When a thing is done it cannot be undone, but if everything is a lesson then learn by what has transpired to make better decisions in the future. Proceed with a clear mind, unburdened of regret and sadness, and make new choices in alignment with your evolving spirit rather than in attachment to things, desires, and unnecessary wants. Plan your future according to the love principle that says love is the answer. How can you turn your corner of the world into a more loving place? How can you grow love so that it prospers? How can you be the most loving being possible? These are the questions to ask yourself now. This is your future.
Outside forces may cause uncalled for change but for inner change to take place the forces of the personality must be called into play, intent and discipline being the two most helpful. Intent may be as simple as a statement spoken once and yet with the force of a potent windstorm. Discipline must be enacted and given utmost attention, for that is the real harbinger of change, the ability to be consistent. When time itself suggests change, bring in intent and discipline to pave the way to a new path with heart. And then, see what happens!
Begin again. Start over. From where you are now, walk in a new direction. Whether an inner decision that only you enact or an outer decision that all can see, begin anew, taking your life in the direction now most appropriate. With spirit in charge, with love at your center, with kindness in your intent set yourself upon a new path of heart. Whether silently spoken or shouted to the heavens, now is the time. The tides are turning, the stars are aligned, the path is cleared. It’s time to change even one small thing that will take you one step further along on your journey. Intent and love will guide you and get you there.
Face your fear without fear. Dismantle it until it no longer holds any power over you. Take back your energy for use within yourself, for greater awareness, understanding, and exploration of the grand beauty of your human Self, yourself as spirit-in-body. Know these two parts of yourself as one complete being united in wholeness rather than as two separate entities on two separate paths. Bring them together on one path, without fear, a path of heart, the one and only way to truly live a fulfilling life.
I was present when Carlos Castaneda stated: “If you truly want to love, love with a blank check.” For many years I struggled to fully understand what he meant. My assumption was, don’t hold back in your giving; be of complete service, of unlimited support.
He often spoke of the merchant mentality as dominating what humans called love. Love, as a commodity, is traded, with the expectation that one is entitled to a higher, or at least equal yield, for one’s loving investment in another.
Thus, giving a gift is traded for appreciation. To give of oneself comes with the expectation that one be equally given to now, or certainly at some future date. After all, it’s only fair. Why should I do for you if I get nothing in return? It simply isn’t worth the investment!
Carlos made reference to eden ahbez’s songwriting hit Nature Boy as a journey with love. eden refused to capitalize his assumed name, as to him the only words worth capitalizing were God and Infinity. While living outdoors with his family, under the “L” in Los Angeles, he gave Nat King Cole’s manager the song he had written, Nature Boy, which Cole subsequently recorded with overarching success.
The song ends with these lyrics: “The greatest thing you’ll ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return.” Carlos pointed out that eden later stated that the song should have ended after ‘just to love’ rather than ‘and be loved in return.’ This captures Carlos’ criteria for love clarified to its purest.
Who, of course, could deny the exhilaration of a true meeting in the mutuality of love, where love simply flows, no walls. That kind of meeting is a genuine experience of love, as it harbors no contract of entitlements. Nonetheless, it is often a fleeting experience, as need and expectation soon enter the playing field, muddying the waters.
Jan reminds me of a time when we were walking in the dark and I stated, “If you’re going to do a good deed, do it in the dark.” When I thought of this the other day, I wondered if perhaps that was what Carlos meant by a blank check—a check filled out to be cashed, but with no reference to the sender.
The merchant of love is the ego. The ego demands recognition, validation, and attention. With these filters, true love can hardly show through. Thus, the technology of the blank check, and the invitation ‘just to love,’ are valuable steps on one’s personal path of heart.
