The sanctuary of love

There’s a deep meaning in the romantic consciousness. ~
A deep love says: I’m able to see the beauty in you even when you have made a mistake today. I’m able to see what you’re capable of and focus on what I know your dreams to be and to share those dreams with you and to support you, even on the days when you fall flat on your face and they don’t want you for the job and they’re not going to give you the promotion. I want to be the person today who still believes in your strength even though you spent the entire day around people who concentrated on your inadequacies. THAT to me is love.

That is a spiritual, mental, emotional, personal strength that I’ve developed in myself to REFUSE to see you as other people might have chosen to see you today. That’s commitment to me. That’s what the commitment is. Otherwise, what am I doing? I’m waiting to see whether you strike me as good enough today. And what? I’m going to take my cues from how other people have perceived you today? Heck no.

To me, that’s the sanctuary of love. That’s the sanctuary of intimacy. That in THIS place, you’re seen in your glory. In this place, you’re seen in your potential at all times even when you haven’t actualized it on any given day.

Someone...

Someone to wake up to. To share the weather with, then the coffee.

Someone to dream with—to plan and scheme and then celebrate with.
Someone to win with, and someone to lose with.
Someone to care for and protect—and to let go of and watch fly.
Someone to stare at in wonder, and to think, “That heart loves mine.”
Someone to talk long with under stars on frosty nights. To giggle through scarves and gloves and hats with, and to kiss under mistletoe.
Someone to hold. Someone to be held by. To be treasured by a treasure.
Someone to notice birds with. To catch flashes of blue and green and purple and brown—and to feel the excitement of soaring little wonders. To see life as it is, not as it seems.
Someone to sit with and watch children, perhaps our own, and to laugh in their innocence and swell at our luck.
Someone to forget with.
Someone to cook with. To sweep mud off the floor. Someone to make magic out of mundane with and smile because it’s with each other.
Someone to cry with. To share rivers of grief indistinguishable from the other. To hold and to hug, and to help and to heal.
Someone to hold hands with. To glance at, fingers intertwined beneath coffee tables, and hearts blurring between eyes.
Someone to lay with with, nothing in between. To be everything holy and exist in a dream. To be naked to our souls and give everything unseen.
Someone to trust. To tell darkest secrets to and reveal hungry fears. Someone to know all of themselves and to want to see more. Someone whose eyes reflect what’s in ours.
Someone to walk with. To travel with. To find pockets of magic in grey city dullness. To drive miles and miles just for that “mile” that’s ours.
Someone to smile with. A deep knowing grin that says, “I see you” and “I’m staying.”
Someone to miss, even for a minute—until they return, and it feels like home again.
Someone to stare at for moments unending.
Someone to love.

A soul connection is a resonance between two people who respond to the essential beauty of each other's individual natures, behind their facades, and who connect on this deeper level. This kind of mutual recognition provides the catalyst for a potent alchemy. It is a sacred alliance whose purpose is to help both partners discover and realize their deepest potentials.
While a heart connection lets us appreciate those we love just as they are, a soul connection opens up a further dimension ~~ seeing and loving them for who they could be, and for who we could become under their influence. This means recognizing that we both have an important part to play in helping each other become more fully who we are.
A soul connection not only inspires us to expand, but also forces us to confront whatever stands in the way of that expansion.

The more two people open to each other, the more this wide-openness also brings to the surface all the obstacles to it: their deepest, darkest wounds, their desperation and mistrust, and their rawest emotional trigger points.
Just as the sun's warmth causes clouds to arise by prompting the earth to release its moisture, so love's pure openness activates the thick clouds of our emotional wounding, the tight places where we are shut down, where we live in fear and resist love. The light of unconditional love awakens the dormant seed potentials of the soul, helping them ripen, blossom, and bear fruit, allowing us to bring forth the unique gifts that are ours to offer in this life.

we just love.

Sometimes there are no words. Words simply do not come. Sometimes we cannot find words to convey the depths of which we feel. That's okay. It's okay to just be in a raw feeling place, and not know when or if words will come to express.
We can just feel the depth of life, the depth of our humanity, the depth of this journey in human form. We can navigate the silent wondering, the unfathomable unknown -- by slowing and deepening the breath, and sending love from our hearts to all points seen and unseen, and known and unknown in the Universe.
May that love penetrate the most open, soft, permeable, and pliable, to the most closed, dense, and seemingly fierce immovable forces in all of existence. May that love be a light of courage and conviction for us to keep walking the path...especially through those times where we cannot see where it will lead. Each breath, each step -- a reminder to wake up from our slumber of suffering. In our stillness and silence, all is included, and without words -- we just love.

"I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where. I love you simply, without problems or pride: I love you in this way because I do not know any other way of loving but this, in which there is no I or you, so intimate that your hand upon my chest is my hand, so intimate that when I fall asleep your eyes close." ~ Pablo Neruda

The Deep Joy of Being of Service

At first, spirituality is all about the individual waking up to the deeper layers of their consciousness, and integrating these truths--both the transcendental truths as well as the hidden, suppressed personal beliefs--until one comes into unison within ones self. But then, spirituality becomes all about being of service to the other-selves which are all portions of the over-arching being that you/I/we are.
When most of the personal doubts and separations have been resolved, there is no greater honor for the individual than to be so fully of service that he sees nothing but the One Infinite Creator interacting with itself in infinite ways through endless individuations. This state cannot be explained nor understood until experienced first-hand, but there is no greater satisfaction than to be of service to the All.
In fact, after one has gone through most of one's own spiritual growth, the only way to evolve even further is to direct that spiritual awareness unto the rest of ones Self (aka other-selves) and commit to that so fully that one becomes even more self-transcendent in their consciousness.
There is no way to describe this state of being as it is truly transpersonal. The balance of love, wisdom, confidence, tact and humility that one gets to learn in these rapturous as well as heart-breaking scenarios that the soul then attracts to its personality-extensions is so subtle no teaching except the living of it can touch upon this reality.
Make no mistake, this is the state I prepare you all for in my Trinfinity Academy and through my teachings. I might talk about attracting your dream life, and you will be able to manifest that too using these tools, but it will also naturally evolve you into a shepherding consciousness to which I cannot speak in words except barely. But when that stage has fully arrived for you, we will be able to look each other in the eyes when we meet and share instant tears of gratitude and ungraspable recognition of each other's beingness, fearless heart and journey. We will see the oneness of our vision and purpose.
There is no greater joy, no deeper honor, than to be of service to others in the most intangible of ways.
May you know your utter union with the Creator through all experience and catalyst that you attract to yourself as a human today. We will meet as brothers and sister of light when the time comes for you to have passed successfully through the challenge of loneliness and misunderstanding.
The ultimate reward lies on the other side of your unconditional willingness to give ever more of yourself to those who ask for your soul to be present here on earth.

By being all that we are, we help others :)

Sometimes people like to imagine themselves like a lighthouse, lighting the way for the ships and saving the world....but, that lighthouse is useless, unless it takes care of ITSELF, unless if fans IT'S OWN flames and shines it's IT'S OWN with all it's full essence. It is useless unless if it plays small and humble saying "I don't want to get to bright and scare the ships " The lighthouse was created to be *BRILLIANT* ....The lighthouse does not go out, into the storm, and try to calm it... it does not go out and take the ships by hand, and lead them...it simply stand there *Being Brilliant* - feeding it's own flames, nurturing it's own fire and it's own expression.  The ships can make use of it's light or not - THAT'S UP TO THEM.... but the lighthouse is useless if it plays small and humble.

See yourself as a lighthouse, the brighter the flame, the grander the expression, the more impact you can have on all that is, you serve humanity by serving yourself...he light house doesn't give it's fuel to light the candles around it, or to light the lamps of the peasants below, it uses ALL of it's fuel for itself - and in that way lives it's full potential....in service.
YOU come first...
Even the lighthouse's keeper may let his own fire go out, but he will keep the lighthouse burning
YOU COME FIRST

THE PARADOX OF EFFORTLESS CHANGE (Jeff Foster)

We can only truly change when we fully accept ourselves as we are right now; flaws, imperfections, doubts and all.
A true painter uses the canvas they are given; they will not wait for the perfect canvas to begin.
The art must happen now.
You want the perfect partner? The perfect mother or father? The perfect boss? The perfect body? The perfect feelings? The perfect enlightenment? The perfect life?
How about deeply accepting what is here, right now? How about deeply accepting others, as they actually are? How about bowing to the energies that are alive, dignifying the place where you stand?
A strange place to start, admittedly. Sounds a little, er, back-to-front. Like giving up. Like settling for less than you deserve. Like weakness. A self-indulgent pity party. Getting lost in the mud.
But wait.
Is acceptance of 'what is' the same as giving up on the possibility of change? Actually, no.
Does acceptance mean tolerating or "putting up with" difficult feelings? Does it mean blindly following violent impulses? Not at all.
Does acceptance mean becoming detached and passive, turning a blind eye to the violence in the world, letting others walk all over us and our loved ones? No.
Does acceptance mean playing a false role, the role of the "very spiritually evolved, deeply accepting, utterly peaceful person"? No. Acceptance is not a role, and it's not personal.
Deep acceptance means aligning with the way things actually are. It means staring life in the face, right now. It means turning towards what is here, what has been given, the actual canvas. It means letting go of false hopes and dreams and awakening to what is really true. It means ending the war, seeing through the illusion of a 'self' separate from this mysterious movement of life. It means saying yes to the present scene of the movie, even if it isn't the scene you'd planned or hoped for.
It is the supreme paradox, that out of a deep and uncompromising acceptance of this seemingly 'imperfect' moment, truly creative and intelligent and surprisingly effortless change can happen. Because you're no longer at war, and you're open to possibility, and you're fully alive.
You've nourished and fertilised the ground with loving attention and slowness, and now something new and beautiful can emerge.
The mind was never in charge of change, anyway.
And the ground was always trustable.

I can only see in me what I can see in you,

I can only see in me what I can see in you,
I can only believe about me, what I can believe about you,
I can only love in me what I can love in you,
I can only celebrate in me what I can celebrate in you.

When I tear you down - I tear me down,
When I put you down - I put me down,
When I assault you with words - I assault me with words,
When I withhold love from you, I withhold love from me.
It seems we appear to look 'out there,'
And see this world that is really happening 'in here,'
We can make it about 'that' or realize its about 'this.'
Either way - life will show us again and again
until we see it ... Clearly.
Love is always pointing back to love.

Truth

A belief
is a thought
you confuse
with Truth.

Truth is not a thought.
Truth can't be defined by the image or the word.
Truth is the living field
in which thoughts come and go.
Like clouds in the sky.
Like waves in the ocean.
Like pictures flickering on a movie screen.
The screen neither believes nor disbelieves.
The ocean is too vast to be captured by thought.
It remains undefinable.
Mysterious.
Believe it or not.
- Jeff Foster

Love. Love is the answer.
And the question was forged
at the heart of a dying star.

Or in the eyes of an old friend.
Or in the openings in the forest we once walked together.
Or in the gaps in conversation; the spaces where we felt each other.
Held each other between words.
Knew what we knew.
There was once a spirituality
where the teacher studied for years,
spouted the correct answers,
expert to novice,
talked of unconditional love,
altered states, the purity of being,
yet kept their heart closed,
hid behind their role,
put down others who weren't as evolved,
ignored their own pain.
Didn't listen.
Didn't feel.
Pleaded immunity.
We now know
that even the most learned ones
may have a lot to learn
when it comes to love.
For love is not clever words.
Love is fire.
Love is earth.
Love is presence.
It will humble you.
Strip you bare.
Make you doubt all you once knew.
Crucify your expertise.
It will break down your defences,
the walls you erected to keep others out, make yourself an authority, the wise one, special.
Humbled, you will laugh at all you once taught.
So throw your answers onto the fire now.
Know love as the answer!
And discover again the question,
still living,
still vibrant,
The eternal flow of life is LOVE...

Dive headlong into it, swim, drown, live, die... it is everywhere, everything.

 Holding us. We are safe!




______________________________________________________________________

 We cultivate love when we allow our most vulnerable and powerful selves to be deeply seen and known, and when we honor the spiritual connection that grows from that offering with trust, respect, kindness and affection.

Love is not something we give or get; it is something that we nurture and grow, a connection that can only be cultivated between two people when it exists within each one of them – we can only love others as much as we love ourselves

The power of love & touch :)

Have you been hugged lately? Did you know... "The average length of a hug between two people is 3 seconds, but researchers have discovered something fantastic. When a hug lasts 20 seconds, there is a therapeutic effect on the body and mind. The reason is that a sincere hug produces a hormone called "oxytocin", also known as the love hormone. This substance has many benefits in our physical and mental health, helps us, among other things, to relax, to feel safe and calm our fears and anxiety. This wonderful calming is offered free of charge every time we have a person in our arms, when we cradled a child, cherish a dog or cat, we're dancing with our partner, the closer we get to someone or just hold the shoulders of a friend." Try it out and hug a Beloved today!

Understanding Giving...

When we give with a need to receive we set ourselves up for disappointment. And "need to receive" reflects the lack of self love and a sense of unworthiness.And as we begin to drop this emotional need we begin to drop our expectations of how others should be and see them more truly, sooner. Then we stop doing for others just to make them happy or approve of us and start ensuring that we are happy first.

When I am happy with myself it becomes very easy to open to the gifts that life and other people bring. This happens in unexpected and delightfully surprising ways, It happens often in very small ways that were always there but we did not have the eyes to see them because we were blinded by our need to "get back".If I give, I give because it makes me happy. Whether another acknowledges the receipt or not it makes no difference to my pleasure in that moment. There maybe a genuine recognition later and that is a bonus. 

So perhaps we could say that "give and take" is not the best basis for relationship. Give and receive is much better. And if I give to you and you just keep taking you will not be seeing the truth of my gift and that will be about you, not me.And if I keep giving wanting to receive your acknowledgement of me but you cannot "see" because you are "self engrossed" then for me to keep "giving" my "gift" is like throwing my self worth away.

You know. we get signals of how others are willing or not to receive very early in our meetings with them. Decide what you are prepared to give based on your feelings of your own empowerment not on your need for another to show you what a wonderful person you are.

We all want to be loved, appreciated, and truly acknowledged. It is at the base of human nature. And it will happen for us all as we move further and further into Unity Consciousness and we meet and start to live with our huge Soul Family.

But in the meantime we are each learning to take our own power and above all truly Love being who we are and experiencing the power of our own Heartfelt loving. Discernment and clarity are big keys. Learn to give first to yourself, to give yourself the gifts of freedom and self expression, of love and total respect, of connection and gratitude for that connection.

Then you will see much clearer to be able to give to others without reacting and with some expectation of your rights, and the need to “take”. In other words you will be more open to receive the gifts hidden in everything that happens to you. And you will be able to see the amazing beauty of the whole conversation that the Universe (reflected through the events that are happening to you) is having with you. In other words you will be open to Receiving rather than “taking” (or ‘making it happen)

Finally as you do all this you stop experiencing betrayal because your actions are not based on the other’s response but on you creating the feelings you wish to experience. In doing this you get very quick at discerning what to give others. You especially get to know, through your honesty and your heart knowing, when it is time to back off (with a loving smile, at least to yourself), and to perhaps move on. You learn not to give less but to expect only what another is willing to give freely and unsought, and waste no more time with unreal expectations of the other being there to fulfill your needs. To be in nonjudgement and in acceptance of what is.

Love yourself sweet Masters, and then it not only becomes easy to love others but you will attract those who are also learning to be at home with themselves. And thus you will be served with ones who are open to love you.

WAKE UP, DOROTHY...

This is the spiritual search in a nutshell...

It begins:

"Is this moment all there is?
It's just so ... ordinary!
There must be something beyond this!"
It concludes:
"This seemingly ordinary moment is quite extraordinary.
It is everything, it is all there is, for the curious heart.
Full. Rich. Bursting with life.
A complete expression of the beyond.
Sacred. Precious. Home."
In every moment,
the search ends
exactly where it began.
Everything changed,
nothing changes.
Did anything happen at all?
Was she already Home?
- Jeff Foster

LEAN JUST BEYOND YOUR EDGE (the eternal free fall of home... in love with this phrase)

Once you are honest with yourself about your real edge, it is best to lean just beyond it. Very few  have the guts for this practice. Most either settle for the easy path or self-aggrandize themselves by taking the extreme hard path. Your insecurity may cause you to doubt yourself, and so you take the easy way, not even approaching your real edge or your real gift. Alternatively, your insecurity may lead you to push, push, push, seeking to become victorious over your own sense of lack.

Both approaches avoid your actual condition in the moment, which is often fear. If you are stressfully avoiding your fear, you cannot relax into the fearless.

Your fear is the sharpest definition of your self. You should know it. You should feel it virtually constantly. Fear needs to become your friend, so that you are no longer uncomfortable with it. Rather, primary fear shows you that you are at your edge. Staying with the fear, staying at your edge, allows real transformation to occur. Neither lazy nor aggressive, playing your edge allows you to perceive the moment with the least amount of distortion. You are willing to be with what is, rather than trying to escape it by pulling back from it, or trying to escape it by pushing beyond it into some future goal.

Fear of fear may lead you to hang back, living a lesser life than you are capable. Fear of fear may lead you to push ahead, living a false life, off-center, tense and missing the moment. But the capacity to feel this moment, including your fear, without trying to escape it, creates a state of alive and humble spontaneity. You are ready for the unknown as it unfolds, since you are not pulled back or pushed forward from the horizon of the moment. You are hanging right over the edge.

By leaning just beyond your fear, you challenge your limits compassionately, without trying to escape the feeling of fear itself. You step beyond the solid ground of security with an open heart. You stand in the space of unknowingness, raw and awake. Here, the gravity of deep being will attend you to the only place where fear is obsolete: the eternal free fall of home. Where you always are.
Own your fear, and lean just beyond it. In every aspect of your life. Starting now.

THE TRUTH OF MEDITATION

The truth of meditation
is very different
from the dream of meditation.

We often go into meditation
expecting bliss, joy, unending peace,
an end to all pain.

But meditation has its own intelligence,
its own way.
Sometimes doubt, sorrow, even heartbreak
want to dance with us in meditation.

Let them in. Give them space.

Let meditation be a giant field
in which EVERY thought, sound, sensation,
urge, impulse, fantasy
is allowed to come, stay for a while, and leave.

Let the dream of meditation shatter.
Let the plans crumble.
Let the expectations fall away.

Let meditation be what it is:
an all-embracing space,
a vastness allowing all,
as the sky allows the weather,
as the Sun shines
on the 'good' and 'bad' alike,
making no distinction,
giving freely its Light.

The dream of meditation is control;
the truth of meditation is love.

This picture just broke my heart... with it's honest vulnerability

Questioner: What is the difference between awareness and sensitivity?
Jiddu Krishnamurti:I wonder if there is any difference? You know, when you ask a question, what is important is to find out for yourself the truth of the matter and not merely accept what someone else says. So let us find out together what it is to be aware.

You see a lovely tree with its leaves sparkling after the rain; you see the sunlight shining on the water and on the gay-hued feathers of the birds; you see the villagers walking to town carrying heavy burdens, and hear their laughter; you hear the bark of a dog, or a calf calling to its mother. All this is part of awareness, the awareness of what is around you, is it not? Coming a little closer, you notice your relationship to people, to ideas and to things; you are aware of how you regard the house, the road; you observe your reactions to what people say to you, and how your mind is always evaluating, judging, comparing or condemning. This is all part of awareness, which begins on the surface and then goes deeper and deeper; but for most of us awareness stops at a certain point. We take in the noises, the songs, the beautiful and ugly sights, but we are not aware of our reactions to them. We say, "That is beautiful" or "That is ugly" and pass by; we don't inquire into what beauty is, what ugliness is. Surely, to see what your reactions are, to be more and more alert to every movement of your own thought, to observe that your mind is conditioned by the influence of your parents, of your teachers, of your race and culture - all this is part of awareness, is it not?

The deeper the mind penetrates its own thought processes, the more clearly it understands that all forms of thinking are conditioned; therefore the mind is spontaneously very still - which does not mean that it is asleep. On the contrary, the mind is then extraordinarily alert, no longer being drugged by mantrams, by the repetition of words, or shaped by discipline. This state of silent alertness is also part of awareness; and if you go into it still more deeply you will find that there is no division between the person who is aware and the object of which he is aware.

Now, what does it mean to be sensitive? To be cognizant of colour and form, of what people say and of your response to it; to be considerate, to have good taste, good manners; not to be rough, not to hurt people either physically or inwardly and be unaware of it; to see a beautiful thing and linger with it; to listen tentatively without being bored to everything that is said, so that the mind becomes acute, sharp - all this is sensitivity, is it not? So is there much difference between sensitivity and awareness? I don't think so.

You see, as long as your mind is condemning, judging, forming opinions, concluding, it is neither aware nor sensitive. When you are rude to people, when you pick flowers and throw them away, when you ill-treat animals, when you scratch your name on the furniture or break the leg of a chair, when you are unpunctual to meals and have bad manners in general, it all indicates insensitivity, does it not? It indicates a mind that is not capable of alert adjustment. And surely it is part of education to help the student to be sensitive, so that he will not merely conform or resist, but will be awake to the whole movement of life. The people who are sensitive in life may suffer much more than those who are insensitive; but if they understand and go beyond their suffering they will discover extraordinary things.

I don’t know....

It is in moments like this when I think of him

When plans fall through

The floor shatters beneath me

And I’m falling away from the anticipated excitement of possibility

Disappointment makes me dream of him

It keeps me company when no one else will

The thing is I don’t know him, yet

I don’t know the creases mapped on his palm

I don’t know the story of the scar etched in his shoulder

Or the freckles speckled across the primer of his nose

I don’t know the soft, thick waves of his hair—a hand-me-down from his mother’s father

Or the imprint of his sandals in the dirt

I don’t know that he puts on his socks before his pants

I don’t know that he laughs inappropriately when he should be quiet

I don’t know that he doesn’t know how to let the discomfort pass without a need to escort it loudly away from the moment

I don’t know that I will teach him how to do that—to let go and just be silent

I don’t know that he loves hot sauce on everything except ice cream

I don’t know that he hates the smell of lavender

I don’t know that when he touches me I’ve never felt safer

I don’t know yet that he lives for the joy of his family

I don’t know that he sends his friends hand written letters because he wants them to know he cares

I don’t know that his heart is as fragile and sensitive as mine

I don’t know yet that we’ve both suffered the same sufferings and we’re scared

I don’t know that we are equally terrified of plans falling through so we decide not to make plans at all

I don’t know that he’s sitting somewhere feeling a rise in his throat

It’s scratchy

He’s trying to clear it

He’s drinking water or getting up to stretch to get rid of the nagging

I don’t know that we both tell ourselves the same thing—I’m better off alone

Trying to convince that aching knowing that there is a her to his him, and a him to my her

I don’t know that we both ignore the agonizing wisdom that the days are rushing by and we won’t ever make it to our 50^th anniversary even though we both thought that’s how it was supposed to be

I don’t know that he’s thinking about her right now

I mean, that he’s thinking about me right now

He doesn’t know that I’ve looked for him in hundreds of hims

I don’t know that he’s done the same and is about to give up

We don’t know that we are both right here, together

Separated by a wall of time

We don’t know that we are both wondering—When? 

When will I meet her?

When will I meet him?

I don’t know

I don’t know.

WHY YOU CANNOT GO WRONG

In reality, your world is set up so that nothing happens to you, but everything happens for you - for your awakening, for your growth, for your inspiration, for your exploration, and ultimately for your healing - even if you forget that, or cannot see it, or sometimes fall into distraction, despair and disillusionment.
When there is no fixed destination, you cannot ever lose your destination, so you cannot ever lose your path, so nothing that happens in your life can take you off your path. Your path IS what happens, and what happens IS your path. There is no other.
Everything is a gift on this unbreakable path that you call your life - the laughter, the tears, the times of great sorrow, the experiences of profound loss, the pain, the confusion, the times you believe you'll never make it, even the overwhelming heartbreak of love - even if you forget that sometimes, or cannot see that sometimes, or lose faith absolutely in the entire show sometimes.
But even the loss of faith in the show is part of the show, and even the scene where 'something goes wrong' is not indicative of the movie going wrong, and so you are always exactly where you need to be, believe it or not, even if you are not.
Life can be trusted absolutely, even when trust seems a million light-years away, and life cannot go wrong, for all is life, and life is all.
Understand this, know it in your heart, and spirituality is profoundly simple, as simple as breathing, as natural as gazing up at the stars at night and falling into silent wonder.
The universe is more beautiful than you could ever imagine.