Compassion and Presence in 2019

January 1, 2019, the first day of a brand new year full of possibilities! Rather than make resolutions only to break them in a matter of weeks, days, or (let's be honest) even hours, this year I want to focus on my state of be-ing. I want to decide how I will show up in the world because I know that is how the world will then show up for me in return. Today I'm starting the new year wearing green, the color of abundance, renewal, and regeneration. In Buddhism the Green Tara is the "goddess of compassion and the mother of liberation." She "embodies the healing energy of release from fear and ignorance." Her green color represents the "freshness and newness of energy, reflecting her youthfulness and playfulness."

All of this speaks to me as I move forward into what I feel intuitively will be an important year of change and growth. I want to stay aware of the impact of my human-rational-ego mind on my thoughts and feelings, to pay attention to the fearfulness that prevents me from having compassion, especially for those closest to me. As I allow others close it becomes more challenging to feel the one-ness because my ego constantly seeks to separate by tearing them down and making them "wrong" in every way. I want to be mindful of these blocks to love and to gently release them without judgement or criticism of myself. The ego-rational mind is a natural part of the human condition and "becoming more compassionate" for everyone includes myself! Compassion IS liberation from fearfulness, which allows us to be joyful and playful. (And let's face it, couldn't we all use a little more joy and fun in our lives?)

As with everything, it all comes back to my spiritual practice; meditation, prayer, reading, and for me, writing, which is how I process it all. Staying grounded through daily spiritual practice keeps me in awareness. Staying in gratitude keeps me in a state of joy. Staying in the present moment keeps me grounded in love. This year I seek to stay rooted in the truth that we are all ONE, and to remember that when I resist others, I resist the highest, best part of myself.

Wishing you infinite blessings, love and joy in the new year.

A New Day

I haven't been writing regularly for a while now, at least a year since I started back to work full-time. I haven't been meditating regularly either...not sure why I stopped but definitely feeling the residual effects of both. I'm out of sorts, disgruntled, disenchanted, grumpy and judgmental. Not my usual self at all, my ego has been running the show. I know that not writing makes me feel disconnected from myself, my true self, my soul. Not meditating disconnects me from Spirit, from my Source, from All That Is Love. My fears and negative self-talk have been allowed to run amok unchecked, leaving my inner child feeling frightened, alone, and unloved. I know all this intellectually, and yet still I've avoided both writing and meditating. WHY??

After not working regularly for almost 2 1/2 yrs, going back to 40+ hrs of a physically demanding job came as quite a shock to my system. Add to this the stress of learning a new position/company. I think I've just been completely overwhelmed emotionally, mentally, and physically. I've been in "survival mode" for 12 months, and exhausted in every way, nothing at all left over at the end (or beginning!) of each day to give, even to myself. In the past few weeks I've begun to slowly become aware of how I was feeling, and yet still resisted doing anything about it! Only now, today, do I feel I'm emerging from the long dark tunnel. Expressing these feelings here in writing is my first tentative step back into the light.

I suppose we all go through times of life like this, where all our energy is focused outside ourselves. This is the nature of life in modern times I think. Things move so fast, we are inundated with information from every side, and feel some pressure to not just keep up, but to excel. Unfortunately in times like these, often the first things to fall away are the habits and practices that would best sustain us, carry us through successfully.

Well, today is a new day. I can choose to start anew, choose to refocus some of my attention and energy back on me. I can choose to replenish my own well so that I can give to others. I can choose to forgive myself for being neglectful, and start again caring for myself, body and soul.

As I write, I am sitting by our pool watching the beautiful Hawaiian sunrise. The air is damp after cooling overnight rain storms, replenishing the earth to withstand another hot summer day. Two garden snails are keeping me company, slowly but surely making determined progress across the lanai to some unknown point. As always in nature, I find perfect reminders that life is not a race to a destination, but a journey to be enjoyed slowly, and every new day brings a chance to begin again.

With warm aloha from my heart to yours...

A Love Poem From Your Higher Self

A love poem from your higher self...

Come take my hand
You should know me
I've always been in your mind
You know that I'll be kind
I'll be guiding you

Building your dream
Has to start now
There's no other road to take
You won't make a mistake
I'll be guiding you

You have to believe we are magic
Nothin' can stand in our way
You have to believe we are magic
Don't let your aim ever stray
And if all your hopes survive
Your destiny will arrive
I'll bring all your dreams alive
For you

From where I stand
You are home free
The planets align so rare
There's promise in the air
And I'm guiding you
Through every turn I'll be near you
I'll come anytime you call
I'll catch you when you fall
I'll be guiding you

You have to believe we are magic
Nothin' can stand in our way
You have to believe we are magic
Don't let your aim ever stray
And if all your hopes survive
Your destiny will arrive
I'll bring all your dreams alive
For you

"Magic"~ Olivia Newton John

Lyrics by Ann and Nancy Wilson, Gary Webb, and Pam Sheyne

Choose Forgiveness, Free Yourself

Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who helped lead South Africa through the demise of apartheid knows a thing or two about forgiveness. He and his daughter have written a book on the subject, and I happened to see them interviewed this morning. Here's a paraphrasing of their thoughts on forgiveness:

Forgiveness is a spiritual tool in the light-worker's tool box. When you forgive someone it doesn't mean you endorse what was done, or absolve them of the act, or forget what happened. It means that you choose to release the anger and negativity that keeps you energetically tied to the person. It means that you choose to no longer "hold it against them", as the energy required to hold this negativity drains and continues to punish you far more than it does the other person. Choosing to forgive brings you peace of mind and peace of spirit. Forgiveness is freedom, a gift that you choose to give to yourself.

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Do You Know Who You Really Are?

In the physical world there is a lot of emphasis placed on appearances, so much so that often our own sense of identity is constructed exclusively around how we appear to others. But you, the real you, is not your body, your face, your teeth, or your hair. This is merely a “flesh suit”, a  “human costume” that your spirit has chosen to wear for a time, in order to be able to experience and enjoy the physical realm. “You” are not even your thoughts, for those originate from your human mind.

The real you is a glowing, star-bright being, a spark of divine creation, a beautiful bundle of glittering particles of love and joy. You are a cell in the body of Spirit/Source/God. You came to this world for the merest blink-of-the-eye in the span of eternity to live, learn and love. Life is not meant to be a struggle, and once you “remember” who you truly are, it will cease to be.

Wishing you the power to make this connection and have a magical, miraculous, love-filled life. And so it is…..

Relationships Are Mirrors (Whether we like it or not!)

Being in "relationship" with friends, family, and lovers, is an essential element of a deeply satisfying life. One of the most basic human needs is to be in close community with others, to feel that we "belong". This stems from physiological needs for safety and survival, but there is also a great emotional need in most of us to share our life experiences with others. Being in a close relationship with another human can be immensely rewarding, extremely challenging, and sometimes both simultaneously!

All relationships are mirrors, reflecting back to us the positive, loving, wonderful things about ourselves, and if we're willing, helping us to see where our wounds are, and where we need healing. The people we attract and are attracted to mirror back to us our deeply-rooted beliefs about relationships, and for better or worse, the qualities we ourselves have.

I believe that life is a classroom and relationships are like the "lab" portion, where we get to practice what we are learning. We attract and are attracted to interact with certain people because of things we need to see or learn about our lives and ourselves. When someones behavior "pushes our buttons", they are mirroring some deep, negative self-belief back to us, which is uncomfortable for us to look at. So our initial instinct and ego-based defense mechanism is to judge them guilty and push them away, or in extreme cases to lash out so they will leave the relationship.

When someone does something that "drives us crazy", or that we find ourselves judging them for, instead of pointing our finger we need to look within ourselves to see why this behavior bothers us so much. (Like the old saying goes "When I point a finger at you, there are three more pointing back at me!") Instead of focusing our attention on the other person, we need to ask ourselves "What is it about me that finds your behavior so irritating?" When we look inward and honestly assess our own emotional state, we usually find that the negative feelings are actually about our "shadow side". We discover that what is being "irritated" or causing our feeling of discomfort, is our dislike of our own possession of the quality or behavior that's being reflected. If we're willing to do the work, this is in fact a huge opportunity for our own healing and emotional growth!

When we learn to forgive ourselves for being human and therefore imperfect, it becomes much easier to forgive others for the same. When we find compassion for ourselves, letting ourselves "off the hook" for mistakes and imperfections, we are able to be compassionate with others. Once we learn to love and accept all parts of ourselves, it becomes much easier to love and accept others exactly as they are. Their faults and flaws will no longer annoy us, interacting with them will no longer be irritating, and life becomes much more peaceful. So the next time someone "pushes your buttons", remember to look in the mirror!

The Changing Face of the Goddess

If you read my blog regularly, you may already be aware that I am currently writing a series of books for girls and women called "The Spiritual Girl's Guide to Love and The Universe." It seems to me that too many girls grow up and go through life with a low sense of self-value, feeling badly about themselves and settling for relationships and situations that are far less than they deserve. I think that modern society reinforces these negative self-perceptions by presenting largely unrealistic and practically unattainable ideals of beauty through perfection. Through my blog, books, facebook page, and women's circles, I passionately hope to help women of all ages to discover and treasure their own unique light, and the incredible beauty that lies in their "imperfections". For like snowflakes we are all unique, but all beautiful in our own way.

This video (link below) is a wonderful illustration that what is considered to be "beautiful" in a woman changes dramatically and often over the ages. I hope it will serve as a reminder not to compare yourself to what is considered by society to be "beautiful", as beauty is subjective and is truly in the eye of the beholder!

You are the most amazing , beautiful version of YOU that has ever existed or ever will exist! Revel in your uniqueness, and know that those who truly love you find you beautiful and perfect, exactly as you are.


Video by Phillip Scott Johnson
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUDIoN-_Hxs

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