An Unshakable Heart

Greetings!

Years ago I heard a spiritual teacher say that suffering is grace because it brings us closer to the Divine.

While I have had this experience, lately I have come to realize more and more that this is not always the case.

Sometimes we suffer and distance ourselves from the Divine. We may become angry or give up on the Divine. Or feel as though the Divine has given up on us. 

This is never the case. 

The challenges we face can be stumbling blocks that take us off our path (whatever that may be), or they can be stepping stones that lead us further down the path. The choice is ours. Whatever we are facing can be fuel for the journey, or it can completely derail us.

I shared in one of my first blog posts about a difficult time I went through years ago. I was newly divorced with a young son and I lost my home. I held onto my spiritual practice more than ever, and not only made it through those times, which lasted a few years, but they were pivotal times in my life. Despite being some of the more challenging times in my life, they were some of the most beautiful. Truly. They were times of such incredible beauty and expansion. My practice at the time was devotional chanting. I had the Names of God in my heart and on my lips for hours every day. And everything was okay, no matter what it looked like from the outside.

Master Sha teaches about having an unshakable heart. We have to be solid so nothing can shake our heart.

In the Immortal Tao Classic, two hundred twenty sacred phrases for the spiritual journey that Master Sha received from the Tao, there is one line in particular that deeply moves me: 

Lian Xin Bu Dong 

Pronounced lyen sheen boo dawng, this means the Xiu Lian heart cannot be shaken. Xiu means purification and “Lian” means practice. “Xiu Lian” (pronounced sheo lyen) means practice to purify soul, heart, mind, and body. If you are a serious spiritual practitioner, or if you wish to live a peaceful, balanced life, an unshakable heart is a must. 

There is much negativity and pollution on Mother Earth. There is pollution of all kinds, not only environmental pollution. You cannot let it shake your heart. Walking a spiritual path can be challenging at times; to not be distracted by the pollution, and to always be aware of how easily we can create new karma by what we speak, what we see, what we think, what we do. 

One of the benefits of spiritual practice is that it purifies the heart. With a pure heart, the negativity and pollution around you won`t shake your heart. It won`t derail you. It cannot distract you from your journey. What`s more, when faced with challenges big or small, you can stay on track, or more easily get back on track. 

Use everything you can as fuel for your journey, and your journey will keep moving forward.

Everything you do, and everything you experience, can be a way of coming to God.

Have a blessed and beautiful day.

Until next time.

With love from my heart,
Master Elaine

Gratitude Changes My Life (And It Will Change Yours, Too)

Greetings!

In my last post I mentioned that I would share a practice to develop gratitude.Today we will look at gratitude and how having an attitude of gratitude can transform your life. 

Often you hear people say they are grateful for this or that. You may have noticed that people who are grateful appear to be happier than those who may not express gratitude in everyday life. This is not to say they don't experience struggles and life blockages because they do. But they see them through a different lens. They view all of life-the ups and downs and in-betweens-through gratitude. 

How would you define gratitude? Master Marilyn Smith has written a delightful and powerful book called Gratitude: A Key to Happiness (Toronto/Heaven's Library Publication Corp., 2010). The title alone is a great teaching! In this book, gratitude is defined in this way:

Gratitude is appreciation, reverence, respect and joy          

that is unconditional.

Read that sentence again once or twice slowly. 

Now imagine having appreciation, reverence, respect and joy that is unconditional. Imagine living and expressing this unconditional appreciation, reverence, respect and joy.

Truly, just as described in this book, I have found the way to achieve an attitude of happiness is to focus on gratitude. When you do this, you connect with the essence of happiness, which is deep inner joy. 

You can start now, right where you are, by thinking for a few moments about what makes you happy. If you have difficulty doing this, start with something small. Are there flowers in your yard or a beautiful tree on your way to work? See squirrels playing in a tree? A baby in a carriage on the street? A cool evening? A cup of hot tea? A comfortable chair or a good book? Maybe you don’t think they are special. Look for something. Do this throughout your entire day. These are things you can say thank you for. 

Do this for one week or more. Do your best to pause and be grateful. Truly grateful. And express that gratitude. The more you do this, the more automatic it will become. The more heartfelt your gratitude will be. The more you will live gratitude.

Master Marilyn says to take however long you need to move from not having anything to say thank you for, to noticing something new, to noticing the beauty in the new thing and, finally, being the expression of gratitude, saying thank you. Doing this practice will help you achieve an attitude of happiness. When you have developed gratitude, you will have touched the essence of happiness.

How beautiful is that?

Now join me in a practice to help develop gratitude. If you are tempted to keep reading and skip the practice, don't! Sit up straight and say:

Dear soul, mind and body of gratitude, I love you.

(Everything is made of soul, mind [consciousness], and body [energy and matter].)

Continue:

You have the power to bring happiness to my life.

Do a good job.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Or you could say:

Dear soul, mind and body of gratitude, 
you have the power to change my response to life.

Do good job.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Then chant (repeat) for three to five minutes:

Gratitude changes my life.

Gratitude changes my life.

Gratitude changes my life.

Gratitude changes my life...

Close your eyes and chant for three to five minutes now. Do this simple practice three to five times a day, the longer the better. 

So many of the changes we want to make in our lives can be made by simply becoming more aware and more present. And so it is with developing a grateful heart. In each moment, you can become aware of many things to be grateful for. As you repeat this mantra, you shift your awareness and become the quality of gratitude. You are not just saying the words. 

Connect with the mantra. Become the mantra. 

When you chant that way, gratitude really does change your life. 

We become what we chant. What's your mantra? If it's my life is really difficult, what are you becoming? Ouch. Change the mantra to change your life. 

Gratitude changes my life.

Gratitude changes my life.

Gratitude changes my life.

Gratitude changes my life...

By incorporating this simple practice in your daily life, you could experience huge shifts in your life. And one who experiences and expresses gratitude in daily life is a blessing to others.

Gandhi said, "Be the change you wish to see in the world." What change do you wish to see? Happiness starts here and now, with you. 

Quick! What are you grateful for?

Leave a comment and share your experiences with practicing gratitude. I would love to hear from you.

Until next time.

With love from my heart,
Master Elaine

Meeting the Divine Half Way

Greetings and welcome.

It has been some time since my last post and I want to share a story with you that has had great impact on me. You may have heard this story before. I first heard it a few years ago, and it deeply touched my heart.

If you recognize the story at the onset, I ask you to keep reading. Be open to receive the message that is there for you, for we can hear the same story many times and receive new insights each time.

Here it is...

A heavy storm came into a town and local officials sent out an emergency warning that the river would soon overflow and flood the nearby homes. They ordered everyone in the town to evacuate immediately.

One man who lived alone heard the warning and decided to stay, saying to himself, “I will trust God. If I am in danger, God will save me.”

As people were quickly evacuating, a neighbor came by and said to him, “We’re leaving and there is room for you in our car. Please come with us.” The man declined. “I have faith that God will save me.”

The man stood on his porch...watching as the water rose up the steps. Deeper and deeper. A man in a row boat paddled by and called to him, “Hurry and come into my boat. The waters are rising quickly!” But the man again said, “No, thanks. God will save me.”

The flood waters rose higher and began pouring into his house and the man had to retreat to the second floor. A police rescue motorboat came by and saw him at the window. “We will come up and rescue you!” they shouted. But the man refused, waving them off saying, “Use your time to save someone else! I have faith that God will save me!”

The flood waters continued to rise higher and higher and the man had to climb up to his rooftop.

A rescue helicopter spotted him and dropped a rope ladder. A rescue person came down the ladder and pleaded with the man, "Grab my hand and I will pull you up!" But the man still refused. “No, thank you! God will save me!”

Shortly after, the house broke up and the flood waters swept it and the man away and he drowned.

He got to Heaven and asked God what happened and why he had forsaken him in his time of need when he had such faith. He told God that God had let him drown.

God replied, "My son, don’t you see? It was I who sent you two boats and a helicopter."

*****

The man was waiting for God's hand to scoop him up and rescue him. He could not see God’s hand in those mortal hands that offered help.

God rescues us all the time. It is our responsibility to see those miracles in the making.

You have to meet God half way.

You have to do your part. And that’s where service and Total GOLD (gratitude, obedience, loyalty and devotion to the Divine) come in. That's our part.

If we leave it all to God, what kind of character does that instill in us? The man was expecting God to do it all. He didn’t try to save himself. He was expecting more from God than he was willing to give of himself. In a way, he was testing God. He held a mind-set that it would work a certain way. It would look like this or that. Then he questioned why God failed to serve him in the way he thought he should have.

For me, this story sums up how so many of us choose live our lives. We have faith in God to take care of us, but we ignore so many signs and opportunities He sends our way.

We may think, why am I suffering, I have such faith…why is this happening to me?

Everything is a gift for our own awakening and expansion. We are always and in all ways being tended to in the most appropriate way in this moment.

I believe that the highest form of prayer is that of gratitude. This is so powerful. I pray the things I do will glorify the Divine and serve the Divine's will, not mine, rather than praying for this or that to fulfill my needs. You may find this practice to be very transforming also.

Starting today, do your best to be aware of the gifts that are being sent your way on a daily basis. Some of them may not look like gifts at all. They may not even feel like gifts. Become aware of how you respond to these opportunities. What is the message? You may wish to keep a simple journal.

Thank you for reading. I welcome you to leave a comment. Next time, we will do a practice to develop gratitude. Subscribe to my blog so you don't miss the blessings and practices. 

Until next time.

With love from my heart,

Master Elaine

Longing To Be One With The Divine

Many people go though life feeling isolated or separate from others. 

I have come to realize that, ultimately, this is a result of our separation from the Divine. Our relationship with the Divine is our original relationship, and separation from The Source deeply affects us: our physical life and, of course, our soul journey.

Years ago I heard about an Indian saint who was so desperate to meld with the Divine that he cried out in pain. He rubbed his face in the dirt. The pain of separation was so great. 

And so it can be with us. 

This separation can deeply impact our health, relationships, and every aspect of our lives. What causes this separation to become even greater? Each time we harm another soul through our speech, thoughts, and behavior, this separation grows because we are further from the Divine. Each time we have spoken or thought negatively about the Divine, have complained about our life and what we have been given, this separation is made greater. 

Though in our heart we long to be One with the Divine, there is separation, even for the most dedicated spiritual practitioners. And there is karma between us and the Divine resulting from our thoughts, words, and behaviors from all our lifetimes. 

When I learned this just a few days ago from my spiritual father and teacher, Master Sha, it made so much sense. Most relationships carry karma. What is a relationship like that carries much karma? There is misalignment and disharmony. The relationship can be filled with challenges and blockages of all kinds. 

In past lifetimes we could have done many things to create karma between us and the Divine, including acting against a great spiritual teacher sent here to serve humanity, and much more. This could create a huge amount of karma between us and the Divine. How can we align fully with the Divine when we have karma that blocks this most significant of all our relationships?

To have this karma removed could transform every aspect of your life and soul journey. 

Below is my flow (soul communication) with Heaven about the tremendous blessing of receiving Karma Cleansing for your relationship with the Divine. I am honored to share:

Hao! To receive Karma Cleansing for the relationship between you and the Divine is to remove blockages to aligning with the Divine and Heaven. These blockages can deeply affect your health, emotions, relationships, finances, spiritual channels, and every aspect of your life, including your Tao and immortality journey. To be blocked in your alignment with Heaven can cause you to lose your way on the spiritual journey. To receive this extraordinary blessing is one of the MOST extraordinary blessings a soul can receive. You will have greater possibility to meld with me; to become One. You will come to me because that which keeps you from me will be removed. My heart will be your heart. My consciousness will be your consciousness. You will walk more fully on the path of the Divine and your teacher. You will embrace divine wisdom in an entirely new way. You will have the capacity to serve with greater Da Ai (greatest love), Da Kuan Shu (greatest forgiveness), Da Ci Bei (greatest compassion), and Da Guang Ming (greatest light). 

So much is possible when all that blocks you from aligning with Heaven is transformed. Align soul, heart, mind, and body with Heaven. Receive the greatest blessing. You are beyond blessed. Your life, your soul journey will benefit exponentially. You will be empowered like never before to accomplish your tasks. This is just the beginning of the significance of receiving Karma Cleansing for your relationship with the Divine. Do not miss this opportunity. You are deeply loved and blessed. Hao!

*****

To receive this incredible blessing will help you to align more fully with your true purpose, to be a greater presence of the Divine, and to accomplish your soul journey. 

I am extremely grateful. I urge you not to miss this extraordinary opportunity.


With love from my heart,
Master Elaine

photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/vinothchandar/5602765430/">VinothChandar</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">cc</a>

My Life and Soul Journey Were Transformed Forever

My life was transformed in 2005. Even greater, my entire soul journey was transformed.

You see, I met my spiritual teacher, Dr. and Master Sha in 2005 when I attended his five-day workshop at Omega Institute about healing with herbs. Every now and then, Master Sha would share a nugget--a gem--a jewel--of soul wisdom. I had studied with another spiritual teacher and participated in many spiritual retreats and events prior to this, but had never experienced such deeply profound teachings.

At least not in this lifetime.

On the edge of my seat for five days, I could not get enough.

My soul recognized truth.

The most profound truth was that of the universal law of karma. Though our minds may not fully grasp, or even be aware of it, our souls know this law very well. This is because our beloved soul carries our negative karma, created in this lifetime and past lifetimes through our unpleasant thoughts, words, actions, inaction and more.

I participated in the five-day workshop with Master Sha, followed by a two-day soul healing event in New York City. At that event, Master Sha offered--and I received--Divine Karma Cleansing of my personal karma.

The misdeeds I had done to others throughout all my lifetimes were forgiven. My spiritual debt was paid. How blessed we are that the Divine has offered this service for ten years.

Our negative karma can create blockages in every aspect of life: our health, with chronic or life-threatening conditions; our emotions, with anxiety, depression, anger, fear and other emotional imbalances; our mental body, with mental illness, confusion, lack of clarity and more; our relationships; our finances and business and so much more.

There is a spiritual reason for everything.

When I first received Divine Karma Cleansing, I experienced countless layers--like skins of an onion--quickly falling from me into the ground. Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Layer after layer; lifetime after lifetime of karma was cleared.

Though I didn't fully understand the magnitude of the blessing I had received, the gratitude in my heart was deep.

In those few moments, my life and soul journey were transformed forever. Blockages that were removed from my path included emotional instability, serious physical conditions that would take my life at an early age, and more.

Unencumbered by the weight of this burden, my soul was free. I experienced deep peace and stillness in my heart. True joy. To be free of karma is to be free of the things that keep us rooted in our suffering, and not just for this lifetime, but for all future lifetimes as well. The possibility for real transformation exists because the root blockage is no longer there.

This is a gift beyond all gifts. I share this because Divine Karma Cleansing is ending very soon, at the end of 2013. The purpose of physical life is to serve our soul journey. I encourage you to do whatever you can to receive this tremendous blessing for your entire soul journey.

For more information about how you can receive Divine Karma Cleansing, go to https://www.drsha.com/karma-cleansing-opportunity/ or email me at MasterElaineWard@gmail.com.

Wishing you a beautiful and blessed new year filled with love, peace, harmony and abundance.


With love from my heart,
Master Elaine

True Liberation

For many, this time of year is a time of reflection. A time to remember where we were twelve months ago, and look at the progress we have made.

It is a time of new beginnings. A new year! A new year can breathe hope and promise into our lives. I used to approach the new year and say to myself, THIS is the year I am going to straighten out this or that.

I know many of you can relate.

It wasn't until I met my spiritual teacher, Master Sha, and learned deeper wisdom about karma that I began to understand the blockages in my life. I used to wonder, as many do, why do "bad" things happen to "good" people? How is it that so-and-so, who is so gentle and kind, is dealing with so many issues? Why do so many of us continue to make the same mistakes again and again in business, relationships, and so on? Don't we ever learn?

Yes, we learn. Eventually. Hopefully.

Learning about karma was life changing for me. It provided answers to my (above) questions and so much more. Karma is cause and effect. Many people believe what goes around comes around. This is karma. What we put out, through our good actions (and words, thoughts, and more) is returned to us. And what we put out through our less-than-kind actions (lying, cheating, stealing, complaining, taking advantage of or harming others in any way and more) comes back to us as well.

Karma is a universal law. This is good. Heaven is most fair.

In his book, The Power of Soul, Master Sha released a one-sentence secret of karma:

Karma is the root cause of success and failure                      in every aspect of life.

Our success in relationships, business, finances, and more, is related to our good karma. We all have good karma also. Our blockages in our health, relationships, business, finances, and more, is due to our negative karma. There is a spiritual reason for everything. Nothing is random in the universe.

Having this understanding, and learning deeper teachings about karma over the last eight years, have helped me incredibly. I am extremely grateful. I am grateful because once we identify an issue, we can find a solution. A way to transform it. It is much more difficult to go through life thinking that it isn't fair. When we step back and look at the journey of the soul through its many lifetimes, and not just this lifetime, we can begin to make sense out of why things are the way they are. We begin to understand the cause of our suffering. This has been my experience. 

We can transform our negative karma by gaining good karma. We do this by offering good service: offering our unconditional love, forgiveness, compassion, sincerity, integrity, and so on. We help make others happier and healthier. There are many way to serve: chanting, helping others, volunteering, donating to charities, and so on. This is very good.

When someone has heavy karma, though, it can take not years, but lifetimes to transform their negative karma. Consider this: our karma is our spiritual debt. When we harm another, we create debt. How is that debt paid? Through our suffering. Through the blockages in our lives. These could be issues with health, emotions, relationships, finances ... any aspect of life. It could take many lifetimes of good service to humanity to self-clear our negative karma.

Throughout history there have been few very special servants with the authority to clear karma. Master Sha is a chosen Divine Servant and Channel. He and his Worldwide Representatives have the authority and honor to offer Divine Karma Cleansing. This service is life-saving and life-transforming.

My life has been not only transformed, but saved, through Divine Karma Cleansing. Many of the struggles I had have been removed. Lifetimes of karma, accumulated through my unpleasant service to others throughout many lifetimes, was removed.

My soul is free. This is true liberation.

To clear karma is to receive forgiveness. It is to have our spiritual debt paid. We are no longer bound to lifetimes of suffering due to our actions from this lifetime and past lifetimes. We could be very loving and compassionate people in this lifetime, but we have all had lifetimes where this was not the case. We have made mistakes. Think about the mistakes we make in one lifetime. Imagine hundreds or thousands of lifetimes. Our beloved soul carries the effect of these mistakes -- our karma -- through every lifetime. And through our suffering, our debt is paid, little by little.

What is it worth to have this suffering removed? Personally, I did whatever I had to do to have my debt cleared. We have physical life and spiritual life. The purpose of physical life is to serve our spiritual journey. Our spiritual journey is our soul journey. The physical journey can be filled with hardship after hardship, lesson after lesson, lifetimes of suffering, when we carry negative karma.

Or our current lifetime and future lives can be filled with promise. With love and light. Only when we are free of darkness (karma) can we achieve the highest levels of enlightenment.

I share this with you today because Divine Karma Cleansing service is ending at the end of 2013. Clearing your karma could transform your life in astounding ways, removing lifetimes of suffering. And it will most definitely affect the journey of your soul. Divine Karma Cleansing is not the greatest gift of one lifetime, but of all lifetimes.

Read more about this opportunity.

One more thing. Millions, if not billions, of people are suffering on Mother Earth. Humanity needs help. The world needs healing. Mother Earth needs more light.  To clear our karma is to bring more light to our beloved planet. The less darkness we carry, the fewer struggles we have, and the better we are able to serve others. Removing our karma empowers us. The less burden our soul carries, the better.

I love my heart and soul
I love all humanity
Join hearts and souls together
Love, peace and harmony
Love, peace and harmony


With love from my heart,
Master Elaine



Start Where You Are

Feeling grateful. Extremely grateful.

Grateful for my spiritual father and teacher, Master Sha. Grateful for loving family, friends, and soul family. For this day and all it brings. For the opportunity to learn lessons as a result of the mistakes I have made. For the indescribable blessings of every day. For the forgiveness I have received for the many mistakes I have made that have caused pain and suffering to others in all my lifetimes.

To purify the heart is to first acknowledge our impurities. Not one of us is perfect. But we can do the work to improve. We can purify our thoughts. We can purify our speech. We can purify our actions, and act with unconditional love, forgiveness, compassion, and light.

Start where you are, wherever that may be.

And always remember: you are loved beyond measure.

Until next time.


With love from my heart,
Master Elaine

Golden Opportunities

I had a sudden realization as I was driving one day. Here it is:

Everything we think, say and do is our offering to the Divine.

What?!

Yes. Further, whatever we think, say and do reverberates throughout humanity, Mother Earth and all universes. Our speech, thoughts and behavior affect countless beings and deeply impact our physical life and spiritual journey.

This may make you feel good. Or you could have a sinking "uh oh" feeling. Or something in between the two. Are you offering love, forgiveness, compassion, light, integrity, purity, selflessness? Or are you offering complaining, jealousy, anger, selfishness ...?

Ouch.

This much I know to be true:

Every day, in every moment, we have the opportunity to transform. It starts with awareness.

I welcome you to share your insights. Leave a comment. And please subscribe and share!

Have a beautiful day!

With love from my heart,
Master Elaine

photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/majamarko/143860670/">majamarko</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/">cc</a>

Treasured Gifts

One of the most precious gifts I have been given in this lifetime is the opportunity to forgive and be forgiven.

I shared in my previous post that I had a powerful experience of forgiveness many years ago. I held deep resentment toward someone who I felt had betrayed me. My mind kept going over all of the reasons why I should feel this way. Well-intended friends and loved ones agreed wholeheartedly, yet my heart felt so uneasy.

This was a new experience for me, and I was uncomfortable feeling that way toward another being, however hurt I was. I realized that I needed to move forward and, in order to do so, I had to forgive. I could not have inner peace and at the same time harbor this negativity toward another.

But where to start? I wanted deeply to transform the pain and negativity.

Those days I had just begun my practice of devotional chanting. I chanted for hours every night, completely absorbed in the practice. The testing and purification was intense. Having little financial resources, I lost my home. I clung to my practice more than ever.

One evening, no longer able to carry this pain in my heart, I asked the Divine for help.

The answer was immediate and crystal clear: Just let it go.

Just let it go? I had not considered that as an option.

I understood this to mean that it was up to me to hold on or let go. In my heart, in my mind, and from my mouth, I uttered I am ready to let it go.

And the greatest burden was lifted from my being. I was free.