Happy New Year

May 2014 be the year that you can look back over your life and celebrate all the things you did right and all the progress you have made instead of be stuck in everything you think you did wrong or everything you think you can't be. May this be the year that you can say "yes" to whatever you dream of trying and "no" to whatever is just draining and heavy for you. And may it be a blessed year for you and everyone dear to you.

Lighten your mind

It's been a while since my last blog. In the mean time I've had a house full of Summer visitors, survived 2 icky colds and a car accident and felt like I lost my balance a little in the process. I also got qualified as a Reiki level I & II practitioner, yarn bombed some trees in my neighborhood, created some new pottery pieces and found my balance again.

This morning I listened to an Access Consciousness podcast and was reminded of something that I want to share with you. It's about how we see ourselves and the world.

How often do we judge ourselves & others (choices, points of view, mistakes, etc.)? How often do we get stuck in bad habits and our believes about them? How often do we say, "if only I can do/be/have (this) then I will be truly happy."?

This is what we do. We get stuck in a point of view and then we feel like we have to defend it, prove it, chase it, stick to it over and over and over, forever and ever. Sadly most of us don't even know that we're doing it. It just becomes who we are. We become our judgments, our labels, our guilt, our habits, the dream that is forever slipping through our fingers.

What if you could let go of even just one of those things that is keeping you stuck in unhappiness?

What if, instead of repeating these (often by now unconscious) choices, we say to ourselves as we notice this pattern, how interesting. How interesting that I have this point of view or this judgment (of myself or others). How interesting that I think I need (this) to be happy. (Do I really?)  How interesting that I think I'm stuck in this bad habit (or that bad choice) and that I think I have no control over it or no choice in the matter and that I have to carry this with me for the rest of my life. How interesting that I think I can't change my mind about a point of view that doesn't serve me anymore or isn't that important anymore...Phew...I can actually let that go. Right now. With ease and grace.

WHY NOT?

What I'm trying to say is this...If you suddenly looked at yourself and saw that you are carrying a bunch of dead weight for no reason other than you thought you had to (even though nobody is forcing you to do so), wouldn't you just put it down and continue on feeling so much lighter? How easy would that be? How enlightening would that be? And if you'd have no problem doing that physically, why not do it mentally too?

Before the new year starts, do yourself this favor: Put something down. Open yourself up to new possibilities and more authenticity by letting go of that which doesn't serve you anymore.

NAMASTE (The Light in me salutes the Light in you)

Let's go on a little journey

...You live in a sweet little house on the edge of an enchanting forest and some days you like to go for walks in the forest. Some times the walks are refreshing and inspiring and sometimes it's a little dark and scary, but you go anyway, because you are a curious being who likes to explore.
 

One day you notice that on your path there's a cage that has always been there but now you realize that you can either enter the cage and spend some time in it or walk around. This cage does not seem scary to you. It's almost like a giant birdcage that's actually quite pretty and secretly inviting. You decide to observe for a while without entering. After a few days you've gathered some information. There's some flowering vines twined around the bars, birds and small animals come and go, the cage door is wide open and every day, there is a little bag of money inside the cage that is yours for the taking...BUT there is also a man sized scorpion inside.  The scorpion lurks away in a corner. 

In the back of your mind you felt a tiny prick of fear and forewarning the first time you realized this, but the cage is inviting and the little bag of money seems to call your name. Think of all the things you can do with it...So what do you do? Of course you enter...the scorpion is probably more scared of you than you are of it and who knows, maybe he's even just a figment of your imagination...right? After all, the animals and birds that enter there SEEM to be unharmed. The bag is there for the taking...every day. And anyways, the cage door is open. You can leave anytime you want...right?
 

So you enter. The first day nothing happens to you, but you see the scorpion sting a rabbit and a fox. You brush it off, you were fine and you got the bag of money. Actually you feel a little brave. Who knew you had it in you? The next day you go again. The fox has returned and are stung again. You get away with the bag of money. On the third day, inevitably, you get stung. You're so surprised, and by this time hooked on the money, that you brush it off again. Plus, you've bragged with your friends that you are now both brave and rich...you'll be more careful next time and you'll only go two days a week.
 

By the eighth week of choosing to enter the cage twice a week, you've been stung quite a few times, you've tried your best, cursed, cried, bargained, tried different defense strategies and you've come to the realization that (1) the scorpion is real and (2) no matter what you do or don't do, you will never change the outcome, because it is simply in the nature of the scorpion to sting. BUT every time you've entered, you've walked away with the bag of money.
 

And therein lies the question...How willing are you to get stung by a scorpion for a little bag of money? How much weight do you place on what others think of you? Why do you assume that your friends and family care more about your image than your well being? Why didn't you listen to your instincts? And what if, when you finally decide to pass the cage by, there's a better opportunity right around the corner?

wHat iF

What if you didn't have to prove yourself to anyone? What if you didn't have to be liked by everyone? What if you weren't responsible for everyone's comfort & happiness? What if not focusing on those things opens you up to actually be more trustworthy, likable & caring?

about forks and questions

I didn't take this picture, but it inspired these next thoughts...

I am very aware right now of the thought that we are on an ever changing journey...what may have been challenging or terrifying yesterday, may be something we're proud of today...what may be the dream today, may become just a stepping stone for tomorrow...we are ever changing beings and our lives are roads leading into the unknown where we constantly choose to walk, run or rest, take a fork in the road, double back, get up when we fall, get in a car, a bus, a plane, swim if we must, drown sometimes, eat a sandwich, hold a hand, pray, curse, try, try again, turn left, turn right, change shoes...and so on and so on...life is not something you can plan today and follow to the letter for the next 10 years...the infamous" where do you see your life in ten years?"...who knows? Who cares...it never works out like that anyway. We may be behind the wheel, but we are not always in control. LIFE happens. The only thing we can do is live and learn and take another step. Not saying it's futile to dream. By all means, DREAM, it's what gives our lives direction. But don't get hung up on "getting there"..."there" is not a real place. Just be where you are and enjoy the ride, even if you have to ride piggy-back for a while.

Tomorrow I'm taking yet another fork in the road that is my life. I'm taking an access bars massage class. This might seem a little out of the blue to some of you, but lately I've become very interested in energy healing. Art and antiques seemed to have been (awesome) stepping stones, bringing me lots of gifts like courage and learning to go with the flow and opening new doors, etc. Now I feel like I'm on the doorstep of something big, something that fits me like a glove. And it it's just the beginning of some really exciting possibilities. 

I'm learning about essential oils, crystals, oracle cards, energy healing methods and ways to look at life that just sometimes blow my mind. Stepping out of the expected, out of the ordinary, and out of the answers and into the questions...How can my life get any better than this? What else is possible? Who knew I was capable of that? etc...ALL MY LIFE I'VE BEEN SEARCHING FOR THE ANSWERS, WHEN ALL ALONG IT'S BEEN ALL ABOUT THE QUESTIONS. Living in the possibilities rather than the little boxes that the answers fit into that shrinks my life to full stops instead of ellipsis marks (...). Because my story is not done yet. 

Next time you are looking for the answer, why don't you just sit with the question for a while and see what happens. Maybe all the universe needs to answer is to not be drowned in all the answers you think you have, or should have...maybe a little bit of trust really goes a long way and patience and excitement is the cherry and the icing on top of the piggy back ride.

Be well

MJ