Make It Heaven Newsletter July 2004 - God Bless You. I love you. Peace, be still

God Bless you. I love you. Peace, be still.

by Rebecca Skeele, Author, Counselor, Teacher

It doesn't matter what magazine or newspaper you pick up these days, there it is...the evidence of violence, the killing of innocent people, the terror of aggression and destruction. How do we, as caring, compassionate, conscious people maintain our inner peace in the face of war? Is it responsible to turn from the glaring headlines, close our eyes, go within to connect with that place of inner peace? When outer circumstances create worry, helplessness and judgment how do we shift our inner attention so that we send peaceful thoughts to people and places, rather than more anger and hatred?

Have you ever seen a Magic Eye picture? Is so, you know what it's like to stare at a page of little dots, blinking and wondering, "When am I ever going to see the hidden picture?" Frustrated, you take a deep breath and draw the page closer, then farther away, but still all you see is dots. Only upon softening your gaze and letting your vision become fuzzy do you catch a glimpse of the picture.

Seeing the hidden picture demonstrates the potential we have for glimpsing beyond any issue, belief, feeling, or situation about ourselves and the world we live in. Accustomed to believing the worldview we see around us, we fail to realize that another might exist. Or we may know there's another worldview but struggle to create, maintain and live it in the face of the mounting evidence to the contrary.

Shifting your 'seeing' involves intention, attention, practice and willingness to see beyond your current POV. Like the hidden picture that comes into view, we may glimpse another way of responding, but we must also choose that alternative to begin showing up in our world differently.

Tip of the Month: Pro Peace Action Steps

You can use everyday headlines and global concerns as practice for shifting into peace. The following are a few suggestions for greater mastery.1. When you read the morning paper read with the eyes of your soul. Send light/compassion/loving-kindness/or a "God bless you, Peace be still" to any upsetting situation.2.Place pictures of the world leaders on your altar. During your daily meditation, prayers or spiritual exercises send your light/love/compassion/good thoughts to them. Begin to observe the part of you that goes into disagreement and accept it.3. Visualize place of terror, war, destruction, killing filled with light. Send light frequently when listening to the radio or watching evening news reports. Practice seeing through the eyes of your Divine Nature - with great compassion and loving for all.

4. Closer to home - take inventory of your own inner and outer war zones. Make a commitment to weed out those fears and judgments that create destruction in your relationships and career. Choose to carry peace - even in the grocery check-out line.

Practicing Self Mastery: Your Heart Is the Key

Your heart, the energetic center of compassion and loving kindness, plays a pivotal role in shifting and finding peace. It bridges the gap between your human nature - whose intention is about 'me', and your divine nature - whose intention is on 'we'.An example of the human nature's pov..I'm driving along a busy street, courteously minding my own business, when a large SUV cuts me off. I spend the next half hour ranting and raving about ill-mannered drivers. Then I pull into a grocery store parking lot, innocently thinking about food for dinner, and another driver steals the space I'm cruising into. At this point I declare war on the next person I see, which turns out to be a young man happily stacking apples in the produce section. I am not a pretty sight.My human nature's personal agenda of fair/unfair has been crossed. It also feels right about appropriate driving etiquette, wants everyone else to follow the same set of rules, is quick to react when things are unfair, and feels justified to vent frustration at whomever.My divine nature's intention is growth, expansion and revelation...It asks me to focus on how quickly I reacted with negativity and look deeper to see if there's something beyond the surface that's going on. I might ask myself if fear or hurt is present? Anger can be a mask for both.When I engage my heart I can shift out of the mind's antics that weave a web of illusion and put my attention on what will bring me happiness. This is new territory. Seeing with compassionate eyes I can let go of my right position. My growth is my willingness to shift, my expansion becomes seeing beyond the "dots" of fair/unfair, and my revelation shows me where true peace and happiness reside.

Cocreating with Divinity: Carrying Peace

You can practice the presence of peace daily. The inner tool box includes self-acceptance, observation, compassion, self-forgiveness and loving kindness. If you are quick to respond to a headline or bit of world news with irritation or fear take a deep breath, step back and observe your reaction. Then accept that a part inside is in disturbance. Remind yourself that everything outside is really taking place inside. Begin your inner investigation with compassion. Opening your heart, forgive any ways your are judging. Then comfort your fear with loving kindness and ask to 'see' the truth.

And end with a prayer, "God bless you. I love you. Peace, be still."

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Rebecca Skeele, President of Make It Heaven LLC, is an author, speaker and master facilitator supporting people to cocreate their personal heaven on earth. She is the author of You Can Make It Heaven: How to Enrich Your Life with Abundance and Loving and numerous articles supporting personal and spiritual growth. She combines her extensive years as a spiritual counselor and coach, two Master’s degrees in Spiritual Counseling and Spiritual Science, her certification in the noetic field of consciousness and her study as an non-denominational minister to support conscious choice and awakening to the truth within. Her new course, Becoming a Spiritual Scientist: A Course for Cocreators is offered in Santa Fe, NM. Visit http://www.spiritual-scientist.com for more information or email Rebecca at rebecca@makeitheaven.com