Aligning with Grace

Today's entry is very simple. It is summer in one part of the world and that invites us to live in greater simplicity. In another part of the world, it is going into winter, and that invites introspection and one to slow down as well. Either way, the season invites rest. Are you too busy? Feeling overwhelmed? Then rest! Take time to: REST. REFLECT. AND REPLENISH. That is what I am doing right now.  Last night I gave myself permission to let go of tasks and goals I had set out for the year. It felt instantly freeing. Instead, I thought to myself - "Let's just see where things go. Let me be open to whatever presents itself." So yes! Just: REST. REFLECT. AND REPLENISH. If you don't take time to rest, you can't reflect. And if you don't have time to reflect, you won't be able to figure out what you need to replenish - and make your life better, more peaceful, and joyous.  It's really that simple. Try it! Want some tools to help you on your journey? Che...

I have this yard stick, or as a dear soul friend today pointed out - a litmus test - that helps me navigate this often confusing and turbulent world. We live in times filled with misinformation, violence, and division. If I chose to focus on that, I would constantly live in fear and erode years from my sanity and life. How to decide what is real? How to know whether to trust or believe in anyone, most especially, those in leadership or seeking it? The answer for me, is very simple. It contains the essence of every ethical, spiritual, and practice traditions: Are the words and actions rooted in Love? I look at the information, I consider the character of a person and what and how they are presenting their information - and: I simply ask myself whether what they are saying or how they acting - is in alignment with love. Does it engender love - or at least strive to? We may not always succeed in all of our endeavors, but what is our intention in the long run? Is it to be a better person a...

There are days that are filled with good things. Those days are easy and bright. And then there are days that are challenges - filled with anxiety and fear. And perhaps without even a ray of hope or sense of possibility. And in those days, we must especially hold on to hope - grasping it as tightly as we can. Yes my friends - despite everything - we must: Hold on to hope. As I went to a park near where I live this morning, feeling all kinds of things, this beautiful instrumental piece came on the radio, and it just happened to be titled,  "Hold on to Hope."  I sensed immediately that it was a message for me sent from the Beyond. Holding on to hope may not always be an easy thing - but it is a necessary thing. Hope gives us life. It helps us put one foot in front of the other when everything else seems challenging and bleak. We can even turn it into an affirmation, to repeat over and over again until it becomes ingrained in us: I hold on to hope. I used to come down to the riv...

I am moving... Not physically. At least not yet. But I AM moving and flowing - from doing to being... It is part of letting go on a bigger scale - of all the things I once thought defined me... Of all the things that once brought me joy, but no longer do... On my brisk fall walk this morning, I realized, that I am moving from doing to being... I am letting go of one - and becoming the other. I am moving and flowing from doing INTO being... I no longer want schedules, or appointments tying me down... I let go of "shoulds" and "having to" with great abandon, and supplant them instead, with "I want to." This presupposes living in the moment... I go through my house, and find new homes for articles that will still bring joy and be of use to friends who are educators and at the forefront of shaping a new generation... I give thoughtful consideration to what I have, and to whom it may still be of use... Yes, I let go... Of collections and w...

"Sacred is the pause that brings us into stillness." ~Macrina Weiderkehr The summer is flying by quickly. I hardly know where it it going... I have not spent much time writing this year, but it has been a time of transformations none-the-less...  During the last few months many of my friends have lost parents or dealt with their illnesses, and as many of us stare down a 6th decade or find ourselves already residing there - the reality of mortality stares many of us in the face. So, it is a time to pause. To think. To re-evaluate our lives. To take stock of our journey thus far - the direction we have taken - and ultimately, to consider the weight of our possessions. Sacred is the pause, indeed... In these last few months, of change and transformation for many, the very act of deeply simplifying has beckoned... I have roamed room by room - and drawer by drawer - divesting myself of things - sometimes brutally - only to roam in the same environs again and...

This year has been difficult on so many levels for practically every person that I know or have encountered, even if it has been for very different reasons... This year gave witness to dramatic changes in peoples' lives and the world - punctuated by deaths, many of which were sudden or unexpected. Many souls moved on - and many more simply died to a way of life or some aspect within themselves... I believe there has been a discernible shift in consciousness in some areas - almost as if a tipping point has been reached. Still, there is much room for awakening... This year also witnessed many individuals charting a far different direction for their lives than originally envisioned - and not often by choice. Livelihoods were lost, as were sources of income, and communities were torn irreparably asunder. Many relationships ended as well... For years I have marked transitions in my life poetically, or by making entries on this blog. My entries were not as regular this year, and ...

"Simplify, simplify, simplify!" ~ Henry David Thoreau I have loved this quote ever since I saw it on a T shirt in the gift store at Walden Pond, fifteen or more years ago. It seems that all of my life I've had this urge to simplify, yet at the same time I've struggled with all that it entails. Last week we moved my son into the first apartment he's had on his own. Up until now, he's had roommates since he graduated from college. This was his first venture living completely on his own. As I packed and unpacked his belongings, lovingly putting everything into its place, I marveled at the dimensions of his one bedroom apartment in a high rise, that while new and inviting, was much smaller than any of the apartments I had ever lived in. But, my son is a pretty frugal guy, and even when everything was all put away, there were still plenty of empty drawers and spaces. It got me to thinking - what would I choose today to bring with me if I had to downsize...

We are all travelers in time... This is the thought that comes to me at the river this morning, as I take time to do some brief meditations before returning home to teach... I do not have the river to myself this morning. Instead, a friendly group of more aged walkers smile, and wish me a good morning. They do not know that I am not a morning person and I do not like to talk that early! Still, I smile back, and and greet them. There is so much I am thinking about - it would take several entries and volumes of information to download here, so I will mention only a few brief points... My acupuncturist asked me on Monday, how I was doing with my goals of exercising greater compassion and aiming for more simplicity in my life. She did not know about all the recent events in my yoga community, and so I gave her a brief recap. I am no longer the co-chair of the curriculum committee - so all the work done there came to a grinding halt. For that reason, and a few others, I find myself with mo...