May 19th, 2017

May 19th, 2017


Affirmation:  Never give up, for that is just the time and place the tide will turn.

I find my way in the world with curiosity and ease.


Word of the Day: lanuginous (adj):

1. covered with down or fine soft hair

sophistry (n):

1. a subtle, tricky, superficially plausible, but generally fallacious method of reasoning.

2. a false argument; sophism.

The Pickaxe (1)

Some commentary on 

I was a hidden treasure,

and I desired to be known.

Tear down this house.

A hundred thousand new houses can be built

from the transparent yellow carnelian

buried beneath it, and the only way to get to that

is to do the work of demolition,

and then the digging beneath the foundation.

With that value in hand all the new construction

will be done without effort. And anyway, sooner or later,

the house will fall on its own.

The jewel treasure will be uncovered,

but it will not be yours then.

The buried wealth is your pay

for doing the demolition,

the pick and shovel work.

If you wait and just let it happen,

you will bite your hand and say,

I did not do as I knew I should have.

The Pickaxe (2)

This is a rented house.

You do not own the deed.

You have a lease, and you have set up

a little shop where you barely make a living

sewing patches on torn clothing.

Yet only a few feet underneath

are two veins, pure red and bright gold carnelian.

Quick. Take the pickaxe and pry the foundation.

You have got to quit this seamstress work.

What does the patch-sewing mean, you ask.

Eating and drinking. The heavy cloak

of the body is always getting torn.

You patch it with food

and other restless ego-satisfactions.

Rip up one board from the floor

and look into the basement.

You may see two glints in the dirt.

_____

Affirmation:  Never give up, for that is just the time and place the tide will turn.

I find my way in the world with curiosity and ease.


Word of the Day: lanuginous (adj):

1. covered with down or fine soft hair

sophistry (n):

1. a subtle, tricky, superficially plausible, but generally fallacious method of reasoning.

2. a false argument; sophism.

The Pickaxe (1)

Some commentary on 

I was a hidden treasure,

and I desired to be known.

Tear down this house.

A hundred thousand new houses can be built

from the transparent yellow carnelian

buried beneath it, and the only way to get to that

is to do the work of demolition,

and then the digging beneath the foundation.

With that value in hand all the new construction

will be done without effort. And anyway, sooner or later,

the house will fall on its own.

The jewel treasure will be uncovered,

but it will not be yours then.

The buried wealth is your pay

for doing the demolition,

the pick and shovel work.

If you wait and just let it happen,

you will bite your hand and say,

I did not do as I knew I should have.

The Pickaxe (2)

This is a rented house.

You do not own the deed.

You have a lease, and you have set up

a little shop where you barely make a living

sewing patches on torn clothing.

Yet only a few feet underneath

are two veins, pure red and bright gold carnelian.

Quick. Take the pickaxe and pry the foundation.

You have got to quit this seamstress work.

What does the patch-sewing mean, you ask.

Eating and drinking. The heavy cloak

of the body is always getting torn.

You patch it with food

and other restless ego-satisfactions.

Rip up one board from the floor

and look into the basement.

You may see two glints in the dirt.

_____

On Forgiveness 

Forgiveness is one of the most universal and transformational experiences we have as human beings. The theme of forgiveness has been playing out in my life a lot in the past few weeks and I've spent quite a while reflecting upon its lessons in my life and what it means to me. I came across a children's book that so poignantly  addresses this topic and I was so moved by it that I couldn't wait to share it with you all. I love children's books and truly believe that some of  life's most profound and important "truths" are found nestled in their pages. Here is an excerpt from “The Little Soul and the Sun” by Neale Donald Walsch:

___________

"I know what I want to be," the Little Soul announced to God with great excitement. "I want to be the part of special called 'forgiving'. Isn't it special to be forgiving?"

"Oh, yes," God assured the Little Soul. "That is very special."

"Okay," said the Little Soul. "That's what I want to be. I want to be forgiving. I want to experience myself as that."

"Good," said God, "but there's one thing you should know."

The Little Soul was becoming a bit impatient now. It always seemed as though there were some complication.

"What is it?" the Little Soul sighed.

"There is no one to forgive."

"No one?" the Little Soul could hardly believe what had been said.

"No one!" God repeated. "Everything I have made is perfect. There is not a single soul in all creation less perfect than you. Look around you."

It was then that the Little Soul realized a large crowd had gathered. Souls had come from far and wide ~ from all over the Kingdom ~ for the word had gone forth that the Little Soul was having this extraordinary conversation with God, and everyone wanted to hear what they were saying. Looking at the countless other souls gathered there, the Little Soul had to agree. None appeared less wonderful, less magnificent, or less perfect than the Little Soul itself. Such was the wonder of the souls gathered around, and so bright was their Light, that the Little Soul could scarcely gaze upon them.

"Who, then, to forgive?" asked God.

"Boy, this is going to be no fun at all!" grumbled the Little Soul. "I wanted to experience myself as One Who Forgives. I wanted to know what that part of special felt like."

And the Little Soul learned what it must feel like to be sad. But just then a Friendly Soul stepped forward from the crowd.

"Not to worry, Little Soul," the Friendly Soul said, "I will help you."

"You will?" the Little Soul brightened. "But what can you do?"

"Why, I can give you someone to forgive!"

"You can?"

"Certainly!" chirped the Friendly Soul. "I can come into your next lifetime and do something for you to forgive."

"But why? Why would you do that?" the Little Soul asked. "You, who are a Being of such utter perfection! You, who vibrate with such a speed that it creates a Light so bright that I can hardly gaze upon you! What could cause you to want to slow down your vibration to such a speed that your bright Light would become dark and dense? What could cause you ~ who are so light that you dance upon the stars and move through the Kingdom with the speed of your thought--to come into my life and make yourself so heavy that you could do this bad thing?"

"Simple," the Friendly Soul said. "I would do it because I love you."

The Little Soul seemed surprised at the answer.

"Don't be so amazed," said the Friendly Soul, "you have done the same thing for me. Don't you remember? Oh, we have danced together, you and I, many times. Through the eons and across all the ages have we danced. Across all time and in many places have we played together. You just don't remember."

"We have both been All Of It. We have been the Up and the Down of it, the Left and the Right of it. We have been the Here and the There of it, the Now and the Then of it. We have been the male and the female, the good and the bad; we have both been the victim and the villain of it."

"Thus have we come together, you and I, many times before; each bringing to the other the exact and perfect opportunity to Express and to Experience Who We Really Are. And so," the Friendly Soul explained further, "I will come into your next lifetime and be the 'bad one' this time. I will do something really terrible, and then you can experience yourself as the One Who Forgives.

"But what will you do?" the Little Soul asked, just a little nervously, "that will be so terrible?"

"Oh," replied the Friendly Soul with a twinkle, "we'll think of something."

Then the Friendly Soul seemed to turn serious, and said in a quiet voice, "You are right about one thing, you know."

"What is that?" the Little Soul wanted to know.

"I will have to slow down my vibration and become very heavy to do this not-so-nice thing. I will have to pretend to be something very unlike myself. And so, I have but one favor to ask of you in return."

"Oh, anything, anything!" cried the Little Soul, and began to dance and sing, "I get to be forgiving, I get to be forgiving!"

Then the Little Soul saw that the Friendly Soul was remaining very quiet.

"What is it?" the Little Soul asked. "What can I do for you? You are such an angel to be willing to do this for me!"

"Of course this Friendly Soul is an angel!" God interrupted. "Everyone is! Always remember: I have sent you nothing but angels."

And so the Little Soul wanted more than ever to grant the Friendly Soul's request. "What can I do for you?" the Little Soul asked again.

"In the moment that I strike you and smite you," the Friendly Soul replied, "in the moment that I do the worst to you that you could possible imagine ~ in that very moment . . ."

"Yes?" the Little Soul interrupted, "yes . . . ?"

"Remember Who I Really Am," said the Friendly Soul.

"Oh, I will!" cried the Little Soul, "I promise! I will always remember you as I see you right here, right now!"

"Good," said the Friendly Soul, "because, you see, I will have been pretending so hard, I will have forgotten myself. And if you do not remember me as I really am, I may not be able to remember for a very long time. And if I forget Who I Am, you may even forget Who You Are, and we will both be lost. Then we will need another soul to come along and remind us both of Who We Are."

"No, we won't!" the Little Soul promised again. "I will remember you! And I will thank you for bringing me this gift ~ the chance to experience myself as Who I Am.

"And so, the agreement was made. And the Little Soul went forth into a new lifetime, excited to be the Light, which was very special, and excited to be that part of special called Forgiveness.

And the Little Soul waited anxiously to be able to experience itself as Forgiveness, and to thank whatever other soul made it possible. And at all the moments in that new lifetime, whenever a new soul appeared on the scene, whether that new soul brought joy or sadness--and especially if it brought sadness--the Little Soul thought of what God had said.

"Always remember," God had smiled, "I have sent you nothing but angels."

___________

I know that the word "God" might make some readers bristle or feel uncomfortable. If this is your experience, I urge you to look beyond the semantics to the intention and message in this story. As well, I would love to hear your thoughts/ feedback!

- What does forgiveness mean to you? What have been your experiences with forgiving and being forgiven?

- What are some of your favorite children's books?

May 17th, 2017

May 17th, 2017


Affirmation:  I honor my mind, my body, and my spirit every day.


Word of the Day: hypostatize (v):

1. to treat or regard (a concept, idea, etc.) as a distinct substance or reality.

holus-bolus (n):

1. all at once; altogether.

The Uses of Fear

A donkey turning a millstone is not trying

to press oil from sesame seed. He is fleeing the blow

that was just struck and hoping to avoid the next.

For the same reason, the ox takes a load

of baggage wherever you want him to.

Shopkeepers work for themselves,

not for the flow of communal exchange.

We look to ease our pain, and this keeps civilization

moving along. Fear is the architect here.

Fear keeps us working near the ark.

Some human beings are safe a havens.

Be companions with them. Others may seem to be friends,

but they are really consuming your esssence

like donkeys lapping sherbert. Detrach from them,

and feel your flexibility returning.

The inner moisture that lets you bend

into a basket handle is a quickening inside

that no one is ever afraid of.

Sometimes though, it is fear, a contracting,

that brings you into the presence.

_____

Leadership, Part II

I'd like to share some additional insights about leadership that I've learned from my yoga teacher (from Yoga Teacher Training last summer).

An important role of a leader (which I would presume applies to parents, as well), is to set a positive example for those around them. At the same time, leaders must also understand that appearing “perfect” is impossible and toxic to both themselves and others (not to mention frustrating!).

Effective and transformation leaders do not get everything right and they do not appear or pretend to, either. Crucially, however, they do not attempt to dismiss, belittle, or argue for their weaknesses. Leaders actively and creatively strive to identify their blind spots and biases. And they accept full responsibility for the consequences and outcomes of their blind spots.

Leaders are not without fear, but they are willing even in the face of fear, to be blind, make mistakes, and be vulnerable. Leaders are willing to hold themselves and others accountable for standards that are not always met with exquisite ease. Leaders are driven in this way because they are motivated by a purpose and mission that is larger than the desire to conform or to prove something to somebody.

In evaluating your leadership decisions, it can be helpful to ask yourself:

"Do I defend myself even when I know I have messed up?" (And, similarly, what situations trigger defensiveness in me?)

"Is looking good a strong motivation for me here?"

"Do I feel justified shirking my agreements because I perceive someone else shirking theirs?"

Asking ourselves these things is a great way to create chinks in the ego's armor. The ego (which I will write more about in subsequent posts) is not a bad thing in and of itself. However, we can all be better leaders – in our families, business, or other areas of our lives – when we get underneath our ego's shell and figure out what is really going on underneath the surface.

We have all made mistakes in our past. While our life experiences contain a treasure trove of wisdom worth sharing and applying, they also contain a disarray of assumptions, projections, misconceptions, ideas, and instincts that do not necessarily function in the ways we believe they do. It is much like scar tissue: randomly layered material designed to efficiently patch up the inevitable "WTF" of living.

Though it is common and sometimes instinctive to think of our scars as the truth of our past, approaching our history from this perspective can help us tap into the power and potentiality of thinking and speaking of our past is a way that makes it more like a treasure and less like damage.