I have just started reading Stephen Levine’s poetry in “Breaking the Drought: Visions of Grace” (which is spellbindingly beautiful), and it occurred to me that something I’ve recently been experiencing, and not written about, could be much more adequately expressed in poetry. So…here is the poem that came to me.
Sleep and wake are colliding
and dance with each other
as I marvel.
I am more awake when I sleep,
and more asleep when awake.
Who I am
becomes less and less important than
where I am in Life and Love.
I can not tell if I am dreaming or not.
Is the story I tell
a part of
the wakeful time
or the sleepful time?
Sleep and wake are colliding,
and my excitement grows because
I have never been here before.
Something is changing
larger than me.
I know this
because you tell me the same Wake Sleep Story
that neither one of us finds adequate words for.
I feel my brain reaching
outside of itself and inside of itself
for answers,
for peace,
and I find myself everywhere I look.
If sleep and wake are colliding,
they must be a metaphor for, oh so many
other boundaries blurred.
In the blur,
I find you and me,
or is it me and you? Ha!
Even that is delightfully blurred!
Social Network Posting
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Sunday, January 20, 2008
A Spiritual Perspective on Fear
Very unfortunately there are many predictions, modern and ancient, that say 2008 will be a year that will trigger fear for most of us.
If we are, at all times, Divinely led then what is the purpose of experiencing fear? Before allowing the prospect of fear to derail your life and set you actually running towards it, let’s talk about what fear is spiritually.
Fear is trapped creativity.
Creativity allows us to think and feel our way beyond our challenges. It allows resolution to be realized. Creativity is the impulse for manifestation, the actual fire of creation.
Fear is a thought/feeling form
that stifles and immobilizes the potential for clear resolution.
Creativity allows for the free and unblocked flow of information that supports our decision making. If we hold onto the thought that things are out of our control, beyond our understanding or our ability to cope then we will manifest a fearful state.
If we hold onto feelings related to fear like depression, despondency or anger, we can become addicted to those feelings. When this happens, the fear feeds off of itself and grows exponentially.
When consumed by fear, we are stunned, immobilized and dominated by the thoughts and feelings associated with it. We think we have no choices and that we are powerless. We are hesitant and unsure of ourselves.
Sometimes people respond to fearful thoughts and feelings with aggression. These people will dominate fearful times, but sadly they will be mentally as unclear and unable to make wise decisions as the person who is fearful and powerless. Being in fear and being led by the fear full is a very serious situation – one which 2008 will probably be gifting us in quantum doses.
How is fear a gift?
In 2008, we are going to hear things that radically challenge our ability to Trust. We will be confused. It will be hard for us to determine where the Truth lies amidst the words and situations that will unfold.
We are all seekers walking our own path – and attempting to live the best life we know how. Whether you are interested in predictions or interested in improving the quality of your own life separate and distinct from the predictions, here are a few things to know, and to take to Heart, in regards to fear.
All thought and feeling forms exist in a nebulous state. Whether that thought/feeling form is rooted in fear or Trust, it is meant to flow to you, touch your life, and to support your personal growth. Thought and feeling forms are What Is. They are to themselves what they are. They offer information to those who welcome them into their lives.
The gift of fear
is that it takes us to the brink of the creative impulse
and invites us to dive in.
The integration of the gift of fear into our lives and to know its Truth, is to know creativity and resolution.
Making It Personal
A pebble thrown into the Lake of You ripples through all of your life. When fear touches your life, it makes a powerful impression on every aspect of you because fear intensifies as it travels across the Lake of You. It has the potential to grow, overflow the banks and spread to others like an unchecked tsunami.
When you heal your relationship to fear by truly understanding its place in your life and the world, you meet your challenges as a spiritual seeker. The lake then calms, and a new day dawns with hope.
• Accept the gift aspect of fear by letting go of the perception that something is before you to make you afraid.
• Open to the possibility that it is before you to teach you something.
• Accept that you have stifled your creativity.
• Release your creativity with your intention to do so.
• Allow it to guide you towards resolution.
• Immerse yourself in the creative impulse to see/hear/feel the Truth of What is and to respond with wisdom.
Fear challenges the most primal aspect of your Being-ness to awaken – your ability to create.
It takes only a small dose of creativity or one inspiring clear, wise thought to reduce a seemingly large, over powering fear to a whimper. Know fear for what it is – and thrive!
If we are, at all times, Divinely led then what is the purpose of experiencing fear? Before allowing the prospect of fear to derail your life and set you actually running towards it, let’s talk about what fear is spiritually.
Fear is trapped creativity.
Creativity allows us to think and feel our way beyond our challenges. It allows resolution to be realized. Creativity is the impulse for manifestation, the actual fire of creation.
Fear is a thought/feeling form
that stifles and immobilizes the potential for clear resolution.
Creativity allows for the free and unblocked flow of information that supports our decision making. If we hold onto the thought that things are out of our control, beyond our understanding or our ability to cope then we will manifest a fearful state.
If we hold onto feelings related to fear like depression, despondency or anger, we can become addicted to those feelings. When this happens, the fear feeds off of itself and grows exponentially.
When consumed by fear, we are stunned, immobilized and dominated by the thoughts and feelings associated with it. We think we have no choices and that we are powerless. We are hesitant and unsure of ourselves.
Sometimes people respond to fearful thoughts and feelings with aggression. These people will dominate fearful times, but sadly they will be mentally as unclear and unable to make wise decisions as the person who is fearful and powerless. Being in fear and being led by the fear full is a very serious situation – one which 2008 will probably be gifting us in quantum doses.
How is fear a gift?
In 2008, we are going to hear things that radically challenge our ability to Trust. We will be confused. It will be hard for us to determine where the Truth lies amidst the words and situations that will unfold.
We are all seekers walking our own path – and attempting to live the best life we know how. Whether you are interested in predictions or interested in improving the quality of your own life separate and distinct from the predictions, here are a few things to know, and to take to Heart, in regards to fear.
All thought and feeling forms exist in a nebulous state. Whether that thought/feeling form is rooted in fear or Trust, it is meant to flow to you, touch your life, and to support your personal growth. Thought and feeling forms are What Is. They are to themselves what they are. They offer information to those who welcome them into their lives.
The gift of fear
is that it takes us to the brink of the creative impulse
and invites us to dive in.
The integration of the gift of fear into our lives and to know its Truth, is to know creativity and resolution.
Making It Personal
A pebble thrown into the Lake of You ripples through all of your life. When fear touches your life, it makes a powerful impression on every aspect of you because fear intensifies as it travels across the Lake of You. It has the potential to grow, overflow the banks and spread to others like an unchecked tsunami.
When you heal your relationship to fear by truly understanding its place in your life and the world, you meet your challenges as a spiritual seeker. The lake then calms, and a new day dawns with hope.
• Accept the gift aspect of fear by letting go of the perception that something is before you to make you afraid.
• Open to the possibility that it is before you to teach you something.
• Accept that you have stifled your creativity.
• Release your creativity with your intention to do so.
• Allow it to guide you towards resolution.
• Immerse yourself in the creative impulse to see/hear/feel the Truth of What is and to respond with wisdom.
Fear challenges the most primal aspect of your Being-ness to awaken – your ability to create.
It takes only a small dose of creativity or one inspiring clear, wise thought to reduce a seemingly large, over powering fear to a whimper. Know fear for what it is – and thrive!
Thursday, January 10, 2008
I Found Two Mice in the Woodpile
I found two mice today on the top of the woodpile. They were tucked under the tarp thrown over the fourth cord I was working on hauling into the garage for easier access.
Anyone who lives in a cooler climate, as I do, knows that mice set up household where it is warm and safe. In the woodpile, I often find cozy little nests made from milkweed down, twigs and leaves. They are sweet reminders of the presence of these tiny mammals. I respect their place in the web of life, and find them to be amazingly self-sufficient and even cute – as long as they stay outside and do not set up house beneath the sofa or behind the bookshelf in my office.
One mouse gathered birdseed that had dropped to the ground from the feeder outside and had painstakingly hid hundreds of sunflower seeds under the sofa without my knowledge. It was my dog, Buck, who alerted me to the mouse’s presence. Accordingly I set out the humane trap we purchased recently and then the next day, my catch in tow, drove the little bugger six miles away to let him/her go in a new land. (My natural scientist son informs me that the mouse, outside of its protective environment, was probably snatched up and eaten by a hawk within minutes.) I have mixed feelings about his overview, having empathy for the little mouse but also having respect for the intricacies of the web of life that I can hardly profess to understand.
Back to the mice in the woodpile…I found them right after a phone conversation I had with a friend where we were discussing the on-going, serious challenges in the relationship between her and her husband. I had whipped back the tarp and spotted the two mice on top of the woodpile, huddled together, the larger mouse embracing the smaller one. They were, needless to say, still and dead having obviously succumbed to the bitter cold of the previous days.
I was touched by the tenderness of the scene and because the ground was frozen, I carried them as an eternally entwined pair to a spot under a nearby bush, laid them down gently, and released them to Nature to dispose of them.
As I walked back to the woodpile to continue my work, I was struck by the parallel between this precious symbol of deep caring and dedication – and the conversation I’d had with my client. A question begged to be asked:
Are you willing to die in the arms of your present life partner?
If you are, make a warm, safe nest together. Celebrate your relationship! Love joyfully! Love deeply.
If you aren’t, then best to get out of the woodpile today.
It’s simple, Love or Love not. There is no in between. To Love a little or only on Saturdays means you’ve got six days when you will be too cold to thrive.
Thank you, my Earthly companions, for reminding me how important Love is to all of life. Hug your spouse. Hug your children. Hug your dog. Hug your cat. Hey, even, hug a mouse! (metaphorically, of course) But do Love fully and openly.
Anyone who lives in a cooler climate, as I do, knows that mice set up household where it is warm and safe. In the woodpile, I often find cozy little nests made from milkweed down, twigs and leaves. They are sweet reminders of the presence of these tiny mammals. I respect their place in the web of life, and find them to be amazingly self-sufficient and even cute – as long as they stay outside and do not set up house beneath the sofa or behind the bookshelf in my office.
One mouse gathered birdseed that had dropped to the ground from the feeder outside and had painstakingly hid hundreds of sunflower seeds under the sofa without my knowledge. It was my dog, Buck, who alerted me to the mouse’s presence. Accordingly I set out the humane trap we purchased recently and then the next day, my catch in tow, drove the little bugger six miles away to let him/her go in a new land. (My natural scientist son informs me that the mouse, outside of its protective environment, was probably snatched up and eaten by a hawk within minutes.) I have mixed feelings about his overview, having empathy for the little mouse but also having respect for the intricacies of the web of life that I can hardly profess to understand.
Back to the mice in the woodpile…I found them right after a phone conversation I had with a friend where we were discussing the on-going, serious challenges in the relationship between her and her husband. I had whipped back the tarp and spotted the two mice on top of the woodpile, huddled together, the larger mouse embracing the smaller one. They were, needless to say, still and dead having obviously succumbed to the bitter cold of the previous days.
I was touched by the tenderness of the scene and because the ground was frozen, I carried them as an eternally entwined pair to a spot under a nearby bush, laid them down gently, and released them to Nature to dispose of them.
As I walked back to the woodpile to continue my work, I was struck by the parallel between this precious symbol of deep caring and dedication – and the conversation I’d had with my client. A question begged to be asked:
Are you willing to die in the arms of your present life partner?
If you are, make a warm, safe nest together. Celebrate your relationship! Love joyfully! Love deeply.
If you aren’t, then best to get out of the woodpile today.
It’s simple, Love or Love not. There is no in between. To Love a little or only on Saturdays means you’ve got six days when you will be too cold to thrive.
Thank you, my Earthly companions, for reminding me how important Love is to all of life. Hug your spouse. Hug your children. Hug your dog. Hug your cat. Hey, even, hug a mouse! (metaphorically, of course) But do Love fully and openly.
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