Lynne ForrestBlog | Lynne Forrest

Helpful Tips for Furthering Enlightenment

Lynne — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 15:00:43 +0000

Here are some helpful tips for grounding and furthering your progress towards peace:

1. Start your day with a deliberate focus on aligning with Source.
a. Read something inspirational to set the tone, and go, as if to a secret meeting w/ your beloved, to a private space set up somewhere in your home just for this purpose. Light a candle, play music that soothes and invites you to breathe and relax.

b. Find your best standing body alignment, root through your feet and begin to breathe deeply, full body breaths, and then start w/ gentle, slow, stretching.

c. Set your conscious intention to connect w/ Source through your body energetically and use visualization to see the energy of Source surrounding you and flowing into your body, streaming along the meridians and energy pathways, reaching every organ, every cell in your body.

2. Sign up for some kind of gentle yoga (yin yoga. restorative yoga, vinyasa (flow), or basic Iyengar are all good places to start), or a qigong/tai chi/akido/reiki class to learn ways to work in, and with, the body energetically I cannot emphasize enough the body’s role in freeing us from victim consciousness. It facilitates powerful healing.

3. Buy my book, Guiding Principles for Life Beyond Victim Consciousness to learn more about the spiritual principles or laws of Reality and how to apply them directly to your life, including the benefits of and tools for learning how to develop a daily practice.

4. Buy Byron Katie’s book “Loving What Is,” or find her online at www.thework.com and memorize her four questions:

a. Is it true?
b. Do you know it absolutely?
c. Who are you when you believe that thought?
d. What would be different w/out that thought?

And use her Turn Arounds too, by taking the original thought that you are questioning and turn it around to its opposite and look for evidence to support that perspective.

5. Work with those four questions as you move through your day. They will help you tap into observer consciousness so that you are less reactive and resistant to life. Look for any little unhappy thought and practice turning it into its opposite to find a more peaceful way of seeing.

6. Learn and meditate on the basic guiding principles. Practice seeing the world through them. For instance, when you hear yourself thinking that something should, or shouldn’t, be the way it is, remind yourself of the principle that teaches us there are no mistakes; things are the way they are for a reason and that reason is for our benefit; focus on seeking that growth enhancing reason, rather than railing against the way things are. Observer consciousness is based on seeing life through universal guiding principles of life.

7. Pay attention to your feelings, especially to the ones that prompt you to react negatively, for they are like fingers pointing to the troublesome thought inside your mind, the real cause of your distress.

8. Suspect your way of seeing things anytime your perception of a situation generates unhappiness. Explore your mindset carefully and question the negative beliefs, one at a time, that surface in your mind – don’t quit until you’ve adjusted your way of seeing things to align with reality, recognizable by its high frequency. You know you have returned to reality when you feel grounded and centered, serene and connected – at peace. Reality is the here and now peace of this moment. Use this work to anchor you in reality.

I trust that any of the above mentioned suggestions you choose to follow will bring positive results – your pace and progress is a personal thing. Trust your rhythm.

Blessings,

Lynne

My Limiting Story About You …

Lynne — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 15:00:07 +0000

I have carried a limiting story about you.

Now don’t pretend you don’t have them too – stories about the world based on often limiting judgments and assumptions about literally everything and everyone you know. This is not a good or bad thing. It’s a human thing! Creating ‘stories’ is something most all of us, if not every human being, shares in common.

When our’stories’ are negative and limiting, we generate quite a bit of misery by believing them – but one thing is for sure – we ALL have some.

Here’s how it works: when we meet someone we form a set of opinions, or judgments, about them. We decide whether we like them or not based on whether we think they are for or against us.

The limited ‘story’ we adopt about someone is often based purely on whether or not they agree with us! If they don’t agree with us we may take that to mean that they don’t ‘like’ us – and, of course, we don’t like them if they don’t like us.

Often our personal conclusion about someone else is only partially, if at all, true. How we perceive them determines how we interact with them. Because, of course, when we believe our own limited judgments and opinions about them, we will automatically feel, and therefore act, as if what we think about them is true, and … Surprise, surprise! … we will most likely act in ways that invite them to prove us right!

Now, back to my limited story about you!

My story about you has been that you won’t buy my book. And I have held a whole bevy of blindly-believed reasons why.

For instance, I told myself that you won’t buy my book because:

you don’t value my work enough to pay for it.
because I am not properly aligned with Universal flow and so can’t attract buyers.
because I don’t deserve to be a well-respected author.

Fortunately, due to years of working with the principles and tools I write about, I have learned to observe my unhappy stories about life, rather than to react out of them. I have learned to contain my unhappy stories, rather than do as I was once prone to do and spew them dramatically, often painfully on to those around me.

As I have learned to do with any thought that disturbs my peace, I held my biased opinions and thoughts about you at arms length and, one by one, I explored them carefully. I looked at the limiting judgments I was holding about you through the lens of observer consciousness to gain a brighter perspective. I am so grateful that it worked!

Approaching my story about you with curiosity, rather than from a place of blind belief in my limited ‘story,’ I questioned it (I love Byron Katie’s Four Questions and Turn Arounds for this purpose).

My self-inquiry process probably sounded something like this (using Katie’s Four Questions…):

“This idea of mine that my readers don’t value my work, is it true?”
“I can’t sell enough books because I am not favored by Source, do I know that absolutely?”
“Who do I become when I line up with believing that I don’t deserve to be a successful author?”
How would I feel or act differently if I did not believe any of those thoughts?”

I held these peace-disturbing thoughts of mine under the scrutiny of an observer consciousness to see how credible they appear when fully exposed to Reality. I found they don’t hold up well at all in the light of Reality.

I began to turn each of these limiting concepts into their opposite (Byron Katie’s “Turnarounds“) to see if, held in the light of Reality, they might fare better than my unhappy ideas about you had. I found, many times, that the opposite opinion was every bit as true, and sometimes, more true even, than my original negative view was.

I began to see examples of how you do value my work:

For instance, you value my work by subscribing to my weekly messages, and our Another Way Newsletter. (Thank you so much.) It’s obvious that you value my work because you comment often on my posts, and send me emails that share with me your personal stories.

You often describe to me the successes that you are having with the principles that I have written extensively about in my book, Guiding Principles for Life Beyond Victim Consciousness. Many of you have shared with me stories of how your life has radically changed through the application of the principles I have written about in my book.

Here’s a sample of three from the hundreds of testimonials I’ve received so far:

“… as long as I have your book I am sure I can always find my way back to happiness.

- Will Abercrombie. Chattanooga, Tn. (Age 19 years old)

“i have read your book and still reading your book, it is fantastic, i can not find the words to tell you how much i read and carry the book around with me. It has really helped me to look in a more posirive light and i have noticed the small changes that are happening in my life. I have some really nice friends come into my life, instead of being taken for granted so much. I was invited to dinner and cooked for twice. Where as before i wouldn’t have the confidence to say yes, and was always doing for others. I still do but I am starting little steps to take full responsibility for me life without blaming others for my choices. love Maxine x”

“Lynne’s work is amazing! She helps you to remember that often in life, you will reap from others what you send out to them.. so be aware of your thoughts that can steer your emotions.” -Susan Kendrick, Atlanta, Georgia

“I’m halfway through the book … One particular phrasing has been with me since I read it and has become a mantra for serenity: Spirit is closer to you than your skin. That one phrase puts me into immediate connection with Source as a palpable feeling, and into observer mode. Thank you for that.” -Joyce Shaefer, New Orleans, LA.

One of the guiding principles that defines Reality (as described in my book) reminds us that the world is a mirror. We find through that principle that whatever unhappy story we project onto others is really more about us.

Reflecting thusly, I suddenly saw the truth in the thought, “you don’t value my work …” as being my own opinion of me! I am the one who was refusing to value my work.” Now we’re getting somewhere!

I looked at all the ways my turned around thought might be true, and recognized how, when it came to talking about my writing to others, my desire not to sound too braggadocios, often had me minimizing the impact that this process had in my own life. It was as if I had forgotten how radically changed for the better my own life was as a result of the Realignment Process I teach!

I could see that when I de-value my writing I fail to adequately pass on to others the tremendous value of learning how to line up with Reality and Source that I share through my words. I recognized that I was holding back from sharing with you this life transforming and healing process, simply because I didn’t want to sing my own praises.

I came to see that instead of bragging, my telling you about my book is to value you enough to want to share principles and tools that work! Tools like the process I have just exemplified for you here.

The REALignment Process that I outline in my book, Guiding Principles for Life Beyond Victim Consciousness, have dramatically changed my life, and I know they can do the same for you. And because I know you, like me, will settle for nothing less than the peace of mind that comes from seeing life through the lens of observer consciousness, and freedom from the victim triangle, I know you will want to buy my book.

And you can even click here and read the first three chapters FREE!

And when you are ready to purchase your own copy, click here:

Or if you would like to join our book interest subscriber list, that’s great too!

Thank you for all your support.

Blessings,

Lynne

Mind Chatter

Lynne — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 18:30:00 +0000

The mind keeps us engaged with its incessant chatter. Its purpose is obvious. It must keep up a constant chattering to hold us captive in our own unique, designed-just-for-us-fear-based story. To allow any space in that mental run-on would be to risk the danger of our discovering that we are not the stressful, limiting, and exceedingly unhappy story that the victim mind uses to define us. And the mind is good at holding us captive to that story!

Just try – right now – to stop your inner harangue. Tell your mind to be quiet! And notice what happens. Does it obey your command? Or does it carry you away so quickly that it’s minutes, if not days, before you even realize you’ve been abducted by the mind yet again?

The key is to quieten the mind with its’ relentless story-telling so that the Essence of who we REALLY are can surface. As soon as the mental chatter stops, who we Truly are lies revealed to show us the beauty and peace of Reality.

But HOW do we get the mind to be quiet?

We have learned that we cannot force the mind to be quiet, (what with the right of free speech and all ) but what we can do is “witness it into silence.” In other words, we can stand apart from it, observe its banter, and refuse to respond. We simply watch, and as does all conversation when left untended for lack of interest, the mind eventually runs out of fuel, sputters a time or two, and finally goes silent – not for long, mind you, but long enough!

Observing the mind for what it is, and refusing to engage with it, allows us to hear the Inner Voice and therein is found the doorway to freedom.

In the silence of Reality, located in this right now moment, we are fully engaged in seeing, listening, tasting, touching, and fully participating in what we are doing NOW. We have been relocated into what’s REAL; we are transported from a less-than-satisfying-story about who we are and what the world is doing to us directly to the only place that really exists – NOW.

We can stand apart from our verbose friend, the mind, and watch it chatter away like a nervous child, and then simply give it something better to do – like for instance, we can suggest that it count our breaths, or ask it to pay full attention to the colors, sounds, and energy surrounding us NOW.

But as soon as we think about any of those experiences – of what we are seeing, hearing, tasting, touching …etc. … as soon as we create a story in our mind about what those things mean, judge them, or complain in our minds about how they should be different, or as soon as we think about something else, or some place else altogether, we remove ourselves from the present Reality, and in so doing, we exchange NOW for a story about it.

Once the mind is engaged in NOW, Reality automatically finds and restores us. We do not aim to silence the mind forever, just more and more often.

I hope this is helpful.

Blessings,

Lynne

2012, A Year of Decision – Will We Go Forward or Back?

Lynne — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 15:00:34 +0000

Happy New Year!

I want to thank you, and all of my readers, for your tremendous support throughout the past year!

Your responses to my blog posts, and other writings inspire me to keep writing about the principles and tools of awareness that have helped me and those around me to bring greater harmony and more peace into our lives by freeing us from the victim consciousness that otherwise threatens to take us over.

Many of you have shared with me the tremendous progress you have experienced in the past year in all of your relationships, with yourselves, as well as with those around you. I treasure hearing that you are successfully applying these practical insights to your life, that you are moving away from blaming others for your unhappiness and finding instead a deeper appreciation for, and an inner acceptance of, Reality.

Let this new year be the year of Decision, a time when you choose to make a real commitment to a lifestyle that will further your life and consciousness.

The year 2012 has been slated for decades as a time when big change will take place in our world. As a date, it carries varying degrees of significance to various people and groups of people – and perhaps rightfully so.

Personally, I think of 2012 as being a time of decision on many levels. When I think of the year 2012 I see an image in my mind of our planet, our people, and ourselves standing in the middle of a path, which is often the hardest part of any journey, being asked to decide whether we will choose to stride forward towards our goals, our hearts desires, or whether we will turn back, retracting into our old, familiar and unhappy patterns.

After all, when we add the numbers in the year of 2012 together (2 + 0 + 1 +2 = ), we get the number 5 – the very physical outline of which suggests the notion of facing two directions at once! The upper angular half of the 5 faces forward and the lower curve of the 5 seems to look back.

Which direction will we choose as our own?

When we consider that the 5 is the middle number in the row of numbers 1 – 9, we can see that the 5 stands in the place of decision. Its very position and shape seem to ask, “Will I move forward into the freedom of the future, or will I retrace my steps and return to the past?

I find 5 to be an appropriate symbol for where our world, and our species, seems to be at the start of this new year, 2012. Will we stride confidently, or not so confidently, forward, or will we retreat into our old ways, back into our habitual patterns of victim consciousness?

The choice is always ours to make.

Will we slide back into our victim patterns and the negative thinking that prompts us to believe that we “can’t” make progress? Or are we determined to use the tools we have learned through our growing understanding of observer consciousness to transform our limiting, unhappy experiences from the past into a life filled with peace and harmony?

Again, it is our choice.

Will we go forward or will we go back?

There is no need to judge either way. Either way is valid. Whether we move forward or back, we will progress, for it is often true that we must slide back into old patterns, knowing that is what we are doing, to get really motivated to pick up the tools of questioning our unhappy beliefs and to use the principles instead that bring us back to Reality and peace, so that we can move forward again.

It is doable. We CAN commit to forward. Progress forward is a simple choice, although not necessarily an easy one, for we often tenaciously hang on to our victim ways of perceiving the world and, of course, we suffer the consequences of that choice every time.

Standing in the light of this new year with its climate of choice and change, which will you choose?

Blessings,

Lynne

By the way, I discuss this decision making process in detail on the next Group Online teleconference seminar that is coming up this week. If you want to learn more about Group Online click here: http://www.lynneforrest.com/special-new-year-resolution-group-online-session/

Peace, Our Choice

Lynne — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 15:00:05 +0000

We live in such a beautiful world, a garden of endless possibility. If we believe life is a junkyard, we get to live there. We can be the “junkyard dog!”

If we believe it’s all about pomp & ceremony, we experience that, or we might choose a worldview that lands us in a cosmopolitan world of glitter & crime, or any number of diverse worlds are available – depending on our own inner view.

But, when we see Life as it is in Reality, we experience a cosmic world w/ infinite choice, a virtual banquet spread before us of life-stories we can choose from, and nothing to fear – except our own choice.

What life story are you living? Does it deliver peace or fear? Our happiness depends on the story we choose to live out.

Melodrama or A Passionate Life?

Lynne — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 20:25:57 +0000

I recently listened to a friend vocalize protest against people she

described as being “so melodramatic.” She said her stomach clenches whenever

she gets around people who are “into drama,” and then confided to me that

she had long ago decided not to live her life with dramatic display, but

with introspective decorum instead.

I understand. I am a person who has been guilty of living my life “outloud”

in bold-colored drama more than once, and I’ve embarrassed myself plenty

with it. So I get her point. Nonetheless her comments prompted me to think

about the whole idea of defining melodrama in contrast to a dramatic life

expression. Here are some of my musings on the subject.

It seems to me that when we fully inhabit our Selves, (rather than living out

a limited version or story of ourselves) we may indeed be said to live

dramatic lives. Whenever we express ourselves with passion, it might well

appear quite dramatic. Whether we are living a life of melodrama, or

a passionately lived life may be difficult to determine from the outside

looking in because it is something that is lived from the inside out.

We’re either watching, monitoring, and staging our affect on the world, i.e.,

“How do I look? What will they think? How can I manage their opinion of me?”

etc. – OR we are simply experiencing the magnitude of Life being poured

through us, and witnessing ourselves allowing that Life to fully express

Itself through us, with no thought of how dramatic we might appear to others!

When dramatically living an authentic life expression, there’s a good chance

that the thought of others seeing us as melodramatic doesn’t even occur

to us! We are simply one with the Life being expressed through us.

What ultimately determines the difference between a life of drama versus

a life dramatically expressed is the attitude behind the expression, rather

than the form of expression itself – or so it appears to me.

Live your life with the passion of knowing you are Source Energy being

poured out into the world in an endless stream of wisdom, bounty, and peace,

and enjoy your dramatic life expression as part of Life’s beauty.

Blessings,

Lynne

Counting Our Blessings, Christmas, 2011

Lynne — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 19:14:41 +0000

I decided to share a Christmas letter with you counting blessings for 2011. May it inspire you to count your own!

Greetings!

I pray this letter finds you and yours enjoying a peaceful, if not joyful, season, and that you are looking forward to a bright new year!

Since the holiday season is a time to remember back over the year and count our blessings, I decided to write my Christmas letter to you as a way to enumerate and share some of what this past year has inspired my own gratitude. I truly have discovered that no matter our circumstances, there is so much for which to be grateful, There is a principle of abundance that comes to mind as I think about the importance that gratitude plays in generating prosperity; it goes something like this: to have more abundance we must be grateful for the abundance we have! And it is with that intention that I send holiday greetings to you, my loved ones and friends.

G.A.D. Nutcracker, 2011 - The Prince (Andrew) & Clare (Jessica, age 11)

First on my mind, since we just returned, is my gratitude for our son, Andrew, who is indeed a blessing to many. Daniel and I spent four days with him and his precious family in Florida participating in his annual production of The Nutcracker. What a talented, creative man he is! Everything he touches shines with the attention that only a true artist can give – his school, The Guilfoil Academy of Dance (GAD), his home, his students, even B. Andrews, his line of skin care products, all of it shines! Of course he does have super support with Brett and Maggie, his immediate family. They are a big part of his success. It makes my heart glow when I see my children being so well-nurtured and loved!

We had our small Christmas dinner in the home of our daughters, Monessa and Jaquetta, along with my brother and our three precious grandchildren, Nicolas, (9), Isabella (6), and Kai (3). What a sweet time we had together! I am so grateful for the way I see Source moving through their lives too! Monessa is radiant with health and awareness of ways to make a difference in the world around her. As a program producer for our local NPR station, she shares local stories of interest with our community, and is proactive in our community in the effort to bring the produce of local farmers into our local markets and eating establishments.

Jaquetta works for me. We’ve worked together for almost six years now! Words cannot express the gratitude I feel to be able to work so intimately with my own daughter! My new book came out in February launching a busy career time for us as we spread its message via seminars, workshops, and the Internet. Jaquetta is one member of the dynamite team that has come together to support the work we’re doing.

God has supplied me with the best team imaginable! I am humbled by the quality and capability of those who have come together to help me spread the word. My thanksgiving for them is beyond measure! The best thing about our team, in my opinion, is that they each believe and practice the guiding principles of Reality that I write about in my book, Guiding Principles for Life Beyond Victim Consciousness. I cannot express the amount of gratitude I feel in watching those around me take this work and apply it to their own lives! I am humbled and grateful for the miracles I’ve witnessed in the lives and families of those around me.

Our internet guru, Zack, and our marketing director, Danielle are among those I feel a special amount of gratitude for today. Closely following them in praise, is the group of supporters and willing contributors who have partnered with us in creating our new company, called REALignment Educational Project, LLC. This company was created for the sole purpose of educating and promoting the message I have been given the honor and privilege to share. We are a company that invites others to join with us to support our efforts through donations, and by becoming actual members! These are indeed exciting times.

My work, which I find increasingly difficult to separate from my personal life, is a God-given blessing in itself. I am brought to my knees in gratitude when I think about the tremendous honor I feel in having been given the opportunity to use my voice and words to share what for me has been life transforming. And, knowing me so well, Source gave me a life of diversity! I am so grateful!

I am grateful too for the tremendous pleasure of watching our children, one by one find their way to a better understanding of life. During the last year, several of our children have been involved in supporting the process I teach! Can you imagine what a thrill it is to have one’s own family embrace the work one does? My heart is full indeed.

And of course, my precious husband, Daniel is my anchor and number one supporter. He is a vital part of our team, doing everything from property maintenance to staging events to financial planning and now he has even started providing childcare! He and our daughter, Brooke, are in charge of a program we are developing that teaches children the guiding principles of Reality. I am so grateful for Daniel’s willingness to join ranks with Brooke, who not only was raised with these principles (being our daughter!), but who also has experience and skills of her own to share from her work with kids as a summer camp counselor for nine years.

Together, Daniel and Brooke are finding ways to pass on to other parents and children an approach gleaned from Daniel’s profound experience and success at winning the confidence and cooperation of the kids he works with by teaching them self-responsibility.

I am overwhelmed with gratitude and gladness for the opportunity I’ve been given to witness, and participate in a ‘Bigger Plan.’ It awes me whenever I see the plan unfolding so effectively and precisely in my own life and in the lives of those around me.

Weaving together the creative abilities and impressive skills of family members, Our Creator has taken us as a family, and turned us to use for His own perfect purposes. And our precious children, who are out in the world doing their own thing, are living lives full of heart and passion for life; they are living out their part of the ‘Bigger Plan.’ I am immensely grateful to be a part of this family!

Both of my siblings, David and Kathie have participated in seminars with me this past year, and have shown sincere enthusiasm for my work. I count on them to see me with a certain degree of levity for they do not hesitate to tell me what they “really think!” So there support is deeply meaningful, and I am delighted by it, and grateful.

Even health challenges have brought us gifts! I have witnessed beautiful examples among family members of dealing with serious health issues with grace and acceptance. I appreciate all the ways those around me inspire me to reach for a higher perspective. I love my family for what they teach me about myself and life.

There have been heartbreaks this past year as well – and even for those I am grateful, not because they happened, but for the gifts they brought forth. For all the many challenges we have faced, however, our family has received even more blessings, and I give sincere thanks for the continued well-being of each of my loved ones.

The Sabbath Day of Rest is something for which I have come to feel a deep appreciation this past year. Daniel and I spend the whole day every Sabbath with our daughter and grandchildren. We go to church together as a family where the children are exposed to an early orientation of looking up, rather than out at the world. Afterwards, we go out to eat somewhere (we take turns choosing where) and then we spend the afternoon enjoying some outdoor activity where we can all play like children. It’s a glorious time that I feel confident will be remembered by our grandchildren all their lives.

I am surprised in some ways, but deeply grateful that I have come back to my roots as a Southern Appalachian woman who garners comfort from the Bible. Christianity is my lineage altho I left it early in life to explore other resources. I have found much to my surprise and delight that the Bible verifies to me many of the ancient truths that I spent so many years discovering from other sources. To discover congruence where I was told I would not has been a wonderful boon to my life, and has brought me even closer to God. Truth is always true no matter its source. I love Christ, and his words, and merging them with my way of perceiving the world energetically works beautifully for me. I am grateful that I get to have my own personal relationship with Christ. We are each promised a relationship with Source that works for us! A blessing indeed!

I have discovered the literal truth of the Biblical verse, “God is Love,” in my life. I have come to understand love as the one true solvent for every illness, every predicament, and every hurt, be it emotional or physically caused. And sometimes love means to walk away, let it go, watch someone suffer the consequences of their choices, and trust that Source knows how to handle them better than I. Every time I release a loved one into the hands of Creator, I grow from seeing what can be accomplished when I get out of the way! What a relief! What a blessing NOT to have to be in charge!

I am grateful for all three hundred and sixty five times this past year that I spent connecting with Source in my morning practice. He starts my day, and the benefits from that have been incredible! It is there that I am reminded over and again to return to surrender and gratitude for my life as it is today. (I forget so easily!) My personal relationship with Christ is my greatest blessing, my greatest asset. From that connection comes everything I offer to the world. Anything good that comes through me is from that connection while the blundering and awkward stumbling is all mine.

The best part of our life journey for me is during those times when I remember from whence it all comes. Remembering that central fact allows us to consciously open to the flow of our Creator. I believe that this is the true secret of life, don’t you?

There is one last blessing I want to mention here this morning and that is my gratitude for you! You are among the sparkling jewels in my life; your presence, whether physical or over the ethers of the internet, nourishes and inspires me in some way, and I want you to know that I notice, and send prayers of gratitude for you often.

My hope is that you found yourself reflecting on your own blessings from the past year as you read this. Whatever time of year it is, it is always a good time to count our blessings.

Thanks for sharing with me in a celebration of my blessings.

Merry Christmas,

Lynne

Hand in Hand With Source

Lynne — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 15:00:43 +0000

During my daily practice recently I was, as I often am, visited by fears of unkind possibilities and ominous things to come. I felt the panic that comes with thinking thoughts like, “bad times are coming and I don’t think I can deal with them.”

Recognizing that I was getting caught up in the fear swirl generated by such thoughts, I turned inward to Source instead. I made the choice to go there for the guidance and strength to get through … and when I did an image came immediately to mind.

It was the image of a father and child walking hand in hand along a treacherous path. The child’s left hand (left is the receptive, receiving hand) was held gently in the father’s right hand (the right is the side of giving and reaching out), and I could see a light beam coming from the father’s hand radiating power and strength into the child, and in the image I could also see that same beam of light radiating out from the child’s outstretched hand to the world.

It came to me that the image was a perfect illustration of what being in right relationship with our Creator Source looks like.

Kind words of comfort came to me from within as I reflected on the relevance of this image to my own situation; I paraphrase that thought exchange here:

Creator Source asked, “May I walk beside you and hold your hand?”

“Oh yes, please, my Creator – I beg of you! Come walk beside me and tell me what to do.”

Creator Source replied, “Come, follow me. I will show you your choices so you can decide, whether to walk the way of self-made woe, or to stay by my side.”

“It’s up to you, but if you wish, I will show you the sacred space inside, where I Am, have, and always, reside.”

“Yes,” said I, “take me to where you are close so that in times when I waver, I can see your beloved face, which above all else, I most savor.”

“Affirm it my child, and it is done! Simply know that I walk beside you wherever you go, and with no further ado, it will simply be so”

Having spoken thusly, my fears, they all fled, and I rejoice in the joy of being forever loved and led.

May you find your own sacred space; may its inner peace fill your heart.

Blessings,

Lynne

How Do We Get Out Of The Victim Loop?

Lynne — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 15:00:38 +0000

Recently a subscriber asked this question: “How I can be an observer of my being in observer consciousness? How can I pull back from my own observations of the manifestations of my own thought processes in order to see clearly where I am going wrong and where I can alter course to go right??

All I can see is the fog of my own thoughts (results of my thought processes/beliefs (of which probably is the very fog I am describing here), and the daily result of my very thought processes/beliefs.)Following your regimen, I am poor because I believe I am poor, so I see that I am poor because I believe I am poor. I observe that I am poor because I believe I am poor.

But I remain poor because I believe I am poor. I am poor because that is Reality for me. But is being poor my actual Reality so I should just accept being poor as my lot in life (like being nailed to a cross). Or can my reality be changed say, into my becoming rich instead?? Is there any actual, fixed, inescapable ultimate Reality, or is Reality merely a product of set beliefs (whatever they happen to be??) that can flow and change with every flow and change of thought and belief…To put it another way, I can understand your words, I can see your point, but I cannot see what you mean in relation to my own life and my own path through it.

Her question is one that is relevant for many of us who get stuck internally ‘looping around the victim track’, like a dog chasing its tail, in an effort to escape from our mental stuckness. If this sounds familiar to you, perhaps my response to this young woman will help you break free next time you find yourself there!

Dear Student of Consciousness,

There is a part missing in the sharing of your process as described above. The part missing is the part about what you do once you’ve uncovered a troubling belief, that is the process of questioning the painfully life-limiting beliefs you’ve discovered!

Yes, you are observing your beliefs - that is the first step – NOW, your job is to take these uncovered beliefs, such as “I am poor,” through the process of observer consciousness which is to align with REALITY (as opposed to your STORY ABOUT Reality – two very distinct worlds) by questioning these beliefs.

Reality is constructed of always present, everlasting, basic laws, which have been observed and described all the way back to the beginning by the ancients. The world and Reality are governed by very specific guiding principles.

These principles are the constructs of Reality and when we line up with them, we are aligned the Reality that is Home for us. Reality brings us to our center, it is where peace abides, Christians refer to it as the “Kingdom of Heaven,’ and it is possible for us right now through a process of questioning our beliefs.

One of the guiding principles of Reality (I describe fourteen guiding principles in my book which defines Reality, and the observer consciousness as the state of consciousness we are in when we are in alignment with Reality) is that “God is Love,” i.e. there is an Energetic Life Source (beyond our ken to know or even imagine) from which ALL things come, and it is an ever present, benevolent, living intelligence that is closer to us than our very skin that desires relationship with us. As a matter of fact, according to the principles, we are emanations of That Life Source (“The Father and I are One”).

The Ancients believed that all 400 billion galaxies are happening in the Mind of Creator. We are all THOUGHT into being … “the word made flesh.”

Another ancient principle is that,”Man has free will.” That means that we get to choose what we think and believe. Most of us believe that because we think it, it must be true. But the principle about free will teaches us that we do not have to believe what we think. We get to choose what to believe. And what we choose to believe affects the way we feel, the way we act, and therefore determines our response to life, and life’s response back to us.

In other words, what we believe frames the way we see the world. The beliefs we take on form a belief system that becomes our personal story, the story of a limited self, and creates immense suffering in its wake, simply because we believe these unhappy stories are reality. And they are! These limiting, often self-destructive beliefs become our personal reality, and unless we question those beliefs, we will never escape that limited world.

WE CHOOSE!

You have uncovered one of your painfully limiting beliefs. GOOD! Now, take that belief through Byron Katie’s Four Questions and Turn Arounds (www.thework.com) – Question that belief, not to get rid of it (altho it may eventually go on its own) but to step back from it, so that you don’t have to feel as it it’s true, and act it out in a way that proves it to you as reality. Change your reality by questioning your story about reality.

THAT’S your task.

Blessings,

Lynne

B.T.W., this process AND the guiding principles th at construct Reality are all in my book, entitled Guiding Principles For Life Beyond Victim Consciousness; purchase it here: http://amzn.to/beyondvictim

From “We-They” (Victim) Consciousness to Unity (Observer) Consciousness

Lynne — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 15:00:05 +0000

Have you ever heard the saying, “if you spot it, you got it?” Or this one – “What we resist in others, is what persists in us?” These sayings are based on the guiding principle that teaches us that the world is a mirror.

I have certainly noticed in myself, and in those around me, that the things we judge and protest in others is usually that with which we ourselves are struggling. It’s as if, through opposition, the Universe works to help us embrace our own shadow by attracting what we judge “out there.”

I had a recent experience that illustrates this perfectly.

I attended an event that was designed for the purpose of recognizing 11-11-11 as a significant date, as a symbol of initiation, and as an opportunity to invoke a gateway experience into higher consciousness for the planet. It was to be a celebration of “unity consciousness” through prayer and breath meditation.

However, as often happens when we set our intention in a particular direction, the opposite energy manifested, so that instead of being a celebration of unity, it became, at least in the beginning, a time of divisiveness and separation.

It was a gathering of some two thousand people in a beautiful outdoor setting – a free public event on a balmy evening. It promised to be a wonderful time for all. As our group leader began his opening remarks on coming together in unity, protesters appeared. They were each carrying a Bible in protest of what they deemed as our “new age” gathering.

Unfortunately our group leader, taken off guard, got hooked into reacting verbally from a place of hostility and anger towards the protesters. Suddenly our peaceful event turned into a different kind of gathering altogether! Fortunately it did not erupt into violence; our group leader did eventually regain control of the evening and was able to fulfill the promise he’d made of bringing to the crowd a beautiful evening ritual, so it ended well enough.

It’s the learning opportunity that the event offered to which I want to speak here, for indeed, that evening’s turn of events seems a great example of what is meant by the words, “if you spot it, you got it!”

Throughout the evening our leader pointed out the “we-they” consciousness of the protesters. What I found myself wondering was if he recognized his own polarized view point?

It is the things we judge and protest in others that we are being asked by Reality to make conscious and address within ourselves. Once we learn that our reactions are about us, not about those we are resisting, we can begin to better contain our negative reactivity. We learn to call upon spiritual principles that guide us into observer consciousness, rather than to allow our reactions to drag us off into the “we-they” consciousness that is typically found in victim consciousness.

When we are in victim consciousness we are convinced that those we resist are against us, and that we need to defend ourselves, or our point of view to them. We feel compelled to discredit, or attempt to control them, whereas observer consciousness reminds us that these recalcitrants are indeed part of us! Those that trigger us represent that part of our own mind where we are divided against ourselves, and out of harmony with Reality. This awareness brings us back into unity consciousness, the place our leader was attempting to take us that evening!

From observer consciousness, rather than react blindly from our triggered emotional state, we recognize our reaction for being what it is, a reflection of that within us that is being brought to our awareness for healing, and we respond from that awareness instead. In Observer consciousness we move towards, rather than away from, unity.

If our group leader had been able to respond from observer consciousness, instead of verbally attacking them, he might have spoken with kind firmness to the protesters instead. Perhaps he would have asked them if they would like to join us. Realizing his own tendency towards “we-they” consciousness, our group leader might have exemplified unity consciousness, by saying something like, “Thank you for voicing your concerns, and for bringing the Word into our midst. We invite you to set up a place afterwards where you can share your viewpoint with those who are interested. We respect your thoughts and concerns, and appreciate your respect as well, so let us continue,” or something along those lines.

The principles teach us that there are no coincidences. What we encounter on our life path is always an opportunity to further refine our own growing consciousness and move us more surely towards peace. When we receive the teaching that is being reflected to us in any given situation, we upgrade our mental vibration first which allows us to respond from a higher frequency to that situation, and then the outer world, being of the nature that it is, will immediately mirror that adjustment to us through a higher frequency outcome.

May you discover the truth of these principles in your own life.

Blessings, Lynne