Masking and UNmasking

Isn't it interesting how the masking and unmasking we do at costume parties mirrors what is going on in the world around us? The green leaves that sprouted in spring and came to fullness in summer now turn colors and fall to the ground, leaving only the skeletons of the trees contrasted against the sky. 

During the year people see us in different ways. One mask might be our professional status, the face which others see as we present ourselves as skilled individuals. Another face is our personal self where we engage in our relationships, hobbies, activities and other pursuits. Then we have our spiritual persona where we follow our spiritual path or our religious rituals. 

Yet, at the heart of it all, there is simply the person who embodies all of this. Where others may see only one of these aspects of us, few see all of them. 

Standing in our sacred space, reflecting on our place in the world, we choose which aspect of our persona we choose to present next. Consciously choosing what is next we may emphasize a different aspect of our professional practice, relationships, avocations and spiritual practices. 

So the metaphor of masks at parties reveals truth. The characters we choose to inhabit for an evening at a party is a playful way of trying on some other character or characteristics that we wish to experience. 

The masks we wear may be revealing the truth of the direction we desire. Yes, I know that one thought may be that this is only an evening's entertainment.

Now look again, for there is a root of truth that appeals to us when we choose to read the same kinds of books, the same kinds of movies and are fascinated by the same kinds of stories over and over again. There are common threads that appeal to our sense of who we are and what kind of world we want what kind of life we want, how we would like to see ourselves as a person. 

Masking is a way of looking at the world through different eyes for a while and letting others see us differently for a while. As we all have experienced, this can be very enlivening and enlightening. And that is why we look forward to doing it. 

Knowing this about ourselves is revealing of inner truths as we enjoy our revelry. Knowing this about Halloween is like appreciating the difference between soul cakes and trick or treat.

You see in the old days, at Halloween, visitors would come to visit and sing songs, say prayers or tell stories about those who had died this year and the hosts would offer them soul cakes and drinks in appreciation. The Celts called this day Samhain and it marked the beginning of winter. They would also set a place at the table for the person who had died, and this was called the dumb supper.

Ironically, in a far a way country which we now call Mexico, on that very same day of the year, the Celebration was called La Dia de Los Muertos, or the Day of the Dead. And on this day too, the dead were honored with their favorite food and people told stories to remember them and wish them well on their journey into the next world, and like the Celts, they also bake special breads just for this holiday.

In both cases, the honoring of the dead was also a celebration of life. The Day of the Dead prominently features skeletons dancing, affirming that life goes on on another level. 

So the sweetness of life and the recognition of the various levels of self that we consider on this holiday offers a great insight into what life means to us, how we see ourselves and the impact we have on others. Masks and treats of this holiday are other aspects of self hidden in plain sight. And the pleasure is that all of this can be enjoyed with a great deal of fun, illumination and imagination. It is delicious, isn't it? 

Mastery is a State of Mind

If we keep our focus on our primary concerns, we see that mastery, in all forms, is first and foremost, a state of mind. Sometimes people may reverse these aspects, thinking that hand positions, dexterity or agility are the marks of mastery, but it is the state of mind that precedes these things that create the mastery. 

 

When we are possessed by a strong desire to be excellent at something, our mindset comes first, and then we acquire the skills.

 

I think that sometimes we see it incorrectly because we are viewing it from the end point. We see a person who is an excellent athlete, dancer, musician, carpenter, gardener, mechanic, chef, seamstress, salesperson, or whatever it is we are admiring and often we think "oh that person was just born with more talent than me." Not true.

 

We all are born with potential, but that potential never develops into a skill or talent unless we practice. 

 

So what state of mind am I referring to? I am referring to clarity, stability, peace, self confidence, the state of balance that helps us navigate our course so that we can continue on our course to achieve our goals and handle whatever challenges cross our path without getting angry and out of control. Knowing that we can rise to a new level to meet any challenge and continue in a flow of love and peace because we have a connection to our spirit guides, whether we call them God, Goddess, angels, ancestors, animal totems, friends and relatives who have already crossed the veil and still return to help us. However we think of them, they help us keep our sense of peace, love and direction. Keeping in touch at this level is what helps us to live in a state of mastery.    

 

You know that feeling that you get when you are really in the flow? You know, peace of mind, focus, clarity, contentment? Those feelings allow you the space to operate from, to begin to learn to do those things that you want to, to learn the skills that you want to master. In other words, our spiritual attitude is key to our ability to learn new things and do them well. It is this attitude that lets us act with clarity rather than running around like chickens with our heads cut off.  

 

You see, those feelings of peace, contentment, focus and clarity help remove the obstacles of distraction and turmoil and confusion.

 

Mastery is the decision to have peace in your life. How we achieve peace is a choice we make because there are both loud and celebratory, joyful things that we do that bring us happiness and peace, and there are also simple accomplishments that bring us quiet peace. Altogether, these all add us to enjoying our life more, and doing so in a way that when others experience what we do, they recognize excellence and ask us how did you learn to do that? 

 

The answer is that sometimes we teach ourselves and sometimes we ask others to teach us. However, it is always our state of mind that begins it all. 

 

Possessing that feeling of mastery lets us focus and make conscious choices, rather than feeling like we are floundering and chaotic. That is always the starting point of mastery in our life. It starts within. With a focus, a vision, a desire.

 

There are times when we may be confused and not certain of what we want to master. At those moments, it is important to go within. It is natural that our vision for ourselves evolves. What is your vision now? What is your focus now? What is your desire now?

Mastery can also apply to adapting new habits that benefit our health and well being. It usually takes some effort to change our habits, but the effort is worth it. Mastery is, above all, our connection to our spirit guides, our selves, others and then, the things we do.

Can you get in touch with the inner space where we can sense that still point, the place from which we navigate?

Being able to do so helps us know what is important and what is our next best move. Mastery is within our grasp. Mastery is within our spirit. Mastery is within our consciousness. Sometimes we just have to focus on getting back in touch with it. 

 

The Eternal Dance of the Student and Teacher

Shortly, those who have school age children will be getting ready to send them off to school again. And there may have been a time when we were very young that we thought that once we graduated school that the entire business of student and teacher would be over forever. 

Later on, we realized that we are always learning, whether it is new skills for a particular job, playing a musical instrument, a sport, a game, a hobby, or life skills for improving our relationships and exploring developments that would enrich us spiritually, philosophically or physically.

And in time, we found ourselves being the ones that others came to for advice, and perhaps we were surprised by who asked us and why. 

And that may lead us into a one on one mentor relationship or a group class, a formal or informal course of studies.

You see, once we have taken care of finding work and a home, our attention often wanders into areas that will enrich our lives. As we get older, we give more thought to subjects like mortality, parallel dimensions of life and our legacies. As we do, we realize that legacies can be much more than the physical things we leave behind. Legacies are also about what we have taught and shared and about how well those we have taught and shared with have evolved. 

The realization that we are always both student and teacher upends the notion that we only learn for a while and then we are done. Awakenings may have come to us at a time of career change, a relationship beginning or ending, facing a serious health challenge or the death of someone close to us. 

When we look closely at what we do, if we pursue excellence, we are always asking how we can do what we do better. It is at these moments when new truths reveal themselves. When we are preparing to teach someone else and it suddenly occurs to us how we can present the subject better. Or when we are doing something we have done for quite a while and suddenly we discover another way to practice it. 

We are never really done learning or teaching. Some times we are one, some times we are the other. We are both at the same time and it is rewarding and deeply satisfying to know this as we act on it.

The subjects may change, but in essence, they are always the same. We are always exploring and discovering ways to improve the quality of our lives and this always affects those connected to us. 

Our circles of connection are more extensive than we often realize, encompassing not only lovers, but close friends, relatives, co-workers, neighbors and casual acquaintances. And then if we have published anything on line, who knows who saw it? 

If we are always conscious of our own evolution, then there is no end to the new beginnings and fresh starts waiting to be unveiled, experiences for us to step into.

Celebrating Freedom from limiting thoughts and openness to new ideas

We recently celebrated July 4th, which is about how we fought for our freedom as a country by choosing to free ourselves from the British Empire and create our own country where we would have the freedom to live as we like and elect leaders who would represent our interests, first and foremost.

In some ways, we do this every day when we wake up and begin another day. Each day, we are given another opportunity to make new choices and explore new ideas.

What kind of new ideas? Within recent years we have chosen to explore new spiritual paths and practices, many very different from the ones we knew earlier in our lives.

Energy healing is another practice that many people are opening up to, and as we open to these practices, we experience how well they work.

Ideas about positive thinking and the Law of Attraction give us a different perspective on life, which encourage us to choose more consciously to create our lives.

When we look at life from a fresh perspective, we change the way we eat and the ways we relate to food. We change the way we think about voting and who we choose to represent us.

New ideas also lead us to choose different forms of entertainment. Growing numbers of people have now disconnected from cable and satellite dishes and get their news and entertainment through the internet, independent radio stations, watching documentaries and independent films and reading different books or joining discussion groups, book clubs and meetings which support their new exploration of ideas.

Many people have been forced by changes in the economy to figure out new ways to make a living, and although the changes can be wrenching and traumatic at first, many have found more satisfactory ways to make their living.

One of the things I do most often is help people see other possibilities and support them in their transitions. Often at times like this, we need people who will support and encourage our choices and our new thinking because in our explorations some of our old friends may think that we are off track, so it takes someone else who has an objective vision to help us see more clearly and encourages us to continue our explorations to have a happier new phase of life.

Given the changes in our world, we need new friends and helpers who will support our new visions for our lives and are traveling down these new roads themselves to create a better life for themselves. Opening our minds to new thoughts will lead us to explore new territories and these new worlds we are living in may bear little resemblance to our earlier lives.

As we enjoy the fireworks, what are the ways that we are freeing our minds to live in new states of independence? What new ways of thinking will help us enjoy our new freedoms? What will our next step be? Even though changes can be kind of scary and upend our old status quo, the rewards on the other side are exciting.

Remember that courage means proceeding even in the face of doubt. Doing a sure thing requires no courage. As we call upon our courage, we can feel the physical sensations in our body when we rise to meet new challenges. New thoughts may encourage us to act swiftly and decisively, and as we make progress, there will be new waves of joy that confirm our choices.

Creating a new country and creating a new life have these things in common. Countries can be pieces of geography and they can also be states of mind. What will you choose next?

In a few days we will be celebrating July 4th, which is about how we fought for our freedom as a country by choosing to free ourselves from the British Empire and create our own country where we would have the freedom to live as we like and elect leaders who would represent our interests, first and foremost.

In some ways, we do this every day when we wake up and begin another day. Each day, we are given another opportunity to make new choices and explore new ideas. 

What kind of new ideas? Within recent years we have chosen to explore new spiritual paths and practices, many very different from the ones we knew earlier in our lives. 

Energy healing is another practice that many people are opening up to, and as we open to these practices, we experience how well they work. 

Ideas about positive thinking and the Law of Attraction give us a different perspective on life, which encourage us to choose more consciously to create our lives.

When we look at life from a fresh perspective, we change the way we eat and the ways we relate to food. We change the way we think about voting and who we choose to represent us. 

New ideas also lead us to choose different forms of entertainment. Growing numbers of people have now disconnected from cable and satellite dishes and get their news and entertainment through the internet, independent radio stations, watching documentaries and independent films and reading different books or joining discussion groups, book clubs and meetings which support their new exploration of ideas. 

Many people have been forced by changes in the economy to figure out new ways to make a living, and although the changes can be wrenching and traumatic at first, many have found more satisfactory ways to make their living. 

One of the things I do most often is help people see other possibilities and support them in their transitions. Often at times like this, we need people who will support and encourage our choices and our new thinking because in our explorations some of our old friends may think that we are off track, so it takes someone else who has an objective vision to help us see more clearly and encourages us to continue our explorations to have a happier new phase of life. 

Given th

How to maintain good energy when times are difficult

I have always felt that there is good energy in the building where I live. Now I know why. Recently one of my neighbors told me that long ago, the local hospital was just a couple of blocks from here and so this building was built as housing for the nurses who worked there so that they could live within walking distance. No wonder I always feel lots of good juju here.

There is now a large sign more than 6 feet tall out front advertising the property for sale.

Every day I wake up, I express gratitude for having another day. I also express gratitude for being able to live here and affirm that for today, and for as long as it lasts, I will be happy to be here. When the time comes that someone else buys the property then I will know whether I can stay or have to move. Since I cannot afford to buy the property, that decision is not within my hands. I maintain my peace of mind by affirming that I am happy today. Other decisions will be made in the future.

Sometimes it is hard for us to stay in the present at times like these. I know that some of my clients have had difficult transitions finding new jobs after being laid off, or getting out of problem relationships and finding new ones.

We have to remain confident that there is a solution for us, even if we cannot see it right now. Sometimes it takes time, and sometimes we may not be able to see it because our attention has been focused elsewhere.

In the bigger picture of our lives, sometimes we need to take a step back and reflect so recognize why we are where we are and where we are going next.

What did we get out of being here? How did our life change for the better? What is the next thing for us to do? Do we have a plan for our progress? Do we have a burning desire to change our direction?

Each time we come to one of these important transitions, we have an opportunity to choose again.

As we look back, note how the choices we made then were made with the best information we had at the time. We acted on it in a way that made sense to us. So now we act with the information we have now. At each birthday, we look at our future through the lens of experience and wisdom we have acquired since our last birthday, and then we apply that going forward.

The current situation of my possible move has motivated me to really start a deep house cleaning so that if and when I need to move, I am only taking with me what I really want and need, and also rediscovering things that it would be good for me to either use again, discard, give away or learn from again.

Staying calm, staying present, we are able to enjoy each day and able to make the best of every opportunity in life.

Enjoy the playful spirit of the Summer Solstice this coming Monday. Savor the beauty of the longest day of sunlight in the year, and celebrate in whatever way you feel best.

Gaining Control by losing control. How does this make sense?

We have all heard of that expression "one day at a time." I am getting an exercise in that right now as I continue to live where I live without a lease and without knowing what will happen until someone buys the property and announces their intentions. So each day I get up and give thanks for the opportunity to live here and for having another day of life. Whether I get to stay or have to move will be a decision that is out of my hands at this time. I appreciate each day for what it is and I do what I need to do every day.

It takes a lot of courage to trust that things will work out without knowing the answers to all our questions. It also takes a lot of courage to be open to possible developments that we had not anticipated. Actually, doing some research now is revealing some patterns that I had only been vaguely aware of before. At this moment I am keeping those discoveries to myself until I see how they all add up and how they may influence future choices. Suffice it to say that I am making discoveries because these factors are causing me to research and reconsider what I know and what I prefer.

Face it, it can be unnerving when we have a plan and it unfolds in a different manner than we expected because it took a different turn.

We all like it when things go according to our plans. But sometimes, it just happens that someone else makes a decision or takes an action that sets in motion a chain of events and next thing you know, your schedule has changed and your plans have changed.

Be patient. The changes work out just fine. Just like that old saying about when one door closes and another opens.

Sometimes we gain control when we lose control. Here is a simple example of a fun way to experience this. I used to lead drumming circles and still use the drums with people who want a different kind of meditation experience. By just listening and following what we hear, we feel the music and our minds are just following that track. Malidoma Some, an African drummer and shaman whom I had the pleasure of encountering says that "a person who has trouble with drumming has trouble with listening."

Consider that for a moment. When we become more aware and pay attention to the signs we pick up from all around us, we find new paths. We learn melodies that we did not know. Fresh thoughts come to us. And we learn to work with others more beautifully, more harmoniously. We play together, listening to each other, we find a groove and that frees our mind to travel. And we would never have discovered those paths had we not opened our ears to listen.

So you are not drumming, you say? All drumming comes back to the first drum, our heartbeat, our breath. As we are more observant and aware of our surroundings, we perceive in ways that were once not visible to us. Hidden in plain sight is also revealed by listening to things that we have not been tuning into before.

It's also interesting how sometimes pieces of information come to us that help us make decisions that we were not even searching for. Guess all you can say is that the guiding influences in our life must have intended for us to have those, whether we call those guiding influences God, Goddess, spirit guides, ancestors, angels or something else. So here we are. Once again making a decision that veers off our original course. Is that bad? No. Making changes often leads to finding a better way to do things.

If we allow things to come to us, they will. Sometimes not being certain will get us where we want to be, except that the process of discovery reveals that we are in a place that we did not know we wanted to be but it is working out well although it was unexpected.

And we can gain control by losing control.



* A note about the photos. The image on top is the 4 of Wands from Ciro Marchetti's Tarot of Dreams which is one of the decks I read with all the time. The bottom photo is Layne Redmond, one of my teachers in the world of drumming.

What do I not know that I need to know?

This is a question I ask myself every day. And it is something that I ask my spirit guides every day. Throughout my life, curiosity has been a guiding light in my life. I always figure that if something keeps coming to my attention that there must be a reason for that. I figure that my spirit guides bring these things to my attention because they want me to check it out.

As a result of these prompts, some of what I learned I taught myself by reading books or experimenting and some things I found teachers to teach me.

Life becomes an adventure in this way. We explore paths that are unknown to us in search of elusive goals, but we are motivated because we know that there must be something worth while out there. And the variety is infinite. This question extends into all areas of life. What will I discover if I explore my ancestry? And there are times in life when we want to know the answers to these questions, and some times when we just don't care.

When I wanted to have the experience of hiking in the desert while the cactus were blooming, or when I went to art fairs just to look at art then maybe talk to the artists or buy a piece, I got to experience the world from another point of view.

When I went snorkeling and swam with the brightly colored fish among the coral reefs, it was a different experience of the world again.

One time when I was hiking in the mountains and a glider pilot was riding the currents of lift that he got on the border between the mountains and the desert, and he passed by so close that I could see the pilot and it was stunning to think that he was flying in a plane and I was walking but we were seeing eye to eye. Or times when I was cross country skiing and we were looking out over a cliff, and there was desert below. We were standing in snow, wearing warm clothes, with boots and skis on, but directly below was desert, sand, cactus and all.

To be on the edge of one world and able to see into another, my mind could jump back and forth, knowing how it was to be here and also knowing how it was to be there.

When I wanted to know if psychic abilities were real or not, it was like that again. To know how it is to be able to be here, and also to be able to know hot it feels to do that. A common concept that is often expressed about shamans and witches is that they are walkers in two worlds. They know how it is here, to use herbs, stones, sound and touch to heal and bring peace, and they know how it is to know things that spirit communicates to them and then pass those things on for the benefit of the person who is asking the question. What do I not know that I need to know?

Notice what happens when a person asks you if you would like to learn something, or try something new. Is your response along the lines of "no thanks I am not interested?" or is it "yes, I would like to know more." Follow your gut instinct with this. There are things we discover that enable us to see the world in a new way, giving us flashes of insight and appreciation. Instances like this can open the door to things that we didn't know we needed to know, but now that we do, we find all kinds of uses for it.

Every day I wake up, the first thing I do is to thank spirit for giving me another day. Then I ask them to tell me if there is anything I need to know right now. What comes to me in the moments after asking that question guides my choices and my actions.

I know that you have had pivotal moments in your life like this too. Whole new worlds opened up to me because I one day wondered if I could learn to drum? Can cards really tell a person anything? What are the runes all about? Does reiki really work? Is tai chi a way to strengthen you? Can herbs work as well as patent medicines? Can people's stories reveal levels of truth about their lives that they do not yet recognize themselves?

So many questions. So many interesting things to learn. So many fascinating people in this world. So many interesting things we can do with our lives.

What do I not know that I need to know?