GCW’s neighbor, Barred owl

GCW wishes to speak of the habit many humans have – the constant striving for “more”.

I do not condemn “more”. I only wish to ask you to rest now and then, to calm the constant chatter of your minds and discern what it is you want more of.

Is it not enough at times to soak in the early summer sunlight, the soft breeze, the dancing grasses, the mottled and shifting shade under a friendly tree?

Is it not enough at times to hear the call of the owl, to marvel at the effortless soaring of a vulture, to hear the pure clear note of a cardinal?

Is it not enough at times to feel the soft hair and skin of a beloved baby, to push your fingers deep into the soil as you plant seeds, to feel the cool weight of a beautiful stone in your palm?

Is it not enough at times to simply be, to sit in the center of your life and appreciate all that surrounds you, to gaze at your reflection and marvel at the miracle of your life in this body at this time, in this exact time and space?

It is right at times that your drop the content of your mind, the constant chatter, the reeling thoughts, the ever present pushing of yourself to achieve more more more. Are you afraid you are nothing without your thoughts?  Think again! Let your mind rest. Gather all those thoughts, the “must dos” “must haves” and release your grip on them. Drop them, like dropping a suitcase full of stones. See how light and free you can feel.  (You may pick them up again at any time.)

Try this and feel calmer, feel more connected to your home, the magnificent green earth.

A of Central Iowa wants to know:

Q. How much longer does the human race have?

A. My dear A, have you been watching too much TV news? Have you allowed the despair and fear of others to seep into your heart and mind and bones? Open your heart and see the beauty, the joy, the wonder that is all around you. Turn the “dial”. Don’t be part of their “ratings game”.

At your center lies joy. Tune into that channel! Let it flow through you. Feel it and soon you will tune the sensitive web of all that is away from despair toward the energy of joy. Your small shift will have impact on the web that you cannot imagine! Your feelings make a difference. Your world is woven through feeling. It begins within you and moves outward in waves, affecting everything and everyone in your experience. Find reasons to laugh and smile every day! Chose to! Find reasons to love every day! Choose to!

Find reasons to simply enjoy this beautiful exquisite planet we inhabit! And take your place in the amazing web of all life in which nothing is forgotten or left behind.

For a GCW approved experiment, choose to feel good for at least five minutes or one hour, or a whole day if you can, no matter what happens around you or on the news. See the effect on the others in your life; your children and husband, your neighbors, your town, and most of all you. Now repeat this experiment. Often!

Sweet baby

F, age 6, of Des Moines, Iowa asks:

Q. Why do people have to grow up?

A. From the time you were a tiny sparkle of love inside your mother’s body, you have been growing. Look at your baby pictures – the picture of your first bath. You are no longer the size and shape of a baby! You were perfect then, and you are perfect now!

Do you feel sad about leaving your kindergarten? Do you think you need to be crabby & unhappy, and tired and boring when you are a grownup? You will never be any of those things when you listen to your heart!

Welcome to your life! My dear, you are like a flower that has roots and lives many years. Each year, it sends up leaves and a stalk, a bud that unfolds and blossoms. Underground where you can’t see, the roots spread so new plants can grow. Just like the plants and flowers, when you are done with something old, something new will grow from you. Something wonderful! Something that you will love!

All of life is designed to grow and change. It is your turn to be the child. One day it will be your turn to be the teenager, then the mother, then the grandmother. But remember, the part of you that is invisible never never grows old! It is baby, child, teenager, mother, and grandmother all at the same time. The invisible part of you loves being alive! It feels pure joy!

You are a blessing to this earth. You are here because of love. You are dearly loved.

Red Bud in bloom

M. of central Texas asks:

Q. I’m 18 years old. I was told that by the time I’m 30, I’ll be a family man with a nice house and a college degree. I want these things, yet I’m not sure I’ll make it. Will this happen for me?

A. My dear M, you are blessed with a vivid imagination. Put it to work! Can you imagine each of these blessing coming true for you? How will you feel? What is the feeling of being a stable family man? Where do you feel this in your body? Revel in the feelings and focus on them. Make the feelings real.

Who do you know that has done what you want to do?  What was their path? How did they make the vision in their head and heart into reality?  Talk to them and learn from them.

Only you can create these blessings in your life. You create through your feeling, your thoughts, the pictures in your mind, your actions and your focus. Doubt and fear and hopelessness create more of the same and steer you away from your vision. If you feel them, be kind to yourself and acknowledge them. Then find a way to tune back in to the loving expansive feelings you want to feel. Maybe the feelings are not so easy to imagine because all this is new for you. You are inventing your life, one moment at a time! If you make a mistake as all humans do, dust yourself off and learn from the experience.

There is a place in your that knows with certainty that you can achieve your dreams. Act from this place.

May all blessings flow to you.

Burned tree

J of Ames, Iowa writes

Q. Is there something after death?

A. After the death of the body a spirit feels complete freedom, complete lightness, buoyancy, joy, release. The physical body has been surrendered to the decay of the physical world, but the spirit will never decay.

The spirits in all living things are released from fear sickness, envy, jealousy, injury, decline, hatred, self loathing, and loneliness after death. Only what is indestructible and eternal remains – the energy of the soul. That is at its heart the energy of love.

So when death comes in to your awareness, know that it is only the husk of the body that has died, know that the spirit lives on in a new form.  Know that communication is possible for there is no separation in the great web of all things.

J of Central Iowa asks:

Q. Is there a God?

A. There is no fierce Zeus reclining in the clouds above Mount Olympus, No Michelangelo figure surrounded by attractive and fit angels breathing life into humans, no golden chariot of the sun racing westward across the sky.

The imagination of humans has limits! Your depictions of God involve human attributes in one form or another. I think God should be depicted as magnificent tree! Perhaps a Cottonwood!

You cannot imagine the immensity, the infinity, the magnificence of all that is. All that is contains your ideas about God, your images and concepts.  All that is is the ever shifting web in which all things are one. It is constantly expanding, growing, responding to the energies of creation: to thoughts, feelings, emotions, desires, contained in every living thing. Your images and concepts of God are a part of what god is. Your solar system, and galaxies, the stuff of stars, your ingenious shiny creations, the feelings of your hearts and minds, the decaying leaves on the forest floor, the tiny seeds that promise renewed life, the exquisite interwoven systems of nature are all a part of what God is.

All is as it should be . All is constantly in motion. All that is is a reflection of what you call God. I am delighted, for we all get to take part in creating and defining this playful Universe!