This last year has been and continues to be a challenging time for everyone. I have been giving some thought to what we can each do to maintain our own energy--and energy hygiene--so that we may stand each in our strength and integrity, and support ourselves and others. We each hold the possibility, and the opportunity, to make positive change, and it can happen in simple and subtle ways. It can be summed up as: share your self light. This of course means that first you need to recognize and nurture your own light. And how do we do this when we are stressed by outside events and … [Read more...]
Imagination and Integration
As Halloween approaches and we can’t help observing, and perhaps participating in, dress-up and pretend play, I think again about the importance of imagination, and in particular how much children can remind us about expanding our capacities to know in non-linear ways. Children are impressive in their ability to easily and fluidly abandon so-called rational thought and immerse themselves with freedom and delight into imaginary worlds. In the process of such play they are naturally accessing their intuition and accomplishing important developmental tasks. My young granddaughter is expert … [Read more...]
The Power of One
As we mark the death of Nelson Mandela, much has been said about his remarkable achievement, his life story, his politics, his tactics, his tenacity and courage. He is fittingly celebrated for his unwavering commitment to and the success of his mission to right the iniquitous wrong of apartheid. But we must not overlook another of his gifts to us: he reminds us of the potential and opportunity we each hold to make positive change, and the ability of human will to triumph over adversity. He exemplified the power of individual thought and intention, directed into action, and the inevitability … [Read more...]
Politics, Truth and Compassion
Are you as worn out from this election season as I am? I am beyond weary from fending off the incoming—all kinds of energetic approaches vying for my mental, psychic and emotional attention, ranging from snail mail, email, print and TV ads, the endless coverage by the media of each side’s daily talking points and the innumerable partisan surrogates appearing on behalf of each agenda, and, most difficult of all to bear, the relentless sniping and small hearted negative attacks that appear to be acceptable terms of engagement in politics. We are all being subjected to energetic fields replete … [Read more...]
True North
Do you know your “true north”? Or how to find it? True north is a navigational direction based on the Earth’s axis. Magnetic north—the north a compass needle points to—deviates from true north over time and from place to place because the earth's magnetic poles are not fixed in relation to its axis. True north is fixed and certain. But the “true north” that I am referring to is your personal navigation marker, the one based on your own inner axis—that is, your alignment with your true, authentic self. This is the pointer that allows you to successfully find the way in your life, and … [Read more...]
Why Do We Choose Life?
I have a new granddaughter, a 6-pound bundle of perfect incarnation, not yet 2 weeks old. As I hold her I am not only reminded of the ineffable wonder of creation that produces a new life, but I have also been contemplating the why of it, why we souls become embodied. Why do we choose this physical experience? Why are we here? Many traditions teach that we come into life to learn, to develop ourselves and our ability to love and serve, to express compassion and to understand truth and integrity. Human incarnation--our visceral physical presence-- allows us the experiences of ego and … [Read more...]
Pathways
As Fall brings transition, I have been thinking about the nature of pathways: the choosing, the traversing, and sometimes foraging when the path disappears. And then arriving, finding where the path takes you. How did you get there? What did you bring with you? What did you find on the way? How difficult was the passage? Where are you now? Choosing your path, trying to figure out what is the “right” path, for you, is not easy. And, things are not always as they appear. The soft and sunlit path in the woods, so gentle and inviting, may take you through rough terrain ahead that you … [Read more...]
New Math: Subtracting From Your Mind
What do you yearn for, and where does it direct you? As we savor the last sweet days of summer, and many prepare for school, I have been thinking about this. And about the nature of the scholar and inner learning. What is it we really want? What are we studying and learning and trying to achieve in this life? We live in both our inner and our outer experiences, and the emphasis on one or the other ebbs and flows, and perhaps the balance shifts over time. But the outer distractions have a way of taking over. It is important to find ways and means of attending to our inner growth … [Read more...]
Love Infinity
Creation begins at home. We are each and all participants in creating our world. We put together lives and partnerships and settings, seeded with intention, expressing our selves into our environments, presenting who we are as individuals. As we do this, often without great attention, we not only build a sense of home, both inner and outer, but we are also projecting our selves, the expression of our personal truth, into the world. So, the first place to begin in creating the world you would like to see is with your self. More precisely, through your embodied “Self”: the physical, … [Read more...]
Declare Your Independence!
Do you remember who you are? As we turn to July 4th and celebrate the declaration of freedom, I am reminded that political independence is necessarily founded upon a deeply held value of personal independence. It is your birthright to be your unique self. By self, I mean you in all your aspects, inner and outer, full and strong and beautiful and wholly integrated. This seems such a simple statement. Yet, we face all sorts of obstruction, much of it well meaning, that nevertheless suppresses our abilities to thrive in “full-selfness” and be and give from our individuality and our … [Read more...]