Off The Bucket List

Off The Bucket List

Everybody has an opinion on it. Everybody wants to do it. Everybody thinks if they're not actively pursuing it, they've failed. "It" has been a hot topic for decades in seminars, blogs, newsletters, for the new age faithful, and for those who make a living off the subject. IT is Ascension. 

When I googled the topic of Ascension 43 million entries came up. I clicked on some of the readings, dumbfounded at the many interpretations cloaked in religious, psychological, or inter-dimensional covers. I was struck by the warnings of physical and emotional symptoms that can present before ascending to the 5th or 12th dimensions - your choice! This is made even sillier when so many sites seem to copy one another's opinions and material by propagating the same information.

So, how do we get out of this quagmire of Ascension? First place I'd start is taking the whole conversation about Ascension as something one has to do, Off The Bucket List. It's difficult enough living an earth life with all the interpersonal relationship issues we deal with, making a living, raising children, being a good citizen and being a decent human being. Why add another level of complexity to that?  Especially as ascension is neither a process nor a destination.

Ascension is either a huge crutch or a great hindrance for those on the spiritual path. Those who "teach" you how to ascend, no matter the fanfare or notoriety associated with their teachings, are either a great distraction or they are negligent in their offerings. There's no place to "ascend" to. Why? Because this is our evolutionary glide-path and it goes on forever. 

We live in and are a part of an eternal universe with cycles that rise and fall, over and over, in perpetual motion. The cycles are endless. There is a constant in this however.  It's called consciousness. And, the best behavior in consciousness is one of compassion for self and for others. It goes back to living one's life as a decent human being. If we've got this unnecessary burden of having to ascend, we live our life with one foot nailed to the floor and the rest of us way too busy trying to "ascend."

Forget about Ascension. Take it off the bucket list. Instead, grow where you're planted. Smell the roses. Show the kids the butterflies. Teach them good manners and respect for others. Make sure they're mindful of nature and the planet. Teach them compassionate consciousness! And every now and then show them a little magic. That's ascension!

++++++++ 

 

                                                                                                 Jo Mooy - May 2016   

2013 - Now What?

2013 - Now What? 

   

It's January 2013. Millions of apocalyptic entries on Google said the world would end in December of 2012. It didn't happen. I never thought anything catastrophic would occur. Geological changes move at a glacial pace and the end of the Mayan calendar wasn't going to alter that fact. Changes in human consciousness though can come about more frequently. So hedging my bets, I prepared for whatever was going to happen.

I spent most of 2012 reviewing the teachings of the great enlightened souls I'd encountered over the past forty years. Looking for new insights, I re-read some of their most inspirational books. I took several months off for international travel. I went to the Middle East on a peace pilgrimage. There, amid centuries old hatreds between the three major religions on earth and the politics stifling easy discourse, an elderly Rabbi passionately assured me that peace would prevail on earth if there was peace in Jerusalem. I believed him. During a month long visit to India I was uplifted by the people and the spiritual depth of this ancient culture. Inbred into the fabric of their daily lives, it flourished in their beliefs and behavior. Yet, I was stunned at the country's gross ambivalence towards poverty, clean water, and the lack of sanitation.

After all of that it was ten days in solitude in the swamps of southeastern Georgia, that gave me the answers I was looking for. It was the most intense retreat I've ever gone to. The facilities were Spartan. Attendees pledged to a vow of silence, two vegetarian meals per day, not to kill any sentient being, not to steal, and promised not to leave the program before it was over. At 4 am every day a gong woke us for meditation. Other than the two meal breaks and an hour for meetings with the instructor, we sat in meditation twelve hours a day. Lights were turned off at 9 pm. On day four and day six I was ready to leave. But having surrendered all my electronics and the car keys upon arrival, not to mention I'd taken a vow, I determined to stick it out.

 

This requirement is a wise move on the part of the program. Staying is the best decision. In those ten extraordinary days I learned deep meditation techniques. I mastered the meaning of following the breath for countless hours. I grasped how talking takes one out of the inner world of contemplation. I saw how much mental and physical deprivation I could endure. I realized I could sit for hours without moving. I could even sit next to a scorpion watching dispassionately without flinching.

The most exceptional lesson I brought back from this retreat was an instinctual understanding that change is the nature of all existence. It is the constancy in our existence. It is inherent in our lives. It is in everything we do, and in every situation we encounter. Nothing is permanent in this universe. All things are coming into existence or going out of existence. Everything is birthing and dying, arising and falling, always changing. When that realization sunk in on day seven, it shattered my habitual ways of seeing the world.

 

Concepts of good and bad, who was right or wrong, disappeared. Thoughts, whether the casual monkey-mind thoughts or intense creative thoughts, come and go. Beliefs and perceptions lessen their grip in the awareness that all that we view as "real" is rising and falling. The transitory nature of the situations and dramas we create in our lives could be governed with the knowing that "this too shall pass." Applying that lesson to Israel, to India, to 2012 and now 2013 made all of those beliefs and experiences, understandable and easier to deal with. It also started the next leg of the journey. Now What?

It's a huge question post-2012. Many are asking the same thing. For me, after forty years of studies, seminars, and training, I ask, Now What? After trekking all over the world, Now What? After absorbing esoteric teachings from countless mystical paths, Now What? If everything is transient how do you live your life? Toss it all overboard or live with conscious purpose? 

   

The "What" turned out to be fairly easy. It's easier to live in happiness than in sadness, and if it's all arising and falling anyway, why not choose happiness. I heard the Dalai Lama speak about kindness a few years ago. He said, "This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples. No need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is the temple. The philosophy is kindness and compassion." He also said it's easier to sleep with that type of inner peace. So with the Dalai Lama's words echoing I choose to live with that purpose. To be kind and loving; to live with joy; to live with purpose; to live with conscience; and to remember, this too shall pass.  

And while I'm at it, continue daily meditation, do Yoga and eat more broccoli. That's Now What!   

Jo Mooy - January 2013

THE SILENT STONES

The Silent Stones

In such a small area of land, ancient religions and cultures collide with what should be 21^st century reasons for peace. Yet, despite sporadic periods of dialogue,violence and rigid opinions prove peace is as illusive in the area as it ever was. Into that restlessness we went, charged with a mission to hold a harmonic state of being while withholding all judgment on what was being observed. That was the peace pilgrimage to Israel we embarked upon a month ago.

Most impressions of Israel are based on what we've seen on the news. I'd never visited the country before, nor was it on my "bucket list" so I had no preconceived ideas on what to expect. Which was probably a good thing - for it allowed Israel, Palestine, Jerusalem and its stones to happen to me independent of any expectations.

The first thing I noticed about Old Jerusalem was the stone. It was everywhere. Massive, high stone walls towered above you as you walked on ancient stone roads shined smooth by centuries of pilgrims' shoes. Old Jerusalem is a vertical, walled-in stone city. It occupies one-third square mile of space and is holy ground to 35,000 people of different religions, beliefs, cultures and political affiliation. Arab women in long flowing robes and devout Jews in black and white attire scurry to and fro intent on their daily business, never looking left or right or interacting with anyone not of their culture or religion. Eye contact is always averted. The shops lining the stone walls cast you further back in time. The merchandise spills out onto the crowded stone streets as tourists and residents navigate around the displays trying to avoid knocking anything down.

In daily walks through this maelstrom of behavior and activity I felt the stone-like rigidity of centuries of beliefs and hurts. The people carried within themselves all the competing drama and pain of eons of cultural conduct. Meanwhile, the cold stones above, below and around held and mirrored those same bewildering passions and traditions. The stones felt like a colossal hundred foot high fortress constricting the heart of the city and its people. It was suffocating.

Then one night something remarkable happened. Our group visited the roof-top home of one of Jerusalem's inter-cultural peacemakers. The tone of our meeting was gentle and easy providing a tiny breath of hope for right relations between differing cultures. Around 10:00 pm we climbed down six flights of stairs to the street below. As we reached the main stone road to the Damascus Gate, there was a sudden stillness all around us. The shops were shuttered and closed. All the people were gone. The streets were deserted. Even the occasional soldier was barely visible against the dark walls.

The quietness was notable. In that moment I felt something detectable in the air.The ancient stones were breathing. There was a subtle rhythm in the walls that felt like the labored release of eons of weariness. With the people and all the religious and cultural baggage removed from the streets, the living stones could finally take a deep breath. I sensed them wearily breathing in and breathing out. In this brief respite of time the stones could recharge themselves until the next day's onslaught of emotional disquiet.

The ability of these ancient stones to endure humanity's contempt and still renew themselves filled my eyes with tears. The Silent Stones spoke volumes that night. The fortress around the heart of the city could still be eased. And Peace was no longer such a distant concept.

Jo Mooy - August 2012  

Ascension Revisited

Ascension Revisited

My well-ordered world shifted in late 2005 after the death of my mother.  At the time, I couldn't explain what was welling up from inside but sensed my life was about to dramatically change.  It did.  A stellar job, a long term relationship, life-long friends, and a lifestyle that left me wanting for nothing, ended. 

Suddenly unencumbered,  I relocated to Sarasota Florida, moved into an empty house with my "desert island" books, some CD's and a few folding chairs.  In the uncluttered serenity of the house I spent hours in meditation trusting in the unseen and unknowable.  Within a very short time, new friends appeared who had similar interests in spiritual topics.  (You know who you are!)  They felt more familiar than people I'd known all my life.   

That move and those friends set a spiral in motion that allowed me to know Ascension not from what I'd read in books but as an experience.   I learned Ascension was about rising up out of the old to something much more beautiful, like a butterfly emerging from the caterpillar state. 

It's been five years since that move.  My personal changes were evident in 2005, but in retrospect the energies of Ascension moved me into completely new spiritual directions.  I still had the old skills that had served me well, but now I was using them differently.  Instead of organizing business projects like I did in my old life, I was now organizing spiritual events and ceremonies.  Instead of training new managers I was now teaching others how to use meditation and dreams to find their life purpose.  Instead of climbing the corporate ladder with an executive mentor, I was now on a level path with a spiritual master.  I discovered that I could live cheaper and on much less by getting rid of clutter and things I no longer needed.  I found I didn't have to be a consumer to be happy, instead joy was found through simple things like the magic of scent, sound and color in my small garden.  Most importantly, I learned that my beliefs, thoughts and actions affected not only my small circle of influence, but also had consequences in the unseen world.

 

Ancient texts and modern oracles said that in this time called Ascension the earth and humanity would move from the 3^rd dimension to the 4^th.  Today, it certainly feels like we're living in two worlds.  Part of humanity continues to squarely inhabit the 3^rd while the other is gently sliding into the 4^th.  While the 3D world continues to be stable and solid, has laws governing it, and functions in old familiar ways, it is visibly changing.  Physically, the oceans are warming, ice caps are melting, and food sources are drying up.  Mentally there's angst, fear and uncertainty about the future.  Emotionally, wars continue to be fought at a personal and tribal level.  On the spiritual level religion is being questioned as individuals struggle to understand its long held role amid their personal search for truth.

On the 3^rd Dimensional level, we continue to react to old problems with stagnant ideas.  Fear and anxiety govern most actions.  When changes do happen, most feel powerless to do anything about them.  In that dimension it's hard to hope for better solutions or to experience a better life. 

In the 4^th Dimensional level ease predominates.  In that dimension, form is shaped by thought, time is instantaneous, and consciousness alters both the third and fourth dimensions.  On the physical level disease is managed energetically or is non-existent.  On the mental level the nature of the soul is explored.  On the emotional level high ideals drive behavior.  Finally, on the spiritual level the goal is experiencing enlightenment.  Those in fourth dimensional consciousness know they are part of a mystical journey that will birth a lighter and more refined state of human. 

So where are we collectively on Ascension?  We're in the initiation phase.  But how we move through it is up to each individual.  If you're reading these articles on Ascension, you're probably aware of some of these changes.  Thirty years ago very few people would have seen the articles much less known about the topic.  Today thousands of articles and websites like it are widely read online.  The entire world has become wirelessly connected by keystrokes or through the latest images on nightly news. 

If you Google "Ascension of Earth" 4.8 million references appear.  A search on "Spirituality" generates 32.5M results while a search on "Life Purpose" yields 92.7 million references.  If you type the word "God" on the Google reference line 427 million hits occur.  All of these "hits" tell a story, provide information, or share obscure or arcane knowledge on spiritual topics.  If you spend focused time online, in meditation, or in intensely creative endeavors, you'll find yourself existing between the alpha and theta brain-wave stage where you'll often lose track of time, space, or even your physical needs.  These activities take you out of the 3^rd dimension and into the 4^th where a fluid world, filled with new concepts, inspiring ideals and endless possibilities exist.

But in 4^th Dimensional consciousness, there's a noticeable change.  What we think about the universe and our relation to it is much more heart-centered.  We're able to feel compassion for the global family that is desperately trying to erase feelings of lack, separation, and fear.  More than that, we are actively engaged in a solution, and committed to making the world a better place.  Through effortless efforts our thoughts, our behaviors, and our beliefs are focused on that goal!

During this time of Ascension, more and more people are searching for and finding spiritual ideals, teachers, masters or practices to guide them.  They've heard the real call of their life's purpose and are acting upon it.  No longer slaves to the rational world, they now work with complementary "Soul Groups" offering self-less service and loving healing to others.  They know they do not have to be physically present to affect change.  They only have to be present in consciousness. 

These are the initiates of Ascension whose thoughts and behavior, flowing freely through the 4^th dimension, entrains others who are on the same wave-length.  In this quantum field filled with hope and love, global consciousness is collectively uplifted.  Ascension means courageously living from the heart center, and compassionately caring about the plight of our fellow humans. In that dimensional place, a new world built on love and harmony evolves and together we all ascend.

Jo - December 2010