Writing Your Soul Self into the World

Photograph © 2012 Peggy Kornegger
Photograph © 2012 Peggy Kornegger

Every time you write, you are expressing something about yourself, sending a vibration, either a faint, half-hearted one or a full-on, authentic blast of your soul self. Whether it’s an email, a social media post, or an article or book intended for publication, it is filled with your vibes—clear and forthright or vaguely uncertain. In the world of vibration and perceived intent, writing is the same as speaking. We are announcing who we are in the world with every word we utter, out loud or in cyberspace. The question is: How truthful are we when we speak/write? True to ourselves, that is.

We may write one thing but mean something entirely different, and the recipient is left confused and unsettled. We may not really know what we mean ourselves if we write impulsively or hurriedly, which is often the case in our fast-lane, multi-tasking world. Meditation teachers often tell students to take a deep breath and pause before speaking or acting in order to bring themselves into present-moment awareness. Clarity of mind and connection to the inner soul self rests in that deep breath and pause. Or at least I’ve found that to be true in my life.

If I rush through the day, speeding from one activity or conversation to another without resetting my inner focus, then I am scattered, stressed, and probably presenting that energy to those I encounter. If I take the time to breathe consciously for a minute or two and really look around at my surroundings, everything shifts into a softer, slower mode, and I have made space for my inner spirit to come to the fore. I feel more centered and grounded in who I really am at heart instead of being only half-aware, half-present in my own day-to-day life. I don’t always remember to do this, but when I do, it makes a big difference in how I experience everyone and everything. And the more I remember….well, the more I remember….

Since I’m a writer, this little piece of wisdom has been invaluable to me. Writing from the surface of the brain without involving my heart and soul makes for dull, inert content unconnected to the life force from which all creativity springs. When I write from my heart, then I experience a conscious alignment with who I am at the deepest level. Words and sentences seem to flow more easily when my heart is engaged, not just my brain. My spirit, or soul self, unique to me, steps forward into the world to express herself. I treasure that connection to my inner self.

More and more, people today understand how energy makes up our entire universe. We are energy, and our words are also energy. Why not make them truly represent who you are at the deepest level, which is love? Use language creatively, playfully, to send a loving vibration into the world. Pause, take a breath, and align the words you write with your truest self. There is no one else exactly like you on the planet, so express your unrepeatable, full-color soul self in everything you write—whether tweet or blog or email. Now more than ever, your voice is needed in the world. Together, our collective positive energy can shift everything!

The Real Magic Kingdom

Photograph © 2013 Peggy Kornegger
Photograph © 2013 Peggy Kornegger
Last month, during the summer solstice, I participated in a very special weekend celebration called Living in the Heart of Possibility, the annual Global Gathering put together by Panache Desai and staff/volunteers. This was my third year being part of the incredible energy created by nearly 500 people gathered from all over the world (42 states, 21 countries), and it was the best yet. In Orlando, Florida, not far from Disney World, we found ourselves within a “magic kingdom” beyond anything even Walt Disney could have imagined. The magic was in our hearts—and in the connections we felt among us, individually and collectively.

In the course of three days, we had wildly diverse experiences ranging from uncontrollable laughter (Panache is very funny) to tears of release and joy. Sessions included activities that opened us up on multiple levels: yoga; improv “volleyball” with dozens of giant beach balls; full-out crazy dancing to an eclectic mix of rap, rock, kirtan, and Monty Python; ongoing sharing of life stories which often led to individual and group emotional breakthroughs (with Panache’s help); and deep inward journeys within the powerful catalytic energy that Panache transmits vibrationally. At a wonderful event on Saturday night, volunteers from our group offered free massage, Reiki, angel guidance, chakra healing, hugs, and other gifts of love to participants. Basically, we were all in an altered state of consciousness throughout the weekend—and continuing into the weeks that followed. Every small detail of life felt miraculous, every conversation deeply meaningful.

This state, filled with seemingly never-ending synchronicities and miracles, is becoming our new “normal” in the world. I have experienced it increasingly powerfully at every Panache event and every global Livestream he has facilitated online. Our lives are shifting in such a magical way that the miraculous streams nonstop now. Within this energy, in person or in cyberspace, there is a sense of profound connection and oneness—I becoming We. Inner doors open wider and wider until they fly off the hinges, and we are just in open space, expanding infinitely. Timelessness, heart-centered conscious awareness, and moment-to-moment living are not aspired to but just experienced effortlessly. During the weekend, every time I looked into the eyes of another person, there was no separation: I am You; We are One in Spirit. This is the global consciousness that is rising to the forefront of our awareness more and more as 2013 unfolds.

Unarguably, there continue to be challenging events and circumstances in the world, but there are also extraordinary human experiences in the midst of the turmoil of great change. Recent examples: the spontaneous massive demonstrations of the people of Turkey and Brazil; the U.S. Supreme Court decisions clearing the way for acceptance of gay marriage. All of it is part of the extreme polarities playing out as we move through a great shift in planetary consciousness. The hidden pain and repressed emotional density within all of us is now being experienced through to completion, and we are emerging with new clarity and lightness of being. Collectively, we are looking around and seeing family where once we saw aliens. We are stepping into a new world in which difference is embraced and celebrated instead of shunned and hated.

Don’t see it yet? It’s there, just not in the mass media or the prevailing interpretation of reality. The dominant paradigm is gradually crumbling. Look through the cracks, and you can catch glimpses of other eyes looking back. In moments of shared loss or joy, in a split second, everything shifts: I AM You. That is global consciousness, and it is our birthright here on the new Planet Earth. Soon we will have no need for Disney’s Magic Kingdom. We will be living our own magic: no kings or hollow fantasies, but real multidimensional humans expanding together into infinite possibility.

The Simple Life

© 2008 Anne S. Katzeff / Artist
© 2008 Anne S. Katzeff / Artist

I have always loved the expression “Live simply so that others may simply live.” Implicit in that statement is a recognition of interconnectedness—an understanding that what I do affects the lives of others. If I live without conscious awareness of each of my actions, the entire planet feels the impact. Something as seemingly small as conserving water or buying locally grown organic food makes a difference in the world. How we live creates our future, now.

Equally important is stepping away from the emphasis on consumerism that permeates U.S. culture, especially during the holiday season. Commercials, advertisements, and the mass media promote material acquisition to the point of excess. Much has been written about our throw-away society in which people endlessly buy and discard, buy and discard, overloading landfills and polluting the environment in the process. Segments of the population live in poverty while others aspire to the “lifestyles of the rich and famous.” Money, cars, houses and all sorts of material goods to fill them is supposedly the American Dream. But is it really?

True abundance has absolutely nothing to do with money or possessions. It’s an ongoing appreciation for life’s simple gifts: air to breathe, food to eat, love of family and friends, the beauty of the world around us. Filling our lives (and the planet) with things is not abundance; it is waste. Waste that leads to an inner emptiness. If we continually look outside ourselves for fulfillment, we will always be seeking, always feel somehow lost and lacking. It is the simple life that brings the greatest contentment. Moment to moment, we eat, sleep, laugh, love. We can find extraordinary pleasure and fulfillment in the simplest, most uncomplicated activities of living a human life on Planet Earth. Chop wood, carry water, as Zen Buddhism describes life before and after enlightenment.

These are not unreachable aspirations restricted to those who want to live alone in the woods like Thoreau or achieve spiritual enlightenment. Some would say that we already have enlightenment within us, that we are already filled with infinite abundance and love. I believe this. My life is rich in countless ways that are not dependent on monetary wealth. It is the simple joys of daily life, sunrise to sunset, wherever I happen to be, that fill my heart to overflowing. In this time of evolving human being-ness, I think many people are now beginning to feel within themselves a desire for greater simplicity, inner peace, and a connection to the source of all life on Earth. May it be so, for each and every one of us.

 

Ascension for Everybody

Photograph © 2012 Peggy Kornegger
Photograph © 2012 Peggy Kornegger

What is ascension anyway? The word historically has had either a religious or an astronomical context: the ascent of a human body to heaven after death or the position of a celestial object in the skies. Another definition refers to spiritual masters who spontaneously dematerialize from this plane to another, higher one. Today, however, there is an expanded meaning used by those who believe our planet is undergoing an evolving shift of consciousness. In 2013, ascension is about becoming conscious spirit within our living human bodies on Earth—in essence, “ascending “ into our soul selves and bringing Heaven and Earth into alignment in the process. Not just for masters or dead people, this ascension is for everyone.

The level of spiritual awareness and wisdom attained by the average person is growing exponentially in the new millennium. So many have a sense of something greater touching their lives, even those who don’t consciously subscribe to a particular religion or new age philosophy. God, or the Divine, is no longer a concept associated only with special days or events that take place within a church, synagogue, or temple. Spirit is everywhere, at all times, and humans have given it many names. Some call it Source energy or an intangible Intelligence that permeates all things. Others consider Mother Nature to be the most sacred spirit of all. And many believe that language concretizes something that is beyond physical description, a connection that can only be found in the stillness of one’s own heart.

However expressed, more and more people do seem to be experiencing some kind of greater Presence. It is this awareness that, once fully felt, connects each of us to our individual spirit, or soul. In discovering the Divine within and opening to that powerful flow of energy, light, and unconditional love, we “ascend” into our unique soul-ness here on Earth. We begin to live as our authentic selves—not the ones society told us we should be, but the ones we came to this planet to embody, full of endless possibilities. Body, mind, feelings, and spirit become a cohesive whole, and we learn to love ourselves, as well as others, at a deeper level. Our authentic soul selves live in harmony, peace, and oneness, not separation, conflict, or hatred. Ultimately, that is Heaven on Earth. That is ascension.

 

Infinite Inner Space

© 2007 Anne S. Katzeff / Artist
© 2007 Anne S. Katzeff / Artist

“Your soul is the silent witness of your life.”
—Panache Desai

That one sentence changed everything for me. Yes, I had heard about the “witness” before, but it was an idea in my head that I could never access within my own experience. After years and years of meditation practice, I continued to be lost in my thoughts. Then, during a webcast, I listened to Panache talk about dropping into present-moment awareness by simply taking a deep breath and repeating, “Here I am.” And here I am. And here I am. Now. And now. And now. Something shifted within me, and I was there, or rather here, in presence. The next morning at sunrise, during meditation, I was able to step back from my mind’s mental chatter into a silent inner space of awareness, of peace. When thoughts arose, I could observe them without losing consciousness. If I drifted into my thoughts momentarily, I found I could bring my self back to witnessing from the soul’s point of view: “Here I AM…now.”

That I AM that lives within each breath is greater than the personality self connected to the mind. It is a pure state of being, of infinite consciousness, which links all beings on the planet, actually in the cosmos. When I access that inner silent space, I am in the same place that you are when you access it. Within that living awareness, we are in complete and utter oneness. Within that space is the deepest peace and calm I have ever known. Infinite, with no fear attached to the endless being-ness. Some call this place Heaven, or Home. It is the source from which we all arise into human form and into which we dissolve at the end of our lives. It is God or Goddess; it is Great Spirit. It is Om.

And immersion in this profound state of consciousness is not limited to human beings. Animals experience their own contemplative moments. My dear cat Lily in her elder years used to sit on the back of the couch by the window, facing west at sunset, eyes closed in deep meditation. In the tall oak tree in my neighbor’s back yard, leafless now in the winter months, birds gather each evening, all facing west, their breasts shining red-gold in the setting sun.

We creatures living on Planet Earth find connection and comfort in the profound sacred silence that occurs at moments like sunrise and sunset. It reminds us of something beyond our lifetimes, something eternal and infinite at the heart of the universe—and within our own hearts. It reminds us that even when we feel most alone, there is always the loving presence of a greater consciousness of which we are part.