One of the most common themes or plot devices in Shakespeare's plays is that of mistaken identities. Obviously, there is an immediate opportunity for comedy when one person is mmistaken for another. Then there are the instances where one person puts on a disguise and deliberately tries to mislead others.
Why was this such a popular theme? Perhaps because dreaming of being someone else is such a common concept?
Invisibility is one of the powers that people most often fantasize about having. The ability to see the world from another perspective, to find out how others view them, to be able to go places that they might not be allowed to go in ordinary circumstances.
How does it feel to be wearing mask and costume at a party and have others not know who you really are? Wearing a disguise is one of the oldest ways to be hidden in plain sight. While others are guessing who you are, you can act in ways very different than your ordinary self, try on another persona to see how you like being a very different person. During this brief interlude you can get a small taste of what it might be like to live a different life.
Another aspect of disguise and other identities is the ritual use of costumes and masks, which is really quite similar in nature, except that it is done with a different purpose in mind. From the ancient tribal days when people would don an animal skin and a head dress and dance before a hunt to the modern priest putting on a robe, a business person putting on a suit, an athlete putting on a team uniform, soldiers wearing a military uniform, or someone getting sexily dressed up to go out dancing, these other identities serve their purpose for a brief period of time. When the ritual, game, business meetings, or dance are over, we change back into our usual clothes, and we act differently again.
Mistaken identities are not always mistakes. They can reveal our inner self and our inner desires. Sometimes the impressions we give others are unintended, and other times, they contain a great deal of forethought, conscious or unconscious.
Have you ever had someone tell you that you look especially good today? That is just a glimpse of you revealing another aspect of your personality. Have you ever felt that you could do more when you were dressed in a certain way? That is one of the ways in which the external aspects of costuming, masking, or "suiting up" encourages us to rise to the occasion.
Mistaken identities are not always mistakes.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Friday, August 7, 2009
Letting Go Into the Flow
This cycle of eclipses remind us that a path leading out of constriction and limitation may begin with letting go. Letting go opens the way for new energies to flow. When we hold on to things or situations too tightly, we can constrict the free flow of energy.
The path of least resistance offers us a true guide. When we focus our attention and our own intuition will point out that we have to let go of something in order to obtain something else, and we experience real power is in letting go, rather than hanging on.
Feel it. Have you ever felt frustrated trying to find a job that was exactly the way you would like it to be? In letting go, we allow the universe to present us with another opportunity that we might never have thought of before.Or we might find ourselves considering an opportunity that we had deliberately overlooked before because it did not fit our description. Instead of holding a vision of exactly this or that kind of job, what if our description were loosened up? What if we simply affirmed that we want to have some kind of work that we would feel good about doing every day?
How many people have held on tight to a relationship that is not what we want, but we are afraid to let go because we do not feel like we could find one better? What if we simply affirmed that we trust the universe to bring us into contact with others who might form the right and perfect relationships with us, for the good of all concerned, and with the free will of all concerned?
Letting go requires trust in the universe. Letting go requires trust in our selves. Letting go is acknowledging that there are many forces in the universe conspiring to present us with great opportunities for a happy, abundant life. In order to experience this, we must let go of the view that there are others preventing us from having a great life. Once we let go, energy moves around us, through us and with us, and we have new opportunities for joy and satisfaction in any area of life we desire. We have to let go in order to feel these other energies working with us.
The path of least resistance offers us a true guide. When we focus our attention and our own intuition will point out that we have to let go of something in order to obtain something else, and we experience real power is in letting go, rather than hanging on.
Feel it. Have you ever felt frustrated trying to find a job that was exactly the way you would like it to be? In letting go, we allow the universe to present us with another opportunity that we might never have thought of before.Or we might find ourselves considering an opportunity that we had deliberately overlooked before because it did not fit our description. Instead of holding a vision of exactly this or that kind of job, what if our description were loosened up? What if we simply affirmed that we want to have some kind of work that we would feel good about doing every day?
How many people have held on tight to a relationship that is not what we want, but we are afraid to let go because we do not feel like we could find one better? What if we simply affirmed that we trust the universe to bring us into contact with others who might form the right and perfect relationships with us, for the good of all concerned, and with the free will of all concerned?
Letting go requires trust in the universe. Letting go requires trust in our selves. Letting go is acknowledging that there are many forces in the universe conspiring to present us with great opportunities for a happy, abundant life. In order to experience this, we must let go of the view that there are others preventing us from having a great life. Once we let go, energy moves around us, through us and with us, and we have new opportunities for joy and satisfaction in any area of life we desire. We have to let go in order to feel these other energies working with us.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Students and Teachers
Teachers can take different forms in our lives. Sometimes they are official teachers, like those we have in school, but sometimes they are unofficial teachers, people with whom we can share and learn from. Mentors is a word for such people in our lives.
Outside of the school model, we choose our teachers because we admire them and what they have accomplished. We also choose them because we see something in them that we want which we recognize from the way they are.
We may at times be prompted to learn from our teachers because we are challenged by the lessons they present us. Challenges can cause us to reach beyond what we have done and grow in our abilities and confidence.
Different teachers have different ways to get us there.
A good student also challenges the teacher to find better ways to communicate the lessons and get value from them. Asking questions is the dynamic by which students increase their ability to digest the material, and in asking, they encourage the teacher to dig deeper.
I have learned from many other people, and I have taught many other people. The old saying that "when the student is ready, the teacher appears" is true, and I would expand on it this way. The student who asks for a teacher and then dedicates themselves to learning all they can from that teacher will get the most from the experience.
Whether working with the teacher for a long or short time, what is transmitted includes not just the subject at hand, but more. The exchange between student and teacher can include valuable life lessons, insights, and ways of approaching and understanding a subject. Feelings of love and appreciation often flow from such relationships. Feelings of self confidence and encouragement bring the student to new horizons where the landscape opens to new views, new possibilities.
As we all know by now, we can not judge how great a teacher will be simply on the basis of how many certificates or degrees they have. Often times we will choose a teacher because we feel a connection with them as well as a mastery of the subject matter.
We extract lessons from between the lessons. We sense when our time with that teacher has come to its end. What we learn in the process stays with us for a lifetime. What we gain from the student teacher experience is always evolving, because we are always changing.
We are never done learning. The only question is whether we openly and consciously embrace it. It is not a question of whether we will always have new teachers, it is simply a matter of who, and how actively we are engaged in the process. It is always a good day to begin again.
Outside of the school model, we choose our teachers because we admire them and what they have accomplished. We also choose them because we see something in them that we want which we recognize from the way they are.
We may at times be prompted to learn from our teachers because we are challenged by the lessons they present us. Challenges can cause us to reach beyond what we have done and grow in our abilities and confidence.
Different teachers have different ways to get us there.
A good student also challenges the teacher to find better ways to communicate the lessons and get value from them. Asking questions is the dynamic by which students increase their ability to digest the material, and in asking, they encourage the teacher to dig deeper.
I have learned from many other people, and I have taught many other people. The old saying that "when the student is ready, the teacher appears" is true, and I would expand on it this way. The student who asks for a teacher and then dedicates themselves to learning all they can from that teacher will get the most from the experience.
Whether working with the teacher for a long or short time, what is transmitted includes not just the subject at hand, but more. The exchange between student and teacher can include valuable life lessons, insights, and ways of approaching and understanding a subject. Feelings of love and appreciation often flow from such relationships. Feelings of self confidence and encouragement bring the student to new horizons where the landscape opens to new views, new possibilities.
As we all know by now, we can not judge how great a teacher will be simply on the basis of how many certificates or degrees they have. Often times we will choose a teacher because we feel a connection with them as well as a mastery of the subject matter.
We extract lessons from between the lessons. We sense when our time with that teacher has come to its end. What we learn in the process stays with us for a lifetime. What we gain from the student teacher experience is always evolving, because we are always changing.
We are never done learning. The only question is whether we openly and consciously embrace it. It is not a question of whether we will always have new teachers, it is simply a matter of who, and how actively we are engaged in the process. It is always a good day to begin again.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
August Full Moon with Eclipse
August's full moon is known by a few different names: Grain Moon, Corn Moon, Barley Moon, Sturgeon Moon, Red Moon. The corn, barley and grain names reference the fact that this is the time of year when the fullness and harvesting of these crops occurs. These staple food items long ago became an integral part of our diets.
People gave thanks for the success of these crops with festivals and ceremonial offerings, like baking loaves of bread from the first harvests and having them blessed by priests at the Loaf Mass (Lammas) which is usually celebrated at the first of August. This tradition, originated in the older goddess oriented cultures. The development of agriculture with its regular abundant harvests produced on pieces of land that were continuously cultivated, was key to changing cultures from hunter/gatherer tribes and establishing towns and villages and all of the cultural changes that flowed from these settlements.
Sturgeon moon comes from tribes in the midwest who would find this to be a great month to catch these large Great Lakes fish, which could be smoked and dried for eating later, as well as for immediate consumption.
It could also be known as the Red Moon, because seasonal and atmospheric changes appear to give the moon a reddish color as it rises this month.
Thus we celebrate the first of the waves of harvest. The September full moon is the one we call the Harvest Moon, with that being the time of year for harvesting pumpkins, squash, nuts, grapes, apples, and other fruits and vegetables. At the Blood Moon in October, people celebrated the harvesting and hunting of meat, gleaning of the fields of any remaining produce and laying in a stock of firewood for the winter.
Each harvest was celebrated a bit differently, with different folklore and traditions attached, but always with an underlying theme of gratitude, because the weather could have everything to do with the success of the harvest and thus, survival. The cooperation of friends and neighbors was also a factor.
Nature moves in cycles and waves, and people who learned to work with these, and coordinate their energies with these shifting energies of nature were most successful. In successive months, different tasks presented themselves to be done, each in their turn. Even though we are not all farmers or hunters, there are still ways in which we benefit when we harmonize our selves with the cycles of moons and seasons.
Heighten your intuition by spending a little time reflecting or meditating with the full moon. Just as it influences tides, it influences feelings and insights. There will also be an eclipse on this full moon, and an eclipse brings an extra bounce, or jolt of energy with it. Full moons are always a special time, and the things done on a full moon are bathed in the magic of this special light. If you feel a special wave of subtle energy tonight, this is why. Open your heart, your creativity and your third eye, and bask in the gift of energy from this eclipse full moon.
People gave thanks for the success of these crops with festivals and ceremonial offerings, like baking loaves of bread from the first harvests and having them blessed by priests at the Loaf Mass (Lammas) which is usually celebrated at the first of August. This tradition, originated in the older goddess oriented cultures. The development of agriculture with its regular abundant harvests produced on pieces of land that were continuously cultivated, was key to changing cultures from hunter/gatherer tribes and establishing towns and villages and all of the cultural changes that flowed from these settlements.
Sturgeon moon comes from tribes in the midwest who would find this to be a great month to catch these large Great Lakes fish, which could be smoked and dried for eating later, as well as for immediate consumption.
It could also be known as the Red Moon, because seasonal and atmospheric changes appear to give the moon a reddish color as it rises this month.
Thus we celebrate the first of the waves of harvest. The September full moon is the one we call the Harvest Moon, with that being the time of year for harvesting pumpkins, squash, nuts, grapes, apples, and other fruits and vegetables. At the Blood Moon in October, people celebrated the harvesting and hunting of meat, gleaning of the fields of any remaining produce and laying in a stock of firewood for the winter.
Each harvest was celebrated a bit differently, with different folklore and traditions attached, but always with an underlying theme of gratitude, because the weather could have everything to do with the success of the harvest and thus, survival. The cooperation of friends and neighbors was also a factor.
Nature moves in cycles and waves, and people who learned to work with these, and coordinate their energies with these shifting energies of nature were most successful. In successive months, different tasks presented themselves to be done, each in their turn. Even though we are not all farmers or hunters, there are still ways in which we benefit when we harmonize our selves with the cycles of moons and seasons.
Heighten your intuition by spending a little time reflecting or meditating with the full moon. Just as it influences tides, it influences feelings and insights. There will also be an eclipse on this full moon, and an eclipse brings an extra bounce, or jolt of energy with it. Full moons are always a special time, and the things done on a full moon are bathed in the magic of this special light. If you feel a special wave of subtle energy tonight, this is why. Open your heart, your creativity and your third eye, and bask in the gift of energy from this eclipse full moon.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Green Dreams
Green dreams include renewable energy, locally grown, healthy foods, recycling and things along those lines. Green dreams include creating work that celebrates life. Green dreams include creating new kinds of work and new opportunities. Green dreams also include ways of making a living that work for everyone.
Green dreams also include living in a way that keeps us in touch with nature. Green dreams include harmonizing our energies with those of nature. Green dreams finds power in work with, rather than against.
Green dreams include visions of the future in which simple pleasures provide what we need. Green dreams include legalizing the well known weed.
Green dreams include sustainable living and at the same time, a way of living that we want to sustain. Green dreams include spirituality that celebrates nature and our nature. Green dreams include life not just as it is, but as we would like it to be.
Green dreams also include living in a way that keeps us in touch with nature. Green dreams include harmonizing our energies with those of nature. Green dreams finds power in work with, rather than against.
Green dreams include visions of the future in which simple pleasures provide what we need. Green dreams include legalizing the well known weed.
Green dreams include sustainable living and at the same time, a way of living that we want to sustain. Green dreams include spirituality that celebrates nature and our nature. Green dreams include life not just as it is, but as we would like it to be.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
A Moving Ritual
Here is a ritual method that I have found useful for moving.
As I prepare to move, I look over every item to consider whether I want to keep it in my life. If so, it gets packed. If not, it is either given away, sold, or otherwise disposed of. I choose whether it is something I will continue to use, or if it is so beautiful that I want to have it gracing the presence of my new place.
Moving often is a process we often treat as simply packing everything up now and eventually sorting through it in the new place. Sometimes those boxes have a way of never getting unpacked and simply taking up space in the new place. How much more energy flow there is in the move into a new place if we treat the process differently. Sorting before packing, I become very conscious of what things I have and what things I need. What I need will become a little clearer after the move, and then yard sales or stores can provide the appropriate items.
Simple can be powerful. I came up with this ritual after one moving experience where I literally boxed up everything and made several long trips to move. Then a few months later, I moved again, and after that move, I realized that some of those things that just got moved twice, I didn't really use much and could easily let go of. That would have saved me quite a few hours of driving, packing and unpacking had I realized that earlier plus I could have made money or made gifts out of what I no longer wanted or needed.
When I moved out here, I did not have a permanent address or a job and so moving everything was not an option. So I sorted through everything and just brought the books, music, art and other items I most wanted to keep. I kept the clothing that was really useful and my favorites to wear. The rest was donated to charity. Amazingly, everything that fit that description fit into my car. I had to redo the exercise several times, because, of course, at first, everything I wanted did not fit in the car, so the car became the organizing guideline.
Actually considering what is needed or really wanted and what stuff just keeps getting packed and moved because we have not made a decision becomes a very powerful clearing exercise, not just for your stuff, but for your self. It is a very outward sign for what you want to continue or do more of, and what you are letting go of and doing less of. You are preparing your life for the next stage of your unfolding and growth.
By the time I unpack in my new place, I will feel much more there. It takes some time living in a new space before it really feels as at home there as in the old place. But this moving ritual has made that transition much more powerful as a tool to digest and assimilate the lessons that are presenting themselves. It also increases the amount of joy in the unpacking process, because with every box you unpack, you know that this is something you want and will use, rather than finding your self saying "now why did I bring this?"
Making a ritual out of an activity that signals a major change makes a mundane task into something special and meaningful.
As I prepare to move, I look over every item to consider whether I want to keep it in my life. If so, it gets packed. If not, it is either given away, sold, or otherwise disposed of. I choose whether it is something I will continue to use, or if it is so beautiful that I want to have it gracing the presence of my new place.
Moving often is a process we often treat as simply packing everything up now and eventually sorting through it in the new place. Sometimes those boxes have a way of never getting unpacked and simply taking up space in the new place. How much more energy flow there is in the move into a new place if we treat the process differently. Sorting before packing, I become very conscious of what things I have and what things I need. What I need will become a little clearer after the move, and then yard sales or stores can provide the appropriate items.
Simple can be powerful. I came up with this ritual after one moving experience where I literally boxed up everything and made several long trips to move. Then a few months later, I moved again, and after that move, I realized that some of those things that just got moved twice, I didn't really use much and could easily let go of. That would have saved me quite a few hours of driving, packing and unpacking had I realized that earlier plus I could have made money or made gifts out of what I no longer wanted or needed.
When I moved out here, I did not have a permanent address or a job and so moving everything was not an option. So I sorted through everything and just brought the books, music, art and other items I most wanted to keep. I kept the clothing that was really useful and my favorites to wear. The rest was donated to charity. Amazingly, everything that fit that description fit into my car. I had to redo the exercise several times, because, of course, at first, everything I wanted did not fit in the car, so the car became the organizing guideline.
Actually considering what is needed or really wanted and what stuff just keeps getting packed and moved because we have not made a decision becomes a very powerful clearing exercise, not just for your stuff, but for your self. It is a very outward sign for what you want to continue or do more of, and what you are letting go of and doing less of. You are preparing your life for the next stage of your unfolding and growth.
By the time I unpack in my new place, I will feel much more there. It takes some time living in a new space before it really feels as at home there as in the old place. But this moving ritual has made that transition much more powerful as a tool to digest and assimilate the lessons that are presenting themselves. It also increases the amount of joy in the unpacking process, because with every box you unpack, you know that this is something you want and will use, rather than finding your self saying "now why did I bring this?"
Making a ritual out of an activity that signals a major change makes a mundane task into something special and meaningful.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Unscripted Moments
Our parents had plans for us. The script ran like this. Go to church that they went to, go to the schools they chose for us, after school get a steady job in some company and stay there for your whole working life. Get married, buy a house, have kids, and encourage them to follow all these steps themselves.
One by one, each of these pieces of the picture changed. We chose our own spiritual paths, which in many cases, has nothing to do with a church. We got degrees from schools, but they often bore no resemblance to what kinds of jobs we got. We changed jobs many times. We moved many times. We got married and divorced, often more than once.
So now our lives are made up of unscripted moments. Developments surprise us at every turn. In moment after moment, we find our selves facing decisions asking, "What next?"
After making one choice, we find ourselves in subsequent situations wondering how we got there. We are faced with our next choice, which has to be made on instinct, because we were not even ready for the question. We choose based on our feeling of the flow. Then the next choice presents itself and how many times have we simply thrown up our hands and asked the universe "Why not?"
Every choice is laden with surprises where whether we are pleased or displeased with our outcome, we are amazed to find ourselves where we are.
We constantly have to recalibrate as we observe the path we are on and wonder where it will lead us. Even those things that are planned bring surprises. Even when we achieve our goals, there are surprises.
And after all this, life is fresh every day, because the one constant is that we know that we do not know, and so each decision made with our intuition and input from our spirit guides offers the chance to plot a new course. Although with the rapid evolution we are experiencing, the path twists, turns and zigzags a lot, and we will still have many more unscripted moments where we will choose in that moment what we want and how to get there, and each moment will be an act of freedom, totally unscripted, left up to us to improvise.
One by one, each of these pieces of the picture changed. We chose our own spiritual paths, which in many cases, has nothing to do with a church. We got degrees from schools, but they often bore no resemblance to what kinds of jobs we got. We changed jobs many times. We moved many times. We got married and divorced, often more than once.
So now our lives are made up of unscripted moments. Developments surprise us at every turn. In moment after moment, we find our selves facing decisions asking, "What next?"
After making one choice, we find ourselves in subsequent situations wondering how we got there. We are faced with our next choice, which has to be made on instinct, because we were not even ready for the question. We choose based on our feeling of the flow. Then the next choice presents itself and how many times have we simply thrown up our hands and asked the universe "Why not?"
Every choice is laden with surprises where whether we are pleased or displeased with our outcome, we are amazed to find ourselves where we are.
We constantly have to recalibrate as we observe the path we are on and wonder where it will lead us. Even those things that are planned bring surprises. Even when we achieve our goals, there are surprises.
And after all this, life is fresh every day, because the one constant is that we know that we do not know, and so each decision made with our intuition and input from our spirit guides offers the chance to plot a new course. Although with the rapid evolution we are experiencing, the path twists, turns and zigzags a lot, and we will still have many more unscripted moments where we will choose in that moment what we want and how to get there, and each moment will be an act of freedom, totally unscripted, left up to us to improvise.
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