Sometimes words get so confusing. You just have to toss them away and get quiet.

It doesn't matter what you call it when you get quiet. Call it being. Call it witnessing. Call it time-out.

The idea is to sink down beneath the layer of mind that wants to define everything and know what to expect from life before it happens.

Unity consciousness is not dualistic or exclusive. In unity consciousness, black and white are mutually valid assumptions, and there are infinite shades of gray.

People ask for a step by step approach to unity consciousness, but all you can give them is step one: get quiet.

Turn your attention inward. Breathe and be. The rest will take care of itself.

Paul Ferrini 2012 As the year draws to a close we have been reflecting upon how we have deepened our awareness in the last 12 months. There have been many events that have challenged us to stay present with unconditional love in every moment.

These are exciting times because we are given many opportunities to practice. Many teachers have come into the mainstream to give us tools and techniques that are both helpful and easy to use. Ancient wisdom has become accessible at the touch of a button and we are able to share our ideas and experiences as never before.

Christine offers once again this illustration of how we can rejoin with our Greater Knowing. It can be helpful to hold this image in our minds and breathe it into reality whenever we are tempted to forget the truth of who we are and join with fear and guilt.

Thank you for joining us on our journey back to our Selves.

Facing Pain

…Much of your pain is self-chosen. It is the bitter potion by which the physician within heals your sick self.

For his hand, though heavy and hard, is guided by the tender hand of the Unseen.”

Kahlil Gibran (The Prophet, 1923).

As the year draws to a close, Light Tree has been reflecting upon the nature of the challenges that have arisen in our collective lives recently. Like many of you, we have felt deeply into the discomfort that arises from participation in daily life. It is clear that In order to deepen our experience of love, we inevitably feel pain too.

We have found that the way to transcend pain, (fear, guilt or anger) is to turn and face it squarely. As long as we turn away from our unseen hurts, the healing power within them remains evasive. Self pity often serves as a distraction to the unfolding of this process.

Instead, we must approach them with equanimity, neither avoiding nor clinging to their seeming selves. Yes, this takes real courage and sometimes we are gripped by confusion, but if we stand firm and keep affirming our innocence, it’s surprising how quickly we can move through it.

If we can hold an attitude of love and gratitude in our hearts while affirming that we forgive ourselves for buying into an illusion, we make room for the miracle to occur.

Deep down, if we are committed to remembering our true nature the dross of unreality falls away and we intuitively know what to do. The hand of the Unseen guides our actions and we are amused when we view the dramatic comedy that we have created to render our unhealed parts visible.

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Beneath the judgment layer of the mind
is the witness who sees what is going on
without judging it.

The witness neither resists thoughts
nor identifies with them,
but simply observes them as they come and go.

When we get quiet, we become the witness.
Thoughts come and go, but we know
that we are not those thoughts.

We rest in something larger than thought,
You can call it awareness.
You can call it silence.

It is the place from which thoughts spring
and to which they return.

There, mind is clear, like the surface of a lake
when there is no wind.
There, mind is at peace.

Paul Ferrini

At Light Tree we have been sharing ways that we stay with awareness, especially when the world calls us to anger and judgement over situations that appear to be unfair. Certainly there are no shortages of opportunities to practice!

We have come to see that it is futile to keep joining the victim-hood merry-go-round to keep the story going. The sooner we recognize what is happening and move on the better. Why keep mucking around in the pain for longer than we have to? Yes, we may need to feel the bodily sensations as fully as we can, but then we move on.

When this happens and we begin to turn our confusion and misunderstanding over to Spirit there is not always the immediate relief that we might hope for. But if we stay with our forgiveness practice we join the flow of life and choose not to join with the obstacles that appear on our screen.
We keep choosing love over and over until we suddenly realize there has been a shift. Just when we least expect it healing occurs and we have crossed the stream that seemed as if it was blocking the way. We laugh when we realize that we had almost convinced ourselves that we will drown this time for sure.

Nope, just another bad dream that seemed real at the time. We have become the witness and are not a victim of the world we see….What a relief.
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