The Path of Ascension Vol. 9 - The Path of Self-Esteem

The Path of Ascension Vol. 9 - The Path of Self-Esteem

To truly embody self esteem, all praise, all love, all glory we feel we need, must first come from within, one needs to feel full even in the most quiet and alone places of life in order to truly give to the world.

The Path of Ascension Vol. 8.4 - The Path of Abundance " I am nature, nature is me..."

Dear Nature Divine,

Mother Nature in all of her forms is abundant, just as you are naturally abundant as you are part of nature. Every manifestation of nature requires many components to make a whole picture, many colors to paint the landscape, many pieces to the puzzle of life to complete the circle. Nature is about harmony, balance and diversity, when we allow nature to be diverse, to be expressed and to be honored we see the true abundance available in even the tiniest of spaces. To become one with nature one must accept the natural abundance within, all aspects and manifestations of the divine into a physical form share the innate abundance of the universe. It takes billions of cells to make up a body, it takes billions of blades of grass to make up a meadow and trillions of grains of sand to make up even a foot of a beach, everything that nature shows us, shows us abundance and community. The beauty of a landscape is not achieved by a singular vision or entity, although one tree may be beautiful standing on it’s own, is it really ever on it’s own? Part of the beauty of nature is that everything is a moving manifestation of the balancing forces of creation. The tree requires the soil, the soil requires the water, the mycelium require the soil, the water and the dead parts of the tree, the entire network of life is built up layer by layer with abundance, community, harmony and balance, every part of the picture giving way to its next part and so on. In observation of this divine dance of the natural order of life we see that nothing is ever lost, we observe that in true nature there is nothing wasted, everything is used to create more for the next stage of life. Humanity has been separated from the natural harmony of life which teaches us to be like nature; never waste, always support one another, always continue growing, be adaptable, co-exist in beauty, abundance, community and harmony.

Observation is a key when living in a state of abundance, it is important to observe the vibration of the body and energy when creating visions, experiences and manifesting work and community in our lives. The higher the vibration we can be at when creating something new in our lives to experience the higher the vibration is which comes back to us in return, meaning greater abundance in our lives. Generally when our attitude is negative or heavy, heaviness follows us. When we embody a state of lightness, excitement and joy, we are more likely to be productive and create greater abundance in our lives. Everything is energy, the energy we put into life is the energy we get back, when we continue to live out of balance with the natural self, we create greater imbalances within us and throughout the world. In order to truly respond to the great shift of consciousness and walk the path of ascension abundantly, humanity is asked to change the mindset that they are separate from nature. It is important to remember and return to the mindset of oneness with nature, that as we are part of this planet we are one with this planet, we are all here meant to grow and support each other just as the water, the soil, the mycelium and the trees, we are the animal kingdom, we are meant to be here for specific jobs and one of our jobs is stewardship.

We pray for you to remember that humanity is here to steward the earth, to take care of the earth, to be here to assist as hands and feet on the ground to walk softly upon the earth, observe and be aware of when we can assist in the flow of life. Our hope for humanity is that you will remember that your path is one with the earth, the evolution of Gaia, will be your evolution, when it is time for her to balance everything out again, she will, whether you are prepared for it or not. What we would like to suggest is that you do prepare for a great shift in what abundance and prosperity even really are. Is abundance really big houses and fancy cars? Maybe to some it represents that but is it the true abundance we are meant to be here to care for? Is it abundance to create barren lands for the sake of excess? Nature provides more than any of us need already and when we manipulate her into producing even more of some specific things while at the sake of destroying the diversity, we are creating imbalance.

The imbalance of human society when it comes to living with nature is at an all time high, we do not wish to bring you fear or alarm, we do wish to let you know to prepare for a change in consciousness where perhaps the value of what is prosperity, what is abundance, changes it’s significance. What if we lived in a way which saw growing of food as individuals and communities to be abundant and prosperous? What if it was a “selling feature” of a property or house that the soil is healthy and there is a lot of space to grow food? What if we honored the diversity of the nature around a home as the significance of value, not simply the size of the lot, or how much money one can make off of it… what if it was about harmony and balance with nature which we gave value to? Humanity is being called to start to remember that there is no lack, there is only abundance. Living in harmony with nature is possible. It is possible to preserve instead of destroy, it is possible to diversify instead of monopolize, it is all possible. It may take many great shifts in consciousness and many changes to the functions of society. We hope you can start with the step of remembering that everything is destined to grow, you are part of that destiny. Take a few breaths and affirm aloud “ I am nature, Nature is me!” , “ Thank you for the abundance that I am” , “ I am nature, Nature is me”, “ I am one with the natural abundance of the universe” !


The Path of Ascension Vol. 8.2 - The Path of Abundance "Life is a gift, Thank you for this gift of life"

The Path of Ascension Vol. 8.2 - The Path of Abundance "Life is a gift, Thank you for this gift of life"

There is no force which can choose your life for you,

The Path of Ascension Vol. 8.2 - The Path of Abundance "an attitude of gratitude"

The Path of Ascension Vol. 8.2 - The Path of Abundance "an attitude of gratitude"

Celebrate, with gratitude, everything that is before you right now, become the very celebration of life which surrounds us in all manifestations of nature.

The Path of Ascension Vol. 8 - The Path of Dharma (conclusions)

Dear Infinite Creative Lifeforce Potential,

We write to you today to bring you a bit of a summary on The Path of Dharma as we have offered in the previous 9 volumes of this publication. We ask of you to really allow yourself to sink into a space of loving awareness, take a few deep intentional breaths, envision your thoughts dissolving away and allow the body to open to integration. Clearing the mind, body and spirit with one’s breath and intention, as we have mentioned before is one of the key ways to align with dharma, it requires daily practices and commitment to those practices which allow us to clear the mind and body in order to align with and clearly listen to the soul. Dharma is all about balance, harmony and communication, we are given the gift of the temple of the body in order to become clear channels of divine wisdom, every single being has this opportunity, to be the bridge between earth and sky, material and immaterial, corporeal and divine. We are given the chance to awaken to our true nature and walk the path before us by releasing programs and conditions in order to become truly present with the moment.

Loving awareness is the key to living in Dharma, to walk the path of soul destiny our awareness needs to be attuned to the state of unconditional love so we are always learning, receiving and growing from our experiences instead of judging and getting stuck within them.

The universe is a home of unconditional love, there is only loving awareness underneath everything, karma seeks to bring us back to loving awareness, however it may tear apart our identified self, the ego and all of its clinging in order to illuminate the truth of self beneath it all. - The Path of Ascension Vol.7.3

We encourage you to remember and realize that all things are coming up for clearing at this time, many of you are going through a “dark night of the soul”, the collective is moving through this process as one. All of the aspects of creation which are out of alignment with the true nature of humanity are coming up for release and alchemical reconfiguration. Unreal to the real, untruth to truth, darkness to light, death to immortality. Humanity has always been on the path to self realization, this path is the dharma of the universe working through all karma. The nature of everything is to evolve and expand, the nature of the universe is to become one again with all that is. All aspects of divinity weave together the tapestry of harmony, the universe is meant to be a symphony of colour and sound. Frequencies of all kinds coming together to form the AUM. “Who are we really?”, resounding through all of creation, an anchor of remembering the nature of divinity that we truly are. To find balance along the path of creation and dharma is both a challenge and a gift, the challenge brings us greater strength and awareness therefore within it lies that very gift. Avoidance of challenge or discomfort in life holds us back, we are not encouraging you to create problems or indulge and perpetuate suffering in your life, we are encouraging you to remember that you are part of the whole, part of oneness, to remember that every thought you think and action you take holds some sort of resonance within the collective. The vibration from which we resonate our thoughts has a great deal to do with what situations manifest in our lives, we pray for you to remember that you are a co-creator and with that ability you always have the power to choose how to respond to situations of challenge and adversity. The power to change your state, your vibration and any situation you are facing is always within you, even where conditions, programs and trauma are stored in the body, there is always a solution and there is always a choice, self-healing requires commitment and devotion, to heal the self is to meet dharma in the temple of the body.

Much of society today faces the dilemma of feeling lacking in purpose, people are stressed and saddened by much of what they devote their time to each day for the sake of keeping up with society as well as to survive. With so much distraction from soul directly built into the very fabric of society, taking time to self care and devote to healing practices seems like a fantasy to a lot of people. How is one supposed to align with truth when much of their identity is based off of illusion or fear? We have mentioned that fear is one of the biggest controlling forces on earth, especially at this time, fear perpetuates the illusion. We also offered a brief assay on “maya- illusion” within volume 7.9 The Path of Dharma of Soul.

There is always something to learn and integrate while evolving, along The Path of Ascension, self awareness and forgiveness of self is key. For any human to intend embodiment of higher consciousness, divine consciousness, unconditional love, higher awareness, loving awareness, enlightenment, oneness, what have you…. all paths require the step of self-love. To truly love another, one must love themselves. We see so many rampant psychological and physiological imbalances appearing in society today, it is one aspect to intend to repair these things, however without a radical shift in consciousness and the way we are living as a collective it is less likely we will encounter true healing. One is tasked with changing core beliefs if one intends to heal.

We called this section The Path of Dharma (conclusions) because we wish to bring together some of the keys of aligning with dharma, however in Dharma nothing really concludes, nothing really ends, it all becomes new again. To align with Dharma is to align with divine timing, to be open to the cyclical nature of time, allowing yourself to be fully present with each now moment. The true nature of the universe is that everything which “ends” feeds a new beginning. All of the layers of life are always interconnected as part of one ending and the next beginning. The greatest magic to dharma is presence, presence with the eternal now moment, the present is named such because it is a gift, we are given the gift of transformation, of cycles of death and rebirth in order to be able to learn the power of surrender. There are some things in life that are simply meant to pass, we can not control those moments, first is to surrender to them, then is to become aware of the reactions to them. When we become aware of the true gift of the present moment whether the experience is “good” or “bad” we learn that every experience and how we react to it is our choice and all lies in the perceptions we hold. Nothing and no one is ever truly lost, everything and everyone is offered to the cycle of time as part of the new present in some way or another. Consciousness, like energy can never be destroyed, it can only transform.

We pray for you to remember that you are transforming, in every breath and every moment, part of you is renewed, you are given so many tools to work with in order to make the alchemy of transformation one of lower to higher states instead of the reverse which much of society is tailored to. Keep on rising Beloved beings! We are with you every step of the way all you need to do is ask for clarity and messengers will arrive to you through the mysteries of the universe!

Gate Gate Paragate Parasamgate Bodhi Svaha!

गते गते पार गते पार संगते बोधि स्वाहा

The Path of Ascension Vol. 7.9 - The Path of Dharma (of soul)

The Path of Ascension Vol. 7.9 - The Path of Dharma (of soul)

Soul is oneness, the force of sat-cit-ananda, truth-consciousness-bliss, everything is this primal force of clear consciousness as it is from an empty clear space of awareness that we create, we never stop creating in fact, even if we are bogged down by selfish actions or negative thinking, we are always creating.

The Path of Ascension Vol. 7.7 - The Path of Dharma (of the body)

The Path of Ascension Vol. 7.7 - The Path of Dharma (of the body)

To be gifted with this body is to be given a map through all of time and space. Every cell is the culmination of all of the ancestors which have come before it, and all of the experiences of the soul within it. You are a blueprint to self realization encoded in the very cells which make up the miracle of you.

The Path of Ascension Vol. 7.6 - The Path of Dharma

The Path of Ascension Vol. 7.6 - The Path of Dharma

Life, like water, is meant to flow, it may rush, it may trickle, it may pour, it may crash, yet in no part of it, is it really meant to be rigid. The river requires a bed to flow through, yet the water also creates its own path when necessary. Let the mind be like water, detach from the identity you have built up and be open to the truth within you shining through it.

The Path of Ascension Vol. 7.5 - The Path of Dharma

The Path of Ascension Vol. 7.5 - The Path of Dharma

When a being is aligning with dharma there is a process or a practice which helps to keep the flow of energy clear through the vessel and generated fields, this is one of the most important aspects of living in dharma, in order to stay aligned with our destined path we require some sort of daily commitment to a practice which clear the mind and clears the field around us so that we can focus our energy on the present moment

The Path of Ascension 7.4 - The Path of Dharma

The Path of Ascension 7.4 - The Path of Dharma

The power of devotion is really in the intentional vibration emitted from our heart centered intentions. When we connect to, devote to and honor the divine spirit within what we see around us, we tend to create more beauty, a deeper sense of harmony and find a way to connect to the culture of the nature around us.

The Path of Ascension Vol. 7.3- The Path of Dharma

The Path of Ascension Vol. 7.3- The Path of Dharma

This is one of the most amazing aspects of Dharma, it works with the calling of the soul, karma and divine alignment. When something is right, we must recognize it is right and put all of our energy and efforts towards it. Taking the time each day to tune in, listen and ask; Are my actions right action?

The Path of Ascension Volume 7.2 - The Path of Dharma

The Path of Ascension Volume 7.2 - The Path of Dharma

. It is very important to become empowered by unconditional love to invite the strength and awareness to see it all, feel it all and allow it to flow, you are not meant to become the suffering you see, you are meant to alchemize that suffering to light, transform ignorance to truth, and find purpose within your role in space and time.

The Path of Ascension Vol. 6.4 - The Path of Steadfastness to Dharma

The Path of Ascension Vol. 6.4 - The Path of Steadfastness to Dharma

. Our evolution is dependent on learning to love each other for our differences and to work through connecting the community by healing the collective diseases of the mind, body and spirit. For any society to go through this shift, the commitment to self love must be the foundation and the core.

The Path of Ascension Vol. 6.2 - The Path of Steadfastness

Dear Light Warrior Within,

We call to you this day to step into your power, shake out the old, shake away what is no longer serving you and step into your divine strength, your divine will, your sacred soul power. Now is the time to make a radical shift, to change your mindset and your habits, allow your soul and the universe to show you what you must let go of in order to stand stronger in your life, take hold of your life, co-create your life. Right now, our shadows are being pushed up and out of us, we must love them and ourselves unconditionally as they rise, sometimes loving something or someone is really about loving them enough to let them go. Often the greatest act of self love is to release attachment to something, someone or some way or state of being/ circumstance. When we reach a point where an attachment, attainment, or relationship are truly no longer serving us, when we can see it is draining us, making us feel small, making us doubt if we are in the right place, these are all signals that need to be listened too, we need to be aware of situations which are not for our highest good and make a change within them immediately in the now to bring them into harmony or simply let them go completely. Many of you know how it feels to be in a toxic relationship or a dead end job and we pray that all of you who know this feeling also know and learn what it feels like to leave those situations behind you and step into your true power in your life. To be steadfast does not always mean to stand completely rigid in the face of adversity, it also means recognizing when “the battle” is over by choice, by exhaustion, or by depletion of it’s usefulness.

To be steadfast and be as a warrior of the light we are called to recognize how an when to use our resources wisely, to stay aware and follow through in any challenge requires us to use our intelligence to strategize, conceptualize and decide. When it is clear someone or something is hindering your progress, part of being steadfast is to be willing to let it go with unconditional loving awareness and openness to the infinite possibilities which come from the open space of release and freedom.

When you know who you truly are and recognize the warrior within you, you can stand strong in any decision, act from a place of loving devotion and move through anything which comes your way for the highest good of evolution. When you question who you are, when you doubt your true divine nature, your universal power, you become saturated by insecurities and fears and you generate battles which could be nearly unnecessary, experiences which challenge your self worth until you can affirm your natural worthiness from your core. Uncovering the true light warrior within you and discovering the innate love, power and wisdom the soul contains asks you, essentially, to train yourself to the point of strength and openness that you can receive love and give love, you can stand strong and be flexible, you can allow your mind and emotions to flow and be released without judgement or attachment, you express yourself in truth, your forgive yourself, you strengthen yourself, you unite with yourself and you raise your vibration by integration of the divine teacher within you.

As a divine sovereign being living a human experience, you have so much power and potential within you that is unrealized as a result of limiting beliefs and superimpositions on the collective consciousness. When you tap into your divine nature as a co-creator and make the choice each day to commit to yourself, commit to your path and take steps to fortify your connection to soul you are being steadfast. The choice each day to condition your mind, body and spirit to be able to handle anything that comes your way, to be present with your experiences and to embrace all of them, dark or light. Embrace the opportunities to learn and grow which come from the challenges and “the battles” when you make it out to the other side, you are always stronger and better off for it. If there is something in your life right now that you know is not serving you, breathe deeply into your belly and imagine a golden sun filling your belly, filling your core and then expanding all around you, breathe with this for a few breaths and let this golden sun energy fill you and surround with loving light. Now, state aloud; “ I am pure will, I am will power!” “ I trust myself, I am confident, I believe in me!’, “ I am pure will, I am divine light!”. Breathe with this golden light, let it fill you and speak words of strength and confidence to yourself in every breath. Fill your body, mind and aura with strength, confidence and trust. Now, envision yourself standing on a field and all of your challenges are standing in a line facing you, this is the battle field of your mind, the people who have hurt you, your negative habits, that thing you dislike doing, that overwhelming moment, the time you broke down, personify it all in front of you. See every challenge like another monster or demon, see yourself standing strong as they run at you and you simply lift your hand up, palm strong, light blasting from your palm and each of these entities runs up, is smashed by an invisible field of light and dissolves into gold flake and into the ground. Go through each of your unloving thoughts, mental sufferings, insecurities and negative experiences, with love and strength, transmute them into light. When you are ready to release it all, simply turn around and walk away, there is nothing that can have any power over you, you are free. As they come chasing behind you, this forcefield of golden light bounces them back to source light and they turn into gold flakes and sink into the ground. Learn to stand strong in the mind, you learn to stand strong in life. Repeat as needed.

We will enjoy to continue with this subject tomorrow. Blessed be dear being of light, may the light warrior within you awaken to truth, love and beauty. May you find the strength you need within to be free!

The Path of Ascension Vol. 6 - The Path of Steadfastness

Dear Force of Creation within,

We write to you today to bring a reminder of commitment, capability and motivation. The Channel has had a lot going on and has had to take a couple of days to integrate along with writing The Path of Ascension. We set out on this journey with an even greater vision and are working together to harmonize the energies in order to fulfill that vision. We will revive communications on The Path of Integration near the end of the 90 days of The Path of Ascension series. We and the channel, wish to thank you deeply for being here now to receive these teachings and share your unique energy signature with our field as we expand and grow together. On this path of Ascension there are many challenges we may face depending on what is hiding within us waiting to be released and in turn setting us free. Every individual has set out a sort of map for their lives with key energy point which open gates to self realization, this is a big part of why the spiritual paths ask the questions; “Who are you really?”, “What are you really here for?” and offer the reminder and advice to “remember who you truly are”. The paths which ask these questions and give us these reminders, also give us the answer quite directly, all spiritual paths rooted in divine truth and love seek to unite all souls back with the source of all that is, these paths tell you quite directly you are a child of god/goddess/universe, you are one with this universe and you are a being of multidimensional infinite potential. The Paths of Ascension all lead us through ourselves to the truth of oneness in unconditional loving awareness of our interconnected nature. The trick is to wade through the muddy waters of life while remembering that everything is temporary and that you have the power to get through all of it as you are one with god/goddess. When we are separate from this truth the murkiness of life can become our reality, this is why today we wish to speak to you about Steadfastness.

The channel writing this from spirit and inner knowledge from experiences and remembering has a pattern to drop tasks, become distracted, procrastinate and often misses out on follow through. This is why we bring messages about steadfastness, a strong state of being which absolutely without a doubt committed to the task at hand. This means being vigilant, being aware and being self motivated. This means finding a purpose, “a why” for everything we do, finding the conviction within the why and carrying forward with our actions from a place of devotion and purposeful intent. Our consciousness has the ability to choose how to respond to any situation in any moment, often through conditions, doubts or fears, we forget we have the option to choose how to respond and to choose how to move forward with anything we are doing. A steadfast person chooses to be in a state of awareness which is focused on the task at hand to completion, despite any challenges one may face. This energy of commitment to the task is called for when committing to the spiritual journey and the path of ascension. You are being called upon now to Stand in Your Power and take command of your life. You are being called now to activate the co-creator within you and stand strong in the face of all challenges or adversity to attaining your vision of truth and love.

Humanity is at a precipice now, consciousness is coming to a place of such massive expansion and so much processing that at time the challenge itself is to receive the information in a grounded and connected manner. When we are ungrounded, unstable, imbalanced or what have you the challenge to receive the new energy becomes even more tumultuous. When we are doing the soul-work we must face our “weaknesses”. Our instabilities and insecurities are rooted in some conditioning or patterns, the path of awakening brings them all up to the surface so we can better discover our strengths instead of being taken down by our “shortcomings”.

Every aspect of you is worthy or respect and love, every challenge gives you a chance to stand in your power and face it head on. This is why we ask you to commit to yourself each day, commit to loving and forgiving, healing and strengthening, commit to uniting with yourself, the divine and the divine love all around you. We encourage you now to stay strong in your power, believe in yourself, believe in your vision and bring the light of the sacred into everything you do. Now, is the time to commit to your path and you have the strength to do it, as you continue to shed the old layers away you become stronger and are better able to be steadfast in the face of the challenges. This motivation from a place of devotion to the goal rises from your core and gives you strength for all of your endeavors. Now is the time to bring in the new and there is so much space to clear in order to do so, we must be prepare to stand strong like a warrior in the face of our inner demons, outer influences, shadow energies and thought forms, we must stand firm like a mother protecting and nurturing her child each day and night despite being totally exhausted, we must find that inner strength.

In order to create the new and ground in the True earth, allowing us all to live within our full power, it is important to prepare the way and be ready to cut out and burn away all that is no longer serving us as we get ready for the new to grow. This takes commitment to reach new ground, to upturn the weeds, the old and till the ground, filling it with new compost and new soil, all of the fertile life giving processes of breakdown matter - energy. The clearing itself asks us to become certain in our vision, clear in our perception and to embody the strength required to get all that is no longer serving out of the way of the new creation. The reward is in finding the new empty space you are giving way to, it is not exactly the result you are excited about but it is the open space into which new creations and new results can be brought in. Sometimes, it is important to celebrate the moments when it seems like nothing is happening, sinking into that nothingness is sinking into potential. All that is was birthed from and is held within the vast nothingness between all things. The everything that is nothing, the infinite mystery of the universe is potential.

As many have expounded previously, god is eternal, god is consciousness, the universe is consciousness and all are part of this force of creation, we are children of the universal consciousness the intelligent design, the cosmic web. Consciousness changes the potential of the nothingness into something, we can say to ourselves “oh no there is nothing, i have nothing, I am nothing, i give up” or we can remind ourselves “oh no there is nothing, this is a beautiful canvas on which to create, this is new ground within which to plant seeds, this blank space is potential for the creation of everything”. Even in the nothingness there is always a little something, the infinite creative lifeforce potential of the cosmic mother, everything which grows and is created is a result of determined union. We need to focus our energies and come together in order to create new worlds, new life, new experiences. This calls us to allow and be present with our experiences in their fullness.

When incarnated here on earth, the energies and emotions of every being are affecting one another even if one is not aware or does not believe that, we tell you it is true and quantum physics has begun proving this and will continue to do so. It is through consciousness that everything happens, through observation of what is, what is changes. Nothing is stationary, everything is moving, changing and malleable dependent on consciousness, when we regulate and relegate consciousness with rules and regulations we limit the scope of what is possible. Every one of us is connected. Every thought, feeling, experience is felt in some part by the entire collective, everything is relative. When we know this, we can become aware of the fact that much of society and accepted knowledge actually limits our ability to be conscious. Much of what is taking place each day on the earth as far as the intensities of suffering many beings are experiencing actually lowers the vibration of the entire collective, within this paradigm we are more susceptible to empathic reactions to collective emotion. When you feel heavy, depressed, sad, frustrated etc. and can not quite put your finger on why, this is very likely a collective emotion. This again asks us to be steadfast in our self care and awareness.

We invite you today to go out in nature and stand barefoot by the roots of a tree, if you can not do this, envision this in your mind’s eye or find another spot in nature you can stand. See your self standing with that tree, feel yourself standing with that tree. Envision yourself growing roots into the earth just like that tree and notice the strength and flexibility that trees have. The power and strength they have to stay rooted and weather the storms, to respond to subtle and big changes with grace, ease and grounded stability. Observe these qualities within the trees, and observe these qualities within yourself. Stand strong in your power, with readiness to move with grace and ease, you may sway in the storm yet you will always come back to balance. Imagine and sense yourself filling with the strength of trees, the strength of mountains and the strength of the divine spirit of all that is. You are a strength, you are grounded, you are stable. Stand in your power, be steadfast today, breakthrough the doubt, break through resistance. Tell yourself, I am steadfast and I am ready to live my life in fullness.

We will expand this path further over the next few days as we continue to integrate and add to the previous paths we have explored along our daily Path of Ascension! Thank you dear one for being here, you are love, we send you love, we are grateful for your strength and power here and now!