The New Earth is the New Heaven
by Katie Davis
Author, Awake Joy: The Essence of Enlightenment
A New Book Directly Encouraged by Eckhart Tolle
In This Issue
• The New Earth Is the New Heaven
Katie Davis, Awake Joy
• Awake Delight
Sundance Burke, Free Spirit
Category of Links
Addressing the pervasive longing for meaning and fulfillment in this time of crisis, Nature and the Human Soul introduces a visionary ecopsychology of human development that reveals how fully and creatively we can mature when soul and wild nature guide us. Depth psychologist and wilderness guide Bill Plotkin presents a model for a human life span rooted in the cycles and qualities of the natural world, a blueprint for individual development that ultimately yields a strategy for cultural transformation.
Revolution of Angels
by Dawna MarkovaAuthor of Spot of Grace, Random Acts of Kindness
When I was five, my grandmother who was a Russian midwife and healer told me a creation myth about a huge crystal bowl in the dark sky. One night it shattered into millions of tiny seeds of light that lodged inside of every being on the planet. Each was called a spot of grace. She told me that our task as humans is to find, grow, and shine that seed into the darkness of the world. She said that when everyone does this, the bowl will be made whole again.
These days, in a fragmented world of more than 6 billion people, it's more important than ever that each one of us understands we're unique and make a difference. So I decided to ask people to send me stories about the people and moments that helped them recognize that uniqueness and grow it. I asked people in workshops I taught, in speeches I gave around the country, in conversations on airplanes. I sent out an email inquiry to 2,500 friends and people on my mailing list.
The stories began to drift slowly into my mailboxes. At first many people said to me, "What do you mean, 'Who taught me that I'm unique'? Unique? There are more than six billion people on this planet, Dawna. I'm just ordinary, normal, like everyone else." Then, thirty stories appeared one day, forty the next. Some came from people I knew, others from people I had never met. Most of them came with expressions of gratitude. “Writing this was like taking an antidepressant. I was pretty bummed out when I started, but writing it made it all come alive again.”
A ripple began when people who received the email sent it to their friends. Stories came from Capetown, Auckland, Shanghai, Paducah, and Bruges. I was amazed at the response. Each story had its own voice. Some were as simple as a South Dakota corn field, and others so complex that I had to read them out loud to understand. How could one question evoke such a wide variety of responses? A mother passed the invitation to her ten year old son. All the members of a book club in Chicago responded. Four grown siblings who are scattered all over the globe each sent in a story without consulting the others, and a hospice nurse from Denver sent stories from her dying patients.
The stories revealed to me how connected we all really are. Conversely, we are unique individuals, distinct from one another. Two sides of a mystery, two banks of a river. Each story was completely different: a man's life was changed just by the fleeting smile of a stranger. Another woman sat with her dying brother for days recalling the decades that had profoundly affected how she was in the world.
On the other bank were the amazing synchronicities and connections running through the stories. A woman from New Zealand wrote about learning to love more deeply than she ever knew could be possible through tending her daughter, mute and vegetative during her last years of illness. At the same moment, on the other side of the planet, I was learning the same lessons while sitting with my sister in Colorado during the last fifteen months of her life, when she was unable to speak or move. Her daughter and my sister, Yarra and Joan, died within hours of each other in June of 2007. Though they had lived thousands of miles apart, they were buried within miles of each other in Colorado. Yarra's mother found my poem in her daughter's journal and read it at her memorial service.
I also realized the real power we have to influence and be influenced by each other. Again and again, the stories pointed to how one moment, one gesture or event could illuminate the intrinsic value in a person's life, his or her self-worth, and trigger the need to contribute to the larger community.
In my grandmother's mystical tradition, it is taught that we are angels to one another. It is said that we are sent, without our knowledge, to various places in order to do our destined work and make love multiply. Thus any person on earth may be called upon to act as an unwitting angel for another.
Pick a day, any day. Make the commitment to yourself that you will listen and watch for the spot of grace in the people you meet and tell them about it. For instance, as the building super walks to the door of your apartment after he has unclogged your drains at two in the morning, you might pause with your hand on the knob and say, “I have noticed, Paul, that you are always here for me when I most need it. It really means a great deal to know that in an emergency, you keep your cool and take charge.” Notice the effect this has on your energy and sense of connection. Acknowledging someone else's spot of grace, no matter how he or she responds, ignites your own.
After a time of creating these moments of grace, you may find that your life begins to have a life of its own. The people you meet, the events you experience, and the things that you do all become part of an unfolding story, one that until now you weren't aware was being told. You may find yourself trusting that, as with a seed, greater forces are at work supporting your growth. You may find that, more and more, you are glad to be alive.
Join the revolution of secret angels. Who says you need feathers?
Inspirational speaker and writer Dawna Markova, PhD is internationally known for her groundbreaking work in helping people learn with passion and live with purpose. She is the author of numerous books including the bestsellers Random Acts of Kindness and I Will Not Die an Unlived Life. A long-term cancer survivor (she was told she had six months to live almost thirty years ago), Dawna has appeared on numerous television programs, and is a frequent guest on National Public Radio and New Dimensions. She offers seminars and workshops and speaks at business and educational conferences internationally. She lives in northern California. Her website is www.dawnamarkova.com
Based on the book, Spot of Grace © 2008 by Dawna Markova. Printed with permission from New World Library. Spot of Grace is available Here
possibly be happy, when we are entranced by such a suggestion?
Obviously, we cannot be happy while chaining our Being to a pre-condition for present contentment. Yet, now we are awake. We see the thought. We realize what it is saying and we recognize the lie. This mind has always been speaking like this. However, now the trance is over, the splinter is gone and our eyes are crystal clear. Awareness is here, always here and That is who we are.
We are awake in the light of knowing without pretending to be some-thing or some-one. We are not sad, depressed, angry, bored or confused. We are not afraid or longing. We are not a splinter of the mind. We are awake. We see the thief sneaking in to take us away to its hiding place. We catch this thief red-handed. We enjoy this attempt to steal from us, because we know that our house is empty and no one is home. We release this thief, because there never was anything real to get or take. This plan for our takeover is just so ill-conceived.
Dreams are just dreams. Thoughts are just thoughts, hitching posts for every little self-concept. We are not little or big. We are not an abstraction of Being Alive. We are simply Awake and ever delighted to be so.
~ Sundance Burke, Author, Free Spirit: A Guide to Enlightened Being
www.FreeSpirit-sundance.org Contents, Summary, Reviews, Author Biography
May 2008 Volume 8 Number 5
Volume 8 Number 5
Nature and the Human Soul
by Bill Plotkin
• Nature and the Human Soul
Bill Plotkin
Loans that Change Lives 15 minute televison broadcast about KIVA
15 minute televison broadcast about KIVA Friends of the Heart
Newsletters
"Nature and the Human Soul is a compassionate and masterful handbook to living the Heart's way. Bill Plotkin respectfully points to our ultimate wholeness and the maturing wisdom of the real human being that naturally flows when we are open to the wonderment of our natural world and truly realize the depth of the soul. This important work lights the pathway for all world cultures and offers essential guidance for our children, the future stewards of life on earth. Perhaps humanity is ready now for our impending transformation and a new world. If this is true for you, Bill is a brilliant signpost." - Review by Katie Davis, Author, Awake Joy
Portland, Oregon Awake Joy and Free Spirit Awakening Workshop & Intensive Authors, Katie Davis and Sundance BurkeFriday Satsang, September 19, 7:00 pm Saturday Intensive, September 20, 10:30 AM
Registration Opens August 12 and Space is LimitedTrue-Self discovery is realizing that we are the very Heart that is Life. When this Truth is fully embodied and integrated, we then envision a New Earth through a deeper dimension of stillness that is pristine, vibrantly alive, innocent and free; a Garden of Splendor. This New Earth, newly found, is none other than the New Heaven and absolutely inseparable from whom you really are.
By full embodiment, I am not meaning that Pure Consciousness is "embodied," such as within the "body." That would be more ludicrous than imagining that we could pour all of the world's oceans into a tiny teacup. The body is the portal to the Kingdom within, but it is only an entry point. We embody the Quintessence, which is the Totality, exclusive of none; including form. It is the Life that is both form and formlessness.
In my new book, Awake Joy, I quote Jesus of Nazareth, "The Kingdom of Heaven is inside you and it is outside you. Split a piece of wood and I am there. Lift up a stone and there you shall find me." Awakening and Self-discovery are not in conflict with Christianity or for that matter with any world religion. It is the same spiritual Truth that underlies all of the separate doctrines and dogmas and is the Essence to which they are all philosophically pointing. It is our "meeting place," of sorts. To the unawake mind, the world's religions are fighting and in opposition with one another with varying concepts and beliefs. In Essence, we are the common Heart.
As John Lennon sings, "Imagine all the people ... living for today ... nothing to live or die for ... living life in peace ... I hope some day you can join us and the world will live as one." Well, the truth of the matter is that we no longer need to "imagine" this Reality. We surrender the mental concept of a heaven that is separate from us, apart from the earth and that requires a leap of faith. We discover that it is here now for direct realization by virtually every human being. This discovery is the only answer for enduring world peace.
Of course, John Lennon also sang, “Imagine there’s no countries … and no religion too.” My country vs. your country and my religion vs. your religion are in opposition to one another. The problematic issue is not in "country" or "religion." The resistance lies in the personal possessive pronoun "my." That pronoun is the ego that is suffering and fighting. Countries are not fighting, the collective ego is. Religion is not fighting, egos are. "I am right" and "you are wrong." Well, for awakening, we first bring our attention to the present moment and our senses become vibrantly alive. We then rest in "I am" and discover the open window to inner space. Subsequently, "me and my world" disappear in enlightenment. In the end and in truth, virtually nothing is excluded from this omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent Self. You see, Essence, the "New Heaven," is effectively every-thing that is; all Countries, all Religions, all People, the Earth, our Environment and all of our Creatures, the Radiant Mind; simply All. Even the ego is recognized as a severely altered stated of pure consciousness. How could it be otherwise, when we refer to it as Totality? We then have Life's countries and Life's religions, free of the ego trying to possess them. Without being inconsistent, the true paradox is that Essence is All That Is, yet Essence alone remains the Absolute Reality.
When we awaken in this manner, it is the world’s delight; whether with fin, flower, fur or feet. Awakening is the key to world transformation, since the daytime dream is then consciously sourced in peace, unconditional love and compassion, rather than within the unawake mind, its time and conflicts. If your truest concern is to save our planet, look within and realize the Heart. The answer is not on the outside, no matter how resourceful. The outside transforms as you deepen within. Time, meaning the life situation, cannot be "fixed" within time. That would be similar to looking at your reflection in your bathroom mirror and then trying to comb your hair on the image in the mirror! Rather, the effortless transformation occurs by realizing the refuge of your formless timelessness.
It used to be that awakening was rare, but today people are opening to this potential. Still others are living it fully. I travel to teach and the wonder that is surfacing is magnificent! The secret is out and it is no longer hiding. After all, Self-discovery is the ultimate, maturing wisdom of the real human being. Our lifetime purpose is to awaken to this dimension. At first, we take responsibility for our lives, instead of throwing life around to conform to the mind’s ideas. In the end, we simply rest in receptivity. As the mind is able to open and allow the Heart to consciously live, we are then animated into selfless service to the Heart’s way of living.
I have repeated an old Zen truism many times, "First there are mountains, then there are no mountains, then there are mountains." As the mind identified state of consciousness, we are misidentified with the world of form ... whereby “there are mountains.” We believe that they are real as separate things and separate from "us." This misidentification includes the "dreaming I" that hasn't the slightest idea of who it really is. By Grace alone, we causelessly awaken and we suddenly realize that the world of form is a complete delusion. We directly discover that the "dreaming I" that we thought was the body does not exist and we are awake in the daytime dream ... whereby “there are no mountains.” Again through the Grace of a single instant outside of time, enlightenment occurs. Then, through full embodiment, we fully integrate … whereby “there are mountains” … that are the Essence.
Kip Mazuy is a composer, musician and founder of Bliss Music in New Zealand. Last year, he shared a beautiful Zen poem with Friends of the Heart that I would like to once again share with you. "The birds have vanished from the sky. Now the last cloud drains away. We sit together the mountain and me, until only the Mountain remains."
Humanity has been wearing this collective, childhood clothing called ego for eons and you are welcome to continue. That is, if you don’t mind suffering, world conflict, dwindling natural resources and abuse of our creatures. You also have the chance to recognize that this egoic clothing is tattered, torn and no longer becoming. For those who are ready to surrender, I invite you to open to the Heart’s way of living.
We are the Awake Life that is consciously living. We live the natural way of the Heart in a profoundly human manner that is globally undivided. This unity is in cooperation with the living earth, its vital environment and in harmony with the welfare of all of its creatures. The quality in which we live is not one of personal choice that is mentally selected as a right way based upon moral virtues, but rather the organic outcome of total surrender to the Heart.
The spirit is fully integrated as we contemplate our oneness with every living being. After fully realizing the spirit, we find it in every creature. In fact, every creature IS spirit ... just as "you" are. It is not that living becomes a spiritual practice, but rather the world’s diversification is appreciated as one unconditional love in action. We are virtually a free instrument of the Heart. Conscious living is being aware that we are being lived for the good of the whole.
Compassion is one of the truest gifts of the Heart and in this; we protect the well-being of creatures, their habitat and the living earth. We allow our heart to be touched and are deeply empathetic with every living being, while compassion stirs us to right action. You care for what Life is and for what you are. We have a passion for serving and loving "one another" a well as our fellow creatures, with patience, humility, forgiveness and emotional maturity. At last, we are in harmony and balance with living.
In closing, I must add, I am not asking for your agreement or disagreement. That would be another mere mental concept that once again would be in conflict with some other. I am asking for your direct investigation of what really is in the core of your being to discover the truth.
~ Katie Davis, author of Awake Joy: The Essence of Enlightenment
www.AwakeJoy.org Contents, Summary, Reviews, Author Biography
Vancouver BC Satsangs & Satsang Intensives
with Sundance and Katie
Sunday, April 27, 9:00 pm Vancouver BC Radio (Katie)
Thursday & Friday, May 1-2 Satsang at the Machika House
Saturday, May 3 Machika House, Kitsilano, Vancouver BC
Our event sponsor, Lynda Cole of "Embracing the Now," offers Ongoing Presence Awareness gatherings on Mondays in Vancouver BC, Embracing the Now Satsang events in Burlington and Aurora Ontario Satsang Retreats on the Sunshine Coast in British Columbia. More information and registration for Lynda's events at www.LyndaCole.org
Lynda Cole, Embracing the Now
Awake Delight
by Sundance Burke, Author, Free Spirit
Ah ha! We are awake. We are not our thoughts; any idea, voice, belief, opinion or feeling judgment. We have awakened from our dream of endless desire and fear. We see the splinter in our mind. “Something needs to change in this moment for me to be happy.” What a funny and absurd idea. How can we
Scottsdale, AZ Workshops & Intensives
with Sundance and Katie
Monday, May 12 ~ Changing Hands Bookstore, Tempe
Friday, May 16 ~ East West Exchange, Chandler
Saturday-Sunday, May 17-18 ~ Satsang Intensives
East West Exchange, Chandler
Maui Satsang ~ Maui Meadows
with Sundance and Katie
Sundays, June 1, 8, 15, 22 4:00 pm Location - Bonnie's at 875 Kumulani
Private Sessions with Katie or Sundance
Saturdays in Wailea ~ June 7, 14, 21
To Schedule, click Awake
Bonnie is our hostess this month
On Maui in Maui Meadows
Togetherness Discount 20%
Share your comments in the Guest Books and read what others are saying.
GUEST BOOK
GUEST BOOK
Seattle September 2008
East West Bookshop Satsang Intensive
Awake Joy & Free Spirit Friday, September 12, 7:00 pm Satsang, Register at East West
Saturday, September 13, 10:00 am Intensive, Register at East West
Author, "Too Intimate for Words" Music Pick of the Month
Music Pick of the Month "This is Always Enough"
"Moving In and Out""This Is Always Enough"Richard Carlson, Ph.D., Author, Editor June Issue
June IssueHandbook of the Spirit, Don't Sweat the Small Stuff
Foreword by Marianne Williamson
Author, Letters to My Friends
Author of Freedom Dreams, Let Wisdom Work,
Gamble Everything for Love
Well Being International"A Suspended Blue Ocean"
"A Suspended Blue Ocean""Love is a State of Being" by Eckhart Tolle"Rumi Poetry"Blue Collar Buddha
One: Essential Writings of NondualiyEditor, One: Essential Writings on Nonduality
Kirtana HighlightKirtana Compilation Releases, "Eternal Delight"and "Pooja"Author of Radical Happiness, Anatomy of Desire, "Radical Happiness"
"Radical Happiness"Living Your Destiny, Return to Essence,
Getting Free and Choosing Love "Anatomy of Desire"
"Anatomy of Desire""Satsang with Ramana Maharshi" "The Calling""A Zen Poem"Author, Spot of Grace, Random Acts of KindnessSpot of Grace
Spot of GraceAuthor, Delicious Silence, Beloved,
Lover's Road