As we begin today ... we will invite you to take a few long deep breaths.
As you breathe deeply you begin to feel a sensation as if everything around you is slowing down. You breath deeply filling your stomach with energy, and as you exhale completely you see your heart flowers pedals open wide. All the the emotions centered around the start of this New Year well up within you begging to be expressed. Right now you can FEEL all the others present in participation during this timeless moment.
Welcome to the HeartFire !

    We will begin by telling a short story. Another story from the continuing journey of Kam.
You see Kam had a tradition every New Years. She would wait until the light was just right, and it was the kind of clear day outside where you could see for miles in every direction. On this day Kam would take some special time to herself, to look around her at the scenery and observe all the wonder in the world.
She would think back on all the amazing experiences she had in the last year, all the choices she had made ... while looking around her and making a sort of list
of the places and things she may want to choose for this year just beginning.
There had been something all year that Kam had been thinking about. She could just see off in the distance a tall tree covered hill which was rumored to have the most amazing apple trees. From time to time a traveler would come through town and bring a bag of apples from that hill for others to sample and Kam had always raced to be among the first in line. Even thinking about the apples made her mouth water in anticipation. Kam got to thinking ... " if I enjoy the few apples I have from time to time this much, then wouldn't it make sense to move up to the hill where the apples grew and be able to eat them all the time ? "
Kam had made up her mind. This being the New Year and all, it was the perfect time for her to make the change.
Kam set off on her next journey, to that distant hill. There were many difficult passages on the trail. More than once she had to take a detour around things she could not see until she stepped around the corner. Several times she choose to stop for a while and enjoy one thing or another. There were things which she had never even imagined before she began this journey to the apple trees, but Kam was determined and even the memory of the delicious apples was enough to keep her going.
Eventually, a day very similar to the one Kam began her journey on, she rounded a corner on the path and there nestled in a small valley next to a lake was a beautiful grove of apples trees. She had made it. She wandered around a little bit until she found the perfect spot, then she sat down resting her back up against a tree to enjoy her first fresh apple. It was everything she had imagined. She found herself filled with an amazing sense of accomplishment and Kam truly felt as if she was home. Kam learned from the village elders how to plant and nourish the apples trees, and in time she even planted her own.
    A funny thing happened almost exactly 1 year later. Kam walked over to her favorite tree to pick an apple in preparation for her New Years ceremony again, when a traveler happened by. The traveler waved hello and came over to join Kam by the side of the path.
Kam offered him and apple, explaining how it was a special tree as it came from 'her' tree. In response the traveler mentioned he had a treat to offer her in trade. He reached into his pack and pulled out the biggest, most wonderful orange Kam had ever seen. She gratefully accepted the gift and immediately got to work on it while he began to tell her of the grove of orange trees on the other side of the hill. As a matter of fact, Kam could actually see it from the spot where they were standing there next to the path. Over the course of another year Kam would return to that spot from time to time, and while eating an apple would think about the amazing taste of the orange and wonder what that place was like. Many times Kam thought about taking another journey to discover the orange grove. She had discovered, now that she knew where to look, that she could see the sun shining on the tops of the trees from just about everywhere in the apple village. Each time she thought of going there however, she would begin to think about the apples trees. About how much the apples trees had meant to her in the last year, and the thought of leaving was enough to prevent her from leaving.
    It was 1 year later again, when Kam found herself standing on that same spot by the path ... thinking back on the amazing year and daydreaming about the grove of orange trees when along came another traveler. Kam invited him over and for some reason found herself talking about her desire to go the Orange Grove.
The traveler asked her, " why don't you go then ? It is plain to see on your face that your heart has already decided to go. "
Kam: " I want to, but I can not leave the apple trees. I used to dream about the apple trees, and now I am here. I can not simply leave.
Traveler: " Of course you can child, it is much easier than you think. If you were to leave, you are not taking away from the beauty of the apple in any way. That experience will always be a beautiful part of your life, and nothing will ever change that. "
Kam: " I just don't know how "
It was then the Traveler turned to face directly at Kam, as he asked her if she wanted him to help her.
Kam though about it for a moment, and even though she felt incredibly nervous ... she said " yes .. please "
The Traveler smiled a warm smile and said: " Open your hands "
It was only then, as Kam opened her hands and heard the 'thunk' on the ground that she realized she was holding on so tightly to the apple she had picked earlier. A wave of calm washed over Kam as she realized how simple it really was. Kam asked the traveler to wait for just a moment, as she walked over to look at the apple grove. She thought about the amazing experience of arriving here a couple years ago. About how good it felt to have reached the place she had dreamed about, and she made her decision. Kam thanked the apple grove for the experiences she had had both in the journey getting there, and the times she sat next to the tree. She sadness she had felt before had been replaced be a sense of appreciation for what had been a very special time for her. She was beginning to feel a sense of wonder about where she would be going from here.
Kam walked out of the apple grove that day. She even went part of the way with the traveler.
As she walked along the path, she began to remember all her experiences while traveling to the apple grove. Kam could not help but smile as she looked up ahead and saw another turn.
Another beginning ...

    This message applies even more at this time right now. Not only do we find ourselves at the beginning of a New Year, but this year itself carries with it an energy of starting something new. Many of you have already begun to feel the tension and pull within your lives. There are many reflections in nature of the truth of energy and all of them are showing aspects of this New Year Beginning for 2008. It is the Year of the Rat, the numerology is a 1 ... these are only a couple examples of what this New Year is about. You always have your own aspects and choices in everything, but there is also a quality to the energy itself kind of like picking the perfect type of soil for planting a garden. 2008 is a nutrient rich soil, waiting only for you to choose which seeds to plant.
Part of the tension you are all feeling right now has to do with this strong energy of change. For remember a key part of change involves releasing that which no longer serves you. This may be relations in your life, work situations, or just habits you have become comfortable with as part of your daily routine.
We would like to encourage you to sit back, without judgement, and honestly look at the choices you allow to fill your time and space.
Sometimes you may find that letting go of a relation to someone or something in your life will not cause it to go away, but will actually make the space for it
to change with you. Sometimes it may choose not to, and you may gracefully let it go with love and appreciation for the part played as you make space for something more in alignment with you today. You may begin by letting go of the pressure to make each choice the perfect one for the rest of your life. Learn to enjoy the change itself, to enjoy walking along the path and looking at the corner ahead with anticipation and wonder.
We encourage you to spend some time enjoying your imagination in this first month, while you let go of limits you have placed on yourself which were preventing you from having that which you desire.
Can you FEEL that this year can be a year where you experience and share in love with those around you? Where one of your favorite workouts becomes laughing for hours with friends ? Where you have all that you need and enjoy sharing your abundance with those in your life who have helped you when you needed it ?
Thank you for sharing yourself and participating in the creation of the HeartFire today.
Practice your Art ... and Imagine well
the family of Seth