Experience Is The Greatest Teacher

Over the last few days I have seen the challenges Hurricanes have brought to our brothers and sisters on this planet. I have also seen how the government, local agencies and residents have learned from the mistakes of the past. Many were evacuated out safely, there were extra facilities opened up to register people for transportation provided via bus, airplane and train. I even heard the story of a woman who had to leave her parakeet behind and a government worker said they would do their best to look after it. The pictures that were shown on my television were completely different to three years ago when Katrina hit.
Having family who lives in Louisiana, I am quite aware of how traumatic these storms can be. To be honest I was a little concerned about how everyone was going to be able to handle another challenge of this proportion. Knowing that our thoughts are powerful, I remembered to remain positive and send only energies of love. I was pleasantly surprised to see a complete turnaround in our system. Instead of chaos and confusion, there was what appeared to be a sense of organization and energy of being prepared for the worst, but hoping for the best.
It is still exhausting and overwhelming for the residents in those areas to have to deal with worries about whether or not their home will still be standing, or even when they will be able to go back home. Being displaced indefinitely is a strain on anyone. However, I am so grateful that the horrific mistakes of the past have not been repeated. We learned as a Nation to look back on our unfortunate circumstances and gain what we could from them. Perhaps mistakes aren’t only mistakes, they are also experiences that can allow us to gain greater wisdom so we can make better choices for now and the future.
I ask everyone to join me in sending prayers to all those involved in Katrina and Gustav. May they be surrounded by the Light and Love of ALL THAT IS, and return home safely.

Blessings,
Reverend Cherise Thorne

Nothing To Do, Nowhere To Go

All Roads Lead Us Home

As beings on the spiritual path of awakening, we often think of ourselves as souls created by God so we may return to God. But what if we were not just souls? That would imply that we are something else. And what on Earth could that be? Perhaps we are limited by earthly thinking that allows us only to see inside the usual boxes or frames of reference. We can see the body and that it is animated. We suppose, or have been taught by different religious traditions, that there is a Creator. Could we be something more—and not have been created at all? Could we simply be the Spirit that is all-pervasive? Is the main reason we think we are not something more because at the moment we inhabit lovely, often too heavy spacesuits made of flesh and nerves that convince us otherwise?
Considering questions such as these, I have come to the conclusion that I am already that which I am striving to be one with. For me, the notion that, in addition to my body, I am only my soul, would be a failure to recognize another vital part of what/who I have always been. My intuition informs me that I have always been Spirit (the ultimate is-ness, stillness, intelligence), purposeful and clever enough to create our Universe. I am already home. There is nowhere to go and nothing to do to be One.
You and I, and everything else, are the very Spirit that started the ball rolling from the beginning. In reality, we are the all-powerful energy that sustains our existence.
But how could I be perfection, stillness, all-present, all-knowing, all-powerful, eternal, and in control of it all? How could you be All That Is? How could we humans actually be great when we express so much weakness? How could we be perfect when there is so much violence? How can we be God when we feel so mortal? Listen to all that interference that the mind stirs up on the inside. Denying the truth requires much more energy, and is so much less fun and inspiring, than honoring our deepest truth.


Infinite Blessings,
Cherise Thorne
www.knowingspirit.org

Creation

THOUGHT IS CREATION

When I observe my creations
I observe my thoughts.

When I observe my actions
I observe my thoughts.

When I observe my life
I observe my thoughts.

As I observe my thoughts,
Truly observe my thoughts
I begin to heal my mind.

As I heal my mind
I begin to heal my soul.

Mind healed. Soul healed.
Fulfillment is achieved.

Soul freed from bondage of the mind
Nothingness and everythingness
Merge into One

No separation

No division

No distinction.

Simply BE-ing

ALL THAT IS.

And It Is So. And It Is So. And It Is So.

(copyright Angela Thorne, 03/31/08)

Truth, Is It Worth It?

Namaste,

The other day in meditation I had three things to ask ALL THAT IS. Something wells from within me, from my soul consciousness and I witness as it pours out to the Source. "What is the Truth?" "What does humanity have to do on a whole to uphold the Truth?" and "What do I need to do as an individual manifestation of the Source to ensure the Truth is being fulfilled?"
Sounds easy enough but before I can answer any of those answers I need to decide do I really want to know. An insistent soul can be ignored, as we are all painfully aware of. And I use the word pain intentionally here. I must decide if the "Truth" that my soul is seeking to become very certain of is worth the amount of change that will take place in my life. Once I know what this "Truth" is my perception will change, rapidly. My perception of ‘Life' is what is both creating my reality and allowing me to enjoy the people around me. Will a change in perception cause me to cease enjoying my family, my friends and my reality?
The challenge is...I'm not suffering, not anymore. I have had many difficulties along the way as we all have, but for the most part I've softened the bumps so the ride isn't so uncomfortable. In fact, it's downright enjoyable. How will my soul, obviously very keen on my becoming more aware of or conscious of the truth, change this very comfortable existence, and is it worth it?
I think this is the magic question most of us will have to ask sooner or later. In order for the "Truth" to present it self to us we must first decide whether or not we want it. Knowledge of the truth can change us from deep within and might even render us unrecognizable to even our closest family. Is this fear of change, fear of being different to what we are now, fear of losing our identity, our sense of self what is causing so many of us to avoid our own "Truth"?
Sometimes we fear what we know we need. Deep down below the surface thoughts that entertain our senses and entangle us in more ways that I can write about, there is a self that is quite aware, quite certain, quite capable of drawing to it, what it needs in order to be allowed to participate in this lifetime. And when you give this self an opportunity to be seen, heard and most importantly fulfilled, you have given your self all there is to really give; your awareness of the "Truth".

Only One
Only one God
Only one truth, only one light
Light dancing, healing
Shining brightly everywhere, nowhere
For there is only one light
Though you may see many reflections
Thinking there is separation
There is only you, there is only one
Expanding and expressing
Contracting and dynamic, luminous and free
Knowing that the journey is to see the
Only one light
That is shining brightly everywhere, nowhere
For there is only
One light, one love, one truth, one soul,
One God


Cherise Elizabeth Thorne
copyright 2000 Knowing Spirit All Rights Reserved

Our Natural Self

There seems to be much chaos and confusion in the world causing us stress, worry, doubt and anger. Sometimes we forget that our soul is here to grow and evolve and we identify more with our human nature than our spirit nature. As soon as we become conscious and aware of the Spirit self, we naturally become more peaceful and caring towards others. Why is this natural? Because the nature of Spirit is acceptance and love.
Spirit exists within everyone equally and will constantly urge the soul to become self-aware and fully conscious so that it can enjoy existence with others. What else could Spirit want when it is within everything equally? What could Spirit possibly not have? When the soul finally becomes conscious enough to know what it is - eternal love and acceptance - it experiences the bliss of Knowing Spirit. I believe we will all remember that our true nature is one of giving and loving.
When you help someone else and you give without conditions, or lend a helping hand you are really being your natural self. It means you are remembering who you are. Our natural self, Spirit, gives, loves and gives again. As more of humanity awakens to this loving self, the less chaos there will be.

Reverend Cherise Thorne

Appreciate Your Presence

Namaste,

Every moment is an opportunity to become aware of your self in a way that you may not have been aware of before. Here, when I say yourself, I mean more than just your personality. I am referring to your Spirit, your Divine Essence. What is your Divine Essence? It is what emanates from you that others would say defines you. For example, the Sun's Divine Essence is the light and heat that we take for granted. What radiates from you that you might be taking for granted? How is your life a blessing to others around you?
In order for anyone, or anything to exist, it must have within it the source, ALL THAT IS. We see this source differentiated in unique forms and individuations that sometimes cause us to forget that the source is what is allowing them to exist, it is the life force they use in order to exist and therefore, can not be separate from us, or any other part of life. The miracle is each Soul uses this life force differently. Each Soul because of the journey through time and space will cultivate very unique patterns of consciousness in order to deal with the challenges it experiences, but over time may become very conditioned and quite unconscious or even harmful. These patterns of consciousness are sometimes referred to as Karma in Eastern philosophies. My goal is to become as self-aware as possible and create life from a place of peaceful consciousness through healing those patterns so I can fully enjoy existence. Joy cannot be found in anything outside of you, we all know change is constant and all situations and circumstances will eventually end. The goal is not an end point. The goal that I am speaking about is to be conscious and aware of your soul's intent in each moment so you can fully experience the joys available. There is always another moment, the goal is the aim or desired result, not the final destination that we sometimes seek. This is not the end, instead when you see every moment as an opportunity to experience unclaimed joy, it is the beginning.
Once you are aware of your Spirit, it can only expand and increase, perhaps even contract at times, but it can never end. How do we attain this awareness of Spirit? Whatever you find joy in allows you to share your Divine Essence which leads you directly to Spirit. Sometimes we take our Essence for granted and we think we should be doing something else, perhaps something less enjoyable. But if the Sun were to question what it should be doing and forgot how much we rely on the heat and light even for a moment and sought to do something else, there would be chaos.
What do you take for granted about yourself that would leave the Universe empty if you chose not to share it? It takes every Soul to make up the whole. If one soul were to not exist there would be chaos for we would no longer be complete. Your existence is precious and your Essence is divine and necessary. Next time you look at the Sun try to remember your Essence and how much light and love you bring to this planet: Without it we would not be whole.

May you know much peace, love and joy all ways and in all ways.
Reverend Cherise Thorne
www.knowingspirit.org

The Divine Mother

I was able to expand my consciousness out to The Divine Mother yesterday for quite some time and enjoyed bathing in Her presence. Not only was I able to experience what it feels like to truly love everyone, I then personally experienced receiving this love. If we could all realize that there is a part of us that accepts everyone without hesitation, there is a part of us that sees only divinity and beauty, and that part of us can be accessed and brought into our daily activities, bliss would be common place and acts of hatred and war confusing. I thought I would share this moment I had so that others may have a greater understanding of the unconditional love that is available to us at anytime, in any place.


There is nothing you can do to change my love for you.
There is nowhere you can go to avoid my gaze.
There is no act that can prevent me from seeing your divinity.
There is no judgment that can keep you away from my heart's desire.
There is no one, there is no thing, there is no choice,
there is no ripple in time and space
that can cause me to love you any less than I do now.
I love you all dearly, I love the beggars, I love the choosers,
I love the victims,
I love the abusers, I love the robbers and I love the robbed,
I love everything there is about you.
There is not one aspect of your selves that I can find fault with.
There is no aspect of self that I can find fault with.
You are all beautiful, you are all divine,
you are all special and so very precious.
I can't stop loving you,
I can't stop loving you even though you may not want my presence,
even though you may not want my love,
even though you may not want to return home and
sit at your rightful place in the heavens.

I am, I do, and I will always love you.
I love every one of you equally,
I love every one of you equally.
And I love you no matter what.
There is no matter that affects my love for you.
But it is only a matter of time before we are one, again.
So I wait for you to remember who you are and why you are here.
I will wait forever, I will forever give my love to you.
I will forever be with you, I will forever be within you,
I will forever be amongst you,
I will forever be You.

And It Is So. And It Is So. And It Is So.

Reverend Cherise Thorne

Educate The Ego

In the end the only thing that counts is the relationship you have with your self. Everyone who is close to you now may or may not be close to you again. But, there is someone who you will always have to be accountable to and for, and that is your soul. Regardless of where you go and what pursuits you may engage in, your soul will be the one you answer to. That means at the end of the day when you face your self in the mirror there is no room for pretending, your soul knows exactly what you did, how you did it and whether or not you would like to admit it.
This is not a judgment moment we should be concerned about and avoid, yet some of us act as if we ignore the soul's needs and wants and disappointments it will eventually go away and leave us to fulfill our own selfish desires. The problem with that approach is the soul is the life force we are using to exist, if it goes away, we start to lose the light we are using to exist in the physical realm. That usually causes all kinds of problems too lengthy to discuss here. The dilemma here is the soul has an agenda and will go to great lengths to ensure the purpose of incarnation is being fulfilled. Those extremes can be quite painful for the personality to experience especially if it has done a great job at ignoring soul needs and duties.
What's an ego to do? It's caught between a rock and a hard place really. On one hand it wants to fulfill it's personality desires and on the other the soul wants to fulfill it's reason for incarnating. Tug of war can be tiring after a while, not to mention, time consuming. What is the solution to resolving this fight for the castle, speaking symbolically? Educate the ego so it can be aware enough to be able to perceive what it truly needs, wants and desires based on the consciousness of it's true self as opposed to the temporary conditioned self. Educating the ego can take many forms outside of the typical teacher student paradigm. ‘Educate' is derived from the latin word educare which means to lead or draw out. What are we trying to bring out of our selves, and why?
Within the soul there is great wisdom and power, untapped and sometimes untamed. By educating the ego you draw out your own latent light of consciousness that it needs in order to know it self as One with ALL THAT IS. If you don't seek to heal your ego and expand it out to the God Goddess Cosmic Consciousness what hope does the Soul have of going home? It is through the individual consciousness of the ego that the Soul will be given the opportunity to return to it's rightful place in the heavens.
That place is not located elsewhere in time and space, that place is here, where we are right now. I can dwell within the heavenly realms as I write this sentence and you can dwell within the heavenly realms as you read it. The choice is up to us, yet we have to nurture and nourish the sometimes bruised individual self and ego, bring out the celestial threads that surround it and allow it to exist. And by drawing out our Divine Essence we can live as the Illuminanti: Those who emanate conscious light from within, and know it.

Reverend Cherise Thorne
www.knowingspirit.org

Much Ado About Nothing

There is much to be said about saying nothing. I often wonder if I were to not speak at all would I in fact be saying more. Who we are while we are ‘doing' our lives is what is in the end expressed. I can talk about peace, preach about love and rant about equality for everyone yet if I am not being that which is peace, that which is love, that which is equal to all then I am not saying anything am I?

What I am saying is I like to hear my self saying all these admirable notions and concepts and inspirational thoughts of greatness. I like to hear those words being regurgitated out of my mouth and feel the sense of nobility that comes with such grand ideas. I like to feel the greatness that comes from saying great things.

However, there is no greatness in empty words expressed for the purpose of temporarily stroking the ego's need for admiration and respect from others. There is no greatness is shouting out to the heavens how great you are. There is only greatness in being that which knows greatness exists within everything.


Reverend Cherise Thorne
http://www.knowingspirit.org

Choices, A Path To Self-Awareness

With every choice you make, you give your self the opportunity to expand your awareness of self. The third dimension of contrast and duality is the sacred space where souls incarnate to know themselves so they may exist in this state of blissful knowingness eternally. This is the land of choice. My son relayed a message to my mother recently which I found very intriguing. He said "As long as you exist, you will always have to make choices". This land of contrast constantly calls us into action. In the world of nothingness, where there is no duality there need be no choices. But in the dimension where individuals exist, like spirit beings on earth, we will not be able to avoid making choices. It is a consequence of individuality. Choices maintain our independence and autonomy and allow us to be the creative principles in action.
We forgot as time went by in the world of contrast and become absorbed in the physical instead of using the material world as a vehicle for self-expression. It seems that it is the remembering that poses the greatest challenge. I was speaking the other day on how to remember you are divine Spirit while at work or in the midst of chaos. It's easy to be aware of our eternal selves sitting down in quiet meditation or listening to soft music. How do we maintain this awareness of our Soul self when we are busy working to pay our bills and take care of our kids?
I suggested that we remind ourselves in the same way we would if we were dealing with our workplace. I send my self e-mails to remind me about my appointment or deadlines that I would otherwise forget. We started a newsletter for the purpose of briefly sharing our teachings with the hopes of reminding people of what is most easy to forget; their soul's purpose and desire. I also set alarm clocks to wake me up, this could be uplifting music with meaningful lyrics or healing sounds that you can play in the car or even at your desk, office or classroom.
I also repeat my appointments over and over in my head until I know I will not forget. This could be in the form of affirmations, saying a certain mantra or prayer.
Since everyone is unique the path of greatest remembrance will be different for everyone. See what techniques work for you. Your Soul is worth remembering, and peace is worth experiencing.


Reverend Cherise Thorne