Pushing Out the Darkness

We live in times that can be challenging and exasperating. When we feel stressed, it is not difficult to get stuck in negative cycles of thought. The problem is, these negative cycles seem to feed off themselves and then we end up driving ourselves into anxiety, depression, perhaps even high blood pressure issues. Yes, they can affect health. What does one do? Light a candle.

How do we make short work of these negative matters? An age-old method is to think of a place that is serene and void of challenges, such as a secluded beach, a spot on a hill, a pond in the deep woods, or perhaps something foreign and exotic, like a tropical waterfall and pool surrounded by lush greenery and a large rock to sit on, overlooking it all. Or perhaps seeing yourself at a rodeo, riding a bucking bronc is more your style. Or even still, maybe a huge crowd at a rock concert is your cup of tea when it comes to completely letting go of negativity. You can be as creative as you wish to bring all of your emotions and senses into play with your imagery. What is clear is that the more energy that you expend in creating the location, the less you have to put into worry. You will find yourself being pulled out of the negativity and into the sunshine.

Dealing With Chaos

We are surely in the midst of a great deal of chaos. But don't think that you are alone. Many people are becoming overwhelmed by the activity, the challenges, the workload that faces them right now. Many other people are losing their hard-worked-for belongings because of the uncertain financial terrain. It is not hard to see why someone might lose hope during these difficult times.

It is normal for a person who has experienced loss of any kind, whether job, home, family members, or the general calm once permeating one's life, to want to look at the past, over the shoulder, so to speak. But it is important for your well-being to work hard not to do that.

The key here is to focus on the big picture. To help you do this, it makes sense to set goals for yourself. The area of the goals, whether it is where to find tonight's dinner or where to get a new job or how you can keep your children entertained, doesn't matter. But the important thing is to keep your eyes facing forward on your path. Keep your goals short-term to start out. Think of getting through your day and coping with immediate needs. You can add longer-term goals later, but just for the sake of practice and getting accustomed to the idea, keep it simple.

An example of a goal might be to make a weekly menu. You have a limited budget for food. Try to be creative in using inexpensive cuts of meat, pastas dishes that will stretch the meal, vegetables that pack a nutritional punch, and if you need dessert, something that you can make from scratch for pennies. (After all, Marie Antoinette said, "Let them eat cake!" Why? Because cake was cheaper than bread, and she did, really, think they had cake.) This is just one example. Another might be to change the oil in the car. You can purchase the oil and filter at an auto parts store, do the labor yourself, and save $10-15 doing it. Any time you do something yourself, rather than having to hire it done, you save money. So if finances are an issue for you, think of doing things for yourself. The satisfaction you receive will be well worth it, and you will "work off" some of the stress that the chaos of these times are presenting.

If you are suffering from stress during these times, try to spend quiet time in meditation by closing your eyes and taking in long, slow, deep breaths, holding the breath for 4 counts, and then letting the air out of your lungs. Try this for five minutes, three times a day, and you will find that you are more relaxed, as the stress on the heart is relieved.

Also, you may want to keep a journal of your goals. Write the goal and then report your progress on that goal, how you feel about it, and what you can do next time to improve on it. Or if you have achieved the goal, set a new one! This keeps the energy flow of the subtle bodies flowing smoothly and helps reduce the overall stress that you experience. And you may just have greater insight in the process.

May you be richly blessed!
Rev. Sandra J. Bogner-Follett

House of the Creator by Samm J. Bogner

The glimmer of dew shines before my eyes
Fresh in the morning as I wake from dreams
In amazement of all the tiny things that fly
I breathe in deep and let the breath out slow
Worlds there are we cannot see
Because our eyes are closed, yet if we tried
We might behold the brilliant scheme of infinity
Where the tiniest things are formed of more little bits
Where the largest things are part of something greater
And each of us—you and I and everyone we know--
Is a part of that whole in the limitless chain
Of existence where everyone can reach for the stars
And soar with the wind on a calm day under a shade tree
And come and go back and forth again and again
Learning the pathways that lead from the house
Of the Creator.

Through a New Portal

Along with the energies being in flux, we may find that our old lives are swiftly changing. We may dream of being killed. We may have a Tarot reading that ends with "Death." This is not as alarming as it may seem at first. It means, instead, that an opening is coming, one in which we are entering a new phase of life. That alone can be unsettling, as we are familiar and safe in our entrenchment in everyday sameness, but take heart--new does not spell b-a-d.

It does indicate that you have passed through a portal from one challenge to another, meaning that you have taken a spiritual step up. It means your efforts have been successful and your spiritual life is taking on an identity of its own. It means that some of the things that once held meaning for you are no longer that important, or perhaps, as important, as now you are feeling closer to the Universal Soul or "World Kli" as the Kabbalists say or Collective Unconscious, as Jung would say.

Indeed, this kind of change creates a quite a buzz. Life itself may feel as if it is moving faster. There may be more demands on you for helping your fellow human beings. There may be people reaching out to you from great distances via the internet to connect with others who are trying to bring greater Light into the world. As you touch with others, you are stirred to be more than you are. You are encouraged to focus on the Light. Your challenges don't seem to be so hard. You can breathe. You seek out those who are aligned with your own beliefs, even if they are half-way around the world, because this brings you strength and growth. You are like a flower basking in the Light of the Sun and it feels very, very good.

New Vibrations

Many Lightworkers and those who are aware of planetary energies will agree that the vibrations around the planet are changing, and changing quickly. Many people I speak with are concerned because they feel that they, themselves, have been in a struggle with negativity, if not downright evil, over roughly the last six months. So how is it that those of us who are enlightened are having so much difficulty with issues of depression, self-doubt, egoism, and the darkness that remains in our own souls?

Some say that it is the planetary positions, the odd angles between the outer planets, particularly Jupiter and Saturn, although Uranus and Pluto have been key players also. Others suggest that the Universe has presented each person with a test of character, with the purpose being a final selection of whether any given individual is prepared to fight on the side of the Light. Moreover, because we rest on the pinnacle of driving the balance of power toward the Light, the Darkness has staged a last-ditch effort to win over those who are struggling with the challenges in their daily lives.

Certainly the world economy has pushed some toward fear: fear of the loss of independence, fear of the loss of security, fear of abandonment, and so forth. But this also creates an opportunity for those who have a surplus to spread their love in order to eliminate that fear.

What is prominent in my mind is that we need to trust the Universe to know what is best. We need to focus on the positive, the good, the Light, and stay focused, in spite of any negative events that are happening in our lives. It is not easy. When money is sparse, the cupboard is bare, the home mortgage is behind and all we can see before us is loss, it shakes us to our very souls. It may seem that we are slipping quickly into a black hole. This is precisely when we need to stay focused on the things that we do have, because in spite of what we may lose, we do still have many good things. Some things we may have or some we may have lost, but we need to express our gratitude daily for our intellect, our health, our families, our friends, our talents, our jobs, our homes, our food, our clothing, etc. The simple act of expressing gratitude for these things lets the Universe know that we care. In addition, if we are at all able to share our surplus to help others in this time of great need, it will help to bring greater stability to our lives through the subtle energies. If you were ever inclined to help a stranger, now is the time to follow through.

Now is the time to spread the love that is within you, so that the darkness isn't allowed to win through fear.

May you be richly blessed!

Common Threads

Connecting with someone in this day and age who has similar interests can be both difficult and simpler. The downside is that the connection may be across the globe from us. This presents a special problem, particularly for those of us who are on the "spiritual fringe" as I like to call it. Our beliefs are not mainstream, which has others calling us everything from a cult to outright evil. But here's the rub. They just don't know who we are or what we are all about. In order for many belief systems to justify themselves, they have to create an "out group" or some target at which they can sling their insults, detractions, and thereby justify why their members should choose their way over another.

This is not an attitude that you will find here. Clearly, there are some people who require the kind of path described above. That doesn't make them less than we are, merely different. We encourage you to think, and think hard, about your place in the Universe, why the Creator put you here, and we will go a long way to help you get there. So by all means, connect with us! If you are free to meditate on Wednesday evenings, at 7 pm Eastern, take the time to focus your energy on positive Light, so that you can join us in our efforts. We welcome you and bless you a thousand-fold.

Why We Meditate

One of the first questions asked of us as followers of Universal Transcendence is, "Why do you meditate?" The answer goes beyond the medical model of meditation as a tool for relaxation and stress reduction. Indeed, that is the first thing to be learned when beginning to meditate, but for us, it is a stepping stone to accessing other realms where information about the nature of the Universe, other dimensions, or sephirot, if you prefer, comes to us. This requires the ability to open oneself to the energies without becoming vulnerable to negative forces that may try to push their way in. For this reason, even the more advanced practitioner of experiential meditation needs to "put up protection" in the form of White Light or Violet Flame every time meditation is undertaken. Experiential meditation helps the person to understand that indeed, there is something greater in the Universe than only himself or herself. One cannot pass through portals from one dimension to another, and see the beauty there, and not be changed to the core. One cannot see a great ladder rising into the heavens and not wonder what else can be seen. Beyond experiential meditation, there is the ability to use meditation for the purpose of healing, protecting, cleansing and so forth. My personal preference is to use one of the 72 Names of God, from a book by the same name, written by Yehuda Berg. The power of these names to achieve miracles is well known. I highly recommend meditating on these names for the purpose of helping bring greater Light into the world, and achieving a point of strength and balance in oneself.
May you be richly blessed!