Inspiring Story October 2008 October 11th, 2008 by Eckhart Teachings RELEASING FEAR

[Awakening]

Inspiring Story
Submitted: October 2008
By Elizabeth Lavine
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Dear Eckhart Teachings,
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I want to share with you the “fruits” of your teachings, which I [apparently I] have been following since 1999.
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Yesterday I heard news in the mid-afternoon that the financial market was melting down, and very bad times are indeed ahead (the media’s interpretation.) I was at work at my desk – I work for a self-help organization called The Sedona Method, which disseminates spiritual teachings, much like your organization does. When I heard the news, I walked over to my general manager’s desk, and said, “I feel like I may have a meltdown. What can I do?” She calmly looked up from her papers, and replied, “Well, yes, there may be so-called hard times, and we have to be prepared.” My stomach felt queasy, as I anticipated her upcoming helpful hints on how to be prepared: Stock up on food and water, hoard any money you do have, and so on. “How do I be prepared?”, I asked, numb, in a trance. “You have to keep on releasing, and welcoming what is.” Oh. That. Of course. Then in a flash, I heard a memory of Eckhart’s voice speaking on the Freedom from the World DVD #3: “Loss, especially catastrophic loss, is an opportunity to experience even more deeply the peace that underlies any and all appearances.” (Not exact quote, but this is how I remembered it.) Instantly, I felt an intense aliveness burst forth in every cell of the body. The room seemed dim, hazy, like a dream. I sat on the couch, in the silence of the office, in the presence of Holly, my manager, without any expectation or sense of doom or dread anywhere in my psyche.
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After a few minutes, it was time for me to leave, and go to my next stop for the day: the Sedona Creative Life center, where our Sedona Method 7-day Retreat was in its second day. “Hmm,” I mused, driving along, “I wonder if there will be any upset at the seminar about this among the participants.”
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Then it hit me—I am leaving the support of the office, and the “present” angel who is my manager, and my nine co-workers with whom I sit and share a releasing session every single day. I am leaving this amazing, non-stop support, and driving to the next support station, and I began to cry. And I stopped the car, and sat in wonder, and tears of joy – at the mystery and magic of this journey we call life.
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You see, I had come to Eckhart’s workshop on Cortes Island almost exactly eight years ago, because I lived in terror that the money I had come upon very suddenly the year before, would run out. During that weekend, not only did 40-year shoulder and neck pain heal almost completely, but the great fear and paralysis around money issues lifted enough to enable me to function and be present with the sudden abundance. And yesterday, September 2008, I was again enveloped in the wonder at the perfection of this friendly, friendly universe: for here I am, I thought, in the one place in the entire world I would want to be, on a day such as this: with 125 other people, all who have made being present with thoughts, feelings and stories, their primary objective in life – no matter what. They had traveled from dozens of countries and spent thousands of dollars, to be here, an affirmation of presence being a priority in their lives. I felt rich beyond my wildest dreams! No “mind” could plan anything like that.
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As I walked into the room, the afternoon session already in progress, Hale Dwoskin was leading a group meditation (we call them group releases) on the events of the day. The words that sang the most in my heart afterwards, was Hale inviting us as a group (in a second part of the meditation) to open and welcome especially any images we had deep within pertaining to anger: what we would do, wanted to do, to get revenge or get imaginary control of the situation. Some of us were reluctant to do this, and he said: “By bringing this up into conscious awareness, we are liberating these energies that are already present within us, as our share of the collective consciousness. We are in this way, working with the context, not the content. And by so doing, we are doing the most effective thing we can do to offer the greatest help for the planet.” As he finished these words, there was a palpable hush of deep alive presence pervading the room.
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So my words are: making presence a priority in my life for the past 8 years, listening to Eckhart on tape or DVD daily, sharing the teaching with anyone who asked, following Eckhart’s simple instructions to use The Work of Byron Katie, has been an incredible journey. I am grateful beyond words to Eckhart for his being so visible and available, even though he doesn’t have to; and to all who produce and distribute the materials. Much love to all of you in the office, and many, many thanks. ... Admin Options.Feature Edit GroupManage Group MembersDelete Group..Send Message to GroupStop Following..Members (4). .Invite More..