Altar

"'Your sacred space is where you can find yourself over and over again." 
~ Joseph Campbell

At the beginning of every yoga class, there is a statement, translated and not:  "Now is the time for yoga."

"Now is the time for Beauty." echoed in my thoughts, as splashes of light in the forest called me to a sunny day.  On any given morning, there are many things I "need to do", but when "Now is the time for Beauty", Beauty is what I need.

Eventually I came upon an altar, its origins unknown.  Perhaps it was a child at play.  Perhaps it was an adult.  Is there really any difference?

Just Keep Loving...

"Everyone just keeps loving through it." ~ A wise anonymous teen

Overhearing this snatch of synchronistic conversation from two young ladies jogging by, I reflected as I walked...

No matter what "it" we might encounter, all we need to do is Love. That's the very Key to Peace on Earth, Peace with one another and ourselves. 

At first I got a different meaning, multi-dimensional for sure...It is only through "It", the Universe, that we always find a way to Love.  "It" is Love Itself and so are we!  Life Itself is Love...

"I'm OK, You're OK"

"The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation." ~ Henry David Thoreau

When I was a young child, this book tended to be laying around the house.  A popular bestseller by a psychiatrist in the early 70's, I remember staring at the cover several times, pondering the title, my young mind not able to get a handle on it, yet wondering what it meant. 

The title came to mind this morning as I was reflecting on what we often tell each other in this very loose spiritual community where I tend to hang out.  "I'm OK, You're OK."  Repeat after me.  It begins to feel familiar.

Here we go again.  I felt much the same way hanging around Fundamentalists, where the mantra was actually "I'm Not OK, You're Not OK" (well, that is, until you obtain the secret formula to flip the magic switch to "OK").  Hmmmm, then again, they aren't only ones who claim to have a switch.

We feel there must be a rule, some kind of rule, there just HAS to be a rule, like a rigid "Law of Attraction" (explained and understood in a myriad of disparate ways) - because if there isn't some magic formula, some magic switch to "OK", then that's really very terrifying, isn't it, almost as terrifying (though really not nearly) as Fundamentalist heaven and hell.

During my forum days, one of my most popular (and controversial) posts was essentially based on the question "How can you be happy in heaven while others are suffering in hell?"  It was directed towards evangelicals because it was my contention that there was no way anyone could truly be happy in heaven, not if they loved anyone in hell.  I rephrased it much more strongly the first time I posted it:  "If hell exists, everyone is going there," triggering quite the evangelical firestorm in response.  I'm wasn't afraid of a firestorm, not if I spoke my truth.

I have observed an unhealthy trend in some circles I travel.  People are far too often feeling restrained from saying when things are not going so OK.  Because if you say it too strongly, that might make it worse, your words and thoughts betraying you in the process.

Or in the worst of mental mind traps, maybe if you DO say you aren't fully experiencing "OK" at the moment, people will determine you are not walking the walk in some way, not thinking the right thoughts, as you supposedly are required to be OK if you are following the rules.  And before we know it, as much as we might resist, we are quietly judging others and ourselves, litmus tests in hand, just like the Fundamentalists, with ideals impossibly out of reach.  The thought police on overdrive, that's basically what happens.  So let's all watch our language, get out the brooms and the rugs, sweep in unison together, repeat, repeat, repeat and repeat again...and just say we're ALL OK.

And sadly, any chance of actually being real with one another (or with ourselves) is swept away in the process.  To be human is to experience both OK and Not OK and everything in between.  That's why we are here.

In my mental house, I'm putting away the rugs and the brooms.  I invite you to do the same, if you dare, or at least attempt to leave them at the door if you come to visit.

Do I believe in co-creation?  Actually, yes, as it makes sense if we are aspects of an omnipresent God.  Does it always make sense?  Is there some magic switch?  If I say "I do believe, I do believe, I do believe" enough, will fairies magically appear?  Perhaps.  Sometimes.  I'm really not sure when.

Do I believe dwelling on the negative can do us harm?  Of course it can, if it becomes an obsession, but masking what we feel can harm us just as much.

If I can't say if things are going not so OK to a dear friend, if all that comes out next on both our parts are the brooms, the rugs and the mantras, then something is very NOT OK with that.  And I'm left to walk the path alone, the page my only friend.  

Most of all, I believe in Unconditional Love, which generally transcends all the "rules".  Aspects of God, I sense we willingly come here to create certain lessons for ourselves, that's the closest I can come, because every time I have a challenge (like this time now), I come away with a lesson, forever changed - the more powerful the challenge, the more powerful the lesson.  And especially the compassion and empathy for others (and for myself too). 

Might I ask a favor?  (And by the way, I'm listening to my own advice too...)  The next time a friend tries to tell you things really aren't so OK, allow that person to BE REAL (and if you are the person doing the telling, if in a space of trust, allow YOURSELF to be real and say what is upon your heart).  Listen, dear friends.  Reflect.  Empathize.  And of course, offer encouragement and advice if you can.  See both the "OK" and "Not OK" (and everything in between) - and within yourself too while you're at it.  Share yourself openly in response if you dare.  And maybe, just maybe, you will both manage to be real, a gift well beyond the words.

Compassion.  Empathy.  Love.  Yes, it has much to do with that.  Those are the words I choose to focus upon as I begin a New Day.

God's Will, My Will...or Our Will?

Many of us grew up with the concept of God's Will, a will completely independent of what we as individuals might want. If someone became sick, died suddenly or suffered any kind of loss or hardship, it was God's Will, the Will of an external, transcendent He.

God's Will wasn't really discussed too much in my home growing up since for the most part, we had a good life. Generally God's Will only comes up when things go wrong. But I certainly heard about the concept in church. And yes, there was also this notion of the Power of Prayer, but God's Will was paramount even then.

In my mid-teens I began to learn about the New Age movement gaining steam in the early 1980's. The New Age movement then and now was more about MY will than God's will. It accomplished that by expanding the definition of God, such that the two were inseparable. This was not an external God imposing "his" will. This was the God within Me.

On the surface, MY will alone sounds very attractive (note the pun ;-), but there is a problem. It may no longer be all about "HE" (as God was usually portrayed back then), but it can quickly become all about ME - conveniently forgetting that concept of the WE.

When we forget the reality of WE, we end up focusing on a much smaller concept of "god", not the much Greater Reality of GOD.

What if the truth is to be found somewhere in the middle?

I posted a conversation in this blog a while back regarding my questioning the Law of Attraction. Then in a rather impulsive move about a month ago, I deleted it. Yes, I'm guilty of deleting a post from this blog!

I have pondered whether to restore it, but an interesting thing happened when I first posted it. It actually began as a "rant" one day on Facebook, and I didn't necessarily intend to publish it at all. I hit the wrong button and it published itself.

Immediately I honored what seemed to be the Will of the Universe, publishing my post without my permission, and I allowed it to stand.

It was a rant that I truly wasn't ready to share, as this topic requires much more careful, thoughtful exploration. Whether "the Universe" chose to publish it or not, I chose to take it back. And maybe that was part of the point.

Yes, we do have the ability to choose on this planet, but the nature of choice is not so easily explained.

Whose will is actually in control?

Some will tell you it's all about ME.

I have come to know it's all about WE.

Yet so often when we emphasize the WE, we forget about the ME. Could it be that balance is the key?

I happen to be a believer in co-creation, as a huge part of that WE is God, Spirit, the Multiverse, the Creator, however you choose to phrase it. A huge part of that WE is also All of You.

There are going to be times when no matter how focused you are, things won't go the way you plan. That's because focusing on the day-to-day matters of Me can blind us to the higher purposes of the WE, whether that WE is a small group of people in your life, the entire planet, or the Multiverse. We exist and evolve as WE, not just as Me. We CO-create as WE, not create in a vacuum alone as Me.

Bury your head in the sand if you choose, but this planet is undergoing a major transition. If you are playing the "Me blame game", that transition is going to be uncomfortable for you.

Many of the familiar things we might think we would prefer to perpetuate are collapsing. Any number of things we might prefer not to happen are happening.

The old must pass away for the New to be born. The latest and greatest class on personal abundance being offered all over the internet isn't likely to halt the higher purposes of the WE.

So if you find yourself frustrated that your intent or prayer just doesn't seem to be working so well these days, relax. It's not all about YOU after all. Be comforted. Stop playing the blame game, especially if you have been told to entirely blame yourself.

Instead, how about embracing what we are co-creating as WE (with plenty of ultimate benefits for the ME)? It takes faith, trust and an empowered form of surrender to consciously participate in the WE.

Life on Planet Earth may not be quite what you've been told to expect in the moment, but it is generally evolving towards what WE have always planned it to be. Some of the personal details may be up to you and you alone, but not ALL of it, unless you think you live in an insulated box all by yourself.

And yes, there is indeed an empowered form of surrender, not quite the type of surrender we may have heard about as children. It too is all about WE, in conscious partnership with every Me.

(If you are troubled by the "blame game" occurring in so many circles on this planet, whether said to be due to lack of prayer or intent, listen to Healing the Wounds of Fear on The Frontier Beyond Fear radio program.)