What do you feel as you go through your day? What do you feel as you go through your night?
Do you let your feelings guide your actions? Do you heed them or disregard them?
When you have a decision to make, do you follow your feelings, or ignore them?
There are things we know through our senses. We know what oranges, lavender and smoke smell like, what wool, cotton and skin feel like. We know what the moon, pine trees and mountains look like. We know how tomatoes, chocolate and bacon taste.
These are examples of things we know. We know them through our senses and our feelings. That is different than the knowledge we have because we saw or heard an announcement or a report.
It's not the same kind of knowing that we get from feeling, is it?
What we know from feeling is more personal. What we acquire from other sources is less personal, less familiar, less important.
Ever heard the saying that all news is local? Here's an example. Are you more concerned that a store that you used to like to shop at in your neighborhood went out of business, or the fact that there is a war going on thousands of miles away? Are you feeling more concerned that you need to do something about the fact that your clothes are fitting tighter now than they did last year, or the fact that some country you will never visit has corrupt elections?
When you have to make a decision about who to love or what kind of job you will do for money, are you guided by personal knowledge or abstract knowledge?
Personal is powerful. Feelings have their root in survival instincts.
What do you feel? So what do we do now? Of course, if something feels good we want more of it. If something does not feel good we want less of it.
Feelings lead us to the people we enjoy being with. Feelings lead us to the work we find satisfying to do.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Monday, November 29, 2010
What Do You Hear?
Can you hear the music in the sounds all around us every day? There are rhythms in the wind, the sounds of birds and animals. There are rhythms to the traffic whether we are driving in it, or letting it pass us by.
Of course, we will never hear that unless we turn the music players off for a while.
There are things people say that we will never hear, unless we listen closely. It is in the tone as much as the words. It is in the inflection, the rhythm.
What do you hear when you listen to the rhythm of the world?
How do you hear the world when you turn of the talk radio?
How do you hear the world when you turn off the news?
What does the world sound like when you are just in conversation with other people?
What do you hear when it is just the sound of your own breath, whether in a brisk walk, or sitting quietly?
What do you hear in the sound of people working?
What do you hear in the sound of people playing?
What do you hear when there is nothing to hear?
Of course, we will never hear that unless we turn the music players off for a while.
There are things people say that we will never hear, unless we listen closely. It is in the tone as much as the words. It is in the inflection, the rhythm.
What do you hear when you listen to the rhythm of the world?
How do you hear the world when you turn of the talk radio?
How do you hear the world when you turn off the news?
What does the world sound like when you are just in conversation with other people?
What do you hear when it is just the sound of your own breath, whether in a brisk walk, or sitting quietly?
What do you hear in the sound of people working?
What do you hear in the sound of people playing?
What do you hear when there is nothing to hear?
Sunday, November 28, 2010
What Do You See?
Notice how the scenery always changes, even if you are not going anywhere. How can that be?
When our state of mind changes, our perception changes. When our feelings change, our moods change, and so we see things in a different light.
Just like you can drive down the same road to work every day and then one day see something new, not something newly built, something that was there all the time and you just didn't see it until now. How could that happen? How aware are we of the world around us every day?
So look around you. Do you see a world of helpful people? Or not? Do you see a world of friendly people? Or not? Do you see a world full of interesting people? Or not?
What influences what you see? Did you ever see it differently than you do now?
If you would like to change what you see, what would you need to do?
When our state of mind changes, our perception changes. When our feelings change, our moods change, and so we see things in a different light.
Just like you can drive down the same road to work every day and then one day see something new, not something newly built, something that was there all the time and you just didn't see it until now. How could that happen? How aware are we of the world around us every day?
So look around you. Do you see a world of helpful people? Or not? Do you see a world of friendly people? Or not? Do you see a world full of interesting people? Or not?
What influences what you see? Did you ever see it differently than you do now?
If you would like to change what you see, what would you need to do?
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
What We Thought We Would Be
The first time I ever remember someone asking me what I wanted to be when I grew up was way back when I was in grammar school. The question kind of stumped me, because at that time the farthest I was thinking ahead was to a softball game after school.
So I did what most kids did and just said whatever came to mind. I think I said that I wanted to be a lawyer because the night before I had watched a TV show with a lawyer in it and that sounded like as good a thing as any to say. Sure, I want to be a lawyer.
Of course, I forgot about that as soon as they got done asking me about it. Not once in my life did I ever think of going to law school. Heck, there were more important things to think about, like softball or basketball.
Then again in high school, they asked what I would like to be and what I wanted to major in when I went to college. At that time, I was just getting acquainted with the charms of the opposite sex. Why would I want to think about what class I would like to take in college when I wasn't even done with high school?
I have no clue what I answered then. Maybe newspaper reporter because I used to deliver newspapers, and I used to read them all the time, and the one I delivered had a great columnist by the name of Mike Royko. Back then, when you rode the subway or the bus home from work, you could tell that everybody was reading his column because they had the paper folded back so that they could read the left side of page 3, which is where Royko's column always was.
So at some point, I chose majors in college and chose jobs when I got out of college, then every so often, I chose to change jobs and change careers when something looked interesting.
There were times when I set goals and then achieved them and then moved on. Then I would choose some other career goal and achieve that.
Sometimes when we look back and reflect on what we have done and remember all those times when we said things about what we thought we would be, we notice that we still have time to choose again.
I figure I will live to be 150, so I haven't even had my midlife crisis yet, so I still have time to think about what I would like to be.
Yes, it has changed several times already. But hey, who says you only get one chance to choose in 150 years?
All these vitamins and supplements they keep coming up with keep working so well that maybe if I take enough Horny Goat Weed, vitamin C and Niacin I can live to be 250. Why not? I still have plenty of time to think about what I would like to be!
So I did what most kids did and just said whatever came to mind. I think I said that I wanted to be a lawyer because the night before I had watched a TV show with a lawyer in it and that sounded like as good a thing as any to say. Sure, I want to be a lawyer.
Of course, I forgot about that as soon as they got done asking me about it. Not once in my life did I ever think of going to law school. Heck, there were more important things to think about, like softball or basketball.
Then again in high school, they asked what I would like to be and what I wanted to major in when I went to college. At that time, I was just getting acquainted with the charms of the opposite sex. Why would I want to think about what class I would like to take in college when I wasn't even done with high school?
I have no clue what I answered then. Maybe newspaper reporter because I used to deliver newspapers, and I used to read them all the time, and the one I delivered had a great columnist by the name of Mike Royko. Back then, when you rode the subway or the bus home from work, you could tell that everybody was reading his column because they had the paper folded back so that they could read the left side of page 3, which is where Royko's column always was.
So at some point, I chose majors in college and chose jobs when I got out of college, then every so often, I chose to change jobs and change careers when something looked interesting.
There were times when I set goals and then achieved them and then moved on. Then I would choose some other career goal and achieve that.
Sometimes when we look back and reflect on what we have done and remember all those times when we said things about what we thought we would be, we notice that we still have time to choose again.
I figure I will live to be 150, so I haven't even had my midlife crisis yet, so I still have time to think about what I would like to be.
Yes, it has changed several times already. But hey, who says you only get one chance to choose in 150 years?
All these vitamins and supplements they keep coming up with keep working so well that maybe if I take enough Horny Goat Weed, vitamin C and Niacin I can live to be 250. Why not? I still have plenty of time to think about what I would like to be!
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
What Went Right
Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday where the whole idea is to give thanks for all the good things we have received in life. What a beautiful and simple thing to do.
Notice how it puts a smile on your face and magnetizes you for more good things to come.
Often when people look back on their life, they remember things that went wrong, mistakes they made and they think to themselves, if only I had that to do over. That kind of thinking could lead into a downward spiral just as easily as an upward spiral.
So, instead, think about the things that went right, the times in your life when everything came together and you got great results. Notice how you experience an upward spiraling of energy.
Re-groove your thoughts to focus on what went right and look for ways to do more of that. And give some time and energy to those people in your life who helped things go right.
Take few moments to review and look for the victorious moments. Remember how it felt and begin to experience that feeling again. Those feelings will lead to actions, and the actions will bring results.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Notice how it puts a smile on your face and magnetizes you for more good things to come.
Often when people look back on their life, they remember things that went wrong, mistakes they made and they think to themselves, if only I had that to do over. That kind of thinking could lead into a downward spiral just as easily as an upward spiral.
So, instead, think about the things that went right, the times in your life when everything came together and you got great results. Notice how you experience an upward spiraling of energy.
Re-groove your thoughts to focus on what went right and look for ways to do more of that. And give some time and energy to those people in your life who helped things go right.
Take few moments to review and look for the victorious moments. Remember how it felt and begin to experience that feeling again. Those feelings will lead to actions, and the actions will bring results.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Monday, November 22, 2010
2 Hands & 2 Feet into the Future
What Does It Mean to Have a Personal Goal? The answer to this question is both obvious and not.
When we have a personal goal, it gives us something to aim for. It motivates us to try harder, enlarges both our vision and our reach.
So while personal goals can serve to get us something we want, it is also stretching us beyond that.
Working toward personal goals can move us into bigger realms, into evolutions of our body, mind and spirit.
Having a personal goal is an engine that drives us into our future. We do have a hand in our future. Two hands, in fact, and two feet.
In the course of our life, we will set goals and achieve them and then set new ones. We can also fail to meet goals we set and then reset them. There is wisdom, strength and victory in either outcome.
So take a look at your goals. You have two hands and two feet to get you into the future. These are your magic wands. These are your tickets to ride. Your imagination sets the course, and your hands and feet get you there.
Personal goals hold the keys to our imagination. Are you ready to unlock it?
When we have a personal goal, it gives us something to aim for. It motivates us to try harder, enlarges both our vision and our reach.
So while personal goals can serve to get us something we want, it is also stretching us beyond that.
Working toward personal goals can move us into bigger realms, into evolutions of our body, mind and spirit.
Having a personal goal is an engine that drives us into our future. We do have a hand in our future. Two hands, in fact, and two feet.
In the course of our life, we will set goals and achieve them and then set new ones. We can also fail to meet goals we set and then reset them. There is wisdom, strength and victory in either outcome.
So take a look at your goals. You have two hands and two feet to get you into the future. These are your magic wands. These are your tickets to ride. Your imagination sets the course, and your hands and feet get you there.
Personal goals hold the keys to our imagination. Are you ready to unlock it?
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Some of Us Are Slow Learners
If you sometimes feel like you are a slow learner, don't be disappointed. Why do you think that we are given more than one lifetime to get the important lessons?
Lessons can look different if we regard them as totally new, but when we look through a longer perspective we see the patterns and that helps us get clarity and recognize where we are at a faster pace and see the things that we repeat.
In this way, past life recall can accelerate our movement forward, ironic as that may seem.
As we review stories from our past, we are offered the opportunity to recognize how or why we may have chosen the work we have in this lifetime, our lovers and spouses in this lifetime. Viewing past life stories can also explain aspects of difficult family relationships.
Remember, however, that we always have free will, so we can choose to be stubborn and not learn lessons as well as the possibility of learning them faster.
Nobody said we had to be fast learners.
Lessons can look different if we regard them as totally new, but when we look through a longer perspective we see the patterns and that helps us get clarity and recognize where we are at a faster pace and see the things that we repeat.
In this way, past life recall can accelerate our movement forward, ironic as that may seem.
As we review stories from our past, we are offered the opportunity to recognize how or why we may have chosen the work we have in this lifetime, our lovers and spouses in this lifetime. Viewing past life stories can also explain aspects of difficult family relationships.
Remember, however, that we always have free will, so we can choose to be stubborn and not learn lessons as well as the possibility of learning them faster.
Nobody said we had to be fast learners.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
A Sense of Adventure
For many people, the word adventure conjures up images of climbing mountains, snowboarding in the back country, riding big waves on surfboards, sailing around the world, jumping out of airplanes with parachutes, and other such daring physical feats.
However, not everyone wants to do such things, and so perhaps it is worth considering the many things a person could do that would constitute an adventure for them.
For example, wouldn't many people who create their own business consider it an adventure? What about people who overcome a fear of public speaking and then become known as a speaker or actor? What about the person who writes a book, or paints pictures that hang in art galleries? Or the person who goes back to school later in life and earns a degree or learns new skills to start a new career?
Yes, earlier in my life I hiked fourteeners, crewed on a racing yacht, walked on fire, went on vision quests, drummed all night around campfires and did other such things.
Then I did other things that I thought of as adventures that depart from the vigorous physical model.
I thought of it as an adventure to work in the Renaissance Festival, to be a security guard for the Chicago Cubs baseball team for a season was an adventure, to edit a magazine and write for publications was an adventure. Writing books was an adventure. Teaching was an adventure. Moving across the country and starting my life over again several times, was an adventure. Learning to develop my psychic abilities was an adventure. Learning to be a gardener and herbalist was an adventure. Learning to dance was an adventure. Learning how to be a lover was an adventure.
If we have a sense of adventure about life, we can define it in many ways, all of which enhance our sense of aliveness, joy and excitement.
What are the adventures you have had? What adventures would you like to have?
However, not everyone wants to do such things, and so perhaps it is worth considering the many things a person could do that would constitute an adventure for them.
For example, wouldn't many people who create their own business consider it an adventure? What about people who overcome a fear of public speaking and then become known as a speaker or actor? What about the person who writes a book, or paints pictures that hang in art galleries? Or the person who goes back to school later in life and earns a degree or learns new skills to start a new career?
Yes, earlier in my life I hiked fourteeners, crewed on a racing yacht, walked on fire, went on vision quests, drummed all night around campfires and did other such things.
Then I did other things that I thought of as adventures that depart from the vigorous physical model.
I thought of it as an adventure to work in the Renaissance Festival, to be a security guard for the Chicago Cubs baseball team for a season was an adventure, to edit a magazine and write for publications was an adventure. Writing books was an adventure. Teaching was an adventure. Moving across the country and starting my life over again several times, was an adventure. Learning to develop my psychic abilities was an adventure. Learning to be a gardener and herbalist was an adventure. Learning to dance was an adventure. Learning how to be a lover was an adventure.
If we have a sense of adventure about life, we can define it in many ways, all of which enhance our sense of aliveness, joy and excitement.
What are the adventures you have had? What adventures would you like to have?
Monday, November 15, 2010
Dancing Omens
Omens come in many forms. When something comes to your attention at least three times, you are being advised to take action by your spirit guides. This is an example of how it worked for me to get busy dancing again.
Earlier this year while I was reading at a festival, a couple who I used to see at dancing came to me for a reading. They asked me why I quit dancing. They reminded me that I have to do what feeds my soul.
One day last month at the rec center, I saw a familiar looking woman on the track. It took me a moment to recognize her. She asked me if I used to go contra dancing, and I said that I did. She asked me why I quit dancing. She said that was too bad and wondered if I would come back.
When I went dancing in one of the bars the other night, I ran into a healer I know from working fairs, and I know that she always liked to dance a lot. She talked to me a bit and so I decided to stay and dance. Until that moment, I wasn't quite sure if I would stay or go.
I was having dinner with a woman the other night and mentioned dancing to her and she encouraged me to go back to it, and said that she would like to go and see what it is like too.
Dancing was the first exercise I got besides walking after my heart attack 10 years ago. I feel like it helped me recover. They say that if you are going to have a relapse and another heart attack, it will happen within one or two years. I was dancing through that whole period, with no relapse.
It took me a month to be able to walk around the block for a half hour after my heart surgery. About four to six months later (can't remember exactly), I was introduced to contra dancing, and I was able to dance for three hours a night every week.
I could not believe that it took that much effort to get back on my feet at first, then later, I found myself wanting to dance at every opportunity. I am sure that dancing did me good. During that period, I never lifted any weights or walked on any treadmill. Just danced.
So I am being prompted to dance again. When you pay attention, omens help you choose. My spirit guides are clearly saying that this is part of my path for now.
Earlier this year while I was reading at a festival, a couple who I used to see at dancing came to me for a reading. They asked me why I quit dancing. They reminded me that I have to do what feeds my soul.
One day last month at the rec center, I saw a familiar looking woman on the track. It took me a moment to recognize her. She asked me if I used to go contra dancing, and I said that I did. She asked me why I quit dancing. She said that was too bad and wondered if I would come back.
When I went dancing in one of the bars the other night, I ran into a healer I know from working fairs, and I know that she always liked to dance a lot. She talked to me a bit and so I decided to stay and dance. Until that moment, I wasn't quite sure if I would stay or go.
I was having dinner with a woman the other night and mentioned dancing to her and she encouraged me to go back to it, and said that she would like to go and see what it is like too.
Dancing was the first exercise I got besides walking after my heart attack 10 years ago. I feel like it helped me recover. They say that if you are going to have a relapse and another heart attack, it will happen within one or two years. I was dancing through that whole period, with no relapse.
It took me a month to be able to walk around the block for a half hour after my heart surgery. About four to six months later (can't remember exactly), I was introduced to contra dancing, and I was able to dance for three hours a night every week.
I could not believe that it took that much effort to get back on my feet at first, then later, I found myself wanting to dance at every opportunity. I am sure that dancing did me good. During that period, I never lifted any weights or walked on any treadmill. Just danced.
So I am being prompted to dance again. When you pay attention, omens help you choose. My spirit guides are clearly saying that this is part of my path for now.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Dancing, Healing, Spirits
Some psychics smoke cigarettes to ground when they are taking a break. Some eat sweets. Me? I like a shot of scotch. And I dance. Let me note right here that I don't drink while I work. Not even when I am working parties or events where they are serving liquor. I have my scotch after work, when I get home. I am always sober when I am reading. I know there are people out there who might think that psychics should just do things like eat vegetarian and do yoga in between doing their psychic work, but that's not really how it works. Put a plate of BBQ ribs or meatballs in the break room at a psychic fair and watch them disappear.
This year, I felt the veil part about a month before Samhain, and I have been asked to do work I do not ordinarily get called on to do. The events I have been working have been very busy for me, and I have felt the energy open up new channels. It has been a profoundly heavy time this year.
Tonight, and a few nights recently, I have done something I have not done in a long time. I went to bars that feature blues or rock, and I drank and danced.
You may not think that is noteworthy, but here's why. Years ago, I used to dance every week. You could count on seeing me at contra dancing every Friday evening. Then I tried some other forms. One of my inspirations was a guy in Atlanta who told me that he took off a lot of weight and kept it off by dancing. He danced several nights a week. One night was contra, one night was Cajun, one night was Irish, one night was waltzing, one night was swing. He asked one question. "What's more fun? Going to a gym, lifting weights and walking on a treadmill, or dancing with women?"
I didn't have to think long. And I danced more. And I always felt good when I danced.
When I moved to Colorado, I started doing the Dances for Universal Peace as well as the contra dances.
Then I met a woman who did not care for the dances I took her to when we started dating, so I quit dancing to spend more time with her. She didn't take me up on my offer to go dancing in bars either. As a result, years went by without me dancing again. I missed it. But you do crazy things sometimes when you are in love.
So that relationship is over, and recently I felt the urge to start dancing again. I actually was kind of hesitant wondering to myself whether I would like it as much as I used to after a long layoff. A couple of people encouraged me, and I am so glad they did.
Even though putting my foot back in the dancing water began with having a drink and asking women to dance in a bar, my energy really perked up just from doing that. Next week I will start contra dancing again. Then we will see what comes next.
This I know. Dancing is the antidote to a lot of things that bring our spirits down. It must be the endorphins or whatever that kick into gear when we get up and dance.
Or maybe it is just the heart that enjoys the aerobic exercise. The heart also enjoys the touch and the eye contact with a dance partner. Dancing is very healing.
This year, I felt the veil part about a month before Samhain, and I have been asked to do work I do not ordinarily get called on to do. The events I have been working have been very busy for me, and I have felt the energy open up new channels. It has been a profoundly heavy time this year.
Tonight, and a few nights recently, I have done something I have not done in a long time. I went to bars that feature blues or rock, and I drank and danced.
You may not think that is noteworthy, but here's why. Years ago, I used to dance every week. You could count on seeing me at contra dancing every Friday evening. Then I tried some other forms. One of my inspirations was a guy in Atlanta who told me that he took off a lot of weight and kept it off by dancing. He danced several nights a week. One night was contra, one night was Cajun, one night was Irish, one night was waltzing, one night was swing. He asked one question. "What's more fun? Going to a gym, lifting weights and walking on a treadmill, or dancing with women?"
I didn't have to think long. And I danced more. And I always felt good when I danced.
When I moved to Colorado, I started doing the Dances for Universal Peace as well as the contra dances.
Then I met a woman who did not care for the dances I took her to when we started dating, so I quit dancing to spend more time with her. She didn't take me up on my offer to go dancing in bars either. As a result, years went by without me dancing again. I missed it. But you do crazy things sometimes when you are in love.
So that relationship is over, and recently I felt the urge to start dancing again. I actually was kind of hesitant wondering to myself whether I would like it as much as I used to after a long layoff. A couple of people encouraged me, and I am so glad they did.
Even though putting my foot back in the dancing water began with having a drink and asking women to dance in a bar, my energy really perked up just from doing that. Next week I will start contra dancing again. Then we will see what comes next.
This I know. Dancing is the antidote to a lot of things that bring our spirits down. It must be the endorphins or whatever that kick into gear when we get up and dance.
Or maybe it is just the heart that enjoys the aerobic exercise. The heart also enjoys the touch and the eye contact with a dance partner. Dancing is very healing.
Friday, November 12, 2010
Weekend Magic
Today is Friday and a great day for invoking the magic of Freya for good fortune in your dating activities this weekend. Who couldn't use a little magic in their love life?
If you don't have an active love life, you want one. If you have one, there is always room for a little more sparkle and excitement.
What intentions are you setting as you prepare for your Friday night? What would you like to have happen? What are you doing to make it happen?
If you were to call on Freya and ask her for assistance with something, what would it be?
Freya was one of the most sexual of the ancient goddesses. She was very open about enjoying and using her sexual energy, so it is very fitting that the times of the week which are most popular for inviting someone to get together with you are Friday and Saturday night, with Friday night, Freya's night, kicking off the weekend celebrations of lust, flirtation and fertility.
Interesting how it all fits together. Why else are Friday and Saturday nights the biggest nights for dating and partying? Because most people work a schedule from Monday through Friday, so Saturday and Sunday are the times when they get to sleep late then get up and just do things they want to do, and be with people they want to be with.
Freya opens the gateway to our pleasure each weekend. She celebrates abundance as well as sexuality, with our efforts having earned us enough money and freedom so that we can enjoy the weekend. And then heading back to work on Monday, she certainly supports our efforts to do well and make more money.
Doing what we like certainly facilitates our enjoyment of the activities by which we make money. And Freya is all about doing what we like.
For those of us whose money making activities often fall on weekends as well, I feel her blessing my efforts and making them ever more abundant, and then facilitating that flow of energy into the after hours, when the celebrations of life, and the expressions of love, or at least like, kick into high gear.
Enter the weekend on your day Freya!
So what is it you would like this weekend, reader?
If you don't have an active love life, you want one. If you have one, there is always room for a little more sparkle and excitement.
What intentions are you setting as you prepare for your Friday night? What would you like to have happen? What are you doing to make it happen?
If you were to call on Freya and ask her for assistance with something, what would it be?
Freya was one of the most sexual of the ancient goddesses. She was very open about enjoying and using her sexual energy, so it is very fitting that the times of the week which are most popular for inviting someone to get together with you are Friday and Saturday night, with Friday night, Freya's night, kicking off the weekend celebrations of lust, flirtation and fertility.
Interesting how it all fits together. Why else are Friday and Saturday nights the biggest nights for dating and partying? Because most people work a schedule from Monday through Friday, so Saturday and Sunday are the times when they get to sleep late then get up and just do things they want to do, and be with people they want to be with.
Freya opens the gateway to our pleasure each weekend. She celebrates abundance as well as sexuality, with our efforts having earned us enough money and freedom so that we can enjoy the weekend. And then heading back to work on Monday, she certainly supports our efforts to do well and make more money.
Doing what we like certainly facilitates our enjoyment of the activities by which we make money. And Freya is all about doing what we like.
For those of us whose money making activities often fall on weekends as well, I feel her blessing my efforts and making them ever more abundant, and then facilitating that flow of energy into the after hours, when the celebrations of life, and the expressions of love, or at least like, kick into high gear.
Enter the weekend on your day Freya!
So what is it you would like this weekend, reader?
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Here But Not Here, Gone But Not Gone
At times of transition, our minds sometimes let us fade in and out of consciousness. Not that we are blacking out, or anything like that. For example, I have moved a number of times in my life, but lived in Atlanta longer than anywhere before I moved to Colorado, and every once in a while I find myself saying that I have to drive into Atlanta for an event tonight.
Of course, Denver looks nothing like Atlanta, and I know I am here, not there. But when I am in that in between state, what is connecting is that I am going in town, and for a long time, that's what it felt like and looked like. Before I get in the car and actually go there, I might actually think I am going there. But then once I am out in the car, the familiar sights remind me that the Atlanta part of my life is gone, but not gone.
It happens like that with people in our life too. Sometimes after the death of someone we knew for a long time, we find ourselves thinking that we will be going over to see them one day soon and then we remember that they have already gone.
When we are used to getting up to go to work at the same time every morning, and then that changes, we find ourselves getting out of bed thinking we need to hurry up and make coffee and get dressed, and then we remember that we don't have to leave or go anywhere right now, and then we can think about what we want or need to do today.
People who have recently ended a relationship can also experience these feelings when they think about going somewhere, and for a moment their memory slips and they picture themselves going with their old partner or being with their old partner.
It is as if our bodies have memories of their own and they remember certain experiences so well that they can still recall a presence that is now gone. It is as if our bodies hold on to these old memories until they are replaced by not just newer, but more powerful, memories that occupy more of our consciousness.
Even then, the lingering memories of what used to be still have a powerful grip, whether we call it nostalgia or sentimentality or romanticism, those powerful memories will never be completely gone as long as we live in those bodies that experienced them.
I have a theory that medical experts may not agree with, and it is this. Although I know that Alzheimers is a degenerative disease that affects the mind, I also know, in the psychic way of knowing that sometimes people will choose to slip in and out of consciousness, and sometimes allow themselves to feel here, but not here, as they recall some more pleasant moment of their past.
I think people sometimes choose that blissful state of here but not here, gone but not gone.
Let me be clear that I am not saying that people can just will themselves out of Alzheimers. I am just saying that even those of us in good health can sometimes allow ourselves the pleasure of slipping in and out of different states of consciousness.
When our energy ebbs and flows in those in between times we may be walking between the worlds, as it is often said of shamans. We are simply enjoying a feeling whether or not it is actually accurate, it may be feeling accurate. When we have a pleasant thought, our body experiences that as if it were happening.
That between the worlds state seems to exist between the highs and lows. There are times when that level of consciousness feels as delightful as anything we might have deliberately cultivated, but it is even more enjoyable because it just comes, without being summoned. There is a flow to it.
Without trying too hard, in fact I will say because we do not try too hard, we find ourselves in a euphoric state that feels effortless. We can be walking between two worlds when we practice being here, but not here, gone but not gone.
Of course, Denver looks nothing like Atlanta, and I know I am here, not there. But when I am in that in between state, what is connecting is that I am going in town, and for a long time, that's what it felt like and looked like. Before I get in the car and actually go there, I might actually think I am going there. But then once I am out in the car, the familiar sights remind me that the Atlanta part of my life is gone, but not gone.
It happens like that with people in our life too. Sometimes after the death of someone we knew for a long time, we find ourselves thinking that we will be going over to see them one day soon and then we remember that they have already gone.
When we are used to getting up to go to work at the same time every morning, and then that changes, we find ourselves getting out of bed thinking we need to hurry up and make coffee and get dressed, and then we remember that we don't have to leave or go anywhere right now, and then we can think about what we want or need to do today.
People who have recently ended a relationship can also experience these feelings when they think about going somewhere, and for a moment their memory slips and they picture themselves going with their old partner or being with their old partner.
It is as if our bodies have memories of their own and they remember certain experiences so well that they can still recall a presence that is now gone. It is as if our bodies hold on to these old memories until they are replaced by not just newer, but more powerful, memories that occupy more of our consciousness.
Even then, the lingering memories of what used to be still have a powerful grip, whether we call it nostalgia or sentimentality or romanticism, those powerful memories will never be completely gone as long as we live in those bodies that experienced them.
I have a theory that medical experts may not agree with, and it is this. Although I know that Alzheimers is a degenerative disease that affects the mind, I also know, in the psychic way of knowing that sometimes people will choose to slip in and out of consciousness, and sometimes allow themselves to feel here, but not here, as they recall some more pleasant moment of their past.
I think people sometimes choose that blissful state of here but not here, gone but not gone.
Let me be clear that I am not saying that people can just will themselves out of Alzheimers. I am just saying that even those of us in good health can sometimes allow ourselves the pleasure of slipping in and out of different states of consciousness.
When our energy ebbs and flows in those in between times we may be walking between the worlds, as it is often said of shamans. We are simply enjoying a feeling whether or not it is actually accurate, it may be feeling accurate. When we have a pleasant thought, our body experiences that as if it were happening.
That between the worlds state seems to exist between the highs and lows. There are times when that level of consciousness feels as delightful as anything we might have deliberately cultivated, but it is even more enjoyable because it just comes, without being summoned. There is a flow to it.
Without trying too hard, in fact I will say because we do not try too hard, we find ourselves in a euphoric state that feels effortless. We can be walking between two worlds when we practice being here, but not here, gone but not gone.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Closure
Sometimes there are chapters of our lives that cry out for the proper ending. We feel incomplete or out of sorts unless we can put things in perspective through some word or action that lets us feel that we have completed our work in that part of our life, or said what we really wanted to say in order to let go and move on.
For lack of this aspect of completion, a person could walk around feeling ill at ease in their own skin. Until they reconcile their feelings with what happened, they often may be out of sorts in their dealings with others who had nothing to do with the reason for their upset.
Of course, it is best if you can reach this closure with people in real life who were involved in the events or situation. That is often optimal.
However, sometimes, the person with whom you would like closure is dead, or lives far away, or for other reasons you choose not to contact them.
In that case, closure can be done ritually, through special ceremonies. In one case, I assisted a woman who needed to put to rest her grieving over a miscarriage that had happened a number of years earlier. After the ritual, she found peace with that issue for the first time in years.
In another case, a person needed to release a grievance over an injustice from years before. In another case, a person simply wanted a meaningful ritual to say farewell to a parent who died when they were not there.
I was also present one evening when a person performed a ritual act to signal closure to his old career.
When we do such things, we can experience a feeling of peace that we have acknowledged that a significant part of our life has ended and we say farewell to that as we prepare to begin our next chapter and set out on our next adventure.
Is there an area of your life that you feel needs closure? Have you ever thought about addressing that in a ritual context?
It is a powerful and life affirming act. It can also help us draw wisdom and compassion from those life lessons.
This is a powerful form of alchemy and an act of magic that we perform to transform sadness into a creative force, and bring peace from chaos, to bring understanding and compassion from confusion and hurt.
If you have a feeling that such an act of closure is needed, then the time is now. There is even love among the ruins of what once was, and that is always left to the gleaners who know how to find value and nourishment in the parts that have been left behind.
And it is always the survivors who are the beneficiaries, although the ghosts will often take the ritual as their cue, and take their leave, finally breaking their earthly bonds and moving on. Ghosts are not just spirits of the dead who have not crossed over. Relationships and careers have ghosts too, and sometimes these cast long shadows, until our fires cast enough heat and light to burn them away.
For lack of this aspect of completion, a person could walk around feeling ill at ease in their own skin. Until they reconcile their feelings with what happened, they often may be out of sorts in their dealings with others who had nothing to do with the reason for their upset.
Of course, it is best if you can reach this closure with people in real life who were involved in the events or situation. That is often optimal.
However, sometimes, the person with whom you would like closure is dead, or lives far away, or for other reasons you choose not to contact them.
In that case, closure can be done ritually, through special ceremonies. In one case, I assisted a woman who needed to put to rest her grieving over a miscarriage that had happened a number of years earlier. After the ritual, she found peace with that issue for the first time in years.
In another case, a person needed to release a grievance over an injustice from years before. In another case, a person simply wanted a meaningful ritual to say farewell to a parent who died when they were not there.
I was also present one evening when a person performed a ritual act to signal closure to his old career.
When we do such things, we can experience a feeling of peace that we have acknowledged that a significant part of our life has ended and we say farewell to that as we prepare to begin our next chapter and set out on our next adventure.
Is there an area of your life that you feel needs closure? Have you ever thought about addressing that in a ritual context?
It is a powerful and life affirming act. It can also help us draw wisdom and compassion from those life lessons.
This is a powerful form of alchemy and an act of magic that we perform to transform sadness into a creative force, and bring peace from chaos, to bring understanding and compassion from confusion and hurt.
If you have a feeling that such an act of closure is needed, then the time is now. There is even love among the ruins of what once was, and that is always left to the gleaners who know how to find value and nourishment in the parts that have been left behind.
And it is always the survivors who are the beneficiaries, although the ghosts will often take the ritual as their cue, and take their leave, finally breaking their earthly bonds and moving on. Ghosts are not just spirits of the dead who have not crossed over. Relationships and careers have ghosts too, and sometimes these cast long shadows, until our fires cast enough heat and light to burn them away.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
All Dreams Are Fragile
All dreams are fragile until they are strengthened. Dreams begin as visions that dance in our imaginations.
It is not until we act on them that they begin to take on a heavier consistency. After we have helped to shape our dreams through action, results start to coalesce.
The picture in our minds grows brighter, stronger.
If we do not handle this dream carefully at first, it may escape our grasp, fall and break into a million little pieces.
We have to treat it more gently when it is smaller, to nurture it into its full size. All dreams are fragile until they have time for us to breathe life into them. Until then, they are just visions.
All dreams are fragile at first, so handle them gently.
Once they have been molded by experience and strengthened with our efforts, they are strong enough to stand alongside all our other accomplishments.
That is why the visions that come to us in dreams seem ephemeral at first. Everything starts with a vision. And when they are in that visionary state, they are fragile at first.
So treat them kindly and sweetly and then you will be able to influence which ones grow and become the next stage of your life.
All dreams are fragile at first, so handle them gently.
It is not until we act on them that they begin to take on a heavier consistency. After we have helped to shape our dreams through action, results start to coalesce.
The picture in our minds grows brighter, stronger.
If we do not handle this dream carefully at first, it may escape our grasp, fall and break into a million little pieces.
We have to treat it more gently when it is smaller, to nurture it into its full size. All dreams are fragile until they have time for us to breathe life into them. Until then, they are just visions.
All dreams are fragile at first, so handle them gently.
Once they have been molded by experience and strengthened with our efforts, they are strong enough to stand alongside all our other accomplishments.
That is why the visions that come to us in dreams seem ephemeral at first. Everything starts with a vision. And when they are in that visionary state, they are fragile at first.
So treat them kindly and sweetly and then you will be able to influence which ones grow and become the next stage of your life.
All dreams are fragile at first, so handle them gently.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Ferocious
Our natural appetite for love is ferocious. A panoramic vision, a desire boldly stated. Larger than the small lives that some of us settle for. Those who would not describe it that way have simply tamped it down. Who does not feel the yearning, the desire? Who does not know that they contain this fire within them? It can get tamped down if we allow ourselves to think that we do not deserve to be able to feed this fire, or if we think it is not possible.
What could be bigger than our desire for love? What differs from person to person is how we get it.
When we are trying to express ourselves as part of a couple, what really determines how well we are matched is how our ferocious appetite is fed, or not fed, by our partner.
Our ferocious appetite is sometimes tamped down when we are allowing other interests in life, such as our work, to divert attention from it. Work, when it is a labor of love, can feed our ferocious appetite. But in so many of our lives, we may be doing work that is simply trading time for a paycheck.
Our ferocious appetite is really about the love in our life. Everything else is second to that.
Why do I use the term ferocious? Because it is wild, large and primal. Because it is the force that motivates us, drives us to do whatever we do, drives whatever relationships we form and cultivate.
The ferociousness of our desire is what teaches us to be brave, strive for what we really want and wrap our arms around it. The ferociousness of our desire has everything to do with how great a vision we pursue and how we go about it.
Great loves produce great results. Look around you. Those who have ferocious appetites for love and pursue them make great impacts on the world. The people all around them can feel it.
Our ferocious appetite for love needs to be fed, and if it is not, we will be consumed by not feeding it.
What could be bigger than our desire for love? What differs from person to person is how we get it.
When we are trying to express ourselves as part of a couple, what really determines how well we are matched is how our ferocious appetite is fed, or not fed, by our partner.
Our ferocious appetite is sometimes tamped down when we are allowing other interests in life, such as our work, to divert attention from it. Work, when it is a labor of love, can feed our ferocious appetite. But in so many of our lives, we may be doing work that is simply trading time for a paycheck.
Our ferocious appetite is really about the love in our life. Everything else is second to that.
Why do I use the term ferocious? Because it is wild, large and primal. Because it is the force that motivates us, drives us to do whatever we do, drives whatever relationships we form and cultivate.
The ferociousness of our desire is what teaches us to be brave, strive for what we really want and wrap our arms around it. The ferociousness of our desire has everything to do with how great a vision we pursue and how we go about it.
Great loves produce great results. Look around you. Those who have ferocious appetites for love and pursue them make great impacts on the world. The people all around them can feel it.
Our ferocious appetite for love needs to be fed, and if it is not, we will be consumed by not feeding it.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Love, Heat and Passion
It has been said that the opposite of love is not hate, it is indifference. Upon first hearing this, many people think that this cannot be correct. After all, love and hate would seem to be the two opposites. But there is a lot of energy in these two. Ray Bradbury, the great science fiction author, notes in Zen and the Art of Writing that there is as much zest in what you hate as in what you love, and either can produce enough energy to inspire great stories and great writing. Deep feelings from any perspective can breathe life into a point of view. Powerful reserves of feelings can animate and illuminate.
Now it is easy for us to recognize the passion in a relationship expressed as energetic lovemaking, romantic interludes and excited playfulness, but there is another side to that same source of energy. It is the dark side of romantic love that often finds expression in words that lead to regret, and the regret, in turn, becomes surrender.
Doesn't that often seem the case with couples who have mercurial relationships but stay together? They still have a lot of energy and they still care deeply. They care enough about each other to express deeply felt emotions. On the surface that may seem contradictory, but think about it for a moment. Two people may have very different opinions on a subject or very different concerns over an issue, but they still care enough to get excited, frustrated or angry and that forms the basic energy from which they argue. And isn't it true that often after a heated disagreement that the couple makes up, forgives each other and reconciles with passionate lovemaking?
So I am not saying that anger, arguing, and heated disagreements are desirable states, or things to be admired. What I am saying is that in a deeply felt relationship, there will be disagreements, heated discussions and flare ups. People in passionate relationships feel emotions deeply and they express them. And both parties in a relationship can take turns being right and being wrong.
Energy can be transmuted. Anger can become affection and affection can become anger. And the shifting between them can melt opposition. These change when a person is able to shift their frame of reference to view their emotions through a different perspective and they can feel the emotions expressing differently. How else do people calm down when they are expressing too much energy and going off on wild tangents?
Although the idealist in us would advocate for the peaceful discussion and resolution of all differences, with couples easily agreeing on solutions, the rise and fall of passions will preclude that from always being the case.
Strange as it may seem, it is the cool end of the spectrum that finally signals the end of a relationship. When one or both of the parties no longer cares enough to even disagree, they are indifferent to making love, and they can just walk away, then they are withdrawing their energy so completely from the relationship that there is nothing left. Nothing left to fight over, nothing left to debate or discuss, nothing left to love, no care, no compassion, no kindness, no tenderness, no excitement. Just nothing.
When one partner can actually say to the other partner that they do not care what happens to them, then the relationship has been drained of all life.
Just as the presence or absence of our body heat is a sign of life, when the body of love cools below the level of warmth, it is a sure sign that life is gone and that the love, heat and passion that once electrified the space between the two people has lost all of its vitality, that is indifference, the opposite of love. When nothing is left to flare up, nothing is left to heal, no excitement is left in the loving, and neither cares to even discuss it, then the body of love has cooled below the temperature necessary for life.
The passion, heat, and love in a relationship are its breath, pulse, and heartbeat. Without them, there is nothing.
Now it is easy for us to recognize the passion in a relationship expressed as energetic lovemaking, romantic interludes and excited playfulness, but there is another side to that same source of energy. It is the dark side of romantic love that often finds expression in words that lead to regret, and the regret, in turn, becomes surrender.
Doesn't that often seem the case with couples who have mercurial relationships but stay together? They still have a lot of energy and they still care deeply. They care enough about each other to express deeply felt emotions. On the surface that may seem contradictory, but think about it for a moment. Two people may have very different opinions on a subject or very different concerns over an issue, but they still care enough to get excited, frustrated or angry and that forms the basic energy from which they argue. And isn't it true that often after a heated disagreement that the couple makes up, forgives each other and reconciles with passionate lovemaking?
So I am not saying that anger, arguing, and heated disagreements are desirable states, or things to be admired. What I am saying is that in a deeply felt relationship, there will be disagreements, heated discussions and flare ups. People in passionate relationships feel emotions deeply and they express them. And both parties in a relationship can take turns being right and being wrong.
Energy can be transmuted. Anger can become affection and affection can become anger. And the shifting between them can melt opposition. These change when a person is able to shift their frame of reference to view their emotions through a different perspective and they can feel the emotions expressing differently. How else do people calm down when they are expressing too much energy and going off on wild tangents?
Although the idealist in us would advocate for the peaceful discussion and resolution of all differences, with couples easily agreeing on solutions, the rise and fall of passions will preclude that from always being the case.
Strange as it may seem, it is the cool end of the spectrum that finally signals the end of a relationship. When one or both of the parties no longer cares enough to even disagree, they are indifferent to making love, and they can just walk away, then they are withdrawing their energy so completely from the relationship that there is nothing left. Nothing left to fight over, nothing left to debate or discuss, nothing left to love, no care, no compassion, no kindness, no tenderness, no excitement. Just nothing.
When one partner can actually say to the other partner that they do not care what happens to them, then the relationship has been drained of all life.
Just as the presence or absence of our body heat is a sign of life, when the body of love cools below the level of warmth, it is a sure sign that life is gone and that the love, heat and passion that once electrified the space between the two people has lost all of its vitality, that is indifference, the opposite of love. When nothing is left to flare up, nothing is left to heal, no excitement is left in the loving, and neither cares to even discuss it, then the body of love has cooled below the temperature necessary for life.
The passion, heat, and love in a relationship are its breath, pulse, and heartbeat. Without them, there is nothing.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
The Path of Least Resistance
Have you ever experienced a powerful feeling that seemed stuck in one gear, but then once your perspective shifts, the attitude lightens up and energy starts moving again?
Energetic shifts require a looseness rather than a tightness. Stepping back and seeing from another point of view suddenly gives traction.
When we try too hard to make something happen, we find ourselves forcing a fit. It is like trying to do a job properly without having the proper tools. You know how it is when you are trying to put something together and do not have the right size screwdriver or wrench?
Energy works the same way. It is the difference between making something happen and allowing something to happen. Things can happen with great power and great force if you just step back and let things move along the path of least resistance.
Have you had times when you could just smile and radiate out energy and make light conversation with people that they are drawn to you? Have you noticed how that can work better than a hard sell? Have you noticed how sometimes when you are getting frustrated looking for something that it suddenly turns up when you quit stressing over it and quit digging around and upending things?
It sometimes happens to me while writing, when I am stressing over what to write about, then I step away, relax and come back, and the words flow.
How have you experienced this in your life?
Energetic shifts require a looseness rather than a tightness. Stepping back and seeing from another point of view suddenly gives traction.
When we try too hard to make something happen, we find ourselves forcing a fit. It is like trying to do a job properly without having the proper tools. You know how it is when you are trying to put something together and do not have the right size screwdriver or wrench?
Energy works the same way. It is the difference between making something happen and allowing something to happen. Things can happen with great power and great force if you just step back and let things move along the path of least resistance.
Have you had times when you could just smile and radiate out energy and make light conversation with people that they are drawn to you? Have you noticed how that can work better than a hard sell? Have you noticed how sometimes when you are getting frustrated looking for something that it suddenly turns up when you quit stressing over it and quit digging around and upending things?
It sometimes happens to me while writing, when I am stressing over what to write about, then I step away, relax and come back, and the words flow.
How have you experienced this in your life?
Monday, November 1, 2010
Priest and Priestess
In traditions where ceremonies and rituals are performed by a priest and priestess, there is a unique relationship that goes beyond the bounds of lovers or friends. The relationship begins as student and teacher, but then once the second person learns how to work together to perform their roles, the energies of the two people become very finely attuned at every level, to where they are able to tune into each other and read signals that are communicated psychically.
Although in older traditions, the two are often lovers, husband and wife, or a long term couple, the spiritual connection that is interwoven with it connects them in ways that even long time couples do not achieve, because these connections are formed through conscious effort and consistent practice.
Being part of such a practice opens doors of perception that allow us to appreciate life in subtle ways. Many of these are subtle and can only be known by those who practice.
Working together as priest and priestess, significant life passages are experienced through the container of ritual, allowing participants to process emotionally challenging situations with perspective, understanding and profound assimilation.
I am grateful for being part of such a priest and priestess tradition and for being blessed with incredible women as priestesses in my life, and know that this will always be part of my way, my path in life.
Although in older traditions, the two are often lovers, husband and wife, or a long term couple, the spiritual connection that is interwoven with it connects them in ways that even long time couples do not achieve, because these connections are formed through conscious effort and consistent practice.
Being part of such a practice opens doors of perception that allow us to appreciate life in subtle ways. Many of these are subtle and can only be known by those who practice.
Working together as priest and priestess, significant life passages are experienced through the container of ritual, allowing participants to process emotionally challenging situations with perspective, understanding and profound assimilation.
I am grateful for being part of such a priest and priestess tradition and for being blessed with incredible women as priestesses in my life, and know that this will always be part of my way, my path in life.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
