We are in a time of new moon energy, a time for beginning new projects, taking new initiatives. Look at what you want to create in your life and take action steps to bring it into reality now.
Feel the energy surging upward, onward, forward as the moon continues its path to fullness. We are on a path of fullness as well.
Consider the phases of your life already completed, and the possibilities still ahead. Can you see a pattern on how you have built your successes?
What we do in the next phase of our life is result of the movement of energy we facilitate now.
Feel your way toward what you want next in your life. Look inward and outward. Once you are able to visualize your goals more vividly, it is easier to move toward them and take the actions to make them real.
New moons are a perfect time to do this inner work and then let it project into outer work, outward actions. Set the energies in motion and then flow with them to fullness.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Monday, August 9, 2010
An Exercise in Gratitude
It is good to stop and reflect on our life journey so far.
Here is an exercise to help with that. What are you grateful for?
Take your deck of cards and select the ones that have pictures that would pertain to your feeling of gratitude. Any surprises?
Did you suddenly come across a card that prompted a good feeling? Keep them out for at least one day and see what other feelings come to you.
Is this layout one that you added to the next day?
Does this suggest any action on your part?
Or are you simply basking in the glow of gratitude?
Here is an exercise to help with that. What are you grateful for?
Take your deck of cards and select the ones that have pictures that would pertain to your feeling of gratitude. Any surprises?
Did you suddenly come across a card that prompted a good feeling? Keep them out for at least one day and see what other feelings come to you.
Is this layout one that you added to the next day?
Does this suggest any action on your part?
Or are you simply basking in the glow of gratitude?
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Common Bonds
When you walk in old neighborhoods where people have created gardens in their yard, they are almost always glad to talk about it. You stop and comment on an unusual flower, a particularly beautiful specimen, how well their tomatoes of zucchinis are going, and suddenly you find yourself in a conversation with a stranger. How easy that is.
If you know a bit about gardening yourself, you might pick up some new ideas or useful tips, and they might ask you questions. The really fascinating thing is the dynamic. When you ask people about something they are interested in, they open right up, and their is an opportunity for a pleasant experience.
So, of course, we are not all gardeners and we all don't want to talk about gardens, but extend this principle into other areas of interest. Often, when our interests are very specialized, we find ourselves going to meetings or events centered around this topic.
People are always seeking to connect that way. One of the beauties of gardening though is the simplicity. You don't have to go anywhere special, you just have to take a walk. Another beauty is that it is simple. When you are stopping to admire someone's garden, they may strike up a conversation if you don't. You are already complimenting them on their work, and everybody enjoys that.
Perhaps one other idea is as simple or universal. If you are walking your dog, other dog owners will usually be interested in talking about dogs.
How many ways can you use this idea? How much joy and peace do we spread in the world when we simply connect with other people with whom we have a common bond?
If you know a bit about gardening yourself, you might pick up some new ideas or useful tips, and they might ask you questions. The really fascinating thing is the dynamic. When you ask people about something they are interested in, they open right up, and their is an opportunity for a pleasant experience.
So, of course, we are not all gardeners and we all don't want to talk about gardens, but extend this principle into other areas of interest. Often, when our interests are very specialized, we find ourselves going to meetings or events centered around this topic.
People are always seeking to connect that way. One of the beauties of gardening though is the simplicity. You don't have to go anywhere special, you just have to take a walk. Another beauty is that it is simple. When you are stopping to admire someone's garden, they may strike up a conversation if you don't. You are already complimenting them on their work, and everybody enjoys that.
Perhaps one other idea is as simple or universal. If you are walking your dog, other dog owners will usually be interested in talking about dogs.
How many ways can you use this idea? How much joy and peace do we spread in the world when we simply connect with other people with whom we have a common bond?
Thursday, August 5, 2010
High and Low Zero
There are times in life when we get knocked back down to zero and in the process of getting back up again, we learn a lot of new things, maybe even better ways to do things.
It seems that our learning often needs to be reset to get a fresh start. Often, for example if your computer is acting sluggish and the applications you are using just don't seem to be responding properly, you have to reboot, which stops everything and starts it again, and that gets everything back on track.
Sometimes in relationships, people may find that they have to go back to zero by divorcing or separating before they build a new and better relationship.
When we are looking for ways to build our business to the next level, we find that we need to reconsider how we are doing it and perhaps adapt new techniques, or mix in new techniques while keeping the best of the old.
Sometimes people who create new businesses go bankrupt, go back to zero and start all over before they find their great success.
Science and art are places where we see it all the time. We think we know how something works, but then we discover something new and reframe our whole idea of how it works. How do oceans work? How are planets formed? How are diseases cured? How do we learn music? What makes this art?
Meditate on the Fool's Journey, and this is part of what you come to realize. The Fool is always numbered zero in the deck, and for this reason the Fool is said to be both the highest and lowest card in the deck. In any of these endeavors, one of the characteristics of the journey is having enough humility to know that you do not always know, but you are willing to learn.
It seems that our learning often needs to be reset to get a fresh start. Often, for example if your computer is acting sluggish and the applications you are using just don't seem to be responding properly, you have to reboot, which stops everything and starts it again, and that gets everything back on track.
Sometimes in relationships, people may find that they have to go back to zero by divorcing or separating before they build a new and better relationship.
When we are looking for ways to build our business to the next level, we find that we need to reconsider how we are doing it and perhaps adapt new techniques, or mix in new techniques while keeping the best of the old.
Sometimes people who create new businesses go bankrupt, go back to zero and start all over before they find their great success.
Science and art are places where we see it all the time. We think we know how something works, but then we discover something new and reframe our whole idea of how it works. How do oceans work? How are planets formed? How are diseases cured? How do we learn music? What makes this art?
Meditate on the Fool's Journey, and this is part of what you come to realize. The Fool is always numbered zero in the deck, and for this reason the Fool is said to be both the highest and lowest card in the deck. In any of these endeavors, one of the characteristics of the journey is having enough humility to know that you do not always know, but you are willing to learn.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Pizza and Peanut Butter
I saw a post from someone asking if they knew of a place that had gluten free, lactose free, vegetarian pizzas. I thought to myself, wouldn't it just be easier to order something else? I mean what is a pizza without the bread dough, meat and cheese? Then again, I am the kind of guy who will opt for a glass of ice water if the only kind of beer you are serving is something called lite or light. No matter which way you spell it, it can't pass for a beer around me.
Oh, I know, the poor people with allergies still want to eat something that looks like their favorite food. And some people just want to be seen drinking something that looks sort of like a beer.
All this leads me to wonder though. Is this some sort of evolution or aberration going on? From the time I was a kid eating peanut butter sandwiches until about ten years ago or so, I never heard of people who were allergic to peanuts or wheat.
Is it that these were in existence all this time, but everybody thought it was something else? Or is it that so many additives have been added to all kinds of foods that this stimulated new allergies?
I don't know. I think it is just another one of those weird things that is happening in our world. Curious how something like peanut allergies or gluten allergies just all of a sudden pop up on the radar. Curious to see how that happened or how it will evolve.
Oh, I know, the poor people with allergies still want to eat something that looks like their favorite food. And some people just want to be seen drinking something that looks sort of like a beer.
All this leads me to wonder though. Is this some sort of evolution or aberration going on? From the time I was a kid eating peanut butter sandwiches until about ten years ago or so, I never heard of people who were allergic to peanuts or wheat.
Is it that these were in existence all this time, but everybody thought it was something else? Or is it that so many additives have been added to all kinds of foods that this stimulated new allergies?
I don't know. I think it is just another one of those weird things that is happening in our world. Curious how something like peanut allergies or gluten allergies just all of a sudden pop up on the radar. Curious to see how that happened or how it will evolve.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Cosmic, Curious, Connected
One of the reasons that many people feel so dislocated in adapting to new realities is that we just look back at our parents generation and they had one job or worked for one company for their whole working life. Then that shifted during our lifetime.
How many jobs have you had? I know that I have had many. Some I tried just out of pure curiosity. That cat characteristic keeps surfacing as part of my cat (Leo) personality. I got interested in tarot, reiki, past lives, dowsing and so much more just out of curiosity. And that took me in unexpected directions.
My career path has not been linear for the same reasons. Oh, yes, for periods of time it was linear, but overall, not.
I remember when Grandpa retired, that was just sort of the end stage. Just relaxing, nothing special to be done. No more goals to achieve. Just a state of rest and a very easy going pace until death.
Today, however, we look around and see people in their 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s taking up new challenges and starting new careers.
Part of what I think now is that after 40 years of farm or construction work they were just worn out. Those were the kinds of work my family did. Oh eventually they branched out into other things, but still it was many years of hard work whether they worked in factories, offices, as teachers or salesmen. And the women got worn out from having and raising 4,5 or a dozen kids. Back then, family planning meant figuring out where all the kids would sleep.
Today, lots of jobs consist of sitting in front of computers and using phones to do our work which not only doesn't wear us out in the same way, it also leaves the opportunity to get up and do something else physically.
In some ways, all these changes seem chaotic. I am working on creating a transition into my next full time career, and when I look back, it had absolutely nothing to do with the career I was involved in 20 or 30 years ago, although you could see it as a tangent branching out from what I was doing 10 or 15 years ago.
Focusing on what is next is plenty to do for now. I am not even extending my vision forward another 10 or 20 years. Curiosity and surprises have led me inexorably forward until now, and no doubt they still will, for as long as I live.
How many jobs have you had? I know that I have had many. Some I tried just out of pure curiosity. That cat characteristic keeps surfacing as part of my cat (Leo) personality. I got interested in tarot, reiki, past lives, dowsing and so much more just out of curiosity. And that took me in unexpected directions.
My career path has not been linear for the same reasons. Oh, yes, for periods of time it was linear, but overall, not.
I remember when Grandpa retired, that was just sort of the end stage. Just relaxing, nothing special to be done. No more goals to achieve. Just a state of rest and a very easy going pace until death.
Today, however, we look around and see people in their 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s taking up new challenges and starting new careers.
Part of what I think now is that after 40 years of farm or construction work they were just worn out. Those were the kinds of work my family did. Oh eventually they branched out into other things, but still it was many years of hard work whether they worked in factories, offices, as teachers or salesmen. And the women got worn out from having and raising 4,5 or a dozen kids. Back then, family planning meant figuring out where all the kids would sleep.
Today, lots of jobs consist of sitting in front of computers and using phones to do our work which not only doesn't wear us out in the same way, it also leaves the opportunity to get up and do something else physically.
In some ways, all these changes seem chaotic. I am working on creating a transition into my next full time career, and when I look back, it had absolutely nothing to do with the career I was involved in 20 or 30 years ago, although you could see it as a tangent branching out from what I was doing 10 or 15 years ago.
Focusing on what is next is plenty to do for now. I am not even extending my vision forward another 10 or 20 years. Curiosity and surprises have led me inexorably forward until now, and no doubt they still will, for as long as I live.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Starring in Your Own Movie
Look at the Star card in the tarot deck. She is doing what she needs to do so that her every day life works. Maybe she is getting water from the well for bathing, cooking, drinking or cleaning. Whatever the case, today this is what needs to be done.
Yet she never loses sight of her hopes, dreams, goals. She looks up in the sky, and seeing all those brilliant lights, she knows what a limitless universe this is.
As she gazes at these stars and bathes herself in the soft night lights, a song escapes from her lips. It is only loud enough for her to hear at first, then it grows louder as she walks back home, carrying the water.
She dreams of her starring role in her next venture. It could be the part she is auditioning for in a play or a band. It could be the success she envisions with her new business. It could be the next book she will write. It could be the relationship she has always craved. It is her time to shine as she writes her own script.
The stars are spotlights shining down on her. She is the star in her own movie.
Never give up on your hopes and dreams, no matter how much you feel that at times, it will be difficult to make them come true. Every day, do what you need to do and take a step toward them. Your exact vision of what your movie will look like might change from time to time. That is fine. Editors make cuts in their movies to make them better. Editors make cuts in books to make them better. Sometimes you rewrite or reshoot a lot in order to make it fit your new vision.
Feel the moonlight on your skin. Feel the starlight on your skin. Now let the starlight come out through your eyes. Love yourself and express your dreams. Act as if you are the star in your own movie. You are. Your life is your movie.
Yet she never loses sight of her hopes, dreams, goals. She looks up in the sky, and seeing all those brilliant lights, she knows what a limitless universe this is.
As she gazes at these stars and bathes herself in the soft night lights, a song escapes from her lips. It is only loud enough for her to hear at first, then it grows louder as she walks back home, carrying the water.
She dreams of her starring role in her next venture. It could be the part she is auditioning for in a play or a band. It could be the success she envisions with her new business. It could be the next book she will write. It could be the relationship she has always craved. It is her time to shine as she writes her own script.
The stars are spotlights shining down on her. She is the star in her own movie.
Never give up on your hopes and dreams, no matter how much you feel that at times, it will be difficult to make them come true. Every day, do what you need to do and take a step toward them. Your exact vision of what your movie will look like might change from time to time. That is fine. Editors make cuts in their movies to make them better. Editors make cuts in books to make them better. Sometimes you rewrite or reshoot a lot in order to make it fit your new vision.
Feel the moonlight on your skin. Feel the starlight on your skin. Now let the starlight come out through your eyes. Love yourself and express your dreams. Act as if you are the star in your own movie. You are. Your life is your movie.
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