Invitations 2010 - Present

August 24 2010
Taking Action

This week’s invitation is to play around with Taking Action.

There is so much that is read, is spoken, is brought to each person’s attention (if they are interested) of what the ‘Truth’ is, what supports That, and what a person can do to embody themselves more and more…to Realize the Self.

The temptation is to simply agree with what is written…perhaps feel the truth in the words and then, therefore, agree with it. Sometimes that is the case and that is what is being invited by Consciousness.

Many, many times, though, the invitation is to ‘take action’ and try out what is being offered for yourself. To directly experience the effect of what is being invited. It doesn’t matter if you misinterpret the invitation because your very way of interpreting it is vital to whatever action you may take. What is important is that it sounds true to you and that is enough to try it out.

So many people just nod their heads and say, that sounds true and so few people actually take action on what is being offered - actually try it out for themselves to see if what the words invite is actually true for them. The part that makes something true or not is the direct experience of That…your direct experience. If you don’t try it out you cannot really know if it is true or not. And yes, this is the part that is often not so easy, is often very vulnerable, or perhaps uncomfortable.

When you do take action and try it out for yourself, then the experience becomes a part of Reality…it becomes Realized, or Real and this is embodiment. Piece by piece, bit by bit, step by step, and moment by moment - the Self is embodied, is Realized.

Come and join with us in Satsang with Canela where taking action is being invited: to play with engagement and disengagement of the mind; to allow your attention to rest with what you are actually experiencing; to share the Real experience of yourSelf; to simply Be yourSelf and experience That directly; to go beyond concepts in the head to directly experiencing one’s Self.

August 19, 2010
The Guest That you Are

This week’s invitation is to consider that you are a guest Here in this experience of Being human.

A guest in this body, with this mind, this energy that is yours to play in, this set of details – be you man or woman, mother, father, brother, sister. A guest with this mother, this father, brother, uncle, aunty, friend…these have all been given to you. This space that you call your home, your abode, this space that you know as your Home inside…this heart, this soul…can you see any part of what is happening that has not been given to you to experience? This Space of ‘you’, experiencing something, experiencing whatever it is that is happening, inclusive of all details.

This invitation is to consider this: to treat this body, this mind, this energy with respect… just as a guest would. Is any of it really ‘yours’? Do you respect the son, daughter, cat, foot, sock, that has happened to land in this life beside you, given to you to experience – to Be With? This range of emotions, this flavour of being, this character…simply all of it. What is your way of respecting all of this?

Come and join with us in Satsang where together we consider such truths; sharing the experiences as they arrive; Being With What Is – experiencing directly, simply That.

August 1st, 2010
Let It Be

This week, the invitation is to - as the Beatles invite: Let it Be.

Let ‘what’ Be? Let the body be, let the mind be, let yourself be, let the other be….relax open to what is.

All of this attempting to change everything by demand; this non-acceptance of ‘How It Is’, when all it is, is a bunch of molecules dancing together as a body, or a mind, or whatever…a part of this great illusion that is dancing itself, revealing itself to this apparent ‘you’ part of itself.

An arm as it is; a thought as it is; let it just be itself. Stop attempting to stop those thoughts or contort the body into some societal ‘norm’ of how a woman or a man is ‘supposed to look’. Tending to these things, yes….perhaps there is a feeling of thirstiness, yes, well, have a drink of water….a feeling to speak, then let it be, let speaking happen. The feeling will be light, be a preference, not a demand.

Letting it be, whatever ‘it’ is - is surrender, is acceptance. If ‘thirstiness’ is what is happening, then be with that appropriately and have a drink of water. ‘What is’ includes you as a human being and all of the possibilities that go along with that.

A way to know if there is a surrendering to what is, (or is it an attempt to move away from ‘what is’ by attempting to change it) is by feeling your energy and being honest in the moment with yourself – are you attempting to push, pull or control anything or anyone? As honest as you can be in any given moment.

Come and join with us in Satsang with Canela where your honesty with yourself can be more clearly seen and felt, the ‘Truth of What Is’ even more magnified so therefore easier to discern.

July 15, 2010
Conflict or Opportunity?

This week, the invitation is to allow yourself to explore the possibility of each and every conflict as an opportunity.

When there is an apparent ‘conflict’ look to see what is really going on by stopping in the midst of the conflictive energy that you are likely feeling. Once stopped by your own curiosity, open your body, breathe, and feel where the energy is ‘speaking’ something. It might feel heavy in one area of your body, or constricted, just look for whatever stands out in that moment, breathe, relax open, and feel it, watch it, let it reveal itself to you.

If the conflict is between two people, both parties will have something to explore. If one person stops, looks within, feels what is going on (and therefore embraces whatever the conflict is supporting to be seen in that moment) it does not mean that the conflict is her or his ‘fault’. There will be two sides to every conflict if there are two people involved. (As many people involved = as many opportunities).

If you have not been stopping to check out what is happening, and just let the apparent other find what it is about for them, then you are totally missing out on the opportunity.

To imagine that it is only about the other person simply because they happened to have found the underlying energy, is a cop out towards yourself. It may seem that the whole thing happened just for the other to find some bit to admit, to embrace, and you might use that as some sort of defence to then say to yourself “see, it was all about them, therefore I am ‘right’” and therefore not explore it. This would be defending the very part of you that stands in your own way of your Self.

The Self, Awareness, as you, is constantly inviting an embracing, an embodiment of the human aspect as a reflection or display of itself. Awareness is constantly, in each moment, revealing its Self to its Self – and this is the opportunity that you might be passing over, again and again, avoiding your very Self by imagining it isn’t about you.

To admit the Truth of what is really happening, is to embrace one’s self… as humbling as it might feel in a moment.

Come and join with us in Satsang with Canela to explore this directly, supporting your Self to move more and more fully to the Truth of What Is. The next gathering will be a Satsang Intensive, offering a bit more time to delve into and surround your Self with the direct experience of Self hood – you are so very welcome!

June 25, 2010
Team of One

This week, the invitation is to allow yourself to sense and feel yourSelf as part of the Team of One.

Open to allowing the Universe itself to support you.

As you are reading this email, just after reading this very sentence, stop and see if you can open your senses to feel the Universe Being With you. It may take some moments to relax open so you can ‘hear’ this support through felt sense. Open up your body, mind, and energy field… letting go of any idea of an edge where you end and the rest of the Universe begins, let that edge go and feel, directly, how completely connected you are.

You are not alone, you are part of everything that is, everything is connected - you have heard all of this before, and now I invite you to actually feel this. To open up and allow yourself to feel supported by your team; the team of One that everyone belongs to.

You are not separate from all that is, you are part of it, and all happenings are completely connected. You are not handling things on your own, you never were and you never will be. Shrug off those ideas, relax open and feel the support that is With you in each moment.

As you allow yourself to feel this - to relax open enough to feel this - the Universe has more space to take care of all that needs to be taken care of. When you are required to take action, the Universe will send you a repeating message, which can get more and more uncomfortable until you listen and follow through for yourself. The Universe, in it’s wonderful way of Being with us, finds exactly what wants to happen next from inside of ourSelves and offers it to us, invites us, sends us it’s message (that is actually from ourSelves) again and again until we listen.

Come and join with us in Satsang with Canela to explore and feel this support directly. To give yourself the space to feel the support that has been there/here for you all along and always will be

June 9th, 2010
Recognizing, Honouring and Appreciating YourSelf

This week’s invitation is to play with acknowledging and appreciating yourSelf very directly on all levels.

Most people have been taught to look outside of themselves to be recognized; to be heard; to be acknowledged; and to be appreciated.

It’s just a common mis-take since, as with everything, it needs to come from within yourself before it will be flourishing outside of yourself. In fact, you will likely not even hear it or feel anything from any outside approval until you have approved of yourself. Or if you do feel something, it can be like a sugar rush leaving you wanting more and feeling unfulfilled.

So, if you have found yourself continually let down because you have been looking for approval; for appreciation; for acknowledgement from your parents; your partner; your children…from anyone around you, the invitation is to stop, at long last, and give this to yourself.

Make a list of all of the things that you have brought yourself through, of all the times that there was concern or uncertainty as if you were going to ‘make it’ or not. Perhaps it was a rough childhood that you made it through, perhaps the death of a parent at a young age, or an unstable marriage and then divorce…whatever it might be, please do take a few minutes and acknowledge yourself, appreciate yourself, honour yourself for having made it through those rough waters – however that was, you made it through to Now. Go and look directly into your own eyes in a mirror, relax your body, breathe deeply and speak your recognition to yourself. Allow your words to sink into (merge with) your body, mind, Being.

If you have been pining to be recognized for your brilliance, for your good work, for your good deeds, for your amazing talents, for your ability to enjoy life…well, it’s time you simply gave that recognition to yourself. After all, you know what talents and abilities are with you…you are the one that has been with you in each and every moment – be honest with yourself. Write yourself an email or a letter, phone yourself and leave a message on your own voicemail – let yourself hear what you need to hear. You are a human being and are therefore subject to human needs and recognition is one of them – please gift this to yourself.

The invitation is to stop and look at what you may have been attempting to ‘get’ from others and to finally gift it directly to yourself. Appreciating yourself is very healing for you and everyone around you.

Come and join us in Satsang where you can directly ‘get’ yourSelf and bask in the peace that you are.

May 30, 2010
Allowing the Perception of 'The Truth'

This week’s invitation is to invite you to play directly with your own perception in each moment.

Allowing yourself to see The Truth; hear The Truth; feel The Truth; open fully to The Truth; Be The Truth and everything that is experienced will actually be The Truth. This is not an invitation to think about what it is that is being invited here, it can only be experienced through allowing it, by trying it out, playing with it.

For example: in any moment, there might be people arguing right there with you, or it may even be yourself in the argument. In that very moment, register in your mind: “This is the Truth”, open your body, mind and energy field and be present to what is.

It is not about judging whatever is happening - is it ‘about the Truth’ or not? is it good or bad? - just open to it right as soon as you remember to do so, and experience what happens. Once the mind reminds (re-minds) you to open yourSelf up to What Is, let go and receive all of the information that is happening right in that moment – inside and out. When you are in ‘receiving’ mode (open to experience whatever is) judging ceases to exist.

Then, as an example, it becomes: The Truth speaking, The Truth yelling, The Truth smiling, The Truth hearing, The Truth smelling….The Truth is whatever is happening in the moment of experiencing including yourSelf. Consciously opening to That magnifies it and makes it easier to see and experience directly.

In Satsang with Canela, we will be playing with this, speaking about it, experiencing it directly – The Truth experiencing The Truth…come and join with us.

May 18, 2010
Impermanence

This week’s invitation is to play with, and experience directly, the reality of “impermanence”.

To invite you to experience impermanence directly is kind of funny as you are experiencing that in each moment whether you are aware of it or not. The invitation is to realize that which is occurring – that no matter what it is that you are experiencing, (other than awareness itself) it is not permanent…the experience will change.

This then, can be such a soothing realization…if one is experiencing fear, one can relax open and be aware of the fear, feel it and watch it change. The only thing that keeps an experience happening is if you feed it.

Say, for example, the fear of mortal death rises. One’s mind may come up with all sorts of reasons as to why the fear of death is relevant to you, that with all of this evidence, you ‘should’ be feeling fear of death, after all, you can look to your past experience and justify feeling the fear – yes?

When in actuality, if you look and be honest with yourself, even the fear of death comes and goes. If you are laying down on the couch watching TV, the fear may not be present. If you were then to look for your fear, your very looking can actually create it.

That mortal death will come is true, one way or another, it will come to each and every human. If fear of death is present then, use your knowledge of impermanence and relax open to feeling the fear until it passes…after all fearing death will not change anything at all – if it is time, then it is time.

The same then, holds true for any experience. You can look to your own experiencing to validate this truth. In the past, there may have been moments of extreme cold or physical discomfort – moments where one could imagine that you would never forget such pain, like childbirth, and yet forgetting happens as one experiencing follows another and another and so it goes.

This knowledge of impermanence can support a relaxing, a freedom, a trust, to allow yourself to feel whatever it is that is occurring; to relax open to it; Be With That; and it will change right before the Awareness that you are.

You are welcome to join with us in Satsang with Canela (see below for times and locations) to explore this experiencing directly. Bring along any questions or doubts that might be with you – they are welcome too!

May 3, 2010
Acknowledging 'Mother'

In Being With what is, and ‘what is’ including that it is Mother’s Day this weekend - the invitation is for you to consider and acknowledge ‘Mother’.

Everyone came from the womb of some mother, grown in there in the perfect atmosphere – the perfect combo of ‘food’ coming in, the perfect temperature, a double energy field protecting you – yours and your mother’s, floating in fluid. It’s no wonder that ‘mother’ is clung to so strongly perhaps as an attempt to return to that so totally supported world. The only mistake, is that it gets attached to the person who is the mother - all of the entitlement, expectations and therefore disappointments, how it is ‘supposed to be or have been’ in the idea of a ‘mother,’ looking for that all giving support, that felt sense of safety and protection where all of your needs are met.

That feeling of having all of your needs met, like when you were carried in the womb, is available. It is available through opening to Consciousness to allow the direct experience of all of your needs being met, letting go of the idea that your needs were ever not met, that you, as Awareness can directly experience the incredible safety and security that is the Truth; that nothing whatsoever can remove this – it has been given and continues to be given long before the birth and long after the death of the human body.

Connect with That and relax into your experience of being human. Relax any ideas of the person who is your mother, or was your mother, no matter what she is like or has done, and tune into the True One – gifting yourSelf with the Love and Security that has always been yours. That the only mistake was in looking for That outside of yourSelf, instead, allowing the felt sense of that inside which encompasses the outside.

Instead, acknowledging the person who is your Mother, that she carried you and gave birth to you – that somewhere along the line there was a deal made between your souls to be in this life together…like the sure things in life, you cannot change who your Mother is, it has already happened, she will always be your mother as a human even if you don’t know who she is.

Then, beyond the birth, there may have been a mother, your blood mother or adopted mother perhaps, who took care of you as a vulnerable newborn, a young child, a teenager, who may even be still supporting you in some ways now, whether in body, or after her death, her Love is With you….to acknowledge this too. And if you are a mother, tending to the needs of your children, whether young or grown, to acknowledge this aspect of yourself and all of your experiencing and sharing in that.

For mySelf, the Mother is the Absolute, holding me, embracing me, inside and out, she holds all of creation, supporting it to express itself however it does.

And, there is a woman who is my Mother, who gave birth to me some time ago and who is still in body…in celebrating her, instantly I am also celebrating the fact that I exist as a human being – as Awareness traipsing around With this body, mind, soul; this expression of One that I get to tend to and experience life through and with.

Being also a mother mySelf, what a great honour it has been and is, to Be With these two Beings who choose me as a mom and who have taught me so very much!

For my own mother, and myself as a mother I am profoundly grateful…wow! What a gift!

And there is also gratefulness, so deeply, to Consciousness; to the Absolute for this Awareness that knows its Self…this is really a crazy thing, because it is towards one’s Self that one is grateful…something Being so very thankful to Be itself and yet it continues to happen: this thankfulness. It celebrates itself and includes every bit of the humanness happening…what a most incredible blessing!

Please do join us in Satsang with Canela to Celebrate yourSelf as Mother as well as Mothers in human form who gave birth to us all so we can be experiencing This That Is.

April 22, 2010
What You Commit To

This week’s invitation is to look at what the opportunity is around the money that flows your way, which in turn, you get to redirect to whatever you are committed to.

It is a commitment that you make when you exchange that paper stuff we call money (in whatever form you use – be it paper, coin, debit, or credit card) for an apple for example.

What is actually in that exchange?
A commitment to care for yourself by feeding yourself, this touches the apple and you, and it also touches on the person who sold it to you, the person who packed it for delivery to the store, the driver who delivered it, the farm owner and workers, the tree the apple came from, the sun, rain and earth that support the tree to be alive, the oxygen that the tree exhales helping to clean our environment, and all of the connections to each of those that branch out to eventually include absolutely everything that is.

When you put the money into the box for Satsang then, what is it you are committing to?

The space of Satsang is for supporting everyone to embrace themselves even more; it is a very direct commitment to yourSelf. To support people to awaken to themselves – to all that is. It is simply a direct route, taken consciously when you understand this.

So this invitation is for you to consider what you are actually paying for when you pay for things. For instance, what is it you are paying for when you pay your taxes? Follow the route of what you are effecting by your payment…you will find, that it is always you that you are supporting, you yourSelf…it just happens to include a multitude of steps along the way, or a few steps (yet inclusive of all that is) as in the case of Satsang.

Join with us, commit to yourSelf directly in Satsang with Canela.

April 6, 2010
Controlling

This week’s invitation is to look at being ‘controlling’.

What is that and how do you know if you are being controlling, or freely moving with focus (which may look like 'controlling' on the outside)?

Control is often the opposite of freedom or going with the flow. When your computer shuts down three times in a row, it’s time to let go, relax, and not attempt to ‘make it’ work….it doesn’t want to happen right then. Look for what does want to happen with curiosity.

The answer to ‘how do you know if you are being controlling?’ is simple, yet not always easy to assess – it is to be honest with yourself.

If there is any defence - is the mind coming up with all sorts of reasons as to why your actions are not controlling - the likelihood is very high that you are indeed attempting to control something. Freely moving with focus doesn’t have any push to it, it’s just happening, defence just doesn’t even come up.

Controlling anything usually accompanies some sort of feeling of push or pull – someone is ‘trying’ to do something, or to change ‘what is’ through force. As if something ‘has to’ happen in a certain way, or someone ‘should be’ acting differently than they are, then there is attempt to control happening. This is simply getting in your own way. Even though it looks ‘right’ or is perfectly logical, you will be swimming upstream, rather than flowing along with what is.

Judging another as controlling is often an indicator that you yourself have some sort of aspect of control happening…especially if you feel that you need to tell the other that they are being controlling. If they are, let them find it out for themselves, just notice it in your own awareness but don’t speak it. If that urge to ‘have to tell them’ is with you, then stop and see what part of you is controlling something right in that moment. Relax your body open and ask the question inwardly to see what response you get.

As with absolutely everything, it is not ‘wrong’ to attempt to control anything, it’s just not the best way of being and uses up a lot more of your energy. Finding yourself ‘attempting to control’ is, however, a great invitation to be able to follow it inside, feel it, and learn more about yourself and your own way of being…always expanding on That.

You are welcome to join with us in Satsang Meditation to look at, and directly let go of, where ‘control’ might be a part of your life…up until Now.

March 13, 2010
Recognizing "Truth"

This week’s invitation to see and experience what is known as ‘the Truth’.

There are many ideas about what ‘The Truth’ is, how it is supposed to look. And the truth about the truth is, that it is absolutely all that is…including the thoughts, including apparent mistakes, including pain, including the mind, including yes and including no, including emotions and all of the states of Being – That which is occurring in each moment.

Instead of thinking about what the truth is, take a look and experience it…right now, the words are before you, you are reading them, they are the truth – that they are there ‘with you’ on your computer screen – words have shown up to Be With you. It is not necessarily what they are saying, it is that they exist right now, here.

The eyes that see them, are also part of it; the whole action of ‘reading happening’ is part of it; the body in the chair that you are experiencing simultaneously is it – both the body and the chair and the pressure felt where they meet; the breathing is it; the awareness that you are in fact reading is it….this right now, right now, is The Truth.

As you may be able to tell, it is an experience, not an idea. Whatever the experience is, from your own perspective, is the Truth of what is – there is something that is aware of the fact that you are experiencing something…it is before the mind, and includes it. To say it is ‘before’ is not totally true as it is together in the same instant, yet this awareness includes it.

Any ideas of the Truth being one thing and another thing not being the Truth, are just ideas. I invite you to drop the ideas and Be With what you are Aware of, what is actually happening, what is occurring, what arises Now.

Satsang with Canela creates a space where is it easy to let go of ideas, to relax open and experience yourSelf – simply, directly, exactly as you are, come and join us in that freedom.

February 25, 2010
Catch 22

This week’s invitation to see and experience the ‘Catch 22’ in Love.

For those that may not be familiar with the expression: ‘Catch 22’, it is a term used to define a situation that goes round and round – the ending flows back into the beginning, creating a loop that goes on and on.

So this ‘Catch 22’ of Love?

When you have learned to see the Love that exists in each moment, no matter what the details are, you cannot help but also see that you are not alone – that the Universe is conspiring (and has been conspiring all along) to support you in each moment, and ‘knows’ exactly how to support you.

As one recognizes this support - recognizes direct examples from their own life - there is a further relaxing open, a greater Trust emerges, and then in turn, more experiencing life as a loving experience; an experience of Being Loved. There’s the loop… on-going and also deepening at the same time as expanding.

Opening to Love, allows support; recognizing support, deepens Trust; more Trust, more opening to Love and so on.

Come to Satsang with Canela where there is direct support in recognizing the Love in each moment. Bring along your details to share if you are not seeing the Love, and be supported to recognize it – you are welcome!

February 8, 2010
Looking for Love in All the Right Places

This week’s invitation is one of "Being With" Love.

From this perspective of Canela, Love is what all is. Love Consciousness makes up the entire play of what is happening - the thoughts, the actions, the manifested molecules as things, the breath, the play of it all – from it’s Self to it’s Self.

How is that an invitation? To look again, in any moment, to see if you can allow the Love that Is. That the Love is there, is a given…it’s just that sometimes it seems disguised.

It may take some courage to let go of what appears to be happening, and open to the possibility that it is Love expressing itself to you. When the moment feels uncomfortable and emotions might be running high, these are the most powerful moments to stop and open your body, your mind, your being to the expression of Love in that very moment.

Is this easy? Nope, not at first perhaps. Yet when One gets the hang of it, it becomes an easier choice – to let go of the ‘known’ pathway of: hanging on to being right; defending your position; proving the other is wrong; the details are not good or should be some other way than they are…basically saying “No!” to whatever is happening. I invite you to stop, breath, open your body and tune into the very moment of your experience. Let go of the details (you can always pick them up again later if you want) and feel yourself, open yourself, and even ask the question: Is this Loving? – not to judge yourself, the other, or the situation - to actually allow a space to feel into it: is Love happening right now? Such a curiosity will provoke an answer…a felt experience. I invite you, give it a try!

Satsang Mediation is an opportunity to tune into the Love that exists, Here for you, in each moment – to experience this directly.