February 25 thru 28, 2017

Blessings are all around us. Literally.

Could Grounding Recharge Your Immune System?"

Decided to walk barefoot for the entire 2 hours all over campus with Misty - it was AMAZING!

"Each one of us is alone in the world. It takes great courage to meet the full force... but

Face your aloneness, something begins to happen. In a sense this is the endless task of finding your true home within your life." ~ John O'Donohue Excert from Eternal Echoes

Gradually, the sense of bleakness changes into a sense of true belonging. This is a slow and open-ended transition but it is utterly vital in order to come into rhythm with your own individuality." ~ John O'Donohue's 

"I feel the earth  - move  - under my feet - I feel the sky tumbiling down..." ~ James Taylor, Carole King

Justine shared this   thank you

 a Valerie Valentine from Feb 14, 2013

"Most of the activity in society is subconsciously designed to quell the voice crying in the wilderness within you. The mystic Thomas a Kempis said that when you go out into the world, you return having lost some of yourself." ~ John O'Donohue

"...No longer on the run from your aloneness, your connections with others become real and creative. You no longer need to covertly scrape affirmation from others or from projects outside yourself. This is slow work; it takes years to bring your mind home." ~ John O'Donohue's "Eternal Echoes"

Outback for dinner? why not - I was needing an "O" to finish out this blog post anyway :)

Quote by Nicolaus Copernicus: "The earth together with its surrounding waters must in fact have such a shape as its shadow reveals, for it eclipses the moon with the arc of a perfect circle."

Rest in the house of your own heart, doors and windows begin to open outwards to the world." ~

~ John O'Donohue's "Eternal Echoes"

Time to plant something ...

"Until you learn to inhabit your aloneness, the lonely distraction and noise of society will seduce you into false belonging, with which you will only become empty and weary." ~ John O'Donohue

Valerie Randall is on my mind, again, so I went poking around her page..

"When we bless we are asking that a circle of beneficence and light surround whatever we are blessing as well as us. We are mutual participants in a field of goodness. There is no distance between what is being blessed and us. That is what makes blessing so powerful." ~ Gunilla Norris

saXifrage : from the Latin, means stone breaker. saying yes is the way the flower of the soul breaks through the stone of the world." p. 57 Mark Nepo's Endless Practice

"Your True Home" 

Zen-like petal position of the magnolia known as Zenii

Monday, the 13th through Sat early am 18th

"Ask once, believe you have received, and all you have to do to receive is feel good." ~ Rhonda Byrne, The Secret

Buddhist Boot Camp: February 17, 2013 : "Being informed instead of opinionated is Blissful..."

Divine Omniscience

Emma Curtis Hopkins qtd. Bhagavad-Gita in the Twelve Powers of the Soul: “Never the spirit was born, the spirit shall cease to be never. Changeless the spirit remains, Birthless and deathless forever.”

Forearm stands

"Gracefully popped up into the pose, her first time..." Valerie Reiss 

Handstands and Headstands 

"Inner Peace, Off the Ground: Yoga in the Air and on the Water" by Valerie Reiss

 thank you, Julie

Kripalu newsletter  "Moonstruck"

“Let the beauty we love be what we do. There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.” ~ Rumi

  Moonlight Serenade Faceebook post Feb 16, 2013

Newbury's Napatree:  Feb 16, 2015

"Our stories remain and ever-present medicine. They are mysterious cups of remedy that carry the choices each person has to face." p. 30 Endless Practice by Mark Nepo

Prescient (adjective) having or showing awareness of and Preparation for the future

Quieting the mind...

"Radiance of buoyant joy" ~ High Mysticism by Emma Curtis Hopkins 1974

"She was free. When she came down, with a euphoric smile, she wanted to do it again, and she did." ~ by Valerie Reiss

 "Truth is a seed hidden in the days

Until watered by what life brings Us." p. 38 Endless Practice by Mark Nepo

Valentines are everywhere: 

"We are all stars in the one Crown, drops in the one Ocean." ~ The Christ Within : A Study of the Absolute by Lillian DeWaters

eXtend you vision farther and farther away from yourself. See

Yourself in a divine Plan of creation perfectly manifest

Zen Thinking shared these words: "Freedom is not necessarily exciting; it's just free. Very peaceful and quiet, so very quiet. Of course, it is also filled with joy and wonder... In order to be truly free, you must desire to know the truth more than you want to feel good...the Truth will rob them of their deepest held ideas, beliefs, hopes, and dreams. The freedom of enlightenment means much more than the experience of love and peace. It means discovering a Truth that will turn your view of self and life upside-down. For one who is truly ready, this will be unimaginably liberating. But for one who is still clinging in any way, this will be extremely challenging indeed. How does one know if they are ready? One is ready when they are willing to be absolutely consumed, when they are willing to be fuel for a fire without end." ~ Adyashanti

Trapped - for how long? Choices

Thank you, Brian Thornburg, for posting this song: Bruce Springsteen's Trapped Paris '85

For years I've been "wearing the same old chains" - I remember exactly where I was when I sat and let this song sink in and heal. I was in the apartment I shared with my boyfriend of three years. Few knew we were a couple, and fewer that we were living together. I felt felt "trapped" financially, and emotionally. Most of my ever-accepting family knew, and my grandfather used to tease me because he liked to send cards and notes to me through the mail, even though he lived in the next town, and I saw him fairly often, but the only address he had for me was a P.O. Box. He said he'd go to the post office and peek in that box and never see me. Ironically, he probably drove by, or within about 30 feet of my place of residence nearly everyday. He loved going down to "The Point" at the end of Stonington Borough as often as possible.

I was not happy but could not imagine living on my own again (financially) or moving back to my parents (again). So, I settled on a place with a friend of a friend and that was a disaster, but somehow, the opportunity to live with a good friend helped me move forward. My next relationship eventually had me feeling like this song was going to be my anthem for the rest of my life. I felt infinitely more "Trapped" fifteen years later, only this time I had no job, still had not finished my four year degree, and had a young child to raise. Still, I was reminded that "the truth will set me free / And ... someday I will find the key" by my older brother, who is also a huge Springsteen fan.

"Well, it seems like I've been playing your game way too long" - so finally, I quit. I just recently quit letting someone whose opinion I do not respect, control any aspect of my future. I finally realized I was still trapped "And it seems the game I've played has made [ME] strong."

I've been teaching "my eyes to see, beyond these walls in front of me" and this week, not only did I finally walk out of there again, this time I took my child with me. Now we are on a journey forward, and wonderful things began happening for both of us. We are both becoming:

"Tougher than the Rest" (the next song that played automatically this am).

"Well it's Saturday night..." and I took the lyrics deeply and fully in my heart, even though their heart is still in a mess, it is healing... and I now know, while my ex may have "Left somebody's heart in a mess," they are still "looking for love" and I am "tougher than the rest[! and]... I learned you get what you can get" ... [I am] "rough enough for love" and I make sure my kid knows every single day: "Honey I'm tougher than the rest... the road is dark / it's a thin, thin line / But I want you to know I'll walk it for you any time..."

The next song that played as I was writing this this morning was "Waitin' On a Sunny Day" - and guess what? It is!!

and the ABCs are coming "Anyway"

Because... it is a Beautiful day and I am 

Choosing happiness and 

Discipline with a Dose of audacity 

"Ever-present choices" and the sanctity of Experience in Endless Practice by Mark Nepo 

Focusing on the good that lies ahead
"Gift of wakeful effort allows us to find our way back to what is heartening and affirming." p. 30

Health, Happiness and strength

I am grateful for this gorgeous day and our willingness to seize it!

Jon Kabat-Zinn reads Derek Walcott’s LOVE AFTER LOVE

Knowledge and ability to search for and obtain exactly what we need

LOVE AFTER LOVE: The time will come when, 

with elation, 

you will greet yourself arriving

at your own door, in your own mirror, 

and each will smile at the other’s welcome, 

and say, sit here. Eat. 

You will love again the stranger who was your self. 

Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart 

to itself, 

to the stranger who has loved you 

all your life, 

whom you ignored

for another, who knows you by heart.

Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,

the photographs, the desperate notes, 

peel your own image from the mirror. 

Sit. Feast on your life.

Most of my journals have been purge, and scrapbooks are being pulled apart

Now is the start of New life

"Our resilience is the mystical breath that thaws us and brings us back to life." p. 31

"... Paradox of life is a fire that warms us; one kept going by the stoires and

Questions we add to it." p 30 Endless Practice

Rather than contain our feelings we can absorb them the way the earth absorbs and feeding the Roots of heart and soul with the water of our experience a quiet irrigation.

"Truth is a seed hidden in the days

Until watered by experience." p. 28 Endless Practice

"Vulcan" 

Why not?

Xceptional beautiful day

Zen of sunshine and of breezes

Feb 7,8,9... 2017

"A mind that is free of self-concern becomes a heart that is open to all possibilities." ~ Matt Kahn
Bob Marley's Birthday is today, Feb 6, 1945

"Change is the only outcome. Choice is the only experience. Seeing is the only option. Life is the only witness." ~ Matt Kahn

"Daily, minutely, hourly Rastas pray, you see. Praying is just talk and when you talk, every word you say must be acceptable in front of God. Let the word of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable. ... You make sure you pray continually, so that every word you say, God agree with it." ~ Bob Marley

Friends
Give me the opportunity to say
"Happy birthday!" with a cartwheel, or two

Jess Kelly - Check this out :) 

Kahn says that when you feel anger, judgment, or sadness, your heart is asking for more nurturance and support in those paroxysmal fits of ego pass through. Your heart is asking for more love."

“Love is not a feeling.” It is a container that supports and nurtures a process."

My New Year’s Resolution by Kelly Brogan, MD

"None but ourselves can free our minds." ~ Bob Marley

Out with friends this evening to celebrate Angela's birthday 

Primal Plants  Feb 9, 2017

Quinnger Beer, locally made ginger beer, was a great choice!

Reading something inspiring each morning helps set the stage for a focused day

Superfood Spinach Salad 

The less you respond to negativity, the more peaceful your life becomes."

"Underneath it all you won't find anyone deficient in spiritual understanding, but only a heart in need of love." ~ Matt Kahn

Vietnamese Cucumber Salad was my fav: pickled carrot, bean sprouts, fried shallot, sriracha peanuts, garlic, Thai chile, cilantro, mint. yum!

"...eXercise self-compassion... eXit the vicious cycle of judging yourself for judging..." ~ Kelly Brogan

Yes! making progress in a number of areas

Feb 4, 2017

"Another 100+ photos of snow. And more snow arriving tonight. Promise to save some of these images for you during the peak of summer when the very thought of doing nekid snow angels is the only thing that will get you to autumn." ~ Valerie Randall 2/4/14

Captain Jack Sparrow quote: "The problem is not the problem. The problem is your attitude about the problem... 

Do you understand?"  ~ Captain Jack Sparrow

Everything in nature invites us constantly to be what we are." ~ Gretel Ehrlich

Frog from Quantum Leap Retreats' page: 

Gilmore Girls - Season 7

Healing is more important than being "right" - Kelly Brogan, MD

"... I loafe and Invite my soul." ~ Walt Whitman

JessicaS birthdayS - Jessica Lynn Law AND Jessica Willson Kelly

Kelly Starrett's important, helpful tips for those who sit far to often, long, and wrong. click here

Life is breathed into all things through expression.

Madeline L'Engle's Walking on Water is an excellent read for my early morning inspiration

Napatree Point  by David Corbett

"One of the hardest expressions of self-assertiveness is challenging your limiting beliefs."  ~ Nathaniel Branden

"Permaculture provides a big-picture perspective, using nature’s patterns and rules as a basis for designing your home, backyard garden, business, community commons, and municipal streets and parkways. It’s a systematic, regenerative approach that tackles big problems – and solves them – with sweeping effects." “PERMANENT” + “CULTURE” + “ AGRICULTURE” 

Quantum Leaps Retreats - beautiful: 

"Repetition Reaps Rewards" ~ May McCarthy

 “So ring the bells that still can ring forget your perfect offering. 

There is a crack in everything, that’s how the light comes in.” ~ Leonard Cohen

Urban Monk Podcast with May McCarthy, author of The Path to Wealth

“Without peace in our personality, there is no chance of a good life filled with joy and prosperity.” ~ Yogi Bhajan

NetfliX so much better for my mental health than network or cable television eXcept perhaps, "Sookie" on SNL as Sean Spicer. Genius!
"You begin to fly when you let go of self-limiting beliefs and allow your mind and aspirations to rise to greater heights." ~Brain Tracy

Zest Bakery's  Super Bowl offering

End Jan begin Feb, 2017

"A place for me in your heart." ~ Tracy chapman's The Promise

"Clearing our emotional debris has many positive consequences with respect to love connection." ~ Jeff Brown

 ~ Art by Crispin Korschen

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

Emily Dickinson quoted in Wild by Cheryl Strayed : "If your Nerve, deny you— Go above your Nerve—"

"Forgiveness is for me. Forgiveness sets me Free." ~ Deepak, Day 20 Miraculous Relationships

"Grace grows best in winter." ~ Samuel Rytherford

"Have a sense of faith that what you are moving toward is already done. It's already Happened." ~ John Lewis Krista Tippett's OnBeing podcast

Intimacy: 

Jeff Brown : love excavates "This is the actual new earth. Not a place where we sit around staring at our pain bodies like self-avoidant automatons, but one where we actually do the work to heal and grow through our unresolved material so that we can truly show up when love arrives." 

“Let yourself be gutted. Let it open you. Start here.” ― Cheryl Strayed, Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar

Magnet for goodness. Manifesting My future by allowing the energy of attraction to flow through me with grace and ease." ~ Oprah, Day 4 "Effortless Creation" Energy of Attraction

"Night Travel" by Suzanne Britt

"Of course, love will excavate unseen issues from their hiding places, but with more intimacy with the processes of pattern recognition and healing, we stand a better chance of staying out of our own way.

"Power to believe that you can visualize that sense of community, that sense of family." ~ John Lewis OnBeing with KristaTippett

Quotes from other peoples "random"? thoughts help me assimilate my own thoughts.

"Remember, the first road to God is prayer, the second is joy." ~ Paulo Coelho's Brida

"Sandhill Cranes staying on course, following the river. Time to re-focus." ~ John Kincheloe
Tracy chapman - The Promise

"Unresolved [emotional] material is like undigested food- it blocks the channel and prevents new nourishment from entering. All bunked up, we may not even notice love when it walks through the door." ~ Jeff Brown

Verboten : forbidden, especially by an authority. ~ Gilmore Girls

"We convince by our presence ..." Walt Whitman

eXcavating is what I see here, now. I original shared this with Liz on Facebook, Jan 30, 2015

 image by Patricia Dolloff

"You Light Up My Life" by Debby Boone keeps popping into my mind in the early mornign light.

Zydeco is a musical genre that evolved in southwest Louisiana by French Creole speakers which blends blues, rhythm and blues, and music indigenous to the Louisiana Creoles and the Native people of Louisiana. - thank you for the new word, Gilmore Girls :)