the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places

“One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious. The latter procedure, however, is disagreeable and therefore not popular.” (Carl Jung) 

I am hearing more chatter 

and more importantly, more folks are actually coming to me, lately, 

to purposely, overtly deal with their dark-side...

shadow, 

despair, 

deep fear/pain/shame, 

addictions, life out-of-control...

Instead of:

- I want to be fixed, well, happy, successful, abundant...

- Well, what I really want is a silver bullet to make things like they used to be, or better, or great...

Folks these days are more likely to say: 

let's deal with my dark side.

Um GREAT, and Hallelujah.

I see this as a very good sign for them, for me,

and a useful turn going on in our culture.

“The shadow goes by many familiar names: the disowned self, the lower self, the dark twin or brother in bible and myth, the double, repressed self, alter ego, id. When we come face-to-face with our darker side, we use metaphors to describe these shadow encounters: meeting our demons, wrestling with the devil, descent to the underworld, dark night of the soul, midlife crisis.” (Meeting the Shadow)

If we want to be Light.

If we want to shine Light in this world.

If we want to expereince who we really are: Whole and Complete in God.

If we want to really do, what we are here to do - what no one else can do...

Then we must say: hello darkness, my old friend.

Turn and face the dragon(s) that have been chasing us.

Make friends with our shadow.

In our Soul Evolution on this planet - individually and corporately - After living to the ultimate end of our Logical Consciousness and delving our Soul (Psychic) Consciousness;
On our way to Christ Consciousness and the beauty of Consciously living as One in the Reign (Kingdom) of God;Lies the Dark Night of the Soul - where our darkness is deeply realized and integrated. (my very poor paraphrase of Putting on the Mind of Christ: The Inner Work of Christian Spirituality)

In everyday terms, 

We must Learn from our despair, resistance, hate, hopelessness, doubt, anti-God... 

before we Heal and Grow through it, into Glory.

“The shadow, when it is realized, is the source of renewal; the new and productive impulse cannot come from established values of the ego. When there is an impasse, and sterile time in our lives—despite an adequate ego development—we must look to the dark, hitherto unacceptable side which has been at our conscious disposal….This brings us to the fundamental fact that the shadow is the door to our individuality. In so far as the shadow renders us our first view of the unconscious part of our personality, it represents the first stage toward meeting the Self. There is, in fact, no access to the unconscious and to our own reality but through the shadow. Only when we realize that part of ourselves which we have not hitherto seen or preferred not to see can we proceed to question and find the sources from which it feeds and the basis on which it rests. Hence no progress or growth is possible until the shadow is adequately confronted and confronting means more than merely knowing about it. It is not until we have truly been shocked into seeing ourselves as we really are, instead of as we wish or hopefully assume we are, that we can take the first step toward individual reality.” (Meeting the Shadow)

Where we trip, really is our treasure.

Let's Dig.

When we do, we are blessed.

And our world is also blessed by the fruit of our deep work.

“The shadow, when it is realized, is the source of renewal; the new and productive impulse cannot come from established values of the ego. When there is an impasse, and sterile time in our lives—despite an adequate ego development—we must look to the dark, hitherto unacceptable side which has been at our conscious disposal….This brings us to the fundamental fact that the shadow is the door to our individuality. In so far as the shadow renders us our first view of the unconscious part of our personality, it represents the first stage toward meeting the Self. There is, in fact, no access to the unconscious and to our own reality but through the shadow. Only when we realize that part of ourselves which we have not hitherto seen or preferred not to see can we proceed to question and find the sources from which it feeds and the basis on which it rests. Hence no progress or growth is possible until the shadow is adequately confronted and confronting means more than merely knowing about it. It is not until we have truly been shocked into seeing ourselves as we really are, instead of as we wish or hopefully assume we are, that we can take the first step toward individual reality.” (Meeting the Shadow)

.

Spiritually grow into LOVE, with Grace and Ease

Being OK with, and from there Loving, All that shows up

starts with BEing OK, with ourselves

and from there, Loving Ourselves.

Another way to say this is:
Being IN Love, Being Love with my sisters and brothers
starts with knowing I am OK in God
and from there, letting God love me.

For most of us, this is HARD.

Possibly Impossible.

I have found it is easier to be ok with myself, love myself;

when I am standing on a good foundation.

When I am identifying spiritually and in a spiritual consciousness, not merely flesh/ physical.

Another way to say this is:

I have found it is easier to know I am OK in God, and let God love me;

when I am standing on my true spiritual foundation.

Identifying with who I am spiritually, in God; and putting on the Mind of Christ (not merely flesh/ physical consciousness).

.

I interfaced this week with a man who means well,

and identifies as spiritual, as Christian.

But is very spiritually sensitive in certain ways, 
and therefore feels all the lies that people live.

He judges them, and presumably himself, for this very human pattern.

He identifies as someone who dislikes humankind and avoids human society.

Interfacing with him, helped me see, that most of us do this, to a degree 
(but we don't own it like he does ;)

We judge ourselves and others and the world, and God....

because 'how it is' doesn't measure up to our 'pictures'/ beliefs/ concepts 
of how we/ they/ it should be/ behave.

This is how most of us operate on the physical, in our everyday consciousness.
Judging that we do this doesn't help.  
It does help to note this is garden-variety human behavior ;)

.

BUT
It IS missing the mark.

Much more IS possible for our lives!

for our ability to BE with ourselves, others, this reality, God...

We can choose a trajectory that helps us get out of our own way:

• to BE
• to BE with
• to BE in compassion
• to Love
• to DO sweetness in the world, from there...

BTW,
This is not possible from a physical consciousness and identity.

Let me say it again:

This is not possible from a physical consciousness and identity.

The best the flesh/body can do in this direction, no matter how well-meaning, 

is strive to act 'good', pretense, hypocrisy = wearing the mask.


If one Believes God is Love, Another way to say this is:
the mind of the flesh is hostile to God...
Those controlled by the flesh cannot please God. 
Romans 8: 7, 8

.

BUT, meanwhile, it is very possible, as Spirit:

We can allow ourselves to 

Grow SPIRITUALLY into LOVE, with Grace and Ease.

Another way to say this is:
In the Spirit walk ye, and the desire of the flesh ye may not complete; 
for the flesh doth desire contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit contrary to the flesh...
And the fruit of the Spirit is: Love, joy, peace...
(from my favorite chapter of the Bible, since my teens) Galatians 5 (16, 17, 22)

.

From a spiritual perspective,

as we grow into a spiritual consciousness,

and we learn to identify as spirit in flesh...

(not just an evolved animal run by thoughts, beliefs, feelings, experiences, other people's programming, etc.)

We can grow into consciously being

OK with, 
and from there Loving All Our Relations

... including ourselves.

.

May we allow ourselves to 
May we allow God to

Spiritually grow us into LOVE, with Grace and Ease.

Amen, 

Wendy

... I think it is all about receiving Love spiritually,
and letting it pass through us to others...

kind of like spiritually, beholding and reflecting the Glory,

but a different spelling is:

spiritually, beholding and reflecting LOVE.

BTW, this post is one response to this FB post.

Don't let go until you are blessed

Many thanks to john pavlovitz and his ministry.  
This is my response to his post: The Faith Crisis Epidemic in America:

::::

I agree, there is a Faith Crisis Epidemic in America.

And as challenging, saddening, and confronting as this all is, 

I believe it is (in the big picture) good news.

The body of Christ is called forward.

These things just don't cut-it anymore - for more and more Christians:

- Just intellectually believing some things about God, 

- Just socially gathering with others who believe as we do, 

- Just praying for change, but basically wanting to stay the same 

- to not grow and deepen spiritually, 

- to not die and be reborn spiritually every day, 

- to not walk with Jesus  - who is here, now spiritually - in our real lives, step-by-step ...

These things just don't cut-it anymore - for more and more Christians.

Bless all the cultural Christians encouraging horrible thoughts and behaviors, and complicit in mundane atrocities... 

for helping so many see: 

just doing religion - even religion in the name of Christ - just doesn't cut it any more.

We are called to grow up in God.

And growing pains are normal.

And just like adolescence, just like early adulthood 

(just like most stages of life, and the transitions between them ; )

This stage of spiritual growth, this transition is for many tumultuous, confronting, painful, fear inducing, full of doubt, insecurity, un-sureity...

The good news is 

- nothing is wrong, 

- we are still children of God, always have been, always will be

- we are still dancing our lives with and within Spirit - there is nowhere else to go, there IS nowhere else.

It's just really hard, for most of us, to spiritually grow up.

The good news is 

- there is Abundant Life beyond the old structures, formulas, belief systems, identifications...

It's just really hard, for most of us, to spiritually grow up.

It helps, I believe, to have mature folks - folks a bit ahead on this spiritual path - around to say:

- It's ok, you're ok, just keep going.

- There is a method to the madness - you don't see it yet, that's ok.

- Do what you have to, to stay in the game. And 

- Keep choosing Light, Love, Truth,  Life, the Way that is uniquely yours. (Whatever of these words/realities that make any sense, choose that.)

God is still here, 

but God isn't who you thought God was.

Your Path is still here, 

it just isn't the Path you thought it was.

It's ok, God is bigger, your Path is better, than you ever thought  

-> you can live-into that.

Yes, for now it sucks... just keep going.

We cannot see the Glory that is before us, that is within us...

until we do.

And until the sun rises again, and the Light shines - we just have to press-on through the darkness.

So much BS can fall-away, old belief-systems and formulas, and structures and identity...

But meanwhile you have experienced God in amoung all the claptrap.

You have experienced the presence of God and the reality of God's unending love for you, along the way.  

Hold on to your direct experience of God - in the past, in the present and for the future...

-> Hold on to that without trying to understand it. 

-> Hold on to the hem of God's robe, to the experience of God's trailing Glory.

-> Just hold on, and follow, bumble-around, trust even though you may not know the way or understand the goal.

Yes, for now it sucks, just keep going.

You may have heard:

Our God is a consuming fire, who burns up everything that is not God
(I have more to say about this central theme, on another blog) 

This can be excruciating.
(from the Latin: crux, cruc- ‘a cross’)
And yes, we must pick up our cross if we want to follow Jesus!
We just don't know ahead of time what the cross will look-like... surprise :)

This IS the ride you signed up for - deepening into God, maturing in God, bringing the Light into the world, following Jesus...

It might seem like you are getting the opposite, going in the opposite direction - but you are not, 

so I recommend that you ask God to help you relax and not fight it - it will go easier on you.

I encourage you to 

Walk out into the seeming void,
you will not fall forever, you will find the rock beneath...

The Rock beneath is your more direct expereince of the presence and love, the inviting/leading and sweet nurturing of the Living God.

No matter what you are experiencing, 

please keep going.

I encourage you to 

be willing to let go of everything, anything, 

except God alone - not theories, structures, formulas, belief systems... identities laid upon God - 

just God alone.

And don't let go until you are blessed.

Blessings on your unique journey,

Wendy

PS - My favorite Christian Teacher, the late Dr Bruce Morgan (who - by his life, his research and honest sharing - gave me encouragement to live-through so much darkness... into so much Light)

shared this many times, and I share: this quote from Jung - in the hopes it may encourage:

"Dear Frau Frobe,

...There can be no resolution, only patient endurance of the opposites which ultimately spring from your own nature. You yourself are a conflict that rages in itself and against itself, in order to melt its incompatible substances, male and female, in the fire of suffering, and thus create that fixed and unalterable form which is the goal of life. Everyone goes through this mill, consciously or unconsciously, voluntarily or forcibly. We are crucified between the opposites and delivered up to the torture until the 'reconciling third' takes shape. Do not doubt the rightness of the two sides within you, and let whatever may happen, happen. The apparently unendurable conflict is proof of the rightness of your life. A life without inner contradiction is either only half a life or else a life in the Beyond, which is destined only for the angels. But God loves human beings more than the angels.

With kindest regards,

C.G. Jung"

.

Playing our own Game

Lately, I am all about

we gotta "play our own game"

(even more than I was before ; )

It is far to easy to get hooked, to get stopped, to fall into inner isometrics and outer stopped...

I believe the answer is for each of us to

"play our own game"

and show what is that like, for ourselves and others.

If we are playing basketball,

• we can't be stopped when the people not playing - the people in the seats - don't like us or what we are doing
• we can't be stopped when the other team is trying to take our ball and go the other direction
• we can't be stopped when our teammates aren't always nice to us, or they don't agree with our theories of this or that
• we can't be stopped when we didn't get enough sleep or we have a 'test' tomorrow.

We cannot give any attention, any energy, to any of that - and still be all-in - in this game we are playing right now.

If I am Called to do X, to say Y, to be Z.

I don't care what else is happening - inside me, outside me -

I mean to do X, to say Y, to be Z.

This really takes something,

it is not falling off a log for me.

It takes

learning to focus my attention, my intention,

building muscle and endurance

to "play my own game"

I want that.
I want it enough to Go for It.
To take it.

And I want to share with you: It is possible for you to "Play your Own Game"
Life doesn't have to Happen to us, We can Happen to Life!

We can actually heal and learn and grow and blossom-into this way of being.

May it be so,

Wendy...
 
But, is this spiritual? Is this Christian?
Please read:
Owning our Free-will is KEY in our Spiritual Walk
...

I keep hearing Jesus, on the cross, almost dead, saying:
"Forgive them Father, they know not what they do"
What better example is there of "Playing your Own Game"?

Jesus was hard-core & unstoppable in following his calling.

Let's follow his lead!

.

Being the Captain of our Lives? (Yes! Owning our Free-will is KEY in our Spiritual Walk)

.

I believe owning our Free-will is KEY in our Spiritual Walk.
Spiritually taking Authority, having Dominion...
I call this Seniority - Being the Captain of our Lives

Some disagree that we should be in Charge of our own lives -
They say that God is to be in control of our lives, not us.

I hear the point,
but I think we are speaking different languages, using different paradigms
- so let’s dig deeper.  From my perspective:

->

To-day, oh that ye would hear his voice! Harden not your heart - Psalm 95

I need my free-will to follow God.

God gave me free-will.
If i give it away (to my spouse, to my minister, to ‘public opinion’, to my thoughts or emotions)
then how can I choose to follow God? 

I cannot choose to follow God
if there is too much in the way of choosing.
I have no choice, I am not in charge!

On the other hand, if I am the Captain of my Ship (the life and will and power and talents, etc that God gave me)
then when the Admiral sends orders to sail to Iwo Jima - I can do it, and I can do it Now. 

If I am not the Captain of my Ship - maybe, maybe someday I can figure out how to Iwo Jima,
but I will have missed the blessing of fully engaging NOW in the process of God’s unfolding Glory.
God cannot count on me to show up, to do say, act… now.

When God says go Left, I want to go Left, period.
No messing around.

But if I have to worry about what the old pickle-faced lady from church will say,
or I have too much fear to trust God long-enough to lead me into the seeming-void…
Then I am constantly tripping on my own crap, I cannot follow God.

I believe, If we don’t have our free-will,
we cannot consciously, freely, easily, playfully follow God, in this reality/ here & now.

->

For all creation, gazing eagerly as if with outstretched neck,
is waiting and longing to see the manifestation of the sons of God. - Romans 8

I need my free-will to become a spiritual adult.

Every healthy parent wants their children to Grow Up, to become themselves, to take the reins of their lives as much as they can.

God calls us to Teleios - to become whole and complete - to become who we are, to manifest into the world what is only-now hidden in God, to become the oak that waits in the acorn.

But, If we don’t have our free-will,
we cannot grow-up spiritually.

We cannot mature into who God made us to be and called us to do;
If we are not “allowed” to walk where God calls us to walk.

In addition, learning to walk looks like falling down.
If we are not “allowed” to fall-down, we are really stuck in spiritual infancy.

I believe if we don’t have our free-will,
we cannot grow-up spiritually, become ourselves and do what we are here to do.

->

your eyes will behold your Teacher. Your ears will hear a word behind you,
"This is the way, walk in it," whenever you turn to the right or to the left. - Isaiah 30

I need my free-will to see & hear the Living God, Today

If we don’t have our free-will,
our soul cannot learn to see the gentle leading of God,
we cannot learn to spiritually discern/distinguish between the Light and the Darkness.

It takes something to open to our soul senses and abilities.
For most of us, we have to choose it, and allow God to lead us deeper -
help us open to comfortably utilizing our soul senses and abilities.

Jesus said, his sheep know his voice,
but we cannot, will not if we willfully keep wool in our ears!

God is Spirit,
and it behooves those worshiping Him to worship in spirit and truth. - John 4

God is Spirit, and God as spirit resides within us.
We must learn to sense this subtle spiritual expereince.
This is a challenge, and everything in our world fights against it: "the world, the flesh, and the Devil"

We need to learn to ride the horse of our spiritual expereince,
without being thrown off,
without being carried away...

We must learn to choose:

• to attend to our spiritual experience and identity, 
• to trust our unique expereince of God,
• to turn-up and down our spiritual experience comfortably, 
• to discern: how to focus, who to/ who not-to listen-to, where to stand to receive spiritual information comfortably in our physical body... etc etc.

I have much expereince in this realm,
for myself, and equipping and inspiring many others.

I believe if we don’t have our free-will,
we cannot comfortably and usefully access our spiritual information and abilities.

->

There remains therefore a Sabbath rest for the people of God...
Let us therefore give diligence to enter into that rest - Hebrews 4

Let's Conclude: Owning our Free will is KEY in our spiritual walk.
I could go on and on about how central our free-will is in our dance with God, but this is enough for now.

If we are ever to become spiritual Mothers and Fathers,
we must take-on the spiritual choice/ healing/ battle to regain this most precious gift of our free-will and then spiritually exercise it to gain strength, endurance, flexibility, balance…

As we grow-into our Spiritual Seniority,
we have the mettle to utilize the Keys to the Kingdom that Jesus offers us...

In that way, powerfully and effectively doing the reparative work we are here to do:
together with God, inviting our wholeness into this reality: for ourselves, each other, all of creation... in glorious connection with God...
transforming our world, as we are each transformed, in the Love/ Light/ Life/ Truth/ Way of God.

.
Spiritually being Senior, taking Authority, having Dominion...
takes something - it doesn't just happen.
We must CHOOSE, DO IT:  TAKE back our free will and GROW into our Seniority.

We are not called to just sit and wait for the heaven-train.
This is a Travesty in modern Christianity, IMO/E.

We are called to become spiritual adults and spiritually co-create our world with God.
Being the Captain of our Lives.
Owning our Free-will is KEY in our Spiritual Walk!

Are you willing?
If so, Truly ask God and Receive, Seek and Find, Knock and it is Opened to you.

There are many paths God can lead you on this exciting journey of:

• continually getting your free-will back
• taking-on your Spiritual Authority - Seniority - Dominion
• growing-into your Spiritual Maturity

• opening-to blessings and direction from the Living God, in present time, with your ears to hear and eyes to see where God leads.
• receiving your Keys to the Kingdom and shifting this world...

If you need some assistance, be in touch, this is my ministry.

Blessings on your Unique Path!
Wendy

the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing,
and forceful people have been seizing it. - Matthew 11

YOU are God's Own Special NUT!

Do you sometimes feel like a Round Peg in a Square Hole?
(secret: so do we all!)

Some encouragement as we start this NEW Year:
You are God's Own Special NUT!

We have our own Spiritual DNA.
We are perfectly designed to be US.
I am inimitably Me and you are inimitably You.

No one else can be who you are.
No one else can do what you do.
NO ONE!
so Let's SHINE!

If you do not be you and do your unique path,
your voice in the chorus is missing.
so Let's SING!

No one else can mature into the beautiful flower you are,
so Let's BLOOM!

No one else can share the fruit, the gifts, that you can,
where and how you can,
so Let's Come to FRUITION!

Magic happens
when we let go and BE our True selves,
when we Truly DO our own thing...
when we Let go and let God.

.
You are not and never will be Bad or Wrong to miss this opportunity,
but you will miss your mark,
and the tremendous blessing it is for you to play your unique part;
and All your Relations will miss your inimitable self, as well as your unique contribution.

Let's not get sidetracked

• by playing small
• by replaying old songs that we don't even enjoy
• by trying to be someone else
• by doing it like someone told us to...

Please come PLAY, as YOU.
I will do my best to Play as Me.
See you on the field!

It is worth the journey

God gave me this verse to me personally,
in the midst of very long, very deep, very dark night of the soul.

And it really was a pinpoint of light
at the end of a many, many years long tunnel.

I want to say for all to hear, it was worth the journey,
and my journey isn't even over yet ; )

He shall see of [the fruit of] the travail of his soul, [and] shall be satisfied
- Isaiah 53:11

You can't be who you Really ARE, can you? (Yes! Come on in, the water's fine)

• Are you holding the opposites within yourself  - BOTH this And that?
• Do you wonder how you hold So Many voices, within yourself?
• Do you hide the beauty and terror of your internal expereince, and instead opt to fit-in?

Me Too! 

• Are you Leaving Out parts of who you are?
• Do you cover-up parts of yourself with some folks, and other parts of yourself from other folks?
• Are there choices you have made - are making - that you would rather no one see?

Me Too!
And
I am learning a new way - to be more integrated, authentic... I bet you are too!

It has taken a lifetime for me to learn, and I am still integrating:

• I really can be spiritually a Mystic and intellectually an Agnostic.
• I really can be Queer and love God.
• I really can come from a Christian Foundation, and love the Earth and the Female Face(s) of the Divine.
  .

• I really can be a Leader and Teacher, as an Introvert.
• I really can be a Healer, even though I have experienced much of my life as Broken.
• I really can serve businesses, organizations, and individuals of all stripes as a Seer / Psychic - utilizing soul senses and abilities out in the World.

What are your challenges in being yourself?  holding your opposites?

I can not only LIVE my paradoxes, my dichotomies,
OWN back the lost parts of myself...
I can do it with JOY,
and I can do it in SERVICE.

Are you wanting this kind of thing for yourself?

I can BE all of myself here AND there.
I can talk Jesus with Pagans.
I can talk Soul with Agnostics.
I can talk Bisexuality and Polyamory with church ladies.
Etc.

How are you practicing this in your life?

The more I do it, the easier it is, the better I am heard;
and the more my world shifts, integrates...
And of course, I am still in process.

Owning all these parts of myself is actually a blessing, not just to me, but for everyone.
Finding wholeness matters.
Modeling wholeness matters.
Acting from our wholeness matters.

Do you want to make this kind of difference in the world?

I am in the continual process of owning and integrating these many disparate parts of myself,
parts of myself that I enjoy more or less, 
parts that are more or less acceptable, in our shared reality;
allowing myself to be myself, become myself in all my unique human beauty.

So are you!
All of us really CAN be who we ARE.
Let's play together, learn together, laugh together, grow together, inspire each other, open our world!

in life
- Wendy

The Word of God: from Glory to Glory!

From my perspective:

• The bible is not God. 
• Reading the bible is not a substitute for Adventuring with the living God.
• The bible is not the point, it is a tool.
• The bible is a message of Hope and Glory, or falling down and getting back up, it is a signpost to Choose Life.

I believe that the main point of the bible
is to point us to a real, intimate, 2-way relationship with the Living God,
and from there with each other, and our world.

I believe

• The 'Word of God' is not the bible.
• When the bible speaks of the 'Word of God' it means the actual present-time Expression (and therefore Presence and Blessing) of the Living God (which Jesus IS one expression of)
• The 'Word of God' is Not some vestigial words in a book...
• God did not get laryngitis 2,ooo years ago ; )

If interested: Please check out this Bible search of 'Word of God' here

IMO, the point of the bible is NOT reading about someone else, a long time ago, doing the spiritual equivalent of...

• having the best relationship of their lives, 
• the best dinner of their lives, 
• the best sex of their lives, 
• the best dance of their lives,  
• the most intimate conversation of their lives, 
• the most sublime and Real expereince of their lives...

Rather to inspire US to DO IT!!!!
To spiritually:

• allow God to explode/implode within and around us.
• allow God to open the eyes & ears of our Soul to spiritual reality / Christ Consciousness /  the Kingdom (Reign) of God/Heaven...
• allow God to lead us personally and fill us wholly in our Soul's Light, Way, Truth, Life

To spiritually:

• step into the direct experience of God ourselves
• Live that Adventure,
• Die & resurrect along the unique road that we are led,

as So many before us have, from Glory to Glory.

God's Word creates the world, creates us, creates all possibility.
Living with, in and through the Word of God: God's Being, God's Doing, God's Presence, God's Gifts feed us, clothe us and set us free.

If we are not getting IN this Blessing;
If we are not BEing & DOing in Alignment with God,
by being with, in and though the Word of God,
We are squandering our life - and it isn't the fun kind of squandering!

If INSIDE OURSELVES:

• we are less-than Enthusiastic, less than Hope-Full, less than Free...
• we are not living in Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Gentleness, Humility, Kindness, Moderation, Faith...

There is a Reason for This!
This is a sign that we are are not in alignment with God, we are missing the mark, missing the boat, missing the Blessing of what Life Can Be.

When we are in alignment with God:

• The Fruit of the Spirit is the fruition, the blossoming, the mature expression of the Life of God with, in and through us!
• We walk and talk and are filled-with the expereince of the Living God: we Live Life Abundantly! 

When we choose not to do this:

• Our life can feel like trying to drive with an empty gas-tank, without a map or cell phone or money, in a scary part of town at night... 
• It is no surprise that our expereince of life can become merely "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short."

Therefore, I exhort us all to : Choose Life, Real Life, the Life we are made-for, the Life that is waiting for us: Living with, in and through the present-time, personal Word of the Living God, a juicy Relationship with God, from Glory to Glory!

thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it.
- http://biblehub.com/isaiah/30-21.htm

The Acorn Becomes an Oak Tree: God's PROCESS of Transformation

My favorite Christian teacher, Dr Bruce Morgan, used to say, all the time; and it is my expereince as well:

• Some churches/fellowships will want you to be in their box, so much so that they are willing to cut off your arms and legs to make you fit.
• But, God calls us to be ourselves!
   
• You are God's own Special Nut!
• The acorn becomes an oak tree - let's come to our maturity (whole and complete as ourselves), as God uniquely made us to be (the greek word is teleios, see http://biblesuite.com/greek/5046.htm ) 
• This wonderful word meaning whole and complete, coming to our maturity is sometimes translated perfect: "ye shall therefore be perfect, as your Father who is in the heavens is perfect."

I have been aware of, and in intellectual alignment with this re-framing of perfection for decades now. I am called to be me, whole and complete in God.
But it takes time to ALLOW the God's perspective, true spiritual reality to deeply sink-in - it is taking me and God Lots of time.

"be not conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind"

We live in a world that expects and rewards idealized perfection - it is our culture.  And perspecitve this is increasing through ubiquitous advertising (programming) that tells us, YOU ARE NOT OK... so:
- buy this product/service, so you can fit-in, be happy, get-by, and
- work very hard, be successful on every level, so you can be an acceptable, love-worthy human; and so you can afford products/services : )

Many of us learned at home, that we weren't ENOUGH.
I grew up in a home:

• in which I was told I had to be (model) beautiful to be loved,
• in which 'looking good' was the practice,
• in which trying to be an idealized perfection was the goal,
• in which earning A's on my report card was an expected default - being exemplary = average,
• in which I was trained that the reason my father bullied and beat me was because I was bad and I did it wrong (that was a lie; his rage was his addiction, not my fault).

So, this transition to BEING OK, as I am, where I am;
Experiencing that what I am doing, thinking, seeing, knowing, saying, feeling is OK;
Knowing that I am beautiful, loved, and perfect in God... is taking a long time.

It takes many of us a long time to overcome the lies we are schooled in, the programming, habits, pain, fear that we have learned, that we have lived.

In my spiritual practice of allowing the EXPERIENCE of God's love for me, spiritually allowing-in that I am OK, valuable, valid, whole and complete in God...  Heals me and helps me BE and DO in the world in more and more freedom and joy.

Sometimes it feels like God's transforming of me and my life is taking forever.  But when I am seeing clearly, I look back from where I've come, and I am amazed at the miraculous journey.

I pray you are:

• Hopeful and moving along in your PROCESS of Transformation that God is bringing you though. 
• Knowing that You are God's Own Special Nut.
• Allowing God to grow you up into the Great Oak that you Are, from the small Acorn that you used to be.
• Hearing God's call for you to Be Yourself.

in life, wendy

Book II of our lives can start right NOW

I had the privilege to meditate and heal-with someone today for the first time.
She has had a very challenging life, and an extremely difficult time on almost every level, for the last few years.

When I spoke with her physically, it was challenging to not go into sympathy…
so much pain, so much hardship – how would she be able to find her way out?
I kept thinking about Job.

.
But then when I worked with her spiritually,
I saw how incredibly capable she is,
what a beautiful spark of Life she is.

I could see how, now, at any moment,
she could turn around from her current trajectory,
backtrack a bit to where she got off-track and keep going on her beautiful, bright path in God.

I could see how useful it is to drop the past,
all its hooks and attachments… and Pain.

The biggest thing I could see is
– if she allows it, Book II of her life starts NOW.
The future can be so bright
– almost anything is possible, in delight, in service, in God.

.
It is such a blessing to meditate & heal with folks, for many reasons
– including because we all share so much in common.

For me, for you
– our past doesn’t have to define us,
our current pain need not stop us.

We are each beautiful sparks of Light…
and Praise God, Book II of our lives can start right NOW.

All we have to do is say yes to God,
yes to our call in God,
yes to Life, Abundantly.

.
Blessings on your unique journey, Wendy

The Dark Blessings of Brokenness

I am blessed to be in a position to watch,
not only my own, but so many others:
be broken, and eventually find deep and strong healing;
to die and and be born again.

Resurrection gets all the accolades - understandably so!
But the whole enchilada is a process, a cycle.
Resurrection is only one (glorious) part of the Passion Play.

I am seeing in my own life, lately,
the Amazing Blessings of the aftermath of Breaking:
pure Grace to rise into Light and Glory,
especially after so Much Darkness and Despair.

Meanwhile I watch folks tripping, stripping, spiraling into chaos,
and I find that I trust this Divine process even more than I have before.

A cold and broken Hallelujah
for the Dark Blessings of Brokenness!

The world breaks every one
and afterward many are strong at the broken places.
But those that will not break it kills.

So, LET GO, Let God!
Again:

If people bring so much courage to this world the world has to kill them to break them, so of course it kills them. The world breaks every one and afterward many are strong at the broken places. But those that will not break it kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very brave impartially. If you are none of these you can be sure it will kill you too but there will be no special hurry.
 - Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms

Oh dark blessings, how I love and hate them!
And I have found, the beautiful way through it all, IS Hallelujah.

This week, I was awed and proud to stand watch
while one of my friends went through a significant spiritual death process,
she went through the eye of the needle.

She Let Go into the seeming void
... and found the Rock beneath
... which is not perceived as a surety in that process!

This death/birth process is a sublime opportunity for all of us.
I have been honored to be present for a few of these transitions with others -
and a few messy ones of my own!

So, I am living with all the stages (of re-creation / re-evolution / spiritual life)
all at once this week, more than usual.

It is all Grace.
Halleluiah.

Where are you in your cycles of your dark and your light 
- are you allowing Hallelujah?

blessings, Wendy

.

Shifting: uncomfortable Process, great Fruit

For most of us, shifting is a PROCESS,
not always easy,
but letting God grow-us-up bears great fruit.

We are schooled by our society,
and sometimes by our religion,
that change comes fast and easy.

And it does and it can - on the spiritual level.

But bringing our shifted spiritual experience
into the body, into the world
- this is a whole different thing
- something that by default, takes TIME and SPACE.

.
Healing and spiritual transformation
is a Process for most folks, not a one-time event.

This is something You must do, spiritually:
No one can do it for you!

AND, there is much help available,
when you choose to accept it.

.
It is not always easy,
it is not always fun.

But, when you make these changes,
these spiritual choices:

your life and your world turns around
- you live in a different reality!

.
Life without all the Darkness weighing upon us
is a revelation, a revolution, a miracle, a blessing!

We open to an entirely new and lighter way of being.
We can be Free; filled with Love, Ease & Grace;
and Move Forward in Life, Abundantly!

.
.
If you want to learn more, 
please see my website for information about how we can work together,
to serve your Wholeness and Brightness in God.

in life, Wendy

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