. . . you are in the perfect place. Always.

Dear Carina,

Do you believe in fate?
And can you say more about fate?

I have a belief that I will someday again marry, and my question is, do you believe things are predestined? Will it just happen that I meet him, or do I need to make it happen?

Jourdan

* * * * * * *

Dear Jourdan,

I thank you so much for your question. It is a beautiful thing to contemplate.

I believe that everything is as is, as I recently heard Deepak Chopra say. That is-ness is infinite and now. Everything that has ever happened, everything that ever will happen, everything that's happening now: it's all this instant. I have a gesture I make when I'm describing this. My words seem lacking.

I snap the fingers of my right hand, while moving my arm in a dropping motion, with the snap landing as the hand drops into this moment. There is nothing else.

And there is no other way this moment could be. Is that fate? I think it might be. Sometimes I call it karma. I may be contrasting other definitions of the word. I say it as in meant to be. And tell me, how can anything not be?

There is no other way this moment could be. And there's no other way any moment in the past could be other than what it was. Everything is as is. Just listen to the messages around you. They are telling you this. The Universe speaks to us, every moment.

Do you need to act in order to meet your husband? I don't know. But whatever is, is. Whatever is destined cannot help but to be, so you don't have to worry about it. The Universe has it orchestrated. You can relax.

I believe that we just look inside. We quiet down. We surrender our life to the Lord - get out of our thinking mind - and we live in peace. We can have it even better than we can imagine. And wonderfully and paradoxically, to get going on that river, we just have to take our hands off the wheel, or oars, as the case may be.

Deep clarity, presence, love of God, faith, . . . these seem to be very helpful in helping us navigate the waters of the flow.

A few of my favorite of multitudes of great resources are: The Science of Getting Rich, published in 1910 by an awake and wise soul, Wallace D. Wattles. A great foundation for creating out of the infinite, our true nature. And of course, The Power of Now. I have the audio recording of the book. Listening to Eckhart Tolle speak is like listening to Jesus through my headphones. {That dropping snap} gesture says it again.

What else is there?

Jourdan, you are blessed. You are a beloved child of God, and you are in the perfect place. Always.

Love to you all,

Carina

If other questions arise from this writing, please email
nowstayopen@gmail.com.

There is Space Behind it and Within You

Dear Carina,

I feel overwhelmed because I have too much on my plate. I'm basically a single parent dealing with the death of my parents and moving to a city where i don't have a support network. Moving back to Toronto is hard because I am struggling with everything from culture shock to relearning this city as a mother to dealing people who are trying to take advantage of me to just bad luck. Everything is a constant battle. Nothing just happens smoothly.

For example. I ordered Canadian cheques and a Canadian credit card to pay for my rent to my new apt. The bank lost my cheques and credit card and I had to pay to stay in a hotel room while they sorted things out. I had to walk to the bank in the cold with my daughter everyday to see if they had the cheques. Finally when they got the cheques, I paid my landlord's sister. One day, I had a raving lunatic at my door demanding I go to the bank with him this instant because my account lacked funds and a bunch of other really ridiculous requests. Long story short. Small minor error in the writing of the cheque. All he had to do was ask me to rewrite the cheque without all the drama. Everyday is like this, drama, drama and more drama. Just a lot of bad luck and lots of drama with everything. I feel like I'm attracting this bad energy that is attracting bad people and bad luck.

I know I need some time to get used to a new life in a new city. I just wish it wasn't so crazy. Is there a way to get rid of this bad luck?

*christina*

* * * * * * *

Dear Christina,

In your asking you are opening space and welcoming support. It's beautiful.

Any slice of quiet mind that you can get lets in some space.

Even if it doesn't seem relieving in the moment, anytime you can bring yourself right here: into your body, your bottom on the chair, your fingers on the keyboard or holding that sandwich, feeling one breath; you connect with the stillness that is our ultimate source of peace and comfort.

At times of my roughest suffering, when I can't seem to get out of an emotional state that's really working me over, I pray. Sometimes it takes me a while to get to that point. I'll tolerate the discomfort for a few days - sometimes longer, and then I remember. One day when I felt completely at a loss, I learned to lay myself out on the ground, asking for mercy and caring. Somewhere way inside, I knew there was protection in that supplication, infinite, and giant compared to the comforts of this world. It worked.

We pray, and it works because we know it will.

During moments of seeing no relief, there is one source to ask.

There is emptiness behind all life situations (and you know this). This emptiness is synonymous with the infinite love of our creator: that which always has you in her loving arms, into which you can relax.

Christina, beautiful, perfect sister, here's a poem I read today and thought of you:

In the world of Oneness,
there is nothing but yourself,
there is no room for counting.

But in the world of things
there is so much counting.

You may count a thousand apples in your hand --
If you want them all to be one,
make applesauce.

You may count a thousand grapes in your hand --
If you want the precious wine,
crush them all together.



The message behind the words
is the voice of the heart.
The source of all activity
is that utter stillness.

Now Shams-e Tabriz is in the royal seat
and all my rhymes
have lined up like willing slaves.

~ Rumi (translated by Jonathan Star)

Bump up that self care and take luxurious care of yourself. And PLEASE don't make yourself wrong for anything you're feeling. You are a perfect being of God.

Love,

Carina

P.S. I highly recommend the chapter on the Pain Body in Eckhart Tolle's A New Earth. Seems like you might recognize something here.

If other questions arise from this writing, please email
nowstayopen@gmail.com.