The pioneers of Spiritualism, and before them countless mystics and philosophers, have preached this understanding of the nature of God. I first encountered the immanence of God many years ago following a regression that took me to Amsterdam and the time of Spinoza. As the regression unfolded I saw myself in Amsterdam in the mid to late 1600s. The facilitator asked me where I went to church and I responded that I did not go to church. The facilitator insisted that I must be a Calvinist or another protestant sect and asked that I walk by the church that must be in the town. As I approached the church I turned away and pulled my shawl more closely over my head. “I do not go to church; I am Jewish”! The facilitator than stated “there are no Jews in Amsterdam”! Well from somewhere within my knowingness I shouted; “Spinoza is here”! My grandmother from the spirit side of life then physically took my hand and led me from the building. How I arrived home I have no idea but I recall wondering “what is a Spinoza”? I thought it might be a piano. At home, my trusty encyclopedia then introduced me to Baruch Spinoza. I saw that Spinoza was indeed Jewish. Spinoza was the son of Jews escaping the inquisition in Portugal. These conversos/marranos (Jews who voluntarily or forcefully convert to Christianity) eventually arrived at the safety of Amsterdam where Spinoza was born in 1632. Spinoza was eventually shunned by the Jewish community for his philosophies concerning the nature of God. Spinoza was known as a free thinker who preached the Immanence of God. That God is infinite and we are all connected and all part of the one substance which is in itself and through itself conceived and whose knowledge does not depend on the knowledge of any other thing. Up to that point I had only enjoyed my grandmother’s religion, but with this regression I slowly over the years began a more thorough research of spiritualism. I saw that our pioneers had obviously studied and accepted much of Spinoza. I finally became “a card-carrying spiritualist”!
As we look at each truth expressed in the Immanence I am intrigued and delighted with the wisdom of our pioneers. If we could fully realize the immanence we would have no need for religion for all persons would realize (make real) that in a world where God is everywhere present there is no separation; there is no judgement. There is no need to search; there is only life in all its beauty. Sadhguru tells us that religions only exist because people don’t experience the creator within them. Self-realization is knowing that we are as much a part of God as is all of nature and as such we are indeed connected for there is nowhere else to be. We are one and what we do for one we do for all and what we deny others we deny ourselves. For this reason, the entrance to Delphi in Greece states “know thyself”! To know thyself is to know God. Our road to self-realization, or enlightenment, or greater understanding, is hampered only by our fear, our guilt, and in some instances by our lack of compassion. Our path is clouded by any action or way of living that does not wish well-being for all of nature. We must include all of life! Letting go of these self-defeating energies opens our way and lightens our load. Much like unloading what is unnecessary from our luggage on a vacation. And it is all up to us…….to let go and let God. If the doors of perception were cleansed everything would appear to man as it is, Infinite. For man has closed himself up, till he sees all things through narrow chinks of his cavern. …wiliam blake Spinoza preached that we are all part of the one substance we call God. We are one. We are one person having many different experiences and yet we are not the experience. In this physical world of duality, we experience a sense of motion physically and mentally and yet our God self remains immutable, unchanging, and everywhere present. Does this mean we do not enjoy the show? Of course, we enjoy life! It is the greatest show ever! Namaste! emmy chetkin
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“LOVE IS BEING ABLE TO VIEW A SITUATION WITHOUT ATTACHING DUALITY TO IT" - ALARIC HUTCHINSON7/11/2017 This statement of Alaric is challenging! We live in a dualistic world and duality by its very nature invites judgement. Duality is entrancing and keeps us distracted from our purpose to love and be loved. Judgement enters the picture even when it involves what we would call discernment. We do not see that these actions are also judgements. Even our opinion is just a polite way of saying judgement. What is our opinion but our view of good, better, best? Raymond Moody once aired a panel of persons who had experienced near death, (been declared dead) and had returned to tell their stories of life at the threshold of the spirit world. Many of the experiencers related dramatic and life changing events resulting from the NDE. One woman caught my attention as her story was simple, but contained an element that I never forgot. In her life review she saw all her good deeds, and there were many; but she also saw that only those deeds that she had done without thinking counted. I puzzled over this for many years. And one day in Egypt I met a man at the pyramids who walked and talked with our group. I asked him how he had learned to be so peaceful and he said it is easy; “don’t worry, don’t hurry, and don’t think too much”! When we take the time to think before we give, before we love, before we help, we are judging the pros and cons. We do not think of this as judgement but it is. The really nice woman had to think before she gave. Judgement!
Will we ever arrive at a time when we just naturally do the loving and most inclusive thing? It seems Pollyanna and not very practical to suspend judgement as Alaric seems to suggest. To any sensible person judgement is necessary! What if we went on a judgement diet? “Judge not lest ye be judged.” Judgement is a weight we carry. If we could completely trust there would be no need for judgement! We live and breathe and have our being within the mind of God Creator All That Is. Do we not trust God’s plan for us? Does not the Universe know what we need and want? In all of the animal and plant kingdom we are the only life form to interfere in God’s plan. If it crosses your path it is for you! If we resist trust we may someday have no other resource but to trust! With practice, our lack of judgement and with practice our ability to trust will bring us to include all of life. The universe knows what we want and need, and as we begin to trust the current of life, and see that we do not have to think so much, perfect solutions and perfect scenarios will present themselves to us. There is a book called “the surrender experiment” by Michael Singer. In this book Michael decides to say yes to life. Yes, to whatever is asked of him. I will tell you that Michael also added meditation to his life. A lot of it! He decided to say yes to life and not judge or weigh the issues presented to him. Michael’s life changed dramatically. His life became full and colorful and rich! He went from a struggling professor to a successful businessman who never lost his humility and just kept on saying yes to what God put in his path. Jesus asks, “Have ye forgotten ye are gods?” God holds within Itself all that is. God does not reject but includes us all! This is our challenge! To be the Gods that we are! Do we think God’s plan would not be fun? Fulfilling? Joyful? We could begin in small ways to trust God. We could begin in small ways to cast off doubt and fear. We could become the Gods that we are! Love is inclusion at its most divine! Namaste! emmy You do not need to leave your room. Remain sitting at your table and listen. Do not even listen, simply wait, be quiet, still and solitary. The world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked, it has no choice, it will roll in ecstasy at your feet. Franz Kafka “Energy Does Not Lie”!
Patricia Hayes, founder of Delphi University, used this phrase in almost every class. Many teachings we immediately recognize; others take experience for us to accept. Over the years I saw this truth manifest for me in my own life. I have had my energies mirrored to me many times. More often than I would like that mirror image is unmistakably “me” and is not always a pretty sight! Energy does not lie! We are vibratory beings and our vibration comes into the room long before we enter. This vibration signals those we come into contact with in ways not even known to us. We are vibratory beings and vibrations resonate with one another; talk with one another and telegraph our intentions, our desires, our abilities and our needs. Our vibration can attract those who are able to benefit from, or contribute to our abilities. Our vibration, when in a mode of non-judgement, can manifest as a healing for those in need; an inspiration for those who are stuck in a pattern that is not for their highest good. When we are emitting an energy of judgement, or not so good intent those around us pick up our signal and may back away. No one wants to be judged and judgement is not an arena of healing. Even broadcasting a vibration of intensity or frustration can fill others with a desire to move on to calmer waters. Hopefully receivers of this not so good energy are aware that negative behavior is a cry for help. Hopefully those who feel our off balance energy will send us a prayer of healing and well-being. That’s what we are here for; to help one another. Let us remember “we are one”. It is a good idea to consciously keep our energy in a vibration of love, well-being and success. We can do this through music, inspirational readings, and the all-time most powerful process……..meditation! The Buddha did not sit under that tree for nothing! Energy does not lie and vibrates the truth of us to those with ears to hear and eyes to see. Reading another person’s energy is not as easy as we may think. Our ears and our eyes are not always spiritually open and we may read from our ego. We often misread energy out of fear and sometimes out of a desire to “make it work?” Is our sensory antenna put off course by our own bias! Yes to all the above. But fear not for we are here to learn and unfold our abilities. Inherently everything and everyone is in a state of change; all evolving to find balance and harmony. We perceive everything around us through the filter of our own state of mind. To be awake and aware is to see the complete picture. Once we have the complete picture we cannot help but be loving, compassionate and kind towards everything and everybody around us. In this loving state of mind we bring ourselves to the very best vibrational tone we are able to attain in this present time. We then effortlessly arrive at the station of one of our countless incarnations. Our own personal appointment in Samarra! Our human experience is created from our vibration and it is a conundrum that all our lives are happening now. Yet we remember that Spirit cannot be contained in time or space! Life is like a train that circles the time track of our lives. We get on or off as the spirit moves us. Our vibration is our ticket to ride. Our vibration dictates our focus. We are everywhere present even as right now we are focused on earth 2017 with each of us enjoying a different experience. This is our earth ride and it will continue…..as we unfold our more clear understanding we communicate our more attuned self. This expansion of our understanding clears the self-made blocks we have created that keep us from seeing all that we are and can be. “I send out my energy to attract to myself those people and those situations that can best benefit from my wisdom, my abilities, and my love.” Patricia Hayes Namaste! emmy chetkin “keep your heart chakra open!” dr.susan persico
Susan Persico, who was our friend, and was also member of our church passed into spirit January 19. Susan was scheduled to speak this March 26th and I had been looking forward to her talk. Her lectures came from life experiences and were natural and inspirational and fun! I remembered her last talk here in the church and I went to my computer to listen once again to Susan’s account of her near death experience which occurred in December of 1982. In her talk last year Susan shared the high points of her NDE. I smiled as I listened because even within the event Susan was having an inner detailed commentary on what was occurring. She reacted to the events with wonder, interest, joy, acceptance, and a desire for more. Most importantly Susan returned from that visit to the spirit world with a profound understanding of love and the truth of our oneness. I am grateful to Susan for sharing that intimate and intense and sometimes funny event with us. It is comforting and a validation of all we believe. The love Susan was infused with “blew her heart chakra” open; and her experience of how real our connection to one another, and to all that is, was classic. Susan is a perfect example of how we can live in this world of duality and still know we are one! It is when we forget our oneness that life seems to become more difficult, more pressing. We live in a world of duality where the opposite is always showing itself. A world where we often want things to be different than what they are. Wanting something to be different takes us out of the present moment. The present moment is the only place where we can create anything, even change! If we truly want things to be “better” then we must stop judging. Carl Jung tells us that we cannot change anything unless we accept it ……..”Condemnation does not liberate, it oppresses.” I am sure we have all had moments where we did not want the “it” to stop. As we are being bathed in the sheer exhilaration of nature and of life we do not judge, or wish for change. However, when life hands us not so wonderful experiences we tend to lose our center. We are upset and we judge the situation as bad. If we would like to increase the beauty and learn to move more easily through the “not so good”; we must realize more and more that God is in all of life and we are part of God. We can learn to bless what we see for it is all part of us; the oneness. Be still and draw upon the love that is within us; bless the situation with healing and know you cannot heal from a place of anger, judgement, or discontent. We are vibratory beings and we can lift our vibration into healing by our attention to the love and the oneness that is the truth of us. Less than good situations can create sadness and all manner of negative emotions. Susan tells a wonderful story of a message she received one day as she looked at a depressing scene in a train station. As Susan observed the scene she thought; “There but for the grace of God go I.” A new thought “popped” into her head. “there with the grace of God go I.” The lesson of oneness had been well taken! We are many! Yet we are one! We are not all going to have a near death experience, but we can learn from the experiences of those who have been there and were brave and loving enough to share with us the blessings they were given. Thank you Susan Persico! and thank you to all who have written of their NDEs through the years. Namaste! emmy chetkin Go to www.livingspiritlilydale.org and click on “more” in top right for past speakers. Susan is April 2016 ALL ROADS LEAD TO HEAVEN!
I was born into a very Roman Catholic family, and my grandmother on my mother’s side of the family was a well-known and sought after medium. Minnie was a physical medium as well as clairvoyant and counselor. From a very early age I loved the mysticism of the Catholics. But my grandmother lived next door to us! She easily won the prize of a child’s interest. My grandmother would often show up at my school to take me out for the day. I could see the excitement in the attitude of the nuns. In those days Catholic sisters wore habits and they seemed to float and flutter in the hall as they greeted Minnie. I was told that I was a lucky girl and that my grandmother was a saint! A saint! To a young Catholic girl this was the highest honor and I did not miss the implication of the respect they afforded her. Score one for spiritualism! What I also loved about spiritualism was the colorful mediums and the amazing people who visited my grandmother. Native Americans, priests, nuns and artists and a medley of people who, to my young eyes, were straight out of an exciting book. One that I wanted to read! Yet it was many years before I began to read that spiritualism book. After many visions, and a magical visit from the spirit world, I attended my first formal metaphysical seminar. I had never looked beyond the colorful characters, and unlike my friends in Lily Dale, I had never attended a séance! But in this class I sat in the very front to make sure I did not miss a word! After a welcome to the class; the teacher asked “how many of you think it is important to be right”. Well I knew the answer to that question; my hand shot up instantly! Sitting front and center I could not see that I was the only person to raise a hand! Today I laugh even as I type this. How little I knew. Somehow, somewhere, I had developed the idea that “being right” was important. The teacher kindly said; “you are going to have a difficult time in this study”. That was the first time I had ever heard that statement addressed to me! The first lesson was “do you want to be right or do you want to make it work”? The “me” that had stepped into that classroom would have probably left! Left the class believing that the teacher was “wrong”. In truth I had changed when my foot crossed that threshold. I felt so comfortable and truly happy to be there that I did not even consider right or wrong. I stayed in class and thus began a wonderful journey into self-discovery, and a friendship that I will always treasure. I began to learn that my belief in the importance of “being right” could close my mind when the answers did not match my preconceived notions. “Being right” could actually be a handicap and hinder my ability to learn. “Being right”, when not properly communicated, can hurt others and stifle group progress. And the need of “being right” holds us back from engaging in new processes that await our understanding. I learned that love was more important than anything and to be is more important than to do. Lao Tzu tells us that “in stillness the world is transformed”. No intention……just stillness. We call this world a world of duality and feel we cannot escape it. Right/wrong. Hot/cold. Above/below. Everything has its opposite. I had always felt we could lessen duality and create more peace. And recently I read a book by a very young metaphysician who offered an option of oneness that is attainable. Alaric Hutchinson encourages us: “love is being able to view a situation without adding duality to it”. If we are going to turn our duality trained mind to the oneness that is the truth of us then we must learn to look at situations free from duality. Or as the bible teaches …….judge not. LIFE IS LIKE A KALIEDESCOPE. NO MATTER HOW IT IS TURNED IT IS ALL BEAUTIFUL.. THERE IS NO WRONG WAY. NAMASTE! EMMY 'you have within you more love than you could ever understand' - Rumi
A chance to love! How many chances do we get to love in life? A lot! The chance to love is the gift we receive from the creator as we enter life. Let us use this gift and use it and use it! How many times in a day or a week or a month so we make the choice to not love? The choice to love is always present! I often quote my friend and teacher who would answer when I would question loving everyone. “You have to love Emmy. You do not have to take them home with you.” Picture for a moment ‘you’ at the pearly gates, and now inside, and now face to face with the creator. Your life rolls in front of you and all those moments you chose not to love are presented to you. What a travesty, what a sad day! I actually play that game with myself from time to time, and those times I chose to withhold love, make me want to hide. I resolve once more to not let those opportunities to love ever slip away. and yet again, in yet another disguise, the chance to love presents itself and once more I harden my heart. I turn my head. I forget we are one. I forget we are love. I unconsciously make my decision. That no goodnik does not deserve love! That person is pesky, too needy, annoying, too loud, too quiet, mean, manipulating… For whatever is my rationale at the moment I have withheld love. Love is for sale! We decide who deserves our love and who has earned it. In these moments of withhold we could remind ourselves that them most seemingly horrible person needs the healing balm of love the most. William Law tells us: ‘Love has no errors. All errors are a lack of love’ There is nothing stopping us from sending love in any situation. You do not have to take the person home with you! Send love from the silence of your heart. Energy never lies and our love is felt whenever we open the channels; and opening the channels is easy because loving is our purpose. “I believe that the reason for life is for all of us simply to grow in love” - leo tolstoy Recorded by many artists is this song: ‘Why me lord? what have I done to deserve even one of the blessings I’ve known? Why me lord? what did I ever do that was worth love from you and the kindness you’ve shown?’ This song was not my husbands style of singing, but he would sing it endlessly for me because I loved it so much. It became my mantra in difficult times. I know that the love we are given from the creator to supports on this earthly path is not earned. We are treated as temples of love and this love was meant to sustain one another as the one we are. This precious powerful love sits so patiently and so abundantly waiting for us to let it flow. What a glorious purpose we have! What a powerful mission. A mission so sacred, so profound and so simple! Love one another! We cannot use love up, and we cannot misplace it or put it in the wrong place. It is never the wrong time to love! May we all enjoy a loving and joyous holiday season! Namaste Emmy Let it go!
Have you seen the commercial where the girl is holding on with all her might to her sleeping bag? A sleeping bag that an alligator has latched onto?! Her more clear thinking friend seeing this is a no win situation for the girl says, “Let go of the sleeping bag”! And in another version of the same story a man is hanging from a cliff with one hand, while holding onto a red bowling ball with the other hand. He cannot be rescued unless he is willing to let go of the bowling ball. Again a friend says “let it go”! The girl cannot be safe until she releases the sleeping bag to the alligator! The man cannot be saved until he releases the bowling ball to the depths below! To the onlooker it is a no brainer. Let it go! We are often like the people in these commercials. We hold on. We are afraid to let go even when the situation may be upsetting our well-being. We are vibratory beings and when we stay locked into inharmonious situations the discord increases and this “sound” or vibration soon upsets our health, our temperament, and our balance. What drives us to hold onto situations that threaten our peace of mind and often our physical health? Is it the fear of the unknown, or is it the fear of releasing the familiar? The familiar regardless of how uncomfortable can begin to feel safe. There is also something known as “the member of the tribe” syndrome.. Long long ago the strength of the tribe and our own physical safety, may have depended on group need and not much room for independence. The fear of letting go is the member of the tribe syndrome. This fear need no longer exist, and yet buried deep within our DNA is the imperative to stay. To stay regardless of the situation and the stress it could be generating. And yet if we listen to our hearts desire; if we go within as urged by Cora Richmond and our pioneers we hear the song of life urging us to follow the current of our soul. God manifesting as Life through Life is always speaking to us. Sometimes Life speaks in quiet urgings. Sometimes Life speaks in a burst of inspiration. And sometimes the river of Life takes drastic steps to keep us on track and save us from ourselves! This can often mean leaving the familiar. A change of course. If we fear change we may turn from the new guidance as it comes in and fight the current as it attempts to take us a smoother way. As we look around us it is sometimes difficult to believe, but the Creator did not set us a course of misery! We forget that joy is a natural phenomenon……..misery is our own creation! Do we know better than Creator what is best for us? None of this negates free will. We are always free to exercise our free will and when we have suffered enough we will surely pick up and move on. Another lesson learned. Stay conscious and listen to your intuition and your heart. Be still and your world will be transformed……. Maybe I was holding on too hard as I wrote this message because as I “thought” I was finished my words disappeared. I sent out help to my techie friends but no one could undelete my words. And most of it is not found on this page! Forgetting “this message” I railed and moaned and was totally out of sorts. And then I started to laugh. The joke was on me! Not all lessons come wrapped and noted. God had changed course and I could not stay where I was feeling familiar. I had to rewrite and so this is the result. Namaste! emmy chetkin |
Roy Montgomery
Lifetime member COLS Wildflower Editor Previous Messages
May 2024
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