Aligning with Grace

1.10.17. In numerology and metaphysics this sequence of numbers adds up to "one." The energy of "1" is the energy of new beginnings. This year, 2017 - also adds up to the number one. Again, the energy of new beginnings... Look around. Read the news. It is enough to scare you back into a cave. Your outlook could be bleak. Or not. You can believe the world is ending. Or it is beginning. It is your choice how you choose to see things. And how you choose to react. I am choosing to believe in new beginnings. I am choosing to heed the invitation of the energy of one, because this sequence of numbers is very near and dear to my heart for personal reasons. I am ready for new beginnings which invite new choices and changes. Are you? You must decide. How you will look at this year. And at the events around you. You must decide. We always have the choice to grow. Or not. So decide. Be open to new beginnings. Begin again. You always can. The mome...

It seemed that everywhere I went these last couple of days, and nearly everything I read contained an exhortation to practicing greater kindness in 2017. It was as if everyone woke up in the new year on the same page! I had already resolved to practice greater kindness in all my endeavors, and I was indeed fortified in this resolution when I saw so many express similar desires on social media. Confidently, I stepped into this unseen sea of solidarity feeling the support of all committed to embodying this attribute, all over this planet. Perhaps you are embracing a different resolution. But if you are not, may I suggest practicing being kind a little more regularly? The world certainly needs it! One beautiful newsletter I read was titled: "Don't be mean in '17!  Even a list on 10 suggested practices for self care in the new year included being kind to yourself. Sometimes being kind to ourselves is much harder than being kind to each other. Resolve to become more awa...

We have welcomed 2017. In numerology - 2017 has the energy of "1" which is symbolic of new beginnings. In this new year, I visualize letting go of the old as a garment which simply floats away. A garment I have outgrown and no longer have use for. As I rang in the New Year, letting go of the old and its many shocks, I listened to a teaching by Kryon, who extolled his listeners to make of 2017 an altar of joy! Whatever you give energy to will increase, so focus on the energies you want you invite in this coming year, and let go of those that no longer serve you. "I spread my arms wide into the future,  for the best is yet to come!" ~ Anthony de Mello, SJ In this spirit, I want to share with you a couple of brief quotations I came across that I draw inspiration from. May they be a source of this for you as well! "Greater than the destructive force of hate,  is the compassionate power of love.  Whatever you say or do to others, let it be wi...

This New Year is calling me to greater Silence... I awaken several times this week, as the first rays of dawn trickle into my bedroom - slyly coaxing me to rouse - beckoning me to meditation and quiet contemplation, and to the recitation of the Liturgy of the Hours, in solidarity with monastic communities everywhere... I move about this day - in total Silence... Everything I seem to stumble upon in my reading brings me back to the importance and necessity of Silence in this point and time... From those first rays of dawn to the first inkling of twilight - my day progresses - with its many domestic duties gently unfolding and spilling into each other, in total and simple Silence... I speak not a word, to anyone - save for my prayers, internally voiced, which I lay at the feet of the Divine... It is truly delicious for me in every way! Yes, I feel a call to greater Silence, to Quiet, to drawing more deeply Inward, and to spending less time online with its many distracti...

I wrap myself up in blankets and don toasty slippers on these cold winter days... I drink tea, and move slowly, and I think of what I would like to birth this year... There are so many things I would like to do and experience, but now is not the time for that. Now is the time for entraining with the rhythms of nature - it is a time for slowing down, for practicing self-care, and for nurturing the soul... Somehow, I sense this year will be different. I choose to dedicate it in a different way than I have in the past... There is much to do - much to clear - different directions to take - and all will unfold in its own time and in divine order... I embrace the long dark evenings and let go of what does not serve, in so many ways... I warm my hands around one cup of tea after another, and reflect on the attributes and values I want to cultivate this year. Like Pope Francis, I want to focus on the embodiment and greater reflection of mercy. But in order to do that, I must exer...

I do not end - and do not begin the bookend years the way I have done in the past - not in how I spend my time, not in the rituals I have regularly engaged in - not even in the food I normally make or eat! All about the year ending and the one beginning is different... I am aware of profound changes taking place - in my life - in the lives of many dear ones - and in the energy fields that surround us - and so much more... The latter half of this year witnessed a cleansing for me - of home - of body and spirit - deep changes I did not plan and could not have foreseen... All of it has resulted in a "lightening" of the load in my life and home - and as I begin this year - I realize it must go even further! I've detached from so much - and find it so much easier to do so... Profound insights come to me that significantly alter my perspective - my understanding, and my deep "inner knowing..." All shall be well... I dedicated this year to Mary and th...

Recently, I came across these questions posited by Henri Nouwen, who was one of my favorite spiritual writers from the seventies, in addition to Thomas Merton, whose centenary happens to be today. Both of these prolific writers, teachers, priests and mystics, exerted a deep influence on my spirituality. I read and reflected on these questions, finding them to be quite powerful and a useful tool, and so I saved them, because they are truly perennial questions - meant to be asked over and over again - scrutinized, masticated, authentically pondered, and even verbalized out loud, until they become so deeply internalized that they become part of the fabric of our minds, our prayers, our hearts, and our spirituality. I can think of no better questions to ask myself at the end of my day as I take time to review  events experienced and encountered, before drifting off to sleep or finishing my night prayers. As I close out the first month of this still, fairly new year, I commit...

"Did you love enough?" This question has been haunting me for nearly a month - ever since a friend brought it up as she reflected on her life and situation. I went home that afternoon, daring to ask myself the same thing: "Did I love enough?" Did I love enough in that situation in the past? Am I loving enough in this situation now? And inevitably that morphed into: "Have I loved myself enough?" No matter the question or its variation - the answer is always the same: NO. We can never love enough - whether it is someone else - or ourselves. Love by its very nature is expansive. There is always more room to grow. In loving others however, the key is to love without attachment, without holding on - without being needy. And in loving ourselves - we may simply just need to set boundaries and allow ourselves the right to practice self-care. We can never love enough - just as we can never meditate deeply enough. We never arrive. There is ...

I begin the year by inviting angels into my sacred space... I begin every new year with some kind of ritual... For years, I began the year by walking a labyrinth in a church. After a decade of doing this, the church no longer offered this as a possibility, so I moved on to other rituals... I believe that the energy you end a year with and the energy with which you usher in a new year colors that whole year... So - last year, and this year - I began it by inviting angels and their energy into my life... I know, it may seem silly to some. But if you don't like the concept of angels - then think of a Power greater than yourself - think of inviting in the the creative energies of the Universe. In other words, invite in whatever resonates... Angels, like Hindu deities, are simply the embodiment of divine characteristics we wish to emulate or become. And what I find fascinating is - that since I literally opened the door to my home and my heart to the angels - everything...

A New Year arrives on the heels of another that leaves - quietly, silently... A New Year arrives, full of promise - filled with expectations - rising on the ashes of the previous one... I meditate in the cloaking darkness, descending on the evening and wrapping me in its arms - and then again in bed - and after rising - bridging two worlds, the night and the day - and two years - old and new... I reflect on the waning year and all its unexpected blessings and the creative ventures undertaken... I welcome the new one, filled with possibilities and the impending fruition of all the groundwork laid in the previous year... I end the year, and begin the new one in gratitude... i choose to surround myself with all that is positive, and life giving, and loving... I forgive myself for failings - and others for whatever I perceive might be theirs - mindful of the fact that it may be only my perception which sees it so... I invite angels and guides to journey with me, every step ...

Just a few days ago I wrote about undertaking one simple task for your day... Just for today, be more patient... Just for today, clean out one drawer... When we set simple goals like these ones, we tend to be more successful... But, what about when we aren't successful? What about when we fail? What about those moments we think we've taken great strides and thought we'd made great progress and then something reminds us that we haven't? Have we gone back to "square one?" Well, not really... You see, we can always begin again... And again... And again... Every day we wake up is precisely that - a new day - and a new opportunity. We can pick ourselves up, and dust ourselves off, and start over. We can begin again... So maybe you didn't exercise at all over the holidays. Or eat in the most healthy manner. Maybe you meant to start yesterday and did - but then had something you shouldn't have had later. Do you beat yourself up? ...

The Reiki Precepts, as they are often interpreted or presented, begin with the words,  Just for today... In other words, it can be daunting to take on a task or project, or commitment for the whole year -  for the duration of your whole entire life - or even for a week sometimes... But we can always undertake a task or commit to something for just a day... We can decide to do a juice fast for a day, or do a spiritual practice - just for this one day... And then the next day, we can do the same - that is - commit again just for that day... In time each day will accumulate on a bed of other days, creating a cushioning in our lives. A spiritual practice will flourish and nourish. A change to more healthy ways of eating and/or exercising will contribute to our well-being... At this time of year, we tend to take on more than we can ever accomplish realistically. So instead of a monumental undertaking - say to yourself, "Just for today..." Plant seeds, and in the ...

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...

"With the opening of the New Year, all the closed portals of limitation will be thrown open and I shall move through them to vaster fields where my worthwhile dreams of life will be fulfilled." ~ Paramahansa Yoganada With the ending of this year, and the beginning of the next - to concur with a New Moon - we plant the seeds for new beginnings, as in this coming year of 2014... The last couple of years have been very difficult for so many. There have been seemingly insurmountable challenges for many loved ones. But I am amazed at how so many souls have been able to traverse these experiences with love, and humility and grace. It has been a great gift to me and a lesson for my soul... Every year brings with it the invitation to grow, and to deepen our relationship with the Divine. It invites us to heal what must be healed, to take on - and let go - and to accept what we cannot change. I like to light votive candles at sundown that last for almost a week - ...

Yoga teachers who use themes in their classes, often spend a lot of time reflecting on what it is they wish to convey to their students in the New Year - because in many ways - it can set the tone for the rest of the year. We often start a new session shortly after the beginning of the year. At this time, many of us are knee deep in setting intentions or resolutions for the coming year. Last year I set three of them for myself. They were actually more like attributes or virtues I wished to embody, and I am pleased to say that I was able to keep these intentions. Last week, on one of my walks, I reflected on what I wanted to share with my students who would soon be returning. Many of them have been with me for years, so there is a real challenge to say something fresh, that is both different and inspirational at the same time. My students are also lovely and dear friends, so I think of this little group that faithful returns to my home studio (with some taking a break or hiatus ever...

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...