If you are someone who has been meditating for a while then you may have seen thebluelight.
Sometimes when you are meditating a blue light appears. Sometimes it comes in immediately, other times it fades in. It comes in the space right between your eyebrows.
It is the size of a pea.
It can get larger when you focus on it, BUT you can’t focus on it too hard (it’s a paradox of sorts). If you focus too hard it will slowly close (like an eye shutting, or a door closing). Then, you can not make it come back right away. Not even if you try really hard. It usually doesn’t appear by sheer will. It’s like the wind. It’s there, then it’s gone.
It has occurred to me that the blue light is some sort of portal (opening) to the light that is within. It’s a light that is within everyone and it is so beautiful.
When the blue light comes you know that it is always shining. Most times it seems to be covered by some sort of film. You know it’s shining really brightly although it is behind a covering.
Sunrise over Charlotte Douglas International Airport
The sun coming up and then going behind the clouds.
That’s what that blue light is like. It’s there. It’s always there, but you can’t always see it. Our body, our thoughts, and our emotions, are like the clouds. If we can clear away all of that (the focus on the body, the thoughts, and the emotions), then we will see the light.
You can live knowing there is light within. You can let your “little light shine”. It’s there. You can call the blue light anything you want. Valentine’s Day is coming soon…so let’s just call it LOVE.
This week just live your life knowing (even if you’ve never seen it) that there is a beautiful and vibrant yet calming energy of light that lives deep inside of you.
Let go of worrying about the future.
Let go of regretting the past.
Let go of getting lost in your thoughts and emotions.
Can you be still and quiet for 15 minutes at one time?
Try it now.
Try it tomorrow.
Just try it.
The first time you try it, it might be downright painful. Your mind will be jumping from one thing to another. That ‘s the monkey mind. Don’t worry, it can be stilled. You can train your mind to be still. And here’s what you will find…You will find that quiet place inside of yourself where there is nothing but peace, love and oneness with everything, everyone and a higher being or universal consciousness.
BE STILL
Can you be still?
Can you find a quiet place to go?
Can you stand the thoughts that run across your mind?
Can you let those thoughts go?
Can you just watch those thoughts float by?
Can you resist the urge to move or to get up?
Can you hear that still small voice within?
Can you just be still?
Can you Just Quit acting religious and go on your spiritual journey?
Look within, and you will find the God that you seek.
“Courage is the power to let go of the familiar.” ~Raymond Lindquist~
Is whatever you are doing, thinking, wondering, or questioning about spiritual matters getting you closer to knowing about a Higher Being or Universal Consciousness ?
Do you know this Being or Consciousness? Do you have a close connection with this Being or Consciousness?
Are you sure?
Is it a personal connection or is it something else? Can you describe it or is it undescribable?
Isn’t it okay to wonder, ponder, question these things? Who say’s that it’s not okay?
Isn’t it mostly those who’s livelihood depend on you NOT questioning these things?
Remember this is your life, and no matter what any one says, or how many degrees they have, or how great they sound in the pulpit, or how quilty they make you feel for questioning things — you are going to die alone.
Why can’t or shouldn’t you ask questions, so you can seek and find the answers.
The answer is in the questioning. If you don’t ask a question you won’t get an answer – — so ask good guestions.
There is a correlation between being grateful and letting go. When you are grateful you see what is good. When you are grateful you see what is great. When you are grateful you see the best in others. When you are grateful you re-focus your energy. When you are grateful you are okay with the present. When you are grateful you honor the past and the things of the past. When you are grateful your future looks brighter.
By being grateful you can see the “good” in the “bad”.
(Honestly there doesn’t seem to be good or bad, just gratefulness for what is.)
By being grateful you can see loss, as not loss, but as growth and change. By being grateful change is a way of life and not something to dread. By being grateful you look forward to the next day. By being grateful you forget about your problems, because problems aren’t the focus. By being grateful things that you need to “let go” of start to fall away or go away. Gratitude allows you to let go of things, people, circumstances, thoughts, feelings, ect. that don’t serve your greater good. Gratitude is one of the tools for learning to let go.
There is no need to feel dependency on another to make you happy.
There is no need to have to “feel” happiness to be happy.
There is a Source that you can tap into at any time
This Source is ever-present and you are never really alone.
You are not abandoned by another because you ARE already complete within yourself.
Because of this awareness and understanding, relationships with others just brings you further understanding of this Source. That’s the only purpose. It’s a wonderful interplay with you and the Source.
So you ask how do you tap into the Source while in a physical body and “worrying” about problems in that body?
The Source is found in the circle: the spiral, the orbital, infinity
Start by moving a part of your physical body in a circular or figure eight fashion…
your head
your neck
your shoulders
your back
your arms
your hands
your hips
your feet
whatever body part feels natural and good to you
Try it
There is something about moving your physical body in a circular motion.
You’re now moving like the planets – they tap into this source.
BUT…don’t try to tap in it…don’t force it…don’t wonder if you’re doing something right or wrong. (Trust me…that will just make you dizzy because you’ll probably move too fast and mechanical or not according to your own flow.)
Just remember that the source is already there, you just have to know that, sense it and feel it…and…don’t worry about what The Source is…don’t get hung on that. Call it whatever you want, whatever makes sense to you. Don’t let “naming it” stump you from tapping into this finer energy. Who cares what you call it? Call it God, Call it Universal Mind, Call it the Source, Call it whatever resonates with you. (As I was typing this I asked “it” what “it” wanted me to call “it” and what came to me was “The Source”…never thought to call it that before but that resonated with me)
The Source is too big to really truly comprehend intellectually
It’s the Source of Everything – Knowledge, Information, Answers, Questions, People. Relationships..EVERYTHING…
The Source wants to do big things if you allow it to work through you…it wants to touch you and wants to shine through you and help others through you…
Even if you don’t believe — it doesn’t mean it’s not there — right there for you, for me, for us — it’s like the glue that holds everything together.
How will you know when you’ve tapped into The Source?
You will have an understanding you won’t even understand
You’ll want to leap
You’ll want to shout
You’ll want to sing
You’ll want to cry
You know it is real — finally — you know it is real and you’ve tapped into some mystery you can not really explain
You now see people and loved ones (many who have gone on) as ministers of The Source to help teach you…
Maybe they were so powerful in their own spiritual evolution and understanding of the mystery of life that their minds had to be clouded and shrouded by a disease of the mind. Otherwise the light from the Source would have shone too brightly for others to understand. Even through the disease of the mind a wisdom and “knowingness” came shining forth to touch others who crossed their paths.
Maybe they needed to suffer in this life for others to be touched by their kindness and compassion. It was a plan to teach others how be there for the lest of those, those who suffer, to teach how to see suffering, to teach how to grow, to teach how to survive even when suffering.
Maybe they needed to help others that could not give them anything in return. Maybe to show others what true love does. That love is not about what you can get, not about you being “happy”, but about giving to others and making others happy.
Maybe they were creative and industrious. Maybe they had their own business. Maybe they had 1000 ideas but because of time and circumstance not every plan came together. Maybe it was to show others that creative energy is alive and well and to pursue dreams and passions.
The Source Lives
Those who have gone on (somewhere beyond this earthly journey) they too live. How could they not? I mean contemplate that for a second…how could they not? Even if they don’t live in the flesh here they live in your heart, mind and memory. So just as you can not see them physically anymore – this Source, Spirit, God, Universal Mind, also lives….all you have to do is tap into it…when you do none of those petty “worries” that you have will matter anymore…you have everything within you that you need…you always have and you always will…
Can you do something that seems right, but it turns out “wrong”? How do you really know if WHAT you’re doing is WHAT you SHOULD be doing? How do you really know if what you SAID is what you SHOULD have SAID? How do you really know?
Seems Like We Are on the Hunt for Some Missing Piece
Seems like we’re always searching for something
Something – even – when – we – feel – we – have – everything
Looking for it in other people, in places, and in things.
It’s like something we once had, but lost somewhere along the way.
It’s like we’ll know it when we find it.
So we keep searching..even when we have people,
go places, have money and things…
Seems like something is STILL missing
Still Searching…Still Seeking…Still Looking…Still Empty
Look at Other People Today
Look into their eyes
You’ll realize that you are not alone
~They are ~
Searching Too.
Seeking Too.
Feeling Empty Too.
(even if most are “acting” like they’ve found it…look closely in their eyes and you’ll see the truth…)
It’s in the frantic searching,
seeking and emptiness that we feel we made “mistakes”
We find and stay too long in relationships with the “wrong” people
We seek and get the “wrong” stuff
&
We S-T-I-L-L Feel Empty Inside
Are These Mistakes or Lessons?
If we look at everything as Lessons on the Journey of the Seeking and Looking for What’s Missing,
Then, are there really any mistakes?
If you take everything as a lesson, as growth, as getting closer to fulfilling that empty space…
how is anything that happens in your life a mistake?
Not the City you live in. Not the State. Not the Country. Not the World. The UNIVERSE.
You are currently a part of the UNIVERSE. How special is that! Don’t forget that. You are here for a reason. You are. You HAVE to be, or you wouldn’t be here.
Who AM I?
Think about what it took for your parents to conceive you, for them to decide to keep you and to let you grow. Think about being born, making it through your childhood (and it’s craziness — we all went through some craziness), BUT here you are… STILL here.
Stop looking at your current situations, circumstances and thinking that this is all there is. Stop wondering how on earth you got to where you are. Maybe you’ve made a couple of wrong turns, just learn from them and move on. Maybe you can’t see what the future holds for you, that’s no problem. Once you come to the realization of two things then things start to change:
1. Being grateful for what is — right now — as it is.
Don’t judge, just be grateful for who you are, where you are, what you have, who is in your life, where you came from, what your dreams are. JUST BE GRATEFUL. It opens up some sort of portal that transports you into your purpose for being here.
2. The you that you think you are is not WHO you are.
The thoughts that you think is not WHO you are. The emotions that you have is not WHO you are. The identities that you’ve attached to yourself is not all that you are. There is something much bigger happening behind your eyes, in your body, and in your mind.
Look in the mirror and look directly in your eyes and ask yourself:
“Who Am I?”
When you do this for the first time you will come back with all these identities that you “think” is all that you are. Your name, your sex, your ethical background, your occupation, your profession, your title, your parental status, on and on. You’ve attached yourself to these identities. Go past all of those identities and ask again…“Who Am I?”
Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart.
He who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens .
~Carl Jung
What are your dreams?
What did you dream your life would be like?
Are you where you dreamed you would be by this time in your life?
Have you given up on your dreams?
Do you still know how to dream?
Awaken
Do you still believe that your dreams will come true?
Have you let life, circumstances,
other people (fill in the blank) defer your dreams?
Have you stopped dreaming because things haven’t gone the way you hoped that they would?
If you have stopped dreaming, it is okay.
Don’t beat yourself up.
Only you know your story.
Only you really know what you’ve gone through,
what you’ve been told about what is possible,
what you’ve experienced…only you really know.
This is your life.
This is the one life that you’ve been given to live in the body that you are in.
All that you have gone through and experienced has brought you to where you are today, and it is okay.
You are where you are,
who you are and it is o-k-a-y.
What is NOT okay is to stay where you are today.
One way or the other things will change. Everything changes.
Be apart of the changes that are coming in the world and in your life.
Use your experiences to not only dream again, but to take it to a new level and to awaken to the fact that everything that has happened to you has brought you to this place, this time, and this century to do SOMETHING.
It is up to you to figure out what that SOMETHING is.
Once you finally get on the track that you are supposed to be on, things will open up. In order to get on that track you have to wake up.
Wake up…
The Time to Wake up is Now
Can you see the future that is before you?
Can you see that you ARE enough?
Can you see that THERE is enough?
Can you see that you need to stop looking at what or who is or has been “holding you back”
and move everyday towards your future…
the future that is available to you…
but you have to look at it with fresh eyes, new perspectives in order to see it.
It is not too late to live the life that you’ve imagined.
Not much has changed in Baptist churches since the last time I went in 2011.
People still want to shout and sing and feel grounded in the midst of the daily struggle.
It was interesting looking at everyone dressed-up in new clothes. Looking good. Feeling good. It was interesting. That made me happy to see that.
As I watched the person singing the song and people clapping at the end I wondered why this was considered worship. I could see how the lady singing was worshipping, but not the people sitting in the pew listening and then clapping. It was more like a concert to me.
When it was time for the collection of money, it was new to ask people who wanted to give electronically to go to the back of the room. I guess they had credit and debit card terminals back there.
I don’t know.
I just sat there wondering, how did “the church” evolve into a theater performance, a concert, a retail operation, prayers that sounded like sermons…and…I guess there was a sermon, but I couldn’t stay any longer. I just couldn’t. It felt awkward and unnatural because what I needed spiritually was already inside of me. I left them in their beautiful new clothes, sitting side by side in straight back chairs, watching a t.v. screen showing the action on the stage and said silently…May they all be happy.
Since Thanksgiving I’ve been researching and drawn to all things Native American. I think maybe because my grandmother was Cherokee, I’m back on Virginia soil, and maybe because I think about what happened to them and the loss of their land and culture.
I found the below Native American Code of Ethics and many of these resonate with me as a way to live.
Rise with the sun to pray. Pray alone. Pray often. The Great Spirit will listen, if you only speak. ~ I wake up now at 4:30 a.m. to get to work early and have since learned the value of rising early. Add prayer to the reading of the Tao. The Great Spirit will listen. 2. Be tolerant of those who are lost on their path. Ignorance, conceit, anger, jealousy and greed stem from a lost soul. Pray that they will find guidance. ~More prayer. The bullies, the mean, the angry, the lost. Don’t judge them, pray for them. 3.Search for yourself, by yourself. Do not allow others to make your path for you. It is your road, and yours alone. Others may walk it with you, but no one can walk it for you. ~This has never been a problem for me. I learned this lesson as the youngest of a family of superstar athletes. Track, basketball…tried them all…but ended up going my own way in HS with politics, tennis and acting. Have been following my own path ever since. Being willing to fail helps you win the battle of finding your own path. 4. Treat the guests in your home with much consideration. Serve them the best food, give them the best bed and treat them with respect and honor. ~I’ve never been a very good hostess. I just tell people to make themselves at home. I’ll have to work on this one, especially as a shop owner. 5. Do not take what is not yours whether from a person, a community,the wilderness or from a culture. It was not earned nor given. It is not yours. ~Wow, coming from Native Americans and the lost of their entire culture and land. This is deep. I like this especially as I think of a program to help reduce crime in the Hampton Roads community. 6. Respect all things that are placed upon this earth – whether it be people or plant. ~I agree. I remember a time in Charlotte when the birds were my best friends. I wouldn’t dream of a day going by without having bird food in their bird feeder. 7. Honor other people’s thoughts, wishes and words. Never interrupt another or mock or rudely mimic them. Allow each person the right to personal expression. ~When I read this I thought about how much I need to work on this one. I will work on this one daily. 8. Never speak of others in a bad way. The negative energy that you put out into the universe will multiply when it returns to you. ~Another good one. 9. All persons make mistakes. And all mistakes can be forgiven. ~Don’t hold grudges. I was a master at this…holding grudges. I’ve worked on it over the years, so this is easier for me to do. I found holding grudges just held you in the past. The older I’ve gotten the less time I feel I have and zero for living in the past. 10.Bad thoughts cause illness of the mind, body and spirit. Practice optimism. I agree. Every time I hear the term “mental health” I think isn’t that just the mental chatter or internal dialogue? What else is it other than your thoughts? Then I think about people who don’t meditate and wonder when do they ever get a break from all of that noise in their heads? You have to balance it with mantras and positive thoughts or it becomes mental illness. 11. Nature is not FOR us, it is a PART of us. They are part of your worldly family. ~True. 12. Children are the seeds of our future. Plant love in their hearts and water them with wisdom and life’s lessons. When they are grown, give them space to grow.
13. Avoid hurting the hearts of others. The poison of your pain will return to you. ~Remember this everyday. Do not hurt others with my words, behavior or even thoughts. Counterbalance any hurtful thoughts with: “May you be happy.” 14. Be truthful at all times. Honesty is the test of one’s will within this universe. ~Honesty. 15. Keep yourself balanced. Your Mental self, Spiritual self, Emotional self, and Physical self – all need to be strong, pure and healthy. Work out the body to strengthen the mind. Grow rich in spirit to cure emotional ails. ~Balanced is planned. It’s not haphazard. 16. Make conscious decisions as to who you will be and how you will react. Be responsible for your own actions. ~Like the part about “how you will react”. Part of that is controlling emotions. 17. Respect the privacy and personal space of others. Do not touch the personal property of others – especially sacred and religious objects. This is forbidden. ~I can see how Native Americans see this as important. This is their land. American really belongs to them. They are the parents of this land. 18. Be true to yourself first. You cannot nurture and help others if you cannot nurture and help yourself first. ~ For me this is about being healthy. After having a bad cold over the holidays this rings true…health is the first wealth. 19. Respect others religious beliefs. Do not force your belief on others. ~ I never could “knock on doors” I just couldn’t “make” others believe my “truth” just because I thought I’d found it. People are entitled to their own beliefs. 20. Share your good fortune with others. Participate in charity.
All I keep thinking about when I think about the gift shop is being able to give back to the local community. I am looking forward to giving 10% to a local charity or a school.
Figure Out Who You Are. Find Your Voice. Pursue Your Passions. Perfect Your Craft.
Below is a young British Performance Poet, Kate Tempest.
She’s our Modern Day Shakespeare.
She found her voice…listen…
Now…ask yourself…WHO AM I?
Don’t ask it just once…ask it over and over and over again…
That’s the only way to get to the bottom line of who you are and break through all the barriers.
The answer is there and it’s always been there.
Once You Can See It Everything Changes.
Once you see it…You Find your Unique Voice, Your Passions Emerge and you will have ComPassion for others who are also on their own journey towards this universal discovery.
Once you see it…You will laugh and wonder…what was it that I was afraid of again???
You can’t remember …WHAT was there to be afraid of?
Now, you can look at Fear and its’ best friend Doubt in the face…
YOU’RE FINALLY FREE… BECAUSE YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE…
STILL CONFUSED?
LISTEN TO THE MODERN DAY SHAKESPEARE AGAIN AND BELIEVE THE MESSAGE.
One of the beauties of living alone is you can do whatever you want. For about a month I’ve been having some serious conversations with God. Every time I realized that I was just having this stupid nonsense conversation in my head with myself about much of nothing I would immediately start talking to God…just like I was talking to someone in the house with me.
I felt like Job or one of the other folks in the bible…letting God have it. It might seem irreverent but my relationship with God has gotten to be close enough where I’m okay questioning God. I think having a Black Folder has gotten me that way…and how can you have a relationship without asking questions…and tough questions?
God what are you doing? What is going on? Why are you opening doors and then closing them shut? What exactly do you want? Just tell me what you want me to do? Where do you want me to go? I’m sick of trying to figure it out. Why the mystery? GOD – WHAT DO YOU WANT?
On and on it has gone for over a month. Day in and day out. Then, God comes back with:
I want you to get out the way. YOU are in my way. I can’t do what I want because you keep doing what you want. I’ve BEEN trying to get your attention. I’ve BEEN trying to see if you’ve learned anything yet. I’ve BEEN trying to see if I can trust you and use you to do some of the stuff I want to do. It’s been years. How much more of the same do you need? Are you ready to move on? Are you ready? Are you? So, yep, you are exactly where I need you to be, asking the right question, to the right source, at the right time.
When you get here with God it ain’t no joke.
So, I thought maybe I needed to pick up a spiritual text since I’m having this conversation (fight) with God (yeah I started to get a little nervous and thought I should show more reverence). I have plenty of spiritual texts in my house from every major religion.
So, I asked God, did I need to read something, and God said to pick up the Bible. Now, that seems like such a simple request, but it was NOT. I have an entire treasure chest (literally a treasure chest) of Bible and Bible Related Books from my days of what I call my “15 years of Sunday, Sunday, Wednesday religion'”. I felt I’d read the bible so many times and knew the bible stories and the psalms and the proverbs. But…I was just trying to get out of God’s way, so, I picked up the bible. I actually picked up two bibles and put them by my nightstand. One was the Kings James version, which I started reading but it took me back to those 15 years of ‘institutional religious mind-numbing book, chapter and verse finding the proof text to prove you’re right yet lacking inclusion, compassion and the spirit’. So…then I picked up the The Illustrated Bible which is written in a tone and intent of trying to apply the bible to your life. All the while I was thinking:
oh, has it really resorted to this? Really God? Aren’t you bigger than one book? Please tell me that the last 7 years of my life of my spiritual journey has not been a wild goose chase. Are you serious that the answer to what you want and how I can get out of your way is in the Bible?
I wasn’t proud of thinking that, but it is what I was thinking. I could not hide that for God. I knew God already knew what I was thinking…so…I just went on with reading the bible at night before I went to sleep…hoping, wishing, thinking that maybe God would let me read something and then personalize it in my dreams that night. I was just trying to find the answer to what God wanted. BUT…the answer to my question WAS in the Bible. I needed WISDOM. There it was this one simple yet profound line:
WISDOM IS KNOWING WHAT GOD WANTS
I had never, ever, ever, ever seen it written like that. It was like a bright light, a signpost, it was a direction to go in, it was something to seek…WISDOM…
It’s taken me years to Learn to Ask For Wisdom if I Want to Know What God Wants. And why wouldn’t I want to know what God wants? Why would I go another second, minute, day not wanting to know what God wants?
Next Question: “Okay God, How Do I Get Wisdom?”
Answer: “You already know the answer to that. You need to get back on the Meditation Cushion. Yes, walking daily and doing a walking meditation is good…but I need you to truly quiet your mind and your body so that I can give you wisdom.
Then I thought back on another post and the video about How and Why To Meditate“…wow…then I ran across this the other day… The Daily Habit of Successful People…confirmation that no, my 7 year quest has not been in vain…meditation is one of the tools to know what God wants and align yourself with that…success is relative…but misery is not.
Meditation Provides The Key…but…
Knowing To Ask For Wisdom Points You To The Door
Next Question: “What happens God when my thoughts, words and deeds are aligned based on Wisdom?”
Answer: “You shout it from the roof tops and you Tell Others…and when you tell them let them know it’s not you, but it’s the God in you…and don’t you forget that…don’t take credit for ANYTHING from here on out.”
My mother knew Wisdom, so did my father. They both knew and I thank them for helping me to Seek Wisdom, yes I thank them both. I can feel and hear my mother mostly (maybe because it’s coming up on a year since she’s been gone). She’s saying: Rita I’ve crossed over…I can see you Rita…Just let God do it…God is everything…God knows everything… God is in everything…God WANTS to do it…Rita Just Let God Do It…Seek Wisdom Rita…Seek Wisdom Rita…Seek Wisdom Rita
The Jesus Story is a perfect example of Letting Go to Let Come
It’s the time of year when Christians celebrate Easter. Just like Christmas it can be commercialize and all about Bunny’s and Easter Egg Hunts. There’s nothing wrong with that, it can be fun, especially for children. But, as an adult, (no matter your religious beliefs) there is something deeper in this story that can help you to realize your full potential as a human being and give you a model for change and growth.
Letting Go = Good Friday = DYING to what is…
As the story goes, Jesus picked-up his cross and carried it to his death. We too have to face our burdens, our past poor decisions, our blind beliefs, our toxic relationships, our dead-end jobs, and our money problems. We have to look at ’em and recognize that it’s time to MAKE a CHANGE. It’s time for your current reality to begin coming to an end.
Jesus was nailed to the cross. He hung there. He died. We too have to let go of those things that need to die in our lives. We might want to hang on and try to make things that are really dead not seem like they are, but in the end we have to let go of those thoughts, things, people, jobs, and places that have run their course.
In the Tunnel of Change = Jesus In The Tomb = TRANSFORMATION
Jesus was in the tomb for three days. He was unseen. He was gone. Folks were wondering where He was and what would become of them and their world without Him in it.
Although Jesus was in the unknown realm, He was going through a transformation.
When you let go of “what is” you too will have to go through a transformation… AND… it is TOUGH. Don’t think that it is not, because it is. When you are in the transformation stage of the growth process you are in-between “Letting Go” and “Letting Come”. I call this phase The Tunnel of Change. It can be dark and dank in the tunnel. You don’t know how long you will be in the tunnel. It could be 3 days or it could be 3 Years.
Sometimes when you are in this tunnel all you can do is hold on to knowing that you will get out of the tunnel, EVENTUALLY. But, when you are in this tunnel there is a point that you get to that I like to call The Sweet Spot.
The Sweet Spot is where you know that what you let go of is gone, you can’t get it back, and most importantly you don’t want it back, don’t want to look back, and don’t want to go back.
Think about a love relationship that you let go of. You struggled to let go of this relationship and when you finally did you didn’t immediately feel good. There was a lot of built up momentum of thoughts, memories and history that you had to work through. You wondered if you made the right decision, and at the right time. You missed the person. You might have even wanted them back because you were so lonely.
This is the absolutely miserable part of the beginning of a transformation process. You have to work through this initial walk through the tunnel (dark night of the soul) in order to make it to the sweet spot.
When you get to the sweet spot, in the example of the love relationship: even thoughyou are still alone, you KNOW you made the right decision. You KNOW that person was hindering your growth. Yes, you ARE still alone, but you KNOW at some point that someone new will come into your life. You don’t know when, but you begin to anticipate what is to “come”. You are so proud of yourself for letting go of “what was” , because it was NOT and NEVER would have worked for you and your future.
In the sweet spot you are closer to the “letting come” phase then you are from the “letting go” phase.
When you get to the sweet spot in the tunnel of change start to use your time to grow and get ready for the new thing that’s coming. Prepare yourself with some deliberate choices and actions. In the example of the love relationship: you might start or continue to get in good physical shape, take care of your body, mind and spirit. Start doing activities that YOU enjoy, and be the type of person that YOU want to be with. Be thinking about not necessarily the checklist of the person you want to manifest in your life, but more importantly how YOU want that person to make YOU feel. You need to know what you want to come your way, or you might miss it when it shows up.
Something or someone new is going to come, you might as well be a part of making it happen and co-creating it with the universe. Until you get REALLY clear on your intentions then, yes, something is going to come, but it might be similar to what you just let go of…that’s no fun…you then have to go through letting go of something/someone very similar to what you just let go of because you didn’t learn that particular life lesson the first time…bummer…
Letting Come = Easter Sunday = RESURRECTION
As the story goes, Jesus is no longer in the tomb. He has risen. He is the Christ. He is completely spiritual, and no longer housed in a human body. He is now within. Within what you might ask? Within every heart that has lived and will live on the earth. He had to let go of his earthly life in order for this spiritual realization (Kingdom) to come.
There is something more, something better, more fulfilling and better aligned for you as well: A New Job, A New Relationship, A New Town, A New Business, A New Body, A New Baby, A New Spiritual Walk, A New Career, A New .. fill in the blank…
I am not sure where you are in the Letting Go to Let Come process right now, but no matter where you are, know that all of life is about letting go to let come.
It always has been since you were born (letting come/or letting go depending on how you look at it) and always will be until you die (letting go/or letting come depending on how you look at it).
Don’t be afraid of Good Friday and Death (to what is) because Easter Sunday and Resurrection (what will be) is coming.
Now…What Do You Know For Sure That You Need To Let Go Of? That’s Your Just Quit Thing…Let It or Them Go…Just Do ONE Thing TODAY to Start the Process of Creating Your Future Self and Life
I get a couple of emails a month mostly from people sharing their story. Usually it is about being miserable in their job. This week, however, I got an email from a famous photographer (I guess) from somewhere in the world (I think Germany). I had used one of his pictures (which was beautiful) in one of my posts. He emailed me to let me know and asked me to remove it or pay for it’s use.
What I do is usually type the post and then look for a picture on the internet that depicts whatever I am trying to convey.
So now… I have to question myself…
Why do I feel I need to add a picture to my posts?
One of my favorite blogs has NO pictures, at all, and his posts are rather lengthy little epistles, but I read every word.
So, why do I feel I need a picture in my posts? I think that it is the instructional designer in me that knows that folks learn in different ways and that pictures speak messages that words can not.
I also know that everybody will not have the patience to read my long posts, but I do enjoy writing them… and it’s great FREE therapy.
About Playing It Safe
Yesterday after I went to exercise class I was going to jump in the car and head on into my day which includes lists and stuff to do. As I was walking to my car I realized how very STUPID that was. There was NOTHING on my list that could not wait.
I did not have to catch a plane.
I did not have to pick up a child.
I did not have an appointment to be anywhere at any particular time
…so WHAT was I rushing about for?
Instead of jumping in the car I sat on the bench in front of a labyrinth.
It had been a while since I walked a labyrinth and I knew at that moment I was not going to meditatively walk it today either, but I did want to sit on the bench and look at it, so, I just sat there.
I’m at an age now where I do not care what others may think of what I am doing, of what I am wearing or what I am saying. It is liberating.
This exercise class that I go to is very popular, so much so, that the instructor can increase the price, change the times, change the location and folks will continue to follow him around for the exercise EXPERIENCE. I’ve been going for several years, so, I knew many of these ‘exercise class folks’ would remember me from the exercise class that had finished just 3 minutes ago, and they would wonder what I was doing just SITTING on a bench staring into nothingness.
Again, I did not care.
As I sat there I thought about the photographer guy and his award winning picture that I had used (and subsequently removed at his request).
I thought why don’t I just use my own pictures on my blog posts? I came up with lots of reasons, but mostly that:
I haven’t REALLY figured out how to use the digital camera I purchased to take pictures of my crafts so I could sell them on Etsy (there are NO pictures or products for sale on my Etsy page for this very reason).
Next question: Why don’t I know how to use the camera? Because I haven’t read the instruction book.
Next question: Would I have to carry the camera with me everywhere I go? Probably, but I can’t put the camera in my purse. Why? I refused to buy the $15 case which was a SEPARATE purchase. That was just on sheer “GOOD GRIEF WHY ISN’T THERE A CASE IN THE BOX WITH THE CAMERA?”
But…I digress….
FINALLY…ABOUT PLAYING IT SAFE
While I was sitting on the bench I looked up at the trees ( I love trees).
There was a squirrel climbing up the tree—WAY up the tree.
He kept stopping for long periods of time. I was fascinated by this.
What was he doing?
Wasn’t he afraid of falling? Was he?
Would he go back down the tree or keep going up?
Well, finally he went to the tip-top of one tree and THEN onto the tiniest branch so that he could JUMP to the other tree.
He met-up with another squirrel and then went on pass him or her (who knows) to ENJOY the ADVENTURE of climbing up and down the trees and JUMPING from branch to branch and tree to tree.
These were VERY tall trees.
It was fascinating.
Suppose We Lived Our Lives Like That Little Squirrel…
Maybe you are afraid to go further than you’ve ever gone before.
Maybe you hesitate as you get out of your comfort zone, or the ground for the squirrel, but you venture on.
Once you get your balance in the new place, you then venture on.
You go up to the top (reach your goal) BUT even then you don’t STOP the adventure you venture OUT on the slimmest of limbs (the unknown – new heights) and you FIND another tree, another adventure, another passion, another friend, another love, another life – because you AREN’T afraid to leave the familiar ground that you are used to…time and time again…you venture on.
You Let Go of What Is to Let Come What Could Be
I just watched that little squirrel and thought about writing this post.
My Picture of The Trees Near the Labyrinth – The Squirrel is Gone
Then I thought I NEEDED a picture.
I walked to my car, got my phone and used that camera to take a picture of the squirrel.
Of course he/she was long gone (on another adventure — remember) nowhere to be found.
I took the picture of the trees he/she was climbing.
WE CAN BE LIKE THAT LITTLE SQUIRREL
Sometimes you have to go out on a limb…isn’t that where the fruit is?
(That’s a Will Rogers’ quote by the way). I wonder if I will be able to quote others on my blog or if that will be off-limits as well??? I’m sure I’ll be thinking about intellectual property matters for a while. I guess my thought has been that there is really only one “intelligence” from which all things come, so how could someone claim true ownership when it just came through them, but it’s not really theirs, it belongs to the universe. Well, okay, I guess they did co-create it, so they have some ownership to it. Certainly from a commercial and legal standpoint I get it. Everyone needs to make a living!
When you are walking outside or even driving your car look up at the sky. The sky is different EVERYDAY.
It is an amazing sight to see when you study it.
The clouds, the formation of clouds, the different shapes of clouds, the different colors of the clouds. The blue color that is ALWAYS behind the clouds…no matter the number of clouds…that blue is ALWAYS behind the clouds.
Like your life…no matter the circumstances (good or bad depending on your perspective)…there is ALWAYS stability behind your daily life ups and downs…weather you realize it or not.
2. Watch the Birds.
Watch their behavior. Listen to their songs. Watch them take flight. Watch them watching you. And oh my…if you are as blessed as I have felt over the last several months…watch the eagles fly high in the sky. You are in for such a treat it will take your breath away.
Imagine if you lived your life-like an eagle in flight in the sky.
Soaring high, effortlessly, soaring through life not flailing and flapping your wings to fly…just soaring.
3. Notice ALL the Trees.
They are living. They stand tall. Their limbs sway in the wind. Their roots go deep and wide. They just stand. They watch. They know.
And oh, the trees that are “dead” are so fascinating. They are “dead” but STILL standing. They are “dead” but STILL have character. They are “dead” but STILL speak.
Books can not hold the lessons you will learn first-hand by looking at the trees. They change when the season’s change, they stand tall through the storms, and they are steadfast.
Have you ever thought of living your life that way…being okay with change – embracing it, not fighting it…standing tall through the storms of life…and being steadfast in your convictions, values and relationships.
So, today, tomorrow and the next day
Look up at the sky (really look at it),
Watch the birds (listen and look at them), and
Notice the trees (both the ones that are alive and “dead”)
You will discover the in Awe and Wonder of Nature – Life
Sunrise over Charlotte Douglas International Airport
