You’re Not Who You Think You Are by Albert Clayton Gaulden

Albert Clayton Gaulden put himself through the wringer in this lifetime. He lived not only to tell the tale, but to write about it in his You’re Not Who You Think You Are: A Breakthrough Guide to Discovering the Authentic You. I’m very grateful I read his book.

A student of Vedanta, Gaulden is the founder of the well-known Sedona Intensive, an alternative therapy program that people from all walks of life swear by. I’ve not taken the training, but if his book is any indication, it’s tough, and it works.

The authentic self is a bugaboo for a lot of folks in the spiritual life. Gaulden grabs it by the horns and wrestles it into clarity. He proposes eight stages of development for those of us who seek to be authentic in this crazy world.

I so appreciated his take on the ego that I wrote “Bravo!” in the margin. Ego, he says, is to be integrated into the person through love. Hallelujah! A spiritual teacher who does not vilify that sorely rejected aspect of self, the ego. Ego, dear one, means simply “I am,” and without one, life here would be unbearable.

Ego is to be loved, and guided, and poked and prodded and investigated to bring light to its shadow. That’s all. It’s not some monster that lives inside one—unless we make it a monster. Then, it can kill us with one glance, like a basilisk.

Ego must be led by the Divine in each of us. “Embrace your ego,” Gaulden writes, and begin a conscious relationship with him/her (and we all have both inside us!). “Stop blaming your ego, and sit down and talk.” Develop a dialogue so that High Self can guide ego.

This is actually how the human structure was originally designed, according to Charles Fillmore, co-founder of Unity. Ego was meant to be a follower, not a leader.

“The ego can either be fed or faced.” We get to choose, and once we choose to face the ego, a whole, new, inner world opens to us. “The unredeemed ego is what keeps us connected to the never-ending karmic cycles.” Playing out the same scenes over and over again simply with different characters, until we, ourselves, get the learning. Or, as Gaulden would have it, “remembering.”

His stage two suggests that we have to decide if there’s a god or not. Once we do, and he highly recommends the choice that there is a god, then we get to interact with It. Stage three is coming out of the darkness into the light. Stage Four takes us into the world of Karmic Mirrors. We have to accept our karma in order to change it. “Change starts with forgiving yourself and the making of amends with those you have hurt.”

His further stages take us deeper and deeper into knowledge of self and the action of service. He asks the question: Am I my brother’s keeper? And he answers it, “Yes.” Through love and service, we live into our authentic selves, which is what we’re all doing here anyway.

Finally, he takes us where we all need to end up. All you need is love. He writes, “I experience so many different kinds of love: courtly love, erotic love, familial love, free love, platonic love, puppy love, religious love, romantic love, unrequited love. Then there is the love of God.”

Earlier, Gaulden writes, “Every soul has a resonance with God. The divine frequency is reactivated initially by remembering what harmony and peace feel like.” And that’s the key. No matter how much travail, no matter how much pain, no matter how much recovery, it’s all worth it because harmony and peace are the result.

Read Albert Clayton Gaulden’s book, but be forewarned. If you take it to heart, you will change and your world will change with you.

Calling

Seeds XII, 6

Seed: Calling

The second major definition of calling in the OED appears as 9.a, and says, “The summons, invitation, or impulse of God to salvation or to his service; the inward feeling or conviction of a divine call; the strong impulse to any course of action as the right thing to do.”

God isn’t really necessary to have a sense of calling. It’s an inward process, a sense that there is something you’re meant to be being, doing, thinking. Genuine calling is the awareness that your gifts are gifts that the world needs right where you are.

This is why I prefer Richard Leider’s definition that I found in Utne Reader in the September-October 2007 issue. He says, “I define calling as the inner urge to give your gifts away.”

How do you know it’s a calling? That’s simple. It’s the things that are easy for you, things that seem simple to you, things that seem ordinary to your way of thinking. I’m one of those people who, when I ask someone how they are, the person truly answers me. It’s been so since I was a kid.

So what’s (part of) my calling? To listen deeply to people, to counsel them, to make space, to show love, to hold out possibilities. If it’s easy, it’s likely a calling.

Be passion,

Susan Corso

Dr. Susan Corso

Seeds are remarkable gifts. Sown in consciousness, they bring you to the most important part of your being—your Divine Spark.

Check out the Seeds Archive for past messages of inspiration.

When you have friends you would like added to the Seeds e-mail list, send their addresses to me at susan@susancorso.com.

For spiritual nourishment, please visit my website www.susancorso.com

and my blogs Seeds for Sanctuary, God’s Dictionary,

Ode Magazine, and The Huffington Post

and

join me on Facebook and follow me on Twitter: @PeaceCorso.

Rabbi Rami Shapiro Takes on The Ten Commandments

Rabbi Rami Shapiro writes a column for Spirituality & Health called Roadside Assistance for the Spiritual Traveler. In it, he answers readers’ questions. I always learn something from his answers. He’s a clever, Zen imp of a Jewish rabbi. His tweets often make me laugh out loud.

In the January-February 2010 issue, the good rabbi received this question:

My wife and I want to raise our newborn with a spiritual foundation and thought the Ten Commandments might work, but we’re having trouble making them relevant. Any suggestions?

{Editorial: What a great question!}

Here’s Rabbi Rami’s response in full …

Try reciting the Ten Commandments together as daily vows. Here is my version, inspired by Vietnamese Zen master Thich Nhat Hahn:

1. God is the source of liberation. Aware of the suffering caused by enslavement to things and ideas, I vow to free myself form all additions and compulsive behaviors, both material and spiritual.
2. God cannot be named. Aware of the suffering caused by gods created in our own image for our own profit, I vow to recognize all ideas about God as productions of human beings, bound by history and circumstance, and forever incapable of defining the Reality Beyond Naming.
3. God cannot be owned. Aware of the suffering caused by the misuse of God and religion in the quest of power, I vow to liberate myself from all ideologies that demonize others, and to honor only those teachings that uphold the freedom and dignity of woman, man, and nature.
4. Remember the Sabbath. Aware of the suffering caused by slavish attachment to work, consumption, and technology, I vow to set aside the Sabbath as a day of personal freedom, creativity, and play.
5. Honor your parents. Aware of the suffering caused by old age, I vow to care for my parents to the best of my ability and to promote the dignity and well-being of all elderly people.
6. Do not murder. Aware of the suffering caused by the wanton destruction of life, I vow to cultivate respond and gentleness toward all beings.
7. Avoid sexual misconduct. Aware of the suffering caused by sexual irresponsibility, I vow to honor human sexuality and never degrade it through violence, ignorance, selfishness, or deceit.
8. Do not steal. Aware of the suffering caused by exploitation, injustice, theft, and oppression, I vow to respect the property of others, to work for the just sharing of resources, and to cultivate generosity in myself and my community.
9. Do not lie. Aware of the suffering caused by harmful speech, I vow to speak truthfully and with compassion, to avoid gossip and slander, and to refrain from uttering words that cause needless division or discord.
10. Do not covet. Aware of the suffering caused by endless desire, I vow to live simply and avoid debt, to enjoy what I have before seeking to have more, and to labor for what I desire, honestly and justly.

Beautiful, aren’t they? And yet, as part of my own spiritual practice, they speak to me only theoretically so they aren’t of much use to me.

The point here is, just as with The Pattern Prayer, use the Ten Commandments as a basis for your practice and work with them till they take a form that speaks to you.

I’m starting now, and soon enough, my Ten will appear in this blog.

Send an Olympic Winter Games Peace Message to the World

I read about this on Amazing Women Rock.

This is from the Memories Thrift Store Peace Project.

CHAMPIONS OF PEACE: One of the highlights of the Project will be to name 15 “Champions of Peace.” These are Richmond, BC residents who have provided inspirational leadership in:

• Alleviation of Poverty
• Affordable Housing
• Food Security / Eliminating Hunger
• Human Rights
• Immigration and Settlement
• Diversity / Multiculturalism
• Arts & Culture
• Social Justice
• Young Person (18 or younger) who is a Leader in Social Justice
• Environment
• Equality of Women
• Disability Rights
• Mental Health Advocacy
• Senior Advocacy
• Peacemaking

A WORD OF PEACE: We hope to collect hundreds of brief messages of peace to be posted on our windows and throughout Memories Thrift Store.  An estimated 25,000 people from around the world will walk directly by our storefront every day; your message will be seen by thousands!

CLICK HERE TO SEND US A MESSAGE OF PEACE: 2010peaceproject@gmail.com

Amazing humans rock for peace. I sent my message; now send yours.

Ubuntu

Seeds XII, 5

Seed: Ubuntu

Ubuntu is a word from Ghana with a humanistic bent. Its literal translation is “I am because you are.” Ever thought of life that way?

The banker teller is because you are. The grocery checker is because you are. You are because of the bank teller and the grocery checker.

Traditional Christian thought supports this idea. Do unto others as you would have others do unto you. A good guide for choosing behavior. But there’s a deeper metaphysics here. Truth is, you cannot do unto others any better than you can do unto yourself.

We all need and want the same things, my friend. Food, warmth, shelter, meaningful work, love. Cars that go if we have cars. And the occasional chocolate. (Had to add that.)

I am because you are. You are because I am. May I always behave as though I am you.

Be passion,

Susan Corso

Dr. Susan Corso

Seeds are remarkable gifts. Sown in consciousness, they bring you to the most important part of your being—your Divine Spark.

Check out the Seeds Archive for past messages of inspiration.

When you have friends you would like added to the Seeds e-mail list, send their addresses to me at susan@susancorso.com.

For spiritual nourishment, please visit my website www.susancorso.com

and my blogs Seeds for Sanctuary, God’s Dictionary,

Ode Magazine, and The Huffington Post

and

join me on Facebook and follow me on Twitter: @PeaceCorso.

Jigsaw Puzzle Wisdom

Did your family do jigsaw puzzles over the holidays? Mine didn’t, but a lot of people I know did. So Santa brought us a jigsaw puzzle for Christmas, and did we have fun. The thing is … Christmas is long past, and I’ve gotten used to the Zen of having a puzzle in process.

You know that at this point, I’m in a serious process of reclamation of my body. I’ve been ill for a long time—decades—and now I’ve figured out how not to be ill, but I’ve got some serious spiritual work to do before I get there.

Enter the jigsaw puzzle.

At the moment, I’m doing one of flags of the world. They’re beautiful. I find the meditative process very easy when my conscious brain is busy. I’ve been breathing in pink light. Reciting the Prayer of St. Francis. Even praying my own rewrite of The Pattern Prayer. Doing a jigsaw is a meditation for me. It also taught me some lessons:

You remember how to do a jigsaw puzzle, right?

First, you sort the edge pieces out of the mass of the entire puzzle.

Isn’t that how you approach a problem as well? Give it parameters. At least to start. They might grow, but at least you start with a feeling of control however minimal.

Then, you put together the perimeter. That’s the space in which you’re going to solve the problem.

Then you sort a second time. In this case, I looked for all the pieces with words on them. (Each flag has the name of its country in this puzzle.) In problem-solving, you start with what you can name, no?

Then I sorted the names I’d found by continent. For a problem, sort the issues into categories. You might discover a pattern.

Then I started to compare the picture on the box with the names I had so I could place the names in their proper places in the puzzle. Isn’t that part of problem-solving? Moving things around till you understand them in a new way?

Then I sorted again—for the pieces I’d missed, and there were plenty of them! And problems work the same way. You sort, and then you sort deeper.

Interestingly, as I did that, I realized that the continents each had a different background color: I saw pattern! And voila! The puzzle is going much faster (although that’s not the goal.)

Anyway, consider a jigsaw puzzle if you’re trying to work out something that tangled up in your brain. It works for me.

More Traffic Light Wisdom

Readers of this blog will know that I use the image of a traffic light as a way to discern guidance sometimes. The three lights represent my head, my heart and my gut. The usual suggestion is that until all three lights are green, don’t go. Or, put positively, when all three turn green, go!

Last week, I had to go have some blood tests and I needed to be fasting, so I was out in morning rush hour traffic. It was congested enough that I got caught by red light after red light so I had some time to contemplate the traffic lights.

A traditional traffic light has three differently colored lights that are illuminated to indicate a driver’s course of action, right?

The top is the red light or head.

The middle is the yellow light or heart.

The bottom is the green light or gut.

Aha!

Let’s extrapolate …

When guidance comes from your head, STOP.

When guidance comes from your heart, BE CAUTIOUS.

When guidance comes from your gut, GO.

Get still. See where in your body the message is coming from.

Head messages can be confusing, flip-flopping, second-guessing.

Heart messages, purer than those from the head, can be misleading; feelings change.

Body messages are indubitably clear.

The reason for this is simple. Bodies can’t lie. Hearts can mislead us. Heads are all over the map at times.

Listen for your gut response and go with that.

Love Going Around

Seeds XII, 4

Seed: Love Going Around

This Seed was inspired by the words of Larissa, age 4, in Science of Mind Magazine. “We are here to keep the love going around.” How’s that for a clear statement of purpose?

I read another quote recently. “There is no problem that cannot be solved with two words: More love.”

Can it be more clear? I don’t think so.

Consider adding a new question into your daily practice, dear one. How can I keep the love going around? Or, how can I add more love to this situation?

Be forewarned: love is the energy of miracles.

Be passion,

Susan Corso

Dr. Susan Corso

Seeds are remarkable gifts. Sown in consciousness, they bring you to the most important part of your being—your Divine Spark.

Check out the Seeds Archive for past messages of inspiration.

When you have friends you would like added to the Seeds e-mail list, send their addresses to me at susan@susancorso.com.

For spiritual nourishment, please visit my website www.susancorso.com

and my blogs Seeds for Sanctuary, God’s Dictionary,

Ode Magazine, and The Huffington Post

and

join me on Facebook and follow me on Twitter: @PeaceCorso.

Grief, the Great Equalizer

We just returned, as you know, from a quick trip to New Mexico where we attended a memorial service for my sweetie’s dear old mother. The whole family were there and what a ride.

And now comes the actual work for my darling:

Forging an identity without parents.

The thing is, dear one, (and you’ll know this if you’ve ever done it), there is no way to know who she’ll become. She has no idea. I have no idea.

All we can do is show up, and keep showing up. Through missing, through anger, through slogging sadness. Through upset, through emotional snow/rain/sleet, through whatever shows up as a result of the grieving process.

Grief is really a great equalizer despite the fact that grieving is individual to each soul. Truly, there are as many kinds of grief as there are souls. No one of us is alike, and no one will have a grieving pattern like another.

The key is to remember that you are grieving.

Otherwise what happens is that you’ll look to your current life to find a cause for your unhappiness. It’s not here, in this day, really. It’s in the past brought like a caul over your everyday life.

We have to remember grief in order to honor grief, and that’s all grief is really asking for. Honor. A salute. A nod. An oh-yeah-I-haven’t-forgotten-you acknowledgment.

My darling has to go full-tilt into a rehearsal process for a show she is directing, a brand new semester and all its concomitant craziness, as well as processing her own feelings. I can promise you that it’s not easy, and I can also promise you that the process is worth it.

Several benefits accrue from conscious grieving.

The first is a deep appreciation for what the missing loved one has meant and will continue to mean in your life.

The second is a huge opportunity to forgive oneself for what one did with that person and what one neglected to do.

The third is a sweep through all sorts of unsorted and unacknowledged emotions that then get worked through whilst you’re grieving.

I could go on, but you take my meaning, I’m sure.

So, yeah, grief, I’m here. I’m willing. I’m showing up.

Let grief have its way with you, dear one. It will anyway. By letting it happen, you will emerge from it like the Phoenix: cleansed, restored, and ready to live another 500 years.

What Are You Doing? Traveling

My assistant is posting this for me because I’m nowhere near a computer. In truth, I’m on a plane returning to Boston from the memorial service for my mother-in-law in Albuquerque. She died the week before Christmas at age 92 having lived “too long” by her own report. I loved her dearly, and that’s not what I’m writing about today.

What I want to address is the conundrum of being neither here nor there. My sweetie calls air travel being in The Bardo. Wikipedia says, “The Tibetan word Bardo means literally “intermediate state”—also translated as ‘transitional state’ or ‘in-between state’ or ‘liminal state’.” See what I mean? Neither here nor there.

No, where I am on an airplane is in transition. What am I doing? Likely reading, but, for sure, traveling. I’m not leaving somewhere. I’ve already left Albuquerque. I’m not arriving somewhere. We’re not in Boston yet. Nope, we’re on a jet plane. Traveling.

I am reminded of Molly Weasley’s magical clock in the Harry Potter books. There’s a hand for each family member. One of them says, “Traveling.”

The OED says its etymology is the word travail. Which usually implies some sort of suffering to me. Here’s the whole thang:

*trepāliāre, deriv. of trepālium (582 a.d. in Du Cange), an instrument or engine of torture (prob. f. L. trēs, tria three + pālus stake, being so named from its structure). The etymological sense was thus ‘to put to torture, torment’, passing at an early stage into those of ‘afflict, vex, trouble, harass, weary’. Through the refl. sense ‘to trouble, afflict, or weary oneself’, came the intrans. ‘to toil, work hard, labour’. Thence also (as is generally thought) the verbal ns. OF. travail m. and travaille f., ME. travail, -aile: see travail n.1

Aha! Travail comes from an instrument or engine of torture, to torment, to afflict, vex, trouble, harass, weary. No wonder we are so antsy on an airplane.

Here’s how I manage to make traveling more palatable to me. I always bring too much to read. I want choices.

I break down the trip into ‘legs.’ First, the cab to the airport. Then, security. Tiny legs, so I feel a sense of accomplishment.

I never wear a watch anyway, but I don’t check the time.

I drink A LOT of water.

I try not to eat the food, but instead supply my own.

Eventually, I live my way out of being/feeling neither here nor there to being home, or away, as the case may be.

When I’m traveling, dear one, I’m traveling. And that’s all.

May this make your air travel more peaceful.