GOD IS a Verb. GOD IS…I AM

“Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on
the heel that has crushed it.”  (Mark Twain)

As we close the door on 2008 and step into 2009, I want to share some thoughts with you about one of the most difficult lessons of human life…forgiveness.  Whether it is ourselves who need forgiveness or whether it is others we need to forgive, I doubt any human being will escape this world without encountering forgiveness.  In the end, we are likely to discover everything we ever learned can be traced back to it.

I was listening, this morning, to an interview with Dr. Wayne Dyer and Oprah.  He mentioned the quote I shared above by Twain.  The words hold volumes of enlightenment for those who understand.  As Dyer recalled his painful childhood, lived out in various orphanages when his alcoholic father abandoned his family, it is clear he has smelled the perfume of forgiveness.

There is a great irony in forgiving.  We cannot learn what it is unless we have someone to forgive.  As in all experiences on this earth, to know one requires knowing two.  Understanding that puts a whole new perspective on those who came into our lives to offer us the opportunity to learn this, doesn’t it?  Perhaps one day we will realize the love they had for us was the greatest of all.  Those who need our forgiveness as well as those who must forgive us are required to take on the role of the enemy.  No greater sacrifice is made in the name of love. 

I have had numerous opportunities in my life to ask for forgiveness.  I have also had many moments where I made the choice to forgive those who hurt me.  Either way, the concept was the same…I had to let go of my ego’s need to be right.  I had to get out of my story long enough to see through another’s perspective as best I could.  The remarkable thing is, in doing so, I realized both parties came from a place of hurt.  Both lashed out in hopes that the other would somehow intuitively know what to do or to say to right the undeserved wrong.

Nonetheless, as I have grown in understanding, I have come to see that both sides were nothing more than two different aspects of myself.  I now recognize that all forgiveness is in the self…it is never about others.  When I attacked another with angry and hate-filled words, my hope was that they would respond with understanding and love.  When they returned ugly and unkind words, they expected me to realize my error.  When neither got the response they anticipated, both turned away, pointing an accusing finger at one another.  If the conversation goes no further, both parties suffer greatly.  Sometimes it is anger.  Other times it is hurt.  Neither feels good and both harbor deep resentments.  Today, when I catch myself wanting to point that finger toward another, I remember I am really pointing at myself.  I was the one who drew that person into my life.  I was the one who asked them to play the role they are playing.  What is it I am to learn from them?  If I review the incident from that perspective, everything is different.  There is no blame…only an opportunity to see something in myself which had gone unseen prior to that moment. 

One thing I’ve really come to know in my life…all of us want to be loved.  If we can quiet our own pain-body long enough to look again, we can readily see both parties only did whatever they felt they had to do to protect themselves from more pain.  I think this is especially difficult when asked of an adult who, as a child, experienced what they perceive to be mistreatment from one or both parents. 

We put such high expectations on parents.  We think of them as gods, and we leave them little room for error.  We don’t want them to be merely human.  Somehow, they are to magically know and meet all our needs.  We insist they are perfect and we define that perfection through fantasies of what that would look like to us.  They are to always put us first.  Even as we become adults, we seem to expect more of them than we do of others.  We want absolute acceptance and adoration, and when they slip from the pedestal, we sometimes cannot find it in our hearts to forgive. 

Parents are supposed to love children unconditionally.  And yet, unconditional love is all but impossible in this world.  It requires no judgement.  If you think about that, you will realize how much that is asking.  We are programmed with beliefs, in early childhood, and we discern what is good and bad from those beliefs.  But those are not even our own thoughts!  Those are the beliefs of our parents and our teachers!  What if our parents also had challenging childhoods?  Would it not be unjust then to blame them for what they learned?  So then, do we move the blame to our parents’ parents?  Well, we have to ask again, “Where did they learn their beliefs?”  You see, it is an endless chain of beliefs passed from one generation to the next.  Rather than point accusing fingers at one another, maybe we can finally begin to understand everyone was simply doing the best they knew how. 

Often, when we have our own children, we realize how much anger or hurt we’ve been holding towards our own parents.  We cannot forgive them if they gave us anything less than our own ideas of what love should be.  We wonder how they could have done such horrible things to an innocent child.  I caution you…look again before making such judgements, because when you do this, you are not loving unconditionally, either.  You did not walk in their shoes.  You cannot see through their pain.  You don’t know what was going on in that moment when they lashed out at you.  Of course it is easy to look at it through your eyes–not feeling the emotions they were feeling, not knowing what pain they were living.  But you will never, ever really know the “why” behind their actions, because it is impossible for you to know all they were feeling or experiencing at that time.

In my book, God Is I AM, I tell the story of my father’s passing.  When he slipped out of this world and into another, my brother, my stepmother and I were at his side.  I wrote:

     As l looked around the room at the three people who were with him at the time of his passing, I realized that the three of us were the ones he had treated so badly, in all in his pain; and yet, here we were, trying to ease him from one consciousness into another. Our forgiveness did not have to be won. It happened because we all understood a hidden side of this man. He lived in fear. He projected his fear unto us, not because he didn’t love us, but because he didn’t know how to forgive himself.

For many years, I tortured myself with painful memories of my childhood.  My father had never been there for me.  In his eyes, I was invisible.  The words, “I love you” were seldom heard.  He had physically and emotionally abused most every member of our family.  He never supported me.  He always criticized me.  In later years, he drank heavily, and ranted and cursed most everyone in sight.  He was always, always angry.  No matter how hard I tried…how much effort I put into being perfect…he never really saw me at all.  I never knew what it felt like to have him be proud of me.  I never got to sink into his arms, knowing he thought I hung the moon.

When my own children were born, I was overwhelmed with the love I felt toward them.  I could not imagine how a parent could feel anything less.  It made my childhood even more unbearable.  If holding an innocent, pure baby did not melt the heart of my father, then he must have been even worse than I’d even imagined.  For a long period of time, I held on to deep, deep anger and hurt.  Then, as my children started growing up, and my marriage was in shambles, I lashed out at my own children.  I said and did things I would later regret.  Of course, I didn’t really mean them…I was coming from a place of desperation they would never be able to understand.  I couldn’t tell them about the horrors of my adult life, so I kept it inside and let them hate me.  To this day, I know they must remember times when I did this or that, and they most likely have not forgiven me.  I’ve tried to explain, but I don’t think one can even begin to walk in another’s shoes.  I can only hope they find it in their hearts to forgive me, just as I forgave my father. 

It is never easy to hold onto unforgiveness.  Doing so causes the stories to replay, again and again.  Physical problems are often the result of holding onto anger and hurt.  I, however, could simply not find it in my heart to forgive my father.  He didn’t deserve it.  One day, however, I realized not forgiving was hurting only me.  My father was not affected at all. I took time out to consider what his life was like, as he was growing up.  I knew he came from an abusive home…a broken home.  I knew he suffered PTSD from World War II.  I knew he was angry mostly at himself, but not knowing how to forgive himself, he projected outwardly onto those around him.  He, too, was hurt and broken.

Marianne Williamson once said, “There is almost nothing we couldn’t forgive if we had enough information about the person we believe harmed us.”  We cannot know all that was present in the moment we were harmed, but I can tell you this.  More than likely, whatever they did, it was all they knew to do in that moment.  They, too, hurt. 

Holding my father’s hand, I looked down on the frail body of the man who never loved me as I had wished he would.  He had lived his whole life in fear and anger.  He was so afraid of death…of facing judgement for all the times he had judged others.  He told me, time and again, “You have to promise me you’ll be there with me when I die.”  I had no idea how I was going to keep that promise, and yet, I did.  Now, watching him struggle to draw just one last breath, I could feel nothing but forgiveness.  I finally understood what a great gift he had offered to me.  He taught me what it means to forgive. 

In forgiving, I was forgiven for having judged God as anything less than perfection.  How could I have forgotten the Divine Intelligence behind my life?  I had not lived one single moment without being loved!  For every time I made a wrong turn, God had recalculated and sent new angels to guide me along a different path.  No, I was never unloved.  Never alone.  In seeing the bigger picture, I finally understood how beautifully it all played out by my own design.  When I asked to know how to forgive, one man stood up and offered to show me the way.  He had loved me most of all.  It was absolutely perfect.

As he eased from this life into something else, I wondered if my Daddy noticed the fragrance of violets that followed.  I hope he forgave me, as well.

I AM…Jodi
www.godisaverb.com/blog

Mother Teresa’s Anyway Poem

People are often unreasonable, illogical and self-centered;

Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;

Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;

Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;

Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;

Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;

Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;

Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;

Give the world the best you’ve got anyway.

I AM…Jodi
www.godisaverb.com/blog

   “As we do unto others, we do unto ourselves.”

I think the Golden Rule is misunderstand.  Most people translate the words to mean we should treat others the way we want to be treated.  I believe it is saying far more than that.  I believe it is telling us that it is impossible to project our feelings on another person, because everyone we believe to be outside the self is really a mirror image of it.  The negative behaviors we don’t like in ourselves we push outwardly, onto others.  The irony is, “they” are “us.”  We will never get rid of negative feelings in this manner.  They will continue to reflect back to us until we recognize and let them go.

Some people call this karma, others say “you get what you give.”  In both cases, however, the message is the same.  It’s coming back to you if you push it away.  Resistance is a powerful magnet.

I used to know a girl whose very presence grated on my nerves.  It seemed she represented all the qualities I detested.  She was arrogant, self-absorbed, demanding and bossy.  Whenever she came into the room, I gritted my teeth and did the best I could to tolerate her company.  Mostly, I avoided her.  Nonetheless, her daily invasion of my world was ongoing.  It was always miserable while she was there, and when she left, it was like a cloud of doom lifted.  Secretly, I wished she would move…find new people to torture. 

One day, after giving this some thought, I started to wonder what might have made this girl learn such behaviors.  I understood she wasn’t born acting like that…something taught her to behave in that manner.  I looked back into my own history, and recognized every single one of those traits in myself.  I, too, had been arrogant, self-absorbed, demanding and bossy at different times of my life.  Wow!  Imagine that!  There was nothing about that girl that I had not been myself.  No wonder I didn’t like her…she was reminding me of those moments in my own life when I treated others badly.  I apologized, in my mind, to all those I offended with these behaviors and I asked myself what, in me, reacted to treat others in that manner.  Each time, the answer was the same.  I had been hurt by others.  I was fending off an attack by engaging in the old adage, “the best offense is a good defense.” 

After seeing these traits in myself…and especially after understanding them…I was able to change my response to her presence.  The next time she came into the room, I chose not to run away.  I even offered to help her.  Surprisingly, she thanked me and started up a pleasant conversation.  As I learned about her troubled past, it was easy to understand what had caused her to build walls around her heart.  Like me, she was using defense as an offensive tactic.  Within a few weeks, we became good friends and I never saw those negative traits in her again.  Why?  I no longer had the need to have them reflected back to me.

The more we understand about our unification with everything that appears apart from the self, the more we begin to heal the wounds of our past.  Once we recognize that “all of this” comes from but one Source, we know it all to be the same One, Being.  While it seems easier to project our negative behaviors outwardly onto others, all we are really doing is clinging tightly to that which we don’t like.  The images we see around us now carry the karma.  It will forever follow us until we accept  it as ours.  When we tell ourselves, “I would never be like that,” we need to look again.  We are like that or we would not recognize it in others.

Think of this like a ball thrown against a wall.  Every time it is sent away, it comes back.  We can keep throwing it away…denying it belongs to us…but the harder we push it away, the stronger it comes back.  The only way to let it go is to stop throwing it to that which is outside the self.  Once we recognize it keeps coming back due to our own actions, we no longer blame the wall.  We understand the laws of cause and effect, and realize the game will end only when we stop trying to get rid of it by resistance.  We look at it, claim it, set it down, and the cause no longer produces the same effect.

“Physician, heal thyself.”  In reclaiming all the traits we don’t like in others, we change.  We heal.  The world around us then reflects that change.  It heals.  All healing is done in the self, not in others; for they are us. 

In some people, we see the traits we love.  We identify with those people and claim we are alike.  In other people, we see things we hate.  We disown those qualities and label them and those who represent them as bad.  We aren’t like them, of course.  The truth is, we are all of them, and the very ones we push away are the ones we most urgently need to accept.  In doing so, the stigma of “bad” falls away, and we see those behaviors for what they are…the polar opposite.  Neither good nor bad.  They simply are. 

As children, we learn about good behaviors, but we also learn about the ones we are told are bad.  Some behaviors resulted in rewards of praise, love and honor.  We liked those.  They made us feel good.  When certain behaviors brought about negative responses from our parents and teachers, we quickly learned to push them away.  Why?  We wanted acceptance and approval.  We were uncomfortable with the energy of resistance.  Now, whenever we see those behaviors in ourselves or others, we deny them.  We want nothing to do with them because we believe associating with them will cause others to dislike us.  Funny thing is, our resistance is bringing us exactly what we didn’t want to experience…more resistance!

Our acceptance of that which we hate is what finally releases it from the responsibility of reflecting it back to us.  We cannot shine light into a room of light and see it.  It must illuminate a space of darkness.  Alas, not only do we recognize it, we truly appreciate it.  Reaching higher stages of enlightenment, we do not posture ourselves with fists poised to strike the enemy.  We lift our open arms high above our heads and  embrace and welcome All That Is with ultimate acceptance.

Whatever we do to others, we do to ourselves.  Embrace everything.  Resist nothing.  Transform.  Transmute.  The parts that don’t resonate with your vibration?  See them, put them down, but do not label them as “bad” and then project them onto others.  In doing so, it must come back to you, for there is but One of us. 

And always, always remember to love one another even as you are eternally loved. 

No exceptions.

I AM…Jodi
www.godisaverb.com/blog

Happy Holidays!  I truly love this time of year…Love is so magnified and to feel a part of that is uplifting and energizing.  I know there are many special celebrations going on, at this time, so whatever one you celebrate, I hope it finds you well and happy.

My wish for you this holiday season is that you become reacquainted with the part of you that has not been allowed to express itself for some time now.  As we go through this life, we equate our identity with the many stories we accumulate, and in time, we forget who we really are.  Other people tell us things about ourselves, and we start to identify with those beliefs.  A few decades later, we feel burdened and dis-eased, due to all those ideas we’ve accepted from others.  With confused and conflicting beliefs, we toss and turn in the chaos, declaring, “I don’t know who I am or why I’m here.”  Alas, a shepherd has arrived to show you the way.  Take the hand that extends to lift you out of the darkness you’ve withdrawn into.  You, my child, are a glorious ray of pure light.

This Christmas Eve, I suggest you allow yourself to be born again.  Let go of the non-serving versions of who you are.  Empty the basket of stories you’ve carried on your back for so long.  Just let it all go, because that is never who you were.  It was nothing but an illusion.

Time and again, Christ taught us that God was within.  “I am in my Father and my Father is in me.”  As you, too, understand this, you see that truth in yourselves, also.  God is everywhere…no space is denied, including the one you occupy.  Know this.  You and God are not separated.  You and Christ are not distanced through death.  Anyone and anything that has ever lived, still does.  Everyone and everything is God.  How can it be any other way if the Creator is both infinite and eternal?  Remember! 

On this day, allow yourself to stand in the glory of who you are.  Remove the mask and step through the veils.  You might question whether or not it is right for you to demand this kind of beauty and magnificence.  You ask, “Who am I to claim such radiant perfection?”  I say, “Who gives you the authority to be anything less?”  If God has created you in the image and likeness of perfection, is it not blasphemous to accept anything less than that? 

New beginnings start now.  Call back your power.  Rise up to know “for with God, all things are possible.”  When troubles arise and tempt you to throw yourself off the cliff, demand, “Get thee behind me!”  Holding tight to the truth of who you are, let nothing pull you off your path.  If you do not recognize anything less than perfection, it cannot exist for you.  Even science knows, nothing exists until you focus on it.  Where are you looking?

Yes, obstacles show up.  They have to.  In an experience of physical form, one requires the other to be seen.  Let it have it’s place, but don’t give up the light in favor of the darkness.  Resistance to it will strengthen it and call it back into your life, again and again.  Turn and confront it, absolutely!  Change it.  And then remind it that its place is behind you.  Now, focus on that which is your divine inheritance.  The more you practice this, the easier it becomes.  In time, the obstacles you face no longer call out the voice of fear within you.  They cower in your recognition of them, because in doing so, you dis-empower them.  As you merely observe opposites, without attaching strong emotions to them, they have no power over you.  They exist not in the shadows, but alongside…in the light.  Only fear empowers them.  Be not afraid.  In the light, there is only Love.

No more waiting for the coming of another to rescue you.  Others cannot do your work for you.  You , alone, have the power.  You have always had the ability to create the life of your dreams, but you just forgot.  Step into your power as the one who you want to come save you.  Close your eyes and imagine that the Savior is you.  It is.  It is.  When you claim the Savior in yourselves, you ignite the Christ within.  You grasp the hand of God, breathing the breath of Life.  If God is for you, who can be against you?

The end of this era has drawn nigh and the birth of the Savior is imminent.  Welcome this new arrival with open arms and celebrate the One who has come to show you the way.  This Savior will not lead you astray.  The call is “Follow me.”  Even Christ walked a rocky road, encountering many evils along the path.  The difference is, He did not give his power away.  He acknowledged.  He forgave.  He healed.  His light never flickered.  He always shone brightly.  Do the same.  That light is also in you.

Do not hide your light.  Do not diminish the importance of your place.  Everyday, we look to the sun as the Source of life for our planet.  It’s glow is so brilliant, we cannot bear to look at it for long.  Our sun appears huge in the sky and we know without it, we cannot survive.  How blessed we are to have this giant ball of fire in our solar system.  And yet, in the vast universe, we now understand our sun is one of the tiniest stars of all!  How ironic is that?  In a matter of moments, as our perspective changed, so did the significance of the light.  See the sun in you.  See the Son in you.  Change your perspective, and the entire significance shifts.

Look at you!  You are a brilliant, beautiful, wondrous creation of perfection.  Kings bow in your presence, and gifts of gold are laid at your feet.  A star glows in your honor as men marvel at this gift of God.  Angels sing on high and a grand chorus of voices celebrate your birth.  You are the reflection of Source, and all that is possible is there for the taking.  Reach out and accept it.  Know you are worthy of the kingdom and that it is surrounding you, even now.  See?  It is God’s good pleasure to give it to you.  Why?  Because God knows who you are.  Do you?

Now you know.  Never forget.

Happy Holidays!

I AM…Jodi
www.godisaverb.com/blog

   Do you find it hard to step outside of your comfort zones?  Have you virtually locked yourself into a cage with limitations and boundaries?  Imagine how different life would be if you opened the door to allow yourself to expand into becoming all you are meant to be.

Routines and habits are not just “accidentally” happening.  These are the result of strongly linked neuro nets that have formed in your brain.  The more you do something, the stronger the net.  However, there may come a time when you feel like you want to try something new.  What’s stopping you?  Fear.  No sooner than you reach for the doorknob, those doubts and fears arise, cautioning you to stay inside.  Who knows what might happen?  If you stay where you are, doing the same things, you will at the very least be safe.  You have no unknowns.  The trade-off for staying in the box is boredom.  You cannot grow if you aren’t open to new things.

In the last couple of years, my new mantra has become, “Feel the fear, but do it anyway.”  Of course the unknown feels risky and dangerous!  But what if those feelings aren’t really “bad” ones?  They are nothing more than the release of certain chemicals into the bloodstream, resulting from perceptions held about trying new things.  If you can accept that fear as being nothing more than a physiological response to your beliefs, then you also understand you can change your beliefs and release the fear. 

Stepping out of the box can actually feel like the most magnificent freedom you’ve ever known.  Suddenly, you feel empowered by your bravery.  As you begin to incorporate new ways of doing things, a new neuro net starts to form.  The more you do the new thing, the stronger the net.  In time, it dismantles the old way and embraces the new. 

If you’ve been holding the belief that not knowing what lies ahead is scary, then reconsider that idea.  What if you replaced that thought with the belief that new things bring unlimited joy?  Life is whatever we believe it to be…and we always have the option to remove old, non-serving beliefs.  What beliefs are you holding onto that are locking you in a cage? 

I remember being in Connecticut at the filming for Try It On Everything.  When Jackie and Jon were staring at two of their biggest fears–a snake and a rat–both had the option of staying safe.  However, as they tapped away the fear with EFT, both ended up actually holding the thing that had sent them running for years.  If you’ve watched the movie, focus on Jackie’s face.  At the beginning, you can readily see the fear as she appears tense and cautious.  After tapping, however, she is not only holding the snake, even saying it is “kinda cute,” but her face shows clear evidence that she is quite relaxed and comfortable doing so.  You don’t see Jon with the rat, but that was another astonishing shift in beliefs!  After being terrified of rats during the Vietnam war, he was put face-to-face with that fear.  At first, he was clearly shaken.  However, in the end, he posed for pictures, holding and petting the rat.  Neither of them thought it was possible to step outside the box.  Both did.

In an article titled, “Your Comfort Zone is Your Cage,” Michelle Rogers writes:

As you expand your comfort zone, you actually grow as a person to fill out these new boundaries. It makes sense. If you have a larger comfort zone, and continue to push the edges of it out, you really do grow as an individual – you have more experiences, more learning, and more wisdom.

You also need to be aware that it is YOU who created the bars of your comfort cage. No one else. It’s time to take responsibility and start bending, and even removing, the bars to the cage.

 Ms. Rogers suggests a few exercizes to help you bend the bars.  One of my favorites reads:

 Take a minute to think about who you are–specifically focus on your personality. Are you generally quiet and rather shy? Or are you the extrovert who loves a constant crowd? The exercise is to do something out of character. What would raise your friends’ eyebrows and make them say, “No way. ______ did that!” (In a good way, of course!). If you’re a quiet mouse, host a dinner party. For some this would be the easiest task in the world. For a limelight avoider this might be pure terror. Do it anyway! If you’re a gregarious creature and the idea of a blank social calendar causes your pulse to race, perhaps you should try going to a silent meditation retreat on your own.

If you have never been able to move past the boundaries you created in your mind, then perhaps you will at least consider it is possible to do so.  Using EFT, you have a tool of protection.  When the negative emotions start to well up inside you, tap!  Doing this removes the charge and quiets the conflict.  Once it is cleared, you can replace that old belief with a new, better-serving thought.  The more you do it…the faster a new nuero net forms.  Soon, you will look back at how long you waited and wonder what it was you were so afraid of.

What are you waiting for?  Step out of your box and try something new.  Reprogram your beliefs and embrace risk as fun and exciting.  If you jump off the cliff, you might fall.  But what if you fly?  (Please don’t take that literally…just a metaphor, you know.  I wouldn’t want you to do anything that causes harm to yourself or others.)  You’ll never know if you don’t get past the boundaries of your beliefs. 

Wanna go soaring among the stars with me?  Come on…join me!  Feel the fear, but do it anyway.  I’m standing outside the cage, urging you to open the door to something new.  Believe!  I’ll promise you that I will catch you if you fall, but I know you won’t.

Bend the bars and open yourself to new beliefs.  Yes, you can!

I AM…Jodi
www.godisaverb.com/blog

   I love working with people, using Emotional Freedom Techniques.  Each practitioner has a different method–a unique way they offer their skills.  I use metaphysics in combination with EFT. 

Many times, clients have asked me how I get to core issues so easily.  I thought, today, I would explain exactly how this is done.  You, too, of course, can do this for yourself.

As soon as the client sets up an appointment, I start to work.  I get out all the notes I’ve kept from former sessions, and I read through what they told me.  I notice comments that tend to repeat, as these issues are generally the ones most powerfully operating in their lives.  I review all the different emotions, in particular, and note the source of each one.  What experiences in early childhood matched the feelings they have today?

This next part is something I do as my own personal choice, as I find it to be the fastest way to find what underlying programs are causing problems.  I become my client…and, most often, I become who they “were” as a child.  Why?  Because 9 times out of 10, it is the child who is causing the problems.  In other words, who they were is 95% of who they are today.  There is a part of the self that never grows up…we call it the subconscious mind.  With emotions, it is the child who is in control.

As I get a clear feeling about this person/child, I tap on myself to see what things are coming up.  Very often, at that time, I get better understanding of a deeper issue.  It is sometimes something they didn’t tell me, but rather than discount it, I make note of it.  I can later verify if it is true for them…more often, they verify it even before I mention it.

I need to step back and let you know this.  I am an empath.  This can be a blessing and a curse.  If you choose to do as I do–to become the other person–this also opens you up to feel what they are feeling!  As I allow myself to become entangled with them, that also means as they feel pain, so do I.  While some practitioners might prefer to avoid that, I find it is very useful, because I can tell when something has shifted.  Also, I almost always know where they are hurting, before they arrive, because I can sense it in my own body.  To test this, I started writing it down.  To date, this has proven to be 100% accurate.  On the other hand, there are days when I feel pain in my left side or my right foot that seems to have no traceable cause…until I remember a client who came to me with that problem.  I then understand it is not my pain, but theirs.  Generally, the next time we meet, they explain that on Tuesday they were in a lot of pain.  I know!!!  I felt it, also.  The cool part is…although I never say anything to them…when it came up in me, I tapped on it.  They might think the pain subsided due to some other reason, but I know it was, in large part, due to surrogate tapping.

Just before the client arrives, I get very still and open to allow the vehicle of Jodi to be the conduit for Consciousness.  I ask my “self” to step aside for a while, so that Consciousness can reveal to the client whatever it is they need to know.  I create an open space so the client is connecting with the Source of All That Is.  As each person is willing to allow and accept, they receive.  “Not my will, but yours be done.” 

I gently test the waters, seeing where the client has set up boundaries, and I honor those.  I never go to places where they do not feel comfortable going.  If I notice the client changes my wording, I go with what they say rather than impose my will on them.  For example, I’ve noticed while I use the word Consciousness to describe Source, many people change it to either God or He.  I respect that.  The only beliefs I’m there to help them change are the ones they want changed.

After a lengthy conversation, me listening as the child they were, I find myself moving into areas where many people don’t know to look.  It isn’t uncommon for the core issue to be far removed from what the client originally believed it to be.  That is why it never cleared.  Once the old beliefs are gone, there is now space for new, better-serving ideas.  The perfection of Consciousness shines through as the client is back in the flow of good.  

The most common remark I hear from my clients is, “Things just don’t affect me like they used to.”  That isn’t surprising to me.  Once we start to clear out years of baggage, the charge on those issues is lessened.  Suddenly, people and circumstances don’t cause such strong negative reactions, because years and years of “stuff” is simply gone!  Without really knowing why, they find themselves calmly observing rather than participating in events that once upset them.

There are times when EFT works quickly.  There are other times it requires a great deal of tapping.  I notice how the client is responding, when it takes longer than they had hoped, and I allow them to make decisions as to what happens next.  We often work on beliefs they hold about it not working, as that belief will prevent us from locating what needs to be addressed.  There are times when I realize the beliefs they hold about who is in charge of this life experience are exactly what  is preventing them from healing.  They choose to be victims of an unfriendly universe or God.  Sometimes they identify so closely with the story of who they are, they don’t know how to let it go.  Or they don’t want to let it go.  Being a victim isn’t all bad…it garners attention they never got any other way.  But maybe they aren’t ready to change that belief.  I have to accept that.  I know there are many reasons people hold on to problems, and I carefully bring up different ideas on why this might be the case for them.  I generally hear them say, “I am hoping this works.”  Yes, but…maybe not.  When we “hope” for something, that implies we don’t anticipate it will happen.  We want some magical force to grant the wish…something or someone outside ourselves.  We don’t like taking responsibility for our choices.  What if we choose the wrong thing?  Sometimes, I believe, people simply don’t want to move forward.  Almost always, it is due to their perceptions about the world “out there” being unfriendly.  If they stay stuck, they can avoid making a decision that might have a result “like last time.”  Once again, they feel they will be forced to exist in a world that is unkind and hurtful.  Rather than take that chance, they choose to hold onto the original story.

If a client is open and receptive, I always offer them the opportunity to choose again.  I put the power back in their hands…literally.  I suggest that God is the one and only Source for everything.  Not people.  Not situations.  Not a medical diagnosis.  Not circumstances.  It’s just between you and God.  Every moment, you tell God what you want, with your beliefs.  Adding strong emotions, you energize and magnetize them.  You create your tomorrows with the beliefs you hold today.  You sometimes shape tomorrow into a wondrous opportunity, and you sometimes hand it over to others, so they design it for you.  Whose life are you living?  Whose beliefs are writing your script?  Make sure they are yours, alone, and make sure they are representative and worthy of God.  Every moment, Consciousness lives through you, as you.  What will you offer as the experience of being human?  Your life experience is nothing more than all you have thought.  When you take your power back and understand you have the opportunity to make good choices, you begin anew.  In this moment…this now…you are shaping your tomorrow.  It can be whatever you want it to be.  What do you want it to look like?  What beliefs are you using to design tomorrow?  “It is done unto you as you believe.”

Whatever method you use to clear out non-serving programs, keep in mind that it is the added tapping that is causing this to finally work for you.  You might have talked about it for decades, but it didn’t go away.  Every time you brought up painful memories, those feelings resurfaced.  The tapes played over and over.  They won’t go away until you erase them and begin to record new ones. 

There is nothing I do that you can’t…and vice versa.  We are all the same One, Being.  Nothing is outside the self, so use EFT knowing you have the ability to manifest a grand life of health, wealth, love and abundance.  “Physician, heal thyself.”  You have the power to do so.

If you are ready to start moving in a new direction, Emotional Freedom Techniques will go before you to clear the way.  Consciousness is asking, with unbridled anticipation,  ”Where to next?”

I AM…Jodi
www.godisaverb.com/blog

   Recently, I had an experience that was so upsetting, I had to stop and think about what spiritual gurus have been teaching, as of late.  It seems like, ever since the movie, The Secret, came out, everybody and their dog has jumped on the bandwagon to offer some type of book or program or workshop that can teach you how to make a million dollars practically overnight.  For most people, however, it isn’t working.  I know I get one email after another, every single day, offering me a new method of manifesting millions, and I can always get it at the reduced price of $997 or for only $357 (there is a marketing aspect ”thing” about making the amounts odd numbers that might sound spiritual).  Worse yet, if I don’t take this amazing deal, I’m “guilted” into believing I’m not taking action or that I don’t value my education.  Really?

I knew this had gone too far when a beautiful young woman told me she was close to being homeless, but she felt the urge to donate money to an organization that was helping war veterans.  As I listened to those words, in stunned silence, she reminded me that in order to receive, one must give.  She was perfectly aware that this didn’t make much sense, but over and over, people have been telling her to give, give, and give some more.  In doing so, she will suddenly find herself heir to the mansion.  Well then, with all she had already given, why had it not happened?  Although she needed food, shelter and a job, she was being told to spend her money on a course that would educate her on how to follow her spiritual path.  You are kidding, right?  This angelic woman has far more spiritual knowledge than most all of the people who are wanting her to learn from them.  What’s wrong with looking for a job? 

You see, the problem is, you can’t tell someone who is feeling lack in a particular area of his/her life to give even more from that place.  They are obviously holding underlying beliefs that are telling them they will never have enough.  Giving away more will only reinforce that idea.  While the concept of giving to receive is correct, it should never be done from an area where the person feels lack.  Rather, these people need to find something they have “more than enough of,” and give more of that.  I told this young lady, “You have an abundance of love.  Give that!”

Additionally, she shared that she was making a list of 5 things she felt grateful for, every morning, and offering thanks for those blessings.  Wonderful!  “So,” I asked, “are you being grateful for the new job, the money and the lovely new home you want?”  She answered quickly.  No.  She didn’t have those things, so she was focusing on what she did have.  Hmmmm.  While there is no problem with being grateful for what she already had, she was not understanding how the Law of Attraction works.  In order to attract something into your life, you have to act as if you already have it.  Be grateful for it now, and that brings it to you much faster.  If you can’t come from the feeling place of believing it is already yours, it won’t be.  Manifestation follows unblocked anticipation and expectation.  Believe it and then you’ll see it.

So, please…let me make this clear, so I am not guilty of putting those I teach in a difficult place.  Giving must come from a perception of having abundance.  Give things in areas where you have more than enough.  If you are struggling with money issues, that is a clear indication that you have a block there.  Don’t give money until you have removed that block!  If you do, you will supplement a belief in lack.  You must first clear out the old beliefs about lack before you can accept abundance in the bank account.  If you want to take action, then use EFT to clear out non-serving beliefs.  And hey, by the way, it doesn’t have to cost you a thing.  You can tap on yourself…no charge!  (LOL, interesting choice of words, huh?) After–and only after that–can you feel confident enough about money to casually give it to others.  Remember…giving to yourself is also an act of giving…so don’t hesitate to give yourself the love and attention you need.  Many spiritual people give out so much of themselves, they are starving for self-love.  This is your opportunity to give to the one who needs help the most.  Yourself.

Also, always remember to be grateful for whatever it is you want to attract into your life.  You must hold absolute acceptance that it is already yours.  If you attempt to get yourself into that feeling place of gratitude, but find you are having problems, then you have blocks!  You must remove the old ideas to make room for the new ones.  So long as your beliefs are not congruent, you will not receive that which you want to manifest.  This holds true not only for possessions, but also for health, relationships, and any other desire you have.

Time and time again, I say that manifestation is effortless.  If it doesn’t feel that way, you are in the energy of resistance.  Stop.  Go no further until you understand what it is you are resisting.  If not, you may fall victim to giving and giving, but never receiving.  Keep this in mind.  The act of giving should be offered simultaneously with receiving.  They operate as two sides of one circle, but if you aren’t receiving in the instant you gave or if you aren’t giving from the moment you received, there is a problem.  Let me give you an example.  When my clients leave a session, they most often thank me.  I immediately respond by thanking them.  Why?  Because when I tapped on their issues, I also cleared mine.  I cannot give without receiving, and I can’t receive unless I give.

Maybe my left brain is operating overtime.  If something doesn’t logically make sense to me, I have to question it.  I have problems with this idea of giving until you have nothing left to give.

But if you don’t have a problem with that…

HURRY!!  Today ONLY!!!  I want to offer you a GREAT buy on a workshop I’m hosting.  It is an absolute BARGAIN at only $3, 577.99!  If you want to multiply your income in only 90 minutes, then rush to my PayPal account and deposit your money right now.  You can’t receive without taking action, so don’t blame me when you fall into bankruptcy!  Follow your bliss and get in on this deal right now.  Don’t wait, because there are only 25 spaces remaining.  You will hate yourself if you let this opportunity pass you by.  Chicken?  What’s wrong with you?  Why are you still reading this?  Go now and give me all your money! One time offer…and be sure to tell all your friends!!!!

I AM…Jodi
www.godisaverb.com/blog

   Funny how we are able to attract certain things into our lives, but not others.  Ever wonder why? 

Take me as an example.  It’s easy for me to find parking places–they seem to magically show up wherever I go–but I have a hard time getting to the weight I want to be.  The problem is, of course, those underlying beliefs. 

When something is easy to attract, it is because I expect it to be!  I have no evidence that whispers, “Yeah, right!  I don’t believe that” or “Have you lost your mind?  That isn’t what I want at all!!”  The worst of all is the voice that says I don’t deserve to have it or the memory of the disasters in the past.  Remember what happened last time?  Without those beliefs pitted against the new ones, things happen effortlessly.

For example, I easily attract good parking places.  Using the Law of Attraction, I practiced that one time and again, consistently having great results.  As a child, I didn’t drive, so there aren’t any beliefs programmed into me about whether or not that should or should not happen.  In other words, I am not having to spend a great deal of time undoing limiting beliefs from my past.  Thus, when I pull into a parking lot, my expectation is that I will find a perfect place just waiting for me.  I have no background noise in my head sabotaging that belief, so I vibrate in congruency with abundant parking places.  Wallah….parking places are abundant.  No problem!

However, if I want to lose 10 pounds, I seem to really struggle with that one.  Why?  Well, because I have beliefs that are not in harmony with that idea.  I’ve tried lots of different diets, and the results were varied.  I also have a belief that it isn’t easy and that I have to give up things I enjoy.  That makes me angry!  We’re getting close.  What about my weight made me angry as a child?  Oh, wow!  I have some terrible memories stored about that.  As a child, I was extreeeeeeeeeeemely skinny, so losing weight was not something I wanted to do.  In fact, I desperately tried to gain weight!  I was called names and made fun of for being skinny.  Twiggy, they called me.  I hated that.  It made me furious!  I remember spending lots of time standing on the bathroom scale, drinking glass after glass of water, in a hopeless attempt to weigh 100 pounds.  Starting to see what’s going on with me?  Sure!  Even though I’m now an adult who wants to lose weight, those subconscious programs of my youth are still running the show.  The adult me is battling with the inner child, and because the subconscious programs are so much stronger than the conscious beliefs, I don’t lose weight.  Nope…in fact, the inner child continues to want to add more weight.  She is going to do whatever it takes to keep me from being skinny.  She can’t believe I’m even talking about LOSING weight!  Yikes–hard to believe how STRONG that kid is!

What to do?  Well, I have to clear out the beliefs that my inner child is clinging to.  I have to erase that tape and create a space for the new idea.  I will tap on myself, saying things like:

“Even though it feels like I need to gain weight because I was teased so much about being skinny, I choose to allow myself to accept a new belief about my weight.”

“Even though I hated being skinny as a child and it makes me so angry to remember those names, I am open to allowing myself to lose this weight today.”

“Even though a part of me is afraid of being teased about being so skinny, I am now ready to let go of that 10 pounds because I know I am safe.”

I will have to do some talking to the child who is remembering how awful it was to be ridiculed about her weight!  She is going to have to be convinced that she is safe to lose that 10 pounds.  Gently, I pry the control out of her hands, and hand it over to the adult who now holds a new belief.  I can teach the inner child that security comes in many forms…not just in the form of food.  I can calm her down and erase the anger she feels.  She can find comfort in my new-found confidence.  As I make her feel safe and undo her anger, she no longer has a need to hold on to additional weight.  Suddenly, the struggle ends, and I effortlessly lose those 10 pounds that have held on for years.

If you find some things happen easily for you, while others are a struggle, go back and ask yourself what beliefs you are still holding onto that tell you this new idea is a bad one.  How does that make you feel?  Identify the emotional attachment.  Erase the tapes with EFT!  Until your beliefs are congruent, you will continue to sabotage the new idea with the old one.

Only after you have cleared out the negative beliefs will the new ones take hold.  Once you have done the tapping, now it is time to do your positive work!  This time, however, the record button is on, and there is a space on the tape for new programs to play.

Go get ‘em, Tiger!

I AM…Jodi
www.godisaverb.com/blog

    So receiving and giving are opposite energies that are inextricably linked together in the natural flow of life, like inhaling and exhaling.  If one aspect of that cycle doesn’t function, the entire cycle ceases to function and the life force cannot move freely.  If you can’t inhale, you will soon have nothing to exhale, and before long, your body will be unable to continue living.  — Shakti Gawain

Dr. Wayne Dyer has a new movie coming out in January 2009 called Ambition to Meaning.  Although I have not yet seen it, I understand it is about finding your life’s purpose.  I suspect, looking at that title, he is talking about making a shift from the younger days of life (where we often come from ego) into the twilight years of life (where we often want to know the why of it all).  This doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with age…it is about the level of growth we experience as we move through this life.

When people ask me about their purpose in life, I always answer it is not complicated.  I believe it is to experience joy.  But I don’t think that is really the big question of life.  More, it is about living with passion.  If we live life following our passions, we will find ourselves in joy.  The exciting thing about shifting to this idea is that we know what we are passionate about.  It isn’t a mystery!  The talents inborn in us are evidence of our passions.  We all have them.  What it is you are really good at doing–better than the average person?  What excites you?  If you had all your needs met, what would you do with your time?  That is your passion.  Why then, don’t we follow our passions and do that which brings us joy once we become adults?  We opt for practicality over purpose.

As a young child, we tell everyone what it is we plan to become “when we grow up.”  Many children have grand visions, while a few have simpler tastes.  Whatever we decide, however, we do so without a single doubt that we can acheive this dream.  I think the problem begins when we tell others what we decide…especially if we tell adults!  As time goes on, we are told that living out our dreams is difficult. Often, those who love us most are the ones providing the least support.  Whether it is because they are trying to protect their children from pain, or whether they are envious of one whose whole life is still open to choices, they may not exactly be the cheerleaders we need.  We are told it is not very possible to achieve our dreams.  It requires hard work and focused attention. The vast majority of people stop pursuing their passions at that point.  It begins to appear unobtainable or even unattractive.  We settle.  On the other hand, some stay determined to achieve, and this driven effort to obtain their dreams is labeled “ambition.”  The problem with this is…it is no longer fun.  It doesn’t bring us joy.  In “trying” to achieve happiness, we don’t.  Why?  Because happiness will never be the result of hard work.  That only comes when the hard work ceases.  Meanwhile, what damage have we done with that ambitious ego?

I remember talking to a family member about success one day.  My younger son, who is quite brilliant and gifted, was having a hard time deciding what to major in as he went to college.  People like him are good at almost everything they do, so narrowing a life choice down to a single option is a very difficult decision.  I was asking this other young man (also brilliant and gifted) what advice he would give to my younger son about making a career choice.  He said the choice was simple.  He could do what he loves or he could do what makes money.  This young man decided to make a lot of money first, and then do what he loved later on, after he obtained security with a great deal of wealth.  I wasn’t sure if this was the answer I wanted to give my son, but I offered it up for consideration, anyway.

In yesterday’s newspaper, I learned about a man who recently won the lottery.  He died the following day!  Isn’t that ironic?  To me, putting off your passion is just such a risk.  If we opt to spend most of our lives living ambitiously, what guarantee do we have that there will ever be time to enjoy living passionately?  Why waste so much of the time we have struggling to achieve, when we could use this time to feel joy instead?

Do we have to give up wealth in the pursuit of following our passions?  I just don’t think so.  In fact, I would say the person that follows his/her passion is the one with the most wealth.  Living in a state of joy, we naturally and effortlessly attract all the things that match that vibration.  Success doesn’t come with struggle and drive.  It comes from acceptance and bliss.

At various points in my life, I stopped and asked myself, “If I died today, would I be satisfied with what I have accomplished?”  During the moments I was focused on ego-centered goals and money, the answer was no.  Today, however, as I type this blog, seek a publisher for my book and work with my EFT clients, the answer is yes!  I no longer need to impress anyone.  There is nothing to gain from winning a pat on the back for a job well done if the purpose of that job was to bolster the bank account or the ego.  When the time comes for Consciousness to slip out of the expression of being Jodi, I know it will do so with a sense of gratitude and acceptance.  Once Jodi stepped out of the way and let Consciousness be what it came to be, all resistance fell by the wayside.  Needs were met as trust was established.

People often believe my husband and I plan to live out our retirement years in a beautiful home with a lot of money.  They are wrong. Retirement isn’t even an option, because we have no means of supporting ourselves without work.  We have nothing more than Social Security to live on…and we know we can’t depend on that.  We have no massive savings accounts or 401Ks.  The little we had managed to save has been cut by 50% in the past few months…and the remaining funds would last only a few months without continuous income.  We have no retirement funds due to being self-employed, and all the money we have is invested in our home and business.  Being in the home-building business, we’ve taken quite a hit on both of those in recent days.  Nonetheless, we can look back, with satisfaction, at all the things we’ve accomplished during this lifetime.  No regrets here, because we did what we felt was right…always helping as many others as we could. 

In the end, I suppose it comes down to defining wealth.  If we had ambitiously attacked this life in the pursuit of financial wealth, I’m sure our surroundings would reflect that choice.  We could have given less and charged more.  We could have protected our welfare and taken shortcuts.  We could have invested much less time and none of our concerns for others.  My husband didn’t have to support six people on a single salary.  He didn’t have to give his subcontractors bonuses out of his own pocket.  He didn’t have to offer the highest quality work to his customers.  I didn’t have to volunteer countless hours of service to numerous charitable organizations.  I didn’t have to give up my own career to raise four children.  I didn’t have to give clients four hours of my time for the price of one.  I didn’t have to put aside my dreams to help my children achieve theirs.  No, all those decisions were choices we made along the way.  But if we had chosen differently and had more money, would we be richer than we are now?  It all came down to following passion over profit, but in the end, following our passions resulted in huge windfalls of prosperity.  As I look back on the paths we followed, I see gold and silver sparkles that paved the way to this moment.  I know we made a difference just by being here.  Wealth, you see, is in the eye of the beholder.  I feel we’ve lived rich lives and our treasures are scattered in the wake that trails behind. 

In a few years, I will happily sit in a place I call home, typing on my computer.  I won’t need much…won’t want much.  Maybe I won’t have a grand mansion or a massive inheritance to leave to my children.  Maybe I will.  Either way, I know I will have a legacy, though.  I will have knowledge and love to share…more than enough!  While I’m here, I want to be sure I’m doing just that.  Sharing.  You see, it is that exchange of energy that best expresses wealth…and it comes in numerous forms. 

Every one of us came to this place to experience joy.  Have you allowed yourself the time and space to find it?  If not, today is a good time to begin anew.  Ambition may provide a comfortable life of many possessions, but real wealth is experienced when we understand the why behind our choice to exist.  It’s true–you can’t take it with you.  No matter whether we are talking about possessions or character, what good is giving without receiving?  What can I profit from receiving, if I don’t give? 

Take it all in…then give it all away.  Every breath is a reminder that this is the meaning of life.  To experience Being.

I AM…Jodi
www.godisaverb.com/blog

   I often wonder if knowing exactly what happens to us at the moment of death would change how we feel about it.  On one hand, it wouldn’t really console us because the person would still be absent, physically.  The loss of the form takes away the opportunity to see, hear, and touch the other person.  That is what we miss so much.  On the other hand, however, it might give us a bit of comfort to know that the person’s absence is only temporary–more like an extended vacation than a permanent goodbye.  If we absolutely knew those who leave here are still embodied somewhere, somehow, it would provide us with some comfort.  We survive this difficult time primarily through the hope and belief that we will meet again.

I have a friend who lost someone very, very dear to him.  As we talked about his feelings, he revealed that one of his greatest struggles was that he would never again be able to fall in love with another woman.  He was a young man–very handsome and extremely gracious–and for him to live out the remainder of his life without a partner seemed like such a waste of all he has to offer.  I asked him why he felt this way, and he explained that he had promised her he would love her forever.  Even though she was no longer physically present, he felt an obligation to honor her memory by staying true to that vow of eternally loving her.

Very gently, I asked him what it was about her he loved.  He said they shared child-like fun…loved going to carnivals and theme parks, riding roller coasters, and giggling like children.  Her smile would light up his life as they bonded in this joy and innocence.  I offered that those qualities he so loved in her are the qualities of God, Love.  I reminded him that human bodies which live and die do not provide life and death to these qualities.  They are eternally present.  We merely borrow them, while being human.  I then asked if joy, innocence and child-like play are still present in this world.  “Yes,” he answered.  I suggested to him, “If you are going to keep your vow to love her eternally, you must still love those qualities.  You now have to find them in other places–other people–but to truly honor this vow you cannot stop loving, rather, you must continue loving.”  For a few moments, he was silent.  He understood.  He finally released the guilt he had been feeling about moving on. 

For thousands of years, we’ve been programmed to believe certain things about death.  We have an acquired fear of the unknown, and we dread the thought of losing those we love.  Even those who have come to a place of acceptance about what happens after death–even they struggle with the feeling of loss.  It never seems fair.  It always hurts.

In the past few weeks, my husband has lost two dear friends.  He has yet another one on the brink of death.  All of these men were wonderful people, true friends, and caring contributors.  Their deaths are untimely, as each was in the prime of life.  Yes, life will go on for the friends and family still here, but it will not do so without a lot of grief…a sense of loss, emptiness.  Who could possibly fill the space these men occupied?  To not see David’s smile and to go without hearing Cliff’s laugh seems such a shame.  We have to wonder if this concept of death is necessary.  Will the time come when we no longer have to experience such sorrow?

Living eternally in physical form is quite controversial.  What if our staying here prevented us from knowing something grander?  If none of us ever left, there would come a time when no others could be born.  How moral is it to dictate new “natural” laws?  Does our intervention usurp the sovereignty of the Creator?  Before taking drastic measures to live in this state eternally, we have to reconsider all the repercussions such a monumental choice would bring.

I believe, rather than focus on staying in physical form, perhaps it would be better to seek ways to continue to feel the presence of those who shed the mortal body.  What if we could travel between dimensions, visiting one another in different levels of being.  Wouldn’t it be better if we could place a call to those who’ve moved to another expression?  If we knew how to check in on one another…whether in this dimension or in another…we might let go of a lot of the grief we feel. 

Having the ability to continuously communicate would lessen the feeling of death being a permanent disconnection.  No longer would we fear death or punish ourselves with such deep sorrow and longing to see one another again.  Take away the issue of separation, and suddenly, all is well.

For the time being, we have to fill the emptiness with the unproven faith that death is not really the end.  We can feel somewhat better knowing that separation isn’t reality, even though it feels that way.  It is nothing more than an opening into something else, because the word Omnipresence implies there is no birth nor death into this life.  It has always been and will always be everywhere present.  We may have to learn to look for that love, that warmth, that smile and that laugh in other people, but if we look closer, we see it has not left…never can.  As Consciousness slips in and out of form, we intellectually understand that it has done nothing but transform into a different state. That helps, but we still long to communicate with those we grew to love so much–those who we feel have left us behind.  We are ever so close to finding that portal…the means of communicating with all those who have gone before and are yet to be in this physical form.  It will reveal itself in the heart…our truest “cellular device.”  There may be an extended period of time where we sit in that awareness.

Ultimately, however, we will finally come to the grandest realization of all.  All those people we’ve watched come and go from this world?  They were all the same One.  Each one that appeared to be separate from another was not.  These were all representations of the same One, Being.  Within every single being, the All was contained.  It never left.  Cliff’s laugh and David’s smile aren’t as unique as we once believed.  They are contained in all of us, and all of us are contained in the All.

Death is the grandaddy of all illusions.  Nothing can rattle our cages like it can.  Nothing more powerfully accentuates separation beliefs.  Intellectually understanding that every end results in a beginning of something else, and every beginning requires the end of something else does not seem to be enough proof for us.  Every day, we look around and see that love, beauty, joy, laughter, kindness, abundance, and generosity are not dead.  The opposing forms of hate, ugliness, sorrow, cruelty, lack and selfishness are also equally evident.  Both must exist to put space around the other.  Only when we let go of participating in the manifestation of form will it end.  In formless Being, however, will we once again yearn to experience life rather than to merely know of it?

In formless expression, we will cry out to touch, smell, taste, hear and see All That Is.  We will yearn for the eyes to see and the ears to hear.  We will long for receptors which allow us the opportunity to know ourselves. We will give up the security of eternity to experience the wonder of a dimension where we can know who we are through the mirror of contrast.  With joy and enthusiasm, we will occupy form, yet again, not anticipating sorrow and death will be ”bad,” but knowing they are necessary aspects of physical expression.  They simply are.  In order to make space for this new experience, we will surrender the comfort of perfection.

In the end, that is the best we can do.  We can remember to step back and look at the life from the perspective of the one observing it, without contrasting and limiting beliefs.  Accept what is, without judgement.

In the beginning, we do the same.

I AM…Jodi
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