Sunday, December 16, 2012
Guns Don't Matter
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
The Music Never Stops
About once a decade, musicians gather together and pool their incredible talents in a single concert broadcast around the world to raise relief funds for some disaster. It’s impossible not to be swept up in the magic of the moment.
For a brief time, there’s no “us” or “Them”, no rich or poor, white, black or Latino. The world is united and everyone is giving. It’s all about giving, all about heart.
I love to watch the emotions of celebrities who have so much be so thrilled to pitch in and offer their share. Squabbles subside. Struggles seem trivial compared to the bigger picture and every one knows it.
There was much talk today about celebrating on this perfect day of 12-12-12, but the concert tonight brings smiles far beyond expectations. When people really give from their hearts, they find a sweet euphoria.
Even the tragedy is celebrated.
The hard work is set aside. The tears are less in sorrow and more for gratitude. Somehow, no matter how tough things are, when people come together, they find a strength in community that makes everything alright.
The heroism is acclaimed. The survivors become thrivers. Hope becomes manifest and all becomes possible.
And the music is pretty good too!
In Love
We're down to just a matter of days now before the acclaimed
date of December 21, 2012. Already, as I
write this in most parts of the world, it is the symmetrical and picture
perfect 12-12-12.
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Realignment
Saturday, November 24, 2012
Round and Rounder
This is a weekend of gratitude.
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Pick a Little, Talk a Little
The transformation of our lives is not an easy process. We want to think there is a distinct “before” and “after”, a beginning and end. We want it to be something we get through and then are done with, free and clear on the other side of trouble and lack.
Time proves, however, that the transformation is never truly complete. Even our death, apparently, is not an end, but simply a shift into a new way of being, a reincarnation, a spiritual dance in another dimension, or just the leisurely nine lives of a cat, resting up before beginning all over again.
In truth, we move from these moments to moments, experiencing the highs and lows sometimes in perfect and exhilarating understanding and others mystified and oblivious. We crave purpose and meaning and sometimes act in ways that utterly defy logic. We yearn for definition in everything and celebrate magic in the most important.
Life is a mystery and our faith in everything and nothing keeps us going.
This tirade is born out of a weekend of frustration, stumbling along with no real purpose, motivation or imagination. For no understandable reason and despite surroundings of hope and prosperity, I went through the motions of participation and internally despaired.
Since my conversation with the wonderful astrologer Tom Lescher last month, I have been on a spiritual vacation. The hiatus was neither planned nor comfortable, but simply evolved out of earthly distractions and requirements that focused my attention directly on the steps right in front of me. One foot in front of the other, one moment to the next, in the now, but more drone-like than monk, I have persevered.
Having professed and committed to the idea that abundance is directly related to the pursuit of passion, it was disturbing to notice in how many ways I have been abandoning those very activities reacquired that make me feel so passionate and powerful. It culminated this weekend in a lethargy so frustrating, darkness and dawns came and went and fear mounted that my purpose seemed to wallow in a state of non-purpose.
Like an Escher print that has two different images, depending on our focus, my world hovered between two perceptions. No matter how much I celebrated the one intellectually, my heart seemed sobered by a more dismal projection.
Movement seems to be a key to relinquishing the chains. Instead of moping and staying settled in the darkness, shaking myself physically was the antidote to the doldrums that had weighed so heavily. I played soccer. I forced myself through some chores that had been necessary. I drove myself in circles around town and tried not to worry about it, but allowed the pleasure of the golden leaves to be enough.
Most importantly, in these rougher times, judgment should be suspended. If we allow the flow to stop flowing once in a while and settle in to the darkness, the dawn of a new day can seem quite beautiful and a welcome transformation from the troubled and sleep-depriving thoughts. A month without writing essays or networking emails does not necessarily portend regression, but can simply be a re-alignment, a change of pitchers or just one of those precious nine lives of resting cashed in as part of an auspicious purpose.
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Lightshine
Upon hearing that I am looking for a roommate to help with
expenses now that my son is off to college, a well-meaning friend advised that
I should choose someone young, fresh and full of energy.
Friday, April 6, 2012
Rising Moon Over Disorientation
The full moon energy is strong tonight. Mercury is retrograde for another week. In Vermont, we've already had May and it's only April.
On an earthly plane, very few words have been scribbled on this blog or notes strummed on my guitar in the past few months. The creative energy is on hold while I wrestle (once again) with the effort to pay bills on the table and gas in the car.
Intently focused for days in a row on that purpose, on the specific and unending tasks of putting order into my life, by tonight, my ability to concentrate seems to have vanished and I wander around in a daze. Doing a little carpentry, I can't find my tape measure. Researching the internet for details to put in a content article, I stare at the screen unable to discern which link I should click.
Where do I want to go anyway?
It is so easy for us to get lost in our minds, swept away by events of the day and endless tasks that must be accomplished. Our minds are focused and concentrated, yet we seem to be on auto-pilot, cerebrally detached from the activities in front of us.
The phrase "Stop and smell the roses" comes to mind. In this fog of over-activity, it is important to look around and remind yourself what this effort is for. We are so constantly bombarded with information and demands for our attention, we can lose sight of the real treasures. The love for what we do can fade into invisibility.
Breathe.
Turn away from the computer. Pull to the side of the road. Turn off the television. Lay down your tool. Look at the sky. Take in the magnificent wonder of the full moon as it rises over your life and reassures you that there is something deeper, far more powerful going on.
Sit down and stare at the water trickling past in a stream alongside or even out of the faucet. Drink of the sustenance that nature provides in every moment if we can only remember to consider its beauty. In every day, there must be moments when the rush and hustle of activity is suspended to exercise the vital organs within.
Full or new, the moon shines on us with love. The sun radiantly infuses us with energy. The spectacular mountain rising overhead is no more grand than the intricate anthill and its complex system of order and chaos. In every moment, there is the opportunity to rediscover the miracle of our lives.
Whether I write, sing or simply appreciate it in the silent moment of my own self, pausing to regenerate my spirit is the ultimate activity that makes all the rest productive with meaning instead of just one more over-whelming task.
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Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Guest Post: Kate Loving Shenk
As I have been so very busy of late pursuing other projects, I am pleased to present Kate Loving Shenk, an internet friend of mine met last summer through a telesummit about writing transformational books. Kate is leaping forward with fierce determination to spread good prayers in the world and I invite you to get to know her work a little better.
(There's a pause button on the music icon to the right so you can hear her better)
Welcome to day # 3 of the Prayer Prescription: Spiritual Remedies For Long
Lasting Health Virtual Book Tour! Kip is gracious to feature my book on his
blog today, and I thank him very much.
I joke around in this video about
Zen and the Art of the Prayer Prescription, a take off on Kip's own book, Zen
And The Art Of The Mid-Life Crisis. Let's face it, we all have such a
crisis, at one time if not more times in our lives. I started writing prayers as
a last ditch attempt to save my own life, because various family issues were
looming precariously over a cliff, and my beloved dogs were soon going to pass
on to the next dimension.
Writing prayers has a calming effect on the
psyche. When the inside is at peace, nothing on the outside can go wrong. The
harmonizing effect of prayer tends to quiet the mind and brings peace to every
other mind, also. It truly is a miracle.
Thank you for celebrating the
publication of my book with Kip and me. The book is due for publication in mid
to end of May.
-=-=-=-=-=
I'd like you to stop by my author blog.
There's a lot going on there and we'll have an opportunity to connect there.
Please be sure to introduce yourself!
http://katelovingshenk.com
Kate has been a practicing
RN/CRNP for 28 years, and currently acts as a Labor And Delivery Nurse, which is
very special, indeed.
Additionally, Kate is planning further “Prayer
Prescriptions” books surrounding aging gracefully and Prayer Prescriptions
For The Love Of Our Companion Animals.
Monday, February 27, 2012
The Proof is in the Coffee
Like duct tape, Coffee, it seems, can cure anything.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
New Year Revolution
With six loads of laundry folded before the sun was even up
on New Years morning, I wish I could say I had felt accomplished. The truth, however, was that in that damp
dark dawn we call a holiday, I was awake too early and alert with fear and
worry about what may or may not lie ahead.