Following Our Path

July 24, 2014 / still a dreamer / 4 Comments

This morning I felt called to look into my little metaphysical perpetual calendar, and as always, what I found was perfect for my day.

“For me there is only the traveling on paths that have heart, on any path that may have heart. There I travel, and the only worthwhile challenge is to traverse its full length. And there I travel looking, looking, breathlessly.”
~ Carlos Castaneda

There are times in our lives when our path seems to disappear from view. We’ve been drawn down paths to the side that beckon and call, needing or demanding our attention – finances, relationship conflicts, illness, the illness or death of others, job worries, and other challenges and distractions. These paths can lead deeper and deeper into a woods of fading light until we feel quite lost. And then we remember, we have a thread — a simple, single luminous thread to follow. That thread glows more brightly with each step we take out of the darkness to find again the glowing path that is uniquely ours.

May you walk your path — find or refind it — happily and bravely today. May your path be illuminated by the shimmering white light that is you and the Universe, one and the same. May it leave you breathless.

~ stilladreamer

The Rules We Make and Live By

March 15, 2014 / still a dreamer / 2 Comments

Those of you why stop by regularly know that there are always two books to the right – most likely a novel of some sort and below that a metaphysical, spiritual or self-help book. You may also notice that the top book changes fairly regularly and the lower one may stay there for quite some time. Although it may look like I’m an inordinately slow reader, it hovers there because I usually am “working” the book, i.e., taking my time and attending to the lessons the author has to offer.

I am really savoring Living in the Light by Shakti Gawain. In the broadest terms it is about becoming more aware of and living by your own inner guidance, learning to recognize and trust our own innate intuition, thereby creating a new life and world. The book focuses on getting to know the many aspects of ourselves and at the end of each chapter, Gawain has included exercises and meditations. The chapter I have just completed is titled Authoritarian and Rebel, two aspects that are often alive and well in each of us. To the degree that we are unconscious of these qualities, we may experience related difficulties in our lives, not the least of which is interference in hearing and trusting our own intuition.

Gawain’s exercise at the end asks, after you have read the chapter, that you identify and write down some of your rules and behaviors that feel demanding and controlling, (overly authoritarian), to you. She lists the categories of work, money, relationships and sex, encouraging you to add your own if you wish. (I did.) Gawain then asks you to do the same with rebellious behaviors, and finally to drop down into a deeper place and look at what you really want, to find what is true for you.

There can be quite a difference in what we’ve written and what we really want … surprisingly so. A brief, but related digression – on my desktop at the moment is an image of Buddha, and the following quote by him: “All that we are is the result of all we have thought.” Comparing that list to what I really want is quite an eye opener, and tells me in what way my work is cut out for me and reveals afresh how my thoughts are creating my life, as Buddha said. I want to make more changes.

There is always so much to know, so much to learn, and while a book such as Living in the Light may guide us, the work is always our own. We take many journeys in our lives and perhaps the greatest journey is the one within, for it is there we find the answers we need to know, which when brought to light, transform not just ourselves, but the world around us.

Looking Forward …

December 31, 2013January 1, 2014 / still a dreamer / 2 Comments

As the New Year rapidly approaches and everyone rushes to make resolutions, I am planning on doing one thing … continuing what I have been doing all along.

And that is … trying my best to add to the positivity on this planet, to live in love and eliminate fear, a lifetime endeavor. And to always remember to be grateful for all I have been blessed with in this life.

So no New Year’s resolutions for me … just same old, same old.
If the world is to be a kinder, more loving and peaceful place, I know it begins with me. And, of course, with you.
Happy New Year.

Thoughts for Thanksgiving

November 27, 2013November 27, 2013 / still a dreamer / 4 Comments

The last few days I have been intuitively drawn back to read my friend – though I have never met him – author Mark Nepo. I find such comfort in the kindness and wisdom of his writing, but moreover, the ability of his words to help center me.

Work, and its sometimes seemingly endless demands, can pull me farther and farther away from my self until I feel lost. Especially with Thanksgiving upon us, I wish for my mind, heart and spirit to be in a far different place. This morning, tuning into Nepo’s The Book of Awakening helped me rein myself back into a place where I want to be … calmer, more content. He writes:

“The goal of all experience is to remove whatever might keep us from being whole. The things we learn through love and pain reduce our walls and bring our inner and outer life together, and all the while the friction of being alive erodes whatever impediments remain.
“But the simplest and deepest way to make who we are at one with the world is through the kinship of gratitude.”

He asks that we sit quietly and meditate on what keeps us from knowing ourselves, inhaling gratitude and exhaling what stands in our way. I know that when we are feeling most whole, when we have separated what we “do” from who we are, that we experience greater peace. And when we are at peace, we love more easily, breathe more easily, give more easily. So beautifully connected.

Knowing ourselves and releasing all that we are not taps us right into the magnificence of spirit, our Oneness. This Thanksgiving I share peace and thankfulness with you.

Crossing Our Own Bridges

July 10, 2013 / still a dreamer / 7 Comments

When I first saw this photo, I had to swallow hard. That is not a bridge I’d be able to cross. The photograph is of the Carrick-a-rede-rope bridge in Northern Ireland and connects the mainland to a tiny island. It is now a tourist attraction, but was once used by salmon fishermen for over 350 years. It is 98 feet, above rocks and the sea, built only of wood and ropes. It is easy to imagine how it would sway when one crosses to the little island on the other side.

It reminds me of bridges in my own life … the sometimes difficult paths that I am traveling to places I want to go. Just like real bridges, some of these can be crossed in hours, days, or maybe years. Some are nice and secure and amazingly happy, like when I used to walk over the Brooklyn Bridge, and some are much more challenging, like this one would be. Some feel like they have a sheer drop to the sea and cliffs below.

We all have bridges we need … or want … to cross. I’d had a discussion of this metaphor with a friend a few years ago; a particular challenge I faced, (and still do), seemed the equivalent of crossing this rope bridge. How would I get where I wanted to go? She suggested I imagine the rope bridge bathed in white light, one continuous safety net. I accepted this in theory, but it didn’t banish my fears. And then I had a thought. If I really, truly wanted to get there, I could crawl. Maybe not a bold or terribly brave move, but if that’s all I can do right now? Then I can crawl.

And sometimes that’s what we have to do. Some days we can dance around and through wherever we want to go. Others we can walk with our head held high. But if we sometimes have to crawl to get there, at least we can say we never gave up. One day, one step at a time.

We’ll all get there.