Archive for the ‘Dreams’ Category
Intangible
Intangibles are things we cannot physically touch or see; not having a physical presence. They are elusive and imperceptible by the logical mind.
Love is a great intangible. We experience it, we feel it, but we can’t touch it, and how love functions is hard to understand by the rational, thinking mind. ‘Madly in love…’ is a phrase often used to describe the chemistry between two people, yet what does that mean? The adjective impalpable is a synonym for intangible, meaning…a real feeling that can’t be logically explained, it is elusive and imperceptible by way of reasoning.
“Music is intangible and ephemeral, but it comes from the home world of spirit, and though so fleeting, it is recognized by the spirit as a soul-speech fresh from the celestial realms, an echo from the home whence we are now exited, and therefore it touched a cord in our being, regardless of whether we realize the cause or not.” ~Max Heindel
Self-confidence, creativity, altruism, feelings of joy, sadness, anger, disappointment, inspiration, passion, zeal, excitement and warmth are some examples of intangible energies. We feel them with our intuitive, spirit-sensing self, yet they have power and meaning in the personal and social milieu.
Intangibility in sports, for example, are the aspects of a players personality and/or style of playing that cannot be described or defined by statistics such as their leadership and enthusiasm.
Science does not study intangibles. Although there are social and psychological studies regarding behavior and feelings, they cannot be reduced to a pat, predictable formula in a testing laboratory. Therefore, our experience of the intangible is relegated to anecdotal processes.
Intangibility makes up a greatly significant portion of our day to day experience. We can’t touch or see it, but we feel the impalpable, moment by moment.
“Your most precious, valued possessions and your greatest powers are invisible and intangible. No one can take them. You, and you alone, can give them….” ~W. Clement Stone
As we move closer to the Spring Equinox, I invite you this week to focus your awareness on the grand world of the intangible.
Blessing!
Mastery
The word that inspired this week’s post is cope. How are very intuitive and sensitive people able to cope with the increasing trauma of daily living?
Sensitive and intuitive people feel energy at very intense levels. Finding and employing successful ways of coping with upsets, deeply disturbing events, cataclysms and traumas becomes essential to healthy survival.
The juxtaposition of a declaration of national emergency for a wall and the suburban Chicago shooting, coming a day after the first year anniversary of the Parkland School massacre, is so vexing to my highly sensitive person. If I entertain this plaguing energy, dwelling on the ethos and pathos, it will make me ill. It is incumbent on me, therefore, to practice the art of mastery.
“Whether trauma will be a cruel and punishing Gorgon or a vehicle for soaring to the heights of transformation and mastery depends upon how we approach it.” ~Peter Levine
Staying healthy and well requires action; the action of regulation and control. If I submit my highly sensitive being to the constant battering of my reality, dis-ease is inevitable.
“You cannot control what happens to you but you can control your attitude toward what happens to you. In that, you will be mastering change rather than allowing it to master you.” ~Brian Tracy
The two essential keys to achieving mastery of psychic and emotional sensitivity are: a strong, active belief system, and control of the inner dialogue; especially the thought-words that foment hopelessness, helplessness, and anger turned inward manifesting as depression.
“Self-discipline begins with the mastery of your thoughts. If you don’t control what you think, you cannot control what you do.” ~Napoleon Hill
“If fear is cultivated it will become stronger, if faith is cultivated it will achieve mastery.” ~John Paul Jones
This is some of, if not the hardest work we ever do. Michelangelo said…”If people knew how hard I worked to get mastery, it wouldn’t seem so wonderful at all.” And Don Miguel Ruiz wrote, “Practice creates the master.”
Super sensitive people possess the other side of the gold coin. They routinely see their environment sparkle. Keenly aware of the world around them, delighting in cloud formations. Dew sparkling in the morning sun. The feel and smell of fresh air. The smiling, knowing, eye contact of a passing stranger. The uninhibited laughter of children. The shape and color of a fallen leaf. The feel of water, sun and wind on their bodies. The mating calls of red hawks.
They feel the beauty and subtle smells, sights and energies that most people overlook.
Mastery is a process, not an event. “When you can see mastery as a path you go down instead of a destination you arrive at, it starts to feel accessible and attainable. Most assume mastery is an end result, but at its core, mastery is a way of thinking, a way of acting and a journey you experience.” ~Gary Keller.
We cannot master the world, but we can master ourselves. “One can have no smaller or greater mastery then the mastery of oneself.” ~Leonardo Da Vinci
Blessings!
Advice
There is wisdom in seeking good counsel…helpful advice. However, to secure wise counsel is to ask it of those who will be objective, compassionate and kind; and to risk hearing what we may not want to hear.
Seeking advice from those we love and respect is to trust that they will be equally respectful, loving and honest with their response.
“Many receive advice, only the wise profit from it.” ~Harper Lee
As the receiver of advice, it is important that we listen with an open mind and an open heart.
“Every man, however wise, needs the advice of some sagacious friend in the affairs of life.” ~Plautus
Ultimately, we make the final decisions. Good decisions come from our third chakra. Manipura, meaning ‘lustrous gem’, the center of personal power, confidence and self-esteem.
No other being is responsible for our choices, and the way we choose to live our life.
Giving advice can be tricky. If you are asked for your opinion, listen with an open heart and an open mind. Responding thoughtfully and appropriately with loving care and concern.
If you have not been asked for your insight, examine your motivation carefully before offering advice, and be prepared to be rejected, perhaps even vilified for your efforts.
“Advice is like snow – the softer it falls, the longer it dwells upon, and the deeper it sinks into the mind.” ~Samuel Taylor Coloridge
I was attracted to this quote by Jack Adams, as much for it’s humor as for it’s truth…”If it’s free, it’s advice; if you pay for it, it’s counseling; if you can use either one, it’s a miracle.”
I invite you to consider whom you choose to seek advice from, and how you choose to give advice to others.
Blessings!
Disappointment
Life has it’s ups and downs, peaks and valleys, joys and sorrows, victories and losses, pains and pleasures…a veritable roller coaster ride of emotion.
Disappointment is activated by failure and disillusion; in ourselves, and in others. The antidote for disappointment is hope, trust, and faith. Striking a balance is necessary to successfully navigate through storms of disappointment. Learning not to over invest in expectations, of ourselves and others is an essential aspect of coping with disappointment.
“Don’t let today’s disappointments cast a shadow on tomorrow’s dreams.” ~Unknown
“When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” So the saying goes. My take is, why stop with lemonade? Open a store that sells things that are all about lemons. Lemon themed coffee mugs, glassware, dish towels, aprons, Limoncello, lemon drops, lemon bars, etc. Metaphorically, profiting from what life gives you.
“There’s always failure. And there’s always disappointment. And there’s always loss. But the secret is learning from the loss, and realizing that none of those holes are vacuums.” ~Michael J. Fox
When deeply mired in the muck of disappointment and loss, processing through to the other side brings renewal and greater wisdom.
“Disappointment to a noble soul is what cold water is to burning metal; it strengthens, tempers, intensifies, but never destroys it.” ~Eliza Tabor
I invite you this week to seek the gifts of strength, faith and wisdom that come with disappointment.
Blessings!
Foundation
Part of the definition of foundation is a basis upon which something stands, a supporting structure.
To build a strong character that has an abundance of integrity, compassion and sentient awareness, begins with the creation of a solid foundation, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.
“A house must be built on solid foundations if it is to last. The same principle applies to man, otherwise he too will sink back into the soft ground and become swallowed up by the world of illusion.” ~Sai Baba
Many of us don’t begin our journey through life with a strong, healthy foundation. However, one can be constructed at any time. It is hard work which is often avoided, or put off, until some crisis demands a new solid foundation. The commitment to follow the process through to completion is exceedingly rewarding.
“And so rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.” ~J. K. Rowling
The work may seem formidable. In my neighborhood, I see dozens of homes arising from the ashes of last year’s Tubbs fire, in spite of the many hurdles, obstacles and difficult decisions owners have had to make. And this rebuilding starts with a foundation that cannot be seen via casual observation, yet it supports the promise of new beginnings.
“Process transforms any journey into a series of small steps, taken one by one, to reach any goal. Process transcends time, teaches patience, rests on a solid foundation of careful preparation, and embodies trust in our unfolding potential.” ~Dan Millman
Preparing for this week’s blog, brought to mind the fable of The Three Little Pigs. Anxious to get on with having fun, two of them built homes of straw and sticks respectively. The third little piggy built his home of brick. He was chided by the other two for his efforts and the time it was taking to build his sturdy home.
Then along came the Big Bad Wolf. He came to a house of straw, demanding the little pig come out; he refused. So the wolf huffed and puffed and blew the house down. The little pig who built the house of sticks met the same fate.
Then the wolf went on to the house built of brick, and hard as he might, all his huffing and puffing could not blow the house down.
Blessings!
Wholeness
…having all it’s proper parts or elements; entire; being healthy or sound.
As sentient beings we can spend a lifetime journeying into the realm of wholeness; to find, invite, nurture and become our authentic selves.
The Knights of the Tarot all represent the search for the Holy Grail; the symbol of God within.
“…our knightly task is to figure out where our place is, to evaluate our experiences and decide what new attitudes and approaches best suit us. That journey and the adventures, victories, and obstacles we encounter along the way, prepare us to assume our roles as Queens and Kings.” ~Spiritual Tarot: Echols, Mueller, Thomson (Quill, NY, 1996).
“We need to see, and agree that what we seek already lives within us, and we within it. Now we know our one great task: Watch for whatever promises us freedom, and then quietly, consciously refuse to see ourselves through the eyes of what we know is incomplete. Then we live wholeness itself, instead of spending our lives looking for it.” ~Guy Finley
The quest, the journey to wholeness is seldom undertaken and sustained through to it’s reward. The path is fraught with peril. Self-doubt; a tenacious clinging to unhealthy patterns because they exude comfort and safety, even though they are the very Demons of fear that keep us prisoners, make us unable to accept the grace and forgiveness of divine pardon. Thus preventing our escape to the nurturing love of the authentic self. Additionally, the time, dedication and courage required to seek after and capture the Holy Grail discourages most of us.
“The journey to wholeness requires that you look honestly, openly, and with courage into yourself, into the dynamics that lie behind what you feel, what you perceive, what you value, and how you act. It is a journey through your defenses and beyond, so that you can experience consciously the nature of your personality, face what it has produced in your life, and choose to change that. Words lead to deeds. They prepare the soul, make it ready, and move it to tenderness.” ~Gary Zukav
Although the journey to wholeness is perhaps the greatest challenge we face in the quest for the Holy Grail, success and reward defy description. However, there are many palpable rewards: inner peace, especially amidst social, political and personal upheaval; no need to fear/react/behave based on what others think of us; authentic self-confidence based upon intimate knowledge of our personal strengths and weaknesses; the ability to successfully deal with cognitive dissonance; and a deep, abiding, intimate connection with others and with the sacred energy of all life.
“You see, the condition of wholeness demands an inner quiet, a state of serenity and contentment. Nurturing intimacy with oneself can be done only in a tranquil setting, a space where noise and chatter diminish and one’s own personhood comes to the surface.” ~Susan Dietz (Press Democrat, Single File, December 22, 2018)
I invite you to find, nurture and protect your sacred space. The haven and refuge of wholeness.
Blessings!
Holy Season 2018
Wishing you all a fantastic Holy Season filled with love, peace and joy!
Merry Christmas!
Kindness
What does it mean to be kind? To practice kindness?
Kindness is living a life of personal integrity built on a foundation of ‘ethical characteristics’…knowing right from wrong.
We most often think of kindness as an outward expression of care and empathy for others. However, the most vital aspect of kindness is treating yourself as well as you treat others. How you treat yourself with kindness, how you talk to yourself with kindness, will resonate through all of your relationships.
“Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love.” ~Lao Tzu
True kindness is not co-dependent. It is not about trying to make everyone happy, or, appeasing others in-authentically to reduce your cognitive dissonance. Sometimes saying ‘no’ is an act of kindness to yourself and others, even though it may spark anger and disappointment.
“Kindness is more important than wisdom, and the recognition of this is the beginning of wisdom.” ~Theodore Issac Rubin
True kindness is rooted in acceptance and compassion. Accepting who we are and having compassion for ourselves bears the fruit of true kindness…kindness without expectation, a kindness freely, gently and respectfully given.
“I’ve been searching for ways to heal myself, and I’ve found that kindness is the best way.” ~Lady Gaga
When kindness becomes part of our daily practice it has the potential to contribute to the creation of happier and healthier families, and ultimately of a happier and healthier world.
“You don’t teach morals and ethics and empathy and kindness in the schools. You teach that at home, and children learn by example.” ~Judy Sheindlin
“Kindness and politeness are not overrated at all. They’re underused.” ~Tommy Lee Jones
Surely, this is a season of kindness…perhaps treating ourselves day in and day out with the loving kindness we shower upon others, we can create peace, within and without.
Blessings!
Merriment
An old word dating from the mid 1500’s, not very popular these days. Merriment is high spirits, fun, gaiety, cheer, joy, laughter, mirth, exuberance and happiness to mention a few meanings. Merriment refers to events, activities and happy feelings.
“Always laugh when you can; it is cheap medicine. Merriment is a philosophy not well understood. It is the sunny side of existence.” ~Lord Byron
Christmas rapidly approaches carrying merriment into our villages, homes and hearts, but merriment is freely available to us anytime, anywhere. Laughter can reduce anxiety, exercise our hearts and lungs, reduce blood pressure, release endorphins, boost T cells, and reduce stress. As Lord Byron said…”it is cheap medicine.”
“Frame your mind to mirth and merriment which bars a thousand harms and lengthens life.” ~William Shakespeare
“The Universe will give us love, happiness, merriment and laughter if we give others love, happiness, merriment and laughter.” ~Avijeet Das
In times of difficulty, merriment is a wonderful gift that can raise our spirits and guide us through to the other side.
I invite you into merriment.
Blessings!
Word Power
Words have power. So much of our personal and public discourse doesn’t account for this power. We exchange verbal banalities with little attachment to their influence on conscious and unconscious processes.
“Whatever words we utter should be chosen with care, for people will hear them and be influenced by them for good or ill.” ~Buddha
Thinking is a word process. Self-talk is a word process. Carefully choosing words for our internal dialogue is a primary tool for personal growth and transformation. The vocabulary of self-talk develops in early childhood, becoming the dominant way we judge and support the inner self. Power words that shape the perception of who we are, and of what we believe about others.
“Words are singularly the most powerful force available to humanity. We can choose to use the force constructively with words of encouragement, or destructively using words of despair. Words have energy and power with the ability to help, to heal, to hinder, to hurt, to harm, to humiliate and to humble.” ~Yehuda Berg
This astute observation is true of both outer and inner dialogue. The authentic self cannot fully emerge without positive word power.
“False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil.” ~Socrates
A quote from Ruth Bader Ginsberg speaks passionately to me about the power of the word…”We have the oldest written constitution still in force in the world, and it starts with three little words, ‘We the people.'”
I invite you this week to reflect and review your inner and outer word power.
“No matter what people tell you, words and ideas can change the world.” ~Robin Williams
Blessings!
