Following the Love

“Jesus said, “Out of your Heart shall flow rivers of living water.”  John 7:38

Well, Hello! my dear friends.  It’s been awhile since we have shared space together, with the holidays filling our time and most of our energy.

Some wonderful things have been happening for me and it is time to share it all with you, my spiritual family.

Earlier this past year, I met a lovely man.  He and I saw right away that we were coming from the same page on all the important places in our lives.  His name is Steve Young and he lives in Maine.   Our common ground is the Heart lived in our lives and shared in our serving in the world.  Because we have both been very one pointed in our spiritual practice for many years, this foundation is solid for the both of us and has provided a firm ground for this next step in our lives … to share this Pure Love in relationship.

We have realized that this Love that we share honors the Wholeness that we each are ... as Kahil Gibran shares here …

      Let there be spaces in your togetherness,

      And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.

      Love one another but make not a bond of love:

      Let it rather be a moving sea between 

the shores of your souls.

      Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup.

      Give one another of your bread 

but eat not from the same loaf.

      Sing and dance together and be joyous, 

but let each one of you be alone,

      Even as the strings of a lute are alone

      though they quiver with the same music.

      Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping.

      For only the hand of Life can contain your Hearts.

      And stand together, yet not too near together:

      For the pillars of the temple stand apart,

      And the oak tree and the cypress grow 

not in each other's shadow.

In this experience of deep Love, the Radiance of the Heart is shining It’s Light of Love into every facet of my (and his) life in an ordinary, yet extraordinary way.

From this common ground of Being, Steve and I have chosen to live the remainder of this Life together.  As two wholes aligned together in and as this Light of Pure Love, we are being married in August, here in Maine. 

Maine will now be our home after we are married.

(A picture of our new home in Limington, Maine … on the Saco River … just 20 minutes outside of Portland, Maine)

I wanted my dear friends to hear this good news from me, directly.  I would love to receive your blessings on this union of Wholeness and Love.  And, I simply couldn’t wait to pour this Lightness of Love all over you!  It is like an infinite flow from the depths of Being coming forth and spilling over all in its wake … just as “living water,” this Love pours forth from our Heart simply fulfilling Itself.

As Kahil Gibran shares here …

Love possesses not nor would it be possessed;

For Love is sufficient unto Love.

When you Love you should not say, "God is in my Heart,"

but rather,

I am in the Heart of God."

And think not you can direct the course of love,

if it finds you worthy,

directs your course.

Love has no other desire but to fulfill Itself.

Always, Heart to Heart,

Elizabeth

Receiving A Precious Gift of Love

Christmas is right around the corner and I’m quite certain that those who are reading this are intent on honoring this season for its original purpose.  So, I am being moved to share with you, in preparation to fully receive and experience the true Spirit of Christmas.

What are we preparing to receive? 

First, let’s look at what it is to truly receive.  Just recently, I discovered for myself, that it was much easier and safer to give than to receive.  Giving is a great feeling and every time I write you in this blog, I feel a fullness of Love pouring out from my Heart into every word written.  Actually, this is what moves me to write these messages to you.   I am seeing now, even the years of service had this underlying motivation in it, as It was creating everything that was given. 

It was then revealed that this was a subtle protective device that has kept everyone at a safe distance.  It is a way not to fully receive and actually have a complete exchange of this Love that we are. 

In seeing this, from Awareness, the Light of Love penetrated through this long standing pattern and this subtle block was completely neutralized.  I feel completely renewed.

Today, during my meditation and prayer time, this revelation advanced further to a deep recognition of what this auspicious time of year was truly all about.  When a Christed Being is born into our world, we have a benefit of receiving the Light of Love at it’s fullest.  This is an opportunity to dive in and receive.  Are we ready to fully receive at this most auspicious time?  Is there any reluctance to receive?  What comes up for you as we look at this together?

When I was with a wise friend some time ago, he shared with me something that at that time I didn’t realize the depth of what he was sharing completely.  But, now it is coming more to light.  He said,  “Elizabeth Ma, some people know about the fire; some people talk about the fire; some people assist others in entering the fire; and then there are those who enter into the fire.   Dive deep, Elizabeth Ma, dive deep into the fire.”  I see now what he was conveying … dive into the fire of Truth, of Love, of the Pure Light of the Heart … and, receive it fully and completely into every cell of my Being.  The Fire of the Heart shines its brightest from having fully received Its Love into this incarnation completely.

Ramana Maharshi brings this further to light as he said to us,  “In the interior of the Heart Cave the Lord God alone abides with direct immediacy, as 'I', as 'I'.  And, he completes this process with a question, “Who is this I?”  “Dive deep into this I-I Awareness."

Christ has shared, "I am the way and the Truth and the Light."  And, "Let your Light shine for all the world to see..."

Many Saints and Sages have given their lives and continue to guide us as this Pure Christ Love.  Let this Christmas Season be a time to open our Heart and fully receive these blessings that have been so freely and lovingly given to us.  It’s a perfect time to celebrate our completion.  We honor their lives and their gifts to us all, by receiving fully the Truth, here and NOW. 

Have a glorious celebration, my dear sweet friends.

Receiving all of who you are and loving you always as This,

Elizabeth

Honoring and Trusting the Source of Our Abundant Supply

“Life is like a river.

There is no pre-charted way;

there are no maps to be given to you.

Just be alive and alert,

and then, wherever life leads,

you go with full confidence in it.

Trust in the life force.

Allow it to lead you towards the sea.
The river is not simply going to meet the sea,

it is "growing" to be the sea,

and this is possible only through rich experience,

alert experiences,

moving ... trusting.”

~  Osho  ~

I’m sure we’ve all seen that the truth is simple, but not always easy to put into practice in our day-to-day life situations.  We can be living in a comfort zone that is not life supportive and be completely unaware of its affects. What usually has happened is that we have learned to live with it for so long that we don’t even notice the limitation that we have been imposing on ourselves.  And, this can show up in any of these three areas in our lives: money, food/health and relationship.

Recently, I realized an area of this “comfort zone” in my life that I have learned to live with since childhood.  It actually had become a survival mechanism. Growing up we struggled financially and our family bravely “made do” with what little we had.  My Mother would constantly say to us:  “Money doesn’t grow on trees,” or  “There is never enough to go around,” or “We’ll just have to make do.”   This survival mechanism was programmed deeply, so deep that I didn’t realize how it had affected the way I lived my life, today.  Actually, I had become so creative in making do I hadn’t even noticed this survival pattern.  There has always been a feeling that everything will work out no matter what, and that was my experience.  It was quite an adventure and somehow my life, and my work, would always come together on a shoestring.

So, where was I not living the truth in this situation?  How had this pattern that I had learned to live with been so unhealthy and not life supporting for me?

The truth is … “there is an abundance.”  All we have to do is open our eyes and see abundance around us … the Source, God, the Heart provides everything we need … especially those of us who live in North America.  We’ve just recently experienced thanksgiving and most of us directly realized this abundance and acknowledged to ourselves and family, that we have so much to be thankful for.

In being open to seeing the truth about it, I realized this conditioned pattern of making do was coming from an unconscious feeling of not enough, and not this truth of abundance.  There was only a small opening for the Heart/Source/God to bring this abundance into my life.  So, in telling myself the truth, I faced the emotions and thoughts around this “survival mechanism” and took responsibility for this subtle sense of separation from the Source.  Then, I automatically went into a forgiveness process, which was adapted for this situation …

• ·      I’m sorry for not honoring the Source of all abundance within me.
• ·      Please forgive me for this separation from the Heart, the Source, within me.

Right here, I paused to fully experience what was coming up into the Light of Awareness.  And, something beautiful happened.  As I remained in Awareness, a huge whoosh came up from a deep place within me washing everything through, while expressing a sense of, “I Love you and support you no matter what.”

With this pause, there was no need to say, “I Love you,” which is the next part of this forgiveness process.  The Heart of my Heart responded to my surrender and filled me up with a comfort and assurance that has always, already been right here within me.  What a magnificent experience of inside/out support!

Now, the “Thank You” came from the deepest gratitude and honor for that which is within us all … in the Heart Core of our Being … Pure Unconditional Love and Support.

In seeing through this pattern, from the space of Love, this self-imposed limitation was completely consumed.  Jesus said, “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.”   This truth sets me free!!   This Radiant Love that I am, that we are, fully embraced this past conditioning and absorbed it into Itself. Now, there is plenty of room … infinite wide open space … for true abundance to come through and be demonstrated into my daily life situations, naturally and easily.  

I will continue to make the best with what I have … now, from a conscious perspective … from the truth of honoring, with deep gratitude, the Source of my abundant supply, within me and within us all, and utilizing this abundance wisely and appropriately.

This has been a sensitive issue to share with you.  We can live a long time with patterns that have seemed to become so much a part of us that we haven’t noticed them.  Through our living from the Heart’s Loving Presence … from That Which is Seeing what comes and goes … even those deep subtle patterns are finally brought up into our Awareness to be neutralized in this Radiance of Love.  In our telling ourselves the truth about it, we are Grace-fully taken care of.

Respectfully, honoring and trusting the Source of our Abundant Supply in us and as us ALL,

Elizabeth

P.S.  Yes, there is a money tree!!  Right in our own back yard - just waiting to be harvested!  :0)

Aflame With The Presence of Exquisite Love

That in which

     all arises,

          is perceived

               and sustained,

That alone is Real.

     

Abide as That.

~  Ramana Maharshi  ~

Recently, I have been talking with a few sincere folks who have had some fine tuning questions regarding their meditation practice.  Since my retirement, three years ago, I have consented to be what feels to be a “meditation coach” for those who are interested in learning meditation or are into fine-tuning the one they already are using in their day-to-day lives.

The questions that seemed to arise for those who have been meditating for many years has been an important fine tuning, so it came up to share this with you for any of us here that could benefit. 

The question was, “How do we know when we have realized the Source, the Heart, the True Reality, in the presence of our daily life situations?”

In order to explore this question, let’s first look at the question, “What is Reality?”  Here is a response when this question was asked of Ramana Maharshi, taken from “Talks” …

• Existence without beginning or end – eternal
• Existence everywhere, endless, infinite
• Existence underlying all forms, all changes, all forces, all matter and all spirit
• The one displacing the triads, i.e., the knower, the knowledge and the known.  The triads are only appearances in time and space, whereas, the Reality lies beyond and behind them. They are like a mirage over the Reality.

The many change and pass away (phenomena),

whereas the One always endures (noumenon). 

Ramana, in his insistence to “put this teaching to practice,” further instructs us to… “Make the distinction between what is Real and what is unreal … what is Eternal and what is transient.”  So, in our putting this truth to practice and to experience it directly, it all comes down to … how do we know, without a doubt if we are abiding in Reality in the Eternal nature of who we really are, moment to moment? 

This is what comes up to share, for us to directly experience this truth for ourselves …

With whatever is arising in the moment … in our body as sensations or emotions … in our mind as thoughts and subtle feelings … we accept them as they are and then simply ask ourselves, “Isn’t there an Awareness that is aware of all of this?”  And, without mentally answering this question, allow what comes up naturally to be realized … as That Which is Seeing what is arising … and, abide as That … in the Silence and Stillness of Pure Being prior to all of what arises and is perceived …

That in which

     all arises,

          is perceived

               and sustained,

That alone is Real.

     

Abide as That.

What we are now Presencing is Pure Awareness … Pure Consciousness … the Heart.  We know it as what’s true, because it simply rings true.  Just as we hear a crystal clear ping when we tap a pure crystal glass … it just rings true.  It is from a Natural Knowing deep in our core.  We are guided, from the Heart of Pure Being, to simply abide as That.

From here we live an extraordinarily ordinary life.  Actually ...

“There is no ordinary life.  Life is a grand display or flowering within the vast and clear presence of the divine intelligence.  Every leaf and piece of dust is cradled in an expanse of light and presence.  That Presence Awareness that contains all things is also the deep presence of Love and peace always.  It is your own Real Being.  The universe being revealed in each moment is aflame with the presence of exquisite Love.  In that even the most ordinary thing is a unique and wonderful expression of the underlying Oneness of all.”  ~  John Wheeler  ~

Yes, we all have something wonderful to fully live and share with ALL … constantly being “aflame with the presence of exquisite Love.”

So many blessings,

Elizabeth

Love Expressing Itself in Communication

Silence,

the unique language,

ever surging in the Heart,

 is the state of Grace.

~  Ramana Maharshi  ~

In a few blog posts back, I mentioned about words being “a capsule of experience.”  When we read or listen to those who are coming from the Truth, as it is being experienced and lived in their lives, we can deeply benefit as we resonate with them and directly experience this truth in us.  It was very interesting to me when I  investigated into this further and realized our responsibility as we relate together in daily life situations.

Is our communication coming from the Heart … as Love expressed through our capsule of experience?  Or, does our communication reflect and express hidden emotions and past conditioning through our words, in relationship with our co-workers, friends and loved ones?

In a conversation with a dear friend, recently, I was introduced to “The Three Gatekeepers of Right Speech.”  To understand this completely, I looked it up on the internet and found a Buddhist writing on a website that seemed to describe it very well:  http://onetusk.wordpress.com/author/onetusk/…

“Before words get past the lips, the first gatekeeper asks, “Is this true?” That stops a lot of traffic immediately. But if the words get past the first gatekeeper, there is a second who asks, “Is it kind?” And for those words that qualify here too, the last gatekeeper asks: “Is it necessary?“

With these three on guard, most of us would find very little to say. Here I think it is necessary to make exceptions in the interests of good company and let the third gatekeeper look the other way now and then. After all, a certain amount of pleasant conversation is part of the artistry of living. But the first two gatekeepers should always be on duty.

It is so easy to say something at the expense of another for the purpose of enhancing our own image. But such remarks, irresistible as they may be, serve only to fatten our own egos and agitate others. We should be so cautious of hurting people that even if a clever remark is rushing off our tongue, we can barricade the gate. We should be able to swallow our cleverness rather than hurt someone. Better to say something banal but harmless than to be clever at someone else’s expense.”

As I was being with these three “gatekeepers,” it felt like for me something else would need to be added to allow what is emerging to be expressed consciously, from the Heart.  I was guided to the words of Ramana Maharshi …

Silence, the unique language, ever surging in the Heart,

is the state of Grace.

And from Christ …

Be Still and Know

Do we see the wisdom of …  being still and being the Silence … ever surging in the Heart … before we begin our communications?  Wouldn’t that be the first gatekeeper?   Then, what comes from this place, quite naturally,  is Pure Love … is the Wisdom to complete the rest of our communication from truth … from loving kindness … knowing clearly if it is necessary or not.  From Here there is no effort and the state of Grace has taken over the conversation.  Haven’t we all noticed how effortless and natural it is at this point?  Now, we have honored each other by being Love with those we are relating with.  

Be Still and Know …

Be Still …

Be …

Back to simply being again, aren’t we?

Loving you,

Elizabeth

Smile With Your Heart

Sometimes Alleluia,

Sometimes Praise The Lord

Sometimes Gently Singing,

Our Hearts In One Accord

~ Song lyrics by Chuck Girard ~

While in meditation this morning, I was hearing the words, “Smile with your Heart.”  Usually, when I meditate my attention is resting in the Stillness present and whatever is coming and going is simply allowed to be there as it is.  When this came up, I felt this smile come over my face and an overall glow come over the body.  Then, the words came, “Smile with your brain.”  And, I felt this glow light up the whole head.  Surrendering into this glow, the underlying Stillness came alive and vibrant through the entire body-mind, as if someone turned on a high-powered light.

After sitting with this for some time, the guidance came to share this with you. 

Sometimes, when we sit for meditation, we can get very serious about it all and miss the whole point.  It then becomes dry and lifeless as we continue our commitment and dedication to remaining in the Stillness of Being … in the Source … in the Heart Core.  

Ramana Maharshi said, “Meditation isn’t something that we do, it is what we always, already ARE.”

As it is coming to me now, it seems that the dryness comes from our sense of doing meditation rather than being meditation.  And, as we open to the smile in our Heart, we open to this glow, this flow, this Love that we are.  An aliveness awakens the entire body-mind to this truth of who-we-really-are … as Happiness … which, according to Ramana, is our Natural State. Now, it all seems to make perfect sense and brings it full circle. 

Short, simple and sweet…

Love having you here to share it with,

Elizabeth

Abiding?

“Abide in me

and I in you,

so that my Joy will be in you

and your joy may be complete.”

~ Christ ~

A dear friend shared these words of Christ just recently with me.  As I was being with these words, in a contemplative way, the true meaning began resonating within me deeply and it came up to share what emerged with you.

My teacher shared with me how words are a capsule of experience.  He was the only person I knew that loved to read the dictionary and discover the Latin root of each word and then find the synonyms of the words to find this capsule of experience.  Viewing words from this perspective, they just came alive with meaning.  They resonated with experience.  So, he would say to me, “watch your words and what you say – be conscious – be aware - for whatever you say brings forth an experience that can heal or harm – that can bring about awakening and peace or confusion.”  And, conversely, by his example, I would find myself only wanting to read the words of those who were coming from the Truth and were directly experiencing it them selves and not just talking about it.  That is why I love to share with you quotes of the Masters, those that I’ve contemplated and felt a deep Heart-felt connection with.  Then, we can resonate in this capsule of experience together.

So, Christ says, “Abide in Me, and I in you …” 

“Abide” is a word that has several meanings, but the one that stood out to me was “dwell.”  And, when I looked up “dwell” the synonyms for that were:  “reside, stay, have your home, inhabit, settle.”  Wow, can you feel this word come alive?  It’s amazing to me. 

“Abide, dwell, reside, stay, have your home, settle … in Me … and I in you.”  Now, the words of Truth of Master Jesus begin to come alive and resonate a direct experience of Oneness with where Christ is coming from.  Here we are 2,000 years later receiving His Presence of Being abiding in us, as us.  How precious is this?

Now let us take this one step further and experience the words of Truth from another Master … Ramana Maharshi …

"That which is the Support, the Soul, the Source,
     the Purpose and the Power of all this world,
          the Reality behind all this Appearance,
              'THAT' indeed exists.
 'THAT'- the Truth - abides in our Heart."

Ramana is pointing directly where to “abide – dwell, settle, have your home,”  …  in our Heart. 

Now, how do we experience this word “Heart” and not just get what he is saying intellectually?   This would seem important to fully experience even what Master Jesus was saying above, wouldn’t it?

How does one abide in our Heart?  How does one fully experience “Abide in Me and I in you” directly, in our Heart?

Have you ever fallen in Love?  I mean really opened your Heart to someone and felt a warmth fill your chest … a warm glow that fills your entire being if you really open up to it and fully let go into it? 

As we fully resonate with the Truth of what is being shared here, can we not feel this warmth in our chest?  And, as we give over to it doesn’t this warm glow begin to fill our entire being right now?

It’s Love, my friends, Pure Love … radiating and embracing us here and now.  And, as we continue to give over to this warmth, doesn’t it glow brighter through the body … and even begin to fill the space around us?  

Luxuriate in this Radiance of Love that is filling us up, from the inside out, and fully encompassing us, now.  Receive it fully … abide in IT … soak in IT… own IT … it is in us, as us, as the very Heart and Core of us … our Support … our Source … nourishing our very Soul. 

This is true abiding, dear One.  It is true meditation ... it is conscious prayer … not just thinking about the words being shared by the masters, but directly resonating and luxuriating in the experience of their living example.  It’s tapping into the pulse of the Living Truth and fully abiding in It experientially … directly … here and now.

So, what would be a practical application of what has been realized from this?  As we are about our daily lives, we simply check-in to see where we are by asking ourselves one simple question, “Abiding?”  Try it yourself and you might be pleasantly surprised as to how quickly this Radiance of Love will respond.  Then, just simply luxuriate in this Radiance, this warmth of Love while walking, talking, eating, etc. etc.

Being the Living of the Teaching of those Masters who have come before us is simply …  falling in Love with your self.  How sweet is that?

And, we deserve it … every bit of this Love and Joy that we ARE!

Let’s celebrate!  Let’s play and enjoy life!  We just can't help but share this Love ... splashing it on everyone.

Have fun!

Elizabeth