Aligning with Grace

I finished reading three books this week, and in all of them I found this essential message repeated, over and over again, in various permutations:  Love yourself first, then you can love others. Appreciate who you are. Do not put yourself down. Do not sell yourself short. The poet Rumi once wrote: "The whole Universe is inside of you. Ask all from yourself." You have everything that you need. Right now. In this moment. A dear soul reminded me of that last night. No matter how bleak, or dark things may be - there is a Light that shines within you. Why? Because you ARE Love - you are a fragment of the Universal Force that binds us all. But, you have to recognize it. And accept it first. Then you can shine that Light and Love for others. But start with yourself. Today. Tomorrow. And every day! (Photo by Veronica Martinez)

"The awakened mind has two attributes.  One is compassion, what some would call love. The other is clarity, what some would call sight. They are not really two things.  Each is a function of the other. When you see, really see, you just love. When you love, really love, you just see. You see things as they are, not as you expect, and in that wide open space is love." ~ Karen Maezen Miller In the book "Paradise in Plain Sight," the author, Karen Miller, dedicates nearly two decades of her life to restoring a Zen garden to its former glory. This is no small feat. Along the way, she also seeks out a Zen teacher because she deems that her life is lost. "Your life is your practice." This is the message he entrusts her with. How simple is this? How pure? How unique? And yet how challenging? "Your life is your practice." Your life is the medium and the message.  Your life is the vehicle for the manifestation and the embo...

"Each of us inevitable, Each of us limitless - Each of us with his or her right upon the earth, Each of us allow'd the eternal purports  of the earth, Each of us here as divinely as any is here." ~ Walt Whitman, (Leaves of Grass) "There is nothing more impoverished as the deeply unawakened heart; and nothing enriches us more, and brings more life and meaningfulness, that the awakened heart." ~ Christina Feldman It amazes me how every day one can receive the messages needed, if one is open to them. Last night I was reading a chapter entitled, "Making the conscious decision to love your life," in Lorna Byrne's "Love from Heaven: Practicing Compassion for Yourself and Others."  In this section of the book, Lorna, who has had a life long ability to see and communicate with angels and beings that have passed on, states that to love is our most important mission in life. Love is indeed our essence. And so...

I awaken drained and exhausted, after several days of sadness and heaviness for the state of affairs in this world, and the perception of my own. Everything in the news seems to consist of a blockage - an impediment for communication, compromise and collegiality - a challenge that is seemingly insurmountable, and yet in my heart of hearts, I know it is not true... Did not Gandhi once exhort us to be the change we wanted to see? Messages come from so many different places, and I receive two that are particularly notable, one as I finish the book that I am reading, "Hallelujah Anyway: Rediscovering Mercy," by Anne Lamott: "...Things that grow are what change everything.  Moments of compassion, giving, grief, and wonder  shift our behavior, get inside us and change realms  we might not have agreed to change...  The world keeps going on.  You can have another cup of coffee  and keep working on your plans.  Or you can take t...

"A little bit of mercy makes the world less cold and more just." ~ Pope Francis Yesterday, after I finished reading the Sunday papers, I noticed I was very sad. Practically everything I read was depressing. The despair felt contagious. I was overwhelmed by the state of affairs in the world. How did we get this way? I thought to myself, we need more mercy and compassion... It so happens that I have been reading the book "Hallelujah Anyway: Rediscovering Mercy," by Anne Lamott, a very timely little tome indeed! I quoted this book in my last entry, but now I am knee deep in it. Ironically, on page 51 (Psalm 51 is the Miserere, one of my favorite and most recited, I could not help but note), Lamott offers this explanation: "Misericordia is Latin for 'mercy,' from misericors, 'merciful,' which is 'to pity,' and cor, 'heart.' Mercy means compassion, empathy, a heart for someone's troubles. It's not something ...

We live in troubling times... We live in sad times... In a time of much despair... But, it is because we have forgotten we belong to each other. We have forgotten that at our essence we are Love. And we can shine that love. We can increase the Love that is on this planet. We can make a difference... Every book I pick up recently has the same message. The world needs your love and mercy. The world needs your kindness. We come into this world as pure love, but we forget who we are at our essence. So, let's take a moment right now to remember who we are. Yes, right now! Stop! Find a comfortable seat. Close your eyes... Place one hand over your heart. And your other hand over that one, as if you were holding or caressing your own heart... Feel your beating heart. Listen to it... Visualize that every heartbeat pluses with Love... FEEL that Love! Let it embrace you and saturate every fiber of your being... FEEL it's warmth! Your heart and body is fill...

The world needs your kindness... And it needs mine as well... It needs ALL of our kind acts, if we are to survive as a nation and as a planet... I have been reflecting on this a lot of late, wanting so desperately to withdraw further from the world, and I've already done a good job of that. Yet, I cannot ignore so much of what I read that brings to mind the urgency of needing to change our directions - as peoples, as nations, as religious traditions, as leaders, and as the trampled and abused earth that we live on.  I am forced to weigh the impact of my actions, of my thoughts, of my words... The Dalai Lama has often written that kindness is his religion. He has taught that we do not need complicated philosophies or religions to abide by - we just simply need more kindness. We just need to exercise more kindness overall... The story of the Good Samaritan especially comes to mind here. A man of a different tradition and nation - chooses to make a difference - h...

Sometimes we must live, caught between one place and the other. Sometimes, we are unsure of where we are and how we feel - or where we are going. Sometimes, we must live, with a divided heart. The insight came to me, on my walk yesterday morning, as the day began to steam up. Why is it that we often feel divided? We can be divided within ourselves in so many ways: Divided in what we think - and the guilt that we have for thinking that way... In what we we want, as opposed to what we have... Where I work, and what I really want to do... Where I am, and where I want to be... Where I live, and where I want to go... Who I am with, and who I want to spend time with... Who I see, and who I yearn to be with... How I spend my time, and how I really would prefer to spend it... How things actually unfold in my life, and not how I wish they would do so... The choices I made, instead of the ones I really wanted to make... Why must we live with a heart and life divid...

Messages come in many ways - if we have the ears to listen, the eyes to see, and the heart to feel... I receive several of them on a walk this week, and it has taken me days to reflect on them and explore their meaning for me... The day is beautiful - cool, crisp, and lit up by a brilliant blue, and cloudless sky. I am anxious to get going and commence my daily litany of prayers, meditations, and dialogue with the Other Side... Almost immediately, I am stopped by a beautiful doe several feet in front of me. I glanced to look at my feet momentarily - and when I looked back up - there she was, seemingly having materialized out of thin air. I look at her - and she peers at me very intently. I begin to speak to her - heart to heart and soul to soul. She listens, and almost seems to nod, and then takes a few steps toward me. I do not move, afraid of scaring her away, so we continue our dance of beholding one another and communicating silently. She moves off to the side, grac...

The sun rises and unveils a brilliant blue and cloudless sky... The crisp coolness of an early June morning takes my breath away,,, Two cardinals sit on my deck bistro chairs facing each other and I imagine they are chatting happily... It is as if all is well with the world, but I know that it is not... And yet, all is impregnated with the Presence of the Divine... I KNOW it - as all mystics know and feel this in their bones. Thus, I have never - and could never question or doubt what I feel is more real in my life than most things... I walk and pray and pray and walk - open to the insights and messages I receive from my guides on the Other Side of the Veil... They come every time - because I invoke their presence and ask for their guidance. In the words of Yogananda I beseech them to: "Lead me from ignorance to wisdom, From restlessness to peace, And from desire to contentment." I reflect on the state of the world, the divisiveness, the hatred and v...