General: October 2009 Archives
I can hardly believe I've been at this for five years. I let the actual
anniversary of my first blog entry just blow by, but at least it's
still October! I made my inaugural post October 4, 2004.
To help you help me celebrate (because I know you're excited to do so!), I'm giving you an opportunity to win prizes. Who doesn't like to win prizes?
Correctly answer the quiz questions below (the answers are found in my blog) and be entered into a drawing to win a grand prize package that includes an Easy World "magic wand,"
an Easy World mug, an Easy World button, and a signed first
edition of my first book, Recreating
Eden!
If you answer the questions correctly and your name isn't drawn as the grand-prize-package winner, you're still in luck. Just for answering the questions correctly, you will win an audio download of your choice from the Recordings page on JuliaRogersHamrick.com, and a mention on my blog (with a link to your website if you like).
You can either read my blog from beginning to end (believe it or not, some people have done this!), or, the answers can be researched using the blog's search window. The bonus question will require a little bit of extra research. (To access the archives organized by month, just click on the heading "Julia's Blog" at the top of each page and you'll find a list on the left side--you may need to scroll down a bit).
Have fun!!!
To help you help me celebrate (because I know you're excited to do so!), I'm giving you an opportunity to win prizes. Who doesn't like to win prizes?
Correctly answer the quiz questions below (the answers are found in my blog) and be entered into a drawing to win a grand prize package that includes an Easy World "magic wand,"
an Easy World mug, an Easy World button, and a signed first
edition of my first book, Recreating
Eden!If you answer the questions correctly and your name isn't drawn as the grand-prize-package winner, you're still in luck. Just for answering the questions correctly, you will win an audio download of your choice from the Recordings page on JuliaRogersHamrick.com, and a mention on my blog (with a link to your website if you like).
You can either read my blog from beginning to end (believe it or not, some people have done this!), or, the answers can be researched using the blog's search window. The bonus question will require a little bit of extra research. (To access the archives organized by month, just click on the heading "Julia's Blog" at the top of each page and you'll find a list on the left side--you may need to scroll down a bit).
- What geographical location did I go to when I went to "Happy Land"?
- How did my dog, Roly, get drunk?
- When I was seeking an elephant walking down a Colorado highway, what did I find instead that satisfied my need to see an elephant?
- Where was I kidnapped and by whom?
- What song was playing when I was at the gas station in Raleigh in 2006 that had everybody groovin' at the pumps?
- What kind of station wagon did I keep seeing that seemed to be evidence of being in a parallel reality?
- Which anniversary did Rick and I celebrate in 2008 and where did we celebrate it?
- Who says I can't have that? (2009)
- What musical instrument did I get in August of 2009 and why did I get it?
- Why did Rick and I stay at the cottage for an extra day this September?
- **And a bonus question--answer this one correctly and get an extra
entry in the drawing: Which blog post of mine had received the most
comments as of October 27, 2009?
Have fun!!!
As you may
already know, a horrific event occurred October 9th in the desert near
Sedona, Arizona at a retreat led by James Arthur Ray, well-known author
and personal development guru. Two people died immediately and another
died this weekend after participating in a questionably executed sweat lodge. Almost two dozen
others were hospitalized with illnesses ranging from dehydration to
kidney failure.
I don't wish to lay blame--others will be doing that, and it's strictly an ego exercise to do so. But I did want to communicate one important message in light of the outcome: Never, ever obey anyone's authority over that of your Spirit.
If someone seems to know more than you do, have achieved more than you have, have obtained what you want to have, or seems more enlightened than you believe you are, it is not a signal to abdicate your own sense of knowing to subject yourself to his or hers. Partake of their ideas, yes, if you're attracted, and try them on to see if they fit for you--or not.
If you are receiving any internal signals that something is wrong--or even not quite right, or just simply not a match for you--pay attention and heed those signals. You don't have to prove anything to anyone--even to yourself. Don't let your own fearful ego lead you astray in a quest for something it's telling you that you haven't got. Ego is a consummate liar and will sell you down the river in a heartbeat.
All knowledge is already yours. All your desires are already yours, even if you aren't yet experiencing that. But the way to realize and manifest them into your reality is to follow your Spirit to the vibrational level where you can claim them. And you can't do that if you're busy following someone else. Or a group of someone elses. Or your own ego. Following anyone other than your own Spirit will lead you down in vibration.
If you find yourself caught up in group energy, something that often occurs due to the longing to feel the energy of being at one with your fellow human beings, pay special attention. You may find yourself willing to do things and take risks you'd never take if your energy was centered within yourself and not in the composite mind of the group.
I am somewhat painfully familiar with that dynamic because I once found myself streaking naked across my college campus after getting so caught up in the pack mentality and energy, I was compelled to join the streaking crowd. In that case, the only deleterious effect was a photograph of the back of me in my birthday suit (blessedly, with a shirt over my head) that showed up on the front page of the city's newspaper.
And here's one I have been learning the hard way: If your body is telling you to back off whatever you are doing instead of pushing, listen and obey. Ease your way into growth--don't force your way into it.
As a spiritual teacher, I take my responsibility to influence very seriously. For me, having your attention is a sacred trust and I am intent on keeping my ego in check to keep that relationship clear. Starting with the experience I tell about in the introduction to Recreating Eden, I have been continually shown that rejecting all authority outside one's own being, and honoring the voice of Spirit within is the very key to reaching the highest level of vibration and experiencing enlightenment.
My Spirit has always made sure I understood that trying to assert any authority over a person's own inner guidance, no matter how right my ego may tell me I am, is a ticket to disaster. My desire is to empower you to listen to your Spirit and be yourSelf, not to get you to take what I have to say as being the gospel. You don't need a guru--you have one within.
I can only imagine the pain that James Ray is in right now, not to mention the loved ones of those who died or who were otherwise injured. I could be wrong, but it seems to me that all involved may have stopped listening to their inner guidance. Then again, that is an ego-based judgment, based on limited evidence. Everything is in Divine Order, even when we don't like what Divine Order looks like at any given moment.
The take-away as I see it is this: Anyone who urges you to deny your internal signals so as to expand and evolve may just be, without even realizing it, asking you to risk your life. Anyone who tells you they can show you the way to Nirvana who isn't emphasizing that your Spirit is your only true authority is under the influence of ego and can't be trusted (only your Spirit can be trusted). But don't take my word for it--ask your own Spirit if this is true.
I don't wish to lay blame--others will be doing that, and it's strictly an ego exercise to do so. But I did want to communicate one important message in light of the outcome: Never, ever obey anyone's authority over that of your Spirit.
If someone seems to know more than you do, have achieved more than you have, have obtained what you want to have, or seems more enlightened than you believe you are, it is not a signal to abdicate your own sense of knowing to subject yourself to his or hers. Partake of their ideas, yes, if you're attracted, and try them on to see if they fit for you--or not.
If you are receiving any internal signals that something is wrong--or even not quite right, or just simply not a match for you--pay attention and heed those signals. You don't have to prove anything to anyone--even to yourself. Don't let your own fearful ego lead you astray in a quest for something it's telling you that you haven't got. Ego is a consummate liar and will sell you down the river in a heartbeat.
All knowledge is already yours. All your desires are already yours, even if you aren't yet experiencing that. But the way to realize and manifest them into your reality is to follow your Spirit to the vibrational level where you can claim them. And you can't do that if you're busy following someone else. Or a group of someone elses. Or your own ego. Following anyone other than your own Spirit will lead you down in vibration.
If you find yourself caught up in group energy, something that often occurs due to the longing to feel the energy of being at one with your fellow human beings, pay special attention. You may find yourself willing to do things and take risks you'd never take if your energy was centered within yourself and not in the composite mind of the group.
I am somewhat painfully familiar with that dynamic because I once found myself streaking naked across my college campus after getting so caught up in the pack mentality and energy, I was compelled to join the streaking crowd. In that case, the only deleterious effect was a photograph of the back of me in my birthday suit (blessedly, with a shirt over my head) that showed up on the front page of the city's newspaper.
And here's one I have been learning the hard way: If your body is telling you to back off whatever you are doing instead of pushing, listen and obey. Ease your way into growth--don't force your way into it.
As a spiritual teacher, I take my responsibility to influence very seriously. For me, having your attention is a sacred trust and I am intent on keeping my ego in check to keep that relationship clear. Starting with the experience I tell about in the introduction to Recreating Eden, I have been continually shown that rejecting all authority outside one's own being, and honoring the voice of Spirit within is the very key to reaching the highest level of vibration and experiencing enlightenment.
My Spirit has always made sure I understood that trying to assert any authority over a person's own inner guidance, no matter how right my ego may tell me I am, is a ticket to disaster. My desire is to empower you to listen to your Spirit and be yourSelf, not to get you to take what I have to say as being the gospel. You don't need a guru--you have one within.
I can only imagine the pain that James Ray is in right now, not to mention the loved ones of those who died or who were otherwise injured. I could be wrong, but it seems to me that all involved may have stopped listening to their inner guidance. Then again, that is an ego-based judgment, based on limited evidence. Everything is in Divine Order, even when we don't like what Divine Order looks like at any given moment.
The take-away as I see it is this: Anyone who urges you to deny your internal signals so as to expand and evolve may just be, without even realizing it, asking you to risk your life. Anyone who tells you they can show you the way to Nirvana who isn't emphasizing that your Spirit is your only true authority is under the influence of ego and can't be trusted (only your Spirit can be trusted). But don't take my word for it--ask your own Spirit if this is true.
In an average week, I am asked at least a couple of times to help
promote the books of other authors. You've read about some of these in
emails from me and on this blog. Because of the volume of requests I
receive, I'm having to become more selective about which books I help
promote.
These days, I'm saying "no" more and more often. Thus, when Richard Blackstone, an author I'd never heard of, approached me to help with his book campaign when I was already booked up with stuff to get done before leaving on vacation, I was pretty sure I was going to decline. But something nudged me to ask to see a copy of his book before making a decision. I read over it, and my mind was changed. I loved it!
Richard's book, Nuts & Bolts Spirituality, is a perfect book for those just awakening to their spirituality--but I'd also recommend it for you and you
r friends who have been
consciously on the path for awhile as it will affirm what you already
know and show you some things from a helpful new perspective. Nuts & Bolts Spirituality provides an
amazingly comprehensive and clear view of spirituality, showing what is
required to find alignment with Source and create your life by the
divinely implanted blueprint your Spirit administrates for you. I love
Richard's style of writing. It's very personal and friendly--very
accessible.
If this sounds like a book you'd love to have or give to someone you care about, you're in luck! If you buy a copy (or more!) of Nuts & Bolts Spirituality today--that is, October 8, before midnight-you will be able to download a boatload of great bonus gifts, including a chapter from Recreating Eden and a chapter of my upcoming book, Choosing Easy World, from me! Check out the bonuses and find out the easy steps it takes to gain access to them here: http://www.nutsandboltsspirituality.com/amazon.htm
These days, I'm saying "no" more and more often. Thus, when Richard Blackstone, an author I'd never heard of, approached me to help with his book campaign when I was already booked up with stuff to get done before leaving on vacation, I was pretty sure I was going to decline. But something nudged me to ask to see a copy of his book before making a decision. I read over it, and my mind was changed. I loved it!
Richard's book, Nuts & Bolts Spirituality, is a perfect book for those just awakening to their spirituality--but I'd also recommend it for you and you
r friends who have been
consciously on the path for awhile as it will affirm what you already
know and show you some things from a helpful new perspective. Nuts & Bolts Spirituality provides an
amazingly comprehensive and clear view of spirituality, showing what is
required to find alignment with Source and create your life by the
divinely implanted blueprint your Spirit administrates for you. I love
Richard's style of writing. It's very personal and friendly--very
accessible.If this sounds like a book you'd love to have or give to someone you care about, you're in luck! If you buy a copy (or more!) of Nuts & Bolts Spirituality today--that is, October 8, before midnight-you will be able to download a boatload of great bonus gifts, including a chapter from Recreating Eden and a chapter of my upcoming book, Choosing Easy World, from me! Check out the bonuses and find out the easy steps it takes to gain access to them here: http://www.nutsandboltsspirituality.com/amazon.htm
