Tag Archives: innocence

Chuck’s Place: The Shamanic Journey of Innocence

We are beings who enter this world needing personal attachment in order for life to take root and grow. Failure to experience personal love and care at a basic level results in a failure to thrive, leading to death. Less fatal woundings with our primary attachments can severely compromise our ability to love and receive love throughout our lives.

The strange twist of personal love in this world is that, even under the best of circumstances, it is ultimately unsustainable. Everything personal comes to an end. Early in life we can be shielded from this fact through the veil of a world without death, however, like Siddhartha, someday, we all must stray beyond the walls of this illusion and confront the truth of impermanence.

To encounter impermanence is to brush up against the impersonal, the coldness of that which is not a person, that which is not of this personal world. Where we came from, before we came into this world, and where we will go, when we leave this world, is in the realm of the impersonal: beyond the person we are while in this world.

Reconciling our personal life in this world with both our impersonal underpinnings and ultimate destination, is the core challenge of life. Foundational to this challenge is the ability to give and receive love in full awareness of the personal and impersonal dimensions of our reality. So challenging is this task that many would prefer death itself to the vulnerability that full openness to love requires.

To love, we must access our pure innocence. This is the innocence that, in its infancy, entered this world with the blind trust that it would be welcomed and cherished. This early stage of innocence inevitably suffers the fall of disappointment. However, innocence, with its tenacious need for love, remains quite resilient. These early woundings in our personal lives are encounters with the impersonal, encounters that shake us out of our tender narcissistic shells.

Then may come more serious brushes with the impersonal: deep disappointment, neglect, loss, or downright abuse. Some of these encounters are brushes with pure evil, a cold predatory energy that mercilessly feasts upon innocence, completely smashing our shells of safety.

Under these crushing blows, and for pure survival, our innocence fragments and takes refuge deep within, seeking protection in the body. This is a wise strategy for survival, but a major freeze to the challenge of giving and receiving love.

Strangely though, it is the shattering of our secure personal world that pushes us into the non-personal dimension of reality. This shattering mimics all shamanic journeys, where ritualized woundings push the initiate beyond the personal into the infinite. These may be journeys beyond the body, or some form of dissociated experience. In traumatic experiences we dissociate to protect our precious innocence.

The resulting fragmentation, caused by dissociation, may be necessary to maintain for decades, as we plunge into life with our lost innocence buried beneath causes, careers, and relationships of discontent. We might even convince ourselves of our unique ability not to ever need love in this life.

Eventually, however, our triggers and seasons of discontent overwhelm us, as we are ushered to awaken to the fullness of our journeys already taken, as well as the need for completion in our continued journey. Thus we begin the recapitulation journey where we reconstruct and relive the full truth of our lives.

Recapitulation restores our connection to our lost innocence, as it is freed from old beliefs, confusions, and blame. The adult self, that we have accrued through our other journeys, is the traveling companion that helps our innocence withstand the full truth as it emerges during our recapitulation.

Our innocence matures through this process and is now challenged to reenter life from this new mature, knowing place. Here, innocence sheds its earliest illusions and needs for personal protection. Rejections, endings, and woundings no longer result in dissociation and a retreat from life as innocence has moved beyond the personal and embraces the full impersonality of life; the shamanic initiation complete.

From here, we are poised for fulfillment in this life. We can know that we have loved before; that we have completed many lives; and that we will leave this life and go into new life where everything will be different. We can love with total openness in human form, without needing to possess or hold onto anything. At this point, our innocence is open to experiencing the relativity of our personal life and equally open to the journey in infinity. Perhaps even open enough to experience that infinity now!

If you wish to correspond, please feel free to post a comment below. And don’t forget to check out our facebook page at: Riverwalker Press on facebook.

Until we meet again,
Chuck

A Day in a Life: Magic & Insight

A few weeks ago, I began reading a book called Anastasia, the first book in The Ringing Cedars Series, that someone had mentioned to me over a year ago. It is another “magical” book—series of books really—infused with powerful energy. I finished reading Anastasia and one night last week, before bed, I picked up the second book in the series and laid it on top of my dream journal as I prepared for bed, intending to read it next. That was all I needed to do to have a profound dream experience, touch the book with intent. Here is the dream I had that night:

I give birth to a girl child although I am not pregnant. In the dream, I go to the bathroom and, sitting on the toilet, I begin to feel and intuit that I am having a baby. At first it feels like a log, like I have a huge log stuck in my vagina. I try to feel with my hand if the baby is in fact down the birth canal or if the cervix is dilated. I move off the toilet after I see blood and go to look in a mirror. In the mirror I see the head has already emerged and so I know for sure that I am giving birth. I also know, from experience, that once the head is out the hard part is over and that the baby will come fast now. I have a moment of panic that it will get stuck like this, halfway out, and that I will have to walk around with a half-birthed baby protruding from my crotch. But in the next instant the baby pushes out. I catch her easily and bring her up to my breast. We bond immediately. She smiles up at me, looks deeply into my eyes, and snuggles against me. I hold her close, knowing that the warmth of our two bodies is enough to keep us safe, even in the coldest of climates.

I remember the book Anastasia at this point in the dream and the title character who contends that a child can survive in the world, even naked, as long as it is held close. I don’t know if she actually says this in the book, but this is what I get in my dream and she herself had survived in the Siberian Taiga through close nurturance and care by animals.

At this point, I take the baby to my parents who are sitting at a cafe table talking to my brother who died. I tell them I have had a baby and I show her to them, but they do not even look at her or show the least bit of interest. They say nothing and just stare blankly, gazing right through me, as if I don’t even exist. My brother looks at me tenderly and shrugs as if to say: “What did you expect?”

I walk away from them and bump into a few other people I know. I am aware that I have dried blood on my legs and that the baby and I are almost naked. I am wearing a short white shift, similar to what Anastasia is described as wearing, and I have the baby wrapped in a shawl. The people I meet acknowledge her, but only in uneasy glances. She is not well received or given any attention. I accept this, even though at first I am puzzled by the lack of interest, because I am having a most amazing experience, full of insight and intuition and I feel totally calm and at peace with this baby in my arms. I also know that she belongs only to me, that she is my responsibility and that I do not really need acknowledgement from others.

The details of the dream get fuzzy at this point, but the child grows almost immediately into a small thin creature, more doll like than human. I watch her running and skipping around. She can talk from the moment of birth like a well educated, spiritually evolved adult, full of wisdom and insight. I know that I must watch her carefully, not let her stray too far from me, and that I must keep her warm so that she not only survives, but also thrives.

As time goes on, I realize I have been forgetting about her more and more, that I forget to warm her against my body, that I am neglectful of her. When I notice she is looking cold I grab her, hold her against me and apologize for my lack of attention, but then I let her go again. At one point I see her lying in the shawl on the ground, not moving, and when I pick her up I see that she has dried up and that her right arm has cracked and broken off, as if she were made of clay. I feel terrible because I forgot all about her and let her get cold and dehydrated to the point of partially crumbling into dust. I am worried that she is dead. I am aware that I must take better care of her, that I must never forget about her again.

The dog woke me at 5:30 in the morning and I immediately forgot this dream. After I let the dog out I returned to bed, feelings of the significance of the dream staying with me, but still unable to recall it. The only thing I could remember was that I had dreamed of a log. As I lay in bed I felt a heavy feeling, almost a soreness in my pelvic floor. I heard a voice say: “Do a Kegel exercise,” which any woman knows is an exercise to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles, especially recommended after giving birth. As soon as I squeezed the muscles I immediately recalled the dream. I had indeed felt like I had given birth in the night and my body held the memory of it until I recaptured it! From that point on the dream reemerged and as the day went on more details became clearer.

Immediately I noted the significance of having set the intent to read the second in that magical book series. I won’t go into details, but the series is based on the experiences of a Russian man who, in 1995, meets a woman, Anastasia, living in the forests of Siberia. She is energetically alive and evolved. His experiences in her company remind me of Carlos Castaneda’s experiences in the company of don Juan, and of my own experiences with Jeanne. Anastasia tells him things that he cannot imagine ever happening and yet they do, similar to my own experiences with Jeanne. Anastasia is directly connected to and channels energy and insight related to the planet and the environment. Whenever I have asked Jeanne questions about the environment, she has always stated that there are other soul groups working on that and that it is not her expertise. Jeanne is connected to a soul group that is involved with soul advancement. This distinction struck me, as I read the first book and thought that perhaps Anastasia is connected to this environmentally concerned soul group energy.

Anyway, that was my first insight as my dream unfolded, that I had set the intent. The second insight I got was that this dream was about my personal transformation. When I recapitulated my childhood, when my abuser did in fact molest me with wooden objects, I rid them from my body as I relived each memory. In the dream, perhaps I feared that this was just another wooden object, another memory to be removed, but then I see life, a real baby instead of a log. I see this as indicative of the transformational process; having released the trauma I can now allow myself to give birth to new life within myself.

When I attempted to show the child to my parents and other acquaintances neither it nor my transformational process was given any attention. In every attempt to introduce this innocent child to the world, the old world, there was no resonance. My personal experiences did not matter in that world. I received the insight that I must further detach from that old world now and more fully embrace this new world that the child represents. Anastasia’s story influenced my dream experience: I knew that the child must be nurtured to thrive. It was pretty clear and simple. All I had to do is keep her with me at all times. I am enough; I am all she needs.

However, I seemed to still need reminding of something, some piece was missing, because every time I laid the child aside, apart from my physical body, something happened to her. She got cold or brittle, and eventually dried up. When I discovered her all dried up and with a broken arm, I immediately felt deep remorse, regret, sadness and extremely guilty for leaving her to fend for herself. I realized that I had not been doing something right. I was killing her by forgetting about her. In the dream, I instinctively knew that I had to keep her close to me, that we did not need anything else, we were enough; that we were done with the old world, had already left it behind. We had already done the work of transformation. I was reminded, as I picked up the broken child in the end of the dream and held her close once again, that she is my innocent self, and that I must stay connected to her at all times, not just when I feel like it. I must remember that this is what my wholeness feels like, and yes, that I am enough. I also knew that if I stayed connected, bonded with her, that everything else would take care of itself, that life would unfold, as it should.

As the day went on and this dream stayed with me, I received a final insight. Pictures of the Virgin Mary holding the Christ child kept popping into my head, paintings from my art history books that I’d studied a long time ago. Each time one of these paintings came to me, I re-experienced holding that child in my arms in the dream, nestling against my chest, snuggling in, totally trusting me, totally calm, knowing that she was exactly where she belonged. As I re-experienced these feelings throughout the day—utter calmness, contentment, wholeness—I saw the significance of these paintings; virgin and child, maturity and innocence; appropriate symbols of giving birth to the Self and to true spirit innocence, which, in my case, I worked so hard to reunite with and nurture into life during my years of recapitulating my traumatic childhood, a time when I was mostly concerned with simply surviving. With this insight I now clearly understand the symbolism of the Virgin Mary and Christ Child as Whole-Self, complete. I had gotten it right, finally the missing piece was found.

We are all the Virgin and we are all the Christ Child in her arms. No matter if we are male or female, we are all totally capable of giving birth to the total Self. This is not the wounded child self, but Christ as innocence within, Self and God-Self fully merged. I know I must not be afraid to embrace this wholeness. I must not put her aside again or depart from the path. I must stay connected to this magic within. I know she was not damaged throughout the whole childhood journey; she remained whole, waiting for me to reconnect.

I know how hard it is to stay connected to this spirit self at all times. We must all deal with the reality of our lives and remain connected to this world, but I also know that the magic is available to us, reminding us that this is really the biggest challenge, to keep turning toward it. Once we have connected to the magic of our true spirit self, whether through our experiences, dreams, processes of inner work, through our intent to change, or through the books we elect to read, our challenge then becomes to never put it aside again, but to hold our experiences as close as a child in our arms, remembering why we are here and what we are really seeking. The magic is really inside each one of us.

I humbly offer these intent-dream-book-insight-magical experiences as we enter a new phase of winter magic. Happy Holidays! May they be magically meaningful, personally, by intent.

If you wish, feel free to share or comment in the Post Comment section below.

Sending you all love and good wishes,
Jan

#739 Innocence: The Observing Self

Jan Ketchel channeling Jeanne Marie Ketchel

Dear Jeanne,
What message of guidance for living our lives upon this earth at this time do you offer us today?

Do not be afraid to embrace your innocence, for it is only in connecting to this true self that you will truly thrive and grow beyond the mundane world of black and white reality. In order to truly experience LIFE in a new way—the colorful magic that is available to you—you must reconnect with your innocent self.

This innocent self is pure energy. Do not confuse it with your child self or your wounded baby self, but seek to go beyond personal attachment to find the essence of self. The essence of self, the pure energy of self, resides separately but also in concert with the personality and the self who has lived through the stages of life upon that earth.

I speak of learning to detach from the trials of the present life in order to find your innocence. Innocence refers to the energy of all life, yourself included, that knows why you are there now living the life you do. It knows what it means to be free, to be pure energy. And it is not afraid of anything, even the life you now live, even the most frightening of circumstances and the most sorrowful of challenges.

In learning to encounter this central self, this essence of life, this life force, I urge you to be open to your life experiences from the perspective of observer, for this is what your true self is: An all-knowing observer of your human existence. If you can find the means of sitting outside the self, you will find yourself as innocent. And in so doing you will experience awareness.

Awareness is clarity. Awareness is knowing the blanket truth of the self, of this life and all lives. Awareness is gaining acceptance so that no matter what appears to challenge you in life your perspective is that it is a natural part of your transformation, your evolutionary growth.

In accessing innocence, in allowing the self to accept the truths of the self with this clarity of awareness guiding you through a process of awakening, you will connect to your essence of being, your energy self, but you will also be able to utilize this self in that life you now live.

Many people seek guidance, seek a path of healing, seek a means of understanding the world and their personal predicament, and this is clearly growth-oriented work. As you do the work of the self, you open doors to a fuller understanding of the self in the universe, the self as part of a whole, the self not only as seeker but also as holding all that is sought.

You see, in acquiescing to your personal journey as truly a journey of transformation, you will inevitably experience transformation, incrementally at first, but undoubtedly more fully as time goes on.

In closing today, I wish to state that you are all fully capable of understanding what I am spelling out. Even if you might find my words confusing, vague, or too esoteric to comprehend at this moment in time, just wait and see what happens, for a grain of truth will have been planted today and all you have to do is remember it as you go into life.

Perhaps the first grain of truth to remember is that, yes, you can take yourself outside of your dire predicament or your worrisome mind or your fearful child self and in a place of calm detachment gain a different perspective on the self as whole, as an evolving being.

This is your true life at this moment in time. See that clearly. And then ask why. But do not ask why from your old seat of self, but from your detached energetic seat of self. Allow your innocence to both speak and listen. Allow your innocence to both teach and learn. Allow your innocence to become part of your process toward new life, toward transformation, NOW, in this life.

Thank you Jeanne!

Please feel free to post comments or respond to this message from Jeanne in the post/read comments section below.

Most fondly and humbly offered.

#690 Suspend Judgment & Shed the Layers of Crust That Life Has Laid Upon You

Jan Ketchel channeling Jeanne Marie Ketchel

Dear Jeanne,
What message of guidance do you have for us today?

My Dear Ones, look not askance at your own dealings but look them straight in the eye and allow your truths to be revealed, fully known and wholly acceptable to you. In accepting the truths of the self, one is much more accepting of the dilemmas that will arise in one’s own life, as well as be much more accepting of the difficulties faced by others. Until one accepts the truth that one is imperfect perfection will remain an enigma. To lead an impeccable life does not mean that one must be perfect according to the laws of man or God alone, but one must be perfectly able to allow the truths of the self to fully come forth in total realization.

Are you going to talk about recapitulation today?

No, not specifically, but I am talking about learning to love the self, including all the imperfections, the dark secrets as equally as the light ones.

Okay, go on.

I know that you all struggle, My Dears, to make sense of your lives. I know that you wonder if you are doing the right things and making true progress; or are you only fooling yourself? I know that reaching impeccability means leaving behind all that you once thought was so necessary and so important. I know that you often find the ideas of recapitulation difficult to allow into your process because in so doing you must face so many aspects of the self, aspects that you thought you understood and other aspects that you had no idea even existed inside you.

Today, I ask you to more fully learn what it means to suspend judgment so that your progress in life may accelerate to a new level. In suspending judgment, at all times, you will begin to open many doors previously closed or never even observed. In learning how to constantly suspend judgment, by taking back all questions of whether something is right or wrong, and sitting with inner truth and calm, you may discover that your energy self comes forth to guide you. In suspending judgments, formulated by the world you have lived in and by the definitions so firmly planted in the mind, you may discover that there is another being inside you who knows far more that your mind could ever provide or hold available.

A process of suspending judgment involves constantly asking the self to notice where you are judging, first of all. Is that thought you just had a judgment of self, of others, of opening to new ideas, such as I propose, or of facing something you must face? Do questions immediately arise offering alternatives and categories, excuses and reasons to avoid, to dismiss, to push away something that might feel disturbing? Are you uncomfortable about something, so it becomes easier to judge it and place it away in a neat package, in the recesses of the mind or body, where it will not bother you?

As you begin to notice just how often you allow your mind to fix you in a position of certainty, you may also begin to notice that, although that fixed place of certainty is well known and perhaps even comfortable, it may not be your truth. Is it what you truly feel is your very own determination?

Then I ask: How do you personally, you, without forethought and without the opinions of others interfering, feel about this determination? In learning to suspend judgments one learns what it means to access innocence. Innocence is true spirit energy unencumbered by judgments, unencumbered by the thoughts and ideas of the mind. Innocence is totally energetic and flowing, unable to attach to that which is outside of itself, for it cannot attach to anything in that world, for it does not belong in it. Innocence belongs in the world of spirit. In the world of spirit, innocence is the true guide, the true gauge, and the true voice.

You see, in the world of spirit, which resides deeply inside each one of you, there is no need to judge or decide anything but only to flow with the truth of its knowing, its purity, and its impeccable presence in your life. Can you allow this innocence to come forth now, to push through all the judgments, and be present in your world? Can you allow your innocent spirit self to more fully be present as your guide? Can you find comfort in this aspect of self, rather than in the overbearing judgmental self? Can you shed the layers of crust that life has laid upon you and find this true life beneath? Can you connect with your inner energy?

Yes, of course you can! Begin this week with engaging in a new practice of suspending judgment. Look at the self that you are in the world. Look at how you treat your self, and how you treat others. This is the place to begin investigating your own actions and thoughts, and the habitual tendencies to dismiss and peg people, ideas, and truths of the self. What disturbs you needs to be looked at more closely. In suspending all preconceived ideas of how the world works, you may offer your self the first open veil to understanding the spirit self, the energy self, and all things as interconnected, full of potential, full of innocence.

Look today at your world with innocence, without your usual eyes but with unveiled eyes, and see what happens!

#649 Innocence Through Creative Expression

Jeanne Marie Ketchel
Channeled by Jan Ketchel

Dear Jeanne,
Over the past few days you have given us three important words of guidance as we do our inner work: Patience, Perseverance, and Kindness. I see that these words apply equally well to the world outside of us, and that even as we do our inner work it is also up to us to change and act differently in the outer world. I believe there is a tremendous desire for meaning. I don’t know why now seems to be a more spiritually oriented time than ever before, but that’s the way I see the world, as full of people searching for meaning. I see the success of the film AVATAR as a perfect example of just how desperate people are to understand, perceive, and experience life as deeply spiritually interconnected and driven. I believe that everyone truly does seek a connection to energy beyond the self, whether it is called God, Goddess, or any name that, simply translated, means: unconditional loving compassion.

That being said, how do we, as spiritually seeking humans, no more connected than anyone else, do our inner work while we also spread our awareness of interconnected energy outside of us? How do we really connect, on a purely energetic level, without fanfare, ritual or hocus-pocus so that our world can more fully envelop and accept, without question, the kind of energetic interconnectedness exhibited in AVATAR? Many people already experience and tap into this energy, but how do we find what we really seek: a world interconnected, fueled by universal energy, spiritually based, everyone feeling, breathing, and acting from the same energy source?

We know it exists. We know it is possible. Why is it only in fantasy that we allow ourselves to accept such an idea? Why can’t we get beyond the veils that won’t allow us to cross over into speaking our beliefs? I know these are a lot of questions, but what they really come down to is this: Why are we so stuck?

My Dear One, your queries are fully accepted. Though you ask quite an array of meaningful questions, and I feel your frustration, I must boil it all down to one word. This one word is the reason for the dilemma that you describe in the world and this word is at the root of every human being upon that earth, but it has been lost to many. That word is INNOCENCE!

Until innocence can be revisited, accepted, made acceptable, and claimed as the most necessary aspect of life upon that earth (in balance with utter clarity of the reality of life of course), the great interconnectedness that you speak of and so desire will not arrive. This is the fourth word I give you as you do your inner work. Though you do not ask for it in quite that way, it is a most necessary component of your process. For, without innocence, how could you ever allow for the truth of energetic connection to be spoken? How could you admit that you have felt and allowed the self to explore the interconnected energy if you could not access your own innocence?

What is innocence? I do not speak of innocence as unknowing or as naive thinking or acting. No, not at all. Innocence is utter knowing. It is the inner voice, the stone-cold sober voice within each one of you that says, “Come on, you know what to do! You know the truth. You see the way things are and the way they will become! You see the truth!”

This voice is inside you. You were born with it. You have heard it your entire life. You have also probably chosen to ignore it for a great part of your life as well, to push it down and tell it to be quiet because you have not been ready to listen to it. You have perhaps responded to it by saying: “That’s ridiculous!” Or you have feared its straightforward talk, for it frightens you to have to confront the challenges it presents you with.

So, My Dear One and All My Readers, in order for your world to truly tap into the greater interconnected energy that your creative ones develop into elaborate films, books, artwork, music, poetry, and even expressions in physical form of movement and dance, you must seek what they have tapped into: their innocence! You must learn to trust it, to trust that it is real.

As an artist and writer I know what you are talking about. As a very young, extremely withdrawn child I was often afraid that I would be ridiculed for my art. It was, however, the only way I could express myself. Although I was often dismissed as strange, unusual and eccentric, far more often I received understanding and heart felt reflection in return for my young daring to express myself in words and pictures. People actually thanked me for my creative endeavors to express something that they were unable to tap into except through my work. I know that it is often hard for people who haven’t tapped into their creative side to find an outlet for their innocence. How can they do that?

They must first get beyond the idea that they have no creative energy or talent, for it resides in everyone upon that earth. It is the one hidden jewel, the gold at the end of the rainbow that all seek. It is the buried treasure and it is innocence itself. Denial of innocence is denial of creative energy, and that is the first great uncovering that must take place in order to tap into it. The very fact that you are human, that you are comprised of energy, means that you are a creative being. Your personal creative energy will be expressed in a very personal manner. Accept this truth of creative energy inside you: It exists!

The next step in releasing it, in accepting it into your life, is to remove all conventions of expression. There is no structure that houses your creativity, no format already in place, no barriers except those imposed by the world around you. Your creative energy burns inside each one of you, seeking outlet. You must ask your self: “How has my creative energy been expressing itself? In good ways or in destructive ways?”

You must ask your self what it feels like. Is it angry? Is it happy? Is it known, or unknown? Is your creative energy a part of your life in a large way or a small way? Is it so disguised that you do not recognize it, for it comes out in costume, sneaking out in the dark of night or in coveted secrecy? (I felt that Jeanne was speaking of dreaming in this statement, as well as any other meaning that might personally apply. -Jan) Does your creative energy push you to do outrageous things, simply to let you know it exists? Is your creative energy so stifled that it rumbles and makes itself known in disgruntled fashion? Or is it simply bored to death and has gone to sleep until you finally ask it to wake up?

You see, My Dears, none of you will live in an AVATAR world of spiritual awareness until you allow your creative energy, your innocence, to become a part of your current world; your inner world expressed in your outer world; and this is how you must seek to bridge the two worlds: through innocent creative expression. Know that all need this, that all have this, and that all will reciprocate your own daring expression with an inner awakening of their own creative innocent self, though they may not admit it or recognize it at first. Your creative expression, based in the innocence of truth and knowing, will awaken some recognition in others, and this is how your world can truly begin to change.

In order to turn from the darkness one must be able to find the light. The light is within each one of you. Your creative energy is stirring right now, seeking expression. Do not be afraid of it. It is your innocence seeking a means of communication with you and, through you, with all beings. Become a conduit of this creative energy. It is what will connect you to the greater energy outside of you, not separate, but the same.

You are all creative beings and you are all innocent. Every one of you. Seek it within and you will find it. Express it without and you will achieve connection. And with such connection you will enact change, but it will be change based in spiritual energy, universal and personal at the same time. This is how you will change the world.

NOTE: I realized, as I typed this message, that this channeling is my creative innocent self in full expression. I sometimes feel afraid of putting it out there, even as I once did my early art work and poetry, but mostly I have gotten beyond that. So, I offer it to you, some of my creative energy in expression, so that you too may dare to find your means of expression and connection. Imagine how different the world would be if everyone was out there being creative, in a positive way! From personal experience I know that creative expression really does work as a means of changing who we are and how we connect with the world. Tomorrow, look for Chuck’s creative expression in his next blog! And good luck with your own!