Hearts Desire

by John Ashbrook

No relationship, of any kind, can sustain itself without a balance of commitment. Just as giving and receiving make up the whole, and there for giving cannot exist without receiving nor vice versa, there cannot be a one-sided commitment. The key to establishing a balance of commitment in one’s life is to first make a commitment to one’s own life. A person who is committed to themselves automatically attracts commitment from others. Conversely, a person who is not committed to their own life will never attract a sincere commitment from others. A real commitment is not only a two-way street, but also a living contract. It cannot be permanent unless it is growing and evolving. If it becomes static it is no longer a commitment. In a committed relationship both parties must constantly be renewing and evolving their commitments to themselves in order to maintain their commitment to each other, to the relationship. If extremes exist in giving or receiving the relationship cannot grow so the state of commitment suffers. If both partners maintain somewhat equal personal growth, then the balance of commitment is also maintained, and the relationship remains fulfilling. Remember all extreme, rigid positions ultimately become nothing more than excuses not to change, grow, evolve and be free. This is not commitment because spiritual commitment is a pledge to trust the flow of life, which of course, is ever-changing and evolving.

The universe has a commitment to itself, a simple but never-ending pledge to expand the force of life into the infinite void, refining matter into spirit, eradicating imprisoning fear and replacing it with joyous, unencumbered freedom. It is interesting to note that the universe’s commitment to itself is the same one it has to every one of us. Now since we all are part of the universe it is incumbent upon each and every one of us to align ourselves with it. If your commitment to yourself is to constantly expand your consciousness, to overcome fear that prevents change, to evolve your soul and trust the natural flow of life, then you are a committed partner, and all possibilities exist for your life. You see, when your sincere commitment to yourself is to be the best that you can be, you automatically attract others with the same spiritual attitude. Understand that the main impediment to total fulfillment is a lack of trust. Committing one’s self to a life of spiritual development promotes trust and faith in one’s self. When one truly trusts their own knowing, then trusting the process of life must follow. Commitment rallies the soul; it is the backbone of success and the perpetual fuel of personal growth.

Loving relationships are born of trust, so one must have a state of trust within before they can truly give themselves over to another human being. Love is movement, flowing harmony. It cannot exist where there is non-trust or control. Control only exists where balance does not. Balance creates living. Living is expressing. Expressing maintains balance and so it goes. This is the natural and right process of existence and any commitment that one makes in any area of life must take this dynamic into consideration. Your commitments in life should reflect your state of spiritual development in any given moment. If this is so, then you are growing, and you will feel a sense of fulfillment even though your greatest goals may not yet be achieved. This is trust, a patient knowing faith that the best is yet to come and that beyond that there is even a greater fulfillment and you know that you will be ready for it, when the time is right. A balanced, evolving life can only get brighter, but the brightness of enlightenment that you are not ready for will only blind you to the beauty that exists today. This is why there cannot be a final commitment but instead, a permanent commitment to the ever-unfolding grandeur of divine enlightenment. It’s a creeping awesomeness!

Know what your commitments to yourself are. Create a list of them an evolving list. Know consciously what your commitments to yourself are at any given time, so that you are able to convey them to others in a clear, concise way. This sparks honest sharing of desires, mutual commitments. Someone cannot commit to you unless they know what your commitments to yourself are. This will create harmony in any relationship. It will also aid you in attracting more committed people into your life. You will not suffer from the fear of “letting go” of people who refuse to make equal commitments with you. Instead, you will move on and at the same time, you help them to see the error of their rigidity. You become part of the universal flow and the universe will reward you with an ongoing, unimaginable journey of personal discovery, joy and spiritual fulfillment.

John Ashbrook

John Ashbrook is a professional numerologist and intuitive spiritual counselor. He teaches a comprehensive Spiritual Development Program that combines ongoing classes with Individual Guidance sessions to maximize personal growth. For information about private consultations, classes and other services, please call John at 734-326-3433

Polish the mirror today and see the Beloved

You can be a host to the Divine or hostage to your ego

The ego-mind is like a devil in your head..who wants to keep you from changing. It will keep you from doing nourishing things for yourself or changing a painful habit

Nature can help you to wake back up to your innate wholeness. Put your feet to the Earth or your hand on a tree, breath into your body, and receive its presence. Remember, what you are touching is also touching you. Let life in.

“Original sin” is the forgetting of who we are. I don’t believe it has as much to do with theology as it does our psychology. The most tragic split (“or sin”) is when, as a precious young child, we believe we had to become something other than ourselves- to appease or gain the approval of our caretakers. (In attachment psychology, this is called the “split from the authentic self” to gain a connection with our caretakers. It is a survival static)

Look for yourself in the world---and you will lose yourself. That what you’re seeking is already here. Your True Self can be forgotten through suffering; however, the Real You never leaves.

Feeling separate from our original True Self, we seek to fill it with the Earth’s resources, a person, or things. Feeling separate, we take from nature without thought for future generations.

Remembering we are whole magnificent, and Divine.....doesn’t make us treat others cruelly - in fact, it does the opposite. Relaxing into our inherent goodness causes people to not hoard or act from scarcity. (Over-work, withhold love)

Letting go to the Beloved as you, there are now inward capacities to be independent of the “good opinion” of others. How we identify is how we act. For example, if I identify as an athlete, I will probably go work out. Identify as the Beloved…as an expression of Love.

I will act and speak from Love

Life has pain--Suffering is optional. Suffering is when we forget who we are in the midst of that pain. Our egomind creates stories like: “It is something we are lacking” --“or life is against us.”

Einstein said something to the effect—- you can decide if you live in a friendly or hostile universe. This decision decides your happiness.

It is a courageous choice to remember your wholeness. The ego-mind would rather you identify with your patterns, stories, accomplishments, or failures. I believe the inward journey is awakening to all those limited self-identities and relaxing back to our true identity as the Beloved.

“ Nothing real can be threatened. Nothing unreal exists; herein lies the peace of God” ACIM. That what changes can be threatened. Surrendering and letting go to your True Self brings real inner peace. Opening to the Beloved within is a process of coming home to your body and to the Earth.

Embodied present moment awareness invites us into eternity… into peace.

Eternity is not a very long time. It is ever-present now. Inner peace is possible.

Barbra WhiteCrow M.A, Di.hom is an eco-therapist, best-selling author, qi-gong practitioner, intuitive empathic healer, and social activist. She is committed to compassion for herself and all living beings

April 9, 10-12 pm

Trauma Healing Yoga and chi-gong in nature near horses.

April 23rd, 10-5 pm. Coming home to Yourself - Coming Home to the Earth.

MotherBearBarbra@gmail.com