THE
2010 NEW YEAR LETTER
Sparkling
Through Application
When
I was about 10 years old I used to have a recurring dream. In it I was playing
with other children. We would be climbing trees or something like that. The
feeling of those dreams is hard to translate into words. I could use the words
‘love’ or ‘peace’, but even these feel limited in describing what I felt
while being with the others who played with me. I appeared to know them so
deeply, so intimately, with a sense of familiarity that goes well beyond words
like ‘family’ or ‘friends’.
Then I would wake up and be back in my bed, in this world, and my heart
would break. First I would feel the impact of their absence, and then I would
have to face the realization that I had no way of returning to their company.
Sometimes this sense of loss would cling to me all day. My time with them felt
more real than anything in this world, and it was hard to reconcile my inability
to return into this intimate experience at will. At night I would lie in my bed
trying to project myself back into their company, but this never worked. This
exhilarating dreamtime experience was always given when least expected, not
gotten through my efforts.
When I place my attention on the numbers of the year 2010 a definite
feeling dawns within my heart. The only word I have for this feeling so far is,
‘sparkle’. Recently I had one of those nights in which sleep remained a
distant stranger. This shifting of sleeping patterns is now happening to many of
us. Anyway, I lay awake for nearly three hours being with the experience of not
being able to sleep. As I lay there, I asked myself what the essence of 2010
looked like as an experience? The image that awoke into my imagination took me
by surprise: I saw myself unexpectedly being reunited with those within my
childhood dreams. As I pictured this, my heart ‘sparkled’.
The feeling around 2010 is communicating to me that something I assume
lost is not – it is returning – unexpectedly – like a visit from a dear
friend who had long since vacated my day-to-day memory bank. If you have ever
been unexpectedly reunited with a dear friend and felt the warmth of ancient
familiarity being rekindled – then you know the feeling I am attempting to
communicate. This is the essence of 2010: what is assumed lost is rediscovered
– what is unknowingly forgotten is remembered – and what is thought hidden,
revealed. Something ancient is restored and renewed. All unfolding unexpectedly
– and all given with our only effort in being willing to open our heart enough
to receive. We metaphorically turn around and there it is, unexpectedly, right
in front of us, in pristine condition, just as if it had never been gone –
rediscovered, remembered, revealed, restored, and renewed.
There is another story which arises within my awareness when I
contemplate the essence of 2010. It is that of a guru and his disciple:
One day the guru asks his disciple to go to the well and fetch a bucket
of water so that he may wash his face and hands. The disciple lovingly sets off,
grateful to have been given this service by his beloved master. While at the
well drawing water, he is approached by a beautiful young woman. He looks into
her eyes and is enchanted by her presence. They start to talk and she invites
him to her home for a family dinner. He meets her father and mother and is
offered a lucrative job in the family business. Soon he is married to her and
they start a family. He becomes a successful businessman and a respected member
of the community, with grandchildren playing at his feet. Years pass and he
eventually retires from his daily business activities, leaving his achievements
to the care of his grown children.
One day he takes his regular evening walk, but for some reason feels
inspired to follow a different route. It unexpectedly leads him to the well
where he first encountered his beloved wife. Suddenly, like a bolt of lightening
entering his heart, he remembers the face of his beloved guru. Without a moments
hesitation he runs all the way to the nearby village and discovers his guru’s
humble house still standing where he remembered it. He knocks on the door. A
familiar voice says, “Come in.” There, sitting on the exact same cushion
where he remembers last seeing him is his beloved friend and teacher – smiling
like the morning sun. The now elderly disciple falls at his feet, sobbing. The
guru chuckles heartily and gently pats him on the head.
“Where is the bucket of water to wash my face and hands?” he asks
playfully.
“Oh beloved guru, you asked me for such a simple thing, but I became
so easily entranced by the world and forgot you completely. I have failed
you.”
“Oh no,” smiled the guru. “Not at all. I asked for water, but
instead you went out and lived. And, you lived well! Now I do not receive water
from you, but the blessed moisture of your tears of love, recognition, and
remembrance. Such tears do not wash my hands and face, but they touch my heart
deeply enough to allow me to leave this world fulfilled. They also cleanse your
heart in a way that places your Soul upon this cushion of mine. Thank you for
following your heart so that I may be free to follow mine.”
As 2009 was about ‘accomplishing completion through integrating our
perceived conflict of opposites’, 2010 is about ‘conscious entry into
multi-dimensionality through deliberate and consistent application of daily
structure that fosters personal integrity’. The key word this year is
‘application’, and so throughout this piece of writing expect a little
repetition on the subject. 2010 is 2+0+1+0 = 3, which means it is a trinity year
– and for the most part, the trinity consists of application, application,
application.
2010, for those who have been listening to their heart [no matter what
the current perceived consequences of their heart-work is] is about new
beginnings that deliver us into dimensions within ourselves that are uncharted
and at the same time deeply familiar.
For those of us still frantically trying to do what we think we are supposed to be doing, 2010 is going to be
deeply frustrating – and in the extremes – devastating. This is because only
the heart knows the way through what is now unfolding. The mental body in of
itself cannot contain this experience. This is because it has no point of
reference for that which has no beginning or ending. 2010 marks our experiential
entry into that which has no beginning or ending. This life we are living is but
one dimension of what we are. During the course of this year we are going to be
introduced to ourselves as multi-dimensional beings. The linear thinking aspect
of mind will short-circuit if we attempt to use it as the means to
‘understand’ this experience.
For many, 2010 is also the last point of adherence and perceptual
subservience to the artificially manufactured linear Gregorian Calendar. It is a
definite jump-off point from the production and consumption intent of this
machine-worshiping timeline. Instead we enter an experiential dance with the
divine will accessible only in the present moment. This therefore may well be my
last New Year Letter based upon this linear dating system.
On
all levels, 2010 shouts “time is up!”
Accordingly, because the latter part of 2010 represents the sunrise
moment of our evolving awareness, it also means that much of the year is also
metaphorically ‘the last moments of night before the sunrise’. And, if you
have ever purposely stayed up all night to greet the sunrise, you know how
tired, cold, and unconscious one can feel moments before that first shimmer of
sunlight peaks above the horizon. You also know how awesome it is when the sun
finally rises – and what the soothing warmth of the rays feel like to the eyes
and upon the skin. You also know what peaceful rest you are able to enter if you
have stayed awake all through the darkness to greet the light of a brand new
dawn.
Accordingly, as we enter and traverse 2010, it may at
times appear as if it is getting colder. It is not. We may at times feel as if
we are becoming more unconscious. We are not. And, there may be moments in which
all appears hopeless. It is not. Don’t believe the hype! If you find yourself
getting too upset about what appears to be unfolding on the world stage, stop
watching television news broadcasts. They have absolutely nothing of value to
add to the experience of this year. If anything, they will only serve to
distract from it.
Do
not seek confirmation of this sunrise moment on the world’s stage – seek it
only in the heart.
This is one of the reasons it is recommended in this letter that you
watch the DVD - The Mayan Calendar Comes North by Ian Xel Lungold - even if you have seen it before. It assists an
inner knowing that no matter how chaotic
and hopeless this world may collectively appear outwardly – this is not the
truth of what is really transpiring personally and inwardly. When we realize
exactly where we are within the context of our unfolding and fast-completing
evolutionary journey – we are automatically uplifted, brought into an
awareness of peacefulness, and even feel elated. We relish and anticipate each
day.
The inner reality is that if we are alive today and able to stay awake
and conscious in this profound human vehicle throughout 2010 – then we have
made it! This is definitely not The End Times – but it is the end of the
manufactured, linear, one-dimensional-timeline-consciousness. And, in spite of
ourselves, we have successfully germinated, sprouted, rooted, extended ourselves
above the surface of things, branched out, spread our leaves, flowered, and are
now fruiting. We are here, now, in this moment where it is all happening.
We
are the portal.
2010
reveals this truth to all present enough to receive it.
However, as those of you who have purposely stayed up all night well
know, it is also within this moment, just before sunrise, when we are most
susceptible to giving into the pull of sleepiness. Throughout 2010 deliberate
vigilance is therefore called for. This is not a time to fall asleep on our
feet. We are all tired, and we ought to be. After all, we are consciousness
completing a vast journey from seeding to fruition. Our limited
mental body capacity cannot even contain the immensity and profoundness of this
greatest of adventures. Only the heart has the capacity to feel the extent of
this, and to tear up our eyes with the immense sense of relief accompanying such
accomplishment.
While on the subject of ‘the last few moments before sunrise’, and
the temptation to give in to sleep [unconsciousness], I would like to share some
wisdom with you received from one of my greatest teachers – my brother,
Anthony Brown. Anthony is a jet airliner pilot currently flying passengers in
and out of Baghdad
Personal
responsibility knows no autopilot.
No matter how much we assume we know about the mechanics of our human
experience, if we become blasé or absent-minded about the nature of our intent
and attention – we risk entering an unconsciousness which makes us vulnerable
to crashing. Crashing manifests within our experience as accidents, illnesses,
and addictions. In 2009 I validated this truth for myself. I crashed a few times
during the course of this year. I am sure that throughout 2009 many of you also
had the opportunity to reacquaint yourself with the implications of ‘personal
responsibility’ – and the consequences of distractedly taking ones hands off
the joystick.
2009 has indeed been the year of tough remedies and reminders, of the
unexpectedly revisiting of seemingly well-worn insights assumed already
digested. We have all had our share of unexpected diseases, careless accidents,
and infuriating addictive behavior. Throughout 2009 things we thought we already
knew – things we thought we’d already overcome and integrated – returned
for ‘one more hop, skip, and jump across the dance floor’. 2009 has been the
year of old lessons having to be remembered and relearned – of old fear,
anger, and sadness being revisited – one more time. This is only because the
universe is loaded in our favor. It wants us to blossom and fruit – and it is
doing everything in its power to cleanse the vessel we are so that what is to be
poured into it does not become contaminated.
Believe
it or not – the dice are loaded in favor of double 6’s – not triple 6’s.
This revisiting of what we assumed already integrated may have caused us
to at times feel that ‘nothing has been accomplished’. We may have said to
ourselves – “I did all this work on myself and now I am back in the same
place where I started – I have accomplished nothing at all!” This is not
true. As written in the 2009 New Year Letter – this year past has been a time
for ‘finishing touches’ – for points of completion – and this has
required the often uncomfortable and confusing experience of ‘revisiting old
wounds’. However, all these ancient troubles have only ‘come to pass’.
Allow them to without concern. Be with them without condition.
Recently my brother imparted more wisdom to me about the nature of
responsibility and the reality of ‘crashing’. We were discussing one of the
National Geographic television programs about air crash investigations. During
this conversation he shared something very insightful with me. His words went
something like this:
“Most people assume a plane crash happens at the moment of impact –
and is caused by something that occurs a few moments before the event. This is
seldom true. Investigation has shown that most plane crashes start hours or even
days before the point of final impact. They begin as a pattern of incidents
deviating from what is considered ‘normal activity’. However, to the
untrained eye, this pattern of incidents is only clearly recognizable in
hindsight, after the impact, when it is already too late do anything about it.
What pilots are trained to do these days is to recognize any deviation from
‘normal activity’. They are taught to watch for and to recognize patterns of
unusual activity. This can be incidents like a pilot oversleeping and arriving
late for duty, followed by a member of the cabin crew dropping a tray twice on
the same shift, and then the co-pilot forgetting a simple and obvious procedure
whose lack of application appears harmless, and so on.
What we as pilots have to recognize is not the specifics of these
individual incidents – but when they start to occur as a pattern. This pattern of incidents may at first appear unrelated
to the actual flying of the plane – but it is not their relationship to each
other, or even to what is happening in the cockpit that matters – it is the
fact that they are happening in the first place. Such a string of incidents can
creep into our flying routine quite unnoticed. You see, in our case for example,
we fly the same route every day, sometimes twice a day, sometimes four to five
days a week. We get to know every aspect of the flight drill to the point it no
longer becomes conscious – it becomes automatic. Because we are so familiar
with the territory and the moment to moment procedures – we do not require
consultation of our scheduling details or flight procedure manuals. We know it
all like clockwork. We therefore become like pilots flying on an internal
autopilot based on familiarity.
However, this is where we can also become vulnerable to oversight. This
is why we have ‘crash-prevention training’. If we notice that a string of
incidents – seemingly unrelated – are starting to occur – and it doesn’t
matter how trivial they appear – the fact that they are occurring is ‘the
signal’ – then we must institute an immediate evasive response. This
seemingly unrelated string of incidents is telling us that something as yet
unseen to us is starting to unfold.
The moment we recognize this pattern, we immediately counteract it by
taking all our activity completely off autopilot. For the next five or six
flights, we behave as if we know nothing. We assume nothing. We take out our
flight manuals and follow all drills and procedures ‘to the T’. We consult
our flight schedules even though we already know what they are. Our cabin crew
is also instructed to behave accordingly – to conduct themselves as if they
are on a training flight. Absolutely nothing is left to chance. We fly by the
book until any surfacing of ‘strange unrelated incidents’ is neutralized.
Many crashes on many planes are averted by adhering to this avoidance
procedure. First it requires recognition of a pattern of seemingly unrelated
‘unusual incidents’ – then the immediate agreement of the entire crew to
return to 100% application of the manual – to do everything by the book – no
matter how we feel about our flying skills. Only our egos prevent us from taking
this evasive action. Final analysis of disasters often reveal that the cause of
plane crashes involve an ego behind the controls. Flying by the book – as in
making a deliberate conscious shift from autopilot-mentality to 100% manual-mode
– is what puts the ego in check and stops any unconscious pattern leading into
disaster.”
This wisdom shared by my brother is possibly the most useful insight we
may digest as far as navigating our experience through the 2010 skies is
concerned.
As we enter and move through most of 2010, the one word that is
therefore our greatest friend is, ‘application’. ‘Application’ is the
frequency of 2010. And, in this light, our frequency
refers to what we attend to most frequently.
Two other words related to this frequency are ‘structure’ and
‘integrity’. This is evident in that 2+0+1+0=3. As already stated, 3 is the
number of trinity – and ‘trinity is the Soul of all structures consciously
manifested’. When we use the word ‘application’ in relation to the energy
of 2010 – we are referring to ‘consciously and consistently applied action
which supports the positive influence of structure in our lives whose intent is
to uphold personal integrity’.
‘Conscious and consistent application to support the structure of our
personal integrity’ is the same as a pilot taking out the In-flight Procedure
Manual to avoid unnecessary crashing. Remember that as we move through the last
moments of dawn toward the sunrise, there is great propensity for
unconsciousness. It is important we remember this, realize the implications, and
behave accordingly. Therefore, application, application, application.
It is also beneficial to remember that because we are on a very precise
and deliberate evolutionary schedule, that the sunrise representing this
particular completion point of our evolving awareness is already spoken for. We
do not have to spend one moment trying to make it happen. Any effort now aimed
at trying to achieve experiences like ‘enlightenment’ or ‘awakening’ is
futile. It is a waste of our personal energy.
Trying
to ‘become enlightened’ during 2010 is like trying to get the sun to rise an
hour before it is scheduled to appear upon the horizon. Such behavior is
misguided and pointless.
Up to now all our activities around healing, awakening, and
self-improvement, etc., have been useful. We have been deliberately driven into
these intents because of the capacities they awaken within us. The experiences
we assumed they were leading us into were simply bait cast to initiate required
movement. Sometimes the activity inspired by our curiosity is not about actually
finding anything, but rather about metaphorically getting us to move around in a
particular manner so as to develop very specific capacities.
Our spiritual seeking up to now has hopefully shown us experientially
what works and what doesn’t as far as impacting the quality of our life
experience in any tangible way is concerned. It has also revealed which
modalities are valid, and which are simply part of ‘the business of
spirituality’. Accordingly, in the years passed, we have all collected tools
we know we can rely on to keep us on track when the outer world’s stage
becomes increasingly adorned by unconscious madness. These trusted approaches
are our ‘in-flight manuals’. Use them consistently.
During 2010 it is therefore useful to consistently remind ourselves that
the sun is rising within our experience whether we want it to or not, and
whether we seek it out or not. No matter where we are on the planet, no matter
how ‘spiritual’ we perceive ourselves to be – or not to be – we are
going to be touched by the rays of fruiting awareness. The consequence of being
touched by these rays is determined by the intent within our heart. Therefore,
instead of ‘trying to make the sun shine upon us’, a more efficient use of
our energy and focus of our intent is in remaining
as present and conscious as possible, so we are awake and accounted for as
the light appears. Our tools are now best used to integrate our ongoing daily
experiences and for consistently navigating our awareness into this, here, now.
2010
is the year of adhering to a simple daily routine
that is our trusted route in.
Throughout 2010, as dark as it sometimes appears, as cold as it
sometimes feels, and as hopeless as it may at times appear, our task is to
continually remind ourselves of the bigger
picture, and to sparkle accordingly. The recommended DVD facilitates this
awareness of ‘a bigger picture’. During 2010 the expression, ‘I am the one
I have been waiting for’, is the anthem we are to play into our own heart as
consistently as possible. Don’t wait for the world’s stage to acknowledge
this truth. If you still seek acknowledgement, rather use a mirror.
2010
calls upon us to ‘sparkle’ like the morning star which heralds the dawn.
At one time or another we have all experienced moments of felt-peace and
the inner knowing that something way more significant is happening than the
current condition of Wall Street, than the amount of troops being offered up
daily to feed the war machine, and the seeming increasing and forthcoming
calamities of climate change and environmental disaster. During 2010 many upon
this planet shall run and rally the masses to indulge their own unintegrated
projections. Accordingly it is recommended we steer clear of religious fanatics,
posturing politicians, and greedy profiteers.
Many shall identify with the unconsciousness of the pre-dawn darkness
and deny, and even try to prevent, the reality of the imminent rising of the sun
within us. It is therefore important we remind ourselves that we cannot save or
rescue another from their experience – no matter how much we love or care for
them. To try and do so is to enter their madness and so to become equally
susceptible to the consequence of crashing. We cannot stop others from crashing
if crashing is their lot. Our Soul task this year is to sparkle – not save or
convert – and in so doing to consciously land the vehicle of our own
experience upon the runway of what is true. We are the morning star within our
personal experience.
It
is extremely irresponsible if a pilot becomes so distracted by a dispute amongst
the passengers, that they leave the cockpit unattended as the plane approaches
the runway. When this happens, disaster is courted. Remember that within the
parameters of our personal experience, we are the pilot and everyone
else is passengers. Don’t expect passengers to behave like pilots, and
don’t become a pilot who starts behaving like a passenger.
Throughout 2010 it is therefore vital we ‘do it by the book’ –
that we switch from automatic to manual – at least until Nov 3rd.
Any practical application which encourages daily presence and the remembrance
that we are on a deliberate schedule – that we are personally responsible for
the quality of our journey – is useful. Such practices are now worth more than
piles of gold. To have these and to summon the will to apply them is to be
blessed.
It is also relatively easy to identify the unconscious incidents and the
patterns they give rise to which lead us into crashing. The seemingly random
incidents that make up these patterns all have one word in common – ethics.
It is only through ignoring what represent ‘our personal ethics’ that we
veer into activities which lead to crashing. So, whatever represents ‘flying
by the book’ to us individually [because what is a useful means of application
for me may not be so to you], let it serve as a daily reminder of what
represents our remaining on track and within the integrity of our personal
ethics. When we remain intimately obedient to what represents our personal
ethics – crashing is highly unlikely.
Take note too that what now fills the subject matter of all major news
stories relates to ‘ethics’. This scrutiny of ethics in all aspects of our
human experience comes to a head mid-year, and then begins to recede. Many
sacred cows fall with it, and all emperors are shown to have no clothing. This
is because our movement as evolving awareness shifts on Nov 3rd 2010
from ‘aligning our ethics’ to ‘participating as conscious co-creators of
our shared experience’. Therefore, let whatever we choose as our daily
application – as our route in to
presence – also be a means to hone our co-creative capacities. By applying
ourselves to whatever assists us to participate in navigating the quality of our
personal experience, we automatically awaken our capacity as co-creators.
Being
as present as possible in and with the felt-texture of each moment is causal,
and therefore automatically co-creative.
Throughout 2010 anyone paying close attention – which is another way
of saying ‘anyone who remains present with the felt-aspect of their
experience’ – will be able to peer through the apparent darkness and
perceive the landing lights of the runway up ahead. This ensures conscious
landing into multi-dimensionality.
Throughout the year there are also going to be a string of
‘legitimizing events’. Legitimizing events do not do anything for us –
they simply arise to confirm the validity of what is truly unfolding. They
contradict the mass media and its political intent to convince us that all is
going to hell. They also contradict the madness of sustaining a belief in
mortality-based awareness and the destructive behavior it encourages.
These legitimizing events will be overlooked by those stuck in the
mental plane, and therefore missed by many. However, they will be a cause for
great celebration for all who recognize and receive them. They will occur within
our personal experiences more readily than they do upon the world’s stage.
They will confirm that there are two very distinct paradigms running
simultaneously alongside each other: the death of the great lie, and the birth
of truth. All of kind and generous heart will be visited by them at one time or
another, and their impact will feel like a breath of fresh air whenever
encountered.
These legitimizing events can be requested too. Many of us feel we have
been working so hard to be the best we can be – to integrate the condition of
our hearts – to make ourselves ready for The Kingdom – and to do what is
right by those we love. And yet, we may still feel there appears to be little or
no relief in sight. Ask to be shown ‘a legitimizing event confirming that what
your heart knows is true is true’.
Then pay attention. A legitimizing event is like the first hue that lightens the
darkness upon the horizon – the first real evidence that the sun is indeed
rising. In this light, 2010 is ‘a legitimizing event’ – and this will be
made absolutely obvious the closer we move toward our transition into 2011.
One of the legitimizing events will be a sudden surge of a personal
awareness of what peace is. However, do not expect to witness this surge of
peacefulness demonstrated upon the world’s stage. Remember, this evolutionary
journey is not about bringing peace to the world, but about realizing peace
within in spite of the current nature of this world. No one will announce this
increasing personal awareness of peacefulness on television. This is because
this surge of peacefulness is going to be authentic – not the artificial
states of so-called peace [controlled behavior] negotiated by politicians, paid
for by profiteers, or emotionally manipulated among the masses by religions.
This surge of felt personal peace will not be discussed on the CNN, BBC,
or SKYE news channels. It will arise as a direct felt-encounter within the
personal experience of all listening to and following the communication
emanating from within the heart. Authentic peace is always initiated personally
as a felt-experience. Those who sincerely seek an awareness of what
peace is receive its blessings in waves throughout 2010 – and this feeling of
peacefulness grows exponentially throughout the year like a rising tide.
However, to receive a felt-awareness of peacefulness, we are required to
consciously choose peace over and above our desire to be right, to understand,
to win, to be successful, to have what we want, to be acknowledged, to be in
control, and even to be safe.
For
the sincere of heart, 2010 is the discovery of the missing peace in the puzzle.
It is the year of the peace-feeler – not the peacemaker.
Yes, 2010 is our year to individually sparkle, like the lone morning
star heralding the coming of the sun. By years end all who live by their
heart’s governance shine brighter than ever and become the undeniable light of
their world experience. And, this radiance is freely given, not gotten through
any mental or physical bargaining.
As we move at lightening speed through 2010, what is assumed lost is
rediscovered, what is assumed forgotten is remembered, and what is true is
rejoiced. Any darkness we perceive as we move through 2010 is simply a backdrop
for a growing pandemic of radiant inner luminosity for which there is no
vaccine. Thank God for this!
In this light we sparkle. Shine in, shine out, and shine on!
Peace be with you,
Michael.
Michael Brown ©
cv8vd