Looking for love in all the RIGHT places...

Lately I have been a match to great love and have been seeing it all around me. In the son's bear hugs as he suprised his Mom, coming home on leave from the Army oversees, in the long married couple who's caring and admiration for each other remains fresh and youthful, in the glowing eyes of the new Mom gazing at her baby, in the couple having some problems getting counseling and a renewed appreciation for the good in their lives, in the woman who is loving her cat, and in the nephews, rushing to the bedside of their uncle, in the joy of the little girl, dressed as a tiny bride herself, playing flower girl at a wedding, at the little boy, gleeful, as he gets to play football with the big kids for the very first time, as the toddler, trying out her new pair of legs! (Thanks, David, for that beautiful, evocative phrase!)

There is so much love here, all around us. I love that I am seeing it, more and more...

I've been off writing a book, and now a second book, since September. More detail on that soon!

feeling our way through it

Morning, Friends,

I'm gave a talk today and I have been meditating on what I wanted to convey. And this morning, I was thinking back to a conversation I had with a friend yesterday, when I told him, "I am not kinesthetic, like you..."

And then I thought about asking my friends to feel their way through some thoughts about Spirit I have compiled for their enjoyment today. And wondered how I could possibility be asking THEM to do that, when I declared yesterday that I cannot do that! Duh!!!

So then I realized I already do that. And asked myself what is it that I feel that allows me to consider a thought upstream or downstream, leaning toward the vortex or leaning away. And I realized I feel/sense thoughts in a LOT of different ways as my contemplation continued.

I made a handout for our exercise this afternoon, and then thought some of you might find it interesting. Thanks for visiting my blog!

Love and hugs,

Connee

Cultivating the Kinesthetic: Feeling your way through this…

How does it feel to you?

Warm or cold?

Expansive or contractive?

Clear or muddy?

Open or closed?

Free or bound?

Fun or flat?

Hard or soft?

Drop it in a cool pool and see if it floats or sinks…

Consider it as a playmate – will you invite it to your party?

How does it affect your body?

Do you feel more relaxed or tense?

Do you breathe more deeply in or hold your breath?

Does it look sparkly or dull?

Does it feel like an open doorway or a locked gate?

Are you touched or untouched?

Moved or unmoved?

Shaken or stirred?

Is it received or released?

Resonant or indifferent or repelled?

Joyful or withdrawn?

connecting more deeply with Spirit

I'm giving a talk this morning about Spirit, and was inspired to prepare for it by compiling some amazing thoughts about Spirit, and Source within us, from mystics of all ages.

Here's the handout I prepared for my study group! Some of these experiences/poems/comments feel like powerful portals to me...

Spiritual evolution should make the Infinite not more distant; but more intimate. (Ernest Holmes, SOM 89)

May we step into the open space that connects us to all beings, seen and unseen, and feel the infinite support of that loving field where each is given a unique sovereignty to fulfill. (David Spangler, Lorian.org)

My Lord told me a joke. And seeing Him laugh has done more for me than any scripture I will ever read. (Meister Eckhart, *99)

We are awakening, to the calling of the mystic, awakening, in the flowering of the heart, everybody here, melting into presence, overflowing effervescence, rising in love… (Miten)

Love exists everywhere around us and permeates everything - it is the treasure of this world, and by its very essence it cannot be kept captive inside our own coffers. .. Link your spirit to love itself, open your heart to existence (Rumi, Path of Love Mathnawi III, 1417-1421)

How long will grown men and women in this world keep drawing in their coloring books an image of God that makes them sad? (Meister Eckhart, *117)

I couldn’t lie anymore so I started to call my dog “God.” First he looked confused, then he started smiling, then he even danced. I kept at it: now he doesn’t even bite. I am wondering if this might work on people? (Tukaram, *333)

Such love does the sky now pour, that whenever I stand in a field, I have to wring out the light when I get home. (St. Francis of Assisi, *48)

It’s a lie – any talk of God that doesn’t comfort you. (Meister Eckhart, *118)

On a day when the wind is perfect, the sail just needs to open and the love starts. Today is such a day. (Rumi, *80)

Close your eyes. Fall in love. Stay there. (Rumi)

Know the true nature of your Beloved. In His loving eyes, your every thought, word and movement is always, ALWAYS beautiful. (Hafiz, *164)

If I told you the truth about God, you might think I was an idiot. If I lied to you about the Beautiful One, you might parade me though the streets shouting, “This guy is a genius!” This world has its pants on backwards… Thus having a clear grasp of the situation, if I am asked anything these days, I just laugh. Kabir, (*212)

If God would stop telling jokes, I might act serious. (Tukaram, *353)

*Love Poems from God, Daniel Ladinsky

The gloom of the world is but a shadow. Behind it, yet within our reach, is joy. There is radiance and glory in the darkness could we but see - and to see we have only to look. I beseech you to look! (Fra Giovanni)

Humanity is divinity wearing a mask. (Ernest Holmes, Essential Ernest Holmes, 99)

Take the heat out from under old hurts, and what is left is light. (Ernest Holmes, Essential Ernest Holmes, 123)

I see God everywhere in the matrix that unites us all… synchronicity is due to the vibration of our molecules organizing at the highest levels to achieve coherence and harmony. This is the demonstration of what I know as God. (Candace Pert, Everything You need to Know to feel Go(o)d, 215)

It is in each of us, in our very being moment to moment, that the Infinite and the Finite continuously marry and incarnate as new possibility. (Richard Moss, Black Butterfly 11)

The God of the visionary response is the God of light. The human nervous system is capable of accessing this response, which brings transformation, clarity, wonder, magic and healing. This is the God of miracles who reveals the higher states of consciousness available to human beings. (Deepak Chopra, How to know God)

The processes of your reunion with the nonphysical aspect of your Being is totally a personal experience, a love affair uniquely yours. This Love is divine love of Source for itself. This Love is the tasting of Source through you. There is no greater Love than the recognition of divinity in all you see… The glory of your Being is the sparkle within Source’s Eye. (Kelly Torian)

We are already and always on sacred ground. The gifts of grace and delight are present and abundant; the time to live and love and give thanks and rest and delight is now, this moment, this day. Feel what heaven is like. Have a taste of eternity. Rest in the arms of the divine... The time to sleep, to rest, is now. We are already home. (Wayne Muller, Sabbath, pp. 77-79)

There is great love here for you. (Abraham-Hicks)

Ahhhhhhhh, this morning I was writing to a friend, and I was telling him about a vision (appended below) that inspired me to a whole new understanding about teaching 11 years ago. In looking it up in my book, so I could append it to my email to him, I listened again to Erik Balkey's song based on the vision. And was inspired to tears of joy again! Erik's song, repetitive tiny phrases, totally captures the feeling of BIG love, small steps that happened for me in that vision. I so appreciate Erik's creativity and talent! He would write a song for you, too... write him at erikbalkeymusic@yahoo.com for details!

As I pondered this vision this morning, I remembered something Steve Rother explained to me once -- that Ascension isn't everyone getting to the top of the ladder. It's each person reaching their next step, *any* person reaching their next step. That was a tremendous relief to me! A little insight anyone has changes the vibration of the whole of human consciousness. Wow! That's leverage! And gives me cause to celebrate daily! I love celebration!

March 14, 1998

The Next Gentle Step

to hear Erik's song:

http://whatanicewebsite.com/Connee/Big-Love-Small-Steps.htm

This powerful vision affected me more intensely than any I had ever had. I saw a being of love and light gently reaching out a hand of welcome. First extending her right hand and then her left, she guided a person coming forward up over a small step, like a curb up onto a sidewalk. This was the simple action of the vision, but it was repeated with incredible loving energy for over 20 minutes. I felt like an endless flow of people came to her, were greeted, loved, nurtured, supported, and helped up this tiny step. They then moved beyond her into a light-filled space where they were happy, contented, and growing. The consciousness was expanding, the community of people congregated was growing. It seemed effortless and filled with joy.

I definitely felt she was a very special teacher, one who practices the Presence of God and the process of spiritual growth in divine balance. I believed she had created this path of light and prayed it into the realization of her ministry. This teacher encourages simple, easy, tiny steps, filled with grace and joy. I could feel this person, understanding the law and the love, both of which are God. I could feel a powerful consciousness of her own divinity, and see the manifestation of it in wonderful human qualities.

I could sense how totally she was in the flow of aligned energy. The stream was endless and she was untiring. She had more love than I had ever imagined, collected in an enormous pool of nurturing consciousness, available to share with everyone. I could see she was empowering others as teachers. Soon many others were helping to take the people coming in up the next step and the next. The expansion continued endlessly. She was a person who led as effectively from the back as from the front. She had power as herself very strongly, but had no desire for power over others.

The most startling part of this particular vision was, about halfway through the ongoing vision, I had the feeling of being "shot through the heart" by a bolt of love of a magnitude I had never before even dimly witnessed. It was at least a thousand times stronger than any love I had ever felt. My response was to begin to cry tears of awe and joy in talking about it, and I continued to cry for three hours afterwards. All the while I was trying to integrate the incredible gift of grace I had received.

This vision changed the way I look at many things. My previous model of spiritual teaching came from a team concept developed in physical challenge courses. At the end of a tiring day, the team members find themselves facing a 15-foot wall, assigned the task of getting everyone over to the other side. One solution is to "throw someone over the wall." The pioneer is then able to reach back and help the others to climb over. I felt as if I had been thrown over the wall a number of times in my life. I was grateful for the assistance of others who helped me get to new levels, however violently. I liked being a team member a lot better than being alone. I saw my teaching as the opportunity to give a hand up to the next person, so he or she didn't have to be thrown over quite as roughly as I had been.

In this crisis model of growth, I understood the future to hold someone getting thrown over the next wall periodically. Then the whole team could conquer the next obstacle. I knew it might be me or someone else. As I saw the teacher gently helping people up the next step, I could see the wall outlined in the distance. Nobody was choosing to climb the obstacle anymore, now the gentle path had been revealed. My wall paradigm, which had worked pretty well until then, was obsolete. Tiny, incremental steps could work much more gently and efficiently for spiritual growth.

The vision showed me clearly the kind of teacher I want to be. I felt an unprecedented sense of the magnitude of the Love of God for all creation. Far beyond my previous experience of human love, this love seemed unquestioning, universal, infinite. Even more than wanting to be an effective teacher, I want to learn to share great love. My understanding of the human capacity to feel and experience love expanded one thousandfold that day. My daily affirmation now is to have a "heart as radiant as the sun."

---

Copyright 2000 Connee Chandler

I was hanging out in email this morning, and a lovely lady wrote and asked me about filling the void. And her question reminded me of a vision I saw a number of years ago - I called it "The Stillness" the first time I went there, but later, when I went back, felt it as "the Void." And in the void, I heard a voice...

Here's the story of those visions...

The Stillness

November 23, 2001

I was in meditation, and for just a moment, slipped into a space of total blackness and stillness that I had never touched before. The richness of that moment stands out in my life. For the silence was not the silence of infinite peace which I remember clearly in contrast, this was the ground of all potential. The stillness that contained ALL THAT IS - all the love, all the joy, all the wonder, all the abundance, all the energy, all the health, all the grace... It brings tears to my eyes to go back there, even in memory.

Science says black holes are far denser than the light-filled Universe. I, too, found denseness in the darkness. Endless possibilities awaited the spark of consciousness to bring them to light.

Touching it for a moment was blissful. And then it was gone. Yet, I remember what it felt like, and I know that is the truth of my being, all being. It is all here, right now and everywhere and always. To truly grasp that becomes my goal...

Exploring The Void

January 27, 2002

In November, I saw a new place in consciousness while I was meditating. It was the deepest place of silence, stillness and blackness I had ever seen. As I looked at in from the outside of it, it felt like the richest place there ever was, the place of pure and total potential. I recognized it as the God Stuff from which all things are realized. I was enthralled by the mystery of it, the fullness, the love that I felt within there.

I was reminded of the phrase, “In the Beginning, God.” And when I looked up Genesis in the Bible, I saw that from the darkness the light was created. As I contemplated this vision in meditation over next few weeks, I discovered that I had a sense of this place of darkness as being the original space of all creation. I became inspired anew with the mystery of what is beyond what I know of God so far, after daily contemplating what God is for the last 15 years or so. I was awestruck again with the infinite nature of God, of the ultimate unknowing that we have from our finite perspective. Yet, I was also inspired by the understanding that it is always possible to know more of God.

I remembered the words of the Yella Werder song, Home in My Heart for Christmas, “Can you see that knowing God is all we live for?” I was inspired anew by this vision to explore an entirely different aspect of Spirit than any I have touched until now.

On January 27th, I was standing, in my space of vision in meditation, again contemplating the black wall of Stillness. On this day, it looked like a curtain made of luscious black velvet fabric. For some reason, I was inspired to back up to it, to feel its velvety softness wrap around me.

As I did, it felt wonderful. In that moment, I remembered the vision called The Monolith, from my book, A Gift of Vision, where I fell into the light filled space of perfect peace and tranquility. Falling into that quality of God felt wonderful. So I wondered, “What would it be like to fall into this space of blackness?”

With the thought, I did fall. The curtain disappeared, and I was falling backward in space, doing a fully stretched back flip, over and over. There was a twirling, almost star shaped quality to the fall. My guess is that I was seeing it in stop action, so I was seeing not just the rotation, but many regular points in the spiral as well. It seemed I was rotating from a balance point at the center of my body, and the spinning was orderly. Falling felt even, rather neutral from an experience point of view, almost slightly pleasant.

Suddenly it occurred to me that I might fall in that way forever, since there was no resistance in the space where I was falling. I said to myself, “I wonder what would happen if I wanted to be oriented on one plane?” Instantly, I was oriented, facing down. Then I said, “I wonder what would happen if I had a place to stand?” Instantly, there was something solid underfoot, and I had a place to stand comfortably. I wondered what would happen if I asked for light. An old fashioned, table-style Tiffany lamp, with a pull chain, suddenly had its chain pulled and there was light in the middle of the darkness. I realized it might be necessary to be more specific.

I wondered what it would be like to be in a room. Walls appeared around me. About that time, I started to get slightly unnerved. I began to see that if I was going to be that instantly creative, there was a lot that I didn’t know about what to create. There were many things I did not want to think about. I even saw a couple of them. . I said to myself, "I wonder what God looks like in this place." And the answer came back immediately, eagerly, sounding like a young boy playing pretend, "What do you want me to be?"

quickly realized that the world I live in has had a lot of thought go into it already. There are so many incredibly good ideas at work in the world. Order, seasons, love, light, grace, peace, joy, trees, clouds, water, animals, plants and flowers… All of that was created from this space of all potential. I don’t need to have the individual consciousness to think up all those things in a timely way. It’s all been co-created. I was overwhelmed with appreciation for how perfect things already are in the world

I started to see creating more simply. Within the perspective of my life as Connee Chandler, there are many things I can imagine being fun, lovely or joyful to experience myself or to see happen to others in my physical world. This is the place to begin, a big enough opportunity for creating. I don’t have to start from scratch, thank God! I can simply reach back into the space of God Stuff, and throw a handful of something new into an already fabulous world of form, and call it good.

Expansion is unlimited. There is enough God Stuff available to create Universes. For now, I just want to see more clearly, to express more joy, to share more love, to amplify more harmony. I want to gather with a community of beings where we assist each other to know the magnificence of who we all are.

I already have everything I need to do my work. The perfect tools for the job are at hand. A few good ideas, and the faith that creation is underway, is all that is required.

The musings on release were a handout I prepared for a talk at my Science of Mind Study Group earlier this week. That talk is available at:

http://whatanicewebsite.com/Connee/Connee_audio_archive.htm

with the title July 19, 2009 Ingredients of Magic: Release

Many thanks to David Gordon for making all the talks available on my website and the Sterling Study Group website!

What release feels like to me

What is Release -- Connee Chandler 7-14-09

Release is letting go of needing to control all the details. Release is like letting go of a balloon and watching my Spirit soar among the clouds. Release is allowing my Self to FLY! Release is relaxing into trust. Release is relaxing into the knowing that all is well. Release is surrendering the belief that my local perspective is my only perspective. Release is remembering who I truly am. Release is letting go of needing to specify a particular path for my good to come on.

Release is relaxing my resistance. Release is letting my guard down. Release is freeing myself from fear and worry. Release is letting my mind and my heart sink into peace. Release is the stillness. Release is letting go and letting God.
Release is deep trust. Release is knowing that all is well. Release is remembering that things always work out for me.

Release is freedom. Release is the freedom of allowing my life to unfold. Release is allowing my life to evolve from a higher perspective. Release is cultivating a climate of intuitive knowing. Release is the culmination of my spiritual path so far.

Release is loosing the boundaries of my sense of self and letting in more spiritual territory. Release is joy liberated. Release is standing on the edge of the expansion of the Universe. Release is stretching into something more. Release is allowing my higher perspective more room to maneuver. Release is faith in action. Release is putting my life where my mouth is. Release is deeply knowing that even when it looks like something is going wrong, it’s actually something going right.

Release is stopping second guessing the plot of the movie of my life and watching it unfolding in mystery and wonder, trusting in the happy ending. Release is letting go of limiting beliefs. Release is basking in the knowing that God’s grace is sufficient for me. Release is trusting in the divine nature of my being. Release is knowing there is a bigger picture. Release is allowing God’s vision for my life to be revealed. Release is savoring the love that I am. Release is courting the conscious presence of the divine. Release is letting go of the past. Release is letting go of limiting beliefs and narrow thoughts. Release is letting go of the need to understand in the short term.

Release is knowing that grace is always here. Release is allowing myself to rely on my Higher Self. Release is savoring the love that is the truth in this Universe. Release is knowing the Universe is friendly. Release is allowing Spirit to orchestrate a solution. Release is letting love lead. Release is taking the next gentle step. Release is taking the path of least resistance.

Release is thinking outside the box. Release is trusting that my Inner Being is orchestrating the very best possible outcome of my life from the highest perspective. Release is deciding that sometimes it is ok to not know what’s next. Release is allowing life to flow. Release is letting myself know that there is more to me than I ever knew before, more to life than I ever guessed.

Release, like freedom is an incremental process, not an on-off switch, but a dimmer switch with a million stops. Release is about allowing just today’s next gentle step. Release is about letting go with love. Release is about trusting the flow. Release is deeply healing. Release is energizing.
Release frees up emotional and physical energy. Release relaxes tension, in the body, mind and Spirit. Release is relaxing into the knowing that I am always safe. Release is remembering that I am always loved. Release is delegating to my staff of thousands in nonphysical. Release is remembering that the Fairies of the Universe want to help me live an extraordinary life.

Release is remembering that there is great power in letting go. Release is reducing my baseline level of tension. Release is holding on a little less tightly. Release is unclenching my fist. Release is love winning out over fear. Release is choosing what’s really important. Release is being willing to be happy rather right. Release feels good, free, easy! Release rocks!

Release is empowering, powerful, grace-filled, liberating! Release feels like joy. Release feels like letting go of bondage, getting out of jail and collecting $200! Release is deeply trusting my Inner Being’s skill at orchestration. Release feels like recognizing that there is a bigger picture, even if I don’t see it yet. Release feels like focusing on what really matters. Release feels like living NOW. Release is being fully engaged in my life. Release is accepting the invitation to play a new game. Release is opening up to who I can be at a higher level. Release is blessing who I have been, on the way to becoming more. Release happens in the perfect timing. Release is cooperating with a universal intention. Release is giving Source room to maneuver.

Release is allowing my vibrational escrow to manifest. Release is about leaving the door open for something new to arrive. Release is being willing for life to be a glorious adventure. Release is letting go of fear, tension and worry. Release is knowing Law of Attraction is always in action. Release is letting go of past hurts and stories and allowing today’s joyful moments.

Release is being quiet enough to hear divine guidance. Release is seeing with new eyes. Release is letting go of the way things were in favor of the way things are and can be. Release is allowing synchronicity. Release is freeing up the energy to notice synchronicity is always already happening.

Release is decluttering. Release is letting go what no longer works and appreciating what does work. Release is simple and elegant. Release is a signal to the Universe that I am ready for what’s new and what’s next. Release is the key that opens the door to the Kingdom of Heaven, right here and now.

Release is remembering it’s not my job to make it happen, it’s my joy to let it happen. Release is knowing my dreams are already in the process of coming true. Release is knowing where to put my faith. Release is remembering that God is a river, not just a stone. Release is letting the games begin. Release is embarking on a grand new adventure.

Release is letting go of the old rules and ways and feeling my way into an intuitively guided life. Release is trusting in the beauty and wisdom of God. Release is allowing myself to be a fuller expression of Source, a more radiant light in the world. Release is allowing my light to shine brightly. Release is letting go of my defenses, feeling my truth and trusting the consequences, even if I damn them for a moment along the way. Release is cultivating a new, free-er, more expansive kind of foresight. Release is letting go of what feels constrictive and embracing what feels expansive.