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Heart Explorations: Embracing the Whole Show~2/22/22

February 22, 2022

During our time together, we will explore what it takes to live from an open, undefended heart. Naturally, any true exploration of living from the heart necessarily entails taking a deep and sustained look at what prevents us from keeping our hearts open. Grounded in the knowledge that the essence of us, our true nature, is the very lovingness within us all, we will explore how to recognize and release egoic energies by cultivating open-hearted awareness practices which support us in directly experiencing our true Self. By leaning into willingness, steeped in self-honesty, and with a consistent dash of courage, we endeavor to open to whatever life brings, as it brings it, that is, on life’s terms. In so doing, we trust that everything – absolutely everything – is here for us to use for healing, for purification, and for learning to live from the heart. We look forward to supporting each other in our individual explorations of how we truly embrace the entirety of this show we call life.

To deepen further into the teachings from Heart Exploration here’s a link to the Being Aware of Awareness meditation podcast. In these meditations, the reading from Heart Explorations is contemplated.

Being Aware of Awareness Meditation Podcast Link

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Please note: it may be necessary to download the audio to listen to it fully.

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500 Days with NTI ~ Day 416

February 21, 2022

Day 416 Assignment

This evening (or tomorrow morning):

Read NTI James 1 (v13-15) to the end of the chapter.

Tomorrow:

Set a timer for the amount of time you want to meditate, and then meditate with this Loving Consciousness audio.
Let this contemplation be the filter of how you see today:
(a) Put faith in your spiritual purpose and the mystery of consciousness.
(b) Trust that your spiritual purpose and consciousness work together to awaken you.
(c) When you find that your attention has strayed from this contemplation, simply return to it.

Gentle Healing Year 3 ~ Daily Contemplation #336

February 21, 2022

Please read quotes 1137-1140 in The Seven Steps to Awakening with your inner teacher. Here is the last quote:

Remain at peace in silence.

Note: The next Daily Contemplation will be available tomorrow morning after 2am ET at this link.

Tip for Gentle Healing Year 2 – Day 358 – The Mind That Thinks it is Lord

February 21, 2022

Thoughts of Awakening # 358

How do I know if I walk the path of awakening?
I know by its effects.

How shall I know if I will continue?
The effects themselves call me forward.

~A thought of awakening

Gentle Healing Year 2 – Day 12: NTI Matthew 15

February 21, 2022

One of my favorite Bible scriptures is Psalm 118:24:

This is the day the Lord has made;
We will rejoice and be glad in it.

The emphasis on “is” is not mine; it is the Bible’s emphasis. This scripture points to celebrating what is—whatever is—now. It is the Loving All Method.

There is a story about a Canaanite woman in the Bible at Matthew 15. Here’s that story:

Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.”

But He answered her not a word.

And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, “Send her away, for she cries out after us.”

But He answered and said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, help me!”

But He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.”

And she said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.”

Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

According to NTI, Jesus at first refused this woman’s request because, “My purpose is not of the world.” NTI Revelation, Chapter 1 says:

Guidance comes to you for one purpose and that is to lead you from the world. There may also seem to be another purpose, which is happiness within the world. The two purposes are not the same. Do not be fooled by the similarities in their sound. One purpose leads to death, while the other, most surely, leads to Life and knowledge of Life.

Do we think we need things to be a certain way in order for us to be happy? Are we using spirituality in order to attain a certain set of circumstances? Or are we interested in truth?

The Canaanite woman in this story is a symbol for the desire to use spirituality to obtain the circumstances we want in the world. Inner spiritual wisdom does not guide us when our purpose lies with circumstances of the world. Inner spiritual wisdom remains quiet when the world is our purpose.

When the Canaanite woman said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table,” a change in purpose is symbolized.

Have you ever watched a dog eat crumbs that fall from the table? It always amazes me to watch them. Even when the dog is big and the crumb is very small, the dog eats the crumb with complete joy, as if it is an entire juicy steak.

What is the change in purpose symbolized by the Canaanite woman’s comment about the dogs eating crumbs from the table? It is a change from wanting things to be a certain way to loving what is as it is. It is a change to this way of seeing:

This is the day the Lord has made;
We will rejoice and be glad in it.

In the story, Jesus heals the woman’s daughter when her purpose changes. That doesn’t signify that things will work out our way if we practice Loving All. If that were true, we would probably continue to use spirituality to get what we wanted. It signifies that a change in our way of being is a change that is fed into the creative principle, a change that results in grace. (Reference the tips for ACIM Workbook Lessons 346 and 348.)

The simple lesson for us is to be in joy with whatever is—with whatever we are doing and with whatever is happening now. Joy (the Loving All Method) will have a positive effect, even if the positive effect is simply that it becomes easier and more natural to be happy.

Thoughts of Awakening # 12

Look to the sparkle that shines within.

Let it lead you and shine its light on all you see.

Embrace the sparkle.

It is your truth.

Follow the sparkle.

Trust the sparkle.

Listen to the sparkle.

~From our Holy Spirit

Rev. Deborah L. Johnson Roundtable Sangha Discussion

February 21, 2022

Participants came together to discuss the Rev. Deborah L. Johnson Satsang. The purpose of this Sangha is to share what was most impactful, hear from others about what they took away, and deepen into the teaching from the previous day’s Satsang interview. Come to share or just listen to others. All are welcome!

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Something Genuine: “The Power of Letting Go” 2/20/22

February 21, 2022

In this program, we watched and discussed a selected TED talk. TED talks follow a unique format. Speakers at TED events have a maximum of 18 minutes to share their messages, which are delivered in highly polished, succinct speeches. TED talks are delivered by people from all walks of life on a multitude of subjects. A great many of these talks are about the insights gained by ordinary people–insights gained through extraordinary experiences or based on their contemplation of the ordinary events of their lives. Either way, their insights are genuine—not based upon theory or dogma, but through experience.

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The title of this Ted talk is “The Power of Letting Go”.

Insa is a change maker. She loves a challenge and is not afraid of contrasts: In her corner office as CEO of Kentucky Fried Chicken, she felt just as much at home as she now does in a Berlin co-working space as Co-Founder of TheNextWe, a startup enabling big companies to achieve mindset change at scale. She began her career in India, building schools in the Himalayas with her own NGO. This was followed by a stint in management consulting in London, before launching the British Smoothie brand innocent in Germany. In any setting, Insa goes for growth, be it personal, business, or societal. Her passion is the future of leadership, which she argues is all about letting go, as articulated in her latest book “Der 2-Stunden-Chef”. Insa is a board member of various international companies and was named a Young Global Leader in 2017 by the World Economic Forum.

This group was facilitated by Rev. Jacquelyn Eckert.

500 Days with NTI ~ Day 415

February 20, 2022

Day 415 Assignment

This evening (or tomorrow morning):

Watch the following 26-minute video.

Tomorrow:

Practice this guided self-inquiry meditation by Delve Deep. The meditation is 27-minutes long. You may practice for less than the full meditation, for the full length of the meditation, or for longer than the meditation audio.
Pick an exercise from the previous week to do again.