Pierced for other's transgressions...

Good morning family!!

It has been a HOT ONE round these parts...wow...and even AC doesn't keep you from overheating...but at least allows you to breathe!!  Air is very thick and moist...but you'll have that from time to time :)

Anyway...I wasn't planning on posting this morning really, as it has proven to be a time of sitting back, watching, listening, and being silent.  It is "deposit" time again---where I recharge, refuel, and refill!! Although, as I was scrolling down through FB this morning...there was a "picture post" about Jesus being "pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities."  It's funny, but ANY biblical quote or scripture I can directly relate to my own life...AND the lives of all others---and no matter what...they ALL fit.  If in keeping with the thought that Jesus is metaphor for each and every one of us...his life...the trials, tribulations, struggle, betrayal, death, rising up...love, patience, hope, and faith---the message it sends is astonishing, really.

How many times have you been "pierced" (deeply wounded) by the actions of another?  And how many times on your way to what you had a feeling was ultimately going to happen did you sit alone, scared to death and say "Oh God, why me?"  And how many times did you do EVERYTHING you possibly could to avoid that ultimate circumstance (take this cup from me if it be your will), and no matter what you did...it happened anyway...and after all of the death and mourning, did you rise again...to peace more abundant than you've ever experienced before?  I don't know about you...but the word MANY comes to mind with me.  And each struggle seems to get tougher and each death takes more from you, but with each subsequent rising...the peace ALSO becomes more impenetrable, more appreciated...until you learn that it is a natural cycle that everyone goes through.  No one is immune...no one cheats their way through it.

I believe that this metaphor is to teach that WE do not and cannot control others--all we can do is LOVE and surrender.  And even though love comes with a hefty price sometimes, it is one that ALWAYS gives us back an equitable return--that no one else is responsible for paying.  It also teaches that our path is already designed to fit into "God's plan"--maybe some of the circumstances leading up to a fall are of our own design, but the outcome is always there to let us know whether or not something is meant to be....in keeping with that plan.  Let's face it...we know ourselves better than anyone else...we know at times how we will react to road-blocks...we know our character traits...but we seem to focus a lot on the ones that are strongest...and we "forget" our weaknesses...but we DO KNOW them as well--we try to overcompensate with what we perceive to be our greatest strengths so that we can "avoid" looking at our weaknesses (but in reality, contained within what we view to be our greatest strength, we find our greatest weakness).  Struggle in life serves to bring to light those weaknesses...especially if we have found ourselves in some sort of reoccurring situation that always brings the same outcome.  It is there to sharpen our vision to foresee.  When you begin to develop this foresight...you find that your focus becomes one of "the best for ALL"---but this time YOU are included in that...and you are not so willing to fully cast yourself aside for the sake of another but that you act in a manner that allows someone else's path to unfold to its design without throwing yours off course.  YOU cannot be ANYONE ELSE'S savior...but only your own.  When this principle is learned and practiced...true peace enters.

This is not to say that you should not offer support....this is to say that there are boundaries and when you find the middle-ground and place of balance in this boundary...you find that you are not meant to be anyone else's quick-fix, nor are you responsible in any way to cover their consequence or "take them away" with your selflessness.  Wisdom, integrity, moral compass...all are bought at a very high price, but once procured, are cared for and protected because of how hard they were to come by.

I've identified my weakness and it now LIVES in check.  It has taken me my entire life, but I made it, and I wouldn't trade my life now for anything.  I had to go through it to grow from it...I had everything I needed to make it, really...I just had to identify the weaknesses that kept tripping me up along the way over and over again.  Now, I feel like every day I wake up, I am blessed and instead of longing for things, I now wait in anticipation for good things to come to me and others--as they are designed.  I don't try to step in and "rush" the process...I don't touch it AT ALL.  I let it be, let it go, and let it come.

"Surrender is the faith that the power of LOVE can accomplish anything even when you cannot foresee the outcome."~Deepak Chopra.

"You're in the midst of a war:  A battle between the limits of a crowd seeking the surrender of your dreams and the power of your true vision to create and contribute.  It is a fight between those who will tell you what you cannot do and the part of you that knows and has always known that we are more than our environment; and that a dream backed by an unrelenting will to attain it,  is truly a reality with an imminent arrival."~Anthony Robbins.

The consequence we suffer is our own cross to bear.  The freedom we acquire is our own life to live.  The peace we find comes from accepting these principles.

....That's all folks!

My reason...

Good morning everyone....we FINALLY got some rain yesterday, which we have needed so very badly for so very long, and finally, I think it was enough to actually do a bit of good.  Lazy, lazy day for me yesterday, as it was my only day off and I quite enjoyed just sitting on the porch with my extra large cup of java watching and listening to the rain with my animals.

Those who visit my site regularly ..(thank you)..pretty much know what to expect when they come here.  I dig right down to the core of everything & usually way inside of there, there is a message---something meaningful and positive to extract.  Someone even said to me "God, you just bear your soul in front of everyone--I wouldn't ever be able to do that."  And maybe...to onlookers...this is how it appears.  However, my belief is that we are of one soul--the same one--at the core, so in reality, the soul I bear is collective.  Those who know themselves and stay true to themselves will probably say that they actually see or feel a part of themselves as they read--and this is why I do it.  It is not to lay myself out there before the public...as there are many more facets of ME that cannot even begin to be recognized through the written word alone.  I write this blog to reach out, to impart, to build up and hold in high esteem--LOVE.  It is something that I am compelled to do.  It is not a mere hobby or something I do for enjoyment.  It is a commission, a drive, a need and what I believe to be one of many means in which I make my contribution to humanity.  It may seem like small potatoes in the scope of all of humanity...but to me, a stepping stone in the right direction---and my readers come from all over the world.  I feel the need so deeply, that if I weren't to write something every day or use another means to encourage someone somehow ...I would wither away and die.  I NEED to care.  This blog is one of the vehicles I use to do that.  I figure that if I have information and have lived the proof of that information myself to complete validity...keeping it to myself would be selfish.  What if Albert Einstein were to have kept the result of his drive a secret...or Martin Luther King, Jr., or Mother Theresa??

Speaking for myself, I need that kind of positive, uplifting, and loving guidance...whether I am at a place of peace in my life or not.  I need that sometimes esoteric validation of revelation by another---and then I step back and look at what it is that makes this person's words, perceptions, experiences, and outcome so important and resonant to me...and it is the profound similarity of feeling, mindset, and action to my very own.  This deeper kind of validation is what allows us to trust and grant credibility.  This trust and credibility are the makings of courage...the courage it takes to allow ourselves to be somewhat vulnerable.  Without  vulnerability...the conveyance of REAL love cannot be exchanged and the words of REAL truth cannot be spoken or understood.

Since I can remember, I have been frequently sought-out for advice, a shoulder to cry on, and for guidance.  Though the scale in which I've made this contribution throughout the years can be considered very small, we must always be mindful of  the "six degrees of separation."  I bear this concept in mind every time I speak, write, AND listen.

As my blog title, itself suggests, we are representative of ALL in ONE.  My drive in this life is to allow my greatest potential to unfold without hindrance or fear, to hold myself back from the temptation to withdraw due to some egotistical need for acceptance and/or approval of others.  And in so doing, I hope to spread healing, courage, and abundant potential to others.

FEAR is the enemy...it comes in many forms...and it is always self-limiting, self-demeaning, and self-defeating.  Some of you may not entirely understand why I do this or how I can do this...and to those of you who express this...ask yourself *WHY.  This IS the taboo question...the one EVERYONE is conditioned to avoid or make an excuse for.  If you can be insightful enough to at least honestly answer this for yourself, within yourself without the "fear" of retribution from others...you will probably find that you've been under-exposed and there is a drive way down in there that could be used in contribution that you have just been "too afraid" to bring to light.  Your lamp belongs on a stand...NOT underneath it.  And this light is not FOR you...as even the blind can...with pretty astute accuracy travel about their own familiar surroundings..the light is for others...to let them know where to find YOU, so the exchange can be made.

* Pertinent to note that in a Human Service college course I took, I was told by the instructor that mental health therapists are not EVER to ask their clients "why."  I remember thinking "Are you effing kidding me?"   I was FLOORED to say the least, as I KNOW that any healing I ever completely accomplished BEGAN by asking myself that VERY QUESTION.  So this led me to ask myself how concerned society (collectively) REALLY is about (the individual's) healing.  Then I began to think about the implications that would result in the realization that all of our healing potential came from the ability to ask that particular question of ourselves coupled with the courage to answer it honestly.  Dependency consumption (which is also completely WOVEN of fear) would become a thing of the past.  I also discovered that though the direct question of WHY is avoided at all costs...the technique is to lead you there (at their pace) anyway.  Why are we so afraid of approaching ourselves?  Why do we feel we need a middle-man (a stranger, no less) to accomplish what we have already within ourselves to accomplish?

I will be publishing a post dedicated to this menacing spirit of fear, restlessness, boredom, and master of appearances soon...I felt you may need a primer.

I send to you some of my peace..of which I have an abundance...I offer to you some of my strength...of which I can spare...and most of all, I send to you the will to comfort and care for the soul we all share...of which I have learned is MY responsibility.

God's speed and blessings to you and all of that and whom you love.

Where Making a Real Contribution Comes From

Hello everyone...this is quite unusual for me...writing in the middle of the afternoon!!  However, commitments for early morning sort of took precedence over how I would MUCH rather be spending my time in assertive creative pursuits!!

Okay...let's get down to business...shall we?

Let's talk about "giving" and "contribution."  Both of these to me have a very similar, if not the same meaning.  How many times when we do our spring cleaning do we put aside clothes that don't fit that are still in good condition...maybe our closets and cupboards begin to get cluttered with years of accumulation that we decide one day we are going to sort out and thin a bit?  What is the first thing we think when we do this?  I wonder who could use this and that...maybe I can give these clothes that are still in very good condition to someone who could use them...etc??  This is NOT the type of giving and contribution I wish to address.  This is exactly the "opposite" of the message I wish to convey this afternoon to you.

To really GIVE...is to perceive or KNOW a need and MEET that need according TO that need.  It is to offer up something to a cause, a situation, a relationship because it really MATTERS TO YOU.  It is not enough to give something away that you no longer have any USE for or that is "cluttering up your life"---as now this "thing" that you give away has no real meaning to you.

I feel that a genuine contribution is made of something that YOU love...something that you WISH another to have....something that may require you to work a little, dig down into your heart a bit to materialize for them.  It is something that requires you to feel more for another or a situation than yourself and ultimately calls for a sacrifice on your part.  AND...most importantly, it HAS to MEET the NEED...not necessarily just what you "feel comfortable" with giving or "want" to give--because if this is the case...then you are not really giving anything AT ALL.

A cheerful giver is one who sees a need and FILLS it accordingly...regardless of how much work is involved, how much time it takes, or how much they may lose in the process.   The purest contribution is one where the contribution gets literally LOST and becomes unrecognized in the essence and manifestation of the GREATEST potential of the cause itself.  It is not about taking credit, being recognized for YOUR contribution...the (I will say it again) manifestation of the greatest potential of whomever you give to or whatever you give to is the GIFT that the cheerful giver receives in RETURN.  It is not about setting up networks of praise and notoriety for a "later time" or about making anyone else look bad because "what we chose to GIVE them just wasn't GOOD ENOUGH FOR THEM."  It is literally doing YOUR part in something you believe in and love to lift that "thing" up, allow it to take center stage and watch IT shine.

As I type, a scripture I've read resonates in my mind (and I have to Google it to get an exact quote)..."But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing."~Matthew 6:3.  I believe this is what this means...only "poor" means "those in or that of need or weakness."

There are many examples I could use to drive this message...because I have a CRAZY amount of flowers planted in pots and all around my house...I will use them.  I LOVE flowers...I love the vibrant colors of some, and the muted tones of others...and I like ALL colors.  I love the different scents they give off and I love the different textures that contrast with one another.  When I plant them...I have already made a commitment to care for them...and if I love them so...why wouldn't I want to do that?  Why wouldn't I want to make sure that they had everything they needed to bloom and grow to their most beautiful and full potential?  I am certainly not going to "wait for nature" to care for them...as we have had some pretty draughty conditions here...they would shrivel up and die...and I am not going to nourish them with milk (even though it's good enough to nourish ME).  I am going to sacrifice a space in my day JUST for them.  I am going to traipse back and forth from the house with my watering can filled up and CONSISTENTLY give them what they NEED when they need it...which is EVERY DAY.  I am not only going to just water them...but I am going to pluck off all of the dead heads of the blooms and any dead growth that may be sucking vital nutrients so that the healthy becomes healthier...and the place in which I plant them is going to be cohesive to the amount of sunlight they need in order to flourish...and I will say it again...manifest their greatest potential.  And guess what...all of the planting, time, sacrifice, daily watering and tending is LOST and unrecognizable...in the end, the greatest potential BELONGS to them-the praise of beauty belongs to THEM.

In the matter of raising my children...I gave what they needed...regardless of time, space, money, what I lacked...because in the end, I wanted them to SHINE.  When someone "compliments" ME on my children's behavior or how they "turned out"...I immediately dismiss any credit...and politely remind them that I really had very little to do with how they turned out.  I merely gave them an example to follow and provided for their needs---they didn't have to follow it--they have their own minds, and have CHOSEN themselves to be the people they are.

To truly give is to completely RESIST any reflection of what you have given on yourself--for any reason.  The reward and treasure is in doing your part, honoring your commitments, and standing in the background while what you choose to nurture and make your contribution to soars to its highest heights...this should be GIFT enough if you really care about what you put your heart, soul, and time into. In essence, we fulfill our very own spiritual needs by standing in the gap, holding up the weak, working on the broken, strengthening what already has the potential to be strong in its own right--for no other reason than it means something to you...you love it...you want to do your best for it...etc.

"Only those who have learned the power of sincere and selfless contribution experience life's deepest joy; true fulfillment."~Tony Robbins.

"There is no greater calling than to serve your fellow man.  There is no greater contribution than to help the weak.  There is no greater satisfaction than to have done it well."~Walter Reuther.

Well, that's it for today....

It's getting about time to go grocery shopping and it is too beautiful a day to waste!!

Excerpts from a book I picked up last night....

Good morning folks---wow, this makes 3 days in a ROW!!  This is almost unheard of...I seem to have SO much to share that I am bursting at the seams!!  Everyday, a new wonder, a new validation, another length of thread added.

Last night, as I was retiring to bed, I decided to pick up a book and read a bit.  I've been doing quite a bit of "depositing" of information---and I felt a need to make a withdraw.  The book I decided to settle in with is entitled The Signs of God by Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee.  I was SO engrossed in this book, that I brought it downstairs with me this morning to continue my nourishment.  As I read, words, phrases, & concepts began to rise up off of the pages and meet with my heart--and I began to see how I have, myself used these same exact terms, phrases, and concepts in relaying my own experiences.  I believe this to be the way in which the source shows us that we ARE like minded, like hearted, and ONE in soul and spirit.

I wish to excerpt from this book because I just stumbled across a paragraph that ties the last three of my posts (The Power Contained Within a Name, The Central Point of Turning Water Into Wine--Fermentation, and I Go to Prepare a Place for You) together so beautifully---it was meant to grab my attention and share with you.  It is almost as if...these words were meant to solidify, unite, and clothe my words in truth.  Read on:

"But the Source brings something else to the surface, something we need to nourish rather than define.  There is a bigger wholeness hidden, waiting at the corner of the moments, watching from behind the thoughts.  This wholeness has an unexpected purpose.  From across time and beyond space, it has a scent, indistinguishable and yet distinct, like a wine that has fermented elsewhere and retains that quality. "

"We have been waiting for something to happen, and yet the happening has come closer.  We sense another presence, another pattern, unhidden but unrevealed..  There is a tender sense of silence without prayer to or from.  In the moments of our own silence we are welcomed, both as stranger and as friend.  We need to allow this presence to be with us, not in defined moments, but as a flow."

"Love alters the mind, changes its patterns.  In the mind of the lover two become one, ecstasy happens.  And this is real, not just empty fantasy.  Love brings the mind into the heart and trains it in the ways of oneness."

"We want to live in the space where everything is present and we feel the wholeness of our being." (refer to I Go to Prepare...)

"Part of the work of the mystic is to help humanity adjust and grow with the changes that are about to take place. The mystic knows that these changes first happen on the inner planes, before they come to manifestation.  We have learned how to let dreams and intuitions guide us so that we move with the changes of this life, rather than resist of impede our own self-development.  Through warning dreams or hints, we learn how to avoid negative situations."

"The path has taught her not to be attracted to appearances, but to see a situation within her own life from an inner perspective, grasp what is being reflected by the outer event.  She knows this from her own journey, and thus is able to see its potential within the collective."

"Catching the thread of our deeper destiny, we come to know the hidden purpose of our life.  From the dance of opposites, inner and outer, feminine and masculine, the secrets of the soul become known."

These are just but a very few words of a few pages that jumped out at me as I read.  It is so difficult  sometimes to use words alone to describe and detail the truths I attempt to convey here.  Looking to other authors, composers, musicians, painters, etc is so edifying, as they shine the same light but may highlight more intricate detail...or pan out to involve multiple details as they relate to the whole.

My wish...as always...joy, health, love, faith, hope...and above all a KNOWING---so "there is no longer a need to believe!!" (excerpted from a Carl Jung interview).

Much love,
Raina :)

I go to prepare a place for you....

Hi Folks!!]

As I promised...a continuation of my post yesterday...well, at least a continuation of interpretation!

I've been having this reoccurring dream where I am in this HUGE house with a totally redundant amount of HUGE rooms...and I know that this is my house, so I am trying to (room by room) figure out purposes for each of them.  I even remember saying in my dream (to whomever was there--more than once)  "How many living rooms can one person have or does one person need...this is ridiculous!!"  I also have this feeling that I do not yet live there, but that I go there and work on one room at a time.  I also have this feeling that some of the rooms that I enter, I've been in before but have forgotten they existed and have to recollect that they have always been there--but one thing rings true EVERY time I go there...I seem to "acquire" or discover a new room.

However, the last dream I had about this house-- I remember designing as a "pool-hall/bar-room/lounge area and my purpose for going back was to show whomever was with me how it was coming along.  I completely remember how it was set up and exactly what it looked like, and I had one entire wall of floor to ceiling windows installed on the East end of it.  The other end of this room wasn't completely finished yet--so I got to work peeling down some old and ugly wallpaper..and as I did, behind the wallpaper, I discovered 4 huge floor to ceiling gray barn-wood doors.  I remember thinking..."so they didn't even build a wall over them or replace them with a wall--just "covered" them with this wallpaper."  It probably would be pertinent to note before I go much further into detail that this is how I discovered most of  the rooms of this house, as some were hidden.  It seemed that every time I would come back, I would discover yet ANOTHER extra-large room to do something with--and every time it happened, it was like discovering a treasure.  It was exciting and I could not wait to see what was behind those doors!!  As I opened the barn doors, instead of an additional inside room, it was an entrance from the house to an outdoor barn or (of course) mammoth garage.  I looked to the right, and there parked in this huge space was a huge vehicle--the biggest tanker semi truck I had ever seen in my life!!  I remember thinking...WOW, well, this is a good place for that...and it seems that this space ALREADY has a purpose, so I was relieved in a sense that this space didn't need anything from me to finish it...but perplexed at the same time.

This last encounter with my mansion in the dream-state was approximately one week ago.  When I woke up and came downstairs--over coffee, I discussed this dream with a friend.  I told him that I had been having this dream (although the dream itself wasn't exactly the same)...it was a "sequel" dream of sorts, where I kept traveling back and forth to and from this (same) house that I knew was mine only to discover room after room after room...and also made mention of "how many damn rooms can one house have...it is CRAZY!!"  I sort of kept the mental notes, and quickly put it in the back of my mind--like I had done so many times before.

A few nights later...as I was falling asleep (I'm thinking I was right in between semi-wakefulness and deep sleep), I audibly heard a male's voice quietly say to me "In heaven, there are many rooms."  As soon as I heard this, my eyes POPPED open and I just laid there very still wondering who the hell that was in my room that had just spoke to me--and ya know, at that point, and even until a couple of days later...I didn't think about the reoccurring dream I had been having!!  I had all but forgotten about it--again.  When I got out of bed the morning after this, I was on a mission!!  Being the "master of metaphor" that I have become through the years, I sought to find the meaning in these words.  As they were being spoken to me, I figured, it had to mean SOMETHING.  So for an entire day, I researched (and found some pretty profound shit!!)...but something seemed to be missing.  There were a few really good explanations, but I could not really attach them to me, anything else, or each other, so I kept searching.  Out of the blue, I remembered my dream...THAT was the missing link.  What struck me EVERYTIME I would have it was the NUMBER of rooms in this house...and how each of these rooms manifested as a "new discovery", some of them I had forgotten were there until I revisited, and how I worked tirelessly to give them all some sort of purpose that tied them into the whole.

Once I remembered the aspects of each of these dreams, the feelings I had in this place--the knowledge that it was mine but because I kept finding new rooms each time I went, it wasn't move-in ready--so I hadn't completely moved in yet, how this last room that I had discovered was "almost" finished upon my return, and as I was working on getting rid of that old and tired wallpaper TO finish it, I discovered yet MORE DOORS--which led to the storage facility of a VERY LARGE vehicle--and this then became the last room I had discovered.  And then a few nights later...a voice that spoke "Heaven has many rooms"...the research that I had to do to unravel the mystery became a LOT easier.  *Sorry about the run-on nature of this VERY large sentence, but if I were explaining it to you...I don't think my excitement would have allowed me to pause!

This is my explanation:  Because I am one who strives to find the meaning in everything because I know that everything happens for a reason...I am always searching and questioning.  The meaning of some things already comes recognizably attached-- but most often, that tie that binds lay hidden beneath the betwixt the nuance of it all. I have a very expansive mind and I challenge it often...so most often, the messages I receive about my "path" in life are set in this manner.  Notable to mention--how Jesus, himself would relay messages to people---in parables, metaphor, & riddles.  Life is a series of mysteries--some answer the call to solve them--some don't.  If the power is IN YOU to solve them and to live them and to enjoy the interesting twists and turns they add to the mundane--then you would be cheated if someone were to just TELL you outright exactly what it is that you are experiencing.  The old adage, "you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink" comes to mind.  This is the way in which I believe the universe prompts us, intrigues us to follow, and leads us.  WE have to figure the answer out OURSELVES--but, if we are on our toes and we SEEK to find the answer...when we do indeed find it, we also see that it has been set up so perfectly FOR us that we then experience a moment of irony that really tests our sense of humor and ability to laugh at ourselves--and THIS, I do often!!

I am going to break down the meaning of  "In Heaven, there are many rooms."

First of all, Heaven and Hell (to me) are not "physical" places.   They are the "dwelling places" of the soul.  They are states of consciousness.  There many planes of consciousness--and all are driven by imagination, perception, and because we are also human---circumstance.  We travel between heaven and hell on an almost daily basis--maybe even minute to minute sometimes.  Though, while we are on earth, we need to keep a healthy balance between the two--as we are still "living beings."  Our foundation is to be in the center--but our mission is to "go back to whence we came."  As we travel through life, we become more aware of our own unique purpose in it and we are provided with tools and/or vehicles.  It is very pertinent to be mindful that this "tool or vehicle" is not the purpose in itself, but the manner in which to REACH our destination.  These vehicles are also frequently termed "gifts."  They seem to come from no where, are not the result of any formal training, and if you are anything like me, you discover more and more of them that you never even thought you had--and they usually spawn from a love of something, a vision, and a deep desire to "do it yourself" and leave your own personal mark.  Now within our soul are MANY facets and within the dwelling places of it are many chambers.  Each of these chambers contain what we need to complete our WHOLE.  Just as a room is contained within a house...they all have their own individual purpose in making it a home.   They all look different, serve different, and are used differently---but are also cohesive and contributory to the whole.  Each facet of our soul is assigned to a different chamber.  Some of these chambers we have discovered before, turned away from, but come back to revisit--so they are not yet completed.  Some of them are new discoveries---but each needs to be completed and enmeshed with the others BEFORE we can completely move in.

I believe that the room I was working on that was "almost" completed--the bar-room, pool hall, lounge...was the last room I have to complete.  I don't think I will be having this dream anymore.  I got the message.  I believe that it represented the "SOCIAL" aspect of my life,which I have only begun to revisit and spruce up a bit.  It is either the networking part of my destiny or my "partner" part of my destiny OR both, which will in some way interweave anyway.  It is where someone is going to "point me out"...or "point someone out TO me" and where that big vehicle will be stumbled upon and discovered in reaching my destination.

So this, my friends is part II to my post yesterday.  There have been so many things happening and new discoveries about myself and the direction of which my life has taken..and all of them have been positive and let me know that I am now on the right track (again).  I've learned that these places I've seen and been to before (as the rooms in this house) are being revisited and remembered and finally...their purpose is now on the way to completion.  I had left them behind and all but forgotten them in the detours I have taken...but when I come back...I remember them well and I need to nurture them and assign to them...meaning.. and incorporate them according to their own individual contribution to the whole.

As I was sitting, writing this...yet another rather curious thing happened...that was VERY relative to what I had written.....and maybe (we shall see).... there will be a part III.

Thank you for reading...from my home to yours...I wish for you all that you dream and more importantly, the ability to recognize it when it presents itself to you.
God Bless!!

Raina

The central point of "turning water into wine---FERMENTATION.

"On the third day, a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee.  Jesus' mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding.  When the wine was gone, Jesus' mother said to him, "They have no more wine"  "Woman, why do you involve me?"  Jesus replied.  "MY HOUR HAS NOT YET COME."

There is a powerful and poignant message in this...The depiction of Jesus changing water into wine at a wedding is not as simple as "alcohol is better for you than water."  As a matter of fact, "wine" and "water" are spoken of MANY times throughout the scripture.  Water is metaphor for "spirit" and all attributes of spiritual cleansing, quenching...faith, hope, communion with the Higher power.  Wine...I hate to disappoint ya...is simply metaphor of "fermentation."  Jesus changing water to wine is really the same scenario as Jesus being "God in human form" --just as WE ALL ARE.  He was our EXAMPLE.  It isn't about "miracles or a magic trick"...it is about a natural means of transformation that WE as spiritual beings living a human life should strive to do in keeping with our purpose here.  The scene of this depiction is also important to note a wedding...marriage...the coming together of two to form one and how wine was celebratory.

Let's take the definition of fermentation:  Any of a group of chemical reactions induced by living or nonliving ferments that split COMPLEX (consisting of interconnected or interwoven parts) organic (natural) compounds (a thing composed of "two or more" 'separate elements) into relatively simple substances (essential nature or essence).  I can go ALL OVER THE PLACE with just this one definition...and if you READ it and read into it...and you know your Bible...so can you.

Now let's go into where we see "fermentation" spoken of WITHOUT use of the word and what it is telling us about ourselves.  "Wherever there are two or more gathered in my name ..I am there in the midst of them." Two separate elements (yet also interconnected and interwoven) could also depict our two very different "natures"....human and spiritual---coming together to produce the wine.  The water is our purest nature...the ferments are our life experiences--they produce changes in us at a molecular level, and if they are given time to sit for a while...BEFORE we act...(in other words, if we do indeed extract a lesson from them in moving forward) these very complex compounds will "come together" to make a "simple substance--and/or essence."  Since Jesus was the FIRST person to ever be called "God in the flesh"... he would then...be in the "midst" right?  He would BE the embodiment of "the perfect mixture."  He is two separate entities GOD/MAN (yet interconnected and interwoven).

I'm gonna make this definition a bit simpler yet for ya...A reaction (a person's ability to respond physically or mentally to external stimuli) brought about by experiences that come between (splits) our natural state to create a simpler substance (being without addition or modification).  <---and where have we heard THIS before????  NO man shall add or take away from the words of this book or prophecy--hmmm.  

THIS IS ABOUT your CHARACTER.  This is about your WILL.  This is about your GROWTH.  It is allowing your experiences to mindfully ferment to bring about positive change and the more you do it, the easier it gets.  It becomes SIMPLE.  It is about building your foundation to be fitting of your structure.  You become known by your fruit.  You develop an overall "essence."

Now let's take the second part of that scripture and break that down...look at what he says to his MOTHER!!  He pretty much is telling her...Ummm...see WOMAN, I don't take instruction from YOU--I'm trying to reconcile what has happened and what is about to happen--what I KNOW and how I FEEL...and my mind and heart have not yet met at that melding point.  "My hour has not yet come."  This isn't talking about his death...this is talking about his very OWN fermentation process.  I'm going to give you some additional mind-candy in keeping with this idea...when you "sign the cross" (hand to head, then to heart, then to shoulders) and utter the words "In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit"  THINK about what this tells you, then refer to what the Bible tells you about the "proper way."  The Father (the head, the mind--the MASTER--inner court), the Son (the chest, the heart, the soul--also the inner court), and the Holy Spirit (the shoulders, the outer court).  Now, the Bible tells us that NO ONE goes to the Father EXCEPT through the SON.  The message contained within this "simple act" is so profound, yet clothed in such nuance..it is overlooked by those who haven't yet mastered ..the fermentation process.  Our heart and our mind are composites of our spirit.  They are the inner workings--they work together..yet they also have a purpose each to their own.  If we make a decision solely based upon priciple--that is to say that it goes against a belief or conviction we have in relationship to the incident or circumstance...so if we END it there...there WILL be a "haunting" so to speak that sounds something like this:  "What if? It contains within it all of the woulda, shoulda, coulda's--and principle alone is "of the mind."  It is what we already know.   Though many times, our heart is not really feeling it.    We make a decision based on what we think rather than  how we feel.  We live and die with...REGRET--wondering had we gone the "other" way, how things may have been different.   Now, if no one goes to (or reaches) the Father except through the Son...then, this tells me that we should take the heart into consideration ALWAYS before handing it over to the "master" to decipher.  This is where the process of fermentation takes place--and it takes TIME ("my hour has not yet come.").  The heart and the mind need to be in total alignment and AGREEMENT (and more often than not...the heart has to "catch up" to the mind--as the mind IS the Master--it already KNOWS.  You may have to try, try, and try again and suffer more, more, and more again...before the heart aligns...but that is the proper way--YOUR "hour"..but once that happens...there is BALANCE...which is depicted by the hands going perpendicular to the head and heart to each shoulder---the Holy Spirit--and the outer court...this is where we materialize outside what has been fermenting inside---the final decision...we carry upon our shoulders the burden of our decision, which then takes the form of ACTION...the outward manifestation of an inward process.  The pressure builds up, the cork is blown off, the essence and bouquet enter the atmosphere...and vuala!!!  We have WINE---and more importantly--a simple SUBSTANCE.  

(I have to comment on this picture I found above...it makes me laugh...and helps to drive my point)  Not really such a stellar concept...though the onlookers are in such awe and Jesus is just like--yeah, just like that...pretty simple really.

So believe it or not...we turn water into wine ALL the time---it is the use of our own power!!  Though we are warned NOT to get drunk on it...which means..our power must be self-contained and used for our own "growth"...it is an integral part of our lordship over ourselves...not ANYONE else.  To be drunk with power and wield it over others...is well, a SIN---and it brings with it...complication!!  Remember, we are to be of "simple substance."

So there ya have it folks..the first edition of "The Book of Life for Dummies" series.  <---taking for granted that you all have a sense of humor.

Hope there is something here you can use and apply...

The next post will be a pairing of these ideas within a deeper principle...as this has been a VERY auspicious time for me---and it all began with "I AM"

Much love always,

Raina :)

The power contained within a name

Good morning everyone!

As of late, I've been experiencing a time of great prosperity that has been coupled with moments of the greatest humility.  Also accompanying the moments of this time, has been a heightened sense of awareness, though not unheard of for me, also like I've never had before, which, in haste, last evening, led me to convey them with the tools I've been given---a piece of paper and a pen.  Though...this short piece (as with ALL that I am meant to write) flowed right through me, straight past my brain, from the innermost part of me to my hand, through that pen, onto that paper.  Today, I would like to share this, as it was an astounding message to me, and I hope to you, it will be also..xoxoxoxo.

* Please note that the underlining was part of the vision I had of this mysterious conveyance.

Today...I am alone.

Though not alone in the manner that most would define as such.
But rather, I am in the absence of present company.

I sit in silence....
Though not in the absence of sound.

Though the space appears empty, my rooms are filled to capacity.
There is music that fills the air and the breeze blows in.
Though no one is speaking, there is stimulating conversation.

There is a large screen, which plays out before me, limitless possibility
And there I am...in the midst.

I observe myself on this screen.
I am in awe of all of the places I am.
I am inside, outside, above, below, and around.

I am not bored...I am at peace.
I am not restless...I am contented.
I am not wanting...I am sustained.
I am not settling...I am settled.
I am not dreaming...I am experiencing.
I am not fearful...I am alive.

I AM....Is my name.

Alive, full, well, prosperous, grateful, determined, joyful, gracious, unique, strong, bold, and sublime...are my traits.

Ahead is my motion.
Beyond is my destination.

Though  I am by myself...I am never alone.
Though I steep in the silence, I am surrounded by sound.
Though I am one, I am also all.
Though a single room encase me, I occupy many.

I am...a blessed soul, sustained by grace--a liberated spirit whose breath be not limited to time and space.

"I am....that I am."

The next time you begin to speak "I am...________"....be careful what you think and say, as the universal power knows only to LOVE and GIVE.  It knows not good or bad...right or wrong...WE contain this.  Be mindful of the things you speak into existence in your life--as the universe will usher in only MORE of it.  Keep your desires as simple as your name, as pure as your soul, and as representative of that which gives TO you.  There is only one source of all...and YOU are the embodiment of it.

Blessings...