New Life

Seeds.  Carry the blueprints for each living thing that will emerge from them.  This is a time of gestation/germination.  Winter brings us into quiet anticipation of the next phase of our lives.  We are invited to move through the gentle growth process.  We bring with us everything that we have stored from the previous season.  Something has begun that will usher us into the next level of fullness for our lives.  New life unfolds.

"[Winter] is a time that opens perceptions of what must still come upon us in the growth process.  It opens a vision of what we must still face within ourselves if we are to give birth to the higher.  ...This is reflected most profoundly in Nature, for it is when seeds germinate."

                                                                      --Ted Andrews

  

'Tis the Season

Greetings!  So many things are stirring at this large time.  New beginnings are encouraged out of humble settings.  Promises are being fulfilled.  Winter offers a natural time of gestation for these beginnings to be nurtured and to be developed gradually.  It's a quiet, potent time.  Potent as in having much potential.  We are invited to wait, to watch, to participate in the beauty of new life unfolding.  We seek a greater peace in the world.

"Let harmony of Spirit reign, and make all Earth a home
Where we can live, secure in peace, no matter where we roam."
                                      Unknown author--from a holiday card  

    

Grateful

Today I feel grateful.  This season affirms such a feeling.  I have experienced much provision.  I have received much abundance.  This time of harvest has provided much sustenance at many levels.  I feel great contentment and peace.  There is a simplicity in my life that feels joyful.  Today the glass is more than half full.  It feels like this has been a long time in coming.  And it could only happen with my openness.  Life is waiting to fill us up.

"Perhaps you have a rheostat for your dining room chandelier.  If so, you know that when you turn it up, you receive more light and power.  When you turn it down, light is diminished.  There is no miracle involved.  The full power is there all the time--you are the one who is controlling the level.  A turned-down rheostat might symbolize faith in lack; a turned-up rheostat, faith in abundance."           
                                                                     --Eric Butterworth  

Taking Steps

One foot in front of the other.  Staying open to all possibilities and opportunities.  Being present in the midst of a variety of life activities, changes, and challenges.  These are the current elements of walking my path.  This is the way I move through the Unknown.  I am wrapped in the care of All Mystery.  I am still moving.

"The spiritual journey involves going beyond hope and fear; it involves stepping into unknown territory and continually moving forward."
                                                              --Pema Chodron

Moving

Movement in life is ongoing.  Sometimes we roll with it.  Sometimes we initiate it.  Sometimes both experiences are happening simultaneously.  That's me right now.  I am experiencing much movement.  Geographically, physically, personally, emotionally.  BIG movement.  It is movement I asked for, and yet it can be overwhelming.  At the very least, it feels unfamiliar.  At its largest, it speaks to my deepest desires and the fulfillment of long-held dreams.  Certainly in a form that's suitable for me at this time.  But also in a way that speaks to me about what else is out there; what else can become my greater life experience.  There is an air of excitement; exhilaration.  Fullness and joy are natural outpourings.

"Stillness is what creates love.  
Movement is what creates life.
To be still and still moving--this is everything."
                             --Do Hyan  

Vision

Vision is less about seeing with the eyes and more about feeling with your entire being.  As I focus on my vision for my life, my sight comes from my heart and my gut.  From a place of what feels right and what doesn't.  We all have that sense within us, but layers of life have shrouded or dimmed that vision.  It now feels like it is time to peel back the layers so that a connection can be made between our vision and the Larger Vision.

"Each of us has a fire in our hearts for something.  It's our goal in life to find it and to keep it lit."
                                                                 --Mary Lou Retton 

Unfolding

I am participating in a remarkable process of unfolding.  By being my best self, by keeping on my path and staying the course, my life is moving in its best direction.  This happens through a daily attention to everything:  my daily activities, my surroundings, things I can see, and many that I can't.  This time requires a devotion to everyday events and occurrences.  Being in the moment.  Bountily.  Is that a word?  Somehow it describes my participation.  I am invited to yield all that I have to offer.  In fullness and joy.  In ordinary time with extraordinary experiences.

"The key is to be here, fully connected with the moment, paying attention to the details of ordinary life.  By taking care of ordinary things--our pots and pans, our clothing, our teeth--we rejoice in them.  When we scrub a vegetable or brush our hair, we are expressing appreciation:  friendship toward ourselves and toward the living quality that is found in everything."
                                                                        --Pema Chodron

Unknown

I'm being asked to surrender to the Unknown.  This makes me feel like I don't know anything.  Which is as it should be.  I am being invited to participate in a process that may feel uncomfortable.  This process may ask me to do things that I've never done before.  Things that I may think I'm not capable of doing.  Not knowing is the perfect way to join with this process.  So I bow to this movement.  I let it unfold.  This way no expectations or preconceived ideas will be able to get in the way of the harmonious workings of the Universe.

"Each one of us has all the wisdom and knowledge we ever need right within us.  It is available to us through our intuitive mind, which is our connection with universal intelligence.
                                                                        --Shakti Gawain 

Mystery

My life.  Life in general. We are all here contributing to an unfolding, creative mystery.  It is optimal that each of us lives his or her most authentic life, so that a new and harmonious creation can emerge.  If we are open, our lives are gently nudged in the best direction for this unfolding. Still, there is an infinite variety of ways for this creation to happen.  Staying on our own path will align us with this mystery that is Life. 

"So let us go forward quietly, each on his [or her] own path, forever making for the light."
                                                                       --Vincent van Gogh

I Don't Know

I'm feeling prompted to write today, but I don't have a clue about that.  My life is unfolding every day in ways that I am not organizing, planning, or orchestrating.  It feels great, and it feels strange.  The same energy that generates new leaves and green growth is permeating my life.  So my life is progressing and evolving, but without much effort on my part.  Flow is the word that comes to mind.  Floating like a flower thrown into a stream.  It will be interesting to see what course this river takes. That's all I know.

"When you do things from your soul, 
You feel a river moving in you, a Joy."
                                 --Jelaluddin Rumi

True Being

Today I am aware of being my self in my most basic form.  Over the years I have moved toward a more authentic way of living.  That is happening in its most clear form ever for me.  It creates in me a rare sense of happiness, peace, and calm, even in the midst of unknown circumstances.  Natural outward responses of this true being are gratitude and happiness.  I am living in a beautiful natural environment that emerged out of my choices toward this authentic living.  My life feels large because I feel connected with Large Life itself.  I have a gentle, consistent sense of well-being.  These are the outcomes of my insistence on living an authentic life.  This spring season is nurturing all of this, and encouraging me to grow even more.  It's all good.

"To wake up to 

who we are 

what we are here for.

To make all life

more poetical, more sane

more living, loving

To experience

the true of all things

this moment...

this moment...

this moment.      

                                                     --William Segal

May Day

I am so enjoying the unfolding of Spring, and the bursting of wildflowers in my environment.  There is such a palpable growth energy, as new plants emerge from the ground and green leaves unfurl from branches and stems.  My outdoor walks remind me of the abundance of this world, and of the beauty that is always here for us to enjoy. This time is a celebration of life coming forward out of winter's darkness.
At the same time my life is full of changes.  These changes can, and usually do, elicit fear responses in me.  I want to immediately send out a "mayday" signal of distress.  This would be senseless, because there really is no immediate danger or life-threatening event.  It is only old responses that want to resist the change.  They want to cry out, warning of some imagined, yet non-existent, disaster.  My focus is on stepping into the changes with courage and directness, while also noticing these errant feelings so that they may release and dissolve.   I lean on Creative Presence to guide my way. 

"Transformation occurs only when we remember, breath after breath, year after year, to move toward our emotional distress without condemning or justifying our experiences."
                                                               --Pema Chodron    

Staying Open

Openness is the gateway for change.  I am always at the threshold of this doorway.  If I constrict myself, I prevent myself from receiving the fullness of change.  My task is to relax, to be in the moment, and to trust that goodness is always flowing toward me.  Change is the vehicle that moves us from one place to another.  We can choose to ride along smoothly and easily, or keep one foot on the brake pedal and impede our forward movement.  It is challenging to choose to befriend Change.  And yet, that is very much my current task.  Smile.  Change is good.

"Fundamentally, experiencing openness is having trust in the living quality of basic energy.  We develop the confidence to allow it to arise, to linger and then to pass on.  This energy is dynamic, ungraspable, always in a state of flux.  So our training is, first of all, noticing how we block the energy or freeze it, how we tense up our bodies and minds.  Then we train in softening, relaxing and opening to the energy without interpretations or judgments."       
                                                                            --Pema Chodron

Solitude

This word sometimes has a bit of a lonely connotation to it.  I have spent much of my life in the experience of solitude, sometimes liking it, sometimes not.  Lately, however, my experience of solitude has been a gift; a blessing.  I am in the process of learning that being in solitude is not being alone.  My times of solitude have been an amazing time of forging a strong relationship with All That Is.  There is a new experience I'm having of feeling my connection with Source.  It is a feeling of being fully surrounded and supported by the Love and Care that is unseen, but is very real and present.  That feeling is all-sustaining and fulfilling.  I am growing stronger on this path daily.  In our culture we think we need to have other people in our lives to complete us.  This stringent path I'm following has shown me that this belief keeps us from bonding with our Source as the foundational relationship of our lives.  When we have a primary relationship with Divine Presence, all of our other relationships can be healthier, and more satisfying.

"You are all we have.

You give us what we need. 

Our lives are in your hands, O [Source],

Our lives are in your hands."

         --words from a song, You are All We Have, by Francis Patrick O'Brien

   

Wholeness

Wholeness is who we are.  It is our birthright.  We are born in wholeness.  We live in wholeness.  We come from wholeness.  Anytime we don't feel like we are whole beings it is a mistaken perception caused by some overlay of earthly life--cultural expectation, injury, sadness, guilt, addiction, disconnectedness.  When we are here on earth, many layers of false instruction and opinion are heaped on us throughout life.  They are false to us individually if they fail to move us freely into the energy of our true selves.  What is false for me may be true for you, and vice versa.  It is the responsibility of each of us to find our own truth.  To learn what connects us with our wholeness, and keeps us moving toward that energy.  This is a lifelong task, but its rewards are great.  Living in wholeness allows us to relax into ourselves.  It brings us joy, freedom, comfort, and the ability to have our work feel like play.  Life becomes an exhilarating adventure.  Wholeness.  Bring it.

"The psyche has within it a natural gradient toward wholeness, and while one may attempt to ignore nature, the body attempts to remain in harmony with it in order to incubate the totality.  Prolonged abuse may result in an illness which brings the totality to consciousness.  Here is the paradox.  While the pieces of the puzzle gradually build toward the whole, at some point we must have a vision of wholeness in order to put the pieces into perspective.  Once the voice crying at the heart of the addiction is heard, then the [addiction] can be seen for what it is:  an attempt to obliterate the crying.  Then the [addiction] need no longer tantalize the two sides of the complex; spiritual food can feed the soul.  Neurotic frenzy can be replaced by real energy."   
                                                                   --Marion Woodman

"Whole-- An amount or quantity from which nothing is left out or held back."

                                                                   --Roget's Thesaurus

 

Comfort

I don't exactly know what I want to say about this idea.  I have lately found myself sequentially rolling through a series of feelings that hasn't included the thought of comfort.  And yet today, this is the word that comes, and this is the experience I've had in the present.  In the midst of uncertainty, large change, and the Unknown, I am feeling comforted by getting to be peaceful and calm.  Also, I've felt a very authentic connection with my day's activities and with the people I've encountered through some of those activities.  This connection has translated into a feeling of comfort--comfort with myself, my life, my true life's unfolding.  I am surprised by this awareness.  It feels like it may be fleeting, but I am enjoying it while it's here.  Deep gratitude is a natural result of this experience of comfort.

"Whenever we experience happiness and peace, we are at the gate where the medicines of laughter, joy, and fun can flourish.  At [this gate] we begin to experience the wisdom gifts of peace, balance, and equanimity.  From the beauty of the time that we spend in nature and the mystery that we find in the sweet territory of silence, we draw a primal comfort, solace, and grace that deepens our connection to our inherent spirituality."                   
                                                                 --Angeles Arrien 

Wild

I feel like I am living a wild life.  Not wild in a way that is unmanageable.  But wild in the same way that animals and plants live in the wild.  I have been having the experience of living in a very changeable world.  My own life is full of changes.  Some are imperceptible to me, others are right there, drawing me forward.  I am right now living in the wild environment of the Pacific Northwest.  There is an energy here that inspires me to live more authentically from my wild self.  I like it, but it's unpredictable.  In a good way.  It feels somewhat like controlled chaos.  All is well. 

"...I don't know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass, 
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields, which is what I've been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?  Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"
                                                                                --Mary Oliver 

Fullness

I have been thinking a lot about this word--fullness.  What does it really mean, when it comes to living my life with fullness, in fullness, within fullness?  My life feels full, and I am opening to receive even more of that fullness, in an even greater variety of ways that are well-suited to who I am.  This moves my experience of fullness into something that is overflowing and abundant.  
Another thought I've been having about fullness is the thought of emptying to receive fullness. It seems the less I know about the ways fullness can come to me, the more readily that fullness is able to arrive in my life.  Accepting the empty, Unknown, quality of my life's unfolding seems to facilitate the unfolding process.  It's as if I have stepped out of the way of its coming to me, and so it flows freely to me.  This is not to say that I have no participation in this process.  I am the person actually living my life, and having the experiences of my own true life.  In addition, I ask for guidance and assistance along the way, and in so doing, I am able to co-create this process with All That Is.  I cannot imagine a way of living life that provides any more fullness than this.

"Above all else, then,

be prepared at all times for the gifts of God, and be ready always for new ones.

For God is a thousand times more ready to give than we are to receive.

As God is omnipotent in deeds so the soul is equally profound in the capacity to receive.

If a cask is to contain wine, you must first pour out the water; the cask must be bare and empty.

Therefore, if you wish to receive divine joy and God, first pour out your clinging to things.

Everything that is to receive must and ought to be empty."    
                                                          --Meister Eckhart