Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Joyfully Reverent

You may have noticed that I posted a new picture on my blog (as well as my Twitter and Facebook profiles).  The latest picture was taken last week at a restaurant (Lit in Edmonton - AMAZING food by the way), where my wife and I were celebrating our 11th wedding anniversary.  Not only does the picture capture how much fun I was having but I think represents how I am feeling these days.  The term that comes to mind when I look at this picture, and when I think about my general state of mind is 'joyfully reverent'.

After this phrase came to mind I took a look at the definition for reverent; "feeling, exhibiting, or characterized by reverence; deeply respectful: a reverent greeting." The word reverent really does nail much of my state of mind.  I have a feeling, and I exhibit this feeling wherever I go, of a deep respect for life.  In each moment (or as often as I remember) I respectfully greet God in the most profound of ways.  And through all that is a sense of joy.  I am finding joy all around me, but I know that this is a reflection of the way I look at the world.

After these past 5 years of serious spiritual study I have a dual sense of how things are.  On one hand I feel like I am only just beginning.  On the other hand I feel like I have made great strides.  The past couple of days in particular have exemplified this sense of emotional well-being.  I celebrate that of late I have made a significant leap forward.  The types of situations that would have caused me to lose my centeredness to an emotional reaction are now receeding.  And yet, I know that this is just a beginning.  But why would I say that?

For one thing I know that spiritual practice and the development of mindfulness is a daily affair with God.  Each day is an appointment with life.  The contempary mystic cannot content themselves with getting a permit from the Bishop to go and hide in a cave somewhere.  In the modern day you get to go out into the world and LIVE.  The value of this is significant.  At the very least the challenges of life stretch you and teach you to hold compassion for others who are living life.  In short, when you set the vision of being a contempary mystic and you live mindfully you show up in an accessible way.

And yet, each day is a reminder in humility.  If I am to live my vision of inspiring and supporting the transformation of consciousness, each day will require my full and present attention on the Divine.  As I look to my actions I celebrate the journey that is just beginning for me.  These blogs are a step in this direction.  I also tweet as @KnowTheFlow, and these tweets are forwarded onto Facebook.  I am hearing wonderful feedback from people who say they really enjoy reading my messages.  But behind all this is a sense of being joyfully reverent. 

When I tweet as I do I am capturing where I am in the moment.  Not long after finding Twitter I discovered that it is a wonderful tool for practicing the Presence.  I find myself pausing at a mindful thought and turn to my iPhone to share it.  It has become a virtuous circle, where the idea of capturing and publishing such thoughts is reminding me to practice the Presence, and the more I practice the more I find myself with joyous thoughts to post.

And so when you read these blogs and my tweets know that I really am joyfully reverent.  The picture is another expression of this.  Know the Flow as you go.

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Surprising Gifts

Sometimes it can be an interesting moment of courage to know that you need time for yourself.  This past weekend my wife and I were invited to a wedding on Friday night and a house concert on the Saturday night.  However, the Friday night was also my wedding anniversary.  On Thursday evening my wife and I decided that we needed some time to ourselves.  At the time it just felt as though I was drawn to peace.  We had a lovely time and took time for ourselves, to share time and space together.

My wife shared the following poem with me.  It turns out she'd been writing it for three days.  As I consider the past couple of days I celebrate that I honoured the needs of myself and my wife.  Yes, this was selfish, but then what is selfishness next to an unauthentic effort to attend a wedding.  If your heart is not in the giving, then what is the point of the gift? 

Between Space and Time

The rain fell that day
Tiny prisms of captured moments
Arms outstretched, you embraced
Your unguarded heart
And the fullness of your potential.

Moment by moment I've watched you
Unfolding, yielding to your truth
Replacing the bitter stains of disillusionment
As each new experience peeled away
The masque
And only your brilliance remained.

Today you stand
Where soul meets body
The point of intersection
Between space and time
Answering the challenge
To remember the Truth
In thought and word and deed
Walking through mirrored light
To stand in Source.


She told me that she had written this poem about me and for me.  After 11 years of marriage we have indeed travelled far and wide.  We have explored our oceans and our shores.  We have encountered storms, feel the mainsail stretched to its limit.  Yet the ship has come now upon a calm stretch of ocean.  The cries of a seagull can be heard floating overhead.  The waves lap upon the hull and as I look my sight is set upon my centre and my horizon.  Here is the partner I have chosen to spend my life with reflecting through this poem what she has perceived in me.  She was perhaps the first person in my life to believe in me.  I cannot speak for what might have happened had I not met her.  But here I am now speaking for what has happened.  And for all my blogs, poems, and tweets I believe she has done a better and more artistic job of capturing me than I could ever done.

Relationships can become partnerships.  The lessons of relationships are about awareness, fulfillment, and healing.  Somehow, and I am not certain as to that how, I attracted my wife into my life.  She has ever raised a mirror to me, reflecting the truth of who I am.  Her belief in who I am has allowed me to come to experience fulfillment.  And yes, all this and more has supported the healing I have done for myself.

Thank you, dearest partner.  This is a magnificent path we walk together.

Monday, June 21, 2010

Workshop Idea: "Awakening the Sacred Self"

On Sunday afternoon I was reading, meditating, and generally enjoying a chance to relax.  At some point an idea jumped into my head.  "What about a series of workshops designed to awaken the Sacred Self?"  I knew that it was an inspired idea because I was suddenly filled with a great sense of peace, joy, and energy.  I then proceeded to begin to sketch out an outline.  Tonight  I returned to this outline and after a couple of hours suddenly found myself having drawn 4 different books from my library, and had in short order written the content for the first evening of this workshop.

As I sit back and prepare for meditation I cannot help but smile at myself.  It would seem that this little innocent 'idea' is becoming a serious project.  I'm not certain quite how it will end up but I suspect that it's going to be a lot of fun to put together.  For one thing, I still have an outstanding assignment for my Practitioner Intern training to write up a workshop outline: I'll be checking THAT one off the to-do list soon enough! 

But perhaps more interestingly, this is playing on an internal conversation I've been having for a few months.  When I first started the daily meditation circles in Second Life (we meditate every evening at 9.30pm PST) I had wondered at bringing SOM cirriculum into that environment.  However, it was not long before I discovered that there would some challenges with that.  For one thing, the general practice is for Ministers to deliver such training (at least if it is to be accepted for credits for students).  In addition, the organization that owns that content is apparently preparing to expand this cirriculum online.  I'm a big fan of 'effortless' and once I realized that such an approach would actually be quite complex I released the idea to the Universe.

Then about two months ago I began to consciously sprinkle Science of Mind teachings in the form of 10 minute snippets before each meditation.  To help set the context you should know that each evening we open with an invocation to set sacred space, I share the context for the meditation for the evening along with spiritual truths that come to mind, we meditate for 20-30 minutes, and then I close with an affirmative prayer.  We then rest for a while and share in community.  Sometimes this is 30 minutes and sometimes we've stayed chatting for 2 hours.

As I look at what has started to unfold I'm excited by this.  For one thing, a selfish motive is behind this; I want to take this journey that is being revealed to me myself.  For another thing, it would be wonderful to share this journey with others in Second Life.  This workshop would take my online efforts to another level.  And of course, by authoring this body of work (but drawing on some well trodden spiritual pathways and ideas) I bypass any concerns about stepping on toes.  It really does strike me as a win-win.

I also realized that such a workshop would require a different approach.  I've yet to determine quite how this will look but I'm drawn to the idea of a weekly event, likely around 7.30pm PST on Sundays.  And unlike the meditations I shall be approaching the 150 or so members of the Second Life Community for Spiritual Living for a commitment.  The central idea being, that attendance is expected and some exchange of energy will be required.  The idea that comes to mind is that even if just 1-2 truly committed people show up, that will be 1 or 2 people who will be sharing this journey with me in consciousness. 

If you're someone who frequents Second Life and are intrigued by this idea please feel free to IM me, send me a Notecard, or leave a Comment with your SL name below.  I cannot make any promises, but if the fit feels right then I'd love to share this journey with you.

Know the Flow as you go,
Carmien

PS. Now, I've really gone and done it!  By blogging about this I HAVE to deliver on this project.  :)

PPS. And obviously, this workshop will be something that can be delivered in Real Life as well.

Saturday, June 19, 2010

The Fifth Agreement

I recently finished reading a wonderful book and thought I'd review it for you.  I can wholeheartedly recommend The Fifth Agreement, by Don Miguel Ruiz, and Don Jose Ruiz.  As a book it offers a clear and accessible way of considering how to live your life. 

The First Agreement is: Be impeccable with your word.  In short, this means to be mindful of how you think, how you speak, how you communicate.  Are your thoughts and words in alignment with your highest self?  When you are impeccable with your word you do not gossip, or slander others.  Rather, your words and thoughts support an idea that everything is perfect.  You speak with integrity, and use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.

The Second Agreement is: Don't take anything personally. Truth is that we are each living our own story.  You, me, and everyone else is experiencing the world through our own projected reality.  In turn, nothing that others do is because of you.  Anything that someone thinks about you is not a thought about YOU, but a thought about THEIR IMAGE OF YOU.  Once you realize this it suddenly becomes obvious that any opinion is only valid for the holder of the opinion.  It's not valid for you. 

The Third Agreement: Don't make assumptions.  Don't assume that you know what's going on for people as they are immersed in their projected reality.  If you believe someone is doing something and you do not feel good about it, then communicate with them.  But be clear that what you feel is a product of how YOU have interpreted your projection of reality.  And with meaningful communication we can avoid the sadness and drama that so often goes hand in hand with assumptions.

The Fourth Agreement: Always do your best.  Actually, this one really is, for me at least, about knowing that we are ALWAYS doing our best.  Our best may change from time to time, but we are always doing what we can in any given moment with what we have, believe, feel, and think.  Always know that you are doing your best.  When you can know and accept this you release self-judgement and regret.  This applies to others in your experience.  Always know that they are trying their best.

This is where the Four Agreements (obviously) left off.  For me the key is, when I am impeccable with my word, that not taking things personally, not making assumptions, and knowing that I'm always doing my best seem to make more sense.  It all starts with being impeccable with my word.  However, the first four are only a setup for what I believe may the most important agreement of all.

The Fifth Agreement: Be skeptical, but learn to listen.  Don't believe a word that anyone says, or that you say for that matter.  But learn to listen.  Learn to doubt.  Learn to listen for the intent behind the words.  Learn to listen to your higher self.  The power of doubt is the fuel of the seeker (or what the author calls the warrior).  The seeker will switch between knowing the five agreements, the Truth, and forgetting them.  Our spiritual practice requires that we doubt, and listen for the intent and Truth in everything.  We should ONLY accept that which resonates as truth and let everything else pass us by.

I have never done a book review on my blog before.  However, I feel this was worthwhile.  The Fifth Agreement really is a wonderful book.  Everything I read in it lines up with what I believe, but the author did a fantastic job of clearly articulating a process and mindset to follow.  And the bonus - the Four Agreements are included with the Fifth in this book.  If you haven't read The Four Agreements then do not worry; you get five for the price of one in this special deal.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Celebrating Manifestation

Perhaps my second favourite spiritual practice (the first being Meditation) is to celebrate.  As I was driving home tonight I was struck by the past two days and how much I have to celebrate.  What better place to celebrate than through my online journal (or blog - my third favourite spiritual practice)?

On Monday night I had the pleasure, as a Teaching Assistant to the Edmonton Centre for Spiritual Living Foundations class, to witness half the class complete their course and present their final projects.  The level of consciousness was amazing.  But perhaps the most touching moment for me was something that resulted from a seed planted on my part many months ago.

Back in October of 2009 I had the great honour of sponsoring Michael Bernard Beckwith, the spiritual leader of the Agape centre and inspiring spiritual liberator, coming to Edmonton.  I run a business and when I heard that the centre was looking for corporate sponsors I immediately grabbed the sponsorship package.  Within about a minute I was writing a significant cheque to be the headlining sponsor.  At the time I knew that this was not about marketing, or getting business.  I had heard Michael Beckwith from afar (on the movie The Secret and a couple of videos) and had resonated with his passion and his spirituality.  I knew that my sponsoring this event was really a form of giving to help bring Michael to us in Edmonton.

So imagine my surprise when two of the students that shared their project informed us that they had come to the centre after attending Michael's event!  My heart filled with love and in that moment as I considered the growth they'd shown over the past 16 weeks and what they were presenting that night that I had had a part, albeit tiny, in helping them to discover the philosophy I love so dearly.  In effect, I was witnessing a manifestation of exactly the intent I had set back in late 2009.

What is interesting is that last week I had been working through perceived challenges around abundance.  It seems that I have been wrestling additional hidden beliefs around worth and last week involved a lot of prayer and meditation on my part.  I did not blog about this challenge but I did share it with the Second Life meditation circle.  By Wednesday I had identified the belief, prayed for it and could feel the shift within my heart.  By this Monday a sign of my abundance became clear.  The money I have is God's money.  When I serve God with the money I earn through my business it WILL be magnified and returned in wondrous ways.  The testimony of those two students came at a most Divine time!

The message of this blog is perhaps centred around celebration.  Every day seems to present me an experience or an event that humbles me, that reminds me of how beautiful and perfect life is.  And each day it is for me to discern the perfection and to celebrate it.  And the more bitter the challenges and trials, the sweeter it will taste when you come through the other side.

Know the Flow as you go

Monday, June 14, 2010

What I Believe...

Tonight I thought I would keep the blog very short, and to the point. The following video does a magnificent job of capturing what I believe:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PG2GXGyVfk8&feature=player_embedded

It inspires me.  For one, I believe it is time to clean up the first few chapters of the fictional spiritual story I began a couple of months ago.  And for two, I think a spiritual podcast would be an interesting project.

Know the Flow as you go

Friday, June 11, 2010

The Game of Spiritual Risk

With my Professional Practitioner written exam tomorrow morning I have spent much of my spare time this week studying.  However, I did want to take some time to share a story with you.  On Monday night I had the great pleasure to be at a Science of Mind Foundations class where students were delivering their projects.  There were many wonderful presentations but one in particular is begging to be told.

One student told of a story of a game of Risk he had played the night before.  He was playing it with 2 other people, one of whom had been working in the field of professional development for over 20 years.  He decided to apply spiritual principles as he played.  His opponents were apparently quite vocal in their efforts to dissuade him from this approach, since, apparently, the game could not be won this way, and well, that's just not how it is played. "It's all about taking risks," they said.  

Unflinching, he forged on with this approach certain that it would work.  For example, he applied the principle of taking only what he needed by stopping as soon as he took one country.  As they played he would explain each principle that he was applying.        

And much to everyone's surprise he won.  What stuck me was that he explained that when he won he didn't get excited.  He simply had a calm feeling of, "that was cool...now let's move on.". Of all the things that he said this stood out as the sign that he had truly embraced somethingi beautiful in his life and that his understanding and experience had grown.  In my experience when I act from a place of calm knowing I am on course with the Divine.

As I consider this young man and that night I am struck by a perceived shift.  Even as I think back to 5 years ago and the consciousness of students coming into class and what I witnessed this week it is becoming ever more apparent that there is a definite elevation of awareness and grasping of spiritual principles.  I am sure this evolution of consciousness has been going on for eternity.  In addition, it is one thing to talk about a spiritual idea, but quite another to apply them and to be able to explain them in such an accessible way to others.  

Certainly his oratory ability had something to do with the delivery and its impact.  However, all told I was graced with about 10 project presentations.  Each one was unique, different, and yet extremely profound.  Each student stepped forth and demonstrated the realization that sharing how they understand living life mindfully is not a risk, but an opportunity.  

Depending on your perspective you might believe that every choice is a risk.  There is the possibility that our choices could lead us down a path that we did not intend.  But I know that the consequence of every choice is a gift.  And the gift of life is to make our choices with a clear understanding and knowing that every condition is not a risk that materialized, but an opportunity to gain a greater self awareness.  When we hold such a consciousness we can only grow, and our experience will become a virtuous cycle that leads us ever back to the One.  And as this student proved applying spiritual principles as you take risks really is a sure way to win.

Saturday, June 5, 2010

The Experience of Surrender and the Deepening of Faith

Last night I had the honour to support someone in their moment of need.  Someone who meditates with me in the daily meditation circles in Second Life wanted support with an experience they were having.  They wanted to talk with me as a Practitioner.  By the time we were done I was deeply moved along my own path.

Those of you who follow my blog will likely recall my writing about studying to become a Professional Practitioner (RScP) with the International Centres for Spiritual Living.  Such sessions are a part of how a Practitioner serves.  In effect I am training to be a spiritual coach.  A Practitioner listens from a place of love, knowing the God and perfection in the person coming to them for support, looks for the mental cause behind the condition through listening and questions, and then offers an Affirmative Prayer to complete the process.  The basic idea is that we have everything within us to reveal Wholeness, but sometimes we need a little help.  A Practitioner is trained in the art and science of revealing Truth.

During my Practitioner internship these past few months I've had the honor of supporting a number of people.  However, as I sat down last night and began to listen I had a most interesting experience.  I started to feel fear.  As I listened to them share their story I felt as if I was out of my depth.  Have you ever had that sense of feeling like a fraud, as if you were not qualified or experienced enough?  Well that's how I felt.  The more I heard the more intense the situation sounded.  

And then a beautiful thing happened.  I suddenly felt a surge of love and in my heart I had this sense of surrender.  I knew that I had to simply hold a knowing that both I and the person opening their heart to me were coming together as two aspects of the Divine.  And so I released the fear.  I told myself that I should listen and allow the whispers of Truth to reveal what needed to be revealed for perfect healing.  And in that moment I suddenly knew that everything that needed to be revealed would be. 

As I sit back and consider this experience in the light of hindsight I believe that my spiritual practice and placing my faith in God in that challenging moment resulted in a magnificent outcome.  For you see, as the session unfolded I became the observer centered in a knowing of Love.  Questions from nowhere jumped into my mind.  Those questions helped the person I was working with to dig deeper and past the 'story' toward cause  And then we had it: in a flash the Mental Cause was realized and the true healing began.  I felt that surge of connection and love, every fibre of my being knowing that something had shifted.  And in turn, their voice and their tears confirmed the realization.

I am reminded of the saying, "I might not know what to do, but Something within me always does."  Surrender is not about giving up or giving in, it is about giving over everything, all our fears and doubts to God.  For me last night was a precious experience.  I allowed myself to truly surrender and then got to witness Divine experience move through us.  My belief and faith has shifted and been strengthened for this experience.  The more we are reminded that God can take care of all our needs, if we would allow it, the stronger our faith becomes. 

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

A Request for Thought Support

Dear friends in consciousness,

Something magnificent is happening! I am writing to you to ask for thought support in making a Big Leap. I shall explain.

As you may already know I have been blogging here since January 2009. I started this blog with the intent to learn more about a yearning within to bring my spiritual ideas into technology (and in particular embrace the spiritual practice of journaling). I’ve been playing with technology professionally for over 15 years now (and I've blogged about my story in the past). It’s now gotten to the point that I’ve even invented a word (techaphysical/techaphysics) to help me describe the coming together of these two ideas.

Since then, I’ve jumped into Facebook, started a daily meditation group in Second Life, and now I Tweet on Twitter (@KnowTheFlow). This ‘techaphysical’ journey is truly transformative. At its core, technology is a powerful platform for my spiritual practice. Blogging brings together contemplation in the form of written ideas and spiritual poetry. Twitter allows me to post inspirational quotes throughout the day, and express my moments of practicing the Presence. I direct some of these tweets automatically onto Facebook. And Second Life supports the daily practice of meditation.

At the bottom of this blog I’ve included a visual graph that shows a jump in visitors to this blog (which since you're reading this includes you - thank you!). The 237% increase over the previous month (for 370 page views during May 2010) is an interesting story, but it’s not the real story. The real stories are the ongoing messages I hear, and the conversations I have with people that I meet through this techaphysical ministry. I’m hearing stories of people telling me that their lives are being transformed. It’s a joy to hear someone say that since they’ve been meditating every day they’ve started to notice their life changing for the better.

I know this much: The original ideas I had about how I would go about this have dissolved. As this journey has progressed it has been a delight to constantly discover a bigger idea unfolding, and invariably I have very little to do with this process. The Divine knows best and the unfolding of this path often reminds me to gasp in wonder. I don’t know where this is going, but something with me does. What I do know is that I feel an incredible sense of peace and passion around this techaphysical ministry.

A few nights ago during a meditation I had a new and bigger idea come to mind that will unfold over the coming months. As I have been contemplating this new techaphysical idea over the past couple of days I’ve had moments of uncertainty and fear. I have been catching myself, but having allies in such endeavours is always powerful. And so I am making a request for thought support to anyone reading this message.

Please hold my techaphysical ministry in your prayers and thoughts: That Carmien knows clarity, focus, ease and grace at all times!

Know the Flow as you go.