Blinded by the light

John is back and it was so good to be in the meetings with him again where he seemed to me to be weightier with Knowledge, kinder and more powerful.  And there was so much light coming from him at times I could hardly see him.  It was lovely, nurturing and simply so good.

Yesterday he spoke beautifully of the need to be the clarity that's in our heart.  Here's a few Golden snippets :

"Listen to your clarity instead of listening to your self."

"Your self is a loud voice,

the clarity that is in your heart

is a quiet voice.

You don't belong to the loud voices."

When he was kindly explaining to the questioner that she had little self problems because she listened to her little self, he said:

"It isn't going to stop until

you listen to your clarity

instead of listening to your self."

Yes, to not give in to the demands of the little self does cost us what's been our accustomed ways and reactions.  Yet, as John so cleanly pointed out, when we don't pay such cost, we are then victims of that little self instead of being, as he said: "more than your self and bigger than your self."  

John spoke of empowering the clarity by living by it and even by living for it.

"Everything that is yours belongs to your clarity."

 
In all this, as always, honesty and discernment are key in unlocking the door that keeps us imprisoned in that little self perspective.  And in that, the first thing that's clear is to open and soften ...

I'm not sure if I'll be able to make it to Nordegg this weekend, but it will no doubt be a blast for all those lucky enough to attend the upcoming retreat in the mountains.  A blast of fresh air, beautiful surroundings and of course more wise words and illumination from John.  I anticipate that a new dialogue with him will soon be scheduled, so please send in any questions for him in the usual way.

Until next time,

Love,

Shanti  

This Moment

It's a constant learning; to live in the moment.  The difficulties I wrote about in last week's post are on-going and I'm dealing with it all as best I can.  At times I feel I'm walking on a knife edge, not to get taken by all the anxious thoughts and feelings; to deal with it all with the help of what is deeper and calmer within.  That way of walking is truly only moment by moment. 

Somehow the summer break from John and the meetings is almost over as there's a meeting this Friday.  Though it seemed so long at the beginning, now it feels like it was over in a blink.

As I end this little post, I can feel the poignancy of life being made up of so many tiny moments and what an art it is to learn to live them well and with heart ...

Until next time,
Love,
Shanti   

Softening in the midst of Profound Difficulty

The past 24 hours have presented me with what can definitely be classed as profound difficulty.  For much of it, I was just thrown into the midst of the trauma and felt pretty overwhelmed and assaulted by the events.  But I have been increasingly going to my little bit within, to what is deeper than any trauma or circumstance, no matter how awful (and it has been awful) and I have been realizing more as a result of that orientation.  I know I use John's terminology a lot, but it is really good language for expressing the truth.  In the midst of this profound difficulty, I was presented with yet a bit more difficulty - and that could have easily become too much ... but instead I have been achieving something like breakthroughs, in that I am able to, in the midst of all this awfulness, realize abilities which have to do with simply not making things any worse than they already are.  It's been so horrible, and I've been softening and softening - and still feeling it all - actually feeling more, I suspect.  But when yet one more thing came along, and the tendency to harden and close was right there, I just didn't, I just became calm, it was like, I couldn't feel any worse, so I had to stay calm, and then I softened, and I just dealt with the extra difficulty.  I stayed open and soft and I dealt with it as best I could and I felt so much easier in it, I felt True. In fact in dealing with it in that open and soft way, there were some nice surprises, and it certainly wasn't remotely as difficult as it would have been if I had stayed in the hardening and tightening.  So that's what's going on.  It is still going on and I am doing my best.  I realize more than ever I think that life is like this; sometimes things happen and it can feel absolutely awful and it is absolutely awful, and yet, when I soften and stay in what is deeper and truer, when I don't harden and tighten and make a 'poor me' story out of it, I can live through these times with altogether more grace and loveliness.  More than ever, I get why John goes on and on about openness and softenss of heart - it is absolutely key to true freedom.  It's not about feeling blissful all the time, it's about being true in whatever circumstance life brings.  For that kind of learning, I am grateful and I see that it is what life is (an opportunity) for - that is the evolution.

Until next time,
Love,
Shanti  

Balancing Act

 This long summer break from John and the meetings is bringing about a kind of balance, as I can no longer rely on his transmission in the meetings for going deeper or of being able to ask him a question in the cafe.  I have, therefore, been working out much more of life's twists and turns on my own - and I know that's good.  Definitely starting to miss him though! 

Balance in all things in life isn't always easy to accomplish, but when I Know to address a certain imbalance in my life, I do so.  For instance, it's pretty easy for me to become too much of a hermit, and that's an easy one to fix by simply meeting up with a friend for coffee.  With all decisions, I endeavour to make them from a place within which is deeper than my surface level self.  The deeper me is always naturally moving towards harmony and balance.   I see that often, what is most convenient and comfortable usually belongs to the realm of the accustomed self and that bringing about more balance either within or without, usually entails some form of stepping up - and it's all good, as long as I don't give in to any petty whinings within!  And that's another kind of balancing act ...

Many thanks to those who've sent in questions for John!  And more are always welcome.

Until next time,
Love,
Shanti  

Do what you love

Yes, it's a bit of a cliche but it's where I'm at.  Having abstained for far too long I finally got back into my art practice this week, and then some.  I got all inspired to try some new techniques and, after spending uber amounts on luscious new art supplies, I've been up late night after night in my little studio, beavering away... and the time flies!

But, in light of what is the most important thing in my life, the title of this week's post means more than just pleasing one's self and acting out on the surface in a hedonistic manner ...  It is pretty clear to anyone who has ever gone deeper within than the more surface level of the self, that the deeper levels within are altogether a more lovely and wondrous place to be.  So it's a bit of a double entendre and I've been doing both; continuing to put what I love the most first - my deeper Knowing  (often at some cost to my self) - and also doing something which might seem to be just pleasing to my self, but in fact I know that doing art is good for me on deeper levels too.   I even got to thinking about running some more art workshops to inspire and ignite creativity in others, which I used to do some years back.  What do you know you love to do that you're not making time for?  Doing what you love, actually gives you more energy!  Sometimes you need to overcome a bit of inertia, but be encouraged! 

The weeks are continuing to fly by and I am surprised that I do not miss John and the meetings as much as I thought I would.  In fact I am making the most of the extra time afforded during this break and - doing what I love ...

Dear ones, the questions for John have dropped off a bit, oh dear ... I know life is busy for most of us and coming up with a good question isn't always easy - but give it some thought!  Thank you.

Until next time,
Love,
Shanti  

Peace

I chose the above image for it's soft and peaceful qualities as it kind of reflects my current state.  Apologies for this post being a day late, due to circumstances beyond my control.  And for those who didn't already check it out, the latest dialogue with John is up and to listen to it just click here.

As the long summer break from John and the meetings continues on, I am finding the goodness and the opportunity in that, as it allows me to truly see just how well I am doing in terms of being and doing what I Know.  When John first spoke those words to me perhaps more than a year ago now, my first response was to relax inside.  I see that it truly is key to quietly acquiesce with what is often very little in terms of experience, yet always there no matter what I am experiencing.  I see that the more I attune to that very subtle most peaceful loveliness within, the more real my life becomes.  As life continues to provide pressure and difficulties, to be able to align with my innermost is a true gift.  As John has said, it is really about making what truly matters more, matter more.  I will give an example, the first one that just came to mind.  The other day I was shopping in a huge store for groceries and it was the end of a long and tiring day of running errands etc.  As I heaved my overloaded basket along I realized that although there was a thread of beingness quietly within my awareness it was not what I was giving most of my belief to.  My predominant experience was that of feeling tired and hungry and just wanting to get it finished so I could go home but as soon as I realized that, I just shifted within to put my deeper Knowing first.  It happened in a moment, and I instantly felt something new and fresh was in front of me as I stepped towards the check-out.  It was a subtle yet very real shift, literally mid-stride.  It is in these small moments that I acknowledge real progress.  Making what matters more, matter more to me than whatever else I am experiencing.  Somehow in the long break from seeing John and receiving the goodness of his transmission, I know it's an important time for this and really worth stepping up in all the ways I know I can - those precious cutting edges within ...

Before I sign off I'd like to encourage you - especially all those living overseas who seldom get to see John if at all - to dig deep and send in some more questions for the next dialogue with him.  More of your questions mean that we all get to benefit from John's wisdom!

Until next time,
Love,
Shanti  

Mid-Summer Dialogue with John

 

 Yes, it's done; the latest dialogue with John has just now been uploaded.  To listen to it just click here!

In this latest recorded session with John he speaks a fair bit about relationship and also about preparing for relationship and about the bond of being which occurs with everyone you meet!

Enjoy, and as always, keep those great questions coming!  Thank you.

Until next time,
Love,
Shanti