Conscious Change - Articles - Zimbio

Presence and Oneness

Mon, 6 May 2008 19:42:00 GMT

posted by Jstone
Uploaded on authorSTREAM by JacquelineStone

I created an affirmation slide show for experiencing oneness and practicing presence. It is now available to view or download free on author Stream. If you have read or are reading Eckhart Tolle's "A New Earth" or "The Power of Now" you may get more out of it than someone who hasn't.

This is my gift to anyone who is ready to receive it. Empowerment is not just something we do for ourselves, but something we do for the benefit of all humanity, for all life.

Uploaded on authorSTREAM by JacquelineStone

Eckhert Tolle's "A New Earth"

Fri, 3 May 2008 22:57:00 GMT

posted by Jstone
I'm reading Eckhert Tolle's new book, "A New Earth." He approaches the challenge of becoming aware of who/what we are through realization of what we are not. This is the most complete information I've ever seen on the ego. Sometimes, its hard to know if the ego is talking or I'm talking. I have to look at motive. If the underlying motive for anything I'm doing or saying is to make myself look or feel more important, that's ego. If its out of a genuine desire to help or empower others, that's the real me.

I have a friend that used to ask, "Is it coming from love or coming from fear?" That's a great reminder, but many times we don't recognise that something is coming from fear because it is well disguised. Love on the other hand, always shows itself.

The most important thing I'm getting out of the book is the practice of being fully present. The past does not define me or limit what I can do right now. The future is an unwritten book so I can't read it today. The more I respond only to what is actually happening in the present moment, the less bothersome things are. It takes some conscious effort to stop myself from tacking on things from the past that my mind associates with what is happening now. I just have to remember that this precise moment has never happened exactly like this before and treat it as a new experience.

Are you reading this book or have you read, "The Power of Now?" What do you think?

Remembering Oneness

Thu, 25 Apr 2008 15:14:00 GMT

posted by Jstone
A while back, I asked every one of my spiritually-focused friends, "How can I increase my conscious awareness of the truth of who I am?" No one had any idea. Most didn't even understand the question. Then I remembered that while we share this journey each of us walks our own path. The truth is within each of us, according to what we are to do with it. My passion and purpose lies in remembering the truth of who and what I am and living with that conscious awareness. I share each step of my journey to help anyone else who feels the need to remember.

Sometimes the answers we seek are so simply that we miss them. That was the case for me on this one for a while. As soon as I asked the question, I began to live the answer. It began with a choice, a choice to do whatever it takes to remember the truth. I understand that this dualistic reality is in fact an illusion of the mind, albeit a persistent one. The illusion serves the purpose of knowing all that we are through experience. However, I have long felt absolutely compelled to gain conscious awareness of the truth while yet living in the illusion. "Be in the world, but not of it."

I believe that we are creators becoming conscious of the act of creating. Most of the time we create from fear, a belief in lack, and from separation. The results are not what most of us choose to experience any more. How can we change that? By becoming conscious of who we are. When we know, in experience, that we are one, that all is one, we have nothing to fear. There is no lack in oneness, and no separation. In oneness, there is perfect peace, boundless joy, and absolute love. I know this without doubt because I have experienced it twice in my life, once when I died and returned and once during a profound meditation. But how do we live with that awareness?

First, we have to choose it. Then we intend to experience it. Then we give thanks that it is done. If you are reading this post, you have some memory of oneness. If you didn't, you would not have found it. There is something in the core of your being reaching for remembering. No matter how much or how little you know for sure about oneness, part of you remembers. Give thanks for that. Your attention to it and gratitude for it is affirming that you can consciously experience your truth.

I use affirmations that I repeat to myself whenever I'm not in conversation or focused on a mental task. "I remember the truth of who and what I am. I remember oneness." This simple statement is helping me more than I can explain in one post. I am more peaceful, confident, relaxed, and inspired. My health has improved tremendously and continues to do so every day. My life is becoming more and more graceful and all my relationships healthier. The only thing it hasn't helped me with is my Geology labs! :(

The more of us remember oneness and begin living according to this awareness, the less conflict we will see in the world, the less lack and disease. We have an impact on the Earth and humanity as a whole by our thoughts and emotional states. Our individual awareness of oneness supports everyone's remembering. Your healing is everyone's healing. Remember who and what you are. I remember you!

A New Take on Gratitude

Sat, 20 Apr 2008 20:53:00 GMT

posted by Jstone
We know that we should be grateful and express our thanks, but how often do we give thanks for the things we don’t like? It may sound strange, but it is of greater value and benefit to us to give thanks for that which we dislike than it is to give thanks for the things that make us happy.

When you say “thank you” for something, you’re not resisting it, but allowing it to be. Remember, what we resist persists. What we bless, we have no resistance toward. It is our resistance to things that causes us pain, not the thing resisted, so it makes sense to want to put an end to resistance. We know we can’t stop resistance by fighting against it or willing ourselves into acceptance. Then how do we stop resisting people, things, and circumstances?

Gratitude is the beginning, but blessing is the full answer. Every one and everything that exists in our awareness is there to bless us in some way, whether we see it or not. That means that even the most unpleasant or downright painful holds a gift for us. It is not necessary to identify the gift in order to end the resentment. Just acknowledging that there is one is enough.

Think of all the things and people in your life that upset you, hurt you, or you just don’t like. List them, and then give thanks for them. Take it one step further and bless them. It may feel awkward at first, but with daily practice, this will begin to feel natural. You will find yourself resisting less and less in your life. As you do so, the things that you don’t like will cease to bother you, will transform, or will leave your life all together.

Sometimes, we all have a tendency to hold onto our anger and resentment. We’re human. It happens. How do you feel when you do that? We wish that certain people were not in our lives at all, but we know that we don’t have control over other people. We do have control over our thoughts and feelings. We can choose to stay in our anger, letting it eat away at us and make us miserable, or we can choose to change our focus. Giving thanks for our antagonists and blessing them puts an end to our resistance against them and our anger. It may take some time to completely let go of some of them, but the situation or relationship will begin to change immediately.

How much do you want to change? Do you want it bad enough to do anything? Try giving thanks for and blessing all that you dislike. You will be amazed at the results, and feel better about yourself in the process.

Learning to Love Yourself

Sat, 27 Jan 2008 20:32:53 GMT

posted by Jstone

We hear all the time, “You have to love yourself.” How do we do that? Someone once told me that the answer was to look myself in the eye in the mirror and say, “I love you.” It didn’t work. You can’t force love and you can’t fake it. Loving yourself does not follow the “fake ‘till you make it” philosophy. It has to be real and it has to come from inside. If there are parts of your life that you are ashamed of or that you have blocked from your mind, you are not loving yourself. Most of my childhood was a complete blank. Much of my life that I could remember, I locked away in a dark closet because I didn’t like the way I felt when I remembered them. I thought I was doing the courageous thing, the smart thing, in just moving on. Moving forward with your life is great, but there has to be acceptance and letting go first. When I realized how much of my life I had rejected, I saw how much of my self I rejected. No wonder I was sad all the time and always felt alone. The person closest to me couldn’t bear to look at me. That had to change. I wanted to love and accept myself. I wanted to be happy. I will tell you what worked for me. Maybe it will help you, too. In meditation, I thought of the first time I could remember being really hurt and frightened. I saw the little girl that I was and had compassion for her. I could see how much pain she was in. She was all alone. It was different, looking at the situation as an adult and a witness, instead from the eyes of a child. I hurt for her, not me. I imagined giving her a big hug and say, “It’s alright now. You are safe. You are not alone. I love you.” Immediately, I felt such a rush of love and release that it sent shivers up my spine. I did this process with each major incident I could remember and at each stage of my life. The effect was profound. Loving and comforting the person I was in the past healed the wounds I had carried with me all my life. It was like a ripple, expanding through the years right up to the present, healing everything along the way. The dark cloud gave way to light and I felt suddenly released from years of bondage. That was the moment I began to love myself, truly and deeply. I am a different person, now. I believe in myself. I am kind to myself and relate better to others. The doormat is gone, replaced by a confident, happy woman. This technique was not easy and certainly not painless, but the rewards are worth the effort. A lifetime of pain and self-rejection does not heal overnight, but if you do this process for a little while, you will benefit from it the rest of your life. May you truly, deeply love yourself. JJstone