January 6, 2008

Samuel: Hello, dears. I just really love what happens to this room, and the whole building in fact, but this room particularly, after the December events. The Festival and the New Year work changes it. Do you feel it?

So, how are you?

Good.

S: Why?

2007 is over.

S: All right, that’s as good a reason as any. I suppose 2007 was rather tricky, eh? (To someone just coming in.) There’s a seat right there. No, should probably keep it empty, eh? Make it easier to see. So ignore it, do not sit there.

2007 being gone, good enough for me. But why the rest of you? All right, 2007 is over.

New beginnings. An opportunity to start a fresh outlook. To see changes and to start changes.

S: Well, good for two of you. All right. Glad to know it. Thank you.

For me, I experience a sense of relief, partly because 2007 is over, but the energy has shifted and it’s easier; it’s easier on my form, easier on sleep.

S: Already noticing a difference.

There was a weight to last year that has lifted, and I’m grateful for that.

S: Aye.

Last year you had put it in our awareness it was so important, so it was always weighing in my mind, pushing too hard and all that stuff. It did give me the drive to work through a lot of things and try to complete them. But what really was a crescendo for that was the New Year’s Eve ritual for me. When you asked us to write what were the things we didn’t want us to follow and what were the things we want to create, it was the perfect opportunity then to say, “Okay, I release all these things.” That changed so many things for me. It made it more real in this world, to put my energy towards and release, too.

S: Just a moment. (In response to a whining noise in the audio) Turn it off and do not turn it back on unless it’s going to stop doing that.

The tape recorder is not glad it’s a new year.

S: The tape recorder is grateful to have made it this far for this long. Or the tapes are glad to have made it this far this long. Hmmm. Seems to me that maybe it’s saying, “I am a dying technology. Get to something more . . . new.” Didn’t that sound just like that? That’s what that little squeaky thing was saying. I think so.

I’m glad that New Year’s Eve gave you that. But a secret, if you will, but maybe it’s one of those secrets everyone knows. The secret is that what you get out of those workings, those ceremonies, the first Sunday meetings, and absolutely with ritual, is you. You get what you’re about. It affects you in those open spots of the heart. Well now, if your heart is still closed down and you have that lovely little brick wall surrounding it but keeping you safe, then they’re not going to be so interesting. They’re not going to be so touching if there’s nowhere to touch.

(About a dog) Now you know, don’t you, that when she’s wandering through like that, she’s giving you a bit of herself. So, take advantage. Take a piece as she goes by. Two more.

I made a lot of changes last year, put a lot of things in motion. It’ll be interesting and exciting to see how they play out this year.

S: Very well. That’s how. Very well.

I retired in May from a life-long career. I adopted a horse in October . . .

S: Wait. Adopted a horse?

Yes. A big horse. And then took on the responsibility of several other horses and managing a farm.

You forgot the, “I am retired,” part?

I went right back into another full-time job at the end of November and I’m exhausted, but at the same time fulfilled, and didn’t realize that would happen. And now I’m energized enough to get things moving again because I kind of felt like I was stalled for a while. Maybe I was resting. I’m excited about this new year, the changes. I like that.

S: Adopted a horse?

A retired thoroughbred that had just come off the track.

S: Why?

Well, it was either a lot of money for anti-depressants for Amy or a horse. And we had done all the anti-depressants that we could do, and the horse seems to work. And he’s a really nice horse. And I’m getting to know . . . .

S: So it’s he? So Amy has a brother.

Yeah. It’s fun getting to know all the things about horses that you get to know by knowing them.

S: The good news is, of course, you have some people around here who know it pretty thoroughly and can help you through it. Sure. Working well, is it?

It seems to be.

S: Good. Have you told her about the stranger?

She called me and we talked when she first got the horse.

S: Because a thoroughbred is a whole lot of how this came about.

He left us not too long ago.

S: Finally. I think as long as I seem to be encouraging a great menagerie, they will continue, just add to the pack, as much for indoors.

No matter what it is 2007 was for you, 2008 is change. And to the amount that you let fear rule your life, 2008 will either be a really good year or not a whole lot different. Now, Stuart said to the Form earlier today something to the effect of, “Samuel will say 2008 is not going to be any different than 2007 if you don’t change,” and that’s right. I tell you that every year. This year will be no different than last year—no better, possibly worse; no easier, possibly harder—unless you change because it doesn’t matter what the energy is like coming your way. If you function through reaction and retraction, you are going to have a pretty miserable time through this year. Now, reaction says what? Before we go there, because you’re right, reaction generally, as a statement . . . How about this, “This is going to be a reaction because of an action that has happened again.” No.

It’s an automatic response. It lacks conscious thinking through and choice.

S: It’s sometimes called knee jerk? Which I suppose is reflexive, that idea. Reflexive? A knee-jerk sort of automatic response. But the key in there was which part?

Conscious.

S: Not conscious. Doesn’t require thought. Somewhat mindless, rather automatic. Reaction is totally different than response to the situations in your life. You do much better, create an easier road, when you respond to what is going on around you rather than react to it. Can somebody come up with a hypothetical example of respond versus react?

So after the powerful ritual where I released some and added some to my life, two days later something happens. And it’s part of a pattern. And my first response was assuming what the communication means, this is what it is. “Oh, God, nothing’s changed!” And that was the reaction based on past. And then I thought, no, this is what exactly I wanted to change. Let me think about it. This is just my fear showing up as this reaction so my response is going to be, I don’t know the complete picture so I’m just not going to assume anything. I’m just not going to have any response to it unless a response is asked of me. So that was a big difference for me looking at something and not reacting.

S: Good for you. Good example. It doesn’t have to be that personal, but it should be that good.

I have had ongoing difficulty with one of my daughters. Over the years this has been so consistent that I would say the reaction had been pretty automatic: trying to stop it, trying to control it, what have you. And it occurred to me that nothing really had changed. It was just a thing of futility. It would come up periodically and just explode. I had to remove, I thought, my reaction, that that then would give the explosion no place really to go.

S: She had to remove her automatic reaction to a behavior that is also an automatic reaction. Like a fire, putting on more sticks makes bigger fires. So, Gwendolyn brought out an amazing point, and that is if you take away the reaction, it takes the fun out. Hard to do though, isn’t it?

Very difficult. With family so close, so involved, so enmeshed in your life—to remove that and be willing to be at risk for where that was going to go . . . You have to reach a point where you just don’t want to do it again. At least in my case, I was at a point of, “This is going nowhere, this has to end.” And we’ll see. It hasn’t resolved itself yet.

S: A couple of things I want to go with that. Gwendolyn is onto this, so I’m not really talking to you for this part. But this is vital. Do not turn this off when you think you know what I’m saying. Keep hearing because you need to know this in 2008 maybe more than anything else. Your life is like an onion with many, many layers. And some of them make you cry, right? No, that’s not where I was going. You have many, many facets of you. You are a remarkable being in so many ways. And you’re right: oops, let’s not talk about it, shuffle it under the carpet; blame it on somebody else now and again, too. All of those facets are layers, and when you have a massive life lesson, every one of those layers has to master a different perspective of that massive life lesson. For instance, and by the way, this is why way too often I hear, “I thought I finished this! I thought I was over this!” Well, that part of you was. But this part is not. And there’s such power in this. Such a great gift in this. It takes its power out when you recognize this isn’t my whole life; this is this part. And if I get it, it’s over and I get to move on.

How do you know when you have reached the point that mastery prevails rather than the reactive self?

I used to think it was because it wouldn’t happen anymore, and that wasn’t right. But what did happen was that it didn’t bother me anymore.

S: Take a bow. It’s not that everything in the world takes a stop. It’s not that it ends. It’s that it stops having power because you stop giving it power. And that’s the key. You stop giving it power because you have seen it coming for the first time. And it gave you enough time to put your act together. Now, putting your act together means you are looking fear in the face. When you have coming into your life something that causes pain of any sort, unhappiness of any sort . . . now I’m going to back up a moment. I should not say pain of any sort. The intensity of physical pain that you feel has a lot to do with fear. But as a whole, when you get smacked upside the head and it isn’t a cosmic occurrence—the cosmic smack on the side of the head happens often enough that you know the difference—when you get smacked upside the head and it hurts, that’s not a fear. It’s maybe fear that makes you smart enough to duck next time. So it is fear behind the belief, the action, the chaos, that is behind not getting it and not peeling off that part of the onion. Fear of what?

Now, generally speaking, the bottom line to any fear ultimately is the fear that you’re not enough. Somebody want to do a quick explanation on what the fear of not being enough is?

I’m not enough to take on the challenge of something that’s new. I’m not enough to overcome the fear of public speaking.

S: I’m not good enough, I’m not smart enough, I’m not pretty enough, not, not, not. In all of those fears, do you notice a commonality in there? She said you’re doubting yourself. You’re focused on yourself. “Samuel, the last time I looked, myself is about the only filter I can put things through.” Therefore, choose which self is going to be looking. Now what I mean by that is, here you are back at being an onion, right? Let’s do a good one. How about poverty consciousness, financial difficulties, a lifetime of money trouble, always being poor . . . and millionaires can have that same kind of poverty consciousness. It does not have to be the number of dollars that you have with your name on them. Which is an interesting thought. And so in this particular situation you go to a movie. And you walk up to the ticket box and you see that you have not brought enough money for it, and you are so embarrassed, and you have to back off, and you are mortified, absolutely mortified, and you stay away from movies for another five years, and you get out of conversations whenever people are talking about going to a movie because you had a horrible, life-changing experience at the ticket counter. And, well, there’s any number of reactions that can come up as a result of that, but ultimately it’s because you do not believe you can get over it that it rules you. You are afraid of being embarrassed, you are afraid of being humiliated, you are afraid of not being rich enough, wise enough, capable enough, Who’s to say? That’s probably next month and not this month. It is the fear that causes you to change a behavior, and when that fear gets to rule you enough and all of your behaviors bow to that fear, it is running you. It is controlling you. Big picture, the fear is, “I’m not enough.” But in your day-to-day, moment-by-moment, when you look at something that makes you uncomfortable, when you’re in a communication issue that isn’t working out, there’s something not happening in that communication—when you are avoiding this person/event/thing, when you are unhappy, and I can continue on and on. It is because you have a fear that is working hard to keep you down. And part of that fear is relieved because you don’t have to try so hard anymore. Part of that experience with that fear is that it feeds the part of you that doesn’t want the effort of making a change.

And the problem with that? Fear is not a natural state of being. Outside of absolute security issues, you innately have a sense of fright or flee. Fright or flight works for me. Officially it is . . . no, most of you don’t fight. Freeze, yes, I agree with that one a lot. Freeze, “I turn around and run away as fast as I can.” Your survival instincts are not what I am referring to when I’m talking about fear. But fear does the same thing to your body that that survival mechanism does, even if it’s fear of the beautiful dog lying down over here. Because you fear that if the dog bit you, or that you would not be quick enough to get away. And she’s such a scary one at that. You fear that if you get yelled at and defend yourself for it, you believe that you will lose what is vital to your security. You have something paying you in fear’s currency to keep things the same and not change.

And when the time comes that the pain is too much, then most people start looking to make the change. Now you’ve got to be careful about that though, because that’s exactly when it’s the hardest to change, because it has become, in all likelihood, a habit. And fear-based habits are very, very hard to remove from your life. Being aware of fears already gives you half of the battle. It sounds pretty unbelievable but the fact of it is the awareness of it is 95% of getting it over with. Now, I don’t mean awareness like, “I know there’s a dog in the room.” I mean, “I’m looking at this, here is what it is, I have an idea of where it comes from. I’m going to look at that and consciously make changes.”

So back to where I was going. Fear stops you from change. Fear is the brick wall around the heart that keeps you from experiencing what might be because you don’t know if you will be the ruler, the controller of all situations in this new. The old: not pleasant, but at least known. New? Maybe not.

What you fear rules you. What are you paying that ruler?

2008 is going to require change. Now, as was mentioned a little earlier, the energy is quite a bit different already. Still looks as chaotic as usual to me, but there are more capable of managing chaos. How do you manage chaos? How do you eat an elephant? You don’t, you’re vegetarians. One bite at a time is the answer. How do you manage chaos? One small step, and then you turn around and look at that step you took. Right there is the secret to wellbeing in the rest of your life. You think, “Oh, it’s just one step, then another small step, and then another small step.” That’s sort of a cruel way of looking at the world because you know what that’s going to do is just give you the same heartache, but over a much longer period of time. Tiny step, tiny step, tiny step still walking into horror. No, no, no, no. The power in it is when you take a small step and you turn around and look at that step! One step, turn around, cheer yourself on. “One step already, yes, one step, done! What am I doing there? Cheering myself. I am celebrating a success. I am training this brain that change happens and it’s not bad. It’s possible! The world didn’t end.”

There’s evidence that you’ve survived chaos before.

S: It becomes the proof that you can do this. Oh, sure, it’s just a small step. But because you made that small step successfully, you can make another, and another, and another. And by allowing yourself to look at what worked, you are creating your owner’s manual.

It also works when you take a step, turn around, cheer yourself on, “Good start. Yay me!” You take another step, fall on your face, look around sheepishly, sort of talking like a turtle, get back up, go back a step, sit, waiting for the world to end now because you fell on your face. It’s just as important to look at that and to cheer yourself on for looking at it to see what it can teach you, to see what the fear is, what’s behind it. And that’s going to equip you on your journey with success over adversity.

“Samuel, when I was 11 years old, I had this horrible thing happen to me and it’s affected me all of my life, and it’s kept me from ever looking forward,” and it’s all because of this great, powerful, vital, important, horrible event, that you’ve tucked up and carried with you everywhere you’ve gone ever since. Which by the way means that in order for you to break away from that good friend, you’re going to be using a whole lot of you that you’ve invested into that friend. So there’s a natural resistance to change in which I don’t really know how I’m going to be. At least I know how I’m going to be here.

Now, that’s the second time I have said that, if you’ve noticed. Slightly different words because it’s a very important point. You look at the fall and you don’t say, “Why does it happen?” You say, “What did I get out of it? What do I pay to keep this going in my life?” And you know, don’t you, that for way too many a fear of what success brings leads a Guardian around a lot more easily than a fear of failure. “Well, if I’m successful and I get good at this, then I’m going to have to accept I’m a remarkable being of love and light, and I’m going to have to accept that I have a reason for being here. I’m going to have to accept that I have a specific purpose in this world, that I can help others, that I can heal others.” Look at the fall and see what its gift is. Take a look at it, take a look at how it came about for you. And pay attention to how you get over it, because that’s a coping mechanism that will serve you every time. You trip on a rock and fall on your face. Knowing that you have succeeded and knowing how you got through are two amazing tools that every human needs. And every Guardian needs to learn so that they can give it to those who need it. It really is huge, even though I’m presenting it very simply.

Frank.

I was going to say, back when you were saying with each small step look back and applaud yourself, cheer yourself on, and when you fall see where you’ve grown. It also lets you focus on the process rather than the goal. And you’ve always told us that the process is really what it’s all about. And it helps us stay focused on the process.

S: That’s good.

I had a question and it related back to 2007. And it was the five things that were most important in life, five things most important in your year, five things for the week and five things for the day. I really took it to heart. And I learned a lot about my process. Very powerful. So I was wondering about 2008. Is the nature of the energy conducive to that same exercise or is there another focus that 2008 needs to take? My first thought is, not so much. I’m thinking maybe 2008 isn’t about focus and intent, as it is about chaos. But I don’t know. I’m still trying to figure this whole thing out. I’ve got that chaos thing down.

S: 2008 is going to be not so much about managing chaos as discernment, but discernment is a means of managing chaos. One of the biggest ways you are going to see your need for discernment will be the way you communicate. The way you read communications around you. The things that you are motivated to do to become a better communicator, and the things you are unwilling to do. Communication is going to probably challenge you more in ‘08 than it has in many years. Discernment is the lesson, though. Communication is an easy way to force you to practice discernment. So don’t be fooled by it. Don’t look at the communication; look at discernment.

What is discernment? It’s not your ability to see I have this choice or I have that choice. It is determining what is appropriate for what you are choosing to do. Discernment, as Angela said, that’s a very good one, without that help I’d have said discernment is “why” not “what.” Why is this going on? Why did this happen? Why? Looking for the point of comfort or discomfort. Discernment, like anything in your life, is related to what? I’ll give you a hint. It’s behind everything that isn’t working so well, that is difficult, that is negative perceptions. Behind discernment there is an option for you in your life. “All right, how am I going to look at this? Through the lens of fear, the filter of fear, or of where I am right now.” Where are you right now?

This is a very important statement I’m about to make, much more important than the one I just made: Everything that you do proves what you believe about you. Until you know inside and out what you are, you will always go with what the action pretends to tell you. You are . . . aye, there are a lot of ways I’ve described you. You are spirit on a constant Halloween journey wearing a costume that says, “Human.” You are an extra terrestrial, You are the truest ET. Not because the mother ship dropped you off. Because the nature of your being is not this [form]. The truth of your being is much more powerful. You are Source. I know you’ve heard that thing, “You are stardust.” Because in a bit of a sense every molecule ever in the world—in the cosmos maybe—is a part of every other molecule within the cosmos, and you are also in the cosmos so you have some of those molecules in you, so as a result you are stardust.

Now, I know I could say that much prettier. You are Source. Where do you think the stars come from? You’re far greater than any star. You are the hands and the eyes, you are the mouth and the heart of Source in this world. And you chose to be here now. Mind you, I get the occasional question, “Why in the world did I choose this?” I get that. But you chose it. And those who have peeled off enough of the layers of the onion that they are beginning to get that sense of their Source self, those who have mastered enough of life that they’re not always staring at their own issues all of time and can actually now and again reach a hand out to another, those that have reached that point where they are not reacting because of fear, but responding—these are the ones who have learned to love.

And the signature, atomic or otherwise, of Source in this is love. How you love is going to be what you discern in 2008. Love is what fills you. Love is what motivates you. Love—ultimately, yes, of yourself, because that’s important in there, and of others—love is the motivating factor, the function of Source in the world. And for those that have come to that place where they are awake to the knowledge that you are Source in this world living love—as in, everything you are doing comes out of the intent to be the most loving you know how—living love connects you to the most powerful function for change in this universe. And for those who are capable, life becomes the opportunity to learn all the names of love.

Now, a little disclaimer: I’m not talking happily-ever-after, fairy-tale, bluebirds-singing love. I’m talking—and this is going to be another one of those phrases that ties up this mouth—the force of Source in this world. It is as vital and alive and powerful as any function at all that your scientists call attraction and repulsion, and negative and positive, and you are here to show that it can be done. It gives you choices.

And the other thing that this year is going to do is teach you about healing: you honing your ability to physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually heal; you, recognizing within yourself your ability to be a healer, maybe only for yourself, maybe those outside of yourself. And we’ll talk some about that this year as well. Every human is a healer. Some are so stuck in the onion that they can’t even heal themselves.

This is a very powerful time in your world. There’s so much in front of you. Every new requires a release of the old. 2007 was so good to you. Or not. But you are not that person any more. You are not the one you were an hour ago. 2008 is going to provide in your life all the proofs you need to show you clearly what you believe about you. You are an absolutely magnificent being of love. You emit the light of Source with every breath you take, with every beat of your heart. You are more than you can possibly imagine with the veil. You are what at one time was called Gods, the Shining Ones. You are Source in action, and you hold within you what is needed to heal this world, to bring about the transformation that is coming in a positive and easy flow. You are the last and best hope, and if that really worries you, welcome to my world.

The form has a phrase that she’s used lately: “Your presence is a gift.” Clever, eh? But word play aside, it’s true. You are indeed as charged, God’s gift, if you will, to humanity. If you thought you were, you were right. And if it has not already done so, this should be the year you make use of that. You are here to bring about the transformation: from the old fear-based system a new birth into a system made of love. And your heart knows. Listen to it. You can change this world. And indeed, you are already doing it. But you cannot bring about the ultimate changes, a safe and easy transition for all, you cannot bring about that change unless you first change yourself. And the only way, the only way you can change you is with love.

For those who can hear, that is the formula to the greatest working you can do. Change it by love. It means eradicating the fear. Just in case that seems overwhelming, it’s not. It’s done: one step, turn around and cheer! One step, fall on your face and get back up and figure out what the fear is and take another step. And cheer the double power of that one.

You’re here to change the world. Your heart knows it. This year, you’ve got to do it. Because you see, you don’t get to retire.

Beyond what words can say, beyond any possible knowing that form can gather, I greet with great love the love that you are born to, the love you are, have always been, and forever will be.

Glochanumora.