January 02nd, 2018

“All man’s miseries derive from not being able to sit quietly in a room alone.” blaise pascal
 
     I put on my brakes this morning as I approached our Lily Dale gate from Dale Drive…….what brakes?  No brakes!  An icy patch took me racing towards the gate and as I looked out I saw Natalie’s beautiful house looming in front of me.   I tried to stop and then I suddenly became still.  A memory surfaced through the silence.  A memory of my brother Richard telling a tale of an impending accident and no brakes!  At the emergence of that memory I was in a vacuum of no house, no car, no Emmy!   Somehow in that stillness I knew Richard was at the point in his story where he said, “I just put the car in park”.
   I put the gear in park!  I came to a gentle stop just inside the gate.  I was in that present moment where, with no awareness of self, you just know what to do.  Sometimes in those still moments you hear spirit speak in an audible voice.  Sometimes in moments of stillness you sit suspended in a gentle supportive space with no thought.  This morning was a new (to me) example of stillness.  This was stillness in action.
   I have heard Elaine Thomas call this “unconscious competence”.  It is indeed!  Unconscious and competent!  Competence is where we could exist if we would take the time to sit in silence from time to time.  Silence allows the negative to settle and reorganize itself.  It allows us to see more clearly.  It can help tremendously to take a moment of silence before any task we are about to do.  Phil Bolsta tells us that silence can synchronize your breathing with the heartbeat of creation!  And of course, our own pioneers of Spiritualism urge the necessity of going within.   It is in this void of sound that earth and all that is was created.  We need from time to time to sit and breathe.  Stop doing if only for moments and be……still.
     Our breath is the power of life.  No breath?  No life!  Every breath today can be a new beginning and a fresh start.  We release the old and begin anew.  Sometimes in times of stress, or off-balance moments, or not so good moments I tell myself; “I just need a breath of fresh air”.  That every day common phrase reminds me to stop and breathe; it rewrites whatever I am experiencing.  That is all any of us need.  A new outlook, a new beginning.  A breath of fresh air!   The celebration of the New Year is a ritual that inspires us to let go of the old and to enter the new with a fresh perspective.  Can we, will we?  Can we let go of the old and move forward into the New Year?  I use my imagination to stir me to “let go”.  I picture the hoarders that television so loves to portray!  When we hold on to the not so great behavior of the past we are like those who fill their homes with items they cannot let go of.  The hoarding of those items makes life difficult and cumbersome.  Television shows us that these people cannot even navigate within the space of their homes.  The hoarding of old behavior impacts our lives in the same way.  Our lives become difficult in varying degrees and we are unable to navigate our lives easily and with joy.  We blame the behavior of others for our state for mind.  Long ago on a very difficult day I was doing just that; blaming others for my state of mind.  On that day I experienced another moment of stillness.  I was swept up on a powerful wave of energy.  This time the voice was audible.  As I lifted I was told; “it is all for you”.  This life with all its joys and sorrows is all for us.  For us to navigate, for us to enjoy, and for us to evolve and truly realize we are creating our own happiness and unhappiness.  I do believe that as we create silent and still space in our lives we will one day evolve to a new dimension.  A dimension where we awaken from the dream of Adam and are more easily able to manifest our true selves.  We are beings grand and glorious!  We are beings sensitive and humble!  Fear and negativity have no place in our lives unless we allow them a place to flourish.   Happy and Blessed New Year to All!
                                                                                                                                 Namaste! emmy chetkin 
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