Many thanks to those featured today, for the work they do to better our world!!!
Thisconcludes today's posting of CelebraZine(eZine to Celebrate What's Right in the World), a 'running blog carnival' (of posts both found and shared with me) that uplift and inspire....an inspiration of sayings, video, audio (music and speech), images, poetry--anything and everything that feeds the positive in heart, spirit, and mind.
Our focus dictates what we see, which reinforces our focus, further confining the possibility of what we will see.
May you be blessed by these offerings reminding us of the beauty, wonder, and sacredness in the world around us and within us.
Celebrate yourself!
Be a part of the expression of celebration.
Submit your submission (containing text, image, video, and audio, poetry, quotes, etc.)anytime for the daily installments of CelebraZine, a 'running blog carnival' of What's Right in the World.
Note: Even if you are not the blogger of the work you'd like to suggest, but have noticed someone's work that you think should be included in a Celebration of What's Right in the World, --empowering people and spirit--please point out the work to us.
Blessings, dear ones,
CG
C.G. Walters primarily writes fiction that focuses on the multidimensionality of our loves and our lives. Autographed/signed copies of his current novel,Sacred Vow, are available from the author– or purchase from Amazon as ebook, paperback, or Kindle version
This concludes today's posting of CelebraZine (eZine to Celebrate What's Right in the World), a 'running blog carnival' (of posts both found and shared with me) that uplift and inspire....an inspiration of sayings, video, audio (music and speech), images, poetry--anything and everything that feeds the positive in heart, spirit, and mind.
Our focus dictates what we see, which reinforces our focus, further confining the possibility of what we will see.
May you be blessed by these offerings reminding us of the beauty, wonder, and sacredness in the world around us and within us.
Celebrate yourself!
Be a part of the expression of celebration.Submit your submission(containing text, image, video, and audio, poetry, quotes, etc.)anytime for the daily installments of CelebraZine, a 'running blog carnival' of What's Right in the World.
Note: Even if you are not the blogger of the work you'd like to suggest, but have noticed someone's work that you think should be included in a Celebration of What's Right in the World, --empowering people and spirit--please point out the work to us.
Blessings, dear ones,
CG
C.G. Waltersprimarily writes fiction that focuses on the multidimensionality of our loves and our lives. Autographed/signed copies of his current novel,Sacred Vow, are available from the author– or purchase from Amazon asebook, paperback, or Kindle version
One's own self is well hidden from one's own self; of all mines of treasure, one's own is the last to be dug up.--Friedrich Nietzsche
Yesterday I took only a short walk (4 hrs) up the mountain, checking in on some of my old trails that I had not visited for nearly two years.
I had a steady climb up an old mountain road, until I decided to temporarily drop down to check on a water on the a higher point of White Oak Creek than I have shown before.
As I had no aspiration of trying to have a mountain named after me (Elisha Mitchell), I climbed through the thicket around the waterfall—which, though steep and thick with bushes, offered its own beauty.
*** I have a fascination with trees perched on top of large stones (where there seems to be far too little soil for them) I am looking for just the perfect picture of conjunction of living and ‘non-living’ entity. I plan to use it on the cover of my next book (collection of maxims), Strike a Chord of Silence.
This picture is too cluttered and the stone is not distinctive enough.
After getting a good view of the mountain below from the top of the waterfall…
I reconnected with the trail and continued up until it ended, where I started to follow rock outcroppings, animal trails, etc. until I could connect with a trail on Burnt Ridge, which I sometimes take to the top of the Black Mountains. For a time I had to just walk the side of the mountain, without aid of any trail, knowing that I would (in time) contact the trail I sought.
While on this little trek, I encountered some beautiful slabs of stone rising up 20-30 feet, some leaning against each other. When I came upon them, I immediately wanted to take pictures, but got the feeling I should not. The wind began to pick up a bit and I felt my first threat of rain (which was not forecasted to happen until night).
Since I felt no real ‘clear’ indication that I should not take the pictures, I clicked off about five shots. Not surprisingly, when I go home, those pictures were almost completely black. One could not tell what the pictures were of.
I found the Burnt Ridge Trail and took a shot of the horizon.
In a bit of mist, I headed home, earlier than I planned, but got a couple of nice pictures while looking for a place called “Raven Rock.”
The mountain did take a token gift—as usual for traveling through the thickets—an extra shirt I had threaded through the straps of my packs.. Initially it had taken the mouth-piece for my CamelBak (Hands-Free Hydration System), but I asked for it back, and it was given back.I was not surprise when something was later required in trade.
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C.G. Walters primarily writes fiction that focuses on the multidimensionality of our loves and our lives.
Our world appears to be in crisis. Many of us seek saints and sages to make themselves known and to unveil to us more sustainable—survivable—paths.
What is the core essence of a saint or sage, but an advanced state of harmony with self and Self (the Collective Consciousness)? Consider for a moment the possibility that the thing most needed for the progression—even the survival—of our world is for you (and every one of us who dares) to stand up to accepting your deepest longing—not hedonistic attention to your more transient hungers but that thing which in embracing will put you more in harmony with ‘All That Is’.
Perhaps you have had long known an intense and persistent yearning in your life. Often this ‘need’ is beyond our full conscious understanding, and frequently exceeds our ability to succinctly and completely express—without some real time spent in communication with our deeper selves. This yearning may be for a partner with which we have an undeniable and boundless unity. It may be for a teacher that understands our questions and evokes from within us the answers fitted precisely to our purpose. It may be for the opportunity to spend our employment exclusively in an activity that we find meaningful and fulfilling. Whatever the longing, it is pervasive, insistent, and consistently our own. Even the illusive hint of it gives substance to our ephemeral selves, spirit to our form.
Once you have identified that deepest yearning, and you have taken the responsibility of putting it into words, thereby defining the need to yourself and to the creative energies of the Universe, what if . . . one day you find yourself transported to a foreign place and there stood your spirit mate, your teacher, or the opportunity for fulfillment of your dreams? The answer sounds easy and obvious, but take a moment to truly consider the intentionally chosen words ‘transported’ and ‘foreign’ before you answer.
You may be fortunate. It is quite possible for the transition from desire to fulfillment to be instantaneous. Perhaps your mind and the manifestation will progress evenly, so there is no doubt. For my own sake and for those I hold dear, I hope this for each and every one of us. Our response, however, is too important for me not to ask you to consider something. Can you release the person that you have always known as yourself without being consciously certain how your attainment will redefine you and your experience? How will those that have been drawn to what you have been respond to what you will become?
The individual you are now, in having the yearning—but not the manifestation of that desire—is not precisely the same individual who will be radiating the energy that brings forth the fulfillment of the dream. There may be that moment of consciousness where you stand at the fork of your transformation and you are both radiating the energy to produce your dream and that old identity that is still most comfortable with producing the desire—but not the fulfillment. As each of us comes to this crossroads, the future of our world hangs in the balance.
In order to make such a leap of faith, we must first accept our right to feel the union with the mind of creation that is ours upon embracing our deepest yearning—that yearning is actually our personal invitation from the Collective Consciousness. Mind you, even this monumental transition does not provide finality. You achieve your greatest potential in order to put you in position to perceive yet another possibility…the ever-progressing horizon. This, by no means, diminishes the great joy you feel in folding into your new self-definition the fulfillment of that yearning so long sought.
So, how is obtaining your deepest yearning a vital part of the survival of our world? Each time you accept the invitations to greater union with the Universe—those deep spiritual yearnings—you begin to radiate a more harmonious energy field around you as you pass through your day—spreading that harmony where you travel. The time has passed when the impact of a few harmonious saints and sages moving through the masses could resolve our situation. We can no longer indulge ourselves in remaining in the position of yearning only… and not stepping up to accepting the fulfillment. What we need now is an ever-increasing number of individuals radiating in harmony with the Universe…accepting those invitations for union with the Absolute. Only then will our world be sustainable.
Note: what is considered to be base desire for one may be spiritually essential—at this time—for another. To come to know our own true nature well enough that we may distinguish between want and need may seem like a daunting task, but isn’t really. This can be achieved by any activity—meditation, walking, gardening—so long as it takes your mind from the chatter of active thought to the nonjudgmental state of communion with yourself and all that surrounds you….to that place where the mind does not know that it cannot know.
Copyright 2007 CG Walters
This is my truth. Only you can determine if there is any value in it for you.
C.G. Walters primarily writes fiction that focuses on the multidimensionality of our loves and our lives.
If you could take silence and make it be words If you could take children and let them be heard If you could take war and let it be peace The sun would rise on a world that's free.
If you could take shame and let it be pride If you could shine light on the places you hide If you could bring soldiers back to their lover's arms The sun would rise on a peaceful morn.
If you could take Earth and heal all her wounds And know every small step is gonna help it come true If you could see beauty in everyone's eyes Then you are the reason for the sun to rise
If we could begin, think of how it would feel To slow down the pace now, and let yourself heal To love that there's difference, to love that there's same One by one in the world now, we'll make it change, we'll make it change
If you could take Earth, and heal all her wounds And know every small step is gonna help it come true If you could see beauty in everyone's eyes Then you are the reason for the sun to rise Then you are the reason for the sun to rise. Then you are the reason for the sun to rise
BE THE REASON.
Happy New Year, Dear Ones!!! You are the reason for the sun to rise!!
This concludes today's posting of CelebraZine(eZine to Celebrate What's Right in the World), a 'running blog carnival' (of posts both found and shared with me) that uplift and inspire.... an inspiration of sayings, video, audio (music and speech), images, poetry--anything and everything that feeds the positive in heart, spirit, and mind.
Our focus dictates what we see, which reinforces our focus, further confining the possibility of what we will see.
May you be blessed by these offerings reminding us of the beauty, wonder, and sacredness in the world around us and within us.
Celebrate yourself!
Be a part of the expression of celebration. Submit your submission(containing text, image, video, and audio, poetry, quotes, etc.)anytime for the daily installments of CelebraZine, a 'running blog carnival' ofWhat's Right in the World.
Note: Even if you are not the blogger of the work you'd like to suggest, but have noticed someone's work that you think should be included in a Celebration of What's Right in the World, --empowering people and spirit--please point out the work to us.
Blessings, dear ones,
CG
C.G. Walters primarily writes fiction that focuses on the multidimensionality of our loves and our lives. Autographed/signed copies of his current novel,Sacred Vow, are available from the author– or purchase from Amazon as ebook , paperback, or Kindle version
Sacred Vow is a metaphysical novel about a man who responds to the mysterious call of a woman, opening the way to redefinition of both himself and his understanding of the world around him. He takes his first steps on a journey to accept the world around him as a place to live, not simply a place to survive day-to-day. Sacred Vow is both a narrative and the means for the author to communicate a positive message about life and fully integrating the most into each moment. Highly recommended—Midwest Book Review
Installment 21 of 22 of the serialization of Sacred Vow(Dragon's Beard Publishing, ISBN: 978-0-9774271-4-7, paperback, Fiction: Visionary/Metaphysical).
The Void
Nothing unfolded. The densest black veil swallowed Ian, smothering every sensation.
He waited patiently for images to appear, hoping he was in time to help Katerina retrieve her baby. Transition between consciousness in Ian’s physical world and his parallel lives had been taking longer recently. But after a few minutes of nothing, he could not remain patient.
“Come on,” Ian tried to scream, “before he hurts her!”
He heard no scream, felt no sensation in his vocal cords. Instead, he felt a physical—or at least neural—sensation of something being drained from him—whatever he was in that dark place.
The sensory deprivation under this shroud of absolute black was both internal and external. His mind twisted about, trying to cope with no sensations at all. It soon became uncomfortably obvious to Ian that his mind had never before been without some form of sensory input. Even when one is asleep there is a steady flow of messages, if only from the body’s involuntary functions.
Ian wondered what his body was doing. He had never been aware of any bodily sensations from his primary reality when visiting before, but this was not one of the ordinary reality shifts. In a usual shift, it was possible, Ian imagined, that he continued to receive messages from his body back home but was always distracted because of what was happening in the visit. He seemed now to be lost somewhere between his primary reality and the place he hoped he would visit soon.
Or, he thought, maybe this place is just a different reality, one that I’m having a harder time than usual comprehending. Maybe I just have to let go of my preconceived expectations.
It dawned on Ian that this place might not have been where he originally intended to go, but Katerina might well be here anyway.
What he was sure of was that Katerina in that last world needed him. He had to go back there. No matter how he tried to ignore it, Ian knew he was going to have to accept that even a reduced time frame between trips would not help him return to a previous life.
He wanted to flail about and curse, but the void he was in had sucked all anger out of him. Instantly, he had a sensation of collapse where anger should have been, and he felt all the more exhausted for it. More than exhausted. Diminished. As if his existence was less certain than it had been a moment before. The threat of losing not only his life but his entire existence to this void was filling Ian with a unique sense of fear.
No matter how much Ian wanted to help that unfortunate manifestation of Katerina, he had to accept the possibility that he might not even be able to help himself. Every emotion or thought he experienced seemed to take away more of his life energy.
The loss of energy from his feelings was worse than that of thought. Ian decided to clamp down on any emotion. Each time he got upset, he experienced an excruciating void in its place. Thus he knew he could not afford to allow himself to feel anything. So, he used the process of releasing emotion that he learned in his mediation practice. Just let it go, he told himself, breathe in . . . It was easier when he’d had the sensation of breathing to focus on.
Suddenly from nowhere, Ian was blindsided by a new rush of fear. What if I am dead? His emotions took off running. And the backlash of the emptiness that followed was unbearable.
“O-o-oh hell-ll,” he wailed.
Just then, Ian realized something positive. If he was hurting, he was not dead! For the first time ever, he was thankful he could feel pain. It allowed him to release the fear and drift in the void.
Thought did not have as negative an effect, Ian had noticed. He had only a slight twinge of pain after a thought. Still, he had to ration his activity. He decided that he had better focus any thought on getting himself out of whatever he had gotten into.
Ian was sure he had to be lost in-between. Djalma had warned him it could happen. “You could get lost in the transition,” Djalma had said. So, here he was, no good to Katerina or to himself.
Ian searched for an answer. Was there something else Djalma had said that might be helpful? He is a smart one, that Djalma, Ian thought. If he thought something would be useful, he would probably have repeated the phrase or idea more than a time or two.
His mind was proving particularly intolerant of limited sensory input. Ian’s thoughts alone were not providing enough stimuli. This had to be what it felt like to die, awareness collapsing in on itself.
But there had to be something Djalma had repeated most. He would have done that. He would have tried to prepare me without being pushy, Ian thought.
Then Ian remembered: the Vow! Djalma had said to remember the Vow!
“Think on the Vow,” he told himself. “It doesn’t matter if it makes sense.”
Who could know about the Vow, except Katerina? Thinking of not being able to help her and her child caused Ian to feel pain again. For feeling that flash of sympathy, he suffered another ripping sensation of the void.
As loud as he could muster, he recited the Vow:
I offer this Sacred Vow to you alone. If ever you are in need, expect me to reach beyond possibility and take your hand. As you feel the warmth of our bond, know that you will never be forgotten, never be alone, and never be without this one enduring love.
Over and over, Ian repeated the Vow to himself. The rhythm of the verse was hypnotizing. Ian noticed that the darkness seemed slightly less oppressive.
Blurry light broke through to his eyes. A shadow appeared in front of him—a figure leaning over as to touch his head. It was the Katerina of the tea visions. Ian yearned to touch her . . . and he did not feel the pain of losing a part of himself!
“Oh, Ian, what have you done to yourself?” she said. “Go home and be healed. This is very dangerous for us. Come back to me when your spirit has recovered, dear one.” She fanned some herbal smoke across him, and Ian lost consciousness.
When he woke up, Ian saw that he was in his study, and that it was sometime during the day. Judging from the light in the windows, it was around midday. It had been early evening, right after work, when Ian had first entered into the meditation. He could not see a clock or even manage to raise his watch arm, so he didn’t know if it was the next day, or some day following. What he did know was that he was miserable.
Lying flat on the couch in his study, he tried to move. He knew he needed food, but the pain from the first attempt to stir almost made him sick. He gritted his teeth and tried to hold on to his awareness, but he could not. He blacked out again.
Next week is the Final Installment of the serialized portion of Sacred Vow,Woodland Soup
copyright 2006 CG Walters
Thank you for your continued support.
Blessings, dear ones,
CG
CG Walters primarily writes fiction that focuses on the multidimensionality of our loves and our lives.
If everyone cared and nobody cried If everyone loved and nobody lied If everyone shared and swallowed their pride Then we'd see the day when nobody died When nobody died...
When we take any action, it not only has a direct impact on that which we are acting upon, but it also has an impact upon unknown or unseen (to us) variables....
Many thanks to those featured today, for the work they do to better our world!!!!
This concludes today's posting of CelebraZine(eZine to Celebrate What's Right in the World), a 'running blog carnival' (of posts both found and shared with me) that uplift and inspire.... an inspiration of sayings, video, audio (music and speech), images, poetry--anything and everything that feeds the positive in heart, spirit, and mind.
Our focus dictates what we see, which reinforces our focus, further confining the possibility of what we will see.
May you be blessed by these offerings reminding us of the beauty, wonder, and sacredness in the world around us and within us.
Celebrate yourself!
Be a part of the expression of celebration. Submit your submission (containing text, image, video, and audio, poetry, quotes, etc.)anytime for the daily installments of CelebraZine, a 'running blog carnival' ofWhat's Right in the World.
Note: Even if you are not the blogger of the work you'd like to suggest, but have noticed someone's work that you think should be included in a Celebration of What's Right in the World, --empowering people and spirit--please point out the work to us.
Blessings, dear ones,
CG
C.G. Walters primarily writes fiction that focuses on the multidimensionality of our loves and our lives. Autographed/signed copies of his current novel,Sacred Vow, are available from the author– or purchase from Amazon as ebook, paperback, or Kindle version
“…we have not even to risk the adventure alone; for the heroes of all time have gone before us; the labyrinth is thoroughly known; we have only to follow the thread of the hero-path…”
Joseph Campbell-Hero With a Thousand Face
Almost every time I strap on my gear (40+ pounds) and step out into my trek up the mountain, my knees, my back, and even my heart seem to groan at the prospects of several hours of hard climbing upwards, and then who knows how many hours of roaming around before the (physically more) demanding (on all but heart and lungs) work of descending. But I go, because soon my mind and body will come into harmony with the effort, and the benefit to my spirit carries the physical.
Primarily, I walk alone. A psychic once told my wife that I 'leave it all behind' when I go up the mountain. What I know is that I most often achieve an altered state of mind that will gradually drop away over weeks, if I do not go up again. Science has proven exercise's many benefits to physical and mental health (being even better than prozac/zoloft
, or 
