THE 2010 NEW YEAR LETTER

THE 2010 NEW YEAR LETTER



Sparkling Through Application



When I was about 10 years old I used to have a recurring dream. In it I was playing with other children. We would be climbing trees or something like that. The feeling of those dreams is hard to translate into words. I could use the words ‘love’ or ‘peace’, but even these feel limited in describing what I felt while being with the others who played with me. I appeared to know them so deeply, so intimately, with a sense of familiarity that goes well beyond words like ‘family’ or ‘friends’.



Then I would wake up and be back in my bed, in this world, and my heart would break. First I would feel the impact of their absence, and then I would have to face the realization that I had no way of returning to their company. Sometimes this sense of loss would cling to me all day. My time with them felt more real than anything in this world, and it was hard to reconcile my inability to return into this intimate experience at will. At night I would lie in my bed trying to project myself back into their company, but this never worked. This exhilarating dreamtime experience was always given when least expected, not gotten through my efforts.



When I place my attention on the numbers of the year 2010 a definite feeling dawns within my heart. The only word I have for this feeling so far is, ‘sparkle’. Recently I had one of those nights in which sleep remained a distant stranger. This shifting of sleeping patterns is now happening to many of us. Anyway, I lay awake for nearly three hours being with the experience of not being able to sleep. As I lay there, I asked myself what the essence of 2010 looked like as an experience? The image that awoke into my imagination took me by surprise: I saw myself unexpectedly being reunited with those within my childhood dreams. As I pictured this, my heart ‘sparkled’.



The feeling around 2010 is communicating to me that something I assume lost is not – it is returning – unexpectedly – like a visit from a dear friend who had long since vacated my day-to-day memory bank. If you have ever been unexpectedly reunited with a dear friend and felt the warmth of ancient familiarity being rekindled – then you know the feeling I am attempting to communicate. This is the essence of 2010: what is assumed lost is rediscovered – what is unknowingly forgotten is remembered – and what is thought hidden, revealed. Something ancient is restored and renewed. All unfolding unexpectedly – and all given with our only effort in being willing to open our heart enough to receive. We metaphorically turn around and there it is, unexpectedly, right in front of us, in pristine condition, just as if it had never been gone – rediscovered, remembered, revealed, restored, and renewed.



There is another story which arises within my awareness when I contemplate the essence of 2010. It is that of a guru and his disciple:



One day the guru asks his disciple to go to the well and fetch a bucket of water so that he may wash his face and hands. The disciple lovingly sets off, grateful to have been given this service by his beloved master. While at the well drawing water, he is approached by a beautiful young woman. He looks into her eyes and is enchanted by her presence. They start to talk and she invites him to her home for a family dinner. He meets her father and mother and is offered a lucrative job in the family business. Soon he is married to her and they start a family. He becomes a successful businessman and a respected member of the community, with grandchildren playing at his feet. Years pass and he eventually retires from his daily business activities, leaving his achievements to the care of his grown children.



One day he takes his regular evening walk, but for some reason feels inspired to follow a different route. It unexpectedly leads him to the well where he first encountered his beloved wife. Suddenly, like a bolt of lightening entering his heart, he remembers the face of his beloved guru. Without a moments hesitation he runs all the way to the nearby village and discovers his guru’s humble house still standing where he remembered it. He knocks on the door. A familiar voice says, “Come in.” There, sitting on the exact same cushion where he remembers last seeing him is his beloved friend and teacher – smiling like the morning sun. The now elderly disciple falls at his feet, sobbing. The guru chuckles heartily and gently pats him on the head.

“Where is the bucket of water to wash my face and hands?” he asks playfully.

“Oh beloved guru, you asked me for such a simple thing, but I became so easily entranced by the world and forgot you completely. I have failed you.”

“Oh no,” smiled the guru. “Not at all. I asked for water, but instead you went out and lived. And, you lived well! Now I do not receive water from you, but the blessed moisture of your tears of love, recognition, and remembrance. Such tears do not wash my hands and face, but they touch my heart deeply enough to allow me to leave this world fulfilled. They also cleanse your heart in a way that places your Soul upon this cushion of mine. Thank you for following your heart so that I may be free to follow mine.”



As 2009 was about ‘accomplishing completion through integrating our perceived conflict of opposites’, 2010 is about ‘conscious entry into multi-dimensionality through deliberate and consistent application of daily structure that fosters personal integrity’. The key word this year is ‘application’, and so throughout this piece of writing expect a little repetition on the subject. 2010 is 2+0+1+0 = 3, which means it is a trinity year – and for the most part, the trinity consists of application, application, application.



2010, for those who have been listening to their heart [no matter what the current perceived consequences of their heart-work is] is about new beginnings that deliver us into dimensions within ourselves that are uncharted and at the same time deeply familiar.



For those of us still frantically trying to do what we think we are supposed to be doing, 2010 is going to be deeply frustrating – and in the extremes – devastating. This is because only the heart knows the way through what is now unfolding. The mental body in of itself cannot contain this experience. This is because it has no point of reference for that which has no beginning or ending. 2010 marks our experiential entry into that which has no beginning or ending. This life we are living is but one dimension of what we are. During the course of this year we are going to be introduced to ourselves as multi-dimensional beings. The linear thinking aspect of mind will short-circuit if we attempt to use it as the means to ‘understand’ this experience.



For many, 2010 is also the last point of adherence and perceptual subservience to the artificially manufactured linear Gregorian Calendar. It is a definite jump-off point from the production and consumption intent of this machine-worshiping timeline. Instead we enter an experiential dance with the divine will accessible only in the present moment. This therefore may well be my last New Year Letter based upon this linear dating system.



On all levels, 2010 shouts “time is up!”


Metaphorically, the latter moments of 2010 mark the moment the first glimmers of the sun’s rays are seen as it rises above the horizon. In 2010 ‘The Light of The World’ commences its return to earth as and within us. Truth reveals itself for all with eyes to see – and these are the eyes of the heart, not those peering out of the face. 2010 is therefore ‘the sunrise year’. It is the experiential commencement of ‘The New Dawn’ we have patiently and faithfully expected. It is the year of revelation and prophecy, the fulfillment of which takes place internally – not on some cloud in the sky. Be dubious of anyone or anything ‘arriving upon a cloud’ – or announcing their presence to the world on public media. Such an event – no matter how fancy and convincing the production – is nothing more than a manufactured smokescreen.



Accordingly, because the latter part of 2010 represents the sunrise moment of our evolving awareness, it also means that much of the year is also metaphorically ‘the last moments of night before the sunrise’. And, if you have ever purposely stayed up all night to greet the sunrise, you know how tired, cold, and unconscious one can feel moments before that first shimmer of sunlight peaks above the horizon. You also know how awesome it is when the sun finally rises – and what the soothing warmth of the rays feel like to the eyes and upon the skin. You also know what peaceful rest you are able to enter if you have stayed awake all through the darkness to greet the light of a brand new dawn.



Accordingly, as we enter and traverse 2010, it may at times appear as if it is getting colder. It is not. We may at times feel as if we are becoming more unconscious. We are not. And, there may be moments in which all appears hopeless. It is not. Don’t believe the hype! If you find yourself getting too upset about what appears to be unfolding on the world stage, stop watching television news broadcasts. They have absolutely nothing of value to add to the experience of this year. If anything, they will only serve to distract from it.



Do not seek confirmation of this sunrise moment on the world’s stage – seek it only in the heart.



This is one of the reasons it is recommended in this letter that you watch the DVD - The Mayan Calendar Comes North by Ian Xel Lungold - even if you have seen it before. It assists an inner knowing that no matter how chaotic and hopeless this world may collectively appear outwardly – this is not the truth of what is really transpiring personally and inwardly. When we realize exactly where we are within the context of our unfolding and fast-completing evolutionary journey – we are automatically uplifted, brought into an awareness of peacefulness, and even feel elated. We relish and anticipate each day.



The inner reality is that if we are alive today and able to stay awake and conscious in this profound human vehicle throughout 2010 – then we have made it! This is definitely not The End Times – but it is the end of the manufactured, linear, one-dimensional-timeline-consciousness. And, in spite of ourselves, we have successfully germinated, sprouted, rooted, extended ourselves above the surface of things, branched out, spread our leaves, flowered, and are now fruiting. We are here, now, in this moment where it is all happening.

We are the portal.

2010 reveals this truth to all present enough to receive it.



However, as those of you who have purposely stayed up all night well know, it is also within this moment, just before sunrise, when we are most susceptible to giving into the pull of sleepiness. Throughout 2010 deliberate vigilance is therefore called for. This is not a time to fall asleep on our feet. We are all tired, and we ought to be. After all, we are consciousness completing a vast journey from seeding to fruition. Our limited mental body capacity cannot even contain the immensity and profoundness of this greatest of adventures. Only the heart has the capacity to feel the extent of this, and to tear up our eyes with the immense sense of relief accompanying such accomplishment.



While on the subject of ‘the last few moments before sunrise’, and the temptation to give in to sleep [unconsciousness], I would like to share some wisdom with you received from one of my greatest teachers – my brother, Anthony Brown. Anthony is a jet airliner pilot currently flying passengers in and out of Baghdad International Airport. I have shared his wisdom with you before in the final pages of The Presence Process. What I shared with you in those pages was related to him telling me that at no time is a plane continually on course while in flight. The pilots and their computerized instrumentation are consistently compensating – correcting the plane’s trajectory as it is continually buffeted by the turbulence of the sky. I shared this particular insight in The Presence Process when discussing the ongoing necessity for being responsible for the quality of our experience. I was communicating that personal responsibility does not come with ‘an autopilot button’. While we are still in this physical human form and having this ever-shifting emotional, mental, and physical experience, we are all personally responsible for its quality.



Personal responsibility knows no autopilot.



No matter how much we assume we know about the mechanics of our human experience, if we become blasé or absent-minded about the nature of our intent and attention – we risk entering an unconsciousness which makes us vulnerable to crashing. Crashing manifests within our experience as accidents, illnesses, and addictions. In 2009 I validated this truth for myself. I crashed a few times during the course of this year. I am sure that throughout 2009 many of you also had the opportunity to reacquaint yourself with the implications of ‘personal responsibility’ – and the consequences of distractedly taking ones hands off the joystick.



2009 has indeed been the year of tough remedies and reminders, of the unexpectedly revisiting of seemingly well-worn insights assumed already digested. We have all had our share of unexpected diseases, careless accidents, and infuriating addictive behavior. Throughout 2009 things we thought we already knew – things we thought we’d already overcome and integrated – returned for ‘one more hop, skip, and jump across the dance floor’. 2009 has been the year of old lessons having to be remembered and relearned – of old fear, anger, and sadness being revisited – one more time. This is only because the universe is loaded in our favor. It wants us to blossom and fruit – and it is doing everything in its power to cleanse the vessel we are so that what is to be poured into it does not become contaminated.



Believe it or not – the dice are loaded in favor of double 6’s – not triple 6’s.



This revisiting of what we assumed already integrated may have caused us to at times feel that ‘nothing has been accomplished’. We may have said to ourselves – “I did all this work on myself and now I am back in the same place where I started – I have accomplished nothing at all!” This is not true. As written in the 2009 New Year Letter – this year past has been a time for ‘finishing touches’ – for points of completion – and this has required the often uncomfortable and confusing experience of ‘revisiting old wounds’. However, all these ancient troubles have only ‘come to pass’. Allow them to without concern. Be with them without condition.



Recently my brother imparted more wisdom to me about the nature of responsibility and the reality of ‘crashing’. We were discussing one of the National Geographic television programs about air crash investigations. During this conversation he shared something very insightful with me. His words went something like this:



“Most people assume a plane crash happens at the moment of impact – and is caused by something that occurs a few moments before the event. This is seldom true. Investigation has shown that most plane crashes start hours or even days before the point of final impact. They begin as a pattern of incidents deviating from what is considered ‘normal activity’. However, to the untrained eye, this pattern of incidents is only clearly recognizable in hindsight, after the impact, when it is already too late do anything about it. What pilots are trained to do these days is to recognize any deviation from ‘normal activity’. They are taught to watch for and to recognize patterns of unusual activity. This can be incidents like a pilot oversleeping and arriving late for duty, followed by a member of the cabin crew dropping a tray twice on the same shift, and then the co-pilot forgetting a simple and obvious procedure whose lack of application appears harmless, and so on.



What we as pilots have to recognize is not the specifics of these individual incidents – but when they start to occur as a pattern. This pattern of incidents may at first appear unrelated to the actual flying of the plane – but it is not their relationship to each other, or even to what is happening in the cockpit that matters – it is the fact that they are happening in the first place. Such a string of incidents can creep into our flying routine quite unnoticed. You see, in our case for example, we fly the same route every day, sometimes twice a day, sometimes four to five days a week. We get to know every aspect of the flight drill to the point it no longer becomes conscious – it becomes automatic. Because we are so familiar with the territory and the moment to moment procedures – we do not require consultation of our scheduling details or flight procedure manuals. We know it all like clockwork. We therefore become like pilots flying on an internal autopilot based on familiarity.



However, this is where we can also become vulnerable to oversight. This is why we have ‘crash-prevention training’. If we notice that a string of incidents – seemingly unrelated – are starting to occur – and it doesn’t matter how trivial they appear – the fact that they are occurring is ‘the signal’ – then we must institute an immediate evasive response. This seemingly unrelated string of incidents is telling us that something as yet unseen to us is starting to unfold.



The moment we recognize this pattern, we immediately counteract it by taking all our activity completely off autopilot. For the next five or six flights, we behave as if we know nothing. We assume nothing. We take out our flight manuals and follow all drills and procedures ‘to the T’. We consult our flight schedules even though we already know what they are. Our cabin crew is also instructed to behave accordingly – to conduct themselves as if they are on a training flight. Absolutely nothing is left to chance. We fly by the book until any surfacing of ‘strange unrelated incidents’ is neutralized.



Many crashes on many planes are averted by adhering to this avoidance procedure. First it requires recognition of a pattern of seemingly unrelated ‘unusual incidents’ – then the immediate agreement of the entire crew to return to 100% application of the manual – to do everything by the book – no matter how we feel about our flying skills. Only our egos prevent us from taking this evasive action. Final analysis of disasters often reveal that the cause of plane crashes involve an ego behind the controls. Flying by the book – as in making a deliberate conscious shift from autopilot-mentality to 100% manual-mode – is what puts the ego in check and stops any unconscious pattern leading into disaster.”



This wisdom shared by my brother is possibly the most useful insight we may digest as far as navigating our experience through the 2010 skies is concerned.



As we enter and move through most of 2010, the one word that is therefore our greatest friend is, ‘application’. ‘Application’ is the frequency of 2010. And, in this light, our frequency refers to what we attend to most frequently. Two other words related to this frequency are ‘structure’ and ‘integrity’. This is evident in that 2+0+1+0=3. As already stated, 3 is the number of trinity – and ‘trinity is the Soul of all structures consciously manifested’. When we use the word ‘application’ in relation to the energy of 2010 – we are referring to ‘consciously and consistently applied action which supports the positive influence of structure in our lives whose intent is to uphold personal integrity’.



‘Conscious and consistent application to support the structure of our personal integrity’ is the same as a pilot taking out the In-flight Procedure Manual to avoid unnecessary crashing. Remember that as we move through the last moments of dawn toward the sunrise, there is great propensity for unconsciousness. It is important we remember this, realize the implications, and behave accordingly. Therefore, application, application, application.



It is also beneficial to remember that because we are on a very precise and deliberate evolutionary schedule, that the sunrise representing this particular completion point of our evolving awareness is already spoken for. We do not have to spend one moment trying to make it happen. Any effort now aimed at trying to achieve experiences like ‘enlightenment’ or ‘awakening’ is futile. It is a waste of our personal energy.



Trying to ‘become enlightened’ during 2010 is like trying to get the sun to rise an hour before it is scheduled to appear upon the horizon. Such behavior is misguided and pointless.



Up to now all our activities around healing, awakening, and self-improvement, etc., have been useful. We have been deliberately driven into these intents because of the capacities they awaken within us. The experiences we assumed they were leading us into were simply bait cast to initiate required movement. Sometimes the activity inspired by our curiosity is not about actually finding anything, but rather about metaphorically getting us to move around in a particular manner so as to develop very specific capacities.



Our spiritual seeking up to now has hopefully shown us experientially what works and what doesn’t as far as impacting the quality of our life experience in any tangible way is concerned. It has also revealed which modalities are valid, and which are simply part of ‘the business of spirituality’. Accordingly, in the years passed, we have all collected tools we know we can rely on to keep us on track when the outer world’s stage becomes increasingly adorned by unconscious madness. These trusted approaches are our ‘in-flight manuals’. Use them consistently.



During 2010 it is therefore useful to consistently remind ourselves that the sun is rising within our experience whether we want it to or not, and whether we seek it out or not. No matter where we are on the planet, no matter how ‘spiritual’ we perceive ourselves to be – or not to be – we are going to be touched by the rays of fruiting awareness. The consequence of being touched by these rays is determined by the intent within our heart. Therefore, instead of ‘trying to make the sun shine upon us’, a more efficient use of our energy and focus of our intent is in remaining as present and conscious as possible, so we are awake and accounted for as the light appears. Our tools are now best used to integrate our ongoing daily experiences and for consistently navigating our awareness into this, here, now.



2010 is the year of adhering to a simple daily routine that is our trusted route in.



Throughout 2010, as dark as it sometimes appears, as cold as it sometimes feels, and as hopeless as it may at times appear, our task is to continually remind ourselves of the bigger picture, and to sparkle accordingly. The recommended DVD facilitates this awareness of ‘a bigger picture’. During 2010 the expression, ‘I am the one I have been waiting for’, is the anthem we are to play into our own heart as consistently as possible. Don’t wait for the world’s stage to acknowledge this truth. If you still seek acknowledgement, rather use a mirror.



2010 calls upon us to ‘sparkle’ like the morning star which heralds the dawn.



At one time or another we have all experienced moments of felt-peace and the inner knowing that something way more significant is happening than the current condition of Wall Street, than the amount of troops being offered up daily to feed the war machine, and the seeming increasing and forthcoming calamities of climate change and environmental disaster. During 2010 many upon this planet shall run and rally the masses to indulge their own unintegrated projections. Accordingly it is recommended we steer clear of religious fanatics, posturing politicians, and greedy profiteers.



Many shall identify with the unconsciousness of the pre-dawn darkness and deny, and even try to prevent, the reality of the imminent rising of the sun within us. It is therefore important we remind ourselves that we cannot save or rescue another from their experience – no matter how much we love or care for them. To try and do so is to enter their madness and so to become equally susceptible to the consequence of crashing. We cannot stop others from crashing if crashing is their lot. Our Soul task this year is to sparkle – not save or convert – and in so doing to consciously land the vehicle of our own experience upon the runway of what is true. We are the morning star within our personal experience.



It is extremely irresponsible if a pilot becomes so distracted by a dispute amongst the passengers, that they leave the cockpit unattended as the plane approaches the runway. When this happens, disaster is courted. Remember that within the parameters of our personal experience, we are the pilot and everyone else is passengers. Don’t expect passengers to behave like pilots, and don’t become a pilot who starts behaving like a passenger.



Throughout 2010 it is therefore vital we ‘do it by the book’ – that we switch from automatic to manual – at least until Nov 3rd. Any practical application which encourages daily presence and the remembrance that we are on a deliberate schedule – that we are personally responsible for the quality of our journey – is useful. Such practices are now worth more than piles of gold. To have these and to summon the will to apply them is to be blessed.



It is also relatively easy to identify the unconscious incidents and the patterns they give rise to which lead us into crashing. The seemingly random incidents that make up these patterns all have one word in common – ethics. It is only through ignoring what represent ‘our personal ethics’ that we veer into activities which lead to crashing. So, whatever represents ‘flying by the book’ to us individually [because what is a useful means of application for me may not be so to you], let it serve as a daily reminder of what represents our remaining on track and within the integrity of our personal ethics. When we remain intimately obedient to what represents our personal ethics – crashing is highly unlikely.



Take note too that what now fills the subject matter of all major news stories relates to ‘ethics’. This scrutiny of ethics in all aspects of our human experience comes to a head mid-year, and then begins to recede. Many sacred cows fall with it, and all emperors are shown to have no clothing. This is because our movement as evolving awareness shifts on Nov 3rd 2010 from ‘aligning our ethics’ to ‘participating as conscious co-creators of our shared experience’. Therefore, let whatever we choose as our daily application – as our route in to presence – also be a means to hone our co-creative capacities. By applying ourselves to whatever assists us to participate in navigating the quality of our personal experience, we automatically awaken our capacity as co-creators.



Being as present as possible in and with the felt-texture of each moment is causal, and therefore automatically co-creative.



Throughout 2010 anyone paying close attention – which is another way of saying ‘anyone who remains present with the felt-aspect of their experience’ – will be able to peer through the apparent darkness and perceive the landing lights of the runway up ahead. This ensures conscious landing into multi-dimensionality.



Throughout the year there are also going to be a string of ‘legitimizing events’. Legitimizing events do not do anything for us – they simply arise to confirm the validity of what is truly unfolding. They contradict the mass media and its political intent to convince us that all is going to hell. They also contradict the madness of sustaining a belief in mortality-based awareness and the destructive behavior it encourages.



These legitimizing events will be overlooked by those stuck in the mental plane, and therefore missed by many. However, they will be a cause for great celebration for all who recognize and receive them. They will occur within our personal experiences more readily than they do upon the world’s stage. They will confirm that there are two very distinct paradigms running simultaneously alongside each other: the death of the great lie, and the birth of truth. All of kind and generous heart will be visited by them at one time or another, and their impact will feel like a breath of fresh air whenever encountered.



These legitimizing events can be requested too. Many of us feel we have been working so hard to be the best we can be – to integrate the condition of our hearts – to make ourselves ready for The Kingdom – and to do what is right by those we love. And yet, we may still feel there appears to be little or no relief in sight. Ask to be shown ‘a legitimizing event confirming that what your heart knows is true is true’. Then pay attention. A legitimizing event is like the first hue that lightens the darkness upon the horizon – the first real evidence that the sun is indeed rising. In this light, 2010 is ‘a legitimizing event’ – and this will be made absolutely obvious the closer we move toward our transition into 2011.



One of the legitimizing events will be a sudden surge of a personal awareness of what peace is. However, do not expect to witness this surge of peacefulness demonstrated upon the world’s stage. Remember, this evolutionary journey is not about bringing peace to the world, but about realizing peace within in spite of the current nature of this world. No one will announce this increasing personal awareness of peacefulness on television. This is because this surge of peacefulness is going to be authentic – not the artificial states of so-called peace [controlled behavior] negotiated by politicians, paid for by profiteers, or emotionally manipulated among the masses by religions.



This surge of felt personal peace will not be discussed on the CNN, BBC, or SKYE news channels. It will arise as a direct felt-encounter within the personal experience of all listening to and following the communication emanating from within the heart. Authentic peace is always initiated personally as a felt-experience. Those who sincerely seek an awareness of what peace is receive its blessings in waves throughout 2010 – and this feeling of peacefulness grows exponentially throughout the year like a rising tide. However, to receive a felt-awareness of peacefulness, we are required to consciously choose peace over and above our desire to be right, to understand, to win, to be successful, to have what we want, to be acknowledged, to be in control, and even to be safe.



For the sincere of heart, 2010 is the discovery of the missing peace in the puzzle. It is the year of the peace-feeler – not the peacemaker.



Yes, 2010 is our year to individually sparkle, like the lone morning star heralding the coming of the sun. By years end all who live by their heart’s governance shine brighter than ever and become the undeniable light of their world experience. And, this radiance is freely given, not gotten through any mental or physical bargaining.



As we move at lightening speed through 2010, what is assumed lost is rediscovered, what is assumed forgotten is remembered, and what is true is rejoiced. Any darkness we perceive as we move through 2010 is simply a backdrop for a growing pandemic of radiant inner luminosity for which there is no vaccine. Thank God for this!



In this light we sparkle. Shine in, shine out, and shine on!



Peace be with you,



Michael.



www.thepresenceportal.com

Michael Brown ©