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Luis Miguel Goitizolo

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RE: IS THE NEW AGE REALLY HERE?
2/27/2013 10:17:34 PM

Archangel Michael via Ron Head: This is Indeed… the Unstoppable Force of which We have Spoken so Very Often

falls9fAs channeled by Ron Head – February 26, 2013

http://oraclesandhealers.wordpress.com

We return today to the subject of channeling.

You should be noticing several things about the messages you are reading at this time. The first is that the messages contained therein are becoming clearer and clearer. You should also be seeing that there is a distinct difference between those that uplift your spirit and those that leave you confused or dejected. We hope you are giving no attention at all to any that bring forth fear.

Next you will be more and more surprised at the response you feel within. This is a direct result of both the love energy which is bringing about changes within yourselves and the allowance you are giving yourselves to change toward versions of yourselves which you perceive as more desirable. You do know, after all, that you have put on a party face that you intended to disguise your true identity for this last act of the play. The time approaches for you to cast off the masks and take your bows. We are sure a standing ovation will be in order at that time.

But what we wish to bring to your attention this day, more forcefully perhaps than previously, is the continuing drawing together, or focus, of a great many of these channels upon a greater theme. Some of these, our messengers, do read others’ material, others steadfastly remain intentionally unaware of what the others are doing. Nevertheless, you will be able to see among all of them a greater focus on the inner world of your spirit and the metamorphosis that is occurring in your consciousness at this time. From this, please entertain the conclusion that they are drawing upon the One Consciousness and its most important underlying message to all. “Come home. Welcome home. We are one.”

It is understood that this is in conflict with what you have been taught for centuries upon centuries, but you can see now that this message is beginning to take root in your world awareness. This is indeed the snowball, the avalanche, the unstoppable force of which we have spoken so very often.

Be at peace in your hearts now and allow this to take its course. Make this the day on which you relax into the loving arms of your Creator.

All is well, dear ones. We will speak again very soon. Good day.

Copyright © Ronald Head. All Rights Reserved. You may copy and redistribute this material so long as you do not alter it in any way, the content remains complete, and you include this copyright notice link: http://oraclesandhealers.wordpress.com/

"Choose a job you love and you will not have to work a day in your life" (Confucius)

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Luis Miguel Goitizolo

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RE: IS THE NEW AGE REALLY HERE?
2/27/2013 10:20:13 PM

Sheldan Nidle Update 2-26-13… “This time is now! It is the moment for liberation and joy!”

paoweb_130212_new_logo3Sheldan Nidle Update 2-26-13
3 Manik, 15 Zac, 9 Eb

Selamat Balik! We come today with some very interesting news! The dark continues in tunnel-vision mode to try desperately to come up with some way to delay what they know is inevitable. Heaven is waiting for the last celestial sign to appear, and once this phenomenon has occurred, we will be expected to act swiftly and sweep the dark’s minions into a place where they can do no more harm. This leaves us with a narrow timeframe before this happens, and so we are double-checking with our diverse allies to make sure that what is shortly to occur is all ready to go as quickly as possible. Our liaison personnel are carrying out a very short checklist and are confirming that all groups are fully prepared. In fact, most of them wish that this date were to arrive sooner than later, but despite this frustration the various groups within your major governments are showing great patience with what to them has been a very lengthy wait. Our ships are daily picking up on the dark’s increasingly desperate global mischief making, and so we are busy doing remedial work to counter the damage that these misdeeds are designed to effect.

Meanwhile, our Agarthan family is also busy with the daily adjustments needed to update your numerous Light chambers. Our goal is to be ready at a moment’s notice to transfer you to your Light-chamber residences in Agartha as soon as Heaven gives us the green light. Until that moment, several preparatory activities are to be carried out by your new governance. These include a startling series of announcements, followed by the instituting of policies that will shake up thoroughly the way your world is run. Most importantly, you will receive a formal proclamation of disclosure which will allow us to begin a series of messages preparing you for our first-contact landings. These are the last few quiet moments on your world before the exciting times begin, because the process of transforming your world, which includes ending a decades-long ‘UFO’ cover-up, will truly rattle your present reality. Presently, Heaven is setting up the last leg of your journey to full consciousness which will require the services of a personal mentor for each one of you. This is someone you can fully trust to educate you in the myriad truths that run counter to what you have been told since early childhood.

A vital part of your graduation into spiritual adulthood is to understand clearly how the Anunnaki and their well-trained minions deceived you for millennia. They used your then-new state of mortality to create a suffocating web of fear to keep you controlled and pliable. This pliability allowed them to basically run rampant over you and twist your world in any way they pleased. This dark construct is now to end, and in its place you will be able for the first time in 13 millennia to create a world that greatly pleases you. But remember that it is to be only a transitional realm, during which time you will be fully informed about what to expect and how to adapt to full consciousness. It is a huge step! As this interim realm takes shape, you will also take on many responsibilities. These you will also need to be prepared for, as they will rapidly move you into an enlightened way of living which will allow you to experience the true nature of your being and to get a clearer understanding of where you are headed. The mindless meanderings of limited consciousness are to come to a most pleasing conclusion!

This rise into a more uplifted way of life is what the next short period is all about. Also, this improved milieu will be more conducive to absorbing what we have to teach you. Your Ascended Masters are to begin a series of teachings elucidating the very nature of the Soul and how it blossoms when exposed to Light. Our contribution will be to explain to you about full consciousness as you need to be very clear about what lies ahead for you. Becoming a fully conscious Being is a delight that is beyond anything you can imagine at present. Together, the Ascended Masters and we will prepare you for this new life; the Light chambers are just the finishing touch. You are a spiritually oriented being, and we need to integrate your physical with your emotional and mental parts, and that is what these chambers do. Each of you requires unique adjustments of a very complex nature. This task will be a joint effort, and then you are to come under the guidance of your Ascended Masters who have been appointed by Heaven to lead you in your first series of missions to bring a permanent peace to this galaxy.

Blessings! We return with Good News! The great event in the Heavens approaches. This phenomenon is very special and its arrival constitutes the start of a new day for all on this most divine orb. When this event has run its course, you are to be free of the stifling miasmas of the dark. You will have new governance, prosperity, and most importantly, your freedom. Your new governance will make a series of announcements that are to change your world, and it is then that we can begin our new service to humanity. The new reality birthed on that day will accelerate a transformation that is to reintroduce sacredness to your lives, permitting you to witness a time of miracles and wonder. It is when Angels will reappear and the voice of Creation will be heard again throughout the land. And it is when you, at long last, emerge from your long amnesia and remember who and what you truly are.

One aspect of our new service is to teach you about the divine nature of physicality and allow you to remember all the special knowledge that you forgot when you were moved from full to limited consciousness. Your gracious return to your natural state will be celebrated throughout Heaven and will fulfill a prophecy made eons ago by blessed Archangel Michael. This stated that a time of darkness was to befall this realm, from which spiritual prison you would be freed some 13,000 years later by the great works of Heaven. This time is now! It is the moment for liberation and joy! The dark and its minions are to be swept away and a new day is to dawn upon Earth. Rejoice, my Sisters and Brothers! Shortly, the great horn of deliverance shall sound; Heaven’s Light shall shine forth, and time for true wonder shall begin!

Your deliverance marks the beginning of new service for all. We have much to teach you and you have much to learn. Breaking out of this long sojourn through amnesia may mean some amount of distress for many of you, as full realization of what you have believed, and what you have done in the name of these beliefs, is likely to cause some anguish. Consequently, we the Ascended Masters are to take up a great wave of forgiveness and grace, and sweep it across all the lands of Earth and into the corners of all hearts that suffer. Draw this healing Light into you and allow it to reconcile the horrors foisted on you by the dark. Then from your heart’s heart let it go with Love. Allow a new Light of joy and oneness to envelop you all, as in this miracle comes the sacred way to tread the final steps of your journey back to the wonder that is full consciousness. Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

Today we continued our weekly messages to you. We have reached a special point where great miracles can finally take place. We come to a pivotal stage of this long journey that began for us then we were instructed to prepare for a mass first contact. Now comes the joy of actually coming forth and walking together to your sacred destinations! Know, dear Ones, that the countless Supply and never-ending Prosperity of Heaven are indeed Yours! So Be It! Selamat Gajun! Selamat Ja! (Sirian for Be One! and Be in Joy!)

"Choose a job you love and you will not have to work a day in your life" (Confucius)

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Luis Miguel Goitizolo

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RE: IS THE NEW AGE REALLY HERE?
2/27/2013 10:22:19 PM

The Angelic Legions of the Divine Mother via Tazjima: Metamorphosis – All is in a State of Flux

waterliliesAs channeled by Tazjima – February 26, 2013

http://bluedragonjournal.com

We are the Angelic Legions of the Divine Mother.

We greet you this day when spring is beginning to show its first signs of arriving to the Northern Hemisphere. As the leaves of the first bulbs break through the cold and damp soil of winter gardens, so you are undergoing a metamorphosis, changing from one form to another.

Your world follows suit, as change becomes a constant companion, sometimes dogging your heels as you move through your day. Nothing will remain as it once was – all is in a state of flux.

We are the angels who do the bidding of the Divine Mother. We work closely with the archangels and personal guides of those who are acting as wayshowers and lightworkers on planet Earth at this time. We wish to speak to you of many things, first and foremost the various changes that your bodies and minds are undergoing.

First, you are going through an intense period of regrowth, like a developing fetus within a mother’s womb. Your bodies are gradually phasing into becoming light-bodies, but remember, it takes time for changes to manifest into the physical. The changes filter down from the Soul through the mental, emotional and finally, the physical body, similar to the gestation of a young body.

As you undergo physical transformation, you are also undergoing a change in how you view your world. Your connection to spirit is growing and with the reconnection comes remembrance, of who you are and what you are, more than the body, more than one person. You are an aspect of the Creator, a facet of God. You are a divine being come into the world to learn about self and to help others to remember.

Each of you is also undergoing a profound cleansing period, where all that belongs to the old paradigm is being delicately stripped from your being. You are discovering that what you thought was self, was far from the real self that is slowly being revealed as you undergo this transformation. You are beginning to forget, memories are disappearing, even words and things that you have learned in the past are fading from your mind. As you forget, you begin to learn to live in the moment, in the Present, in the Now.

You may find yourself, at odd moments, suddenly remembering an old relationship, a long lost lover or friend, a relative to whom you have not seen or spoken to in years. You may glimpse a portion of an event once significant to you that you have strived to hold onto, but that suddenly doesn’t seem important anymore. Let it go. Let it all go… the trauma, the emotions, your misinterpretation of someone else’s actions or words, scraps and loose memories of what you thought you were. You are no longer that person who could be so easily offended or hurt. You no longer feel it necessary to cling to what has gone out of your life. Indeed, you might feel that these glimpses into your past are almost as if they were images from another life.

Your bodies, emotional, mental and physical are being washed by a river of light. This river gently extricates and removes trauma long-stored in your cellular structures, even traumas emanating from other lifetimes. Let these memories and pictures move through you, washed by the light working upon your cells, feel the emotions as they release from the electromagnetic field and dissipate into the ethers around you. You are undergoing a profound healing of your entire being. Simply allow it to happen. It is a gift from heaven, from your own higher self who brought you here to undergo this process of bringing heaven to earth, grounding the ascension energies into the physical body as the planet undergoes her own ascension.

We feel that for many of the lightworkers there has been a growing sense of loss, perhaps some disappointment and no little frustration when it was realized that many of the ascension symptoms thought to have been dealt with before last December have returned. These symptoms are a sign that you are, indeed, undergoing a profound period of change, a metaphoric process where you are becoming a new being, one who can anchor and carry the high frequency energies within a physical body and still function in the world.

By bringing the light into your body, you are making it possible for your world to ascend, again, into the Christed frequency from which she descended long ago. Your planet is becoming a sacred planet, one of twelve in the Universe, a very special place, and you are here to assist in this birthing process. It is a sacred trust and right now, it is a work in progress.

As you continue to experience the various symptoms of ascension, understand that it does require patience. Both you and your planet are as pregnant women, dealing with the aches and pains, the discomforts and changes in body structure, the emotions and heat flashes, moodiness and whatnot, all for the purpose of creating something new together, a new world.

Feel into what gives you a feeling of peace and relaxation. It is hard enough for a pregnant woman to be comfortable during the nine months of gestation; many of you have been dealing with these changes on a daily basis for years. They will continue for as long as is necessary, so learn patience and be kind to yourself. Listen to what your body requires at the moment to make itself comfortable, give it the needed rest and pamper yourself a little. Above all, be gentle with yourself and those around you.

Many are also undergoing changes that they understand very little. In your greater awareness and calm presence, others can take heart and come to understand that the process is a natural one. The process is one that has been foreseen and planned for a long time, ever since the world first fell into the lower densities and even before. This long cycle was preordained and now the return to the light is nearly complete.

As the transformational period continues through the next months, you will find yourself coming into contact with those who are of a similar frequency level as your own. Some of you will begin working with other members of your soul family, either those who are embodied on the planet, those who are part of galactic crews whose ships populate the skies above your planet, as well as those who work from the spirit world.

It has been a lonely time for many lightworkers, who have been sprinkled liberally across the face of the planet, many being the sole anchor of light in their communities. However, as more people awaken, those same lightworkers will find themselves more in demand, as people begin to question everything about their lives. Just being a calm presence will assist these new seekers to discover more about themselves. People are more sensitive to vibration and thought than is presently realized. Your calm presence will assist greatly and people will respond by relaxing in your presence.

What can you do for yourself and in preparation for your continued work here? Learn to listen to the still voice within. Take up channeling if you feel comfortable. Certainly journaling, artwork and music are useful in soothing whatever agitation is stirred up during this period.

Remember that you are always channeling your higher self, soul and monad (soul family) in ways that are not always obvious. As you begin to “tune in” more the subtle messages of spirit will become more apparent. And if you don’t listen, there are ways that spirit can and will reach you, eventually. Dreams, intuitive understandings, unusual sights and occurrences, repeating patterns and number sequences – keep your eyes and ears open for the signs that spirit is attempting to communicate and then be open to what comes.

All of you came with specific missions or dharma to complete. Some of you are not aware of what this work is supposed to be. It will become more apparent in the days and months to come and you can assist in opening up to the possibilities by learning to accept yourself as you are.

Many of you have simply come to transmute the energies as they move through your bodies and to go through the process of reconnecting to spirit, a connection that most of the population has lost, even if they consider themselves to be spiritual people. Humanity has forgotten their divine roots, that there is no need of an intermediary to stand between the individual and God. Each person is an extension of their soul, housed within a vehicle, the body.

What has been deemed spirituality on this planet is in many instances simply idolatry, with people worshipping those beings that they deem to be higher and greater than they will ever be. Instead of being a uniting force, it will be seen that religion and dogma has served to divide people, to foster distrust, hatred and bigotry.

There is good in every religion as they were all started by advanced souls, but for the most part the original teachings have been warped and manipulated by those who desired power and authority over others. What is good in religious teachings will remain; the rest will be stripped away.

Many pious good people are in for major shocks as they discover how manipulated and controlled they have been by those spiritual leaders that they trusted. Already layers of cover-ups, deceptions and lies are beginning to be revealed. More will come, and as a result reactions and tempers may flare. Learn to be an island of calm in the storm so that those who you interact with will see that there is another way to be, calm, serene and balanced, letting go that whose time it is to leave, go.

We see your whole world going through growing pains right now. Institutions are falling apart at the seams, sometimes in rather surprising ways, as with the resignation of the Pope, the abdication of rulers and the continuing upset in the economical world, exposure of professional athletics and other developments. The structures developed during the dark period of the Kali Yuga are being dismantled; their foundations have been removed.

What you see in the mass media is mostly smoke and mirrors at this point; the economy is faltering as greedy bankers still try to charge countries high rates of interest on money. The common people are beginning to wake up rapidly. It takes this kind of pressure to force change in the masses. Like a hot house flower being forced into early bloom, so are the people being forced into an awakening process by the one area in their lives that affects them deeply – money.

Eventually, it will be seen by people that money is an artificial construct of the old paradigm, one that was devised to keep control over people. Money is not necessary. People will eventually create systems of barter and sharing that will work around the problems that have been created by the outmoded banking system.

As the people begin to awaken, initially they may be angry, even as some of you the lightworkers are still angry, directing your thoughts towards what you see as negative in your world. We would gently suggest that you to move your thoughts away from the rapidly decaying elements of the old paradigm, as it will continue to breakdown on its own without your assistance. Remember that you are creators. Your thoughts are more powerful than most of you understand right now. What you focus on the most becomes what manifests in your world. Learn to keep your thoughts focused on more positive outcomes even if they do not manifest directly; they will soon enough.

This is a period where much change is manifesting into your daily existence as what has been dominant and a power in your world is now in the process of becoming undone and leaving. Institutions that once were the foundation of the community are being exposed as something else. The revelations will continue to come, fast and furious, creating much upset and unrest among the populations. Governments will be unable to provide the support needed for fixing things as their monetary supply dries up or as the people rise up in rebellion over austerity measures and increased taxes.

Do not expect governments to work miracles or to solve the unsolvable problems created by greed, lack of vision and entropy. Some of you will discover as you begin to open up to your multidimensional self that solutions for these problems will present themselves. Many wonderful creative notions will be able to be put into practical usage once the institutions that would have prevented these things from coming into being have disappeared from the world’s stage.

A new world is coming into being and you are here to assist in its birthing. You are the midwife and the pregnant woman, the father and the mother. Together you are bringing forth the Christed child, yourself and your world. The Christed frequencies are returning to this world and you, with your glorified light body and unified force field, will anchor those energies here.

You chose to be here for a purpose, a holy purpose. Open to your greater being and discover that purpose for yourself. We believe that you will be amazed to see how gifted you all are even now. You have vastly underestimated your capacity for creation. Now you have an opportunity to begin to utilize those skills that you have mastered in other dimensions, to bring them into physical reality, on this planet, here and now.

Avail yourself of this time of preparation and transformation to rest, recuperate and gather your strength. As the various timelines and worlds begin to separate towards the end of this year and the next, the real work of rebuilding your world will commence. Now is the time to prepare.

Our blessings go with you. Call on us to assist you, we will hear you. Namaste.

Thank you, beloved Angels.

"Choose a job you love and you will not have to work a day in your life" (Confucius)

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Luis Miguel Goitizolo

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RE: IS THE NEW AGE REALLY HERE?
2/27/2013 10:23:21 PM

Angela Peregoff: Hints About How Unlimited We Are!

angelaperegoffAngela Peregoff: Hints About How Unlimited We Are!

By Angela Peregoff – February 25, 2013

www.angelaperegoff.com/angelas.blog/

Throughout eons of time, various developmental phases of mankind’s evolution have taken many surprising twists and turns. As more and more parts of your non-earthly aspects align during the latest magnetic change that is sweeping the globe it will ignite a new perceptual awareness.

Newly glowing insights will establish new parameters concerning the nature of intelligence, raising long over-due questions about the potentials of the human mind. Energy from space, and from our sun, can create distortions on a physical level, as well as trigger human consciousness into new areas of perception and this is exactly what is happening to us now.

Channels of light are cleansing the illusions that we are merely human and driving out ancient cultural beliefs about the nature of reality.

Take this week to receive a widened view of any given day you live for we have officially been pulled up from the mass conjurings of 3-D spatial experience. Most of the Western world has identified intelligence based on one’s ability to use symbols – namely, letters and numbers, in the physical world. Long has it been that we used our multidimensional abilities to inform and direct us on the path of day-to-day living but Gaia’s transgression into the Light of Ascension has given back to us the capability to perceive more, to understand the invisible symbols that guide and direct us daily. You are now free to orchestrate the harmonization of the One within your own life.

Ideas and concepts are being transmitted on gamma rays from the sun for disbursement, and over the next few months the very nature of intelligence, which is often based on solely logical interpretations of reality, will be reconsidered. Perceptual flexibility is coming in which expands your ability to see and allows you to experience reality in a new, refreshing light. So be alert to recognizing limiting personal beliefs about your own intelligence. The willingness to accept new concepts and ideas brings great advantages toward more rapid growth of self-awareness.

These universal cosmic energies of the acceleration encourage an exuberant expansion of knowledge and truth with more and more people making the connection between the power of intent and its effect on the physical environment. With teachers and leaders announcing daily that “intent creates destiny” sudden realizations of how you think a situation into being will become more pronounced.

The Inner Spirit is breaking free into expanded vistas of perception, and as this occurs feelings of frustration or discontent can be experienced. Remember though that restless energy is usually a signal indicating a time of change is pending. Go with it knowing you are a pioneer preparing a path for a new interpretation of reality. As the energy continues to accelerate, issues will only grow in complexity in whatever arenas of life you have avoided responsibilities.

To prepare yourself for experiencing higher states of consciousness and greater perceptual awareness, you must visualize the type of life you want, and trust (feel) that you will meet it.

Events grow in meaning as you grow in consciousness. How you currently interpret your experiences and the wisdom you accrue from your creations form one assessment of how well you will traverse the terrain of Self-actualization and Ascension. Are you in charge each day, or is someone or something determining your quality of life? How you choose to perceive what you see sets the stage for all you encounter now, as well as affecting the entire paradigm of mass beliefs.

Because, just as there are many, many, many, “getting it” there are also millions of individuals in the world that have distanced themselves from the very idea that intentions (thoughts) have any connection to the solid world. The fear of the idea of being a powerful creator still has the overall world structure quaking in its biology. Multitudes still like their flat-world thinking and cannot yet comprehend that belief, decisions, and emotions play the decisive role in creating the version of reality they actually encounter each day.

Fortunately for us, as those on the leading edge expand their ideas about the nature of the mind and stretch to consider the symbolism and significance of every event they broaden the intent for All to know the intricate meanings of life. And as our ideas about the nature of our minds continue to grow, the natural link between the physical and interdimensional realities will become much more apparent.

New ideas are actually electromagnetic frequencies, and they swell and increase in magnitude as solar radiations increase the field of energy around our globe. In order to adapt to and accommodate the new levels of energy ideas, a shift is also occurring in our cells on a subatomic level through a subtle interaction of protein molecules that release stored codes of perception. A complex chemical process between proteins and amino acids is affecting our DNA on intensely deep levels and changing the way in which you and I perceive reality. This maturation process is how we are able to go back, for instance, to ancient text and interpret it with new eyes and insights giving the old new meaning.

As the intensified waves of cosmic energy flooding our beautiful planet build momentum, we will be called to use our physical forms with greater wisdom, health, and ease. To accommodate and learn from these dynamic energies, you must be willing to slow down and recognize when you create too much stress or chaos.

Unfortunately empty moments and silence has lost its value in modern times. The mind requires rest for clarity and integration, and when silence is maintained for regular interludes, the benefits help to sharpen your insights and balance your life. So don’t forget to seek out and plan for peaceful moments. Take note – when you purposely seek out spiritual knowledge yet repeatedly miss the message because you did not know how to shift the viewpoints of your perceptions, then your lack of flexibility creates undue stress. Flexibility is the key for changing beliefs.

We are, by design, a multifocused, multidimensional Being, and by practicing mental agility and applying common sense, we develop a more expansive understanding of reality. As we navigate this tricky territory we are plowing through, while pursuing a more intelligent human design, there is no reason to not carry forward that which you know to those who have not yet learned or remembered and in that you can reflect the possibilities of change.

The possibilities of an infinitely choreographed Being in which everything exists harmonically and within our own Perfection. For when we exist within our perfection we intentionally work from within the One and are no longer of the perception that we are anything else. Imagine.

"Choose a job you love and you will not have to work a day in your life" (Confucius)

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RE: IS THE NEW AGE REALLY HERE?
2/28/2013 11:06:42 AM

America must not "dictate" to world, new defense chief says


U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel speaks to service members and civilian employees on his first day in his new post after being sworn in, at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, February 27, 2013. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Decorated Vietnam veteran Chuck Hagel was sworn in as U.S. defense secretary on Wednesday after a bruising Senate confirmation battle, promising to renew old U.S. alliances and forge new ones without attempting to "dictate" to the world.

Addressing Pentagon employees shortly after a small, closed-door swearing-in ceremony, Hagel spoke optimistically, if vaguely, about global challenges ahead and the importance of American leadership abroad.

"We can't dictate to the world. But we must engage the world. We must lead with our allies," Hagel said in what appeared to be unscripted remarks.

"No nation, as great as America is, can do any of this alone."

He also plainly acknowledged the prospect of looming automatic budget cuts, known as the sequester, saying flatly: "That's a reality. We need to figure this out."

"We need to deal with this reality," he added, as hopes dim in Washington that Congress might act in time to forestall $46 billion in Pentagon cuts due to kick in on March 1.

In a separate, written message to Pentagon employees, many of whom are set to be put on unpaid leave this year, Hagel noted his concerns on the impact of the cuts on personnel and military readiness.

Hagel, a former two-term Republican U.S. senator from Nebraska, broke from his party during the administration of George W. Bush to become a fierce critic of the Iraq war.

Many Republicans opposed to Hagel's nomination scorned him over Iraq and raised questions about whether he was sufficiently supportive of Israel, tough enough on Iran or truly committed to maintaining a robust nuclear deterrent.

The 58-41 Senate vote to confirm him late on Tuesday was the closest vote ever to approve a defense secretary, with only four Republicans supporting him.

AMERICA MUST USE POWER "WISELY"

Hagel did not acknowledge any Republican criticisms or reveal any personal concerns about working with Congress during his remarks on Wednesday. But he did articulate his views about the need for caution when America flexes its muscle abroad.

"We have great power and how we apply our power is particularly important," Hagel said.

"That engagement in the world should be done wisely. And the resources that we employ on behalf of our country and our allies should always be applied wisely."

Hagel's views of war and the limits of American military power were shaped in part by his experiences in Vietnam, where he fought as an infantryman alongside his brother and was awarded two Purple Hearts, the medal given to troops wounded in battle.

Hagel still carries the shrapnel from one of his injuries and he is the first Vietnam veteran to lead the Pentagon.

Introducing Hagel in the Pentagon auditorium, an Army infantryman with two tours in Afghanistan said Hagel "knows the very real cost of war" and was guided by principals to use force only when necessary.

Among his first tasks, Hagel will start weighing in on crucial decisions about the Afghan war, notably the size and scope of the American force that President Barack Obama will leave behind in the country once NATO declares its combat mission over at the end of 2014.

Leaving fewer troops than U.S. commanders recommend could create tension with the military, and become a lightening-rod issue with Republicans.

Hagel's predecessor, former defense secretary Leon Panetta, discussed with NATO allies in Brussels last week keeping a NATO force of between 8,000 and 12,000 troops. A senior NATO official said last month that the United States expects other NATO allies to contribute between a third and half the number of troops Washington provides.

In his written message, Hagel thanked troops and their families for their sacrifices -- there are more than 66,000 American troops in Afghanistan now -- but also looked past the Afghan war.

"As we turn the page on more than a decade of grinding conflict, we must broaden our attention to future threats and challenges," Hagel said.

"That means continuing to increase our focus on the Asia-Pacific region, reinvigorating historic alliances like NATO, and making new investments in critical capabilities like cyber."

(Editing by Warren Strobel and Paul Simao)


"Choose a job you love and you will not have to work a day in your life" (Confucius)

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