"We will not change the world by who we elect as president. We will change it by who we are being in our lives. World peace is achieved one heart at a time. Join me in creating that peace, here, now.”
“When the student is ready the teacher will appear.” A popular quote from Gautama Buddha that I have now experienced as an understatement. I have come to know that we are born ready, and when we have suffered enough, The Universe will give us an opportunity to be WILLING.
In the Fall of 2010, I attended my first Living Love class after a day of work, held in a conference room just off Elm Street in my hometown of Arroyo Grande. As I entered through the gate of the unfamiliar apartment complex, I remember giving myself a pep talk. After a few minutes which seemed like hours, I began to walk aimlessly in circles. There was no one in sight, just a dark alley with a few lights from above. My heart began to pound, and I started to panic. Is this some cult? Should I go back to my car, and, and...get the hell out of here? I called Cinnamon. She didn’t answer, but as they say...“desperate times call for desperate measures.” I continued to remind myself of our cosmic union at the dental office, and I wasn’t going to allow my fears to stop me. As I walked further, I finally saw a group of people chatting with one another. Thank God! I slowly approached the door and a friendly woman looked at me with surprise and said, “Oh my gosh, I thought you were Cinnamon!”
It was a small group of about seven that night. I later heard that my soon-to-be teacher had just moved back from Seattle. The room was cold and bare with some work-out machines, a couch, and a few chairs. I had been attending Al Anon meetings weekly, so I was used to different looking characters, but I was not quite accustomed to the outward approach of people speaking and (at times) interrupting. I hardly understood a word but strangely understood it all. They were reciting some very looong pathways and instead of saying, “I’m angry,” Cinnamon’s students would take responsibility and say with forthright conviction, “I am creating frustration and addictively demanding that my partner respect me.” WHAT?!?!
Since I was used to talking (and I do like to talk), I couldn’t wait to speak about how proud I was of my recent feat, limiting my time and energy with someone who simply doesn’t get it! I told myself the story that I was “detaching with love.” A term that I had learned in Al Anon. Some of you folks may call these people "energy suckers." AND we are sooo RIGHT. Well, I quickly learned how I was NOT being who I am really am. Instead, I was playing small by being intolerant, impatient, and judgmental. Cinnamon helped me see that I could create a bridge with the person whom I was referring to as an energy sucker by mirroring a time that I had behaved in a similar way. She called it an, “instant consciousness doubler.” My ego felt squashed, and at this point, I didn’t know that taming my ego was the name of the game. I could have ran out of the class along with my self-righteous attitude, but my heart nudged me to stay and LISTEN (Oh, that’s a novel idea).
My teacher could be perceived by individuals as just an old-aged, washed-up, skinny hippie with small insignificant tattoos laced up and down her right arm and left leg, representing her loved ones (in time, my symbol would be a butterfly tattoo). Fortunately, I was willing to recognize her as a unique gift to those who were willing to see her beauty and receive her human representation of Love. I have no doubt that God sent her to me as a humble servant and a mirror of my heart. A miracle that I had been waiting for and willing to receive.
Cinnamon channeled a book called, HERE, NOW, used as a handbook for daily guidance and direction (The quotes from her book are at the beginning of almost every blog). After giving me a signed copy, I quickly read the back of her book to tame my doubts of a “non-credentialed” teacher. It read...
“Cinnamon has been fully surrendered to Love for thirty-five years. She has taught classes and counseled with thousands of individuals, couples, and families worldwide. She is a pro at assisting others in releasing the fear that separates them from themselves and each other. Cinnamon trained directly with Ken Keyes Jr., famous for his self published book that sold more than a million copies, Handbook to Higher Consciousness. Upon his death, she purchased the copyrights to all his work and is the founder of Loving Life Foundation LLC. Her work veers away from an intellectual approach to healing and places the focus on living from one’s innate heart knowing. Cinnamon has one rule: Choose Love. Nothing in her teaching is formulaic. She does not charge for her counsel. Willingness to surrender one’s addictive patterns is the only requirement. Cinnamon exemplifies how to live Love and love life.”
When it was time for her to leave Keyes, Cinnamon continued to use his Twelve Pathways, transforming them into a less didactic and more spiritual experience, helping people recognize when they are creating fear and calling it Love. With great humility, I have come to know Cinnamon as an uncommon nurturing soul who is yet to be discovered by the masses nor needs to be. A powerful being whose inner strength is as tall as the trees in Aspen and whose ego is as small as the mustard seeds in Nepal. She mastered many earlier storms including the trauma of being raped, beaten, and threatened to be killed by her father for sixteen years. This physical abuse left her with excruciating back pain for the rest of her life, only for her to experience one hundred percent forgiveness in a way that most of us would not “think” is possible here on earth. Because of my willingness to go into teacher-training with her, I clearly see that enlightenment is a choice and a gift we give ourselves. With vulnerability and fortitude, I dare to say that she is a modern day Spiritual Master (although, she would never call herself by such a title). Gary Zukav, author of The Seat of the Soul, writes, “Our life’s purpose is to align our personality with our soul and when this is achieved you cannot tell in such a person where the personality ends and the soul begins.” I could not describe Cinnamon H. Lofton any better myself.
Cinnamon’s only requirement was for me to be willing to be who I really am. And now that I had a mentor who exemplified how to be Love, I knew that my prayer to Mother Mary had been answered. I had only just begun.
Photography by Andrew Steagel
My work is not about religion. It couldn't be further removed from the institution known as religion. It is about God. Every breath I breathe like every page of Here, Now is an act of love and devotion, inspired by our Creator. That's right, OUR Creator. Father/Mother God, Creator of us all. Every word of this book is written to honor and spread God's message in the world: God is Love; Love is all that matters. Everything else can be attributed to mind games which keep people stuck in their illusions of separateness. Love is the healer, the answer. It is the one truth.
I offer up this work to you to help you grow in the spirit of oneness. Through these pages, I am here, supporting you in making the choice to experience more love and respect for yourself. May you be inspired to know that you are a member of the sacred family of man, inclusive of all people and their cultures.
World peace is achieved one heart at a time. Join me in creating that peace, here, now."
Cinnamon H. Lofton
