A Copernican shift in worldview

It was a world view shattering insight for me that consciousness can exist independently of a functioning brain. This is becoming more widely accepted now.

“First hint of ‘life after death’ in biggest ever scientific study”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/11144442/First-hint-of-life-after-death-in-biggest-ever-scientific-study.html (- This article is behind a paywall now. But there are many more exceptional accounts on NDERF.org .

How can someone see and hear what is going on in the room when the brain doesn’t function anymore? Our current model does not account for this.

Whenever there is a discrepancy between the model and reality, it is always reality which wins. And it is the model which needs to be adjusted.

This leads to a shift in worldview which has the order of magnitude of the Copernican shift in worldview (if not bigger). Consciousness does not emerge from the brain. It must be the other way round. The brain emerges from consciousness.

Trying to understand how consciousness is created by the brain by studying the electric currents in the neurons is about as promising an endeavor as trying to figure out how the evening news is generated  by studying the flow of electrons in the TV.

10 ways to inner peace

1. Know about the importance of inner peace
   Inner peace is not just another emotional state, but it is our real being. It is the place of power. Being there is like having a magic wand.
   Inner peace is the place from which knowing comes. Knowing how to act appropriately in a given situation.
2. Desire peace
   As long as it feels good to succumb to anger, the desire for peace is not strong enough. But life will take care of this. Eventually, we will all have suffered enough, and then inner peace will become the highest priority.
3. Clear the clutter and simplify your life
   Too much stuff, too many items on the to-do list, and too many responsibilities can feel overwhelming. A friend asked me how I can stay relatively relaxed. I replied that part of it is that I have a low maintenance life-style. I just don’t do a lot of things that women and mothers are supposed to do in our society. Of course, that raises some eyebrows every now and then. But, inner peace is more important to me than fulfilling norms of the society.
4. Get enough sleep, exercise, walk in nature, breathe consciously
5. Keep a journal
   Write down anything that is bothering you just to get it out of your system.
6. Meditate
   My favorite method is turning the focus of attention 180 degrees backwards so that awareness looks at itself. No counting of breaths, no special posture, no visualization techniques. Can be done during sleepless nights lying in bed or during routine tasks like peeling carrots for dinner.
   (This method comes from the Dzogchen tradition, but the easiest explanation is here in this 4 min video http://www.justonelook.org)
7. Forgive
   If shit hits the fan, my favorite method is ACIM style forgiveness.
   In case you get angry about a situation, turn within and ask for inner guidance. How can I see this differently?
   If I don’t hear any answer, I run through the following checklist:
   -) I don’t get upset because the me which is hurt is not the real me ( – like it would be stupid to get upset about losing in a board game of Parcheesi).
   -) I don’t get upset because the thought which leads to being upset is not true ( turn the thought around with The Work by Byron Katie)
   -) I don’t get upset because there is something good even in this seemingly bad situation ( – maybe the disturbing event or person is meant to mirror me in order to show me something? Maybe it is a reminder of lost peace? Or it has a metaphoric meaning?)
   -) I don’t get upset because I have created the upsetting event myself in the first place (via the power of my creative consciousness).
   -) I don’t get upset because I have planned this challenge before my incarnation and it serves the purpose that I shall remember who I am in truth. (See the great books  Your Soul’s Plan and Your Soul’s Gift by Robert Schwartz. I was surprised to find out why someone might plan to experience alcoholism for decades. I highly recommend these books in case you struggle with some major issue which makes you upset for several years.)
8. Stop the thought spiral about past and future
   How to stop anger and regret about the past and worries about the future? Options are ACIM style forgiveness, meditation, or focussing the mind on the present or on some task (like mantras or a flow activity).
9. Give up control
   Being a mother has taught me that I have no control over my children. I have no access to the switch in their head when it comes to whether they learn or whether they clean their room. I can’t turn a tulip into a rose and vice versa. I can only give them water and fertile soil. It’s useless to struggle and then beat myself up about my inability to control them.
10. Wake up
    See that the separate personal self is an illusion in the first place.
    We are consciousness. Before birth, in the body, and after death, we are consciousness. There is always the ‘I Am’ with content. We are the ‘I Am’ with all its content: noise colors lights shadows sensations thoughts emotions (which are physical sensations in the body) memories (which are thoughts). But by putting the label on our body as ‘me’ and on the other person and the wall over there as ‘not me’, we have separated ourselves with the consequence of fear and guilt. The way back home is seeing through the illusion of these labels. ‘I’ is just a label for this particular body-mind appearing in consciousness and it is not more real than Santa Claus. (Book recommendation: Gateless Gatecrashers by I. Cuinaite and E. Nezhinsky)

On God’s short leash

Have you ever felt that the universe acts like a teacher?
I do. And I found that it can be a rather strict one.

On my journey, I was guided into inner peace. With stick and carrot.

When I was angry, weird things would happen. For example, light bulbs would suddenly burn out while I was in the room. Whereas, when I was in inner peace, miracles would happen, e.g. wishes would be fulfilled promptly.

It was as if there was a penalty for becoming angry. But, actually, it was guidance.

Later during the journey, I noticed that the reins became shorter and shorter.

At first, I only ran into trouble when I was angry.
But later, weird things would already happen when I was in slight stress.

One day, when I was in a little stressed and anxious mood about my to-do list, the automatic teller refused to give me money (- lately, I seem to have a weird relationship with electrical appliances).

And during the Christmas vacation 2014/15, I got some health issues (pain in my feet) just because I thought I deserved a break from posting on this blog. When I asked the inner voice about the pain, it replied ,
‘During this vacation, just blog once a day, and you’ll be fine.‘

Oookaaay…  That was guidance (- even though it felt like I was being blackmailed at the time). Eventually, I obeyed and the pain vanished.

That was the pattern of consequences:
At first, for anger. Then, for anxiousness. Later, even for laziness.

So, guidance became stricter and stricter, making sure I stayed in inner peace more and more. And making sure that I fulfilled whatever contract I had signed before incarnation (- darn, I wish I could remember what I promised in the fine print).

Have you experienced something similar? I’d love to read your stories.

Moneyfestation miracles

I counted the money carefully. Twice. Two 20 Euro bills and two 5 Euro bills. Then I tucked them into an empty pocket of my son’s purse.

“I’ve just put 50 Euros into your purse. You can pick up your bike from the repair shop now,”  I told him.

It turned out that the repair of the bike was cheap, only 5 Euro. So I expected to get 45 Euros back.

But my son wanted to give 55 Euros back to me.

There was an additional 10 Euro bill now in his purse of which he knew that it was not his money. So, he thought it must be mine. Also, he swore that he had paid with another 10 Euro bill at the shop.

What had happened?

Either I’m getting Alzheimer’s. Or I do need to wear glasses. Or my two 5 Euro bills had turned into 10 Euro bills all of a sudden.

I gave him the 10 Euro bill and said, “Let’s assume it was a miracle. They really do happen, you know.”

***

During the spiritual journey, there comes a point when the outer world starts to behave in weird ways.

I recall a story in Robert Scheinfeld’s book Busting Loose from the Money Game, in chapter Postcards from the Road.
A woman who attended one of his ‘Busting Loose from the Money Game’ live events looked into her wallet and noticed $300 in there. Then she went out with the group for dinner. When she wanted to pay, she looked into her purse and found an additional amount of $500 in there. She was absolutely sure that it had not been in there before.

Nouk Sanchez told a beautiful story in her ACIM blog.
She wanted to rent an apartment which was $1200. But she told the landlady that she had not enough money and could only pay $900. Reluctantly, the landlady agreed. Nouk felt guilty about this at first, but then she decided for inner peace. And she trusted.
When the rent was due, Nouk withdrew $900 and kept the receipt. But when she handed the money over, her landlady counted it, twice, and found exactly $1200 in there – even though the receipt showed that Nouk had withdrewn only $900 from her account.
(https://nouksanchez.com/nouks-blog/examples-of-physical-miracles-in-action/)

All of this goes to show that the world ‘out there’ is not what we think it is. Reality is pliable and adjusts itself to our belief system.

 I am under no laws but God’s
(ACIM , Lesson 76)

Love is inside

Today I did it. I couldn’t resist any longer. This book had been recommended to me three times by now. A clear sign that I needed to read it.

I am talking about A Course of Love (ACOL), the sequel to the Jesus channeling A Course In Miracles (ACIM).

Even though I am only halfway through reading Barbara Franken‘s wonderful book A Selection of True Awakening Experiences and was determined to finish that first, I downloaded Mari Perron’s A Course of Love today and started reading.

And then I realized, today it’s Valentine’s Day.

LOL! What a lovely synchronicity!

You know, I am German. And Valentine’s Day is not a big thing here. While some singles in the US tend to get suicidal  on Valentine’s Day, most people won’t notice this day in Germany. Like Halloween, it seems to have been imported from the USA (and any industry who can earn money with it will happily promote it). But I thought my English-speaking readers might appreciate this story.

Behold, true love is found inside of you.

 

Finding the inner teacher

Wouldn’t it be nice to always have access to higher guidance?

Ever since I read Conversations with God, by N.D. Walsch, I desired to be able to hear my wise inner voice, too.

The process is simple (but not easy):

1. Ask
2. Listen
3. Learn to trust

The asking part is important. It is about a heartfelt urgent desire that I really want to know an answer to particular issue. And it is about posing a specific question. Like ‘How can I see the trouble with that person in another light?’

The listening part is important as well. Empty the mind and wait for an answer to arrive. The listening is like waiting for the thunder after one has seen the lightning. Full of attention and waiting. And, of course, full of expectation that the thunder will eventually be heard.

Learning to trust the inner teacher takes time. For me, it was crucial to have experiences where the inner voice told me things I could not have known by myself.

In the beginning, I found it most helpful to do this process with pen and paper. Somehow, typing at the computer did not work too well for me.

I would sit down, alone in a quiet room, and write down a question. Then I would close my eyes, let my mind go blank and wait for an answer to emerge as blocks of thought or as a voiceless voice. I wrote down whatever came up as an answer. Of course, I never knew whether this was my ego talking or the wise inner voice. But I would write it down anyway and then look at it later and see whether it makes any sense.

Sometimes, the answer would not come as an inner voiceless voice. Instead, I would get a dream or a song in my head. Guidance can come in many different forms.

Barriers to listening:

1. Emotional turmoil
   It can be difficult to hear the inner voice if we are in a state of emotional turmoil. Therefore, it is important to learn to reach inner peace.
2. Emptying the mind too much.
   Esther Hicks did that in the beginning before she began to channel Abraham. She let go of her thoughts the moment they emerged. However, Abraham wanted to communicate with her. Luckily, he found a way. He made her spell the answers with her nose by moving her head.
3. Expecting a certain answer or fearing a certain answer.
   That point is important. Because the inner voice will often say things that are contrary to my normal understanding. Therefore, I want to stress that it is helpful be in a state of mind that accepts – or even invites – to have one’s world view shaken.

One word of caution:
Hearing this voice is one thing. Obeying it is a different matter.

And sometimes the voice can get pushy (for example, when it tells me how often I should write a blog post even though I have ‘more important’ things to do – like organizing my children’s birthdays ) .

Oh well, surrender seems to be an integral part of the journey.

Power of forgiveness and lost emails

Some years ago, our mail server was restructured. After that upgrade, my emails of the last 30 days were lost.

Fortunately, I had already read all of them and there were no action items left. But still, I wanted to keep them just for the record.

My initial reaction was self-righteous upset. “Oh boy, they messed it up!”

Of course, I asked whether the emails could be restored. But somehow that wasn’t  possible without unwanted side effects.

Then I became quiet.

A Course In Miracles (ACIM) teaches to turn within and ask, ‘How can I see this differently?’

Lately, that translates for me into, ‘How the heck have I manifested that one?’

Suddenly, it dawned on me.

This happened during a phase when I was decluttering my home. It was like a compulsive decluttering diarrhea where I thought about nothing else than getting rid of old stuff. For ten weeks in a row, I threw away stuff from all categories. Clothing, books, CDs, pots and pans, etc. .

The universe merely seemed to say, “You like to throw things away? Let me see how I can help you.”

And with a mischievous grin it cleaned away my emails, too.

I became quiet and didn’t get upset, knowing that I had called this issue into my experience.

Four weeks later and without any further action from my side, the lost emails suddenly reappeared.

***

Usual disclaimer:
ACIM style forgiveness is not about creating a better dream. Instead, it is about waking up to the fact that we have all created this ourselves. As a byproduct, the manifestation of the outer world can change.

Thou shalt not blame

Yesterday, I turned within and asked what the topic for the next post should be. Instead of straightforward answer, a German children’s song kept playing in my mind:
‘Auf de Schwäb’sche Eisebahne’  (On the Swabian Railway).

I had to google the lyrics. Apparently, as a child I never got past the third verse of the song. I was completely unaware of its story.

It is about a farmer who wants to take the Swabian train. He takes his goat to the train and binds it to the rear end of it. Probably, he assumes that the train won’t be faster than one of those oxcarts which he is used to. The he gets on the train.

At the next station, he gets off and wants to untie the goat from the train, but he finds only its head and the leash dangling there.

The farmer gets very upset. He grabs the head of the goat, throws it against the porter and yells,
“For the damage you must pay, you drove much too fast today.”

(There is even an English translation on the web http://germanrail.fr.yuku.com/topic/832/Auf-de-schwbsche-Eisebahne-On-the-Swabian-Railway#.VKl0nmd0zuo )

That could mean two things:

Either, I should not complain when the metaphorical train I have boarded is going much faster than expected.

Or I should write another post about forgiveness. ACIM style, of course.

Inner peace – our real being

Waking up is remembering our real being.

It is a journey into the unconditional inner peace that we are.

It is remembering who we were before we started playing
this game of I-am-separate.

But how can we remember?

What worked best for me was the 180 degree inward look. Awareness watching itself.

This is a Dzogchen meditation method. But the easiest description of this is in a short 4 min video on John Sherman’s website http://www.justonelook.org/.

Initially, my ego wouldn’t let me look inside. This manifested as an itching sensation over the whole body when I tried the exercise. But after trying for a few weeks,  that feeling subsided.

At first, there was deep peace. If I were to use a metaphor, I would compare it to a still, dark surface of a lake. Dark because of the lack of sensory input. And still because it was so peaceful and quiet.

Afterwards, quiet joy emerged. Again, if I had to use a metaphor, it felt like a small fountain. Always pouring forth. Always moving. Inexhaustible.

The remarkable thing about this joy was that it was not dependent on the outer circumstances. It was unconditional.

At first, I thought, ‘Yeah, nice. But that is just another emotional state.’ And I stopped practicing.

But then, I read, “No, no! It is not just another emotional state. It is our real being.”

Ah! THAT place is our real being. That place is where I can remember what I am.

Turning awareness back on itself and resting in there is like the prodigal son returning home to the father. The joy that is felt there is the joy of coming home.

 

The power of forgiveness

My wise inner voice urges me to share my spiritual journey. Yet, often I still recoil in fear from that task. (Somehow, I’m afraid they might still hunt witches in Europe.)

So, mid of October 2014, I manifested three opportunities for sharing and writing under my real name. But each time, I had second thoughts about it. And I would procrastinate.

And each time, something in my surroundings would mirror that hesitation.

Often, this sort of fear-based procrastination was mirrored by some clogged things. Oh, I didn’t know how many things there are in a household that can be clogged! Coffee machine, dishwasher, drain, toilet, shower head…
A year ago, I even had breathing issues  – a clogged throat chakra.

In the second half of October 2014, the drain in the bathroom sink was clogged. I do prefer a clogged drain over a clogged throat chakra, but it still sucks.

Shit!

I was aware immediately that I probably caused the clogging by my resistance to sharing under my real name.  I assumed that I would have to pour chemicals into it in order to fix the drain. How annoying! Sometimes, life on Earth sucks.

Then one evening, I confessed to my husband, “You know, the clogged drain is very likely caused by my refusal to respond to that newspaper’s call for readers’ experiences about spirituality.”

He listened patiently, probably not believing my theory. Then, he got up and went to the bathroom. “Honey, did you do something to the drain? It appears to be cleaned now.  I didn’t pour any chemicals into it. Did you?”

No, I didn’t either.

***

The power of forgiveness is that I come into alignment with my real being, i.e. that I find my inner peace even if faced with disturbing situations. As a result of that, the outer circumstances can change since they reflect my inner emotional state.