ASK ALLEN

It's good to be a seeker,
But sooner or later you have to be a finder...
And then it is right to give what you have found
A gift to the world for those who will accept it.
~ Richard Bach

In these times of profound and unprecedented change, more and more people are announcing that they are no longer at ease with duality's old and rapidly failing rhetoric - just about everything from the gung-ho motivational speaker's hyperbole (total life mastery in a single weekend), to the divine power broker's totally clueless Sunday sermons.

More and more people are now moving into the New Energy and going through the most difficult of difficult times. They are all on a BRAND-NEW and VERY REAL (and often very confusing) spiritual journey. They all have new questions and they are all looking for answers - STRAIGHT ANSWERS. I do my level best to provide some of those answers here. As with all of my writings, I always try to keep the answers as succinct as possible, and this is not always an easy task considering the complex nature of some of the questions.

Now, simply click on any question as you scroll down the list and you will be taken directly to the answer. Click on "BACK" or use your own browser's "BACK" key to return to this list of questions.

Also, see the Odd Questions page in the Miscellanea section

* What is Ascension?

* What exactly is duality? How can anyone be 'in' duality?

* How can I contact or somehow channel an Ascended Master? From what I have read they seem to know absolutely everything.

* What is Enlightenment?

* How can I connect with my twin flame? I truly need him to make my life complete.

* How will all the churches and religions fit in with the New Energy?

* Is the New Energy a male or female energy?

* How can I move out of duality and into the New Energy?

* What, if anything, can keep us ensnared in duality?

* Isn't it true that we've always been able to increase our level of awareness and have a spiritual awakening?

* Why is change so difficult for us?

* I find it very confusing and daunting whenever I visit one of those large metaphysical bookshops. How is it possible for me or anyone else to find the best spiritual book in all of that hotchpotch?

* Is meditation necessary to reach enlightenment and ascension status?

* Are we guided by a divine hand?

* What about prayer in the New Energy? Should we still pray and does it still work?

* What is karma?

* I often have times when I just can't stop thinking and worrying. What can I do to break out of it?

* What will love relationships be like in the New Energy?

* What about sexual relations in the New Energy? Will they be somehow different, or what?

* I would dearly love to find a good spiritual teacher. Is it really true what they say: "when the student is ready the teacher will appear?"

* Is instant enlightenment possible?

* I feel so insignificant at times. I know, they say that each and every one of us is important and makes a difference, but in my case I find that very hard to believe. Truly, if we're not rich and famous, and we have no great talent to speak of, and we're not really attractive, how can we expect to feel anything else but insignificant?

* Do we actually have a Guardian Angel and is it really our own Spirit or Higher Self?

* These last few years have been filled with little else but frustration, loss, fear and confusion. Besides the odd flourish of hope and joy, it's been one long nightmare. I do realize the process of spiritual awakening is not easy, but this has been going on for so long that I'm now at the stage where I'm beginning to resign myself to the fact that things may never change. Needless to say I find this extremely depressing, but really, how could I think otherwise?

* Is there help for us when we leave the physical body and cross over to the other side of the veil? Are there teachers over there?

* Is smoking and/or drinking detrimental to spiritual growth?

* Is there some sort of universal authority that we humans ultimately answer to?

* I have no end of trouble with forgiveness. I've read the books and I've done the courses and exercises, but I still can't forgive. I've really tried everything. I'm now worried that I can't move forward spiritually. Is there anything that I can do?

* I left all the religious creeds and doctrines behind long ago and now feel that I've been in metaphysics forever. But oddly enough, there's something about the ending of the Lord's Prayer that still gets to me. Whenever I hear, read or even remember the words... "For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever", I always become very emotional and tearful. Why would that be?

* I've read in one of the Kryon books [Book VIII - Passing the Marker] that Pope John Paul II is now saying that there is no actual heaven and hell. He is now saying that heaven is not a physical place in the clouds and hell is not punishment imposed externally by God - that eternal damnation is not God's work but is actually our own doing. I've also read that the Pope has apologized for the Spanish Inquisition [The Catholic Church's unspeakable atrocities committed against men, women and even children] and has openly asked forgiveness for the Church's past stand on The Holocaust. This is altogether a huge turnaround. What's happening here?

* I am amazed how some of our early religious indoctrination still hangs around. Even though I've been on a spiritual path for over 20 years now and haven't had anything to do with the church since I was a kid in Sunday school, I still feel a twinge of guilt whenever I blaspheme, or 'take the Lord's name in vain' as my dear old grandmother used to put it. I am so used to saying "Jesus"! whenever I'm taken by surprise, or "Jesus Christ"! when I'm totally exasperated with something. I know I should get out of this habit and find more appropriate forms of exclamation, but how can I get rid of this feeling of guilt that arises if I inadvertently blaspheme?

* Do you think the time will come when we'll have truly enlightened religious leaders?

* Why do you say in your writings that healers don't heal?

* When we've moved out of duality and into the New Energy are we still under the influence of astrology? Obviously I mean real astrology and not the daily 'starry-wonders' in the glossy magazines.

* I have read through your website very thoroughly and I've gone right through the other New Energy sites that you recommend. I have also bought three of the books on your list. Whew! I can see that it's going to take me quite awhile to digest and incorporate everything. It all feels so right to me and I've never been so excited about anything in all my life, but just where do I start with all this?

* I am now having more and more difficulty relating to other people, even close friends and family. It's really strange because I get terribly lonely at times when I'm by myself, yet whenever I'm with other people, especially groups, I soon get this overwhelming urge to flee. How do you explain this dilemma?

* There are so many courses and workshops out there to choose from. Which ones would be the best to teach us how to reclaim our personal power?

* Compared to Kryon, Tobias, the Points of Power teachings and a few others, A Course In Miracles now feels very 'old energy'. But as I still find great solace and strength in some of the words, does this mean I'm stuck in the old?

* In all my metaphysical studies and reading, I've never come across anything that talks about where God may have come from. Surely I can't be the only person in the world who has wondered if there was ever something before God. Do you know if this has ever been spoken about in any of the literature?

* How can I be of the greatest service to humanity and the planet? At the risk of sounding like a martyr, I feel that is what I am truly here for.

*  I'm totally confused. Every time I go into a metaphysical website on the net there's a new transit in progress, another planetary activation going on, another harmonic something or other happening or another comet just missing the earth while apparently delivering some special energy. I don't know if I'm supposed to get excited about all of this, but all it does is confuse me. Do I really need to know about all this? I do see 11:11 appearing on clocks from time to time, and although I do feel something special then, to me the rest is all mumbo jumbo.

*  I know that I'm in transition and I'm certainly experiencing all the weird awakening symptoms, but why do I get so depressed at times? Does everyone get depressed during transition or is it just me?

*  I have a dilemma. I'm a facilitator and work very much spontaneously and intuitively with my clients both with energy work and counseling. I know from experience (results) that this is the way to operate now in the New Energy. Although I've been doing this work for some years now, I don't have any formal qualifications as such and so can't gain membership to any association or society. This in turn prevents me from obtaining insurance coverage. The system is such that I can't get insurance because I don't belong to a recognized association and I can't gain membership to an association because I don't have any formal qualifications. How do I get around this catch-22?

*  In one of your answers you mention Sai Baba in the same breath as Jesus and the Buddha. How could you do that with all the huge amount of controversy surrounding his 'instant manifestations' and alleged long-standing sexual exploitation of devotees? I can't see how anyone could even think about comparing Sai Baba and Jesus.

* How or where can I find one of those all-blissful New Energy relationships that you referred to in a previous answer?

* In A Course in Miracles it states that to teach is to learn. Is that still true now with the New Energy teachers?

* Quite frankly, I think all so-called metaphysicians and lightworkers are just plain weird, and that’s being polite. I mean, it’s not only blasphemous but totally outrageous for anyone to believe that humans are actually God. Who do these kooks think they are? Haven’t they ever read the bible?

Also, see the Odd Questions page in the Miscellanea section