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I have spent large portions of my life waiting on
creative inspiration. What I have come to
understand is that some of the projects that feel the
most meaningful require so much effort that they can
only be accomplished with support from what I call
Spirit. Sometimes I’ve named this spirit God, and
sometimes I’ve thought of it as deep inner guidance.
These days I have the sense that there are spiritual
friends who help me on my journey. |
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Photo
by Dick Buckley
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I have learned that what works best for me is to wait in
comfortable silence (preferably with a cup of tea and my
cat in my lap). I think of
a heron, stick-still in
shallow water, whose patience is sometimes rewarded with
a succulent catch. After waiting until the buzzing
thoughts have tired of themselves, sometimes I begin to
sense a loving presence nearby. Listening with my
heart, I seem to feel a message. I've learned that if I
can write as I receive these thoughts they often
continue unedited by my own mind. For the past three
years, this has been my creative project: receiving the
messages of the spirit companions who speak into my
waiting heart.
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Amazing fruits have come from this simple effort. My
book
WE ARE HERE: Love
Never Dies contains beautiful messages on the
nature of love, forgiveness and the afterlife. In this
page I'll include passages from the book as well
as the most important current messages I receive. Thank
you for tuning in, and blessings on all of your efforts
for peace, universal love and understanding,
Jane
In the next few entries, I’ll be
reviewing some key lessons
from my Spirit Companions. I’d love to hear your
feed-back!
You can Email me at -
JaneSB
Reader's Comments on Jane's Spiritual Journal
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For
the next few entries we’ll post
excerpts from my new book,
WE ARE HERE: Love
Never Dies,
which is slated for its second printing in June!
We’ll begin with a few passages
from the Foreword…. |
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There are things which happen in our lives that can
only be understood within the realm of the
miraculous. We simply have no rational explanation
for these moments where the impossible interrupts
our known universe. Now we believe that the world is
round and revolves around the sun. But there was a
time when such notions were regarded as mad
impossibilities. This book holds an impossible story
in which the dead speak and herald miracles of
forgiveness and transformation. I cannot blame you
if you find it unbelievable: I would not have
believed it myself two years ago. But suppose for a
moment it isn’t madness. Suppose that a man can
accompany his wife through her final earthly passage
from the other side of death. Suppose that another
man while in a coma can meet spiritual helpers who
illuminate a realm of forgiveness and hope so
powerful that he awakens and returns transformed to
heal his family before leaving his earthly life.
What would these possibilities mean to our lives,
and even our world? That we are eternal souls on a
mortal journey, that life and love and healing are
infinite … that eternal joy is each person’s
birthright and destiny. I ask you to take this
unbelievable journey with me. Because it happened,
and I was gifted to be a messenger of spiritual
guidance that is unspeakably beautiful and wise.
I have spent large portions of my life waiting on
inspiration. What I have come to understand is that
some of the projects that feel the most meaningful
require so much effort that they can only be
accomplished with support from what I call Spirit.
Sometimes I’ve named this spirit God, and sometimes
I’ve thought of it as deep inner guidance. These
days I have the sense that there are spiritual
friends who help me on my journey.
I think of a heron, stick-still in shallow water,
whose patience is sometimes rewarded with succulent
catch. After waiting until the buzzing thoughts have
tired of themselves, sometimes I sense a loving
presence nearby. Listening with my heart, I seem to
feel a message. I have learned that if I
write as I receive these thoughts they often
continue unedited by my own mind.
After two years of waiting, listening, and recording
these messages, I received a new and unexpected
initiation: a journey through the veil of death. At
the beginning of the journey I only imagined the
possibility that the dead can communicate with the
living. I was relatively new to the notion of
“channeling” spiritual messages. In a sense this one
year was a crash course in the continuing nature of
life and in the awesome power of love.
In a strange way this book about the death of my
father and step-mother and my children’s father is
the most joyful thing I have ever done. Along with
exhausting waves of grief, there have been
exhilarating revelations whose white light has
blasted though my prior conceptions of death as
ending and life itself as finite.
Imagine knowing that your loved ones are still
present and available after death and that you are
at all times surrounded by a host of spiritual and
ancestral helpers.
Imagine believing that everything is made up of the
unfolding creative energy of love: all forgiving,
all healing … through death and beyond.
Imagine that all things are possible in Love.
Jane Smith Bernhardt – 2009

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February 24, 2010 |
The Vessel
As I sit in silence this morning
hoping for help from unseen companions, I am aware
of heaviness and self-judgment….
We are here. We are always grateful for the
opportunity to share time with you in love and we
are grateful for your willingness to offer
yourself as a channel for healing guidance to come
for yourself and the collective.
My “vessel” feels most impure and
unworthy today.
And of course the
purity or worth of the vessel is not the point: it
is the willingness to be an offering. This is all
that is ever asked or required. Please understand
that as soon as you invite us in we cleanse the
frequency completely: this is part of our offering
to you. Our presence offers an immediate shift … a
lift. It increases the frequency of Divine Light,
not only here in your heart and body, but also
within this house, and on this earth plane. As
ever we repeat to you: This is no small work.
Every time you offer yourself and say, “Come”, the
holy work occurs. Every time without exception.
Of course, this is simple but not easy work. The
world of humanity is charged with difficulty. But
the enlightened eye can see in every difficulty an
opportunity, And here the smile of remembrance
comes: Every obstacle is an opportunity for grace.
An obstacle, lovingly attended, can be an
opportunity for great beauty….
There is
something we wish to emphasize now: You have a
tendency towards negative self-analysis: The cup
is half full. What is required now is no
self-analysis – none. Your mind has no measuring
tools for this spiritual work which is your
calling. And the heart, soul and spirit do not
measure immeasurables like love. No soul is worthy;
none is unworthy. Stop thinking that by analytical
criticism you can make an iota of improvement. You
cannot.
Breathe. Breathe
in, breathe out. Apart from that – and the upkeep
of body and home – there is little you need to do.
Remember when, in afterlife, your father observed
that so little he had concerned himself about in
his life was of any real importance? Consider the
mystery that surrounds you in life: there are
times of joy and sorrow over which you have little
control … times of grace and times of upheaval.
There are baffling cosmic mysteries and miracles
of creation. There is life … death … eternity. Do
you understand these things?
The part of life
over which you have control is very small indeed:
“I may love in this moment, or I may not love.”
That is about all. Love or not love.
In this part of the human dream the illusion of
control is almost megalomaniacal. Your body is a
small actor on a great stage. And in
some ways this is a great relief. Let God be
great. And yes: align yourself with that
greatness. Do its work and receive its benefits.
Serve and delight in God’s presence. But do not
torture yourself with delusions of individual
power. No power exists apart from Source (the
generator, if you will) and there is freedom in
remembering this. Align with Source and then
relax.
The rest will follow.

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January 20, 2010 |
The Abiding Conversation
Every morning when I wake up some inner voice is
saying: “Who are you? What are you doing with your
life? Who do you think you are?” Having no good
answer, I begin to sink into self-contempt. But in
this conversation I remember: I am not on that
carousel. I hear it, see its music, peruse the
multi-colored horses, but this is not my milieu –
it is none of my business. I’ve stepped off,
though I hear the music loud and clear. Here – as
I wait for the abiding conversation, for the
silent voice – I recall myself and contentment
returns. There is no earthly measure for what I
do. I am waiting on the Beloved … offering myself
as a portal for love and grace.
We are
here. You may think of this as bedrock. And
imagine this bedrock as a boulder set upon the
earth that marks Abiding Reality and contains
magnetic particles pointing to Truth: true love,
peace and joy.
What is asked of you is
to return to this bedrock as often as you can.
Out of this relationship you will be guided.
Your orientation will be provided. Kindness,
patience, gentleness and love will flow. If
there is work for you, it will be given.
Am I doing enough?
This conversation is meaningful work. You have
made it a priority, recognizing it as your
Living Water. Remember, there is really not so
much to be “done”. You might ask: “What is my
state of being? Am I open to divine calling? Am
I a willing messenger? Do I seek to channel love
and grace…?” This is the fruitful life: the one
that is available. The fruitful work always
begins with availability. The important job is
the waiting. Like Mary, you may think of
yourself as a “hand-maid of the Lord.”
What a beautiful thing. There is nothing I would
rather be.
And
this is true whether you live or die. The
relationship is the same. It is true wherever
you are, whatever you do. If you do nothing,
this relationship remains the same, as long as
you allow it and say “yes” to it. This is your
true calling. Nothing else is required of you.
And this is true whether
you live or die. The relationship is the same.
It is true wherever you are, whatever you do.
If you do nothing, this relationship remains
the same, as long as you allow it and say
“yes” to it. This is your true calling.
Nothing else is required of you.
And that is all?
That
is all.
Here I am. Right here. I’m available. Are
there more words to record?
Say that the dance is going on beautifully
within the cosmos. The sky is not falling … in
spite of all signs of disaster and doom. The
picture is great, vast, expansive. Carry hope
and love for this immense unknowable dance.
That is all.
Here I am. Right here. I’m available. Are
there more words to record?
Say that the dance is going on beautifully
within the cosmos. The sky is not falling …
in spite of all signs of disaster and doom.
The picture is great, vast, expansive. Carry
hope and love for this immense unknowable
dance.
When each morning
brings with it the pattern of internal
heaviness,
how shall I react?
Understand that in your world a great shift
is taking place out of material-centric
consciousness. Insofar as individuals are
invested in material outcomes, they will be
disappointed. Because these idols are
finite: they decay and perish. Yours has
been – by and large – a culture devoted to
very short-term ends. And fortunately the
folly of consumer/materialism is showing
itself more plainly now. Of course this
causes pain to many people … but this pain
is itself the occasion for grace, as they
begin to see the Abiding light appearing
through the cracks of the temporal tinsel.
This
is a mercy.
There are earthquakes everywhere … in
every heart. Such is the force of Love’s
awakening. Do not trust material vision.
Remember that everything your five senses
perceive will return to dust in the
not-too-distant future. Trust the fierce
love, the piercing light of truth – Abiding
Reality. And understand that when you hold
these passing material forms somewhat
lightly you may be freer to participate in
the blissful dance of Lover and Beloved: the
dance which never decays or dies.
The New Industry of the 21st
Century
So this is my work: this conversation?
This is your daily work: spinning straw
into gold. Others are joining in this work,
and you may begin to feel them as if you
worked all together as energy transformers.
Earnestly these unseen companions also weave
out of mortal material a finer fabric. Think
of this as the new industry of the 21st
Century: the Great Alchemy. You have no idea
how many beings are engaged in this work.
And – by the way – if your dreams of
darkness and the resulting depressive moods
drive you deeper into this magnificent work,
might you not be grateful even for these ...
as if you were rushing to bring light out of
threatening storm clouds? And perhaps there
is some human urgency to this process.
It is no small thing, this Alchemy. To
bring light out of darkness is the greatest
magic of all. It is God’s work.

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January 13, 2010 |
The
Shepherd
The thought comes to me that I must learn to be a
shepherd of my life and my resources: maybe this
is my focus for the New Year. Perhaps as I cast
about, doubting myself or my mission, or go off in
search of new projects, I leave my sheep to
scatter. The tending is so simple a task that it
escapes my notice, and I suffer the consequences.
This is good direction, dear one. Early on
you were trained in self-criticism, and this is
the part to modify. Now become aware of
your goodness and sufficiency. Notice that
you are loved and surrounded by meaningful work,
friends, family and community. Can this feel like
enough … like abundance?
Sometimes the shepherd’s days are
uneventful. Perhaps it feels dull…. But if she/he
runs away in search of adventure or becomes
consumed in worry or
self-criticism, all may be
lost. Some days are days of resting, maintaining,
taking stock. In fact, most days are like
that! Do you need to do more with your life, or is
it simply a habit to keep pushing on for more?
Now the call is to marshal your forces. A new
stage of life is at hand. Now
more will come to you – right to your doorstep.
You do not need to feel that you are lacking in
any way. Notice the resources that are already
here. How can you know them if you do not spend
time noticing them in love and gratitude? Every
morning you may survey and begin to identify the
flock: this is the work of a seasoned shepherd. Do
not forget yourself and imagine yourself to be a
poor, lost sheep! You have shed that identity long
ago.
This practice of shepherding will also align
you with Divine Source. And power will come in
gracious and surprising ways. This is the position
of service and fruitfulness. This is the calling.
Do you think to increase the herd by going out
in search of sheep? You have not been the producer
of this herd: They are God’s. You have been set in
its midst, to appreciate and to do your part….
Here is also daily peace and joy. Here is
abundance: right here in the midst of your flock.
Encountering difficulties….
Do you have guidance for me in these mornings when
I wake up feeling dark and confused?
This “pre-set” mode your mind returns to of
self-punishment is not entirely bad. It can act as
a spur to deeper questing … which in turn will
bring greater clarity and peace. Finding your
center and trying to be in communication there
with Light and Love and Truth … this is all you
can do. When thoughts come that this is not
enough, remember – REMEMBER – where you are: at
the center of the greatest military super-power
the world has ever known … a place riddled with
materialism, stress and sorrow. A Babylon confused
and blinded by its own excess. A place where
addictions abound: addiction to pleasure,
productivity, accumulation, power, consumption …
to more, more, more…. There are so many reasons
why this is difficult and confusing. The things
you consume often come from places where there is
great poverty, but those places have things this
culture often lacks: human community, humility,
simplicity.
So please recall all that is being transmuted
and alchemized in your simple silence, in your
quiet self-offering. Love is what you offer. What
more is there to do? What is more precious on this
earth? The shepherd offers love, patience,
emptiness, time…. Thank you. We know how difficult
this is.
Spooked in the night
What do I do with all these challenging internal
voices?
Still them. Imagine that the flock has been
spooked in the night, and the shepherd needs to
reassure them with simple signals that all is well
… there is nothing to fear.
Why do the sheep get spooked in the night?
Perhaps there is fear in the
air, and they smell it on the wind…. Perhaps they
had a fearful dream, or thought a predator was
near…. Or perhaps they simply sensed the fear of a
neighboring sheep and then began to imagine all of
the possible reasons, rehearsing each scenario….
The point is that the shepherd knows his job: to
quiet and reassure the sheep …to keep them
contented and at peace. In this state they can
serve their own life’s purpose. So it is with
these human fears, dear Jane.
We know that the entry and exit of this
mortal life are framed in glory … The newborn
child arrives with special magic, delighting us
with her excitement. And the weary traveler often
meets his final release with gratitude and awe,
beholding Love’s greeting at the door….
Who is to say what levels of light are
revealed along the way, or at what moment in the
path a pilgrim might round a corner to stand face
to face with unmasked glory? Like a labyrinth the
human journey seldom takes a straight path, its
twists and turns too confusing for the linear
mind. The journey is the thing: the willingness to
humbly walk a confusing path with gratitude and
joy – this is heroism.
Trust the shepherd. And find the shepherd in
you. Because you do not know the way. And the way
is not of such great importance anyway. Try not to
be overly concerned about landmarks and
destinations. We are speaking here of
relationship. The shepherd serves the sheep, and
the sheep trust and obey the shepherd. Why?
Because there is a mysterious, brilliantly
symbiotic relationship at work: neither is
intended to function independently.
Dwelling in relationship requires abandonment
of agenda – trust, patience and great hope.
Discernment is crucial within this commitment to
relationship: Is this path loving and good? Is the
shepherd good? Where is my North Star?
My North Star is here, in conversation with you,
beloved friends … dear helpers and emissaries of
Light.
So you may think of us as God’s shepherds …
and in turn you may be conscious of shepherding
your own internal flock – those feelings,
thoughts, and fears – in love and contentment. All
is well. Take time for peace and stillness … for
simplicity and emptiness. Mission will always find
you if you are available in this way.
The shepherd gathers the day’s “Manna”, then –
stilling and comforting the flock – offers them
daily sustenance, as from the hand of God.
December 29, 2009
Are We
All Here?
In my morning quiet, I am asking my unseen
companions: Please speak.
Let it come to you: This is the new lesson.
Receive. Trust it will come…. What is it
that you are needing?
Reassurance of my own goodness…. Reassurance
that all is well, in spite of my passing
moods…. Sometimes I wake up in the morning
feeling so dark.
You
are checking in with us, and we are never
dark. If you listen to us all the time there
will be less density and discouragement.
I feel as if I am learning to do this. It’s
getting easier. Can you give me
more
tips?
Imagine we’re walking this path together.
When you feel alone, stop for a moment and
say: “Are we all here?” And wait until you
feel us. Just as if we were hiking a
mountain trail together. You’d sit on a rock
to rest and wait for your companions to
catch up from time to time. The journey
becomes a happy
one when we are sensing each other’s
presence. The difficulties lighten. We take
pleasure in each other’s company and
together we can appreciate every aspect of
the climb, even the parts that seem arduous.
I understand.
Check in with us. Say: “How are you?” or “Is
it OK with you?” These simple
acknowledgements will produce results. The
simplest acknowledgement of our presence
alters your awareness from a singular to a
collective one.
We are here. We are always here. This
journey can be a safer, happier and more
comfortable one. This is what we’re offering
you now.
Thank you. Are we all here?
We are.
Do you have more guidance for me today?
Gratitude
is the magic element … the hidden treasure.
Gratitude, all the time. This is the key to
a rich life, and to all God’s good gifts.
Delight in this life as much as you possibly
can. Cultivate delight. Enjoy good things.…
Love, and receive love…. Offer your gifts to
the world fully and freely with no
self-consciousness or doubt.
When you see or taste fear, hug it
quickly and replace it with love … with
gratitude and delight. Poor fear hasn’t got
a chance in such company!
Offer, offer, offer … this is what
brings joy. When you cease to give the
waters become a bit stagnant and run in upon
themselves. Be a river moving forward. And
remember flight. The dream escape is also a
reality. You can always soar above this
place, in bliss and ecstasy. It feels
impossible but is absolutely true. One day
you will truly soar out of your body and
leave it alone, but before that day you
actually may take flight at any time.
Practice. This is not escapism or denial –
in a negative way – but rather it is a
reminder of Abiding Reality, where soaring
ecstasy is the norm.
Why do we ever leave it to come here?
The paradox is that you never leave it. This
is why you do fly in your dreams. It is
always possible. The material substance you
inhabit has forgotten flight, and one gift
you may give it is the gift of remembering.
Only for a limited time are you inhabiting a
material body. We cannot tell you why in
ways you can readily understand, because the
knowledge involves dimensions that are not
apparent to you in this form. Suffice it to
say that material is being transmuted,
transformed … alchemized. So much more is
taking place simultaneously, of a wondrous
nature…. But you will not quite grasp it.
Accept the mystery. Practice gratitude,
which embraces the unknown and welcomes what
is beyond your scope.
Leave off self-scrutiny and
preoccupation once and for all. It inhibits
delight and blocks the flow of Love’s
blessings … and why waste time
with that?
December 8, 2009
Words from unseen helpers to
the seeking pilgrim….
Please know that we are
here with you in this room. You are not alone. It
is good to seek centering, to seek guidance and
comfort. You may look at this time as if you were
traversing a high mountain pass in a sacred range.
Your own vision is obscured by wind and weather,
and you do not know the way to your destination.
This moment on the path is the way. This is what
we are trying to convey. You are right to seek and
seek as you do. It does no good for the pilgrim to
flay about and set out in every direction when the
path is unclear. In spite of all the material
comforts of your world, you are a pilgrim. And
this is one of the things we love best about this
journey.
In this place where you
live so many circumstances reinforce the demands
of the material establishment. And in many ways
this creates a tension that feels disagreeable.
You often feel overwhelmed by the immediacy and
seeming importance of these demanding physical
surroundings.
See this as your training ground. How can you
represent the pilgrim’s path within this consuming
material establishment? The pilgrim’s path, that
is, of waiting, seeking, serving … contemplation.
A calling that involves waiting
on the unseen can seem lost and insignificant
within “the dense din of planetary travail.”
What we wish to
underline is that this represents an extraordinary
opportunity for spiritual growth on your appointed
path…. Contrary to what your mind may repeat to
you about slothfulness, worthlessness or
inactivity, you are preparing in every way for a
holy work: time set aside from the ordinary
pursuits of sustenance, social discourse,
livelihood…. A time of waiting and purification,
the benefits of which are a clearer mind and
simplicity of purpose: alignment with mission.
Waiting….
It is a sweet time, the waiting. What is
happening? Sifting … thoughts in fragments … some
charged feelings: anger, sadness, self-criticism …
but like clouds that gather and disperse you
observe them . You are not the clouds. But you see
them and feel them and let the air blow through
them, waiting….
It is a bit like
expecting to meet someone at a terminal, when one
is unsure of just who that person is, or even if
or how they will appear … but one knows that this
meeting is the important one, the central thing in
the whole journey. Without it one is passing time.
And with it, through it, one is connected to the
grid of Love and Meaning. One is enlivened: one’s
being makes sense.
So waiting is the least one
can do.
And remember that your
agreement is to be a servant of Light. So in the
morning you gather and receive light. It is a
quiet task. As the light comes in, it may
illuminate areas of sadness, fatigue or
discouragement. Remember in the serving it is the
Light that does the work! You carry light, listen
to it, serve its needs … but not independently.
It is a relational dance in which Light leads and
you take up the rhythm with a willing step. Try
not to judge yourself. We never judge you. We are
very well aware of the heaviness of this planet.
Remember that to receive and hold this heaviness
is a form of spiritual service or alchemy. Holding
the darkness or the density in light … produces
Light. Holding it in love … produces Love. Only
light can produce Light; only love is the way to
Love.
Please always remember
that we are here with you, seeking and serving in
Love.
Greetings for the coming
Autumn as we gather together in the strength of
Spirit…. Here is a message I received from my
unseen companions in answer to personal pain, but
it pertains to all suffering, as you will see….
We are grateful for this
time with you. How sweet it feels to join in
conversation. Nothing is more precious than this.
Remember, please, that this
is the Abiding Reality – this conversation.
Nothing else remains, at the end of the day.
Bodies will grow fat or thin, finance will be easy
or difficult, children will have good times and
bad….
Only this loving union is constant, joyful and
unchanging in its fruitfulness.
Great tragedies occur
through history - collectively, and at a very
personal level. And it is appropriate to grieve
them. But even as we grieve let us remember that
for every cavity of dense suffering there is a
great infusion of Light so healing that its beauty
dazzles beyond all imagining. Such is the dance of
life. This is the Abiding Reality, which sometimes
finds its opening in adversity.
But what does one do with
the temporal discomfort of suffering?
We are here with
deepest understanding of human suffering. That is
why you are never alone. Human beings are not
capable of this existence in a solitary fashion.
Just as you cannot conceive of this life apart
from friends, family and wider community, so you
cannot function internally without spiritual
companionship. The depth of disconnection with
spiritual omnipresence that characterizes modern
societies intensifies personal suffering, as
fleeting pleasure is paraded as a universal
panacea. Far greater pleasure can be found within
spiritual consolation. It is when we stand in
companionship to hold the tender human mysteries
that we feel the deepest presence of Divine Love.
This is part of the plan.
We
wish to support you in opening to your
difficulties and your suffering in dialogue with
seen and unseen companions. In this way the human
family begins to know itself in its true beauty
and expand the Light in the universe. Each
individual my do his and her part by holding
tenderly their portion of the pain and cradling
the mystery of this condition within the awareness
of community – seen and unseen, local and
universal.
THE VOICE OF LOVE
Spiritual friends: Please speak to me! As
usual, I am feeling inadequate, and somewhat
unworthy of love.
Do you suppose we are keeping score? Life is
not easy, and we are well aware of this. The
first thing that should be ejected from the
kingdom of the Self is perfectionism. There is
no place for such self-judgment, which is
often so fiercely at odds with the gentle
direction of Love, the Self’s true Keeper
So when you feel these judging voices, offer the
immediate reflex of tenderness. Soften. Say to
them: We are waiting for another voice. And then
do listen, until Love’s gentle song bubbles up
from the streams of busy thought. The voice of
Love is your truest guide.
I would like to hear the voice of Love now.
Love
says:
Take comfort, mortal
traveler: When you do not hear me, it is not your
fault. My voice does not cry out in the busy
marketplace. I do not wish to compete for your
attention. But you must know that I am here.
Everything you see, taste, touch has been born of
my creative impulse. All of this world is part of
my song. The key is to seek the singer of the song
… then you will enter into the chamber of the
Beloved.
And when you cannot seem to hear the voice of the
Singer, do not try too hard. For it is Love’s job
to find you. Perhaps a space will come, a pause in
your day, and someone will touch your shoulder
kindly, speaking with my voice … or perhaps sorrow
will come, and in your wounded heart you will feel
unexpected comfort, and that will be the comfort
of my love. Perhaps you will be tired from all of
your efforts and you will sleep and sleep so
deeply that in the morning you will awaken
refreshed. And the one who is refreshing your
heart is Love.
I am not trying to hide from you, my dear one. In
this game of hide and seek, it is I who am the
seeker, and it is the confusion of this world
which lets you think that you are hidden. So when
you long for the comfort and the joy of Love’s
presence, simply say: Here I am, my love! Here I
am and I am wanting you to find me now … I am
longing for you above all….
Before very long you will
feel me: with you, beside you, within you …
for I am always here.
THE ONLY WAY TO TRAVEL
We
are here. We are always delighted to speak with
you.
The calling now is to soften internal
judgment and open channels of receptivity. Often
this begins with perception of what is close at
hand but unobserved. Receive with gratitude your
surroundings. In this grateful observation you may
begin to detect the interrelationships and the
graces that surround you in daily life. What is
good? What is a gentle, subtle blessing? Where is
life going effortlessly and well?
So much attention is diverted to the
"squeaky wheel" that all the daily graces go
unobserved. But here is the home of divine magic,
in all the subtle details that cooperate within
the tapestry of material life. Here is the
intentional hand of God, the loving face of the
creator. It is here in the living dance of
creation, involving no effort on your part.
And as you open to the
ever-presence of simple grace, you also soften
your own availability to the benevolent flow of
abundance that is at the heart of life. And, yes,
this often requires spaciousness and time where
you allow thoughts and agenda to clear a space for
receptivity.
Please begin with a simple
practice of gratitude. You will be surprised at
how effective this practice will be. Begin to
notice all that is bountiful and good in your
world: Kind friends, resources, simple pleasures,
clear sky … abundant positive influences.
These practices will even deepen your
breath. Because you will be noticing it is not
all up to you. You are not making this life
happen. In fact, you are more like a leaf on a
river that flows with myriad currents. You may
subtly incline yourself in one direction or
another, but the elements themselves affect the
distance traveled and the conditions of the
journey. Do you see? You are trying much too hard!
So relax and notice. That is all. Breathe,
relax, and observe with gratitude the dance of
life.
This is the only way to travel.
INTERNAL
ECOLOGY
What is true of the macrocosm is true of the
microcosm: Earth is turning to new forms of energy
to power industry, and the individual looks
internally for new energy sources. Both are entwined
in the transformation of this era. The Green
Movement will champion solar and wind energy to
power industry, and people will be guided to shop
locally, grow their own food, consume fewer
unnecessary commodities…. All of these efforts will
preserve a green, fertile planet into the future.
What we wish to express now is perhaps a more subtle
shift within each individual psyche.
Listen:
Listen to the silence. First hear the ambient
sounds: airplanes, cars … wind, birds…. Listen to
the pulse of emptiness between these sounds.
Breathe.
Breathe consciously.
Let your mind join in the soft fluidity of
perceived environmental noises…. Let this and that
thought be part of the pulsing sound of trains and
birds and traffic….
Breathe.
Release in the individual attention the tyranny
of mental agenda. What could be easier? Practice
internal ecology.
Let your inner eye, the doorway to your soul, grow
softer. Let beauty be the gate-keeper. For too long
a strict hand has ruled the mind, as if it were
industrial chief to all internal operations. This
Teutonic landlord is outdated now. Allow him a
peaceful retirement.
Now the vision softens, and the senses expand….
The inner world is pregnant with a loving seed of
transformation. What will grow from this seed? Who
is this transformed human being? With patient awe
let us await the birth.
Miracles of life can only be held by the sweet
hands of children and the very wise. Adopt
child-mind. Transformation is at hand. It is safe to
retire the inner strident voices that have cried out
for productivity, achievement, success….
We see the outer fruits of over-emphasis upon
material consumption, competition, productivity….
But what are the inner fruits? Perpetual stress,
dissatisfaction, self-criticism, depression,
spiritual confusion…. And might we agree that these
are not the desired fruits of human life? As we
agree we must turn from the planetary havoc wrought
by consumerism and greed, so let us turn from the
inner havoc to the soul that such focus claims.
It follows that we take faltering steps in a process
we’ve lost contact with: Inner Ecology. But we are
learning. Like open-minded children, we are willing
to play with new toys.
And soon enough we will rediscover familiarity
with these toys and delight in the endless pleasure
they bring.
Remember: Shift is a sensitive, subtle process....
Allow, receive, be still. You are doing just fine.
May 18, 2009
In this excerpt
from my book, my father - in his “post-life” -
addresses his bedridden widow, Angelika, and also
the readers of our little book. He speaks about
what is of real importance in this life in
relation to the nature of Abiding Reality….
Angelika:
I’m speaking to you and to Jane ... and Spirit
Guides are joining me in this message.
You
have graciously entered into this sphere of divine
receptivity and we are very grateful for your
submission and acceptance of this high level of
human attainment. What these helpers wish to
articulate is a sort of accolade for a level so
little understood within our society. And so we
are going to elaborate on this, even though you
yourself must already know much of what I’m going
to convey through Jane.
Human
life enjoys many phases, and in this part of the
world vast over-emphasis is placed on the phase of
material/physical productivity. That has certainly
contributed to our society’s wealth and there is
nothing wrong with it, as a developmental phase.
Alas, appreciation of other levels of human
advancement is often obscured by the abundant
emphasis placed on material product. And so the
abstract thinker, the artist, and the nurturer of
other souls are far less valued than is healthy
for a balanced and enlightened human system. But
perhaps least valued of all is pure receptivity:
the great art of allowing oneself to be still and
enable other energies to communicate with and
fertilize the self.
A
flower allows sunlight and rain to help it to grow
and radiate beauty ... and then it offers its
nectar to insects for pollination. This is a great
and beautiful service to the heightened realms of
earthly sensitivity.
A
tree allows itself to receive light and provide
shade; it offers its branches as a home for many
other creatures. Indeed, if we look around
ourselves, we see that pattern echoed throughout
the earth: self-offering ... patience ...
receptivity. Even those creatures whose task it is
to move or carry, hunt or gather, are heeding
spiritual impulses which guide them in their
simple tasks.
In this
evolutionary moment, there is no task on earth
more imperative than divine receptivity. It
involves a revolution of perception. Yet this
wisdom is age-old. Jesus said: “Consider the
lilies of the field, who neither toil nor spin,
yet even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed
as one of these.” He meant: Receive. Allow the
universe to bless and endow your life as if there
were a real and present God whose love is
all-powerful and abundant.
Here, in the
realm of pure spirit, we can produce nothing that
can be bought or sold. And for some, arrival here
can be a rude awakening. “What am I to have and
do?” they wonder, feeling a bit lost. Certainly,
helpers will guide them. They will not wander
aimlessly if they are willing to learn. But why
not learn the most precious lessons now? Tune your
soul to the frequency of love and enlightenment.
Allow silence to blossom into wisdom. Train your
heart to receive. How beautiful is the realm that
waits to be received by you.
April 26, 2009
In the following entry from my book, WE ARE HERE,
my father offers - from his new perspective in the
after-life – a beautiful message about the nature
of eternal life:
What I and the teachers here are stressing to you
now is patient presence in this moment. It is only
in this present moment that we exist. God is the
eternal Now. And only through this attitude of
opening to present moment can we - any of us –
experience divine knowledge or bliss.
It
is like a lovely box of sweets that can only be
experienced as we take the time to sit down, open
the box, and taste this delicious treat. It does
no good to carry the box around with you, look at
it ... study it. No good to think of it or even
plan for or remember it. Taste it now, and see
that it is sweet and delicious.
As
a culture, we are very much concerned with
productivity, but not good, in general, with the
simplest thing: tasting the nectar of life in this
moment. We live as if there were too much to do
and not enough time. When in fact there is so much
time we cannot even imagine the vastness of it.
All time is ours. And in fact there is not so very
much to do. Not really. Remember when I said that
none of the things I worried about while alive
were of any real importance? That is true of most
of the things I did as well.
Angelika
exemplifies this truth: for in her stillness I
believe she has never been more in touch with what
is most important in life. It is a beautiful irony
… and a good example to us all. (Even here many
souls haven’t lost that imperative of busyness.
It’s really funny at times, when we look at
ourselves and consider that most of this activity
is quite useless.)
You can open that
box of chocolates any time. Jesus exemplified this
great teaching when he said: “Seek first the
kingdom of God and all these things shall be given
to you as well.” The sweet treasure is not only
the doorway to present joy and true pleasure, but
it is also the doorway to every other gift as
well.
I think that is the
teaching of today: everything you seek is here
now. Open yourself to it.
I am here. And all
my love is here.
(At this stage in the book, I have been receiving
messages from my father in his “post-life” for eight
months. Chiefly in the early months his desire in
our communications was to send messages of love,
encouragement and instruction to his bereaved and
bedridden widow, Angelika, in her own transition
from a body which represented pain and limitation:
And she eagerly received these messages. At last -
many months later - she seems to have entered a
place of spiritual acceptance and comfort. Now my
father’s messages are chiefly for me and for the
readers of this book we have come to believe is our
mutual contribution.)
July 15, 2008
I am spending time outside this morning, taking in
the beauty of the valley beneath me and the
mountains beyond, and trying to flex this new muscle
of allowing. But there is inner resistance in
aligning with this state, which seems to bring such
peace to Angelika. For me, there is a shadow place
of discontent – I don’t know what it is. Maybe it’s
shame, or unworthiness. Otherwise, why would I not
just lie back, release the controls, and bask in
it?
“Dad: how shall I bask in it?”
Begin by understanding that none of us - not one –
“deserves” the degree of divine light that is
forever flooding us. Truly. And if there were some
hierarchy, why is it that God “showers blessings on
the just and the unjust?” For that is certainly
true: all beings are equally blessed. A criminal of
evil intention is no more or less blessed than a
flower or a bird ... or a saint. The saint might
have more inkling of it, and more gratitude. But
divine light is directed everywhere.
When someone receives it, there is a sort of mutual
dance that seems to excite and enhance the love
energy: a bit like using leaven in the dough ... the
energy can be encouraged to rise, but it is a very
democratic energy that beams on, regardless. A yogi
or a saint can indeed magnify this power to perform
seemingly superhuman feats or exhibit extraordinary
love or charity. That is a wise use of Light. But it
all begins with the reception. Energy cannot be
directed by or through you if you have not received
it for yourself. And at times when you offer it more
intensely, you must be more available to receive and
recharge.
This process cannot really be described: it must be
experienced. The greater your outpouring, the more
deeply you must be filled. Now you are filling up on
air and natural beauty. You are breathing these
essences. Good work! And again, thank-you, Jane.
“Rain falls on the just and the unjust....” The high
frequency of pure love energy is always available,
but it is the wise person who learns, while on
earth, to work with it. This work can take every
possible form from poetry to physics to physical
healing. Here we work with energy all the time for
it is all we have.
I
am telling you this because I personally didn’t see
the importance of trying to work with energy until
the past several years. And I wish I had begun it
sooner! It doesn’t have to be anything fancy – no
magic tricks. Just begin by noticing the unseen is
the source of everything, and take it from there.
Angelika has found the direct channel for the
concentration of light energy that is here in her
room, as extra helpers who specialize in transition
are assembled ... and you can see how much peace it
brings her. What a sad thing that most people pass
their days in the sort of activity that might be
likened to a hamster on his little treadmill (or
whatever those things are called.) There is no fruit
to this sort of activity, but people don’t know how
to get off the thing. That’s why illness or some
other dramatic interruption can be such a gift.
Use your time wisely. Confront the emptiness
and that old feeling of unworthiness. Why spend
another day like Sisyphus, in sheer futility? (I
suppose I’m saying this to your readers also,
because it’s clear to me that you’re on the right
track, Jane.) Just keep up the good work. You, too,
are a good example to others. But that’s not the
main motivation. The real fruit is the joy of being,
literally, IN Love. It is the unspeakable blessing
of being fully attuned to this light energy which is
everywhere available. |
ON TAKING YOURSELF SO SERIOUSLY
I am asking for words of
guidance on my path.
We
thank you who work in the name of Love for your
tenacity and your faithfulness. We thank you for your
offerings. Now – in the name of God - receive our
grateful love and resist the habit of self-doubt.
Allow gratitude and rest and remember to smile often:
this is your plenty!
Laugh
at yourself also. Laugh at what a silly mess a human
can make of any situation, just as you would
laughingly enjoy the confusion of a kitten wound
up in a ball of yarn, or a child shrieking at a game
of hide-and-seek.
From
our vantage point, this is a level of reality we wish
to impart. You all take your lives awfully seriously
for beings whose brain has no idea where they
have come from or where they are going and who live so
rigidly by the mythology of each passing era. We
uphold your earnest efforts, and we also offer humor
as a tonic for many ills brought on by fear and
misconception.
It is not so serious as you think!
Now
you may consider with a smile the humor of your
situation: You ardently wish to serve, but when you
push too hard you stumble over your own feet!
You wish to honor heaven, and the earth slaps you in
the face! What is useful to notice in this situation?
We cannot escape the form of our lives. The mass of
matter cannot be denied, however temporary. For every
rabbit a magician pulls out of a hat, there is a hut
full of dung. Do you see? We must deal with ordinary
reality – it is our milieu. It is our temporal home.
Welcome to Earth!
The
mystery has a sense of humor. It is a comic tragedy
performed on a temporary stage within a glorious
eternal cosmos. But if the actors do not focus on
their part, they forget their lines and blocking and
stumble over their own feet. To attempt to escape
to eternal realities in a sense undermines the purpose
of the show. What is the purpose of the show? Ah: that
is the mystery. Perhaps each player discovers the
purpose in their dedication to their own part.
Ask
yourself: What is my part? How might I enjoy it, taste
it, appreciate it?
This is self-love. You forget the importance of
self-love. It is a doorway to so much Joy. Joy is a
divine aspect: out of Joy flows sweet service which
will
not strain the servant.
You will see that the dance is
one of mutual enjoyment. Please take time to absorb
this. Now we suggest that it would be useful to take a
walk.
There will be time to worry later in the day!
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FEAR
AND ANXIETY
Many of us are struggling with
fear and insecurity in these difficult times. Please
tell us: What do we need to know today?
We are here, dear
ones. There are many aspects at play in this moment.
As is evident in the world around you, financial
restructuring is a stressful factor in many lives.
Many are awakening in fear and experiencing internal
shame and blame. It might be said that this is a
state existing within the collective psyche: a
certain degree of panic which excites past fears as
well as inter-personal stresses. If we are not
blaming ourselves we may cast blame on bosses,
family, even friends…. This climate can awaken baser
forms of human behavior as the status quo is
disrupted.
We
might step back and observe this as a period of deep
energetic restructuring. For sensitive human beings
it will be important to “lay low” and seek abiding
values: love, generosity, patience, forgiveness.
Everyone in the industrialized world is feeling this
“shake-up.” You are not alone. Imagine that this
challenging phase has potential for awakening new
forms of human behavior. These forms are not yet in
full view and so the challenge is to imagine them
and desire their frequencies.
Imagine a social organization based on mutual
consideration and cooperation. What will this look
like? Instead of focusing with fear on the lack in
one’s own life, an individual may consider: What
benefits each one of us? For too long the model has
been “survival of the most aggressive and
self-centered.” This is an implicit basis of modern
capitalism. Now we are force-fed the fruits of this
short-sightedness: If we plunder the planet we all
perish; unchecked financial greed causes ruin for
all. The lessons are etched boldly across the screen
of every layer of society.
From
the old vantage point of individual survival this
may seem devastating (indeed the devastation is very
real in many lives). But calming our spirits may we
also consider the beautiful possibility that this
season where we sow the fruits of short-sightedness
may herald a merciful tide of human awakening?
Imagine that the currency is changing. Paper dollars
and plastic cards reveal their worthlessness so that
you may discover currency of abiding value:
spiritual development, mutual encouragement within
community, stewardship of the land, creation of
products and services than benefit humanity….
Abiding values now reveal their true worth. And what
a grace this is! For paper and plastic cannot make
the journey beyond this earth, and your spirits
surely will. Each person may ask her/himself: What
is my lesson now; what is my calling?
Assist each other in these
discoveries.
In
this moment you ask: “Yes, but how shall we
survive?” In the short term, the restructuring
will continue until the detritus of centuries of
thoughtless behavior is cleansed. So we repeat: drop
your energies low; lay your plumb-line deep into the
ground of eternal values: love, hope, forgiveness….
You will not perish. Great new energies are coming
to assist you in the new awakening. Like a root or
like a seed seek fertile ground and believe the
awakening is at hand, strengthened by your faith.
Use
every fearful thought as an opportunity. As you
transform fear into love within your inner spaces,
you assist the whole. So humanity progresses through
this challenging pass. Remember that you are not
alone. Unseen helpers from all ages assist in this
transition. Its time has come. Humanity deserves
to shed archaic consciousness and awaken to new and
enlightened forms. Allow yourself to celebrate (when
you can) the possibilities of this time.
In truth, it is a time of
great hope. You awaken not only for yourselves but
for the earth and for the future of humanity. Offer
yourselves to this great purpose and temporary
discomfort may be viewed as loving service.
We thank you, on behalf of all sentient beings
everywhere.
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SPIRITUAL HELPERS
So, my unseen companions, I would like to know
more about you.
We are helpers. In the Spirit realm there are
myriad callings. It is a joyful thing to try on
many paths or roles of adoration or service.
Some study, some wait, some involve themselves
in creative activity … some sit at the seat of
masters or teachers…. We are not of a high
order, as we have told you. Truly there is no
hierarchy in the realm of Spirit. Each soul has
its own relationship to what you call the
Divine, and each relationship is continually
unfolding. Picture a symphony: all the players
are embracing the same joyful experience of
co-creation and the delight of each offering is
a gift to all. Understand that when reports are
given through various sources about the
after-life they are filtered through the
conceptualizing mechanisms of both speaker (from
the other side of death) and receiver on earth.
Add to this the infinite rainbow of choices and
paths, and you can see that it is not easy to
sum up the breadth of spirit life.
Even on earth there are
myriad circumstances. One visitor from another
planet might report: “They live in hard tall
buildings, going up and down and moving in fast
machines. Very busy.” And one might observe:
“They live on ice and fish for creatures of the
sea.” Another might conclude: “They move among
high vegetation, observe many rituals and eat
the fruit of plants and animals.” And so there
will be many reports of Heaven, or the spirit
realm. Even as we speak to you we are
continually aware that we can only form concepts
with images you cognitively understand.
As your father has reported from the spirit
realm: “Service to one’s fellows is a great and
joyful undertaking.”* We feel delighted to join
you in this time of great change in earthly
frequencies. So many people are opening to the
realms of spirit in new and exciting ways and
there is truly an inter-stellar dance of joy for
the great possibilities here. We speak of
possibilities because as you know the nature of
creativity presupposes that the outcome is a
surprise to all involved. Life moves and sings
within its own continually evolving symphony.
The end is not written … the notes emerge from
expressions of ecstasy.
We who are with you long for the conscious
ecstasy of this earthly experience, and we are
hopeful because we see signs of Awakening. It is
possible even now to live on earth in an
awakened state, but how much more joyful it will
be when you have moved beyond the darker
patterns of behavior: war, injustice, cruelty.
So you are with me as long as I live?
And beyond.
There are many helpers, Jane. We, who address
you in your quiet times, are companions, and it
delights us to share your journey. Other orders
of spirit helpers work within human connections,
world gatherings and events … others attend the
passage in and out of the body…. Just as there
are many jobs within the organization of human
society, so there are many callings within this
vast spiritual network....
In your backyard at this moment there are
insects and birds and myriad plant forms as well
as the elements of water, wind and air. No one
of these is “backyard” per se. Similarly, one
spiritual helper or one group of helpers is only
an element in the vast eternal realm that is now
largely invisible to you. But each one operates
within the whole and intercommunication is
constant – like a pulsing dance, or music.
We are your friends. You may receive us in this
way. We will walk with you through the door
other spirit helpers will open. We are like a
little collective who address you as one voice.
That is very reassuring. You know that I still
doubt you in many parts of my mind.
This is the human condition: “Maya.” Never
underestimate the “cloud of unknowing.”
Why is it so? Why are we so blind?
What we have experienced is a denseness that is
not the fault of any single soul. This denseness
of the earthly consciousness is temporal. It
will change and lighten, and this change is even
now upon us. This process is not an easy one.
But there is great joy also in this – as what
was dense and unresponsive learns to move and
dance … and co-create. We cannot describe to you
the joy of co-creation on a vast spiritual
scale. It is thrilling. This joy belongs to you,
and we are partnering you in awakening to your
place in the great dance.
Thank you. This helps.
Thank you. It helps us also. We do
delight in this work, and we delight to be with
you, even if you doubt us! Be aware that none of
your good efforts will go unrewarded. This is
spiritual law. No good seed sewn will fail to
bear fruit in time. What we ask you to
remember now is that we are always present in
the eternal Now to give you guidance and
inspiration. Availability and receptivity should
be your relaxing focus. Let go of tomorrow – be
here now. For we are always here waiting for
you, waiting to bathe you in comfort, peace and
strength.
(* Quoted from Jane’s book: WE ARE HERE: Love
Never Dies.)
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Spirit friends: I am seeking
words from you today about my life and my direction,
feeling a bit lost….
We are here. We are always
with you, till the end of time. Know that we
surround you in love and attempt to open yourself to
that love as often as you can. It is a faithful,
fruitful source of vital energy to the soul who is
often a stranger in a strange land.
It’s difficult to relax into
stillness – I feel a bit antsy and peculiar.
We surround you with love and
compassion, reminding you that this earth school is
not an easy one. Who can find their bearings in such
a place? One must drop the plumb-line deep and wait
in stillness often. It is not easy. And it is
important not to measure success or failure
according to your passing moods, as if skittering
and changing cloud forms could alter the color of
the sky.
Remember: we wait with you as
you wait, and we serve you in the waiting. We have
come for this service, so you may detect our
pleasure as you allow yourself to surrender to
stillness. For this we have assembled. This is our
work. You may regard your quiet time as a service to
us, for that is also true. You give us pleasure as
you allow this.
I feel dislodged within
myself, a bit off-center.
There
are many factors involved in the dynamics of this
moment. If it is useful, we would say that you are
indeed more porous now and that you pick up
frequencies from myriad sources. That is why our
time together is so important and beneficial. You
have sped up your receptivity, and we celebrate and
honor this.
Now you learn to hold this
state of greater receptivity. This condition may
itself require discernment as you ask yourself: What
is my obligation now? What is my work and my
direction? Many people all over the world find
themselves at such cross-roads. You are “bridge
people”, you who offer your vessels for
communication of significant changes in this moment.
We wish to say to you: do not
doubt yourself. Do not doubt your guides and
helpers. Do not doubt your God, your path and your
own voice. Do not doubt your intuition, even as you
learn to refine it. This time together is safe time,
safe space. Here we reassemble to hold up to the
light each facet of the journey that is painful or
challenging. Attunement and joy are one stroke of
the same brush.
The human journey is a fierce
trial of discernment. Here on earth, spirit-souls
enter ungainly bodies with limited mental abilities
and urgent physical needs and desires. There is a
great external cacophony of agenda as human
confusions jockey for power amid myriad quests. As
you receive us – you spiritual messengers – you also
attune in new ways to other energetics, other
transmissions. So it is required at this time to
consult often with Source.
That is, your Source.
Now you need to trust a
journey that is a bit clouded in unknowing. Your
mind will catch up and assimilate, but it is best to
allow some cognitive uncertainty even as your
plumb-line rests at its own true depth. You will
understand better soon enough.
I am also asking about my
relationship with income, and I know that many
others on spiritual paths are struggling with the
same concerns….
What we are exploring with you
now is this focus on our time in conversation as
your primary work. And you are questioning
expenditures: classes, healing work, food and
outings … because our work does not generate income.
Let us look at this. Income is the currency with
which to care for the needs and desires of the body.
What would happen if you were to subtly shift the
burden of necessity onto the spirit’s survival needs
and desires? “What does my spirit need in this
moment?” is the vital question. Because of course
there can be for you no physical contentment if the
spirit is troubled.
Imagine in this time that you
are “paying for school” as you treat the body to its
physical needs during this focused education of your
spirit … this attunement.
It is an exercise of trust. Trust that as you seek
Spirit first the rest will follow. Now you are asked
– primarily – to offer yourself to this time, this
classroom … this conversation. In the course of your
days you will be productive in the faithful
accomplishment of myriad tasks. But this time that
we share is the primary “work.” This is home base.
Here – in the frequency of
Love – the soul finds rest and succor. Here the soul
lays down its burdens and soaks in precious
sustenance. Here the soul knows peace and plenty.
Rest now in the tender care that surrounds you….
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MORE ON THE DIVINE SELF …
Lately I have been pushing out
a project that seems to leave my body knotted in
tension, and the harder I work the more
self-critical I become. Spirit helpers: please speak
with me about this!
Dearest one: there is no
peace in this sort of emphasis on product or
performance. Life is here in this intimate
conversation. We are here, and for you to know
this – at deeper and deeper levels – is what fans
the fires of Unity. How can we express this to
you? When you focus all your energy on producing
something, in a sense you are abandoning yourself.
If we go back to the assumption that we are a
collective it will help here.
No human being enters this
life alone. Do you know this joy that appears on
the face of an infant? If you look into the eyes
of this tiny being, you behold collective
consciousness. It sounds like a lofty term, but
what we really mean to say is that this child is
not aware of emptiness or separation. Various
things occur in time which quickly alter this
collective consciousness in a great many cases.
But many children retain happy conversation with
invisible companions for some years…. And in
tribal cultures to a great extent this
consciousness can continue, aided by the
perpetuation of collective mind and purpose as
well as pervasive spirituality. As civilization
has evolved there has often been a pattern of
increasing separation from the collective mind as
well as the apprehension of pervasive
spirituality. We do not of course diminish
civilization’s contribution to the birth pangs of
global consciousness, but pain has walked hand in
hand with progress.
This is a bit of an overview, but in our
conversation no such analysis is necessary. You do
not need to grasp a linear picture of collective
self. Perhaps we should return to the dance. At
any moment, you may sit alone and absorb yourself
in concern about a product or accomplishment, or
you may dance. When you turn an ear to us, open
your heart to the possibility that we are here,
loving you … you feel the stirring of joy and
communion, you feel the music of cosmic bliss.
Savor this experience as often as you possibly
can. This is our highest calling
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THE DIVINE SELF
In the next several entries I
will be sharing the teaching I’ve received in
conversation with my unseen companions about the
nature of collective self, or divine self. I am
learning that this is the interior doorway to the
current awakening of loving collective
consciousness.
We are here. It is not a
simple thing to reform years of conditioned
thinking. As with all important movements, it will
happen slowly. You do not need to worry if it will
happen or how it will happen. What we ask you to
focus on is the desire for this awareness: that we,
together, create this life. Begin to believe that
you are undergoing a change of perception. Invite
the delicious sensations that are awakened when you
feel us. Look forward to them. We are looking out
through Jane’s eyes … this loving communion of
spiritual care-givers. Taste the deliciousness of
this.
Something in me is backing
away or shutting down as I try to grasp this.
Be patient with yourself.
Remember that this life on earth is not an easy
thing. It takes a collective to navigate this
terrain. What you wrestle within is a strong mental
muscle built into the human body which has been
trained along certain pathways since childhood. This
is not easy to describe within linear terms, as some
of this cross-fertilization occurs outside of your
schemes of time and space. Other dimensions are at
work here.
This is heady stuff for me
this morning, I’m afraid.
Of course it is. We are here:
that is all you need to remember. Begin by being
here now and noticing you are not alone.
I have trouble believing that,
as if this written dialogue were a sweet exercise
but not as “real” as my bed, my lamp, the scene
outside my window….
Your mind has trouble
conceiving of us even as your heart yearns for us.
Yes. I wish it were the other
way around, and that I might know and be secure in
your presence while I perceive this world’s material
forms as passing images … the way it would be if I
were at the end of my life.
Yes. What is real at the end
of your life, at the moment when consciousness quits
this mortal body?
Then, at the end, I suppose
there will be fragments of memories, fleeting
emotions … losses, joys, passing victories and
failures…. What will be real to me in that moment?
My relationship with you, whom I barely know but who
have been invisibly with me through it all.
Invisibly with you in the
Abiding Reality.
Whoa. Abiding reality is what?
The snowflakes outside are
whipping up a beautiful show, dancing diagonally
across this perfect winter landscape of river and
pine…. Is this the reality that abides? No. This
scene will change – and that is the beauty of it. It
will soon enough be springtime, and this grey-black
palette will be transformed to pale blue,
chartreuse, vibrant yellow…. The snowflakes will be
rain, the rain will be river, the river will be
sea…. The animals will die and decay into the earth
to feed new life-forms. It is a beautiful
manifestation, this passing show.
Here, in the Northeast, isn’t
it true that you love each season as it comes? There
is nothing to be gained in attaching yourself to the
permanence of them. Similarly, this bed, this lamp,
this body of Jane are all impermanent. Someday this
mattress will be added to a trash-pile … the lamp
will break or wear out…. The body of Jane will die.
These hands with which Jane writes words will be
stopped by the cessation of the organism: its blood
will not flow, the muscles will quit, the eyes will
close. That will be the end of this body’s lifetime.
It will be burned and changed to ash and bone, or
buried to fertilize the earth.
We ask you: What will abide?
Yes. Please tell me in your
words. Because my mind still doubts, I’m afraid.
What will abide, dear Jane, is
this conversation. This dialogue with unseen life
continues….
Whew. It does seem an
intangible thing.
And why is that? What is
tangible? Is a tangible thing something which these
temporary hands can touch, these temporary eyes see?
Is a tangible thing something that is one day a bed
and the next a pile of composting trash?
We are not expecting you to be
able to shift easily out of the belief that what
your bodily senses perceive is Real.
No. I don’t feel you’re asking
me for much. I feel I’m asking you. I need this
guidance, this direction. I am not content with my
mind’s definitions of reality. This world is not the
happiest place. This mortal life is not enough. I
yearn….
And so do we. We yearn for
greater illumination. And this is taking place even
now. The creaking doors of materialistic minds are
opening to bright, vast vistas of perception … all
over the place. It is a great global awakening. You
are not alone in this dance.
Speak to me about the dance.
Love dresses up in a limited
body to come to this place of gravity where there
are many restrictions. Imagine Love undressed,
unrestricted, unfettered…. Here you might think of a
formal dance: a minuet with precise rules and
limitations. Then imagine a dance with no gravity,
no rules, only love and joy … the gleeful abandon of
children…. You will glimpse it increasingly. It is
here – let it call you.
And understand that we are
here for you. There is no obstacle to our dialogue
from this end. We are here to support, inspire,
comfort and accompany you. We, together, navigate
this life. So we are delighted to find form and
words for this relationship.
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February 2, 2009: |
ONE ORGANISM
As I lay in bed last night
I made an interesting inner connection. As usual, my
inner critics were berating me for some failing or
other, and it suddenly occurred to me: “They do not
exist!” And not only do they not exist, but there is
no “other” at all: no “you”, no “he, she, it”…. It was
an exhilarating revelation which seemed to kindle a
fire in me. So I ask you, my unseen friends: please
speak to me about these things.
We are here, Jane, and we wish to
assure you that your revelation is real. The apparently
single entity you think of as yourself is indeed a
collective – a loving relationship. No being is alone,
whether animal, vegetable or mineral. Existence depends
upon inter-relationship.
At what moment can one distinguish
the separation between sunlight and a tree? The process
of photosynthesis is one movement, one dance. Where does
this process begin and end? Similarly, where is the
separation between rain and leaf, between root and soil
…? The delineations we perceive are – at a microscopic
level – non-existent: Life exists within relationship.
So when you speak of yourself as
separate and distinct from sunlight, air and other
elements – as well as from other human organisms – you
perceive “through a glass darkly.” Science has
demonstrated that the energetic components of one
apparently distinct life-form are themselves vibrant or
fluid, beginning and ending far from that organism.
Within each sub-atomic particle of
each human being exists an
inter-relational dance that is inseparable from the
movement surrounding this being. Distinctions are
illusory. When you behold another “self” – whether
sister, friend or enemy – you behold the stuff of your
own self breathing the other’s breath and imbibing its
energy. You are powerless to stop this interaction.
We might call this
inter-relationship love, if by love we mean a dance of
intimate attraction. It is only our narrow and temporary
human perception that tells us we are independent of
this “other” we behold. And when you allow yourself to
receive the waves of implication awakened by this
perspective, you enter into a new and generous
consciousness. Gone are prejudice, competition and
rejection.
We invite you to savor this subtle
and immense shift in perception. This ushers in the
great awakening of this current stage in human
evolution. Taste it, ponder and dream of it. For it is
more real and true than the illusion that has haunted
and tormented millennia of human consciousness.
The great awakened beings of all
time have sung of this unity, and now we invite a grand
universal awakening. You may believe that we are more
excited to behold this awakening than you can possibly
imagine. Because we love you. We exist for love, whose
surging rivers long to quench the thirsty fever of this
earth.
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JANUARY 26, 2009: |
GUIDANCE FOR A WORRIED PARENT
Spirit friends: please
speak to me about this child who is such a challenge
to
my parenting.
We are here. What we know you
cannot yet know. What we can say is that you are
enough. Your parental love is enough for this
incarnate soul. His journey is his own deep mystery.
Do you know the voice of the sap in the pine trees
or the maples? Do you understand the deepest journey
of any other living being? Regard each life with
reverence, however it may baffle or frustrate you.
This will help you also with self-love, the greatest
challenge of all.
What do I do with my fear and
frustration?
Offer them to the altar of
our union. Here in the quiet sunlight all is well.
Later, all will be well. There will be strife. Seek
our union in the sunlight and in the shadows then.
Trust the mystery of this life. Teach your children
(beginning with the ones inside of you) to trust
this mystery. What else can you do?
This is the impulse that
increases Love’s breath within the universe. It
begins with this willingness to offer love,
regardless of all evidence to the contrary … to
rejoice, regardless of all circumstances.
Treat every human relationship
as an opportunity to increase Love and you will
begin to enter the sacred circle where holiness is
unbroken. It is possible. Indeed, it is the truth of
what is. All is holy. Remove the veil. Believe it.
The scales will fall from your sight more freely
with your cooperation.
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JANUARY 21, 2009: |
LIGHT IN TIMES OF DARKNESS
Let us speak to you about light.
Everything, everywhere in every moment is laced with
light. Do you know this? Every shadow is evidence of
the sun. Light is the form of creation, the building
block of all that is. Feelings of despair come because
you now see in part … you see “through a glass
darkly.” (The Bible)
War and suffering come when
human beings feel disconnected from one-another. The
answer is the true perception that we are One.
Why must we go through such
darkness to learn?
We have spoken about time’s
illusion: that truth resides within the limited
material perception of this moment. Actually, what is
True is the eternal manifestation: Hiroshima as a
temple of peace; Auschwitz as an opportunity for
mercy…. The vessel must be hollowed out, or hallowed.
Only the hallowed vessel may be filled with divinity.
It is true that all is light – only light.
A momentary perception proclaims
process as reality. It is as if you saw the waves
recede and claimed: “It is always low tide, the shore
littered with detritus.” In the moment, this is true.
But in another moment the same space is bubbling with
fluid life. Sometimes a tree appears dead, its
crumpled dressing strewn about its base. But soon
enough abundant green adorns its branches.
We cannot cling to death as
anything more than process. And similarly we cannot
seize the temporary manifestation even of amazing
cruelty as more than a passing show. How do we hold
this understanding? Only with the unshakeable
conviction of light and more light, love and more
love. Because that is the abiding reality: Love is all
that IS.
But what comfort is there to one
who is currently suffering?
What do we say when you are
suffering? We are here. We accompany you in this
earthly vibration: this world at war for lack of human
tenderness and understanding, this place whose
inhabitants do not yet perceive themselves one
organization and therefore may obliterate another
population … or watch them starve on the evening news.
We sit beside you in incomprehension of these
phenomena. For now we know that all is one loving
whole, and those at war in selfish isolation are
simply abusing themselves.
How painful it is to watch this
show … this dreadful human drama. For us, sometimes
there is weeping and there is discouragement. This is
a rare confession. We too grow disheartened by the
incomprehensible ignorance of life on earth. We do not
say these words to comfort you. No. We sit beside you,
our gaze downcast and our hearts heavy. For joy is so
close at hand. We see you dear ones dying in a desert
of your own creation when all around you are cisterns
of living water. And sometimes we weep. Even though we
know that all will be renewed in time and that this
too will be redeemed … we weep. You are all so
precious to us.
Those of us who speak to you are
of an order or school that closely interacts with
mortal life. We wish to be in this communication, to
provide reminders of divine possibility … to offer
direction … to comfort the grieving. We align our
energies with the human vibration in order to
communicate. In so doing – as if we were connecting
electrical circuitry – we give as well as receive your
pulse. We are attuned to your conditions. We accompany
you, like unseen friends … quiet companions.
It is a lovely work, and one
which you may choose to do, on leaving your body. But
we cannot say that it is without pain. And perhaps in
this moment that is what your soul is asking to know.
Are we, as divine messengers, indifferent … because we
know the outcome? And now you have your answer. We
feel your heartache in our hearts. We weep with those
who weep. We bewail with you the darkness, even though
we know the dawn is here.
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JANUARY 17, 2009: |
TIME
Let us address this issue of time…. Anxiety and
perfectionism stem from perceiving time within a
container, bounded on either side by illusions of
‘now’ and ‘then’, ‘yesterday’ and ‘tomorrow’. The
‘unforgiving moment’ can become a tyrant and the soul
trapped within this perception pattern may feel
enslaved, oppressed.
Imagine for a moment that there is no boundary: no
today, no tomorrow … no now and then … only one
eternal moment where all time is present. See how this
relaxes anxiety about performance and accomplishment?
In this way you may take up the threads of last year
or next month … for the perception that they are
discrete and separate from this moment is erroneous.
Smooth the edges of an old encounter … rehearse the
joy of future reunions…. Hold these within this
present experience.
How foolish, for example, to map the waters of the
ocean - to chart the waves, which are here one moment
and there the next. The ocean is one continuous
inter-relational body. Time is similarly organically
united. Can you map and measure wind? No. Because its
subtlest origins are indistinguishable from its
mightiest manifestations. It is without beginning or
end.
This comprehensive understanding sheds a gentler light
on each changing circumstance, for what seems a
tragedy today may bear blessing for tomorrow.
Hiroshima City exists now as a beautiful living
monument to world peace. Auschwitz holds the healing
prayers of countless visitors and symbolizes a
powerful lesson to the abiding human spirit…. Time
viewed in its segregated increments is illusion.
Perceive the possibility of blessing now. Embrace
misfortune as a pregnant seed.
As you release your grasp on momentary perfection, so
you allow eternal flow to permeate and enrich this
present experience. Allow eternity to fertilize each
circumstance. Practice this, for it will relax and
open your soul to divine blessing in every ‘now.’”
TIME II
Today again we are speaking about time. We are
experiencing the delicious expansive vista that can
emerge as you offer your time unconditionally. What a
simple offering! Sitting comfortably, you can say
within your thoughts: ‘I am releasing possession of my
time. Here it is….’ You give time. It is a beautiful
doorway to ecstatic union which begins also with a
gentle release of fear.
We can see how ‘fear’ and ‘time’
are kindred concepts – kindred illusions, it might be
said. Fear presupposes control, mistrust, a lack of
purpose and love in creation. And ‘time’ presupposes
separation. Although in itself a benign concept or
measuring tool, in actual usage time is linked with
possessiveness, separation and fear. Examine the
statement: ‘I don’t have enough time.’ There is no
limit to the Now. Moments are immeasurable within
eternity. Only in possessiveness do we feel the need
to measure time. What I do not have enough of is not
mine to begin with. Since when did I possess this
moment? And so is it not the trusting, loving gesture
to return time? To say: ‘Here am I – here is my being
within this eternal now’?
Notice the deepening of breath as you release
possession of time. It is akin to releasing fear …
akin to sleeping peacefully within the arms of an
all-caring parent – one who is vigilant in love and
provision. This is the condition of grace which we
messengers offer in every moment to you who seek
spiritual union and freedom from the cares of this
world. So offer time, and offer fear … and rest in the
arms of the Beloved whose greatest desire is to hold
you safely forever.
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JANUARY 6, 2009: |
I have been asking my spirit companions to speak with me
about somehow blending the powerful "masculine" model
identified with material domination with the feminine
aspects of nurture, receptivity and creativity.
I would like to learn the sort of confidence and
self-assurance that has been modeled in the patriarchal
paradigm in order to powerfully champion love and
integration.
My concern is: The women and men I know and observe who
are stepping out of these old power forms seem to be
almost universally challenged with survival issues: "How
do I pay the rent? The world is not set up
for me to thrive...." Spirit: please speak to me about
these things.
Spirit answers:
We are here, and we champion you - your choices, your
lifestyle, your struggles and your offerings. You who are
offering new forms of universal love and healing need to
know and remind yourselves often that there are far more
powerful and numerous entities championing your success
than you can possibly guess ... far more than could be
physically contained within this planet. There are
universes of sentient beings in body and in spirit
coaching and preparing the way for the success of your
endeavors. If you could but glimpse for one moment the
vast host of champions at your backs you would not doubt
your endeavors.
What you also cannot perceive is the timeless aspect of
this work. The progress made by each earnest pilgrim on
the path of loving transformation echoes over endless
futures
and bears incalculable fruit. In your solitary
birth-pangs you are attended by midwives of
all origins
and all times whose sole passion is to serve you in this
great awakening. If your eyes and hearts could perceive
this vast host of helpers you would weep, for their love
is born of infinite hard-won compassion. Their love is
fierce and indestructible -
their success is inevitable.
So when you doubt yourselves, dear ones, and when you
feel powerless and alone, remember that there are legions
of souls and armies of spirits as great as the waves of
the sea behind and before you with bold and fierce
momentum. To doubt yourselves is to doubt the power of
love which created this vast, unknowable cosmic dance,
this endless music of the spheres. We are with you,
beloved pilgrims, and we are invincible."
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Jane
teaches and lectures on a variety of topics including
spiritual guidance,
portraiture, resistance and social transformation.
Contact
Jane for details. |
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