Seeking pleasure as a mask for lack of inner joy

Is pleasure a mask for the lack of inner joy or are we forever searching for the satiating joy of eternal love?

Q & A

Jason asks Elle --

( spirit gang member, and good buddy Nikki's guardian angel, and all around awesome peep)

[grin]

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Dear Elle and the gang,

Jason here, I'd like to ask you about what's been on my mind lately. I've been having this inner struggle. About how to respond or how one can think when one finds one's self using pleasurable experience as a mask or substitute to the feeling of lack or the lack of personal joy, or pain in all forms. You know, there are many examples, but you know, in general... when we seek escapism or any kind of fun, or enjoyment, you know...because we hurt inside, or we feel lazy, (that's a mask too--yeah I know) or we feel like we should be doing something we feel is worthwhile, productive, helpful, to others and ourselves, but for some reason we feel this resistance. Because we are not looking at the pain in us. Do you know about what I am talking about?

What can the Angels say to us here in life, about this sort of thing? This is all over our world, not just in these 'feelings" of mine, day to day, moment to moment situations, but even in our culture. You know we hear it all the time from TV or the media, "I wanna be rich, party, have lovers, live the good life, why can we just get along, get over it man".. that sort of thing...

We know we are in pain. But we are hiding. We know we should look at joy, but we look outside of ourselves. How can we better think of this, without sounding too crazy or new agey... You know, what would moms and Angels in the front lines say?

Now, we all know and have all talked about this sort of thing time and time again through the ages.... But if Elle, and the rest could really boil this down in a no non-sense way, what would they say?

Same question, but what do you say if someone says doing what makes one happy and joyful is just a mask for not looking at what hurts. There is a poignant moment around pondering happiness, joy, escapism and avoidance and self exploration and pain, lack and fear.... I know something can be said, but I am just hovering around it on the tip of my tongue..

I am writing this rambling musing and question mainly (yes), because I come across it in my own life all the time, but also because I see it in friends of mine. I am not complaining because it helps me look at myself... but,... I am serious, in that I am interested in hearing others thoughts on this about life in general... I really do think the more people and Heaven talk, the easier life gets. I really DO!

Anyway, like I said, Just this week several of my friends mentioned stuff like this in their own lives, while I was addressing this in my life. So I am always keen to hear what you all think, including what Nikki thinks as a mom.

OK, thanks

xo--Jason

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Nikki to me:

I wasn't going to respond right now, but Elle seems to think otherwise.

She is funny BTW and sort of cutesy smart ass.

Her responses are channeled below.

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Elle To Jason:

"Those that appear "to not get it" are reminders and distractions of the choices we have. Like you often say Jason, "is it love"?, because real joy IS love. If what one is seeking is not based on love, it will never be JOY. It can bring temporary pleasure only. There are many forms of happiness, but there is one true experience of JOY. If you look deep enough, if you want that feeling bad enough, you will move past the material, the temporary and concentrate on the eternal. Eternal Joy can only be LOVE.

Looking at pain is not a necessity in finding JOY and LOVE. It can be their for the experience of duality or as a reminder to refocus. Pain and sorrow often jolt us to choose our paths wisely. There is nothing wrong with a life of happiness and material possessions, but it rarely makes one look within and remember the eternal love and the incomparable joy it brings. We set up bumps in the road for ourselves. Some are more jolting than others. It does not mean you were missing subtle reminders, it is this event, this pain that your soul planned, to remind you of the one true JOY. Every path, every journey is different. Once one chooses to find Love, they will put the pain aside. They are not masking the pain or the sorrow when they choose happiness, but if they are not going within, it will be temporary. Once they are on the path to eternal love the pain will seem to subside. It is never wrong to choose love and joy over fear and pain." -- Elle

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From Nikki to Jason

What I think as a mom, is that in a very odd way, the greatest gift I have ever been given is the loss of Eric. Despite a huge hole in our physical lives, his suicide has reminded me of who I really am, of all that I can be and of the reality I can create for myself. There is no separation, just a change in communication. Eric is here, always. I have never felt this type of love or joy or peace prior to his death. I know, with every fiber of my being, that my soul planned this. It was time for me to choose love instead of fear and to know that true joy is only that which is based on eternal love.

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Elle: ---- "by George I think she's got it" :)

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[jason post note]

(BTW.... George is one of Jason's nicknames for Erik M.... co-inky-dink..hmmmm?)

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Jason to Nikki:

[jason post note]

(note: pardon the rambling message... it's cut from multiple emails throughout the day)

Wow..this response really really felt good!!! Especially with inner feeling and thoughts to go along with it. And Eric is so funny. He said to me,

"Feel better?"......(while showing me a minds eye visual of him handing us martinis....at a round table in a jazz club and you in a sequence dress toasting a drink and everyone laughing.[past life?] ) One could say, "Life......the grand party to remember the eternal joy....not the party, not the clothes, not the drinks, not even the drama, just us"

And interestingly enough.... one of things I asked in my new dream project, was to have spirit help me with dreams of past lives to help me with issues now.

I am starting this new thing at night.

For a month, each night right before bed, I am going set my intention to what I want to dream about as it pertains to emotion and life. A spirit who's work I am reading, wrote;

'In dreams we can work out scenarios and experiences that we aren't able to in this view of life.'

So for example I could say, 'I want to have a dream where I work on problems with communication, intimacy, anger, self love'; or even ones like, 'I want to have dreams where a past life can help me now, or a dream where Eric and I hang out or some such.... And I am going to try and note how I feel each morning and see what I remember.

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Jason to Nikki:

Yeah! So I started that "dream intention" thing last night. Even though I was sick with a cold.

It seemed to work.

Although I don't recall the dream specifically..but you were in it, although you were not you now....

I am sure I was a bit addled. Still sick. But feeling much better.

I sort of sound like a truck stop waitress asking for cigs...ha ha....in any case I digress...

Last night I stayed up until almost 11 pm. reading and was pretty tired,

and feared not getting any real sleep if I asked for some busy dream,

so I was all..... "ok gang..... I want a dream from a past life that will help me now".,

but then I was like. "oh, wait no... I am really tired. give me something... that I'll find comforting and companionable with Eric and Earl"...

then I was all...

"oh, no wait, my number one priority is to get enough rest I get over this cold and make it through the day without hacking a lung up."

ha ha..

Then I fell asleep.

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Jason to Nikki:

According to the book I am reading it doesn't matter too much if one remembers, only setting the intention and suggestions right before sleep in a meaningful specific way, and then seeing how you feel when you wake up. But the key is to ask your peeps (spirit team) and higherself for problem solving dreams, or healing dreams. Then your probable selves, alternate reality selves, past, future, ect,. can help you via dream experience.

According to the book the "I" of the dream scape is just as real as the "I" of the physical. Only, where ever the consciousness is focused, the other seems dream like.

Tomorrow I'll set my alarm a tad earlier and then type a text in my phone right when I wake up as to what I dreamed. I'll let you know.....

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Jason to Nikki:

Synchronicity??

So yeah, back to that dream from last night......

And in that dream.... and .... the Eric & Earl vision as I mentioned where you were you, but not you, and I couldn't figure it out....

Then just now, (see message above) after you channeled that bit from Elle.... (the visual Eric gave me was):

'A table in a jazz club, round, a raucous party, streamers in the air, lights and music, and you in a flapper sequence dress, crossed legs sitting on my lap, martini in one hand laughing your ass off, me drunk I am sure, and lots of people around the table. And Eric was there too. Makes me wonder if the dream and that blip were connected. Don't know, but cute to think so.. oh, and when I checked your reply on my cell phone just now..... the subject line was cut off due to screen size, but it said, ....

"For some day when your in the z"

Z's the name of one of my spirit guides!

So I feel this was really right on track with where I should be.... and interesting enough all this totally mirrors a lot of what those Elisa/Erik m. Buddha interviews were saying too,.

And on another note, I am going to grab some more cold meds! woot! :)

Thanks again for all the messages and help!

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Jason to Nikki:

(later that night in a channeling session)

(Jason's guides follow up with him: (Eric & Erik & and the rest of the gang) [da boys]

"As a souls we want to understand what love is. We know, but we think to express it; we have to know and understand what love isn't. That's where we get stuck. We are often in so much pain experiencing what love isn't, that we forget we wanted to show what love IS. In the midst of what love isn't, we wanted to express 'US'. But a better way, A better way, is to simply 'BE' us. Our selves. To Accept ourselves as perfect by default. To live as US. You know that song, 'I wanna know what love is'..., It' should also be, 'I wanna understand what love is'..... NO! .....I wanna LIVE ... Live love, as I see it. So just LIVE life with what ever love you want in each moment, not what love you think' is, or what you think' should be love, but the love you "know" you are... by just doing it, you experience it. AND since you know you ARE, you will be inclined even.... but..... for a tiny..... bit, to "create" MORE. You do this by default, but NOW you are on your way to UNDERSTANDING it..... And in that moment, there is NO worry. NO fear..... There just IS... you... so let go of worry, and just BE.

You can be as strong as yes or no. Any thing else is just may-be. Say yes to love.

We judge what we see or create around us, because we think' it will say something about who we are inside, but what's happening is that we aren't coming to acceptance with what's inside. We are just rejecting what's outside as 'not us'. It's only we stop making value judgements about outward expression that we can look at what's inside. We can't even ask questions about what we feel. Until we stop looking at that stuff, we are always reaching for or pushing away. On the inside, there is nothing to create, reach for, or push away. It's always there. Always has been, always will be. It's just a matter of how much of ourselves we are really willing to look at. It's only when we rip the blinds off and look at ourselves raw, fresh and in that moment that we can say... OHhhh, I can let go of all that... even now... I am worth something, something I can share, I don't need to matter, because I matter to me." -- The gang

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Nikki to Jason:

Very cool Jason,

So.I have..more to add. You know that song, "Love on Top" by Beyonce? It is MY SONG. I have loved it since H. danced to it at one clinics and well I have taken ownership of it. Making H. put it on the Black river play list. Making K. put into the tailgate playlist etc. And M. and Eric seem to use it to catch my attention etc.

I didn't hear it for a while and figured it had dropped off the pop chart and I was kind of sad, well its back! And today I heard it several time. Got in the car and on the way home I hear it and I think 'LOVE ON TOP'. Hell yeah, it should be on TOP, its all that matters. Love in on the top of the list the top of the emotions/experiences etc. It is the top!

Next was up on the radio Que was "GET TOGETHER" by the Young Bloods from 1969. I have been hearing it over and over and over which is odd, given it is so old. Oh, how this song reminds me of everything awesome in grade school. They used to play this at the guitar mass at church and I just loved it. We listened to it in the classroom during art. The words are very meaningful. Especially,

Love is but a song we sing

fears' the way we die

You can make the mountains ring

or make the angels cry

Though the dove is on the wing

and you may not know why

*Come on people now

smile on your brother

everybody get together

and try to love one another right now

Some may come and some may go

He will surely pass

When the one that left us here

returns for us at last

We are but a moment's sunlight

fading in the grass

*Come on people now

smile on your brother

everybody get together

try to love one another right now

If you hear the song I sing

you will understand...listen

You hold the key to love and fear

all in your trembling hand

Just one key unlocks them both

Its there at your command