Tag Archives: inner work

Readers of Infinity: Face Your Fears & Your Joys

December 12, 2011 Jan Leave a comment

There is time now to gather the fruits of your inner labors, to clearly grasp your issues before the next shift comes. It is important to carry forth what you have learned about the self over the past few weeks and months.

If you are aware, if you have been doing your inner work with conscious awareness, your issues have been revealed, are readily available and known to you. You are ready to accept them. Take them now to a new level.

Photo by Jan — What are you confronted with?

A time of shift is upon you, and, in order to move to a deeper understanding of your life and your self in that life, awareness of the truths that have lately been revealed must be carried forth, kept in conscious awareness and used as guides.

On the other hand, if you have not fully grasped what you have been confronted with about the self, do not despair nor be disappointed, for the inner self and the inner process expand upon and present the needed lessons whether you are fully aware or not. Take forward now your commitment to grow, as you too shift to a new level. The conviction to do inner work, to discover the reasons for the workings of the self, the deeper issues behind actions, thoughts, feelings, etc., has been afforded energy that will lead you to a new level. Seek next greater clarity while simultaneously seeking always new life.

No matter where you are in your process of growth and evolution—in your process of self-exploration on your journey of release from the old and embracing of the new—do not lose connection with you inner desire for spiritual life and balance. This inner desire entails awakening to the creative and conscious growth of the inner self who so diligently alerts you to its existence.

No matter who you are or where you are in your life at this moment, your spirit seeks you out. It asks not just for recognition, but for full acceptance. In so doing, it seeks to guide you to release from all that now holds you captive, freeing you to live a fuller life, a balanced life, a life of love, of kindness, of compassion, full of awareness of the self as part of the whole of existence.

Your troubles guide you to your true path. Know this. Accept this process and be not afraid to more fully engage it. Your life is yet to be fully lived; yet it awaits you eagerly.

Know that a new time of shift is coming. Be open to it and notice how your energy recognizes it first, before your mind catches up. This is something to be aware of. Your energetic self, your spirit, your inner process is usually a few steps ahead of you, leading the way. Once your mind catches up and grasps the lead that your spirit tosses, your only job is to take the lead and go where it wants to take you.

You lead yourself in a process of growth. It is your process alone. Find the guidance you need outside of you to gain clarity inside of you, as you do your deep inner work. But know that within the self resides everything you need to gain awareness, clarity, and the energy to face your fears and your joys alike. Do not be afraid of either.

Facing your fears and your joys is the next step, but that is always the next step. This time take that step with awareness that you are doing so, that though both your fears and your joys may be hidden and unreconciled, so do they exist inside you. Face them for yourself, for your growth, and so that you may reach a new level of awareness within the self, as well as in the world outside of you.

These two worlds, the inner and the outer, seek constant balance, putting you in the position of having to constantly regain your own balance. Know that all that you experience in life is caused by disruptions within the self and all these disruptions are really doing is asking you to face your fears, so that you may one day more fully face your joys.

This is where you all stand now, once again upon the brink of a new self-discovery. At all times, stay connected to spirit self and ego self alike, aware and committed to growing. That’s really all you need to do to live a fulfilling life, stay connected to all that the self presents you with.

Good Luck, as you continue your journeys to fulfillment!

Chuck's Blog

Chuck’s Place: The Practice of Awe

December 9, 2011 Chuck Leave a comment

We are not all that we think we are. There is much to us that we don’t know about or that we find so unacceptable that we really don’t want to know about or deal with. It can be pretty scary to face the fact that there are parts of me that I simply don’t know exist. We utilize some amazing maneuvers to keep ourselves safe from disruptive intrusions from unknown parts of the self. Anna Freud, in her classic book, Ego and the Mechanisms of Defense, outlines the variety of defenses we utilize to block, distort, or rid ourselves of unknown parts of ourselves. The important thing to know about our defenses is that they don’t really operate at a conscious level.

We don’t say to ourselves, “I’m going to PROJECT a part of me that I’m afraid of onto my neighbor, and build a fence to keep him at bay so I can avoid that part of myself!”

We don’t say to ourselves, “I’m going to RATIONALIZE how I interpret this situation at work so I don’t have to see some part of myself that I’m unaware of that has just acted out and caused a problem.”

These defenses operate outside of full conscious awareness. They have to. If we were fully aware of our use of defenses they simply wouldn’t work, since we’d be directly confronted with the hidden truths of the parts of ourselves we seek to avoid! And so, it’s important to suspend judgment of our defensive egos. We’ll never get to know who we really are if we hate ourselves for using defenses to avoid scary things! On the other hand, we must take full responsibility for all that we are, even if we don’t know who that is!

If we can successfully suspend judgment—the shame of not knowing, the shame of feeling bad and unacceptable—and instead become archeologists and anthropologists of the soul, fascinated by and curious as we excavate, discover and trace the origins of the self, we arrive at a place of fuller knowing, accepting, and integrating all that we are. The shamans would call this a Practice of Awe: Awe for the Awesomeness of what is.

A pragmatic process to support a practice of awe is meditation. In meditation we learn to be in stillness and calm as we are confronted with the cogitations of mind, emotions, sensations, and truths that come to greet us as we place our awareness on our breath. In meditation we return again and again to simply observing our breath entering and leaving our nostrils. We notice our awareness being taken to thoughts, reflections, feelings and sensations—hundreds, thousands of times. And each time, we simply acknowledge what has come to greet us, without judgment, without further attention or attachment, and gently return our awareness to our breathing, over and over—hundreds, thousands of times—without judgment, in gentle calm.

There is no failure; there is no success in a practice of meditation. There is simply being with and accepting all that is. As we practice we notice more of what we are. We withstand the knowing; we are not wiped out or thrown for a loop by what comes; we let emotions flow through us; we shift back to our breathing.

Judgments are released as we shift constantly to our breathing, as we become observers of ourselves, in command of our awareness, in full acceptance, in awe of the awesome. We become curious travelers into the deeper self, no longer needing to defend an illusory self, because we have discovered instead, all that we are—perhaps for infinity!

In calmness, in awe,
Chuck

A special note on a special day: Today we honor Jeanne on the 10th anniversary of her departure from this world into the awe of infinity. Sending her love, as she continues her most amazing journey.

Messages from Jeanne

Readers of Infinity: Patience

December 5, 2011 Jan Leave a comment

Continue the process of inner work, recapitulating the deepest aspects of self, utilizing patience as a means of slowing down the energies of turmoil and rigidity that seek to dominate.

It is time to fully accept all aspects of self as valid and necessary, to allow the inner process to become the means for outer change. Seek not change outerly, for such change will have no lasting effect. Only inner change will have potential. However, use the outer world to gain stability and anchoring.

Be responsible for the self in all aspects of life, as it must be lived according to where you are in your life. Accept that certain needs must be met, certain requirements upheld, and that many issues will need attention. Such is the case with the outer world, but do not let the outer world overwhelm you. It is merely a tool to inner growth and evolutionary advancement.

In addition, your inner world must be handled in similar fashion as the outer world, for you are equally responsible for and must meet the needs of what comes from within the self as well. Balance but also deep awareness of both of these worlds as necessary must be accepted.

Consideration of the self as a journeyer on a deeply challenging and truly evolutionary journey must become acceptable but also the intent of every human being upon that planet. There is no time to waste in blame, regret, or victimization. In a sense you are all victims of the world you live in, of the life you lead, and of the decisions made by others, but that is only so that you may seek a deeper meaning for life, self, and world.

It is not a time to wallow in self-pity, even as you accept the truths I speak of. It is a time of accessing the deeper knowing and purpose of life in general and your own life specifically. Although it may not be clear where you are heading with the work you do in resolving the issues of the self, it is perfectly clear that it is the right road to take. For in your release of self to take the journey of change, you have, each one of you, experienced the glory of changing moments. You know the feel of shift in your bodies, your minds, your psyches, and your spirits. Each one of you, no matter how sad and dire your circumstances, no matter how deeply engrossing your process, have experienced something new.

Patience must anchor you now. The world around you asks for it. Steady pacing, tending to all the details of life, and attention to the truths that arise, calling for the self to accept them, means that progress will be made.

Anchor in patience. Pull up this anchor of patience repeatedly as you keep moving, but resettle in its stillness as you feel your way through everything that arises to challenge you over the next few days. Nothing is too much to handle when you sit in anchoring patience. Everything will become clearer and you will know what is right.

Let actions come from the rightness of knowing that is achieved in patient anchoring. This is the next step. You already know it. Now is the time to work it. It’s right and it takes so little to enact. In patience comes clarity.

Messages from Jeanne

Readers of Infinity: Anchor in Truth

November 28, 2011 Jan Leave a comment

I go deeply quiet, into my inner space, into the familiar silence of my inner world. I open to guidance, to hearing the truth, asking only for that which is most important at this moment. I receive the following guidance, which I share with you:

Photo by Chuck — Who is the shadow self? This too is the truthful self.

Go calmly forward now; planting each step firmly, taking the journey that unfolds. It is not enough to be determined and ready. One must also be calmly anchored and aligned with the truth of why one takes the journey that one elects to take.

Remind the self to take full responsibility for the personal journey. There is no room for blame. There is no room for sadness. There is only room for truth in the reality of now. This is the journey now before you.

Investigate the self deeply. Allow no other to enter or find anchor in the inner process of exploration. Inhabit the inner process alone, only the truths of the self present. Without judgment or condemnation of self or others, turn to the true knowledge that this is indeed your journey to take.

Reaffirm your commitment to self, to growth and change, but above all to completion of this journey. When it is done, you will find a new path, a new journey awaiting your first step, waiting to receive you with open arms.

You belong where you find yourself today. Be open and aware, aligned with what is right. Anchored firmly to inner truth, you will find the guidance you need. The answers lie within, calmly waiting to receive you.

Like one pool of calm water flowing into another, receive and merge with the knowledge of self as a journeyer without end. Embrace the rightness of the journey you take today and look forward to tomorrow. Each day offers greater awareness, and that is good!

Jan's Blog

A Day in a Life: What Is Suffering & Why Is It So Necessary?

November 16, 2011 Jan Leave a comment

Today, I follow up on last week’s blog, Wounded Children. I ask the question: What is suffering? And why is it so necessary?

I grew up in the Catholic religion. I went to Catholic schools and learned that Jesus wanted us to be innocent children, to be free of sin, yet the world itself did not support me in my endeavors. The world was full of sin and yes, suffering. I suffered as a child, as most children do. As much as I tried to live a sin-free life, there was no getting around sin, it was everywhere. I realized that everything, even breathing could be considered sinful.

In my weekly forays to the confessional, as often as I tried to articulate my sins, I found no actual release from them. Any absolution was momentary at best, because as soon as I walked out of the church I was back in sin-ville. As a child, suffering meant not only trying to find ways to deal with what happened to me out in the world, but, on a deeper level, it meant dealing with the fact that I would never be holy enough. I was a sinner and so I must suffer.

My child’s perspective was not all that far from the Buddhist perspective, which accepts that the reality we live in, samsara, is indeed an ocean of suffering. Samsara is an endless cycle of obsession and illusion, the more we try to escape it, the more it assaults us. Until, that is, we turn to it and ask: What is life trying to teach me? Why is it so necessary to suffer?

The Shamans of Carlos Castaneda’s lineage tell us too that this world is an illusion and that we are born to struggle with breaking through that illusion. They tell us that the world constantly assaults us in an effort to wake us up to this fact by presenting us with things that we want to push away and other things that we want to constantly cling to in our efforts to uphold that illusion. But in the end the Shamans contend, as do the Buddhists, that we must face the illusionary reality of the world and break it down, one illusion at a time. By challenging our perceptions, by challenging the way we think and act, and by challenging ourselves to face our deaths as new life, we offer ourselves the opportunity to break through the endless suffering of being human.

If we believe that all lives are meaningful, that our personal suffering and the suffering of everyone else in the world is important, then perhaps we might understand the necessity of it. Samsara, illusion, is endless. We are all being confronted with the truth of this as the revelations of sexual abuse swirl through the media, assaulting our personal illusions, coming into our homes on the nightly news. Our illusions are being shattered.

From a Buddhist and Shamanic perspective, this is very good. Such shatterings offer us the opportunity to view the world differently, to accept the necessity of suffering as a means of breaking us out of endless samsara. In my book, The Man in the Woods, I present the sufferings of my child self. It’s often hard for people to fathom that I suffered such abuse and yet survived the experiences. But I know that my own experiences are not all that exceptional. I hear stories of equal or worse horror every day, of abuse that went on for just as many years or even longer.

I am both humbled and hopeful as I hear the stories being told to me personally or by the media. And yet I know that, as people face their personal suffering, they are facing the shattering of their lives. But I also know that this shattering is the necessary breakthrough point to new life.

The universe itself is challenging us to face the reality of samsara and the necessity for it now. As a catalyst to shattering our illusions, constant exposure to the horrific reality of sexual abuse against innocent children is a mighty force. This exposure alone has the ability to change our world as we discover what has been kept hidden for decades, but even more deeply meaningful as we face our personal secrets.

When we are finally ready to face our personal suffering, we are ready to shatter the illusions that we have constructed in an effort to both get us through our lives but also to protect us so we could survive. When we face our inner turmoil, the suffering and the illusion of it, we face the fact of the world as indeed samsara, endless suffering.

On the bright side, in facing our personal suffering, in shattering our illusions about who we are, we begin to see the world differently. Suffering becomes understood as the means to enlightenment as the Buddhists present it and the means to accessing the warrior self as the Shamans suggest. In recapitulation, in deep inner work, in allowing ourselves to sit through the horror of the news, facing the truth of human suffering, we offer ourselves a new opportunity to evolve beyond this world of endless suffering.

Both the Buddhists and the Shamans use suffering and death as the greatest teachers and advisors. Both the Buddhists and the Shamans are aware of death at all times, preparing for it, using the challenges in this world to break through to a new awareness that we are all beings seeking enlightenment.

The reason we must suffer is the same for all of us. We are being challenged to grasp the truth of suffering as our greatest teacher, so that we may crack through it and make our deaths as meaningful as we want our lives to be.

In samsara we prepare for new life; in suffering we discover what that might mean. With each new life we are offered the opportunity to discover the illusions we steep ourselves in, that are presented to us in myriad ways by the world outside of us and by our inner reactions, disturbances, and challenges to that world. We are all here to live deeply meaningful lives—that I have no doubt about.

As I look around at the world each day and discover yet another reason to be disappointed in my fellow humans, to be distraught, disturbed and disgusted, I know I am being challenged to not turn off the television set. I am being challenged to face samsara and to ask others to face it as well. It is only through facing the onslaughts of horror that we can change the world.

We must face our inner darkness—mirrored unrelentingly, it seems lately, by the outside world—and ask everyone else to do the same. Suffering leads to enlightenment. I keep that in mind.

Thanks for reading. Love to you all,
Jan

Riverwalker Press