Tuesday, July 1, 2008

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Trust

I'm asking again (and it feels really wonderful to be here).

If it's manifested, clear, no question as to what is or is to be created...then is is Trust?

Isn't Trust when we have nothing to back up our perceptions on the outer world?

When it looks like all is lost and we are "not safe?" or "not getting?" or "not loved?"

Isn't Trust the essence of peace, right here, right now?...not needing to ponder, plan, worry, anticipate, grasp?

Isn't it the knowing that this moment is perfect, no matter what our stories define it as?

And that maybe all this is soul practice for Trusting the perfection and Love offered in Death? (as the Tibetans teach)

That Trust has nothing to do with anyone or anything outside myself?

Isn't trust the core of Unconditional Love, inner peace...all of it?

I'm asking about trust as I continue to learn it.
Lovin' the journey.

Art: Open Heart by Leonard Morales, Jr.

Monday, June 30, 2008

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The World Is Happy

I found this article today on Yahoo news and it made me smile. Basically, it's about a study that has found that even with "all the negativity" going on in the world, that we are, as a planet, happier people than we used to be.

I like this....and it makes me happier knowing that even scientists and now Yahoo News, are talking about it. It's like a secret is finally out of the bag or something. Hey, world...we CAN be happy, right here, right now. We ARE happy. All we have to do is remember we came here to be happy and not have the ickies take over in our minds.

I was listening to an Abraham tape the other day and they were talking about how if the world, as it really is, was on TV, there would be happy, happy, fun, sweet, happy, then a two second fuzzy noise, then it would go back to happy for hours. Those two seconds would have been the totality of the "bad" that is on the Earth, amidst the joy and abundance that is the overwhelming energy on the planet. Why do we continue to choose to see the bad?

Although I haven't reached the place yet where I am there 24/7...and especially not in times of intense stress... I do like knowing that, in the end, I have a choice whether I want to focus on what makes me sad or unhappy...or...I can go watch a You Tube video like this:



Matt gets around...and you can find his other videos on YouTube and here. He even has a blog.

Matt inspires me. I can't help but be in awe of someone who's touched so much of the Earth and the hearts of the humans living on it. Not only did I joy-cry when I first watched this video, it's happened every time I've watched it again. (I've also had word from a couple of diehard non-goobers that it makes them cry, too.) I can't explain fully why in words just yet, but he jolts my core.

I'm thinkin' he's one helluva angel.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

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"What If God Was One Of Us?"



That song by Joan Osborne often runs through my mind when I walk through the streets of Los Angeles.

Today I saw a woman, probably in her 70's, with a wizened face pulling a small cart filled with junk. She was getting up from a bus stop bench. I happened to glance down and noticed that her pants were stained with dark splotches at the crotch, a fresh trail of liquid darkened her pants. As I passed the smell of urine permeated the air.

My heart opened. I remembered reading somewhere, sometime long ago that some Native Americans look at the disabled, the crazy, the shunned as Teachers and Holy.

I wondered if she was in pain. I thought of the vastness of human suffering. I thought of the impossiblity of any one person "fixing" it. I wished we honored our elders, the outcast, the one closer to the other worlds than we.

I'm so in awe of souls that choose to come and experience life in this way. Seeing her touched me and reminded me, one again, at the power, the majesty and the mystery of creation.

Friday, May 9, 2008

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Yes, It's Really The Breath


It's been a very long time since I've posted. Thanks and Many Blessings to those of you who continue to visit.


In my absence, my whole life has changed. Much of it has been a tumultuous shifting. I've moved 400 miles away from the beautiful Northern California town I called home for thirty years. I sold my home, sold lots of my stuff, packed most the remaining stuff in storage.


I left family, friends and a way of life that was laid back, comfy and connected, while being close enough to a large city to be able to enjoy that life when I wanted to. My old hometown has a strong sense of family and community.


I loaded only what could fit in my Camry and I moved right smack dab in the middle of Hollywood. I now hear helicopters flying overhead much of the time. Asphalt and cement have replaced trees and grass. I know very few people when I used to see tons of acquaintances every time I went out.


The move down here was not under the best of circumstances. I had to let go of a dream I've had, a passion I've held onto for four years, the vision I had of what the rest of my life would look like. I've let go of that dream and have relocated down here to rebuild my life, as a 51 year old woman with no job, an odd sort of work history and no dream or clear direction as of yet.


Initially, I felt lots of resistence. I cried rivers of tears in the grieving and letting go. I've been grieving loss of so much on so many levels. I left two daughters...one in emotional and relationship trouble. I left the opportunity to be a daily part of my two grandchildren's lives. I left a strong circle of women friends who are family to me.


In the middle of all of it, I re-discovered Eckhart Tolle's book A New Awakening. I've read so many books on this stuff, I have to admit to a certain degree of resistence the first readthrough. But Life was so Big, I wanted a guide, a friend to hold my hand. I found it. Thank you, Echkhart.


Nothing new, but what a gift...and so eloquently said. I've heard the same thing over and over and over, but each time I hear it anew. And, once again, I'm struck by the beauty of Life.


It's about the Breath. It's about being present to all of Life. It's about being right here, right now and melting into Existence and Consciousness. It's about resisting nothing, continuing to remember to let it all flow through us, holding onto nothing, allowing everything, breathing, breathing, breathing with all our awareness both inner and outer.


Books, Tapes, Teachers keep us on track. These Wisdom, Self Help, Awakening blogs echo the same message they teach us over and over and over. We really don't need any of the books, the blogs, the teachers. I don't, you don't, we don't. But they help us. We are little angels for each other in times of need when we forget who we are, lose ourselves in our fear. When we're in the middle of crisis, they help...all of them do.


In the end, though, it's not the words that bring peace. The words remind us, help us focus, keep us on track...but it's us that does the play of finding our peace. It's the experiencing of peace, of Life without labelling, of holding ourselves in that space of merging with The All that eventually brings us back to ourselves. We have to do this stuff. Just do it. It's pretty cool.


We may only be able to access it for a few seconds at first. But if we keep revisiting throughout the day, eventually those little seconds expand into minutes, then increasing blocks of minutes. Soon we're connectiong to our Essence in longer and longer intervals. Trust returns, we feel the embrace of love and all is well.


I'm happy. It was a good idea to move here.
Image taken from here.

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

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Enlightenment Intensive


My Dear Best Friend, Adrienne is leading a workshop May 1-4 called an "Enlightenment Intensive."

It's a system of meditation/process called Dyad Communication that cuts through to the core of Spirit. Find out more about the process here. Then, once you've visited there and found out what it's about, you can go here and get more writings by Adrienne on the topic and find out the particulars of this intensive.

I love what this process has done for and with her and her husband. I encourage you to go visit the site and check it out...and maybe you'll go...and maybe I'll see you there!!!

Art- Men in Dyad Communication position from here

Thursday, March 6, 2008

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Today I'm thinking of....

...a dearly loved friend who is undergoing open heart surgery as I write. We trust all will be well, that this is a good thing and that he will come out the other side healthier than before he went in. We know will soon be playing in our grand style.


I know it's brought up all sorts of stuff for him. I can see it in his face, primarily his eyes. His face has changed. Although I am totally projecting here, I don't know if it's as much a fear of how surgery will turn out. I think it's more that the world is shifting for him. He's never been this sick before. He has to redefine how he sees and feels his body, can no longer claim "no major surgeries" on medical forms. His wife has had a degenerative disease and both thought she would be the one "to go" first. And although that's probably still the case, it opens eyes to the reality that nothing is permanent, nothing is assured to be as we plan in life.

I'm thinking of another friend who woke up this morning with pains and achies in her heart. She "doesn't do" anxiety attacks, heart attacks or heart burn so has never experienced this feeling before. I can tell she's discombobulated, as she called to get support at about 5am...not her usual MO.

And I'm thinking of another friend who used to be a runner, then he tweaked his knee. And now his hip is toast. He's going through a painful divorce "that's slowly killing him." Although I know he's on his way back, this whole two/three year period of his life has been intense, pretty much ripping him to his core. I know he'll re-emerge an even more amazing person than when he entered this soul cycle. But in the meantime, I know he's not himself because he says he doesn't even know who the new "him" is.

I'm thinking of three in my community, all in their late 40's early 50's...who died this past year.

And I'm thinking of the Tantra and yoga teacher, in the prime of his 40's health, a loving soul, who died a few years ago after slipping in the shower, passing out from the impact, lying in the shower for three days (under cold water because the hot water had run out within an hour), then dying of pneumonia.

I don't write about this to be morose or be down. I don't feel down at all. In fact, the realization of all this brings home the preciousness of each and every moment...once again. I give thanks for all I have right here, right now in this moment. I want to remember this when I forget that nothing can get in the way of inner peace when I shift my perspective just an oontz. I am Blessed to be right here, right now....as are each of those who I'm thinking of today.

My prayers are with you.

Art is The Dance Of Shiva And Kali and can be purchased here.

Monday, March 3, 2008

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Today

While the rest of the country seems as if it's in the middle of a block of ice, here in the Northern California Valley, Spring has arrived full on.


On my walk today, I noticed the almond trees blooming. Prettypretty pink and white flowers are everywhere. Bees (thankfully) will still be humming later today. The morning air is crisp-perfect for a walk/jog, while listening to Abraham on tape. Daffodils are smiling, grass shoots are tender green. Everything feels new.

When I got home, I made myself some Yogi Detox tea and put it in one of my favorite tea cups.
Then I cooked up some steel cut oats sauteed with kale and onions, topped it off with two eggs over medium, then put all in my pretty bowl. Pretty bowls make me happy... as does my beautiful cutlery which has a spiral on the end of it.
Life is perfect.



Orchard image from here
Tea image from here. My favorite line of teas, readily available in most health stores. These days I'm hooked on a number of them. For a desert drink, try the "Thai Sweet Delight" (it's coconutty) with foamed soy milk, a dash of vanilla and some Blue Agave Sweetener. Yum.
My bowl from
here at Dinnerware Depot.