Wednesday, Aug 17, 2016

Energy Musings. Here. Now.

Today!

Balancing the 5 elements.   The five elements being: aakash (ether/space), vayu (air), tejas/agni (fire), jala (water), and prithvi (earth).  In each moment, in each being, in each conversation, in each decision, in each action, in each place…. all 5 elements are always present.  For true clarity, these 5 elements must be appropriately balanced in each case.

Appropriately balanced does not equate to Equal!  Sometimes more of one and less of another is what is called for to achieve balance.  Perhaps you are lost in thought, dangling in space, dreamy and unable to make a decision?  You are lost in Ether!  You might need the solidity of Earth to bring you into balance for positive forward momentum.  Or maybe you are stuck in rigid thinking, with a linear one track mind and you feel you are banging your head against the wall.  Too much Fire!  Some of that spaciousness might aid you in seeing other perspectives and finding the place of least resistance.  In every case, you are asked to consider all 5 elements as you move through your decisions, your life, your world.

Apply this concept to whatever might need your attention today.  Be it the physical body, a decision needing to be made, your worldview or a relationship.  See what happens and what you learn when you consider the balancing of the 5 elements.  You might want to draw, paint, dance or sing them to get to know them better in the process.  As you come to know each of these elements better, you come to know all the places in yourself better as well.  Bringing awareness in through each of these lenses.

 

Word of the Day:  panchamahabhutas (5 elements)

Song of the Day:  Earth, Wind & Fire:  Let’s Groove

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Tuesday, Aug 16, 2016

Energy Musings.  Here.  Now.

Today.

I am not my fear.  Take this simple statement today and really breathe it in.  Closing your eyes and exhaling with big, long, deep, sigh.  Let it go.  Let go of the fear that is not you. That has never been you.  That will never be you.    With each breath,  let go of another fear.

You may find many layers of tiny fears, all piled up or all spread around.  You may find one giant huge fear, towering over you like a bully.  If the fear seems to big to let go, look for the smaller fears that make it up.  Bit by bit, piece by piece, chip away at the monster in the closet.  As you release your fears, you make space.  Space in your body, space in your mind, space in your energetic field, space in your Life.  Space for all the things you ARE.  Space to be YOU.

With the release on the exhale, imagine what it is you want to replace your fears with.  This will help you focus and persevere.  In the face of global and community fear it is more important than ever to release your personal fears.  This doesn’t mean ignore them or deny them.  It means: DONT LET THEM INTO YOUR BODY!!!

Watch them, like images on a movie screen, floating outside of you.  Notice what they might have to teach you or show you or even inspire in you.  But do not, do not, take them in as though you own them.  That is how they begin to take over who you are.

BUT remember: You are not your fear.  Not today.  Not tomorrow.  Not ever.

Mantra of the Day:  I am not my fear

Song of the Day:  Tears for Fears: Shout (let it all out 😉

Monday, Aug 15, 2016

Energy Musings.  Here.  Now.

This Week.

Consider your mark on this world in this life.  The impact, impression you wish to impart.  What have you already accomplished?  What is there left for you to do?  Its not about how big or small our impact is.  One is not better or worse than another.

To break barriers and glass ceilings, to re define the norm, takes countless faceless nameless people to do their part first.  Maybe you are the “star”?  Maybe you are the “building block”?  Maybe you are the “initiator”? Are you attached to being one or the other?  To being in the spotlight or to being out of it?  Where do you fit in?

As you consider your lasting contribution this week, take a deep breath in and practice radical acceptance for whatever your role is.  Knowing that we all create this world together and none of us does any of this alone.  In that knowledge, we share in our victories and our set backs.  And with awareness, we move forward together as a whole.  This is the essence of Unity.

This week, what more is being asked from you to rise to your fullest potential in this life?  Breathe into this place.  Accept it.  And move forward with ease.

Word of the Week:  impact

Song of the Week:  5 years by David Bowie

 

Friday, Aug 12-Sunday Aug, 14, 2016

Energy Musings. Here. Now.

This Weekend!

The Newness of Now.  The Nowness of New.  Each moment we live, we breathe, we experience is brand new.  A new precious moment, hour, day….. to play, learn, grow, love, accomplish, let go and create the life, family, relationships and world we long for.

But it all starts with a moment. With this moment. With this New moment.  Each word you utter, each reaction that comes up,  each interaction, each thought …. carries with it the potential of the new.

What is the potential of the New?  It exists beyond expectation and judgement.  It is in the present, not the past or future.  It holds limitless possibilities.  It requires total trust.  It begs you for unconditional acceptance.  Really appreciating the newness of each moment requires you to radically let go.  Let go of conditioned response.  Let go of old patterns.  Let go of repeating cycles.   Let go of all the ‘stuck’ places.

As you move through these next brand new 24 hours and beyond, to the brand new 24 hours after that…. can you embrace the New?  Can you look for the places where Newness will serve you and those around you.  Lifting you ALL to ‘higher ground’ in the process.  Shifting. Changing.  Transforming.

What is possible here… in the newness of now?

Word(s) of the Weekend:  Newness.  Nowness.

Song of the Weekend:  Whats New Pussycat? 😉  Tom Jones

Tuesday,August 9th, 2016

Energy Musings.  Here.  Now. 

This Week!

Beginners Mind.  Adapt the willingness to be a “beginner”.  All over again.  Forget what you think you know.  Who you think you are.  What you think is true.  Step into that place of raw learning.  Of shaping and shifting and being receptive to considering all options.  Be willing to listen, speak, and show up with beginners mind.  As you face you day, your work, your family, your conversations… be on the lookout for what is it for you that might be new. A new perspective, new information, new understanding.  What is new for you?

You might try taking a beginners yoga class if you usually attend the advanced class.  Or show up in a beginners art workshop even if you are a professional.  Find a way to challenge yourself by showing up as a beginner where you consider yourself an “Expert”. Through this experience, allow yourself the ability to let go of expectations and see through this beginners lense anew.

What is here, in beginners mind, for you today…. this week?

 

Word of the Day: Beginner

Song of the Day:  I Dunno by Grapes

 

on Blame

blame on

on blame

what if.

what if the blame stopped here. now.

what if the finger pointed outwards,  released, joining again the unity of the hand.

what if there was no pointing in the first place.

what if instead the hands came together, fingers and all, palms touching.

Would then the head bow forward, the chin tucking, in solemn prayer for all?  In solemn prayer for our own pointing fingers.

who’s hands have not been stained by blood?  How far back do you have to go in your lines to see the traces of greed, hatred, power, control, dominance, fear, righteousness?  Are you willing to look?

 Looking back, you look inward. Looking inward, you look out.

Until you see we are all guilty. We are all “to blame”.  We are all responsible. Looking around at the players, the archetypes, the institutions…we created them all.  This world, exactly where it is at right now, you and I and everyone else is responsible for.  We need to stop hiding behind the toddler rhetoric “I didn’t do it.  He did.”   With this understanding comes evolution.

And evolve we must.  Because on the other side of all this blame, lies true freedom.  In the blame free state.  It is what we all long for. What our heart and minds dream of.  The world we only dare imagine is possible.

 And yet, we continually point fingers pushing this very same dream further and further away.

Look no further than the tip of your own finger.  And then, placing your own fingertips together,  held in prayer, forgive.

Forgive some more.  For all the times we have all blamed each other.  Ask for forgiveness and receive it back.  One finger at a time.

We can forgive, we can heal, we can leave the blame behind.

This, THIS, is what takes courage and strength and determination and fortitude.

This acceptance.  This forgiveness.

otherwise, we will just blame on.

Friday, Aug 5, 2016

Energy Musings. Here. Now.

This Weekend!  

Right Speech.  Consider your words, written and spoken, with powerful awareness. Many traditions, paths and beliefs hold the importance of clear non-harmful language as essential to living a harmonious and evolved life.   Samma Vaca, right speech, is one of the main Buddhist tenets for living the 8 fold path.

In determining “right speech” ask yourself is it:  Truthful, Affectionate, Timely, Beneficial & Well-Intentioned.

All 5 of these attributes must be met in order for words to qualify as “right speech”.  Consider this carefully.  The fact that all 5 must be present for clear communication is essential.  Each element works to help create wholeness.  Of course this requires ones ability to discern clearly for themselves if these attributes are met.  This is not always easy!!!  We could fool ourselves into thinking we are saying something from a place that is beneficial, when really we only want to convince another of our belief.  Maybe we have a long history of not being heard? We might unconsciously speak louder, angrier, in order to get our point across, thinking that this is helpful.

In times of stress, worry, fear, anxiety;  when it feels like there is a lot at stake;  when we feel ‘backed into a corner’;  when the whispers of desperation start to influence us;  when there is anger and resentment;  when anything pushes on us in a way that initiates our triggers….. we need Samma Vaca more than ever. It is in these times that it is most difficult to embody and yet, it is in these moments when it has the most to offer.

This weekend, explore Samma Vaca as much as you are able, and notice how it can transform your relationships and the world around you.

Word of the Weekend:  Samma Vaca

Song of the Weekend:  No More Words by Berlin

 

 

Wednesday, Aug 3, 2016

Energy Musings.  Here. Now. 

Today!

Love lifts you up.  To those higher places.  To higher ground.   Pulls your thoughts from the pits of despair to the soaring heights of hope.

Today, ignite your love.  Smile more.  Criticize less.  Enjoy each moment.  Find a way to cultivate Love. Through music, art, dance, poetry. Through looking deeply into the eyes of your children, your beloved, your pet, your friends.  Through looking deeply into your own eyes, your own soul, the beauty that is you.

Appreciate and Love today.  Bring in the Joy.

Lifting up yourself, a friend, your community, the world.

Word of the day:  Love.

Song of the day:  Sweetest Taboo (feel the LOVE!) by Sade.

Monday, August 1, 2016

Energy Musings.  Here. Now.

This Week!

Take a careful look at the thoughts circling around your head.  The ones that loop and loop in a seemingly never ending frenzy.  The thoughts that follow you through your day as you wash dishes, make food, go for a walk, sit on the bus.  The thoughts the almost stalk you with their insistence.  Whatever we see in our day, hear in our day, creates thoughts in our mind.  We must be very careful about the thoughts we allow in through the lenses of our senses.

What are these thoughts? Are they of a particular person?  an incident?  a memory?  What emotions do they inflict as they invade your consciousness and sub consciousness?  Do they cause you worry?  anger?  fear?  frustration? judgement? Do they spin out of control?  Do they cause you to loose touch with the present moment?  Your breath?  This here and now?

What disrupts your inner silence?

These are thoughts to look at this week. The “heckler” thoughts, if you will!  The ones that seem to want you to become agitated.  With  50-70,00 thoughts a day, what would happen if you cleared out those obsessive ones? What would you be making room for?  What would come in? More silence?  More space?  More presence?  To clear them out, simply give them a way out. A back door.  As they enter, invite them to leave.

And notice, notice where they are coming from.  Is there a hole, an entry way, that seems to allow these thoughts to multiply and march right in?  Is it Facebook?  The internet?  Is it a particular person or relationship? Is it a conversation you keep having? Is it a group you belong to?  Think carefully about these entry points as you may want to consider closing them or at least putting up a better security system!

This is for YOUR security after all. For your peace of mind.  For you true steady discerment. For your health.  For your sanity.  For your balance.  For your ability to be present with those you love.  For all of this and MORE, consider the role your thoughts play and how they get in in the first place.

Word of the day:  Chitta.  Sanskrit for Mindstuff.  [chitta (Sanskrit: “memory”;) — derived from the root chit, “to be conscious”. Chitta is the Subconscious mind. It is the mind-stuff. It is the store-house of memory. Samskaras or impressions of actions are imbedded here. It is one of the four parts of antahkarana.] from http://veda.wikidot.com/chitta

Chant of the day: YOGASH CITTA-VRITTI-NIRODHAH –
Yoga happens when there is control of the thoughts or Your yoga practice will become successful when you can master your restless thoughts.