Author Archives: Regina Clarke

Living in the Christ Consciousness

The Consciousness of Light

The Christ Consciousness is a transformative power. The American prophet Edgar Cayce said this in a reading:

Question: What is the main purpose of this incarnation?
Answer: To glorify the Christ Consciousness in the earth — in the lives of those with whom ye come in contact, and to live the same thyself.
— Edgar Cayce Reading 2441-4

The Pattern of the Christ

The pattern of the Christ as we apply it in our lives reveals our awareness, our consciousness, of what it means to give service to God by how we treat those who cross our path. It registers at our deepest inner being, the heart of who we are. Cayce described this Christ pattern as the evidence of the oneness we have with God, for it gives us a way to enter a higher frequency of perception, and so accelerates our ability to feel compassion, to live with patience, and to offer kindness and love no matter what is going on.

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What Being Overwhelmed by the Election Really Means

A dear friend of mine, Preeti Agnani, listened to me rail and rant about the election results and then she said to me “We all are powerful vibrational beings.” Her message went on to describe how we choose the emotions we experience. I knew this intellectually, but it was not working so well in my heart. I could not understand what to me seemed so disastrous an outcome. Then she said the Master Planner knows all, and would not let something happen that did not benefit humanity and this earth.

She is right. And in that moment, all my rage ended, my anger evaporated, my judgment of those who had voted for the winner disappeared. My next thought was that I could no more understand what had happened than could the birds in flight or the trees shedding their leaves, but then it occurred to me the trees and the birds very likely understood the vitality of life far better than I did. They had absolute faith that their presence and anything that happened to them was intended, and an act of grace.

In the end, in the larger picture we as yet cannot see, there is a plan of great purpose and it is one formed and extended out to us by this Master Planner. We are never left bereft–we only think we are, which is what brings to us the overwhelming feeling of despair, regret, and powerlessness, such as I felt. Yet these negative feelings are not our birthright. Our birthright is freedom. We are meant to feel inner freedom no matter what happens around us.

Mirrors of Our Intentions

Events are mirrors for us–opportunities to see more clearly, and to choose our way, instead of reacting to what appears so overwhelming in the moment. We are meant to thrive in the world, in our lives, in our whole being. We make a mistake if we think anything external to ourselves can stop our capacity to feel joy at any time. It is always there for us.

I have spent a lifetime learning such ideas and ideals, yet until now I did not fully absorb the validity of how we are meant to live, to AGREE, no matter what, that we had this freedom of choice. The catalyst for me was the shock I felt at the election outcome, a feeling that was more traumatic than 9/11, because it signaled a vast division and separation in my country–and in me. I had no idea how to move forward. I was choosing every hour–every minute–to stay inside that sense of utter futility. There seemed no way out of it.

Yet it was STILL an ongoing matter of personal choice to accept that state or to change it. In every moment I continued to have the freedom to choose my course and mindset and emotions. I had only to look into what was and is, accept that what happened had its own trajectory, one that did not belong to me directly, and allow my own path to unfold again.

I have always loved the biblical verse from 1 Corinthians 13:12:

For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

I will never choose again to enter that feeling of despair and outrage. I know its source–I know it grew out of an immense caring for others and this world–but the feeling that manifested of despair and outrage served no purpose–brought no relief–changed nothing.

Let It Go

The truth is we can only change ourselves. We do this by allowing the feeling of being overwhelmed to exist–it is our human aspect, after all, to feel emotions–but to give it the briefest duration, and then let it go. Emotions are not intended physiologically to endure. As I wrote in an earlier post–every emotion has a life span of 90 seconds at the cellular level. This is confirmed by science. When we let go of a negative emotion, we stop circling in an endless loop, in the lost and helpless state of mind and heart that overtakes us. When we allow positive feelings, they are signaled by light in the cell. This is true of all living things–like the kirlian photograph of a leaf shown above.

We drop that negative emotion as if it is a stone heated in a fire and placed in our hands. We let go of anything that brings us down, that makes us feel powerless. We say instead what my friend Preeti said, that we are powerful vibrational beings who can send ripples out into the world and effect the changes that matter to us. We do this by focusing on our own gifts, our own caring, our own compassion.

Another Way

I often consider this verse in my posts, from 1 Timothy 4:14:

“Do not neglect the gift that is in you.”

When we yield to despair, to feeling helpless, to being overwhelmed–when we let these emotions stay with us–there is no way our inherent, innate, creative, and unique gifts can be expressed. They are instead shadowed and crowded out by grief, by anger, by sadness, and by fear of what will come. Far better that we allow into our heart and mind the joy that does belong to us, the peace that is always within us–that we can ask to meet in silence–and the awareness of our extraordinary spirit.

For we are indeed spiritual beings having a human experience. And we are meant to honor that by the compassion, joy, and creative force we bring to every moment. That is our power.

We are intended to be here. We are an act of grace.

Life Even in the Midst of Chaos

We are all able to navigate in our world with care and kindness, but when we face difficult times our tendency is to withdraw and retreat, or to strike out, both the result of great inner stress.

The thing is, life even in the midst of chaos shows itself as a choreography, a dance of change that is never still.

Yet within that, we have a still center, a place in our inner self that is always calm. I was once told a story that is a metaphor for this. A pearl lies in the shell of an oyster on the sand at the bottom of the sea. Wild storms come up and roil the ocean’s surface, creating massive waves and turbulence. Anyone in a ship riding those waves must prepare for possible death, for the power of the wind and sea far exceed anything a human being can control. The chaos renders a person helpless—unless they understand the sea itself, unless they recognize their job is not to control it but to remain aware and alert, ready for whatever has to be done, but not afraid of it. Not an easy path or choice.

Only—there is that pearl…far below on the sea floor. Not swept away by the turbulence above, even when touched by it, the pearl continues to form, created over and over in layers by the animal that inhabits the shell, sometimes for years. Like the lilies of the field, the inhabitant of the shell does not question its right to exist, or stop its own creative force. The result, we know, is precious.

Nor can you stop your own creative force and will it to be silent. But you can enter silence as the path into the center stillness. Stay there awhile, a few minutes each day. Not in some formal meditation, but as a suspension of whatever else you are doing or must do.

Give that to yourself.

[Credit: Photowitch | Dreamstime.com]

How Not To Give Away Your Personal Power

You do not need to give away your personal power, that inner awareness and trust in who you are and in your unique worth and worthiness. But many of us do. We believe for some reason that letting someone else define us, or insist on how we must be and act and think, will bring us favor and approval. No. It never does. What it brings is an abrogation of our true being, of our best self, and of our commitment to life–not just to our own, but to all life. Everything is connected. What we do and think sends out a vibration that affects not only those around us, but the whole planet.

In the previous post I wrote about the need to be authentic in dealing with others. Holding on to your personal power is the foundation that allows you the freedom to live in that authentic state. It is not easy to do in a world that expects us to be and act in conformity with the status quo.

For women in particular this loss of personal power is more common than not. Most women are brought up to please, and no matter how far they may advance in life, that training tears at them, making the need for approval essential. Women who go beyond this barrier are women who embrace their right and freedom to exist as they are–people like Dr. Jane Goodall, Maya Angelou, Louise Hay, Eleanor Roosevelt, Hillary Clinton, Michelle Obama, Leymah Gbowee, Rachel Carson, Malala Yousafzai, Angela Merkel, Oprah Winfrey, Helen Clark, and more. The opinions of others do not stop them, and neither does self-doubt and fear, even when they have both. They choose to honor their path.

It is something we are all entitled to have–that inner sense of who we are, to act and feel and speak as we are–no matter what. It is more than having confidence or bravery–it is having a deep, unmistakable awareness our value is derived not from what others do or think or say, but from our own innate right to exist and thrive, to create a life that matters to us.

Personal power encompasses personal responsibility. It defines how we behave in each instance of our life by the choices we make. If we assume that responsibility, then we refuse to blame anyone else for outcomes. If we act in our most authentic way, truest to what we understand best, we cannot fault ourselves. It is when we cavil, deceive, pretend, manipulate, hide, and allow ourselves to be dishonest in any way that we relinquish that responsibility, and with it our essential purpose and life force.

Again, this whole idea is especially difficult for many women who resist and resent having to assume control over their own lives. Women are still conditioned to expect that a man on a white horse will show up–that provider, that other person who will take care of them. It is an old energy, though, one that stops progress in the inner and outer worlds. It is a barrier to freedom.

And personal power is all about freedom.

“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent” ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

This is a hard one. But Eleanor Roosevelt knew what she was talking about. The former First Lady ranked in the top nine most widely admired people of the twentieth century. Her legacy, one among many, was to tell us “The choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility.” Yet her life was far from an easy one. Her experiences led her also to tell us this: “You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’ “

How Others Can Make Us Feel

Perhaps the most frequent, and psychologically damaging, event we can experience is to have other people try to make us feel inferior to them. Parents, teachers, friends, and our peers have enormous influence on our state of happiness–if we let them. We can feel good about ourselves and the careless disparaging or mocking words of someone else can change our state immediately for the worse–if we let them. We can feel genuine and deserved excitement at our achievements and yet the words of critics can sink our enthusiasm–if we let them.

Why?

The foundation of why we let other people affect our state of mind and heart lies in our willingness to forfeit our own life to theirs, symbolically, at least. We worry so much about being accepted that we are often willing to pay a high price for that approval. Sometimes we are aware of doing this. Many times we are not, until some event or crisis changes our perception.

In truth, our concern about what others think and feel toward us occupies way too much of our time. That kind of worry is like living a half life for the duration we spend immersed in it. It yields nothing for us–except distraction. It solves no problem. It does not enhance our life, or move us forward.

Others Have No Power Over Us

If we were aliens come to earth to study the species, how would we see this negative behavior in which earthlings spent time making others feel less important, less significant, less valued? Step back and imagine you are the observer, not the participant. The first, the most primary question you would ask is why people put up with it.

It’s a good question. We don’t have to. We cannot always stop others from careless or even cruel behavior, but we can stop ourselves from reacting to it.

A Way Into Freedom

Weakness is not being less–no one is “less” than anyone else–weakness is reacting with negative emotion to whatever is going on. We don’t have to do that.

When we understand this, we are free. Exactly what these very powerful words of Eleanor Roosevelt are telling us.

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Your Authentic Self–What Were Your Earliest Interests?

It is said that you experience your most authentic nature–your truest self–when you follow a path that matches your earliest traits and inclinations. Why? As children we are close to God, free of the limitations that come upon us all too fast later on as we try to fit in with the rules and behaviors both our families and our society desire and intend for us. Because of this, as children we are able to let our creative power express itself effortlessly. And what draws our attention most is always something that resonates not only with our soul purpose in life, but also within our heart.

All Too Often the Wrong Message Shuts Down Creativity

Many years ago a journalist wrote a story about his daughter, who was in first-grade. She had brought home a drawing she had done in school. He wasn’t sure what it was, for it consisted of wide sweeping streaks of blue and green and in the center a patch of white, but looking at it he felt joy run through him, a lightness of being. To his chagrin, though, he had to ask his daughter what it was, and she just laughed and said “Why, it’s a sailboat in the wind!”

The next day he looked for the drawing to show to a friend but it wasn’t on the refrigerator door.

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How Do You Measure Your Self-Worth?

We spend a great amount of time comparing ourselves with others. It is a habit that can strangle our motivation, our optimism, our belief in who we are, our feelings of self-worth. And it is a habit to ditch—NOW.

Why?

Not only will no good come of it, no advantage or progress forward, but more to the point, comparing yourself with others is a sign you have given away your personal power.

What Exactly Does That Mean?

When you meet other people or spend time with them, you may express your thoughts, beliefs, and ideas—or you may not. How do you know if that is a matter of personal choice and preference, or if you are giving up your true identity, where your power lives? You are relinquishing personal power if you:

Say things in order to please someone else when the words do not match your own values and opinions.

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What Do Golden Retrievers Know That We Don’t?

In this link to a marvelous video, a crowd of golden retrievers has just been dropped off at the local swimming hole.

13 Golden Retrievers + 1 River = 46 Seconds Of Absolute Zen

It is impossible not to smile watching them play in the water. What do they know that we don’t?

They have three things going for them: they really like to have fun, they love the water, and they don’t have a quarrel with each other. Plenty of room for everybody. It doesn’t occur to them not to like each other–that’s not in their nature. A more loving dog doesn’t exist on the planet–I’d take that to court.

It’s also impossible after the video ends not to wish we–humans, specifically–could do the same thing. We step fast into ego, not out of it, somewhere around the age of six years. Before then, we’re golden retriever material.

After age six we spend most of our life coping with that ego, and we usually let it rule–after all, we’re here to win, succeed, achieve, make lots of money (or try to), and make sure the other guy or gal doesn’t get there first. OR we use that ego to manipulate others in an active-passive way. OR we spend an inordinate amount of time self-absorbed. We make friends, but too often have conditions attached. We can get carried away by–and feed on–our own grievances. We can hold on to negative memories with a tenacity long after the events have ended.

You have to wonder why. Why let that ego rule? Self-defense? Self-doubt? It definitely isn’t because we’re sure of much.

Back to the golden retrievers. They smile with their whole body, mind, and spirit. They can’t help it. There’s no self-consciousness, no one-upmanship, no desperation, no competition. Just a sheer exuberance for living, and for being here on this earth.

Here’s a thought. Spend one hour sometime this week letting yourself feel only exuberance for life, nothing else. Think of it as a gift to yourself. If an hour seems too long, try it for fifteen minutes. If you do, leave a comment–tell the outcome. It just might make someone smile…

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Listening to Bach’s Cantata 208

Bach’s Cantata 208

On hearing the notes in the verse of “Sheep may safely graze,” I know these things:

There is so much I don’t understand, and so much I do.

There is so much grief I feel, and so much joy.

There is so much loss that has come to me, and so much receiving of what is blessed.

What Is the Way?

All sadness comes from ego.

All grief comes from compassion.

All pain comes from blindness.

What Then Must I Do?

Only the heart knows.

Only the spirit sees.

Only the mind allows.

What If It Is Too Late?

Time is indeed relative.

Time Is a construction of the ego.

Time does not exist.

And So, Whether I See It or Not…

It is never too late.

It is always joy.

It is always love.

What If There’s Nothing Wrong With You?

How any people do you know who are really comfortable with who they are? How many of them think there’s something wrong with them—that they are broken in some way, or damaged at some level, or just plain unworthy? Are they right?

There’s an old song from the 1960s that was a hit sung by Peggy Lee: “Is That All There Is, My Friend?” It talks about a sadness of the spirit. Not everyone asks this question, but it matters when you do, for that means you are ready for something to change. You’re ready to see things another way.

There is always a trigger, a catalyst that signals this change—a point of no return when we just know that our best self has to emerge, and we can’t stay stuck where we are.

But a lot of our sadness comes from confusion. Who are we, really? Why isn’t it working, this life we have—or why isn’t it working some of the time? What’s wrong with us that we can’t make it better?

What is interesting is that this train of thought is a false trail most of the time. We make assumptions about ourselves based on beliefs we hold and trust are true. Yet usually, they aren’t.

Origin of the False Trail

As children, we accepted everything people said about us and themselves and life, especially our parents. They were all powerful back then. All adults were. These people stay powerful in our psyche even when we have gone on with our own lives, and even when they have passed away. If their influence was an unhappy one, this gets reflected in how and what we believe as adults.

Yet they never claimed that power. They were just trying to live in a way that made sense to them. Sometimes they made terrible mistakes, and sometimes they gave us beautiful gifts—and sometimes they did both.

The thing is—we can find ourselves holding on to patterns that aren’t suitable for us. Everything they said and did belongs to them, not us. We were born with a path specifically intended for us. Ours. Not theirs.

Another Way

So here’s a different question. What if there is nothing wrong with us? What if all these beliefs are just us giving permission to those seemingly all-powerful people or situations from long, long ago to keep their power even now? What if we take our power back? What do you think might happen to you if you did that? What would you lose, do you think? Or is it possible you will feel as open to life as the day you were born, to all it throws at you, shows you, reveals to you—from the inexpressible beauty of the earth itself, to the power of a smile, to the gift of cooperation instead of fear? What then?

Finding Your Own Power

What if we are born exactly right?

What if we have all the power we need, because there is nothing wrong with us at all? Could you live with that?