Aligning with Grace

Nearly twelve years ago I started this blog after a visit to the Potomac River, which is about a mile from my home. I had not planned on writing, I just came home and did so, following an inner prompting. For years I came down to the river regularly. One year, it was almost a daily occurrence, and I sat on a bench during all seasons to do some meditative practices which evolved over time and transformed me in the process.  Recently, I received a message which I perceived intuitively. "Go back to the river. And take up these three practices once again. You need them!" And so, I listened. Over the course of the next few entries, I will share these easy practices with you. They are simple practices, but powerful ones. As I mentioned in my last entry, the purpose of spiritual practices and prayers is to transform ourselves, not others. Although others may change as a result of our own evolution as a spiritual being, that is not the focus here. It is about...

Every year on my birthday there are several rituals and practices I like to do. Over the years, these rituals have changed somewhat. For a number of years I did a yoga Sun Salutation practice for each year of my life, reflecting on the major events of each one. I was always amazed by the long forgotten memories that would spontaneously arise! Yesterday, I did a meditation reflecting on the events of the past year, month by month. It was a meditation taught to me by a friend over a decade ago. The past year had indeed been heavy, with many sad events occurring, but they were balanced with occasions to celebrate as well. I reflected on significant deaths that occurred in my family - including those of friends not much older than I am. But in the early morning, I went down to the river to do a number of practices... Some years it has rained on my birthday. This is a blessing and considered auspicious in Eastern cultures.  Yesterday it was cold, wet, and a little bit f...

I cannot believe it has been almost two months since my last entry here... There have been so many times I have intended to connect here, but as the saying goes - life got in the way! At the beginning of September, I finished my summer project, which was to go through every closet, drawer, and cabinet in the house - generally lightening my load and footprint on the earth. The result is that now I can see where everything is - and have passed on the many things I no longer need. I also embarked on a life-changing course of coming into greater health and wellness, and now, nearly two months later, I am reaping the fruits of my labor and enjoying its sweet harvest. This morning, it was both sunny and cool, and I was moved to take my coffee down to the river, as I began nearly every morning years ago. The river called, and I longed to just go and be by its banks. It was swollen and full and much debris hugged the boat ramp after days of very heavy rains. There I stood, b...

I arise on this first day of the New Year, and the energy feels different, and lighter, and I head to my meditation room to sit... I have a custom of lighting two long lasting votive candles on New Year's Eve, reviewing the events of the outgoing year, setting intentions for the incoming one, and expressing gratitude for all things - but both of my candles go out for the first time ever! I manage to re-light them, but only one manages to survive the night... Somehow, I sense, they are not needed to stand vigil - that a much greater Presence already does. I feel protected and surrounded by a legion of companions both seen and unseen, guiding me from the Beyond...Truly, a doorway has already been opened into this New Year... I end the year and welcome this new one toasting champagne with friends, having the best of times... I quietly get up on New Year's Day, and head down to the river, which I have not visited in weeks. Has it been months? I cannot remember... There ar...

A week ago I was privileged to have experienced darshan with Mother Meera for the third time in my life.  It has taken me a week to write about it, because so much of the experience is truly ineffable and defies all attempts at articulation. At its essence is a transmission of love that is mystical and of a deeply personal and interior nature... It was a blessing to be accompanied by a dear soul companion and to meet very old and dear friends of hers at the temple, who have become mine as well - and to share this experience with each of them. I have written about my previous experiences with Mother Meera on this blog, and provide links to those entries at the end of this post. Each time, I have received exactly what I needed... The first time I saw her in the fall of 2008, I was in the midst of a deep depression. The second time, I had emerged from this time of darkness and difficulty following a period of intense healing, body work, and therapy. I received peace and e...

I go down to the river on the first free morning and day I've had in a while... The fall season has been gently ushered in by forces unseen and the air is cool and crisp... I have been brought here by the urge to do both - Loving-Kindness meditation and a Gratitude practice, in thanksgiving for prayers answered and blessings received... In the coolness of the air, insights come to me about what the greatest gift we can give another soul might be... Certainly to be present to them. To pray for another and their well being - whether through the offering of traditional prayers, or something as simple and yet equally challenging as a Loving-kindness meditation can be - especially if offered for an estranged person in our lives... There is much I have wanted to share here, but a cranky and failing computer on its way out is presently impeding it. Simple sentences arise in my soul. And I share them here... Today, and every day, strive to be more fully present. As you do so,...

Recently I responded to an article/blog post by a former colleague on her views about forgiveness, which were fundamentally different than my own. After reflecting on this entry for three days, I chose to respond to it, and today, I realized, after connecting with an old friend who had been sent my response - that perhaps others might find it insightful as well. I feel my comments stand on their own merit and that it is not necessary to link it to the original blog or the discussions it engendered. But since I did receive messages from a few persons who let me know it also spoke to them, I "reprise" my insights here, slightly edited and expanded for greater clarity. May you receive them in any way that is meant for you... "After reflecting on your well written and thought provoking piece on forgiveness for several days, let me be a lone voice offering another perspective, which is derived and offered from my own experience... I do believe in the power of forgi...

Every once in a while, I find myself pondering the meaning of one of the greatest teachings in most spiritual traditions. That is, how to be in this world, but not of it... The more we delve deeply into spiritual practices, the more we notice emerging differences in ourselves, perhaps very subtle at first, that become more established in our behavior and practices over the course of time. Things that once mattered, seem to do so, even less, and less, as time goes on... I considered this, as I visited the river this morning, on a day that was sunny and warmer, even though there was still some crispness in the air. The sky was blue, and the river itself more reminiscent of a plate of glass on which birds seems to skate artfully and effortlessly, oblivious to everything and everyone. I soaked in the stillness and the quiet, remembering how Adyashanti, a well known and beloved spiritual teacher, often suggests that we should try to find some time for stillness and quiet in our quotid...

For a new day in a New Year, here is some inspiration to warm your soul, and help you chart your direction in this coming year... I am wishing for a very full and rich year of growth - for all beings - and for myself as well... "This is my New Year's wish for you:  that you all reach the land beyond your dreams,  where there is peace and joy eternal."  ~ Paramahansa Yogananda "Spread your arms wide into the future.  The best is yet to come!"  ~ Anthony de Mello, SJ "And now, let us believe in a long year that is given to us,  new, untouched, full of things that have never been." ~ Rainer Maria Rilke  "The only limits are, as always, those of vision." ~ James Broughton "Make your life a mission -- not an intermission." ~ Arnold H. Glasgow  "Visualize yourself standing before a gateway on a hilltop.  Your entire life lies out before you and below.  Before you s...