Healing Properties

             As we rolled in to February, I had a few challenging days.  Based on the undeniable fact that, as every single second ticks past, we are leaving more and more of my beloved Winter behind.  Which means the days will get longer and warmer.  This is not good news for me.

             Facing our struggles, and then calming our fears, is such a valuable skill to have.  It’s one I’ve been working on, in a dedicated and powerful way.  So when I’m struck low, or when an outside source agitates my zen (the way impending Spring does) I can usually pull over (metaphorically speaking) and spend some down-time in a restful place.

             One of my favorite ways to do this is in the manner of curating my feed, or … removing that which does not heal.  In a physical sense, I aim my brain at something which calms me; I point my eyes at some image that can bring a sense of joy.

             This is such an item.  It was built in 1892 by a Doctor in a small North Dakota town.  It is everything I want and need in a home.  With the exception of its land-locked status and ownership not being mine.

             But what it represents right now is also our message.  The Universe would like to remind us of how important it is to

dream.

             Not only the night slumber type, but also day-dreams, fantasy, imagination, meditation, prayer.  By any other name this is a mental escape where we can slow ourselves to serenity and relax.  It is a tool we can use to take our racing mind and body out of play so that we can refocus.

             When we work long hours, we need to take a break.  Tranquility is crucial.  For our heads just as much as for our muscles and bones.  These bodies we’re wearing do best when well fueled and and well rested.  So do our minds and hearts.

             Whatever it is that you can point your eyes to right now, do it.  Give yourself a treat, visually.  Allow yourself to gaze off, or peer inward.  Whatever is the best for you, go do that!

              I’ll be here, meditating on a beautiful old house.

 

 

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Yours and Mine and Ours

             The most compelling argument I have, for when folks question spirituality because our physical existence seems so fucked up, is to agree.  Partially.  Yes, our planet is a huge stinkin’ mess.  Which is why we can be sure that this is not true reality, that there is something else/better/more.

             This shit-show we wake up to every day?  Yeah, that’s not the work of our higher consciousness nor something greater than humanity.  Our current state of being is most definitely the chaos of too many clashing egos, too much physicality.

             The more I focus on a sense of eternal and ephemeral peace, with the knowledge of Home, the calmer I feel, the more complete I know that I am.  The more I see, honor, and then release, the more empowered I feel to move through my days.

             Right now the Universe would like us to bring our attention inwards, acknowledge our own spark of the Divine, and then, with a deep steady breath, open to our connectedness of

The Whole

             Since our task here is to learn, to help, to grow, the more we start small and expand out, the easier it is for us to understand that we’re all part of this global family.  We are one portion of the entirety.  We are what makes up the All.

             While I am not evolved enough (yet) to accept the crimes of those in power, I know without question that I don’t need to.  It’s not up to me, so I can simply let their garbage go.  They will pay.  I am certain of it.

             There is so much more, more than pain and more than suffering, more than selfishness and more than greed.  There is beauty.  There is lovingkindness.  There is the strength we gain when we draw close, appreciating those we care for.

             We are more.  We are so, SO much more.

My last calendar view of 2019.

 

 

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Individual Implementation

             As we travel this life, we see the sights, we gather our stories, and we (hopefully) learn some lessons.  The longer we live, wearing these bodies, the more we are able to understand about why we’re here and what we’re doing.

             At least, that’s the plan (as in, our blueprint, the one we crafted for ourselves).

              When we’re at Home on the Other Side, setting up these adventures, we have all the knowledge of the Universe at our fingertips.  We have our singular journey and our collective presence.  But when we come down here to LIVE it, the entirety of it all can feel like it’s been forgotten.

             In reality, all of that greatness and all of those answers, have merely been stored for later access.

             Access It

             is our message right now.  We are being advised to go after those squirreled away memories, teachings, and that soul-deep understanding.  We are being asked to open up our storage unit of awareness, flip open the book of records, harvest from the tree of life.

             Whether we meditate, pray, walk near the water, stare into the flames – whether we dream, drum, hum, or chant.   Whatever is our tool, our vehicle to get there, we are being directed to open that crate, hop on board.

             The scope of this wisdom is immeasurable.  Whatever is our situation, current issue, or complaint, we can find a solution.  The task is simple, but not always easy.

             But we must, we need to look within.  We need to listen.  We have to tune in, today.  Gathering this, and then sharing it, that’s our job at this very moment.

             For me, personally, as I’ve shared before, I like a YouTube guided meditation.  (Something voiced with a foreign accent is especially soothing.)  Or, sitting on a cloudy and overcast beach with my feet in the cold sand as waves roll up, crashing loudly.  Often just a view of some falling water can calm me and help me to feel the earth’s voice, hear the songs of the sky.

             Whatever it is that centers you, calls out to you, do that.  Sit with it, bathe in it, allow it to flow over and through you.  Heal from it.  And then . . . . . share the Joy, the knowledge, and the lovingkindness.

 

This is what I’m currently listening to.  It’s beautiful, and has exactly the right feel.

 

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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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More Than Managing

             Our grandbaby tells us now she’s not a baby.  She’s a “big kid” (as if we need a reminder, from her).  She turned 2 at the end of January.  (TWO!)  Yesterday she walked importantly out into the backyard with a pair of floral snips to harvest a handful of sweet-smelling plants.

             Lilacs are truly the only part of this season that I like, and look forward to.  She brought me some, as a gift.

             As we seem to be in full Spring mode now, I am figuring out how to handle the current amount of heat, while knowing that it will get worse.  Much like the ups and downs of our emotions and mental health (as well as SO many other aspects in life), when we have the proper tools, the job goes more smoothly.

             What I’m hearing right now is how we’re

coping.

             When we receive bad news, when we hear a terrible tale, when we see a disturbing image, our reaction is the key.  In my case, I cannot always control what happens, physically as well as where my feelings take me.

             It’s where we go from there which is what the Universe wants us to focus on.  We are in charge of how we allow negativity from the outside to influence us.  Or not.

             It is up to us to manage.  Or not.  When we are depleted (no rest, inadequate food, dehydration, mental exhaustion, general stress), we are more susceptible, we are more at risk.

             I harp on and on about SelfCare, but I do it for a reason.  We simply do not take good enough care of ourselves on a regular basis.  It is something this broken culture has gotten entirely wrong.

             When we nap, when we pray, meditate, or simply sit quietly, when we care for ourselves in a loving and nurturing way, we have proven our value, we have told ourselves and the world that we are worth the time/energy/money/effort.  And when we are well taken care of , we are strong.  We can cope, we can heal, we can thrive.

             It’s time to use our tools, it’s time to take care of ourselves.  It’s time for us to bloom.

 

 

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