Church of Inner Truth

What Is It About Me? Living From Inspiration

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 20:32:00 -0500

I recently attended a workshop on Ho’oponopono, the Hawaiian method of problem solving that involves taking complete responsibility for everything that shows up in your life; meaning if you see it out there, it is yours to heal within. In this method, you are either acting from memories or inspiration. Guess which one causes the problems? It is a very simple method of clearing (called cleaning) the memories to take you back to “zero” or a state of divinity. You ‘clean’ whatever in you is showing up as a problem “out there”.

What we do at the Center is not so different. We offer a type of meditation using intuitive tools where students learn to clear pictures. These pictures are life experiences or memories that are stuck in your energetic body and keep replaying internally and/or showing up in your outer life. Those stuck energies often keep you from knowing your divinity or that zero state. Everything and everyone that shows up in our lives affords us an opportunity to heal pictures. In our advanced training, we teach people at the Center how to give clairvoyant readings and release the matching pictures in themselves. We do the same thing in our spiritual healing classes or clinic – each person “giving” a healing is there to heal themselves by clearing out the same energies or limit showing up in the healee.

It’s easy to get caught in the details of this crazy life (or at least I do) when the only thing of any importance is our relationship to Self through our Divinity. Anything else, be it religious programming, intellectualism, or simply stuck in the fabricated rules of this material plane is just more junk between you and home. We each have to find that one to one contact for ourselves; no one can take that journey for us. For me it requires constant perseverance and a good sense of humor. As the Buddha said, drop by drop we become good (or wise or healed…).

In Ho’oponopono and at the Center both methods of healing say there is no “out there”. Easy to say, but harder to practice. Sometimes I find myself getting frustrated with someone or judging an action and I think how could this be my issue? But it is. The journey becomes simpler when I see that my true responsibility is to maintain my own peace or to bring my focus back to ‘zero’ when I find myself thinking the problem is out there. It’s called spiritual “practice” for a reason.

The universe exists because you are in it. To really live a life of this level of responsibility means you need to fall in love with yourself. Heal yourself because you are the key for the whole world to heal. As you heal yourself, you heal the world.

Juli Somers is a gifted psychic, spiritual healer and minister. She is the Director of The Center For Inner Truth in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Transforming through Meditation and Pregnancy

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 19:56:00 -0500

When I was pregnant I not only expanded (and we’re talking some major stretching) in the physical sense, but also took immense steps in my spiritual growth.

Throughout my twenties I experienced tons of body aches, pains and illnesses. I often referred to myself as an 80-year old in a 25-year old body, and friends and family were always shocked with all my crazy diagnosis’. Occasionally, the thought of kids would come up, and my partner at the time would reflect that I couldn’t make it being pregnant because my body was so weak. And I believed him. It’s amazing to me, when I look back now, how I readily bought into this picture of lack in health, and how often my spirit wasn’t in my body in order to deal with all the pain.

When I started to take steps down my current path, beginning to meditate and release untruths through my clairvoyant training, I went through some major shifts in my body as I let go of this false definition of myself. It wasn’t easy, let me tell you, but I slowly came to a place where I was feeling healthy and energized. I had just turned 30 and had a sense of freedom from my old self. Then, just as I was starting to understand that you get exactly what you need to go further in your healing, I found out I was pregnant.

Okay, here we go. The major test had arrived. Of course, old images of weakness and many fears around my body’s abilities popped up, but I was now certain in my power to define my path and let go of things that weren’t my truth. I could do this.
Since I seem to like challenges, I found myself with an opportunity to have an even more tremendous growth experience in that I was to be a single mom. So, not only were there old body pictures to release, but also an increased level of emotions to work through in the circumstances around being on my own.

My deep commitment to intuitive based meditation had me in a place where I was able to focus my mind into an awareness of what I was feeling, observe where it was coming from and then let it go - whether it be an emotion, lack of energy, a physical pain, or a tricky ego attachment. Not only was I able to release personal pictures about my health, but also all of the typical ideas one may hold about the discomforts associated with pregnancy. When I look back, I am amazed at what I was able rise above utilizing the simple tools we work with at The Center. My healing also opened me up to receive the love and support that was all around me. I was not alone, nor would I ever be.

I can now officially say that I had an extraordinary pregnancy - full of positive energy and healing. One in which I was able to be present, with spirit fully in the body, every moment. There is no doubt in my mind that this level of self-awareness and growth can be achieved by anyone who is pregnant - or not pregnant. The power of meditation is amazing.

Reverend Stacia Synnestvedt is a minister and intuitive teacher at The Center For Inner Truth in Santa Fe, NM. She can be reached thru her website at www.intuitiveavenues.com .

Healing Journeys

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 22:43:00 -0500

This article is about two different types of healing journeys. One is the journey to see John of God (Joao de Deus) in Brazil like Juli just led. The other is the journey within, searching deep inside for answers that lead to spiritual freedom, i.e.; the work we do at the Center. Each complements the other and has offered greater awareness and insight than either by itself for me.

Amazing healing took place in Brazil, for me and for many, many others who traveled to the Casa de Dom Inácio in Abadiânia. But I truly believe that the healing was much more encompassing because of the journey within that I have been taking at the Center. The awareness, the tools, the healings, the readings and the service have all helped to focus the healing that I received in Brazil. The healing energies of the Casa and the entire experience of being in Brazil have helped my journey within now that we are back at the Center.

When we set the energy at the Center in Santa Fe at a “spiritual sanctuary” vibration (a continual process) we are creating our own “mini” Casa, where one is safe to explore themselves on their path to spiritual freedom. In Brazil, the Casa remains a spiritual sanctuary whether Medium João is present or not. The spirits that assist the healing work are always there and the love and the healing energy of the Casa always available. When the Casa is in session, people from all over the world come to receive healings or are there to offer their energies in support of the healing processes. Their love and belief are added to the already powerful energy and miracles occur.

One need not go to Brazil to experience miracles, however. I see it daily at the Center, in classes, at healing clinic, in readings and at workshops and services. People find insights into themselves and they heal, their energies begin to move after long periods of stagnation and they clear pictures that have kept them trapped. These are no small miracles. Anything that one can do to set themselves on their path to spiritual freedom is a blessing. Sometimes the first steps are the hardest when your awareness tells you that you need “something” not even being sure what “that” is. Going to Brazil and seeing John of God is a life changing experience that I would recommend to anyone. But more important than any trip to somewhere else is the importance of going within and giving yourself the gift of love.

Patrick Ower was in the Ministerial Training program at The Center for Inner Truth in Santa Fe, NM when this article was written for the January/February 2008 newsletter.

Energy, Traffic & Cars - oh my!

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 22:31:00 -0500

We all spend a lot of time in our cars, driving from place to place, dealing with traffic and our own thoughts at the same time. Have you ever noticed already being at your next destination, making up excuses for being late while you’re stuck behind a slow car, truck or a red light? I recently caught myself making up a dramatic story in my head and it inspired me to write this article.

Over the past years I’ve been practicing being more aware of my energy while driving. I used to look at every driver, practically sit in their lap driving; my energy was wandering into their space and distracting them. I would notice people losing their sense of control but wasn’t aware that I was the cause. It felt normal to just jump into other drivers’ space and energy fields.

Thanks to my training at the Center and especially during my teacher training I’ve become much more conscious about my energetic field and other people’s fields. I started to practice being grounded, running my energy and owning my space while driving; even if I am late or rushing. I even ground my car and when a car is tailgating me I ground the car and driver behind me.

Two years ago I drove all night to California. My friend Anita fell asleep outside of Albuquerque, so it was up to me to stay focused and awake. I connected myself and the car to the Center of the Earth (grounding) and started running earth and cosmic energies. I drove smiling through the darkness, feeling like there is just me and the road!!!

So next time you catch yourself getting frustrated in traffic, think of this bleep and smile. Create a grounding cord from your tailbone down to the center of the earth, breathe deep and on the exhale release. It’s amazing how fast this stuff works!!!

Peace, Barbara

Barbara Saxer is on staff at The Center for Inner Truth in Santa Fe, NM and was in the midst of her ministerial training when this article was written for the March/April 2008 Newsletter.

The Commitment Conspiracy

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 22:15:00 -0500

Where is your loyalty? Take a commitment check and find out! That’s what I did recently and was quite shocked at the results. How many institutions and beliefs do we blindly pledge our allegiance to?

Well, let’s see…At an early age we get ushered right into some pretty heavy duty ones, like: “I pledge allegiance to the flag” or “Jesus is my savior”. Some of us never escape from either of those opiates.

And then it just escalates from there: loyalty to being someones’ definition of a lovable child, to family, to peers, to what we’re taught in school, to the media, to fashion (the right weight, clothes, hair, teeth, personality), to achievement/success, to money, to marriage (til death do we part), to my physical, emotional and psychological pain, to homeland security, to maintaining the status quo (don’t rock the boat!), to old age and death….ALL FALSE GODS.

Whoa! Where is the real me in all this? None of these commitments are wrong, we just make them utterly unconsciously. There lies the conspiracy. Now let’s not get overwhelmed. Simply step back and reassess. Dig deeply to discover your loyalties and see if they were made from a conscious, awakened state of choice.

I discovered that the only commitment that makes sense for me is the one to my spiritual freedom. Then life becomes a journey of significance rather than superficiality. And what is meant by ‘spiritual freedom’? Visit our Center For Inner Truth and find out – jump into life – make it magical by living from conscious commitment!

Sherry Gage is was completing her ministerial training at The Center for Inner Truth in Santa Fe, NM when this article was written for the March/April 2008 Newsletter and is the Vice President of the Board of Directors for CFIT.

I Am An Eternal Spirit, Experiencing Life In a Human Body

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 22:00:00 -0500

Being in the Minister Training here at the center has been an amazing journey! For me it has been a transformative experience, a lot like the phoenix rising out of the ashes of illusion. I discovered so many things about myself as spirit in a body. The most enriching thing I discovered is that I am an eternal spirit, experiencing life in a human body. I am here to grow, love and express my unique vibration.

As part of the training, we did a meditation to bring our spirit into the body more completely. I was surprised to find that during this process I was having difficulty bringing my spirit into my body, because there was no room. I was all filled up on the inside. Let me elaborate on that. Having disconnected from the God of my heart somewhere along the way I wasn’t receiving the nourishment and protection that provides. Exploring my inner landscape I discovered that managing life all by myself without source was a tricky business. I had to create beliefs about my experiences to keep me safe and survival strategies in order to interact with life. A maze of illusions, built one on top of the other created this great protective structure inside of me. I was the architect of this amazing structure.   I built walls of defense, secret rooms to store pain too overwhelming to face, vaulted ceilings of beliefs created out of misunderstanding and judgment.

I found that it was taking up all the space where my spirit wants to be. So I emptied. The process of dismantling my internal mansion of old energies was one of witnessing with compassion and a willingness to let go and forgive. I was encouraged and supported to go a step further and release my attachment to past suffering.   I am now more able to honor it as growth on my spiritual path.

Most important of all I now have room inside for my spirit to reside. I have a new understanding that I am nourished and protected by spirit; I don’t have to create structures inside to manage my life. Besides, micromanaging takes so much energy that is now available for more creative pursuits! I am truly grateful for this minister program and invite and encourage you all to come to the Center and check it out. Be the light that you are!

Celia Green just graduated as a Minister for The Center for Inner Truth when this article was written for the May/July 2008 newsletter.

Rebirth

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 21:55:00 -0500

Spring is in the air!!! Birds are singing in the morning, trees are blooming, and my tulips are about to burst open. As the outdoors is coming alive spring is also a time for inner renewal. I had a most profound experience last week that I would like to share with you.

Last Monday we had our final ministerial class. One of the requirements was to create a ceremony to share with the class. I volunteered to be a mother welcoming her newborn child as a spirit into this world for Stacia’s ceremony. It was a beautiful, heartwarming ceremony and felt very healing (having given birth to my daughters Mara and Runa).

That evening, just as I was leaving my office, I experienced these incredibly strong cramps - it felt just like being in intense labor. They lasted a good half hour; I was sweating and in excruciating pain but just focused on breathing and grounding. After my female organs calmed down again I remembered the ceremony earlier that day.

That night I took a long, hot bath and crawled into bed. As I closed my eyes I saw myself like a newborn baby, lying on its side, feeling peaceful and calm. I dosed off into deep sleep. When I woke up I experienced a clarity of mind and ease in my body like never before – I felt reborn!!!

Everything has felt different since that night! I appreciate my gifts as a healer in this lifetime and enjoy sharing my gifts freely with people. I am able to trust the process of life with more ease, even in challenging situations (as there are plenty every day). I broke through a big wall of resistance!!! I will leave you with the words I came up with for our Service on Easter Sunday on the topic of “Rebirth”- my own version of the song “Hot Cross Buns”:

Open Your Heart
Set Yourself Free
Give Some Love, Receive Some Love
See The Truth

Ground Yourself
Set Your Soul Free
Give Some Love, Receive Some Love
You Are Reborn
Peace, Barbara

Barbara Saxer is on staff at The Center for Inner Truth in Santa Fe, NM and just graduated as a Minister when this article was written for the May/June 2008 Newsletter.

Wake Up Calls

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 19:10:00 -0500

My Wake-Up Call

FORE!! This is not what a golfer wants to hear. An errant inbound shot is cause to immediately duck and cover. A wake up call for one’s life is cause to scramble as well. I finally heard this last one after I got hit, and man did it ever hurt! A couple years ago my life was falling apart as I was moving to Santa Fe. I was losing much of what I had deemed important, and all of a sudden I had lots of quiet time. Oh goodie, the opportunity to face my anger, regrets, frustration, disillusionment, blame, loneliness, and whatever else was stuffed in there. It’s as if my soul was whispering, “Do I finally have your attention?”

In the midst of this confusion, I reached out for help. Being open to where new connections would lead, a friend of a friend invited me to a healing and meditation service at the Center. Being there immediately felt right. I had soured on a lifetime of religiosity, and was searching for something deeper and relevant. Could it be possible that after all this time of looking outwards for happiness, my answers all along were within? Miraculously, I had been led to a group of loving souls committed to their own quest for spiritual freedom to guide and support me in finding my way.

It’s interesting to me that my developing spiritual truth is similar to that of so many, but only I can “discover” and own it for myself. I am responsible only for my life - my universe within - and no one else’s. I can find healing for regret, anger and blame in forgiveness. Neutrality can lead me to healing judgment and arrogance. I can release fear and cinema-like emotions through surrender. Love and acceptance for others will grow by nurturing the same in myself. I can choose joy and happiness by living in the present. And only I can do all of this by going within, finding my center, my inner truth.

One of the biggest challenges I will ever face is to train my mind to relinquish control. My “rationalizer” is loud and busy. My inner voice is soft, and the centered quiet wherein lies the God of my heart is new to me. I feel my ego struggling against my desire to find balance and communion with my soul. My ego wants me to live in either past turmoil or future potential, for it offers little value in the timeless safety of the present moment. Yet I now know that all I’ve ever really wanted – unconditional love, happiness, peace - is only found in the present. It is in the meditative and healing support, to quiet my mind and hear my inner voice plus collect and harness my life energy, that I so value the Center as my guide and partner. I don’t hear dogma there. No energy of control or judgment either. I find the energy of acceptance, challenge, guidance and caring for my own unique spiritual journey. I find people sharing and loving and validating each other. I didn’t ask for a comfortable seat in the pew this time, I asked for healing and growth and purpose. I’ve found that this takes an enduring commitment to allow the uncomfortable yet exhilarating expansion of awareness to shine like sunbeams through a cloud. It’s exciting to me that through this commitment, I am finally finding my intuitive voice.

As a result, I am a different person today. I am embracing my spiritual self. I have come to understand that’s who I really am. And I have committed to a life of deepening my spiritual connection and offering my unique soul personality into the world. I am learning that the opportunity to heal and grow exists in all experiences, as I have drawn them into my life for that very purpose. The gravity of this truth is just hitting me. Old pictures and limiting interpretations held since childhood are being exposed and dismissed as my grounding ever strengthens. I am beginning to see the oneness among people. I live each day with my spiritual tools at the ready, and with awareness and neutrality I better understand what’s important and what’s not. My body feels stronger and more alive. My mind is lighter and better appreciates life’s little miracles and amusements. I feel more complete and healthy. I have certainty that as I heal myself, I CAN be a healing influence to everyone around me.

So I am thankful for my wake up call, the call from my soul, and for the calling in of beautiful people that have enriched and nurtured me. And I am ever thankful for finding my partner in spiritual growth in the Center for Inner Truth. It feels like home.

As you hear the next “Fore” in your life, maybe it will mean more than “duck and cover”. It may signal an urgent call from within to choose a more meaningful and healthy path. I suggest it is your divine destiny to pay attention.

Carl Gruenler was a student in the Spiritual Healing program at the Center for Inner Truth in Santa Fe, NM when this article was written for the July/August 2008 newsletter and is President of CFIT’s Board of Directors.

Spirit in a Baby Body

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 17:53:00 -0500

“It’s a true gift to have a body” is something that I have often heard over the years. Even though I could grasp the concept of coming here as a spirit to have physical experiences, often times I would struggle with really feeling the ‘gift’ aspect of it, especially when dealing with some sort of physical or emotional pain.

It wasn’t until recently, when my son was born, that this door was blown wide open for me. Throughout my pregnancy I felt connected to his beautiful spirit, but was a little bit in the dark about what it would be like to witness it within a body. Once his physicality came into my eye’s view it was amazing to me. I marvel at how I could have done this with basically no "know-how" what-so-ever. It's probably a good thing that I didn't have to figure out the science of how to put his little body together because I surely would have duped it up somehow. I have never been a science genius. All I know is that there is this amazing - tangible - being and he got here by my complete surrender to a higher knowing in the Universe. And, by the sheer gift of ME being in a body, I was able to ‘pay it forward’ to an old friend who I’ve likely known in many other lifetimes.

When he snoozes on my lap I love to lay my hand across his chest, where he will promptly rest his small hand on top of mine, and feel his heart beating. This constantly puts me right into a moment of wonder and awe. I can feel the tiny rhythm - actually very huge in the fact that it is pumping life through his beautiful body - which is really just a house for a spirit to have a lifetime of experiences. The heart is an incredible thing, not only in all of its physical properties and duties, but also in its relationship to the ability to feel and promote love - one of life's most important components. I somehow took part in creating one of these magical organs for this special person that I am coming to know.

When I watch this wise old soul try to master his new little body I make the connection that we struggle with our ‘vehicles’ right from the start, and the sheer beauty of being able to see it through a mother’s adoring eyes gives me a new appreciation for all that we go through in life. Spirit within the body, and the gift of that opportunity is now quite apparent to me. I am grateful to be receiving this greater level of understanding from my new little one.

Reverend Stacia Synnestvedt is a minister and intuitive teacher at The Center For Inner Truth in Santa Fe, NM. She can be reached thru her website at www.intuitiveavenues.com .

Growth in The Darkness

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 14:09:00 -0500

At a recent Sunday service the topic was ‘Planting Your Garden’. Reverends’ Sherry and Celia did a terrific job of guiding all of us to become more aware of the inner garden we were nurturing and feeding in ourselves. I have been reflecting on this concept of my internal garden as I prepare seeds in my sprouting containers. The thing about sprouts is they primarily grow in the dark. Only at the end do you give them some light. It seems like an odd thing to grow something in the dark since we equate the sun and it’s light with all that yummy life giving energy. But even the sun goes somewhere else at night and then our bodies get necessary rest while we create on other levels.

I began to reflect on what an important role darkness plays in our spiritual growth and freedom. We sometimes have to immerse ourselves in what we experience as darkness often spoken of as the ‘dark night of the soul’ in order to transmute ourselves into a being of greater wisdom and understanding. So why do we push it away when that healing darkness comes up to the surface and grabs our attention? Besides most often being an uncomfortable experience, I think deep seated feelings of not being good enough, of shame and guilt, and of thinking we should be better/different than we are, make us resist the necessary journey through darkness. Maybe there is perfection in wherever you currently stand despite the appearances. The darkness we have to traverse prepares us to receive and hold more light; opens and strengthens us for greater communication with the creator.

Once I ready the sprouts, meaning they will sit in the dark for days, their only reprieve is to be rinsed a few times a day. Personally, when I am feeling like I am immersed in darkness, I get a healing “rinse” by a sweet email, a loving gesture from a friend, or even a profound comforting silence surrounding me. We are never totally in darkness because the creator placed the light inside of each one of us. And each time we enter a darkness of inner experience or perhaps an outer tragedy, we receive another opportunity to free the light within. And to me, that is the sole purpose of all of our darkness, to discover that inner light and choose to illuminate ourselves and others with it’s reflection of the Source.

After the days in darkness, the sprouts finally get to be out in the light to deepen in color and flavor. And last time I swear I heard quietly from the container, “Yippee! We made it”.

Juli Somers is a gifted psychic, spiritual healer and minister. She is the Director of The Center For Inner Truth in Santa Fe, New Mexico.