Designed To Listen

Nice hike and creek play after a day of rest.

Your first requirement is to your body and to the health of your body. This is the function and health of the body’s mobility, its communication within itself, its awareness to other body forms in nature, and its five physical senses. … and once that is done, you are almost automatically put in tune with the opportunities in nature. Gregge Tiffen (Down to Earth: Terrestrial Activities)

Your cells are as directly related to your body as they are to the earth, as they are to the solar system and as they are to the galaxy. Your cells say, ‘Move now. Sit still. Function.’ You are designed to listen. Gregge Tiffen (Impatience Fishes In An Empty Pond – June, 2008)

Let that sink in for a moment: you are designed to listen. To listen to your body, its knowledge, its wisdom. Your body is your most valuable resource for guidance in what to do next. And, when you listen, new opportunities emerge. That’s how life on the planet is designed.

What is your body saying right now?  Not the mind chatter that’s yelling about what the world (jobs, bosses, friends, family, etc.) says you should do. But what does the body need right now?  Nourishment? Exercise? To start or finish a project? A nap? Your body knows.

When we’re experiencing illness, the body asks that we rest and allow it to heal. The body knows how to do this. Your job is to give it that direction and support for the healing process. In our modern world though we often mitigate the discomfort with drugs and forge ahead with whatever plans and projects we’re engaged in.

I’ve rarely been a follower of that path. I’m simply not good at pushing myself when I don’t feel well. There was a time that I thought that I was ‘wimping out’. No more.

These days more and more I aim to deepen my ability to listen, to hear, and to respond to what my physical body requests of me.  Recently it’s messages that more ‘winter-like’ than active, ‘summer-like’ ones. My body has asked that I slow down, pace myself differently, and sometimes it simply asks me to ‘Stop’.

I’ve never been one to nap much or to ‘just sit’, but recently have felt guided to do both. I’m learning to take time mid-day for nourishment and a bit of rest before re-engaging in the activities of the day. One evening I sat on the back deck for a couple hours just listening to and watching the woods, and wondering about the unseen, unheard lives of the trees and other inhabitants of these woods.

Earlier this week, on a day that I was prepared to dive into my prioritized list of summer projects, my body told me to ‘stop’.  No, a slow pace or doing a few things was not acceptable.  ‘Stop, rest, read, sleep.’ ‘Yes you can check email, FB, and even play a computer game. But, STOP.’  I listened and followed the body’s guidance. After a bit of  grousing about all that I ‘should’ be doing, I surrendered. I slept, I read, I sipped tea. I slept, checked email, read some more. And, yes, I played a few games of Mahjongg Solitare. Luke seemed content with a couple short walks and trips outside and dozed nearby most of the day.  He’s a good role model.

Beyond the sense of satisfaction I felt, I was rewarded with waking the next day to several B&B inquiries, a new reservation, and a reenergized body that was ready to get up and go.

In body, we are of nature. I continue to discover that, when I follow nature’s guidance, life flows as easily as the breeze in the pines.

Sunset on another glorious day in the San Luis Valley

Energy Balancing: The Power of Sound

Blooming Sweetness in the Prickling Cacti

The work of keeping energy balance on earth, in terms of energy, is done through sound. … We are getting the effect of sound today as a result of the total sound history on this planet from its inception. That quality has left its mark on humanity as a whole, and that’s why we aren’t further along.  Gregge Tiffen (Open Secrets: An Honest Performance - June, 2011)

I’m blessed in my life to spend a lot of time listening. I listen to nature – the hummers are buzzing about in the early dawn this morning. I listen to Luke, a quiet creature who ‘speaks’ more through gestures except when he wants to engage another canine in play or is deep in a dream. And, I listen to people – those I host here at the Dragonfly House, coaching clients, folks whose paths I cross out and about in the community.

In the course of the past week filled with guests, clients, community I’ve heard lots. I wonder how much of what I heard contributes to keeping energy in balance. What do we/I say that makes a positive contribution to ourselves and to the energy of the planet? What might we/I want to think twice about before I give it voice?

Here’s a sampling of the many words that, to me, are positive contributions:

• “What a lovely job the volunteers did planting flowers in town!” – acknowledgement and gratitude
• “Thank you.” – perhaps the best words we can speak, a prayer in itself
• “I will do that.” – determination and will
• “I’m clear on what I need to do next.” – clarity and direction
•  “What do you think?” – seeking input

And, some that, again to me, may contribute more to chaos than to keeping energy (individual and collective in balance):

• Loud, disconnected chatter about what he did, thought – confusion and jarring to the system
• “I know she will …” "I know it will ..." – declaring what another will do or how some event will transpire, which is something we can’t know
• “They should …” – me speaking about what’s none of my business unless I choose to actively participate

I could go on, but you get the drift. We each need to take responsibility for our immediate environment and for what sounds, especially the words, we put into the environment beyond. 

This week, I invite you to listen – to yourself, to others and to engage with the commitment to add your voice in ways contribute to balancing the chaotic energy of our planet. This doesn’t mean not speaking your truth … but that’s a story for another day.

Planting Day has finally arrived ... pots ready (check) ...

Plants ready (check), blog posted (check) ... ready, set, PLANT!

Nature's Passion

A feast for eyes and ears - the beauty of a mountain stream.

Passion does not know anything but success. Gregge Tiffen (The Journey Continues: Sex, Lies, and Assumptions – June, 2010)

On our walk this morning I was reminded of the passion that comes from the expression, in whatever form, of the individuality within each of us. I hear it in the bubbling of Cottonwood Creek – the sound of a mountain stream is one of my favorite ‘songs’ – as the water makes its way over rocks, branches and around bends following the natural path of the land. As the volume of snow melt increases, the intensity of the stream’s song builds.

While the water doesn’t know ‘passion’ as we humans do, it flows naturally, and I imagine passionately, designed by the Universe. It worries not about what we think. It knows nothing of failing. It simply flows. Success.

I heard that same natural passion from at least a half dozen different song birds singing their individual, distinctive songs in the cool morning air. Each is singing the song they were given as if they are calling forth the perfect order of their day. What could be more successful and passionate than that?

Robin sings its song.

Connection with and gratitude for the beauty of nature has become an important part of my life over these almost nine years in the Rockies. As I listened to nature’s songs this morning, I felt a deep gratitude for the reminder that when I engage in authentically expressing what is within, I experience passion, joy, and no room for anything but success. Not success on the world’s terms, but real success on terms that matter beyond this life.

Sadly, we live in a world that all too often lures us to follow paths that are not true to our unique design. We see the results in angst, anger, conflict, disease to name a few symptoms. Most of us have experienced one or more of them at various times in our lives. From time to time we lose sight of the wonders of the Universe that lie beyond the trap that says ‘survival is all there is’.  We lose our capacity to live with passion.

The gift of such times is that they can nudge (sometimes gently, sometimes NOT) us back to tapping into curiosity for exploring and discovering the path that is uniquely ours to experience and express.

Beyond survival is passion, the passion and courage to discover and live life from the inside out, letting go of the world’s bidding to follow the path of what we each want to do because THAT is what we came here to do. What could be more successful than THAT?

I haven't learned to hear the tree's song of growth, but it's here surely as Spring.

Life As Creative Endeavor

A place to awaken the senses and be curious about nature's ways.

Creative force is the necessary energy to begin a new experience. … Creative momentum leads you to the kind of experience that leads to knowledge. That is what the whole story of life is about. … Nuances are the creative opportunities to get into the experience.  Gregge Tiffen (Open Secrets: An Air of Optimism – May, 2011)

What do ‘creative force’ ‘momentum’ ‘nuances’ have to do with the activities of maintaining life? You know the ‘darn dailies’ required to sustain our existence on the planet?

I’m discovering more and more that there is opportunity for living life as a creative endeavor.  I don’t need to set aside a block of time and have all the necessary supplies to “be creative”. Opportunities abound to invoke the creative force in most everything I do. Curiosity and awareness are the keys. I can choose to become aware of what I don’t know and curious to find out. That’s the root of creative force.

So, each of us – you, me, everyone – has the capacity to be creative.  Being creative isn’t dependent on having the skill to make music or art. Those are clear creative acts, but so can be most any action in life – when you make the choice to BE and to tap into discovering what you don’t know about whatever activity you’re engaged in. That awareness and curiosity hold the potential to bring light, joy and wonder to most any task. And, that’s truly living.

We each have routine tasks that we do daily. We rise, we brush, we dress, we eat, we walk the dog, we work … and the list goes on. We can do these tasks with awareness or not. We can view them as burdens or not. We can look for the creative opportunities right there, subtle though they may be, or not.  And, those choices that we make moment to moment determine the quality of that moment, the next one, and extend beyond to the overall quality of our lives. Yep, those little choices add up to a really big deal – you.

Most days Luke and I walk the same route each morning. When I’m aware that I don’t know what will be different today, I can choose to engage my curiosity to find out. Our walk becomes a creative endeavor of discovery, not a boring ‘chore’ that must be done.  My awareness is in the senses: eyeing Luke as he sniffs his way from place to place; noticing how the light is filtering through the trees; feeling the warmth of the sun on my skin; hearing water make its way over rocks and around bends; and, just this morning noticing the fresh pine scent that permeated the air along our route (I thought of how fresh cut boughs brought indoors invoke the winter holiday spirit). Each day is different, and from these observations I learn little bits of nature’s ways.

I don’t limit this awareness and curiosity to walks in nature. Now that the ‘busy’ season has arrived at the Dragonfly House, I’m engaging in the daily maintenance requirements in much the same way. I observe guests – what they eat, what they use, what they are interested in – from curiosity. I wonder what I can learn about how to make their time here more enjoyable and how I can be more efficient. I engage in cleaning, making beds, preparing each room and the like with curiosity as well. Yes, I know how to do these tasks, but I don’t know what new look and feel I might create or how I might be more efficient. That wonder invokes the creative force giving each routine task its own sense of being new.

So often we look at the tasks of life as chores that we must ‘get through’ so we can get on with our ‘real’ work or some fun, creative project. Yet, when we take a moment to inquire, just below the surface we find creative opportunity abounds, creating momentum for lightening the load of what we once considered the heavy, boring burdens of life.

Aware, curious ... I'd say this is what creative engagement looks like!

Light In The Darkness

A New Day Dawns ... 

The Universe did not send you here to match you up with the puzzle of society. What you do with you is your contribution. … Picture what it would be like if you were at your ultimate advancement. The power vibrating from you at that point boggles the mind. It would be like a bright light in a dark room. The world as we know it today is a dark room.  Gregge Tiffen (Pleasure Is Short, Wisdom Is Infinite – May, 2008)

This quote was written in response to a question about how to contribute to the world almost a decade ago and, it rings especially true for me today. That’s the way of Universal truths. They don’t change. And, the ways in which we can apply them are infinite.

I’ve grappled with the question ‘what does the market need/want?’ throughout the 30+ years I’ve been in business. It’s ‘the’ question that comes early in every marketing ‘how to’.  No matter how the question is posed, to this day it stops me cold.  I literally freeze when I think about defining my ‘target market’ and what ‘they’ need/want? Heck, it’s a full time job knowing what I need/want. In the many courses I’ve taken over these years, I’ve guessed, faked answers or simply ignored the question.

Instead, I’ve put most of my attention on finding ways to express me in the best ways I can whether coaching, or writing, or welcoming guests to my bed & breakfast.  I want to learn to be in the world on my terms, not the world’s. That’s the only path I see to be true to me. And, if I’m not true to me, then there’s little chance I will offer any light in the darkness.

I’m not sure what my “ultimate advancement” would be like. But, when my feet hit the floor each day, using my energy to be the best expression of me I can be seems like a path worth following. And, one that puts at least a little beam of light on the path with each step I take.

Imagine the light that could be brought to this world …

Nature Doesn't Ask What The Market Needs, Yet Harmony Abounds ...

Every Thought Counts

Storm Clouds Building

Every thought leads to the next thought.  Gregge Tiffen (Open Secrets: An Air of Optimism – May, 2011)

I could have a zillion thoughts about writing my weekly post this late in day. Most would be gunk or guilt, leading to the next critical thought. Some might even be accurate. Today, the choices I made early in the day, coupled with a mid-day webinar put a different rhythm on the day than most Thursdays. I deem it an experiment. And, I learned that the commitment that I’ve honored for 194 weeks now - to write the blog first before any other business – is a good practice and one to continue. That’s especially true if I want to maintain the flow and ease and joy that each week’s writing brings. Perhaps that’s a story for another time.

This day though, I want to highlight what I’ve recently observed about my thoughts.

Most of us know – or at least we think we know – just how powerful our thoughts are. Rarely do I maintain consistency in keeping my thoughts on the high plane that honors that power. 

That said, I consider myself to be an optimistic person. I can sense, if not clearly see, the ‘silver lining’ in most any dark cloud. It sometimes takes a while to shine the light there, but somewhere deep inside I know it’s there – whether or not I’m aware enough to search. I trust that the Universe is unfolding as it should, as it must. I trust that events unfold as opportunities for us to experiment with and to learn from.

I’ve noticed that these beliefs are easier to call upon when the darkest clouds are gathering into a big storm, the kind that wakes you up and rocks your world. And, I’ve noticed in the midst of daily ‘to-dos’ (I can’t bring myself to call them tasks or chores – ugh!) that I can suddenly find myself in a thought stream of worry and negativity. The ‘monkey mind’ of racing thoughts has no clear cause but will spread like wildfire if I don’t snuff them out.

Having experienced that monkey mind a bit more than I’d like to admit recently, I began wondering Where does it come from? What is the cause? Is there a negative streak inside that wants attention, and, hopefully, to be set free?

I’ll let you know what I discover. Meanwhile, I’d love to hear your experience with the dark clouds of ‘monkey mind’.

P.S. Apologies to the haplorhine primates around the globe – how dare we humans saddle you with our silliness.

Yes. Snow & Rain. May 10, 2017

And a beautiful white blanket when the new day dawns.

Life: Sandbox or Sandpaper?

Robin sings and brings new beginnings of Spring

As willing adults, we are able to trust, be curious, be enthused, be pleased with ourselves, and be fully generous once again. We are able to know and feel and experience the peace, joy, and love creatively produced by Mother Nature as we live in harmony with Her.  Gregge Tiffen (Mother Nature – May, 2007)

I’m feeling my childlike nature come alive as the temperatures warm, the songbirds sing songs of courtship, and the green of new growth appears on the aspens and cottonwoods. The creek is flowing more freely and swiftly, and budding cones are forming on the pines. Will I embrace new growth and life as my sandbox? Or, will I succumb to the dreary news and the ways of the world that grate like sandpaper on my soul?

The bright green of new growth as the snow melts and Cottonwood Creek flows

I have children on my mind and in my heart this week. Up close and personal, my stepson’s daughter is about to celebrate completing her third year on the planet and begin her fourth. We haven’t met yet other than via the wonders of technology, yet she’s always in my heart.  That same heart aches at the suffering we humans have created for one another, especially for the children who face survival early on in life. Surely we can do better. We must.

It is the nature of a child to be trusting, curious, enthusiastic, satisfied with self, and generous. Those childlike ways of being are pure energetic qualities that we each have access to. They are the sandbox of life.

Somewhere along the way sandpaper arrived on the scene. We lost touch with our nature. Someone, maybe many, told us it was time to ‘grow up’ or ‘get serious’. They didn’t understand that life is a sandbox. Education and other systems of the world echoed this sad message.

The curious eyes of Cool Hand Luke trained on a turkey vulture high on a limb stretching to dry its wings

But changing our nature is not the way of nature. In nature there is consistency, nurturing, and growth. From a seed in the ground a tiny sapling pushes through the earth and, through all of its years, fulfills the pattern in its seed. It keeps on being that tree through cycles, weather events, nesting birds and insects who find a home there.

In staying true to its nature, the tree invites us to do likewise – stay true to our nature as trusting, curious, enthusiastic, self-satisfied, generous beings. As humans with consciousness, awareness and free will it is our choice to do so. Or not. Moment to moment, day to day we can develop our capacity to return to the life affirming nature of our childlike ways.

We do so by accepting the care and protection of the Universe and having unwavering trust in that protection. We experiment curiously with life’s events to discover how life works (and, in the process, we discover things that don’t). We expect and allow our curiosity to nurture enthusiasm as we experiment, explore, and, yes, even when things don’t turn out as we aimed for them to. We allow ourselves to be satisfied. Even when we think we’ve fallen short, we trust that we gave it our best shot and that tomorrow will dawn anew. Finally we give what we naturally have to give – a warm smile, a hug, a word of encouragement, a helping hand, a laugh and, oh, so much more.

When we embrace life’s events as a sandbox with everything needed to build castles in the sky, the rub of sandpaper fades away and we move forward in our natural state to create the world, our world, anew.

Spring! A fertile time for bunnies, ideas, and other new growth.

Dream A Little Dream

Yes. That IS snow.

We are here to dream our part of the Original Dream. Gregge Tiffen (The Journey Continues: A Taste of Devotion - April, 2010)

Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony. Mahatma Gandhi

What do you dream of that you know comes from deep inside? Do you notice when you are following that dream that you are Gandhi’s very definition of happiness – your thoughts, words, and deeds are in harmony? Isn’t that where happiness lives? Isn’t that how humanity thrives?

We are individual entities, each an integral part of the greater whole that unfolds moment to moment, day to day. We were granted free will as a part of our sojourn. Moment to moment we have the power to choose.  You and I and every human on the planet is included (those with whom we resonate AND those who see and experience things differently than we do).

The Dream knows none of the artificial barriers humankind has created. There are no walls or fences or boundaries of any kind. Ethnicity, wealth and other measures of man matter not in The Dream. Our access is limited only by our individual commitment and willingness to be aware. EveryONE is a thread in the fabric of The Dream.

The Dream is available to one and all that we might each discover our part, write the script, and play it with aplomb. Our part is our dream. Our part is that in which we experience our thoughts, words, and deeds to be in perfect alignment. Life is just that simple.  

We make it complex in our efforts to control that over which we have no control. One another and the future are prime examples. What others think, say, do is none of my business. Manipulating life’s events toward a guaranteed outcome is both exhausting and futile. 

I find comfort in remembering that The Dream exists. My curiosity is peaked and I want to expand my awareness of my dream as a part of it.  I imagine the hit song Dream a Little Dream of Me (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYek278jx2U) as a love song from the Universe calling us to The Dream and inviting us to (re)discover our part.   

What lies within – deep, yet within reach – that is ready to emerge and to play its part?

Green ... the promise of Spring!

Earth Day: Harmony For The Planet Every Day

Getting Ready for Earth Day at the Dragonfly House!

God is the great mysterious motivator of what we call nature, and it has been said often by philosophers, that nature is the will of God. And, I prefer to say that nature is the only body of God that we shall ever see.  Frank Lloyd Wright (quoted in Life In The World Hereafter: The Journey Continues)

Nature is intimately partnered with us in this physical experience, and that is perhaps the greatest boon of our incarnate existence, as nature is directly connected to and informed by the Universe.  Gregge Tiffen (Life In The World Hereafter: The Journey Continues, 2006)

You can knock me over, but I'll still grow up.

I’m profoundly blessed and deeply grateful to live surrounded by nature’s beauty and bounty. I step outside my door into a veritable feast for my senses. Seeing the flow of Cottonwood Creek bringing the snowmelt from the peaks reminds me of the natural flow of life. The smell of freshness in the pines tells me that experiences in life are always new. The distinctive buzz of the season’s first hummingbird signals the joy of spring awakening. The warm touch of the sun says that coats and hats and gloves can soon be put away. With a bit of awareness and imagination, I can taste the freshness of spring.

'Scout', first hummer of the season, making sure everything is in order before the charm arrives here at their summer home.

Daily I hold the intention to live in greater harmony with nature and to hear and understand her messages more clearly.  I almost never leave home without my little camera and I never know what visual treat the flora or fauna or rocks will provide.  Sometimes I simply enjoy the beauty of what is offered. Other times I wonder and reflect on what message nature is sending. What can I learn from what I see?

Yesterday, feeling a bit of a funk and choosing not to force myself into putting energy into one of several projects on my list, Luke and I set out to wander through the woods out back. No trails to stay on. Luke followed his nose. Mom set out to let visual wonders lead the way. Our paths rarely drifted far from one another despite the denseness of the woods and our different interests.

Two Trees ... growing together, growing apart amidst the curves and tangles of life.

Our wandering reminded me that the Universe is designed in harmony and our dominion over the Earth is to maintain and restore that harmony. With every thought, every word, every deed we are making a contribution of harmony that supports nature on the planet or of disharmony that puts nature in the position of taking action to rebalance.  Our thoughts matter. Our words matter. How we maintain our bodies, our homes and care for our pets and our plants matter.  Even how we sleep matters.  

Accepting death as a part of the natural cycle helps us harmonize with nature and ourselves.

Harmony matters. This earth day, I’m rededicating myself to my own personal harmony, within and without. What about you?

Simple Beauty ... my version of eye candy and found in every direction.

Matter Matters

Last Icicles of The Season??? I wonder ...

Uncovering a learning point within ourselves is the fuel that fans the flame for moment-by-moment discoveries.  View your whole day as a fantastic learning opportunity.  Gregge Tiffen (Fanned Fire and Forced Love Never Did Well – February, 2008)

Yikes! I needed that reminder this week as I navigated several breakdowns here at the Dragonfly House.  As the first round wound down, I reminded myself that this a planet where our greatest learning opportunities may be simply learning about matter – the physical world and how to navigate  physical circumstances such as our health, nutrition, movement, as well as building and maintaining such things as our homes, our cars, our ‘stuff’.

That’s not to minimize our spiritual growth or expanding our mental capacity, but what if, on this planet, a key pathway to that growth is through dealing with physical matter, i.e. learning to navigate the physical?

I don’t know about you, but I sometimes find myself feeling burdened and annoyed by the demands of the physical world. I race through attending to the needs (sometimes demands) of my body, my home, my ‘stuff’ so that I can move on to the important business of life like my ‘spiritual’ growth or even thinking about how to creatively grow my business.

That’s where I planned my attention to be this week. Life had other plans requiring that I put attention on my home and, a few days later, on office equipment.   To ignore the demands would be ignorant, so as the first day of events ended I took myself to a place of reflection and curiosity.  The botched delivery of a washer and dryer was not a world crisis, though it added inconvenience and cost to the process. And, if it wasn’t corrected soon, it would impact my ability to host guests in the B&B; and, thus my income, a potential stressor.

In reflecting on my observations of the day, in particular my reactions, I gave myself mixed reviews. But, more importantly, I realized in a new way what a gift matter, the physical, offers up in terms of learning. So rather than a burden or a distraction from ‘important’ things, I’ve embraced the events as opportunities to learn. I see that being inventive and proactive on my behalf in the domain of the physical contributes to my spiritual and mental capabilities as well.

I’m discovering riches in acknowledging how much I know about responding when things break down. There’s a wealth of opportunity in identifying gaps in my knowledge and skills to develop.  I’m experimenting with how to hold my ground with grace in the face of a corporation whose recorded messages tell me how important my customer feedback is while I wait for a ‘customer service’ representative who is not empowered to serve, but only to give rote responses that don’t address the concern I’m presenting.  It’s a curious dance to explore maintaining a centered presence while making demands.

So matter matters. Yes, in its physical form for the safety and comfort it provides.  And, navigating the matter of physical matter, rather than being a burden or distraction to rush through is a point of learning which makes it easier to embrace each day as a fantastic learning opportunity.  Onward!  And, stay tuned for updates...

Cottonwood Creek this week ... always my place of sweet peace.