Noticing the Spiritual Road Signs
These words are from Giordano Bruno’s Heroic Frenzies:
Through bitter sweetness and delightful pain, I fall to the center and am drawn up toward the sky; necessity constrains me while the good leads me on; fate draws me in to the abyss, while counsel uplifts me; desire spurs me on, while fear bridles me; care burns me and keeps me long in peril.
What straight or devious path will give me peace, and free me from discord, if the one rejects me so, and the other invites me?
The ascent takes place in the soul by the vigor and impulse of the wings, which are the intellect and the will. It is by these faculties that the soul naturally turns and fixes its gaze toward God as upon the sovereign good and primary truth, the absolute goodness and beauty; just as every natural thing has a regressive impulse toward its own origin, and a progressive impulse toward its own end and perfection, as Empedocles had well explained, to whose opinion I think Nolan refers in the following octave:
It happens that the sun returns to its point of departure, and its diffusive light returns to its source; and what belongs to the earth falls back to the earth; and the rivers issuing from the sea flow again to the sea, and desires aspire to the place from which they have drawn their life and breath. In the same way, born from my goddess, my every thought to my goddess must return…
It has always amazed me how many relevant “road signs” exist in our literature. Just there, sitting in the open waiting to be recognized! Filtered through our own perspectives, their meanings change given the experience and enlightenment of the observer. It seems to me that almost everything I read has a remembrance, a moral, or seems to point me on my way.
So back to Giordano, I have always known his work. His words sing to me. His writings were resurrected in to the mainstream when Deborah Harkness used the line “Desire urges me on, as fear bridles me,” in A Discovery of Witches. She stated in her book, “…it explains everything that happens in the world, doesn’t it?” I am inclined to agree. It is interesting to consider, does Trinity Energy Progression or other spiritual practices increase our ability to recognize these signs in the literature and other places? Do these practices cause us to desire less….. or do they change what it is we desire? I am undecided. But words have always resonated with me, sometimes given me a voice when I felt I didn’t have one. For me they can transcend me, just as Trinity does. When my nephew died (I was enrolled in the Trinity practitioners class at the time), Giordano’s words came back to me and sang in my head. And because of Angela’s recent Living the Shift Google Hangout on Accepting and Embracing Transition and Death, I found myself once again seeking out my old friend. I decided to share these words, in case they resonate with someone else. If we keep our minds open, we realize the “road signs” are everywhere.
Then again, it IS all illusion… but that is a discussion for another time…
Richele Thompson
Trinity Energy Progression Facilitator
Anchor In
Brave Soul
You have been here before
Brave Soul
You have done this once or more
Brave Soul
Remember your strength, your light
Brave Soul
Take what is yours, by Divine right
Brave Soul
Anchor in your glory
Show the way
Light up the night
Brave Soul
Anchor in your cells
Explore your depths all is right
Brave Soul
Anchor in your passion
Share your sweetness, your love, your delight
Brave Soul
Anchor in your colors
Pinks, blues, yellows, reds, rainbow flight
Brave Soul
Anchor in and just let go
You are here, set your intentions and flow
Brave Soul
Anchor in, you fierce and beautiful Angelic being
Manifesting all that is true to you all that is seen
Brave Soul
Anchor in with Grace and Ease flowing
Set your intentions, high and with all knowing
Brave Soul… I Love You as You Are. Anchor in. Enjoy the ride!
Sevi Costaras
Trinity Energy Progression Facilitator
The (In-)Equality of Pride and Humility
One night, at an open spiritual discussion meetup group I used to run, I was talking about my understanding of the Divine being completely within us (which is the premise of Trinity Energy Progression), existing in a state beyond ego and in unconditional love and acceptance. One of the attendees asked me, “What about pride and humility?”
I asked, “What about it?”
The person continued with, “Isn’t it more important to be humble than full of pride?”
This topic comes up repeatedly, in different forums. We perpetuate SO MUCH culturally and via belief systems (including general spirituality), around the importance of showing humility! I see so many others in the public spiritual forum talk about their own humility, how important it is to them, how important it is for others to show. The inflection: That it’s better to be humble than it is to have pride. We’ve decided, collectively, that humility is a virtue and pride isn’t.
Actually, we’ve decided – or rather, the ego has decided – that it’s BETTER and MORE VIRTUOUS to be humble than it is to have pride… and really, that it’s ok to have pride in being humble. Oh, the irony of that!
Here are definitions, from the Mirriam-Webster Dictionary:
humility: Having or showing a low estimate of one’s own importance.
pride: A feeling or deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one’s own achievements, the achievements of those with whom one is closely associated, or from qualities or possessions that are widely admired.
Here’s what’s important to consider when looking at this, and with any other judgment about ourselves and others, at all: They’re all formed in duality and separation. My understanding is that the ego was created with the “job” of exploring the perception/experience of duality and separation, so all of the energies and emotions around such are ego-based: fear, anxiety, regret, resentment, guilt, doubt, sorrow, pain, judgment, shame, etc. And yes, judgment is created only in duality and separation… so it’s based in the ego, and judging anything as “more than” OR “less than” is… you got it… based in the ego, as well. Therefore, BOTH pride and humility are ego-based perceptions, regardless of the individual’s use of them.
When we begin to remember the perspective that EVERYONE is the Divine expressed as who they are, when we see the Universe through the eyes of Oneness, what happens is that we start seeing through the eyes of acceptance and unconditional love. Likewise, we start seeing everyone and everything as equally magnificent, beautiful, amazing, awesome, and Divine. In unity, it’s not that “no one’s special”; it’s that we ALL are! Even what the ego considers (judges) most depraved, most in lack, what we perceive as “dark” or “evil.” It ALL has a higher purpose in this symphony that we’ve created. BOTH pride and humility are based on a scale of separation and comparison; once we accept all as Divine, we remember how to just BE, free of the need of hierarchy or importance, standing in the truth and full expanse of our wholeness. It’s simply achieving a state of full IS-ness… knowing that we are all.
I remember once a conversation I had with a friend about my frustration with some seeing me up on a pedestal beyond them; my friend replied, “Oh, come on, admit it… you like being on the pedestal…”
I laughed and said, “Of course, I LOVE it! However… I’m ready for everyone around me to realize that THEY’RE up on the pedestal with me, for the awesomeness that THEY are, so we can all just PLAY!”
“Well, then, there is no pedestal, is there?”
“Of course not… ” But that’s a conversation for another day… 🙂
When we say “Namaste,” we’re essentially saying, “The Divine in me bows to the Divine in you“…
Namaste,
Angela Coulter
Originator, Trinity Energy Progression
Choose Connection
I have no companion but Love, no beginning, no end, no dawn. The Soul calls from within me: “You, ignorant of the way of Love, set Me free.” ~ Rumi
She looked and looked
She ran to and fro
She paused
She stopped
She retreated
She wailed and laughed
She looked and looked into the reflections
…. and then she breathed.
It was the breath of knowing;
The breath of trust;
The breath of life.
She accepted the reflection of …
the friends
the lovers
the postman
the sales clerks
the haters
the ones she thought she hated
the mother
the father
the sister
the brother
the children
the teachers
the students
the ones who left
the bosses
the co-workers
the customer service reps
the ones who said “no”
the drivers
the neighbors
the nay-sayers
the cheerleaders
the self.
It was then she found the home she had been looking for, praying for, asking for ….
The one her Soul longed for
…. herself.
It was then that the love affair began.
“Everything we do is in service of our needs. When this one concept is applied to our view of others, we’ll see that we have no real enemies, that what others do to us is the best possible thing they know to do to get their needs met.” ~ Marshall Rosenberg
Choose connection and living with bliss.
Gratefully,
Laurel Ley
Trinity Practitioner/Facilitator
In the Garden…
A squirrel enjoying breakfast.
No matter what the size, gardens help us to reconnect – with nature, with the earth, with our selves and our higher selves. I love walking around my patio garden in the mornings, checking on each plant and seeing what is new. There is always something that has changed or that I am just now noticing since the time before.
I enjoy my garden at any time of day, but mornings are my favorite. There’s something about the stillness of the morning that speaks to me and allows me to just BE. It’s as though I’m the only person around for miles…and I become one with the plants, insects, and other creatures. We feel a gentle breeze together. We hear the birds chirp. We are immortal and exist solely to be what we are as we drink in the first light of daybreak. It is a wonderful time of day!
A mint blossom getting ready to bloom.
Time spent in the garden, or in any place where nature is abundant, can help you strip off the day-to-day world and let you return to the truths of your being. All of a sudden you realize that you aren’t worried about that thing at work, or what Susie said to you last Saturday, or whether you are ever going to lose those last five pounds. You simply are. And what you are is wonderful.
Contemplate the miracle of life as you watch a caterpillar hatch from its egg. Look on with amazement at how a morning glory knows to open at the beginning of the day and close at the end. See if you can follow a trail of ants and figure out where they have come from and where they are going. Some of the simplest discoveries are the most enriching. And along the way, marvel in the fact that you are a part of it all.
Milkweed in bloom.
Although it’s not what most people think of when they hear the word meditation, I find that some of my best meditating and many deep insights come when the rest of my body is focused on gardening. I think it’s because part of my mind has a task to focus on, which gets it out of the way and allows the rest of me to receive the information. If, like me, you have a mind that seems to run non-stop making sure you are prepared for every single minute of every day lest you forget something or are caught unawares, I suggest you try this technique; I think you will find it very rewarding! As an added benefit, once your mind becomes accustomed to feeling relaxed in your garden, it starts relaxing at other times as well. A very handy thing indeed!
The photos here are some of my most recent discoveries in my garden. I hope you enjoy them!
Colby Hall
Trinity Energy Progression Facilitator
D5 Creation