Artist: Theresa Richardson
Title: Non-resistance
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Contact: tess11-2@hotmail.com

Feature Article

“I know what’s right and what’s wrong,” she said defensively.
“Do you?” She seemed amused by her friend’s reaction.
“Of course I do. I’m not stupid you know.”
“No, just impressionable.” The older woman spoke quietly, careful not to offend her.
“What do you mean?” she responded.
“When you have a thirst for knowledge and a lack of confidence in finding your own direction, trusting your own inner guidance, you are vulnerable to all influences; no matter what your age. In other words anyone who phrases their story in a way that sounds good, you take on board as gospel. And believe me, there are a lot of stories not worth believing.

“There are a lot of similarities to times gone by. People used fear of the unknown to come up with all sorts of interesting but untrue tales. Community leaders used the fear of some sort of retribution to evoke cooperation. Religion used threats of heaven and hell, and even parents advise doing what we are told for fear of not being loved. Not trusting to discern on our own what is good for us becomes normal, so we look outside of ourselves. We think we have evolved but it is not the stories and untruths that have evolved, they have only modernised. It is our capacity to discern what is right for us rather than fitting in with the masses that has evolved.

“What you might not know is that people who are spruiking their beliefs need others to affirm what they believe as true, so they, the storytellers, can justify believing it. If anyone is trying hard to convince you of what they believe, you can be assured that they are still trying to convince themselves. The more people they can convince that they are right, the more they think that what they believe is the truth. So they form groups with ‘like minded’ people. They think their belief must then be the truth because so many of them think that way. However, when someone chooses to discern, and to question the beliefs of the group they are in, they are ostracised. Of course! What else could happen, as all questions will do is add to the insecurity of others in the group who are also questioning these beliefs.”

“So how then, do I know what the truth is for me?” she interrupted. “If it all sounds good, then how can I sift through what works for me and what doesn’t? Do I just try it? That could take a long time and create a fair bit of anguish and confusion.”

“No you don’t try it, but you try it on,” her friend continued. “You don’t go to a clothing store and buy all the clothes because they look good in the shop. You try them on first to see if they fit. What looks good on another person might not suit you at all. Only when you feel good in the clothes do you even consider buying them. That is discernment. And you don’t usually buy all of them do you? You might buy one or two and see how you like them.

That is no different to discerning what others are saying as truth. A belief is only a thought that you think over and over again. Often you wear clothes over and over again not because they look good, but because they feel comfortable. If you don’t feel great in these clothes it is time to throw them out. Get some new ones. Clothes that make you feel great. And so it is with your truth. Try the truth on. The question is not ‘Does it make sense?’ but ‘How does it feel?’

What you are after, is a knowing. A knowing comes from within. A belief comes from a thought. A knowing is something you feel. Remember that ‘aha’ moment, that ‘eureka’ feeling when things finally make sense. It is the ‘sifting’ you speak of. That is your knowing. It is your truth to the connection of all that is. In fact, rather than believing another’s truth, you can often gain a knowing by the realisation that their truth is definitely not for you.

So do yourself a favour and choose the clothes you wear, yourself. Don’t ask another how you look because it doesn’t matter anyway. Feel good in your clothes and your knowing. Discern gently and lovingly but say ‘no thank you’ to people’s beliefs and instead discover your knowing. If someone speaks your truth you will feel it no matter who they are. They do not have to be a shaman or a priest. Stand in the knowing that you will always know how to discern your truth, after all nobody else knows what your truth is; just you: the expanded, wise, all knowing you.”

“So I don’t have to look for anything?” she sighed with relief.
“There is nothing you have lost,” the older woman smiled.

Gayle Maree
Stewart Natural Health Clinic, Yungaburra
stewarthealthclinic@bigpond.com

Regular Article

Even though he has many talents, there are few that warm to spider’s charm.

Spider really does have eyes in the back of his head, always vigilant, patiently awaiting his prey. He is a talented weaver, which is clearly displayed as the sun rises, his masterful work glistens with dewdrops balanced delicately on each thread like a majestic chandelier.

As an infant, Spider can literally travel through the air. He produces from his abdomen a thread of silken web that will carry him on the breeze to his next destination. He is also the master of coordination with his legs numbering eight; even the infant man has trouble mastering only two.

When Spider snares a victim in his web, he stores and eats it at a later date by intricately embalming the corpse in a cocoon of silken thread. His talent would make any Egyptian Pharaoh proud. Man has attempted to reproduce the thread of Spider to no avail; we cannot match its strength and elasticity.

If Spider has come to your hand today he wishes to draw your attention to the cause of his sadness. “There are few that can match either my talents or my gifts. Despite this, I seldom hear a word of praise,” says Spider. This aspect of Spider medicine brings your attention to the important need for praise, for a pat on the back to acknowledge how far you have travelled on your journey so far.

Spider also says, “There are many who do not take the time to look beyond my appearance to see where my heart lies. There are those who judge me for how I look, and my medicine tells you now that my journey is not so different to your human ride.”

“The smallest of praise can have the most profound effect,” hints Spider. “Man is quick to judge appearance first. In fact my end upon this earth walk often stems from that judgment and not on the beauty that lies within me.”

Spider says, “Take the time to look at me for who I really am.”

Perhaps it is time to take note of areas in your life where you are either judged or judging. “If you have been snared in my web today I have come to counsel you in the ways of acceptance and forgiveness.”

The heart of Spider medicine calls to mankind, “Bear no grudge for the unconscious acts bestowed upon you in the name of fear. Then allow others to be who they are before judgment is passed upon them. To judge another is to miss out on the potential they offer you to learn.”

Perhaps it is time to offer your understanding to those you may have previously judged as different or strange. When you master acceptance you radiate love and compassion, your inner beauty shines when you look with your heart and not just your eyes.

Spider also asks you to observe times when you may have been influenced by another’s judgment of someone you might not have even met, or an experience you have not yet had. Spider advises you, “Make your own conscious decision based on how your heart responds to your fellow man, not how someone else responds. The wisdom I share with you will help to light the candle of conscious action within your being. Draw on my dreaming to help you untangle your web of beliefs based on your past. Call upon the power of my eight legs to take away the web of prejudices and bias.” Perhaps it is time to begin the process of letting go negative conditioning that holds you trapped in the web of your past. “Become free,” says Spider. “Find your truth and build your new belief system based on your experience in the now, not your past influences.”

Spider’s eight legs represent the energies of direction and difference. Four of his legs offer you the energy of the four directions, north, south, east and west. The second four represent the different races of this earth, white, black, yellow, and red. But it is the body that unites them all.

“My legs join my body and I am united as one,” he observes. To attack others is to cut off the energy of one’s own limbs. We are all one in the Creator’s eyes, united by his body. We are but the limbs of direction and difference. Whether you are the one being judged or the judger, it is in your heart not your eyes that you will find acceptance. When you learn to accept yourself, your differences, your faults, your weaknesses and your mistakes, then you will always accept the differences, faults, weaknesses and mistakes of others. Accept yourself with love and radiate to all that you encounter on your new enlightened path.

© Trevor O’Sullivan 2009 & Co-Author Susan Skyring
To purchase the Australian Wildlife Wisdom Cards visit www.wildlifewisdom.com
Readings with Susan visit www.metaphysicallyspeaking.com or ph 0417 730 313