Loving Awareness

Interconnectedness of being

Posted by matthew on December 7, 2007  |  6014 Commentshttp://www.loving-awareness.org/2007/12/07/interconnectedness-of-being/Interconnectedness+of+being2007-12-08+06%3A08%3A38matthew

If you look at life like a poet, seeing beauty in the simplest things, you do not need to go anywhere to find beauty. You can see that within manure, a flower is waiting to be born. It is not in the future as an abstract concept; it is there now, in its fullest potential. Within an acorn lying on the forest floor is a magnificent flowering tree. If you listen closely, you can feel the tree whisper to you from inside the acorn, with its majestic tranquility. Within a storm inflicting damage on a community is also the breathtaking beauty of sun squirming its way through the clouds to a new dawn, bringing new energy and a re-creation of what we thought was perfect, but has new perfection to expand upon us.

This potential also works with emotions and relationships. Within a storm of a relationship where there is deep division and conflict, there is also a great empathy waiting to unfold. This is because there can be no compassion without understanding, and to find understanding we must experience. You cannot have empathy for someone’s violence without having experienced the urge to lash out yourself. And it is through empathy, or love, that we transform the world. Peace does not come from imposing rules of peace; it comes from living peace. This applies within relationships and activism equally.

The interconnected nature of the universe applies to me in particular in my own journey. This being is within me:

Feeling the weight of someone’s body on top of me, I shut off. How could this happen? How can I let this happen? I shall never trust the world again. I shall keep kicking until I no longer feel a weight on top of me. I shall never trust myself again. I shall never trust the world again. I hate being a child, for helplessness is the worst of all evils.

This being is also within me:

The child breathes contentedly in utter trust, feeling the warmth and support surrounding me. I am helpless, but within that helplessness comes the ability to invite help. Everything I need is here now. In utter vulnerability, I let the world touch me and the fullness of it brings utter joy. My helplessness is a gateway to feeling the love around me. I trust completely.

The two beings are of course one; they are me. Within the vulnerability of a childlike state is also the ability to be traumatized, and within the ability to be traumatized is the ability to heal, learn empathy, transform the world, and live a life of Love. Nothing needs to be done to “transform” one into the other; they are both inseparable. They are me.

In thinking about healing, we usually focus on the loudest voice. The hurt child screams loudest and we rarely hear anything else, so we think that’s all there is. We lose awareness of the joyful child that is present in the moment and has never left us. And it is awareness that transforms – not counseling, medication, or even diving into the pain – but simple awareness. It is through awareness that all aspects of ourselves are reconnected and integrated. It is how compassion is learned; seeing how interdependent we are.

Whether within one’s Self, in relationship, or in society, there is a great interdependency. The pain cannot be without the joy and compassion. A pauper cannot exist without the ultra rich. There would be no destruction of the rainforest without all the world participating in its consumer patterns. This is not simply the link of cause and effect; it is a deeper connection on the level of being. You are the environment of the world, you are the disparity of wealth, and you are both the joys and pains that exist in you and without you.  Invite this in; it is the gateway to living a live filled with peace.

Breaking through the chains of identity

Posted by matthew on November 23, 2007  |  567 Commentshttp://www.loving-awareness.org/2007/11/23/breaking-through-the-chains-of-identity/Breaking+through+the+chains+of+identity2007-11-24+00%3A25%3A10matthew

I had a question recently asked of me, which is what this article is based on:

How do you form new identities when there are expectations other people place, in terms of maintaining an identity? How do you find ways of letting go to holding on to that and allowing more of yourself to come through?

To answer this, let’s first look at what identity is. The etymology of the word comes from the Latin words for “sameness” and “over and over”. This in itself gives a good picture of it - a fixated pattern or image that can be repeated over and over. It can be looked at as a temporary protection against the unknown. Where there is the dark unknown and the feeling of helplessness come from it, then terror appears, and so there is a desire to control that comes from this. Identity is the standard result.

Because of the nature of interconnection mentioned in previous articles, identities are not isolated towers etched in stone. Your identity depends on the interactions you have with others, particularly intimate relationships. The degree of “sameness” and repetition of behavior in relationships creates safety and protection more firmly than any amount of home security. Conversely, when someone’s behavior and identity fluctuates without agreement from everyone involved, a sense of betrayal and threat is often the results. When you question your identity, ripples flow outward that invite everyone surrounding you to also question their own identity. For some, this is incredibly fearful. To real degree, this can feel if one’s life is about to end – because in some ways, it is.

Identity, therefore, is central to the perception of isolation and separateness that human beings are subject to. If you hardwire your perception of Self to be a fixed collection of thoughts, emotions, and behaviors, then you will automatically disconnect from all beings that are not this collection. You may see this in such actions as politics; the identity is so strong, so dependent on connections with others of like mind that the disconnect then it is quite likely that those on the “other side” are disconnected from to such a degree that their humanness is no longer seen. When taken to its natural extreme, this can cause violence and wars.

The problems do not come from any idea of what you are, but always from what you are not. If you deny connections, whether to others or within yourself, you are in fact wielding a scalpel, surgically cutting yourself off from the universe. This is violence. This is an attack, both at the world and at the Self. There is no outward form of violence that does not directly come from this core split.

To work with this, we suggest an exercise adapted from Thich Naht Hahn :

When you meet something, instead of a label which implies separation such as “tree”, “house”, or “road”, state instead that you are what you see. “I am this” is a good phrase, or a statement of “I am a tree” when you meet one. Rather than this be something enforced on your mind, expand outward to breath in the essence of what you are seeing.

Another way to do this is via the practice of mindful eating. Your absolute interconnection is not simply with what you see, but everything that is connected to what you see as well. An example would be the eating of brown rice. (preferably organic!). As you are eating, feeling the soft fibers in your tongue, invite the perception that you are the rice, and that you are enjoying changing form to help preserve life. You are the plants in the field that produced this output. You are the workers that cultivated the food. You are the sunlight that gave life to this plant. You are the water that irrigated the field. You are the rain and sky that brought the rivers. You are the people that package and brought the rice to you. You are even the animals that ate from the field before it was cultivated. You are all that.

Imagine then, that with every bite you are taking, you are affirming your connection to the earth, the plants on it, the sun, the animals, and every human being interconnected on it. This connection is in every bite of food, and indeed in every breath you take. Living with this connection at a conscious level is an ever present source of joy.

In this exercise, the “who you are” is absolutely inclusive, and thus without violence. There is nothing you are not, and thus nothing you have to use force to separate yourself from. This is where true power comes from. If you have difficulty feeling this connection in this exercise, then we suggest trying it again in a natural setting, where animals can be viewed. Animals naturally feel this interconnection as part of their way of being, and can be great teachers in this. Children can be as well.

“Letting go of identity” is therefore not a true letting go. There is in fact no need to let go of who you are – only to let go of the perception of what you are not. You may in fact be a professional, reliable person who doesn’t want to impose on others, but you may also be a human being who has pain inside and deserves the chance to make mistakes, get angry, and be wrong.

If you decide to undergo on the path of expanding your identity, take caution, for the ripples this path creates can create much reaction in others. In fact, we advocate asking those close to you for permission first, even if in your own mind or in a dream state. Leaving behind past shelters of identity is usually a terrifying undertaking, and it is good to prepare and gain support beforehand. But it is good to remember that it is always in the unknown that true experience of Love resides, and this is why terror is often experienced before Love is. And it is in the expansion of Self – not the destruction of it – that Love is experienced. Your awareness of identity can expand to where your identity is your family, the community, the earth, and the universe. This is in fact what is true at this very moment, and we invite you to rejoin with your birthright.

The Void

Posted by matthew on November 11, 2007  |  537 Commentshttp://www.loving-awareness.org/2007/11/11/the-void/The+Void2007-11-12+06%3A39%3A52matthew

The following is channeled material we recently brought through:

Question: There is a concept across many traditions of inviting or surrending to “The Void”. What exactly is “The Void”, and what is the process of surrendering? What can be gained by it?

A simple way to describe the Void would be absence of all expectation. In other words, a total acceptance of what is. Not what could be. Not what should be. Not what might be – but simply what is. We have noticed that the concept of accepting what is is paradoxically simple, yet inherently complex. It is difficult for the human, caught up as you are in the illusions of life as a human, that is, possessing a body, interacting with others and perceiving things simply on a physical basis, to consistently recognize that there is so much more, and yet at the same time so much less than what it is they perceive. To be completely immersed in the Now, then, requires such a large degree of trust that one has no need to manipulate reality to become anything more than what it is.

The void, then, is again the absence of all expectation and a complete immersion into all that is the present. This “all” must include, of course, all your dreams, desires, pain, love, and humanness. So a complete acceptance of all these things takes place for one to take place in the Now. Simple, yes? Yet when you consider each element, each one seems to bring with it so much more, so many issues, so many requirements of your time and energy and thought, that it seems impossible to divorce yourself from those in order to reside completely in the present. We remind you, then, that there is no need of course to separate yourself from all that you are. There need only be the joyful expansion of your perception to embrace all that you are into this one present moment.

Surrendering, then, to this absence that also includes everything requires, as we said, an enormous degree of trust. You must trust yourself. You must trust your perceptions. You must trust that you are not truly separated from any part of you. And you must trust that this joyful expansion can actually take place. We invite you, then, to dip one toe into the Void this time with us.

Sit comfortably and close your eyes. Place your awareness, if you will, on a spot located on your forehead between and above your eyes, often referred to as “the third eye”. To enhance sensitivity you may likely massage this area. While breathing comfortably and deeply, bring your awareness then to this spot. And as you do so, notice how it grows. It grows to encompass all that you are, all that you ever have been, and all that you ever will be. Notice too the sense of love and acceptance that comes simply with this noticing. Embrace all your former selves and all your future ones. Breathe them in and allow them to take stronger presence within your present self body. Trust that all these selves hold for you the information you most need to know right now. You may or may not ever be consciously aware of this information, yet it is yours at this moment. Breathe in again and let out that breathe, letting go of any expectation of what any of these selves bring you. You feel it leaving your body. Place your hands over your heart, and seal in that awareness to hold within you forever.

By regularly exposing yourself to the Void, you increase your conscious awareness of your own trueness and all the potential that lies within you at all times. In other words, by learning to surrender you become a more complete and whole person.

It is often implied that the fear of death is the basis for all fears, and that it is by experiencing a form of death that true transformation can occur. How does the Void relate to this fear of death and the transformation referred to?

The concept of death is indeed a frightening one to most people. We would say that it is no accident that there are parallels between the concepts of death and the Void of which we speak. In each case, that spark within you that is You is always maintained despite outer transformations that are taking place. In the case of what you refer to as death, it is simply the physical body that transforms. Everything else about you – your hopes, desires, dreams, and memories – are still retained, and always are a part of the You that you are in this life. There is an aspect of death to the transformation that occurs when one surrenders completely to the Void, but again, that inner spark of You-ness is always retained despite external transformation. The transformation that occurs when one surrenders to the void is not one that is necessarily physically apparent. Yet it is one that allows the fullness and completeness of you to emerge as if to play.

It is the fear of transformation itself, then, that is the root of the fears of death and the fear of surrendering to the Void. It is natural to attempt to hold on to what one has been, for that is all one knows. However, if you alter your perception so that you can embrace all that you will be, your fears of transformation, whether from death or from surrender to the Void will be eased.

If you have questions you think would be good to get channeled answers for, please leave a comment!  Thank you!

That childlike state, and Love.

Posted by matthew on November 6, 2007  |  5235 Commentshttp://www.loving-awareness.org/2007/11/06/that-childlike-state-and-love/That+childlike+state%2C+and+Love.2007-11-06+07%3A49%3A42matthew

This is also available via podcast.

 

 That childlike state - and Love. [8:06m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

There is so much we can learn from children. Most of us are disconnected from that childlike quality inside ourselves, that innocent state of joyful wonder that makes love for children so natural. In fact, we can think that that the only way to experience that state is vicariously through our children. We can restrict our boisterous play to only be in the company of children, and make sure we always make ‘sense’ in the company of adults.

And yet, much of the education of children is really a movement away from wonderful qualities that would greatly serve society. By the time adulthood is reached, through public schools and the gauntlet of teenagedom, there can easily be layers upon layers of defenses, filters, and preconceptions that prevent the wonder of a child and guileless expression. We are taught a learning of accumulation of facts and how to act in such a way that is ‘normal’. In spite of the tremendous value we know children have, we are in some way denying that value, by trying to exclusively teach them while not learning from them. We don’t see them as equals, as Dr. Marshall B. Rosenberg, author of “Nonviolent communication”, says in his article on raising children compassionately.

Children, in their simple wisdom of being who they are, have tremendous amounts to teach and remind us. How easy it is to break down in tears when a child touches your cheek after noticing some held back sadness. Being silly and unrestrainedly playful around a child is the most natural thing in the world. They remind us what is truly important in life. And what they teach us, via the characteristics they model, can be applied to all of life, not just our interaction with them.

To help see this, I’ve listed a number of characteristics young children have that we could all learn from. It is these characteristics that epitomize Love.

• Vulnerability. This is not only an absolute open sense of trust and visibility of self, but also the rapidity at which the task at hand takes complete focus. It is when a child (or adult) is most like themselves, without any apology or attempt to be anything else. True vulnerability always results in more openness, more allowing, and therefore, more Love. We feel this around children, and it is this sense that we respond to in children. A baby is completely vulnerable, completely open to the manipulations of life force around it, yet at the same time, is completely trusting that this process will result in continued life, growth, and for all intents and purposes, Love.

• Harmony. Children are not separate from their environment, their parents, or even themselves. If their parents are upset, they will feel it too. There is no intellectualizing the experience, no controlling of their actions. They feel the state of their surroundings, which includes themselves, and at the same time naturally move towards a balance. Because of this, problems do not accumulate. If they are upset, they scream. If they are sad, they cry. The next moment is often something completely different, as any parent knows!

• A sense of perpetual wonder. Simply mouthing the phrase “it brought me back to being a child again” conveys this. Life is vivid, full of vibrancy and new discoveries behind every corner. There’s new ways of seeing and interacting with even familiar objects. Children have that sense of wonder because they’re completely present in the moment, immersed in the explosion of colors around them at every moment in humble appreciation.

• Exploration beyond “right” and “wrong”. As my previous post, The Beauty of Gray mentions, we tend to get locked into black and white thinking. Something is either good for us or bad, and all our interactions with it is based on this label we have. Children interact directly. And because of this, they are in a perpetual state of exploration. There is no “wrong” behavior – they see nothing strange about putting corn chips down your pants if the mood suits it. (I have personal experience with this!).

• Leaning through play. This is the utmost extension of the previous point. With nothing “wrong”, every action is playful. Silliness makes more sense than seriousness, because it voices the absurdity of trying to control and label all the experiences occurring. And learning occurs very quickly because of the open state of the child.

• Trust. There are no worries in a child’s mind beyond the immediate moment. There is simply a powerful trust that all they need will be there.

All of these states, of course, are as accessible to adults as they are to children. But for the most part, we have been educated away from such means of interacting with each other, and even with children. But this education can be discarded.

The next time you are with a young child, be a young child yourself. Don’t put on a mask of acting child-like, such as faces and “goo-goo” sounds. Play as if nothing mattered. Relate to them from a place of equality, for they are teaching you as much as you are teaching them. Know that their vulnerability is at the same time incredibly fragile and immensely powerful, and that this dichotomy also resides within you.

“I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, …”

It is of course very humorous that millions of people have quoted the Bible on becoming like a little child without making any movement whatsoever towards that effect themselves. Being childlike is in essence the same as being full of Love. It is a state of playful unity and harmony to the surroundings, appreciating and welcoming the uniqueness of everyone in the world. It is a state of continual transformation with no end in sight. It is a state both of incredible fragility that comes from vulnerability and of incredible power to affect, like what you see in the eyes of a child.

It is you.

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Moving from control to freedom

Posted by matthew on November 3, 2007  |  50No Commentshttp://www.loving-awareness.org/2007/11/03/moving-from-control-to-freedom/Moving+from+control+to+freedom2007-11-04+04%3A21%3A00matthew

Here’s the next podcast from Karen Murphy. This is one that is actually a personal channeling, but illustrates universal principles in terms of what is required to make a substantial change in one’s life. In this case, it is from a constrained sense of having to manage everything (and control) to having a much greater sense of freedom via allowing. It implies more than is obvious.

Click play to start:

 

 Moving from control to freedom [21:59m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Karen is a professional channel. For information on services she offers, visit her web site at http://www.light-spring.com.

Here is the transcript of this:

Question: I recently described what I saw in _____ (female) as a very constrained system with only a few outlets, leading to output that looks like geysers. Could you both describe the state you see in her, as well as suggestions on potential actions to be taken to move to a more “free” state?

Response: 

We see that what we have here is a propensity to attempt to manage things. There has been such a feeling of lack of control in this lifetime that the fragment at hand feels it necessary to control many aspects of her life in order to not feel the terror that comes from being manipulated by others. We would say that this propensity has moved into a feeling of comfort that exists even though the need for such a method of interaction is no longer as necessary as it was once, when there were truly terrifying things occurring. Once it is seen and acknowledged that this state has existed and exists still then it is possible, with a certain about of recognition, to attempt to move from that instead into one that is more “free”, as you say.

However, we see some difficulties with this. In other words, for some patterns become so ingrained that it truly takes what we would say is a complete re-writing of the DNA structure in order to move into other patterns of thought, interaction and being. This DNA manipulation does not come, however, without a price, and we are not sure at this time that this fragment is willing to pay that price, as we see it. There are certain tradeoffs that would be made, and we do not see a willingness at this time to move into this more “free” state. However, that is not to say that it could not occur, and we would suggest then, if this fragment is truly interested in making these changes, a program that would probably take 2-3 years to accomplish. A program of nightly moving back into those places of terror and removing all elements of comfort that exist would likely remap the pathways within the both brain and physical self sufficiently in order to move into this more “free” state.

However, it takes a great deal of endurance, as we see it, and of course the willingness that we spoke of. Is this fragment ready to do this work? We are not certain. Will she ever be? We cannot say that either. However, if you were to think of life in purely linear terms, and of course being on the physical plane that is what you do, we would say that in order to move into that state which she knows is possible at this time, that this complete disintegration would be necessary to go through in order to reach that state.

We would say that if you are interested on behalf of this fragment (note: this means ‘person’)  in her attaining that state, then there are things you could do (and actually you have already been doing) in order to assist with this process. It would take some additional connection, especially during dream time, in order to help create the atmosphere necessary for her to more comfortably consider the absolute disintegration of self. Now, you might ask what specifically can you do, other than just think about it? You know yourself that ironically you are also moving through similar patterns in your own life. So the fact that there are parallels certainly should not escape you, and may assist you in making some choices of your own. However, we see you as much more comfortable with the thought of completely losing your “self”, as you know it, and being open to what comes from that process.. It is possible that moving into that more firmly that you can help provide a model, if you will, for her to move more firmly into that space herself.

It may be helpful to think about this process in terms of simply two fragments moving together in a lifetime and removing from it any aspects of “relationship”, as you see it. That would assist with removing from the equation some of the elements of arrogance that sometimes occur between you. Now in terms of what can later be gained from these processes for each of you, you probably sense on some levels what this would mean to your own personal development, and there are a couple of things we would like to point out.

1) It would certainly assist with your own abilities to have an effect on others, especially others on a wider scope. If this is something that you, in your head, wish to do, then his is a process that you wish to consider on a purely cerebral level. However, as you know, change does not take place simply on an intellectual basis, and must occur throughout all aspects of the Self, and that is why we spoke of the remapping of the DNA , as that would change every aspect of you, from your physical bodies, to your habits, to your emotions, to your interactions with others, to your interaction with self, to your perception of self, of others, and the universe.

2) This process we would like to remind you is not one to be taken lightly. It will change everything. You will not be in any way the same person that you were once. Now if that is something that appeals to you, again on a cerebral level it may be something that you wish to choose. However, know that choice occurs on many levels, and it is not just a simple matter of saying “that sounds like fun, I think I’ll do that”. It is a choice taken in conjunction with, for instance, everyone that you currently have interaction with. Consider that for a moment. If you make a choice that affects you on such a deep level, then you must also obtain the support of everyone else that you interact with. This is slightly larger than you think it is at this time. There are those with whom you have agreements, there are those with whom you have karma, there are those with whom you have past life association, there are those who not in bodies at this time whose agreements you must alter in order to make this kind of choice. So part of the process of completely allowing yourself to disintegrate – we would liken it to one of the 12 steps, where you must contact every one in your life that has been affected by who you are now, and not necessarily make amends, but at least identify this and connect with them again and receive their “permission”, if you will, to make this huge change, as that change will change them. It cannot help but do so.

In other words, you must receive almost permission on a global and universal level. That process itself requires abject and total humility. Now is it within you to possess such humility? We would not be bringing this up if we did not believe it was something you are capable of. But we would like to remind you that this process itself will bring with it pain and transformation. Just so you know what so expect.

Understand that if you choose on an essence level to undergo this, it will not necessarily be something that you’re all that conscious of when it’s happening. So to say that you wish a greater understand of it, yes, that makes sense again on a cerebral level. But because it’s a process and these parallels exist on much more than a cerebral level, it’s limiting to think of it in terms of something that you can understand. So we would suggest then, simply to expand your awareness into all the potentialities that ever have existed between you. In other words, expand your awareness to, for instance, all the past lives you have ever shared, and all the concurrences of those past lives, and all the reverberations that occurred as a result of the lives undertaken by those past lives that have occurred, and your collective concurrences. So you are starting to get the meaning of how huge this becomes. Expand your awareness into all of that, all of what happened, what might have happened, and what didn’t happen. And realize that’s only just a tiny, tiny piece of what exists between two fragments. So if you expand your awareness, again on a cerebral level, that’s extremely limiting. It must happen on a cellular level. And even that is limiting because your cells are not the whole of you. There is so much more to you than simply a body, and a mind and emotion.

So we would say to you then, that if you insist on attempting to have a greater understanding of this, because we see that you wish to do this from a place of wanting to help. The thing that would help (probably the most) would be holding a space of acceptance. That is not to say you are not already doing this. But to expand into that more. And include within that acceptance, acceptance for your Self as well. Acceptance for everything that has ever occurred between you, everything that ever will, and everything that never occurred between you. We have given you much to think about, and we would prefer it actually if you didn’t really think about it that much! Instead, just take the energy from what has come today and allow it to be there. That is all you have to do. Allow the energy to be a part of you. Because in essence, that is really all change is. There is nothing more ever necessary than that. And that is something we wish both of you to take with you this day.

Alright, we’ll tell you a story then, because again, it’s not what you know, it’s what you are. Remember that.

Once in time there were two farmers. Now, these farmers knew one another, but not all that well. They farmed in neighboring communities. They each built for themselves a business if you will, through their farming, and so became somewhat known by some of the additional neighboring communities. They were decent farmers and each of them employed some workers. Now one of the farmers had a worker who was quite disgruntled. Didn’t like the way he was treated; he thought he was better than being a worker. He really wanted his own farm, but didn’t have the wherewithal to establish that for himself. So he thought that what he would do is go to the other farmer to stir up a little bit of trouble, and see what happened. Because this disgruntled worker just liked to make things change more than anything else. He didn’t want to do the work, just see what would happen, because he was into observing experiences and interactions, and learning from that. So he went to the other farmer and started telling stories about the other, stories that frankly weren’t true. But the other farmer, being of a somewhat suspicious nature and wanting to hold on to what he saw was his own, started to believe these stories. Well, one thing led to another, and pretty soon the original farmer who was completely innocent ended up losing his farm, his family, his money, his good name, and was cast out of the community in which he lived. As you can imagine this was a bit hard on him. He spent a lifetime building his little “empire”, his little world, but he was big enough in it, and he was happy with that. Not being all that young anymore, he wasn’t in a position to start over. So since he thought that the start of it all was the other farmer, he decided to do what he could do to stir up trouble for that other farmer. But you know what? It all backfired on him. It did. Because he no longer had his good name.

Now, did he learn something from that? Not in that lifetime, no. But later on he was able to look back and laugh and see how funny it was. Because it really kind of was – the beauty of irony is really quite funny when you’re not trapped by a body. So what happened to the other farmer, you might ask? The other farmer managed to double his earnings. I’m sure you can imagine where the other half came from, and made the disgruntled worker his son in law. So everybody was quite happy with this, except the other farmer started having dreams at night, dreams which plagued him and was unable to sleep. He lost weight because he couldn’t sleep, he lost his hair, he wasn’t pretty. Every night he was plagued with the same thoughts that he had done something wrong. That made him very sad. Pretty soon he was a mere shadow of his former self. So he decided some change was in order. He sold off the majority of his new holdings. He kicked his son in law and his daughter out of his house. He thought that the change would make him happy, but it didn’t. He still had the same dreams, night after night. He grew thinner and thinner. Finally he died. And on the astral plane after this life he ran across the other farmer who of course had died too, because he had no where to go and died of starvation, and they had a talk about this life. And what they decided was that it had really been quite a successful one, because although they didn’t necessarily have a lot of face to face interaction, the very fact that each of them was living their lives affected the other one to such a degree that it created huge changes in each of them. And they both went away from each other with huge satisfaction knowing that – even knowing that much of the interaction never took place on a “cerebral” level between them. They were quite aware on this astral level how actions of each other did affect them. And they walked away the best of friends and decided to do it again in another life. The end.

So you can draw your own parallels and do with that information what you will. Again, simply allowing the energy to be there is all that’s needed for change. There is nothing needed for change. It’s very simple.