Aligning With Ourselves Creates Clarity On All Levels

How do we know we are out of alignment with our inner self? A big clue is when we are indecisive. We may keep researching online, keep asking different people for their opinion concerning our situation, but we still feel like a hamster chasing its tail running on a wheel, getting nowhere , staying stuck in a maize of indecision. Inwardly we really know what choice to make…yet, we allow yourself to become a sandwich of fear..fear of the intuitive wisdom that our life is about to experience a huge change. Aligning with ourself will provide the keystone that more information will never provide. The keystone is to trust our intuition and follow through with what we keep hearing is the right action to take.

Don’t get me wrong. Looking and searching for meaningful answers and attempting to improve ourselves is a good thing. However, sometimes we cannot see the forest for the trees and we look everywhere for the solution…everywhere except what is right in front of our faces. We are like the cat running from its predator, hightailing it up a tree going to higher branches to avoid being caught. Just when we feel safe from our predator, the tree shape shifts into another object and the chase becomes even more challenging. Perhaps all we had to do was to stop and ask of ourself: What is our real motive in running and thinking we need to be a better person than we already are?

Perhaps we are carrying around a version of what we think we are supposed to look like to prove we are a success in relationships, in our career, in our community, and in our choices. Are we spending energy and time visualizing a picture of manifesting some version of ourselves that isn’t even who we are or who we want to become? Have we considered if we are somehow able to pull this off and achieve the outcome we are so frantically chasing will we be at peace and be willing to stop and enjoy ourselves? Will we ever reach a place that we are enough as we are or will there always be another mountain to climb?

What if we each knew that by aligning with ourselves we would discover the magic elixir of clear thinking, easy and reachable decision-based goals, and avoiding the stress of creating more to do lists to show we have arrived successfully in life?

I have a strong feeling life does not have to be as complicated as human doings trying to become human beings make it. Some ideas that I have found work :

  • Surrender from a place of love, not a place of fear and force. Trusting the Universe has our back and is not testing us, but is supporting us. When we let go, we can breathe freely and the inner truth of who we really are is revealed. We no longer have to become someone we think others want us to be . We can relax in living a magical life of being just who we are….embracing the things we truly are passionate about, and skipping down the Yellow Brick Road of contentment .
  • When we let things flow, no matter what comes up, we release the need and belief our lives have to constantly struggle. We do not even need to know how things are going to unfold and evolve. In other words, we do not have to be controlling our outcomes.
  • If you were given the magic wand of creation, who would you be? How would you spend each day and night? What kinds of people would you spend time with? How would people view you and talk with you when you transformed into the best version of yourself? Ask yourself right now which is the ideal path to embark upon that will open the door to your shining , wonderful self to not only the rest of the world but also to yourself? This is simple but we may try to complicate it ..can you imagine living a magical life 24/7? Use that magic wand and align with your true self.
  • The point is not to want to be better. Take action and act on that deep, age old desire to shift into the person you have been hoping and dreaming of becoming. When we step out of our old skin and cocoon into the amazing person that we already are, we are aligned with ourself…the self that was always within us, and who we really are and always have been. Who we are is The Who we have allowed and given permission to our attention to focus upon. Where is your attention right now? Mine is on that radiating light pouring out of my heart and soul. We have the power to choose. What is your choice?

When Receiving Is More Challenging Than Giving

Part of my journey in claiming my Authentic Self and Striving to be the best version of myself brought the awareness that I wanted equal relationships within all my connections. To go deeper it was necessary I looked at friendships, partnerships, business, and family relationships. I have come to the place in my life that I was no longer just a giver to others (which I had been for decades) but I also am very gracious and grateful to receive. I came to believe giving and receiving are different but also can carry dualistic thinking just as good-bad, open-closed, awake-asleep are. When I became aware of relationships, especially those with a long history, that were not equal between them and me, it was a struggle to stay in those situations. Believe me, I tried to give the other person the benefit of my doubts, and an opportunity to choose to be equal with me. I saw myself being equal with them and wanted that history between us to matter. Those people who put me on a different plateau than them continued and I just could not continue as I always had. I verbalized to the ones in the unbalanced relationships my truth, and drastic change did occur. I have no regrets for living in my truth once I am clear and awakened it becomes a core value that I am not comfortable going against and ignoring. I do believe once we awaken we cannot go back to sleep.

The fact I observe many people who believe it is better to give than receive has recently triggered in a positive way why receiving is harder than giving. I have the history that it was important to recognize the needs of others and wanted to always give of myself, my time, and my energy and even material things . This is not a bad way to live life, but when a person is mostly a giver and has issues receiving offers of help, material goods, kindness I think there may be an underlying reason.

As I reflect on my own journey changing from only being a giver I realized a few interesting things. When we are only giving we just may be demonstrating in our subconscious mind we are a generous, kind, loving person, and often that is to pat our ego on its back . I had to ask myself what was my intention in giving. Was it 100% to be there for another or were there times the shadow side of my personality was giving to show evidence of my goodness, to “fix” another’s brokenness, or to avoid looking and ignoring my own needs (self care put on back burner)? Receiving involves intimacy and vulnerability. When I ran from intimacy I could not accept compliments, help, or gifts from another. Being afraid of that deep place within of vulnerability also blocked me from the willingness to receive without having to give back to the giver. Big awarenesses to a person who had practiced life long years of co-dependency! I think the greatest part was discovering I carried shame from my early life and did not feel worthy and deserving to receive so I just kept giving….often at the point I was too drained to give any more but did anyway because I was stuck in my pattern of behavior!

Over the years I have learned to listen to my body having been convinced my body will never lie! When someone in my past offered me something whether it was an offer to help, to listen, a material object, or an opinion this was how I first became aware of how challenging it was to receive from another. I would get knots in my belly, shoulders would tighten up, or I would space out. It took me quite a while of being willing to receive as much as I was willing to give. My head would tell me I wanted to receive with ease, but my strong entrenched pattern of being Super Giver cancelled it out until I shifted. I honestly believe when I started taking risks to be vulnerable and to experience true intimacy with friends and others is when the heart knowledge of knowing giving and receiving are equal partners.

I am still a person who gives but the difference before I make the decision for someone else that I know what they need, I ask them. My former pattern was to believe I knew what was best for others, and I would bulldoze over them with my giving and doing for a whole multitude of people thinking it was an act of kindness. Today I am aware when I do for others especially when they can choose to do for themselves, I am taking away their right to ask for help from them. That old way was pretty arrogant and selfish, I believe.

When I could not or had difficulty receiving I did not feel worthy and I felt unsafe. What lay under that was I did not trust myself or anyone else, and jumped right into trying to control who, what, when , and in what settings I was willing to give. Furthermore, because I carried this big need to be in “control” when someone offered to give to me I felt they had control on some level over me. What finally helped me was when I began trusting in Divine Source. I had to do that before I could transfer trust to humans. Once I had a better handle on trusting and believing I was worthy of receiving as much as giving, I woke up to a great extent. As with other elements in my life over time, inner work has been the keystone out of my self imposed prison of fear and confusion. Still after years of doing much inner work vulnerability can feel scary, but my history is the evidence I can pull up and see how beneficial my willingness to do life a different way really is not only for myself but for every person I am in relationship with. I come back to my need to have relationships of equality, and every time it has to start with me. We really do teach people how to treat us, and choosing the road to becoming the best version of myself is a high priority. As a result I can receive with a wide open heart without feeling guilty or that I owe the giver something back, and I can give to another without carrying around a hidden motive. Practice really does make progress!

Willing To Follow The Path Of Least Resistance

I am constantly reminded when I pay attention and align with nature how my life flows easier. As I reflect on the harmony of how each season of the year teaches us I can apply that wondrous balance to my personal life. We humans often look at situations that we perceive to be uncomfortable and immediately want to reject what we see, wanting to change them into something more attractive to our minds. So often we view situations as not changing fast enough on our egoic time line or a challenge presenting itself that we do not like …and we immediately want to jump in with our big stick of the illusion of control by stirring it to change the experience to what we consider more appealing. Many of us look at things as “broken” and we jump into the “I must exert my will and fix this !”

What if we learned from nature instead as the Ancient Ones did? When a tree dies the balance of nature does not freak out. Instead it waits until the complete death of the tree occurs and with time a new seedling emerges from the ground, creating new growth replacing the old as nature creates room for the newly formed young to begin its new cycle. Almost every time we jump in with our “self will and control attempts for forced change” instead of creating something beautiful we create chaos and confusion. When we are willing to accept the current situation with ease and grace, we are more likely to experience the magic of surrendering to what is in the present moment and to embrace a new beginning formed from an old pattern of behavior. This, my dear reader, is being willing to follow the path of least resistance by going with the flow. I re-visit this stage of my spiritual and life development again and again. Fortunately, for me and the best version of myself that I allow to emerge ,there are more time than not that I flow and resist fighting, allowing an acceleration of advanced stages of progress. My mantra that helps me so much: PRACTICE MAKES PROGRESS.

Some of my thoughts on how to follow the path of least resistance that I share with you are: * Instead of telling and re-telling the story that life is hard and unfair, create and happily embrace the story that the Universe is happening for me and each experience shows me how magical and incredible my life really is! * Celebrate that and those things which I currently have in my present life…in gratitude acknowledgment of everything that is going right! * Remember that childlike joy of looking up at images of incredulous amazing shapes in the clouds of dragons, rabbits, castles, and more and visualize magical events, people, and journeys coming into your life. If you can dream it, you can see it , and manifest it into fruition.

Choosing to go with the flow, living in the freedom of the path of least resistance just might show you another way to live life that you had not previously considered. When things pop up that we may call a challenge or a crisis, looking first at the positives that are right in front of us; then, taking small steps to build a stronger foundation of flowing . I like to add short periods of stillness into my daily planner along with responsibilities that I have signed up for. Getting off that phone and computer and going out into the Natural World has never failed to thrust me into the flow of that wonderful Universe that always has my back. The more I resist struggling by practicing the art of the path of least resistance, the more I get to gather oodles of experiences I did not even see coming. I will see you on the Power of Flowing!

“My life is as magical as I allow it to be”

-Jennye, the JaguarWind Adventurer

The Ancient Teachings of Winter

Since childhood I have been connected to nature. However, I must confess there have been a few times I griped and moaned about Winter. I am making a public apology to the magnificent season of Winter now for that unawakened attitude! For many years I have been aligned in a deep connection with the ancient teachings of the Fire/Water/Earth/Wind elements and with all the seasonal changes Mother Earth has provided. Each moon cycle and all equinoxes/solstices as I continue to walk my talk in my journey have opened my heart to deeper lessons and opportunities . I know many enjoy nature but do not really connect to merging as an ally with her. I continue to honor with amazement the love and resilience of Nature to patiently wait for the multitudes of the Collective (who seem to ignore ancient teachings our ancestors lived by) to awaken to the Great Teacher that Nature is. Interesting how so many when forced to go into quietude and slowness when a virus pounced upon the world seem to forget how Nature began thriving without the populous running to and fro in search of proving achievement and chasing the money have returned to who they always were. Some occasionally go to nature for respite but many just continue running around like crazed rats in a cage either chasing the almighty dollar or needing to create constant distractions in the form of a need to participate in busy-ness. Then there are those who value what nature can teach us about each of us, and how our connection with Her can show a way out of a confused world. Perhaps the few of us who daily express our accolades for ancient wisdom that never died, only was forgotten and ignored , can help the Collective to once again remember what was placed on the back burner . The Earth will go on without us but will we choose to honor her by stopping our old, arrogant and sabotaging ways? I surely hope more will join consistently in applying Nature’s teachings .

In order for a tree to survive winter its roots have to be healthy. We also need healthy roots, a strong foundation in which we can be willing to surrender into a slower time, a time of reflecting. By reflecting we are not barren …instead we have an opportunity to be nourished from the inside. So many in our world think constant action equals growth and success. Winter’s gift is to slow into grounded stillness , that secret place where dreams of coming times can be cultivated and nurtured. Learning to adapt to changes are opportunities of reflective growth. Winter teaches we can catch up on slower activities that feed us: reading, sleeping longer, embracing the inner fire element of passions and protection. Words like snuggling, intimacy with others, fuzzy clothing, inner warmth can open us like no other season can.

When we choose to go outside in Winter we find a new appreciation for the Sun who shows up occasionally, not constantly. When we embrace a rare event we may learn to appreciate it more than when we expect it all the time. When scarcity of sun, warmth, light happens in our world we learn to express our gratitude of the experience.

Nature in winter offers a new perspective that we may not have even considered. As we go deeper within just like the bear in hibernation, we just may receive internal pleasures that never came from being constantly on the go, always needing to be involved in actions and flurries of activities. .Venturing into our darker caves of retrospection we can see the gift of stillness on our ideas, on our organs, on our thoughts, and even adapt to a calmer breath of peace.

Winter can bring our connections closer to us because of the co-creation of warmth within our respective hearts. Winter is not just another season. It is an opportunity to savor enjoyable idle and still hours of joy . So, enjoy that pot of simmering soup, that cup of hot chocolate swimming in melting marshmallows, and the dormancy of a more focused life as we catch more than a glimpse of what our priorities really are, and what really matters in our relationships, our passions, and our connections with the natural world.

Choosing To Celebrate Winter Solstice

I believe I came into this world with the knowledge of ancient ancestors in my DNA. When the world slowed to a crawl in 2020 while so many (were then and still even now, glued to computers in continuous zoom meetings) I was out in the world embracing nature. Somehow I knew that was the solution and gateway to the awakening re-set we were each being called to breathe into our cellular structure. Our ancestors and elders going back millenniums valued the teaching of nature and demonstrated it through various rituals and festivals. There is not a day that passes that I am not outside connecting with the wisest teacher available…glorious Nature. I am happy that I am not the only human being who knows this truth.

Winter Solstice is the shortest day and longest night of the year occurring in the Northern Hemisphere between December 20-23 and the shortest day of the year happens in June for the Southern Hemisphere. Scientifically and astronomically, the North Pole during winter of the Northern Hemisphere is tilted aways from the sun. Need more evidence this is not some new age , hippy dippy event? On the Winter Solstice stand outside at noon and observe your shadow. It will be the longest shadow you cast! Since the North Pole is tilted away from the sun the height of the arc is low so your shadow looks long! The sun is so low on the horizon that it appears to rise and set in exactly the same place. If you study Latin you will discover “solstice” means “sun stands still”.

Winter Solstice may have been celebrated since the early Stone Age. Many ancient civilizations created and built monuments to honor this Solstice. In Ireland around 3200 B.C. a tomb called Newgrange was constructed in which a tunnel faces the solstice sunrise into a chamber with a window bathing the chamber in glorious Solstice Light for 17 minutes. In Peru on the Solstice an ancient structure shows some of the giant monkey and lizard Nasca Lines touch the spot on the horizon where the sun sets. Similar structures can be seen all over the world aligning with the Winter Solstice.

If you get off your computer and phone and go outside this year, December 21,2022 you might spot Jupiter and Saturn coming together in the sky. Was this the “Christmas Star” written about in Christian belief?

For Solstice I decorate my hearth with pine boughs, holly and red berries, white and red candles , and pine cones . Adding pieces of nature into my inner world I write my intentions to be sent out to the Universe .

Even if we each may have forgotten the teachings of ancient cultures that wisdom lives within each of us. We value and experience the changing of the seasons . Some age old rituals to complete on this years Solstice that may resonate with your old soul are: Sit with pen and paper (writing it out as opposed to typing on computer opens brain pathways of creativity) and write each attitude, belief, and self defeating patterns of behavior you wish to release in order to be the best version of yourself .Look at any behaviors that are misaligned with your core values. Write them all down. Next reflect on any grudges, resentments either very present or buried deep within . Look especially at those things you have absolutely no control over. Ask before you write what would you have to do and who would you be different if you released these things? Once finished writing, create a Solstice affirming prayer or mantra , and place it on your Solstice Altar. On the night of the Solstice, take those written items to release and burn them by the light of a candle or lantern. Light radiates purification and truth. The Winter Solstice is a time of embracing the New Light. Now write at least 5 specific things you want to be radiated by the Solstice Energies. Leave these in a special place in your home to be opened in a year on the 2023 Solstice.

The Winter Solstice holds powerful opportunities to release and expand into a transformational new Consciousness not only for us as individuals but for the Collective of Humanity. Long ago I chose new traditions at this time of year to replace the old ones, and know in my heart all the Ancestors smile at this decision.

Are You Abandoning Yourself?

Are you practicing self abandonment ? How is that possible when you are always with you, taking yourself into all relationships, all situations? When we reject, ignore our needs and conscious desires, value time and energy we give others but do not value ourselves, criticize and judge ourselves with demeaning words and thoughts, and do not choose decisions and actions in our best and highest good, we are abandoning ourselves. We may intellectually comprehend what we want and need, yet choose to abandon and ignore those very things that would demonstrate self love and self compassion.

An example of how this looks. We arrive home after hours of doing a project or working long hours. Feeling tired and low energy, we just want to veg out on the couch and chill. We get a text or a phone call from our friend who wants to vent about her finances, her partnership, or her parent. Instead of giving yourself self time after the tremendously draining day you have experienced you immediately return the text or answer the phone call. After all your friend needs your great support and comfort. You don’t want to let her down so in spite of the fact you have no energy to give one more bit to another living being, yet you engage in the conversation with this person. Not only are you teaching said friend how to treat you…that her needs always come first, but you are also abandoning your own . Now , of course , being the kind person who wants to show all your willingness to listen and be there for those we care about is not a bad way to live our life. However, when this is a chronic and consistent pattern to make others and/or the job a priority , to put yourself and your needs on the back burner (thinking you will give yourself self care later after you attend to this friend), you return that text or call. You never want to let that person down . When we repeatedly do this behavior every time we are needed by another we are creating a pattern called people pleasing. We have taught others by our actions that no matter if we are sick, exhausted, or needing what we can only give to ourselves– self care and self love– we will put our needs on hold for our partner, our friends, our loved ones, or a work/ volunteer commitment .

Another scenario: we have been a social worker or other helping occupation for many years. We awaken to the truth that what really will bring us inner contentment and happiness is to follow our dream since early adulthood of being an artist. We share that with our partner or trusted friend. The response we receive is not supportive. or they do not even respond! Instead of pursuing our dream we stuff our desires deep down within often to make things comfortable and smooth sailing for our partner/friend. This behavior is not demonstrating that we value ourselves more than the opinion of another. We are practicing self abandonment in action.

Self abandonment shows up when our culture, society, or people close to us have certain expectations of us and our real needs and desires directly oppose those expectations, and we choose to follow the expectations of others, making a conscious choice to put our own internal desires on hold.

If you resonate with the following characteristics of self abandonment , perhaps this is your wake-up call to make different choices in order to value and empower yourself.

What self abandonment looks like in daily routines and life: * Hiding pieces of your authentic self: not sharing your true feelings as you give up your goals and interests that inspire you and not trusting your choices. *People pleasing: searching for validation of who you are, what you want to do in order to please and make another happy *Squashing, running from and burying feelings of not being comfortable in your own skin through denial, avoidance, distractions, workaholism and busy-ness or using mind altering substances * Not following your core values : Going along with others to keep things peaceful even when your values are being compromised * Not verbalizing to speak up for what you need: fear of setting and reinforcing needed boundaries as you allow others in any area of your life to take advantage of you * Refusing to respect and honor your own needs and desires: No consistent self care or even believing you do not deserve self care in the present moment *Perfectionism: Only feeling secure and worthy based on how much you accomplish and get done on a daily /weekly basis

Origin of Self Abandonment is usually from our family of origin or adult role models who emotionally, physically, or mentally were not present for us. The result we carried into adulthood showed up as feeling less than, unworthy, and undeserving of love and respect. This pattern , unless resolved, creates a subconscious one in which we choose friends, bosses, partners who are unsupportive and who do not really value us . Furthermore, we apply this pattern to ourselves! We are clueless of how to be our own best friend and cheerleader in life because we had no one present for us in our developmental stages as children when self esteem, self love, self value would have been molded for the positive creation of healthy, positive patterns.

The most important relationship you will ever have is the one you have with yourself! You can choose starting right now to stop abandoning yourself and begin creating a partnership of love with yourself. Here are some ideas:

Ask before acting these questions: Is what I am about to do an act of self love without my influence of guilt, obligation, or shameful fear? If there were no others in the world but me, would I still follow through on this decision and action? What do I need right now and am I willing to either ask for it or to give it to myself?

Give yourself permission to be your true , eccentric self expressing and acting with creativity in how you dress, what you do for fun, how you pursue your passions, and how you show affection and intimacy. Choose to give yourself compassion instead of critical judgment of what you label inadequate shortcomings. Honor failures equally with successes. Who lives in your head that demands you must be perfect?

Finally, listen to your body and notice your feelings when you feel challenged. Know that all humans at times suffer and have difficult stages in life. When we acknowledge this, we are more likely to connect with others who also are demonstrating they, too , are human. Above all else be your number One cheerleader and advocate. When we stand up for ourself we teach others to do the same for themselves! Aren’t we after all worth it!

A Partnership With Stillness

For much of my earlier life as soon as I arrived home I turned on the television. As soon as I got in the car I turned on the radio. I grew up in a household in which the news was blaring from tv during dinner. I adapted quickly ever since I emerged from my Mother’s dark womb into a world of noise: ambulances, traffic, public schools with loud lunches coming from everyone talking simultaneously, even talking to people while I took walks in the woods! Even while attending meetings I had challenges when periods of silence occurred among participants!

I was clueless that environmental noise could cause difficulty falling asleep, waking up too early, alteration of rapid eye movement, impacting ability to focus and concentrate on most activities, affecting the ability to listen to another’s communications, and causing mood swings, memory and attention levels! Research has shown even loud noises affect animals in their navigation in space, finding food, attracting mates, and avoiding predators!

I started learning to meditate around 40 years ago. I know initially it was challenging. For such a long time I lived in my head and being totally quiet, still, and exuding my Type A personality of believing I had to be actively busy to feel productive took a long time to change. Mindfulness took longer. Over time as I set the intention to live my life differently I made choices that surprised me! I began craving quietude instead of filling my life with noise. I eliminated all televisions from my home. I began getting in my car and not turning on any music or talk radio. I walked into my home and enjoyed the quietude.

Setting intentions of stillness had begun long before the world came to a crawl in 2020. I had an awakening that stemmed from deep within that nature was always trying to teach me the art and practice of listening. Not having to constantly be moving paired with noise was such a surprise to my system! At one time when I began partnering with stillness I wanted to be there all the time, like a Zen being sitting on a mountaintop in Tibet. This seems to be the way I choose change or change chooses me…I want this new way to be the only way I live so I fill every waking moment with the new manner…obsessing about I must do this more and often. Then slowly balance comes and I can choose to mix the new in with other aspects of my life. In my new found partnership I learned gradually stillness and quietude at times–music and other sounds at other times.

Recently I moved from living in a very isolated area of woods and wildlife and relocated to a small town living in a neighborhood. I thought I would have a hard time getting used to ambulance sirens, traffic , other noises, but surprisingly because I have partnered with stillness I am at peace with it all. Just like I would never just want to hang with a physical human partner all the time, I do not want to be in stillness all the time. I do start every morning with my Stillness as my chosen Partner and it grounds me , empowering me to fit into a world of peace. Over the past few years I have again been engaging with noise but too much of it is still a distraction. I pay attention to my body, my inner messages , and follow through when quietude is needed. I still do not own a tv, but I do listen to streaming on my computer. As with every other aspect for me moderation is the secret. I have not returned to my Type A personality. I can be talkative. I can be listening. I can be quiet. The interesting reveal was my truth that doing NOTHING is productive! Some days I just sit and live only in the present moment not needing to be doing…just enjoying being. I thought I had to be a busyaholic even in play. My Stillness Partnership opened a new world I did not know even existed: and, the year the world came to a screeching halt of slowness accentuated this amazing way to live. Still a student in learning of what does and does not resonate, knowing I will always relish change, and trying things out before I dismiss them with the old way of thinking it will not work for me, I am most every day comfortable in my own skin.

That Which We Experience Happens For Us!

For much of my life I wanted to find validation and confirmation that I was accepted for who I was. It is not so much I wanted to conform to be a duplication of others because I did not feel this way. I wanted to be my quirky self and know that personality I exuded to the world was not broken, not defective, not needing fixed. My search for this went across many adventures in this thing I call life. I joined groups of who I thought were like minded until I finally discovered what I really needed were the like hearted! I tried mind altering substances, various Spiritual Practices, read tons of self improvement books, listened to motivational speakers, traveled to sacred places, and still searched for that validation that I was ok. I participated in group after group, went to sweat lodges and consulted authentic shamans. I was a rebel, a fighter of what seemed to be injustices happening to me!

I ,at one time, believed the collective was right…that things happened TO not FOR us until I discovered the secret hidden away in a locked treasure chest of truth. I held this belief UNTIL I became aligned with this fact: Life situations happen FOR us not TO us!

When I was a reactor as opposed to a responder, those things I called challenges that presented themselves were in my skewed perception happening “to” me. Then when I shifted my conscious understanding that all is an opportunity , (and it is all an opportunity) I began to see the benefit of responding with gratitude instead of resisting and fighting with reactions. There have been many times I kept holding on with claw marks attached to a variety of people, situations, attitudes, soap boxes to those that maybe once served me but in the present are only blocking me. It took me a while to wake up to see what was true: the problem was that person I saw staring back in the mirror: ME and my rigid, unmoving ideas!

How do we know the Universe and/or Source is showing us we would benefit by letting go, surrendering? It is almost always those things that are not working and flowing…those things we keep trying to force to work out mustering the greatest amount of the false illusion of control we push and ram our proverbial “my way or the highway” to get them and it to be the way we demand it. We may even say to ourselves, but I must find a way to make this work! In those times I am willing to wager we think the Universe is happening “to” us.

On the other side of this spectrum when the challenge or deep desires we insist on achieving is met by us living in the present moment, exhaling with a loud sigh, and embracing the fact this is happening “FOR” us, we might finally accept and see how amazingly powerful letting go of our old way of doing life , and listening to the messages presented by the Natural World of a different way to approach anything and anyone can offer freedom. Trust me, freedom is one of my greatest core values.

Where I am in my current life is doing my happy dance (most of the time ) knowing life is magical and mystical, always working with me , not against me. Once I stop being so adamantly stubborn to keep doing what I have always done resulting in getting what I have always gotten and looking back on every situation I have been fortunate to live through, I see without a doubt, it happened FOR me, and as a result I am comfortable in my own skin and a conscious responder. Whew…that exhale felt so good!!!

Lessons Of Autumn

As long as I can remember Autumn has been my favorite season. Memories of the excitement of leaves turning brilliant oranges, golden brown, and reds as the weather where I grew up on the East Coast of America began cooling. A time for pulling out fall jackets and sweaters, bon fires, and football games were rituals.

The ancient cultures embraced the change of seasons by observing and listening to the messages of each . In today’s world of hustling and bustling to prove our productivity and chasing the almighty dollar as a marker of personal success many have forgotten the teachings of what our ancestors knew . The Natural World sits patiently still offering master lessons to those who honor what Nature freely is willing to teach us.

Autumn offers a time of surrendering following a joyful busy summer and gathering of an abundant harvest of gratitude for all the passions the element of Fire has presented . As we move deeper into the Earth element of Autumn we feel the emotions of a short cycle of the green growth of leaves transforming into a vibrant array of colors then falling onto sacred ground as brown remnants of what was. We may begin feeling our internal surrendering of what has passed either in honoring the cycle of letting go of pieces no longer needed in our respective lives or resist the changes that are inevitable as we try desperately to hang on to old attitudes, relationships that have long past the time of needing to be severed and our skewed misperceptions of who we and others truly are. Choices always are for our denial or taking.

When we are willing to honestly use this season to inventory and assess our imbalances holding us back from moving forward so we can become a better version of ourselves, we will remember why we love Autumn so much! The ways of our ancestors do live in our blood, in our DNA. Learning to incorporate the opportunity of Autumn’s blessing of surrendering and re-assessing our intentions in the non duality of giving and receiving may bring up a need to grieve and a need to clear out stale aspects of our inner world. We may ask consciously in our quiet reflections what is it we need to honor in ourselves in our current evolution and where are we demonstrating an imbalance . Willingness to check in with our true selves before the darker days of winter coming will match the gift of Autumn in Nature showing us we can sit in integrity without having to plant new seeds or harvest new crops.

Autumn ..my favorite season ,offers each of us a gift to let go, to grieve any losses, and to flow with the changes without a need to control any outcomes or need to know how the future will look. Truly this transformational season is a special blessing.

What If You Knew You Could Live An Amazing Life ?

I spent much energy and thought on how my life could be better. At some points I thought it would be better if I had more of this or that. Then at other times I was sure if I had less ..less stuff, less responsibilities, less thinking, less time to get it all done in what was left of my life. When I became part of the world changing due to a repetition of something the past world before my time had already experienced , and (was yet again being given another opportunity to become willing to do a re-set) I thought just maybe I needed to be doing my life differently. I kept hearing in my mind: STOP trying to figure it out. STOP judging the outcome. STOP needing to know how it or anyone will turn out, act, cope, or look while experiencing this game called life.

When businesses closed and the world slowed to a crawl I had a choice as did everyone…slip into complete anxiety and fear or glide into stillness and reflection. I did the former first but only for a little while. Stillness in nature invited me to join Her on a new adventure. Being in quietude for hours and days at a time with Nature was quite different. I want you to Know that I had been meditating for a few decades, hanging out in woods and forests, went on personal retreats yearly, and had journaled since I was 7 years old. This, though was different. I asked myself what if this re-set was just about my discovering I could live an amazing life without needing a book or the rules and steps to do so? Where did that idea come from anyway and what did it matter in the first place?

One solution which has been present in my life as long I can remember is what I call probing. I probe by asking myself questions. The question that helps me the most is this one: What brings me the most joy and what am I passionate about? Easy, peasy: It is creativity. When I am not being creative I feel like one of the un-dead zombies. Way back in the sixties people talked about creative visualization. I remembered if I could create in my mind and picture myself actually bringing to life situations using my imagination, I always felt better. I did this as a kid lying in the grass on my back talking to clouds and trees, creating little beings or big ones out of shadows. I today call this magic. Creativity opens our minds, solves problems, and puts us right in the center of living in the present moment!

My next probe came out of magical creativity. I asked myself what if there were no limits to what I could create, and furthermore, what if I began creating this magical life without boundaries and did not care who judged me for doing it? One of the fears I had carried around since childhood was a fear that people judged me because they did not approve of not only my magical creations but did not approve of my choices and basically did not approve of who I was! Once I really got this in a midnight light bulb moment, I began surrendering …I surrendered in bits and pieces the need to know what people were going to think about me (and of course most kept that judgment to themselves …and perhaps I would not have even known how I was being judged if it had not been for the fact that my creativity was sandwiched in between my strong intuition !) My intuition blasted out to me who the judgers were. For a while this brought up my being uncomfortable in my own skin. I did not want to believe The Who that was shown to me. You see, though, my love and passion for creativity by now had bled into every area of my life, and the need to be creative became stronger than allowing those judging me based on their unresolved inner self conflicts which were being projected onto me! I was now seeing the inequality of different relationships . It was not that I was mad or even disappointed with those I had tolerated . I was just over it. I walked away from many. I knew I could create equal areas in all my life..not just in a few areas! Then the big news awakened me and made my heart sing loudly upon the realization. Knowing what I loved (creative magic) had led me down a pathway I never knew was possible. New partnerships and friendships emerged.

Magic happens to those who believe in it. Way back when I was only using my imagination to create beings from shadows I was being led to embrace a new way of living, a new way of being. When we set the intention (and intention I believe is 99.9% of manifestations) to live an amazing life, and we focus on that repeatedly( even in spite of fears swirling around in our bellies) the Universe will match us, and our internal intentions become external truths.

I ask you now Do you want to live an amazing life? What makes your heart sing and are you willing to do that thing 24/7 ? Try it for one week and see what happens. What do you have to lose?