From Fear to Faith

A Miracle

If we pause long enough, we can behold a miracle:

a miracle of the transformation of fear into nothing at all.

This Truth can happen very quickly.

One part of this miracle is the Faith that it can happen.

This Faith may appear far away when we feel fear.

But, a key to this Truth is that fear is not the only option.

If we pick up that key, we can open the door, the Gate, to this Truth.

If we pause.

We make way for this miracle,

for a journey from fear to Faith.

Step One: Pause

If we step back, we can gain perspective. Imagine the magic of a pull back in a movie. First, we see an image on the screen too close, so tight that our eyes might not be able to tell what we are seeing. Then, the camera pulls back and there is clarity, all from a simple change in perception.

There is a delight of a movie called The Powers of 10, a movie for people of all ages, that explores the grand scale of universal perspective, the macro and micro cosmos beautifully, and lends scientific poetry to this concept:

http://www.powersof10.com/

In life, we can pull back in a similar way by pausing. This can be particularly effective in times of fear. Pause and pull back.

Sometimes when we feel afraid, it is as if we've got our face pressed up against the glass of our emotions. There is a famous Far Side cartoon of a boy with his head down pressing with all his might against a door, when there is a sign on the door over his head that reads "Pull."

http://www.flickr.com/photos/goldberg/229551714/

If we pause and step or pull back, like the boy in the cartoon, we might have the humility and humor to note the grander scale of the situation we are in.

Step Two: Find Neutral

Once we start to pause, we can return from fear to a place that feels, not elated, we don't have to try to jump very far, but simply neutral. Neutral is a rest, a stop where we can breath and see the image from a wide-angle. On some days this may be far enough. For this is where sanity can be restored.

Similar to neutral in a car, neutral is where we can wait for traffic to clear, traffic of thoughts and ideas, especially those thoughts and idea that were creating and enforcing fear. Neutral is no where to go, no where to be, but right here. And, from here, we can just roll toward a simple state called acceptance.

How? By doing nothing.

Step Three: Acceptance

From neutral, we can sit and let our mind, body and heart start to accept the current moment, not by trying to make ourself do it, not by coercing, but simply by knowing that sitting as we are, now, today, that we can accept.

We are built to accept: body, mind and soul. Our body, as it is, is aligned for acceptance. Our mind is wired to accept. Our soul is designed to accept. If we let this start to get under our skin, into our mind and through our Heart, we start to relax. The more we let ourselves know this, the more our acceptance becomes natural, like water running, people breathing and life cycling.

We can accept things as they are. In fact, part of us already has. We have a very smart, very quick aspect of ourselves, a part that accepts, no matter what the circumstance. In fact, this part has already accepted it, no matter what it is. We can trust that part of ourself. That part is like our captain or the senior executive of a company.

The only part of us that is afraid is the part of our mind that is trying to catch up with what happened, the part that is trying to put the pieces together, like a person who came two hours late to an important meeting. We can have compassion and patience for this part of our mind. But at the same, remember that we are the senior executive who called the meeting. We have the calmness, the composure and patience that takes us to the next level.

Step 4: Come to the Present

Acceptance is about coming to the present. We can pour our energy toward the part of us that is already sitting in acceptance. It is there. And, the more we trust it; the more apparent it is. That is part of it's miracle and magic. If we put our focus on acceptance, or Faith or Love or Trust or Truth, it will grow.

Once we have come to a point of acceptance, we will have met the Holy present. In the present we can be taught, which means that we are again open to possibility. We are no longer caught by fear. We can meet Love. We can give. We can see solutions to a problem.

In acceptance, Love can reach us. We can feel the Positive, the greater pull we weren't feeling when we were feeling fear. It is often said that there are two forces, Love and fear. When we are stuck in fear, it is hard to feel Love, but that doesn't mean it is not there. That's part of the magic and miracle.

When we pause, move to neutral, to acceptance and beyond acceptance, into the present, we can feel start to feel the Positive current, Hope and Love. Hope is what raises the hairs on the back of our neck and tells us like a whisper, "Love Is Here." "Have Faith. Love Is Here." Then our miracle can start to occur.

Love can begin to slip in between the fear, like slight of hand, a prestidigitation of Faith. Love feeding in between the fear, like molecules of one substance through another and Love is in the air, like a new scent, simply through the Faith that Love is Here, was here and never left being here.

Faith

Faith is present. It is all around, in every step and, sometimes, even in our hand...

This week, as I was writing this entry, I looked down at my Starbucks cup, there are quotes printed on Starbucks cups. These words were right in my hand:

"I have faith.
Faith in our wondrous capacity
for hope and good,
love and trust,
healing and forgiveness.
Faith in the blessing of our infinite ability to wonder,
question, pray, feel, think and learn.
I have faith.
Faith in the infinite possibilities of the human spirit."
-- James Brown (Emmy-winning sportscaster and co-host of FOX NFL Sunday)

It is a good day

(a prayer of faith)

It is a good day to feel free,

to forgive

to unburden

to be the One That I AM.

It is a good day to move from the fear I feel into the Truth that I Know.

I know this Truth will recreate and render me the One That I Am.

God bless me for knowing the Truth That I Know.

Amen.

All Love to you on your journey from fear to Faith,

Atala

The Many Tone of Forgiveness Part II

Welcome to The Many Tones of Forgiveness Part II

This week we will approach some very serious questions with a light graced Heart. We'll take a deep dance with the Holy That You Are.

What is the first thing to give up in order to forgive?

Our excuses... the mind can try to come up with an excuse to hold on to whatever excuse it has. "I'll forgive once my father stops treating me like that." "I'll forgive when my brother agrees to end the argument." "I'll forgive when I get the time to find some peace of mind."

The mind performs quite a song and dance, but fortunately, it is a masquerade.

This week I have been gifted in meditation, conversations and was again gifted in our President's inaugural address references to 1 Corinthians Chapter 13 Verse 11: "When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things."

Once we stop the excuses, we can walk up the mountain.

No one excuse is better than any other. No excuse is bigger, no excuse is more powerful, no excuse has more money, no excuse has more clout. Big or little, weak or strong, some just last longer because we let them last longer.

You can stop making excuses

First, be willing to stop making them.

Second, have Faith.

Faith is an on-going blessing. It is an unending-resource. Take a drink and know it is there.

Third, sing or whistle a new and loving tune.

Help your mind. Sing it a song. Kind support helps us make powerful changes. One of the songs that inspired my mind to give up excuses is, "Gonna lay down my sword and shield down by the river side, down by the river side, down by the river side, Gonna lay down my sword and shield down by river side. I ain't gonna study war no more. I ain't gonna study war no more."

Have trust, have faith, there is a better dance. A holier, whole dance, one you actually know the steps to by Heart, one you're waiting to come to on the other side of your excuses.

And, this dance is about Unity

Three Steps To Forgiveness, Lord

(How Do We Forgive?)

Your First Gift:
Know you are open to forgiving.
That is the treasure,
And, you already have it buried within your chest.

(Believe You Can Do It)

Your Second Gift:
You are invited to ask for help from Love.

“Knock and the Door Will Open.”

(Ask For Support From Love)

Your Third Gift:
You are answered.
You were answered

before you started this prayer.
You were heard by Love.

(Believe It Is Done)

Forgiveness Prayer

Dear Love,

Here I Am.

I Have Come Here with the Intention to Forgive.

I Open my Heart for I Know it is possible to Forgive.

I Allow for this Possibility and I invite and accept the help and support of Love.

I Am here for this change and transformation.

I Give myself to this process,

to the journey,

for I know it is what is meant to Be

for the highest Good of what I AM

Thank you,

Amen.

How Do We Forgive With Our Whole Heart?

It’s going to look like I turn this question upside-down, but have patience, this is a good one.

This is a great question. When I speak of the Heart, I speak of the part of us that connects us the quickest to the Soul, our Heart of God, our Whole or Holy Heart. Our Heart is a very lucky part of us because it is so connected to the Holy. It doesn’t exactly need to forgive; it is in league with the Whole and is fighting the Good fight to let us know that Love is Here. The Heart I speak of is not our emotional heart. That kind of heart is more tied in with our mind. This is great news because we can change our mind.

How often have you been in a situation when you have a quick change of mind? Made a rapid decision? Remember how versatile your mind can be, how adept it can be at changing. When you have something you need to forgive, it is likely your mind is running over the same ground – looking to the past and making you feel sad about things that have happened. Meanwhile, you have a great big Holy Heart waiting to engulf your mind to rock it and hold it and take away its fears.

We are lucky our Heart is here, because at the Heart, Love (Heaven) can meet Earth. So, the way to forgive with our Whole Heart is to emphasize, to know, that our Heart is capable of being (and in fact already is) a friend and partner to the Holy. Our True, Holy Heart is a friend, a divine friend to Love, and a helper of what helps us to forgive. Our Holy Heart can wrap around our mind and be the reminder that Love is Here. That is how we use our Heart to Forgive. We have an ingenious Heart.

How Do We Know Forgiveness Is Complete?

This is a funny question. We have a loophole here. Once you have forgiven, don’t knock on a door you have closed. Take a breath, take a bath, go on, go on and go on… in a way, I know it sounds like the opposite of what we want to do. We as humans want to make sure a door is closed. We want to make sure we did it right, "Did we batten down the hatches? And were they the right hatches? Did those hatches come from K-Mart or should I have bought them at Home Depot? Maybe I should re-do the hatches."

I know that sounds kind of silly, but forgiveness and any part of spiritual practice can be like that, we can over-do it. There is a time and place for each thing. Take it slow; take it whole, do it earnestly and with heart. Trust you are doing it right, there is no other way.

I know that sounds funny too, but it is actually True. Part of the spiritual journey is to make “mistakes.” They are more like learning steps, just keep stepping, the right direction is forward, not heading back down the path to see what you just did and trying to check and see if you did it right.

Another truth about this process is that if something got missed on the last step, you will learn it. Take a deep breath; it will come around, perfectly, for your learning at the right time. What you need to know is actually ahead of you. The path is sometimes seen as a spiral headed upward. As you head upward, sometimes you pass by a similar lesson, but when you do, you are further along, just keep stepping.

Forgive, be done. Smell a flower. Life is sweet.

God is here.

Remember

When you stay in the past, we cannot fully meet. But when you leave the past, when you step from your suffering and your shadows, I Am grateful; for now I can truly meet You. I can bow in gratitude because an angel has come to me, a saint has graced my playground, God has come to my banquet and I have laid a table before God.

Thank you.

Love,
Atala

The Many Tones of Forgiveness Part I

The Many Tones of Forgiveness

I am grateful for forgiveness.  Grateful, for all it is and grateful that it is our topic this week and will be for next week as well.  Forgiveness is immense and ongoing and was brought to us by two wonderful souls: thank you for your devotion and light.

With gratitude in my Heart, I’d like to start with an inspiration on the Reason we truly Forgive.  For sometimes, if we know the reason we do something, it makes even a hard thing easier.

With Love,
Atala

Why We Forgive

When you are sad, when you are suffering, I Am here. I Am your friend; I Am waiting for you, on the other side of the door. I Am here, waiting for you, ready to go to the movies with you, to play Parcheesi, or split a sandwich, take a walk, give you a high-five or show you what I did in school today.

I Am waiting for you to learn to forgive yourself, your past, your memories, your pain and your fear, so you can simply be here with me today.  For I Am your sister, your brother, your friend, your mother, your co-worker, I Am everyone who shares this life, this breath, this energy we call Love, with you. I Am here. I Am here today, now, and I Am in everyone you meet and everyone you see.

When you forgive your past, arrive here in this moment and you see Me, you become Love. You become God to me. You bring Heaven to Earth when you see Me. The way you bring Heaven to Earth is by forgiving your past, your pain, your sorrow and your fear. You make Me - you make Love - more important than your pain, your fear, your regret and your feeling that you can’t do it and that it’s too hard. 

You climb the mountain and you do it for me, for your sister, for your brother, for your mother, for your aunt, for your son, because you know that each of us is Love and capable of doing the same. We are all capable of being God here.  And, our first step is to Forgive our fear and our pain and see that we can do this.

Amen


What is Forgiveness?

Forgiveness is the Divine gift we are all granted that lets us take passage from where we have been caught to where we ought to be.

Forgiveness is an inalienable right.  It is a gift we are meant to use to get us out of trouble. It is our bridge from stress to wholeness.

Forgiveness is asking Divine Love to help and support us by releasing our burdens and gifting us into a better way to live. Forgiveness is actively inviting Love into our lives and into our Hearts. Forgiveness is asking Love to come, to take our poor habits, our fears and our pain and instead make us part of Love's Solution here on Earth.

Forgiveness is our first and daily step toward living here as part and partner to Love Itself.

Forgiveness is saying, “Okay, Love, Jesus, Yeshua, Christ, I am done with the way I’ve been doing things.  And, I’m ready to be Done and start a new way.  I need a new way of thinking, behaving and living. I’m ready to give up my bad habits. I’m ready to sheer this sheep I’ve been and get a new coat and I’d like this coat to be made of Love.”

What do we need to know to Forgive?

We need to know that we have options. We need to know that it is an option to let go of a behavior that doesn’t serve us, a thought that hurts us, a feeling we don’t like or even fear.

Fear is a huge slayer of Love. We need to know that we can release fear and to begin to live inside Love.

We need to know that we can make this choice and that, if we are not making this choice it is because we’re afraid or simply not used to making this choice, yet. However, we have the option to start forgiving, any day, any time, any instant, any moment, we choose. The option is Always Open.

What do we need to do to Forgive?

Trust that it is possible. You will hear me say, “I Can.” Another phrase I find very useful is, “It is Possible.” “It is Possible” lends you to an openhearted state of mind. If you have this tool; you are ready to move mountains. Big mountains.

How Do We Forgive Ourselves?

This is a great question, because we have a number of “selves.” I remember a story by Sandra Cisceneros, in which the protagonist was a young girl who spoke about feeling like she was every age she had ever been 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3… all at the same time. It’s a little like that when we try to forgive ourselves. What we are trying to forgive is a remembrance of a thing past, of someone we were or thought we were, and often judged ourself harshly for being.

For example, we might be trying to forgive that person we were, who was in the car accident in 1985. Man, if they had only not been thinking about work and been more focused, he or she wouldn’t have run that red light. But, we can never go back in time and change it.  We can never go back and fix his or her mind to make them focus on what was right in front of them in that moment at that intersection.

However… right now, we can focus on the present moment.  We do have the option to stop thinking about the past and, more importantly, to stop agonizing over it, spinning around that fragment of a self from the past. We can change what we are thinking now. That is the prelude to forgiveness.

Step Toward Forgiveness Now

Say: "I Am Here."

Connect to something solid.  Touch a table. Sing a song. Look at a tree. Recognize that you are here.

Arrive here.

Once, you know you are here, ask Love/Christ/Jesus/Yeshua for help letting go of a burden.  If you have habit or burden that comes to mind, ask to hand over anything you are ready to release in this instant, in favor of being more loving here, now, today.

Stay here, on solid ground.

Breathe simply and know, because you do know that you want to go forward as Love in Love and that’s all that is really real.

That matters more than what you’d been holding on to and remembering.

The present, what you can do as Love, is more important than what you did then.

It is the most important thing.

This day, to-day is the story, the beginning, and the rest of your life. You are precious.  You are Love. You can begin again new, today.

That is the gift of forgiveness.

It is the gift to start again anew.

Forgiveness holds the key to Love, to ever-lasting Love.

Ever-fresh, ever-new.

Forgiveness, real forgiveness is a baptism.

The steps you take to it are daily re-births of your Heart and mind in Truth.

Amen.

Love,

Atala

Thyself

We've heard the phrases:

"Know Thyself" and "to Thine own Self be True."

First, let's bow and say, "Thank you," that these phrases are there,

escorting us still to Truth, as true as they were when they were first spoken. 

There are many, many beautiful ways to define or, more accurately, inform, our minds about who our True Self is and why we want to know our Self.  Here is a guideline to help you start and return to the practice of knowing and being true to Your Self:

Your True Self

The first thing to know is that you have a True Self.

Your True Self is God-created, ego-less, Love.

Each True Self is beautiful, perfect and Divine.

There is no way it could not be so.

If you could listen to the vibration of a True Self it would be like hearing the echoes of stars,

for each is wrought of the music of Heaven, the True Song of God.

The True Self is the Soul and the Soul is the closest part of God to Earth.

How Do You 'Know' Your True Self?

Start by believing that you have a True Self.

Trust.

Trust.

Then, Trust, again.

You will be tested in your Trust.

And, the answer to your test is to keep showing up.

Imagine that you were getting married,

that your mind is becoming the partner to your Soul.

Your Soul is faithful, minds are easily distracted.

Help your mind start paying attention to your True Self.

If that scares your mind,

look up above and re-read what your True Self IS.

Remember that your True Self exists.

Your Soul exists and is the most beautiful creation in the universe

(so is everyone else's Soul).

You can start to place more attention on your True Self,

You can become a faithful and devoted partner to your True Self.

Re-read "The Positive!," remember that where you put your attention,

your focus, is paramount.

Try putting your focus, your positivity on your Soul.

Try it three time a day,

try it every day this week.

If you've been doing this for years,

try this every breath,

see what you inhale and what you inspire!

If this feels difficult, remember...

You can do this.

You are actually meant, intended, to do this.

You are intended to pay attention to your Soul.

You are intended to learn about who really are

and, it is intended to be fun and fascinating.

This is the adventure you were waiting to go on

and it is always here.

You can start any time and any day.

If you need help and direction

there are people here to help you on this journey.

Check out the Connections Section on this Page.

A Simple Vision and Prayer:

God is Love.

Your True Self is Part of God.

Your True Self is Love.

A True Way to Re-Connect

to God (to All)

is to start to remember 

You who really Are.

A Meditation For Connecting Your True Self

We each bear a spark of God-Truth,

something like a liquid pearl of light that holds

the infinite answer

to All there Is.

Invite this pearl, this star,

this Ray of your Soul's light

to come to Earth 

and breathe Its Light of Love into Your Heart.

A True Way to connect to God,

to All of us,

is to start to remember 

who you really are.

It is Intended.

Love Is Who You Are

And Who You Are Is Love.

Know Thyself.

Love,

Atala

The Positive!

"You've got to accentuate the positive

Eliminate the negative

And latch onto the affirmative

Don't mess around with Mister In-Between"

(From Accentuate The Positive by Johnny Mercer)

We're often told to be or think positive, but what really is the Positive?

And how do we accentuate it?

Let me lend you an interesting perspective.

Positivity, in its most basic form, is forward action.

Positivity is a decision to go on a course, any course.

A way to accentuate the positive is to notice what direction you are going.  Then, if it is not one you like, to stop and alter your course.

First, notice, move a mountain today by giving yourself permission to note things the way you did when you were five.  Kids know when something feels good or bad.  Give yourself permission to notice when you think or do something that doesn't feel Good.  Give yourself permission be like a kid and say, "no, this doesn't feel Good.  I don't like it when I do this."  

Second, stop, give yourself permission to be an adult.  When you feel yourself thinking or acting in a way that doesn't feel Good.  Give yourself permission to stop; to stop long enough to reconsider.  Long enough to pause before you do something you would or could regret.  Long enough to stop, even in the middle of doing or thinking, something. 

Third, alter your course, try telling yourself "I Can," instead of "I Can't."  "I Can" can make all the difference in your day, your week or your world.  "I Can" changes your course.  There are may ways to say "I Can."  For instance: "I Can change my mind about this project at work and approach it with enthusiasm or interest.  I'm going to do it, no matter how I feel about it.  It looks like my best option is to change my feelings on how I approach it."  Or, "I Can forgive the anger I feel, at least enough to let me give up this argument that is hurting me and my friend." Or, "I Can see that I was only looking at this situation from my perspective and not my daughter's, husband's, boss'...."  You can find ways to use "I Can" in your life today and each day.  If you do this, you can change more than you ever thought was possible.

All the while,

Trust,

gently trust,

your ship is being guided.

Positivity is there.

Listen,

is the tune you're

singing

one

that matches

the song of the Heart?

Or is it one that sounds dissonant

when played against the vibration of Love.

If it doesn't resonate, it can change.

Check your tune.

Each day,

each minute,

as often as you like.

Thank you for All the Good You Sing Out In 2009,

Atala