For those of you who have been working diligently toward the integration of your full-human potential I am sure that by now you wholeheartedly agree that the path of ascension is not all rainbows and butterflies.

The sobering reality of the choice to activate our divine blueprint, and integrate it fully into our physical lives, duly requires a sufficient amount of naivete, more energy than we have to expend, deliberate sacrifice, a dash of sadism, relentless determination, a mammoth sense of humor, isolating solitude, freakish patience, and above all else, the super-human will to trust in something we can't see.

Most times this boils down to feeling like your being dragged feet-first across a rocky terrain...face down.

Now, I know that shortly after publishing such an austere post I will get a stack of those annoying emails from the cloud-jumpers out there who say that it is very unspiritual of me to talk about reality... and that I am not, of all things, "thinking with my heart"...but before you're tempted to wax all woo-woo on me, let's keep in perspective here that spirituality is just one stop on the way to grounding in REALity.

And for those of you who get it, I am just as tired as you are of the UNreal and all those glazed over messages of how amazing and beautiful ascension is while so many are REALly feeling completely "emotionally and spiritually depleted" ...as one brave woman so candidly put it.

Certainly, and according to energetic law, there are and will be the magical rewards of all the hard work that we put forth, otherwise we could not sustain the level of intensity that is required to endure. But the REALity of the process borders on farcical for so many, that surely it warrants validation.

So for those of you out there begging for a mega-dose of REALity, this one's for you.

Where are we?

Well, first of all, make no mistake about it, the past four weeks (since the vernal equinox) have been nothing short of grueling on so many levels. The letters and emails coming from each of you confirmed what I already knew to be an extraordinary universal ass-kicking, hand delivered by those potent equinotical energies. Yet, it took me at least 2 weeks to find enough clarity to make cognitive sense of all that was going on while simultaneously trying to keep my head bobbing above the rising sea levels of discord.

We were basically being barraged with copious amounts of balancing energy put forth to help us strip away any remaining soul goo that was keeping us stuck to our shadows. That coupled with a long and challenging Venus retrograde in Aries made it nearly impossible to escape the fundamental and core truths animating our desires for physical pleasure...most notably, relationships and money.

The Venus retrograde began on the 6th of March and just went direct on April 17th and could really be felt in the conflicting energies of wanting to move forward with our new beginnings (Aries) coupled with having to go back (again) over old situations (retrograde) to reclaim the parts of ourselves that we unconsciously gave away in power struggles related to money, sex, relationships and love. Aries is the sign of the Independent Self so we were really being urged to get centered in our power as we prepare to live our new lives from a place of complete self-acceptance and love.

In other words... will the REAL YOU please stand up?

When Venus was out of town, things really slowed down by way of manifesting since she rules over our values and the power of attraction. There was just no movement to be had in this regard...no money flow, no real contact or communication with family and friends, no business productivity, projects were put on hold, pleasure was hard to come by..AND... if you were lucky, you may have dodged the many heated arguments wanting to be had through the process of reclaiming so much of ourselves that we once gave away to others. I, for one, was not so lucky ; ))

I know for many, this was a messy time and it seemed to go on forever and a day. But luckily now that Venus is direct we should feel some relief from the pressure on our personal relationships that will make it easier to move forward again in many areas of our lives.

So what now?

Good question. One that I have been reluctant to answer, but I am finally at the point of detachment where sharing is possible.

On April seventh I had an unplanned "meeting" with the Pleiadian elders, also known as the Pleiadian High Council. During what seemed like a personal intervention, I was surrounded by a powerful group of souls and given these words to share...The Countdown Has Begun.

Now... after haplessly wading through four weeks or more of complete disconnect from the higher realms, cynicism won me over leaving me way too cranky to accept this message...I just was not in vibrational alignment with it, so I chose to ignore it.

But as spirit would have it, these types of messages don't just "go away", so with the starbeings' patience and persistence (and after a few tantrums and some pointless raging at my future self), I conceded.

Here's what they had to say:

"We are overjoyed at the opportunity to share with you that the Countdown has officially commenced. The window of completion is so near to the end that you are literally able to count the days until you are free to be.

From our perspective, the most exciting aspect of this relates to your new ability to alter your genetics, for it is now time to rejuvenate your human biology to match your angelic DNA and divine template to experience the splendor of all components coming together to create a completely new paradigm of experience and behaviors that will lift you permanently out of the mire.

As this resurrection period draws nigh, the physical changes in your biology will have great implications for the future of planet earth. You will be capable to realize the many gifts of God's grace through such purified vessels of divine love. This is one prime example of what will come to be for the planet, for the many and for the masses who choose the way and the path of physical resurrection and freedom from dis-ease.

We are especially thrilled for the achievements of so many who walked the path alone and in blind faith, and we are even more delighted to see the ripening fruits of your sacred labors. This completion awards you your divine fortune and each of you will be blessed beyond measure. When the tide fully turns in your direction, there will be no stopping the flow of heaven. Brace yourselves to receive thy bounty.

A much anticipated time awaits those preparing to consciously launch into the new and true. We are on standby to share in your joys."

Commentary

So apparently this countdown began on April 7th and as I understand it, will continue on until the June solstice, the time when we will be "exalted to higher ground"...a time when those who have been leading the brigade and the planet to her destiny will be fully and completely connected to the new realms of creation.

On a physical level we are still reeling from so many downloads and according to the Pleiadians, we will be integrating this energy for the rest of April. This has been especially challenging this time around, personally I haven't felt such intense ascension symptoms...or as others call it, ascensionitis, or Global Acceleration Syndrome (G.A.S.)... for many years.

These symptoms vary per person, but the most notable this time around seemed to be sinus related...congestion, sinus headaches/pressure/soreness, spinning/vertigo/dizziness, etc.

During this bump-up, one of the things high on the to-do list was the re-calibration of our psychic centers to access new levels of inter-dimensional communication. If you have noticed that suddenly you are able to experience the subtle realms more definitively...i.e., seeing/hearing/feeling more energy or beings than ever before, this is a result of the pituitary activation and the ensuing discomfort.

This, in addition to the usual symptoms of a fried nervous system... debilitating fatigue, apathy, joylessness, insomnia/deep-sleeps, anxiety, spaceyness/fogginess, sore muscles/joints, nausea, tingling sensations, muscle spasms, back pain, sciatica symptoms (grounding), chest pain and heart palpitations (thymus/heart opening), irritability, anger, weight gain, bloating, intestinal discomfort, the need to eat all the time followed by a loss of appetite, etc.

Another thing you may be experiencing are some far-out and downright strange dreams since we have been in this most recent void. If you are bothered by disturbing dreams or nightmares, try not to pay any attention to them, even if they linger with you all day. These energies are just passing through and if you can detach completely from them, you will have a much easier time moving on and letting go.

Based on what is being shown to me, May will be a time of physically setting up new systems for the implementation of new streams of abundance by way of new connections, relationships, careers, ideas and opportunities that will create a higher level opening for the flow of all good things to come into our lives. Right now we are still largely without support (minus those cute little manifestations that keep popping up), and it hurts to be without, but our days are literally numbered here. Our ship is barely visible through the clearing smog, but slowly coming into the harbor and bringing with it all the joys we ever dreamed of.

There is so much goodness on its way to us and very soon we will be able to look back at how far we've come... and we will release years of astonishing resilience as we weep in joy and rejoice in celebration of the birth of our well-deserved creations. But for just a moment longer... and exactly when we're ready to give-up... we must stay fiercely fastened to our focus as all the pieces continue to find their perfect place in our new lives.

So if you are feeling like you are 150 years old and can barely muster up the energy to switch a load of laundry... or if you are tired of watching your life go by without being able to actively participate in it... know that perfect timing was protecting you, this cycle is finally drawing to a close, rejuvenation is at hand, and within mere moments we will rise like the proverbial phoenix to embrace life the way it was always meant to be lived...in the continual flow of all good things!

Here's to never giving up...

With deepest respect for your journey home,

Lauren

Copyright © 2008 - Permission is granted to copy and redistribute this article on the condition that the content remains complete and in tact, full credit is given to the author(s), and that it is distributed freely. © 2008 Expect Miracles, Inc.