Aligning with Grace

You don't know what you don't know. Be gentle with yourself. We think we know everything. I know I do. We think we know what is happening.  We think we know what other people are thinking. And what they are feeling. We think that that the way we interpret reality is the correct version of current affairs. But really, this only brings to the forefront, our lack of wisdom and knowledge. There is so much we don't know. We don't know the pain people carry within. Recently, several well known celebrities took their lives, and many, on social media, posted messages and phone numbers for those suffering to reach out. But here's the thing. When you are in such deep pain, you hide it well. And you don't reach out. I know this, because I have struggled with depression and many around me had no idea. You don't often know what you think you know. About others, and yourself as well. Sometimes, you are very surprised to realized you were completely mi...

Happiness is, more often than not, elusive. But it really depends on how we define it - or what we think makes us happy. This morning, I read an interview with Oprah Winfrey. The interviewer had to wait for her to finish a photo shoot with the esteemed Annie Liebovitz, who was very apologetic for keeping Oprah longer than expected. Oprah's response caught me my surprise. She told Liebovitz not to worry. While she was with her, she was fully present to those moments and those experiences. Later she would be with the interviewer, and then she would be fully present in that moment with him, no longer thinking or concerned with the photo shoot.  This is the first key to happiness I thought, being fully in the moment. Not in the past - and not in the future. That is not to say that this is an easy task! Earlier this week, I listened to a webinar where the presenter said something very similar. She noted the past does not exist - it is only a memory we insist on bringing back t...

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...

It is a time for changes... It is a time for different seasons... The spring season is here, or at least it is trying to make its way into our hearts and lives... I have spent months out of sorts for many reasons, but those reasons need not be explored any more than I have already have... I hear the birds outside, happily singing, and reminding me that change is always possible... I reflect over and over again on so many failings on my part, realizing that each and every one of them is an invitation to grow. These failings hold up the mirror to where I need to do the work. And with whom... I begin again... I put one foot in front of the other, and try to remember that this is a gift denied to many. This day is a luxury many do not have... There is always room for change... There is always room for growth... It is always a time for change... I decide to make small changes today - just simple design changes to my social media platforms. I wish t...

The title for this post came after a particularly trying day for me, involving change and releasing the past. A dear friend noted that such an experience can ultimately be joyous, even when we cannot see it that way. This morning, I reflected on the stories behind the two 90 second meditations I posted most recently. Yesterday's meditation revolved around a story I heard years ago, but which became familiar to many after the movie "The Bucket List." It is told, that before an ancient Egyptian was allowed to cross over into the afterlife, he or she was asked two questions: "Did you find joy? Did you bring joy?" In other words, have you allowed yourself to experience joy in your life? And have you embodied, reflected, and shared it with others? It seems simple enough, but often, we lives our quotidian lives without any joy, overlooking the simple things in life that can bring us joy: a smile, a friend's laugh, a warm cup of tea, birds chirping o...

The last couple of weeks has brought its shares of challenges, blessings, and insights... I more or less had certain plans for the month which had to be abandoned as I was faced with several unplanned house repairs. In many ways, these needed repairs mirrored issues within my own soul that needed attention. A house has always been a wonderful metaphor for my soul and the work that it must do... Last week, as I left my acupuncturist, after having discussed with her some of the issues and decisions I was facing, I was greeted by a beautiful tiger swallowtail butterfly, that reminded me so much of the blue butterfly whose path mystically intersected with mine on a walk last fall.  Butterflies are symbolic of change, freedom, creativity, and joy. In ancient cultures they were also regarded as a sign of impending rebirth - of renewal or of a new beginning on a higher plane of existence. The various life cycles butterflies go through are indicative of questions we might need to ask...

The month is nearly half way through, and slowly I am wandering from room to room - weeding out all that does not seem necessary to me right now - such as volumes upon volumes that I will never read - again or ever - diligently uncluttering crevices - and clearing corners and surfaces - in this inexplicable urge to cleanse and simplify... It began with my meditation/office area - or perhaps earlier this summer when we finally bought a new car to replace my unreliable and not so fuel efficient ride... In my meditation space I have rearranged countless and priceless murtis and statues - shifting energy - but also segregating my collection as well - bringing to the forefront energies I most identify with at the moment. I felt compelled to move things around on my altar, and clear it up a bit. Now things feel clean and a bit more spacious - at least from the energetic perspective. It is a season for change... This whole year has been about change in so many ways - some were unexpected and ...

Buddhists teach, that the only constant is change... Gandhi once extolled, that we must be the change we want to see in the world... The season of Lent invites us to do inner work and reflection and make changes within and ultimately without... It seems that everything that comes into my inbox lately addresses this theme of change - Lenten reflections, Facebook posts, emails... I receive a picture of a beautiful bird, an eagle perhaps, with a huge wingspan accompanied by the caption: "Change your mind. Change the world..." A Lenten reflection I subscribe to, posed this question yesterday: "What would make you drop everything and change directions?" It is never too late for change... Rumi reminds us that, "You transform all who are touched by you..." Truly, the only constant is change... And today, from my Lenten reflections, "Journey to the Cross," I receive the following insights... "We are creating the future today. It is hard to imagine w...