The Silence of Winter

WINTER SOLSTICE

Journeying around the sun,
at Yule, she turns furthest from the light.
Here In the dark of the long night she is veiled,
and here she comes to the fullness of her union with creation.
To enter is to hold Death closest to our hearts.
And as we do, Death has her sensuous way.

Slowly, we come to a clearing, and the solstice.
And in deep stillness, we enter.
Our journey from the sun has come to its full,
and we wait in a rare quality of quietness.
Time is no more.

Here in this place, we gently slip into the emptiness, and depth of the void,
and bathe in the energies of creation.
when we are cleansed, and fully drunken from the cup,
she continues on her journey around, and we edge back closer to the light.
slipping out through her veils in birth, we are new, and journeying to the sun.

–Martin Jones

image courtesy of http://bwlibys.blogspot.com

Your Daily Gibran

The teacher who is indeed wise 

does not bid you to enter his house of wisdom 

but rather leads you to the threshold of your mind.  

Khalil Gibran

image courtesy of mustardseedbudget.wordpress.com

Wearing the World Like a Loose Garment

Letting Go of Attachments

St. Francis of Assisi (1181-1226 ce) is credited with the saying “Wear the world like a loose garment." 

In order to be truly free, it is beneficial to cultivate a relationship to external events where clinging does not occur, and to see that anything outside of the self which is seen as providing security is temporal at best. This approach to life doesn't imply ambivalence or lack of participation, but rather suggests that it is when we become attached that we suffer as attachment lends itself to disappointment due to failed expectations.

The first step is becoming willing to let go of anything: people, objects, and expectations. We begin to let go of looking outside of ourselves for satisfaction and pleasure, understanding that our true sense of joy is within. And, contrary to what at first may seem as negative or indifference, letting go of our attachments creates the chance to experience life without imposing our hopes, needs, dreams, wants, desires, and expectations on others which then creates freedom all around. The freedom to choose, both for ourselves and for others.

Byron Katie wisely says "As long as we continue to resist reality we will suffer". When we wear the world like a loose garment we are accepting reality without the need to change it and this is where suffering ends and freedom begins.

Your Daily Rumi

Astonishing Light of Being

"I wish I could show you when you are lonely or in the darkness,

the astonishing light of your own being."

-Hafiz

photo earthtrek.com

The Bigger Picture

August 18th, 2010

Its the end of summer and I am taking a week or two off from writing. Just wanted you all to know that in September I will return to writing my twice weekly blogs. Have a wondrous August and all the very best to you.

I found this blog post tucked into the archives and imagine my surprise when I realized it was exactly the way I am feeling now in mid August 3 years later!  This little discovery had given me pause to think about what has happened in the last few years since I first took a little break from writing; the most noticeable event was that it was on Sept. 4th of that very year that I began writing my first book Spiritual Turning Points, wrote furiously over a few months with little attention to anything else including this blog, and published it in late January 2011.

During the process, we also had an unexpected event when a pipe in our upstairs bathroom burst and water flooded most of our house, requiring us to move out for two months. And yes, I finished the book in a hotel room, not the easiest thing to do (including edits on my laptop) but obviously possible!  Looking back on that time now, it seems like a blip on the radar but to live through it didn't feel that way at all. These kinds of experiences, in retrospect, are good reminders that life presents us with many challenges, most of which are part of the big picture, not the only picture in a life.

Enjoy the rest of your summer!

Photo El Granada Harbor View from our Hotel Room

Times of Peace and Transformation

Today I have been musing on the idea that there are times in our lives which are peaceful by all accounts and those which might be considered challenging. Looking back on my own life from my mid-50's, I can see that life has been wavelike with movement and never static, always changing, always bringing new opportunities for growth whether or not it seemed like that at the time.

Some of my friends and clients tell me that they wish for more peace and hope that the next challenge will be far off in the future so that they can get on with their lives. Yet others say they welcome whatever life brings to them, seeing all experiences as opportunities for personal growth and essence evolution. These folks do not resist life and instead accept what comes their way and for the most part seem far more content than those who avoid challenges. Both responses are valid, of course and up to the individual to choose what is right for them.

I do however find it curious that life is much like the waves of the ocean; movement never ceasing, sun always rising and setting, storms coming and going, each of us in our human bodies, riding the waves in our little boats. That is until we realize that we are part of the great ocean and jump in.

reprise of original post c. 2010

Being Alive

"People say that what we're all seeking is a meaning for Life.

I think that what we're seeking is an experience of being alive...

Actually feeling the rapture of being alive."

-Joseph Campbell

Letting Go of our Stories

I just heard of a story which I would like to share today.

In “A New Earth”, Eckhart Tolle describes a story entitled "The Duck With The Human Mind". He says that when two ducks get into a fight, it never lasts too long, because the ducks will separate and float off in opposite directions. “The duck will flap its wings vigorously a few times, thus releasing the surplus energy that built up during the fight. After they flap their wings, they float on peacefully, as if nothing had ever happened. If the duck had a human mind, it would keep the fight alive by thinking, by story-making. This would probably be the duck’s story: “I don’t believe what he just did. He came to within five inches of me. He thinks he owns this pond. He has no consideration for my private space. I’ll never trust him again. Next time he’ll try something else just to annoy me. I’m sure he’s plotting something already. But I’m not going to stand for this. I’ll teach him a lesson he won’t forget.”

Tolle summarizes, “But this is how most humans live all the time. No situation or event is ever really finished. ...We are a species that has lost its way. Everything natural, every flower or tree, and every animal have important lessons to teach us if we would only stop, look, and listen. Our duck’s lesson is this: Flap your wings - which translates as “let go of the story” - and return to the only place of power: the present moment.”

This story illustrates how our minds get caught up in making up stories about our experiences. We may in the moment find ourselves feeling deeply;

Our dog has just died and we feel intense grief. We reunite with a lover and feel intense joy. We fly into a rage when someone crosses our boundaries.

All of these feelings are valid. However, it is our thoughts that follow the emotions that lead to the tangles I wrote about in my blog "The Life Tapestry". And, it's what we do with these thoughts that make all the difference. In the moment that we notice our thoughts going down that all too familiar pathway of "story", we can stop, take a deep breath, and return to our center. If we are still feeling the intensity of the emotions, we can "flap our wings" and release the energy just as the duck did. It is then we can return to the present moment, to our "place of power". We can return to our Pond.


Duck Dance by ViaMoi

Love is the Real Power

Love is the real power.

It's the energy that cherishes. The more you work with that energy,

the more you will see how people respond naturally to it,

and the more you will want to use it. It brings out your creativity,

and helps everyone around you flower.

Your children, the people you work with-everyone blooms.

Marion Woodman Jungian Analyst

Your Daily Lao Tzu

The Tao Te Ching of Lao Tzu

Chapter 37

"Eternal Tao doesn't do anything yet it leaves nothing undone.

If you abide by it, 

everything in existence will transform itself.

When, in the process of self-transformation,desires are aroused, 

calm them with nameless simplicity.

When desires are dissolved in the primal presence,

peace and harmony naturally occur,and the world orders itself."

Acceptance

"I am a lover of what is,

not because I am a spiritual person,

but because it hurts when I argue with reality."

Byron Katie

Your Daily Lao Tzu

Gravity is the root of lightness; 
stillness, the ruler of movement.

Tao Te Ching verse 26

Your Daily Tolle

LIFE TRANSITION FIVE: THE LIFE REVIEW

from "Spiritual Turning Points" Chapter 5 

"Twenty years have passed since the completion of the fourth transition, during which time many experiences have contributed to the study of the soul’s purpose. The natural time for this monadal transition to begin is usually sometime between the ages of sixty and seventy-five, which in modern society is not always near the end of life. Still, when this transition begins, much of the life has been lived in terms of significant milestones: Children have been raised and now, hopefully, are out on their own; retirement has occurred or is on the horizon; and the physical body has now officially reached maturity and is starting its decline. Sound a bit morose? Not at all—it is simply the natural progression of life on the physical plane. This transition can, however, be startling to some, and many may resist the idea that eventually they will die and that they are mortal.

The changes that have begun to occur in relation to physicality are clear, yet the internal shifts toward a more balanced and even-tempered life take root sometime in the late fifties and early sixties as the work focus reaches a peak and then begins to wane. For years, the individual may have focused on work as the primary means of support as well as depending on status in the world as a way to define the self. Of course, not all people experience life this way as there are some who have chosen to live off-beat and creative lifestyles while avoiding the pitfalls of a nine-to-five job and so the shift which occurs during the fifth transition may not feel as unsettling. The onset of this transition feels a little like standing at the top of a mountain and looking back at the entire life.

Life had been going along pretty smoothly for years with my job at the local library and Tom’s work as an attorney. I was nearing retirement and then the economy nearly collapsed in 2008 and I got a pink slip within about two months. I was shocked! My sixty-fifth birthday was just a few months away, but I had literally given no thought to what I might want to do once I had more time on my hands. I could only do so much needlepoint, and besides, I was still a young woman at heart! I found myself thinking a lot about the past—where I went to school, what happened to my friends, things I had always wanted to do but never did. I did a lot of daydreaming that year. (Sophie, age sixty-seven)"

c.2011 Victoria Marina-Tompkins All rights reserved

Full Moon in Scorpio Photo

When Will You Get Out of Your Boat?

"After you row your boat across the river, get out!"    

-Byron Katie

Yesterday my husband John reminded of one of Byron Katie's best reminders to not only do out internal work but then to apply it to the way we live. It's one thing to discover our personal truths which range from how we feel about our current relationships to the way we cut our vegetables, but another thing entirely to make the changes that bring our insides in alignment with our outsides. Say you have been in therapy for years, talking about all the difficulties of your relationship with your mother, the demise of your marriage, all the choices you have made. And in the course of your work, you also find that you are in need of a career change, a major relocation, or just a few adjustments, but rather than making those changes, you stay in your little boat where you experience what is known to you. You know so well the comfort of your safe harbor, the grooves along the sides of the boat which are worn well over time. You identify with them. Looking outside of your boat you see sand which you have not walked on before- will it provide solid footing or will I sink as I walk? We can't know can we? But what we do know is that staying in our boats will not provide us with the opportunity to apply what we have learned about ourselves.

Trust the Mystery

I trust the mystery.  I trust what comes in silence and what comes in nature where there's no diversion.  I think the lack of stimulation allows us to hear and experience a deeper river that's constant, still, vibrant, and real.  And the process of deep listening with attention and intention catalyzes and mobilizes exactly what's needed at that time."   Angeles Arrien

Your Daily Rumi

The Soul has been given ears to hear

things the mind cannot understand.

RUMI