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Cottonwood seeds

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2016-05-30 10.05.47 (640x480) (640x480)Spam or the fluff of life?

Dear ones, all of my kind bless the earth with our confetti of cotton, our gentle shower of seeds, our annual pouring forth of faith in what is yet to come. You may think the deep drifts of tiny cotton puffs along the sidewalks and streets are overkill, too much- spam if you will. (Have you seen what the silver maples did last month? Later the oaks will pelt you soundly with bushels of acorns that fall like hailstones.) But I digress.

Life is sacred and must be honored. My seeds, perhaps millions of them are each a chance at fresh new life. They are sown on the wind with trust in the process of life! Most will end up fertilizing your yard or garden, or will be washed into the creek, but some will find the right place. All factors will line up: the moon phase, the soil type, sunlight, rainfall, slope of the land, shelter from drying winds…

The lucky winners will feel the stirrings deep within, then send down tiny roots and reach sunward with bright little seed leaves. The luckiest among this select group will grow tall, avoid the mover’s blade, the hungry grazing animal, the drought or devastating flood, the gardener intent on weeding alien seedlings that appear in her flower bed, the crushing earth mover, the wayward boot or bike tire…

Several of my offspring are sure to put down roots, to grow and flourish and eventually tower gracefully above the other trees and provide a home for the diverse creatures of the creek fringe. They will take their place in the timeless cycle of life on this our beautiful green earth.

Do not curse my fluff, for it is the fluff of life!

Pay attention

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Pay attention to the here and now, for life does not happen inside your head.

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Spring ephemeral – Jack in the pulpit

 

Life does not happen on the TV, on your “smart” phone,  or in your computer. It unspools from your heart, that rhythm instrument each of you humans possess, but sometimes forget. It arises from the feelings and emotions of your body. That is life! Feel it! Be one with it!

Attune your life to the rhythms of your body– the heart and breath, your earth, your sun and moon, our seasons. So many clues exist to help you order your waking and sleeping, your eating, your quiet and active times with perfect balance and health.

Yet you allow the gadget called the clock to order your day. You march to its beat, you obey it’s dictates. You have given it power to tell you when to sit, and when to move, when to eat when to sleep. Your body is not consulted. And your health declines.

You allow the big box with moving images and the shiny hand held blinking things to arrest your attention, to take you away from your power and flow, to distract you from your life’s purpose and the precious days and nights that make up your lifespan.

Someday, as it must, your lifespan will come to a close. Will you mourn those precious moments you spent in your head, ignoring the here and now, the countless hours on your “smart” shiny thing, the days and weeks mesmerized by the moving talking images that you will forget in a moment when the power is switched off?  You yourself are ephemeral, your body will not last.  How do you choose to spend your time?

Back away from the devices. Pay attention to your body, to nature, to your feelings.  And live.

Delight and feeling

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Life is a delight for the senses.

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Playing with bubbles

Feel the flow of the life force in your bodies, your roots your leaves and stems, and in each cell that dances the dance of life with every other cell of your being.

To be in a body of any kind is to be one with all that is, to accept your reserved and special place in the tapestry of life on this earth.

You are meant to feel!!!  You are meant to adjust your actions thoughts and words when your feelings don’t feel good, until they feel better. Yes, read that again. Adjust actions, thoughts and words until you feel better! You are meant to feel good! Delight is the free flow of life-force through you.

Do you feel depressed and wish to feel happier? What words do you speak to yourself in the silence of your own mind? Words that soothe, or words that inflame? Do your thoughts match your desires? Do they match your dreams? Your incongruent energy sends a weak signal, diffuse and faltering to the web of all things. When thought, word, action, and desire align, you create your life without effort with a light a happy heart!

Let yourself feel. Let yourself enjoy.  Let yourself have. Let yourself be. Let yourself play with nothing to fuel you but pure feeling, and pure fun! If you resist your fun, your play, you resist life itself! Let your feeling delight and inspire you.

Be like water

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Flow

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Creek in spring – Canadian geese

Water flows without thought, without worry, without a plan. That is the nature of water, to flow where gravity pulls, to the measureless ocean, the infinity of water where all drops all flows, all streams, all rivers become one; where all merge into one incredible power.

Do you know the power that surges in yourself when you feel the oneness with all that is? The truth that you are inseparable from source is your power.

You are not alone– not a tiny weak thing that must scrape by and compete with other separate beings. We together, all living things are one organism woven together at an invisible level through the fabric of existence.  Let us learn once again to live in harmony and flow!

When you close your eyes and allow yourself to expand into the light as you meditate, you get a small taste of your oneness with all things. Once you know this, my dear, you will never un-know this fundamental truth.

The heart

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Self expression!

The human heart radiates such love when healthy and thriving. And when the heart is broken, such pain and confusion, such hurt, radiates to those nearby.

Do you transmit love or hurt with the powerful energy of your heart? If hurt, find a way to heal and clear and forgive and move on. Then you can one again feel light and joyful, living in the flow of grace, your default state of being.

Guilt and fear and hurt weigh you down as surely as if you were carrying an armload of rocks. Why do that to your precious self? Why carry a useless burden that only holds you back?

I’m telling you, you can let it go. You can release the dead wight of blame and unexpressed emotion. But you must have the courage to forgive, to  feel deeply and fully and to express what you feel in ways that honor you and those around you.

Heal your heart and you heal your life.

Limitations

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Cottonwoods at dusk

We are all limited, yet within our limitations we can thrive and create a soul satisfying life. I am limited to my tree self, the roots holding me fast, the seasons dictating my cycles of rest and growth, yet my spirit soars free like an eagle sailing on the wind. I fulfill my purpose here, and feel glad of this life I have been blessed with.

You are given a human body mind and spirit allowing you to expand infinitely within your human form and function! Yet, your experience is limited; you have no wings, your senses are less acute than many living things, you must make sure to stay warm in winter, you can’t breathe under water – you are fragile in many ways. You know the world only from your own limited perspective.

What my tree self wishes to convey is that I desire for you to live up to your limitless potential, to be fully human, fully your unique self. Don’t copy others, don’t envy, don’t try to keep up with others. Commit yourself to being the best you, the only you the earth will ever know.

This is your chance to live the precious life you’ve been given as a gift.  It is a miracle that you are here in this lifetime, in this body, at this time.  Live this truth.

Color

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GCW speaks of color

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Summer color

Life needs color! Mix and match have fun, for color never hurt anyone. Be bold and playful. You are too careful! Break the rules. Then contemplate why there are rules, who made them and why you should waste any more of your precious time worrying about them!

Turquoise, pink magenta violet, red, orange. The colors of the sunset… Fill your home with all tints and shades, all hues blues, greens, cerulean, ocean, sapphire- get scarves or pillows or curtains, or bedspreads or rugs, or socks, or clothes or paint for your rooms in those pretty colors you adore. Be like a kid in a candy store! Plant flowers, little summer jewels that delight with their form, color, and fragrance.  Give this delightful gift to yourself

Wrap yourself in color from head to toe. Let your eyes delight in the interaction of adjoining and overlapping colors. Allow yourself to be dazzled! Fill your world with the visible spectrum. Your senses are meant to bring you delight and joy.

Get started now! Enliven your world!

The wall and the water

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A creek in central Iowa

The facade, the wall you’ve created to protect yourself and your heart must crumble. It has become the most poignant of prisons. Built to keep yourself safe, but in reality, hemming you in, trapping and keeping you a captive.

Can you feel the subtle tightness in your neck and chest? It restricts your expression, your voice and breathing, your experience of life. Feel the tense muscles in your gut and back and butt that create a sense of heavy armor… As if the tight energy could keep an arrow or mean word from penetrating the tinder pink center of your being.

Only you know how to open this prison and set yourself free. I know you can pretend. You did it as a child, and you were really good at it. Who did you pretend to be then? Who are you now?  When did you build your wall?  Do you know your wall is optional?

Practice becoming water, waves on a lake, ripples in a stream, falling rain, a drop in the ocean. Don’t just think about being the water, become the water, the flow, pulled by gravity. You can’t be water and be tense. You can’t be both water and a wall at the same time.  Become water each day and feel the walls of your prison dissolve and wash away.

Focus

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GCW speaks of focus:

All of your being- mind, body, spirit, and heart is concentrated in this moment. That is focus. With focus you are doing one thing. ONE THING. You and the one thing become one and form a unified field. Whatever you are doing – writing, playing a new piece on the piano, knitting a sweater, raking leaves, conversing with your beloved grandchild, washing the floor, the entire beingness that is you is doing only that. “Multitasking” as you humans call it, is for those who with to diminish their power and effectiveness.

With focus you become like a column or beam of light. All other thoughts, actions, words leave your mind as you do what you have been created to do; be fully present here and now in this moment. Your full attention is required to do your best work and live your lives fully!

Do you find it difficult or nerve wracking to pull yourself together and let go of those extra thoughts and ideas and sudden feelings that distract you from the very power you came here to express? The oneness of purpose that is required to keep your focus?

Practice! For only you have access to the power of your physical being. Take it slowly, put down the shiny thing in your hand, unplug your ears from the music player, bring your scattered self into your heart center where all is one; where your true power resides

Now, focus on the one thing you’ve chosen. It could be your breath, a new song to learn, enjoying your child’s beauty and perfection, an intricate knitting pattern you want to learn, a round of yoga poses- the list is infinite, as you are.

This is a paradox. Learn to focus your awareness in the here and now and feel your life expand into new dimensions!

Thanksgiving

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GCW speaks of Thanksgiving

How beautiful it is to acknowledge all the blessings of this life – of your physical existence here in this place at this time. The food that delights the senses and enlivens your physical bodies, the shelter that provides you with a warm and welcoming home, those objects that give you pleasure and make your life easier… the magnificent beauty of the natural world… those beloved friends and loved ones, the most precious gifts of all…

To give thanks is to feel these blessings lovingly in your heart and know the support of the universe. It is to experience deeply the connections between all things and all beings.

You are meant to be here! NEVER FORGET THIS! The universe fully supports your existence! Do you know this? If not, reexamine your beliefs!

Every particle in this universe to the far limits of your awareness and beyond is supported by love, which is the thread that weaves the tapestry of creation!

Feel it. Know it. Live it.

When you embody and allow this exquisite love to radiate from the center of your being you become the very energy of appreciation. It is your priceless birthright!