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Walking in Wonder

Neale Donald Walsch’s Conversations with God puts it this way: Life works out in the process of Life Itself. All you have to do is trust that it will, and allow it to.

My blood pressure was 126/80 at the doctor’s office on Monday afternoon. I reported that I am doing deep work with Laura. Dr. Mancini asked if my left knee had been bothering me. She said it is the hip flexor pulling at the knee and she has me doing a hip-drop stretch. I am doing on the massage table that we currently have set up in the great room here in our tiny house!

From the “Voice of the Holy Spirit” in my journal writing yesterday:

Good Goats

We know you are not sure what you are to see your friend, Laura, about today, but you are willing to look. In fact, you are willing to look at the emptiness of catalysts!

The catalysts don’t cease as much as they cease to trigger you into mindless reactivity. We know your history with storms. Monday evening you were appropriately watchful. You are appropriately watchful at this time about possible conditions related to blood pressure and your heart.

Debra: I am wondering if you can give me clarity if I have sleep apnea?

Would you trust what your guidance tells you over what the tests reveal?

Debra: I know sometimes I can fool myself. Other times, I am able to trust. For example, you have assured me I am done with melanoma. And that no cancer was related to the ovarian mass.

Notice the tendency to future or past. What is your experience in this present moment?

Debra: Like when I was walking and would get lost in thought by planning or remembering and my heart rate would skyrocket!. I began walking as though I was with my three-year-old grand daughter, taking it all in, present with my present experience.

I shared this awareness with Laura. She wondered what this little girl might need from me. My sense is she does not need anything from me but she wants to give me a carefree life experience. I told Laura about the soul collage I did at a retreat on living and dying well I attended in 2014. Here I am:

Notes from Evening with Aaron:

It is about waking up. What does waking up mean?

There is no “other” only myriad faces of the self — all expressions of something — all interacting.

I am not born, I do not die.

One is always awake, but not yet aware of that awakeness.

You don’t want to suppress anything, or act it out…. There is a middle ground. (speaking of rage)

Money is energy. What if everyone who has money said, “I’ll help people learn how to feed themselves.” We are not in control — let it be. You can’t hold on to it. (speaking of the stock market)

Joy is holding the world afloat. Be grateful to yourself for the joy you feel. Offer it out to the world.

Sharing the story of Nathaniel and his friends being robbed of everything: food, clothing. He was lamenting about not being able to do anything but was asked what he would do that morning if he had not been robbed and had food and clothing. He said he would eat breakfast and walk on to his destination. He was told, “Well, even with out breakfast, you best walk on.” They were given food and clothing and blankets and a place to lie down by individuals living in a leprosy camp. Those with so little were so generous.

Hello, Darkness, my old friend. The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls….

Acknowledge the emotion. Offer it good will.

I shared an experience I had as I was riding my bike. I saw a man spraying weeds in the cracks in his driveway. I was very aware of the bias about that. Suddenly the weeds I pull in my Zen walkway asked me if I thought it was kinder to pull them up by the roots than it was to have that man spray the poison on the weeds. “Does that mean that you would be in favor of the gas chamber, but not the electric chair, or the electric chair, but not the guillotine?”

Sitting in meditation a little later in the day I recall awareness of comparing and judging mind. A voice begins to tell me about different chemicals having different properties. Asks me to think about being in a chemistry class or having a chemistry set. One chemical produces one result, and another chemical produces another result. It is not at all that one chemical is bad and another chemical is good. Telling me, “From your perspective, you see one result as being more desirable. To think of your seeing one result as being more desirable as wrong is just more comparing mind and judging.”

Aaron responded to my sharing of this experience with such clarity and kindness. “If you set out the ant trap you are not killing the ant, you are giving the ant the free will choice to eat the poison or not.”

This morning as I sit down for meditation, I read the Word for the Day from Gratefulness.org:

One way to open your eyes
is to ask yourself,
“What if I had never
seen this before?
What if I knew I would
never see it again?”

~ Rachel Carson

Sounds very much like walking in wonder as the one in my soul collage!

June 15, 2022

Midnite’s Purple Petunia Plant

From my journal:

Dear Holy Spirit,

I am listening to a podcast by Ram Dass. (Ep. 199: The Continuity of Consciousness)

“Somewhere between not enough and more seems to be enough.”

At least a few moments go by before i have a thought about Joel — that’s progress. I have heard nothing from him since last Sunday evening when he sent email saying he was on the floor in his bedroom and could not get up.

Ram says the concept ‘I am meditating’ is still “rush collecting.” He continues:

You have been born many times and many times you have died and each time you have died you have struggled against death. You have said: “Why me? Save me. Heal me! Do whatever you need to do, doctor: Transplant, freeze, do whatever needs to be done. Cut. Mend. But keep me here.”

And you hold desperately to the bed sheets and you struggle against it. And then you’re dead. And then a voice says to you, “Hello.”

And then you say, “I guess I didn’t die.”

And the voice says, “Oh, to the contrary, you are quite dead.”

Time and time again, death after death, you have rejected that voice, and stayed in what the Christians called purgatory. You stayed in a state of confusion between births.

(Ram Dass uses the term ‘veil of illusion’ — I’ve never heard that. I’ve heard the other side of the veil but I’ve not heard it said that it is the veil of illusion.)

2/5 of the population of America have had transcendent, mystical experiences. That is 40 million people. Of those 40 million people, a sampling shows that 85% said, “It was the most powerful experience of my life and I never want to have another one.”

For only some of the people, when they see through that veil, they are able to utilize that new awareness… And when you are really ripe, that one millisecond changes your whole life from now on — that lifetime. And when you are really ready, that one moment makes you say, “From here on all I wish to do now is to get free.”

Now, when you have started to awaken in a particular lifetime, and then you die, you say, “I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die,” and then you are dead and somebody says welcome and you say I guess I didn’t die and they say yes you did and you are confused and then that moment of that previous birth when you awakened comes to you and you say, “Ah, right, this is what that was about.”

(I have the awareness that suffering is grace.)

Up until that time, you’ve been seeking to optimize pleasure.

A birth is like a process of getting you straight or cleaning you up or awakening you…. You are part of a far more interesting game which you begin to be aware of in terms of your own identity….

The meaning of every act in life starts to change. You look at all of it as process for awakening, for cleaning up your game. You don’t begrudge your history — no matter how neurotic it has been — for it has in it the stuff which has created the space you are in at this moment which allows you to hear right now.

(I notice that I am trying too hard as I am chopping vegetables for quiche and then I hear, “Let the tool do the work.”)

That may be the lesson of the power washer. No amount of stress or strain enhances the work. I hear that the central message again and again as I continue. No amount of effort forces sleep. No amount of worry produces peace. No amount of effort produces clarity. One cannot TRY oneself to anything.

My mind recognizes that we can aim. A – I – M. Already is (or always is) mentality.

Peace already is like the sun is always shining. Peace always is. Love always is. Light always is. Nothing we can do “makes” it.

I realize consciousness is also a tool. I feel fluttering in my heart as I write this sentence.

My blood pressure continues to be quite high, although I have had two readings over the past week and a half that would be considered normal.

I am on Zoom attending the year-end “intensive” right now. Perhaps additional insight is to emerge during these five days. This morning’s Thought for Today from Aaron is quite interesting for me:

Whatever it is that you’re praying for, be it health or well-being of yourself or for a loved one or whatever the prayer-intention may be, that innate perfection is always there. If you approach it from a place of fear, you keep manifesting the distortion. When you come back to the place of love, you center yourself in love and invite others to take hold of the strands with you and pray with you from that same place of love. Energetically they’re weaving together with you, weaving together a tapestry of healing with you, of growth, of love, of joy. So this is the power of prayer.

I find it fascinating that I had just written the string about always there. Plus, when I first started my practice in Healing Touch, I named my business “Tapestry” with the tag line weaving together the threads of body, mind, and spirit. Also on the card: For when you are ready.

I am ready.

From my journal:

Dear Holy Spirit,

Very much aware of anticipatory stress. I am willing. I ask Alexa to play Karen Drucker’s “Morning Prayer: I will surrender to my greatest highest good.”

As I listen, I am aware of a sensation in my left jaw and my right thumb. I look up the Louise Hay meaning of thumb and it is about intellect and worry. The affirmation is “my mind is at peace.”

I look online and find the five hindrances. One is restlessness and worry. Uddhacca, defined as a mental factor characterized by disquietude, like water whipped by the wind.

I imagine my body as a wide container where the energy is allowed to bounce around freely like a pinball machine. As I am sitting with the sensations and allowing them to bounce around, the sensations settle on their own.

Joan is online from the hospital, where her husband, Bob, is in very serious condition. I have the precious memory of John’s and my experience of being held in this sangha’s awakened heart while he was in the hospital with the TIA during the Emerald Isle retreat in April. A profound awareness washes over me that if one was to complete the transition back to non-physical, this is an ideal place to do that.

From Gratefulness.org: Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it. (Mary Oliver)

Perhaps a perfect image to remind me is Midnite’s purple petunia plant. Every one of these variations arise from one plant.

June 5, 2022

The End of Suffering

There will be something,
anguish or elation,
that is peculiar to this day alone.
I rise from sleep, and say:
Hail to the morning!
Come down to me, my beautiful unknown.

~ Jessica Powers Word for the Day (gratefulness.org)

Today’s journal entry:

Dear Holy Spirit,

During the night I woke up with worry about Joel. This morning I know it will be helpful to do a drawing, but I’m guided to first do a three-card spread asking why, with all the release I’ve been doing, does that happen. As I’m reaching in the closet to get the cards, I hear, “You are with John, so you are constantly worried about him. Because you are not with Joel, the worry pops into awareness and you notice that. Let’s look at the seed of that worry; the manifestation of it; and the path through it. Then we will do the drawing.

Seed of Worry – 8 of Fire Traveling

Everybody is trying to have some destination in life. But the implications…. You were hurrying so hard, and you were worrying so hard, and this is the outcome.

Manifestation of Worry – 4 of Fire Participation

We are behaving almost like blind people. In such a beautiful world we are living in a small pond of our own misery. You could not have dreamed of a better universe.

Path Through Worry – 14 Transformation

The conflict is in man. Unless it is resolved there, it cannot be resolved anywhere else…. The politics is within you, it Is between two parts of the mind.

A very small bridge exists.

If this bridge is strengthened these two minds become one, the meeting of the male and female within, the meeting of yin and yang, the meeting of the left and right, the meeting of logic and illogic, the meeting of Plato and Aristotle.

This all reminds me of a poem I’ve used many times at funerals. Note* Today at 11:00 we will attend the Celebration of Life of the father of a friend.

THE STATION

By Robert J. Hastings

Tucked away in our subconscious minds is an idyllic vision in which we see ourselves on a long journey that spans an entire continent. We’re traveling by train and, from the windows, we drink in the passing scenes of cars on nearby highways, of children waving at crossings, of cattle grazing in distant pastures, of smoke pouring from power plants, of row upon row upon row of cotton and corn and wheat, of flatlands and valleys, of city skylines and village halls.

But uppermost in our conscious minds is our final destination–for at a certain hour and on a given day, our train will finally pull into the Station with bells ringing, flags waving, and bands playing. And once that day comes, so many wonderful dreams will come true. So restlessly, we pace the aisles and count the miles, peering ahead, waiting, waiting, waiting for the Station.

“Yes, when we reach the Station, that will be it!” we promise ourselves. “When we’re eighteen. . . win that promotion. . . put the last kid through college. . . buy that 450SL Mercedes-Benz. . . have a nest egg for retirement!” From that day on we will all live happily ever after.

Sooner or later, however, we must realize there is no Station in this life, no one earthly place to arrive at once and for all. The journey is the joy. The Station is an illusion–it constantly outdistances us. Yesterday’s a memory, tomorrow’s a dream. Yesterday belongs to a history, tomorrow belongs to God. Yesterday’s a fading sunset, tomorrow’s a faint sunrise. Only today is there light enough to love and live.

So, gently close the door on yesterday and throw the key away. It isn’t the burdens of today that drive men mad, but rather the regret over yesterday and the fear of tomorrow. Regret and fear are twin thieves who would rob us of today.

“Relish the moment” is a good motto, especially when coupled with Psalm 118:24, “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.”

So stop pacing the aisles and counting the miles. Instead, swim more rivers, climb more mountains, kiss more babies, count more stars. Laugh more and cry less. Go barefoot oftener. Eat more ice cream. Ride more merry-go-rounds. Watch more sunsets. Life must be lived as we go along. The Station will come soon enough.

The drawing on my page today is a spiral. From the upper right to the lower left the ink dances across the page. From birth to death, our lives unfold.

The words are about the teaching on emptiness from the Heart Sutra – Śūnyatā is the Pali word.

This “self” we cherish so devotedly is nothing more than a temporary coming together of various aggregates: form, sensations, perceptions, mental activity or formations, and consciousness. It is EMPTY. Suffering ends with the recognition of its origin – grasping, clinging, aversion.

I title the drawing: The End of Suffering.

June 1, 2022

Treasure this Day

If what I say resonates with you,
it’s because
we are both branches of the same tree.

~ W. B. Yeats

I’m not a “follower” of astrology, but MANY years ago something occurred that led me to respect the wisdom there.

Decades ago now, driving home on a snowy day, the roads were glare ice. Less than a block from home, I was blinded by a cloud of snow by a person blowing out his driveway. I rear-ended the car stopped to make a left-hand turn onto a side street. I was not considered at fault due to the unusual conditions and I did not receive a citation. But when I opened the paper a bit later at home, still shaken, my horoscope for the day read: The highway will not be a happy place for you today. Be careful, even on short trips.

And now a warning?

Perhaps just a coincidence, or more likely something ancient and pure and worthy of being reported in the bible as announcing the coming of Jesus.

Yesterday’s comment by a friend about the current astrological line-up led me to look up The Cosmic Tides by Leah Whitehorse. Here is an excerpt from April 9, 2022: It’s imperative to take time out to reconnect with the emotional body before direct action. That way, we can tune into our gut instinct which tells us where to best place our energy and effort. There will be time enough to conquer goals and fight the good fight. Be tender with yourself. Listen to your feelings. Know where you belong. Never doubt that you are strong enough. Nothing can extinguish your inner flame.

We have snow again today!

Thought for Today from Deep Spring Center for Meditation:

~ Aaron

A couple of days of hard work has rendered our tiny house clean and neat and ready for visitors. It is funny that our seasonal home on Bounty Lane is the larger space. Just as we squeeze back into 1,120 square feet, we continue to share one vehicle (writing all of our “times I need the car” on the calendar hanging on the kitchen wall).

Already this morning I have done 45 minutes of chanting and some yoga. I will at some point go over to the community room and ride the stationary bike while John walks on the treadmill. We await warm weather that welcomes walking and biking in the beautiful Michigan outdoors.

Treasure this day and treasure yourself.
Truly, neither will ever happen again.

~ Ray Bradbury (Gratefulness.org “Word for the Day” April 9, 2022)

April 9, 2022

Learn, Grow, and Change

One of the most extraordinary aspects of our humanity
is our capacity to learn, grow, and change.

~ Sheryl Chard (Gratefulness.org)

One week ago today I got a call from the son of my long-time business partner, Joel Bowman, asking who in Kalamazoo could take his dad to the ER.

Of course, I am in Florida. A former student, Deb Doerschler, is also still in the south-for-the-winter location. Joel’s wonderful friend, Bob Kipp, was at their place up north. I suggested a neighbor who has been part of the behind-the-scenes support for the past several years. Thankfully, she was able and willing.

Joel was admitted to the hospital that evening.

I was so angry a few days later when Joel’s son did not even let me know that Joel had been moved to a skilled nursing facility. Two of Joel’s friends had tried to visit him at the hospital, and were told he had been discharged.

The anger has born fruit. (Uncomfortable emotions have a way of doing that.)

Wednesday night, seeking some inner peace around the situation, I was led to watch “The Roots of Anger” by Thich Nhat Hanh on YouTube. Here are my notes:

You should tell him or her but in calm speech. If you cannot do it, you can write it down on a piece of paper.

Sentence one:
I suffer. I am angry, and I want you to know it.

(I don’t know why you have done such a thing to me. I don’t know why you have said such a thing to me. I suffer very much. I’m angry. I want you to know.)

Sentence two:
I am doing my best.

(I am practicing mindful breathing and mindful walking, generating the energy of mindfulness in order to take care of my anger, in order to bring relief, and then I will be looking deeply into my anger to see what the root of my anger is. That is to see whether it is my wrong perception that has created anger, maybe because of some of your unskillfulness.)

Sentence three:
Please help me. I need your help.

Thursday afternoon as I was doing yoga, awareness visited me and opened my heart. I had total body memory of the first night my mom was at an adult foster care home. After dropping her off, I had my best night’s rest in months.

Relief from my uncomfortable emotions because she was not in her own home totally hid from awareness her uncomfortable emotions because she was not in her own home.

Compassion for all of us washed over past, present and future.

When I was able to speak to Joel while he was in the hospital he told me he had been taken captive, was being held in some industrial compound, and some kind of experiment was being conducted on him. I said, “I understand totally that from your perspective Western medicine might feel like that, but you are in Bronson hospital. Nancy Anderson took you to the ER because you were very sick and could have died if you did not get treated immediately.”

I encouraged him to look on the walls of the room. Could he see a white board with his name on it? Yes, he could. He told me it also had the date and the names of the doctor and nurses assigned to his care.

“It isn’t aliens who are taking care of you,” I assured him.

To which he replied, “In a way, we are all aliens….”

Profound awareness.

These past years I have often been angry at Joel’s son and daughter-in-law. I have been an alien to the roots of that anger. The roots of that anger had been guilt and pain over my lack of awareness for my mom’s emotional needs during that time.

And for all of these years I had been an alien to the forgiveness and peace awareness brings.

Awareness frees us.

Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.’

March 25, 2022

I Surrender

Entry from my journal: Tuesday, January 18, 2022 @ 3:37 am:

Dear Holy Spirit,

I am awake and in the TV room listening to Karen Drucker’s “I Surrender.”

I will release every fear that’s in my way…

and I am grateful every moment of every day.

I spoke with my doctor late last evening. I had called because my blood pressure had spiked the past few days. At home in my pantry is a prescription bottle of an anti-anxiety medication she prescribed for me in 2017 when this had happened. I took one once, and I have carried one with me in my purse every day since. I took 1/2 on Sunday, and 1/2 on Monday, but the pressure was still elevated when Linda B/G checked it last evening.

I love that my doctor knows my blood pressure goes up because of anxiety, rather than thinking it is organic. When she prescribed the anti-anxiety medication in 2017, she said, “Anxiety driven blood pressure doesn’t respond well to the classes of medications normally used to lower blood pressure.” And that list is long: Diuretics; Beta-blockers; ACE inhibitors; and Vasodilators, just to name a few.

Of course, John’s recent experience of having had severe “silent” coronary artery disease (CAD) has triggered my childhood pattern of being terrified of all things medical. Now that we are home and things are moving along smoothly, this current tremendous anxiety is a result of my having just gone through everything with him. Waking up early Saturday morning to not-one-but-two tornado warnings blasting on our phones probably added insult to injury…

My doctor said she is not worried about me. She has years of good blood pressure readings taken in her office by her nurse. She assured me they have done research about the spouse of a heart patient going through this sort of thing.

I took 1/2 of one 2mg Valium (with permission) and I went to bed optimistic about getting a good night’s sleep. I went to sleep, but I woke up in massive ANXIETY. While there were no conscious thoughts of scary things, I could feel my body in high alert, totally overrun with adrenaline.

I grabbed my phone, popped in my earbuds, and began tapping along with some Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) audios. After a couple of shorts — including Tapping Universal Reversals — without much measurable benefit. Then I tapped through FEELING SAFE IN YOUR BODY with Nick Ortner. During the 6 minute 50 second closing I began to feel a shift. I repeated that part. I repeated it again. And again.

Conditions came to mind: womb trauma when my mom had syphilis and was a terrified inpatient; being traumatized by hospitalization in isolation after the diagnosis of polio at age five; the out-of-body experience at age 12 when I was in the auto accident; the terror I felt during the trip to Europe in 2011. An avalanche of more minor situations that reveal the deeper structure of anxiety also came forth in my mind. When one is driven by amygdala hijacking, even choosing the ‘right’ color of paint can feel like a life-or-death situation.

I felt my body releasing the pattern and welcoming bliss back.

My niece, who has recently shared her life-long struggle with anxiety and depression, came to my mind over and over. I had said to John a few day ago I was feeling like I need to reach out to her.

My nephew, who has used drugs to combat severe anxiety, resulting in his having multiple incarcerations, came to mind.

And so many others….

I began listening to the Surrogate Tapping audio, and I said out loud to myself, “I dedicate the merit of this to all who suffer from anxiety…” Jesica Ortner’s words encircled my body and soothed my mind:

…. This is a blessing in disguise and I am so grateful…. I let go of my need to control this situation….

I can feel some hints of integration as I listen.

….As I heal in the presence of darkness, we are all uplifted….

I wonder if this pattern of fear and anxiety might actually be a part of our collective divine mission.

….I no longer live the lie; the lie that I don’t have what it takes; the lie that others don’t have what it takes….

I can still hear the refrain of Karen Drucker singing I surrender to my greatest highest good in the background of my mind’s ear. I can feel myself breathing! I look and my heart rate on my Fitbit is showing 67 beats per minute!

My grandson, Brad, comes to mind. He has spoken of his own awareness of this pattern of anxiety-driven achievement.

….This person has what it takes to have what they want….I have faith that this person I love will do what’s right for them. The outcome is greater than I could have ever imagined so I let go of my need to predict. I let go of my need to control. Everything is in divine order. I am grateful for this situation for it helps me learn and grow. I am grateful for this situation for it helps me learn and grow. I’m grateful for this blessing in disguise. I’m grateful for this blessing in disguise.

When the surrogate tapping audio is finished, I open my email and read two “Thought-for-today” messages that speak directly to my current experience.

Look around, look around at how lucky we are to be alive right now. ~ Lin-Manuel Miranda (from Gratefulness.org)

Get to know fear. What is fear? It’s very interesting. Fear is always about what might happen, not much about what’s happening right now. When you’re present in the moment there may be discomfort, even real pain or sadness, but not a lot of fear. Fear is about your projections. ~ Aaron (from Deep Spring Center for Meditation)

And when I turn on the computer to write this Yellow Brick Road post, this is the random screen saver image I am looking at. And I surrender to my greatest highest good….

January 18, 2022

The Only True Hope

When my eyes fill with wonder
and my heart with love or joy,
I do not betray my concerns for the world —
I nourish my capacity to attend to them.

~ Kristi Nelson, 12-22-2021 Gratefulness.org

I confess to recently having looked into the mirror and noticing a drooping of my jowls, deep crevasses of a frown on both sides of my mouth. More accurately, not frowning, just the absence of laughter and smiles.

This past Sunday, I was Zoom host for Remembering Wholeness, a once-a-month event with Barbara Brodsky channeling darshan with “The Mother.”

Darshan is a reciprocal experience of meeting with a holy or revered person or diety which results in the human viewer’s receiving a blessing. The person just before me to receive darshan had been told, “To be is your gift of the world. There is nothing at all selfish about just being for some period of time and letting yourself feel energetically restored. If you have a beautiful fountain, water must come into the basin or the fountain cannot continue to send out its beautiful movement. Fill the basin — with pure, radiant water.”

In much of the world, this is the season for giving gifts. But to be able to give a gift, there must also be those to receive. Most of us are familiar with the lyrics of the song about the little drummer boy.

I played my best for him
Pa rum pum pum pum,
Rum pum pum pum,
Rum pum pum pum

Then he smiled at me
Pa rum pum pum pum
Me and my drum

I was the last to receive a blessing from The Mother.

To Debra:

Please stop thinking about in and out. The water comes into the basin of the fountain so it can go out. When it goes out it lands in the perimeter of the basin, flows into the center, then out. And it just keeps recirculating.

Sometimes you’re more in one phase, sometimes more in the other. For you it would be good to try to find where the balance is. And remember that the basin is never empty, because it is not only you that fills it, but everything around you fills it.

The gifts that you give to the world… I’ve enjoyed through Barbara reading your blog. It’s very beautiful. This is a gift to everyone. You’re hosting an event like this. This is a gift to everyone.

Now to whatever degree it’s useful, focus on, “What do you need in order to be more fully nourished? And how can you invite that into yourself, knowing that it will recycle back out? … but in this moment, what will suit me in order for the fountain to be full and ready to pour out again of light?”

This flowing of water into the basin so it is ready to pour out again brings to mind the ebb and flow of light on our planet.

It has been a challenging autumn. August 30 we tested positive for Covid. September 24 John’s brother, Jerry, passed. The week of Thanksgiving, our 55-year old niece had a brain bleed. Since the first of November John has had an extremely painful sciatica flare. But the December full moon has come and gone. Known as the “cold moon” by the Mohawk people, this full moon occurs just a few days shy of December 21, the winter solstice.

Humans have honored the significance of the winter solstice for a very, very long time. The ancient Monument of Newgrange is a 5200 year old megalithic structure built in precise alignment with the rising sun over the solstice each winter. Built around 3200 BC, that means it is 600 years older than the Pyramids at Giza, and 1,000 years older than Stonehenge.

“What do you need in order to be more fully nourished? And how can you invite that into yourself, knowing that it will recycle back out?”

I need to remember that spring always follows winter.

I need to remember that water comes into the basin of the fountain so it can go out.

I need to remember that, as Stephen Spender so beautifully expressed, “The only true hope for civilization — the conviction of the individual that his inner life can affect outward events.”

I need to remember the face of our great-grandson, Jackson, when his G-ma took him to visit Santa.

I need to remember that when my eyes fill with wonder and my heart with love or joy, I do not betray my concerns for the world — I nourish my capacity to attend to them.

From my keyboard to yours, Merry Christmas everyone….

December 22, 2021

And Now A Warning!

From the 1992 film, “Death Becomes Her”:

[Lisle (Isabella Rossellini) hands Madeleine (Meryl Streep) the vial of potion.]

Madeleine: “Bottoms up.”

[She drinks the potion.]

Lisle Von Rhuman: “Now a warning.”

Madeleine: “NOW a warning?”

This information may feel a lot like that. It has been an intense yet slow-moving past few months, with many of us feeling very out of sorts, even to the point of having difficult and painful experiences. But there’s a reason, according to the stars. The five outer planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto) have ALL been retrograde. When a planet goes retrograde, everything related to that planet goes wonky.

If everything related to all of these wasn’t enough, Mercury also went retrograde September 27 until October 18, with a “shadow period” that lasts a few weeks before and after the actual retrograde.

Now a warning…. This will be a very intense time, as we are reflecting upon all the partnerships, relationships, and friendships in our lives to understand where we fit in. Is there balance and peace between us? Do we feel at home with these people?

See: Why You Might Be Feeling Off Lately.

I have certainly been experiencing this, as have the people in my life.

In the Tuesday, October 26, Dharma Path class we were guided to reflect on the following, with the guidance of realizing, “If we can’t hold ourselves in our hearts we can’t hold each other.”

Debra Basham

Lasting Effects of the Pandemic

Grateful

Tag: gratefulness.org