Creativity & Flow

Posted on August 8, 2015 by marcia

Riding Your Flow: 8 Steps for Enhancing Your Creativity and Productivity

Why is that we tend to be more successful at pursuits we are genuinely passionate about? Why does time seem to drag when you are completely bored and uninterested in a task? How come you can easily lose yourself in a task that really piques your interest?

According to positive psychology, doing things that you find genuinely interesting and stimulating can put you into a state Flow, which is defined as an ‘optimal state of consciousness where we feel our best and perform our best.’ During flow, self-awareness and the ego can dissolve, meaning you become completely focused and immersed in the activity for its own sake. Flow has been linked to enhanced performance and creativity across a wide range of activities, such as sports, artistic pursuits, and even in the workplace. Perhaps you can visualize a time when you became so focused and passionate about something that time just dissipated?

What Does Flow Feel Like?

Psychologically, riding a state of flow can feel incredibly pleasing and liberating. As we immerse ourselves in an activity that stimulates our passions, curiosity and interests, we lose track of the world around us and can enter unusual states of creativity and productivity.

According to psychologist Mikhal Csíkszentmihályi’s landmark book Finding Flow, the feeling of flow is associated with these ten factors, although not all of them need to be present to experience it. Have you ever experienced some or all of these?

You feel a complete focus of attention
The activity is intrinsically rewarding
You have clear, attainable (although still challenging) goals
You have a feeling of peace and losing yourself
There is an element of timelessness, or, losing track of time during the activity
You receive immediate feedback
You know that the task is doable, and you can strike a balance between skill level and the challenge presented.
You feel a sense of personal control over your efforts
You lose track of your physical needs.
You experience an unusually high level of concentration

What Does Flow Look Like in the Brain?

A variety of processes occur simultaneously in the brain when we enter a state of flow. Essentially, these processes are threefold and together they help explain why during flow, the brain is capable of enhanced creativity and productivity: Transitions in brainwaves, deactivation of the prefrontal cortex, and changes in neuro-chemistry.

Brain Wave Transitions:

While in a state of flow, our brainwaves transition from the more rapid beta waves of waking consciousness to slower alpha waves, and even to the border of much slower theta waves. Alpha waves are associated with relaxed and effortless alertness, peak performance and creativity, while theta waves are associated with the deeper dream-state consciousness and experienced predominately during REM sleep.

Pre-Frontal Cortex Deactivation:

During flow states, the Pre-Frontal Cortex (PFC) becomes deactivated in a process called “transient hypo-frontality.” The PFC is the area of the brain that houses higher-level cognitions, including those that help us to cultivate our ego and sense of self. During a flow state this area becomes deactivated, helping us lose ourselves in the task at hand and silence our criticisms, fears and self-doubts.

Neuro-chemistry:

Flow states also trigger a release of many of the pleasurable and performance- inducing chemicals in the brain, including dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine and endorphins. A recent study shows that when are intrinsically curious about an outcome and driven for answers, dopamine is released in the brain, helping to solidify our memories. These findings suggest why flow states are good for promoting learning and memory in addition to creativity.

Eight Steps for Enhancing Your State of Flow

In addition to being a pleasurable and productive experience, riding the flow also has a host of other benefits to well-being including increased self- esteem, self-confidence, life satisfaction and overall happiness. Here are eight steps for enhancing your state of flow:

Do something that interests you.

Flow comes most naturally when we are intrinsically motivated, excited and curios about the task. So if you are looking to get creative and productive, choose to focus on a task that you enjoy and already feel passionate about. If this is for work, or you don’t have a choice of the task, try to identify elements of the tasks that excite you. Maybe there are certain parts of project or elements of an assignment that interest you? Pay special attention to those.

Set Clear Goals.

Be specific when you are getting started on a task. What is the goal you are aiming for? Are you trying to finish a painting? Write a new song? Complete a presentation? Or perfect a new yoga pose? This will help to hone your focus and keep you on task. If you try to do too much it could overwhelm you, and if you do too little you might not spend enough time in deep concentration to reach a flow state.

Find A Quiet and Productive Time.

Most people find that an environment of peace and quiet works best for inducing a state of flow, possibly because of how brainwave patterns shift into slower frequencies during flow. When you begin your work, try to cultivate a calm, quiet environment. Also, make sure to identify when you are most productive: For some, this is first thing in the morning, and for others it is afternoon. For me, it is late at night. Identify the right time for you to be creative and block it off to engage in your flow time.

Avoid Interruptions and Distractions

Interruptions are the nemesis of flow. Every time get distracted, whether it is a roommate speaking to us, our phone beeping, emails coming in, a distracting song, or a messy desk, it can pull us out of flow and quicken our brainwaves to beta state. When you decide it is time to get into flow, turn off the phone, ask your friends, family or roommates not to disturb you, and tidy up your work space before you get started.

Focus as Long as you Can:

Once you are able to sit down during a quiet productive time without distractions, try to stay focused for as long as you can. At first, especially if you are new to the task, you may only be able to focus for five or ten minutes. This is OK: Just keep practicing! As you continue to direct your energies to focusing, you will train your brain to more easily and fluidly drop into the flow state and before long, hours will be passing by like minutes.

Match Your Skills to the Task

We can best enter flow when we are working on a task that is suited to our skill level. In other words, when we are well prepared for the task at hand, we are more likely to experience flow. Csíkszentmihályi gives the example of a runner experiencing flow during a marathon for which she has trained for several months.

But There is No Harm in Stretching Your Skills Slightly

Your skills should match the task at hand, but it is also possible to stretch your skills slightly past your comfort zone to maximize flow. A little bit of a challenge can be a great thing. So perhaps you are trying a new yoga move that is extra difficult. Or you are recording a song using new software. As long as the background skills are there, pushing yourself a little bit can be excellent for bringing you into a concentrated, productive state.

Emphasize Process, Not Outcome

Finally, please remember that the experience of flow is a PROCESS, not an outcome. In other words, working and creating from a place of flow is a life skill that you can strive to master with practice, and this usually does not happen overnight. Just keep trying and do not give up even if you don’t nail it right away. Remember, flow is all abut enjoyment and living in the present moment. If you become to wrapped up in the outcome, then it can take your enjoyment away. Who really cares what the painting looks like, so long as you enjoyed painting it right!? Just keep trying and continue to be open to the creativity flowing through your space

Sources:

Finding Flow: The Psychology of Engagement with Everyday Life, by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (1998)

from: http://themindunleashed.org/2014/10/understanding-flow-eight-steps-enhancing-creativity-productivity.html

TIme for a Leap of FAith

Posted on August 23, 2014 by marcia

Spiritual Leap Of Faith

BY: Kim Hutchinson
Clayhut Healing Centre

The theme of owning one’s power keeps coming up in my healings, readings and conversations. As a response to encouraging people to stand in their power, I am frequently met with unbridled fear. Never have I had so many people in such crisis over the same issue. This is obviously a collective consciousness blockage which needs to be purged.

What is a spiritual leap of faith?

Imagine that you are leisurely driving along the Road of Life, a meandering country lane. You are on your way to Enlightenment Town, a Shangri-La of spiritual awareness, Oneness and Divine Love. Accompanying you on this trip are some great friends. These angelic guides are lovingly assisting you all along your journey.

Suddenly, without warning, the road comes to an abrupt end. You stomp on the brake pedal with both feet, and your car skids to the very edge of the precipice. There, before you, lies nothing but open air….no road, no land, just sky and clouds. Gingerly you exit your vehicle and creep towards the edge of the cliff. Your breath quickens as you peer ever-so carefully over the sheer cliff face. The land below is so far away that the trees look like matchsticks. Your gaze shifts upward and you squint hard trying to see what lies on the other side. Alas, it’s too far away.

You turn to your friends and bemoan the fact that there’s no bridge. Your friends tell you that there is in fact a bridge there, but that you can’t see it. They explain that you must cross this chasm unaided, using faith as your only support. You can’t imagine anything more insane, and so you argue with them, but to no avail. They are adamant that you can do it.

Your friends’ lack of assistance, coupled with the daunting and seemingly impossible task ahead, causes you to react with fear, and that fear turns into anger. Instead of taking the leap of faith, you plunk yourself on the ground and cross your arms in defiance. You refuse to move forward without their help. You even consider turning back. You are at an impasse.

Owning your power

At some point in everyone’s spiritual reawakening process, you must make a leap of faith. This point in your journey back to Oneness almost always appears with little or no warning. Although unspeakably frightening, the leap is unavoidable and very necessary. Not only is it mandatory, but it must also be achieved by you alone. No one can assist you, for to do so would defeat its purpose. It serves to help you own, and stand in, your spiritual power.

Ego is the problem, not Spirit

Your ego is scared and so it’s throwing up road blocks everywhere it can. It doesn’t want you to take that leap of faith. It’s telling you to go back where it’s ‘safe’. Since the ego is connected to your left brain, it uses your intellect to rationalize away the need for this leap.

Ego is very good at arguing its case, and it (temporarily) wins almost every argument with spirit. That’s because your soul doesn’t argue. It just states the truth quietly, and then stands in that truth. The ego clamors to be heard; the soul whispers. The ego is clever; the soul, authentic.

The leap from the head to the heart

The chasm you must cross is the one from the brain to the heart. You must to leap from one side (earthly/ ego/ brain/ male) to the other (spiritual/ soul/ heart/ female). Once you fully cross into the heart, your ego will never have the same control over you. That fear you’re feeling is the stemming from the ego’s false belief in its impending demise. Ego believes it is fighting for its life.

What the ego doesn’t know is that the soul will lovingly incorporate the ego into your whole Being, and will nurture and protect you in a way that ego never could. In other words, this leap of faith will make your ego a very happy camper; that is, once you get across to the other side. So, you must make this crossing despite your ego’s protests.

Dealing with ego’s arguments

“I can’t do it.”

Actually, you can do it; otherwise, the challenge would not have appeared. Don’t believe your ego. It is making you feel powerless. It wants someone to help you; yet, if your guides give in, they would only be compounding your feelings of powerlessness. The only cure is for you to take the leap of faith. It’s the only way to discover of what you are really capable.

“I’m not ready!”

This leap of faith opportunity would not have appeared unless you were ready. Your higher self and angelic guides do not make mistakes. You don’t have to believe or feel you’re ready in order to be ready. In fact, the majority of spiritual seekers do not feel ready when presented with their leap of faith challenge. Your human incarnation has never encountered anything like this before, so how could it feel ready? Thankfully, this has nothing to do with your mind/ego/human side. The leap is a spiritual feat.

“This is crazy! I’ll fail/get hurt.”

The leap may look impossible, but it’s actually designed to strengthen your spiritual confidence. Without this extreme challenge, would you ever be willing to fly solo? Or, would you ever come to appreciate how incredibly gifted and intuitive you are? Most people feel “less than” until they are forced to discover of what they are truly capable.

“I don’t know what to do, or how to do it.”

If your spiritual guides have presented you with a leap of faith challenge, then that’s your assurance that you do know what to do; you just don’t know with your human brain. You need to tap into your intuition. Whether or not you feel intuitively capable, remember that your intuition is like a muscle. The more you use it, the better it gets. No one can work it out for you. That would be like taking you to a gym and demonstrating how to lift weights. Unless you’re doing the work, you’re not developing your intuitive muscle.

“I won’t do it, and you can’t make me!”

You’re right; you have free will. You are not required to do anything your spirit and angels suggest. But, if you are serious about owning your power, their guidance is golden. (Have they ever led you astray?) The next step is really up to you.

Spread your wings and fly, baby bird!

Like mama and papa birds, your angels and soul are telling you it’s time to leave the nest. Their urging doesn’t mean they don’t love you anymore. Quite the contrary! They love you so much that they want you to know the exhilaration of flight.

The ego’s supreme belief in its inability to survive the leap of faith is the only thing standing in your way. If you could silence your ego long enough to enter your heart, then you could establish the connection with spirit that will empower you. Then you could sprout wings and fly cross the chasm. But if you continue to listen to ego and its fears, you will never know how amazing you are, or how high you could soar.

How to shift from ego/mind to heart/soul

Your head is not your friend right now. The heart is the key. That’s your place of peace and fearlessness. In order to stay heart-centered, here are some suggestions:

Draw a labyrinth in the sand and then slowly walk it
Go earthing (walk barefoot in the dirt or on sand)
Breathe slowly, deeply and rhythmically
Spend time with people you love
Sit beneath, and/or hug, a tree
Practice Yoga, Tai Chi or Qigong
Paint, draw, write or compose
Swim in the ocean or a lake
Play with childlike abandon
Volunteer at a soup kitchen
Go on a spiritual retreat
Pet a dog, cat or horse
Hum or Sing
Hold a baby
Meditate
Garden
Laugh

Do whatever you can to still your mind. Once ego is silenced, it’s much easier to shift your awareness to your heart. From there you can enter the sacred space of your heart along with the tiny space. Within that space dwells your soul, your connection to All That Is. Every answer you could ever want is in your heart.

Fly free, baby bird!

from: http://in5d.com/spiritual-leap-of-faith.html

Lessons from A Taoist Monk

Posted on June 29, 2012 by marcia

Nine Powerful Life Lessons From Studying with a Monk

29th June 2012

By Robert Piper – docakilah.wordpress.com

When I was 18 years old, I suffered from anxiety and stomach problems. A compassionate physician and practicing Buddhist referred me to a Taoist monk who specialized in meditation and martial arts. I ended up healing myself of anxiety and stomach issues by doing meditation, and went on a great journey of self-discovery.

Here are 9 lessons I learned while studying with a monk:

1. Keep trying until you get it right.

The most important life lesson I learned was trying something three times (maybe even four times) before you stop trying and move on. Also, this monk taught me that, even after multiple tries, you should work on different angles to approach things that are difficult.

If you keep trying, you’ll eventually get where you’re going.

2. The answer to your question is inside of you.

As part of the original monastery training, a monk didn’t answer direct questions from a student unless it was a well thought-out question. A Chinese proverb says, “Teachers open the door, but you must enter by yourself.”

Some forms of Zen Buddhism use a very similar style of training. An old saying (by Taoist monks) goes like this: “In making a four corner table, the teacher shows the student how to make one corner. It’s the student’s job to figure out how to make the other three.”

They did this because they were preparing a student to deal effectively with problems in the real world.

I traveled to South Korea one time, and I found it fascinating how much you have to rely on your intuition when you don’t speak the native language of a country. I remember one instance, I had trouble explaining to the cab driver where my hotel was, and he didn’t speak English. So I had to get out of the cab and ask several people until I could find someone to tell the cab driver in Korean how to get to my hotel.

In life, whenever we try new things, we have to go into new places with only a small amount of information. The real world doesn’t give us all the answers. The greatest teacher is inside of us.

3. Real wisdom in life comes from doing something and failing.

Prior to starting meditation, I used to get upset when I’d try something and fail.

I’ve been in sales since I was sixteen. I remember going to work and getting so angry with myself because I didn’t get a sale. If I ever got rejected, I’d get upset with myself, and I’d want to quit my job. But I just keep failing over and over—until I became good at it.

I remember, when I first started doing meditation, I ran into several problems. For example, at first it was difficult to calm down; but if you stick with it, its gets easier and easier. I tried for only a few minutes, and then every day, I added more time onto my meditation.

When we struggle, we learn about ourselves and what we need to do to become stronger.

4. When you start to do meditation you recognize the egotistical mind.

Everything in the ego’s world is the result of comparing. I compared myself to other salesmen and would blame myself because I wasn’t making as much money as them.

When I started doing meditation, I began to build separation from this egoistical mind, which is consistently making these comparisons. A lot of us try something and get rejected, so we give up. Even worse, we blame ourselves for a long time and get depressed. When I started to do meditation, I began to identify my ego and was able to build separation from it.

That’s what happens when we meditate: We separate from the part of ourselves that dwells on comparisons, and start learning to live a life that isn’t driven by our egos.

5. We must be both compassionate and resilient.

The monk wouldn’t meet with me to train unless I called him a minimum of three times. I hated this part. I used to call and call and he would never answer. But this is how life is. How many times do you have to call or email someone to get something done in the real world? It’s usually several times.

Most of us blame ourselves when we try once to do something and fail. At the time, I hated this part of the training, but now I think it was the most important life lesson.

There’s a Taoist proverb that says, “Cotton on the outside, steel on the inside.”

It reminds us to be compassionate, but not weak.

6. Patience is a virtue.

The monk always made me wait—and I dreaded this.

For example, when I got to his house to train, he’d make me wait for a minimum of a half-hour, sometimes longer. We’d go out to dinner on Friday nights and he’d show up at the restaurant an hour late.

He’d tell me to meet him at a particular restaurant at 7:00. I’d get there and find out that he wasn’t there. So I’d usually be sitting in the restaurant by myself fumbling with my phone, acting like I was texting someone, while worrying about what everyone at the restaurant was thinking about me.

Keep in mind, it’s not like I could call him; I don’t think the guy ever turned his cell phone on. Then he’d show up at about 8:15 and act like nothing happened.

His first question was always, “How’s your mother and father?” (Of course in my head I’m thinking, “What do you mean, ‘How’s my mother and father?’ I just waited here for an hour and fifteen minutes.”)

But after a few years of this, it never bothered me; and not only that, it spread to every area of my life. Because of this training, I can honestly say that I very rarely get upset about anything. I never get agitated anymore when I have to wait in a long line or when someone cuts me off on the highway.

Patience is the gift of inner calm.

7. Detach from your ego.

At first, it’s hard to sit at a restaurant by yourself. You’re constantly worrying, thinking that people probably think you’re a loser because you’re sitting by yourself. But the reality is, you will never be happy if you care about what people think you!

Prior to starting meditation, I’d get upset over just about anything. Now, nothing really bothers me. Recently, I was in the airport and there was a several hour delay on my flight. I just used that time to do meditation. Ten years ago, I would have become extremely upset. An airplane delay would have ruined my day.

When you let go of your ego needs, it’s easier to accept and even benefit from whatever comes at you.

8. In Taoism, they say, “No self, No enemy.”

It’s the enemy within that causes all of our fears, worries, and insecurities. If you come to terms with this enemy within, it will impact every area of your life. It’s the identification with the “self/ego” that causes all of life’s problems.

How many times do we not go for something because of fear? Think about all the fears that we have conjured up in our minds that stop us from being truly happy. If you can conquer the enemy within yourself, you won’t have an enemy outside yourself.

9. Happiness come from within, and also comes from outside.

I learned this from observing the Buddhist Physician I met. He used to do meditation in his office before he would interact with his patients. He was one of the happiest and most compassionate people I’ve ever met.

By creating happiness inside, he was able to increase that emotional state by spreading it to others.

We must cultivate happiness from within, and work to spread it around to everyone we interact with. The monk used say, “Everyone has a purpose or a mission in life.”

We have to find happiness within, and also find our purpose on the outside.

About the Author

Robert Piper is a meditation instructor & the creator of monkinthecity.com. He studied with a Taoist monk for 9 ½ years & traveled to Asia & Australia in search of other meditation teachers. Robert is currently writing a book on meditation to make it more accessible for stress relief, health & happiness.

from: http://wakeup-world.com/2012/06/29/nine-powerful-life-lessons-from-studying-with-a-monk/

The Group via Steve Rother “Building a New World”

Posted on March 17, 2012 by marcia

Greetings from Home

TWe bring you such an incredibly comfortable energy. We have stepped into your realm of expectation for you have come looking for answers, guidance or a nudge in the right direction, one that would give you validation and let you know that you are doing exactly what you should be. Let us explain first that much of your life from this point forward may be without some of that validation.

It is very difficult for you to validate your path with only one step, but the further you move into it, the more comfortable you become with your abilities to create. That is what this is all about. We wish to bring you this day a view of yourself from another perspective, one that you probably have not considered before. You are evolving through these different levels of what we are calling humanity.

Throughout your own history you have documented so many evolutions, but this particular one has many different levels. This particular evolutionary process you are experiencing not only involves the physical being, but it is actually the first time that you have evolved to a point at which you can carry more of your own soul and light. These changes that are happening right now, even with your own physiology, for it is starting to shift on levels that you are unfamiliar with. The Vagus nerve will become very important for many of you, as you start to understand that it is your interaction with the rest of the world. Through this nerve the physical body both feels other spirits and exudes yours, making these connections.

Reaching New Heights Using Overtone Harmonics

You have had discussions here today about removing the veil and seeing how connected you really are to each other. We also wish to talk about harmony, for that is going to be most of the key important pieces that humans will have to learn to work with: energetic harmony. So, how do two energies harmonize in some way? First, let us go back and describe what we consider to be harmony so you will understand the concept. If you repeatedly strike two notes on a piano keyboard that are very close together, you will be playing chopsticks (which is tolerable but aggravating). It is because you have two notes that are so close together that they do not meet at regular intervals; they do not actually support each other. They are two unique notes that insist on being totally unique from one another. It is when you move to a comfortable distance on the keyboard that you can play what you call a chord, where two notes overlap at regular intervals. Not only do they support each other, but they also create a third tone which you hear as the harmony. It is very magical when you listen to music, bringing in a tremendous amount of harmonics and overtones. In harmonies, you only hear the three notes that make up the harmony. The first original note is the first part of this harmony, the second note compliments the first, and the third note is what you hear. What we are telling you is that your ears are only capable of hearing certain ranges. There are overtone levels of that harmony that you cannot hear, but we can. There are overtone levels of this harmony that will reach out into humanity much further than you have ever experienced as an individual, and this is why harmony on this planet is becoming so important at this time.

Pain — Changing the Role

Now that we have described what harmony is, let us share with you some of the challenges in finding harmony where you are right now. Let us take a look at one part of humanity that has been with each of you over and over again. It is known as the one motivating factor of all of humanity. What is it? It is pain; it is what you experience as pain, and it is a great motivator. You have used it over and over on planet Earth to either do things or to not do things. If you look at your own lives, many of your daily structures are made to avoid a specific pain. As you start removing this veil and begin seeing the many ways you are connected, the first lesson you will discover is that pain is carried by the collective. Therefore, one may feel the pain but it is not theirs to own because the pain is only the temporary carrier of the gift.

Find the gift and the pain is no longer needed so may be released. There is actually beauty in that darkness. Because you live in a field of polarity, you have become so accustomed to judging everything as either good or bad. We tell you, dear ones, that there is no good and there is no bad. Everything is somewhere in the middle depending on where you choose to put it at that very moment. What we are going to ask you to do is to find that beauty in the darkness, even in the pain that you still carry or experience.

Each and every one of you has a life pain that you have carried with you. Some of you have resolved the pain, yet it sits heavy in a bittersweet part of your heart. Pain is a huge motivator in your life. Consider the human expression of creativity such as music, poems and movies. Many are written from pain or painful experiences, or the unusual situations you get into. What we are asking you to do is to prepare yourself for this next level of humanity now, and do not wait to be faced with all of the pieces of it. Take a closer look at the joyous pain that has been in your life thus far, which has motivated you in some way or permanently shifted your direction. Even if we could take them from you in this very moment, you would not release them because you have paid for them in a way and that gives pain a real value. Find a way to give thanks for the pain as the carrier. If you know the benefit of that, you will gladly put yourself through that process as your spirit often does. It is the humanness within you, the reaction of the animal which you have blended ywith that sometimes repeats the same patterns over and over again looking for success on different levels. Many times when you move from one level to another, your truth shifts to a clearer understanding. These are many of the changes that all of humanity will be evaluating and searching for the answers. The most important part is to keep in mind that you are building a new Earth, filled with the vibrations and the particles of dust you have all gathered. Your eyes are open and all it takes is your intent, your desire expressed as a thought. Those particles come together very magically and you have created a new Earth on which to live. Does that mean you will be switching planets? No. It will happen right here. The question we have for you is, are you ready to step into that Earth? Are you ready to be fully responsible for your thoughts? Are you ready to be the creator of your own destiny? Are you ready to remove the veil? That is what is taking place. With every step that you climb, the collective removes a little part of that veil for humans no matter where they are in the bandwidth. It makes no difference whether they are at the very top edge of the highest vibration, or at the lowliest of low on planet Earth at this moment, you are all moving together and it is working. It is moving faster than the speed of love. It is moving faster, quite honestly, than anyone on this side of the veil had even anticipated.

Outside Filters Have Been Removed

Many are beginning to attract attention throughout your globe on different levels and demanding a better world, because this evolution is not only in the area of spirituality. It is touching every person on this planet. There are times when it is even necessary to ride through a wave of energy that can help all humans everywhere to alter and shift their vibration to the next level. This is currently happening with what you are calling a flu virus. It is basically bringing possibilities to many people quickly. When you go through an illness of this nature, you are no longer the same person. Why? It’s very simple. You are vibrating differently. Does that mean every illness is going to take you up a level? No, but it means the illness is simply a part of of your process. Illness is not always a sign of something wrong, although that is a typically human concept. You must understand that you are healers. Many of you are helping other people to take these steps and acclimate to this new energy, to live in this energy and use it every day. This is the greatest wisdom that we can offer you as the healers of the light – to hold your knowledge, to know that you are here on planet Earth for a purpose. It is also very important that you know that you have everything that you need to do your work.

Re-Balance the Ego

Many of you will be called to a new place, or suddenly will find yourself without the support that you had before. You will wonder what you are doing wrong and why you are not being supported by the universe. You know that your spirit is there, you can feel the direction and the energy of your spirit, but you cannot always reconcile it with your own movements and your emotions. Harmony – how do you harmonize with another? It is easy for the Keeper to look out and see that he has known every single one of these beings, many of them many lifetimes. But it is not easy for him to re-member that when we are not with him. It is a typical veil that keeps you from re-membering your role and to take the place of that, you build something called the ego.

Now the ego is your sense of self. It is your sense not of unity, but of separateness. It is because of your sense of separateness and your identity as a human being that many of you believe the ego is going diminishing. You will always need the ego, however it does need rebalancing as you step up. You need a sense of self to pretend to be a human. Very simply put, the basic understanding of your energy will be different. Back to pain for a moment, what is the greatest pain a human can have? Well, we can tell you that the Keeper has broken many bones during his lifetime. He’s experienced much pain, but none as difficult as an emotional pain that cracks the idea of what his ego was. We will say that again. You build these structures called the ego to house your identity as a human being. Then when you experience an emotional ripple, when someone lets you down, hurts you, or reflects you so accurately that allows you to truly see your own flaws, it cracks your idea of your ego and it hurts to your core. That is the greatest pain. Now if you are harmonizing pain and looking for the beauty in pain, we are also going to tell you to do the same thing with the ego. Find the beauty in it. There is no need to release it, for is a part of you. Now if you are able to build a flexible ego, you can grow. You realize that it is not about you after all, for the challenge with the ego is that it seems to have its own life. Many times it can become so much that you block out the rest of the world. All of you are familiar with that paradigm and many of you ask, “Is my ego too big today?” We think that is absolutely hilarious, because if you really had a problem with it you would not be asking that question. The reality of it is that the ego needs to be in balanced in both directions. It cannot be too high but neither can it be too low, and that is the biggest challenge that we see. Find the balance where you can stand up and say what you value.

Share the message that you brought from Home, and can deliver it without cracking the idea of your ego. This is the piece that we need to re-build on planet Earth for humans to be able to take the next step and live as empowered beings. It must be not only an expansion of the ego, but a complete re-working of the ego. Instead of being a solid, rigid structure with no flexibility, we are now going to honor the people that come into our lives, saying simply: “I like the effect you have on me. I will wear that effect very well and I will bounce it to the rest of the world blending. I will start looking for the beauty.” That is the one common denominator, the piece above all else that each of you brought from Home. You are not creatures of planet Earth…you are here on a short visit. If we can help you re-member where you truly came from, you will re-member the fun little games and the rules you set up so you could play this game.

Changing the Rules

Dear ones, the rules are changing and you are changing them. We ask you to make your voice heard. Does that mean you are the only voice or that you have all the right answers? You are creating a new world. Your input is needed, and if you experience pain the first thing to do is to allow yourself to feel it. Let it wash completely over you like a wave and experience the pain fully, for there is a gift in it. Find the gift and the pain transforms. Find the balance in your own ego, by discovering where it hurts. Ask yourself, “What is the solid, rigid core of who I believe I am?” If you can allow these reflections to come in and incorporate them as you move through life. That will allow you to experience more enjoyment, being able to fly over here or play over there for a little while. Oh, things are getting too serious here, so we are going to have to come over here and play for a little while. That is the basic idea of what you are doing. You are spreading light every chance you get. Every time you smile, every time you speak a truth from your heart, your eyes flash and light penetrates throughout everything.

You have reached more hearts than you will probably ever know, and many of you are just getting started. It is a new world that you have created. We also wish to tell you this, for many of you have been struggling and waiting for when life will become easier. We tell you, dear ones, that the hard part is over and you have made it! Now all you need to do is to alter your expectations. Enjoy this journey, dear ones, for you are miracle creators beyond your understanding and you are creating miracles every single moment.

It is with the greatest of honor that we ask you to treat each other with respect. Nurture one another every chance you get and open the door for each other. It works. Re-member it is a brand new game you are playing and play well together.

Espavo.

The group

from: http://lightworker.com/beacons/2012/2012_03-BuildingaNewWorld.php

Phoenix Rising Star in Ego

Posted on January 3, 2012 by marcia

Messages from my heart: Healing Ego Driven Responses

By Phoenix Rising Star

I was anticipating a future conversation, feeling that anxiety, that sinking feeling that says ‘this isn’t going to be pretty’.

I was organizing a come-back in my mind. Trying to think of the best and fastest way to make my point, to not allow myself to be put down, and to respond so brilliantly, there would be no further discussion.

This woman really gets to me. Fortunately I don’t have to deal with her very often, but when I see an email from her, I cringe. She’s power driven, uses corporate-minded tactics that cuts the rug out from under me, and pressures everyone to do things her way.

I haven’t yet figured out a way to work with her without anxiety on my part.

As I was mulling this over, creating my exceptional responses, I suddenly realized what I was doing. I was just as much in my head as she was. I was responding from my head to her actions from her head; from the ego.

And I was judging HER for this.

Ouch.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized that’s how ego works. It creates a scenario, and the automatic response in most of us is to respond in kind. Her power driven words were causing me to try to respond in an equally power driven manner.

And it wasn’t working. I was failing miserably at it; feeling badly. The words weren’t coming out right. Nothing about my comebacks worked or felt right.

And that is also how ego works. There will never be enough. There will always be a shortage, a limitation, a lack, a need that is unfulfilled with ego. Nothing will ever be complete with ego. ‘An eye for an eye’ will go on until there are no more eyes.

There’s a part of us that understands that lack is not in alignment with our soul. Our natural state as a soul is to be abundant. This awareness gives us the opportunity to look at other options for our reactions, our emotions, our thoughts, our ways of living. Propelling us into living in the heart. If we choose it.

I decided to call this my healing opportunity.

Healing my automatic reactions to ego driven experiences.

Healing my ego responses and choosing to react from my heart.

Or rather, to not react, but to be in my heart.

Period.

I didn’t really know how to do this.

There may be a manual on it, but I doubted that amazon.com had it.

Just thinking about books gave me an idea, though.

I went into my sacred space of my heart.

I’m very visual, so when I’m there, I see incredible details.

In my sacred space of my heart, I have an Akashic records room. It looks just like an old library or book collection. Books are on shelves, and the shelves stretch way up over my reach. Fortunately there is a ladder for me to climb so I can get to the very top if need be.

Volumes and volumes and volumes of bound books are in my records room.

Recording all my awarenesses, knowledge, understanding, hopes, dreams, aspirations, as well as all the people, players, situations, lifetimes, and experiences I’ve had.

Ever.

When I need something, I go here.

Everything has already been experienced.

I’m just reliving it or relearning it, if I so choose.

I figured this wasn’t the first time around this knowledge.

Now I choose to remember it and live it.

As I entered my Akashic record room, I asked for the book or chapter that would help me heal the automatic reaction of my ego.

Immediately I was led to the top shelf of the third bookcase from the left. Climbing the ladder to retrieve it, I was a bit overwhelmed to see a huge volume entitled, “Healing Ego Driven Responses”.

Curiously I took it down from the shelf, climbed back down the ladder, and took the volume into my tiny space of my heart. Curling up in a comfortable position, the book fell open to a section titled, “Addictions”.

Under this title, written similarly to a medical dictionary, there were different addictions in sub-categories such as ‘Sugar’. ‘Emotions/Drama’. ‘Mental Beliefs’. ‘Spiritual Experiences’.

And under each sub-category, was a description of that particular addiction as well as its origin. With suggestions for healing.

I knew I probably could learn from the sub-category of sugar, but I found myself irresistibly drawn to Mental Beliefs.

Under that sub-category were several chapters on different belief systems.

Again I was irresistibly drawn to one.

‘The Need To Be Right’.

Curious, I began reading.

“The need to be right is demonstrated in the actions of a person who insists. It can also be seen in actions similar to stubbornness and persistence, but in a manner that indicates an unwillingness to allow for any one’s opinions, thoughts or feelings. This need can also be demonstrated in control issues, because controlling the outcome ensures the individual is always right.

“The origin of this addiction may be in past lives that were not healed, and also in childhood of the present lifetime. Individuals who were looking for validation outside of themselves, and were never encouraged to believe in his/her own perspective or intuition will many times build this belief system within. Individuals who were sporadically, but not consistently rewarded for good ideas, sometimes build this addiction over time. Individuals who are filled with fear of making a mistake will also build this addiction.

“Like all addictions, mental beliefs build on themselves. It starts with a subconscious decision, and in the cellular memory, becomes reinforced through subsequent experiences. Until eventually, the individual actions become those that feed the addiction, in this case, the need to be right, rather than the focused intention of the occasion or meeting.

“Healing this addiction begins with healing the fear of making a mistake. The individual must recognize that mistakes are old programs frequently associated with shame and blame. When the word opportunity is substituted for mistake, the negative connotation is replaced, and the painful emotions are neutralized. Thus, enabling the individual to view everything as an opportunity for growth. Not to be judged harshly.

“Healing this addiction may also be accomplished through the intention of releasing the cellular memory where this belief began. And with the intention that the replacement of that memory be a higher belief system embodying self love and support.

“Healing this addiction may also be accomplished through the experience of seeing it in others. Having others reflect it back. Becoming aware of it within through the viewing the actions without. Using heart-felt intention will create a powerful transformation in this way.”

Oh my goodness!

I recognized that what was giving me anxiety about this situation was my own fear of making a mistake. Of not being right. Of being judged for it. I had this very fear within me. And seeing it in her, made me aware of it. ‘Becoming aware of it within through viewing the actions without.’

I knew what I needed to do.

I invited the woman I had viewed as egotistic and the antagonist into my tiny space of my heart. The place closest to God. My space of creation for my heart’s desires.

I intended to share with her what I had learned about myself. What I had learned about us. What I learned about humanity.

When she came in, she appeared younger than I’d ever seen her. She looked around interestedly and then sat down.

We sat and smiled at each other.

And kept smiling and smiling.

I found I had nothing to say.

There was nothing to say.

It was complete.

“Healing this addiction may also be accomplished through the experience of seeing it in others. Having others reflect it back. Becoming aware of it within through the viewing the actions without. Using heart-felt intention will create a powerful transformation in this way.”

I felt at peace.

And so, it appeared, did she.

After quite a long time of sitting in silence and smiling at each other, quite comfortably, she got up and left.

Later that morning, when I went to my computer, I saw an email from her.

And I smiled. Feeling quite at peace.

Respectfully yours,
Phoenix Rising Star

from: http://www.spiritofmaat.com/jan12/healing_ego_driven_responses.html

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