Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Monkey Dialogue # 3 - Abundance

One day, in the shade of a blue melon tree, the following conversation took place between a blue and a purple monkey:

Blue Monkey: Why do some monkeys have so many melons, while others have so few?

Purple Monkey: There are many reasons for the differing levels of wealth around the island. Most have to do with what monkeys concentrate on.

Blue Monkey: What do you mean?

Purple Monkey: Monkeys are gradually learning that they experience what they concentrate on. Monkeys who concentrate on abundance experience abundance, while monkeys who concentrate on scarcity experience scarcity.

Blue Monkey: But some monkeys are born in places where there are very few melons to go around. The scarcity they are experiencing was there before they were even born.

Purple Monkey: Indeed it was, because the monkeys living in that area have been focused on scarcity for a very long time. It is ingrained in their beliefs. Young monkeys inherit such limiting beliefs from their parents and go on to create scarcity for themselves.

Blue Monkey: But that doesn’t seem fair! Why should some monkeys be born among abundance while others have the misfortune of being born poor, and starving?

Purple Monkey: You are making the assumption that all monkeys, given the choice, would choose to be born among abundance, and that is not the case.

Blue Monkey: It’s not?

Purple Monkey: No. In fact, there is very little for a monkey to gain by being born amid abundance. It is far more fulfilling for a monkey to overcome scarcity and adversity than it is to be born and live an entire life in affluence.

It is quite ironic that so many monkeys feel sorry for themselves for not being born into a rich family when they themselves chose the family that they were born into.

Blue Monkey: They chose the family they were born into? How? That doesn’t make sense.

Purple Monkey: If you believe that you did not exist until you were conceived by your parents, then I agree with you – it would make no sense. But if you understand that you existed long before this particular life (and that you have, in fact, always existed and always will), then you will understand that this life you are currently living is one of many.

And from that perspective, then, you can see how you might choose to be born into the circumstances most conducive to what you wanted to explore in this particular life.

Blue Monkey: So the reason there are so few monkeys born to wealthy parents is that most monkeys don't want to live amid abundance?

Purple Monkey: Not that they don’t want to live amid abundance, but that they don't want to start out that way.

Abundance is our natural state. White monkeys, of which you are one, live in complete abundance. There is no lack in the land of the white monkeys.

One of the reasons we choose to be born on this island is to explore lack, scarcity, and separation. It is temporary, and so we are free to explore whatever experiences and circumstances we choose.

But because abundance is our natural state, we need only cease to express limiting beliefs regarding scarcity and lack, and abundance will flow easily to us.

There is far more to the story than that, but you asked why there are rich and poor monkeys. And the primary reason for the existence of poor monkeys is their expression of limiting beliefs regarding abundance.

Poor monkeys view abundance as something unattainable, unachievable, and so they never consider it, visualize it or concentrate on it in any sort of constructive way. Their attention tends to fall on the lack of what they want, rather then the presence of it. They only see lack, and thus they concentrate on lack. And because you experience that which you concentrate on, scarcity is their experience.

Blue Monkey: Is there any hope for poor monkeys?

Purple Monkey: Yes indeed. More than they could currently believe!

Blue Monkey: How so?

Purple Monkey: Poor monkeys need only realize that their experiences spring from the beliefs they express, and then choose to express positive beliefs regarding abundance.

Of course, their limiting beliefs, the ones that draw scarcity to them, are quite prevalent in their minds and often their communities. So it is a difficult task to recognize, examine, and release such limiting beliefs.

But part of the transformation taking place on our island involves this examination of our beliefs, determining which ones lead to the life we want, and discarding those that do not. As this process builds momentum, it will become easier to embrace more affirming beliefs regarding one’s opportunities and worthiness of abundance. The more monkeys that undergo this process, the easier it becomes for others.

The beliefs we hold become stronger the more they are expressed. And so in areas of the island where there are strongly held beliefs regarding scarcity, it is quite difficult for a monkey to believe something different from those around him.

But as the momentum builds, it becomes easier. Those limiting beliefs lose their power as more and more monkeys cease to express them. And the affirming beliefs grow in strength as more and more monkeys begin to express them.

Blue Monkey: So the reason there are haves and have-nots is because of beliefs?

Purple Monkey: Indeed!

Beliefs affect what we concentrate on, and what we concentrate on determines our circumstances and experiences.

So concentrate on scarcity, on not having enough, and that is what you will experience – not having enough.

Concentrate on abundance, learn to perceive abundance, even regarding little things, and your experience will reflect that perception, in many different ways.

We are learning to see the connection between what goes on in our minds and what goes on in our experiences.

And once that connection is clearly seen and acknowledged, we will witness the gradual retreat of scarcity.

We will witness the advance of abundance.

Not just for some monkeys.

For all of us.

Tuesday, October 09, 2007

Monkey Dialogue # 2 - A Wider Existence

One day, down along the beach on the south side of the island, the following conversation took place between a blue and a purple monkey:

Blue Monkey: Why is there so much disharmony on our island?

Purple Monkey: Because monkeys have forgotten who and what they are. They are immersed in a temporary identity, one that is cut off, in a sense, from their larger being.

When a monkey chooses to be born on this island, he carefully molds a temporary identity that he will assume during this lifetime. This identity will be all he remembers himself to be, unless and until he chooses to awaken to his wider existence as a white monkey.

Blue Monkey: Are all monkeys actually white monkeys?

Purple Monkey: Indeed they are. Though it is an amazing fact that most monkeys would deny this. The grip that their temporary identity has on their minds is quite strong. The beliefs they hold which tell them they are blue monkeys and nothing more are quite strong.

Even those who consider themselves to be devout followers of the White Monkey are, for the most part, unaware of their wider existence as a white monkey. They believe they will go on to some sort of heavenly existence as a result of their obedience to the law of the White Monkey and their acceptance of him as their savior, but they are unaware that they themselves are already white monkeys.

Blue Monkey: What do you mean? How are they already white monkeys?

Purple Monkey: Each colored monkey living on any island is actually a white monkey dreaming that he is a colored monkey. He has all the knowledge and wisdom of a white monkey at his disposal, but as long as he believes that he is only a lowly colored monkey and nothing more, that will be his experience. He will block out that wider part of himself. He will not incorporate the wider awareness or powerful abilities that a white monkey possesses. He traps himself by his belief in his temporary identity. And only he can untrap himself.

Blue Monkey: How can he do that?

Purple Monkey: He can begin by acknowledging that he is far more than he appears to be. He will not yet see any evidence of that wider identity, and so he must begin by BELIEVING that he is a white monkey, a perfect child of the Creator. Only then – when he faithfully believes and accepts himself as a white monkey – will he begin to see and feel evidence of it.

Blue Monkey: But how can a blue monkey believe he is actually a white monkey if there is no evidence, no proof of it?

Purple Monkey: That is a question that has challenged our race from the beginning.

A white monkey exists in a state of divinity. It is a divine state of being in which one is aware of one’s connection to the Creator, of one’s ultimate perfection.

Perhaps white monkeys choose to manifest as blue monkeys for the purpose of rediscovering their own divinity.

And perhaps so many monkeys remain asleep because their fears and self-judgments prevent them from even considering the possibility that they are a divine being, unconditionally loved by their Creator. Such an idea is frightening to many monkeys. The temporary identity that they have been exploring may fear for its own existence. It may think that all of its fears are necessary for its own survival.

The truth is, your temporary identity CAN survive while at the same time allowing that larger being to express through you. You can be a colored monkey living on this island while at the same time holding an awareness of your larger existence. You can bring your divinity into this life, into this identity that your perceive yourself to be.

Blue Monkey: How?

Purple Monkey: By acknowledging. By allowing. By accepting and loving yourself as you are. By accepting your challenges and obstacles for the gifts that they truly are – opportunities to bring as much love and acceptance to the present moment as possible.

As one does this, that divine self, that white monkey self, begins to show through, begins to guide you to your highest expression, your most loving choice.

The red melons assist in this widening process. They enable one to see themselves more clearly, to see their choices more clearly. They help one to accept themselves as they are, which allows more of their true selves to come through.

That has been the lesson taught by all of the masters that have visited our island during our long history. They knew that they were truly white monkeys. And they tried to explain to other monkeys that they, too, were white monkeys. And that each monkey has the potential to bring their white monkeys selves into their blue monkey lives.

These masters attempted, each in their own way, to explain the relationship between a blue monkey and a white monkey and the Creator, whom many have called the Great Monkey (and who is not actually a monkey at all).

So now, with the appearance on our island of the red melons and their ability to help us remember who we really are, our race has the opportunity to wake up – not just a few of us, but all who are ready to acknowledge their own divinity, ready to release and move beyond their fears and their self-judgments. As one begins to recognize that he is acceptable just as he is, loveable just as he is, then a door opens within himself. His self-acceptance is the key that unlocks that door. His willingness to accept himself and others, to allow each monkey to be who they choose to be – THIS is the beginning of his transformation.

One need only ask the white monkey within to come forth, and it shall. It is a sacred step – to ask to be shown the truth. To acknowledge that all you believed yourself to be is not necessarily true. That perhaps you are far more than you thought you were.

That is the step that the white monkey within you is waiting for you to take.

And when the day arrives when you are ready to taste your first red melon, know that you are taking your first step home.

Back to who you really are.

Back to who we all are.

Tuesday, October 02, 2007

Monkey Dialogue # 1 : Transformation

One day, on the grass at the back of the beach, the following conversation took place between a blue and a purple monkey:

Blue Monkey: What is happening to our island?

Purple Monkey: Our island is in the process of transforming.

Blue Monkey: Transforming into what? And what was it before?

Purple Monkey: Transforming into a more highly evolved version of itself. Up until now, there has been much confusion and disharmony. Blue monkeys did not understand who they were, and why they were here. They did not understand their true relationship to one another. Now, each monkey is widening his or her awareness to encompass a much larger view of such things.

Blue Monkey: What is causing this transformation?

Purple Monkey: There are many ways to view this change, and its causes. But it is most important to realize that YOU are creating the changes that you are experiencing. They are being initiated and carried out by you. You may not understand at this point just HOW you are doing so. And in fact, such understanding will come to you naturally as you progress in your own transformation.

The widening of one’s awareness is a very individual thing. It cannot come from the outside, although events unfolding around us may lead us to question things, thereby stimulating our learning process. But ultimately, YOU are the one opening to a larger perspective, a deeper understanding. It must be allowed by you, embraced by you, initiated by you. It is entirely your choice as to whether you embrace the opportunities to grow and widen that you are presenting to yourself, or choose instead to resist such changes and hold tightly to who you thought you were. Or who you thought you were supposed to be.

Blue Monkey: Has this ever happened before?

Purple Monkey: No. Not in this way. Not in our part of the sea. And not on such a scale.

There have been monkeys who have awakened all throughout our history on this island. Occasionally, there have been monkeys who were awake for all or most of their lives. And some of them have described and taught about our wider existence. And, of course, we monkeys have inevitably treated them as different, as more that the rest of us. Sometimes we have worshipped them. Sometimes we have killed them. And sometimes, both.

More than once, we have taken their messages, their teachings, their explanations of truth, and we have built religions around them. We have done this because we have felt the truth of their messages, of their gifts to us. But, because the majority of us have remained asleep, we have distorted their messages, held the messengers up as being more than the rest of us, and even worshipped them.

Such has been our exploration, for a very long time. And now, in a process that has been prophesied and anticipated for thousands of years, we are attempting to awaken to the truth that lies at the core of every religion, every mystical tradition: we have all, every one of us, sprung from the same source. We are individual expressions of a whole. We are that whole, expressing itself through each one of us.

We are not separate from that whole, and we can never be, though we can create the perception that we are. And that is exactly what we have been doing, for so many years: exploring the perception that we are separate. Separate from each other, and separate from the whole.

The transition we are engaging is the reawakening to our true lack of separation, to our true relationship to one another, and to the whole. We have never actually been separate from one another; we have only been exploring the perception that we were.

As we choose to partake of the red melons, to embrace the changes occurring within and around us, to thin the veil that has hidden us from ourselves, our perception of separation begins to dissipate. The unity that has always been there becomes more and more apparent.

All of the fear, anger, sadness and envy that resulted from our apparent separation from one another can finally begin to heal. This is the transformation that is taking place. This is what has been anticipated, prophesied for so long. This is the second coming that we have wished for. And yet it is so much more wonderful than what such prophesies foresaw. Many of the creative yet distorted assertions as to what would be taking place have been tinged with fear. With separation. This transformation does not involve fear. It is the transition OUT of fear. And that is glorious. More glorious than words.

So, my dear blue monkey, you may relax into this change, if you desire a smooth transition. There is, in truth, nothing to fear. All is proceeding in its own way, which is perfection. We are being assisted, but we must allow such assistance if we are to know it and feel it.

The events that are unfolding are there for us to learn from. They are part of this process.

And so rather than scratching our heads and wondering where all of this is leading, the option is there to marvel at the mystery and the perfection of it all.

To enjoy our ever-widening perspective.

And to discover the joy that is life itself.