This week I have seen several instances where people have gotten into serious trouble simply because they refused to pay attention.  I also found myself trying to warn a couple people to pay attention to what they see and sometimes refuse to look at, before serious problems arise.  All the situations I am referring to remind me of a saying I once heard and never forgot.  It goes like this:  Who you are speaks so loudly I can barely hear what you are saying.  I still remember when I heard it, it rang so true.  The people in our lives, our friends, family, coworkers, love interests and potential business partners, constantly tell us who they are if we pay attention.  Sometimes their actions tell us good things sometimes not.  But we must pay attention.  I have seen people wrongly go to jail simply because they did not pay attention.  I have seen people get robbed, cheated and even die early, simply because they did not pay attention to who they were dealing with and take it to heart.  I am not saying that we have to cut people out of our lives as soon as we see a problem.  No one is perfect.   In many instances after seeing a character defining problem we can still have the person in our lives but we may have to be more careful with how we deal with the person.  In other instances it may be best to keep our distance all together.

I guess all this could sound sort of negative, but I assure you it’s not.  Paying attention to what you see as things come up is a one of the ways of listening to God and The Universe.  And trust me The Universe and your world is always talking.  If we listen and take heed early life is beautiful, with many signs and few pitfalls.  If not, well let’s just keep it positive and pay attention.

Before I start my story I have to say that I have the greatest life.  I am living the life I have always dreamed of.  But here’s the thing.  I always have new hopes and dreams showing up.  The question for me is Should I be just happy where I am or should I be pushing for more?   I seem to really ask the question when my new en devours hit road blocks and seem unattainable.  Just recently I was having that very experience and becoming quite frustrated.  I almost decided in my mind to give up on my latest dream or better yet just be happy where I am but I had two problems. One was the dream, my aspirations seem to pull on me so much.  The other problem was my youngest son Jordan’s voice.  He is three years old and this morning when he woke up and came downstairs he said what he often says.  “That’s my daddy.”  I thought how can I give up my newest dreams I have to be all I can be and live to the fullest for him.  I am his example.

When I hear his voice in my head over and over again and I am reminded that I am the example.  Yet I am still conflicted.  As I go through the day still debating I am watching General Hospital.  Yes I know it is a soap opera.  So what.  I watch for the gangster, Sonny.  Anyway Patrick is talking to Elizabeth saying it’s just like when you are in an airplane and something goes wrong they tell you to put on your gas mask first and then the child’s.  You have to be whole to be there for the child.  Once again I was shocked and could barely feel my body.  I said “that’s my answer I have to live this life to the fullest for my kids and those who depend on me and move towards my dreams .”  I also knew I could not get attached to any dream, I had to live this tricky balance of being in the world but not of it.  Move towards my dreams yet know I am the place to be right now.  I have to know it does not matter if the dream is achieved but it very much matters that I am fully alive being true to my heart.

I woke up this morning from a disturbing dream.  When I woke up my first thought was that I have to change my thinking and meditate more so my experiences in other realms will be more pleasant.  Then I went downstairs to meditate.  It was 5 A.M. which is my early meditation writing and reflection time.  I opened up Wise Words to one page.  It did not seem relevant at all.  Then I randomly opened to two more pages and read.  I took in the messages and reflected on what I was reading.  By the time I got to the last page I realized all three pages were relating to a situation going on in my life that I needed to stand up  to and address.  I saw I had to be strong, and yet have balance in my life.   Then to my surprise I was reminded about my dream and how helpless I felt in the dream.  The interesting thing was it was a remarkably similar situation to what I was concerned about in real life.  The dream seemed to be a warning of what would happen if I did not stand up, be strong and keep my balance in the process.  Once again I was reminded that every dream has a deeper meaning even if I can’t see it at first.

Want to hear about the dream and the rest of the story? Join the Enlightenment Program at the Meditativezone Community.  I talk about it this week.

Recently I was talking to myself, and to God.  I was asking God to show me my next move in all the areas of my life, or if not then at least show me the next move in one of the areas of my life.  During this process I reminded myself that I have to be open to anything that seems to mysteriously come from God.  I said to myself even if the message is something that I don’t want to do, if it seemed to come magically, I would move on it.

Later that same day I was over my parents house and my Mom Aletha suggested I go on Twitter.com and add it to the other things I do, my blog, The Meditativezone Community etc.  My first thought was “not Twitter”.  I always thought Twitter was for saying things like “I am thinking about brushing my teeth.  Now I am brushing my teeth LOL.  But here’s the thing.  As she began to explain how her friend used it for educational purposes and how it could be useful for getting out uplifting messages and information, I suddenly began to hear the Aum vibration.  (The inner sound)  I have learned over the years when this happens to pay attention.  This made me listen and for the first time twittering made sense.  Then I remembered me asking what is my next move.  I remembered promising to move on it even if it was challenging to my way of seeing and doing things.  So now here I am following God and the Universe once again against my all knowing better judgment.  LOL again.  I will be sending out messages on Twitter.com on spiritual life and meditation pretty much everyday or at least every other day.  That’s my next move.  What is your next move?  Ask, meditate, and be open.  Respond and let me know if you  like.

And of course you can now Follow me on Twitter

Sincerely,

Craig

A good friend and meditation student of mine asked me an excellent question.  The question came right after I was telling him a story about an epiphany I just had about the spiritual path.  As I look back I am sure the story may have even prompted his question.  Anyway here is the question.

“I always focus on clearing my mind and listening to the inner sound during meditation.   When I hear the inner sound (aum vibration) I know I am grounded.  If I  hear it loudly and it feels like I am floating, this is even better.  I never have visions or other experiences during meditation and I never thought anything about it.  Now I’m beginning to wonder, Do you think my expectations are too low, just being satisfied with what I have?  Should he be working harder?  If so how?”

My Answer:

This is an excellent question.  Hearing the inner sound is great.  Most people do not practice enough to have that experience.  And even if you don’t hear the inner sound, coming out feeling relaxed and refreshed is wonderful.  Of course you know that quite often we can get answers and mysterious guidance after meditating as we move in our world, that we just did not have prior to meditating.  I know for a fact you have had this experience many times.  But you want to know should you be expecting and working towards more and seeing things within.

My answer is yes.  When I first began to meditate I expected to go deep and see things within.  I was determined, and it happened.  Part of the reason was my belief and expectation. I romanced the idea of traveling to higher regions and having visions of those regions.  You have to remember that expecting is more than just wanting.  You have to convince your mind that in your world magic happens and you get answers from within.  There are many ways of doing this.  One way is to watch movies and reading books that depict such things and  remind you that you are spiritually connected.  When you listen to my tapes and stories identify with them like it is you and more than possible in your world to have the same experiences.  In addition to this you can not be attached to having deep experiences.  If you are too attached, you will become frustrated if it does not happen right away.   So the idea is to convince yourself of the possibilities more and more.  Identify with traveling deep in meditation and having inner experiences and visions from God.  Believe in it and at the same time don’t worry about if and when it happens. Then you just continue to meditate like you have been doing.