Aligning with Grace

I have a few people I highly respect and whose judgment I trust. But I trust mine more... If I do not hear that "knock" or "Voice" that tells me to more forward - or in this direction instead of that - I don't budge. Sometimes, I do end up taking the road that was suggested - but maybe a year or so later - when I feel I am ready; when I have received the indication to do so. The only times I've had regrets or gotten myself into serious trouble, is when I DIDN'T trust my intuition. I was chatting with a friend earlier this week, and we both agreed that it was very important for us to follow the inner promptings and whispers of our hearts, and in fact, she suggested I write about this. But I must insert a caveat here, because following one's intuition does not imply we make decisions on a whim. For years I taught bioethics, and I always instructed my students that one could not go against one's conscience in making moral decisions. Howe...

This month is just about over, and I can't for the life of me, tell you where it went! I had a lot of goals and projects, and while I took care of some minor ones, it seems I hardly made a dent on my list. Perhaps it is the heaviness that seems to permeate so much on the planet right now - war in several places, including the conflict between Israel and Gaza, which I visited, just over 7 months ago. Even then, I was very much struck by how two people co-existed in the same, very small area - and were literally invisible to one another. The tension was palpable. I wanted to take them both by hand - the Jew and the Muslim - and say to them: "Here, look at each other! You share the same land and ancestry! You are children descended from the same man - Abraham!" There is also the matter of the planes recently shot down from the sky, particularly the one over the Ukraine, so many innocent lives needlessly taken. It just does not seem to be to me the kind of summer I had ...

I had not intended to title this post in this way, but it seems perfect actually! The last few days I've found myself moping around, feeling sorry for myself for various reasons, and then - as often happens in these situations, I came across a quote that I totally resonated with and which reminded me of something Frans Stiene, my Reiki teacher would most likely say.  It is a quote by the great Buddhist teacher,  Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche: "Hold the sadness and pain of samsara in your heart, and at the same time the power and vision of the Great Eastern Sun.  Then the warrior can make a proper cup of tea." Life is about balance. We cannot live our lives devoid of sadness and pain, but as two of my weekly prayer buddies observed this afternoon, it is about being able to step back and look at things without being caught up in the drama - or viewing things with the dispassion and detachment I've spoken of recently in my posts here, that makes the difference ...

I have seen him, every single day this week... This beautiful, but thin red fox on his long sturdy legs... I think he calls for me. And I listen. I feel impelled to go out when I think he is there, in the wooden sanctuary and its clearing, just a stone's throw away from my home. I think we connect somewhere - on some level, on some plane... This is something totally new for me... We stare each other down. We dance around each other... I approach him from behind and he does not sense my presence. So I muster a little cough to alert him. He stands. He examines me. I offer him Reiki - spiritual energy and healing energy as well - I speak to him - mind to mind and heart to heart and tell him I am his friend. My hands feel electric. I  feel the energy literally pouring out of me... My friend who work with animals tells me you must offer them the energy and they will take what they need. In time, they will teach you what you need to know for they are filled with wisdom...

I end this month, as I began it - reminding myself to choose joy... Choosing joy was the focus of the free 90 second meditation I posted yesterday on several social media platforms - it was an invitation layered over an inspirational exhortation that a dear friend artistically created, and which I borrowed. I do not just end this month with this thought and practice, but I set the intention to carry it forward - beyond this moment in time, as ripples spreading concentrically from the stillness of its center... I reminded others, while subbing yoga classes yesterday, that they too, can always to choose joy. We can choose joy - we can choose to embody and reflect joy in everything we say and do, even while in the midst of life's most difficult challenges. We should not abdicate our joy for anything - or anyone! For in so doing, we give alway our power and ultimately our very essence. I practiced choosing joy over the last few days - first by reflecting on the Reiki Precepts...

I have been delinquent in posting of late. But as we ease deeper into this summer season, I - like many of you - am just slowing down to more natural rhythms. What gets done gets done - and what doesn't - just doesn't! Right now, I am done teaching yoga for the summer, except for an occasional class here or there, and I am slowly making my way through every closet, drawer, and room, weeding out things I do not need, and organizing as well. It feels good! A couple of weeks ago, I had the honor and pleasure of studying once again with my Reiki teacher, Frans Stiene, who was here visiting from Australia. I decided to re-sit the Reiki III training since I had not done so for a few years. It turns out, the group I spent time with, was the best group ever. They were the most interesting, educated, sensitive group I have ever done any training with. No one spoke out of turn, or constantly, and there was mutual respect and a space for healing was held for others at all times. The ...

"Be who you are, and be that well." ~ Francis de Sales And truly, how can we be anything but who we are? As a child, I was once asked by a nun who was also my teacher, what I wished to be when I grew up. And I simply responded, "A saint." Of course, I had no idea what that meant, but somehow I felt enamored by the lives of the many martyrs I read about. Today, I ask myself, "What was I thinking?" But what I really think I meant, was that I was seeking a life of wholeness. I wanted to be the best person that I could possibly be, and in my childish understanding, I thought those people were saints - people who truly became the best human beings possible. Implicit in my understanding was a sort of perfection, that of course, I know now - does not exist. "Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." ~ Matthew 5:48 Even so, we strive for something that at times seems elusive. Can it really be attained?  James Martin, SJ, in h...