Hi winngirl,

Thanks for your question and a warm welcome to the forum. We are certainly open to all religions but we do find strong resonance with those allied to the principle of non-judgmental, unconditional love for all life.

Before I answer your question I feel I should explain a little about how I work - because it is very important to the dialogue. I use a blend of ancient and contemporary meditative techniques to access a higher plane of consciousness where our souls are united. From this place I read between the lines of the questions being asked and the words being shared. In most cases the soul is saying and asking one thing and the personality another. So my purpose is to act as a channel - a bridge - for the soul and then to help dissolve the inner restrictions that prevent the soul speaking clearly through the personality.

Of course that does depend on how open the person is to change. It depends on how willing we are to go beyond the conditioned thinking and beliefs about reality we may hold and instead access that place which knows our absolute authentic reality which is felt and experienced in the moment. Those that deeply resonate with our work eventually come to realise that the only constant in life is change, the only certainty is uncertainty and the only security is absolute vulnerability. I believe passionately that this last point is one of the key messages the crucifixion of Jesus taught us for example. From my perspective on the story, he went to the cross as a 'lamb' and because of this, ascended as a 'lion'.

For me, we have to be willing and ready to accept that our views on reality could completely change in an instant. It is only when we're being so open that we can truly perceive reality exactly as it really is.

It is for this reason that I read synchronicity - everything in the Universe is interconnected, every event happens for a reason and contains a deeper meaning the purpose of which being to access an aspect of truth about ourselves to ourselves. Where the personality can distort the energy flowing down from higher consciousness and is therefore subjective to the observer, synchronicity is the objective hand of the Universe. In my truth, synchronicity is the 'voice of God'.

It is for this reason (I am told) that you used the lines in your question...

"I was hoping you could look past my religious cynicisms and help me to grasp what's happening to me"

Yes I can look past them, but the real question is can you?

From the higher perspective I can say that the reason you can smell the perfume of your grandmother is that she is trying to connect with you from the higher vibrational realms of consciousness to bring you a message. Part of the message is already contained within the words I have already written. The next part is to ask you this question...

"What does your religion tell you about what happens to people when they pass on? and what do you feel in your heart has happened to your grandmother since passing on?"

I'm happy to continue the dialogue through the bridge with higher consciousness if you wish to.

Much love

Chris

I've never considered myself a line-for-line Christian. I understand that the foundations and symbols presented in the Word are subject to personal convictions and application. When I asked that you look past my cynicism, I was reacting to what I've received in the past...the "uh, oh...here comes another bible thumper that's trying to disprove us" attitude.
I think that Christ is so much more than traditional religion allows. He admonished that we "worship Him in spirit(first)and in truth(second)." The spirit of a person is not limited to what can fit within the corporeal being. Our spirits, and what they can attain, are as infinite as the universe. And the variables of Truth are different for everyone. That said, I am open to wisdom and in need of knowledge.
I've asked my grandmother what she is trying to teach/tell me...but I've received no audible response. By weighing everything that goes on around me, I'd hoped to gain understanding. I believe that there's a lesson in every action, whether mine or another's. I've attempted to examine how the scent of her perfume makes me feel, but when it happens, I'm so overwhelmed that I can only weep uncontrollably. When I dream, the words, images, and atmosphere are so vividly real. As real as this letter that I writing...or is this a dream too? I wake up feeling as if I've been sitting under a boulder all night while wearing a veil. It takes much time to get my bearings and to get moving in the morning. I'm open to whatever you can share with me. Thanks,
Kimberly

I failed to answer your questions:

"What does your religion tell you about what happens to people when they pass on? and what do you feel in your heart has happened to your grandmother since passing on?"

When people pass on, they are finally able to see and comprehend all truth. They are still in a process of change between mortality and immortality, but very much in a state of consciousness. I believe that my grandmother has moved on into "heavenly" places yet, her work here (her purpose)may not be complete. She obviously has more wisdom to impart and I need her to know that I'm more than willing to receive it.

Hi Kimberly,

Thanks for being so open and honest about your feelings.

There is an undisguisable inner yearning for greater truth that arises strongly from your words and energy. And yes I agree with you - there are many truths, one for each of us.

I trust you don't mind me saying that with the yearning I also get a sensation of tightness, efforting and expectation - expectation of how your questions would be answered...

"I've asked my grandmother what she is trying to teach/tell me...but I've received no audible response."

What if her response is not meant to be audible but to be felt?...

"I've attempted to examine how the scent of her perfume makes me feel, but when it happens, I'm so overwhelmed that I can only weep uncontrollably."

What if that is exactly the response you're meant to get?

Can you let go and surrender right into the feelings as they are arising? Can you be with the pain and not need it to go away? Can you go right into the heart of it and ask "what is being revealed to me now?"

From my perspective, the 'problem' with belief is that it causes us to live more in ideas and concepts. There is a tendency with text to cause us to live in the past or other people's truths. Out of the truths arise expectation of how we should experience the truths. So we're either living in the past or the future.

There is but one moment. Click your fingers. It is this moment. And the only truth is what we feel inside of ourselves right now. Jesus is quoted as saying "the Kingdom of Heaven is close at hand". Indeed it is. It is here and now within us.

The doorway is to go inwards into every feeling, every emotion, not trying to push them away but to sink deeply into them. When we feel tight, emotional, disappointed, angry, tense, frustrated, then we are holding tightness within the corporeal being - it swallows us our spirit like a sponge soaking up water.

We must let the water flow outwards - release the energy. Just as you said, we are much more than the corporal being and yet we identify with it so heavily. We identify with all our hopes, fears, desires and inner yearning - not just material ones but spiritual ones aswell.

If we go inwards, let go and open up, we are filled with the Universe. We unfold into other dimensions of reality. But it takes time and commitment to do this. We must confront all the judgments society makes about us (our beliefs for example) - in fact they are simply our own judgments of our own 'sins'. They cause is to hold tightness.

No one can take away this tightness but ourselves. We must go deep into those feelings no matter what the pain. To me this is the example Jesus gave to us. We must each be prepared to confront those places that lock us into this illusion - pain, suffering, judgment, abandonment. We must have the courage to go through all this to realise we are complete and whole beyond it all - that God is within us and we are that. We can never be separated from that except when we believe we are separate and create a false self of beliefs and ideas around it.

"Why have you forsaken me father?" It is only an identity - a shadow self - that asks such questions. When we let go of identity, we unfold into enlightenment and know ourselves as the father; in which case we can never be separated from that experience "It is accomplished".

"Crucifixion" is the path for all of us - and yet for each it will be different. It could be a single mother struggling to bring up her kids and pay the bills. It could someone trying to protect our environment in the face of big business. It could be someone trying to bring in a new truth in the face of a world of dogma.

Crucifixion invites us to go inwards and realise that we are more than this drama...

"The Universe is merely an illusion
a bluff of nature,
to test your consciousness of immortality."
Paramahansa Yogananda

So I believe your grandmother is inviting you to go deeply into your feelings and release. I believe she is inviting you to be in the moment and peel away the inner restrictions that bind us. What is it that your grandmother reminds you of? Why would you have such feelings? How were your parents with you? What conditioning might you be holding from your childhood?

If we don't go within, we go without!

Much love to you.

Chris

I have just read your questions and felt moved to add some responses.

I was wondering if it might be helpful for you to ask yourself if there are different layers of ideas/associations which arise for you rather than having any expectations of a really concise message.

For instance, perfume can be a very feminine association, something delightfully uplifting as someone passes you by and it wafts over you, and of course for you this particular fragrance is unmistakable as your Grandma. (How wonderful!)

Having experienced bereavement myself, I know what a process expressing the grief can be and how it may be punctuated by years of suppression, or numbness. So maybe she is encouraging you to release some of those tears, and sending a gentle comfort in your time of sorrow in the form of her perfume?

I was once told that shedding tears makes room in your heart for joy, this is something that makes a lot of simple sense to me. Until we shed our sorrows they remain with us, underlying all the happiness we "try" to layer on the top, so it's like building a house on sand, there's always a shakiness underneath. When we have shed all our tears, or we have brushed all the sand away, we can have a lasting peace in our heart, or find the bedrock for our house. From that place of peace, the multitudinous joys of life fill us up and pour out of us like light.

Because I have experienced this for myself as truth, when there is something sorrowful that arises for me now, I feel it and express it fully, I don't worry about whether it's "socially correct", or whether I'm making someone else feel uncomfortable, or resist it because it feels miserable and wretched to experience, I just ball my eyes out, over and over again, until it's all gone. To quote something Chris often says, "the only way out is through"

(Also I don't try to stop or quieten someone elses tears, which from what I observe can be a bit of a cultural habit in this country. Sitting in empathy feels more helpful, and allowing others the space to release their "stuff" seems right.)

So maybe there is a level of deeply personal response to what is happening for you? What is that? Is it time to allow yourself to grieve? Maybe you could then see if there is a more general level to what is going for you, which in itself might have more layers, like for instance: Do you find yourself contemplating your own truth on what happens after the death of the physical body? Or contemplating how you comfort others when they are bereaved? Or do you find yourself contemplating something else? Do you feel like you would enjoy making new connections to find new avenues of discussion?

I hope this helps you to gently unearth all the wisdom that your Grandmother is encouraging you to find within yourself. Be gentle with yourself, this is deep, deep work and as time passes you will gain different perspectives, and I guess you will feel lighter. Allow it all to unfold at its own rate, rather than expecting all the answers to come in a flash. (Some of them might come in a flash of course!)

When I am trying to understand guidance, some of it is obvious and some of it takes a little longer to become clear, but I have learnt not to struggle to get the answers, just to be patient and they will arise. Keep checking that you are doing things which nurture and uplift you, whether it's a candlelit bath or a walk by a river, or something else you enjoy and make sure there's beauty in your life. Maybe pick or buy flowers, or wear perfume. Often!!!

With love and best wishes,
Lesley

Lesley wrote:

"I was once told that shedding tears makes room in your heart for joy"

Such a beautiful sharing Lesley, blessed with many pearls!

Hi Chris,
If it seems like I'd fallen off the radar for a moment, I actually did...I picked up a copy of The Golden Frog. This story put my feelings into words. I indentified some of my own experiences. I felt lighter and freer with the turn of each page.

Nonetheless, after reading your comments, I believe that you have an understanding of my feelings. I can feel your love and concern...

What I am seeking is balance.
Of my siblings, I am the only one responsible for my elderly parents. Add to that that, my husband and three children (ages 7-17), and the fact that I'm in college full-time, and the responsibility to maintain my parents home and my own, it leaves little room for anything else. So, when I'm faced with dreams, visions, and visitations (from my grandmother), I become easily overwhelmed and unable to decipher any meanings and messages.

When I dream, the images and acts are as real as my life when I'm awake. Even meditation escapes me because of numerous responsibilities. I lay in my bed at night and float to my childhood home. I see the fields and roads that lead to it. Once there, I can feel and smell the grass beneath me in the backyard. I hear the crickets and feel the sun's warmth on my face. Yet suddenly, as if I'm being drawn in through a drinking straw, I'm back in my bedroom. This wouldn't be so bad if the room didn't appear to be getting darker and darker to the point that I have to turn on a lamp in order to "save" myself.

I know how stressed out I sound and how stressed I actually am. I also realize that this nightly journey serves as a release for my mind...a place of comfort and boundless existence.
At any rate, as classes resume for my children and myself, it will become more difficult to remain in contact with you. Please think of me and pray for me. I'm striving to leave a legacy of servanthood to my children and I would hate for them to inherit lives devoid of balance.
I hope that this all makes sense...
Thanks for listening,
Kimberly

Hi Kimberly,

Its wonderful that you've stayed 'connected' despite the struggle that you're experiencing. From my perspective I can imagine many people being caught up in a similar sense of responsibility to friends, family and careers and so I know our exchange can help not only each other but perhaps thousands reading this thread too. When we bring our consciousness into such demanding issues, I like to think our realisations are writing a book which we place tenderly in the 'cosmic library of all knowing'.

Since we are all connected through unity consciousness (what some may call 'Christ Consciousness), when someone is struggling with similar issues somewhere else on the planet, at the point where they surrender and open their heart, they will gain access to the 'book' we're writing and draw down the awareness for themselves. So lets keep going!

Your post reminds me of the situation I found myself in following my own awakening. I was involved in a life threatening car crash in which I thought I would certainly die. This precipitated total inner surrender to the seemingly inevitable. As I let go, my spirit expanded out of the wreckage of a life which no longer served.

I too was locked in an existence where my life revolved around perceived responsibilites - to my wife and children, the business I'd built up employing a dozen people, to my friends and parents. I'd been living a life of the false self where a constant internal juggling act was necessary to balance perceived needs, wants and responsibilities.

During the crash, I was infused with so much love, it felt as if light was pouring out of every cell. It was as if someone (what I perceived to be the Christ), was sitting above me pouring down buckets of unconditional love which were washing through me in waves. However as I returned once more to my previous lifestyle, slowly the inner constrictions caused by the internal juggling act to keep everyone happy, were slowly diminishing the light.

There came a point where I realised that it served neither me nor anyone else for the light to be extinguished. I realised that service to the soul is service to all...

"There are two types of selfishness...
that of the ego which based on fear
and that of the soul which is based on unconditional love.
Selfishness of the ego is based on individual wants, perceived needs
and illusionary desires and is therefore truly selfish.
Selfishness of the soul is based on finding that state of being which unites all.
How can that be selfish?"

So I made a choice at that point to be absolutely true to myself. To make only those choices that caused the greatest amount of release inside in order that I might fill with light and help point the way to others.

It was at that point that I realised that my marriage and increasingly desperate attempts to help and please others needed to end. I needed to serve my soul. It was at then I began speaking and acting on my truth.

As a result, in the beginning it felt like I was in the centre of a tornado. For me there was total peace. For those who knew me, total chaos. They were invested in an illusionary reality which kept me in a place of limitation. When someone lets go of the matrix of controlling thought forms that is our society, it sets a wave of release which flows outwards in all directions - however for those still clinging to the shore line, it can feel quite destructive until they are caused to let go as well.

But destruction is construction when it contains the seeds of the future.

Love is expressed in many ways and sometimes to love someone is to kick away their crutch of dis-empowerment. It may sometimes look a little unkind from the outside but in truth it is the kindest thing we can do to another.

So I'm guided to say that true servanthood to your children and those around you is servanthood to your soul. Let go. Allow in the light and you will provide a beacon for all those around you.

Finally, I'm given by Higher Consciousness to share with you a couple of passages from the great book "Illusions, the adventures of a reluctant Messiah"...

Much love

Chris

"Once there lived a village of creatures along the bottom of a great crystal river. The current of the river swept silently over them all - young and old, rich and poor, good and evil, the current going its own way, knowing only its own crystal self. “Each creature in its own manner clung tightly to the twigs and rocks of the river bottom, for clinging was their way of life, and resisting the current what each had learned from birth. But one creature said at last, ‘I am tired of clinging. Though I cannot see it with my eyes, I trust that the current knows where it is going. I shall let go and let it take me where it will. Clinging, I shall die of boredom!’ “The other creatures laughed out loud and said ‘Fool! let go and that current you worship will throw you tumbled and smashed across the rocks and you will die quicker than boredom!’’ But the one headed them not and taking a breath, did let go and at once was tumbled and smashed by the current across the rocks.

Yet in time, as the creature refused to cling again, the current lifted him free from the bottom and he was bruised no more. And the creatures downstream to whom he was a stranger cried ‘see a miracle!’ A creature like ourselves yet he flies! See the Messiah come to save us all! And the one carried in the current said, ‘I am no Messiah than you. The river delights to lift us free, if only we dare let go. Our true work is the voyage, this adventure.’ But they cried the more ‘Saviour!’ all the while clinging to their rocks, and when they looked again, he was gone and they were left alone making legends of a Saviour."