more lessons

i have been studying soul/metaphysical matters for as long as i can remember, maybe starting around the age of 12 or so, name it, i must have at least studied it at some time or another-- astrology, the Bible (yes, The Bible!), the Napoleon Hill series, the Og Mandino series, The Rosicrucians, Jonathan Livingston Seagull and all the other books in the Richard Bach series, Silva, The Celestine Prophecy, Conversations with God, plus countless other books and correspondence lessons on psychology, self-help, self-improvement, and now Manifesting-- but it has only come together to jell for me now, at last.

it's like they built on each other somehow, when at the time i was studying them, i thought i was studying them separately, each different from the rest, offering something new. even now, well, since middle of last year actually, when i began to resume my serious studies again (it used to be that i read one book, then "lived normally" again for a few months or even years, then a crisis or question would arise, then id be drawn to the next book again, and so on and so forth) and more consistently this time, i see all my present studies as building upon what ive learned in the past, that i wouldn't be so easily understanding them now if it weren't for the preparations and serious struggles of self-questionings in the past. actually, the present time feels more like a review than coming into new knowledge for the first time.

and i am realizing one important thing--- that they all basically speak of the same things, that there are certain commonalities in principles, and that they just differ in language used, methods and focus.

what are the "same things" that they speak about? that life is certainly more than the physical, that heart and soul and mind are more infinite, timeless and lasting, that what is without is a reflection of what is within, that if you do not go within you will go without ("seek ye first the Kingdom..."), that God/the Universe is an infintely merficul and loving God Who desires to give us Abundance, if only we open our selves to it and allow it and accept it and participate in our own god/ goddess- ness too ("... what I can do, You can do also...").

the principles i have learned now, id like to state for my self in terms of Joe Vitale's and Anisa Aven's "steps (mainly because they were what worked best and clearly for me):

1. know what you want
2. get clear
3. stay in joy
4. let go (Vitale)

or

1. want it
2. allow it
3. accept it (Aven)

and i am learning now that all the many books, lessons, courses, seminars and programs out there differ only in their methods and focus.

most psychology and self-help material, plus a lot of meditation material, help you know what you want.

stuart lichtman's cybernetic transposition and programs like EFT help you get clear and stay clear. wallace wattles' The Science of Being Rich helps you get clear, too, and cast out untruths about riches, abundance and prosperity.

i haven't found too many books on staying in joy; i guess most books and courses assume it. but the one book i found which helped me a lot was Mama Gena's Pleasure Revolution books. don't get discouraged by the definitely for-women only thrust; the principles are still the same: when you follow your bliss, the energies you create from joy are so powerful, they bring you more of your bliss to you. (of course, the same holds true if you follow your miseries; they create equally powerful energies too, and bring you more of the same. that is why it's not a very good idea to mindlessly watch or read the news or even tv itself too often, as what is considered newsworthy are violence, poverty, the basest of human character... still wonder why we seem to be getting more of the same?)

i haven't found too many sources yet, too, on letting go, allowing and accepting, on staying in proper thankful and affirming Receiver Mode, although almost all touch on the power of Gratitude to quickly get one's self into that mode. we have been conditioned too much in focusing on what doesn't work, what's "bad", what should be fixed, that we forget about what does work, what's good, what is already alright and just needs to be appreciated and enjoyed.

we have also been conditioned too much in the precepts of hard work, overwork, action, activity, to get things done, that the concept of simply relaxing into Trust and letting go and preparing our selves to receive is mind-boggling and revolutionary for our times! i found wallace wattles' chapters on "Right Action" very enlightening and enriching, and fred gratzon's "The Lazy Way to Success" is something i'm enjoying right now. : )

so, it's a big wide world out there, with as many teachers, guides, gurus as there are many confused and lost and miserable people wanting their lives to be better.

but, in the end, as with all things, it still comes down to you and your self-- what speaks to you, what touches you, what stimulates your growth and expansion and coming into more fullness. i think that's what was discussed in The Celestine Prophecy... what has "incandescence" for you is what is for you.

and to each one of us, to his or her own incandescence.

may we all find our Peace, and many blessings to us all!