Time for "Going Within"

Happy Birthday, Betty.
Today the energy in my life began to change.

This is not a bad thing.

It happens with some frequency.
At least twice a year.

But this morning when I awoke,
I knew something was different.

I felt it.

Betty taught us:

Have you ever wanted time enough to sit and delve into your life, your needs, your ambitions, your place here on earth?

Well, how does six months sound to you?

Starting September 23rd, all mammals (and who knows what else) go into slow down mode. It's a yearly hiatus when, for six months, we go within, explore, decide what we would like our lives to be. Called the "Going Within" period, we do exactly that. We go within and let the answers come.

But beware, energy drops during this six months. That's why bears hibernate. They go to sleep, and we meditate. Meditation will keep your energy stable. If you find yourself extra drowsy, add 5 minutes to your meditation time.

Enjoy these winter months. The discoveries you make during this time will serve you in the growing season (March 23-Sept 23).

 

A dozen years later

It is an obvious observation that over time the impact of someone who has died will diminish. We all tend to move on, with nature and time filling in the hole left by that death. This is certainly true with Betty. When attending her talks, the room was always charged with energy and filled with potential. I have been in the same room with other spiritual leaders, including noted Buddhist teachers Thich Nhat Hahn and His Holiness The 14th Dalai Lama. Both brought very different types of energy to the space. Neither had the "tingling finger-tips" sort of energy that was often present with Betty. Even when meditating with His Holiness, it was a different experience than meditating with Betty. Her energy often overtook the space.

While I can no longer remember both of the start dates of the two growing seasons Betty always talked about (leave a comment or email me if you do), I can still see her standing in front of a room filled with people holding out her coat hanger to demonstrate energy.  And while I may not remember the specifics of many of the stories and lessons she spoke of, I clearly remember her call to meditate for 20 minutes ever day while listening to "your favorite music".  And while I cannot recall many of her channeled messages, I can remember her demonstrating the presence of energy by having the people in the room hold up their hands in the air as she "fluffed" us and sent out energy from the podium.

Even as the impact of Betty on the lives of those she taught fades, the lessons she gave live on in her many books.  I have most of them, and look at The Dream Book from time to time. I have to confess that with the proliferation of spiritual gurus over the last decade or so that I forget to go back to where it began for me and look at the teachings of Betty Bethards.

So in remembering Betty on this 12 year anniversary of her death on July 30th 2002, it seems appropriate to recall the most fundamental of her teachings - how important meditation was to her and to us all.

Meditation allows you to develop an inner peace and serenity - to become free of frustration and anxiety and to find clearer direction for your life. Meditation can, and does, change your life because it changes you. Your 20 minute daily meditation will be like an "energy recharge". In the inner stillness of your own being you will realize the direction for your life, gain understanding of yourself and learn the meaning of Love. (compiled from Betty's book, "Way To Awareness, A Meditation Technique")

Thank you, Betty.

Peace, shalom, and every blessing.

A gift from Betty: What to do when feeling troubled.

The unemployment is rate soaring. The state of our economy is hideous. Homes are being taken away from people by the hundreds. With all of this and so much more, it is natural for so many of us to be experiencing a heightened level of anxiety.  But Betty left us many gifts through her work and her insight. Here is what she had to say about uncertainty. From a published interview.

Here's what I do when I have a situation that I am not seeing with clarity. I will sit on the side of the bed and say, "O.K. God, I need some insight into this problem. I will have a dream that gives me insight, I will wake up and write the dream down, I will remember the dream." Most people who are working with dreams will ask a question at night and they will get their answer. Not only in one dream, but in three or four. They will all have the same information but presented in a little different way. That way you know it's coming right through. "Just ask and ye shall receive." That's what the Bible says. What they didn't say is, "If you don't ask, you don't get!" (laughter) Just formulate your question in your mind; I repeat it three times.

Betty on THE SHOW (June 18, 2001)

On June 18, 2001 Betty Bethards appeared on the San Francisco cable channel, BAY- TV. This would be one of her last TV appearences before her death on July 30, 2002. The 7:55 clip centers on the third edition of her Dream Book, and Betty gives some down to earth thoughts about different dream topics.

We thought it would be a great tribute to Betty to make this video available again as we approach the fifth anniversary of her death. Pulled from the ILF site in 2002, this video has not been seen in at least three years.

If you cannot see the video, click here to get QuickTime for Mac or Windows.

Happy Birthday, Betty!

Betty's birthday has rolled around again, and as we celebrate the end of the growing season I'd like to just take a moment and remember the birth of this fascinating woman.

"If we meditate daily, by the time we are ready to shed our physical bodies the process of changing vibrations and entering expanded levels of consciousness will be old hat. It will be something we can look forward to after a job well done on the earth. We can particpate fully in the experience". -Betty Bethards, Be Your Own Guru (@amazon.com)

Happy Birthday, Betty!

Three Years

Betty was both a "holy man" and a "common man". She was as much like all of us as she was different. Many of us have stories about our experiences when someone we know dies. With Betty, even being this far removed from the event, it is just short of unimaginable that she is gone. Those who knew her will attest to her insight and wisdom, her energy and determination, and the common sense way she approached her spirituality.

I learned of her impending death when I received an unbelievable email message from one of her friends. Over a weekend three years ago Betty had led a retreat at Asilomar, and on the way home started to feel ill. On Wednesday it was determined that she had colon cancer and by the following Sunday she was in a coma, the result of a brain hemorrhage that occurred following the surgery to remove the cancer. She died early Tuesday morning.

Betty taught that we all have teachers who come to us from the "other side" during meditation and in dreams, and since her death I have experienced many dreams in which Betty appeared. For the last several days I experienced unusually depressed feelings. I was drawn to the ILF web site, where a note from her husband mentioned her death, and I understood where the feelings were coming from - my biological clock was aware even if my active mind was not quite so attentive.

About a year ago I was reading a series of books about the reincarnation of Buddhist teachers when I experienced a sudden insight that Betty had reincarnated. She had often mentioned how she wanted to get her lessons right this trip so she would not have to come back, but perhaps circumstances were right for her to reincarnate. The insight experience even provided her name (I believe she came back again as Betty) and general geographic location (Midwest or South Central US). I am not sure I buy this, but wouldn't it be great if she were back among us somewhere? Like the Buddhist monks looking for a reincarnated Lama, we should all keep our eyes and ears open. The rhythm of her voice is unmistakable. Just listen for it.

Reincarnation - A Year End Thought

In a nutshell, reincarnation is the idea that we have so much to learn here on the earth plane that we could not possibly do it in just one lifetime. So we keep coming back, incarnating again and again, until we have achieved that perfect physical, mental and spiritual balance we are all striving for (whether we consciously know it or not). - Betty Bethards, "Techniques for Health & Wholeness" @amazon.com

Our negative emotions show us the very things we need to work on. Fear is the primary negative emotion, all others stemming from it. The basic lesson with fear is that we must face what we fear.
- Betty Bethards, "Be Your Own Guru" @amazon.com

Whatever our circumstances, we created them. We didn't choose them in order to suffer. We chose them to learn how to and how not to relate to our life situations. Unfortunately, many people who are raised with a dysfunctional parent turn around and enact the same behavior patterns when they're an adult, rather than learn from example that these negative patterns are self destructive. In identifying the patterns, we can release them and create new patterns of self-worth.- Betty Bethards, "Seven Steps To Developing Your Intuitive Powers" @amazon.com

Meditation as the key to self awareness

The purpose of meditation is to "Know Thyself". Meditation allows you to develop an inner peace and serenity - to become free of frustration and anxiety and to find clearer direction for your life. Meditation can, and does, change your life because it changes you. Your 20 minute daily meditation will be like an "energy recharge". In the inner stillness of your own being you will realize the direction for your life, gain understanding of yourself and learn the meaning of Love. (compiled from Betty's book, "Way To Awareness, A Meditation Technique")