Cara Lumen | Sing a Deeper Song

Sing a Deeper Song

How Has Your Spirituality Expanded?

By

How Has Your Spirituality Expanded?

Living Our Deeper Song

Ashe

(“Ah-Shay”)

 The Creative in me honors the Creative in you!

It has been 60 years since I was in an Episcopal church service. I had been a Presbyterian before that. It was interesting to watch the services for Queen Elizabeth and remember some of those ritual patterns. 

When I was a senior in college, I took a comparative religion course and had never even heard of half of the religions we studied. Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Jews, folk or traditional religions, includingAfrican traditional religions, 

Chinese folk religions, Native American religions, Australian aboriginal religions, Baha’i faith, Judaism, Sikhism, Shintoism, Taoism, Tenrikyo, Wicca and Zoroastrianism. There is a myriad of meaningful approaches to a spiritual life.

My spiritual life has evolved. I discovered philosopher-poets like Rumi and Kahlil Gibran and Tagore who speak deeply to me. In 2000, after five years of study, I became a spiritual practitioner in the Center for Spiritual Living. I love the Tao Te Ching (Stephen Mitchel’s translation). I have studied and embraced many elements of shamanism. I have explored the energy philosophies of Qigong and Yoga. I do shamanic journeying several times a week and explore the unusual realms I am shown. And I have become aware that my spiritual path is about to take a new and upward and powerful turn. And that is unfolding fairly rapidly. It is indeed an eclectic spiritual path I have followed.  

How are you exploring spiritually now? We usually begin with whatever our parents taught us. Sometimes we stay with that. Do you move through life looking for the concepts that touch your soul and follow wherever they may take you? You may end up following one path. Or you may end up with an eclectic spiritual practice. It’s all perfect. Whatever opens new doors and takes you deeper within is the place to go exploring.

How has your spirituality expanded? What new spiritual path will you explore next?

DEEPER SONG AFFIRMATION

I am open to an expanded and eclectic spiritual path. I go exploring. 

DEEPER SONG PROCESS 

===INNER WORK===

Deepen Your Inner Awareness

What Is The Foundation For Your Beliefs?

The beliefs we hold have risen from many places. A great many were taught to us by our parents based on their beliefs and their life experience ad their parent’s beliefs. Many beliefs are passed down in cultures. Those are tricky to identify and overcome because they were given to us at such an early age that we don’t think to question them. 

Another set of beliefs develops over our life experiences. We can sometimes identify those that come out of a specific experience or relationship. All of those experiences culminate into a belief of what is possible. 

Question your beliefs. I’m a metaphysician so my beliefs are focused around life, it’s purpose and its process and I continue to find ways to explore the unseen world. It has happened organically as I have come across new ways of going within.

We change our beliefs because we learn something that resonates more deeply. We organically let go of the familiar and establish and embrace a new set of beliefs. That probably means our friends will change as we seek like-minded people who are exploring similar paths to share in our adventure. 

Changing your beliefs will change your trajectory. Identify and question all of the beliefs that are guiding your life and see if they are still relevant to the journey you want to take.

I’m working at changing a lot of my beliefs about age because I’ve never gone through this part of the aging process before. What I believe is possible for me at this stage in my life has changed with the aging process. 

What impactful changes can you make? Do you start something new? Do you stop something you’ve been doing? What changes can you make that will change the trajectory of your life? 

I believe that I can help change the world through my thoughts and intentions. I believe that I have the ability to self-heal. I don’t always know exactly how to do that but I believe it can be done. I have an interesting set of beliefs about what happens when you die based on Michael Newton’s books. And I continue to learn life lessons like when to let go of a concern and simply trust. 

Allow your beliefs to change. Question your beliefs. Discard the beliefs that no longer serve you. 

Explore the new possibilities that open up with the clearing of that space. Look closely at the foundations for the beliefs you hold today. Explore other cultures. Notice what science is opening up as possibilities. And perhaps establish new beliefs to carry you forward. 

You Are Your Own Everything

You are your own lover, your own teacher, your own best friend, your own healer – you are your own everything. Stop looking outside yourself, just do the work yourself.

Wow. That puts it all on you, your choices your thoughts, your inner wisdom. That’s where your guidance is. That’s where your insights come from. That’s where your actions originate – within you.  Whatever you observe in the world around you, it ultimately is up to you what you do with it – accept it, change it, reject it – it’s your choice. There’s no one outside of you to get the job done.  You are the one that makes you feel happy. You are the one to make you feel loved. You are the one who guides your steps and chooses your path. Follow your own inner wisdom. Watch for the nudges the universe provides for you and be your own best friend.

===SELF-HEALING===

Take Responsibility for Healing Yourself

Overview

We are responsible for our own healing and choices to do or not do things that affects our physical form. How are you doing? What areas of your life need to be strengthened? How would you do that? Will you do that? 

When we look at the overview of our life, it is easier to see the patterns that were established in the areas that are calling out for change.

First, identify what needs to change and then explore and experiment how you would like to change it and what methods you would use to do so.

I am resisting walking more but I am welcoming the Qigong shaking exercise and a Qigong sequel for joints. What will you do? Don’t beat yourself up for what you won’t do. Substitute. Identify what you will do and do it. I’m going to add more stretching moves when I stand at the kitchen sink. I’m going to do more standing and looking out the window. Substitute as you will, but keep the over-arching purpose in mind – to create a change that improves your life on some level. 

It could be more meditation, it could be more movement, it could be different eating, it could be a real shift in attitude. Change is good. 

Pause and take an overview of where you are in life and make some new choices. Is it time you create some changes in your life? Do it!

Where The Mind Goes, The Qi Goes

In my Qigong Yin-Yang course, Robert Penn said, “Where the mind goes the Qi goes.”  I need to get busy. That means that my thoughts can alter a physical condition, a situation, an event – wherever I direct my intention. I already knew that as a Reiki master teacher. But it was good to be reminded. I need to be conscious with that much power. I need to be selective with that much power. I need to be productive with that much power. My thoughts create my reality. We are responsible for what we experience. Oh dear, I have some work to do. 

Know that your mind can send healing Qi energy wherever you send it. What well you heal today? What will you change today? Get to work. There is much power within your mind and your intentions.   Where the mind goes the Qi goes

The Voice of Authority

I have dry macular degeneration for which Western medicine knows no cure. And I have an eye doctor appointment soon so I have to be really careful about what I let the “voice of authority” tell me is possible or not possible. I can hold on to the holistic belief that we can rebalance and self-cure our physical bodies. 

And I am gradually losing my eyesight. So what adjustments do I get to make in order to stay functional? What new skills am I to learn? What things will be out of reach for me? 

I know that I’m going to start listening to more podcasts and audiobooks so that I know how to do that. What about ordering groceries online or accessing my bank account? What creative adjustments will I need to make there? 

What I really have to guard is my belief in what is possible and my belief in what I deserve. I have to really, really stay on top of that in order to have a voice in this particular unfolding physical process.

Who we see as an authority figure or what concepts we believe are hard to overcome requires us to move into our personal belief system in defiance of what appears in our material world. When we search, we can find those seeming miracles. 

Be aware of the power you give those you see as knowledgeable.  Look for some of the miracles that have happened for others.  Whatever you feel, there are always exceptions to everything and you might just as well be one of them. 

Simple Changes

My office chair broke several months ago and I have been sitting on a walker and it hurts my body. I have finally replaced it with a new office chair and it is making tremendous shifts in how I’m able to work at the computer. 

What have you put off replacing that could change your life? With this new chair my posture is different, I can work longer, I can actually lean back. It has been too long since I had a chair that would allow me to do that. Why do we put off the things that we know are good for us for so long? 

Look around at the things you need to change, whether it’s physical or emotional or even spiritual. What have you been putting off and will you do it now? Then notice what happens. Be prepared for positive change. 

===OUTER WORK===

Explore New Potential and Possibilities

Your Weekly Promise

I thought I was going to write a little segment about setting goals until I realized this is really about making a promise to myself to do some things that I really want to do and have been putting off. I have a podcast I really want to listen to and have been putting off. That’s on my promise to myself list. I really need and want to establish a walking pattern each day. That’s on my self-promise list. I really want to learn that joint healing Qigong series that I shared last week. That’s on my list. I will keep it to those three things because I want to establish the habit of making a promise to myself to do something that I really want to do and do it. What will you promise yourself to do this week just for you? Keep it simple. Keep it small. And make it happen. 

===DEEPEN YOUR SPIRITUAL PRACTICE===

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

A Focused Eye

Take time to examine your spiritual practice to make certain it is meeting your needs. What is nudging you? What can you do more of? What will you do less of? What new spiritual practice do you want to explore? Make changes in your spiritual practice.

One of the practices I may begin to do again centers around a box in which I have put quotes that are really meaningful to me. The practice is to simply draw one out of the box each day and explore it during the day. I have quotes from the Tai Te Ching, Rumi, Tagore, Deng Ming-Dao, Stephen Mitchell on a range of topics. So drawing out one quote is an interesting way to focus my day. Sometimes it prompts me to take an action. Sometimes it is just something to contemplate. What element can you add to your spiritual practice that will deepen your experience? 

Anchor The Intention With A Talisman

A talisman is any item imbued with a specific power by its bearer to serve a specific intention.

It could be a crystal you hold or wear.  It can be something you write or read aloud.  It can be a plant or a song. A talisman is used to anchor energy on the physical plane.

Traditionally, a talisman anchors energy in the physical plane. That energy may be protective in nature or may be intended to draw abundance, wealth, or a wide variety of blessings to its user. 

A talisman is usually something from nature. Meaning might come with words or symbols or color or shape – whatever calls to you.

I have a lot of crystals. Hand holders, clusters, small stones, tall columns, round stones in all colors. I hold them in my left hand and listen to their message. Then I choose how to use them in my spiritual practice. 

Where you place your talisman may have an impact on its energy so tune in as you place it and experiment. I am aware of the directions when I placed things on my altar. 

It would also be interesting to rearrange your altar at the equinoxes and solstice to honor the seasons.

What objects will you select to guide you and where do they belong in your spiritual practice? What talismans will you choose to use and for what purpose? The physical properties of the talisman are not as important as the intention of its bearer. If you are grounded in your desires, your talisman will give you something that you can concentrate on to help you affirm your intention and achieve your goals. 

===GUIDANCE FROM OUR COSMIC COUNSELORS ===

Listen Beyond The Voice Within 

I go to my secret garden and sit on the bench beside the reflecting pool. Across the pool my three cosmic counselors are dancing. They are dancing in a slow circle and my squirrel guide is beating a drum for the rhythm they dance to. It is a dance of movement and change. It is a dance of moving forward. It is a dance of releasing and moving on. It’s a dance of evolution.

We are to move with the rhythm of unfolding. We are to be aware and flexible and willing to change. And most of all we are to trust that what we will be given, the opportunities that will open up, will be absolutely perfect for where we are in our life right now.

The three Cosmic Counselors end their dance and with their hands in prayer position bow to each other. The squirrel guide puts down her drum. They sit in a circle of serene contemplation – ready, willing, and open to change. 

I sit on the bench beside the reflecting pool and do the same.

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

Expand Your Role In The Rapidly Evolving Universe

How Do You Use Time?

We can spend time, we can lose time, we can waste time, we can value time. How do you view time? How do you value time? How do you use time?

I have some serious soul-searching to do because I waste a lot of time on activities that do not improve any facet of my life. How do I change? 

I’m aware of some choices I would like to make like listening to podcasts and audiobooks. But I haven’t taken those steps yet. It’s way too easy to stay stuck in a mindless game of Spider Solitaire and reruns. What a true waste of my time. 

Now I know I can’t work all the time. I need to have balance. I write often throughout my day as an idea comes up and I dictate a version of what I want to say. But there are huge chunks of time that I spend mindlessly. I would like to stop that.

I want to explore and cultivate alternative options. Which means I have to listen to the podcast on the Akashic records that I know about and have wanted to listen to for three weeks straight. Just do it. I identified at least one book I want to read. I know of one audiobook I want to get. Why do I fall back into the mindless choices that have almost become a habit? How do I, we, get unstuck from non-supportive choices? 

Just do it. One step at a time. I am writing this particular segment on a Sunday. Monday I will listen to that podcast. Tuesday I will order that audiobook and listen for an hour. That’s a start. Just begin.  I will notice my choices and then be selective and purposeful. I will keep myself from falling into the mindless routines that are easy but nonproductive. That doesn’t mean I have to be busy. I just need to keep exploring new options.

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

Raise Your Sights and Your Expectations 

Learn From Other Cultures

My life is rather eclectic. I’ve taken bits and pieces from the spiritual practices of many cultures and have turned them into my own version of spirituality. I like Taoism. I like some of the ceremonies of the Native American cultures. I talk to crystals, I like flower essences. I have studied yoga and Qigong and Shamanism. I learned from Eastern poets like Rumi and Gibran and Tagore. I have absorbed ideas from many cultures into my life. That is a good thing. 

I will always question a new belief to see if it suits me at this stage of my particular path. Sometimes I adapt it. Sometimes I absorb it. Sometimes I only take a small portion of it. 

Examine your own belief system and see if what’s there is what you really truly want to keep. Perhaps do some spiritual practice cleaning. Perhaps do some simple rearranging. Examine the beliefs you hold and see if they are what you want guiding you in your life today. Choose what serves you now. 

===OUR EVOLVING FUTURE===

Support and Encouragement for our Unfolding Role in the Future

Fall Cleanup

Depending on where you are on the planet, it is fall. And that means it is time to clean up and put away things for the winter. What in your life do you need to clean up? This might be a good time to look and do the work. 

Pause at this change of seasons to evaluate what you are creating in your life, what you want to release in your life, and what results you want to encourage in your life. Any change of season is a good opportunity to evaluate where you are and plan your future.  

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs   

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is often shown as a pyramid that shows our basic needs. Here are our needs from the wide bottom up: 

  • physiological
  • safety
  • belonging and love
  • esteem
  • cognitive
  • aesthetic
  • self-actualization
  • transcendence.  

Obviously the top gets narrower and that means if you are at a survival level there is no way you can think about self-actualization. Your paramount focus is to survive. So when I hear prospective voters in the US put the economy first, I realize they are more in survival than concerned over the possible loss of democracy in this country. That’s too esoteric for them at this stage of their being-ness. 

If you are reading this you are certainly in the self-actualization category and we’re working our way into transcendence. 

Those of us who are toward the upper point of this pyramid of needs have work to do that only we can do. It is consciousness work. It is visualization work. It is holding High Watch for the planet work. It doesn’t make me happy about the people in the lower, broader base of this pyramid who want to abolish democracy but it helps me understand that they feel threatened on the survival level. You cannot possibly think in terms of self-actualization and transcendence which are at the lower and broader end of the pyramid.

We have work to do, those of us who can. I suggest that what we want to do is to go within and consciously become aware of our own role as a Light Bearer for this planet. How we are to express that is still unfolding. 

I’m going to suggest we begin with our spiritual practice. Perhaps we spend time focused on balancing the entire planet. Perhaps we spend time focused on healing or changing a situation.  If you were going to help create change in the world, what would your focus be?

I send energy to the planet for self-healing, the power to restore its rivers, to cease its destructive weather patterns and forest fires, and begin to self-heal.

I do not understand those who seek to do harm. I don’t want to understand. But I can create a visualization in which I see them encased in a sphere that simply sends back to them the negative energy they send out. They self-destruct. I’m not going to spend a lot of time on the bad guys, I would rather focus my attention on supporting those who are consciously ready to actively heal themselves, raise their consciousness, and participate in the interconnected web of life in a positive, powerful, and collaborative way. 

That would eliminate some worry – if we only focus on the good guys and how we can do more good. 

In my shamanic journeys I set up a transformative sphere around myself. (The Transformative Sphere). It protects me from anything destructive that comes toward me while I am in that inner world. Because it is a transforming sphere it also transforms my own worries and concerns while I’m in it so that I have less fear, less apprehension. I can then spend time encouraging and cultivating a vibration that nourishes and expands my awareness of the wholeness we are. 

=== DEEPER SONG PHILOSOPHIES ===

I have spent many days stringing and unstringing my instrument
while the song I came to sing remains unsung.

 – Rabindranath Tagore

Do you spend all your time getting ready rather than doing? Are you so busy preparing that you never step forth and do the work? Are you spending so much time stringing and unstringing your instrument that you get nothing done?

Just begin. Take a step. And then another. Explore. Taken action. Check the result. Made changes. Try something new. Repeat. Start playing your song. It will be perfect. 

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

The Deepest Sound is Silence

Listen to my 

Reflections of a Deeper Song Podcast on

Apple / Spotify / Google

and the 

Deeper Song Website

==== DEEPER SONG EXPLORATION ===

Deeper Song Calendar

I have a new project. I’m not sure if it’s for me or if it’s for us. It’s the Deeper Song Calendar. I am building it on astrology which bases the focus for the days of the week on the planet that is overseeing it. And I am working with my deep love of quotes that have been meaningful in my life. I may just share it as I go along and hopefully get to the point where it’s one big offering but I want to use it to consciously focus my intention each day. It is a work in progress and it is unfolding. 

===DEEPER SONG REFLECTIONS===

Death is not extinguishing the light, 

… it is putting out the lamp because the dawn has come. 

   – Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941)

===CARA’S CORNER===

My New Path

I do need to find out from my guides what I am to be doing now and receive any messages of guidance they choose to give me at this point in time. The core messages was: Allow yourself to be taken to new realms of possibility and work from there.

I will stay open to nudges from the universe, unexpected insights that appear in my mind, and stay open to unexpected interpretations of the unfolding of the planet, its population and its existence. The key is to stay open. 

I have no plan. I’m just going to be open to whatever thoughts show up and explore them in whatever direction I am called to take. 

That’s all I know at this point – rise above the chaos of the planet and find serene guidance there that I can share with you. Let’s see where it takes us. Let’s see what kind of adventure unfolds. I’m game. Are you? 

===SING A DEEPER SONG ===

The Explorer

I trust. I trust the nudges. I trust the insights. I trust the unexpected circumstances. I allow myself to be guided by the unseen world. 

I trust. I trust the nudges. I trust the insights. I trust the unexpected circumstances. I allow myself to be guided by the unseen world. It is a higher journey I go on now. I’m not even sure what I’m looking for, but I will know it when I experience it. And I will bring it back for us. 

I trust. I trust the nudges. I trust the insights. I trust the unexpected circumstances. I allow myself to be guided by the unseen world. It is a higher journey I go on now. I’m not even sure what I’m looking for, but I will know it when I experience it. And I will bring it back for us. I release all preconceptions of what is possible. I do whatever needs to be done, and I open my heart and my mind to the unexpected. I am guided by what shows up.

Cara Lumen – October 2022. 

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 adventurers who are ready to explore the new possibilities in the emerging energy of the Divine Feminine to align their dreams and choices with what is emerging as possible today so that they go beyond their own expectations.

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