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Monday, November 30 2009


Journey

Yesterday, I turned 64.

If I were ounces, I'd be
Halfway to gallon-hood.

Were I dark and light squares,
I'd be a complete chess board,
Ready for play.

Birthdays, it seems, invite us
To ponder the journey.

Here's a quote:


"Be soft in your practice.
Think of the method as a
fine silvery stream,
not a raging waterfall.

Follow the stream.
Have faith in its course.
It will go its own way,
meandering here, trickling there.

It will find the grooves,
the cracks, the crevices.
Just follow it.
Never let it out of your sight.

It will take you."

              Buddhist Master
                  Sheng-yen (1930 -2009)


Thanks, Jerry Wellik, for the quote.

And thank you, traveling companions.
We don't journey alone.

Posted by: AT 02:30 pm   |  Permalink   |  Email
Monday, November 23 2009



Simple Abundance

Want to experience
Abundance?

Cultivate a
Grateful heart.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Feast
Your
Soul.


Posted by: AT 10:38 am   |  Permalink   |  Email
Monday, November 16 2009


Peaceful Warrior Path

       Perhaps you sensed it in last week's writing:  I've been saddened and discouraged lately by the polarization I see in our nation and in our world.  I see so much harm being done by humans - blinded by the illusion of separation - warring with each other, demonizing each other, denying food and health care to their fellows, injuring and neglecting this planet.

       And there before me, in the blink of an eye, humbling to witness, is my own polarization - a flood of primitive, warlike reactions, stories of gloom, stories about "them".  Here I am, railing, caught up in separation consciousness, contributing to what I rail against.  The irony is inescapable.

       So, I dust myself off and focus once again on softening to spaciousness - gently making room for what's young and wounded within me (without being captured by it), bathing myself in compassion and mercy, allowing that fullness within to generate an eyes-open compassion for all:  a connection, a presence, a healing stance from which constructive action naturally flows.

       "It all starts here," says the peaceful warrior, pointing to his heart as he walks the elusive path of serene doing.




      



      
 

Posted by: AT 03:36 pm   |  Permalink   |  Email
Monday, November 09 2009


A Separation Story

Overlooking oneness,
Forgetting connection,
Right hand hacks at left.

Head, detached, watches
Heart go hungry
And waste away.

Denying health care to feet,
Mouth wonders aloud:
"Why am I limping?"

Posted by: AT 09:36 am   |  Permalink   |  Email
Monday, November 02 2009


Autumn Seasoning

       I awoke this morning with my inner jukebox playing Magic Carpet Ride, a Steppenwolf song from 1968.  The lyrics include lines like:  "Well, you don't know what we can find.  Why don't you come with me ... on a magic carpet ride ... Close your eyes, look inside ... come with me on a magic carpet ride."

       I'd just returned from a magic carpet ride, of sorts - two days of backpacking on the Superior Hiking Trail with lifelong friend, Kirk Lamb, a fellow traveler into the wilderness areas of mother nature and human nature.

       Birds were rare.  Deciduous trees were bare.  The action, the beauty, the story of the forest was on the ground - the gray-brown-taupe of fallen birch leaves, the muted oranges, browns and maroons of maples.  These leaves were not newly fallen.  They'd been on the ground for a while.  They'd been drenched, weathered, seasoned.

       My thoughts turned toward seasons.

       In the spring and summer, most of the action in the forest is above ground - buds, blossoms, birds, blue (and not-so-blue) skies.  Likewise, in the spring and summer seasons of human life, our attention is drawn upward and outward, toward activity and accomplishment.

       Autumn, for us humans, is a time of deepening, a time to journey downward and inward.  Like fall's forest floor, the colors and textures of this season might appear dull to a cursory glance, but a closer look reveals richness, subtlety, beauty - the magic carpet of mature autumn.

       Life's invitation is clear:  James, it's time to ride.

Posted by: AT 12:50 pm   |  Permalink   |  Email
Monday, October 26 2009


Two Rememberings

       As I think about the journey to more fully realize who we are in the larger scheme of things, I see two things we need to remember:


Our lovability

and

Our love-ability



       Lovability is not so much about personal characteristics - though we are, of course, lovable in that sense.  It's mainly about the nature of the universe, which is to love.  Ready or not, aware or not, "worthy" or not, we all bask in this radiance - 24/7.

       Likewise, our love-ability is partly a personal capacity and mostly a manifestation of who we are - beings of light, inseparable from, and vibrating in union with, a universe whose first expression is the energy of love.

       As we remember the universal, the personal deepens and expands.  Try to remember.

Posted by: AT 11:22 am   |  Permalink   |  Email
Tuesday, October 20 2009


De-Fault Position

       We humans are naturally wired to see danger, to look for problems, to focus on what's wrong, to find fault.  I like to think of this as our "de-fault" position.

       With mindfulness, conscious effort and persistent practice, we can shift to a different default position - a new way of perceiving that becomes just as natural and automatic as our fear-based orientation - a way of perceiving that cultivates peace and a grateful heart.

       We can re-wire to see beauty - within and about.

Posted by: AT 08:52 am   |  Permalink   |  Email
Monday, October 12 2009
 

Love's Wisdom

       After 35 years of doing couple's therapy and even longer at navigating my own relationships, I continue to be struck by our deep wisdom in selecting intimate partners.

       Perhaps you've noticed:  we don't necessarily pick the easiest people to be with.  In fact, we seem to have an uncanny knack for picking just the right person to help us grow. 

       Whatever lessons we need to learn, whatever wounds need healing, whatever skills we need to develop - whatever is necessary for our wholeness - we can rest assured:  it will be called forth in our closest relationships.  Wherever we need work - in showing up, perhaps, or in letting go - we'll get ample opportunity.

       Love is wise.  Surrender to its teaching.  Trust its work within you.  Trust relationship as a path to growth - even when you don't know where that path is leading.
Posted by: AT 11:17 am   |  Permalink   |  Email
Monday, October 05 2009

Vulnerably Indestructible

       As life experience continues to humble and enrich me, and as a spiritual sense of connection to cosmos continues to deepen, I'm struck once again by the mystery of who we are.

       Psychologically, we are vulnerable - perhaps more than we'd like to admit - sensitive to insult and injury, easily captured by fear and old stories, doing our best to stay in control.

       At another level, we are indestructible - beings of light, in love with all, dancing in the flow, embracing the adventure of expansion - not the least bit inclined to hang on or close down.

       Vulnerable, not fragile.  Indestructible, not impervious.

       Can we soften to both realities?

       Can we make room for all of who we are?

Posted by: AT 10:58 am   |  Permalink   |  Email
Monday, September 28 2009


S.M.I.L.E.

       At its core, the concept of Softening to Love is an invitation to flow with an energy that permeates all that is - an energy that creates, nourishes, heals, and ultimately defines us.  Love is one name for that universal energy.

       Master Chunyi Lin - an extraordinary teacher, gifted healer, and founder of Spring Forest QiGong - spoke recently to a gathering in St. Cloud about the healing power of unconditional love.  At the beginning of a guided meditation to help us soften to love and become "love radiators," he invited us to smile.

       Have you every noticed how the physical act of smiling affects your spirit?

       Using acronym, Chunyi redefined smile as a way of setting intention, prior to meditation or any other engagement with life.

              Start
              My
              Internal
              Love
              Engine

       Smile.  Fire up that love engine.  Let it purr.  Let it roar.

Posted by: AT 12:14 pm   |  Permalink   |  Email


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