Your Very Own Personal Companion

"Your Very Own Personal Companion"

The Toltecs say that humans are sick because there is a parasite in their minds that eats their negative emotions. It not only eats the negative emotions, but it also does everything it can to get the human to dream in fear, so it will have lots to eat.

In most people, the parasite is in charge of perception. It tells lies in the mind, and the person believes them: "You have to look good for other people. There is a limited amount of love and attention available, and you need them to survive. You have to be good and get it right for other people, to deserve your share of the love." The parasite learned all its lies during childhood, and continues to repeat them in the adult mind. The lies create more fear for the parasite to eat.

The parasite is a living dream, dreamed in different ways and degrees by all humans. When you were born into the parasite dream of your family, they began to take little pieces of their parasite and put them in your mind. These were like seeds -- little beliefs and lies based in fear -- and they grew in your mind. In time, those seeds grew into your unique personal parasite, which has been with you ever since.

Dictionaries define parasite as a living being that lives on or in another organism, sucking its energy, and offering no advantage to the host. Often parasites weaken their hosts a little at a time. The parasite in the human mind creates and eats negative thoughts and emotions, drains the human's personal power, and robs his body of its vitality. The Toltecs know that the parasite is the cause of many diseases of both the mind and body.

The parasite's job is to keep you in line, following the rules that the judge knows society wants you to follow, so you will be loved and accepted. The parasite controls your behavior with fear. The minute you try to create new beliefs for yourself, especially based in love, the parasite is terrified. It knows that in the past, going against the outside dream meant rejection, punishment, or worse. The parasite will do everything it can to sabotage your efforts to change your personal dream. It fears for your safety, and ultimately your life. Who could blame it? The parasite learned well, in a very tough school.

If your personal parasite can't control you, there is always the big parasite, the living being that is the dream of the planet. It taught your parasite everything it knows, and colludes with your parasite to keep you asleep. Everyone knows the rules and how to remind you of what will happen if you break them.

- An excerpt from The Everything Toltec Wisdom Book, by Allan Hardman

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Learn to break the spell of the parasite -- order The Everything Toltec Wisdom Book here.

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Check out TACO -- my Online Toltec Community of men and women supporting each other and themselves on the road to personal freedom: http://tolteconline.com

I am available for counseling: allanh@sonic.net or call (707) 528-1271

A Blessing Prayer for the New Year

"A Blessing Prayer for the New Year"

"I Fling My Heart Open to Thee"

Divine Presence, I fling my heart open to thee.

Show me the way to your perfect Grace.

I dance with thee in this New Year.

My heart is open wide,

and your love pours through me,

and I see your love in all that is.

I see your love in my Beloveds,

In the rain and sun and wind and heat and cold.

I see your love in all success and adversity,

I see your love in every aspect of your Creation.

I say YES to all that is, knowing it is all You.

In this New Year, may I let nothing obscure my vision of you,

And your Grace.

My eyes are open wide,

and my heart is ripped open

In my desire to be possessed by you.

Take Me, Take Me, Take Me.

I have nothing to surrender,

because all that I AM is You.

Divine Presence, I fling my heart open to thee.

Show me the way to your perfect Grace.

I dance with you in this New Year.

IN Love.

And so it is.

    

    Allan

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I have been delighted and grateful to have shared part or all of 2011 with you here on my blog, in my newsletter, at Summer Celebration of Life, the pyramids, the Chacala beach, other events, and in our hearts. Thank you for traveling this journey with me.

I know 2012 will be a fascinating year, including the mixed predictions about the Mayan Calendar, changes in the consciousness of we humans, and so much more.

And 2012 also means a dream come true for me, as I begin a weekly radio show on Conscious Relationships -- starting Sunday January 8, 7:00-8:00 pm Pacific time. 

For radio show details, click here.

YOURS IN LOVE AND ANTICIPATION OF A GREAT YEAR!!

          Allan

I enjoy your feedback: allanh@sonic.net

Or (707) 206-7623 (rings through to Chacala from northern California toll free).

The Divine Child Within ~ Another Look at Christmas

The Divine Child Within

~~Another Look at Christmas~~

I would like to start this sharing with wishing you a Merry Christmas. And then I want to direct your attention to a way we can use this season of merriment and confusion to honor an important part of ourselves...one that often gets left behind in the busy shuffle of life.

The story of this season is about the birth of a divine child, and I would like to suggest the story is also a lovely reminder of the divine child each of us came here to be. When you came into this life, you had no judgments, no opinions, no fears, no self-consciousness -- you were completely free to be who and what you were. Without judgment there is perfection, and in that perfection is the divine.

So you came to this life as that divine perfection. We all did, of course. We lived in and through that perfection for the first several months of our lives-- we accepted our bodies, our emotions, and all the people and events around us without question. Everyone recognized our divine nature, and wanted to pick us up and bathe in our non-judgmental acceptance. We all want to make eye contact with an infant for as long as the child will tolerate it. We feel their love/acceptance, and we begin to mirror it and send it back. What's to judge about an infant? Bad hair day? Crooked diaper? Wrong attitude? There is nothing there but to fall INTO love.

Because of the dynamics of culture and social domestication, our caregivers began to feed us parts of how they were dreaming life-- much of it based in fears, rules, expectations, judgments, manners, and more fears. They taught us we were not perfect, not divine, and that we had to be good, better, more, in order to earn that value-- while at the same time letting us know the goal of perfection was unattainable. We learned to agree, although most of us vigorously resisted the loss of our own personal way of dreaming life. They call it the "terrible two's." It is terrible for a young child!

That divine child we came into this life as is still right here with us. He or she hasn't gone anywhere, except to be lost in the rubble of someone else's dream. To reclaim that divine perfection -- not as an innocent child now, but with the wisdom of an adult -- just might be a powerful and healing backdrop to the other events of this holiday season.

How do we reclaim that divine child within? First comes the desire, then the intention, then our attention to the task, then deliberate action. This intention and action is how I live my life and what I share with my clients and apprentices. We can do it!

First, recognize the universe as one perfect whole. If there is only one universe, there cannot be anything outside of it to judge it. If there is nothing to judge the universe, I claim it has to be called "perfect." If this universe is a perfect whole, then there cannot be any imperfect part in that perfect whole. YOU cannot be an imperfect part of the whole. The trees and squirrels and clouds and galaxies and microbes are all perfect parts of the whole. And YOU.

If you accept my logic, then the rest is easy: Retrain your mind to stop judging you as imperfect, as bad or wrong or not enough. Insist the judge in your mind leave you alone. Your job is to protect that divine child within from the lies of imperfection, the lies of "not _______ enough." Your job is to reclaim and bring back into your life the divine child within.

This then, is the second coming of the divine child within.

The reclaiming of your perfection in the eyes of Life.

If you want help, I am here. That's what I do. Please contact me. 

In the meantime, Merry Christmas, 

and a Very Happy New Year

God Bless us one and all.

Love.

        Allan

allanh@sonic.net

Or (707) 206-7623 (rings through to Chacala from northern California toll free).

Some Personal Thoughts, and the Solstice

Some Personal Thoughts, and the Solstice

This is a special day of the year for those of us in the north. I am writing and sending this almost exactly at the same time of the winter solstice, 2011. I am at my winter home at the beach in Chacala, Nayarit, Mexico. It is very special here, and I still want you to join me here! 

At this darkest longest night of the year, even here in paradise the night is cool... it must be winter! Walking back from eating tacos (the real deal) at the beach tonight, the dark sky was filled with starts. It is so very beautiful here. I feel very blessed. The village is filled with the sounds of people, kids, dogs, and roosters living their lives -- and visitors here to celebrate the holidays.

Thank you to all of you who wrote and offered your condolences for the death of my mother I shared about here at Thanksgiving time. Every time I think of her gentle passing at 95, I am grateful for this moment of life I am offered. If I am offered another moment or day tomorrow, my intention is to be grateful for each experience that comes.

I surprised myself last week when someone I was with in Puerto Vallarta reflected my patience when something she had to do took much longer than expected. My response was, "Every moment is the same." I had never heard myself say that before, and I've been noticing it since then. It seems to be true. Every moment is the same. We add our different emotional reactions and stories to those moments and think some are better than others, and others more irritating. Do we change the moments into something they are not? Or are we changing ourselves into something we are not?

Something about my mother's passing shifted me into this gratitude for each moment, and seeing so clearly that I have a choice about the stories I tell about each of those moments. I'm telling good stories. If my happiness is my choice, then I'm choosing gratitude, love, and acceptance in this moment. This is actually the only moment I have. I'm not going to make up stories that deny the truth of who and what I am, or cause me to suffer.

Tonight is the winter solstice. The light is returning to the north. I would like to invite you to use that light to shine brightly into the dark places within yourself, those places where you've pushed the divine truth of who you are with stories about your moments that cause emotional reactions of fear, hurt, jealously, envy, anger, blame, or judgement. Let's bring the light of truth back into our awareness, our actions, and our relationships -- and free ourselves from those lies.

The Truth? I would suggest a new story that says we are perfect expressions of the divine force of Life that created us. No more, no less. We are whole and complete. We are created by the light, as Life, exactly like every other living being and object in this universe. This universe is one perfect whole and we are perfect parts of it. No more lies!

Perhaps we can use this night and the days to come to reaffirm for ourselves the truth of our divine wholeness. Let's find within ourselves the faith and forgiveness that allows us to surrender to life itself, with gratitude for each precious moment of Life we are granted. Let's know ourselves as the light as it returns to give us Life.

This day I live in gratitude, and in gratitude there is only love.

             Allan

allanh@sonic.net -- Or (707) 206-7623 (rings through to Chacala from northern California toll free.)

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I'm so grateful to be able to share with you here. My life and work and Joydancer and TACO (my online Toltec spiritual and networking community) are all dedicated to helping us learn and remember the truth of our oneness as the Divine essence that creates and animates this universe... and each part of it in each moment. Including you and me!

I am available by phone, Skype, and e-mail if you would like support for your life journey. I look forward to hearing from you.

Phone: (707) 528-1271
Skype: (707) 206-7623
Email: allanh@sonic.net

Details about consultations and apprenticeship are here.

Sign up for my newsletter here!

Some Thoughts About Gratitude and Thanks Giving

"Some Thoughts About Gratitude and Thanks Giving"

Happy Thanksgiving, a time of gratitude. It is always magical and mysterious for me how life can combine different experiences, emotions, and outcomes to offer us the opportunity to grow and become stronger in our love and acceptance of What IS.

A case in point: I am in Southern California at the home my parents built and I grew up in. My mother died of old age (95) comfortably here in her bed on Sunday. My brother is here. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, a big family day for many. This family is reduced to two.

The potential for emotional reactions and suffering is great in these situations. I accept them as sweet reminders of the value of living our lives fully as they unfold, and letting go of our silly ideas that we can predicts or control the outcomes. 

In that surrender, I find great peace. In that peace I find love. In that love I find the perfection of the Divine. In the Divine I find the Oneness of life. In that experience of Oneness I am back once again to great peace. 

This day I live in gratitude, for the life of my parents, and the life they gave me. I am grateful for Life. I hope that no matter what your situation or experience you will find a way to your gratitude, giving thanks for Life and all it offers you. Let's open our hearts and receive the multitude of gifts, without resistance or fear.

In gratitude there is only love.

Happy Thanks Giving, 

no matter where in the world this finds you!

         Allan

allanh@sonic.net -- Or  (707) 528-1271

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I'm so grateful to be able to share with you here. My life and work and Joydancer and TACO (my online Toltec spiritual and networking community) are all dedicated to helping us learn and remember the truth of our oneness as the Divine essence that creates and animates this universe... and each part of it in each moment. Including you and me!

I am available by phone, Skype, and e-mail if you would like support for your life journey. I look forward to hearing from you.

Details about consultations and apprenticeship are here.

The Coolest Hat

"The Coolest Hat"

[EDITOR'S NOTE: This hat story is taken from an e-mail conversation between members of Allan Hardman's online community "TACO" who participated in his October journey to the pyramids at Teotihuacán, Mexico, and the extension to Tepoztlán. The group jokes that nobody is allowed to have a cooler hat than Allan.]

"Can someone tell us the complete story of the coolest hat?"

Allan: "Hello all....

I guess if no one else will tell the story, it must be up to me. We were hiking down from the pyramid of Tepozteco in Tepoztlán, and at one of the rest stops I left my hat behind. I didn't miss it until we stopped at a little stall near the bottom of the trail where they were making the quesadillas we had fallen in love with at the market place the day before. Four of us sat down and ordered and enjoyed our treats immensely (corn fungus, grasshoppers, farmer's cheese, and squash blossoms, cactus leaf, and more -- yummmm.) Perhaps someone has photos to share of the adventure. Ah yes, here they are!

Allan wearing "The Coolest Hat"

The bottom of the trail to the Pyramid of Tepozteco

Our Favorite Quesadillas

Corn Fungus, Grasshoppers, Farmer's Cheese, Squash Blossoms, Cactus Leaf & more!

I surrendered my hat to the Angel of Death (scroll down to watch a video about the Angel of Death if you are unfamiliar with the Angel in Toltec mythology) shortly after I realized it was missing, because I've heard that part of the lecture many times (from myself, of course), and have come to believe it. The Angel had taken back the hat she loaned me many years ago -- the Coolest Hat in Teotihuacán and Peru. It was okay.

However, while we were sitting eating, I was casually watching to see if anyone coming down the trail past us was wearing it, just in case the Angel was just testing or kidding me, or wanted to return it for some reason. I was more concerned with the eagle feather on the hat that a shaman in Peru had given me. There was a minor attachment there, partly, as I write this I realize, because I believed it was a sacred duty to use and protect that feather.

About the time we were finishing up our quesadillas I glanced over at a family that had been stopped by a vendor on the other side of the trail and were looking at her wares. As I looked again, I saw my eagle feather dangling below the arm of one of the women. 

I went over and bowed in gratitude to her, and told her it was "my" hat and thanked her for finding it (Creative Assumption). She said her son had actually found it -- so I offered it to him. He smiled and declined, and so once again the Coolest Hat was mine, along with the eagle feather and Peruvian hat band. 

We finished our meal and returned to the hotel.

And that's my story of The Coolest Hat and The Angel of Death."

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To learn more about the Toltec concept of The Angel of Death, watch this video of Allan teaching about the Angel of Death in Teotihuacán, Mexico:

http://youtu.be/8ZEUDnpfcDI

Survival Strategies Become Gifts

"Survival Strategies Become Gifts"

The Toltec master guides his apprentices to recognize how resourceful they were as children. They survived childhoods that were perhaps neglectful, hurtful, humiliating, or even violent. The strategies they adopted and the masks they learned to wear were the clever adaptations of children under stress. No one was standing by when the children left home to remind them they would not need those strategies in their adult world -- so they took their strategies with them.

The strategies are held in place by fear -- the fear of being discovered as inadequate, not enough, defective, and unworthy of love. The fear gradually diminishes as the spiritual warrior (within) consistently demonstrates the message of unconditional love and acceptance to the victim child (within). When you have less fear of being seen and more love for your perfection, the strategies will not be held so tightly, and your gifts can emerge.

Many childhood survival strategies have adult gifts hidden in them. For the pleaser to give freely, without expectation of appreciation or reciprocation, is a gift to all. The rebel is a valuable resource when a person needs to deny the social pressures of parents or peers. The clown can be wonderfully entertaining when the fun is offered as a gift of love, and not to avoid being seen.

The world needs mystics and teachers, dreamers and thinkers, perfectionists and procrastinators, lawyers, lovers, and romantics. When the lie of "not enough" is broken, and these gifts are offered from open, loving hearts, they nourish the souls of both givers and receivers.

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~ The Everything Toltec Wisdom Book, by Allan Hardman


To own a copy of this book, visit this page of the Joydancer Store:
http://store.joydancer.com/products/the-everything-toltec-wisdom-book