My Blog

A Map in the Heart

Marc Maramay — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 04:15:01 GMT

A Map in the Heart What truly is behind all the names and places, all the faces and forms? Behind all the lies, there is one big Truth. And all the little lies lead back to the truth, like a path that is a circle. For truth comes in many forms, just as lies do. These truths and lies are hints, they are glimpses of the greater picture. Fleeting visions of the greater image behind which lies a great Truth. If you could see all the truths and lies in their totality, you would know that they all flow from one place and that each reflects the other; that they are but dim, glimmering reflections of another truth beyond them. They are more abundant in their variety than the life in the oceans. And just as the life in the oceans reflects the light and shade, reflects the countless colours, so do these shimmering phenomena reflect the Ocean of Life, in all its diversity and possibility. As you move through these phenomena, like a creature moving through the ocean, you would notice that your movement influences the life around. In the environment through which you move, life responds to your movements; as your movements respond to your thoughts. As you make a wave, you are influencing life and the world around you. You are helping create this reality through which you move. You would notice that you feel drawn in certain directions and away from others, yet you would be aware that you are choosing which direction you will go. This will be obvious at times, when you face multiple choices, and this is usually the case. And the other creatures within the ocean are moving as they choose too; their movements affect you as you decide how to react to them. So if you could see yourself from a distance, you would see yourself moving through the shimmering Ocean of Life, twisting and turning, moving in one way and then another, changing direction as you feel it necessary - and then you would notice all the other beings doing the same thing in their own ways. Some of the patterns of movements would be then obvious to you. Those who are moving in groups, those who are moving alone, those who are moving in twos and threes. Those who seem to move chaotically, those who move in ordered patterns. You would see a great tapestry being created before you, a living tapestry created between beings. You would see lines of movement, threads of light. Each being moving like a bead along a thread, weaving through other beings. But each stretching its own thread through the ocean to create this wonderful tapestry. And you would see then the depths of its patterns, perceive meanings in the regular patterns of movement. The zigzags and straight lines, straight corners and fuzzy edges, the whirling, looping, spiralling threads. With this God’s Eye view, you would learn much very quickly and realise what role you are playing in the scheme and pattern of things. The Grand Design of Life would be more apparent to you; for as you weave your threads, it can seem difficult to see where you are in the ocean. It can seem difficult to see the greater patterns and designs. Often you have to just keep weaving and rely on trust. But you go on and grow, learning to live in trust and, perhaps, eventually you will discern the patterns even as you move through and help create them. Then the ocean will be less of a mystery to you and you will be able to enjoy it more, but the experience will be no less wonderful. There are many patterns and designs waiting to be discovered and you may see them with a fish-eye, close up, as you spin your thread through the ocean; or with God’s eye, seeing the ocean as a whole; but each perspective sees the same thing. For the reality is one, behind the confusion and the doubt. The Grand Design is perfect in itself and needs only to be discovered and understood, not by the mind, but by the greater heart, your deepest heart, which already knows the Grand Design, for it is part of it. There in your heart is the map you need to bring you through the ocean, printed with the Grand Design in all its simplicity, complexity, in all its wonder and beauty. For the heart-map shows the way and the heart knows the way. And all the ways are One. (Channeled from the Circles of Love in the One Heart)

The Fate of the Earth

Marc Maramay — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 04:04:09 GMT

We hold the fate of the Earth between our hands. If we could hold the Earth itself between our hands, how would we look at it? Would we not look at it with wonder and with love? Would we not, with amazement, explore its beauties, its endless diversities of colour and form, its abundant life? Would we not cherish it as the greatest gift we had ever been given, as the brightest jewel we had ever seen? Would we not feel its life pulsating, hear the infinite whispers of its voices and songs? Would we not examine each thread of its glorious tapestry with joy? Would we not honour it, and love it and take care of it, with all the love we had in our heart? We would be seeing the Earth as the Creator sees it; as our creator within sees it. And in turn, does the Earth not hold us between her hands? Does she not cherish us and honour us, does she not feed us and love us? The Earth does all these things and more. She holds our future between her hands as we hold hers between ours. Our hands are joined, as our hearts are joined and we are one with each other. For the Earth loves us more than we could know and knows us more deeply than we can imagine. The Earth is our mother and she wishes us to grow in health and love, she wishes us to be happy and she knows that the future is decided by how much love we bring out into the world, onto the Earth. For if the Earth seems cold and loveless in places, it is because we have not brought forth love into those places. The love that is waiting to pour forth in a flood to nourish the Earth and those who live on her and with her. For we have not yet brought forth the love that is waiting to emerge from our hearts. We are not yet living as we truly can live; in love and fullness, in abundance and trust. The moment we begin to live in love with ourselves, with each other and with the Earth, is the moment the world changes and begins again; becomes the image of love and the reality of love in all its aspects. For the conflicts cannot last forever, the wars cannot go on, the struggles will cease sooner or later, and peace will reign. The hearts that are closed will open, the minds that are darkened will be illumined, the faces that are downcast will be raised to the light. Those who are burdened and crawling in darkness, will have the stone lifted from their shoulders. They themselves will realise their own strength, they will remember their power, the power of love. They will again know themselves and recognise each other as brothers and sisters. They will know that this burden, their shared burden, is not theirs to carry. They will stand up straight, they will learn to dance again, remember themselves and their own special dance. Together they will dance the dance of Unity, the Circle Dance. They will form a circle around the Earth, hand to hand, heart to heart, soul to soul – an unbreakable circle. This circle will be complete in itself. A symbol of unity and the truth of unity that exists between All. This will be the hoop that holds the Earth together, the hoop in which all hearts are united in a hopeful unity. The Earth will know her children are at one with her, she will know that her children are in love with her. And the heart of Earth and the Heart of All will be One and be realised as One. This circle of light, this circle of unbreakable love, will be braided around the Earth, from heart to heart, between all those who love themselves and each other and the Earth. These will be the peace-weavers; those who honour and cherish the Earth, those who love the Earth and listen to her heart, who sing to her and hear her song, who bring her joy and who live their joy in the world. They are the ones who will connect and bring together, they will remind all that none are alone and all are of the One. They will be the joyful ones when others are lost in sorrow; they will dance the dance of sorrow and turn it into joy. They will weave the way of peace through the world. Through their lives they will demonstrate the way of peace by living it and enjoying it to the full. They will manifest abundance and live in trust. They will seek always to heal division and bridge every gap between beings. They will bridge differences across chasms; they will bring together that which seems separate. They will hold holy that which seems insignificant; they will cherish all life. They will give of themselves to the Earth and to All. They will ask no reward but they will be rewarded. They will follow their hearts and their paths will be illuminated. They will make sacred that which has been shattered. What has been damaged they will make whole. They will hold sacred that which has been deemed low. They will laugh while others cry, and cry while others laugh, and they will know the meaning of both and what lies beyond. They will know the joy of peace and they will scatter the seeds of peace, these light seeds through the Earth. The light seeds they will sow in the Earth, and they will wait for the harvest that grows, for they know that a harvest is coming. The love that has been sown in the Earth will bring forth its fruit, and the abundant love will bring forth a joyful harvest of abundance. But those who have sown bitter seeds will reap a bitter harvest. The Earth will be healed and made whole again, and those who love the Earth will stay with her and those who guard and cherish the Earth will watch over her. The Earth herself will be reborn, and we are the midwives of the new Earth. As she emerges into her new being we will watch her transform; her heart and our hearts will burn brighter, shining as One. We will be united in the Light, each and all. For the heart of the Earth is ready to burst in new love; and her love will pour forth to wash through the world, cleansing as it flows. For the Earth’s heart burns with fiery love and in that love we will bathe and be renewed. There is nothing to fear and everything to gain, for in the flow, all fear and pain will be washed away, and only love will remain. We will be united then, in love, in a great reunion, all united in the One Heart. (From the Circles of Love, the Rainbow Circles - From "Weaving Peace", Marc Maramay & Val Young

Why does Peace seem so elusive?

Marc Maramay — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 04:00:25 GMT

Why does Peace seem so elusive? If it is our natural state, why does it seem so hard to come by? Each time we hold it, we seem to fumble and drop it from our grasp. Each time we hold it between our hands it seems to trickle away between our fingers before we have drunk it deeply. We feel it nearby, then, when we turn to welcome it, it is gone. It seems to be fleeting, ever restless, impermanent, impossible to possess for long. Is this the nature of Peace? Can it ever be ours truly? If we know the nature of Peace, we know it is none of these things. It is not fleeting or impermanent, not restless or reactive. True, it cannot be possessed, but nothing that is true can be. Peace simply IS. Even when Peace is not apparent, or seems not to be present, Peace IS. Peace is there, right there, everywhere. You could not escape it even if you tried. It does not hide from you, it does not try to elude you, in fact Peace is waiting to welcome you at every moment. It is we who run away, it is we who escape it, we who chase it away with our frantic groping, with our need to own and possess. We do not see what our true needs are, so we cannot see the Peace there. For Peace is our true need at this moment, in every moment. If we know Peace, if we are Peace, then truly we can know All, we can be All. For the Heart of Creation is the heart of Peace. For though Creation seems ever changing, always transforming, always growing, it is also still, and unchanging and at Peace. We are free to change and grow, to transform, to play, and we are also free to be at peace. The state of Peace exists simultaneously with all this apparent activity, all of the frenzy of change. Peace pervades All. Peace shines through All. Peace is the face behind All. So we cannot truly throw it away or lose it. It is there. It IS. It is us. We are Peace. And all else we are. So by being ourselves, we will be at Peace with ourselves. We will be a peaceful being. We will be being Peace. Peace never leaves us, as we have never left the heart of Peace. We are playing, all of us, in a garden of Peace. And when we have played enough in the garden we will return home to Peace. And know we never left Peace as Peace never left us. Peace IS. Say it with me…. Peace IS. (From the Circles Of the One Heart)

A Bowl of Peace

Marc Maramay — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 03:55:43 GMT

A Bowl of Peace Hold a Bowl of Peace within your hands. Between your open hands, feel the peace, calm and still. Still waters, which will not spill. This bowl filled with peace will only overflow with light, to light up your eyes, which may be weary. This bowl of peace is our gift to the world and our gift to ourselves. And we have the bowl there already, within us, only waiting to be remembered. The longer we can hold it without disturbing its surface, the deeper we will feel its effects within us. We hold it out to the world, holding it out in front of us, to remind ourselves of the peace that is always waiting within, behind all illusions, behind the flow of emotions. It is not a peace without feelings, it is not numbness, or frozen stillness. For around this bowl of peace, our life can flow in any way we wish it to. Around this still centre, all the activity can rotate and orbit. So now we give to you a bowl of peace, in return for yours. And we pour our bowl of peace into your open bowl, so that now it overflows. Peace pours over your skin and your body, it flows down into the Earth. And we go on pouring and the flow increases, until soon you are being bathed in a flow of liquid peace. Your every pore and cell is washed and cleansed by this flow of peace. It will ease you, take away all tensions and worries. When you are filled full and do not need any more peace, you can share it with all those around you and with the world. And the Earth will drink in the peace that flows from you, for you are at peace with the Earth, as she is with you. Now we place our upturned bowl over yours, like a glowing dome, to make a sphere of the whole. So you hold a shining sphere within your hands, and the sacred Earth within your peaceful heart. This flow of peace continues moment by moment, in every moment, and we promise to continue this flow, to pour out peace upon you from this moment on. And the gift will be given to all. (From the Circles of Love in the One Heart)

The Warrior

Marc Maramay — Sun, 17 Jun 2007 13:57:02 GMT

(This story was channeled in early 2003 as the Iraq war was beginning. It is part of a book called "Weaving Peace" which over four years on seems more relevant than ever...) There was a warrior who loved his country more than anything else. Though he had seen other countries, and even visited a few, he loved his country more than any other in the world. He was proud of it and its people, and he knew that he would fight for it and, if the time came, he would lay down his life for it so that his country would be strong and live on after him. He felt it so important that his country survive and be strong, be known as great that he would give his very life to see it so. So he trained and prepared for the day when his country might ask him its fateful question: will you die for me? He believed that there must be some willing to give this sacrifice for their native land to ensure that it was strong among the nations, that it would not be eclipsed by others or weakened in any way. Surely, to be strong was good and this, he was certain, was the destiny of his country; to remain strong, and for its warriors to be ready to die for its sake. Then, when he was ready and more than ready, the day came when his country did ask him its terrible question. And he answered it as he knew he would, with a simple ‘yes’. So away he went to the fields of battle, to the place where war raged, where the sky was darkened, where the earth was burnt and poisoned, where the trees were shattered, the forests afire, where the rivers ran with oil and blood. Here, there were rainbows in the poisoned puddles which no one noticed as they hurried into battle. For around them, all was noise; the sky and the surface of the Earth seemed filled with furious anger. Voices called and ordered, or cried out in pain. Some were heard and some were ignored, and on the battle raged. In the midst of it, a warrior was walking to his death. For he had decided long before that he would give his life if his country asked for it. Then, when all seemed confused, and around him swirled a vortex of fire, when his body shuddered with the impact of terrible sounds and his eyes were filled with stinging smoke, when he could see nothing but a blur – suddenly, there is a flash of light and then no sound at all. There is no pain, only a sense that something has happened that he does not understand. Now he seems to be suspended or floating, as if in an ocean of light. He cannot feel the weapon he had been gripping so tightly a moment before. He cannot feel the cloth of his uniform, the heat of his sweat, his heavy helmet clinging to his skull. He can feel or see nothing that he can recognise. He feels lost and he wonders what happened to his comrades with whom he was pushing into the field of battle. Here, he is alone and now the war is far away; it is as if it had never existed. It seems he floats here for a long time, as images pass through his consciousness, flowing over each other, blending, overlaying each other; images of his family and his friends, all those he had said goodbye to, all those he has known in his life. Sensations, too, of his experiences; he glimpses moments of decision in his short life when he has made important choices. He wonders if it was these which brought him here to this place where it seems nothing is - nothing but memories and questions and light. Then he senses, nearby, a presence. He seems to turn and then, somehow, he sees a face, then a form; but a form he cannot touch. He hears a voice, a strong voice, rather like the voices he used to listen to as he grew up. Voices of those who seemed to know of what they spoke; voices from which he took guidance or orders. This voice too is strong, yet it has a gentleness which reassures him. He listens to it and gradually begins to understand what the voice is saying to him. From this being come words he understands, but this being does not seem to move his lips. Yes, his face is strong, the face of a strong man, the face of a warrior. The face too of a leader, he feels. Then he hears the voice in his head speak to him in these words…. “I was a warrior, too,” says the voice. “I walked the ways of war; I too loved my tribe and for it, I died. Not once, but in many lives….many times, I died. I returned to the Earth and died a warrior’s death over and over. Each time, I loved my tribe or country and, each time, I died what seemed a proud death. Though my tribe or country was a different one each time….” “Yet I loved it just as dearly and I paid the price for my love. Then slowly it dawned on me that I was giving the sacrifice of my life over and over out of, yes, a kind of love, because I had decided that my tribe or country was more important than my life, more important than the gift of living my life. I had believed that the strength of my tribe, my country was more important than me; more important than the gifts I could give to the world with my life, more important than my powers to wonder and create, to heal and to work with joy, to love the Earth and her people, to play with her children and to play as a child myself.” “I had diminished myself, shrunk myself to fit a uniform that did not fit me, for it did not acknowledge the wonder of who I am, the special creation that I am. And so I took off this uniform and vowed never to wear it again. I had found another way to honour my tribe, my country by giving it the gift of peace, by giving it the gift of who I truly am. By showing it the ways of creating peace and guiding it safely to a peaceful existence.” "I walked from the path of the warrior to the Way of the Peacemaker. Since then, I have met many like you who have walked the same path as me, into the jaws of war. Now it is time for you to decide – which will be your path? You are at a crossroads….is it the way of war or the way of peace? Now that you can heal your wounds and know yourself in deeper, fuller ways, you can decide in deeper awareness which way you will go…” The being stretches out his hand, raising it in peace. Then, he withdraws. Again, the warrior wonders if he is alone. But, no, he feels surrounded by presences he can sense, yet not see. And, yes, he can feel himself heal while he ponders what he has heard. Once again, he journeys back through his life to experience again his moments of decision, now with a fresh perspective. He asks himself if he could have made different choices and taken other paths – and wonders where they would have led him. Would a different choice have led him another way, away from the road which led him into the thick of battle? He becomes aware that he, too, has decided over and over again to die what seemed a warrior’s death so that his tribe and country would be strong. He watches his lives and deaths in a sequence, as if they still continue and are being relived each moment. It is easier to see and discern, now that he is here in a place of peace. Then there comes a moment when he suddenly sees the battlefield around him. He can clearly see his comrades, fighting their way through the smoke and the fire. He cannot hear the noise of war, but he can see the fear-filled faces and the bodies, twisted. He can see the faces of anger and hate, the faces of pain and shame. He can see, in the eyes, their determination; the will to live, the will to kill. He finds he can move through it all without being touched by it, now he is in a place of peace. It seems the peace moves with him, so he can observe and move through the place of war without being touched or damaged in any way. He makes his way through the great drama unfolding around him, seeing his comrades fall, watching them make others fall to the earth and be still. He notices, also, other shapes and forms of light moving through the battlefield, seeking to heal, to bring peace, to give comfort. Almost without his knowing, he finds himself become one of those doing this work, fulfilling this healing task. Moving from a huddled form, wounded and dying, to a cowering child, to a fearful figure caught in crossfire, whispering words of comfort, touching them with the hand of peace, trying to heal their wounds. So, he moves through the battlefield in his body of light. He makes no distinction between the warriors of his country and of others. Now, he sees their common choice, their shared predicament; he knows they are all involved in the same struggle, wearing different uniforms, but fighting for the same thing. When the battle finally ends, and those who are still on their feet withdraw from the battlefield, he turns and surveys the scene through his eyes of light. He watches the Peacemakers move amongst those still living, or on the edge of death. He makes a choice then. Something changes within him to give him a new realisation, a new destiny, a new perspective on life and the illusion of death. Here, in the place of peace, he decides that, yes, he will return to Earth, he will enter again the world of form. But this time, he would bring with him a special gift to the world. He would bring something hidden within him which, when he chose to, he would bring out into the world as his gift to it. He would enter the world again with a gift of Peace, giving it from his open heart which he knew now to be unbounded in its love. He knew that something inside him would not forget. This time, he will truly give his life to his tribe, to his country, to the Earth, to the Creator. He will give the gift of his life as a Peacemaker to all and know that Peace will prevail in all Creation, as it prevails in him. (From "Weaving Peace", The Circles of the One Heart channeled by Marc Maramay with Val Young)

The Heart Is Wiser than the Mind

Marc Maramay — Sun, 17 Jun 2007 13:50:38 GMT

(From the Circles of the One Heart) We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all are created equal and all are loved equally by the Creator. Why then the need for conflict and struggle? What is being learnt, what is being forgotten? What is being lost or won, what is being found or thrown away? Written in the faces of pain is a story that begins long ago; written in the lines of twisted faces is an old story, often forgotten. In this calligraphy, written in skin, carved in muscle, laid out in bones, is an old, old story which must be understood or it will be told, again and again, in living flesh and fear. It will be relived, again and again, by the children of our children, new actors in an old drama. Will they be condemned to live out the tale again, instead of reading it in a book of history, to be then closed for ever? The story begins with a misunderstanding – a misunderstanding between aspects of the One Being we all are. A conflict between light and dark, between yes and no. This conflict begins “long ago”, in the conflict between mind and heart. For mind and heart can disagree on almost anything. Their disagreements are not important, except when they take the form of war and conflict, of domination and conquest. For the mind sometimes likes to say yes and sometimes likes to say no. Even though the mind often does not know why it answers yes or no, for it understands little. It has a limited view of the world, as it was designed to do. It was intended for a particular purpose, and it was well designed and put in place. And the mind fulfilled its purpose very well, for it worked in concert with the heart, to enact the desires of the heart, to manifest its will, to help the heart in its task of co-creation. The mind can be a great ally and helper, a mind at peace can be a great comfort; the excited mind can be a great joy. The happy, healthy mind can follow the guidance of the heart and take its lead from its inner wisdom, then ground it in the “outer world”. But the mind can help or hinder, because a mind that is unbalanced or unhealthy can block the heart in that which it desires. It can hinder the development of the individual and hold back growth. There was a time when mind and heart were truly in balance on the Earth, when heart and mind helped each other and co-operated. They lived in peace, one with the other, and did not seek to dominate or extinguish the other, but to guide and advise. For there are times when the mind wishes to lead and the heart allows, as this is part of the learning. There was a time on the Earth when the heart was honoured and the open heart was respected; communication between heart and heart was clear. There was an openness then, which would now seem wonderful and almost impossible, as we have come to be conditioned by a false view of human nature. The heart then truly did the thinking and talking, communicating and discovering, while the mind helped in the process. But there was to come a time when this balance was disturbed permanently; now the mind began to struggle with the heart, to tussle and to torment the heart. It would have seemed as if the mind had decided it must rule; to rule the body, rule the heart, rule the Earth. But it had taken on a task that it was not equipped for, and for which it was not designed. For the heart is wiser than the mind; the heart sees and knows more deeply. The heart has depths and heights which the mind cannot reach or rise to. If we wanted there to be a ruler, or some kind of supreme source of power – if that concept is what we wish to manifest – then it is only the heart which could fulfil this role safely. The mind is too often like a child lost in a dark forest, inventing monsters, seeing its own fears in shadows, believing the worst creations of its imagination to be lurking behind every tree. So the mind becomes lost easily, if it is not guided by the heart. The mind, if set loose from the heart, soon becomes master of its own misery, the maker of its own mess. The mind often wishes to control, to impose an order, to straighten that which is curved, or curve that which is straight; it cannot see the order that is already there, since this order, this pattern is beyond the grasping of the mind. So at this point in Earth’s history when the mind began to dominate, relationships on the Earth changed and all relationships on the Earth began to be affected; those between individuals, those within families, between tribes, between people and other creatures. This inner imbalance in people upset the balance of the Earth and it continues to do so. For much of the future of the Earth depends on creating the balance between heart and mind, which allows wisdom to prevail, a wisdom in which none dominates the other, whether it be the heart and mind of an individual or the “Hearts and Minds” of the many that are fought over and which others try to “win”. You can find this new balance in yourself and, in this re-balancing, you will have helped in some way to determine the future of the Earth. Then your actions will be balanced - and balanced with the Earth - your heart will be realigned with the Earth’s heart and your mind will respect this relationship. The intelligence of the Earth will filter into the mind to feed its wisdom into the individual and the group. Experience tells us the “group-mind” can be a dangerous creation; if each individual within is not led by their own heart, but is led by the mind of another, then very quickly this group itself will be unbalanced and will collectively become lost. For we are beyond the time when mind-collectives, or groups of minds aligned for power will be allowed to dominate the Earth and damage her further. Just as you are awakening, others are awakening and within them as within you, a new balance is being made between mind and heart - and between light and dark within both. This new balance is what will truly transform the Earth, for it will allow change to be swift but wise, to be itself balanced and healthy. We are not entering a time of change for change’s sake, we are coming to the period when the Earth must save herself by being reborn; and we too have the opportunity of being reborn with her. We can share in the joy of our collective rebirth, which is really the birth of One Being. This is the return of the Oneness that was there, and is always; the ending of illusion, the ending of confusion between heart and mind, between male and female, between light and dark. We will soon know illusion from reality; we will soon know ourselves as we truly are. We will soon stand in the One Light and know that we were there all the time, but that the journey was necessary. We will be at One. (From the Circles of the One Heart, Channeled by Marc Maramay, April 2003)

It's All the One

Marc Maramay — Sat, 17 Mar 2007 23:55:01 GMT

For my first Tribe Blog, I wondered what it might be... But with the Green Day that's in it, 17th March, I was reminded of an old Irish phrase... "It's All the One". This usually comes with a shrug and a sigh, when faced with an impossible choice, or just too many choices to be made, as in... "Ah, it's all the one." But it suddenly seemed to have a deeper side today, as there so often seem to be too many choices in life and so many unknown outcomes flowing from each one. It's taken on a different meaning all of a sudden. Maybe I'll try it out in different situations and see if - instead of being about weary resignation - it can trigger some kind of realization that, after all, it really is All the One... (End of little Green sermon)