Inspiration | Live What You Know

January 18, 2014

The Little Birdie

I sit in my chair, reading my book as I do each morning. I quiet myself and slow myself as I attempt coming into the moment fully. It takes focus of attention, clearing of the mind, breathing in the spirit…it is my practice. Today, I am reading about listening. Sacred listening. Not the listening we do with our ears, but the listening we do with our entire being. The kind of listening I long to give to this world and to receive from this world. I am slowly digesting this book; each sentence is like a poem, uncovering depths of spirit, being and belonging. It is the book that Life picked out for me to read at this time.

I take a minute to breathe and sit in stillness as I glance out the window; I love the view from this spot. A little birdie lands on the fence, perfectly positioned in the middle of the stage in my beloved backyard scene. He is listening, with his entire being. I see him naturally belonging to the world and being what he is. He isn’t finishing the other birdies’ sentences or chiming in with his opinions. He doesn’t label all that he sees around him. He isn’t bringing up the past and worrying about the future. He doesn’t take things personally or complain about his circumstances. He isn’t resisting what already is and constantly wishing to change things. He isn’t thinking about what type of bird he should be or how he will live in this world. He listens to everything. He doesn’t just go with the flow, he is the flow. He knows where he should fly, when to spread his wings and when to sit still and watch. He knows when to be with the other birdies and when to go it alone. He is never truly alone because he isn’t out in nature, he is nature. He is this world and the world is him.

Thank you little birdie. As I continue my reading I am overcome with the knowing that it isn’t just about figuring out how to live, it is really about how to spend our time being.

Wishing us all the presence of mind, body and spirit to listen to everything and simply be as we reside comfortably in knowing that our being will take us where we are meant to go and have us live what we are meant to live. Sending you love and joy today and always.

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January 15, 2014

You Are Already There

Time is a bully! Let’s stand up to it!

In our culture, our days are split into segments of time and our moments are given varying degrees of importance. It is kind of crazy how we have allowed time to push us around. We watch the clock, waiting for things to happen…”When will they arrive?”, What time do we need to be there?”, “When should we get ready?”, “How long will the drive take?”, “When will this line get moving?”, “I can’t wait until…”, “I will be so happy when…”, etc. We constantly think the next thing is what we are waiting for. The truth is, we are already there; but, unless we can really feel that, we stay stuck in the world of being pushed around and bullied by time.

We are all at our own perfect place on our path toward self-realization and awareness. We each have varying degrees of presence we are able to access throughout the day. No matter where you are on your path, you can observe how you are treating the moments in your life and find ways to honor them and experience them more fully. Are you using parts of the day that are your least favorite or that you dread as a means to an end? Do you rush through things to get to the next? Do you allow yourself to feel that things will be better when this chore or task is complete? Is there constantly some future moment that seems like it will be a better one that will bring you happiness? Is there some change that would make things much better? Are you distracting yourself from your real life? Are you truly present to the Life you already are (we don’t have life, we are Life)?

Many people live in the state of waiting for the next thing much of the time and don’t even know that they are not present in their life and much of their experiences are passing them by. It is like sleep-walking without knowing it. Your real life is there waiting for you to join in and you’re busy wishing something else was happening and resisting what already is. Our life is made up of a bunch of moments and the one we are in is the only one we can ever actually live; life only comes in the form of now. This crazy relationship we have developed with time is truly a dreadful way to live and sure to bring suffering as we dwell in resisting what is. If we have a certain number of moments while here on Earth in this form, why should standing in line at the pharmacy be any less meaningful and present than attending a party or celebration? Why is the drive to the event something to hurry and get over with? How do we treat any moment as something to throw away? We don’t have to; we can treat all of our moments the same and enjoy Life the way we are meant to.

Here are a few ideas that may help us do this no matter where we are on our path; they should apply in every situation (easy to say, harder to actually do…wishing us all the ability to live these things…with practice, we can do it!):

Accept Everything – Yesterday, for example, I woke up with excruciating back pain that was making it hard to breathe and a sore throat that felt like swallowing cement. As I groaned in pain at every move I made, I also felt this wonderful sense of peace in the background. I knew I had all these reasons mounting that would prevent me from doing what I needed to do for the day (or thought I needed to do)…but it really didn’t matter. It slowed my day down and gave me many joyous moments I may not have experienced otherwise. I resisted nothing, adjusted with the details, and in doing so, my throat pain eased up and my back improved dramatically. I had a really peaceful day filled with a lot of sweet moments (even the kids and I cleaning up our third plumbing issue in the past few weeks…we just made it fun). I could have resisted and been frustrated and stayed in all kinds of pain and misery, but in going with the flow, I accessed my inner peace and it was quite lovely. I know from past experience that resistance and worry over things helps them hang around longer. My day didn’t improve because I started feeling better…I was already there in the peace found in the moment and the details came to match the real me…rather than me allowing my circumstances to pretend to be me. The truth is that everything happens as it should and everything passes. So, why resist anything? Just accept it all. Sometimes we face little things like the examples above and sometimes we must face major difficulties and tragedies…practicing on the little things will help us when things really get tough. Accepting every little thing as if you chose it will prepare you for anything and lead you to true inner peace that won’t depend on your outer circumstances.
Label Nothing – Part of accepting everything is learning to label nothing. We have a tendency to label every single thing that happens as good or bad. Truth is, we don’t really know which it is and we’re just guessing or reliving past experiences and assuming they will be the same…the experience is really neither good, nor bad, it just is. By not labeling, we don’t have to draw on the past or take ourselves to the future to project how it will work out. We get to truly experience each thing and each moment and use the energy we would have wasted on labeling it for actually living it. We open ourselves up to all that Life is and expand to more of ourselves and the world around us. We truly grow.
Get Comfortable With Not Knowing – If we already know how this is going to go, then we aren’t really present to it. If we are playing things out in our minds by reliving things and projecting futures that may never happen, we aren’t there, we’re lost in some other experience. Not knowing means we really open up our senses and awareness and see what happens. It is magical. I actually think this is an entire post on its own, so I will try to keep this short. The not knowing is so much better than the knowing…it is amazing. You know how the more you learn, the more you realize that you have so much more to learn…well, it’s kind of like that. It’s like, the more you don’t already know, the more you have to live. I love it!
Slow Down – Just try it. Nothing bad will happen, you can add more space around things, take more breaths before you talk, more quiet before you react, more opportunities to just be. You can build your life to support slowing down, even in today’s world. You can choose your pace and make it stick. You can make little choices and little changes slowly that point you in the direction of taking all the time you need to enjoy all the life you are. You can do it! On time is when you get there because you are already there.
Ritual – Anything can be a ritual. We recently started a tea-time ritual at our home. It’s a work in progress, but we’re trying to have a midpoint in the day that reminds us to slow down and enjoy where we are. We are assigning duties to each family member to put it together and we are formally sitting down to sip tea, talk, enjoy silence together and eat our crudités, fruit and tea cookies in presence. As we prepare it, enjoy it and clean it up, we can bring honor to it by making it a true ritual. This ritual is a new one we are adding midday, we have our morning meditation and prayer, then we have poetry at night. This added reminder in the middle of the day is quite helpful. You could pick anything and make it a ritual worth honoring and as a tool to bring more presence into your life. We recently added meditation bracelets to our morning practice; we put them on to remember the peace we felt on our mat and bring it to whatever moment we are in throughout the day. Pick anything and make it sacred…even sorting the laundry, sweeping the floor or brushing your teeth…it really can be done. Taking the time to honor things and make them sacred is so healing and can add so much peace to your life.
Listen — To everything and everyone. Rush no person and no experience. We are not in this world, we are of this world…everything is speaking to us and telling us something. Manage your relationship with time so that you can hear Everything.
Love — Just had to put it here because it is always the answer and of course, all we ever need. Spread it and receive it well.

These are just a few ideas to help us stand up to time. Your soul already knows which ones will help you most; sometimes we just need the reminder that the time to do it is now. Now is all there ever is. Wishing you presence, peace and freedom found in timelessness. Sending you love and joy today and always!

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January 10, 2014

Becoming The Ocean

If you don’t become the ocean, you’ll be seasick every day. –Leonard Cohen

This quote is such a great realization. I came across it in my reading this week and it put all I was feeling into clear, loving and true perspective. To live on the surface of life, where we allow our inner state to depend on our outer circumstances is rocky, stormy and sickening. It does feel like navigating during fluctuating storms that just keep rolling in. It is possible to live from down deep in calm waters and to be fluid as we flow through life with the understanding that the moment is all we have and things are happening just as they should. How do we do it? We use every experience we encounter to build more presence in us, to ground us in our true essence of love and connectedness to all things…which can only be found in the present moment.

As we grow our presence and ability to live from the quiet place inside us, we still have to navigate the circumstances and people around us. As we get better at this, the opportunities to practice it seem to mount. We all have loved ones we hold dear and often those very relationships are the ones that allow us to grow the most. I spend a lot of time with my two precious little ones. They bring so much joy, laughter and moments of love, but, they also bring many many opportunities to practice all of the things I have learned about presence and consciousness. If I didn’t have the day-to-day challenges with the kids, I would probably have myself convinced that I have evolved to a much higher level of consciousness. I have little encounters with them all the time that remind me of what I can work on and just where I am at. It is a gift to have these two to work with as I try to stay in the deep waters for longer periods of time and teach them to do the same.

Here’s the thing, the kids are constantly trying to pull me into feeling whatever they are feeling and as they grow and encounter new challenges and responsibilities, their emotions are all over the place. Sometimes it feels like living with little emotional bandits, taking me on a ride over getting their jacket, tackling a math problem, clearing the table or tying their shoes, etc. They are little, vulnerable and highly identified with me. If they are stressed or upset about something, they want me in the same state. I think they feel that if I am feeling the same stress, they will feel better or get help; its like they feel that if I’m upset too, they won’t be alone in it. I can feel the pull between the three of us of how they want company in their emotions. I am always trying to live from a place of non-reaction by putting more space around my choices. It is kind of funny to hang out with people who really really want to get a reaction out of you when you so badly want to stop reacting to everything that comes your way. There is a kind of perfection in it that allows me to feel just how connected I am to everything and how God/Life lines up the perfect circumstances to grow you to be more of your essential self.

You can be sure that whatever circumstances you are working with, they are the exact, perfect ones made just for you that will deliver you to all that you are meant to experience on the path leading in the direction of becoming more of who you really are. Whenever I hit a bump or fall flat on my face by forgetting everything I know, I can feel the meaning in the experience and be grateful for whatever the details looked like. Me and my little emotional bandits get up and forgive each other pretty quickly and jump back into the joy of life. We talk openly about all these things, so they are learning right alongside me. They teach me so much in such a pure way.

Let’s have a moment of get-real perspective here; perception is always a great teacher, it is usually a good idea to flip things around and see how they look from the other side. As I was thinking about the “emotional bandits” part of things, I realized that I am an emotional bandit as well. I have heard myself say, “Why can’t we just be in the moment?”, “Let’s get into the flow of life.”, “Joy is waiting for you whenever you’re ready.”, and many more such statements. It would seem that I, too, am guilty of resisting the emotions others are experiencing and trying to get them to feel something I want to feel. Even if I am trying to get them to feel “good” things, it is still me trying to get those around me to feel and act the way I want them to, so that it can come more easily to me as well. To be honest, I have seen myself in bad times trying to get others to feel bad with me too. It is a hard thing to admit, but as I look at things from this perspective, I cringe at some of the times I was down, stressed or overwhelmed and my husband was happily buzzing around and I dragged him through my emotions just to have some company. Fear makes us do all kinds of weird things. Thank goodness we have always come out of it pretty quickly and we know where it all comes from. The yuckie stuff is always fear and the lovely stuff is love…no exception.

So, we all do it…we all try to bring our loved ones with us on our little emotional trips. As we ride the waves in a storm, it is lonely to do it alone…we seek company and we drag them into our boat because we are afraid of making the trip alone. Once we can learn to live from a more spacious place that allows others to have their feelings and express what they’re going through without it affecting our state of mind, we can be free of the seasickness and truly taste the freedom of acceptance, present moment living and inner peace. Next time you notice an emotional bandit trying to take you for a ride, just give them love and let it pass through you. Try comforting them by intense listening that allows them to be heard without resistance from you that would cause them to try to convince you and pull you into their emotional boat. If you notice yourself trying to take others for your emotional ride, turn towards love and remember that everything passes, things are always as they should be and even though it feels like it would be lonely to go it alone…it isn’t. Sometimes we just need to feel our feelings deeply and pass through them alone to let them lose their power over us. We can grow and become more of who we really are by swimming deeper, feeling more stillness and realizing that we aren’t ever truly alone…we are connected to all that is around us…what we can see and what we cannot.

Picture it, if you are living at the surface of life, riding the waves, you need that little boat and you constantly seek company in there to endure all the seasickness and storms. If you are the ocean, you don’t need the boat. You don’t need to get in the boat with others and you don’t need to drag others into yours. You can just be the ocean and heal yourself and others as you spread love and stay calm and peaceful in the moment.

Sending you love, calm, peace, joy and presence.

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January 1, 2014

Happy New Day…The One That Happens Each and Every Day!

So, it’s January 1, 2014. It feels like a new beginning, a fresh start…full of possibility. The newness of the first day of the year is a wonderful gift, but it only comes once a year. The truth is that we have the opportunity to start each and every single day fresh and full of possibility. We get to decide each day who we will be, what we will do with our day and what we will bring to the world. We get to choose what we will see, how much love we will spread, how much joy we will live and how much peace we will feel.

We’re all doing our best, working towards becoming more of ourselves and showing up more authentically in the world; whether we know it or not, that is what we’re doing. Some days it works well and some days we struggle and cause suffering for ourselves and others around us. Each day and each moment, we have the opportunity and the ability to choose to start fresh and choose love.

“The human emotional system can be broken down into roughly two elements:
fear and love.
Love is of the soul.
Fear is of the personality.”

~ Gary Zukav – from “Seat Of The Soul” ~

This year as I continue to work on closing the gap between what I know and what I am living, and then expanding to a new gap as I learn more (I’m figuring out that life is lived in the gap and there will always be one), I do have one main goal in mind. I hope to live from a place of love that leaves no room for fear. I will use this space to share how that will look in my life. I want to live with an open heart in each moment, allowing me to assume nothing, take nothing personally and listen to Life deeply as it continues to guide me to more of myself. I want to choose more of the soul and less of the personality. I want to spread love wherever I can. I want to use all that I know and embrace the unknown as I continue to build habits that will support my growth, always turning away from fear and towards love as I push through to the essential me. I will fail, I will try again, I will start fresh a lot. I will share openly with us all here.

I am grateful for this space. Every time I hit publish on one of these posts, it feels like a fresh conscious moment to choose who I am. As part of my love, not fear, open heart, lived moment by moment year, I am opening the site up for comments. I am ready now. I welcome the idea of connecting with my readers more. I feel ready to hear how others are living what they know and I hope to build a nice space for us all to learn and grow. Thank you everyone for sharing this space with me.

Wishing us all the courage and presence to awaken every single day to the possibility that we are. Sending you love and joy!

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December 25, 2013

Peace and The Golden Rule

Merry Christmas To All!

Jesus’ living example of what it looks like to live the golden rule and in peace that passes all understanding is a magnificent gift for everyone to see. It is a beautiful thing to look at how Jesus lived so that we can see all we are meant to be. We can be kind to everyone we meet, without exception. We can love everything without fear. We can cast aside all judgements as we embrace, encourage, welcome or at least accept, all things. We can be infused with peace that comes from within and isn’t shaken or changed by life’s circumstances or situations, no matter what form they come in. That spark of love in us all can make these things possible; Jesus came and showed us how.

Wishing everyone abundant peace that comes from living with a kind and open heart rooted deeply in joyful being and sacred listening to Life’s miracles. From my heart — thank you for visiting me here!

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December 18, 2013

Just Right — Letting Go of the Ups and Downs

Years ago when I began watching my thoughts and making the connections between my mind and my life, I noticed all sorts of interesting things. The work itself is in not becoming attached to the myriad of thoughts that are constantly coming our way; it’s noticing the thoughts floating by like clouds trying to get our attention and being okay with letting them pass…not resisting them, just choosing well which ones we allow in. When we do give certain thoughts our attention, they come down right in front of our face and grow and seem to hold us captive in their aura until we can release them. We are left sort of under the influence of whatever thoughts we have allowed to grow and take hold. I love this work and I understand the practice it is to remember it fresh in every moment. What about the emotions…what do we do with them?

As I continued working with the thoughts and in-a-sense changing my mental habits or taking responsibility for the thoughts and energy I bring to all things, I noticed a lot of things about happiness in general. I was devouring books like crazy, trying new practices, praying for guidance and in general just working towards a joyful, purpose filled and meaningful life. Often, I would pack my babies up in the car and head out to start our day feeling like I could take on the world and remain in bliss all day. The mornings always felt fresh and ripe with possibilities for using all my new tools and truly living all I was learning. I distinctly remember the day I was driving in my car feeling like I was so very happy. I was thinking, “I am soooooo happy” over and over again. It was great, completely exhilarating! It wasn’t the first time I had done this of course, but I remember the day that the help for this condition came. The happy thoughts were followed by a clear voice (my own voice from a deeper place) saying something along the lines of, “Wait, relax, don’t do that, just be here, just be okay with here.” I found myself breathing and grounding myself in something deeper behind the “happy” feeling.

I knew instantly that I didn’t want to jump on that happy train anymore. I could feel the knowing that if I did, I would inevitably find myself in the opposite direction later. It is no fun to come down from the happy and find yourself on the other side. I was growing very tired of that. I could see the rhythm and pattern emerging out of the clouds for me. I wanted out of the thoughts about how I feel and into the practice of living in the middle way. Living — just right. It was a strange feeling to know that I didn’t want to achieve that “happy” feeling anymore. I was sure though. I wanted to dwell in the real peace and joy that can sustain all things. I felt ready to release myself from the ups and downs. I caught myself that day and grounded myself in the joy that lives in the moment without over thinking it and labeling it or my mood. The real joy and peace isn’t in the extremes.

It makes sense. If I go around attached to the idea that “I am so happy”, then anything that challenges that idea or brings me back down to dealing with life’s little challenges, choices and behaviors creates massive resistance. I would be so attached to my “happy” that anything threatening it would be most unwelcome and incite all kinds of reactions I don’t want to succumb to. The “happy” brings resistance and struggle, making it very difficult to live each moment joyfully the way we are meant to live. The peace behind the happy that is “just right” allows all things to be as they are and isn’t dependent on what happens. Whatever happens is just right. Whew!

I continue the work to this day of course…chipping away at it as I go, grateful for all the progress, as well as all the work ahead. The joy is in the journey. I fall often, dust myself off, and get back into the stream of life that I know is always there waiting for me.

Sending you love and joy and wishing you a day full of all things just right!

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December 14, 2013

A Great Conversation

Nothing delights me like a great conversation! To really connect with someone and find a piece of yourself in the connection is like a little window to the soul. As I mentioned in my previous post, I love John O’Donohue’s description of what a great conversation is. I previously suggested taking the time and provided the link to hear my favorite interview with him (see previous post); I genuinely hope you can gift yourself with this wonderful conversation. I realize, however, that my favorite part takes place around the forty-second minute…I understand that not everyone will feel as though they can spare the 51 minutes and 9 seconds listening to this discussion would take. For those without the time to hear his wonderful words, I want to share a bit more of my favorite part here (please read with a fierce Irish accent…it makes it even better)…

“You have to ask yourself, ‘When is the last time that you had a great conversation?’ A conversation which wasn’t just two intersecting monologues, which is what passes for conversation a lot in this culture. But when had you last a great conversation in which you overheard yourself saying things that you never knew you knew, that you heard yourself receiving from somebody words that absolutely found places within you that you thought you had lost and a sense of an event of a conversation that brought the two of you on to a different plain, and then fourthly, a conversation that continued to sing in your mind for weeks afterwards.” –John O’Donohue

He goes on to talk about some great conversations he has had lately… he describes them as “food and drink for the soul”… In his next words he says the second thing to always ask one’s self is, “Who are you reading and where are you stretching your own boundaries?”… which prompts, of course, more lovely conversation. This man is a poet, everything he says is like music! He covers so many topics in this talk, but for me, great conversation is worth spending some time on.

I love how he describes the common conversations in our culture as “two intersecting monologues”…that is so true! You can feel it when someone is just waiting to say their next thing and not really interested in what you have to say. You can also feel it in yourself when you’re doing the same thing — just waiting for them to pause so you can talk. It is deadening for the soul. I often find that people are surprised when someone really listens to them. I can feel it when their heart comes alive a bit more and they just open right in front of me. It does hurt when someone can’t listen to you, but it isn’t something to take personally (nothing is). People will listen more when they are ready. We can help them along by truly listening to them and honoring them with our fullest attention and interest.

The holidays are upon us, we’re blessed with so many moments of family togetherness and friendly celebrations this time of year; now would be a lovely time to practice having great conversations. They don’t have to be as deep as what John O’Donohue describes above, it would be nice if they could be, but we just have to start somewhere. When we’re with our loved ones and friends and even meeting new friends (every friend was once a stranger), we can bring honor to the words we share with them by truly being there with them and listening to what they may share with us. Your heart and soul know how to do it, you just let yourself be there in the moment and your soul will do the talking, and more importantly, the listening. Dare to ask great questions and truly listen to the answers. Have fun with it. Have joy with it. Your heart will open and you will feel more fully alive.

Wouldn’t it be lovely if we all really talked to each other as our true selves, without the image of us that we project throughout our days. It is lovely to truly show up and authentically BE wherever you are at. It may seem as though it isn’t practical, but it is. We can truly be where we are at and honor the moments as the sacred gifts they are. Things are waiting to be seen by you and moments to be experienced by you. My wish for us all this holiday season is the gift of great conversation that awakens the soul and comforts the heart.

May you see kindness wherever you look and spread joy wherever you go! Sending you love and joy!

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December 12, 2013

The Gift of John O’Donohue

John O’Donohue’s work has been an amazing gift in my life. I hope you will take some time to listen to this wonderful discussion with Krista Tippett from On Being (onbeing.org). She sat down with him just before his passing. May you give yourself the gift of listening long enough to hear his voice and feel his passion as he shares so much about what is most meaningful for our souls… When I first heard it years ago, it spoke to a deep place inside me. I am ready to revisit his work now and bless myself with all the healing it brings. I love how these lessons expand and go deeper each time we open to more of them. My favorite part of this interview is when he says in his amazing Irish accent, “You’ve got to ask yourself, ‘When was last time you had a great conversation?'” …he says it with such depth and reverence for what I hold so dear…my heart nearly jumped out of my chest when I heard it the first time. I knew I was meant to know about him and the essence of this interview feels like a magnificent conversation…with him. What a blessing!

I heard bits and pieces of it this morning and knew it is just what my soul is craving right now. This is a gift I am giving myself today, during this busy holiday season. I want to share it with you so that it may bring comfort, love, joy, and meaningful conversation to your life today and always. Once you learn about John O’Donohue, you will know what a gift he is to the world. I read everything I could get my hands on from him. I am excited today, to realize I am ready to go back and experience that gift once more. I think that is the perfect Christmas gift to give myself! Here are some wonderful words from him to share:

“Your soul knows the geography of your destiny. Your soul alone has the map of your future, therefore you can trust this indirect, oblique side of yourself. If you do, it will take you where you need to go, but more important it will teach you a kindness of rhythm in your journey.”
― John O’Donohue, Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom

“When love awakens in your life, in the night of your heart, it is like the dawn breaking within you. Where before there was anonymity, now there is intimacy; where before there was fear, now there is courage; where before in your life there was awkwardness, now there is a rhythm of grace and gracefulness; where before you used to be jagged, now you are elegant and in rhythm with your self. When love awakens in your life, it is like a rebirth, a new beginning.”
― John O’Donohue, Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom

“One of the most beautiful gifts in the world is the gift of encouragement. When someone encourages you, that person helps you over a threshold you might otherwise never have crossed on your own.”
― John O’Donohue, Eternal Echoes: Celtic Reflections on Our Yearning to Belong

I am sending you and me encouragement today… to slow down, to be open, to find the beauty and meaning in all things, to listen to our souls and be guided by our divinity. Thank you for encouraging me by taking the time to read this! I am so very grateful!

I should also note that there is one more amazing gift within this message…onbeing.org. Do visit the website and dabble in the amazing library of radio shows that are available for us to listen to. Krista is my all-time-favorite interviewer…a dear friend shared On Being with me years ago and I am forever grateful!

Wishing you so much love and sending you joyous blessings!

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December 8, 2013

Swimming in The Deeper Currents of Life

Every single moment of our lives is trying to tell us something. Life itself is the moment. We must make room to allow enough listening to hear what the true message of the moment is. We must bring honor and sacredness to the art that is listening. Every encounter with any being or even just in stillness is an opportunity for deeper listening. More than just a portion of our attention while we multi-task is required for the type of listening we’re talking about here. How do you hear well enough to truly receive a smile? What could be worth skipping a smile meant for you or missing the sound of laughter? Why have we allowed so much noise to creep in and take us from the deeper currents of life?

In a recent Eckhart Tolle talk, he was discussing his teachings and he said, “The person got out-of-the-way enough for the teaching to come through.” I love this idea. If we allow our personalities and all our distractions in life to dominate our experience each day, we don’t leave any room for the sacred to come through. We all know about intuition and we can feel the pull that comes from our “gut” telling us something. We choose if we take the time to practice really listening to life and following where it is leading us. We have the stillness inside that has all the answers we seek. We often cover it up with one distraction after another or we let others tell us what we should do. Perhaps we fear our own authentic power. There is nothing to fear; only love to be found. We are meant to hear the messages, they will get louder if we stay focused on noise and reside in distractions.

“We are evolving
from five-sensory humans into multisensory humans….
The perceptions of the multi-sensory human
extend beyond physical reality
to the larger dynamical systems of which our physical reality is a part.”

~ Gary Zukav ~

Our perceptions are everything. They create our entire world. How we choose to look at the world determines what we will see. How we listen to the world determines who we will be, what we will create and how we will live. It must be noted that our thoughts aren’t always worth listening to. In fact, most often, they are not. We aren’t talking about listening to our thoughts and acting from them. We must go deeper and let the thoughts be what they are — only thoughts. They will pass. We don’t want to make choices because we are under the influence of our thoughts that crept in. We want to listen deeply and use more than just the five senses as we expand and live more fully as our essential being. There is more to listen to.

A simple act of slowing down can help on the path to listening to more of life. I know deeply that the more we can listen to life, the more we can live. I also cannot emphasize enough the importance of clearing the mind and touching the stillness as we slow down. Watch those thoughts and lean back into the space that hears them. There is much more to you than the thoughts. Be the space behind them. Resist jumping on the thoughts and allowing them to grow. Choose your thoughts and choose your life.

Another great practice to bring more listening is accepting what is. Even if someone is being rude, speaking with a harsh tone, interrupting you constantly, saying something you don’t want to hear, acting stressed out…whatever it is, there are reasons why these things are happening. Being the space of loving listening can help ease the suffering of others in so many ways. Accepting what is brings more love into the world. We can love all the great things we encounter quite easily. We can also love the not-so-pleasant things we see as well. There is truly only love and fear. As you see love, of course, love it and spread it. As you see all other things, remember — it is only fear. Give it love too and you can ease suffering and bring more love to the world that way. Even the most dreadful behaviors come from a place of fear. It sounds simple, but it is true. Just love the love and accept the fear as you provide a non judgmental place for it to transform. Any energy spent resisting what is will bring suffering to you and those around you. Resisting what is doesn’t allow you to see and hear what life is telling you. Accept it all as you listen deeply to whatever you are supposed to hear.

Simply put:

slow down
choose your thoughts wisely, letting the others pass like clouds
accept what is no matter what form it comes in
waste no energy resisting what already is…hear the message instead
listen with all your senses – the five and the multi-sensory ones beyond
spread love, by celebrating the love you encounter and accepting the fear you encounter…your acceptance just may allow it to turn towards love
courageously swim in the deeper currents of life; trust your knowing…treat life like one big doing meditation…it is.

One more thing, it is a great hint in life to follow the beauty…true beauty that is. God/Life/Universe/All is in the beauty. See that, hear that, be that and you’re on to something. Hopefully you have time to follow the beauty in this lovely poem below by Mark Nepo. He has gifted the world with amazing work on listening. His latest book is called Seven Thousand Ways To Listen, it is definitely worth the read. Enjoy this gift from those pages.

The Appointment
by Mark Nepo

What if, on the first sunny day,
on your way to work, a colorful bird
sweeps in front of you down a
street you’ve never heard of.

You might pause and smile,
a sweet beginning to your day.

Or you might step into that street
and realize there are many ways to work.

You might sense the bird knows some-
thing you don’t and wander after.

You might hesitate when the bird
turns down an alley. For now
there is a tension: Is what the
bird knows worth being late?

You might go another block or two,
thinking you can have it both ways.
But soon you arrive at the edge
of all your plans.

The bird circles back for you
and you must decide which
appointment you were
born to keep.

Wishing you the courage to swim in the deeper currents of life as you spread love by truly listening to everything! Sending you love and joy!

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December 3, 2013

The Sunshine Blogger Award…My First Award! Thank You, Fun Facts and Paying It Forward

I am thrilled and grateful to have won my first blogging award: The Sunshine Award! Not knowing anything about this award, I visited my awarder’s site for more information. Here’s what I learned…

An award is passed on by bloggers to fellow bloggers who “positively and creatively inspire others in the blogosphere.”

It is lovely to see people supporting each other in this way. There are some amazing bloggers out there listening to their voice inside and sharing what is meaningful to them with the world in magical ways. I am so grateful to my fellow blogger at DIVINEWIZ for taking the time to share this award with me… her work is full of inspirational wisdom and love. I was just expressing my gratitude for my fellow bloggers in my previous post and I received this lovely gift and show of support just after that. My heart is truly grateful!

Rules of the award…

Each person who gets an award is asked to answer this series of questions, so that others may know a little more about us…

1. Where would you most like to travel to? I love the idea of seeing more of the world; as the kids are getting bigger, I love the idea of us expanding our adventures wherever life may take us. We are listening.

2. Do you have a sweet tooth? It’s nice to end a meal with a nice piece of vegan dark chocolate or fruit. My family loves vegan ice cream; I partake every once in a while. My favorite treats are the Jewel Collection from Xan Confections…yummy little vegan caramels…thank you Whole Foods!

3. What motivates you to keep you blogging? I am passionate about working towards becoming more of my essential self. I love the spiritual journey that life is! I love listening to the lessons of life and doing my part to live what I grow to know. Helping others do the same is my dream and deepest desire and intention. I love having a space to ground me in the work while I try to spread joy and meaning to others. I hope I can be of use to others in some way.

4. Who is your favorite comedian? Anyone who can make you laugh with kindness and pure joy. My kids are pretty funny.

5. What is your favorite outdoor activity? Tennis. We love playing as a family and I am trying to keep up with my kids — they are pretty amazing. We have a lot of family fun and the nature aspect of it is just the best thing in the world.

6. Who was your favorite teacher and why? I have been seeking and desiring growth for years and I am so thankful for the many teachers that life brings your way when you ask. Two favorites that stand out for me are Coach John Wooden and Eckhart Tolle…I like the balance between the two for me. I continue to learn from so many; I really could list hundreds here. When you’re open, the teachers show up and they are all around us. I guess my very favorite teacher is LIFE. I am listening.

7. Do you own any pets? No pets. We are looking forward to adopting a dog when the time is right and we can provide the best possible home.

8. Most embarrassing moment in your life? (That you are willing to share.) I am sure there are plenty. I look back now and things like falling up the stairs in high school (yes, you can fall up stairs…in my case I tripped on the first one and fell again and again all the way to the top in front of everyone) or saying something stupid at a dinner party just give me the giggles. I am grateful for all the moments that shaped me, even the embarrassing ones. It all just feels funny and silly now, no more wasted energy on being embarrassed. It’s all good and no experience is wasted.

9. Where are you from? California. I have only lived in California – Northern as a child and Southern now.

10. How much wood could a wood chuck chuck if a wood chuck could chuck wood? Ha! Exactly as much as was meant to be.

Paying it forward….
Part of receiving the award means I can spread the sunshine love to ten other bloggers who brighten my day with little rays of sunshine…

The ball is in your court, you awesome bloggers. If you would like to post your award, answer the same questions I have above and pay forward your sunny ten. That would be lovely. Either way, thank you for bringing sunshine into my life. The gift of reading fellow bloggers like you and many more has been a wonderful joy in my life! Thank you again, DIVINEWIZ, for an unexpected warmth of love!

Sending you all joy, love and sunshine!

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Tag: Inspiration

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