All posts by Jan

Readers of Infinity: The Great Listener

Here is the channeled message from Jeanne for this week. Also look for Jan and Chuck’s blogs to be posted on Wednesday and Friday, according to our usual schedule. Have a great week!

It's changing time for all of us too! - Photo by Jan Ketchel
It’s changing time for all of us too!
– Photo by Jan Ketchel

Did you make it? Are you there? Did you reach some resolution on an important issue or decision? Do you feel like you’ve finally found the right answer?

Even so, keep in mind that backsliding is normal, that return to old sentiments, old desires, and old commitments is par for the course, until you are done. Keep in mind also that you’ve already traversed this territory so many times before, and so perhaps you really are done with backsliding. In all cases, acknowledge the progress made, the path already taken, and keep going, for no matter what, there is nowhere else to go except forward.

Do not allow life and growth to be curtailed now, for this is the energy of the changing time. You are all in it, whether you want to be or not. Whether you’ve planned for change or simply found yourself in a changing situation, know that it must be accepted and be made useful in your inevitably changing life.

Determine now that you are wholeheartedly accepting of a new journey and take measured, disciplined, thoughtful steps along that journey each day. Gather your energy and proceed, seeking your wholeness, in increments, as you gather your wits and your knowing about you.

Life is an ever-changing journey. Learn to flow with what comes and your fulfillment will loom large before you. You might not recognize it at first, for it often comes in unexpected ways, but in the long run you will know it by the tremor of its cadence and the stirrings of your heart in resonance. You will also know it by the utter calmness that comes over you. If those tremors and stirrings of resonance and that calmness do not appear to greet you, then just keep going. Your heart, the great listener and interpreter of all things, will tell you when it’s time to accept your new direction and your greater self. Whether you journey alone or with another, always use your heart as your guide.

In this time of resolution and change, in this time of movement and decision making, seek always the feelings of your heart, the knowledge of your inner being, to stabilize, aid, and ground you. Keep in mind that always your journey is endless—there is always new life to come.

Keep all doors open ahead of you, even as you close those behind you. And know that you will, by the guidance of your inner you, if truthfully accepted, find your way forward.

Do what you have to do, but do it with love and compassion, with gentleness and caring. Treat all people as you wish to be treated. Be brave and daring, but be cautious and concerned too. Be strong, but also be soft. Be disciplined and resolute, but also flowing. This is how your changing self, in your changing world, will manage this transition time with aplomb. Happy journeying!

Grab onto the energy of now and use it to your fullest advantage—to change!

A Day in a Life: Ability

Sometimes the path of Tao is not that clear, but we all have the ability to see it... - Photo by Jan Ketchel
Sometimes the path of Tao is not that clear, but we all have the ability to see it…
– Photo by Jan Ketchel

While I take a break from my writing schedule, I offer something from Everyday Tao by Deng Ming-Dao: Ability“To possess ability is to be self-reliant.”

“Tao is a person walking along a path. No one is carrying that person. There is no vehicle pictured. Following Tao is something each of us must do by ourselves.”

“But the path is difficult. It will test you. Walking in the mountains is hard enough. Rain and snow fall on you. Storms wash away the mountainside. Earthquakes shake the ground. Steepness wears at your legs. In life, the spiritual path is even more difficult. Although everything you want out of life is on that path, there are people who will hinder you and situations that will oppress you.”

“What do you do when life is difficult? You could call for help, but that is not always reliable. Sooner or later, life will catch you with no one around.”

“You might be without food or shelter during a time of natural disaster. You might be alone at a time when help cannot come quickly enough. You may even suffer the tragedy of having all your friends abandon you. That is why those who follow Tao emphasize the importance of having many abilities. If you have the self-reliance that comes with having many skills, you will not lose your equanimity. This cannot be emphasized enough. You cannot truly walk the whole path of Tao until you can cope with any unknown.”

“People say that those who follow Tao are serene, but that serenity is not because of some meditative trancelike state. It comes from the confidence of one who has ability.”

May you all find your way with great ability and always face the unknown with confidence.
Love,
Jan

Readers of Infinity: Wake Up To A New You

A little late! But here is the week’s channeled message from Jeanne. May you all feel and act upon the energy of change that is upon us. It’s what she speaks of.

There you are, glowingly alive! Welcome! - Photo by Jan Ketchel
There you are, glowingly alive!
Welcome!
– Photo by Jan Ketchel

Begin anew today, and everyday. There is no better time than now to determine who you are, who you want to be, and how you wish to be perceived in the world. Make yourself over today into the being you truly are.

Let life flow through you now as never before. Leave the old self behind with no regrets. Shed the old self and anoint the new self that you have struggled so hard to become as the leader of your world now.

Give your inner self permission to emerge and live more fully now. It’s the only way to be. Become the whole person you have always felt yourself to be. Become the inner self. Allow your emerging to begin now, and let it gradually take over, with sincerity, honesty, graciousness, and integrity.

Let this new self breathe a little bit more each day. Let this new self feel a little bit more each day just how right this life is. Allow your new self to guide you now, for this new self should be comprised of all the good that lies inside you, all the ancient wisdom and inner knowing that you have held back for so long. Let this new self be acceptable and let all that it brings forth be acceptable too.

Wake up to find yourself on new ground now. Take your first steps toward a new life, with determination, one step at a time. Welcome the new you to the world!

A Day in a Life: The Path

Our path lies always before us... eagerly awaiting our next step. - Photo by Jan Ketchel
Our path lies always before us… eagerly awaiting our next step.
– Photo by Jan Ketchel

There was never a doubt in my mind that life was a journey. As a young child, I envisioned this journey as a long and meandering path that began somewhere to the left of my vision and traversed to the right, stretching far into the future. There was no beginning that I could ever see and every step forward was a mystery, for I had no idea where I was going. So begins the introduction to my next book, The Edge of the Abyss, Volume 2.

We are all on our own paths. It has never been hard for me to envision the path I myself am on, but it has often been hard to see where I was going, for what reason, and how things would unfold as I took my journey through life. I am able to look back now and see what I could not see as a child, for I had not, at that point, journeyed very far or been in a position to ponder deeper meaning. Now when I look back, I see how everything in my life is strung together, every moment linked, every step leading me on to the next step. Each moment and each step was right, I see that now, though while in the midst of living many of those moments and taking some of those steps I could not have had such a perspective, for when in the turmoil of life clarity is often hard to come by.

Now I get to watch others take their journeys, watch them live through their moments of uncertainty, take their unsure steps, wondering where it will all take them. I watch with awe and with awareness that each one of us on this earth is endowed with all we need to walk the path that lies before us. I have learned to let people go, to bear the tension of watching them stumble, make mistakes, get up again and keep going. When I was young, I could not wait to leave everything behind and begin life anew, in my own way. I remember this when I watch others set out into life, remember how uncertain and frightening it was to leave home and go into the world, but at the same time so thrilling.

We are all responsible for ourselves. Once we grow up, reach a certain age, become adults, it’s up to us to take off into life and make something of ourselves. It’s what life is all about, making a meaningful life for ourselves. Some people have a vision of what that life will look like and others have no idea. Those who know plan accordingly, but those who don’t know are free to roam. Roaming is good too, and many a life has been built upon roaming. I think of the beat generation and my generation that grew up in the 1960s, restless and in touch with something besides the “American Dream.”

I don’t think there is an American Dream anymore, it fell out of popularity a long time ago. Now we are world citizens; we are everyone. How then can we separate ourselves from everyone and pretend that we are something special, that we are more that someone else living on the other side of the world? A lot of what we find interesting these days came from the other side of the world, from ancient sources: yoga and meditation, Buddhism and vegetarianism, the principles of yin and yang, the desire to be spiritually whole. I did not grow up with these things. They met me as I took my journey, intersecting my path, things I picked up along the way that made sense to me, that I saw value in, things that made my life vital and meaningful.

Now I dream my own dreams... - Photo by Jan Ketchel
Now I dream my own dreams…
– Photo by Jan Ketchel

My path has been deeply challenging at times and spectacularly beautiful at other times. As I look back now, I see it in all of its glory, and I see all of its gory details too. I would not have it otherwise. When I get stuck or depressed these days, I don’t stay there too long. I know that I am the maker of my own life, that I create my own reality. And so, when I’m feeling lost or worried, I remind myself of this. “Create a new reality if you don’t like the one you’re in!” I tell myself, and I find it really isn’t that hard to do. It might be as simple as letting myself feel a different way, allowing myself to be who and how I want to be, giving myself permission to see everything from a totally different perspective.

It’s what I’ve been doing my whole life, creating my own reality, striving to make it as joyous a journey as possible. One step at a time.

On the path,
Jan

Readers of Infinity: The Between Times

Here is the weekly message from Jeanne. Have a great week!

Like the last daisy struggling to survive, we too must struggle to change... - Photo by Jan Ketchel
Like the last daisy struggling to survive, we too must struggle to change…
– Photo by Jan Ketchel

These are tenuous, between times. Shifts will begin to happen soon, if they haven’t already. Old ways will begin to fall away as new ways begin to assert themselves more fully, as they achieve a more firmly planted place in your life.

Remain focused on progress. Remain attuned to your heart’s desires and your heart’s path, for that is the path of change. On your path of heart find your glory and your balance, your calmness and your gaiety. Your happiness will naturally arise from your certain steps forward, as you learn who you are and who you are meant to be.

Look to the self to fulfill your deepest needs. Bring steadiness and love into your life through deep communication with the self. Seek your inner world a little bit more each day. Find your way inward, especially as you traverse these between times, for it is now that your greatest progress will be made, even as you may also have to face your biggest challenges. But that’s the beauty of it all! Only in difficult times will Life really grab you and say, “Come on! There’s so much waiting for you to experience and explore. Let’s find out what it’s all about together, but first you must know yourself at the deepest level or I will not find you the true companion I know you to be and our experiences together will not be as fulfilling as they have the potential to be.”

“I wait for you,” Life says. “I’m waiting for you, but do your inner work first. You won’t really know anything until you know yourself at the deepest level.”

Yes, life asks you to do inner work too if you are to experience all that you are capable of, all that life offers, and all that the universe provides.

Remember, you are all part of a greater interconnected whole, but to experience that you must know yourself on the deepest level. Otherwise, the greater interconnected whole is meaningless. Without a foundation within the self there is nothing of meaning to build on, no meaningful structure for greater awareness to come from and rely upon.

Life awaits within. It waits to greet you there and take you on the journey of a lifetime—whenever you are ready!