Oneness Ministry

We are One

Feb 22

I Love You! So now what?

by Sequoia Elisabeth

The fact that love is the way is sort of obvious, but what is not so obvious is a question I have pursued since way back in 7th grade.  I asked my father “what is Love!”  His answer was, “you will know it when you see it”, and I stared back at him and said “huh”? 

Love is such a dynamic subject that thousands of books have been written about it and we still want more!  So what is it about Love that we desire?  As I have shared in my previous blogs relationships are what life is all about whether they be relationships that are intimate, casual, family or friends every relationship you have is a relationship with God.  Don’t run!  God loves you and if this bugs you then maybe you should take a step back and examine why. 

It could be the word “God”, there is so much stigma attached that it has almost lost its meaning.  Feel free to use whatever word feels best for you since they are equal, Universal Mind, Buddha, Allah, Jesus, Goddess or Great Spirit.  The point here is that you are Loved and to accept that Love is not as easy as it would seem.  In order to fully accept Great Spirit’s Love we must accept the Love we are offered in every relationship we have.  Every time you reject someone, be they friend or foe, you are rejecting Love.  Yes, this means that your ex that you hate so much is God and so is that sexy person at the coffee shop that you admire so much.  Every person we meet has a gift for us and that is an opportunity to Love.  Simple isn’t it?  Love and be Loved! 

I suppose we need to look at what love is and isn’t.  This is where it gets tricky and I suggest trusting only your heart.  We have all been hurt at some time or another, that is a given, however what we do with that hurt is the key to our Spiritual growth.  The phrase “forgive and forget” rings loud in my mind right now. 

This is something that comes easily for me because I have practiced it so many times.  How did I have the opportunity to practice so often you ask?  Being so tall (6’11”), it matters little if I am a woman or a man, I got stares and was treated like a freak more times than I care to remember.  In the early years I did get angry and rebel with smart remarks and such, but I quickly noticed that it just made me feel worse, so I stopped.  Instead I decided to “do onto others as I would have done onto me”, I complimented them.  The advice your Mom gave you about, “if you don’t have anything good to say then don’t say anything at all” is great advice. 

Con’t next time…  😉 Sequoia Elisabeth

Spirituality Transitions

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Feb 20

Mirrors of Friendship

by Sequoia Elisabeth

Transition is long and sometimes arduous journey so it is very important to treasure each moment of Joy and each success along the path.  Doing this alone is certainly possible, but it is when we have someone who cares to share our experiences with, the Joy grows exponentially. 

Often when we decide to begin the journey we are in an intimate relationship which becomes our first challenge.  Will they accept us?  The real question is do we accept ourselves?  The only way to know if you accept yourself is how others treat you.  I know this may seem backward or strange, but this is just how it works.  Understand that you are all there is, all else is a reflection of who you are. 

I call this the mirror principle and our lives are often like living in a house of mirrors, it can get pretty confusing.  This being said let’s get back to our partner who is having difficulty with our coming out news.  Each person in your life has their own vision of you, as a reflection of themselves!  Be gentle with your expectations of them and this is where the golden rule comes in.  Do on to others as you would have done on to you, because they are you!  We are One. 

When you think about this it explains a lot about the reactions and treatment you get from others.  Those who understand are supportive and loving.  Those who believe themselves to be like you are going to be supportive and understanding (and vice versa).  Join a support group!  The internet is the place to look and if you need help, contact me I am here for you.  The time spent with others on a similar journey will help you to better understand yourself and you have the opportunity to grow self love.  The Love you give is the Love you will receive!  Not only do support groups offer information you will need along the journey such as where to go to get the things you need, what to look out for along the path and who can help you, they show you who you are!  I find this to be the greatest gift anyone can offer you!  🙂  Sequoia Elisabeth

Gender Related Spirituality Transitions

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Feb 18

Union of Souls

by Sequoia Elisabeth

I share with you a message today that sings to my Soul and ignites a fire of passion.  My article on Sexuality found HERE, speaks to this very subject of which is one of the reasons we are incarnated here on Earth, to experience this union.  Let me point out that this is energy we speak of not strickly male and female.  Even in same sex relationships one person will embody the Masculine and the other Feminine, this may change or flip-flop depending on the relationship just let go of stereotypes and feel the JOY.

The Masculine and Feminine Union

I often hear that a fundamental feminine practice is to surrender–to the masculine in your life, and to the divine. I believe this is true. A great relationship is not created by trying to control one’s partner. A joy-filled life does not happen in the midst of clinging on to a false sense of security, or trying to control events and people around you. Your feminine practice is to learn to let go and trust. But, trust is not blind faith. Trust does not mean giving yourself to just anyone. Trust requires you to listen deeply. Who is worthy of your trust? In partnership with the loving masculine presence in your life, are you listening to your heart and his heart? Are you open to the gifts he wants to share with you? Are you tuned in to the “masculine” way he wants to connect with you? If you are single, the same questions apply. Listen to whether his heart is really open and if he is ready to share himself with you.

Surrendering to our partner is not just for women. Men who want to experience a great relationship are called to surrender to the feminine’s awesome power. The magical union that occurs when both the masculine and the feminine surrender to the other is beautifully depicted in this piece of writing by Lakota Sioux, Henry Houston

“When a woman is in her center, she is like wild mare taking flight freely through the open plain, her mane whipping in the wind. The strength of her powerfully sculptured legs merges with the earth, majestically creating its own drumbeat in tribute to Source. She is pure and primal expression of creative power.

What is possible for her becomes totally transformed when her beloved is riding her, the masculine strength who knows and honors her power. It is through his surrender to her that he is able to become one with her. His masterful leadership and understanding of her raw power, her desires and her vision guides and directs the powerful energies in a manner that manifests the greatest good for the unified collaboration. He harnesses the energy into a purposeful end for both.

He does not fear or compete with her magnificent power. Through surrender and union, he experiences his True Nature beyond the world of form and this unleashes his own spiritual power. He is free! She gratefully surrenders to his leadership, for it grounds her, stabilizes her energy, and allows for its manifestation on the physical plane. Both are empowered by the union. Still each of them stands sovereign in his and her own power. Out of the balanced unity is created a third force, a natural flow of synergistic energy between them that combines their individual wholeness into an infinitely expanded wholeness together. All of creation joins in the celebration of this Divine Union .”

I invite you to print this out and read it with the masculine presence in your life. What do they feel when reading this? I’d love to know what arose in your conversation if you want to share.

Blessings for a magical union of masculine and feminine.
Written by Rachael Jayne Groover, http://theyinproject.com

Please visit her website,listen to some of her videos and participate in her workshops.  The Yin Project is a fantastic message for women!

🙂  Sequoia Elisabeth

Spirituality Transitions

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Feb 16

Beware What You Wish For

by Sequoia Elisabeth

Are you aware of what you are wishing for?  Did you know that every word and thought is a prayer?  Once you start paying attention to your words and thoughts it is amazing to see how you are creating all the wonderful and not so wonderful things that occur in your life.  Some of these are deep issues that you chose to work on before you were born, so you will experience them whether you wish to or not.  Many others though are things you have picked up along the way.  We are constantly learning as soon as we have consciousness at some point in the fetal stage and the learning never stops.  By learning I mean receiving and processing data from your cognitive centers though both your physical senses and your mental senses. 

What role do you play in your life?  Only everything.  Creating the life of your dreams is one of patience, persistence and faith.  On a conscious level, the thoughts you have connect to feelings you have about those thoughts and it is the feelings that are the fuel to manifestation.  Our beliefs about the thoughts or dreams are the doorway that either allow them or not.  This process can be a crazy seesaw effect of yes – no – maybe, so focus on your desire and let the doubts go.  When I say it takes persistence and patience I am not kidding, sometimes it is years before things actually materialize because of many reasons including the seesaw action combined with the feeling of knowing or faith that it is done!  Actually see it as done while feeling the effects of it. 

This is how fear works so well to create that which we do NOT want.  Fear is often accompanied with deep emotions and feelings of dread, and the amount of energy combined with the obsessive nature of fear gives it fuel to manifest.  Since you know this now, use this same process in reverse by focusing on your dreams!  I cannot stress this more.  See only your desires and release all else. 

Just by being aware of your thoughts and feelings you can pick and choose the ones we like most.  Choose Joy!  Because many of us have experiences of let down so often it can become a habit!  If you expect the worse then you reinforce this happening.  So if a thought crosses your mind that is unpleasant simply ask yourself what you want?  What is my desire?  “Oh I choose Joy”!  Where is the Joy in my life?  If I don’t see any then I need to look deeper, anything is possible.  Create it if you don’t see it.  Talk with a friend, see a movie, listen to music, or whatever you need to and the feelings will change to support your beliefs.  I am Joyful!  🙂  Sequoia Elisabeth

Spirituality Transitions

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Feb 14

I am that

by Sequoia Elisabeth

Greetings family!  As I sit here thinking of what I would like to say for this segment, I am reminded by the author Neale Donald Walsch that it is our actions that define us.  Not only am I who I say I am and think I am it is through my actions that I am defined.  This is an interesting fact to consider.  Do you like what you see?  I mean as you look back over your life at all your accomplishments, are you happy with what you have demonstrated? 

How often do you use the words “I am”?  These are the words that Moses uses in the bible to describe God, “I Am That, I Am”.  Powerful words, because they define us!  Now the version that most bibles use does not have the comma and that is a sore oversight by the men who translated the original document.  James Tywman pointed out in his book the “Moses Code” that the comma was missing so you can see how much that little detail changes the meaning of the phrase.  No longer is it “God is that”, it becomes “I” am that as an individual, I am God.  God is no longer outside us but within, through and as us!  The way I use this is to point to something and say, “I am that, I am”.  It matters not what you are pointing to, God is all there is.  The way I look at this is if I am an aspect of God and God is all there is, then I must be all there is.  When we say be “all that” we mean it literally. 

I am walking down the street pointing to a dog, “I am that, I am”, then to a tree, “I am that, I am”, etc. The feeling I get when I do this is one of inner-connectedness. Try it and see how you feel.  It may seem strange at first but when you think about it and let the reality sink in the Truth reveals itself.  We are all a part of the whole, and the whole is greater than the sum of its parts!

The ego or “little self” part of your mind is probably screaming at you about now and that is to be expected.  So let’s go a little deeper.  God is all there is and we are merely instruments!  God works in us, through us and as us to express Divinity.  While this may seem a tall order, it is something that you have been doing all your life, only now you are aware of it.  Going back to the beginning of this blog I said that our actions define us, and so now you know who you are!  🙂  Sequoia Elisabeth

Spirituality Transitions

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Feb 12

Family of One

by Sequoia Elisabeth

The future of our society here in the USA is in question and I feel this is a good thing.  This depressionary period we are going through right now is a result of the decisions we have made so far.  We are being forced to re-think all the aspects of how we live, so where are we headed?  It is up to you.  Quite simply our decisions are what determine our outcomes or experiences.  Let me ask you a question, How involved are you in your community?  Do you know the person living across the street?  What is your hair stylists name?  How many different doctors have you seen in the past year?  How many relationships do you have, including anyone who you know by name and see more than once in your life?  These relationships are what make our lives meaningful and give depth to our lives. 

Society seems so caught up in “family” and “family values” of which I would like to point out are the vary values that are destroying our county!  The mentality that anyone is more important than anyone else makes us weaker and puts us in competition and conflict. 

The human race is a family in itself and in order for our family to thrive we must be working in harmony and in the best interest of all.  Society today teaches us that the persons that birthed you into the world are the most important people of all and that you owe them your very life!  Doesn’t this seem absurd to you?  We all play important roles in each other’s lives and that is wonderful, but to owe your life to another person is not how the system works. 

Our core family, the ones who we were born with are basically volunteers and members of your soul group who work together to grow Spiritually.  I am very grateful for my parents and appreciate the Love, guidance and support they have offered me over the years, but it does not mean that I owe them anything and I also understand that they are volunteers who owe me nothing!  They do what they do out of Love, which is a great model for everyone else in our lives.  I had a motto when I worked in the hospital industry, “I treat my patients like they are family”, which in all reality they are!  We are a family of One, one human race.  I even expand that to include all animals and plants, because we are all a part of a whole system, planet earth. 

The point I would like to leave you with today is that Community is important to the health and well being of our entire planet and we each need to participate for a community to exist.  The nuclear family that you are born into plays its role in your development but it is NOT the most important part!  The most important part is to realize that we are ALL family and to treat each other as such. 

🙂 Sequoia Elisabeth

Spirituality Transitions

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Feb 11

A Moral Journey

by Sequoia Elisabeth

The transgender journey is not a moral issue, or is it?  Morality is related to doing the right thing based on social norms.  These boundaries are determined by societal acceptance and so they are constantly changing.  For me this can be a difficult issue since there is no right or wrong, only what you decide to do.  When we make things right and wrong we automatically set ourself up for feeling bad, because someone is going to be wrong, this is the way of our dualistic world.  So what if I told you that you are always right?  You are right in your own mind and from your perspective.  When considered like this no one is ever wrong.  There is no reason for anyone to feel bad for being wrong.

The morality of being transgender is a mute point really since it only really matters what you think of you, not what anyone else thinks.  I concede that knowing you are supported and even loved by others is feedback we all benefit from, but just because someone supports you does this make you moral?  I suppose it does if you consider being accepted as being right.  So the issue is not about whether being transgender is moral or not it is about whether the way you treat a transgender person is moral.  Are you treating this person with the respect you would give your grandparents?  Transgender people are no less or more deserving of morality than anyone else and I can speak from my perspective, all we want is to be treated as any other man or woman.

I bring this up because I was discussing moral behavior today and got to thinking about the Transgender journey.  Morality is no different for transgender persons than it is for anyone else, we are all human beings and how we treat each other should not include different rules for different groups.  It really is quite simple, “Do on to others as you would have done on to you”!

Gender Related Spirituality Transitions

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Feb 9

If it walks like a Duck

by Sequoia Elisabeth

If it walks like a duck, talks like a duck and looks like a duck then it must be a duck!  This is the power of reason.  Reason is our last sense of the mind to cover in this series of tools for coping with Transition.  Most of us know about deductive reasoning from the stories of Sherlock Holmes and we are taught to reason in school by using the logical brain, so let me share a method of using reason for your Spiritual growth. 

In Religious Science when they do Spiritual Mind Treatment part of the process involves reasoning with the mind so that the practitioner or one mind is totally convinced of the certainty of what we are praying for.  It goes something like this, “Almighty God I know that we are one and that all I see around me is our creation together, I know that you flow through me as I am creating my dreams.  And since you work through me, I know we can create anything, I know that I am healthy because I am an expression of your Perfection, I know that we are Abundant, because you create through me, I know that Peace is here now, because Almighty God flows through my life constantly.  I am so grateful to be a part of this glorious process as I allow Almighty God to operate in this world through me!  I release these words to the Universe in gratitude and grace.  And so it is. 

It is not necessary to go through all the steps to have reason work for you.  Be as specific as you can and give examples of Miracles that you have experienced.  Use reason to build a positive life by looking for all the good that is in your life and then reasoning that if good exists then you must be good.  Or just because something bad happens does not make you bad, because of all the wonderful things you have to be grateful for such as air to breath, water to drink, food to eat, and friends to share with.  We always have what we need! 

The power of reason is just another tool we have at our disposal to create the life of our dreams!  Each of us have the responsibility to create the life we desire, it is not going to fall into our laps, unless it does and if it does, be grateful you created it!  Just remember the process goes like this, thought – word – action.  Now that you know the 6 senses of the mind you can use these tools to create a master piece of life.  Blessings on your Journey of Love.  🙂 Sequoia Elisabeth

Spirituality Transitions

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Feb 7

Will Power

by Sequoia Elisabeth

Only two more tools of the mind to consider, so let us move on to the will.  Yes!  Our will is an important piece of the puzzle!  As I mention in my book “Livin’ Large – a Journey of Love” whatever you say is true – for you.  We are always right at least in our own mind, so the next time you hear otherwise, simply know that both of you can be right at the same time, in fact everyone on earth can be right at the same time!  Infinite possibility makes that true, since all possibilities are occurring at all times and as we will it so we experience it! 

So how do we use this mind tool of will to our benefit?  First we must be aware of the choices available and the power we have to will these choices.  Will is something that you set in motion and allow to work, it is not something that you force.  When you say “I will be there” what you are doing is creating a path for that to manifest and as long as you allow things to fall into place your words are true.  This allowing requires that you be aware, listen and take action.  There is an implied knowing involved that carries the power of our words forth and within our minds as we speak the words a path is already being worked out in the milli-second the thought comes to us.  When we become aware of this process it is easy to marvel in the beauty of the whole process!  The more we practice this and stay aware, the deeper our understanding goes and the more exciting the results. 

When we say “yes” to something we are using the power of our wills to agree and make manifest our desires.  Yes, I am happy today!  This is a simple act of will power.  😉 Sequoia Elisabeth

Spirituality Transitions

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Feb 6

Perceptions

by Sequoia Elisabeth

Perception is a tool of the mind that can bring profound changes to your life.  First I believe it will help to clarify the difference between point of view and perception.  Standing on a hill high above a battle scene or actually swinging a sword on the battle field are points of view.  So is being a afro-american person who is required to sit in the back of the bus.  Perception on the other hand is how this person experiences the situation.  Is the person standing on the hill judging the battle below as good or bad, are they perceiving a win or loss?  Is the afro-american person grateful to simply be on the bus or are they angry they have to sit in the back?  Do you understand what perception is now? 

Take a hard look at your life and see if you can find a different way to perceive it.  Can you be grateful for something that maybe you were upset about before?  How about seeing an enemy as someone who is simply acting through compulsion and not necessarily targeting you?  Your choice to take things personally is a perception that you control!  Have you heard of no-fault law?  Where when an incident occurs each person takes responsibility for their own actions and no one is at fault.  It is a common law concerning auto accidents in some states.  Why can’t we simply use that principle in relation to everyone we meet whether they are in a car or not?  Someone bumps you walking out of a store, you say “pardon me” and go on like nothing happened, thinking “I hope they make it where they are going safely.”  This is the power of perception.  You have created peace, harmony, and good-will in a simple choice of perception.  Forgiveness can be a way of life! 

Our minds are so powerful that they are the tools we use to create the life we desire to live.  If you do not make choices consciously then they are made for you by your unconscious mind based on habitual decisions you made in the past.  We are even affected by other people’s choices which in some cases can be a good thing, like when someone drags you out of a burning building after you where knocked unconscious, unless it is not.  You decide everything, because it is your life!  Just remember that your life is connected to everyone else’s life to the point everything you think, say and do affects someone.  Now this can seem like a big responsibility, but it is not.  Why? Because all is interconnected and what you put out you get back.  Change your life for the better by shifting your perception of events to the Highest Good.  Look for the good things in life, expect opportunities to present themselves, and be grateful for everything that happens in your life no matter what it looks like on the surface.  😉 Sequoia Elisabeth

Spirituality Transitions

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Feb 5

Memories

by Sequoia Elisabeth

The next tool our mind offers up is memory.  This can be a double-edged sword, but then so can just about everything in our lives.  One of the main premises to my ministry is “what you focus on grows”.  The power of this can be enhanced though the use of memory. 

Do all your memories need to be happy ones to benefit you?  Absolutely not and here is why, gifts are present in every experience we have and if we suppress those feelings or refuse to process those gifts then they turn into obstacles, so even a horrible thing like getting raped or attacked can be a learning opportunity.  The lesson most often learned in this situation is forgiveness and love.  I will let you work out the how’s, because that is the process of learning! 

Memory can be used in so many beneficial ways and the simplest is the experience of Joy.  We can feel Joy any time we choose simply by remembering the most Joy filled moment in our lives!  The double-edge here is that it is possible to get caught up in these memories and no longer be living our life, but a past life.  Re-member the feelings of Joy, happiness, contentment and once you have that feeling in heart then go about your business, knowing that any time you need a boost all you have to do is re-member!  Once experienced an event becomes memory and the process of joining with that memory/experience is called remembering or joining again. 

Did you know that often times the things we remember never actually happened?  Or at least they did not happen the way we think they did, or did they?  This can get very serious since sometimes people are accused of doing things and in fact did not, even though a witness remembers them doing it.  Our memory can play tricks on us so just be aware of this and use this to everyone’s advantage.  Let go of any memories of anyone being harmed, what was done was done and once you have faced your feelings and processed your emotions, let the whole thing go and move on.   If you are in a difficult situation simply create a memory that will comfort you.  Use the imagination to create an event and then file that in your memory so that the situation is transformed into a pleasant one.  It is perfectly OK to create your life to your liking and in fact I would expect you to.  My motto is to remember that which we desire and forget the rest. 

Memories that are very old often change over time and get “weeded out” leaving only the pleasant aspects and this is fine, because the purpose of memory is to experience an emotion on demand.  Memories can also be used to navigate and to share knowledge, however it is my belief that memories greatest gift is in the feeling of it.  Can you remember your greatest Joy?  How about your greatest adventure?  What about your best gift received? Or your best gift given!  Knowing where you left your socks is only part of the reason we have memories, so go out and use memory to fill your life with Great Feelings and Pleasant Remembrances.  😉 Sequoia Elisabeth

Spirituality Transitions

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Feb 4

6 Senses of the Mind

by Sequoia Elisabeth

We all know about the 5 senses of our physical body, but what about the 6 senses of the mind?  I talked a little about them last time and will go a bit further this time.  The six consist of Intuition, Imagination, Memory, Perception, Reason, and Will.  My plan is to cover each of these tools for transition one by one, last time I covered Imagination.  When used consciously these tools are your best friend and the funny part is we all use these senses every day without even realizing it.  Let’s take intuition for instance.  It is often referred to as the sixth sense and is attributed to women as women’s intuition.  Are you in touch with yours?  We all have this sense, even men!  In fact the most successful people in the world, such as Bill Gates, Steven Jobs, and Oprah Winfrey attribute much of their success to using their intuition!  The way that I use this sense is to get in touch with my feelings, which takes a few minutes of being quiet and some practice.  After a while you will just know when an opportunity is advantageous or the direction you are headed in beneficial.  Is that girl you just met the “one”?  By using your intuition you will know!  You can just feel it!  Teenagers are usually very good at this when they are young, but sometimes if they get too much criticism they shut down this faculty, so if you are one who did this maybe it is time to get in touch with your intuition.  For illustrative purposes let me tell you of one of the fun ways I use my intuition. 

I had just gotten out of a seminar at a local hotel and it was about 3pm in the afternoon.  We had been going at it all day and I was hungry, so I asked myself as I was getting into my car, what am I in the mood for?  Mexican came to my mind and I could feel, smell and taste a delicious Mexican Burrito with hot salsa dripping down, yum!  I started driving toward home, but since I was not from this city I had no idea where to find a good Taqueria.  I was driving down the interstate when the overwhelming sensation to turn came over me, so I got off at that exit.  I then focused on my feelings and it felt like I should turn left, so I did.  I drove for about a mile, all the time keeping my eyes open and my mind on that delicious burrito.  As I came around a corner I saw on the left side of the road the Mexican Taqueria that was to fulfill my appetite!  It was one of the best burritos I have ever had!  🙂 Sequoia Elisabeth

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Feb 2

Creative Tools of the Mind

by Sequoia Elisabeth

In developing a Spiritual practice there are several tools that are instrumental in creating an open space for growth.  The one I use most is creative visualization and I recommend Shakti Gwain’s book with the same title.  I will summarize here so that you can get an idea of how to use this tool. 

We are taping in to the power of the imagination by creating a vision of that which we desire.  Say you need a new car and so you are visualizing the new car you are desiring, make the vision as real as you can by seeing the shiny gold paint and sleek styling, feeling the soft leather seats and firm steering wheel, and smelling the new car smell and the fresh air blowing in the window as you are driving down a deserted country road.  The more real you make the experience the stronger your emotion of joy becomes and the greater the probability of the experience manifesting.  Put no limits on the manifestation of this experience, simply hold the feeling of knowing that it is true. 

The technique can be used for anything and for instance I used this method to assist my transition from male to female.  I still use it often by visualizing my body as I know it is, I can feel my womb and I hold a vision of the rams horns which make up my internal sex organs of the coiled ovaries (the horns), and the head of the ram (my uterus), sits behind the mouth of the ram (my vagina)!  I visualize this as often as I remember and it helps to set up a schedule for meditation at least once a day.  Use this technique with every aspect of transition, voice, breasts, hair, face, etc. 

To energize the visualization place yourself in society interacting with others and if you are so inclined creative visualization works very well in loving relationships and sexual encounters.  How many times have you been making love and think of someone else?  What happens to this relationship down the road?  Be careful how you use visualization and intend that it be in the Highest and Best good of yourself, your partner and everyone everywhere. 

The secret to making this work is to ignore what appears to be true and know without a doubt that which is true!  Reason with yourself if you like and explain to yourself why you know this is true.  When you have a deep experience that pleases you greatly, use your memory to revisit this experience over and over.  These are each tools of the mind; imagination, perception, will, reason, memory and intuition.  Consider how you use these six tools of the mind and be aware of the possibilities!  If we only realized just how powerful we are in creating the life we desire, the world would be a much more joyous place.  🙂  Sequoia Elisabeth

Gender Related Spirituality Transitions

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Jan 30

MtoF Transtion and what to expect

by Sequoia Elisabeth

The usual course of transition for a MtoF transsexual is to first dress as a woman and to socialize with your peers prior to taking the major step of CHT or Contra-Hormone Therapy.  This does not need to be on a full time basis, although it can be.  Socializing as a woman is very different than as a man so getting used to that aspect is greatly beneficial in both determining if you desire to progress and gaining the skills necessary to be successful.  Many things will come naturally for you such as mannerisms, emotional behavior including your needs and desires, and mental processes.  What may not be so natural is movement, social expectations and relationships.  Transition is basically the process of breaking down our learned “male” persona and allowing our natural female self to emerge.  This will be easier for some, but is a big road block for many of us. 

It is important to be patient with the transition process and allow these things to occur naturally, although counseling, feminine coaching, and voice therapy do play an important part.  A skilled counselor can guide your path and point out aspects that are not natural if they are not obvious and help you get in touch with your authentic self.  The feminine coach is valuable in helping you to get in touch with feminine energy and develop its expression.  I must say the first time I felt my feminine energy vs. my masculine energy it was a revelation!  Being aware of our body’s energy and what we are projecting is very important.  For women to truly be feminine for instance we do not project that energy, we simple center ourselves in it and this simple act will attract others to us.  I have posted a link on the gender links page of my website to The Yin Project; I highly recommend her. 

Voice therapy is very important also and I suggest that you start this process as soon as possible, even before transitioning if you are planning that far ahead, which most of us do not.  I also recommend getting electrolysis started as soon as possible and depending on your age, I recommend doing laser first to clear the dark hairs and let the electrologist focus on the light hairs.  Don’t let the electrologist tell you that laser is not permanent because I know that it is from experience.   I have a page on this website that goes over the whole process of transition planning, so I would like to stay focused here on what to expect.  So expect laser to work and with the proper hormone regimen the face is the only area to be concerned with unless you are unusually hairy and I know that some men are, that is OK (it doesn’t mean anything, unless you say it does, lol). 

The hormones do a remarkable job of reducing body hair and stopping male pattern hair loss.  Find a doctor who specializes in CHT for transgender/transsexual persons, because doing this yourself or using a doctor with little or no experience is setting yourself up for failure.  It can be done on your own, but that is contrary to what this whole journey is about in my opinion, which is to fully and completely experience the transition.  Many TG/TS’s want to jump straight to the result and if that was the way it was meant to be then don’t you think that you would have been female from birth?  I can hear all the opinions flying as I write this which is great, remember this is from my experience and if you desire a different experience then make it so.  More on this subject can be found here.   😉 Sequoia Elisabeth

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Jan 28

Dream within A Dream

by Sequoia Elisabeth

What is your vision?  I listened to a great talk last night by Jean Houston and what I learned is that it is our myth that creates our future.  Without a creative vision for how life can be more enjoyable for all then nothing changes or more accurately our past becomes our future because without new material the movie just repeats! 

This is the power of the movies, they provide us with a visual of a possible future or past.  Of course you know the past is no more permanent than the future, right?  Let’s save the time discussion for later.  All movies started as a written story first even if it was just the director doing a story board.  And of course the written story was only an idea to start with.  The process of creation is thoughts, words and action and this is how we get movies and our very lives! 

We see movies as fiction and our lives as reality which works for now, but someday this could be a way of creating reality.  We have seen this in the Sci-Fi movies like “Total Recall”, “The 6th Day” and “Star Trek”, I just love the holodeck!  There is a program online now called SecondLife and basically the user constructs their own version of reality and then lives within this reality chatting with friends all over the world, making things, sharing things, flying, teleporting, and all sorts of awesome and fun things.

Does this reality affect our physical reality?  From my experience it most certainly does.  I find it amazing how our worlds are interconnected and by using my imagination in SecondLife gives fuel to changes in my “first” life.  I hesitate to use the word “real” life here since I am not so sure that one life is any more real than the next. 

You may have heard the phrase, a dream within a dream, which is the title for a great Edgar Alan Poe poem, but this does describe life pretty well I think.  “The Matrix” movie illustrates this dream within a dream concept nicely too.  So how do we create our lives or is the question, “who is driving this bus?” more appropriate?  Remember that we each create our lives with thought, words and action, so Yes we are driving our own buses!  Another movie that illustrates this nicely is “What Dreams May Come”.  Where we get a glimpse of Heaven and what that is all about.  What would your Heaven look like?  The possibilities are infinite so let go today and dream a little dream within a dream, lol.

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Jan 24

Man vs Nature

by Sequoia Elisabeth

Let us take a lesson from nature.  If it were not for man running around building things do you think that we would have civilizations on this planet?  Well it is a possibility but it is also unlikely.  I would like to compare our social system of money with nature in hopes to get you thinking about a few things.  Have you ever considered the role of money in our society?  I mean really broken it down and considered the many functions it plays in society. 

Let’s take a closer look and see what money has done for us.  First of all the obvious exchange of money for services or objects, and second it makes our lives more convenient and is a definite improvement over barter.  It is also a method of control, since the one who has the most money can control the actions of others by either offering money or threatening to withhold it.  Money has been used for many evil purposes in man’s pursuit to have more.  This is where the old saying “money is the root to all evil” comes from, but it also comes from the church who preached that money is bad because it makes people do bad things.  Is this really the truth?  Of course not, money is nothing more than a tool and like all tools can be used for mischief or good.  The good that money can do is an abundant gift that serves all of mankind through its sharing. 

Using nature as a comparison, do animals use money?  What about trees and plants?  Is a rock going to charge you $5 to stand on it or use it to build your house?  Think of all the functions the cells in your body have and then ask yourself if they charge for their services!  I know this seems absurd but if you were a sentient animal, say a deer, what would you think of this behavior of those humans?  What did we do before money about 4000 years ago?  Now that I have you thinking, let’s take this to the next level.

What if everyone continued to do as they do, but money was subtracted from the equation?  Stay with me here and put down those flags.  I am suggesting that if we as a society agreed that survival was for the betterment of everyone and that suffering was not necessary then money could easily be removed from the equation.  How can this occur?  It requires that each person understand what oneness really means, that when anyone is harmed it affects us all, this means that we are all connected in ways we are just beginning to understand.  The movie “Avatar” nicely demonstrates this relationship to us.  This relationship is a synergistic one where life is based on a giving and receiving that is intuitive.  We can still have our cities and technology, and when we all work together we can create a heaven that is a culmination of all our dreams. 

I realized this morning that it is each of us and our attitudes toward this idea that determines its viability.  Let go of your mind, your doubts, your questions and consider the possibilities when you personally say, Yes.  As each person says, YES, the power of this agreement builds to a point when a cascading of people saying, Yes comes over the world like a wave of YES.  In our agreement comes the manifestation of our dreams. 

The problem is that so many of us say No automatically without even thinking of whether we would like this or not.  Our minds jump to the task of disproving this!  Ask each person if they believe that each human deserves to live a life with food, water and shelter and they will most likely tell you YES.  However ask them if they are willing to live so that this is possible and we get hesitation.  I am no longer hesitating!  I have a vision of Love for our society and over the next few days I will be putting this into words as best I can.  Please hear me, anything is possible with Love.  🙂 Sequoia Elisabeth

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Jan 22

Life that Never Ends

by Sequoia Elisabeth

Death has always been an interesting subject to me.  So let’s talk about it some.  There are many beliefs about death as well as the after death experience and as far as I know no one alive can tell you what dying feels like, or at least that is the popular belief.  I have some not so popular beliefs about death and dying so I will share from my perspective and from my extensive research.

Now I have never had a near death experience or NDE but I do have two close friends who have and from what they tell me it is not all that bad and in fact they tell me it was a pretty interesting experience.  The key points of NDE’s are the feeling of floating and separation from the body, but with a thin cord that maintains constant connection to the body.  Many will see a light which is very bright and almost magnetic. The other significant thing is that they felt no sensation whatsoever.  They had no thought either, only observation without judgment. 

The best book I have ever read on this subject of death is “Home with God: In a Life that Never Ends” by Neale Donald Walsch.  Since you are probably going to read it I will not go into great detail but I will mention a few points that grabbed me.  From the title you may have guessed that life does not end with death of the physical body.  Our souls continue right on with the journey and this experience depends on what you believe.  What you believe is true! (Ch 7 of my eBook)  So let’s say that you believe the bit from church where if you sinned you go to hell, well that is what you will experience until you realize that being there is not necessary.

There are many stories and whatever you believe in will manifest.  By the way if you believe in nothing you will experience that and living in nothingness can get a bit confusing.  LOL  Moving on, the next awesome thing about death is that you pick the time, the place, and the method all before you are even born!  I will not go into how that is possible because that can take a while. 

The other cool part is that no one ever dies in vain.  There is a purpose for everything and those who need to know of your death will.  There are some more fun things in the book so check it out and know that we are all manifesting our lives in the best and highest good of yourself, your family and everyone everywhere.  😉  Sequoia Elisabeth

Spirituality Transitions

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Jan 21

2012, Infinite Possibility

by Sequoia Elisabeth

2012 is coming, it is only 2 years away.  Are you ready to die?  The predictions are for an apocalypse to occur during the wondrous alignment of our sun with the galactic thread in the center of our Milky Way.  The popular media are jumping at this chance to sensationalize yet another event in our vast history, but do not get discourage by it all.  Let me suggest the deeper meaning of this time. 

First of all let me clear up something concerning the Mayan calendar.  The actual end date of the calendar is on Oct 28th 2011!  What happens on Dec 21th of 2012 is that the sun moves into alignment with the center of the galaxy, this happens only once every 26,000 years give or take a few days.  Is this time significant?  That is up to you to decide, literally! 

The period between Oct. 28, 2011 and Dec. 21, 2012 is going to be interesting to say the least because this is the period in-between.  What George Leonard says about this period which he calls “the plateau” is that this is when we grow the most.  It is the resting period or calm before the storm where we prepare for the actual expression of our creation.  Yes, I said creation. 

We create our own lives though our thought, words and actions.  What is so significant about this plateau period between the end of the Mayan calendar and Dec. 21, 2012 is that this period is a time of infinite possibilities.  This is the message the Mayan left for us and as deciphered by Ian Lungold.  The Mayan Calender is not about time anyway although that is part of it.  The calendar is really about tracking consciousness and it comes to an end on Oct. 28th 2011! 

Does this mean we all die?  Of course not, it means that the door is opened on this day and we will find that our dreams and desires come to us without effort.  Our conscious mind is what is ending and instead we move into full use of the One consciousness of eternal being. 

The exact events are not set and as you believe so it will be.  What will you create?  More accurately, what are you creating at this very moment?   This is important because we are accelerating to this point where possibility becomes probability exponentially!  😉 Sequoia Elisabeth

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Jan 18

Divine Feminine

by Sequoia Elisabeth

Divine Feminine is the path to Great Spirit.  We are carried by our emotions to the spirit world.  Our journey is constantly guided by our soul through coincidences and messages from nature.  An open mind and observant eye will do much to lead us home.  Learning to trust our visions and feelings is the first step to mastering our lives, but we must also learn patience, how to sit in silence and humility. 

According to Karen Berg’s teachings of the Kabbalah women are already corrected from the debacle in the Garden of Eden and here only to guide their man who still needs correction back to their spiritual home.  If  a person is meek, quiet, unimposing and demure then they have an understanding of Great Spirit that is reached by letting go of the masculine and immersing oneself in the feminine.  The masculine is necessary to balance the feminine and provide strength and action, but once we are where we need to be then it is time to let go of all masculine and flow into the feminine. 

The last 4000 years for the most part have been an adventure of masculine energy guiding our path and forging our culture.  It is time and has been for the past 300 years or more for the pendulum to swing the other direction.  Divine Feminine is arising to balance the masculine and to bring peace to our planet once again.  Resist it not, for it is a gift that will set you free. 

Embrace the Divine Feminine for the gift that it is and wade into its waters like a warm spring.  The waterfall is there as source with its masculine energy filling our little pond with vibrancy, so soak in the waters that fulfill us.  Let the banks overflow with soft and gentle waters.  Move into the realm of emotion and fear it not.  Who you are is who you need to be at that time, there are no limits such as physical form or such.  I am woman because I need to be.  🙂 Sequoia Elisabeth

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Jan 16

a Unique Journey

by Sequoia Elisabeth

Today we are going to discuss the significance of gender transition. We are each on our own unique journey and after reading at least 4 books and many, many stories about transition I am amazed at the similarity of the journey. It is like each one of us is a Monarch Butterfly but just have different patterns on our wings. The differences are important but to my eyes they don’t even amount to different species, which might make one woman a Monarch and the next a Morpho butterfly. How could it be that we are so similar? Is it like riding a Cyclone Roller Coaster where each person has a slightly different experience but overall the ride is the same? Or is it simply that we are drawn to those who are like us?

It is a Universal Law that like attracts like, so if you want to see who you are simply look around! Two nights a week I sit in a room with other transgender people discussing the journey and whatever else comes up, so is this a coincidence? I think not! I am with those who are like me and I love it! Why do I love it? Because I love myself! Fifteen years ago I would not be caught dead in a room full of transgender persons, so I feel like I have come a long way.

This journey of Love is filled with miracles and this is one of them. Not that I am in a room of my peers, but that I can Love being in a room of my peers! I must say that I am proud of myself and so happy to have reached this point. Each day is another opportunity to further define who you are, so what will it be? For me it is Love, I am Love. All else I am letting go of and I am still finding out what this “Love” looks like. One thing I have discovered is that it is unconditional and if it is otherwise then it is not Love. It feels good too, in fact it feels so good that I smiling all the time now. If something does not put a smile on my face then I do not need it. Now that is the simple life!

🙂 Sequoia Elisabeth

Gender Related Transitions

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