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Heavenletters™, bringing Earth closer to Heaven.

HEAVEN is here to reach every soul on earth to reawaken:

* Our connection to God *
* Our belief in ourselves *
* Our awareness of our shared worthiness to God *
* Peace on Earth *

God is always bringing us closer to Him.

HEAVEN #3482 Bright Yellow like the Sun, June 7, 2010

God said:

Be a delight to your heart. Good times, hard times, they come and go. This is nothing new. To roll with the punches is a good idea. You don't have to fill your heart with sadness.

Let your heart be bright yellow like the sun. Even on a day you feel blue, the sun itself is bright. Covered by clouds, it may not be seen where you are, and, yet, it soon will be. The sun always comes out. And sadness leaves. It takes its course. It fades. The sun comes out bright.

You might as well be done with despair. If its hold on you is so strong that you can't be done with it this moment, then sit it out. Go on in life despite whatever mood you are in. A mood is only a mood. It does not have to overtake you.

There is not one person alive who has not lived with sadness or deep despair. If it is the gauntlet you run, then you run it, and you come out the other side. Do not treasure the doldrums and keep them close to you. Go off and live life without them. Dance anyway. Sing anyway. Before you know it, despair will not cling so tightly to you. Despair's job is to leave you alone. Your job is to not mind it so much.

Your despair is like a hem of your skirt that has fallen. Pin the hem up. You don't have to drag it around all day. In terms of the metaphor of sadness, the hem will fix itself. Just as rain turns to sunshine, so does your sense of decline turn around.

Despair may seem to have you in its grip, but it is on its way out. As soon as you are aware of despair, it is already on its way out. It makes a scene when it leaves. It does not quite know how to leave graciously. It gives you a few good kicks as it goes out the door.

There is an end to suffering. Let it go. Just let it go. You don't have to fight it. Let go of your grip on it. Truly, sadness is a passing fancy like any other. Do you have the idea that you must have highs and lows? Do you like batting yourself up and down?

Nor is this to suggest that you must lead an even life that stays the same. The thing is that you don't need the ups and the downs. You can be okay whatever is going on in life. You can be in a good mood even when you feel you are in a bad mood. Because you feel blue, you do not have to wear blue. You do not have to sew blue up. You can be good-natured and considerate regardless, regardless of anything. Not only can you be, what choice do you really have when all is said or done, but to be upbeat?

Do not think that you deserve to be depressed. You do not deserve it. Despair, or whatever name you have for it, is like sitting in a corner and eating bitter pie. Who says you have to eat it? Put the bitterness aside. Get up anyway. Even tragedy is not a tragedy that you must get caught up in. Get up even from tragedy. It does you no honor.

Sometimes you feel down for no reason at all. It just seems like the bottom has fallen out from under you. Or one slight gesture has hurt your heart, and you have decided to feel bereft or angry. Do you know that despair and depression are just the other side of anger? Get up from that bed, and move on.


Permanent Link: http://www.heavenletters.org/bright-yellow-like-the-sun.html


Thank you for including this link when publishing this Heavenletter elsewhere.

The "good guilt" and the "bad guilt"?

When we hear the "guilt alarm beeping " we have to deal with guilt in a way or another, however, just like every good thing God gave us, guilt can also be perverted. Guilt can become an instrument in the devil’s hand and the evil one tries to keep you trapped inside, thinking that you are the worst person ever! I’ll let you read on to show you what I mean.

Guilt – What is it?

Feeling guilty is normal after you know you’ve done something you were not supposed to, especially after a failure. The dictionary defines the word "guilt" as a "feeling of responsibility or remorse for some offense, crime, wrong, etc., whether real or imagined."

That nagging voice inside of us that keeps beeping like a fire alarm and when it comes up too strong, we attempt to hush it up. It simply is that part of the human conscience that cries: "you have fallen from the standard, you were wrong! ". That makes us realize there is a standard inside of our being. Is it like a computer software program that automatically runs within us? Who put it there?

Anyway, guilt convicts us for actions and thoughts. It is an inborn human trait that forces us to make a distinction between right and wrong, and it shows within us that there are standards of what is good and what is worthy of guilt.

The guilt "gene" is something inside every human being. To illustrate this truth, look at people from wild tribes. They have a system within that tells them when they are wrong, even if they have never heard of such thing like "civilization".

But can the guilt feeling be perverted?

We know we are in a spiritual war that will end only when Jesus comes back again! For that reason, we have to be aware that guilt can be used by the devil and his demons too. For example, when you pray, all of a sudden, an evil thought crosses your mind and you just can’t control it! Blasphemy included! Those thoughts come over and over more intense and simply kill your prayer, as even if you hate those thoughts, you can’t stop them from coming back in your mind!

It is so painful, it has happened to me and I didn’t realize I actually was under attack. Yes, this is the spiritual war. The devil is so perverse that will make you think: "these are your thoughts, now you can’t come to God any more, He hates you, and how could you dare come close to Him with such miserable thoughts /images in your mind?"

I was so released when I came to know that Charles Spurgeon (a great evangelist) has been trough this too and he was so tortured by these thoughts that he even doubted his salvation. He relates how he just couldn’t stop this thoughts and he finally confessed this to his grandfather. His grandfather asked him:" Do you like these thoughts and take pleasure in them?" His answer was:" No! No! No! I hate them!"
Then the wise old man told Spurgeon to have nothing to do with them, as those thoughts are not his own, those are the devil’s thoughts.

Oh, if I had only known that before it happened to me! However, I saw for myself that the spiritual war is not a story…it is awfully real!

Guilt – The Remedy

There is a right and a wrong approach when dealing with guilt. Hiding it, does not work, it only comes back stronger.

Of course when we know we offended someone, the remedy is to go to that person and sincerely apologize, asking for forgiveness. This is not for the weak people! Only the strong people have the character to do this, the power to overcome their own nature. God is there to assist and will give you the strength you need, just ask for it!

On the other hand, in the spiritual war, when you come to realize the origin of your thought, simply come to Jesus, tell Him that you can’t control those thoughts and ask Him to cleanse you and free you of your burden. He will! With me, it was a process (5 months), it didn’t happened instantly but now, thank God Jesus freed me! It took a while because I simply did not take for myself what God showed me in the Bible, I said to myself it was too good to be for me. But now I see that those verses where God says He loves you are for you indeed and you have to take them as if He Himself came and saying:" I love you (your name here)"

Confessing is the first step to healing and when confessed to God, guilt is dealt with the best way! However, I saw with myself that another trap that Satan will use is that of keeping you quiet by telling you that you are the worst on Earth and there is no one else in such a hopeless situation! It is a lie! Every person has failures whether they talk about it or not! When I saw that Spurgeon himself has been trough what I have been trough, oh I was so happy he was honest enough to confess this and share it! So, find a mature Christian you can trust and confess your situation, you can pray together and God will surely heal your heart and set you free of any burden you might be carrying!

There is a good reason you have been trough this! God will use you to help others who go trough such problems as well! So keep telling God all your fears and He will surely give you a great solution! He did it with me, and so many others!

By Claudia Miclaus

Fighting with Yourself

Are we the owners of our possessions or are our material goods the ones that own ourselves? Our happiness cannot be encompassed in any amount of material belongings; the inner wealth is far more precious!

Fight Club is a good example of a film that was seen by most people before reading the book. I, for one, haven't heard of the existence of the book until quite recently. And of course, after having seen the movie over and over again.

What I enjoyed most about this film is the idea of rejecting and even trying to destroy a consumerist society, a society where everything is valued by its material aspects, by how much it costs. Advertisement fools us all. It makes us think that there are things that if we buy, they will certainly makes us feel happy and fulfilled. Things we don't really need - like pieces of furniture, designer clothes, expensive perfumes, refined, expensive beverages and foods, and so on.

One of the best quotes in the movie says that: "The things you own end up owning you." So you are no longer your very own master, you belong to the objects' world. The main character in the movie seems to suffer from schizophrenia, having a split personality. But that is not the point. The point is he manages to see beyond the ideology implemented in us by education and living in a society.

He realizes that fulfilling the desire of buying expensive things and having important positions cannot make anyone happy, though they come from deeply human feelings and needs - the longing for acceptance, for recognition, for affection. But like he says, "you are not your job", your house, your car, your expensive furniture. No matter what commercials tell you, using certain antiperspirants, perfumes, after-shaves, etc won't make a man stronger or more desirable and acceptable.

Also, for a woman, buying certain cosmetics and clothes won't make her more irresistible and self-confident, it will at least make her spend an enormous amount of money on things she doesn't really need and will not help her in any way. Yet it is indeed extremely difficult to give up this concepts, because we are so often blinded by "the riches of this world".

Too often have we heard from the lips of our parents or grandparents that they want us to live a better life than they did. And too often this better life means a better place, like somewhere in the city instead of a peaceful village, a better apartment, nicer furniture, better food, better clothes, the latest technology computers and mobile phones, washing machines, and many other. Things that, instead of making our life easier, can only complicate it. Because we further depend on electricity, heating and other resources that require artificially-generated energy.

So we strive to make money that we spend on things we do not actually need. How can we escape this? "Only when you've lost everything, we have the right to do anything." Although we probably won't take this literally, like the main character in Fight Club did by blowing up his condo and therefore everything in it - IKEA furniture, collection pieces, etc. … we might take into account the idea behind this gesture.

By "losing everything" we may understand giving up the manic desire to possess things, to be happy with having what we need to lead a simple, peaceful life. To lose in the eyes of a commercial, mercantile society, but to gain mentally and spiritually. To get inner wealth and wisdom instead of things that are considered valuable in the eyes of this world. "For where your treasure is, there your heart is also." Don't put your hope in things that fade, or can be stolen from you. In order to do that, you have to fight the greatest enemy you make encounter, and that is your very own self.

This is also suggested in the movie by the main hero's constant struggle with himself, which eventually ends in reconciliation between his two personalities. But this can be seen by us as a metaphor, as, if we want to fight the things that may enslave us mentally and spiritually, we must first of all win the fight with ourselves. It takes a lot of perseverance, and implies having a solid spiritual support. And a positive, respectful attitude towards the others, unlike the usual typical tendency of regarding ourselves as better and more important than other people.

By Claudia Miclaus

Heavenletters™, bringing Earth closer to Heaven.

HEAVEN is here to reach every soul on earth to reawaken:

* Our connection to God *
* Our belief in ourselves *
* Our awareness of our shared worthiness to God *
* Peace on Earth *

God is always bringing us closer to Him.

HEAVEN #3479 To the Very Heavens, June 4, 2010


God said:

Calmness is not an act. Calmness is your natural state. Calmness comes from a depth of silence. Silence is your natural state. From the depth of your silence comes peace. Less than peace is heretic. Less than peace is an infraction. Be that state of peace that is yours to hold and to marvel over and to circulate across land and sea.

Peace be unto you.

Peace is not far away from you. It is your natural core. If only you could believe this. If only you could believe that you are your own peace, that peace emanates from you, and that peace from you blesses the entire world.

Peace isn't difficult. It is all the hullabaloo and noise surrounding peace that are difficult. Peace is easy. Anything that is not peace is a set-up. Accept the peace I give to you. You crave it, and yet you stir the pot rather than settle it down. The soup of life has been stirred enough. Let it cool.

Sail on a calm sea. And if the sea is not calm, then quiet yourself, and the sea will copy you.

You are meant to be an instrument of peace. Let your breathing play like a sweet flute. Hear the notes of the flute bringing peace with it. Its round mellow notes soothe all in its wake. Be the flute of God. Play the flute of peace for Me.

Be the snake-charmer. Uncoil the world from the basket it has wound itself in. Peace is not coiled. Peace is flat and straight. Peace has no secrets. It is out in the open.

If you go to the top of a mountain peak, what do you see? You see peace. You do not see havoc. Seek peace and give peace. Peace is not just a sigh, and yet peace is contentment. Why not be content. Why not see the world as I do see it and bless it and spread peace on the world. Be a beacon of peace. Be a beacon of peace wherever you are. Be a marker of peace. Be an inspiration of peace. Be a herald of peace. Be a flute of peace.
Let your heart be your flute. Let the music of your heart be heard near and far. Let your heart smooth out rough terrain. Let your heart climb over the rocks and create a plateau of peace.

Be the peace you so desire. Give the peace you desire. Peace is not dull. It is not unstimulating. Peace is a comforter, and yet from peace comes exhilaration. From the peace of exhilaration comes more peace until you are peace itself. What were the Great Ones, beloveds? They spurred peace.

We could say that the Great Ones lowered the flame on hearts. They made hearts heart-temperature, not hot, not cold, but just right so that hearts could grow and embrace all other hearts. Through their hearts of peace, the Great Ones gave peace. They emanated peace. This is what peace does. Peace is calm and fun-loving and spreads itself like wildfire.

Show Me a man of peace and you will see a man who enjoys to the hilt. He builds a mountain of peace. He sculpts it out of hearts, and he raises hearts to the mountain-tops. He puts your heart like a star at the very top of the Christmas tree. The star spreads its light from one house to another. From one peak of peace to another, from one heart to another, peace shines and raises the Earth and everyone in it to the very Heavens.

Permanent Link: http://www.heavenletters.org/to-the-very-heavens.html

Thank you for including this link when publishing this Heavenletter elsewhere.

DailyOM - As the Earth Allows the Rain
today@dailyom.com

June 4, 2010


As the Earth Allows the Rain


Sitting With Feelings


Sitting with our feelings is the best thing we can do for ourselves rather than stuffing them deep inside.


It can take great courage to really sit with our feelings, allowing ourselves to surrender to their powerful energies. All too often we set our feelings aside, thinking we will deal with them later. If we don’t deal with them, we end up storing them in our minds and bodies and this is when anxiety and other health issues can arise. Denying what our bodies want to feel can lead to trouble now or down the line, which is why being in the thick of our feelings, no matter how scary it seems, is really the best thing we can do for ourselves.

One of the reasons we tend to hide or push aside our feelings is that we live in a culture that has not traditionally supported emotional awareness. However, as the connection between mind and body--our emotions and our physical health-- becomes clearer, awareness of the importance of feeling our feelings has grown. There are many books, classes, workshops and retreats that can help us on our way to emotional intelligence.

We can also trust in our own ability to process what comes up when it comes up. If sadness arises, we can notice its presence and welcome it, noting where in our bodies we feel it, and allowing ourselves to express it through tears or a quiet turning inward.

When we simply allow ourselves to fully feel our feelings as they come, we tend to let them go easily. This is all we are required to do; our feelings simply want to be felt. We often complicate the situation by applying mental energy in the form of analysis, when all we really need is to allow, as the earth allows the rain to fall upon it.

As the rain falls, the earth responds in a multitude of ways, sometimes emptying out to form a great canyon, sometimes soaking it up to nourish an infinitude of plants. In the same way, the deeper purpose of our feelings is to transform the terrain of our inner world, sometimes creating space for more feelings to flow, sometimes providing sustenance for growth. All we need to do is allow the process by relaxing, opening, and receiving the bounty of our emotions.

DailyOM - No Wrong Response
today@dailyom.com

June 3, 2010

No Wrong Response

Experiences Shape Your Reactions

Our individual reactions to events are shaped by what we ourselves have experienced in our own lives.


Our view of the universe is largely determined by our experiences. It is when we are caught off guard by the spontaneity of existence that we are most apt to respond authentically, even when our feelings do not correspond with those of the multitude.

Events that arouse strong emotions with us or are surprising in nature can be disquieting, for it often is in their aftermath that we discover how profoundly our histories have shaped us. The differences that divide us from our peers are highlighted in our reactions when these diverge from the mainstream, and this can be highly upsetting because it forces us to confront the uniqueness of our lives.

When our response to unexpected news or startling ideas is not the same as that of the people around us, we may feel driven by a desire to dismiss our feelings as irrational or incorrect. But reactions themselves are neither right, nor wrong. The forces that sculpted the patterns that to a large extent dictate our development are not the same forces that shaped the development of our relatives, friends, colleagues, or neighbors.

There is no reason to believe that one person's reaction to a particular event is somehow more valid than another's. How we respond to the constant changes taking place in the world around us is a product of our history, a testament to our individuality, and a part of the healing process that allows us to address key elements of our past in a context we can grasp in the present.

Life's pivotal events can provide you with a way to define yourself as a unique and matchless being, but you must put aside the judgments that might otherwise prevent you from gaining insight into your distinct mode of interpreting the world. Try to internalize your feelings without categorizing or evaluating them. When you feel unsure of the legitimacy of your reactions, remember that cultural, sociological, spiritual, and familial differences can cause two people to interpret a single event in widely dissimilar ways.

Examining your responses outside of the context provided by others can show you that your emotional complexity is something to be valued, for it has made you who you are today.