Posts

Move Into Joy

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"We can never consent to creep when we feel the impulse to soar." -Helen Keller There is nothing like a move to challenge a relationship; actually all relationships, beginning with the one with ourselves. I am talking about any kind of a move, not just a physical one, but certainly a physical change of residence is a huge move. I just made a physical change of residence a couple of months ago, and even if you move a short distance, it is still a big change. For me, it has been interesting to watch what it stirs up in  myself. As I stayed focused on what it stirs in me, I also found I wasn’t reactive, much, to what it stirred up in my husband. As I witnessed me throughout the packing, moving, unpacking, and then trying to find things and wondering where things went and also where things go, as well as navigating through no computer and basement renovation, whew! That was quite an experience. At once I was grateful for the ability to do what I was doing and being able t

Putting The Pieces Together

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"When you do things from your soul, you feel a river moving in you, a joy." -Rumi As we learn and grow and are open to going to deep places inside in order for us to put pieces of our puzzle together, we can feel like we are a mess or in chaos. If we don`t understand what is going on we can certainly feel lost in the process as well as feel many feelings like anxiety, fear, anger and so on. We go to our default way of feeling in the world when we are reactive or triggered. If we are used to feeling angry in response to things then we are angry. If we are used to feeling anxious, then we are anxious. As we trudge along, this can feel like it takes forever to put pieces together, and then suddenly, one day, it seems as if they just suddenly make sense. It can take a long time and many years for us to be able to understand something that was said to us. There is a story one of my teachers told me which still resonates with me. She had begun facilitating family system

Filling Our Wholes

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"A bird sitting on a tree is never afraid of the branch breaking because its trust is not on the branch but on its own wings." -Unknown Did you ever have the experience where so much was going on and you were either wanting something to happen and it just wasn't happening, or you were contemplating something and sharing it with folks and they had differing ideas, or you were in conversation with people you respect and you found yourself losing your own perspective in ideas and things? I think this type of thing happens to all of us at some point in time. At times like these, we lose touch with our authentic selves. How do we lose touch with us; what happens in our lives in which we felt we had to give something of ourselves up, or that we just couldn't trust us? I think it begins with just that; giving some part of us up. Our task becomes filling our holes with ourselves. Or, as I put it in the title, filling our wholes; becoming whole.  Many times in our

Holding The Pieces Together

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Poem of Life I woke up this morning to a clear day The morning sunlight piercing through my early morning dreams Looking out through my window of time I witness the opening of the budding trees, as they gracefully and trustingly open to the gods of nature Each tree and bloom and unfolding is a  winking of their eyes at me and the world Their silent social network greets the day and smiles at each other Full of mischief and beauty they collude to their daily opening and gifts Each day a further revealing of their inner workings and beauty Until one day soon, they are fully unfurled Joyfully contributing their essence to the web of life itself And I just an active witness and contributor  It’s May, the beautiful month of May. Everything that grows is going into bloom, and walking outside is a warming, colorful experience. The pieces of winter and early Spring , with fallen and broken branches, muddy and clumpy yards, stark and more barren la

Feeling We Don't Belong

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"Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are.” -Marilyn Monroe Do you ever feel as if you don't belong, or feel so different from others or from your family? I think that this is a feeling that many of us share. Recently I have worked with many people who feel that way. When that is our early experience in life, that feeling can be a difficult one to shake. Yes, we are all unique and have different backgrounds, feelings, thoughts, life experiences and also gifts in this world. That is also true. In addition, in a very large perspective, we are all alike in that we all have thoughts, feelings, gifts, our bodies and brains and construction works similarly, and we all live together on this earth. When we have young experiences in life with our caretakers where bonding was interrupted, or when we have an early loss in our families, or when our parents were so wounded and flawed, we often grow up feeling so different from them and so apart and like we don

Joy To The World Poem

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"Confront the dark part of yourself, and work to banish them with illumination and forgiveness. Your willingness to wrestle with your demons will cause your angels to sing." -August Wilson Taking in the frigid blue of the sky The brightness of the sun cutting through my inner gloom Living within the dark middle of the tunnel as also knowing that if I keep moving, the light will re-appear to my eyes There is a deep knowing that all is alright There is a deep knowing that I am feeling growing pains as I am living through the unknown Letting go of a need to know and feeling the very old, buried memories of a little child with no control, living with a very sad, depressed mother and a blind father Feeling the uncertainty and even terror that I try to moderate with my mind If I feel the terror there is a part of me that wants to give up, certain I will lose There is a bigger part of me, growing by the day, that is certain I will win The win is winning

The Power of Words

"You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” -Guatama Buddha I was speaking with some old friends recently and we got on the topic of words, and the power of words. Words are very powerful, and our choice of words means so much more than we often are aware of. Often times our word choice comes out unconsciously. Yet, when we really listen to them, which we often don't, what we said made much more sense than we consciously meant. And, as we look at the words we choose, they say so much about us now, about our past, and about what we are creating in the world.  One of the things we were talking about was what words spoke to us  this past New Year. The words that are important to me for this new year are: create, joy, prosperity, peace, and choice. As these words were taking shape for me I put them into a sentence: I choose to and am creating a life of joy, peace, and prosperity. In fact, what I would like the world to