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  • Is death just nothingness?

    Dear Therese,

    I am at the time of my life where I realize I have far fewer years behind me than ahead of me, and I have to admit I am afraid of death.  I have always been afraid of death.  Even when I was young, and practicing my religion I never thought death was anything except just stopping.  I would like to believe something else, but right now I just believe death is forever nothingness, and I think about it a lot.

    Nancy in St. Paul

    Dear Nancy,

    Increasingly there is evidence that there is life after death, due to things like near death experiences, but it is still very contradictory at best.  Some think it concrete evidence, some think it evidence of what our bodies do when under certain conditions and stresses.  I happen to think it is not strictly chemical.

    Getting to the very basics of science, energy can never go away, it can only change form, right?  Which means, if nothing else, we will continue on for sure, even if not in the form we are experiencing right now.  Not very comforting, though, is it?

    I also happen to resonate with things in the CWG world…go figure!  In “Home With God, in a life that never ends” Neale Donald Walsch talks with God about death.  One of the things that seems most true, given the anecdotal evidence mentioned above, is that what we believe about death is what we will experience after we die.  If we believe in hell, or, in your case, nothingness, that is exactly what we will experience…until we decide we have finished this particular human experience all the way to its completion, and are ready to meet up with the All (God, if you will), and choose again.  We can choose to do the same life again, or we can choose one of the infinite possibilities that exist called “The Life of Nancy.”  Or we could stay with Creator, but that isn’t likely, because the urge to experience what we know would be very alluring.

    Part of what I hear you saying, though, Nancy, is that you have a particular attachment to this body, and this mind.  What if I were to tell you that it is also suggested in “The Only Thing That Matters,” by Neale, that we change form for a bit, but that we ultimately reunite with this same mind/body/soul that we now are?  Our form changes energy, much like snowflake to rain to ice to vapor and back to snow.  It is all the same thing, but different forms, and we will resume our form as well.  For me this is comforting, and explains a lot of my feelings of been-there done-that!

    Of course, as is glibly said, there’s no getting away from the fact that we are going to die, but that does not mean that we have to dwell in the fear of it either.  Ultimately it is just another change in a life that is nothing but change…each change can be called a little death, and, if you are like me, you can also look back and see that each “little death” opened up the pathway for something else.  I think it is pretty cool to sit and imagine what that “something else” will be after the change called my physical death!

    Nancy, I hope that you can imagine that, too, and choose to live this life consciously and with joy, and not waste it through living fearfully…although, you will get the chance to do it again if you’d like!

    Therese

    (Therese Wilson is a published poet, and is the administrator of the global website at www.ChangingChange.net, which offers spiritual assistance from a team of Spiritual Helpers responding to every post from readers within 24 hours or less, and offers insight, suggestions, and companionship during moments of unbidden, unexpected, unwelcome change on the journey of life. She may be contacted at Therese@TheGlobalConversation.com.)

    (If you would like a question considered for publication, please submit your request to Advice@TheGlobalConversation.com, where our team is waiting to hear from you.)

  • If God doesn’t want anything from me,
    why do I expect so much from you?

    Yes, it is almost here again, Valentine’s Day.  The arrival of this “Day of Love” can produce a broad spectrum of experiences for those who are touched by it.  For some it will glide in on the wings of new-found love and breathtaking romance.  For others it will simply not arrive at all – or at least not in the way it is desired.  Either way, has Valentine’s Day evolved into just another holiday which places the focus of what it is we all imagine ourselves to desire in a relationship firmly in the thoughts, choices, and actions of another?  Will he buy me flowers?  Maybe he will shower me with expensive jewelry or escort me to the finest restaurant in town?  Perhaps she will have sex with me?  Will I even be the recipient of a thoughtful card?

    But what happens when the thoughts, choices, and actions of another on this particular day fall short of what we are hoping to experience?  Is Valentine’s Day truly a day of love, a celebration of partnership, a reminder of our unity?  Or rather, is it just another day of consumerism, the perfect setup for unrealistic expectations, and perhaps more divisive than cohesive when it comes to moving forward in our partnerships?

    Are we so attached to the external shiny objects that are dangled in front of our senses on this day – the flowers, the candy, the jewelry, the food, the sex, the presents, the promises – that we lose sight and stray off of the path that will truly lead us to the experience of joy, happiness, and love in our relationships?

    Don’t get me wrong.  I am not a prude.  And I love romance – hey, I am the “Romance & Relationship” columnist after all!  But I have found myself on the receiving end of feeling disappointed on Valentine’s Day for not receiving a card or a gift and constructing some pretty harsh judgments around that, placing myself in a position of asking myself, “What is that about?”  Especially when that particular person never let a moment go by where his love and presence were not wholly known and deeply felt in ways that transcended the potential of any material expression.

    If God does not want or need anything from me, why do I place those expectations upon the person with whom I share my life’s journey?  Could it be that somewhere along the line I was taught and then adopted the idea that love was measured in direct proportion to that which I was either giving or receiving?   The more you give me, the more you love me?  The more I receive, the more I am loved?

    And if that is not the case, then how DO we express this thing called “love”?

    How do we express that which is so profound and so complex and so seemingly “unexpressable” in our limited human capacity?

    My life has demonstrated to me that the answer to that question is foundationed in first understanding and living each moment of your life in full awareness of the Agenda of your Soul, and understanding that the people with whom we share a relationship also have a Soul Agenda — whether they are aware of it or not.

    But what  does the Agenda of my Soul have to do with Valentine’s Day?  Or my partnership?  Or anything I do, for that matter?

    It has everything to do with not only those things, but each and every choice I make and the entire purpose of my life.  If I am clear on the Agenda of my Soul — or at least recognize that I have one — and when my partner, too, is living in alignment with his Soul’s Agenda, then our love, our companionship, our presence in each other’s life becomes an expression of that purpose and that intention, creating moment after moment of experiencing our communion with God and Unity with each other, reaching completion of that which we are here to experience…Over and Over and Over again…knowing ourselves as Soulmates and remembering who we really are.

    I could be wrong.  It could really about the chocolates and the lingerie and the sappy cards.  I could measure the extent of my spouse’s love and commitment against the value of the gifts he may – or may not – give to me.  I could hinge the purpose of our relationship upon a single day, in single a year, and what I “get” out of it.

    But I don’t think so.

    I sense that it is much, much larger than that.  I may happen to receive a sweet card or some exotic flowers or perhaps go out for a romantic dinner on Valentine’s Day.  Or I may not.  Either way, I am very clear on one thing:  my Soul will not yearn for more or less than the perfect experience of being exactly who I already know myself to be:  LOVE.

    (Lisa McCormack is the Managing Editor & Administrator of The Global Conversation.  She is also a member of the Spiritual Helper team at www.ChangingChange.net, a website offering emotional and spiritual support. To connect with Lisa, please e-mail her at Lisa@TheGlobalConversation.com.)

  • What is robbing your energy?

    Everyone seems to be tired, stressed out, fatigued, lethargic, or burned out today. We work too much, become caregivers for parents or children, and spend way too much time worrying about others instead of ourselves.It’s time to focus on YOU and making yourself feel better. Let’s start by looking at what is stealing your energy and vitality from your system!

    There are four kinds of stress that will deplete your energy store – chemical, emotional, mental, and physical. Here are some examples of each type of stress and what you can do about it.

    Chemical stress can come from your food, air, water, and environment. You ingest hundreds of chemicals daily simply from the food you eat. The more processed foods you eat, the more chemicals you ingest. By processed foods I mean foods that have been changed or transformed from their original state in nature, packaged, and sold to you through a grocery store, restaurant, or shop.

    You are eating food coloring, artificial and “natural” flavoring, artificial sweeteners, and preservatives in every bite of your pre-prepared foods. You eat pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers in your conventional and GMO foods. You drink in the water pollutants in every soda or glass of unfiltered water. You are surrounded by air pollution in your workplace, airport, and even outdoors depending on where you live.

    Read your food labels when you buy food products. If the ingredients list is long, has confusing words or unpronounceable words, or has recognizable chemicals in it, don’t buy it. Make it yourself. Cooking isn’t that hard and doesn’t take that much time. If you can’t cook it, get it from a place where you know who made it and what went in it. For today, just make a better choice. Try to drink filtered or purified water when you can, and get outside in a clean natural environment whenever you can.

    Emotional stress can come from toxic relationships, caring for children, or lack of boundaries. There have been many studies done that show that the better your relationships are, the healthier you are and vice versa. If you are stuck in an unhealthy relationship, either figure out how to improve it or leave it behind. You can do this by setting healthy boundaries for yourself even if it is your own children you are dealing with. Learn to say no, and teach people how to treat you by letting them know what is not acceptable, enforcing your boundaries and following through.

    Mental stress can come from your work environment, school or education pressures, and especially self-inflicted standards and expectations. If you take your work home with you, work at all hours, check your emails or are on call while you are “off,” or can’t stop studying, then you probably need to look at your standards and expectations. Set a time when you are truly off work. For example, after 7:00 p.m. stop checking your email, stop studying, and stop beating yourself up in general for not being perfect. If you don’t start taking care of yourself, no one else is going to do it for you.

    Finally, physical stress can result from your immediate environment – loud or constant noise and lack of sleep are some great examples. Try to get some quiet time daily and make sure your sleep schedule is regular and enough. Most people need 7-8 hours of sleep a night. If you sleep less on a regular basis, you might need to make some changes in your schedule. Too much partying or alcohol can also put your body in a state of physical stress.

    The biggest and most common source of physical stress on your body is a lack of nutrients. There are no nutrients in packaged cereals (except what they fortify it with after removing the natural nutrients!), fast food, processed foods, sugar, alcohol, white flours and rice, and much more of what we eat on a regular basis. Try to start eating whole foods – foods with one ingredient. Cook more of your own food with whole ingredients. You will at least know for sure what is in your food!

    Take a look at what kinds of chemical, mental, emotional, and physical stress you are putting your body through and start making changes here and there to improve your life. You will end up with more energy!

    (Beth Anderson is a certified Holistic Health Coach and founder of the Holistic Health Hotspot in Evansville, Indiana. She is also the author of The Holistic Diet: Achieve Your Ideal Weight, Be Happy and Healthy for Life.Beth received her training from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. Beth is helping people improve their lives through nutrition and lifestyle education, health coaching, and by helping others to learn to make informed choices. Beth continues to spread understanding of the connection between body, mind, and spirit and encourages all to discern the truth about food, consumer products, environment, and life choices.)

     

  • Conquering fear

    Fear has been on my mind a lot lately, especially when it comes to this venture of Pajamas Notebook.  I started out as I always do, like a firecracker, but as time goes on I find myself getting fearful again.  This time around, it is a different type of fear than I am normally accustomed to.  Usually, I would get scared of failure. “What if no one likes me?”  “What if I fail miserably?” Those feelings I am used to and have become really good at handling,so they don’t bother me anymore.  What this new fear does deal with is the fear of success!  Odd, isn’t it?

    This time around I find myself saying, “What if I become successful?” or“What if my message takes off and the spotlight starts to shine on me?” How do I handle that?  Being a humble person, the thought of “all eyes on me” is a bit daunting, as I have never wanted to outshine anyone else in my life.  I suffer from “feeling bad for those around me when I start to take the lead so I step back” syndrome.  This was even stronger when I became a Wife and Mother.  I always wanted to be a Stay-at-Home Mommy (which I am), a supportive wife (which I am), a loving sibling (which I am), and a loving daughter (which I am)…which is why my mind keeps putting me in checkmate by saying, “You have everything you ever wanted… why push it and try for more?  How will you balance your home with a business?  How will you care for your husband?  How will you make time for your kids?”  It is those moments where fear starts really knocking at my door.

    With that being said, I ended up spending the entire weekend thinking about this subject.  What fear is, what common fears are, and how it affects different kinds of people.  Through this process, I was finally able to muster up enough courage to no longer allow this emotion to get the better of me.  How did I do this you may ask?   Simply, by deciding to put all TRUST in me, so that I will be able to answer any knock at my door with a smile and with love.   You see, the truth is that fear is constantly knocking at our doors if you really take time to listen.  We can either choose to ignore that it’s there and just keep pressing on, or we can finally stand up with all that we are and open the door to invite fear in!

    That is what I have chosen to do.  I have decided to walk straight up to my door, open it up, and invite fear inside.  I am going to ‘trust’ that this feeling knocking means I truly am on to something with my business…I am going to love the crap out of this scary emotion until it’s so full of love it has no choice but to love me back…I am going to put all my light towards the fear, and whatever else walks through my door, that it will be overrun with the warmth of which I am.

    I have decided right here and now, to no longer live life by constantly ‘exiting stage right.’  Instead, I choose to harness the gifts provided to me and get to gettin’ when it comes to sharing my message with all of you!

    Since I have made this declaration to myself and to the universe, I am overrun with pure joy for what lies ahead and am excited to have ‘fear’ along for the ride.  Maybe, just maybe, I can finally teach IT a thing or two about how the soul really works!

    What would you do, if you knew you wouldn’t fail?  What would you do, if fear no longer conquered your life?

    (Jaimie Schultz , a/k/a Pajamas, is a fun-loving, passionate, adventure seeker who loves life and loves helping others see how much they should love theirs. She is passionate about all things mystical and out of her control. You can visit her website at www.pajamasnotebook.com)

    (If you would like to contribute an article you have authored to the Guest Column, please submit it to our Managing Editor, Lisa McCormack, for possible publication in this space. Not all submissions can be published, due to the number of submissions and sometimes because of other content considerations, but all are encouraged. Send submissions to Lisa@TheGlobalConversation.com. Please label the topic: “Guest Column.”)

     

  • Why it takes so long to create what you want

    NEALE: Why does it take so much time for me to create the reality I choose?

    GOD: For a number of reasons. Because you do not believe you can have what you choose. Because you do not know what to choose. Because you keep trying to figure out what’s “best” for you. Because you want guarantees ahead of time that all your choices will be “good.” And because you keep changing your mind!

    NEALE: Let me see if I understand. I shouldn’t try to figure out what’s best for me?

    GOD: “Best” is a relative term, depending on a hundred variables. That makes choices very difficult. There should be only one consideration when making any decision – Is this a statement of Who I Am? Is this an announcement of Who I Choose to Be?

    All of life should be such an announcement. In fact, all of life is. You can allow that announcement to be made by Chance, or by Choice.

    A life lived by Choice is a life of conscious action. A life lived by Chance is a life of unconscious reaction.

    Reaction is just that — an action you have taken before. When you “re-act,” what you do is assess the incoming data, search your memory bank for the same, or nearly the same, experience, and act the way you did before. This is all the work of the Mind, not of your Soul.

    Your Soul would have you search It’s “memory” to see how you might create a truly genuine experience of You in the Now Moment. This is the experience of  “soul searching” of which you have so often heard, but you have to be literally “out of your mind” to do it.

    When you spend your time trying to figure out what’s “best” for you, you are doing just that: spending your time. Better to save your time than to spend it wastefully.

    It is a great time-saver to be out of your mind. Decisions are reached quickly, choices are activated rapidly, because your Soul creates out of present experience only, without review, analysis and criticism of past encounters.

    Remember this: the Soul creates, the Mind reacts.

    The Soul knows in its wisdom that the experience you are having in This Moment is an experience sent to you by God before you had any conscious awareness of it. This is what is meant by a “pre-sent” experience. It’s already on the way to you even as you are seeking it — for even before you ask, I shall have answered you. Every Now Moment is a glorious gift from God. That’s why it is called the present.

    The Soul intuitively seeks the perfect circumstance and situation now needed to heal wrong thought and bring you the rightful experience of Who You Really Are.

    It is the Soul’s desire to bring you back to God — to bring you home to Me.

    It is the Soul’s intention to know Itself experientially — and thus to know Me. For the Soul understands that You and I are One, even as the Mind denies this truth, and the Body acts out this denial.

    Therefore, in moments of great decision, be out of your Mind, and do some Soul searching instead.

    The Soul understands what the Mind cannot conceive.

    If you spend your time trying to figure out what’s “best” for you, your choices will be cautious, your decisions will take forever, and your journey will be launched on a sea of expectations.

    If you are not careful, you will drown in your expectations.

    NEALE: Whew! That’s quite an answer! But how do I listen to my soul? How do I know what I’m hearing?

    GOD: The Soul speaks to you in feelings. Listen to your feelings. Follow your feelings. Honor your feelings.

    NEALE: Why does it seem to me that honoring my feelings is precisely what has caused me to get into trouble in the first place?

    GOD: Because you have labeled growth “trouble,” and standing still “safe.” I tell you this: your feelings will never get you into “trouble,” because your feelings are your truth.

    If you want to live a life where you never follow your feelings, but where every feeling is filtered through the machinery of your Mind, go right ahead. Make your decisions based on your Mind’s analysis of the situation. But don’t look for joy in such machinations, nor for celebration of Who You Truly Are.

    Remember this: true celebration is mindless.

    If you listen to your Soul you will know what is “best” for you, because what is best for you is what is true for you.

    When you act only out of what is true for you, you speed your way down the Path. When you create an experience based on your “now truth” rather than react to an experience based on a “past truth,” you produce a “new you.”

    Why does it take so much time to create the reality you choose? This is why: because you have not been living your truth.

    Know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.

    Yet once you come to know your truth, don’t keep changing your mind about it. This is your Mind trying to figure out what’s “best.” Stop it! Get out of your Mind. Get back to your senses!

    That is what is meant by “getting back to your senses.” It is a returning to how you feel, not how you think. Your thoughts are just that – thoughts. Mental constructions. “Made up” creations of your Mind. But your feelings – now they are real.

    Feelings are the language of the Soul. And your Soul is your truth.

    There. Now does that tie it all together for you?

    ========================================

    Editor’s Note: If you would like to COMMENT on the above excerpt from Conversations with God – Book Two, please scroll down to the end of the red ancillary copy that appears just below, which has been placed here for First Time Readers…

    If Conversations with God has touched your life in a positive way, you are one of millions of people around the world who have had such an experience. All of the readers of CWG have yearned to find a way to keep its healing messages alive in their life.

    One of the best ways to do that is to read and re-read the material over and over again — and we have made it convenient and easy for you to do so. Come here often and enjoy selected excerpts from the Conversations with God cosmology, changed on a regular basis, so you can “dip in” to the 3,000 pages of material quickly and easily. We hope you have enjoyed the excerpt above, from Friendship with God.

    Now, may we tell you about a very easy way that you can share these wonderful messages with others? Please keep reading…

    =====================

    About Book-On-A-Bench…

    If you believe that the messages in Conversations with God could inspire humanity to change its basic beliefs about God, about Life, and about Human Beings and their relationship to each other, leave those messages lying around.

    Simply “forget” or “misplace” a copy of Conversations with God on a bench somewhere. At a bus stop, or a train station, or an airport—or actually on the bus, train, or plane. At a hairstyling salon, a doctor’s office, a chiropractor’s office, a park bench, or even just a bench on the street. Just leave a book lying around.

    If everybody did this, the message of Conversations with God could “go viral” in a very short period of time.  So you are invited to participate in the Book-On-A-Bench program and spread ideas that could create a new cultural story far and wide.

    = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

    ABOUT the author of Conversations with God…

    Neale Donald Walsch is a modern day spiritual messenger whose words continue to touch the world in profound ways. With an early interest in religion and a deeply felt connection to spirituality, Neale spent the majority of his life thriving professionally, yet searching for spiritual meaning before experiencing his now famous conversation with God. His Conversations with God series of books has been translated into 37 languages, touching millions and inspiring important changes in their day-to-day lives.

    Neale was born in Milwaukee to a Roman Catholic family that encouraged his quest for spiritual truth. Serving as his first spiritual mentor, Neale’s mother taught him not to be afraid of God, as she believed in having a personal relationship with the divine — and she taught Neale to do the same.

    A nontraditional believer, Neale’s mother hardly ever went to church, and when he asked her why, she told Neale: “I don’t have to go to church — God comes to me. He’s with me and around me wherever I am.” This notion of God at an early age would later move Neale to transcend traditional views of organized religion.

    By his late teens Neale’s involvement with spiritually-based teachings led him to begin dipping into a variety of spiritual texts, including the Bible, the Rig Veda, the Upanishads and Divine revelation according to Sri Ramakrishna. He noticed that when people became involved in organized religion they sometimes seemed less joyful and more angry, occasionally exhibiting behaviors of prejudice and separateness. Neale concluded that humanity’s collective experience of theology was not as positive as it was meant to be. It seemed to him that there was something missing in standard theological teachings; that they might contain very good lessons, he concluded, but that they might not be complete.

    After graduating from high school, he enrolled at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, but academic life could not hold his interest and he dropped out of college after two years to follow an interest in radio broadcasting that eventually led to a full-time position at the age of 19 at a small radio station far from his Milwaukee home, in Annapolis, Maryland.

    Restless by nature and always seeking to expand his opportunities for self-expression, Neale in the years that followed became a radio station program director, a newspaper managing editor, public information officer for one of the nation’s largest public school systems, and, after moving to the West Coast, creator and owner of his own public relations and marketing firm. Moving from one career field to another, he could not seem to find occupational satisfaction, his relationship life was in constant turmoil, and his health was going rapidly downhill.

    He had relocated in Oregon as part of a change-of-scenery strategy to find his way, but Fate was to provide more than a change of location. It produced a change in his entire life. One day a car driven by an elderly gentleman made a left turn directly into his path. Neale emerged from the auto accident with a broken neck. He was lucky to escape with his life.

    Over a year of rehab threw him out of work. A failed marriage had already removed him from his home, and soon he couldn’t keep even the small apartment he’d rented. Within months he found himself on the street, homeless. It took him two weeks shy of a year to pull himself together and get back under shelter. He found a modest part-time job, once again in broadcasting, then worked his way into full time broadcasting, eventual landing a spot as a nationally syndicated radio talk show host.

    He had seen the bottom of life living outside, gathering beer and soft drink cans in a park to collect the return deposit, but now his life seemed to be on the mend. Yet, once more, Neale felt an emptiness inside that he could not define, and the daily difficulties that everyone faces continued.

    In 1992, following a period of deep despair, Neale awoke in the middle of a February night and wrote an anguished letter to God. “What does it take to make life work?” he angrily scratched across a yellow legal pad. “And what have I done to deserve a life of such continuing struggle?”

    What followed has been well chronicled and widely discussed around the world. Neale says his questioning letter received a Divine answer. He tells us that he heard a voice just over his right shoulder—soft and warm, kind and loving, as he describes it—that offered a reply. Awestruck and inspired, he quickly scribbled the response onto a yellow legal pad he’d found on a coffee table before him.

    More questions came, and as fast as they occurred to him, answers were given in the same gentle voice, which now seemed to have moved inside his head, but also seemed clearly beyond his normal thinking. Before he knew it, Neale found himself engaged in a two-way on-paper dialogue.

    He continued this first “conversation” for hours, and had many more in the weeks that followed, always awakening in the middle of the night and being drawn back to his legal pad. Neale’s handwritten notes would later become the best-selling Conversations with God books. He says the process was “exactly like taking dictation,” and that the dialogue that was created in this way was published without alteration or editing. He also says that God is talking to all of us, all the time, and that he has come to understand that this experience is not unusual, nor does it make him in any way a special person or a unique messenger.

    In addition to producing the With God series of books, Neale has published 18 other works, as well as many video and audio programs. Available throughout the world, seven of the Conversations with God books made the New York Times bestseller list, with Conversations with God: Book 1 occupying a place on that list for more than two-and-half years. Walsch’s books have sold more than 7.5 million copies worldwide and have been translated into 37 languages. Anecdotal evidence suggests that CWG is one of the most widely distributed hand-to-hand books ever published, with estimates that, on average, at least two people have read every copy purchased — meaning that something more than 15 million people worldwide have read the CWG messages.

    The With God series has redefined God and shifted spiritual paradigms around the globe. In order to deal with the enormous response to his writings, Neale has created several global outreach projects dedicated to inspiring the world to help itself move from violence to peace, from confusion to clarity, and from anger to love revolving around their core messages.

    The projects include: (1) the Conversations with God Foundation, an adult education outreach; (2) Humanity’s Team, a global spiritual activist outreach; (3) CWG for Parents, an outreach providing resources to those who wish to bring their children the messages of CWG; (4) the Changing Change Network, a CWG helping outreach to persons facing major life challenges; (5) The Global Conversation, an internet newspaper outreach relating the spiritual messages of CWG to the news of the day; and (6) CWG Connect, a multi-media communications outreach creating a worldwide CWG community featuring Video and Audio On-Demand services, together with ongoing personal interaction with the author of CWG. Access to all of these programs will be found at the gateway internet site: www.CWGPortal.com

    Neale’s work has taken him from the steps of Machu Picchu in Peru to the steps of the Shinto shrines of Japan, from Red Square in Moscow to St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City to Tiananmen Square in Beijing.

    Everywhere he has gone—from South Africa to Norway, Croatia to The Netherlands, the streets of Zurich to the streets of Seoul—Neale has found a hunger among the people to find a new way to live; a way to co-exist, at last, in peace and harmony, with a reverence for Life Itself in all its forms, and for each other. And he has sought to help them develop a new, expanded understanding of God, of life, and of themselves that allows them to create and experience this.

    Neale’s latest book, The Only Thing That Matters, was published in October, 2012. He lives in Ashland, Oregon and is married to the American poet Em Claire (www.emclairepoet.com).


  • Should there be armed guards in our schools? Is the NRA right about that?

  • What is your path to ‘Enlightenment’?

    Let’s talk now in this space about “Enlightenment”—this elusive magical mystical experience for which everyone seems to be reaching and for which everyone seems to have a yearning, and for which every one seems to be searching.  And I understand the reasons for the search, because if we all were enlightened one presumes that our lives would be better than they are now, when we are presumably unenlightened.

    In addition, it occurs to me that if all of us were enlightened relatively quickly, the whole world would be different and we would experience life in another way.  Presumably with less turmoil, with less stress, with less conflict, for sure, I would imagine, with less sadness and anger and less violence and much less of all the things that make our lives sad and disjointed and unhappy in these days and times.

    So humanity searches for Enlightenment and we have been searching for Enlightenment from the beginning of time, ever since we became consciously aware of the fact that it was possible to be Enlightened—whatever that is.

    We have not only been searching for Enlightenment, we have been searching as well for a definition of Enlightenment, because we can’t get to that destination until we know where we are going.  And so the first step for most human beings has been to try to define what Enlightenment is, or what it looks like, or feels like, or tastes like, or what it is like to experience that.  And then, after we have that clear, after we know what our destination is, then we can try to figure out what would it take to get from where we are to where we want to be.

    And there is this rush to Enlightenment that I observe that humanity, or a portion of humanity, is engaged in. And many say that they know how to get there and they know how to get you there. And so we see many, many “Paths to Enlightenment” that are suggested, recommended, created, expressed, experienced, shared, and put into the space of our collective lives. Masters of every shape and size and color have been creating a way to be enlightened for millennia.

    Paramahansa Yogananda said that he knew a way to Enlightenment.  The Buddha said that he knew a way to Enlightenment.  Maharishi Mahesh Yogi says that he knows a way to Enlightenment.  Sai Baba says that he knows a way to Enlightenment.  In their own way, Jesus the Christ and Abu Al-Qasim Muhammad ibn Abd Allah ibn Abd Al-Muttalib ibn Hashim—Muhammad—said that they knew the way to Enlightenment.

    Now the interesting thing here is that the followers of all of these Masters have insisted that their Master was right about that, that their way was the best way and the fastest way. Maybe not the only way, but the fastest way and, therefore, you needed to take that way. There was a great urgency. You needed to become Catholic or you needed to take Transcendental Meditation or you needed to learn Tai Chi, or you needed to raise your vibrational rate, or your needed to change your brain, or, for heaven sake, change something.  And not some time, but right now, immediately, this month.

    You needed to join this group or do that process or read this book or be baptized or be un-baptized or do whatever it is that you have been told by your particular master or monk is the fastest, quickest way for you to get to where all of us want to go—which is the place called “enlightenment,” “awareness,” “higher consciousness,” or “vibrational harmony.”

    The brain is now the latest path, the latest route, everyone is talking about. It is about moving your energy, your focus, your awareness, your presence, your essence, the vibration of Who You Are, from the brain stem to the frontal lobe. Many people are teaching this now. Many people are talking about actual science, physical science, brain chemistry, as a path to this thing we call Enlightenment.

    All of that is wonderful. That is just terrific, and it gives me great hope for humanity. But there is something we have to look at here. There is a pitfall here, a detour, a time-waster.  And even a danger, if we choose to damage others with it. The danger of this business of Enlightenment is two-fold.  The first danger is thinking that there is something specific that you have to do in order to get there, and that if you don’t do that, you can’t get there.  The second danger is thinking that your way to get there is the fastest, best way to do it.

    And I want to pick up on that in my next entry. For now, what is your path to Enlightenment? Have you tried any particular path? What has been your experience?

     

     

  • IS THERE REALLY NO SUCH
    THING AS RIGHT AND WRONG?

    Has humanity lost True North on its moral compass?

    The whole idea of  “wrong doing” is part of humanity’s cosmology of life. We really do think that there is such a thing as Right and Wrong. After all, God has told us so. Our religions have told us so. Our parents have told us so. Our culture has told us so. Our societies around the world have made it clear that some things are Right and some things are Wrong.

    Yet now here comes a new theology arising out of the Conversations with God series of books which tells us, in one of its most provocative statements, that “there is no such thing as Right and Wrong.” And the Mind begs to know, how can this be true? Are we to simply abandon all of the understandings that all of humanity holds all of the time?

    No, my own Mind said, when I first heard this: Surely Right and Wrong must exist at some level. Surely there must be some guidepost, some yardstick, some standard or criterion with which we can measure or determine whether particular choices and behaviors are appropriate or inappropriate, are good or bad, are best taken or best ignored.

    A remarkable post here a while ago from a reader named Carol Bass has ignited this series of articles about the state of humanity’s spirituality today.

    In this series, I am attempting to respond directly to what Carol had to say in a striking entry that, to me, seemed to perfectly frame the way so many people are holding their reality today. I believe that Carol’s comments deserve serious and complete responses. So Carol, here we go again…as we continue to look deeply at the observations you offered.

    In my last entry here in reply to you, I quoted your comment that…

    “It seems that so many have turned their back on what is right and what is wrong. The ten commandments according to the bible have become just another thing to cast off as just someone’s religious beliefs but not necessarily truth.”

    The human race seems to agree, Carol. People have stuck to their guns about this—and I mean that quite literally—for many, many years. We are absolutely certain that there is such a thing as Right and Wrong, and we are absolutely sure that we are right about that.

    The difficulty and the problem has been that our ideas of Right and Wrong change from time to time, from place to place, and from culture to culture. The result: what one person or culture says is Right, another person or culture says is Wrong. And this is the source of more than a small or trivial amount of the conflict and violence, killing and war that we have seen on the planet—much of it, ironically, in God’s name.

    This article is Part V of an ongoing series:
    LAYING THE GROUNDWORK FOR TOMORROW

    Not only can we not seem to be able to agree on what is Right and Wrong, we can’t even agree to disagree about this. We don’t seem capable of observing our differences and calling them simply that. We apparently feel the need to make each other wrong for holding views different from ours.

    We can’t even agree to openly explore the topics on which our beliefs diverge, with all possibilities on the table, with compromises at least considered. No, there can be no compromises when we are right. One does not compromise one’s principles, one does not bargain with the devil—and we have already demonized each other, not just each other’s views, so there you have it. We are left with our disagreements and our absolute inability to overcome them.

    Worse yet, we are left with our righteousness about them. We imagine we are so right about what is Right and Wrong that we are willing to belittle others, to criticize others, to persecute others, to judge and punish others, to attack others and even to kill others—all of which we would consider Wrong if others did it to us. The interesting thing about Right is that it is always on our side.

    The problem here, of course, is with the model of the world. CWG famously made the statement that “no one does anything inappropriate, given their model of the world.” It is this model that tells us that things are morally right and morally wrong—and, billions believe, that it is God who has said so. If God says that something is Right or Wrong, who are we to contradict that, or even to question it?

    So our model of the world leaves no room for discussion, no room for debate, no room for exploration of any possibility other than what we have been told and commanded by the God of our understanding.

    There would be no problem with this if we could be certain that our understanding of what God has said is Right and Wrong is “right.” But what if it’s “wrong”? Or, at least, incomplete?

    Even casual observation informs us, Carol, that,with regard to What God Said about what’s Right and what’s Wrong, we can’t get things straight on this planet from one culture to the next, or even from one moment in history to the next. What, then, to do? How to resolve this problem?

    The answer is to build a new model of the world, based on a new understanding, brought to us by Tomorrow’s God. And that new understanding is that there is no such thing as Right and Wrong, there is only What Works and What Does Not Work, given what it is we are trying to do.

    Dare we? Dare we use this New Model as a universal device for determining our actions, for making our choices, for taking particular decisions?

    I want to explore more of what Carol Bass had to say in her post, and will do so in our next entry here, as The Carol Bass Dialogue continues…

    (EDITOR’S NOTE: Much of the commentary in the column above comes from What God Said, the latest book from Neale Donald Walsch, to be published by Penguin Putnam in October.)

  • Accessing your Soul’s wisdom for difficult choices and loving all that shows up

    Dear Readers,

    Today’s column is a bit unique in that I’m posting synopses of a series of emails between a personal friend and myself. I thought our exchange would have more impact than if I distilled it into a traditional advice column Q&A. “Yolanda” is a beautiful young Positive Music singer-songwriter here in Nashville who has been a vegan for many years. When she informed me of her decision to have a hysterectomy earlier this year I was shocked because it just didn’t seem like her style. She said she was at peace with the decision, though, having done some deep spiritual work around it. The conversation starts a few weeks later…

    A: How are you feeling? 100% yet?

    Y: Well, the pathology revealed early cancer. I know I made the right decision to have the hysterectomy! I see a GYN oncologist tomorrow, but I remain confident that the cancer is all out of my body. I am receiving the healing thoughts of so many amazing people, I have no choice but to be perfectly healthy! I really do feel better and better every day. Got back onstage for the first time Saturday and it was wonderful. 🙂

    A: Wow, Yolanda, thank God you listened to your Inner Voice. Would you like for me to teach you how to have your own Conversations With God so you’ll always have access to your Soul’s higher guidance? It works miracles in Greg’s and my lives.

    Y: Yes, please! 🙂

    A: For now, I want you to do Neale’s video version of the “How To Have Your Own Conversation With God” process online. I taught this process at the Music City Center for Spiritual Living a couple of weeks ago and won’t be doing it again in town for awhile and don’t want you to have to wait.

    1. Go to:  www.cwg.tv

    2. Click on “SUBSCRIBE NOW” at the top of the page. They have a “pay as you can plan” so that anyone can have access to it, regardless of their financial situation.

    3. Go back to cwg.tv and log in with your user name and password.

    4. Click on the “Special Programs” tab.

    5. Select the top option: “Have your own Conversation With God”.

    One other thing I want you to do: listen to my song “Thankful Offering” every day for six months, closing your eyes and allowing yourself to feel the deep-seated truth of your health and healing. Being grateful now brings you more to be grateful for. That’s why prayers of gratitude are the most powerfully creative.

    Y: I haven’t had a chance to look at this yet, but thank you SO MUCH, Annie. I went to a GYN oncologist yesterday and she wants to go back in and take my ovaries, even though there is no actual proof that there is cancer there. As you can imagine, I am extremely reluctant to do this, but I have a lot to consider. I believe that my body is free of cancer at this time, but what if I’m wrong? It’s a huge decision and I have a lot of searching to do, both literally and spiritually.

    A: Thank you for sharing this with me, Yolanda. Your Soul knows what is best here, so that is the perfect question to ask in a conversation with God: “What is highest and best for me regarding having my ovaries removed?” Be ready to write down whatever comes through and don’t censor it! A CWG is simply accessing the knowledge of the Universe via your Soul.

    What is the reason they want to remove your healthy ovaries? Is it because you don’t want to do chemo?

    I am here for you through any and all of this you want me to be. I adore you, Yolanda, and want to help in any way that might feel right for you.

    Y: Well, the cancer they found in my uterus hasn’t been staged yet. The oncologist hasn’t even viewed the slide yet, but she will do so with her colleagues on Tuesday. There is a chance that it spread before they got the uterus out, so she wants to cover all bases. I really don’t care to have another surgery and I was THRILLED that I got to keep my ovaries after the first one. We didn’t know there was cancer present until after the surgery was done, which is why I was referred to a specialist.

    I’m not convinced I should have to go into early menopause and go under the knife again just because we’re not sure. Hence the reason I need to do some soul-searching and a lot of research before I make any decisions.

    A: One message I got in a CWG the other day was this, and I thought it was so profound, I printed it out and put it up on my fridge:

    Listen to your own songs.

    Read your own writing.

    Follow your own advice.

    If you did that with your song, “Love All”, what would that look like? Could you love the situation you are in now, knowing it could only be happening for your greater growth and good? Could you love the cancer that was in your body? Could you love any cancerous cells that might be there now? Could you communicate love to them, thank them, then invite them to return to the Oneness from whence they came, letting them know they have served their purpose in your life?

    Not easy questions, and certainly not easy assignments, yet they may be in your highest and best interest to work toward…

    Y: Mmmmm. Thank you.

    A: Does that sound crazy or does it make sense? It felt kind of inspired coming out so I didn’t second guess it…

    Y: Totally makes sense to me. Thank you for not censoring!

    A: May I have your permission to post our email conversation as my weekly advice column in Neale’s online newspaper? Who knows who all it might help.

    Y: You have my permission. 🙂 Thank you, again.

    CT scan looks good, so yay! I’m breaking up with cancer. I learned a lot from it, but now it’s time we parted ways. 🙂

    A: WOOHOO!!!!!!! Yes, as in all good break-ups, send it lovingly on its way…

    (Annie Sims is the Global Director of CWG Advanced Programs, is a Conversations With God Coach and author/instructor of the CWG Online School. To connect with Annie, please email her at Annie@TheGlobalConversation.com

    (If you would like a question considered for publication, please submit your request to:  Advice@TheGlobalConversation.com where our team is waiting to hear from you.)

  • We recover, I relapse

    With the odds of beating addiction and leading a productive life so low, the question has to be asked:  Why do some recover?  What is it that those few people are doing that opens up the door for an addiction-free life?

    There are many factors involved, Divine intervention being one of them!  But overall, the current path showing the best results are the 12-step programs.  “So what are they doing that other programs are not?” you may ask.  And I am here to tell you what I believe it is.

    The fundamental aspect of the 12-step programs is that you do not go it alone.  One of the very first suggestions to a newcomer is to get a sponsor.  It is strongly suggested that the person you choose to be your sponsor has at least one year in the program, goes to meetings regularly, has a sponsor them self, and inspires you to stick around.  This person should be of the same sex; or in cases of gay or lesbian, they should be the opposite sex.  Many deep emotional processes will be encountered in this relationship, and having a romantic interest would destroy the sanctity of the sponsor.

    It is well-known in the 12-step world that if you ignore this suggestion, the chances of your gaining long-term sobriety are bleak.  Addiction is a disease of denial and deception.  And who knows better if you are living in denial or deceit than someone who is all too familiar with those states of being?  The old saying “You can’t bullcrap a bullcrapper” (insert your own profanity if you so choose) really applies here.

    “An addict alone is in bad company”

    Life was not intended to be lived in solitary.  We live in the Realm of Relativity and we need others to help us shape our perspective.  This is especially true to the recovering person as they have spent nearly their entire existence telling lies.  This reminds me of a 12-step joke. Please indulge me here….

    “Do you know how to tell if a newcomer is lying?” says one 12-stepper to another? “Yes,” the other person says, “when their lips are moving!”

    Sometimes recovery is down and dirty and you have to assume the worst in order to help someone get through a tough time.  The one thing old-timers in the rooms know, pulling punches never helps anyone.  You have to be straight, direct, blunt, and willing to alienate someone if your gut instincts tell you they are up to their old tricks.

    This is the area that the 12-step programs have nailed down perfectly.  We do not need to have people in our lives that tell us what we want to hear.  What everyone needs are people surrounding them who will speak their truth at all times.  Compulsive behaviors, addiction, and deception cannot be practiced in the light of honesty and openness; this is what gives way to long-term sobriety.  The Tenth Step says something profound:

    “We continue to take personal inventory, and when we are wrong, promptly admit it.”

    Wow! Imagine the world for just a moment if everyone used just that tiny part of the 12-step program in their daily life!  Nevermind the humility it takes to do that, but think about the amazing conversations that we would be having with each other.  Humans would bond together like molecules of water, ebbing and flowing with purpose through life.  Some may argue that there is no “right and wrong.”  And I will give you that.  So let’s change the wording slightly:

    “We continue to take personal inventory.  And when we become aware that something we are doing is not an expression of who and what we are at our core, we promptly seek to make the changes necessary to bring ourselves back into alignment.”

    Let’s face it, we are human.  And “to err is human.”  This is the beauty of the Realm of the Relative. We always have events occurring that could use improvement.  This is a process of evolution we are in here, and we have many opportunities to move along that path together. Every opportunity to express ourselves in our highest expression moves us to a place of greater understanding.  By purposefully being aware of our own behavior, how it is sent, and how it is received, we offer ourselves and the other the space for expansion.

    (Kevin McCormack is a Conversations with God Life Coach, a Spiritual helper on www.changingchange.net, and an Addictions recovery advisor.  You can visit his website for more information at www.Kevin-Spiritualmentor.com  To connect with Kevin, please email him at Kevin@theglobalconversation.com)