Freedom From The Invisible Prison

by Lucira Jane Nebelung

The Garden of Eden is a metaphor, a myth, and like all myths seeks to justify why things are as they are... only it's not a complete, unbiased story. There is another myth, that of Lilith, who was Adam's first wife. Here is a very brief version of the "full" story.

When "God" created Adam from dust, he also created Lilith, also from dust. As Adam's equal, Lilith refused to be submissive sexually (think missionary position) and in a rage left or was cast out of Eden, cursed. (The story lines differ.) Adam then asked "God" for another "helpmate" and Eve was created from Adam's rib. It was Eve who was tempted by the snake to eat the "forbidden fruit" of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and so they were cast out of Eden.

Here is a bit of perspective: This entire myth is embedded deep in the human psyche with the purpose to justify the patriarchal mindset of hierarchy with power over others and love as approval that permeates our global cultures. The knowledge of good and evil is a metaphor for our free will, to choose love or fear. We made love mean approval, generating all of our fears. This was the "Fall" of humankind or "Original Sin." The message we hold: Love is conditional, based on approved "conditions."

Hiding in Plain Sight

This one belief, love as approval, is the foundation of the perceived supremacy of the patriarchal mindset governing our culture and invisibly permeating all social structures and every aspect of our lives, including family, religion, government, education, and commerce. It generates hierarchy and expectations along with their need for control, submission and compliance. Love as approval is the root cause of all resentment, conflict, violence, competition, greed, addictions, and the use of force. It sets up the power dynamics of victim, rescuer and perpetrator and fears of betrayal, abandonment and annihilation. What we believe to be "love" is really approval, with attachments to expectations; it's of the mind, not the heart.

Myths are archetypes that we live every day and the myth of Eden is no different. We leave Eden every time choose love as approval and its fear.

Love as approval has us living to please and comply with others' expectations, cuts us off from our own hearts and the Love of Self. Love as approval sets up the consciousness of separation. We look to others, see them as objects, an external source that provides emotional and physical security and support. The myth has been perpetuated from generation to generation for eons and continues even today. When we individually and collectively condemn the inequities and oppression we see elsewhere, we do the same thing; theirs is perhaps more blatant, ours more subtle, but it's there.

Any and all creation requires both masculine and feminine energies (not gender). We can call this Will and Love. We have taken "will" to mean "The Father's" Will - love as approval by the patriarchy. This denies and distorts the feminine energy of Love which is open, allowing, accepting, receptive, surrender, and passionate. Love (the feminine energy found in our hearts) births all creation, even in our denial of its presence.

Bottom-line, approval is judgment; if we approve we can just as easily disapprove. Love never judges. We were given "free will" as a gift of human consciousness; an innate freedom to choose. Perhaps what is meant by "Will" is really "Truth": "God's Will" is to live the Truth that we are spirit in matter; that we ARE Love. The union of Truth (masculine energy) and Love (feminine energy) within becomes Wisdom in action, the source of all creation. You might say that Love is The Mother of All.

We have taken this so far that most spiritual teachings and practices until recently have been rooted in the same patriarchal mindset: Transcendence or reaching for (think erection) Truth (mind) by complying with rules and following prescribed rituals. We have not paid much attention to the embodiment of Love (the feminine) within our hearts. Transcendence without embodiment is unsustainable.

We have reached a point that the world we have constructed without the conscious embodiment of Love is no longer sustainable; implosion is imminent. We are witnessing the collapse of love as approval in all of our conflicts and chaos. The patriarchal mindset simply denies the Truth of Love, the heart, while proclaiming the love of truth, the narrow, limiting viewpoints of the mind. Love as approval is the ultimate "evil" - it blocks the flow of both Love and Truth.

True Freedom

Today, the USA celebrates Independence Day. Our Declaration of Independence proclaims:

* [ We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all (men) are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are, Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness ].

* Statue of Liberty Looks to an illuminated Open Heaven.

These are the three Universal Truths found in all spiritual traditions, Life - Oneness (Love), Liberty - Uniqueness (Truth) and Happiness - Free-will (Wisdom). Love as approval violates our uniqueness and free-will, our liberty and happiness. There is no hierarchy, no approval is required, we are all equal.

At an individual level, love as approval is our root cause addiction, it generates all other addictions. It blocks us from having compassion for ourselves in our imperfection and to seek to escape the pain of separation from our true nature as Truth and Love.

The Psychic Structures of the Superego within the framework of the Enneagram put forth by Russo and Hudson offer a way to see our personalized attachments to love as approval. We are loved, approved of, IF we:

• Do what is right.
• Are loved by others and are close to them.
• Are successful and others think well of us.
• Are true to ourselves.
• Know and have mastered something.
• Are responsible and do what is expected.
• Feel good and getting what we want.
• Are strong and in control of situations.
• Are at peace and others are at peace.

These are virtually impossible to live up to: Who is the judge? What is the standard? Seeking approval both within and from others crushes our freedom to be Loved.

Each of us is here to contribute a unique aspect of Love and Truth in a unique way. Integration, integrity, is living the Truth of Love and the Love of Truth, both transcendence and embodiment. It is the integration of our mind, heart, body and soul (or whatever word works for you). This is our Centerpoint for Being, the footing and foundation for Living the True Self. Deep in our psyche from the myth of Eden we hold the fear that Living the True Self will result in betrayal, abandonment and annihilation: the loss of love as approval. We are never free. Are you standing as Love and Truth or perpetuating love as approval? Our greatest legacy is the transmission of our unique energy of Love and whatever our consciousness of "love" is, is what we pass on.

Love is acceptance and appreciation of what is, never approval. We deeply desire to be appreciated and cherished just for who we are. Appreciation is the energy of Love. Vulnerability is our greatest strength of Self Love. We feel the desire for acceptance and appreciation - love. The desire for approval usurps our desire for love. We get the approval and it doesn't fill our underlying need for love in any kind of sustainable way. On this Independence Day just notice where you may be locked in the prison of approval in the freedom to be your Self or imprisoning someone else.

We, as a nation, have as our founding principles and have offered the world the blueprint to step free of our personal and collective nightmare of love as approval. Love created us and moves us. Invite Love to come alive within you. Freedom is alignment with Love and Truth. Step into your Freedom.

The Centerpoint for Being is what you came to stand for and contribute to Life, your Truth and Love, the Wisdom, Freedom and Independence from social conditioning and approval. It is the highest Vision for yourself; the unity of you with You. Living the True Self is your fulfillment and calls forth your innate wholeness into visibility. Take charge of your Life and embody transcendence. Dare to be vulnerable, open to Love and Truth. Let Freedom ring in your heart. Let this capture your focus and be Free.

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* Lucira Jane Nebelung, Founder & Principal of "Leading as Love", is a faculty member at The Graduate Institute. She writes from Connecticut, USA.

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Understanding The Concept Of Charity – Part 1

by Benson Agoha

 

How often have we heard it from friends that “Charity begins at home”.  I have heard so much about such statements in recent months, and each time, always felt a need to diverge.

Interacting with members of the public is, perhaps, one of the best ways to learn of, and potentially alter skewed perspectives - and there are lots out there.

During my field runs in recent weeks, I have been privileged to meet and chat with people of all races and creed, listening to them, answering their questions and attempting to, where necessary, shape their opinion.

This piece on Charity, part of my ‘Paradoxes Of Divergent Views’ series, has therefore, been motivated by that experience.

The Nature Of Charity:

Charity is the act of willfully extending benevolence to others, a conscious act and decision made by a willing heart, without expecting a reward. In this regard, it is safe to say that Charity is a one way act.

In fact it is its one-way nature that makes it unique and invaluable. And it is this nature that places an exclusive right of decision on the part of the giver.

Why Must We Show Charity:

When they say “Charity begins at home”, I disagree because, I believe it originates from the heart. And have consistently argued, and hopefully convinced some that, charity begins not from home, but from the heart.

Charity begins with the inward recognition of a need to show compassion to others – known or unknown. In this regard, charity does not start with the individuals who are shouting about their problems.

Everyone has a `problem’ of a sort, said a sage. But charity starts with those who play down their own problems, in other to extend compassion to, and help others.

And this explains why some people set aside an allocation for that purpose - without anyone actually having to ask.

Charity Decisions:

The question of whether or not to help an individual or group, though still personal, has over the years, been gradually made somewhat obligatory.

As society embraces charity for its positive contributions, leaders have managed to persuade Faithfuls that, assisting others is ‘ideal`, and ‘positively rewarding’. Never mind that, often times, fundraisers are hardly able to find the right answers, when confronted with such questions as “..what of me, who will help me?”

WHOM/How Much To Give:

Although some fundraisers put a `lowest’ benchmark on how much they expect from donors, it is the exception, rather than the rule and should be used only under specific situations, such as where the capacity and willingness of donors can be relatively ascertained.

Genuine charity should have no `lowest or highest benchmark’ and donors should only give according to their feeling, desires or willingness.

In a recent conversation with one person in Camberwell, I argued that donations should not be a matter of compulsion, and should only be made conveniently, by `willing hearts' and `able donors’. This way, the wheel of free-giving will not be clogged up.

Of course, as an exception, when caps are placed on charity donations by fundraisers, compensatory remarks of gratitude must be on hand to `nudge on' affected donors.

And as with how much to give, whom or where to give is also at the potential donor's discretion.

Donors can even make, and are at liberty to prescribe specific beneficiaries, or projects to which they desire their donations to be directed.

 

Will The Donation Be Used Well?

The question of whether fundraisers actually use the money well, is always difficult to answer, and not in the least helped by the fact that incessant reports of abuses by some fundraisers abound.

Unfortunately, some of the accusations are also peddled by those who do not understand fully the scale of a fundraiser's project. And so not all such claim are substantiated.

And big charity projects are sometimes, even executed through multi-agency co-operation, where each agency undertakes to be responsible for a segment of the project.

 

During my recent runs, I was faced with the argument that some charity workers abroad collect the monies at home and go there to `waste it' on big four-runners.

While this allegation maybe difficult to disprove, especially with no specific case pointed out, it is pertinent to state that the Jeeps might have, also been provided by a donor as their own contribution to the project. And the driver, might just have been a volunteer giving free time.

To continue reading click here [ Understanding The Concept of Charity Part 2 ].

Nigeria: Boko Haram, The `Nigerian Factor' Gone Too Far

by Benson Agoha

Boko Haram continues to pose a major security threat for Nigeria.

 

More than 200 girls are still missing after their kidnap by the terror group, two months ago, even though negotiators have been working hard to secure their release.

 

An Emir was shot dead two weeks ago after their convoy was target by Boko Haram. They were on their way to attend a funeral of another Emir - that of Shehu Abubakar, the Emir of Gombe.

 

Last week, Boko Haram reportedly raided another village and took 20 women - adding to thier already large female haul.

 

On Sunday June 8, the Director of Defence Information, Major General Chris Olukolade issued a press release in which he said the Army intercepted a female suicide bomber in Gombe state.

 

According to the statement the suicide bomber "had primed herself with improvised explosive devices concealed under her Hijjab" before she was stopped by troops acting on intelligence report.

 

The report said "a terrorist group was plotting to attack Barracks around Gombe, using female suicide bombers".

 

The was being searched when the bomb detonated, killing her and a military personal while wounding another.

 

Twenty four hours later, the Army Chief issued another press release announcing the death of 50 terrorists, killed after their planned raid on communities was frustrated.

 

The statement said, the troops "conducting anti-terrorists campaign in North-Eastern Nigeria have successfully averted attempted massive raid on villages in Borno and Adamawa States.."

 

Acting on intelligence, the troops halted the terrorists as they filed out of the forest around 10pm on Saturday June 7, 2014.

 

Items recovered from the gun-men included "30 rifles, 36 Hand Grenades, 7 Machine guns and 11 Rocket Propelled grenade tubes, 3,500 rounds of ammunition, 6 smoke grenade canisters, locally fabricated guns and 4 vehicles.

 

Four soldiers were reportedly wounded in the operation and were taken to the military hospital for treatment.

* Director of Defence Informationa: Major General Chris Olukolade.

This is no doubt the result of quality intelligence provided by Nigeria's local and international friends and sympathisers who rose to the challenge posed after the groups leader, Abubakar Shekau, threatened to sell the kidnapped school girls into slavery.

 

The fact that Boko Haram continues to harrass the country amidst negotiations proves the point that the group is insensitive to the hurt they have caused, not just to Nigerians, the children and their families about whom they evidently care very little, but also to the affront they unleashed on the international community.

 

The world agrees it can disagree on many things but are united in the condemnation of `slavery'. No one who has experienced it in its different ramifications - and we are not just talking about Africans - finds anything good about slavery and last week, the Queen's speech also highlighted it.

 

The primary motivitations of Boko Haram - to reverse civilisation, on the platform of some archaic belief that is not even religiously substantiable - is abhorable. And they have saught to make that mark.

 

From their numerous attacks on communities, the police, the army, the emirs, churches, and school children, the group has shown no regard for constituted authority or for the international community.

 

Boko Haram is the `Nigerian factor gone too far', but with the political and military might of her international alleys, Nigeria has a rare opportunity to now sort out, not just Boko Haram, but the ugly ritual incidence of sectional groups springing up to oppose the `incumbent' and make the country ungovernable simply because he is from `the other side' of the country.

* Culled from Woolwich Online...[WOOLWICH ONLINE ].

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* Benson Agoha is the founder of Woolwich Online.

* Follow me on Twitter:       @bensonagoha  or  @woolwichonline.

Make the Leap into Leading as Love Because "I'm Coming Out"

by Lucira Jane Nebelung

[ "The only way to make sense out of change and life is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance" ] ~ Alan Watts. ' I'm coming out I want the world to know Got to let it show... The time has come for me To break out of this shell I have to shout That I am coming out.'                                       - Dianna Ross The Disowned Pieces of My Soul, My Spirit, My Essence: I came into this life fully Realized. My path was to take on just about every emotional trauma our human life offers when we believe in separation from our True Self. I personally have experienced, expressed or received betrayal, abandonment, sexual abuse, addictions, worthlessness, despair, rejection, denial, arrogance, abuse of power, depression, rage, deceit, resentment, emptiness, loneliness, oppressive shame, guilt and doubt, and overwhelming anxiety and fear, just to name a few. It's taken a number of years to realize and accept that as a mirror, I see in the reflections both my own and others' subconscious, projected self-judgments and fears. I see others' shadows because these shadows are a part of my own experience. When I say what I see, illuminating the shadows, calling out where we fail to lead our lives, it is out of compassion. It is a catalyst that can break open entrenched trauma and beliefs, revealing the True Self. Turning on a light eliminates the shadows. For some, the ego will experience this as unjustified and harsh judgment. My gift is to see our Life experience through the eyes of Love, the heart and soul. There is no judgment. I cannot judge another because, while our circumstances are different, I too experience deep, deep pain. I bear a confluence of energies of Love to remember and rebirth the True Self. Over the years, it's been given to me as: I Am Lucira, the Bringer of the Power of Light. I Am Midwife. I Am Shaman of Shaman. I Am the Embodiment of Truth. I Am the Voice of Prophecy. I Am the Power of Love. I Am the Divine Feminine: Venus, Kali, Mary, Isis, Lilith, Magdalena, Diana, Ishtar, Nefertiti, Eris. I Am Mother of All. These energies serve to awaken the Divine Feminine within All of Us. I experience the wisdom, grace and joy of being wide open to the Love within us, flowing through and moving my thoughts words and actions. At times it is fierce and forceful like water from a fire hose or a massive storm, other times it is like a soft, gentle mist or breeze, still other times it is like rose petals carried in the desert wind, landing where they may. The notion that "feminine" and "love" is always gentle and kind, tender and soft is the patriarchal mind's view to engender self-judgment and fear that maintains power and control. Love always speaks Truth that opens our hearts and nurtures the emergence of our soul's full expression. As a small child, I felt this blissful, pulsing energy, the life force we all have. I had no idea what it was and no one to ask, or if I did ask, I don't remember doing so or the response. This energy "disappeared" from my awareness, suppressed as the experiences of societal conditioning and emotional traumas took over this life. As I released these distortions of Truth and embraced the unprocessed emotions and my True Self, the energy is once again front and center and flowing and holding me as a friend and lover. This energy is always Present, to accept or refuse. For the past 10+ years, this has been my secret shame and greatest denial. I resisted publicly owning who I Am and my Real Life experience, stifling the flow of the energy. This energy is not a commodity to be capitalized on and exploited; this is why my "business" has "failed." Needless to say, I am far from mainstream. I nurture the True Self. I accept that I am here, in this way, at this time, for a reason. I am grateful to Be and live this Radical Life - both on the fringe and focused within on the root cause of our human experience, the source of true freedom, strength, value, security, and support. Invitation to a Quantum Leap: Our Universal Purpose is Love. Our Universal Path is to re-member this. We are all part of the quantum field of energy. Quantum means that the way you see or observe something creates and changes that something including yourself and your life experience. Living the Gift of the quantum requires keeping focus on where you choose to go. A quantum leap is a change in perspective that is so powerful that it completely transforms your experience. Your Centerpoint for Being provides such a quantum leap. Your Centerpoint for Being brings into your awareness your unique Love, your unique Light. Your Centerpoint for Being opens you to a Life experience of the ocean of your Divine Essence in perfect balance and integration with your physical self and life. You've dipped your toe in now and again. Instead of a toe, come up to your ankles, then your knees, then your thighs, then your waist. Your Centerpoint for Being is the blueprint for building your bridge as you walk on it - Living the True Self - being with the ocean of your Divine Essence, of Love. A bridge can be built over this ocean, avoiding the experience of Love that is within; under this ocean, submerged and drowning in the pains of physical life. Building a bridge within allows you to both navigate and move with the ocean as it flows. The Centerpoint of Being balances and integrates body, mind, heart, and soul. Living the True Self brings You into the world, building your bridge as you walk on it. Together we shift the viewpoint about who You Are, giving language and focus to your Light in the quantum. This is an opportunity to know yourSelf and freely become what you are meant to Be. Come walk and dance with me to build your bridge as Life unfolds. The answer to How is Trust: Make the Leap into Leading as Love. "I'm Coming Out: Come Dance with Me!" -----------------------------<><><><><>-------------------------- * Lucira Jane Nebelung, Founder & Principal of "Leading as Love" and faculty member at The Graduate Institute, writes from Connecticut, USA. * Got a Story, News, Photos or Views to share? sent them to: onlinewoolwich@yahoo.co.uk. * Articles for publication must have full contact details, including name, addres and telephone number of sender. -----------------------------<><><><><>--------------------------

Manchester United: Why 'Off-load' Players When You Can Simply 'Implode' Their Ego

by Benson Agoha

Commenting on the current problems facing the Co-op Bank recently, James Ashton observed that what the Bank needed was a strong management. Mr. Ashton could not have said it simpler.

Yet, `strong management' can be relative, especially when considering social dynamics and the 'human factor' aspect of managing.

It is not without reason that, of the resources available to an organisation, human resources continue to retain the `most-difficult-to-manage' title.

The point of Manchester United Football club has become very interesting. Indeed, from the moment Sir Alex Ferguson named his successor, all eyes were on David Moyes. Will he, will he not? Could he, could he not?

Expectedly, the issue was rationalised and laid to rest after the argument that Moyes could not have been expected to win tropphies at Everton, where he was manager for 10 years.

Moyes achievement at Everton included sustaining their presence at the Premier League, but there has also been question of ambition. If he was there for so long, was he expecting and trying to win trophies or did some other underlying reason keep him there for so long?

It is my view that the recent suggestion or clamour that a mass offload of the players will produce positive changes next season is not true.

Actualy, I doubt this and on the contrary, do believe that if the statusquo remain unchanged at managerial level, rather than do better next season, United will continue to struggle, even with a flock of new players.

And it is neither because the players are weak nor that David Moyes is not good enough. The problem lies somewhere between. Here is why.

The majority of the players at Manchester United were signed on by Sir Alex Ferguson, including former Arsenal player Robin van Persie, who sustained his flame and performed under him, but has since tamed.

Spaniad and former dependable Chelsea player, Juan Mata was brought on by Moyes and performed in the first few matches, but he too appear to have cooled.

Notes to diagram:

a) As can be seen, the star represents the 'point of contact as wess as dependability'. It is the official interaction point at which the leader communicates with his subordinates.

b) The success of the group depends to a large extent on how well this interaction is executed.

c) Also it is worth mentioning that the slanting arrows show that both the leader and the subordinate are mutually dependable and inter-dependent. Neither can go it alone without the other.

The problem David Moyes faces at United is the same as any manager who has inherited, and is surrounded by several confident, equally high skilled professionals.

They know that the job can go on without you and often-times inwardly selfishly evaluate your performance, along the line of `I can do better than this one'. Let's see what makes him thick.

The problem is with how they perceive him, his style, his goals and ultimate ambition - after that, the players can blend in. It is in their interest so to do after playing together, successfully for so long.

On his part, David Moyes must prove to the players that, it was not just a favour that Sir Alex Ferguson did to him, but that has arrived to take charge in all its ramifications.

How a manager analyses the motivational needs of his surbordinates with a view to stoking it at the right time and letting it sag, if and when he must, provided it will not be a threat to overal output, is paramount.

It seems that, if he is not yet too late, David Moyes needs to develop and enforce a style of leadership that will make the team work for him, giving him the chance to earn or if necesary demand their respects.

Even Moses had to make the unavoidable declaration call - `Who Is On The Lord's Side?' This is why I argued that there is no humility in leadership. It is sometimes, a test of will - perhaps more often than not.

And to borrow a leaf from Desmond Morris, in times of need, the leader, or his surbordinates must be able to articulate workable solutions and be ready to subdue any form of insurrection.

Ego is often a set back to performance and despite his inate and material wealth, a surbordinate must be marginally 'stepped down' to accept whomoever is placed to play the role of a leader.

Chelsea is a ready example and people talk of Jose Morinho, under whom Chelsea has also suffered some embarrasing defeats. But Morinho maintains a posture that `no matter who you are, no matter what you have, no matter how we joke', I expect performance from you or else. Morinho achieved it because he has passed different tests.

But before Morinho, Rafael Benitez faced similar test during his interlude at Chelsea, so much that he had to confront the fans, telling them `you are not doing the club any favours', the resulting change in behaviour was almost instantaneous. Benitez went ahead to win silverware at Euro level.

United need to see Moyes present and retain a posture of an ambitious, confident manager who has not come to relieve Sir Alex Ferguson, but to achieve results and make a name for himself.

And thank goodness, Sir Alex Ferguson is off after committing to Harvard Business School. So all those fans who still expect his return, will have to cultivate the right attitude and help David Moyes take the club back to that level they all so relish.

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* Benson Agoha is the founder of Woolwich Online.

* Follow me on Twitter: @bensonagoha or @woolwichonline.

What is Your Commitment to Life?, Asks Lucira Jane Nebelung

Opinion: by Lucira Jane Nebelung.

For This I Have Come: The Courage to Be Vulnerable.

Not too many years ago a friend observing my life said to me, "Lj, I don't understand your path." Well, that made two of us... the unknown is unsettling and can be "traumatic." Comprehension is not required; being fully present to both our internal and external experience is. MAC thank you for this pre-sent invitation... I trust you are well.

Are We "Lost In Translation"?- In Lenten Contemplation, I pointed to some mixed messages in the interpretations of the life and death of Jeshua. One reader suggested that calling "Jesus" something other than "Jesus" was "distracting" and "why not call him by his recognized Christian name?" I responded that Jeshua (Yeshua in Hebrew - he was Jewish) spoke Aramaic and it was his given name in his language; Jesus is the Greek spelling/translation. I prefer the original.

Here is a bit more her-esy to add to the earlier observations of the mixed messages of Jeshua: Traditional translations of the Gospels say that during his crucifixion Jeshua said: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Another message of the futility of Love, that we are forsaken by "God." Since a child, this never made "sense" to me.

Through successive hand transcriptions of the original text and translations, translations from/to Greek, Latin and Aramaic, and pointed revisions of the text by various hierarchies that likely changed meaning, who knows what was really said. One translation directly from ancient Aramaic texts suggests he said: "For this I was spared", an Aramaic idiom meaning "This was my destiny."

In the agony of judgment, isolation and death, Jeshua chose Love, Christos, over fear. His "crucifixion" was the "death" of fear. For this he came: To show us our destiny. We forsake Love; Love never forsakes us.

That's the point. We each have interpretations and translations of perceptions and experience. From our points of view we continuously live a choice: love or fear. What do we choose as our identity; who and what do we choose to be? Our origin is love; our destiny is determined by our choices. We Are the Alpha and the Omega. We redeem ourselves by being who We Are, the resurrection of Love.

For This I Have Come: One's Path is a committed, intimate relationship with Life. In Living the True Self: Leading as Love, I described what I "do." It is not, however, what and who I Be. How do I know mySelf, the underlying essence of who I Am and what I bring forth? Lucira, my "original" name, means the Power of Light. This is the energy, the consciousness, this life bears.

On sabbatical, I was present to myself as mySelf and experienced the material and the subtle aspects of Life's energies, creation and the reality of Love without distortion or manipulation. Some days the energy was so intense, it seemed I could not function. I learned Love moved me effortlessly to be present with only what truly needed to be done to serve.

I struggled and resisted owning who I Am, attributing the profound Love I feel to someone or something outside of myself. It's the "mistake" we all make; believing there needs to be an "object" of Love. What we feel is our own Love, ourSelf, reflected in and by the "other."

I am here, now as a mirror of the heart and soul. From the Centerpoint for Being, my Path and Purpose is to simply stand for and reflect the Truth of who we are: Christos. Life in Service to Love; Love in Service to Life. This is my Commitment to Life.

I have deeply experienced and witnessed every fear, just about every miscreation known to humankind and brought them into conscious awareness. I know boundless joy and the infinite, eternal unity with Life that is Love. I know judgment, rejection, isolation and despair. I know heart-wrenching sorrow and grief.

I know freedom and liberation. I know the struggle of the prison of attachment, addiction and avoidance. I know betrayal, abandonment, inadequacy and worthlessness. I know abiding peace. I know physical pain, dis-ease and death. I know incessant doubt. I know the tricks, excuses, justifications, and deceptions our mind uses to avoid Being and to run from who We Are. I know the anger and rage of not being in control.

I know contentment with Life. All reflected to me as human experience to be embraced as the seeds of compassion. As aspects of the Divine Feminine, Mary, Isis, Lilith, Kali, Ishtar, Magdalena, I chose to feel humanity's pain of separation, to own its shadows and to transmute them into Light.

My Path has stripped away all surface markers and labels of identity to uncover an original Centerpoint for Being to live, restored to Know a place of belonging in relation to the infinite and to inhabit it. It is a Path of integrating duality, bridging of worlds, living grounded at both ends of the bridge as spirit and matter. Truth is each and every one of us is this bridge; through our own consciousness we bring spirit and matter into unity, heaven to earth, and integrate all the polarities that now separate us.

We Build the Bridge as We Walk on It: Life itself is Love, Living One Vibrational Energy. Life itself is Grace, a Gift, a Miracle, if we allow its presence and flow. One might think of retiring our operating system of fear as there can be no more updates. The practices of Living the True Self bring the operating system of Love fully online and functional.

You cannot get away from Being You. What you do not make peace with now, you will have to make peace with later. You do not have to understand, agree or approve of Life, only accept and allow you to be You, living in a whole-hearted way, as integrated wholeness. "Letting go" is really "allowing in" a gift offered that is beyond words and comprehension, and any needs, wants or desires of the ego-personality.

Love is the energy of creation. Being Love is an emptiness that is bursting with possibility.

Living the True Self as the Centerpoint for Being is the mastery of who You Are, your greatest freedom. It is what calls you, the focal point for the Love that you are, for what you came to Be. Life asks only that we be this True Self, to align and integrate our unconscious and conscious minds and actions with the supraconscious, the greater intelligence of Spirit, of the heart and soul. This is the one "change" that transforms everything.

Allowing Love's presence opens the heart to know itself as Love and one's own presence as Life's radiant gift. It's viral. When one opens one's own heart, Love spreads like a wildfire, jumping from heart to heart, igniting its flame.

I Am present as Love, Christos, so all who choose may attune to their own essence, their own unique Love. Only You Know what this is for you. Together we open a conduit to our inner nature, illuminate and call forth one another's Light, the movement of Love, this unity within. This wide-open space also illuminates limiting patterns, the subtle and ingrained beliefs that no longer serve. There is no place to go, nothing to "do"... we simply relax, allow and open into Being what we are, engaged with Life here and now.

Love evokes the Light that illuminates the mind and ignites the Sacred Hearts of humankind. What is Your Commitment to Life?

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* Lucira Jane Nebelung, Founder & Principal of "Leading as Love" and faculty member at The Graduate Institute, writes from Connecticut, USA.

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Social Conflict: Keeping The Peace Through Talk! Talk!! Talk!!!, Not War! War!! War!!!

by Benson Agoha

Achieving peace has been elusive for generations and as former US President, John F. Kennedy said "Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable."

MC Scott's 'Rome: The Art of War' showed graphically, how power tussles generated conflicts, created and exposed divided loyalties and led to wars that were very crudely and mercilessly fought.

As has been seen again and again, conflict is conflict no matter where it develops. And when it is a product of social dynamics, it often has the same effect, except it is properly managed.

Personal conflicts is a different issue because it exists and revolves within the individual based on his/her peculiar circumstances. In this sense, the process of resolution begins with self analysis and developing the capacity to brace one's self up and face realities.

Still, people can be cruel, even to themselves, and will not make the necessary reality check, when moderation and compromises could make a difference. But who has the right to judge others, really?

Do people show any willingness to understand us when we have rational reasons to cling to our beliefs, even if that translates to 'self-harming' meanness?

Conflicts in groups is such that, whether we like it or not, we often face some element of circumscription. We are reminded of the need to play by the rules, respect the norm, or be ready to face the consequences.

But facing the music can be brutishly applied. There again, the circumstance before a group, test's a leader's capacity to lead - in times of challenge and in times when the group faces adversity.

Oranisations are group's, made up of different implement-bearing personalities and an egg-head, with his litany of aids, to harness the various competences of these members and point them towards a certain goal.

But whether you are in a village group or an organisational settings, crude implements, selfishness, brutal methods or incursions into another's territory as well as hawkish ambitions often create similar ill-feeling and resentment.

For all its achievements, war never manages to solve problems, at least not on a sustainable basis. The reason is that, though it may suppress in the short term, it often leaves frayed nerves.

Overtime, mankind has learnt, and indeed has sought ways to ensure that conflicts, if they cannot be excluded from society, must at least be controlled - contained within rules that are generally recognised and respected.

But have we managed to achieve peace. No. Have we managed to articulate a solution. No. Are we likely to do that in the near future. Not yet. Because as Mahatma Gandhi "An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind."

The last question has been part of Prem Rewat's message as he traversed continents with his message of peace. Prem has a generous heart and a good message. But the world are just not listening - for the same reason as an individual experiencing internal conflict clings to his beliefs.

But far from his crude ways from generations past, humanity has made many gains. They have learnt to accept that arguments, itself a sign of conflict, do not always have to lead to war. And that efforts can be dispensed in search of peaceful solutions, when disagreements erupt up.

We have learnt that we can always agree to disagree or disagree to agree. If only this is acceptable to all and respected, we should be more positive with peaceful efforts.

But a simple model for peace appears to suggest that a search for mutual co-existence must include the following suggestions:

a) There must be rules that both lovers of conflicts, war mongers and lovers of peace, must be willing and ready to recognise and accept.

b) No matter what you preach, ensure that keeping the peace is your 'watchword'. This posture or mindset encourages avoidance of war and search for peace.

c) If you must fight, ensure you engage in winnable wars. Often times, this is either difficult because people are unable to appropriately analyse their competences or hope for some luck or intervention from higher planes.

d) If the conflict does not look good or the war appears unwinnable, you must know when and how to quit. This gives you the chance to retain an element of grace.

e) If you are already loosing, terribly under-eqquiped, under-tooled or under-manned, recognise when to abort, abdicate and or surrender.

f) Know when to avoid making unacceptable negotiations requests, except you clearly indicate an intension to surrender.

g) If you decide to surrender, expect to be disarmed and make it easier for yourself and members of your group.

h) When you have surrendered, disarmed or not, avoid making further troubles.

Above all, the search for peace must be through 'talk! talk!! talk!!!, not war! war!! war!!!'

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