THE ART of LOVING & the 7th Power

Do we choose to love? Or is Love a “predicament”, a “situation”, a “mental or emotional disruption” that happens to us?

There are as many views and theories of what Love is about as there are people who have given a thought to that intriguing and exciting subject.

Is Love a feeling, an emotion, or a state of mind? Is it the best thing that can ever happen to us, or a disaster which can ruin our life?

Such and similar questions have been perpetuated by numerous writers, poets, performers, other artists, psychologists, philosophers and those who have ever been, or have hoped to be, in Love.

We are all Lovers by nature. And that’s because, whether we are aware of it or not, we always have loved (one way or another) and we are filled with Love.

When we are talking about Love, usually the first thing that comes to mind is the romantic Love, the one that fills us with passion, changes our heartbeat, and makes us devoted to the “one and only” person in the entire world.

However, Love, as most of us have already found out, has many faces.

There is the motherly/fatherly Love, the biological bond, which most of us have discovered as early as when we were in our mother’s womb.

Then there is the family Love, known to us through our connections with our siblings, grandparents, or other relatives.

Some of us feel Love for our pets, nature, town, country, or the entire globe. Some people say they love humankind.

Some describe as “Love” the feeling they have when talking about their life, career, their house, their car, computer, ipod, iphone, cellphone -- or other things they own or want to purchase.

No matter with whom or what, we all have found ways of “falling in Love”, or “loving” whoever or whatever we found desirable and “worthy” of the investment of our time, energy, thought and heart.

We all know Love, if not through our own experience, then at least through observation or life wisdom which taught us about the existence of such an enormous Power.

According to the Master Teachings, Universal Love is the 7^th Power creating/ruling/affecting the world AND it is one of the internal processes that we all go through, sooner or later – at one point or another. (See “What are the 7 Powers – brief overview” for more info about the Powers).

There are 7 aspects to the 7^th Power, and they can be described by the 7 other names one can use when taking about Universal Love. These are:

Joy, Acceptance, Lowliness (as in being humble), Equality, Surrender, Equilibrium, Reconciliation.

Although the very concept of Love seems to be so natural and empowering, many of us fear Love. We fear that by feeling Love we might lose our independence, our freedom, and be taken advantage of, leaving us disempowered, humiliated, and simply feeling worthless and bad.

And so, afraid of Love, we have guarded ourselves with blocks and walls – to prevent ourselves from possible hurt.

Nothing can be further from the truth than anticipating that Love will lead us to disempowerment. It is the opposite: Love IS Power. Lack of Love IS lack of Power.

And, when we are not in tune with the 7^th Power, we tend to dwell in the “hypnotic illusion” of being in control of our fate, while experiencing fear.

Opening one’s heart to Love is one of the biggest and most important steps in our evolution. It is inevitable, and cannot be omitted if we want to progress and perpetuate our existence.

Please remember: Love has many faces, and, loving is not limited to a romantic bond. Even though such a (romantic) bond can become an excellent opportunity to learn about, and connect with, the Universal Love, the 7^th Power.

As the consciousness that we are, we can only exist as long as we are aware of ourselves, progressing through our experience. Consciousness is nothing else but a vibration, a current, a signal, if you may. And as such, we have been affected by the vibration of the 7 Powers creating the world. We need to be in tune with them in order to progress and exist.

For our own good, we need to be in tune with Love.

Let’s have a look at how most of us react to Love, and how we usually perceive and interpret Love. Here is an excerpt from Chapter 15 – “Veils of Dying and Loving” from the book “Master and The Green-Eyed Hope”:

When I met with Rhami-yata in the Chamber of Seven Powers, I sat on the stone floor without a word.

            “You fear for your friend?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said. “Very much. She might die of cancer, and I’m very afraid.”

“Why?”

“Because I love her,” I looked at him, surprised. “And I don’t want to lose her. I need her.”

He came over and sat in front of me. “Why do you need her?”

“What do you mean? I just said: she is my friend. We love and support each other. It is wonderful to have her in my life.”

“I see,” he said. “She makes you feel loved, accepted, and valued.”

I looked at him carefully. I could see that he was up to something. “Yes, we value and support each other,” I said slowly. “Is there anything wrong with that?”

Rhami-yata’s eyes darkened. My Mind started to wander away, and I caught myself thinking that they were the same color as my wool carpet, which I’d bought years before when I first left my ex-husband.

“Depends on your expectations,” said the marine-blue-eyed Master.

“What do you want from me?” I said. “I’m afraid to lose my friend! Is this the time to tell me that I am too dependent on her? She might die, you know!”

“And if she did indeed die, would you respect and support her choice?”

I was silent for a moment. “I don’t know,” I said honestly. “ I think I would be very hurt that she left me.”

He nodded.

I looked into his eyes and kept thinking of the stupid wool carpet.

Here he is, - I thought – trying to educate my stubborn Soul, and all I do is let my Mind perpetuate my silliness!

“Your love is not given freely to your friend,” said Rhami-yata. “It’s full of conditions, and if she doesn’t comply with your expectations, you would hurt very much.”

I wanted to protest, but he explained further that Ella was one of the vessels I had used for maintaining my self-worth. She was fulfilling my need for acceptance, for being valued and wanted in somebody’s life. But if she decided to die, leaving me without her support, I would feel hurt and abandoned. She wouldn’t be there anymore to give me what I wanted, and so I would suffer because of that.

“Let’s take a closer look at how you, and most people, function in relationships, Hermenethre.”

The whole conversation was very painful to me, but I felt it was very important. I wanted him to go on.

But then he paused, and I suddenly felt tired. I closed my eyes, just to let myself breathe rhythmically for a tiny moment, long enough to rest my unruly Mind.

Yet my Mind didn’t want to give in, and soon an image from years before floated into my restful thoughts. There we were, Jacob – my ex-husband, and I, holding hands and walking down the street of our home town, on a sunny breezy day.

“Very often,” I heard Rhami-yata say, “in a close relationship with others, people get confused about their feelings. Everyone needs to feel accepted, valued, embraced as they are. Yet it is expected of their friends, or lovers, to give them the love they are longing for. To become an everlasting supply of acceptance and support.”

My visual memory now changed. I saw myself up on the roof of the highrise in Toronto. My ex-husband and my son were already asleep, downstairs, and I was fully awake. There was a couch on the roof, sheltered from bad weather by a wall extension, and it became my bed for that night. I had watched the clear skies, and the buildings downtown till morning, when the sun was “born”.

“As long as the support lasts, on both sides, the parties value and love each other,” continued my teacher’s voice. “However, soon it is realized that no matter how much love and support they get from one another, it is not enough. So the expectations and demands grow. And none of them feels really happy and secure.”

I kept my eyes closed, and my Mind was filled with another image. In fast forward I saw many days fly by, and each of them was the same. My ex-husband, with his eyes closed, headphones on, listening to numerous records and dwelling in his thoughts. And me, lost in my creative ideas, exploring my own inner world, isolated from his. Two strangers, in the same room.

“When people have an unfulfilled need for love,” said Rhami-yata, “they decide that it is their partner’s or friend’s fault. And then they often move to another relationship. Again, expecting their need for love to be fulfilled by the new partner, or friend. They keep moving from person to person, and stay with them in longer or shorter relationships.”

The image in my Mind became blurred, and I wasn’t sure whether it was now Jacob or my next partner, Norman, that I saw. The man was reading a book in his room, late at night, and I was watching the stars through the window, alone in the bedroom.

I opened my eyes and said, “Well, those in the longer lasting relationships at least attempt to be committed to giving and not only wanting someone’s love,” I said. “They want to give love to the other, not just take and move on.”

The Master looked at me carefully. He explained that the main reason for many long-term relationships was the subconscious fear of being left alone. Because of the unhealed emotional wounds, those who feared being on their own subconsciously believed that if there was no one in their lives to love them, it meant that they were “not good enough”. While those who moved quickly from person to person were mostly driven by the subconscious fear that if their partner discovered who they really were, she or he would run away and leave them hurt. Because again, they believed they were “not good enough” for any partner to truly love them.

“As you can see, Hermenethre,” he said, “there may be various styles of maintaining relationships. Some people stay in them longer, some quickly move on. But all of that is just a ‘hunt’ for Love. Yet ‘hunting’ for Love that way never seems to work, does it?”

I sighed. “No, it doesn’t. You are right. Feeling unloved is like being ill, you know. So we look for the antidote for our unhappiness. And it seems there is none. At least not in the places where we look for it. I too, have been seeking Love in all the wrong places. Haven’t I?”

And there it was – another realization. Again, thanks to my invaluable teacher, I was able to understand things that were affecting my life, causing me a lot of pain. My relationships, one that was already over, and the present one that seemed to be going nowhere. They were nothing but my desperate attempts to get any Love I could.

I smiled, and whispered, “Thank you.”

The Master nodded. “Once you stop blaming others for not being able, or not wanting to give you what you need, you will find the Love you need within you,” he said in his peaceful, warm voice. Mind you, I do not mean that you have to be selfish to feel loved. I’m not talking about your Ego loving you, and you filling up yourself with pride at how special and better than others you are. I am talking about your true connection with the vibration of Love. Once you feel that connection, you never feel unloved. Do you understand that?”

I did. And I let him know that, with another grateful smile.

Once I feel a connection with the vibration of Love, - I thought – I’ll respect and treasure myself and others, equally.

And then he shared with me the most beautiful thing: Love was not something one could really give or receive. One could give affection, support, or passion to one another. But true Love was not an emotion, or a thing. Love just was, enveloping everything, and vibrating as an energy wave.

“When you understand that the vibration of Love includes the whole world, you can see clearly how all are connected, and loved,” he added. “Then you feel happy, knowing that you are worthy, and you don’t need anyone else to prove that to you. And so you can share with another in that loving vibration. And that, Hermenethre, is a healthy and truly loving relationship.”

“Sharing Love that fills us up, not merely giving or receiving Emotions, is a true loving relationship,” I whispered.

I closed my eyes and was silent for a long while. When I opened them I saw Rhami-yata sitting in front of me and looking at me with quiet patience and tenderness. Tears started to roll down my face, uncontrollably. I felt all the pain, the deep wounding of my difficult childhood, and the pain of the unfulfilled need for Love. And I felt the resentment I had created for my ex-husband, and for my present partner.

“Tell me,” I cried. “Tell me how am I to deal with all of that?”

Rhami-yata said that the only way was to make the decision that I would work through my pain, no matter what.

I quickly nodded, letting him know that I would.

The first step was to understand and embrace who I was.

“You are not a ‘bad’ person, just because you have been wounded,” he said. “You are a terrific, magnificent person who is willing to heal her emotional wounds, and open up to Love. Remember, that if you do not acknowledge yourself with all that you are, those aspects of yourself which you resent will become your Shadows, and will hide in your subconscious. They will control your feelings, your thoughts and your actions. And then, your life, including your relationships, will be an unconscious act of perpetuating your wounds and fears.”

I told him I would do whatever needed to be done, no matter how much it hurt.

He smiled. “Hermenethre, it doesn’t have to be as painful as you expect. Though of course, cleaning the wounds may naturally be unpleasant. All depends on how much resentment, or willingness to get ‘clean’ you have.”

“A lot of willingness,” I assured both him and myself.

He asked me to begin with a simple exercise. For the next few days, I was to let myself believe that everybody, in every situation I would experience, was coming from the source of Love.

“Please include yourself in that ‘everybody’ list,” he said. “Trust in others, and yourself, and observe what happens.” (end of excerpt)

If you are ready to open your heart, letting yourself connect with the 7^th Power and experience more Love  – everything that you need will show up in your life.

Let me share another experience with you.

When I was finally ready to welcome Love (after healing the wounds left by my two failed long-term relationships), to vibrate with it and fill my life and heart with that vibration, I decided to confess my hopes and fears to the Universe. And so, I wrote a letter to my future Lover – not knowing yet who he might be. A few days later my Love, Patrick, entered my life, and stayed -- for me to love him, and for him to love me.

Below is the letter. I hope it might inspire you to write your own. And I hope, it might help you to open your own heart.

“Here’s my confession:

I can feel you coming. Coming into my life and turning it upside down. It’ll be very soon. Too soon? What if it would be too soon? What if I’m still not ready…

I can feel you. And, yes, I’m not ready.  But I’ll never be ready until you’ll come into my life, and make it your own.

I’m terrified, I’m trembling. My eyes and ears are shot, to escape from the outside -- so that I can see the inside.

You are almost here.

I’m dying from fear, and the anticipation, hoping for your love to be greater than any of my nightmares.

I am trembling.

And I can’t breathe.

“Time out! Time out!” – I hear myself scream.

And so I’m about to find out how it feels, how it really feels, to be with you.

I can’t keep those curtains closed forever, can I?

You will enter with the sun in your left palm. Your right palm has already reached me. It was smiling, yes, your right hand smiled at me in the darkness.

Then the clouds parted. But the sky was too obvious, too bright.

So I pulled the curtains in. And I’m keeping them closed, tight… for how long?

My heart is beating fast. Filing up the night and day with the rhythm of my fear.

“Go away! Go away!” – I’m about to scream. Instead, I close my mouth. My lips taste like strawberries. Is that the sweetness of the kiss to come, or is it the taste of my own blood?

I don’t wanna give up on me. I don’t wanna give up on you.”

For more information on the Art of Loving and how to deal with old, unwanted patterns -- read the book "Master and The Green-Eyed Hope" --  Chapter Fifteen "Veils of Dying and Loving" & Chapter Eighteen "Exploring Shadowland".

NOTE: another book by Johanna Kern will be coming soon:  "Shadow Transformation -- The Banner Method". Based on the course developed by Johanna Kern -- a quick and enjoyable way to deal with your old patterns and personal Shadows.

Yes, you can do it, while having fun!

PASSING -- the 4th Power & THE ILLUSION of DEATH

Yes, just like most of us, I have lost dear people, and animals, in my life. They passed away either unexpectedly, or because they were old, or because they were ill. No matter what was the cause for their physical departure, it always came as shock, and pain.

Physical death, as observed in the world around us, is one of the aspects of the 4^th Power, Passing, and often is greatly misunderstood.

For some, Passing means the end of existence. For others Passing means a threshold, a door to the afterlife where they will continue to exist as Souls. Depending on our personal beliefs, and either cultural or religious conditioning, we tend to understand Passing as the inevitable, harsh ending to either our physical life, or our consciousness per se. And so, no matter what our background – we tend to fear Passing.

Why do we fear Passing?

Simply because, as the consciousness that we are, we do want to persist. However, we also tend to understand our existence as linked either to our physical body, or the Soul that we believe may “dwell” in the spiritual world forever. Either way, the essence of our existence is greatly misunderstood.

Although there are no guarantees for the eternity of our being (or Soul, if you may), as there are no guarantees that we will wake up the next day – as the consciousness that we are, we do have a choice to either persist or perish.

Remember that consciousness is what it is: a vibration, a current, a signal that lasts as long as it is developing/progressing and remaining aware of itself. (See more about that in “What are the 7 Powers – brief overview”.) 

And, there is a way to sustain the existence of the consciousness that we are – through Progress, the 2^nd Power, which allows for constant development of our awareness. (See “You & Progress – the 2^nd Power” post for more info on that topic.)

Now, we need to have a look at “where”, “when”, and “how” we persist as consciousness.

Most of us agree that we live in a material world. We are sure of the existence of the material world, because we can experience it through our senses. Many of us also agree that there is a spiritual world. We believe in the spiritual world, because we can “experience” it through our intuition, belief system, logic, or the so called “sixth sense”.

In other words: we agree to what we experience and/or perceive. Doesn’t matter whether it is physical or not, as long as we experience/perceive something, we agree to its existence in some way.

It used to be (the old school) that science would confirm the existence of the material, and question the existence of the spiritual, labeling it as “illusion”. Nowadays, science (especially quantum physics) already considers the material as nothing but an illusion, stating that it is our senses and brains that interpret the illusion and make us “believe” its actual existence.

(You might want to have a look at the works of the theoretical physicist Dr. Fred Alan Wolf, who was featured in the movie “What the Bleep Do We Know?” He brought cutting edge quantum theory down to earth and, further, by heralding proof of ancient spiritual principles for a mainstream audience, became the first physicist ever to break into pop culture celebrity.) 

And therefore, since the material world is being considered by quantum theory (and some spiritual beliefs) as illusion, many people conclude that the spiritual world is the actual and real world. And that the Souls therefore can come and “live” in the illusion of matter -- for the purpose of experience -- and then they return “home”, to the spiritual world, where they “truly exist”.

However, such beliefs may also be limiting and misleading. Again, remember that “consciousness is what it is: a vibration, a current, a signal that lasts as long as it is developing/progressing and remaining aware of itself”.

No matter whether we experience ourselves in the material or spiritual world – all of it is merely and Illusion.

Matter and Spirit are only an Illusion. And those who die their physical deaths are still dwelling in the Illusion of Matter and Spirit. Their beings (or Souls, if you may) are not yet liberated, even though their bodies are dead.

The true liberation from the Illusion happens through Passing, the 4^th Power. And Passing, as all the Powers, can be observed externally in the world (as for instance the physical death – which is one of the aspects of Passing). However, Passing is also an internal process we may experience. And it can be completely separate from the physical death.

According to The Master Teachings, when someone truly passes away from Matter and Spirit, he or she is then able to truly exist in oneness with the Highest Vibration:

“Passing away from Matter and Spirit is the same as truly waking up from the Illusion. It marks the beginning of our true existence, and it is only a transition, a step in the whole process of creation. What is non-existing in the Illusion, is existing in oneness with the Highest Vibration. Only such existence is real. Beyond Matter and Spirit.”

Here is a little story, an excerpt from “Master and The Green-Eyed Hope” to illustrate to you how one continues to dwell in the Illusion, even after their physical death:

“That night, I had a strange dream. I dreamed that I was sitting in my plush armchair, in the living room, and it was late afternoon. There was soft music in the background, and the tunes made me a bit sleepy.

Suddenly, a tall slender woman entered the room. She might have been a few years older than me, and her outfit was rather surprising. She was wearing a full length medieval gown, white, with long sleeves. Her long blond hair almost reached the floor and it was decorated with fresh daisies.

She walked straight up to me, and I felt tremendous cold. As if the temperature in the room had dropped. I had noticed that the woman’s face was tense, and there was something in her blue eyes that made me alert. The woman reached to me, trying to touch me. With an unexplainable impulse, I quickly got up, avoiding her stretched arm. I moved behind the armchair. Now, having the furniture between her and myself, I felt a bit more comfortable.

“Who are you?” I asked.

She laughed. Her laughter was harsh and throaty. I couldn’t help thinking that it sounded staged, almost theatrical.

“Are you afraid of me?” she asked in a throaty fake voice.

“Not a all. Not even a bit,” I said. “Are you going to tell me who you are?”

Her eyes narrowed, and she again reached to me.

I moved back a bit, avoiding her touch. “You’ve got to stop that, lady, right now. I will not let you touch me. Stop trying.”

She let out a long hiss through her teeth.

“And don’t try to scare me. Either you tell, right now, who you are and what you want from me, or I’ll make you leave.”

Now she looked at me in a weird manner, sort of crossing her eyes, as if she were trying to pierce me with them.

“Ridiculous,” I sighed with resignation. “That’s the door,” I pointed with my finger. “And I want you behind it.”

“Please don’t do that,” she said in a softer, almost normal voice. “I need your help.”

Her face was different now. The tense, theatrical expression was gone, and she looked rather sad. Almost as if she were in pain. Yes, she did look like someone who needed help.

“All right,” I said after a pause. “Back off two steps, and don’t move until I let you. You understand?”

“Yes.” She did as I told her.

I slowly moved and sat down in my armchair. I crossed my legs, putting the left one on top.

“You can speak now,” I said.

“I’m a Demon!” she spat almost instantly, and again there was the tense expression on her face. This time I believed her, and my heart jumped a bit. Yet instinctively I knew it was better not to show any fear. I only nodded, without blinking my eye.

“I’ve been here for many, many years,” she added.

“Where is ‘here’?” I asked in a peaceful voice.

She sighed. “I don’t know. I keep moving, travelling from place to place. Forests, villages, towns. People’s homes. Everything keeps changing, always.”

“You mean you’ve been hanging around since medieval times?”

“What are ‘medieval times’?” she asked.

“Right, you wouldn’t know. I got it,” I nodded. “I mean the times where people were dressing like you.”

She looked down at her long gown. “I don’t know, I don’t understand. I just don’t remember,” she sounded hopeless.

“Well, what do you remember?”

“Fear. There was always fear. And cold. There was always cold.”

“I see.”

“I’ve been condemned,” she said. “I’m a wandering Demon. I have been condemned for eternity.”

“Oh, no,” I replied. “No, no. Hold on a minute. Who condemned you?”

“They did.”

I nodded. All was now clear to me. That poor woman must have been condemned by the Church in medieval times. And her Soul had been wandering in the Illusion for centuries. Believing that she had been denied the rewards of Heaven, the poor woman had assumed the “role” of a Demon. That helped her somehow to deal with her tremendous fear of Hell. Because as a Demon, she felt strong, undefeated and safe.

Poor woman – I thought. She’s been suffering like that for hundreds of years!

“Listen,” I said, “whatever gave you the idea that I can help you? It’s not how it works.”

“You don’t want to help me?” I saw panic in her eyes.

“Oh, no. It’s not that I don’t want to. I simply don’t think it’s up to me.”

She shook her head. “I know you can help me. Please, I have nowhere to go.”

“Oh, boy,” I sighed. “Let me think.”

She was quiet, looking at me like a helpless puppy, as I was processing the whole thing in my head.

What am I to do with her? - I thought. Nobody trained me how to deal with Demons, for God’s sake!

“You know,” I said after a pause, “there is one thing we can do. But you have to listen to me carefully and do as I say.”

“Yes, yes. I will.”

“All right. What I am going to tell you is the Truth. Do you trust me?”

“That’s why I came here. I want to hear the Truth.”

“Oh, boy,” I sighed again. “Listen, what I am going to share with you is my Truth. It is what I believe in. Do you understand?”

“I think I do. You are going to tell me what is true for you.”

“You’re an intelligent woman, I like that,” I said happily. “Let me tell you then, that the place where you have been wandering for so long, is an Illusion.”

“An Illusion?” she asked.

“Yes. It doesn’t exist.”

And then I shared with her what I learned about Passing from Rhami-yata. She listened very carefully as I was explaining to her, in the most simple way, what I knew about the difference between Illusion and Truth. Then I reminded her about God’s Love, and my Demon guest burst out in tears. I assured her that she had been the one who condemned herself. No matter what she had done, it was not up to the Church to cast her out from God’s Love. Nobody had such power.

When she asked me what to do, to free herself from the Illusion, I suggested that first she needed to forgive herself for whatever she still felt guilty about. And to recognize that her condemnation had “expired”, a long time ago.

“Then you let yourself melt into oneness with the Highest Vibration. And trust. That’s all.”

“Thank you,” she said. “I will do everything just the way you told me. Yet, there is one more thing I want from you.”

“Yes?”

“I want you to forgive me.”

“But I have nothing against you,” I said. “It is you who needs to forgive yourself.”

“I know. I understood everything you were saying. But I do need someone to forgive me, so that it would feel more real to me.”

I nodded. “Yes, I totally get you. That’s how we humans, are wired. We always want to be accepted by others, don’t we? Of course I forgive you, dear beautiful Soul. And I also forgive you on behalf on the entire humanity, if I may.” I smiled warmly.

More tears sprang from her eyes, and she threw herself down, trying to kiss my left foot. Instinctively, I quickly pulled back, and her lips landed only slightly on my big toe.

“You shouldn’t touch me!” I exclaimed. “You are still a Demon!”

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I only wanted to thank you.”

“Yes, I know. But there was no need. Why don’t you go now, and take care of yourself.”

The woman left. And I didn’t have any other dreams that night.”

More on topics related to Death & Passing in “Master and The Green-Eyed Hope”, Chapters:

“Closing the Eyes of Perception”, “Veils of Dying and Loving” & “Spinning the Wheel of Creation”.

PAPER POWER versus TRUE POWER

What does Power mean to you?

Is it control, freedom to do what you want, influence on others, glamour, money, fame, high social status? Or perhaps you are coming from a religious background and you see Power as re-assurance of your eternal and better existence – some day – after you die?

We alone define our own Power and our limitations. It has always been our

choice.

Whether our take on Power is based on social or religious conditioning, personal desires or longings for a better world and afterlife, it is always our choice. And that choice rarely reflects our intuition, our deep understanding of what we feel about ourselves and our role in the world. It is rather a reflection of our feelings of powerlessness expressed as a need to become special, significant, and therefore “safe” and “worthy” of living and surviving.

When we submit to such drives, unaware of our own important place in the world, we perpetuate our powerlessness and give in to fear. We not only dismiss our true beauty and significance, we don’t truly enjoy our lives and long for a better future, whether during our lifetime or after our death.

There are no guarantees for the eternity of our being (or Soul, if you may). As there are no guarantees that we are going to wake up the next day. Naturally, as the consciousness that we are, we do want to persist. And yes, we can, but only if we continue evolving and keep experiencing our existence.

Consciousness is what it is: a vibration, a current, a signal that lasts as long as it is developing/progressing and remaining aware of itself. And that’s the only guarantee. (See more about that in “The 7 Powers – brief overview” and “You & Progress – the 2^nd Power: what it’s all about”.)

When we are looking for Power coming from our conditioning (whether social, religious, or shaped by personal feelings of worthlessness), we actually diminish our True Powerful selves.

It’s like putting paper bags on top of candles to make lanterns, and protect them from the wind.

We want to ensure that they will glow in the night. Yet a paper bag also dims the candle, diminishing its brightness, and limiting its power.

When we are hiding under a “paper bag”, we can’t fully “shine” with the True Infinite Power that flows through us. And this is why we remain imprisoned by our fears, perpetuating our powerlessness, giving in to the needs and wants of our Ego, Mind, Body, Emotions.

“Is there anything wrong with our needs and wants?” you may ask.

No. There isn’t anything wrong with us following our desires for more material, emotional or intellectual “fun”, fulfilling our drives and ambitions. Quite the opposite – it is good to have “fun”!

Yet it is important not to mistake them for something else, and remain aware that fulfilling them does not equal obtaining Power.

We already do have Power. We are already filled with True Infinite Power that affects everybody and everything on this planet, in all universes, during this lifetime and beyond. Whether we are aware of it or not, every single experience that we have becomes a precious gift to benefit every single being. Nobody and nothing can be the same without us. (See “PROGRESS the 2^nd Power and what it is all about” post for more info on that.)

The only question is: how do we access the True Infinite Power and freely “glow” with it?

It is our own choice. We are the ones who put on the “paper bags”, and we are the ones who can free ourselves from them.

As simple as it sounds, it may often seem very difficult to do. The whole idea of us being filled with the True Infinite Power may be too abstract. And that is because we have covered it with “paper bags”.

The truth is, we don’t need to use any “paper bags” to feel better and safe. We are always important, special and worthy. Just because we exist, we are a special gift to everyone and everything else. Only while hiding under “paper bags”, we can’t fully “shine” and feel the True Infinite Power within us, and so we believe ourselves to be limited, insignificant and small.

Yet, whenever we are ready to make a different choice, we always find what we need: the tools, the circumstances, the right people on our path, and even the time.

Yes, our lives can be Powerful, Successful, Happy, Free of any limitations, and filled with all the “fun” we want to have.

More on that topic in “Master and The Green-Eyed Hope”, Chapters:

 “Shadows on the Ego Route”, “Staircase to Liberation” & “Paper Bags for Infinite Power”.

YOU & PROGRESS - the 2nd Power: what it's all about

PROGRESS -- according to the Master Teachings -- is the 2^nd Power creating the world.

Progress happens when something infiltrates into the Universal Law (the 1^st Power), and an evolution takes place -- in a harmonious and natural way.

The Master Teachings state that nothing can ever be changed in the Universal Law for the material world (post on the 1^st Power coming soon), until all the particles will be transmuted and transformed into another form. Until that happens, all the particles in the material world need to continuously progress and evolve.

We can observe Progress externally, in the world as we know it, as a physical evolution of humans, animals, all nature, planets, and universes.

And we can recognize Progress as the internal processes/development we all undergo: mental, emotional and spiritual.

As the consciousness that we are, we develop through our experiences, no matter what they are. There is no other way.

Since consciousness, in its essence, is simply a vibration, a current, or a signal, if you may – it can only last as long as it is progressing and remaining aware of itself.

The 7 Powers maintain the existence of the consciousness that we are (see “What are the 7 Powers – brief overview” for more info).

When we are not in tune with the 7 Powers – we are limiting our development/progress and, consequently, we lower the frequency of the vibration/current/signal that we essentially are, which means that we have less chance to perpetuate our existence.

Our personal development/progress affects not only our own life and destiny. It is directly linked to the development/progress of everyone and everything else -- including people, nature, planets and yes, even universes.

It means that we all affect each other through our experiences. We all collect them, as precious gifts, and then they are available for everyone and everything, in what we may call “the Universal Treasury”. All of us, no matter who we are, contribute to that treasury every single moment of our existence.

Now imagine how important YOU are! How extremely important is your experience: whether it is joyous, or sad. Whether you like it, or suffer from it in any way.

EVERY single experience, of EVERY single person, animal, plant, insect, planet or a star – is an invaluable gift to the rest of us. Because of what we experience, others can progress and expand. Because of what others experience, we can continue to evolve.

Each of us is unique, and we don’t have to experience everything ourselves. While having an ongoing access to the Universal Treasury, we benefit from the experiences of others at any given time. In the same way, others benefit from every single thing we have been going through.

This is how we all evolve, in harmony with PROGRESS, the Second Power creating the world. All of us are in it together. Whether consciously or not.

To better imagine how it all works, please consider the following story, an excerpt from “Master and The Green-Eyed Hope” (Chapter 17 – Opening Destiny’s Hand):

(…) I felt profound emotional changes taking place inside me. I no longer needed anyone to love me, and felt adored from “inside”. Peaceful and accepting. Well, at least a lot of the time. Sometimes the old anxiety and confusion would get me, but it was always only temporary, and it would quickly go away. It felt like a thick veil had been lifted and I could see more clearly who I was and what was my place in the world.

“Master,” I began, “let me use the analogy that I’ve already heard, so that I can explain the interconnection of us all.”

“There is nothing wrong with old analogies,” he said.

And so I recalled some people saying that we were like an ocean. Imagining the huge blue-green depths of it, I thought of us being the drops in the ocean. Of those drops the ocean was made. Some of us floated on the waves and reflected the sunshine and moonlight. Some drops carried boats and ships. Some were constantly smashed on the rocks, while others were jumping up and down and swirling, creating whirls.

“Each drop has a different fate, a different way of being the ocean,” agreed Rhami-yata.

I continued my story, and further focused on those jumping, swirling drops. They were very “loud” by nature, and other drops, when near them, were often pulled into their whirl. Some drops ended up in the centre of the whirl, some just on its edges.

That picture made me laugh. “It seems to be,” I said, “that we drops keep watching other drops, and often come to conclusions about them. And then we say: ‘Oh, look at that drop hopping up and down, she’s created such a big whirl of drops, she must be special, a better drop she is! A true star! A great politician, or a fascinating celebrity’.”

Rhami-yata smiled. “Indeed, Hermenethre, it might work that way.”

The drops from my story were now observing those being smashed against the rocks, and I could almost hear them talking about how hard and painful the smashed drops’ job must have been. That they were probably punished for something bad they had done, or they were stupid enough to work so hard. “Oh, we must be so much better than they are!” - some were saying. “Because all we need to do is just float here, on top of this pleasant wave, and reflect the light. We must be privileged, special drops.”

The Master nodded slowly, carefully watching me as I was unfolding the story. His eyes were now the same shade of deep blue-green as the ocean I had created in my Mind.

“And that’s how we program ourselves and others,” I said. “While jumping up and down, we, the active and creative drops, cause whirls and big ‘famous’ splashes. And, yes, it’s fun, yet creating a whirl or splash is not the most important thing. That’s what I sense.”

He asked what was then the most important thing. And with that question his eyes turned grey, like the Statues, silently witnessing all that ever had happened here, in the Chamber of Seven Powers.

I looked at his eyes and the stone figures. And I clearly understood there and then, that every single drop in the ocean had its own unique job. Through that job we learned, and also expanded, gaining wisdom and knowledge through our experiences. Every single drop was equally important. None was better or worse. Everyone was unique and could not be dismissed, replaced or forgotten. Every single experience of a single drop, was the source of wisdom for the entire ocean.

“From that perspective,” I said, “I see our lives here as various types of jobs that we, drops, are performing. And we communicate our experiences to the others, through our senses and on a very basic, molecular, vibrational level. We are each enriching and expanding each other.”

The Master nodded. “Everyone has a Destiny,” he said, “which is defined by a greater plan than just expanding one’s Soul, as you can see from your ocean example.”

And then I envisioned a boat, floating on the waves. The boat could only withstand so many days, and storms. It would soon disintegrate and vanish. Because it was finite. There was a hole in the bottom of the boat, and some water had leaked through. The drops could not see the rest of the ocean while at the bottom of the boat. And so they thought they were finite, in a finite world. They did sense their connection with the ocean, but thought themselves separate from it. They didn’t understand that when the boat would drown or disintegrate, they still would remain a part of the ocean.

My teacher was looking at me carefully as I spoke.

“That’s what I’ve learned thus far,” I finished my story.

He nodded.

“But I still don’t understand free choice versus Destiny,” I admitted.

“All right. Let me use your ocean analogy,” he said.

He told me that each drop could either accept what was given, or choose differently, and create another fate for itself. There were various ways to do that. A drop could change its dynamic, its vibration, and be able to jump in a different direction, from being smashed against the rocks to the top of a peaceful wave. Or it could vaporize, transform itself, and as a raindrop fall back into the ocean at a completely different location.

“And become whatever it wishes,” I interrupted, “a drop kissing the shore, a ‘whirl maker’, or a drop exploring faraway lands. Or it can choose to be smashed against the rocks again.”

“Yes, Hermenethre,” said the Master. “But only a conscious drop has a free choice, of how to be, while being a part of the ocean.”

“A conscious drop?” I asked.

“If a drop were truly to succeed in changing its fate,” he continued, “which naturally is also aligned with the fate of the entire ocean, it would have to be a conscious drop. One that makes choices in alignment with its Soul’s purpose, and its awareness of the greater plan, designed for the entire ocean. Only then can such a drop make choices affecting its Destiny.”

I smiled. “Then truly, free choice is nothing else but what would be our Destiny anyway. Once we are conscious of what’s really best for us, we tend to choose what would be chosen,” I said surprised.

“Yes,” Rhami-yata confirmed. “Remember to always value what you experience, and enjoy your ‘ride’, no matter what part of the ocean you are currently exploring.”

“I will,” I promised.

“I’m glad,” he said. “Now, have fun with your dream.”

“What dream?” I wanted to ask, but he was already gone. And I felt myself drifting into a deep dream. I wanted to resist it at first, wake up and write down all that we had said, but the drifting sensation was stronger than my will and I had to give in (…)