Coming Face to Face

The human family is at a crossroads now. We can no longer live as we have lived in the past. We can no longer afford to be sloppy, careless, or impulsive with our creations. We need to create compassionately and be responsible for what we create.
   This is not something we can leave till tomorrow. We must start right now, each one of us. The choices that we make do matter, for we will reap as we have sown. Individually and collectively, we will see the fruits of our actions in this lifetime.
This is the last generation of human beings who will be able to live on the planet in selfishness and greed. This is the last generation that will be able to pollute the air and the water. If we do not open our hearts to each other and become good stewards for our planet, we will witness the gradual degradation and eventual demise of human life on planet earth.
   We are coming face to face with ourselves now. Every thought, every emotion is out-picturing, not just in our private lives, but on the collective screen of consciousness. There is nowhere to hide.
The Apostle Paul tells us in the New Testament that “First we see through a glass darkly, and then face to face.” For thousands of years, the mirror has been cloudy. Now, it is crystal clear. The consequences of our thoughts and actions appear in full battle dress before us. We can no longer pretend that they are not there.
   The time for denial is over on planet Earth. Each one of us is responsible for what we think, how we feel, what we say, and what we do. The time for transparency has come, individually and collectively.
   Lies and deceptions will no longer be tolerated. Projections must be taken back. We can no longer try to attribute to someone else the thoughts and feelings that belong to us. We can no longer try to make any one else responsible for what we say or do.
   Each of us must learn to stand naked and vulnerable before God and each other. If our heart is pure, we need not be afraid of this exposure. If our heart is troubled, we will no longer be able to deny the healing that is necessary for us. Indeed, we will be forced to acknowledge it.
   The storms that are coming our way are not just external ones. There will be hurricanes, tornadoes and earthquakes in our minds and our hearts. Repressed material will erupt. Secrets will be told. Shame will be exposed and fear will come up for healing. The process of purification has already begun, within us and around us.
   This is a time of great energy. It is a time when the potential for healing and transformation is greater than it has ever been before. If we are ready to heal, this is a good thing. If we aren’t, it is a scary time to be alive.
   You have already made the decision to heal or you would not be reading this book. You already know that you cannot survive in the world with your old ego agenda. You cannot be in a codependent or abusive relationship. You cannot go to work every day doing a job that you hate. You can no longer pretend that you don’t have anger, or fear, or shame. You feel all these emotions rising up, as the grip of the three-dimensional world gets more intense around you.
   You aren’t the only one who is having a hard time. We are all being squeezed. Life as it used to be doesn’t work any longer. We can no longer pull on the mask and live in denial of our pain.
The universe doesn’t support any form of denial any more, because every act of denial results in the projection of our pain onto others. It results in mis-creation. The world we live in is filled with the monsters and goblins we have created because we were unwilling to face our pain directly.
   If we try to do battle with them, we cannot win. We have to dismantle these creatures in our hearts. We need to open to our pain and allow it to show us where healing is necessary.
   When we have the courage to heal, the outer monsters simply vanish or fall away. Love dissolves the fear that created them
 

The Purifying Fire

Until we open to our healing, it is hard to know that God loves us. In truth, we don’t even have a clue how to love ourselves. But once we crack open – once our defense mechanisms shatter and we come face to face with our fear – something incredible happens. Love comes into the dark places where we used to hide our fear and our shame. It begins to inhabit our emotional body.
   A flame is lit that will not go out. It can only grow, illuminating all of the cavernous places within our hearts and minds. That flame is the purifying fire of love. It burns and consumes everything except itself. No untruth can stand its heat. No unworthiness can survive its relentless scrutiny.
   As the flame flourishes and becomes a roaring fire, we bring a whole new energy and attitude toward our lives. We begin to live in the light of our own self-forgiveness. We begin to live in the warmth of our own compassion.
   The more we are squeezed by life, the hotter the flames become. They are like a smelting furnace, liquefying even the hardest metals. If we submit to the fire, our neuroses and resistances will be dissolved. Our ego agendas will be annihilated. Our shame will be eradicated. No trace will remain of the unworthiness and self-loathing that once hid in the dark hidden caves of our heart.
   As individuals go through the purification process, they will begin to join together in new, more healthy and supportive ways. Holy relationships will be formed. Affinity Groups * will provide a safe place for people to face their fears, heal their wounds, and be mid-wifed into their power.
   As the old world crumbles and falls apart, a new world will be built on the planet, brick by brick, stone by stone. From the ground up, new compassionate businesses and institutions will arise. They will embody the spirit of equality and exist solely for the purpose of serving and empowering human beings.
   So please, my friends, do not dwell on the old buildings that are crumbling around you. Do not focus on the roles you can no longer play or the work that you can no longer force yourself to do. Lay those burdens down. Come forth to help us build the new paradigm structures that are necessary to sustain human life on the planet.
   Do not put your energy and focus on what is wrong or what doesn’t work. That is not empowering. Engaging in negative thinking will make it more difficult for you to find your motivation to live. It will make it harder for you to find your gift and begin to offer it to the world.
   No, do not dwell on what is falling apart or mourn the ashes. Instead, place your focus on what you can create that will work, for you and others.
   Please do not despair, especially if you are young. The world that you are inheriting is not the world you are meant to accept or adjust to. It is the world you must transform through your rigorous honesty and love.
   The world that we will create together will be a very different world than the one that we have now. It will not be a fear-driven, shame-based world, but a world based on acceptance and love. It will not be a world where we are afraid to face our pain and afraid to feel the pain of others. It will be a compassionate world that will recognize our wounds and help us heal from them. It will be a world where we can be profoundly honest and present with each other, an authentic world, in which each person is empowered to be who s/he is and express his or her creative gifts.
   Do not despair that this new world has not yet taken shape. The seeds are sown. The saplings are springing up. Take the watering can and tend to them.
   This world can come into existence only through you. You are the one who signed up to tend this garden. So stop complaining and pretending to be powerless. There is work here to do. Your gift is needed. Your participation is necessary.
   In Revelations, we are told that a New Jerusalem will be born, a shining city built out of the ashes of the crumbling world. That is the city we are building together.
   It does not matter that only a few of us know how to read the blueprints, dig the trenches and get the foundation in. We don’t need the framers yet. They have been given notice and will arrive when we are ready for them. And the plumbers, the electricians, and the finish carpenters will not be far behind.
   We don’t know the exact date of completion. We simply know what we have to do next. And that is all we need to know.
     Welcome to the Golden Temple Brigade! Your resume was impressive. Now let’s see what you can do. I bow to the Spirit within you.  
         Paul Ferrini,  Christmas, 2005

Click here to purchase the printed book.

Click here to purchase the ebook.

Click to read the Chapter on Divine Mother