Ilumine-Ao

I came across this excellent article by Marie Russell that I just had to share. What is going on in your external reality is a reflection of what is going on within you. The good thing is that there is something you can do about it. Read the article or even get my book ‘BEing The Titus Concept’.

For our best and highest good, all ways… In every moment.

Ilumine Ao, Al Diaz

I Don’t Care What They Say
by Marie T. Russell

How many times have you been hurt by what someone said about you? How many times have you doubted your self-worth because someone criticized you, either to your face or ‘behind your back’?

Why do we react with such self-doubt or indignation when someone criticizes us, or says negative things about us?

I find that our reaction reflects our negative and limiting beliefs about ourselves. If someone said something ‘bad’ about you and you knew completely within every cell of your body that it was untrue, it would not bother you. You would simply shrug it off and it would roll off of you like water on a duck’s back. The reason criticism upsets us is that we also, somehow, somewhere, deep within us believe it to be true — or at least we wonder if it might be true.

Now your mind (ego) may rebel at this thought. Of course you don’t believe such nasty things about yourself. But think back… How many times have you called yourself names when you made a mistake? Do you recall telling yourself how stupid you were? I know that on occasion when I have made an error, I would hear myself muttering ‘You’re such a idiot!’

So when someone says something ‘negative’ about you, use the opportunity to eradicate the same (or similar) belief you have about yourself or others. The other person’s opinion does not matter in itself. It may simply reflect whatever judgments and feelings they have about themselves. But that does not concern you. Your only concern need be with how their statement reflects sub-conscious beliefs you have about yourself.

What I feel we need to do when someone ‘badmouths’ us is to first look at our reactions. That is what matters here. Not what the person said, not why they said it, not what we can say in our defense. What is important is our reaction. Does it anger us? Does it hurt us?

If your reaction is one of anger or hurt, be aware that anger and hurt are the ego’s way of defending itself. So ask yourself, ‘Where in my past have I heard this statement about myself? What belief has my subconscious accepted about me? Where does this hurt come from? Who can this belief be traced back to? What belief do I carry that resonates with what this person has said about me?’

Whatever negative statements someone makes about you may connect to some deeply hidden feelings of guilt that you have. Only you can uproot those beliefs you have formed and accepted throughout the years.

Ask yourself again and make a list: ‘What are the things, even the tiny things, in my past or present that I feel guilty about?’ And then write whatever trivial thoughts come to mind. Do not judge the thoughts that come up. Write them down even if you think they’re stupid, silly, or inconsequential. It may be even some tiny thing like, “I took some candies from my friend when I was little and I pretended someone else stole them.” That small action may have translated in your belief system into something like ‘I am not trustworthy”, “I am greedy”, or “Friends can’t be trusted”.

In somewhat the same way, the thousands of commercials you have seen throughout the years of slim, sexy women (or men) may have translated into a belief that “I’m ugly if I’m not shaped like them.” Life’s experiences also form our beliefs. A divorce or relationship breaking up may have become a belief in being a failure and being undeserving of love.

Once you have your list of guilts, big and small, ask yourself and write down what belief you have formed from each one. You may be surprised at the results. Be willing to be 100% honest with yourself. The purpose is to look at the beliefs that you have formed throughout the years so you can transform them. Once you have the list of negative beliefs you have formed, then write the most positive belief you can think of to replace or reprogram each limiting belief.

Then really reflect and meditate on these lists. Look deep within and dig out any other beliefs and programs that are supporting those negative statements. Many times, these beliefs were implanted by parents, teachers, or siblings. We blindly accepted them as the truth, since they came from someone older and ‘wiser’ than us. Yet, it is time to acknowledge the real truth about ourselves and reject any beliefs that deny our true nature as children of the Light.

There is no need to create situations of unworthiness and unhappiness for ourselves. We can take every challenging experience as an opportunity to look within ourselves and clear out old limiting beliefs. Whatever we see ‘out there’ in the world is a reflection of what is ‘in there’ within our mind. If you see anger around you, ask yourself what you are angry about. If you see judgment and condemnation, look within and see how you also judge and condemn others (and yourself). It’s not about the other person. It’s about our own perspective and beliefs.

Dig deep, and you’ll find those belittling beliefs and attitudes — then pull out the ‘weeds’. You deserve to have a Garden of Eden within yourself and around you, not the weeds of judgment, disharmony, and self-condemnation. Love yourself and pull out the weeds, otherwise they may pop up at the most unexpected times and sabotage the most beautiful situations.

People often wonder why relationships start out so harmoniously and lovingly and then seem to sour as time goes by. A very simple explanation is that any relationship starts out with a clean slate. Then, as two people spend time with each other, each starts to become aware, consciously or subconsciously, of the other’s ‘weak points’ and negative beliefs. Any situation or belief that brings up low self-esteem and self-judgments in one partner will be felt by the other. After a time, the second person starts to believe these untruths as well. For example, the husband may feel he has a very wonderful wife. Yet, if she constantly is putting herself down for being sloppy, ugly, unlovable, etc., then eventually the mate also starts believing these things. Thus, the relationship starts deteriorating because of one person’s self-evaluation and judgments.

The partner’s attitude becomes a reflection of the self-hate and low self-esteem of the other. Beliefs become stronger when reflected in another’s eyes, and thus the “new reality” becomes stronger and can therefore destroy the beauty and love that was there at the beginning.

So, here again, the key is to dig up the limiting beliefs and eradicate them. They are poisonous and can poison relationships, job situations, and life itself. Take matters in your own hands, and only accept and nurture those beliefs that support your perfect health and happiness.

Just BE… read this great article by Osho.

For our best and highest good, all ways…
Ilumine Ao, Al Diaz

Greatest Fear of All

by Osho

The greatest fear in the world is of the opinions of others. And the moment you are unafraid of the crowd you are no longer a sheep, you become a lion. A great roar arises in your heart, the roar of freedom.

Buddha has actually called it the lion’s roar. When a man reaches an absolutely silent state he roars like a lion. For the first time he knows what freedom is because now there is no fear of anybody’s opinion. What people say does not matter. Whether they call you a saint or a sinner is immaterial; your whole and sole judge is God. And by ‘God’ a person is not meant at all, God simply means the whole universe.

It is not a question of having to face a person; you have to face the trees, the rivers, the mountains, the stars — the whole universe. And this is our universe, we are part of it. There is no need to be afraid of it, there is no need to hide anything from it. In fact, even if you try you cannot hide. The whole knows it already, the whole knows more about you than you know.

And the second point is even more significant; the second is, God has already judged. It is not something that is going to happen in the future, it has already happened: he has judged. So even the fear of that judgment withers away. It is not a question of some Judgment Day at the end. You need not tremble. The judgment day happened on the first day; the moment he created you he already judged you. He knows you, you are his creation. If something goes wrong with you he is responsible, not you. If you go astray he is responsible, not you. How can you be responsible? — you are not your own creation. If you paint and something goes wrong you cannot say that the painting is the cause of it — the painter is the cause.

So there is no need to be afraid of the crowd or of some imaginary god at the end of the world asking you what you have done and what you have not done. He has already judged — that is really significant — it has already happened so you are free. And the moment one knows that one is totally free to be oneself, life starts having a dynamic quality to it.

Fear creates fetters, freedom gives you wings.

FREEDOM GIVES YOU WINGS

I have been a misfit my whole life — in my family, in my religion, in my country — and I have enjoyed it all the way, because to be a misfit is to be an individual.

To fit with the existing established order is to lose your individuality. And that’s your whole world.

The moment you compromise and lose your individuality, you have lost everything. You have committed suicide. The people who fit in the world are people who have destroyed themselves.

Certainly it needs courage, a tremendously strong sense for freedom; otherwise, you cannot stand alone against the whole world. But to stand against the whole world is the beginning of such a great joy, rejoicing and blessing, that those who have never been misfits cannot understand it.

All the great names in the history of man were just misfits in their society. All the people who have contributed to the happiness of man and the beauty of the earth have been misfits. To be a misfit is a tremendously valuable quality.

Never compromise on any point. The very compromise is the beginning of your destruction.

I do not mean that you have to be stubborn; if you see something is right, go along with it. But the moment you realize that something is not right, then even if the whole world feels it is right, it is not right for you. And then stick to your position — that will give you stamina, strength, a certain integrity.

And to be a misfit does not mean to be an egoist. If you are an egoist, sooner or later you will compromise. When you find any group of people, any society, any country, which helps you to be more egoistic, you will immediately fit with that society. The real misfit is a humble man, that’s why nobody can absorb him. He is free because he is free of the ego.

My understanding is that only people of intelligence, individuality, are rejected. The people who are obedient, who have no individuality, no freedom of expression, never say no to anything, are always ready to say yes, even against their wills — these are the people who gain much respectability in the world. They become presidents, they become prime ministers, they are honored in every possible way, for the simple reason that they committed suicide. They are no longer living, they are simply fossilized. How can you fit living people into a certain pattern? Every individual is unique — why should he fit into another’s mold?

The whole misery of the world can be explained very simply: everybody has been cut, molded, arranged by others without their even bothering to find out what he was supposed to be by nature. They don’t give a chance to existence. From the very moment the child is born, they start spoiling him — with all good intentions, of course. No parent does it consciously, but he was conditioned in the same way. He repeats the same with his children; he knows nothing else.

The disobedient child is continuously condemned. The obedient child is, on the other hand, continuously praised. But have you heard of any obedient child having become world-famous in any dimension of creativity? Have you heard of any obedient child who has attained the Nobel prize for anything — literature, peace, science? The obedient child becomes just the common crowd.

I have lived continuously as a misfit everywhere, and I have enjoyed it, every inch of it, every drop of it. It is such a beautiful journey, to be just yourself.

FREEDOM FROM, FREEDOM FOR

Never think in terms of being free from; always think in terms of being free for. And the difference is vast, tremendously vast. Don’t think in terms of from — think for. Be free for God, be free for truth, but don’t think that you want to be free from the crowd, free from the church, free from this and that. You may be able to go far away one day, but you will never be free, never. It is going to be some sort of suppression.

Why are you so afraid of the crowd? … If the pull is there, then your fear simply shows your pull, your attraction. Wherever you go you will remain dominated by the crowd.

What I am saying is, just look at the facts of it — that there is no need to think in terms of the crowd. Just think in terms of your being. It can be dropped right now. You cannot be free if you struggle. You can drop it because there is no point in struggling.

The crowd is not the problem — you are the problem. The crowd is not pulling you — you are being pulled, not by somebody else but by your own unconscious conditioning. Always remember not to throw the responsibility somewhere on somebody else, because then you will never be free of it. Deep down it is your responsibility. Why should one be so much against the crowd? Poor crowd! Why should you be so much against it? Why do you carry such a wound?

The crowd cannot do anything unless you cooperate. So the question is of your cooperation. You can drop the cooperation just now, just like that. If you put any effort into it, then you will be in trouble. So do it instantly. It is just on the spur of the moment, of spontaneous understanding, if you can see the point that if you fight, you will be fighting a losing battle. In the very fighting you are emphasizing the crowd.

That’s what has happened to millions of people. Somebody wants to escape from women — in India they have done that for centuries. Then they become more and more engrossed in it. They want to get rid of sex, and their whole mind then becomes sexual; they think only of sex and nothing else. They fast, and they will not go to sleep; they will do this and that pranayama and yoga and a thousand and one things — all nonsense. The more they fight with sex the more they are enforcing it, the more they are concentrating on it. It becomes so significant, out of all proportion.

That is what has happened to Christian monasteries. They became so repressed, just afraid. The same can happen to you if you become afraid too much of the crowd. The crowd cannot do anything unless you cooperate, so it is a question of your alertness. Don’t cooperate!

This is my observation: that whatsoever happens to you, you are responsible. Nobody else is doing it to you. You wanted it to be done, so it has been done. Somebody exploits you because you wanted to be exploited. Somebody has put you into a prison because you wanted to be imprisoned. There must have been a certain search for it. Maybe you used to call it security. Your names may have been different, your labels may have been different, but you were hankering to be imprisoned because in a prison one is safe and there is no insecurity.

But don’t fight with the prison walls. Look inside. Find that hankering for security, and how the crowd can manipulate you. You must be asking for something from the crowd — recognition, honor, respect, respectability. If you ask them, you have to repay them. Then the crowd says, “Okay, we give you respect, and you give us your freedom.” It is a simple bargain. But the crowd has never done anything to you — it is basically you. So get out of your own way!

Shift the perception of the past (first step of The Titus Concept), BE fully aware of the power of each moment, and consciously create your future. That is how you have the Lifestyle that you desire or require. Read this great article by Marie T. Russell.

For our best and highest good, all ways…

Ilumine Ao, Al Diaz

Afraid of the Past?

by Marie T. Russell

Afraid of the past? Now that seems like a silly concept, doesn’t it? How can one be afraid of the past when it has already happened?

Yet when one looks closely at the fears we have for the future, we see they are often repetitions of old fears, or of things that have happened to us or to others in the past.

What is it you fear? Do you fear losing the one you love? Do you fear losing your job, your security?

Look back at your past and see… did you not once ‘lose’ someone or something you loved? Did you not feel that your security was ‘taken’ from you? Consequently, the fears that you hold for the future are a deep rooted trauma that the past will repeat itself.

You may even be fearing something that happened to someone else. That also is in the past, even if it is not directly your own.

We have all heard of self-fulfilling prophecies. As a matter of fact we live them every day and every moment of our lives. We prophecize failure, then we manifest it in some form, and the first words out of our mouth are ‘I knew this would happen’. We think we might get lost on the way to a place we have never been, so of course we do, and we comment ‘I ALWAYS get lost when I go to new places’. We are creating repeat performances of our past and fulfilling our ‘worst’ expectations.

Conversely, when we sincerely expect to succeed, we do. Some people say that we get what we ask for. I would say rather that we get what we expect, what we are willing to receive, and what we think we deserve.

We can stop expecting the worst. Our lives need not be a series of reruns. Each day can be a brand new show. You may have gone to bed feeling tired, but after a good night’s sleep, you wake up feeling refreshed.

In the same way, even though your past may have had ‘more than your share’ of trials and tribulations, you can let that go! So what if you felt your mother didn’t love you! So what if a previous lover left you! So what if you failed in the past! It is all in the past!

Today is a new day, and it can be a completely new start, if we treat it that way. Don’t goad yourself into a self-fulfilling prophecy of misery.

Arise each day with the attitude that this is a brand new day, a brand new life. It is more than turning a new page — it can be a complete new book.

Perhaps in an earlier novel of your life, you were always left with a broken heart. Write a new scenario for yourself. In this story, you are the self-confident, attractive, loving, and lovable heroine (or hero). You always get what you choose. You choose success, wonderful loving relationships, loving friends, a fulfilling job or career, etc.

You can change your script by changing your thoughts and becoming the person you want to be. Become the kind of person you would like around you. If you have been crying out for love, be more loving. Never mind the meticulous dissection of others’ relationship with you to see if by any chance, they are acting out one of your fears (rejecting you, abandoning you, lying to you, etc.).

Change your expectations, your thoughts. Stop expecting disappointments and let-downs at every corner. Start living each day joyously, like a child that always expects wondrous surprises, and finds them in little things like ant hills and blades of grass, or a smile and a kind word.

Be thankful for the good in your life. What you focus on gains importance and expands. So focus on a joyful expression of life. Be thankful for things we sometimes take for granted, like flowers, butterflies, sunshine, rain, a smiling face on the street, a roof over your head, food to eat, etc.

Let the face that smiles be yours because the world is a mirror. When you smile and put love in your heart, you see and feel it reflected all around you.

Don’t expect the world to change first. Start with yourself. Focus on the beauty in your life, however small you may feel it is.

Put a smile in your heart, however shaky that smile may be. Don’t be afraid of the past or of the future. Become a child again expecting that everyone that comes to you is bringing a gift.

Look for the beauty that is to be found in everyone and everything. That is the gift waiting for you. ‘Seek and ye shall find.’

Make sure you are seeking what you really desire. It is there waiting for you.

It’s up to you — the present is yours to discover.

Last week I took sometime off from deadlines and promotional work and  did some work around my home that took up most of the day to get it ready for a couple of big events.

A few months ago I had de-cluttered my home and I was amazed how much we had accumulated again. I was even asked if I was grumpy because others could tell I was a little annoyed of having to clear out my home again.

But it was worth doing, because as you get rid of what no longer serves you, you create a vacuum for something new to come in, and this happens at every level, physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual.

My book “BEing The Titus Concept” will guide you to melt away what no longer serves you and to receive what is for your best and highest good.
For OUR best and highest good, all ways… In every moment.

Ilumine Ao, Al Diaz

Continue the healing and empowerment… get “BEing The Titus Concept” on www.amazon.com

We you understand that we all are the essence of the Creator of all creation you have taken a big step to BE all that you can BE. Read this great article by Godwriter, Gloria Wendroff.

HEAVEN #3143 Everything in the Oneness of Creation, July 3, 2009

God said:

All the multitude that you believe exists in the world has a common denominator, and that is I. To all intents and purposes, as it is now, I also includes you, as if We are two. In Reality, We are One, and We, the Oneness encompass All, even as there is only I. Metaphorically, I say I have a seat for you beside Me, yet, more accurately, there is no beside Me. There is no outside Me. There is only I, this magnificent burst of light, this all-encompassing love, this simplicity that you make into a puzzle.

Everyone you fall in love with is yourself. Everyone you fall out of love with is yourself.
There is no one else here but you and I. More accurately, there is only I, yet you like exchange, and you have not yet quite fully discerned Me or you or however you would like to put it. You don’t yet fully accept Who You are.

You project yourself outside Me when, all along, you are within Me, not really within, really All of Me.

A part of you would like to be One with Me, and a part of you likes to hold on to the old ways which, after all, no matter how uncomfortable, seem like a cozy old bathrobe you are used to and do not quite want to part with. You may say you do want to part with it and meld into Oneness with Me, and yet you keep that old bathrobe as if your very life were dependent upon it.
In a sense, that is true. When you give up your old ideas, you also give up your previous identity. It was a false identity, beloveds, yet you waver about giving it up. You kind of like having this crumpled I.D. card in your pocket.

You are afraid of disappearing. You are afraid of stepping out of this old individual identity into your true Universal Identity. You are afraid of losing yourself, and so you lose yourself in the world of illusion. What a contradiction My children are. Ah, that is what makes you children. You haven’t decided yet the significance that you already are. You are a hunter who likes to hunt. You are a seeker who likes to seek.

Nevertheless, you are in the process of Self-Discovery, not the details of you, but the very Essence of you which, after all, is I. You are fearful that the new clothes I ask you to put on will be too big. You cannot believe that they fit you perfectly. All along, unbeknownst to you, you have been wearing the royal robes. You cannot quite believe it, and so you don’t see it. You hear Me, and yet you don’t quite hear.

You think you are a little car with a little tank. All the while, you are the gas station.
All the while you dash around the Universe, you are the Universe.

You take a jaunt to see the scenery and have not yet discerned that you are the scenery.
You are the Seer who sees, and yet you see amiss.

You think you are a straggler in a big parade, and yet neither straggler nor parade exists.
Oneness exists, and you, you, My beloveds, are Oneness. Oneness alone is.

Oneness is not lonely. Oneness doesn’t mean you are on a deserted island. You are the Source, beloveds. You are the Source you seemingly seek when there is nothing to seek and when you are Everything in the Oneness of Creation.

Welcome to My country.

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