Invitations 2009

November 29th
Invitations to You Happening In Each Moment.

This week’s invitation is to look at what is happening, in any moment, as an invitation to be present.

No matter what is happening, the moment itself will be full of reminders to support you to even more Presence…just look for them!
Even in the midst of some sort of uncomfortable kerfuffle – perhaps an argument with someone – stop in the middle of the happening and take a closer look. Feel whatever you are feeling, let go of the details dancing on the surface, look inside and open to the message that will be there - from you your Self to you your Self. This may not be easy and, you CAN stop at anytime and look and see what is really going on.

Life is made up of a series of events that we ourselves have maestroed into existence for the soul (no typo) purpose of living our lives to the fullest. You don’t need to take my word for it, check it out – look and see what messages you have orchestrated for yourSelf. The messages can come from anyone, anything, no one, and nothing….they all count. The point Here is, to stop and receive these messages - to be there for your Self. When details are strong, emotions flying, loud discomfort…these will be the messages where you are really making the felt experience exaggerated so you will notice – hey, something is happening! Rarely does it have to do with what it, at the surface level, appears to be. Stop and feel yourself inside, open to receive the message/s from you, from life herself.

November 19
A Deal with YourSelf

This week’s invitation is to play with making a deal with yourSelf: to commit to making Consciousness your priority and asking yourSelf to support yourSelf to That in each moment. Whatever it takes, unconditionally.

With a commitment, sincerely given to yourself, the moment of choice may just ring a little more obviously: that there IS a choice will become more bold face. Somehow, such a commitment enlivens those moments where a shift can occur.

You can also lean back on your commitment, let it support you through whatever you need to be with in order to come to your new and more fulfilled way of Being – reminding yourself in the moment, that as scary as that new step may feel, you asked for it, from yourSelf to yourSelf and who better to trust than yourSelf?

If you have any questions or responses regarding this topic, please bring them along to share in Satsang where it will be expanded upon, or write them in a reply email.

November 12
Satsang at Home

This week, there is an offering of a couple of invitations. These invitations are in further response to a question that arose during Satsang on Nov. 5th, at Bill and Tina’s (thank you Bill and Tina!). The question (thank you Kevin!) was something like: “How can I experience this feeling of Being in Satsang when I am at home in the midst of my day to day activities?”

For this, I invite you to slow down while in the midst of your actions. The tricky part about actions is that a person is often tempted to focus on finishing the action, instead of experiencing themself within the happening. Slow down and stay in touch with your heart while the action is happening. This can take some practice, as it may be a habit to be focussed on the end result – completing the task, rather than experiencing the moments as they are happening.

Another invitation is to go along with whatever mundane thing is happening…watching TV perhaps. Instead of having your attention focussed on the TV, let yourself relax open, feel yourself in your chair (the felt sense of the body), then let the information that is emanating from the screen, come to you. Let it come into your eyes, into your ears, instead of a sort of reaching out with your attention towards the TV. This can also be played with while on the computer, reading a book, or any happening – let that which appears to be ‘outside’ of you, come in to you.

The other part of this is to let go of whatever was experienced in Satsang with Canela in it’s real details - as what has passed, has passed, and your experiencing of Satsang wherever you are will always be new, and then new again. Also, with a group of people who’s intention is to experience the Truth of themSelves, the experiencing of one’s Self is magnified and can, therefore, be easier to ‘find’ or experience directly. With your own Self, it will likely be more subtle as a part of you is already familiar with this, (and always has been) it may feel not as obvious, or may feel much more ordinary.

If you have any questions regarding this topic, or sharing of experiences from playing with these invitations, please bring them along to Satsang or write them in a reply email.

October 31
This week’s invitation is in celebration of Halloween!

What a wonderful play of the illusion to be open to and allow, with fun, the terrors of the darkness space to play.

Here’s the invitation: how about allowing this within yourSelf? To allow a journeying into your own darkness, perhaps even terrors. To recognize this as opportunity and simply allow them to unfold; to expose themselves to you as more of yourSelf. It is only when you hold them away, or attempt to avoid them, that they may loom into even bigger monsters that seem to threaten your very existence.

Relaxing open to them, allowing an unfolding…not engaging in them, just witnessing what happens – allowing yourSelf as Awareness to Be With these parts of who you are. After all, they are With you anyway, why not get more comfy with them?

You are welcome to join with us in Satsang with Canela, to directly set yourself up with the space and time to explore this, with support. Every little bit of life is part of Consciousness – Be With all of This, exactly how it is.

October 25
Harmony – inviting this within and without.

Whether we are aware of it or not, nature is always looking to bring balance to itself. Within; in the divine masculine parts of yourself and the divine feminine, the yin and yang, the dark and the light; as well as all of this which appears to be outside of yourself.

Nothing is ‘bad’ or ‘wrong’ only perhaps, in some moments, there is an imbalance. The universe will collaborate to bring balance to whatever is out of balance. If you allow a space to see this balancing act from your own experience, you will see that this has been happening all along.

What this balancing is also called is: Healing. Healing yourself to wholeness. That sounds as if ‘you’ are doing something, when really it is an allowing happening. Your very nature will attempt to bring harmony or balance in every moment. When imbalance is happening, we can see and feel it in the discomfort that it may bring. That is all that the discomfort is attempting to show us, that something is out of balance. Looking at life and it’s happenings from this perspective makes it all easier – discomfort becomes an indicator rather than something to get rid of. Harmony is being invited directly when discomfort is present.

Satsang supports this way of harmony - where one can give harmony itself space to come into itself. Where discomfort can lead the way (by feeling it fully) to harmony and then this is the experience of Peace with All.

October 11
Great Fullness

An extra invitation for this week, as Great Fullness is such a wonderful and rich topic.

The invitation is, besides joining us if you feel drawn, is to spend some time with yourSelf allowing moments that have happened in the apparent past, to rise into your Now. To specifically call on moments of direct experiencing of thankfulness, or gratefulness – grateful for a beautiful day; great and full to be alive; grateful that you are you; grateful that you have the family that you do, parents, siblings, children; grateful for winning anything; moments that you felt on top of the world…let them rise in you, Be With you Now.

Feel how your energy may shift, what happens inside? Allow these energies to permeate your whole being – every cell, your whole personal energy field, then letting them expand out and beyond into all. Perhaps sharing the energy with people that you know could use some support in their lives – notice what happens when you allow this, how do you feel now? Perhaps more full and alive? Doesn’t the experience coincide with the words – great fullness, thank fullness? This is what it is to be thankful; it’s a happening.

October 4th
Gratitude (Canadian Thanksgiving Celebration)

This week's invitation is join with us in giving thanks for all that we have (collectively and personally) to be thankful for.
For mySelf, I feel very grateful to all of you - for your interest, your attendance, and your commitment to yourself to come more and more fully into Being all of who you are.

Please feel free to join in with us in Gratitude from where ever you are if you are unable to be here in person.

September 19
Communication

This week's invitation is to play with communication. Both with yourSelf and with others.

When you read that: 'communicating with yourSelf', I have this idea that you know what I mean by that...without thinking about it, that you know what I mean.

Taking a closer look, when you do communicate with yourSelf, and it does seem like a two way thing, what are the two parts that are communicating? I am not offering this as something to 'think' about, I am inviting that you look to see who is it that inquires, and who is it that answers. Who is that really? That you actually look for those two players to see where and what they exactly are.

The next step is to also look inside, directly, to see who it is that is communicating with another...where does this 'you' part come from? Again, not an answer from the mind, but an actual exploration to see where, in the moment, the part of you that communicates with another, actually is and who is that?

Satsang with Canela is an opportunity to explore such things, as well as a place to drop in more deeply with yourself, to let go of the busyness of life for a short time and be with What Is.

September 4
The Gift

Imagine that someone gave you a gift, one that enabled you to experience life on earth in all of it's variations. You were provided with a vehicle that would run itself as long as you kept care of it by feeding and watering it, keeping it clean and healthy, and listening to it by learning it's language so it could tell you what it needs. It includes an amazing computer system, connected to an energy system, that together could allow a multitude of information in many, many forms to come into the system, be digested and integrated.

The whole vehicle is powered by, and made up of, something called Consciousness and costs each person absolutely nothing. The game being offered is to journey along, following something called time and to learn how to Be With each scenario as it presents itself.

Each scenario is also powered by, and made up, of this Consciousness stuff. If there is not an allowing to Be With each scenario in totality, the scenario will play itself again, and again, with a few details changed, until the person is able to Be With it totally, and therefore receive the learning, then the next scenario would begin. Each learning would not just be for the person, but also benefit the whole of Consciousness as it would therefore be that much more aware of itself.

Part of the game is that each person is fed a misleading idea that if they focused on changing the scenario, instead of allowing themselves to Be With it, they could get the learning.

This week's invitation is one that invites you to let go of that idea and Be With what is happening for you in your life as it is. Just as it is.

Come and join with us in Satsang where it is easier to relax into this Being With yourSelf, just as you are.

August 28
Letting Go Specifically

This week's invitation is to look at, and practice, letting go, specifically, whatever it is you are holding in your own way of - more love, more abundance, more money (lets be specific!), more peace, or the full awakened state of Being.

This topic adds onto last week's topic in inviting what exactly you are ready to let go of. For instance, if there is a living in the survival state - i.e.: money worries, then it would be a letting go of whatever is in your own way of effortless abundance. A full commitment to letting go of whatever that is, without knowing, unconditionally - faulty beliefs, fear of wealth, judgment of money, or fear of success (to name just a few). All of these could block a natural flow of monetary wealth to Be With you. It's not about 'having' it, it is about it just being an easy part of your life. You get to play with it!

Inviting a letting go of whatever is in your way of Being in the fully realized state of Awareness is a wonderful commitment to make - letting go of ideas, emotions and various energies that may be keeping you anchored in a state of imagined separation.

Come and join with us in Satsang with Canela where we will be letting go of whatever is in our own way - to affluence, to joy, to love, to spiritual fulfillment, to an easy and contended way of living.

August 21
Being Responsible about it All

This week's invitation is to look at, and practice, responsibility.

If there is any discomfort in your life, long standing or in moments, and you think you have anyone or anything to blame for it, you are not being responsible.

The invitation here is to be very honest with yourself - are you 'blaming' at all in any aspect of your life? i.e.: 'Life would be great if only she/he was different'. 'If only I could win a lottery, then life would be great!' 'If I had parents like her's, then I could do what I want too.' Are you blaming anything, including what you don't have, as a reason for not living your life more fully?

If so, then take some time to look inside, to invite yourself to let go of whatever is in the way of what you would like in your life - it will be inside of you if it shows up outside of you. Let blaming be your indicator to look inside and let go of whatever you yourself are holding in the way of your own simple, joyful, abundant way of Being.

Come and join with us in Satsang with Canela where we will be letting go of whatever is in our own way - to affluence, to joy, to love, to spiritual fulfillment, to an easy and contended way of living.

August 11
Alchemizing Energy

This week's invitation is to look at, and practice, alchemizing energy.

To come to a point in your life that you can look forward to any kind of energy happening. Be it anger, resentment, depression, fear, whatever it is that you would like to alchemize, put it into a statement of any kind supporting something that you would like more of in your life.

So the next time that you find yourself angry, for instance, catch yourself in it, and then put that energy into your statement.

Your statement can be anything that you would like, even if it is not happening yet, just something that you imagine that you would feel happy about if it were true. An example: "I love that I choose to focus on fitness and well-being for my body! Over and over again I find myself making healther and happier choices - I love that!"

Just try it out and see what happens - the anger will be changed, alchemized, into something else.

Satsang with Canela is about supporting being responsible for your own life, tending to That - allowing Self Mastery.

July 26
Taking Anything Seriously?

This week's invitation is to look at, and practice, not taking form in formlessness so seriously!

So here we are, a conglomeration of molecules dancing. Dancing in what? In space, in the Absolute, form dances itself...this is already happening without thought, without will, it is simply happening. So what's all this seriousness around the drama of one conglomeration, or form, towards another? What's to judge...really?!

The next time something feels serious to you, look again, notice that it is only molecules dancing before you, revealing themselves to you as this form (perhaps a person) allow yourself to see and feel the moment and it's reality and all drama may come to a lovely, silent end. You don't need to take my word for it - explore this invitation and find out for yourSelf!

Satsang with Canela is about exploring the eternal, silent, ever present part of you and that which is dancing in it. You are invited!

July 18
Form In Formlessness

Everything, including yourself, is only form in formlessness. It is an illusion. The only part that is real is the actual experiencing happening. This is 'a happening' - not what was experienced or what will be experienced - it is the experiencing itself.

As you look at this experiencing, perhaps asking yourself... what am I experiencing right now? ....
What part of you is looking? What part of you looked for that which is being experienced? Look for that part. Connect with That.

Satsang with Canela is about connecting with That - the eternal part of you. Come and join with us to support yourself to connect with That directly, consciously.

July 10
Who's Power is it?
This week's invitation is an expansion on last week's invitation: to embrace your own 'Power'.

It is rather odd to call it yours, really it belongs to Source like all else.
And,
you were given this life to tend to, to learn in, to learn mastery with everything, and perhaps to enjoy and relax into That.

So this idea of 'yours' is really what you are responsible for - what you were given to take care of, or tend to, in this experience of Being human.

This responsibility of your power, then, is about wherever you may be giving your attention away - to others, to situations, to past happenings, to future happenings. Scenarios that you feel something or someone is to blame or anything that appears to have any power over you.

There is a choice, once you find out what you have been up to, to stop giving your power away - no matter how 'wrong' or how 'unfair' or whatever. Anything that may be repeating in your life or that you spend a lot of time and attention on that does not benefit you.

Stop, open your body, relax open every molecule and call your energy back home to you from whatever or whoever seems to affect you in attracting your attention again and again. There is no one or nothing outside of yourSelf, so empower this One that you are instead of pilfering your energy away in a habit.

Satsang Meditation is all about supporting you home to yourSelf - to experience This That You Are.

July 3rd
This week's invitation is Allowing Affluence - affluence of whatever you would like more of in your life.

With many people, their relating with money is a grand learning opportunity. Instead of wondering why it is not with you or whether you are deserving or not, the invitation here is to look directly at how you relate to money itself.

Do you give it more power than other forms of Consciousness? After all, all forms are equal, it's only what power we give to the form that creates it's effect with us. So now, bring your power home. Power is energy, you gave it away, now you get to call it home.

A Meditation: Put some money on a table in front of yourSelf, look at it and allow whatever rises - thoughts, feelings, sensations, notice that and then open up your body and call 'your energy' home. 'Your energy' is simply whatever attention you have been giving money, call it home to you, into the center of your Being. (We will be repeating this exercise in Monday's Satsang Meditation.)

Feel free to use this exercise with any part of form that perhaps your relationship With is not yet healthy.

You are welcome to join us in Satsang Meditation to gift this topic your direct attention in a healing way.

June 25th
This week's invitation to yourSelf is to highlight 'Choice.' Choices to be made in each moment that they may come - to choose Love or Fear.

Sometimes these choices may appear to be 'bigger' choices as in choosing to let go of a relating and sometimes they might be 'smaller' ones as in whether to have an ice cream sundae or a salad.

For each person, in each moment, the choice that feels expansive and loving could be one or the other. The ice cream might be the choice or the salad, depending on the person choosing and what they feel in that moment. This is 'righteousness' again - what feels right in the moment....what feels more loving and inclusive? Or what feels like a pulling away, an exclusion, a making smaller or withdrawing?

It takes courage and experience to choose Love.
Remember an experience of when you have chosen fear - you can look back and see when those moments were. How did that choice serve you or others? What was your experience?
Compare that with when you have chosen Love. It is in remembering those moments of choosing Love that you can support yourself to choose Love again...to gift yourself courage.

Love expands and supports everything; fear contracts or dominates and always costs someone - yourself.

Satsang Meditation with Canela is all about connecting with yourSelf, with Love, and strengthening your experience of That... which in turn, supports you to choose Love over fear in any moment that you are asked by Life to choose.

June 18
Please note that the Satsang Meditation in White Rock on June 28th will be a four hour gathering.

In the longer time frame, the form of the Satsang changes somewhat as in the second half, there is an opportunity for people who feel drawn, to come and sit in the chair and experience themSelves - to see and be seen as That. This change in the form of Satsang has been a magical and beautiful expression of Self each time it has occurred. It is with supreme Love and support of Self that it is offered.

This week's invitation is practical surrender to What Is. Allowing yourself to sit and feel (to surrender to) whatever is happening.

This can be easy when it is a pleasurable experience, and often there can be resistance if unpleasant, or out of one's comfort zone. The invitation here is to open up and allow yourSelf to simply experience whatever it is, no matter what. If 'irritation', sit and feel irritation happening. If 'anger' or 'grief', sit and feel that, do nothing except stop movement, relax open and feel it - surrender to it and see what happens. If 'trying' is happening, stop and feel the energy of 'trying'. Or 'overwhelm' is a common one too - feeling 'overwhelmed'. Feel these very human energies instead of attempting to change them or override What Is. Stop, open and surrender.

Come and join us in Satsang Meditation where with a common committment, it is easier to practice this surrender, to explore it in an evironment specifically supportive to This - easier to surrender to What Is and feel it fully - to consciously embody the peace and love that you are.

June 11
You'll Do It Your Way!

This week's invitation to yourSelf is a reminder that 'Your Way' is the 'right way' for you. In the subject line, imagine that it is Frank Sinatra singing this to you!

You are the only One who is perceiving life as yourSelf. No one else can possibly know all of the moments that have been experienced by you; what it is like to look like you; to sound like you; to hear like you; to taste like you; to see like you. This is the incredible gift of your life - so uniquely yours and your's alone. It also comes with a responsibility, because no one else will have your 'answers'. You can resonate with others, feel drawn to experience modes of healing, hear another's words interpreted by you and perhaps initiating action by you.

This is what Jesus meant when he said "Do as I say, not as I do." Copying what he did, or what Buddha did, may have it's own reward but it will not be your awakening. It may contribute to That, but what they 'did' was follow their own way to Self. Their own steps to That. You have your own way, your own feet, your own way of thinking, perceiving; follow what feels right to you from inside of yourself in any moment. The answer of 'your way' lay in each moment - for you to choose, left or right? Which feels to be the right way to you? This is living righteously.

Satsang Meditation with Canela is a support for you to hear yourSelf; to feel your 'right way'; to practice tuning into the very moment; and perhaps share what that might feel like with others. It is not to cancel out the human experience - it is to celebrate it, embrace it, relax into it, Be That...no matter what, unconditionally, however you Are. You are so welcome to join us!

May 22nd
This week's invitation is one that invites you to take up Dr. Seuss's offer:
"...Out there things can happen
and frequently do,
to people as brainy
and footsy as you.
And when things start to happen,
don’t worry, don’t stew,
Just go right along,
You’ll start happening too!..."*

When 'things' start to happen, whatever those 'things' are, open up to them instead of closing down or attempting to change them...just see what happens when you do.

Come and join with us in Satsang Meditation, where there is support to deepen your committment to yourSelf to be able to open to whatever it is that is happening, to see/feel what it truly is and to let it Be; to accept That.

May 14th
This week's invitation is one that invites you to be more of who you are. To follow through on the little nudges that come from within; that perhaps, in the past, you may not have followed because you imagine that someone might judge you for it.

Sometimes these inner nudges are direct links to your own expansion. Choosing them, over fear, will result in expansion of yourself, learning, and most likely, a more alive and loving human - yourSelf. Saying 'yes' to what is.

Come and join us to support yourself to strengthen the courage to say 'Yes' to yourSelf and act apon it. Everything is Consciousness. Deepen the awareness of this in Satsang, release anything that might be in the way of experiencing That.