Oneness Ministry

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Meditation Intro

by Sequoia Elisabeth

Meditation is a tool to gain greater peace and tranquility in your life. It is a great way to cope with the many changes that are occurring today or any day. This is an introduction and it is not meant to be all inclusive so please explore further when you are done here. These are tools that I know and use on a daily basis.

First we must understand what I am talking about when I say meditation. I mean a state of being relaxed, peaceful, and harmonious with your surroundings. It is a state of deep mind relaxation where the brain is in an alpha brain wave form. It’s purpose is to simply deepen your connection to Spirit by moving ‘you’ out of ‘your’ way. Meditation does not have to be complicated! It is the simplest thing in the world and the great part is that we all do it whether we realize it or not!

Let me give you an example of how we all use meditation. Have you ever been doing something repetitive that you do all the time and just drift off into a waking dream like state? Or maybe you are standing at the supermarket in a long line of customers and your mind drifts off into space. If you noticed how you feel at that moment it would be relaxed, calm, and at peace. We often pass through this place in boredom. It is a feeling of being connected to something greater than yourself. Meditation is a great feeling that supports your physical, mental, and spiritual health.

To put yourself into a meditative state takes very little knowledge and only a little practice. Start with getting comfortable and slow your breathing down. Focus on slow even breaths with a pause in between. As you do this consciously, relax each muscle in your body starting either at the top or bottom and working all the way through your body. It will feel like a wave of relaxation is sweeping though you! If you have ever laid on the beach in the waves or floated in the wave pool you can use that memory to help. Just keep it smooth, slow, and relaxing. Close your eyes softly but do not get too comfortable because you do not want to fall asleep. If you do, that is Ok, just try again next time. Thoughts will be bouncing around in your head and that is normal, just let them go and instead focus on something peaceful. A flame, a statue, a photo, a blank wall, a spinning tire or whatever is present can be used as a point of focus. Now that you have your comfy spot, slow breath, relaxed muscles, and point of focus just let go and allow your mind to relax. Do not “try” to focus, just be gentle and soft with your focus. As you relax pay attention to your body, feel your breath, notice how the seat feels, be in your body completely. Meditate for about 5mins. to start with and work up to 30mins. or an hour depending on the amount of time you wish to invest in this activity. Yes, even meditation is an activity, because technically it is not possible to do nothing or you would not exist!

Meditation can take place just about anywhere. Here are a few suggestions, try a ‘waking’ meditation the next time you are in a stressful situation. Stop right where you are for 10 seconds and take a deep breath and allow your body to relax. Now go back to what you were doing and feel the difference. Walking meditation is one of my favorites since I walk often as a form of exercise. Take slow deliberate steps, let your mind go and focus on something peaceful. Feel your body moving through the space, the wind blowing on your face, the sun shining, leaves rustling, be totally present. Breathe slowly and deeply feeling your diaphragm move up and down. When you finish your walk notice how you feel. I mentioned the work meditation earlier, and basically just do the same things as you do with a walking meditation just do it while you work, or sit in the car on a long trip (someone else is driving). Do this while you are on trip or simply at home for the evening. Soft music is fine if it has no vocals and can help to set the mood, just be careful about getting too relaxed, this is not about snoozing. Driving meditation works too. It involves simply letting go and relaxing while focusing on the road ahead. Many of us do this without even thinking about it, the only difference is you are now making it a conscious exercise. Think of all the things that are going perfectly in your life, the good times you have had, or count your blessings. Use your time alone constructively. Remember that Meditation is just a relaxed state where you feel at peace. If you choose to make it difficult and want to do it the way a Buddhist Master would do, then I suggest looking into ‘Binaural Beat Meditation’ by searching on the internet. Blessings on your journey of Love!

Sequoia Elisabeth

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Five Natural Emotions

by Sequoia Elisabeth

The following article was written by Neale Donald Walsch and gracefully describes & explains the five natural emotions, Grief, Anger, Envy, Fear, and Love. Use these tools daily to attain Mastery. I suspect that you are a Master already and may not realize it, so please take these five to heart and live your life on purpose.

Grief is a natural emotion

I was taught by Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross that there are Five Natural Emotions, and that these emotions are our tools — important and vital tools — to be used in the creation of our lives and the experiencing of who we really are at the highest level.

Grief is that part of you which allows you to say goodbye when you don’t want to say goodbye; to express—push out, propel—the sadness within you at the experience of any kind of loss. It could be the loss of a loved one, or the loss of a contact lens.

When you are allowed to express your grief, you get rid of it. Children who are allowed to be sad when they are feeling sad (it would surprise you to know that many children are not given this permission) feel very healthy around sadness when they are adults, and therefore usually move through their adult sadness very quickly.

Children who are told, “There, there, don’t cry,” ( or, worse yet, are asked, “What are you crying about?”, or told, “Don’t be a ‘cry baby’!”) may quite understandably have a hard time crying as adults. After all, they’ve been told all their life not to do that. So they repress their grief. And this is not a good thing to do.

Grief that is continually repressed can become chronic depression, a very unnatural emotion. This is not the same thing has grief. This is grief that has not been expressed, that is being held in. The thing about grief is that we all want to let it go. Yet the irony is that the best way to let go of grief is to express it. That is, to fully have it. And so, you let go of it by having it — which may seem counter-intuitive. Yet it is the best way to bring grief to an end.

If someone close to you is experiencing grief right now, the best gift you can give them is to let them have it. Do not try to “comfort” it away. Allow it to flow. Encourage it. Talk people into it, don’t try to talk them out of it. Speak into their grief (“This must feel awful to you right now.” “I can imagine that you must be devastated by this,” etc.), don’t try to talk all around it (“There, there…it’s going to be all right,” “He wouldn’t want you to feel this sad,” etc.)

I never did understand people who say, “Your husband, if he were here, wouldn’t want you to cry so.” Nonsense. If I die before my wife, I want her to cry. If I’m not worth a couple of good cries, what have we had here? I mean, really…

So don’t try to talk others, or yourself, out of your grief over anything. Have it. Express it fully. And that’s the way to get past it. The only way around is through, as Elisabeth used to say.

Grief, used as a tool, produces growth. We grow through grief. By watching carefully what we most deeply grieve, we come to know ourselves and what our deepest values are, as well as what we want them to be. Grief teaches us to be human, to be compassionate, to be deeply caring. It is a wonderful tool of release as well, allowing us to release negative emotions.

Feel your grief fully when you have it. Don’t try to hide it and don’t seek to sublimate it. And whatever you do, don’t try to shorten its time with you. People who tell you that “you’ve grieved long enough” are trying to make themselves more comfortable, not you. You’ve grieved “long enough” when you stop grieving. And you’ll stop grieving faster the more fully you grieve.

Okay? Got it?

How can Anger build a better life?

Anger is a natural emotion. It is simply a release of energy. It is a “letting go” of a negative charge. It is our way of saying “No, thank you.” It is very okay to be angry, and anyone who tells you that it isn’t does not understand that nature of the human condition—and how healing anger can be.

Anger is also our way of saying, “I don’t agree with that-and I am passionate about my disagreement!” It’s also our way of saying, “Stop it! Cut it out!” It’s also our way of saying, simply, “No!”

Many of us were taught as children that it is not okay to express anger. If we did we were sent to our rooms. That is a pity, because we were then caused to imagine that anger is somehow “bad,” and that we need to avoid it.

Anger is not bad. Anger is good. It is what we do with our anger that may not bring us benefit. And so, the trick is to use our anger as a tool, as a device, with which to get things done.

It is extremely helpful to acquire the skills of anger expression and anger resolution. This is not the same as controlling one’s anger, or so-called “anger management.” The idea is not the “manage” one’s anger, but to express it fully. And to do so in a way that is beneficial to oneself and others.

One way of expressing anger in a way that is beneficial to oneself and others is to tell the truth. Truth telling is powerful, and releases enormous energy if it is about something over which one is feeling anger. Yet this injunction, please: Speak your truth, but soothe your words with peace.

Shouting it out is another way to release anger-but preferably not with or at another person. Shouting in a car is one way to verbally release anger-but only at a stop sign or when the car is not moving. (If you bring up too much anger which you are actually driving, you could lose control of the vehicle.) Get a baseball bat and bang an old tire hanging from a tree (please do not bang the tree). That’s another powerful way to release negative energy.

Whatever you do, don’t hold it in. Anger that is repressed can turn to rage. Rage is not a good thing. It is not beneficial to experience rage. Rage is the eruption of anger, often in an uncontrolled way. The expression of anger in a healthy, non-threatening, non-damaging way cuts us off on the path to rage, because anger is a release of energy before it gets pent up. It takes a great deal of energy to ignite and sustain rage. What you want to do is release your negative energy before it gets to that point.

So anger is a natural emotion . Don’t become angry with yourself for experiencing and expressing anger. Rather, welcome the anger as a tool with which to let go of negative energy, and use it as such.

Envy is a Natural Emotion

Envy is a natural emotion. It is the emotion that makes a five-year-old wish he could reach the doorknob or ride that bike the way his sister can.

Envy is the natural emotion that makes you want to do it again; to try harder; to continue striving until you succeed. It is very healthy to be envious, very natural. It is the part within us that tells us there is more within us, that we can do as good as the next guy, in our own way, with our own best expression, using our own unique talents and abilities.

When children are allowed to express their envy, they bring a very healthy attitude about it to their adult years, and therefore usually move through their envy very quickly, doing something about it (such as learning how to do what they are envious of another for being able to do—or, developing another skill or ability that is more natural to them, and in which they can take pride) and therefore using envy as a springboard to accomplishment.

Virtually everybody who has been a major success in life can tell you of someone they envied when they were younger, who was doing the same or nearly the same thing. These were their role models. These were people they looked up to. That feeling of looking up to someone who is doing or being something that we would like to do or be is called envy.

Parents often misunderstand that natural feeling of envy when they see it in their children. Instead of teaching their children to play off of that energy, making use of it to produce achievement in their own lives, some parents actually tell their children to stop feeling that way; that it “isn’t nice,” that they have plenty to be grateful for and they should be satisfied with that, etc., etc.

Children who are made to feel that envy is not okay, that it is wrong to express it, they shouldn’t even experience it, will have a difficult time appropriately dealing with envy as adults–their own envy of another, or, interestingly, even another’s envy of them.

Envy that is continually repressed becomes jealousy, a very unnatural emotion. People have killed because of jealousy. Wars have started, nations have fallen.

Never, therefore, deny envy…or tell someone else to. Especially a child. Envy is quite natural, quite normal, and enormously useful when understood and managed, when used profitably and expressed as achievement.

Fear is a natural emotion

Fear is a natural emotion. It is built into us at the cellular level. All babies are born with only two fears: the fear of falling, and the fear of loud noises. These two fears are given to us as protections. They are tools, or devices, designed to keep us safe. The purpose of natural fear is to build in a bit of caution. Caution is a tool that helps keep the body alive.

Most fears are learned responses, brought to the child by its environment, taught to the child by its parents. The job of the growing human being is to learn how to translate fear into caution. Children who are made to feel that fear is not okay that it is wrong to express it, and, in fact, that they shouldn’t even experience it will have a difficult time making this translation. Likewise, children who are taught to fear everything, that they should experience it at every turn, will also have a challenging time effectively dealing with their fear as adults.

Fear that is continually repressed becomes panic, a very unnatural emotion. Fear that is over-impressed on a child will transform itself into the very same thing. Thus, as an adult that person may fly into panic mode at the slightest sign of anything unexpected.

Fear is the second most powerful of all the emotions, ranked only behind love. In truth, fear and love are the same thing. All fear is an expression of love – love of life, love of the self and love of others. If we didn’t love life, the self, or others (in other words, if we didn’t care about anyone or anything), we would be afraid of nothing. We would not even be concerned with our own survival.

Likewise, a person can be induced to love something greater than life or others. People can be taught to not fear death, or be concerned with their own survival, by simply teaching them that something greater than anything that physical life has to offer awaits them after death.

This happens, in fact, to seem true to many people much of the time. To them it seems that life in the physical can offer very little that comes close to what life after death offers. Yet this is not because life in the physical is inherently inferior, but rather, because our understanding of life in the physical is often insufficient to allow it to provide us with the joys and rewards of life in the non-physical, or spiritual, realm.

Persons who deeply understand the nature, the purpose, and the process of life in the physical can and do experience every bit as much joy, bliss, and reward when they are in their bodies as they do when they depart their bodies. Therefore, do not depart your body simply in order to experience what you believe will be more joy without it. Conversations with God teaches us that you will simply return to physicality in any event, to re-experience what you came here, joyfully, to experience. The opportunity that your life now offers is to experience it in a different way, complete with deeper understanding and all the rewards and joys of the Hereafter. Or, if you please, on Earth as it is in Heaven.

And one of the things you will more deeply understand, should you step fully into this opportunity, is fear. You will be clear that the late U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt had it exactly right when he famously said, We have nothing to fear but fear itself. You will see that the now well-known acronym for fear False Evidence Appearing Real is also true. And then, you will adopt a second acronym, knowing at last that fear is simply a word for: Feeling Excited And Ready.

Teach children, therefore, not to fear their fear, and not to be afraid of being afraid. Rather, teach them that fear is their friend, inviting them to take just a moment to see what caution advises. And then, to step into the fear and, if caution allows, to explore what lies on the other side of their fear. In other words, what would happen if they did it anyway? Or, as I like to put it in my spiritual renewal workshops, What would happen if what you fear happens? What would happen then?

Ultimately, all fear is the fear of death. And once you are no longer afraid of dying, you are no longer afraid of living. You lose your fear of death not because you don t love anyone or anything, but for exactly the opposite reason. This is the complex nature of life…and death….

For now, know that fear is a natural emotion. Translated with emotional maturity and intelligence, it becomes the caution that tells us to look both ways before crossing the street. Yet fear that does not translate into simple caution can cause us to be paralyzed on the corner, even when no cars are coming. A car, after all, might come. Something, after all, could happen. And so, we will be afraid of our own shadow, scared to venture out into life.

Teach your children, therefore, to invite fear in and then to investigate what is on the other side of it. Teach yourself the same thing. You will both discover that 95% of what you fear never happens and that 95% of the time when it does happen, nothing bad comes of it.

In fact, the master is one who knows that, actually, 100% of the time nothing bad comes of what happens. Life is always conspiring in our favor, and if we wait long enough for the result, we will see the ultimate benefit of everything.

Love is Natural

Love is a Natural Emotion. When it is allowed to be expressed, and received, by a child, normally and naturally, without limitation or condition, inhibition or embarrassment, it does not require anything more. For the joy of love expressed and received in this way is sufficient unto itself. Yet love which has been conditioned, limited, warped by rules and regulations, rituals and restrictions, controlled, manipulated, and withheld, becomes unnatural.

Children who are made to feel that their natural love is not okay–that it is wrong to express it, and that, in fact, they shouldn’t even experience it–will have a difficult time appropriately dealing with love as adults.

Love that is continually repressed becomes possessiveness, a very unnatural emotion. People have killed because of possessiveness. Wars have started, nations have fallen.

People love to be in love. Yet “love” is a big word. It is the biggest word in the language. Any language.

What is love, really? Conversations with God has a lot to say on this subject. Among other things, it says that love is a decision, not a reaction. That may be one of the most important things anyone could ever say on the subject. True love is never the result of how another person looks, behaves, or interacts with us. It is a choice to be loving no matter how that other looks, behaves or interacts with us.

This does not mean that true love requires us to stay in a relationship that is abusive. Do not confuse the words “love” and “relationship.” We are not proving that we love someone by staying in a relationship. Indeed, there are instances when we may be proving we love them by leaving. So it is not true that love demands that we accept abuse from the one that we love.

If a person is abusive to us, it is abusive to that person to allow their abuse to continue. For if we allow their abuse to continue, what do we teach them? Yet if we make it clear that the abuse in unacceptable, what then have they learned?

Of course, it is true that no one can ever really “get out” of a relationship. We are always in relationship with each other, and the only thing that changes is the form the relationship takes. You cannot end a relationship, you can only change it. So do not think in terms of ending your relationship, think in terms of changing it. You may wish to change its form, or you may wish to hold onto the form, but change its characteristics within that form.

Choosing to love someone — truly love them — is a very high act. It is the mark of a Master. Loving someone as a “reaction” is a somewhat less elevated experience. It is the mark of a student. The danger of loving someone as a reaction is that the one we love may change. In fact, it is a certainty that they will. They may gain weight, or lose it. They may alter their personality. They may change their ideas about something important to us. And if we are in love with what others bring to us in relationship, we could be headed for enormous disappointment.

So we come to the second big truth about all this: love is not about what the other brings to you, it is about what you bring to the other. Indeed, the purpose of all love relationships is to provide us with an opportunity to decide and to declare, to be and to express, to become and to fulfill, Who We Really Are.

This is perhaps another way of restating the first truth, because Who We Really Are is a choice, not a response. It is a decision, not a reaction – although it is true that most people think it is the other way around.

When I talk to young people about love, I tell them that there are two questions having to do with life and relationship that everyone would benefit from asking.

1. Where am I going?

2. Who is going with me?

It is important to ask these in the right order. Many people switch them around — and suffer for it the rest of their lives. First they ask, who is going with me in my life? Then they ask, where am I going? Often, the choice of destination is conditioned and compromised by the choice of companion. This can make for a very rough journey.

I remember how at one of our spiritual renewal retreats one young woman in her twenties asked sadly, “What does it feel like to be in love?” I told her I could not answer for anyone else, but I know what it feels like to me. It feels like there is only one of us in the room.

When I am with my beloved other, Em, it feels as if there is no place where “I” end and “she” begins. When I look into Em’s eyes, it is like looking into my own. When I sense that Em is sad, it is as if the sadness pierces my own heart. When she smiles, the heart of me smiles with her — as her. I wish I could feel this way about everyone. That is what I am working toward. I am feeling it with more and more people very day.

A Course in Miracles says, “No special relationships.” In other words, no one person should be more special to us than another. That is how God experiences love. There is no condition, and no one is more special than another.

It is difficult for most people to understand that. How can God love us all equally, the “good” and the “bad” alike? It is because God does not see any of us as “good” or “bad.” We are all perfect in God’s eyes, no matter how we are behaving. Human beings have a long way to go before they can claim that. Most of us place condition after condition on our love, and we are very fast to withdraw it when those conditions are not met.

So the third great truth about love is that it knows no conditions. There is no such thing as “I love you IF…” in God’s world.

The fourth great truth about love is that it knows no limitations. Love is freedom, experienced; total and absolute freedom, and so one who loves another never seeks to restrict or limit that other in any way. This is a tough one for many people. For many, love translates, roughly, into “ownership.” Not that this is ever expressed, of course. It is simply felt. It is a felt sense of “you’re mine.” Of course, in true love nothing could be further from the truth. And in true love, such ideas or thoughts are never part of the paradigm. No one owns anyone, and no one acts as if they do.

This has major implications, as one might imagine. So now I am going to list the fifth, and perhaps the most “controversial,” truth about love that I know.

Love never says no. Not to persons of equal maturity and intelligence. (We are not talking about children here. Let’s limit this discussion to adults.)

No matter what the request of the beloved, love says yes. This does not mean that personal opinions are not expressed, nor personal preferences announced. But, in the end, a request from the beloved is never denied.

Again, that is difficult for many people to grapple with. Yet this is the way that God loves. I am fond of saying in my lectures and retreats that God has only one word in Her vocabulary. God always says yes. No matter what you want, no matter what you choose, He never says no.

This idea can be reduced to two-words: God allows.

Since Conversations with God teaches that the words “God” and “love” are interchangeable, you could then say, “love allows.”

In the end, that is what love does. Love allows. It never restricts, it never limits, it never stops, it only allows. In true love relationships, you get to have what you want.

The sixth truth about love is that it always renews itself. It never runs out.

As a regular ritual in our marriage, Em and I exchange our wedding vows every year on our anniversary. We have a whole wedding ceremony, with a minister, invited guests, the dinner and cake…the whole nine yards. Now some of our married friends have told us that they love this idea and that they are now doing it on their anniversary! ;o)

It’s so rewarding when we see something like that happen! It’s as if Love Itself has multiplied Itself, with us as the instrument. And you, too, can be, equally, an instrument of Love’s Multiplication. With every thought you think, with every word you speak, with every action you take.

Love is a natural emotion. When we are allowed to express it fully in every day in every way, we come alive, through the direct experience of Who We Really Are.

Article by Neale Donald Walsch

Sequoia Elisabeth (article originally posted December 2015)

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Message From Angels

by Sequoia Elisabeth

My dear friends, we love you so very much.

If we had a wish for you, it would be that each one of you would
come to cherish the beautiful and unique soul that you truly are,
every moment of every day. We would wish that you could accept
yourself without condition, no matter what circumstances, desires,
moods, or feelings you feel. We wish that you could love yourselves
as we love you, as God loves you for in our eyes you are perfect in
every way – you are courageous souls, on earth, learning to
dissolve the illusions that you are separate from God and from one
another. You are learning to love yourselves and others as God loves.

Dear ones as you start accepting yourselves more unconditionally,
you will find it much easier to allow others to be who they are as
well. You were never intended to educate or “fix” another soul
through your words or your efforts. It is through you being who you
are in any given moment, listening to the dictates in your heart,
expressing whatever is in your heart to be expressed, that you
affect the world in the way God wishes. If you are called to live
an inspiring life of joy and ease, then do so. If you are called to
serve the hungry or help the homeless, then do so. If you are
called to share your dollars, then do so. If you are called to care
for your parents or children, then do so. If you are called in a
given moment, to take a long soak in the tub and allow yourself
rest, then do so. If you seek to express yourself through a hobby
or to further educate yourself in an area of interest, then do so.
Trust there are reasons. If your heart wants to be expressed in a
relationship then dear ones, pray for the right words at the right
time and allow yourself to speak.

For it is in listening to your own hearts, accepting your own
feelings, acting according to your own longings, and speaking
according to your own truth that you change the world. If your
focus is upon changing others you will eternally be frustrated
because you cannot ever control whether your words and actions will
be the catalysts for change.

However, if your focus is simply upon being who are in any given
moment, then this in itself is the reward. If your “being” happens
to help others find the light then they have opened to receive the
gifts of God as He expresses Himself through your soul and your
human presence upon the earth. A rose blooms because it is a rose.
It does not seek to change the world or make it a more beautiful
place, and yet it does so for those willing to stop and receive its
gift. Likewise you bloom because you are you. You do not have to
seek to change the world or make it a more beautiful place, and yet
as you bloom, you will do so for those willing to stop and see you
and receive the gifts that you are sharing with the world.

This is a fine line to walk as a human being and we do understand
it is difficult. You all want so badly to help others see the
light, but rather than trying to convince them, BE the light. You
all want so badly to be loved, but rather than seeking to earn
love, BE love. You all want so badly to experience more abundance
but rather than trying to manipulate your own heart, other or life
to ‘get’ more, BE the abundance that you seek – for indeed your own
hearts are rich with talents, kindness, love, and gifts that can
bring you prosperity if you would only seek to share them with the
world.

Be who you are in any given moment dear ones. Speak the words that
reside in your heart when you are motivated to do so, and do so
with kindness. Allow yourselves to have your feelings without
agenda or a need to ‘make’ anything happen. This is not easy. You
are trained as human beings to DO rather than to just BE and yet if
you are BEING yourself, you will only DO what God guides you to do,
from a place of joy, heart, inspiration, light, and truth. And in
so DOing, your very BEING will light up the world.

We love you so very much.

— The Angels w/Ann Albers (https://www.visionsofheaven.com/)

I have taken this to heart and share it here as a reminder. ~~~Sequoia Elisabeth

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The Radiant “I Am”

by Sequoia Elisabeth

A re-posting from a previous blog post. Most appropriate this time of year.

December 29, 2015

The Radiant ‘I Am’

(A Self-Healing)
by Emma Curtis Hopkins

The listening disciple becomes a preaching apostle. Standing at the Center of Being and looking outward over the world, instruction is received from every quarter. But who hath told himself that all the objects he beholds and all their movements also are but projections of his own judgment? He seems always to be a learner and a seeker till at the center of his consciousness the fact is suddenly proclaimed that he himself produced the world as it appears.

Then he no longer listens to information from without; he authorizes from himself what he would see and hear and touch; even what he would know. I have been a listening disciple. I have let people and objects and activities come toward me and impinge upon me till I have been overpiled and mountain-covered with thoughts. But now I know that I AM at my own Center, authority over and through my universe, and I shall ordain my twelve disciples, or my twelve powers, to spread my Original Nature abroad till from me to the utmost stretches all is my Divine Ego.

It is the teaching that all is Spirit, and matter is not obedient shadow-picturing thereof, which is the final subtle message toward me that makes me see that I AM what I AM and alter not. Spirit is the gentle Mother doctrine among the doctrines of the world—gentle but inexorable. She brings to exposure the Man Child, my I AM—who shall rule all nations with a rod of iron. The iron that is strongest is magnetic. It rules in the earth by holding all the particles together. It rules in the sun. It rules in all the spheres. They roll because of the magnet. So all my being has moved because of my I AM. So all my universe shall wheel to my ordination.

This is my ministry. I am glad to give myself to my Self and to give all my world to my Self and let my Self do in judgment twelve works upon the earth.

This is my ministry. I have heard all I shall ever hear. I know all I shall ever know. I now make my Self known.

I make my Self known by speaking, thinking, writing and living the word of my Self—my I AM. I reign from sea to sea and from the river to the uttermost parts of the earth. I reign by my knowledge of my own I AM and its last name. The name of my I AM in the last days of the manifestation of a universe, which I made by not speaking from my Central Point, is Jesus Christ. The I AM in me is Jesus Christ. (Jesus Christ literally means “I am centered”) I speak boldly of my Self to the world in which I walk. I think from my Self forward over its surface through all its substance. I write what I know and I write what I AM, and what I write is the fibre of all things. They shall feel themselves knitting into transfigured embodiments by my written words. “Write what thou hearest and give it unto the churches.” (Rev. 1:11)

I live as a breath of life forward and back through the universe. I AM the conduct of my world. What I do it does. Conducting from my Center, I satisfy my world with what I AM. My world can find no flaw in Me. I can find no flaw in my Self. Because I live at my Center, ye live also. My rod of iron is my being what I AM and knowing it.

“We give Thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, because Thou hast taken to Thyself Thy great power and hast reigned” These that are thankful are my powers. I AM Lord God Almighty to my own powers.

I AM power of Life to the universe. Because I live, all that hath form or name shall live. There shall be no death nor fear of death throughout the boundaries of eternal spaces from this day forth forever. That which proceedeth forth from Me is Life and the power of Life forever. As I breathe, the creatures of the sea and air and sands rise up refreshed and there is no power against their life and no ending of their life forever from this day forth.

I AM the unending, irresistible Life of the world. I think this—I speak this—I write this—I live this. This is my ministry which I AM. “Let us give ourselves to the ministry of the Word.” (Acts 6:4)

I AM the power of Health to the universe. Because I AM holy at my Center, I make whole wherever I decree. I AM authority. There shall be happy, joyous, free, fearless Health through this universe from this day. All that have name and shape shall this day lift up their heads with new refreshment. The elixirs of a fadeless healing shall steal through them. There shall be no disease or sickness from this day of the Lord onward. “The inhabitants shall not say, ‘I am sick.’ Any more.” (Isaiah 33:24)

I AM the unending, irresistible, beautiful Health of the whole universe. I, its Center, shed my Health abroad. This is my stopless ministry. I think this—I speak this—I write this—I live this.

I AM the power of strength to the universe. Because I AM unalterable, I AM omnipotence. I minister myself abroad. All that have shape or name feel stealing through them a reviving strength from this day which nothing shall ever interfere with. I strengthen wherever I decree. I AM Authority. There shall be lifting up and strong godliness throughout all mysteries of height and depth and plain and valley from this day onward. There shall no faintness seize upon anything. There shall no weakness
touch anything. There shall no feebleness be heard of forever and forever. The prophecy is fulfilled in me which reads, “When men are cast down, thou shalt say, there is lifting up.” (Job 22:29)

I AM the Strength of the universe. This is my ministry. Strength that proceedeth from me is irresistible, unending. I think this—I speak this—I write this—I live this. I AM a tower whose radiance is elixir for infinity.

I AM the power of Support to the universe. Everything that hath shape or name is up borne and prospered in all its ways from this day on. There shall be no lack or disappointed effort. All shall rise and have self-respect from this day on. I from my Center AM a radiance of upbearing sustainment through all this universe. There shall be no poverty, no lack, no want from this day forth.

I AM the sufficiency of my universe. It is my decree. The elixir of bounty, of prospering effort, spreads forth from me. This is my irresistible, unending ministry. I think this—I speak this—I write this—I live this.

I AM a tower whose radiance sheds abroad Protection for infinite kingdoms. That which speeds forth as my radiance is the Holy Spirit of Revelation. I AM the unending peaceable defense of the whole universe. By Me all that have name or shape are safe and secure running, or walking, or flying forever. They shall not fear. They shall not be attacked. They shall not be hurt. The days of hurting have flown away. The dreams of danger are past. Things wake as my mighty elixirs spread through them borne on the streams of my word, my thought, my writings, my life breaths. They rouse themselves. They are safe forevermore. “They shall not hurt or kill (destroy) in all my holy mountain.” (Isaiah 11:9)

I AM the security of the infinite stretches and of the near creations. “Peace, peace to them that are afar off and to them that are near.” (Eph. 2:17) This is my ministry. I think this—I speak this—I write this—I live this.

I AM the power of Mind to my universe. Even the stones shed a message intelligible to all other shapes and names because of my being the intelligence of all things shedding my nature forth without stopping. No foolishness or ignorance shall ever shame anything visible or invisible from this day on forever. Its Presence is its wisdom. Its Presence is its information. An elixir of intelligence is on its stopless march from me at my Center forever through all the reaches of space and formulation.

I decree intelligence. I decree Mind. I think and all the universe thinks divinely like Me. My Mind is not as the former mind which could change or stop. It is the Jesus Christ Mind whose word shall not pass away.

I AM a tower whose radiance is unending Wisdom through all things. This is my ministry, My Logos. I think this—I speak this—I write this—I live this. I AM the radiant Logos in Mind.

I AM the power of Speech to my universe. My tongue is its tongue. What I say, it says from its smallest atom to its gigantic formulation. My Central Name is my tongue of radiance. All that speak, speak of the I AM. One tongue only shall speak. Its language no man or stone did hear nor could ever hear till I should speak from my Center. I now speak what I speak from my Jesus Christ Name. So atoms and angels speak a new heaven and a new earth into their own view, empowered by my tongue with its elixirs of fire. I speak and the universe uttereth itself.

I AM a tower whose radiance sheds eloquent Speech through atoms and man. This is my ministry. I think this—I speak this—I write this—I live this.

I AM the power of Writing—Recording—Witnessing of Jesus Christ and the Name folded within the gates of that Name. What I write the world writes. I fix my hallowed glory with my fingers and all things fix themselves to go no more away from their home forever. The Written Word is the haven of man and of beast. I AM the inspiring pen of the world. I shall find my inspiration everywhere. Nothing unlike my writing lives. All except my inspirations vanish. I AM from my Center the fixing and transfixing pen. I shall not faint or fail to fix my glory everywhere. I AM man’s inspiration with his pen and I inspire all things to record me as I AM.

I AM a tower whose radiance is the inspiration to pen itself in its divinity in every shape and name through infinity. I think this—I speak this—I write this—I live this.

I AM the power of Song—Joyous Song that steals in unquenchable smiling through the universe. I AM the Eternal Smile. As I shed my Self through the atoms and through the globes, they sing. I AM the joyous song, unquenchable, unhinderable forever. No other sound but singing, no other voice but joy is heard from this day forth.

I AM the inspiring joy of my world forever. This is my ministry. I think this—I speak this—I write this—I live this. There is joy beyond ecstasy. I AM that joy.

I AM the power of Skill for all things. From me there steals forever a quick touch of skillfulness through all fingers. No child needs to be schooled, no bird needs a teacher, no angel needs a helper. All can do their part and they can do what they will to do. There is no incompetency or need of learning from this day on forever, anywhere.

I AM a tower whose radiance is a skill-inspiring elixir, stopless-eternal. This is my ministry. I think this—I speak this—I write this—I live this.

I AM the power of Beauty and Judgment. From my poised place I AM the poise of the ages of men. I judge, and my judgment is what all things go by. They judge like me. I set the features of things into balance and this is their beauty. I balance the atoms that flow in the skin and its balance is its beauty. I set the inner parts into harmony by being the central judgment of eternal facts.

I decree and there is no injustice. Nothing falls into mistake. Nothing is unjust. The scales of my judgment are the scales in the hearts of all men. They will not fail to use these scales. And thus order and beauty reign from Pole Star to Southern Cross and from right-hand to left of the worlds beyond worlds. “He shall not faint or fail till He hath established judgment in the earth_” (C.f., Jer. 23:5) I AM a scale whose rods are the beams of unbreakable right. My judgment is right judgment. As I judge, so it is.

All the poise that I AM I radiate through all the universe and all things feel the joy of adjustment. This is my ministry. This is my nature. I think this—I speak this—I write this—I live this.

I AM the power of Heaven to every atom and to every archangel. From my Jesus Christ Center of Being I shed Heaven through the spaces. All things breathe of my radiance. I shed my Self abroad in unending beauty; Heaven breaks in the heart and on the vision from me to all things, through all things. The old heaven and earth sink away into forgotten dreams because I have found my Self, because I know my Self, because I AM my Self. I have taken up the authority I had from before the worlds were spun on the ethers of time.

I decree Heaven and Heaven it is. My will is done on earth and it is all Heaven. My Kingdom is come and it is the new land of delight that steals on the vision and reaches the senses of all things. Nothing like the dreams of earth, nothing like the motions of matter ever reaches my universe. As silently as a moonbeam lights on a mountain, so silently has Heaven stolen on the gazes of all the creations of infinity.

I AM a tower whose elixirs of radiance reveal the visions of Heaven to the senses of man. From my Jesus Christ center I AM Heaven from this day forth to all the universe. This is my stopless, everlasting ministry. I do this. I AM this. My Name is a folding gate that opens and there is no sound. My Name is Jesus Christ, and in that Name I AM the Heaven of all this universe.

Its meaning is its influence. I AM its meaning, its influence, its heavenliness. I think this—I speak this—I write this—I live this. I AM what I Am. I do what I AM by knowing my Self as Jesus Christ the Heaven-sending Center of Being, the Heaven-sending Me.

Resource: http://www.viciderrickministries.org/content/The%20Radiant%20IAM.pdf

And so it is,

Sequoia Elisabeth

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Forgiveness

by Sequoia Elisabeth

Here is what Forgiveness means to me now that I have been studying metaphysics, New Thought, and A Course in Miracles. The concept has always perplexed me as has Love, but that is a topic for another day, or perhaps my eBook ‘Livin’ Large’.

No one needs to be forgiven, because they have not done anything. This whole idea of doing is simply a distraction given us by the ego mind. The loud not so small voice in our minds. Now don’t get me wrong, the ego serves a purpose as does all things. The ego is the matrix thru which we experience this world. Think of it as a 4D virtual reality helmet we cannot take off. The only way out is through, as the saying goes. The way out is to choose Holy Spirit, Jesus (the I am), or Source. Yes, there is a higher power, however the ego mind has co-oped the idea and thus many are led astray. No worries however, because all roads lead home and by home I mean the One source. God is another misunderstood word, so I will refrain using it when possible.

Getting back to why no one needs be forgiven is simply because there is only One, one source, one God, and one Mind (the ego mind is illusory). See, the thing is we get sucked into believing the ego world around us is reality. It’s not. Dreams are within the larger ego dream and we are on a path to {being}, Out of our Minds. This road requires only one choice, Ego or Holy Spirit. This is where Forgiveness comes in as the ego mind loves giving us the feeling of guilt. Think of guilt as a side trip in which one must buy a ticket to get there. Don’t buy the ticket! Guilt serves its purpose, the ego’s purpose (Distraction), so let’s move on.

The trick to forgiveness is Non-Judgment and knowing the Truth. The reason the bible says to ‘judge not, lest ye be judged’, seems self evident to me. As you see the other, you see yourself. Remember we are all One. To judge another is to judge yourself. To forgive another is to forgive yourself, not because you have done wrong, but because you haven’t! Are you getting this?

Do you enjoy watching murder mysteries? The Ego loves them! As to die is to prove the existence of something which does not exist. No one ever dies! Not really, death exists only in the ego mind. When you see death or even experience it, you know your in the Ego zone. Forgive.

For perhaps a better explanation of this read Eckhart Tolle’s book “A New Earth” which is inspired by A course in Miracles. Better yet dive into A Course in Miracles and don’t look back.

Sequoia Elisabeth

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Identity Crisis or Christening?

by Sequoia Elisabeth

Here’s a thought, task, experiment. Imagine yourself without any identity at all, no name, no likes, no preferences, and no attachments. A difficult if not impossible ask. Why? Because this world is based on identity. There is no world without it! Thus, Identity is the most important thing is the Universe.

The next question is how flexible is your identity? Can you change it if you so choose? Are we doing this all the time as we move through our lives? Most babies now days are given a social security number soon after birth, all babies are given a name. We are born into families and thus a story… more identity. As we grow preferences emerge and we are rewarded and tagged for them. Over time we have more and more attachments to people, places, and things.

A spiritual practice I was taught is to walk about looking at what surrounds you and say to yourself, “I am that”. As you identity with every thing around yourself it deepens your connection to the world. I would suggest trying it the other way around, “I am NOT that”. This can be most disorienting and discouraging, though it does make loosening attachments a bit easier.

So, what is the “Truth” or “Reality” of our situation? Who are you, really? God herself? Dust in the wind? The third child in a family of five, born into christian values, European by race, etc. etc. etc. ? The choice is yours, to a degree and not yours to another degree. We are taught, or at least, I was taught that we have choices. But do we really? What about fate? Maybe our choices were made before we were born and we simply live them out. Or perhaps we are literal archetypes filling a role within the larger schema. I have written about this many times, because these questions come to me often. I have my answers, though I will not impose them upon you. I share this because it really is up to you.

Speaking from experience there are very few things in this world which are fixed and cannot be changed, though try as we might. The core of who you are is fixed, though much of what you think you are is based on belief. Believing is seeing, not the other way around. Reality in this world exists in thought and is projected all around you. Projection makes perception. Without movement, the world disappears. The physics of this have been proven, though explaining them here is beyond this the scope of this blog, thought exercise, experiment. Beyond your core self though the world constantly changes. Like I mentioned earlier, this can all be unsettling and yet it is a path home. It is my path and I am sharing it with you. I am and am not, that! All and nothing. The alpha and the omega.

Sequoia Elisabeth

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Religion, A purpose driven life

by Sequoia Elisabeth

All things serve some sort of purpose. What that purpose is depends on the choices you make. You see, there are things which serve you and your higher power and there are things which distract you from your purpose. We make choices every day, often without even thinking about how they serve both yourself and others. Life here is complicated because we want it to be. Distraction and obstacle are second nature to our ego self, the loud impulsive side of self which likes to run the show. Choosing a higher power and the form which it takes requires intentional thought. Sometimes it even involves action.

Religion fits into this process by giving you purpose and direction. Although, its main purpose as I see it is to provide connection to your fellow man. Churches are social clubs, plain and simple. This is a good thing, we all need opportunity to serve others and if we can do this while remaining focused on the ‘high road’ then all the better.

It really doesn’t matter what religion one practices, only that the practice serves the highest and best good. I’ve looked at them all and found what works best for me. While I’m sure you’ve probably done the same; remember, all roads lead home. Some take the scenic route and some the interstate. Those of us who make it to ‘old age’ (beyond reproductive years) have chosen the scenic route. No worries. Just enjoy the ride!

The essential aspect of all religion is prayer. This often involves a ‘Higher Power’ and what this looks like depends on the individual and the religion they practice. Prayer works if you allow it to. Meaning trusting in yourself, not judging, and having faith – all is well. The key is not to pray to someone outside yourself. Prayer is an internal, intentional thing, like what I just listed, trust, non-judgment, and faith. It’s sorta funny that most religions teach just the opposite. Quantum Physics has proven, there is no out there, out there! Science is just another one of the religions, by the way. Religion serves us by being social and giving one a place to belong, but the real work and reward is within. The best practice is to Live and let live. Take care of yourself while helping those who ask. Since all roads lead home, everyone gets there eventually and in their own time and manner. Celebrate this! Life is Good.

Sequoia Elisabeth

OnenessMinistry.info

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Thoughts of Crossdressing

by Sequoia Elisabeth

A thought which has stayed with me over the years concerns crossdressing. I recently read a blog about it, and they suggested it is about the inner desire to be someone else, i.e. to be the thing we covet!

We often idolize others for traits we feel are not a part of us. In fact, from my research this is the very basis of most relationships. If you break down the word relationships, ‘relate-others-ship’, you get our attempts at relating to others. Crossdressing takes this further to the point of being the other. Of course, as in most things in this (ego) world it exists as a spectrum. Can you become someone else? I think not. We can pretend till the cows come home, yet at the end of the day. We are who we are. Every decision we make takes us closer to understanding just this.

Who are you? The process of discovery is like a terraced landscape. We come to a realization of ___ is who I am and we stay at this plateau for a while until another realization takes us to the next level and here we stay for a while and the process continues. Where it stops, I believe is at the Disappearance of the Universe. Much like what is described in Gary Renard’s book of that title.

Getting back to crossdressing, our actions don’t really matter except at the level of form. Yes, the emotional roller coaster and consequences attached to certain behaviors can be painful and difficult to endure, however on the Spiritual Level hold no truth. I am not male, female, boy or girl. I am not a body! I am free, for I am still as God created me. Simply meaning, “I” am, the form is arbitrary.

Nomenclature holds only the meaning we give it and has no power of its own. A woman is only that which we agree it is and nothing more or less. While words can help us to communicate, in the end all communication fails because this (ego) world is a failure. I am perhaps better today at conveying meaning to an other than I used to be only because I understand things better now. As Einstein said, ‘If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.’ So, this is my attempt to explain my understanding of who I am and thus assist you in understanding you.

Words such as transgender, gay, bi-sexual, asexual, transsexual, etc. are attempts to convey an identity. I claim none. Meaning, use whatever words make you comfortable and I will do the same, because in the end, how you describe others just describes yourself. This is holistic non-dualism at its pinnacle.

Sequoia Elisabeth

How Pain Works

by Sequoia Elisabeth

How do pain meds work on the metaphysical level, i.e. the level of perception? Remember that “Projection makes Perception”. The other proven principle is “What you focus on, grows” or what you place your attention on, grows. So, if you are focused on pain and other ‘wrongs’, they will only get worse. Meds allow us to forget about our pain so we can focus on our goals and desires. Doctors often use the distraction technique with children in order to get cooperation with treatment and diagnosis. When you have blood taken, try focusing on something else, anything else. It really does help, even if there is still some discomfort. Now, try focusing on what the tech or doc is doing and see how things intensify.

During a fight or flight response the body secretes its own pain killers so the person can focus on matters at hand… survival. Only afterward does the real pain settle in. And this pain has a message. Something is wrong and needs your attention. My leg is broken and needs repair or my hand hurts and needs a bandage, etc. On a mental level if we ignore these messages, they will persist till attended to.

Other times there really isn’t anything wrong, except maybe self imposed stress. We dive into our work as a distraction from the painful realities of our personal life. Some activities do help with alleviating pain. Exercise helps by stimulating the body into flight mode. Distraction works in a temporary way as we discussed above, however if there really is something physically wrong it will demand attention. Mental or emotional pain is a bit harder to avoid and pain meds only work to a point. I have found the meds need to be rotated or changed up every so often to assure effectiveness because we become accustom to the routine of taking the drug and it no longer provides the needed distraction. Our beliefs fuel our experiences on a subconscious level. Seeing is not believing, rather believing is seeing! And our conscious, aware self has no clue.

With practice and determination we can bring our beliefs to awareness and remove the meds from the situation altogether. This takes training of the mind. Choose your thoughts carefully! Make realtime assessments, am I really in pain? Is there anything I need do? Once we make up our minds, all is well. We just need to keep reminding ourselves after the physical aspects have been attended to. This is where keeping busy really does help. Taking time outs occasionally to reassess keeps things real.

When you get really serious about moving beyond chronic pain, when you are at your wits end, give up. Surrender to the highest good. Let Holy Mother or your higher power have the pain. Ask to have the source of the pain revealed to you and be willing to forgive. All that is asked for is given, so it is up to you to allow it to be received. Not as easy as you might think. If it was, then it would be.

This is not about pleasure or feeling good. Forget feelings… they lie! The idea of ‘we must suffer to be released’ is of the ego and only proves its existence. We are ready to move beyond the world of time and space. We are ready for “reality”. We are Love. We accept our place as not only partners with the holy, but of Oneness. Love is all there is.

Sequoia Elisabeth

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Reality

by Sequoia Elisabeth

Our lives are not our own. The forces which guide our path are beyond our knowledge and yet still knowable. One of the purposes of this life is to see deeper and to “know thyself”. This takes intention along with persistent observation and study. The difficult part, at least for me, is seeing beyond the surface clutter. The daily routines and beliefs we all share are what blind us. Belief is not seeing. What we see simply shows us what our beliefs are and it is up to us to see beyond. Skepticism and denial are tools for detaching from the clutter of ‘reality’ which allow Reality to be known.

“All that we see or seem, is but a dream within a dream.” E.A. Poe

Whom are we to love? Why everyone and all of it, of course, for this is what we are. It does no one a favor to act small or shrink away from Reality by using ‘reality’ as cover. Be you… and I will be me. Oneness eludes us most of the time, yet on occasion when we least expect it we are enveloped in it. The wonderful experience to be it. Of Knowing it. Of being it. There is no ‘better’ experience in the world. How can we revert to living our small insignificant lives after this? For me the answer is simply, we cannot. We can however choose to share. To be the example for other self (others). What you show the world matters not on the surface, yet our choices not only guide our path but the all. Or is it the other way around? See, I often get confused as to whether I am coming or going. Forgive me.

Getting back to love, please do not be deluded into thinking you are a body who “loves” other bodies. Sex is part of the dream, it is the candy wrapper with only residual sweetness. In my book, Sex and Sexuality I get into the purpose of sex. I will sum it up for you here, sex is just one of the many distractions the dream world offers up. Both pain and pleasure are of the dream within a dream. Tools of averting our attention to what really matters, Reality, that which is Eternal. It’s simple to see the difference, I describe it in my book Livin’ Large in the last chapter, Love is – a Poem.

So, this blog has not gone where I thought it would, though it has taken us where we need to be. It reminds us to focus on what is important. Love. Not the love of our small selves, but of Reality. Most of the time we see it unexpectedly. It happens when we are ready for it and when we are not! Life unfolds as it should, so be happy… no, be Joyful! Happiness comes with sadness, as they are different sides of a coin. Joy exists always in every situation. Joy is Reality. The choice is whether we see it or not. Allow the Reality of Joy, Peace, and Love (Agape) to show you the way home.

Sequoia Elisabeth

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Musing on the Unreal

by Sequoia Elisabeth

Duality, the nature of our Universe, consider this carefully. For every up there is a down. Every in has an out. Each male contains a female. This is the essence of our world. Consider this thoroughly, if you can be a man, you can also be a woman, and vice versa. This goes for everyone. We are like coins with two sides.

So, what else is inherent in our Universe? Expansion. Everything here is expanding. Consider systems like religion or science. At first you have the core teaching and over time they have expanded to many branches. And continue to do so. This applies to every organization and system. This applies to human identity also. At first, we had Adam and Eve, male/female, man/woman and now we have a rainbow of identity. There are as many identities as there are people on earth! Being a social animal, we like to group up so identity is like a tree with branches. We like to be with those we believe are like us in some way, especially when it comes to appearance. This includes identity, religion/beliefs (this includes science), sport, hobby, race, cast, and the list goes on. I am like you, so we can be friends. This is the essence of duality!

Oddly enough, family brings in a love/hate dynamic, which is the ultimate duality. “I am not you, because I hate myself.” (fear=false evidence appearing real) This explains why family feuds are so popular. What works for me is the premise, ‘just because I love you doesn’t mean I have to live with you.’ It is hard to live with those who are like you, namely family. We choose our partners with the subconscious reason of filling what we perceive as lacking. This is where the opposites attract idea comes from. I see in you what I wish to be. Over time Love takes hold and the couple become one, two halves of a whole. I have seen it multiple times. If this does not happen, divorce is the result.

The true insanity taking place today is the individuals desire to be unique and special. It has taken so many forms it boggles the mind. The idea of “shades of gray” or more accurately “rays of the rainbow” has infiltrated into people’s identity. We have radical notions of imitation like people mutilating their body to appear more as they see themselves, animal, opposite sex, mood, etc. I am sure you understand what I speak of, just look around. I am as guilty of this as anyone, being transgender myself. I know the truth, yet I cannot help but be as I perceive myself to be. Projection makes perception though so where does this leave us? We are back to the innate desire to be special. We all do this to some degree and in some way. It’s ego separation at its pinnacle. All this duality and perception of even more is the essence of the unreal, ego mind, or the false self. We hide here from the truth, from God or ultimate reality. Are we really succeeding? Don’t we all know the truth already? The irony is we are all unique and special in our own way by definition of individuality! It is the underlying truth and our desire to run from it that drive our behavior and perceptions. As the saying goes, “You can run, but you cannot hide.” Eventually we all return to reality, and I don’t mean this duality we see around us. I mean we are always at home with God, whether we realize it or not.

Sequoia Elisabeth

Footnote: “projection makes perception”

The Course’s (A Course In Miracles) theory of perception, which is a reversal of the common sense belief that our perception is caused from without. External objects seem to be sending information through our senses to our brains, seemingly causing our perception of them. Yet our perceptions are caused internally. Over time we build up beliefs about reality. These beliefs guide our attention, causing our eyes to search for those things that fit our pre-existing categories (M-8.4). Once we find these things, our beliefs guide our interpretation of them, and these interpretations are our perceptions (see T-11.VI.1-3). Our perceptions are thus projections of our beliefs, through the means of selective attention and subjective interpretation. As a result, what we see is simply a mirror, a reflection of our state of mind. See T-13.V.3:5, T-21.In.1:1. (“projection makes perception” • Circle of Atonement)

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AI does not exist

by Sequoia Elisabeth

AI or Artificial Intelligence simply does not exist. Let me start off with a favorite quote from a great man, ‘There is but one mind, the mind of God, and that mind is my mind now!’ (Ernest Holmes) Most of the time we use the ego mind rather than the Mind of God, though we always have a choice. When we do use God Mind or Right Mind as A Course of Miracles (ACIM) calls it, it only lasts for short bursts. If we were using it all the time, then we would not be here in this ego projection. It is easy to know when we are in our Right Mind by the outcome. All mayhem comes from the ego mind. Since God is Love, Peace, and Joy this is the result of using the Right Mind. God is all there is. There is no “Out there, out there” as quantum physics explains. What we see around us is a projection of the ego mind. God mind then comes from intentional or on rare occasions unintended experience. Reality or God Mind exists always and with practice we can and do tap into it. Another saying that applies here, “As you see him, you see yourself.” Because God is all there is. The ego would have you see otherwise and constantly plants doubt and fear as you go through life. There is a choice though and it takes practice. All this said, let’s get back to AI.

Intelligence as we know it belongs to ego and exists everywhere and in everything. Humans, Animals, Plants, Minerals and Elements are all expressions of Intelligence on different levels. Since there is but one ego mind, all intelligence uses this mind. We live in a duality and thus we have ego/God Mind, so “Artificial Intelligence” then is simply a projection of ego. This explains all the scary sci-fi movies where AI goes off the rail and mankind is either enslaved or destroyed. The ego wants you dead! It needs you dead to justify its existence. We are taught the ole circle of life story from the time we are born (which in fact never really happens). Life or God is eternal and cannot die nor change form. What does change form is ego! This is what it does best, change. A secret of the ego mind is it works in the opposite of reality. This is a duality after all, and all lines have two sides. (ego/God, space/time, good/evil, etc.)

What does it mean to use AI? What we are really using is ego mind, not God’s Mind generally speaking. The ego mind is a projection of our own mind, the individual mind, the idea of separation. So, don’t be scared of AI or be absolutely afraid of it! We have a choice of reality, the Mind of God, of Oneness, the Right Mind or of pain, tragedy, and loss. The latter doesn’t exist in reality.

“Nothing real can be threatened.

Nothing unreal exists.

Here in lies the Peace of God.” ACIM

Sequoia Elisabeth

Spirituality

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Why Pro Athletes Make So Much Money

by Sequoia Elisabeth

Ever wonder why professional athletes get paid so much? What about other professionals like brokers, lawyers, and doctors? Abundance is a function of giving, either of time or skill. It is not related to how hard one works, because if that was true, we would all be millionaires. What you give you receive, and this compounds the more people who receive this gift. Movie stars and Pro Athletes touch millions of people through broadcast media. Other professionals put a great deal into training and thus get the most out of their efforts. There is also caste which plays a role. We have a purpose for being here and our “role” in the game of life is cast upon birth. This is not to say the poor and disadvantaged have no chance at wealth, however their chances are greatly reduced. Why? Because they are working with less resources to begin with. Just because someone does not have a lot of money does not mean they are poor. Think of it like Shakespeare said, “All the world’s a stage, and we are merely players.”

Most people don’t understand what abundance is. The best analogy I can think of is a river or the flow of a river. Abundance is flow… in and out. Like the waves on the shoreline. It is not the stock piling of resources, this is hoarding. When it comes to things or property, more is less. Hoarding comes from the place of not feeling good enough and becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy. A person with little money can be very abundant if they have steady flow in their life. This flow can be in the form of love, time, money, health, or others. Perhaps you have not considered how abundant you are. I have very little cash, yet I have all my basic needs met and I am happy. This to me is abundance. My life is simple and rewarding. During my career in medical imaging, I helped many people and now as a minister and homemaker I serve my roommate and my audience online through my websites. I give what I have, and I suspect you do as well. My interests have always been broad, so I had great difficulty finding my path since many seemed to appeal to me. Other people I have known were laser focused on their path and did what it took to get there. They are now living successful lives by sharing their hard-earned talents. Not everyone will be a CEO, Pro Athlete, or Famous Movie Star, yet we are all Masters of our own fate. We are all Ministers to our lives.

One of the worst things you can do is compare yourself to others, be they movie stars, pro athletes, or CEO’s. Even family and friends have their own paths, so comparing yourself with a sibling or parent just creates roadblocks. We have our path and they have theirs. Believe it or not, we are all on our personal right path. There is no other option. No matter what we choose to do with our life, our “path” will conform to us and lead us home. So, be happy for those who have lots of money as well as those who do not, knowing they are exactly where they need to be. As I like to say, “All is as it needs to be” given the choices we have made either consciously or unconsciously. Life is about Being, not doing. So, what you do in your life makes little difference in the big schema. How you do it and who you are along the way makes it count.

Sequoia Elisabeth

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Christ Mas 2022

by Sequoia Elisabeth

A last-minute inspiration moved me to repost this blog from 2012: Our favorite time of year is upon us again, especially if you are a youngster or still feel so. It is a time of giving, sharing, and togetherness. This does not require family, but it does require a willing to give of self. It is easy to find those who need love through simple acknowledgement and/or attention. A small gift of time or material substance is all it takes to let them know they are important. To move beyond this point let us look deeper to the heart of the holiday.

This is the time of year when we are reminded of Christ consciousness and its relationship to our lives. The very word itself is an indication of what this season is all about. Christ in metaphysical terms means centered or anointed one. The word “mas” in Spanish means “more”. So thus, we have it in simple terms. This season is about getting more centered or literally, centered more and the word “anoint” means to dedicate to the service of God or in other words, to make sacred and whole.

The ceremony (Christmas eve/Christmas morning) is a way of connecting to Spirit and setting intentions. It is an acknowledgment of Oneness with God (Great Spirit, Universal Oneness, Goddess, etc). The symbology is important this season because when you share gifts it is a way of saying to the recipient, “you are sacred to me”. On Christmas morning you are anointing those you love with gifts. The actual item is far less important than the Loving intention (Christ consciousness) that goes into the gift. The gift is in the giving!

When thought of in this manner the Spirit of Christ Mas is brought to life! This year when you are sitting around the tree (yule log, menorah, or whatever) and sharing gifts, share also the Christ Consciousness. In short, move outside yourself (ego mind) and connect with the One (God) which is present in each person in your life.

This is how Santa delivers millions of presents all in one night! Through Christ Consciousness the Spirit works through each of us!! May you be Blessed this season.

Sequoia Elisabeth

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What do you value the most?

by Sequoia Elisabeth

What do you value the most? I doubt anyone will get the answer I wish to share today. We just don’t think this way about life. Perhaps you do know what I speak of, if you skipped persons, places, or things. Now, I ask you to really think about this. Since value is relative, think valuable to you. What is most valuable to you that you hardly ever even think about? The answer is Identity. Who you believe yourself to be. As adults, we have all latched onto an identity, created in adolescence and usually based in family. Even those who have “lost everything” retain their identity. Perhaps they identify with being homeless, poor, or powerless. Your I.D. does not count as an identity. What I speak of is self-concept. Who you are as a person and who you present to the world.

This is a complex topic and one I have been working on all my life. I suspect you too have ventured down the road of doubt as well. It is a favorite topic of philosophers. Who am I and why am I here? The answer is rather simple, yet nebulous. You are who you believe yourself to be and your purpose for being is also up to you. Frankly, you have made all these choices, more than once and most before you were born. Call it fate if you like. We are who we are, because we chose a role and are now playing that role. This does not mean things are fixed, far from it. We constantly have choice thrust upon us, day after day. Most decisions are made based on past experience or the past experience of others. This explains why things rarely ever change. You’ve probably heard the expression, “as much as things change, they stay the same.” There ya go. Even when we decide to change and they appear to have done so, at the core they are the same.

A case in point, I transitioned 15 years ago from man to woman (physical sex cannot be changed, despite what some would have you believe). I am happier as a woman, because my nature is more aligned now. This said, my core nature is the same. I am the same person; I just appear different. A tiger doesn’t change its stripes. Understand, I am not saying this is bad or good. I simply am pointing out it’s best to accept who you are and get on with life. Judgments just cloud the water. This is me speaking from experience. Gender transition is really for others and as a means to better “fit” into society. Few ever really achieve this goal. The very nature of ego is to be discontent! Don’t listen to these voices telling you that you are one way or the other. Make the choice plainly and proactively. I am a good (God) person. I choose to be loving (accepting) in every way. My purpose is to give as I receive. The question to ask is, what do I have to offer the world. For me, it is understanding and inspiration. My goal with this blog!

For those who say they value their child or other person more, I say they are your identity. You identify through them and thus why you value them so highly. All persons, places, and things are in effect, your identity. Your identity both relates to them and to your self-concepts. It’s a feedback loop. Have you ever said to yourself, “I am not that”? Or “I am that”? The world is a house of mirrors! To be honest, you are none of it and all of it. In reality, God is all there is. Identity belongs to the ego, so don’t allow this distraction to rule your life.

Sequoia Elisabeth

Paradigm

by Sequoia Elisabeth

Every story has its own parameters within the larger paradigm. The story practically writes itself when staying within these parameters. The plots will change depending on the circumstances of the character and the choices they make. Choice is the driver behind the plot line. Say the character makes the choice to do XYZ. This will drive the plot in that direction within the parameters of the story, keeping of course, within the paradigm.

We are all playing out a story. Our lives are our story. This means we each operate within certain parameters within a paradigm. Early on our choices are bound to our parents or guardians. Once we become adult and get out on our own, the story of our lives diverges based on the choices we make. For instance, say a person decides to go into the medical field as a physician. The medical industrial complex comes with its own parameters. The many hoops must be jumped through to reach the goal and all along the journey the story further defines itself by the choices made. The student becomes the intern, becomes the physician, becomes the specialist in the chosen field, becomes the servant to public or private industry, etc. The choices made by the person are not really choices as we are made to believe. The choices are dictated by the story within the parameters of the paradigm.

It all comes down to a life lived within the parameters of the paradigm. So, the person has already made its choices before it is even born. The very act of birth sets the paradigm. The person’s identity and path are set at this point of birth. A family has been chosen and thus the paradigm. We like to think we can change our path. Society claims change is the rule, not the exception. In fact, it is just the opposite. Even this change is within the paradigm of the individual. The greatest show on earth! Your Life!

Sequoia Elisabeth

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What does it mean to be Gay

by Sequoia Elisabeth

I have been asking myself this question most of my life. I remember commenting on how the “Gay community” had ruined a good word way back in the 70’s. To me it means being upbeat, happy, and jovial. It doesn’t really have anything to do with sex as far as I am concerned. That word is homosexual. Call it like it is. No sense trying to sugar coat things. Not that being homosexual is a bad thing. Who you love makes no difference to anyone else. Love in any form is a good thing.

I think the word gay got attached to homosexuals because they are often flighty, lighthearted, and jolly. Which to me is quite positive. I enjoy being around joyful people who don’t take life too seriously. Though I am not big on pranks or juvenile behavior. Somehow over the years the word “Gay” turned derogatory. The ego mind has its own agenda and creating more egos is one of them. Homosexuals don’t reproduce, so in the early days this was a big part of it. The more the merrier! (NOT) The other part is “guilty by association”. Fear motivates prejudice and thus the negative label. “They” don’t want to be labeled as “gay” just for being friends, so “they” choose to be enemies. The fact is, human nature is loving, we are social animals and enjoy hugs. Light unassuming contact can be affirming or offensive depending on a person’s point of view. When coming from love, its affirming, and when coming from fear its offensive. We all have the choice, fear or love. To me the acronym F.E.A.R = False Evidence Appearing Real, fits perfectly. Assume the best of others until proven otherwise! Just because someone has a negative experience with a person, does not mean all experiences will be negative. In 99% of our encounters with each other there is no need to even mention or think about sex. The ego would have you believe otherwise.

Being gay means so much more these days and this is both a good and bad thing. I often feel “gay”, though I have been heterosexual all my life, bedsides one adventure to the other side. My friends fall to both sides of the isle, and some are in the middle. I have chosen to not even play the game. My focus these days centers on agape love and non-sexual love. In the Spirit world, Love is all there is, so human/ego designations don’t matter in the end. For the sake of identity, which the ego just loves, I identify as a gay non-sexual male woman. Perhaps this puts me in the middle, I don’t even know, and have not been able to figure it out in 60 years! I doubt I ever will. It doesn’t even matter to me anymore. If you’ve read my eBook, Sex and Sexuality, you’d know sex is a distraction for most of us. A rare few use it as it is intended, as an expression of God’s Love. We are this Love, expressing. A small aspect of it includes sex.

Sequoia Elisabeth

OnenessMinistry.info

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No News is Good News

by Sequoia Elisabeth

No News is Good News…. So, what exactly does this mean? On the surface it would mean not listening to the news means you can only focus on your personal world and keep things positive. However, this is not quite how things work. It is true you are the center of your world, and all things radiate from this biased center. Your own personal beliefs feed your experience of the world. Take the recent Pandemic for instance. How did that go for you? For me it was no biggie other than being stuck at home more than usual. I have 25yrs in the health care industry, so wearing a mask is ordinary. Of course, I am retired now, so staying home is also kind of normal for me. My family all got vaccinated and eventually we all got Covid. We were sick for a few days and felt bad for a few weeks and slowly life returned to normal. Way back in the day I had an AIDS exposure (needle stick), though I never got it. What is my armor? Positive thinking and loving action, simply put. Thoughts are things, so it is important to weed your garden so to speak. Getting back to the news, I remember reading Lao Tzu’s advice about this and have followed it to the best of my ability. Be the observer on the mountain, looking down on the valley where the armies battle. They will do what they do and all you need do is observe, think loving thoughts, and go about your business. Starving children in Africa? I bless them on their journey! Floods in Kentucky… I bless them their journey. Even when it hits home, like when my mom had a car crash and went to the hospital with severe lacerations. I bless her and her journey! All I can do is be supportive and helpful as appropriate. It is her journey after all. I play my role and do my best not to feed the fire. All is well.

The other side of “No News is Good News” comes down to trusting in life and not worrying when a loved one is traveling or working in a dangerous job, etc. Not hearing from the ER or Coroner is a good thing! My roommate had this unfortunate experience the exact same weekend, my mom passed. This is before I met her by the way. The coroner showed up at her door with news of her partner being killed in an accident. I worked in the ER for over 5 years, and I can definitely tell you, no news is good news! All this being said, here is the way I look at news. With Love, Agape Love, by my side I can handle anything. I am not looking for sad news, however I am prepared for it. I am the lighthouse! I am a beacon of Love! In all my time in health care I had the opportunity to practice compassion daily. This is what I loved about it most really. This helped me learn to be supportive without taking things personally. As Jesus tells us, be in the world, not of it. If you take things personally, your road will be most difficult. If you do that while in the service industry you will implode.

I remember taking a class on spiritual prayer and they covered watching the news. They taught us that the news is neutral until you react to it. It has no power without your energy. Take a deep breath here and let this soak in. Like the tree falling in the forest, the news makes no sound until someone hears it and makes it real. There is no forest (or news) until your mind makes it real. The more minds feeding the news the stronger it gets. No News is Good News! Quantum physicists tell us there is no “out there” out there. Or as my Dad would say, “its all in your head”. What I like to ask is “How does this serve me”? Everything that happens in your life serves you in some way. It is either a distraction or a lesson to learn from. Or as ACIM teaches, it is a forgiveness lesson. Forgive, forget, and move on!

Sequoia Elisabeth

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Coping with Life

by Sequoia Elisabeth

Life has its challenges, and these can be debilitating, or they can be invigorating. Choice is the way of life here. Choosing not to choose is still a choice. Often, we put ourselves in a position where we think there is no way out. Like being in a paper bag and we don’t realize with a little water the bag will dissolve. Are you seeing sunrises or sunsets? Both are a given here, and both can serve at various times in our lives. Life grows in spurts. It’s the plateaus we must learn to enjoy by going with the flow. The spurts can be painful, or they can be exciting, the choice is yours. Coping with either a spurt or a plateau really is the same. Row, row, your boat gently down the stream. When you reach the rapids relax into it. Hold on, yet not too tightly. Drunks who are in car accidents usually are not injured severely because they flex in the stress. Resistance is futile as the saying goes. A stiff tree breaks, while a limber tree bends and survives. Palm trees survive hurricanes because they bend and allow the storm to pass over them. My favorite motto from the Disney movie “Meet the Robinson’s” is “Keep Moving Forward”.

Shifting gears, yet still focusing on coping with life, consider taking more down time. Sitting quietly comes with choice. By setting your intention, the mind will silence with practice. Understanding the contributing sources of anxiety and discomfort will allow you to make informed conscious choices. In today’s society this comes from electronics mostly. Disconnecting daily for only a short time helps. Go for a walk without any electronics. Turn off the TV and Computer, lay aside your phone, read a book. Find a hands on project to work on. For me being creative calms my mind. We are, after all, made in our Creators image. So create!

While you are creating, know the difference between making and creating. People make things, God creates. Holy Spirit (The voice for God) works through us and thus the creation. Ego or Monkey mind can work through us also and this usually just makes a mess… literally. (LOL) The difference is both profound and subtle. Knowing this difference changes everything. The choice is a conscious one and we each have this privilege. With great power comes great responsibility. And this can be a gift or a burden. When used for others we grow together. When used for the self only, we all suffer. I invite you to notice the difference. Do your actions bring both you and others joy? Do your actions benefit more than yourself? The question of “how does this serve you” can be a powerful tool to guide your path. Our actions should serve both the self and other self (others).

Sequoia Elisabeth