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I hope this Holiday season has brought you much good cheer and that the New Year 2010 is starting off in the right direction. During the Holidays and into the New Year, the divine sends a great deal of spiritual light to planet earth. People are more open to the spiritual impulse during this time and there is a better cooperation between humanity and the spiritual hierarchy.
What can we expect in 2010? The Higher is sharing that the New Year is going to have its challenges; things may continue to be tough, but that in the midst of these challenges there will be great opportunity for growth. They encourage you not to feel discouraged if things are not yet going the way you would like, but to redouble your efforts and do your very best. While an all out economic catastrophe has been averted, we have still not worked through all the ramifications of what has happened. Things are still unsettled so you must continue to show strength and fortitude until things turn more fully for the better – which they will.
All moments of crisis and challenges are moments of change and potential opportunity. Rather than hoping or expecting things to be easier, grab the bull by the horns and put your best foot forward. Keep being the best person you know how to be. Build your strength yet continue to show compassion. Maybe this is the time to explore new avenues in a career direction or find new and inventive ways of going about getting work. Whatever your situation is, continue to show hope and optimism regardless of the obstacles. Let go of old resentments and grudges. There simply is no time for anything that can slow you down or hold you back. You want to soar into the sky and take your life in new directions.
Remember, your destiny is always in your own hands. If there was ever a time to weave the life purpose that is in your tapestry of life, this is the time. You can make it happen. All the gifts and tools of Spirit are ready to work with you. With sincere effort and application, you can make this your best year yet.
Wishing you a very bright New Year 2010,
Barbara Y. Martin
Spiritual Director
In our last newsletter, we looked at how there really is a Spiritual Renaissance that is arriving. It is the next step in the evolution of humanity and the planet. While orchestrated by the divine, this New Day will take all of us working together to make happen. As we approach the Holiday season and the closing of 2009, let us ask what we can do personally to quicken the advent of this New Glorious Day.
EFFORT – First and foremost, the Spiritual Renaissance is a call to action. Too many feel they do not have enough time or have too many commitments to pursue the spiritual path. The truth is there is always time for the divine. Make room for God and watch how the rest of your life falls into place. As Alice Bailey said, “Circumstance and environment offer no true obstacle to the spiritual life.”
COOPERATION – We’ve come a long way in realizing that while we are diverse cultures and races, we are part of the family of God and all play an essential part in the divine plan. Of course, there is still work to do to realize the inherent unity within us all. In the spiritual arena, many spiritual groups forget that regardless of the creed or belief we may follow, the New Day is for us all. We need to support all our brothers and sisters in light.
SUPPORT – There needs to be a channeling of resources to materialize the divine plan. Too many groups that are making essential contributions are sorely underfunded and understaffed to complete the task at hand. God has given us worldly resources not so much to suit our own desires but to serve our part in the divine plan.
It takes courage to step up to the plate and do your part regardless of what others are doing. A fire must first start as a flame. Refuse to let fear stand in the way of what you know is the right course of action.
The beauty of the Spiritual Renaissance is, it is not emanating from one single group. It’s truly a grass roots phenomenon. And this is its strength – individual efforts creating a collective effect. As you do your part, others follow. Slowly but surely, the wealth of the earth will flow into areas of life and society it was destined for and this will lay the very groundwork for the New Day.
In closing, let it be said that the divine knows when the Spiritual Renaissance will arrive. One thing is sure, by doing your part not only are you contributing to your own personal enlightenment, you are helping to enlighten the world.
Wishing you Happy Holidays and a very bright New Year 2010,
Barbara Y. Martin
Spiritual Director
Many have asked about the year 2012 and its spiritual significance. Books have been written on the topic. There are workshops and lectures discussing 2012, and there is even a major motion picture coming out with an apocalyptic view of 2012. For those of you not familiar with this date, 2012 is based on the idea that the Mesoamerican Long Count Calendar ends its 5000 year cycle in the year 2012. It is thought that this could portend a major world event whether that event is physical or spiritual in nature. While there is no common agreement in archaeological circles regarding the interpretation of the calendar and what it means to us, there has been a groundswell of interest as to what this all might mean to humanity.
Certainly, there is a spiritual awakening that is globally taking place. Despite the increasing challenges of life and the accelerated pace of our day-to-day existence, we are searching more earnestly than ever before for real answers to life’s biggest questions. It is natural to ask where this is all leading to. Are we truly in the beginning of a new age of spiritual awareness? Are we on the verge of a global shift?
I would like to share with you my understanding on this topic as has been shared by the Higher as it reveals some important insights into human nature and where we stand collectively as a civilization. Despite the many predictions, the Higher shares quite simply that there is no spiritual significance to 2012. While it is true there are some cosmological correlations to the date, it does not mark the beginning of a new level of spirituality or end of life as we know it now.
However, this revelation still does not fully answer why all the excitement. For so many people to take interest in 2012 there must be some underlying cause, something to drive all this excitement. We can look at the 2012 phenomenon as an expression of our hopes and fears as well as an inner sense of some dramatic spiritual forces at work in our lives.
The first thing to see is what metaphysics has been teaching all along: We are responsible for our own spiritual evolution. While the divine guides us each step of the way, we have to walk the path to enlightenment on our own regardless of the age or times we live in. The earth has gone through many epochs, both physical and spiritual, and will continue to do so. We must be careful to avoid looking for a single event to change our lives. Too many times, people use apocalyptic visions as a way to escape from life or problems they many be facing.
Some have used the current economic crisis as an indicator that a spiritual tipping point is occurring. Again we must take a more sober viewpoint and see that historically there have been many financial crises and probably will continue to be. The Higher has already shared with us that the current financial crisis was due to karma—in other words the results of our own collective actions. And while it is true that certain celestial rhythms were in alignment which to contributed to bringing the crisis to a head when it did, the cause was still our own. Fortunately we have moved out of this difficult alignment, even though we are still feeling its effects. And as long as we are learning our lessons, things will slowly get better.
Yet, beyond present conditions or the significance of 2012 is a bigger question: Is there really a spiritual shift of momentous proportions coming? The answer is absolutely yes! Without question, there is a New Day coming for humanity and the world as a whole. As glorious and wondrous as this new era will be, in fact it is a natural progression of life and part of the divine plan that has been in motion for a very long time.
If 2012 is not the date, when will this New Day come? The truth is no one knows. Only God knows when the world is ready for such change. And you should not try to guess when this will happen. Right now, what is more important is to live as spiritual a life as you know and make your contribution to the divine plan. Be the best person you know how to be and let God do the rest. The spiritual awakening that is happening is just the beginning of the spiritual renaissance that has yet to arrive.
May it be said here that regardless of when the New Day will come, the door is always open for your own personal enlightenment. You do not need some special date to change your life or to fulfill your life’s purpose. You can make the change any time you wish, as you are the master of your own destiny.
In Divine Light and love,
Barbara Y. Martin
Recently, the institute received a wonderful testimonial from a man who was greatly helped by the aura healing techniques. Many wonderful testimonials have come in, yet the immediacy of this story was particularly touching. This healing was done by a student who only recently had received her healing certification. Yet she was able to be such an effective channel of healing. The techniques she used were the ones taught in our classes and ones I have been using all my life. I share this story with you to encourage you in your healing path, as all of us have something in our life that needs healing in one way or another.
This student asked that her name be kept anonymous, but I will let her tell the story in her own words:
“My friend and co-worker knew I did spiritual healings and asked me if I would give a healing to her dad. He was just diagnosed with lymphoma and has already started chemotherapy and was having a severe reaction to the treatment.
“When I went to his home, he was sitting in a chair and looked very tired and thin. His face was gray and he looked half-dead. He no longer had the energy to go up the stairs to his room to sleep, so they placed a bed in the family room for him. It was even difficult for him to go to the couch to lie down for the healing. He used a walker to move around. His daughter (my friend) had to help him move from the chair to the couch. I began the healing work and the light came through very strong. During the healing, he fell asleep and was snoring though the whole session. Then after the healing was finished, I woke him up and he sat up on the couch. I told him to sit there and relax and let the energy work through him.
“I went to the kitchen with my friend and sat down for a little while. We had only been sitting there for a few minutes when we heard movement and her father saying he was hungry and wanted to have lunch! He had gotten up from the couch on his own and started walking to the kitchen without the walker. His daughter panicked and ran to get the walker but he motioned to her not to, that he didn’t need it. He walked all the way to the kitchen on his own and sat down for something to eat. This was a man who only a short time ago could barely move at all. The grayish look on his face was gone. He now had color on his face. We were shocked at the sudden and dramatic difference.
“I went back about a week later to give him another spiritual healing treatment just before his next chemotherapy. When I got to the house, I wondered where he was because he was not in the family room. My friend just smiled and said he’s upstairs waiting for you. I asked how he made it up upstairs on his own. She said he doesn’t sleep downstairs since our last session. He sleeps up in his room now. He goes up and down the stairs by himself.
“When I went into his room, where was he? On the floor cleaning his closet! I couldn’t believe it. It was amazing. I gave him another healing. I heard the next day when he went for his chemotherapy treatment, the doctor asked what was going on and what he had done to look so good. What’s more, after his second chemotherapy treatment, he has no adverse reaction, no nausea, no vomiting, no sickness of any kind, no loss of energy. It was the complete opposite reaction to the first treatment.
“I should say that when I gave him his second healing, he asked if I would give a healing to his wife as well. She was having severe neck pain and the circulation in her legs was so poor that they looked purple. After the healing, she was in tears and I asked why she was crying. She said she had a vision. She said she had a vision of the Lord. At first, He appeared far but then came closer and closer. The next day, my friend said you won’t believe this, but her mother’s legs were now pink and healthy in color and the pain in her neck had disappeared.”
This is such a wonderful story of God’s healing power and what an effective channel of healing this student is. Of course, any healer cannot dictate what form of expression the healing will take. The healer is only the channel of healing, not the source. Yet when we are given such a clear demonstration of God’s miraculous power when applied with a sincere and genuine heart, we cannot but help feel encouraged. It is my understanding that the man in this story continues to do well. The prognosis is still uncertain, but he’s showing so much improvement the doctors feel much more hopeful. Our prayers continue to go out to the family and we wish him a continued and full recovery.
In Divine Light and love,
Barbara Y. Martin
Spiritual Director
Our career is certainly one of the most dominant areas of our life. Many of our experiences here on Earth are related to the pursuit of our career. In the aura, there are definite spiritual energies that are directly related to our work life. A predominant energy is a white light seen in the heart chakra or Hermetic Center. This white light reflects the diverse aspects of our talents and abilities that we must draw upon in our career pursuits.
Each of us has a unique purpose when it comes to our career. We are each playing a part in the divine plan of life. When we go with the flow with our purpose, naturally our life moves in a positive direction. If we confound our career purpose, this can become an endless source of frustration and disappointment. A challenge in our career is that we do not pursue this part of our life alone. Others are part of our career life and spiritual purpose. When others make life difficult or work against the spiritual grain, it can make our life arduous. Yet, regardless of how others are acting, it’s up to us to continue to do what we know is right and true in our heart and things will work out.
I have been asked what the Higher feels about the current job climate and the millions of people who have recently lost their jobs. This is a complicated issue, but of course the divine is working diligently to turn things around. It will take time but conditions will eventually get better. The key is to continue to pursue your career with more determination than ever, regardless if you are currently working or not.
What the Higher has emphasized is that with the overextending of credit, many jobs were created based on a market that did not really exist. Now that that economy is correcting itself, many of the jobs connected to the inflated market have disappeared. Complicating conditions are those who are hording money and deliberately manipulating the market for personal gain. Yet, regardless of what is happening, the job market will correct itself because the supply and demand of jobs has not really changed, just moved around. Where some jobs are lost, others will eventually be gained.
The current situation does not change the spiritual purpose and career potential each of us has. But it does ask you to look more closely at your work life and call on all of your spiritual strength to get through this painful retunement process. The emerald green ray of balance and harmony is very important in these situations to keep your steady and patience through career challenges. The gold light is excellent to work with in your aura to bring inner strength and courage to help you do your best. Regardless of present conditions, your destiny shines as bright as ever.
In Divine Light and love,
Barbara Y. Martin
Barbara was asked to write a guest post today on Kala’s blog over at Exploreyourspirit.com. The topic is healing and the aura.
When we relate with other people, not only is there an exchange of thoughts and emotions, but there is an exchange of spiritual energy as well. This can most clearly be seen in our aura. In fact, there is a steady exchange of energy when we are interacting with others. This is by divine design of course. If there were no exchange of energy, we could not connect with people and our relationships would have no meaning.
As we know, our relationships are not always of the highest order. It is all too easy for anger, resentment, frustration and disappointment to set in and this disturbs the quality of our relationships. We must be very careful as an exchange of negative energy from one aura to another has a debilitating effect on the sender and the receiver. Most of the time, we’re not aware that we may be sending or receiving negative energy. Yet we’re certainly aware when an exchange with another person has left us happy or sad.
Here are a few simple guidelines to help you work with your aura in any difficult interaction with others. First recognize that the goal of any relationship is to come from a place to love. Love is the key to healing any relationship friction. So your first job is to work with the deep rose-pink ray to uplift yourself and the other person.
Second, no one has the right to step into your auric field unless somewhere you permit that to happen. This means if you are faced with a difficult relationship, you have to stand up for yourself and refuse to become a victim in any way. If you feel an exchange with another person is heading into a negative direction, see yourself in a golden bubble of protective light and silently refuse any negative energy that may be directed at you. By refusing the destructive energy, you’re helping diffuse the situation which will help all people involved. It’s also a good idea to shower your entire aura with the gold light to build more dynamic power in your dealings with others.
If you’re the one who has sent negative energy to another person, then it is a good idea to work with the white light. Ask that the white light go to that person to release any negative energy you may have sent as well as to derail the destructive effect it may have had on them. Do your best to think kindly of that person. If you find it difficult to do, reaffirm the spiritual perspective with an affirmation such as, “I let this go and put this person in God’s loving hands. I refuse to think badly about this person.” This will help avoid the transmission of any destructive energy.
We are all precious in God’s sight regardless of the mistakes we may make. Being dynamic and strong as well as loving and kind is the key to creating healthy and productive relationships.
In Divine Light and love,
Barbara Y. Martin
Spiritual Director
And so one of the most unusual and dramatic presidential elections in history has come to a close and the United States has a new leader in Barack Obama. In many ways, Obama represents much more than just a new face in politics, he represents a new way of seeing the world. He is a new voice for an emerging generation of people and way of thinking. The enthusiasm he has generated around the world indicates that the hope he offers is not just for a nation but for a world that is now fully engaged in the dynamics of the 21st century.
What can we expect from Obama? Can he live up to the hopes and dreams that so many have? The Higher has shared that this is a beginning. There are new dynamics in play and we are entering into a period of rebuilding. Changes will happen and there are brighter days ahead, but these changes will not all happen overnight. The nation has come out of a difficult period of national karma. The Higher tells us there was a grey pallor over our nation, and for that matter the world, reflecting the challenging times we have been facing.
Fortunately, this national karma is coming full circle. The grey energy around our nation has been released and now there is a pure white light indicating an upliftment or spiritual facelift is taking place. Again this does not mean things are going to change immediately, but the spiritual energy is there to build a bright future. Obama represents this turn for the better that is in store for our country and, in due course, the world.
In terms of Obama himself, no question he’s sincere and will try to do the best job he can. This is reflected in his aura. Obama has a pronounced royal blue in his aura. Royal blue shows dedication indicating his sincerity to make a difference. There is devotion and loyalty here which again shows his heart is in the right place. Royal blue also indicates determination. Certainly Obama has demonstrated a great deal of determination to get to the place he is now.
He also has a pronounced emerald green energy. This reveals a balanced and steady person. He is not easily upset or unnerved by things going on around him. It indicates he is capable of seeing both sides to a situation and would be a good mediator in working out conflicts with others.
In understanding the spiritual dynamics of leadership, another factor to keep in mind is that there is a karma and destiny when it comes to presidents. The leaders we have are destined to be our leaders. It is rare that someone becomes a leader who was not meant to lead, and if they do it’s for a short time. We may complain about a leader’s performance or decisions, but it is our national karma-good or bad-to have the leaders we have. Of course, we must still go through the process of selecting our leaders, as we have just done, but in doing so, what we are really doing is fulfilling our part in the divine plan.
So it is the destiny of our nation to have Barack Obama as our leader. While we may differ on various issues and share differing points of view, as citizens of this great nation we must all stand and support our new leader. There is a lot of work ahead and we must all do our part to take this country to a new and better place. Pray for our leaders; they need our support. Pray for our nation and pray for the world.
In Divine Light and love,
Barbara Y. Martin
Spiritual Director
Philanthropy is an essential yet sometimes misunderstood spiritual principle. The word comes from the Greek philos which means “loving” and anthros which loosely means “humankind.” Philanthropy, in essence, means loving humankind. It is the practice and effort to increase the well-being of humanity – a spiritual quality that is more important than ever as our world gets smaller.
Philanthropy brings into play an indispensible spiritual principle of prosperity – stewardship. Stewardship is the recognition that you are the channel, and not the owner, of God’s abundance and supply. In the same way you are meant to express the power of prosperity to manifest abundance for your own needs, you are also meant to let that power of prosperity flow through you to others, as many times that is how God can reach those people.
In the aura, prosperity is seen as a brilliant turquoise light. It indicates the person is in the awareness of abundance. Yet when we are generous and philanthropic, we also generate a beautiful pure white light that radiates from our heart chakra. This white light brings in a tremendous redeeming and uplifting quality to our soul and aura. As the heart chakra, or Hermetic Center, is the nucleus of our human earth affairs and the seat of the soul, this divine white light uplifts the parts of our life and soul that need to be brought more into the light.
Most of us recognize the importance of caring for our loved ones. We lavish our attention and generosity on those we care about and are close to. Yet spiritually speaking, each of us has a karmic duty to help humanity itself for we are not only part of the family we were born into, we are part of the family of humanity. We are not only a citizen of the town and country we live in, we are a citizen of the world. The divine spark dwells in each of us. We talk about bringing the world together, yet there is a spiritual bond that already exists which unites all people of the world even if all of us are not presently all at peace with each other.
Be generous with your time, resources and services, not only to loved ones but to those who inspire compassion in you. Philanthropy should be as active a part of your life as any other activity you are engaged in. Seek out opportunities to help others as well when opportunities present themselves. When in the throes of our own struggles, we sometimes feel we have little or nothing to give, but of course this is not true. As a child of God, we all have something to give to the world, a service to perform that is for something greater than ourselves. As you express the spiritual practice of philanthropy, you are making your contribution to the family of humanity and you are blessing your own aura and life in wonderful and miraculous ways.
In Divine Light and love,
Barbara Y. Martin
Spiritual Director
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