Truth is relative and personal, as far as I’m concerned; however, some facts exist, ideas, phenomena, constants that do not change. One of those is we are all creators.
If it is a fact that we all have Spirit dwelling in us as an integral part of us as Heart, then we all create. A consideration generated by that fact is what sort of creators are we. Are we mindful, conscious, positive creators of our own happiness? Are we unaware and sloppy in our work of creation, oblivious to the power of our words, thoughts, and deeds on the energy, history, and connections of this Universe? Those are yes or no questions, which don’t yield much discussion and are just asked to establish a rhetorical base. Better questions are these: What happens when we do not call on Heart and act as co-creator with eternal Spirit? How does creating in oblivious or purposeful disavowal of our true nature affect the individual and others? I could literally write a book about the concepts implied in these questions. Oh, wait, I am: The Fellowship of the Heart, not to mention a yet to be titled non-fiction work dealing with these questions directly. The reality I seek to communicate is this: when we create — in consciousness, oblivion, or defiance of Heart — a dual effect occurs. We create products, outcomes, consequences that are external, and we create inner products, too. We create ourselves, add to the essence, character, and substance of who and what we are every day. When we do choose to not hear, acknowledge, or heed Heart, we deny ourselves the ability to create consciously those things that make for our happiness. We miss out on knowing and living the personal truth of our essential nature. We give the operating power of our whole being to Ego, and Ego wants to keep us safe, mediocre, as close to the middle as possible — never to live Heart-passions, dreams, and enthusiasm. What an awful, soul-deadening burden of internal conflict that creates. Our soul cries for us to hear Heart, but our mind will often fall prey to rationalizations of Ego because that’s the way we’re wired. It’s essential to make the most of this amazing gelatinous mass of the communications of biochemical energy and nerve pathways in our brains that make up mind. And when we don’t choose Heart as the operating system, seek it, listen to it, and gain the ability to recognize Ego’s workings, the conflict of Ego and Heart within us ensues. Oh, it’s not always, not usually, some dramatic decision, but the telltale signs gnaw at us. No one can with an Ego-controlled, Ego-energized mind day after day brush aside their soul’s emotions and not suffer a tortured existence to one degree or another. We can keep getting closer to a reconciliation of Soul and Mind agendas, but until we acknowledge Heart and become Self-aware, a gap will always exist, a gap of discomfort, disorientation, and discontent (from my Morning Pages today). See that? Discomfort, disorientation, discontent. If these creep up, if we become aware of them, and that is the perfect time to consciously, verbally, emotionally, in actual dialog call upon our Heart. We must hear our own soul’s move to that, our soul, the emotional center of our being. And for those of you that trust mind over soul, you are trusting the part of our being most susceptible to the deceitful rationalizations of Ego. It’s not wrong, but I would ask this: Does emotional discomfort, disorientation, and discontent feel good, feel anything close to happiness? Do you say you must do some things, like a job you detest, in order to get to the place of feeling good because you need some fortune or validation or approval to be happy? You’re listening to Ego, just so you know. The ends don’t justify the means: happiness doesn’t come through discontent. However, when we engage in daily work or activities in which we can joyfully know we are creating our own happiness and expressing our love, then, passion and enthusiasm are the indicators of Heart-truth being worked out. It’s no wonder at all that one of the leading traits of a good educator is enthusiasm, a trait that students relate to above all others. Whenever I see anyone enthusiastic about their work, I trust them. I sense that they have either mastered or are on their way to complete mastery of their activities. That is just beautiful. Whenever I see someone who makes a salary far beyond the average person, who likes the rewards but despises the trade of time and emotional energy for it, I feel pity. I want to help them, but I can’t. We can only help ourselves by asking what we wish to create for ourselves as we come to know Heart and live our personal truth in the form of co-created Purpose with Heart. What makes us happy, content? What makes us feel useful, significant, and like we fit in, like we are exactly where we wish to be? Yeah, that’s wholeness. And that’s what I really wanted to write about tonight — wholeness. Maybe I have. Wholeness implies, means, that our soul-mind-body complex is functioning in harmony, that we know what our truth and happiness is, that we have accessed Heart, eternal Spirit in us, and that we have learned the awesome power a human being has to create when operating in the wholeness of our true nature. Blessings, you wonderful, whole creator, You!
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I’m not sure, not really. I mean, today being the ides of March and Caesar getting shish-kabobbed and all. There was all that talk in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar about the ominous signs of impending doom — storms of fire, a lion loose and running around, guys on fire but not suffering burns, an owl appearing in broad daylight in the marketplace. Sheesh! Sounds like something was up, but was it fate? If it was, why would it matter if anyone was warned about it or not? If fate is determined, what difference does it make if anyone has signs?
I thought about this more today than I normally would have because of a conversation I had with a student yesterday about another literary work, Ethan Frome. I asked the student how she felt about fate, about life being determined by outside forces. We discussed the literary aspect of realism, that reportorial literature that represents life as realistically as possible through exploration of the human psyche more than anything else in the works. Realism does look at life, and authors who mastered the genre wrote with great skill. However, if they examined the mass of common humanity, they were primarily occupied with Ego. I’ve enjoyed examining some literature through my lens of this Ego-Heart paradox, and it’s been informative to me. If, as Thoreau says, most people lead lives of quiet desperation, then most people being realistically portrayed by realists are portrayals of Ego. Ultimately, this means the characters, who are the main focus in realism, end up in despair, anguish, or extreme difficulties because Ego demands conformity and keeping the status quo by driving people to hide their abnormalities, convince them that any passion transcending the common person of society is sin, or by committing atrocities to self or others to cover their aberrations. People who actually live this as their reality must believe that fate controls life. Things are the way they are, and we just accept it and conform and live tortured internal lives, because no one truly believes in fate deep down, no matter what they say. I know that because we come equipped with Heart, and Heart creates all that conflict with the conforming Ego. Heart tells us we are eternal Spirit, with all the possibilities and powers inherent in that. In Ethan Frome, an unacceptable attraction leads to attempted suicide because the couple with the forbidden love believes things cannot change — hopelessness. Yes, that’s realism if only Ego is examined in the work. It logically leads to fate, because if we have no control over what society has come to set as normal and some superior power has already decreed what is to happen, then we just endure, in despair, desperation, and hopelessness. You know that mentality, don’t you? “It is what it is. There’s nothing we can do. What else can I do; I’ve got to have a job?” Yeah, all of that. And that’s the way people in late 16th and early 17th century Europe believed. It’s why Shakespeare included that mindset in his plays — fate, the stars determining life course. We see this when Julius Caesar says, “What can be avoided/ Whose end is purposed by the mighty gods” (II.2) when confronted with the soothsayers warning to “beware the ides of March” (I.2) as well as his wife’s dreams of disaster. Nothing can be changed from a predetermined course. And, in fact, this is partly true — if one lives under the operating system of Ego. And I think it’s awesome that good literature shows this. I don’t believe or live that way, though. I never cease to be shocked when young people say they believe in fate and like the way life is presented in novels of Realism. I appreciate the lit, but man, how much have kids been beat down and indoctrinated to say life is the way it is and nothing can be done about it? I grew up in the 60s and early 70s and for many of us, that was not the mindset. Partly fueling the cultural revolution of those times was, in my opinion, people who were responding to Heart. They, as I and many others do now, understand the inherent power to create our own fate. Now, I’m not too concerned (I care and speak out) about changing society because I believe society will only change when individuals, one by one, awaken to Self, their Hearts, and become Self-aware. This prompts the power of creation of purpose, and that changes things. In the meantime, today is the ides of March, and it means I can create my own fate just as much today as any other day. Too bad poor Julius didn’t accept that or Brutus, Cassius, or any of the rest of them. Things ended up pretty well for Mark Antony, until a later date! He was Ego-driven, too. It’s amazing how many ways Ego manifests in life — looks good, looks bad, happy, sad…. Having said all this, I am working on my piece of literature, The Fellowship of the Heart, in the evolving genre of visionary fiction, which looks at Self-awakening, at Heart-power. Blessings on the ides of March in creating your own fate: live your personal Heart-truth! If I’m an author, how much should I care about the opinions of others concerning my work? It’s a loaded question, isn’t it?
Obviously, I care, but I should not care to the point that it affects my primary purpose. My primary purpose is to help others discover core Self through my writing and other expressions of communication arts. I need to create first. Then, I will listen. I think I’ve been too occupied with two opinions in particular of people who had constructive — and good — feedback for me. However, I can’t let opinions affect the creative process. My Heart is to create communications in love and light. Revision and editing come later. I raise this issue because one of the criticisms I’ve heard before is that the conversations based around the spiritual awakening of Eric and Anne Lafarnge in The Fellowship of the Heart sound unnatural. They are because most people live under the energy of Ego. They don’t normally talk about such things. Too bad. When someone asks me about the meaning of life or why they should even be on this earth, should I feed them some socially-acceptable sounding words, or should I share my Heart of love? Does it sound unnatural to tell someone they have a Heart that is eternal Spirit in them, personalized by their soul-mind-body personality? Does it sound unnatural to share that they are Spirit willingly taking on their complete humanity package and as such they have infinite power and possibilities? Shall I tell them they are creators of their own Purpose, or it’s their primary privilege to be happy? Or, should I tell them “Get your priorities straight?” You get the picture. Not normal, natural, everyday conversations — to Ego. But to Heart, they are easy, thrilling, exciting. With this in mind, here is the next bit of the chapter with Eric and Anne as they approach a new situation, new soul emotions, new mindset. ________________________________________________________ He returned quickly. The omelet’s steam carried the scent of the cheese, mushrooms, and onions to Anne before he could set the tray down. When Eric had finished eating, he sat back sipping his tea. “Anne, are we still going to do try this speaking to our hearts sitting next to each other.” “I don’t know why not. I actually whispered when I answered my heart, but it’s not like a formula. I could just answer in my mind. That’s where the conversation occurred. It was natural to whisper, but I knew you weren’t here. It’s not necessary but if we do, we do.” “Are you that sure we can just strike up a conversation any old time?” “Yep! I’m pretty sure. I’ll just close my eyes, breathe, and think. I know I will answer myself. If I have this wonderful truth right, how can I not speak to myself?” “But it’s…” “Yeah, I know, kind of weird in a way. I think it’s just because we haven’t been honest with that true self. So, are you ready?” “I am. I have done this. I admit, though, I’ve been superstitious. I know my heart and our conversations were real. I just…It really doesn’t matter. I’m so glad we can do this together. Seems more real.” ____________________________________________________________ I’ll continue creating and sharing my Heart. In the process, I will discover more about myself, and I will share more. And my hope is that my work will give opportunity for others to consider discovery for themselves, discovering themselves. And I hope that it will be as natural as drawing breath, eating breakfast, or putting on their socks! Blessings! Article Focus: The Fellowship of the Heart (rewrite)
Novel Focus: Passage of Eric and Anne Lafarnge experiencing fellowship with their own Heart, which is individual, and experiencing the fellowship of the Heart, which is shared. I have sought to make this natural. In some ways, I am influenced by opinions of others. The reason for that is some folks who read my previous version of this novel thought my vocabulary choice would be a challenge for readers. The same people thought people speaking to their Heart or to one another about it just doesn’t work. Many twenty-somethings who read it responded super positively — well, let me be honest, about seven or eight who actually read the whole novel. I trust I have restructured it in a way that is natural, because if it’s not, then I have had a number of unnatural communications with friends about these very issues. Ultimately, I want people to know discovering who we are as core Self provides the basis of the life we wanted to come here to experience. However, we choose. I want to make that choice clear at least through one fictional experience. Here is part of what I have written. _______________________________________________ Anne said, “This is no fluke, this speaking to our Heart, awakening to who we really are. I got out of bed and was sitting here before you got to the bottom of the stairs…” “Which is why I didn’t hear you.” “Probably, but I knew I needed to try and connect with that voice that’s been around, been whispering to me.” “What happened?” Eric now sat in the chair next to Anne’s. “That voice is my Heart. And it didn’t whisper this morning. It was clear, logical, distinct. I heard it. I spoke with it, with that other part of myself.” “So what did you talk about?” “I need to think about this more, but basically, I remembered that high school incident I told you about. My ego used that to give me pleasure in being a winner, on top, in control. It just made me feel good.” “Just to feel good?” Eric took in Anne’s whole frame. “No, I’m sure it’s more than that even as I think about aloud with you. But I know it’s one reason the senior associate position appealed to me. My heart made me face that.” “Okay, what else did you hear and speak about?” “I did realize that ego has been the force that I have chosen to use all these years. I could have called on heart, but that time in high school was when I decided it felt good to beat other people, to prey on them, especially those who thought they were stronger. It felt good to beat Ronald. It felt good to beat Stan Boyle and the other guys up for senior associate. I wanted it so desperately that in some ways, deep down, it was like raking my nails across all of their faces like I did to Ronald. I really think I wanted it just to win. What happened afterwards wasn’t a thought, really. Just win and run with it.” “That seems to be a pretty significant insight.” “Yes, it is, and that’s why I’m probably feeling so empty about my position now. But that’s not all. I understood that ego provided power that looks good, but now I feel awful about it. I even called it an inferior power because ego is effective but it left me empty.” “Is that how you ended? Do you feel empty?” Eric again looked at her and knew the answer to his own question. “No, that wasn’t the end of it. I told you it’s something big, bigger than ego, way bigger than ego.” “What?” “My heart kept asking me questions. This might sound sacrilegious, but my heart made me face that part of myself, itself. I understand that I am eternal and perfect there, that part of me. I understand I can’t seek to win or do anything else by comparing myself to others, measuring myself from others’ viewpoints. I am my own truth, and I have everything I need to live my truth.” “Okay, I hear your words but this is like a way bigger feeling than I had.” “Eric, it’s not a feeling, it’s an awakening, a true epiphany. I am eternal, that one inner part of me. That’s the part that is truth and will…” She paused — no more words as Eric looked at her. “What? Will what, Anne?” “Seems like there was going to be more, but that’s when I heard you coming upstairs. I just know that somehow my heart is eternal spirit that is part of me, part of who I am in this body. I don’t know what else. I feel like I want to know what else.” Her eyes fell on the tray Eric had brought up, and her face, shoulders, and arms relaxed and she slumped back in the chair. “This is exciting. All of this was clear to you?” “As crystal. Like I said, I know there’s more. I feel kind of exhausted now. How about some of that tea and omelet?” She smiled an him. “You got it. But it will take me one minute to zap this omelet in the microwave and warm it up.” ________________________________________________________ Anne understands her own Heart is our piece of eternal Spirit. She has faced her core Self and any doubt about her true identity has been eliminated. She knows that true Self will answer. Anytime. Anywhere. I have heard of some people claiming they get no answer. If that occurs, they are appealing to Ego. When emotional states like anger, despair, or hatred motivate anyone’s seeking their true identity, they are usually seeking Ego justification for such things. Heart will let us have it, set us straight. Ego will rationalize and justify such negativity, sometimes. Other times it will confuse us by not stirring or directing us to some Heart-substitute of moral philosophy or religious dedication. As Anne understands, “I am my own truth, and I have everything I need to live my truth.” Heart always answers honest seeking with honesty. Heart is our essence and will neither lie nor deceive. Blessings! When I think about my dreams, hopes, passions, and work, how do I take stock of myself? When I think in an evaluative way, am I judging myself? Do I compare myself to others who I judge as superior to me? Do I contrast myself with those who may not look as “successful” as me? Do I judge all this based on how much income is involved, how much property, how big the house, what degrees or titles others have?
I am definitely not a data-driven type guy. It does little to motivate me and less to inform my decisions, not only for education but also for life. While I use and don’t discount quantitive metrics, I definitely give more credence to qualitative frameworks. And when I think about my life — what I do day to day, how I do it, who I interact with and how we encourage one another — I want to do so with Heart. There’s just no other way for me to go than a conscious decision to work in fellowship with my Heart. I have been thinking about my work and where I am heading over the next few months. I know what I want to do, and what anyone else thinks of that is immaterial to me. I know Ego wants to weigh in, but the longer I practice using the Heart operating system, the more effective my ability to accurately evaluate myself becomes. Why? Comprehending my true nature still amazes me, thrills me, and encourages me. I am eternal Spirit with this physical existence holding and seasoning that piece of Spirit through the soul, mind, and body complex of Michael DePung. In The Fellowship of the Heart, Anne Lafarnge is coming to this knowledge, awakening to that truth of Spirit in her, of her core Self identity. I will share some of what she is thinking in a continuation of last night’s post. Anne is speaking with her own Heart. ___________________________________________________ What nurtured this prey drive, Anne? Do you know? “I do now. It is my ego, my own ego.” What are you saying? “I know it, feel it. My ego, the drive I have to succeed by beating others like Stan Boyle, that is powerful and looks like success.” Hasn’t it been for you, Anne? Aren’t you in the position you have fought for so long? She silenced herself and just breathed a few more times before whispering again. “Yes, that’s how I know my desire to beat others who represent bullies like Ronald is strong. It sounds good, in a way, but it’s not for me. It’s not for me because I’m not happy. Why am I not happy?” You have the answer. You are the only one who does. What do you want? “I want to be happy. I want peace like Eric has.” No, do not seek any of this in reference to another person. This is you and me. Only. No comparisons. No judgments. How do you want to be happy? Anne sat in silence for some number of breaths. “I don’t want anything. I am You, am I not? I am happy, right here, right now. I have understanding. I have peace. I…” What is the thought, Anne? Say it. I hear you. “I am my own truth, my own light. I know that ego has controlled me, even though it looks good to others. It’s all about my understanding and intentions. I am spirit, You. I am You, Heart, Spirit. That’s it, isn’t it?” Yes, Anne, that’s it. This is the truth of your power — not your ability to crush others, even ‘bad’ others, but your ability to know your existence is eternal. You are. I am. We exist. It begins here for us. She continued to breathe rhythmically, purposefully for a few more seconds. Then, she gasped. “I am…” Who are you? “I am eternal Spirit in this body. I am Anne Moreven Lafarnge.” She heard Eric on the stairs. “Anne, are you awake?” Eric entered the room. Anne took one deep breath and turned around. “Hey, I’ve been awake since you went downstairs. Well, not quite that long.” She smiled broadly. “You amuse yourself, do you?” Eric laughed as he set the tray of food and drinks down. “I’ve got something to tell you. Big.” “Something happened since I’ve been downstairs?” He chuckled, looked at her, and stopped smiling. “Something did happen. What?” ____________________________________________________ This is something big. To understand and know Self, to comprehend that eternal Spirit dwells within us, becomes us within the whole “us” package means we have power that we little use because of Ego being there, too. However, Spirit knowing this is part of the deal still worked all this together in love. We were part of that deal, part of that original thought, and chose to come here and participate in this creation in this body. Big deal, very big. So when we evaluate ourselves, let’s remember to not condemn ourselves. No, that would be condemning Spirit. Now, we can ream Ego and fire it from being our primary operating system, but that’s not the same as self-judgment, condemnation of self that may lead to hatred and on to…Anything I put here is Ego, and it’s enough to know that, address your Heart, and start a conversation. Blessings at the beginning of a new week of exploration and discovery of your wonderful Self! |
Questions to consider:How many times have you asked yourself or simply thought about the following questions?
Who am I, really? What is my truth? How do my actions reveal what I really feel and believe? What would I do with my life if I could do anything? What is my passion? Why am I here? How can I discover answers to any of these questions? If you have considered any of these questions, I hope that my experiences and writing will give you some guidance. Please read my blog and comment and share your thoughts. I would love to hear from you! Archives
December 2019
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