Reclaiming the Rhythm: An Interview With Rick Allen

What would you do if you were suddenly faced with the threat of losing your most important gift? What if regaining it required more effort and willpower than you’d ever imagined and forced you to rely on parts of yourself you never even knew existed?

Rick Allen became a rock star at the early age of 15 as the drummer for the group Def Leppard. After an explosion of success in the early eighties, his world was suddenly turned upside down in 1984, when a violent car accident caused him serious injuries and the loss of his left arm.

After a visit to the Remo factory in Valencia, California, Rick immediately insisted that his family members join him at a Remo drum circle that evening. Inspired by this experience and the philosophy of Remo’s drumming & wellness department -Health RHYTHMS, Rick agreed to share his personal story and information on his current project, Raven Drum Foundation, in an interview at his home in Malibu, California.

1. Could you describe your first memories immediately after the accident?

1. …………….I felt very lost. It was the epitome of chaos. Really in and out of belief and disbelief. But I think we all have an inner strength in times like those. You really can’t even say what you would do if it happened to you. But when you’re thrown into it – you are amazed at what you can do. The amazing thing was my family and friends. Throughout my hospital stay, I saw people around me dig into sides of themselves I’d never seen before.

1. When was the first time music came back into the picture for you?

1. In my first week in the hospital, I started hearing music that just seemed to be playing. I thought it was coming out of the air vents. Then I told my brother, “You’ve got to go home and get the stereo system and my music collection to see what I can do.” So I started listening to Led Zeppelin, Free, Bad Company, T-Rex, David Bowie – just throwing myself back into that whole era I grew up with.

1. What was it like when you first started to feel the rhythms?

1. It was interesting. I realized that I could play all the basic rhythms I ever learned just with my right and left foot. I played the rhythm by tapping this big piece of foam at the end of my hospital bed. I realized I could make a beat, using only my legs. And it was like – WOW – I CAN DO THAT. I can replace what I used to do with “left hand” with “left foot.” The information was still there, in the brain – I just had to re-channel it.

1. But is it just in the brain?

1. Actually, your entire body becomes a memory of how to play an instrument. You have to re-shuffle everything and ask, “what’s important now?” I’d rather play a basic pattern really well than try and play too much. It’s a constant learning curve. What I can do today with two legs is completely different than what I could do two years ago.

1. You figured out that the information was within you, it just needing to be re-channeled.

1. Well, you have to figure out ways of healing yourself. You let people on the outside influence you – but ultimately, the job of getting well is entirely up to you.

1. Did anyone doubt you – tell you that it wasn’t possible to play again?

1. One junior doctor came up to me and said, “You know you’ll never play drums again.” But I think it just made me more determined. Another guy said, “You know you’ll never be able to wave again,” since my right shoulder was severely broken. After I was released, I came down the hall and waved at him. Even today, I’m working with a trainer and my right arm is still improving. It helps when I use the aluminum drum sticks (Easton) to take some of the shock out of playing. When I’m playing electronic pads all the time, I feel like I need that cushion. I’ve also learned to constantly give myself that positive reinforcement.

1. What do you think is the role of the mind in rehabilitation?

1. It’s all about intention – what you set out for yourself. I keep pushing that boundary and seeing myself in a better physical condition. Being a better musician. Even just being able to tie a shoelace in a better way.

1. When you first started playing again – did it make you more aware of the loss? Was it a painful experience?

1. Actually being able to play my instrument again was enough. That was really the gift. It didn’t matter how good or bad it was. It was just, “OK – I can do this. THANK YOU.” I encounter people that are in worse situations who are so challenged, but they have the audacity to look up to me. I don’t even feel like what some people would say “disabled.” I don’t even feel like I miss anything. I think of some people out there who do so much more than any of us with so much less. When I think about them, I realize that I don’t really have a problem, do I?

1. What was it like playing your first concert after the accident? Your first time on stage?

1. It happened gradually, through an amazing series of coincidences. We were playing four shows at small pubs in Ireland with this guy, Jeff Rich who we affectionately called our “stunt drummer.” He played acoustic drums to back up my electronic kit. But, he had travel problems and missed half of our second gig, so I played it myself. And the next gig had a stage that couldn’t fit both our kits, so I managed it on my own. By the time we played Donnington, outside of London, for a crowd of 55,000 people, I felt great. When I was introduced, the crowd went nuts. My mom, dad and brother were there to support me. That was probably the greatest moment in my life – just sitting there with so much gratitude.

1. What helps you now?

1. It helps me to improvise and play for the fun of it, especially with a group of people. It feels good to do whatever I want. No right or wrong, just very natural, without any muscle.

1. Do you feel that drumming has been healing for you?

1. Yes, but only when I realized it. Not when my playing was forced. Sometimes when you sit behind drums, its all muscle. Very physical. Its not until you realize you don’t need that. The rhythm or the feeling can be found within. I’ve been in situations when I’ve felt it’s been damaging – because I’m over-playing and I’m in a place that’s uncomfortable. And there have been other experiences, where I’m very comfortable – like everything is RIGHT. It transcends the drum and becomes just the feeling.

1. What inspired you to create the Raven Drum Foundation?

1. Actually, Lauren and I want to bring more awareness of healing through the arts. We want to use our website to guide people to where they can go to learn about these tools and get more information.

(Joined by Lauren Monroe- Director of the Raven Drum Foundation)

1. The information is important, but the primary thing is the experience. We want to help people discover how to express themselves through sacred methods. We want to give people keys …to open up parts of themselves. The mission of the Raven Drum Foundation is bringing ancient knowledge through the arts for the purpose of healing. We want to support a collective of artists and facilitators who can share their wisdom and practice.

1. How did all of these events affect your outlook on being a performer?

1. I believe in intention and the connection between the mind and body. I’ve started setting intentions with the guys in the band, even before going in front of 10,000 people. And for myself, I just keep playing with the concept of simplicity and feeling good. I think it’s really about finding something that makes us feel good. If we can achieve that, we have a tool to cope with whatever life challenges come our way.

Rick Allen is President of the Raven Drum Foundation. Since the age of 15, Rick has been the drummer for the heavy metal rock band, Def Leppard. He is a REMO artist.

Lauren Monroe, M.A., CMT is Director of the Raven Drum Foundation. She holds degrees in Dance Choreography, Education, and Massage Therapy.

For more information on the Raven Drum Foundation, go to www.ravendrumfoundation.com or telephone (310) 456-5030. Raven Drum Foundation @ravendrum

Find Them On Twitter!  Rick @rickallenlive Lauren @LMBlaze

Also check them out at

by Christine K. Stevens, MSW, M.A., MT-BC

Christine Stevens, MSW, MT-BC is Director of Music Therapy and Wellness Programs in the new HealthRHYTHMS division at Remo, Inc. She holds masters degrees in music therapy and social work and is a member of the Percussive Arts Society Health and Wellness committee, For more information on the use of drumming for health and wellness, go to www.remo.com, click on HealthRHYTHMS.

Procrastination, Energy, and Good Timing

For my first article in January,  I like to write about goals, resolutions, or whatever you call the list you make of intentions for the coming year. It’s well known that few well-meant intentions get realized. Often we become enmeshed in a pattern of pushing forward when action feels inappropriate. Then, discouraged, we begin to put off action. Simply described, procrastination is the act of putting off doing things we don’t want to do.

Students are famous for putting off papers or studying. Avoiding the completion of certain dreaded household tasks is also a popular activity. Many of us put off making phone calls we absolutely don’t want to make.

Even though procrastination can seem to be the avoidance of action, it’s an activity that consumes a great deal of energy. We don’t simply avoid the unwanted action and then forget about it.

The thought that we should do it keeps on returning, like a mosquito hungry for blood. We use energy to resist the thought. Then we blame ourselves for laziness, fear, or whatever inspires the delay. We may end up feeling worse and more exhausted than if we’d actually done the thing we didn’t want to do.

It may seem like the appropriate solution is to simply do it and get it over with. However, that can cause additional problems.

Act in Haste, Repent at Leisure

Say you know you need to paint the bathroom, and you haven’t bought the paint yet. You say to yourself, “That’s it; I’m going out right now.”

You go to buy the paint and realize you haven’t decided on a color yet. You’re not going to let procrastination stop you any more, though, so you pick out a color, hardly looking at it, come home, and realize the color is awful–maybe before, maybe after you paint.

You have a report to write for an organization. You’ve been dreading putting the words together, but the deadline is closing, noose-like, around your neck. You get on the computer and zip through the writing. Only when it’s time to give it do you discover you wrote on the wrong subject.

You’ve been putting off a possibly painful conversation with someone. The longer you wait, the more angry and upset you get, until you begin to feel like a soon-to-erupt volcano. You decide you have to say it, no matter how it comes out. Unfortunately, it doesn’t come out very well, and the other person stops speaking to you.

The Nightmare Journey

Sometimes both the resistance and the action that overcomes it are more subtle. You may not deliberately resist doing something, but you feel mental/emotional reluctance, which in turn creates energetic resistance. It’s as if you’re driving with the emergency brake on.

For example, you’re going to visit a family member out of a sense of duty, but no real joy. You half-wish something would happen so that you didn’t have to make the trip.

When you call to make the airplane reservations, the line is busy. You try making your reservations online, and the server is busy. You call again. After listening to the “Please listen carefully, as our menu options have changed” message, you push the wrong button. Then you try again, get the right one, and get put on hold. Finally, you hear a human voice and manage to work out a flight plan that doesn’t have you flying from New York to Nevada in order to get to Florida.

Later you print out your online tickets and see they’re incorrect. At last, you get the arrangements done to your satisfaction, but when you get to the airport, you find there’s no record of your reservations. Fortunately, you have your tickets, but it takes a lot of effort to get things worked out, and you barely make your plane.

Resistance can also hold back the fulfillment of what you think you really do want. You may want a better job, but don’t feel capable of fulfilling its requirements. You’d like to go to Europe, if only you could get there without having to travel. You’d like to have a show of your art, but then everyone would see it.

The Virtue of Struggle

I have come to realize that my not wanting to do something isn’t necessarily a measure of my laziness. It may, instead, be like the light on the dashboard that tells me my emergency brake is on. Procrastination lets me know that my energy is blocked from the easy fulfillment of an action.

I have also discovered that about ninety percent of the braking action stems from the belief that accomplishment should involve difficulty. A widespread belief tells many of us that we’re worthy people when we push through our resistance and do things we don’t want to do. Holding this belief can have the magical effect of multiplying—at least in the mind—the difficulty of an action.

I have heard people who love what they do telling others how difficult it is. If they are writers, they describe the agonies of sitting before a blank screen; if they are artists, they curse the paper or canvas that stubbornly remains blank. If they are teachers, their students have conspired to turn their classroom into the blackboard jungle. They believe this, because they’ve become oriented to the idea that for something to be worthwhile, it must involve struggle.

I’ve gradually let go of this perspective, but it’s a work in progress, and it can still blinker my vision. Right before I started writing this article, I was working on another. It didn’t seem to want to get written beyond a certain point, so I stopped working on it, feeling guilty that I was procrastinating, thinking how difficult it was to write.

Once I got over the misery that all that hard work would be wasted, I decided I didn’t have to write that article. Instead, I wrote this one, in about a tenth the time I spent agonizing about the other one.

There’s no virtue to suffering and struggling or in being blocked, frustrated, or self-critical about something that isn’t happening. That only blocks the smooth flow of energy needed to get things done.

The Virtue of Ease

Here’s a mantra you may find helpful: “Life is meant to be easy. Life is meant to be fun.” When you find you don’t have to mentally or physically add difficulty to a task, it can become enjoyable. For example, when I clean the house, I stop myself from looking for a badge of virtue for such drudgery. I give up the idea that I’m Cinderella scrubbing the flagstones. Instead, I listen to music or sing while I house clean. I tell myself this is good exercise. I think about how nice the house is going to look.

I’ve also noticed that some of the things I put off doing seem to get done by themselves. Try asking the universe to do some of the items on your list. The people you’re worried about calling may call you with the good news you thought you’d never hear. Instead of searching for an elusive reference, you may find a link for it in your email. The results can be miraculous.

The best result is that when I’m unburdened by guilt over procrastination, or the heavy burden of having to be a good and worthy attention, I have much more energy to give to the creative expression and fulfillment of those projects that really thrill me.

Energy Un-blockers

Meditation in general helps us to return to the core of being, especially when it interrupts a frantic stream of activity or an equally frantic avoidance of activity. In a state of deepened connection to our true selves, we can effectively ask the question, “What is most important to me right now?”

You might want to hold carnelian while asking that question. Known as the “be here now” crystal, it helps us to focus on what is of most immediate value to us.

Smoky quartz gives us the gift of both grounding and activating our energy. It can help to smooth out those push-pull energy spurts that say, “I’ll do it,” “I won’t.” It particularly helps in this process by disposing of psychic waste, those old beliefs and emotions that prevent us from being clear on what we want.

While it can be placed at the feet in meditation for grounding and energizing, you can also hold a clear quartz in one hand and a smoky quartz in the other. Contemplate those conditions and emotions you wish to release or change while mentally focusing on the smoky quartz; then ask for inspiration regarding accomplishing these changes.

Several crystals that, in their unpolished state have vertical striations or ridges, help energy move more smoothly. Among these are golden topaz, kunzite, danburite, and the tourmaline family.

The Essence of Timing

People are often confused about the differences between the FES essences, Cayenne, Blackberry, and Tansy. Blackberry is for those who feel stuck at the mental level. They feel unable to translate their ideas and goals into the actions that will bring them into being.

The properties of Cayenne are particularly suited to the subject of this article. It’s for those who procrastinate, and feel indecisive and stuck in inertia. This essence catalyzes one to action. You can think of it as building an energetic fire.

Tansy helps those who feel stuck in a laziness or lethargy that goes beyond procrastination. If you need Tansy you’re not thinking about doing something enough to procrastinate. The essence inspires one to take decisive action.

If procrastination itself is a pattern, it may have become a habit. Chestnut Bud (Bach) can help with unwanted repetitive behavior patterns.

All good things to think about (I think!) in this new decade 2010.

Live in Joy!

Lilly

Happy New Year 2010! A New Year’s Prayer for You

May your body, spirit and soul ~ dance, laugh and sing!

My Wishes for you in 2010

12 Month of Happiness
52 Weeks of Fun
365 Days  of Success
8760 Hours Good Health
52600 Minutes Good Luck
3153600 Seconds of  Joy,  love,  peace and prosperity all year around.

HaPpy NEw YeAr!

x0×0x0
Lilly

A Guided Tour Through the Chakras. Part 1: Food, Sex, and Power

You have committed to waking up in this lifetime. But your path to awakening may be blocked by damaged relationships with family, food, sex, money, power, etc. These damaged areas often manifest in the body as a misalignment—that is, a literal physical dislocation—of your first three chakras. Working to realign them can heal this damage and clear your way to deep spiritual opening.

Meet Michal Levin, gifted energy healer and spiritual guide.  Michal’s extraordinary story is in many ways defined by her discovery of the chakras without any formal training or study of traditional systems of chakra contemplation. Her talent manifested spontaneously, calling her into a life of deep spiritual contemplation. In her dialogue with Ken Wilber, she shares her own unique distillation of chakra alignment—resulting in growth from being unconsciously and painfully controlled by our energy, to using our energy in a conscious and mature way for the benefit of all….

What makes Michal Levin’s chakra meditation so unique is that she received it as part of her own awakening and not from studying a lineage tradition. What she is sharing in this talk with Ken is the result of eighteen years of observing what happens to the individuals and groups she has taught worldwide. As Ken says of Michal, she is “very unusual in that she brings something fresh and new that is absolutely worth studying because it extends what we have received from the lineage minds.”

In this dialogue, Michal shares her chakra meditation in step-by-step detail, and reveals not just the basic practice itself, but Michal’s distinctive opinion that we must work and release the issues of the first three chakras before moving on to any of the higher levels. Michal and Ken also align her teaching with the Integral perspective, shadow work, and the activation of our higher selves.

If you are looking for a very practical, no-nonsense approach to unlocking the power of your energetic chakras, this extraordinary interchange between Michal and Ken will surely illuminate your path.

Right click to download audio

Duration: 28 minutes

TAKE A MOMENT

In this dialogue, Michal Levin presents her own unique system of energetic development, which shares many important similarities (and some differences) with traditional systems of chakra contemplation. Before you listen, take five minutes to sit in silence, letting your mind become like a mirror—reflecting everything, while keeping nothing for itself. Try to maintain this state of “mirror mind” as you listen, and see if her words resonate with your own life experience. Simply observe your connection to Michal’s words as she speaks, and see if you can locate the energetic dynamics she describes within your own being….

For more about chakras and subtle energies, be sure to read Ken Wilber’s extraordinary essay Toward a Comprehensive Theory of Subtle Energies here on Integral Life.

Two Days We Should Not Worry

There are two days in every week about which we should not worry, two days which should be kept free from fear and apprehension.

One of these days is Yesterday with all its mistakes and cares,
its faults and blunders, its aches and pains.

Yesterday has passed forever beyond our control.
All the money in the world cannot bring back Yesterday.

We cannot undo a single act we performed;
we cannot erase a single word we said.
Yesterday is gone forever.

The other day we should not worry about is Tomorrow
with all its possible adversities, its burdens,
its large promise and its poor performance;
Tomorrow is also beyond our immediate control.

Tomorrow’s sun will rise,
either in splendor or behind a mask of clouds, but it will rise.
Until it does, we have no stake in Tomorrow,
for it is yet to be born.

This leaves only one day, Today.
Any person can fight the battle of just one day.
It is when you and I add the burdens of those two awful eternities Yesterday and Tomorrow that we break down.

It is not the experience of Today that drives a person mad,
it is the remorse or bitterness of something which happened Yesterday and the dread of what Tomorrow may bring.

Let us, therefore,
Live but one day at a time.

~ an unknown angel ~

When Emotions Become Habits

One of the questions people most often ask about flower essences is, “How long will it take them to work?” One could as easily ask this about crystals or any other vibrational tool.

And there’s no specific answer I can give to this question because how fast you or I change is an individual issue, based on four vital elements: Intention, focus, commitment, and willingness.

How Vibrational Healing Works

My favorite explanation comes from Dr. Edward Bach, who discovered and developed the Bach Flower Remedies. He believed the source of all illness (whether mental, emotional, or physical) is conflict between one’s higher self and the personality (or ego).

“Higher self” is his phrase. I prefer the phrase, “spiritual” self (as distinct from physical self). This is the eternal, nonphysical aspect of each of us. Not only is it our direct connection to universal spirit, it has (for those who believe in reincarnation) been present for each of our visits to physical existence and remembers all we’ve learned in each incarnation. When we open ourselves up to its wisdom and energy, life on the physical plane can be a powerful and joyful experience.

Think of the connection between your spiritual and physical selves as a channel through which your spiritual self is constantly sending the physical self empowering messages. “You are a worthy person. Love yourself. Appreciate yourself. Celebrate yourself.” These messages are spiritual fuel, food to help you grow into someone who enjoys life and easily creates the fulfillment of your dreams.

Most people, however, are not getting this message. The one they hear says, “You made a mistake.” “That person doesn’t like you.” “You won’t get a raise.” “You’ll never find true love.” These messages always have emotional components: guilt, self-judgment, resentment that other people seem to have easier lives, etc. Our channel becomes blocked with mental and emotional sludge, and the spiritual fuel of the higher self can’t get through.

The role of vibrational healing, whether the specific method used is crystals, essences, Reiki, or any other modality, is to dissolve these blockages, thus clearing the channel and restoring the direct connection between the higher self and the physical self.

The Role of Intention

Choosing to take essences or to work with crystals, deciding which will be most appropriate, and taking the remedies or meditating with crystals on a regular basis are acts of intention. They announce that you want to release a condition/blockage limiting your life, and, in a more general way, that you choose to be happy and attuned to your spiritual nature. Such statements of intention set up a vibration that assists the essences or crystals in doing their work.

Sometimes that’s all you need to do. Mild blockages or those recently acquired are more easily and quickly dissolved. Someone who’s gone through a brief but intense period of stress and feels overwhelmed is likely to find she doesn’t need to do anything more than take Elm for a few weeks to a month (with Star of Bethlehem added, if feelings of trauma accompany the stress), sleep or meditate with an amethyst or aquamarine crystal, or give herself extra Reiki treatments. You can, of course, do all three.

When Emotions are Habits

You can most effectively release more deeply rooted and/or longer-held blockages by making a commitment to focus your attention on clearing up the psychic debris and unraveling the patterns that have created the habitual response.

Practical steps for expressing this commitment can include:

Create an Affirmation. This will have most effect when expressed positively, i.e., not. “I don’t want to feel guilty any more.” Say instead, “I accept myself just as I am.”

Meditate with Crystals Relating to Your Issue. Sugilite, for example, is a very good crystal for guilt. Rose quartz fosters love; while citrine and smoky can help to release blockages related to self-esteem. Quartz in all forms helps to release any kind of energy blockage.

As you meditate, visualize situations that in the past made you feel guilty. Imagine responding in a self-accepting way to these situations. Imagine yourself releasing any emotional charge these situations bring up and see yourself responding in a self-accepting way. When you do such visualizations, you are creating a future in which, when these situations come up in real life, you will respond in this positive way.

Also, imagine you are clearing up the channel between your spiritual and physical selves. Visualize that channel free of obstruction with any images you choose. Mentally sweep it with a broom, vacuum it, whatever works.

Keep a Dream Journal. Flower essences stimulate powerful dreams, and this is one way in which your being works through emotional blockages and releases them. When you’re connected to your creative dream life, you can have insights about the origins of your particular blockage. Insights help to shift energy and dissolve blockages.

Be Aware. Sometimes you know in advance that particular situations may activate the emotions and/or behavior you are working on releasing. If, for example, you’ve set reasonable boundaries about your children doing work around the house, but feel guilty and give in when they complain, take some time to think about this. Explore the situation in meditation.

Listen to Your Thoughts. This relates to the point above. What thought patterns enter your mind when you choose to act on your commitment to adopt a way of being?

“If I were a better parent, they’d do what they were supposed to do.” “I don’t want to be strict like my mother.” “Why don’t they just do the housework?” “It would be easier to do it myself.” Bringing these thoughts to the surface helps to weaken their energetic charge, which clears the way for more positive energy to flow through you.

Ask Others to Help. Ask your spouse, partner, or a close friend to tell you when you’re sinking into guilt. Don’t get angry with them when they keep their promises to do so.

Healing/Crisis/Opportunity

Sometimes people experience healing crises when they take essences, work with crystals, or practice Reiki in order to deal with a long-term emotional way of being. A healing crisis is a positive development that doesn’t always feel good.

Energetically speaking, a habitual way of being is embedded in one’s being. Think of it as the psychic/emotional equivalent of physical toxins. In order to clear up the passageway to the spiritual self, the toxins have to leave the being.

When one physically detoxifies, the release of the toxins can cause physical symptoms such as headache, nausea, headaches, skin rashes, etc. One feels worse before feeling better. In like manner, one may feel emotionally worse (for example, intensified guilt) before feeling the release of the emotions.

Emotions may also become intensified because one is very aware of them. Because of your commitment to release your particular emotional blockage, you will notice whenever it comes up.

Being Willing to Change

Often, unconscious resistance can create or intensify a healing crisis. As physical beings, our fear of the unknown may be greater than our dislike of our emotional habits.

At this point, Rescue Remedy (containing Rock Rose for terror), Aspen (for fear of the unknown), and Charoite (for both known and unknown fears) can be very helpful.

I have also found it valuable to “make believe.” This means, even if you don’t think you’ve ever experienced the energy and guidance of your spiritual self, you can begin thinking and acting as if it exists. You can say to yourself, “I choose to feel the energy of my spiritual self” or whatever affirmation feels appropriate to you. When you meditate, imagine a greater, eternal you, who’s visiting the physical plane.

That’s who you really are, and when you go through rough spots in the process of transformation, remind yourself of this.

Or, as your spiritual self might say, “You are a worthy person. Love yourself. Appreciate yourself. Celebrate yourself.”

Transformational Crystals and Essences

In addition to the crystals and essence I’ve noted in the course of this article, I find the following invaluable:

Danburite: I have become increasingly appreciative of this crystal. It helps us to view our lives from the soul perspective, and has helped me clean up psychic sludge many times.

Particular forms of quartz can be especially valuable in the work of transformation. Tabular quartz, for example, can act as a bridge between where we are and where we want to be.

Chrysocolla and amethyst are extremely calming crystals, wonderful to have around when nerves begin to fray.

If one of your issues is needing to screen out the negative energies of others, hematite is an especially helpful stone. Its flower essence equivalents are Yarrow (for general screening) and Pink Yarrow (for shielding from the emotions of those close to you).

Rhodochrosite is an indispensable crystal for anxious moments.

Walnut is one of the most popular Bach Flower Remedies, helping to ease traumas associated with transition and transformation.

Three Wild Earth Animal Essences are especially related to transformation in that the animals they are related to go through complete physical transformation several times in their lives.

They are Butterfly, Frog, and Salamander. In my experience, Butterfly helps to achieve a lightness of spirit about the process of transformation; while Frog can aid in emotional release. Salamander is a very subtle essence, which seems to guide one gently through the process of release and transformation.

Feel the Joy of Your Unfulfilled Desires

You don’t stop very often to think about how you are feeling. And yet, how you are feeling is everything. How you are feeling is your point of attraction. How you are feeling is your asking from the Universe. How you are feeling is everything that is coming to you!

Most of you have not discovered that the Universe is conspiring to assist you. And so you work hard from an attitude of unworthiness, from a feeling that you are not enough, from a feeling that you have to justify. And what I want you to begin to do is recognize that the Universe is responding to the way you feel. So think about the way you feel.

Don’t think so much about what you’re thinking or about what you have or about how you compare with your actions or your possessions to others. Instead, think about how you feel. Ask yourself, “Am I sitting here in a feeling of well-being? Do I feel intimidated? Do I feel self-conscious? Do I feel inadequate? Do I feel unworthy? Or do I feel pretty good? Do I feel cocky? Do I feel full of myself? Do I feel in love with life? Do I feel exhilarated? Am I feeling fun? Am I feeling some passion?” How you’re feeling is what your point of attraction is.

Your Point of Attraction

If you’re feeling unworthy, you can work day and night, night and day, every day, and yet not allow the very things that you want to flow, because your vibration is not allowing it, and the Universe cannot buck your current. How you’re feeling is everything. So if I were standing in your physical shoes, I would let the contrast naturally produce the desire, because it will.

And when I feel a desire within me, I would look at it, I would recognize the weirdness of it, I would recognize how unfamiliar it feels, and then I would do what is my work: I will do the work that I have been born to do: My work is to take that new desire and play with it in my mind’s eye, until it feels familiar, until it feels like the manifestation of it is the next logical step.

The goal must exist to summon the Energy, but the goal can’t matter that much — or it stops the Energy.

Let us bring this to a place that if you get this, you will have quantum leaped into a new place of deliberate attraction: Most everybody stands here, dissatisfied to some degree, longing to be over there. But the whole point of that point of attention to over there is not to get over there. The whole point of the goal or the desire is that the desire summons Life Force through you.

That’s why you’re always wanting another goal, another goal, another goal. That’s why I say you will never get it done. So, “Why do I want that?” It’s an interesting thing, isn’t it? The goal must exist to summon the Energy, but the goal can’t matter that much, or it stops the Energy. You’re wanting the goal for the sake of the Energy that will flow through you, not for the sake of the manifestation.

A woman, one day, said to me, “I don’t think you care if my lover ever comes to me. I think you want me to envision him so clearly that in my mind’s eye, he is real — so real, that it doesn’t matter that he’s not really there.” And I said, that’s exactly right. I know when she feels him in that way, the pain will be gone from her, and the Life Force will flow through her, and all of her goals will be achieved. And I also know, then he must come. But it is not about him coming. It is about him being a goal that is reason for her to focus, that causes Life Force to flow through her. It is about the Life Force flowing through her.

I am delighted that you have unfulfilled goals, because as long as you have desire, Life Force is still flowing through you. From our Nonphysical perspective, I see the unfulfilled goal as the constant summoning of life. You say, “We want fulfilled goals!” And I say, Your goals will all be fulfilled when you get over being so unhappy that they’re not fulfilled — when you start being satisfied in the un-fulfillment!

The Cycle of Creation

Here I am. Here is this contrast that gives birth to a new desire. The new desire feels weird in the beginning, because this is where I’m used to vibrating. So I look at it; I talk about it; I visualize it; I play with it; I imagine it until it becomes familiar — and now it is the vibration that is me. And now we are one.

Now I have a new platform from which to examine contrast, which gives birth to another desire, which is also weird in the beginning. I’m a failure’ again; I haven’t succeeded. But I look at it; I visualize it; I find the feeling place of it; it gets familiar; I imagine it; and it becomes the next logical step. It manifests, and now here I am again… You never stop that cycle so long as you all shall live — which is forever.

You should say, “I will go forth into this physical time/space reality, because this is the best environment that I know of that will keep producing new desire within me. And nothing in all of the Universe is more delicious than to have new desire within me!”

Celebrate the desire that is within you, and stop cursing the fact that it isn’t fulfilled! It is the desire that is within you that is worth everything — it is life itself! You keep thinking that it must be manifested before you can feel good, and that is backwards. The fact that it exists is the reason for the Life Force.

There isn’t anything that you want or have ever wanted, or anybody has ever wanted or ever will want that is for any other reason than this: You want it because you think, in the having of it, you will feel better. And I am here to say to you, you want it because in the wanting of it, Life Force is summoned through you — and you are more alive. You are in the flow.

Being In The Flow is having goals that cause Energy to flow through you. It is being in such a place of expectation and acceptance of your eternal motion forward, that you are eternally in the flow. So people say, “How are you doing?” And you say, “Great!” And they say, “Well, is there anything not going well with you?” And you say, “Everything always goes well with me!” And they say, “Oh, but I see there are all these things incomplete in your experience.” And you say, “Yeah, isn’t it great? That means I’m still alive. I still have wanting, I’m still summoning life. That means I still have the future ahead of me. That means Life Force is still flowing.”

Have you ever found yourself eating an ice cream cone and wanting to make it last? Do you find yourself ever in a sexual interlude or in a delicious book, wanting it to last? You can tell you’re getting to the end of it, and you don’t want it to be over? You know that feeling of savoring? That’s the way we’re wanting you to be with your goals. And that may be why you’re not so eager to get on with the completion of everything. You’re recognizing that you have all of this life before you — so much wonderful stuff to do — never getting it done.

Where you now are is the perfect place to be, the perfect place to move from, the perfect place from which to attract. Nothing is inappropriate with where you are. There’s not one reason in this world for you to feel anything but proud about where you are and eager about what it will produce for you.

All things are possible. Oh, you can’t even begin to get your thoughts around what is before you! But you see, none of you are ever asked (and it’s a wonderful thing) to stand here and plan everything forevermore. Just stand where you are and let the natural desire that is born out of that come into alignment with you. That’s your work: Contrast produces it. You feel it, recognize it, and then line up your Energy with it.

You are born into an environment that will produce the goals. Your work is then to choose from those goals, focus, as the creator that you are, and in your focusing, allow the Energy to flow to the completion of those goals. There are endless possibilities.

So many of you spend your lifetimes arguing about what is an appropriate goal. I’m not kidding when I say you cannot get it wrong. There are no actions that are deemed inappropriate as such. Sometimes people say, you scare us, because as you talk about absolute freedom, we are afraid that you might give people permission to do bad things to other people.

Whether I give them permission or not, everybody’s going to do what they’re going to do, and you can’t get enough laws into place to keep that from happening. But I promise you, no one would ever do anything bad to any other at the same time they were connected to Source Energy. You never connect to Source Energy and lash out against anyone else.

As you are pushing against wrongdoers, even though they might be really doing wrong, your pushing against them disconnects you from any real power. You think the strongest one wins. But your pushing against them is dis-empowering you, and their pushing against you is dis-empowering them. So if your opponent wins, it is actually because you pushed against hardest.

When you are pushing against someone –you are weakening yourself. “My adversary won because I did a better job of disallowing my well-being. I pushed harder against him.” I’m just wanting to get a little twist on this, so that you can give up all that pushing against, because it never helps.

There has been co-creating here that has taken this thought beyond that which it has been before. Once you have an opportunity to review this, you will realize that together, we will have achieved a sort of quantum leap in understanding.

Live in Joy!
Lilly

11:11 – Synchronicity & The Greater Reality

11:11 represents a physical and spiritual merging of your soul. Many of us associate 11:11 as some sort of wake-up code/alarm as we see it on digit clocks and watches. It can also be seen as a key to unlock the subconscious mind/ our memories and connections to who we are as spirit having a physical experience – not physical beings having a spiritual experience.

What is reality if it isn’t real? Do you see 11:11 on the clock a little too much? Ever see the movie: Dark City? What if this was all an experiment. What if everything seemed normal except that you knew that things weren’t normal; that things were not as they seemed.

What if every now and then, you had a glimpse of what was behind the curtain; the ghost in the machine… A few recent movies have hinted at this crack in “Reality”. Take a good look at The Matrix. A few other movies worth noting are: Pi; Fight Club; The Truman Show; They Live; Brazil and Pleasantville. Also included should be the old TV show: The Prisoner.

During the past few years, many of us have seen this number far too often to be coincidence. Metaphysical author Solara has described 11:11 as an inter-dimensional synchronization frequency. Interestingly – 11:11 is also found in the Great Pyramid.

The number 11:11, then, seems to be a key harmonic to access the doorway to the Father Universes, which are catalyzing the dimensional shift. Eleven has been called the harmonic of the doorway of ascension, the portal beyond the physical.

The repetition of this number symbolizes the resolution of duality through perfect balance and symmetry, or the underlying unity principle, as expressed in all of creation that is polar or dual. Past/future, male/female, light/dark – all polarities harmonized and balanced: this is what occurs during ascension, the next step beyond the dimensional shift If you have the 11:11 Synchronicity pattern (seeing 11:11 on the clock, phone numbers, receipts, etc.) then you know there is something to it.

When you have eliminated all which is impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. ~ Sherlock Holmes

Inside the Doorway of the 11:11

The Vision

Standing on the Equator one can see two spirals, one originating in the North, the other originating in the South, spiraling ever closer together. It is the eternal dance of the One Heart. As the two become the One, the Second Gate is opened… From the core of the One Heart, the Lotus of True Love finally blossoms… This is the completion of the Legend of Isis & Osiris. And the scepter passes from North to South.

The Doorway of the 11:11

On January 11, 1992, hundreds of thousands of us joined together in conscious Oneness all over the planet and performed a series of Unified Movements creating wheels within wheels. This unified action opened the Doorway of the 11:11. What this did was create a Zone of Overlap between two very different spirals of evolution: the Template of Duality and the Template of Oneness. There are some who think that the 11:11 Activation is over, but it’s not, it has just begun. This is our doorway to Ascension. The Doorway of the 11:11 is open until November 11, 2011. During this time we have the opportunity to shift spirals and move into a Greater Central Sun System.

The Eleven Gates

Inside the Doorway of the 11:11 are Eleven Gates. These Gates are Portals of Initiation to new plateaus of awareness. Each Gate is similar to a lock in a canal, serving as a *stepping up station* to a new, more highly calibrated frequency band. After we enter each Gate, we proceed through its initiatory process, aligning and recalibrating our beings to that frequency band until we reach the subsequent Gate.

This is the patterning sequence of how we move from the Template of Duality to the Template of Oneness with the totality of our Beings through the Eleven Gateways of Initiation. As each of the Eleven Gates are activated, there is a corresponding activation of key planetary points which serve as Master Grid Vortexes on the new Starry Grid Network. Once activated, this grid will supersede all of our previous Earthly grid systems.

The First Gate

When we opened the Doorway of the 11:11, we began our journey through the First Gate. The predominant focus of the First Gate was the healing of our emotions, the activation of our Greater Hearts and the creation of new emotional bodies. This has enabled us to align with the One Heart. As we moved into the subtle, aqueous currents of the First Gate, we took our first steps into the realms of the Invisible.

The Second Gate

The Second Gate is the next step on our Homeward Journey. It was activated on June 5th, 1993. *(The numerology for this date adds up to a 33.)* This means that a new frequency band was made available upon which we can travel until the opening of the Third Gate in approximately three years. The main focus of the Second Gate is the anchoring of the Template of True Love, the reuniting of all opposites into conscious Oneness, and the subsequent merger into ever greater wholeness.

During our passage through the Second Gate, we will find ourselves reenacting a new phase of our journey Home. We descended into matter by fragmenting our beings into smaller and smaller units of consciousness, now we shall find ourselves reuniting with these fragments, *the ones whom we term True Loves,* and forming larger units. These larger units are simply our Greater Selves. This merger will begin with union with one other person and gradually include more members of our Essence family as we become increasingly vaster. By the time that we reach the portals of the other gates, we will be in small groups of merged beings who are functioning as one larger being.

What is True Love?

True Love is one of the most misunderstood concepts of our time. While everyone is looking and longing for the perfect partner, they are missing the point entirely. True Love is not to be found in any one person. *True Love is a state of consciousness wherein we embody the One Heart.* It is an all encompassing state of pure Love. While this can be experienced with another person, it is the love, not merely the relationship, that is true. As we travel through the Second Gate, we shall be reuniting with others of our Star Lineage as we retrace our way Home. These people will have a symmetry of Essence which will make for very amazing relationships. And together as One we shall experience the Truest of Love.

The Template of True Love

The Template of True Love was first anchored on Earth in Egypt at the Temple of Isis on the island of Philae on January 17, 1992. This activation was not possible until the Doorway of the 11:11 had been open and the Template of Oneness established. Anchoring the Template of True Love has facilitated the needed shift from the old emotional body of duality to the One Heart. As we do this, we begin to live our lives in a constant state of True Love, every day and in every way. Embodying True Love, we enter a state of sublime ecstasy which becomes our foundation upon the New Road.

A Trigger of Remembrance

For many years the numbers 11:11 have been mysteriously appearing to people all over the world. Often appearing on digital clocks, the sightings of 11:11 tend to occur during time of heightened awareness, having a most powerful effect on the people seeing them.

Each time we see the numbers 11:11 our cellular memory banks are further activated. There’s a stirring deep inside, a hint of remembrance of something long forgotten. The appearance of 11:11 is a powerful confirmation that we are on the right track, aligned with the Greater Reality.

Repeated sightings of 11:11 have happened to millions of people throughout the world. Many want to know why this is happening? What does the 11:11 signify? When the 11:11 appears to you, it is your wake-up call. A direct channel opens up between you and the Greater Reality. The 11:11 is an insertion point for the Greater Reality to enter into the present moment. When this happens, it is time to stop whatever you are doing and LOOK LARGER. A transfer is in position.

You can enter the Greater Reality and travel deeper into the Invisible. You can seed a long held desire, receive a vision, ask for help in some specific area of your life, or simply feel the Invisible insert itself into the present moment. The revelations you receive will not come in the form of mental concepts. Rather it will be an enhanced state of being in which you will see everything as if with new eyes. A deeper understanding of what is truly real will surround you.

The appearance of 11:11 is an always beneficial act of Divine Intervention.

It tells you that it is time to take a good look around you and see what is real and what is illusory. It’s time to pierce the veils of illusion which keep us bound to an unreal world. You have been chosen, because you are ready, to step into a Greater Reality. To lead the way for others into a new way of living, into a Greater Love. To ascend from duality into Oneness.

The 11:11 is the bridge between duality and Oneness. It is our pathway into the Unknown.

The 11:11 Activation

The Doorway of the 11:11 opened on January 11th, 1992 and is scheduled to close on December 31st, 2011. On January 11, 1992 well over a hundred thousand people gathered together in groups large and small throughout the planet and opened the Doorway of the 11:11. This activation was unique in that a series of Unified Movements and Sacred Dances were performed at three preordained times. The participants wore white to symbolize their inherent Oneness. Never before has there been an event of such synchronized unity on this planet.

There were two Master Cylinders during the 11:11 Activation which served as the stabilization pinions for the Wheels within Wheels Unified Movements. They were located at the Great Pyramids in Giza, Egypt and in Queenstown, New Zealand. Here, the Unified Movements were performed for thirty-eight continuous hours. The Egyptian group was composed of 500 people from thirty-six countries.

Throughout the planet, the Unified Movements were performed at 11:11 am, 11:11 pm & 11:11 pm Greenwich Meantime. It was during this GMT time, when all the groups performed the movements at exactly the same time, that the Doorway of the 11:11 officially opened. Many participants saw a brilliant shaft of light anchor deep within the Earth during this time.

The purpose of the 11:11 Activation was to open the Doorway of the 11:11. This Doorway is the transition zone or bridge between two very different spirals of evolution; those anchored in duality and Oneness. Each evolutionary spiral is aligned with different Great Central Sun Systems. During the 11:11 Ceremony these two spirals overlapped and interlocked into a docking position.

This Zone of Overlap is the actual Doorway of the 11:11. The overlapping of spirals remains in position until the 11:11 closes on December 31st, 2011. This is when the two spirals of evolution will separate once again. Thus, we have a twenty year period in which to graduate from duality and make our ascension into Oneness.

I am posting this today (and have written many time about this in my Newsletters over the last 9 years) because 11:11 phenomena has been a reality for me since I was 6 years old. The reality of 11:11 as it relates to absolute love, integrity, synchronicity, and oneness– is what has helped bring me “full circle” in my life, in unison, certainly, with God, Spirit, and Mother Earth.

I am also in the process of finishing up reading the simply outstanding book written by my friend Eric Rankin called The Aquarians which accurately encompasses the 11:11 phenomena, as well as other Mayan Prophecies (look for my personal written review soon!)

I also found this 11:11 video interesting on YouTube:

I would LOVE to know, by comment, how many of you have experienced this 11:11 Phenomenon, and if so, how many passed it off as coincidence at first?

I am currently completing research for the book that I am writing, and your thoughts and opinions would be greatly appreciated and perhaps incorporated into this section of the book. My book is 4 years in the making and is due to be published on 11/11/11. I know that seems a long time away , but perfection takes time, and publishing it on this date will have great significance for me, and I believe, for everyone who happens to read it

Thank you kindly for taking your valuable time time to read and consider this.

Live in Joy!
Lilly

The Law of Harmony

Laws are the dictates of nature. When adhered to, they produce harmony. Human laws ideally ought to reflect laws of nature. When they don’t, then disharmony is created.

When we think of harmony we typically think of music, as this is a clearly seen, or heard, expression of harmony. When sounds are harmonious they are pleasing to us. When notes are combined in different ways they can produce chords, which are used to produce pieces of music we can enjoy together. What is interesting about this example is that for a chord to be produced from a combination of notes, each note must contribute to that formation. Otherwise, discord results from the disharmony.

When a note ‘disregards’ the whole of which it is a part and does its own thing, discord results. When an individual disregards others and is focused just on doing his or her own thing, disharmony is often created. Just as the note finds its true value in relation to what it contributes, so too humans find their personal value and deeper satisfaction in their contribution to others.

This contribution does not imply conformity, however. When we conform we lose our individuality and our personal uniqueness and value. It is this unique value which is our most precious contribution to others.

Harmony implies that a living thing, including you and me, must contribute in a way that augments (we often say, empowers) others if harmony is to be created. What empowers are those universal qualities we have within ourselves that others need to have supported or awakened within themselves.

When the question of harmony is considered there are always two realities – individuals and a collection of individuals, be they notes, people, animals, etc. A collection of individual humans can be called a community. There are many words in different languages that relate to this fundamental reality of human nature – words like community, commune, communication, communion, common, the commons, commonwealth, and commonweal.

The principle law governing community is the Law of Harmony. A community is a natural reality, and the Law of Harmony is a natural universal law. One of the greatest difficulties we have on the planet is existence of communities in conflict. We have a real need to attempt to create more harmonious communities. Our ability to express ourselves adequately and fulfill our purpose for being depends upon it.

Community is an externalization of the reality we call soul. Literally, a community is a group of individuals living in unity. Most people do not think of unity when they think of community, seeing it more as a collection of individuals who happen to be together. When a community does not live in unity, the soul of the community is denied, and therefore unconditional love, which is the essence of soul, is thwarted. This deprivation of connection and acceptance, easily leads to fear, mistrust, isolation, and in many cases also to racism, hatred and war.

Unity is not uniformity. It therefore does not require conformity. Unity is a state of consciousness and therefore respects diversity of form and expression. It suggests unanimity, which means to be of one spirit or one soul. It is an inner identification with the other as oneself. We could say that it is the soul within recognizing itself in the other. For at a soul level we are one.

Harmony produces harmonics. These are resonances in other octaves. What this means psychologically and spiritually is that when harmony is present those experiencing it open themselves automatically to other dimensions of reality and other levels of their own being. Harmony awakens potentials and expands consciousness, bringing into expression through individuals such qualities as respect, acceptance, tolerance, understanding, empathy, compassion and unanimity.

Harmony awakens the soul and soul creates a community of people who live together creatively and purposefully through which the very best in human nature can unfold.

Exercises: 1. How do you promote unity in your relationships? 2.  When do you conform in a way that inhibits you from expressing your uniqueness in support of others? 3.  How and when do you create disharmony or discord? 4.  How would describe your valued contribution to your community?

Spiritual Empowerment

As you look around yourself, what do you see? Did you know that every person and circumstance that appears in your life was brought into being by a natural process that is always operating within your subconscious mind? For most people, this process operates automatically, beneath the surface of their conscious awareness.

Your entire being has been made in the image and likeness of the Creator, that which has brought the entire universe into manifestation. In esoteric Kabalah, the Creator is described as having four distinct powers that combine to bring new creations to life. These powers are will, imagination, intellect and matter.

These powers also exist within all human beings, though they are typically operating with far less consciousness than that which resides within the Limitless Source. Thus the creations brought into being unconsciously by the human may result in circumstances of limitation, frustration, delay, lack or other undesirable outcomes.

In the process of Spiritual Empowerment, the sacred powers of will, imagination, intellect and body are accessed, purified and activated. This focused exploration into the depths of oneself can greatly expand consciousness, and bring one into full command of the natural creation process. As steps are taken to focus these powers on perfecting one’s life; old, limiting circumstances disappear.

Some may find the idea of such a life-changing awakening a bit overwhelming. If I am creating everything in my world, why I am struggling so hard? Why did I not create a perfect and beautiful life? What about the other people in my life who bring their own agendas into my domain? The answers to these questions point to power and consciousness, two mechanisms that can present many challenges to the will, imagination, intellect and body of the human.

Did you know that most people are afraid of their own power? This is due to potent conditioning that begins at birth, and is deeply reinforced throughout one’s life. Feelings of nervousness, fear or anxiety in any circumstance are a signal that you are not fully aligned with your own power. One of the first issues we address in Spiritual Empowerment is the transmutation of all fear back into your essential power.

If you have tried any methods to manifest your desires, such as those described as the “Law of Attraction”, but have not gotten the results you wanted, it is quite possibly due to imbalances and obstructions in one or more of the four basic powers. Through the process of Spiritual Empowerment, the will, imagination, intellect and body are freed from conditioned limitations. Resistances to change are easily overcome as empowerment energy merges into all levels of the being. The true self is awakened and the identity shifts from the lower to the higher.

From this point forward, one becomes more fully alive and divine power flows abundantly and freely in the body-mind and out into the world. Where before there was uncertainty, limitation, and less than perfect outcomes, now there is confidence in the inexhaustible source of perfection from where one may draw all things needful for a healthy, happy, harmonious life.

You may now surround yourself with whatever you desire – a beautiful home, better health, a great body, more money, people who support your goals and want to help you, connections to resources to quickly advance your own aspirations, and most importantly, greater awareness of your true spirit and its mission in life.

Live in Joy!

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