Calendar of Awakening - Day 98
~Julie Redstone~

At this time, Avenues of Peace is in a transition. This Newsletter is on hold for this month.

We are waiting for a clearer sense of guidance and inspiration from which to offer more to each of you. We are in a deep place of waiting, praying and reflection with God as we wait to feel what has the most inspiration, joy and life in it at this time to offer.

We welcome your thoughts and feedback. It would be very helpful to know what has moved and inspired you, or what kinds of questions you may have. This sense of what is needed and the ongoing relationships with each of you will help with this inspirational process that we are in.

We continue to invite you to join us Wednesday evenings for the One World Meditations. We have found these meditations so profoundly nourishing. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us,  or for more information please go to One World Meditations.

Please remember that our prayers and love make more of a difference than each of us can possibly know. There are many situations in each of our personal lives as well as on a planetary level that are in need our love and prayers.

We look forward to resuming our contact with you,  and have a sense of hopeful expectation and joy about what this time of waiting can birth.
With love, joy and blessings,

Michaela and Robert

Learn to listen when others speak,
for many who listen are hearing only their
own minds.
To truly listen, you must become silent inside.
Then you will not only know others,
you will feel and know the heart of life.

Calendar of Awakening - Day 60
~Julie Redstone~

The focus of much of the past month for us has been a deep exploration of how peace is truly created. This has been one aspect of a very deep and full month for us as we deepen our connection with each other and with God. There is so much happening, and we trust that over the next months as more unfolds we will be sharing our journey with all of you more deeply. For now, we would like to share one aspect of what has begun to profoundly change our life.

Over the years that we have been together one of the deepest pains between the two of us as a couple - is our inability to refrain from arguing with each other. Under stress, even though we had a deep commitment not to argue - we would find ourselves embroiled in arguments that left us drained, saddened and using up valuable time in our lives that could have been used for many other things. At times we have felt helpless with this pattern and have prayed deeply for healing of this difficulty. Over the years, we have been more or less successful with living peacefully, but we often found the peace we had created was just a tenuous truce that could easily be thrown off course under larger stressors.

Recently, we have been in a deep spiritual practice of eliminating all arguments between us. This has been an intense spiritual practice for us. Though our arguments can be seen as “totally normal” in a marriage through the eyes of ordinary thinking - we have come to deeply understand that they have been destructive to our deepest longings for deep and true intimacy. We know that an argument that only lasts a moment can have lasting effects for hours. For years, we have noted to each other that if we, with all our devotion to peace could not maintain a consistent peaceful life, how do we even hope to begin to teach peace and how do we begin to hold hope that the situations that exist around the world could possibly find peaceful resolutions to complicated and difficult problems? This has left us confounded but trusting that God would show us a way that we knew not. We had come to trust that the pain, learning and healing that was happening for us was both a personal and relationship purification at the deepest level, and that we were also learning important planetary principles that we would at some point be able to share with others. Through these years our compassion has deepened for how difficult these patterns of arguments and disagreements can be to break. We are in a process of writing more about this, but for now we would like to begin by sharing some of the ways we are finding that has been such a blessing in our life.

What we are learning to practice is:

*At the first moment that we become aware of some expression of lack of respect, love, or kindness in how we are being with each other - we have committed to stop, to breathe - and to take some moments, often with eyes closed, to re-center ourselves in inner ‘prayer’. Trusting that in God and through love, a way can be found through.

* In these moments of quiet and prayer, to be willing to re-center ourselves in love and be willing to let go of all that is not love. To trust that in this deep listening we can be led by our higher selves and by God to a more whole response.

* To speak to each other from this more surrendered place - slowing things down, listening and speaking, orienting ourselves to trusting this God-centered process - and to see what emerges that is more than what either of us might have expected.

This has been so beautiful. After we have released the difficulty, we have been able to simply begin again and in a simple moment come to an understanding of what the other was truly saying and thus find a way to meet the needs of the moment. Whether it is a compromise, an apology or a needing to go more deeply into our life with God and ask what the highest need for this moment is - we have consistently been able to live more peacefully.

This practice has been a deep blessing in our life. We have felt our love and trust deepening quickly. We have found that we have more time, rather than less time and in the union of our commitment to this our trust of each other and our trust of ourselves has grown. This has been a deep healing and gift. As we are practicing this between us, we are seeing how it is affecting those around us. Our closest friends can feel a palpable difference in the love we emanate between us. In our work, we have been able to hold a deeper compassion and trust for this journey. We deeply trust that as we continue to deepen our practice, the gifts will continue to unfold in unseen ways.

We offer this practice to each of you to share with those around you. It is of course most effective when two people can consciously commit to this healing journey. But if you are in a relationship with a parent, child, co-worker, friend or anyone - they do not have to join you, in order for this to work. It takes two to fight and if one of you has a deep commitment to peace, then there can be no fight.

The same principles apply, even if it is only one holding the light of peace. When the other person seems committed to fighting you can simply explain your commitment to peace, your desire to take a moment and find peace and centeredness within yourself and your willingness to continue the discussion once you have taken a moment for peace. Of course sometimes this is not easy with another and then there has to be a willingness to let go for a period of time and return at another time when it is possible to communicate with love, respect and peace. Trusting God that what truly needs to be spoken, healed or resolved will find its way to being addressed in God’s timing. This principle can also be used with couples who despite their best intentions, have found themselves in the middle of a difficulty. The moment one of you awakens to the awareness that a fight has begun, then it takes only one to stop the argument. Often at that point, it is important to separate for a period of time. Each of you taking your space to recover, heal, and be willing to be open, loving and listen to the other.

We deeply hope that this practice will deepen your experiences of peace, love and light in your life. We have been in awe and gratitude for what has been possible as we have committed to this healing journey. Please know that you do not have to do this perfectly for it to work. The most important part of this journey is your love and compassion for yourself and those around you. When you falter, begin again. It is not about doing this perfectly, but about committing to a life of peace, and learning and trusting that as your own healing deepens you will begin to feel the changes in your life. And as we each commit to this path of peace, we will begin to see how the world truly becomes a more peaceful planet.

With much love and blessings, Robert and Michaela

The long journey through time causes the outer
self to believe in its smallness
rather than in the largeness of its own being.

If your past identity has become too small,
let yourself expand.
Be without walls and let the whole world
become your dwelling place.

Calendar of Awakening - Day 28
~Julie Redstone~

What does it mean to be a human being? How can we create a life of peace and harmony that respects each individual, our planet Earth and all its inhabitants? These are the core questions we are facing today. How we answer them will guide our thoughts, intentions, and actions - and that will either create more love in the world or add to the difficulties that exist.

Last month in our Newsletter we wrote that the Gulf Oil Spill was both an enormous crisis and tragedy, and an opportunity for mankind. The oceans are essential to our life here on Earth. Yet we generally treat the oceans as ‘the other’ - a thing to be used, to serve what we think of as our needs - rather than as the sacred vessel of waters sustaining life, balancing energy, creating rain, and providing sustenance for all life.

This way of acting in disregard for the oceans and the planet must change - if we are to ensure the stability of the web of life upon which all beings on earth depend. We are facing seemingly difficult choices - if we continue to respond to these needs and crises in the old ways, we will continue to do great damage to the planet and its inhabitants. We are currently seeing the photos from the Gulf Coast. The pelicans covered in oil, the oil covered beaches. What we are not seeing is all the unseen damage. How this oil and the dispersants are affecting life in the deep ocean waters. We know this a crisis for the sea turtles. They are on the endangered species list, and because of this every turtle counts. This oil crisis has affected them as well as numerous other species. We may not know the effects of this spill for many years. Will we take this lesson and learn from it? There have been numerous major oil spills and countless smaller spills around the world.  When will it be enough? When will we begin to see the damage we are doing and be willing to do something different. This is the choice we are now facing. We are facing it in large political, economic and environmental ways and we are facing it in the smaller everyday choices we are each making. Both the large and the small choices matter. All intentions, prayers, thoughts and actions are part of the interconnectedness of humanity.

Not all of us will have the opportunity to have dramatic effects on the current world crises and needs, yet we all the chance to do more than we can imagine. In the words of Robert Kennedy - “Let no one be discouraged by the belief there is nothing one man or woman can do against the enormous arrays of the worlds ills…..Few will have the greatness to bend history itself; but each of us can work to change a small portion of these events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation….” Let this be an encouragement. For as we each take seriously the impact of our everyday choices, we will begin to see in small and larger ways the great good we can do.

We can tend to be like horses wearing blinders. We need to take the blinders off and awaken to the fullness of what is true, and open our creativity and willingness. There are many people in our world - who have alternative ideas and visions for a sustainable and beautiful future. We need to commit to supporting these ideas, individuals, groups, endeavors. But in order to do so, each of us also needs to commit to ourselves. We must believe in our own capacities to bring the new into being in our lives and in the lives of those around us. As we open to this, we will begin to open to the amazing creativity and beauty that exists in each of us. From this place new possibilities for choices can open, in ways that we might have never thought possible. We are in a time of new possibilities. Sometimes these can be hard to feel, but if we allow the space within ourselves to open to the new, to nourish the new - we will find our lives evolving in surprising ways. We have been witness to amazing changes in some of our clients, and friend’s lives. Problems that have felt insurmountable and intractable have suddenly given way to whole new ways of being. This is the promise of the future.

As we align ourselves with God, our higher truth, the greater good of the universe - new avenues of possibility begin to open up. From this place we can support and encourage the creativity of others - we can support and encourage the process of Creation unfolding through us, in our everyday lives. This is the kind of change within us, and from us, that creates the foundation for a new consciousness, through which the path the new earth will unfold.

From this level of consciousness, the choices we make will be informed in new and completely different ways. New technologies will be created, because we will have a new basis and consciousness for informing our decision making. Decisions that impact the lives of others will be made on the basis of Love and our interconnectedness. We will not continue to do things that cause harm, because we will see and feel the impact of our choices. Both on a personal and a planetary level, we are being given the opportunity to make clearer choices. We are at the threshold of a new future. We are being given magnificent support by God and the Realms of Light to assist humanity to reach for a new consciousness of unity, and of love. Now we can begin to leave behind the time of fear, mistrust and separation.

This is the gifts of this time - the opportunity to see our choices more clearly. The doors are opening so that we can begin to have deeper experiences of our spiritual reality. As the truth of our interconnectedness with All is revealed to us more, we have choice as to what we align with. Whether we reach toward the greater truth of who we are - or whether we will choose to stay small, fearful and closed in. Each of us has the capacity to help one another, uphold one another, in aligning with our higher selves, our higher being, God. In this way we help bring to Earth the Light of the Divine, and participate in the healing of ourselves and all beings.

We can choose this awakening, trust in it - even if it is unfamiliar. Our hearts know the way.

With Love and Blessings,

Michaela and Robert

Namaste

Divine life flows through you at all times,
Giving your life purpose and meaning.

Your outer self may lose track of this purpose,
yet it remains in what you hold to be of greatest value.

Calendar of Awakening - Day 2
~Julie Redstone~

Everything is an opportunity for our consciousness to awaken.

The situation in the Gulf of Mexico is tragic - in the loss of lives of people who worked on the oil rig, the effects the oil spill on the lives and economies of the people in that entire region, and in environmental devastation and even the very survival of species that live in and depend on the seas, the wetlands, or shores.

It is a tragedy for All.

It is the worst oil spill in the history of our country. There are many millions of gallons of oil in the sea. Where it will end up, what it will effect is unknown at this time.  The long-term consequences are unknown on many levels, including not only the visible but the invisible effects - of chemical dispersants used to sink the oil, of oil disrupting the basis of the food chain, of plants and animals dying in untold numbers and places we will never see.  How many species will be irrevocably harmed by this event? How many lives and livelihoods will be affected by this? It is a rent to the fabric of the ecology, the fabric of the life on which we depend, of which we are part.  It hurts the heart to bear witness to this calamity to our sacred Earth.  So many are looking at this event - knowing something is wrong, out of balance, yet feel helpless to know how to hold or understand this moment in time.

Julie Redstone has written a beautiful and compelling Newsletter: “The Meaning of the Gulf Oil Spill - A Message For Our Time“.  We hope this can be a support for you in this time.

The Earth cries out for our awakening, to change how we are living on the Earth in our consciousness and in our ways of living.  Earlier this week we participated in a combined Response of Light / One World Meditation to help bring light and healing to the situation on the Gulf Coast. Prior to and after the meditation, the sense of this being a great wound to the Earth was talked about. There was a desire expressed amongst us to stop the flow of oil that spills like blood from the body of the Earth.  As of the time of this writing, there are the ongoing efforts to find technical solutions to the problem, and stop the flow of oil.  We hope and pray this is the beginning step of a solution, so that the well is safely and permanently capped and the immediate ongoing peril is stemmed.  However quickly or slowly it will take to end this part of the crisis, this would be only the beginning.  The clean-up and healing of this event will be extensive and will be ongoing for years.  This  is another time that we are called upon to hold a situation in our hearts and prayers long after the news reports change focus.   It will be an opportunity for each of us to hold those people in need with us - and to hold the suffering of the Earth and her creatures with us - and not lose track of their need.

As we hold in our hearts the ongoing pain of this environmental disaster, we can also know that all that is not in alignment with Divine life, will come to the surface for healing.  Such events can happen more in this time - as greater spiritual light comes into the world in our time.  We become more aware that what we do to the Earth, we do to ourselves - for we are part of the Earth, we are part of Her life. And so the pain of this event, and the ongoing call to stay conscious of the need to live in harmony with the earth, becomes a doorway through which we can change, and bring healing to ourselves and to the Earth.  We can choose to begin to live in greater harmony with the spiritual-physical reality of which we are part.

Let us awaken to the cry, the necessity, the call of changing how we live, to be in right balance to the earth and all it’s inhabitants.  We can change -  in our daily practices of respect for the earth by redefining what we ‘need’, and taking less - reducing, reusing, recycling - and rejoicing in doing so.  We can change at the level of government and business - visioning, committing together, and developing new policies and practices in harmony with Earth.

It will take all of us to make the shift - from the place of willingness within ourselves, and love for the earth and each other. A new time on the Earth is beckoning to us.  We each have something to contribute at this time.  Let us awaken to what is possible for us each to offer.  Whether it is deepening our commitment to recycling, carpooling, using less….whatever it may be.  Let us each believe in the power we have to make a difference.  During these challenging times, we can often feel lost in hopelessness, despair, or anger.  We may feel overwhelmed by the daily needs of our personal lives, or feel numb to our own dreams and inherent capacity to love and make a difference.

It is time now - to awaken to our own soul’s potential.  To remember that we are all interconnected and that we are meant to live with one another in peace and harmony.  To do no harm to the Earth, our fellow human beings, and all it’s inhabitants.  Think of John Lennon’s song “Imagine”.  When many of us hear this song, it awakens an ache for a more just and peaceful world.  This is our world.  We can live with one another with love and cooperation. We simply need to remember to be our essential selves.  We need to only walk through that door, and resist the temptations to slip back into numbness or disregard for the real need of the Earth and all her beings - including ourselves.  Let us begin to have the courage to each awaken to what is ours to do to help create a more sacred world.

We can chart a new course.  We can choose to only use and develop  technologies that are in harmony with the natural rhythms of the earth.  We can choose to “do no harm”.   Or, we can choose to ignore the lessons or only partially learn them - and continue on the old course  of doing great harm to the earth and ourselves.

The starting place for change, is to let what happens to the earth and all her beings, matter.  For this to become an essential part of us, from which we live our lives.  Then our choices will reflect the harmony with the earth that we need, and seek.  To choose a new course, there must be a faith in something else, something greater. Faith that it is possible.  Faith in something that has more love, integrity and goodness than the path we have been on.  It is the path of God, of harmony with the sacred, of living on the basis of our connection with all of one another, and the Universe of which we are part.

As each of us begins to awaken to who we are - and begins to live that more fully - we create pathways of harmony through which the sources of conflicts and the violations in the world can be changed and healed.  Ultimately each of us is born in this time to bring the gifts of our souls forward - to be part of the healing for all. And so we can ask ourselves again ~

What is most important?

What do I truly need, and what do I need to give?

How can I be part of the Oneness of All, as a Citizen of the Planet, a Child of the Earth, a Being of Light?

What can I do, to be that, to live that?  To believe in, and awaken to, the spiritual reality that lives within me - that I AM part of something that is greater than me, but that also IS me.

Each of us carries seeds of hope and promise - the seeds of our souls truth.  Look for what is deepest within you.  Find your heart’s response to this situation in the world.   Follow where it leads.

- - - - -

At this time we offer you some resources to support you during this time of awakening and transition to a new consciousness.  It is important to take the time to nourish and grow our spiritual life, so that when we start to feel more hopeless or despairing, we have another place of spiritual truth to return to. Below are some resources that support this transition to deeper experiences of love and unity.

There is a new calendar created by Julie, our spiritual teacher, to help support the new light and awakening that is becoming possible for each of us: Calendar of Awakening .

Additional beautiful resources include:

Light Omega Videos

One World Meditations

Response of Light

With love and blessings,

Michaela and Robert

~Julie Redstone ~
From the sacred Light Omega video
“I Am All“

We live in a time of emerging consciousness that we are interconnected and interdependent, and part of the greater Oneness of all life. This can be seen, felt and experienced in many ways – and from this awareness, all things can change and will change. As each of us comes to know this more and more, we will come to realize that anything and everything we do is truly important. We are beginning to live with the understanding that we are responsible to and dependent upon the Whole of which we are part. To know that our choices matter – that who we are and what we do affects the Whole of things – is to begin to claim the essence of who we are as spiritual beings in the living breathing physical world.

The indicators of our interconnectedness and common unity are becoming ever more apparent to many. We are more aware of our impact on the earth: the climate and the atmosphere, the oceans, lands of the earth and all species. We can witness the effects of greed and financial overreaching on the stability of world economies. It is more possible to feel the reality of people’s experiences around the world through technology, and can respond and communicate more effectively with others in the global village. We are repeatedly feeling the impacts of war and killing on people in many parts of world, and many of our hearts ache and pray for the coming of peace for our sisters and brothers and children. We are all One Heart – and each of our hearts is part of its rhythm. Unity can be found in the yearning for what we know to be right, true, and good – for all to live in peace and harmony. It can be found in the stirring of consciousness of how everything affects everything, and our responsibility toward that. Even if we don’t know the ways to get there - to solve the problems of the world and live in peace and unity and balance with the earth - the growing bonds that connect us are leading us toward the unity of consciousness through which the world will rise to a new state of being.

Each of us makes a difference - not only in the practical choices that we make day to day. We make a difference through the consciousness that we choose to bring to life. Every time we do something that is motivated by love for God, for another person, or for the Earth, we create ripples in the consciousness of humanity – the One consciousness of which we are all part. When we offer ourselves in love, we send out a signal to the spiritual universe, to humanity, and to the earth. This love affects the Whole. Our consciousness, founded in love, sends out signals like the scents of flowers and trees that flow invisibly in the air and awaken us to the springtime of new life. Each of us has the capacity as souls to send ripples of love out to the world, simply by being in the world with the consciousness of love. Every thought and action that is centered in love, changes us, and calls to others because of the consciousness from which it springs. It calls to awaken to life… to the life that is possible that is based in love. This consciousness says:

“come, awaken to life. come, see what is possible.
come, there is new life beginning. it is in me, and it is in you.
breathe it in. believe it in. trust in the new day. take new steps.
express who you are. know who you are.
feel what you are part of.”

When we give, share, love, take care of, we also receive through that giving. Many people will often say that their most joyful or meaningful moments were ones of giving, loving, sharing. And yet we don’t always live that way. Because of the fear of not having what we believe we need, we may at times take without regard for consequence, or keep for ourselves when others have greater need, or ignore the needs of the planet on which we live. Out of fear, we may feel we are alone and then make the mistake of thinking we need to take care of ourselves – by ourselves. In doing so, we cause harm, for we are part of the ‘whole’ from which we take. And then the results of our actions – or ‘karma’ – comes into play so that we can begin to learn to choose another way. And that different path would be one of trusting that God is with us – around, within, and beyond all at once. And from that place we can begin to learn to trust, more deeply, that we do not need to take for ourselves, in order to be provided for what we truly need.

Many of us already have had direct experiences of these of spiritual truths. As we grow, as we learn to respond to difficult situations with compassion for ourselves and for others and trust in God – rather than acting out fear or other emotions - all benefit. We can allow this knowing to grow as our way. We can seek it, choose it, and become it.

The Oneness of all that Is, God in Every Being, the Unity of Consciousness of the Cosmos - is real and present all the time. Anytime we find ourselves thinking that we are separate – from others, from life, from ourselves, from God – we are in a kind of amnesia about who we really are. We are spiritual beings. We may not think that, feel that, believe that, or act as if that’s true much or most of the time. Many of us tend to go through so-called “physical” reality of our day to day lives, unaware of how much is really going on within us, around us, between us. Unaware of the vast potential for becoming that awaits our love and nourishment. And then in moments, we tap into it – we share a moment of openness with another person, witness a child’s delight, comfort someone we love, feel the beauty of a flower or the trees - we touch the mystery of Being that is God….by many names, beyond words. The more we become aware of the universe that is inside us, and the universes of possibilities that we can share between us…. the more we know our connection with the Oneness of life. And that draws us together, as individuals and as a planet.

It is our birthright, our calling, our responsibility – and it is grace - to become conscious of the dimensions of life within and around us. The world is calling us to become aware of what this time on earth is asking of us – what we can wake up to, and what we need to wake up from. We are being called to wake up from the illusion that we are separate and can live without affecting one another. We are being called to recognize that we are responsible to one another and to the earth. We are being invited to feel the Oneness of all that we are part of. We are being invited and called to steward the Earth, and love one another, with the awareness that all life can be tended to with sacredness and love. We are being called into our hearts – to allow the fears that separate us from God and from one another to dissolve. What remains is our soul’s pure expression of love, expressed in billions of ways by billions of people around the world, joining together to uphold life and one another, and this sacred Earth upon and through which we live.

- - - - - - -

What are some ways you feel called? What are you awakening to? What are the ‘tugs’ on your consciousness of awakening? What ‘scents’ are in the air for you? And what expression, or love, or exploration, do you feel called to that you are following - or forgetting to follow? Where is your life calling you that you are aware of, and to what extent do you follow? What are the reasons you give yourself for not? Seek ways to anchor yourself in your spiritual life, to align with what is most true, whole, and holy. Seek to find within you the breath of spiritual life. Cherish what you feel most deeply in your soul. And to the extent that something feels missing, of connection with the deepest sense of who you are…. seek it. Pray for it.

We are continuing to meditate/pray on behalf of all, on Wednesday evenings through One World Meditations. All can participate from the quiet of their own homes, and can also join us via a Skype phone connection. Feel free to contact us or One World Meditations for more information.

With all love and blessings,

Robert and Michaela

To sustain hope, we must believe in ourselves -
not in the smaller self, but in the
larger self that knows that life is sacred.

~ Julie Redstone ~
From the Light Omega video “Hope”

True hope comes from knowing that we are each a sacred being - a child of God. From this knowing, all problems take their proper place in the whole of our life. This does not mean that suffering does not exist, but we hold suffering in the greater consciousness of our larger self. For our larger self is part of the Self that is God. In this knowing, there is nothing that we go through that is separate from God.

Hope is the presence and promise of God within All that Is, including each of us, all of life, all of Creation. As each of us awakens to the truth of the divine within ourselves, and begins to truly know who we are, we will begin to have an understanding of hope. As we come to know the truth of our divine selves, we come to know and see it in all of life. Experiencing the sacredness of life, and the truth of our interconnectedness, is the basis for true hope.

We are in the beginning of a new time for humanity. Now is a time of awakening to the truth of God’s love and light. It is a time of experiencing the truth of God’s loving reality here on Earth. It is becoming more possible for each of us to have a deeper connection with our souls - our true selves. As the Light becomes stronger we each have more opportunities to begin to experience our sacred nature.

While preparing for this month’s Newsletter we discussed the many concerns in the world that are touching our hearts. In our lives and communities there are challenging situations each of us may face. In the larger world there is the ongoing situation of great need in Haiti, the increasing conflicts in America, ongoing strife within and between nations, and the endangerment of species on earth. The need for hope around the world is great.

We have not treated life, each other and the earth as sacred. This has disheartened many. But we can choose something different now. The need for hope and the need for understanding how to sustain true hope is great. In these times, we are being led by God ‘by a way we know not’ into a time of greater Light on the Earth. More is possible now, so seek hope - choose hope.

Finding and Sustaining Hope

How do we sustain hope? For many of us hope is hard to find, hard to believe in. We have lost hope at times because we have not approached each other and life as sacred and precious. We get caught in the ordinary, in our stresses or worries, and lose track of the miracle and beauty of life. In order to nurture hope we can begin by paying attention to the small miracles that are present in life - but first we need to choose to see them. We begin by paying attention to love, to allowing ourselves to let go of thinking that we are alone with the things that concern us. When we find ourselves despairing, hopeless, depressed - we have a choice to do that which would nourish hope within us. For some that can mean meditation, prayer, a walk in the woods, looking at a sleeping baby. For some it might mean reaching out to make a real connection. For others, it is simply being willing to hope for something, and let that matter. Each person has their own keys to liberate hope.

Hope is a precious gem. We all have moments of feeling the blessings of optimism, joy, hope, when good thing happen in our lives. But when something difficult happens, we can fall into feeling as if hope doesn’t apply to us. It can seem as if the current difficulties we find ourselves in are all that there is. This is not so. But in these moments we have lost track of our connection with our true selves, with our connection to God and the Oneness of life. As we each begin to learn to choose hope, we help create pathways to alleviate suffering for others, pathways of love and light that others can walk because we have walked it. We do this by offering love, and we do this for the collective whole. Because we are part of the Oneness of all that is, our hope touches the whole of all consciousness. All our actions, and thoughts, have an affect. Each time we choose hope and love - we choose it for all of humanity.

To find meaning and purpose in times of difficulty, we need to feel connected with our larger self that knows more than just what we may experience of our struggles and problems. In times of challenge, we need to seek our larger self - that is connected with and part of God and the Oneness of all that is. Through the practice of remembering that we truly are spiritual beings - the Practice of Being a Sacred Human - we become one with our larger purpose, one with God and all Creation. In this way, pain and suffering is only a portion of our experience, but is not fundamentally who we are. We are each magnificent Beings of Light - pure children of God learning to live together as embodied human beings. As we remember this truth of our being, we can then hold our suffering in the greater context. “Hope Springs Eternal” from God - and from each of us.

It is important to notice when hope is missing, and to do what we can to nourish the hope that is within each of us. As we do this we bring God’s love and beauty to ourselves and to the world.

We invite you to take a moment and watch this beautiful video called “Hope” created by our beloved spiritual teacher Julie Redstone.

We also encourage you visit the lightomega12 youtube page, for other beautiful and sacred video messages.

Bloom Where you are Planted

Robert and I often feel that in our work, those that we are serving are often teachers to us. Recently, I met a new client. Her circumstances were very difficult and she was very burdened by her concerns. She and I shared a lovely connection and on my third meeting with her - she looked transformed. When I saw her in the waiting room, she looked like she had shed at least a dozen years and great burdens had been lifted from her. As we began talking she was sharing the profound gifts that had happened in her life this past week. She felt that these gifts had come to her because she had returned to her basic value of sharing whatever she had to share. Whether it was sharing part of a small meal she had prepared with a hungry friend, or offering advice to a young person in her life who was struggling - she said she had decided she would “bloom where she was planted”. I was so moved by the beauty of her words.

So our question to each of us is: how can we bloom where we are planted? What would we do if we allowed hope to be real? How would that change our individual lives and the lives of those around us. To bloom where we are planted - to trust the goodness of our own lives, no matter what the external situations look like. This is a transformative, life changing possibility. If we truly lived like this, how would it change our lives and the lives of all humanity.

In our ongoing prayers to bring love and hope and spiritual sustenance to people around the world and for the Earth - through the Oneness of which we are all part with God and the Higher Realms - we invite each of you to join us for One World Meditations [Wednesdays at 8:30-9PM (EDT), 5:30-6PM (PDT), 12:30AM (GMT); secondary meditation times on Thursdays.]

With love and blessings, hope and prayers for all beings,
Michaela and Robert

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.
Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
~ Margaret Mead ~

At this time in the United States, we are facing a crisis of new proportions. The schism that has been forming around health care and other issues puts at risk the unity of common values we depend on to function effectively as a democracy. It is not only a political issue, but a moral and spiritual crisis. There is an urgent need in for us to re-center as a nation in the principles through which this country was founded.

In response to the urgency of this time in America, One World Meditations and our spiritual teacher Julie Redstone has invited people to join us in meditative prayer on behalf of America. One World Meditations are held Wednesdays at 8:30-9PM (EDT), 5:30-6PM (PDT), 12:30AM (GMT).  (There is a secondary meditation time on Thursday if the Wednesday time is not possible for you.)  You can participate from your own home or from wherever you may be.
Please join us on behalf of the spirit and heart of America.

_ _ _

Every country has its own unique spiritual gifts and purposes. Just as each individual is meant to bring their unique gifts to the world, each country has its own purposes and gifts. One of our purposes of the United States of America is to be a beacon of hope that people can live in peace and freedom with one another, honoring the sacredness of each individual, while learning to live peacefully together in unity. This is expressed in the sacred motto of the seal of the United States: E Pluribus Unum - Out of Many, One.

These spiritual principles are sacred gifts. In our history, we have only partially been able to live these beautiful truths. It is now vitally important that we each awaken to the spirit of what is ours to uphold as Americans, to live more faithfully on the basis of this nation’s founding principles of respect and trust for one another. America need this from each of us. However, to the extent that we collectively act on the basis of fear, mistrust, separation, greed, disrespect, or indifference, we participate in weakening that which holds us together as a nation.

We are in a serious time of increasing divisions between political groups. These divisions can be seen most clearly around the healthcare issue, where some fear an overreaching of government, and some are alarmed at the consequences of an insufficient heathcare bill. Increasingly one side or the other has been acting as if the other could not be trusted, and has resorted to tactics that undermine the basic respect upon which a functioning democracy is built. When we treat another as if they were an enemy, or when we justify tactics of distortion and manipulation, we weaken the fabric of trust between us. When we listen to each other with basic trust that each person is expressing, to the best of their ability, what they feel is best for America - then respectful communication can begin to guide us to create legislation that is the interest of America as a whole.

It may seem far from possible at this time, that love, peace, harmony and cooperation can prevail given how divided the current situation seems. Yet this is a time to believe that we each can make a difference. When consciousness begins to shift in a new and positive direction, even amongst a small number of people, it opens the door for others to follow. This is how change  happens. It is important to trust that peace will prevail, and that by adding our voice, our hearts and our prayers we can begin to make a difference. Because of the current level of distrust that is growing in this country - now is a crucial time to join together our hearts and our prayers to lead America forward - into the direction of respect and trust, and the willingness to work together.

We have written in previous Newsletters about the great difference each of our prayers, love and intentions make. At this moment we are each needed to help. We are inviting each of you to join us in a important and sacred meditation on Wednesday evenings. One World Meditations was created in late 2007 to create a global meditative effort based in light to assist God and the Realms of Light in bringing more light and love to the earth.   When we each join our love and prayers with others in this way, we strengthen the lines of light that can come to the earth, and the lines of light between us. At this time, there is a great need for us to join our prayers with others around the world for this purpose.

If you feel called to this, it is important that we pray for our government and for our people, so that we can help shift the collective consciousness in this country, to help create more respect and unity. We each have examples in our personal lives with loved ones, where strong disagreements have seemed unresolvable, but then through our love we look for ways to respect and cooperate with one another. We resolve our differences, because love and commitment to one another are far more important than our differences. We see the beauty of love to heal the wounds, and we move forward together.

These same principles can be applied to the current division in our country. At this time we each have a choice. We can choose to believe in the power of God’s love and light to bring about the needed changes. We can choose to align with God’s truth and be willing to help in whatever way we feel called to help.

We have choices, and we each make a difference.

We hope that you will join us, in the prayers of your heart for America, and for the world.

With love and blessings,
Robert and Michaela

We send our love and prayers that the suffering of the people of Haiti may be eased.
May they know that we stand with them, holding them in our hearts.

It has been over a month since the Haiti earthquake.  On Friday Haiti held a day of mourning.  Many people around the world have been deeply affected by the events there in the past month.  Robert and I also have been holding the people of Haiti deeply with us in our hearts and prayers.  We started to write this Newsletter three weeks ago about our response to Haiti, but the words weren’t flowing in ways that would carry the meaning of what was in our heart.  So we have been waiting, aligning with God’s love, learning to more deeply trust that when the time was right we would send this next Newsletter, and praying in the meantime that our love and prayers would be used for the highest purposes.

During this time of waiting, we have become more aware that this time has been purposeful.  We have been learning to trust more in the higher wisdom that guides the timing of all things - letting go of trying to make things happen, and surrendering. The higher priority is listening deeply, until we could experience more of the flow of truth in God moving through us.   In this way we reach to deepen our experience that all is held in God, and understand that the timing of events is a great mystery that is often indiscernible to us.

Learning to follow the flow of God’s timing is part of our learning together at this time on the earth, and is an important aspect of Alignment.  The act of placing God at the center of our life is Alignment - ‘aligning’ our choices with the Divine.  The practice of alignment is the center of how we co-create with God, learning to trust God in all things.  Through alignment with the Divine we come to find what is truly ours to do.  When we align with God, we align in the deepest sense with who we are.  Humanity is meant to live this way, in harmony and alignment with God.

For a deeper understanding of this sacred process, below is an article written by our spiritual teacher, Julie Redstone, about the practice and principles of purification and alignment.

http://www.lightomega.org/Ind/Pure/Practice-of-Purification-Alignment.html

~

The people of Haiti have been suffering for over a month now.  Most of us have read news stories and heard reports, and yet the day to day living for the people of Haiti is hard to imagine.  We do know the situation in Haiti remains very extreme.  Most of the poorest people in Haiti do not have consistent food and water, a safe place to sleep, proper sanitary conditions.  There is increasing disease, and risk of contracting disease, and also the prospect of lack of adequate shelter for the upcoming rainy season.   It is a country that has suffered from extreme poverty for many years.  Prior to the earthquake, over 75% of the people of Haiti lived on less that $2 a day, and over half of Haitians lived on less than $1 a day.

The people of Haiti need us to stand with them, now and into the future.  Our task is to discern within ourselves and with God what is ours to do, and follow where this leads us.   It is also important at this time, to redefine ‘doing’.  Prayer is doing, loving is doing, holding others in our hearts and thoughts is doing. This a new idea for many of us.   Prayer/meditation truly affects people and situations in the world, and is an active way of helping.  At this time, through the principles of alignment we can each ask ourselves what is ours to do – holding in mind this new definition of “doing”.  Listed below are some of the ways that we can each offer support and comfort to those that are suffering.
1.  Prayers of the Heart - Trusting that our prayers make a difference

Prayers can be silent whispers from our hearts, or formal prayers, or the ache of our heart that reaches to those who suffer.  There is no one way to pray, and no right way to pray.  All we need to do is be willing to offer ourselves with the intention of the prayer of our hearts.   God does the rest.  When we pray we become avenues for God’s light and love to manifest more fully in the world.  Our prayers are a partnership with God, helping bring goodness and hope to the earth and to those who suffer.   As we come to understand that we are all One, and act on that basis, we help create bridges of comfort and sustenance for others.  Physically there may be distance, but in the Oneness of which we are part, there is no distance between us.   When we hold others in our thoughts and prayers - we truly hold them with love and comfort, much as we would physically comfort a loved one who is near.  It is important at this time that we begin to know that our thoughts and prayers on behalf of others make a difference.

We wrote in the January Special Newsletter about a new way of joining together in meditative prayer, in response to crises that affect large groups of people or nations: “Response of Light”.  This is a growing network of light to hold the world in the prayers of our hearts.  Its purpose is help us join together with the spiritual Universe in sending love, light, comfort, and hope to those to those in need. There have been two times of collective meditative prayer for Haiti to date.  There is third time of meditative prayer for Haiti on Friday February 19 - 8-8:30PM (EST), 5-5:30PM (PST), 1-1:30AM (GMT).   We welcome you to join us. www.responseoflight.com
2.  Valuing our Inner Calling - Trusting that we each have unique gifts to give to the world.

Every human being has something they are meant to offer the world.  These gifts are like seeds waiting for the time to be right, waiting for our own love and for God’s nourishment and light.  We can find our way to what we are called to, through how we feel inspired.  Inspiration can be large or small.  The path is through our hearts – through what moves us, what creates joy in us, what brings us a sense of purpose and aliveness.  In learning to trust and follow our inner inspiration, we are moving with the flow of the Divine in our lives.  Following inspiration can take courage, commitment and openness, because often inspiration does not lead us on an ‘ordinary’ path.  Listening to and following the voice of the Divine inside each of us may not make ‘logical’ sense to others in our lives.  This is just fine.  We all know numerous stories of remarkable people who have followed ‘the path not taken’ and from this place create beautiful and extraordinary things.   Each of us has our own unique inspirations.  As each of us awakens to our own inner purpose, and aligns with inner truth, we become more able to discern what is ours to do.  As the flower unfurls its blossoms, so will the world begins to blossom - as we each open our hearts and minds to offering what is ours to create and to give.
3.  Seeking Truth – Asking the questions of consciousness

At this time it is important to ask some of the difficult questions.  A dear friend of ours wrote a letter about the building codes in Haiti. He wrote that even the aid agencies that have gone in to help Haiti through these years did not build to appropriate building codes that would have been strong enough to limit some of the extreme devastation.  We have to ask ourselves why.  If we were building these schools and buildings for our own families and children, we would want them to be safe.  What circumstances and rationalizations influenced these choices?   What different choices could have been made?  What choices can be made going forward from here?  These are not comfortable or easy questions, but it is time to ask them.  In each of our own lives, we may know the places where we have lowered our standards for some reason or another.  In some instances we lose track of what is right, and justify choices based on a temporary expediency.  Yet there is such a high cost to this.  It is time to be willing to ask the questions of consciousness - to face what is difficult to see, and then also learn to change, and forgive.
4.  Living as One Human Family – Seeking to know the Oneness of All Humanity

Most of us have grown up identifying as a member of a family, or a community, or a culture.   We grow close with those around us and through these bonds of love and caring we give and receive, we share joy, and we support each other in times of sorrow.  This love is profound and beautiful.  And yet, we as humanity are at the beginning of a still greater, more inclusive love.  As our hearts grow and we deepen our own personal experience of living as One Human Family - we begin to find ourselves naturally extending ourselves to others around the earth.  We begin to feel close to those whom we have never met.  To the extent we allow and nourish this, we are becoming planetary citizens, linked through love and compassion with all people.  Our spiritual capacity to identify with others, and the change in our consciousness that comes from this, is transformative.   By experiencing the Oneness by which we are all connected, each of us is changed.  Our personal lives become universal lives.  Our awareness of others and our love is withheld from none.
5.  Commitment to Service – Love without end

We all know intuitively that in order for Haiti - and other places in the world where there is great need to truly heal - long-term commitment is needed.  Yet for so many of us, our attention spans have been short.  When something truly tragic has happened, our hearts have awakened to the great needs before us - we feel the call, and the need to respond.  Yet time passes, and our own lives continue.  We have our own complications, demands and needs – and in this we can often lose track of the needs of the many who are suffering.  We get caught up in our own preoccupations, and lose touch with the truth of our interconnectedness.  We may often forget that our love makes a difference and is needed by those who are suffering.  If our immediate families had a great need, most likely we would stay attentive, until the need had more fully passed.

As we grow in our ability to trust that we are held in God – that we are not alone with the things that concern us - we will find more room within ourselves to respond to the needs of others.  Our preoccupations become less urgent when we know that we are cared for, through our caring for others.  And with each thought, each prayer of the heart, each act of service toward one another, we are contributing to a new foundation of love in the world.  This is the beginning of a new way of being.  As our commitment in this way grows, within ourselves and within nations, a new economy of giving and service evolves that is the foundation upon which nations will rebuild, and is central to the way the world will begin to thrive in peace.  The beginnings of this are within us every day.  Each of us can take steps to help bring this into being through our thoughts, prayers, and actions.

~

We create goodness in the world, one gesture at a time.  Responding to life with tenderness, we are in God’s flow - we are part of God’s goodness in the world.  Allowing the suffering of others to be real to us, and responding with our hearts with God, we open new possibilities for helping others. And we, in turn, are changed.

The crisis in Haiti is a deep and resonating call to our humanity.  To the extent we commit to the path of love and generosity, our response to the people of Haiti can become a template for helping others - for the future for humanity.

We are One World.  We are just beginning to come to know this.

May we grow in love and consciousness with one another, through caring, love and generosity.

We include a link to a deeply moving video, Haiti Rising, created by our spiritual teacher, Julie Redstone.  It is a beautiful testimony of holding the people of Haiti in our hearts, and opening doors to the healing that can emerge out of tragedy.  We can be part of creating and sustaining a new time of promise for a people, through the strength of our love and commitment to those in need - in Haiti, and elsewhere in the world.

Again, we invite you to join us in meditative prayer for Haiti, from wherever you are, this Friday February 19 -  www.responseoflight.com .

With love and blessings,
Robert and Michaela

Dear Friends,

We are sending this special message to those of you who are receiving the Avenues of Peace Newsletter. Like so many people around the world, we are deeply affected by the recent events in Haiti. So many us want to be able to help, to give in some way. For most, one of the first responses is to offer money, supplies, and even some wishes to join others in the relief effort in Haiti.

So many times in these days we have felt and heard words about “holding the people of Haiti in our prayers”. This is often a natural response of our hearts to such need. Yet many of us can feel our prayers are not nearly enough - are so small in contrast to the great needs. Yet this is not the deepest truth. Within our spiritual community we gathered together last Friday evening to join our hearts, prayers and love - to offer comfort, support, hope, light and ease to the people of Haiti. The sitting was so beautiful and profound. It was a profound experience of the power of our prayers/our meditations. Please see our blog entry for a more full sharing of this evening.

In response to the situation in Haiti, there is a new spiritual resource ~ Response of Light ~ initiated and offered by our spiritual teacher, Julie Redstone.  (see www.responseoflight.com ).   It is a way of rapidly responding to events in the world, by joining together through spiritual alignment and meditative prayer, to send spiritual help and healing to those in great need.

This Friday January 22 at 8pm EST, there will be meditation/prayer time - “Holding the Light for Haiti”. You can participate in this through your heart, wherever you are.

Please feel free to contact us if you have questions or want more information. There is also more information available at - www.responseoflight.com . Please share this message and/or the website with anyone who you feel may wish to join us.

With love and blessings, Robert and Michaela

A spiritual presentation, meditation and discussion. The focus of our time will be peace within our hearts, in our personal relationships, and peace in the world.

Led by Michaela DeAngelis and Robert McIlwain.

Forbes Library, 20 West St., Northampton, MA
Free/donations accepted
Handicap accessible

for more information:
(413) 253-8839

~ honoring Martin Luther King Jr. week ~