Aligning with Grace

I have a few people I highly respect and whose judgment I trust. But I trust mine more... If I do not hear that "knock" or "Voice" that tells me to more forward - or in this direction instead of that - I don't budge. Sometimes, I do end up taking the road that was suggested - but maybe a year or so later - when I feel I am ready; when I have received the indication to do so. The only times I've had regrets or gotten myself into serious trouble, is when I DIDN'T trust my intuition. I was chatting with a friend earlier this week, and we both agreed that it was very important for us to follow the inner promptings and whispers of our hearts, and in fact, she suggested I write about this. But I must insert a caveat here, because following one's intuition does not imply we make decisions on a whim. For years I taught bioethics, and I always instructed my students that one could not go against one's conscience in making moral decisions. Howe...

This month is just about over, and I can't for the life of me, tell you where it went! I had a lot of goals and projects, and while I took care of some minor ones, it seems I hardly made a dent on my list. Perhaps it is the heaviness that seems to permeate so much on the planet right now - war in several places, including the conflict between Israel and Gaza, which I visited, just over 7 months ago. Even then, I was very much struck by how two people co-existed in the same, very small area - and were literally invisible to one another. The tension was palpable. I wanted to take them both by hand - the Jew and the Muslim - and say to them: "Here, look at each other! You share the same land and ancestry! You are children descended from the same man - Abraham!" There is also the matter of the planes recently shot down from the sky, particularly the one over the Ukraine, so many innocent lives needlessly taken. It just does not seem to be to me the kind of summer I had ...

I had not intended to title this post in this way, but it seems perfect actually! The last few days I've found myself moping around, feeling sorry for myself for various reasons, and then - as often happens in these situations, I came across a quote that I totally resonated with and which reminded me of something Frans Stiene, my Reiki teacher would most likely say.  It is a quote by the great Buddhist teacher,  Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche: "Hold the sadness and pain of samsara in your heart, and at the same time the power and vision of the Great Eastern Sun.  Then the warrior can make a proper cup of tea." Life is about balance. We cannot live our lives devoid of sadness and pain, but as two of my weekly prayer buddies observed this afternoon, it is about being able to step back and look at things without being caught up in the drama - or viewing things with the dispassion and detachment I've spoken of recently in my posts here, that makes the difference ...

I have seen him, every single day this week... This beautiful, but thin red fox on his long sturdy legs... I think he calls for me. And I listen. I feel impelled to go out when I think he is there, in the wooden sanctuary and its clearing, just a stone's throw away from my home. I think we connect somewhere - on some level, on some plane... This is something totally new for me... We stare each other down. We dance around each other... I approach him from behind and he does not sense my presence. So I muster a little cough to alert him. He stands. He examines me. I offer him Reiki - spiritual energy and healing energy as well - I speak to him - mind to mind and heart to heart and tell him I am his friend. My hands feel electric. I  feel the energy literally pouring out of me... My friend who work with animals tells me you must offer them the energy and they will take what they need. In time, they will teach you what you need to know for they are filled with wisdom...