Insights – Melannie Thomas

Archive for the ‘Finding Your Center’ Category

It is not always comfortable to cry.  Although we shed tears of joy, usually tears are shed because we are in pain; we hurt, physically, emotionally and/or spiritually.

As we mature especially in a culture that reveres stoicism. we tend to do our best to hide our tears as shedding them is often judged as a sign of weakness.  Or at the opposite extreme, a display of the melodramatic.  Yet, we have tear ducts for reasons beyond cleaning and moisturizing our eyes.  Tears poring forth from the depths of pain are healing.  Tears are cleansing and often bring relief to our sorely soulful bodies.

Crying can be a sacred action.  When these moments of pain and loss come into your life, and they will, allow the tears of healing.

I invite you this week and in the coming weeks, to step outside the seasonal commercial/media hype and connect with non-tangible gifts which can so easily be pushed into the shadows.  This is a time for giving thanks, for sharing and caring.  Although it may seem paradoxical, it is so important to give to ourselves…especially if you’re a woman.  Take time to rest, to relax, to breathe.  Staying centered and grounded within, is a very important key to mitigating the clamor and chaos that is oft-times impossible to avoid this time of the year.

Wishing all of you a very special Thanksgiving!

The word of the week is beauty.  Driving from Forestville to St. Helena, a memory detonated in my mind like a firework display that makes me giggle and ooh and aah.  My father’s words echoed through times past as I heard him say, “Look around kids and take it in…you live in one of the most beautiful places on earth.” (We were born and raised in St. Helena in the famed Napa Valley).

It is Fall in Northern California, and although not the east coast Fall that is routinely immortalized in photos, it is breath-takingly beautiful!  I give thanks everyday for the glorious beauty that surrounds me, that inspires me, that comforts my soul.

This week I invite you to savor the beauty that surrounds you in all its forms, especially as we move into the fullness of the season of Thanksgiving.

No, this isn’t about global warming unless a body fever and the spewing of noxious gases and toxic substances into the environment could be considered  contributing factors.  I am recovering from the flu; it has been over a week.  The’ inconvenient truth’ is that my daily routine has been brought to a standstill as my body wages war on the invading virus.

Now that I have passed through the 48 hours of pure hell (although punctuated interestingly by amazing, vividly colored dreams that were entertaining) my recovery is slow, demanding and tortuously inconvenient.  I am doing my utmost to honor my body; to not start pushing it around because I am impatient to be back on my feet at full speed.  I am very careful about what I am putting into it, not too hard since what is not accepted is quickly and  unpleasantly eliminated.  Move around too much or too fast and I break out into an uncomfortable, febrile sweat.

Hey, I have many responsibilities; I have clients to see and blogs to write; baking to do; correspondence to catch up on; people to care for; classes to teach…so can I just pass up the inconvenience of recovery at get back in action stat?

It is for me a great challenge to honor the body, to let it rest, to be kind, gentle and nurturing.  But I am learning.  It is a good lesson; profound in it’s ‘inconvenient truth’.  For the day will come when I don’t bounce back.  That time when I come to the end of the trail.  Although I will be leaving  my body behind, if I can master my impatience and allow the process, I know that transition will be so much easier.

Moving deeper into the Fall Season, I am keenly aware of the act of honoring.  Indeed, this feels like a Season of Honoring;  Samhain, Veteran’s Day, Dia de los Muertos, All Saint’s Day and Thanksgiving.  These set apart moments in time beckon us out of our daily routines and into respecting and honoring special moments, people and events.

The word for this week is honor. I invite you to go beyond the bounds of these designated moments to find and honor all that surrounds you that is special, that is positive, that is precious, that is beautiful.  And most importantly, to honor yourself.

Harvest season is in full swing here in Northern California, yet Winter approaches masked by the unseasonal warm beauty of Fall.   As odd as it may seem this is a great time to purge.

‘Purge’ is the word for this week.   From the Latin, purge, it means  ‘to cleanse, to clear out’.  We think of harvest as a time to take in, and so it is; yet it is also a perfect time for letting go.  De-cluttering our environment and making space to receive the bounties that come with the harvest is not only prudent but also very satisfying work.  So too, de-cluttering our mental, emotional and spiritual houses prepares us to receive the boundless energies of love and true abundant living.

I invite you to meditate this week on what you would choose to ‘purge’ from your life, your consciousness, your emotions and your physical environment and then take a step.  One small action can create a wide ripple.

‘The only constant is change’ so the saying goes. There are some great changes coming to my website. Beginning with this notice, you will begin receiving weekly posts from me on a range of topics. In addition, I will be posting a ‘Word for the Week’.

Some changes we resist and some we embrace…I am embracing this change. Thank you all for your ongoing confidence and support!

Melannie

I recently came across this analogy from Zen which says that ‘trying to find serenity in a chaotic world is like trying to catch a river in a bucket.’

I am still (over a week later) ruminating on this. I feel I see the obvious. I know from personal experience that staying centered, grounded and serene is like the ebb and flow of the tides. When the tide is in I am in the zone. Staying in my inner peace place is easy, daily prayer and meditation are effortless. Then the tide goes out. I am aghast at how easy it is to slip out of my daily routine. But it is not just about the timing of my daily exercise; there is also a qualitative aspect.

When I am not expending great effort ‘…to catch the river in a bucket’, I feel so connected to the Holy Spirit.

I believe I understand the cyclic nature of this process, yet rather than total surrender, I still find myself looking for a bucket for my trip to the river.

Seemingly, now more than ever, serenity has an aura of great value.  To achieve moments of serenity amidst the swirling maelstrom of social chaos is a considerable accomplishment.

“To become mindfully aware of our surroundings is to bring our thinking back to our present moment reality and to the possibility of some semblance of serenity in the face of circumstances outside our ability to control.”   ~Jeff Kober

We are living in a remarkable era;  a time that will forever change the landscape of  our personal, social and global community.

This week I invite you into serenity.

Blessings!

This wonderful quote is from The Original Angel Cards Book. It is so beautifully relevant to the process that I wanted to share it with you.

“Look at the world with soul sight. Use your imagination, inner sense,and peripheral promptings to see the bigger picture and shape the future you desire.”

“Magic is believing in yourself, if you can do that, you can make anything happen.” Goethe

This is an outstanding definition of ‘magic’ and a perfect meditation for the coming week.