January 2010

December 2009              

The Spirit of Giving

Whatever the 'reason f0r the season' all celebrations this month have one thing in common- they all include

giving.  So it seemed appropriate to share an invaluable lesson Spirit once offered me. 

It is the teaching of authentic giving.  

       Several years ago someone I knew gave me a beautiful pillow that she said was intended for my sofa.  While I was deeply appreciative of the offering, the item itself wasn't functional (think scratchy/itchy) or to my taste.   In time it found a home in the guest room.  

      One afternoon she stopped by and eventually asked, "Where's the pillow I gave you?"  I took her in the extra room and showed her how nice it looked on the bed.    She visibly stiffened and rather curtly reminded me that it was intended for the living room sofa.  Her feelings were clearly hurt.  She said, "That's why I bought it."   She left just a few minutes later.

Wanting clarity, I sought counsel about what had transpired.  I was told the pillow was, "a gift with conditions, therefore not a 'True gift'."   It was further clarified,

"A True gift is authentically given- given from the heart and given freely, without attachment." 

That sentence and the rest of the conversation explained this incident but more than that, it gave me insight into my own potential to true-ly and authentically give to others.

Giving from the heart

A gift given from the heart is a gift given for the sake of giving.  If spoken it would sound like this- "I want to give to you."   And the emotions behind that desire to give would originate in the heart.   They might be love, compassion, kindness, encouragement, support, or other heart-originated emotions. 

 A gift given from some other point of intention might sound like, "I should/have/ought to give you something."  A true gift is not given out of obligation and it's not given out of a perceived need to reciprocate.  It isn't given to make the giver look good, feel loved, be appreciated, or other ego-originated desires.

Giving without attachment

Giving without attachment is giving freely, no strings attached.  This means giving the gift and letting go.  Not with use requirements, not with an acceptance agreement, not with a promise to respond, but simply, purely, and completely....given.  One may hope that it's liked, used, worn, eaten, set out or shared, but there's no clinging to any desired outcome.  The gift is given without conditions or expectations of any kind.  

 So with that said, let me make a disclaimer... 

Is it possible to give from the heart all the time?  For some maybe, but for most of us, no.  There will always be those occasions when we feel we obliged to give a gift to someone we'd not otherwise.  Maybe it's to keep peace in the family or at work, but it happens.  The point is not to achieve such a level of authenticity in giving that we alienate people or hurt feelings.   But we can be conscious of our intentions and we can try to make giving come from our hearts.  

Will every gift given be without attachment?  Likely not.  We are,  after all,  blessedly human.  But we can pay close attention to ourselves and try, if we wish to.   I've found that just by being aware of my intention and authenticity (or lack of!) I can usually turn a 'have to' into a 'want to'.  And giving freely (without attachment) feels so much more genuine and genuinely rewarding.    

Authentic giving is like giving air to the wind.  We can't dictate where it travels or to whom.  We don't determine how it's received and how it's used isn't a reflection of us.  We exhale our gift, offering it freely, and off it goes.    

Autumn 2009

Evolution, Unity, and Living in Service

Our human evolution is propelling us toward the creation of a global community founded on cooperative effort with a collective goal-- the betterment of humanity thru unity consciousness. This isn’t some far off ideal but something we’re in the midst of creating and adapting to.  It's no accident that new technology and science keep making the world a smaller place.  It's happening to facilitate the unity of the human family.  

In our human story we are intended to recognize our interconnectedness, our oneness. The Divine Truth is that we are meant to see ourselves in a stranger's face. We are meant to know every man as a brother and every woman as a sister.  But we’re not only meant to know our unity, we’re meant to begin living responsibly in it.

We, humankind, have been entrusted with a great gift and a great obligation for we are the caretakers of all we see.  Just as we are the custodians of our Earthly home, so are we the custodians of own human race.   Not just some aspects of it, but the whole of it.   A large part of the human experience up to this point has been an evolution in adaptability andsurvival but we've reached an epochal stage. We are now evolving and expanding our consciousness

beyond ourselves and our individual needs and into an

awareness of our inheritance.

The comparison can be made between the macrocosmic evolution of humanity and the microcosmic development of an adolescent.  The world of the adolescent is primarily self-centered and self-serving. And it needs to be, as emotional and physical autonomy grow out of that psychology.  But one day the teen or young adult who has seemed perpetually stuck in the 'me' world shows signs of seeing a larger world 'out there'.  Every parent of an adult child has witnessed the transition.  It’s evident in the moments when, "Do I have to?"  is unexpectedly, "Can I help?"   Humanity at present is much like that offspring as we begin feeling less entitlement and more gratitude, less "What’s in it for me?" and more,"What can I do for you?"

These days few question our planetary responsibility, but we've been a bit slower to realize we're also here to take care of each other.  Nevertheless, a new paradigm is in place and the seed of unity is growing.   As it does, so does the awareness of our interdependence and a need for personal accountability.  And with this awakening consciousness comes a clarion call.  It is a call to service that many are beginning to feel a deep and soulful desire to heed.  

That desire may feel like a gentle nudge to get more involved in something or perhaps it's a gnawing sense of an unfulfilled higher purpose. However it manifests, the urge is soul originated and, if heeded, benefits on both a global and individual level.

Unfortunately, many who are hearing the call aren’t sure how to go about answering it.  Add to that some misconceptions and the idea can seem daunting.  To help clarify, a Teacher to me has offered the following-

"Being in service is offering something of one’s self to another for their benefit."  

With that in mind we’ll address the misconceptions.

It's not a real act of service if I get paid

If true, teachers, doctors, nurses, and firefighters wouldn’t be considered service professionals. Being paid does not invalidate one's act of service.  In fact paying someone for their service can itself be an act of service (consider the definition above).   A cycle of reciprocity is engaged when we serve each other in this way though we rarely see the process from that perspective.   Remember, we’re all here to help each other meet our needs whatever they may be, even monetary.

The day is long done when earning money illegitimizes one's selfless intent. The poor monk is no more valuable in service to humanity than is the six-figure earning neurosurgeon.

 I don’t have any skills to offer anyone

No, not everyone can participate in Doctors Without Borders, everyone has SOMETHING to share. The secret is for each of us to realize our special gift, our unique ability, and share it.

In every heart is a passion, a love of something, an ability to do something particularly well.

 Recognize the gift within and find a way to share it.

　                         Being in service requires a huge commitment I cant make

The only commitment that one needs to make is to have an open heart  and be willing to help others when the opportunity to do so presents itself. Very often the greatest acts of service are the spontaneous ones, acts that arise without forethought, making them very pure of heart and without a rigid commitment of any kind.

                Commit your heart to being there for others.

 Commit your spirit to giving of yourself what you can.

Commit yourself to a simple willingness to be available in the moments that present themselves.

I don’t have time

It's easy to get caught up in the 'more is better' philosophy of giving but that's not a place authentic giving comes from.  To the Divine, the minute it takes to help a stranger pick up dropped papers is no less an act of service than the four hours someone else puts in at a food pantry.   A kind act is a kind act, period. Offering to hold the door for someone is an act of service that takes only a moment. Letting someone in a hurry move ahead of you in line at the market is an act of service that takes only a few minutes.

An act of service need only take as long as it takes to smile.

As our world becomes smaller and our reach extends further, our responsibility grows.  The adolescent of humanity is being called to move into it's Divine (adult)  heart where compassion resides.   How we live today determines the state of world we live in tomorrow so the time to engage is here and it's now.  The beautiful truth is that it's not something only a few with time, money, or connections can do, it's something each of us can take part in every day, in big and small ways.   And should. 

For those with a bit of time there are unlimited volunteer options in facilities and institutions, like soup kitchens, food pantries, shelters, senior centers, hospitals and hospices, prisons, libraries, veteran's facilities, and schools.

If you’re unable to get involved at that level, consider sharing what you already do-- Offer to let the neighbor's kids join yours for an overnighter, giving the parents some prized couple-time.  Or make an extra pot of pasta and take it the family who just had a new baby.  What about cutting some extra firewood for the elderly man down the street or shoveling his walk when you do yours.

If you want to do something but aren’t sure what or where to start, tap into your natural resources. What’s your talent, calling, passion, skill, or ability?  Are you a good listener?   Do you have a special empathy for some disadvantaged group?   Are you naturally witty?   Do you feel at home with children?   The elderly? Do you love to sing?   Write?   Are you a skilled woodworker?   Plumber?   Mechanic?    Do your friends consider you the scrapbooking queen? Maybe you could start a scrapbooking group at a local senior center.   Are you an animal lover?   Call your local shelter.   Do you play the guitar?   Paint?   Square dance?  A Boys and Girls Club might love to have you around once a week.

Considering teaming up with others of like talents and sharing your gifts collectively. Maybe you and several of your friends knit. Together you could knit scarves for a local shelter or blankets for children in an impoverished region, like the Sudan.

Whatever your special talent or joy is, share it. Give your gift away and watch as you change the lives of others.  Of course you'll also be changing your own, bringing yourself closer to your own natural divinity.

Don’t forget to seize moments. Offer to lend a hand, share a smile, pass a compliment, express an appreciation, hold a door, share a cab, pay someone’s toll fare, or buy a loaf of bread for the homeless man outside the store. The options are truly endless.

At the start of each day let's challenge ourselves, "Today I will do something to make someone else's day a littlle better, brighter, or easier."   If we set our intention on being an instrument of and for Divine Love we will find opportunities to serve others flowing to us. 

We are each Divine Sparks of Light and Love. The Shekhinah, or indwelling presence of G-D, shines in the heart of every human.   Now, more than ever, we are presented with the need to express that collateral Truth thru service to a higher good, a common good, a compassionate good.  Now, more than ever, we're  also presented with the means to actualize our needs into fulfillment.   It may take a village to raise a child but these days the village IS the entire globe!

We were intended here to expand our consciousness beyond our individual interests and it's time to fulfill that Divine Intention.   As individual parts of the great web of creation it is our purpose and responsibility here on planet Earth to take care of one another.  Not just those who look or speak or believe or worship or salute  like we do, but every other man, woman, and child.   For in Truth...    

     you are your brother and he, is you.

July/August 2009 

In the process of simplifying my personal space I realized how much of the stuff I’d collected and held onto over the years had no personal meaning or relevance or purpose. It had just been taking up space in my world, in many ways to fill a deeper void.  Again, the outer mirroring the inner.

These days my outer world epitomizes simplicity though I absolutely do have possessions... I have a lot of books, a wonderful music collection, a vast array of spices lining the kitchen counter, several cozy well worn quilts scattered over the sofa, but what I don’t have is what I don’t use, don’t need, and don’t care about.  Simplifying one’s outer world doesn’t mean taking a vow of poverty or discarding all worldly possessions, not by a long shot, but it does mean not having an attachment to those things and not ‘having for the sake of having’.

Simplifying the outer world and personal space is about creating an external environment that contains what is meaningful to us and has purpose for us while letting go of what doesn't.

Simplifying the inner world means pausing to be physically and mentally present where we are, right where we are.  Not where we once were or where we will be, but "here now".  It means physically leaving one location (like work) and taking our whole self (thoughts included) with us, not being mentally other than where our body is.   It means not living in yesterday nor worrying about tomorrow.

It means refusing to engage in the drama of other’s lives or allowing it to be part of ours. That may mean not tuning in to the news every day. It might mean choosing to watch television shows that promote well being and inner peace instead of those that promote tension and discord.

Simplifying internally means getting back to the basics of our who we are and what we’re about.

 It’s about finding that place within where love and hope and faith and happiness and peace

have permanent residence.   It means letting go of emotions and beliefs that don’t serve one’s life

and well being.

Simplifying the inner world means opening the closet of the heart and getting rid of what no longer fits, what never belonged to us in the first place, and what was given to us that we don’t want.

It means embracing our feelings without judging ourselves for having them. It means letting joy be joy and sorrow be sorrow.

Simplifying the inner world is about creating a quieter mind, an engaged sense of being,

and a peaceful heart.

soulful tranquility like no other.

Whatever your idea of simplicity is... a long open road and a fast car, a sip of the year’s best Cabernet, sitting on a jetty at sunset, or a blueberry-sunflower-sweet tea composition, I hope your life knows simplicity's purity and ease.

April & May 2009

A message about the importance of play and playfulness...

     Ask a child what their favorite part of the school day is and there's a really good chance they'll say it's recess.  And why wouldn't it be?  Inside the classroom they're expected to be emotionally restrained, are put to mental tasks that someone else decided they should learn, and have to show physical self-control at all times.  (Sounds like a lot of work environments, doesnt it?) Ah, but on the playground they can let loose.  They can yell and laugh aloud.  They can jump and run or sit quietly in the place of their choosing.  They can make up their own rules.  So for a few minutes anyway, they're free... emotionally, mentally, and physically.   Adults like to view such abandon as "kids just being kids." 

     But is that all there is to it? 

     As it happens, kids innately know what many adults have forgotten-- that play is a crucial part of well being (physically, emotionally, and spiritually).   Consider-- A child freely engaged in play is fully present in the NOW, centered in the moment and their being.  A child freely engaged in play is passionate about what they're doing (passion is an expression of Creator Energy).  A child freely engaged in play is stimulating his brain by using imagination, role playing, problem-solving, strategizing and more.  And a child freely engaged in play is releasing beneficial chemicals (like endorphins) into his body.   That child is living in the Truest sense of the word.   

     But one day the same child who put play before all else is an adult who's  so busy working 40+ hours a week, paying bills, and taking care of a family that he's forgotten his once glorious purpose in life altogether.  He's forgotten to play. 

      Just because we grow up doesn't mean we should stop playing, in fact it's to our detriment if we do!   Taking on the responsibilities of adulthood doesn't mean we have to stop being play-full!  We need balance.   As the proverb says, "All work and no play, makes Jack a dull boy."  We need to CHOOSE to make time to lose ourselves in play.  To simply surrender to the moment and have FUN.  To re-experience the joy of silliness and laughter.   We need to allow ourselves to be free in the abandon and the indulgence of play.  We need to feel that passion as a part of our daily life.  If we allow it, play connects us to the Divine and allows our spirits to soar.  

      So next Tuesday night forget turning on the television and surprise everyone by pulling out Twister.  Or Saturday when you see your spouse washing the car, sneak out there and threaten him with a smile and the hose (and be prepared to run!).  Remember slip'n'slide?  Make one for the kids (an old tarp works great!) and be first to try it out!  Dont just watch the kids chasing fireflies, join them!  Better yet, forget the kids and just go collect them yourself!   Make play a part of your responsible adult life.   Laundry and Grey's Anatomy will wait, but life never will... 

March 2009                                  

A message about spring, rebirth, renewal and change...

     This morning I took my coffee into the backyard to look for the signs of spring. They were easy to find... Little yellow lawn-flowers, shoots of what will be daffodils, and pairs of avian minstrels were everywhere. I was taking it all in when I noticed buds on an apricot tree. Hundreds of little protrusions were readying to erupt into what will become pink and white blossoms. I stared at the tree for the longest time and pondered.

     Just a month ago it was sound asleep, closed up tight in its winter hibernation. Now it was clearly on its way to full arousal. I was awed by the magnificence and mystery of it all. And I was consumed with questions.

     How did it know to resurrect itself? How did it know what to do? How did it know what to become?

     Of course the answers, for scientific and spiritual thinkers alike, lie deep within the cells of the tree. Deep in its atoms,  Life Force energy (an emanation of the Divine) and Consciousness work in perfect harmony to bring it into the fullness of its being. In winter, nature stores its energy in a passive state. But in Spring there is a sudden explosion of potential as the Life Force energy is animated. The potential that has been lying dormant is activated to awaken, expand, and transform.

     In Spring, the expressed energy of Life is evident everywhere in the natural world. Flowers and grasses appear where none had been visible, creatures begin nesting and bearing young, trees no longer look like skeletons, stagnant waters begin to flow. . . .

     Nature cannot contain its energy once potentiated. It must become what it is meant to be. No tree with the Life Force within it resists its nature by refusing to grow. No insect, no bird, no plant that feels the activated potential will resist doing what it is naturally meant to do when Spring arrives. Nature does not deny it’s nature and therefore will not deny or resist its natural tendencies.

     All of my observations reminded me how much we have in common with the tree. While culture has embedded Spring in humanity’s experiences, it is that same Divine nature that has embedded change in our cells.

     In that moment, I felt envious of the tree that ‘just becomes’ without resistance, without needing to know how or why or what that becoming will mean.

     Too often we forget that we're also part of the natural system, delicately interconnected to all that we call the natural world and it’s cycles. We are innately attuned to the Life Force energy that dances all around us because it dances through us as well. We are greatly affected by the bursting of potential in Spring. It causes us to feel energetic, invigorated, hopeful, eager and more active. We engage in ‘spring cleaning’, find ourselves feeling flirtatious, our sexuality is often sparked to a surprising wakefulness, and we feel the restlessness we call ‘spring fever’. We engage in the fertility around us by planting and gardening. All this because, as part of the natural world, the active energy is urging us to do what it urges the rest of nature to do– clear out the old and dead and become new again! And while we may be superficially engaged in and affected by the resurrected energies around us, we may miss opportunities for rebirth and renewal on a deeper level.

     A few weeks ago I spoke with a friend who was struggling with a challenge that forced change upon her. What she couldn’t yet see, thru the veil of her resistance, was that her challenge was an opportunity for growth and that it was in her resistance that she found unhappiness. She insisted she didn’t want the change, she’d been perfectly content right where she’d been, and that life had found an easy rhythm she didn’t want to give up. Well change wanted her whether she wanted it or not, much like Spring wants a bare tree to grow leaves.  

     She was doing what we’ve all done, fighting against a season of rebirth. Can you imagine a tree standing defiant to Spring, resisting its beckoning to life? Imagine it saying, "I’m content. I don’t wish to grow further. No thank you." A tree that does not grow withers and dies. So too it can be for our spirits. Change is crucial to all life; stagnancy is fatal.

     We are, each and every, seeds grown in the earth of human experience. And so, like that which is in nature, we will find ourselves constantly being re-planted in the experience of life.  We hold potential and when that potential is activated by some catalyst in our environment we are prompted to change, to move from seed to whatever new creation we will become. We are not unlike the rest of nature in that way. Unlike the rest of nature however, we can resist, and often do. What does this resistance do for us? Think of the seed that sits too long in the darkness. It becomes mildewed, it may rot and decay. It never reaches its potential. It never becomes.

     Yet... if we allow ourselves to be as a Divine nature intended us to be, if we allow ourselves to be cracked open and begin to grow, we erupt from the darkness of the winter, from the unknown and the resistance, into Light. We leave the ground of physical experience where we’ve been planted and we move upward toward that which illuminates. Such is natural for all that is living. And when we allow ourselves to be reborn in whatever the new opportunity for growth might be, when we allow ourselves to be part of the natural cycle and seasons, we are on our way to becoming all we can be. Of course what we will become is unknown to us and that unknown is often part of the resistance, but there is nothing that is not guided toward the most beautiful aspect of itself that it can be.

    There is nothing that is not guided toward the fulfillment of it's greatest and highest potential.

     In the weeks since our conversation my friend has been able to see how her life has been moving through its own season. She’s made the shift from resisting to allowing. She’s now seeing opportunities where she could see none just a short time ago. She has allowed the glorious and abounding and infinite Life Force energy that is everywhere in Spring to be active in her life too. No, she’s still not 100% on board with all the changes but the minute she quit fighting against them she began to see the opportunities and is taking advantage of them. Already she’s blossoming in an area of her life where she’d not been able before.

     While our seasons of rebirth may not always coincide with the rest of nature we can allow the newly reactivated Life Force energy around us in Spring to facilitate growth in our lives. We can use this season to break forth from any resistance we might feel and allow life to transform us into whatever beautiful, amazing, spectacular creations we are meant to become.

     Spring is a chance for each of us to remember that we are also the Life Force animated, that we too have within us all potential, and to ask ourselves some really invaluable questions. Here are just a few to consider...

February 2009

A message from Spirit about Love...

Humans like so very much to label and categorize everything and have even taken to labeling and categorizing the Most Divine Force in the physical world-- LOVE.  You have separated and segregated Love into types and classes.  You speak of neighborly love, brotherly love, agape love, soulful love, romantic love, self-love, platonic love, filial love, and so on.  You like to think that these 'loves' are quite different from one another. For instance, you talk of the Love a parent has for his child as quite different in it's nature from the Love one has for their spouse.  As well, you determine some types of Love are 'more' or 'deeper' or more profound than others. 

 

Let it be known that Love has but one nature-- Love. 

Love has but one measure-- fullness. 

And Love knows only one level of profundity.

There is only ONE LOVE. THE Love. The Love you feel for a child is the same Love you feel for a partner. How you express that Love (the language, the physical action) is the only variable and that is fully dependent upon culture and society.

 

 Love is Love is Love is Love.

 

There is only one energy called Love and that Love is the Pure Energy of GOD/Source.

Only in the expression of that Love should you find a difference.

 

 

 

Love-- one face with many expressions