Part 2

Lesson 2: Spring Cleaning

We like new beginnings. In general, human consciousness responds positively to an opportunity to
start afresh. Thank God for it, because it gives substance to the hope that we can do better.

The key to a new start is realigning ourselves with the task, whatever that might be, and
recommitting to it.

What is involved in doing better is relative to cultural perceptions and to our level of
development. For spiritually aware people now, doing better is a concept in transition: the
emphasis shifting from the detail of what we do, to the efficacy of what we do, however we might
do it. This shift acknowledges that there is more than one way to raise vibration.

Religious and spiritual traditions encourage the view that there are right and wrong ways to go
about things, because prescriptions that minimise the confusion and degeneration which may
result from differing and uninformed interpretations, is the very point of our religious traditions.
So much which may appear as intolerance in our traditions is simply a way of avoiding
syncretism, which, in lay mans terms is the mixing together of things which, generically, do not
belong together.

As the traditions reduce their hold on our minds, we will be aware of alternative and equally valid
ways of going about things, and indeed, of engaging with life. Then, we will have to remember for
ourselves what we are about, which is raising vibration, and remind ourselves that certain mixes,
whether they are of activities or substances, could be counterproductive in this undertaking.

Take the matter of diet, for example. For many people, especially women, a careful diet which
avoids certain no-no foods and ingredients will be worn openly, as a badge of spiritual awareness.
Indeed, they may be rather proud of their sensitivities and dietary intolerances; and a great deal of
the day may be taken up with tracking down, shopping for and preparing foods with various things
either extracted or included. Yet a fear of harmful ingredients, an abiding sense that what life
brings our way is not good enough for us, and that the world is full of slobs who do not care what
they eat, has a very detrimental effect on our ability to feel appreciation, and will be inclined to
strengthen a mentality which is self-righteous, self-absorbed and separatist. A careful diet and self-
righteous attitudes are not a good mix.

Self-denial as a way of life can be another ego trap; exercise restraint when circumstances
recommend it and the rest of the time, enjoy, if not the food itself then making someone feel good
about having prepared it.

Many of my own students have been appalled by my apparent lack of dietary awareness, and they
are absolutely right in their assumption that I will eat most things, including junk food, if that is
what is to hand. For some, this lack of concern about diet has been a barrier beyond which they
could not pass, and they went away shaking their heads and questioning my grasp on things. My
response then is as now: we do not need purity; we humans need to know how to transform, by
investing in life and appreciating it in all its aspects. (The difference between heaven and hell is in
the relationships that we create with the experiences we draw to us.) In this way, we serve
ourselves and our planet. Men know this instinctively because they have a stronger and less
complicated connection with life itself; women who are accustomed to identifying imperfections,
fixing things and criticising male attitudes, often need to be persuaded that careful and cautious
when it becomes an approach to life can be, in its own way, life-denying.

There is no greater transformative agent than appreciation. No one around me gets away with
thinking that they are too good for anything that life offers, or to fuss and faff about themselves
and their diets. If poor quality food is all there is, then appreciate it for being there. Then we
benefit and the food benefits.

The more corrupted the food, the harder we will have to work at eating and digesting consciously,
otherwise we will be what we eat. Of course it is easier and more ergonomically efficient (i.e.,
spiritually safer) to eat well because the less time and energy we spend digesting physical food the
more energy is available for taking in and processing new impressions. This is why certain
traditions will steer people away from some kinds of foods and encourage others, and why living
on prana which takes nothing from the Earth and requires no digesting is ultimately the goal for
humanity on the planet. But it is not essential to eat well, and when circumstances do not permit
this, then we need to be able to create a sound relationship with this state of affairs.

If we truly love our food we will not have weight problems. People who are overweight will often
say they love food too much, but in truth it is sensations connecting to eating they enjoy; they do
not love their food. In fact, food is usually the enemy and this perception creates a negative
relationship with food, which is where weight problems come from.

Food allergies come from negative perceptions about life, which express themselves through the
foods which sustain life. If you truly want to see off a wheat allergy, face up to the fact that you
are resentful about the amount of things you perceive people expect you to do for them. This is the
level on which we need to deal with allergies; anything else is simply side-stepping.

Shamballa has asked us not to eat meat and to learn new ways of growing food stuffs (see The
Planetary Guidelines). This is not a dietary issue (although a meat-free diet is spiritually safer for
the people we are now), but part of a process of changing perception to create a greater awareness
of our planetary responsibilities. It is first and foremost an awareness issue.

Careful diet in certain circumstances can create mindfulness and it can assist in helping to create a
suitable frame of mind for new beginnings, which is our theme here. For many of those who have
lived a largely materialistic lifestyle and have awoken spiritually, changing diet can be a reminder
to themselves that different things matter now. They are advised, however, not to be too deadly
serious about this, because then it will become a limitation and, perhaps, a cause of separation.

The spring is a time for new beginnings, as the day light returns to the Northern hemisphere. In the
Southern hemisphere the on-set of autumn encourages a reflection and contemplation.

Wherever you are, prepare to use the Equinoxes which are a time for new beginnings, for a new
mode. Hopefully you know yourselves well enough to know what works for you when it comes to
feeling positive about making a new start and strong enough to sustain what you have started.

There is a skill required in sustaining the vision, when the enticing distant vista becomes mere
surroundings, but this is a topic for another time. For now, our concern is to nurture that sense that
there is possibility out there because we feel positivity within about our own lives.

1. Create a space in your life for bringing into clear focus what you wish to improve upon or
change, and why. If you yourself do not believe that there will be a benefit from taking this
action, do not undertake it because there will be no true motivation, and the effort will be half-
hearted. (No person with awareness would do anything from such a place.)
2. Refresh your physical space, which should never be allowed to get really dirty or untidy.
3. Cleanse your body outside and inside, if that will help you. Remember that the less time and
energy we spend digesting physical food, the more energy is available for taking in and
processing new impressions, which may recommend a short period of fasting.
4. Examine your attitudes, habitual stances and cherished opinions. When did you last notice and
appreciate a simple act of kindness and consideration? They are being performed all around us
in everyday life and are amongst the most accessible fruits of the last 2,000 years of human
development. Yet we surely will not notice them if we are banging on about the wickedness
of the world and the unspiritual folly of those around us, a refrain which the spiritually-
minded often fear to give up.
5. Mark the start of the new with a little ceremony, and tie in the energy of the moon cycle. This
makes March 22
nd
2012 the optimal date.

Enjoy the process of preparing and the opportunity for change and betterment. If you cannot, focus
upon the aspect of the process of preparation to which you experience the most resistance, and
give all your time and attention to it until you develop a positive relationship with it.


Suzanne Rough 2012



I am Spring
Sunfade,
In the eventide,
Lavender light
Inspires birdsong beginning
To piece together
The Promise

Star fall seeds as earth receives
Bringing light into pranic form

Enamelled skylined
Stained glass trees
Latticed woven opening
Through the breeze
Faltering light and opened vision
Gateway of Promise and Provision

In the eventide,
When the Sunfade sees
This herald opportunity
Fresh breathed song begins
In opening phase
Absorbs the stillness
Along the Way

J udith Way
2011