Pass It On

Dearest Readers,

My time on the ashram is fast (slowly) coming to a close. I will lead the final Cultivate Your Courage workshop this afternoon and once again, it has been a powerful experience for all who participated.

One of the things that never ceases to amaze me when I lead this course is how many of us are living with fear, how much it controls our lives, and how desperately we need the support of others to walk through it.

Yesterday I had to have a private grieving session for all the pain I have encountered in the last little while. There are so many broken people in the world. Some of us find a way out and begin to walk the Healing Path. Some of us do not. Releasing tears remains one of my favorite ways to accept this Truth and then let it go.

Whenever the negative voice in my head says, “By what authority do you dare to lead this kind of workshop?” the Higher Voice (thank goodness) always answers, “By Divine Authority.”

The world needs Wounded Healers. We’ve been there and we’re walking through our fear one breath at a time. It’s my honour to support you all on this Journey.

So the sign on my door now says, “Celia McBride, D.A.”

Inspiring Message of the Day: My own wounds and fears are my greatest treasure today because they have given me real experience to share with others. I will participate in my own Healing knowing it will benefit others seeking the same Path.

Grace Full

Dearest Readers,

These posts of late have been short and (hopefully) sweet because I’m writing them on an iPhone and because my days here on the ashram, though relaxed, are quite full. But if I had a little more time I could tell you some pretty amazing stories.

They’ll have to wait.

For now, I’ll share with you my thoughts on the topic of Grace, which was the subject of last night’s study discussion.

We were told that Grace is an unmerited gift. One does not have to do anything to receive Grace. Grace is everywhere. Grace is always present. Grace is all there is. Grace is, in fact, the true definition of God. So Grace simply Is.

Though we can better receive Grace by becoming fit vessels (through prayer, meditation, right eating, right living etc.) the Nature of Grace is such that one does not have to be a fit vessel to receive It. Grace does not discriminate.

Because Grace is all there is, the unfit vessel is always receiving Grace just as the fit vessel is also. However, in order to better experience Grace, one must become open and willing.

With these qualities the individual will come to know Grace intimately and the Gift will have true meaning.

If I had a million years I couldn’t tell you of the Grace I am now experiencing. Well, maybe I could. With a laptop.

Inspiring Message of the Day: My desire is to know Grace. Because this Gift is mine by birthright I will accept its offer by being open and willing to receive it.

We Shall Receive

Dearest Readers,

One of the challenges I have faced in the past is learning how to receive. Coming to believe that I deserve a gift has been a process which has involved a great deal of healing work.

It has paid off.

Yesterday a woman on the ashram who has been attending the Inspiring Sessions I’ve been leading offered me a free Reiki session with her. She is a healer and invited me to receive her gift in thanks for the healing work I’ve been doing throughout the week.

While in the session, I began to think of how I could pay her back. I could offer her a free Inspiring Coaching session!  But something stopped me. What if I didn’t have to do anything to pay her back? What if I could just accept her gift unconditionally? What then? Then I would be affirming that I am worthy of the gift of healing.

When the session was over I said nothing but thank you.

Inspiring Message of the Day: The open heart receives. Today I will allow myself to receive a gift that is offered to me and I will give nothing but my word of thanks in return.

Don’t Get It

Dearest Readers,

This morning I attended a Puja in one of the temples here on the ashram. A puja is a ceremony that involves worshipping the deities of the Hindu faith. The altar is cleansed and purified, the statues of the deities are washed with milk and water, chanting and prayers are sung and spoken and then the statues are dressed in fancy cloth and prayer beads are hung around their necks.

As fascinating as this ritual is I have found it rather strange and difficult to understand. But an open mind is the aspirant’s best friend and so I have done my best not to judge.

At this point in time, without having done the real homework (asking someone to explain it to me), I have deduced that the real meaning of the Puja lies in the action of the thing. By spending this kind of devoted time in worship the aspirant is not only expressing her thanks but she is also given an opportunity to experience Oneness with her Creator.

As I began to let go of my judgment I started to appreciate the patience and focus the ritual required. I was then invited up to the altar to participate in the ceremony. As I assisted the monk in the washing of Lakshmi I felt strangely honoured to be a part of this service.

When I returned to the meditation cushion where I had been sitting my heart felt full and I was moved to tears. Why? What had taken place?

Maybe it’s best not to try and figure it out. When I do that I tend to miss the point.

Inspiring Message of the Day: I do not need to understand everything. Sometimes when I just let things happen the understanding comes all by itself.

I am

Dearest Readers,

Here on the ashram life is quite simple.  Waken early, meditate, chant, practice yoga for the body, eat, do service, study, more yoga, eat again, meditate again, study some more and bed. Nothing complicated about that.

But the study, well, I wouldn’t say it’s complicated, rather it is decidedly simple but it is not easy. For here we study the Ultimate Reality and becoming that which we already are: the manifestation of Pure Consciousness.

Yup, told ya it was simple.

Inspiring Message of the Day:
Who am I really? I am a human being, yes, and I, too, am a part of the Great I Am, the Power of Oneness Back of All Things. When I remember this my fear is relinquished.

Day Eight

Dearest Readers,

Here I am in Kitchener, Ontario, for the Magnetic North Theatre Festival and outside the birds are chirping up a storm as the day breaks. They are competing with the endless rush of traffic that whooshes by on the street below, a main thoroughfare. Amazing how we co-exist, isn’t it?

Each morning I have ritual that I call my spiritual practice. It involves prayer, meditation and yoga. I usually read from some kind of devotional literature and this morning’s reading talked about the idea of inner change leading to outer change, which happens to be something I believe very strongly.

Here is a caption:

“It is not your circumstances that need altering so much as yourself. After you have changed, conditions will naturally change.”

This tenet is one of the basics of metaphysics: my belief systems are creating my reality. This, of course, is easier to swallow when things are going well. When things are not going so well it is tougher to accept the idea that I might have something to do with it.

But here’s the part I like: It’s not my fault. And here’s the catch: it is my responsibility. If I’m attracting negativity I’m not a bad person and doing it all wrong. I just have a faulty belief system that needs rewiring. In order to change and be changed I must be willing to do the inner work. Only for that am I responsible.

For years I would attract car accidents. Thank goodness I made it out alive and uninjured every single time. But it was wild, I’m tellin’ ya. The last one was in the north of BC on a logging road and as the truck went off the road and flipped over onto its side I actually said to myself, “Here we go again.”

Now I could choose to believe that this was a lot of bad luck or I could choose to look at it metaphysically. What needs to “crash” on the inside? Well, my whole Way Of Being, frankly. I needed to change my entire friggin’ life. And finally I did. No more accidents. For today 😉

I’m not perfect. The Old BS (belief systems) that are presently in the process of being extracted are stubborn and tough hangers-on. I’m having to practice patience big-time right now because I just want them (one in particular) GONE. But I’m not the Do-er. I’m just the gal through whom the Do-er works.

So this morning, as the darkness turned to grey and then to a lighter grey (no sun in Kitchener today) I prayed for that “altering” of myself one more time and the patience to live with my imperfect Self for another day. I remain willing and I let go of the desire to spin the planet.

And the birds sing on.

Inspiring Message of the Day: If my outward circumstances need changing I will start with my inner life. What is broken? Where can I be healed? I will ask for Guidance and become willing to change and be changed.