Bottled At The Source

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water-bottlesThe other day, my daughter suddenly became very interested in the writing on a one-gallon jug of water we had. She carefully pointed to each line, asking me what they said. And then she asked me to write each of the lines on a piece of paper so that she could copy them. So, one by one, I wrote them out on a piece of paper and helped her copy the letters.

The last line she pointed to said, “Bottled at the Source.”

“What does that mean, Dada?”

“Well, it means that this water is put into this bottle right where the spring comes out of the ground.”

“What’s a spring, Dada?”

“A spring is a place where water comes to the surface from deep down underground?”

“How?”

Well I think you can see what phase she’s in!

I managed to redirect her curiosity into writing the words out. And as she painstakingly copied the letters, I began thinking about that phrase, “Bottled at the Source.”

It’s a great tagline for a bottled water company (regardless of how accurate it might be!) But as I watched her writing those letters, it occurred to me that it applies to us as well. Just like that bottle of water, we’re bottled at the Source!

You and I and everyone on this planet –everything, in fact – are all bottled at the Source. We come into this life filled with pure Source energy. And that pure Source energy exists within us all the days of our lives.

It’s fun to imagine our bottling line: There is the infinite Source/God/Great Spirit (use whatever name you choose) filling each one of us as we’re getting ready to make the transition into physical form. The difference, though, between us and a bottle of water, is that we don’t get a top put on us and we don’t ever disconnect from that Source. We remain connected to and are constantly being refilled by that Source energy… if we choose to allow that energy into us!

Most of us, however, stop the flow of that clean, pure Source energy. We fill up our bodies, minds and emotions with impurities by ingesting toxins of all sorts: From processed food and sugar to news to violent entertainment to inherited belief systems, we muck up the clean, pure, vibrant Source energy that we were blessed with when we entered this physical world.

But the great thing is that we can always reconnect to our Source. No matter how long we have been blocking that connection, no matter how mucked up our energy has become, it is always possible to open the faucet and allow Source energy to flow into us again.

And the amazing thing is that when you do, when you open to Source, it does not take long for that pure, clean, energy to clear you out and fill you back up with your original Source energy!

So the next time you see a bottle of water and read the slogan, “Bottled at the Source,” take a moment to remember that you, too, were Bottled at the Source.


Posted by Edward Mills | Filed Under Personal Growth 

Whatever You Have Done Is Enough

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I had dinner at a friend’s house tonight. It was one of those spontaneous things that just sort of evolve from an afternoon task into a simple dinner. As we sat down he said, “I don’t usually light the candles for Shabbat if I’m alone, but since you’re here let’s do it.”

It’s been at least 10-years since I’ve participated in a Shabbat dinner. But as he began chanting the prayer over the candles, and the wine and the bread, it all came back to me from the literally thousands of times that we said those prayers on Friday night as I was growing up.

376.1561As we talked about our experiences and understanding of Shabbat, he explained it in a way that felt really right to me. He said that when sundown on Friday evening arrives, it is a time to stop and acknowledge that whatever you have done during the week is enough.

That hit home for me. My body had an instant and visceral reaction. “Yes,” it was saying. “You have done enough! Now rest.”

After all, how often do we stop and take a breath and acknowledge that what we have done is enough? How often do we give ourselves the opportunity to step back from the responsibilities of our daily life? How often to we consciously give ourselves downtime to reflect, renew and replenish our life force?

Not nearly often enough.

As I wrote a few years ago, “The folks that came up with a day of rest were on to something!” Back then, my plan was to give myself one day a week without computer access. I stuck to it for a while, but then slowly drifted back to being online at least once every day.

Now it seems like a good time to go back to A Day of Rest. For me that means no computer for one day each week.

What does your day of rest look like? Leave a comment below and let me know.

Posted by Edward Mills | Filed Under Personal Growth 

Vision Quest Journal #6

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hawk-1This morning I was thinking how strange it was that I had not seen, or heard, any raptors since being here. Just now, I saw my first hawk. A small one, slightly smaller than a Cooper’s Hawk with thicker wings. Almost all white or light gray underneath. Slight darker above. No other distinctive markings that I could see. Flight pattern was several quick wing beats with a moderate, circular glide in between. No call that I heard.

The water is even closer than I thought. I’m sitting on a new rock that’s at the northeast edge of my site and it’s clear that the creek is just a little ways into the brush. Probably no more than 40-feet away.

It’s still difficult to believe that it’s been bubbling this entire time. When I was scouting the site, I walked right over to the edge of that brushy area to see if I could get closer to those big old pine trees. Strange.

[Note. I looked on the map and there is a spring above where I was camped. My guess is that the spring fills up a pool during the night which overflows down the mountain in the morning. But by the afternoon, the sun dries it up. Because by late in the day, the sound of water was gone again.]

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Midday. Feeling antsy. Having a hard time finding a comfortable spot. Trying to stay naked as much as possible. But today, without much wind, it’s too hot in the sun and the slight breeze makes it too cool in the shade. I’ve compromised and put on my t-shirt and am sitting partly in the shade.

Antsy too because I don’t know what to do. The excitement of the first day has passed and now I’m in a place of trying to figure out what to do, how to have a vision. As I recall from previous quests, the second day seems to be the hardest.

The first day is new and exciting, in some cases you’re dealing with the discomfort of your body’s detox reaction from the fast. And while that’s unpleasant, it is a distraction from the isolation and emptiness.

Now, near the halfway point of my quest, I begin to wonder why I’m here. I begin to doubt the confidence I had earlier about the hunger as I notice the emptiness of my stomach more keenly. I begin to wonder if the insights I’ve had already are “enough.”

Isn’t it time to end this a go home? And even as I sit in the quiet of meditation I find myself reaching for something more. “Where is the vision I seek?” But nothing comes.

Just the peacefulness of this place. But I am too distracted to let that comfort me. Now I will try once more to drop into that peacefulness and allow it that to be enough.

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It’s amazing how quickly your body gets weak when you don’t drink water. I’ve had only 4-5 small sips since last night and my body has definitely hit a wall. It’s an effort just to stay upright. And I’ve spent much of that last couple of hours curled up in a ball on the ground.

Now I’m realizing this is where I’m meant to be. This is the place I’m supposed to get to. This is the place where I realize that I can’t get through this on my own. Alone I’m not strong enough. Certainly the strength of my body, without food and with very little water, is not enough to get me through the rest of today and tomorrow.

This is when I call out to God, Source, Great Spirit. This is when I open myself up to the support and strength of a force far greater than myself. This is when I begin to act in harmony with the words I heard earlier: “It is your vision that brought you here, but it is MY strength that will get you through.”

So now I pray. To God. To Source. To Great Spirit. To the Earth. To that is greater than me. I pray for strength. I sing for strength. I open myself to receive you strength.

You can read all of the posts in the Vision Quest Journal Series here.

Posted by Edward Mills | Filed Under Personal Growth 

Vision Quest Journal #5

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vision-quest-6Sunday, September 20th.

DREAM: Ben Stiller starred in my dream. It was a movie. He was returning home to his family for the first time in many years. His grandfather was dying. He was a military specialist. Like special forces, or something. And he got into an argument with his brother. He wanted to see his sister, but his brother wouldn’t let him. Ben, said that he just wanted to see what he could have been. He could have been like her. Apparently they were twins (???) and both creative, loving, tender, fun-loving children. But his sister had had that side nurtured and encouraged while Ben had been encouraged to focus his creativity into the skills that ultimately led him into the military.

After his brother would not let him see his sister he went for a walk and came across a trailer with security guards around it. Somehow, he knew his sister was being held inside it. So, using his military skills, he broke in and rescued her. I never actually saw his sister in the dream. But I knew that he had succeeded in rescuing her. There were two women who made it official. One was a queen or a senator who allowed him to take her home.

When I woke up from the dream I had a very clear sense that I had just rescued a part of my inner child. That part of me that loves be creative and play and have fun.

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It seems as if there is much more morning activity here than yesterday. Almost as if the land and its residents have accepted my presence. And the really interesting thing is that there is water nearby. No more than 100-feet to the north. I hear it clearly this morning. But I have not heard it before this. It’s hard to believe I would have missed that sound yesterday morning or last night in the silence. But, unless it’s some kind of intermittent spring there’s no way it could just started this morning. There was no rain last night. Strange.

I think after my quest I’ll go visit the little creek and see what it has to say.

Now I’m sitting on my sun welcoming rock. The sun rises in a perfect spot, between two stands of pine trees below me and just in the notch of two peaks across the valley. I could not have planned it more perfectly.

Last night saw two beautiful shooting stars. And I’m still amazed at how clear the Milky Way is up here. All the branches and arms reaching out like tendrils of smoke, but not changing.

I feel good this morning. I don’t think the fasting is going to be an issue. I notice a low-grade hunger. But it is not intense and it certainly is not distracting. My body is definitely weaker than normal. I noticed that climbing up to my sun welcoming rock. But that doesn’t really matter since I’m not expending a lot of energy while I’m here.

I did have a little scare yesterday. I went to purify water from the big guy and put it into my drinking containers. The filter didn’t work. I wasn’t so worried about my time up here since I had already toyed with the idea of not drinking water during the fast. But the thought of hiking out without water didn’t sound like such a great idea. I worked on the filter for a while and finally fixed it with good old duct tape! The o-ring inside the pump handle was not making a vacuum seal in there. So wrapping a layer of tape around it fixed it.

After that I decided to drink a…

Good morning Sun!

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The sun took me by surprise. I wasn’t watching the trees to see where it was and all of a sudden, there it was shining out from across the valley. Feels good. And what I was saying about water is that I’m going to drink as little as I can today and tomorrow.

Today there is no wind. Wonder if it will come up later in the morning. Perfectly still now. Not cold. Probably will get hot later.

Now I’ll meditate for a while.

You can read all of the posts in the Vision Quest Journal Series here.

Posted by Edward Mills | Filed Under Personal Growth 

4 Law of Attraction Lessons Misers Teach Us

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scroogeThe Law of Attraction tells us that Like Attracts Like, or that what you focus on expands. But if that’s the case, why are there wealthy misers?

It’s a contradiction of the law.

Or is it?

What do misers focus on?

Ok, yes, they focus on money. But the more important question is “How do they focus on it?” What is their vibrational offering when they focus on money?

Fear!

They focus on money from a place of fear, scarcity and lack. They are afraid of losing it or having it taken from them. So they hoard it, they save it, they refuse to spend it. They are so afraid of losing their money that end up living miserable lives even though they have more than enough money.

And as an interesting side note did you know that the root of the word miserable is… you guessed it – Miser.

While the theory of what you focus on expands makes sense, in practice we must distinguish between our mental or thought focus versus our deeper energetic or vibrational focus. If you’ve been working with the Law of Attraction for any length of time you know that it is not enough to merely focus your thoughts on something.

Thoughts, on their own, will NOT attract your desires.

In fact, you have probably noticed that it quite possible to consistently focus your thoughts on one desire while you continue to attract the exact opposite into your life! What’s up with that?

What’s up is that the focus of your conscious desire is not strong enough to overcome the underlying core energetic vibration that is being put out through your emotions and your unconscious desire.

Until your conscious and unconscious desires are in alignment, it is very difficult (and often very frustrating) to attract what you want.

So how are misers able to attract and accumulate large sums of money when they are clearly focusing from a low vibration place of fear and lack?

The key to answering this question is to recognize what misers really want. Their core desire is not money… it’s misery! What they really want – their unconscious desire – is the misery and fear of losing the money. So, for misers, abundance becomes the context from which they get to experience their desire for scarcity. Money provides them with the fuel for their desire.

Now remember, the Universe doesn’t judge our desires. The Universe says “yes” to a miser’s desire to live in scarcity (even when surrounded by piles of money) just as quickly as it says “yes” to a Deliberate Creator choosing to embrace abundance (even when living in a time of apparent scarcity).

For misers, abundance is the context that allows them to fully experience their desire – misery.

For deliberate creators, scarcity is the context that allows us to fully experience our desire – abundance!

And misers show us that it is absolutely possible for scarcity and abundance to co-exist in the same person at the same time.

So here are four Law of Attraction lessons that Deliberate Creators can learn from misers.

First, abundance and scarcity CAN (and DO) exist simultaneously. It can be difficult to get your mind around the concept that these seemingly contradictory vibrations can exist together. And, in fact, your conscious mind is literally unable grasp this awareness. It is your heart-based awareness, or your higher-mind, that can intuitively grasp this concept. But it can be helpful to have an example to share with your mind. When your show your conscious mind the example of a miser and say, “See it is possible for scarcity and abundance to live in the same person at the same time,” your mind starts to get it.

Second, misers are brilliant examples of the Universe’s willingness and ability to give us exactly what we ask for. Ask and it is given! Do you want more abundance? The Universe will give it to you. Do you want more scarcity? The Universe will say “yes” to your request. There is no judgment, no hesitation. The Universe doesn’t say, “Are you SURE you want that?” The Universe says “yes.” So take a look around your world and recognize that whatever is in your life right now is the Universe’s answer to your request.

Third, misers teach us that it is possible to change our desires and our vibration. Well, for this lesson we have to thank Mr. Dickens and other authors who have seeded our collective consciousness with characters who begin as misers and go through a transformation that leads them to become generous, abundant, Deliberate Creators. The lesson for us is that, no matter where we are, no matter how much of an “inner miser” we have, we can change! And we don’t need to wait until the ghost of Christmas past comes to pay us a visit!

Fourth, misers teach us that money truly can not buy happiness. For a miser More Money = More Misery. More money means more that can be lost or taken away. There is never enough. There can never be enough. The Universe gives a miser more money so that the miser can have even more misery. So recognize that money is not the source of your happiness, nor is lack of money the source of your suffering. You get to choose how to feel in each and every moment!

Posted by Edward Mills | Filed Under Personal Growth