Oracle of Consciousness

I described my predicament and that I needed AU$100 to pay the rent and feed my family to my teacher, mentor and dear wise-elder friend, Eddie.

It wasn't a request for money or a loan and ended with the question:

"Please Eddie, tell me what I can do?"

He looked me straight in the eyes and simply replied:

"Go out and give a $100
worth of service."

"Yes, but what do I DO?"
I pleaded.

"Go out and give a $100
worth of service,"
he softly replied

"Yes, I heard you Eddie", my frustration bleeding through, "But what do I DO?"

"I am going to say this only one more time, he replied "and then you need to leave."

"Go out and give a $100
worth of service."

I left there fuming and unimpressed!

Mumbling under my breath "What a waste of time and petrol that was!"

I had borrowed our next door neighbour's Ford Cortina, which belched out and leaked more oil than it used in petrol, so that didn't brighten up my 30 kilometre trip home either.

As my mind calmed down, I posed the question, what service could I provide that could resolve my challenge?

And then it became clear.

I had gardening tools, I was a dab hand at do-it-yourself projects, ladders and equipment filled my workshop, so tomorrow I am going to knock on a few doors in my neighbourhood, and offer my free services!

The penny had finally dropped as to what Eddie meant with his repeated, sage-like suggestion.

"Go out and give a $100
worth of service."

At a later date I apologised for my frustration and mental judgement and in his inimitable humble style, he brushed it off with a wave of his hand and broad smile.

The next morning I loaded up the borrowed car with tools, roof rack and ladders and set out on my mission of being of service.

Little did I know at the time that not only was I to be successful that day, but being of service to others would remain a guiding principle for the rest of my life.

An elderly lady answered the first doorbell I pressed and I enquired if she had any jobs around her property that she need help with?

"My most pressing one after winter and the inevitable arrival of a hot, dry Perth summer, is to get my gutters cleaned of leaves", she replied.

"But I am a pensioner, live alone and don't think I can pay you," she said.

"No ma'am," I replied, "I am not asking for any money, I just want to help you."

And so it was, I landed my first job. The gutters were cleaned and in between, the lovely lady provided a most welcome cup of tea and biscuits to accompany our mid-morning chat.

When finished I cleaned up, deposited the leaves on her compost, put all the tools back into the car and pressed again on her doorbell.

I let her know I was finished and thanked her for allowing me to do this out of service.

She kindly offered me $20, which I declined as it was not part of the deal, but she insisted and said it would have cost a lot more to get the job done professionally.

I graciously accepted the money and posed one last question:

"Do you have any friends who need help or odd jobs done around their house or garden?"

She returned inside and came back after a few minutes offering a slip of paper with a nearby address and let me know she had phoned and recommended me to her best friend.

That night, I returned home exhausted from 4 jobs, with $100 in my pocket, without asking for one cent!

I went out and gave a $100 worth of service.

Background:

One of the characteristics of the EGO, is its obsession with I, ME, MINE!

This energetic flow is in the direction of the individual, which originates from outside, moving towards the person seeking attention as in:

"Look at me, this is what I want, this is mine, I don't intend to share it and I am the only one that matters."

Ummm... rather narcissistic, wouldn't you agree?

On the other hand, the opposite side of the one coin, is coming from our Authentic Self, which is all about embracing: Us and We.

This is the classic collaboration and cooperation behaviour and it has been suggested that the pinnacle of consciousness, is being of selfless service to others.

So here the energetic flow is emanating from your heart and soul, Authentic Self, or Sovereignty, whatever label we wish to apply and it is flowing outwards to others, communities, humanity and the world.

This is a much more life-enhancing contribution and in doing so, we get to transcend, that is, to go beyond the call of the fear-based EGO.

Flowing our love both inwardly to ourselves and outwards to all species and our world, lifts our vibrational frequency.

This is a beautiful starting point, posing the question:

"What could I do as an individual that could contribute to a better world for all of us, through being of service?"

We can't all be Mahatma Gandhi's, Nelson Mandala's or Mother Theresa's, but there are countless small acts of kindness that we can perform, which will serve others.

In doing so, we are lifting our own personal consciousness and the collective consciousness of the human family.

Personally, I think that is a worthwhile pursuit.