by John Stringer | Jun 1, 2010 | Arts, Development, Music, Personal, spirituality
Cover via Amazon
I’ve been enjoying Life Visioning: A Four-Stage Evolutionary Journey to Live as Divine Love
from Michael Bernard Beckwith over the last few weeks (thanks in part to my good friend Ade), and as a result (CORRECTION: I realized later that this idea came up in a separate meditation session a day or so after a Life Visioning session), one of the steps I’ve taken is to launch a new spiritual website, book and musical CD. More on this as it unfolds.
Another big step, and probably the most surprising for me of all, is that I’m pursuing a new career in addition to some of my other entrepreneurial ventures. Its exciting and I’m grateful to have the clarity to pursue it. Again, I’ll keep you abreast once more details have unfolded!
Love & Light!
<a href=”http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1591796172?ie=UTF8&tag=johstrincblo-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1591796172″>Life Visioning: A Four-Stage Evolutionary Journey to Live as Divine Love</a><img src=”http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=johstrincblo-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1591796172″ width=”1″ height=”1″ border=”0″ alt=”” style=”border:none !important; margin:0px !important;” />
by John Stringer | Oct 20, 2009 | Development, Personal, spirituality
Yes. It is true. Today is my “coming out of the closet day,” but in a Spiritual way. Today I am making it public knowledge that for the last couple of years, I’ve been meditating and receiving guidance which I’ve kept on the down low because I was instructed to do so (perhaps due to my own fear of what others would think, my own need for growth and/or other reasons). Now, I guess I’ve grown to trust enough to reveal this because today I was guided to bring this into public light.
It is a service I’ve performed anonymously with my wife at the site www.askrealitylove.com The site is now a blog and you can read some of the interesting questions others have submitted and the answers we’ve received from “Reality/Love.”
What is “Reality/Love” you ask? Go to the site to find out: http://www.askrealitylove.com or http://askrealitylove.wordpress.com
by John Stringer | Jun 11, 2009 | Development, Personal, spirituality
Two stories came to mind today, both involving rocks and sand, that reminded me of interesting lessons. You may have heard the first, but I’d like to recount it here:
“A philosophy professor stood before his class and had some items in front of him. When class began, wordlessly he picked up a large empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks right to the top, rocks about 2” diameter.
He then asked the students if the jar was full? They agreed that it was. So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them in to the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the rocks. The students laughed
He asked his students again if the jar was full? They agreed that yes, it was. The professor then picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else.
“Now,” said the professor, “I want you to recognize that this is your life. The rocks are the important things – your family, your partner, your health, your children – anything that is so important to you that if it were lost, you would be nearly destroyed.
The pebbles are the other things in life that matter, but on a smaller scale. The pebbles represent things like your job, your house, your car.
The sand is everything else. The small stuff. If you put the sand or the pebbles into the jar first, there is no room for the rocks. The same goes for your life. If you spend all your energy and time on the small stuff, material things, you will never have room for the things that are truly most important.
Pay attention to the things that are critical in your life. Play with your children. Take your partner out dancing.
There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party and fix the disposal.”
Take care of the rocks first – the things that really matter.
Set your priorities. The rest is just pebbles and sand.”
Another way I thought of looking at this today is to consider the ROCKS as truth principles / the reality of life or laws of the universe whereas the rest is just the appearances of things. If you are familiar with the biblical parable of building a house on the rock vs on the sand, then you probably know the moral of the story is to build your house on a strong foundation so it can withstand storms.
In life, the storms can be external circumstances and building your house on a strong foundation is equivalent to building your life on inspired action and truth principles beyond mere appearances. Making the inspired action or guidance the priority is how to apply the moral of the first story.
Building your house on sand is like building your life based on your own rational understanding, your limited sensory perception and your limited experience. When trouble comes, you are easily shaken, frustrated and confused.
Build on the rocks, my friend, and the sand will follow.
by John Stringer | Mar 4, 2009 | Development, Personal, spirituality
The Sacred Yes: Letters From The Infinite
I finished reading Spiritual Liberation: Fulfilling Your Soul’s Potential
by Dr. Michael Bernard Beckwith and it was such an enjoyable read that I still use the powerful affirmations and embodiments presented. Now, I’m back to reading a book I actually started before Dr. Beckwith’s which also happens to be written by someone he mentors. The book is called The Sacred Yes: Letters From The Infinite by Rev. Deborah L. Johnson.
The Sacred Yes is a fascinating read and offers insightful perspective on God/Source from various angles. Its somewhat similar to Conversations With God by Neale Donald Walsch in that the author explains the content was “channeled.” For this, I refer to a great phrase my uncle once told me – TRUTH IS WHERE YOU FIND IT – and I’ve found plenty of it in this book thus far.
I’m currently on the 11th chapter, entitled DIVINE FLOW, and I think you’ll appreciate this analogy on giving:
“In addition to making a seperation between the giver and the recipient, there is also a tendency in your Westernixed cultures to make a seperatin between the acts of givin and receiving. This is a false disctinction. This is a pradigm that is of no use or value in the spiritual realm. It is a fallacious conceptualization that only continues to perpetuate the paradigm of duality. Ther is otherness reeking in this. Why do I say so adamantly that this is fallacious?
Perhaps the best example would be that of breathing. Within the process of breathing there is what you refer to as inhaling and there is what you refer to as exhaling. However, you are not breathing unless you are doing both. It would never occur to you to try to make such a distinction between exhaling and inhaling when speaking of breathing such that you would claim to be doing one without the other. There is totality here. There is a wholeness here. There is an integration here. You are not breathing unless both are happening alternately and interchangeably. So it is with what you refer to as giving. In fact, it is even more so. In the act of breathing you can mark the point in time when you are either inhaling or exhaling, even though they occur very closely together. However, in what is referred to as giving, the so-called giving and receiving are simultaneous. They aren’t even separate. It is all one.”
Feel free to share your thoughts on this book if you’re reading it or have read it in the past.
by John Stringer | Feb 25, 2009 | General
Photo by Clearly Ambiguous
The following is a re-post from www.rizwanbhimani.com:
1. Promise Nothing
Just do what you most enjoy doing.
Hidden benefit: You will always over-deliver.
2. Offer Nothing
Just share what you have with those who express an interest in it.
Hidden benefit: Takes the pressure off of wanting other people to see you as valuable or important.
3. Expect Nothing
Just enjoy what you already have. It’s plenty.
Hidden benefit: You will realize how complete your life is already.
4. Need Nothing
Just build up your reserves and your needs will disappear.
Hidden benefit: You boundaries will be extended and filled with space.
5. Create Nothing
Just respond well to what comes to you.
Hidden benefit: Openness.
6. Hype Nothing
Just let quality sell by itself.
Hidden benefit: Trustability.
7. Plan Nothing
Just take the path of least resistance.
Hidden benefit: Achievement will become effortless.
8. Learn Nothing
Just let your body absorb it all on your behalf.
Hidden benefit: You will become more receptive to what you need to know in the moment.
9. Become No One
Just be more of yourself.
Hidden benefit: Authenticity.
10. Change Nothing
Just tell the truth and things will change by themselves.
Hidden benefit: Acceptance.
