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Quite some time ago I introduced the tradition into my life of shifting my life compass in some significant way on my birthday. That shift has taken many forms through the years, such as releasing something from my past that absolutely needed to go or bringing about a change whose time had come. Well, obviously it’s my birthday week and once again it’s time for me to shift my compass, only this time I thought I would share the decision I’ve made.

A bit of background is necessary to appreciate what and why I’ve decided to move to the Sacred Land of “It’s-Ville” – a place of my own creation. As a teacher in the field of consciousness studies for years now, who knows how many conversations I’ve had with people who are searching for their It’s-Ville – that place where all the mysteries of life are solved, all the problems are resolved, all earthly insecurities are somehow taken care of, and all fantasies are fulfilled. I’ve asked so many people, “What exactly are you seeking on your spiritual path?” Most simply reply, “I’ll recognize ‘it’ when I find ‘it’.”

But what exactly are we looking for? The great and mysterious …. OZ? No, “it” has become the great new quest of our time. What in the world are we seeking, other than to not be where we are right now? So many times I have said, “Well, if you can’t describe what you are looking for, then at least describe what is missing from your life,” and still the majority draw a blank. Is the problem that people are afraid to even articulate the content of their emptiness? Are they even afraid of that?

I, too, have had my own experience with sending fragments of myself on long quests to foreign psychic ports-of-call to check out whether there exists the potential of a better life in this or that fantasy or musing. Who hasn’t done that? The problem with letting our fragments have their own passports, however, is that more often than we realize, our fragments can end up being captured in those musings or fantasies. What happens next is they set up these types of email systems in which they transmit fantasy messages to us about what “could be” or “should be” if only conditions were different in the “real world”. That’s when trouble can start, or as my wondrous Teresa of Avila so brilliantly noted, the reptiles can scurry into your Interior Castle.

The truth is that wanting to be anywhere other than where you are or anyone other than who you are is a version of hell itself. All the great traditions teach their students – and I mean students genuinely devoted to inner illumination – to “get back here” – and now. There is only “now”, only present time, only this moment that counts in terms of what is “real” so far as you need to be concerned about. Indeed there is far more to this Universe and to the nature of God and this magnificent, endless cosmos than will ever be known to us – but so what? What has that to do with the here and now of your life? Nothing.

The essential challenge to the soul is not just to close your eyes and breathe deeply and say, “I am present and here I am,” and then open your eyes after the meditation, thinking, “That was a nice experience of the present moment. Now it’s back to being fragmented.” The goal is to live fully in the present moment, to connect the events unfolding around you within the perception that all events happening to and through you are somehow interconnected – not personally but impersonally, because that is the nature of the present moment. It is not the nature of your life because you are special and all things are happening to you, for you, and from you. They are unfolding and you are a part of a greater unfolding – a sphere of life that includes you.

The challenge I have decided to embrace is to reside within this mystical truth: “I am residing within the It and the All that I am seeking.” Or, to put this in more grounded terms, I’ve decided to move to It’s-Ville, where “it’s” all happening – at least for me. No more fragments going their own way, no more wanting to be anywhere other than exactly where I am, no more imagining that somewhere other than here is where I’m supposed to be. All that is exactly what Buddha taught so long ago: illusion. And I don’t want to be seduced by illusions any longer.

It’s all here and now – everything I need. Teresa of Avila taught, “Look for God in details” – in every detail of your life. How can you possibly do that if you project on your life that you are in the wrong place? I have listened to so many people share their conclusions that “something is wrong” with their lives and as the discussion progressed, their conclusion that something was wrong was based upon the polarities of happiness or sadness, pain or pleasure, patience or impatience, endurance or lack of endurance. Are these really the indicators that something is “wrong”? Or are they really indicators that a person simply does not like what the ingredients are in her life? A person has to be still and present to sense the energy field of the imbalance. An individual must then enter into the polarity to identify the reasons causing the imbalance and then, with great wisdom, discern what to do next.

Pain-pleasure or happiness-unhappiness or any of the countless other polarities that exist in life may or may not be indicators that we are in the wrong place. That is often far too superficial an interpretation of these grand psychic maelstroms. We must first look to the source of the imbalance – what is its cause? What are we generating from within? We must always go within first.

I have been profoundly influenced by the work of Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross, as so many of you know. The idea of moving to the Sacred Land of It’s-Ville is most certainly the consequence of hanging out in the rare air of mystical teachings for these past years. I do not believe I would have been inspired to move to the Sacred Land of It’s-Ville were it not for my realization and understanding that there is only the present moment; all else is distraction. My task is to manage the power and consciousness of my soul in this present moment. There is nothing missing from this present moment. The moment contains all “it” needs. It is up to me to recognize that:

• I am no longer searching for any other place but where I am.
• It’s all here in It’s-Ville.
• Maintaining the field of grace that is It’s-Ville is a full-time job – no more sending fragments of myself into the past or future to regret or fret.
• All things are interconnected in It’s-Ville. Nothing exists separate from anything else happening or unfolding in my life within the same moment: That is the nature of the law of interconnectedness. How we interpret this interconnectedness becomes the art form – and the more impersonal an eye we have, the better.
• The impersonal eye is the preferred lens in It’s-Ville, lest one risk becoming a narcissist. Life is not all about “me”; yet I must view “me” as the central participant in my life.
• “I have plenty” – plenty of what? Plenty of everything in It’s-Ville. I don’t need foolish mind games focusing on greed-based thought forms to draw in more stuff. Rather, my focus is on creativity and increasing my capacity to contribute to the whole.
• Reflection at the end of the day is a daily devotion. Where am I as I prepare for sleep? Am I shattered and fragmented or am I present in the moment? If I am shattered and fragmented, what am I prepared to do about that before I go to sleep?
• Blaming another person for my personal actions is not allowed in It’s-Ville because my choices and decisions come directly from me. I must refer only to myself – and as a point of reference, I refer to the seven shadow passions as a guide. All negative actions are rooted in one or more of the seven shadow passions. These are the source of why and how we fragment ourselves.

So – those are my rules for living in It’s-Ville. I’m just exhausted with thinking there is anything other than the present moment, and these conversations about how tomorrow is going to be better than the now are just boring nonsense. This is my gift to myself, that today is what we have to work with and we owe it to ourselves to give each day of our lives all we have to give.

I’m not kidding myself about the size of this challenge. I’ve slipped up several times already and I’m not even aiming for perfection, as if I care about that. But I am striving to find harmony within a higher mystical truth – which is that living in the present moment is all we have. I know from my work as a medical intuitive that clinging to the past makes you ill. It drains you of your spirit, and from that spins a list of negative consequences: depression, loss of creative instincts, anxiety attacks, a growing addiction to your historic self, a tendency to increase the emotional dimensions of your wounds in order to excuse why you are not acting on your present moment.

Nothing is gained by living a fragmented life – absolutely nothing. But preventing ourselves from becoming fragmented is a full-time job. Everyone has to find his or her path to stay in present time. Some people find meditation works – I don’t. I need an active dialogue with the graces. I need to withdraw into the power of a grace as soon as I realize I am losing it. I need to immediately break the spell that I know is forming or, as Teresa of Avila would say, I need to destroy the reptile.

Should any of you have a curiosity about grace, I have written extensively about the graces that are my personal cushions in Defy Gravity.

So – that’s what I’m up to as my birthday nears. I’ll keep you posted on Facebook as to how life in It’s-Ville is going….It’s-Ville has entered the hood. This oughta be good – it certainly will be interesting. If any of you care to come along, let me know how you’re doing. We can keep each other company in present time. After all, there’s nothing like the company of mystics on a path of illumination.

Love,
Caroline

PS and FYI: Let me invite you to check out my CMED workshops next year on Defy Gravity. One explores the seven graces and seven shadow passions and the other takes you deep into the mystical laws of the universe and how they influence your life. Do check out my website (http://www.myss.com/CMED/workshops/) for more information.

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