Remember...

 

Serving God

 

Dearest, By now it should be apparent to you that you do your spiritual work for your own enlightenment. When you work for your spiritual enlightenment, you work for the enlightenment of all beings. You serve earth herself. You serve God whom angels love and serve.

TURN WITHIN

The entire state of the world is in turmoil and confusion. Even while feeling compassion, doing what we can  — we must learn to detach  — to know that we are “in the world and not of the world.”

We can let the world situation drive us crazy, drive us to despair — or drive us within, away from the desires and woes this world presents. The world is so big and there is so little we can do — and still, we must “do.” 

We must not let the world drive us into despair and panic and depression, which is what it wants to do — the “world” being defined as the mass unconsciousness of egos. Egos run the world. 

There is deep sadness when we first see this — and this sadness can be transformed — when we let go of what we cannot control — when we cease to identify with the madness of an insane world — when we allow ourselves to seek shelter, seek calm, seek peace Within. 

We learn that Heaven really is within, in this present moment, and that nothing outside — nothing — need change for us to be in this Heaven. Heaven is always present — we need only turn our vision within and let it Guide us away from the insanity of the world, which is ruled by dark forces, to the Peace Within. 

Earth is a living sentient Being. In Nature we can find healing. Go to Nature. If you live mostly in the confines of a city, buy a plant. Nurture and care for it. The plant will bring nature spirits into your home. It is part of nature, of earth. Love a plant, a tree, a flower, and it will love you in return.

When you can, plant a tree somewhere on earth. 

Keep your feet on the ground. When you are lost in fantasy, lost in thought, lost in confusion, stamp those feet on the ground and bring yourself back into your body, here, now, alive with breath and bones and flesh and light. 

Worry Rosary

Daniel in the Lions Den, painting by African American, 

painter Henry Ossawa Tanner (1857-1937).

Worry is a way that some people mull over problems and arrive at solutions. Some people think worry is the same as love. They think if they are not worried about you, it means they do not love you; conversely, if you are not worried about them, it means you do not love them. Worry is a habit many people have, a way to fill up time and space until a problem is resolved, a way to connect with someone they love, especially when they feel helpless. 

Nevertheless, long-term, excessive worry, with no end in sight, creates stress and the hormones released with stress. If you are in the habit of worrying excessively, you may want to ask yourself this question, “Is this worry serving or hurting me and those I love?”

worry rosary

When you are worried, you can ask God to give you faith. You can ask the angels to protect and guide your loved ones. You can remind yourself to relax. Breathe in love. Breathe out love. Visualize love as a soft golden light in your heart. Visualize love as a soft golden light surrounding the person or situation you are concerned about. Energy is real and energy is shared, even when you are physically absent from someone; so do your best to share the energy of love that supports and nourishes.

Enemies

 

Catch yourself creating enemies in your mind. 

Is there really anyone there? 

Or are you fighting an empty chair?

GUARDIAN ANGEL STORY

MIRROR 

The angel paused a moment before holding up the mirror of her beauty before the lonely man standing at the edge of the bridge, teetering on the brink of jumping into the dark cold water. He shivered and thought of nothing. His thoughts had congealed into a dark mass like clotted blood in the bottom of his belly.

The angel moved closer until she was only a breath away and looked intently into his eyes.

He never saw the angel.

The angel began to sing, a song without words.

He never heard the angel's song.

The angel let the flame of its beauty burn brighter.

He took a step forward, his foot finding nothing but air. One more step and he would be free falling. One more step. Free falling from the pain of living. Free. The final fall. He stretched both arms into the cold dark air and stood on one foot, willing himself to lift that foot too. He closed his eyes and imagined himself sailing off the bridge, through the icy air, into the icy water.

The angel touched his face gently and thought of butterflies.

And the man felt a softness in his belly, tiny dots of softness, a sensation like cocoons hatching.

He never saw the angel.

He saw butterflies. Butterflies of light. Golden light. Flying from the center of his being, flying free into the night. Free flying.  

He paused, balanced on one foot, his arms spread wide, and watched the butterflies fly golden into the sky. His other foot made its way back onto the bridge. Golden light suffused and surrounded him. He turned in a circle looking at it and when he stopped, the light was gone, and there was only him and the cold dark night. He closed his eyes and held the memory in his heart. Then he walked back to his car to drive back to the world he had sought to leave.

He never saw the angel.

Row your boat merrily

In an attempt to stay safe and secure in an unsafe and insecure world, human beings struggle for control. Angels never struggle. Angels accept the world as it is. Angels accept themselves as they are. Because angels accept what IS

Have you realized that it is as important to have faith and trust in times of great beauty as in great difficulty? Otherwise, fear can take over—fear that you cannot handle so much beauty, that you do not deserve such beauty, that it is all a mistake and you may lose it. You begin to identify with the outer beauty and your thoughts about it. You forget you are everything and so you try to control everything. Then you cannot enjoy even the good things that come to you.

People often pray for strength to bear their “bad karma.” Angels say, if you are going to pray, then pray for the strength to bear both the “bad” and the “good.” Strength and courage are as necessary to beauty as they are to difficulty.

Row your boat merrily. Life is but a dream. Life is but a stream, a flow of consciousness. Do not seek to change the world to suit your list of preferences. Look instead to see which way life is flowing and allow yourself to come into harmony with that flow. 

Reviewing Your Lessons

When you go back and review a past lesson, you may see that lesson differently. This is because you are different. You are advancing on your path. Your mind is opening.

Your heart is a beautiful flower! A mandala. A perfect lotus. Your heart is the abode of all saints. Divine scents permeate your heart. Celestial music can be heard there. All wisdom, all compassion, and all love emanate from your heart. There the angels sing and worship God with their whole being. 

A Loveliness

A swarm of ladybugs is called a loveliness. A loveliness of ladybugs. What if we replaced the idea of loneliness with loveliness? What if we were so in love with the purity of our own soul that we were never alone? What if we loved our aloneness? A loveliness of aloneness. What if sometimes we just laughed right out loud, all alone by ourselves, for no reason the mind can figure out. What if we laughed with the pure loveliness of being here now?

JOY

JOY

Where I go in this world,

I bring joy with me.

I don't ask for joy,

I ask, how can I

Bring joy to others!

Joy is abundant,

Don't seek it,

Bring it!

ParschArts 2022

— Tom Parsch

Uplifting Music

 

Tony Scott: The Murmuring Sound Of The Mountain Stream

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gP9Zr1BfmFs

The Ride

The Ride

Put the ego in the back seat

Sit high and free

With love in the seat beside you

Breathing as one 

In perfect harmony

Carefree

And continue 

Moment to moment

in love

You'll see things

As never before

You'll see things

You've never seen before

You'll see things

You never knew existed

The ride will be short

Yet it'll last forever.

©Hirth Martinez 2014

When Hearts Weep

WHEN HEARTS WEEP

The mind can be such a cruel hunter

It hunts for pleasure and not for hunger

It hunts to capture and control

It hates the beauty it seeks to destroy

It lives separate from all that is good

It does not know how to breathe One Breath

In Unison with all that IS,

And so it creeps into sacred places 

Cradling weapons of death

And kills and kills and kills

Over and over again.

Disover!

Be like a baby — a baby discovers its toes...and moves into childhood on a path of discovery. Somewhere, ego, takes over. We forgot we are only discoverers in God's vast creation — we have never created anything, we are in control of nothing, we shape nothing — we can only Discover what IS. Then life is an exciting adventure in this pure and perfect present moment. 

Find out for yourself what is True, otherwise it is a mere belief.

The original collection of these sayings, often credited to Mother Theresa, were actually created by a college student named Kent M. Keith and published in 1968 in a pamphlet titled “The Silent Revolution: Dynamic Leadership in the Student Council”. Here are the original expressions given in the pamphlet. Read it with an open mind and find out if what you read is true for you. Don't blindly believe. Lives are being destroyed by blind belief. 

01: People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered. Love them anyway.

02: If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives. Do good anyway.

03: If you are successful, you win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway.

04: The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.

05: Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable. Be honest and frank anyway.

06: The biggest men with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men with the smallest minds. Think big anyway.

07: People favor underdogs, but follow only top dogs. Fight for a few underdogs anyway.

08: What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway.

09: People really need help but may attack you if you do help them. Help people anyway.

10: Give the world the best you have and you’ll get kicked in the teeth. Give the world the best you have anyway.

Blind Belief

You are not asked to blindly believe or accept any of the ideas in these lessons. Blind belief leads only to sorrow and disappointment. You are simply invited to hold your heart and mind open to all things possible. You are invited to explore the possibility of the infinite. 

When you employ your own intelligence to find your own answers, false conditioning begins to fall away. When what is false dissolves, what is true begins to reveal Itself. You find out what you really are—and are not. You discover your true divinity. At the core of this divinity is Love. Love manifests through each of us in unique and beautiful ways. 

The cessation of belief

Millions of human beings believe in their goodness, which makes them hypocrites. The other millions of human beings believe in their badness, which make them reprehensible. Just awful. There is a handful of human beings living on this earth who do not want either of those self-destructive courses. This small group of people doesn't want to believe in anything at all—doesn't believe in goodness, doesn't believe in badness. But has the courage to not believe a single thing — even while realizing that the cessation of belief is going to lead the cessation of their life as they now know it. — Vernon Howard

Divine Prayer

Lord Creator, and all his assistants, Angels of Light, Divine Mother,

Help us to be able to remember ourselves at all time in order that we may avoid involuntary actions, as only through them can evil manifest itself.

Awakening to Reality

Try reading this slowly and see if it applies to you, or perhaps someone you know? Or perhaps to the world in general. There are many ways we run from ourselves...even getting involved in useless thoughts, daydreams...even nightmares. 

"Truths come to us a thousand times a day, but unless we open our hearts

and minds, they cannot enter with their supply of health and
youthfulness.

For instance, Grace L. was not receptive to one of these health-giving
truths. Her emptiness compelled her to sigh, 'I'm always worn out. I
know I'd feel better if I stopped running so hard. Why do I drain my
strength in so many activities? I have a compulsive drive to get
involved in this stupid activity or that mad chase. Why am I driven to
get involved in so many pointless pursuits?'

'There is something you must understand, a new truth you must receive.
You see, Grace, you really don't want to go toward these activities. You
want to go away from something.'

'You mean I want to escape from something?'

'Yes.'

'What do I want to escape?'

'Yourself.'

'My own self?'

'It is a self that you don't like, don't understand and don't trust; so
it pains you. Your frantic activities are attempts to escape from an
unwanted self. The objects of your chase really mean nothing to you. To
prove this, notice how often you change directions. One day it's a new
hobby, then a new club, then some social cause.'

'That's right. I'm like a child wanting a new toy every day.' She paused
for a moment, then asked, 'So I wear myself out with these pointless
pursuits in an attempt to escape my own inner pain?'

'Yes. Try to see this clearly. Then, you will stop running. Your time
and energy will then go into healthy channels, such as self-discovery.
And you will no longer be tired.'"

                      -Vernon Howard

💙An Angel Box—free for you to give as a gift 💙

💘www.theclearandsimpleway.com

February 14, 2022

Valentine's Day

Dear Students💞

Those of you who have been around

for a while know that I post an updated version of this lesson

every Valentine's Day. Today is no exception. It was once

Lesson 13; now it just appears once a year.

🐠 You swim in peace, as peace swims in you.It is only that you are not awake, and so you do not experience this peace. Your school helps you awaken to the peace that is eternally Present.

AN ANGEL BOX 

Today you are invited to create An Angel Box.

Or you could call it a Letting Go Box.

Your box can help you fulfill the following prayer:

The Serenity Prayer

God, grant me the Serenity

To accept the things I cannot change;

The Courage to change the things I can;

And the Wisdom to know the difference.

What Is An Angel Box?
Even if you choose not to make an angel box, please consider reading this lesson. It contains angelic teachings for your life. 
  
👼An Angel Box👼 helps you align with your divine destiny and let go of what does not serve you. It's a place to give your problems, fears, worries, visions, and prayers into the care and keeping of the angels. If you are not interested in an angel box, just read the lesson in imagination. Some of you won't be interested —💙— but we have different students, with different interests, and some of you will be drawn to this.

First: 
Buy or make an angel box. Or use a folder, envelope, silk bag, or a medicine pouch. Your Angel Box can be elaborate or simple. It doesn’t have to be perfect, so long as it is perfect for you. Or use a box you already have and love.

Let go of your ideas of "perfect" and trust that perfection flows to you from a ↑Higher Source↑ 

If you'd like to create your own angel box, here are some ideas, if you decide to make one:

1. Use a cardboard box (angels love recycling). Shoe boxes and cigar boxes make nice angel boxes. Or use an empty tissue or cereal box. If you like round, try an oatmeal container. You can also buy a box, or build one from wood. Or use a big envelope.
 

2. Gather items to decorate your box: Photos, pictures from magazines or calendars. Pictures of saints, gods, goddesses, and angels. Wise sayings. Poems. Prayers. Inspirational words like truth, light, courage. Rhinestones, unless you have real diamonds and pearls you are not using (smile). Crystals, buttons, lace, ribbons, velvet, silk, satin, sequins, sparkles, tiny stars. Natural items like dried flowers, feathers, acorns, seeds, shells.

3. Set aside time for you and the angels. Brew a cup of tea or coffee. Maybe burn incense or candles, play music, or just sing songs to your angels. If you have children, you can invite them to make their own Angel Box right along with you. Angel Boxes are a great teaching tool for children of all ages.


4. Sit down with your items, including tape, glue, scissors, paints, crayons, (maybe gold or silver). If you want to varnish your box, have clear varnish on hand.


5. Give your box a lining: Maybe velvet, satin, silk, or pretty paper, carefully glued in. As you place this lining inside your box, contemplate your inner beauty. Inner beauty radiates ourwardly. Assure yourself that you are worthy of a beautiful box. Let the lining reflect the LIGHT within you.


6. Make an Opening, if it doesn't already have one. Think of the crown chakra, the Sahasara, at the top of your head. Be open and receptive to ↑The Light↑. As you create this opening, let it symbolize opening yourself to the messages of angels and higher inspiration. 

7. Decorate your box. Let intuition and creativity be your guides. Have fun. 

8. Admire your completed box. Smile your happy smile. Wriggle your body in delight like a child. Laugh right out loud. Dance a happy dance. Jump up and down. Let go of any concepts of what an "adult" should act like. Challenge your ideas of who you think you are.


9. Place your Angel Box in a special place, preferably where you will see it every day, maybe on top of a dresser, on your puja (altar), or in your meditation area. Keep a pen and some paper handy.



 WAYS TO USE YOUR ANGEL BOX



Use your box to symbolically let go of trying to control life and strong attachments you have to the way things 'should' be. Let go of problems and worries. When something troubles you, write your trouble on a piece of paper, date it, and give it to your angel box. Tell the angels that this problem is beyond your control and you are now turning it over to them.
 

Special note: If your worry returns to you during the day, ask, 'Is there anything I can do about this right now?' If your answer is NO, remind yourself that you have given it into the care and keeping of a higher power. If the answer has changed to YES, then take the action you need to take. 

Taking a small action is a way of controlling what you can and gaining confidence. If your worry returns, repeat the process. This helps discipline your mind so worries do not control and overwhelm you. It replaces unhealthy habits with  healthy habits. If you are going to have habits, they may as well be healthy ones that uplift and support your life.


When you have a question and cannot find an answer, write the question on a piece of paper, date it, and put it in your box. Now forget about it, trusting that the answer will come when it is needed, in God's time and design, not yours.


Special note: Date every piece of paper, so you will have a reference point for later.


When you want something (an object, a partner, anything at all) give it into the safe keeping of the angels with a prayer that God will manifest your desire only if it is in your best and highest interest.


Special note: This is surrendering your small will to a Higher Will.

I am sure you will agree that often what you wanted in the past turned out NOT to be the best for you. Giving your desire to the angels is a way of getting out of your own way and making room for the highest in your life.


When you feel afraid, angry, sad, hurt, or any other confusing or negative emotion, put it in your box.


When someone you care about, including yourself, is hurting or sick, write their name on the paper, perhaps with a prayer for God's perfect healing and give it to the angels.


Use it when you think you are in danger and need a Guide. Write your fear on paper with a request for Protection and Guidance.  

Use it to request courage, confidence, and clarity to complete necessary tasks.


Write messages of Gratitude. The attitude of gratitude is always healing.


Write down a Vision you long to achieve. Put it in your box and surrender the Outcome to the Wisdom of the angels, with the prayer that vision will manifest only if it serves your Higher Purpose.


Special note: Sometimes, we have the divine inspiration to do something — but negative beliefs and thoughts such as: I can’t do it. Why even try? It won’t work, block constructive action. Writing your vision down and giving it to the angels is a positive action. 


Take a positive action:
One way to get past limiting beliefs and negative thinking is to take a positive action. Even something as simple as writing is an action. Putting the message in your angel box is a second action, which includes the act of faith—faith in a power higher than yourself, which is an inner action.



Sometimes you really want something. You want a certain outcome. Your desire may block the outcome that God intends for you, which is always much greater than anything you can imagine. Write your desire on a piece of paper and put it in your box. Let yourself be open to possibilities beyond your own thinking.

Your job is not to make something happen. Life happens through us. The more you get out of your own way, the more creativity can flow through you. 


Show up! Play! Discover! Learn! Grow! Evolve!

When an idea, an inspiration, or a vision, comes to you, have fun with it. There is no need to get all heavy and serious. Find out where the vision is leading you. Your Angel Box can help you do this.


Be Open and Receptive

Once you have placed your dreams and wishes, questions and problems in your Angel Box, stay open and receptive. You will likely be receiving messages from the universe, the angels, intuition, maybe even dreams. These messages can come from anywhere, because the universe is a mystical, magical, spiritual place. Stay awake, open, and receptive so you won't miss those messages! 


Messages are always coming to you. Intuition is always speaking to you. We often don't receive intuition, inspiration, and words of wisdom because we have a preconceived idea of how things should turn out or how messages should come. 

When you are open and aware, even the words on a cereal box might contain a message for you. Do your best not to limit the universe by telling it what it should  do. This is like telling the stars how they should shine.


Later…


Once a month or when your Angel Box is full you — decide — take your papers out and read them. Which prayers, wishes, and dreams have been fulfilled? Which ones have you forgotten about? Which ones do you no longer care about? Which were only ego? What can you learn from what you have written and what has been happening in your life?



Give Angel Boxes & this lesson as gifts:


Make Angel Boxes as gifts and give them to people you love, along with "The Serenity Prayer." You are invited to give a copy of this particular lesson as a gift, if you like. Just be sure to include the complete lesson and copyright. This is my gift to you. Because I am thankful you are here as a student and appreciate that you show up here with devotion to your path.

Other ideas:

For wishes and visions which didn't happen, or you no longer wish for, you might: 1. Burn them in a small ritual. 2. Bury them in the earth. 3. Tear them to pieces and let them go. Breathe a letting go sigh of relief.

For problems solved, questions answered, and wishes fulfilled, you might: 1. Put a tiny jewel in your box as an offering of thanks to the angels, 2. String a  pearl or jewel for every wish granted, 3. Keep your pieces of paper somewhere, as a reminder of the good work the angels have helped you accomplish in your life. Or just burn these too.

I hope you have enjoyed reading this lesson. And perhaps you will enjoy making an angel box. You are welcome to put a picture of your angel box here in Your Open Classroom. Thank you for being here now in the present moment of Love. Here's an Angel Box that our classmate, Barbra, made. She sent me the picture, and I once saw it when I visited her lovely home.

 © Copyright 2009/2018/2022 Judith Ann Parsons, MSW aka Indira. All rights reserved, The Clear and Simple Way School of Higher Consciousness. www.theclearandsimpleway.com