Transmutation News October 2010
By Sandra Ingerman
Last month I ended the Transmutation News with a quote from Krishnamurti about living life. And when I reflect on living life to the fullest, a quality that goes along with this is experiencing unconditional love for who we are versus what we do.
I think that many of us were socialized at a very young age to behave in a certain fashion in order to receive love. We were taught to fit in with society and conform to certain standards. Many people were also taught not to shine too brightly and to be invisible. And we were given rewards for what we could do successfully versus rewarded for just being.
In the need to conform to experience some kind of love, in many ways we have forgotten that true love is accepting people for who they are – the presence they bring into the world. True love is acceptance versus having to strive to be something we are not or fitting into some definition of “a good person” by society.
So we strive to be accepted and to be loved instead of allowing ourselves to be who we are. We compromise our dreams and try to become who others want us to be.
The earth, the universe, God, the goddess, etc. love us for who we are. And as we can truly experience unconditional love with no strings attached and no expectations we can experience a deeper joy in life. This kind of love allows us to follow what we feel passionate about instead of living a life that fits into the definition of the life we should lead created by authority figures and society. A sense of freedom is experienced as we follow our own path versus trying to walk on a path that might not feel right for us on a personal level.
Somehow being loved and conforming became a theme for so many. But the true expression of love has nothing to do with conforming.
When one looks at the life of people who have committed some of the most heinous crimes one can see that these people have been extremely abused in childhood. And to add to this I do believe that people’s striving to collect more on a material level is really a substitute for feeling true love.
One of the benefits that many people report as they move into “elder” years is that they stop striving to be accepted. I have heard this from so many people and I know I have experienced this in my life. There is a sense of freedom one starts to feel when you are no longer dependent on what others think about you in order to feel good about yourself.
How much have we compromised ourselves in order to “get” love from others? And how much better would we feel if we accepted ourselves and loved ourselves unconditionally for who we are versus what we do?
First we have to be able to fully love ourselves before we can expect to see this love mirrored back to us by others.
In Medicine for the Earth I wrote about the power of writing our creation stories and learning about how we were created and who created us. And in How to Thrive in Changing Times I took the creation story to another level. In the instructions for writing your creation story I ask readers to experience the love from the creator that went into all of creation. And to add to that to experience the love that went into your creation. As we can experience this love on a cellular level our whole experience of life changes. For we realize that it is who we are that is so important to the web of life and not what we do.
During this month go back and work with your creation story as I describe in How to Thrive in Changing Times or in Medicine of the Earth.
If the books are not out in your language here are some simple instructions for you to work with. Put on some nice relaxing yet expansive music. Take some deep breaths. Take out some paper and find a pen. As you listen to the music keep your eyes partially closed. Write on the paper that you want to meet your creator and learn how you were created from love. Keep breathing deeply and hold you intention. And with your eyes partially closed just allow your pen to move. You are allowing the writing to come from a deep place inside of you, a place of true knowing versus from your rational mind.
You could also do this same experience without writing but through a meditation – holding the intention and allowing yourself to experience your creation story and how you were created from true love.
I know I have suggested this before in past issues of the Transmutation News. And I find that it is important to revisit certain exercises from time to time so that we can continue to express ourselves fully in the world. For the times we live in do not call for conforming. The times we live in call for creative expression. And creative expression comes from self-acceptance and tapping into our true knowing.
A deep sense of peace and joy comes when we can experience unconditional love from the earth, the universe, and for ourselves. And then life can unfold on a whole different level than when we feel we must fit into some mold that others have created for us.
Focus on experiencing unconditional love for yourself. Absorb into every cell of your being the love of the creator. And notice the difference of how you feel about yourself and life and how you begin to express yourself differently and then notice the life choices you start to make from this place.
For how can we be a true light in the world if we can’t experience true love? Last month I wrote about the need to trust ourselves fully. How can we trust ourselves if we don’t love ourselves? How can we truly follow our spiritual path and experience the beauty of life if we don’t love ourselves?
This is not about being self-absorbed. This is about understanding that we are loved and being a loving force in the world is the most powerful healing there is.
We need to love and trust ourselves in order to be a healing presence in the world.
In my continued spiritual work I keep getting that this is a time of great deepening for all of us. And as we learn to move from being so outer directed to inner directed we will find true joy, health, and the wealth we are seeking.
Learning how to trust ourselves and experience love for who we are is part of the steps we all must take as we nurture our inner garden. And another step is to deepen our connection with nature. This deepens our own nature, as we are part of nature too.
I know that everyone who reads the Transmutation News has a deep love for nature. There is a difference between loving nature and deepening your connection with nature.
Nature is a guardian spirit for all of us. And part of learning how to thrive in changing times is to continue to communicate with the nature around us. We need to spend more time in nature relaxing into our connection. We all know the healing power of getting away from our busy lives and taking a walk in a park or in a beautiful regenerating place.
We need to learn how to be observant of the signs and omens the natural world continues to show us. For nature itself reveals to us our next steps in life and how to live in harmony and balance.
Nature reveals to us through certain signs what changes are occurring and how to prepare for the times ahead. For example, many indigenous people teach that when there is an abundance of fruit and berries during summer nature is giving animals what they need to prepare for a harsh winter that is coming.
There are so many teachings that will come as we learn to observe the changes in the fauna and migration patterns of birds and animals. And as we watch the signs and omens that nature reveals we can connect once again to seasonal cycles, lunar cycles, and the cycles of life itself as we transition into new times.
Learning how to be one with nature and communicate with nature is a great way to deepen our connection with ourselves and the cycles of life.
This month journey or meditate to find a practice that you can bring into your daily life to help you watch for signs and omens and listen to messages that nature is giving you to light your path.
Create times to be outside and experience your connection with the heartbeat of the earth and experience the beauty and healing power of nature.
Whether you study alchemy, esoteric religions, old shamanic teachings, Buddhist teachings, and even new understandings that are being written about by neuroscientists you will find a very core teaching.
To heal from your past traumas and to create happiness you must replace old defeatist thoughts with thoughts that embrace new possibilities filled with joy. You need to replace traumatic memories with remembering joyful and loving feelings that you have had in life. A joyful memory might simply be how wonderful a favorite food tastes, a beautiful fragrance, an image you love, or the feel of something soft and comforting.
From a neuroscience point of view when you do this you create new neural pathways in the brain and then the brain continues to manifest this energy creating long term feelings of happiness.
From a spiritual perspective you cultivate your inner garden and your inner worlds so that the thoughts and feelings that live inside of you will be reflected back.
The key is not to repress the challenging emotions and thoughts that are coming up for you. The key is to replace your thoughts with inner self talk that will inspire you to move forward. And then to replace old memories that continue to be painful with memories of joyful experiences.
In this way we acknowledge all that has happened to us and at the same time create new possibilities for the opportunities for growth. This is a way to move out of feeling stuck and held back by our suffering and to fuel a new life for ourselves that ends up impacting the web of life.
Continuing a practice of working with your thoughts is a tried and true method that works. Make a commitment to yourself to catch yourself as defeatist thoughts and memories arise throughout the day. Make a choice to honor all that has happened to you and at the same time create a new road to walk down in life while aligning your thoughts with the positive world you wish to create.
The full moon is October 22. Filled with love for ourselves and all of life let us radiate our light together filling the web of light with joy, love, and our gratefulness for life.
Let us continue our healing work in behalf of our global community by continuing our transfiguration practice for each other and projecting health, joy, light, love, peace, and all good things onto our circle.
Link:http://www.sandraingerman.com/transmutationnews.html
Sat Sep 25, 2010 4:01 am
