Fog is fascinating to watch. It seems to have a life of it own. Fog changes the world as it embraces objects. Sound takes on a whole new dimension. There is an intimacy to noises, a depth that doesn’t exist in the absence of fog. If you stand in the house and look out at the fog it seems to only be out there yet it fills the room as well.

I remember driving along the coast of California on a foggy morning. The ocean faded in and out and cars seemed to come out of oblivion. I pulled over at an overlook and watched the fog roll in. There were beautiful flowers just on the other side of the guard rails and a squirrel darted out and chattered at me. I was mesmerized by the sounds of the ocean, the smell of the salt laden air and the beauty of the moment. The air was cool and moist. As I continued up the coast the sun began to burn off the fog and for the first time I could clearly see the beauty of the coast and the magnificent redwood.

Recently I revisited some of the profound fear I felt as a child. As I looked at my life as viewed through those fears it was like being immersed in a thick fog. Everything was distorted by the fear, all the beliefs and assumptions I made were colored by that perspective.

As I recapitulated my fear again I thought about the fog that special day in California. As I breathed in I thought of the sun and allowed it to burn off the fog of my fear. The amount of freedom I experience today is directly related to how willing I am to release my old emotions and see life anew. I had dipped into the well of my old fear in the past yet until the other day I was unwilling or unable to dive to the very bottom of the well and really pull the plug.

When I shinned the light of love on my doubts they dissolved. I realized fear is powerless without my agreement. Unless I feed my fear it dissolves into the nothingness from which it arises. The simple act of breathing mindfully is so freeing. As I exhale I release my fears and the old beliefs that feed them and as I breathe in I reconnect with the sea of love that surrounds me.

I can choose love or fear. One sets me free while the other immerses me in my limitations. Each event in my life is an invitation to either connect with my spirit or deepen my connection to my filter system. Which path I take is evident thought by thought, action by action.

I have an article about recapitulation on my web site if you would like to know more about it:

http://www.susangregg.com/questions_and_answers.htm

With love,
Susan

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

The other day I received an email from a friend. We were talking about my dad and she said, ‘he’s not a very good reporter.’ I started thinking about the idea. In a sense, we are all reporters. The question is what kind of paper do we work for and who is getting the by line – our mind or are spirit.

In October I brought my dad to Hawaii to live with me. His wife had just died and he has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. My story is I tried to do everything possible to make him happy and then he ‘ran away’ from home. His story is I was keeping him prisoner and stealing all his money. He believes he escaped and I was very concerned about his ability to care for himself. I could judge him and allow my mind to create a story or I could realize that we saw things very differently. Now I am focusing on sending him lots of love and caring for myself.

When our mind gets into the act we attempt to create allies and try to have people see it our way. According to our mind there is a right way and a wrong way to see events. Our spirit realizes our view of life is based on our perspective and rather than being absolute it is relative.

The first time I visited Europe I was surprised to see how limited our newscasts were in the United States. Even when a reporter is trying to simply report the news he or she still sees it through their filter system.

For me, one of the many gifts of life is my ability to see my filter system in three-dimensional, living color. Life is and then I tell myself a story. I can live mindfully, be fully present in the moment and enjoy whatever I am experiencing or I can choose to react to the events and experience emotional trauma.

My dad’s sudden disappearance has given me the opportunity to revisit some old beliefs. I could listen to my mind and fail to see how my beliefs created my experience or I could embrace my spirit and milk the experience for everything it is worth. I could use it to see myself with greater clarity or play the blame game.

When something creates a strong emotional response in your life who gets the by line? Judgment is indicative of your mind while compassion and acceptance heralds the presence of your spirit.

With love,
Susan
Join me for my yearlong Dream Class
http://SusanGregg.com/teachings.htm

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Connecting to our spiritual center and surrendering our small self to the magnificence of our spirit can be an arduous journey. It is journey in which we achieve personal freedom, but demands we let go – that we surrender completely and totally.

Our fearful small self wants to be in control and maintain its worlds view at any cost. Being in control may look like a life totally out of control – it may mean descending into addictive substances, thoughts or behaviors. An addict may look like they are out of control, but in fact the addiction allows the person to avoid that quantum leap – that moment when we become whole and let go of the illusion that we are a limited being powerless over the vast universe called physical reality.

We are master illusionists, playing with life until we are finally willing to embrace the reality that we are god pretending to be a separate when we have always been one. You are me, I am you and we are one is the truth no matter how hard we pretend otherwise.

One story I can tell myself is that here I am joyously jumping from life time to life time, playing, exploring, experimenting, at times deepening my awareness of what I am not while at times joyously savoring the experience of who and what I really am. I am everything and nothing, the alpha and the omega, expansive, unconditional love and oneness and desolate, terrifying aloneness. I am everywhere and no where. I am and I am not, I don’t exist. Duality allows me to see more of myself in a universe where only I exist.

So surrendering – really letting go and stepping fully into the moment – that moment where I cease to exist. We are all one – if we are all one and there is no separation there is no I. The existence of I creates separation. So the moment we fully surrender we cease to exist, so we avoid the truth at any cost. We tenaciously hold onto having some sort of identity, we hold onto to separation and pretend to want to experience being one.

Early on in my spiritual explorations I went hang gliding. It was a tandem jump. The instructor explained things thoroughly, what to expect, what to do and not do. We were on the top of a 60 foot cliff overlooking the ocean. We ran and jumped off the cliff, the kite plummeted for about five feet before it caught the wind and we started to fly. It was an incredible experience, terrifying and at the same existence exhilarating. While attached to that hang glider we flew up and down the coast, I got to see dolphins, a hawk flying upwards in a thermal below us, lots of incredible scenery and then we landed back on the cliff where we began.

Each moment in life is an opportunity to deepen our connection with our spirit or our mind and filter system. If and when we finally become willing to jump off the cliff into the unknown territory of surrendering to our spirit we get to experience a life free of limitations. Our choices in life can create the willingness to let go fully and completely, but then there is that terrifying moment of free fall. Our emotional pain can give us the willing to let go of what we think we know and surrender.

Once we let go of our mind’s perception we can begin to be more fully present in the moment. There is so much written about living in the moment, but how do we do that? What ‘do’ we do to ‘be’ in the moment? How do we learn to live our lives moment by moment, fully present, totally and complete aware of our connection? How can we live from that sense of connection?

There is no error that as a species we are called human beings not human doings. There is nothing to ‘do’ to ‘be’ in the moment. We can’t think ourselves into the moment, thinking actually prevents us from being in the moment. The moment is beyond time and beyond thoughts – the moment exists in the space between our thoughts, in the silence beyond words and in the warm embrace of our soul.

Surrendering or letting go of what we know is a gateway to being in the present moment. Breathe deeply and sink down, allow yourself to ‘feel’ that connection to your soul – allow yourself to be one with your spirit. Let go of your thoughts and surrender, let go, breathe deeply and feel. Quiet your mind and pray for the willingness to let go and simply be. Breathe and let go of control, let go of any ideas of how it should be, what it should look like. Breathe and let go of any thoughts until you can just be.

Spiritual practices take practice. Practice letting go, practice surrendering, breathe and let go. See where your breath takes you. Part of surrendering is not controlling where your are going, letting go of where your breath will take. With curiosity and willingness surrender and see where your breath takes you.

Enjoy the process or fight it or judge it or . . . whatever. Whatever is in the moment is your creation, embrace it and let go.

With love,
Susan

Click here to view my latest newsletter

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Comments(1)

I just uploaded my 15th podcast – hope you enjoy it. Let me know if there are any topics you would like to hear covered. Have a great day unless you already have other plans!!!

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!