In Peace and Intention

             If you’ve been here long enough, you know that my family doesn’t celebrate Christmas.  At least, not in the sense that we gather in adoration of a virgin birth.

             While most of us do think J.C. was a real guy, and Mary stands in place of the Universal Mother goddess, we also know that Jesus isn’t truly the reason for this season.  Winter Solstice is.

             All original peoples across all continents had solar holy days.  They all recognized longest night (and six months later/before, longest day).  They honored the returning of the sun, and they grieved the passing of the sun.

             What we, culturally, now consider as this holiday, is far removed from any of its history, religious or otherwise.  What we have now is different.  And in many ways, not better.

             But, similar to the issues and horrible background of American Thanksgiving, there is still a tiny morsel of goodness.  A small slice of gratitude which we can recognize and build upon.  Which we can go forward with into our individual futures.

             Since I am no longer in a retail setting, I’ve even come back to appreciating some of the carols.  And that’s where our message came from.

             Thinking on what is positive around now (in addition to the delightful, extreme, and interesting weather), I found myself humming about

Comfort and Joy

             Amongst the lessons some of us are here to work on, is finding comfort.  Finding a way to be at ease.  Clothing, food, jobs, home, transportation, relationships, any or all of these can be confining, too restrictive, not at all comfortable.

             We can take from this season the idea of contentment, instead of a driving need for more, for better.  We can find the Joy, and retain it.  We can share our pleasure, our abundance.

             No matter whether we festively gather with others, or quietly enjoy our own company, the peaceful strength of this time of year is to commemorate, not to be stranded and struggling in stress.  Because THIS moment, THIS exact position on the calendar and in the universe, is singular, it will not happen again.

             It is our privilege to be with it, to cherish it, to appreciate it, comfortably and joyously.  It’s the least we can do, for ourselves, and for those we care about.

             And if we should feel like draping it all in a soft wrap of spirituality, and that’s beneficial, then go for it.  But, ya know, always there’s a choice.

             It is recommended right now that we Choose Joy, and Choose Comfort.

ease in winter

 

 

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Joy Now, and Every Day

             Many religions and spiritual belief systems talk about beginning each morning with prayer or meditation or some sort of Honour/Blessing.  I am a huge fan of this practice, and I try very hard to incorporate it on a regular basis.

             Sadly, waking up is a challenge for me.  Whether by alarm, on my own, or with the help of a person, none of these methods work well, nor are they easy.  I’ve been this way my entire life.

             Today, because I was called to Jury Duty, it was even MORE tragic than usual.  Our group was released before one p.m.  I was able to catch a nap/go back to bed, in an attempt to reset my internal clock and to finish last night’s sleeping.

             When I got up (the second time), I was reminded of this:

Divine Timing

             As you may recall, Time and I have a restless and prickly relationship.  We bicker.  We tussle.  We hardly ever agree.  Time has a way of always moving, and I’m a person who sits down a lot.

             While I fully believe that everything truly does happen for the reasons we originally mapped out, I also know that Free Will, and the general shit-show which is our complicated existence here, play in to this equation, and along its corresponding time-line.  There are too many factors throughout our Journey for us to count, our tiny human brain can’t math them all.

             Another Universal Truth is that we can improve ourselves and our situation/emotional position in extremely simple ways.  We don’t HAVE to count all of the things.  We can merely allow the Divine Timing to flow, taking its natural course.

             This particular messenger, the one who has come to help us with validation and to act as a guide, is one who speaks of my favorite option, that of choosing Joy.  That of going with the highest best choice for all involved.

red goddess

“Lalita

The Red Goddess

‘Playfulness is a spiritual power.

Laughter leads me back to the light.’

Who She Is:

Lalita represents the spontaneity which graces a heavy moment and reminds us that joy is a powerful spiritual practice.

Lalita Tripura Sundari is a Hindu deity known as the red goddess because of her connection to desire.  She is often depicted sitting on a lotus with 16 petals known as the ‘fulfiller of all desires.’

She is holding a golden bow, which represents the mind, and five golden arrows, which represent the five senses.

Lalita is known for her spontaneity and for liberating her devotees with joy.  She’s the consciousness that comes when we get so caught up in taking ourselves seriously, causing us to forget the (profound) simple pleasures like a breeze on our face or the taste of sun-ripened fruit.

She reminds us that we don’t have to be perfect ….. what’s divine is inherent to us, it’s remembered, not learned.

When Your Soul Selects Her Card:

Answers arrive from disengaging with the energy which created the problem or question to begin with.  We so often hold tight to what we desire with a grip that actually inhibits it from arriving.

The secret to desire is holding it lightly.  The secret which the red goddess knows is that we already have everything we desire.  So we can trust that what the soul craves is and always has been ours.

This is the levity which sparks a shift, a change, an expansion – that is the moment where we remember we are not separate from what we desire, nor from the divine.

Lalita is the levity which comes when we loosen our death-like grip on what we desire.  She’s the much needed reminder that we don’t have to suffer our way to what we want most.

The path to what we desire and to becoming the soul we need to be in order to receive it can be paved with joy, with divine play, and with a sacred process of lightening up all along the way.

Soul-Voice Intention:

How can I add more playfulness to my life right now?

Intention:

Playfulness is a spiritual power.

Laughing leads me back to the light.”

Today’s Deck:

Divine Feminine Oracle by Meggan Watterson and Lisbeth Cheever-Gessaman

 

 

 

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