Kundalini Splendor

If your desire is to make a huge contribution to the spiritual evolution of the planet what do you need to focus on? Is it important to establish a large following on social media? Do you need to publish books and share your ideas in a powerful way? These things may become important at some time, but they should never be the primary focus. Your main focus must always be expanding the love that is your natural essence. When you remove all of the blocks that are covering your natural luminescence then your brilliant love will shine forth in a way that will truly light the world.

The first step is your own self-love. Do you see yourself as worthy of making an impact on people’s lives? Do you see yourself constantly as a totally connected aspect of God who is here for a divine purpose, or do you see yourself as flawed and incompetent? When you love yourself as the essence of the Supreme and allow that love to radiate to all beings, just as God’s love does, then your impact will be tremendous, regardless of whether of not you become known or beloved by others. When your essential love and light shines in its pure brilliance then the world will automatically shift into the frequency of unconditional love.

Love & Light,
Ted

Beloved Friends and Family,

I hope this finds you well and warm as the earth shifts seasons and our psyches follow as best they can.

What a strange time in the world, no?  Especially here in the U.S.  I feel my consciousness expanding and my heart breaking more radically open.  I have always felt (I suspect you have, too) that the line between social action and spiritual practice was illusory, but more than ever now I recognize my work around claiming the shadow of white privilege and the dismantling of structural racism as a holy, holy path.  It is changing me.

I would like to invite you to a couple of upcoming events designed to refill the cup of our sacred activist souls. At the end of this month, I will be a featured speaker at the legendary SAND (Science and Nonduality) Conference in San Jose, California.  As a pre-conference event, I am offering an intimate daylong retreat called “PRAYER OF QUIET: Teresa of Avila and the Restless Mind” on October 25.  You do not have to be registered for the conference to attend this workshop.  If the title rings your bell, you can sign up here.

Prayer of Quiet: Saint Teresa of Avila and Restless Mind
Thursday, October 25, 2018  |  2:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Link

Online workshop descriptions:
https://www.scienceandnonduality.com/SAND18/US_Program.html


Registration link: (Click on the green "tickets" button and then scroll down to see the workshop tickets)
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sand-2018-the-mystery-of-being-human-tickets-41897756317

The True Meeting of Science and Spirituality
In early December, I will be at the Rowe Center in Massachusetts for a weekend retreat on navigating the path of grief and loss as a transformational journey.  We will be drawing on the wellspring of teachings and poetry from the mystics across the spiritual traditions, singing sacred chants, engaging in deep dialog and sitting together in contemplative silence.  If you have been carrying an experience that has transfigured the topography of your being and seek a safe space to be present with it, please join us at this beautiful center.

Loss and Longing: Grief as a Spiritual Path
December 7 @ 8:00 am - December 9 @ 5:00 pm
Link
With love,

Mirabai

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Mirabai Starr writes creative non-fiction and contemporary translations of sacred literature. She taught Philosophy and World Religions at the University of New Mexico-Taos for 20 years and now teaches and speaks internationally on contemplative practice and inter-spiritual dialog. A certified bereavement counselor, Mirabai helps mourners harness the transformational power of loss. She has received critical acclaim for her revolutionary new translations of the mystics, John of the Cross, Teresa of Avila and Julian of Norwich. She is the award-winning author of Mother of God Similar to Fire, a collaboration with iconographer, William Hart McNichols, GOD OF LOVE: A Guide to the Heart of Judaism, Christianity and Islam and CARAVAN OF NO DESPAIR: A Memoir of Loss and Transformation.  Her latest book, WILD MERCY: Living the Fierce & Tender Wisdom of the Women Mystics, is forthcoming Spring 2019. She lives with her extended family in the mountains of northern New Mexico.

Connect with me:
Website/blog:  MirabaiStarr.com
Facebook:  facebook.com/Mirabai.Starr.author
Twitter:  twitter.com/MirabaiStarr
Huffington Post:  huffingtonpost.com/mirabai-starr

(What I saw from my window this morning.)

Ted Murray––Why Physical Bodies?

"Why do we need physical bodies when our essence is purely energetic? When you understand that the make up of the universe, including your body, is about 99.9% space (filled with full potential and made up of loving creative energy) and less than .01% physical matter, why do you need to have a body at all? It often seems like such a distraction from your true purpose and the bodies challenges and pains can seem to dominate our lives. However, the body is actually a wonderful gift, in spite of its challenges.

It enables you to create in the physical plane and have a canvas on which to use your god-like powers of creation. It also let’s you love more deeply, as it is much easier to love a being with features and personality than it is an energetic field. Also, your physical senses provide a way to interact with the world and other people in a way that grounds you in the present moment. Even though you can understand  your true nature as spiritual essence, appreciating your body as a wonderful gift will help make this human experience one of ever deepening delight and fulfillment."

I have often thought about this same question.  If we exist after "death" in a non-physical and expanded state, then why assume a more limited and less conscious form in this incarnation?  I have several possible answers:

1.  Perhaps we are all descended from some higher beings, perhaps even great ones of history, then maybe we need to return to our shrunken "earth forms" now and again simply to be reminded of what it is like to live on the human plane, with all its challenges and struggles, its strivings and its losses.  Perhaps being disembodied awareness is in fact easier than to exist as embodied consciousness.

2. Possibly we come into this planet as part of our karmic destiny, for now we bring with us what we have learned through previous existences and prior incarnations here and elsewhere.  Now is the time for us to bring such wisdom into our current awareness and "bring the gift back home."

3. Perhaps we have chosen to be here during this particular time of crisis, to help our human sisters and brothers weather the current spiritual storm and themselves thus experience the transformation into a more divine being as the next stage of our human evolution. "God throws us out with threads of love and then reels us back again."  This is the constant process of emanation/evolution that is part of the universal program.

I do not consider any of these possibilities as final answers or ultimate explanations, but rather as mere speculations to be tested and weighed by each person in turn.  What do you think?

What  We  Need


on earth we need    nothing new   no gizmo style fads

no media distraction       what we need is old

ancient  primal  primitive  pagan      we need torah runes testament

vedas dharma chant gregorian   taiko drum salutations to the sun

we need what we have been given  from the beginning Word

rolling thunder god  condensing out of Spirit

the deep  the water  the firmament  the air  the fire

the whispering  whistling wind of Spirit   pulsing in all matter

what we need radiates from the sun  the stars  from the Bodhi tree

the burning bush speaking to our hearts

with our drums   we call back to the cosmos

what we need is   what we knew as Bushmen   who heard the angels

who saw the light shining from within all things

what we need is to remember   who we are   what we know

with our bare feet on the earth  our round heads below the dome of the sky

make one endless gracious bow  to the great being of Love

who gives us life on earth   life in the stars

make one endless gracious bow    to what we know

the truth of love    the love of truth

- Theresa Roach Melia
____________

Temple of the Sacred Feminine

https://www.templeofthesacredfeminine.com/temple-of-the-sacred-feminine

"Perhaps the deepest, most unknown ambiguous loss that both women and men share is the loss of knowledge, awareness, and direct experience of the Divine ..."  (Sheila Foster)

The site listed above will take you to one of the most riveting accounts of spiritual transformation that I have ever encountered.  Sheila's story includes deep suffering, miraculous healing, and emergence into the role of helper for many undergoing spiritual transformation today.  Kundalini itself plays a major role in her unfolding process, sometimes painful, sometimes filled with bliss.

I urge you to read this narration, consisting of excerpts from her spiritual memoir "Carry the  Fire."  It is a profound read, and will leave you with much to think about.

Sheila is an experienced therapist and is especially helpful with those undergoing Kundalini awakening.  She has traveled the route and knows the signposts.  We are lucky to have her in our global community and I feel especially fortunate that she lives in Boulder, where I also live.  She does long distance counseling as well as in person, since space as such is no barrier in today's world.

FREE ONLINE EVENT

Kundalini Awakening,
Energy Healing and
The Future of Psychology
A DISCUSSION BETWEEN JEFF CARREIRA & DR. TARA CUSKLEY

EVENT RECORDING NOW AVAILABLE HERE
In this dialog I speak with Dr. Tara Cuskley about her profound Kundalini Awakening experience and how her life has changed as a result.
In Eastern Spiritual traditions Kundalini is a powerful form of spiritual energy that arises from the base of the spine through the top of the head. This kind of energetic experience is believed to initiate a path of awakening by destroying the spiritual and emotional blocks to our higher self.

Four years ago Tara was in her final year of graduate school about to embark on a career as a psychologist when she experienced a profound Kundalini Awakening that left her so deeply charged with energy that light bulbs would blow out with her touch.

At the time she had no background or context within which to understand what had happened to her. She was thrust into an intense journey of awakening that left her with powerful gifts as a spiritual healer.

In this dialog Tara shares her full Kundalini experience for the first time in a public format. She also speaks about how her experience has expanded her understanding of psychology and catapulted her into the work of spiritual healing.

Tara and I have been doing spiritual work together for the past two years and the healings I have received from her have become a critical part of my ongoing deeper healing and spiritual growth.

If you have any interest in Kundalini Awakening or the relationship between Psychology and Spiritual Healing please listen to the audio recording of the event below.

Sincerely,


“My work with Tara has revolutionized my relationship with myself, powerfully shifting how I engage with the world. Her experience in both traditional and energetic healing methodologies provided depth and breadth to our sessions. Five stars.”

– CECILY HAUBNER

“For me, sessions with Tara are like mining my inner landscape so as to reflect and inform my experience in the world. A wealth of valuable information and feedback is unearthed that I can then contemplate and act upon. Tara is a gifted, intuitive, and insightful healer who facilitates connection with one’s highest self, and I highly recommend her work.”

– TOM WESTON

“I highly recommend Dr. Cuskley’s energy healing. I’ve never experienced an acute inter-play between mind and body than my work with her. I can honestly say after my session, I think of everything differently…. For those on the crossroads of healing, this is a great place to start to open your worldview with compassion and respect. Dr. Cuskley is the most pragmatic, down-to-earth, and honest person I’ve crossed regarding this growing, important healing space.”

– NATHAN NOVERO

Listen to the Recording Here

Go to this link: https://jeffcarreira.com/kundalini-awakening-with-tara-cuskley/

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You are invited to join a unique 9-day exploration of three realms of mystical awakening….

November 29th – December 7th, 2018.


CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE

About Jeff Carreira
Jeff Carreira is a meditation teacher and a mystical philosopher with an international following. He is the author of six books exploring the practice of meditation and the philosophy of inner growth. He has been leading workshops and retreats and teaching courses and programs that have guided thousands of people throughout the world to discover higher possibilities.


About Dr. Tara Cuskley
Tara Cuskley, Psy. D. is a New York State licensed psychologist, Reiki master, and energy healer, providing therapeutic and healing services, combining empirically-based psychotherapeutic treatments with a holistic approach. She is trained in cognitive-behavioral therapy and mindfulness, as well as Reiki, shamanic healing, and theta energy healing techniques. Her work focuses on clients’ needs for personal growth and healing, which may include shifting mental and emotional patterns, energy clearing and rebalancing, gaining clarity on life goals, and offering support through life transitions or spiritual awakening events.

For more info: www.healrenewtherapy.com

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e: jeff@jeffcarreira.com | © 2018 JeffCarreria.com

Psychotherapy and Spiritual Awakening

"As a psychotherapist as well as a teacher of spiritual awakening, I’m often asked how the two pursuits can be mutually enriching. After all, therapy seems concerned with supporting and improving the ego, whereas awakening is the realization that identification with the separate self is the root cause of suffering. Therapy generally aims to make us more comfortable and well-adjusted, while spiritual awakening cuts through all comforting stories and illusions and reveals the true nature of reality, no matter how uncomfortable that may be.
Most forms of psychotherapy do appear, at least on the surface, to run counter to the radical approach of Self-realization. At the same time, therapy offers a wealth of techniques that can be used in service not only of awakening but also of the embodiment of this awakening in everyday life. For example, therapy encourages us to welcome our emotions without judgment and to challenge the negative beliefs that make us anxious and depressed. In my experience, the two approaches can work hand in hand to root out the habitual patterns that cause us suffering at every level and reveal the radiant truth that lies beneath, the groundless ground of silence and peace.

The key lies in the therapist’s understanding. In the hands of someone with deep insight into the nature of reality, whose primary intention is genuine, lasting peace, happiness, and freedom, therapy can play a powerful role in the transformation process. While pointing again and again to the bright sun of our inherently awake true nature, which has the power in itself to gradually burn off the clouds of delusion, the nondual therapist can guide us in actively investigating the clouds—the core stories, the ego structures, the habitual reactive patterns—and releasing their hold over us.

Freud himself said that the purpose of therapy was to exchange extraordinary suffering for ordinary human suffering and to enable us to love and work. In other words, therapy is designed to help us function as relatively healthy human beings, but it can’t relieve the deeper and subtler suffering of feeling separate from our essential nature. Yet certain therapeutic approaches, by dispelling some of the illusions that obscure our clear seeing, can be skillful allies on the journey of awakening."

-- Stephan Bodian

"The Fountain Inside"
                       Rumi

There is a fountain inside you.

Don't walk around
with an empty bucket.
             

Getting Ready

At twenty, you felt
that all that was needed
was to introduce them
to beauty, which was also truth,
and they would respond
with joy.
They did not listen,
were restless,
eager
to get out for practice
on the field.

At forty,
you knew better,
had found some close
companions,
shared energies
in an intimate way,
then loss unexpected,
unexplained.
What did it mean?

Fifty, expansion,
the Goddess arrived,
ecstasy extreme,
how did this happen?

Often She returned,
no one understood.
Something evolving,
world washed and clean,
Beloved Within as guru.

Now, readying for departure,
you look back
as everything––
those passionate encounters,
the seasons of the golden branches,
those sweet thrills in the blood,
all recede, shapeless in haze of forgetfulness,
world as spectacle,
now grateful for the gifts
that were given,
the lessons
that they brought.

Dorothy Walters
October 5, 2018

Our Role in the Shift

Ted Murray

Each day seems to be a new turning point in the ongoing evolution of our planet. If you are feeling strange energies and having wild swings of energy levels and emotions then you are feeling the results of the intensified energies coming into the planet. It is easy to complain about your lack of energy to get things done. However, perhaps this is the universe’s gift telling to you slow down and focus on being instead of doing at this critical juncture.

You are a crucial part of this shift. You are meant to be directly involved, especially in your own personal life where the more focus you put on bringing light into your world and sharing love throughout it the sooner and more harmoniously things will take place. Recognize your importance and don’t hesitate to step fully into your role. This is a most challenging time to be alive and therefore it is the most exciting and glorious time also. You choose how you will experience it by focusing not on the fear bur rather on the anticipation of the loving world being created as the old ways are crumbling away.

Kabir

The mystery of words
is this: they convey the power,
even when you do not
understand the meanings.

Some talk about the
unstruck note,
the music of the untouched
flute,
the unsaid declaration
of love.

And then they give up
and they go dancing about
the house,
ankle bracelets
tinkling,
throat making
a sound of joy.

Kabir, my dear one,
I know you,
we have met
in a secret place.

Dorothy Walters
November 9, 2014

Psalm 121

I look deep into my heart,
to the core where wisdom arises.
Wisdom comes from the Unnamable
and unifies heaven and earth.
The Unnamable is always with you,
shining from the depths of your heart.
His peace will keep you untroubled
even in the greatest pain.
When you find him present within you,
you find truth at every moment.
He will guard you from all wrongdoing;
he will guide your feet on his path.
He will temper your youth with patience;
he will crown your old age with fulfillment.
And dying, you will leave your body
as effortlessly as a sigh.



(A Book of Psalms, trans. and adapted by Stephen Mitchell)

Hands

My hands are turning
to light
as I listen to these strains
from an unknown
guitar,
though I do not know
how I got to this music,
or how to find it again.

Maybe it is just part
of the mystery
of how things come together,
how they arrive
at the same place at
the same time,
even when we
are not really listening,
not paying attention.

Meanwhile our hands
are turning to light,
to love,
as they move
through sensuous space.

Dorothy Walters
September 30, 2018

Travelers

We were not the pretty ones.
We did not win prizes,
get elected class president.

We spent our time in the library,
among the books, our friends.
Thus we met Dante and Milton,
Rumi and Shakespeare,
Emerson and Walt,
Emily and Elizabeth B.
Or perhaps we rehearsed
with the chorus,
or painted in the studio
where the masters lived.
These were an august company.
We learned a lot from them.

Unimaginable things happened to us,
things we could not share.
We inhabited two worlds,
one invisible,
one seen.

Always we were longing
for more,
some jewel we had lost,
a line of poetry
we couldn't quite recall.

Occasionally we met
someone
on a parallel path,
and we shared notions
and ideas,
thoughts about the world.

Later we had friends,
persons of similar interests
or lovers, often untrue.
Mostly we were alone,
on a journey crafted for us
elsewhere,
taking us to a destination
unknown
but we knew it was right
for us,
preparing us
for the inexplicable,
shattering us
into the real.

Dorothy Walters
September 30, 2018

September

Again, the aspens are turning
the world into God,
right on schedule.

We try to savor
these few precious days
by driving up into
the high country,
look for yellow gold clinging
to dark branches,
irradiated by sun,
follow Trail Ridge Road
all the way up to the Continental Divide
where it is always windy
and cold.
Up there the tundra grows,
northern Siberia is
the only other place on the planet
where you will also find it.

Sometimes at dusk the elk come down
into the meadows,
their flute music echoing
cliff to cliff,
then clashing their horns together
to find a mate.

 Soon everything
will be covered
in snow, down here
and up above.
We will wish
we could still
go skiing
or snow boarding,
but it is too cold
for our fragile bones.
We will all long
for mothers
who will bake bread
and make soup,
fill the house with
sweet aromas.

Instead we will check to see if
we have new mail,
warm up a frozen dish from the market,
listen to the news
to see
if anything has changed.

Dorothy Walters
September 29, 2018

Friends

I have often advised, 'Consider your friends as life jackets."  Here are some of my oldest and dearest.  Far right (in blue coat) and left are Rose Roberts and Gail Thompson.  These two women were once in my women's studies classes some 20 years ago at Wichita State University in Kansas.  They were among the group called "returning women," a term applied to older women then coming back to college to complete their degrees.  They were then in their thirties (and I  was in my early fifties.)  They also enrolled in my class in "Personal and Social Transformation," which carried a content considered quite radical at the time (the Great Mother, quantum physics, extrasensory perception and the like).  They were among my favorite students, for they were open to new ideas and conversant with the old. They became fast friends and now are both grandmothers.  They still visit me in Colorado about once a year and take me on long drives in the mountains to, among other places, Rocky Mountain National Park, not far away.  We had a great time this last week, visiting the Park and then spending the day together listening to the Senate hearings on T. V.  These women are very perceptive and we all felt the same about the presentations.  Even though they live in a very conservative area, they  (like many others in my classes) are quite progressive in their views.

We also visited Ann Lacy Griffin, (in the red sweater) who lives in a co-housing community, about 20 minutes outside of Boulder.  Ann is very artistic, and her apartment reflects her talents, with decorations in Arabic, Japanese, and others, and including examples of her own painting and photography.  Ann and I met several years at a classical music concert when we happened to be seated next to each other.   Even now, we sometimes go to concerts together, especially those of classical or world music.  The land where she lives is, to my mind, quite magical.  If I had a car, I would move there also.