Seeing Clearly

             It’s been a while since we had a Mercury retrograde conversation.  There are several reasons for this.

             The first is that my Life Lessons include patience, and trying to focus on positives, rather than negatives, while still allowing my emotions the space they need to process and feel.  But it’s also about how, when we “go with the flow” and simply keep one step above the physical struggles of Life, we genuinely have a better view

             This particular planetary reverse cycle has been brutal.  In terms of technology, sooth-brain moments, and dealing with ANY and ALL communications.  I’ve been trying to wade through it, keeping my mouth shut (the better to not let anything out, as well as anything in.)

             The reminder I keep chanting silently inside my head is “it’s all temporary” on a repeating loop.  Because now I’m more aware than ever how fleeting every bit of our embodied lives truly are.

             What the Universe wants us to focus on is not the chaos, but the

Clarity.

             The point of understanding these types of challenges is to see where we can grow, what we can learn, and in how many ways we can improve.  Retrograde = review, revise, reassess, reconnect, retreat, reappear, reconsider, revisit, retrace, renegotiate, and every other re- we can find.

             To see clearly, we have to comprehend what we’re viewing.  When we look through the lens of quiet time, restful peace, and stillness (even the seemingly forced kind), we are better able to comprehend our messages.  We are better able to absorb the knowledge from within.  We are better able to hear our Team, and what they are sharing.

             While this phase is never easy, it is also not complicated.  These down-times merely show us the other side of our busy-ness.  Which is helpful.   

Image courtesy of Jessica Adams

 

 

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Unified

             We all know that there is no such thing as coincidence.  We are here for a purpose.  We have charted this life for specific and sacred reasons.  When we come across (or, more accurately, are directed to) people and information it is intentional and focused.

             I was recently fortunate enough to meet some incredible individuals (including these two, who had traveled half way around the world).  It was a gathering of like-minded souls.  A group of people who were drawn together for a healing experience.

             Planning the trip, driving there and back, sitting in the space, interacting … it was all meaningful.  It also resulted in showing me how far I’ve come on this particular journey, as well as how (very!) far I still have to go.  It was educational.  And painful.  But, like our lives, it had purpose.

             Yesterday, in between much family chaos (broken cars, lost phones, business upheaval), we landed in a shop called One World Eugene.  It’s at our local mall, and it’s recently moved down the lane into a newer, larger premises.

             Turns out, I was sent there by the Universe.  So we could hear this message:

“39 Oneness

Mani Ratna Mudra

Assists:

spiritual union, balance, integration

Benefits:

supports and balances all of the systems of the body.  Directs breath and awareness throughout the body.  Opens crown chakra.

Instructions:

bend index fingers inward and touch the tips to thumbs.  Join thumbs and hands with base of the palms touching.  Extend other fingers open.  Relax shoulders and move elbows slightly away from body.

Focus:

I experience the oneness of everything.

Practice:

take a few slow and deep breaths of expansion.  Bring awareness to the crown of your head.  Feel the sides of the crown, the top of the crown.  Feel the breath moving in and out of the crown.

Expand light out from the crown of your head upwards.  With each inhalation, light expands outward.  See yourself as a fountain of light.

Notice your connection to the moon, the stars, and the sky above.  Feel your light reaching up to touch all of the these elements.  Feel the connection to the oneness of everything up above.”

Resource:

Mudra for Awakening the Energy Body written by Alison DeNicola, illustrated by Sabina Espinet

             For the past 5 or 6 weeks I have been investigating mudra* philosophy, and beginning a practice of the methods.  To find this deck, to pull this card, to go these places, to meet these people, to learn the name of that store ~ well.  It’s not by chance nor accident.

*Pronounced as meh-draw, with the accent hard at the beginning.  Or as mood-rah, with an uplift at the end.  I’ve heard both.  (You could also google it, and they’ll say the word outloud.)

 

 

 

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Likelihood and Probability

             Have you ever seen a squirrel in your blackberry bushes?  I hadn’t either, not until earlier this week.  It was surprising.  But, maybe, it shouldn’t have been.

             We, as a species, go places where humans couldn’t possibly survive, and yet they do.  We, as active animals, perform tasks our bodies maybe weren’t even designed to accomplish, and yet we do.  There are so many ways we can flourish,  Uncountable ways.

             Here’s what the Universe is asking us to understand right now:

things are not always as expected.

             Like my bushy-tailed neighbor in the berry shrub, she was simply just doing what came naturally, looking for food.  Ta da, there is was!  I’m the one who was caught off-guard.

             Our life paths often take us in directions we not only weren’t planning on going, but didn’t even realize existed.  This journey, it’s like that.  One day we’re out hunting for nuts, and, out of nowhere, there’s free fruit!

             What it’s not like?  The movies, internet, TV, or as books tell us.  It can be so much more, and if we’re in a negative place mentally, it can seem like so much less.

             That’s the point of this message, it’s not what we “expect” because we don’t have a clue as to what/where/how much we could even accomplish.  It’s never too late to head down any avenue we like, or wander along a new road we may feel the interest in exploring.

             What is “expected” of us is rarely where our heart directs us.  And it is rarely what will make us happy.

             In many belief systems, we are encouraged to seek out calm and loving attitudes.  And yet the media bombards us with the constant inadequacy that we cannot be satisfied unless we acquire All The Things, or appear a certain way.  Where do we find our balance?

             Right now, it seems, our key is to let go of expectations.  Those tossed over us by our culture (and the big businesses who are running so much of it), and those ideas we had about, and for, ourselves which maybe weren’t even ours in the first place.

             What I hear is, it’s time now to be our own unique and individual selves.  Being in our skin, enjoying our surroundings, loving those close to us, appreciating our many blessings.  Allowing those unnecessary expectations to slip away.  That seems like a terrific spot to be in.

 

 

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Continued Observations In Grace

             As the overwhelming negativity continues everywhere we turn (I recently heard someone say the ocean is dead, why even try), as we approach a very hope-filled, jubilant (but traditionally controversial) weekend, I try my best to stay over on the positive side.  I am actively practicing my gratitude.

             In fact, I am practicing this reframed alternative mindset now, as I jot my notes in the rattiest old laundry-mat* I’ve had the pleasure of visiting in several decades.  My reality is this: machines continue to fail, our internet is fucking worthless, people disappoint, and neighbors kill trees.

             I don’t give up (like I used to ….. as much).  Instead, now I

rise above.

             It’s been challenging, let me just say.  Things aren’t going as I thought they would, nor even, as I’d like them to.  The difference?  My attitude.

             I understand more/better/some bits on a deeper level.  My observations are farther reaching.  My soul-sensibility is heightened.  Much of the garbage is rolling off, away from me, so that the stench is not nearly as noticeable as it once was.

             Do I still take most things personally?  Pretty much on the regular.  I am a “highly sensitive” individual, so I truly can’t help that aspect of my personality.  My only way around this emotional reaction is to sit with all the feelings.  Hold them, allow them to find the space they need.  Then, I (try!) to release them, so they can fly off to wherever is their next destination.

             This idea of our own uplifted perception is not even close to new (and definitely not mine), it is the basis of ancient religions and spiritual paths across the world.  It is entirely simple, but does take some getting used to.  It does take us a while to live it.  (Our entire life, basically.)

             Very similar to how I have decided to cope with the upcoming warm weather, I am rebranding it in this acceptance mode.  I can’t stop it, but I can look forward to it being over.   Every hot day I suffer through, brings me one blessed step closer to fall, and the welcome cool once again.

A closed door always means there has to be an open window, someplace. It’s up to us to find it.

*I know that’s not how it’s spelled.  I just like it better this way.  This is me, finding joy in small ways.

 

 

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Circles, Cycles, Tides

             All week I’ve been seeing signs and hearing messages with a singular and common theme.  Even the current Vernal Equinox and Full Moon are telling us the same things.

             Right now?  It’s all about:

birth.

             The newness of the season, the freshening of our mother Earth, it’s in every aspect of our lives at this moment.  It is the focus of Nature.

             For me, personally, it was  …..  interesting.  So much has changed in the past few years (well, nearing a decade now, but the past three-ish have felt accelerated).  I’m no longer fighting the detours, the roadblocks, the shit that just pops up into our faces when we least expect it.

             Probably that’s growth.  Maybe that’s evolving.  Hopefully that’s learning my lessons.  Mostly it feels like I’m finally getting the hang of this Release process.  That “GAH!  It’s all new and different!” concept no longer feels as jarring, it unsettles me not as often.

             This afternoon was an excellent example.  My hours at work have been cut.   This is good and bad news.  On the negative, I go to a job because we have decided that homelessness will not suit our particular needs at this time.

             On the bright side, I love not going to work.  We took off, spontaneously, with no plan except to head for the shore.  My beloved Oregon Coast was the destination.  Sun sets at 7:30, it’s an hour away, I didn’t even have to set an alarm nor get out of bed early.

             As you can see, the day was spectacular.  Cold enough for me to be happy, the breeze calm enough for my driver and his companion to not get blown off their feet.

             All the things did not fall smoothly into place, though.   Our food factor was met with many unforeseen obstructions.  We rolled with it.  None of the solutions were fabulous, but we didn’t allow it to dim our shiny day away.

             Going to see my favorite beach is always a joy which shows on my face, an ebullient recharge I carry with me for days and days and days, drawing on the visit repeatedly.  The birth of being able to just GO do it was a gift I had not expected.

             What I think the Universe wants us to gain from all of this is that we CAN adapt.  We ARE able to flex and bend and take the alternate path.  Because we do now know, it most certainly is not about the ending, it’s entirely about the journey.

             We kept recalling the pluses, making them even more positive, and let those negatives roll right off.  It was an effortless successful, and that’s kind of a new concept for many of us.

 

 

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