Take Responsibility for your Life - Higher Self 14

Today's chapter is about taking responsibility for your life. It is a simple chapter but hidden within it are a gold mine of gifts and teachings.

With this in mind I have to share with you a little bit of what is happening in my world. I first noticed that I was nearly hit by a number of cars as I walked across the road and then my wife got two fines in a short period of time, which is unusual because she had for many years an unblemished driving record. Many people would see this as bad luck but knowing that we create everything in our lives on some level. I became the observer and watched Anna and Myself and how we were connecting with the world. It soon became obvious that we were constantly judging the drivers in the area that we live.

This set off alarm bells because I know what you judge you bring into your life. It is as if by focusing your attention on something that you vibrate at the same level and allow or bring it in to your life.

What are you causing to happen in your life?

Take Responsibility For Your Life

Qing, the young girl from the kitchen of the Pagoda, had started to join Huo and the old sage for their early morning meditation and the talks the old man often gave. Some mornings, there were as many as ten students who came to be with the old man. This morning, there was only Huo and Qing, and neither of them seemed to mind as their friendship, if you could call it that, continued to blossom since the time the old sage brought Huo to the Pagoda. Huo missed living in the forest with the animals and nature, but if he were truly honest with himself, Qing had more than made up for what he missed.

Meditating while sitting in a triangle, the old sage began to speak. "People are not interested in generating energy for their own survival and security; they want someone else to guarantee their security, and in doing so they lose their power, shifting it away to someone else, family, friends, religion, or the king and his government. We are continually transferring the responsibility and the blame for our lives onto others rather than understanding that what life has given us is what we have created.

"To be a part of the graceful beauty of the Infinite self, you first have to take responsibility for where you find yourself in life. Once you do this, you will see that the pain you are suffering comes from your reaction to life's circumstances, not from the circumstances themselves."
Huo looked down on his left arm, which had been badly burnt during the fire that consumed his mother and father; it was once withered and paralyzed, but now - apart from one or two small scars - his left arm was almost normal. He ran his fingers over his face; although he had not looked in a mirror for years, he knew that the scarring on his face had almost disappeared. It was only when he started seeing the beauty that this life had to offer that he could see the beauty that existed in everything. A young child paralyzed and disfigured, with the support of the old sage he was able to see the beauty that existed in himself.

By accepting who he was and disengaging from his emotions, he was able to see that he was not his emotions, nor was he responsible for other people's emotions. He understood that the way it was was just the way it was; rather than fight the circumstances he found himself in, he could accept them and then move on. Most times when he gave up the resistance, two amazing things happened: either the problem just fell away, or in some cases it was the circumstance themselves that taught him a wonderful lesson about himself.

In his own little dream world, he had not noticed that the old sage had stopped talking and that Qing was staring at him while at the same time trying to stifle a laugh that was wanting to burst forth from her being.

"You will have to get used to that," said the old sage. "Sometimes Huo goes off to other worlds and dimensions that only he has the key to."
They all laughed, although Huo's laugh was accompanied by a rather red face as he blushed at Qing's beautiful smile.

"Now that we are all back in the present, let me finish this session by saying: remember the teaching of the Tao; nothing is long or short, hot or cold, good or bad. Once you disengage from the need to judge, then you are free to be satisfied with the world and see the beauty in all things.”


Blessings and Peace and take responsibility for what you have created in your life.

Blessings and Peace
Geof

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The 33rd Sage and the 33rd Sage and the Initiate are available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, Watersons, Xlibris, a number of online book stores and on my websites.

The Way of the Initiate will be published late 2013

Twitter @GeofSpalding
Official Author Blog - the33rdsage.authorsxpress.com/
Translatable Author Blog - 33rdsage.blogspot.com.au/
Book Websites 'The 33rd Sage,' at www.33rdsage.com
'The 33rd Sage and the Initiate,' at www.the33rdsage.com

Be Honourable - Higher Self 13

Today's chapter from the Way of the Initiate is about being honourable. I hope you enjoy. The book has been written as a parable to be read but also more importantly the parable can be read to children with the parent or reader creating their own magic when telling the story. I would love parents to engage their children in the story telling by either asking the kids what they see or experience when listening to the story. Or even better they could have their kids draw, paint or do anything that allows them to express their own creativity.

I thought long and hard about whether to give more descriptions but then I realized that what was important was not my journey but the journey of everyone who reads this parable and takes their on journey down the path of the Initiate.

Be Honourable


"Honour is the nobility of the soul. It is about being consistent in your every thought, word, and action," were the words that broke Huo free from his sleep. He opened his eyes to see the old man standing above him. "Today we will begin a new exercise. Meet me outside the pagoda in ten minutes, and we will begin."

Huo splashed water on his face to wake himself up. He was tired; surely, it was not time to get out of bed. There were times when the disciplines of the old sage seemed downright ridiculous. He hoped that whatever the old man had planned, it would have some value. Huo's thoughts and motivations were not quite right this morning; he had travelled with the sage for nearly ten years, his life had been full of experiences, and along the way he had helped many people - but what of him? What was he getting out of it? Where would it lead him? Even Sages have their bad days, and for some reason that Huo was not able to understand, this was starting out as one of his. It was what it was. He had learnt by now neither to suppress any of the feelings that came up nor react to them, but instead to observe them, as they would be his teacher. That was all well and good, but this morning he could have just as easily walked away from his apprenticeship. What of having fun with friends his own age or finding a woman to fall in love with and marry? Since they had been staying in the Pagoda in the city, he had seen others his own age enjoying their lives and having fun. Sometimes a normal life had its advantages.

Out in front of the Pagoda, all was quiet. There was no noise in the city, as everyone except he and the old sage were asleep; even the shopkeepers, who woke early to prepare for the daily market, were still asleep. What madness did the old man have planned for this day?

Huo found the old sage at the side of the Pagoda, where he was carrying rocks from the front of the Pagoda to the garden on the left side. The old man simply looked up, and with a wave of his hand expected Huo to follow his example. So for the next two hours, they shifted hundreds of rocks from the front of the Pagoda to the garden. By the time the sun had risen, hundreds of people had walked past the Pagoda, many laughing at the old sage and his apprentice moving the rocks to the garden. Huo was becoming angry at the passers by, but the old man's demeanor never changed; he simply greeted their laughter with a nod and a smile and continued moving the rocks. By the time they had finished moving the rocks, Huo was sweaty, tired, and exhausted. He tried on many occasions to question the sage, but each time he received no response. In the end, he gave up asking; he knew better than to waste his time trying to get the old man to talk when he was in one of his focused, silent moments.

Once they were finished, the old man suggested that they clean up and meet again in the garden after they had meditated and broken their fast. Without another word or explanation, the old sage walked back towards the entrance to the Pagoda, where he bowed three times, removed his shoes, then entered the sacred space.

All the way through the meditation and breakfast, Huo could not help thinking about why they had moved all the rocks during the middle of the night. Maybe it was to be a surprise for the monks in the Pagoda, or maybe the old sage wanted to do it because he had something special planned for the day. Millions of thoughts ran through the young man's mind, so many that he had not even noticed that the old man did not meditate with him or that his breakfast had been improved by extra helpings of many local delicacies, thanks to a young girl in the kitchen who had taken a shine to him. If he had been in the moment, rather than worrying about the future or the past, he would have noticed these things, especially the young girl who served him his breakfast - for if I do say so myself, she was very beautiful with her jade green eyes and blue black hair that she wore back in a long ponytail. But then I may be biased, as she was also to become the apprentice of an old sage, a fact that Huo was totally unaware of.

When he had had his fill of an excellent breakfast – which, to be honest, was wasted on him - Huo wandered out to the garden. There, waiting him for him in the garden, was the old sage. The moment Huo arrived was the moment the old sage began to work. Huo watched in a measure of horror and mirth as the old man picked up a rock from the garden and carried it back to the front of the Pagoda. Shaking his head, Huo joined in, and over the next few hours - amongst swearing and other unkind words - the two of them moved every rock from the garden back to the front of the Pagoda.

It was while carrying the last rock that Huo totally lost it. It was not in the way you would think (for two hours he had ranted and raved), but now while carrying the last rock he began to laugh, finally understanding why the old sage had them doing what to anybody else would have seemed ridiculous. After he placed down the last rock, he went over to the old man and gave him a hug; it was the first time he had really shown this type of affection to the old man. In that moment, the future and past drifted away and he was totally in the now. The old man smiled, and a tear escaped from his left eye. It had taken ten years, but now the young man's heart was fully beginning to open. At last, he was honoring who he was and what he had become; he was honoring the process of life.


Blessings and Peace and may you open up to your own innate creativity and honour every person or animal you meet along the way.

Blessings and Peace
Geof

************

The 33rd Sage and the 33rd Sage and the Initiate are available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, Watersons, Xlibris, a number of online book stores and on my websites.

The Way of the Initiate will be published late 2013

Twitter @GeofSpalding
Official Author Blog - the33rdsage.authorsxpress.com/
Translatable Author Blog - 33rdsage.blogspot.com.au/
Book Websites 'The 33rd Sage,' at www.33rdsage.com
'The 33rd Sage and the Initiate,' at www.the33rdsage.com

Connection with your Higher Self - Part 12

In each one of us lies a spark of what some would call, God, spirit, soul or one of many other names. It is that small part of us that connects us with the I Am What I Am or for that matter is our aspect of the I Am. As I travel along my own path I find that the more I work on myself and with the creative spark that I have inside me the more that I open myself up to the possibility of what it is like to be a human.

We are all humans and we have all been blessed with this wonderful creative spark, but how many of us can honestly say that we have the courage to follow where that inner guidance takes us. Like many I have been sidetracked along the way on a number of occasions but for some reason, god, great spirit, my higher self or just plain luck keeps dragging me back on the path.

Now this path has led me to screenwriting and the film process. It is not that I have lost the love of writing or sharing esoteric stories, it is just that my inner being is always wanting me to stretch myself. Something that is not so easy when I am fifty nine and society expects me to be preparing for retirement. The call of spirit has been incredibly strong in my fifties. It was there in the earlier decades but I perhaps was trying not to listen.

My brother's heart attack and finding out I had the same cardiovascular problem certainly made me stand up and take notice. In the nine years since I have written three books, completed a degree in Health Sciences, an MBA, traveled to the lands of the Maya to research my forth book and experience the end of the world on 21/12/2012 at Palenque.

So the end of the world did not happen I hear you say. Are you so sure. How has your life changed in the last seven months? Have you been noticing any changes. Are you still happy with the life you are leading or is there something nagging you to change.

When I arrived back from the lands of the Maya I finished my third book, the soon to be published 'Way of the Initiate,' a parable about reconnecting with your higher self. Since then spirit has taken me in a whole different direction. I have started to write screenplays, and to do so I have opened up to be involved in all aspects of filmmaking to better understand the process. I have even started taking acting classes. This change in the way I write and tell stories has opened me up to worlds that I would never have thought possible.

What is your inner spirit telling you? Listen and follow it an I will promise you a life that is never boring. At times it will challenge what you believe about yourself and others, but if you can keep pushing the boundaries you will live an extraordinary life.

Today's chapter of the Way of the Initiate deals with the inner self. I hope you enjoy.



I Am That I Am


Over the next couple years, the old sage and his apprentice travelled all over the countryside, stopping every now and then when the sage would heal people or teach children about nature and the Elements.

It was during one of these stays in the village of Te Dang that the old sage asked the young man to begin teaching children about the inner self. The old sage knew that to master a subject, one needed to teach it to others in order to allow the teaching to come from within and be expressed as an aspect of the young man in the outer world.

The young man had been nervous all day. In the years he had spent with the old sage, he had always been the student, never the teacher. Although from time to time he would aid the old sage in his healing of the sick, he never led anything, instead always serving in a support role. This would be the first time he would take the lead, and it was exciting and daunting at the same time. He had watched the old man engage his audience in a matter of seconds, and although he sometimes spoke to hundreds, it always looked like he was speaking to each one of them individually.
How could he ever be like that? The old man had a magic about him, the magic of the Initiate. He never put himself above anyone, and he never engaged anyone in an argument. He never foisted his opinion on anyone, preferring only to answer questions as they were asked. He always accepted without question what each day would bring, he never asked for anything and yet his needs were always provided for.
He remembered back to the day when his pack and the dragonfly pendant were stolen. It had been a horrible day; yet, as he looked back on it, it was one of the best teachings he had ever received. Since that day, he had become the observer, and like the old sage, he was now taking each day as it came.
As he relived that day, he tried to remember what the old sage had taught him. What had the old sage said? He was having difficulty remembering. Huo took a deep breath and held it for a moment, and in seconds he could feel the calmness and all-knowing of the Initiate come around him. In his mind's eye, he could now see the old sage sitting deep in meditation.
Although he still seemed to be in a deep trance, all at once he opened his eyes and words fell from his mouth. The words that fell from his lips were from a deep part of the old sage, in a voice that was very different from his normal voice.
"It is important that you believe that you are already the Initiate and that you have this power within you. You need to make it a part of your now and not off-in-some-distance future. You need to create the Initiate within before it can express itself in the outer world. It is in the mirror worlds of the inner self where all creation takes place. What happens in the outer world is but a mirror to what you have created within. If you want to understand what you are creating with your thoughts and feelings, all you have to do is look at what is happening in the outer world. If you do not like what is happening, then you need to change what you are feeling and thinking. To be the Initiate, you have to be able to believe in a life that you cannot hear, touch, or taste, but rather a life that you will eventually begin to feel. It is strange that by believing and opening yourself up to being the Initiate and walking the way of the Initiate, something inside you opens up to the possibility.
"As you walk the path, you will begin to understand that the love that comes from the Tao or God is impartial. Although this energy does not care what you do with your life, it is possible to direct the energy and create whatever you want in your life. I do not mean that if you have a wishy washy thought that you want something that it will come into your life, because it won't. You first have to create the feeling of already having it in the inner worlds, and then this energy will be expressed and delivered in the outer world and the godforce will manifest what you already believe is yours."
Huo felt re-energized. The words of the old sage coursed through his entire being, then out into the audience before him. Children who were loud and raucous only minutes before were sitting quietly, waiting for the young man to speak.
"Let me tell you a story," said the young man, and the children hung on his every word. "It is the story of a young boy  who was taken in and became an apprentice to an old sage. The old sage taught him about nature and the seasons. He taught him how to connect with the animals and become their friend. He taught him how to sit in the forest and connect with his inner self and to understand that everything in the universe was connected."
As he went deeper into the story and the teachings he received from the old sage, he could see the connection he was having with his young students. Their eyes started to bulge as they took in everything he said - and even more than that, they could take in everything he felt. In many cases, they could not understand what he was saying with their logical minds, especially the younger ones, but on some level they all understood.
As Huo was talking, a picture began to form in his mind. He continued to teach the children, but a deeper part of himself was focused on the picture that was building in his mind. It was a scene from what looked like the future. As he focused deeper, he could see himself as the old sage. Following behind him were a number of apprentices, but the landscape was different - and this certainly was not China because many of his apprentices were definitely not Chinese. As he went deeper into the picture with his feelings, he knew it to be true. Was he creating this future because of his belief in being the initiate, or was he growing into a life that was predestined?
Those thoughts and feelings disappeared as he put his attention back on the children before him. He may have had a glimpse of his future, but it was what he was doing in the present that would determine what he would become.

Blessings and Peace and may you open up to the wonders of the journey that is your journey.

Blessings and Peace
Geof

************


The 33rd Sage and the 33rd Sage and the Initiate are available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, Watersons, Xlibris, a number of online book stores and on my websites.

The Way of the Initiate will be published late 2013

Twitter @GeofSpalding
Official Author Blog - the33rdsage.authorsxpress.com/
Translatable Author Blog - 33rdsage.blogspot.com.au/
Book Websites 'The 33rd Sage,' at www.33rdsage.com
'The 33rd Sage and the Initiate,' at www.the33rdsage.com