Slowing Down

"In proportion as he simplifies his life, the laws of the universe will appear less complex, and solitude will not be solitude, nor poverty poverty, nor weakness weakness." 

~ Henry David Thoreau, Walden

 

It has been quite a while since I have felt inclined to write in this blog.  I write daily - but not here.  I write where my writing takes me.  That has been true for many years.  Writing seems to know in the moment where it is it needs to be, and you never really know how it might emerge some day.

I am here not exactly because I am requiring it of myself, or I would have been here sooner and more often.  The flow requires a bit of a "push" here, so I'm setting it in motion.  We will see where it leads (this time).

I was intending to start out today writing about consciously slowing things down.  Instead I started out by writing about writing.  And that makes sense.

Slowing down is what I have been reflecting upon today, as we have a tendency to think we will be more "productive" if we quicken our pace.  At this time in my life, I am choosing the opposite.  I still have work that needs to get accomplished, but a frenzied pace will not assist it.  A frenzied pace is a hindrance, not an asset.  

I choose to breathe, observe and reflect.  I choose to ensure I get plenty of rest.  Others can race all they like.  (I have done plenty of "racing" in my life, too.)  Will anyone truly "win" anything that way?  

In truth, things get done even more effectively at a mindful pace.  And we regularly restore ourselves in the process.  The "empty cup" analogy is very real.

Slowing down is not really new for me, but every once in a while, I need a very clear and conscious reminder.

Where my public expressive voice has consistently and authentically tended to be is my podcast The Frontier Beyond Fear.  I encourage you to explore the recent shows if you have not visited recently and are curious about what I've been pondering week to week.  Here are some examples, to get you started:

Tests and Peace - May 3, 2025

Earth Day Memories and Reflections - April 22, 2025

An Authentic Approach - April 16, 2025

The Power of Grace - April 10, 2025

Trusting in Trust - April 3, 2025

All of my Artificial Intelligence-related shows you will find in a convenient listing in a growing archive at Our Leap Beyond AI.  Here are some recent examples:

AI and Disempowerment - March 27, 2025

AI and the Extinction of Authenticity - March 10, 2025

AI's Counterfeit Creativity - February 27, 2025

The AI Personification Illusion - February 19, 2025

Slowing down (ironically) can actually seem to speed things into existence.  I slowed down today, and I am writing here.  I'm happy to welcome my returning readers (and listeners).  I sense I will write here again soon . . . 

Nature photo by Susan Larison Danz.  Artwork for The Frontier Beyond Fear broadcast is based on a book cover designed by talented artist Richard Crookes.

Portland Body Mind Spirit Expo this Weekend

It has been quite a day, very surreal, as I followed intermittent updates from a friend in Watertown, MA who was directly impacted by everything that occurred there.

Tonight's post will be very simple and most likely tomorrow's too, as I'm preparing for the Portland Body Mind Spirit Expo this weekend at the Oregon Convention Center, Hall A.  I will be at Lighted Bridge Communications Booth #19 throughout the Expo.


I'm presenting two seminars over the weekend:

The Frontier Beyond Fear - Saturday, 11 AM, Room #1

 

Feminine Voices of the Divine - Sunday, 2 PM, Room #3

Does "Darth Vader" Qualify for the Shift?

A long, long time ago in my youth far away, I spent many a day reflecting on the first "Star Wars" trilogy, a young person (and admitted "Star Wars" geek) already on a spiritual path much clearer to me now than it was then.

And what perhaps reached me most as the first (and best) trilogy drew to a close was the story of Darth Vader, a villain ultimately not vanquished by vengeance, but redeemed by Love, in the end shown healed and restored, shining in radiant angelic brilliance, in harmony with his fellow Jedi Masters.

What is so very remarkable if you ponder this outcome is how the need for retribution was not a factor in the least, nor was the demand for "just" punishment of his crimes. In the story, Darth Vader was responsible for the brutal, callous deaths of many. Yet in the end, there is only Transformation, a transformation so very profound and powerful, a redemption so instantaneous, that all we can do is cheer.

The story of "Darth Vader" holds a very special lesson, one that only enhances the underlying "Star Wars" theme of finding the hero within.

Ultimately it is the story of Transformation, the story of the Shift.

In the end, it was the enduring, unconditional Love of a son that was the catalyst of Transformation for the "evil" father, who turned out not to be quite so "evil" after all.

And this is what I believe the Shift awaiting Humanity is actually all about. There are those who claim that the Shift will only be available to those who qualify, those who hold enough Love in their hearts at a particular point in time. Even though I have dear friends and mentors who insistently assert this is the case, the concept has never resonated with me, not for a moment.

Something that bothers me about the partial shift theory is the fear it ignites in some of its followers, not to mention the almost irresistible sense of vindication so familiar in our fear-based world. There are those who attempt to justify the theory in love-based ways, but to me, it's just another version of "Left Behind", a tale I know well from the teachings of my youth.

When the Shift truly takes hold, I believe there will be no need to convince the Darth Vaders of the world why Transformation is the One and Only Way. They will know already. They will simply know. And as another line in "Star Wars" conveys, they will realize that somehow they have always known.

For there is no path so dark that it cannot be instantly illuminated by the Light. Many tears of Joy will be shed on that day, a day so very revolutionary that even forgiveness itself will be transcended.

One of the most difficult questions we face in the world is why "evil" occurs and how to deal with it. If you choose to empower "evil" like the Dark Side of the Force, then what follows is Fear. And if you choose to live in a world of punishment and retribution, the fear-inspired vengeance goes on and on and on in seemingly endless cycles of pain. The same is true of "justice" based in punishment instead of rehabilitation.

But if you choose to empower and embrace Love instead, if you choose to accept that nothing is more powerful than Love, if you choose to understand that unconditional Love is the ONLY foundation that matters, it is then, only then, that you understand why "evil" is no more than an illusory nightmare of Fear.

Like Luke "Skywalker", I choose to walk a path above the fray. I choose to walk above vengeance and fear. Even forgiveness is eventually superseded on this path because I know some day, there will no longer be anything left to forgive. There will only be the Peace and Joy of the current moment.

Forgiveness is all about the past. True transformation reveals itself in the moment. It does not account for wrongs yesterday or long ago. Unconditional Love doesn't work that way. Unconditional Love first forgives, then miraculously heals, making the events of the past immaterial to the present.

When we celebrate Darth Vader's ultimate rise to the Light, the past is gone. All that exists at the end is the radiant Now. When you can consider every "Darth Vader" who has ever walked this Earth miraculously transformed and restored, it is then that I believe you will truly understand what the Shift is all about.

In peace,
Susan Larison Danz

Note: For more on this topic, listen to today's "The Frontier Beyond Fear" Blog Talk Radio broadcast Shifting Darth Vader.


Darth Vader Footsteps photo released under a Creative Commons 2.0 license from Wikimedia Commons. "Star Wars" quotes from "Star Wars Episode VI - Return of the Jedi" (1983).