ALLOW

Taken from Danna Faulds book, 'GO IN AND IN'

"THERE IS NO CONTROLLING LIFE. TRY CORRALLING A LIGHTNING BOLT, CONTAINING A TORNADO. DAM A STREAM AND IT WILL CREATE A NEW CHANNEL. RESIST, AND THE TIDE WILL SWEEP YOU OFF YOUR FEET. ALLOW, AND GRACE WILL CARRY YOU TO HIGHER GROUND. THE ONLY SAFETY LIES IN LETTING IT ALL IN--THE WILD AND THE WEAK; FEAR, FANTASIES, FAILURES AND SUCCESS. WHEN LOSS RIPS OFF THE DOORS OF THE HEART, OR SADNESS VEILS YOUR VISION WITH DESPAIR, PRACTICE BECOMES SIMPLY BEARING THE TRUTH. IN THE CHOICE TO LET GO OF YOUR KNOWN WAY OF BEING, THE WHOLE WORLD IS REVEALED TO YOUR NEW EYES."

THE HEALING BIRD

Years ago, my friend Mary (who passed away December 15, 2011) gave me this sand painting. It most likely came from her Aunt's shop, "Bill's Trading Post" in Berkeley, California. Mary purchased lots of gifts for me from that shop throughout the years which I still have and cherish.

I never knew how important this gift would be until I found it in a stack of pictures and paintings when we moved. I had them all in a pile so that I could re-hang the things that were important to me in our new house. This gift has a 3 X 5 card taped to the back that says this: "Healing Bird...they are used for treatment of all illnesses by the medicine men. This painting is made from natural color of sand and rock." It is signed but I cannot read it, unfortunately. Maybe it was signed by the medicine man himself since doctors are known for their sloppy signatures when they write prescriptions!

Anyway, what comes to mind for me is that since I heard of Mary's passing on December 15th, I had hoped that the gift her death would bring would be the healing of relationships. I cannot speak for others but for myself, I am feeling the healing that I am speaking about. And perhaps it is because I am reading "Awakening Joy" right now which is so apropos. Or perhaps it is because I have learned that I cannot fix other people, only myself. And by seeing Mary's Healing Bird appear at a time that I most needed it, I think that she always knew I would need this at some point in my life since it is "used for treatment of all illnesses".

I watched a video yesterday on YouTube that really hit home for me. Perhaps it will make an impression on some of you too. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEzJnheUIXc  Our lives are what we make of them and there is always someone out there who has it worse than we do. I appreciate my life because I know that in an instant it can be over. I want no regrets, only healing. Thanks for the prescription Mary! I will use it wisely!

"The most regretful people on earth are those who felt the call to creative work, who felt their own creative power restive and uprising, and gave to it neither power nor time."    Mary Oliver

Scary! Filmed today 1/20/2012 in Watsonville, CA South of Santa Cruz goi...

My friend, Anthony Gill, posted this on his Facebook account. I just had to share it and wonder about it. Any ideas? I know that south of Santa Cruz is Camp Pendleton. Do these tanks look new? Used? And how many of them are there?? Makes me wonder why, where, how come, etc. Thanks Anthony, for always being at the forefront of stuff like this.

Strongest solar storm since 2005 hitting Earth

Strongest solar storm since 2005 hitting Earth

My husband got information in his email this morning regarding this latest solar flare because he is a ham radio operator. I listened to him reporting it to me and then I wondered to myself  "what are the effects on us as human beings from this flare?" Cause and effect, right? Maybe some of you might be able to see the aurora they speak of. Things like this make me wonder about things we cannot see. And those that we can!

MINDFUL

Every day
I see or hear
something
that more or less
kills me
with delight,
that leaves me
like a needle
in the haystack
of light.
It was what I was born for--
to look, to listen,
to lose myself
inside this soft world--
to instruct myself
over and over
in joy,
and acclamation.
Nor am I talking
about the exceptional,
the fearful, the dreadful,
the very extravagant--
but of the ordinary,
the common, the very drab,
the daily presentations.
Oh, good scholar,
I say to myself,
how can you help
but grow wise
with such teachings
as these--
the untrimmable light
of the world,
the ocean's shine,
the prayers that are made
out of grass?

-----------Mary Oliver

Blackout to protest SOPA

IN MEMORY

JOHN ELVIN ANDERSON

MARCH 14, 1931-DECEMBER 24, 2011

Oil For Your Lamp Movie

Oil For Your Lamp Movie: Mother Teresa said, "To keep a lamp burning, we have to keep putting oil in it." Most women are so busy filling the lamps of the people they love that they let their own lamps run low. Here is a little movie to remind all women to fill their lamp...

SILENCE

This is a photo of the Christmas card I sent out this year. It depicts one of my plants that represents silence to me. And, it was also my way of sending a "Christmas card" without saying "Silent Night, Holy Night". A bit esoteric, I admit, but when I think about what plants represent to me and what they do for me on a daily basis, it was apropos.

Some plants seem to require little care; give them water occasionally and they thrive. They multiply without you even noticing when or how it happened. There is little effort required except the weeding (if necessary) and dead-heading, but just think of all the joy they give to someone. And recently focusing on "awakening joy" in my life, what could be better than a plant to remind me?

Randy, over at Santa Fe Daily Photo has posted a couple of photos lately that have depicted what he sees around him that remind him of silence. He does a great job of giving us a taste of Santa Fe each day without the obligation to write a lot and expound upon what he is feeling. You just kind of "know" what he is feeling from the few words he writes and the wonderful photos he takes. Again, some synchronicity seems to be out there for me since I see the words "silent" and "silence" in many other places too. You can see for yourself here and here what I mean about his photos.

He has also posted some great quotes there too. "Silence is a source of great strength" (Lao Tzu)
and "Joy in looking and comprehending is nature's most beautiful gift." (Albert Einstein) On my card I wrote what I have been learning in regards to silence in my meditation practice and that is: "It is within silence that we gain a deeper connection with our unique spirit." All in the same vein...all necessary when trying to awaken from this deep sleep we call life.

I suppose for some my card was too esoteric. But for me, it was what I was feeling. It was what I was seeing. It was what I am trying to put into practice each and every day now. An awakening of sorts. Yes, some might have thought "This is not a Christmas card!" or "what have you been smokin'?" but, isn't it all the same? Isn't the message we try to put out there at Christmas-time or the holidays one of getting in touch with our deeper selves? And what better way to do that than to get to a place in your life, your daily practice, where you can find silence within?

Thanks, Randy, for another great reminder to me and for also letting me realize that we are all one. It takes some of us longer to get to the point of realizing this but that is OK too. The point is the journey and not the destination, right?

COOKING 101

MOMENTARILY I LAPSE

INTO A PLACE

OF LIQUID LONGING;

A POOL OF SALTY TEARS.

I TASTE THE POSSIBILITIES...

THE MIREPOIX OF YOU.

SAUTEED, ROASTED, BRAISED---

JUST SHORT OF BEING BURNED.

IN AN INSTANT

I REDEEM MY SOUL

(JUST IN TIME) TO FIND
MY HEAD

ON 

THE CHOPPING BLOCK.

AL DENTE.

SYNCHRONICITY

I don't claim to be that knowledgeable about certain things, despite what some people think about me. I pride myself in wanting to learn new and challenging things and if they fit, apply them to my own life. And once I know something to be true, I remember it and try and keep it in mind because the way I figure: if I am just now seeing (or learning) something, it must be very important and I should take heed.

Awhile back, Teresa Evangeline wrote a post entitled "Happiness comes in bursts" and she said the following: "Have you ever had a moment when everything feels right and good, a feeling washes over you or bursts in through an open door somewhere inside you and tells you everything has fallen into place? I call them bursts of happiness..."

This brings me to the book I am currently reading "Awakening Joy". If you have read a few posts prior to this one, you know of which book I am speaking. It's funny how there is a synchronicity to life and how things seem to come to the surface that are similar; sort of like buying a new red car and then suddenly seeing that same make, model and color appear on the roadway, as if for the first time. So it is with this topic that Teresa speaks about.

James Baraz refers to this very same topic in a section called: "Bringing the World Alive". He says that "When  you slow down and pay careful attention to what is happening inside you and around you, a new world opens up. Everything comes alive. In fact, you may notice that surges of joy arise in you spontaneously, even when nothing special is happening, and even in the midst of difficult times."

I must be on the right track (or reading the right authors) to have two separate people say exactly the same things only in different ways. "A new world is opening up". "Everything comes alive". And those surges (bursts) of joy (happiness)? I am noticing them more and more, even in the midst of difficult times. I lost a long-time friend from high school in December of last year, just a bit shy of a month ago, and despite the loss, I am finding things in life to be joyful about. I am trying to keep it in mind. And to quote the book: "With mindfulness we can appreciate that every moment of life, whatever our experience, is precious. When we live in this way, a certain kind of vitality comes into our lives."

Into each life a little RAIN must fall

Reading a new book is always such an eye-opener. New ideas, new thoughts appear as if they are sent "just for me". Even though I know that they are not meant "just for me", there is some form of an "ah ha" moment when you read something that hits your heart and you actually "hear" it. So it was for me while reading this book being studied by my Women's Group right now called "Awakening Joy". Here is what I "heard":

RAIN

Recognize what you are feeling and name it. Anger, fear, sadness, confusion?

Allow the feelings to be present, without pushing them away and without getting lost in them.

Investigate the feelings in your body and mind. Explore the landscape of the emotion with curiosity and interest. Where in your body do you feel it? How does it feel in your mind---heavy, tight, open, agitated?

Non-identification is the key to freeing yourself from the emotion's grip. Don't take it personally. What you are feeling is a human emotion that arises and passes away. It does not define who you are.

So...this little paragraph says it all doesn't it? This idea of "non-identification" seems to be the key. Don't take it personally!!...It does not define who you are. WOW! Instead of thinking "what is wrong with me...what did I do? here is a new way to look at this. I have been feeling anger, fear, sadness and confusion but now I can allow these feelings to just be present and not take it personally. There doesn't have to be something wrong with me! After awhile, I can see that they have a life of their own and that they end, as do all human emotions. They change after awhile.

There is light at the end of the tunnel. And Buddha had a method for dealing with this called "forgetfulness and inattention". The light bulb has just gone off in my head. This is how they do it. They just forget!!! NOW I GET IT!!! 


All this time I have been searching and feeling all these emotions of anger, sadness, confusion and all I had to do was sit with some RAIN and FORGET ABOUT IT! My friend Candy and I have discussed these emotions just recently, as she is going through some loss in her life like I am and she worded it just right to me but I failed to see it at the time. She said to me "Teri, you just have to let it go". And there, in that short sentence, was exactly what I just now realized, only it took me 114 pages to see! Sometimes what we are searching for is right under our nose.

"MATTERS OF CONSEQUENCE"

(As quoted from a great new book I am reading:) "AWAKENING JOY" by James Baraz and Shoshana Alexander

"Our child presents us with a drawing for our birthday, our partner prepares a delicious meal, we wake up in the morning to find the first snowfall of the season has transformed the world."

" Too often we can barely pause to notice, because we've got to get to our next appointment, check our email, finish a project. Such "matters of consequence" can distract us from recognizing the blessings that life is offering us over and over each day."

"There's magic all around us if we just take the time to notice. With mindful presence we activate the natural curiosity we all came into the world with as innocent children."

 "Look closely at the mystery of a spider web. Or stop to think for a moment how amazing it is that you can read the word "blue" and see a color in your mind, or hear the word "pizza" and taste a slice.

"When we are mindful, even the most ordinary experiences become wondrous".

IT'S ALL IN THE FAMILY

I thought you might like to see a photo of my cousin's son, Kyle Buthman, surfing "in the tube". It makes you proud to be family!!!

GIVE PEACE A CHANCE

On Sunday, January 1, 2012, our church rededicated the peace pole in Auburn. This pole was installed by our church in the year 2000 and each year since then, there has been a re-dedication ceremony. In my mind, it never hurts to keep peace in the forefront and by making a conscious effort to think about peace (to re-dedicate you thoughts toward this) it has a better chance of becoming a reality.

I am the one kneeling on the ground with a funny expression on my face. Gee, a photo never represents what I feel I look like. On the inside I am young, I am thin, I am the perfect weight. And I guess that is all that really matters, right? ON THE INSIDE I am exactly what I want to be and so: it is! And that grey hair? Well...I've had that since I was 36 years old. Genetics are hard to escape.

Have a wonderful, healthy, happy new year, filled with everything that you manifest from INSIDE!!