Who or What Is At My Door?

At the recent Peace Convocation Master Djwhal Khul suggested that our every experience is a door and that as we pass through that door we will see Who or What is showing up to offer us a learning experience.  All too often, however, we are more concerned with what appears in the doorway than in what the opportunity may be.

As we work our way through life seeking to better understand who we are and what our purpose is in this experience, we always hope that when we open the door a messenger of glad tidings will appear to grant us some gift for the good job we have done so far.  While there may be a gift to be received, we usually find it in a container wrapped in papers and obscured from easy view.  Until we actually clear away the wrapping and explore the container, we cannot see what the gift is.  Sometimes our expectations of what is in the container get in the way of enjoying what we finally discover our gift to be.

For example, I have found that as I have worked my way through a tangle of family relationships over the last several years I came to expect that when I opened the door everything would be just fine.  There would be smiles and hugs and joy in greeting each other as if arriving for a gala family reunion.  My expectation of how that would appear got in the way of seeing what was actually there—a tentative, but deliberate beginning to see each other in a new way rather than in the old and negative way that had begun the tangled web of unhappiness.

I understand the positive thinking aspect of expecting the good.  I accept the importance of building such positive attitudes in order to develop a consciousness of attraction.  I also understand that sometimes what we think of as expecting the good goes no further than being excited about the wrapping paper on the box concealing what our real experience is all about.

So, Who or What is really showing up at my door?  Are my buttons still being pushed by the presence or actions of others?  What is that telling me?  How am I going to take the next steps to resolve the karma in this situation and with these persons?  I can only conclude at this time with the degree of understanding I currently have, that only unconditional love is the answer.  Unconditional love is not based on what the other person does.  Unconditional love flows outward to bathe all persons and all situations with the bliss of knowing no power can quench it, no wall can withstand it, no heart can fail to embrace it.  It is not my job to figure out how that will be.  It is my job to welcome Who and What is at my door with that flow of love and joy.

Maintaining the Body Infrastructure

In August 2008 I wrote a post on “The Infrastructure of Well-being” after a visit to my cardiologist’s office following the placement of a stent in my one remaining coronary artery around the heart. Yesterday I went for my one-year follow up and was pleased to find that my heart is still beating and the EKG showed no further problems. Seems like the blood is flowing to all parts of the body. Excellent!

It has been an interesting year since that hospital visit last July. I found myself faced with having to take specific steps to get off my duff and do some serious walking, bike riding and moderation to my diet. It was a struggle at first. My legs ached and my feet were sore. The good news was that I no longer had the stress in my arms that made them feel like water logged sponges. For the most part I maintained the exercise program and my twice-weekly aerobics class. However, I found myself tending to use excuses for not walking because it was too hot or too wet or . . . You know, don’t you, how easy it is to give up on something that seems to interfere with other things you want to do. I do faithfully attend my aerobics class because taking a class is one way I have found that is self-encouraging. I have an excellent instructor who is very well trained, especially in senior fitness. Also, I enjoy the others in the class all of whom sign up for every term and have since the class began several years ago.

Two weeks ago I needed some maintenance on my pickup. The shop I go to is in Tigard about five miles from where I live. I took the truck down, rode my bike back home (in the rain) and then rode it back again in the afternoon when the job was done. I am fortunate to have access to a wonderful park system that I could ride through for almost the whole trip. I had just a few blocks to go after I left the park.

After the riding experience I realized more clearly I had not been faithful to the maintenance of my own body infrastructure. I know I have to maintain my car so I do, but my body? Having been so healthy all my life I guess I figured it would just take care of itself. You would think I would know better—and I do. I simply had let excuses get in the way. I have just returned from my walk in the park today and decided I needed (for my benefit) to write this follow up to my story from last August.

I do not believe one needs to be a fanatic about taking care of oneself. I do think, especially as we age, that it is necessary to be more conscious of what we do to maintain our health. I also know that our emotional well-being plays a large part in how seriously we make the effort to take care of ourselves. For the year leading up to my operation, I really didn’t care much about anything. I had enough on my mind to just work through an emotional malaise that permeated almost everything in my life. The operation was a wake up call to decide whether I wanted to continue the not caring or whether I wanted to change my focus and determine to live, not simply exist taking up space, but live with purpose and enthusiasm.

That decision was a turning point that gave me a new outlook and some specific opportunities to enjoy my life. A special book[1] came to me that seemed written just for me. I have heard people say things like that many times, but this time I was saying and meaning it. After reading it three times, I found new answers to my questions each time. Subsequently, I attended a weekend workshop in Denver, based on the book, that furthered my effort to regain my balance physically and spiritually. (Go here to read my review.) I know what I experienced was personal and would not necessarily reflect how others might respond. What was important for me, though, was that it worked. It is much easier for me to stay on task with my interest in living and writing. I believe that my present course is assisting me blend my inner/outer self and bring mental/emotional balance.

Other books and articles have also found their way to me, always at just the right time. I took time out to return to the ocean where so much renewal takes place for me. In short, I got off my duff and took charge of my life again. Our lives will be profoundly blessed as we determine to consciously care about life, about our family and friends. I have found a new appreciation for old friends and new friends. They give me reasons to get up in the morning and want to “reach out and touch someone!” It seems the experience is reciprocal, because I find them reaching out to touch me too. All of these experiences are part of maintaining our body infrastructure. The body is only as healthy as its mental/emotional equivalent and that is something that is entirely within our direction.

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1 - The Matter Of Mind, by Djwhal Khul, through Kathlyn Kingdon

The Shape of Things To Come

As the container, so will be the shape of the substance filling it.

Just as water takes the shape of the container offered to be filled, so does the Essence of Life fill our mind and heart according to how we have shaped and developed them. I often write about our belief systems because they represent the key to the experiences we have. Our beliefs condition absolutely every part of our lives from how we choose and relate to our friends and families to how healthy, happy and successful we are. Our belief system shapes what we offer to be filled with the potential energy and abundance that is available for us to embody.

Obvious examples in the religious field range from fundamentalist Christians with their strong belief that we are sinners requiring redemption and salvation to so-called atheists who deny the reality of a higher power, whether named God or Spirit or whatever. If you believe in yourself as a sinner, you will act like one. The results will most likely be that you feel you do not deserve a better life and the hardships you experience are due to mistakes you have made in your relationship to God or “tests” that God gives you to prove you are a worthy person to receive His love.

On the other hand, if your beliefs are more like the potter working with the clay he shapes into his projects of art, then you will work with the understanding that God has given you every possible opportunity to succeed by providing His Infinite substance for you to shape and form by your thoughts, actions and reactions into a positive framework for living.

When the disciples of Jesus could not cast out the demon in a young boy and they came to Him asking why they could not perform the task. Jesus told them,

Your faith is too weak. I tell you this: if you have faith as a grain of
mustard-seed, you will say to this mountain, “Move hence to yonder place!” and
it will move; nothing will prove impossible for you.
-- Mat. 17:20 RSV

Jesus was not talking about the size of the mustard seed so much as He was talking about the pattern within the seed that indicated its potential to become the matured plant. In the same way, the acorn holds the pattern of the mighty oak. It is the pattern of our beliefs that determines what we are able to accomplish in our lives. That pattern is the shape of our container and the substance of God fills that shape accordingly.

In this connection I thought of persons who channel wisdom figures and it occurred to me that they present a framework or container of their understanding and that shapes the content of the information delivered. For example, Kathlyn Kingdon[1], who channels Master Djwhal Kuhl, has an extensive background in psychology, music, both as conductor and composer, and as an author and lecturer. It is natural that the information channeled from Master DK will utilize her experience, skills and vocabulary to present his lessons. In my opinion this accounts for the smoothness of the transition from Kathlyn to Master Djwhal Khul in her presentations. I must add, however, that the messages are not limited to the knowledge of the person serving as the channel. That knowledge is simply part of the framework or container through which the message is made relevant to the students.

So, what will be the shape of things to come for you? If you knew that you could decide how you wanted things to be, what would you decide? If you could go anywhere, where would you go? If you could be successful in achieving your goals, what goals would you set? You see, my friends, the shape of things to come depends on the choices you make in regard to the questions above. How you answer them begins the charting of your course. Your answers identify the container you hold out to be filled. In the final analysis this has little to do with religious doctrine. It is also more than simply positive thinking. No journey can begin without a goal and no hope can be fulfilled without the belief in the possibility.

Of course, there is always the choice for doing nothing different. You could continue to feel that things are out of your hands or that others control your decisions. I would urge you to consider the acorn and remember that you have the seed of Spirit within you. There is no limit to what you can bring forth in your life. What is required is that you believe in the possibilities and that you offer yourself as the container to be filled.


[1] See The Matter of Mind: An Explorer’s Guide To the Labyrinth of the Mind, Vajra Flame Foundation,
http://www.vajraflame.org

With Deep Appreciation

I was surprised and honored to be notified that the third of my three articles reviewing the Matter of Mind workshop in Denver in October was chosen to be part of Master Djwhal Khul’s December lesson for Vajra Flame members. It is very gratifying to know that my experience reflected some of what Master DK seeks to impart to his students.

Visit the Vajra Flame Foundation website at:
http://www.vajraflame.org/

You can find all three parts of the article at:
http://lifecentering.blogspot.com/2008/10/matter-of-mind-experience.html
http://lifecentering.blogspot.com/2008/10/matter-of-mind-experience_20.html
http://lifecentering.blogspot.com/2008/10/matter-of-mind-experience_531.html

You can read other references to the book, The Matter of Mind, on my blog at:
http://lifecentering.blogspot.com/2008/08/everyone-is-psychic.html
http://lifecentering.blogspot.com/2008/08/survival-on-these-hot-summer-days.html

While my interest in the work of Master Khul is important to me, this blog seeks as well to share a much broader portrait of the philosophies, principles and concepts for living that help people develop a more complete understanding of their potential. Your comments are always invited.

True Wealth

For me my true wealth consists of my relationships—family, friends and associates. I consider myself truly rich in this regard. The Friday after Thanksgiving, as I listened to the broadcast of Andre Rieu in Vienna and the Johann Strauss Orchestra and Choir on public television, the music enveloped me in a blanket of warmth, joy and thankfulness. I thought of my family, friends and the associates who have particularly blessed my life in the past year. Some of these persons probably do not know just how they have brought light into my life. I determined to mention a few of these professionals, whom I consider to be associates and friends, and share them with you. They appear in alphabetical order.

Raven Dana, Certified Life Coach and Clinical Handwriting Analyst.
I have known Raven for 30 years. She was active in the Whole Life Learning Center in Denver. While she says she considers me one of her mentors, after her 29 years of experience I now look to her as one of my mentors. I can count on her for unvarnished comment on whatever I write, consistently adding new perspectives. She keeps me honest in my effort to tell it like it is! Raven is the founder/director of Stress Wizard Coaching. Find out more at: http://www.stresswizardcoaching.com/

Jan Engles-Smith, Shamanic practitioner, counselor and former science teacher. I first met Jan when I attended one of her introductory classes. The meditation exercise she led took me to a deep healing place that I have never forgotten. Her wonderful support through our exchanges of communication reminds me that there are special people who care. She serves her students through a native American wisdom and concern for the well-being of the planet. She is the founder/director of Lightsong School of Shamanic Studies.

Find out more at: http://www.janengelssmith.com/

Katherine Jansen-Byrkit, M.P.H., L.P.C., Individual, Couple and Family Therapist through her practice, Innergy. In my intensive work with Katherine she skillfully unlocked my inner self and provided the opportunity for me to begin the long journey back to loving and accepting myself. To say I am grateful is not enough, but appreciation is surely given. I continue to seek to honor the self-image I am discovering. Find out more at: http://innergyonline.com/

Kathlyn Kingdon, exceptional channel for Master Djwhal Khul. I experienced Kathlyn and Master Khul just this October in a weekend workshop in Denver. This is another step in my opening to the infinite wisdom that enfolds us all. When truth dawns we realize it has been with us always often hidden beneath the veil of fear and doubt. As the veil parts our souls are reclaimed in their spiritual glory.

I was given Kathlyn’s book, The Matter Of Mind, by a long time friend, Pam McKinnie. Pam is the founder/president of Concepts Unlimited, a full service advertising agency that provides “thoughtful design.” Our paths have crossed from time to time for many years—always an insightful and supportive time. She is a participant in the Vajra Flame Foundation, which promotes the work of Master Khul. For more about Vajra Flame: http://www.vajraflame.org/
For information on Concepts Unlimited: http://www.conceptsunlimitedinc.com/

Jacqueline Sinke, certified Health Fitness Specialist with over 16 years of professional fitness experience. She is the owner of Fitness & Function. For all the “spiritual” seeking one might do, it is also necessary to pay attention to the physical body. (Who says that isn’t spiritual too?) I have been taking Jacqueline’s Ageless Conditioning class for three years and I am still alive to tell about it! She specializes in senior conditioning and well-being, though she also works with businesses and individuals to develop personalized fitness programs. She was particularly supportive during my heart repair work in July. For more information: http://www.fitnessandfunction.com/door/

These are a few of the professionals in my life for whom I am grateful. I consider them each a part of my true wealth. They have all helped me move forward, especially in times when I am inclined to fall backward. So, I wish them success in all they do and rich and rewarding lives. I encourage you to visit their websites and wherever possible I hope you might avail yourself of their services.