Capturing the Carrot

Like the carrot dangling from a stick used to keep the donkey moving, we tend to fixate on the dream, the wish, the prayer of Peace, of Joy, of Love, of Security. With fulfilment always just over the horizon we continue to trudge along, thinking that we’re taking a positive action that will, someday, result in attaining our heart’s desire.

When we finally recognize that we’ve spent our lives chasing a chimera, we often drop into depression, despair, or rage, and determine to change it – all too often with violence. We go to war on what appears to be in the way of capturing the carrot. We pour our energy, our actions, our thoughts, our creativity into destroying what we see as being in the way. And, what we’re determined to eliminate only grows stronger.

Stop making war focusing on what you don’t want! Instead, take a positive action toward what you do want.

If you wish for Peace (Love, Joy, Security) take time to define for yourself what your experience of Peace feels like. What does Peace feel like physically in your body? What does Peace feel like emotionally, in your belly? What does Peace feel like mentally, in your mind? What does Peace feel like spiritually, in your heart? Now that you have a definition of the experience of Peace for yourself, take ten minutes three times a day to quiet everything and experience your understanding of Peace.

What triggers the experience of Peace for you? Perhaps sitting and watching the ocean or sitting or walking in a forest of trees. Perhaps having your pet beside you, sharing time and warmth, or rocking a new baby in your arms. Perhaps listening to your favorite music. Perhaps meditative breathing or a mindfulness practice. What triggers an experience of inner Peace for you is not important. It is important that you know, recognize and use the trigger that works for you.

As you seat yourself in your personal experience of inner peace, the world slows down, your mind quiets, stress at all levels and from all sources falls away. Mental, emotional and spiritual clarity and resilience come to the fore, and you’re better able to decide what you want and what actions you choose to take, no longer chasing the carrot of Peace, Love, Joy, or Security. You are present in the moment, your dreams/wishes unfolding before you!

Ah, the sweet taste of life lived now!

Blessings,
                                       Charlotte

Edited by Monique Huenergardt of MoReadsYou.com

Inner Revolution

From Quan Yin –
“We do not encourage you to commit revolution – at least not in the ways you are usually defining revolution.

We encourage you to inner revolution perhaps.
To quiet, daily revolution, if you will.
We encourage you to choose each day
Who you will obey
Who has the right to tell you who you are
How you live
What is of real importance to you
What your life is to be about.
It is in these daily choices that the face of your world will change.”

Quan Yin Speaks: Wisdom for a New Century, p 53                                        

“Become an “activist” in quiet, small, personal ways, turning your attention to the spiritual, social, political, educational, religious and business areas of your life.
This kind of “activism” is more powerful when it is simply done in small ways with your personal attention.”

Quan Yin Speaks: Embracing Fifth Dimension Consciousness, p 36 

                   
My personal inner revolution:

Nothing is wasted. Every experience is a piece of the mosaic that makes up the personal soul.

Each soul is a facet of Universal Spirit, and each a fragment of Universal Spirit combines to become That From Which Is, and from which all comes and returns.

Bless every experience, every event, every thought, every feeling. Allow Soul to meet its agenda of wholeness which is, in essence, Holiness.

Do the best you are able to step out of judgment and into compassion. Love and forgive yourself when you miss the mark, so you are better able to love and forgive others who also miss the mark.

Make the choices and take the actions that make each day a day of joy and expansion in the very depth of your soul and the very height of your manifested world.

My love and blessings to you all,

Charlotte                                                                                   

Edited by Monique Huenergardt of MoReadsYou.com

March Comes in Like a Lion

This line from an old madrigal has been going through my mind for the past two weeks and finally prompted me to look at the March calendar. My goodness! March is a month full of energy, the potential for change, action and the confusion that often accompanies changes on a Universal Consciousness level.

Look at the calendar for March.
March 5 – Super Tuesday – primary elections in 16 states.
March 10 – Ramadan begins
Daylight Savings – “spring forward”. Face the sunrise and sunset for 2-3 days to help reset your circadian rhythm.
March 17 – Saint Patrick’s Day
March 19 – Spring Equinox – Celebrate the beginning of spring and the end of winter.
March 23 – March 24 – Purim – A joyous Jewish festival commemorating the survival of the Jews who were marked for death by the Persian rulers in the 5th century BRE.
March 24 – Palm Sunday
March 28 – Maundy Thursday – ends Lent which began on February 14th.
March 29 – Good Friday
March 31 – Easter Sunday.

March is a month when people gather to fast or feast, celebrate or mourn. Many will be tossed about emotionally and spiritually, like leaves in a strong wind, or small boats on a fractious sea. We will all be navigating a diversity of strong emotions, long-held beliefs, and physical, psychic and spiritual energies, all of which have their roots in a far-distant past, which each of these events bring to the forefront of our lives.

Is it any wonder many people find themselves confused, upset, fragmented in their thinking, or clinging for dear life to their pre-conceived, old and familiar ideas, afraid of change, and of divergent ideas or practices.

I find it interesting that in all three of these very different religious observances, one of the practices is to share what you have with those who have less.

My suggestion for maintaining your self-ness in this month filled with spiritual and physical potential for change? Enjoy the spiritual and social celebrations and events with which you are comfortable, and comforted. Be present to them, enjoy the traditions, and let them serve you as part of the shift from 3rd to 5th Dimension Consciousness.

Be kind to others and accepting of their beliefs and practices. Remember that, while there may be a diversity of spiritual and political practices, there is truly only Love (or Light, by whatever it may be called or experienced). Remember that diversity of Life is what keeps us all alive in our lives! It is the spice and the richness from which we all benefit.

So let the winds of change blow, the passions of belief roar and, like the lady in the tarot card VIII – Strength, harness them with the chains of Love and Kindness, so you, too, may bring the harmony and the power of feminine potential into manifestation.

 Blessings, Charlotte

Edited by Monique Huernergardt of MoReadsYou.com

Staying the Course

Living each day from my commitment to embody uncompromising, steadfast love and live each day with my feet firmly entrenched in that same uncompromising, steadfast love has been an overwhelming challenge in the face of what feels like the wholesale self-destruction of the world.

So much of the destruction is reflective of the vision I had in 1989 of wading chest-deep through acres of the desiccated bones of millions of children left on a flat desert plane extending as far as the eye could see, and I wonder if my commitment is only a sophistic way of doing nothing. An excuse to avoid actively engaging on one side or another.

While in this blue funk I came across this quote from Lao Tzu.
“I have just three things to teach:
Simplicity, patience, compassion.
These three are your greatest treasures.
Simple in actions and in thoughts,
You return to the source of being.
Patient with both friends and enemies,
You accord with the way things are.
Compassionate toward yourself,
You reconcile all beings in the world.”
Lao Tzu from Tao Te Ching

As I rediscovered this quote written so long ago, my moral compass once again swung north, and I heard an oft-repeated phrase from the movie The Patriot: “Stay the course,” which coincides remarkably with Quan Yin’s urging to “Hold Firm the Light.”

And I remember a few basic tenets.
* Only Love creates life, life of every kind; any A-hole can destroy.
* Only human consciousness can choose to wield Love (creation) or wield Hate (destruction).
* Every human can be an instrument of the Love that creates everything.

We can love those we don’t like or don’t agree with, or even recognize as cruel or without “redeeming qualities,” and in doing so, we become what Quan Yin calls “humans-in-being.”

So, I have recommitted to daily, sometimes moment-to-moment, consciously choosing to be an instrument of that Uncompromising Love from which we all come, to which we all return and of which there is no other.

I encourage each of you to join me when or if you find yourselves in those dark moments of helplessness or overwhelm in remembering that:
*Uncompromising Love, while subtle, is far stronger than unending hate.
* That Love embraces Hate and transforms or neutralizes it.
* That Love is our natural state, and is timeless and eternal.
* That Hate is transitional and takes more energy to sustain simply because it is not our natural state.
*And to consciously choose Love each day.

                                                                          Blessings,  Charlotte

Edited by Monique Huenergardt of MoReadsYou.com

A Letter To Myself

Dear Charlotte,
Here are some things to remember as you navigate 2024.

There is only Perfect, Uncompromising Love, whatever it feels or looks like. Your job, if you will, is to see beyond the events and hold fast to the Love from which everything comes and returns.

Infuse everything you do with the essence of your “purpose.”

No one dies by mistake or too early. When we have completed our contract, reconciled some of our karma, and served our purpose, we are free to go home to Love, from which we came.

Without self-forgiveness there is no justice. Without justice, there is no peace.

Happiness is a habit of choice. Remembering pain, loss, betrayal, anger, brings them forward into the present moment where they are recreated and re-experienced. Remembering the wonder of love, simple joys, the sweet surprise of a rainbow, quiet times with friends and family, brings them forward into the present moment where they are recreated and re-experienced.

Karma is judgment about yourself, or others, in the presence of an experience, event or situation. Self-righteous judgment (karma) is the hardest karma to reconcile. Karma has been reconciled when you are able to experience an experience , event, or situation without judgment of any kind.

Hold Firm the Light

Everything outside of me is a mirror of something similar within me. When I react to an event, situation or person, the first thing to do is ask myself “how do I do that” or “how am I like that”. Second is Self-forgiveness and the third is Gratitude practice.

The practices of self-forgiveness and gratitude are two of the three pillars of 5th dimension consciousness. They provide the field that allows and encourages the 3rd pillar, Love, which as always been there, to flourish, unfold and blossom.

Move from Crusader Heart (principles at the cost of people) to Compassionate Heart (People before principles).

Be Kind. Kindness is a generosity of spirit.

Start and end each day with Gratitude Practice: Thank you for everything, I have no complaints whatsoever.

                                                                                       Blessings,  Charlotte

A Celebration of Love

I have always loved this time of year. The combination of Christmas and Solstice, a time to gather with family and friends to celebrate the end of one year in gratitude and the onset of a new year with hope, has always given me a sense of rightness and comfort.

This year, when the whole world is at war,
This year, when families, friends, and communities are at dagger points clinging desperately to their differences,
This year, when the beliefs that had kept us feeling secure have blown up in our faces and lie shattered on the ground,
This year it is hard to continue to believe in the possibilities of Peace, Joy, Love.

How can I trim a tree, hang and fill stockings, sing carols, wrap gifts for family and friends, plan a celebratory dinner when so many are struggling to avoid being killed, or are determined to kill.
How can I be at peace when so many are in desperate straits with little or no shelter, food, water, security, or peace?

And then I think.
Perhaps it’s my job to act from that which I know in my bones: There is only Perfect Love, and I am called to live that Universal Truth every day, especially in these devastating times when it seems that darkness will take over the world, never to be banished.

It is not “hope” I celebrate this Solstice as the sun begins its return.

This year, set aside your hopes and prayers for peace.
Instead, join me as I
Stand for Peace
Stand for Kindness
Stand for uncompromising Love
Stand for the Light that is never diminished or vanquished, regardless of how dark it seems.
Join me as I celebrate the return of the sun this Solstice day.
Join me as I decorate my tree, light my candles, and put my gaily wrapped gifts beneath the tree.

Celebrate this season with me, in whatever tradition calls to you, with gratitude, forgiveness, assurance, and joy.

Blessings, Charlotte

Edited by Monique Huenergardt of MoReadsYou.com

Alive Is Where You Find It

I like the car that vi-ba-rates!
The jounce and jiggle stim-u-lates
And starts a lovely fire.

The gentle spring sun pen-e-trates
And warm, the python un-du-lates.
Lo! The flame burns higher.

The chanted Aum that res-o-nates
With showers and ovens ill-u-strates
How Life adds to the pyre.

Healer’s light in-sin-u-ates,
Insistently accum-u-lates,
And fed, the flames inspire.

Each sight and sound persev-er-ates
‘Til senses long to con-sum-mate
And quench the Soul’s desire.

All Life is now, don’t hes-i-tate.
Alive, the body de-mon-strates
The grace of sensual fire.
ct  March, 1990

After what seems like the never-ending chaos of a world in change, it’s time to say Thank You.

After we have grieved our losses, it’s time to say Thank You.

After we have laid to rest the ghosts of our past, and the fears for our futures, it’s time to say Thank You.

It’s time to focus our attention on the small joys and enjoyments, and pleasures of each day in our living and say Thank You.

For so many people around the world and in our daily midst, Thanksgiving will be a hard, hard time. For those of us who can, please hold forgiveness, gratitude for life, and the uncompromising love of which Quan Yin is such a beautiful and consistent example. For those of us who simply can not, I hold you in my heart, in love, and in gratitude that you are part of my life.
                                                                             Blessings and Namaste,
                                                                                                                             Charlotte

edited by Monique Huenergardt of MoReadsYou.com

Carousel of Time

And the seasons, they go round and round
And the painted ponies go up and down
We’re captive on the carousel of time
We can’t return, we can only look
Behind from where we came
And go round and round and round in the circle game
                                                                             The Circle Game by Joni Mitchell

One of the reasons the MAGA movement, or any movement that yearns to return to a perceived “glorious past,” won’t work is simple. IF we could return, individually or collectively, we would simply arrive at 2023 exactly as it is (and we are) now.

The oftentimes quote from George Santayana, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” was made in reference to knowing, acknowledging, and hopefully learning from our historical past; the REAL history of past events and past choices. He’s not saying to indulge in remembering and reliving our past experiences with all of the emotional content such memories contain. This is why MAGA and nostalgia don’t work.

We can choose to stay on the carousel of time, circling round and round in the same old memories and the emotional experiences they bring forward, or we can lift our heads up, say “there must be a better way,” and take the first step on the spiral path toward wholeness and integration. On the spiral path, we expand, we forgive, we choose new perceptions and responses; we learn to love and forgive ourselves and we move forward. On the carousel of time we can only “look behind from where we came” and re-experience our memories as though they were happening in the present, as indeed they are.

It can be valuable to “look behind from where we came,” IF we do so without re-experiencing the original emotions and judgments. When we have healed the past (stripped the memories of emotion and energy through self-forgiveness), it becomes our history, like an old black-and-white movie or a tintype instead of a digital photo or video. As our history, it no longer impacts or recreates the present and certainly not the future.

A healed past takes us off the carousel of time, and puts us on the spiral of ever-changing, ever-expanding present.

Remember, we can choose to remember those past experiences which serve us well, or we can choose to remember those that do not. What we choose to remember is what we create in our present. This month, let us take Quan Yin’s advice and gently, lovingly, and with forgiveness bury the ghosts of our past so we can create a present which is anchored in forgiveness, compassion, excitement and love.

Blessings,
                                         Charlotte

edited by Monique Huenergardt of MoReadsYou.com

A Practice Not Mastered

“Fly fishing is a practice never fully mastered.”

This simple statement by Jeff Aiello in his travel video “Outside Beyond the Lens” is, at its heart, a Universal Principle brought to life.

Example: Happiness is a practice never fully mastered.
Or: Friendship is a practice never fully mastered.

This universal principle of “never fully mastered” holds true for spiritual concepts like Love or Peace, as well as job skills like cooking or bookkeeping.

Which principles of human spiritual practices that are intended to be “never fully mastered” resonate most strongly for you, and how do they impact your daily life?

How about Relationship, Trust, Kindness, or Life, or any of the concepts on the angel cards created by Kathy Tyler and Joy Drake?

A weekly practice for Autumn Equinox (9/23) and Winter Solstice (12/21):

1. Insert a concept and/or a skill into this statement: ___is a practice never fully mastered.

2. Use it as a focus for contemplation daily.

3. Note how it impacts you mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. You might consider writing your statements and responses in a notebook.

May you be blessed enough to never fully master anything you truly care about in your life!

                                                                      Blessings,
                                                                                         Charlotte

edited by Monique Huenergardt of MoReadsYou.com

Welcome to My World

“It only takes one person to change the world, and you’re it.” Quan Yin

Note she says change the world, not change the events of the world.

One of the misunderstandings about the spiritual path is the idea that the work of spiritual integration will change the events in the world around us. It takes time and practice before recognizing that the events do not change, what changes is how we see ourselves in the face of the events and how we respond to those events. When we claim our independence from the judgments about how events impact us, we begin to see events with discernment, and we begin to live in a world defined by our perceptions, not by our reactions or judgments about ourselves or others participating in the events.

So, how do you create the world you want to live in?

Quan Yin’s answer to that question is pretty straight forward.
“If you want to live in a world of Peace, become peace.
If you want to live in a world of Love, become love.
If you want to live in a world of kindness and generosity, become kindness and generosity.”

“Great theory,” I say to myself. My pragmatic self asks, “How do I do it?” Here are the practices I developed and use.

Every time I choose to engage in the world from a place of discernment instead of judgment,
Every time I refrain from generalizing an action into a character trait,
Every time I stop trying to make someone else believe what I believe,
Every time I take advantage of an opportunity to act with kindness, or listen with compassion,
Every time I find an excuse to say Thank You, or be grateful in the moment,
Every time I offer Light or Love when confronted by anger or fear,
Every time I fill myself full of energy on my breath, take a giant step behind my heart, and simply listen without judgment or rebuttal, I have changed the world I live in.

I live in a world whose essence is Perfect Love, filled with kindness, compassion, and gratitude. Even when I am challenged by my old fears and beliefs claiming that there is something other than Perfect Love, I know in my heart that Perfect Love is all there is, all there ever was, and all there ever will be.

Welcome to my world!

                                                            Blessings,
                                                                            Charlotte

edited by Monique Huenergardt of MoReadsYou.com