Awakening – Page 5 – Laughing Medicine Woman

November 30, 2011November 30, 2011

Lit From Within – Awakening

I’ve seen them. These are the ones who seem to give off their own radiance as though the sun and stars shine inside their words and eyes and actions. It doesn’t matter what is happening around them, they engage with an alert curiosity. Everything to them is interesting. When they talk, their passion for life is infectious; by osmosis, it seems, an eagerness for living spreads to anyone nearby. Often, they are the success stories of our culture, but it isn’t the light shined on them by success that drives them. It is that they are lit from within.

And I ask myself what inspired the awakening of the inner light within them?

In our western culture, we are raised to look outward. To build our hopes and dreams based on what we see in the world around us. To measure our successes by the approval of the world around us. To define our worth in comparison to the world around us. But these people who are lit from within…they found another way, another focus, another source for inspiration and desire to find and guide them. Continue reading “Lit From Within – Awakening”

October 24, 2011November 1, 2011

A Fluid Mind and an Open Heart – Awakening

I wrote recently that remembering and awakening are the same. By this, I meant that the process of expanding consciousness, awakening, is as much — if not more — remembering who we are than becoming more than we were.

For me, this begs the question: what and when did I forget? In other words, are there clues as to what is relevant to remember? I asked this question in meditation, and the answer I got was: yes, remember a fluid mind and an open heart.

A fluid mind. I pondered the qualities of mind that moves like water, and I came up with this list: Continue reading “A Fluid Mind and an Open Heart – Awakening”

August 5, 2011August 6, 2011

The Teacher Within – Recognition of Awakening

We can talk about our “Inner Being”, and we can philosophize forever on where the sacred Voice Within originates. We can intellectually exercise and expand the concept of Guidance into forever and beyond. Still, it seems to me, there is only one question that bears fruit in its answer:

How do we recognize the Teacher Within?

If there is a wisdom abiding within our Being, functioning from behind what our conscious mind interprets as outside ourselves, how do we access it? We have so many ‘voices’ playing commentator to our experiences – I know I do, anyway – how do we discern which voice speaks from Greater Intelligence amongst the voices that reflect well-worn opinions and biases? These questions draw the line in the sand. We can talk about it endlessly, but – at some point – we have to start listening to begin to understand the nuances of what it means. Continue reading “The Teacher Within – Recognition of Awakening”

July 21, 2011July 21, 2011

Nature – The Infallible Teacher

Learning is the skill with which we are born. From the moment (and perhaps even before) of first consciousness, we are gathering and integrating information. Early on, our minds begin to formulate questions and seek answers. It is a continual process, from figuring out how to take that first breath and throughout every experience of life. And so, by association, do we have teachers all throughout our lives. Whether by default or intention, there is always someone or some experience adding to the information we integrate to evolve.

Think about this: In whatever circumstance we find ourselves engaging or whomever we find ourselves associating, the type of teacher/teaching is defined. Continue reading “Nature – The Infallible Teacher”

June 6, 2011July 30, 2011

John of God Vlog – Arrival in Abadiania

9000+ miles in in just under 17 hours; It’s a miracle of modern technology. We’re here! The 1.5 drive from the airport in Brasilia to Abadiania is a quiet time. Neither Alan or I have much to say after our red-eye flight so watch the Brazilian world go by in silence. Alan, I think, is sleeping with his eyes open. I am reflecting on the last time we drove this route and eagerly anticipating each marker along the road that I remember.

12 days we are here, and I am excited on so many levels: Continue reading “John of God Vlog – Arrival in Abadiania”

May 21, 2011June 21, 2011

Meditate Yourself Awake

I started reading self-hypnosis books when I was nine years old. I didn’t associate the practice of putting myself into a relaxed state – and making suggestions to myself in that state – as anything akin to the concept of meditation. Indeed, I don’t think I’d ever heard the term at that point in my life. All I knew then was that mind power, and how to influence it, fascinated me at an early age. It still does.

The first time I heard meditation described to me was during the TM movement, and the stories were amazing – levitation, group telepathy, inner peace. All experiences I wanted… But. The idea of sitting until I found an ‘inner stillness’ boggled my mind even more than the idea of levitating. The practice, itself, seemed too daunting for me. I could spend an hour writing affirmations – focusing and visualizing on their outcomes – much easier than I could disengage my active mind from thinking. And, as I understood it then, stopping thought was the key to unlocking these states of advanced mind capacity.

I understand differently now. Continue reading “Meditate Yourself Awake”

April 28, 2011

Choices in the Perspective of Awakening

If your arms are too long, then are the legs too short?

Or do you keep hands in pocket and act nonchalant?

Or become a trapeze artist where arms are an asset?

Choices.

So many of them – each a brick in the foundation of an attitude.

Once I was so confused, I flipped a coin, and it said:

Surrender.

The bricks crumbled, adn the wall tumbled.

On the other side of an attitude I found Being.

“Now I Am,” say the arms, “Life is too short.”

April 18, 2011May 6, 2011

Evolution; Change is the Constant of an Awakening Mind

Have you noticed?

Something is always changing.. the sun across the sky, trends in fashion, what we eat for lunch, the newest type of smart-phone. An endless array of shifting sands in the details of day-to-day living.

Bodies change. I watch as experience and gravity mold and remold my countenance and shape. I call this the evolution of aging; some of the changes I welcome – like wisdom and a generally more accepting and relaxed perspective. Some I find disorienting – Where did my capacity to jump and run and hike for miles and miles go? Why didn’t I know then this is how it would be now? Some changes take me by surprise. Continue reading “Evolution; Change is the Constant of an Awakening Mind”

April 4, 2011April 4, 2011

I See You – the Clear Field of Ho’oponopono

This note is for you, my friend (and you know who you are).

I see you. Not your education nor the Life experiences that shape your perspective. I see you.

Peel away the layers of opinion. Wipe away the distortions of the personality that settle like grime on glass. Take away the defensive stances and declarations for limitation. Release the impulse to hide behind any of it.

Because I see you.

Clear and fresh, flowing like a mountain spring. Your clarity refreshes me and nourishes my sensibilities. Continue reading “I See You – the Clear Field of Ho’oponopono”

February 3, 2011March 3, 2011

Faith in the Future – Optimism in Politics

politics, optimism, faith, law of attraction

What a gift the future is! Indeed, it’s the present wrapped in tantalizing papers and bows awaiting the perfect moment of ‘presentation’.

The future beckons. We are like the flowers unfurling in the NOW of this moment while we ever turn towards the sun. The future is like the sun, attracting us towards it with the promise of nourishing light.

And, still, there is the paradox. There is always some amount of faith required to enjoy the promises of the future. The flower must continue to evolve through the night, trusting the warmth of the sun to reappear.

Continue reading “Faith in the Future – Optimism in Politics”