Shu Fu & Mistress Peony: Difficulty

May 19, 2004

Difficulty/Bravery Transcript

—Alright, everybody just notice the energy that’s around us.  

For the sake of being aware of our ability to be with what is.  What we’re feeling.  The realities that are part of life.  

And the heaviness, sorrow, confusion, darkness.  Whatever words we might want to put to it.  Just be aware of what’s with us in the circle.  What we’ve brought in with us. 

I call us into Sacred Space.  I ask for the guardianship and the blessings of the Grandmothers and Grandfathers of the Sacred Directions.  And from all points around the wheel.  

I ask for the presence and energy.  The grounding and the nurturance of Mother Earth. 

And call on each one of us to energetically become our mountain self.  With a wide, wide base that connects to Mother Earth.  A wide, wide base that draws in her chi.  

And let that float through us.  Filling all the space within us.  And exiting our crowns, our peak.  And flowing down around us in our own auric field.  And enriching the field of Sacred Space. 

I ask also for the presence and blessings of Father Sky.  And the universe which literally surrounds us.  Above us, to our sides, and beneath us, beneath Mother Earth.  

We are floating in a vast cosmos.  And from this vastness I ask that our small selves be connected to that which is Sacred.  

So that we can grow in our own wisdom.  And in our own ability to influence and affect that which is ours to affect. 

Into this Sacred Space I invite in our Spirit guides.  

I ask that each one present soften their energy field to their guidance.  So that we all draw on knowing that is greater and stronger than our own.  

And which guides us into alignment with living from our own wisdom and our own greatness.

 Thank you.—

Good Evening.  

—Good evening.—

I am of the lineage of Mistress Peony.  And I am much older than she is.  

I came to you tonight to try to give some comfort in this reality of difficulty.  

My people know a great deal about difficulty.  And we have for centuries.  And we do so even now.  

And one might ask, “Why does difficulty pursue even the kindest, and the wisest ones?” 

Isn’t this a good question to have?  So, it is because it’s part of your spiritual evolution. 

 And this is not something which we anticipate for you to manifest in any quick manner.  Or in even this lifetime.  

And yet now we are placing seeds within you for your evolution.  And perhaps even for your evolution of future lives. 

So, when you see the sorrow of your life.  You see the sorrow of lives around you.  You see there is always sorrow in life.  

And, it is only a more modern concept to think that you should not have sorrow.  Or that sorrow is an injustice.  Or that sorrow is a sign of your own failure.  

Yes, this is familiar to you?

—Yes.—

Yes, and it is none of these.  It is part of the human condition.  The life on some level of being. 

And what it does is it encourages you to go to another level of your truth of who you are.  

Because the sorrows are connected very much to false reality.  To the temporal world which is an illusion.  

And the truth of you is Spirit which goes on when you are dying. 

And certainly, the sorrows then give you some practice for identifying with your deeper, truer nature.  

You would not choose to go to the depths of your spiritual nature without some prompting.  

Without some guidance from a balance between ecstasy.  And a motivating force to find a simpler aspect of you. 

Because otherwise, the human ego has so many marvelous disguises.  Yes?

—Yes.—

Makes you think that something’s so important.  Some aspect of yourself.  Some new skill to develop.  Some spiritual perfection which will make you feel always good.  

And the truth is so much more tentative than that. 

So, sometimes we come and we quickly change the energy around you.  Don’t we?

—Yes.—

Yes, because we want you to feel the connection with Spirit.  So that you can identify with this aspect of yourself.  And know how much change and transformation is possible.  

And how much genuine, true nurturance is there for you.  Available to make you feel more whole.  This is truth also. 

But now, coincidentally, she told you to be aware of the energy field before she began.  Yes?

—Yes.—

So feel it even now.  Feel the sorrow of those that you love.  

Feel the sorrows of strangers.  See the injustices of humankind.  

Sense the mortality of those you love.  Sense your own mortality. 

And now, in the core of your being, find the light.  

Find a glow of substance that is present amid the heaviness which sits upon you now.  

Find the glow of the eternal you now. 

Sense its qualities.  Its quality of silence.  Quality of completeness.  

Allow this to spread in your core of your being.  

And have no concern about your physical discomforts.  There is space for all reality.  

Allow this core of yourself to find connection with that which is within you and greater than you.  

Your interior light may be small, but it is intense.  

Let the peace from this place emanate through your body.  It is quite wordless, so feel it. 

Some of you are afraid.  Hold the fear.  Hold it.  And hold the light.  

You are children who are growing so well, in a time of great confusion.  

The transformation which is surrounding you requires surrender in addition to bravery.  

You must become comfortable with standing on the unknown.  And holding your fear in honor next to your curiosity. 

Much will fall away from yourselves.  From the culture which you have been raised in, in the years to come.  

Your survival of your Spirit will be dependent upon your ability to feel some inner peace.  

And a knowing that all that is of consequence is your kindness to yourself and to others.  

To be a blessing unto those whom you are in the presence of is the true gift.  

All else will fall away. 

Now, feel again the space around you.  I note a lightening in the field above your head.

We are still though in great darkness, but you may note an increasing ability to see in the dark.  

When you cease to see what is happening as darkness.  Then you develop your eyes of the night time.  

And you may see the light in someone else.  And you will see more easily the Sacred in all that you behold. 

And your consciousness will become quite different than the common consciousness.  Quite different than what you thought even your wise self might be.  

This is before you.  And allow it to take the years that it takes.  Or allow it to come in the moments where it comes. 

When you need comfort, know that you are like little turtles which I carry upon my back.  

I carry you with joy.  I carry you with abundance of love in my heart.  

And we move on together, into and through the evolution of humankind. 

I have heard you say you would like the encumbrances of this practical life to lift.  

And we are here, in truth, our greatest concern is to carry you to deeper levels of being and consciousness.  

So, only watch that you do not throw road blocks in your path in order to discourage yourself from knowing the simplicity of who you truly are. 

You are my children, and the children of many others.  

In your darkness, with no effort whatsoever, be open for the light.  Do not be trying so hard that you miss what comes to you.  

Be more simple in your mind.  More quiet.  And open in your hearts.  Soft and gentle.  

This is what people see in you.  They recognize it whether they know it or not.  

Now, I will leave you. 

Well, you have had a great teaching from a great teacher.  He is speeding your process of clarification.

And now, let us lighten this Sacred Space.  Although I think you can see it’s already quite shifted.  Yes?

—Yes.—

He was guiding you through darkness, great blinding darkness.  

Preparing you for, not for the frightening things of childish imagination.  But the realities of life.  

Everyone who has a body, physical form, will leave it one day.  Yes?

—Yes.—

And many in your culture now choose to stay and hold onto the physical form for no apparent reason.  

And sometimes experiencing much misery in the process.  And maybe this is their way of doing what he is trying to teach tonight.  

Yes, can you see a parallel?  In the mental illnesses which people face.  Where they are deeply lost.  They’re quite lost from themselves.  

But they are walking in the darkness trying to find, what we used to call and still do, their inner deity. 

This is about your inner deity.  Each of you touch your own body where you feel this deity might reside.  And of course, it doesn’t reside only there.  It resides like a hologram in each of your cells.  

But sometimes for comfort.  You can come to that sense of center of where you are.  And it may change at different times.  Sometimes we quite come back.  Sometimes we diffuse.  

You can play with this.  With seeing how you shift your field.  

But in reverence come to connect with your inner deity.  In reverence for yourself, and that which is beyond you.  That which is you, and that which is all else. 

 These are the lessons which we can give you. 

Now, let fall away into the Earth some of the drama of your lives.  The energy from some of the stories which are real.  Which you focus your conscious mind on a great deal.  

Let your guidance comb your energy field.  

Ah, music.  Very entertaining.  Let that funny sound clear away some of the heaviness.  Yes?

I asked for it, didn’t I?  So, very good.  Very nice.  Yes, very helpful.

Your guides were so seriously combing drama from your fields.  And then your laughter dispelled it so much more quickly.

Allow that process to continue. 

Learn to identify drama, and to not cleave to it.  Not be drawn into it.  It is like a maze which takes you nowhere.  

Return to the simple self.  

It is not so exciting.  And all your culture is surrounded by what is exciting.  All the images on the movies.  And all the images in ‘who is famous.’  

It’s so false.  It’s so shallow. 

And yet, we feel real and alive when we have drama.  

Who are you without the drama? 

Allow your body to stretch slightly with dropping the drama from your muscles.  Allow your spinal cord to gently self adjust with dropping drama.  

Allow your lungs to fill with greater space and freedom. 

Our lessons are quite simple.  And yet they will change the very fabric of your being.  

You have thus far chosen a path towards the Sacred.  Towards embodying your sacredness.  

You must choose this again and again.  But it is your choice.  And in this simplicity true peace and happiness are present. 

Now, do any of you have questions for us tonight?

—How can we carry this peace with us back into my life?— 

This is a practice.  This is spiritual practice.  And it is to remind yourself.  

So, everyone in this moment find some hand position which you feel holds your Sacred identity.  

It can be the same one.  It does not have to be original.  

These are very ancient mudras.  Yes?  Very ancient. 

Alright, when you need this support.  Find your hand motion or mudra.  Perhaps touch your body is another step.  Come to your core.  

As always, feel your grounding to the Earth.  Your connection to the sky.  

And touch yourself.  You can do it unobtrusively in a restaurant with your family members.  Just a pensive gesture.  

Come home to yourself. 

You will find that this core of peace exists within you underneath the drama.  It is always present.  

So find your physical way now.  Access.  Come more deeply. 

And then in the midst of this learn to identify drama.  So much of it will be legitimate to you.  But yet almost all of it is drama. 

True sorrow is true sorrow.  And you feel it.  And it washes over you.  And it’s gone.  

Recurring thoughts are part of the maze.  

If you can do more of allowing the knowing to come to you.  Rather than effort-ing towards it.  More will come. 

You may want to develop some exercises like, “Simple breath, simple being.”  

So say this to yourself when you find your complexity becoming burdensome.  “Simple breath, simple being.”  

And find compassion in your heart for all the times which you lose the way.  

Because there is very little that in the culture that is surrounding you which supports this clarity and simplicity of being.  

Always seek to be kind to yourself. 

Reprogramming your consciousness.  

Give yourself rest.  

Give your body good nourishment.  Breathing, walking, food.  

Influence the energetic make-up of your food by holding your plate and giving  a thanks to it.  It will nourish you more deeply. 

Is there another question?  You may ask.  It does not need to be so deep.

—I have one.  I struggle with.  I’m going to be specific, because it’s easier.  But I can apply it to a lot of situations.

In my job search I’ve struggled with the way I’m told by the culture I should do it.  Yet I find if I try to do it that way.  It doesn’t feel quite right.  And I think, “But you’re not doing your part to get there.”

And I get confused.  Can you help me with that?  Sort on that one?—

Yes.  You have set up a struggle within yourself.  Which creates an energy of struggle.  Which then greets you in all that you encounter.

So, everything that we have spoken of applies to this issue.

It is a very good question.  Because all those present have seen themselves do this in their own way.  Yes?

—Yes.—

So, with the most amount of time as you are able to do this alone.  And then carrying it into the world with greater and greater simplicity and clarity.

Find the peace which you also know to be part of who you are.

Find the self-acceptance that is the key to your evolving on this practical life level.  And hold that within you.

You may do this as a meditation.  And gradually practice carrying it in your being with you.  Feeling this space of comfort.

Let it shine from your face.  

Be unconscious of whether others see it or not.  Because then you’re engaging the polarity, the dichotomy.  The break between seeing yourself as they see you, and simply being.  Yes?

—Yes.—

Stop asking for their acknowledgment.  It is irrelevant.  

Your process is internal.  You are the most important one to love and accept yourself.

All else will truly fall into place.

—That’s good news.—

It is the depth of your self acceptance which is the struggle.  To truly accept a releasing of old habits of self-denigration.

And sometimes you are unable to do this because you are either physically or emotionally tired.  And then you ask these great things of yourself.  Have these great expectations of yourself.

But you are not taking care.  You can’t be brilliant when you are tired.  Yes?

—Yes.—

No you can’t.  You must rest.  You must empty yourself.

You must allow the gentle energies to come and renew you.  They are gentle.  They are subtle.  They are at your beck and call.

This applies to everyone.  Yes?

—Yes.—

Play with your body.  It’s like an antenna.  Who are you calling?  Who do you wish to affirm your connection with?

Is this helpful?

—It is.—

Do you have any more questions?  You see, your questions guide my words.  Your questions make me more specific, more intelligent.

—The other day I was doing a rebirthing.  And I would have a moment, a taste of something bigger than I can describe. 

Serenity and peace and bliss, all many more things.  And right behind it was followed by agony and torment.  And this occurred over and over again.

And I was wondering if you could give me some insight into what that process was?  But one was so incredible.  And it was followed so strongly and so quickly by the other.—

Let me look into your field for a moment.

Well, others here have had this experience in their own way.  Each story totally different.  And yet there’s commonality.

So, in many past lives, you have had the experience of being powerful.  Of being wise.  Of being a person who was going to transcend the energies of restriction, constriction, brutality, smallness.

In your case, you had achieved ecstatic consciousness.  And in this lifetime which I’m aware of, you were like a nun, a Sacred woman.  A woman dedicated to the relationship with God.

And you had transcended your individual consciousness.  And you lived in a state of ecstasy.  You lived in a state of God-being emanating from you.

And there were those who could not abide your light.  And in older times.  Medieval times were particularly ugly like this.  

But all ancient cultures had their eras where they actually knew ways to take the life away, which would impact the evolution of the Soul.

This is what they used to do.  They were very smart in their own way.  

Not simply wanting to drown the light from that lifetime.  But wanting to influence the Soul’s development for future lifetimes.

And so, the death process was one to block that flow of Divine energy from your being.  And it involves death involving the face, throat chakra, the neck, the mouth.

Now, in that lifetime your spiritual path took you to ecstasy.  What we are describing tonight is something a bit different than that.  

Can you tell a little different from the earlier teaching?

—Yes.—

So, ecstasy is a part of knowing God.  But it is a bit removed from the daily travails.  Yes?

—Yes.—

And can generally only be attained in a lifestyle which is apart from a great deal.

And this does not mean that you did not have wisdom, and you did not have truth.

And yet your path of spiritual evolution, which took you to this state of ecstasy.  Which has truth and beauty to it without doubt.  Also required that your Soul still had more learning.

So, ecstasy was not enlightenment, as some call it.  Yes?  Ecstasy was not actually transcendence into your spiritual maturity.

And so, you are here now to clear that disillusionment.  Not only the death process.  Which sought to confine the beauty which you knew when you connected to God.

You knew this.  You knew the love of God.  You knew your heart fully open.

And not only to clear the sorrow of those around you who could not abide that.  But to also move on to another level of spiritual evolution.  Does this make sense to you?

—Yes.—

So, let us all hold fear.  Let us all hold discouragement.  Let us all hold when we thought we knew the way, and it was not quite right.  

And let us hold ourselves in compassion for always discovering again and again the truth which keeps coming.  And which we keep having the bravery to open to. 

This is your precipice.  This is your standing on the edge of the unknown.  Come to your simple self.  Come to your sweetness.  

Come here in the midst of the challenge to the simple core of your being, that light which shines. 

Allow that light to infuse you.  Allow it to grow in the midst of the poetic darkness, the metaphoric darkness.  

And know and see that in this darkness there is always the light. 

You are seeking to tip the scales of human kindness.  You are seeking to tip the scales of human capacity for compassion to dominate.  

Your efforts are important for your own being, and beyond your own being.  And this is why we hold you in our love. 

This is why the great aged Grandfather carries us like little turtles on his back.  In a dimension which changes reality.  It’s more real than this dimension.  

This is samsara.  This is illusion.  Your questions and your struggles are relevant. 

Hold love and compassion in your heart for yourself as we do for you.  

Allow yourself to be simple.  Allow yourself to live from the light within you. 

We look forward to seeing you again to support you in this mysterious process.  

And we commend your bravery.  And we commend your sweetness.  Your support of one another.

We commend you for this moment transcending your normal consciousness.  You are beloved to us.  

Sleep with our love tonight.