Awareness

Embracing the Spirit Within.

I remember once as a little girl coloring an image inside a book. I had taken such care to select only the prettiest of colors, the ‘best of the best’ of that box of 64.

“You can’t do that,” my teacher huffed. “Everyone knows that the sky is blue.”

I tried to explain from the ‘limitations’ of my 6-year-old perspective, that the sky was blue only at times – though, it was so many others, too. I went home in tears, with ‘masterpiece’ tucked in hand. That which had once been a source of such joy, had – in one moment, become tarnished with another’s perspective.

My Mother, always sensitive to those more delicate undercurrents, sensed my upset. And, in a single act of grace and compassion, pulled the crumpled drawing from my hands.

“Oh, well – just look at all those colors,” she gleamed. “I particularly like the green.”

Not everything is so black and white, my loves. Sometimes the sky is blue, and sometimes there are magnificent flecks of gold and green.

And, as I’ve grown older I’ve learned – that ‘rules’ are meant to be broken. That we must be willing to engage that oft mottled ‘in between’.

And, we should be bold enough to live this life on our terms, without cause for regret. To color outside those lines, my darlings.

To embrace the life we always wished but never fully dared. This is what it means to be free, my loves – to have awakened the spirit within.

And I’m so ever grateful to my dearest Mother for lovingly sharing this lesson with me.

In peace…

Namaste ❤️

What The Heart Knows.

I was reading at article regarding the origins of emotion. What was once thought to be a construct of mind, now appears to have a basis in heart.

Meaning, the signal for all that we sense and reveal is created at a much deeper level.

Though, I can’t say that I’m surprised. Dating back thousands of years, the Egyptians believed that heart was the source of the soul. That all thoughts, emotions and memories were given life through the heart’s gentle coursing.

Even Shakespeare recognized the heart’s dedication to mind’s service;

“Hear my soul speak. Of the very instant that I saw you, Did my heart fly at your service”

Though, how easily we may forget – that these matters of heart evade an intellectual solution.

Sometimes, we must simply act, my loves – to effect resolution on the basis of heart.

And, in doing so – perhaps, we may create a better world? One fashioned from the energy of love, rather than limited by the voice of reason.

Just a little something to consider, my friends. A reminder that “the heart has its reasons which reason knows not.” (Blaise Pascall)

In peace…

Namaste ❤️

A Deeper Refuge.

“The mind is a flexible mirror,” shares spiritualist Amit Ray. “adjust it to see a better world.”

My darlings, looking towards the beauty of this world is the first of the mind’s purifications. Though, too often, we are distracted – by all that has passed or is still yet to be.

We’re in a constant state of spiritual flux. Though change is welcomed, in this case — it acts to inhibit our ability to engage this present moment.

How can we expect to ‘just simply be’ when our thoughts are continuously engaged elsewhere?

It reminded me of my time living on the Big Island of Hawaii. Whenever a great storm would approach, the sea life would instinctively take to the greater ocean depths.

Perhaps, metaphorically speaking they were drawing inward – avoiding the distraction of the tumultuous waves, retreating to the clarity of the deeper waters and in order to gain a better view?

“Life is a dance,” he writes. “But mindfulness is witnessing that dance.”

Perhaps, they knew what we so often miss. To open the heart in silent reverence to this dance of life as it unfolds.

Without worry…

Without judgement…

Without the need to grasp or hold…

And, perhaps in doing so we may just learn, that silence is the most powerful prayer of all.

A little something to consider, my friends ~

In peace…

Namaste ❤️

Looking Into Those Shadows.

My darlings, what happens when we open our hearts?

Do we fall blindly into the abyss of swirling emotion? Or, do we bask in the light of a newfound awakening?

So often, we’re terrified of opening our hearts. We feel conflicted, vulnerable – unsettled, at best.

And, yet?

These feelings serve as a catalyst. They push us towards our ‘edges’ and urge us to look ever more deeply into those shadows.

And, why?

Because, the spirit knows what is often missed. That which is glossed over, suppressed – it always comes back, now – doesn’t it? Somehow it knows that we are not finished yet…

Exploring these vulnerabilities can seem a frightening proposition, though – it’s “only when we are brave enough to explore the darkness (that we may) discover the infinite power of our light.” (Brené Brown)

Imagine that? Finding our own light within what we believe to be the darkest crevice?

It certainly helps to refine our perspective. And hopefully reinforce that one simple truth – that all feelings should be welcomed.

A little something to consider, my friends – where we are vulnerability, we grow.

In peace…

Namaste ❤️

This Blessing of You.

This morning, I am inspired by one of my favorite passages from poet, Mary Oliver, entitled Praying.

“It doesn’t have to be
the blue iris, it could be
weeds in a vacant lot, or a few
small stones; just
pay attention, then patch

a few words together and don’t try
to make them elaborate, this isn’t
a contest but the doorway

into thanks, and a silence in which
another voice may speak.”

So often we feel the necessity for grandeur; a sense of formality which supersedes the practicalities of heart.

When isn’t it simply a return to senses, which helps us to reclaim a centering of soul?

“this isn’t a contest but the doorway…”

Oh, my goodness – yes. But, more so, and perhaps in a much broader sense — we are that ‘doorway’, after all?

We keep looking outside of ourselves for the answers, but what if we are our own spiritual path?

Enlightenment doesn’t have to be grande or forged through years of feet upon cushion. Rather simply, it should be marked with a return to that which is so unmistakably you.

Sometimes, we view this present moment as a means to an end; our minds racing to the rhythm of ‘if only, then…”

But, we lose so much in this perpetual cycle; we lose this fullness of self.

My darlings, on this day I invite you to ‘come as you are’; to fill your lungs with this blessing of day…to pay attention, and find gratitude for all.

In peace ~

Namaste ❤️

The Call of the Daffodils.

The daffodils were poking through this morning, a sure sign that winter had finally relinquished it’s icy grip.

And, with that a sense of renewal, of joy; an opportunity to reconnect with the resilience of life’s spirit.

I knelt before a small grouping at the back garden wall. How many miss this chance, I wondered – to embrace these marvels of continuation?

“Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.” ~ William Wordsworth

My darlings, have you noticed how the daffodil thrives in spite of the conditions presented? As if it’s bloom served as testimony to the True capacity of spirit.

So often we become transfixed by that which has already passed; endless dialogue scripted through each commitment of memory.

Though, yet one simple truth – like the young daffodil, we shall rise again… resilient.

In peace…

Namaste ❤️

What Is Your Why?

“Never forget your why,” he said to me.

We were standing at the ‘bow’ of the USS Arizona Memorial, a super class of battleship once considered unsinkable. We watched as its remaining oil bubbled and spilled into the surrounding waters, a reminder of the 1,177 lives lost that day.

“Never forget why,” he said, once again. It was the first time I’d ever seen my father cry.

Though his words were hushed, the message was clear. I could hear the unfolding of emotion in his voice, over 50 years worth of ‘memories’ – images of the war-torn European battlefield.

I’d always wondered how my father survived. When we think of the battlefield, we see images from the movies — Hollywood’s interpretation of what the solider experienced. Though, the truth is — the weather conditions were brutal, at best; soldiers continuously forged through waist deep snow and sub-zero conditions. And, the supply lines were never intact — some might fight for days without a scrap of food.

I’d always wondered, but knew to never ask — as those images were the ones that pierced the night.

In life, we must always have a reason and purpose, my loves; some innermost validation that reconciles breath with the challenges of moment.

It’s that why which will shepherd heart through even the darkest of night.

“Life belongs to the living,” writes Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. “and he who lives must be prepared for changes.”

It is the primary core of our existence, this belief — and a catalyst for that which lends context to purpose.

So often, we view our world through the shards of broken moments. In doing so, we fail to appreciate that much fuller view.

We all have difficult days, my loves. Though, when we hold our ‘why’ close, nothing is impossible.

So, darlings if I may be so bold to ask — please tell me, what is your ‘why’ today?

For me? My ‘why’ always carries me here.

In peace…

Namaste ❤️

This Path of Peace.

Years ago, I remember first beginning my mindfulness practice. I’d been sitting for what felt to be an eternity, shifting uncomfortably under the weight of my own story.

I’d had a ‘bad day’ – one of many in a long string. I was unsettled, discouraged, and – desperately in ‘need of a change.’ My body ached as I sat in a forced meditative pose; the normally soothing ambiance of the room disrupted by the incessant droning of a portable air conditioning unit.

“I can’t get comfortable,” I complained to my teacher.

“That’s because you’re focusing on all the wrong things,” he winked.

I felt immediately dismissed; angry at the brevity of his response given what I felt to be the complexity of my issue. I wanted answers, not roundabout riddles. I wanted someone to take my hand and guide me effortlessly through.

It took me many years before I finally began to understand the fullness of his statement. He was right, you know – I was focusing outward, when I should have been looking within. My unsettledness wasn’t owing to the droning of fans, rather – it was related to the noise within.

“I go among trees and sit still.” writes Wendell Berry. “All my stirring becomes quiet around me like circles on water. ”

For the first time in my life, I was able release those aspects of self which were pulling me down. I realized stillness as its own entity, a ‘visitor’ to that which I knew as ‘home.’

“Then what is afraid of me comes
and lives a while in my sight.
What it fears in me leaves me,
and the fear of me leaves it.
It sings, and I hear its song.”

And, in that room – I found, I no longer shifted.

Instead, I found my peace within the song of shared breath.

Spoiler alert – it was in there all along.

Namaste ❤️

The Good News.

My darlings, a shorter posting today – if you’ll not mind. As I don’t wish to deter from the simplicity of these words, which so eloquently speak to the energy of intention.

We have the capacity within each moment, my loves – to redirect, to transform, to transcend. And, it is always within the parameters of our choices – to forge valiantly through or remain at status quo.

The good news is, that we alone define our choices. The good news is, that – if we really listen – the song of all eternity is reflected within the dandelion’s smile.

Listen to it, my loves. Bow your head in silent reverence and leave all your troubles behind.

The good news is, that true freedom is accessible within every single moment.

“The Good News”
from Call Me by My True Names by Thich Nhat Hanh

They don’t publish
the good news.
The good news is published
by us.
We have a special edition every moment
and we need you to read it.
The good news is that you are alive,
and the linden tree is still there,
standing firm in the harsh Winter.
The good news is that you have wonderful eyes
to touch the blue sky.
The good news is that your child is there before you,
and your arms are available:
Hugging is possible.
They only print what is wrong.
Look at each of our special editions.
We always offer the things that are not wrong.
We want you to benefit from them
and help protect them.
The dandelion is there by the sidewalk,
smiling its wondrous smile,
singing the song of eternity.
Listen! You have ears that can hear it.
Bow you head.
Listen to it.
Leave behind the world of sorrow
and preoccupation
and get free.
The latest good news
is that you can do it.

The Gift of This Smile.

Thich Nhat Hanh once described community as a river of kindness and compassion; one which “radiates a collective energy that can support us and make us strong.”

Each day as I walk, my eyes are drawn to the faces of passersby. I think of their pain within this collective human experience. I wonder of their struggle to traverse the complexities of life in an often unforgiving world. I view the fullness of their life’s story in the depth of wrinkled creases.

And then, I see their smile–radiating an indefatigable energy; one which reinforces the promise of this one human family.

We find connection through such a simple action and refuge, within the warmth of their loving-kindness.

Yes, my darlings — a simple smile can pierce through the layers of any roughened exterior, delivering hope where previously there was none.

As we smile to another, we might just find that the eyes of humanity might come alive in return.

We are all members of this one human family, my loves. And we are here simply to ‘walk each other home.’

Namaste, in peace ~ ❤️