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Cara Lumen

The View From Outer Space

September 22, 2023 By Cara Lumen

The View From Outer Space

Living Our Deeper Song

Living Our Deeper Song

Ashe
(“Ah-Shay”)
 The Creative in me honors the Creative in you!

When we look at the view from outer space, we have to be aware of our oneness, the fact that we all live on the same planet and that planet is showing signs of stress and imbalance. It makes us aware of our responsibilities to care for the planet and her inhabitants.

When we look at the vastness of the Universe and know that we are just one small aspect of it, we have to be aware of the possibility of other planets being inhabited. We have work to do as a collective to make our planet well in our small place in the entire universe.

But most of all, looking at this view of our planet from outer space, I realize how intertwined our lives and our future are and how what we choose to do now will impact our children and all future generations. Whatever the country, whatever the beliefs, this present time is about humanity as a whole working to survive.

How does that change your concept of your work in the world? Suddenly all of humanity has a common goal. We want to survive. And that means that regardless of where you live on the planet and what your circumstances are, you must take responsibility for our planet’s well-being.  

How does that change your vision? Do you suddenly see us all standing shoulder to shoulder to care for Mother Earth? To preserve her resources? To heal her environment? What aspect of this work is calling to you and how will you answer that call?

It is helpful for me to start thinking of the planet as we see it from outer space because there are no separations of countries. There are no wars because we are one earth, one humanity and we must consciously work together to preserve and protect her. Make certain you do your part. 

Deeper Song Affirmation 

I expand my awareness of the wholeness of our planet and the oneness of her inhabitants.

Deeper Song Process

  • Spend time looking at the photos of earth from the moon.
  • What do you feel? How does that change your perspective?
  • How does that change how you walk in the world?

Perspective

One earth. One home. One community. We must live as one energy, one mind focused on the highest good for all.

One earth. One home. One community. We must live as one energy, one mind focused on the highest good for all. We must open our hearts and our minds to embrace us all.

One earth. One home. One community. We must live as one energy, one mind focused on the highest good for all. We must open our hearts and our minds to embrace us all. We are one energy from one source. We are one.

– Cara Lumen, October 2023

===INNERWORK===

Deepen Your Inner Awareness

  What Is Your Through Line?

The through line is like a golden cord that connects everything. We have a through line for our life. Mine is possibly that I love to learn and share what I learned with others. Pretty much everything I do is about that. 

A through line drives your decisions and chooses your path.  It is a recognizable pattern, a choice that you continue to make throughout your lifetime that leads you to where you are today and points the way to where you were going next. 

Can you identify a through line in your life? Can you see how it guided your choices and has dictated the path you have taken so far? 

I began writing for my high school newspaper. Writing is at the core of my life path.  I made my living as a writer. I use it to learn, to understand a concept and figure out how to apply it to my life. 

Another strong gift is my ability to see the overview and that has led me to explore many paths because it involves the organization of multiple facets and circumstances. 

Spirituality has always been a cornerstone for me. I started out in Christianity but moved into metaphysics and I am now consciously and intentionally working holistically with intention and focus in the Universal Web of Life. 

What were the early signs in your life – of your gifts, your talents, your desires, and your passion? How well have you paid attention to those nudges, those opportunities the Universe provided? 

Look back over your life so far and identify the through line, your needs and gifts that have driven the majority of your life choices so far. Use that awareness to move forward. 

Take Time To Regain Your Balance

Life can pull us in many different directions and we need to pause and take time to regain our balance. How do we do that? 

First you have to notice that you’re off on an unexpected tangent and then you have to figure out how to regain your balance. 

Sometimes we find ourselves tired or cranky and we know that we are out of balance. We know that we need to find a way to rebalance, to rest and restore. Sometimes simply being hungry is the signal that we need to regain our balance by eating. Are you unhappy? Are you lonely? Are you sad?  What are your signs of imbalance?

Other times being off balance is so subtle we can hardly identify the cause of our imbalance.

First you have to notice where you are in balance and where you are not in balance and then set about to correct that.

You will probably need to change something. You may need to let go of something. You may need to try it from a different perspective. There are many ways to regain your balance but first you have to notice how and where you are out of balance. What techniques do you use to regain your balance?

===SELF-HEALING===

Take Responsibility for Healing Yourself

HowDoYouExpress Your Individuality?

I have had a good time in my life following my inner calling. It has led me on great adventures and offered me deep insights and learning. I let my individuality drive my creativity and my spirituality. The more I rely on my intuition the more it proves itself to be a very powerful guiding factor. 

For me, it’s not so much that I am trying to be an individual, it is about being very true to myself and what I need and what I believe that I am called to do. I rely heavily on my individuality to help me recognize the next best steps. 

My spirituality keeps focused on a higher good for all and my intuition keeps giving me new paths to explore and consider.

How do you make your decisions? What are your guidelines? What is your criteria? How do you express your individuality?

Learn From The Past And The Present To Prepare For The Future

What lessons did you learn so far today? What insights have you had? What new actions do you plan to take because of that? One of the ways we prepare for the future is to contemplate our past experiences and lessons. Then we look closely at where we are in our life right now, how we want to move forward and begin to make some specific decisions.

How is life working out for you? Are you doing what you love to do? Do you have friends that nurture and support you? Work that satisfies you? Can you see a path opening up that excites you and stimulates your imagination? If not, give some thought to where you are looking and what beliefs and qualities you are building your life on right now. 

Moving into long-term care to be around younger, caring people has made a huge difference for me as I enjoy and interact with a younger population than I had access to in my independent living situation. 

There are choices I made in the past that are having repercussions today but I still would not have changed those choices because they were richly rewarding and allowed me to give back to others.

How do you learn from the past and the present to prepare for the future?

===OUTER  WORK===

Explore New Potential and Possibilities

Choose Your Next Place Of Service With Conscious Awareness of Your Destination

We change directions many times in our lives – sometimes deliberately, sometimes because the Universe places a really good opportunity in front of us. It helps to pause to make some conscious decisions on your own about where you want to go next, what is needed, and how you want to participate the world.

Sometimes we make real plans about what we want to do next and sometimes we are just suddenly presented with a brand new opportunity that resonates deeply and we follow that.

Perhaps pause to look at your gifts and see which ones you enjoy using and see where they can be placed more deeply in service. 

Perhaps just look at the farthest length of your reach and see how you can expand, or broaden or deepen what you are doing now. Choose your next place of service with thoughtful consideration.

Redefine Your Role

I’m making some changes in my role and my work. I’m going to explore the Universe and try to gain new perspective on my role and place of service. I don’t sense that as altering my direction, only enriching it.

How do you expand your view? How do you know when to change direction?

Talk To Nature

In the book  The Intention Experiment: Using Your Thoughts to Change Your Life and the World by Lynne McTaggarit tells of an experiment in which a scientist wired his office plant up to machinery that measured its reaction and then acted as if he were going to cut it. The plant set off alarm signals that registered. In further experiments he found that the plant could tell when another plant several doors down was going to be harmed. It makes you start to think about having a conversation with nature, doesn’t it. How do we do that? 

I have a wall of flowers by my desk and I talk to them every single day. I pat them on the leaves and listen to see what they might have to share with me. Sometimes it’s a feeling. Sometimes it’s a simple knowing. Sometimes it’s a song…

Knowing that nature is so responsive, will you start talking to your plants? Will you go hug a tree? Or stroke the petals of a flower, or run your finger over a blade of grass? How do you deepen your communication with nature and what do you think you’re going to hear? 

===DEEPEN YOUR SPIRITUAL PRACTICE===

Self-Healing Spiritual Practice and Deepening Awareness of Our Cosmic Oneness

Change

Fall is about change.  It is about letting go and moving on and turning within to rest and restore and replenish.

It is also a time for acknowledgment, for observing what you have accomplished, how far you have come and what you have released.

Take time to look back over the past season and notice what you’ve done, what you have left undone, what surprises showed up and what you did with them.

I am interested in intelligence in the cosmos and have begun to explore that. I have a few new in-person friends. My edema is better physically which means I can schedule my second hip replacement surgery.  That will enable me to walk more and be more physically independent. 

How do I build on that for this upcoming season? What have I learned that I will keep or release or change or explore further? Do I want to continue on this path or change direction?

Fall is a time to evaluate, to notice change and re-choose or to make new choices. Do the work.

===RELEVANT AGING ===

(How to Stay Fulfilled No Matter What Your Age) 

Adjusting

My two new senior friends have physical things going on in their bodies that make some function of their bodies no longer possible. We all three are in wheelchairs but I can walk and I will walk better after my second hip replacement. So what do you do when some aspect of your body slows down or ceases to function? How do you adapt? How do you work around it? Are you creative? Do you fight it? Do you give up? Or do you keep trying to work with and around it?

I have dry macular degeneration so besides using thirty-point font, I dictate my ideas into print and I’m going to begin to learn to use audiobooks. I’m doing things like that to help myself. 

But I’m talking about a stroke that affects your leg or an arm or your brain and leaves you with a permanent workaround in order to keep going. 

I don’t think that I’m going be very good sport about my eyesight. I’m pretty sure I’m not, but I do know that I’m the only one who can find the workaround for it. I’m the only one who can keep going and make the adjustments necessary to keep moving forward in the direction I want to go. 

How brave are you in the face of a physical challenge? How creative are you in working around it? Use your imagination, use your tenacity, and do the work.  

=== DEEPER SONG PHILOSOPHIES ===

“If you want something to stand, establish the root. If you want to know yourself, go to the root.” 

=== INSIGHTS FROM THE UNSEEN WORLD===

Guidance to Consider

FollowYourInnerVoice

I have to trust my journey. I have to trust my inner voice. I have to trust my choices. And I have to trust it all unfolds in the perfect manner.

I’m going to explore the concept of other intelligences in the Universe and how they are interacting in our lives. I know next to nothing about this. And I have to trust the Universe to guide me to what I need to read or study or learn in order to do this exploration. Guidance will come in the form of ideas, insight and unexpected ideas on what to read or listen to and do. I just have to stay alert and aware and willing to explore. 

I hardly know the vocabulary. I barely know where to begin looking, but I’m going expiring. I don’t know how far I will go or how deep I will go, but I do have to add a layer of knowledge and insight before I can make that call. 

That’s how I learn. My inner voice gives me an idea, my inner voice gives me some message and I go exploring. 

How does your inner voice speak to you and do you follow it? 

===HOW TO BE A STRONG CONTRIBUTING MEMBER OF THE CIRCLE OF LIGHT BEARERS===

Expand Your Role in the Rapidly Evolving Universe

Trust The Future To Unfold In A Perfect Manner

The future is uncertain.  The future is always unfolding. The future is full of potential. There is nothing to fear, there are only opportunities to explore and experience. And we have to trust that we will find creative, innovate, opportunities for the perfect unfolding of our life.

Of course, we must be thoughtful and self-aware and keep exploring the unfolding invitations.

Learn to trust your intuition. Learn to trust the Universe to provide you with options and opportunities from which to craft your path.

===BROADEN YOUR HORIZON – EXPAND YOUR VIEW===

Raise Your Sights and Your Expectations 

Keep Your Gaze On The Summit

At 90 I’m nearing the summit of my life. Am I where I want to be? Are you? Where are you headed? What do you see as your personal summit?

I could never have imagined the role I fill in the world today. I see how I got here – by following my instincts and intuition and passion. But I could never have envisioned this particular summit of my life. 

I did not actually get off track.  The journey has had interesting side trips that have always added to the depth and breadth of the role I find myself in as I near the summit of my life.

I have explored many paths in my life.  Each one gave me a new perspective and helped me define my path. They were not detours that pulled me off course, they were adventures that added to my skills and expertise. 

If you feel you are off track, re-evaluate what you are learning from where you are.  Does it add a new skill or sharpen an existing one? Does it introduce you to new insights and approaches and possibilities?

Here’s the part that surprised me – I am reaching another summit at 90!  Who knew. I am more deeply in service than I have been in years.  It’s as if I have ripened and my crop is ready to harvest.

But here’s the catch – nothing happens if you don’t do the work. You must participate and continue to learn and explore and change. This is true at every age and every point in your life.

What summit are you approaching?  What summit have you reached?  Do you see another summit you want to experience? Life is a huge adventure and we are to explore and continually make new discoveries. Keep your gaze on the next summit you intend to reach.

Turn Over A New Leaf

Fall is the time of letting go of the old and preparing for the new. What do you need to let go of that has cluttered your life in the past year? It may be something subtle that sort of snuck up on you. When is a good time to rearrange your habits and make new choices? 

I need to develop more adaptations because of my eyesight and it primarily begins with figuring out how to use audiobooks. It would be helpful if I would add more exercise to my life like a daily walk to the fish tank to talk to the fish. That’s up to me to choose and make happen. And this week in physical therapy, I practiced moving my wheelchair with my feet in order to roam further afield. I simply had not taken that step before.

Fall is a good time to establish new patterns.  Take longer walks in the fall air.  Organizing your home for a new season. Start new indoor projects.  Look at it as what it is – an opportunity to rethink, replan, reorganize, and begin again.  Do that.

===OUR EVOLVING FUTURE===

Support and Encouragement for Our Unfolding Role in the Future

Independence Stems FromSelf–Sufficiency

How self-sufficient are you? And how does that make you feel? 

I’ve been taking care of myself most of my life.  In fact, I can’t think of a time I wasn’t. I’ve always been independent. I’ve always had strong friends and we simply walked the path together side by side.

How self-sufficient are you and how has that impacted your life?

I need a fair amount of physical help right now and I hope that changes after my second hip surgery. But my mind is in great shape and we have an outstanding time together.

Are you an independent thinker? Do you inspire new ideas and try new things? Do you easily make up your own mind, make your own decisions?  Do you know what you need and want and think?

Go exploring on your own. Try new ideas that appeal to you. Explore the paths that call to you and make up your own mind, make your own choices. Follow your heart and your imagination. Independence stems from self-sufficiency. Keep exploring.

===REFLECTIONS OF A DEEPER SONG PODCAST===

Listen For Your Future

Listen to my
Reflections of a Deeper Song Podcast on
Apple
/ Spotify / Googleand the
Deeper Song Website

===CARA’S CORNER===

 Trust The Right Path To Unfold

I know what I want to explore next, I just don’t know how to do it. I am drawn to the work of IONS and Edward Mitchell and the idea that of course there are other forms of intelligence in the universe, this is a cosmos full of planets. But I have no idea exactly how to go about learning more about it. They are older books but I want to know what’s going on now. And I don’t know what those sources are – yet. 

So my intention is there – help me learn about intelligence in this cosmos. Then I have to trust. Trust what I need will show up. Trust that I will recognize it. Trust that I will explore it well. 

Since I don’t know where I’m going, it’s going to be interesting to recognize the signals that mark the path. I have to be alert and flexible and creative and trust I recognize the signs I need to show me the way.

===SING A DEEPER SONG ===

Adventure And Exploration 

I know what I want to learn, I just don’t know where to look to find it.

I know what I want to learn, I just don’t know where to look to find it. I stay open and curious and I go exploring.

I know what I want to learn, I just don’t know where to look to find it. I stay open and curious and I go exploring. I wait for unexpected doors to open.

– Cara Lumen, September 2023

We create our future with every thought we think, every action we take.  Move forward mindfully as you sing your Deeper Song.

Namaste,

Cara

Come Sing a Deeper Song  

I help Transformational Leaders
deepen our relationship with the Unseen World
and expand our role in the New Consciousness

Cara Lumen, explorer, spiritual philosopher, teacher, guide, leads us on a journey of self-awareness, spiritual expansion and impactful service. She helps us believe in our value, trust in our gifts, express our passion in a unique manner and build something meaningful around our wisdom and expertise. She helps us sing a deeper song.

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Join the Deeper Song Community

Past Issues of this newsletter are being curated on my site on a page called Insights.

Our Global Deeper Song Community

Our Deeper Song Community extends throughout the planet. Welcome new Deeper Song Explorers. I’d love to hear of your experiences –  caralumen@gmail.com or let’s discuss on the Deeper Song Explorers!

Subscribe to this weekly Deeper Song Newsletter at www.deepersong.com

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Don’t Withdraw

September 16, 2023 By Cara Lumen

Don’t Withdraw

Ashe
(“Ah-Shay”)
 The Creative in me honors the Creative in you!

It happens gradually and it happens subtly – all of a sudden you’re down at the bottom of the rabbit hole and don’t even know how you got there. That happened to me over the past 13 years living in a senior housing. I did fewer and fewer activities. My circle of friends got smaller and smaller. Covid closed down on some of the activities I’d been doing. My world got smaller and smaller and smaller and because it was so gradual, I didn’t notice it. Until my world changed.

I moved into long-term care and the people here are so incredibly kind that it opened my heart. Nine months later my friends have told me that I have changed and that I am showing kindness in a way that I had not before.

It’s interesting how change creeps up on us. It can be so subtle that things we have been doing gradually disappear. 

How do we guard against this? Things fade away so slowly, we don’t notice they’re leaving. 

I knew I was participating less but I didn’t know how it was affecting my life, my emotions and my personality.

In my case, it was a change of venue and the exposure to young people living their lives with enthusiasm and energy and purpose. They opened my heart and changed my life.

One way to look for change is to do a meditative journal on some sort of a regular basis like quarterly and then take time to review what you were thinking and doing and feeling a few months ago and where your choices led you. Do a shamanic journey to ask for guidance from your guides.

If I had even made a note someplace that I was seeing more young people maybe I would have paused to look at what that was doing for me. But I didn’t think to do that.

If I were creating a way to track my personality changes, I might start a list like:

  • Who do I spend time with?
  • What do we get/give to each other?
  • What do I no longer do that I used to do?
  • How might I put that back into my life? Do I want to?
  • What new people have come to my life?
  • What new ideas have I explored and what do I want to do with them?
  • What new circumstances impacted my life recently?
  • Where is my curiosity leading me?

Ask your friends how you have changed. 

Do you have friends that support you? How are you isolating yourself? How did you used to participate that you are no longer doing?

If you create some sort of list with dates you will be able to identify the gradual changes that have snuck in and changed your life. Then at least you have a chance to correct them and create more balance. 

I noticed my gradual move towards isolation but what I did not recognize and could not identify was how that was changing my entire persona. Nor for that matter, I did not know the cure until it happened and the change was both remarkable and rapid. 

If you have a good friend you might want to make an agreement to help each other notice the subtle changes that are happening in your persona and your life. How do you recognize what you do or do not want to change?

I had a core problem, in fact I still do, I am not drawn to the company of old people so as I got older in independent living, so did my friends. Do you see my dilemma? It took being in touch with younger generations to bring me back into the world. And I had to completely move in order to do it. 

How are you closing down and in what areas and what steps will you take to open yourself up again. 

Deeper Song Affirmation 

I look for and track subtle changes in my personality so that I have an active choice in the direction I’m going.

Deeper Song Process

  • Record the general flow of your life at this point in time. Put a date on it.
  • Look back over your life and see what aspects you have allowed to drop by the wayside. Write those down in your journal.
  • List the people that you are drawn to and communicate with in your life today and put a date on it.  Write down what gifts come from that exchange and friendship.  
  • Make a note on your calendar three months from now to review this journal and notice any changes or progress.

Life is about change. Change can be very fragile. And change can take you in the wrong direction if you’re not on the lookout. Keep on the lookout.

===INNER WORK===

Deepen Your Inner Awareness

   How And When To Reframe Your Life

It’s pretty obvious when you make a big move in your life that you have to reframe a lot of what you’re doing. What’s not so clear is when it is time to reframe and make a big change. Change often requires letting go of something or learning something new, or changing directions. It is from that new point that you begin to see your world differently. 

My move to Evergreen totally reframed my view of who I am, who I am to serve, and the value of what I have to offer. All of those were great things brought about by a change in my environment.

Sometimes a change in view is quite subtle but it opens up an entirely new vista for you to consider and explore. Other changes are like major bonks on the head until you get that you need to make a change. 

Each new choice, no matter how small or how large, gives you a different view and asks you to reframe your life.

Pick something that you are doing on a regular basis and try to do it a little differently. Approach it from a different angle, question your reason for doing it, look around and identify a new approach. Do it at a different time, do it longer or shorter. Experiment and adjust until you are sailing right along. Change your thinking, change your life. Change your view and change the possibilities that open to you. 

Walk The Path Alone

It may be a Divine Feminine thing to want to walk our path alone. I am aware that in my life cycles no one person has been with me all the time. That means that if I had a partner all this time neither one of us would have walked our true path.

I have had important friendships in my life and influential and course-directing teachers and experiences, but I have always walked my path alone. And I feel very, very fulfilled because of it. 

I cherish the deep friendships that have walked beside me for part of my path. They were mostly strong women and we were empowering to each other. 

Relationships can call for compromise. Each person gives up a degree of something that they would have loved to do or become or be.  When you walk the path alone and want to make an abrupt turn or an about face or race madly towards a new direction, you are free to follow your heart and your instincts.  Encourage the strength and willingness and confidence to walk the path alone so you can be true to your calling and your gifts

The Art Of Contentment

Contentment is about being satisfied with where you are and what you are doing. I am content with where I live and who my friends are, the work I am doing with my writing and my new role of service that is unfolding.

I stay alert to new possibilities and potential and take the time to explore but I am content with what I have in the moment and what I choose to do in the moment, to not be complacent, but to allow myself to be nurtured by what I have and find contentment in the moment. 

Contentment is about settling into your work and doing it well. Contentment is about pausing to appreciate your life and your accomplishments, to acknowledge your wins and release what you perceive as your losses. 

Contentment is not a lack of ambition, it is a recognition of where are you and how far you have come. It is not about where you are supposed to be, It is about being clear about where you want to go. 

Do you acknowledge your progress, your successful choices, your motiving insights? Do you acknowledge yourself when you let go of non-nurturing relationships or a less-than-successful project?

Clear your life of bumps and hard places and tuck yourself into contentment.

===SELF-HEALING===

Take Responsibility for Healing Yourself

Go Back And Heal A Past Pain

My choice to leave had impact. I did not intend to cause pain. My choice at the time felt like it was about my own survival. So while I ultimately flourished and was very true to myself, my choice had impact on those I left behind. We never know, do we, how our actions will affect others?

There is no point grieving because it’s over and done. If you feel you need forgiveness, forgive yourself. If you feel you need to apologize, do that. Then release it. Release the choice and its impact. It is over and done. It is complete. You can send energy back in time to heal the past pain but you can’t go back and change the action. Your choices were made for a reason. Let go and move on. Build on what you learned and what you accomplished because of that choice. 

Flexibility and Determination

There are many ways to reach your destination. There is up, over and around and any one of those paths will get you where you want to go. It’s important that we stay flexible in how we accomplish something and still stay determined to make it happen. 

Flexibility means to be creative about the way you make things happen, or help them happen or encourage them to happen. We get to be creative and innovative and experiment until we find the best path, perhaps the most flexible path or the easiest path or at the very least the path that gets us there. 

We have to keep experimenting and exploring and pushing ahead. We have to be determined at the very least to keep going in a specific direction. Our end goal may change but the journey is ongoing. For instance, if I am on the road to physical recovery, I may try many roads to get there. But the purpose of the core path is to get well. 

Understand your core focus. I want to keep finding ways to contribute to the well-being of the planet and that is changing as I age. At the same time the very fact that I’m aging gives me a broader range of insights from which to choose that helps me seem to be wiser and even more creative. 

When one door shuts another one opens. When one path gets too hard there are ways to keep going in the same direction that are less challenging and difficult. 

Be flexible about how you keep going towards your goal but stay determined to get there.

===OUTER  WORK===

Explore New Potential and Possibilities

Believe In Your Ability To Learn

It is important to know and believe that you always have the ability to learn. At any point in your path, you can learn a new skill and take a new direction. Sometimes we need to learn something new just to keep up with the changing times. But what I am talking about is what we need to learn in order to grow and expand our consciousness and awareness. How do you do that?

I constantly explore the nudges of the Universe to find ways to live more deeply, to find out what truly resonates and see how I want to apply it to my life path. Keep learning.  Keep exploring. Keep changing. You always have the ability to learn.

Self-Care

Are you so busy helping others that you neglect your own self-care?  What does self-care look like to you? What nurtures you? What restores you? How do you take care of your body and your emotional and spiritual needs?

Become aware of what works for you. Is it a nap? Is it a long walk in nature?  Is it cleaning and cooking and other forms of self-care? 

Do you hum or listen to music? Do you read? Or go to the gym? Explore a little and become aware of the affect that particular form of self-healing has on you. Then consciously weave it into your life.

===DEEPEN YOUR SPIRITUAL PRACTICE===

Self-Healing Spiritual Practice and Deepening Awareness of Our Cosmic Oneness

Gratitude As A Spiritual Practice

I do not have a gratitude ceremony as part of my spiritual practice but I like the idea. What comes up for me is who/what I am thanking? Am I thanking the Universe? I’m part of the Universe so am I thanking myself? And if I am creating my own experience by what I think and feel and do, then I am thanking myself.  And that seems odd to do.

I can thank Nature for her gifts. I can thank my friends and family for their presence. 

When we express gratitude, it makes us aware of the abundant blessings we continue to receive.   We notice the gifts of health and our mind and our talent. We notice the gift of our spiritual awareness.  Gratitude expands our experience – gratitude for our food, gratitude for our home, gratitude for our work, our friends, our expanding awareness. Gratitude expands our awareness of our many blessings. Where have you placed gratitude in your spiritual practice?

===RELEVANT AGING ===

(How to Stay Fulfilled No Matter What Your Age) 

Don’t Go Backwards

I wanted to share my past books and was going to take time to record them when I realized that it’s not a good use of my time. I must continue to build upon and share what I discover in creating my new path of service.

My ego would love to see my past books on my web site for free but that will no longer move me forward from where I have risen at this point in my life.  We must build upon our breadth and depth of knowledge and keep moving higher and reaching broader and broader shores. Don’t go back.  Keep your eye on the future and keep walking ahead. 

=== INSIGHTS FROM THE UNSEEN WORLD===

Guidance to Consider

How We Impact The Future

For me, the idea of journeying to future generations to see what we need to do now to help them has great appeal.  I have journeyed to a future me but not to other generations.

Everything we do impacts the future. Everything we leave undone impacts the future.

For the first time in 45 years, I am around young people.  I am learning from them and they are learning from me. I encourage them to vote and I share my knowledge of holistic healing. In turn, I am inspired by their awareness of their calling as healers at such an early age. I recognized some of my gifts early on but did not see how I would use them on a career path. My age group was expected to have children and be dominated by our husbands. Careers were not in our minds. 

What do the younger generations need from us? Encouragement to do our job of protecting the planet better? 

More and more people are choosing to walk the path alone all the way through the aging process so adjustments will need to be made to provide advocates for them as they age since they have chosen not to have children.

The world is changing and we must change with it.  What kind of impact will your actions have in the future?  

===DEEPER SONG DISCOVERIES===

Resources to Explore

Keep Going Forward

Let go of the past.  Do not go back and try to relive it or change it or fix it. It’s a done deal and both the strong choices and the weak ones has impacted where we are standing today. 

What do you need to learn next? What skills and gifts can you re-purpose into a new direction? Look at the life you have created and see what serves you best and do more of that. Rather than going back to try to remedy something, start from where you are and raise your sights and keep going forward. 

I’m Going Exploring 

The Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS) is an American non-profit parapsychological[1] research institute. It was co-founded in 1973 by former astronaut Edgar Mitchell,[2][3][4] the sixth man to walk on the Moon, along with investor Paul N. Temple[5] and others interested in purported paranormal phenomena, in order to encourage and conduct research on noetics and human potentials. The Institute conducts research on topics such as spontaneous remission, meditation, consciousness, alternative healing practices, consciousness-based healthcare, spirituality, human potential, psychic abilities, psychokinesis[9] and survival of consciousness after bodily death. The Institute maintains a free database, available on the Internet, with citations to more than 6,500 articles about whether physical and mental health benefits might be connected to meditation and yoga.

I subscribe to their newsletter and I am going to start listening to their offerings. 

===GUIDANCE FROM OUR COSMIC COUNSELORS ===

Listen Beyond the Voice Within 

A Journey To The Cosmic Counselors

I journey to ask “How can we as Light Bearers help heal the planet?”

I am in a Council of Women – Earth-Keepers.  It is a large gathering of women. We carry torches in our hands and we are singing a lullaby to the Earth to comfort her. Small animals frolic at our feet. They feel safe and secure. Trees grow rapidly and bloom because they feel safe and secure in our presence. People are walking arm and arm in harmonious unity because they feel safe and protected in our presence. Our hearts are open and we radiate a golden pulsing light, it is the heartbeat of the Universe. In our collective imagination we see only peace and harmony. People helping people. People caring for the planet. People caring for the environment. People caring for each other. There is a golden glow that surrounds us all. It is peaceful all-inclusive unity. It is mindfulness and open hearts. There is a strong sense of oneness – of being a collective energy of love and peace and harmony.

“How do we achieve this” I ask. “How do we maintain it?”

“Through awareness,” come the answer, “through awareness of your words and your actions and your thoughts. Be aware of your overarching purpose, the care and wellbeing of the planet and all its inhabitants. Your individual choices have a ripple effect and other will see and feel it, explore it and pass it forward.”

“Be mindful of the far-reaching impact of your actions and help others become aware of how their actions might cause ham. Raise the collective consciousness. Be thoughtful. Be mindful. Do the work.”

We each place an offering into the fire in the center of our circle. I mindfully add my blessing. I watch the smoke rise to encompass the Earth with our blessing and promise. Our work has begun. 

===HOW TO BE A STRONG CONTRIBUTING MEMBER OF THE CIRCLE OF LIGHT BEARERS===

Expand Your Role in the Rapidly Evolving Universe

How To Feel Self-Reliant and Useful

I have solved this for myself but not for others. As our bodies decline, how do we keep feeling relevant and valuable? Not everyone wants to experience that but for me it is my life blood. 

Feeling reliant and useful is cornerstone to wellness. It keeps you focused on what you can do now to contribute to our world. 

Does this call to you? What are the meaningful interactions that give you a positive purpose?

Not everyone needs to feel relevant but for those who do and find a way, it is life-changing. What makes you feel relevant? Do more of that.

A Moment In The Sun

I pause to feel the morning sun warm my shoulders. I close my eyes and turn my face to absorb the sun’s warmth.  I let it seep into my shoulders and my arms and my body. I yawn and relax into the moment. 

“Thank you for your blessings,” I say to the sun. “Thank you for warming the Earth and helping us grow. Thank you for warming my heart today, for expanding my awareness of who I am and what is possible and what I am to do next.” 

I sit in silence and absorb the warmth and listen to the promises. “Simply be present in the light and warmth and promise of the sun.”  I soak in the promise. I soak in the potential. I feel my resolve strengthening, my purpose clarify. I hug myself soaking in the warmth and promise. I sit in the sun and simply am. 

“Is there a message” I ask. No answer. Then “You are to be present and aware. Listen to your heart. Be aware of the insights and nudges of your unfolding life. Honor the ever-changing planet.” 

My mind pauses and I soak in the healing sun. All is well in my world.  I have the sun watching over me.

=== ===THE UNFOLDING DIVINE FEMININE=== ===

Explore and Interpret the Guidance and Messages of the Divine Feminine

The Power Of The Divine Feminine

The more cornered the Divine Male feels, the more dominating he tries to become. We see it in the old white men trying to govern the bodies of every woman in the US. We see men in other countries suppressing women to keep them from becoming the strong individuals they already are. World leaders are still mostly men. But that will gradually change. 

How can we help the Divine Feminine emerge more strongly? 

If you are female, look closely at your beliefs about what is possible for you and raise your expectations for yourself and your future. 

If you are male, look closely at the qualities the Divine Feminine expresses through women and also through you – qualities like compassion and inclusion and cultivate them in your life. 

Let’s bring into being a world of harmony, compassion and inclusion. 

===REFLECTIONS OF A DEEPER SONG PODCAST===

How to DeepenYour Cosmic Consciousness

Listen to my
Reflections of a Deeper Song Podcast on
Apple / Spotify / Googleand the
Deeper Song Website

==== DEEPER SONG EXPLORATION ===

If you have a topic that you would like to see explored in this newsletter, please email me at caralumen@gmail.com. Past issues of this newsletter are found at Insights Of A Deeper Song. Past Podcasts are found at Deeper Song Podcasts

===CARA’S CORNER===

Change Is Up To Me

I’m not going anywhere.  This is it. No more moving cross-country for a new adventure. Any changes must be made internally by what I choose to do and think and be. 

Evergreen is building a new complex that will have private rooms but that will take three years so any changes in my life will have to come from within by way of my imagination and choices.

If you were reconstructing your life experience right now in the present, what would you change? What would you release? What would you add? How would you do that? 

I am always looking for intellectual companionship and I’m finding that among the staff. I was also drawn to the younger staff when I lived in independent living.

It’s up to us to figure out how to nurture ourselves and make ourselves happy. No one else can do that for us. We must look within and find what resonates and make those choices.  

My social worker here is trying to get me to participate more in group activities but I assure her that I have a strong group of stimulating friends and activities online. They all happen to be in their very active early 60’s. 

We need to be true to ourselves. We need to honor what we have learned about ourselves, about what we are choosing and what inspires and motivates us. I am responsible for making choices that move me forward. As are you. Your life. Your choices. Your experience.

===SING A DEEPER SONG ===

My View

I sit alone and look out my window – at the same trees, the same view because I cannot leave here.

I sit alone and look out my window – at the same trees, the same view because I cannot leave here. I must build my inner world and cultivate my life experiences from deep within.

I sit alone and look out my window – at the same trees, the same view because I cannot leave here.  I must build my inner world and cultivate my life experiences from deep within. What I do with that is up to me.  I choose to go exploring. I still have life to do and work to do…

– Cara Lumen September 2023

We create our future with every thought we think, every action we take.  Move forward mindfully as you sing your Deeper Song.

Namaste,

Cara

Come Sing a Deeper Song  

I help Transformational Leaders
deepen our relationship with the Unseen World
and expand our role in the New Consciousness

Cara Lumen, explorer, spiritual philosopher, teacher, guide, leads us on a journey of self-awareness, spiritual expansion and impactful service. She helps us believe in our value, trust in our gifts, express our passion in a unique manner and build something meaningful around our wisdom and expertise. She helps us sing a deeper song.

Live in the nowhere that you came from, 

even though you have an address here  – Rumi

Please forward this newsletter to a friend and suggest they
Join the Deeper Song Community

Past Issues of this newsletter are being curated on my site on a page called Insights.

Our Global Deeper Song Community

Our Deeper Song Community extends throughout the planet. Welcome new Deeper Song Explorers. I’d love to hear of your experiences –  caralumen@gmail.com or let’s discuss on the Deeper Song Explorers!

Subscribe to this weekly Deeper Song Newsletter at www.deepersong.com

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What Is Your Role In The New Consciousness?

September 9, 2023 By Cara Lumen

What Is Your Role In The New Consciousness?

Living Our Deeper Song

Ashe
(“Ah-Shay”)
 The Creative in me honors the Creative in you!

Mother Earth is giving us huge signs that she needs our help. Her inhabitants are discordant and at war with each other and are very self-focused. And that has to change.  

As transformational leaders we have diverse roles to play in preserving the well-being of our planet and her people.

What does that look like for you? What will you help transform? What will you focus on in order to create positive change? 

You may find yourself drawn to preventing climate change, or preserving a certain species, or helping a certain segment of the population, or like me, go within to write insights and observations that reach a lot of people. 

The role of a Transformational Leader in the New Consciousness will vary and it’s up to you to define and expand your participation. 

As a 90-year-old woman in long-term care I had to give some thought to my role as a Transformational Leader in this New Consciousness. Then I realized that I’m doing that by my very existence and my many exchanges with young people on the staff here who have chosen to be in service to help others. I am offering them insights into the holistic metaphysical principles of wholeness and I am reaching several generations. As I engage in individual conversations I organically seed-plant holistic ideas and open new pathways for them to consider. In writing this I realize that I am influencing our future world by my participation with young people of consciousness that are drawn into my orbit. That’s pretty good for an old lady.

Begin to identify your place of server and your impact, the gifts that come with thoughtful exchanges and how you would like to refine your participation, or expand it, or even change directions. Be aware that everything you say and do and are has impact. Raise your sights to focus on the well-being of the planet and humanity as a whole.  What is your role in the New Consciousness?

Deeper Song Affirmation 

I go exploring and expand and deepen my role in the New Consciousness.

Deeper Dong Process

  • Give some contemplative thought to what you think the New Consciousness is and how you think the New Consciousness is evolving. 
  • Sit down and make a list of how you already have impact in our world. Notice the ripple effect, how what you do continues to move out into the world and influence others. When you  expand the thinking of one person that person will radiate out and touch other lives. 
  • Everything we say and do has impact. Become more aware of your role in a New Consciousness.
  • Expand your reach. 

===INNER WORK===

Deepen Your Inner Awareness

What Prompts You To Let Go And More On?

What is the catalyst that prompt you to make a major change? Is it a circumstance? Is it a realization? Is it a new idea that calls to you? 

I came across some poems I had written along my long life path and many of hem were a cry for change. A situation had grown too heavy or too cumbersome and I needed to leave it behind. What does it take for you to break away and move forward? How many times has that happened in your life? Where and what new adventures, opportunities and insights did it bring to you? 

We are the only ones who can make ourselves happy, so if change is needed we must recognize it and make that change. Positive change is totally up to us.

That meat we must stay self-aware. It means we must be cognizant of new opportunities and insights. That means we must let go and move forward.

Change is interesting. Change is challenging. Change is scary. Change is necessary. Change is how we expand our world and our participation in it.

First you have to become aware that you need to change. Then you have to explore the possibilities of a new path. Then you chose your new direction and go adventuring.

How do you recognize that it s time for change and what prompts you to let go and move on? 

What Is Your Relationship With Money?

I’m kind of a mess when it comes to handling money. I get excited when I get to learn something new and I take the class. And of course, classes cost money and there is usually a date it will start and…you get the picture. I have been very indulgent with myself when it comes to learning. I have taken native flute and drumming classes and of course I had to buy a native flute and drums. As I say, I’n an enthusiastic and passionate learner who is not good with money.

What is your relationship with money? Are you conservative? Are you reckless? How does your relationship with money drive you choices? Or does it? 

How do you curb your accesses? How do you satisfy your needs and desires in a responsible manner?  Does your relationship with money need to be healed? How wiling are you to do that? 

===SELF-HEALING===

Take Responsibility for Healing Yourself

Self Responsibility And Self-Healing

We have to do the work. We have to take the steps, we have to expand our goals. Our healing process, our wellness achievements are totally up to us. 

Are you doing the work? Are you making the progress you want? Are you experimenting with different forms of self healing? Are the goals and objectives that you set for yourself helping you see progress and make the change you desire? 

What does it take to propel you forward? What does it take to challenge yourself a bit more? 

I have identified some new places in my day to add more walking but I don’t seem to be doing it. Intention is different from doing the work. It’s up to me and my daily choices. Are you challenging yourself enough? Or too much? Are your goals set high enough? Or just right?

Do The Work

I am totally responsible for healing myself. Whatever I choose to do or not do impacts my mind. I need to keep up my work and expand my options. I am using sound healing and Reiki and intention but I’m not being very good about lowering my salt intake. We have to do the work. What do you need to do to keep yourself healthy and are you doing it?

How Do You Renew Yourself?

How do you know when you need replenishing? Do you wait until you end up like a puddle in the corner, depleted and out of energy? Or are you aware of the gradual depletion of your energy and stamina and address it the minute you become aware of it? 

Do you know what your body needs  to sustain and maintain itself? Or do you let yourself gradually get worn down by your life and daily responsibilities until you find yourself totally out of energy?

Establish a pattern of routine replenishment. Perhaps meditate when you first get home from work to make a clear break before moving into “me” time. Replenishment may be in the form of an early morning walk that deepens your connection with nature. Replenishment should be a part of your daily life whatever form it takes. How do you renew yourself and do you do it often enough?

Sit In Nature

When was the last time you sat in your backyard in the dark listening to the sounds of nature and watching the moon rise? When was the last time you pause to turn your face to the sun and allow your body to replenish and restore?Or listen to the wind move through the branches or have an acorn drop at your feet?  Or watch raindrops run down the window? Or listen toto the wind howl while you sat snug and warm inside?

Listen to the sounds and flow of nature and absorb their messages. Noticed the changes of the season. Enjoy the gradual blooming flowers, the sound of raindrops on the pavement beneath your feet. Or watch a butterfly move gently from flower to flower. Or listen to a bird song.  

What are the sights and sounds and gifts of nature that bring you peace and contentment and joy? 

===OUTER  WORK===

Explore New Potential and Possibilities

Understand The Steps Of Aging

I don’t know what I was thinking. The problem was I wasn’t thinking about how to care for myself in my really old age. Suddenly it was upon me and I was not prepared financially or emotionally. 

Before I moved I was, in fact, paying for a form of assisted-living – someone to do laundry and clean and take out the trash. But I actually gave no thought to what was to happen to me next, what kind of care I might need as I got even older. I simply never thought about it.

I realize that there are many features here at Evergreen that have been important to me as part of having access to long-term care. I thought long-term meant dying and since I thought I was merely aging, I certainly was not aware that I could use as much help as I have been offered and accepted.

“Long-term care involves a variety of services designed to meet a person’s health or personal care needs during a short or long period of time. These services help people live as independently and safely as possible when they can no longer perform everyday activities on their own.”

Here’s what I have experienced.              

  • 24-hour nursing supervision including medication management.
  • Access to doctors on a regular basis.
  • Monitoring of blood pressure and oxygen several times a day
  • Professional wound care
  • X-rays and blood tests brought to you.
  • Physical therapy for recovery and genera strengthening.
  • Dietitian for special diets (’m the only vegetarian here and I have being accommodated)
  • A Social Worker advocate to guide your way.
  • Social activities to build community and provide mental stimulation.
  • Care partner (CNA, Med Aid) to help you dress and shower and get you in and out of bed if you need it.
  • Daily laundry service
  • Daily room cleaning
  • Hair cuts, dentist, eye doctor and podiatrist all brought to you.
  • Outside appointments are arranged and wheelchair transportation and Care Partner accompaniment is provided.

All of these are things that were unexpected for me and greatly appreciated. I was not even aware that I would need this much care.

In my case here in the US, I give them all of my social security except for $52 a month. In retune I am total cared for.

Keep an eye on what you need in your advanced years and do the research and if needed, get on a waiting list. Be prepared to scale down your possessions and give away a lot of stuff you provable still care about.

If you have a family member who will need this kind of living situation begin to talk to them early about what it would be like with long-term care as the next step so they can mentally and emotionally and financial prepare to make a move when the time comes. Don’t let it sneak up on them – or you – because it’s rather unnerving when it does.

I had allowed myself to get very isolated before I moved but now I am around kind and caring people from many generations and my heart has expanded and my knowledge and skills have been called upon and appreciated as I share what I have learned with up-coming generations.

If you are nearing a time in which you may need this next major step or you have a parent or relative or friend who will ned it in the next few years, help them do the research and become aware of the possibilities for their next living situation. Both of you will be glad to have the information and understand the options.  

Practice Using Your Body

Brian Clark presented an interesting idea in his Further newsletter, the idea of practicing using your body rather than the concept of working out. I am definitely practicing when I consciously stand up straight and remind my body to be more efficient. As I do my Qigong I focus not just on doing the form correctly, but on experiencing the flow of energy it creates how it makes me feel, and how it deepens my awareness.

There are many times that you can focus your attention on consciously using your body correctly – as you stand, or move your whole body, or just your arms and legs while sitting. Stretch and flex and move. All of these are about listening to your body and making it your partner – a partner that enjoys taking a few deep breaths to relieve tension, a partner tat  enjoys standing up straight and walking mindfully. Think of your body as a co-creator and engage it with thoughtful, mindful compassion and movement. 

See The Overview

I am blessed, or cursed, by being able to see the overview. I see it as a gift because it helps me become aware of and focused on the over-arching thrust of a particular idea or circumstance. For instance, I’ve been aware of the need to conserve to save the planet for over 40 years. But I can understand how someone who is simply working to survive does not have that in their consciousness. 

I am on an active search both physically and spiritually to find how to live my role as a Light Bearer and help change the overarching energy of the planet. I cannot get stuck in details while I search for meaning. It is a broad search, an extensive search, a thoughtful search and I’m staying flexible and open to explore and consider and act.

Are you buried in details? Or can you look at your days and see the over arching pattern that guides your steps? 

What Do You Need To Bring Forward?

As I look for ways to strengthen my body, I look back over the varied forms of exercise that I have learned over the years. When I lived in New York I had no car for 13 years so walking everywhere was a major form of exercise. I did a lot of yoga in New York City in the 80s. There are a whole lot of those poses that I can no longer do but I’m going to look closely at the ones I can do or try todo. I’m doing a modified version of some Qigong moves to accommodate my body.

Understand what you need and create a version of it that you can and will do in order to get the benefits. Be flexible. Be creative and don’t give up. 

===DEEPEN YOUR SPIRITUAL PRACTICE===

Self-Healing Spiritual Practice and Deepening Awareness of Our Cosmic Oneness

The Soul Star

At night I do a Qigong move that I learned from Daisy Lee called Showering Qi combined with some Qigong moves I learned from David Wang to balance the energy of my body. Recently I have added a conscious connection to my Soul Star and the energy is very powerful. I move my hands up my chakras and send energy through my palms. I experience the crown chakra as being 12-18 inches above the top of my head. I raise my hands to experience it and then I raise both hands above my head and with my fingers reaching upwards I open myself up to the energy of my Soul Star. It sometimes takes a second or two for my imagination to travel there but I then get a download in the form of a huge centering yawn as I feel the energy of the Soul Star coming down to fill my body. 

Our Soul Star is always present. It is in your consciousness and you simply go within to connect and deepen your experience of your interconnection with your Soul Star.

Cultivate Stillness

I really like the phrase “cultivate stillness” and I stopped to think how I would do that. Stillness is to be totally present, aware of everything around you. You immerse yourself in the energy and sensations and experience it moving through you as you immerse yourself in that experience. You maintain an inner stillness when you work. You maintain an inner stillness when you walk. You maintain inner stillness when you are in an active exchange with others. 

Take a moment and immerse yourself in centered stillness. Allow yourself to sink deep within and sinply be. Be present. Be aware. Open your heart and feel and experience your presence as a strand in the Web of Life – connected and whole.

Be fully present in whatever you do. Shut out the world around you and focus your entire being on whatever it is you have chosen to do. That way there is no distraction, nothing to pull you off task. It’s a little like meditation when you shut out the world and go deep within and are fully present. 

I have a pretty active meditation practice that includes my drums, my native flute my kalimba, rattles and singing bowl.  But what if I just turned to look out my window and was simply present in nature –  focusing on the clouds, the trees – simply being present in the natural flow of things. I would have a different experience. How do you cultivate stillness? 

===RELEVANT AGING ===

(How to Stay Fulfilled No Mater What Your Age) 

Keep Your Mind Active

This idea is not going to appeal to everyone but it  may resonate with those who are actually curious and those who enjoy the company of  their own mind.

I listen my suite-mate watch hours of 20-year-old game shows and westerns and simply sit in her room with  the blinds on her window shut. As I move down the hall I see people sitting in their recliners doing nothing. There are activities for those who want them but I’m looking at how we spend our leisure time. Even some young people I know spend their entire weekend simply watching television. 

This is not about being busy or not busy, it is about how we nurture and replenish ourselves. What is a nurturing activity for you and is there another version of it that might be more beneficial? Perhaps you go sit in the yard and listen to the crickets or sit out at night and watch the moon rise. Or call a friend. Have you ever taken a nap in a hammock on a warm summer day? 

If you are tired, take a nap, or exercise or whatever you feel you need in the moment. Don’t just sit and do nothing. 

Keep your mind active and nimble.  Stop and turn your time into nurturing activities that replenish and refresh and restore you in body, mind and spirit. What will those activities be? 

For me, writing is invigorating and spiritually satisfying. My meditative practice is eclectic. I turn to the plants on my Altar Of Spiritual Expansion with gratitude for that inner and outer connection with the nature. I immerse myself in the conversations and exchanges with the staff around me. Those are enriching exchanges. 

I meditate, I play my drums and my flute. I watch too much news, I am always writing in order to figure things out. I do research online to understand a concept. Writing is a great way to explore.

I have friends in their 60s with whom I speak regularly on Zoom who are active and interesting and living their lives with imagination and enthusiasm. Our conversations expand us all. 

What do you do to keep your mind active, to experience yourself as a person who is actively contributing to our world? 

=== DEEPER SONG  PHILOSOPHIES ===

Healing Kitchen: Let Food Be Thy Medicine

A potent, transformative – and FREE – documentary series explores the world’s most promising medicinal plant-based foods… And how they can be used to heal the mind, body, and spirit from today’s most prevalent diseases.

It’s called Healing Kitchen: Let Food Be Thy Medicine

Click here to watch this sneak peek video!

Episodes air: Sep 12 – Sep 21, 2023,Replay Weekend: Sep 23 & 24, 2023 

===DEEPER SONG DISCOVERIES===

Resources to Explore

How Do Old Rocks Stay Relevant?

My friend and I were walking across Central Park in the 80s when she turned to me and said, “We are rocks. Others depend on us.” I thought about that and the I asked, “Who do rocks depend on?” And she answered, “Other rocks.” Fifty years later I’m wondering how old rocks manage as they age. For me, it looks like the rocks I depend on are younger but I can still give back. Even as I receive help as I age, I have insights and wisdom and awareness that strengthens and supports them on their journey. That’s a good exchange. So even though I’m an old rock I still have strength and insights to share. I guess old rocks just get more polished with age…

Exploration

I can’t take the class on The Shift Network but I will read his book. It will be my first audio book.  In his class introduction we found our Soul Note.

The Alchemy of Voice: Transform and Enrich Your Life Through the Power of Your Voice pastedGraphic.png Audible Audiobook – Unabridged FREE

===BROADEN YOUR HORIZON – EXPAND YOUR VIEW===

Raise Your Sights and Your Expectations 

Fall Equinox September 23, 2023

The Fall Equinox and the first day of autumn arrive on Saturday, September 23, 2023, at 02:50 A.M. EDT in the Northern Hemisphere. 

It is not just a change of seasons, it is a change of energy and focus, an opportunity to repurpose your intentions for the next quarter. 

In the northern hemisphere it is the time to harvest. It’s a great time for evaluating the crops we have produced. The seeds we have planted. And evaluate how well we cared for those choices.

I have a file on my computer in which I journal and I have begun to record my intentions for a season so I can find them to see how I did.

What I am harvesting is a strong sense of the unfolding of a new role for me in the world. It is still evolving and I cannot exactly describe it but it has to do with raising my consciousness and my focus on planetary unity and well-being. The form is still writing about my thoughts and insights and discoveries along that path but the details are very much in the unfolding stage. 

How do you feel at Fall Equinox? Do you feel energized or depleted? Do you feel challenged or defeated? Take time to contemplate and journal how you are feeling about your work so far this year and list any ideas and suggestions that you would like to incorporate in the next season’s planning. 

I want and need to work harder on my physical strengthening and I think I’m going to look at that as going to football training camp to get in shape – maybe. I know how I want to train, I just have to get more persistent and consistent about it. So that’s one crop that I could have nurtured more this past year.

Ask for my “work,” the form is the same but the focus is now on defining our role as Light Beaners in the world. And that’s definitely a work in progress. 

My spiritual practice has been enhanced by the plants on my Altar of Spiritual Expansion that helps me to move more in line with the rhythms of nature. I do want to establish my version of a Qigong practice for physical reasons. 

What do I wish I had planted more of this year? I have added some sound healing and intention work and a little Qigong to my spiritual purchase but I want to go deeper and expand what I do. 

Are you satisfied with what you are harvesting? What do you want to plat more of or les of. What new varieties do you want to expplore? Give some thought to that. 

For me yoga pops up. I’m not even sure what poses I could come close to doing again but I know a lot of them and I will go exploring. I want to get outside more and will do so as the weather changes. My plan is to take my flute and a small drum and my kalimba piano out with me and sit and sing to the koi fish.  I wonder how fish hear.  

Look what you were harvesting right now and see what you will do differently when you plant next spring. What will you plant more? What will you plant less of? What needs more fertilizer or pruning? Spend some time observing and journaling where you are this fall and make some notes on what and how to change some of it for next year. 

===OUR EVOLVING FUTURE===

Support and Encouragement for our Unfolding Role in the Future

Can You Imagine It?

We use our imagination to bring things into being. We think about it, we savor it in our mind. We expect it to happen and it does. Imagination is very powerful in the creation of our life.

I’m working on a new vision for the planet. One in which everyone is kind and loving to everyone else and there is not only peaceful coexistence throughout the planet but we are also united and aligned with caring for our planet. And she responds accordingly.

I have to really get my imagination going to be able to visualize everyone loving everyone else and everyone being very thoughtful about how they tread the planet surface. 

Visualize it into existence. What are you focusing on? What do you think is possible? What do you expect to happen? Examine all of the things that you are focusing on to manifest – positive or negative, so when you change your thinking you really do change your life. Raise your vision and your expectation and imagine our new world into being. 

===HOW TO BE A STRONG CONTRIBUTING MEMBER OF THE CIRCLE OF LIGHT BEARERS===

Expand Your Role in the Rapidly Evolving Universe

Honor Your Path

I would not change any of the choices I made in my life because they’re all part of who I am today. Whether my choice was a lesson or whether it opened up a new path I’m glad I took it. But most of all I’m excited about what is opening up for me now at 90. All of this thinking and doing I have done in my life brought me to this point of greater exploration, deeper insights and a more meaningful role in the unfolding of the universe. I feel like I am ripening, ready to stand tall as a mature energy to add to the awareness of those who come in contact with me. Of course I have new paths to explore. Of course I have more gifts to expand. But I am at the point where I am a strong contributor to the path that I am on. And that makes me feel valuable and useful and meaningful. 

How are you enriching your life? What skills and insights are you developing that will ripen as you age? We can’t predict our future impact, but we can consciously develop and expand and cultivate our gifts so that we as we mature we produce a full harvest. 

===REFLECTIONS OF A DEEPER SONG PODCAST===

The Magical Power Of Affirmation

Listen to my
Reflections of a Deeper Song Podcast on
Apple / Spotify / Googleand the
Deeper Song Website

==== DEEPER SONG EXPLORATION ===

If you have a topic that you would like to see explored in this newsletter please email me at caralumen@gmail.com. Past issues of this newsletter are found at Insights Of A Deeper Song. Past Podcasts are found at Deeper Song Podcasts

===CARA’S CORNER===

What Do I Want/Need To Change?

I am touched by the ways that I have been asked to participate here at Evergreen, using the gifts I have developed over the years.  That has made me feel useful, and valued. My learning experiences are going two ways, one as I interact with members of the staff here who are from much younger generations and the other as I  move into my imagination to see how we are to become active Light Bearers on the plant today.

There are some patterns I need to expand and establish in order to do the work to reach those goals. I would like to have a loose plan to follow so I don’t go wandering off in the wrong direction and so that I can actually achieve something specific in the coming months. I need to raise my gaze and my expectations. What do you want/need to change an how will you do that?

===SING A DEEPER SONG ===

Embracing change 

I sit here looking over my harvest to see what I need to change – what to plant more of and less of and what new crops to try.

I sit here looking over my harvest to see what I need to change – what to plant more of and less of and what new crops to try. I look over my seed catalog of life for new ideas and unusual combinations.

I sit here looking over my harvest to see what I need to change – what to plant more of and less of and what new crops to try.  I look over my seed catalog of life for new ideas and unusual combinations. I dream my life into being.

– Cara Lumen, September 2023

We create our future with every thought we think, every action we take.  Move forward mindfully as you sing your Deeper Song.

Namaste,

Cara

Come Sing a Deeper Song  

I help Transformational Leaders
deepen our relationship with the Unseen World
and expand our role in the New Consciousness

Cara Lumen, explorer, spiritual philosopher, teacher, guide, leads us on a journey of self-awareness, spiritual expansion and impactful service. She helps us believe in our value, trust in our gifts, express our passion in a unique manner and build something meaningful around our wisdom and expertise. She helps us sing a deeper song.

Live in the nowhere that you came from, 

even though you have an address here  – Rumi

Please forward this newsletter to a friend and suggest they
Join the Deeper Song Community

Past Issues of this newsletter are being curated on my site on a page called Insights.

Our Global Deeper Song Community

Our Deeper Song Community extends throughout the planet  Welcome new Deeper Song Explorers. I’d love to hear of your experiences –  caralumen@gmail.com or let’s discuss on the Deeper Song Explorers!

Subscribe  to this weekly Deeper Song Newsletter at www.deepersong.com

My Books

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Is It Time To Redecorate The Rooms Of Your Life? 

September 2, 2023 By Cara Lumen

Is It Time To Redecorate The Rooms Of Your Life? 

Living Our Deeper Song

Ashe
(“Ah-Shay”)
 The Creative in me honors the Creative in you!

Several of my friends are moving, one because she wanted more space and another because she is going to retire and is building a new home in an entirely different state.  In both cases they are redecorating their life. 

Moving is a time to make new choices, to let go of things, to shed possessions and incomplete projects so you can see new possibilities. It is an opportunity to rethink and rearrange and rechoose what you want in your space and rearrange it according to who you have become and how you want your life to be. It’s like rearranging the rooms of your life. 

I began to think about that.

The room that contains my contribution in life has expanded since I moved to Evergreen long-term care. It continues to fill up with interactions with very kind people who touch my life and change me. And I am being asked to use many of my gifts and insights here. It is a huge redecorating of my Contribution-In-Life room that for me is very much a work-in-progress. 

The room in my life that contains my physical health got rearranged with the results from the hip surgery that aggravated the edema I’m still working with. So that room is my room for healing and restoring and regaining my strength. I will decorate it with determination and persistence and willingness to improve and get stronger.

The room in my life that contains my spiritual practice is well decorated. It includes my sound instruments, my tuning forks, my drums, my crystals, wind chimes and altar. And I have established my pattern for turning to look out the window at nature every day as I sing. I meditate most days. My wall of flowers has changed the energy in my small space.

The room in my life that holds my love of learning is always full of interesting ideas and projects and exploration. It is the busiest room in my house.

The room in my house that contains friends is full and rich with kindness and support and shared interests and interesting conversations.

The room in my life that holds my spiritual evolution is focusing on the well-being of the entire planet and the whole of humanity. I am focused on expanding my role as a Light Bearer.

The room in my life that communicates with nature is not as big as it once was but I have my wall of flowers, my tall windows with a view of the garden and the sky, the wonderful shift-changing clouds of the mid-west and sometimes the full moon. And I can go sit outside in the garden by the koi pond. I just can no longer go walking and exploring in nature.

Bear in mind that I live in one very small shared space so these “rooms” are all “entered” by simply turning in my desk chair, but each area has a specific focus.

Look at the areas of your life and see what needs to be rearranged or cleared out and take time to thoughtfully redecorate the rooms of your life.

Deeper Song Affirmation 

I am open to redecorating the rooms of my life.

Deeper Song Process

  • Take a long look at the rooms of your life and pick one to begin to rearrange and re-decorate and clear out. 
  • What is in that room that you no longer need? Toss it. 
  • What needs rearranging in that room to make it more efficient or supportive of the direction you want to go and the work you want to do there?
  • Is there a room too full of ideas and projects and ambition that need to be cleared out or streamlined? 
  • Do you need to add a new room?
  • Clear out, clean up, and re-decorate the rooms of your life so that you have a supportive starting point for each activity. 

===INNER WORK===

Deepen Your Inner Awareness

Is Your Vision Big Enough?

We create our lives with our imagination and our imagination can create anything. What is your vision for yourself? Is your life big enough and how do you make it even bigger?

That said, I can share that my physical plane visions for myself are rooted in my natural aging process but my vision for helping the world is to understand that we are each Light Bearers and vital and meaningful, important strands in the Web of Life and figure out how to live that. 

Remaining flexible requires frequent small adjustments and changes in directions as I learn more and my consciousness is raised through my inner work. 

Because my vision is just a vision at this point, I have to give my imagination free rein.  I have to meditate and journey and interpret the nudges from the Universe. I want to find my role, my path, my contribution and my calling. 

The vision I am working on now is still in the making.  I do not have very many specific ideas on how to make it happen – yet. That’s how you build a vision. You hold an over-arching vision and let your imagination fill in the possibilities. 

Visioning is not the time to be practical. It is the time to give you imagination free rein so you can identify possibilities and probabilities that, at the moment, you have no idea how to manifest. Do not be limited by what you don’t know how to do or have never before considered. Give your imagination free rein and make your vision really, really big.

   The Power Of Our Intentions

I haven’t thought of myself as a metaphysician for a long time but I am one and as such I believe that my words, my thoughts and my intentions carry tremendous power.

That means that I must be aware of what I think, what I say and what I do. Sometimes I do that better than others. 

First I have to believe that something is possible. That doesn’t eliminate unexpected and unbelievable changes, it just keeps an eye on the metal plane for new openings and opportunities and makes space for those concepts and insights to manifest. 

In the Center for Spiritual Living, people could literally not say anything negative because they believed in the power of their words. Sometimes it left us speechless because we couldn’t think of anything positive to say. 

As a practitioner, I remember being with a group when we went into someone’s home to see their brand new carpet. It happened to be both a color and a texture that did not appeal to me. Since I was not going to say anything negative, it took me a minute to find the right positive words. I think I said something like “It fits the room” or something neutral like that. That’s how strong the belief was and is that our words have energy and they create our reality. To this day I do not say anything negative because our words manifest into reality.

Monitor your thoughts before you speak and make certain that the energy behind them enhances and moves the situation forward. Intend to be inclusive and you will be.

Independence And Aging

Even as my body continues to need support, how do I manage to stay independent while aging? 

I will stay fluid in my thinking and learning and expectations. I will use my age and experience to filter and discern and choose what I focus on, including and accepting what I can change and when I cannot change. 

My role in the overarching world is primarily one of intention and visualizing and energy work. My role in my daily life is about being interactive and supportive of the staff around me. At the same time, I am the only one who is responsible for the quality of my life and my environment.

I continue to learn. I learn from my interactions with others. I learn from what I read. I learn from messages from the universe. I learn from what I write. It’s a pretty active existence.

I’ve just been included in a new small group organized by a therapist here and one of the members was a journalist who wrote three cookbooks and although I have not yet spoken with her about it, I wondered what she is doing for mental stimulation at this point in her life. We were all sitting there in wheelchairs. 

How do you repurpose your gifts and skills as you age? I have a doctor friend who is retiring and will be using her interest in astrology to offer medical astrology as part of her next business. She’s in her early 60s and has 30 more years in which forge a new career path.

We have two people here who made it to 100 this month so maybe I have ten more years on the planet. That’s a lot of time to get a lot of things done. 

How are you doing in your life? What are your plans for the future? How are you keeping your independence as you age – even when you need help? 

===SELF-HEALING===

Take Responsibility for Healing Yourself

Do You Need Courage To Implement Your Life?

All of the major decisions I’ve made in my life were made in a moment and they have led me on great adventures. If I had gotten stuck in the small stuff and worried about the detail and even possible repercussions, I might not have made those giant moves across the country. 

Sometimes we just have to take giant steps and trust that we’re going in the right direction and that it is what we need to do in the moment. Sometimes we have to trust our inner voice and do nothing. Perhaps wait. Perhaps do a smaller or bigger version of it. 

We need to be adventurous, flexible, and innovative as we explore our way through our lives. Sometimes we take action. Sometimes we don’t. But at each juncture we examine and contemplate, reconsider our goals, and then make our choice. 

What are the major choices for you? What are your next steps and will you take them? Are you exploring your options? You know you can always turn around, but if you don’t explore the path, you won’t know where it leads. Do you need courage to implement your life?

===OUTER  WORK===

Explore New Potential and Possibilities

How To Work For The Highest Good  

I have a belief that I wish everyone in the world would accept – that the planet is in trouble environmentally and there are things we should include and must do to preserve our entire planet. And there are a large number of people who believe that there is no such thing as climate change.

How do we raise our sights so everyone is willing to work for the highest good for all? 

I totally believe we need to take dramatic and drastic steps in order to preserve our planet. There are many others who absolutely deny the existence of a planetary environmental crisis. What I get to do is monitor my own footprint and if given a chance, educate others as to what they can do for the environment and why they should do it. I would like to see conservation laws passed that help regulate the environment and that will mean we have to adjust how we use our resources. 

I can do my part. I can educate others about the need to be more conservative of our resources. But I don’t think there’s much I can do about the nonbelievers who will make no effort to save the planet simply because they don’t see the need. 

What I know to do is to walk the path as clearly and cleanly as I can and if given the opportunity, explain to others why I made these choices. Educate, motivate, inspire by example. That’s a good place to start to change the awareness of others. Saving the environment will save our own lives and those of our descendants. Keep making choices for the highest good for all.

Use Feng Shui To Smooth The Flow Of Your Space

I don’t have a lot of space. I do have it pretty full up of things but I’m going to see what changes I can make to smooth the energy flow of my space by using the ancient Asian art of Feng Shui. 

“Feng” mean “wind” and the “Shui” mans  “water.”  Both wind and water flow. Can you increase the energy flow through your space?

If you can, begin with an empty space – a corner, a desk top, a room. Define a clear purpose for the space and make certain that what you select to put in it furthers that intention.

As you mindfully choose and place each piece, experiment to determine where it should be placed to enhance the energetic flow of the room. You can apply the principles of Feng Shui to a tabletop or a corner or a whole room or how a house is built on a lot. The principal is the same – encourage the natural flow of energy around whatever is placed there.

I have a dresser upon which I have placed a piece of fabric I chose as an altar cloth a long time ago. The things that are on top of the dresser are mindfully chosen and placed. But my computer desk is rather another matter because I have no drawers to put things in. My creative space is crowded but there is a pattern I have created for using it.

I cannot pass the test for simplicity by any stretch of the imagination. I simply don’t have room. But if I could clear off some surfaces and put only the meaningful things on it, my space would immediately change and feel more serene and peaceful. My Altar of Spiritual Expansion (formally called my Wall of Flowers) is well designed and very peaceful. The energy is very benevolent. 

Perhaps begin with your bedroom so that you can rest in a simplistic flow of nurturing energy. Try clearing your kitchen of everything and put them in boxes in the garage and then bring in only the things that you need to prepare your meals. You’ll be surprised how much you can leave in the garage. 

At the beginning of the season turn all the hangers toward you and when you wear something, turn the open part to the back. At the end of the season, you know what you did and did not wear. Consider getting rid of those. 

You might change items on table tops according to seasons, so you can keep the arrangements simple and focused. And at the same time set new intentions. 

How will you use Feng Shui to improve the flow of energy in your home and your life?

===DEEPEN YOUR SPIRITUAL PRACTICE===

Self-Healing Spiritual Practice and Deepening Awareness of Our Cosmic Oneness

Nature and Spiritual Expansion

There is something very tranquil about watching orange koi fish swim in a small pond in our garden. My curiosity wonders to what their life is like, how they interact. I notice the hummingbird at the feeder outside my window and wonder about her life. I look at the gnarled trees in the courtyard and wonder whose lives they have touched.

I watch the plants on my Altar of Spiritual Growth and care for their environment and talk to each of them. 

There seems to be one lone fly in my room and his name is George. I have no idea how he got here because I’m pretty deep into the building. I have no idea how long a fly lives but George is hanging out here for now.

The sun dances on the carpet at my feet and I feel blessed and watched over and supported. The stained glass butterflies in my window look out for me. We have a large fish tank in the hall in which many colored small bodies live their lives. I wonder what they think. I wonder how long they live.

I love the clouds of the Midwest. They are expressive and as you watch them, they create marvelous images that expand your imagination. I like to sit and look at the sky.

There is a peacefulness in nature. There is a lesson about unfolding in nature. There is a tranquil acceptance of life, birth and death in nature. Nature simply is. When I am totally present in nature, I deepen my spiritual connection with All-That-Is. When I sit quietly and go within, I experience myself as a strand in the over-arching web of life that contains all of us. 

Spend time in nature. Tune into its gentle and constant expansion and contraction and notice the similarities in your own life. Nature shows us how to inter connect, how to share our gifts with each other and how to work together for the common good. Look to nature to expand your spiritual awareness.

Create Balance In Your Life

It’s very easy to become unbalanced in the structure of your life. Too much work, too much responsibility, no time to sit and contemplate – those are all signs of imbalance and we can consciously take steps to correct that. 

Perhaps you record how your time is spent over the period of a few days or even a week in order to identify the imbalance your choices create and discover places to change your choices so you have a greater balance between nurturing time and people time and nature time.

Look for creative ways to combine things like walking in the woods and finding a place to pause to meditate or creatively using drive time to listen to an instructive podcast. 

I’m going to begin to add intention to the exercise moves that I do.  I will encourage myself to stretch a little further, hold a little longer, walk a few steps more, and all will deepen my physical practice.  

I have added more sound to my spiritual practice in the form of humming to specific parts of my body for healing purposes. 

When I come to my wall of flowers now renamed Altar of Spiritual Expansion, I might start making up songs to nature and sing while I work. I play my native double flute to them. What will you do to create more balanced experiences in your life?

===RELEVANT AGING ===

Don’t Let Aging Sneak Up On You

The need to give up my car was my first clue that I was aging. My eyesight no longer made it safe. Then I started to use a walker. That made it hard to take out the trash and I had a grabber in every room to pick up fallen objects. It became harder and harder to simply live my life.

Now I have the physical help I need. I have the medical care I need. I can turn my attention to making a difference in the world.

Aging is inevitable. How we express it, how it slows us down, what changes we make to adapt and accommodate it, and our mental and emotional changes are up to us  – our adjustments and our creativity in finding ways to stay relevant and interactive is totally up to us.

Aging sneaks up on you but you get to make mindful choices at every stage.

===HOW TO BE A STRONG CONTRIBUTING MEMBER OF THE CIRCLE OF LIGHT BEARERS===

Expand Your Role in the Rapidly Evolving Universe

See The Potential 

I used to love to sew and as I walked in a big room full of bolt after bolt of fabric, I used my imagination to see the potential for a fabric that I liked.

Sometimes you can see the potential and sometimes you just know that it’s something you want to explore more deeply. 

I can certainly see the potential for envisioning a role as Light Bearers for humanity but I can see very few details at this point.

Visualizing allows you to go beyond the limitation of the known world. You are free to explore and examine and create wherever your mind takes you. 

Don’t slow your imagination down by being too practical. Allow your imagination to take you on adventures you’ve never dreamed about before and let it show you its untapped potential.  

Find Like-Minded Friends

It is a small group of four of us plus our therapist organizer but I have connected with four other women here who are going to be interesting new friends. And it was then that I remembered something that I had forgotten. Since we are in the upper 10% of IQ in the world population, it is obviously a little trickier to find other people on that same level. So I need to stop lumping all old people into a category that I think I’m not interested in. I’ll simply know that I have to look a little harder to find interesting, compatible, active fellow seniors. 

Where are you finding your friends? How do you find them? 

===BROADEN YOUR HORIZON – EXPAND YOUR VIEW===

Raise Your Sights and Your Expectations 

Don’t Get Stuck In The Small Stuff

I’m not much of a detail person, but I still often get stuck in the small stuff, the details, the not-very-important steps that keep me from examining and expanding the overarching goal of whatever I’m doing. I’m both casual and confident about what I do and how I do it. It’s easy for me to take an action and let it go rather than reworking it or rethinking it or redoing it. 

I keep the big picture in mind and try to make certain that whatever choices I make are as effective and impactful on that big view as they can be. 

I don’t concern myself with too much detail. If a detail helps further a big picture, I use it. If it only tweaks a little corner, it may very well fall by the wayside. 

Know what is important. But there is a point where some of the details can be a little more casual in order to move the bigger picture forward.

Be imaginative and creative and flexible. Don’t get stuck in the small stuff.

Many Paths

The head of nursing here is from Kenya. He won a scholarship to a school in Virginia as a star track athlete. Isn’t it interesting how we are brought along our path in unexpected ways and in sometimes unexpected directions. 

There are quite a few people from Africa on the staff here and I’ve often wondered how they ended up in Kansas which sure seems far away. I also didn’t know there were 56 different countries in Africa and every one has a different dialect. Most people know English and there is a common dialect everyone can speak. 

Look at the unexpected gifts that have been the catalyst for opportunities that you enjoyed and excelled in. My writing has taking me on adventures as has my gift of organizing. I guess I’m not self-aware enough to know what other gifts might have helped propel me forward but I sure have had a good time on the paths that I have chosen. 

As I look back over my life after I left Kansas City, it is a long expanding journey into spirituality and philosophical inquisitiveness. I have always shared what I learned.

Look back over your life path and see what threads and gifts have been woven throughout and see if you are cultivating and utilizing those gifts even now.  

How can you expand your gift? How can you expand your reach? Where do you begin? There are many pathways to take to reach your destination. Just make sure your destination is where you want to go. 

===REFLECTIONS OF A DEEPER SONG PODCAST===

New Consciousness – New State of Being 

Listen to my
Reflections of a Deeper Song Podcast on
Apple / Spotify / Googleand the
Deeper Song Website

==== DEEPER SONG EXPLORATION ===

If you have a topic that you would like to see explored in this newsletter, please email me at caralumen@gmail.com. 

Past issues of this newsletter are found at Insights Of A Deeper Song. Past Podcasts are found at Deeper Song Podcasts

===CARA’S CORNER===

Don’t Go Back In Time

I almost went the wrong way. I almost went backwards in time and that’s not the direction I need to go. I have written thirty small booklets in the last 30 years published by me with some sold in my church bookstore and some on Amazon but I got the idea that I wanted to put all those old books on my website and give them away for free. I’m pretty sure it was an ego thing – here’s what I’ve been doing with my life. And then I realized how much time it would take to update the front and back pieces and reformat and get them in and out of PDF and it’s not a good use of my time. But I had to get pretty far into the process before I figured that out. Now I’m going to look at my life to see if there’s any place else where I’m trying to go backwards. I don’t see one at the moment. But this was a big wakeup call because I spent a lot of time organizing my book files on my computer and I’m not sure that it was time well spent – instead I accepted it helped me reach the decision not to continue. 

How do you decide what is important to do or not do to move you forward? What are the guidelines? What is the criteria?

I pause to look at where I am right now, what the universe has handed me, and where I think I want to go at this point in time. And backwards is not it, however strongly I need to show off my body of work. It’s interesting to have gotten this far along in the process of preparing to put up the books only to finally realize this is not how I should use my time. 

What pulls you off base? And how far off do you go before you realize you’re not going where you want to go? I’ve been thinking about putting these books out for several weeks and finally realized the past is the past and energy I’m spending on reaching out to others should be based of where I am now and what I am thinking now – not the past, but the present and definitely the future. 

What is pulling you off track? Look closely at your choices to be sure they are moving you forward in the direction you need and want to go now. 

===SING A DEEPER SONG ===

Stay On The Right Path

I almost turned backward. I almost retraced steps that I have already taken. It would not have served me.

I almost turned backward. I almost retraced steps that I have already taken. It would not have served me. I pause to consider the gifts I have been given. I pause to raise my gaze to my future place of service. 

I almost turned backward. I almost retraced steps that I have already taken. It would not have served me. I pause to consider the gifts I have been given. I pause to raise my gaze to my future place of service. I leave my past behind and move determinedly into the future.

  • Cara Lumen, September 2023

We create our future with every thought we think, every action we take.  Move forward mindfully as you sing your Deeper Song.

Namaste,

Cara

Come Sing a Deeper Song  

I help Transformational Leaders
deepen our relationship with the Unseen World
and expand our role in the New Consciousness

Cara Lumen, explorer, spiritual philosopher, teacher, guide, leads us on a journey of self-awareness, spiritual expansion and impactful service. She helps us believe in our value, trust in our gifts, express our passion in a unique manner and build something meaningful around our wisdom and expertise. She helps us sing a deeper song.

Live in the nowhere that you came from, 

even though you have an address here – Rumi

Please forward this newsletter to a friend and suggest they
Join the Deeper Song Community

Past Issues of this newsletter are being curated on my site on a page called Insights.

Our Global Deeper Song Community

Our Deeper Song Community extends throughout the planet. Welcome new Deeper Song Explorers. I’d love to hear of your experiences – caralumen@gmail.com or let’s discuss on the Deeper Song Explorers!

Subscribe to this weekly Deeper Song Newsletter at www.deepersong.com

My Books

Filed Under: Uncategorized

What Is Your Role As A Transformational Leader?

August 26, 2023 By Cara Lumen

What Is Your Role As A Transformational Leader?

Living Our Deeper Song

Ashe
(“Ah-Shay”)
 The Creative in me honors the Creative in you!

My mission statement is “I help Transformational Leaders deepen our relationship with the Unseen World and expand our role in the New Consciousness.” I reaffirm that every day. And then one day I realized I didn’t know what the New Consciousness looks like or feels like or even exactly how to get there. It’s a lofty idea and it’s sort of floating out there and it needs some physical plane support in order to implement.

For me, the New Consciousness is about focusing on the well-being of the whole – the whole planet, the whole of humanity, the whole universe. It is about identifying myself more as a strand of light in the Web of Life than as an individual human on the planet. So the first step is to keep my sights and thoughts and focus on what it means to be a strand in the Web of Life. Am I doing a good job? How can I make my strand stronger? When will I do that? 

Imagination creates our reality so if I turn my focus on visualizing peaceful cohabitation on the planet, that would make a difference. If I see the climate of the planet as being balanced, what would that look like? Can I put aside the visions of what is happening to create a vision of what could be when and if everything is balanced again in nature. 

My work is pretty much on the inner plane. If I were younger that participation might take some form of activism, perhaps writing articles to motivate and educate and inspire others to take positive action. Oh, I’m doing that now. What is your role in the New Consciousness?

Deeper Song Affirmation 

I give contemplative thought to my role in the New Consciousness and expand my expectations for myself.

Deeper Dong Process

  • Look closely at your life and notice where and how you are already participating in the unfolding of the New Consciousness. 
  • Identify and explore possible new places and roles for you to expand your impact. 
  • Get to work.

===INNER WORK===

Deepen Your Inner Awareness

Is It Time To Shed Your Old Skin?

A snake sheds its skin two to four times per year in order to grow. Young snakes that are actively growing may shed their skin every two weeks. Older snakes might only shed their skin twice each year.

It made me stop to think about what layers it is time for me to shed either because I’m at a turning point or they are no longer useful. 

I can begin with habits I no longer find useful. I’m trying to develop new ones that help strengthen my body as it shifts and changes. I’ve actually tried on several new skins in the form of Qigong and Tai Chi. We can shed one skin to make more room for us to grow a new one.

I am already beginning to grow a new skin in my newsletter as I search to define our expanding role in the universe.

On a personal level I am bursting through my skin of spirituality in order to take it to a new level of exploration, experimentation and insights. 

It’s rather interesting to think of being able to simply shed an old pattern and grow a new one that fits you better and gives you room to grow. 

What patterns do you need to shed in your life and what will you grow in the open space that it provides? 

 Are You Dreaming Big Enough Dreams?

Is it time to go exploring, to open new doors and wander down new paths and try on what calls to us? 

I don’t think I have any dreams going on right now, particularly ones that show me how to have more impact at this late stage in my life. I could change that. I will change that because we should have big dreams at every stage of our life.

My main big dream is about being a Light Bearer. What does that look like? What does that mean I do at this point in time to save the planet and to save humanity? You know, small stuff.

I was not aware I’m having impact in my long-term care facility. I recently recorded a video that was shown to open a fundraiser and I made the videographer cry when I recorded it.

It feels meaningful to have a goal – not the plan – a purpose. It makes me feel relevant and it focuses my actions and my thoughts. 

A big dream may take a little longer to manifest but it adds depth to the meaning of your life. Are you dreaming big enough dreams?

===SELF-HEALING===

Take Responsibility for Healing Yourself

True Movement Comes From Within Yourself 

Nudges are unexpected gifts from the universe but the manifestation comes from within yourself. You have to listen. You have to observe. And you have to act. 

The listening part of getting nudges from the universe is interesting. When you sit quietly and go within, you can have a lively conversation with your Higher Self, a discussion, if you will, about the potential of certain choices. It’s good to talk things over with your Inner Self. 

And I think it’s fun when the Universe bops me on the head with an idea or a circumstance that opens doors for me to create new experiences and adventures. I had no idea moving into long-term care would be so rewarding.

And then there are the internal nudges that suggest you look in a new direction or explore a different path. We must stay open to the potential that change offers.

But true movement only comes from within yourself. When you make a decision. When you take an action. When you release a belief or expectation.  Trust your inner guidance and have a good ride. 

===OUTER  WORK===

Explore New Potential and Possibilities

Move On

Don’t stay in places where you don’t want to be. Find your place.

– Chris Brogan

It’s important to know when to quit. It’s important to know when to move on. Every time we break the ties with the stagnant position we are clinging to, we soar. New ideas dance in our heads, new opportunities appear on our doorstep, because we have decided to move forward. To make change. To be changed. 

What are you settling on? What are you settling for? 

Change can be very dramatic and it can also be very slow. Change can sneak up on you until one day you look up and you are no longer in a place you want to be. You are no longer using the skills you love to use, you are no longer working with the people that inspire and motivate you. What do you do in those circumstances?  

Do you have the courage to cut yourself free? Can you identify new venues where you can fully express your gifts and talents?

One of the major roles in our life is to fulfill our potential. Are you encouraging situations that use your creativity and imagination and your spiritual expression? If not, do you have the courage to move on?

Check Your Boundaries

Boundaries are not set in order to be restrictive, boundaries can be seen as guidelines for where to draw the line – for both expansion and containment. When is too much? When do you need to let go of that is no longer satisfy or rewarding? And what are the guidelines that need to be removed or expanded?

I want to expand the boundaries of my curiosity. I want to expand the boundaries of my physical body. I want to expand the boundaries of the number of people whose lives I touch. 

Sometimes we don’t even know we have unconsciously set boundaries or limitations for some aspects of our life. Look closely to identify the areas where you are stopping yourself from expanding. 

I Hit The Jackpot!

I’ve been looking for how I want to add more movement into my life and I decided upon Qigong. I have taken a lot of classes on The Shift Network and I still have access to those classes so I really hit the jackpot. I am able to start over with my Qigong practice and take it to a deeper level. 

I have taken lots and lots of classes on the Shift Network and could probably spend the next 10 years of my life reviewing those classes and strengthening what I learned as I re-establish and anchor the practices in my life. 

I have to make some adjustments because I can’t stand up straight right now but Qigong is about moving energy and opening meridians and strengthening organs. 

What classes or books are there for you to review and re-establish in your life? Repeat some of them and bring those that resonate now more deeply into your life.

===DEEPEN YOUR SPIRITUAL PRACTICE===

Self-Healing Spiritual Practice and Deepening Awareness of Our Cosmic Oneness

Nature And Spiritual Expansion

I built my wall of flowers to separate my shared space in this long-term care facility. It is two white open bookcases each with five shelves that I have filled with green plants in white pots.  It is very serene and soothing.  I built it as an energy of protection. But in editing a previous newsletter, my friend and proof-reader Noralee changed a word and the sentence said, “My entire wall of flowers has gradually filled up with lovely plants that are deepening my connection with nature and symbolizing my ever-deepening and expanding spirituality.” And my energy changed. My personal reason for creating the wall changed. 

I don’t know where you keep plants around you but they are nature that you can keep close at hand.  As I watch these plants grow new leaves or sprout new roots or turn towards the sun, I get to think of and examine my spiritual growth. Am I nurturing it properly? As I watch for new leaves to appear, I think about what new leaves and roots I can grow in my own life.

What can I add to my spiritual practice that would deepen and expand and enrich it? I think it will be in the form of my three-line poems that I learned to do a long time ago. Write a line. Begin the next verse with that same line and add a line. Take those three lines to the third stanza and add another line – like:

My Wall Of Flowers

My wall of flowers is my protection but it is also a reminder of my spiritual growth.

My wall of flowers is my protection but it is also a reminder of my spiritual growth. Each new leaf, each new root reminds me to keep expanding and growing and expressing my inner self.

My wall of flowers is my protection but it is also a reminder of my spiritual growth. Each new leaf, each new root reminds me to keep expanding and growing and expressing my inner self. I nurture my spiritual being as a part of nature. 

– Cara Lumen, August 2023

===TRANSFORMATIONAL VISIONING===

Exist In A State Of Pure Potential

“Potential” means having the capacity to develop something in the future. It is shaped by our belief system of what is possible, the creativity of our imagination, and our deepest desires. 

On one hand, it means that all things are possible. On the other hand, it also means we have to believe it is possible. 

I don’t believe I will be able to walk around the block again, but I can imagine walking the halls and maybe even outside.

I’m going to opt to live in the world of possibilities. I love it when the universe surprises me with its gifts and opportunities. I’m going to practice imagining myself walking well and seeing well. I will use my resources and inner strength to do the work on the physical plane and my spiritual strength to make changes happen. What do you believe is possible for yourself? For the world? See the potential in your imagination and place yourself there.  Exist in a state of pure potential and watch what unfolds. 

===RELEVANT AGING ===

Become An Advocate

Where do people who have no family get help when they get old? More and more people are choosing to not have children so that potential support is not open to them. 

My sister chose to stay in Phoenix after her divorce and when she got dementia, she asked a friend to be her advocate. 

We have social workers here at Evergreen who act as advocates for those with no families.

What are you going to do when you get really old and needs an advocate?

===HOW TO BE A STRONG CONTRIBUTING MEMBER OF THE CIRCLE OF LIGHT BEARERS===

Expand Your Role in the Rapidly Evolving Universe

Get Rid Of What No Longer Serves You 

In order to move on, we periodically have to examine and release beliefs and habits and expectations that no longer serve us. It’s sort of like a spring houseclean where you re-think and re-choose to make room for what is evolving in your life. 

Examine your inner life, and the choices you make to fill your time, and prioritize and make room for those activities that expand your awareness and your spirituality. Get rid of what no longer serves you. 

===BROADEN YOUR HORIZON – EXPAND YOUR VIEW===

Raise Your Sights and Your Expectations 

How Do You Encourage Communication With Your Highest Self?

Sometimes it’s an unexpected circumstance. Sometimes it’s a sudden realization. And sometimes it is simply knowing. How does your Higher Self speak to you and how do you encourage those exchanges?

Many of my nudges come in as phrases or concepts that I turn around and write about in order to figure them out for myself. Then I share them with you. Sometimes it takes a major bop on my head from the physical universe for me to get the message. And sometimes it’s something someone says that resonates and prompts new possibilities for me to consider. Much of my writing could be thought of as reflective journaling as I seek to understand and apply new concepts to my life. 

I don’t specifically sit down with the intention of having a communication with my Higher Self, I exist more in a state of constant readiness to recognize and expand upon phrases and principles and insights that resonate and call to me. How do you encourage communication with your Highest Self?

===OUR EVOLVING FUTURE===

Support and Encouragement for our Unfolding Role in the Future

Raise Your Gaze

As I become more aware of my role as a Light Bearer, I am looking for ways to express that in the world around me. Since I don’t know the specifics of that role, it’s hard to figure out specific actions.  But I keep looking. I keep listening. I keep feeling. And I know that the path and my role in it will make itself known. 

For me, I think the work is energetic and expanding, perhaps writing to give others ideas for action. It’s the over-arching goal that is still evolving for me. 

What is your role as a Light Bearer in this massive global change that is taking place? Expand your role and let’s change the world. 

===REFLECTIONS OF A DEEPER SONG PODCAST===

The Cloak of Empowered Service

Listen to my
Reflections of a Deeper Song Podcast on
Apple / Spotify / Googleand the
Deeper Song Website

==== DEEPER SONG EXPLORATION ===

Past issues of this newsletter are found at Insights Of A Deeper Song. Past Podcasts are found at Deeper Song Podcasts

===REFLECTIONS===

When I left Kansas City for New York City in 1977, my neighbor brought me a copy of this famed poem which has always been present in my travels and sits on my altar today. It is my life:

The Road Not Taken

BY ROBERT FROST

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

===CARA’S CORNER===

 How Others Change You

I was on a Zoom call with a group of friends and was talking about how kind everyone is in this long-term care facility. And they told me that I had changed a lot since moving here and I too seem more kind. I never thought about how being in a different environment can change you in a big way. I had allowed myself to become very isolated in the past few years.

Leaving a stressful job ultimately allows room for you to find your rhythm, to make major changes, to rebalance physically and mentally and emotionally. Starting a relationship or ending one may allow room for major changes and how you respond to the world around you.

Major change happened for me because the Universe nudged me and prodded and guided me to this new place so I would have this experience. My friends say I changed a lot since I moved here. I do know that my heart is more open, I have expanded the places I serve and I feel more useful and valued.

Identify the times that you feel empowered. It may be a time that you are receiving support from someone. It may be a time that you were giving support to someone, or both. Notice the change that happens on the inside and the nourishment that comes with it. 

Notice what you were doing and if you were doing it with anyone else. Do more of that.

===SING A DEEPER SONG ===

My Heart Is Touched 

I have been touched by kindness and gradually I radiate kindness in return.

I have been touched by kindness and gradually I radiate kindness in return. My heart opens. My life opens. My expectations change.

I have been touched by kindness and gradually I radiate kindness in return. My heart opens. My life opens. My expectations change. Being touched by the light of others has expanded the reach of my light. I am glowing with love.

– Cara Lumen, August 2023

We create our future with every thought we think, every action we take.  Move forward mindfully as you sing your Deeper Song.

Namaste,

Cara

Come Sing a Deeper Song  

I help Transformational Leaders
deepen our relationship with the Unseen World
and expand our role in the New Consciousness

Cara Lumen, explorer, spiritual philosopher, teacher, guide, leads us on a journey of self-awareness, spiritual expansion and impactful service. She helps us believe in our value, trust in our gifts, express our passion in a unique manner and build something meaningful around our wisdom and expertise. She helps us sing a deeper song.

Live in the nowhere that you came from, 

even though you have an address here – Rumi

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Past Issues of this newsletter are being curated on my site on a page called Insights.

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