In every moment there is the opportunity to change, like these blossoms that no longer exist, but new leaves have sprouted… nature is in constant flux… – Photo by Jan Ketchel
Here is this week’s message from Jeanne:
There is always room for improvement, for tweaking and perfecting. In all walks of life, in all aspects of life, in all you do, think and perceive there is room for new insight.
Allow the self, over the next few days, to notice just how you repeat yourself, how you go into automatic pilot and without consciousness simply operate as if you were a robot. Robots do not embody spirit. They are mere machines. Is that what you want to be, a mere machine?
Life, in order to be fulfilling, must include goals and goals, in order to be achieved, must involve disciplinary action. Without judgment and self-criticism, but simply because it is time and you are ready, embrace a new disciplinary plan. Set your goals and strive toward them, one step at a time.
Allow the self room to maneuver through the energy that arises each day, not so hard that you can’t flow, because it is in the act of flowing that you will learn what it means to grow and change. If you are too strict there will be no progress, just as there will be no progress if you are too lenient. Inflexibility is just as damaging as overindulgence.
Allow the self to be aware of the energy outside of the self, even as you seek to hone your inner energy, for it is only in compatibility that these two forces—inner and outer—will align and balance. Thus, to be innerly aware is as important as being outerly aware.
Watch how you operate in your own world. Who rules you? Who commands, directs, and charges you with your tasks, judgments, and your ideas of self and other? Who is really in charge? Seek connection with the spirit that resides within and allow it to guide you. This is often easier said than done, but with intent, discipline, and a keen inner awareness you should be able to hone your attention on this inner spirit self over the next few days. Begin there, and then flow with what comes, allowing the self to relax with this inner self. Accept its truths and be open to accepting its guidance. The flow of your life will change as you both release and hone, let go and yet discipline yourself, constantly realigning your intent, innerly and outerly.
Life is an unending flow of moments—of energy and opportunity. You are already in the flow of its offerings. Now it’s time to be in your life fully aware, accepting of what comes to greet you and determined to experience it to the fullest. That’s the challenge.
A rush of energy will follow shortly. Feel it and know that it is the energy of life itself flowing through you. It might feel like too much at once, or not enough, but you will remember it for its truthful presence. It’s up to you to tame it so that it feeds your needs but also so that you remain fully aware, in balanced alignment with it. With your intent set to change, use it to your advantage. You are in charge of how you elect to use it—the flow of the energy of life as it flows through you and everyone upon that earth. Let go of your crutches—in whatever form they are—and let the energy of life in.
Each moment is new and vibrant and available for you to use to your advantage. The choice becomes: Do I grab it and go, shift into new life, or do I have to stay where I am a little bit longer, or even a lot longer? You decide. Then act, take action on your own behalf. Hone your awareness if nothing else.
Change takes proactive energy; that is being in alignment with life and taking action on your own behalf. No one else can do it for you. If you want change, make it happen for yourself. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. What are you waiting for? The energy of life awaits! Feel it flowing through the universe. It is your present and your future, already available to you, already flowing through you. You just have to become aware of this and let it guide you.
Seek compatibility in all you do, in where you go, in who you go with. Compatibility is the key.
As Jeanne suggests in her Monday Message, the New Year is really but a marker allowing us Earthlings the opportunity to measure the passage of time, but if we are willing we can use it to change ourselves. This involves using intent, but it also involves utilizing the creative energy of nature inherent in all of us. A decision to move in a new direction is a creative act, but if our intentions are to have lasting effect we must be open to the wisdom of infinitesimal movement rather than broad sweeping jumps. In small but intentional, focused movement we support our intentions to change. In paying attention to what comes to guide us, whether from outside or from inside, and determining how best to use such guidance, we energetically and creatively propel ourselves along our path of change.
And so each year at this time we set our New Year’s resolutions. From my own experiences in setting resolutions, I already know that stating my intent alone has power, but if I really want to see and feel the change on a deeper and more immediate level, I know I must be attentive. I must become the creative process and all that it brings me, fully embracing every aspect of it.
If we look at nature’s intent we receive guidance, for nature has unbending intent, set so long ago it simply moves along at a steady pace. It is repetitive, and yet it is evolving as well. Nature does not look back nor is it given an opportunity to pause and reflect, it simply does its thing. We on the other hand, such brilliant creatures that we are, get stuck. We come up against things that nature never has to contend with. We come up against what we carry within us and what comes from without, seeking attention and attachment.
I consider such inner and outer interferences as tests, tests of our intent to change. In constantly restating our intent at the same time that we turn back to investigate our past—something that nature cannot do—we can track where we’ve been. We can study how we’ve attached in the past to inner and outer attachments and influences, and see how we’ve faltered or progressed. For instance, if I set my intent to follow the Middle Way, the path of balance in all aspects of my life and keep this intent uppermost as I go throughout my day, I will immediately begin to see what comes to both thwart and guide, for that which comes is both.
In alignment with the Middle Way, I am aware that everything that comes my way will offer both the opportunity to attach and the opportunity to detach, offering tests and guidance alike.
Yum!!!
For instance, I decide to give up sweets in all forms because sugar pulls me off my intentional path. It interferes with my inner balance. But wouldn’t you know that the house is full of sweets. There is a beautiful carrot cake in the refrigerator that houseguests brought over the other night. I love carrot cake! I know that if I eat a piece of it I will have to suffer the consequences, and those consequences will be deep, especially now that I’ve decided to shift away from sweets. If I decide to leave it alone and let others eat it, I will have, for the moment, averted my first test of fortitude, my first test of detachment.
Change requires patience and discipline, but it also requires monitoring—that we remain aware on many levels. We must pay attention to how we have attached in the past so that we can learn how to detach as we walk our newly intentioned path. A decision to detach from an old habit or world means learning how to detach from an old self—for this is really all that we are contending with, ourselves and what we carry inside us.
Nurturing a new self requires constant attention. Moving along on our path of intent requires that we are constantly alert in a new and changing world, for that is what we are seeking to manifest as we set an intent to change. We are asking ourselves to live in a new world of our own creation. And such creation has its own energy of intent. Once set in motion there is no stopping it, for the intent of the creative is constant movement. Once set in motion we can expect the energy of creative activity to be in our lives. And although, as I mentioned, nature—even our own inherent nature—is programmed to move forward, we human beings must constantly stop and investigate ourselves if we are to really progress. To simply jump ahead and be something that we have not nurtured will not stand up to the test of time. If we are to really change, we must allow the intent of that change to carry us forward, infinitesimally.
As we take our steps each day now along our new paths of intent, we learn that we are our own biggest tests, that we carry within us all the attachments that we will ever need, that all we really need to do is go inward and ask our deeper selves what is right as we take our new path. Energy will appear out of nowhere seeking attachment; it’s how it works. It’s almost as if in setting our intent to change our energy is suddenly viable, tasty and appealing to others who may be lacking in energy. Suddenly we are wanted. That energy of attachment might come in old friends calling for contact, people we have not heard from in years suddenly manifesting. What do we do? What does it mean that they call us? Are we supposed to grant them something, is there something we have to offer them?
We must first determine if they are part of our new intent to change or if they are one of our tests of detachment? Usually, I turn inward, sit with my own energy and ask it if it wants to engage in an old world. I ask it if there is something I still need to get back there. I question if it’s right for me to use my energy in the past or if it’s better to turn forward into the new light of the New Year’s intent and detach with compassion and love, offering the new me an opportunity to take an infinitesimal step forward.
Sometimes it’s best to visit in the past to really understand why we are drawn there, to determine the truth of why we are being called back. Or can we state our new position in life and be accepted? Will our old friends understand that we have changed so much already and that we do not exist as that old self or in that old world? Do they understand what it even means to set an intent to change and evolve? Have we gone beyond certain people, not rejectingly so, but factually so?
I’m in a new world now…
We must, if we are truly changing beings, constantly remind ourselves to readjust our compasses and realign with the world we really want to live in. More questions will always arise as we are tested in our New Year’s resolutions.
At the same time that I turn inward and notice my energy, I remind myself of my creative energy, that which drives me to seek both the Middle Way and the experiences of the world I have been creating for myself for the past ten years or more. As I contemplate this creative changing self, I realize that my entire existence in this life has prepared me for this ultimate creative endeavor, and so I find that I cannot stop. My spirit is driving me forward now, as our spirit’s intent is what really pushes us to constantly change, not our mind’s intent, though they must work hand in hand, for we are human. And this is the Middle Way, the spirit and the mind working in alignment with the greater intent of our soul’s desire for growth.
And so, as the New Year really begins in earnest, as my intentions to deepen my spiritual path are given an opportunity to manifest a little bit more each day, I accept what comes to thwart and guide me. And if I happen to take a tiny piece of carrot cake, I will know that it is part of this process, that I will learn something necessary about myself from my decision. But then I will be like nature and move on, realigning with this process of creating my new self, once again on my path, for that is my intent. This is not a selfish endeavor, but a deeply spiritual endeavor, for I know that by my intent to constantly realign with my soul’s intent, I am influencing the energy of the intent of all soul’s to evolve.
Taking one more intentional, infinitesimal step along the Middle Way, and wishing you all good intentions for a very Happy Changing New Year,
Jan
Do not turn from that which arises as your biggest challenge this week, My Dears, for progress lies in such challenge.
As you meet your personal agenda—come to greet you in a myriad of ways—do not sit back and let it ride over you, but gather your wits about you and swim with the current, which will take you where you need to go.
In landing upon a new shore, whether literally or figuratively, you will find the next step upon your path. Within the self lies knowledge of how to proceed, yet confrontation, conflict, and challenge must arise to guide you when all else fails.
Question the self today as to how you’ve been handling things. Are you avoidant? Do you wait for others to make your decisions for you, or are you proactive? Do you take on your fears, wrestle them to the ground, or do they hold you down in a vise grip that does not allow for real life? Have you not already experienced a glimpse of life and don’t you desire more of it above all else?
I must confront all of you with the simple fact that life is short. In the grander scheme of eternity, life upon that earth is a mere blip and with each life you live comes an opportunity to more fully become alive and accepting of your challenges. Now is a day to challenge yourself; whether innerly or outerly does not matter, though I guarantee you will be offered an ultimatum of sorts.
Are you awake enough to recognize your personal challenge of now, of this moment in your life? Perhaps “this moment” in your life has dragged on for a long time, or perhaps it is but a blink of the eye, but know that a time of shift has been prepared for you. Alignments are in place, and all you need to do is click into alignment with what is being offered.
A final note: this is positive energy in alignment. So if you are feeling especially negative and lost, I suggest you wipe away your fears and your old ideas of self and the world and look on the bright side, for that is what is being presented now. The bright side of the moon, the sun, and the coin of opportunity are shining upon you all. Do you see it?
Look up from your reverie and catch a ray and then walk the path it lights up for you. That is the direction to go in now. Notice how everything is perfectly lined up for you. Do not hesitate or doubt what you are being shown, for this is the path of life, in this moment clearly revealed. The only real challenge is for each one of you to shift the self out of your slump, out of your pit of despair, and out of your despondency so that you “see” it. And then, as I said, dare the self to click into alignment and ride the energy without fear. And even though fear will attempt to accompany you, it will find no handhold, especially if you directly challenge its presence.
Go without fear into the life that awaits, for as I said, it seeks you. Though it may at first appear to be the most challenging of circumstances, in the end it will lead you into new life. What are you really afraid of? I gather it is nothing tangible, and if it were, it would not matter in the least, for if you align with the energy of now, nothing can stop you from achieving your dreams, even dreams you have no inkling of. It’s your choice, but I suggest that you face the dream and greet reality, a new reality.
Thanks to Jeanne for today’s message! Channeled, with love to you all, by Jan.
Realign with spirit—even if your wings are a little battered, they will still work...
Reassert priorities. Realign the inner world and the outer world.
Face what comes with dignity and maturity, but do not get overly attached to what may transpire in the lives of others or the world around you. Now is a time of shift. And, as always, shift comes differently to different people. And people react in different ways during times of transition and change. Keep this in mind as you hold yourself in balance, grounded in your inner knowing of life’s truths and challenges.
Stay connected to the journey of the inner self as life itself offers transition in the coming days. Allow the self to be with what comes, confident that all that transpires is as it should be, leading the way for the next phase of life.
Accept life’s challenges and changes. Flow with the energy of the spirit self, making choices based on what is right for now.
Change is coming. It is nothing to fear. It is time. Accept that and accept the path you are on. Let inner vision, wisdom, and maturity guide you.
All is well. Find your love inside you and give it to yourself. It’s what you need now.
I dream all night of gaining serenity and stillness, of aligning spine and chakras and achieving inner peace. I dream this process over and over again, constantly turning inward throughout the night. I wake to hear that Chuck has dreamed the opposite: violent dreams of murder and rampage on a college campus that he cannot control. He did not lose his awareness, tried to alert people to the truth of the perpetrator, a professor, but could only minimally hold him at bay. Though he attempts to engage authorities, violence prevails. We realize that as we slept side by side throughout the night our dreams created a balance. We slept in the tension of the opposites.
I see our dreaming experience duplicating the energy of our times, the masculine being balanced by the feminine and vice versa. There is always going to be violence, just as there is always the capacity within us all to bring ourselves to inner calm.
As this year comes to a close, I note the tension of our times. The energy of discontent being spurred by a need for all people on the planet to be nurtured and cared for, the energy of the movements for change asserting a new kind of masculine energy so that the feminine may prevail. The energy of our times asks that the planet be treated in the same manner, the overbearing paternal energy of greed and power relinquished now to the nurturing energy of the maternal.
This is our birthing time...
I see this energy of now and the energy that Chuck and I slept through last night as the energy of our birthing time, the energy of the universe righting itself as we go into 2012, perhaps long predicted, but definitely right. Though the Mayan calendar speaks of endings we must keep in mind that endings also mean birth into new life and new possibility. The quest we are now on as human beings on our planet, Earth, is the quest for balance, for fairness, for caring compassion so that all things, human and animal—nature in all its abundance—may prevail in a new manner.
My dreams say: Go inward constantly, realign, work your way through your personal issues as you go deeper and deeper into the calmness within. Find anchoring stillness within as you turn from the disturbances without. We are all capable of shifting ourselves into stillness, my dreams say. We are all capable of recapitulating ourselves to a new place, to a new era of self.
We are all capable of shifting the old masculine energy of control and domination into new alignment by letting our feminine energy bring us to a place of inner calm. We are all capable of becoming the maternal self we have long sought outside of ourselves, just as we are capable of changing the masculine self, toppling it from its place of power that we have long felt was so necessary. We are all capable of releasing ourselves from what we carry within as we bear the tension of the opposites, as we birth through the energy of our times, as we watch the old energy disperse in the ending energy that is now upon us.
We are in the throes of birthing to our new selves. Let us not get lost in despair or fear, but let us take advantage of the facts that are clear right now: We are all in turmoil of some sort. It is right. It is exactly where we need to be if we are to change.
We are all asked to do the ultimate balancing act, to constantly realign as we bear the tension of the opposites, as we take in the truth of the violence around us. As Chuck’s dreams tell us, violence is real, take it in, let it go through us, and then let us sit in the momentary stillness that even incremental release allows. Calmly align another chakra, strengthening the inner self in the truth, knowing that we are in perfect alignment with our times.
Keep going inward as the energy of this ending time pushes us into our next birthing. This is also the energy of recapitulation. It’s alright. It’s where we’re supposed to be.
