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posted July 01, 2010 01:51 PM         

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from a teacher of the "sedona method" created by lester levenson with whom i am in touch...

WHAT IS HERE AND NOW I just returned from teaching the Programs Retreat in Sedona, AZ on Lester's former land. It was a very enlightening experience for everyone, including me. As I look back on the 4 days, something happened that helped me in my own life. 15 of the 17 participants loved the training and had tremendous gains. But during the course, a couple of students kept coming to me with complaints. "There is not enough releasing. Too much lecturing. Not enough physical activity. Larry's course did it differently, etc." I released about it a lot. I saw clearly that these folks were not being in the NOW moment where life happens. They were stuck (step #5 in the Sedona Method) wanting to change me, the course, the the time of meals, and their misery with it all. Instead of releasing, they EXPRESSED their feelings on me, and as a result dug themselves deeper into unhappiness and failure. One of the people was a woman who was losing her house. When she returned home, after releasing, she realized how much she had changed there. What happens when we do that is we miss the truth that is occurring in the moment. Lester saw when he was going free that he wanted to change everything in his life, and that it had brought him to the brink of death. We think if we can control "it" into being different, we would be safe and happy. Nothing could be more wrong. Magic happens for us when we live in the present moment and allow it to be OK, whatever it is. Hale Dwoskin (Sedona Method Book) and Eckhardt Tolle (The Power of Now) both tell us to be in the present. Hale calls it "welcoming", and Tolle calls it "being in NOW is being free of the pain body ", but both are saying the same thing. What is happening in front of us is OUR movie. The Self is showing us something we need to see, and sometimes that makes us uncomfortable. That is the way we grow out of our "comfort zone". Silently wanting to change what we are seeing robs us of growth we might otherwise achieve. Lester told me to let go of resisting what IS, and release to make it the way I choose. He did not advise anyone to control people into doing it OUR way. Expressing our misery is not releasing. Trying to control things puts us out of control. Releasing our need to control (with the Sedona Method) puts us in control. So what can we learn from this to apply to our lives? Allow what IS to BE. Don't resist it. Karl Jung said, "What you resist, persists." Let go of the need to change everything you see and experience. It might be there to teach you a valuable lesson. Let go of wanting to be right and make others wrong. If you are not yet a Sedona Method grad, you can do this. If there is something you don't like, ask yourself, "Can I just allow this to be here now?" Would I? Repeat it if you need to. What you very well might see is that it won't bother you as much, and it will probably just pass from your experience more quickly. When we resist something, we hold it there to keep bothering us! So the lesson here is this: Live in the here and now. See only subjectivity, nothing is objective. Let go of resisting, as well as you can, what is in the now. Don't make goals in the future, because that will keep them in the future....Lester. Feel like you have it now. Forget the past. It is over and has no power over you other than what you give it. Each now moment is new and has endless possiblities. Be your Self. You have no choice in that....Lester.

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posted July 01, 2010 01:54 PM         

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while i understand he is using an example to make a point, i find that i can't escape the conclusion that HE was the one who really needed to "release"...and wondering if he got that...it is so much easier to see other people's "failings" than our own IMO

lester repeatedly urged that "going free is a THREE MONTH JOB, so WHY DON"T YOU?" and yet his "star" students who teach his methods are still working on it decades later...we all have a long way to go?

lester also said that what keeps us in chains is our attachment to the world...which, alas, we could have if we would just "release" it!! as jesus said, "he who finds the kingdom within will have all things added to him.."

lester, by the way, was sent home to die when medicine could do no more for him. he had a dying heart; enlarged liver; kidney, pancreas and lung problems....3 months later he was healthy and stayed so for the rest of his 84-year life.

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posted July 01, 2010 03:03 PM         

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excellent! thanks for posting!

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posted July 01, 2010 04:04 PM         

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quote:

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Be your Self. You have no choice in that.

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I like this part.

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posted July 01, 2010 04:14 PM         

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No offense, but, it sounds to me like this "teacher" is using a spiritual concept "be here now" to be less than present to the input of his students. Who said, "it is a poor teacher who blames his students"? He just sounds inflexible; unwilling to tailor the teaching even a little bit for these individuals. Instead of being flexible, he identifies his own authority with the present moment, -- essentially saying "My way or the highway", or, more precisely, "My way or the wrong way,". He tells them not to express their feelings and concerns, but, instead, to "be present". Present to what? Their feelings and concerns? Nope. His authority. Then he goes on to talk about power, etc. Sounds like a typical power-game he's playing to me, though. That's just my take. I could be wrong. But I'm usually right.

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posted July 01, 2010 04:53 PM         

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thats why the game telephone is so funny. twenty people can hear the exact same thing and repeat twenty different things that they each heard.. that have nothing to do with what the other heard...and sometimes nothing to do with what was actually said.

i said i think i said he said that! yeah thats hwat he said, say's i. what you say?

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posted July 01, 2010 05:28 PM         

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Thanks for sharing Kat!

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posted July 01, 2010 05:29 PM         

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quote:

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He tells them not to express their feelings and concerns, but, instead, to "be present".

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This guy ROCKS!
What a smart and cool dude... well found Katatonic

Imho he is 100% spot on with this comment and if you analyse or moan about it Valus, you are just proving that he is right LOL

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posted July 01, 2010 05:58 PM         

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while i understand he is using an example to make a point, i find that i can't escape the conclusion that HE was the one who really needed to "release"...and wondering if he got that...it is so much easier to see other people's "failings" than our own IMO
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yes valus, i got that too. i have spoken with the man (online) and gone through the same sort of process with him, where he got upset with me and told me i needed to release...and i suggested he follow his own advice...

the point i was trying to make is that the teaching is great - though not all teachers really walk their talk. i prefer to take the teaching and run with it. but this is a great teaching and lester himself was a great teacher who completely walked his talk.

that said, his point was valuable for the students too.

perhaps you would go back and read the whole thing again. i really don't want to repeat the whole all over.

my other point being that most teachers need to stay open to what their students have to teach THEM...

lester repeatedly urged that "going free is a THREE MONTH JOB, so WHY DON"T YOU?" and yet his "star" students who teach his methods are still working on it decades later...we all have a long way to go?

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posted July 01, 2010 06:18 PM         

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"Self-Realization is the knowing in all parts of body, mind, and soul that you are now in possession of the kingdom of God; that you do not have to pray that it come to you; that God's omnipresence is your omnipresence; and that all that you need to do is improve your knowing." - paramahansa yoga

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posted July 01, 2010 06:39 PM         

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Although to be fair, there is no walking nor talking involved when living in 'present'

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posted July 01, 2010 06:45 PM         

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you're right lara. i agree with you completely that lester was 100% on the money. when i say he walked his talk i mean he actually was the goods people were trying to learn to be. he worked it out for himself and people asked him how THEY could get there so he spent decades teaching what he had learned...he also spent a great deal of time NOT teaching.

i also agree with most of what this guy said, except from my own interaction with him i found him unwilling to be present himself or to "release" his own stuff...and i keep wondering why these disciple/teachers are STILL releasing instead of going free like lester taught...and lester said the same thing, over and over...if you really wanted it, if you weren't attached to the world and your "programs", you could go free in a split second without ANY "process".

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posted July 01, 2010 07:43 PM         

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When 'things' happen, my inner voice says "let it go". A great way to keep sane and healthy!!

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posted July 02, 2010 05:08 AM         

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Agree Katatonic,

Bookmark this website - it's all Florence Schovel Shinn's books free on web
http://www.sacred-texts.com/nth/shinn/index.htm

For me there is no one better for positive affirmation. She's on a similar par with OSHO

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posted July 02, 2010 08:26 AM         

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quote:

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yes valus, i got that too. i have spoken with the man (online) and gone through the same sort of process with him, where he got upset with me and told me i needed to release...and i suggested he follow his own advice...

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So I was right.

Thank you for confirming it.

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posted July 02, 2010 08:31 AM         

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And you're right, Kat, the teaching is what's important. It's a shame that so many people shoot themselves in the foot by placing all their focus on the imperfections of the messenger. They completely miss the prize, and, really, it's their loss. Being present is a worthy message. Even if everyone has heard it a thousand times, they could still stand to hear it again. There are a lot of great teachers out there spreading it. I'm glad you found Lester.

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posted July 02, 2010 09:50 AM         

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yet how can you learn such lessons from someone who is still stuck themselves? whose own ego gets in their way and gets them blaming YOU for not being "there" or "present"? i would not take classes from this guy. DESPITE the good message.

i took piano lessons as a child. i had several different teachers, but the last was a lady who would scream and swear and all but hit me. did i practice more with her? i guess so. did i learn more than with other, kinder teachers? not really. what i learned was to hate the piano and feel like i would never be good enough on it. that my own instinctive interpretations were "wrong".

fortunately when younger i had a sweet old man who, though he did not push me at all, and everything was good enough, somehow instilled in me the love of music - and gave the chance to play all kinds of instruments. he would send me home with a spare violin, a guitar, clarinet whatever...and i formed a belief that it's okay to just have fun with music and you don't have to be a tutored devotee to, say, play a violin.

so when i left home i didn't play a piano for about 10 years. i took up other things, including guitar, instead, and learned what i could by experimentation.

which teacher would you choose? one who drove you to do your absolute best - by their interpretation - or one who inspired you with a belief that you were capable of anything?

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posted July 02, 2010 09:50 AM         

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thanks for the link lara. florence is always welcome in my house!!

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posted July 02, 2010 10:04 AM         

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Every man has within himself a gold nugget; it is his consciousness of gold, of opulence, which brings riches into his life. ~ The Game of Life and How to Play It, by Florence Scovel Shinn, [1925], at sacred-texts.com

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posted July 02, 2010 11:47 AM         

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People often live up to your expectations of them.

"A master can tell you what he expects of you. A teacher, though, awakens your own expectations."

Patricia Neal

"You can't expect a person to see eye to eye with you when you're looking down on him."

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posted July 02, 2010 11:52 AM         

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There are teachers and there are extraordinary teachers.

I personally like Hawkins' Map of Consciousness as a model for attainment.
Perhaps as long as we see the flaw in the mirror of Ego operating in others, our own personal work is not yet complete. I know that I personally have lots of work to do yet.

An excerpt from Hawkins' Map:

16) Peace (600): The emotion is bliss. At this level, there is no longer any distinction between the observer and the subject. People here become spiritual teachers, great geniuses in their field to effect great contribution for mankind; they typically transcend formal religious structures and replace it with pure spirituality where religions originate from. Perception becomes one of slow motion, suspended in time and space. Everything is perceived as interconnected by an infinite presence. The process one undergoes is illumination; the life-view is perfect. Hawkins claims this level is only attained by 1 out of 10 million people.
17) Enlightenment (700-1000): The emotion is ineffable, in other words – inexpressible. This is the pinnacle of the evolution of consciousness of mankind. The greatest people of history have attained this level, such as Krishna, Buddha, Jesus, Mother Theresa. Here, the body becomes recognized as a tool to project consciousness in. One’s existence becomes all encompassing and transcends time and space. The process is described as pure consciousness. The life-view here is simply ‘Is‘. In achieving our highest potential and embracing our best lives, we should strive for the highest possible level i.e. enlightenment.

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Lara - thanks for the link to Florence,
she's been on my to do list.

Good question Kat -
"which teacher would you choose? one who drove you to do your absolute best - by their interpretation - or one who inspired you with a belief that you were capable of anything?"

I would choose both. I trust that I can filter out exactly what I need from their interpretation and then let everything else flow on out.

Valus - I like what you said about hearing something 1,000 times...so, so true!

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posted July 02, 2010 12:01 PM         

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i realize a lot of people consider browbeating a valuable teaching tool. i do not. it is all too easy to instill nothing but a feeling of hopelessness, despite intentions to the contrary. discipline, yes. despotism, no.

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posted July 02, 2010 01:19 PM         

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Just FYI in case people want to look it up or read more about it, the Map of Consciousness was created by the American psychiatrist David Hawkins (Stephen Hawking is a British physicist). Hawkins developed his scale using kinesiology and dowsing. It's very interesting that you posted about it here, Mermaid, as Hawkins was a student of Lester Levenson (although Hawkins eventually had a falling out with Levenson) and the Map of Consciousness is similar to Levenson's Hierarchy of Emotions that the Sedona Method teaches. It's also similar to the Emotional Tone Scale that Scientology teaches.

Lara, thanks so much for posting that link! I'm looking forward to reading some of her work!

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posted July 02, 2010 01:39 PM         

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Perhaps as long as we see the flaw in the mirror of Ego operating in others, our own personal work is not yet complete. I know that I personally have lots of work to do yet
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me too. i'm afraid i see all too much ego in myself and others..and the teacher i quoted in the OP too.

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posted July 02, 2010 02:10 PM         

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Thank you, thank you Musette for that correction. I was sensing something off as I couldn't find the original link I had to the Map. I edited the above.

Kat, surely this awareness is a huge step in the process to the alchemical transformation to a being of true LOVE. I'm just now seeing how I was actually "running from and closed off" to many expressions of love.

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