The True Story Of Creation, or, Don't Blame The Snake

Once upon a time, the great void gave a sigh and noticing itself for the first time, said, "I am."  In that instant, the no-thing-ness became some-thing.  

We call this "Awareness"

This some-thing was All-That-Is, for it had always existed and always would; and for the moment it truly was "all that is" and there was no-thing else.   But, as omnipotent as it was, it could know nothing of itself for there was nothing for it to relate to. The All- That- Is was perfect in every way.  But in that perfection it knew that it would never change or grow.  

Fortunately, there was a secret power to this thing.  You see, since this thing accepted itself as All- That- Is, it's acceptance was unconditional, and that unconditional acceptance goes by another name that we know well.  

It is called, "Love".

In that moment, there was a great shattering, for it is in the nature of Love to create.  Having nothing else to work with, Love created from itself and sent forth pieces of its own, infinite Being into the void.  These pieces were parts of itself, but also whole and complete so as to be itself expressed in parts.  Each part carried within it a spark of original Love which caused them, in turn, to send forth more parts.  

Now, there were plenty of pieces in the void, and they began to relate to one another.  Relating to each other enabled the pieces, which retained the ability to create, to  have the first experiences.  

We call this "Consciousness".

There were some states of being that for various reasons, were more desirable.  

We call that "preference".  

Preference gave rise to creations that were more in keeping with the desired state of being, which in turn gave rise to new preferences.  In this way, the original Love experienced all of what it could not conceive of in its original form. It expanded across the original void in rolling waves.

At the time, all things happened in a single instant, meaning there was no process by which they would come to Be.  All was created with the speed of thought.  

We call this "manifestation."

The simplest things came first.  "Light" is the energy which carries information and suddenly, there was much more information to be had.  So inherent in that initial shattering, was the first experience of the contrast of light and dark.  Then out of this, the elements eventually took shape. More and more cohesive forms became according to the preferences and agreed preferences of those sparks  But soon, the sparks recognized that true value was to be found in the process of creation.  They thought "We will be like the Creator Love and send forth pieces of ourselves into these beings to experience what we cannot."; and so they created, all from pieces of themselves, other Be-ings for whom the process of creation would happen more slowly.  

They were called "souls".

These versions of themselves were tethered to denser stuff in individualized units.  The units were designed to process and interpreted the vibrations of the stuff around them into experiences.  The denser forms of matter ensured that there was a process to all of creation which could be observed.  The act of tethering themselves to physical matter also created a framework which the physical mind used to gauge the relation of events to other events.

This was called "time".

Each tethered entity created its experiences from its own being according to its desires, and at first, there was contentment.  Each maintained a clear connection to the All That Is and so each existed in a state where there was no suffering or struggle.  They knew their place in the All That Is, and they knew that they were Loved.  They also had no doubt that they were being provided for and that everything about them had a reason for being; which they accepted without condition.

We call this "Paradise".

All Be-ings brought back their experiences to the All That Is, who accepted it all with gratitude, for it was in this way that the All- That- Is grew to encompass even more.  But because the Be-ings were created from Love,  it was their nature to expand because expansion is also part of the nature of Love. 

Eventually, a certain group of these tethered beings saw that they could achieve even greater experience with even greater contrast.  So they decided to make a change for the benefit of all the others. 

"What better platform from which to create preferences?" they thought.   And so they took this idea back to the All That Is.  And for these souls,  The All-That-Is made a sacrifice (which is another part of the nature of Love).   You see, the All That Is loved these parts of itself so much, that it agreed to let these tethered beings experience existencewithout conscious knowledge of their connection to itself.  

These Be-ings are called "Human".

To accomplish this, each Human Be-ing, before it incarnated into the world, agreed to forget about its previous existence and make its way in the World we know, on its own.  In essence, they removed themselves from Paradise.  This World would provide the contrasts that would generate new preferences.  New preferences would result in new creations and the cycle would continue and the Universe would continue to expand through them.  Because each body needed to relate to others, and by this relationship, come to know more about themselves, they were created with inherent duality.  Both male and female became separate incarnations but each retained some characteristics from both polar points.  This contrast served all of creation.

All- That- Is, and when they were not.  Though this system gave them the knowledge of positive and negative, it was their choice as to how they would interpret the signals-if indeed they chose to listen at all.

This is called "free will".

When they existed in harmony with the All -That- Is, they simply felt better.

To function as a mechanism to activate this sense of positive and negative, there was also incorporated into each physical body, a thread of energy.  This energy was like a snake, and its job was to rise up within the entity and open the energy portals through which information from the Higher Selves could enter.  You could say, that this is the snake which gives knowledge-or at least makes knowledge available. 

Over the eons, many of us have tried to re-create that sense of connection outside ourselves.  We have imposed outside rules and regulations to govern our lives, and set up outside sources as those we turn to for our own guidance. We judge our progress by what we see outside ourselves, and we have given our power away to those outside us and allowed them to determine the value of our existence.  Human Beings removed the importance of their own inner guidance systems and replaced them with man-made, artificial frameworks.  We have chosen to experience ourselves as separate individuals with no connection to one another.  But somehow, that tiny, snakelike voice within us is constantly calling us back into alignment with our Source.  It is always there, because Love is also patient.  It will not give up on us.

We are being given a choice.  It is as simple as paying attention to your own guidance system-the more you do it, the better you will become at gathering and interpreting the information that is constantly being offered.

Human Be-ings can choose to re-establish that connection, or not.  We are nonetheless loved no matter what choice we make, but the history remains the same and makes for a pretty good story.

Does this story sound familiar?

You might know it by another name:  "Genesis".

REJOICE! Identifying the Themes You Came Here To Learn or Why Does This Keep Happening To Me?!?!

Do the same situations seem to crop up in your Life so often that it makes you feel as if the Universe is having a bad day and taking it out on you? 

Just when it seems that you are about to achieve a long-sought after goal does an unexpected problem arise that keeps you from getting there?

Do you find yourself facing the same situation over and over again? 

If so then-rejoice, you may have discovered a Theme!

OK, before you decide Grace has gone bonkers, let me explain.

Before we agree to project forward and become incarnate in a physical body, we decide to explore certain Themes.  Most of us have at least some sense of this even if they don't hold with New Age thinking.   Chances are, that you have some feeling that there are lessons you are meant to learn in this lifetime or at least you can generate a good guess- this is not such an alien idea to most people.

Well, in a way you are right.

Simply put, what a Life Theme is a very general idea, motif or subject that you agreed to explore in various ways while you were living your life here.  (Other belief systems often refer to this as "Karma", and that these lessons are given to you in order to make up for some shortcoming you had in a past life, but with this new definition Karma becomes something you can deal with. ) Most people don't have any trouble stomaching that idea.  But what most people don't understand is that a Life Theme is also a tool that helps you to grow into a Being that is closer in vibration to your Source!  

What a Theme does is to highlight the negative beliefs you hold.  When you become aware of your negative beliefs (or a system of beliefs which no longer serves you) you then have the choice whether to continue to believe them or not.  This is a marvelous gift that we have all been given!  This is why I say "rejoice" because in noticing a Theme, you have become that much closer to being able to make the changes which will bring you to the reality you prefer to live!

In order to really take advantage of this, it helps to understand a little bit about how a Theme works. In order to accomplish it's mission, a Theme will generate an obstacle which appears while you are involved in following your joy. 

For example, let's say that, on a particular day, you feel that your highest joy is to paint a painting.  While you are painting, or shortly after you begin to get into your "painting groove" so to speak, your best friend calls and tells you they are stranded out on some rural road because their car has just died.  You, of course, agree to go get them but on the way you remember back to the other time you wanted to paint and your daughter fell outside and needed your attention; or perhaps your spouse called with the news that the boss was coming over for dinner and would you make that thing you always make that he likes...And you think to yourself "Every time I try to paint, I am stopped by X, Y or Z".  Am I supposed to be learning something from this?"

BINGO!

BUT-and read on...

Many people will assume that the lesson is simply that they are not meant to paint, and that could very well be one of the negative beliefs that is being highlighted, but to find the Theme, you need to take it a step further. 

Let's say that you realize that this sort of thing also happens whenever you want to take a walk.  You are really, really excited about taking a nice walk-and boom!  In addition, you seem to get zapped just when you decide that a nap would be an awesome thing to do about now.  By paying attention, you suddenly realize what all these actions have something in common.  They are all instances where 1) You are really excited and happy about doing them, and 2) you are trying to take time out for yourself. 

Something begins to percolate in your head.

Then, you say, "Surely I'm not meant to believe that I am never supposed to paint, eat, take a long shower, watch a show I like, go shopping, buy something I think is cool, etc etc etc. That's ridiculous!  There must be something more to this, but what is it?"  And then you realize that you rarely saw your mother, or your father take time out to do anything fun for themselves either.  And you remember how they taught you that other people's needs must always come first, that putting others first meant that you were somehow a better person. Maybe you became a doctor, and spent years seeing to the welfare of your patients; or you became a parent and spouse and your family comes first.  When you finally get to the idea that learning to take time for one's self might be a Life Theme, you experience one of, what people often call, an "A-HA!! moment."  

What a position of power to be in because it is only by recognizing those beliefs that you can first, own them, and second, transform them into something that better serves you to reach the Reality that you want to experience.

Getting back to the Theme of Learning to nurture yourself, you identify some of the negative beliefs that are being highlighted.  Let's say one of them is "Other people are more important than I am."  Does that work for you?  If not, then CHANGE IT!  Think of the life you wish to lead, and change that belief into one, perhaps, "I am worthy of time and attention." or something else that is more in keeping with your vision of your preferred Reality.

Now here is a crucial point- once you recognize a negative belief, and you decide to change it, THE CHANGE HAPPENS IN THAT MOMENT.  But if it does not, it means that there is another belief existing "under" that one which is supporting it and you may have to dig a little to find and transform it.  What could be underneath "other people are more important"?  It could be "I am NOT important"- see how it works?  

"But Gracie", you ask, "What about free will?"

Understand that nothing- and I mean NOTHING happens to you without your permission on some level.  And though you may have agreed to cross the road, you have endless variations in the way you are allowed to do it, as long as you get across in the end.  Dance, swim, jump, hop, scream, take a cab or just walk- it's your choice.  

You are not "doomed" to repeat the same mistakes over and over again.  If you understand that these things are here to teach YOU-and YOU have the power to make of them something that transforms you, then you understand that you are not "at the mercy" of anything, and indeed never were!  Every belief has its own vibration- when you change your belief, you change your vibration and you begin to attract things that are more aligned with the new you.  

So when the "same old thing" happens, give some thought to what it might be telling you, thank the Universe for the uinconditional Love that is giving you this chance to know more about yourself, and REJOICE!

I Am. The First Law- Walt Whitman, God and Popeye

In the years leading up to the American Civil War, American writer and poet, Walt Whitman carried a notebook with him everywhere he went; and it is by his commentary on everything he saw, that we come to know him the best.  

It's a lot like the notebook I carry with me.  We both jot down observations, notes, things we need to remember, questions we need to ask, a hundred different first lines to what we are sure will be the next "Great American Novel"- all the usual stuff.  But there is one entry in Whitman's notebook that is particularly worthy of note.  

On one page there is an entry which many believe to be simply the beginnings of his book "Leaves Of Grass", which reads; "And I am."

Now, many believe that those words, "I am", should be looked at as an unfinished sentence.  Popular opinion seems to be that the sentence was meant to read "I am (insert something here)".  In other words, "I am" was not meant to stand alone and Whitman just forgot to write whatever was supposed to come next.

I believe something else.  

As evidenced by a single notebook entry, I believe this was the point at which he began to access his real power as a writer and as a Human Being.

Modern Reality theory holds that there are 4 Laws (existing outside our "laws of physics" that really only pertain to our particular dimensional Universe anyway) that allow you to experience your version of reality.  The first law states "You exist".

That may sound simple, but it contains a sub-current of information that, when you realize what it means, is astounding and humbling.  It also comes with an inherent set of perks and bennies that we are given as human beings by the All-That-Is that can help us to navigate our existance.  

You see, if you exist *now*, you always have and you always will.  

"How can this be?" you ask? (yes, I heard you)-it is because of the way the Universe is structured.

Many of you have heard me talk about the concept of Time as something created by the ego mind for the purposes of understanding what is happening at a given moment.  This concept does not really exist outside our physical form.  ALL things exist, at all times- the past, the present and the future for our Higher Selves so if you "exist" "now"-you MUST also exist "then"- and then and then and then...

We see this referred to in the Bible, as God answers when Moses asks him what he should be called.  God answers "I am."  Not "I was", or "I will be", but "I AM."  It is the certainty of God's existance, and ours- all wrapped up in those two little words.

No beginning, no end.

In the image of God (insert definition here)

We can change form, and we often do- but in the knowing "I am", we know that we will always exist in one way or another.

Carrying this further, we understand that if we exist in all times, we have access to the information of our "other selves" AT ALL TIMES.  Once you understand that there is a connection, and how to access that connection, you can tap into the greater wisdom of yourself- Your Self.  You can, in effect, "borrow" from your alternate self when you need to.  If you have a question in this Reality, there is a self somewhere "out there" in a reality which has an answer.  

Take the cartoon "Popeye", for example, as a sort of comical analogy (pun intended).

I know you were wondering how in the world I was going to fit this in, well here it is:

If you are familiar with this cartoon, you are familiar with his catch phrase, "I 'yams whats I ams, and dats all that I 'yams" and that he often says this just before or just after he performs one of his daring feats of strength.  Looking at that through your "new" eyes you can see a layer of deeper meaning here in that it can be said that Popeye is calling upon the strength of his "other selves" in order to add it to his own and save the day.  "I am"- and that's all he needs!  

Now, one more baby-step.

If this is the case, and whenever you have a question there indeed is a "you" out there with the answer, then in means that what is "out there" is capable of BE-ing and doing ANYTHING and EVERYTHING!

You are being supported by infinate existence- an existence that expands to include every answer you will ever need. Your imagination is the spark that creates these selves-and you could not have imagination if you did not exist!  Realizing this can be the difference between feelings of despondency, and a sense of empowerment.  

Though we may never know for sure, I think that, consciously or not, Whitman came into contact with this very powerful sense of connection with the writing of those two words. 

If you want proof of how powerful this realization can be, take this into consideration; three blank lines after Walt Whitman wrote "...I am." in his notebook, he begins the prose which will eventually be published as "Leaves of Grass"; a work which was to spread of the idea of an America free of slavery, and would earn Whitman the title of "The Father of free verse".