My Valentine's to U(niverse)

My Valentine's to U(niverse) ©2015 Joan M. Newcomb

Nothing like writing an article about Valentine's day on Friday the 13th...
When I was trying to come up with a catchy title for this article, I thought about doing an anagram on the word love. Evol sounds more like 'evil' than evolve.  It just goes to show that this is a planet of dichotomies.  The physical realm is the opposite of who we really are as Consciousness.  Or is it?

I've written a fair amount on Love, and just did a great Conscious Conversations radio show on the topic. I've experienced falling in love, being in love, loving pets, people, places and things, Love directly with Source.

I think the first time I fully felt the impact of unconditional Love with another human being was when I looked into the eyes of my newborn son. It was a being-to-being opening to something greater in the Universe. Just thinking about that moments shifts me to that infinite connection.

Universal Love

What I notice, when dropping down into that heart connection, is that the world becomes brighter and more clearly in-focus. I truly sense the essential life connection in every surrounding atom and molecule.

As I write about this now, it reminds me of when my mother died. The world became brighter in that same way, as if her life-essence had directly transferred into all the surrounding atoms and molecules.

I know that this world is created from Love, that Consciousness *is* Love, and that is the essential energy behind all of manifestation. I just never realized the link between these experiences, my first direct experience of birth and my first direct experience of death, and Love.

Now, my relationship with my firstborn hasn't been all hearts and flowers. There have been some extremely painful challenges. I had dysfunctional family patterns come up and at times I was a terrible parent. There are things I'll be making amends to him for the rest of our lives. And, there is, inside, a deep, intense, ever-lasting and unconditional Love for this kid (for both my kids), that is the being-to-being connection that transcends the storyline and personalities involved.

Similarly, my relationship with my mother wasn't perfect, although I never resented her not protecting me or not being stronger. The last two years of her life, caretaking her as she had Alzheimer's and cancer, was incredibly difficult.  It aged me physically, took it's toll on my business, and contributed to losing my house. And, the bigger and more important thing, it was an act of Love to midwife her back to Spirit.

With both my kids, I noticed a buildup of Love just prior to their conception.  It was the Being coming into focus in preparation to incarnate into form.

Consciousness *is* Love.  You, as Essence, *are* Consciousness.  YOU are Love.  No matter what is going on in the story of your life, You are Love.  The lifeforce energy that creates and inhabits all matter, is Love.

Imagine bringing your full force of Awareness into your form, imagine your energy coming back from all areas of attention, past, future, all dimensions.Then, from within your space, imagine you radiating Love outwards.

Spend Valentine's Day weekend emanating Love.  Any areas you feel are lacking, imbue them with Love.

Try this for the next 7 days and see how your life unfolds!

Dissolving Depression

Dissolving Depression ©2015 Joan M. Newcomb

For many people, February is a tough month.  In the northern hemisphere, Winter is dragging on, and the lack of warmth and sunshine has been taking it's toll.  The holidays are over, although Valentine's Day is coming up, which brings up relationship issues.  And many of us are mourning losses.  People seem to pass during the holidays, the "veil" is thinner, we feel and miss our deceased loved ones more.

Depression is a soggy, wet, blanket, blocking our body/personality's awareness and receptivity to Us as Consciousness.  When you are under it, you feel powerless.  People, places, things have more control over your reality than you do.

I struggled with depression from the time I was twelve until I was thirty-five. When I left my first marriage, I was suicidally depressed. As a single parent, I made decisions which resulted in 'staying small' and living in poverty, so I wouldn't tip over the edge.

During those years I tried a number of solutions.  I saw therapists,  I was given antidepressants, I went to support groups, and as an adult I medicated myself with St. John's Wort and Kava Kava.

What created the ultimate turnaround was noticing my thoughts.  I realized that I spent most of my day imaging myself talking to people about how terrible life was.  I started noticing when I was doing it (whenever I was driving, when I'd fall asleep at night) and I would figuratively grab my ears and redirect my thoughts.   I'd reframe it to all the good things that were happening, or set intentions for good things to happen!

It was challenging to do at first, but within two weeks I lifted out of that depression, that I hadn't known I was in, that had been going on for years.

Now, if you are deeply, darkly depressed, don't try to do this on your own.  Reach out, get help.  Depression affects (and is affected by) brain chemistry.  Although positive thinking rewires your brain, creates new neuropathways, you may need medical help to get to the point of treating yourself.

All of this is ground level stuff, body/personality issues.  It's the body/personality that feels depressed.  Consciousness is light.  Consciousness is always joyous.  YOU are Consciousness, therefore your Essential Self is always happy.

Your body/personality is how You experience life here on playground Earth.  When you're too bogged down in the mud, you feel disconnected to the Essence of who you really are.

Body/personalities are happier when You are in the driver's seat.  Meditation helps you clear, anchor and center, but if you're depressed or in emotional pain, it's impossible to sit still and focus.  I found walking and reciting affirmations helpful when I struggling.

Shift your perspective from being the body/personality, where things are happening to you, to being Consciousness, the Creator of your reality.

Notice I said 'creator' not 'controller'.  Controlling your reality implies an outside focus, trying to manipulate, change, or even keep your external reality the same.

We create our reality from within.  Our thoughts create our reality (you can think of them as projections, but I also find them energetic building blocks), but the impulses emanates from within.

Besides consciously changing your thoughts, here's a simple exercise for dissolving depression:
Part 1 is to imagine a Gold Sun above your head, bring it's sunlight into your body and surround yourself in a bubble of gold.  Part 2 is to imagine that same gold energy emanating from within you to outside you. Surround yourself with gold that generates from within.

You can visualize it as the color gold, or feel it as warm sunshine, or imagine it as solar energy to generate your system.

You can play with this in different ways.  You can imagine a gold grid dissolving depression patterns.   You can imagine this gold energy blessing your path.

Try this for the next 7 days and see what happens!