Aligning with Grace

Every now and then, we have days that are magical... We have days overflowing with love, and grace, and gratitude, and connection... We have days that are filled to the brim! I had one of those days, yesterday... It began the previous evening, as I meditated and prayed in bed for so many who had made requests. And as I did so, I was overwhelmed with compassion and love - with bliss and peace - and light in even in the dark of night. I knew that somehow, all would be well. The next day I awoke overflowing with the same feelings, and I quickly began my day filled with errands of all sorts. After my first stop, I realized I had begun my day without having taken the time to enjoy my morning cup of coffee, and almost immediately, I saw a slight man - trying to stay warm, opening up and organizing his coffee cart - on this brisk, nippy morning, that was barely out of the 30's! Who makes coffee in that kind of weather - outside? I approached him and asked him ...

I believe in the power of angels -  both seen, and unseen... "What is an angel? And what do they do?" I came across a review on a book titled The Physics of Angels , co-written by Matthew Fox, whose seminal theological works were very formative for me when I studied theology in the seventies, and Rupert Sheldrake, a physicist. The review goes on to note that angels are powerful and terrifying. They enter into our lives by telling us not be afraid of them. But they are also protectors and can assist us in all of our endeavors and intuitions. They can guard and defend us in so many ways, and can contribute to our happiness.  I have noted elsewhere in this blog, that I began this year by inviting the energy of angels into my life, and in a recent post I shared with you the picture of an angel, painted by a gifted artist, Karen Tarlton, which I gave myself as a present for my 59th birthday. In many ways, she was emblematic of this past year for me. I chose to gift mys...

We end a month where we celebrated the harvest, abundance, and gratitude, culminating with Thanksgiving before now launching into Advent and preparations for Christmas. It is proper and fitting that we acknowledge these things so that we can best prepare our hearts for the Advent Season, which in turn prepares us for Christmas. The vast majority of people are unaware of this important season and skip it, jumping into the celebration of Christmas itself. But then, most have lost the reason for the season... But that is another story and entry... Today, I wish to share some additional thoughts on gratitude... I came across this quote, among many other beautiful ones on Thanksgiving Day, and I have pondered it over and over again, because it truly summarizes for me what this is really all about: “Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.  It turns what we have into enough, and more.  It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order,  confusion to clarity. It c...

Today, is a day for being grateful, for giving thanks. And there is so much to be grateful for. I often marvel, that as a nation, we set aside a day to give thanks. Not everyone does this. And yet those who live here, even temporarily, often continue this practice when they return to their places of origin. So today, take a moment to give thanks - wherever you might be - whether you normally observe Thanksgiving or not. And here are two offerings to help you in this endeavor: A free 90 second meditation I post daily on both Facebook and YouTube , and an inspirational quote posted daily by Every Day Spirit. Enjoy! "There is Nothing too Small for Gratitude" Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/meditationpureandsimple YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bURrHn6wqEs&list=UU2XjLZ3NY9cLLPRMj_Bi0sw Every Day Spirit: https://www.facebook.com/everydayspirit1

Yesterday, on my 59th birthday, I posted a 90 second meditation that explained how these started, almost a year ago. Just barely into the New Year, I meditated and invited angels into my home. I was immediately guided to start making these 90 second daily meditations without knowing how. So I went online and quickly learned a very easy, but not particularly "professional" way of doing them. However, a dear friend, who is a gifted and artistic angel herself by the name of Mary, quickly gave me a crash course on how to do these more beautifully on iMovie. And thus, I began to use roses from my rose bushes as the background to these meditations. I had planted these roses as a gift to myself last November. Today, they are still blooming in defiance of the very unseasonal cold snap we are experiencing! A little over a week ago, I found a beautiful angel painting online clasping red roses. I realized that in this lovely painting, the symbolism of this year came together for...

I have not come down to the river in weeks, perhaps months - this river I have loved and which has nourished my soul at every step, for the last seven years... I look on longingly as I watch two kayakers return from their morning sojourn, and then stop to banter with another kayaker ready to launch. What I would not give to set my soul free upon that river today! So many changes are occurring all around me - and many deaths as well. I guess if one lives long enough one bears witness to these kinds of things more and more frequently... I reflect on pending life changes, that are somewhat unexpected - and my Inner Wisdom counteracts limiting thoughts by singing instead this directive from the Psalmist: "Do not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day..." Other messages arrive, especially this one, from a beloved figure of the 14th century: "All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well." ...

Every once in a while, an opportunity comes tapping at your door, in the cave of your heart. Every now and then, you hear a deep whisper inviting you to change your course of direction. Every so often, something catapults you to make a radical change in your life.  I think this is such a time for so many on this planet - and it is certainly such a moment for me... I have found myself chewing, marinating, and reflecting on this line by Emily Dickinson: "Dwell in possibility." The possibilities are limitless. The opportunities - unimagined... And when we have made the decision to no longer go on living in a certain way - there is no turning back. There is only the way forward... And, then shift begins... Everything feels new once again - where things had become staid - and seemed unalterable. I believe that in the midst of so much upheaval and negativity - that there is so much more light. In fact, I truly believe that we live in a time where we are wit...

I know I have been neglecting this wonderful audience for a while. But rest assured, I think of you fondly and often! The last month has been filled with many changes and various activities that have garnered all of my attention. I hope to soon slow back down to a more introspective pace and indulge my more creative spirit! I have a dear friend who created a wonderful app which you can find on iTunes called Every Day Spirit Lockscreens. It enables you to place an exquisite and inspirational quote on your iPhone each and every day if you so choose, or you can just hang out with one for weeks - as I do - savoring its lesson until you feel you are beginning to embody it! The author creates a new screen each and every day, and when it is finished later this year, you will literally have 365 choices in many inspirational categories! Below I have included the post to the Facebook community page, Every Day Spirit, earlier this morning. Enjoy! Here is a link to the iTune...

"If you have made up your mind to be cheerful, nothing can make you unhappy." ~ Paramahansa Yogananda "We must believe in the power and strength of our words. Our words can change the world." ~ Yousafzai Malala "If you are angry when you are doing something, even if you speak of peace,  you are actually engaged in war." ~ The Venerable Pomnyun Sunim Choose your words every morning, as you would choose the clothes you wear. "God has given me the power to change my ways." ~ Mechtild of Magdeburg In the last several weeks, I have made a practice of meticulously observing my language. What am I saying - both consciously and unconsciously? I have also worked to replace not so subtle negative or limiting thoughts with an affirmation expressing the exact opposite of these thoughts and words. It is said, and I have read this in so many places recently - and was also just reminded of it by a friend a week ago - th...

The Blood Moon awakens me with a start... It is a moon evoking and heralding transformations, and endless possibilities - and inviting the manifestations of our most deeply held dreams... I go out but do not see it - it remains hidden, but I am drenched in its energy nonetheless.... It is a time of so much tumultuous change, and inner shifting, and I have certainly experienced my share... I am barely back a week from walking the beaches on the gulf side of Florida - grounding my feet in fine white sand and aimlessly treading through the warm water in the company of dear ones... I even manage to nestle up really close to a rare yellow crowned night heron that allows me to take his picture without even flinching... I listen - listen deeply and process messages received and decide to speak my truth in a way that is needed... I don't know where it has landed - or even if it has - but I know that I have released what held my heart deeply captive while at the same time i...

In the last year, I have managed to cross three things off of my bucket list, in this order: 1. Visit Israel 2. Drink a bottle of Petrus, and 3. See Oprah For nearly 20 years a friend and I have sought to get tickets to "The Oprah Show" show or various of her venues, albeit unsuccessfully. But when Elizabeth Gilbert, of "Eat Pray Love" fame mentioned in her newsletter she would be part of an Oprah weekend and that tickets could be had before they were released to the general public, my friend and I jumped on the bandwagon without the slightest hesitation! And it did not disappoint, though we nearly waited a half year to attend! Oprah's "Live the Life You Want" event was perfectly planned and orchestrated and it was a marvel to be with 25,000 other similarly positive individuals and her "trailblazers" - the extraordinary teachers that accompanied her on this tour: Elizabeth Gilbert, Rob Bell, Mark Nepo, and Iyanla Vanzant. It was ...

I am drawn to go to the river on this windy, and beautiful fall morning... Several years ago, I began so many mornings like this, going down to the river, with my kayak in tow, which I had aptly named "Grace," and into the waters we would go, to pray, to meditate, and commune with nature... I am not able to do this at the moment, for I lack a vehicle in which I can haul my kayak, and so today, I simply sit on a bench, looking out at the broad expanse of the river in front of me, and begin to do Metta practice for many in need. I give thanks and express gratitude for so many things in my life, chanting the Reiki precepts slowly, and with great care, mindfulness, and devotion, as if lost in a reverie not of this world... As I lose myself deeply in these spiritual practices, I feel buoyed by the Divine Presence surrounding me - and tossed about like a leaf in the wind and grace of God's love... I dance joyfully, following its gentle lead and rhythm... I marvel at t...

We are almost half way into a new month, and I am beginning to think of the fall season... I am beginning to look forward to nesting, to journeying inward, to curling up on the couch with a  warm throw, and a steaming cup of tea... It is a time for reflection, and greater contemplation... This morning I read an article by Christine Valters Paintner, "Abbess" of Abbey of the Arts, an online virtual monastery, that a wonderful friend introduced me to, and she spoke of autumn and winter and being the seasons of the monk. So true! After the buoyancy and openness of the summer months, there is a true desire for me to retreat, and to give myself wholly to the coming season... The days are getting shorter, the sun sets earlier, and in a few days the Autumnal Exquinox will arrive, followed by the High Holy Days... Paintner began her article with this beautiful poem by Rilke, which I shall leave you with, and I've included another autumn poem by Rilke translated b...

A season ends, and so it must if it is to yield its turf to a new one... The days are getting shorter, and the darkness lingers longer into the morning... The warmer days will soon acquiesce to the onslaught of cooler and crisper days... This is simply the nature of things... And here I am, two weeks after having returned from the mountains out west, and still my head seems to be up in those clouds... So many projects and plans had I laid out for this summer, and nothing turned out as I had imagined. I lay out some more plans for the coming months, curious as to whether defined goals will be met. But in the final analysis, does it matter? Life is about the journey - not the destination - you'd think I would have learned that by now. And it is certainly always about the lessons - so many of them - always arriving in constant succession - a never ending flow and stream... Thus we reflected, my friend and I, as we lunched and sipped on dark rich coffee - our conversation...

I spend a week in the mountains out West, and even though I have difficulty breathing at high altitudes, my spirit is awash in its energy... Meditations are deep and expansive, and there is a clarity that comes in high elevations, as if one could reach up a finger to the sky like E.T. and touch the very presence of the Divine... At times, I sit barefoot on the grass, lost in exquisite meditation. The air is fresh and light, in more ways than one, yet certainly devoid of all the oxygen I need... Over and over again, the words of the Psalmist come to mind as I behold the breathtaking beauty of the mountains:  "I lift up my eyes to the hills, from where will my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth..." ~ Psalm 121 NRSV There is a power here that I feel, and it is the inherent power to move mountains - and to do and be - anything and everything... There are insights and intuitions that are granted and which tumble out easily from ...

I read an article this week that has made me reflect very deeply on the choices we make and the effects that negativity have on us and those around us. Yesterday, I subbed for a friend's yoga class, and in my centering, I spoke to the students about how heavy this summer has been - so many tragedies - and most of them resulting from the direct expression of hatred on somebody's part. The essay I read explained that in our world of duality, negative and positive energies are more accurately redefined as destructive and creative energies. If you are an individual that is relatively open on an emotional, psychological, and spiritual level, you are more apt to be affected by negativity than others around you. Negative energy is insidious and destructive in its essence. But even though you as an individual may be very much affected by the negative energy of others, it is important to note that it affects the sender even more so. This essay also pointed out that hatred and fe...

Sometimes, messages come to us in the strangest of ways... In something someone says to us... In something that we read... In the presence of an animal... And sometimes, in all three... And that was the morning I had, so I share these messages with you, hoping they may yield an insight or two for you... I began my morning by reading and sharing this poem by Mary Oliver: Heron Rises from the Dark, Summer Pond  So heavy is the long-necked, long-bodied heron, always it is a surprise when her smoke-colored wings open and she turns from the thick water, from the black sticks of the summer pond, and slowly rises into the air and is gone. Then, not for the first or the last time, I take the deep breath of happiness, and I think how unlikely it is that death is a hole in the ground, how improbable that ascension is not possible, though everything seems so inert, so nailed back into itself -- the muskrat and ...