Growing Pains

There are challenging energies in our world currently that are hard at work trying to suppress, oppress, control, and eradicate.  This aggressive lashing out is the ailing symptom of a long-buried wound and lack of awareness that have long been in place in our humanity.  It is an anti-life energy because it has been allowed to stay covered and to devolve into deep infection and ill health.  These ailing energies are struggling.  They are on their way out.  They are sounding loudly because they have been brought to the surface and revealed for what they are.  There is nowhere for them to go but away.  They are desperate because their power is waning, and they are in full-on expressive fear mode.  Now is the time to remain calm and neutral about these events, and to even have compassion as these energies burn themselves out.  The wound has been lanced, the infection is working its way out, and it will eventually be fully released.  This release process is resulting in some very intense things happening on our planet right now.

As disturbing as this all appears to be, it is not the ultimate Truth.  This too shall pass.  After the lanced wound has been cleared, the healing and rebuilding process will come forward.  In fact, there are already signs of energy being poured into creative solutions for problems we presently encounter.  This creative energy is pro-life.  It is the same life force energy that prompts green leaves and flowers to come to life in the springtime, or after a fire, drought, or other catastrophe.  This time of intensity will not last.  Even at this present time many courageous people are nurturing a heart-centered and loving energy, and they are offering positive alternatives that bring a counterbalance to the current challenges on our planet.  There is so much good happening now if we take the time to shift our focus, see it, and honor it.

"Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it."

                   --Helen Keller

"To heal is to touch with love that which was previously touched by fear."

                   --Stephen Levine    

Provision

 

As we move into the quiet winter season, all of nature (including humans) has focused its attention on making it through the cold days ahead.  All creatures have adapted in ways that suit their metabolism, feeding habits, and overall home environment.  We humans have built sheltered structures and created sources of heat for warmth.  We can access large grocery stores and we have created extensive shipping systems that can keep those stores well-supplied.  Our adaptations have caused our natural survival instincts to kick in only in times of extreme weather.  We have all that we need to be comfortable through the winter.  So, we don't have the same high awareness that animals do about "fending for themselves."  And still, we worry.  No matter what circumstances we find ourselves in, we are hard-wired to worry.

The truth of Life is that there is enough--there is Plenty--for all.  As humans we are uniquely gifted with the ability to choose to connect inwardly with All That Is, the larger Cosmos, Great Spirit.  And this connection with Source allows that energy and light to provide us with everything we need.  Worry is not the Truth.  Worry comes from fear.  Worry comes from a broken and incomplete understanding of who we really are.  We are whole, complete beings who live on a custom made beautiful Earth, and we are deeply intertwined with our Loving Creator.

We are now in a time of moving toward a lived experience of this Truth.  We are moving into a new reality based in Love, not fear.  We are now able to choose to close out the old way of living and being, and to open the door to the new way of thriving in our own natural environment, and in community with each other.  This winter time encourages and nurtures this transition from old to new.

"God's path will never lack God's provision."

              --Tony Evans

"Consider the ravens:  they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them."

              --Luke 12:24, the Bible 

Abundance

I am feeling abundance in these days of fall.  I have always loved the idea and experience of harvest.  Farming, harvest and abundance are closely connected, but harvest of food is not the only way to experience abundance.  Abundance can be energetic (warm interactions with others or sunshine on our skin), it can be what we enjoy (participating in a favorite activity) -- it can mean many things to different people.  This autumn time can be a time to revere and honor all that has come to us, possibly through a garden, or through cultivating the growth and outward  expression of our own true lives.  For me, this year feels like a time of receiving a large harvest, definitely from the garden, but also from my life of claiming my own personal power and peaceful center.

I believe abundance is the intended natural state of being human.  Sometimes we aren't able to recognize or receive the abundance that is authentically who we are or how we were created to to live and to be.  It is vital that we each create a path to our own meaningful abundance by releasing layers of beliefs that have kept us from living fully in this natural state of Being.

At this time of harvest and grateful attention to the richness of our lives, I invite you to reflect on what abundance means to you.  Notice and name clearly how you are receiving and living your own abundance on your Earth journey.

"Abundance is not a number or acquisition.  It is the simple recognition of enoughness."

                            --Alan Cohen

"Abundance is not something we acquire.  It is something we tune into."

                            --Wayne Dyer 

Here We Are...

Our planet is embroiled in the throes of Large Change.  The Oxford dictionary definition for throes is this:  "Intense struggle, especially accompanying birth, death, or great change."  Wow, all of those circumstances apply to our current situation!  We are all present and moving together with this change.  

In the midst of this we always have a choice:  Love or Fear?  It's hard to believe that everything really breaks down to this simple and basic choice.  For me, I know that the decisions of my life have been guided by the quality and quantity of energy I am expending.  Does this particular endeavor give me energy or does it drain my energy?  My choice for Love has come from that consideration.  

Early in my life I had no awareness of this choice.  I allowed much of my life force energy to be drained out of me by situations that didn't really align with who I was.  Over time I have learned that my life improves -- situations get better -- if I make choices for the things that I am energized by, not the things that will ultimately empty my fuel tank.  These are the choices that show me that I am on my path of purpose.  In addition, by making these choices to maintain my energy I am gifting myself, my life, and my involvements with more Love and positive feelings.  My choice for Love has been made in my lifetime through a thousand different decisions about energy expenditures.  Even though I may feel fear, I have come to know that choosing in favor of my best energy will bring me Love and satisfaction on my life path.  Fear easily falls away.

As we all continue to make our way through this transformative time we can stand in our own strength and make choices that will contribute toward bringing more Love into the world.  I wish you joy and well-being as you move through your life choices and changes. 

"Every day we're given a choice:  we can relax and float in the direction that the water flows, or we can swim hard against it.  If we go with the river, the energy of a thousand mountain streams will be with us... if we resist the river, we will feel rankled and tired as we tread water, stuck in the same place."  

                 --Elizabeth Lesser

 

Reorganizing

I am presently feeling that I am experiencing a different sort of organization in my brain, my body, my life.  That's a lot of shifting, but it feels very quiet and manageable to me, as well as being huge.  A new structure is being created.  I feel like my old foundation is crumbling.  Things that used to be important are dissolving into the background.  A new way, for me, of being and moving in the world is coming forward to be expressed.  It's unfamiliar to me and it feels like everything is a growing edge.  My focus is now on the new items of priority that are taking center stage in my life.  I am in a gentle discovery time of learning what is most important for me to consider at this time.  In general, this has to do with staying in a place of wonder and lightness in the world.  It also has to do with acquiring a new clarity about how my time is spent on a daily basis.  I don't have all of this worked out yet, but unfolding time will show me the way. 

"Choose your thoughts carefully.  Keep what brings you peace, release what brings you suffering.  And know that happiness is just a thought away."

                                 --Nishan Panwar 

   

Adventure

Recently, I wouldn't say I have thought of my life as an adventure.  I've just been doing a lot of gardening, watering, walking, and spending time at home.  No complaints--it has been my kind of peaceful time.  Also, after many years of completing tasks in various jobs and meeting life's obligations, I have felt like adventures have mostly happened on vacations or during planned activities with family or friends.

And yet... isn't every day a gift offered to us to enjoy and to express who we are in the world?  Lately, I have been feeling some energy stirring in my life toward change and new expressions.  My perception of my life is transforming.  My life is beginning to feel like an adventure.  It feels like each day is waiting for my imprint, and that means I can make the choice to step into a New Unknown.  I can stay open and ready to move differently and to choose differently.  Sounds like small actions that may add up to large adventures.

"Adventure is a path.  Real adventure, self-determined, self-motivated, often risky, forces you to have firsthand encounters with the world."

                          --Mark Jenkins

    

Simple Joys

Life keeps going.  The energy that we express in life determines the direction life will go.  I find that my life works better -- goes in a creative/constructive direction -- when I pay attention to the simple joys in my day.  Large things are always competing for our attention.  And small things sometimes get overlooked if we lack attention or the intention to take note of them.  If we are able to stop In the middle of our busyness and reflect on the uplifting moments of our day, then we are refreshed.  These moments are the building blocks of life.  They will lay the best foundation for the day we are living right here, right now.  These days accumulate and make up our lives. 

Sunshine, blueberries, rainbows, loving pets, summer flowers.  Make your own list and enjoy!

"When you are happy with what you have, something magical happens.  Everything you have becomes enhanced.  You see the value of everything around you increase with your appreciation of it."

                           -- Stacie Martin