THE ART OF ESSENCE:
A Meditation of Affirmation
by Valerie Lynn Stephens
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ISBN#: 978-1-329-24230-2
©2013 Valerie Lynn Stephens.
Hello there. Do you hide behind pompous misery and false flattery?
Friend, please do not hide your magnificence beneath false pretenses. Just be.
Do not confine it all inside.
There need not be any pompous misery or false flattery, for you are unlike any other.
And after all, flattery is self-exaltation hesitant to be fully embraced.
Yet there is no need to fear your greatness, no need at all.
Yes. You are indeed innately superb.
You are worthy to be commended just as you are, in your entirety of entity.
And in this very moment, wherever you are, you are who you are.
You cannot escape yourself.
You are always waiting to come home.
You need your home. You cannot survive the cruel winters of this life without a home.
And it is your home.
It always has been.
The door is open. So invite yourself in. Come out of the cold.
Then when your heart has thawed, step out into the world.
Step out into your world.
Greet your world, but do not hang your head to the curb. Hold that head up, but just right straight.
Humility is far more dignified than pompous pride.
Just be.
No airs are necessary, for there is plenty to go around for everyone.
So just breathe.
Just be.
There is no need to get caught in a snare by looking up nor down for too long.
You have no need for overcompensation, for you are unlike yet so akin to any other.
And do not forget to share yourself with others.
You can enrich your world.
There is no need for vows of poverty.
You are rich.
You can and do enrich.
Just be.
Yet remember to let others be also.
You are a rarity and so are they.
So let yourself be, let others be, and soon you will find others responding likewise towards you.
And still, if they do not let you be, let them be.
Let it be, whatever it may.
So you see, simplistic as it may sound, allowing others, yourself and all else to just be is the key.
This, you will see, if you allow yourself to let go of the need for control, pomposity, fear and inner dissonance.
Chaos is sometimes necessary, but can be a cruel creed capable of destruction and annihilation.
Have peace within, and peace without shall surely follow.
Hello again.
I am so glad you have remained with me.
I am glad you have made the decision to hide no more, to put the grand façade aside.
I am glad you have decided to move on to just being.
In this world of trickery and illusion, one thing speaks clarity and truth.
It is your essence, who you are as a wondrous creation all your own, yet still cherished by many others.
We have no infinite knowledge, except of who we are.
Just be.
There will be no need to solve the big puzzle when you have mastered the skill of letting everyone and everything be.
And sometimes what we think are disheveled fragments of anything, ourselves or others is all just an illusion within an illusion.
Everything is and always has been, perfectly assembled.
Everything is there-the whole picture, which is you and your world and your kindred spirits of humanity.
So just be.
Take no heed, except when you hear voices that are not your own.
Make a vow to no longer pay mind to those cues not rightfully your own.
Listen and discern and soon you will discover what you do know and what you do not know.
And again what you will come to keenly intuit is that you are indeed a rarity, a gem of a being, burning with resplendence and energy-very powerful, a force to be reckoned with.
And this power can outshine all shadows of fear, doubt and uncertainty that we all must face, shadows we all oftentimes flee.
But when you allow yourself and all else to be, fear, you will no longer see, thus fear cannot become of thee.
Yet also keep in mind that you need not and cannot slaughter your virtue, the serenity that comes with sanity, with delusions of this power you harbor deep within you.
Yes, be of sound mind, yet do not abuse your distinct impartations.
Rather, use them in a way that will fuel and lend to the positive, vibrant flames within others and within yourself.
For ever so swift, the light within can be lost, the shadows again to seize upon the opportunity and deceive us by suffusing our true selves within.
So listen to the saviours of both Reason and Intuition.
Condemn the nefarious, insidious lies of the world and the dark principality of the human soul.
Just be.
And not too hard nor lenient on yourself.
For yes, we are not only made of corporeal essence but also of Spirit.
You are mortal, but your human experience will try to lead you into believing that you are impotent to your bane and to this mortality.
Yet I will tell you this:
This is a lie.
We can choose or we can lose-ourselves, which is the only thing that matters.
For in the end, all that we will be left with in the end will be ourselves, & our Integrity to be judged by.
So just be-but guard yourself always.
And do not hide from yourself.
For when you hide you will soon be engulfed by the unmerciful tides of self-loathing and demise.
And you may just be left to drown-to die the worst possible death from the inside out.
For all death truly begins from within.
Yet be as it may, should you choose to cower and bow out, although it may appear to be the easier way out-this, too, is a lethal lie, a delusion within a delusion.
A type of falsehood that will only make life even more difficult for you to bear than it already is.
So, take it easy.
Nurture your soul.
Yet you must remember to not take it too easy, lest your mind & will atrophy & stagnate.
Strive for excellence & be on guard, while also striving to remain open and malleable to Good.
All in all, the only thing to avoid, if it is so, is your tendency to deprive yourself of the infinite, exquisite revelations of the beauty of this life and of the splendour and grandeur which reigns within yourself and others.
Just be, and I guarantee that all of the rewards and gains shall far exceed the measures of your strife and pain if you allow yourself to be-in this very moment right where you are.
You have traveled thus far. Have no regrets.
And albeit simple it may sound, you are where you are now because you were where you were then.
Look not to condemn the past nor the present.
Give them both a big teddy bear hug.
The past is your friend, not your enemy.
Say not to yourself “If only…” for if you had possessed the wisdom then that you do now, nothing of true sustenance or value could possibly have been gained.
You would not be who you are, where you are today, had things been different.
And even if where you are and who you think you are does not soothe and the previous words were not consoling-still, rest in this moment too, for it will go through its phase, leaving in its passing, yet another rebirth.
For in this life, there are many deaths, many rebirths.
You are perfect just as you exist in the here and now.
Things are how they are supposed to be at any given moment.
So you must become a lover of fate.
Trust in it.
Believe in yourself.
Let it be.
This is the way it is destined to be.
All is perfect.
All is in order.
Let not the illusions of this world disrupt this.
Guard yourself.
You are a brave and magnificent being.
No-one and nothing can take your knowledge of this away.
Open your soul’s eye to yourself.
You really like what you see, don’t you?
Of course, as you well should. For this is a righteous kind of vanity.
So be not ashamed, for you are worthy.
And remember:
We act as we believe ourselves to be.
And as we see ourselves, so shall we see others through this same mirror & thus treat them.
Yet take heed, for this long journey is not over yet.
Always tread this world with cautious reserve while letting the light shine in where it may.
There are many more rich, wondrous things to experience as you choose the path least taken-except by the exceptional ones, as you keep on movin’ on along your truest way.
You are and always will be, headed in the right direction.
Always trust yourself.
Strive to know yourself for all that you are and could become and you shall never truly fail.
Simply make your best effort to allow yourself and others and all else to just be in humanity & equanimity, & the noblest task has already been achieved, the victory, been won.
Love yourself.
Love is where you belong.
And you are already loved, for you were born from Love.
And finally, there is only one way to inherit that Eternal Dawn:
By cultivating the Art Of Essence as we, with faith & humility, simply keep, walking on.
Walking firmly yet with grace in our step.
Knowing our rightful place.
For where we each stand is not within the eye of the squall, but within the calm eye of us all.
Where we stand is always where we belong-right here, right now.
And, while allowing others their space, can we take our rightful place and stand.
Yes, take your rightful place and stand.
For the matter, by our heavenly Father, is well in hand.
AUTHOR BIO: Valerie Lynn Stephens has been a composer of varied literary genres since she was a student in high school. She compiled this collection of meditational inspirations when she was nineteen years old. She has expressed many times, her fascination with the mysticism and depth that pertains to the human experience and condition. Valerie believes that to be human is to be both equally blessed and cursed. She has had a number of her poetic works accepted for publication by various literary journals, all of which are distributed nationwide. Valerie is an individual possessed of a breadth & depth of interests, who places a high priority on continued psycho-spiritual evolution & edification. Valerie also has training in classical & contemporary dance, and also enjoys yoga. Some of Valerie’s leisurely indulgences include dancing, reading, abstract painting, attending The Ballet and other various culturally enriching events, philosophizing, teaching and sharing of her gifts with others. Through the various artistic mediums which Valerie employs, her main objective is to enrich the way that others view their world and perceive themselves as “mortal creations of perfect imperfection.”
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