver, so I will be putting
more guest articles in if that's what it takes to keep it alive.
On top of that there is plenty of information I'm coming across lately that has
been invaluable to me, and I'm sure others feel the same way. I will be endeavouring
to share more of this with people each month. I am sure that with everything going
on this newsletter is going to continue to grow. This month there are quite a
few articles dealing with the aftermath of the September 11th attacks last year.
I wasn't going to publish more than one article on this originally, but I found
too many articles and all their messages are good, I think that their messages
are more than just something to apply to 9/11 - they are a lifelong message.
I hope you enjoy this month's issue and feel free to email
me at dekora@tds.net with any comments or suggestions
you have.
Bright Blessings to you and yours,
Dekora
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Joy Beneath the Towers
By Amrita
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I find it very interesting that such monumentous event in our nation, and the
world, occurred on September 11th. "911" has come to symbolize a call for help.
At this point, I believe 911 is a number that symbolizes our world's cry for help
as we move into a new paradigm and a new age in our conscious evolution.
Change is all around us. Over the last decade we have seen incredible changes
in our world, the environment, politics, social mores, religion, and more. We
are moving from one age to another, from the Piscean Age to the Aquarian Age.
This in and of itself is challenging, because change is challenging. The Piscean
Age has been full of dualities, so much so that we fail to notice until we are
willing to step back and look objectively at it. One such area is in the realm
of behavior of men and women. We've all heard the adage that women are supposed
to be "ladies in public and whores in the bedroom", men should be kind and gentle
at home and then able to rip their competition in the world to shreds, without
affecting their home life.
As women have entered and made their way in the work world, they have had to become
"more like men" to succeed, and this pressure has been confusing to us. I've talked
to many people who are full of frustration and stress. I believe this stress is
because we have been bought into these belief systems. Somewhere deep inside this
frustration is because in order to get ahead in this world we have made, we feel
our lack of authenticity and many feel like we are living a split life. Our soul
calls us to community and cooperation, and yet our world supports just the opposite
actions of greed and competition.
The events of September 11th seemed to bring our world to a halt, if only momentarily,
so that people could see where this way of thinking has taken us. Our world has
received a huge wake up call. We are being called at this time to move into a
new paradigm of being. Signs have been all around us for years, and many of us
have had an overwhelming sense that something big was about to change…and it has.
We have seen in recent years the fall of some of our "icons of strength"-the German
Wall, the collapse of Russia to name a couple. And of course, on September 11th
we saw the fall of our towers of finance, and a wounding to our symbol of power
and protection.
Several months ago I began a period of immense change. A relationship that I had
hoped for and dreamed of was ending. It has been life-changing for me. I did some
tarot readings at a critical point, and for several days, I kept pulling the Tower
Card. Many tarot decks show this card as a tower that is cracking and crumbling,
as bolts of lightening strike the tower, and people and animals leap to safety.
At the tower we find a sudden glimpse or glimpses of insights. This sudden illumination
is the lightening bolt, that brilliant force which descends through us, and excites
or activates the truth within us. The truth rises like a glimmer of light from
the dark and chaotic realm of the subconscious mind. These glimmers of truth summon
us to change, and to break out of our old structures, and experience things in
a new way. It is encouraging to me to know that had I not opened myself to change,
I wouldn't have experienced the flashes of inspiration so that I could move into
a larger me.
Change brings with it the responsibility of letting go of the old ways. The only
way out is through. Indeed, this is difficult, but with change comes a liberation
or freedom from things that have kept us in bondage in our physical bodies, our
emotions, our thoughts or our ability to experience deep spirituality. And breaking
free from old ways takes courage-courage to say "no" to the old ways, stepping
out on faith that we will be given all the resources to survive as we enter a
new paradigm.
The Tower is the key of rapid and destructive change of form, letting go and moving
to a higher level through often drastic conditions. The Tower experience may be
a change of job or home, bankruptcy, divorce, or a life-changing illness. Many
people experience the Tower at the death of a loved one. Whatever the earthly
manifestation of the Tower, it is a time of death to the old way of being, and
destruction of old patterns. As with any death, grief is necessary. Grief is not
something we think we don't know how to do because there aren't any rules. However,
if we relax into the process, we find that we know exactly what we need to go
through the process of grief. It is a time to feel the feelings and honestly face
the changes because they are inevitable. It is also a time to be tender with ourselves,
because we have survived a wound to the soul.
Grief is not about just healing over the wound. It can be dealt with in that way,
but the result is only temporary. The grief becomes buried just beneath the surface,
until the next opportunity. The way to heal grief is to have the courage to stare
more deeply into it. When grief comes, and draws us under like a wave upon the
shore, we must learn to relax into the process, much like someone who is unable
to swim needs only to relax and float in order to survive until help comes. Flailing
about in the water only makes things worse. Railing against the grief or numbing
ourselves to its pain are only distractions to facing the feelings and moving
through them.
In the midst of destruction, pain and suffering, there can be peace and joy if
we reach down deep enough into our most essential self. Our natural tendency is
that when things become too painful, we tense up in resistance to it. We may even
say, "This is too painful, I can't stand it." I know from personal experience
that pain can be transformative. The key is to accept it, and relax into it, because
deep inside of it lives the seed of change. There is a beautiful moment when the
pain lifts and relief comes. It is a moment of clarity, innocence, freedom, and
joy. Sometimes it almost feels like waking up from a long period of sleep.
A very beneficial way to help yourself through these changes is to use sound.
Sound is vibration. Every major religion has its creation story revolving around
sound. In the beginning was the word and the word was sound.
Since everything came from sound there is a part of everything resonating somewhere
inside of us. Every crystal, flower, bird, rock, river, etc. That is why when
we are still, and listen, we find that we resonate with the sounds of rivers,
streams, and waterfalls, the wind blowing through the trees, the rustling of leaves,
the songs of birds, dolphins and whales, the cries of animals, the sound of rain,
and so on. On a human level, we are drawn to different types of music, from the
tender sound of a solo voice to the majesty of a large choir. We also resonate
with the sounds of instruments, especially those made from natural resources.
It is when we connect through sound that we can realize our place in the cosmos
as universal beings.
When we use our own natural sounds and the instrument that Spirit gave us in the
form of our voice, we can bring our inner world and outer world into resonance.
This is known as well-being or health. Making sounds that express our feelings
is very beneficial-sighing, groaning, crying, laughing, and humming. It doesn't
take any special talent to make these natural sounds. Once we begin to allow ourselves
this natural expression, other methods such as toning, chanting and singing come
more easily.
I have never met a person that didn't like some type of music. We are naturally
drawn to the harmonics in music. And now, more than ever before in history, we
have all types of music available to us through recordings. Music mainly affects
our emotions, but when used in the right setting in the best way, music can affect
the ability to learn; it can change the chemistry of the body, and take people
into states of ecstasy and joy.
Joy is what we long for, and it resides in us all along. Joy doesn't come from
outside ourselves. It is a feeling that lives inside us all the time, and we always
have the choice to bring it forth. I found it very interesting that during this
time of own incredible change recently, that I have had some wonderful experiences
with humming birds. I heard one sing for the first time, and now I hear them all
the time. There have been a number of occasions when several of them have buzzed
around my red hair, almost as though they were playing with me. I've watched them
playing with each other, and take a bath in a small water fountain.
In the book Medicine Cards by Jamie Sams and David Carson, the hummingbird
represents Joy. They say, "Hummingbird awakens the medicine flowers as they sing
a vibration of pure joy. Flowers love hummingbird because their nectar-sucking
brings about reproduction of their families. Plants flower and live because of
Hummingbird. Hummingbird will undoubtedly give you a flash of Spirit, darting
here and there, and everywhere. Get ready for a strange new burst of energy which
may bring you to your senses. Follow sister hummingbird and you will soon be filled
with joy, and experience a renewal of the magic of living.
I believe that the events of September 11th, our cosmic call for help, are asking
us to live a new way-the way of authenticity. We need to live from a place of
being real, without our fears that have terrorized us, without the masks we have
donned to help us cope in times past. We need to be at peace with ourselves, to
be in community with each other. We need to honor all beings, no matter what their
beliefs. We need to love our Mother Earth like never before. We need to feel our
feelings, and be accepting of what comes up. We need to release our smallness
so that we may experience our greatness.
Reprinted with Permission
Please visit Amrita's Websites Healing
Music and Harmonic
Living
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The dramatic events of September 11, 2001 stifled routines and awakened senses.
We watched with inexplicable horror. We were dumbfounded and caught off guard.
For this was an act of evil. It's meaning, nothing more than highlighting the
iniquity of those twisted enough to die and kill for a cause that most cannot
even begin to fathom and surely we did not deserve it. But did this abhorrent
event have meaning far beyond the scope of ordinary understanding? Did we receive
a "call to arms" - a forced reminder of the perennial wisdom we've long forgotten?
It is clearly difficult to believe that perhaps on some level this event purposefully
emerged from a tumultuous sea of disparate ideologies to shake us to our core
and bind us together once again to the truth we've all but forgotten: the unifying
principle - that of spirit.
For I am sure many of us can admit that we have nearly severed our connection
from the spiritual essence that is us in favor of fragmentation. Even in the world
of savvy marketing, experts have advanced the idea that we are becoming a fragmented
society and that "smart" advertisers must be cognizant of the multi-niches (the
separations) that have been created and identify them in order to reach their
target consumer, for this is the trend and so rather than recognize its inherent
defect, the world of business has largely celebrated its arrival on the scene
of society. Religions the world over continue to preach "their" truth as the truth
while intimating that all others cannot be valid. I don't believe that this is
what religion intended and yet we pour our commitments into the interpretations
rather than the fundamental and universal tenets that were meant to be understood.
The late Maulana Abul Kalam Azad a former leader for India's Independence Movement
once said, "The unity of man is the primary aim of religion. The message which
every prophet delivered was that mankind were in reality one people and one community,
and that there was but one God for all of them, and on that account they should
serve Him together and live as members of one family. Such was the message, which
every religion delivered. But curiously the followers of each religion discarded
the message, so much so, that every country, every community and every race resolved
itself into a separate entity and raised groupism to the position of religion."
And so we have formed groups, coalesced with causes and challenged each other's
ideologies, each making a different point, each adamant about its absolute truth
and each act reinforcing the barriers of our species that have no doubt been manmade.
And then the events of September 11th took place. After we calmed our aching hearts
and slowed the pace in an unending stupor, most of us did the only thing we thought
was in our power. We prayed. We returned to our faith. We called friends and family
and those we rarely speak to just to say, "hi," and "are you okay?" and "let's
keep in touch." Here in America, we grabbed every flag and sang every song that
reflected our patriotism; our united cause, "One nation under God, indivisible…"
Suddenly we realized that clinching that sale to reach budget for the quarter
and catching that flight to land a new client was not what it was all about. In
fact these former priorities became largely insignificant, no longer worthy of
urgent pursuit. Suddenly everything took on new meaning, spirit was renewed and
the divisions began to gray, at least for many of us and at least for the moment.
But throughout this still unreal drama, other pictorials have also emerged. Hate
crimes against those who even remotely resemble the alleged perpetrators of the
attack are being carried out; racial slurs are being slung, people are being murdered
and a doctrine whose denotation is that of good and love and peace is being misinterpreted
by those who have bought into the stereotype as one of terror for a cause.
And so this is the dichotomy that we are facing now, one of unity and further
separation. We can choose which side of the created veil we wish to join. However
we must, I believe, be mindful of the possible impetus for these horrendous attacks.
Was this an attack on America, the world or self?
Some believe that this event represented quite simply a "wake up call." Irrespective
of the surface circumstances, the universal implications are poignant - its message,
clear. Collectively and unconsciously the human species created this scenario
as a crude and earthshaking corollary to get us all to return to the natural oneness
we've been taught to unnaturally dissect. The thousands of people who lost their
lives although consciously not aware of their plight on September 11 were unconsciously
co-creating this scenario and thus giving their physical lives as martyrs for
meaning. Even the perpetrators themselves though consciously carrying out their
surface mission were integral in creating this universal message. And yes, we
who were left behind to seethe with anger and wallow in sadness were also present
within the timeless-spaceless cauldron of intentionality and invention. In other
words this may have been a universal endeavor, each of us playing a part. A harsh
possibility to consider? Or a mind-expanding challenge to delve?
In Dr. P.M.H. Atwater's article, The Attack: What I Witnessed on the Inner Planes,
she states, "(This event represented) a wake-up call (that) was needed, one horrendous
enough to reverberate across our country and the globe, affecting every man, woman,
and child and in every nation. Many are those who have grown complacent in life
- sloppy of dress, rigid in beliefs, uncaring in the consequences of personal
activities, ever needful of another addiction convincing enough to prove we are
alive…The people who died sacrificed their lives to make the statement that none
of us can continue to live the way we have. It is time to awaken…Our complacency
comes from putting 'things' ahead of service and investment; a consumerism gone
mad, a spirituality deemed little more than new age nonsense." These are strong
and sobering words - food for thought that perhaps we were long hungering for
on some deeply unconscious level.
So now we are at a stage, although by no means over the unrelenting shock of this
calamity, where we can consciously choose how to interpret what happened on September
11, 2001. We can reflect on the universal purpose, assuming there is such, that
thousands of "victims," in that moment became martyrs for meaning. Or we can choose
to believe that their "deaths" were incidents of fate, yet with no purpose other
than to highlight the evil that permeates the earth. We can ask, "Was this 'attack'
exclusive to evil doing; it's purpose nothing more than indignation objectified?
Or was this event a metaphor with a multiplicity of meanings, all leading us to
a singular truth that lies awaiting in the fore, if only we would "see" with our
hearts - that we are spirit and thus are connected?" We must acknowledge and be
grateful for this connection or perhaps reap more havoc on our psyches and our
structures. Your reflection for meaning will be your choice. Consider this: Yes,
most would agree that if this event was meant to awaken us, what a rude awakening
this has been. But perhaps an event of this magnitude was needed to bring us out
of our coma of complacency and callousness and our beliefs in division and self-satisfaction.
The fundamental laws of the universe strongly denote wholeness - oneness and union.
The divisions, largely and historically emphasized by religious interpretations
are self-created, merely mirages of belief that appear over time as fixed and
immutable laws. But they are just that: beliefs. And the festering of such may
be destroying us. The events of September 11th were perhaps a test in the truest
sense. And we - the collective authors. The questions on the test, a matter of
multiple choice - it's answer, a singular message, that of omniscient oneness.
Its "victims," martyrs for meaning now dancing as flickers of light, although
appearing as separate sparkles are in truth one eternal flame, beckoning our attention
for unity with one and all.
Reprinted With Permission
First Published at OfSpirit.com - Used
With Permission
Please pay a visit to Alexis's website: www.alexisbrooks.com
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Being a fellow online journaler, I take the time to peruse different online
journals when I have the time. There have been a few online journals I've been
browsing lately that have been so judgmental, I wonder just how it was I listened
to myself when I was in the same mode of being. My life has changed so dramatically
this year, that it feels almost unrecognisable. One thing that I have embraced,
which I have spoken on before, is the concept of acceptance over judgment.
I first encountered this in Anne Brewer's book Power of Twelve where
she was in touch with a non-physical entity who spoke about the Creator. However
you wish to view God/dess or the Source of all life, one thing that usually
runs along the same theme is that this being is a benevolent, loving being whose
only wish is for us to be happy. And this love is unconditional.
There is the key word, unconditional. So why would you think you can
do anything wrong to displease the God/dess? You can't! So what makes you think
you have the right to judge someone else for what you perceive as right and
wrong? You don't! Usually, judging someone else comes out because you
are judging yourself and something you have experienced in the past as negative.
Life is about experience. Sometimes we choose to have what we would normally
perceive as negative experiences. Sometimes we make what society terms "immoral"
choices. But who are we to judge? In fact, society's morals change from generation
to generation it seems, so that's certainly nothing to go by. I think the biggest
thing we can measure our actions by, is simple - did you come from love?
Or did you come from a need to control, harm, punish, or prove yourself better?
Did you come from ego, or love? Most of the time, we come from ego. We have
a need to punish, control or harm someone, based on what we have judged
as an incorrect action by someone which may or may not have effected you in
the least! And why did you judge this is wrong? Because you didn't like the
outcome? Because you have been told to think that it is wrong? Because you lost
control of a situation? Because someone didn't live up to your expectations?
We are fast learning that we can't be responsible for anyone other than ourselves.
We can't put expectations on other people to do what we want. We are the only
people who can give to ourselves what we need. Anything else is just a bonus.
So learn to have no expectations, even of yourself, and you will stop be disappointed
if it doesn't come to fruition.
But I think the biggest thing to realise is that just because you have judged
someone as wrong, doesn't make them wrong. It just means that they have chosen
a different path to yours, in order to experience something in their life, and
that is neither right or wrong, it just is and they have every right to choose
their experiences, as much as you do. Judge not their choices, for would you
like someone judging yours? What if someone judged everything you did as wrong,
regardless of what you thought about what you did?
Just because someone is on a different path from does not make them lost or
missing, it does not mean that they are suffering or in need of saving, and
we are all interconnected, so we are certainly not separated or divided. People
walk different paths, we sometimes cross paths for karmic or other reasons,
sometimes these reasons are not always clear, but they are often there nonetheless.
And if these reasons are karmic, then they usually have to come into being,
whether you like it or not. So I ask you, judge not - we are all just doing
the best that we can, and could use a little more acceptance and a little
less judgment.
Copyright
© 2003 Dekora
This article may be freely distributed, provided there is no charge for the
information and it remains in whole
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