Journey Home to You

"The on-the-spot practice of being fully present,

with an open mind can be done at any time;

feeling your heart, and greeting the next moment

with an open mind 

can be done at any time.

When you wake up in the morning, before a difficult

conversation, 

whenever fear or discomfort arises.

This practice is a beautiful way to claim your warriorship,

your spiritual warriorship.

In other words, it is a way to claim your courage, 

your kindness,  your strength."
                                                                                                                                                            ~Pema Chodron

From Buddhism, a spiritual warrior is a person who battles with the "universal enemy" self-ignorance; the ultimate source of suffering. Warrior,  a brave or experienced soldier, and the suffix "-ship" denotes a skill in a certain capacity. 

So, how do you claim the evolution of  your Spiritual Warriorship?

With the closing of  January, I reflect on the theme for this first month of 2014.

In our Soul Sisters Journey group, we focused on reconnecting & aligning with others, in Freedom to Change Stems from Within, we shifted from blaming sources outside of us to taking personal responsibility for the world we create. 

 And throughout the month, there has been a steady gentle whisper, to live in the moment, to express gratitude, to slow down,  to just...Breathe.  We can change our thoughts and reclaim our power by going within, listening for and trusting;  the voice of our "inner wisdom".

However, Life in the fast lane is addictive and we must continually remind ourselves to slow down and smell the roses.  The beauty of social media and of immediate, unlimited access to information, is that we experience such an abundance of choice.  The other side of this freedom, is the overwhelm and distraction that too much data can deliver.  One minute, I will be looking up a subject on-line and two hours later, my surf has morphed into topics and sites out of sync from where I started.   

So again, I come back to this simple message of truth, as I understand it, practice it, and vow to live it.

There is nothing more fascinating or fulfilling than journeying inward to discover ourselves!  

The really cool thing is, everything we ever yearned for, is available 24/7 ~ just like on the internet!  Only the data revealed, the direction defined, and the freedom granted,  have been uniquely created~ custom designed ~ just for you!

As I think of being the heroic pioneer of my own Life,

I find myself humming a tune from Jana Stanfield, a favorite folksinger of mine...

"I'm Not Lost, I am Exploring"

Success in Gratitude

Without gratitude, you may focus only on what's lacking in your life, rather than what you appreciate.

Gratitude 

keeps you optimistic, and evidence shows that optimism improves your health."  ~ Lissa Rankin, M.D.

It is the New Year and January is already over!

What emotion does this statement conjure up for you?  For many of us, we experience a twinge of panic.  Whether we made New Years Resolutions or just pretend we did, this opportunity for a fresh start, to change something in our Lives and the pressured hype to be successful can be a powerful impetus for feeling frustrated and disappointed.

When did the turning over of a New Year ~ trump, living each day to the fullest? Whatever happened to "Today is the first day of the rest of your Life"?  Many of us remember that slogan and the Smiley face of the same era:  Have a good day!

Changing for the better is the preferred, positive, direction.  Yet when we set our focus on someone else's plan or version of what "better" looks like,we set ourselves up for chasing the elusive butterfly.  We separate ourselves from our own power, guidance and direction.  We waste our promise of infinite possibilities.  To feel better ~ we put our faith into something outside of us.

What if you turned your attention, within?  What if you decide to stop chasing, anything?  What if you slowed down a bit ~ to hear your own wisdom and see your own direction?  What if you focus on feeling and being Grateful?

Gratitude is an acknowledgement of something greater than ourselves, not outside of ourselves. Perhaps it is a broader perspective than cherishing our limitations or holding on to a belief ~that we are alone in this world.

 Let's list the 7 top aspects of our Lives, for which we are Grateful. 

Let's focus on those each day.

Let's allow the other stuff to just~ slough off from lack of attention.

Let's Celebrate all our Successes that come to us daily... when we Live in 

Gratitude! 

The Power of Focus

Yesterday I took a saliva test.  For those of you who have done the same, you know what it entails.  For the rest of you, I'll spare the details.  It's actually a very handy test for acquiring information. And in my case, specific to my adrenal and hormonal function.  

I proudly completed the test. My biggest personal challenge was the requirement I sustain from coffee, tea, and chocolate for the 24 hour period.  Emotionally, I let go of needing my morning coffee, afternoon chocolate, and evening tea.  Yet the physical reactions I experienced from their absence were surprising and unsettling. I had low energy in the morning and felt out of sync all day.  At work,  I felt fuzzy and lethargic.  My day felt confusing and difficult.

 What I really wanted to do was nap or perhaps hide from the public. As I plowed on, I developed a new awareness -        I was tired.  I had been "burning the candle at both ends"as my Father would say.   It took the break from stimulants to acknowledge how much I push myself, how little I rest, and how much energy I expel on the stress of     my Life; the stress that I create!

I became aware of something else I have been doing to myself.  I've misdirected my Focus.
I have been concentrating my time, attention, and energy on my "human-doing-ness" rather than being the human; I am. For me to change, I must first become aware and then accept, rather than fight, what I discover.   Buddha says, "It is the resistance to what is,
that creates the suffering."

There is a Universal principle that states, whatever we focus on ~ expands.  Slowing down allowed me to see the direction and quality of my choices.

Why is it, that I require uncomfortable reminders that I am not living from my authentic place? That I am racing to compete, complete, and to be acknowledged from the outside?  Why do I choose to experience dis-ease, confusion, and self punishment when I could choose to listen within, and live out ~ happy, joyous and free?

 I have the power to change my Life.  I am the power and the one responsible for my choices.  No matter at what starting block I stand, it is my choice which direction to jump, or whether to jump
at all.

As this Holiday season encroaches,  the traditional celebrations of my Life and memory, have transformed.  And so I have a choice. I can look longingly at the past and what was, or choose to be present and embrace what is ~today.  Shifting my focus engages my energy and directs my power to create the experience I want.  

My focus is Love.

Being present~ acknowledging, listening, trusting
and loving, myself.  
Loving my neighbor as myself.
Doing on to others as I would have them, do onto me!  

And in the words of John Lennon and Paul McCartney:

Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be,

There's nothing you can know that isn't known,

Nothing you can see that isn't shown,

There's nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be 

 It's easy.

All you need is Love, Love is all you need!

Love is.

A Celebration of Gratitude

The celebration of Thanksgiving reminds me of what is most important, most valued, and most meaningful. It is a time in our country when everyone seems to agree on the message.  Hearts soften, generosity is expressed, and many people demonstrate a kinder, more present, side of themselves. It is my favorite holiday for these reasons. 

Thanksgiving marks a time of repose in the year.  It offers an opportunity for us to come together and to share ~ to acknowledge Life's blessings with gratitude.  

 
This Thanksgiving, may your hearts be full

of gratitude and your lives, abundant and fulfilling. 

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.

It turns what we have into enough, and more.
 

It turns denial into acceptance,

chaos to order,

confusion to clarity.
 

It can turn a meal into a feast,

a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.
 

Gratitude makes sense of our past,

brings peace for today,

and creates a vision for tomorrow."

                                    ~ Melody Beattie

Finding the Balance

October 11th was my father's birthday.  He would have celebrated his 88th year. Instead, we  Celebrated him by honoring the memories of the love and life we shared, and by missing this wonderful, generous man who filled the great hole in our lives, to overflowing.... 

"Life is a balance of holding on and letting go!" - Rumi

Seeing the feather beneath my feet, once again directly in my path, I am filled with a mixture of joy and the familiar pang of ache in my heart.  So close, so real, yet not here in the usual way.

Those of us who are familiar - recognize that it comes in waves- this wanting to shout, or run, then hide, move too fast away, and finally, for little glimmers of time, settling, accepting, even surrendering to its embrace...our companion, new or longstanding, "our grief".  

I've never understood how the world can keep on ticking, keep on pushing around me, as if no one or no thing has changed.  As if the grief that consumes me is somehow not obvious, that the implosion of my heart cannot be seen, that the confusion and loss of my familiar perception is not significant - other than to me!

During our Grief as a Spiritual Teacher class, I heard a new concept  from Dr Patty.  It is a mantra of explanation for my experience - as I thrash in grief's torrid wave or float, spent, in my sea of tears.

  "Grief will ask us to create a new Norm"

Grief, as an energy, has a Life of it's own.  It is fluid and solid, dark and enlightening, obvious and invisible.  It moves in waves or pounces unexpectedly.  Cunningly it approaches, slowly rising to the surface.  Or just as effectively, it instantly smothers my heart, without warning -tightly wrapping it's chains of fear and restriction. 

Ignored and repressed, it festers, and oozes out in the most disturbing ways.  And then out of my control, it is feared, even revered, threatening and powerful. I've discovered grief, like most wounds, benefits from attention to help it dissipate and heal.

Grief; a shapeshifter, can also be a gift.  It reminds me to slow down, to be present - to be compassionate and loving.  It creates an infinite space for my forgiveness..... it is a new way, a new relationship; one that stays with me, patiently waiting for me to notice, to acknowledge and engage.

Grief offers me a new Life process.  It allows me to feel, to deal, and ultimately, to learn to heal and grow!

  ...an excerpt from

The Book of Awakening, Mark Nepo

"I've learned that grief can be a slow ache that never seems to stop rising, yet as we grieve, those we love mysteriously become more and more a part of who we are.  In this way, grief is yet another song the heart must sing to open the gate of all there is."