The WOW Response

Oscar Wilde insightfully stated that “the only thing worse than not getting what you want, is getting what you want.” Such thinking is so contrary to prevailing notions of manifestation that is deserves our attention.

 

The real issue with the “project of making a better me,” is, more often than not, that it does not lead to consciousness, but to an increase of separation. Consciousness, experienced as the emergence of an aware witness in the midst of our quotidian reality, is the profound place of peace from which, both the beauty and terrors of our life experience can be negotiated with grace, spaciousness, and compassion. And consciousness arises out of authentic presence as opposed to continued craving.

 

Contemporary biology and neuroscience have demonstrated that we do not merely see an external world.  Each eye interacting with its environment sees its own particular world, while the mind puts together a plausible narrative of what is happening. Our narratives generally minimize dissonance and create a world we can accept. But what if we would be willing to open to more dissonance instead of constantly trying to make the world in our own image? And what if such dissonance would reveal, not a world of meaningless chaos, but a world of emergent beauty, poetry, and power? Then, “manifesting our reality” would not be a new version of the idolatry of accumulating more and better goods, but an ongoing revelation of magic, abundance, and fearlessness. Then we could open to the gifts of both “success” and “failure” – each experience opening us to greater synchronicity, allowing us to relax and let things be as they are with ever-expanding gratefulness and peace. In other words, instead of meeting synchronicities and like experiences with new explanations, we meet them with gratefulness, with “wow, isn’t that cool!”

  

The purpose of manifestation is not to remake the world according to our conditioned desires, but to experience an ongoing revelation of connection and expansion with everything and everyone.

 

Mentorship and Tradition

The following is excerpted from Rick’s book, Alchemy of Abundance.

Mentorship and Tradition

When you pay attention to the messages that surround you and how they often mirror your own internal needs, you will become aware of the importance of being among the right people and situations. Therefore, a significant step in this process of identifying gateways to the temple of beauty is to find others who have been successful in what you desire to create. If you can find a lineage or tradition that you resonate with — one that has ideals, goals, and visions that are congruent with your own — you can find the nourishment and confidence that will help you accomplish your goals and see them in a larger context.

To begin this process of finding your place in a lineage, you need to ask yourself what traditions call out to you. In what situations do you feel most comfortable, interested, and valued? Who do you genuinely admire and understand as a possible model for your own life? Once you become aware of your answers to these basic questions, you often do not need to go out and find a particular person or tradition, but instead you can open up the antenna of your attention and become aware that you naturally resonate with certain people, teachings, and places. To find yourself in these situations is not a chore, but rather one of the greatest pleasures in life because you will experience your own desires and energies resonating with those around you and will be able to receive and understand their energy and guidance as part of your own authentic and creative way. It is often in situations such as these that we first understand how effortlessly everything happens when we are in the right place at the right time.

It is important to remember that this connection you feel with another person or particular way of life is something that is intended to bring out your uniqueness, and it never amounts to slavish imitation that reduces or restricts your genuine feelings and abilities. Just because you have found someone who can serve as a model for your own life path, and who speaks to you, does not mean that you necessarily agree with everything they say or do, or that you agree with how they behave in every situation. In fact, a very important part of apprenticeship is to recognize and honor how your own path differs from that of your mentors.

Draw a map of your own lineage of inspiration. Who inspired you when you were ten, fifteen, twenty, and so on? Who have you consciously or unconsciously chosen to model in your life? Who would you like to move closer to? Who do you know who has skills or the energy that you would like to possess on your path? In what ways might you bring those people more strongly into your sphere of attention?

The Inner Sky, The Blessed Earth: The Living Cosmos and Your Place in It

Greetings:  Rick has supplied the following intro to the upcoming Inner Sky teleseminar.  The date on which this pilot event will happen remains TBA; apparently it’s still ripening in his mind.  Regardless, I thought I’d share progress with you as it comes to me.  I look forward to being able to announce the *when* soon, as well as attending this event myself!  The following is from Rick:

 

This workshop weaves archetypes of Western alchemical and astrological traditions into specific exercises designed to develop the organ of the soul — the living imagination. Through working deeply with the image-making and receiving faculty (which includes feeling, thought, and sensation) we experience the tangible, living, and visceral reality of the divinities that resonate with our lives. We learn to hear their callings and to “propitiate” their higher forces through cultivating our attention.  This allows us to integrate ego into its harmonious and authentic path of manifestation and to relate freely and powerfully with the energies of the world: money, health, language, relationship, vocation, faith and destiny. The “inner sky” refers to the archetypes that need to be skillfully negotiated and received in order to understand our life in its greater context and experience the flow of our lives as a gateway toward illumination.

The Spirit of Vocation

The spirit of vocation expands beyond the “how to” dictums and the “where do I fit in” questions. The Spirit of vocation explodes the myth of success and the new age capitalist focus on ‘the spirit of me.” Success, as money and adulation, has become the prevailing religion, and make no mistake; it is a religion of scarcity. What we are seeking is true contact, a lived experience of solidarity with others, a profound sense of belonging, not ratings or sheckles that we count in the privacy of our isolation.  The spirit of vocation manifests as the healing dedication of a nurse, the protective impulse of a police officer, and the flame of justice in a community organizer.

The spirit of vocation lends importance to any task because it has become linked in with a greater power, one that takes us beyond our pettiness and complaining, one that ennobles us, challenges us to be courageous, and to be truly and authentically alive. We may call this spirit an “archetype,” a “divinity,” or whatever we like, but it is known through its communicability. It can touch the heart. It can change the course of a life. It can, in a blinding instant, completely transform a landscape and make any “job” fulfilling. Do not live as a supplicant job seeker. Do not sell your soul to the corporate mission, if it is not your own. Rather, ask that the spirit of vocation be revealed in each moment, that your work may truly serve the greater good, and the reclamation of the Way.

The Circle

This is a lovely process posted for your enjoyment and enrichment. ~ Whitehawk

Imagine you’re walking in open country. You come upon a vast Circle in an expansive, fertile field. Streams and springs are flowing into this sunny area, providing the optimal environment for life to flourish. This is not a Circle made by human hands; rather, it’s a zone where the energy of the universe flows without restriction. The Circle is not made or run by people, though everyone and everything is included in it. You have your own permanent place here.

This Circle is home to satisfying relationships, meaningful work, inspired learning, endless resources and opportunities, laughter and creativity, and a prevailing sense of ease. Remember a time when you felt carefree, safe, energized and happy–maybe playing with childhood friends, or dancing with your sweetheart. That’s the feeling: a pervasive sense of glad assurance. In the Circle, life is not a series of obstacles to overcome, it’s a steady flow of opportunities.

There is no fence around the Circle, no admission gate, no entrance fee. Regardless of your age, your weight, the color of your skin, your gender, your education, your nationality, your financial status, or others’ opinions of you–you already belong here. No person or condition has the power to keep you out. You alone can take yourself out of the Circle, but your place will always be reserved for you. Your place in the Circle never expires. If you leave, it’s simply vacant until you return.

So come on in. Or you may find that you don’t have to move at all; the Circle expands to include you. The Circle can be as expansive or cozy as you like. Set down all the baggage you’ve been carrying. Isn’t it nice to be rid of that burden? Your shoulders relax, you take a deep breath, and your back uncoils. It’s like getting into a hot tub at the end of a long trudge on a winter’s day. The nature of the Circle is flow, and you are part of that flow wherever you are and whatever you do within the Circle.

Here are some reports of how it feels to be inside the Circle:

“I’m smarter, funnier, and I’m sure I’m better looking!”

“Colors are brighter and I feel alive, like when I hiked Mount Rainier.”

“Problems really do become opportunities here.”

“The only restriction on what’s possible is how much good I can stand!”

For a moment now, purposely yank yourself out of the Circle. Stand at a distance, looking at the Circle while no longer inside it. Notice how you feel when you take yourself out and separate yourself. You may feel lonely, left out, invisible, or disconnected. Being outside the Circle may also feel familiar, while being inside may feel like a wild, unlikely fantasy. If you’re used to struggle, ease can feel foreign and you may distrust it at first.

Now come back to the Circle and make yourself at home in the way that feels best for you. Honor your own pace; maybe step up to the edge, and just barely step inside. There’s no wrong way to consent to becoming part of the Circle. Simply discover what works for you, Just know that you already belong and that your space is always reserved for you, no matter what.

The nature of the Circle is flow, so whenever you step into the Circle, you step into the flow. When you separate from the Circle, you’re resisting the flow. Remember: there’s no way to earn your way into the Circle because you already belong.

Entering the Circle isn’t determined by your worthiness. It depends on your consent. Just check this out. What would it be like if you lived–all the time–as if you already belonged?

Notice this last bit. You’re not just a consumer in this Circle. You are a generator, far more ingenious, inspired, and outrageously collaborative than you’ve ever imagined. The Circle is enriched because you’re in it.

Let’s be clear: the Circle is not a place. It doesn’t have a time zone or a compass point. The Circle is a way of being–and we’re either being in the circle, or being out of the circle. Most of us have embodied a way of being outside the circle. We’ve accepted an implied atmosphere of competition or combat, of domination and intimidation. To dominate or intimidate, it’s necessary to create a sense of scarcity. Not enough thinking keeps us in survival mode, the reptilian brain on constant alert, scanning for threats, preparing to attack or defend. Not enough thinking preempts our higher brain functions, the ones that inspire us to innovate and cooperate. Whichever side we stand on in separation–victim or hero/martyr–we’re operating out of separation.

Choosing to belong in the Circle is an act of sovereignty. We belong because we choose to belong.

Here’s the practice:
Whenever you notice you’ve stepped out of the Circle, consent to come back in. Taking your place in the Circle means belonging to the flow of all life, drawing on its juice and vitality, and making your own contribution to it. Stepping into the Circle means hooking up your individual life force with a life force much bigger than yours–the life force that moves and fuels all things; the flow that constantly replenishes itself.

Repeat this practice several times, making it more vivid and visceral each time.

What if you always lived as if you already belonged?

======

Excerpted (and paraphrased in spots for space) from the book, The Trance of Scarcity by Victoria Castle.

“Inner Sky” teleconference announcement

Hi everyone~ thought I’d ’seed the field’ here re: a new form of connection we will be exploring soon.  We are planning a teleconference based on a new wave of inspiration Rick experienced on his recent trip to Italy, which he will share via upcoming teleconferences (with internet connection capability also), tentatively entitled The Inner Sky.  Please watch for details about this new series; I do hope many will take advantage of this mode of communication, because Rick has scaled back on his travels in a big way this year.   

Anticareer Bookstore back in business; new titles available

Abundant ones~ Rick’s bookstore on the Anticareer website is functioning again after some down time. Moreover, it has two new meditation CDs that Rick published himself: The Four Directions: At the Crossroads (a guided visualization through the landscape of manifestation & life alignment) and The Full Chakra Meditation (the full version of chakra alignment, including animal, color & energy visualizations). These CDs are just $10 each (plus shipping), and are not available elsewhere. They may be just the ticket to set up your year for optimal manifestation! Here is the direct link to the Anticareer Bookstore: http://anticareer.com/booktape.html

Great journeys,

Whitehawk

AND MORE @ http://anticareer.com

Snow in the Dish

Where I live, the new year brought a blanket of fresh snow — a fitting metaphor for a clean slate, a new beginning.  January 1st offered the sweet scene of neighborhood kids sledding down the toboggan hill in the park.  Brightly colored sleds, hats and snowsuits sailing downhill accompanied by joyful sounds and bounding dogs triggered a nostalgic return to innocence that lifted my soul.

At home, out my back door, I noticed that the dish I fill with food for the local wildlife (as wild as it gets in the city) was piled high with snow.   Then, within minutes, I received email from a friend trying to connect with someone in Colorado, from whom she had yet to receive a response.  “He may just have snow in his dish,” she said, refering to the satellite dish he uses for internet connection. 

Hard to miss “snow in the dish” coming up twice in such short order.  I pondered how much snow many of us likely have in our receiver, perceiver and/or sender mechanisms:  frozen thought forms, emotions, and even outdated ideas of who we are in the scheme of things, keeping us frozen in our tracks when we dearly wish or need to move forward.

We’ve crossed a threshold on the calendar; what better time to pour a catalytic stream of liquid Light into frozen old consciousness, and cross a pivotal threshold in life?  It’s never too late to recreate.  The past is gone, and what’s ours to do now is to create luminous thoughtforms of how we want our lives to be, and then step into those thoughtforms and feel how it will feel to actually live that scenario.   Flesh it out as much as possible (no scrimping on the crucial emotional component), then release it to set up an energetic that the “universe will conspire” to fulfill by way of inspiration for your next step, or “chance encounters” with helpful people, and the like.   Caveat: any conflicting thoughts that may subsequently arise need to be canceled and replaced with the desire again, asap, or they’ll just reduce the established line of magnetic attraction to static.  Not helpful.

This is strategic synchronicity skill-building 101. 

Such ideas are likely well known to the readership of this blog, but some might be served by a reminder as I was, while pondering this snowy vignette. (Besides, it’s been quiet around here lately!)  A microwave dish full of snow blocks useful communications, and a plate full of snow leaves no room for fresh sustenance.   Could be time to do some dishes. 

Wishing you a blessed, delightful, abundant new year ~

Laurie 

hahaha!

I couldn’t resist posting this, as it is a pretty unique ‘capture’ — of Rick Jarow laughing uproariously. Anyone who’s spent time around Rick has probably noticed that outright laughter is not typical of his demeanor.

At the Prophets Conference, however, he led a visualization process wherein you visualize sending specific emotional energies into particular organs of the body. As energy workers are aware, each organ has a specific job of emotional processing (and cleansing), and backups of negative emotions held in an organ can lead to illness in that specific place. Rick’s visualization involved sending antidotal emotional energy to lighten the load of each organ.

So here he is, leading the charge of sending laughter to the organ that has the burdensome task of processing worry. “Send laughter into your spleen, and imagine all your worries turning to Lightness,” he advised, and proceeded to howl outrageously for a good few minutes, bringing the room with him. I’m sure many spleens were tickled.

I share this vignette with with you and invite you to laugh into your spleen! Maybe transform your daily commute into a daily transmute — unless you’re on public transit…

:)

“Take the poisons,
make them into medicine,
allow them to lead you to the gold.” ~ RJ

Naming It

Hello all; Laurie Pentell here, coming out from behind the scenes as a guest columnist today. It’s been ten months since the Rick Jarow AoA blog went live on WordPress. I’ve enjoyed witnessing this largely successful experiment that opened a channel between Rick and folks interested in his ideas re: manifesting the life and livelihood they desire. Many thousands of guests have visited these pages. Learning to engage life as a grace-full dance of energies instead of a glut of enemies to be conquered is gaining ground — as it must. (Now for this to trickle up our governmental food chain…) The discernment between these approaches is crucial; it’s all about the energy signatures we engage as co-creators of our manifest reality. Are energies flowing in harmonious collaboration, or fractured into opposing dualities much of the way?

Early on, Rick encouraged me to contribute some writing in this space, and I have shied from doing so. Recently, though, I’ve been feeling, observing, and experiencing a few things along a certain theme that I thought I’d share, before the maiden year of the AoA blog closes out. So, while Rick is busy manifesting elsewhere, here’s my offering to the Alchemy of Abundance crucible – involving a manifestation journey of my own. Perhaps there’s something in it for you.

For over a year, I’ve had a slippery hold on a vision for a project I’d like to manifest. Like most creative projects in “this Now,” this one involves a website. In fact, the website is the core aspect; the sun around which numerous planets and satellites would revolve in mutually supportive alignments. The mere expanse and complexity of this project intimidated me, and moreover… the working title I had for it didn’t ignite me. This might not block most people, but I realized recently, looking back at other creations, that I seem to need to name a thing I want to call forth — its signature, or mantra, so to speak — before I can successfully manifest it. So the project kind of sat there, orphaned, burdened with a boring name.

These past couple of months I’ve given more attention to this situation, this name issue, and spent more time focusing on the nature of “the being” trying to come into manifestation. What is trying to emerge here? Who would the primary players be? What is the important service I’m feeling called to provide by way of it? What is the primary theme that is up for me that I dearly want to energize through this expression? I keyed in on the primary theme (not as easy/obvious as one might expect) and then a primary word, and then played with that word, in all kinds of forms and pairings with other words, for several weeks. THE name remained elusive. On occasion I thought I might be on to something, only to find that the domain was already taken, or the vibration just didn’t quite resonate in some other way. On and on.

Last week: a breakthrough…