An Excerpt from Awaken to Ascension

Chapter 1

An Introduction

 

Never believe that you live by the power of food and not by the power of God!

—Sri Yukteswar, Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda

Remembering who we are as Source is an exciting journey. It can also be confusing and a little scary at times. As we recognize ourselves as spiritual beings, we change our lives. Some of those changes are easy, but others are not. Understanding how we got here (and why) helps us release judgment and fear. Understanding where we are going and how to get there makes the changes easier to integrate.

Our spiritual evolution is very personal. We read books, take classes, and go to religious services to learn more about our spiritual nature and truth. However, the choice to move forward is ours, and only ours. As we say, it is always an inside job.

I have experienced the full range of human emotions connected to awakening to my spiritual truth. Not only is the journey a roller coaster ride, but it is also often a process of two steps forward and one step back. When we experience an expansion of spiritual energy, the joy can be almost overwhelming, but so can the fear of greater spiritual awareness and the power that comes with it. I am sharing parts of my journey in this book, but most importantly, I am sharing things I have learned that I hope will help you on your road to ascension.

The language I use in this book is for western man. I cherish my background in the eastern philosophies and techniques, but I know many westerners are confused and burdened by the ancient esoteric texts, Sanskrit terms, and eastern practices. I take a contemporary approach that has served my students and me well. I hope it will serve you, too.

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From many years of studying, teaching, and talking with people from around the world, I have learned that Ascension means different things to different people. While it would seem that spiritual students and metaphysicians would speak the same language, we do not. The different traditions and the various spiritual and religious philosophies may use the same words, but those words do not always mean the same things.

When I began my spiritual journey in earnest, I did not know what I truly believed. I certainly did not understand the language. I had to learn to translate terminology and practices from one program to another as I wandered through the maze of spiritual possibilities that came my way. Eventually, I found what was right for me, but that was only the beginning. I had much to learn and still do because our spiritual evolution is an ever-continuing road.

I was not born tuned into my psychic abilities. I did not see auras or talk to angels or have premonitions of the future when I was young. I was just an average kid growing up in a Christian household with many unanswered questions.

While I had a small interest in spiritually-based reading as I grew up and studied Transcendental Meditation in my thirties, I did not begin a serious exploration of my spiritual self until well into my forties. Little did I know that all the questions I had as a child would come back to me and that I would finally find my answers.

The road to this point in my life and evolution has been fascinating to me. Looking back at who I was earlier in my life and who I am now, I feel as though I am looking at two different people. In many ways, I am two different people. That is how it should be for all of us if we are evolving in any way. Who we were in the past is not who we are now, and who we are now is not who we will be in the future. We are not designed to remain the same throughout our lives.

Our evolution is to remember who we are as spiritual beings. We came from the light, but our memories inside what is known as the Experiment in Duality got a bit foggy. While we seem to have been lost in that fog for a long time, we simply have to be ready to sweep away the distractions and remember our divine truth. The good news is that this process has never been as easy as it is now. Humanity is waking up very quickly, and many are stepping forward today to share their stories and their techniques for finding joy and achieving Divine Oneness. This book is about mine.

When I finally began a serious exploration of my spiritual self, I had no real concept of where it would lead. I knew that I was looking for a way to connect with what I believed was “beyond,” but I wasn’t sure what that meant either. I just knew there was more.

I never expected to find myself teaching others how to become spiritual masters. I was a dancer, an accountant, a salesperson, a tutor, a corporate wife, and more, but not a spiritual guide or teacher. However, the possibilities are unlimited once we open to our true nature instead of what society tries to program us to be. We each have natural skills, talents, and passions that we brought with us into this world. We simply need to allow ourselves to discover what we came here to do. That is what happened for me when I surrendered.

Religion Begins

The first thing I had to surrender was my attachment to what I thought religion meant, especially my parents’ chosen religion of Christianity. Today’s spiritual student is continually trying to sort through religion versus spirituality.

What we call religion began with a set of foundational principles based on the teachings of a spiritual leader. That leader may have had a very high frequency and, therefore, put forward a high-frequency set of principles. In other cases, the frequency of the leader was not so high. In either case, these masters never set out to create religions. They only desired to share what they knew to be their spiritual truth.

It is difficult for many to see that Jesus did not create Christianity, and Buddha did not create Buddhism. These religions, like others, were created by the followers of the great masters who could not fully grasp what they were being told—that everyone is an aspect of Source and has that power within. Because they could not fully understand, these followers created stories, processes, and structures around what they believed their masters were saying, and religions were born.

The Gospel of Matthew tells this story of Jesus’ baptism: “And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.’ ”[i]

The traditional reader of The Bible does not recognize that this is the experience for all who awaken to the full presence and power of the Christ within. Jesus’ teachings were replete with messages of our divinity and our place in the Divine Kingdom. He taught that the kingdom of the Father was within each of us. He taught that anything he could do, we could do, and even greater things. How did this get lost from what is now the mainstream religion of Christianity?

I believe everyone would benefit from an honest, in-depth study of their chosen religion. It is not always easy, but it is doable. I speak mainly about Christianity because that is my background. I know, however, from my readings and from conversations with others who have done what I have, that the history of every religion is rarely fully known or revealed to its followers.

I truly honor and respect each of the great religions of humankind. They have each brought us significant divine truth in an attempt to bring humanity closer to the Creator. However, as the great line from the song in the musical Porgy and Bess says, “The t’ings dat yo’ li’ble to read in de Bible, it ain’t necessarily so.”[ii]

Religion Cycles

I did not come to recognize that I had always understood the Christ in a way that my parents and the church would not have been able to understand until I began to explore my spirituality as an adult. I have always felt a connection to the Christ that does not fit into the Christian religion. However, it does fit what I believe to be true Christianity, the original teachings of Master Jesus, and the experience of the early Christians who knew a level of oneness and equality with the Christ that I did not find in the modern Christian teachings.

The history of every religion seems to be one of many cycles. The original teacher puts forth teachings that later become institutionalized and dogmatized, with strict rules and procedures imposed on the followers. When the principles get too far off track, a new teacher arrives to try to put the train back on track. This course correction may last awhile, but eventually, the train begins to derail, and another leader arrives to try to set things straight.

I am not a religious historian and will not pretend to be. I know what I have studied, what my self-as-Source tells me is true, and what I have come to believe. No matter what I share, I encourage everyone to be seriously interested in doing research and coming to their conclusions. There are unlimited resources available.

A brief history of the Judeo-Christian tradition begins with the king and high priest, Lord Melchizedek. Melchizedek taught the founding principles of spirituality on earth at the very early stages of our evolution. His teaching became the foundation of the Kabala and many of the early mystery schools. Melchizedek taught the connection between humanity and Source and reminded human beings that they were not separate from God.

As the Jewish tradition moved through time, these teachings became distorted. When Judea divided into various tribes, the Levitical Order acquired the power of religious leadership and separated the people from God. Followers were to go to the rabbis versus having a direct connection to the Father.

King David arrived and gave the power back to his people by reinstating Melchizedek’s principles as best he could. Over time, the principles and teachings of much of the Jewish tradition drifted off track again. Master Jesus graced this planet with his presence and teachings to remind people who they were.

The story is the same for Buddha and his quest for spiritual truth. At the time of Buddha’s birth, Hindu practices had degraded to the worship of the various gods and goddesses that were originally teachers for the follower of this ancient practice. The teachings of Krishna and other great gurus had become lost to many Hindus. Buddha went in search of a great master to help him find his way. When he could not find the one he sought, he went within and discovered his way to enlightenment, which later became Buddhism. In time, other great masters arrived to put Hinduism back on its original path.

Constantine Changed Everything

The most significant shift for the course of what is known as Christianity came during the rule of Roman Emperor Constantine. The Roman Empire had a growing number of followers of Jesus, who had taught them that they were of God and had the power of God. Who needs an emperor when you have the power of God?

In 314 A.D., Constantine decided to take control. He announced that God had come to him and directed him to rewrite sections of The Bible and church doctrine, under God’s guidance, of course. Over the next thirty years, Christianity was remade in “Constantine’s image” as he sought to create a church that would placate the followers of Jesus but give the Emperor the power.

Constantine instituted the concept that Jesus was the one and only Son of God. He removed the teaching of reincarnation and created the story of Mary Magdalen as a prostitute. The list goes on and on.

Letters of protest from bishops down to priests poured into Rome. They asked, what gave Constantine the power to rewrite church doctrine and change the teachings of the Christ? The answer was, essentially, follow me, go to prison, or leave the church. One did not mess with the Roman Emperor.

Many did leave the church. The Gnostics, the Arians, and other groups chose to hold on to their beliefs and go their own way. These groups were labeled heretics, a stigma which I have heard taught by the church even today.

Changes in The Bible and the doctrine of Christianity have continued since the time of Constantine. Why is any of this important? Because we need to understand what we believe and why we believe it, whether institutionalized religion, New Age, atheism, or other spiritual philosophy.

One of the most interesting points of the intervention into Christianity by Constantine was that he was not a follower of the Christ or a church member. He was not baptized as a Christian until after he had molded the religion to his liking. He was reported to have ridiculed the followers of Jesus by calling them christis, or “little christs.” And yet, he became the “father” of Christianity as it has been taught for hundreds of years even though most Christians do not know the history.

As I will continue to say, I have always felt my strong connection to Master Jesus and what, for me, is true Christianity. I honor the followers of the Christian church and the followers of Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, New Age, and more. We each need to find our way to our truth. Understanding the origins of various teachings and why we believe what we think we believe is essential to knowing that truth and standing in our power as sovereign aspects of Source.

My Understanding, My Truth

Eventually, I came to understand what my intuition had always been trying to tell me—I knew more on the inner than I was taught on the outer. As I explored my thoughts and feelings and broadened my scope of reading, I realized that who I am in this life is New Age. New Age encompasses all the great spiritual teachings from the beginning of time in a format that makes sense to me. All New Age teachings are not the same, but this is the best category for me if we need labels.

I have been able to find a home for everything I thought was my truth under the umbrella of “New Age” and “New Thought.” For example, I intuitively believed in reincarnation from the beginning of this life. My personal experiences have made it very real for me. For those who are still wondering if other lives can be real, I recommend the works of Dr. Ian Stevenson and Dr. Jim Tucker, who have documented the past life memories of thousands of children who said they had been someone else before.

The overall most important point of enlightenment for me was learning that Christ is a spiritual office held by many masters over the years, not just the role of Master Jesus. The teachings of the Office of the Christ through Melchizedek, Jesus, and others transcend all religions and encompass all the aspects of christ consciousness. Understanding the Christ as a position in the Spiritual Hierarchy and christ consciousness as part of our DNA allowed me to open myself fully to the ancient teachings in a way I had not allowed previously. I was on a new path.

I was guided to Kris Duffy and the I Am Source™ program in December 1999. The teachings of this program became my foundation for Ascension. I began teaching and facilitating I Am Source™ in 2000 and still follow its principles today because they still make more sense to me than anything else I have studied, ancient or New Age.

After Kris transitioned from this planet in 2009, her parents asked me to continue her work and take the program wherever I thought it should go. Through channeling to the Christ and my self-as-Source, new classes and techniques were added until a new series, Standing in the Light®, emerged in 2010. There are still many new and exciting things to learn and many directions my road may take. As I pursue my evolution, I have retired from teaching Standing in the Light® and passed its course to the brilliant teachers of the program who will continue to expand it in service to the Source and humanity.

What I share in this book is a combination of what I have learned from my personal experiences as a teacher, a healer, and an ever-growing spiritual being. Most importantly, I share what I have learned from my self-as-Source—the divine within me. I accept nothing as my truth at this level of my being without testing it through my soul. No one should. The ability to channel clearly to one’s guidance and trust one’s intuition is of utmost importance on the road to Ascension. What works for one may not work for others.

What Are We Doing Here?

As spiritual beings, we are always seeking ways to expand our love, wisdom, and creative power. The continuous seeking for expansion leads to the choice to experience ourselves in many forms on many planets or stars to continue our spiritual growth. For some of us, the journey of spiritual evolution brought us to planet earth and the Experiment in Duality—what St. Germain and others have called the Great Experiment.

Duality is not our truth. The Experiment in Duality is just that—an experiment in the duality of wills. Before this “experiment,” we knew ourselves only as one. To understand more about ourselves as one, we created a plan to experience the opposite of being one. As the Native Americans say, walk a hundred miles in my moccasins if you want to understand my life. That is what we decided to do.

While the purpose of this plan has been explained through teachings from the Archangels and the Ascended Masters, I have found that very few people truly understand it. Once I finally got it, everything shifted for me. I moved from judgment of the experiences on earth to acceptance and appreciation. My entire healing process accelerated because I found it easier to let go. What did I come to understand and accept?

I came to understand and accept that we chose to experience ourselves as separate from each other and Source for a purpose. The intention was to expand our understanding of love and oneness by understanding what it was like to be without love and oneness. The plan was never to be dark or evil or to create pain or suffering. It was always about growth through new experiences.

While the experiment began very smoothly, we lost control, and we are just now finding our way out; but we are finding our way out quickly. As we continue to release our remaining judgments and accept what we have learned, we are breaking down the old paradigm to create space for the new. The transition from old to new, from separation to Oneness, is why things in the outer world look so chaotic at this time.

We Are All on the Road to Ascension

Ascension is viewed by many as the way to get off the planet. They seek a way to get out of what they perceive to be a mess, but that is not the goal. The goal is to bring back the experience of Divine Oneness with All That Is—to know unconditional love for All That Is. Only when that is achieved for each of us will we be ready to end duality and ascend from this planet.

The ascension process has been very challenging on earth because we have been in the midst of the experiment. The density of the experiment is not the normal state for children of Source, and we have found it difficult to remember who we are. However, we are remembering, and everyone is going home.

I once had a student ask me how she could help her husband get onto his spiritual path. I asked, “What makes you believe he is not?” She immediately understood what I was saying. Since our first incarnation on earth, we have been evolving. Every lesson learned has taken us one step closer to the end of duality. Where anyone is now is simply a function of what they packed in their “spiritual suitcase” for this lifetime and where they are in the “conga line.”

The terms “young soul” and “old soul” are commonly used in spiritual and metaphysical circles. I find looking at this concept as either “new to the planet” or “old to the planet” to be a better perspective. The people at the end of the conga line (those who came most recently) have not had as much time to learn and evolve as those at the head of the conga line who came here first. It is not a matter of good or bad. It is merely a matter of recognizing and accepting through which stage of evolution someone is moving. Patience, understanding, compassion, and forgiveness are essential on this journey.

Sharing What I Have Learned

I love teaching. I love working one-on-one with people who truly want to find their way. I love sharing with others what has helped me reach this point in my life, which is the purpose of this book.

When I was first guided to write a book on Ascension and moving into Oneness, I was not sure what I would say. This topic can be approached in many ways. I have been guided to share the process that we are going through as we shift from where we are in our human form back into ourselves as pure light. While I will share some techniques and suggestions for ascension, this book is about understanding the energetics of how we got here and how we will get out. It is about understanding what we did to create the density of human form and reversing that process to come out of the experiment. It is about knowing that there is light at the end of the tunnel, even though we may have rough days.

That does not mean that the how-tos are not important. They are. There are many how-tos from which to choose. I am very fond of the saying that there are many roads to the Buddha. There is no one path home to our light. However, no matter which path we choose, we are all going through the same energetic process of moving from our density into our light. Understanding the process made it much easier for me to surrender to what my soul guided me to do. Understanding that process also made it easier for me to accept that so many different roads can lead to the same destination—Ascension.

The road to Ascension is not an outer-world journey but an inner world one. The journey is not about how things look on the outer. The outer world is an illusion. The journey is about how things feel on the inner. The journey is about self-exploration—peeling away the layers of false beliefs and false realities to find divine truth and rediscover ourselves as Source.

A process is required. We do not wake up one day fully enlightened and ready to ascend from the experiment. When we do wake up to who we are as spiritual beings, we must each find a process for spiritual evolution that works for us. Whatever that process is, it must be balanced.

We all need a combination of meditation, learning, and a vision for service to achieve the full spiritual realization of ourselves as Source in human form. One path is not enough to understand and experience all that we need to achieve Oneness.

For example, the Hindus teach that there are three primary paths to Ascension: the path of Devotion (meditation), the path of Wisdom (knowledge), and the path of Selfless Service (being of service). However, no matter which primary path a student feels is right for them, all of these elements must be included to achieve spiritual balance and Oneness with the divine.

I did not come across this Hindu teaching until I was well into my spiritual journey. When I did, I immediately recognized that my primary path was wisdom. For years, I had actively studied various approaches to spirituality, but more importantly, I had channeled notebooks full of information on topics about healing energy and the ascension process.

I was also graced with wonderful teachers along the way who taught me the importance of balance. Nothing is more important than what we learn from our self-as-Source. We are Source in physical form. All the answers do lie inside, but until our frequency is high enough to access all that information, we need teachers to help us find our way. Even after we can clearly channel our guidance, we need help from time to time to get past the resistance of the lower-self who still buys into the illusion.

Duality Is an Illusion

An illusion is something that deceives by producing a false or misleading impression of reality.[iii] The experiment created the illusion of duality, the illusion of separation from Source. We have always been one. We will always be one. Anything that tells us differently is part of the illusion.

Breaking free is simple. Just wake up and stop buying into separation. However, just because something is simple does not mean it is easy. Hopefully, the pages that follow will give you an understanding of why it has been so challenging and what you can do to make it easier to break free of the illusion.

Remember that we are designed to do this. We came here with a plan to learn and a plan to get out. The Experiment in Duality is not permanent. It is not real. Each of us must accept that for ourselves and choose to leave it behind. No one is on this journey alone, but the final choice to let go can only be ours. It is time to shatter the illusion and remember ourselves as one.

Understanding Terminology

We have limited language in the West to describe a variety of approaches to our spirituality. However, it is important to know what we are talking about so that we have a common ground for understanding and know if we are comparing apples to apples instead of apples to oranges.

Therefore, I am including some definitions in the introduction and explaining how I use these terms. I am not attached to how we use words, just that we understand each other. The first big one, of course, is God. What is the difference between God, Goddess, and Source?

Who or What Is “God?”

Many people have problems using the word God. They understandably view this term through the narrow definitions of various religions that do not speak to their spiritual needs. I do not have issues using the words God or Goddess because I see them as aspects or versions of Source—the energetic source of all creation.

The word originally translated into God was a non-gendered term for the creator. In ancient languages, the words that became God most often meant the One, the Great Unity, or the Source. However, considering the dogma that religions have put onto the name God, it is no wonder people have difficulty deciding who or what God is or deciding what to call the greater part of themselves. The challenge for many people is to embrace the concept of a source of creation without religion restrictions until they can decide for themselves who or what God, or the source, is to them.

Like any other word, god has many definitions in the dictionary: a superhuman being, a supreme leader, the creator, or a religious figure. It is used in upper or lower case depending on its meaning. Today, the concept of God ranges from the multiple gods (and goddesses) of Hinduism to the traditional Christian, Jewish, and Islamic God outside of ourselves to the inner God of New Age and New Thought to whatever one believes God may be.

Many versions of God, or Source, can lead to Ascension, not just one. Hindus include many gods in their philosophy to represent the many aspects of the divine. Buddhists do not believe in God because they see God as a being outside of oneself and, therefore, disempowering. Yet, both of these blessed traditions have given this planet many ascended masters. Christians who understand the original teachings of Jesus instead of the myth created under the rule of Constantine know that Ascension can also be attained through the teachings of Jesus.

The definitions I give below are important for conveying specific concepts and maintaining a common language for exploration. My only goal is sharing concepts, not creating more dogma.

Source: the original energy and intelligence of all creation.

• Everything exists inside “the body of Source.” As Source creates, Source expands.
• Nothing physical or etheric can be separate from Source. Source is All That Is.

The God/Goddess: the spiritual representatives of the male and female creative components of Source.

• The Goddess, the feminine energy, is the receiving component of creation. She is the space in which ideas and intentions form. Nothing begins without a vision.
• God, the masculine energy, is the active component of creation. He is the energy moving through the intention to bring it into form. Nothing is created without some form of movement.
• One component cannot create without the other. The God/Goddess is a beautiful and essential collaboration.
• I use the term God/Goddess instead of Source when I need to emphasize the male/female energy of creation.
• I use God or Goddess when appropriate to the male or female energy specifically.

The God/Goddess/All That Is: the extension of the God/Goddess as creative energy to encompass all creation.

• Everything exists inside the body of Source. However, the expression “God/Goddess/All That Is” means all parts of creation and honors the male and female energies that created it.

The Spiritual Hierarchy: the structure of the governing body of the universe.

• The universe is an organization of energy, both physical and metaphysical.
• Every organization needs a hierarchy of responsibility to keep it operating as effectively as possible.
• The members of the Spiritual Hierarchy are beings of higher frequencies with specific areas of expertise and experience. They range from teachers to planners to creators.
• Their job is to advise and guide the evolution of the universe. They are here to assist us, not to command us. They can be called on for help, but they are not our source.

Who or what is the Christ?

Another challenge for many people is letting go of the current Christian Church version of the Christ. The Christ is an office in the Spiritual Hierarchy. While Master Jesus was a physical representation of the Christ on Earth, he was not the only one we have known.

• The role of the Office of the Christ is teacher and guide for the Divine Plan for the ascension of humanity.
• The office transcends all religions and spiritual philosophies. The Christ is neither male nor female, but both.
• Because the Christ is an office and not a proper noun, I refer to “the Christ” versus Christ like we refer to “the President” versus President Lincoln.
• Because the English language does not contain an appropriate androgynous pronoun (it just does not work), I am guided to follow tradition and refer to the Christ as male.

Other Definitions for Common Ground

I am giving a brief overview of other common terms used in spiritual circles that may not always mean the same thing. Some people have tried to create a standard dictionary of spiritual terminology, but that is not practical or necessary. We just need to listen to each other and be flexible. The following definitions apply to the rest of my writing.

The self-as-Source, the soul, the god-self: the highest individualized aspect of ourselves as Source.

• Many practices use the word soul to define a lower aspect of our energy structure, while others put the soul at the top of the energy structure.
• In various practices, the soul can mean the small essence of Source held in the human body, the higher-self, the god-self, the self-as-Source, or the soul. All these definitions work as long as one understands how the word soul is used.
• Through this book, I will use the terms soul and self-as-Source interchangeably.

The lower-self: the aspect of ourselves that believes it is human—the physical, emotional, and mental bodies.

• The lower-self is concerned with its physical safety, emotional comfort, and 3^rd-dimensional belief systems and values.
• The lower-self is the aspect that needs healing. It is the part of us that believes it has been separate from Source and needs to remember who it is.
• The lower-self is also referred to as the ego-self, the base-self, the personality-self, the little-self, etc. in other practices.
• In my practice, I refer to the ego as the unique reflection of who we are as Source. Under this definition, we have a level of ego at each dimension of who we are. The ego at the lower-self level is not inadequate or inferior. It does not remember that it is divine, and that is all.

Frequency: the rate at which energy moves.

• Our frequency determines how we feel at any moment and is an indication of our overall spiritual progress.
• A slow rate of movement is what we call low frequency and feels denser or darker.
• A fast rate of movement is what we call high frequency and feels lighter or brighter.
• Each person has a personal frequency for where they are in their evolution. As one’s frequency goes higher, the level of one’s consciousness goes higher.

The conga line: the chain of human frequencies in which we exist from the most spiritually evolved master leading the way to the densest being who is anchoring the end of the line.

• We did not all come to this planet at the same time. Those who came first are generally toward the front of the conga line. As others chose to enter this experiment, they added themselves to the back of the line.
• One’s place in line is not determined solely by how long one has been inside the experiment. We each have the opportunity to make choices each day that determine the rate at which we move out of our darkness.
• There is no judgment on one’s place in the conga line. We each came with our plan for what we wanted to experience and learn. One path is not better than another, and all positions in line are sacred.

Spiritual suitcase: the issues, gifts, and talents we choose to explore in each life.

• As we set our agendas for each incarnation, we decide what issues we want to work toward healing and what gifts and talents we want to share with the world.
• What we “pack in our spiritual suitcases” will determine the events and situations we attract into our lives and the experiences that we need to go through to achieve what we came to learn.

Guidance: the voice of Source within.

• The “inner voice” that comes from our self-as-Source has all the wisdom and knowledge of the universe. This voice has the answers to all that we need.
• What is in our highest good cannot always be known by the lower-self. The knowingness of our highest good needs to come from our soul. Otherwise, we are giving our power to others.

Channeling: the ability to connect to and receive information from other realms.

• A psychic channel is an open line of communication, like a radio or television channel.
• Everyone can learn and master this skill with the right technique and practice.
• The critical question is, how open and how clear is the channel?
• Getting clear guidance depends on one’s ability to be a clear channel. One can “channel” to one’s lower-self, which means one hears what one wants to hear versus what one needs to hear. This distinction is essential when trying to follow the highest plan.

The Divine Plan: the highest frequency plan for the evolution of the universe.

• The God/Goddess has a general plan for the progress of creation.
• Our souls, our selves-as-Source, know the Divine Plan for each of us individually and how that plan integrates into the Divine Plan for all.
• The details of the plan must fluctuate based on the choices and outcomes related to a wide variety of events.
• Getting clear guidance and holding the space for change are essential to being in alignment with the plan.

The Experiment in Duality (or the Great Experiment): an experiment in the energies of the perception of separation.

• An experiment is a process for discovering something unknown or testing a principle or procedure.
• The Experiment in Duality is the opportunity to learn from the experience of being in opposition to Divine Will (the highest good of all) instead of being in alignment with Oneness.
• It has expanded our knowledge of love and Oneness through the experience of ourselves as separate beings instead of ourselves as part of a whole.
• The experiment is being conducted in multiple galaxies of our universe, not just on Earth.

Awakening: the moment one becomes genuinely aware of oneself as a spiritual being.

• Awakening goes beyond the intellectual concept that we are spiritual beings to the experience of knowing this without question.
• Individual awakenings may take many forms, but the outcome is the same—one fully understands that we are all more than this physical experience.

Clearing: raising the frequency surrounding an issue such that it is resolved or healed.

• The term clearing is used in metaphysical circles for “clearing away” whatever energies cause us to remain in lower frequency behaviors or situations.
• Any technique that takes our frequency higher is a form of clearing.
• Clearing away old energies to make way for new, higher frequency energies is the key to evolution and ascension.

Ascension: moving higher in frequency.

• Ascension with a small a is the process of raising our frequency one step at a time. In this respect, we have always been and will always be ascending.
• Ascension with a capital A is the point when our frequency rises so high that the next steps in our evolution must be taken beyond our physical forms. Ascension with a capital A is our graduation from the earthly plane to the next realm.

Special Considerations

Those who write about spirituality and metaphysics are challenged when trying to fit 5^th-dimensional concepts into a 3^rd-dimensional format. To those people who seek to maintain the best in American grammar, please bear with me as I break a few rules.

Understanding three techniques I use that might not follow our traditional rules of grammar will be helpful before reading the rest of this book. I have been guided to use these three techniques to emphasize the difference between the ways some concepts are viewed in 3^rd-dimensional consciousness versus how they are viewed in 5^th-dimensional consciousness. Our ability to shift our consciousness is dependent on our willingness to move our perspective from our 3^rd-dimensional selves to our 5^th-dimensional selves. I know from my own experience that this is not always easy to do. I am using the following techniques from this point forward.

The first challenge was identifying what are proper nouns in the upper realms but might not necessarily be considered so in traditional grammar. For example, we have the concept of a god/goddess. We also have the beings that hold the offices of the God/Goddess. Because we do not have names for these beings, we use the title the God/Goddess. While we know a being to be an ascended master, he or she is a member of the Ascended Masters. I have been guided to honor what I understand to be proper nouns, such as the God/Goddess, Source, the Divine Plan, and others, that might otherwise be written in lower case.

The second challenge was whether the God/Goddess is singular or plural. It is both. God and Goddess are two separate offices and beings with different energies. However, they are also one unit of creation. I have been guided to use the God/Goddess as a plural term to reflect both the male and female aspects of who they are as that unit.

The third challenge was how to identify lower and higher frequencies of the same words. Many words have one meaning at a lower frequency but a different meaning at a higher frequency. I have already explained the difference between ascension and Ascension. We also have human emotions, such as love, compassion, and forgiveness, which are very different from the divine feeling states of divine love, divine compassion, and divine forgiveness. Emotions are knee-jerk reactions inside the 3^rd-dimensional paradigm. Divine feeling states transcend those emotions to take us into divine oneness with our selves-as-Source.

For example, forgiveness at the 3^rd dimensional level of consciousness comes with conditions: I will forgive you when you do so-and-so. In the divine realms, forgiveness is unconditional. Everything we have experienced in the experiment of separation must be transcended. Ascension is about raising our frequencies so that we no longer experience the lower frequency emotions of our human selves but only experience the higher frequency states of our selves-as-Source. I discuss this in more detail in Chapter 7.

In my community, we use lowercase for emotions and uppercase for the higher frequency states of being. However, that can be confusing, and the constant use of divine can be tedious. I am following the current publishing guidelines to eliminate as many capitalized words as possible. When Source wants to emphasize the higher frequency feeling states of the soul over the lower frequency emotions of the lower-self, I use divine for that emphasis.

I know that not capitalizing words traditionally capitalized in spiritual writing seems odd to many readers, but we can handle change. I am still capitalizing what I hold to be proper nouns, such as Source, the Divine Plan, and All That Is.

Finding One’s Truth

I wrote this book to share what has helped me on my journey in hopes that it will also help you. In the classroom, I ask students to hold open the possibility that what I have to say may be true. We must all decide what works and what does not work for us, what we believe and what we do not believe. Self-discovery is part of the journey out of the Experiment in Duality. We will not all take the same road to Ascension, but we will all arrive at the same place—the full remembrance of ourselves as Source in human form.

I have structured this book as a series of classes. Each chapter covers one component or concept important to the ascension process, and each could easily be expanded into an entire book on its own. I have covered the key elements of each topic and left more for each person to explore. Finally, each chapter lays the energetic foundation for the next chapter, which means the frequency continues to increase throughout the book. As I do in class, I have included parts of my journey and some stories shared by students in my classes. I hope you gain insights that take you deeper into your truth, help you clarify where you are on your journey, and fill your process of ascension with great joy.

 

[i] Matthew 3:16-17, NRSV Bible with the Apocrypha, Kindle Edition, HarperCollins, New York, NY, 2011.

[ii] Gershwin, George and Ira, “It Ain’t Necessarily So,” Porgy and Bess, 1935.

[iii] Random House Webster’s College Dictionary, Random House, Inc., New York, NY, 1991.